Wait, you MADE this syrup?

6 jars of sweet blueberry syrup

So, I found this great blueberry patch near my house. AND its free to go pick some berries. I LOVE berries, and I LOVE free, so I went. it was great. I came home with a bowl full of berries. I decided, I wanted to try to make some berry syrups. Like the ones you see when you go to I-Hop. I know they are FULL of sugars and preservatives, so, I found a great recipe online. It was very easy (except I didn't follow the directions very close) and this was my first attempt at canning. I did great and didn't break a single jar. The total for me to make these 6 jars was about $20, but I had to buy a canning kit $9 at walmart (after my $2 off coupon) and I bought the jars because I didn't have any ($6 at walmart) I also bought the fancy tongs to pull the hot jars out of the water ($4 at walmart). Next year I will reuse my jars and just have to buy more flat lids. I found the recipe here at simple bites. (due to copywrite and I want to give the author her credit, I will redirect you to her page)
I assume it would work for any berry, but I am not sure. I am collecting blackberries to try to make some from that as well...

So.. 22 Cans of Beans??

Yes. I started collecting these coupons for .75 cents off 3 cans of s&w beans. At winco, with the coupon, it made them .25cents a can. I could NOT pass this up. Beans are a great source of fiber, AND they fill you up (if you are broke, but hungry, they are good to have as an essential)
So, My friend gave me this great recipe for 5 can chili. You really just dump cans of stuff into a crockpot or pot, and cook it up. (I will share with you later)

Well, With the beans being as cheap as they were, I decided, wow, I am going to get a few "batches" of the chili stocked up. And then, coupons.com would re-release the coupon (reset it for more printing) I always print 4 coupons per offer. (2 from my desktop and 2 from out laptop) so I had coupons for more beans. and they reset it. More beans. It became an obsession for me. MUST GET .25 CENT BEANS.. So I just kept adding to it. Well, now I am out of coupons, BUT I have enough beans to make 5 batches of chili. Which, is a good thing, because when this weather turns cold and nasty, My hubby has to work outside in the cold rain. He usually comes home soaked, and wants something warm. How about chili?? This is also a dish that is a "set and forget" so when I have to work until 8:30 pm, I can dump it all into the crockpot, and it will be ready when we get home. No cooking required after work. Just dish up a big bowl, and enjoy.

So, Here is the recipe that she gave me. It sounds gross, I thought that, but I figured I would give it a try. It is VERY good. almost like Wendy's Chili.

2 cans Chili beans
1 can cream of mushroom (its the secret ingredient!)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can rinsed black beans
Dash of Chili Powder (I do a few shakes from the bottle)
1 onion chopped (I course chop mine, we like the chunks)
I lb Hamburger (I use turkey burger and it taste great)
2-3 garlic cloves- chopped

Brown Hamburger. Add onion, garlic, and some salt and pepper
add all ingredients to the crockpot.
simmer for 3-4 hours.

DONE!

I am BACK after computer problems

Hey followers. I know I got you all excited about learning to coupon and use the stuff. But then, disaster struck. I started having some computer and internet problems. I would type out a wonderful post, and poof, get kicked offline. So, I quit. Yes, I got frustrated and quit. But, after going through a new provider, I am back! so, here is the great deal I did this week.

I paid $6.40 for all of that

How?!? is what everyone is asking. Well here is what it worked out to:
First, I hit up alberstons. With them, its hit and miss. Today I had a really nice cashier, so it made things easy.

I got the kens at albertsons. I HAD a $1/1 coupon from two weeks ago. This week they were on store coupon for .99 a bottle. The cashier took the whole dollar off (never had luck with this before) so, I got them for free Plus a 4cent credit.

I also had a coupon for .79lb chicken, but I really didnt want to spend a lot, and the cheapest chicken I could find was about $3. As I was browsing, I saw the meat. Its the manager special meat, that I call, use it/freeze it, or lose it meat. Its meat that is expiring, but if you cook it or freeze it that evening you will be fine. I get this meat a LOT, and have NEVER gotten sick. So, it was normally $5.23 for the pack, but there was a $2 off coupon on the pack. for $3 I got thin sliced pork-chops, froze half the pack and had some last night for dinner. It was delicious!

Total spent $3.2o Total saved $$20.80

On to the next store (I will tell ya what I am going to do with it all a bit later)

Next, I hit up Safeway. I have all kinds of luck there, just because we live next door, so we go there a lot for food, beer and Chinese food. (its delicious)
I had loaded some coupons onto my Safeway card (I do this every Monday) and I had seen on a blog that there had been a coupon for Klondike bars and Dryers. So, I checked, and sure enough there was those on my card. The Bars were .50 CENTS because I had a $2 off coupon on my card. which brings me to a great point. ALWAYS load EVERYTHING to you card. you never know what you can get for pennies or free. I would never normally buy these, but they were .50 cents.
okay, back to shopping. With another e-coupon the dryers was 1.49. I have been craving vanilla ice cream ever since I made homemade blueberry syrup a couple weeks ago. So I splurged on that.
The salad bags were free, thanks to a $1/1 coupon I had for doing a survey at vocalpoint. at Safeway it was on sale .99 a bag. SCORE
I also got the chef boyardee for .25 because if you pledge to shop at Safeway on facebook, they will give you a coupon for .25 chef boyardee. Facebook is a great place for coupons and free offers.
Total Spent at Safeway $3.20 Total saved $17.30

So, back to the salad dressing. I am not ashamed to say, currently I have 12 bottle of dressing in my pantry. WHY?!?! is the other question I hear. A LOT. Well, When salad dressing or peanut butter (10 jars), or pasta (7 boxes) or beans (22 cans) go on sale, I get what I can get, JUST my limit, which is usually 4. I stockpile it. I do not clear out the store, but if I can get a good bunch of goods, I will.
Here is a few things I plan on doing with the stuff
Salad dressing - Joe, My hubby, takes a salad every day for lunch. He gets a small container of dressing. Times that by 5. Every two weeks its a bottle of dressing. We will go through that dressing in about 6 months. I also use the Italian dressing for pasta salad, which brings us to
Pasta-- I LOVE stockpiling this because it can last on the shelf for at LEAST 6 months. I make pasta salad for lunches/dinners. When we both work late, I can make a fast dinner of garlic Alfredo and pasta, or spaghetti.
Peanut Butter-- Ah love having PB on hand. I make very good Peanut butter cookies. I would rather make them then buy store bought cookies. Also, when you are broke, or just down to the bare cupboards, you can always make a pb and jelly sandwich. I also eat peanut butter on apples, or on toast in the morning.

Tune in tomorrow to see what I use all the beans for. Hint, its very yummy and easy for a cold rainy day.

Back after a cheap and fun weekend

So, this weekend was a very low key, explore the area fun. We packed a picnic lunch (I bought us a subway $5 footlong) and packed crackers and cheez-its from the stockpile. Packed a couple thermos bottles of black ice tea, and away we went.
this area is so pretty, that you can do so many fun relaxing things for very cheap. the whole day cost less than $10, we took some neat photos, and enjoyed the sunshine.

SO, what to blog about today? today we are talking chicken salad sandwich. Lots of gals at work love my sandwiches, and they are a breeze to make. VERY cheap too! also, its what we do with the majority of the mayo that we buy (that, and I make a LOT of suddenly pasta salad for my husband's lunch, more on this later)

so, here is a delicious recipe for chicken salad. you can eat it on bread, with crackers, or over lettuce.

I start with three or four chicken breasts. I just bought some at Safeway for $5 for 8 of them.
USUALLY I like to throw them into the pan frozen, because as they thaw, they sort of "steam" themselves..
put frozen chicken breasts in skillet with a lid.. Season them now, when you put them in. I usually use lemon pepper, but lately I was introduced to Johnnys. LOVE it.
Cook on a very low setting, turning often. as they thaw they produce the water from being frozen. this also helps so you don't need oil.
every time I turn, i season slightly. the water may evaporate quickly, so I add about a quarter cup whenever I check the chicken.
chicken will be done when it is no longer pink inside. remove from pan, and chop into bite sized pieces.
then add a few tablespoons of mayo. We don't like our really mayoey (not quite a word) so I add just enough so that it makes it "wet"
Right before serving, I season with pepper and sometimes oregano. serve on bread, or try the suggestions above.

Voila. I make a big batch of this on Mondays, and it gets enough sandwiches to last the week. A lot of the foods I buy, we call "lunch munchies" because my husband does not have access to a microwave. So it is lots of crackers, snacks, cold sandwiches, pasta salads, and such. Also, its easier to eat the 6 meals a day when you have small snacks available.


so, that's it for today. simple, yet delicious. This week I want to get into the wedding and the cost we put out for it. I feel that Brides all over would love to see some of the money saving techniques I used, and also, family and friends will be surprised at how much the final cost was.

Alas, what to do with all that FOOD!

I started this blog, because the gals at work keep asking (why on earth would you need so many boxes of (fill in the blank.) Well, on this blog, I will share with you what we use the 17 boxes of pasta, the 22 boxes of cereal, or the 10 bottles of bbq sauce we use... I will also explain how I am getting all of this for almost next to nothing.

A friend at work was asking me how to "Extreme Coupon" and I had told her that she has to sort of change what she eats... Well that's true. You wont find coupons on things you eat every day, but with a few minor changes, you can eat what you coupon..

Example #1
lately, I have been finding great deals on bbq sauce. I mean, REALLY good deals. like a bottle for .25 cents. I have a few coupons, so I buy as many 5 at a time. WHAT?!? 5 bbq sauces? Well.... until we actually HAD the extra bbq sauce, we had never made pulled pork sandwiches.... So, I got the recipe from a friend, and its something we REALLY look forward to having. ( you can also do this with chicken)
so.. here is the recipie..

1lb pork (i get the stuff at costco that looks like a giant worm. its about $7 for a big piece that make 3 or 4 nights worth of dinner)
1 WHOLE BOTTLE bbq sauce (ah, see why we need so much now?)
1 bottle of bbq sauce full of water
a crockpot or you could put it into a big pot on the stove. Just keep an eye on it
an onion if you want.
a few hours
buns

i put the pork, bbq sauce, and fill up the same bottle with water (to get all the stuff off the sides and to add water to thin it down a bit) into a big crockpot. you can add onion if you would like. do this in the morning, and cook on Low/medium ALL day.
at dinner time, the pork will be tender and fall off the bone. you can shred it, serve it on buns. sometime we add a slice of cheese

Voila! something we wouldnt have ever eaten before, but since i get so much bbq sauce, its a weekly staple now!