The Fort Lewis Commisary has amazing deals on cereal right now.
Honey Bunches of Oats with Pecans are $1.08
Mini Churros are $0.89
Honey Mini Wheats are $1.08
Banana Nut Cheerios are $1.79 and there's a $1 off when you buy 2 coupon
I stocked up. 22 boxes of ceral for $24. We don't eat cereal often so that's enough to last us the entire year.
Also, they have the Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh lunch meat is on sale for $2 and there are $1 off when you buy 2 coupons on tear pads. That's the best price by far on those.
Those of you who do freezer cooking might be interested in checking out freezerware by Glad. They're designed to not get brittle when frozen like reglar gladware does. I've been using them for my slow cooker meals instead of zip top freezer bags.
Showing posts with label money saving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money saving. Show all posts
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Makin' The Most Of It
Woo it was a busy week! It started Sunday when I took Baby Boy with me to get a Sunday paper and then to Target. We walked through the grocery section and they had Butterball frozen turkeys for $0.79/lb. I bought two: one to cook and shred, the other to grind up. I wanted to get the most bang for my buck so I decided to use the turkeys for meat, broth, and stock. On Monday I went to work on the first one. It was defrosted, cut up, boiled, shredded, and finally the bones were boiled. Here's how it was done.
1 turkey, skin removed and cut up
4 carrots, cut in quarters
4 stalks celery, cut in quarters
salt and pepper
Everything goes in a big pot, along with as much water as will fit while leaving room to simmer. I don't have any big pots (forgot them at Mom's) so I divided everything to do 2 batches.
Simmer for 1 hour, or until the meat is falling apart. Once it's done take out all the meat and let it cool.
Use a collander and cheesecloth to strain the liquid left in the pot. Ta da! You now have broth.
Cool the broth in the fridge, skim the fat off the top, then package and freeze it for later use. I put mine in quart sized freezer bags this time but last time I froze it in ice cube trays and put the cubes in a freezer bag later.
Next pick all the meat off the bones and shred it. You can use this for any dish that calls for shredded chicken or turkey.
Now put the bones in the pot with fresh water. Cover and simmer for 12-24 hours.
Once time's up strain the liquid and you have turkey stock. Cool it in the fridge, remove the fat that rises to the top, then package and freeze it. It took a few days since I was taking my time but I now have 2 gallon sized bags full of turkey meat, 12 quarts of broth, and 6 quarts of stock.
1 turkey, skin removed and cut up
4 carrots, cut in quarters
4 stalks celery, cut in quarters
salt and pepper
Everything goes in a big pot, along with as much water as will fit while leaving room to simmer. I don't have any big pots (forgot them at Mom's) so I divided everything to do 2 batches.
Simmer for 1 hour, or until the meat is falling apart. Once it's done take out all the meat and let it cool.
Use a collander and cheesecloth to strain the liquid left in the pot. Ta da! You now have broth.
Cool the broth in the fridge, skim the fat off the top, then package and freeze it for later use. I put mine in quart sized freezer bags this time but last time I froze it in ice cube trays and put the cubes in a freezer bag later.
Next pick all the meat off the bones and shred it. You can use this for any dish that calls for shredded chicken or turkey.
Now put the bones in the pot with fresh water. Cover and simmer for 12-24 hours.
Once time's up strain the liquid and you have turkey stock. Cool it in the fridge, remove the fat that rises to the top, then package and freeze it. It took a few days since I was taking my time but I now have 2 gallon sized bags full of turkey meat, 12 quarts of broth, and 6 quarts of stock.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Slow Cooker Applesauce
We recently bought 40 pounds of apples because they were only $30 through Bountiful Baskets. For those of you who haven't heard of them I encourage you to check them out. There's no way we can eat 40 pounds of apples before they go bad so I decided to use half to make applesauce to freeze. The second half will be sliced and frozen for later. Freezing food for later use is one of the best ways to save money on groceries so I'm so happy we finally bought a chest freezer.
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First I had Hubby start peeling and slicing apples. I got this one because it makes 12 slices instead of 8 like all the ones I've found in the store.
Slow Cooker Applesauce
Next I sprinkled the brown sugar on top. The amount of brown sugar you'll use will depend on how sweet your apples are. I've had some that didn't need any sugar at all. It's better to start with less and then add more later.
Then add the cinnamon, vanilla, and whatever else sounds good. Sometimes I use them and sometimes I leave them out. This time I used cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, and a small bit of citrus peel.
Put it on low and let it cook. I let it go overnight but it'll depend on the size slices you use. Once it's ready you can leave it like it is if you want it chunky or take a stick blender to it if you want it smooth.
It doesn't look like it from the pic but I had enough to fill a gallon sized freezer bag.
.
First I had Hubby start peeling and slicing apples. I got this one because it makes 12 slices instead of 8 like all the ones I've found in the store.
Slow Cooker Applesauce
- apples - peeled, cored, and sliced
- 2-4 Tbs brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- other spices you like
Next I sprinkled the brown sugar on top. The amount of brown sugar you'll use will depend on how sweet your apples are. I've had some that didn't need any sugar at all. It's better to start with less and then add more later.
Then add the cinnamon, vanilla, and whatever else sounds good. Sometimes I use them and sometimes I leave them out. This time I used cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, and a small bit of citrus peel.
Put it on low and let it cook. I let it go overnight but it'll depend on the size slices you use. Once it's ready you can leave it like it is if you want it chunky or take a stick blender to it if you want it smooth.
It doesn't look like it from the pic but I had enough to fill a gallon sized freezer bag.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Bakery Outlets
Growing up I loved when my mom would take us to the day old bakery. Of course back then I loved it because Mom let us pick out 1 snack. Mmm...there would be our options laid out: cake rolls, snowballs, pudding pies, zingers, moon pies, and more. It was great.
Now I love it for a different reason. Bread is not cheap; the bread I prefer to buy is even more so. We were lucky enough to hear that there was a Franz Bakery Outlet 15 minutes away and after my first time there I was hooked.
Today I got 4 loaves of bread, 2 packs of thin sandwich bread, a pack of brownie bites, and 12 packs of mini donuts.
All of that would cost around $35 at the grocery store but I only spent $10 and change. As an added perk our local bakery outlet has a rack full of freebies; you get to pick out 1 or more based on how much you spend. It's not only plain bread either--last time I got a loaf of organic nine grain for free. Normally we don't get the sweets because we're both working about eatting healthier but a little treat now and then is nice, and at the greatly reduced price I don't mind so much.
Now I love it for a different reason. Bread is not cheap; the bread I prefer to buy is even more so. We were lucky enough to hear that there was a Franz Bakery Outlet 15 minutes away and after my first time there I was hooked.
Today I got 4 loaves of bread, 2 packs of thin sandwich bread, a pack of brownie bites, and 12 packs of mini donuts.
All of that would cost around $35 at the grocery store but I only spent $10 and change. As an added perk our local bakery outlet has a rack full of freebies; you get to pick out 1 or more based on how much you spend. It's not only plain bread either--last time I got a loaf of organic nine grain for free. Normally we don't get the sweets because we're both working about eatting healthier but a little treat now and then is nice, and at the greatly reduced price I don't mind so much.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Just Add Water Paint Pages
When I was a kid I had coloring books with colored dots on the page. I'd swipe a wet paintbrush across the dots and I could paint the picture. A month ago I bought one for my son but it was a big let down. The colors were pale and pictures were printed on each side of the page so the water being used on one side ruined the other. I'm always looking for new craft ideas (thanks to Pinterest I'm finding tons) and I found this post on making watercolor paint pages earlier this week.
I made a Joann's run and luckily the one near my house has a good selection so I was able to find watercolor paper and watercolor paints.
The watercolor paper was 9x12 which is a little big for my 3 year old (he tends to make smaller pictures) so I used my rotary cutter and ruler to cut the pages in half so they'd be 6x9.
Once I had some cut I laid them out so they'd overlap with only an inch at the top of each page showing. This isn't necessary but it was much quicker to be able to make a bunch at once instead of one at a time.
Next I added a dot of paint, starting with red, to the top (or bottom) of each page.
After I was done with red I did the same with all the other colors.
After I finished adding all the colors all that was left was to let the pages dry. Once dry they can be used with a damp paintbrush. Dorian loves playing with these now. Next time I make a batch I'll need to do it after I put him to bed since the entire time they were drying he was asking every 5 minuutes if they were ready yet.
Here he's using one of the full 9x12 sheet I originally made (he decided he'd rather swirl the colors together than make a picture).
I made a Joann's run and luckily the one near my house has a good selection so I was able to find watercolor paper and watercolor paints.
The watercolor paper was 9x12 which is a little big for my 3 year old (he tends to make smaller pictures) so I used my rotary cutter and ruler to cut the pages in half so they'd be 6x9.
Once I had some cut I laid them out so they'd overlap with only an inch at the top of each page showing. This isn't necessary but it was much quicker to be able to make a bunch at once instead of one at a time.
Next I added a dot of paint, starting with red, to the top (or bottom) of each page.
After I was done with red I did the same with all the other colors.
After I finished adding all the colors all that was left was to let the pages dry. Once dry they can be used with a damp paintbrush. Dorian loves playing with these now. Next time I make a batch I'll need to do it after I put him to bed since the entire time they were drying he was asking every 5 minuutes if they were ready yet.
Here he's using one of the full 9x12 sheet I originally made (he decided he'd rather swirl the colors together than make a picture).
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