Quick Wal-mart stop before my life is FILLED with Fleamkters!

Joe and I made a quick stop in Wal-mart this evening mainly for lunch meat and milk as well as some cold & sinus medicine, which Joe informed me is actually a sin to run out of, I was unaware, but am now glad to be informed of this ;-) Anyway, while he was waiting in the L-O-N-G pharmacy line for the sinus pills, I grabbed some SUPER deals!
1 Gallon 2% Milk (doesn't exp 'til 09/25!) $3.15
1 Grandparents Day Card (which is this Sunday, so if you need a card and haven't got one yet, now would be a good time, selection is already down to almost nothing...) $1.84
1 - 32 oz Mayo $2.50 * Funny Story on this to follow
1 Tub Roast Beef $3.00 (high, but still cheaper than the food vendors at the show this weekend)
2 Clean & Crunch Cat Treats $1.98 ea - $2.00/1 MC x 2 = 2 Free + $0.04 overage
1 Roll of Plastic Painter's Tarp stuff to cover one of our tables at the flea mkt this weekend (not shown) $8.24
+ Joe's Purchase of the Great Value Brand of Advil Cold & Sinus $5.24
Total with Tax ($0.85): $24.78
* Funny Story about Mayo: I was comparing the prices of the Kraft mayo tonight and realized how dumb Wal-mart thinks their consumers are, let me explain. There are 2 ways to buy the Kraft Real Mayo, 1 is a 12 oz glass jar for $2.68 or you can get the 32 oz plastic container (which is what I did) for $2.50. This is NOT a rollback or sale or clearance price, this is the everyday price! I couldn't believe my eyes. I actually scanned the bar code on a price checker thing to make sure I wasn't going crazy! Wal-mart is trying to sell you less than half as much mayo for more money! I know that we are in hard economic times, but give me a break. I'll get off my soap box now, but the moral of the story is, ALWAYS check the unit price of the item, this time it was obvious that the bigger mayo was the best way to get the most for my money, however, that is not always the case... Beware of price deception!

Walgreen's Trip for the Week - Gotta Roll those RR's

Went to Walgreen's to make sure I rolled my RR's for the week before they expired, and found some really awesome deals along the way...
Transaction #1:
2 Extra 3 pk Gum $2.69 ea - BOGO Free Sale - $1.00/1 MC x 2 = $0.69/2
2 Individual Pks Popcorn $0.39 ea = $0.78/2
2 Campbells Soup @ Hands $1.99 ea - $1.00 ea In-ad C - $1.00/2 MC = $0.98/2
1 Glade Sense & Spray $5.99 - $3.00/1 MC - $2.00 RR = $0.99
1 Bottle Popcorn Kernals clearanced $0.50
- $4.00 RR's to Pay
Total OOP: $2.47 + Received $2.00 RR for Next time (= $0.47)

Transaction #2:
2 Individual Pks Popcorn $0.39 ea = $0.78/2
1 Bottle Popcorn Kernals clearanced $0.50
2 Reese's Candy Bars $1.00 ea - $0.55/1 MC x 2 - $1.00 RR wyb 2 = 2 Free + $0.10 MM
2 Extra 3 pk Gum $2.69 ea - BOGO Free Sale - $$1.00/1 MC x 2 = $0.69/2
1 Duracell AAA 4 pk $2.99 - $1.00/1 MC - $1.00 RR = $0.99
1 Glade 3 wick Soy Candle $5.99 - $3.00 MC - $2.00 RR = $0.99
- $4.00 RR's to Pay
Total OOP: $4.68 + Received $4.00 RR for Next time (= $0.68)

Plus, my FAVORITE cashier, Michelle, rang me up and I had forgotten my reusable bags, so she gave me the nice one in the picture for FREE!! And it is really nice too!

Martin's Run

Stopped into Martin's today for some super cheap Betty Crocker Potatoes (MY FAVORITE!) & some other really great deals, including the buy 6 save $4 Promo...
4 Betty Crocker Potatoes $1.49 ea - $0.24 ea Sale - $1.32 Promo - $0.40/1 MC x 4 - $0.40 Double x 4 = $0.48/4
6 Quaker Chewy Granola bars $2.59 ea - $0.59 ea Sale - $2.68 Promo - $1.00/2 MC x 3 = $6.32/6
2 A1 Steak Sauces $2.35 ea - $2.00/1 MC x 2 = $0.35 ea or $0.70/2
4 cans Tomato Paste $0.49 ea = $1.96/4
1 Dole Salad Blend $2.50 - $0.62 Sale = $1.88
3 Land O Lakes 2 pk Margarines $1.99 ea - $1.00 Sale ea - $0.30/1 MC - $0.30 Double - $1.00/2 MC = $1.37/3
2 Jell-o Pudding Cups $2.99 ea - $0.49 ea Sale - $1.00/2 MC = $4.00/2
1 Care One Gauze $0.93 - $0.50/1 Martin's C = $0.43
Total, no tax: $17.14
Original Total - $43.54 - Saved 61% - Yay!

Labor Day Shopping

Joe and I decided to take a little shopping spree today since we had to run out for cat litter at Walmart and I needed to pick up my prescription at CVS and drop another one off. We did find some great deals too...
1st Stop, CVS:
Picked up my prescription and used a coupon to get that FREE $25.00 CVS Giftcard in the picture.
2nd Stop, Office Depot:
We dropped off 3 used ink cartridges, which will earn us $3.00 ea towards a gift card using their rewards program. Total Made: $9.00
3rd Stop, Michael's:
We stopped into Michael's and used the 50% off coupon only good today towards a bottle of lamp oil. $4.99 - 50% off Coupon + $0.15 Tax = $2.64 Not a great price, but it is getting harder and harder to find it, Walmart doesn't even sell it anymore :-(
Last stop, Walmart:
We needed some cat litter so the cheapest overall place to shop for that is Walmart. Unfortunately the kind of litter we really wanted (Yesterday's News), they no longer sell, so we ended up with some Tidy Cat (not picured) and used a coupon on it. Other deals at Walmart included...
2 Carmex Lipbalms $1.04 ea - $1.00/1 MC x 2 = $0.04 ea = $0.08/2
4 Meow Mix Wet Cat Foods $0.48 ea - $1.00/2 MC x 2 = 4 Free + $0.08 Overage
Waterproof Bandaids $2.88 - $0.50/1 MC = $2.38 (However, I saved $2.00 just by buying them here at Walmart instead of CVS, where they were $4 and change a box)
Cat Litter $6.50 - $1.00/1 MC = $5.50
Total with Tax ($0.51): $8.39
On our way out the door at Walmart, we stopped to pick up our FREE Redbox DVD using code T46T3Q7. If it is returned by 9 pm tomorrow night (Tues) they will not charge you for it, making it a FREE rental :-)

Menu Plan Monday 09/07/09

We are going to have some very interesting things on the menu this week, mainly because I have a fridge full of leftovers and this weekend is the Steam Show in Westminster and we have a table in the flea market, so I'll just leave it as interesting...

Breakfasts: Cereal, Banana Nut Bread, yogurt &/or Fruit

Lunches: Leftovers (pasta, hotdogs, sausages...) & lunchmeat sandwiches with chips

Dinners:
Sunday - 5 Guys Burgers & Fries - & it was worth EVERY Penny!
Monday - Hotdogs, Mac & Cheese, & Broccoli
Tuesday - Ribs, Broccoli, & Scalloped Potatoes
Wednesday - Chicken Fried Rice with Sugar Snap Peas
Thursday - Left over Buffet
Friday - Egg, bacon, hashbrown & cheese casserole with Toast
Saturday - Homemade Pizza (cheese for me and supreme for Joe)

CVS Trip for the Week!!

Stopped into CVS to do my ECB shopping for the week and to drop off a prescription. Got some good deals too...
1 Bounce Dryer Bar $3.99 - $1.50 MC - $1.00 ECB (raincheck) = $1.49
1 Life Lock ID Theft Protection CD $2.99 - $2.99 ECB = Free
1 Crest with Scope Toothpaste $3.49 - $1.00 MC - $2.50 ECB = Free + $0.01 MM
1 Sensodyne Iso-Active Toothpaste $4.99 - $1.00 MC - $3.00 ECB (raincheck) = $0.99
1 Schick ST3 Triple Razors 8 pk + 2 Bonus $6.99 - $3.00 MC - $4.00 ECB = Free + $0.01 MM
1 Cover Girl Clean Foundation $4.99 - $1.00 MC - $2.00 ECB = $1.99
1 Cover Girl Face Powder $4.99 - Buy Foundation Get Free Face Item MC = Free
- $5.00/30.00 Purchase CVS C
- $14.94 in ECB's used to Pay
Total with tax ($1.65): $1.65, paid with Gift card
Net OOP: $16.59 - ECBs Earned $15.49 = $1.10

Food Lion Chicken Run!!!!

RAN to Food Lion today to grab up some SUPER CHEAP chicken breasts before they were all taken by the procastinating Labor Day shoppers ;-)
12.68 lbs Perdue Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts @ $1.67/lb = $21.15 - $5.00/20.00 Meat Purchase FL C = $16.15
1 lb Strawberries $2.50 - $1.00/1 FL C = $1.50
Boston Cream Rolls (Joe's Request) $1.79
Oatmeal Cream Pies (Also Joe's Request) $1.59 - $0.34 sale = $1.25
Total OOP, no tax: $20.69 + I got 2 stickers towards my FREE Cookware!
P.S. I got 13 meals worth of chicken + probably some leftovers, so that comes to $1.24 per meal - YAY!!!

$ Store Stop

Stopped into the $ Store this week, but you will notice no papers in my picture, that is because there are NO COUPONS in this weeks papers (unless they come in a store ad) due to the Labor Day Holiday... I'm still a little upset about it all, but it does give me an extra week to catch up on my clipping and filing, so I guess there can be good in all situations, even no coupons :-) Anyway...
2 Utz Chips (Also for the Steam Show this weekend) $2.00
1 Raisin Snack Pk Minis $1.00 (this UPC will get me a FREE Blue's Clues book for me to tuck away in my collection of children's books)
Total, no tax: $3.00 (the value of the book is $3.99 alone)

Shopper's Trip 09/05/09

Stopped into Shopper's to get some of the really cheap bologna (that I secretly love, especially on white bread with cheese and mayonaise - drool..., but I digress) and kraft singles...
2 Kraft Singles on sale 2/$4.00 - $1.00 in ad C on 2 = $3.00/2
2 Oscar Mayer Bolognas on sale 2/$4.00 (originally $4+ EACH!) - $2.00 in ad C on 2 = $2.00/2
Oatmeal Cream pies $1.25 on sale (these are for the Steam show coming up, better to splurge on snacks then buy the overpriced food there...)
2 Cream Cheese Tubs $1.89 ea - $1.00/2 MC = $2.78/2
3 Yoplait Yogurts $0.75 ea - $0.60/3 MC - $0.60 Double = $1.05/3
Blue Ribbon Sandwich Bread $1.99 on sale
Some Salad Bar veggies for salads this week $1.93
Free 6 pk of Coke Zero Bottles (my mom bought 4 - 12 pks of Coke and got a free 6 pk, so she gave it to me - YAY!)
Total: $14.00 + Tax

When life gives you tomatoes, you make pizza & pasta sauce with them...

Our garden has been doing a lot of tomato producing, so we are a little overrun with them, so I decided that we just couldn't eat them all, so... I made 3 Pint & 3 Tall Jelly jars of pizza sauce as well as, 6 pints & 1 quart of Marinara sauce. They were both really easy and I just made the sauce in the crock pot, and poured it in the jars, put the lids on and turned them upside down until they sealed (which all of them did!). If anyone would like the recipes just post a comment and I'll type them up and post them on here... YUMMY!