Sunday's CVS Trip

This afternoon Joe and I stopped into CVS to pick up one of my prescriptions, and while we were there, I grabbed up some awesome deals.  Here's what we ended up with...

2 Tom's Toothpastes $5.49 ea - $1.49 ea Sale - $2/$8 Toothpaste CVS Coupon - $2/2 MC - $2 ECB's = 2/$2!

2 Crest Toothpastes $3.99 ea - $1 ea Sale - $1/1 MC x 2 - $2 ECB's x 2 = 2 FREE!

1-100 ct box CVS Alcohol Prep Pads $2.37 - FREE CVS Coupon = FREE!

4 bags Gardetto's Snack Mix $1.25 ea (on sale, regular price not listed) - $0.50/2 MC x 2 = 4/$4

1 Snickers Egg $0.87 - $0.43 Clearance = $0.44

+ $1.04 Tax

- $5 ECB's used to Pay

Total OOP: $8.46, Earned $7 ECB's!

Linked to Simply CVS!

Weekly Spending Report: 04/14-20/2013

This week...

• Sunday's Rite-Aid Trip (1 Arm and Hammer Cat Litter, not pictured): $17.12 oop, Earned $7 UP+Rewards

• Sunday's Giant Trip: $29.80 oop

• Monday's Shopper's Trip (1 bag shredded Cheddar cheese): $2 oop
• Saturday's ALDI Trip: $18.06 oop

 

• Saturday's Dollar Tree Trip: $10.18 oop

• Saturday's Giant Trip: $45.81 - $18.44 Sales/Coupons/Save $5 Deal = $27.37 oop

Total OOP: $104.53 - $7 Earned Rewards = Net OOP: $97.53!  That's a LOT of money, but I feel good about what I was able to stock up on, including: raw sugar, lean cuisines, cat food and litter, fruits and veggies, and meal fixings.

Frugal Finds Friday: Homemade Drain Cleaner/Freshener

 2 tbsp Baking Soda + 1 c White Vinegar =

 Homemade Drain Cleaner/Freshener!

This cleaner is great to get the slimy build-up out of your pipes.  I use is about once a month.  I don't know how it would do if you actually had a clog, but by doing this treatment once a month, I haven't had a clog since I started.  I follow the baking soda/vinegar with a kettle of boiling water once the fizzing has stopped.  It's that simple, and very frugal, and green, so give it a try!

Linked to Homemade Mondays and Works for Me Wednesday!

ALDI Deals, Starting 04/17/2013

Here are some of the awesome deals this week at ALDI...

• Weds. 04/17 ONLY: Fresh USDA Choice Strip Steak $7.99/lb
• Muli-Peppers 20 oz $2.19 ea
• Cucumbers $0.29 ea
• Baby Carrots 16 oz $0.69 ea
• Mushrooms 8 oz $0.79 ea
• Organic Grape Tomatoes 10 oz $2.29 ea
• Organic Romaine Lettuce 3 pk $2.29 ea
• Clancy's Pretzel Sticks or Mini's 16 oz $1.29 ea
• Fit and Active Nonfat Key Lime Yogurt 6 oz $0.39 ea
• Fit and Active 94% Fat Free Mini Microwave Popcorn Bags 10-1.2 oz bags $1.99 ea
• Fit and Active Reduced Fat Deli Sliced Cheese Sharp Cheddar or Swiss 6.67 oz $1.99 ea
• Fit and Active Fat Free Dressing French or Thousand Island 16 oz $1.39 ea
• Fit and Active Low Fat Dressing Assorted Varieties 16 oz $1.39 ea
• Fit and Active Healthy Condensed Tomato Soup 10.75 oz $0.79 ea
• Fit and Active Vegetable Beef Soup 18.8 oz $1.49 ea
• Fit and Active Light Mayonnaise 30 oz $1.99 ea
• Happy Farms Deli Sliced Pepper Jack Cheese 8 oz $1.99 ea
• L'oven Fresh Hamburger Buns 12 oz $0.89 ea
• Season's Choice Whole Onion Rings 16 oz $1.99 ea
• Millville All Natural Granola 10 oz $3.89 ea
• Southern Grove 100 calorie Nut Assortment, Assorted Varieties 3.92-4.41 oz $1.99 ea
• Lunch Buddies Fruit Twists Grape or Strawberry 3.8 oz $1.99 ea
• Gardenline Umbrella Stand $16.99 ea
• Gardenline 9' Umbrella $29.99
• Gardenline Umbrella Light $7.99 ea
• Gardenline 10 ct String Lights Assorted Styles $7.99 ea
• Spectracide Ready to use Weed Stop, Bug Stop, or Weed and Grass Killer 128 oz $4.99 ea
• Range Master Porcelain Grill Topper Flat or Wok $4.99 ea

For more information about shopping at ALDI, visit their Homepage!

Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday: Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

Scalloped potatoes were one of my favorite foods growing up.  My mom would make the kind out of the box, in a lovely Corning ware casserole dish in the microwave.  As I started reading about all of the bad things in our foods, I found some of those items listed on my scalloped potato box.  Ew!  So, I searched the web and found several recipes to try, they all are melded together in this recipe after some trial and error.

• About 1 and  1/2 lbs (about 8 small or 5-6 medium sized) Thinly Sliced Potatoes (I use Red Potatoes, and leave the skins on when I slice them, but I have used Russets as well)
• 3 tbsp Butter (I use Unsalted)
• 1/2 cup Shredded/Diced Ham (great way to use up those leftovers)
• 1 medium Finely Minced Onion
• 3 tbsp Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• Few Shakes of Pepper
• 1 and 1/2 c Milk
• 1 c Grated Cheddar Cheese (I use Mild)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Peel (if you want) and thinly slice your potatoes.
2. Saute your onion in the butter over medium heat.  Blend in the flour, salt, and pepper, until smooth.  
3. Gradually add milk and stir until thickened, slightly bubbly.
4. Add cheese, stir until smooth.
5. Alternate potatoes, ham, and cheese sauce in a greased 9x13" pan (I've used one slightly smaller as well.
6. Cover with foil and bake 1 hour.  Remove foil, sprinkle with additional shredded cheddar, and bake 15 more minutes, or until melted.
7. Serve hot, and refrigerate any leftovers.

Enjoy!

Linked to Homemade Mondays, Make Your Own Monday, The Natural Living Link-up, One Project at a Time, and Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday!

Menu Plan Monday: 04/15/2013

This week should be a nice relaxed one, hopefully with beautiful weather!  I work a couple of days, Joe has some meetings to go to, and we are getting together with one of my sisters and her daughter, and my dad, for a Mexican fiesta!  Here's what's on the menu for this week...

Breakfasts: Cold Cereal, Fruit Smoothies, and/or Waffles

Lunches: Leftovers, Salads, or Sandwiches

Dinners: (All dinners but salads served with a steamed vegetable or veggie dippers)

Sunday - Free food at Salsarita's!

Monday - Mexican-marinated Grilled Chicken Salads

Tuesday - Crock-pot Lasagne, Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Mexican Fiesta (Fajitas, Tacos, Rice, Chips, and Homemade Salsa)

Thursday - Fruited Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Chips

Friday - Leftover Buffet (or 'clean out the fridge night)

Saturday - Homemade Pizza

Extras: Brownies, and maybe Rice Krispy Treats

For more AWESOME menu plans, visit Org Junkie!

Frugal Finds Friday: Cut it in Half (sponges that is)

A big part of being frugal, is having the ability to stretch things, and make them last as long as possible.  It's a concept that can be applied to a lot of things: t-shirts, meat, and even sponges.  Sponges are a simple thing to make last, because all you have to do is cut your new one in half.  Use half now, and when it starts to get gross, toss it and use your other half.  This doubles the life of your sponge!  Give it a go and see what you think.  It took me a little while to get use to the smaller scrubbing surface area (say that three times fast), but now it's just like business as usual.

So, what things do you like to s-t-r-e-t-c-h?

Wednesday's Giant Trip

We ran out of light and energy on Tuesday, so we saved our Giant trip for Wednesday on our way home from Joe's grandfather's house, since we knew it was going to be a large trip.  We needed some things for meals this week (lettuce, eggs, milk), I also stocked up on some good deals (tomatoes and steak) as well.  Here's what we ended up with...

1 Gelato $4.99 - $1 Sale - $1/1 MC = $2.99
1-1/2 gal 2% Horizon Organic Milk $3.69
1 bag Hard Cooked Eggs (should get us through until our chickens lay) $2.49
1 pkg Fresh Sage $1.99
Organic Green Leaf Lettuce $2.44 (almost 1 lb at $2.49/lb)
1.57 lb Honey Crisp Apples at $3.49/lb = $5.48
0.91 lb Gala Apples at $1.69/lb = $1.81
0.91 lb Red Onion (1) at $1.59/lb = $0.78
1 Newman's Own Marinara Sauce (I'll be SO glad when I get some coupons for this!) $2.89
2 cans Muir Glen Diced Tomatoes $1.99 ea - $0.75/1 doubled to $1.50 x 2 = 2/$0.98
1 carton Organic Cream of Mushroom Soup $2.79
2 Luna Fiber Bars $1.25 ea - $0.25 ea Sale - $0.50/1 MC doubled to $1 x 2 = 2 FREE!
1 can Chi-Chi's Whole Jalapenos (for Chili's Salsa) $2.49 - $1.25 Sale = $1.24
2 Flat Iron Steaks (will make 4 meals for Joe and I) $6.03 and $6.20 = 2/$12.23
1 bag Organic Tortilla Chips $3.99 - $0.49 Sale = $3.50
- $0.10 Reusable Bag Discounts

Total OOP: $54.54 - $9.61 Savings and Coupons = Net OOP: $44.93!

Tuesday's Rite-Aid Trip

We stopped across the street at Rite-Aid next to pick up a few deals...

1 bag 'Valentine's' Sweet Tarts $1.29 - $0.97 discount = $0.32

1 pkg BIC Silky Touch Razors $4.49 - $1.50 Sale - $3/1 MC - $2 UP+Rewards = FREE $2 Money-maker!

1 Rave Hair Spray $2.99 - $0.30 card discount - $1/1 MC - $1 UP+Reward = $0.69

1 Visine for Contacts $5.29 - $0.53 card discount - $2/1 MC - $2/1 in ad Coupon = $0.76

2-12 pks Coke Zero and Coke $5.79 ea - $2.29 ea Sale - $2/2 in-ad Coupon = 2/$5

+ $0.78 Tax

- $3 UP+Rewards used to Pay

Total OOP: $5.54, Earned $3 UP+Rewards!

Weekly Spending Report: 04/07-13/2013

This week was, well, you'll see below, ugh ...

• Tuesday's Baugher's Trip (3 Bell Peppers): $1.79 oop
• Tuesday's Good Will Trip (1 pretty pillow case to make throw pillow covers out of, and 1 nice tie for Joe): $2.27 oop 
• Tuesday's Wal-mart Trip (just TP, lots of allergy medicines, and cold stuff for my car ac): $32.03 oop
• Tuesday's CVS Trip: $6.63 oop, Earned $5 ECB's
• Tuesday's ALDI Trip: $18.89 oop
• Tuesday's Rite-Aid Trip: $5.54 oop, Earned $3 UP+Rewards
• Tuesday's BJ's Trip (2 pouches Crystal Light, and 1-3 pk LOL Olive Oil Spread Butter, used 3 coupons): $15.22 oop
• Wednesday's Giant Trip: $44.93 oop
• Thursday's Amish Market Trip (Cheese Pretzel Crackers - yummy!): $8.21 oop
• Thursday's Giant Trip (forgot the tea bags x 2): $2.50 oop
• Saturday's Giant Trip (Gelato, 2 Newspapers, Doritos, Dressing Mix, 1 Lime, and Olives off the salad bar for Joe's Taco Salad): $13.95 oop

Total OOP: $151.96 - $8 Earned Rewards = Net OOP: $143.96, Ouch!  But I spent like nothing last week, so I definitely made up for that this week.  Next week will have to be better!

Linked to Couponaholic!