What deals do you like to take advantage of?

I love me a SWEET deal! and last week, at my Ralphs,

#5 bag of potatoes were on sale for .68cents. this is the

absolute CHEAPEST I've ever seen potatoes for...in

the 18 months I've been coupon shopping.

So, I bought 4 bags.....

This morning, I baked 2 bags and made twice

baked potatoes to store in my freezer. Thanks to my

friend, Jill, for this idea a year ago. I do it every time

I can buy cheap potatoes.

What deals do you really STOCK UP on and freeze?

Ralphs mega event

for all my so-cal peeps...
Ralphs is doing a mega event this week
thru 9/22.
Buy 10 save 5$.
There were 2 items I was REALLY
excited about.
Capri-Suns are 99cents after the -5$
i used a few 1$/3 blinkies that i got last week,
on that aisle and ended up getting
10 boxes for 7$
Also, Wheat thins and triscuits are 1.49 after the -5$
i couldn't find a Q for this, but this is a great price...

Good luck to you.
Go find your great deals...
I use www.Hotcouponworld.com and
www.couponmom.com

slow Cooker Orange Chicken-YUM

Oh, I am so trying this Recipe. It looks so good.
Friday night dinner. all i have to buy is the frozen
OJ. I'll let you know how it goes. We LOOVEE
a little panda at our house, so this could be a
way cheaper version.

done a lot of cooking lately...

just keep forgetting to post anything about it.

this pic was prepped food for our camping trip

last weekend.

I made homemade mac n cheese, a crockpot full

of chicken for sandwiches and such and a pasta

salad.

I've decided a bag of chicken with salt, pepper,

and 1 can of chicken broth is a great idea. I put

it in tupperware, and when I get hungry and nothing

sounds good, I have myself a chick sammy. and my

HUBBY lOvEs them...yay for me!

cookin', roastin' and chillin' this summer.

I'm sorry there are no pics. my camera is OUT OF ORDER.
I have been cooking like crazy this summer. New recipes galore.
It's been interesting and so fun.
I posted some of these new recipes onto my friends' new
recipe blog. You should go check it out.
Last night, I made a new breaded chicken tender recipe, and
everyone gobbled it up, even my picky 9 YO. (she even asked
for seconds. lol) I've posted that one on the blog too...

We've also been roastin'! I mean, man, is it hot this summer.
and chillin' by the pool. and we've also been chillin' with our
homemade popsicles and sno cones.
go get yourself a sno cone maker. You can probably find them on
clearance just about now at your target or walmart. This is the summer
clearance season, you know.
good luck, and have a great REST of the summer.

Chocolate Chip Orange Zuchini cookies, say what? ;)

my cool BFF has a new recipe website. you gotta go check it out. we have been slowly uploading our favorite recipes to share, and then we have them all in one spot.
So, Go! check it out...
www.mommiesrecipebook.blogspot.com
you're gonna love these cookies.
sorry there's no picture. I have no camera at the moment.
they are very light and fluffy in looks and color. so yummy.
thanks for sharing Julie.

what do YOU freeze?

this morning on a small trip to Henry's I bought
canteloupe..2 of them, which is A lot for me.
My 2YO and I are the only ones in the fam that
will eat them. (they were 2/1$)
so I came home and started cutting them up...
wow! but it was too much canteloupe.
so I wondered, could I FREEZE canteloupe?
I always freeze grapes, chives, peppers, onions,
strawberries, celery, broccoli,
and even bananas, so, looked it up...and there
you have it! You can freeze canteloupe. I'm so excited
to find other fruits and veggies to freeze.
That way I can stockpile on more fresh produce when
it's super cheap.

I'm really interested...
*What do you freeze?

SIDE NOTE: I wash and prep (cut)
the fruits and veggies before freezing.
2nd SIDE NOTE:
today I cut 5 onions, 4 green peppers and
2 canteloupe. also, freezing 2lbs red grapes.

a new name for us....

penny Stretchers!

These are ways i stretch my pennies...

I know they aren't grand, but they are mine!

* we eat left overs

* i clip, print and use coupons

* if we eat out, it's usually off the $ menu or

kids eat free nights.

*we carpool with Daddy to save 1 car payment, car ins. and

registration, though this does make our gas bill a

little higher

* we turn off lights when not in use

*turn off air most mornings at the house

*up'd my text plan, so I wouldn't go over anymore

*stockpile on main ingredients and snacks for my

fam so I won't have to buy them at regular prices,

very often...sometimes I miscalculate

* don't rent movies unless they are FREE at redbox

* swap babysitting with a friend, so we don't pay for a sitter

* all my boys get HOME haircuts all the time

* turn off water while brushing teeth

***And MOST Importantly***

*Get all the FREE stuff I can get that my family

will actually use, ...cuz it's FREE!

What do you do that's not on the list? I'd love to

do more to stretch pennies....Help me, please?

Lovin' VONS this week

this is the second and third time I did these deals...
some Cereals-coco puffs, lucky charms and honey
nut cheerios are 4/6$ with vons Coupon- added
my own 1$ off/3 from 5/31 Paper making them
4/5$
Nature Valley Granola 4/6$ with vons coupon
used 2 .75ent off coupons from 5/31 paper
totalling 4/4.25$
also 3rd time for Pepsi/doritos Deal
buy 1 doritos at 2.99 get 2 20oz Pepsi for FREE
+ 1$ off. no coupon necessary. just swipe your
vons card.
all this for 9.45
love it.
gonna go do it again later...
go grab your goodies, before they're GONE

****SIDE NOTE****
you gotta try these new doritos.
LATE NIGHT TACOS
they are SOOO good.
Tastes like you're eating
yummy taco salad all wrapped
up in ONE chip...

only WHILE SUPPLIES LAST...means...

there are NO RAINCHECKS...When they run out
they run out!
So RUN OUT, now, to your local Albertsons...
Here's what you can get...I did it twice in the
same transaction with no questions, or problems...
Buy 1 5pk of Macaroni and Cheese-
they are BOGO this week...
on the side of the package you will find a
coupon for a FREE pkg of Caprisun SUNRISE...
which is a new YUMMY product.
so for the price of ONE Mac and cheese pack-
my store price was 6.29
I got 1 pack of mac n cheese FREE
and 2 Caprisun sunrise-FREE
doing it twice my total for the pic above was
12.58
for 20 boxes and 4 drinks...
sounds like I rambled a little.
Go, RUN! go get YOU some...
good luck...while supplies last only!
***and, a 2$ Catalina printed out
so I can use it on my next order of any
amount at Albertsons...

BREAD STORE Deals

I just love my bread store. I've blogged about
it before, so I'm not gonna go on and on about
it, but I did great.
34 items for 41.xx
8 english muffins
3 Thomas' bagels
4 sandwich thins- new to me, so excited to try
5 fajita sized tortillas
1 Orowheat bun
10 country white Orowheat loaves
1 country Potato loaf
1 donut-entenmanns
and 1 dumb candy
pretty good.
and I shouldn't need to go til almost July now...
woohoo

a little organizing bug

This is the before picture...

this is the AFTER pic of my downstairs bathroom.

I have to say that I caught a little organizing bug

from my friend, Jenn. she's doing some

EXTREME re-organizing at her house...every

closet, every room, pantry, every space.

I'm just trying to do ONE space a week.

so here's my first attempt.

Thanks for the KICK in the pants, Jenn!

More room for Stockpiling! YAY!

AHHHHH...I need a good deal....

on trash bags. i've been waiting to
see something amazing...i guess I'll
break down and pick up a HUGE box
at Sams tomorrow, that'll last me forever.
My recyclables are piling up in my
kitchen, and if you saw what little space
I have in my kitchen, you'd really
FEEL for me. I have some great Glad
coupons, b3g1FREE, just wanted them to
be on sale.
Happy Earth days, and deal days! to you!

Target STEALS...or deals, whichever way you look at it.

1 box ritz-2.54
used 2 Qs- $1manu and 1$ target=.54
1 ceral bars 1.99
2 easy macs .77 each- 1$ Q=.27 each
3 bliss bars .99each -3 1$target Qs= FREE
1 string cheese .40
6 Kraft shredded cheese 1.99 each=1$ each
used (3)1$/2 manu and
(3) target 1$/2 target Qs
total with tax....drumroll...please....
9.53
I think I did good! happy monday everyone.

Sunday coupons

why am I not excited for the coupons today?
I think it might be all of those amazing coupons
we printed last week from Kraft. They were
great...nothing GRABBED my interest like those
ones, except the hillshire farms deli meat 1$ off
coupon in my LATIMES parade.
Hope you all found something you like A LOT
this week.
Still, there are some good deals. I'll share them
with you soon.

Something new to try...and a deal at the same time?

Click here to learn more about the

Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry sheets

and sign up for the contest.

I'm very interested. It's a bricks coupon,

so make sure you print it twice.

Uber cheap Poptarts

heads' up, my friends.
Uber cheap Pop tarts, and the big
packs, at that.
1$ for 12pks of Poptarts at Walmart
only flavors at my store were Gingerbread
and Brown sugar cinnamon with frosting.
Use your 4/5 RP Poptart Q 1$/2-
making them .50cents a box.
sweet deal.
also Nestle hot choc mix was 1$.
good luck to you.

Albertsons Medicine Deal-1 more time!

1st TRANSACTION
today's the last day, i think.
spend 30 in participating products,
recieve a 10$ catalina off your next
purchase.
3 band-aids 2.50 each- (3)1$ off q
3 Neos 4.49 each-(3) 1$ off q
1 Zyrtec 12.95 (mad I forgot q)
total 30.89
(I have a flex pay card, so I don't
count this as OOP expense, since it already
comes out of our paycheck, pre-taxed)
recieved 10$ catalina

2nd TRANSACTION
1 head Romaine-turtle-1.69 OUCH
1 Nutrigrain-2.79
5 Pop tarts 1.79
1 Pop tarts-orange cream-1.99
minus (3) pop tart qs 1$/2
1 alta dena choc milk- not shown-.79
total=
13.21
minus 10$ catalina=
3.21 OOP woohoo. now we got POP TARTS!

my first stop-CVS-So Cal has no ECBs for
awhile...but I was still able to get some
SWEET deal...check it out.
6 12pks of Coke 3/8
2 Sara Lee Bagels 2/4
2 Milks 2.29 each
4 Kraft BBQs 99 each
2 planters honey roasted 2/5
1 snack size ritz bits 99-kids
1 oreo cakester-kids
1 pk of 99cent gum-kids
coupons used
6 1$ off coke coupons- no longer avail
4 1$ off Kraft BBQ- making them FREE
2 1$ off Planters peanuts making them 2/3
used a 5/25$ also...total with CRVs and Tax
25.92

UPDATE- I found it! read on!
2nd stop-Ralphs...now I made a fatal mistake
today. I accidentally threw away my Ralphs rewards
coupon of 10$...so I'm ready to call the hotline, to see
if they'll replace it for me. I threw it away while at CVS,
and there's no way i'm digging through the trash can there.
it's one of those enclosed ones, in the box with the lid 1 foot up,
cement, you know? so no chicken for me today...
1 Sun Detergent 1.88
10 pks Koolaid-blurry sorry-1.00
coupons used
.50 detergent-doubled to 1$
.55 kool aid- recieved from rewards packet-doubled to 1$
total was .96 cents.
woohoo
I need more detergent, but only had one of these coupons.
hoping WISK will go on sale soon, with all those printable
coupons.
Go check my side bar to print some of the great coupons.
That's where I got my Kraft BBQ coupon from.
Good luck

do you like AMAZING coupons?

go to my red side bar to print some
REALLY amazing Kraft coupons.
remember you can print them twice,
then go to kraftfoods.com to print them
again, twice. good luck.

examples:
1$ off Kraft mayo
1$ off Triscuits
1$ off Ritz Bits
1$ off Grey Poupon
1$ off Kraft BBQ sauce---this goes on sale all
the time for 10/10...just watch for the deals.

I love getting deals---with my FLEX card

Albertson's has a great deal for medicine.
spend 30$ on participating items, earn a 10$
catalina on your next purchase.
I had coupons for all tylonels and the motrin.
total was 38.xx

I turned around and used the 10$Cat right away.
Bought 2 4pk TP
1 Lg. Poptart
1 Quaker Chewy granola bars
1 nutrigrain box
1 box Capri Suns
paid 3.21 OOP, so basically I got everything in
this picture for free.
THE BONUS- My Flex pay account is money
I don't ever feel. It is an medical spending acct
set up thru hubby's work. They pull out the
pre-determined amount (we chose) every paycheck-and
it's all PRE-TAX dollars...woohoo.
We use this flex acct for co-pays, prescriptions and
over the counter meds and first aid kits, etc.
So convienient, never have to worry if there's money in
that account...
it's taken me a long time to realize that i can use this
card to EARN deals. (FREE money for groceries...works
for me.) thanks for reading...

Sweet treat

I am really sick of making these muffins twice
a week, so I made a double batch today. :)
so easy.
My kids looove these. My 6 yo takes 1-2 in his
lunch instead of a traditional sandwich.
ah-ha moment. I should make some sort of muffin/
quiche that can be taken in a lunch bag with
more traditional lunch items in it..like cheese and ham?
I wonder if that would work? gonna check into that.
any way- these are
Banana muffins, I add 1/4 bag choc chips per
batch so the kids will eat them. They are so
tasty.
give it a try. Delicious, quick, easy breakfast
on the go, too.

Yummy Salsa Chicken and Bean Soup

Picture is weird. don't know why the corn never
sank to the bottom of the pot.
The greatest thing about this recipe is there is
NO chopping and dicing. FABULOUS.

The problem was, I acted like a complete idiot,
using my thumb to pull the lid of a can up, and I
cut myself. It doesn't look bad in the pic, but MAN!
did it hurt.
Go check out CROCKPOT 365. She's amazing.
you're sure to find some fabulous and NOT dangerous
recipes there.
P.S. My hubby and I looooved this soup.

No ECB deals at SoCal CVS this month!

I didn't even notice this. so THANK YOU to

A Dollar Here, a Dollar There for the 411. Go check

out her blog to find out more.

So, if you have ECBs, go spend them. We can't be

roll them this month, I guess.

But keep clipping your coupons. There are still

so many great deals out there this week.

I've been to:

Albertsons-twice

Vons-twice

Ralphs

and Stater Bros.

only thing I didn't get on sale was

frozen chicken breasts/tenders.

Maybe Wednesday there will be

better deals for that.

My GO-TO Dinner

When I'm in a pinch for time, this is
my family's go to dinner. My kids
LOOOOVE this one. I think I have
6 of this flavor, and like 10 of the
other flavors. But, THIS one is thier
favorite.
I added a green salad and for my hubby
and I, we put the mix into tortillas.
(A little more filling, and leaves more
helpings for my kiddos.) Did I say how much
they looooove this? I usually serve
raw carrots and ranch, too, but forgot
last night.
It's definately not the most healthful meal,
with 320 calories per serving and 29% sodium,
but it's not terrible.
Thanks Betty Crocker! for giving me an easy
out on crazy days, for being tasty, and not too
expensive. This meal cost me about 2.75 total.
SIDE NOTE:
When on sale at WALMART for .75 cents
you can usually get them for .50cents a box.
That's STOCKPILE time in my Price Point BOOK.
Go HERE to see the current Betty Crocker Coupons.

So there you have it, my cheap and easy
meal.
Now you know ALL my secrets. ;)

SWEET deals at VONS/Safeway

Do any of you get those great big
SAVINGS postcards sent right to your home
mailbox, like I do?
Here is my list-
3 capn crunch 3/5$
1 Capri Sun 1.99
1 Scrubbing bubbles 2Q
4 Sierra Mist- 2 were free thanks to this printable
4 Diet Cherry Pepsis .99 each
4 boxes pasta 4/5$
4 rice a ronis .75 each
1 mission tortilla chips .88 w/Q
1 FREE sloppy joe can
1 FREE 24 oz Salsa
1 FREE French Bread
2 cans Mandarin oranges .79 each
1 Pineapple Apricot preserves 2.99
(only Jam my boys will eat. that's what happens
when you live with Grandpa when you're a baby:))
1 FREE whole cooked chicken
2.56 lbs bananas 1.25
2 Sara Lee bagels 2/5$
2 sandwich bags 2/4$
1 Cream cheese 2.19
2 orville red. popcorn BOGO + coupon 2.50?
1 Hamburger buns .39
4 Mission tortillas 1.25 each
4 lbs of Mexican cheese 2.50/lb
2 Fresh Express Salads .90 each
3 lbs yellow onion 1.69 w/Q
3lbs of hamb 2.97
4lbs hamb 6.06-3$ Q
tub of ICE Cream 5.59
used 2 10$ off coupons
total 57.03
saved 102.00
wowzers.

Wanna win a GR8 Giveaway from All Things Frugal 4 U

I love this girl and her blog. I go there very regularly, like everyday.
She saves so much money, and has given me some great ideas and ways
to keep more money in my pocket...She has a UBER cute giveaway this
week, finishing on Saturday morning. So go take a peek HERE. You have 4 easy
ways to WIN!

FREE CHICKEN at El Pollo Loco Tomorrow 4/28

You can bet I'll be here with my hubby and 2yo tomorrow for lunch.
All we'll have to buy is drinks and 1 side to share. YUM.
go check it out. Who doesn't like FREE CHICKEN?

Ralphs SWEET deals for 4/22-4/28

There are a lot of SWEET deals this week at
Ralphs. I had my 2YO and only wanted to go
in to get FREE butter this AM, so this is what I
grabbed.
5 goldfish- 99cents each
5 challenge butter-1$ each used 2 .50 cent Qs doubled.
also used 1 .50 cent coupon and 2 .55 cent coupons=
total was 6.40
Go check out CouponMom for the full list.
Just go to the sidebar and click Grocery deals by
state...and it'll list it all for you...

Check out this cool site...

On the Rachael Ray show today, this cute girl was talking about how she cut back on her grocery bill for her family by 50% because of the economy. She talked about couponing and how she saves money. She also has a list of over 200 meals for 5$ or less. So, go check her out.
5 Dollar Dinners

CAN YOU DIG IT?

.04 cents at RALPHS.
1 4pk of Angel Soft 1.00
4 Quaker quakes .99 each
used 1 .50 cent q for TP- doubled
used 4 quaker 1.00 off q
making the total .04 cents.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
IS IT SWEET?
We've been a little tighter than usual
lately, so i haven't been shopping much.
But, I had to go out and get my
FREEBIES today, before the sale ends.
Maybe more freebies tomorrow?

for you to do this you gotta be buying
your sunday newspapers. Don't forget.
I forgot to go out and get some extras
this week, and I'm so bummed.
I could've had 3 more FREE TPs in this
picture.
What are you doing to stretch your dollars
lately?

Take a look at your local TARGET

some Target findings...

Did you get your free bag today? It's only for today 4/19 Check it out here

I got mine...

while at the check out today, I noticed GUM on clearance. STRIDE and Trident, yummy flavors, for .74cents a pack. Use your $2/3 Coupon and get three packs for .24 cents each. I, unfortunatly, already used all of mine...the Mandarin Stride is REALLY good. just a heads up.

also, Lays Stax were 1$, which is a normal price point, just hadn't seen them that low in a while, so I picked up a few.

on another Target note, I bought the Target brand pop tarts today, and the kids like them just the same as the Kellogs brand. so I saved .78 cents just by buying a store brand today. since there weren't any pop tart coupons to use...

A New EASTER sweet

While I made dinner, my 2 oldest
made a GREAT attempt at tomorrows Sweet Treat.

daughter did white chocolate, son did the M&Ms
we melted white choc chips and spooned them onto
the pretzels, cuz by the time we made it to the
cake supply store, they were closed. so, we
IMPROVISED, and I think it's totally gonna work.

The finished product.
Thanks to Polk-a-dot Apron's blog.
Love this blog. They share so many cute
ideas to do with your family. This definetly
killed some time while I made dinner,
then after dinner we had the rest the night
to color eggs.

Entenmann's Outlet update

How do you think I did?
4 loaves sandwich bread country white
9 loaves of NICE bread Buttermilk
9 pkg Eng. Muffins- assorted
3 pkg French rolls
1 honey bear
1 pkg whole wheat pita bread
1 choc cake
1 pop 'ems donuts
2 small chocolates for kiddos
Total cost 39.xx
31 items...wow! better than I thought.
that works out to like 1.25 each item. WOWZERS!
really, go check out to see if you have an
outlet near you. for all you so cal peeps...mine
is in Temecula off of Murrieta Hot Springs on the
15. Wednesday and Sunday are double stamp days.
Notice it is not Wednesday...we went a day early
in case it rains buckets tomorrow. so we didn't
get all our stamps, but you know, some days it works
and some days it doesn't.
Gotta go with the flow, you know?