Thursday, January 31, 2013

Great Deal on Pepsi at Food Saver This Week!

Food Saver has Pepsi 12 packs for 4 for $9.00 (plus 10%).  You have to purchase in groups of 4.  Here is a scenario:

12 12-packs, 2.25 (2.47)
-(4) $1/3 Pepsi 12-packs - foodlionparties.com (manufacturer coupon)
Final Price: 1.92 (2.11) per 12-pack

Note:  You will have to download the Food Lion coupon printer.  I was able to print 4 on one computer.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Shopping This Week, Saving Over 90%!

It was fun shopping this week!

Kroger:

 OOP: $6.36 (Saving 92%)

Buy 10 Items Get $5 Off (Price after discount):

4 Hefty Bags, .99
-(2) $1/2 MF Qs
Final Price: .49 ea

9 Green Giant Corn, .39 ea

7 Good & Natural Health Bars, .39 ea
-(7) Free MF Qs
Final Price: Free+

4 Rotel Tomatoes, .49
-(2) .40/2 MF Qs, doubled
Final Price: .09 ea

6 Hungry Jack Hashbrown Potatoes, 1.14
-(6) .50/1 Hungry Jack Premium Hasbrown Potatoes, SS 1/06, doubled
Final Price: .14 ea

NON-Mega Event Items:

10 Swanson Broth, on sale .25 ea
-(2) $1/2 IP Qs
-(2) $1/3 IP Qs
Final Price: Free

Soft Soap, .88
-.35/1 MF Q
Final Price: .18

Kroger Ice Cream, on sale 1.29
-.40/1 Store Coupon from home mailer
Final Price: .89

Cheerios Honey Nut Cereal, 1.99
-$1/1 Peelie MF Q
Final Price: .99

Total before sales/coupons: 67.25
Sales: 40.36
Coupons:  20.54
OOP: $6.36 (Saving 92%)


Publix:

OOP: .84 (Saving 96%)

4 Colgate Toothbrushes, 1.79 (Colgate/Palmolive Promotion Item)
-$.50/1 MF Q, doubled
-(3) .75/1 MF Q
Final Price: .98 ea

Lady Speed Stick. 1.99 (Colgate/Palmolive Promotion Item)
-1/1 MF Q
Final Price: .99

6 Lean 15 Health Bars, .99
-$1/1 MF Q
Final Price: Free

Total before sales/coupons: 23.98
Sales: 2.64
Coupons: 15.50
OOP: 5.84 (actually .84 as I paid with $5 gift card and received $5 gift card for Colgate/Palmolive Promotion, Saving 96%)


Harris Teeter:
Wednesdays are Super Double Coupon Days for my store.

OOP: $5.05 (saving 93%)
6 Hunts Spaghetti Sauce, 1.00
-(4) $1/2 MF Q blinkies, doubled
- $1.20 for Conagra Promotion
Final Price: Free+

4 Rosarita Refried Beans, 1.00
-(2) .55/2 MF Qs, doubled
-.80 for Conagra Promotion
Final Price:  .25 ea

3 Planters Peanut Butter, 2.50
-(3) $1/1 MF Qs, doubled
Final Price: .50 ea

2 French's Worcester Sauce, 1.00
-(2) .40/1 MF Q, doubled
Final Price: .20 ea

2 French Mustards, .99
-(2) .50/1 MF Qs, doubled
Final Price: Free

2 Campbells Healthy Soup, 1.39
-$1/2 IP Q, doubled
-(2) .75/1 ZVR qs
Final Price: Free+

Campbell's Skillet Sauce, 2.00
-$1/1 MF Q, doubled
-.75/1 ZVR
Final Price: Free+

2 Bic Pens, .97
-$1/2 IP Q, doubled
Final Price: Free

Carmax, .99
-.50/1 IP Q, doubled
Final Price: Free

6 Met RX Health Bars, 2.29
-(3) $2/2 MF Qs, doubled
Final Price: .29 ea

Land O Frost Sub Kit, 7.29
-$5/1 Harris Teeter Q
-$1/1 MF Q, doubled
Final Price: .29

Total before sales/coupons: 71.70
Coupons/Sales: 66.65
OOP: $5.05 (saving 93%)

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Foraging Juniper Berries!

I coupon.  I garden.  I was content with that in my pursuit of food.  That was, until last summer when I discovered crab apples!  Suddenly a whole world of potential local, super healthy food opened up.  Not only that but it has become a treasure hunt!  First, let me tell you, I was not big into nature in school.  I dreaded collecting leaves to identify trees.  I found it a totally miserable experience.  What was the point?

Fast forward to now and I am hitting the local book store for plant identifying books and Amazon for the best foraging advice.  I read stories of people talking about their grandmas teaching them about the best wild usable plants and am jealous as I never had such an opportunity.  I am visiting local parks for exercise and to study the plants.  So far I have found Paw-paw trees, wild blackberries, black walnuts, honeysuckle bushes, a variety of Oak trees with acorns, and crab apples.  I have discovered the world or weeds and how many of them are more nutritious than what you can find in the grocery store.  Really, what is a weed?  It is merely a plant that is currently out of favor with the population.  I find it amazing that there is so much abundance around us and so few people know about it. 

Yesterday, I visited Winstead Hill Park in Franklin, TN.  It is a rocky hill that over looks the area where the Battle of Franklin took place during the civil war.  There are numerous monuments to fallen Confederate generals.  It's a small park and I had been meaning to stop there for some time just to see it.  I climbed the stairs and as I was reading the monuments I glanced around and discovered that numerous beautiful evergreen trees were laden with tiny blue berries.  I knew instantly that these were Junipers from my reading.  I tasted one of the berries (I've read that you can taste but don't swallow anything that you are not 100% sure about).  The berry tasted slightly sweet with a distinct Gin flavor and a slight crunch.  So I took a handful of berries, a couple of small branches and several pictures of the trees to research.

Thus, I spent my afternoon reading about Junipers.  As you may know, Junipers are what gives the popular alcoholic beverage Gin it's flavor.  There are over 50 varieties of Juniper.  It is most often found as a shrub but can be a tree as in this case.  Junipers can have either pointy sharp branches or braided-like scale branches.  The berries are actually cones of the female tree and can come in different colors but most often blue.  I will call them berries for simplicity's sake.  My find was over 20 feet tall with braided-like scale branches and small blue dusty berries.  The white dust on the berries is actually yeast and can be used to make a yeast starter for bread.

The type of Juniper most often used to flavor Gin is the Juniperus communis or the Common Juniper.  It is usually found as a low spreading shrub and has needle-like leaves.  This was definitely not the trees I found.  So I was looking for a Juniper tree that grew naturally (not an unusual variety intentionally transplanted).  It also had to thrive on rocky hills.  I narrowed down the possibilities to Juniperus scopulorum (aka Rocky Mountain Cedar) or Juniperus virginiana (aka Eastern Red Cedar), two common Junipers found in the southeast United States.  Both are edible, but after closely studying the photos of the two, I believe the trees I found are Juniperus virginiana.  Go HERE for more descriptions of types of both of these trees.

There is one variety of Juniper that I found mentioned which is toxic.  It is the Juniper sabina.  It is a low-growing shrub and also known as a stink bush as it emits a rank odor when leaves are crushed.  The trees I found are not of this variety, but you should certainly confirm any that you find are not as well.

Juniper berries are considered a seasoning and a little goes a long way. It has a sharp clean flavor and goes well with meat, particularly wild game. It is also often found in many European dishes and was once used to flavor their beer. Cabbage and potatoes are also frequently seasoned with Juniper. It was used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and native Americans for it's medicinal qualities. It has been known to treat numerous diseases such as indigestion, gout, urinary tract and bladder infections and inflammations, sore throat, and colds. It has diuretic and antiseptic qualities. It contains high natural insulin and is used as a topical medicine for skin problems such as acne and warts. It has also historically been used in traditional herbal medicine to stimulate menstruation and childbirth. Pregnant women should avoid it.

You can freeze them or dry them but the berries lose flavor the longer they are from harvest. Here is the recipe that I used which turned out great:


Cranberry and Juniper Glazed Pork
Ingredients:

1 boneless leg of pork
4 tbsp cranberry sauce
1 tbsp juniper berries, crushed
1 tbsp port
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sprigs of fresh parsley and sage to garnish

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.

2. Roast the pork following the instructions on the pack.

3. Meanwhile, mix together the cranberry sauce, juniper berries, port and seasoning, to taste.

4. Around 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, spoon half the glaze over the pork joint, return the meat to the oven and continue to roast for the remainder of the cooking time.

5. Transfer the pork to a warmed serving plate. Stir any meat juices into the remaining glaze, heat through and pour over the pork just before serving.

6. Garnish with sprigs of parsley and sage.


Here are other recipes that may be worth a try:  

Cabbage Soup with Juniper & Beef 

Juniper Pickled Onions

Juniper Berry Brine for Turkey

Apple and Juniper Berry Sauerkraut

Garlic Potatoes with Juniper Berries

Cranberry-Pear Chutney with Juniper Berries


Juniper Salmon (uses the branches not the berries)

Note:  I am no expert...yet.  You should do your own research on plants that I suggest.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Shopping this week!

There are some great deals this week, especially if you have to pack lunches for kids!

Publix:


5 Dole Fruit Cups, 2.25 BOGO
-(1) .50/1 Dole fruit bowls or All Natural fruit in plastic jars printable
-(2) .50/1 Dole fruit bowls printable
-(2) .50/1 Dole fruit bowl, fruit in gel, fruit parfait or fruit crisp printable
Final Price: .12 ea

2 Rudi's Bread, 3.99 BOGO (found in the freezer bread section)   
-(2) $2 off Rudi’s gluten-free breads printable
Final Price: Free

Total before sales/coupons:   $19.73
Sales: 9.58
Coupons: 9.00
OOP: $1.15 (Saving 94%)


Harris Teeter:

I shop at H.T. on Wednesdays now as my H.T. has Super Doubles every Wednesday indefinitely. I really hope it continues!



 2 Dixie 2 lb Sugar, 2.19 
-(2) .75/1 IP Qs, doubled
Final Price: .69 ea

6 Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce, 1.39
-(3) $1/2 MF Q blinkies from Publix (found this week), doubled
Final Price: .39 ea

Quaker Yogurt Bars, 2.39
-(3) $1/1 MF Qs - loose coupons found at Publix, doubled
Final Price: .39 ea

Ocean Spray Grapefruit Juice, 2.50
-$2/1 Grapefruit IP Q NLA, doubled
Final Price: Free+

Bag of Grapefruit, on sale 1.49
-$2/1 Grapefruit IP Q NLA, doubled
Final Price: Free+

10 Campbell's Soup, $1 ea
-(2) $1/5 IP Qs, doubled
-.40 ZVR Q
Final Price: .56 ea

Mario Olives, 2.29 BOGO
-.30/1 IP Q, doubled
Final Price: .55

6 Met RX Bars, 2.29 ea
-(3) $2/2 MF Qs, doubled
Final Price: .29 ea

2 Yo Crunch Yogurt Packs, 2.50 ea
-$1.50/2 IP Q, doubled
Final Price: 1.00 ea

2 Sambazon Protein Drinks, 2.99 ea
-1.50/1 IP Q, doubled
-1/1 MF Q handtag, doubled,
Final Price: .49 ea

Total before sales/coupons:  70.48
Sales/coupons: 57.28
OOP: $13.20 (saving 81%)



 Kroger:
 5 Colgate Toothpaste, $1 ea
-(5) .50/1 peelie coupons, doubled
Final Price: Free

3 Suave Deodorants, .88
-(3) .50/1 IP Qs, doubled
Final Price: Free+

4 Hunt's Pasta Sauce, $1.00 ea
-.50 eCoupon
-$1/2 MF Q blinkie
Final Price: .63 ea

2 Red Gold Tomato 10 oz, .79
-$1/2 MF Q blinkie (at store this trip)
Final Price: .29 ea

Kroger Dried Black Eye Peas, 1.00

Total before sales/coupons: 21.28
Savings: 14.00
OOP: 7.28 (saving 69%)


Food Saver Cost Plus:
Now is a great time to stock up on Pork Roasts!

3 Boston Butt Pork Roasts, .99 per lb (about 13 lbs total)
Final Price: Average 4.27 ea + 10%

OOP: $15.15



Saturday, January 12, 2013

Link Love: Generic Prescription Drug Programs List

Did you know Walmart is not the only store that has cheap generic drugs now? Numerous other stores like Target is getting into the spirit of providing cheap drugs to get you into their stores!  I am taking my dog to the vet today and knowing they will want to push the expensive in house drugs for him, I am taking the lists of cheap drugs and will have the vet look it over to see if one will work.  Check out the post HERE for some links to other stores' programs.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Harris Teeter Super Doubles Trip 1/2/13

Here is the first day of Harris Teeter Doubles.  This may give you some ideas on shopping for the next week!

2 Special K Cereal, 1.97 eVic price
-(2) .70/1 IP coupons - printable, doubled
Final Price: .57 ea

2 Kikkoman Soy Sauce, 1.49
-(2) .75/1 IP Qs - printable, doubled
Final Price: Free

2 Snackwell Pretzel 100 Cal Packs, 1.67
-(2) $1/1 IP Qs from Facebook - printable, doubled
Final Price: Free

2 Dreamfields Pasta, 2.69
-(2) $1/1 IP Qs - printable, doubled
Final Price: .69 ea

4 Pillsbury Holiday Cookies, on sale 1.67
-(2) 1.10/2 IP Qs, doubled
-$1 HT ZVR Q
Final Price: .32 ea

2 Smart Balance Butter Sticks, 2.69 BOGO
-(2) .75/1 IP Qs - printable, doubled
Final Price: Free

2 International Delight Creamer, 2.99
-(2) .55/1 IP Qs, doubled
Final Price: 1.89 ea

2 Wholly Salsa, 2.49
-(2) $1/1 MF Qs, doubled
Final Price: .49 ea

2 Simply Pure Milk, 2.50
-(2) $1/1 IP Qs - printable, doubled
Final Price: .50 ea

Listerine, 4.99
-$2/1 IP Q - printable, doubled
Final Price: .99

South Beach Cereal Bars, 3.29
-$2/1 IP Q, doubled
Final Price: Free

Total before sales/coupons:  65.72
Sales: 14.58
Coupons: 42.07
OOP: 9.07 (saving 86 percent!)

I had a newbie cashier who was struggling with the coupons so midway through checkout a manager helped her.  They had to hand input a number of them so I think this may have caused some overage to occur.  I expected the total to be slightly higher.



Great Deal on Pork Roasts at Food Saver This Week!

With the food prices about to rise dramatically due to the draught out West, you may want to stock up on this great deal.  Food Saver has po...