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Saturday, June 30, 2012

2 Pizza's for under $9.00...

Pizza is a weekly event around our house...and because of that, I had to learn to make pizza for cheap.  Thanks to Winco...I can make one thin crust pizza (my hubby's favorite) AND one thick crust pizza (my favorite youngest daughter's favorite) for a total of $8.52.  This is enough pizza to stuff ourselves silly for dinner and have some for lunch the next day...unless your favorite youngest daughter and her friend raid the fridge for a midnight snack; then what's left is quickly grabbed by the hubby for his lunch leaving me without one bite of leftover pizza.  Doesn't seem fair does it?  Next time I make it, I am hiding the leftovers deep, deep, deep in the fridge and am eating every single bite myself!


I drizzle olive oil on the bottom of each pan and then add the dough.  I then pre-bake them for about 10 minutes in a preheated 425-450 degree oven.  I find that by baking the dough off for a bit...the crust is much firmer and doesn't get soggy from the toppings.


Next up ~ I used some Ragu pasta sauce that I stocked up on when it was 49 cents a jar.  Then came some shredded cheese and pepperoni.  On the thin crust I added some red onions and olives as well. 


All baked and ready to eat...so yummy!


Cost Breakdown:

Dough (Winco) ~ $1.48 each (I used two)
Cheese ~ $3.00
Pepperoni (Winco) ~ $1.28
Olives (Winco) ~ 78 cents
Onion ~ 25 cents
Ragu Sauce ~ 25 cents (I used 1/2 a jar which cost 49 cents)

Total for both pizza's ~ $8.52.

Monday, June 25, 2012

I didn't wanna do it...

I didn't wanna do it...I didn't want to go couponing on my lunch break. Somedays are like that...it's a Monday, I am tired from a busy weekend and I just wanted to go to the break room and read for awhile. Thankfully, I made myself go to Albertsons today to take advantage of their double coupon deal...I did good!

Here's what I got...



Retail  ~  $88.90.  Paid ~ $16.31...an 81% savings. Not to bad!!!


My best Albertsons deal?



These razors normally cost $9.59 a package...which is crazy expensive. Albertsons has them on sale ~ buy 1 get 1 free.  PLUS I had a coupon for buy 1 get 1 free.  SO...these cost me $1.76 TOTAL which was actually the state sales tax. I got about $40.00 worth of razors for FREE. No to bad!


As I was strolling around Albertsons, I saw this sweet deal as well...



Poise is now making a panty liner. Even better, there was a coupon on this package to "try it free". I took that nice little "peelie" off of the package, handed it to the cashier and I got this for free. I saved myself $2.99.  I plan on picking up a few more of these.


After Albertsons I headed to Rite Aid...


What is it about getting into your 40's and having heartburn/acid reflux all of sudden? I know if I would quit eating carbs and dairy at night I would probably not be battling the acid but since I can't seem to stop doing that...I take Zantac.  Zantac is expensive.  Normally a package cost $10.79 at Rite Aid but today I was able to get it for 99 cents a package. How? They were on sale for $7.99, I had a $5.00 coupon and I received a $2.00 "UP" coupon for each box I bought.  I cannot use the "UP" coupon until tomorrow but it is still "free" money for a future purchase.

Retail ~ $58.42.  Paid ~ $21.64...plus I earned $10.00 in "UP" coupons. Tomorrow I will be going back to get this same deal but it will only cost $11.64 because I will use my "UP" coupons.


I am so glad I took a lunch break and did some couponing...I went back to work with a pretty great attitude.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

Okay...I am going to say it.  It is beginning to look a lot like...Christmas!  Our weather the past two weekends has been so cold, gray and rainy that I feel like I am "hunkering" down for winter.  I am crafting, baking and gaining weight...like a big ol' bear that is getting ready for hibernation!  I hear sun is enroute and that by Friday we will hit 80 degrees.  It if doesn't, I may be going after the weather man at King5 News!

Here's what I have been up to this week:


On Friday it was our last day of school here in Lake Stevens.  My favorite youngest daughter decided to have a party...for four hours my house contained SEVENTEEN 14 year olds...yikes.  To make matters worst ~ it poured so those kids were unable to go outside and cook smores.  My little smore basket looked so cute...but it was all for naught!  My hubby was the hero of the night.  He braved the pouring rain to bbq burgers and hotdogs for the kids.  He was soaked!  Oh, the things we do for our kids.


Next up:


I started a quilt.  My favorite oldest daughter's best friend (Jenna) is getting married.  Years ago Jenna asked if I would make her a quilt when she got married...and I said yes.  My little Jenna never forgot and right after she told me she was getting married...she asked if she was getting a quilt for her wedding.  I am not a good quilter but I enjoy trying.  The only quilt I know how to make is a "Log Cabin in a Day" pattern...so that is what she is getting.  I am crossing my fingers that it works...I seem to pick funky patterns and then pray it all comes together.  I am still praying about this one!


Finally...weeds or flowers?




The debate between my hubby and I is on.  My front yard flower garden started growing a large amount of these...things.  I have argued that they are flowers though I do not remember throwing any seeds in the ground...but I do have a habit of throwing things into the yard to see what happens. My hubby says they are weeds.  Today I saw flower buds...but it could be a fancy weed.  Regardless, I am pulling them out because they are overtaking all the other plants and flowers and they are not contributing much in the way of prettiness.



**Today Albertsons has double coupons in the Sunday paper.



Sunday, June 17, 2012

Father's Day means Cinnamon Rolls

It's Father's Day and that means homemade cinnamon rolls.  Back in the old days, when they still offered Home Ec in high school...my teacher taught us how to make these super yummy cinnamon rolls.  What I love about these is that they can be made...from beginning to end...in about an hour.  You don't have to let the dough raise a couple of time for a couple of hours...you just mix, wait, roll and bake.  This recipe is a family favorite and always makes my hubby and kiddies very happy.


I like to roll out my dough really thin so I can have lot's of
layers of cinnamony sugary goodness.



I topped the dough with a cube of butter and a cube of margarine and added brown sugar by the handful until it was covered and then sprinkled cinnamon over all.  I like the unsalted butter and margarine combination because when these are done cooking the bottom of the cinnamon roll is crispy with a salty sweet crunch...so delish!



All rolled up, sliced and ready to go into the oven...in 20 minutes they will be done!



Fresh out of the oven and topped with a quick cream cheese frosting I whipped up. 



Cinnamon Rolls

1¾ cups very warm water (approx. 110°)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs ~ beaten
3 T yeast
5¼ cups flour (okay to use up to 2 cups of wheat flour)
1 tsp. salt
1 t. vanilla

Combine warm water, oil, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and stir until just blended.  Cover with a light towel and let rest for 15 minutes.  Add beaten eggs, flour, salt and vanilla.  Mix until the dough forms a ball, if the dough remains sticky; keep adding flour slowly until the dough stiffens up into a ball.  Knead until smooth.  Roll out dough to a thin rectangle on a floured surface.  Spread dough with one cube of butter and one cube of margarine (or any combination you may desire); top with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up and slice into 12 sections.  Place into a greased pan and let sit for 10 minutes.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until light brown.  Top with a frosting of your choice if desired.

**NOTE:  I must have been half asleep when I made these this morning because I forgot to add the 2 beaten eggs.  They tasted fine and I couldn't tell a difference.  Also, I don't knead these by hand anymore...that's what I have a Kitchen Aid for. 

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Still Trying to Get Into the Coupon Groove

This week I struggled, AGAIN, to focus on couponing...I don't even want to grocery shop.  What is wrong with me?  I did manage to make myself go, and I am glad I did!

Safeway had a great deal on some ice cream bars:


These are de bomb...but so expensive that I wouldn't buy these normally.  Full price is $4.49, on sale for $3.49 but if you buy 3 boxes...you get an additional $3.00 off.  The price is now down to $2.49 each BUT I had three coupons for $2.00 each.  These cost me 49 cents a box.  They tasted really good!


Through Amazon.com I was able to get a good price on some dishwasher soap:


Buy utilizing a sale, "clipping" an online coupon and using a $5.00 gift card I earned from www.swagbucks.com I got 60 dishwasher tabs for $5.23.  Not too bad!


Today I SCORED at Albertsons!  I was able to get $105.87 worth of groceries for only $22.25


In this picture is 5# of ground beef (85/15%), 4 bags of chips, 1 20ct single packages of chips, 6 Ken's Dressings, 2 gallons of ice cream, napa cabbage, 2 cantaloupe, 1 jalapeno pepper, 4 sour creams, 2 cream cheeses and 2 gallons of milk....all for $22.25.  I was able to save 79 percent by utilizing sales and using several coupons that I had earned.  Albertsons is back to being my favorite store. :) 

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Damn Dogs

Two yorkies...they are on my naughty list!















Not only did they do a bunch of digging in my garden bed...they then walked throughout the entire house dumping my garden dirt along the way.  I am still not speaking to them.






Couponing Update

I took advantage of the Safeway's $5.00 Friday specials.  They had 3# packages of turkey for $5.00...I got 9#'s of turkey for $15.00...not too bad!


Lucerne eggs were on sale for 99 cents a dozen, Lucerne cheese was $5.00 and I bought some Lucerne Cottage cheese...and then I received $2.00 off automatically for buying $10.00 worth of Lucerne products...PLUS, I had an additional coupon off of Lucerne products.  Between taking advantage of sales and using coupons...I saved $9.00 on $16.44 worth of Lucerne products. 

As for the ground turkey...I saved $20.97 on $35.97 worth of meat.  Not a bad buy!



Next up...feminine hygiene.  Last year I thought I had enough of these on hand to last years...but my stash only lasted one year.  Time for some stockpiling!  Rite Aid had these on sale for 2/$5.00.  If you bought two, I was able to get a $2.00 UP coupon plus I could use (2) $1.00 off coupons.  These ultimately cost 50 cents a piece (plus some tax). 

It has been slow going getting back into the couponing groove...but I am working on it.  I have all my coupons clipped and stashed in my notebook and I am keeping up on my couponing blogs.  Time to start saving some more money again!  Getting a good deal is a very good feeling!