Coupon Mania

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU GUESS THAT I PAID FOR ALL OF THIS?
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$1.75 !!!!!
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My Albertson's receipts said that I paid a total of $1.75 and saved $57 -- wooHoo!!!
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How did I do it?
This site : http://www.savewithlouise.com/ .
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I just imitated her exact purchases that she posted about and it worked. I am so pumped and had to share it with all of you because you should know about this site and all of the good deals that are waiting to be had.
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Two weeks ago, if you had told me that I could save money by cutting coupons I would have given you all of the reasons that I didn't have the patience or the time to do what was required to save the money.
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Well, let's just say that I have had a change of heart! I found out about this site on the news one night and then checked out her website. She gives the detail and step-by-step instructions that I needed to get rolling and now I know so much more about how to save money.
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I used to shop only at Winco because it is super cheap but now I am saving so much using coupons and double coupons at stores like Albertsons and Safeway that I don't end up buying as much at Winco except for the basics and produce, etc.
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The best part besides saving money is that we are building up a great "family store" in the garage for our food storage.
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I have learned that I could easily become obsessed with all the deals but I just try to do a couple deals a week and NOT try to do them all because I wouldn't have any ink left in my printer.
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Other cool coupon sites:
http://www.hip2save.com/
coupons.com
kraftfoods.com

Black Bean Lasagna

So, I've been asked to share more of my bean recipes. Here's the thing, I love beans. My husband loves beans. My girls love beans. So we're beanin' it up lately and save loads of money. Loads? you ask. Yes, loads. When you aren't buying as much meat, it's amazing how much money you save. I've also gotten into canning meat, so when the chicken breasts are on sale, I'm buying a bunch and canning it. It tastes soooo good and it's super convenient, and, of course, cheaper.

Here's a bean recipe we had the Monday night. My vegetarian friend gave this recipe to me, and I tell you, everyone who has had it or made it for their family comes back with raving reviews. I personally love lasagna and this isn't quite the same, but it really is quite tasty If you try it, I'd love to know what you think.

10 no-cook lasagna noodles
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 cup salsa
1 t. cumin
1 t. minced garlic
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 c. skim milk
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 c. grated mozzarella cheese

Combine sause, salsa, cumin, garlic, and beans. Combine ricotta, egg, milk, and parmesan. Layer in a 9x13 pan, starting with a thin layer of sauces, noodles, ricotta, more sauce, then cheese. Repeat to make 3 layers. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. You can also use regular noodles, just cook before proceeding with recipe. (I also tend to use more mozzarella cheese. I put a small layer over each layer of ricotta. Can never have too much cheese.)

Save Money Planning Monthly Meals

Well goodness. I had meant to post about my monthly meal planning, but I forgot. As Jenae mentioned, I did post about it on my family blog, but I meant to do it here too. Here's the rundown. I take one day and plan for the entire month. I assign each day of the week a theme. (See Jenae's monthly plan) That makes it easier to plan. Instead of thinking "hmmm 30 dinners to think of..." I think "What are 4 Mexican meals we like? What are 4 casseroles we like? What are 4 soups I'll make?" It makes it much more do-able, and it only takes me about 20 minutes to plan for the month. The first couple months, I saved about $20-40 dollars. I was happy. Last month, I cut $100 off our grocery bill! Hello monthly meal planning, you are now my best friend. Nice to meet 'cha. When you have your meals in front of you for the month, it's much easier to buy the items you need in bulk, or on sale, and you don't waste as much. I also started to strategically plan my menus. For instance, I knew I was making an enchilada casserole where I'd need refried beans. So, I thought of other meals that needed refried beans so I could buy those in bulk and make it stretch. I do one large shopping trip in the beginning of the month and go to the grocery store mid-month to restock our milk and produce. (I have to admit though, that part of that $100 saving is because we've done more vegetarian meals. If you can use beans instead of meat, it saves a ton.)

I recently taught an enrichment on preparing your 3 month food storage supply, and in it I introduced monthly meal planning. I've had several people tell me how it's helped them save money and they really enjoy it. It's taken the stress out of planning/cooking meals and made it fun again. Isn't that how it should be anyway? The idea sounds overwhelming, but it's so easy. I love it. And if it saves me $100 a month -- shoot -- I'm doing it!

So, for a week, you need 7 different themes for your meals. Here are just a few that I've used:

Sandwiches
Salads
Soup
Casserole
Chicken
Crockpot (usually on Sunday because we have 1pm church)
Leftovers (usually my Saturday night)
Fish
Stir-fry
Mexican
Italian
Fish
Chinese
Vegetarian

Savings on Spices

I had a great find at the grocery store today when I stumbled upon spices in the bulk foods section! I had to buy curry powder and chili powder which usually cost $2.50-$5.00 each for a 2.5 oz jar and was not looking forward to adding more money onto my bill.

Well, today I paid $.45 for one and $.62 for the other by buying them in bulk and simply refilling the spice jars that I already had (although I did have to dig them out of the garbage can --eeww, don't worry, I will wash them!).

Anyways, I thought I would pass this on because it saved me a ton of money today and if you don't already buy your spices in bulk, find somewhere where you can!