New Blog!

No, not from me! Good grief I have enough of those already! lol!

My friend Mamosa has started a new blog called Practically Proverbs 31. It's all about stewardship of our finances, bodies, and lives. I'm looking forward to reading her blog frequently!

Publix Mystery Coupon???

The penny item at our local Publix is Publix Brand sliced white bread. Yeah! We needed bread, and it has become more expensive, so we were glad to see this! Go get yours today!

Questions Answered...

I had a comment left asking about the Cinnamon Rolls and the London Broil that I prepare.

Well first about the cinnamon rolls...oh how I wish I could say that I make them homemade. I bet it would be less expensive! However, our Sunday tradition is to make the Grands Cinnamon Rolls before church. Dh has been doing this forever...and it's really all him. I just get ready for church. lol! My friend Susan makes an incredible sweet rolll that tastes just like Cinnabon Rolls. Seriously. They are delicious! I have not attempted to make them, though I should as I can make the dough in my under-utilized bread machine.

The London Broil recipe I have not "officially" made yet. I got this recipe at a cooking demonstration I went to recently. We actually got to sample the London Broil served with rice, and it was awesome. It was my favorite recipe of the evening. I also buy London Broil BOGO at Bi-lo and happened to have two in my freezer....so these are just waiting for this recipe to be used! It is so easy.....

3-5 lbs of London Broil
2 cups of water
1pkg onion soup mix
1 can cream of chicken soup

Place meat in the bottom of the crock pot. In small bowl, mix water & soups. Pour over beef. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. Serve with rice, potatoes or noodles. Serves 6-8.

*Note* The cream of chicken soup is not a typo. It was really used and actually tastes less "pot roasty" than using cream of mushroom soup. I think the london broil basically falls apart, or was shredded a bit with two forks and served over the rice.

Menu Plan...

Whew! I feel sooo lost without my menu plan. Seriously. It drives me bonkers not having some kind of guide to go off of....even if I don't follow it precisely.

So without further ado, here is my menu plan for the coming weekend and all of next week. It may be a little rough around the edges, but it is pretty well done.

Saturday
Breakfast-Pancakes/ Sausage
Lunch- Hot Dogs/Fruit
Dinner-Mozzarella Chicken

Sunday
Breakfast- Cinnamon Rolls
Lunch- Crockpot something
Dinner- Sandwiches

Monday
Breakfast- Apple Butter / Biscuits
Lunch- Baked Potato/Broccoli
Dinner- Baked Rotini

Tuesday
Breakfast- eggs/toast
Lunch- Deli Wraps
Dinner- Mild Italian Sausage w/ peppers

Wednesday
Breakfast- Bagels/Cereal
Lunch- Soup/Homemade Bread
Dinner- Fiesta Chicken

Thursday
Breakfast- Cereal/Toasted pastries/Fruit
Lunch- Ravioli
Dinner- Crockpot Chili/rice

Friday
Breakfast – Waffles
Lunch – English Muffin Pizzas
Dinner- White Chicken Chili

Saturday
Breakfast- Pancakes/ Sausage
Lunch- Out
Dinner- Hamburgers/Fries/Baked Beans

Sunday
Breakfast- Cinnamon Rolls
Lunch – London Broil/Rice
Dinner- Whatever is left from the week!

Publix Shopping Trip

I went to Publix last night and made a quick trip in to grab the BOGO deals and some necessities we needed. You know...fruit/milk/veggies etc.

I did pretty well... I saved $50. and spent $65 on all my groceries.... I had a cart full!

One thing I bought a ton of at $0.70 a box were the Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mixes. I bought ten of them on a BOGO price, and had coupons too! When I got home to put it all away... I noticed that I already have 7 boxes of Duncan Hines Brownie Mix in my pantry. Um so 17 boxes.... if I go to shop for Brownie Mix in the near future, just shoot me. lol!

I wish I lived closer to Kroger like my friend Jeannie. What's a Girl to Do? I could use some of that Gatorade she bought there! Baseball season is upon us...and that is what my boys drink.

Publix BOGO's - April 2nd - 8th

Here is a quick rundown of the Publix BOGO items for the week: There are a ton of them! Items in Bold you can add a recent coupon from the paper or from recent online coupons. There may be more coupons that you have stockpiled, or that you have found online to add to these BOGO deals. If there is one you found add it to the comment field. Here is the link to the Publix flyer for some other deals: Publix Flyer

EDIT: I'm sorry but I read the Publix Flyer wrong on the Gatorade... It is actually Buy 2 get 1 free. I've taken it out of my list.

Bagels -4 count-assorted varieties (Save up to $1.49)
Barilla Pasta –assorted varieties (Save up to $1.39)
Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix-assorted varieties (Save up to $2.39)
Bird’s Eye Voila Meal –assorted varieties (Save up to $4.69)
Blackberries- 5.6oz pkg (Save up to $2.49)
Chatham Village Croutons-assorted varieties (Save up to $1.49)
Electrosal Automatic Dishwasher Detergent -75 oz bottle (Save up to $4.19)
Fast Fixin’ Chicken Breast Nuggets or Strips-36 oz pkg (Save up to $5.99)
General Mills Cereal –Cheerios and Toast Crunch assorted varieties (Save up to $3.49) Online Coupon for both cereals HERE
Green Giant Canned Vegetables –assorted varieties (Save up to $1.05)
Hefty Everyday Plates – 130 ct pkg (Save up to $5.29)
Hershey’s Candy Bars, Reeses peanut Butter Cups –assorted (Save up to #3.79)
Icicle Supreme Surimi Flake Style – 16 oz pkg (Save up to $3.99)
Irish Spring Deoderant Soap Bars-assorted varieties 3pk (Save up to $3.29)
Kellogg’s Cereal –Frosted Mini Wheats + other assorted varieties (Save up to $3.99)
Kellogg’s Pop Tarts- assorted varieties (Save up to $2.15)
Luigi’s Real Italian Ice-assorted varieties 24 or 36 oz box (Save up to $3.19)
Lysol Sanitizing Wipes-assorted varieties (Save up to $4.99)
Maxwell House Ground Coffee- assorted varieties (Save up to $3.05)
Mueller’s Pasta –assorted varieties (Save up to $1.29)
Nabisco Single Serve Tray or Kraft Handi Snacks-12-24pk (Save up to $5.69)
New York Garlic Texas Toast- reg, lite o garlic bread sticks (Save up to $2.59)
Orville Redenbacher Popping Corn-assorted varieties (Save up to $3.89)
Peter Pan Peanut Butter-assorted varieties (Save up to $2.19)
Publix Allergy Relief Tablets-10ct pkg (Save up to $6.99)
Ragu Pasta Sauce –assorted varieties (Save up to $1.99)
Rosetta Pasta – assorted varieties 18-25oz bag (Save up to $3.99)
Sheba Premium Cuts Cat Food-assorted varieties (Save up t o $1.09)
Superpretzal Soft Pretzals – assorted varieties (Save up to $2.69)
Swiss Miss Pudding –assorted 6 pk (Save up to $2.27)
Wishbone Dressing –assorted varieties 16 oz bottle (Save up to $2.85)

Funny Post...

I had to share a post that a friend of mine wrote Here. I went back to read it today and it cracked me up again... If you cut coupons etc you'll probably find it humorous!

It costs...WHAT???

I ran to Bi-Lo yesterday to grab some muffins, as those are typically cheaper than Publix. So, as I'm cruising quickly through the store, I walk by the coffee aisle. The Starbuck's coffee that I typically buy is $9.96. WHAT??? You have got to be kidding me! Seriously, that makes me want to give up coffee completely. I drink a lot of coffee every week.... But that is ridiculous!

So, I'm on a mission to try to find the cheapest best tasting coffee that I can. I tried Seattle's Best this week, which I have had before. It was $5.99 and it was very good. I'm going to try to one that costs even less.... Sorry, but Starbuck's just lost my business, with prices like that! (I know it's partly Bi-Lo's deal too, because Publix has it for $8.99. But that price is to high too...... imo).

What grocery items have you noticed that have really shown an increase in price? Leave a comment....

Publix Trip....Finally

No photos to show, but I did go to Publix this evening (Saturday) and shopped for those things that had a coupon. It felt good to get in there and get back to some kind of routine. Weird? Probably. ;-)

It wasn't the best deal. I spent $76 and saved $35. I used a ton of coupons, but they weren't on items that were on any great sale. This was mainly my fault, as I just wasn't motivated to price compare at all the other grocery stores. I felt good just getting to one store this week! So, I guess $34 is better than nothing.

The funny thing is that I still don't have anything for us to eat....as in... planned! I have to get my menu together for the coming week. I'll be using what we have at home in the pantry and the freezer! Baseball season is upon us, and we will be running a LOT! Meaning my crockpot will be getting a lot of use over the next several weeks.

Weekend Warriors!

Have I mentioned how hard it is to get back into the swing of things? Really tough! I pulled all my coupons that are about to expire at the end of the month, so I can try to use some of them. They are not the best deals, as the don't really match up to BOGO items anywhere... but a few of them I really need to use and we need the products. For instance Paul Newmans Spaghetti sauce. We need spaghettit sauce badly, and it's our favorite, so I want to make sure we use up the 7 coupons I have. $1.00 off each jar. Not great..but I need to remember I save $7.00 which would not happen, except for my coupons.

I'm also listening to Dave Ramsey still and getting motivated to clean up this last bit of debt so that we can begin our 3-6 months of living expenses. I know we can do it!

We also filed our taxes... Hooray! We will be getting a refund and it will go straight into our adoption savings account. I am thrilled! I'm so relieved to have that done. So, today will be a cleaning,organizing, planning and light shopping day. (At least until the new flyer for Publix comes out). It should be a Tackle it Tuesday... HGTV used to have a show called Weekend Warriors all about remodeling your house. I think Weekend Warrior applies to us today! (just not in the remodeling sense. lol)