Hormel Coupons

Hormel has $5 worth of coupons up on their site for:

$1 on Tsang Sauce
$1 on Hormel Compleats
$1 on 2 Natural Choice Product
$1 on 2 Dinty Moore Beef Stew
$1 on Hormel Sandwich Makers

Here's the link



 r.gullett@insightbb.com

Reynolds Product Coupons

Signing up on the websites of your favorite product manufacturers is a great way to get coupons and find out about upcoming new products.

Reynolds has the following on their site right now:

$.75 on Reynolds Wrap
$.75 on Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap
$.75 on Slow Cooker Liners
$.75 on Oven Cooking Bags
$1.00 on Parchment Paper

Click here and sign up at Reynolds Kitchens to get these coupons and future offers.



 r.gullett@insightbb.com

TIme For Lent - Let's Talk Tartar Sauce

Time For Lent - Let's Talk Tartar Sauce

Tartar Sauce goes with fish like salt goes with pepper.   Tartar Sauce is used for many other things as well.  I've actually eaten Frisch's Tartar Sauce on French Fries.  Don't laugh....it's actually very good.

However, it's not exactly cheap at the stores.  The picture isn't the best because I took it with my phone while trying to juggle a couple of items (should have gotten a basket).  The point is the Tartar sauce ranges in price from $2.49 to a sale price on the end of $2.99 (was $3.99) for a pretty good size bottle.  O.K.  Maybe you feel like that's not too bad of a price.  It could last a while right?  So why am I griping???

Now look at the next picture......

O.K. so it's worse than the picture above.  But if you squint a little bit you can make out the ingredients.    Let me see...Water, Vinegar, Soybean Oil, Chopped Pickles, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup (why, it already has sugar in it), Modified Food Starch (where's the regular food starch?), Onions, Salt, Eggs, Natural Flavor (what is this?), Mustard, Flour, Xantham Gum (what is that), Parsley, Potassium Sorbate and Calcium Dissodium EDTA as Preservatives (OMG), Artificial Flavor (but wait, we already have "Natural Flavor" Right?), Paprika, Spice, Garlic Dried.

Really??????  They are kidding right????

O.K.....let's break this down, four of the ingredients are used in Mayonnaise (Eggs, Soybean Oil, Salt, Vinegar).

So let's look at the list again and take those items out (along with my quips):

Water, Vinegar, Soybean Oil, Chopped Pickles, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Food Starch , Onions, Salt, Eggs, Natural Flavor , Mustard, Flour, Xantham Gum , Parsley, Potassium Sorbate and Calcium Dissodium EDTA as Preservatives, Artificial Flavor , Paprika, Spice, Garlic Dried.

Now, there is one more important ingredient in Tartar Sauce, pickles!!!  You won't find Tartar Sauce anywhere without pickles.  Whether it's dill pickles or sweet pickles is really up to individual taste preference.

So here's the ingredients list again with all of the necessary ingredients for Tartar Sauce marked out.

Water, Vinegar, Soybean Oil, Chopped Pickles, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Food Starch , Onions, Salt, Eggs, Natural Flavor , Mustard, Flour, Xantham Gum , Parsley, Potassium Sorbate and Calcium Dissodium EDTA as Preservatives, Artificial Flavor , Paprika, Spice, Garlic Dried.

Some of the ingredients left are seasonings or spices and I'm good with those but the rest are garbage.

Here's a recipe for basic Tartar Sauce.  Makes one cup.

Basic Tartar Sauce

1 Egg
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
3/4 cup of light Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Pickles (Dill or Sweet)

You can make this in your food processor.  Just put the egg and vinegar in there and pulse a couple of time to get it mixed up well.  Then turn your processor on the lowest speed and slowly (SLOWLY) pour in the oil.  Pour it in in a thin steady stream.  You want the processor to have a chance to mix the ingredients well and for the mixture to thicken.  Once it thickens, scrap it out into a bowl and add your pickles.  Home made tartar sauce.

Now comes the fun part.  Taste a little bit on a spoon.  Need some salt?  Add a little.  Like yours with a little onion, Add a little bit of minced onion.  Add in Sweet Pickle Relish if you want.  Choice is yours.

You can make fresh Tartar Sauce for a fraction of the cost of the store bought kind and just look at all of the junk you won't be putting into your system.

Next time.......Fried Fish

Hugs,



r.gullett@insightbb.com

Red Plum 02/10/2013 Coupons

Here's the list of the Red Plum coupons expected to be in your Sunday papers.  Remember there may be variances in your area.

Advil, Nivea and Purina win in this circular.

Advil $1/1 Children’s product (3/31)
Advil $1/1 Congestion Relief, Allergy & Congestion Relief, Cold & Sinus or Allergy Sinus product (5/12)
Advil $3/1 Congestion Relief, Allergy & Congestion Relief, Cold & Sinus or Allergy Sinus product (2/24)
Crest $7/1 3D White Intensive Professional Effects 7ct, Professional Effects 20ct, 2 Hour Express 4ct or Advanced Vivid 14ct(3/31) ETS
Dimetapp $1/1 Children’s product (4/6)
Ecsemin $1/1 cream (4/30)
Emergen-C $1/1 10ct or 30ct drink mix (3/31)
Eucerin $1/1 Aquaphor .35-14oz skin care, lip care or baby care product (3/5)
Eucerin $2/1 2-16.9oz product (3/15)
got2b $2/1 full size item (3/17)
L’Oreal $2/1 Preference shade (4/6)
Nivea $2/1 12-16.9oz for men body wash, shower gel or lathering body scrub (2/24)
Nivea $2/1 2-16.9oz body lotion, Q10 serum, gel, firming, sun-kissed or for men body lotion (3/5)
Nivea $3/2 lip care products .59oz tin, .17oz stick or .3oz tube (3/5)
Nivea Buy for men face care product (post-shave balm, face wash or moisturizer), get 1 shave gel or foam free up to $2.99 (3/5)
Olay $3/2 Complete facial moisturizers, daily facials, fresh effects or cleansers excludes Pro-X, Regenerist, Total Effects or Age Defying Series and trial (3/31)
Osteo Bi-Flex $3/1 30-60ct (3/27)
Osteo Bi-Flex $5/1 70ct+ (3/27)
Paseo/Fiora $.50/1 bath tissue excluding single roll (3/31)
Paseo/Fiora $1/1 12 roll bath tissue or 8 roll paper towel (3/31)
Prosacea/Psoriasin $1/1 gel (4/30)
Purina $.50/1 3.15lb+ Friskies Rise & Shine dry cat food bag or 6 Friskies Rise & Shine wet cat food cans (6/24)
Purina $.50/6 Friskies Plus cat food cans (5/10)
Purina $1.50/3 3.15lb+ Friskies dry cat food bags (5/10)
Purina $1/2 cat treats (5/10)
Scope $1/1 750mL+ mouthwash or 4ct singles pack (3/31) ETS
Sundown Naturals $1/1 product (3/12)
Venus $4/1 6ct or 8ct refill pack (3/31) ETS
Venus & Olay $4/2 3ct refill packs (3/31) ETS
Wet n Wild $1/1 product (2/23)


r.gullett@insightbb.com

Don't Buy Brown Sugar - Make It Yourself

Don't Buy Brown Sugar - Make It Yourself

Today I'm going to talk about adding sweeteners to your pantry.  If you remember from the "Essentials" list, we already have sugar in our pantry.

Let's talk about Molasses and Sorghum.  Two ingredients you should have in your pantry.  Oh, by the way, you can STOP buying Brown Sugar now.  You don't ever need to purchase it again.

Molasses and Sorghum are found in the baking isle and run about $3 to $4 for a bottle.  You may think that is a bit pricey until I tell you that they will last an incredibly long time.

For your next Trivia question, here's the basic difference between them.  Molasses comes from the sugar cane and Sorghum actually comes from the Sorghum cane.  They both go through a processing procedure to make syrup but, if I remember correctly, Sorghum is less processed than Molasses and tends to have a lighter color and sweeter flavor than Molasses.

Here's the beauty of it.  If you have either one of these in your pantry, you will never have to purchase Brown Sugar again.  OMG! Am I serious?  Completely.

After you finish reading this post, go get your bag of brown sugar out of the cabinet, turn it over and look at the ingredients.......Sugar and Molasses!  Tada!!!!

And the stores charge you a fortune for brown sugar.

Now what's the difference between light brown sugar and dark brown sugar.......

How much Molasses is in it of course!

Seriously that's all brown sugar is.

Want to know how to make it?

Take a bowl and put in one cup of sugar.  Then add one Tablespoon of Molasses.  Mix it up very well with a fork.  Tada!!!!  You now have what is considered Light Brown Sugar.  Want Dark Brown Sugar.  Add more by the teaspoon until it is the color and flavor you want.  Tada Again!!!!

Now look at that jar and think about how many cups of brown sugar you can make from that one little jar.

Can you believe it's that fricken simple?  Who knew?  You didn't Know??? Now you now!

The thing is, you can make your Brown Sugar using either the Molasses or Sorghum.  Some things in my opinion just taste better with the Sorghum. For example, believe it or not, Molasses cookies actually taste better with Sorghum instead of Molasses.  Don't tell Molasses I said that because it might get offended.

Think about how many bags of brown sugar you could make with one jar of Molasses and one 5-pound bag of sugar.  Now compare that to the cost of 1 bag of brown sugar and how many bags you would have to purchase to equal out.  You come out ahead on the sugar + molasses every single time, even when it is on sale at the holidays.

After you make your brown sugar you can store it in any type of air tight container.  Air tight is the key factor here.

Wait, it gets better.....If your recipe calls for 1/2 cup of brown sugar then you simply add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of Molasses.  You don't even have to mix it up before hand.  Just toss it in there.  O.K. O.K.  Don't toss.  That could be messy and then you'd be mad at me,  and then you'd stop reading my blog, and then I'd get stressed out and .......better to just pour it in there.

I just love the simple things don't you.

Now I have given you a way to not have to purchase bag after bag of brown sugar.  One 5 pound bag of sugar and one jar of Molasses and you are good to go for a Very Loooooooong Time.

Trust me, it saves money on your grocery budget.  Try it and see for yourself.

You can cross Brown Sugar off your grocery list now.

Hugs

Oscar Mayer Pulled Pork $1 Coupon

Oscar Mayer is running a $1/1 coupon on their Carving Board Pulled Pork product.  Here's the link


r.gullett@insightbb.com

How's Your Budget Going???

It's the 5th of the month and time for me to take a look at my budget again for this pay period and see how things are going.  Do I need to tweak it here or there?  Was I realistic in my estimation for this pay period?

When you first begin living by a budget, it's a good idea to go back and plug the numbers in whenever you spend money on anything.  Did you fill up your tank?  Enter the number.  Did you go over or under?

Now I'm going to do something unconventional here to show you something.  I am actually going to put up my budget for the pay period ending 01/30/2013.  What you will see below is my budget for the time frame of 01/30/2013 until 02/15/2013 so you can get a clear idea of what I am talking about.

	Proposed	Actually
1/30/13	Expected	Paid	Unplanned
Balance	$744.43	$757.80
House	$0.00	$0.00
Electric	$0.00	$0.00
Deters	($198.00)	($197.11)
Dog Food	($75.00)	($53.09)
Citibank	$0.00	$0.00
Household Bank	($65.00)	($85.50)
Savings	($50.00)	($50.00)
Gas	($35.00)	($35.01)
Bank of America	($25.00)	($50.00)
Groceries	($125.00)	($14.53)
	$171.43	$272.56

So there you have it.  That's my actual budget.  Why am I showing you this?  Number one to show you I am just like you in that I don't make a fortune.  And, I want to talk about what I have been calling the Left Over.  The left over is the balance remaining at the end of each column.

As you can see, I hope to be able to transfer an additional $171.43 on 02/15/2013 into my savings account.  Right now I'm showing a balance of $272.56.

When you look at the chart above you will notice a couple of things:

1)  Again I did pretty good on the dog food by using coupons.  By utilizing available coupons, I was able to cut my food expenditure by $21.91.  I'll take that any day of the week.  Seems like just a little bit but remember.......all the little bits add up.

2)  I was able to stretch myself and pay a little more than I had planned to Household Bank and Bank of America.  That's always a good thing when you are paying something down.

3)  As you can see, I budget $125.00 each pay period for groceries.  Now you may think this is a lot for 2 people ($250.00/month), but I purchase my husband's cokes out of that money as well and we all know that soft drinks are not cheap.  And he's a Coca Cola Holic!!!!

I have three credit cards with zero interest on them.  We have put the big purchases on these cards and pay them off pretty quickly to utilize the zero interest factor.  So if I pay extra on them, they are paid off quicker and I'm still managing to put additional money into savings.

Now in all honesty, I probably won't put the full $171.43 left over into savings.  Reason.....I found out 2 days ago that I have a special dinner I have to go to Saturday so I need to go pick up something nice to wear.  But I will go to a 2nd hand store and pick up a bargain I assure you.

If I was able to put that $171.43 straight into savings, that would be in addition to amounts already put into savings.  I am really trying to stretch myself on what I am putting into savings because I want to have the kitchen redone in May and I want to have the cash to pay the contractor and not have to put it on any credit card.  Challenging but doable.

The left over or balance is your safety net and is there for just those reasons.  The unexpected.  That's not a free reign to bust your other line items, but it is what little bit you have left for the cushion and in case of emergency.  Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to spend it.  I encourage you to strive to put what ever your left over balance is into savings each month.  If I didn't have to go to this dinner with my husband's company's owner and 3 other couples, I wouldn't be going out to buy a nice outfit.

In recap, update your budget every time you spend money.  Don't let 48 hours go by without updating your check register and updating your budget.  It's a good thing to check your banking account daily just to make certain you don't experience the dreaded identity theft.

 

The Coming Revolution by Dr. Richard G Lee

The Coming Revolution
Signs from America's Past That Signal Our Nation's Future
by Dr. Richard Lee
Published by Thomas Nelson


The Coming Revolution will either make you mad or make you search out more of Dr. Lee's work.

While Dr. Lee lays the timeline from our earliest days through the American Revolution, I tend to wonder exactly where he obtained some of the information for our most recent years.

Dr. Lee forms his book on the basis that the majority of the American was based on Christianity and that Christianity is losing its punch.  Agreed.  While he does point out that not all of our founding fathers were Christians I do think his book is a bit biased.

What I think he is trying to do is to get people to wake up, step out of their hoolahoop, take a look around at the problems in government and our society and then take action.  I do agree that he has very good ideas of what any one individual can do make a difference through our current legal process, but of course you need the majority to make the changes.

While there are great references and an outstanding education of sorts on how Christianity has played a major part in the development of America, I think his thought process is going to be a hard sale.

The book is well written for the most part but does lack in some references here and there will lead you to believe some points are simply the author's opinion in lieu of actual facts.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com
book review bloggers program.  The opinions stated above are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, part 255:  "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".







r.gullett@insightbb.com

Pantry Essentials = Made From Scratch

Yesterday I talked to you about what I called the Pantry Essentials.  These are the products I feel every pantry should have to start saving money.  Did you forget what those essentials were?  Here's the list again to refresh your memory.

Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Cornmeal  

Cornstarch

Flour  

Pasta

Rice

Sugar

Yeast

Shortening

Cooking Oil 

So what can you make with these items?  Let's take a look....


Basic Biscuits
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk

Directions:  Put all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix up a little bit with a whisk to make certain there are no lumps.  Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles crumbs.  Pour the milk in slowly while mixing with a fork until your dough pulls away from the bowl.  Lightly flour a surface and put your dough on top of it.  Roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out with a biscuit cutter (I use a glass dipped in water) and put on a ungreased cookie or baking sheet.  Cook in the over on 450 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Sweet and Simple

Pancakes Anyone?
2 cups All Purpose Flour
2-1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs
1-1/2 Cups Milk
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

Sift or whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl to make certain there are no lumps.  In a second bowl beat the eggs and milk together.  Slowly beat the egg/milk mixture into the dry ingredients until you have a batter.  Now add in the melted butter.  If your batter seems a little bit too thick to your liking, you can always add a little more milk but don't add to much or then the batter will be too thin and not work well.

Some people like to pour the batter straight from the bowl onto a hot greased griddle or electric skillet but I prefer to use a gravy ladle to pour it onto the hot greased electric skillet or griddle.  I turn my skillet on medium high when I do this.  Bubbles will start appearing in the batter and the edges will start to turn golden brown.  Once I start seeing bubbles in the batter I take a spatula and lift up the pancake a little bit to see if it is the color I want on the bottom.  If so, then gently flip your pancake and cook for about a minute on the other side and you're done.

How About a Basic Cake?
2-1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1-1/2 cups Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
3/4 cup salted butter softened
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Mix butter, sugar, baking powder and vanilla until fluffy.  Add in eggs one at a time beating each one in pretty good before you put the next one in.  Ad in 1/2 of the flour and beat on low speed until well mixed.  Then add in 1/2 of the milk.  Alternate back and forth until the flour and milk are completely added in.  Pour into round cake pans or an 8 x 8 square baking pan and bake on 350 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes.  You want to start checking your cake at 30 minutes.  Simply do the toothpick trick.  Insert the toothpick into the cake and pull it straight back out.  If it is clean then the cake is done.  If it still has batter on it, throw it away and cook the cake for 5 minutes more.  Check with toothpick again after 5 minutes.  Continue this process until done.  Don't check it the first time until it has cooked for at least 30 minutes.


Maybe Some Basic Muffins
2 cups All Purpose Flour
4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 cup milk
2 eggs beaten
3 Tablespoons melted butter

Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl.  Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Pour into muffin tins and bake 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  It's really that simple.

See the Trend?

By now I hope that you can see that by having the "Essentials" in your pantry, you can whip up these favorite food items in no time.  As you can see from these 4 basic recipes, everyone one of them contains ingredients that are in the Essentials list.

Next time we will talk about some new family members to join the pantry family.  Until then....

Hugs,


 

Smart Phone + Endorse = Cash Back

Cutting costs on your groceries is a huge way to save on your budget each month.  Millions of people cut coupons only to forget they have them so the savings are lost.  You know how it goes.....you get to the store with your little grocery list in hand only to realize when you get to the checkout that your coupon organizer is still sitting on your desk at home.  Sucks Stinks doesn't it.  I cannot tell you how many times I have done that and it really and truly bites!

Or maybe you save your coupons to your phone so you don't have to worry about possibly forgetting your coupon organizer.  BRAVO!!!

What if I told you that you could save even more, in addition to what you are already saving with the coupons?  Would you be interested?  Sure you would and it's so simple.

There is an Application out there called Endorse and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!  Seriously, it's a great App and it can definitely save you money.

You have to have a Facebook Account to utilize this Application

On Thursday of each week, Endorse comes out with a list of products that you can earn cash back on.  For example, this weeks offerings are as follows:

McCormick Chili Dry Seasoning Mix - Up to 50% Up to $1.50
Zatarain's - Up to 50% Up to $3.00
Any Brand Coffee - 100% or $3.00
Nature Valley Protein Bars - 30% Up to $5.00
Dulce de Leche Cheerios - 20% Up to $3.00
Sierra Mist - 20% Up to $1.50
SoBe Lifewater - 20% Up to $3.00
Quaker Real Medleys - 20% Up to $2.50
Any Brand Cracker - 10% Up to $1.50
Any Brand Ice Cream - 10% Up to $1.50

Remember, each Thursday they come out with new cash back offers.

I'll use the coffee offer to explain how it works.  Say I go to Wal-Mart and I purchase the 30.6 ounce Maxwell House coffee for $7.99.  Now I use the printable coupon that is out for the $1.00 off one so I actually get the coffee for $6.99.  Then I upload a picture of the receipt to Endorse and I will get $3.00 cash back so I ended up paying $3.99 for the coffee after coupon and cash back.

Or, still using the coffee scenario....

I stop at Starbucks and grab a cup of my favorite Caramel Machiato and pay $4.29 (guestimation).  I upload the Starbucks receipt and get $3.00 back off the $4.29 so I only paid $1.29.

There are "Terms and Conditions" on each product and you need to pay attention to them to maximize your cash back potential.  For example, you could only purchase one coffee product to maximize the savings on that offer, however you could purchase more than one Sierra Mist product to meet the maximum $1.50

Say Sierra Mist is selling for $.99 a 2-litre.  Utilizing this week's offer, you would get $.19 cash back on one 2-litre bottle.  However, the terms and conditions are for up to $1.50 or 10 items, which ever comes first.  So using your basic math ($1.50 divided by $.19 = 7.8 or 7 bottles).  You could purchase 7 bottles to maximize your cash back on this offer.  It's important to read the terms and conditions.  Also note that if you are going to purchase more than one of the same item to maximize your cash back, they need to all be purchased at the same time on one receipt.

Remember that you can get cash back on items that you use coupons on but you will only get the percentage back on what you actually paid.  Say you are purchasing a product that has an offer of 20% back.  The product cost $4.00 and you have a $1.00 off coupon making it $3.00.  You will get 20% back on the $3.00.  By all means, please utilize the "Any Brand" offers.  You can really cut your cost there when you combine the coupons you have with the cash back offer.

Another thing to pay attention to are the offer upgrades.  Often they will offer a product at 20% cash back but you can upgrade it to 50% cash back if you are willing to share it on your Facebook page.  I always do this if it is a product I am going to purchase.

Payment Options - there are two payment options and they are both good.  One is to link your PayPal account to Endorse.  If you have a PayPal account then I highly suggest you do this.  The reason is that you can have your cash back earnings credited to your PayPal account at any time.  You don't have to meet a threshold.

If you don't have a PayPal account, once your account reaches $25.00 then you select cash out and you can request a check.

PayPal seems easier to me.

Couple of points to make:

1)  You have to upload a picture of the entire receipt.  Since I don't like to have to take multiple pictures of the same long receipt, if I am utilizing one of the week's offers, that is the only item I will purchase on that receipt.  Makes it easier.

2)  You have to make sure the picture of your receipt is clear.  They want to be able to see where you purchased the product from, date, time and product description, etc.  They can reject receipts if they can't read them so be sure and take a clear picture of your receipt.  When you upload your receipt you will get the option to link it to the offer you want to apply it towards.

3)  The offers are only good for one week and you have six days from the date of purchase on the receipt to upload the receipt to Endorse

4)  You can also upload receipts for other products you purchased but you won't earn cash back on these receipts.  You will however earn 5 points for every receipt you upload.  Once you have earned 50 points, then Endorse will send a voucher for a donation to DonorsChoose in your name.  I personally haven't done this but it is an option out there for you.

Another great way to cut your costs on groceries!  Don't forget to sign up here.

Hugs,

 

Creating a Money Saving Pantry

Grocery savings start with your pantry.  The pantry is, or should be the heart of your kitchen.  Your laboratory so to speak.  Inventions, creations and master pieces all begin with the well thought out, well planned and well stocked pantry.

Now, I'm going to take a break here and  fix myself a cup of coffee and I want you to get up and go look in your pantry and take a thorough slow look at what is in there.  If you don't have a pantry, open your cabinet doors and look inside.  Believe it or not, I'm being very serious here.  Have you ever just taken a moment to look inside your pantry or cabinets and see what you have?

Coffee Break

O.K. back now.  I've given you roughly 4 minutes to go look in your pantry.  If you are like a lot of people, most households in fact, your pantry needs a make over.  I love the picture above because it is spot on to the typical family pantry.  Take a good look.  Seriously, scroll back up and take a good look at the picture above.  Does it look similar to your pantry?  Odds are it does.   What do you see?

I see jars and bottles and cans and bags and boxes of processed foods.  Now ask yourself this question......can you truly name the ingredients of everything in each jar, bottle, can, bag and box.  Test yourself.   Oh, wait, you didn't really look in your pantry but now you want to.....not a problem.  I'll go let the dogs out.  While you are there, grab one jar, bottle, can, bag or box of something and read the ingredients.  Now scoot!!!

POOCH BREAK

O.K.  All breaks are now over.  Did your pantry look like the one pictured above?  Could you recognize all of the ingredients on the package?  Could you pronounce them?  If I asked you now, what is xyz, could you tell me without having to think about it?  Neither could I.

Here's something to think about.....next to your house/apartment and your vehicle, food is the next big ticket item you pay for.  Fortunately, one day your house and your vehicle will be paid for and you can delete that line item off of your budget.  Unfortunately, you can never delete groceries off your budget completely.  You will always need to purchase some type of groceries.

But De Anna, you don't understand.  I have a full time job, 2 kids, laundry to do, a house to clean, errands to run, I have to run Johnny here and take Susie there.  There is just not enough time.

#1 - I do understand because I have been there and I did it too.  For many moons I was a single mom with a full time job, a part time job and three kids.  Trust me, I've been there.

#2 - There is time when you learn how to do it and make it a priority.

#3 - Look at what we are teaching the youth of today.  How many of our youth, girls and boys, don't know how to cook at all.  It's really sad.  And it's our fault.

We have become a world of convenience and who is benefiting?  The manufacturers and the medical industry.  Look at how much money is spent on medications every year to lower cholesterol.  What about high blood pressure.  And we are a society that is basically over weight.  I'm not saying you are, but the majority of America is and it's our own doing.  We have handed off our meals to the manufacturers and they, for the most part, don't care about our health.  They care about making a dime from your hard earned money.

Now before you start muttering OMG and WTF and all of the other cutsie little acronyms, take a second and take a deep breath.  We're not going to get a trash bag and throw everything out.  I would be mortified if you did that.  What we are going to do is start with the basics and slowly start eliminating things you have to purchase.  I've already given you the first one and that was the breakfast sausage.  With the recipe I gave you, there is no need for you to ever purchase pre-made sausage again.

So what are the basics?  Very simple and hopefully you have some of them already in your pantry, but they are probably hidden behind the processed foods.  I call them the essentials

ESSENTIALS

Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Cornmeal  

Cornstarch

Flour  

Pasta

Rice

Sugar

Yeast

Shortening

Cooking Oil 

The ingredients above are necessary items if you are going to start cooking for yourself and stop purchasing processed foods.  If you have these items great.  Get them all together and put them in one section of your pantry.  That's where you begin.

Let's talk about a couple of these items:

Baking Powder - While it usually has an expiration date of one year, baking powder can go bad or lose its potency which can dramatically affect your cooking.  Baking powder is a rising agent but can lose its potency over time.  Manufacturers give it a shelf life or expiration date of usually one year but if store properly, it can last an indefinite amount of time.

Cornmeal - it can be either white or yellow.  Which ever you like.  They both pretty much work the same way.  Usually the only difference in cornmeal is whether it is stone ground which is coarser or regular ground which is finer.  Some people think yellow cornmeal is a bit sweeter.  If it was made from sweet yellow corn, then it is sweeter than white corn.  Other than that, no difference so purchase whichever you prefer.

Flour - There are many types of flours out there (wheat, bread, rye, etc.), but for now I would suggest starting out with basic All Purpose Flour.

Pasta - Spaghetti noodles, egg noodles and macaroni are the first choices.  There are tons of dishes you can make with these ingredients so you can't go wrong with them in your pantry.

Sugar - White sugar only.  We'll talk more about brown sugar later.  Don't worry about getting specially processed right now.  Remember, we are starting out slow.

Yeast - comes in the cutsie little 3-pack or you can actually buy little jars of it.  Again, choice is yours.

Shortening - Get the plain whipped shortening.  Do not get the butter flavored.  You don't want to know what is in it.  Trust me.

Cooking Oil - Preferred is Virgin Olive Oil but of course.  Don't want to spend the money, then get vegetable oil for now.  We'll talk about where to buy Olive Oil later.

Now you have the essentials.  Like I said, check your pantry for the items above that you have and find a place in your pantry where they can all live together.   Nothing goes in that spot but these items.

Now don't go blowing your budget by rushing out and purchasing these items all at once along with your normal grocery purchases.  Buy one here and one there until you have them all.  We will be adding things to this so don't think this is not enough for a pantry.  Trust me that you pantry will have a lot more items in it.  Think baby steps.

Until next time,

Hugs


 

Home Made Sausage

Home Made Sausage Patties

Making your own breakfast sausage is super easy to do.  It's cheaper, it taste great and you can identify all of the ingredients!  The last item is a big one with me.

To save face, I am not going to identify the makers of the products below, but I am pasting below the ingredients, per the company website, of exactly what is in their breakfast sausage.

Name Brand Turkey Sausage:

INGREDIENTS: BONELESS TURKEY, WATER, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SODIUM LACTATE, SALT, DEXTROSE, SUGAR, SPICES, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM DIACETATE, BHT, CITRIC ACID, CARAMEL COLOR.  

Name Brand Port Sausage:

Pork, water and less than 2% of the following; corn syrup, salt, spice, hydrolyzed corn protein, dextrose, flavorings, BHA, propyl gallate, citric acid.

One of the major name brand companies that produces breakfast sausage, didn't even list the ingredients of their product on their website.  Hmmmmm, wonder why.

Looking at the ingredients above, can you answer the following questions:

a)  What is BHT
b)  Why do you need to add color to anything you are eating
c)  What is BHA
d)  How much sodium anything does a product really need
e)  What the heck is propyl gallate

If you don't know what it is, why are you putting it into your body or your family's body????

Moving on....

Ingredients:
Ground Pork
Spices of your choice

That's it.  That simple.  That basic.  Tons of flavor.

My recipe is simple:

1 pound of ground pork
1 tsp Sage
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 thyme tsp
1/4 cumin tsp
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp nutmeg

The great thing about sausage is you can put whatever spices into it you want.  Like a little heat?, then add in some red pepper flakes.  Or add some chili powder.  Love the sage flavor, then add more than 1 tsp.  You can add a little bit of onion flakes or some garlic or whatever you want.  It's really up to you and your family's taste.  That's the beauty of it.  It's so versatile.

Now, if you want to try my recipe, then take all of the ingredients listed above and put them into a bowl and mix well.  I would suggest mixing with your hands to get all of the spices mixed in and cohabitating nicely.

When it comes to shaping, you can do it whatever way you wish.  Scoop up a little bit and make a ball then flatten out to the size you want and put them into the skillet or just put the ball in the pan and flatten with the back of a spatula.

My method is to take the plastic wrap that came with the package of ground pork and lay it out on the counter.  Then I take a handful of the sausage mixture and put it on one side of the wrap and fold the other side on top.  Then I take my rolling pin and roll it out to about 1/4".  Then I take a drinking glass, dip it in water and then cut out the pork patty.  Scoop up any excess sausage mixture, add a little more from the bowl to it and do it again.  I can get 1 dozen sausage patties doing it this way.

Just put the sausage patties in a frying pan or in an electric skillet or griddle and cook on medium low heat until the golden color you like.    You don't want to cook it to high or the brown sugar with caramelize and turn black quickly, plush it will smoke and you don't want that.  So, just take your time and enjoy the flavor and watch the family come running!

The first time I made this sausage for my husband, I didn't tell him I was making it myself.  I just fixed it and ate breakfast as normal waiting to see if he would notice.  Sure enough he did.  He asked me what brand it was and I asked him why and he said "This is really good.  Where did you get it?".  Which translate to success!!!!  Then I told him I made it.  That meant I wouldn't have to purchase breakfast sausage again and.......I don't.

Now you can get the ground pork in two ways.  Either purchase it yourself or grind it yourself.  Right now I don't have a meat grinder (next on my list of kitchen gadgets) so I purchase ground pork.  As I don't shop in the traditional way, when it goes on sale at sale from $1.69 to $1.99/pound, then I will purchase about ten packages.

Another benefit to making it yourself is that when you purchase your ground pork or make your pork, you can go ahead and make these patties and freeze them to the exact number of portions you would typically need for your family's breakfast.  I find that freezing the frozen patties are even better because the spices have had a chance to mingle together for a good while.

Now you have the basic recipe for breakfast sausage and you never have to buy the pre-made stuff again.  Cross that off your grocery list!

Hugs,



 

Pay Day - Let's Talk Some More

Pay-Day - Let's Talk Some More

I told you when I posted about Pay Day and Paying Yourself that I would revisit this subject to talk about other line items and how you can potentially Pay yourself even more by your next Pay Day.  And before I go further, I want to say "Thank you" for the great e-mail comments and Facebook messages I received from that post.  I enjoyed the comments and yes I am a "KISS" method person.  Keep It Simple Stupid.  If you'd like to e-mail me with a question or a comment, please feel free to do so.  E-mail is at the bottom under my name.

Now let's talk about a couple of my entries that I call "Variables":  Gasoline, Groceries and Dog Food (yes I have one for dog food)

Gasoline

Sort of hard to budget for this when the prices of gas go up and down right?  Trust me, it's doable.  When I first started doing my budget and got serious about it, I sat down with my check book register and added up all of my gas purchases for one year and then I divided the total by 12 to get my average monthly gas expenditure.  I then divided that by 2 to get my pay check expenditure.  The total average was $70.00/month so my per pay check average was $35.00.  So I know that every payday I have $35.00 allowed for gasoline.   

Then I took, it  a step further.  I make it a point to fill up my car every payday or within 24 hours of payday.  (I filled up on Thursday.)  It's a bill that I know I am going to "Have to" pay right?  I just get it out of the way.  But would you believe that it only cost me $21.00 this time to fill up.  I hadn't really gone anywhere out of the way during the last pay period other than to work and back and the normal stores I stop at on the way home so I still had close to 1/2 tank left.  Woo Hoo!  This doesn't happen every month so I was ever so excited!

So now I have an extra $14.00 to maybe go out to eat on or purchase those cute little blingy items that have been calling my name or buy me some new Fu Fu spray or whatever my heart desires right?  Don't you know me by now?  The answer would be no.

Remember when I told you that I have "X" dollars direct deposited into my savings every pay period and then I transfer an additional $50.00 each pay day as soon as I receive my check stub.  Well, I saved $14.00 on gas this pay period so I now have $14.00 extra in my expected left over amount.  Happy Dance Happy Dance.  Now I can leave it in there and see whether I make it to the next pay period without spending it........OR......I can hop online do another little transfer for $14.00 to my savings.  Doesn't cost me anything to do a transfer from account to account with my bank.  And, if I go ahead and transfer the money now,   it won't be there to tempt me to spend it.

Are you starting to see the picture here? 

Dog Food

I do the exact same thing with my Dog Food line item.  I have $75.00 budgeted for dog food and treats every pay day.  Have you ever met my Shepherd?  He's a beast and will only eat wet dog food.  Lucky me.  Fortunately for me, I know how many cans of dog food he and the little fella eat a day and how many bags of dog treats that I need to buy to last until next pay day.  I apply the same principal of doing it all at once.  So within 24 to 48 hours of getting paid I will be at Wally World buying the dog food and dog treats to last till next pay day.  (Note:  When I purchase the dog food and treats, I do not purchase anything else in that visit - no groceries, no extras, etc.)  Now, if I happen to get lucky and find some coupons for the dog food or treats they eat, then I ABSOLUTELY use them and save money on that line item.  Last pay period I had a couple of coupons so rather than paying the $75.00 I only paid $61.00 which means I added another $14.00 to the "Left Over" amount which also means that I deposited an additional $14.00 into my savings for the pay period.  Yea Poochie!!!!

Is the picture getting clearer now?

In order to save money you need to be a "Watch Dog  over each of your line items that are potential variables.  The mortgage payment each month is not a variable in that it shouldn't change.  How much you spend each month on groceries and gas, etc. could very easily change and that makes it a variable. 

Savings on variables can definitely add up.

Next time we'll talk about the "Left Over" line item.

Hugs,



r.gullett@insightbb.com

Say It Isn't So - Kroger To Stop Doubling Coupons

Kroger to Stop Doubling Coupons in 30 Days

Saw on a local news website today Kroger's announcement that in thirty (30) days they will stop doubling coupons.  It wasn't a headliner story, but it was on there and of course I saw it.  One of those announcements they sneak in there so they don't have the masses running and screaming to the Managers of all of their stores.  They have actually been phasing this change to their coupon policy in across the U.S. over the last several months.  Now it has hit my area and it was already the talk of the office.

The reason for this change is very simple mathematics.  They want your money for the store brands and not the big name brands.  For example, say you have name brand cupcake "A" for $1.89 and the store brand cupcake "B" is $1.29.  If the manufacturer puts out a $.50/1 coupon and they double, then of course being the smart shopper you are, you are going to take the name brand cupcake for $.89 over the store brand for cupcake for $1.29.  If you take doubling out of the picture then you have the name brand cupcake for $1.39 versus the store brand for $1.29.  Shoppers who are on a tight budget will take the store brand over the name brand every time because all of those dimes ad up.  It's a game of chess between the grocers and the manufacturers.  It is expected that all grocers across the U.S. will discontinue the double coupon policy.  Domino effect.

There is the potential for benefit to the consumers, but it will be down the road.  The reason again is simple mathematics.  For a while the makers of name brand products have been putting out coupons like $.50/2 or $1.00/4, etc.  With this coupon change and the expected (more like anticipated) switch by the consumers to purchase more store brand products, the name brand manufacturers will be jockeying to get your business back.  Coupons will be an area they target.  You will see a shift back to the $.50/1 and $1/1 type of coupons.  But that is definitely down the road a bit.

Now I know that this is going to affect many people's grocery budget.  If you have been a steadfast coupon user, you are really going to have to pay attention to prices.  Or, you could do another thing I call......START MAKING IT YOURSELF!!!!  What a smart idea.

Don't know how to cook things from scratch?  Not to worry, we'll go down this road together.

Learning to cook is not a bad thing.  It can be intimidating and scary and so much fun!  Once you start venturing out and trying to fix things yourself instead of buying the pre-made this and that, you will find some great benefits.

Number One:  It will DEFINITELY lower your food expenses.

Number Two:  It taste SO MUCH BETTER than processed foods that you will be shocked.

Number Three:  It is much HEALTHIER for you than any processed foods.

Number Four:   You will know and be able to name every single ingredient in every dish you make.  (You knew I had to throw that in there)  Have you read the labels on the products you buy lately?  Can you even pronounce some of that stuff?  Me neither.  

I'm not saying to stop using coupons, however I am saying be smart about what coupons you use and what products you purchase.

Times are tough and they are only going to continue to get tougher, but you and I can do this.  If you can read this blog, you can do it.  So hang in there and don't get discouraged.

Till next post,

Hugs!!!





r.gullett@insightbb.com

Smart Source 02/03/2013 Coupon Preview

Here is a list of the Smart Source coupons scheduled to be in this Sunday's paper.  Remember about the potential variances in your location.

May favorites this week are Claritin, Farmer John Ground Pork, Keri Lotion, Revlon Beauty Tool and Zest Body Wash. 


Ajax $.35/1 all-purpose cleaner (2/23) DND
Ajax $.50/1 52oz+ dish liquid or any auto dish pacs (2/23) DND
Almay $1/1 cosmetic item (3/3)
Barilla $1/1 microwaveable meal (3/30) (2 coupons)
Barilla $1/both pasta and sauce (3/30)
Betty Crocker $.50/2 boxed potatoes except Potato Bud and Pouch (3/30)
Bic $2/1 Comfort 3 Advance, Flex3, Flex4, Hybrid Advance 3 or Hybrid Advance 4 (3/3) ETS
Bic $2/1 Soleil (3/3) ETS
Campbell’s $.50/3 Healthy Request condensed soups (3/31)
Campbell’s $1/3 Chunky or 100% Natural Healthy Request soups (3/31)
Clairol/Herbal Essences $1/1 color product (3/31)
Claritin $4/1 15ct+ D (2/24)
Claritin $4/1 24ct+ (2/24)
Claritin $6/1 40ct+ (2/20)
Clearasil $2/2/ products (3/17)
Colgate $.50/1 4oz+ toothpaste (2/23)
Colgate $.75/1 8oz+ Optic White mouthwash (2/23)
Dole $.75/2 pineapple cans (4/30)
Efferdent $1/1 48ct+ (4/3)
Farmer John $1/1 ground pork product (4/2)
General Mills $1/3 cereals (3/30)
Halls $1/2 17ct+ single bags (3/16)
Hamburger Helper $.75/3 (3/30)
Herbal Essences/Aussie $1/2 products (3/31) ETS
Hydroxycut $5/1 (5/3)
Keri $2/1 lotion (4/30)
Kikkoman $.55/1 soy sauce (4/30)
K-Y $2/1 product (5/31) ETS
K-Y $4/1 premium product (5/31) ETS
Little Debbie $.75/1 box snacks (5/31)
Minute $.50/1 rice (4/30)
Morton $1/2 40, 50 or 80lb System Saver 2 pellets bags or 3 25lb System Saver 2 pellets bags or 2 40 or 80lb Rust Remover pellets bags (6/9)
Nature’s Bounty $1/1 vitamin or supplement (3/5)
Nature’s Bounty $2.50/1 fish oil or Co Q-10 (3/5)
Nature’s Bounty $3/1 Optimal Solutions vitamin or supplement (3/5)
Nature’s Bounty $4/1 Optimal Solutions protein shake mix (3/5)
Nissin $.35/1 Top Ramen Short Cuts (5/5)
Nissin $1/4 Big Cup Noodles (5/5)
Orajel $2/1 cold sore product (5/3)
Pillsbury $.30/2 Grands! refrigerated biscuits (4/27)
Pillsbury $.40/2 sweet rolls or Grands! sweet rolls (4/27)
Pillsbury $.50/2 Toaster Strudel, Toaster Scrambles Pastries or Pancakes (4/27)
RevitaLens OcuTec $4/1 10oz+ multi-purpose disinfecting solution (2/10)
RevitaLens OcuTec $4/1 10oz+ multi-purpose disinfecting solution (2/10-3/11)
Revlon $1/1 beauty tool (3/3)
Speed Stick $.50/1 any men or lady (2/23) ETS
Speed Stick $1/1 Power excluding 2oz and .5oz (2/23)
Swanson $.50/1 Flavor Boost product (3/31)
V8 $1/2 64oz beverages (3/17)
Yoplait $.50/1 Greek yogurt 4pk or Greek yogurt with granola 2pk (3/30)
Zest $.50/1 3bar+ soap (3/17)
Zest $1/1 body wash (3/17)

Don't forget that it's a new month so all printable coupons are reset.  Links are on my page so print to your heart's content.

Super Bowl Party - What Goodies Are You Fixing?

The grocery stores will be making a small fortune Friday, Saturday and Sunday with everyone running to the store to buy all kinds of goodies to serve for their Super Bowl Parties.  Now don't go frowning, I'm not down on the Superbowl at all.  I watch the game for the Commercials!  And I'm rooting for the Ravens.  There, I've said it.  Now I can get on with this post.

I'm going to fix goodies myself, but I won't be buying anything from the store.  Remember, there are only two of us so I'm keeping it small but I am going to have a variety of goodies for us to snack on right from my cabinets.

MENU

Sausage cheese balls (Recipe Tomorrow)

Quesadillas (Recipe Below)

Onion Rings (Recipe Below)

Pigs in a Blanket (Recipe Tomorrow)

Quesadillas 
These are the easiest things in the world to make if you have some flour tortillas which I have.  Haven't mastered making them from scratch yet but that's on my list for this year!  With that said, I happen to have a package of flour tortillas so I will make one Quesadilla and slice it into eight pieces.
If you have never made one, they are so simple.

If you have an electric skillet you can easily make it in that.  Turn the skillet on 200 and lay one flour tortilla on it.  Sprinkle on some grated cheese.  Now comes the fun part.  You can put whatever you want on the cheese:  chopped onion, crumbled cooked bacon, sauteed chicken strips, chopped bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes, etc.  Whatever you want to put on it you can.  The choice is really yours.  Just sprinkle a little of this and that on there.  Don't go over board with the amounts because you will have to turn this over and you don't want all of the goodies falling out when you do so.   Then you sprinkle a little bit more of grated cheese on top of the goodies  and put the other flour tortilla on.  You want to cook it on a lower temperature so that the bottom tortilla slowly browns and the heat creates a steam that comes up through the flour tortilla and melts the cheese.  Once the bottom is lightly browned, get a big spatula and turn it over.  (Think grilled cheese here - same principal) Turn, don't FLIP.  Remember, you don't want the goodies spilling out.  Once the bottom side is lightly browned, you're done.  Turn off the skillet and remove the the Quesadilla to a plate and cut into slices like a pie.  Yummy and so very easy!

Tip:  If you'd like, and you don't have to, you can lightly (and I mean lightly here) brush the tortilla with some olive oil for extra flavor before you place it in the skillet or on the griddle or whatever you are going to use.  

Onion Rings

1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch slice

1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg 

1 cup of milk 

3/4 dry bread crumbs

oil for frying  

Get all of the ingredients ready.  Get out two plates, one cereal bowl and one mixing bowl.

Cut up the onion into 1/4 inch slices and separate the rings

I use a fryer for this.  If you have one, plug it in and turn it to 365 degrees

In  bowl put the flower, baking powder and salt and mix it around with a whisk so everything is incorporated.  Now take your onion rings and dredge them in the flour.  They will have a very light coating of flour on them.  Set them on the plate.

Go back to the mixing bowl and add the egg and milk into the flour mixture.  If your mixture seems a little too thick for you, add a little more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until it is the consistency you want.  By now your oil should be ready to go.  

Pour the bread crumbs into the cereal bowl.  Dip the onion ring into the batter, give it a little shake to shake off the excess batter and then coat it with the bread crumbs and gently lay it into the oil.  Once the onion ring is golden brown on one side, then tip it over and let it brown on the other side.

Here's a little tip about frying onion rings in a deep fryer.  I use a skewer to pick up the rings out of the batter and then again out of the crumb mixture and then I gently lower the onion ring into the oil until it is about half way in.  I wait about 5 seconds and then lower it off the skewer completely into the oil.  If you do it this way, it won't sink to the bottom of the oil and then rise back up.  It will stay at the top of the oil.  If you let it sink to the bottom, sometimes the batter gets stuck on the bottom and then you have to un-stick it from the bottom.  Yuk!  Trust me when I tell you this way works better.  Once the onion ring is golden brown on both sides take it out and put it on the second plate.  Sprinkle with a little salt if you'd like and you're done. 

On this second plate you can put a little wire rack to let the onion rings drain on or, heaven for bid you still use paper towels, you can use one of those.  Personally, I use a dish towel.  Works just fine and it's not going into the land fill when it is done. 

So there are two of the snacky foods we will be having for the Super Bowl and I won't have to go out and buy any of the ingredients.  They will taste great and be satisfying.  

Why this post...of course to make you stop and think about the types of snack foods you can make for your little get together that won't cost you a fortune from ingredients you probably already have on hand.  The onion rings are absolutely incredible!  When I make these, which is not that often, they are the first thing to go.  Ever made Panko bread crumbs?  They are great to use for the dried bread crumbs.  Haven't made them yourself before, we'll I'll just have to put that into a a different post.  So easy and waaaaaayyyyyy cheaper than the store bought ones.

Now go into the kitchen and see what you can make for your Super Bowl get together without having to go to the store.  Be creative.  There is no written requirement that says you have to fix chicken wings for a Super Bowl party.  You can fix fun, tasty, snack foods for your party without spending a fortune. 

Till next time,

Hugs,