I have so much fun teaching this I would love to share it with you! I teach Enrichment groups, mom's groups, or family and friends in your homes. This is a FREE service and a FREE website. To learn more email me at this link. I can't wait to hear your success stories.
For the first time ever I have been given permission to post newspaper prices for The Deseret News and The Salt Lake Tribune. And best yet the deal that is currently going on is the LOWEST I have seen in over a year! Anyone* living in Utah can take advantage of these great rates.
A weekend edition, pre-paid for the whole year (52 weeks) for only $39 a subscription!! You also get the E-Edition with this subscription. That is like paying .75 a paper!
To order call me directly at 435-881-7387. I will be taking orders everyday except Sunday. If you get my voicemail please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
I have no idea when this deal will end. Please call as soon as you can in order to take advantage of this awesome price!
Fine Print:
I will need to know how many papers you currently get if any, how many you want to get, your name delivery address, email, and payment with either debit or credit cards.
If you are a current subscriber to either paper you can add more papers to your account with this rate. There is a limit, a total of four papers per household (2 Salt Lake Tribunes and 2 Deseret News) and any current subscriptions count toward this limit.
If you are getting your local paper you can also add one or more (up to four) of these subscriptions to be delivered to your home.
Delivery will start a week after your subscription is entered.
The winner of the $100 Restaurant.com gift card is Stephanie B.! She entered this delicious looking recipe.
Thanks for sharing all of your yummy recipes. Feel free to continue sending them in as I will feature a new recipe each month.
B.A.C.H. – (pronounced like the composer, it stands for Broccoli And Cheese & Ham) This is a family favorite that I grew up on. I can’t remember if my mom adapted it from a recipe or completely made it up, but we love it and usually have it once a month. I keep all the ingredients on hand. I use powdered milk in the sauce, but until now I hadn’t thought of using it in the cornbread, I’ll have to try that. The non-shelf stable items I keep in my freezer. I buy a big thing of ham and chop it up into smaller pieces and freeze. The broccoli we usually serve on the side so people can choose how much broccoli they want. We’ve never tried other vegetables, but I’m sure you could substitute your favorite. I’ve also included my favorite cornbread recipe. We slice the cornbread in half before topping with the sauce. Extra cornbread is good topped with butter and honey!
White Sauce:
4 T. margarine or butter
4 T. flour and 6 T. non-instant powdered milk
1 t. chicken bouillon (optional, I usually just salt and pepper to taste)
2 c. water (or use milk & omit the powdered milk)
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 c. chopped ham (I keep chunks of ham in my freezer)
One package or about 2 cups of cooked chopped broccoli
Melt margarine or butter. Stir in flour & powdered milk until smooth. Add chicken bouillon or other seasonings. Slowly add water as you stir. Continue to stir on medium heat until thick. Add cheese, ham, and broccoli, stirring after each is added. Serve over cornbread.
Sweetest Corn Bread
Combine in medium bowl:
1/2 c. corn meal
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (I usually substitute 1/2 - 3/4 c. whole wheat flour)
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Combine in small bowl:
1/3 c. oil
3 T. melted butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 1/4 c. milk
Combine all above ingredients.
Pour into greased 8-inch square pan.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 35 minutes.
For muffins: Spoon batter into 18 to 20 greased or paper-lined muffin cups.
Fill 2/3 full. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes.
The most common question I get is how do I prepare a menu? I am funny. I like some things to be the same over and over but meals are not one of them. I have some strange rules in my head about repeating meals, meats, and cuise types. Because of all my rules and sometimes moods I like to be flexible and have options in my menu planning so I usually only have a few recipes in mind to make for the week and don’t neccessarily assign them a day.
In this post from awhile back I also talked about meal planning and gave some more ideas and suggestions on how to plan. I don’t plan for breakfast and lunch. I just keep our favorite basics on hand. Things like bread, sandwich meats, peanut butter, jelly, oatmeal, cereal, and eggs. I sually make these yummy waffles once or twice a week for breakfast and I use leftovers for my lunch too. Today I will walk you through exactly how I would meal plan this week for my family’s dinner.
I look to my calander to see my week in review. This helps me decide what nights we will be eating at out, and what nights are busier than others. This snap shot helps me later decide when I can make a fancy meal because I have more time and when I need to make an eaiser meal. I find this helps me make wise choices as to what meals I choose to make later.
I think about the veggies and fruits I have in my fridge, meats on hand in the freezer, and try to think if there is something I could make around the on hand items.
Example: I have corn on the cob, potatoes, green peppers, hamburger patties, hamburger, a loaf of french bread, salad fixins, ground italian turkey, a roast, watermelon, oranges, apples, banannas
3. Then I look at The List’s to see what is on sale this week. I will generally do this on Wednesdays as that is the day most stores start their sale. I will look for produce items, meats, and other things I know my family enjoys.
4. Once i’ve done my research, I start to make a list of meal options for the week. This week we will have;
Hamburgers and Corn on the cob
A roast cooked in the crockpot with potatoes and a salad
Spaghetti with marinara and browned Turkey, a salad and the bread
Stuffed green peppers with watermelon slices
Hot roast beef sandwiches (using the leftovers)
A left over night
An eat out night
I hope this little snapshot into my meal planning is helpful. If you have a great idea or would like to share how you plan your family’s meals feel free to leave a comment.
*** Don’t forget this is the final week to enter for the $100 Restaurant.com gift card give away. Send in your recipes with a picture to be entered to theobsessiveshopper@live.com. There is NO limit! All recipes enterd will be featured in future blog post but only one will win!***
We once had this yummy salad delivered by a neighbor for dinner (thanks Fife family). It is wonderful as a stand alone summer meal or as a great addition to any potluck. Most the ingredients I keep in my pantry so it is a snap to put together.
1 cup red grapes, sliced
3-4 cooked chicken breast, cubed
12 oz box bowtie pasta, cooked al dente
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2/3 cups Craisins
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
8 oz Coleslaw dressing
1/2 cup mayo
1 small can of cashews
Mix together all the ingredients, except for the dressing, mayo, and cashews in a large bowl. Combine dressing and mayo until well blended then pour over the ingredients in large bowl. Stir until well combined let rest in fridge overnight. Right before serving add cashews. If it seems to dry you can add more coleslaw dressing.
Don’t Forget to enter for your chance to win $100 in gift cards to Restaurant.com! Email your favorite recipe with a picture to theobessiveshopper@live.com for your chance to win. No entry limit!!! All recipes entered will be featured in a monthly What’s on the Menu post.
When chicken goes on sale (I watch for $1.69/lb or less for boneless skinless) I buy a lot and freeze for later use. I will usually place 3-4 breasts in a freezer baggy, and label it with the date.
Another thing I do is cook quite a bit in my crock pot (just add your trimmed chicken, a few sprinkles of dried onion, salt and pepper if you like, and about 1 cup water or broth and cook on low 6-8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through) then bag about 2 cups worth in freezer baggies and lable with the date, the amount you put in there, and what it is. It is ready to use instead of canned chicken! Here is a frozen food chart to help you know how long things will keep in the freezer.
We are not huge celery eaters around here but in recipes like this it ads so much flavor so I will dice celery and place it on a large cookie sheet then freeze it. After it is frozen I then transfer it to a freezer bag and label it with date.
Don’t have coleslaw dressing? You don’t have to buy it you can make this one instead. (follow the recipe except don’t worry about making the cabage salad)
I have quite the stockpile of my favorite grocery items and love to try new recipes using what I have stored away. I’ve shared some of those recipes with you before. I like to call my recipe sharing segment “What’s on the Menu”. Starting this month I have choosen to post a new recipe once a month.
Now what would be really fun is if you would share some of your favorites with pictures too. So be thinking of the favorite dishes you make your family using the food you’ve stored in your pantry so we can all see and even try for ourselves. You can email them to me and I’ll let you know when your menu item will be posted.
To sweeten the deal how about a drawing for $100 gift cards for Restaurant.com? To qualify for the drawing send in a recipe with the picture of the finished product. I will randomly draw the winner whose recipe will be posted the first week of June. So get cooking! I can’t wait to see the yummy recipes that come in. Email your entry to theobsessiveshopper@live.com. Feel free to submit more than one for more chances to win!
Buy the items your family uses often while they are on sale and get enough to last you until they go on sale again, (usually 3-4 months) or longer. This in depth explanation I wrote awhile ago and I think you will get a good laugh at the example I used.
Only use coupons when the item is already on sale. This helps you get the most bang for your clipping efforts. Following this one trick you will find more name brand products in your stock pile because you will be able to get them cheaper than even the generics! Here is my personal example of this trick.
This is the icing on the cake! When you have more than one coupon for an item you can get more than one item for the best price. A good rule of thumb is to have a coupon per person in your home. This way you can buy enough products to keep up with your families consumption while still putting things away in your pantry/stockpile. The best way to get these coupons are through the Sunday newspaper. I talked about all the reasons why this trick scared me at first in this post.
In areas where the Lists are available I have connections to people who can get you some of the best prices out there for multiple newspaper subscriptions! If you want information about newspapers deals in your area please email me at theobsessiveshopper@live.com and I will get you taken care of.
I was like many of you who when you were first introduced to the idea of couponing imagined a HUGE mess! I almost turned down this amazing opportunity to learn how to save $$$ because of my dislike of clutter. When I first learned how to organize my coupons in this amazingly simple way I knew I would be successful at saving our family money. This basic skill is for any one using any of The Lists found on my site. (if your state is not available yet reviews the posts found in my System to help you learn how to start your own database.) If you are just starting out or if you have taken a break and want to get started again or if you have over complicated your own methods I know that pacticing this one basic will make couponing so much more manageable and fun.
I hope you will enjoy the video below as I show you have I organize my coupons. Don’t forget to throw out your old packets after 5 months!
A very common problem even I run into is seeing so many deals that I over spend! One of the best ways to combat this problem is to set up and stick to a monthly food and household budget. For my family of 5 I have a $200 a month food/household items budget. I use this form to help me track what is left of my monthly budget. Feel free to download it and use it for yourself as well.
Besides my budget I have noticed that I get my “needs” and my “wants” mixed up. Sometimes I see a great buy on, let’s say Oreo’s. I will be tempted to purchase 5 boxes because I have the coupons right? At times like these I have to look at what is left of my budget and honestly ask myself, “Do you REALLY need to use that much of your budget on cookies that you know you will hide in your room and eat all by yourself?” Usually the answer is no even though I “want” the cookies. On really tight months I have to be espcially strict with my budget and ONLY purchase items I am out of.
I also keep a paper on my fridge that has two columns. One side I list the items that we are out of or are “needs”. The other side is the “wants” and items that I may have one or two left in my storage. I use this list of mine to remind me to watch for the items I need and want to go on sale. This is another way I protect myself from getting too overly excited about big deals. When I shop and a “need” item is on sale I will purchase more than one. If it is not on sale I will only get what I need, usually one. After all the needs are met I will then look for the “want” items. If they are on sale and I have enough in my budget then I will get them.
Having the budget in place and as a rule not a suggestion is a basic that everyone needs to start with if they are trying to save money on groceries.
Feel free to post things that YOU do to help you stay on your grocery budget in the comments section of this post.
You may have noticed that I have been absent from the blog. I have been working on teaching free coupon classes and being a mom. It has been a wonderful break. While on my hiatus I spent some time thinking about The Obsessive Shopper and my goals for the blog.
I started this blog almost two years ago for the purpose of continuing the coupon education of those who attend my live classes and a spot for those whom I cannot reach personally to learn how to use coupons. Looking back I am mostly satisfied with what I have posted. That being said, from here on out my focus will not be on finding and posting the most amazing deals as blog posts. There are so many wonderful people doing that out there. (I’ll share some of my favorites to follow in my Links area) I know I couldn’t even compare or dedicate the time and energy to do the type of work it takes! Instead my posts will focus on educating, and increasing your education of using coupons, and The Lists. I love variety and here and there I’ll blog about other things I’m passionate about- motherhood, recipes, etc… So for now look for new posts coming that will be a flash “Back to the Basics” .
If you are new or an experienced couponer these posts will certainly be a great review. If you have a question about coupon basics please either comment on this post or email me.
I want to thank every one of you who visit this blog, who email me, who host classes for your friends and families to learn this valuable information. I love hearing the heartwarming stories of how this valuable information has blessed your family’s lives. I just love all the new friends I’ve made over that past couple years. I love being an obsessive shopper but most of all I LOVE teaching YOU how to be a money saving, obsessive shopper too!
Introducing a new Printable Coupon Index now available on The Lists. This index is updated five days a week and will display currently available printable coupons with the link to that coupon.
Printable coupons can usually be printed twice. Some coupons are listed multiple times in the index because they are found on different sites and may not be available for multiple printing from all the sites shown. Some sites shown will require registration before printing. It is up to you to decide if you want the coupon bad enough to register. What I have done is create a free email account for just this purpose. This email account gets filled up will all sorts of offers and newletters but I don’t mind because it doesn’t effect my main email account.
