Wegmans Deals

This week's Wegmans deals are up at Frugal in Virginia. Check out the new lowered prices on spring items!

Tuesday Tip

Use machine washable microfiber cleaning cloths instead of expensive Swiffer cloths or paper towels. I love my Swiffer mop, but the refills are just so expensive, even with a coupon. So I just started using a microfiber cloth rag instead, and I'm not looking back. The heavier cloth rag actually cleans better than the disposable version, and I use vinegar so as not to have harsh chemicals around my girls. (Read Frugal in Virginia's post from a while back about cheaper ways to use your Swiffer.)

I bought a 4-pack of these microfiber cloths at Target; it includes 4 different weights for different cleaning jobs. They work really well, and I just throw them in the wash with towels and napkins.

And of course, this tip is good for the environment as well as your wallet!

Menu Planning Monday

It's already time for another two weeks of menu planning! This week I'm planning mostly beef meals. Next week is Holy Week (the week before Easter), and I'm trying to serve minimal meat. I'm excited to try some yummy ethnic vegetarian meals instead.

We're going over to my sister's house for Easter dinner, and we'll be making the meal together. I know we'll probably do ham, but we haven't decided on the rest of the menu yet.

Here's my next two weeks' menus:

Breakfasts
Weekdays: cereal, oatmeal, homemade bagels, toast, yogurt
Weekends: waffles, eggs

Lunches
Weekdays: leftover lentil soup, cold cut sandwiches, pbj, cheese and crackers, beans and rice
Weekend: hot dogs, layered bean dip with chips

Snacks
hummus & pita, fruit, goldfish, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, chips

Dinners
Mon - Leftover Golden Lasanga, salad, bread (This was just okay; a little heavy)
Tues - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
Wed - Hungarian Goulash, noodles, salad
Thurs - Leftovers (Michael won't be here for dinner)
Fri - Frozen fried fish, corn, chips
Sat - Meatloaf, rice, green beans
Sun - Leftover goulash

Mon - Falafel, pita bread (I'm using an easy recipe from my Joy of Cooking Vegetarian cookbook; I'm sure there are also many recipes online.)
Tues - Quick and Easy Samosas, mango chutney (if the chutney's not too expensive!) (My sister just gave me this recipe; sounds so good and easy.)
Wed - Leftovers from Monday and/or Tuesday
Thurs - Homemade Garlic Pizza
Fri - Leftovers
Sat - Pasta with marinara sauce, salad, bread
Sun - Easter!

PS - Check out more Menu Planning Mondays here.

PPS - Enter my 100th post giveaway here!

My 100th Post Giveaway!

Well, I can hardly believe it, but this is my 100th post! To those of you who have been reading this blog - thank you so much! I have been having a great time writing it, and I hope it has been helpful to some of you. Please keep reading, and feel free to share it with any friends that you think may be interested.

In honor of my 100th post, I am hosting my first giveaway! This giveaway is for a holiday decor gift pack, filled with decorations and fun items for a number of holidays. But there's a twist: this is a frugal person's holiday gift pack! That is, these are items that I picked up on 75% or 90% off clearance sales this year. These are not items for upcoming holidays, they are items to save for next year!

So the lucky winner will receive a basket of Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter goodies, all of which I purchased on clearance after the holidays this year. I have not finished accumulating the St. Patrick's Day and Easter items, so the complete contents of the pack will be a surprise. However, the ornament kit (Target, 90% off) and the lovely Valentine's wreath (CVS, 75% off) shown will both be included.

The winner will receive a pack of at least 10 different items. This giveaway ends next Monday, April 6, at midnight. However, I will not mail the prize until a week or two after Easter, in order to be able to include clearance Easter goodies.

So here's how to enter this giveaway:

1) Leave a comment below. That's it! I'd love to hear something about you and how you found this blog. Please include your email if it is not in your profile.

For extra entries (only after you've done the first one), you may:

2) Check out the rest of my blog and leave a comment on another post. Then leave a comment here saying that you did so.

3) Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link.

4) Follow this blog on Google or in another reader. If you already follow it, you can get an extra entry for that.

5) Sign up for my email subscriptions (on my sidebar). If you're already a subscriber, that counts.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

The winner will be chosen by random number generator next Tuesday. I will email the winner, and he or she will have 72 hours to respond. If I don't hear back by that time, I will choose a new winner.

Good luck, and thanks for entering!

Harris Teeter Triples and Monthly Grocery Total

Well, I made it out to Harris Teeter triple coupons yesterday afternoon. My husband and the girls actually came with me, since we were headed on a family trip to Home Depot afterwards. It was so nice to have help with the girls in the grocery store!

I spent $26 altogether, but I got several items that were not triple coupon items, including a couple of treats.

I didn't think the Harris Teeter matchups were that fabulous this time, but I did snag some good deals. This picture is just my triple coupon items.

My best deals were the following:

- Dawn dish soap - $1.39 - 3 x $.50 coupon = free

- Matahama rice mixes - $.67 - 3 x $.50/2 coupon = free

- No Yolks noodles - $2.29 - 3 x $.75 coupon = $.04

- Matahma white rice - $1.76 - 3 x $.50 coupon = $.26

- Electrasol Finish Quantum - $2.75 - $.100 coupon (not tripled) = $1.75 (This new dishwasher detergent is ridiculously expensive at regular price, but on sale for half price and with the dollar coupon it was less than just buying regular detergent.

So this week I spent:

Harris Teeter: $26.00

Target: $18.12 & $7.88

Walgreens: $1.28 & $1.20

Total this week: $54.56

Final Total for March: $315.69

Considering that total, I think I can say I have offically reached my goal of reducing our grocery budget to $350/month! Yay! I don't have a new goal yet, because I want to keep it at $350 for a few months and then reassess. I did get a ton of fabulous deals in the past few months, so I want to be sure I can keep this up consistently.

PS - Check out more Super Savings Saturdays here.

By the way, I've got some good stuff to share with you this coming week! I have a follow-up post for my post on 7 Simple Ways to Save on Groceries, and I'll also be telling you about our plans for a new frugal endeavor: a vegetable garden. And don't forget to check back Monday to find out how to enter my first giveaway! I am very excited to share it with you!

Frugal Summer Fun with Kids

With the weather warming up and spring officially here, I've been thinking a lot about getting out more with my girls and doing some fun activities. I think it's so much easier to have frugal fun in the summer than in the winter. Here are a few of my ideas:

- The park - There's a reason that they're every child and parent's favorite. Parks and playgrounds are free, good exercise, a chance to socialize with other parents and kids, and tons of fun! Try checking out parks in your area that you've never visited before. There's a really neat park about 15 minutes from us that has a dinosaur theme!

- The pool - Many homeowners associations in our area have their own pools, but unfortunately ours does not. However, my girls are still so young that they'll have plenty of fun in wading pools in our own backyard. There are so many neat wading pools you can buy now, and of course don't forget the good old fashioned sprinkler! Last year we put a plastic slide in the wading pool, and my daughter and her friends had a blast. Also, a new community pool is opening in our town, for which you can pay per day. It will probably be a bit of a treat to go there, but it is much cheaper than having to pay a large annual fee to a join a pool.

- Local attractions - A friend from church told me about a spot a few miles away where she takes her toddler son to watch the trains go by! I'm definitely thinking that would make a great picnic spot when it really gets warm. There's also a farm in a neighboring county that is free to visit (check out Frying Pan Farm if you're in my area). I can't wait to take my girls to see the baby animals this spring. Do some research on your local attractions; I bet you'll find some neat things to do. They could be as simple as watching trains or trucks with a toddler or an interesting free museum with an older child.

- Free and discounted events - A small local movie theater in our town shows family movies on summer mornings for just $1 admission. There are also several free street festivals in our town on various summer weekends. And don't forget that most ice cream chains have a free or very cheap promotional night one day each summer! Freebies 4 Mom will be sure to have the scoop on events like that.

- Rainy Day Fun - My number one rainy day spot (besides curled up on our couch) is the library! Story time is great any time of year, and it's free. Our library also has tons of special programs that you can register for online. And of course, the library has books, DVDs, and CDs to refresh your collection of stories and music. Now that my older daughter is more able to participate, I really want to get back into doing some crafts too. I'll definitely be on the lookout for fun, frugal crafts for rainy or too-hot days this summer.

I hope these ideas inspire you to start thinking of fun summer plans. What are your favorite frugal summer activities?

PS - Check out more Frugal Fridays at LifeasMom.

7 Simple Ways to Save on Groceries

I know that some people reading my blog are probably better at saving money than I am, but there are also some who are just getting started on their "frugal journey." So today I am sharing some very simple, easy ways to start reducing your grocery bill. These ideas are great for beginners, because they take a minimal amount of time and effort, and they are also a great reminder for all of us of the basics of saving money.

1) Decide on a grocery budget and stick to it. This is probably the number one way to save on really anything: deciding that you won't spend more than a certain amount. And it's not hard to do. Start with a very realistic budget, just a little lower than what you usually spend. Then keep track of your shopping each week or month (however your budget is organized) and don't spend over that amount. Even if you have to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the last few days of the month, you won't starve!

2) Plan meals. Don't go to the grocery store and just buy whatever looks good or what you think you might need. Actually sit down and go over your week (or whatever period of time you're shopping for) and see what meals you'll be eating and what ingredients you need. When I started seriously doing this, I was amazed to find how little I actually needed to buy for each week. If planning meals seems daunting, just write down dinners for one Monday through Friday. Pretty much anyone can spend a few minutes doing that. I wrote more about meal planning here and here.

3) Shop with a list and stick to it. After you've planned your meals, make a detailed list and stick to it. Don't forget items for breakfast, lunches, and snacks, as well as beverages, paper products, cleaning products - anything you normally buy at a grocery or big box store. This practice has the added benefit of reducing trips to the store for forgotten items, which further reduces the chance of impulse buying.

4) Start clipping coupons. I could certainly write a whole post about couponing (and I probably will), but getting started really doesn't take much effort or explanation. Simply buy a Sunday newspaper each week and start looking for coupons on items you were going to buy anyway. If you find a $.50 coupon on the brand of cereal you always buy, and your store doubles it (which many do), then that little slip of paper is a dollar in your pocket. Once you are comfortable using a few coupons here and there, you can move on to matching them with sales and other coupon strategies.

5) Stock up on sales. Most people have probably done this at some time or other. You've noticed that your favorite cereal is on sale, so you've bought three boxes. That is the basic idea behind what couponers call "stockpiling." Basically, if an item that you regularly buy go on sale for a dollar off, you save three dollars if you buy three. It's definitely a good idea to do this, with a couple of caveats. First, don't buy 10 boxes of cereal if it's not in your budget. It will save you more money in the long run to stick to a budget than to save a couple of dollars on cereal one month. Also, remember than many items go on sale regularly, so there's no need to buy 10 if it will go on sale again in six weeks.

6) Consider generics - I wrote in a previous post about not being brand loyal. It is definitely worth it to try the generic brand on pretty much anything. You can always switch back, but you might save a considerable amount of money without even noticing by, say, buying generic canned tomatoes.

7) Think outside the box - Challenge the way you have been thinking about shopping and spending money. I have always been a frugal person who used coupons and shopped sales, but when I examined my grocery budget this summer I found that I was acting on a lot of premises that could be challenged. For instance, did my husband have to have Tostitos brand chips and salsa, because that's what he remembered from his childhood, or would he be perfectly fine with Wegmans brand? (It was the latter.) Did I need to keep my pantry stocked with certain items, or should I just buy them when I was planning to use them in a recipe? Should I buy this item just because it's on sale or is it better to just spend less money this week?

I hope these tips are helpful. Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section, and I will try to address them. Also, look for an upcoming post on more "advanced" grocery store saving strategies, for when you're ready to move onto the next steps!

Best Deals Roundup

The most worthwhile deals from around the blogosphere:

If you have a Kmart store nearby, I'm jealous! They may be offering Super Double Coupons this week! Apparantly, during these events they double coupons up to $2.00! I bet you could score some amazing deals, especially if your store has a lot of food products. Money Saving Mom has some links to help you out here.

If you don't have a Kmart, maybe you can take advantage of Harris Teeter's Triple Coupons this week. I would advise checking out Frugal in Virginia in the next few days for coupon matchups. I'm sure she will have a good list.

The Target deals just keep coming! Check out the current list here and here. Every time I go into Target I keep getting a free loaf of the mini artisan bread with this coupon! They have ciabatta, sour dough, harvest grain, and mini baguettes. I've tried the harvest grain, and it was really good.

Restaurant.com has another great promotion going on - 70% off! You can click on the restaurant.com image on my sidebar and enter code SAVE at checkout. This can be used on both $25 gift certificates (to get them for $3!) and on the Dinner of the Month club, and it's valid through March 31.

And finally, check back later this week for something exciting: I'm going to be hosting my first giveaway!

Feeling the Pinch

I try to make this blog a place to celebrate the frugal life, because I truly believe that being frugal and responsible with money can lead to a more joyful and fulfilling life. In fact, many of my frugal practices are barely sacrifices to me, since I am so used to living my life a certain way.

However, for me, as I am sure for many of us, there does come a point where I really wish I could spend money on something but can't. That has happened several times lately. In particular, there was something that I really wanted to do for my daughter that I realized that we could not afford. Also, having one car has seemed a bit more of a drag lately, and I have been grumbling at some of the challenges of our one-vehicle lifestyle.

So lest you think I am some saint of frugality, let me tell you, I am very flawed. However, I did come up with two thoughts that help me when I am feeling stressed about the things that we can't afford or don't choose to spend our money on.

The first is gratitude. I mentioned earlier this week how grateful I have been feeling about all the wonderful grocery deals I have gotten lately. We have really such an abundance of food for a lot less money than I used to think was possible. Now, it's not filet mignon, but it's not all beans and rice either. I might not be able to get my daughter everything I could desire or even everything a lot of other people can afford, but I have never in the least worried about her going hungry. There are many, many people in the world who cannot say that.

The second is awareness of our goals. As I hope I have communicated before, I think it is so important to have goals for your frugality. Frugality should not mean just hanging onto your money, but rather not wasting it so that you can put it towards what is really important to you. So when I chafe at having only one car, it helps me to think, "Well, we could have two cars, but we would be living paycheck to paycheck and could be completely ruined by an unexpected bill." Instead, we are slowly but surely building up a decent-sized emergency fund so that we can live with peace of mind. (Read Alyssa's inspiring post about having an emergency fund.) And once we have that saved, we may be able to move on to saving for another car!

In the end, being frugal is all about making good choices with your money. We think we're making the best choices we can for our family right now, and that is comforting, even when the choices are hard.

Wegmans Deals

My Wegmans deals for the week are up at Frugal in Virginia. Read them here before you plan your Wegmans trip!

Bloom Triple Coupons and More Saturday Shopping

Well, I did end up making my first trip to Bloom's triple coupon event on Saturday. I was in a hurry, so I just went in for the free or close to free deals, courtesy of Redemption Unlimited. I bought everything pictured below, $25 worth of groceries ($20 after sales).



Well, after my tripled coupons, my total was negative!!! The cashier just stared at it for a second, so I helpfully asked if I should buy something else! I added a pack of Skittles, and ended up paying $.55 for my order. I think that was the first time this has happened to me!


Then I proceeded to Target to repeat some of the deals I had already gotten. I arrived home with five bags of groceries, for which in total I paid $6. I was so excited.

I really feel so blessed by the abundance of great deals lately. Let's just say we won't run out of cereal or granola bars soon! And I'm excited to have extra to share with friends and family.

Amazing Target Deals and Other Shopping

How much do you think I paid at Target for all the items pictured above? Well, I'll tell you . . . I paid $5.85 including tax for all of it! That's less than the original price of just one of the packages of baby wipes! There are some awesome deals this week at Target, and you should be able to still get them at least through today.

If you'd like to know how I did it, first check out Money Saving Mom's post on this week's Target deals. I got the applesauce and mini artisan breads as she described. I got the wipes using the recent printable $5 Huggies coupons (check the coupons.com widget in my sidebar if you haven't printed yours). The Sutton and Dodge steak coupon is here. I just looked for a package size that was as close to $2.00 as possible, so I got a little under a pound of steak for about $.09.

The Quaker deal also described in Crystal's post is so awesome! Basically, each item is either $2.00 or $2.50 on sale. Since you get a $5 giftcard for buying 5, it's as if each item were $1.00 or $1.50. Then if you have a $1.00 coupon on an item costing $1.50 or a $1.00/2 coupon on an item costing $1.00 (and there are many out there, both from newspaper inserts and internet printables), you basically get each item for $.50! I have more coupons, so I'm planning to make another trip to Target today to do it again, rolling over my giftcard from the last transaction.
Note also that more Quaker products are included in the deal than may be marked in the store. Check at the register if you're not sure; all the ones I pictured were included in the deal but didn't have signs that mentioned it.

My other grocery shopping this week:

- Target: $9.85 (I got 4 items from the dollar section as well as the items above)
- Walmart: $12.24 & $3.86 (These are from last week, that I forgot to add in)
- CVS: $14.29 (lots of Easter candy!)
- Wegmans: $51.62

Total this week: $91.86
Total this month: $261.13
Left in budget: $118.87

I'm thinking about trying out Bloom's triple coupons later today; I'll try to update this post if I do!

Seven Frugal Thoughts

Well, I actually didn't have a Frugal Fridays post planned for today, so I thought I'd try something new: 7 Quick Takes over at Conversion Diary. You can check out other people's 7 Quick Takes here.

So without further ado, seven quick frugal thoughts for your Friday:

1) One thing I will never, never understand is - vanity licence plates. I don't mean any disrespect if you have one - please enjoy it. :-) But personally, I just cannot possibly comprehend spending actual money so that your licence plate can say DIVACHIC or IROCK. And then you're completely defined by whatever it is your licence plate says (hear that, LOVRBOY)! For thirty bucks! I think I would pay for pretty much anything before a vanity plate. But that's just me.

2) I feel so blessed by all the great deals I have gotten lately. I particularly excited to share my awesome Target deals with you tomorrow! Check my Super Savings Saturday post tomorrow morning for pictures. Our pantry is overflowing, and I'm so excited to have extra to share. God is good!

3) If my husband has to work more on Saturday (hoping not!), I'm going to take my 2 year old to this free Little People event at Toys R Us. She loves Little People; she knows all their names from the DVDs. Farmer Jed and Michael are her favorites. I love the DVDs too, because they are just right for a toddler. They're simple and fanciful and don't try to be too educational or sophisticated.

4) I hosted a playgroup this morning, but since we were out shopping all day yesterday, I didn't have time to bake anything. So I bought a Pillsbury lemon poppy seed muffin mix on sale for $1.99. It went against the grain to do it, because it probably would have cost less than half to make them from scratch. But it made me think that it is important to not look for perfection in frugality, but to just do your best. If you can't do the best thing, do the next best thing! If I had bought prepared muffins from the bakery they would have been double the cost of the mix, so I definitely still saved.

5) I'd sort of like to check out another kids' consignment sale in my area tomorrow, but I don't really think I still need anything! I got so much good stuff at the sale last weekend, and also a friend of a friend just gave me some lovely clothes from her daughter. Even better than consignment sales are nice hand-me-downs!

6) For a good explanation of stockpiling (not like it sounds; just means stocking up on sales), read this post by Frugal in Virginia. I thought it gave a good explanation of how I've been shopping now, especially when she mentions that she hardly ever has the ingredients for a full meal in her cart at the same time. Lately that's how I shop: stock up on the sales and create meals from that. I think it's working - my family hasn't complained, and my grocery bills keep getting lower!

7) I just want to say, to anyone who's been reading, commenting, and/or telling friends about my blog . . . thanks! I'm having so much fun writing this and hearing your feedback. Keep it up! Have a great weekend! :-D

Wegmans Deals

Since I finally made it out shopping, my Wegmans deals are up at Frugal in Virginia. Check them out!

Reduced Grocery Prices!

I finally made it out grocery shopping this morning, after a long week of sick, cranky kids and my husband working late. Something that definitely perked me up, though, is that I noticed that some grocery prices are actually starting to come down! After shooting up to depressingly high levels this summer, prices of some basic staples are definitely back down to more reasonable levels.

A few that I noticed:

- milk - Skim milk was actually on sale for $1.99/gallon! This is after milk climbed to a national average of almost $4.00/gallon this summer.
- butter - Wegmans' new low price is $1.99/pound. I couldn't find it on sale for that earlier this year.
- flour - I can't find an exact price at the moment, but it seems to me that it has come down somewhat over the past few months.

One item that I noticed is still high in price is eggs. I just paid $2.49 for 18 eggs. Ouch.

These prices reflect what I found in my Northern VA Wegmans store. I'd be interested to hear if you've gotten even lower in any other areas of the country. Also, has anyone else noticed lower prices on any other items?

Coupons by Email

Today I wanted to share how I keep track of store sales and coupons and obtain extra grocery coupons by email. You may be aware that you can sign up for email updates from your favorite store (e.g. the Gap, LandsEnd) to be made aware of sales and promotions. But did you know that you can often do that for grocery products as well? Some newsletters are for a particular product (e.g. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish "Fishfood" newsletter"; others are for a particular brand (e.g. Kraft foods).

Now, not all of these newsletters are worth it; some only have product information or ads and rarely send coupons. Others send coupons pretty regularly. If there is a product you often buy or particularly enjoy, it might be worth checking out its website and seeing if they advertise coupons and/or a newsletter. Some product websites also have coupons to print right on the website.

Of course, who wants their inbox cluttered with newsletters from Goldfish crackers? That is why I have a dedicated "coupon" email address! (Well, I actually refer to it as my "spam" email!) I don't worry about releasing this email address, since I don't use it for my personal correspondence. I also don't worry about opening all of the messages or organizing them. Today's free email accounts have so much space; I probably could not delete a single message for years and still have room. So when I log into this account I just skim the new messages to check for coupons or deals that interest me.

Here are a list of some of the coupon/store/product newsletters to which I find to be most worth subscribing. Hope it is helpful!

Stores:
- LandsEnd (lots of promotions)

- CVS, Rite Aid (send coupons)

- Borders books (coupons as least once a week)

- Gymboree

- Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic

Grocery coupons:

- Vocalpoint
- Shortcuts.com (electronic coupons for certain stores)

- HomeMadeSimple
- Eat Better America (General Mills)

- Betty Crocker newsletter(s) (good recipes too)

- Kraft

PS - Check out more Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

Tuesday Tip

Invest in rechargeable batteries. If you have any type of gadget that "eats" batteries, like my digital camera, the more expensive rechargeables are well worth the investment, not to mention that they're better for the environment. To give a practical example:

Three sets of rechargeable AA batteries (6 batteries) and a charger costs about $30 altogether. (Although I got my extra set of batteries close to free on a CVS deal.)

The same $30 would buy you about five 8-packs of of regular AA batteries (20 sets/40 batteries).

So when you change your rechargeable batteries for the 21st time, you've started making money. This may seem like a long time, but as often as I use my digital camera, that is probably only a few months. Further, your rechargeables should last well beyond the 21st charge; I think I've heard an estimate of around 100 charges, though it can vary. Even when your rechargeable batteries eventually wear out, you don't have to replace the charger, just the batteries.

If you don't want to lay out the money all at once, buy the charger and one set of batteries first, and then eventually get yourself some extra sets. Also, the major battery brands often have coupons for rechargeable batteries and chargers.

Photo from www.freefoto.com.

Best Deals Roundup

The most worthwhile deals from around the blogosphere:

If you shop at Target, there are a bunch of great deals this week. Check out Crystal's post here. The last one is my favorite - Quaker oatmeal and granola bars for as low as $.40/box!

Thanks to Redemption Unlimited for the heads up about a $25 off $50 purchase at Ann Taylor Loft. Wow! Read all about it here.

If you're expecting your second child (or twins!), Baby Cheapskate has the lowdown on a fabulous deal on a double stroller. Too bad I don't think I could justify buying a second one . . .

And finally: this is not my usual cheapie deal . . . but I did notice in the newspaper that spa week is coming up, April 13-19. According to the Washington Post, Elizabeth Arden Red Door, for example, which has locations in my area, is offering a 50-minute Stress Melter Ritual for $50, down from $235! Still a luxury, perhaps, but a great deal. Go to www.spaweek.com for details.

Menu Plans

I'm late posting this. I have a cold and am off to a slow start this week. I'm just ready for spring!

As usual, I'm trying to base most of my meals on what I already have. I'm doing well on the budget for the month again, and I'd like to hit my goal of only $350 for the month if I can.

Breakfasts: I have lots of cereal and yogurt. I need to have a baking day and whip up some bagels and muffins or quick bread. Also eggs and bacon or sausage for the weekend.

Lunches: cold cuts, rice and beans, tuna, peanut butter, leftovers

Snacks: Have chips, granola bars, trail mix, some homemade chex mix - all I should need to buy is fresh fruit!

Dinners:

Mon - Leftover garlic chicken and noodles (This was really good)

Tues - Corned beef and cabbage (I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I might get a pre-cooked St. Patrick's meal from Wegmans. Otherwise our Irish meal will just have to be late this year.)

Wed - Italian Sausage Soup, homemade bread (I leave out the zucchini for hubby's sake)

Thurs - Leftover soup and bread

Fri - Tilapia (going to try the frozen tilapia from Wegmans as a treat)

Sat- Homemade pizza, salad

Sun - Friend's party

Mon - Golden Lasanga (will finish up leftover ricotta & a can of cream of chic soup)

Tues - Ginger Lentil Soup, homemade bread (never tried this last week)

Wed - Leftover lasanga, salad

Thurs - Leftover soup, mini grilled cheese sandwiches

Fri - Soup supper at church

Sat - Surprise! (depends on our schedule :-)

PS - Menu planning Monday is hosted by OrgJunkie, but it's over at $5 Dinners this week.

Consignment Sale Success!

I had a very successful day at the consignment sale yesterday, and I am so excited to share my finds with you!

I feel really good because I didn't get carried away and stayed right on budget for clothes for my girls. I also found some equipment that we really needed and easily saved us over $100 on those items alone!

Here are the clothes I got for my girls. I paid right around $100 for everything pictured here.

This is close to an entire summer wardrobe for my 2 year old, plus a number of items the baby needed to fill in her hand me downs. It also included 3 pairs of shoes! Here are a couple of my best bargains:

The flowered Baby Gap Sunday dress was $5, and the Janie and Jack capri set was $7. On Janie and Jack's website I found similar pants for $34 and similar tops for $28! And this set was in perfect condition.

The equipment that I got included two Kidco hardware mountable stair gates for $20 each and edge guards for our hearth for just $2!

I also bought a little scooter for my two year old. It was just five dollars, and I thought it would be the perfect thing for when the weather gets warm. I didn't even think she knew what a scooter was, but she immediately put her foot on and started scooting! Then she said, "Mommy, you can try," and instructed me to, "put my foot like this . . . ." :-) She was so excited.

My consignment sale finds are much more interesting than my grocery shopping this week, so I'll just give you the totals so you can see how I'm doing in the budget for the month:

CVS - $5.10

Harris Teeter - $18.10

Target - $9.13

Walgreens - $7.33 & $23.50

Refund from Wegmans - $4.39

Total spent this week: $58.77

Total spent this month: $169.27

Total left in budget: $210.73

Buying Name Brand Children's Clothes

One of the reasons that I am so excited about this Saturday’s consignment sale is that it is a wonderful source of gently used name brand clothing for my two girls (ages 2-1/2 and 6 months). I generally look mostly for Carters, Gap, and Gymboree items, and I have even found quite expensive brands, such as Janie and Jack and Flapdoodles.

Honestly, my girls own few clothing items that are not name-brand. And this is not just because they are spoiled by loving grandparents, great grandparents, and aunties! I have simply found that for me, it is actually more frugal in the long run to get the more expensive brands.

I thought I would share some reasons why I prefer name brand children’s clothing and also some strategies I use to get it for less.

Why I prefer name brands:

- Name brands tend to wear a lot better - I am lucky enough to have two girls who were born at the same time of year (two years apart), so everything that I buy for my older daughter I automatically plan to pass down. I want clothing that the two year old will not tear when she’s running around or stretch out when she’s dressing herself and will look nice washing after washing.

- Name brands tend to look nicer - It’s not just a matter of "expensive taste," it’s that higher-quality clothes tend to consistently look more like they were intended to look. We’ve all had clothes that wrinkled constantly or the hem turns up or the picture is bent. While this can happen with any clothes, I find that better brands have more details in the sewing that keep things looking nice.

- They're cute! - I admit it, I am a flawed frugalista! I love Gymboree’s adorable matching styles and Carters sweet baby collections. I still will not pay full price or violate my budget to get them, but I do enjoy making my girls look extra cute. :-)

How I purchase name brand clothing on a frugal budget:

- Buy it used - I wrote extensively about my favorite consignment sale here. That is one of my main sources each season for gently used name brand clothing. I live in a fairly prosperous area, so there are many parents out there who can afford to buy expensive clothing and then sell it after their child wears it a few times.

Other sources of used clothing that I have used include yard sales, thrift and consignment stores, ebay, freecycle, and hand-me-downs. All of these can be great sources of nice clothing. It is just my personal preference to buy or receive gently used high-quality clothing rather than buying all new clothing in lesser brands.

- Don’t ignore in-store sales - I have heard several moms say that they can’t afford Gymboree for their children. While I would certainly agree with them if we were just talking about Gymboree’s regular prices, Gymboree has fabulous sales and promotions on a very regular basis. Just as an example, I really wanted matching Christmas pajamas for my baby’s first Christmas last year. I priced them in Target, but was actually able to get ones I liked even better in Gymboree for several dollars less, due to a promotion. Gymboree is just an example here; this is no doubt true for other stores as well.

- Plan ahead - In order to get more expensive clothing at rock-bottom prices, I often shop at the end of the season. At first, I had to guess what size she'd be in the next year, but now with my second daughter I have a much better idea. With name-brand clothing, I figure that if I get it cheaply enough and it doesn't end up fitting, I can always resell it and recoup some if not all of the cost.

I hope these strategies are helpful if you are interested in getting name brand clothing for less. Of course, if you prefer a different approach, that's great too. As long as our kids have appropriate clothing and we're staying in our budgets, we can all do whatever works for us!

PS - Check out more Frugal Fridays at its new location: Life as a Mom.

Email Subscriptions

I'm excited because I just added FeedBurner to my site. Now if you like my blog, you can go to my sidebar, type in your email, and get email updates with new content! You can also follow me on Google or subscribe in a reader. It's all near the bottom on my sidebar. :-D

Best Deals Roundup

The most worthwhile deals from around the blogosphere:

Get 30% off your entire purchase at Gap, Old Navy, or Banana Republic this weekend. If you find some good sale items, this could be a fabulous deal. Time to stock up on spring clothes (if you're not already at a consignment sale this weekend ;-) !

Restaurant.com is doing their 80% off deal again, meaning you can get $25 restaurant gift certificates for just $2! As always, read the find print for each restaurant. To get this deal, simply click on the restaurant.com icon on my sidebar, find your local restaurants, and enter the code MENU at checkout. (This is good through March 15).

And if you haven't already heard, Walgreens has a great deal on Huggies this week, especially if you have the recent printable high-value Huggies coupons. I have actually been unable to get this deal yet, because when I went to Walgreens on Tuesday morning they were already out of the sizes I needed. However, I asked when they would restock, so I'm planning to make a trip back Friday or Saturday. If your Walgreens is not close, I would recommend calling ahead to find out how their Huggies stock is doing!

Frugal is the New Black

I have subscriptions to a number of magazines (thanks to my Mom and Grandma and to free offers), and this year I have noticed an increasing number of articles on saving money. This month, I kid you not, every single magazine included at least one major article on frugality. This includes In Style, which is not exactly known for promoting a thrifty lifestyle! For some, it was even the featured topic of the issue, like the Woman's Day I received yesterday. It really is chic to be frugal!

For your interest, here are some of the articles that I thought were particularly worthwhile:

From Real Simple, this article gives ideas on how to say in all different areas of your life. Some of the tips are no-brainers; others will probably really get you thinking of doing something different. Also from Real Simple, read here about saving money on energy costs.

These 101 tips from Parenting each link to other articles. Lots of good info.

I liked this one from Woman's Day, because it showed how eating on a budget can still be healthy. The recipes look practical, too, not full of exotic (expensive!) ingredients.

And finally, of all the articles I read, this one was my favorite. Not necessarily because the strategies the author used were so ground-breaking, but because the article demonstrated how the frugal lifestyle really comes down to a change in thinking. As the author wrote,

"What I realized, however (much to my husband’s delight), is that it isn’t that difficult to achieve some savings. Best of all, we didn’t really give up anything in the process—we just found new ways to get to the same end. I will continue to look for the small savings, losing my “whatever” attitude and replacing it with “wherever.” As in, wherever we can save, we will."

Tuesday Tip

A quick, painless money saving tip every Tuesday

Whoops! Forgot to post this yesterday!

Switch your light bulbs to CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs). You've heard the buzz; what are you waiting for? Although they have a higher upfront cost, they use a fraction of the energy of regular bulbs and they last for about 7 years! Plus, today's CFLs come in many different varieties, so you're not stuck with harsh fluorescent light. We use CFL's in pretty much every light fixture in our house and have no problems, and we have noticed the energy savings.

You can read more about using CFLs here.

Children's Consignment Sales

I am so excited!!! My favorite children's consignment sale is coming up this Saturday. For the past couple of years this has been my sacred semi-annual ritual; my husband knows that he's babysitting on consignment sale day! I volunteer for a 2 hour shift in exchange for being able to shop an hour early, which is completely worth it, since there are over 200 volunteers to shop. And the volunteering is a lot of fun in itself.

I love these sales because they are a win-win situation for everyone: shoppers get great deals; consigners recoup some of the costs of their purchases; and the organization that puts on the sale raises money. In my area, the deals are tremendous. I have gotten many high-quality name brand clothing items for $1-$5 per item, as well baby equipment, books, toys, and outdoor play equipment for a fraction of their retail values.

Since it is officially consignment sale season, I thought I would share some tips for shopping children's consignment sales.

- Find your local sales. If you are in my area (Northern Virginia), I highly recommend the Catholic Consignments sale this Saturday. Redemption Unlimited is also publishing a list of other local sales on their sidebar. If you are in another area of the country, try googling "children's consignment sale" or "children's resale" with your location. There are similar sales in many areas. March is prime season for spring sales around here, and October is the time for falls sales.

- Make a plan. If your sales are anywhere near as good as mine, you'll be thrilled with all the items that you can get at a fraction of their regular retail value. But you're not saving money if you're buying items you don't need or don't have room for. I always try to make a good list of what my girls need, so that I focus on that. I always end up with a few extra "fun" items, but first I look for what they actually lack.

- Shop early. For the best selection, shop early. And depending on your area, that can mean really early! I went to the half-price portion of the first sale I attended, and when I arrived the line wrapped around the building. As a new mom, I was floored. I thought it looked like a celebrity event or something! It is especially important to shop early if you want something that is in high demand. In my experience, that includes more expensive or trendy brand names and expensive equipment, for instance, Baby Bjorns, Bumbo seats, Legos, Gymboree and Janie and Jack clothes, etc.

- Pack lightly. It's best to shop by yourself, without little ones if you can. If you need to bring a baby, a soft carrier is easiest (some sales don't even allow strollers). Definitely leave toddlers at home; otherwise you'll spend all your time keeping them away from the toys. Also many sales encourage bringing a large bag or basket to hold your purchases.

- Plan for the next sale. Next year or next season, consider volunteering or consigning. This will be my fifth sale as a volunteer at this sale, and I really enjoy it. Since I'm getting the best selection at the volunteer pre-sale, I have also been able to get the majority of clothes and equipment that my girls need for each season at the sale. I also often consign a few items at each sale. We're not ready to get rid of most of our baby stuff, but I also don't hang onto everything. A great advantage of these sales is that you can try a piece of equipment for little money and sell it right back at the next sale if it doesn't work out for you.

I hope these tips are helpful to those of you who are new to the consignment sale world! I plan to post pictures of all my finds after I shop on Saturday. I can't wait!

Wegmans Deals

My Wegmans deals for this week are up at Frugal in Virginia. Check them out here.

Goodwill Stores are Chic!

Some of us knew it all along!

Best Deals Roundup

The most worthwhile deals from around the blogosphere:

Great news! The $5 and $3 Huggies coupons from coupons.com have been reset. That means that even if you've already printed two you should be able to print two more! Just go to the coupons.com widget on my sidebar, select "see all coupons," and print! (Thanks, Money Saving Mom for the tip!)

Also, find out here how to get great Old Navy coupons and even perhaps a $75 off $100 purchase coupon on Thursday! Wow! (Thanks, Freebies 4 Mom)

Bake It -- Don't Buy It: Homemade Snacks

I have two recipes to share today: homemade chex mix and homemade granola bars. I have been making the chex mix for a while now, while the granola bars I just tried this week. We seem to eat a lot of snacks around here, so I love being able to easily make some homemade. Aside from the cost factor, the homemade versions are usually much healthier, and I know all the ingredients that go into them.

My husband likes everything spicy, so I use this recipe for chex mix. However, I normally just use the chex cereal, instead of adding the pretzels and other add-ins. My husband says the chex are his favorite part, and that just makes it simpler anyway.

I have developed my own method of mixing in the seasoning. I dribble the butter mixture a teaspoonful at a time over the bowl of chex and then mix thoroughly before adding more. It's a little bit tedious, but then I avoid the phenomenon of the sauce just soaking into a few pieces and leaving the rest dry.


I also bake the mixture instead of microwaving it. I bake it at 300 for about a half hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so.



Final Analysis: This is quick and easy to make and saves a decent amount of money over prepared chex mix. However, you could raise the cost of the homemade version if you used a recipe with more ingredients.

Approximate costs:

Store bought: $2.89 for 8.75oz. I'm going to guess that's maybe 4 cups, so that would make it $.72/cup.

Homemade: $2.70 for 12 cups ($.08/cup) (using Wegmans brand chex cereal)


**********

I developed this recipe for granola bars myself, using one I found in Taste of Home a while ago as a guide. It is probably not the healthiest granola bar recipe out there, but I was trying as much as possible to replicate the Quaker chewy granola bars that we usually buy, in order to get a good price comparison.

I mixed about 6 cups of old fashioned oats with chocolate chips.


Then I heated 2/3 cup corn syrup with 1/4 cup brown sugar. I boiled it for about a minute, then stirred in about 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Then I poured it over the oat mixture and thoroughly stirred.

Then I patted into a greased 9 inch square pan and let it harden for several hours.


Then I simply lifted the whole piece out of the pan with a fork and cut it into bars on a cutting board. I was trying to replicate the size and shape of the Quaker bars, but as you can see I forgot how small they are!


Final Analysis: This is another easy recipe, and infinite variations could be created. I plan to try it with fruit, nuts, and seeds as well. However, the money saved is not huge if you usually get your granola bars on rock-bottom deals. Nevertheless, this might be worth making for the taste
and health factors alone.


Approximate costs:


Store bought - $2.50 for 10 small bars ($.25/bar); occasionally as low as $1.50 for 10 (with sale and coupon) ($.15/bar)


Homemade - $1.52 for 12 much bigger bars ($.13/bar)

This Week's Shopping

I love Gymboree clothes for my girls, but I only buy them new when they're on pretty deep clearance. Gymboree had sent me a coupon for an extra 20% off your entire order which was due to expire soon, so I went to the store this week hoping for some good deals. I was really happy; I ended up with the four items below for a total of $16, including tax. That's an average of $4 an item!

I also did a lot of grocery shopping this week. I thought I would start sharing all my grocery trips each week, instead of just the best deals (although I will highlight the best deals). That way you can see what makes up my monthly budget (and it sure will keep me accountable!)

I pick up a few good deals at Giant this week:

I was so excited to get a great deal on Hillshire Farms Kielbasa for Easter. It was $4.39 and BOGO (Buy 1 Get 1 free), and I used a $.35 coupon on each, which was doubled. So I got each for $1.50! Other good deals were the boneless chicken breasts at $1.99/lb and the Valentine items at 75% off. Total at Giant: $27.97

I also couldn't resist another week of triple coupons at Shoppers :

My best deals were the Maruchan noodles (free after tripled $.35 coupon) and the L'Oreal kids shampoo (on sale for half price and free after doubled $.75 coupon). I also got more free Mentos gum. Shoppers Total: $13.31

I also did my staple shopping at Wegmans and spent $2 at CVS. So my totals for this week were the following:

Wegmans: $67.22

Giant: $27.97

Shoppers: $13.31

CVS: $2

Total Spent: $110.50

Left in monthly budget: $269.50

Keep in mind that my grocery budget works monthly, so this was not just food for this week. We're pretty well stocked now until least mid-month.

PS - Check out Money Saving Mom for more Super Savings Saturday and The Thrifty Mama for Shopping Superstars.

PPS - The last installment of my Bake It -- Don't Buy It series will be posted shortly.

Bake It -- Don't Buy It: Homemade Bagels

I consider one of my big "from scratch" successes to be my homemade bagels. Bagels have a certain air of mystery about them, so I was shocked to find out how really simple they are to make. You wouldn't think that it would be easy to boil bread dough, but there's nothing to it! My husband insists that my bagels are much better than store-bought, and who am I to argue with that? :-)

I use my bread machine for the dough and use this recipe, but I'm sure it wouldn't be that much harder to make the dough by hand. Here is the dough after it has risen:

Then you simply shape the bagels and let them rest for 10 minutes. To shape them you roll them into balls, poke a hole in the middle, and twirl them around your finger.

Then you boil them in sugared water for just a minute. The dough doesn't separate or anything. I use a slotted spoon to get them out and set them on a towel to cool.

Brushing the boiled bagels with egg white before baking gives them that nice sheen and enhances the chewy exterior. Yum!

Final Analysis: Homemade bagels are surprisingly simple and very cost-effective to make. In my family's opinion, they far surpass grocery store brand bagels and taste more like real "New York style" bagels from a bagel shop.

Approximate costs:

Store bought - $3.79 for 12 mini name brand grocery store bagels ($.32/bagel), much more for bagel shop bagels

Homemade - $.89 for 9 medium sized bagels ($.09/bagel)

PS - Check out more Frugal Fridays here. This is Crystal's last week hosting Frugal Fridays. Best of luck to her in her new adventures!

Wegmans Deals

My new list of Wegmans deals is up at Frugal in Virginia. Check it out here.

My "Bake It -- Don't Buy It" Series . . .

. . . will return tomorrow. I had a busy day today, so I decided to go ahead and skip today's post. Instead, I'll post the last two installments tomorrow and Saturday. Stay tuned!

Bake It -- Don't buy It!: Homemade Croutons

This recipe is courtesy of my sister. This is the type of recipe that could be more or less cost-effective, depending on the kind of ingredients you use. Of course, croutons are not a necessity to most of us, but they certainly can perk up a boring salad or soup.


Here are my sister's directions:


Use a good bread. Nothing with a spongy interior. I like to use an Italian round from Harris Teeters’ artisan bread collection. I also have used the French loaf.

Let the bread sit for a day or two to go stale (depends on the freshness). I generally cube the bread the day I get it or the next day and then leave out the cubes overnight.


Spread the croutons on a cookie sheet. I cover the cookie sheet with foil. Then I drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the cubes and sprinkle with sea salt. (McCormick’s Sicilian sea salt is a good one.) I use my hands to toss them a bit to make sure all get olive oil/salt.

Put in oven at 375 or 400 (check Joy of Cooking on this) for ten minutes or so, until a light golden color (adjust as desired). If I’ve used bread that isn’t truly stale yet or if the croutons are still soft or soft in the center, I reduce the heat to 200 and leave the croutons in until sufficiently dried out (I taste to test.)

Isn't her butternut squash soup beautiful too?

Final Analysis: This is a very easy and cost-effective way to make meal a little tastier and more special. As with many frugal practices, you would have to plan ahead a little bit to make these, but other than that they are extremely quick and easy.

Approximate costs:

Store bought: $1.50-$2.49 for 5 oz.

Homemade: Really depends on the cost of the bread you use. Using the Harris Teeter Artisan bread bought on sale for $2.99, I would estimate you would get at least 3 times the amount in 5 oz. package. So that would be (at worst) $1.00 for 5 oz.

Using my homemade bread machine French bread (which costs about $.94/loaf), you could make these for as little as $.31 for 5 oz.!

Bake It -- Don't Buy It: Using a Bread Machine & Homemade Sandwich Bread

Join me each day this week as I take you through making a different item homemade!


One of the most essential tools I use to save money by baking from scratch is my bread machine. When reviewing our grocery budget this summer, I realized that the healthy whole wheat sandwich bread that I was buying cost a significant amount of money. Rather than switch to what I call "spongey" bread, I wanted to try making sandwich bread myself, but I thought it would be too time consuming.

My mom suggested getting a bread machine, and I was able to obtain one for free from Freecycle. (It would also probably be relatively easy to find one in a thrift shop. It is the sort of item that people get and don't use and eventually give away!) Honestly, even a new one would probably pay for itself in a matter of months, if you really used it.

I loved my bread machine from day one. It is amazing that you can spend 10 minutes layering the ingredients in the pan (15-20 minutes if a toddler is "helping"), turn on the machine, and four hours later you have a loaf of homemade bread. There are also many recipes for which you use the "dough" cycle on the machine, take out the dough, and bake it in your regular oven. Even then, the machine saves a lot of time and effort.

Since getting my bread machine, I have made about two loaves of sandwich bread per week. I have also made french bread, pizza dough, foccacia, dinner rolls, and bagels (more on homemade bagels later in the week). Nevertheless, I feel that I have barely scratched the surface of bread machine recipes out there. I'd eventually like to try more whole wheat bread recipes until I find the perfect sandwich bread, although I am happy with this one for now.

Final Analysis: A bread machine is a completely worthwhile investment if used. It can make much more than plain bread, and it saves a significant amount of time over non-machine homemade bread. Using a bread machine, sandwich bread is simple to make and better and fresher than store bought. At a third of the price, what's not to love?

Approximate costs:

Store bought: About $2.50-$3.99/loaf for Arnold whole wheat or multigrain

Homemade: About $.77/loaf (2/3 whole wheat)

Tuesday Tip

A quick, painless money-saving tip every Tuesday

If you have a newer dishwasher, don't pre-wash your dishes. From everything I've read, most modern dishwashers are designed to be powerful enough to clean dishes without pre-rinsing. I started testing this myself a few months ago, and I have found it to be mostly true. It saves quite a bit of water, as well as time, to just load the dishes in the dishwasher. I do have to run the occasional item back through on the next load or take it out to scrub off something stubborn, but 90% of the dishes are usually perfectly clean.

If you really can't give up pre-washing the dishes, try filling up the sink with soap and water to soak them instead of rinsing each one individually. Small savings in water can really add up when your bill comes!

Photo from www.sxc.hu.

Best Deals Roundup

The most worthwhile deals from around the blogosphere:

Coupons.com just came out with their March printable coupons. The best ones are two amazing high-value Huggies coupons: $5.00 off one Huggies Gentle Care product and $3.00 off one Huggies Natural Fit product. (Thanks Money Saving Mom for the heads up about these.)

Other particularly good ones:
- $.75 off Total (If your store doubles coupons up to $.99, you could get a great deal)
- $.40 off All or Surf laundry detergent
- $.55 off Betty Crocker frosting
- $.50 off Betty Crocker cookie mix (Combine either Betty Crocker coupon with a sale or use at triple coupons to get these items for under $.50 each.)

You can print these coupons by clicking on the coupon widget on my sidebar. Just click "see all coupons" at the top to see all of them.

Other great deals:

Some other good printable coupons here. (Thanks Frugal in Virginia)

Find out how to get a free subscription to Family Fun magazine here. I love magazines. They give me such great ideas, and I feel like I'm keeping "current" with all the new products and trends. But needless to say, I don't usually buy them for myself, so I'm always excited by a free offer like this.

Menu Planning Monday: Lenten Meals

We are observing the season of Lent for the next six weeks, which traditionally involved totally giving up meat. Today, Catholics are only required to give up meat on Fridays during Lent, but I thought I would try to do it an extra day as well, at least for dinner. Good for the soul and good for the wallet!

So here's my menu for the next two weeks:

Breakfasts:
Yogurt, bagels, cereal, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, muffins

Lunches:
Beans & rice, cold cuts, tuna, cheese and crackers, peanut butter & apples (my two-year-old's current favorite)

Snacks:
Chips, chex mix, fruit, dried fruit, homemade granola bars (plan to try this week!)

Mon - Leftover chicken soup and crackers
Tues - Homemade pizza, carrot sticks (I'm excited to try this pizza crust recipe, because it looks even quicker than my current bread machine recipe.)
Wed - Baked Ziti, bread, salad
Thurs - Garlic chive chicken, noodles, spinach
Fri - Crockpot Mac & Cheese, fruit salad
Sat - Leftover chicken and noodles

Sun - Dinner at Michael's parents
Mon - Meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, green beans (I don't have a great meatloaf recipe - any suggestions?)
Tues - Something with pork chops
Wed - Ginger Lentil Soup, homemade bread
Thurs - Leftover meatloaf, rice, green beans
Fri - Frozen fried fish, corn
Sat - Leftovers

PS - Visit Menu Planning Monday at Org Junkie for more great menus!

PS - If you're visiting from Menu Planning Monday, thanks for stopping by! You might also be interested in the series I am running this week: Bake It -- Don't Buy It. You can check out the first post here.

Bake It -- Don't Buy It!: Homemade Tortillas

I'm so excited to start my Bake It -- Don't Buy It series this morning. One of the main ways I have been saving money for the last few months is by cooking and baking more and more items from scratch. In most cases, it is quicker and easier than one would think, and the effort is rewarded by significant savings. Join me each day this week as I take you through making a different item homemade!

Homemade Tortillas

I have made these homemade tortillas twice now, and I have been generally pleased with the result. You don't need any special ingredients or equipment to make them. You mix a simple dough of flour, salt, and water. I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour to try to make them healthy without being too dense.

Then you divide the dough into balls to roll out.

The trickiest part of this recipe is probably rolling the dough out as thinly as you can. I rolled it in between two pieces of waxed paper, so I wouldn't have to worry about a really thin sheet of dough sticking to the rolling pin.

After the tortillas are rolled out, you simply cook them for a minute or two on each side on a dry skillet (I used a non-stick one). That's it! No fat or anything involved for cooking!

I used the tip from the recipe which advised putting the tortillas in a plastic bag while still warm, so that the steam will soften them. Even so, these tortillas are thicker and less pliable than their store bought counterparts. I'd even go so far as to say the texture is reminiscent of pita bread. They would probably work best for a dish like fajitas, rather than for a burrito that needs to be tightly folded up.

To sum up: This recipe is quite quick and easy, with it being only slightly tedious to roll out and cook each tortilla. The results are wholesome and fresh-tasting. The finished product is definitely different from store bought, but the savings may be great enough to make them from scratch at least some of the time.

Approximate costs:

Store bought - (not whole wheat) $2.59 for 20 ($.13/tortilla); (whole wheat) $3.29 for 8 ($.41/tortilla)

Homemade - $.46 for 12 tortillas ($.04/tortilla)