A Penny Saved...

Okay, so here is how I've been doing on my quest to save more money. I waited until today so I could report on January and February. I'll give you the total amount saved for the month, and then give some highlights of my best deals. I'm pretty stinkin' pleased with myself, but I know I have a LOT yet to learn, particularly the whole coupon stacking thing. You old pros out there may not be so impressed.

January Savings: $731.50
The best score was probably our new entertainment center. We went to World Market, because we like their stuff and they were having a 50% off sale on furniture. We found one we really liked, but the only one they had left was the floor model. They offered that one to us at an additional discount. So, the entertainment center that was $249 ended up costing us $90, a savings of $159! My other big money saving deals came from winter clearance sales at several different stores. For $200, I bought a winter wardrobe for both of my kids for next year! That wasn't shopping at Walmart, either. These deals came from Target, Gap, Old Navy, and The Children's Place. Heck, I even found a couple of things at Justice! My favorite find was a girl's fleece top marked down to 91 cents at Target. It had been part of a pajama set, and the pants were missing. I didn't even know it was pjs until I looked at the tag. It can definitely be worn as a cute Christmas shirt! The original retail cost of all of these clothes was over $514! I hadn't quite figured out how to get a lot of free stuff yet, but I did get some shampoo and conditioner free; 3 bottles, and I only paid the 20 cents tax! I'll explain this more in February.

February Savings: $816.27
This is the month that I started to figure out the drugstore game. At CVS and Rite Aid, they have deals every week that earn you cash back; sort of. I like to call it "Monopoly money". You get these vouchers printed off at the bottom of your receipt that you can use like cash towards your next purchase in the store. They can't be used on gift cards (learned that the hard way!), prescriptions, beer, tobacco, lottery tickets or stamps. Once you get a few of these vouchers, you can use them on deals in the store that will earn you MORE vouchers. So, you're getting free stuff with play money! I've become quite addicted to this game. The best tool I've found to help me find these deals and to help me with my coupons is a website called Southern Savers (southernsavers.com). Every week, they post the sales flier for the most common stores in the south, and then within that add, they tell you where to find the coupons you can use on the sale items. It saves me a ton of work! You can even print out a shopping list of the deals you want to purchase to take to the store with you. They give workshops all over the south, and I'd love to go to one the next time there's one in Nashville. Another website I like is Faithful Provisions (faithfulprovisions.com). Since it's based here in Nashville, their sales fliers are a little more accurate for the stores in my area.

I've gotten a number of items free this month. I usually get things that will work out to be free in the end even if it's things that my family won't use for two reasons. One reason is that these items usually earn you more vouchers to use next time, and the other is that I know a few organizations that I can donate them to. For instance, February was the month for free Colgate toothpaste. Tim and I use Crest, while the kids use the kid varieties of Colgate (those weren't on sale). So, I donated it to our Room In The Inn program. Some other items I got free this month from drugstores, grocery stores and other retail stores: candy bars, dish liquid, newspapers, tissues, feminine products, cake mix, deodorant, frozen veggies, 2-liter sodas, ibuprofen, 2 movies, a ladies top, Yankee Candle, and more!

So, friends, let me know your tricks of the trade! Maybe I can post monthly on things I'm learning and my successes and failures. I have other ramblings on life that I'd like to get back to posting as well, so expect a different subject in my next post. Later!

The Year Of Living Frugally

Before I get to the topic of my post, let me say, "Happy New Year"! I've obviously been slow to get back into the swing of things. Today marks the end of our first five-day school week since mid-December. To say I am sick of snow (heck; winter in general) is a ridiculous under-statement. So now, back to my original train of thought.

When it comes to shopping and saving money, I am a bit of an enigma. I hate to shop, but I love to save money. I am a bargain hunter, but I have my limits. Walmart can be a great place to find deals, but there are times I'd rather have my fingernails removed than suffer through the experience of shopping there just to save a few bucks. Case in point: One Saturday night, my husband and I had just finished a movie at 11:30, when it occured to me that we didn't have enough milk for breakfast. We have a Super Walmart that recently opened across the street, so I figured I'd just zip in there and pick up a gallon. Yeah. I stood in a line of about 10 people (all with buggies heaping with groceries, not a single one offering to let me go ahead with my ONE item) until after midnight. I vowed to never go there again that late at night. A couple of months later when I was in the same predicament, I went to the corner store and paid five dollars for a gallon of milk just to avoid the frustration that is Walmart.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I have to work too hard to save money, it just doesn't seem worth the effort to me. I have tried couponing over the years, but it's never really clicked for me until recently. I do most of my shopping at Aldi. It's a chain of small grocery stores that sell generic brands really cheap. I couldn't see how using coupons on name brand items would save me more money than shopping at Aldi. It certainly seemed less time consuming to just shop there than taking the time to cut and sort coupons. One day, I ran across a website called Southern Savers. I learned that I've been going about this coupon thing all wrong. It wasn't enough to just cut coupons and take them to the store with me. I had to combine the coupons with the weekly sales! Most of you experienced couponers out there are probably smacking your foreheads and shouting a big ol' "DUH!!", but this was quite the revelation for me. It's becoming a fun game for me to see just how much money I can cut off of my grocery bill.

In January, I decided to start keeping a Savings Journal. I know I've missed a receipt or two, but I've done a pretty good job tracking my savings so far. In my next post, I'll let you take a peak. I'll tell you what has worked for me so far, and maybe you more experienced shoppers out there can give me a few pointers. I definitely have much to learn (I'd love to go to one of those Couponing 101 type classes that I've heard about). Maybe this can become a semi-regular topic for the blog.

Melissa's Meals Marathon: Part Two

A few of the dishes on this menu will need no prior preparation. As I said, I use Stouffer's lasagna (the 90 oz. party size). This makes enough to have leftovers the next night. I have 3 in the freezer that I bought on sale, so this gives me 6 meals. The popcorn chicken and biscuits are also prepackaged frozen food. I have 3 meals-worth of this in the freezer. A meal that's not on this menu but I also found on sale is Bertolli's Shrimp Scampi and Linguine. I love to add a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice as it cooks and serve it with some crusty bread. I bought two of those. The turkey on my menu I prefer to cook in the crock pot all day and serve that night. So I have a turkey in my freezer ready to go. Again, this is enough food to have leftovers the next night, so that counts as two meals. I also prefer to cook the 40 Cloves and a Chicken on the day-of, so I have a cut-up chicken (divided into two meals) in the freezer. Finally, one dish on my list I had made earlier in the week and had a lot leftover (Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup). So I divided that into two meals. Before I even start, I have the makings of 17 meals in the freezer!

My marathon actually started on Friday night. I put a pork loin roast (for barbecue) in my crock pot and let it cook overnight. At 7:00 Saturday morning, I drained off all of the fat, shredded the meat and added a bottle of barbecue sauce. It would need to cook for a couple more hours, but one dish was pretty much DONE! This batch of barbecue produced 4 meals. Next, I browned 4 pounds of ground beef for spaghetti and chili. I use half a pound for each meal. I don't make my own spaghetti sauce; I use (GASP!) a jarred variety from Aldi. The Tomato Basil is cheap, easy and tastes great; so sue me! I put 4 half-pounds of beef into 4 sandwich bags. I then put those into a large vacuum sealer bag. When we're having spaghetti, all I have to do is open a jar of sauce and zap that and the meat in the microwave, then cook some pasta. I divide the rest of the meat into 4 bags for chili and add beans, tomatoes and chili powder to each. I'll just thaw this and cook on the stove for dinner one night. Three dishes down, eleven more to go! If you're keeping score, that's 29 meals.

I boil the chicken I will need for Nana's Chicken Casserole and Mexican Casserole. I also boil the macaroni for my macaroni and cheese casserole. While those are cooking, I make cornbread (for the dressing we'll have with the turkey) and baked beans and put those into the oven. I then start the Stewed Beef in my electric skillet. It will need to simmer for a couple of hours. Once the macaroni is done, I start boiling my potatoes for Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I vacuum seal the macaroni and put that and a bag of shredded cheese in the freezer. I tried freezing the assembled casserole last time, and wasn't pleased with the results. So, I'll just put the thawed macaroni and cheeses together, add my eggs and milk and bake it on the day it will be served. I vacuum seal the cornbread. Since I use the broth from my turkey to make the dressing, and I add a couple of boiled eggs (something that does NOT freeze well), that's one dish that I can't make ahead. But, at least the cornbread is baked. I divide the baked beans into 2 meals (we'll have this with Barbecue).

I'm half-way through now, and I'm starting to drag a little. My back and knees are beginning to protest. It's very important to wear good shoes on cooking days. Since this is a "marathon", I wear my running shoes. They don't prevent all of the pain, but it's more manageable than it would be if I were wearing bedroom slippers, flip flops or going barefoot. On we go! With my chicken done, I can now assemble the casseroles. I'll have 4 Nana's Chicken Casseroles, and 2 Mexican Casseroles. The potatoes are done, so I can make the Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I divide this into 4 side dishes for our Italian Meatloaf. Once the Stewed Beef is done and cooled, I divide this up into 3 meals. I now have 38 meals!

I have four dishes left to prepare, and I'm very weary. After about 9 hours, I usually hit a wall. This is the point that I feel I just can't continue and I'm ready to hit the showers. But I know I'm almost done, so I press on. Next up is the Italian Meatloaf. This is a crock pot recipe, so I just mix the ingredients together and form the mixture into a loaf. This gets frozen and vacuum sealed, then I'll cook it the day-of. This will provide about 4 nights of food, because I can freeze slices when it's done to make sandwiches later. I've decided to have breakfast for dinner a couple of nights on this rotation, so I'll cook French Toast. I've never frozen this before, but I read a cooking blog that gave instructions on doing this, so I should have good results. I'll just thaw and reheat in the oven. I made enough for 2 meals. FINALLY, I'm down to the last 2 dishes. These take the longest to prepare, so I saved them for last. They both get cooked in my 12-inch skillet, so I have to make them one at a time. The first one is Chicken in Peanut Sauce. I need to cut my chicken into bite-size pieces then saute`. I have to wash a pound of green beans, trim them and then break into smaller pieces. This dish takes me about an hour to cook. When I'm done, I have 2 meals. Last, but not least, is Chicken Piccata. The reason this one takes so long is because I'm simultaneously making dinner for my children. This dish also gives me 2 meals. My grand total is 48 MEALS IN THE FREEZER!! We only get about 4 or 5 nights a week to have dinner at home because of our busy schedules (church, life group, chorus, dance and the occasional date night or girls night out), so these meals will last us about 3 months.

Yes, it is a LOT of hard work. But, when you look at how much time and money you can save by cooking in bulk, you'll see a huge payoff! I plan to post the other menus and more recipes to the blog from time to time.

Melissa's Meals Marathon: Part One

This weekend I did what I usually refer to as my Once-A-Month Cooking. This term was coined by a couple of ladies that wrote a book on the subject some years ago (see 2/24/10 post). I don't actually do it every month, so I sometimes call it Once-A-Quarter Cooking. I'm not in love with that label, so I've given it one of my own: Melissa's Meals Marathon. Catchy, no? Well, just humor me, then.

A few weeks ago, I spent some time organizing recipes, menus and shopping lists. When I listed all of the different meals I've prepared for my family (that they liked enough to have again), I came up with 45. In a previous post, I said there were 30 that I've successfully frozen. I guess I didn't include those things that I prepare the day of (pot roast, 40 cloves and a chicken, etc.) or prepackaged frozen meals (Stouffer's does an excellent job making lasagna, so I'd just prefer to use theirs instead of going to the trouble of making it from scratch). Our family's schedules are so busy, that one batch of meals usually ends up lasting nearly 3 months. So, I made up 4 different menus to last an entire year. There are about 6 meals that I put on every list because they're the kids (or mine and Tim's) favorites: spaghetti, popcorn chicken and biscuits, lasagna, Nana's chicken casserole, chili, and 40 cloves and a chicken. The remaining 40 meals I divided up into 4 menus; I ended up with 16 meals per menu (and a few side dishes). I then made a shopping list for each menu. Confused yet? The menu for this rotation is:

Spaghetti

Popcorn chicken, biscuits and corn

Lasagna

Nana's Chicken Casserole

Chili

40 Cloves and a Chicken

Turkey, Dressing and Mac and Cheese Casserole

Stewed Beef over Egg Noodles

Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Meatloaf and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Meatloaf sandwiches

Barbecue and Baked Beans

Chicken in Peanut Sauce over Rice Noodles

Chicken Piccata over Angel Hair Pasta

French Toast

I'll share the other menus and some recipes in future posts. My children will not eat most of the things on this menu. We learned early on with Pierce that food was one of those battles we'd be better off not fighting. By the time Reagan came along, I figured I might as well fix the same stuff for her that I was fixing for her brother. That's how I became a short order cook. Go ahead and criticize if you must. Anyway, the kids will eat spaghetti, popcorn chicken, lasagna, chicken casserole, french toast (well, Reagan will), and turkey, dressing and mac and cheese. I make enough of each dish to get at least 2 (sometimes 3 or 4!) meals. I spent around $260 on all of the groceries (I already had a lot of my staples and didn't need to purchase them this time). After 12 hours of cooking, I had 48 meals in varying stages of completion. Some of those just need to be reheated, some are ready for the crock pot, some I'll pop into the oven. According to my math, that's about $5.42 per meal! In Part Two, I'll take you through a timeline of my cooking marathon.

How's About Cookin' Somethin' Up With Me?

Most people are convinced that they can't do cooking in bulk, because they don't own a separate, full-size freezer. Au contraire, mon frere! I've managed to store 30 meals at once in my side-by-side fridge/freezer for a few years now. You may have to sacrifice your ice cream and frozen waffles for a couple of weeks, but who needs that stuff, anyway? Okay, okay; those of you that believe ice cream is a food group can put down the bricks and stop yelling at me now! Recently, we acquired a shiny, new stainless steel fridge with the freezer drawers on the bottom (LOVE it!). Since the old fridge still (mostly) works, we decided to keep it and move it into the closet with our washer and dryer. I now use the freezer in the old unit to hold all of my frozen meals. Anywho, fitting all of your meals into your freezer depends upon how you package them. For the first year or so, I used gallon-sized freezer bags. Soups, stews, and sauces can be laid flat to freeze and then stacked on top of one another or stood on end like books on a shelf. The thing that takes up the most room is casseroles, as those have to be frozen in a dish and then taken out and wrapped in foil. A couple of years ago, I purchased a vacuum sealer. Sure, the bags are more expensive, BUT they can be washed and reused! It's been a great investment. If you still aren't convinced that you can store a month's worth of meals in your freezer, try starting with 2 weeks' worth. You'll figure out what works for you with a little practice. The recipe I have for you today is what us southerners call my "funeral dish". This is the one that you throw together at the last minute to take to a sick friend, new mom, or those that have lost a loved one. It's probably my favorite casserole, because it's one that my picky children will eat!

Nana's Chicken Casserole

1 lb. chicken 1 can cream of chicken soup

1 qt. chicken stock 1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 stick butter 1 16 oz. bag of Pepperidge Farms

cornbread dressing

Boil your chicken in the chicken stock, adding water to cover chicken if necessary. Save enough broth to fill your two soup cans; shred chicken and set aside. In a dutch oven, melt butter, then add cream of chicken soup. Fill the soup can with broth and add. Add the bag of dressing and mix until moistened. In a separate bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup with one soup can of chicken broth. Mix with a whisk to remove lumps. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Make a layer with half of the dressing mixture. Top this with all of the shredded chicken. Pour half of the mushroom soup mixture over the top. Top with the remaining dressing and then soup. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes. NOTE: This will give you about 10 servings, so when I fix this for my family, I'm able to get 2 meals out of it. Instead of using a 9x13 dish, I use 2 8x8 dishes. I line these with foil and coat with cooking spray. I assemble the casseroles then put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, I can lift them out of the dishes with the foil. You can either wrap them in a couple of layers of foil or place them in gallon-sized freezer bags. I prefer to vacuum seal them with my Foodsaver. On the day you wish to serve this, thaw the casserole in the 8x8 dish and then cook for 30 minutes. It can be cooked frozen; I cover it with foil and cook for about 1 hour, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes. I usually serve it with a vegetable side.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

The last few days have been really hard and I've lost some of my momentum. I had planned to write this week about the feelings I've had concerning the community I lost, but I'm feeling a little gun-shy. So, I've decided instead to write about cooking today.

A few years ago, I was listening to Focus On The Family. There were two ladies (Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg) on the program talking about the concept of Once-A-Month cooking. I was fascinated! I'm not going to mince words here: I HATE to cook. But the "planner" in me couldn't believe what I was hearing. I could make a month's worth of food in one day and not have to cook again for the next 30 days? I was sold instantly! Whenever the subject of cooking comes up in a crowd and I mention this method of meal preparation, people always have questions about how I do it and what kind of things I cook. I thought maybe I'd use this blog to give a short series. Maybe once a month or so, I'll give my tips and recipes. I will warn you now; Martha Stewart I am NOT. Have you ever tried to cook her stuff? I have twice: Once was a birthday cake for my dad that took about 10 hours to make, and the other was an ice cream dessert that also took many hours and the patience of Job. I'm sorry, but life is too short for me to waste in the kitchen making the perfect dinner! The simpler the recipe, the more appeal it has to me. My recipes may offend the gourmet cooks out there. I have a list of about 30 recipes that have been successfully frozen and then reheated for dinner, and I'm always on the look-out for more to add to my repertoire. So, if you have one to share with me, I'd be most appreciative! My tip for today is that there are several books out there about cooking and freezing that will help, but you should start with what you know. More of your recipes are freezer-friendly than you may think. Most times, you just have to learn by trial and error. Fix double the recipe so that you have plenty for dinner tonight, and then put the left-overs in the freezer. Pull them out after a week or two, then thaw them out for another dinner. If it's a casserole, prepare two but cook one and put the other in the freezer. Then all you have to do is thaw the casserole and cook. A lot of the meals I freeze have been prepared up until the cooking stage, so that all I have to do is thaw and toss it in the oven. It tastes more like it's been freshly prepared and the house smells all yummy.

Since we still have several more days of chilly weather, I thought I'd give you my super simple chili recipe:

1 pound ground beef, browned

2 cans chili beans, don't drain

3 cans of diced tomatoes

4 tablespoons of chili powder

I like to make one of those cans of diced tomatoes into crushed. Mix all of this together in a one-gallon freezer bag. All you have to do is thaw and cook it on the stove for a couple of hours. I let it simmer with a lid on for most of that time, and then let it thicken up with the lid off for the last 30 minutes or so. Or, just try your own personal recipe. I guarantee it will hold up just as well as mine does in the freezer. Good Luck!

How's That Workin' For Ya?

By now you are probably wondering how this schedule I put together is working out. Have you ever heard the quote, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans"? Well, He must think I'm a real stand-up comedienne. My kids have had only one five-day school week in 2010. I've seen more snow this winter than I think I have in my entire life. There have been too many sweets in the house with my daughter's birthday, Valentine's Day, and those evil Girl Scout cookies; you can probably imagine how well that "getting in shape" thing is going. I've had my mom and sister here for a week. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE my family!! It just stresses me a little to change the family routine to accommodate extra people in the house. Maybe most of you can roll with the punches and improvise when your day doesn't turn out how you planned. I desperately wish I were like you. I do NOT adapt well to change. This is probably not news to you, since I've already written about how difficult changing churches has been on me. This not knowing from day-to-day whether my kids will be home or in school has thrown me for a loop. Please excuse me for being crass, but in the words of the great Dolly Parton (Steel Magnolias), I'm so confused I don't know whether to scratch my watch or wind my butt! Instead of pressing on when my schedule is changed, I tend to just consider that day a lost cause and try again another day. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any make-up days.

Sheesh; does this post sound as scatter-brained to you as it does to me? I hope very soon I can attain some sense of normalcy and sanity in my life. If any of you out there have that ability to adapt to life's little curve-balls, could you please give me some pointers? Help a sista out!

Get Movin'

I guess you're wondering what could put me in such a funk for over a year. It actually is a break-up. Not of a marriage but a community. I plan to elaborate more in future posts, but today I'd like to share with you my plan of action. My friends and family will tell you that I am a planner. I like schedules and lists. For example, when my first-born was an infant and not sleeping at night, I was introduced to a book that taught me how to put him on a strict sleep, eat and play schedule. It worked within days, I might add. When we went to Disney World a couple of years ago, I had a typed itinerary for every day of the trip. I have "to do" lists scattered all around the house. I don't know why, but seeing things on paper is motivating for me. I find the act of checking something off of my list highly satisfying. So, knowing this quality about me, I set about scheduling my days in order to be more proactive about life.

Exercise- Not that I was ever in fabulous shape, but a couple of years ago I was training for a half-marathon. Don't be too impressed; I was only walking it. I managed to lose 10 pounds and felt pretty good about myself. Last summer, I became alarmed at the pot-belly I had developed. I began to wonder if I was pregnant like those crazy ladies on TLC that claim they had no idea they were with child until the day they went to the bathroom and...Surprise! Out popped a baby! I even thought that maybe my doctor would tell me I had fibroids. Alas, it was just fat. The common weight gain of a woman in her mid-30's. So, I am taking up walking again. Until the weather warms up, I am walking on my treadmill every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'm trying to walk three miles each day.

Mondays- This will become my grocery and cleaning days. I've never been Miss Susie Homemaker, but I've been extremely lax in my housework lately.

Tuesday- I haven't quite decided what to do on this day. I hope it will become my blogging day. I'll get back to you on this one.

Wednesday- This is to be my project day. We are a family of "starters", but we lack the follow-through to finish things. I have a list (imagine that!) of projects that need to be completed, and Wednesday will be my day to knock a few out.

Thursday- I have planned a day of rest; my Sabbath, if you will. At least for the six hours I am alone, I plan to read or nap with the ringer turned off of the phone. I'll try very hard to stay away from the computer during that time as well, but I'm not making any promises.

Friday- Scrapbooking Day! I know most of you see this as a hobby, but I consider myself to be the family historian. I am several precious years behind on this endeavor. It is my hope to get caught up this year.

So, there you have it. It's not life-changing, but this schedule is a start to getting my life back on track. Along the way, I hope to reconnect with God and my family, but I'll have to discuss those efforts in another post.