Have you considered yourself lucky if you get $5.00 off your grocery bill with coupons?  I have to confess, that has mostly been my story.  I always wondered how anyone could get substantial savings with 50 cents here and a dollar there.  It often seemed like the store brand was cheaper than the name brand coupon so why bother?

Yesterday I went shopping with my daughter.  She has been working on learning effective couponing and what a difference.  My register tape ended up showing $16.00 vendor coupons, $1.59 store coupons, $20.33 advertised special savings and $1.22 advantage buy savings.  Better than that, these were all on things that I use everyday.  Yes, I stocked up some things but why wouldn’t you when you are going to use it anyway?

The secret is to buy what the store is advertising.  Use their coupons and pair them with manufacturer coupons for additional savings.  (You can pair a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon even if it says one coupon per item.)  I know it takes a little homework but there are ways to make it easier.  If you visit the Krazy Koupon Lady site , you can learn what is on sale and where to get the coupon for it.  You can also visit the Sunday Coupon Preview site to learn what coupons will be in your Sunday paper.  That way you save time clipping what you need.

I intend to learn more about how to cut my food bills and will post my progress here.  If you are new to all of this, let me know what is the hardest part for you and I will try to find the answer.  In this economy, we have to do whatever is legal to stretch our budget and couponing is definitely an option.

Find It Free

When you are seriously working on stretching your budget, you can’t beat free.  You can join the Free Cycle Network.  In it, people who have something they no longer want offer it free for the taking to anyone who wants it.  The problem is that things move quickly and it’s hard to connect for what you want.

The Second Rule of Couponing

My local store doubles coupons up to $2.00.  That means that if you have a manufacturer coupon for $2.00 and the item costs less than $4.00, you get it free.  Now sometimes the item costs a little more than $4.00.  In that case, you wait until the store puts it on sale so that you can still get it free.  I know it sounds crazy but I know people who buy10+ of the same item for free and smile all the way to their car.  (I think you still have to pay the tax on them but you can use a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon.)

Now, here comes the good part.  You don’t have to use the item that you ‘buy’.  My friend started doing this and ended up with a lot of stuff in her garage.  Her family kept coming over to ’shop’.  Finally someone urged her to have a garage sale and she made a bundle.  When you get stuff free, you can sell it super cheap and still make money.  She has been doing it long enough that people have gotten to know her and call her up to shop even when she isn’t having a yard sale.  Now that’s a good thing.  She takes the money she makes for these things that she doesn’t use and buys the stuff she wants.  All it costs her is time to clip the coupons, visit the store several times and then sell the stuff.

Listen, my friend had to quit her job because after childcare, she wasn’t making enough money to make it worth it.  Her couponing is adding to her family finances and she is doing it on her schedule while she stays home with her son.  Sometimes we get so caught up is what isn’t working for us that we don’t see the opportunities that are staring us in the face.  What can you do to make extra money?

Since my husband doesn’t like “spicy hot” dishes, I make my curried chicken very mild. The raisins and apples are a nice balance to the curry spice and seem to cut the heat a little. You can certainly spice it up to your taste. That’s one of the benefits of cooking it yourself. In any case, my children like this so it works for us.

I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they are easier to work with but you can also use dark meat. Feel free to adapt this to what you have on hand. If you want to use legs or thighs, you can bone and chop them after they cook and then add them back to your pan.

Glenna’s Curried Chicken

On a piece of wax paper, in a large plastic bag or in a shallow dish, combine
3 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Coat the chicken with the flour mixture.

Heat about 1 Tablespoon of oil (I use olive oil) in a pan over medium heat. Add your chicken pieces and brown for about 4 minutes each side.

Add about 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is almost done.

Add some raisins (about 1/4 cup) and an apple that you have pealed and coarsely chopped. Cook until the apple starts to soften and chicken has finished cooking.

Remove the chicken from the pan.  Take about 1 cup water or milk and add 2 Tablespoons flour to it. (I usually use the water.) Whisk it into the pan with the drippings, the apples and the raisins. Stir until the flour is thickened and is cooked. Salt to taste.

At this point I often chop the chicken into small chunks but you can serve it in larger pieces. Add it back into the pan with the gravy mixture. I usually serve it over rice.

There you have it. It sounds a lot harder than it is to make and smells wonderful while it cooks. I hope you enjoy it.

If you follow a vegan or gluten free diet, you know how expensive it can be. I know people who are very frustrated because so much of what is in the supermarkets make them sick. A gluten allergy is no fun. In a case like that, learning to cook can be your best option. That way you control the ingredients and the quality while keeping expenses to a minimum.

I found a nice site that has fat free gluten recipes. I bookmarked it for my own use and thought it might help many of you as well. This week she is featuring Blueberry Oat Bars and Blueberry Vinaigrette, Yum! Please visit Fat Free Vegan Recipies and see what I mean.

My Mom taught me how to bake when I was growing up. It’s one way to enjoy top quality desserts without breaking the bank. Now that I’m getting older and my metabolism has slowed down, I’m also able to cut calories while keeping flavor. I’m even changing old recipes to make them healthier. It’s one of the reasons I included a Cheap Meals/Recipes category on this blog.

At one time or another, anyone who bakes wonders why some recipes call for baking soda and others for baking powder. I’ve even had some that called for both. Most of us haven’t a clue as to what the difference is.

My grandson came in covered in bug bites today so I went to the Arm and Hammer Baking Soda site to see if they could help. They didn’t say anything about bug bites but did explain the difference between baking soda and powder. According to Arm & Hammer:

“ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda is 100% pure sodium bicarbonate. Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and various acidic ingredients. Both baking soda and baking powder are used in baking to help dough rise, (for leavening). ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda will react in combination with acidic ingredients in a recipe (like cream of tartar or lemon juice) to release the carbon dioxide that causes dough to rise. Baking powder, which already contains the acidic ingredients to make the carbon dioxide producing reaction, is used in recipes without other acidic ingredients.

As they are fundamentally different products, you may not substitute ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda for baking powder in a recipe. You can, however, make a baking powder substitute using ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda. To make the equivalent of 1 teaspoon baking powder, mix 5/8 teaspoons of cream of tartar with 1/4 teaspoon ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda.”

That solves a long standing kitchen mystery. As for my grandson, I made a thin paste of Baking Soda and water and put it on his bites. The swelling went down and they looked 100% better in about 20 minutes. This is one time I’m glad I followed my instincts.

If you want to know more uses for baking soda, please head over to the Arm & Hammer site. I highly recommend it. :0)

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In my last post I mentioned making homemade vegetable soup.  I used to think this was an all day deal that I couldn’t manage and work too.  You can cut the time considerably if you use premade chicken stock or water and chicken base.  Feel free to change this recipe to include the things your family likes to eat.  I often use frozen green beans but cut them in half.  If you don’t have any tomato paste, add a small can of diced tomatoes.

Start cooking the chicken and when it looks done, add the rest of the ingredients in order.  Once you have everything in the pot you simmer it for another 10 to 15 minutes until everything is cooked.  Don’t over cook and you won’t have to worry about ’stinky cabbage’.

Garden Vegetable Soup with Chicken

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
2/3 cup Sliced Carrots
½ cup chopped onions
2 cloves minced garlic
3 cups chicken broth (can be from chicken base)
½ cup green beans
½ cup diced zucchini
1 Tbs tomato paste
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp dried oregano
1 ½ cups diced cabbage

In a large pot, put a little stock and simmer the chicken breast a few minutes until done. (It could be done in olive oil if you prefer.) Add the ingredients in order adding the cabbage last so that it cooks the least amount of time.  As you can imagine, the vegetable amounts can vary according to how many you are feeding and what they like.

My family loves some biscuits or toast with this.  When I make it for my husband and me, we have leftovers and still freeze a container for one of those nights when you just don’t feel like cooking.  I often make family sized batches of whatever I am cooking and freeze some for later.  That way we still enjoy family favorites but don’t get tired of leftovers.  If you plan ahead, you can have a whole week of dinners in the freezer with very little extra work.

I know, Barley isn’t one of those grains that most of us eat on a regular basis but why not?  I made some yesterday that is really good and can be used as a side dish when I’m scrambling to make dinner this week.

According to the box, for a cup of pearled barley you will need 2 cups of water.  I actually added a little more while it was cooking as I wanted to simmer mine a little longer to make it softer.  Bring the water to a boil and add your barley.  When it returns to a boil, reduce the heat so that it simmers, cover and cook about 40 minutes or until the water is absorbed.  That’s the basic recipe.

When I added the barley, I also added some diced green onion, celery and carrot.  You can replace the water with chicken stock or do as I did and add some chicken base to the mix.  If you do that, you really don’t need to add any salt.

The result is a very tasty pot of barley that your family should love.  If you serve it more than once and have leftovers, you can freeze them to add to soup the next time you make it.  What’s that?  You don’t have an easy recipe for soup?  I guess I will have to add that next.  :0)

By the way, I buy little jars of beef,vegetable, turkey and/or chicken base in my grocery store.  They are similar to bouillon but taste better and are easier to use.  (I think one brand is called ‘Better Than Bouillon’.)  In my store they are on a shelf near the soup.  I keep these in my refrigerator for soup starters, to flavor grains or even make gravy.  It’s one of those things that make life a little easier.

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Easy Chicken ‘N Dumplings
It’s easier to make than to write about it :0)

Chicken of Choice cut up
2 cans cream style soup (mushroom or chicken)
milk

I used to start by cleaning and cutting up a chicken. These days I keep boneless frozen chicken breasts in the freezer. You can thaw them in cold water for about 20 minutes and they don’t have to be completely soft to begin cooking them. Remember, if your meat is boneless it cooks in 10 to 20 minutes where regular pieces might take an hour.

Put a little olive oil in a large frying pan or electric skillet. Heat it over medium to medium high heat. Meanwhile, pat your chicken dry and season it with a little salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan. Turn it over when it starts to brown. As soon as the bottom side starts to brown, add 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup(or cream of chicken, or some of both). refill one of the cans with milk and add that too. Stir until it looks like a sauce and reduce your heat to a high simmer. Cover the Pot.

Meanwhile, make dumpling dough.
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening (or oil or butter)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

Measure the dry ingredients. I like to add parsley because it looks nice in the dumplings. Cut in shortening and add milk. Stir until dough forms.

Drop by large spoonfuls onto the hot bubbling chicken mixture. Cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 minutes more or until dumplings are done.

I usually serve green beans with it but you could substitute any vegetable or green salad.  If I make extra, my family loves the left-overs for lunch the next day.

When your budget runs into higher prices at the grocery store, it’s easy to find yourself making the same meals over and over.  Don’t let yourself fall into that rut.  It makes mealtime a drudgery instead of something to look forward to.   Set aside a little time this weekend to investigate some new recipes and then add those ingredients to your grocery list.  Adding one new meal a week can change your family’s diet over the course of a year.  The internet makes it easy.

I recently found a site that is worth investigating.  It’s called AOL-FOOD and offers 100 meals for under $10 each (family of 4).  Now that’s something to celebrate.

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I’ve come across a good site that helps you to know what to feed when.  I warn you, if you don’t follow organic food chatter or haven’t heard of Wise Traditions and Nourishing a Growing Baby, it may sound a little strange to you.  If you do a little research, you will find that these recommendations have nothing to do with what is popular and everything to do with what has been proven to work.

I also wanted to clue you in that you might have to introduce a food to your baby 8 or 10 times before you know whether or not they like it.  It seems that food is an acquired taste.   Please let me know if this helps.   :0)