Magnum Ice Cream Just $0.50/Box

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

This is a perfect deal at Price Chopper. Woo hoo for a creamy, sweet treat!

Buy (2) Magnum Ice Cream Bars @ $3.50/ea
- (2) $2/1 Magnum Ice Cream Bars (hit back space to print two coupons)
= OOP $3, earn $2 OYNO Catalina

* It's like paying just $0.50/box!*


Thanks I Am That Lady!

Free Or Better Meat At Price Chopper

Just to be clear, in case it wasn't clear in my earlier post, you can get FREE lunch meat this week at Price Chopper.  Actually, it's a $0.05 money maker.

Deal...
(5) Oscar Mayer lunch meat  reg. $1.19, sale $0.79
= OOP $3.95
~ Earn $4 OYNO Catalina

Now if you have a catalina from doing the deal last week, you can absolutely roll it this week to turn this into a total money maker!

Tip...things like this freeze very well.  So stock up now and enjoy over the next few months. 

What Grocery Store Items Do I Freeze?

I've done a post on this before and I note it pretty regularly in grocery show off posts.  But to do a little review, here is a list of items I will buy extra of and pop in my freezer for later use if I can find them on super sale.

* Fresh Meats.  All meats.  Pork, chicken and fish.  And beef too if I could eat it.  But I can't, so I don't.  I freeze lunch meats too.  I am picky about how long lunch meats linger in the fridge.  So I either buy them in the individual packs or I separate the pound into four mini packs.  And then I freeze what I won't use in the next three days.

* Cooked meats.  Y'all know I am big on this.  I will buy several of those rotisserie chickens when they are on a big sale.  Or cook a giant turkey for two people because I want the leftovers.  I pick all the meat and then divvy up into portion size zip top baggies.  I just defrost over night in the fridge.  Use a million ways!

* Dairy.  Milk is fine to freeze- just be sure to pour 1/2 cup out of the jug before freezing to allow for expansion.  Defrost for 24 hrs in the fridge and shake if needed.

* Cheese.  Oh gosh, I freeze all cheeses.  I will say that defrosted cream cheese is best used in baking.  The flavor is unchanged but the texture is off if you are looking to use it on a bagel.  I've never had any issues with other types of cheese though.  Block cheese, shredded cheese, soft cheese such as feta, and hard cheese such as a wedge of parm.  All freeze great.

* Eggs.  Yes...I said eggs.  NOT in their shell though.  You can do this a few ways.  I will either save whites, if I am baking something using only yolks, in a small zip top baggie.  And be sure to write on the outside how many egg whites are inside as you will not remember two days from now.  Or if I come across a crazy egg sale and buy eight dozen, I will crack a dozen and whisk them into a scramble.  Then pour the dozen into an ice cube tray with a dozen cube spaces.  Once frozen (takes longer than water), break them into cubes and dump into a zip top baggie.  Now you have stocked up on eggs and are ready in a jiffy to use them.  BUT...eggs have a really long shelf life so I use freezing them as a last resort.

* Juice and Tea.  I don't typically buy the cartons of fancy lemonade or iced tea.  But once in a while, I can get a smokin' deal on them with coupons.  So I will buy several, pour a little out of each carton, put the top back on and freeze them just as I do with milk.  If I find orange juice on sale, I do the same thing.

* Coffee.  I freeze whole beans, grounds and if I make a big pot and have extra, I pour that into an ice cube tray.  Once frozen, I pop the cubes into a zip top baggie.  Then when I want iced coffee, I use the coffee cubes instead of ice cubes.  I know...I'm brilliant.  It's the little things in life, right?

* Whipped cream.  If you thought the coffee tip was hot, listen to this one.  If you make a pie and fresh vanilla bean whipped cream (or whatever), don't throw out the last of the whipped cream.  I tossed it into a zip top baggie and made little swirly puffs on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Then stuck the cookie sheet in the freezer.  Once frozen...you guessed it...zip top baggie.  I don't use these frozen cream puffs on say berries.  But they are fantastic in hot cocoa.  A big treat mid winter.

* Butter.  Because butter (and bacon) makes it better!

* Rice.  If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times.  Make a giant batch of rice and freeze portions.  This is a HUGE time saver.  And a HUGE budget saver.  It takes away the temptation to buy the expensive and barely healthy minute rice packages.  Those are a gazillion times the price (or you know...close to that number) of a bag of healthy, nutty brown rice.  I cook 2-3 bags at a time.  Its not like it takes extra effort.  Once cooked and you use that night's portion and the rest has cooled, portion the rice into zip top bags that fit the needs of your family.  Or even into those snack size bags for kiddos who need an afternoon snack.  Rice can enjoyed the same way one eats oatmeal, by the way.

* Yogurt.  Now this is a your mileage may vary category.  I've had better luck with yogurts such as Greek yogurt.  Or those with some fat vs no fat.  But it's similar to the cream cheese in that even those with no fat can be frozen.  I would just use them in a recipe or smoothie due to texture issues.

* Bread.  Do you ever pass by the bread outlet stores?  Go in next time!  I pick up as many loaves as I can at one time and just freeze them until needed.  Usually at 1/3 or less of the price in the grocery store.

* Berries.  I go to pick berries every year during peak season.  So much fun!  But fresh off the bushes and middle of August, they are subject to go bad in just days.  So I wash (depending on the fruit) and lay them out individually on baking sheets.  Pop them in the freezer.  Once frozen, then gently pour the berries into zip top baggies.  I don't personally waste these berries on smoothies.  I just eat them frozen, like candy for desert.  But that's just me.  

* Of course I freeze all sorts of prepared foods too but I just wanted to note today all of the items (and I may be forgetting a few) that you can freeze when you find them on sale.  Seriously...a second freezer saves me as much or more than using coupons! 

* And did you notice the running theme here?  Zip top baggies.  They take up sooo much less space than containers.  I know, bad for the environment.  And I will often wash and re-use them when possible.  But I think the space saved is worth it to use the baggies vs. containers with lids.

My Awesome Price Chopper Week In Review

This has been a BIG shopping week for many of us.  Price Chopper did not disappoint!  Summer sales are on and I'm loving it.  I picked up ice cream, cleaning products, meats, veggies and more.  And there is still time.  I started my week with a goal to not only shop wisely for items I needed but to also elaborate practical ways to use the best Price Chopper deals in your every day life.  So let's talk first about my favorite items on sale this week.

Details Listed Here

* (1) Seedless Watermelon  reg. $4.99, sale $2.99
- (1) $2/1 Watermelon Hannaford coupon
= OOP $0.99
~ Saved 80%

* (1) Strawberries  reg. $2.99
- (1) $1/1 lb Hannaford coupon (thru 5/24)
 = OOP $1.99

* Iceberg or Romain Lettuce  sale $1

* Bananas  sale $0.49/lb

* (1) Vidallia Onions 5lb.  sale $4.99
- (1) $0.50/1 Vidallia Onions print coupon
= OOP $3.99

* (1) Wholly Salsa  sale $2
- (1) $1.50/1 Wholly Salsa
= OOP $0.50

* (2) Boneless Center Cut Pork Chops  B1G1 Free
~ Saved 50%

* (2) Boneless Pork Country Style Ribs B1G1 Free
~ Saved 50%

* Boneless, skinless chicken breast  sale $1.99/lb
- (1) $2/$10 any fresh meat purchase

* Crab Classic Flake Style Crab meat  sale $2.50
- $0.50/1 Crab Classic
= OOP $1.50

* (5) Oscar Mayer Deli Meat 2oz pack  sale $1
= OOP $5
+ Earn $4 OYNO Catalina

* (1) Swiss Premium Iced Tea or Lemonade  sale $1.50
- (1) $0.55/1 Swiss Premium SS 5/20 (R)
= OOP $0.40

* (1) Slimfast Shakes 4-pack  reg. $6.49, sale $5
- (1) $1.50/1 Slimfast Shakes RP 5/20
- (1) $0.75/1 Slimfast Target coupon (should not double, mine did)
= OOP $2.75 without double, $2 with double
~ Saved 58% without double, 69% with double

* (4) Suave Lotion  sale $2.50/ea
- (2) BOGO Free RP 5/20
- (1) $2/$5.99 iSave machine coupon
= OOP $3/4 bottles of lotion or just $0.75/ea

* (1) Suave Body Wash  sale $1.88
- (1) $0.50/1 Suave Body Wash
= OOP $0.88/ea

* (1) Clorox Wipes  reg. $2.99, sale $2
- (1) $0.50/1 Clorox Wipes Dollar General Coupon (should not double, mine did)
= OOP $1.50 without double, $1 with double
~ Saved 50% without double, 67% with double

* (1) Glad Force Flex Trash Bags 25-80 ct.  sale $7.49
- (1) $1.85 Glad Force Flex
= OOP $5.64 ($0.07/bag if you purchase 80 ct.)

* (2) Ocean Spray Juice Drinks  reg. $3.29, sale $2.50
- (1) Buy any Ocean Spray Cranberry juice, get Ocean Spray Cherry juice FREE
- (1) $1/$4 or more juice purchase Catalina
= OOP $1.50/2 or just $0.75/ea (without Cat it is still an awesome deal)
~ Saved 77% with Cat, 62% without Cat

* (4) Coke 2L  sale 4/$4 with in ad coupon
- (4) $0.99/1 Coke coupon
= OOP Free!

* (5) Polar Seltzer 12-pack  sale 5/$12 with in ad coupon
- (1) in ad coupon
- (2) $1/2 Polar Seltzer 12-packs RP 5/20
= OOP $10/5 packs or just $2/each

* (3) Lays Potato Chips  reg. $4.29, sale $3.29
- (1) in ad coupon 3/$6
= OOP $6/3 bags or just $2/ea
~ Saved 53%

* (1) Hellman's Real Mayo 22-30 oz  reg. $2.99, sale $2
- (1) in ad coupon (must spend min $15 and limit 1)
- (1) $1/1 Hellman's RP 5/20
= Out Of Pocket $1
~ Saved 66%

* (2) Kikoman marinade  reg. $3.48, sale $2.61
- (2) $2/1 Kikoman marinade
= OOP $0.61/ea
~ Saved 82%
+ Earned $1 OYNO Catalina from purchase of two

* (1) Jello Temptations or Mousse  sale $2.50
- (1) $0.90/1 print coupon (nla)
= OOP $0.70

* (1) Luigi's Italian Ice  sale $2
- (1) $0.75/1 Luigi's Italian Ice RP 5/13
= OOP $0.50

* (2) Breyer's Ice Cream  reg.$4.29, sale $2 (limit 2)
- (2) $0.75/1 Breyer's Blasts
= OOP $0.50/each
~ Saved 88%

* (2) Milky Way candy bars  reg. $0.99, sale $0.79
- (1) $0.75/2 Milky Way candy bars
= OOP $0.08/2 or just $0.04/ea

* (2) Dove Chocolate Singles Bar  reg. $0.99, sale $0.79
- (1) $0.50/2 Dove Chocolate Singles
= OOP $0.58/2 or just $0.29/ea
~ Saved 71%

With these awesome sales, plus a few from last week and some staples from the pantry, I was able to make SIX yummy dinners in five nights this week, too.  Several are even freezer meals- to enjoy later when you are too busy to cook.

On Monday, I cooked up a big package of chicken breasts to make a very yummy dinner of Chicken Mojo as dinner #1.  A BIG crowd pleaser!!  This was step one in a week of dinners, as I pre-cooked a week's worth of chicken at one time.  Better yet, I used the crockpot as to not add any extra heat into the house!

On Tuesday, I use some of the leftover Chicken Mojo and great produce sales such as $1 lettuce from Price Chopper to make my version of PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps as dinner #2.  Ooooh they are so tasty.

On Wednesday I used the two packs of BOGO free boneless pork ribs (one of my very favorite meat sales that PChop does from time to time) to make BBQ Pork Ribs for dinner #3.  A classic any time of year.  A simple potato "baked" in the microwave and a yummy salad make this a "stick to your ribs" meal.  Very satisfying!   

On Thursday I made my first of three freezer meals for the week, Sweet and Sour Chicken as dinner #4.  Once again using some of the Chicken Mojo cooked on Monday.  The gift (or bird) that keeps on giving.  This is the perfect meal for a busy night when you want to eat something tasty, healthy and easy peasy lemon squeezy.  The prep for this meal took less than five minutes! 

And on Friday, I made my third and fourth freezer meals of the week, Cheesy Chicken and Rice as dinners #5 and #6 for the week.  They were the same meal but I made one to eat that night and one to freeze.  Or two to freeze.  This used up the very last of the Chicken Mojo from Monday night.  Not one skinny bit went to waste, but every nibble was incredibly tasty.

And today, Saturday, I am going to offer you one more meal prep tip for the week.  You know those yummy freezer meals that I made this week?  Those make awesome gifts!  Great to give to a sick relative or friend or someone who just had a baby.  Great to give to a friend who is under a lot of life stress, too. It is so easy for you to make them ahead of time and gift as needed.  Because while a scented candle is lovely, nothing says I love you like a home cooked meal!

How much fun to prepare once (chicken, onions, rice) and use many times over the week!  The key is to have a PLAN.

I pay close attention to Price Chopper sales ads, manufacturer coupons, Price Chopper coupons, Catalina deals (this is my weak spot but I am learning to be better at them) and what I already have in my pantry to make the most of my grocery budget each week.  Planning ahead to stockpile the best deals is another budget saver.  For example, this week I will pick up a few of the chicken packs, Polar Springs 12-packs, Clorox wipes, Suave lotion, Breyer's ice cream, pork ribs, mayo and Kikoman marinades for my stockpile.  I clearly do not need everything this very week, but these are all items I love to use throughout the summer months. 

I also took the time on Sunday to plan out my dinners for the week, based on the protein and veggie sales.  Not only does this save your budget, but it also saves you time and most important with summer approaching...calories.  Look again at all of the meals I just made this week.  Click on the links to see each ingredient.  Those are really healthy meals, y'all!  Not just a bunch of junk to fill you up.  I made six healthy, gluten free meals, to feed 4-6 people, using one package of chicken and two packages of pork ribs.

It is so worth the extra time it takes to plan on Sunday knowing it will save me time, money, energy and calories throughout the remainder of the week.

So tell me, what was your favorite purchase from Price Chopper this week?

Dinner #5 and #6: Cheesy Chicken And Rice Freezer Meal...Times Two

Yes...I said times two.  I made two meals at the same time.  One to eat tonight actually and one to freeze for later use.  I used the rest of the mojo chicken from Monday's dinner.  And the rest of the sliced onions too.  Yup...it's still creating yummy dinners.  Can you believe it?  I told you it is super awesome to cook once and use it for many different meals.  Just makes sense, no?!

If you don't have leftover chicken, you can absolutely cut up one chicken breast per meal.  That's all you need if you are using the big chicken breasts that Price Chopper has on sale this week.

So first, let me again note that I cook rice a bag or two at a time.  I don't see any point in cooking rice in small batches.  It takes but a few minutes more to just cook an entire bag and it's not like it requires any extra work.  Once you get the water simmering, you just cover and walk away.  So I cook big batches of rice.  Use what I need that night and once cooled, I portion out the rest of the pot into small zip top baggies.  Press flat and freeze.  These are SO HANDY to have ready to use.  Simply defrost in the fridge or even straight into the microwave.  As you can see, they take up very little space when pressed flat in the baggies.  The first time you use a convenient, ready-cooked bag you will realize you can never go back.  This is my #1 quick dinner tip!

The following recipe makes TWO meals.  If you just want to make one meal, cut everything in half.  Each meal serves 4 people.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Freezer Meal (makes two meals)

Ingredients:
* 2-3 cups cooked chicken (or 2 raw breasts cut small)
* 4 cups cooked rice
* 2 onions, sliced
* 1 tbls butter
* EVOO
* 2 bags frozen veggies (I used mixed but plain broccoli is great too)
* 2 cups shredded cheese
* 1/4 cup milk
* 3 tbls cornstarch
* 2 tsp salt

Directions:
* In a pan, saute onion in butter and EVOO until translucent.
* In another small pan, whisk together milk and cornstarch as temperature comes up to medium.  Add cheese and whisk together until smooth.  Remove from heat.  As it cools it will get very thick.
* On the outside of two zip top freezer bags, label the name of the meal and cooking instructions.  Very important to do this before you fill up the bag.
* Open bags and flip down top to keep clean.  Place bags in bowls to keep upright.
* In each bag, place half of each ingredient.  So each bag gets 1-1.5 cups cooked chicken (or one breast cubed), 2 cups cooked rice, 1 sauteed onion, 1 bag frozen veggies of choice, 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1 tsp salt.
* Remove as much air as possible when zipping bag closed.  Press flat.  Freeze for later use.
* When ready to use, defrost in fridge over night.  Dump bag into baking dish and mix up a bit more with a spoon.
* Bake at 350 for 30-45 mins (on the shorter end if using pre-cooked chicken- longer if using raw chicken).
* Serve with a salad and enjoy!


So there you have it!  We just completed a series of SIX meals over the course of five days.  Did anyone try these recipes?  Do you also prepare once and use multiple times like we did with the chicken and onions this week?

Dinner #4: Sweet And Sour Chicken Freezer Meal

Freezer meals are the hottest blog topic these days.  And I am all about it!  They are just so smart.  Make meals when you have time.  And they are ready to go when you need them.

Today we are making sweet and sour chicken.  I used more of the shredded chicken that I made on Monday but you can certainly just cut up raw chicken.  You will just need to cook it longer.  I also used more of the onions from Tuesday.  So this meal came together in just a few minutes. If you are making it to eat the same night, there is no need to place it in a zip top baggie of course. 

Be sure to write on the bag what you have inside and any instructions BEFORE you fill up the bag.  I plan to serve this over rice but it would also be yummy over egg or rice noodles.  By now y'all know that I keep portions of cooked brown rice in my freezer at all times.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Freezer Meal

Ingredients:
* 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or chopped raw chicken
* 1 large green pepper, chopped
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 cup salsa
* 1 can chunk pineapple with juice
* pinch of salt

Directions:
* Chop veggies and if necessary, chicken.
* Dump all ingredients into a zip top freezer bag.  Freeze flat.
* Thaw the night before using.
* Dump thawed bag into crockpot.  If using cooked chicken, cook in crockpot for 2-4 hours on low.  If using raw chicken, cook in crockpot 4 hour on high or 8 hours on low.
* Serve over rice or noodles.