Today, we went to Albertson’s and scored 51 McCormick Grill Mates spices and three Near East rice mixes – all FREE! The spices were on sale for $1 each and we used 51 $1 off McCormick spice coupons found in the 3/13 Red Plum, plus Suzanne had three coupons for free Near East rice mixes. It will be fun to donate spices to the food bank. Saved $192.06, spent $0. Woo hoo! (And don’t worry, we didn’t clear the shelves.)
Here are a few of the highlights of the deals at Fred Meyer this week. Go to Frugal Chic Living to see a full list, including match-ups using Fred Meyer’s Extra Savings Booklet.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts on sale $1.99/lb (sold in 4lb bag)
In-Ad Coupon specials:
Pillsbury Cake Mix $.50
Kroger (2 Lb) Medium Cheddar Cheese $3.99 (limit 1)
Gerber 2nd Baby Foods (2-pack) $.89
Paas Medium Classic Easter Egg Decorating Kits $1.50
General Mills promotion – Buy 4, instantly save $4 with weekly in ad coupon
Sale includes: Total Whole Grain, Golden Grahams, Total Plus Omega 3s, Honey Nut Cheerios, Honey Nut Chex, Wheat Chex or Cheerios.
Coffee-mate Creamer (32 oz) $2.50
Use $.55/1 coupon OR $1/2 coupon from 1/30 RP insert
As low as $1.95 after coupon
Krusteaz Frozen Waffles $1.67 with Extra Savings booklet coupon (front cover)
Buy 2
Use $1/2 coupon from Safeway Frozen Food book
$1.17 after coupons when you buy 2
Santitas Chips (12 oz) $1.50 with Extra Savings Booklet coupon (pg. 9)
Select Barbies $3.99 (reg. $6.99)
Use weekly in-ad 10% off Toys Coupon
$3.59 after coupon
Transfer a Prescription and get $25 loaded to your Fred Meyer Card. Offer ends April 16th..
Recipe call for heavy cream and you don’t have any? Make your own.
3/4 C milk
1/3 C melted and cooled butter
Use in place of 1 C heavy cream.
Coffee Creamer
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 C skim milk
Flavoring of choice
For vanilla use 2 tsp vanilla extract
For chocolate almond, use 1 T cocoa and 1 tsp almond extract
Strudel – use 1 T cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp almond extract
Chocolate Raspberry use 2 tsp cocoa powder, 2 T raspberry syrup
Measure all ingredients in to a 32 oz container with a cover, seal container and shake. Stores up to two weeks.
Image courtesy of aboutcoffeeonline.com.
Ever find yourself wanting to try a recipe and you’re out of sweetened condensed milk, here’s a substitute and it’s a lot cheaper than buying it.
1/3 C boiling water
4 T butter
3/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1 C powdered milk
Using a mixer, blend water, butter sugar and vanilla. Add powdered milk and blend until thick. Store in fridge for up to one week..
My step daughter Marie loves these.
1/2 C orange juice
1/2 C Water
1/2 C ice
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp powdered milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine all ingredients in a blender and set on high for 1 minute. For a banana julius add 1 medium banana.
Source: Top Secret Recipes.
This recipe is a great way to use canned beans and tomatoes when they go on sale…..
2 lbs. hamburger
2 C. chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1T. Chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 C. beef stock
1 – 28oz. can tomatoes
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans chili beans
Brown the hamburger and drain off fat. Throw all the ingredients into a crock pot and stir.
Cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 5 hrs.
Serve with best cornbread ever…………..
I got this recipe from my neighbor. We loved them. Sweet and salty bread and butter pickles, yummmmy
6 C sliced cucumbers
1 lb onions sliced thin
1/4 C Salt
2 C Sugar
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cloves
1T mustard seed
2 C vinegar
Mix cucumbers and onions with salt and let sweat 3 hours. Rinse and drain. Pack the vegs in to jars. Mix sugar, turmeric, cloves, mustard seeds and vinegar in saucepan. Bring to boil. Pour into jars over vegetables. Seal.
You can sterilize the jars in the dishwasher. If you want your pickles sweet only, then skip the salt. You can leave out the turmeric if you don’t have any, it just turns the pickles yellow, but it’s not crucial. If you are going to eat them up soon, no need to hot bath. The vinegar keeps it good for a long long time in the fridge..
Crockpot Apple Butter 
I’ve made this in my crock pot before and was really happy with the results
5 1/2 lbs apples peeled, cored and chopped – I think I used Winesap at the time
2-4 C sugar – more or less depending on the variety/sweetness of the apples you choose
2 tsp cinnamon – I’m pretty sure I used 2 Tablespoons because my family loves cinnamon, but adjust accordingly
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves – again, adjust to your likes
Place the apples in a crockpot. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cloves, and salt. Pour mixture over the apples and stir well. Cover and cook on High 1 hour. Reduce heat to Low and cook stirring occasionally, until the mix is thick and dark brown. Uncover and continue cooking on Low 1 hour. Stir with a whisk to increase smoothness.
Spoon into clean containers, cover and refrigerate. It can also be canned or frozen..