Happy Ad Friday!

It’s been a haul but here I am!  Finally an ad post. I write it in my planner every week, and every week seems to have kicked my butt because we both know I haven’t posted.  But this week I am getting the list up, and I’ll keep doing my best to post.

Right now my fridge is a mess of nonsense because last week pork shoulders were on sale, and I made some seriously weaponized posole.  In the apocalypse, if you should find a bit of mace, I can make soup out of it if need be.  I’m not sure anyone will eat it, but I can make it. 

For those of you wishing for toilet paper or hand sanitizer, may I suggest Fiesta? When I was there a few days ago it was a completely normal experience, with no empty shelves.

To the deals!

HEB

  • HCF split chicken breasts                                                        $1/lb
  • HEB Sweet 1015 Onions, 3lbs                                                $1.50/ea
  • Autumn Glory apples                                                                77c/lb

Randalls

  • Halos, 5lb box                                         $4.99/ea
  • Sat-Mon ONLY:
    • pork butt roast, bone in, in bag                      99c/lb
    • Blue Bell, half gallon                                      $4.99/ea

Fiesta

  • Ataulfo mangos                                           44c/ea
  • small avocados                                            33c/ea
  • bulk red beans                                             77c/lb
  • bulk white rice                                             50c/lb

Sprouts

  • blackberries, 5.6oz                                        88c/ea
  • red seedless grapes                                      98c/lb
  • organic D’Anjou pears                                $1.48/lb
  • Almond Breeze almond milk                     Buy one, get one free

Whole Foods

  • organic Lady Alice apples                            $1.99/lb

Wheatsville

  • organic Fuji apples                                        $1.79/lb

Central Market

  • xl Gold pineapples                                                   $1.98/ea
  • organic Fuji and Gala apples                                $1.97/lb

 

Links to the weekly ads:

Happy Ad Wednesday!

Last post of the year, and I’ve just looked back to see when I first started this odd hobby. It’s been over five years. That’s amazing to me. Five years!  The downtown skyline was completely different then! There were no scooters! Was there even P. Terry’s?

During that time, I’ve posted about a few different topics aside from the roundups. There was the family dinner/meal planning scoring. There was a while where I tried to follow keeping up with shopping frugally AND organically.  For a short time, I had a weekly post about the goofiest thing at Trader Joe’s.   

For now, I seem to be able to manage the weekly round-up and not much else.  I do snap a lot of photos in grocery stores: random deals and things that strike me as funny.  I may work on posting these on Instagram, which seems to be where most food bloggers are, as my ongoing hatred of unit pricing inconsistency doesn’t need more blog posts.

Or maybe it does.  We shall see what 2020 brings. I hope it finds and keeps you well, Cheepsters!  Here’s the list:

HEB

  • xl grapefruit or navel oranges                                    88c/lb
  • boneless center pork loin chops, family pk.            $2.49/lb
  • HEB frozen mixed fruit, 5lbs.                                      $9.98/ea

Sprouts

  • Hass avocados                                                                           33c/ea
  • organic carrots, 5lbs                                                                $2.98/ea
  • organic Fuji or Gala apples                                                     $1.50/lb
  • Ambrosia, Gala, Fuji apples                                                    98c/lb
  • organic celery                                                                          $1.48/ea
  • bulk nut butter, dried fruit, or honey                                 35% off

Fiesta

  • small avocados                                                                                 33c/ea
  • limes                                                                                                   99c/12
  • round mango                                                                                    50c/ea (round? sure)
  • Fiesta vegetable oil, 48oz                                                               $1.47/ea
  • Fiesta long-grain rice, 4lbs.                                                            $1.88/ea
  • Fiesta pinto beans, 1lb                                                                     69c/ea
  • country pork ribs, family pack                                                     $1.47/lb

Sat/Tuesday only:

  • red seedless grapes                                                                      97c/lb
  • boneless skinless chicken breasts, value pack                       97c/lb

Thursday only:

  • chicken drumsticks, large bag                                                    37c/lb (usually >10lbs)

 

Randalls (NOTE: these prices don’t start until THURSDAY!!!)

  • red seedless grapes                                                                 99c/lb
  • red, yellow, & orange bell peppers                                      99c/ea
  • Signature Farms whole fryers, drums, thighs                   69c/lb (bone-in, value pk)
  • Lucerne eggs, 18-ct                                                                 $1.49/ea (mix & match 4)
  • Lucerne shredded or chunk cheese, 8oz.                           $1.59/ea (mix & match 4)
  • Signature Select long-grain rice, 2lbs                                   99c/ea (mix & match 4)

     Friday ONLY:

  • Chicken of the Sea chunk light tuna, 5oz.                                  50c/ea (limit 10)
  • Signature Select pasta, 12-16oz.                                                   50c/ea (limit 10)

Note: the mix & match means you can buy four of anything labeled as a mix & match,you do NOT have to buy four of the same thing.

One last, if you wanted to get someone a small gift, these flowerpots from Randalls might be nice.  It’sIMG_2561 sweet, and inexpensive if you have someone you’d like to cheer for the start of the year!

 

Links to the weekly ads:

Holiday Hours!

We all have last-minute needs. No, not you? You’re just the very best, then.  The rest of us forget things, think of new things that need getting, and sometimes just need to get out of the dang house. Away from all this candy.  What candy you say? Well, after years of wishing for a box of chocolate on Christmas morning, this year, well, just look.

IMG_2553

I hear you. You’re thinking, “What? No banana for scale?” Here, let’s just take a peek inside.

IMG_2554

It’s nearly a square meter of chocolate. Which I have successfully defended from all other Cheepie household members!  I hope you have a holiday moment that makes you smile as much as this has made me smile.

Happy New Year! Here’s the hours for today and tomorrow.

HEB

The static holiday site for HEB says regular hours for today and tomorrow.  For most HEBs, that’s 6am-12am.  Some vary and open at 5am or close at midnight.  

 

Sprouts

  • Today: close at 8pm
  • Tomorrow: regular hours,  7am-11pm

 

Randalls

  • (regular hours)
  • Today: 6am-1am
  • Tomorrow: 6am-1am

 

Fiesta

  • (regular hours, note: different than on their site)
  • Today: 7am-10pm
  • Tomorrow: 8am-10pm

 

Wheatsville

  • Today: 7:30am-8pm
  • Tomorrow: 10am-9pm

 

Whole Foods

  • Today: 8am-9pm
  • Tomorrow: 10am-8pm

 

Trader Joes

  • Today:  Closing at 6pm
  • Tomorrow: Closed

 

 

Happy Ad Saturday!

Here we are in the citrus season. So many cheap mandarins!  I made tiny pomanders with mandarins and cloves, it’s a simple holiday decoration I do every year.  I’ll get to the list! I’ll be getting avocadoes, Haloes, and sugar. 

Are you baking cookies? Do you make a holiday meal? I’d love to hear about what your holiday food traditions are. I just learned about a baked cheese appetizer from a friend, and I am so excited to try a new way to eat too much cheese!

 

Fiesta

  • limes                                                                                  15/99c
  • russet potatoes, 5lb.                                                       $1.49/ea 

 

HEB

  • Bosc pears                                                                88c/lb
  • Gold potatoes, 5lbs                                                 $2/ea
  • Fuji apples                                                               88c/lb
  • Duncan Hines classic cake mix                           88c/ea

 

Sprouts

  • Haas avocados, limit 12                                                  33c/ea
  • Cuties mandarins, 2lbs                                                  $1.98/ea
  • organic celery                                                                   $1.48/ea
  • Sprouts frozen vegetables, 16oz, selected var.          $1.67/ea

 

Central Market

  • organic Granny Smith and Gala apples                              $1.68/lb

 

Randalls

  • large pineapples                                                              $1.50/ea
  • Halos clementines, 5lbs                                                 $4.99/lb
  • Hormel Cure 81 ham OR Signature Select hams      $1.49/lb
  • Signature Select sugar, 4lb                                            $1.49/lb
  • Libby’s canned corn, cream corn                                  50c/ea
  • Libby’s canned green beans, broth                               50c/ea

Friday ONLY:

  • Refreshe mixers (tonic, soda, seltzer) 2L                    50c/ea (limit 10)
  • Campbells Chunky Soup, select varieties                   $1/ea (must buy 5)
  • Hillshire Farm Lil’l Smokies, 24oz                                $5 ea (limit 4)

 

Links to the weekly ads:

Happy Ad Roundup Weekend!

We’ve got the weekend, so let’s get to it!  Except, well, my mail didn’t include an HEB circular, so I’m going to have to do the online one and let me tell you, it’s not my favorite site to deal with.  I get distracted and decide to check out college football or an instant pot site, and that’s how we end up with my Wednesday post on Saturday.

But I am here, typing away, and I hope it helps you.  This week doesn’t have the meat sales that I expect will show up next week for the holiday, but we’ve got Fiesta with the cheap chickens, still. 

This year I’ll be doing several homemade gifts, some cooked, some crafted.  Do you have any fun gift plans?  I’d love to hear about them! Cheepie is trying to cheep our holiday season down and I’d love to hear how you like to gift without breaking the bank.

Randalls

  • large cantaloupes                                        88c/ea (limit 2)
  • Progresso soup                                            99c/ea
  • Calidad tortilla chips, 12oz.                    $1.49/ea (must buy 4)

Sat-Mon:

  • pork butt/picnic roast                                  99c/lb
  • medium avocados                                        50c/ea

 

Sprouts

  • jumbo Hass avocados                                                $1.25/ea
  • organic Fuji, Gala or Pink Lady apples, 2lbs        $2.98/ea
  • Sprouts bulk coffee                                                   $7.99/lb
  • Sprouts xv olive oil. 1 ltr.                                         $6.99/ea
  • bulk rolled, quick or steel cut oats                         79c/lb

 

HEB

  • Envy apples                                                                                97c/lb

 

Fiesta

sweetbreads

Fiesta, this doesn’t mean what you think it means.

  • white onions, 3lbs.                                                                97c/ea
  • round mangos                                                                       50c/ea
  • lemons                                                                                     25c/ea
  • whole chickens                                                                      77c/lb

 

Links to the weekly ads:

Ad Roundup, Late Edition

You’ve got until tomorrow to get these prices, or Wednesday if you’re shopping at Sprouts. It’s late this week, due to some over-ambitious holiday planning.   We hit both the Trail of Lights and the light show at Mozart’s, and I’m glad we were able to do that early before the more crowded evenings!

This week I’m going to be getting a couple of chickens at Fiesta and some Cuties at Sprouts.  Maybe this is the year I make some tamales? If I decide to, I’ll be picking up supplies at Fiesta.

Central Market

img_2260

    Be nice! Bring flowers!

organic Bartlett and Red Anjou pears                           $1.47/lb

HEB

  • XL Honeycrisp apples                                             77c/lb
  • black seedless grapes                                               97c/lb

Randalls

  • raspberries/blackberries, 6oz                              $1.50/ea
  • chuck roast, value pack                                         $2.99/lb (Mon only)

Sprouts

  • Cuties mandarins, 2lbs                                                $1.98/ea
  • organic red seedless grapes                                        $1.98/lb
  • black seedless grapes                                                      98c/lb

Fiesta

  • small avocados                                                                    33c/ea
  • round mangos (round? really?)                                       50c/ea
  • bone-in chuck roast, family pack                                  $2.47/lb
  • chicken drums & thighs, family pack                              77c/lb
  • whole roaster hens                                                             77c/lb
  • assorted pork loin chops, family pack                          $1.27/lb

 

Links to the weekly ads:

 

Holiday Hours

A quick post to share the hours stores are open tomorrow.  Hopefully, you’ve got everything you need and are happily home binge-watching Friends (I’m on the one where Ross tells Rachel that he agreed to Emily’s demand that he never see her again). Just in case you don’t, here’s where you can go tomorrow to get those last-minute items.

Fiesta                       7am-7pm

Wheatsville            7:30am-1pm

Sprouts                    7am-4pm

HEB                           6am-2pm

Central Market        6am-2pm

Randalls                    6am-4pm

Trader Joe’s              Closed

Whole Foods            7am-3pm

Ad Roundup, Thanksgiving Edition

Last week, a helpful reader pointed out that the ad for HEB runs through tomorrow.  Turns out this week is the 1970s split-level house of weekly ads, with some sticking with the current ad until Thursday, and some switching over today.  

Sticking with the current ad:  HEB, Randalls, Sprouts, Central Market, Whole Foods

Moving on like there’s not a giant holiday:  Fiesta, Wheatsville

Still using that nutty flyer that has stories, no dates, and says ‘prices might change’: Trader Joes.

So, here are the Fiesta and Wheasville updates. For the others,  you can check last week’s roundup.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Wheatsville

  • organic Pink Lady apples                    $1.99/lb
  • sourdough or French baguette           $1.50/ea

Fiesta

  • small avocados                                         25c/ea
  • white onions                                             32c/lb
  • beef bottom round steak or roast       $2.47/lb
  • Fiesta flour, 5lbs                                     $1.89/ea
  • Fiesta tortilla chips, 12oz.                     $1.49/ea

Thursday only:

  • whole fryers                                                67c/lb
  • boneless skinless chicken breast            87c/lb

 

Links to the weekly ads:

Weekly Ad Roundup!

A bit late, but I was distracted by trying to decide if I needed the AC or the heat on recently.  I also had to laugh at the corner store trying to sell three sticks of firewood for $5.99.  Are they magic sticks?  

It got cold, so I wanted to cook a bunch, then it got warm and I didn’t. So now I have this big list of food I want to make but not until it’s cold. And I have a list of Thanksgiving things I want to make.  And then there’s a list of things I want to make next month.  I may have a list problem. Happily, that works in your favor, because here’s your list of grocery deals!  Check out the turkey list after the individual stores.

HEB

  • sweet potatoes                                                            14c/lb
  • McIntosh or Granny Smith apples                         87c/lb
  • Boston butt pork roast                                              $1/lb (limit 2)

 

Randalls

  • Libby’s canned green beans, corn, peas               44c/ea (must buy 6)
  • Blue Bell half gallons                                                $4.99/ea (must buy 2)

 

Central Market

  • organic Granny Smith or Fuji apples                  $1.27/lb
  • fresh wild jumbo sea scallops U/10 ct                 $14.99/lb

                                                   (a splurge yes, but it’s $12/lb off!)

Fiesta

  • russet potatoes, 5lbs.                                          $1.50/ea
  • split chicken breasts, family pack                      87c/lb
  • Betty Crocker cake mix                                          $1/ea
  • Fiesta frozen vegetables, 16oz                           89c/ea

 

Sprouts

  • raspberries or blueberries, 6oz                     $1.67/lb
  • large pomegranates                                              $2/ea
  • Hass avocados                                                      50c/ea
  • red or black seedless grapes                              98c/lb
  • organic celery                                                    $1.48/lb
  • Cuties brand mandarins, 5lb box                   $3.98/ea

 

Turkey Situations

HEB

  • HEB fresh turkey, 10-24 lbs.                                        $1.48/lb
  • Free Riverside frozen turkey up to 12lbs. (or credit on a larger turkey) with purchase of an HEB bone-in or boneless spiral cut ham.

Randalls

  • Free frozen Honeysuckle White or Signature Farms turkey with $100 purchase, or 49c/lb with $25 purchase
  • Butterball frozen turkeys, 10lbs & up                          99c/lb
  • Honeysuckle White fresh turkeys, 10lbs & up         $1.49/lb
  • Butterball fresh turkeys, 10lbs U up                          $1.99/lb

Central Market

  • Mary’s free-range non-gmo natural fresh turkey     $2.49/lb
  • Mary’s free-range certified organic fresh turkey      $3.49/lb
  • Mary’s Heritage fresh turkey                                         $6.49/lb

Sprouts

  • fresh natural turkeys                                                     $1.49/lb (limit 4)
  • fresh organic free-range turkeys                                 $2.99/lb (limit 4)

Fiesta

  • Jenni-O frozen turkey, 12-20 lbs.                                      47c/lb

Fiesta also has everything for making tamales ‘on sale’. I don’t think these prices are much lower than the usual for most of the basics, but if you want a whole pork leg, this is a good price.tamalephoto

Links to the weekly ads:

Weekly Ad Roundup

It’s certainly Turkey Time, y’all.  At the end, I’ve listed this ad week’s turkey deals. I always get one to make now and one for the freezer. Sometimes I get one extra because I love turkey.  I have an old cookbook called Simple Fare that was the first cookbook I bought for myself that had a section called ‘Dine a Dozen on a Shoestring’ and the basis for the meal was a turkey.  I still agree with the author that a turkey is an excellent way to feed a crowd, despite turning more often to a pork shoulder these days.

Remember, getting those ‘free’ turkeys in reasonable sizes is a trick.  People like me are stocking up and the middle-of-the-road sizes that fit in an ordinary roasting pan.  Stopping by the butcher counter to ask when they restock can give you a fighting chance.

Happy shopping!

Sprouts

  • avocados                                                                                   50c/ea
  • green bell peppers                                                                  50c/ea
  • organic red seedless grapes                                                 $1.98/lb
  • organic Gala or Fuji apples, 2lbs                                        $2.98/ea
  • russet potatoes, 5lb                                                                $1.88/ea
  • bulk spices                                                                               35% off
  • organic bulk coffee                                                                $7.99/lb

HEB

  • Autumn Glory or Smitten apples                                            97c/lb
  • Boston Butt pork roast                                                                $1/lb
  • HCF bone-in split chicken breasts                                           $1/lb

 

Randalls

  • Hass avocados, 6ct bag                                                        $2.94/ea
  • boneless skinless chicken breasts                                     $1.69/ea
  • red, yellow, or orange bell peppers                                    99c/ea
  • Barilla pasta, 12-16oz.                                                            88c/ea (buy 4, mix & match)
  • Lucerne cream cheese, 8oz.                                                  88c/ea (buy 4, mix & match)
  • granulated sugar, 4lbs.                                                           99c/ea (until Monday, limit 2)
  • all-purpose flour, 5lbs.                                                           99c/ea (until Monday, limit 2)

 

Fiesta

  • avocados, small                                   5/97c (note, these often have large pits)
  • white onions                                        29c/lb

 

Turkey Time

Sprouts:

organic fresh turkeys                        $2.99/lb  (limit 4)

fresh whole turkeys                           $1.49/lb

Fiesta:

Jennie-O frozen turkey, 10-20lbs.               47c/lb

HEB:

Free frozen 12lb RiverSide turkey (up to 12lbs) when you buy a HEB Half/Whole ham, or spiral sliced ham.  They will also credit 12lbs toward a larger turkey.

Randalls:

Butterball frozen turkeys                  99c/lb

Free frozen turkey with $100 purchase. With a $25 purchase, turkey is 49c/lb. The price of turkey doesn’t count toward total, limit 1.

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Hey, Circular Editor: this is a lot, and the font is supertiny. Do better.