Month: October 2015

Happy Ad Wednesday!

I’m close to putting a zero-purchase rule in place for straight-up carbs. My pantry is jammed full of pasta, the breadbox is full, and I’ve got to stop ‘stocking up’ and start ‘eating this stuff I’ve already bought’.

Rice and potatoes are super cheap at Fiesta this week, though, so, you know, we’ll see how that works out.  Maybe I switch Taco Tuesday (already adapted to include sandwiches, the Yankee Taco) to Baked Potato Tuesday?  Maybe.

Cheap fruits this week are grapes, raspberries and limes.  Onions, canned tomatoes, and kale are good veggie deals.  I mean, it’s still kale, even if it’s on sale, but maybe you’re on the Kale Train.  I tried, but my Ninja blender doesn’t turn kale into a lovely blended drink, but instead yields a weird green froth-slime that seems like more of a punishment than a healthy morning beverage strictly needs to be.

I’ve listed salmon here, which isn’t at my usual meat price point, but for wild caught salmon it’s a good deal. Split chicken breasts, pork chops and cheese round out the good protein options this week.

Someday I'll start

Someday I’ll start getting my ads on Tuesday again. That’s the dream…

Sprouts

red seedless grapes                                                               88c/lb

boneless skinless chicken thighs                                       $1.59/lb

Gala or Granny Smith apples                                               98c/lb

wild Pacific salmon filets                                                      $4.99/lb

HEB

raspberries, 6oz.                                                                          88c/ea

limes                                                                                              10c/ea

kale, red/green/romaine lettuce                                                 88c/ea

organic kale                                                                                    98c/ea

organic Gala or Red Delicious apples or pears, 2lb              $2.77/ea

boneless center cut pork loin chops, value pack                  $1.97/lb (limit 2)

Fiesta

Russet potatoes, 5lb bag                                  $1.29/ea

yellow onions                                                        33c/lb

plum tomatoes                                                     44c/lb

Gala apples, 3lb bag                                          $2/ea

Jack o’ lantern pumpkins                                  $2.99/ea

chicken leg quarters, jumbo bag                     37c/lb (Fiesta limit)

pork shoulder cubes, large                                $1.29/lb (10lb limit)

Fiesta vegetable oil, 24oz.                                    99c/ea

Fiesta diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz can                   50c/ea

Fiesta mac & cheese                                              33c/ea

Sarita long grain rice, 3lb bag                              $1/ea

Fiesta peanut butter, 16.3oz                                  $1/ea

Randalls

extra meaty pork back ribs or spare ribs                                     $2.49/lb

Sanderson Farms split chicken breast, value pack                    99c/lb

Safeway Kitchens bread                                                                   99c/ea

Honeycrisp apples                                                                             $1.59/lb

Lucerne cheese, 2lb brick or shredded                                          $5.99/ea

Blue Bell half gallons, selected                                                          $4.99/ea

Wheatsville

Muir Glen organic tomatoes, 28oz.                                               $2/ea

Knudsen organic juice, selected                                                    $3/ea

Weekly Flyer Links

Last, did you see my congee post? It’s great. Includes a photo not by me, so it looks super professional. The post is the first in my new plan to post a flexible, budget-friendly meal that uses up some of the never-ending parade of leftovers our refrigerators see come and go (and go all to often into the trash bin) once a week.  

If you’ve got suggestions for the weekly recipe, let me know! I’m hoping the list will become a useful resource.

Happy shopping, Cheepsters!

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Congee: Stretching the Cheap into Super-Cheap!

Rice is cheap. Cheap is what we’re about here. It’s also going to cool off in a few (several?) weeks, which is when I start cooking in earnest. Breads, soups, curries, casseroles; I’m an equal opportunity carbohydrate-pusher.

Congee is something I came across several years ago, during a stretch of what we’ll call a dual-sabbatical time, and it’s a perfect lunch. It’s cheap as all get-out, and uses up leftovers that might otherwise go unappreciated.  I’d forgotten about it until I saw this post by a fellow Austin food blogger:

congee

photo from Smoked Salt & Pepper

http://smokedsaltandpepper.blogspot.com/2015/03/rice-porridge-congee-with-ajitama-egg.html#comment-form

Look how beautiful this dish is! And how nicely she photographs her lovely meal! I need a class or something.  Or maybe new counters? It’s probably the counters throwing me off.

Congee is a rice porridge. “Porridge? Isn’t that for children in Dickens’ novels and nursery rhymes?”–I can hear your skepticism even through the internet, Cheepsters.  It is those things, but it’s also an excellent idea for you.  It’s as simple as it gets, it’s cheap, and you’ll never have to run out to the store to get something to make it, because it’s all in your house already.

Basically you cook rice with way more water than usual until the grains blur into each other. Yes, blur is the technical term we’ll be using here. You can use stock if you have some. You can start with cooked rice, and it’ll take a while.  If you don’t have any cooked rice, start with uncooked rice, and it’ll take longer. Happily, it doesn’t need attention at this point as a polenta might–bring it to a boil, set it to low and let it simmer.  I stir mine now and then and add more liquid if it needs some.  When it’s pasty it’s done.

That’s it. You made congee. Good for you!

It’s a bit dull at this point, though, so now is where you open the fridge and find the leftover roast pork, some soy sauce, and a few cilantro leaves. Then it looks like this:

IMG_3967

If you’re like my friend up there, you top it with marinated soft-boiled eggs (yum!) and fried tofu.  Today, mine will get leftover chicken and vegetables.  Tiny, who thinks everything should have ‘shaky cheese’ , puts parmesan on hers.

Congee is agreeable to whatever you want and have in the fridge. Pickled onions and pulled pork? Sure. Leftover stir-fy? Why not. The weird end of pot roast that nobody wants?  Dice that up with a few garlic chives and call it lunch.

Happy Ad Wednesday!

All the stores have gone Full Pumpkin this week, with all the ads having at least an entire column if not an entire page devoted to making sure you’ve got pumpkin options in every aisle.

This is what I picture TJ's board meetings look like.

    This is what I imagine TJ’s board meetings look like.

If you can keep it together and get past the pumpkin mayhem, there are some great buys this week.

Pork loin is a staple at Chez Cheepie. I buy these when they get under $2/lb and portion each into three roasts. They’re really versatile: you can go savory or sweet, portion into chops, or cube for a curry. Other meats I’ll stock up on this week are ground pork and whole chickens.

Apples of all kinds are on sale, I’ve listed a few varieties that are on sale in case you’ve got a favorite.  Sprouts has avocados, carrots and tomatoes all at super-cheap prices. Head over there before the avocados all have thumbprint dents in them!

Last, if you’ve got someone to cheer up, bribe, or woo, Sprouts has got roses on sale for just $5.99 per dozen!

Randalls

whole boneless pork loin                        $1.79/lb

country style pork ribs                             $1.49/lb (Fri-Sun only)

TreeTop apple juice, 64oz.                         2/$3 (must buy 2)

Sprouts

Hass avocados                                     48c/ea

raspberries, 6oz                                    $1.50/ea

organic red grapes                                    $1.98/lb

celery                                                      98c/ea

Sunset Campari tomatoes, 1lb                   98c/ea

organic carrots, 5lb sack                           $2.98/lb

organic Lady in Red apples                        $1.50/lb

bscb                                                       $1.88/lb

Lärabar                                                      88c/ea

dozen rose bunch                                    $5.99/ea

HEB

red seedless grapes                                              87c/lb

sweet potatoes                                                      50c/lb

organic Fuji or Red Delicious apples                   $1.77/lb

Texas Grapefruit, 5lb                                           $1.77/ea

HCF whole chicken                                              77c/lb (limit 2)

Butterball turkey bacon                                          B1G1

ground pork                                                    $1.97/lb (grackle only)

Fiesta

Roma tomatoes                                           44c/lb

lemons                                                          20c/ea

large pomegranates                                     $1.69/ea

pork shoulder roast                                     $1.17/lb (Fiesta limit)

seasoned chicken leg quarters                      79c/lb (limit 10lbs)

bone in chicken breast, family pack        $1.29/lb (Fiesta limit)

Progresso soup                                                       99c/ea

bulk pinto beans                                                       25c/lb

Fiesta long grain rice, 4lb sack                           $1.50/ea

Fiesta box mac and cheese                                     33c/ea

Wheatsville

organic Ambrosia apples                                   $1.99/lb

Muir Glen organic tomatoes, 28oz.                   $2/ea

Knudsen organic juice, selected                       $3/ea

Weekly Flyer Links

Happy shopping, Cheepsters!

Pizza Night, Done Cheep!

Is Friday night Pizza Night at your house? Oftentimes it is for us, but if I didn’t get the dough started in time it would turn into Refrigerator Buffet Night.

The team is not such a fan of Refrigerator Buffet.

Screen shot 2015-10-20 at 3.43.31 PM

           Yay Superheroes!

Last week, while I was whining/moaning about not having gotten pizza dough started, some helpful friends pointed out that they use a recipe that mixes up in a few minutes, and is ready to roll out by the time they’ve gotten the other ingredients together and the oven preheated.

It worked like a charm, saved me $30 on takeout, and we all really liked it. And I got to watch Avengers: Age of Ultron!

Here’s the recipe, give it a try!

http://allrecipes.com/rec…/20171/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/

Happy Ad Wednesday!

Welcome to Wednesday! I wasn’t quite ready for it, so today’s post is more of a PM post than an AM post.  If you found yourself frantically refreshing, wondering if I’d abandoned you, I’m sorry.  See someone about that, though, because you might have a problem.  Moving on!

Central Market has moved from Italy on to some kind of cheddar mayhem. So if you’ve got $20 and want a pound of cheese, you know where to go.

We have all kinds of apples on sale for less than $1/lb, and organics for under $2/lb, so if you were thinking of perfecting your apple pie recipe now’s the time. Also, invite me over.  Double also, what are you thinking? It’s 95 degrees out. Don’t turn the oven on! Bake in November when it’s only 85.

This week three places have organic potatoes on sale, which normally I don’t even see in one flyer, so if you’re an organic potato shopper this is your week! Russets, Red and Yukon Golds are all on sale.

Pork chops, grapes, cantaloupes and cheese are all on loss-leader prices this week, so stock up!

Fiesta

chicken drums & thighs combo, family pack       69c/lb (Fiesta limit)

mixed pork chops, family pack                                $1.49/lb (Fiesta limit)

snack size gala apples                                              29c/ea (DD)

large pomegranates                                                   $1.69/ea

Russet potatoes, 5lb bag                                           $1.50/ea (DD)

Roma tomatoes                                                             44c/lb

Fiesta brand vegetable oil, gallon                        $4.99/ea

Fiesta saltines                                                             99c/ea

Randalls

bscb                                                                   $1.99/lb

Honeycrisp apples                                           $1.59/lb (DD)

Pantry Essentials brand milk, gallon            $2.50/ea

Oak Farms ice cream, half gallon                 $2.50/ea

Lucerne cheese, 2lb brick or shredded        $5/ea (FRI only)

HEB

blackberries, 6oz                                             97c/ea 

Fuji apples, 3lbs                                            $1.77/ea (DD)

Gala apples                                                       97c/lb (DD)

kale, spinach, lettuce                                       98c/lb (DD)

Hass avocados                                                    39c/ea (grackle only)(C15)

organic Russet potatoes, 3lbs                         $3.47/ea (DD)

baby back ribs, whole in bag                           $2.97/lb (limit 2)

        

Sprouts

black seedless grapes                                         88c/lb (DD)

cantaloupes                                                             88c/ea (C15)

organic Honeycrisp apples                                 $1.98/ea (DD)

Gala, Jonagold or Cameo apples                        98c/lb (DD)

pork sirloin chops, boneless                                $1.79/lb

bulk rolled oats                                                           50c/lb

Whole Foods

organic red or yellow bell peppers                                  98c/ea (DD)

Screen shot 2015-10-14 at 3.18.15 PM

possibly organic potatoes in sacks, but since all I’ve got is this to go on it’s hard to know, since ‘sack’ isn’t a standard unit.  It certainly looks like a deal, with the saving of $4.01 and all, but you’ll have to let me know if you visit WF.

Wheatsville

organic green bell peppers                                    99c/lb (DD)

Smart Chicken thighs or drums                          $1.99/lb

organic potatoes: Red, Russet, Yukon Gold       99c/lb (DD)

Weekly Flyer Links

That’s it for this week. Signing off. Cheep Cheep!

Dishes, Wishes. Wishes, Dishes. 

I might have a small dish disorder. This weekend I saw a 12 place china setting that would be perfect for December because of the lovely green-vined red-berried pattern on the rim, and nearly bought it despite already owning more dishes than your average bear. 

It was just so tantalizing! Curvy rims that were also pointy. All the fun stuff was there too-not just a creamer and sugar bowl, but even a pitcher! 

I was very good though, and did not blow an entire month’s spending money on dishes. Instead I found a couple small things to add to this collection:   

 
Look how cute! And at$2-3 each it’s the kind of collection my budget can stand. 

If you’ve got a collection you love post a pic–I’d love to see!

Happy Ad Wednesday!

It’s a sort of slow week. Apples, grapes, boneless skinless chicken breasts (bscb), all for cheap. Asparagus is a surprise, normally only up for cheap in the spring.  Fiesta is having a great weekend sale, so check it out if you’re anywhere on I35 this weekend.

Also, today is the last day for the 98c raspberries at Sprouts. Cheap berries are about to be gone until spring, so this is the last gasp. They freeze well, so buy what you think you’ll use!

Screen shot 2015-10-07 at 12.48.52 AM

Sprouts

(last week’s prices still in effect on 10/7! 98c/raspberries!)

various hard squash                                      48c/lb

asparagus                                                         $1.48/lb (D15)

 Honeycrisp apples                                         $1.48/lb (DD)

Sprouts broth, 32oz                                         $1.50/ea

bscb                                                                    $1.88/lb

Fiesta

Fiesta brand canned corn or green beans, 14-15oz       25c/ea (limit 12)

Red Gold tomato sauce, 8oz can                                         20c/ea

Fiesta chicken noodle soup, 10.5oz                                      33c/ea

limes                                                                                          15/$1

large avocados                                                                           69c/ea (C15)

Grimmway carrots, 1lb bag                                                    59c/ea

bscb                                                                                          $1.49/lb (Fiesta limit)

SAT & SUN only:

               pork picnic                                                                     79c/lb (Fiesta limit)

               pork sirloin chops, bone in,family pack               87c/lb (Fiesta limit)

               Ole Carolina bacon, 16oz                                            99c/ea (Fiesta limit)

               Fiesta smoked sausage, 42oz.                                   $4.49/ea

               Yoplait yogurt 8 pack                                                    $1.99/ea (limit 2)

              Gala apples, 3lb bag                                                     $1.99/ea (limit 2)(DD)

              Key limes, 2lb bag                                                          99c/ea (limit 2)

Randalls

Sanderson Farms whole chickens                                    67c/lb

Sanderson Farms drums, thighs, leg quarters            99c/lb

boneless half pork loin, sold whole                                  $1.99/lb

Safeway apple juice, 64oz.                                                99c/ea (limit 4)

HEB

red seedless grapes                                                             87c/lb (DD)

Red Delicious or Granny Smith apples                           77c/lb (DD)

large Hass avocados                                                             98c/ea (C15)

organic Fuji apples                                                              $1.77/lb(DD)

pork ribeye roast or steaks, boneless                               $1.97

HCF chicken drums or thighs, value pack                         $1/lb

Wheatsville

Smart Chicken drums and thighs                              $1.99/lb

organic red seedless grapes                                      $2.49/lb (DD)

Weekly Flyer Links

$21.82

Hit Sprouts today for the double ad day!  It was busy–I’m not the only one that wanted to stock up on fruit. 


The peaches we’ll both eat out of hand and freeze. The apples will be apple sauce. I always mean to freeze raspberries, but they get snapped up before I get them there. 

7.25 lbs peaches, 5.5 lbs apples, nearly 2 lbs of raspberries, and some random stuff. Left the store happy with my deals!