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Happy Ad Wednesday!

This week has some new produce sales spreading.  Cherries are in many stores, but Sprouts has them cheapest.  Peaches, are all over as well, those are cheapest at HEB.  Grapes are under $2/lb at all the chains, but Randalls wins at $1.49.

Avocados are 25c at Fiesta, so maybe I’ll finally get around to the Avocado Math problem I’ve been wanting to solve.  Randalls has large avocados for 99c, and while I do usually avoid their produce, for the sake of science I can give them a pass.

In the meat sections, pork butt and split chicken breasts are $1.27/lb at HEB,

Mamey? Huh?

Oh, Fiesta. Why do you have made-up food on sale?  

Sprouts

cherries                                                                                    $1.98/lb

organic grapes                                                                      $2.98/lb (DD)

organic peaches or nectarines                                            $2.98/lb (DD)

boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs                 $1.99/lb

HEB

peaches                                                                             77c/lb (DD)

red bell peppers                                                              48c/ea (DD)

organic kale                                                                         78c/ea (DD)

boston butt pork roast, bone in                                       $1.27/ea

HCF split breasts                                                                 $1.27/lb

Fiesta

cucumbers                                                                33c/ea (DD)

Hass avocados                                                          25c/ea (C15)

pineapples                                                             $1.49/ea (C15)

tomatoes                                                                    49c/lb

large Anjou pears                                                      99c/ea

pork blade steak, family pack                                $1.29/lb (Fiesta limit)

Eddy brand rope smoked sausage, 2.5lbs          $5.99/ea

bscb, family pack                                                       $1.99/lb

chicken drums or thighs                                            99c/lb

Randalls

red seedless grapes                                             $1.49/lb (DD)

Safeway brand chicken drums or thighs         99c/lb

Wheatsville

organic green grapes                                         $2.49/lb (DD)

organic sugar plum tomatoes                          $1.49/ea (DD)

Flyers this week:

That’s it for this week, Cheepsters! Try to stay dry, turn around don’t drown, and remember the liquor stores close at 9pm.

$5 Friday at Randalls

Wondering what to do for dinner? The $5 Friday cheese pizza in the deli case at Randalls will get 4 kids through a movie.  It’s not the best pizza in town, but it’s a good deal.Screen shot 2015-05-22 at 6.00.25 PM

Add popcorn, possibly a board game, and that’s quality family time on the cheep!

Trader Joe’s Silly Thing This Week

This week’s silly thing is more along the lines of silly-surprising than silly-goofy. The many grocery options we’ve got are the reason I started this project. There are a lot of things people consider when shopping–organic, free-range, local, cheapest, dye-free, wheat-free, fair-trade, responsibly farmed…it’s a statistics project of its own for every family.

Today, I present affordable organic meat, courtesy of Trader Joe’s. Yes, I post about cheaper chicken legs all the time.  Legs or thighs are half this cost at HEB every other week.  But if this is an issue that you care about, and your budget can swing it, Trader Joe’s has certified organic chicken legs for $1.99/lb.

Screen shot 2015-05-20 at 11.30.01 PM

My general meat price is $2/lb. If you’re a meat product, and cost less than that, I’m considering buying you.  This is sometimes good (yay freezer full of pork loin!) and sometimes doesn’t work out (pig ears, what should I do with you? and sweetbreads: you scare me), but it’s the point I feel good about stocking up on meat.

Trader Joe’s has organic chicken legs, not on special, but always available at what I think of as my ‘stock up’ meat price.  It’s true, my stock up price for chicken legs is the Fiesta 49c/lb sacks. I have to process those though, by removing the back bits and portioning out, which takes a fair amount of work.  I do get stock out of the deal, but I know damn well those chickens aren’t living well.  So this price interests me.  It’s my meat price, but it’s 4x what I pay for that cut.

I’ve started buying more organic fruits and vegetables when they’re on sale based on the Dirty Dozen, and maybe my budget can take this cheap organic into account, also. I’m glad TJ’s is offering it.

Are you an organic meat buyer? I’d love to hear about what your price points are.

Cheep Cheep!

Happy Ad Wednesday!

Memorial Day–Holiday of meat, at least in Grocery Land.  Growing up, Memorial Day always meant a parade through the neighborhood, and a walk to the ball field where there was a service, and then we all trooped over to the firehouse and ate hot dogs and went for rides on the fire truck.  

In Grocery Land, it’s weekend-o-grilling, and all the chains have several meats on deep discounts.   Because meat sales this week are all over the place. I’m including a couple of things this week that I wouldn’t normally (tri-tip, pork tenderloin, T-bones) because they’re exceptionally good deals, and we all like to splurge sometimes if we can.

Watermelons are under $4 at three places, and both HEB and Randalls have 6/$1 corn. Buy blueberries at Randalls this week –HEB is nearly 2x that, Fiesta is nearly 3x.  Fiesta has sacks of Key limes for 97c, which is enough for two pies (pick up some meat while you’re there–they have a wide variety on sale).

And finally, Randalls fixed the broken cheese ad–this week it’s at $5.99/20oz.  So hopefully some of you managed to stock up for a week of grilled cheese sandwiches at $2.50!

Randalls

blueberries, 6 oz.                                                       88c/ea

seedless watermelon                                                   $3.67/ea (limit 2)

corn                                                                                      6/$1

Safeway brand hot dog or hamburger buns             99c/ea

Safeway brand bacon, 3lb pack                                 $8.97/ea

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

whole pork tenderloin                                                   $3.99/lb 

Sprouts 

cherries                                                            $2.48/lb

Fuji or Gala apples                                        98c/lb (DD)

drumsticks, thighs                                         99c/lb

seedless watermelons                                  $3.98/ea

organic Red Delicious apples                        98c/lb (DD)

raw almonds                                                      $4.99/lb  

Antolina pasta, 16oz                                        $1/ea

HEB

corn                                                                                    6/$1  (C15)

peaches                                                                              $1.27/lb  (DD)

green beans                                                                         88c/lb

organic Fuji apples                                                             $1.77/lb (DD)

HEB Organics mini carrots, 1lb                                         $1.48/ea

HCF drumsticks or thighs                                                $1/lb

EZ peel xl raw white shrimp, frozen, 2lb bag                 $11.94/ea

baby back ribs, full or half rack, prev. frozen                 $2.97/lb

Fiesta

NY strip steak, bone in,family pack                                      $4.99/lb (Fiesta limit)

tri tip beef roast                                                                          $4.99/lb

beef back finger ribs, family pack                                          $1.99/lb  (finger??)

pork spare ribs, family pack                                                   $1.79/lb

pork sirloin chops, bone in, family pack                                $1.39/lb

chicken leg quarters, large sack                                               49c/lb

bscb, family pack                                                                         $1.99/lb (Fiesta limit)

chicken drumsticks, family pack                                                89c/lb

seedless watermelon                                                              $3.99/ea

large avocados                                                                        97c/ea (C15)

Key limes, 2lb sack                                                                  97c/ea

red seedless grapes                                                              $1.99/lb (DD)

Ranch Style beans, 15oz can                                                50c/ea

Wheatsville

Knudsen’s pineapple coconut juice, 32oz.             $2.50/ea

organic red grapes                                                        $2.49/lb (DD)

organic peeled baby carrots                                       $1.49/lb

organic peaches and nectarines                             $2.99/lb (DD)

Weekly Ad Links:

Trader Joe’s Silly Thing This Week

Hybrids are all around us. Cars? Hybrids, spelled right out on the bumper. Plants? Hybrids, saving us all from the horrors of having to spit orange seeds out.  Zonkeys are clearly going to take over the world with cuteness soon.

This one, though, I could have lived without.

Science Has Gone Too Far

           Science Has Gone Too Far

I like bagels. I like pretzels. I’m pretty easygoing on most things.  

Picturing this, though, I’m getting an image of fluffy white insides with leathery salty crust that ordinary tooth maneuvers don’t exactly get a bite through, leaving me with sandwich innards everywhere, or butter dripping down my shirt to pair with the grease stains from some pizza I once ate (I’m a mess, it’s true). 

It’s possible there is some taste benefit, but that would be due entirely to salt, which I can apply to a bagel already. We have the technology. It looks like this.  

photo

Yes, I know, that one is nearly empty. It is nearly empty because it’s useful.  Which is more than I feel I can say about the Pretzel Bagel ($2.49 for an 18 oz bag of 6 at a TJ’s near you).

Great Customer Service at…Randalls?!?!

I know. This is a confusing time for all of us. We can get through this.

If you’ve followed for a while, you know that because Randalls is the most convenient to me, and I know it like I know where to find my favorite books at the library, I’m in there from time to time for things like bread, milk, and toilet paper.  I never do a huge shop there, but I certainly do head in to hit the loss leaders and the clearance rack.

Today I went in for a deal that I’d listed in the sale post this week, specifically the 20oz Lucerne brand sliced cheese that was on sale for $2.50. That’s a really good price, so when I got to the dairy case and saw this:

IMG_2677

That’s not the same at all! I stood there for a minute, wondering if I’d misremembered.

Then I started to freak out, because I’d kicked off the ad post joking about chumps who don’t do math, and had I somehow calculated the price per pound wrong? This was $3, the same as the 2lb bricks on sale, not different! Frickity!

IMG_2676Up to the front of the store to get the weekly ad, and sure enough, I’m not crazy, and there in the center of the fourth page is my deal. Which is a crazy good deal, and the way it’s hidden there I figured I was being awesome telling everyone about it.

Two packages go in the cart and I head up with that and the bread and milk to sort this out so I can report back to the Cheepsters.

I put them at the front of the belt, and when the cashier picked it up I showed him the ad.Screen shot 2015-05-14 at 10.09.04 PM The ad does say ‘selected varieties’ and the photo shows one that this store had on hand.  I’d chosen cheddar, since kids don’t like food that has two colors (no? just my kids? moving on then…).  The cashier looked at the ad, at the cheese, and told me to hang on while he went to look.  He got back, called a manager, and rang the rest of my order up while the manager repeated this process.

The manager and cashier agreed that the ad certainly said that I should get the packages for $5, and that’s what they charged me. 

No claiming I needed the other kind, no telling me it was a misprint and meant the 8oz size (which was what I’d expected). Just, “We’ll just be charging you the $5, Ma’am.”

There might be a meeting happening tonight about putting signs up correcting the ad, but I’m glad with the way this was handled.  It writes up slowly, but the whole thing was done before I’d even gotten the bags in my cart and everyone was nice.

Randalls has its problems, but today they were a good store to be shopping.

Happy Ad Wednesday!

If you didn’t stock up on cheese during the Sprouts sales, Randalls has got 20oz packages of sliced cheese for $2.50, which is equal to $2/lb, and already helpfully sliced! They also have 2 lb bricks and bags, but those are $3/lb, and thus for chumps that don’t do math.

Dryer’s ice cream is on sale at both Sprouts and Fiesta. I’m such a Blue Bell purist that I don’t even know if they are good sale prices, so I don’t have them on the list. If you’re looking for some ice cream, you could start there.

Berries are $1.50 at Sprouts for today only, and all week you can get them for a penny less at Randall (but not strawberries, if you need those hit Sprouts today).Screen shot 2015-05-13 at 12.10.15 AM

I’ll be stocking up on chicken legs and rice from Fiesta, bacon and apples from HEB, and cereal from Randalls.  

Here’s the round-up–

Fiesta

beef brisket, whole                                                         $2.99/lb (Fiesta limit)

chicken drumsticks, jumbo bag                                     49c/lb (Fiesta limit) 

country style pork ribs, family back                                $1.99/lb

pineapple                                                                        $1.49/ea (C15)

mangoes                                                                          25c/ea  (C15)

Gala apples, small                                                           25c/ea  (DD)

Fiesta brand vegetable oil, gallon                                    $4.99/ea

Mahatma Jasmine rice, 2lbs                                             $1.99/ea

Blue Ribbon brand long grain rice, 2lbs                             99c/ea

Randalls

blackberries or raspberries, 6oz                                          $1.49/ea

organic celery                                                                            $1.50/ea (DD)

organic bell peppers, orange/red/yellow                              $2/ea (DD)

organic strawberries, 16oz                                                     $3.99/ea  (DD)

bscb                                                                                               $1.99/lb

Quaker Life or Crunchberries cereal, 13oz                           $1.99/ea

Lucerne sliced cheeses, 20oz.                                                $2.50/eaScreen shot 2015-05-13 at 12.14.27 AM

HEB

cantaloupe                                                                                   87c/ea  (C15)

Pink Lady apples                                                                         88c/lb  (DD)

organic Red Delicious apples, 2lb sack                                  $2.47/ea  (DD)

HCF drums or thighs                                                                       $1/lb

HCF bacon 12oz.                                                                            $2/ea

Sprouts

blueberries, 6oz                                                                                 98c/ea

jumbo navel oranges                                                                        48c/lb

avocados                                                                                             77c/ea (C15)

red or green seedless grapes                                                           $1.88/lb  (DD)

kale                                                                                                           88c/ea (DD)

walnuts, halves and pieces                                                                 $4.99/lb

bscb or thighs                                                                                             $1.99/lb

boneless pork sirloin chops                                                                 $1.99/lb

bulk butter toffee peanuts                                                                    $1.99/lb

Sprouts gingersnaps, 14oz                                                                  $1.50/ea

Wheatsville

organic strawberries                                                                            $3.99/ea (DD)

Links to weekly flyers:

Fiesta Now!

Just heard on the radio–pineapples are 99c now until 7pm at Fiesta. Limit 2, with a $10 purchase. 

I wonder if this I a new thing that will be happening, or if they just ordered way too many pineapples. 

Happy Ad Wednesday!

Mother’s Day has flowers on sale in volumes not normally seen at the stores.  Screen shot 2015-05-05 at 9.54.48 PMHEB’s roses and Randalls tulips are the deals here.  Mom wants you to think of her AND save!

New York steak is $5.99/lb at Sprouts, and t-bones are at Fiesta for the same price with a Fiesta limit. Not cheap, but for steak that’s pretty good. The photo in  the Sprouts ad looks like a NY Strip steak, and I’ve never heard anything else called a New York steak, so I’m figuring that’s what it is. Use your monkey brain, though–if it doesn’t look like a strip don’t buy it!  5 oz lobster tails are also $5.99 at Sprouts, so if your mom is hoping for surf-n-turf, that might be your store this week.

I’ll be stocking up on the split chicken breasts at HEB, which I debone and vacu-seal for the freezer. Watermelon and corn are also on my list, and I’ll get a few dozen mangoes to dice for the freezer for smoothies/freezy pops.

Sprouts

(don’t forget double ad Wednesday, last week’s specials still on!)

large Hass avocados                             $1.50/ea  (C15)

whole seedless watermelon                $3.98/ea

organic large Roma tomatoes              98c/ea 

bulk coffee                                                $6.99/lb

French vanilla almond granola             $1.99/lb

red seedless grapes                                $1.98/lb (DD)

organic Fuji or Red Delicious apples    $1.50/lb (DD)

pineapples                                               $1.98/ea (C15)

boneless skinless chicken thighs          $1.99/lb

Fiesta

bscb                                                    $1.79/lb (Fiesta lmit)

boneless pork loin chops              $1.99/lb

medium live crawfish                     $1.99/lb

Ataulfo mangoes                               25c/ea  (C15)

Sunkist mandarins, 2lb sack          $1.99/ea

Cameo or Braeburn apples             99c/lb  (DD)

HEB

largeHass avocados                      $1.50/ea (C15)

Fuji apples                                         98c/lb  (DD)

pineapples                                        $1.98/ea  (C15) 

HCF split chicken breasts               $1.27/lb (older)

dozen roses                                         $7.87/ea (newer)

Boston butt pork roast, bone-in       $1.47/lb

Randalls

corn                                                         6/$1  (C15)

mini personal watermelon            $1.47 ea (limit 2)

boneless pork sirloin chops         $1.99/ea

General Mills cereals                    $1.99 ea  (12.25-oz. Honey Nut Cheerios, 13-oz. Reese’s Puffs, 11.25-oz. Cookie Crisp or 12.2-oz. Cinnamon Toast Crunch.)

10 stem tulips                                $5

Wheatsville

organic Gala apples, 3lb sack                $3.99/ea  ($1.33/lb) (DD)

organic grape tomatoes                          $1.99  (size/wt unknown, but likely pint)(DD)

Enjoy the sales, stay out of the rain, and if you’re going to have a crawfish boil get on that because they won’t be here too much longer!

Cheep Cheep!

Flyers:

$10 Dinner, Coming Up

Summer is my favorite season for meals. It’s so easy to just…not cook. Most of the summer we grill meat and I chop some vegetables. Maybe.  Not that I don’t love me some soup, casserole, and the occasional complicated thing from Marcella Hazan, who doesn’t?

Summer meals can have a certain simplicity that I look forward to as the days warm up.

Cheep, Easy Summer Dinner!

Cheep, Easy Summer Dinner!

For example, this meal involved boiling corn, grilling chicken, and slicing a few things.  A twenty minute meal that costs $10 (seriously, it’s exactly $10. I triple checked) and feeds the five of us and has leftover chicken? 

Cheep Cheep!

  • chicken             $5.52
  • blackberries      $1.54
  • avocados          $0.84
  • corn                   $0.60
  • tomatoes           $1.50

All of this was from one store, HEB, except the basil which was from the front yard.  Everyone had things they liked, and I’ve got chicken bones and skin for future projects.

What, you don’t render chicken skins sometimes when you’re bored? Just me? Ok. I’ll just be over here bagging up chicken skin.

If you’ve got a cheap summer meal you love, please share! I love hearing what other folks are eating.  When DH and I are apart, if he’s eaten a meal the first thing I always end up doing is a food quiz. Where did you eat? What did you order? Was it good? Did anyone else have something good?

Poor guy. I should probably work on my people skills.  In the meantime–did you make a good dinner? What was it? 

Cheep Cheep!