I just found this website. I am amazed. I am delighted! This is a brillant idea!
This is a couponing site and more: Commonkindness.com
You clip coupons and designate a charity to contribute to, and commonkindness.com contributes $ to that charity. I believe the site says they donate 20% of the advertising generated by your coupon clipping.
Genius!
They do seem to expire a bit sooner, and I am not sure I know what all the brand are that are listed, but there are several categories and galleries. You can even get Coupon Network coupons here. It's like a one stop shopping place for coupons.
I'll say it again: Brillant!
Plus they have links to donate to your local foodbanks.
I'm so excited. I'll be coming to the site at least weekly for coupons, it just feels so darn good to use this site.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Friday, December 28, 2012
Speaking of frugal....and easy....
I've heard this for ages, but hadn't really paid much attention to it, because the cans of chicken broth are SO cheap. Right?
Nope. This is even cheaper:
Take a roast chicken carcass after you've eaten your fill and gotten all the meat off for future meals
Put it in a big crock pot (I used my 6 qt one)
Fill the crock pot up with water
Throw in some veggies, just wash 'em, they don't have to be pretty (I used carrots, celery, and onion)
If you want, add some spices. I threw in some dried rosemary and some garlic powder
Turn to Low and cook for 6 to 8 hours (overnight is do-able too)
Turn off crock pot, toss chicken bones, and cool broth.
Pour broth through strainer into something large to catch it
Finish cooling
Package into quart sized Ziploc freezer bags
Label and toss into the freezer
I just did this today and packaged 4 qts of chicken broth plus a little extra (disclaimer: I would've had about two cups more if I hadn't spilled one bag of broth). So for very little work, I have homemade broth for 4 chicken based soups. And it smells SOOOO wonderful.
Plus, I used to always just toss the leftover chicken bones (didn't want the dog to get to 'em) and this makes me feel much better about buying whole chickens.
I'm sure you can use any chicken bones. I actually froze the chicken bones about a month ago as I didn't have time to experiment just then. You can do the same with veggies, any leftover celery or carrots or anything else you want to use can go into a freezer bag until you're ready to make broth.
Can't wait to cook something with this bounty!
Nope. This is even cheaper:
Take a roast chicken carcass after you've eaten your fill and gotten all the meat off for future meals
Put it in a big crock pot (I used my 6 qt one)
Fill the crock pot up with water
Throw in some veggies, just wash 'em, they don't have to be pretty (I used carrots, celery, and onion)
If you want, add some spices. I threw in some dried rosemary and some garlic powder
Turn to Low and cook for 6 to 8 hours (overnight is do-able too)
Turn off crock pot, toss chicken bones, and cool broth.
Pour broth through strainer into something large to catch it
Finish cooling
Package into quart sized Ziploc freezer bags
Label and toss into the freezer
I just did this today and packaged 4 qts of chicken broth plus a little extra (disclaimer: I would've had about two cups more if I hadn't spilled one bag of broth). So for very little work, I have homemade broth for 4 chicken based soups. And it smells SOOOO wonderful.
Plus, I used to always just toss the leftover chicken bones (didn't want the dog to get to 'em) and this makes me feel much better about buying whole chickens.
I'm sure you can use any chicken bones. I actually froze the chicken bones about a month ago as I didn't have time to experiment just then. You can do the same with veggies, any leftover celery or carrots or anything else you want to use can go into a freezer bag until you're ready to make broth.
Can't wait to cook something with this bounty!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
A Frugal ESSENTIAL
One of my friends sent me a message today saying that she has followed my advice at long last and created a monthly menu.
Creating a menu is probably the most essential first step for saving money at the grocery store. I am tickled pink that my friend has taken this step.
Now, a month long menu is very intimidating at first, so I suggest that people try a week's worth at a time. It just makes sense: figure out what you're wanting to eat for the week, then go by those groceries for the week.
I do monthly menus because it is far less work. It used to take me a half hour or so to make a weekly menu and the grocery list. Then I added a second week (when I was doing cooking for a day), which took me about an hour to do menu and list.
Once I figured out a few menus, I made a list of dinners my kids and husband will eat. I was gratified to see that it was 32 meals. And thus the monthly menu was born. I read websites and magazines for ideas, so I probably have closer to 50 tried and true dinners and room for new things.
So, time savings, you say? I made the January menu today. It took about 45 minutes. I also jotted down grocery items that I'll need over the next month. I have a pad of paper on the fridge for this purpose, and I use four consecutive sheets dated the next four Saturdays. I trust that my pantry stock is sufficient to have say, chicken broth, so that doesn't go on the list. But the green peppers I need for a stir fry does. So I have the grocery list started for the next month.
I also have a list up on the side of the fridge for the next Costco/stock up visit, which will be the next payday. I put a list up as soon as I use the old one. If we need something before the stock up visit, it goes on the weekly list. I go to Costco once a month and just get what we need for stock up (generally, cleaning things, cat food and dog food and kitty litter) or what we can get with Costco coupons.
Along the way, I have a running list of things that I keep stocked up. I will only buy more pasta if a) I have a really good coupon for it and b)know it's time to donate to the food bank.
I only make the menu for dinners. Breakfasts are either eggs, bacon, pancakes, or cereal. Lunch is almost always leftovers (especially easy to take to work things). I get things like boxed macaroni and cheese from time to time, especially if my daughter is about to come home from college.
One of the big challenges for my menu planning over the past year has definitely been going from feeding 3 people to feeding 2 people. I am thankful that I have a nice chest freezer and a Foodsaver.The Foodsaver means I can make a crock pot full of chili or soup and save it in lunch sized bags. Ditto for leftovers. Or for doing a little meal making ahead (one package of chicken and four different sauces makes eight meals).
My meals are almost always very plain: meat, starch, veggies.
Here's a sample of the next seven days:
Creating a menu is probably the most essential first step for saving money at the grocery store. I am tickled pink that my friend has taken this step.
Now, a month long menu is very intimidating at first, so I suggest that people try a week's worth at a time. It just makes sense: figure out what you're wanting to eat for the week, then go by those groceries for the week.
I do monthly menus because it is far less work. It used to take me a half hour or so to make a weekly menu and the grocery list. Then I added a second week (when I was doing cooking for a day), which took me about an hour to do menu and list.
Once I figured out a few menus, I made a list of dinners my kids and husband will eat. I was gratified to see that it was 32 meals. And thus the monthly menu was born. I read websites and magazines for ideas, so I probably have closer to 50 tried and true dinners and room for new things.
So, time savings, you say? I made the January menu today. It took about 45 minutes. I also jotted down grocery items that I'll need over the next month. I have a pad of paper on the fridge for this purpose, and I use four consecutive sheets dated the next four Saturdays. I trust that my pantry stock is sufficient to have say, chicken broth, so that doesn't go on the list. But the green peppers I need for a stir fry does. So I have the grocery list started for the next month.
I also have a list up on the side of the fridge for the next Costco/stock up visit, which will be the next payday. I put a list up as soon as I use the old one. If we need something before the stock up visit, it goes on the weekly list. I go to Costco once a month and just get what we need for stock up (generally, cleaning things, cat food and dog food and kitty litter) or what we can get with Costco coupons.
Along the way, I have a running list of things that I keep stocked up. I will only buy more pasta if a) I have a really good coupon for it and b)know it's time to donate to the food bank.
I only make the menu for dinners. Breakfasts are either eggs, bacon, pancakes, or cereal. Lunch is almost always leftovers (especially easy to take to work things). I get things like boxed macaroni and cheese from time to time, especially if my daughter is about to come home from college.
One of the big challenges for my menu planning over the past year has definitely been going from feeding 3 people to feeding 2 people. I am thankful that I have a nice chest freezer and a Foodsaver.The Foodsaver means I can make a crock pot full of chili or soup and save it in lunch sized bags. Ditto for leftovers. Or for doing a little meal making ahead (one package of chicken and four different sauces makes eight meals).
My meals are almost always very plain: meat, starch, veggies.
Here's a sample of the next seven days:
Thursday, Dec. 17: Fried rice
 | |||
| Fri Dec 28, 2012 |
Lasagna
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat Dec 29, 2012 |
Leftover prime rib and fresh bread
| ||
| Sun Dec 30, 2012 |
Tacos
| ||
| Mon Dec 31, 2012 |
pizza/leftovers
| ||
| Tue Jan 1, 2013 |
Coq au vin
| ||
| Wed Jan 2, 2013 |
Shrimp and feta radiatore
|
Links, links, links
It has taken me a bit to figure out how to put links onto my blog. But in the interest of sharing all the little I know about frugal living and couponing, I really wanted to have a spot to refer people to. For instance, my all time favorite go to couponing/frugal living website is FabulesslyFrugal. I am delighted to be able to show a link on my sidebar. Same with Amazon. I shop a lot at Amazon and I save money there with their Subscribe and Save and have gotten every penny worth out of their Prime two day shipping.
At Thanksgiving, I splurged big time and got a Keurig. Keurig Elite 40 Brewing System - 00480 (Google Affiliate Ad)
I got one because we had one in the house, but it went to college when my daughter did. Now, I am not a big coffee fan. But the hot chocolate that this thing makes....yummy! And the tea is equally good. I can caffeinate every day.
I got this for a splendid price. It was on mega sale at Albertsons. I also got a coupon book worth $70, mostly in buy one get one free things. But the coupon book has a LOT of coupons for things I send to my daughter in care packages. So it's a score.
Anyway, back to the Keurig. I love this thing. I'm not exactly in love with the little cups. So my one Merry Christmas to me thing is an E cup that I just ordered from Amazon. It's re-usable and doesn't contain any coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. I'll be able to put that in myself.
Honestly, life is much simpler for the couponer now, with websites to check and coupons to print directly off the computer. It's a good time to be clipping.
At Thanksgiving, I splurged big time and got a Keurig. Keurig Elite 40 Brewing System - 00480 (Google Affiliate Ad)
I got one because we had one in the house, but it went to college when my daughter did. Now, I am not a big coffee fan. But the hot chocolate that this thing makes....yummy! And the tea is equally good. I can caffeinate every day.
I got this for a splendid price. It was on mega sale at Albertsons. I also got a coupon book worth $70, mostly in buy one get one free things. But the coupon book has a LOT of coupons for things I send to my daughter in care packages. So it's a score.
Anyway, back to the Keurig. I love this thing. I'm not exactly in love with the little cups. So my one Merry Christmas to me thing is an E cup that I just ordered from Amazon. It's re-usable and doesn't contain any coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. I'll be able to put that in myself.
Honestly, life is much simpler for the couponer now, with websites to check and coupons to print directly off the computer. It's a good time to be clipping.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Burt's Bees
My Burt's Bees holiday package came yesterday! It is AWESOME.
There's a whole bunch of things in here that I can't wait to try. I did get a lot of the things pictured here. My daughter took the lip stuff, and I used the hand salve already for my poor, dried out winter hands. Can't wait to use the shampoo! This was half price. Check out Burt's Bees!
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