Awesome Albertson's

As you probably know, Albertson's is doing double coupons this week through Tuesday so I just had to do some weekend shopping. I took advantage of some great deals! Here's what I got:

Transaction #1

2 Kashi frozen coconut chicken $3.50 each**

3 Coffee Mate creamer $3 for $5

1 Darigold sour cream $1.99

2 Beechnut Wheat cereal $.89 each

1 Albertson's brand coffee $3

1 whole young fryer chicken $4.50

2 packages Ballpark franks $1.99 each

2 packages Oscar Meyer hot dogs $1.99 each

Coupons used:

2 $1/1 Macaroni Grill (doubled)

2 $1/1 Coffee Mate creamer (doubled)

$.40/1 Darigold sour cream

Free Albertson's coffee

$2 off chicken

**The store manager and I searched everywhere for the Macaroni Grill dinners that were included in the $2 off chicken deal and they were nowhere to be found so he let me sub the Kashi dinners and still use my coupons!

Total OOP: $17.46

I found an extra ad in a cart in the parking lot - someone had ripped out the store coupons but left the doublers! So I moved on to another store and here was the next trip...

Transaction #2

3 Quaker Simple Harvest granola bars $2.50 each

2 Orville Redenbacher Kettlecorn $2.00 each

2 Wild Harvest Organic pinto beans $1.00 each

Coupons used:

2 $1/1 Simple Harvest (doubled)

2 $1/1 Orville R. popcorn (double)

2 $1/1 Wild Harvest organic

Total OOP: $2.50!!

The second store was claiming that they didn't have any extra doubler ads but I'm hoping I can find some before Tuesday. If not, then I may still try to find another computer to print out more Wild Harvest coupons and stock up on free organic beans!

Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs

I can't believe it's Friday already, thank goodness! This was an experiment recipe that turned out absolutely wonderful. It was so simple and easy to prep and the ribs turned out moist and delicious.

2 baby back rib racks - about 8-10 ribs each, cut down to 4-5 ribs

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

Montreal Steak Seasoning

BBQ or other sauce

Rub Montreal seasoning over meaty side of ribs then arrange in slow cooker so that they all fit. Add brown sugar, vinegar and water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove ribs from slow cooker, place on a cookie sheet and brush with BBQ or other sauce*. Put in oven for 15 minutes to warm the sauce on the ribs.

*Next time I will take the sauce from the slow cooker and boil it down to make a reduction sauce. There was a nice amount of liquid after removing the ribs that would make a wonderful sauce or a gravy, if you like.

Find this and all kinds of other yummy recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge. Lots of goodness over there this week!

Amazon Deal of the Day

Lots of Infant and Toddler shoes are Amazon's Deal of the Day. Most are priced at around $9.89, discounts of up to 66% off the regular prices. I stocked up for my 4-year old, who outgrows shoes these days faster than he can wear them out! I also signed up for a free membership in Amazon Prime which gave me FREE 2-day shipping for this order. Sizes and quantities are limited and this sale is only going on today. Happy shopping!

Grocery Budget Update

Last month I made it just under by $.47 for my grocery budget ($83.62 per month) but it's only 4 days in to February and already I feel like I'm off to a rough start. My husband decided at the last moment, IN THE CAR on our way to a SuperBowl party that he wanted me to make pigs in blankets for the party. So we stopped at Fred Meyer - I had no coupons or anything planned. Here is what we got:

1 bunch of bananas $1.59
2 packages Lil Smokies on sale $3 each
2 cans of FM brand crescent rolls $1.99 ea
2 heads Romaine lettuce $1.49 ea


Coupons used: Zero, zip, Nada
Bag refund: -$.05


Total OOP: $14.50. This leaves me $69.12 for the rest of the month. Let's hope I can work some of those Albertson's double coupon deals this week to keep me on track!