I thought it was ironic – and refreshing – to see some “convenience” foods on sale this week at Publix (our family has been busy every night for the last four nights). With the back of the Publix sales ad reading, “Everyone’s strapped for time these days” I guess we’re not the only ones….

In terms of lunch items, Oscar Mayer Lunchables are on sale this week for 10/$10. (I decided not put them in the Publix Meal Planner, since Lunchables seem to be one of those items that people either intensely love or dislike.) If you enjoy them, pick them up for a good deal.

If you end up shopping at Publix earlier in the week, don’t forget to stop back by for the “Cereal Sale” going on Saturday and Sunday – all Kellogg’s cereal will be 50% off.

For all the coupon match-ups from this week’s Publix sales flier, check out iheartpublix. Thanks, Michelle!

WHAT TO BUY:

Grocery:

• 2 Quaker Instant Oatmeal – BOGO $3.83 – Use two $1/1 coupons from 2/7/10 Red Plum
• 2 Bertolli Pasta Sauce – BOGO $2.81 – Use $1.50/2 coupon from 2/14/10 Red Plum
• 2 Bumble Bee Tuna – 2/$4
• 2 Duke’s Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing – BOGO $3.87 – Buy two salad dressing and use two $.50/1 coupons from 2/28/10 SmartSource (coupon doubled = $1 savings)
• 2 Orville Redenbacher Popcorn – BOGO $4.99 – Use $1/2 coupons from 1/24/10 SmartSource
• 2 Thomas’ English Muffins – BOGO $2.99
• 2 Ruffles Potato Chips – BOGO $3.99
• Box of Pasta – around $1.50
• Hamburger Buns – around $1.50
• 2 Kraft Italian Dressing – BOGO $3.25 – Use $1/2 PRINTABLE coupon

Refrigerated:

• 10 Dannon Yogurt 6 oz. cups – 10/$4 – Use $.60/6 coupon from 2/21/10 SmartSource
• Dozen Eggs – around $1.50

Frozen:

• 2 Red Baron Pizzas – BOGO $5.79
• Bird’s Eye Steamfresh Vegetables – 50% off – Use $.35/1 coupon from 2/28/10 SmartSource – (coupon doubled = $.70 savings) – It doesn’t give a price, but I’ll guestimate it to be $1 after coupon.
• MorningStar Farms Entrees (one “burgers” and one Meal Starter Crumbles) – 2/$6

Produce:

• 2 Fresh Attitude Salad Blend – 2/$4
• Publix Cut and Peeled Baby Carrots – $1.29
• Florida Oranges (4 lb. bag) – $2.49
• Red or Golden Delicious Apples (3 lb. bag) – $2.49
• Idaho Potatoes (5 lb. bag) – $2.49
• 4 Hass Avocados – 4/$5
• 2 Tomatoes – around $1 each

Meat:

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (5 lbs.) – $2.99 a pound
• Lean Ground Beef (1/2 lb.) – $3.49 a pound

Deli:

• 8-piece Fried Chicken Drumsticks and Thighs – $5.99
• Publix Deli Cooked Top Round Roast Beef (1 lb.) – $6.99
• 2 Publix Deli Potato Salad – $1.99
• 2 Toufayan Pita Bread – BOGO $1.29

WHAT TO MAKE:

Breakfast:

• Oatmeal
• Egg n’ Muffin Sandwiches
• Yogurt w/ Fruit

Lunch:

• Garden Salad w/ Tuna Salad – Add slices of tomato, avocado and carrots.
• BBQ Chicken Pita w/ Potato Salad – Use leftover chicken to stuff pita
• Roast Beef Pita Sandwiches w/ Chips

Dinner:

• BBQ Chicken w/ Vegetables – Place 2 1/2  lbs. chicken thighs in casserole pan and pour BBQ over top to evenly coat. Cover with foil and cook in 350 degree oven for at least one hour or until chicken is fully cooked. Chicken will be tender! Serve w/ cooked frozen vegetables.
• Spaghetti w/ “Meat” Sauce - Brown ground beef on stove, then add frozen Morningstar crumbles and a jar of pasta sauce. Simmer on medium low heat for at least 20 minutes to let flavors “mix”, then serve over cooked pasta. (Surprisingly, this sauce tastes very “meaty”  from the addition of the half pound of ground beef.)
• Fried Chicken w/ Potato Salad - Pick up from the deli when ready to eat!
• “Burgers” w/ Garden Salad - Cook Morningstar Farms burgers and top w/ slices of avocado and tomato. Serve on bun with a side of garden salad.
• Marinated Chicken w/ Baked Potato - Marinate 2 1/2 lbs. chicken thighs in half a bottle of italian dressing. Discard marinade, and place chicken in casserole dish. Pour rest of bottle of dressing over chicken, cover dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees at least one hour or until chicken is fully cooked. Serve with a baked potato.
• Pizza Night
• This leaves you one night of leftovers or eating elsewhere with family and friends.

Snacks:

• Popcorn
• Potato Chips
• Fruit or Carrots

Total Spent: $97.63 (before taxes)

$3.48 per person/per day (based on a family of four)

Note: I am not a dietician – consult your doctor to determine what you and your family’s nutritional needs may be.

These muffins taste like the kind of muffins you find at a bakery or coffee shop – rich and sweet, with a crumbled streusel topping.

They are actually very easy to make – and as you can see by the ingredients, you probably already have everything you need in your pantry and refrigerator.

To make Streusel Muffins:

In large bowl, combine:

• 1 1/2 c flour
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

Set aside.

In small separate bowl, add:

• 1/3 c canola oil
• 1/3 c milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Stir “wet” ingredients into “dry” ingredients, until just combined. Place nine paper muffin cups inside a muffin baking pan, then fill cups to the top with batter.

For streusel topping, use a fork (or your fingers) to mash together:

• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1/3 c flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 c butter

Sprinkle topping over muffins before baking.

Bake 20 minutes in preheated oven at 400 degrees, or until done.

Makes approximately 9 muffins.

Note: As a variation, I eliminate the egg and add a mashed banana. I also add 2 TBS of ground flax seed to the dry ingredients. (Trust me, you’d never know it was there if I had kept quiet.)

If you don’t ask, you don’t get. And when it comes to soon-to-be-expiring merchandise, you could miss out on a great deal if you don’t ask.

While shopping at a local grocery store today, I noticed that half-gallon cartons of coconut milk by So Delicious were marked down to $2. Normally they’re priced at $4.50, but since their expiration date was rapidly approaching, the store decided to drop the price for clearance.

Although $2 is a great price for these items, I wanted to talk to the store manager to see if I could get a better deal. Since these two cartons actually expire today, I wanted to see if the store would take $1 for each.

To my surprise, the manager suggested I take both for free! Apparently, he just wanted them out of his store before they expired. I was excited to take them off his hands…..

Bartering every time you walk into a store probably isn’t going to win you a lot of friends, but taking notice of the expiration dates on products – and asking politely for a discount – might just get you a greater deal than you thought.

The printable coupons have restocked!

Print them while you can – the good ones seem to disappear fast!

Of note:

• $.75/1 Lunchables Lunch Combinations Subs (without drink) - These coupons always seem to go like hotcakes.
• $.75/1 Gold Medal Flour
• $1/1 Yo-Plus Yogurt – Print these now and wait for the “cycle” to bring this yogurt back on sale at a grocery store.
• $.30/1 Yoplait Greek Yogurt Cup – Use these coupons at a grocery store that doubles coupons to get yogurts at a great price!
• $.50/1 Sister Schubert’s Rolls – Another coupon to use at a grocery store that doubles coupons – you’ll pick these up for under $1.50 when doubled. P.S. These are great to keep on hand for company – just pop them in your oven and your kitchen will smell fantastic.

There also appear to be new coupons for $2 off DVD movies like:

• Igor
• The Black Stallion
• The Pebble and the Penguin
• Flicka
• Aquamarine
• Big (I saw this in the theater!)
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (a great classic)

Wow! There are a number of great deals going on at Alice today.

Below are the ones I found noteworthy (i.e. items that seemed to be priced comparably to – or less than – sale prices at a standard retail store).

Don’t forget that shipping is always free at Alice. And if you sign up through Once Upon a Coupon, you’ll receive a free $10 credit in your Alice account once you spend $50 at Alice.

I really don’t know if the gluten-free snacks listed below are good deals, but I’m intrigued by them. (I’ve never seen them before!) The bars listed below are vegan and gluten-free with understandable ingredients (i.e. fruit, nuts, not mono-nono-something-or-others) that sound tasty. YUM!

The fine print:

• You have to buy at least six items with each order, unless it is your first order.
• Automatic clip-free coupons expire once the magic number has been redeemed. Read: Like somthing? Order it fast if you want it. I’ve sat on stuff and missed out.
• Like all stores, not everything is a great deal. That being said, it’s currently 43 degrees outside here with wind and freezing rain. Boy, free shipping sounds good.

Don’t forget to cut out the Target Pharmacy gift card coupon from Target weekly sales flier in today’s newspaper:

Get a $10 Target Gift Card when you fill a prescription and enroll in Auto Fill

Auto Fill can come in handy if you’re bad about remembering to refill your prescriptions. The pharmacy automatically refills your prescription when it’s time, and then an automated recording calls you and tells you your prescription is ready to be picked up. (I’ve heard they even call back again if you forget to pick your prescription up.)

Target has a new printable coupon for $1/1 Kraft Cheese.

If your Publix accepts competitor coupons, print two Target coupons (that’s the limit set by the Target website) and buy three Kraft Cheese for $5. By using the coupons, it makes the cheese just $1 each!!

Get the latest links to deals, money-saving tips and printable coupons at Once Upon a Coupon on Facebook!

Below are the best deals I found for this week at CVS.

Of note: CVS has an Extra Bucks deal this week on milk: Buy a gallon of milk and earn $1 in Extra Bucks, making the final price $2.69. This is $.50 cheaper than the price of milk at most grocery stores right now.

Don’t forget to bring a copy of the PRINTABLE SHOPPING LIST with you when you shop!

It’s the end of the month (I know – already!) and you know what that means: some printable coupons may expire.

Print them now while you still can….

I checked to see which ones were expiring, and the site lists only one (and isn’t even a printable coupon). Unfortunately, I’ve seen something along those lines before and thought whew! only to have some of the good ones disappear.

And don’t forget that on Monday, most of the printable coupons will “reset”, meaning if you had previously printed the quantity limit of your favorites, you’ll be able to print another set.

Hummus is one of my favorite foods.

Ok, who am I kidding? I like almost all food. But, anyways…

It’s packed with protein, and great to eat as a meal – paired a garden salad – or as a quick, nutritious snack.

This simple recipe for hummus yields a tasty concoction that’s relatively easy – and inexpensive – to make.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 can of garbanzo beans
  (a.k.a. chickpeas)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 – 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)

To make Simple Hummus Dip:

1. Drain the garbanzo beans and save the fluid.
2. Put the beans into the bowl of a food processor, and add the olive oil, ground cumin, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and if desired, garlic powder.
3. Process ingredients until smooth, slowly adding back the reserved liquid, as needed. (I usually only need 2 TBS, or so.)
4. Taste your hummus – if you think it needs anything (like more cumin), add it, then process again until combined.
5. Serve with crackers, pita chips or vegetables – dip in and enjoy!