Sign up for a free sample of Cheetos Mighty Zingers.

Use this printable coupon to get $4 off any Tag book by LeapFrog (costing over $9).

Just think: The holiday season is just four months away…. And saving up to 45% off the price of a LeapFrog book isn’t a bad deal.

There’s a new printable coupon for $.75 off one Nature’s Own product.

Print two copies and use them at Publix to get two loaves of bread for only $1 each!

Use this printable coupon to get two Like It-sized Create Your Own Ice Creams for $5.

You can also join the Cold Stone Creamery Birthday Club and get a free ice cream on your birthday.

Like the Publix Meal Planner? Become a fan of Once Upon a Coupon on Facebook.

Below is the latest Publix Meal Planner. Still focused on fresh and natural ingredients – hope you enjoy!

Thank you to Michelle at i heart publix for posting all the coupon match-ups.

WHAT TO BUY

Grocery:

• 2 Tostitos Tortilla Chips – BOGO $4.99 – Use two $1/1 coupons from 8/1/10 SmartSource
• 2 Barilla Pasta – BOGO $1.39
• 2 Hunt’s 100% Natural Tomatoes – BOGO $1.43 – If you want to buy three you can use a $1/3 coupon from 8/1/10 SmartSource
• 2 Del Monte Fresh Cut Vegetables (Corn) – BOGO $1.33
• 2 Cans of Greenwise Pinto Beans or Black Beans – $1.29 each
• Newman’s Own Salsa – $2.49 – Use $.50/1 PRINTABLE coupon (coupon doubled = $1 savings)
• Package of Tortillas – around $2
• Rico Long Grain Enriched Rice – $.99

Refrigerated:

• 3 Dannon Activia Yogurt – 3/$6 – Use three $1/1 coupons from 8/8/10 SmartSource
• 2 Eggland’s Best Large Eggs – 2/$4 – Use two $.35/1 coupons from 5/2/10 SmartSource (coupon doubled = $.70 savings)
• 4 Sargento Shredded Cheese (two Sunbursts, two cheddar) – 2/$4
• 2 Publix Cottage Cheese – 2/$4

Frozen:

• 2 Mayfield Ice Cream – BOGO $5.49 – Use two $1/1 coupons from 6/6/10 SmartSource

Produce:

• 2 Fresh Express Salad Blends – BOGO $3.99
• 2 Broccoli – 2/$4
• 2 Honeydews – 2/$5
• Tree-Ripened Peaches or Nectarines (2 lbs.) – $1.79 a pound
• Plums (2 lbs.) – $.99 a pound

Meat:

• Publix Fresh Ground Turkey (1 1/2 lbs.) – $2.49 a pound
• Medium White Shrimp (1 lb.) – $4.99 a pound
• Boneless Ribeye Steaks (1 1/2 lbs.) – $7.99 a pound
• Perdue Boneless Chicken Breast (1 1/2 lbs.) – $3.99 a pound

Deli:

• Italian Five Grain Bread – $2.79
• Rotisserie Chicken – $5.99 – Pick up hot, whenever you want a fast, easy meal.
• Boar’s Head Top Round Roast Beef (1 lb.) – $8.99

WHAT TO MAKE

Breakfast:

• Eggs and Toast
• Yogurt w/ Fruit
• Cottage Cheese w/ Peaches

Lunch:

• Garden Salad w/ Chicken and Cheese
• Roast Beef Sandwiches w/ Honeydew
• Cheese Quesadillas topped w/ Salsa

Dinner:

• Grilled Steak w/ Broccoli – For broccoli: Rinse well, then place in foil (folded into a “pouch” with several pats of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Seal pouch and place on grill. For steak: Season steak with salt and pepper, then grill 4 -5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness is achieved. Slice and serve with broccoli.
• Mexican Casserole – Brown ground turkey on stove top pan and add 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp paprika. Spray casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, then spread tortilla chips across bottom. Top with turkey and one can of beans (drained and rinsed). Sprinkle cheddar cheese across top. Add another layer of chips, then top with jar of salsa. Sprinkle with more cheese and cover dish with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 minutes more.
• Pasta w/ Shrimp – Rinse shrimp; set aside to drain. Heat 2 TBS olive oil in pan over medium heat and add 1 TBS minced garlic. Add shrimp to pan with garlic and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque, pink, and fully cooked. Drain a can of diced tomatoes then add to pan. Season with fresh (or dried) basil and oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer 10 minutes. Serve over cooked pasta.
• Chicken Stir Fry w/ Broccoli – Heat 2 TBS oil to medium high heat in stovetop skillet. Cut into 1 inch cubes and toss with 2 tsp corn starch. Add to pan and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp minced garlic and broccoli that has been rinsed and cut into small pieces. Cover and let cook for 2 – 4 minutes or until broccoli is bright green and tender. Season with 1 TBS soy sauce and 1 TBS honey – stir to coat. Serve over rice.
• Southwest Nachos – On large serving platter, layer can of beans (drained, rinsed, and heated on stove top), shredded cheese, lettuce, corn and salsa over tortilla chips. Place on table and let everyone dig in!
• Rotisserie Chicken w/ Corn and/or Rice – Pick up chicken whenever you wish for dinner. Serve with corn and/or rice
• This leaves you one night of leftovers or eating elsewhere with family and friends.

Snacks:

• Cheese Sunbursts
• Ice Cream
• Tortilla Chips and Salsa
• Fruit

Total Spent: $98.32 (before taxes)
$3.51 per person/per day (based on a family of four)

For more information about the Publix Meal Planner, check out my previous posts:

• How To Use The Publix Meal Planner
• Do I Really Eat What’s On The Publix Meal Planner?

Like to shop at Costco?? Want to know how to feed your family for less than $100 a week using groceries from Costco?

Check out the new Costco Meal Planner, too!

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

Join me at BeCentsAble’s Grocery Gathering, too.

The last two nights of dinner have been unofficially dubbed “Bonanza de Italia”. For whatever reason, our family has had a hankering for Italian food that just won’t go away. (I think all started with Publix having pizza dough on sale this week. Who can resist?)

Two of our family’s favorite foods are Pizza Loaf (a favorite my Aunt Anne used to make) and any kind of baked pasta. I decided to modify this week’s “Publix Meal Planner” and turn Homemade Pizza into Pizza Loaf, and Spaghetti and Meat Sauce into Baked Rigatoni.

I only needed to buy five ingredients to make these two dinners. And what’s even better is that I used every bit of the food listed – nothing wasted!

Total cost = $6.26
.78 per person/per meal (for a family of four)

Here’s what I bought:

• Prego 100% Natural Italian Sauce – $.78 – Priced BOGO $2.55 – Use $1/2 PRINTABLE coupon
• Ronzoni Pasta – $.70 – Priced BOGO $1.39
• Pizza Dough – $1.79
• Kraft Mozzarella Cheese – $2
• Hillshire Farms Pepperoni – $.99 – Small pack, located on bottom shelf

Here’s what I made:

• Pizza Loaf – Let dough rise; when risen, roll dough out into large rectangle shape on floured surface. In top half of dough rectangle, add tomato sauce (several spoonfuls), pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese (about half a package). NOTE: Be sure to leave an inch around top and side borders. Bring bottom of dough up, over, then under top portion (to make loaf-shape) and crimp where edges meet. Crimp sides together, too. Brush top of loaf with olive oil and bake in oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Baked Rigatoni – Cook pasta about 7 minutes (almost done, but not quite); drain and set aside. In stovetop pan, heat 2 TBS olive oil and add pepperoni (cut into small pieces). If you have any leftover garden vegetables (tomatoes, green or red bell peppers, onions, garlic, etc.), dice and add to pan. Stir in remaining tomato sauce. Season with oregano, basil and garlic powder. In big bowl, mix together pasta, sauce (w/ pepperoni), remaining mozzarella cheese, and 2 eggs (beaten). Pour into casserole dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes in 350 degree oven. Uncover and cook 10 – 15 minutes more.

Both dinners were easy to make – and eaten quickly!!!

And I certainly couldn’t complain about the cost either….

Note: It was easy for me to make gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free versions of the above recipes. (I keep rice pasta, GF pizza dough, and tofu, on hand.)

Photo courtesy freedigitalphotos.net.

Enter to win the It Pays To Eat Pasta sweepstakes you have a chance to win a year’s worth of groceries (a.k.a $5,200).

See, if you win the contest – and use the Publix Meal Planner – you really will be able to buy at least one year’s worth of groceries with the money! (wink, wink).

The last few days have been unexpectedly busy….

On Friday, we decided to let our children share a bedroom, since they had been asking for weeks. (I know, usually it’s the other way around.) They’re still little, so to them it’s “really cool”.

My son’s old room ended up becoming a playroom filled with all the toys that used to be in the guest bedroom. Unfortunately, no one has played in it yet – my kids are still so excited to spent time in their new room together.

The weekend was spent shifting furniture from room to room, changing decor (Princess now splits real estate with Batman), and putting together my son’s new “big boy bed”. We decided to put his new mattress on a “bunk board”, instead of a box spring.

Why a bunk board? (In case you don’t know what a bunk board is, it is a thin platform used in bunk bed set-ups to help support a mattress.)

• My son can climb up onto his bed easily.
• No bed rail is needed. (If my son happens to roll off his bed, he is only a foot or so off the ground.)
• Mattress and bunk board fit into the mini-van easily. (Mattress + box spring = not so much)
• The bunk board costs $50 (Box spring = over $150)

If you’re looking for a good “transition” bed for your toddler, a mattress with a bunk board might be a good option for you. We bought both mattress and bunk board at a local mattress manufacturer that has been in business for decades.

I wish I had pictures to share, but babies are sleeping. Maybe tomorrow…..

There’s a new printable coupon for $.75 off one Muir Glen product. These coupons tend to go fast, so you might want to grab yours now. Remember you can print two copies – just hit the back button.

These Fire Roasted bad boys are one of my absolute favorite foods ever. They make great spaghetti sauces – in fact, I had some on hand and used them to make dinner tonight!!

Aunt Jemima Frozen Pancakes or French Toast are on sale this week at Publix – Buy One Get One Free for $2.69.

Buy two products and use this printable coupon for $1.50 off two boxes to get them for only $.60 a box!