Weekly Shopping Totals Link Up: Another Publix Trip With 62% Savings

I did it! I actually went to the grocery store and managed to not buy a single frozen item! We have just kicked off our own personal "find the bottom of the deep freezer challenge" and I am attempting to not buy anything frozen until the end of March when our Zaycon order arrives. 

Since I am refocusing our weekly budget to stock up on paper products, household items, and pantry staples this week's trip may look a little sparse when it comes to meat and other things we have on hand in the freezer.

While this trip may not look like much, I was able to get 36 double rolls of toilet paper, 120 Finish Gel packs, and almost 75 trash bags and everything else for $40. I also used two $5./$30 Winn Dixie Coupons.

I did spend $39 earlier this week on a good sized trip with lots of basics so that puts me around $80 for the whole week. It's right at the top of my weekly cash budget but since I only spent $9 the week before, I had plenty of grocery cash on hand. 

Breakdown of Thursday's Publix trip:

Total retail value: $106.83

Total spent: $40.74

Total saved: $66.09

Percent saved: 62%

What I got with sale/coupon match ups:

•  3 twelve packs of double rolls Angel Soft Toilet Paper, retails for $7.17 each, on sale for $5.49 each
• Used three $1 off coupons
• Stacked with three $1 off Target coupons
• Made them $3.49 per twelve pack of double rolls or .29 cents per double roll
• 2 sixty count packages of Finish Dishwasher Detergent Gel Packs, retails for $11.99 each, on sale BOGO ($5.99 each)
• Used two $2.15 off coupons from the 1/6 SS
• Made them $3.84 per sixty count package
•  2 small packages of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, retails for $1.59 each, on sale for $1 each
• Used two $1 off coupons (no longer available to print)
• Made them both FREE
•  2 packages of Sargento Reduced Fat Cheese Slices, retails for $3.49 each, on sale for $2.79 each
• Used two .55 cents off Reduced Fat Sargento Slices coupons
• Stacked with a $1/2 Publix coupon from the in store Game Day Favorites coupon booklet
• Made them $1.74 each
•  1 four count package of King Hawaiian Sandwich Rolls, retails for $2.99
• Used a Target coupon for a FREE product wyb two packages of Sargento Slices
• Stacked with a .55 cents off man. peelie
• Made them FREE plus a .55 cents MONEYMAKER
•  5 Dannon Okios Greek Yogurts, retails for $1.25 each
• Used a $1/5 in store blinkie coupon
• Made them $1.05 each
•  Cucumber, .85 cents
• 2 Fiji Apples, retails for $2.34, on sale for $1.67 total
• 1 half gallon of Silk Almond Milk, retails for $3.35, on sale for $2.50
• Used a $1 off coupon from the man. website
• Made it $1.50
•  2 bags of Sargento Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese, retails for $4.19 each, on sale BOGO ($2.09 each)
• Used two .55 cents off coupons or you could use a .55/2 coupon if you got regular not reduced fat
• Made them $1.54 each
•  2 boxes of 38 count Glad Flex Force trashbags, retails for $7.69 each, on sale for $5.99 each
• Used two $1 off coupons from the man. for signing up for the email newsletter
• Made them $4.99 a box
•  2 boxes of Duncan Hines Cake Mix, retails for $2.09 each, on sale BOGO made them $1.04 each
• 1 pint of blueberries, retails for $4.09, on sale for $2.99
• 2 baking potatoes, retails for $1.81, on sale for .83 cents total

How did you do this week? Inspire me (and everyone else) with your amazing savings and deals this week. Please link up directly to your specific post. Do not link up to your blog's home page, giveaways, or etsy shops please. You can also "like" Couponing & Cooking on Facebook too! I would love it if you would link back to this post or grab my button from the sidebar : )

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Stalk My Stockpile: Finding The Bottom Of The Deep Freezer- Part One

                                                                            

 Did you miss the first installments of the Stalk My Stockpile series? Check them out HERE!

A huge part of couponing is having a stockpile of health, beauty products, and household products, a pantry full of food and a full fridge and freezers. Over the last year and a half, we have made significant improvements in all those categories and as of late we have actually found that our two freezers are so full we can barely close their doors.

Since we just ordered forty pounds of fresh chicken breasts from Zaycon, I have decided that in the next six weeks (our chicken arrives in the end of March) we are going to make a concerted effort to clean our our regular freezer and chest freezer. I have named it the "Find The Bottom Of The Deep Freezer Challenge".

 

This challenge is two part. One, the obvious, we need to make some serious room in our chest freezer. I have never bought forty pounds of chicken before I can imagine it takes up a lot of room. Two, we have four weddings in three months and I would love to save some of our grocery money for eating out during our wedding related travels.

So over the next six weeks I will be refocusing our grocery/household budget on household products, health and beauty items, pantry staples and then our usual fresh items like yogurt, salad, and some produce. I am going to attempt to buy almost no frozen items. We'll see if I actually succeed....

This week I plan to empty our our regular freezer and our chest freezer and make an inventory of what we have and then attempt to plan our meals around it. I am sure we are going to be shocked by what we have in their.

I know for a fact that we probably have at least 30 pounds of various meats/proteins, lots of frozen veggies, frozen bread (both store bought and homemade), ice cream/frozen treats, butters, pizzas, breakfast items, frozen fruit, and so much more. Chances are we will have to get a little creative with our meals but I am excited to see how it goes.

Stay tuned for the second part of this post where I will show case the contents of my two freezers and fill you in on how they look after the reorganization!

How do you organize your freezer? Do you have any tips or suggestions for me? What is the longest you have gone "eating out of the freezer"?

Saved 61% At Publix

So I finally made it to Publix to shop the current sale ad.  As you can probably tell from my photo I basically just focused on BOGO deals with a few basics or couponed deals as well. I was loving the items on BOGO this past week and I am just as excited for the BOGO deals in next week's ad too.

We will be kicking off our own personal "find the bottom of the deep freezer" challenge here in the next week or so because I just placed our Zaycon order for 40! pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. We plan on packaging it ourselves in managable portions to freeze so that means that I will need to have room for it all by the end of March. 

Since I can currently barely shut the lid to our deep freezer, we have quite a task ahead of us. I imagine we will be amazed at what we find in there and I know that I will need to get creative/flexible in order to cook and use all of our proteins, frozen veggies, breads and so much more. Stay tuned for our adventures in this quest in the weeks ahead.

I spent just over $60 before coupons so I did get to use two $5/$30 Winn Dixie coupons with the rest of my coupons. I am sure you are wondering about the 4 rolls of Pillsbury cookie dough. Fear not, I have not stopped baking from scratch but I have a fun post using them coming up soon!

Make sure you check back on Thursday for my weekly totals link up as well as my shopping trip for the first day of the new sale ad!

Breakdown of today's Publix trip:

Total retail value: $101.67

Total spent: $39.48

Total saved: $62.19

Percent saved: 61%

What I got with sale/coupon match ups:

• 2 bags of Pretzel Crisps, retails for $3.29 each, on sale BOGO made them $1.65 each
• 1 dozen Eggland's Best Eggs, retails for $2.79
• Used a .35 cents off coupon from the 1/13 SS
• Stacked with a .50 cents off any brand of eggs Target Catalina
• Made them $1.94
• 1 quart of Publix Greenwise Organic Half & Half, $3.09
• 2 jars of Marzetti Simply Dressed Salad Dressing, retails for $3.69 each, on sale BOGO ($1.84 each)
• Used two $1.50 off coupons from the 1/20 SS
• Made them .34 cents each (use it to make this amazing salad!)
•  2 bags of Kraft Shredded Cheese, retails for $4.19 each, on sale BOGO ($2.08 each)
• Used a .55/2 coupon from the 1/20 SS
• Made them $1.82 each
•  2 bottles of Pompeian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, retails for $6.75 each, on sale BOGO (made them $3.37 each)
• Used two $1 off coupons
• Made them $2.37 a bottle
•  3 Chobani Greek Yogurts, retails for $1.25 each, on sale for $1 each
• Used three .30 coupons from the company website
• Made them .70 cents each
•  2 Philadelphia Cream Cheeses, retails for $2.69 each, on sale for $1.50 each
• Used a .55/2 coupon from the 1/20 SS
• Made them $1.22 each
•  2 boxes of Jello Gelatin, retails for $1.49 each, on sale for $1 each
• 1 bag of Fresh Express Spring Mix Salad, retails for $4.09, on sale for $2.50
• 1 Atkins frozen Crustless Chicken Pot Pie meal, retails for $3.99
• Used a coupon for a FREE product sent to me by the company (had to fill out a request form)
• Made it FREE
•  4 rolls of Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough, retails for $3.09 each, on sale for $2.50 each
• Used two $1.10/2 coupons
• Made them $1.95 each
•  2 bags of Crunch Pack Apple Slices, retails for $3.29 each, on sale BOGO made them $1.65 each
• 4 EAS AdvantEdge Protein Bars, retails for $1.69 each
• Used four $1 off coupons from the 1/6 SS
• Made them .69 each
•  2 four packs of Sabra Hummus, retails for $3.99 each, on sale BOGO made them $1.98 each
• 1 bag of matchstick carrots, retails for $1.89, on sale for $1.69

Zaycon Chicken Is Back at $1.79 A Pound

Get excited! Zaycon's boneless, skinless chicken breast event is back for the Southeast! I have been waiting for this for a long time. We have heard so many great things about ordering chicken from Zaycon and with fresh, all natural, boneless, skinless chicken breasts priced at $1.79 a pound we have been dying to try ordering from them.

We meant to order last time they came to Florida in the fall but I did not order it quick enough and it sold out. We waited about a week and a half after the ordering opened and when I went to order it was all gone. This time around I ordered the minute I saw the email : )

The lowest price I can ever find boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale at Publix is $1.99 a pound and that sale doesn't happen too often so I am excited to be able to use some of our reserve grocery money to spend on this deal now so we can save each week at the store by not always needing to buy chicken. I will happily spend $70 now to save double that in the long run.

According to Zaycon's website their chicken breasts are:

• 100 % natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients

• Comes directly from the processor and has never been frozen

• Sold by the case — 40 lbs in each case

• Case dimensions—18 in wide x 12 in deep x 7 in tall

[NOTE:  Our chicken is delivered in its original wholesale packaging, a water resistant cardboard case containing three or four plastic bags of fresh chicken breasts. The smaller bags are typically sealed in a larger plastic bag. The smaller bags are not uniform in weight. There will be small amounts of naturally occuring liquids (i.e.,"chicken juice") in each bag and case. Chicken breasts typically come in double-lobed pairs ("butterfly") and will have small attached amounts of fat.]

I know that 40 pounds may sound like a lot but we plan on spending a little time trimming it using our foodsaverto put it into preportioned packages to freeze and take out as we need. I will also be creating a few freezer portions of precut chicken strips, cubes and other sizes that we often cook with. At this price, I am happy to spend a little extra time. You could always split a case with a friend or neighbor if you don't have the need or space for the full 40 pounds.

While we haven't personally tried Zaycon before, I have heard nothing but great things about them and the quality of their chicken. I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts in the suggestions if you have tried them before.

Stay tuned for a blog post on our experience with Zaycon chicken and for how we packaged and frozen it for future use.

Mealtime Monday Recipe Link Up & Features {#40}

 

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I may be the only person I know who hasn't even turned the game on. I am so not into pro football and I am embarrassed (but not really) to say I don't even know who is in it. I would much rather spend my evening watching HGTV, blogger and pinning everything in sight.

Hopefully you are checking in and linking up despite the big game. Can't wait to see what you have been up to this week. Please don't forget to link up only RECIPE posts that you yourself made and photographed. Thank you, thank you for linking up and sharing in the party!
 
Let's check out this week's features!

Chocolate Conversation Heart Footballs from Crazy for Crust

 11 Freezer Meals in 3 Hours from Lamberts Lately

Sweetheart Fudge from The Plaid & Paisley Kitchen

 

Seven Layer Dip from My Turn For Us 

You can also check out my Pinterest board for Mealtime Monday Features where I will be pinning the original links to the items featured here each week as well as my Facebook page which will have even more features too!

If you were featured you can feel free to grab a button from my sidebar.

As I teacher, I enforce rules all day so I am going to call these my suggestions.

I would love it if:

• You would link back to this post/blog. You can do so by grabbing my button (upper right hand corner), linking back to this post in your post, or by adding this blog to your list of places you link up to/party at on your Link Parties page. The more people who link up the better it is for all of us : )
• Please follow this blog through GFC, Linky Friends or Blog Lovin.
• As an added bonus you can become our Facebook friend too!
• Please only post directly to your recipe link. No giveaways, etsy shops or anything not family friendly.
• Please do not link up to posts you have already linked up to before. Also, the recipe needs to be something you made with photos of your own and should give credit where credit is due : )
• Pretty please visit at least two new blogs and show them some love.
• By linking up you give me permision to use these photos (with proper link backs) in my features and on my Facebook page
• Come back next Monday and link up!

Ready, set, make me hungry!
 

Guacamole Fresco With Avocados From Mexico

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Avocados from Mexico for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

This post isn't just brought to you by Avocados from Mexico, it's brought to you thanks to my husband Justin who LOVES avocados!

He loves avocados so much he has been known to make an entire batch of guacamole and eat it by himself in one sitting. He puts it on sandwiches, he likes it on salads, he eats it plain. When I told him that he needed to help me come up with a new avocado recipe he jumped at the chance. When I told him we got to pick out one of the new items from the Avocados from Mexico Cafe Press store, he was overjoyed.

This recipe is a new take on our traditional guacamole recipe called Guacamole Fresco. It incorporates salsa fresco and queso fresco for the fresco-ist guac you have ever tasted : )

We served it with a squirt of lime juice and some restaurant style tortilla chips for the perfect Friday afternoon snack. I have to give Justin the credit since he did all the hard work for this. So to thank him I sent him an avocado bouquet from the Share the Avocado Love Facebook app. Flowers he actually liked!

How cute is our I Love Avocados serving tray from the Avocados from Mexico Cafe Press store? They have so many cute things with the avocado themes and I am thinking I will have to order Justin one of their aprons soon too.

Want fun avocado gear and other prizes? Make sure you participate in the #iloveavocados Twitter party on February 7th between 3:00 and 4:00pm EST. Just follow @guacgrl or hashtag #iloveavocados to be a part of the fun!

Guacamole Fresco

• 2 Avocados from Mexico
• Juice of one lime
• half an onion finely chopped
• Half a jalapeno chopped finely (more if you like it hot)
• 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
• Cilantro to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup of salsa fresca
• 1/4 queso fresco

1.)  Take all of the ingredients except for the salsa and queso, mash together until it reaches your desired consistency.
2.) Top with salsa fresca and crumbled queso fresco.
3.) Squirt a little lime juice and serve with your favorite tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Weekly Shopping Totals Link Up: Saved 82% at Publix

Life has been crazy this week. I have had meetings, appointment and tons of work for my classes every day and I just never made it to Publix today. Part of the reason I didn't go is because of being busy but the other part is that I won't be around much this weekend since I will be attending the bachelorette party of one of my best friends so I won't be cooking much between now and Sunday : )

This trip was from the end of last week's sale cycle and I ran into the store yesterday to take advantage of the California Pizza Kitchen deal and the Coca Cola sale too. I am hoping to head to the store Sunday night to do my trip for the new sale cycle. Yes, I know Sunday night is the Super Bowl but since I don't even know who is in it, I figure it will be the perfect time to have Publix all to myself.

This trip was just enough to use a $5/$30 Winn Dixie coupon and it was nice to be able to grab some chicken and salad to get Justin through the weekend while I am out of town. I only spent $9 out of pocket at Publix this week so even after Justin stops by the produce stand tomorrow we will be very under budget for the week.

Breakdown of Wednesday's Publix trip:
Total retail value: $48.47
Total spent: $8.76
Total saved: $39.71
Percent saved: 82%

What I got with sale/coupon match ups:

•  3 twelve packs of Coca Cola products, retails for $5.29 each
• Minus $5.29 B2G1 free in store promo
• Minus a $1/2 Publix peelie coupon
• Minus two FREE product man. coupons from My Coke Rewards (max value $4.99 each)
• Made them all FREE plus a .40 cents moneymaker
•  1.25 liter of Diet Coke, retails for $1.25
• Used a Publix peelie coupon for a FREE 1.25 product WYB any three twelve packs
• Made it FREE
• 2 California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizzas, retails for $6.49 each, on sale BOGO ($3.24 each)
• Used two $1.50 off coupons (use zip 03110)
• Made them $1.75 each
•  1 box of South Beach Snack Bars, retails for $4.79
• Used a $3 off coupon (no longer available?)
• Made them $1.79
•  1.4 pound package of Purdue Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, retails for $6.64
• On sale for $3.98
•  3 Dannon Okios Greek Yogurts, retails for $1.20 each, on sale for $1 each
• Used a $1/3 coupon from the 1/20 SS
• Made them .66 cents each
• 1 tub of Fresh Attitude Baby Spinach, on sale for $3.09, on sale for $2.69
•  Used a $5/$30 Enjoy the City Winn Dixie coupon

How did you do this week? Inspire me (and everyone else) with your amazing savings and deals this week. Please link up directly to your specific post. Do not link up to your blog's home page, giveaways, or etsy shops please. You can also "like" Couponing & Cooking on Facebook too! I would love it if you would link back to this post or grab my button from the sidebar : )

Click below to link up your posts!