Deals I Like

            Amazon free Kindle Books

Thanks to This Frugal Life web blog for sharing this free book.  I honestly have been on Amazon looking at all the free Kindle and did not see this in the lineup.  It might have been filed under something besides cooking.  It's nice when others find these free books and share.  If you don't have a kindle you can still download any of the free books on your PC. 
Cookouts Veggie Style
Another smart read from amazon kindle collection is this-Amazon Free Kindle-Living Rich by Spending Smart


          Ralphs Pasta Deals
If you have your coupons from the Sunday paper head for Ralphs to get a good deal on this pasta.
If you don't have those coupons, then go to the Ronzoni website, click on the link for some other coupons.  It will make it cheap or free. 
It Pays To Eat Pasta Website


        Wholly Guacamole Coupon
 
Here's the link for their website.  You do have to be a registered user, but if they have good coupons like this it's worth it.
click on this link to get the coupon Wholly Guacamole


        Great Kikoman Coupon

 Smart Source only had one for .$55 cents, this one is better at a buck.  Click HERE to go to Free Coupon Alerts website to get this coupon.  With more barbecue weather showing up, this can help a great marinade along for your meat.


          Don't Forget
    
     To check out your favorite couponing sites for the newest June coupons and deals.
This Frugal Life seems to find a lot of great full size samples.  I'd share them, but when I last checked they were all gone.  These offers continue to come in.   I have many of the links on my blog, check them out and find your favorites.

          Grandmas Molasses Coupon

You don't like molasses?  I do try to get organic, but do sometimes use this brand.  The coupon makes it a better deal too.  If you have to do sweetener, this is one that is worth checking out.  Okay, maybe not in your coffee.  But you can use it for other things, such as cookies, or pancake/waffle batter. 
Click Here to get your dollar coupon from B & G for your Grandmas Coupon.


          Food Should Taste Good

  Join this website to get a $1 coupon.  We aren't overly thrilled with these chips, maybe we are spoiled by the more unhealthy ones.  Add in some salsa or homemade bean dip and these are good.  I like to make a nacho plate for dinner with these.  Click Here to get the coupon.

          I-Tunes

   If you have I-tunes don't forget there is free stuff over there also.  Click Here to head over to look.
I have gotten tons of shows, pod casts, and now this story.  I just wish I had more time to actually look at what I get.  I have watched quite a few pod casts through I-tunes and I think it was well worth the price I paid, which was free.

 
There are a lot of deals out there, these are just a few that caught my eye.  Don't forget, 4th of July holiday sales are here.  Also, as always happens, the summer clearance is starting at many stores.  Right when you will be needing a swimsuit they will start disappearing,  so watch the sales coming in the next few weeks for summer items.

Governor and Amazon-Who Is the Bad Guy? Plus an Ovaltine Coupon

    I don't usually get political, so I'll try really hard not to.  But I really feel like I want to mention this.  I also want to say that I actually had a post written up, and then, it all disappeared into oblivion and at 10 pm I didn't really feel like rewriting it again.  I think what happened is all Calfornia people who were associates with Amazon got dumped at the same time and were over here taking their ads off.  I know my blog was totally shut down and finally gave up.

     So, all I want to say is that Jerry Brown has decided that if anyone shops at Amazon through any blog, then Amazon should collect tax for it.  If you are located in California.  Jerry Brown signed that today apparently, and Amazon has dumped all Amazon Affiliates or Associates.  He is essentially saying that they want to impose taxes on all consumers even if the store is not located in that state.  They are saying that if anyone has an amazon ad on their blog, and they are located in California, then taxes must be collected on the one or two dollars that may generate. 

     I guess it's happened in other states and it will probably keep going on.  This is crazy because that's why a lot of us shop online, to avoid the sales tax.  I always figure that it goes into the cost of the item somehow anyway.  This is mostly happening to large companies, since I know you can go online and buy from a smaller company and they don't have a sales tax.  Now if I was to buy from a company like Walmart, with stores in every state, almost on every corner, you will have to pay sales tax for online purchases.
Luckily though it won't affect anyone who shops on Amazon, at least not yet. 

     I know this is confusing, reading the letter Amazon has sent out seemed to make some sense, but it seems that people are totally confused on this whole issue.  Some are calling Amazon whiners, while others are saying Jerry Brown is a, well, this is a rated G blog so we won't go there.
So, here's one link I found with the letter Amazon sent all of us and you can tell by the comments that everyone is very confused by this whole issue.
Amazon Associate Program Terminated

On a lighter note, I think we should just go drink a glass of Ovaltine, and this coupon should help.

Ovaltine Website-Dollar Coupon

A Few Deals That I Like

  This Frugal Life: Daily Deals has a free $2 credit for Amazon.  Go over there and pick up the code.  There are many songs for that price or less, or get a discount on an album.  Amazon has 100 albums for $5.

Buy One Smoothie Get One- Okay, so it's not the healthiest place around, but if you need to stop for something, use this coupon that's available from their website.

Amazon Adroid Apps- Don't forget, Amazon has an Android store and they have free ones every single day, so check it out and see if they have something you want.

Don't forget to subscribe to Groupon so you can see the daily deal.  I don't buy too often, but it comes in handy for outings.  Also Living Social has a few good deals.

Morning Routine Printable Cards-  Living Locurto has these great printable cards to help your little ones to the right thing.  She also has afterschool routine cards, Star Wars theme tags and other printables.  Check it out.  I can't wait to print those morning cards and see if that won't make a difference.

Don't forget to check out all the different free samples, such as pantene facebook offer or the honeynut cheerios.  Money Saving Mom, (link on the right side of my blog) mentions a few.  These freebies might not seem like much a first, but if you keep doing it, pretty soon you will be getting enough in the mail to fill a basket in your bathroom, or a cereal basket in the kitchen.  Also don't forget to check out the free samples at Walmart.com. 

Oopsey Daisy Blog has mommy school packets that will help keep your little ones busy this summer.
Check out this website

Baskin Robbins Buy One/Get One-Free scoop of ice cream that is.

Hope you find some good deals this week!

Rooting For Beets-The Greens Are the Tops

   The lowly beet, at least that's how I see it.  If you mention beets you get a lot of groans or scrunchy faces.  I've always liked beets, but was never thrilled with them, since I don't remember eating them any other way except from a can.    (Have you ever noticed that things we did growing up sometimes just kind of carries over into our grown up lives?)  I'd see them in some kind of salad shredded up to be disguised and I never had the tops of beets, otherwise known as beet greens. 
  

     In the last few years I'd been wanting them fresh, so we bought a few at the farmers market.  I wasn't quite sure what to do with the greens and I didn't take the time to find out.  Later, when I was buying seeds, I saw some packages for organic beets so I thought I'd try those in the garden.  The beets grew quite well and as they got bigger I realized I'd have to pick them and do something with them.  I put off picking them at first, but then the little guy kind of helped that one along.  He saw a nice plant to pull out and once a 2 year old gets a plant pulling bug it's hard to stop him.  I rinsed the beets and the top green parts real well and I was pleasantly surprised to find not one bug.  I then cut the top of the beet off and the bottom of the greens and then chopped them together.  I then threw them in my little cast iron frying pan with a dab of coconut oil, some real salt, and some pepper and it not only smelled great, but tasted sensational.  I wanted to eat the whole pans worth, it was that good. 

     Every day I'd pick a beet and do it all over again but eventually I was getting tired of eating beets every single night and sometimes for lunch and thought maybe I'd better do a bit of research to find out how to preserve them.  I found out I can freeze them so I picked a batch of beets and rinsed them well.  In my research I discovered that you don't have to wait to pull the beets to eat the green tops so I cut a few leaves without pulling the beets.  The beets will continue to grow more leaves.  I cut the beets just above the top so it had a bit of a stem so it wouldn't bleed into my water.  I then boiled two pots of water.  While the beets were boiling until tender, I then "blanched" the tops.  Blanching is simply dipping the greens in the boiling water for about one to two minutes and then plunging them into a bowl of cold ice water.  I chopped the greens up a little and put them in freezer bags, that I remembered to label.  When the beets were soft I plunged them into cold water, and the skins slipped right off under the running water.  I then cut the tops off and then cut the beets in half and put them into a freezer bag. 

      I've not only grown some of my produce, I've managed to save a little bit.  I do have more beets in the garden and will continue to grown more and freeze it.    There are other ways to preserve beets but this one seemed to be a good start.  I will look into pickling or fermenting beets also.  Beets can be incorporated into a lot of the foods you probably already cook.  They most likely wouldn't even be noticed in things like casseroles or stir fries.  I can't wait to roast them and grill them.   

   A few facts I learned about beets is just how very good they are for us. While being very high in sugar which could account for their sweet taste, the calories are low.  The greens are healthier than the beets, but eating either one would be a good start.  They are good at cleaning toxins out of our bodies, have a great amount of iron, and a good source of vitamin C.  For more information on beets check out the links I've posted.  You'll probably learn more than you ever really wanted to know about beets.  It's easier to just say, they taste good and they are good for you, so eat them. 

This gives you info on the nutrition facts on beets  Nutrition Data

This give you info on fruits and veggies that may be health related Juicing for Health
   

Neti Pots

     Go and get your free Neti Pot from NeilMed while supplies last.  It's a good item to have around for allergies and colds. 

If your not sure what a neti pot is for, or you've never tried it, then get this free one to test it out.
  I remember when I got my first neti pot.  It actually set on the hall linen shelf for a long time.  Then my sinuses went whacko, and I was either going to have to take some antihistimines, or, shock, try the neti pot.
  I tried the net pot and the rest is called history.  It has kept me from getting a sinus infection quite a few times, and having to make a trip to the doctor.  One of my kids just recently decided to try it.  She too kept putting it off, but out of desperation with her clogged sinuses from a cold she decided to try it.

Yeah, it didn't exactly go perfectly for her the first try.  I think her sinuses were so clogged it just kind of sat in there.  But she tried it again, and it not only cleared up her sinuses, it seemed to have helped her cold out.
  
So, go get this neti pot.  My daughter has the free one, and I have a nice porcelain one that I received as a gift.  They both work great and if I didn't have one I'd probably be using a teapot. Okay, maybe not.


http://www.facebook.com/neilmednetipot?sk=app_7146470109

Ways To Save Money on Poultry

     

      Have you noticed that you don't see coupons for meat too often and when you do it's not usually a very good deal anyway?  Most seem to be for luncheon type products or processed type meats.  Now, when I say meat, I'm including poultry, pork, lamb, and anything else in the "meat" department.  

     I used to keep my spending on meat at about a dollar a pound.  That usually worked out quite well if I could get my poultry well below that.  Then with the savings on that I could spend a bit more on something else.  It's not always easy to follow this rule as it requires checking the managers specials, unadvertised specials and really doing a run by the meat when you step into the grocery store.  You just never know when a good deal will come up.   

     Chicken seems to go on sale quite frequently and it's very versatile.  Once you've found chicken for a buck a pound or less buy the limit if there is one, or whatever will fit into your freezer.  

  Once home, I line them up by the sink and gather my supplies.  Needed will be plastic freezer bags, (unless you have better freezer containers), a marker to label the bags, scissors, a sharp knife, a clean sink and a bowl to put the chicken in.  That is unless you have a helper who will put the parts into the plastic bag for you.   

   

     After fighting to get the chicken out of it's packaging, I then pull all the gizzards out of the birds cavity.  If this bothers you, think of pleasant thoughts, but not of food.  The gizzards can be saved for broth or some people like to fry them and eat them or give them to the cats. 

    First, I must remind you all that this is poultry and to make sure that when you are done to sanitize your area with hot soapy water, and all utensils.  I always start on the side of the sink with no dishes with a clean sink.  I usually do my cutting right there at the sink, but on the links I see they use a cutting board.  Only use a cutting board that you can sanitize or put into your dishwasher. 

   There are many websites that do a good job.  I've picked a couple that I like but I'm sure after you do this a few times you will have your own way to do it.  I like to use both scissors and knives, and sometimes I like to remove the bones too.  I use gallon size freezer bags for the wings so I can add to it and for the leftover pieces or scraps which I will make broth/soup from.  I then use the quart size for the legs, thighs, and breast.  It will depend on the size of your family on how many you will put into each bag. 

By doing the work yourself you can save a lot of money, and make your chicken go further.  Why cook an entire chicken if all you need is two thighs? 

  

This video is from the Americas Test Kitchen  How To Cut Up a Whole Chicken  you will see there are many videos on you tube, check them out.

This next website is a picture tutorial that might be easier to follow.Cutting Up Chicken

   Check out these tutorials and get a start on saving your hard earned money.

My Not So "Cool" Winco Shopping Trip

     Today we decided to do our once every two or three month trip to Winco which is about a half hour away.  Unless they are looking for drugs at the checkpoint.  In that case, add on about ten more minutes in which you can listen to nursery songs and examine people around you. 

     Not even considering the weather before I left, something told me to change my dark green knitted short sleeve shirt.  When we arrived it was still early, parking was easy, but it was hot, really hot.  Okay, so it only said 89.  But 89 there is totally different than 89 in my city. No big deal,  but then it was way before noon. 
    

     We went straight to the bulk bins feeling super organized.   As fun as it is to look at all that candy, we bypassed it.  Unfortunately they didn't have the turbinado or raw sugar.  We got a little over a pound of cocoa, used for chocolate milk, ice cream, baking and syrup, about five pounds of brown sugar, 5 pounds of the dark chocolate chips, carob chips, pepper, minced onions, which I'll use to make onion soup mix to put on casseroles and make dip out of, organic buckwheat flour for baking and pancakes, whole wheat elbow macaroni, oregano, sunflower seeds, peanuts, red beans to cook and freeze, baking soda for cleaning, making products, natural roast beef, vinegar, cheese and organic hot dogs.  Not as much as we usually get, but since I finally seem to have my pantry stocked better it makes for less to purchase on my trips.    

  
     This might seem like an odd array of food items, but also know that I'm just adding to my pantry to keep it full with the right ingredients.  Winco has a nice selection of pasta, all shapes, sizes and whole wheat or plain.  I actually had filled a bag with the elbows last trip, but to this day I don't know what I did with it.  I laugh thinking that someone else went home with my whole wheat elbows.    
    
      Ever shopped with a two year old?  Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.  Wanting to "help".  Then they are hungry and want to check out every bin.  Heck, even I was getting hungry.  Which is why we got some California Rolls to go eat at the duck park.  That's the uncool part of this trip.  By the time we came out of winco, it was well over 90.    After we ate our lunch even a walk around the pond seemed horrible.    What really annoyed me was the guy pulling up and asking where the public pool was.  Did I look like I lived there?  For heavens sakes I  was wearing a green knit shirt in almost 100 degree heat. 

     By the time we left, I was feeling like the baby, hot and irritable.  We had to pull off at the 76 and I-15 to cool him off.  We stripped him, poured water over him, got him some apple juice and then let him scream for a minute while I jealously looked on wearing my green knitted shirt.  I really wanted to join him but I think only little ones can get away with doing that in a parking lot  He even got to sit on his own toilet right there next to the car.  I looked around and all I saw was an outhouse with the heat waves of stink wavering around it.  Lesson learned, check the weather and dress accordingly.  Bring a lunch or buy something in winco, like the natural roast beef. 
  
      If you ever are needing bulk foods that are reasonably priced, check out winco.  They have more bulk food than any store I know of.  They are starting to bring in more organic foods, such as rolled oats in the 25 pound bag.  There are many kinds of flour, sugar, granola, pasta, cereals, (hot and cold), rice, beans, dried fruits, snack items, nuts, and of course, try not to look at the candy. 

     Yeah, we have heat waves in our city, but with the ocean so close, it's a hop and a skip to cooling off. 

Learn Your Prices

  


Have you ever been out shopping and saw something on sale and you really didn't know if it was a good price or not?  I have and it really frustrates me.  Or, have you ever bought something thinking it was a good deal, just to pick up an ad and find out that another store had it cheaper?  Just because it's on sale and the store tells you it's a good deal doesn't mean it is.  It also doesn't mean you would want to pay that price.   

Remember my cases of tomatoes?  I shouldn't have taken so long to get over there, so I was very glad to see that they still had plenty left.  The regular tomatoes were the same price as the organic Romas.  Very rarely do I see tomatoes that reasonably priced.  One other thing is to buy in "season".  That means to stock up on produce during it's main growing season so you can get the best price.  That's where canning, freezing, dehydrating can come in handy. 

     One thing I try to do is to learn the cost of things that I buy the most.  That way if I'm out shopping and see a sale sign I will know if it is a price I would pay.  Many people make a price book to help them remember the prices.  It's a bit of work at the beginning to get it started and fill it in, but it will be helpful in saving you money.  The amount of work involved will be worth the savings. You will also see which stores seem to consistantly have the best overall prices on the items that you like to purchase. 

You can usually find information on price books on many of the couponing links.  I've put a few links here that not only have information on price books, but an almost overwhelming amount of information on many topics that may be of interest to you. 

Check out these sites.  I haven't spent a lot of time on the first website.  But the Organized Home and the Good Life Gazette are great.  They include printables,  lists that you can print for free to help keep you organized.  Or you can just make your own in a notebook. 

Price Book

Organized Home

Good Life Gazette

Store Policies-Get To Know Them

             Each store has a coupon policy and I realized when a reader asked that there is no sure answer.  And what's really horrible is that each cashier can be different, some not even knowing the coupon policy.  So, it does pay to brush up on the policy of each store.  Yeah, boring.  I usually just "test" it out.  I do remember how annoying it was buying the "free" toothpaste.  It turned out that I couldn't get two coupons doubled for the same item in the same transaction.  So, then just make it two transactions.  I've noticed that when I tell them two transactions, a lot of times they just go ahead and will do it in one.  Not always. 

Of course, you will probably have more items than one tube of toothpaste. 

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     Many of the couponing sites have all the different store policies listed.  If at all possible, try to print out or study the policies for the stores that you go to.  I wasted ink printing out the policy for Rite Aid, and of course, they have never given me an ounce of trouble.  Ralphs on the other hand has been different each time, depending on the cashier.  I have had to file complaints with Ralphs corporate a couple of times.  So far everything has been fine since my last complaint.  Plus, I've learned to get over any embarrassment over doing these things.  

     I haven't memorized all store policies, I'm kind of a wait until the horse gets out kind of person.  I'm not saying that's good at all, since who wants to have a fiasco over toothpaste.  

  

     I've listed a few of the stores in the area, but also know that not all of the stores list their policy on their website.  If that was the case then I just shared a link to a blog where someone had actually written to the store to get the policy.  I tried to get the most updated as possible.  Take a look at it, print it if you want, or just save it in your notepad to study later.   I'd say most of the stores have similar coupon policies, so usually once you get to know one you know most of them.  Some will have a few minor differences.  You will eventually know more than the cashiers too. 

I suggest going to the websites of the stores  that you frequent and consider signing up since sometimes extra deals are offered online.  At many of the sites you can put the coupons right onto your store card.  If you don't think subscribing is getting you better deals then you can always unsubscribe. 

Canning Tomatoes-Conclusion?

Remember I said that nothing goes as planned?  Remember too that I was planning to can 44 pounds of tomatoes?  Yeah, well, so it didn't go as planned.  See, there were really 88 pounds of tomatoes, but half of those were going to be canned on Friday when my daughter came over.  After I spent a miserable day working on the tomatoes, trying to figure out if I could meet this challenge, I found out that she wouldn't be able to make it.  Next morning I was up early with plans to can the remainder of the tomatoes.  I did manage to can all but 23 pounds, and it only took me until 10 p.m. 

     Now that didn't include clean-up. We are talking about tomatoes in a lot of places, cabinets, dishwasher door, floor, and a ton of pots and pans and bowls. Squeezing seeds out of tomatoes is not exactly the cleanest thing to do. 

Aah, but it was nice to get the kitchen all clean again. 
   
But then, I still had 23 pounds of tomatoes left.  Sauce really sounded good, so I started at it again.  Thinking about pizza with pepperoni kept me going.   Plus I managed to get a pot full of tomato juice.   
  

With all said and done, I will have to say that it was well worth my time and trouble when I see all those beautiful jars of tomatoes.  Not only are they organic and healthy, but I did it myself. 

Even though I have done this in the past, I learned a lot. One thing I learned for now anyway is never bite off more than you can chew.  This probably was a decent amount to work with, but due to not having done this in a long while it took a bit longer. If my tomatoes in my garden do well then I am now prepared.
Two sites that helped me along and also to know food safety I've posted here.
http://www.pickyourown.org/canning_tomatoes.htm
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html

Canning My Tomatoes

    

     By now most of you think I've lost my mind, and well, maybe I have.  Either way I need to take care of 44 pounds of tomatoes.  If anyone knows me at all, then you know nothing I do goes as planned.  I always know this, you think I'd get over it and get used to it, but it is still annoying when you have big plans for tomatoes.
   
     I was up at six this morning so I could load all the jars into my dishwasher, after I unloaded last nights dishes.  Well, of course, no one bothered to turn it on.  No big deal, turn it on and it will be done in no time.  But of course, this is the time when the hard water and minerals take over and make a white coating of yuk.  I throw some citric acid in the dishwasher and let it run again.  Finally, I can load my jars. 

     My jars clean, I now get a few pots on the stove to boil.  One smaller pot to drop the tomatoes in so the skins will slip off easily.  You can tell when the skin is splitting that it's time to take them out, just a minute or two does it.  I quickly cool them in a bowl of ice water. 

     I'm going to attempt to make diced canned tomatoes.  I've never done it before.  I usually just cook the tomatoes in a pot with some spices and can them.  This could be rather dicey for me.
    I'll post pictures and continue this in the next episode.

This Just In...Juicy Juice Deal

    A great reader just sent this to me while I'm "dealing" with my 88 pounds of tomatoes.  Just wanted to get this out to whoever can get to it.

Here's what she wrote:

Hi Jill -

 

I figured since you send out so much good info, I'd send you info on a good deal I just got and share the love!  Ralph's is having a 5 for $5 sale on select Juicy Juice juice boxes and bottled juice.  The Juicy Juice site actually had a $.55 off coupon (that never happens for specific products I am looking for), which when they double it, makes it free.  Major score!

 

Happy deal hunting!

Thank you for sending this great tip on.  Can't beat free!

Earthgrown Market

     Finally I made it to Earthgrown Markets grand opening sale.  Okay, it was the very last day of the sale, but I guess this could come under that saying, "better late than never".  I'd like to say that I found a ton of wonderful deals, but I didn't.  In fact, I spent most of my time chasing a 2 yr. old around the bulk bins.   
    
     I'm very excited by the one deal I did find today.  The organic Roma tomatoes.  They were on sale 2 pounds for a dollar.  As I approached the produce bin where they were, I was imagining all kinds of wonderful things I could make with those Romas.  All that imagining got a bit out of control, and I realized there just were not enough tomatoes in the bin for all that imagining.  So I did something about all that imagining.  I asked the produce girl if they had cases of those Romas in the back and how much did they weigh.  She came back and told me they weighed 22 pounds each, so that would be eleven dollars a case.  Without even thinking I told her I'd take two. 

      Again, this is one of those things about me that is a bit embarrassing.  I can't help it, but really, it was quite exciting to be walking out with that many tomatoes.  I excitedly called my daughter, and she in turn got excited and was already planning a day to come down so we could do some canning.  In fact, she already knew that she wanted them diced.  That is great since diced can be used in so many dinner recipes.  I was imagining a bit of everthing.  There is sauce, ketchup, diced, whole, salsa, soup and just spiced up tomatoes.   
  
     I got home with my wonderful Romas and we opened the box.  They all looked wonderful and immediately had to try one with our lunch.  It was perfect, almost like I'd just picked it.  Which means we don't want to wait too long to can these so to ensure we have the best tasting canned tomatoes possible.  As I hurriedly checked online for a great recipe for canning my tomatoes, I realized there was one thing I wasn't very smart about.  It takes a lot of tomatoes to make a few jars.  Of course it varies depending on how much water is in the tomato and the size so there is no exact science to this.  What I did find out is that I'd get about 14 pint jars worth from 44 pounds of whole tomatoes.  That just didn't seem like enough, so after digging all my canning jars out of the garage, and doing a little bit of math, I realized, I had enough jars to buy two more cases of tomatoes.
       So, four cases of tomatoes should get us around 30 pints canned.  And here's a cheesy grin to show off those four cases.

                                                                

       If I were to buy organic tomatoes in a jar it would be way past what I would want to pay.  Usually the closest I can come to easy prep from a can is Muir Glen, and only their sauce comes in a jar.  I prefer to cut down on anything in a can because of the BPA's that are released into our food. 
  
       Well, you know what I'll be doing tomorrow.  A bit of work, easy enough, and it will be well worth it.
   
     As for Earthgrown Market, they will be having a Midnight Madness Sale on Friday, June 17 from 9 pm to midnight.  They will be closed from 8pm to 9pm to get ready for this sale.  Not sure if I can make that, and if anyone does come and let us know how it was.
     Here's a link for Boney's website in case you don't have an ad. 
 http://www.boneysmarketplace.com/events.aspx

   Oh, I'll be back to let you know how the tomato canning went, and how many pints we actually do get from 44 pounds of tomatoes.

Freezing Foods-What Do You Freeze?

       I came across this article that could come in handy.  As you know, sometimes you find good deals and don't have space.  I just recently bought a bigger freezer, as there really was no choice.  It's really embarrassing how excited I can get over a freezer.  My daughter and her husband gave me a great response, just stood there saying, "Wow".

    I do need to learn to do better to can/preserve foods, but until then I like to use my freezer.  I have a lot of jars and usually do jams every year, and maybe tomatoes.  Most of my jars are used for storage and doing experiments in my kitchen.  Making buttermilk worked, making sourdough didn't.  Well, the sourdough might have worked, I just didn't know when it was working so I let it sit for a few more days until I was sure it really didn't work.  Now that was a pleasant aroma.

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    I freeze a lot of things.  Jazzed up rice, bananas, strawberries and other fruits to use for smoothies and syrups, cooked ground beef, sausages, cooked poultry, homemade casseroles, lasagna, soups, beans all varieties, broths, spaghetti sauce, chopped onions, herbs, butter, stuff from the garden, or anything I get a good deal on. Let's just say, I have frozen things that I never knew could be frozen.  Cookie dough without the egg was one of my favorites.  Used for ice cream toppings it was just horrible to have around, no one could stay out of it.  (Reminder to myself, find that recipe) 

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    Anything that can make life easier is what I freeze.  I very rarely plan a freezer cooking day but it might work for you.  I like to make double of whatever I'm cooking and eat one and freeze one.  If I'm chopping an onion, I'll chop a few.  Instead of opening a can, we look in the freezer.  It took a while for me to get into this freezer thing.  It wasn't like I woke up one day and knew what to freeze.  I started out with little things.  Tasty things.  Like ice cream.  Picking what are the most important things to freeze is an individual preference, but I would think, taco meat, beans, burritos or a casserole.

    I know that only having the freezer that's included with your refrigerator is not the best, but for years that's all I had.  I really don't know how I managed with four kids thinking back on it.  I believe batch cooking and freezing is the end result of having so many kids and little freezer space.  I always made a ton of food, and there were very few leftovers.  As the family grew smaller, it was hard to learn how to cook less.  So I'd have tons of leftovers, and would try to eat them, and eat them, and eat them.  Duh, why didn't I freeze them for another day?

    Planning out your meals a week, or a month ahead can really help with this, and just make life easier.  Okay, so I honestly can't even tell you what I'm having tomorrow.  By planning our meals we can use the stuff that's been sitting on our pantry or in our freezer before it gets too old.  Plus, we will know how to plan our grocery shopping trips.  Or in my case, a trip to the farmers market tomorrow is needed. 

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       I wish I could say I freeze in only healthy containers, but I haven't mastered that skill of not shattering glass.  I use freezer bags for most things.  I also reuse containers from the store.  I do wait for any liquids to cool so the plastics do not release any harmful chemicals into my foods.  I freeze on a tray, even liquids, then after they are all frozen I can stack them nicely.  One trick I'd like to try is to stick the bag into an empty cereal box, pour your food in and freeze it.  Pull it out and your items will be frozen blocks that save a lot of space. Do not forget to label your items.   There's nothing I hate more than to open the same container fifty times to see the same spaghetti sauce, when all I wanted is broth.     

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     One last thing, by cooking our meals at home it not only is cheaper, it is healthier.  Making it easier to cook at home we are more likely to eat there.  There are tons of freezer recipes and what foods freeze well on the internet.  At least think about it, toss the idea around.  I did for a long time before I actually picked something and even then I wasn't even sure what I was going to do with it.  Now I've gotten to the point where I feel the pantry is bare if I don't have some frozen meatballs to fall back on for a busy day.

 http://denverbargains.com/2011/05/eat-well-spend-less-life-without-a-deep-freezer/

This article is a remake of a newsletter email

Lipton Ice Tea for Free

Lipton has a free bottle of iced tea offer on Facebook.  This one will run out quick.  You should be able to print two of these.
Click HERE to take you to their facebook page.

More Ways To Get Deals

                          One way I've found to get some extra good deals besides going to coupon sites is to go straight to the source.  It doesn't matter what the product is, or which store you choose.  I still get all the store specials sent to me from my coupon sites, but when I get email from the store itself there can be added bonuses.
    
     For example, Albertsons is having a deal where you get a $5 coupon when you spend $25 just for joining their mailing list.  If you refer friends you'll get even more coupons.  Vons is always offering free delivery on groceries and other online only coupon deals.  Ralphs lets you add more coupons to your store card. 
   
     I get many stores both online and brick sending me specials.  If I'm not interested in purchasing one of their products I won't even open the email.  Like the coach store, I ended up on their mailing list and although I get great coupons and the outlet in Carlsbad has great sales I just don't need a Coach purse.  I'm going to unsubscribe to them.  If at some point I change my mind I can resubscribe to them just to be sure I get the best deal possible.  I also have joined the outlet mall premier club.  I have so far only used one deal for a shoe store, but found that for the most part their coupons are not anything I could use.  If you are in the military, or a member of the Auto Club you can just about always get a discount.  I also get mail straight from Sears, Penney's, Target, Kohls, and Walmart.  Folgers, Covergirl, Kelloggs, and tons of others have all sent me great coupons.  Others, like Zappos and Piperlime are always free shipping both directions.  If there is a product you buy a lot of, or you want to try, just go straight to their website and see if you can score some great coupons.   Just about every store or company will have online exclusive offers that usually will make it worth subscribing. 
    
     I have the organizational folder in my Yahoo mail that takes all that mail out of my regular lineup and inserts into a folder called Shopping.  If I don't feel like shopping I don't even open the folder.  I do sometimes go over and glance through and can delete them all at one time.
   
     One good thing about shopping at a local store online is it saves you from a least one shopping trip.  Plus if you need to return it you won't have to mail it back at your expense.  Not all stores will do that, so always check the stores policies.  Once in a while I'll see free shipping coupons or codes, and then if I combine that with one more coupon, and find anything in the clearance area it can make for a really good deal.

    

The Coop On the Corner

                   
     Shouldn't  the first post on a blog be something wonderful?  I mean, I don't hear any choirs singing, bells ringing or chickens crowing.  Oh wait, I do hear crowing, cheeping, henpecking, clucking, pecking, cock a doodle doos, peeping, cackling,  and squawking.  Oh, wait, that's the sounds around this house.   Well, guess that's a normal day then. 
    Speaking of a normal day I always like to make a list of things that need done around the house, and prioritize it putting the most important jobs first.  Of course, that always seems to change depending on everyones schedules and needs.
Sometimes things get so far down the list of priorities that we seem to never get to them.  Sometimes that's okay, they just kind of go away.  I like those kinds of things.  But for others, it's like a dripping faucet, just drips more and more, always in the back of your mind.  Sometimes that's the way it should be, if we need to get things done.  Sometimes that's just not possible, but yet it's always bugging you to get done.  Either way, I will still make that list, and I will still set my priorities and I will still try to get things done in a timely manner.  Having that list seems to put everything in a more clear perspective of importance.  It makes it easier to plan your day and trips in case you need to pick anything up.  It helps you decide whether to have a large meal or a simple meal. 
    And no I don't have any real chickens around my house making all those sounds.  It just that with everyone running around  like a chicken with it's head cut off  spinning their wheels it sometimes does seem like a chicken coop around here.
    I used to have chickens, a hatching project for school.  It was great, and I hope someday to do it again.
      I will continue to make lists, and try not to lose them, and try not to be like a hamster running on a wheel, not getting anywhere.