Friday, October 17, 2008

FREE - More leftovers, and some bonus thoughts for the weekend

Tonight's dinner is the leftover stew from two nights ago. We're spending the weekend up in north Jersey at a middle eastern music and dance festival, so there won't be much to blog about. I won't be cooking!

The only reason that we as two underpaid teachers can afford to do the things we do is because of smart shopping. As far as I am concerned, food is too important to skimp on, and just because my food budget is small doesn't mean my food should be boring, unhealthy, or unappetizing! So I shop smart... sales, coupons, and especially my local farmer's market for cheap, fresh produce.

There are women out there so much better at this than me... the Coupon Mom and Money Saving Mom are my inspirations. I am not as good as they are, getting overages and such, but pairing coupons with sales gives me such satisfaction. For example, back in the beginning of the summer I bought $175 worth of groceries for $65. That's HUGE.

My local Acme has things on sale 10 for $10 and Buy 1 Get 1 Free every week. That's where I save the most. I hit ShopRite occasionally based on their flyers. But between the two I get everything I need in one trip, because saving gas is just as important!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We'll be back with more recipes on Monday!

3 comments:

Karen said...

Trish - I have discover Target for my grocery shopping, too. When I have time I make my list and hit Target first. They have cereal and canned good and bread and frozen and oj and milk. It is all substantially cheaper than Shoprite. Course, I dont 'know if there's one near Newfield....that could be a problem.

Karen said...

Hey. Maybe you can help me with a little project.
I made blueberry jam this summer. I have a number of people that will be receiving some for Christmas (it's a tradition). I'd like to make some sort of quick bread to go with it - banana or zucchini, something along those lines. Do you have a cheap great recipe? And what goes with blueberry jam? (I think EVERYThing goes but I am not always on target with everyone else...)

Trish said...

I will definitely post some bread recipes this weekend! I have a "fruitcake" bread that would go great with blueberry jam... it's really easy!