My Wal-Mart Deals and Steals 8/21

I'd have to say that this trip probably wasn't one of my best, BUT I saved money, nonetheless, and that's what really matters. 

Before Coupons and PM: $182.53
Total After Coupons and PM: $152.86 
Total Saved: $29.67!!

Here's a breakdown of the things that I saved on...

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese  $0.80
PM to Walgreens (-$0.11)
Total Price: $0.69

Totino's Party Pizza  $1.25
$1/4 Totino's Party Pizzas (Printable)
Total Price: $1.00/each


 Spaghetti O's  $1.06
PM to Kroger (-$0.57)
Total Price: $0.49


Country Crock Honey Spread  $0.97
$0.75/1 Shedd's Country Crock Spread (Printable)
Total Price: $0.22


Glad Family Pack 13 Gallon Trash Bags  $7.64
$1/1 Glad Trashbags (VocalPoint Mailer)
Total Price: $6.64


**Tide Single Load Pack of Detergent  $0.97
$1/1 Tide Detergent (PG 7/31/11)
Total Price: FREE + $0.03 overage

**This is the coupon I tried to use and the cashier gave me a stinkin' hard time about...I had NO problem with this cashier. My coupon rang right through! :)


Gain Dryer Sheets  $3.12
$0.50/1 Gain Fabric Softener or Dryer Sheets (PG 7/31/11...I think)
Total Price: $2.62 


Martha White Muffin Mix  $0.98
$1/4 Martha White Baking Mixes (Printable)
Total Price: $0.73/each

Dawn Dishwashing Liquid  $1.07
$0.50/1 Dawn (SS 8/14/11...I think)
Total Price: $0.57


Land O'Frost Honey Ham (1 lb)  $3.98
$0.55/1 Land O'Frost Premium Lunchmeat (Not sure which insert)
Total Price: $3.43


Bryan Bologna  $2.00
$0.25/1 Bryan Bologna (Not sure which insert)
Total Price: $1.75


Enfamil Infant Formula  $6.76
$5/1 Enfamil Formula (Enfamil Mailer)
Total Price: $1.76


Cascade Action Packs (3 pk)  $0.97
$0.50/1 Cascade Action Packs (PG Home Mailer)
Total Price: $0.47


Huggies Sensitive Wipes (64 ct)  $1.97
$0.75/1 Huggies Wipes 64 ct + (Huggies Mailer)
Total Price: $1.22


Pantene ProV Conditioner (12.6 oz)  $3.78
FREE Pantene ProV Shampoo or Conditioner up to $4.99 in value (Mailer)
Total Price: FREE


Suave Deodorant  $0.97
$0.50/1 Suave Deodorant product (8/14/11 Paper)
Total Price: $0.47


White Cloud Toilet Paper (6 rolls)  $3.78
$1/1 White Cloud (4 rolls +)  (Not sure which insert)
Total Price: $2.78


Beech Nut Toddler Snacks  $2.54
FREE Beech Nut Stage 4 product up to $3 in value (Beech Nut Mailer)
Total Price: FREE


Sara Lee Wheat Bread (20 oz)  $2.18
$0.55/1 20 oz Sara Lee Wheat Bread (8/14/11 Paper)
Total Price: $1.63


Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk  $2.25
$0.55/1 Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (Printable)
Total Price: $1.70




Let me know if y'all have found some good deals this week! I hope maybe you can go snag some of the ones that I got today! :)




 

My Wal-Mart Deals and Steals 8/3

I normally wouldn't make a shopping trip in the middle of the month, but we were out of bread and there were a few free things with overages that I wanted to pick-up, so I figured I would use my overage towards the bread and other stuff I needed to get. I'm super proud of the money I saved, but I would have been even more proud if I had gone to a cashier who knew what she was doing. Regardless, I still saved a good bit of money. 

Total Before Coupons and Price Matching: $30.81

Actual Amount Paid: $6.86

Total Saved: $23.95!!!

Here's a breakdown for ya...

AirWick Freshmatic Compact Starter Kit   $7.97
Price Matched with Dollar General $4.00 in combination with
$4/1 AirWick Freshmatic Compact Starter Kit coupon (SS 7/10/11)
Final Price: FREE


Pantene ProV Shampoo 29.2 oz  $5.84
Free Pantene ProV Shampoo or Conditioner up to $4.99 in value (Mailed)
Final Price: $0.85


Honestly, I don't think she was supposed to use that coupon with that transaction. The shampoo I picked up rang up a different price than what it was on the shelf. I tried to tell her that, but she kept arguing with me, so I just let her be right. I was super frustrated by this point. 

Herbal Essences 2-in-1 Shampoo/Conditioner 26 oz  $4.97
Free Herbal Essences Product up to $3.99 in value (Mailed)
Final Price: $0.98

Same thing on this one; I don't think the coupon was meant for a product OVER $3.99, but my cashier couldn't quite understand that concept. I did try to explain. Like I said, I just got frustrated and was like, "Ok, whatever, just ring it up."

Men's Degree Crush Travel Size  $0.97
$1/1 Degree deodorant (RP 7/31/11)
Final Price: FREE + $0.03 overage

U by Kotex Pantyliners 18 count  $1.24

$1/1 U by Kotex product (Printable)

Final Price: $0.24

Cascade Action Packs 3 count  $0.97

$1/1 Cascade (PG 7/31/11)

Final Price: FREE + $0.03 overage

Reach Dental Floss  $0.88

$1/1 Reach product (Printable)

Final Price: FREE + $0.12 overage

Always Maxi Pads 24 count  $2.97

$0.50/1 Always Pads (PG 7/31/11)

Final Price: $2.47

Nature's Own Whitewheat Bread  $2.06

$0.75/1 Nature's Own Product (Printable)

Final Price: $1.31

ALSO, in this past Sunday's paper, there was a coupon for $1/1 Tide Detergent with NO size restriction. In the travel section, like where you find the trial sizes of all of the shampoos and whatnot, is a single "serving" of Tide for $0.97. Since there's no size restriction, you SHOULD be able to use this coupon for that product. Well, like I said, my cashier was not the brightest crayon in the box and tried to tell me that I had to purchase "what the picture was on the coupon".............Oh. Em. Gee. I finally just told her to take it off my transaction. Needless to say, I won't be going back to her. Ever. 

If y'all snag some good deals, even from other places, lemme know!! :)

Enchiladas: Pioneer Woman Style

Lately, I've been getting really tired of eating the same old things over and over again, so before this last shopping trip, I went through some of my cookbooks and picked out some new recipes to try. For my birthday, my mom gave me The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. It is absolutely fabulous--and so is her blog (you can check it out here). She's totally my inspiration. I wish we were friends. 

Anywho, in her cookbook she has amazing photos (that she took herself) of the foods that she cooks. Her recipe for Enchiladas really stood out to me because the picture of the finished product just looked so darn yummy. Normally, when I eat Mexican food, I stick to the same old thing -- a chicken and cheese quesadilla -- because I'm afraid I won't like something else and then I just wasted my money. I tried enchiladas ONCE and was super turned off because of the sauce. P-Dub tweaks the sauce in this recipe so I figured I would give it a try.

Servings: 8-10
Calories: Appx 199-284 per serving
Cost: Appx $1.00-$0.80 per serving

Here's what all you'll need for the sauce...

In a saucepan (this saucepan needs to be at least the circumference of the soft tortillas you'll be using later on in the recipe), combine 1 Tablespoon of Canola oil and 2 Tablespoons of All-Purpose flour. Whisk it together and let it bubble for 1 minute or so.

Pour in the can of chicken broth, the enchilada sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Stir it all together and raise the heat to bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer away.

Here's what you'll need for the rest of the meal...

This is Canola Oil, Salt, Green Onions, 10 flour tortillas, 1/4 of an onion (the recipe calls for an entire onion, but this is all I had left), green chiles, and 1 lb of ground beef--yes, shown is 2 lbs, but I went ahead and browned the extra pound and froze it for another meal.

Chop your onion and add it to your ground beef that you're browning in a skillet.

Once that has cooked through, drain off the fat. While you've got the meat and onions in a strainer, add in your green chiles and I decided corn would be good in it.

I actually ended up NOT adding the chiles. I really wasn't in the mood for heartburn. 

Now, in a 9 by 13 baking dish, add 1/2 cup of your enchilada sauce to the bottom of the dish.

Oh, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

In a skillet over medium heat, add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Let the oil get good and hot.

Once the oil is hot, lightly fry each tortilla just until it's soft. Let it drain on a paper-towel covered plate. 

Here comes the fun part...

Dip each tortilla in your enchilada sauce. Once I dipped mine, I put it on a cookie sheet to chill out until I was ready to add in the stuffing. 

The stuffing is where you can BYOC (be-your-own-chef), as Claire Robinson would say. I first put down some shredded cheese, then added some chopped green onions, and then my meat/corn/onion mixture. Yumm. You can get creative here and add beans, olives (if you like that kind of thing), rice..really anything you like. 

Roll 'er up and squeeze it into your baking dish and then top with shredded cheese and green onions. 

Bake for 10-20 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and bub-lay! :) 

Oh these were SO good! My hubby has already asked when we're going to have them again! 

My Mama's Super Yummy Chicken Casserole

Chicken Casserole has always been a comfort food for me. Mi madre made it all the time for my brother and me when we were growing up. Ever since I've been living on my own, I've made this modified version of her chicken casserole. It is SO easy and SO quick and my husband and I can eat off of it for at least two nights. It's also a great dish to make ahead of time and freeze for when you don't feel like cooking and want to just throw it in the oven to warm it.

This cost about $6 to make, but like I said, it makes SO much. I would say there's a minimum of 8 servings in this dish, which would make each serving only $0.75.

Here's what all you'll need...

Cream of Chicken Soup, Salt and Pepper, Mayo, Sour Cream, Shredded Cheese, Egg Noodles, and Chunk Chicken Breast

Yep, I use store brand stuff. We live off of a private school teacher's salary, folks.

First, start by cooking the egg noodles according to the directions on the package. 

While those are cooking, shred up your chicken. You can always use "real" chicken (vs. canned), this way is just easier for me. I'll take easy any way I can get it!

Also, now would be a great time to preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Once you've drained your noodles, put 'em back in the pot you cooked them in. Add in your can of cream of chicken soup, 2/3 cup of mayo, 2/3 cup of sour cream, your shredded chicken, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 cup of your cheese--stir it all up until it's combined. 

Transfer your mixture to a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Top with the last cup of your cheese and slap that baby in the oven.

Bake until all the cheese on top is melted, about 10 minutes.

I forgot to take a picture before we started digging in. It was soooo good!

You can bet we'll be having this again for supper tomorrow night, and maybe the next..and the next.... 

Once again, try it and lemme know whatcha think! :)

White Bread

Confession:  I'm really tired of having to go to the store weekly, sometimes bi-weekly to buy bread. Ridiculous. I know.

Guess what?

I'm going to try to make my own white bread and see if it's worth the effort. If I totaled it up correctly, it should only cost me about $1.10 to make this particular recipe.

My brain had a momentary lapse of sanity and I forgot to take pictures of the first couple of steps. I forget things all the time now-a-days.

You'll need: All-Purpose Flour, 1 Package of Rapid-Rise Yeast, Skim Milk, Sugar, and Salt

First, heat 2 1/3 cups of milk to 100 - 110 degrees. 

Pour the milk into a bowl with the yeast and 2 Tablespoons of sugar and stir until it's all dissolved. This is what it will look like after doing so.

Add in 4 1/2 cups of flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and stir until it is all combined.

Pictured is 4 1/4 cups of flour and the salt, but I really felt like it was too soupy, so to make it easier to work with, spare the mess and add in the extra flour. Trust me. 

On a floured surface (it needs to be pretty dag'gum floured), knead the dough until it is elastic in texture and relatively smooth. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray and turn to coat the dough in the oil.

Cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit in a warm area for 1 hour, or until its doubled in size. Once your hour is up (or its doubled in size), punch it down. 

 Let it rest for 5 minutes. Then, on a floured surface roll the dough into about a 14 by 7 inch rectangle. By no means did I get out a ruler and measure this. Just eye-ball it. 

Starting with a short end, start rollin' 'er up, pinching down the seams as you go. 

Once you've done that, pinch all of your seams closed. 

Plop that baby right down in your greased loaf pan, cover it and let it rise for another hour. 

About 30 minutes in, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown and when you tap on the top it sounds hollow. 

It tastes so, so yummy. I'd say it is definitely worth making it on my own instead of going to buy it from the store. 

I got 18 slices out of my loaf, but how many you get out of it really depends on how thin or thick you choose to cut it. 


Oh, and you see all those bread crumbs? I put those in a plastic bag and froze 'em. I can always use them for meatloaf or baked chicken or in burgers. 




Try this for yourself and let me know what you think!! :) 

Homemade Salsa

As a wedding gift, my sister-in-law got me one of the greatest inventions on this earth (when it comes to cooking)--the Ninja. If you don't have one, oh my goodness gracious how you are missing out on absolute divine greatness. With the Ninja, came a recipe book designed specifically for things to make in the Ninja; one of these recipes was for salsa, but it was small--the recipe book, that is--and I lost it in one of our many, many moves we made this past year.

SO, because I loved the recipe so much, I've racked my brain, which seems to be a hard thing to do these days, to remember this ever so difficult recipe. You can thank me later.



Here's what all you'll need...

1/4 of an onion, cilantro, 1 lemon, 1 (or two if you want yours chunkier) tomato, and salt---only about $1.50 worth of stuff, less if you grow your own tomatoes.


Now, I used my Ninja to make this easier on me, but you can definitely use a blender, food processor or even just chop it all up yourself.

First, chop up one of the tomatoes just so it'll fit in whatever kitchen gadget you may be using.

Then, stuff it in there the best you can. My tomato was so big I had to do one half at a time.

I just want to show you this baby...

You just sit that puppy on top, plug 'er in and press that silver part for, literally, split second intervals.

I pulsated mine 5 short, short times.


If you want a soupier salsa, you can always pulsate it longer to get your desired consistency.

Dump that juicy goodness in a bowl and stuff your quarter of an onion in there. Don't bother washing it out, it's all going to the same place anyway...

I treated my onion and tomato fairly so they wouldn't get their feelings hurt...I pulsated the onion for 5 short intervals, as well. It was only right.

Add it to your tomato and then go roll that lemon so you get all the juice you can out of it. If it's stubborn, just stick in the microwave for 10 seconds and that should help.

You can always used lemon juice from the bottle if that's whatcha got in your fridge.

Squeeze it in...cut side up, so the seeds don't get in. Yeah, I watch Food Network far too often. I clearly hear the voice of Racheal Ray saying that about the lemon.

Yes, that is a measuring spoon in my salsa. Why, you ask? Because I needed something to stir it with and the drawer I keep them in was closer to me than the silverware drawer.

Shut up.

Moving on...

Next comes the cilantro, I only put enough in my Ninja to make a single layer on the bottom.

I pulsated this for a while to make sure it was all chopped up.

Finally, add in as much or as little salt as you like. Remember, the tortilla chips you'll more than likely be eating this with will probably be pretty salty, so I would make sure not to over do it, but hey, if having your mouth feel like a sponge after the first bite is your cup o' tea, then go for it.

I won't tell anyone.

And here, my friends, is the finished product. Be sure to share children. You won't want to though, that I can promise.

Told you that was difficult. ;)

Now I just wish my little sister was here to scarf it all down with me...

My Wal-Mart Deals and Steals

Maybe I'm a little too enthusiastic about all of the deals I got today during my  shopping trip to Walmart, BUT I really, really, really need to let out some of my excitement by sharing what deals I got with you---my husband just doesn't get it...

Hey, you might can go snag some of the same things, so see, this is a win-win situation here. 

Disclaimer: I don't really remember what Sunday paper coupon insert I got some of the coupons from, but I pinky promise I'll do a better job next month of keeping up with that.

Herbal Essences Shampoo  $2.84

Price Matched with Kroger circular $2.50 in combination with

$1/1 Herbal Essences or Aussie Product

$1.50 Final Price

Colgate Toothpaste 6.4 oz  $1.74

Price Matched with Walgreens circular $0.99 in combination with

$0.50/1 any Colgate product

$0.49 Final Price

Carefree Pantyliners 22ct  $0.94

$0.50/1 Carefree Actifresh product (came with mailed free sample)

$0.44 Final Price

Nexcare Baindaids 8ct  $1.00

$0.55/1 any Nexcare Product

$0.45 Final Price

Benadryl Anti-Itch Stick  $2.38

$2.00/1 Benadryl Topical Product (Printable)

$0.38 Final Price

Scotch Transparent Tape  $0.97

$1/l Scotch Magic Tape (Scotch Starter Printable)

FREE Final Price ($0.03 overage)

Finish Quantum 10pk  $2.97

$1/1 Finish Quantum product

$1.97 Final Price

Cascade Action Packs 3pk  $0.97

$0.25/1 Cascade product

$0.72 Final Price

Beech Nut Rice Cereal  $1.50

Free Beech Nut Baby Cereal up to 8oz (Beechnut mailer)

FREE Final Price

Beechnut Apples and Bananas Baby Food  $0.65

Two Free Beechnut Baby Food of any kind up to $1.50 in value (Beechnut mailer)

FREE Final Price

Arm & Hammer Liquid Detergent  $3.78

Price Matched with Kroger circular $3.49 in combination with

$1/2 Arm & Hammer Detergents

$2.99/each Final Price

French's Worcestershire Sauce  $1.36

$0.75/1 French's Worcestershire Sauce (Printable)

$0.61 Final Price

Kikkoman Soy Sauce  $1.72

$1/1 Kikkoman product (Printable)

$0.72 Final Price

Frank's Red Hot Sauce $0.98

$0.50/1 Frank's Red Hot Sauce

$0.48 Final Price

Heinz Distilled White Vinegar  $1.12

$0.50/1 Heinz Vinegar

$0.62 Final Price

Crystal Light Wild Strawberry  $2.00

$1/1 Crystal Light Drink Mix

$1.00 Final Price

Hamburger Helper  $1.68

Price Matched with Walgreens circular $0.99 in combination with

$0.75/3 Hamburger Helper products

$0.74/each Final Price

Mahatma Yellow Rice  $0.72

$0.50/1 Mahatma Rice Product

$0.22 Final Price

Martha White Muffin Mix  $0.98

$1/4 Martha White Muffin Mixes (Printable)

$0.73/each Final Price

Pillsbury Brownie Mix  $1.50

$0.55/1 Pillsbury Frosting, Cake or Brownie Mix (Printable)

$0.95 Final Price

Kraft Ranch and Zesty Italian Dressings  $2.00

Price Matched with Kroger circular $1.49

$1.49 Final Price

2 Ltr Coke  $1.25

$1/1 any Coke Product (Recycle Bank mailed coupon)

$0.25 Final Price

These are just a few of the deals that I got today at Wally-World. I've found that I looveee their price matching because it saves me from having to go to three or four different stores--especially when I get a cashier that doesn't give me any trouble. 

If y'all found some great deals on your shopping trips, please, please share with me! :)