I know a lot of people have yet to jump on the couponing bandwagon (even though it is easy with sites, such as Couponmom and saves a lot of money), but anyone can benefit from the new wonder — E-coupons.

Look at this haul from tonight, including two gallons of milk, two Coffeemates, four boxes of Cherrios, Olay lotion, potatoes, carrots, cheese slices, snacks, a frozen pizza and even a frozen dinner entree. $85 in groceries for … $29! That’s a $55 savings!

I used my standard strategies, which is to combine store specials, with store coupons, with manufacturer coupons (both newspaper and Internet). But I started adding in one more saving strategy — E-coupons tied directly to your store club card.

The best news is now the stores are adding E-coupons available on their web sites! So before the shop, I stopped by my store’s site (Vons.com), added its E-coupons onto my Club card, and then went on over to Shortcuts.com, Cellfire.com and P&G.com for Proctor and Gamble savings. The best part is I never needed to leave the store’s web site — the links were right there under “coupons.” Now this is no-brainer savings!

To use them is nothing. Slide your card at checkout, and the savings is automatically deducted (usually noted as “Manufacturer E coupon”). The store makes it easy to remember what you loaded, by offering a printable shopping list on its web site.

Just with e-coupons (which take nothing to load), I saved $6.05. Adding them with regular coupons and the rebate, and my total coupon savings was $32.61 — more than what I spent!

But when you combine E-coupons with and/or store specials, store coupons and paper and Internet coupons, you can net some dang good deals!

How about these steals tonight:

I’ve been meaning to post this tip for two weeks — it’s time to freeze broccoli!

The prices for the tasty vegetable are nearing the end of their summer lows, so stock up and freeze. And let me tell you, broccoli freezes great!
I did a test about a month ago, and cut a stalk into florets, put them in a zipper bag and froze them, and then used a couple weeks later. They were fresh as sin — and so much cheaper than the prepackaged frozen variety you find in the grocery store.

In the off season, a 2 pound bag of frozen broccoli can cost upwards of $2 to $2.50 — and includes lots of the not-so-tasty stalks. But for less than half the cost, you can freeze the same and get all florets!

Just look for broccoli about 50 cents a pound, wash, dry (I just let air dry on a towel) and then cut into florets, and you will be stocked up for the pricier winter months.

Keep an eye out for specials, but this is a quick way to save up for the next few months.

Ah, the deviled egg — bastion of any holiday party or barbecue. In our family, I am always the one drafted to make the yellow boats of flavor, and I have learned some tricks along the way to make the perfect deviled eggs.

I’m not going to include any recipe, because, frankly, there are so many, but my simple one comes straight from the Betty Crocker cookbook — 6 eggs, 1/4 cup mayo, 1 tsp. vinegar and mustard, 1/8 tsp. salt and a dash of pepper. I also add 2 Tbl. of finely diced white onion. That’s about it.

But there is so much more to making the perfect deviled egg than a recipe — there are tricks to making them come out perfectly:

I hope this refines your deviled egg skills, so soon people will make them a request for you, too.

A re-post from a year ago, but great advice. Just picked up this year’s basil plant at Trader Joe’s last week for $2.99. Nothing beats fresh herbs!

Now is the time — to plant basil!

This herb is wonderful with most any Italian meal, and it is so easy to grow. Cheat, like me, buy a $2.99 plant at your nearby produce store or home warehouse outlet. Honestly, if you have no planting room, just put it in a 6-inch pot in a sunny window, and you will reap the rewards for months.

With that little bit of work, you will net fresh basil for meals, for garnish and even for fresh pesto. Basil is a fresh herb where dried is just not as good. And it’s a money-saver — fresh basil in the store is $2.79 for a small bunch. This is a great way to save money and bring your meals to a higher level. Try it out.

I use jar spaghetti sauce in a pasta meal with minced fresh basil, and it makes dinner all the more special. It’s all about the details. Try it!

I know any time someone says “French” and “cooking,” they automatically think “complicated.”

As they say in France, “No.”

This is a simple method called mize en place, which means “everything set” or “everything in place,” depending on which web site you go to.

Bottom line? It means having everything set before you begin to cook — all vegetables diced, all spices measured, all wet measurements set. Everything ready.

I have included a photo from yesterday, when I used this method making Beef Burgundy (or in my case, Beef Cabernet). I premeasured every aspect, and prepped all the vegetables and meat. The result? The actual cooking process was like a restaurant — I was done in 15 minutes flat.

Of course, there was a half-hour prep in advance, but, guess what? You would have done this anyway! By preparing everything in advance, there was no thinking when it came to the preparation.

This is what chef’s do. A sous chef preps everything, and then the chef comes in. Why not bring this to your home, too?

Granted, I don’t do this every night, but usually on more complicated recipes. But I have also done the same just making my Sloppy Joes recipe. It makes the cooking stress-free and mindless — you just concentrate on how things look as they come together.

Worried about extra dishes — yes, there are a few more small ones. But what I do is combine spices in one bowl if they are to all be added at the same time. Many other bowls just call for a quick wipeout, and they are ready to go back in the cabinet.

Try this method sometime — yes, it puts the main work up front, but you will be amazed how quickly a dish will be ready.

Oh, and how this works in these busy times, if you prep in advance (when the kids are at school, etc) you will be able to have dinner ready to go in the oven or all ready to go in 15 minutes. Now that makes sense nowadays.

Just try it and see how calm you will be when cooking!

People ask me where I come up with my tips, and many I’ve been using for so long that I think everyone else knows them.

Tonight was such a case, I was making my Tuna Noodle Casserole for my Dad (whose birthday is tomorrow — technically, today). When I added the frozen peas, I sealed the 16 oz. bag with some painter’s tape and put it back in the freezer.

“Hey, a lot of people don’t know this trick,” I said to myself, and hence this blog.

I love painter’s tape, as I mentioned in this post (with many other uses in the kitchen) more than a year ago. The thing with the blue tape is you buy it for a project, and then it sits in the garage for years! Not wanting to waste it, I started calling on it for other uses.

So, the tip today is to use painter’s tape to seal bags of vegetables when you put ‘em back in the freezer. Sure, you could use twistie-ties, but you end up with a big frozen ball, taking up a ton of space. With the painter’s tape sealing method, you can re-fold it into a nice rectangular package that allows you more room in the freezer ’cause you can stack the bags or place them on the door.

It works! And it makes it so easy to reuse and reseal, with no problem at all.

OK, gotta prep the French bread to go with dinner for my Dad (made in the breadmaker — a frugal tip noted in this post). And, for those with older parents, remember, homemade meals make a great gift, as I noted in this post.

See you tomorrow!

I had a good day today — was busy with work, but still put a great dinner on the table (chipolte chicken, with rice and beans). To wind up the day, I just prepared a meatloaf for tomorrow, and that brought to mind today’s post — Some of my favorite Prohomemaker skills in action. Just click the bold faced items, and you will get the full story.
Let’s back up the day to late this afternoon (at 5:30) when I wound up my workday. I already knew what I was making for dinner, because I had thought ahead, defrosting chicken legs that I got for 49 cents a pound. I had found a recipe for chipolte sauce, when I was doing some 15-minute spring cleaning the day before and had cooked the pinto beans in the slow cooker overnight (that tip later). I rounded out the dinner by easily cooking rice on the stove, and adding some cilantro sprinkled on top (which I chopped in a heartbeat using this tip).

Since dinner was all planned, I had time to hit the grocery store to snag the loss leaders for this week one more time — butter for 99 cents, for example. Back home, I put the chicken legs in the oven, and set the table.

After dinner was done, I used one of my money-saving tips and put the dishwasher detergent in the big cup and used regular dishwashing liquid in the pre-rinse cup. (This is a great money-saver — dishwasher detergent has really gone up in price!)

We watched some TV tonight, and I chatted with two friends on the phone. But once the house was quiet, I was ready to do a little prep cooking again. I had put some of my loss-leader ground beef in the sink to defrost after dinner, which I had separated into one pound packages — this one uncooked.

“Meatloaf, that’s what I will make,” I thought. We all know it requires an hour to cook and 15 minutes rest time, but by preparing the night before, I made it do-able for dinner tomorrow.

I could whip it up fast because I had the onions pre-chopped and used this tip to make my own bread crumbs. I put the meatloaf in the pan on top of old bread (a great tip!). Tomorrow, I’ll pull it out of the fridge all prepped and just have to top it with the gourmet meatloaf glaze (which is pre-mixed already in the fridge). I just need to make mashed potatoes tomorrow (using this easy peeling tip) and toss in a veggie on the side, and dinner is done!

My point is that a little efficiency here and there can make your life so much easier — and save you money. All the skills and tips I wrote of do really build on each other. Hope these hints are some you had not read before, and try at least one and see what a difference it makes.

I just had to use this graphic again for this post — Super Chicken! Yes, he is the cook’s dream, but, as we know, he can lead to a multitude of bacteria in the kitchen.

So I thought I would pass along a trio of less-known coping mechanisms when preparing chicken:

Hope these tips come in handy next time you are prepping chicken. I got breasts for 87 cents a pound today, so I am cooking them all up and will then dice to use later in a multitude of dishes. Let me tell you, that one tip will save you tons of time in the kitchen, and I hope these others will keep things safe.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day (and knowing how the Irish are known for potatoes), I gave you a plethora of potato pointers (hope you appreciate the alliteration):

Hope these tips (and links) help you to use the cheap potato more often. Ralphs has 5 pounds for 97 cents this week (should be the same price at Krogers on the East Coast). I’m sick, so I am gonna have dinner and plop on the sofa, but had to make sure you guys had a usable post.

P.S. Thanks Ginny for emailing me the Gilligan’s Island potato-peeling video!

I remembered this tip last night, when I needed to measure two tablespoons of water. Not an easy task, with the water from the faucet overflowing the spoon in short order.

So what I do is put the water or other liquid ingredient in a small Pyrex measuring cup, and then spoon out the liquid into the recipe. Perfect measurement every time, and no overflowing.

You can use this also for oil and other ingredients, and just pour the leftover amount right back into the bottle.

Hope you get to try it soon.