I was watching a new show on VH1 about OCD, when I decided that I needed to clean out the pantry. (Surprise, surprise, because I am an “arranger.”) But as I straightened everything, I thought of a Prohomemaker Challenge: “Eat out of your pantry/freezer/fridge for one week.” And I am going to do it this week, and I want you to join me.

I think this is important because, first, it makes you take stock of what you have. And second, it saves money. The only allowable purchases for one week are produce and dairy. That’s it.

People spend so much on groceries, without using the 12-week cycle, which means everything hits its lowest price every three months. You’re wasting money if you wait and buy until you need it — use the cycle and save in the long run. I am in need for ground beef due to a stock of Hamburger Helper bought at its lowest price, but I know ground beef is about to hit my buy price of $1.47 a pound. This week was close at $1.77, but I know patience will pay off. Mark my words.

That’s the importance of having a well-stocked pantry and freezer. You’re not at the whim of what grocery stores decide to charge that week. You can hang out and wait for the stock-up price. But do take stock of what you have — you will be surprised what you can make. Yep, that’s the “M” word — menu planning. But here’s a helpful hint: Have a few things, go to Allrecipes.com and use its ingredients search, you’ll surely find something to make.

Won’t you join me in this challenge? Let’s see what we can do this week with what we have.

This became more imperative to me this week when I did our budget using this tool and realized that my income had dropped dramatically since my Dad became sick and passed away. The host of “Til Debt Do Us Part” was kind enough to email me back and advised ramping up my business and cutting the budget wherever I could. And that’s what I am doing. Believe it or not, by eating out of the pantry/fridge and freezer once a month for a year, we can save $1,000+ a year! Do the math, and figure out what you can save, too, just by being creative.

I will post a blog every day on how I am doing — and my challenges with meeting the challenge.

But for now, here is what I am going to make tomorrow night. Just need a bell pepper (allowed-produce) tomorrow, and the rest is in the pantry/fridge/freezer.

Oh, and the pantry is clean — and arranged. 
 

Man, I scored at Target today, combining food specials, Internet coupons, regular coupons and Target coupons. Even the cashier said, “You obviously know what you’re doing.”

What I did was take advantage of its loss leaders (to get me in the door) and matched coupons. The result? I spent $15.72 and saved $24.62! (And, no, I didn’t go shopping — I went buying.)

But the killer deal today was on Campbells cream soups and Del Monte canned vegetables. Look at the photo — that’s 12 cans of soup and 8 cans of vegetables. The grand total for these items? $4.48! The cooking soups — normally a good deal at $1 a can — were 24 cents each. The Del Monte vegetables — normally a killer deal at 50 cents a can — were only 20 cents each! Oh, and I didn’t even include in the photo the Betty Crocker potatoes — usually $1.50 on special — that I got for 39 cents apiece with Internet coupons from www.coupons.com!

OK, how did I do it?

On the soups, I printed three copies of the Internet coupon for $1 off 4 available at Campbellskitchen.com. It will only let you print twice, but luckily my partner has a different email address. On the vegetables, I used a newspaper coupon that just came in the Nov. 15th Red Plum flyer for $1 off 8, but then I combined it with a $1 off 6 Target coupon. For the life of me, I cannot find the link, but just Google “Target coupons,” and it will come up at the top.

The best news is you can still do these deals at Target this week through Saturday!

Now obviously, we are not going to use all these items in a month … this is probably a three- to six-month supply. But when you are getting a rock bottom price, it’s time to stockpile, as I noted in this post.

Using the soup and Del Monte specials, let me give you an example how stockpiling can save you money: If I had purchased all these items at the great sales prices of $1 for the cooking soups and 50 cents for the vegetables, I would have paid $16 for what cost me $4.48 today — an $11.52 savings over the regularly great sales price!

If you found $12 on the street, wouldn’t you pick it up? This is found money just for being a smart shopper! You can do it, too! Read more couponing tips in these posts.

Hope you have some extra money this week in your food budget, because Target is having some incredible food deals through Nov. 21!

These are all loss leaders (as I discussed in this post), so be a smart shopper: Grab the leaders and make Target take the loss, then beat cheeks out of the store with the deals.

Some examples:

But if you want to make these killer deals, add in coupons! Using the list at Couponmom.com, you can net incredible deals on these and a lot of other items. Just go to “Deals by State” at the site, and you will see the hot link for Target specials.

These are some of the deals I will be picking up with coupons:

And I have a tip on getting the biggest killer deal on the Campbells Mushroom Soup. Go to Campbellskitchen.com and print the coupon for $1 off four (and you can print twice). You’ll get the soup (which is normally $1 on a very good sale) for only 24 cents a can! The ad says others are also on sale, so I am hoping I will be getting some Cream of Chicken, too. But either way, for less than $2, I am going to get eights cans of the soup. We will be stocked easily for six months!

So check out Couponmom for the coupon matchups, as well as Saving Cents with Sense blog for more, and I will see you at Target!

This week, the specials at the grocery store suck — and even with coupons! I tell you, unless it’s at least 50 percent off, it’s not a deal in my mind. So this week, I am buying the basics — milk — and taking advantage of a couple good coupon deals, but that’s it! I might spend $20 tops for two people.

That makes me see how valuable stockpiling is when you grocery shop.

What’s stockpiling? When you see an item hit its absolutely lowest price, you buy more than you immediately need. I usually think in terms of three to six months. because most grocery items hit their lowest price every 12 weeks.

For example, Farmer John wieners were 49 cents last week at Stater Bros. I had Art buy four packages (they are his favorite). We are easily set for the next four months on wieners, when normally these would cost upwards of $2 a pack. So, for the $2 we spent then, I am not spending $8 down the road — a $6 savings. (The extras went in the freezer.)

Another example? Right before school started, the stores had great deals on cereal, and when combined with coupons and rebates, it made ‘em steals! I am talking 25-50 cents a box. I just counted, and I have 14 boxes of cereal. We are easily set for six months. So instead of paying let’s say $2.50 a box for a total of $35, I paid less than $7 — 80 percent off a sales price! (And they are good for more than a year!)

Now, let me counter some objections:

The biggest learning curve on stockpiling is knowing when something hits its absolutely lowest price, and then combining with a coupon, if you can, for a steal. But like the wiener deal I cited, that was with no coupon.

So keep an eye on the bottom, bottom priced deals. They are usually advertised on the front of your grocery store flyers. (These are loss leaders — learn more in this post.) When you see ‘em, hit ‘em hard! If they are out, ask for a raincheck, as I recommended in this post of grocery store secrets (I got one last week for Kraft mac n cheese for 33 cents a box and asked for the maximum — four boxes.)

Oh and want to know the savings on the items I mentioned? I could have spent $49 on the mayo, wieners and cereal. Instead, by stockpiling, I paid less than $10 — a $39 savings (or 80 percent off)!

Obviously from the lack of posts for the past week, you may have figured out that I’ve been busy with work — so much so that I’ve only done one major food shop in the past three weeks.

How did we survive? The good ol’ pantry.

Our new house has a walk-in style one that I love, but I’ve also lived with just a couple cabinets in which to stock … well, stock in.

I’m a firm believer that everyone should have the makings of at least three to five dinners in their pantry. And I am talking a supper in which you don’t need to run to the grocery store for one thing. This is the simplest way to save money at dinnertime because you won’t be tempted on a busy day to say, “Let’s go out” — cha-ching — or call in for a pizza (easy $20 out the door). Instead, you can call on one of your go-to, “I haven’t been to the store in a week” dinners.

Check my Recipes category here for some ideas on what you could make. Tuna Noodle Casserole is one of my favorites for a pantry dinner — nearly everything is there — noodles, tuna, cream of celery (or mushroom) soup, canned peas, and I usually have an onion and celery in the house.

I also use our freezer as the pantry. I stock up on basics — ground beef, cheese, chicken, etc., when it’s on sale, so I can always pull something out (and got the best price). Or, I use one of my “cook once, eat twice” dinners, pulling out that second entree when I am just too pooped to cook.

Hope this gets you thinking about how you, too, can better use your pantry, so like Scarlett, you can say, “I’ll never go hungry again!” (Cue the “Tara” theme.)

Quick post, but a good one

Tonight, we had our homeowner association meeting, and the manager brought a store-bought cheese and meat tray that was not totally consumed — cheddar, pepperoni, sausage slices, etc.

My plan? I am going to make it into a pizza!

I’ll make dough in the breadmaker, use the spaghetti sauce I have leftover from two nights ago, and the mozarella cheese I bought on special.

We’ll eat good tomorrow for less than a $1.50!

I’m a happy man! (And he brought a veggie tray, too, gonna make that into a chicken pot pie, using the chicken I cooked the other day, using these tips.)

Just goes to show you to think out of the box when it comes to dinner. Please share how you use leftovers — we would love to hear ‘em.

I love recipes that are deceptively simple, and this is one that falls in that category. I found the basic recipe in the free Kraft Foods Magazine. Usually, I find most dishes there pretty blah (but it also often has good coupons, so who cares? You get one every season).
At any rate, this one works wonderfully — and is very pantry and freezer friendly. It’s perfect comfort food, without the time commitment. It’s even faster if you pre-cooked and pre-diced your chicken breasts with this tip. You’ll also find three other great tips at the end of the recipe. Lots of tips here! The recipe is called Chicken and Biscuits, but I think it’s akin to Chicken and Dumplings without the pain factor. Serves 4 big servings, or 6 with a big salad.

Hope you enjoy it, too.

Chicken and Biscuits

Basic Ingredients
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
3/4 cup sour cream (divided)
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (see note)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Bisquick (see note)
3 Tbs. milk

Directions
Pre-heat oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees.
Mix soup and 1/2 cup sour cream in mixing bowl. Add cheese, chicken and vegetables. Mix well.
Put Bisquick in medium bowl. Add remaining 1/4 cup sour cream and milk. Stir till stiff dough forms. Add teaspoon of milk if too stiff.
Grease 8-inch square baking dish. Place chicken mixture in, and pat down. Drop biscuit mixture with tablespoon and knife into 6 biscuits.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, and serve.

Notes:

You can print the recipe by clicking on the title. Let me know how you like it — we do.

I was just making my Tuna Noodle Casserole for dinner and realized I did not have the red bell pepper I like to dice and add.

Then, it hit me, I had roasted red bell peppers in a jar in the fridge. Took ‘em out, diced ‘em up, and added those instead. It worked perfectly.

Do know there is a difference in peppers? Green bell peppers have a much stronger taste (and some have trouble digesting them), while red and yellow have a more mellow taste. I find the yellow are usually even more expensive, so I always lean toward red. And they add a pleasant dash of color to most any dish.

One more tip that I should have followed: If you see any bell peppers on sale, slice them up in 1/4-inch slices and freeze. Then, like today, you could just pull ‘em out and dice what you need. This comes in handy when they are no longer in season. I just store mine in a small zipper bag.

I don’t know about you, but I have too many buns in the house after the holiday. They were a great buy at 99 cents, but I just couldn’t use them all. Time to save even more money, be economical, and make my own bread crumbs!

In the store, a can of dried bread crumbs is about $1.99. I kept the can, but now fill my own with leftover bread. This is a wonderful, easy savings opportunity!

Just take your aging buns, break into pieces, and place in a mini-food chopper or (if you want to clean it and have a lot of buns) your food processor. Pulse until crumbly.

Now you have two choices — these are fresh bread crumbs, so you can use immediately (as I did tonight on top of my macaroni and cheese), or use later as dried and put in the store can for 2-4 weeks. Too many decisions? Take the easy way out and place all in a zipper plastic bag in the freezer. You’ll have the best of both worlds.

By the way, if you want seasoned bread crumbs, just throw in a teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning. Still no reason to buy leftovers — and that’s what store bread crumbs are!

Honestly, this is found money. It may take 5 minutes, but you were going to throw the bread in the trash very soon.

A little savings here, and a little savings later adds up to a lot of money later.

Wieners are on special at every grocery store this week due to the Fourth of July holiday. I got Oscar Mayer meat wieners just today for 33 cents a pack with coupons. Now that’s a steal. (To learn how, click the “Coupon Shopping” link at right.)

But even without coupons, go ahead and stock up. First, wieners freeze wonderfully, and second, you can do more than just make hotdogs with them.

Tonight, I went back to one of my favorite comfort food dishes when I was a kid — beanies and wienies. I opened a can of Bush baked beans (88 cents with coupons) and sliced in 5 wieners. Heated them on top of the stove till hot, and yum. Not haute cuisine, but yummy just the same. You can do the same with a can of pork and beans.

We also like to heat a wiener in the microwave, and then wrap in a warmed tortilla. A great hot dog variance when you have no buns. Dip in ketchup and mustard, and a great, fast lunch.

So embrace those wiener sales this week, you will be enjoying the fruits of your savings for months ahead.