Safeway Steal: 6 packages of cream cheese for .42

To be honest I haven't been posting my grocery deals.  It seems like prices are increasing daily, the price I'm paying currently is not my rock bottom price, but I may have to adjust for the never-ending price increases.  But I had to show you this dandy transaction I did today at Safeway.  Just remember a few things:

1. Everything was 50% off
2. I had NO coupons (oh the horror)
3. My children were acting like mental patients b/c the sugar from the FREE cookie hit their systems.
4. PTL I added the coupons from Just 4 U program

The cream cheese was originally $1.79 w/50% off =<.90>.  My Just 4 U price was .97.  If I do the math correctly 97-90=.07!  I guess that they don't take the Just 4 U price into consideration for the 50% off!  It worked in my favor.  This is why I add EVERY Safeway coupon to my card.  You never know when it will work in your favor.

The question you're probably asking is "Why did I buy 6?  What am I going to do with that many?"

1. Cream cheese freeze well.  Once it is thawed, mix it up b/c it does breaks apart.
2. I make a killer Chicken Parmesan Spinach Bundle.
3. I make a killer cheese cake.
4. Here is the recipe.

Thrifty Tip: Homemade garlic powder

Yea I know I can buy garlic powder at the store super cheap, but we're waiting to see if my husband will once again get onto the unemployment line (YIPPEE ~ sarcasm right there folks).  So needless to say that we're trying to save money EVERYWHERE. 

So we're looking at everything we eat or use that we can make ourselves.  What's the first thing you do when you wake up? OK second thing.  Eat breakfast.  I have a habit of having garlic toast for breakfast.  A nice crisp piece of sourdough bread with butter, garlic & onion powder with a diet Dr. Pepper is what gets me going in the morning.  I know I'm weird. 

While munchin down on my breakfast of champions I got a quiet moment to read the label.  Do you know what's in garlic powder?  Dehydrated garlic & some other stuff.  Guess what I did?  Yep.  Made garlic powder!

1. Get a garlic clove, double check to make sure that it has big cloves b/c it's easier to slice.
2. Peel & slice clove .
3. Dehydrate slices.
4. Once dehydrated, ground the heck out of the slices.  (I use our Magic Bullet, b/c grinding things into a pulp is the best thing it can do.)

 

Thrifty Tip: Regrowing celery

I don't know where I saw this thrifty tip, but I decided to try it out. You can grow new celery from an old stalk.  I cut the stalks about 2-3 inches from the bottom & re cut the bottom so water would be able to travel through the stalks.

Day 1

 Day 2

Day 3

 Day 4

 Day 5

Day 6

Look at how much it grew in just 6 days!  AMAZING!  Now I don't know if it will taste the same, but it is worth a try.  Nothing was added except water.  I may transplant it into my garden, now that it is warm here.  It's a great way to double your food by cutting your costs in half.  Try it out & tell me how it works for you.

I found the most amazing thing while digging in my mulch

I just have to laugh.  Look at what I found in my mulch!  A geranium!  Right next to it, an onion.  We tossed the geranium out a few months ago, they just don't make it through the winter in the PNW.  I was kinda sad, it was something that my husband's grandmother, who died recently, gave us.  Guess my mulch is just what it needed!

If you don't have a mulch pit yet, you gotta start!  It is wwwwaaaayyyy cheaper than buying mulch for your garden.  Just remember green/brown/green/brown.  A layer of green (veggies, green leaves etc)/a layer of brown (somthing that is already dead, dry leaves or dirt) then alternate.

Thrifty Tip: Starting your garden from seeds.

I know this is late, but I wanted to make sure that this trick worked.  Try it next year or when it is time to start your winter garden.

START YOUR SEEDS IN AN EGG SHELL!

I tried this will all my herbs.  I had heard it from a farmer's wife at MoPS, so if she found success with it, it must be good trick.  This first picture is my basil grown in the egg shell.  Look at how big the leaves are!  We have trimmed these guys at least 4-5 times & it's only June! 

All you need to do is save your egg shells after you use them.  Just make sure that you crack them close to the top or the upper middle, so you have enough room to fill it with dirt.  I washed them out with water and let them dry.  Then when I am ready to start my garden I added the mulch, my seeds & cover them with a little bit of dirt.  I put the shells back in the egg carton & watered them.  Then I put them in a clear tote in a sunny place and waited for them to grow.  I did put the lid on to help keep the temperature inside warm, it never seems to get warm enough here in the PNW during the early Spring.

When you are ready to plant them, just crack the bottom of the shell so you expose some dirt.  Be careful not to disrupt the roots.  I did crack the sides so it would be easier for the roots to break through.  I think I did at least 2 dozen like this with a variety of herbs.  The ones in the egg shells seem to be healthier & more robust. 

This picture is the basil I didn't grow in the egg shells.  They are still good, but not nearly as plentiful as the ones I grew in the shells.  I am guessing it has something to do with the calcium.  But don't hold me to it.  Try it & tell me what you think!  This is the first year we started most of our garden from seed.  Next year I think I will do this with all of our seeds. 

And remember these herbs are completely 100% organic.  I used nothing synthetic.  So if they don't look exactly like the ones in the grocery stores that's because they use all sort of stuff to make them looks more appealing.  Enjoy!

People who love camping must have some kind of disorder.

Yep you read that right.  Why would someone want to leave their comfortable house in order to sleep in the cold & hard ground & then say "IT"S FUN!"  REALLY?  Come on.  There's a reason why God gave us the idea of indoor plumbing. 

I took one for the family this weekend. We went camping.  I do it for my husband & kids.  That's it.  I'll last about a week if I have a shower & flushable toilets, otherwise I'm done within 2 days.  This was a 2 day trip.

Here's my top 5 list of why I hate camping:

5. Dirt. Everywhere.  Kids faces, in the tent, everywhere.

 

4. Sleeping on the ground is not what a late "30 something" should be doing,

especially if you want to be able to walk the next morning.

3.  The pesky chipmunk who was dive bombing our campsite trying to grab

 any scraps that fell from my kids plates or the food that they were actually trying to eat.

2.  Gnats.  When I die I'm going to ask God why he made gnats

 & why does it start with a "G".

1.  Bears.  Yes, both nights we had bears coming through the campground. 

The last night I heard him right next to our tent breathing.  That's how every bad "B" horror camping movie starts & I was living it.  YIPPEE.

Here's my top 5 list of why I kinda like camping:

5. My kids playing with each other & using their imagination.  Who knew sticks were more fun than transformers?

4. Getting away from all electronic devices.

3.  Getting out & teaching my kids about nature.

2. Enjoying God's wonderful gift of pristine land.  I never knew there could

be so many different colors of green & blue.

1.  Spending quality time with my family.  We found out that we like hiking,

even though my kids never stopped talking the entire time!

Next time, I think I'm going to make a reservation at the Best Western.

Sometimes I even shock myself, my trip to Winco!

Summer break will be here in a few short days.  I'm conflicted, I'm happy to have the lazy days of summer but the mom in me is freaking out!  Right now it's pouring rain & about 60 degrees, I'm not really seeing summer here in the PNW.  But in anticipation of summer I wanted to pick up some Kool-Aid & went by our local Winco today.  Boy, did I score!  I was ready to pay some, but not what I ended up paying. 

75 packets for $1.25!

Use the buy 10 get 5 free coupon found in the 5/6 SS (up to $1.25).  Winco sells the packets for .10 each.  For some reason the register gave me the full amount of the coupon $1.25 instead of .50.  I'm stocked up for summer!  My kids are stoked!