The best omelet ever....

Morning friends!  Two posts in two days??  I must be crazy... I whipped up omelets this morning for the husband and I and just the idea of them sounded so yummy I wanted to share.  And, it's vegetarian!  So Erin!  Mom!  This is something you can make for the whole family and they'll all love it!  Even my meat loving husband (who believes no meal is complete without meat...) loved it and wanted it to stay in the breakfast rotation.  The ingredients are so stinkin' cheap and usually on hand, I know we'll be enjoying this again soon.  Hope you will too!

Here are my ingredients:

eggs (yes, those are green eggs... farm fresh and delicious!)

zucchini (from Kevin's mom's garden)

potatoes (from our garden)

onion (I used a walla walla sweet, but you can use whatever kind you want)

shredded cheese (your preference)

a little olive oil

What to do:

Dice the onion and julienne the potato.  Suatee in a little olive oil until cooked completely.  I added garlic, salt and pepper to taste.  When almost done, add julienned zucchini to mix and toss.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes until it's just heated through.  Transfer to a bowl.

Mix eggs (3 per omelet) in a bowl with a fork and add just a tiny bit of water.  (It makes the eggs fluffier...really....)  

Pour eggs into small skillet on LOW heat.  Do not touch your eggs or they will scramble in the pan rather than make a flat omelet.  Cover with a lid and cook until top is just slightly runny.  Flip if you can.  

Sprinkle grated cheese on top of omelet and add sauteed onion/potato/zucchini mixture....LOTS.  When cheese is melted, slide omelet onto plate flipping one side over the other. 

YUM, this was so delicious the husband requested I make it again.  And since it contains green veggies, I say that's a success!!!  

enjoy!

KHD.

Safeway Deals 7/28

Hi friends... how about some Safeway deals for the weekend, yeah?

Wishbone Italian dressing:

in store coupon $1.19 each (limit 3)

Join Safeway Just for U and zap a 1/1 coupon onto your card in their "coupon" section. 

If you buy just 1, you've paid only 0.19 for it...

Safeway Open Nature Bread - BOGO.

(this bread is all natural and delicious.)

Coconut Milk shampoo or conditioner - BOGO

Progresso Vegetable soups - 1.25 each. 

(It's not soup season, but this is a price worth stocking up on!!)

Safeway Eating Right Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - 1.99/lb. 

(This is a rockin deal and the price at which I stock up.)

Hot Pockets or Lean Pockets

Coupon on Safeway J4U - 1.69 ea.

(You know I hate processed food, but these are quick and easy for the husband to grab once in a while for lunch when he's running late.  Hey, it's better than McD's or Jack in the Crack!)

Downey Fabric Softener

on sale for 4.99

Safeway J4U coupon - 1/1

Ice cream coupons on Safeway J4U:

2/1 any Klondike product

3/1 any Bryers Blast

2/1 any Starbucks pint

2/1 any Reeces Ice Cream Cup

(these are good coupons!)

And for another delicious (and healthier alternative...) 

3 Musketeers:

on sale B2G2

use .50/2 from 6/26 RP

Use Safeway Doubl'r for another .50 off

You paid $1 for 4 candy bars!!!  If you can get your hands on 2 of the RP coupon, SOME checkers will honor both....

NOTE TO MY LOYALS:  Don't be fooled by Safeway's S&W Kidney beans on "sale" for "10 for $10!"  That's a buck a piece.  That's NOT a good price for beans....  Don't fall for fancy store-sale-speak.

Not a ton of deals out there this week, but a few for sure!

Enjoy!

KDH.

Coupla Safeway Deals...

Hi friends!  Ran across a couple of deals I thought worth mentioning... these deals are only valid through 7/26 with Safeway so GET ON IT!  

Need a refresher of how these are spelled out?  Go here to see previous post.

Also, Safeway sends out a weekly mailer of their coupons and sale items.  In this mailing is printed a Safeway Doubl'r in which you can double 4 of your manufacturers coupons, up to 0.50 each.  USE THIS.  It's used in my deals below.  If you can get your hands on multiple ads, use more than one!  Ask friends, neighbors, whomever, if you can have their ad before it finds their recycle bin.....

Lets get ready to rumble......!!!!!!.......

Old Spice deodorant - fresh collection only

get 2 deodorants and 1 body spray, must be "fresh collection"

In-store coupon for deodorant # 3.49 ea

$1/2 from 7/3 P&G

buy 1 fresh collection deodorant, get a free body spray from 7/3 P&G

Safeway doubler coupon from store mailer -0.50

PAY: 5.50 for all 3

**  You MIGHT not be able to do this whole deal... the manufacturers coupons  MAY NOT be compatible to use together but it's worth a shot.  IF you can't, then you can nix the body spray and the coupon for a free body spray and just use the coupon for the $1/2 and safeway doubler to pay 5.50 for 2 sticks of deodorant, making them 2.25 each... almost half price!

Secret Deodorant - get 2

In store coupon 3.49 each

1/2 from 7/3 P&G

Safeway doubler -0.50

PAY: 5.50 for 2

Crest toothpaste

In store coupon for 2.49 each

$0.75/1 from 7/3 P&G

Safeway doubler -0.50

PAY: 1.25 for tube..   Must be 4-6oz toothpaste

Duracell batteries

In store coupon for $2/1 on the smallest (read:cheapest) pack you can get

$0.50/1 from 7/3 P&G

Safeway doubler -0.50

PAY: varies... but you're getting $3 off!

Tampax Pearl Tampons

40-ct on sale for 5.99

1/1 from 7/3 p&G

Safeway doubler -0.50

PAY: 4.49

**If you can get a smaller box on sale, you might get a better deal

Honorable mentions:

• BOGO Safeway smoked sausage
• B2G2 - 12 packs of select cans of soda  (great for stocking up for summer, not that I condone soda drinking..it's terrible for you.) and get a free pack of Oreo Cookies (also don't condone..)
• BOGO Fresh Gourmet Crunchy Toppings
• 2 for 5 - 6-16oz organic blackberries, blueberries, raspberries or strawberries.  (This is a pretty fantastic deal for organic!!)
• BOGO Nature Made or Nature's Bounty vitamins
• Buy 4 Save $4 on select items such as Pillsbury cake mix, Crisco vegetable oil, Folgers gourmet instant coffee, Folgers regular coffee, Jif To Go, Smuckers items.  Look for the "Buy 4 and Save" tickets on items
• Ranchers Reserve Beef Chuck 7-Bone Steak - 1.99/lb in extreme value pack.  This is a pretty good deal, but I prefer to wait until they have BOGO meat sales..

That's all for now, Enjoy!

KDH.

Where have all the Salem coupon deals gone???

Hi friends.  As you may know, I like a good deal.  Yes, I coupon.  No, I am not a freak with 10 transactions and hours spent at the store.  I like saving money, but I still have a full time job, a part time job and a life.  Usually I follow other coupon blogs to find my deals.  HOWEVER, it's come to my attention that the Salem and Portland coupon inserts NO LONGER MATCH so the blogs I used to follow to get my deals no longer line up.  And I've also discovered there is no coupon blog for the Salem area..............

Wait, wait wait... I know what you're going to say... "Kristen, you should write a coupon blog!!"  Why, yes that would be a fantastic idea, however did you miss in the first paragraph that I have 1.5 jobs and a life still?? I don't have time for a full time coupon blog!  But, my friends, I will still try to pass along deals I find in our area.. maybe someday I can have a super-cool full time coupon blog....

A quickie coupon lesson:

P&G = P&G Brand Saver

SS = Smart Source

RP = Red Plum

All of these come in the Sunday Paper

Deal listing: 1/2 means $1 off of 2 products... or .75/1 means $0.75 off of one product... 

Got it?  Ok, lets continue....

Also, if you've followed coupon blogs before, you know they count the store Catalina (the coupons the register spits out after your shopping is paid for) in your savings. I don't agree with this math.  If you have to put the cash out at the check stand, you're putting the cash out.  Period.  Just because the register spits out a coupon for your next visit or purchase, does not mean you're not paying money now.  I will NOT be counting Catalina savings in my deals.

While I was building my database, I came across this Pantene deal...two separate manufacturer's coupons so you can use them together....

Pantene Hair Care

7/3 P&G - 1/1

6/26 SS - 1/1

Both coupons are for $1 off any 2 products..so find two and use both of these coupons to get $2 off instead of just 1.  Like I said, if you find them on sale at your local store, even better...

Also, in the Red Plum from 6/26, there are two mail-in rebates for alcohol.  If you consume alcohol (responsibly, of course) these coupons are major saver and we've used them before.  One is for a $12 rebate from 2 bottles of various liquors, and another is for $2 off a 6-pack of various malt beverages.  Pretty sweet savings...  

That's all for now, I need to go make the hubby dinner....  

Enjoy!

KDH.

Vegetable Mac & Cheese...Minus the Mac

YUM to Mac and cheese only subsituting the 'mac' for 'veggies'.  Ummm..... "Veggies & Cheese" just doesn't have a good ring to it....ideas?  Name beside the point, this dish was delicious and packed full of good healthy stuff.  TONS of veggies, lowfat cheeses, what could be better?  It's super filling, the husband and I (who both love to eat...) could only eat one bowl.  I couldn't even finish mine which is a miracle!  (Thanks Body By Vi!)

Confession: I forgot to take pictures of all my steps....I suck......  sorry!  :-/

I adapted this from a recipe I found online but I like mine way better.  And let me just state here, on record, if you aren't ready to give up pasta, do halfsies!  Half pasta, half veggies...  It still ups your healthy quotient greatly.

Here's what's going down:

1 yam

2 medium red potatoes

Slice these, toss with a little olive oil and roast in the oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  400 degrees for about 20 minutes until they're about 3/4 cooked through; just a little hard in the middle still

Slice and prep these while the potatoes are roasting:

1 head broccoli

1/2 head cauliflour

3 medium-large carrots, pealed and sliced diagonally about 1/4" thick

1/2 cup frozen peas (no prep necessary besides cutting open the bag.)

Boil a large pot of salted water.  Add carrots and boil for 4 minutes.  Add broccoli and cauliflower and boil for an additional 2 minutes.  When finished, strain veggies and remove pan from heat.

While your water is coming to a boil.....

Whip up in a blender or food processor:

3/4 cup cottage cheese

1 package light cream cheese

1/2 cup hot water from boiling veggies

 1 Tbs. dijon mustard

1/4 tsp Tabasco or other hot sauce, or more to taste

salt and pepper to taste

You will also need about 2 cups shredded mozzarella, 1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar, and 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan for the top.

When veggies are cooked and potatoes are roasted, add all to the empty saucepan; stove should be turned off!  Cover with cheese sauce from the blender and mix well.  Stir in shredded motzerella and cheddar cheeses.  Place all in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.  Sprinkle with shredded parmesean.  Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes until top is golden brown.  Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes to thicken before eating.  Eat with crusty bread of choice!

Husband approved, even full of veggies and containing no meat....

Enjoy!

KDH.

Mango Madness!!

Friends, tomorrow is the LAST day to score mangoes for just 50 cents each at Safeway!!  Eat them fresh! Add them to salsa!  Freeze them and use them for smoothies this summer!  Freeze them and add them to sangria, or juice for funky delicious ice cubes!  Toss them into a salad!  Wrap them into your....wrap! 

Want to know a great way to cut mangoes?  Check out these fantastic instructions...

Folks, there are a myriad of ways to enjoy these tasty tropical delights, might as well stock pile them while they're so cheap...

Enjoy!

KDH.

Safeway Score!

Hi friends!  I am so sorry to have abandoned you for the past two weeks, I've been busy, busy, busy! I hope all of you had a truly fantastic Easter!!  I was able to spend my holiday with my little sister and her family in Spokane and we had a blast...  You can check out some of our shenanigans here, including their recent foreé into the CamWow world... It's pretty hilarious... 

Now my husband and I are home and back to the daily grind...  We suffered through last week with zero food in the house...  I didn't want to go shopping and then be gone for 5 days and I just didn't have the time once we got home!  For those of you who don't know, I work super long days between 2 jobs but have 3-day weekends.  It's fantastic and I love my schedule, but Monday-Thursday are pretty much dedicated to work and everything else gets shoved into the weekend.  I was super excited with my Safeway shopping trip today and wanted to share with all of you!  Some of you out there know I'm a coupon fan and really work to find deals when I'm grocery shopping.  I haven't posted anything about couponing yet, but will get to that soon.


Disclaimer:  I am NOT a "super couponer."  I'm what I like to call a "average Joan couponer" meaning I do not spend hours of my time researching and building deals and I DO NOT go through the grocery check out with 8+ transactions; my limit is 2.  

So here is my Safeway trip today....

$129.83 worth of groceries for....$64.29!!!

Ahem, for those of you without a calculator handy, that's a 49.518% savings......

So I'm sure most of you are thinking..."well it's all packaged, unhealthy food," right???  WRONG.  Take a look for yourself....

Yes, some of this is stuff I normally don't eat but the husband does... Soda for example..I don't touch the stuff.  If you can clean a car battery with it, I'm not interested in ingesting it thankyouverymuch.  Also, white flour tortillas -- those are for the husband.  I prefer whole grain or whole wheat, but he's not on that tortilla bandwagon yet....  See all of those reddish-greenish things?  Those are MANGOS...  Mangos alone usually run between a buck (on sale) or two each!

Oh, see all that meat on the right?  Yep, that's included in my total of only spending $64.29.  The regular price on the meat alone would've been $74.06 if it weren't for my mad discount shopping skills!!  (And Safeway's BOGO meat sale......)  I always stock up when the BOGO meat sale is on.  AND, this week, through Tuesday, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are included!  For those of you who regularly shop the Safeway BOGO meat sale, you know chicken breasts are RARELY included.... What does all of this meat look like when I've broken it into freezer packs for individual meals??  Something like this....

 I would like to note, EACH of these containers is a 2 meal portion..I'm all about cooking enough once so we can eat twice, so each of these will serve 2 meals for us.  That's 20 meals worth of meat, baby!!

Alright, lets break this down so you can see where the savings are....

Family sized 90% lean ground sirloin - $23.20

Family sized Country style ribs pack - 18.32

BOGO, paid $23.20 for BOTH

This equals $11.60 for each pack... that means my 90% lean ground sirloin was only $2.47 per pound, and my country style ribs were slightly over $2.00 per pound.  Both of these are tremendous savings... at or above 50% off!

2 boneless, skinniness chicken breast packs:

One was $16.87, the other was $15.67.  

BOGO, paid $16.87 for BOTH... that's $8.34 per pack which equals less than $.99 per pound!!!

(When I'm doing BOGO, I try and find 2 packages that are closely matched in price..then you're paying one price and getting it for free instead of paying $23 for one pack of meat and getting a $13 pack for free.)

NOTE:  Safeway will give you the cheaper meat packs as the free ones (obviously).  So in this case, I had to do 2 transactions: 1 with all my groceries and my chicken, then another with just the hamburger and ribs. Who cares.

Soda - select varieties on sale for 1.79 per 2-liter, but only $0.77 cents each with store coupon.  I bought 4, that's a great price!  (side note: does anyone else remember when these were regularly priced at $0.50?? sheesh!)

Kraft salad dressings - on sale $0.99 each.  This is a HUGE savings... no coupon required!

Safeway Select 24oz salsa (which I LOVE) on sale for $1.79 each with store coupon

Tortilla chips - on sale for $1.99.  Not a great deal, but I love chips and salsa so I had to buy them to go with all the salsa I bought!

Safeway Eating Right whole wheat pasta - on sale for $0.99 - We don't usually eat pasta but like to have some on hand "just in case" or if the husband gets a craving.  I'm not much of a fan..

Kleenex Facial Tissue - 200 count, on sale for $2.00, $0.99 each with store coupon.. WOW.

MANGOS!!!!!!!  Mangos on sale for $0.50 each!  Friends, in my years of loving mangos, (um...10+?) I have never, NEVER, seen them this cheap.  I bought 12 and will be cubing and freezing them for smoothies (*cough*daiquiris-and-margaritas*cough*) this summer.  I might go back for more.  I'm undecided on the issue right now. 

So here are the biggest thing to remember when you're out there shopping:  

1.  Don't shop for what you want or think you need, shop for what's on a good deal or at the very least what's on sale.  My shopping list revolves around the deals I find, not about what I think I want to cook with...  You can google recipes using the foods you have on hand and I've come across things I never would've chosen or tried if I hadn't shopped sales! 

2.  Stock up.  If black beans are on for $0.30, BUY A FLAT OF THEM.  They're super healthy and nutritious and can be used in thousands of recipes.  Family sized meat packages on sale?  Split it up and freeze them into portions (picture above) or go in on the deal with a friend.  See my point??  I don't want to make hoarders out of you, but when you find a good deal on toothpaste, pick up a couple, you're going to use it eventually!  

I stumbled across a study a long time ago that has stuck with me for years.  I have no idea where it came from or who did it so don't' bust my (pork) chops...  It stated:  

A woman will buy a $2 item not because they need it, but simply because it's on sale for $1 and may need it someday.  

A man will buy a $1 item for $2 because they need it right now.

I don't know about you, but this is SO TRUE on our house.  My husband will wait until he's completely out of shaving cream to tell me he needs some or put it on the shopping list.  Um..guess you'll have some razor burn, honey!  However, when I find a killer deal on shaving gel, I buy him 5 at a time because I know he'll use it sooner or later.  When you do this, you only ever pay the sale price for things rather being in a bind and having to pay full price!!!!  A little planning ahead can save you some serious cash in the long run.  People are often shocked when I tell them our household grocery budget is $250 per month and we eat good, healthy food...  I have a single friend out there who spends over that just for herself!

Cheers to all of my lovlies out there, I hope you have a fantabulous weekend.  And get over to Safeway for some mangos and meat!!

Enjoy!

KDH.