Vons Back To School Specials

Vons Specials

*If you get the paper, store ads come out on Wednesdays. If you do not, you can look up Vons weekly specials at Vons.com or they have ads as you enter the store which you will need to pick up for additional coupons.

*Go HERE to print a $1.00/2 General Mills cereal. Make sure you back space so you get 2 of these coupons.


*This week they had a coupon in their ad spend $15.00 of frozen food products and receive $5.00 off.

*General Mills cereal is on special for $1.49 each if you buy 4 (Buy 4 save $4.00). You can find cereal coupons on Coupons.com right now. You will also get a $2.00 off 5 boxes catalina coupon at check out.

*There are a lot of coupons in the add for additional savings.

I purchased 12 items for $12.64 ($1.00 per item)!

This is what I picked up today:

5 boxes of cereal
        $2.00 catalina coupon when you buy 5 boxes of GM cereal
          $1.00 buy 3 GM cereals (Sunday paper)
        $.75 Chex cereal (coupons.com)
        $4.00 off for buying 4 cereals

2 packages of Ore Ida sweet potato fries
        $1.00 off 2 coupon (coupons.com)

2 Breyers Blast ice cream
        $.75 coupon for each (coupons.com)

1 Yoplait smoothie pack
        $.75 coupon (Sunday paper)
        $5.00 off for buying $15.00 in frozen items (Vons ad)

1 package of macaroni
        50% off from the markdown rack

Total: $45.60
Card savings: $19.76
Paper Coupons: $13.20
Paid: $12.64
Saved: 72%

Food Maxx Specials in August

Here are the items that are on special in August at Food Maxx.

 I went to Food Maxx in Clovis to compare it to the Food Maxx's in Fresno and to use my $5.00 of $20.00 Fresh and Easy coupon.

 Two gallons of milk and a 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk was the big cost.

Total for everything $17.42

Saved $26.83 

61% savings

I went to Food Maxx to use my free coupons a couple of other coupons I had. I also wanted to check out the differences between the stores. I did not see anything worth stocking up on, but with the free coupons I was able to save money. I bought; 2 gallons milk, 1/2 gallon chocolate milk, cilantro, onions, tomatillos, plum tomatoes, 2 packs of Johnsonville brats, 22 pk chips, mustard, ketchup, salad mix, mayo, hot dogs and hot dog buns.

I used my Food Maxx free coupons for:

Ketchup $.78 savings

Mustard $.89 savings

Salad mix $.98 savings

Hot dog buns $.98 savings

Hot Dogs $.88 savings

I also had coupons for:

22 PK variety chips bag $3.99 w/coupon

Johnsonville brats B1G1 $3.48 savings

$5.00 off $20.00 Fresh and Easy Coupon

I have to say that I think the Fresno Food Maxx on Blackstone is a bigger store and a wider variety. I was not too impressed with the meat and cereal prices. I saw better prices at Vons in the ad for these food items. I listed at the top a link to see the specials for August, but they do not list any prices. You can sign up for their emails, which I did to see what they send me. I will post later once I start receiving emails from them. 

Red Pepper-Salmon Pasta

 This is a quick and low-fat meal

 Bake the salmon at 450 degrees with lemon juice, salt and pepper

Quick red pepper sauce

Ingredients:

4 boned, skinned salmon fillets

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup canned peeled red peppers

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp fresh chopped jalapenos

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

8 ounces dried angel hair pasta

Directions:

1. In a foiled lined 8-inch baking dish place salmon and add lemon juice, salt and pepper and place in a preheated 450 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a blender smoothly puree red peppers, Parmesan, cornstarch, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro and broth: whirl to blend.

3. Pour pepper mixture into a sauce pan stirring over high heat until boiling then simmer until salmon is done.

4. Cook pasta, drain and return to pan.

5. Spoon pasta onto plates. Top with fish and drizzle with remaining sauce.

Meal Plan Saturday

Saturday- Up in Shaver for the weekend, ordering pizza.

Sunday- Leftover pizza or sandwiches

Monday- Chili Verde Enchiladas

(froze a batch of chili verde from last week)

Tuesday- Red pepper salmon pasta

(did not make it last week)

Wednesday- Buttermilk pancakes, bacon and grilled fruit

(Grocery Outlets Farmer John's Bacon is $2.99 all the time, pretty good price for bacon these days and stone fruit was $1.00 lb at the Clovis Farmer's Market)

Thursday- Marinated top sirloin, green beans and quinoa with corn and chives

(7 ears of corn at the Farmer's Market in Clovis for $1.99)

Friday- Out to dinner

Canning Tomato Sauce

 I made 8 quarts of tomato sauce from 35 lbs of tomatoes. I spent $10.50 on the jars and a couple of dollars for the onions and garlic. All of this sauce cost me about $12.00 and I will have the jars for the next batch. This is cost effective and a healthy alternative to buying pre-made sauces at the store.
HERE is a guide to get started

Recipe:

I made 2 batches, 4 quarts each batch

18 lbs (or so) tomatoes core and seeded

1 onion diced

12 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp or more salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 to 1 tbsp red chile flakes

1 1/2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup dry red wine

2 tbsp lemon juice per quart
(1 tbsp per pint)

 You can process the jars in a large stock pot in boiling water (lid on) for 35-40 minutes. Filled jars sealed with two-piece caps are submerged in water to cover 1 to 2 inches.

Directions:

Wash tomatoes; drain. Remove core and blossom ends. Cut into quarters and squeeze the tomatoes to get the seeds out. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepot. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, black pepper and sugar. Stir in salt and crushed red pepper, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take tomatoes out in batches and take the skin off the tomatoes (they should be falling off). Puree tomatoes using a food processor. If you do not want any seeds you can strain the puree but it will not be as thick. Pour sauce into a stock pot and cook over medium-high heat until sauce thickens, stirring o prevent sticking. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice to each quart jar. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process quarts for 40 minutes (35 minutes for pints) in a boiling-water canner.

Cooling:

Once the processing time is complete and the jars are ready to be removed from canner, using a jar lifter, stand jars upright on a dry towel or cutting board. Space the jars 1 to 2 inches apart so they cool at a even rate. Allow to cool at room temperature 12 to 24 hours.

How To Save Money Eating Out

I come from a restaurant background working in various positions since I was 16 years old. I managed restaurants for 5 years before having kids and it was really hard having to pay for food at restaurants. You get a lot of perks working in the restaurant business. We love to go out to eat as a family and I was asked recently how we can afford eating out weekly on a tight budget. These are the tips for saving money while eating out.

1. Use coupons! Do not feel like you are going to get poor service because you handed your server a coupon (make sure you show it to them before you order). We have coupon books from SaveAround the City, ZBest and the Entertainment book. We check restaurant.com frequently as well.

2. Bring your own drinks or drink water. Beverages are marked way up. If your kids like a certain beverage with their dinner, bring it. I have never had anyone tell me that I could not bring in my kids drinks. I always order water and if we are on vacation I just bring it in with me.

3. Do NOT order kids meals! This will save so much money. Kids meals are pricey at some places and the drinks are not included, though you think they are and now you just spent another $1.99. Restaurants give you way too much food in the first place. To save money and calories share with your kids and if you do this from the start they will not know any better (or have your kids share a meal).

4. Sign up for every club there is. Chili's has free Queso if you sign up for their e-mail club. Many places give you free food for your birthday. For example you can get a free burger at Red Robin and or a free drink at Starbucks. Panera has a great rewards card. I have received a lot of free pastries and coffee using my rewards card. If you look, you will find something for free.

5. If you are not satisfied with the meal and you are not eating it, it's okay to ask for something else. The server is not offended, no one is going to spit in your food if you ask for them to fix it. If a restaurant truly values their customers, they will make you happy (just be polite about it).

6. Make sure to tip your server based on their service. If they were accommodating and you appreciated their service then tip them well. If you want to save money on tips then eat at places like Chipotle, which I love and we eat at often.

Our eating out money comes out of my grocery budget. And if we run out of money before the next paycheck, then we don't eat out. We have a budget and we stick to it. I just make sure I leave money in my budget for this expense.

Here are a few sites where you can get points for gift cards:

My Points I enjoy the $10 Panera cards.

Swagbucks I usually cash mine in for Paypal $$, but they have different gift cards as well.

The Dirty and Clean Dozen List

I have been trying to buy more organic products for me and my family, but can't afford to buy organic all the time. I really found this list useful in saving money when knowing what to fruits and veggies to buy organic and which ones I do not need to.

The fruits and vegetables on “The Dirty Dozen” list, when conventionally grown, tested positive for at least 47 different chemicals, with some testing positive for as many as 67. For produce on the “dirty” list, you should definitely go organic — unless you relish the idea of consuming a chemical cocktail. “The Dirty Dozen” list includes:

• celery
• peaches
• strawberries
• apples
• domestic blueberries
• nectarines
• sweet bell peppers
• spinach, kale and collard greens
• cherries
• potatoes
• imported grapes
• lettuce

All the produce on “The Clean 15” bore little to no traces of pesticides, and is safe to consume in non-organic form. This list includes:

• onions
• avocados
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• mango
• sweet peas
• asparagus
• kiwi fruit
• cabbage
• eggplant
• cantaloupe
• watermelon
• grapefruit
• sweet potatoes
• sweet onions