Printable Wishbone Dressing coupon for $.75/1.  Hit the back button on your browser to print it twice per computer.  The Italian and Italian Robusto are O-U certified kosher pareve.

This makes a great marinade for chicken or a quick pasta salad.  The website has some very appetizing recipes that would easily be adapted for kosher cooking.

Pick n’ Save often runs a “buy one get one free” deal for this.

This week Walgreens has an in-ad coupon for Quaker Oats:  Buy one @ $3.19, get one free.  And there is a Register Reward for Quaker products:  Buy $10, get $5 RR (this goes till the end of the month).

Here’s the deal:
Buy 4 @ $3.19 = 12.76
Use in-ad coupon: -$6.38 (page 5 of the weekly ad, right side of the page)
Use 2 $1.25 off 2 MQ’s:  -$2.50
Total OOP = 3.88
Receive $5 Register Rewards
Total after RR’s:  $1.12 PROFIT!

Cold and flu season is here and it’s time to really stock up on medicine.  There’s one more week to take advantage of the crazy Theraflu Register Rewards deal at Walgreens.

 Go here (Internet Explorer), or here (Mozilla Firefox), to print off a coupon for $2 off any Theraflu (box or bottle).  Combine this with the $2 off Theraflu Walgreens coupon from the Healthy Savings Booklet.  Buy 3 and receive $8 in Register Rewards!! 

Here’s the deal:

3 @ $4.99 = $14.97
-2 x $2 MQ (You can only print the coupons twice per computer.  If you can print more than this, it’s an even better deal.)
-3 x $2 Walgreens coupon
Total Out of Pocket=$4.97 + tax
Receive $8 Register Rewards
Total after RR= $3.03 PROFIT!

I did this deal a week ago and it’s going till the end of the month.  At some of the stores I was in the signs were not posted, but the Register Rewards did print. 

Transaction #2
1 Roots of Nature Conditioner, $6.00, AEP around $8
2 Ghirardelli Duet 3oz. Chocolate Bars @ $1 each, $2, AEP $2.50 each
used $1/2 Ghirardelli coupon from Walgreen’s September Coupon Book
used $4.50 RR’s from transaction #1
OOP-$2.50 + tax
Received $6.00 RR for Roots of Nature (made it free)

Transaction #3
2 Glade 4oz. candles, 2/$5, AEP $3.50 each.
1 Aussie Conditioner, $2.99, AEP $3.50
2 Oral B Indicator toothbrushes, 2/$4, AEP $2.50 each
used $3/2 Glade MQ
used B1G1 free Oral B MQ
used $6 RR from transaction #2
OOP-$.99 + tax
Received $1 RR for Glade, $2 RR for Aussie and $2 RR for Oral B (made both toothbrushes free)

Total average everyday price for all items: $56.50
Total out-of-pocket, matching sales with coupons and “rolling” Register Rewards: $7.49
Total Savings: 87%!!!

• Clip and save those coupons!
• Check the Walgreen’s ad every week to match up your coupons with sales and Register Reward deals
• Know how to “roll” Register Rewards
• Check the clearance end caps on the aisles
• Get used to doing multiple transactions at checkout

Qty/Item/sale price/Average everyday price at the stores I frequent most

I had 25 coupons for $1.50 off 3 pouches (left over from a stack of about 50 I’d had for a couple months) and they were about to expire. Then I found printable Target coupons for $1 off 3 pouches and was all excited to stack the coupons and basically clean out Target for all their tuna. I didn’t know the everyday price for tuna at Target since I don’t do normal grocery shopping there but I assumed that even if it was higher than the other two stores using both the Target Q and the manufacturer’s Q would still be the best way.

I went to the Target on Howell Avenue in Oak Creek which is just down the street from a Pick ‘n’ Save and Woodman’s. When I got there I found the price was $1.47 per pouch. Hmm.

Of course I always shop with a calculator so I did some quick calculating then immediately left the store, went down the street to Woodman’s and bought 75 pouches of Starkist Tuna on the day the coupon expired.

KCM lessons learned:

• It pays to know the everyday prices at several different stores on the things you buy a lot of.
• Two coupons at one store isn’t always better than one coupon at another store.
• One store’s front page ad sale price isn’t always better than another store’s everyday price.
• Shop with a calculator.

Savings breakdown, buying with the coupons at sale prices:
Pick ‘n’ Save (on sale, using 25MQ’s): ($1 x 3 -$1.50MQ) x 25 = $37.50 = $.50 each
Target (not on sale, using both TQ and MQ’s): ($1.47 x 3 -$1.50MQ -$1TQ) x 25 = $48=$.64 each
Woodman’s (never a sale, only using MQ): ($.89 x 3 – $1.50MQ) x 25 = $29.50 = $.39each!

Know your prices!

The weekly Pick ‘n Save ad just came out and they have Starkist Tuna pouches on sale this week (10/8-10/14) 10/$10. Pick ‘n Save doubles coupons up to $1 in value on Wednesdays so if you wait until the last day of the sale (10/14), and use the $1/2 coupons that came out a couple weeks ago and also this week in the Red Plum circular, you can double them and get the pouches for free.

Minimum total before coupons and after they swipe the Pick ‘n Save card is $25. I usually make sure I’m up to the $25 by getting my produce for Shabbos if the items I’m using coupons for don’t get up to the minimum.

More on Pick ‘n Save double coupons in other posts.

$1 off any JOHNSON’S® HEAD-TO-TOE® Fragrance Free Baby Lotion

$1 off Johnson’s Shampoo or NO MORE TANGLES Product

$2 off Johnson’s Bedtime Gift Set

$1 off Johnson’s Baby Oil/Baby Skin Care

$1 off Johnson’s Bubble Bath and Wash

$1 off Desitin

$1 off JOHNSON’S HEAD-TO-TOE Body Wash, 15oz.

The other day I got:
5lb bag of organic apples–$1.99
3lb bag of peaches–$.79
5 large, perfect zucchini–$.79
3lb bag of non-organic apples–$.79
3 heads of Romaine lettuce–$.79
2 family size bags of certified kosher Fresh Express salad mix (expiration date was that same day and it was still perfectly fine)–$.79 each
16oz. package of white button mushrooms–$.79
2 16oz packages of organic green beans–$.79 each

So, we had nice big salads with dinner that night and my husband used some in wraps for his lunch the next day.  The peaches turned out not to be the best but there were three perfect ones that got eaten right away by my peach loving daughters.  The apples went into the fridge and whatever doesn’t get eaten in the next day or two will be made into applesauce on Sunday.  The zucchini will go into for zucchini bread.  My 11yo is getting into cooking more and made a nice side dish with the green beans and mushrooms, some teriyaki sauce and garlic.

I know Woodman’s isn’t the only store that does this with their produce.  Lena’s in Milwaukee also does the same thing although I’ve never found the great bargains I have at Woodman’s and the fruit has never looked that great even at a lower price.

How do you save money on produce and what do you do when you find an outrageous bargain or have a bumper crop?

I didn’t own a dairy crock pot but I wanted to try this so bad I went out and bought one.  I found a 1.5qt. crock pot at Target for $7 and it’s already paid for itself in yogurt savings. 

The original recipe called for twice these amounts but used a bigger crock pot.  I cut it in half for the mini and it’s just enough for a few days worth of homemade yogurt for my family of five.

This takes all day to make and there are a few simple steps, so start it first thing in the morning so it can be finished by the time you go to bed and ready to eat cold the next morning.

Here’s what you need:

4 cups of *whole* milk
1/4 cup plain, active culture yogurt (first batch is store-bought, after that just save some from your homemade batch)
1.5-2qt. crock pot
Thick bath towel

Here’s what you do:

1.  Pour the milk into the crock pot.  Set it on low and leave it for 2 1/2 hours. 

2.  Unplug the crock pot, leave it covered and let it sit for 3 hours.

3.  Remove 1 cup of the milk and put it into a bowl.  Add 1/4 cup of yogurt to the bowl and stir.  Add that mixture back into the crock pot, stir it up and put the lid back on.

4. Wrap the crock pot with a thick bath towel (completely wrap and cover it), and let it sit for 8 hours.

5. Unwrap the crock pot, take off the lid and check the consistency with a spoon (it won’t be as thick as store bought yogurt although my second batch was thicker than the first).  Go ahead and taste-test it.

6.  Yell to your family in the next room, ”Oh, my gosh–it worked!  I did it!   Honey, kids, come here!  It totally worked!  WE ARE NEVER BUYING YOGURT AGAIN!  WOO HOO!”

7.  Do the “Cabbage Patch” while singing, “Oh yeah…I did it…I made yogurt…in my crock pot.”

8.  Regain your senses.  Transfer the yogurt to a plastic container with a secure lid and refrigerate.  (Supposedly this will keep for 7-10 days in the fridge, but so far ours hasn’t come close to lasting that long.) 

Add fresh or frozen (thawed) fruit as needed, not as one big batch.  Same thing goes for sweeteners.  You could time it so that it’s done just before bed like I do (Sunday is my yogurt making day), or you could time it so it’s done first thing in the morning.

My kids are totally loving this because they get to have whatever kind they want all the time and now they’re experimenting with flavors.  I’m totally loving it because we get active culture (probiotic), kosher yogurt for the price of 4 cups of milk and I’m in control of what goes into it so it’s not loaded up with preservatives, sugar, or artifical anything.

Besides just eating it straight, we’ve been making all kinds of stuff with it.  My husband made homemade falafal with an awesome yogurt cucumber sauce and we’ve also made dips for chips.

How will you use your homemade yogurt?

Let me know!