Friday Finals - Kroger, Tom Thumb, Walgreens, CVS, Sprouts

I have a lot going on this week. I now have 3 Giveaways going on with another one to come tonight! Check back. Check my GIVEAWAYS page for more details.


PRINT Coupons here.

Did you vote today?

Stop by these sites for more great savings inspiration. The three most clickiest last week were:

Couponing n Cooking

Mrs. Rogers Frugal Neighborhood

Lamberts Lately

Tom Thumb/Safeway

2 Dole Pineapple 8 oz $1.09 B1G1 - $0.50 doubled ALL YOU Mar '12

            -Final $0.05 each

3 Rosarita Beans $1 each - $0.50/3 doubled Rosarita Beans SS 04/22/12 (Better deal this week at Tom Thumb/Safeway)

            -Final $0.66 each

2 International Delight Creamer $2.49 - $1/2 International Delight Creamer Blinky

            -Final $2.00 each

$0.52 @ lbs bananas 2.08lbs

            -Final $1.08

I spent $7.15 and saved $6.44 on $13.59 worth of food this week. Tom Thumb and Safeway have a better deal this week with Rosarita beans @ $0.79 each. Stock up for Cinco de Mayo. 

Kroger

2 Tortilla Chips $1 each

            -Final $1 each

1 Community Coffee $4.99

            -Final $4.99

2 lbs Kroger Cheese $5.99

1 Green Mountain Coffee Kcups $7.99 - $2/1 K-cups Printable NLA

            -Final $5.99

1 Tyson Chicken Bacon $2.00 - $0.55/1 Peelie on product

            -Final $1.45

1 Bacon $2.77 – used for cookout

2 Gummy Vitamins for kids $6.99 B1G1 - $1.50/1 Kroger Coupon Mailed

            -Final $2.75 each

I spent $28.90 and saved $18.85 on $47.75 worth of food and vitamins this trip.

CVS

1 Gallon Milk $3.29

1 Kotex U 18 count Regular $3.99

1 Tie Dye egg kit $0.75

1 Physicians Formula Tinted Moisturizer $15.49

Used:

1 $15/1 Physicians Formula Purchase – Little Red Box at CVS

1 $1/1 Kotex U SS 03/25/12

1 $1/1 Physicians Formula SS 02/12/12 R

1 $1.50 ECB

1 $3.00 ECB

1 $1.00 ECB

Received: 

$7.00 – Physicians Formula ECB

$2.00 – Kotex ECB

$1.00 – Milk ECB

OOP:

I spent $1.02 and saved $22.50 and received $10.00. I made $9.00 at CVS this week!

Walgreens

1 U Kotex 18 pack $3.99

4 Kettle Potato chips $2.00 each

Used:

$1/1 U Kotex SS 03/25/12

$1/1 Kettle Brand Chips RP 03/18/12 R

OOP:

$6.99

Received:

$3.00 RR

I spent $6.99 and saved $11.50 on $18.49 worth of groceries and Healthcare items at Walgreens this week.

Sprouts

1 Brown Cow Yogurt $2.50

1 Sesame Tahini $7.49 – I make my own hummus

4 Limes $1.00

4 Tomatoes @ 0.69lb - $0.62

4 Onions @0.49lb - $0.97

4 Black Berries $0.88 each - $3.52 Used Rain Check

I spent $16.00 and saved $0.10 on $16.10 worth of food at Sprouts this week. Sprouts is a farmers Market. The produce prices are way lower than at any grocery store in my area. So I save a lot more just by shopping here.

Altogether I spent $60.06 and saved $59.39 on $119.45 worth of food and other items this week.

Do you want to learn How to Start Couponing? Read my Step by Step tutorial and let me show you How to Start Couponing. I have it organized into simple steps to learn how to save half or more off your grocery bill every week.

Find more great savings deals and steals join Pounds4Pennies on: 

Join my community NOW for FREE Coupons!

BlogFrog community - FREE COUPONS                 Facebook                                   Google+

How did you do shopping this week? One of the best ways to learn is from seeing how others coupon. I can't wait to see how you did this week. LINK UP below. If you have a LINKY, ADD your LINKY to my

LINKY LIST PAGE!

$10 Victoria Secret Giveaway

$10 Victoria Secret Gift Card What a great way to celebrate a Friday with a Giveaway for something every WOMAN loves. To enter like 5 of the facebook pages, then fill out the rafflecopter below. Make sure you enter correctly I check.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Organize My Closet

Do you have that closet you dread to go in to because something might fall on you when you open the door? Mine was the closet under the stairs. However, my mission this year is to get organized. I am on my way, but it is taking some time. My budget for this project is quite small, so this is a challenge for me. I love to take on new challenges all the time. My first goal was to organize my closet under the stairs. We have wanted to put up some shelves or something in here, but just never got around to it. This is my gift bag and catch all stuff closet.

Organize My Closet

Here is the before picture

As you can see it is pretty much everything is on the ground. While it is supposed to be in bags, it just isn’t. Mainly because I will realize we need to be at a birthday party in 5 minutes and I pull a gift out the gift stockpile and go try to get a gender appropriate bag in a hurry. So that means dumping out the bags and picking one super fast. Then rummaging through to find the most beautiful tissue paper to go along with the bag. And then just cramming all the stuff back in the closet and hope the door closes. Does that ever happen to you? Never, right?

I am so thankful I have an Ikea near me. I have been eyeing these stands and basket holders for a while and thought they would be perfect for the closet under the stairs. Since these are easy to put together I just did it myself. There are six baskets and they hold a bunch of stuff. I purchased two for under my stairs and they fit perfectly.

Here is a list of what I have put in each of the baskets:

1. Boy birthday Bags

2. Girl Birthday Bags

3. Gender Neutral Bags (Mainly for adult parties)

4. Baby Shower Bags

5. New Tissue Paper

6. Used Tissue Paper (I use these for crafts)

7. Easter eggs

8. Easy Bake oven stuff (Cleared more room in my pantry for a larger stockpile!)

9. Party decorations

10. Ribbons

11. Misc.

12. Empty

I also store 2 food dehydrators, Easter baskets, Vacuum and sweeper in there.

After Picture I Organized My Closet:

 If you are trying to get organized and get clean this year. Be sure to enter my Safeguard Your Home Giveaway. You can register to win 6Environmentally Friendly cleaning products. I love the Parsley Plus all purpose cleaner for my granite counter tops. It leave them nice shine every time!

Do you have any organization projects going on in your home? Leave comments I love to hear from my readers.

Pork Chops Potato Bake or Pork Chops O Brien

 I have two giveaways going on right now. One for $250 worth of Obagi Facial products and one $30 value 6 environmentally safe cleaning products a Safeguard Your Home Kit from Earth Friendly Products. If you haven't signed up yet, stop and do so right now. 

Also if you could take a quick moment and vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs. Just one click is one vote. I am in the top 200 overall and Top 10 on the frugal living blogs. I am going for #1 in Frugal Living and Top 100 Overall! With all my wonderful fans I know I can get there. Thanks for voting for me.

If you have been here before you can definitely tell I have been playing around with some new photo software lately. I am so impressed with this picture. For new bloggers out there you need to get Instagram and Picasa. These simple FREE picture tools will help you tremendously. I have been looking for some awesome picture enhancing tools for a while and found them for FREE. 

~   ~   ~

Pork Chop Potato Bake

Now let's get to the recipe today Pork Chop Potato Bake or Pork Chops O'Brien. This is one of those casserole dishes that is super easy and very delicious. My family just loves this dish, since it has everything that is good in a casserole. I don't think this ranks really high on the healthy chart, but it is great when you have a special occasion to celebrate or on a cold day. My mom always made this when I was a kid and I just love it. Whenever Potatoes O'Brien goes on sale, I make sure I pick up a package just for this meal.

Ingredients:

5-6 Pork chops (enough for one for each member of your family) ($2.66)

Flour with seasonings for breading on pork chops($0.10)

1 cup Cheese ($0.75) divided

1 Package Potatoes O'Brien (Preferably Thawed)($1.80)

1 Can Cream of Chicken soup ($0.50)

1 2.8oz package of fried Onions($0.95)

1/2 Cup Sour Cream ($0.50)(I use Plain Greek Yogurt instead)

1/2 cup Milk ($0.10)

Oil ($.10)

1. I dredge the Pork Chops in flour with seasonings. You can use whatever you like. I use a little garlic salt, season all, cajun seasoning, paprika and salt and pepper. Pretty much whatever I think will taste good.

2. In a skillet with a couple of tablespoons of oil, fry the pork chops until they are golden on each side. Take them out and set aside.

3. Prepare the Potatoes. Open Package of Potatoes O'Brien and Can of soup and put into a large bowl. Put about 1/2 cup of the Cheese, 1/2 Cup Sour Cream, about 1/2 of the fried onions in the bowl and add . Add the milk and stir.

It is always helpful if you have some help to stir the mixture!

4. Place all the mixture in a large greased 13X9in baking dish. Lay the porkchops on top. Bake at 350 for 40 min. If the potatoes are still frozen, increase this to 50 min.

5. 10 minutes before the Pork Chop Potato Bake is finished take out of the oven sprinkle remaining fried onions and cheese on the top and bake uncovered to get  a nice crisp golden top.

~   ~   ~

The Pork Chop Potato Bake is one of my more expensive meals at $7.46 to feed all five of us. But there is usually potato leftovers for two people the next day for lunch or I will freeze the leftovers and have them as a side dish later. This dish is also excellent to take to give as a gift for a new family, grieving family or any family in need of a meal. If you don't have Cream of Chicken you can always use Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Whatever soup. It will still turn out fine. Pork Chop Potato Bake can even be made for a Meatless Monday dish if you omit the Pork Chops and add another 1/2 Cup of Greek Yogurt and 1/2 cup cheese. Read my article about why is Greek yogurt better for you.

Let me know if you have ever tried this or do try this recipe. Your family will be asking for it again.

Friday Finals - Kroger, Tom Thumb, Walgreens, CVS

Since Earth Day is coming up I have a Giveaway for Earth Friendly Cleaning products. This kit includes 6 different cleaning products for your home. LOW entry, so sign up! Then I have another awesome giveaway. The Fresh Face Event giving away $250 Obagi Facial care.

Did you vote today?

The most viewed shopping trips from last week are:

Couponing n Cooking

My Debt Marathon

Homemaking Mom

Walgreens

3 Dawn Dishwashing soap $0.99 each – 3 $0.50/1 Dawn Dishwashing soap

            -Final $0.49 each

I spent $1.47 and saved $1.50 on dishwashing soap at Walgreens this week. I think I am going to be using this as hand soap, since I can't seem to find any for FREE any more. They only had three or I would have bought 4. 

CVS

2 Kraft Home style Mac and Cheese $3.00 each

1 Act For Sensitive Teeth $3.99

3 Dole Pineapple $0.88 each – Used rain check

1 Huggies Little Swimmers $9.79

Used

2 $0.75/1 Kraft Home style Mac and Cheese

1 $2/1 Act for Sensitive Teeth

1 $1/3 Dole Pineapple

1 $2/1 Huggies little swimmers CVS red box coupon

1 $1/1 Huggies little Swimmers Man. Coupon

1 $2 ECB

1 $1 ECB

Received:

$3.00 for Kraft Home style Mac and Cheese

$1.00 Act Rinse

I spent $12.48 and saved $17.65 on $30.10 worth of grocery and other items this week.

Kroger

2 Whole Wheat Bread $1.50 each

1 Cinnamon Bread $1.00

1 Whole Wheat French Bread $0.89

5 ½ Gallons Milk $1.00 each

1 Aquafresh training toothpaste $2.89 - $1.00 Kroger e Coupon, $1.00 Manufacture Coupon

            -Final $0.89

1 Package Training Pants $7.90

I spent $19.41 and saved $6.95 on $26.36 worth of groceries and other items. There is more savings since the bread doesn’t ring up the savings on discounted bread. It is normally $3.99 a loaf. The Aquafresh was not supposed to use both the eCoupon and paper coupon. I didn’t know I had an ecoupon. I just got lucky I guess.

Tom Thumb

2 Cake Mixes $2.12 B1G1 - $0.35/1 tripled Duncan Hines cake mix

            -Final $0.54 each

2 Spinach bags $2.39  B1G1 - $0.75/1 Tom Thumb Flyer in produce section

            -Final $0.82 each
I spent $2.72 and saved $6.31 on $9.03 worth of food at Tom Thumb. Tom Thumb is on my way home from my sons day care. He goes twice a week. So I can stop by for a few items and not feel too guilty about it. I am going to cook and freeze the spinach for my spinach dip this summer. Yum.


Tom Thumb - 2

1 Nature Valley Protein Bar $2.49 - $0.50/1 doubled Nature Valley Protein Bar

            -Final $1.49

4 Dole Pineapple 8 oz $1.09 B1G1 - $0.50/1 Doubled Dole Pineapple

            -Final $0.30 each

2 Wheat Thins $1.99 each - $1.00/1 Nabisco Crackers Printable

            -Final $1.49 each

2 18 count eggs $1.99 each

2 Sargento Snack Cheese $3.99 B1G1 - $0.50/1 doubled Sargento cheese

            -Final $1.50 each

2 Gordons Popcorn Shrimp $6.99 B1G1 - $0.50/1 doubled Gordons           

            -Final $3.00 each

I spent $18.67 and saved $25.08 on $43.75 worth of food this trip. I went to Tom Thumb this Thursday for the new sale, mainly because we needed eggs. I thought I was going to get the Dole Pineapple for FREE. But the $0.50 ONYO did not print out.

Do you want to learn How to Start Couponing? Read my Step by Step tutorial and let me show you How to Start Couponing. I have it organized into simple steps to learn how to save half or more off your grocery bill every week.

Altogether I spent $54.75 and saved $57.49 on $112.24 worth of food and other items.

Find more great savings deals and steals join Pounds4Pennies on: 

Join my community NOW for FREE Coupons!

BlogFrog community - FREE COUPONS                 Facebook                                   Google+

How did you do shopping this week? One of the best ways to learn is from seeing how others coupon. I can't wait to see how you did this week. LINK UP below. If you have a LINKY, ADD your LINKY to my
LINKY LIST PAGE!

GIVEAWAY - Safeguard Your Home Kit

I was so glad when my Safeguard Your Home Kit from Earth FriendlyProducts came in the mail the other day. I am not one to get excited over cleaning products, but I love new things. The postman rang the doorbell, no he didn’t ring twice, and I ran to get my box. I tore it open and read each one of the six different products inside the Safeguard Your Home Kit from EarthFriendly Products:

• Window Cleaner
• Parsley Plus All Surface Cleaner – Parsley
• Ultra Dishmate – Natural Pear
• Wave Dishwashing Machine Gel – Organic Lavender
• ECOs Laundry Detergent - Magnoia & Lily
• Eco Breeze - Lemograss

I took each one out of the box and looked at them. I love the fact that there are no dyes in any of their products and the bottles are all clear or see through. These are made with natural ingredients and do not have strong overpowering chemical scents. I love that. I think that is such a waste to add color to anything. What you see is what you get.

I have included Earth Friendly Products pledge. I think it is great:

OUR PLEDGE

We pledge that our products are environmentally responsible, work well and provide value. We will never test on animals or use animal ingredients. We will conduct business in a socially responsible manner that safeguards the earth.

I will give you a little review of each of the products I received in my Safeguard Your Home Kit.

Window Cleaner

Little miss was with me and she saw the window cleaner. She took it out of my hand and said “I’ll do the windows.” I wish I would have known she loved to do the windows before I cleaned them a while back. But with little face is always pressing his cute little face against the windows and touching them they can always use more cleaning.  And I was not going to stop her helping me out. She went to work and the windows looked fabulous. No streaking like I get from my other products I use.

Parsley Plus All Surface Cleaner - Parsley

I loved the Parsely Plus surface cleaner. We have granite counter tops and it is difficult to clean and maintain the shine on the counters. Sometimes I have to clean them twice to get them to shine. However, I used the Parsley cleaner and the countertops shined brighter than with previous products. Yes this smells like parsley, but it is very refreshing almost grassy scent. I think I kept secretly using this just for the refreshing smell.

Ultra Dishmate – Natural Pear

There is a test I do on dishwashing liquid that doesn’t involve dishes. I spray some oil on one of my kitchen towels and let it soak into the fabric. Then I add some dishwashing soap on top and rub it in to pretreat the stain. After all dishwashing soap is supposed to break up oil and grease. This is the best test I have found to see how well dish soap works. After the wash, I grabbed my towel and I could not find the stain left from the oil. I did also use this to clean the dishes and it did a fabulous job getting the grease and grime off.

Wave Dishwashing Machine Gel– Organic Lavender

Dishwashing machine gel. The dishwashing gel has a fresh lavender scent. I read the label and it said you don’t need to use as much as you normally would put in your dishwasher. So I put about half to see how it would clean the dishes. Wave also contains a rinse aid. Everything came out sparkling clean. The dishes didn’t have that strong chlorine smell when I opened the dishwasher. It is amazing how you get used to smells from when you do things. I felt better knowing we would be eating on dishes not cleaned with powerful chemicals.

ECOs Laundry Detergent Magnolia & Lily

For laundry detergent I like clean fresh smelling clothes. I just loved the Magnolia and Lily scent of this laundry detergent. The scents are not overpowering they are light and refreshing. This cleaned my clothes just as good as my regular detergent.

Eco Breeze - Lemograss

I used the lemongrass fabric scent throughout my home and sprayed some in my closet on my clothes. This is like Febreez. It was nice to come into the house with a clean fresh scent without the chemical smell associated with the other air fresheners you buy at the stores.

I am giving away one Safeguard Your Home Kit from EarthFriendly Products. 

However, if you just can’t wait you can click Safeguard YourHome Kit to order one right now! I am so thankful they allowed me to review these great Earth Friendly Products and allowed me to share one with my fabulous readers. All the opinions expressed here are my own. Entry is simple just follow the instructions below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

101 Inventive Ways to Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle

I have a guest Bloggy friend today. Her name is Dinah Wulf from DIY Inspired. Here is an article on several crafty things you can do to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle this week. Stop by her site for more inspiration.

By Dinah Wulf:

I have always been eco-conscious, so to speak, but I never really thought about it.  Now that I have been blogging, and have it all down in front of me (and posted all over the web) I have gravitated toward recycling and repurposing ideas for the main concept of DIY Inspired. 

It’s funny how things work out.  I even have gone on the anti-plastic bag bandwagon and use only recycled bags at the store.  I get irritated if someone hands me a plastic bag or I forget to bring one inside.  Next thing I know I am carrying my Toddler and all my purchases without a bag!

Since this has been an important topic for me, I thought I’d share 101 crafty and inventive ways to reduce, reuse, & recycle and turn your trash into treasure! Just click on the links to view more!

• 6 Ways to Upcycle Old Sweaters
• 9 Ways to Reuse Toilet Paper Rolls
• 4 Ways to Repurpose a Mailbox
• One Way to Reuse an Old Spice Rack

• Ways to Recycle Newspaper
• 14 Simple Ways to Reuse and Repurpose Regular Household Items
• 6 Ways to Upcycle an Old Suitcase
• One Way to Recycle an Old Book

• 4 Ways to Reuse Old Boxes
• 6 Ways to Recycle Maps
• One Way to Reuse Old Mason Jars

• 5 Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Books
• 5 More Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Books
• One Way to Recycle an Old (and ugly) Painting

• 6 Ways to Recycle Bottles and Glass Jars
• 7 Amazing Ideas for Reusing on old Media Cabinet
• 9 Ways to Repurpose Used Pallets
• 6 Craft ideas made out of Paint Sticks

Phew! That’s 101 Inventive Ways to Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle! The crazy part is? This is a fraction of it…I had to stop myself at 101!

Super Savings Saturday - FREE Coupons

Do you want to save money, but don't want to clip coupons? Here is a great place to start saving. Sign up through Saving Star Just click below to get started now! They even have an app for Saving Star.

 

ZERO Calorie Coupons

50¢ off when you buy any ONE Equal® Sucralose
50¢ off when you buy any ONE Pure Via® any size

Grocery Coupons

80¢ off POST Honey Bunches of Oats NEW Fruit Blends
Video Reward: $1.10 off POST Honey Bunches of Oats NEW Fruit Blends
$1.50 off two NESCAFÉ® TASTER'S CHOICE® or CLASICO™

40¢ off when you buy THREE Pillsbury® Crescent Dinner Rolls
$1.00 off when you buy THREE BOXES General Mills
50¢ off when you buy any THREE cans of DOLE® Pineapple
75¢ off when you buy ONE BOX Multi Grain Cheerios® cereal
75¢ off Pillsbury® Refrigerated Cookie Dough Printable Coupon
50¢ off when you buy EIGHT CUPS any variety Yoplait® Yogurt
50¢ off when you buy ONE BOX Trix® cereal
55¢ off Uncle Ben's® Long Grain & Wild Rice
75¢ off when you buy ONE BOX Kix® cereals
75¢ off when you buy any ONE Marie's® Yogurt Dressing
Video Reward: $1.60 when you buy any FOUR Met-Rx® Bars
40¢ off Pillsbury® Sweet Rolls OR Grands!® Sweet Rolls
$1.10 off when you buy any FOUR Met-Rx® Bars
$1.25 off when you buy any TWO Marie's® Dressing * Great Deal at Tom Thumb this month
65¢ off when you buy any ONE Marie's® Dressing * Great Deal at Tom Thumb this month
$1.00 off five Campbell's Condensed Soups
$1.50 off 3 cans Campbell's Select Harvest soups
$1.00 off 3 Campbell's Healthy Request soups
Video Reward: $1.60 when you buy any FOUR Pure Protein Bars
$1.10 off when you buy any FOUR Pure Protein Bars
$1.10 off Stouffer's® entrée/Stouffer's® French Bread Pizzas
$1.10 off when you buy any TWO Stouffer's® Farmers' Harvest™
$1.50 off when you buy Nesquik® Powder or Nesquik® Syrup
$4.00 off TWO NESCAFÉ® DOLCE GUSTO® Coffee Capsules
$1.00 off THREE Jars of DOLE® All Natural Fruit
$1.25 off Glucerna® Multi-Pack Bars or Multi-Pack Shakes

2.00 off FoodSaver Heat-Seal Bag or Roll *Hot * HIGH VALUE
$10.00 off any FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System *HIGH VALUE*

If you throw food away. Invest in a FoodSaver machine. We rarely if ever throw any food away any more. I am 

printing this coupon!

Healthcare75¢ off any ONE Nature's Bounty® Vitamin or Supplement
$3 off when you buy any TWO 1.5L Listerine® Zero Mouthwash
$1.85 off when you buy ONE 1.5L Listerine® Zero Mouthwash
$1.10 off when you buy any ONE Sundown Naturals® product
$10.00 off when you buy any ONE Philips Sonicare Airfloss$5.00 off Philips Norelco Shaving Replacement Head Printable Coupon
$1.50 off when you buy any ONE AVENT Pacifier Pack
$3.00 off AVENT Multi-pack BPA-Free Baby Bottles
$1.50 off AVENT BPA-Free Toddler Cup
$3.00 off Bausch + Lomb Alaway® antihistamine eye drops
$1.00 off when you buy 6 cans of Mighty Dog® brand dog food
$1.10 off Nature's Bounty® Vitamins or Supplements
$1.40 off when you buy any NatureSmart Ester-C® item
$1.00 off FIVE Balance Bar® Singles (1.76 oz)
$2.00 off any ONE Bausch and Lomb Soothe® dry eye product
$1.35 off when you buy any ONE Stopain® product
Video Reward: $1.60 off Nature's Bounty® Vitamins or Supplements
Like Rewards: $1.10 off THREE Balance Bar® Singles (1.76 oz)
Like Rewards: $2.25 off when you buy any ONE Stopain® product
$3.00 off when you buy any Zantac® product 24ct or larger$1.25 off Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil Twin Refils
$1.75 off when you buy any TWO NatureSmart Ester-C® items
Video Reward: $1.85 off when you buy any NatureSmart Ester-C® item
40¢ off Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil Holder
Video Rewards: $4.00 off when you buy any Zantac® product 24ct or larger

$3.25 off Gerber® Good Start® Powder formulas Printable Coupon


Affiliate Links are used in this post. I may be compensated for clicking on the above links.