Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

It's been a busy day today so I don't have a recipe prepared for you. BUT, I know so many of you have great recipes, that mine won't be missed.

Check back on Saturday some time. I'll be linking up a bunch of crafty Christmas ideas that I've come across over the last few months.

If you'd like to share a recipe please remember to link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please provide a link back to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Thanksgiving Ideas

I've received lots of questions lately on how to have a frugal Thanksgiving and I've come to a conclusion.

You're going to blow your regular budget on Thanksgiving.

It's a time where you're going to buy more than you normally would. Usually we are feeding a crowd or making special recipes with ingredients that we wouldn't normally buy. But there are still a few practical things we can do to help.

• Take a poll. Ask your family what they want on their Thanksgiving table. I think you'll be surprised. We found out that the pineapple jello salad that great grandma used to make...well...nobody really likes it. So I'm not making it anymore. Or the sweet potato casserole? Only one person wanted it (sorry Lisa) so I'm not going make it. I just saved myself the cost of getting the ingredients for things that nobody really wanted to eat.


• Split the work. Are you having a gathering with extended family? Why do you have to make the whole meal? Someone can bring a pie, someone else could bring a vegetable dish, another person could bring an appetizer. That saves you time, money and stress.


• Take It Easy. Your table doesn't have to be perfectly decorated. You're house doesn't have to be spotless. People are there for the food and the company. Most aren't comparing you to Martha Stewart so no need killing yourself trying to impress. Take your regular dinner table up a notch with a festive tablecloth, sweep the kitchen floor...don't mop. You will survive and they most likely won't even notice.


• Make Ahead. I decided I didn't want the stress and the rush of cooking my meal all day only to fall exhaustedly into my chair at the Thanksgiving table, unable to enjoy the bounty. I found directions on how to cook my turkey the day before, make ahead mashed potatoes, crockpot stuffing, rolls and pies will be made the day before and even the table can be set the night before. I'm going to have the most relaxed Thanksgiving ever! It will be like being my own guest.

So those are just a few ideas to help minimize cost and stress. Hope they help!

GCC Shopping Round Up

Let me just start by saying that if you are a local the BEST deal in town for a turkey is at Win-co. If you spend $50 you can get a turkey for 22 cents a pound.

You read that right!

You can only get one at a time at that price and then it's 98 cents per pound. But, my plan is to do it again next week so I can store up a turkey in the freezer. Also, I don't normally spend that much at one store so to pad my shopping trip by about $20 more than usual, I got some stocking stuffers like candy, make-up, small toys, and hair accessories.

Two birds with one stone.

And in order to manage Thanksgiving groceries, I'm combining it in the next two grocery shopping trips. So this week I managed to get some of the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner and next week I'll get the rest.

Here's how it went.

S & S Liquidators

100 packs of sweetener $1.99
2 family size cans of soup $1.98
2 cans spaghetti sauce $1.38
5 lbs red potatoes $1.79
1 can mandarin oranges $.49
1 can green beans $.39
2 cans sliced olives $1.58

Franz Bread Outlet

3 loaves bread, 6 bagels, 6 english muffins $4.70

Grocery Outlet

Frozen blackberries $1.99
Frozen potstickers $1.99
plain yogurt $1.49
Cascade dishwasher detergent $3.99
razors $1.99
bandages $.99
orange jello $.34
2 cans cranberry sauce $1.00
salsa $1.79

Win-co

2 2/liters of pop $1.56
2 lbs cheddar $4.47
2 boxes Margarine $1.30
Cool Whip $.98
Margarine container $2.04
Bulk rawhide bones $2.48
3.98 lbs bananas $2.31
soymilk $1.48
toothpaste $1.28
1.82 lbs bulk powdered milk $4.68
ketchup $1.61
sausage $1.98
cotton swab $.98
cottage cheese $2.66
2.56 lbs bulk cocoa $2.53
25.84 lb turkey $5.68

Grand Total $67.89

Would you like to share your shopping trip with us? Whether it's a great coupon deal, a super bargain you've found, or showing us what it takes to feed your family, we'd love to see what your shopping trip looks like.

If you'd like to participate, please link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday

I ended up NOT using my ham bone from last week so I'll be putting it in my crockpot on Monday morning for a quick dinner that night. I'm also trying a few new recipes this week that look really simple and quick to make. AND, I have two new neighbors. Last week I delivered a basket of fresh blueberry muffins to one of them. This week I have a yummy bread recipe I'll be giving the other neighbors when we go over to meet them.

I tried to use up my pantry supplies in my menu this week to save some money. I want to buy my Thanksgiving turkey this week so that next week I can fit in some of the other Thanksgiving goodies I'd like to buy, rather than having one costly Thanksgiving shopping trip.

Breakfast

Oatmeal with apples and brown sugar

Smoothies and bagels

Oven Omelet and sliced pears

Harvest Pumpkin and Apple Bread

Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

Gingerbread muffins and hot cocoa

Leftover muffins or pancakes

Dinners

Crockpot Ham bone and Beans, Sweet Cornbread

Green Rice and Apple crisp

Chicken Fried Rice and pot stickers

Homemade soup and rolls

Spaghetti, green beans, garlic rolls

Taco Baked Potatoes

Leftover night

Check back tomorrow to see what I got with my $60 budget. I'll be doing a Thanksgiving post and some Christmas gift posts this week too.

And go HERE to see more great menu plans.

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Ok, think Christmas goodies with this recipe. I love handing out homemade treats to friends for Christmas. Not the standards like chocolate chip cookies or brownies but something different and unique...maybe even NEW. So this recipe is great in cellophane bags with a pretty ribbon at the top and maybe a gift tag with the name of the recipe on it. This recipe is for carmel corn lovers but with a different twist. We really like it.

Caramel Corn Puffs

1 bag or box corn puffs (like Kix or Corn Pops...check bulk bins...about 1 lb)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon baking soda

Bring the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter to a boil, add the baking soda and stir Pour the corn puffs into a cake pan and pour the caramel over, stir to coat Bake at 250F, stirring every 10 minutes for 45 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

Would you like to share a recipe? Please link directly to your post, not your homepage and please include a link back to The Grocery Care Challenge.

Oh...and my friend is having a great giveaway that you might want to go check out HERE.

Just A Little Housekeeping

I'm so excited for Christmas this year I can barely stand it. If I could get a tree today I would. My last craft bazaar is Friday (tomorrow). If you're a local come say Hi. I'll be at the Canterbury Inn Christmas Bazaar.

Next week I'm hoping to get your creative Christmas juices flowing. I'll be highlighting some great Christmas gift projects that would be fun to give or get and won't put you in debt.

I've also got three giveaways in the works that I'm really excited about. Use your winnings to treat yourself or start your Christmas giving. PLUS lot's of discount codes are coming with those giveaways. I love online shopping for Christmas. So much simpler, less crowded and I can do it in my pajamas.

Now I'm off to finish the last of my sewing projects before the bazaar tomorrow.

Check back later tonight for some great recipe links in The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Newest Column Out and A Super Frugal Recipe

My newest newspaper article came out today and you can check it out here. There's a recipe for using vegetable peelings that you might have originally thrown away to make a rich nutritious vegetable broth. Make sure to go check it out.