Do you ever catch yourself eying the mouth-watering choices of amazing spices at the grocery store? You know the ones....small, beautiful jar, fancy tag with flowing writing, and it typically costs more than the cut of meat you're going to put it on. I love using spices and marinades in my cooking. Luckily for me, I grabbed a few dozen bottles of marinade for free after coupon. Unfortunately, the spice blends don't tend to come down in price often.

The good news? With a dozen or so basic spices and a few pantry basics, it's possible to have a variety of amazing spice blends to choose from. Over at Eat From Your Pantry, there is a great post about seasoning blends - it's truly amazing how many different blends you can make with ingredients you probably have on hand already. Trust me - it's as easy as:

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Spice

Kansas City Style Rib Rub

Budget 101 - they have 164 different spice blend recipes!!

Taco Seasoning

Ranch Dressing Mix

Unless I stumble onto another freebie seasoning deal (which this is the right time of year for), I have plenty of resources to help me get the same flavorful punch for a lot less money. As for marinades, I haven't spent too much time learning how to make my own. In my defense, when they're plentiful and free, there is really no incentive to make my own. When the deals run out, I'll be posting marinade recipes, but until then - I'm resting on my laurels, or at least resting on a full stockpile that includes more than a dozen different marinades.

The Jewel Lawry's catalina is officially rolling - I bought my first 2 transactions worth on my way to work this morning - while there was still some teriyaki on the shelf - but, not for long! The Herb & Garlic was already empty, so there must be other houds in my vicinity that picked it clean of that flavor long before I got to the store.

Here's what I spent:
4 Lawry's Marinades
-$.50/1 Q
Spent: $3.23
Saved: $9.32

Transaction #2
4 Lawry's Marinades
-$3.00 OYNO cat that printed out from the first order
OOP: $1.10 (I hate how high the taxes are!)
Saved: $11.52

Total OOP: $4.33
Total Saved: $20.84

I can live with that. I hope to get another 12-16 bottles - to get me stocked up for the BBQ season again! My supply from last year is pretty sparce - just a few of te funkier flavors left (Mesquite Lime, Mexican Chile & Lime, etc.). All my basics are gone: teriyaki, garlic & herb, lemon pepper, etc.

I know, I know, this probably sounds a bit weird, but I was looking at all the Lipton soup mix I have (don't ask - I am definitely stocked up....until late next year - at least!) I was thinking of a different take on stuffing, as I'm not the biggest fan of the traditional sage and rosemary stuffing, so this year, I'm going to have to experiment. And Lipton is going to help!

I went to my market to see what I had on hand to work with and kept coming back to the abundance Lipton dry soup mixes, so here's what I came up with - a 6 ingredient, 15 minutes prep time stuffing that is sure to zing your taste buds! Let me know what you think:

6 C. cubed bread, any variety
32 oz. chicken broth or stock
2 envelopes Lipton Savory Garlic soup mix
2 lbs. ground turkey
2 large sweet peppers, chopped
1 large apple, any variety, peeled and chopped

Bake in an oven safe casserole covered for 1 hour at 350, uncovering during last 15 minutes of cooking, or use to stuff a turkey. This batch will stuff a 12-16 lb. turkey. This can also be used to stuff a chicken, but for average sized chicken, please use half the amount called for in the recipe.

In a large, deep skillet, brown ground turkey with bell pepper and apple. Once meat is browned, toss in bread and seasonings. While stirring, add in broth until stuffing reaches desired consistency.

I am so excited about this recipe because of the last Jewel cat sale - I grabbed the soup mix for $.06 a box, the chicken broth for $.36 a 32 oz. carton, and apples are on sale at my local Caputos for $.39 lb. and peppers at $.59 lb.
Total cost for this Thanksgiving side dish: $2.73!!

Yields: 12-14 servings or $.23 per serving

What's your favorite take on stuffing on a budget?

I've rolled $270 in cats, with $25 remaining in cats to use for (hopefully) the next big cat madness sale!

80 boxes Lipton soup mix
10 cartons Progresso Broth (chicken and beef)
25 pkgs. Lipton sides
16 boxes of Klondike bars
5 1.5 qt. Breyers Ice Creawm
84 cans Green Giant veggies
9 boxes Lipton Tea
2 cans Green Giant asparagus
3 boxes Betty Crocker Cake mix
12 bags Chex Mix & Gardettos

For a grand total OOP of $52.17 (includes tax)
Or an average of $.21 per item!

Too bad this sale doesn't continue for another week or two....

With the latest Jewel deal on Lipton Soup Mixes (only $2.00 plus tax for 16!!), I've come up with a list of uses for them.

10. Dip mix - got to love an old stand-by like that
9. Toss with potato wedges for a fabulous, easy side dish. Roast and serve with sour cream.
8. Add 1/3 C. flour to 1 seasoning envelope and coat chicken. Easy breaded chicken pieces - roast to give them a crunchy skin.
7. Rub onto a roast. Tons of flavor for less tender cuts of meat.
6. Add to ground meat for some super-flavorful burgers. 1 envelope to 1.5-2 lbs. meat.
5. Add to ground meat and make into meatballs. 1.5 lbs. per envelope of seasoning.
4. Use as a flavor-base for gravy
3. Add to your next meatloaf
2. Add to pasta sauce (tomato based only) Lots of flavor in an instant!
1. Toss with bread cubes, drizzle with EVOO, and bake. Homemade croutons with lots of flavor.

What are your favorite ways of using dry soup mix?
I'd love some new ideas!

Buy $15 get a $5 coupon OYNO for select Campbell's products. Here are some of the great deals I've grabbed from this sale:

Buy 20 cans tomato or chicken noodle soup (10.xx oz. each) at $.50/can. Spend $10, receive a $5 coupon that keeps on rolling. So far, I've done this transaction 4 times. I love tomato soup and grilled cheese (so does my sister, who will be the happy receipient of half of my spoils from this sale).

Buy 4 V-8 Splash (on sale 2/$5), 5 Pepperidge Farm cookies (on sale 2/$4), 8 Campbells Select Harvest/Chunky (on sale for $1.25/can), or 8 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers (small bags $1.25 each) and spend only $5 OOP after $5 cat coupon (cat coupons are the ones that print out at the register).

On Campbell's Select Harvest, an additional coupon for $1/3 prints before you pay (typically) when buying Select Harvest, so be sure to use that, too!) Only one of those prints per order, but every little dollar really adds up!

Now, if only Kraft would put their cheese on sale with overlapping cats again, we'd have fall and winter quick meals in the bag - or in our case, on the table.

This summer is all about piggy love! Why would anyone declare such a thing? Because, in part, of the Gather Round the Grill coupon, giving us $6 off pork with each bag of Kingsford charcoal we buy. The other part - it tastes soo good with all the in-season fruits that are abundantly affordable this time of year. Take it from my pal, Amiyrah, over at 4 Hats & Frugal - her Peachy Chicken/Pork recipe has become an all-time favorite. Or top some lovely grilled pork kebabs, chops, steaks, or tenderloin with a mango pico de gallo, chutney, or salsa - and that is heaven.

As my taste buds mature (finally!), I have been getting bolder and saucier with my flavors. No longer am I cowering before Kung Pao, terrified of teryaki, or weak before a Whiskey sauce - I want to taste my way through life - and pork is such a great conduit for my many experiments. When looking for a lean cut of meat, I tend to turn to pork first.

With each week or so that passes, I'm attempting another piggy experiment. Last weekend, it was a tag team effort. I marinated a pair of half pork tenderloins in some soy, and gave it a simple rub. DH took over from there - as he's officially Licensed to Grill (his T-shirt said so).

Between DaMama, DH, & I - there was a 1/4 of one of the tenderloin's left - which becamse excellent sammies, with the help of some English muffins. The rest - a sinfully yummy sandwich, and less deli meat I needed to buy. Not that I was low - I just resent paying $3-$7 lb. for some small scraps of meat. But, I digress...

Now that we need more charcoal - I just have to ask myself: What kind of pork do I want this time? Let's see who's on sale! Tell me, have you stocked up on pork because of the Gather Round the Grill coupon?

I’ve read some great posts by hound-friends, Shelly and spaghetti, about why they stockpile, and their posts inspired me to tell my own tale. For some, couponing and stockpiling is second nature, for others it’s a hard lesson learned somewhere along the way. For me, it’s a bit of both.

I grew up poor, or po’ as we like to call it. I always figured once I was out on my own, it would be different. Wrong! Once I moved in with my now DH, money was tight. I figured I was frugal by shopping almost exclusively at Aldi. That’s what you did to save money, right? Little did I know then how wrong that was.

I started couponing in January of 2007. I remember my first outing so clearly, like it was only yesterday. I now chuckle at the image in my head. DH & I went to SuperTarget for toiletries. We spent nine dollars and change and saved…..(wait for it)….$6.25! I was ecstatic. I truly was. I remembering turning to DH and telling him – imagine if I could do that every time we shopped. He laughed, and shook his head, like it wasn’t even possible to do more than once. Imagine how wrong we both were.

I continued shopping at Aldi, wishing I could find a better way to feed my little family of 2. There were times when money got so tight, the grocery budget disappeared – for 2 weeks at a time. I’d hit into a small deal, but nothing was ever “enough” to last. I still didn’t get it.

I didn’t realize all the mistakes I was making until I had my gall bladder removed about 2 years ago. When my doctor read off the list of things I could and couldn’t eat, I was terrified. How could I feed myself, let alone DH, the healthy fare that was listed? On $30 a week for the two of us, it wasn’t happening. So, while I was re-cooperating at my mom’s, I went through her newspaper and took her coupons. I was surprised at how many of them were for healthy food. But we still spent over $75 in one week. Finally, I had the swift kick in the rear that I so desperately needed.

I took a gamble and went outside my comfort zone. I went to Mexican markets for tortillas, learned the wiley, cagey ways of Meijer – which I never shopped at before, started searching harder for deals – and made my mother my partner in couponing. She would go over the ads with me over the phone from the stores near her – I’d search online for coupons, and when I’d visit her, we’d hit the deals together. Over time, I started to see a difference.

My purchasing habits changed overnight. I now skipped beef all together, in favor of ground turkey – which at the time I heralded as a boom, since the price was much cheaper. I bought chicken as my basic meat, and looked to other ways to make it fun. Baked chicken twice a week wasn’t going to cut it for me. I approached it not as a new diet, but as a lifestyle change. Out went the chips, cookies, nutty bars, and “fun” food. In came yogurt, dried fruits, truck loads of applesauce, spices, marinades, and beans. Those items were much more expensive than their fatty counterparts.

I bought dried spices in abundance, grabbed some cheap marinades. I got out the crockpot and started experimenting – first using a lowfat cookbook my mother had given me, then after a few months, I struck out on my own.

At this point, I had read every label in the stores I shopped at regularly, and knew what I could and couldn’t have. I started making better food choices, something I should’ve been doing all along. I started looking at cooking as an adventure again – not as a chore to get done with as soon as possible. Taking the time to enjoy my food and appreciate all that it does, from nutritional angles as well as enjoying the fantastic flavors: I opened myself up and tried something new.

The stockpiling came naturally, as the coupons gave me additional buying power I didn’t have before. Now I could afford 5 of what I used to buy 1-2 of. Replacing beef saved oodles of money. We moved from a 2 bedroom apartment into a 3 level, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house – so we had space to stockpile. When gas prices skyrocketed last summer, Annie’s Market was born. I hounded voraciously, occasionally with DaMama at my side, but often solo. I learned I stay focused better when there is someone else with me, so I try to shop with someone else. I’m too embarrassed to buy junk food if I have witnesses.

Now we hound together – unless it’s a quick trip somewhere. We’ve added my sister as a fellow hound, at least when she’s in town. Over the last 2 months, we’ve garnered another hound, a friend of mine with a family of 8. Seeing the change it makes to a family, I have to admit this is priceless.

Finally, I was able to go out hounding/shopping. Not only were the deals good, I walked out with a MM! I don’t get those often, so when I do, I’m usually ecstatic about ‘em.

Here’s how the pennies fell on my trip last night to Jewel:

$1.67 each - 5 bottles Kraft Salad Dressing -$1.50 Q (2) -$1 Q (3)
$1.50 each - 4 bottles French’s Mustard -$.75 (2) -$.50 (2)
$1.67 each – 4 bottles Ken’s Salad Dressing/Spritzers -$1 Q (4)
$1.49 each – 2 bottles French’s Worcestshire Sauce -$.50 Q (2)
$.89 each – 6 bottles Kraft BBQ sauce 18 oz. -$1 Q (5) -$.75 Q (1) = MM $.41!!
$1 each – 2 Hunt’s Ketchup -$.20 Q (2)
2/$1 - 2 McCormick Grill Mates seasoning packets -$.50 Q (2) = FREE
$1.25 each – 2 jars Vlasic sweet relish
5 bread rolls $.49 each
$1.50 - 2 bags Wild Harvest tortilla chips - $1 Q (2)
2 bags Kingsford Matchlite Charcoal $8.99
7.41 lbs. Pork ribs @ $1.49 lb. = $11.05
4.76 lbs. whole chicken @ $.99 lb. = $4.71
$3.00 each - 3 pkgs. Oscar Meyer Fresh Deli Meats - $1/2 Q (1) -$.75 Q (1)
$2.29 each - 2 Jewel shaved honey ham/turkey
$.99 – 2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese -$1/2 Q
$.99 – 3 Jewel Shredded Cheese
1/8 Sheet Cake (carrot cake – celebrating DH completing his next 2 courses in his schooling program)
1 Triple Chocolate Cake $4.29 (never let me see cake when I’m shopping)

I didn’t intend to load up on meat, but I found a lovely tearpad of coupons by the salad dressing. Buy any 2 of the Kraft products listed below, receive $2 off any meat/poultry purchase. So, I promptly went back and grabbed more meat! With my listing of qualifying condiments, I used 6 of those coupons! Since deli meat is at a premium until the kitchen is set up and it’s too darned pricey any other way to buy it, I went for those first. I filled in with a roasting chicken and some ribs. Hey, it’s summer – you’ve got to love ribs. Especially with all that free BBQ sauce. I did stack coupons on the meat (whenever I could) to bring down the overall total.
I also rolled a $4 cat and used 2 $6 off any pork purchase WYB Kingsford Matchlite (13.5 lb. or larger) and some mildly overpriced condiments (naturally the Kraft BBQ sauce didn’t qualify, so I went for the Vlasic – it was the cheapest qualifier).

Total (before coupons) $162.77
Savings $102.09
Coupons $49.15
OOP = $51.24
Tax = $2.81
# of items = 51

The OOP was higher than I wanted it to be, but when you consider that the cakes and charcoal accounted for $31.26, I feel much better about that. Besides, we were out of charcoal and that’s a no-no for Memorial Day weekend.

And I got a $3 cat for buying 6 bottles of Kraft BBQ sauce!