Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
cheaper tricks do any of us use?


--

On 7/30/2011 2:12 PM, cshenk wrote:
>
> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
> cheaper tricks do any of us use?

Use eggs more often as the main source of protein(?). Quiche, omelets,
etc. Thankfully, the prices for a dozen eggs haven't drastically risen
as have the prices for other foods. Or, go on a diet? j/k

Sky

--

Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!

"cshenk" > wrote in message
...
>
> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
> cheaper tricks do any of us use?

Yeah. I noticed that the prices are going up at Winco. That's one of the
cheapest places to shop around here. I am not so sure on the quality of
some of their meats so I don't buy that there.

We also buy what we can at Costco. Some things are just in too large of a
quantity but we can buy some things there.

The target near here just put in a grocery. Their prices are very low. So
I do most of my shopping at those three places.

I use coupons and combine them with sale prices when I can.

I do surveys online for money. I don't make a lot but I do make a few
dollars most months.

I use Swagbucks. So far I have turned my points in for $40 or so of
Amazon.com gift cards.

I bought a small chest freezer. Now I can buy certain things in bulk.

Thankfully my husband is living where he can eat in the mess hall. They can
feed him for far less than I am. He just came home this morning and so far
he has already eaten more than I eat in a day.

We did not attempt to grow a garden this year and that's a good thing. We
have had too much rain and mild weather. My friend's son has a garden at
her house and so far all he has managed to grow is zucchini. Gardening is
one way to save money but it doesn't always work here. Our first summer
when we moved back here was a good one. I was able to harvest all sorts of
vegetables. I canned fruit. We did move in at the end of summer when we
first got the house and I did can fruit then. Sadly no fruit now because
unbeknownst to me my husband told the gardener to cut everything back,
including the fruit trees. So nothing to harvest.

We are eating less variety in some things. For instance our meat is now
pretty much only ground beef and chicken breast. Yesterday I did find some
cooked chicken drumsticks at Winco that my daughter could eat. I did buy
those. But she said they weren't very good. I buy cooked turkey for
sandwiches. I did buy some frozen fish. We don't have fish very often at
all because it is more expensive. At least the kind my daughter likes. I
did buy ground turkey patties. Yuck! But daughter hates ground beef so I
thought she might like these. And I did buy some Hormel Beef Au Jus because
Target had it for a really low price. And my husband likes it. But
normally when we do eat meat (and that's not every day) it is generally
chicken breast or ground beef.

Our produce is mainly carrots, apples, onions, potatoes and greens. Once in
a while I will tomatoes, bananas, and watermelon. These seem to be the
cheapest things. I do buy other things occasionally but I don't always keep
them in the house like I used to. Especially bell peppers. I love them but
they can be expensive.

Because of the freezer we are eating more frozen foods. These are things I
didn't buy much of before. But these are things I can use coupons for. My
husband loves ice cream and frozen pops. He eats tons of these things. And
he will tend to just eat whatever is in there. So I have been buying only
those things that I have a coupon for. Or the cheaper things. For
instance, Winco has a large box of sundaes for around $5.00. I can't
remember the brand. I bought those.

We have been trying to dine out less. I just got my daughter's dance
schedule for the coming year. On most days her classes will be later in the
day so she can eat before she goes. And there is one day of the week where
she doesn't dance at all.

My husband's relatives live in PA so that means I have to send gifts there
and postage can be a killer. So I try to ship things straight from the
source and try to ship things that have no added postage. I can send food
items and other things from Costco with no postage. But you do have to be
careful because some of the things they will ship do have postage. For the
older kids I send personalized Visa cards. I do have to ship things to my
MIL myself because she is in a nursing home and her name needs to be put on
her things. There is a toddler in the family and I do try to send her
something tangible because I think little kids like opening things and
getting surprises. A Visa card would be meaningless to her.

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:12:21 -0500, cshenk wrote:
>
>> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
>> cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>
> Didn't you do this a few months ago?
>
> I cook at home using what's on sale and the lesser cuts, and use
> plenty of 50%-off coupons when dining out. I don't use a grocery list
> and stick to it. I'm very good at spotting good deals.

I do use a list just for the specific things I know I will need for the week
or things I need to stock up on for later. But if I see good deals that are
not on my list I will get them.

Sky > wrote:
> On 7/30/2011 2:12 PM, cshenk wrote:
>>
>> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
>> cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>
> Use eggs more often as the main source of protein(?). Quiche, omelets,
> etc. Thankfully, the prices for a dozen eggs haven't drastically risen
> as have the prices for other foods. Or, go on a diet? j/k
>
> Sky

I prefer the local fruit and vegetable road side stands in the fall. The
farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets. For
meats many local farmers have customers that want to go in on a half or a
quarter of a Cow, Pig or Lamb. One can also buy fresh chickens from local
farmers. Canning is also a great way to save money. Even better start a
garden.

It does help if you live nearby the farms. Road side stand are everywhere
(figuratively speaking).

As a kid in the South I remember we would each buy a whole watermelon for a
quarter and just eat the heart of the melon and give the rest to the pigs.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>
>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>
> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
> 2-3X as much.

That's how it is here too. My dad bought some strawberries from a guy
selling them on the road. It was a good price and they were good berries
but there were just too many of them. They wound up freezing a lot of them.

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:17:43 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> Thankfully my husband is living where he can eat in the mess hall. They
>> can
>> feed him for far less than I am. He just came home this morning and so
>> far
>> he has already eaten more than I eat in a day.
>
> Uh, It's 7:30pm (CST) He's been home all day.
>
> :-)

We're PST.

Sqwertz > wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>
>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>
> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
> 2-3X as much.
>
> -sw

Ouch indeed, where do you live? in the desert?

But then I am surround by farms. I would consider my own home a hobby farm.
But twice the cost??? Most restaurants around here buy their produce from
farmers markets and certainly not the supper market for the bulk purchases.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:08:28 -0500, Sqwertz >
wrote:

>On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>
>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>
>Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
>2-3X as much.

Mine too. Better quality- more 'boutique-y' stuff. But pricey.

Jim

Sqwertz wrote:
>Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> I do use a list just for the specific things I know I will need for the week
>> or things I need to stock up on for later. But if I see good deals that are
>> not on my list I will get them.
>
>I have nothing that I actually need for the upcoming week
>except maybe toilet paper. I buy toiletries when I remember.

I have an extra litter pan I can send you... you'll have to buy your
own bucket of sand.

watch sales even closer, less meat/smaller portions of meat, filling in with
on sale fresh produce, Lee
"cshenk" > wrote in message
...
>
> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
> cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>
>
> --
>

they were .99 cents a dozen this week, Lee
"Sky" > wrote in message
...
> On 7/30/2011 2:12 PM, cshenk wrote:
>>
>> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
>> cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>
> Use eggs more often as the main source of protein(?). Quiche, omelets,
> etc. Thankfully, the prices for a dozen eggs haven't drastically risen as
> have the prices for other foods. Or, go on a diet? j/k
>
> Sky
>
> --
>
> Ultra Ultimate Kitchen Rule - Use the Timer!
> Ultimate Kitchen Rule -- Cook's Choice!!

On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:08:28 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>
>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>
> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
> 2-3X as much.
>
> -sw

not cheap out my way, either (maryland suburb to d.c.). the stuff ain't
all that pretty, either.

your pal,
blake

blake murphy wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:08:28 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>>
>>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
>> 2-3X as much.
>>
>> -sw
>
> not cheap out my way, either (maryland suburb to d.c.). the stuff ain't
> all that pretty, either.
>
> your pal,
> blake

this is the organic farmers market service we've been using and although
the stuff is a bit pricey the quality has been amazingly good.
Under the market listing is what is available this week, the price, and
how many are left available to order.
http://www.augusta.locallygrown.net/market

On 07/30/2011 11:11 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:17:43 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> Thankfully my husband is living where he can eat in the mess hall. They can
>> feed him for far less than I am. He just came home this morning and so far
>> he has already eaten more than I eat in a day.
>
> Uh, It's 7:30pm (CST) He's been home all day.
>
> :-)
>
> -sw

My newsreader shows the time sent as "17:17:43 -0700", which is 5:17 pm
UCT (informally, GMT), with the local time zone of the sender trailing
by 7 hours. So it was sent mid-morning at 10:17 am PDT.

On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:08:28 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>
>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>
> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
> 2-3X as much.
>
> -sw

Hmmm, that sucks. They're much cheaper here. Sometimes half what the
grocery store charges.

TFM®

On 7/31/2011 2:08 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>
>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>
> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
> 2-3X as much.
>
> -sw

They are "semi-fashionable" here depending on which one you go to.

We usually buy directly from two local small farms that grow pretty much
everything you can grow in this area. They set up a produce stand in
their garages.

Sqwertz wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:12:21 -0500, cshenk wrote:
>
> > Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking,
> > what cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>
> Didn't you do this a few months ago?

Actually it was another but i was in the thread alot.

> I cook at home using what's on sale and the lesser cuts, and use
> plenty of 50%-off coupons when dining out. I don't use a grocery list
> and stick to it. I'm very good at spotting good deals.

I lost my coupon keeper but just got a new one. That will help. $5.49
(includes shipping) from Amazon. This one has velcro straps that let
you hang it over the handle of a grocery cart. 16 dividers with 'write
your own labels' makes it pretty useful here.




--

Sky wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On 7/30/2011 2:12 PM, cshenk wrote:
> >
> > Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking,
> > what cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>
> Use eggs more often as the main source of protein(?). Quiche,
> omelets, etc. Thankfully, the prices for a dozen eggs haven't
> drastically risen as have the prices for other foods. Or, go on a
> diet? j/k

Hehehe eating more pork and chicken here. Beef just seems to pricey
lately to be worth it in general.



--

Sqwertz wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>
> > The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super
> > markets.
>
> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
> 2-3X as much.
>
> -sw

Same here. Big city syndrome.

--

Julie Bove wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>
> "cshenk" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking,
> > what cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>
> Yeah. I noticed that the prices are going up at Winco. That's one
> of the cheapest places to shop around here. I am not so sure on the
> quality of some of their meats so I don't buy that there.

Commissary is the best for meats in general (fish excepted). BJ's isnt
bad though and it's really close by so no gas cost to get to a base.

> We also buy what we can at Costco. Some things are just in too large
> of a quantity but we can buy some things there.

BJs=costco=sams same sort of place.

With your extra freezer now, you can get and repackage the larger meat
and such items. Use 2 layers of ziplock bags (save the outer one for
reuse) if you do not have a vacumn sealer.

> I use coupons and combine them with sale prices when I can.


Caution note on coupons. They can be a savings failure if you don't
notice the price of similar products near them. 20cents off an item
already 30cents higher just means you paid 10cents more to use a coupon
(grin).

> I bought a small chest freezer. Now I can buy certain things in bulk.

> Thankfully my husband is living where he can eat in the mess hall.
> They can feed him for far less than I am. He just came home this
> morning and so far he has already eaten more than I eat in a day.

hehehehe.

Today was a cheap day. Not by design, but what we wanted to eat.

Rice
dried black beans, now a soup with garlic
Bread (rye/wheat mix with comino and honey)
steamed bok choy
'fried' cucumbers and eggplant (a marinade, not oil based)
tofu (local product, 3 for a dollar squares)
'carrot pie' (born of a messed up recipe many years ago and repeated, a
bit like apple betty but with carrots and chinese 5 spice in a deep
crust with brown sugar).

Don't get the idea we are vegetarians as we aint (grin). It simply
happened today looks like it.

Based on local prices and amounts, I just fed 3 folks for about 1.65$ a
day or 55cents each for a day (18 cents average per meal).

> We did not attempt to grow a garden this year and that's a good
> thing. We have had too much rain and mild weather. My friend's son
> has a garden at her house and so far all he has managed to grow is
> zucchini. Gardening is one way to save money but it doesn't always
> work here. Our first summer when we moved back here was a good one.
> I was able to harvest all sorts of vegetables. I canned fruit. We
> did move in at the end of summer when we first got the house and I
> did can fruit then. Sadly no fruit now because unbeknownst to me my
> husband told the gardener to cut everything back, including the fruit
> trees. So nothing to harvest.

I have a small container garden but we started later so the only thing
cropping yet is radishes.

> We are eating less variety in some things. For instance our meat is
> now pretty much only ground beef and chicken breast. Yesterday I did
> find some cooked chicken drumsticks at Winco that my daughter could
> eat. I did buy those. But she said they weren't very good. I buy
> cooked turkey for sandwiches. I did buy some frozen fish. We don't
> have fish very often at all because it is more expensive. At least
> the kind my daughter likes. I did buy ground turkey patties. Yuck!
> But daughter hates ground beef so I thought she might like these. And
> I did buy some Hormel Beef Au Jus because Target had it for a really
> low price. And my husband likes it. But normally when we do eat
> meat (and that's not every day) it is generally chicken breast or
> ground beef.

Chicken breast doenst even make the dogs wag a tail here (grin). Sorry
but everyone, even my 4foots are dark meat snobs. When we bake a
chicken, the breast meat largely ends up in the dogs bowls to the tune
of a disgusted look from them and a snort 'eh, saving the best for you
folks again humm?'

> Our produce is mainly carrots, apples, onions, potatoes and greens.
> Once in a while I will tomatoes, bananas, and watermelon. These seem
> to be the cheapest things. I do buy other things occasionally but I
> don't always keep them in the house like I used to. Especially bell
> peppers. I love them but they can be expensive.

I'm watching my bell peppers flower up nicely. My grocery cart is
usually 1/3 full at least of various fresh produce.

> Because of the freezer we are eating more frozen foods. These are
> things I didn't buy much of before. But these are things I can use
> coupons for. My husband loves ice cream and frozen pops. He eats
> tons of these things. And he will tend to just eat whatever is in
> there. So I have been buying only those things that I have a coupon
> for. Or the cheaper things. For instance, Winco has a large box of
> sundaes for around $5.00. I can't remember the brand. I bought
> those.

Koolaide pops are really easy to make!

> We have been trying to dine out less. I just got my daughter's dance
> schedule for the coming year. On most days her classes will be later
> in the day so she can eat before she goes. And there is one day of
> the week where she doesn't dance at all.

I saw and added a few ideas for faster meals or make ahead stuff.




--

cshenk wrote:
> Sqwertz wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> On Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:12:21 -0500, cshenk wrote:
>>
>>> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking,
>>> what cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>>
>> Didn't you do this a few months ago?
>
> Actually it was another but i was in the thread alot.
>
>> I cook at home using what's on sale and the lesser cuts, and use
>> plenty of 50%-off coupons when dining out. I don't use a grocery
>> list and stick to it. I'm very good at spotting good deals.
>
> I lost my coupon keeper but just got a new one. That will help.
> $5.49 (includes shipping) from Amazon. This one has velcro straps
> that let you hang it over the handle of a grocery cart. 16 dividers
> with 'write your own labels' makes it pretty useful here.
'
I had that kind but found it didn't hang well on the shopping cart. It sort
of flailed around and dropped my coupons out. I don't think mine had that
many dividers. I got another one, also at Amazon that is slightly bigger
and I got extra dividers. I think it will hang on the cart but I haven't
tried it.

I got lucky today! Someone at my newspaper screwed up and they gave me two
Albertson's inserts. They seem to have cut back to two doublers now and
they limit two per shopping trip. So today we went shopping twice. Got
batteries the first time and the second time we got some "Skillets". I know
I could make these from scratch but they were on sale for $4.99 each and the
coupons were for $1.00 off so that means I saved $2.00 on each. So that
will make a cheap meal for tomorrow. I got the bacon ones and there are
also cubes of potatoes, onions, red and green peppers. Potatoes and onions
are cheap but the peppers are not. So it may well have cost me more had I
made it from scratch. I also had a coupon for a couple of protein added
milk drinks which I know my daughter and husband will drink.

I plan to go again tomorrow or the next day for cat food and treats. My
cats do not ordinarily eat grocery store dry food. But they are real treat
addicts. And treats can be expensive. The bag I get tomorrow will likely
be free with the coupon and the doubler. I figure what I will do is get a
small bag of dry food which I have a coupon for and I will use that for
their treats. That will be far cheaper than those little bags of treats.
This is what I did with my old cat. She too seemed to love the treats. Oh
yeah. I should add that I got my dad's doublers and also his coupons. He
is the one who taught me to coupon but he no longer does it.

cshenk wrote:
> Sky wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> On 7/30/2011 2:12 PM, cshenk wrote:
>>>
>>> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking,
>>> what cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>>
>> Use eggs more often as the main source of protein(?). Quiche,
>> omelets, etc. Thankfully, the prices for a dozen eggs haven't
>> drastically risen as have the prices for other foods. Or, go on a
>> diet? j/k
>
> Hehehe eating more pork and chicken here. Beef just seems to pricey
> lately to be worth it in general.

I buy ground beef maybe once or twice a month. My daughter doesn't really
like it too much. I do keep some precooked patties that I get at Costco.
She will eat those once in a while but only because she can fix them for
herself.

But mostly we eat meatless meals. She loves salads now so I will do them up
with assorted beans, maybe some cheese and she will put eggs on hers.

I can't serve too many meatless meals when my husband is home. He is a BIG
meat eater. It's odd though because he didn't grow up eating a lot of meat.
His mom told me she made a big pot of pasta fagioli every week and they had
that or bread salad often for dinner. Friday was when they put out the
cheese ends at the deli so they had pizza then. Lunch was often eggs and
peppers. But if she did get meat ends, those would be chopped and made into
salad sandwiches. I don't even think they had meat all that often on
Sundays. She often made a big pot of pasta then. She always made things in
very large quantities so there would be leftovers.

cshenk wrote:
> Julie Bove wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>>
>> "cshenk" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking,
>>> what cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>>
>> Yeah. I noticed that the prices are going up at Winco. That's one
>> of the cheapest places to shop around here. I am not so sure on the
>> quality of some of their meats so I don't buy that there.
>
> Commissary is the best for meats in general (fish excepted). BJ's isnt
> bad though and it's really close by so no gas cost to get to a base.

I can shop at the commissary but it is in Marysville which is a bit of a
drive. And frankly we just don't eat enough meat to warrant it, I don't
think. But I will perhaps get out that way one day and stop by there.
Someone I used to go to school with lives out that direction and wants to
hook up. We recently had a reunion. I went but only for an hour. It was
miserably hot in that place and I don't know why because it was actually
cold outside! Plus my mom was sick and she was watching my daughter. So I
really couldn't stay long. I ended up not hooking up with anyone I know
because I left too soon. Oh well...

I also think the commissary has the best price on juice boxes and Capri Sun
and things like that if you are not overly picky with what you buy. But
these days my daughter doesn't drink much juice. Cheese can also be bought
there for a very good price. And perhaps cold cereal, again if you are not
picky about what you buy. But for us, I find for most things they do not
have better prices than places I could shop closer to home. And they don't
have specialty things like gluten free.
>
>> We also buy what we can at Costco. Some things are just in too large
>> of a quantity but we can buy some things there.
>
> BJs=costco=sams same sort of place.

One day I might go to Sam's. Now I know where it is. Not sure how much it
costs for a membership though. I have seen some things online that I want
to buy but I'm not a member.
>
> With your extra freezer now, you can get and repackage the larger meat
> and such items. Use 2 layers of ziplock bags (save the outer one for
> reuse) if you do not have a vacumn sealer.

I could. But I don't like cooking meat from frozen. I always forget to
take it out to thaw and it doesn't thaw well in the microwave. Ground beef
isn't too bad to cook from frozen but I still would rather not. I used to
always freeze my meat because that is what my mom did. But since we moved
here I realized I really prefer to cook from fresh. I will buy some cooked
meats that are frozen though.
>
>> I use coupons and combine them with sale prices when I can.
>
>
> Caution note on coupons. They can be a savings failure if you don't
> notice the price of similar products near them. 20cents off an item
> already 30cents higher just means you paid 10cents more to use a
> coupon (grin).

Of course. But there are some things we are brand loyal to. And sometime
coupons have me buying things I wouldn't ordinarily buy. For example Bob
Evans biscuits and gravy. Yes, they are more carbs than I should be eating
but there is a set amount in the box. So when I do eat them, I know I am
eating too many carbs but it's not a hog wild amount. And I don't eat them
often. I also get omlets for my daughter. Those are something she can
quickly fix for herself. Had I not had coupons for these things I never
would have bought them.
>
>> I bought a small chest freezer. Now I can buy certain things in
>> bulk.
>
>> Thankfully my husband is living where he can eat in the mess hall.
>> They can feed him for far less than I am. He just came home this
>> morning and so far he has already eaten more than I eat in a day.
>
> hehehehe.
>
> Today was a cheap day. Not by design, but what we wanted to eat.
>
> Rice
> dried black beans, now a soup with garlic
> Bread (rye/wheat mix with comino and honey)
> steamed bok choy
> 'fried' cucumbers and eggplant (a marinade, not oil based)
> tofu (local product, 3 for a dollar squares)
> 'carrot pie' (born of a messed up recipe many years ago and repeated,
> a bit like apple betty but with carrots and chinese 5 spice in a deep
> crust with brown sugar).

It wasn't cheap for us. We went to Olive Garden for my daughter's birthday.
But my parents did pay for her meal. I had the flat bread Caprese and a
salad. I was rather disappointed. Somehow I thought the flat bread would
be crispy. It wasn't. It was a soggy mess that I had to eat with a fork.
But daughter loved her gluten free pasta. They have changed the menu and
there are more GF options now.
>
> Don't get the idea we are vegetarians as we aint (grin). It simply
> happened today looks like it.

We would be vegetarians except that daughter loves chicken and I find that
if I don't eat red meat twice a week I go anemic. But I would say most of
our meals are vegetarian.
>
> Based on local prices and amounts, I just fed 3 folks for about 1.65$
> a day or 55cents each for a day (18 cents average per meal).
>
>> We did not attempt to grow a garden this year and that's a good
>> thing. We have had too much rain and mild weather. My friend's son
>> has a garden at her house and so far all he has managed to grow is
>> zucchini. Gardening is one way to save money but it doesn't always
>> work here. Our first summer when we moved back here was a good one.
>> I was able to harvest all sorts of vegetables. I canned fruit. We
>> did move in at the end of summer when we first got the house and I
>> did can fruit then. Sadly no fruit now because unbeknownst to me my
>> husband told the gardener to cut everything back, including the fruit
>> trees. So nothing to harvest.
>
> I have a small container garden but we started later so the only thing
> cropping yet is radishes.
>
Mine was a container garden. I used Earthboxes.

>> We are eating less variety in some things. For instance our meat is
>> now pretty much only ground beef and chicken breast. Yesterday I did
>> find some cooked chicken drumsticks at Winco that my daughter could
>> eat. I did buy those. But she said they weren't very good. I buy
>> cooked turkey for sandwiches. I did buy some frozen fish. We don't
>> have fish very often at all because it is more expensive. At least
>> the kind my daughter likes. I did buy ground turkey patties. Yuck!
>> But daughter hates ground beef so I thought she might like these. And
>> I did buy some Hormel Beef Au Jus because Target had it for a really
>> low price. And my husband likes it. But normally when we do eat
>> meat (and that's not every day) it is generally chicken breast or
>> ground beef.
>
> Chicken breast doenst even make the dogs wag a tail here (grin).
> Sorry but everyone, even my 4foots are dark meat snobs. When we bake
> a chicken, the breast meat largely ends up in the dogs bowls to the
> tune of a disgusted look from them and a snort 'eh, saving the best
> for you folks again humm?'

I never liked dark meat. I can remember getting into an argument with my
grandma when I was little. Maybe 4 years old. My brother was in the
hospital and my mom was with him. So she was watching me. She made a whole
chicken for dinner and told me that children get the drumsticks. Well I
didn't want those. I wanted the breast. Actually I didn't want that at all
but if I was going to be forced to eat chicken that would be the part I
would have eaten.

My dad walked in on the argument and solved my problem by taking me out for
dinner where he got me a roast beef dinner which was my favorite in those
days. My grandma was fuming over that! Heh. My dad is her son. Yes I was
spoiled.

My daughter and my husband do like the drumsticks. I just don't make them
very often because I won't eat them. But her favorite thing is plain
chicken breast.
>
>> Our produce is mainly carrots, apples, onions, potatoes and greens.
>> Once in a while I will tomatoes, bananas, and watermelon. These seem
>> to be the cheapest things. I do buy other things occasionally but I
>> don't always keep them in the house like I used to. Especially bell
>> peppers. I love them but they can be expensive.
>
> I'm watching my bell peppers flower up nicely. My grocery cart is
> usually 1/3 full at least of various fresh produce.
>
>> Because of the freezer we are eating more frozen foods. These are
>> things I didn't buy much of before. But these are things I can use
>> coupons for. My husband loves ice cream and frozen pops. He eats
>> tons of these things. And he will tend to just eat whatever is in
>> there. So I have been buying only those things that I have a coupon
>> for. Or the cheaper things. For instance, Winco has a large box of
>> sundaes for around $5.00. I can't remember the brand. I bought
>> those.
>
> Koolaide pops are really easy to make!

Yeah but nobody in this house will eat them. I do have the molds. Anything
that they have to unmold is something they won't touch. Both husband and
daughter just *love* prepackaged single serve things. They will eat cheese
that I have cut up and put in a bag but that's about it.
>
>> We have been trying to dine out less. I just got my daughter's dance
>> schedule for the coming year. On most days her classes will be later
>> in the day so she can eat before she goes. And there is one day of
>> the week where she doesn't dance at all.
>
> I saw and added a few ideas for faster meals or make ahead stuff.

Okay.

cshenk wrote:
>
> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
> cheaper tricks do any of us use?

Grow your own food.

cshenk wrote:
>
> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
> cheaper tricks do any of us use?

Grow your own food.

On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:45:17 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 09:43:29 -0400, Brooklyn1 wrote:
>
>> Sqwertz wrote:
>>>Julie Bove wrote:
>>>
>>>> I do use a list just for the specific things I know I will need for the week
>>>> or things I need to stock up on for later. But if I see good deals that are
>>>> not on my list I will get them.
>>>
>>>I have nothing that I actually need for the upcoming week
>>>except maybe toilet paper. I buy toiletries when I remember.
>>
>> I have an extra litter pan I can send you... you'll have to buy your
>> own bucket of sand.
>
> Editing people's posts as if they wrote it is only done by the lowest
> forms of life on Usenet. They think it's cute, but everybody else
> just sees it as being incredibly childish.
>
> -sw

sheldon in a nutshell.

your pal,
blake

On 7/31/2011 6:16 PM, cshenk wrote:
> Sqwertz wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>>
>>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super
>>> markets.
>>
>> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
>> 2-3X as much.
>>
>> -sw
>
> Same here. Big city syndrome.
>


Yes, it's hard to have farmers markets where you don't have farms.
Most of eastern Colorado doesn't have enough water to farm, plus
we have a short growing season, probably 90-110 days that are dependably
frost-free. The western half of the state has milder weather. That's
where the peaches and apricots come from and
where the wineries are located.


gloria p

"Pete C." > wrote:
> cshenk wrote:
>>
>> Seems it's time to restart a topic. With the USA market tanking, what
>> cheaper tricks do any of us use?
>
> Grow your own food.

Many ways to get ahead during the economic down turn... Let us see.

Stealing, lying, armed robbery, just plain robbery, checking fraud, just
plain fraud, pig out a restaurant and walk out without paying, credit card
fraud, Identity theft...

One can start a dozen front businesses that buy and sell to a single
business that looks good on the books. Then sell that one business that
looks good on the books. Then slowly dry up the the other dozen front
business as if it looks like an honest business failure to the new owner.
This helps to avoid jail and falsely earn a small profit.

"A man with a brief case can steal allot more money than a man with a gun".

Lots of ways to eat well in a bad economy

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

On Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:42:52 -0700, Ranee at Arabian Knits
> wrote:

>In article >,
> Jim Elbrecht > wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:08:28 -0500, Sqwertz >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>> >
>> >> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>> >
>> >Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
>> >2-3X as much.
>>
>> Mine too. Better quality- more 'boutique-y' stuff. But pricey.
>
> We live in farm country now.

I live in farm country, I've lived in farm country most of my life.
The nearest farmer's markets are some 50 miles away at the surburbs of
some large town/city. There are no farmer's markets in farm
country... the closest thing are the County Fairs but those are very
temporary. In farm country there are *occasional* farm stands, a huge
difference. Farm stands are located at roadside right in front of the
farms, locals drive buy and leave money by the honor system or one of
farmer's family who is unable to perform hard labor tends to the
stand. Real farmers don't have the time to take them away from their
work to hang out at a stall in a farmer's market. Farmer's market
stall operators never worked on a farm, they buy their wares from the
same local wholesale markets that supply restaurants and
stupidmarkets.... they can say anything about their wares they dream
up, the same as stall operators at any flea market. Most of the
notable farmer's markets are right in the heart of big cities, none of
those operating the stalls has ever had their hands in dirt. And
there is no such thing as 'organic farming' (meaningless hyperbole),
not on this planet, not so long as there's gravity.

Brooklyn1 <Gravesend1> wrote:
> On Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:42:52 -0700, Ranee at Arabian Knits
> > wrote:
>
>> In article >,
>> Jim Elbrecht > wrote:
>>
>>> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:08:28 -0500, Sqwertz >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:43:09 +0000 (UTC), Nad R wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The farmers markets also tend to have better deals than super markets.
>>>>
>>>> Ouch. Not in my area. Farmers markets are fashionable and charge
>>>> 2-3X as much.
>>>
>>> Mine too. Better quality- more 'boutique-y' stuff. But pricey.
>>
>> We live in farm country now.
>
> I live in farm country, I've lived in farm country most of my life.
> The nearest farmer's markets are some 50 miles away at the surburbs of
> some large town/city. There are no farmer's markets in farm
> country... the closest thing are the County Fairs but those are very
> temporary. In farm country there are *occasional* farm stands, a huge
> difference. Farm stands are located at roadside right in front of the
> farms, locals drive buy and leave money by the honor system or one of
> farmer's family who is unable to perform hard labor tends to the
> stand. Real farmers don't have the time to take them away from their
> work to hang out at a stall in a farmer's market. Farmer's market
> stall operators never worked on a farm, they buy their wares from the
> same local wholesale markets that supply restaurants and
> stupidmarkets.... they can say anything about their wares they dream
> up, the same as stall operators at any flea market. Most of the
> notable farmer's markets are right in the heart of big cities, none of
> those operating the stalls has ever had their hands in dirt. And
> there is no such thing as 'organic farming' (meaningless hyperbole),
> not on this planet, not so long as there's gravity.

The nearest farmers market from me is about 15 miles. However that
translate to a 20 minute legal drive. In the boondocks and an excellent
radar detector that drive is in reality about 15 minutes. Speed limit is 55
Mph on country roads.

When I lived in the city a five mile drive was 15 minutes with all those
stop signs and street lights. The nearest Costco is 40 miles and a 35
minute drive.

And yes they are several road side stops. The farmers just have their
produce out with prices with a chained locked payment box to picnic tables.
In the boondocks people tend to be honest. I Usually can get a dozen full
size Bi Color Corn for $2.50 for a dozen ears.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

On 01/08/2011 5:37 PM, Nad R wrote:
this planet, not so long as there's gravity.
>
> The nearest farmers market from me is about 15 miles. However that
> translate to a 20 minute legal drive. In the boondocks and an excellent
> radar detector that drive is in reality about 15 minutes. Speed limit is 55
> Mph on country roads.
>
> When I lived in the city a five mile drive was 15 minutes with all those
> stop signs and street lights. The nearest Costco is 40 miles and a 35
> minute drive.


There is a farmers`` market in out town on Thursdays, and the market
square is only 3 miles from here. There is another one in the cities on
either side of our town. One is 6 miles and the other is about 12. Then
there is a third on about 15 miles. I usually just go to the local
fruit and vegetable stand, which I can walk to through the woods behind
my house, about a mile.


> And yes they are several road side stops. The farmers just have their
> produce out with prices with a chained locked payment box to picnic tables.
> In the boondocks people tend to be honest. I Usually can get a dozen full
> size Bi Color Corn for $2.50 for a dozen ears.

That is what our neighbourhood fruit stand is like. Most of the time
there is just the box on money. We can even leave IOUs.

Julie Bove wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> cshenk wrote:

> > I lost my coupon keeper but just got a new one. That will help.
> > $5.49 (includes shipping) from Amazon. This one has velcro straps
> > that let you hang it over the handle of a grocery cart. 16 dividers
> > with 'write your own labels' makes it pretty useful here.
> '
> I had that kind but found it didn't hang well on the shopping cart.
> It sort of flailed around and dropped my coupons out. I don't think
> mine had that many dividers. I got another one, also at Amazon that
> is slightly bigger and I got extra dividers. I think it will hang on
> the cart but I haven't tried it.

Can't tell but the old one sat in the front basket and this one will as
well if it doens't hang well.

> I got lucky today! Someone at my newspaper screwed up and they gave
> me two Albertson's inserts. They seem to have cut back to two
> doublers now and they limit two per shopping trip. So today we went
> shopping twice. Got batteries the first time and the second time we
> got some "Skillets". I know I could make these from scratch but they
> were on sale for $4.99 each and the coupons were for $1.00 off so
> that means I saved $2.00 on each. So that will make a cheap meal for
> tomorrow. I got the bacon ones and there are also cubes of potatoes,
> onions, red and green peppers. Potatoes and onions are cheap but the
> peppers are not. So it may well have cost me more had I made it from
> scratch. I also had a coupon for a couple of protein added milk
> drinks which I know my daughter and husband will drink.

The skillets (whatever that is) are more expensive than raw cooking,
always. At 2.99$ each with the doubled coupon you probably paid about
1$ more than making it. Thats OK. Not everyone has time every day to
cook completely raw.

Understood that you do not with the daughters dance classes.

Tonights dinner was:
- Salmon cassarole (can of salmon, cooked pasta, white sauce, onions,
spices) at about 1.50$ total
- Home made kimchee, about 15cents
- breadmaker rye (last of it) about 10 cents worth
- rosated eggplant and carrots in olive oil (since I had the oven on),
about 50cents worth

$2.25 to feed 3 and we have leftovers of cassarole for lunch tomorrow.

> I plan to go again tomorrow or the next day for cat food and treats.
> My cats do not ordinarily eat grocery store dry food. But they are
> real treat addicts.

I know that one! My 3 pets due to luck of the draw all have grain
issues of various degrees so I have to go grain free with everything.



--