Still, I like to keep our grocery budget under a certain amount, so I look to save money where I can.  Let me continue by saying I am not a coupon clipper.  I have tried it, I have heard of the tv shows where people save thousands, and I just can’t do it.  I forgot my canvas bags more often than not, I would have a really hard time with coupons too.

There are the old standbys, which I listed below just in case anyone forgot.  But what do you do to save on groceries?  Here are some of the things I do:

• Have a list.  Yes, the most common tip.  Make a list and stick to it.  Now as I mentioned above, I forget my canvas bags.  So rather than using a piece of paper which I’m definitely likely to lose, I put the list on my phone.  That way I know I’ll have my list!
• Don’t always fall for sales.  Just recently I had my twins with me in the store.  I try to make a learning experience out of everything and noticed a perfect opportunity:  there was an item on sale (a “2 for” deal) and then the same item in bulk next to it.  I had them compare the sale item – how many ounces would you get for that amount?  Then, look at the bulk item – is it a better deal?  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
• Take your time.  If I have a big list, I make sure I’m not pressed for time.  Reason being, if I’m doing comparison shopping like I describe above, it will take me longer.
• Shop at down times.  If you’re going to take your time, shop when the crowds aren’t there (if you can).  It’s much easier to concentrate when you’re not pushing your way through crowds.
• Bring a calculator.  My list is in my phone, as is my calculator.  I’m okay at math, but sometimes my brain is so jumbled with so many other things it’s easier to just whip out the calculator and figure it out.
• Eat before you go.  Everybody has done this at some point or another; try going to a grocery store when you’re hungry.  It is absolute torture.  Everything looks good, and therefore you buy everything.  Don’t go on an empty stomach.
• Look down low and up high.  Ever heard the grocery tips on marketing?  How the store is set up, where the kid appealing items are placed, where the bargain items go?  Interesting stuff.
• Set a not to exceed.  I do try to budget our groceries, though I’m sort of lackadaisical about it.  Rather than having a budget each time I go to the store, I set a not to exceed and try to stay around or below that.  I know, it’s pretty much the same thing.  It just feels and sounds different to me.
• Be comfortable.  I dislike going to the store in office dress.  Go comfortable.
• Don’t take your children (or your husband).  If at all possible, go alone – for many reasons.  I save anywhere from $10-$40 by shopping alone.  Also, it makes “take your time” a whole lot easier.

My stepdaughter’s family birthday party is this weekend, which naturally means a big shopping trip.  She’s requested tapas and a carrot cake this year.  I’ve already started my list, and am searching for new ways to save (this is a BIG list!)  What do you do to save on your grocery bill?

The kitchen is definitely one place where, with a little planning, you can save a lot of time.  I’ve put some standard tricks below (I’m sure you’ve heard of most or all of these); what sort of time saving kitchen tips do you have?

• Keep a stocked pantry.  There’s no bigger time waster than trip after trip to the grocery store!  Here are items that I try to keep in my pantry at all times.
• Keep a running grocery list.  If you have older children, a pad of paper in the kitchen for them to write down items as they consume them.  Otherwise I like using Reminders on my phone, or there are a ton of different grocery list sites and apps out there!
• Plan your meals.  I talked about this in an earlier post, and I admit it is not one of my favorite things to do.  However, it saves me hours of time when completed.  Consider meal planning for weeks or even a month; put everything on your grocery list and get as much as you can (minus the perishable items that wouldn’t survive the month).
• Have dinners on hand.  I know for a fact that I could walk into my kitchen right now and make a handful of meals.  I make it a point to always keep those ingredients on hand so that in a pinch, I always have the ingredients to make my ‘standby’ meals.
• Keep your freezer stocked.  When there is a great sale on meat, I buy it.  My freezer always has chicken, various cuts of beef, fish (usually tilapia), often shrimp and pork too.  It always has a few bags of frozen veggies.  Usually our freezer has ice cream in it too.  Again, that way I know if I want to make a chicken meal, I don’t have to 1) figure out whether or not I have chicken, and 2) run to the store if I don’t have it.
• Cook ahead.  Now I don’t mean full meals.  Honestly, I have to be in a “I feel like cooking for hours” mood if I’m going to pre-cook and then freeze meals.  I mean brown 2 pounds of ground beef at a time:  use one and freeze the other.  Make Anything Chicken, using some of it for dinner that night and freezing the rest.
• Prep ahead.  This I do most during summer garden harvest time.  I dice onion after onion and freeze them in one cup serving bags.  I blanche pounds of green beans so that they can be quickly steamed and added to our meal.  Sometimes, when I get back from the grocery store, I chop green or red peppers and place them in an airtight container in the fridge so when it’s cooking time, all I need to do is throw them in.
• Consider using prepped foods.  Baby carrots and jars of minced garlic have saved me hours of shredding, chopping, peeling, and mincing.  I’ll admit though – there are quite a few ‘prepped’ foods that I won’t use.
• Whatever you do, try not to go grocery shopping on a Saturday!  I am spoiled and can grocery shop any day of the week at any time.  Because of this, I am often going early afternoon before getting the kids from school, or perhaps morning after dropping them off.  I ventured into a store on a Saturday recently and WOW – what a difference!  What would have taken me about 15 minutes normally took closer to 40 minutes just because of the crowd.

The other day I asked him and he quickly replied “Cajun.”  Not something I hear very often!  I had a roast thawed out that I needed to use so I threw it in the crockpot with some spices and then threw together some Maque Choux right before dinner time.  Tasty!

Believe it or not, I’m not always at the top of my game first thing in the morning and don’t always get inspired as to what to put into my crock pot before I’ve had my first cup of coffee.  That’s where the idea came for this series of blog posts.  I love when I have meat already prepared and I can just throw it into a dish and call it dinner.  So I’m starting with chicken!  Hopefully I’ve listed enough recipes and/or recipe ideas that you can pick and choose your favorites.  The idea here is that you cook the chicken once and make a bunch of meals from it.  This approach can be done over a week, a month, or several months.  When frozen, just take the chicken out, run it under some water for a few minutes or put it in a dish with water (until it’s not a frozen brick of poultry anymore) and cook away.
I have two favorite ways of pre-cooking my chicken.  One is the Anything Chicken slow cooker recipe.  The other is buying a rotisserie chicken from the deli department at my local grocery store.  Obviously there’s the work of skinning and de-boning the chicken then, but they’re usually pretty tasty.

Below is a list of recipes you could make with cooked chicken.

Super Easy Chicken Tacos (or Quesadillas, or Burritos, or Nachos, or whatever)

Ingredients:
Cooked Chicken and Salsa
Tortillas, taco shells, or chips
Sour Cream, Guacamole, taco sauce, shredded cheese, or whatever else you like with your Mexican dishes
Shred the cooked chicken or chop it up into bite sized pieces.  Put the cooked chicken into a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.  Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup salsa.  If desired, add a little extra cumin, garlic powder and/or lime juice.  Heat through and serve in tortillas, over chips, in hard taco shells, whatever you choose.

Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:
Cooked Chicken
Rice (4 servings)
Cream of ______ Soup (pick your favorite)
Bag of frozen veggies
Some black pepper and garlic powder to taste
Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.  Add chicken, cooked rice, soup, and veggies to skillet.  Cook over medium heat until heated through.

Chinese Chicken

Ingredients:
Cooked Chicken
Bag of Stir Fry veggies
Packet of seasoning or bottle of stir fry sauce/marinade
Rice or noodles
Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Add chicken, veggies, and seasoning (with water) or sauce to skillet.  Cook over medium heat until heated through and veggies are tender.  Serve with rice or noodles.

Cheesy Chicken and Noodles

Ingredients:
Cooked Chicken
Bag of favorite veggies
Box of noodles, prepared as directed on package
4 oz cream cheese
Black pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 cup (or more) of shredded cheddar cheese
Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Melt cream cheese in skillet over low heat.  Add chicken, veggies, pepper and garlic powder, cook over medium low heat until heated through.  Stir in cheddar cheese and noodles, continue cooking until cheese is melted.

Some other favorite quick ideas?  Add cooked chicken to your favorite Rice Seasoning Mix or Noodle mix.  Heat shredded chicken with barbeque sauce and serve on buns with coleslaw.  Make chicken melt sandwiches.  Personally, I find that I often think too complicated for our meals (see “We Could Just Have Soup and Sandwiches“).  I need to slow down and make the easy stuff once in awhile.  After all, the kids usually gobble that up faster than the “fancy” meals!!

Just recently I have been inspired to try again and to photograph my recipes.  I’ve joined Pinterest and get so hungry browsing all the yummy food photos!  It was there that I saw this picture:

I seriously wanted to jump through my computer screen and eat those cookies.  They are Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies with PB cups and PB M&Ms.  WOW.  After browsing around the Love Veggies and Yoga blog (don’t let the name fool you – Averie has the yummiest looking desserts ever!) and looking at all of her beautiful food pictures, I became inspired.  I ordered a book, on her recommendation, grabbed my camera and started shooting.

I started with something easy and snapped some pictures for the next few days.  I tried my hand at those cookies too!

The cookies were yummy, as expected.  My pictures?  They’re getting better.  I recently made Pasta Fagioli and added a picture to that.  Not half bad.

So this serves as a new inspiration for me.  Which is good!  My goal of not eating out is going splendidly; we didn’t eat out once during January!  All these goals and inspirations make me want to set more goals, so now my head is swirling with ideas.

My husband wants more recipes with whole foods – not so many with canned soups and other things with preservatives.  I’d like a list of recipes with only 5 ingredients.  I’d also like to compile a list of recipes that can be made for a family of 4-6 for under $15.  (That’s total – not per serving!)  I’ve had more ideas, but those are just a few to start.

Right now I’m off to make more crockpot dinners and take more pictures.  Or maybe browse Pinterest for awhile….

Whether it’s impromptu or planned, below is a list of great party foods.  What’s your favorite party food recipe?

Although I always give my kids the choice on their birthday cake, 9 times out of 10 they pick carrot cake.  Everyone else in the family is always glad they did!

This recipe is posted courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens