New Product Review

Many of you know this about me, but I'll say it again.  I am a coupon addict.  It pains me to go to the grocery store without a stack of them.  I love the rush of feeling like I just robbed the store.  I plan, I plot, I wait, I watch.  Then, I swoop in and buy, buy, buy!  Now, before you get concerned, let me clarify: I only buy stuff we actually use, unless I can get it for free and then I donate it; I have not built an addition onto my house to house 3 years' worth of groceries and I don't clean out an entire department of my grocery store in one fell swoop.  But, I do sleep well knowing that I have my own little personal hoard of olive oil, soup, rice and beans.  (and occasionally feta cheese, pie crust, spaghetti sauce and pickles)

Well, last week, I noticed that this new product that I'd never heard of was on sale at Publix.  It's Progresso's "Recipe Starters."  Now at first, I thought this was like those new concentrated stocks that a lot of the broth people have introduced. I downloaded some coupons and decided to check this stuff out.  Turns out they're not all stocks.  They are bases to start recipes with and the can actually has a recipe on it, in addition to the URL of more recipes and ideas.  I selected a variety to give it a try:  Creamy Parmesan Basil, Fire Roasted Tomato, Creamy Roasted Garlic and Creamy Three Cheese.  

Just a couple of days later, I received an email from MyBlogSpark to introduce me to "Progresso Recipe Starters" and it included a link to a high value coupon for it.  They have encouraged me to post this coupon link for you, my faithful reader, to download and give the product a try.  I decided to use one of them myself so I could give you my two-cents' worth, in case you're interested.  I used the "Easy Weeknight Bacon Mac n Cheese" recipe right on the label.  You can view the recipe right here. 

I served it with a grilled flatiron steak and green beans.  This dish was very tasty (BACON!) and very creamy.  I think the flavor could be boosted even more with a sharper cheese thrown in, like blue cheese maybe.  And, it was a snap to prepare.  It absolutely fits the bill for an easy weeknight dish.  If you are the type who prefers the old school, drier oven baked macaroni from your grandmother, this may not do it for you.  But, if you are one who digs hot, cheesy, creamy pasta...this is a winner.  If you're interested in trying out this product, the nice people at Progresso have made this coupon available to us.

And, their generosity doesn't end there.  They also included a coupon for Progresso Light Soups.  These are low calorie soups; some as low as 100 calories!  Please note that this information and the coupons were provided to me from MyBlogSpark and Progresso.  Download the coupons and try out the products.  Thank you Progresso!

Betty Crocker Muffins

Who doesn't like a good, warm muffin in the morning?  My friends at Betty Crocker and My Blog Spark sent me this valuable coupon for a new line of cereal flavored muffin mixes...Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs and Reeses Puffs.  They also included a coupon for me to share with all of you, so click here for $.80 off one of these cool new mixes!

Chicken Scores and Chores

Those of you who have known me for a long time probably would never have imagined that I have become a devoted addict of manic couponing. I know, right?  Those of you who know me lately, probably know that I am a devoted addict of manic couponing.  Those of you,  ha ha...just kidding, I'm not going any further.  To the point, you say!  

I got really excited by this week's BiLo ad...boneless chicken breasts are "B1G1" which makes them about $2.29/lb.  That's a great deal.  Then, I checked my other grocery love, Publix.  Their chicken is $1.99/lb.  That's unheard of!  So, I got about 8 lbs, trimmed them up, cooked two (pieces, not pounds) tonight and packaged the rest up for the freezer.

That's the score.  What's the chore?

I love chicken as much as the next guy.  I've eaten it my whole life.  It's lean, low fat, versatile...what's not to love?  Well, those of you who know me know about my "thing" with meat, bones and fat.  Like the meat.  Hate the bones and fat.  So, when I buy chicken, it must be trimmed to my specs.  You see, I simply won't eat chicken with fat hanging off it, sinew still attached, bones in it or anything funky like cardiovascular tissue remaining. So, for me to trim chicken is a major chore.  I hate it so much, but I have to do it myself so I know it meets the requirements.  (Although, to be truthful, I trust Neil and my sister to prepare it to my specs.  They've proven themselves!)  I won't serve any food to you that I wouldn't eat myself. So, good news if any of you are meat freaks like me.  You can eat at my house and be confident.  

Now, see, the problem with being a chicken trimmin' freakazoid is that you have a tendancy to trim up what you want to cook tonight and throw the rest in the freezer, talking yourself into believing that when you're ready to use it, you can trim the funk easier when the meat is still partially frozen.  While this is true, most of the time it's grab a ziploc of chicken from the freezer, throw it in a sink full of water to defrost it as fast as possible so this little family can actually eat sometime soon!  At least that's how it plays out for me.  So, I'm immensely pleased with myself and happy to report that tonight, I trimmed, wrapped, bagged and froze ALL the chicken breasts with the exception of the ones I turned into (delicious) Dijon Chicken this evening for  supper.

Yea me!  You may think this is silly, but I can say with complete certainty, that I will sleep well knowing that all that "ready-to-go-Elizabeth-standard-chicken" is just lying there in the deep freeze for another day.  Sleep tight chicken lovers!

P.S.  If you're interested in learning how couponing really works, click here to go to SouthernSavers.com.  Check out the "new to SS?" area...

Freezer Depletion

Ever since I became a coupon-junkie, I developed a freezer problem.  Meaning, I got to a point that buy-one-get-one sales and coupons had gotten my freezer so packed to the gills that I had to put myself on restrictions.  I can't even count how many times I've come home from a shopping trip and Neil looks at what I've bought, looks at the freezer and says "That'll NEVER go in there."  I love it when he says 'never'.  It's the ultimate challenge word.  And I always reply, "Oh, honey.  It's going in there!"  I love to win.

Maybe it's the change in the economy over the last few years, but I gotta tell you, there is something very comforting to me knowing that I have food in the freezer.  There's the convenience factor...get home late from work, you know there is something in there that you can quickly defrost and get on the plate.  Or, forget defrosting.  Grab a bag of Wanchai Ferry. Then there's the seasonal thing...I have a homemade blackberry pie in my freezer right now that I can serve tonight if I want, reminding us all of summertime.  Then, there's the economy issue...the sheer comfort of having a pot roast, pounds of shrimp or homemade pot pies sitting in that freezer just whispering to you, "don't worry, you can take care of your family with good, healthy food. I'm right here behind this door."  Ok, I don't actually hear the food talking, but you get my drift. 


This morning, I peeked inside to get an idea of what I should do for dinner tonight and guess what?  I could actually see some of the shelves.  There was some open space in there!  The frozen stash is dwindling.  While there's still some great stuff there, this means I can lift the frozen food restrictions I placed on myself!  B1G1 crab cakes, chicken breast, all my pre-chopped treasures for quick casseroles...we will meet again soon!  I wish I could invent a way to freeze sour cream, milk and ricotta...