Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Frugal Food Thursday: Pumpkin Corn Muffins

pumpkin muffin
Welcome to Frugal Food Thursday!  If you have a great frugal recipe, please link up below! 

Last Thursday, I finished all my Thanksgiving preparation early.  We were going to the home of relatives, so I didn't have to worry about making a turkey.  I had made my Sweet Potato and Pineapple Casserole, Leftover Challah Stuffing, Romaine and Orange Salad, and cranberry sauce. But I felt like making just one more thing.  Sometime warm, tasty, and festive.

I realized we didn't have any bread for the meal, and that I was really craving some cornbread.  So I made these delicious pumpkin corn muffins.

The pumpkin taste is subtle; even pumpkin haters (do they exist?) will like these muffins.

Cornbread is by nature a frugal food.  I keep cornmeal in the freezer, ready for use.  It keeps very well there.  I bought the pumpkin puree at ALDI, where it was seasonally available.

I got this recipe from the Southern Food section of About.com.

PUMPKIN CORN MUFFINS

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp butter or margarine, melted
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (about 1/2 of a 15-oz can)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.  Spray nonstick spray onto the liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the brown sugar, egg, milk, and butter.  Using a whisk, add the pumpkin puree and whisk until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until all of the dry ingredients are just moistened.

Pour batter into muffin cups, filling them two-thirds full.  Bake muffins for 16-20 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

There are lots more cheap recipes posted here at Frugal FolliesClick here for the list!

Got a great frugal recipe?  Link below to your actual post, not your main page.  Please only link up recipes and other food-related posts; contest entries and other posts are not allowed and will be deleted. I'd appreciate it if you would link back to Frugal Food Thursday as well!  Also, if you have a list of food-related linkups on your blog, I'd appreciate it if you would add Frugal Food Thursday to your list.





If you're reading this post via email or a reader, please click here for the links.

For more great recipes, please visit the bloggers listed on the left sidebar under Food Linkups. There are lots of great recipes on each blog and I'm sure you'll find some new favorites!

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

Free shipping for holiday cards

Here's a new offer for holiday cards.  Unlike previous offers, the cards are not free - but the shipping is!

At Vistaprint, you can get 20 4x8 photo holiday cards for $7.00, plus free shipping!

And of course, you can add your own photos and text to these cards.

Click here for your cheap holiday cards.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

LOZO - get coupons based on your shopping list

Lozo.comHere's a different spin on coupon printing sites that I just recently discovered.

Head on over to LOZO and input your shopping list. (You do make a shopping list, right? Going into the grocery store without a plan is a sure way to overspend!)

Then LOZO will check its database of coupons and provide to you just the right coupons that you need.

No more scrolling between pages or going from site to site, looking for just the right coupon.  Sounds pretty simple!

Give LOZO a try!


(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

Grocery shopping: Running from store to store

Our grocery stockpiles were pretty full this week, so earlier this week I ended up just running to a few different stores to pick up a few items at each. I wish I could just go to one store, but I feel terrible buying something at full price at one store, knowing that it's cheaper just a mile away!

Here's what I got:


Western Beef:
0.90 lb plum tomatoes @ $1.19/lb = $1.07
1 bunch scallions @ 65¢
1.65 lb green pepper @ 79¢/lb = $1.30
1 3-lb bag Gala apples @ $2.99
3 cucumbers @ 50¢ = $1.50

Total spent: $7.51

Kosher Supermarket:
4.72 lb chicken breasts @ $4.99/lb = $23.55
3.62 lb ground beef @ $4.99/lb = $18.06

Total spent: $41.61

ALDI:
2 gallons milk @ $2.99 = $5.98
1 juice pouches @ $1.79
1 box instant oatmeal @ $1.39
1 frozen juice concentrate @ 92¢
1 cottage cheese @ $2.19

Tax: 11¢
Total spent: $12.38

Walmart:
2.82 lb bananas @ 38¢/lb = $1.07
4 GV Great Northern beans @ 68¢ = $2.72

Total spent: $3.79


Total spent on four trips: $64.22
Bookmark and Share

Read more...

What I'm Reading: Entreleadership

I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey's financial advice. I've read his book The Total Money Makeover many times, and I've also read many other of his books. I listen to the podcast of The Dave Ramsey Show while I exercise. Although I don't always 100% agree with his advice, I always like to hear what he has to say.

So I was really excited to hear that he has a new book available, EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches. In this book, Ramsey passes on his leadership, team building, and entreprenurial knowledge he's built from starting a business on a card table in his living room to the successful business he now leads.

I immediately went to my library's website and reserved it - and there was already a wait list for it, even before the library had it in stock. I had to wait a little, but I just got my library copy today!

Over the next few weeks I'll be reading this book and reviewing it, chapter by chapter, here at Frugal Follies. If you've ever thought about starting your own business, but didn't know how to start or how to grow it, you might want to read it with me!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

ALDI Coral Springs and Tamarac open tomorrow (December 1)

Just a reminder to my fellow Northwest Broward frugalistas - the ALDI stores in Coral Springs and Tamarac open tomorrow, December 1st, 2011!

Here are the addresses again:

The Coral Springs location is 6198 W. Sample Rd., just west of the intersection of Sample Rd. and State Road 7 / U.S. Highway 441, on the south side of the road.

The Tamarac location is 7050 N. University Drive, on the northeast corner of University Drive and McNab Rd.

And even better: In today's South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper, there was a $5 off $30 coupon for the Coral Springs site!

If you're new to ALDI shopping, keep the following things in mind:
  • ALDI carries its own house brand of basic groceries.  There isn't a lot of variety in the items they carry, as opposed to a grocery store.  For instance, for canned beans they carry kidney beans, black beans, lima beans, dried white beans, and refried beans. So I have to buy the canned white beans for my Garlic-Parmesan White Bean Mash elsewhere. If you're looking for many varieties of items, this is not your place.
  • ALDI does not take credit cards.  You can pay with cash, debit cards, or EBT cards.
  • You need to deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart.  You'll get your deposit back when you put the cart back.  
  • You need to bring your own bags, or pay for plastic, paper, or cloth bags.  You'll also have to bag the groceries yourself - there is a shelf available to help you do this.
Happy shopping!

UPDATE: The store is now open!  Click here for photos from the opening.



Bookmark and Share

Read more...

Last chance to print coupons!

The new month is almost upon us - be sure to head on over to these online coupon sites to print coupons before they disappear!

Or, even better, the coupons may reset - so you can get two printings today and two more tomorrow!

Coupons.com

RedPlum

Coupon Network

Cellfire

SavingStar


(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Wednesday Weekly Shopping: Got 50 free bucks!

I invite you to link up to your best grocery deals below, to inspire others to save more! 

(If you're looking for this week's frugal tip, I've made a change to my blogging schedule - the weekly frugal tip will appear on Thursday night. Wednesday Weekly Shopping will now appear on Tuesday night - so you can start linking up earlier!)

Drug store shopping is so much fun on Thanksgiving!

Last year, I went to get the drug store deals on Black Friday, but my stores were out of most items.  Now that's no fun.  So this year, I snuck out for a few minutes in between Thanksgiving preparations to get the drug store freebies.

And I was rewarded by almost $50 in free money!  I got about $38 in Extra Care Bucks at CVS and around $12 in Register Rewards at Walgreens.  I'm going to have even more fun spending those free dollars - and trying to stretch them as far as possible!

Here's what I got this week:






In addition, I spent $25.03 at ALDI on the usual stuff (milk, eggs, bread, cheese, produce).

Overall, this week I spent $84.81 for items which retail for $182.71, or a 54% savings based on the retail value of the products at the stores where they were purchased.  (But don't compare percentages!)

For the year (48 weeks), I've spent $3700.61 for items which retail for $6745.17, and saved $3044.56, or a 45% savings. That's an average of $77.10 spent each week for a family of five (husband, wife, and daughters ages 14, 10, and 6), including lots of fresh produce, dairy items, and kosher meat.

How did your shopping go this week? What bargains did you get? Please leave a link to your blog post about your weekly shopping. The aim is not to brag, but to inspire!  Please link up directly to your post, not to the blog itself. I'd appreciate it if you put a link to Wednesday Weekly Shopping in your post as well. If you don't have a blog, please leave a comment!





If you're reading this post via email or a reader, please click here for the links.

For more great shopping deals and trips, please check out the bloggers listed on the left sidebar under Shopping Deals Linkups. There are lots of great ideas on each blog and I'm sure you'll find inspiration for you to save even more!

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

Free fish oil, free chips and salsa, and more!

Here are some new freebies to sign up for!






Also, be sure to check out Mysavings, Freeflys, WomanFreebies, and BabyToBee for even more freebies!

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

End of the month - print those coupons!

The end of the month is almost upon us - time to go to coupon websites and print out or download coupons that interest you, before they disappear!


Coupons.com

RedPlum

Coupon Network

Cellfire

SavingStar

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

Huge increases in Cyber Monday shopping

Here's some interesting information about Cyber Monday shopping that landed in my inbox today:

New numbers show a big increase in Cyber Monday shopping over last year.

Ebates, which is a cash-back portal to 1,200 online stores like Target and Best Buy, is now reporting over a 100% increase over last year – and that was at 12:20 PM PST.

In fact, the company has seen record increases over last year:

  • +96% on Thanksgiving Day
  • +56% on Black Friday
  • +101% on Sunday
  • +104% (and increasing as the day progresses) on Cyber Monday
Wow, that's pretty impressive!

Be sure to check out Ebates to learn how to get cash back on your online purchases.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

Monday, November 28, 2011

Fortune Follies Tuesday 11/29: List and Enter Giveaways

Welcome to Fortune Follies Tuesday, where bloggers can list their giveaways, and readers can enter them!

I'm convinced that entering giveaways is a great way to acquire things frugally.  It doesn't cost anything but a bit of time, and blogs often offer great prizes to their readers.  A few months ago, I won $100 in grocery gift cards in blog giveaways - check out how!

So take some time and enter some the giveaways listed below!

And be sure to enter the Frugal Follies giveaway for a $10 Publix gift card (ends 12/13)!

Please link up your giveaways using the following format: Blog Name - Name of Contest - End Date.  Please link directly to your giveaway and not to your home page.  A link back to Fortune Follies Tuesday is always appreciated!

Also, if you have a list of sites which have giveaway linkies, please add Frugal Follies to your list.  I'd appreciate it!



If you're reading this post via email or a reader, click here for the list of giveaways.

Bookmark and Share

Read more...

Tempur-Pedic Free Information Kit

I admit it... I would love to get a new mattress. We got a new one a few years ago, and it just doesn't seem to be holding up like I would like. But now is not the time to buy a new one - we have some debt to pay off, an emergency fund to fill, and retirement and college savings to supplement.

Still, if I could get a mattress right now, I'd love to get a Tempur-Pedic mattress. They are soooo comfortable! So I was excited to hear about a new Tempur-Pedic free information kit. It includes a DVD showing the mattress benefits, a product guide, and a sample of the mattress material.

To get your own free information kit, click on the banner below!





If you're reading this via email or a reader, click here for the banner.

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

Bookmark and Share

Read more...
Next Post Previous Post Home
Content © 2010-2014 by Frugal Follies.   © Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008