February 2012 | Frugal Follies

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Macaroni and Spinach Casserole (Frugal Food Thursday)

macaroni spinach casserole

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

I was cleaning out my freezer in preparation for Frozen Food Month in March, when there are bound to be great sales on frozen food. I found some package of spinach (bought on sale with both Publix store coupons and manufacturer's coupons). I remembered a recipe from my mom for Macaroni and Spinach Casserole - the only way I'd eat spinach when I was a kid - so I thought I'd try it out again.

My mom compiled a cookbook of her recipes and gave copies to my sister, my sister-in-law, and me, so it was easy to find the recipe. But I made a few changes - I replaced her original tomato sauce with jarred Alfredo sauce, and I added garlic and pepper. And I changed the regular pasta to whole wheat pasta.

It was yummy! I'm so glad I tried this recipe again.

MACARONI AND SPINACH CASSEROLE

1 box frozen chopped spinach
16 oz whole-wheat elbow macaroni
16 oz ricotta or cottage cheese
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 15-oz jar Alfredo sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook spinach in the microwave according to package directions. Drain and allow to cool.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta or cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and spices. Mix well. Add the macaroni and toss until well combined. Add the Alfredo sauce and mix until the pasta is coated in the sauce.

Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

There are lots more cheap recipes posted here at Frugal Follies. Click 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!

For more great recipes, please go to my Linkup Parties list and scroll down to Food Linkups. There are lots of great recipes on each blog and I'm sure you'll find some new favorites!

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Free Miracle Whip and more!

Here are the latest freebies from Freeflys. Get 'em while they're still available!

Check out all the freebies at Freeflys.

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Great travel deals

Love to travel?

Then check out DealChicken.com. DealChicken Travel delivers deep discounts on travel, from quaint bed & breakfasts to tropical escapes. Sign up for the weekly email and discover great deals that set you free to explore!

Click here to check out DealChicken.

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5 Most Printed Coupons

Here are this week's five most printed coupons from Coupon Network. Have you printed them yet?

$1.85 off when you buy any ONE Birds Eye® Voila® Product

$1.00 off when you buy any ONE POST Honey Bunches of Oats NEW Fruit Blends

65¢ off when you buy ONE Knorr® Homestyle Stock

$3.00 off when you buy any ONE AVENT Multi-pack BPA-Free Baby Bottles

$1.50 off when you buy any ONE AVENT BPA-Free Toddler Cup

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

It's the end of February - print those coupons!

It's almost March - wow, two months of 2012 are already gone!

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!

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

Best South Florida Publix Deals 3-1-2012

Here are some of the best Publix deals I've found that are available from Thursday, March 1, 2012, through Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The prices are for Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee, and Monroe counties, including the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Vero Beach, and Key West.

The Frugal Follies Coupon Database was used to find the coupon matchups. New coupons appear daily, so check it to see if any new coupons are available!

Manufacturer's coupons are shown in dark blue writing; Publix or competitor store coupons are written in light blue highlighting. That way, you'll be able to tell whether you can use both Publix and manufacturer's coupons together to get an even better deal!

Don't understand an abbreviation here? Check the coupon glossary.

This is not a complete list of all deals available at Publix this week. Please check I Heart Publix or Southern Savers for a complete list, but please note that the prices listed may not be accurate for the South Florida area.

Buy one, get one free:

Athenos Crumbled Feta Cheese, 6 oz, @ BOGO $4.99
$0.75/1 Athenos Feta Cheese printable
As low as $1.75 each when you buy two

Crystal Light Drink Mix, 8 qt or 7 or 10 ct, @ BOGO $2.99
$1/2 Crystal Light Drink Mix printable
As low as $1.00 each when you buy two

Nabisco Ritz Crackers, Ritz Bits Sandwiches, Munchables Pretzel Crisps or Thins, 7.5-16 oz, @ BOGO $4.11
$1/2 Nabisco Crackers printable
As low as $1.66 when you buy two

Mrs. Paul’s Fish, 7.2-24.6 oz, @ BOGO $5.99
$1/1 Mrs. Paul's Seafood Product printable
As low as $2.00 each when you buy two

Weight Watchers Smart Ones Desserts, 4 ct., 7.76-11.71 oz, @ BOGO $3.99
$1/2 Weight Watchers Smart Ones Frozen Dessert printable
As low as $1.50 each when you buy two

Birds Eye Voila! Entrees or Meals, 21-23 oz, @ BOGO $5.87
$1.85 off when you buy any ONE Birds Eye® Voila® Product
As low as $1.09 each when you buy two

Other deals:
Voskos Greek Yogurt, 4.6 or 5.3 oz, $1

$1/3 Voskos Greek Yogurt or Voskos Crunch, exp. 3/16/12 (Publix Yellow Advantage)

$1/3 Voskos Greek Yogurt, exp. 6/30/12 (RP 02/19/12 R)

$1/3 Voskos Greek Yogurt or YoGreek printable
As low as 34¢ each when you buy three

Nestle Coffee-Mate Flavored Creamers, 32 oz, $2.50
$1/1 Nestle Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss Liquid Coffee Creamers printable
$1.85/3 Nestle Coffee-mate Liquid Flavored or Original Creamers printable
As low as $1.50 each

Birds Eye Frozen Vegetables, 7.5-28.8 oz or Corn on the Cob, 4 or 12 ct., 50% off
$1/3 Birds Eye Steamfresh Vegetables printable
Final price varies

Dannon Activia Yogurt, 4 pk, 4 oz, $2
$2/2 Dannon Activia Yogurt Target printable

$1/1 Activia Product, exp. 3/19/12 (SS 02/12/12)

FREE if your store considers Target a competitor

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Cereal, 12 oz, $1.99
$4/4 Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran, FiberPlus, Crispix, Rice Krispies or Crunchy Nut printable
As low as 99¢ each when you buy four

Keebler Cookies, 6.6-16 oz, $2.50
$0.70/1 Keebler Fudge Stripes Dark Chocolate Cookies printable
As low as $1.80 each

Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper or Chicken or Tuna Helper, 4.4-7.5 oz, $1

$0.75/3 Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, or Chicken Helper Home Cooked Skillet Meals, exp. 3/31/12 (GM 02/05/12)

$0.75/3 Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper printable
$0.80/4 Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper or Chicken Helper Product printable
$0.80/4 Hamburger Helper Home Cooked Skillet Meals printable
$0.80/4 Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper or Chicken Helper Home Cooked Skillet Meals printable
As low as 75¢ each when you buy three

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

Green tea coupon

I love tea! I start each morning with a cup of tea. And I love finding great deals on tea!

A couple of weeks ago, I bought two boxes of Lipton tea - 100 ct - for 1.27¢ per bag. And last week I got 7 boxes of herbal tea for 50¢ per box. But sometimes I like other types of tea, like green tea.

So I was happy to see this new coupon for Lipton green tea. Combine this with a great deal, like the Unilever deals at CVS (buy $10 of Unilever products, get $3 in Extra Care Bucks) to save even more.

$0.75 off one box of Lipton Green Tea

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

Silk coupons

If you like soymilk, almond milk, or other products from the Silk line, here are some coupons that will help you get them for less. Combine with a store sale to save even more!

$0.55 off one Silk Soymilk or Almondmilk

$1.00 off one Silk Pure Coconut

$1.00 off one Silk Fruit&Protein

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

Craftsy Pattern Marketplace

Craftsy, the daily deal site for crafters, just got even better.

Besides the great deals on craft supplies and their Quilt Block of the Month classes, Craftsy has just added a new Pattern Marketplace.

The Pattern Marketplace section of Craftsy is the fastest-growing online marketplace for crafting patterns. You'll find all kinds of patterns there from indpendent designers at the lowest prices around. You'll find patterns for crocheting, embroidery, felting, jewelry, knitting, paper crafts, quilting, sewing, and many other crafts.

Check out the Craftsy Pattern Marketplace!

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

HauteLook home decor stats

I love trivia - the more obscure, the better! So when I saw this infographic, I knew I had to share it with you.

Here are some fascinating statistics about home decor in the United States, brought to you by HauteLook.

Who knew that folks from Alaska and Hawaii bought more office supplies? Or that Nevadans bought more dinnerware?

Enjoy!

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

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

One dollar short (Wednesday Weekly Shopping)

Coupon Shopping

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

This week, I took four trips to the stores - two to ALDI and two to Publix. I skipped the drug stores this week - I have plenty stored in my personal care stockpile, and the sales at CVS and Walgreens have been very disappointing.

And my year's total savings is 49.97%... one more dollar and I'd be at 50% for the year! My average for the year is $77.69, safely below my budget of $80 per week.

Here's what I got this week:

ALDI trip 1: Spent $18.01

ALDI trip 2: Spent $8.83

Publix trip 1: Spent $21.79, saved $48.53

Publix trip 2: Spent $11.38, saved $48.02 (not including Goodnites)

Overall, this week I spent $60.01 for items which retail for $156.56, or a 62% savings based on the retail value of the products at the stores where they were purchased. (But don't compare percentages!)

For the year (9 weeks), I spent $699.19 for items which retailed for $1397.46, and saved $698.27, or a 49.97% savings. That's an average of $77.69 spent each week for a family of five (husband, wife, and daughters ages 14, 11, and 6), including lots of fresh produce, dairy items, and kosher meat.

In 2011, I spent $4017.13 for items which retailed for $7344.08, saving 45% and spending an average of $77.25 per week for the year.

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 in my Linkup Parties page under Shopping Deals Linkups. I'm sure you'll find lots of great ideas on saving money on groceries!

Grab a button!

Coupon Shopping

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

Winners: Growing Culinary Herbs in Containers

We have winners for the Growing Culinary Herbs in Containers giveaway!

The winners are:

Entry #86 Algene B.

Entry #155 Cynthia K.

Entry #101 Surso S.

Entry #221 Johannah B.

Entry #81 Joy B.

Entry #212 Cheri L.

Entry #340 Barbara R.

Entry #261 Ciara K.

Entry #13 Kathy W.

Entry #211 Christine V.

If you weren't a winner, you can still get a copy of Growing Culinary Herbs in Containers. It's available at Amazon.com for the Kindle. If you don't have a Kindle, you can get the Kindle Cloud Reader for Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, or other operating systems.

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

Free gym passes

Still need to get in shape this year? Here are two free passes to fitness clubs:

You can get a 7-day pass to any of the 400+ 24 Hour Fitness locations. Try the fun group exercise classes. No appointment is needed, and you won't experience any sales pressure.

Or, get a free one-week pass to Curves. Burn up to 500 calories with their 30-minute workout, which combines strength training and cardio for a workout that works your entire body, from head to toe. It works every major muscle group and gives you results that last.

Sign up for 24 Hour Fitness or Curves today!

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

Free Crystal Light and more!

Here are some new freebies found by That Freebie Site!

Free Sample of Crystal Light Energy
Free Burt’s Bee GUD Lotion Sample
Free Sample of One Love Organic Coffee from Marley Coffee
Super Duper Totally Authorized Top Secret Recipes – Free eBook
Free Sample of Simple Moisturizing Face Wash

Sign up for the mailing list at That Freebie Site and get the latest freebies delivered to your inbox!

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

Free stevia and more!

Here's are some of the great product samples listed right now at MySavings - go check them out!

Click here to see all the deals at MySavings.

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

Win 6 months of groceries from SavingStar

SavingStar is giving away 6 months of free groceries!

To enter, click here, then press the green "Enter" button. You can get more entries by referring friends to SavingStar.

And while you're at it, link these e-coupons to your store rewards card to save!

Buy 2 Musselman's® Apple Sauce (46-48 oz. size), Save 50¢.
Expires 4/8/2012.

Buy 2 cans of Lucky Leaf® Pie Filling, Save 75¢.
Expires 4/8/2012.

Buy 1 RapidLash, Save $10.00.
Expires 3/21/2012.

(Only at CVS)

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

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