I made an early score at Rite Aid, thanks to the Proctor & Gamble savings. I was able to get over $50 retail merchandise for $2.78: 4–1 L bottles of Crest Pro-Health rinse, 2 Gillette Fusion razors, and 1 Oral B 3D White Action battery-operated toothbrush. It’s a lot of fun to get such good deals, truth be told.

$50+ retail for $2.78

If you want to read about how to get a similar deal, go to one of my favorite blogs: Coupons, Deals, and More.

TP can be really expensive for something that you, well, flush down the toilet.

This week at Staples, save 50% on Charmin 16 double roll packages. Normally $9.99 per, it’s currently on sale for $4.99 through Saturday.

Additionally, if you want to stockpile, the weekly ad has a $5 off a $25 purchase, so buy 5 and get it all for $19.95, or a total of 60% off. (Note: you’ll need to get a small item to bump your original purchase price from $24.95 to above $25 pre-coupon. Luckily, a bunch of items are on 50 cent special this week, making this easy to do.)

This is a heck of a deal. I ran out and got my 5 packages today. I have been told that some Staples are not participating, so you’ll be taking a small chance driving there (or just call and ask!)

But, the Koreatown LA store (6th & Vermont) is definitely participating, fellow LA-ans. The store has a big ole tower of the stuff at the end of aisle 2. Get on it!

Today’s feast features chicken tacos and Mexican rice, easy peasy and well under $10 for 4 servings (In fact, I did it for under $5).

The chicken taco filling slow roasts all day in Herdez Salsa Verde in the crock pot. Simply put a pound of chicken (I used boneless skinless breast, but dark meat is fine, too, if you prefer) in the slow cooker and pour a cup of the salsa verde over it. Get plenty of the salsa verde if you can–especially if it’s Herdez. I love that stuff. Delicioso! Cook the chicken for 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

When the chicken is done, shred it into bite-sized pieces with 2 forks. Then, place it into tortillas and cover with your choice of toppings. If you want to be traditional about it, use green onion and cilantro. This time, I was out of those, so I used a little Mexican 4 cheese blend which I got for free with coupon.

For the Mexican Rice, I used this recipe as a foundation, with a couple small changes. In place of the garlic salt, I substituted 1 teaspoon Penzey’s Season Salt (but any brand will do), and in the place of tomato sauce, I used El Pato Hot Tomato Sauce.

If these posts have made you interested in slow cookers, you can find purchasing details and ratings at Consumer Reports.

Buying something for myself these days is a radical act. Last week, I did the unthinkable and spent $25…on ME. While that concept might sound ridiculous to some, it’s the reality of living below the poverty line. What did I get myself? A cool book and an art print that I really wanted! I love to support the arts, so I feel this was a good choice. I especially like to do this when the artists are local, as they are in this case. California needs all the influx of cash it can get right now, as your area probably does.

In The Grocery Girl news, I made a perhaps ridiculous decision to brave the holiday lines at Costco. Carts were being filled with oodles of frozen burgers, ears of corn, and baked goods. Instead of buying those items, though, I splurged again–this time on my health.

I treated myself to organic tortilla chips (40 oz for $3.99–good price for non-organic, I think); organic, cage-free eggs ($4.50 for 18); wild Alaskan salmon ($4/lb–good for wild caught), and a frozen triple berry blend ($9.69 for 4 pounds–a steal)! The berries will be fantastic on yogurt, in smoothies, homemade sorbet, or even in a compote over that salmon when I someday serve it.

I felt guilty spending that kind of money on premium products, because I generally try to get by with the bare minimum for my food needs. But, my body is telling me that it’s worn thin, and I decided to make room in my meager budget…for me. I figure that I’m not healthy enough to appreciate all the thriftiness that I’m throwin’ down, then my frugality is not doing me enough good.

So if you can, dear readers, please take time on this weekend to splurge on yourself. It can be a small item. I bet you could use a treat right now. If I had the dosh, I think I’d grab myself something from the Crate & Barrel 60% off outlet–they have useful-looking organizatonal items and adorable Marimekko fabric sheets, along with other deep discounts. Hooray!

What are you buying on this holiday weekend, while extra sales tend to run? And what are you doing to celebrate?

The Grocery Girl is really tired and hasn’t been up to cooking much the past few days. I bet you can relate; how many of us in this recession are not eating, sleeping, and engaging in life exactly as we did before things got tougher? Of course, this recession is one blip in human history, but for us, the blip can feel more like a BLEEP! sometimes (curse words censored by the Editrix: aka, Me).

Anyway, this morning I was too tired to fix myself–and you–anything substantial to eat. So, I pulled a fast one. Actually, it was a Take Two. See, I poured myself a bowl of high fiber cereal with a bit of skim milk (I’m out of almond milk, and when the budget is tight, it’s important to be flexible). I took a bite. The milk was rancid.

Dry Milk saves TGG from the rancid alternative.

So, I turned to my pal in the pantry, Non-fat Dried Milk. Is it the same thing as liquid? Nope! It’s shelf stable, the same price or less than fresh milk, and certainly takes less space in a small kitchen (the ratio is about 1:3 for adding water).

I took my beloved Bodum electric tea kettle, heated water (not necessary, but solubility increases and the water where I live is not great), measured the water and milk in my measuring cup, and stirred. Then, I added a few ice cubes to cool the milk to room temp (adding slightly less hot water to account for the difference in volume). Voila! Breakfast saved.

Please excuse the crummy photo; my photo program isn’t responding, so it’s an unedited one and done. Now, I need rest. More posts soon.

Anyway: a couple nights ago, I started a stock with the leftover veggie bits I cut for my dinner party last week. Ok, by dinner party I mean that a friend came over. My other guest couldn’t attend—hi Steph, if you read this! Still, it was a dinner gathering, and we had multiple courses for under $10. I want to tell you about those recipes and show you my gorgeous guest ASAP; time–where are you?

adapted for Vietnamese Noodle soup, aka Pho

The food post-party included the following remnants: carrot shavings and tops, green onion ends, celery bits, a couple puny cherry tomatoes, and cilantro and parsley stems (the last two used in my favorite dip that I can scarcely wait to share). Rather than putting those in the yard waste bin, I decided to start a soup stock. I couldn’t stay awake hours after dinner to handle the slow simmering, though, so I pulled out my trusty slow cooker, a birthday gift last year.

Slow cookers–or Crock Pots ™ –a name brand and shorthand like Band Aid ™– provide a big assist in the kitchen; they save energy, create little heat in the room, and save us lots of time hovering in front of the oven. I’m a big fan of mine, and have been since I was introduced to them seven years ago by A, one of the best people I’ve ever known.

Anyway, slow cookers can make really good entrees; sides; and of course soups, stews, and stocks. The slow, low temperature cooking brings out subtle flavors and renders fat, which is handy in a few ways. Also, rather than losing nutrients through leeching into water with, say, veggies in a boiling pot, the liquid used in the recipes absorbs those good vitamins and minerals (you’re basically braising, here, folks). This way, when your sauce or broth is incorporated into the dish, you’re getting back all the good stuff that would have leached out of, say, veggies boiled in water that you would then throw down the drain (or, ideally, use as gray water—another topic I want to hit shortly).

Back to the food: the leftover scraps from my dinner party made me think of a great any weather soup: pho! So, I threw a cinnamon stick, two bay leaves, and some Chinese 5 Spice, which is a cheat because I had no star anise on hand, into the pot along with the veggies’ remains. I plopped it all with enough water to cover in my crockpot on low, while I slept Mom: if you’re reading this, the crockpot runs on a safe circuit and is out of reach of any cotton/flammable items. Please don’t worry. Ok, more than you already are. xo

This evening, I’ll add a few more ingredients to the mix, and I’ll have my delicious pho for next to nothing.

See you there—through pictures,
The Grocery Girl

I have 2 types of stock simmering right now, people, for posts coming soon; they’re made from scraps that would have been pitched in many households. Re-using and recycling are great strategies to find useable, nutritious items from what you once might have tossed. But before I write about my stocks and the other hot weather recipes I’ve been concocting lately, I’m shooting you a few freebies.

*Freebie Sites: I check Shop4Freebies most days. I also peruse Free Stuff Times and Hey It’s Free occasionally. Coupons often arrive along with the free samples, if you’re into those. If you like a particular company, sign up for their e-mail alerts; free samples and/or coupons tend to come.

*Giveaways on Blogs: Bloggers often have giveaway promotions. Save at Home Mommy, who is local to SoCal, is raffling an organic pack valued at $50 this week; you might want to have a look-see. And, my personal favorite deal site, Coupons Deals and More, has daily contests for free products currently running.

*Incentive Sites: I’ve legitimately earned an Amazon gift card for internet searches via Swagbucks. Be responsible about the amount of info you input in searches; I’m guessing they use it for marketing, but who knows. I didn’t install the toolbar, either, because it could contain spyware. Still, I’ve used it just 2-4 minutes a day and gotten $5 Amazon credit so far and then some, in a few weeks’ worth of tiny increments of searches I would have done anyway.
If you use this link to start there, we both get extra credit.

*Free Music on iTunes: Austin City Limits fest has an iTunes sampler available with tracks including Coachella darlings Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, fan beloved Phish, as well as David Bazan of Pedro the Lion fame.

Regarding my last post: no one has a question for The Grocery Girl? You’re all getting the least expensive, highest quality food you want? That meets your dietary needs and is delicious? Ok! Hooray for the world. If you do have any questions–or input–please comment. I’m here for all of us.

Earlier this week, in the same day, my phone AND my computer shocked me and died I also haven’t had home Internet for a month, which is slowing this l’il site down. I actually cried at the Mac guy for a second; he silently handed me Kleenex while he took away my communication links to the world. Isn’t it odd how much technology has changed our lives?

But! I have a borrowed computer and wifi for the moment, so I want to be sure to let you know that I’m still here and excited about continuing The Grocery Girl. Never fear, because I’m busting butt to photograph my current exploits and get other great deals here in The Land of Sunny Expensive, aka Southern California.

Right now I’m salivating over the Greece and Rome issues of Saveur and the Healthy Comfort Food issue of Vegetarian Times. Hence, I’ll be continuing my Meditteranean food streak I’ve been centering my cooking around in recent times.

Here are a few quick snaps of food I’ve made recently, that I’ll explain ASAFP (the F is for “foodily”, natch–this is an all ages site, yo!)

While I’m waiting for my technology to re-align, please tell me: what do YOU want to learn about budget cooking/eating? I want to help!

xo,
The Grocery Girl, Live from Los Angeles

p.s. If you’re a Zappos shopper, you can sign up to get free VIP shipping and other cool benefits here. The site seems to be accepting all shoppers. Act quickly, the promo ends in 3 days.

Cheap Eats Coming Soon, all $1 or less a serving:
*Omega, Delicious Granola from the Freezer!
*Crockpot Meals for Hot Days
*Daal with Rice Pilaf (vegan and so effin’ bomb)
*Ragout over Polenta
*Meditteranean Chicken with Mixed Greens and Sauce to Die Fo-ah
*Luxurious tasting Tuna Salad with Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette (pennies, people!)
*Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Grits

and more…

p.s. JAM of the Summer? I’m going with it. I <3 puns.

You can easily make brunch for $1 (or less) a person. I’ve been doing it all month long, and I’m happy to share with you how. I’ve made healthy and delicious entrees, baked goods, soups, salads, and more, for super cheap. Forget $10 meals for 4; you can do it for even less, if you need. A solid pantry is a key to making inexpensive meals on the fly; I build mine slowly with the budget I have, and I’ll show you that along the way, too. But that’s later–I bet you’re hungry now. It’s a lazy Sunday morning, and you’re looking for an easy fix. Here’s an example of a meal that you can do today with what’s in your pad. If you don’t have all the ingredients, rest assured, they’re inexpensive staples you can easily get nearby.

Frittatas (egg pies, said in Italian, which makes almost everything sound beautiful) are super simple to make. More forgiving than omelets because you don’t have to flip them or tend to them, they utilize almost any remnants in your fridge, making them cheap and eliminating throwing food away! (Any scrap used is one less in the landfill–or yard/compost bin for veg/fruit items, as we have here in Los Angeles).

The Basic Frittata Plan
*eggs or silken tofu (to make vegan)
*fillings (veggies are awesome to make it healthy; add in whatever else needs to be used)
*spices
*liquid, if worried about it drying out (milk or soy/rice/nut milk, for vegan)
*an oven for baking, a pan on the stove, a toaster oven, or even a crockpot will work!

That’s it! All you need to make a basic frittata. The picture above shows my Havarti, Beef Sausage, and Veggie Frittata. Why? It’s what I had in my freezer and fridge that needed to be used. Frittatas can hold almost any combo of fillings, depending on your likes and haves. Use what you like and have on hand. This frittata go-around, I made a larger batch than usual, because I wanted to prep breakfast for a whole week for two people. Leftovers are easily stored sealed in the fridge, or separated into individual portions in the freezer to be reheated later. Frittatas are so forgiving!

My Cheese, Sausage, and Veggie Meal-Onto-Itself Frittata
*12 eggs (I had a dozen I got for $1 near date!)
*1/2 cup of milk (8 cents)
*1 cup beef sausage (free w/ coupon, any meat remnant will do)
*6 slices, about 4 ounces, Havarti cheese (near death in my freezer)
*1/2 cup diced onion
*handful ailing baby bella mushroms
*1/2 cup diced fresh fennel (free from my friend Jerry, thank you!)
*2 tsp minced garlic
*2 tsp Italian herbs blend or similar (Penzeys is my favorite, but use what you have)
*1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
*2 T veggie oil (I used olive/grapeseed blend, got a gallon for $8.99 on sale)
*salt and pepper, to taste

First, make sure the pan is large enough for your quantity of ingredients. For this particular recipe, I used a 5 quart oven-safe saucier (thanks for the gift, M&D!). If you’re not sure what cooking implement to use, throw all the raw ingredients (eggs in their casing, still) into it; if the pan is big enough for the raw food in this recipe, it’ll work when it’s cooked. You can use a pie pan, Pyrex baking item, or oven-safe pan/pot, or crockpot. Once that’s done, prep your cooking method. Here, I pre-heated my oven to 375 degrees F.

Saute the onions, fennel, mushrooms, garlic, and dried spices–for this recipe, the Italian herb blend, salt, and pepper–in veggie oil in a hot pan. Doing this step first brings out the wonderful flavors and aroma in the spices and infuses them into the oil and thus, the whole recipe. Add in beef sausage or any other protein item, if desired and brown to taste.

Next, you can be lazy like I do and just throw the eggs and milk in the pan and whip everything together. I found a whole yolk the other day in mine; so what? It was tasty. If you’re feeling fancy, use an extra bowl and beat the eggs and milk together first, then dump them in the pan and blend all the ingredients with a fork or whatever you’re using.

Top with cheese, if desired–here, my 6 slices of hardened, seen better days havarti that was not good for sandwiches anymore, but is fine baked!

Pop in the oven, now at 375, for 35-45 minutes, until, like most baked goods, a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Presto! It should look about like that top photo. Let it set a minute and then cut into pieces and serve. Figure 1-2 eggs per person, so 6-12 pieces in this case. Eat on its own or with bread and/or a salad.

Substitutions
*Less, Please: Average pie plates would use about half this amount–6 eggs, scale other ingredients to about 1/2 listed above. Cooking time about the same.
*Crockpot: Try 4-8 hours on low: times vary based on the strength of your pot. You just want the egg to be set/fully cooked.
*Vegan: Whip silken tofu and your favorite milk (soy, rice, almond, etc.) to desired consistency. Add other spices and mix-ins. Bake to desired doneness.

Any questions, please ask. This blog is to help all of us, and I welcome input/feedback.

Enjoy!
The Grocery Girl