Thrifty Mom / October 2012 / The slow cooker is your friend

Oct 15, 201209:06 AMThrifty Mom

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The slow cooker is your friend

While I’m not a big fan of cold weather, I am a big fan of cold weather food. With the advent of fall also comes soups, stews and lots and lots of pumpkin. (I’m a pumpkin fiend, just so you know.)

But the best thing about cold weather food is the slow cooker (or Crock-Pot, which I discovered is a brand name upon writing this blog).

The slow cooker especially is nice for busy moms who want to save some time and money. A Facebook friend of mine recently posted a link to another blog that inspired me to utilize my slow cooker even more. This blog details a five-day menu of slow cooker recipes. But the best part is that you take an hour to prepare everything at once, throw each meal into a separate freezer bag and throw them in the freezer. Then each day, you empty the contents of one bag into the slow cooker, turn it on and several hours later you have a delicious home-cooked meal.

So simple!

I’ve found that the recipes given are really good, but why not take any of your favorite slow cooker recipes and do the same preparation? You may just need to adjust the cooking time for frozen food.

One snafu I came across, however, is when a cooking time says 5-6 hours on low and I’m out of the house for 8-9 hours. Solution: Invest in a light timer – you know, the ones you can use for your Christmas lights so they turn on and off at a certain time of day. I got mine for free at Lowe’s using the coupon from this deal. It says the offer is valid until Oct. 31, so it’s worth a shot; without the coupon, the timer was right around $10.

PS: Remember how I said I love pumpkin? Well, sign up for mobile coupons from Target. In the latest batch released Saturday there is a buy one, get one free for a pumpkin spice beverage at Starbucks locations inside a Target store. Mmmm!

CVS:

Cheez-Its are a hot commodity around my house, so we jumped on CVS’ three for $5 deal. No coupons, but it’s still a pretty good price.

Honey Nut Cheerios (huge box!)

(Sale) Price: $2.88

Use $0.50 off one Honey Nut Cheerios from Coupons.com

Final price: $2.38 (17 percent savings!)

Revlon nail clippers

Price: $2.99

Buy two for $5.98 OOP, receive $5 ExtraBucks*

Final price: $0.98 or $0.49 each (84 percent savings!)

Nexxus Color Assure Shampoo, 13.5 oz.

Price: $10.79

Nexxus Ultimate Moisturizer Conditioner, 5.1 oz.

Price: $9.49

Use two $3 off one Nexxus hair care or styling item from Target.com** [http://coupons.target.com]

AND use $5 off $20 of Unilever Brand Products from SavingStar.com***

Pay $14.28 OOP, receive $10 EB and get $5 in your SavingStar account

Final price: $0.72 moneymaker!! (104 percent savings!)

Advil Congestion Relief, Allergy Sinus, 20-count, or Cold & Sinus, 32-40-count

Price: $7.99

Use $1 off one Advil Congestion Relief, Allergy & Congestion Relief, Cold & Sinus or Allergy Sinus from Oct. 14 RP

OR use $1 off one Advil respiratory product from Advil.com****

Pay $6.99 OOP, receive $1 EB

Submit mail-in rebate for up to $6 on Advil products from Oct. 14 RP

Final price: FREE (100 percent savings!)

*ExtraBucks are printed on your receipt to be used on your next order.

**Even though this coupon is found on Target’s website, it is a manufacturer’s coupon and can be used anywhere.

***SavingStar requires free registration. Purchased products are reported by the store and coupon rewards are loaded into your online account to be redeemed for gift cards.

****Requires free registration.

 

WEIS:

Weis has several varieties of McCormick seasonings on sale this week. Advertised in the circular were the gourmet seasonings at two for $3; this will likely be your best deal. However, I opted for the grinders that were on sale two for $4 at my store. You can choose from nine flavors: black peppercorn, cinnamon sugar, garlic pepper, garlic sea salt, Italian herb, lemon and pepper, peppercorn medley, sea salt, and steakhouse.

McCormick Gourmet Seasonings

(Sale) Price: $1.50

Buy two for $3

Use $1.75 off two McCormick Gourmet Herbs or Spices from Oct. 7 RP

Final price: $1.25 (58 percent savings!)

McCormick grinders

(Sale) Price: $2

Buy two for $4

Use $1.75 off two McCormick Gourmet Herbs or Spices from Oct. 7 RP

Final price: $2.25 (44 percent savings!)

Tostitos Tortilla Chips or Salsa

(Sale) Price: $3.99

Buy one, get one free

Use two $1 off one Tostitos Tortilla Chips or Sale from Sept. 30 Pepsi Moments

Final price: $1.99 (75 percent savings!)

Newman’s Own Skillet Meals

Price: $7.99

Buy one, get one free

Use two $1 off one Newman’s Own Complete Skillet meal from Oct. 14 RP

Final price: $5.99 (63 percent savings!)

 

GIANT:

Mama Rosie’s Pasta

Price: $1.50

Buy six for $9, save $5 instantly

Use three $1 off two Mama Rosie’s Pasta found here

Final price: $1 (89 percent savings!)

 

Index:

OOP — Out of Pocket

EB — ExtraBucks (from CVS)

BOGO — Buy One, Get One

SS — SmartSource (insert found in your local Sunday paper)

RP — Red Plum (insert found in your local Sunday paper)

P&G — P&G BrandSaver (insert found once a month in your local Sunday paper)

*ExtraBucks are not deducted from your order right away. They are printed on your receipt to be used on your next visit.