Checkout 51

This week's Checkout 51 deals! I am going to combine some of these deals with 20X the points at Shoppers this weekend. The Tostitos salsa could be combined with the $1.50 off coupon when you buy 2 eggs. Also, if you are planning on doing the Pepsico buy $20 get $20 in free product coupons, the Tostitos salsa works!

Walmart has the French's mustard for $1. As you can see there are several .75 off coupons. So, combined with the checkout 51  .50 you get paid to buy it!

Saving Money On Gas in 2013

I have mentioned in the past that I keep track of our gas purchases on the Gas Buddy site. I really like the fuel log book as it is easy to use and great to refer back to. The total for the year, as well as the total liters used and fuel economy is up at the top. I have back to 2007 saved in the log book. I can easily figure out my gas budget for 2013 by basing it on the past year's purchases. 
As you can see we buy most of our gas at Superstore. Last year I used my MBNA(no fee cash back card) credit card for most of my purchases as they offered 3% cash back on gas and groceries up to $600 per month. (This year they have reduced it to 2% and only up to $400. Unless you are a new card holder, then you get 5% for the first 6 months!)
 At Superstore this year they changed their gas bucks at the pump. It used to be 3.5/liter. This year if you use your PCMC or PC financial debt card you get 7 cents/liter! Last year I got a total of $87.84 in gas bucks. That was on 2509 liters. If nothing changes and we use the same amount of gas, we will get $175.68 in gas bucks at the pump, plus 10 PC points for every dollar spent so $29.62. Using the PCMC will mean $205.30 in our pocket this year.
  Another way to save big on gas is to use the Superstore GAS EVENT(extra cents off when you buy a certain amount of groceries) coupon. Last year I was able to do that 9 different times over the year. I saved from 15-35 cents/ liter. That meant $10-$40 savings per fill! In total that meant almost $200 in savings($194.75).
 What do you do to save money on gas?

Superstore gas receipt

Shoppers Credit Card Changes and Bonus Points

It seems Shoppers Drug Mart has changed their credit card from a MBNA Mastercard to a RBC Mastercard. If you had the old one, mine is pink, you should receive a new one to replace it from RBC. I received mine yesterday.
 The paper work with it says Activate Jan 25, 2013 to continue earning Shoppers Optimum points.
 Use your RBC card before May 31, 2013 and receive 2500 Shoppers Optimum points. At a bonus redemption those points are worth $5.53 At a mega they'd be worth $6.58.
You earn 15 Shoppers Optimum points for every $1 spent using the card at Shoppers, plus 10 extra/ $1 if you use your Shoppers Optimum card. This is the same as it was with the old card.
In order to make this card worth using here's some tips:
1. Pay it off every month(for sure, otherwise it's not worth it!)
2. Keep a close eye on what you spend. Research shows that with a credit card we spend on average 12-15% more than we would normally!
3.Use it to buy Shoppers gift cards and then use them when you buy things at Shoppers. You get your points from using your credit card and then you get points again when you buy products at Shoppers.Try and do it on 20X or other bonus point days.
4. Buy  the above mentioned gift cards in November, when you can buy $150 in gift cards and get a bonus 8000 points for doing so.
Last year I earned 24,468 in Shoppers Optimum points just by using my credit card alone.(This does not include my points earned in store). At a Bonus redemption this would be worth $54.09. At a Mega, $64.39. I really only use it to buy Shoppers and other(Home Depot)gift cards for the amounts we would be spending at those merchants any ways.For the last few years we have been able to go Christmas shopping in the beginning of December with our points and it really helps.
 

ATK Cinnamon Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting

It's snowing here today. No one is feeling super great and I am supposed to be working on my taxes.....In my defense, I did work on my taxes while these were rising. This all started yesterday while we were shopping. M asked for store bought cinnamon buns. Grandma was with us and both of us said, "Yes, they look good...but they just aren't like homemade!" M is learning to cook and bake all things yummy and so she thought it would be a good one to learn. I like blogging these things so that I can work the kinks out so the next time I make it I have the instructions like I like them! So, here it goes....this is a long project unless you do it in stages.The stages you could stop at are in italics.So, you could opt to go to the first stage and refrigerator, or go all the way to the second stage, where you have completed the buns, and then refrigerate. Time wise it will take about 25 minutes to just make the dough then refrigerate. To go all the way to the bun stage would take about 3 hours. I would allow a total of 4 1/2- 5 hours from beginning to done as there are 2 long rising times(you could work on your taxes during one of those!)
This recipe is based on the America's Test Kitchen recipe, with a few modifications
The Sweet Dough
3/4 cup warm milk
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp lemon juice
6 Tbsp melted butter
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
4 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
To start warm 1/2 cup milk in a glass bowl for about a minute. Sprinkle your yeast on top and leave to get frothy(10 minutes). To the other 1/4 cup of milk add your lemon juice and let sit.
Meanwhile melt your butter(or margarine) and add it to your mixing bowl with the eggs and sugar. Once your yeast is frothy add it to the mixing bowl as well as your lemon juice(buttermilk substitute)milk. Mix this with your dough hook attachment. Add the flour and salt and mix for 2 minutes on low. Change the speed to medium and knead for 10 minutes. If the dough sticks to the sides add a bit more flour until it's free and only sticks to the bottom of the mixing bowl. Take out of bowl and put on a floured surface and knead it into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and leave somewhere warm and draft free for 2-2 1/2 hours. Now, at this point you could opt to not let the dough rise and refrigerate it for up to 16 hours. You need to let the dough sit for 30 minutes before using.
Grease a 13 X 9 inch pan. Roll the dough out on a floured surface, into a rectangle. Take softened butter or margarine and spread it all over your dough. Sprinkle cinnamon and then brown sugar. Roll the dough up and cut into rolls. Place in your greased pan and cover with a towel or greased plastic wrap.  (Now, at this point you could opt to not let the dough rise and refrigerate it for up to 16 hours. You need to let the dough sit for about an hour at room temperature before baking.) Allow to rise again in a warm spot for 1-1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Bake until golden 25-30 minutes.
Lay down some wax paper. Flip the cinnamon buns onto a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Then flip them back over onto your wax paper.
Glaze
With the whisk attachment add to mixing bowl
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
3 Tbsp cream cheese
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Whisk together and then drizzle over the buns....Enjoy!

Take a picture if you want to remember what they look like...they disappear really fast!

Costco Deals

Not the greatest picture I know...Anyways, at Costco this week I found Dairy land Classic yogurt 2, 1 Kg(usually yogurt is in a 650 g-750 g size) containers for $4.99! The olives are 6 cans for $4.39. That's .73 a can! Sausages were $2 off a pack.There was mild, honey garlic and hot. My pack was $11.08(smaller is better with this deal)-$2 =$9.08. My package was 1.404 kg, making it $6.47/kg or $2.93/lb. I broke this down until 2 meals. 

Checkout 51 This Week

Here are the deals this week! Did you know that you can have this app on more than one device? Say you own 2 iPhones or combination of any iOS(iPad,iPod) in your house, each person can get their own account, allowing you to take advantage of 2 or more of each of these items. Just remember it must be on separate receipts that you purchase these items.

I picked up the bacon at Walmart this morning. It is $3.79 there, making it $1.79!!! My new balance is $26.50! Hope you can use this app to save money too!

Healthy Harvest Pasta Sauce MIR

Did you do the Healthy Harvest Pasta Sauce MIR yet? If not there is a coupon here for $1 off. You can find this sauce at Safeway.

Get a $10 Starbucks card for $5

Right now you can get a $10 Starbucks card for just $5! Click here to go to the Living Social website to buy. If you don't have an account you need to register. They just need you to make a password and give your email.
You can pay with Paypal or credit card. The ecard is then emailed to you and you can either print it out, or transfer it to an existing Starbucks card if you have it registered on the Starbucks site.
Here's the fine print.
Limit 1 eGift per purchaser • Purchases must originate in Canada • Tax and gratuity (if any) are not included • Limited time offer • Starbucks Card eGift will be available for Purchasers to claim for six (6) months following the end of the Offer Period. If Purchaser fails to claim their Starbucks Card eGift within six (6) months after the end of the Offer Period, Purchaser will be deemed to have purchased $5 in Paid Deal Bucks usable on livingsocial.com. Paid Deal Bucks expire five years after the date of purchase or issuance, except where expiration of Paid Deal Bucks is prohibited by law. • Deal Bucks are not a valid means of purchase for this promotion • Starbucks Card eGift is valid at all participating Starbucks locations in Canada • Starbucks, the Starbucks logo and Starbucks Refreshers are registered trademarks of Starbucks Coffee Company • Other standard terms apply – livingsocial.com/terms; www.starbucks.com/card/card-terms-and-conditions • FULL VALUE OF A STARBUCKS CARD EGIFT CLAIMED BY PURCHASER DOES NOT EXPIRE

Cheerios at Costco

This week at Costco Cheerios, 1 Kg size are $4.99!!!! Need a tasty, quick snack to make with those Cheerios? I have a recipe here.

Value Village Savers Card and 50% off Monday

Do you have the Value Village Savers card? If not you can get one. They are free. All you do is apply here. Print out your application and then take it into your local Value Village for your card. With it you can get 50% off this Monday!

This Week's Sales

This is my Walmart Shop. I needed all my shopping to be done in as few stops as possible so here's what I did.
Oreo cookies $2.49  $1.99(PM Rexall Drugs)Checkout 51 gives me $2 cash back FREE
Unico Tomatoes .88(still on sale this week)Checkout 51 0.50 cash back  .38
Celery, Broccoli bunches, tomatoes and 5lb potatoes all $1 each
Cucumber .77
Lemons .37 each
Limes .33 each
Avocado .49 each(PM Lakeview Market)
All Color Peppers .99/lb(PM Quality Greens)
Lettuce .98(PM Lakeview Market)
Pineapple $2.49
Eggs $2.67
Imitation Crab $2.17(making sushi!)
Apple Cider Vinegar $2.37
Not shown windshield fluid $2
Grand Total $28.32

Sometimes it makes me crazy the $ off coupons Save On and Coopers do. You never know if it's a good deal or not becasue you don't know how much the thing is originally! Today, I had to stop at the library and Coopers is in the same mini mall so I thought I would check out the $5 off coupon on the front of the Save On and Coopers flyers. The deal: 2kg of lean ground beef in a chub for $12-$5 coupon=$7.00  That's 3.50/kg or $1.59/lb!!!!! screaming! There's a limit of 2. It's on until the 17th. Don't forget to get a raincheck if they don't have any.
The chicken wings are at Rutland only.
3kg $11.99 limit of 2 ($3.99/kg or $1.82/lb)
Other deals at Save On
Navel Oranges .59/lb(Coopers' has 10lbs $5.99)
20 lbs of potatoes $4.99
Coopers has WF Bacon for $5.99 B1G1 making them $3 each limit 8
Superstore
broccoli bunches .96
Pkg of 3 romaine hearts 2/$4
NN Olives $2 limit 6
NN Pineapple Juice 1L $1.25 limit 6
NN Pasta 2kg $2.18 limit 2

I had just told my menu planning buddy how I had froze the hamburger I had bougt at Safeway without making any meatballs first! Well, seems I got a second chance! It took about 10 minutes of hands on time to make these 3 trays of meatballs below. My recipe isn't exact. I just added garlic, eggs, breadcrumbs, an onion and salt and pepper.

I put them in the oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes and then stuck them out on the deck(it's -5) to prefreeze them. After about a half hour I put them in a ziploc and put them in the freezer.

With some avocados I bought earlier in the week I made this yummy guacamole  The recipe is Patti's, a home stay student of my brother's.
Guacamole
2 avocados
1 Large Tomato
2 Limes
1 onion
coarse salt
pepper
cilantro(optional if your family has banned it, I made some just for me with cilantro!)
Patti said the main thing was to add enough lime juice, that's what makes it taste great!
Mix all together and serve with chips, crackers, on burgers, as dip for pizza....or just all by itself! So tasty!

Shrimp Carbonara

This is what it looks like right now.....Lots of snow!

Time to make some yummy food. Did you get the cream cheese with the Checkout 51 offer? Well, looks likes it's still on this week. Want to know what to do with all that cream cheese? Why not make some shrimp carbonara? I found this Kraft recipe when I was menu planning and decided to try it out. Of course I modified it so I will share both recipes.
Shrimp Carbonara
1 package of your favorite noodles(the orginal recipe asked for spaghetti, 220g)
4 slices of bacon
1 lb peeled uncooked deveined large shrimp
1 cup of frozen peas(if this is not your family's favorite you can use peppers)
250g cream cheese(the original recipe asked for herb and garlic light spread)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup parmesan(the original asked for light)
Directions
Cook your noodles according to directions. Meanwhile cook bacon in a large skillet. I used the Safeway bacon(Pantry's Essentials) that was on for $2.50. Once it's done take the bacon out and drain on paper towel. Reserve 1Tbsp of drippings and use them to cook the shrimp. This will take about 5 mins to turn the shrimp pink. Stir in the peas and cook 1 min. Add cream cheese and milk; cook and stir 4 mins or until cream cheese is thickened. (Do not let sauce come to a boil).
Drain noodles and add them and the bacon chopped small to the sauce. Top with parmesan.

This was an easy quick meal that I made after a full day of grocery shopping. It was soooooo good. Not a drop of leftovers, which was sad!

Checkout 51 this Week

I need to find a way to get the pictures from the app as  a picture that I can share here. I have tried screenshots and actually taking pictures of the offers, so forgive the poor quality please. I just really want you to be able to SEE the offers.
Checkout 51 offers start Jan 10 and end Jan 16
3 Bricks of Philly Cream Cheese- buy 3 bricks and get 1X$4(Incl light)
Oreo cookies-300g or larger, any variety $2
Garnier Fructis-any product $2 excludes travel size
Cottonelle Dry Bathroom Tissue-Cottonelle Clean Care, Ultra Comfort, Gentle Care, 6 pack or more $1.50
Mc Cain Regular Fries- 1kg, any cut, Superfries excluded $1
nestle Pure Life-natural spring water, 20x500ml or 24 x 500ml $1
Unico canned tomatoes- 796ml, any variety .50
Eggo Waffles or pancakes- box of 8 or more, any flavour .50
Campbell's Ready to use Broth -900ml, beef, chicken or vegetable and no salt added .50
Ritz Munchables- 200g, includes Pretzel Crackers and Buttery Thins
Quaker Instant Oatmeal- 10 packets or more. any flavour .50
All you need to do is buy ONE(the offer is limited to one) of all or of each of the items above. You can buy them ANYWHERE they are sold. Then you take a picture of your receipt with the app and send it in. When you reach $20 you are eligible to get a check mailed to you. I just got a check for $28 and already you can see my balance is back up at $22! I use it to buy things I would already buy and I often can combine coupons to make the item free or even pay me to buy it! Its a fantastic app,which could work extremely well for those who do not care to use coupons. I am hoping to update this post after I look at the flyers and see what sales and coupons you could combine to get the best deal. Feel free to send me an email or comment if you spot something great!

If you are in Walmart before Friday Jan 11 they have Unico tomatoes on for .88, so you could  get one can for .38!
At Costco 3 bricks of Philly are $8.89-$4=$4.49!!!(great to make the Shrimp Carbonara recipe!)
Oreo cookies Rexall has Christie cookies 280-300g $1.99 Jan 11-13 at Sobey's they are $1.88(thanks Anonymous)FREE!!!!
Mini Eggo Waffles are $1.97 at Walmart. Use the coupon from Smartsource.ca(printable)and get them for .47(thanks Anonymous)

The app is available for the iPhone  iPad and iPod.  Need more details?  Go here.

Peppers!

Saving Money On the First Tuesday of the Month

Suffice to say that when I grocery shop there is a lot going on!
 Let me share a day in my life as a grocery shopper. This morning my sister in law and I got to shopping first thing at 8:30 am. (She was there earlier, I had to drop hubby off at work). We started at Save On Foods as the $l/lb chicken legs wouldn't last!(Just a note that if your store doesn't have any the meat guy said they will give you a rain check!) We picked up the limit, which was 4 each. Next stop, Extra Foods for 10-15% day. 

Extra Foods shop 
It was nice that Extra Foods already adjusted their prices to be competitive with Walmart, Save On, and Safeway. The milk was $4.36,same as Walmart. The Sun Rype apple juice was .88, Safeway's is .89.  The Hunt`s Tomato sauce price was adjusted to match Save On, but they limited it to 3. I had a coupon for buy 2 save .75. The gingerbread train in the back of the photo was .99! It doesn't expire until May of this year. The Unico tomatoes I priced matched Walmart at .88. The teas were 50% off making them $1.49 for a 16 pack. The margarine was $2.64 for the 1.36kg. The grand total was $58.20 after discount. I ended up at customer service as one thing on my list was the chili sauce. We scoured the store and only found small 250ml bottles for .98. When we were done shopping we found a display on our way out that had the 650 ml bottles for $1.98. So, I quickly exchanged them. Emily, the teller at customer service was so awesome! Thanks Emily!

This is the Save On Foods $1/lb chicken legs.  The total for these 4 packages was $12.41. When I got home I used my chicken scissors and separated these into drumsticks and thighs. 

After Extra Foods we headed to do our Safeway shop. The ground beef was a rain check for $1.99/lb for lean ground beef. The 2 boxes of chicken breasts were $26.36 each. The Kellogg's flatbread breakfast sandwiches were on for $2.67 and I had a coupon for $2 off so for .67 I thought I would try them.The Sun Rype apple juice was .89/carton. The IOGO yogurt was 50% off and I had 3/ .75 off coupons. The Bretons crackers were B1G1, so 2 boxes $3.49.
Grand total at Safeway was $87.73 after coupons, $5 off email direct coupon and 10% off. My bill said I saved $116.91 or 55%. This included paper coupons which included the rain check savings and the 10% off as well as manufacturer's coupons for a total of $62.71. Card savings equaled $49.20. Basket savings(the email direct coupon) $5. 


Our teller Ryan was absolutely awesome! First time in a year that we didn't have to go straight to customer service after finding errors on our bills. He handled it all with professionalism and expertise! We were able to share the email direct coupon(the PLU is the same on all of them) with people in the line ahead of us. There were surprised to be saving 10% never mind another $5!
While at Safeway we got some very good news and so we stopped for lunch to celebrate!
After Safeway we stopped at Costco where I picked up bananas, 3lb for $1.69(.56/lb) and the black forest ham that is on sale for 2/ 375g packages for $6.39, which works out to .85/100g. As well as the sour cream, 1L is $3.59.
Last stop was Superstore where I picked up some pot barley,  (price matched Springfield Bulk Foods) and oranges which were $2.98 for a 5lb bag, or .60/lb. Included in this shop was chinese cabbage which was .48/lb and will be used in soup and stir fries.

Once I finally got home(3:00 pm), I got the kids to help unload the huge pile. I got things arranged to photograph and got the fridge and freezer put away. Then I cut apart the chicken legs and broke down  each of the packages of ground beef  into 2 smaller packages. It was nice to get stocked up as November and December I really bought much less than normal due to the inflated prices. I made sure supper was a super easy, fast and incredibly tasty meal that I will share soon. So, there you have it....thanks for listening..

This Week's Sales

Now that the holiday season is done grocery prices tend to be more manageable. I found that the Shoppers Points I cashed in in December really helped me stretch our grocery budget for December.
This week there are some good deals. If you can combine them with price matching and customer appreciation days as well as coupons and Checkout 51, you can start the year saving. Here's some deals I noticed. 
Superstore/Extra Foods Jan 4-10
Seasoned Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts 4Kg $26.28(works out to $2.98/lb)limit 4
NN Canola Oil 3L $4.98
Bunch of Spinach .88(not in the Extra Foods flyer)
Grapefruit 4/$1 !!!!!!
20lb potatoes red or russet $4.88
3lb onions .96
French Bread .97
NN English Muffins $1
Country Harvest Bread 2/$5
NN Pudding 4x99g .88 limit 6
NN Mac and Cheese 12x200g $5.48 limit 6
NN OJ 1L or juice boxes 5x200ml $1 limit 4
NN Tomato paste 156ml 2/$1
Sweet Chili Sauce 650ml $1.98
Bok Choy or Suey Choy .48/lb
NN Pasta 900g .97 limit 4
NN Beans or Chickpeas 5/$4(.80)
NN Granola Bars $1.48

Extra Foods is having the Family Appreciation Jan 7 & 8
If you can wait to shop Monday or Tuesday you could save even more!

Save On Foods Jan 4-10

Chicken Legs Fresh, Back Attached $1/lb limit 4 !!!!
Hunt's Thick and Rich Pasta Sauce 680ml $1(price locked until Jan 31)

Safeway Jan 4-10
10% off day Jan 8
SunRype Apple Juice 1L .89 limit 12
Boneless skinless chicken breasts 4kg $26.36(limit 2)

Walmart Jan3-10
Milk 4L $4.36
Unico canned tomatoes .88
5lb bag of potatoes $1
1lb bag of kiwis $1.47
Mangoes or Avocados .77(avocados are .58 at Lakeview Market so you could price match at Walmart or Superstore if you have the ad from the Jan 3 event, sale ends Jan 6)
Romaine Hearts 3pk $2