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Sunday, July 13, 2014

Free or Cheap Groceries Last Week

15 ears of local corn--free

It is all shucked and in the refrigerator. I will cut it off the cob, blanch for 4 minutes and cool, and freeze. Maybe I will just cook it and freeze the water it cooks in. We will see. This will be easier than blanching the whole ear and cutting it off the cob. The ears are beautiful Peaches and Cream variety. If you don't know this variety, it is yellow with lots of white kernels intermixed.
 
One ear was tiny with under developed kernels and fit only for the chickens. Another had brown spots, and I needed an excuse to give them more corn. The five were so happy when I took it all out to them--shucks, corn bits, two ears, and the silks.
 
 
gallon of kernels cut off
 
 
About 1:30 am and well after putting up this post, I became ambitious. Okay, not really ambitious, but I knew I had to just keep plugging along with the corn. So, I cut it off the cob and ended up with a skimpy gallon of corn. Tomorrow, I will cook/blanch and freeze in one cup Ball jars--jelly jars.
 
Blogger approves of this formatting above....grrrr. 
 

1 lb package of Ronco spaghetti--$.79
usually--$1.28

Ronco is my favorite brand of spaghetti. I will eat some other brand that is free. Ronco is the spaghetti of my childhood, and I can tell the difference. The five packages are in a bug-proof container that will be frozen for a few days.

Huge Bell Peppers were $0.59, so I got a dozen, made stuffed peppers with four and will dehydrate the other eight for cooking/seasoning the rest of the year. Yes, I need more to last the year.

Pineapple was $0.99 but I only got one. I need to cut it tonight. One day, I will dehydrate fresh pineapple.

Bananas are $0.35/lb. I will get those later. Maybe I will dehydrate a few huge bunches.

Vidalia onions are $0.69/lb. I have ten lbs to dehydrate and will get more this week. The ads run through Tuesday, so I have to get lots dehydrated.

Blueberries are $1.29/pt., so I got only one to eat.

Strawberries are $1.29 for a quart box. I got one to eat but want more to dehydrate.

Steak to cook like a roast. It was marked down really low, forgot the price. Since I am allergic to beef, this will be just enough to enjoy and make me ill, but not so much I have to freeze it or give it away to exbf.

I have ten more lbs., thereabout, of boneless, skinless chicken breasts ($1.99/lb) to bake and freeze two breasts per package. Trying to cook when exbf is here is horrendous. So, I plan to cook meat on the day he is not here, and to have things canned or frozen to open. Maybe then I can bake him a pan of cornbread that he loves so. When I get that pack done, I will thaw another package and cook it. After cooking the breasts, they take up less room in my refrigerator freezer.

There was other produce on sale, but I got what I could handle without waste. And, what would fit into my refrigerator was a consideration as to quantity. I still have two days to get more. I really overbought by getting the last package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but they were from Kroger. Plus, I just never know when the price will go much higher. When I find them for around $1.59, I buy several packages, all I can afford.

I could go to the market if I could walk that much without pain. Maybe I will get out my walker and attempt it one day.

Your turn
Have you found food bargains or gotten free produce? Maybe you have a garden?


11 comments:

  1. You got some amazing buys there. I don't remember seeing strawberries for example at less than $2.99 a punnet. Bananas are often over $5 a kilo, and chicken breasts on special at $9.99 a kilo.
    We have a vegetable garden - and I want to extend it next season. Cheaper - and it tastes better too.

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  2. EC,
    It seems AU is expensive. Or, is it the area where you live? I bought local strawberries, but they are nasty tasting. So, the CA ones are shipped 3K miles to me. As a child living in Memphis, TN, we loved strawberries from AL. No more.

    You are so right about the garden produce being cheaper and better, plus better for you. I am just not capable of having a garden and the container stuff did not work out.

    I am still amazed at those prices! Thanks for those.

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  3. We are probably mid-range. There are cities which are cheaper than ours, and some which are dearer.

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    Replies
    1. My goodness, EC, I cannot imagine your prices, much less any more expensive. I would not be able to afford to eat, at least not bananas or strawberries. I would be relegated to eating the cheapest of foods, probably not very nourishing ones.

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  4. Man, I've been craving a big pot of corn on the cob! :)

    Most of your prices are comparable to ours on sale, once things get a little more 'in season'. Next month, maybe.

    Your formatting above appears that you are typing in the photo caption. Sometimes the curser seems to get stuck in there and you need to use your mouse to get out.

    Have you ever been bitten by a tick? I had never heard of a beef allergy before, so I googled it. It seems there's a correlation to tick bites.

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    Replies
    1. Wendy,
      The prices don't last long here. Stocking up and putting up is the key.

      I never know about the photo format until I publish. I should preview, I suppose. It is impossible, so I go along. Next time, I will try what you say. The centered paragraph is what I was talking about.

      Yes, I have been bitten by a tick at least once. When I was eight, Mama found one in my hair right on the top of my head. That is interesting. I will look it up. I wonder if the allergist knows this and believes it.

      I have been saying for years, half-joking, that I thought I was allergic to beef. Imagine my surprise when the allergist said I was allergic to beef and no other meats.

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  5. No particularly good deals, but like I've mentioned several times before.. I shop Aldi so I already get pretty good prices. The best deal is the free meat from the BF lol.

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    1. Yes, that bf with free meat is enviable...lol. I want one of those...lol. Some of my prices are Aldi prices, matched at WM.

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  6. Those are great prices Linda! Istanbul is an expensive city. I can get pineapples for USD 2-3 usually. Blueberries are very rare and very expensive. Onions are similarly priced over here. Your bananas are definitely cheaper.

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    Replies
    1. T'Pol,
      Thanks. Pineapples are similarly priced here ($2.99)except for a sale. Blueberries are plentiful but very expensive except for this sale. Onions are more expensive. Those were all sale prices. I wish they were the norm.

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  7. You're inspiring me - what kind of dehydrator are you using? I have one that basically gets used for homemade jerky and nothing else. I need to get on the ball with the dehydrator! I never thought about doing onions, but that would be GREAT.

    You're my hero.

    My best deals come from the pick-your-own farm behind me. Since he knows me, he just throws extra into the mix. Score!

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.