Grocery Shopping

Moving has it's disadvantages.  For instance, I still don't know where all my cooking implements are (and some are in a different state), and I am still learning how to use our gas stove.  So, we've been improvising.  Lots of packaged foods.  Mainly soup.  But, let me tell you, I discovered an amazing soup....Chicken Tortilla by Muir Glen.  Tastes like something from a restaurant.  The chicken in it is not slimy (like I find other brands), it's got a great flavor (I add extra spices, but that's because I like it HOT), and add in a garlic grilled cheese sandwich and it's a simple but good meal.  The other day I did soup, grilled cheese and pudding for dessert and called it a school day lunch for G.


And the reason we tried this soup was because we found some coupons at the commissary for $1.00 off of any Muir Glen product!  I might have taken quite a few, knowing I will use them all, and picked up 10 cans of soup that night.  Then tonight we went for more groceries and I picked up another 7 cans (we've now got at least one can of every type of their soup found at our local commissary, and we had the tomato tonight.....yummy!), and I also picked up 5 cans of whole peeled tomatoes, which I plan on using for pasta sauce, in chilli and soups.  We also used other coupons we had (including a $1.00 off of hagen daazs, which I had never had, but the caramel is amazing!), and ended up saving over $15.00 in coupons!


Here's what we got for $31.43 (that includes a $2.26 surcharge, since the commissary doesn't charge tax).

I know it seems a random assortment, but with this being the season, all of this will get used!  The bread crumbs were on sale for 0.89 a piece, so with my coupon for $1.00 off 2, I got both for 78 cents!  We used bread crumbs in meatloaf, baked tomatoes, stuffed mushrooms, etc.  The onions were on sale 0.99 for 3 lbs, and those will be gone through in no time.....I'm actually planning on freezing a whole bunch to use in soups and pastas.  The butternut squash was on sale for 0.59 a pound, and that will make a yummy soup. (we also picked up a spaghetti squash the other day for the same price and plan on eating it like pasta with some baked chicken....I also plan on stocking up on more squash this weekend, since it will keep for months in my cold basement)  The Simply Asian meal is not something we usually get, but G wanted to try it, I had a coupon, so that will be his lunch on Thursday (because of his schedule we are extremely lucky to get to eat lunch together 3 days a week, so he only brings a full meal 2 days a week, and on those days comes home to tea!).  The french onions are a staple for this season, for the obvious green bean casserole, but we also sprinkle some on salads, and they add good texture and taste to so many things (like a chicken sandwich!).  The soups I got for 0.89 a can (and some I picked up before for 0.66 a can.....G and I split a can at a time, so it's a very cheap meal).  The canned tomatoes I actually got for 0.76 a can, and we're planning on picking up some of their diced tomatoes this weekend.  The only thing not pictured is the Hank's Black Cherry Soda bottle that we split on the way home!


Has anybody gotten great deals with all the holiday things on sale?  Any good recipes with bread crumbs (because I have more coupons and am seriously thinking of stocking up for that price!).