Groceries - January 3rd (And A Recipe!)

This week wasn't as good as normal, because I committed the cardinal sin of couponing - buying an item because you need it that week.  I couldn't help it - it's supposed to be really cold this week...perfect soup weather!  I needed a few things for that, so I just bit the bullet and paid a little extra this week.

For $45.90 worth of items, I paid $25 (pretax)...so a 46% savings.  Still not too bad!

Here's what I got for my money:

6 cans Progresso beans - 5 @ $1.29 and 1 @ 99 cents ($7.44 total) - had 3 $1/2 coupons - $4.44 total

8 cans Del Monte Tomatoes (various types) - Normally $1.49 each, on sale for B1G1 Free, had 2 $1/4 coupons - $4 for 8 cans

2 Bags Cornbread Mix - $0.89

1 Pack Hidden Valley Ranch - $1.49

1 Green Bell Pepper - $1

2 4-Packs Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt - Normally $2.50 each, on sale for B1G1 Free, had 2 $1/1 coupons - 50 cents for both packs

2 Packs Smithfield Bacon - Normally $3.99 each, on sale for B1G1 Free - $3.99 for 2

El Monterey Tornados - Normally $2.50, on sale for $2, had $1/1 coupon - $1 total

1 can Green Chiles - $1.35

1 Tuscaloosa News, 1 Birmingham News - $3.39

Donated $3 to Special Olympics

So, technically, I stayed under my $25 a week budget (I usually don't count the papers in that total - I just happened to buy them at the grocery store this week, and that donation took up some of the bill too).  I'm going to try not to go over $25 this year - let's see how that works out! :)

So a lot of that went towards the Taco Soup I'm making tonight.  If you've never tried taco soup - you're missing out!  It's SUPER easy (seriously, all you do is open cans and brown ground beef), and makes a ton of food.  I got the recipe from Paula Deen, and she hasn't let me down yet! Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
• 2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
• 1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
• 1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
• 1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
• Corn chips, for serving
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Grated cheese, for garnish
• Chopped green onions, for garnish
• Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

Directions

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Try it - you won't regret it!