This week's shopping highlights.

This was my shopping for last week. My shopping weeks starts on Wednesday as that is when the Pick N Save/Copps Double Daze happens and the Piggly Wiggly and Save A Lot flyer comes out. Actually this week (two days ago) I didn't go do Double Daze at all. :(


Pick N Save:
I did awesome at PNS this week. I didn't buy a lot of stuff, but managed to only spend $1.56. I saved 97%! And I give all of the credit to it being Double Double Daze and awesome scenerios. I purchased 6 boxes of General Mills cereal, two packs of on the bone chicken breasts, 5 cans of organic tomatoes, a gallon of Kemps whole milk, a dozen eggs, and a box of Post Grape nuts. I used three reusable bags and received a $0.05 discount for each. I did two transactions. I also received a Catalina for a free 1/2 gallon of organic milk to be used in the future. I held onto that one.

Shopko: 
I stopped at Shopko after I hit up PNS. I received a $10 gift card from the new store manager there. He is a really nice guy! His name is Mike Grant. Give him a big warm welcome. :) Looks like he has the store looking into accepting IP coupons! I got some Purex 3 in 1 that was on mark down to $3.49 for $1.49. Used the $2/1 Purex coupons from last Sunday's paper. I also got three bags of baked potato chips for $0.30 each! No coupon required there. These were full size bags too. Nice. We've been kind of low on snacks in the house so the hubbs was happy.

Piggly Wiggly:
I went and got my two reuasable green bags. They were $0.99 for two. I bought two Yoplait Greek Yogurt cups for $0.39 each. Got some Roma tomatoes for $0.89/lb. I totally spaced and forgot to get free Marie's salad dressing. Oh well. Can't win them all.

Save A Lot specials. Prices good through May 15. Little Chute location only.

Save A Lot actually had a flyer this week and it's available in store also. They are pushing their Dollar Menu. Here's what's listed:

• 
  
  Assorted Varieties of Fairground Bologna 16 oz. package - $1.
• 
  
  Assorted Varieties Pepsi or Diet Pepsi 2 L - $1.
• 
  
  Shelby's Grove Sliced Peaches 29 oz. can - $1.
• 
  
  Wylwood Frozen Corn on the Cob 6 count - $1.
• 
  
  Assorted Varieties Creamsicle, Fudgsicle or Popsicle Pops 13.2 to 16.5 oz. package - $1.
• 
  
  Frisby's Shoestring Potatoes 20 oz. package - $0.50 each.
• 
  
  Assorted Varieties Del Pino's Pasta 14.75 to 15 oz. can - $0.50 each.
• 
  
  Malone's Baked Beans 16 oz. can - $0.50 each.
• 
  
  Sugardale Super Dogs 5 lb. package - $5.
• 
  
  Frozen Bone-in Split Chicken Breasts - $0.99/lb.
• 
  
  Shaner's Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Tenders 40 oz. bag - $4.99.
• 
  
  73% Lean Ground Beef sold in 5 lb. package for $7.45 (1.49/lb.).
• 
  
  Coburn Farms Singles (American, Pepper Jack or Swiss) 12 oz. package - $1.50.
• 
  
  Biggin's Potatoes 15 lbs. - $3.99
• 
  
  Hot House Tomatoes - $1.29/lb.
• 
  
  Kurtz Ketchup 24 oz. bottle - $0.88.
• 
  
  Kurtz Yellow Mustard  14 oz. bottle - $0.69.
• 
  
  Kurtz BBQ Sauce 28 oz. bottle - $1.39.
• 
  
  Portmann's Salad Dressing (6 Varieties) 16 oz. bottle - $0.99. BOGO coupon here.
• 
  
  Del Pino Assorted Varieties Pasta Salad (like Suddenly Salad) 6.2 to 7.5 oz. box - $0.99.
• 
  
  Hamburger Helper Assorted Varieties 5.8 to 6.4 oz package - $0.99.
• 
  
  Nabisco Cheez Mania, Cheese Balls or Cheese Curls 2.75 to 4 oz container - $0.99.
• 
  
  Cereal or Toaster Tarts Select Varieties 11.25 to 22 oz. package - $1.79.
• 
  
  Kellogg's Cereal 8.7 to 9.2 oz box - $1.99
• 
  
  Save A Lot brand Soda 2 L - $0.69.
• 
  
  Little Hug Drinks 20 pack - $2.99.
• 
  
  Tony's Pizza Assorted Varieties 12.64 to 14.34 oz. package - $1.99
• 
  
  Stouffer's Party Size Lasagna 90 to 96 oz. package - $9.99 $1/1 coupon here after sign up/log in.

Visit Save A Lot's website to see more deals. The deals posted above are local to me, but may not be local to you. :) There are also great printable coupons on their site. Some aren't even specific to Save A Lot. Bring your own bags/boxes to save yourself some $ as Save A Lot charges you for bags, but you can use any of the boxes available for free. Save A Lot accepts cash, check, food stamps, credit and debit cards and WIC.

Coupons! Get your coupons!

Here's the latest and greatest IPs:


Kraft
$1/1 100 Calorie Packs here. Bricks coupon.

Target
$1/1 Seventh Generation Products. Pair with coordinating coupons here to take a total of $2/1 item :)

Nabisco
$1/1 Oreo Fudge Cremes here.
$1/1 Fig Newton on Facebook.

Crystal Light Pure Fitness Drink Mix
$1/1 here. On the go packets.

Butterball
$0.75/1 here. Butterball ground turkey

Coppertone
There is a $1/1 Coppertone Sunscreen coupon here.

Silk Soymilk
Receive $0.75/1 when you register with Silk here.

ECOS Laundry Detergent
Save $1/1 here.

Yoplait Greek Yogurt
Save $0.30 here and $0.45/1 here.

Olsen's Piggly Wiggly One Day Meat Sale

Olsen's Piggly Wiggly in Green Bay is having a One Day Meat Sale on April 29. 6 AM - 10 PM. They also have Online Exclusive coupons. The VO-5 Shampoo and Rice A Roni are $0.49. See thier Facebook page or thier website. Here's what is on sale:

Olsen's FAMOUS One Day Meat sale! Don't miss all the great deals!


Untrimmed Whole Beef Tenderloins- $3.99/lb (in the bag)

7-10 Lb. Whole CAB Top Sirloin Butts- $3.99/lb (cut to order)

Whole CAB Top Sirloin Family Pack Steak- $5.49/lb

6-8 Lb.Whole CAB Sirloin Tip Roast- $2.49/lb

Whole CAB Sirloin Tip Family Pack Steak- $2.99/lb

CAB Boneless Ribeye or New York Strip Steak- $8.99/lb

85% Lean Ground Chuck Tubes- $19.90- 10 lb. tube ($1.99/lb!)

90% Lean Ground Round- $2.49/lb

Lean Ground Sirloin- $2.79/lb

Whole Pork Tenderloins- $2.99/lb

Baby Back Pork Ribs- $3.99/lb

Pork Spare Ribs- $1.59/lb

Family Pack Boneless Country Style Ribs- $1.49/lb

6-8 Lb.Natural Pork Boneless Center Cut Loins- $1.99/lb (cut to order)

8-10 Lb. Natural Pork Whole Bone-In Pork Loins- $1.59/lb

Family Pack Stuffed Pork Chops- $1.99/lb

Family Pack Whole in Bag Boneless Pork Sirloin- $1.59/lb

Family Pack Boneless Pork Sirloin Chops- $1.99/lb

Family Pack Boneless Pork Sirloin Roast- $1.79/lb

Tray Pack Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts- $1.79/lb

Sun Chef Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts- $4.99- 3 lb. bag

Chicken Leg Quarters- $4.90- 10 lb. bag ($.49/lb!)

Fully Cooked Oven Roasted Chicken Wings- $17.90- 10 lb. box ($1.79/lb!)

Johnsonville Brats- $6.88- 3 lb. box (Regular, Beer, or Italian flavor) $0.55/1 here.

Icelandic Haddock- $29.95- 5 lb. box ($5.99/lb!)

Hillshire Farm Half Hams- $1.99/lb

Ground Beef Patties- $22.90- 10 lb. box ($2.29/lb!)

Ground Chuck Patties- $24.90- 10 lb. box ($2.49/lb!)

Family Pack Olsen's Pre-Cooked Brats- $1.99/lb

Family Pack Olsen's Original Recipe Hot Dogs- $3.99/lb

$5 coupon when you join Save A Lot's Smart Shopper Program.

When you sign up for the Save A Lot Smart Shopper Program you will get a coupon for $5 off of any $25 purchase. You won't be able to get this coupon if you received it already. If you are already a member you can refer 5 of your friends and family and receive another $5 coupon for those who sign up. Find out more details here.

How does your garden grow? Part 8: Lilacs.

You know winter is over when you see the pretty Daffodils, but you know for sure it's spring when the Lilacs bloom. These lovely, various shades of purple and white, heavenly scented blooms are popping up all over NEW and many other parts too.

It used to be that you needed almost a winter freeze to bring the blooms of this woody shrub completely out of their buds. Not so anymore. They grow best in zones 3 - 7, but can be found pushing the boundaries of these zones. There are over 20 varieties and many can now be grown in warmer climates. I've had the pleasure of growing up with these in my yard and I have them in my yard now as an adult.  I've seen them as small as a dwarf bush all the way to a 12' x 12' tree or even bigger with select varieties.  

They like to grow in full sun, but I have found they can handle part shade too. Lilacs like neutral to slightly alkaline soil. You can buy test kits at your local garden center. If it the first year planting keep then well watered. After that they are very drought tolerant. On older bushes you should prune them regularly and rid them of suckers found around the base. You can plant these elsewhere to start more Lilacs if you'd like. You do not have to remove suckers, but should at least remove old wood. This will promote new growth. New growth = more blooms. It's pretty much up to you. If you aren't happy with your Lilac, usually just giving it a hair cut will improve it greatly. One more reason to prune is that if you don't and you let your Lilac tower above you--well so will your flowers. Enjoy the view from waaay down here. Or go grab a ladder. If you don't want to climb to pick them then you should prune.

Pruning is easy. The rule of thumb is to not remove more than 1/3 of the bush at a time, but if someone goes crazy with the trimmer it will more than likely come back. Maybe just not as vibrant as the year before. You should also do it as soon as the blooms have faded. You can wait, but just don't do it at the end of summer or fall. The shoots will have time to develop better this way. Also, Lilacs set their buds for next year as soon as this years flowers fade. So sooner is better. It's best to remove suckers, thick (over 2"), woody branches, and any dead or diseased branches.

Lilacs don't really have any insects that like to bother it. Mice and voles are attracted to their bark so you shouldn't mulch around them until they are well established. You can also use screen as a protectant at the base. If the summer is very humid or damp powdery mildew can be a problem. You can treat it with a fungicide. Watering from the ground and not directly onto the leaves helps. Sometimes you will get borers that like the old wood. This would be another reason to prune Lilacs. Leaf miners aren't a fatal problem. They just don't look the best. Scale can be a nuisance and can be treated with oils that can be found at garden centers.

One last thing. If your blooms aren't as awesome as they were last summer, it's okay. This happens. Maybe last summer was very stressful on your Lilac. Maybe there wasn't enough water and the temps were over 80 everyday. This will affect your blooms for the following year. Lilacs are pretty easy to maintain and will brighten someone's day if you bring them some of these flowers. Even if that someone is you. I can't resist picking them and putting them in a pretty vase on my dining room table. Oh the scent! Soon. Very soon.

Stamp Out Hunger 2010 Food Drive is May 8!

Time to get out all of those extra food items that you get for free on Double Daze (ha ha!). Stamp Out Hunger is happening on Saturday, May 8. Place non perishable food items like canned meats, fish, soup, juice, vegetables, pasta, rice and cereal near your mailbox and your postal carrier will pick them up. Please do not include anything in glass or that is expired. Also, if you become a fan of Stamp Out Hunger on Facebook and Campbell's will donate one can of soup to Feeding America. Awesome. This is such an easy way to donate. Heck, even if it's that can of creamed corn that no one at your houes is eating. It's part of a much needed meal for another. I'll try to remind you when it's closer.

Piggly Wiggly deals 4/21 - 4/27.

Here's this weeks deals for Piggly Wiggly. These prices apply to Piggly Wiggly stores in the Midwest. See if your store is included here. Don't forget to print out your Online Exclusive Coupons. This week's coupons (for my area) are for $0.49 3.8 - 7.2 oz. Rice a Roni and Pasta Roni  and $0.49 VO-5 Shampoo or Conditioner 15 oz. You can use both coupons when you spend $10. Since these are Pig coupons you can stack them with mfr. coupons too. My Piggly Wiggly accepts IP (Internet Print) coupons up to $2.50. Yours may vary.

 Not a lot of deals this week to me. Guess I'm used to Double Daze. :] Here's the highlights:

Dairy:

Yoplait Yogurt Cups $0.40 each when you buy 10. More than ten they are $0.50 each. $0.50/6 here, here, or here.

YoPlus or Fiber One yogurt 4-packs $1.49.

Meat:

5 to 12-oz. Package - Select Old Wisconsin Natural Casing Wieners, Beef or Turkey Sticks or Summer Sausage $2.99 $1/1 here.

Produce Section:
Roma tomatoes $0.89/lb.
Marie's Yogurt Salad Dressing $0.99. Use $1/1 here.

Grocery:
44 - 50 oz. Liquid Purex Laundry Detergent or Softener $2.50 each. Use $0.35/1 detergentor $0.55/1 softener in 4/18 RP.


Ice Cream:
4 count Drumstick Cones $2.49. Use $1/1 coupon from May issue of All You.

Coupons! Get your coupons!

I felt I was a little skimpy on the IPs so here's some more for you guys!

Here's the latest and greatest internet printable (IP) coupons:

Kix
$1/1 box of Kix. Print twice!

Keebler
Get your $1/1coupon here for Sandies. Print twice!

Weight Watchers Smart Ones
Get $1/5 here. Sign up required.

Yoplait
Get a $1/1 Yoplait Delights here. Bricks coupon.

Reynolds Wrap Recycled Aluminum Foil
Go here to get $1.25/1

Coupons.com
$1/1 Birds Eye Voila bagged meal.
$2/1 Dove Deodorant/Antiperspirant.
$2/3 Glade Relaxing Moments candles.
$1/1 any Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion. Excludes trial size.
$2/1 any Milk Bone® Essentials PLUS+™ Long Lasting Chew item.
$3/1 Claritinon any Non-Drowsy Claritin® (20 count or larger)
$4/1 any Prevacid®24HR Product (AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL SUPERCENTER)

Target
$1/1 Trop50 59 oz. carton.
$4/1 Belly Bars. Pair with this pdf coupon for $3/1 for a final price of $0.99.
$2/1 Off! Clip On Starter Kit. Pair with BOGO coupon here.
$3/1 Windex Outdoor All In One Starter Kit. Pair with $2.50/1 from Right At Home.

Johnson's
$1/1 Head to Toe Body Lotion here. Bricks coupon.
$1/1 Baby Shampoo. No More Tears. Go here. Bricks coupon.
$2/1 on JOHNSON'S® Baby Daily Face & Body Lotion SPF 40 here. Bricks coupon.
$1/1 JOHNSON'S® BEDTIME® Bath, Lotion and NEW Bubble Bath & Wash here.

Tresemme
BOGO coupon here. Bricks coupon.

Tylenol
$1/1 any Tylenol Product here.

Petco
$5 off a $25 purchase here. Some exclusions. Expires May 1.

BOGO reusable green bags at Piggly Wiggly.

In honor of Earth Day Larry's Piggly Wiggly is having a deal on their reusable green bags. Isn't it cute that they just so happen to be green in color too. They are priced $0.99 normally, but you can get them right now BOGO. In the ad I seen a little picture of your club card so you might want to have this handy in case you need to present it to get this deal. I do not see a limit on these. My husband was just saying how I should get some more of these bags. He hates the plastic ones just as much as I do. Another great thing about these bags is you will definitely make your $ back because you receive $0.05 every time you use one. With the BOGO deal you'll make your $ back twice as fast. Frugal and green. That's totally my style.

Save A Lot specials 4/21 - 4/27. (Little Chute location only.)

Save A Lot has some so so deals again this week. The only really good things I see are Orv's pizzas, Portman's dressings, and bananas.

• Bananas $0.33/lb.
• Strawberries $1.88/lb.
• Russet Potatoes $1.99/10 lb. bag.
• Crystal Ridge Bottled Water $2.49/24 16.9 oz. bottles. ALL SUMMER LONG PRICE.
• Country Style Ribs family pack $1.29/lb.
• Chuck Roast $2.29/lb.
• Ham Shank Portion $0.99/lb. Rump Portion is $1.19/lb.
• Orv's Tasty Toppings Pizzas 5 for $9.
• Portman's Salad Dressing $0.99/16 oz. bottle Print the BOGO coupon here.
• Coburn Farms Yogurt $0.50 each. 6 - 8 oz. cups.

Visit Save A Lot's website to see more deals. The deals posted above are local to me, but may not be local to you. :) There are also great printable coupons on their site. Some aren't even specific to Save A Lot. Bring your own bags/boxes to save yourself some $ as Save A Lot charges you for bags, but you can use any of the boxes available for free. Save A Lot accepts cash, check, food stamps, credit and debit cards and WIC.

Happy Earth Day!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

Kraft First Taste time again!

If you are a member of Kraft First Taste or want to become a member head on over to their site. Want to learn more? You can read my previous post here. I really appreciate Kraft giving me the opportunity to sample their products. This month they are offering up a free package of Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon. I have had this before and I like it. It's quite a stretch from real bacon, but when you want a lower calorie option that tastes just like smokey, salty bacon....this is it. Mmm just thinking about it makes me want a BLT. Is it lunch time yet?

This week's shopping highlights.

I went to Walgreens, Piggly Wiggly, Save A Lot and Pick N Save. I had an average week. Here's the best of:

Piggly Wiggly:
I got 4 SoBe Lifewater for $0.50 each. 6 organic kiwi for $1.99. Another gallon of PW milk for $0.99 and one bag of dried peas for $0.89. I made some yummy pea soup. Mmm. Also got two free Oral-B Indicator toothbrushes. $0.99 each and had a coupon for $2/2. Nice! 7-Up 6 pack bottles for $1. Had a $1/1 coupon. Bought the Oscar Mayer bacon for B1G2. Used two $0.75/1 coupons also. Dozen eggs $0.99.

Walgreens:
I went a few times for the deals. The first deal was for Cheez-Its. I got two boxes for $0.50 each. The kids like these. I also was excited to hear the Kotex RR deal was almost all month long. So I snagged another box for free. In case you are wondering it's buy one box of a U by Kotex product and use a coupon printed here. You pay $2.66 (with tax) and get a $2.50 RR. So it's like it's free. I also bought two bags of the Stouffer's Easy Express meals for $1.50 each. Used Facebook fan page coupons and received a $1 RR. So it's like they were $1. Got the hubby to fan them so I could do this deal again! ;) I also got the Schick shave gel for $2.99 plus a $3 RR printed. I picked up my 20 prints for $0.20. I used a bunch of RR that were expiring soon.

Save A Lot:
I bought some really cheap Coffee-mate creamer for $0.49. I had a $0.50/1 coupon and it was on sale for $0.99. Come to find out it expired that day and was on close out for that reason. Oh well. I quick made some iced coffees. When I make those I use a lot of creamer. I also picked up 5 boxes of Beechnut Barley cereal for $0.50 each. I had three coupons for $1/1 so I was relly excited, but the lady only took two because she thought it shouldn't exceed the price of the product. Well, at least I think that was her logic. So two thumbs down to SAL for their coupon skills. I did figure out that they took off the full value even though the cereal was only $0.50. So that was a positive. I'm freezing the cereal as I don't need it right now. Picked up some more bananas. Can't beat their price. Also got the hubby some cheese sticks. Ya know the ones with the cheese dip in the same container. LOL. He likes those. They cost more than at Walgreens, but cheaper than Pig or anywhere else I have seen. They also contain more product than at Walgreens. Just in case you are wondering.

Pick N Save:
I bought 4 DiGornio Pizza and Breadsticks for $2 each! Thank you Facebook!! Two 1/2 gallons of whole milk for $1.25 each. I got 3 Blue Diamond Almond Breeze almond milk. Each one printed me a Catalina for one free Silk brand almond milk. Value up to $3.99. Nice! I picked up 7 packs of split chicken breasts. Price was great for 5 of them. I made the stupid mistake of not splitting up one order of my chicken so two packs cost me the full price. Didn't make that mistake again. I got four 2L of Mt. Dew/Pepsi for $0.77 each.  Made a penny on Beechnut brown rice cereal. :) Cat's Pride scoopable cat litter for $3.95. I believe it was 28 lbs. 4 packs of YoPlus yogurt for $0.29 each. 2 free cans of Del Monte corn. 4 jars of Classico pasta sauce for $0.99 each. 5 boxes of Ronzoni pasta cost me $0.50. :) V8 Fusion only $0.55. This is my favorite juice! At the last minute I bought the Brownberry bread. It was BOGO and the ad showed it costing more than it really was. So for $3.19 I got two healthy loaves of bread. This is the type I like in the house. Even with my mishap I still saved 60% overall.

Overall a good week. I'd love to hear about your grocery deals! Wednesday starts a new week for me. I can't wait to see the deals. Bring them on!

Free sample of Green Genius trash bags

Go here to get your free sample of Green Genius trash bags. These sound awesome. Completely biodegradable. Gotta love that. You can find these on Amazon or in select stores. I am really pumped about all of the green freebies during Earth Week!

Frito Lay Kettle Cooked BOGO coupon on Facebook.

Go here to get your coupon for Frito Lay Kettle Cooked Potato Chips. I try to group Internet coupons together, but this is a one day deal. I was able to print this twice. Reminder that this is a Fecebook coupon. I have also been reading that this coupon is only usable today and mine says it expires May 15, 2010. Just sayin. :)

Organyc free sample.

I like free samples and I bet you do too. Organyc is offering up a free sample of thier products. I am not sure what will be arrivng in my mailbox. I have not had a chance to use this line of feminine products, but I am kind of excited to. Go here to get yours. Please allow 8-12 weeks for your sample to arrive. One per household. Thanks A Thrifty Mom!

Seventh Generation giveaway!

I'm sharing a great giveaway for you just in time for Earth Week. Go visit the wonderful blog Mom for Him and enter for a chance to win eco-friendly cleaning products from Seventh Generation. I love their products! Sometimes pricey, but I usually wait until I find a good deal and combine it with a rebate. :) You have probably seen me mention them on here more than once. You have the chance to win the prize pack shown above. Enter the giveaway through Tuesday, April 20 at midnight. I am excited! Go enter and have a look around Mom For Him.

Barnes and Noble 2010 Summer Reading Program. Free book plus chance to win.

When your child reads any 8 books this summer they will receive a free book from Barnes and Noble. You can read more here. The program runs from May 25 - September 7 so you have plenty of time. Upon completion your child will also be entered into a drawing to win an autographed complete set of The 39 Clues. How exciting! I am a huge advocate for reading. I have always enjoyed it so this is right my alley.

How does your garden grow? Part 7: Winter Sowing.

I had never heard of Winter Sowing before this last winter. I can't recall exactly how I stumbled upon it, but boy am I glad I did. It's hard to believe that in our crazy cold winter here in NEW that you could plant seeds outdoors and they will grow by April. Winter Sowing is just that. Sowing seeds in little homemade greenhouses that are kept outdoors in the middle of winter.

First you need to construct a little greenhouse. These little greenhouses are just items you have lying around your home. Milk jugs, soda bottles (2 L or smaller are fine), water bottles, etc. They will germinate when they are ready.Drill or pound drainage holes on the bottom. You cut the container around the mid section and then fill with soil. Plant seeds in the soil and duct tape the container shut. You remove the cap so moisture gets in. Plop them outside and check them weekly to see if they need a drink. You don't want them in a completely open container like an ice cream bucket because it won't hold the moisture in. You want it to act like a greenhouse. As the seeds sprout and get bigger and bigger make your air holes bigger and bigger too. Start with just the caps off of the milk jugs and soda bottles when you plant. Wait until sprouts appear and poke holes in the top. Eventually they are all hardened and ready to go in the ground. I would wait until the end of May or beginning of June.

I started my seeds in March. I got them started a little late, but it doesn't matter. They won't germinate until they are ready anyway. I planted tomatoes, bush beans, bell peppers and cucumbers outside. The peppers and cukes I did yesterday. The tomatoes and beans went outside in early March. Right now my Brandywine tomatoes are looking great (see picture below). I did a little experiment with the Brandywine tomatoes. I had sown them in little pots already and decided to just stick them in the jug. I did this instead of directly planting the seeds in the jug. This will be nice when it comes time to transplant. They actually look better than the ones I planted indoors. See, I wanted to test which plants did better. The ones outside or the one indoors. I didn't want all of my eggs in one basket. I had a little mishap with some indoor plants so that is why I planted more outside yesterday. I think it might have been damping off that ruined my indoor cilantro, some cucumbers, beans and all of my Morning Glories. It also appears that the seedlings outside are healthier. Their stems seem thicker. Maybe it's because they are in their natual elements. I don't know exactly?! I'll keep you updated with the progress or death of my plants. Hopefully not the latter. Let me know if you have done Winter Sowing. Any tips or techniques would be much appreciated.

Super easy to make homemade tortillas.

The other day I was trying to decide what to make for dinner and saw a recipe that suggested you make your own tortillas. WHAT?! But, it's so easy to just tear off that little strip of plastic, open the ziploc bag and reach my hands in and grab out a tortilla. You have to take my word for it that this recipe is so easy and soo much better tasting than store bought! I ended up making fajitas and thought the tortillas seemed a little more like flatbread, but I think I just didn't roll them out thin enough. I had read horror stories of people rolling them too thin and then they turned out like a saltine. I didn't want that. So tonight I made then again and rolled them a smidge thinner and they turned out perfect. Want to see for yourself?

Homemade Tortillas
*This recipe is so easy I have it memorized. I have only made it two times!

3 cups of all purpose flour (or any type of your favorite flour will do)
5 T lard or shortening (I had butter flavor Crisco on hand and it worked great.)
1t salt
1/2 - 3/4 c warm water

1. Put 2 3/4 cup flour into mixing bowl (I used my KitchenAid stand mixer).
2. Cut in lard/shortening.
3. Blend with pastry blender or your hands. (Since I used my stand mixer I used the whisk attachment to do this for me. Start out on a slower speed and work your way up until you get a little flour cloud going!) You want the lard/shortening to be very very small. Not like when making a pie crust. You can also use a food processor to do all of this.
4. Dissolve the salt in the warm water. Switch out the whisk attachment for the dough hook. Add water to the flour. Knead the dough either by hand or in my case using the dough hook for 5 minutes or until it comes together. It should be firm. Not soft and tacky like bread dough. It shouldn't be dry, though. If your dough seems to be on the dry side add a teaspoon of water at a time until it is the right consistency.
5. Divide your dough into 8 - 10 equal parts. Roll into balls. They will be about the size of a golf ball. Place on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest on the counter for 30 - 60 minutes. The longer the better.
6. After they have rested heat a large heavy duty frying pan or cast iron skillet on medium high heat. While the pan is heating use remaining flour to dust your counter. I used a silicone mat. Grab one ball of dough and start rolling it out with a rolling pin. If you don't have one you can just use your hands. It will give your tortillas a real rustic homemade look. Try to rotate your dough a partial turn every time you are done rolling a section. This will keep it uniforn. Unless you don't mind. I know your stomach won't mind! Roll to about an 1/8 of an inch.

7. Place directly in the pan. No greasing required. You will get those perfect little brown spots just like the ones from the store. Cook 30 - 45 seconds on each side. You will know it's ready to flip when it gets all of these little air bubbles happening all over. The first one might be your trial run. Maybe they need to be rolled thinner or thicker. Maybe cooked less or longer.

8.  Look what you just made! Way to go. Doesn't that look good?

Now go and enjoy your awesomely rewarding, very cheap to make and super yummy to eat tortillas. Trust me, this was a great feeling. Like tortillas aren't supposed to be made at home or something. Everyone will say you made what?! Really?!  And they will have no idea how easy it was. Throw some flour in your hair and and ask for an glass of ice water. Hee hee. Really milk this one. With a few extra we had leftover the first time around we buttered them and sprinkled a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on them. Rolled them up and microwaved them for a bit. Tasted just like a Churro. Mmm. Just a thought. :)

Piggly Wiggly deals 4/14 - 4/20.

 

Here's this weeks deals for Piggly Wiggly. These prices apply to Piggly Wiggly stores in the Midwest. See if your store is included here. Don't forget to print out your Online Exclusive Coupons. This week's coupons (for my area) are for $0.89 5.9 - 8.3 oz. Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad and $0.99 Sweet Baby Ray's 16 oz. Marinades or 28 oz. BBQ sauce. You can use both coupons when you spend $10. Since these are Pig coupons you can stack them with mfr. coupons too. My Piggly Wiggly accepts IP (Internet Print) coupons up to $2.50. Yours may vary. Down in the lower parts of WI they are doubling coupons on Wednesday, 4/21. Here's where: Antioch, Campbellsport, Grayslake, Hubertus, Jackson, Kenosha, Kewaskum, Muskego, Oak Creek, Racine, Saukville, Slinger, Sussex, Union Grove, West Bend, and Zion.

 

I kind of liked just highlighting what I saw for deals instead of the whole line up. So I am going to do it again this week. You let me know if you'd rather see a whole ad or just the highlights. If it were me I'd say highlights, but tha's just because I am more visual than just seeing text. I like to look at all of the pretty pictures LOL. It's your call. Here's this weeks highlights:

 

Beverages:

• 6-Pack, Half Liter Bottles 7-UP, Diet 7-UP or Dr. Pepper 5 for $10.00 (Hopefully you printed two of the $1/1 7 Up coupons in the last weeks. Here's the link just in case. Try again before Weds.)
• Old Orchard Apple Juice Cocktail or Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice 64 oz. $1.69. ($0.50/1 here.)

Produce:

• Green Seedless Grapes $0.99/lb.
• 2.1 oz. Pkg. Select (Reg. $3.99) Oscar Mayer Ready to Serve Bacon Buy One Get 2 Free ($0.75/1 in 3/21 SS. Also Save $1 on eggs or produce when you buy 2 tear pads floating around. Find in produce section.) You could get all three packs of bacon for $1.74. I'm pretty sure you can pair this with the tear pad coupon too. :)

Cereal/Snacks:

• General Mills deal this week. Select Kix, Trix, Honey Nut Cheerios, Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs, Cinnamon Chex, Honey Nut Chex, and Chocolate Chex on sale for $1.99.  Catalina for free gallon of  milk on your next visit when you buy 3 of the GM cereals listed. (Save $1/2 here on Cheerios, Kix and Chex. $0.75/1 Kix here.
• Kellogg's Special K cereal/bars/crackers 4 boxes for $10. ($1/1 crackers here.)
• Post cereal 4 for $9. Fruity, Cocoa or Cupcake Pebbles, Wafflecrisp, Honeycomb, Golden Crisps, Bran Flakes, Grape Nuts/Flakes, and Rasin Bran. (Sign up and receive $2/1 here!)
• Lay's Potato Chipsregular or Kettle Cooked. ($1/1 in 3/14 SS for Lay's new flavors.)
• Orville Redenbacher Microwave Popcorn BOGO free. 10 ct. mini or 6 ct. regular. ($1/2 here)
• Grande Tortilla Chips 13.5 oz. ($1/1 in 1/10 SS)
• Pringles 5.71 to 6.73-oz. Potato Crisps 3 for $4. ( $1/4 in 3/7 and 4/4 P&G)
• 5-oz. - Oreo Fun Stix or 9.6 to 18-oz. - Cakesters or Nabisco Oreos 2 for $5.00 Buy 2 and get a free gallon of milk in the same visit. (use your buy one Nabisco cookie and a gallon of milk and get one Nabisco cookie free coupon from Facebook.)

Dairy Case:

• Food Club American Singles 12 oz. $0.99. 
• Select Varieties I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Promise or Brummel & Brown ($1/1 Promise here. Use zip 90210)
• 5 to 8-oz. Package Sargento Shredded Cheese 2 for $4.50 (if Reduced Sodium is included, $0.75/1 here. Use zip 10101)
• Piggly Wiggly dozen eggs $0.99.
• Organic Valley milk 64 oz. $3.49. ($1/1 here.)

Household:

• Arm & Hammer ($1/2 detergent here)

Deli:

• 12-oz. - Select Varieties Carl Buddig Deli Cut Ham, Turkey or Chicken 2 for $6.00 ($1/1 here)
• 7 - 9 oz. Oscar Mayer Deli Shaved Turkey, Roast Beef, Chicken or Ham 2/$6 ($1/1 here)
  
  Frozen:
• 14 to 16-oz. Size Boston Market Frozen Entrees 2 for $4.50. ($1/3 here. Sign up.)
• 2-Count - Ham & Cheese Omelet or 7 to 8-oz. Package Jimmy Dean Frozen Entrees or Breakfast Bowls $2.49. (Become a Facebook fan of Jimmy Dean and print two $1/1 any product coupons.) 
• 8 to 10-oz. Green Giant Frozen Steamed or Sauced Box Vegetables $0.99. ($0.50/2 here and $0.50/1 here if Steamers in included.) 

Health and Beauty:

• 4-oz. Bottle - Cold & Allergy or Dimetapp Cold & Cough Medicine $4.49 ($2/1 here after sign up.)

Green Works coupons in this Sunday's paper.

I do not see any in the paper. Darn. See what I mean!

I saw on Facebook that there is supposed to be some Green Works coupons in this weekend's paper. We'll see. It's so hard to announce things like this because it's so random. Some get these coupons and some don't. I'm crossing my fingers. I use a lot of Green Works products. Hve you used any Green Works products? My favorite is the dishwashing liquid.

Sack it to Goodwill pick up tomorrow!

"Increase Your Goodwill!"

Don't forget that the Sack it to Goodwill North Central Wisconsin drive is happening tomorrow. It's the agency's biggest collection day of the year! This is a great way to give back. Goodwill does so many great things for the community so I love to donate. I always like these drives because they come and get your items. That's a bonus. I usually have to plan out my route so that I can stop by one of the drop off locations. There should have been a Goodwill bag in your local Sunday paper a couple of weeks ago. All you have to do is fill it and leave it on the curb before 9 AM Saturday April 17. If you did not receive a bag or misplaced yours you can use any box or bag. You just need to clearly mark them. If you miss the pick up you can bring them into any of the many locations listed here.

Did You Know You Can Donate....

- Computers and accessories.

- Cell phones and accessories.

- Gift cards.

- Cars.

- $

Learn more here.

Free reusable bag from Target!

April 18 starts Earth Week. To celebrate Target is giving away a reusable bag while supplies last.Visit your local Target to get yours. Limit one per guest and while supplies last. Thes best part is it is made from recycled plastic bottles! I heart Earth Week :)

Save A Lot specials 4/14 - 4/20. (Little Chute location)

 

Here are the specials for Save A Lot this week. I don't see anything spectacular. There are a few good mark downs that I noted.

• Ground Beef family packs (usually around 9-11 lbs.) - $1.39/lb. Gets down to $0.99/lb so maybe wait unless you really need some. This is a decent price. I think they had Ground Chuck for $1.88/lb. too when I stopped.
• Bottom Round Roast or Steak family packs - $2.19/lb.
• Johnsonville Brats or Italian Sausage (19.76 oz. pack) - $3.29.
• Chicken Leg Quarters (10 lb. bag) - $4.40.
• Bananas - $0.33/lb. Great price!
• Biggins Baking Potatoes (15 lbs.) - $2.99.
• Braeburn or Granny Smith Apples (5 lb. bag) - $3.99.
• Totinos Pizza (9.8 - 10.8 oz.) - $1.
• Larry's Mashed Potatoes (10 oz.) - $0.99.
• Save A Lot Soda (2 L) - $0.69.  All summer long price.
• Beechnut Barley cereal marked down to $0.50!
• Coffee-mate Original Liquid Creamer marked down to $0.99 for 32 oz!

Visit Save A Lot's website to see more deals. The deals posted above are local to me, but may not be local to you. :) There are also great printable coupons on their site. Some aren't even specific to Save A Lot. Bring your own bags/boxes to save yourself some $ as Save A Lot charges you for bags, but you can use any of the boxes available for free. Save A Lot accepts cash, check, food stamps, credit and debit cards and WIC.

Kwik Trip deals.

Yes, Kwik Trip as in the gas station. :) I saw a commercial the other night advertising their specialty bread and buns for $0.79 each. White bread is only $0.59 each. That seems like a pretty good deal to me. Also, I see their oranges are $1 for 4. I know their bananas are pretty cheap too. I'm pretty sure they are $0.38/lb. They also have a coupon page here. You can stay more closely updated on their Facebook page too. There is also an email coupon program. You will get emailed valuable coupons based on your preference. Go here to sign up. Any Kwik Trip shoppers out there?

Coupons! Get your Coupons!

Here's the latest and greatest IP coupons:

Huggies

- Holy smokes another Huggies $3/1 Q!!! Yay!! This one exires two weeks from print. It's a bricks coupon. Go here to grab yours!

Newman's Own Organics

- Save $1.00 On Any 1 (ONE) 16 oz. Newman O's
(Original, Chocolate, Hint O Mint, Ginger, Wheat Free-Dairy Free)
 
- Save $.50 On Any 1 (ONE) 9 oz. Newman O's
(Original, PB, Chocolate, Hint O Mint, Ginger, Wheat Free-Dairy Free)
 
- Save $2.00 On Any 1 (ONE) 3 lb. Dry Formula Cat Food
(Adult or Advanced)

SoBe Lifewater

- Get your BOGO coupon here.

Uncrustables
- Get a $1/1 coupon here.

Wheat Thins
- Get your $1/1 Wheat Thins on their Facebook Fan Page.

Wishbone, Western or Salad Spritzers
- Get $0.50/1 here.

Buffalo Wild Wings
- Get your coupon here for 4 free boneless buffalo wings wings when you buy 8. This is another Facebook coupon.

Scotch Brite Greener Clean Sponges
- Go here to get a coupon for $1/2 of their new Greener Clean sponges. Expires June 30, 2010.

Aquafresh
- Get tons of Aquafresh coupons here.

Carefree
- Save $1/1 pack of Ultra Protection liners and sign up for a free sample. Go here. - Save $0.50/1 any Carefree product here.These will pair nicely with this weeks sale at Walgreens. Free or very cheap liners!

This week's shopping highlights.

I haven't done Double Daze in two weeks. Maybe I just haven't had the right coupons or maybe I just wasn't that into grocery shopping. Who knows. I did find good deals at Walgreens and Target. Some decent prices at Piggly Wiggly too.

Walgreens:
I bought 4 boxes of U by Kotex products. Paid $2.66 OOP (out of pocket). Yes, I like to include tax because it isn't free. I had 4 $1/1 coupons and then received 4 $2.50 RR (Register Rewards). Those will definitely help for future purchases. I have been getting better at shopping Wags (as many couponers call it) by using previous RR to purchse more deals that will give me RR. I also bought 4 Starbucks Frappuccinos for $0.25 each. Those are a yummy treat. I had 4 $1/1 coupons. Who in their right mind would pay $1.99 normally?! Yikes. I did use a $7 RR from the Simply Saline to pay for a Kotex order that also included a bottle of Pepto Bismol that was on sale for $4.99. The hubbs wasn't feeling well or I would have saved the RR for something else. But I still got the RR for the Kotex so I didn't feel too bad. I also got a gallon of whole milk for my little man for $2.69. That's not really a bad price for it not being on sale. That was the first time I ever bought milk here.

Target:
I spent $2.10 at Target and got a Johnson and Johnson Bath Buddies Bar for free (my coupon was expiring soon), Seventh Generation cleaning spray for $1.99, GE CFL for free (used a Target Q and a mfr. Q) and received $0.05 for a reusable bag credit. That's the first time I've done that at Target. :)

Piggly Wiggly:
Pig was having their 10 for $10, get the 11th item free so really you are paying $0.91 for each item. I bought a head of lettuce for $0.69, 3 Del Monte Fruit Naturals for $2 (had a Q for $1/3), free bag of Goldfish crackers (had $1/1 Q), 2 L bottle of Mt. Dew and Pepsi (had a Q for $0.55/1) for $1.27, gallon of Pig brand milk for $0.99 (in store Pig coupon), Silk soymilk for $1.24 (had a Q for $0.75/1 + in store Pig coupon), Piggly Wiggly Bread for $0.91, and a free Lunchables ($10 for 10 sale plus had a $1/1 Q). On another trip I got 4 SoBe Lifewaters for $0.50 each (Had 2 BOGO Qs) and a bag of dried peas for $0.89, 6 pack of organic kiwis for $1.99 and a gallon of PW milk for $0.99. So not bad for Piggly Wiggly. I really only shop their deals. Or since it's in walking distance I go there when I really need something. Sometimes it's too easy to do this. I have to watch myslef. Well,  more like I need to watch my husbad lol. He's always saying "I can just stop at the store!" No way. This is why I don't have a set goal/dollar amoutneach week. My goal is just to get the BEST of the BEST prices.

Not an amzing week, but nothing to get upset over. Ya win some and ya lose some. That's all you can do. As long as I'm saving that's better than wasting. Now I better go figure out what I am going to be doing for Double Daze. I get so flustered because I like to compare their deals with Pig and Save A Lot's. Pig and SAL ads come out on Wednesday so it's gets a little hairy. Ha ha. So my mini goal is to not wait til the last minute to make my list, but to do it at least a day ahead of time so when I get the other ads I can just cross things off or add to them. And my other goal is to keep my kitchen island free of 'coupon/deals' clutter. Think I can handle this?! I had to tell someone because otherwise what no one knows will not drive you.

Piggly Wiggly meat sale at Northland Ave. Appleton/8th St. Manitowoc on 4/16.

Looks like this sale is also happening at the Manitowoc Larry's Piggly Wiggly too. Same day. Friday, April 16. The differences are highlighted below in red.

The 520 Northland Ave. location is having a 1 Day Meat Sale on Friday, April 16th. They are doing this to celebrate their new ownership. I see the name has specifically changed to Schneider's Piggly Wiggly. There was a flyer in the Sunday paper yesterday. I noticed a coupon for a free reusable shopping bag! You need to spend $10 to get this, but if you were there doign some shopping anyway....why not. This should get you 5 cents off every shopping trip. It does at my store, but you might want to check. This coupon expires April 26, 2010. The Northland store isn't my main Pig store so I don't know every detail. If anyone has any other input that would be great.

1 Day Meat Sale Friday April 16th.

6 AM - 7 PM or while supplies last.

Boneless Ribeyes or New York Strip - $4.88/lb. Cut to order. $6.49/lb Angus is $6.99/lb. 14-18 lb. ave.

Certified Angus Petite Boneless Sirloin Steaks - $2.59/lb. Cut to order. Not on sale in Manitowoc.

Whole Beef Tenderloin - $3.98/lb. Trimmed Free. $4.49/lb. untrimmed in bag. Ask about trimming.

85% Lean Ground Chuck (Approximately 10 lb. packs) - $1.98/lb. $1.99/lb. in Manitowoc.

90% Extra Lean Ground Round (Approximately 10 lb. packs) - $2.49/lb. Same price in Manitowoc.

Johnsonville Brats (3 lb. box) Reg. Beer or Italian - $6.88. $0.55/1 here. $6.99 in Manitowoc. Reg. or beer.

Meaty Country Style Spare Ribs (family pack) - $1.29/lb. Same in Manitowoc, but says Pork Back Ribs.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (clear wrap) - $1.79/lb. Or Drumsticks - $0.89/lb.

Sunchef Bonless Skinless Chicken Breasts (red color 3 lb. bag) - $4.99. Same price.

Old Wisconsin Weiners (Polish 28 oz, Cheddar 24 oz, or Pre-cooked 28 oz) - $3.99/pack. Save $1/1 here. Same price in Manitowoc.

Pork Sausage Patties (10 lb. box) - $0.89/lb. Same price in Manitowoc.

Country Smoked Bacon Ends and Pieces (10 lb. box) - $0.99/lb. Not shown in ad.

Whole Pork Tenderloins (1-2 lb. average) - $2.49/lb. Whole Boneless Farmland Pork Loin (1-2 lb. ave.) Buy One Get One.

Farmland Whole Trimmed Pork Loins (14-16 lb. ave.) - $1.59/lb. 10-12 lb. average $1.99/lb. in Manitowoc.

Fresh Dupont Cheese Curds - $2.99/lb. Not shown in ad.

Chermake Summer Sausage (24 oz. package) - $5.99 each.

Chermake Ring Bologna (14 oz. pkg., Reg. or Garlic) - $2.50 each.

Icelandic Haddock or Cod (5 lb. box) - $5.99/lb.

Fresh Chicken Leg Quarters (10 lb. bag) - $4.99 each.

10 lb. box, fully cooked, oven roasted Chicken Wings (10 lb. box) - $16.99.

6-8 lb. average, fresh whole Pork Butt (Cut into Steaks & Roast) - $1.29/lb.

Whole Sirloin Tip 10-12 lb. average, Certified Angus Beef - $2.49/lb.  Cut free.

Certified Angus Beef, whole Boneless Top Sirloin (14-16 lb. ave.) Cut free! - $3.79/lb. 

Whole Beef Short Loin Cut Free!! Cut into T-bones & Porterhouse (16-20 lb. ave. Certified Angus Beef) - $5.69/lb.

1339 N. 8th St., Manitowoc • 920-682-4931

Many more specials! See store for details.

Free coffee at Starbucks when you bring in your reusable tumbler.

Vist your local Starbucks on Thursday, April 15 and you can get your tumbler filled with coffee for no charge. The goal is to get people away from using paper cups. You can read more here. I have a favorite tumbler so I just might have to do this. Let's see if I can fight my husband for it. You may want to call ahead to your local store and see if they are participating. I'd hate for this to turn into an anti-green idea by wasting your gas.

How does your garden grow? Part 6: Companion Planting.

***Not sure why this didn't post yesterday. Sorry.


What the heck is Companion Planting you ask? It's the whole harmony of sun/shade, birds, insects and the whole kit and caboodle. By planning where to place your crops you can deter or attract what you need all while creating a perfect little ecosystem. It's like saying Mother Nature has your back.

There are a few main techniques to put you well on your way to garden greatness:

- We go together like rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong (Okay Grease fans!)....Kidding, but there are plants that should be planted together and well, plants that shouldn't. Here is what you are probably going to put in your garden this summer. Hope this helps. This isn't a tell all/no fail either. These are just tips ya know!

• Basil-plant with tomatoes to enhance their flavor. Also acts as a fungicide and can repel aphids and mosquitos. Heck I might start wearing Basil. Now on the other hand don't plant near Sage.
• Beans-they like partial shade so would be great to plant amongst sunflowers and especially corn. Corn takes a lot of nitrogen from the soil and beans take it from the air and replace it in the soil. Cool! Beans also like cucumbers, but NOT alliums.
• Bee Balm is a very pretty flower (perennial) that can improve the flavor and growth of tomatoes. Like it's name says, it attracts the bees. Bees are needed to pollinate. Very important.
• Beets add minerals to the soil. Great for the compost pile.They are buddies with beans too. Just not pole or runner beans. If you plant them together with pole or runner they will stunt eachother's growth. Beets are also pretty good friends with onions and lettuce. Now on the other hand garlic and mint help beets.
• Cabbage (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, kohlrabi and kale)/Brassica-total BFFs with onions, potatoes and dill. It improves their health. The whole cabbage family won't ever be seen with strawberries, peppers, grapes, tomatoes and pole beans. Somehow pole bean's brother bush is okay, though. Feuds...I tell ya. Hard to understand sometimes.
• Carrots-super chummy with leaf lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Try not to plant carrots near parsnips or dill. They fight constantly. Also, as much as carrots love tomatoes they may stunt the carrot's growth. So you will end up with baby carrots, but they will still be yummy---just short.
• Chives-love to be around carrots and tomatoes and just so happen to make them taste better. Not so much with peas and beans. Chives can prevent back spot on roses, keep aphids away from your tomatoes, sunflowers, and mums.
• Chrysanthemums-these pretty little guys kill big bad nematodes. The white mums repel Japanese beetles.
• Corn-corn loves to be used. Use it as a trellis for your climbing beans, cukes or Morning Glory. Keep away from celery and tomatoes.
• Cucumbers-these guys love to climb corn or sunflowers. Cukes like to hang out with peas, beets, carrots and radishes. The radishes deter cucumber beetles. Nasturtium cheers them on by improving the flavor and growth. Keep the cukes away from potatoes and sage.
• Garlic-garlic repe;s aphids on roses. It may even repel deer. It also likes to hang out with apple and pear trees. Also, cukes, peas, celery and lettuce.
• Lettuce-loves the shade of sunflowers. Hang out with cabbage, cukes, carrots, beets, bush beans, radishes, strawberries, and onions
• Onions-planting summer savory and chamomile enhances their flavor. Onions help strawberries fight disease, but don't plant near peas or asparagus.
• Parsley-Friend: asparagus, chives, carrots, roses, onions, and tomatoes. Foe: mint. Parsley increases a rose's lovely scent.
• Peas-replaces nitrogen in the soil. Plant near corn. Also likes bush beans, Pole Beans, Carrots, Celery, Chicory, Corn Cucumber, Eggplant, Parsley, Early Potato, Radish, Spinach, Strawberry, Sweet pepper and Turnips. Really hates onions.
• Peppers (Sweet)-they love to hang out with tomatoes, basil, parsley, onions, and carrots. Enemies with kohlrabi.
• Peppers (Hot)-Plant wherever you have root rot problems. Hot peppers love to be by cukes, tomatoes, squash, and sweet peppers. They are enemies with beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and fennel.
• Potatoes-hate tomatoes as they get sick whenever they hang out. Also doesn't especially care for asparagus, cucumber, kohlrabi, parsnip, pumpkin, rutabaga, squash family, sunflower, and turnip. Loves bush bean, members of the cabbage family, carrot, celery, corn, marigold, peas, petunia, and onion.
• Radishes-These guys are the beloved for the garden. These tough guys deter so many insects. Radishes love everything and everything loves radishes except: cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and turnips.
• Squah-loves to hang out with Corn, cucumbers, icicle radishes, melon and pumpkin. Marigolds deter squash beetles. Oregeno also provides some protection.
• Strawberries-loves to hang out with beans, onions, lettuce, and spinach. Would never hang out with the cabbage family. 
• Tomatoes-tomatoes have lots of friends. They include: asparagus, basil, beans, carrots, celery, chive, cucumber, garlic, head lettuce, marigold, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, and peppers. Planted near basil will make these tomatoes super tasty and healthy. Tomatoes don't like to be seen with corn as corn gets jumped by these worms that will jump tomatoes too. Kohlrabi aslo isn't good to be around. It stunts the tomatoes' growth. Also keep away from cabbage and cauliflower.

- Don't be monocromatic! I know it is sooo pretty to plant perfect straight rows of tomato plants, but don't. Plant one here and one over there. This will switch it up for the needed insects that may pollinate or eat other bad insects. If you put all of your tomatoes waaay over there, maybe those little critters won't get over here.

- Give a toad a home. And any other beneficial critter. Use groundcover, rocks, compost piles, flowers...you name it they like it. Critters are good.

- Use your space wisely. Plant tall sun loving plants amongst short shade loving. The tall guys will shade the little guys. This is sometimes called spatial interaction. No one said you HAD to space your plants perfectly apart like the seed packet so blatantly states.

Hope this helps you plan out your soon to be garden. I can't wait. I am getting soo antsy. Don't be afraid to mix and match. Maybe you have a little botanist in you that you didn't even know existed.

Free sample of L'Oreal EverStrong Shampoo.

Quick! Go get your free sample of L'Oreal EverStrong Shampoo from Target here. While supplies last. Limit one per household. FYI, Target's last sample ran out quick. Thanks Hey It's Free!

Free Kraft Mac and Cheese to Facebook fans!

Become a Facebook fan of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and you can get yourself a coupon (mailed to you) for a free box of their Mac and Cheese. :) Mmm. Even I can't resist this once in a while. Did you know that they make an organic version now too?! Yum!

20 Walgreens 4x6 prints for $0.20!

Today only you can get 20 4x6 prints from the Walgreens Photo Center for $0.20! That's a steal. Use coupon code 20PRINTS. This deal is valid today only, but you do not need to pick them up today. By the time you read this post you probably won't be able to get them today unless you go to a 24 hour store. You can also pay more to get them shipped directly to you. This is a great incentive for me to print some pictures because I take soo many pictures on a daily basis, but never print any. I just don't think that pictures printed at home are of quality of those ordered. Just my opinion. Thanks Rose Knows Coupons!

FREE picture with the Tooth Fairy with your kids!

How cute?! You can get a picture of the Tooth Fairy with you child for free. The price is usually $10, but right now you can get it free. Visit iCaughttheToothFairy and use promo code fairy-proof. I love that you get to pick from a couple of poses. Flying overhead, blowing a kiss, or peering over them. Too bad I don't have any toothless children right now. Let me know if you take advantage of this super cute idea. Thanks Smart Couponing!

Dollar General now accepts IP coupons!

As of April 8, Dollar General is now accepting internet coupons. I don't frequent Dollar General very much, but it's good to know for future reference. They never used to accept IP (internet printable) coupons. You can view their coupon policy here. I don't see any exclusions for amounts, but it states very clearly no 'free' coupons unless a purchase is required like a BOGO (buy one get one). This is a pretty standard procedure for a lot of stores. Thanks Short On Cents!

Black Friday is back at Home Depot!

Home Depot is having a 4 day sale 4/8 - 4/11. All sorts of seasonal things are on sale. While supplies last. These are in store specials only. Pair up some of these deals with coupons mailed from the Home Depot Garden Club. Not a member? Sign up here. They will send you coupons and valuable information.  Here are some good deals that I saw. There are more deals in their flyer. These just jumped out at me.

- Select shrubs (in gallon pots) $2.50! Limit 24 per Customer.
- Select conifers (in 10 gallon pots) $59.98.
- 3 piece bistro set. $69.88.
- 2 cubic feet bags Cypress mulch BOGO $2.75.
- Seed packet BOGO of equal or lesser value.
- 6" Cyclamen houseplant. Red, purple, white or pink. $6.98. Pair with BOGO Garden Club  home mailer coupon. Didn't get any? Join right now!
- Select 10" tropical houseplants $9.98. Pair with BOGO coupon from Garden Club home mailer coupon. Didn't get any? Join right now! :)

FREE pouch of Uncle Ben's Ready Whole Grain Rice Medley.

Go here to get your free pouch of Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Rice Medley. You get to pick between Chicken Medley or Roasted Garlic. Sample should arrive in eight weeks. One sample per household. Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Piggly Wiggly deals 4/7 - 4/13.

Here's this weeks deals for Piggly Wiggly. These prices apply to Piggly Wiggly stores in the Midwest. See if your store is included here. Don't forget to print out your Online Exclusive Coupons. This week's coupons (for my area) are for $0.89 oz. Food Club Apple Sauce and $0.79 Food Club 18 oz. Peanut Butter Creamy or Chunky. You can use both coupons when you spend $10. Since these are Pig coupons you can stack them with mfr. coupons too. My Piggly Wiggly accepts IP (Internet Print) coupons up to $2.50. Yours may vary.

Little Chute and Kaukauna store locations are having their One Day Meat Sale. It is Thursday, April 8 in Little Chute and Friday, April 9 in Kaukauna. So if you canot make it to one store on that certain day stop at the other location.

I am proud to share with you a bonus this week at Piggly Wiggly. I teamed up with the Little Chute and Kaukauna stores to offer their customers free knife sharpening. How nice of them to do this?! I want to thank them for being so easy to work with and willing to go out of their way to make this happen. Thanks to Harware Hank for contributing too. They are providing the knife sharpening at each location. You can get 3 knives sharpened with a meat purchase. The meat sale is effective 7 AM - 7 PM, but knife sharpening will only be available 11 AM - 6 PM.

This week I will only be highlighting specials as there are two flyers. That's a lot of specials! :)

One Day Meat Sale:
- Approx. 10 lb. pkg. 85% Lean Fresh Ground Chuck. $1.99/lb.
- Approx. 10 lb. pkg. 90% lean Fresh Ground Round. $2.49/lb.
- 1-2 lb. average Pork Tenderloin  BOGO – of equal or lesser value –
- Frozen, tray pack, Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast. $1.79/lb. Drumsticks $0.89/lb.
- 10-12 lb. average, Certified Angus Beef Whole Sirloin Tip. $2.49/lb. Cut free!
- 14-16 lb. average, Certified Angus Beef, whole Boneless Top Sirloin. $3.79/lb. Cut free!
- 6-8 lb. average, fresh Pork Butt - Cut into Steaks & Roast. $1.29/lb.
- 16-20 lb. average, Whole Beef Short Loin. Cut into T-bones & Porterhouse. $5.69/lb.
- 16-18 lb. average, cut into roasts & chops, Farmland Whole Pork Loin. $1.48/lb. Cut free!
- Family Pack, Bone in Country Style Pork Spare Ribs. $1.28/lb.
- 10 lb. box Pork Sausage Patties. $8.99 each.
- 2-3 lb. average, frozen Meaty Pork Back Ribs. $3.49/lb.
- 3-4 lb. avg., untrimmed, in the bag Whole Beef Tenderloin. $3.99/lb.
- 14-18 lb. average, Diamond Lean Beef WHOLE, BONELESS Rib Eye or New York Strip Loin. $6.99/lb. Cut free!
- 10-12 lb. average, Farmland Whole Boneless Pork Loin. $1.99/lb.
- Family package Webster City, bulk Sliced Bacon. $1.79/lb.
- 10 lb. box, fully cooked, oven roasted Chicken Wings. $16.99/box.
- 14-16 oz. pkg. Klement's Ring Bologna. $2/each.
- 24-28 oz. pkg. Polish, Festival Brats or Old Wisconsin Natural Casing Wieners. $3.99/each
- 3 lb. package Beer Brats or regular Johnsonville Brats. $6.99/box. $0.55/1 here. 

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- Certified Angus Beef Boneless Petite Sirloin Steak. $3.49 lb.11 for $10 when you buy 11. Less than 11 and you'll pay $1/each.

-  3.3 to 4.5 oz. Select Varieties Oscar Mayer Lunchables. $1.00 $1/1 in 3/21 SS.
-  8-oz. - Select Varieties Del Monte Fruit Naturals $1.00 $1/3 here.
- 4.5 to 8.4-oz. Package: Chicken Helper, Tuna Helper or Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper. $1.00
$0.75/3 here or here.
- Update: SoBe Lifewater single bottles. $1.00 BOGO coupon here.
- 2 Liter Bottles - Select Varieties Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Mountain Dew $1.00
- 5-10.25 oz. Banquet Frozen Dinners. $1.50/4 here.
- 6.6-8 oz. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish $1.00. $0.75/1 from Coupons.com a couple weeks ago. 
- Iceberg lettuce $0.69/each.
- Cauliflower $0.69/lb.
- $0.99 Gallon Piggly Wiggly Milk when you spend $10. Need to cut coupon in store.
- $1.99 64 oz. Silk Soymilk. Need to cut coupon in store. Stack with $0.75/1 here.
- 50-oz. Bottle Tide Liquid Detergent. $5.99 $1/1 in 3/7 and 4/4 P&G.
- 6-oz. Laughing Cow Wedges. $3.49 $1/2 in 3/28 SS.
- 4-Count - Pugging or Gel Hunt's Snack Pack. $1.00 $1/3 in April All You magazine.
- 8-Count Kool Aid Fun Fizz. $1.99 $1/1 in 3/28 SS.
- 23 to 50-Count Pampers Jumbo Pack Disposable Diapers. $8.99 $1.50/1 in 4/4 P&G.