Back from vacation........Back to coupbloggin'!

CVS has some great deals this week on paper products and razors. Check out the ad HERE!


Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief is on sale for $4.99 (Yowzers!)
--After a $4.00 ECB reward, the final price is 99 cents. If you use the 75 cents off colgate coupon from this weeks paper, it can be yours for only TWENTY FIVE CENTS! There is a limit off 2 per household for this deal, so if you use two coupons you can double your savings.

Glade air freshener spray is on sale, at half off, for $1.00 a can. I couldn't find any coupons for it, but it is still a great price even without the coupon.

Schick Hydro products are ALL on sale, AND there are mega savings to be found in this week's Sunday paper. Check out page three of the CVS sale's ad......see how they tell you exactly which coupons to use? How convenient......


However, the ad failed to mention that there are also $4.00 coupons available to save on Schick Hydro Silk women's razors and carteridges, as well as $4.00 coupons to save on men's Schick Hydro 5 Power Select razors -------> ------->

Meaning that after ECB reward reimbursement AND $4.00 coupon application, both items can be yours for only $1.99!

The best part is that there is a SIX item limit in this sale. Buy multiple papers and cash in on this great deal!

Time Saving Tip: "The rollover meal" and the "Big Batch Meal"

Rollover meals, are meals that have leftovers that turn into a whole new meal for the next day. For instance, you make a ham on Monday and then on Tuesday you make a ham soup. Pretty easy stuff, right? Most people probably already do this anyways. With this method you are still cooking something every night. Here is another idea, that is mainly geared towards saving TIME.....the multi-purpose "Batch Meal". This method of cooking will have you spending less time in the kitchen, AND spending less money on pricy convenience foods that are often bought due to running out of time to cook anything.

Example #1: The stuffed green pepper and meatloaf dinner(s):

Buy:
4 green peppers
About 1.5lbs ground beef or turkey
1 onion
1 cup frozen peas
parmesean cheese
1/2 cup Milk
2eggs
1 6oz. can tomato paste
Seasonings mixture of basil, oregano, garlic, and/or pepper.
2/3 cup Bread crumbs
14oz can tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce.
Ketchup

Mix together the meat, seasoning, peas, cheese, onion, and tomato paste. This is the stuffing for the pepper, so stuff HALF of the mix into 4 hollowed-out bell peppers. Pour your tomato sauce over the whole dish.Then.............

Take the other half of the meat mixture and mix in your milk, eggs, and breadcrumbs. This is now your meat loaf, so stuff it into a loaf pan. You can just put both of these prepared dishes in your refrigerator, and cook one today and one tomorrow. If you want to stretch it out even further, then on the third night eat any leftovers you have, or make the leftovers into a whole new recipe (like meat loaf sandwiches)!

****Cook the peppers at 350 degrees for 30 minutes covered and then 30 minutes uncovered.
Cook the meatloaf for about 60-75 minutes, frost with ketchup and bake for about 10 more minutes.

RN Humor

CVS coupon machine

CVS has a magic coupon machine in the front of most of their stores, which also doubles as their price checker. You can scan your red Extra Care card in the machine, and multiple coupons will print out of it. Make sure you scan your card a few times so you get all the coupons that are available for the day. These coupons are considers 'store coupons", meaning you can combine them with a manufactures coupon when purchasing one item (read this explanation HERE). This is the best way to maximize your savings at CVS. Take advantage of it, and you will find that you will get the occasional 'free item' coupons, and coupons to save money off of your total bill ( like their "Save $.00 of off a $20.00 purchase" coupon) I have gotten lots of totally free item from this little machine!










For example, today at CVS I got a coupon that printed out of the machine to "Buy one Aquafresh toothpaste get one free". I had two manufacturers coupons to save '75 cents off of any Aquafresh product"........AND there was a 25% off sale on selected Aquafresh toothpastes. Triple whammy!

 These pastes were marked down to $3.64 each, and after applying my BOGO coupon AND two 75 cent off coupons (one per item is allowed), my final cost was only $2.14, or ONE DOLLAR AND SEVEN CENTS EACH!! Not too bad!

An ode to my favorite card-haiku version:

 

My red plastic card

Puts money back in my hand

 Rolling in the dough

CVS Deals: Week of Feb 12th 2012

I had a great time this week at CVS. I had my $14 in ECB's from last week to use, as well as some great sales!


Nivea has a great sale this week on their chapsticks. They are on sale two for $5.00, and if you spend $10 on Nivea then you will get $3.00 in ECB's. The Sunday paper has a coupon to save $3.00 off of two lip products, so...

Buy four for $10.00-$6.00 in coupons (you must buy two papers)+ factoring in your $3.00 in ECB's= a total of ONE SINGLE MEASLY DOLLAR for four fancy lip balms!

There are some great BOGO deals for Cheerios, Emerald Nut's "Breakfast on the Go" packs, CVS batteries, Orbit's gum, Bumble Bee tuna, and Simply Asia meals. Look for coupons for these products online, and in your coupon binders to cash in on some great saving. I always like to buy my coupon inserts in an even number, b/c of BOGO sales. You can use two coupons when making your purchase, even when one item is considered 'free'.

Frankenmuth, Michigan

Frankenmuth, Michigan.......my favorite 'local' vacation spot. There is literally something for everyone there, including: famous chicken dinners with a German influence, camp grounds, lots of available alcohol vendors, country stores, knitting/scrapbook/craft stores, farms, river boats, a natural and organic industry, horse drawn carriages, breweries and wineries, an even a military museum!

If you crave a Bavarian-styled oasis in mid-Michigan that is steeped in early American history, then Frankenmuth is the place for you.

I will highlight a few of my favorite attractions here for your viewing pleasure:

Lodging:

Bavarian Inn and the Drury Inn are my two favorite hotels in the area. They are both within walking distance to the main drag.

The Bavarian Inn is the bigge$t, 'fancie$t', and probably most well known hotel in town. It is a mega-hotel with an emphasis on family fun (indoor put-put golf, 5 pools, restaurants, play lands and arcades). Little kids are EVERYWHERE. There is a restaurant, lounge/bar, and a cafeteria style eatery in the play area, and a gift shop. You could check in to this place and not ever leave it, because there is so much to do.

The Drury Inn is a much smaller and less expensive version of the Bavarian Inn with one single pool and hot tub, and no other 'fun' areas. They do offer a free hot breakfast, free pop and popcorn all day, 3 free drink coupons at the lobby's bar area to use during your stay, and a free hot appetizer bar at night. There is no where to really hang out and relax in, outside of your guest room (other than the small amount of dining tables in the lobby). If you are all about free food stuffs, and also actually getting out of your hotel and seeing what the city has to offer, this affordable place is a great place to stay at.

I would say that both hotel's guest rooms have a similar outdated look, with a Bavarian themed decor throughout the building. The hotel staff's friendliness, ease of parking, bathroom size and guest room cleanliness level seem about the same between the two places. If you really want to save some money, then stay at the Drury Inn and visit the Bavarian Inn's Family Fun areas during the day. You wont be able to get in the pools there, but you can go in the playlands, restaurants, and arcades as a visitor.

Dining

  The most amazing dining experience you will have in Frankenmuth is the Bavarian Inn restaurant. It is the quintessential Frankenmuth experience. Home made EVERYTHING, lederhosen-clad wait-staff, a roaming accordion player, and several different dining rooms that are all uniquely decorated with a whimsical Bavarian theme. It can be both a fun family restaurant, and a romantic date night all in one building. The basement of the restaurant holds the Castle Shops, so you can make your trip here a fun couple of hours! The all-you-can-eat chicken dinner is served family style and is about $20 per adults and children over 12 years old. One money saving tip: the lunch menu is available all day, and is much cheaper than the dinner menu (but it is not all-you-can-eat). Also, if you join the Perks Club, you will get a coupon for a free chicken dinner for your birthday!

There are many other places to eat in town, from the Frankenmuth Brewery to 'T Dubs' (Think: the Bavarian Buffalo Wild Wings). The Bavarian Inn Hotel (across the river from the Bavarian Inn Restaurant) has a restaurant called Oma's that has a good breakfast menu, as well as German cuisine! The whole main strip of the tourist area is full of fudge shops, candy stores, coffee shops, sausage and cheese shops, and many, many ice cream vendors. You can stroll around sampling a huge variety of unique delicacies, before deciding which place to dine at! 

The Cheese Haus, where you can see cheese being made and eat sample's of chocolate cheese

Did I mention the Bavarian Inn does great weddings?!

Shopping

The whole town of Frankenmuth is full of unique stores, all which seem to have an emphasis on original and home made items. Aside from the German beer steins, and keychain/magnet huts that are everywhere, there is a wide variety of quality leather, wool, quilts and lace goods. Like seriously nice and expensive stuff. There is the River Place mall (which has less emphasis on German type stuff, and has a food court, inflatable play place, and arcade)  the Castle shops (my favorite!), and the famous Cheese Haus!

You can shop, eat, and have a jolly good time in Frankenmuth!  If you have visited as a child, you may be pleasantly surprised to see that not a whole lot has changed since you left.

*********Things I didn't even mention, but are definitely some of the best attractions in the 'Muth so I dont want to leave them out: Bronner's, Zhender's bakery, the Popcorn Wagon in the River Place mall, the many many outdoor festivals held in town, and the wooden covered bridge in the center of town that you can walk over.