Heavenly Homemakers

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4 Grocery Items I Can Only Find at Sam’s

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I’m a big fan of Costco, Aldi, and Sam’s so those are the stores where are do the majority of my grocery shopping. Here are the 4 grocery items I can only find at Sam’s.

To be fair, when I say that I can only find these at Sam’s, I mean that I can only find these brands at these prices in these amounts. As in, there are certain items I can buy at Sam’s, Costco, or Aldi or any other grocery store. But there are four items I always and only buy at Sam’s because they are amazing and/or not specifically to be found at other stores.

Allow me to explain. Shall we begin with bacon?

5 Grocery Items I Can Only Find at Sam’s

UPDATE: The original post I wrote in February, 2024 didn’t include the fifth item that I added December 2024!

1. BACON

I’ve been so excited about this restaurant-style box of bacon I find and love from Sam’s. It is worth mentioning that we have two Sam’s Clubs in Lincoln but I can only find this box of bacon at one of the locations. So that’s the store I go to!

This is a 10-pound box of bacon for only $29.98. That’s a great price per pound for very good bacon, and a huge bonus is the cooking convenience this box provides. The bacon comes on parchment paper sheets (about 8 slices per sheet) so all I have to do is get out my cookie trays, place a sheet of bacon on each tray, and bake it as-is. SO EASY. And the bacon is delicious.

I usually cook eight or ten sheets of bacon in one cooking session so that we can eat some for our upcoming meal and then have leftovers in a bag in the fridge for sandwiches, breakfasts, and casseroles. I also save the bacon grease to flavor our green beans.

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2. PEANUT BUTTER

The ingredients in this peanut butter are very similar to this Homemade Peanut Butter I used to make. The price – $8.12 for 5-pounds of peanut butter – cannot be beat! And we love how this peanut butter tastes.

We go through a lot of peanut butter at our house so I usually buy two 2-packs each time I go to Sam’s. Here are 40 recipes we use regularly.

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3. WAFFLE FRIES

Sam’s carries this 4-pound bag of Waffle Fries for only $6.98. I pick up a bag of these every time I go to Sam’s and we love this treat!

With so many of us living here, we usually eat the entire bag for one meal. But what an amazing price compared to buying fries if we were to eat out! $6.98 to feed fries 10-13 people, depending on who is here, is fantastic!

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4. COLBY JACK CHEESE SLICES

Obviously there are packages of sliced cheese at just about every grocery store. But here’s why I always get it at Sam’s:

  • Costco’s Sliced Colby Jack is “reduced fat” and we prefer regular.
  • I love having a huge quantity to work with and Sam’s is the only place I find it like this.

This 42-pack costs $7.24 at Sam’s, and in case you’re wondering – the cost per slice is the same at Aldi. But there are only 11 slices in an Aldi package and that doesn’t go very far for us.

We love this cheese when we make Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and sometimes the kids like to eat a slice for a snack. It is worth mentioning that while we don’t like the Reduced Fat Colby Jack at Costco, they do have a sliced Havarti cheese that is incredibly good. So that’s the variety of sliced cheese we buy at Costco.

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5. GRASS FEED HAMBURGER MEAT

Costco has organic hamburger meat, but it doesn’t specify that it’s grass fed. Aldi has grass fed hamburger meat, but their price just tipped above Sam’s price by $1/pound. So each time I go to Sam’s, I get several pounds of their Grass Fed Hamburger Meat for $4.98/pound.

Beyond these five items, there are all kinds of groceries that overlap between Costco and Sam’s that I get at either store depending on where I am and what I need. I love having memberships for both warehouses because they are similar, yet different, and I’ve settled into needing both.

Have you found anything you always make sure you pick up at Sam’s?

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Big Family Food and Fun: February 4-10, 2024

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Here’s our Big Family Food and Fun: February 4-10, 2024 post!

Big Family Food and Fun: February 4-10, 2024

My brother and his wife had spent the might so Sunday morning we enjoyed a little bit more time with his family before they headed out to join my niece for church in York. I made bacon and set out fruit, yogurt, Bran Muffins, and Lemon Bread.

If you recall, our church is currently meeting in a temporary location on Sunday afternoons while we wait for flood-related repairs to be done at our building. So we spent the rest of the morning giving all seven kids baths and showers. Plus I took a long bath – woot!

We warmed up leftovers for lunch, then enjoyed a Snacky Dinner after church with some of our older kids and some friends coming over to join us.

Matt turned on some soccer highlights to watch and I captured this happy moment of hoopla in our living room. :) :) :)

Monday morning Eva came over to help and I took Keith to our Food Distribution site to help set up to give out food the next day.

When we got home, I discovered that Eva had cleaned my kitchen and made it so shiny! Bliss!

We warmed up leftover Instant Pot Mac and Cheese for lunch and the kids requested frozen peas to be stirred in. Who am I to argue when the kids want veggies?

That night, Elias and Brayden made dinner as part of their weekly Bro Time. They had purchased the groceries during last week’s time, and this night was a great night for them to put it together for us. Hiring Elias for this special task of pouring into Brayden was such a good decision. It’s making a big difference in Brayden’s life, even more than we’d hoped.

They mixed up Brownies to bake before starting dinner.

Then we all feasted on the meal they made: Pasta with both red and white sauces, Garlic Butter Shrimp, Meatballs, Caesar Salad, and Garlic Toast. We all loved it and Brayden beamed with joy.

That afternoon, since I had the night off from making dinner, I put together a batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs for snacks.

While the guys were cooking, Kiya spent time with the loom she’d gotten for Christmas to make her sisters bracelets and necklaces.

Tuesday morning we ate Breakfast Cookies that I pulled out of the freezer. While the kids ate those, I made a batch of Warm Vanilla Soother.

Matt walked Brayden and Kiya to school, then our Speech Pathologist came to work with Acacia. Josie joined this morning too, and she was wearing her life jacket – just in case. ;)

Afterward, we loaded everyone up to do some shopping. Matt dropped two girls and me off at Sam’s then took the other three littles with him into Menards. Divide and conquer, right?

It had been a while since I’d been shopping so I over-filled our cart.

I got lots of fresh produce, sparkling water and 100% juice “pop” for our Super Bowl gathering, shredded cheese, applesauce, chips, chicken nuggets, eggs, milk, chicken thighs, hamburger meat, and a few ingredients and condiments we needed.

That afternoon, I picked up Brayden and Kiya from school and we headed to the Food Distribution to help hand out food. Brayden got to give out Runzas and chicken; Kiya gave out boxed side dish options. Over 100 people come through the line each week, giving us lots of opportunity to smile and show love.

We brought home three bags full of food – lots of bread, buns, and bagels and even a container of strawberries!

Back at home, Elias and Matt warmed up Green Beans that I had made that afternoon and baked this Easy Ham and Hashbrown Casserole that I’d put together over the weekend. In the hubbub of getting home, I almost forgot to take a picture. By the time I remembered, the green beans were gone and people were going back for seconds on the casserole. :)

Matt and Elias went to York on Wednesday to work on our properties and Malachi came over to help me with the kids. For breakfast before sending everyone off to school or work, we had toasted bagels/bread/English muffins, and ate them with sausage and grapes.

To keep the kids busy that morning, I filled a container with dry rice then gave everyone a yogurt container and measuring cups.

Was this messy? Yes. But it was a controlled mess and it kept the kids engaged for several minutes. Malachi and Keith decided to go outside and ride their skateboards together so the girls and I continued to measure and scoop.

I had a lot of help sweeping up the floor afterward.

Once the mess was cleaned up, we spotted the boys through the dining room window with their skateboards.

BabyBoy#11 got up from his morning nap so Malachi came in and took care of him while the girls and I went outside to join Keith. His regular bike is missing (might have been taken??) so he’s making do with his old balance bike for now.

Everyone worked up a big appetite so we came in and ate applesauce pouches and finished off a small bowl of leftover Cream Cheese Salsa Dip with chips.

Dinner that night was simple: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup, and Stir Fried Veggies.

After kitchen clean-up, one of the kids brought me a book to read. We opened it up and before I knew it there were six kids piled up on and around me. This was perfection!

Thursday morning was apparently not picture-worthy, ha. I had a treasured phone call with one of my cousins while the kids played and Matt took Keith to get a hair cut before school. Then I took BabyBoy#11 to yet another specialist to see if we could get to the bottom of his eating issues. I’m so thankful for everyone at Nebraska Children’s Hospital, and I’m extra thankful that there is a satellite clinic in Lincoln so that our appointment needs with his specialists are more convenient. I came home overwhelmed with information but also hopeful that we are on the right track to meet his needs.

We got the big kids home from school and played outside again since it was so nice!

That morning, I had put Crock Pot Fajitas in to slow cook all day. I fried some corn tortillas that I had tucked away in the freezer so we ate the Fajita meat more like Tostadas. :)

I cut up a fresh pineapple for dessert. So good!

The most exciting part of Thursday was that I found a few minutes to actually find the bottom of two laundry baskets that night! This is no small thing to celebrate.

Friday mornings are a bit more hectic because Brayden has to be at school an hour early for Ukulele class. So I decided to not cook and instead get out cereal and granola choices that morning.

Here’s what our couch looks like each morning after I make my way to our laundry room and bring up outfits so that we can dress the five littlest.

Everyone was dressed and ready for the day when our friend Courtney arrived for a visit!! She’s one of our dear York College friends we become close to during her time as a student a few years ago. It was so good to catch up with her!

We fed the kids a snacky lunch of crackers, cheese, grapes, cucumbers, and sliced turkey or ham before the preschool bus arrived to pick up Keith and Anna.

Then Acacia, Josie, BabyBoy#11, and I walked around outside our house and enjoyed the sunshine for a while.

I dropped the girls off at Ms. Kathi’s house for their special time with her that afternoon. They started off with a tea party which was so cute that I snapped a photo before I headed out. :)

I took the night off for dinner and got out frozen nuggets and fries.

Besides not cooking, the best thing about a meal like this is that everyone eats it without complaint! After dinner, I got to go out by myself to an Adoptive Moms Support Group that meets once-a-month. My time at these meetings is incredibly valuable and helpful to me. Oh how I need the support and understanding that this group offers.

Saturday morning I made Scrambled Egg Sandwiches with fruit.

Then we loaded up and headed to Sensory Friendly Story Time. (Saying it this way makes it seem like it is actually easy to feed everyone breakfast and load up in the van, hahaha. In reality, it takes a solid hour to get everyone ready to leave after we feed them breakfast. Getting out the door doesn’t always bring out the best in me, oy.)

Today the kids got to enjoy waving scarves along with Valentine-themed books, rhymes, and songs.

I love seeing Keith so engaged. :)

After story time, Librarian Diane gets out lots of tubs full of sensory toys for the kids to enjoy for about 20 minutes. Brayden and Josie weren’t able to play though, seeing as they were buried under all the scarves.

That afternoon we worked on Super Bowl Party food. Kiya had helped me make a double batch of Brownies the day before and we got them frosted.

I baked several pans worth of Bacon like this. I needed cooked bacon so that I could make this dip, plus we’ve found that it’s really nice to have pre-cooked bacon in the fridge to pull out for breakfasts or sandwiches. And yes I had just baked several pans worth of bacon on Sunday, but indeed, it was already gone. What can I say? 13 people live here and six of us are adults. Food comes and goes, then comes again, then goes. :)

I cut several pieces of cooked bacon into a bowl and Kiya stirred ingredients together to make Bacon Ranch Chip Dip for our Super Bowl Party.

I had recently made a big jar full of Ranch Dressing Mix, so it’s possible I went a little bit too Ranchy as I made our party food. I was just trying to use what I had and I didn’t feel like getting out a bunch of different seasonings. So Ranch won when I was working on recipes. Bacon Ranch Chip Dip, Spicy Ranch Dressing (to eat with these Potato Wedges), and regular Ranch Dip to eat with veggies. I didn’t put ranch in the brownies though, so I feel like we’re ok. :)

I was in “use up what we have” mode so dinner that night was a little bit of this and that as I cleaned out the fridge. I had olive oil in a cast iron skillet on my stove from Thursday night’s Tostadas, and I had a small bag of pizza dough that Eva had given me. So I baked the dough in the olive oil in the oven then topped it with leftover marinara sauce from the night Elias and Brayden had made dinner. Then added cheese and we had a skillet pizza!

This was obviously too small to feed our entire clan, but we just pieced it together with whatever fruit everyone wanted plus I asked everyone to eat some fresh spinach on the side. We didn’t sit down to eat dinner together that night, just ate in spurts as I kept working in the kitchen.

Acacia crushed some cornflakes for me and we made another batch of Peanut Butter Honey Puffs. (We go through these faster than we go through bacon.)

I also made a small batch of Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispie Bars. The Puffs and the Bars are just my way of staying on top of everyone’s hunger when kids (or mom) needs a little bit of protein throughout the day.

Super Bowl Dips in the fridge, snacks made, sink full of dirty dishes, and it was time to get everyone ready for bed to wrap up our week!

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Costco or Aldi: Which Has Better Prices?

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Have you ever been curious about the bottom line here? Costco or Aldi: Which has better prices?

Back when we lived an hour away from both Costco and Aldi, at most I could hit each of these stores once per month. Now that we live in Lincoln, I can go wherever, whenever. Hahaha, I mean, if you don’t consider the fact that getting out of the house and to the store EVER is quite the feat.

How many carts does it take to contain all of the Coppinger children??

Two. And then let’s hope there’s still room in the carts for groceries.

If I move a few mountains, I can get out of the house all by myself to buy groceries. This still sometimes requires two carts, but that’s only because I don’t have kids with me and will therefore buy as much as I can because of the “convenience” of shopping on my own.

Our current grocery budget

There are currently 12 people living in our home and our grocery budget is hanging in there at $1,400/month. You can read details about this here.

Now that we’ve lived in Lincoln for over half-a-year, I feel like I’m finding my groove just a bit when it comes to knowing which prices are better at which store.

My favorite places to shop in Lincoln are: Costco, Aldi, Sam’s

I pick up our WIC items at Walmart because I’ve found that to be the easiest and because the three above-mentioned stores don’t work with our WIC cards.

There are a few items I can only get at Sam’s. This post details that info. But for today…

Costco or Aldi: Which Has Better Prices?

Now, it all depends on what you’re going for. In my experience, non-organic items at Aldi are less expensive than almost all Costco items. But the quality of most of those Aldi items are subpar and I’ve found that it’s not always worth the savings. I mean, have I really saved money if I buy cheaper grapes at Aldi but then have to throw half of them away because they got moldy right away?

Here are the items I’ve cost compared and where I’ve landed on purchase preference. Prices tend to fluctuate so I won’t share specific costs, but will instead note what I’ve learned about which store has the better overall price.

Grassfed Butter – Both stores have a Kerry Gold knock-off and wow are they good! Best price: Aldi

Tip: Watch for it to go on sale during the holidays and stock up. It freezes well!

Cream Cheese – As of 2024, I’ve stopped buying cream cheese at Aldi and have discovered that Costco’s brand of cream cheese is less money and delicious! Best price: Costco

Regular Butter – Best price: Depends on the day – watch for sales at both stores and stock up when they are discounted!

Shredded Cheese – Aldi has regular-sized pouches whereas Costco has bulk-sized (5-pound) pouches. Shredded cheese freezes well, so buying the bigger pouches works even if you don’t go through it quickly. Best price: Costco

Nitrite-Free Lunch Meat – Both stores carry a nice variety of healthier lunch meats. They freeze well so it works to buy in bulk. Best price: Costco

Organic Chicken Broth – Both stores have good quality organic broth that I like to have on hand for easy soups and casseroles. Costco’s price wins by a few cents per container. Best price: Costco

Organic Salsa – Both stores have tasty organic salsa, but Aldi’s is significantly cheaper. Best price: Aldi

Canned Corn – Cost per can of corn is about the same at both stores, but Costco’s is better quality. So in my book… Best price: Costco

Applesauce Pouches – By far every variety of these is cheaper at Costco. We go through these like crazy at our house! Best price: Costco

Why yes, I do buy my bulk in bulk…

Organic Pasta Sauce – Both stores have very tasty pasta sauces and both are high quality. Hands down though, Aldi’s is cheaper. I buy 6-12 jars at a time! Best price: Aldi

Rotel – Cost per can of Rotel at Costco and the Aldi knock-off are about the same. Because the price is the same, I prefer to buy a case at Costco because we go through a lot of it and it’s easier to buy by the case. Best price: Both

Organic Coconut Oil – There is no comparison on this one – Costco’s oil is much, much less per ounce compared to Aldi. Granted, Costco’s is an 84-ounce tub vs. Aldi’s 14-ounce jar. The bulk option saves a large amount of money! Best price: Costco

Organic Olive Oil – Again, you’ll have to buy a larger quantity to enjoy the savings. But I find that it’s worth it! Best price: Costco

Cage Free Eggs – I like to buy the 5-dozen packs at Costco because we go through eggs so quickly at our house. As it turns out, they are less money this way. Best price: Costco

Whole Milk – I buy many gallons of milk each week and while I know the cheapest price is at Aldi, I can’t go there every week. I just pick it up wherever I happen to be that week. But best price: Aldi

Half & Half – Do you want organic or non-organic? If you want organic, best price: Costco. If you aren’t particular and are ok with non-organic, best price: Aldi

4% Cottage Cheese – We like whole milk cottage cheese at our house and have found that price per ounce is less expensive at Aldi. Best price: Aldi

Grocery Shopping Cheat-Sheet

Here’s a quick summary of each item I mentioned above and what is cheaper at which store:

Costco

Shredded Cheese
Regular Butter
Nitrite-Free Lunch Meat
Organic Chicken Broth
Canned Corn
Rotel
Organic Coconut Oil
Organic Olive Oil
Cage-Free Eggs
Applesauce Pouches
Cream Cheese

Aldi

Grass-Fed Butter
Regular Butter
Organic Salsa
Organic Pasta Sauce
Rotel
Whole Milk
Half & Half
4% Cottage Cheese

Obviously this doesn’t cover every grocery item. And both Costco and Aldi carry specific products that the other doesn’t carry, making it impossible to compare.

I love and appreciate both stores! Hopefully these price comparisons are helpful to you as they are to me!

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Favorite Christmas Food at Costco and Sam’s

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Do you have favorite must-have Christmas food at Costco and Sam’s? Do you have a hard time not buying EVERYTHING like I do? How about stocking up on baking ingredients? Yes to all of the above?

They get me every year – walking through Costco and Sam’s at Christmas time. Everything looks wonderful, fun, and festive! I have to hold back so that I don’t spend too much on food, much less gifts. Well done, Costco and Sam’s marketing people. Well done.

Here’s what came up when I searched online for Costco and Sam’s Christmas images. SEE? This is what we find when we walk in. It all looks so good!! (Yes, I do love all things Christmas.)

My good judgement does kick in and while I do put several fun treats and gifts into my cart, I don’t buy the entire store. #selfcontrol

But here’s what I tend to buy that is both practical and fun for hospitality during the holidays…

Favorite Christmas Food at Costco and Sam’s

Hawaiian Rolls

These are great for Sliders on a finger-food night or as a side dish if we’re having Ham. These are super sweet and tasty, perfect for a Christmas treat/snack/lunch/side. What? They’re just rolls, you say? Nope, not at Christmas time. They are magic rolls during the holidays.

Cheeses and Crackers

I’m not sure why I don’t put together fun cheese and cracker trays on random Thursdays in February. These seem to be saved for special occasions like Game Nights around holiday time. Either way, Costco and Sam’s both have nice options for cheese varieties and fancy crackers.

White Queso

Ok fine. I buy this all year long. But it does taste better around Christmas and it works great to keep warm in one of my Mini Crock Pots. We love this when we set up a Nacho Bar!

Fresh Fruit

I obviously buy this all year long too. But a fresh fruit platter at Christmas time? Well, it tastes extra sweet and looks extra pretty. Is it possible that the Costco and Sam’s marketing people have me all excited about everything when I’m there in December so even the grapes look irresistible?? Absolutely. (Even though I just bought the exact same variety of grapes two weeks ago when the Christmas music wasn’t playing and I felt no extra excitement beyond, “well here’s a good snack for Wednesday.”)

Croissants

Yep, these are a must-have with Chicken Salad on say, December 23?? On a Santa tray. With a side of those marvelous grapes mentioned above and ooooh, BABY CARROTS!!! (Again, buy fresh produce whilst Christmas music is playing in the background and suddenly everything is an exciting Christmas-food purchase. Baby carrots in March will just be baby carrots. In December they are FABULOUS WITH SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL DIP!!!)

Is this just me?

Fun Drinks

For real though – hot chocolate, tea, and coffee in green and red packaging with gold trim and glittery snowflakes? I need them all because my family and guests will LOVE their drink while we sit and visit, open gifts, and play games. We have all those fun Christmas mugs, do we not? We must provide drinks to fill them. And not just any drinks. The exact same drink that will later be found in a normal-looking package but is now only available for a limited time in a super fun festive package. I give in to this (and also they are usually “on sale” so this is a plus).

How about baking ingredients?

100% yes. I stock up on everything during this time because some of these items (like organic canned pumpkin) is not available year round. And the prices truly are wonderful this time of year.

Granted, shopping at Christmas time and seeing all of the ingredients deceive me into thinking that I will for sure have time and make time to make allllllll of our favorite Christmas goodies. Obviously we will bake for our neighbors, our church staff, our kids’ teachers, and everyone else within a twenty-mile radius. Obviously.

I may or may not be able to follow through with these grand plans, but I never regret stocking up on baking ingredients during the holidays. They are discounted and they will be used eventually. So these always go into my cart:

  • Canned pumpkin
  • Cream cheese
  • Butter
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Unsweetened Cocoa
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Cinnamon

I might also give in to special-shaped pretzels, Chex cereal, chocolate stars, nuts, and other fun items placed on end-caps and featured as limited time selections. If the price is right and I know how to use it…

Tell me what happens to you when you walk into Costco or Sam’s at Christmas time? Do they get you too? Does the festive feel of the store make you feel like all the normal things (ORANGES!!! SOCKS!! HEXIGON CRACKERS!!! are suddenly the most amazing Christmas items that you must have??

Or is it just me?

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What to Buy (Or Avoid) at Costco or Sam’s to Save Your Grocery Budget

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Here’s what I buy at Costco or Sam’s so save my grocery budget. And…here’s what I avoid buying at those stores!

What I Buy at Sam’s and Costco

These are the purchases I make that save me the most money as I strive to keep our big family budget at $1,400. (I’m currently feeding 12 people three meals every day. Plus we have frequent guests.)

Here’s what saves me the most at Costco and Sam’s:

Organic Produce

I typically find organic produce at Costco for the same price as non-organic produce elsewhere. I still sometimes opt for non-organic depending on cost, but it’s nice to get organic options at Costco when I can. I have found that their organic apples, pears, mixed greens, spinach, carrots, and grapes are usually a great price!

Chicken Legs

These are always $0.98/pound, which is a great price per pound for high-quality meat.

Sliced and Shredded Cheese

In my experience, the bulk bags of shredded Colby jack and mozzarella cheese at Costco or Sam’s is less than what I find elsewhere, even Walmart. I also buy big packages of sliced Colby Jack and sliced Pepper Jack for grilled cheese sandwiches, saving quite a bit!

Other Dairy Products

BUTTER!!!! I always buy butter and save at Costco – while watching for loss leader sales at other stores, especially during holiday season. Also on my Costco and Sam’s list: Daisy Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, 4% Milkfat Cottage Cheese, Half and Half, and Heavy Whipping Cream. Sam’s has a large container of Whole Milk Yogurt that we like also.

Rotisserie Chicken

They are always $4.98 and you can eat them as-is for a fantastic convenience meal! Or you can turn it into any of these meals.

Chicken Thighs

I buy the six-pack of boneless chicken thighs at Costco or Sam’s for $3.49/pound. (Worth noting: I can also find these marked down for even less at Walmart so I always check there also.)

Beef Hotdogs

These are a great price at both Sam’s and Costco, and their taste doesn’t compare to any others I’ve found. We especially love the box of 80 beef hotdogs from Sam’s. They are so good!

Frozen Chicken Nuggets

These are a GREAT price at Costco and they taste better than any others we’ve tried.

Applesauce Pouches

If you buy these (with all of our littles, they are a great convenience food for us!) I highly recommend that you pick them up at Sam’s or Costco. They cost much less per pouch at these warehouses. Plus Costco has a Kirkland brand that is priced even better!

Caesar Salad Packs

I actually don’t know or even care how much these cost, ha. There’s something about these that just taste so very good! I always grab a couple from the produce department and we enjoy them with our meals during the next couple of days. Brayden and Keith eat thirds and fourths of this salad!

Frozen Pizza

I used to think of these as a splurge, but as it turns out, buying frozen pizza is actually a frugal option if you think of them this way. In our opinion, the Kirkland frozen pizzas at Costco are the best tasting compared to other brands.

Grass Fed Hamburger Meat

Currently, the best price I’ve found for Organic Ground Beef (Costco) or Grass Fed Ground Beef (Sam’s) is at these warehouses. Occasionally, Sam’s even has some marked down for quick sale, and I grab it up!

What to avoid

Here’s a list of items I typically find for a better price elsewhere…

Hotdog and Hamburger Buns

In the big scheme of things, this isn’t a super big deal or even a big waste of money. But I’ve found that it saves money to pick up hamburger and hotdog buns at Walmart or Aldi instead of at Costco or Sam’s.

Bagels

The same goes for bagels. I can get them at Aldi for much cheaper than those at Sam’s and Costco.

Salsa

We really like the Aldi organic salsa, and it is much cheaper than what I find at the warehouses. I buy a case of salsa at Aldi every time I go in.

Spaghetti Sauce

The Aldi Simple Nature organic spaghetti sauce is a great price and tastes great.

Hamburger Meat and Sausage

I watch other store ads to check for big hamburger meat discounts. And usually, I find sausage at Aldi for just $1.99/pound. So I don’t ever buy these two meat varieties at Sam’s or Costco unless I happen to catch a meat markdown at Sam’s that matches my price point.

Canned Veggies 

I’ve found that canned beans, tomatoes, green beans, and corn are usually more expensive at Sam’s and Costco compared to Aldi. So I typically buy a flat of of 12 cans of black beans, baked beans, and corn when I go to Aldi instead of getting them at the warehouses.

Wow, is that it?

Overall, prices at Costco and Sam’s really are the best, especially for the high-quality foods that they offer. There are just those few items that I tend to look for elsewhere, and sometimes it isn’t worth making an extra trip to another store.

What are your buy and don’t buy suggestions from Costco and Sam’s?

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Whole Chicken with Potato Wedges Recipe – $0.99/person!

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It seems like a good idea to kick off our 30 Days of Dollar Dinners series with this Whole Chicken with Potato Wedges recipe. Check out this amazing meal for just $0.99 per person!

Did you sign up for our 30 Days of Dollar Dinners series yet? We have these freebies for you, detailing how to make 30 entire meals for just $1.00 per person! Sign up here and we’ll send these to you.

One chicken makes three meals

Here’s what makes this Whole Chicken recipe so great – well besides the fact that it’s easy and tastes really good. :) Your effort to bake a chicken is going to produce three meals!

  1. Whole Chicken with Potato Wedges
  2. Parmesan Chicken and Rice
  3. Creamy Potato Soup (made with broth from the chicken bones we’ll save after de-boning this chicken)

Intentionally only serve half the meat from this baked chicken at your first meal. Save the leftover meat to make the Parmesan Chicken and Rice (recipe coming soon!). Once the meat has been removed, use the bones from this chicken to make broth like this. You’ll save that to make Creamy Potato Soup!

How much does a whole chicken cost?

You can buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken for $5 at Sam’s or Costco. If you want to skip the baking part of this recipe idea, buy the cooked chicken for $5, divide the meat into two portions – one for this meal and one for the Parmesan Chicken and Rice. Then, make broth with the bones. This gives you three meals from one $5 chicken, making each chicken portion cost only $1.67. AMAZING!!!

OR, if you want to follow this recipe and bake a chicken at home, a whole chicken at Walmart is around $7. Then you can season it the way you like!

Here’s the recipe:

Whole Chicken with Potato Wedges

Whole Chicken with Potato Wedges Recipe - $0.99/person!
 
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Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 whole chicken with the innards removed
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper
  • 3 large yukon gold potatoes
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • Sea salt
Instructions
  1. Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  2. Remove gizzards from the cavity. (Save them to make broth later!)
  3. Spread or brush butter over the chicken.
  4. Mix spices in a bowl, then rub them all over the chicken.
  5. Bake, uncovered, in a 300 degree oven for 2½ hours.
  6. Scrub potatoes and slice into eight wedges each.
  7. Toss them in a bowl large bowl with olive oil until they are evenly coated.
  8. Lay wedges singularly on a cookie sheet.
  9. Sprinkle with salt.
  10. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Be sure to save half the meat for our Parmesan Chicken and Rice and save the bones to make broth.

Can’t wait to share more in this 30 Days of Dollar Dinners series. We’re working hard to complete our cookbook that goes along with all the freebies, so be watching for that!

 

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Big Family Food: More Ways to Save on Groceries. Maybe?

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I think we’re all looking for more ways to save on groceries right now. I’m finding that we are flying through groceries faster than ever with our growing family. And it won’t slow down! Our littles will turn into bigs and then we will really be eating through the grocery store.

Even with grocery prices on the rise, I’ve been challenging myself to stay under our $1,200/month budget. I’m not sure that I can and I’ve found that I have to get a little bit creative to try and make it happen. Some specifics about how I shop right now:

  • With so many little ones, I don’t have time or ability to shop lots of deals at several different stores. I know I’m missing out on lots of savings (loss leader sales) because of this, but I can get creative in other ways, right?
  • I stick with once-a-month trips to Sam’s and Costco, plus a Walmart pickup order every week or so as needed. (I’m looking into adjusting this though because I’m finding I might need to go to the warehouses every two weeks so I can keep up.)
  • We get some groceries from Azure Standard every couple of months, plus a few from Amazon.
  • We get milk and eggs from local farmers and friends.

Who I’m Feeding for $1,200/Month

Daily:

  • 4 adults
  • 4 kids
  • 3 toddlers

Here are some of the littlest of our crew:

Frequently:

  • some of our adult kids who don’t live with us anymore (Elias comes home from the University to grab food; Justus and Kelsey are over a few times a week)
  • babysitters (a variety of help at our house almost daily)
  • my kids’ friend
  • college students (Sunday lunches and then some)
  • company

I used to take meals to people often as needed, but that’s not something I’m able to do right now. Eventually, I hope to get back to being able to do that!

I’m thankful to be able to feed so many people every day. I delight in it and sometimes don’t care how much it costs, simply because feeding, nourishing, and loving people is such a joy. But at the same time, I have to care about the cost, especially when feeding so many.

Recently, I’ve been trying to share some great ways I’ve found to save on food costs. Like these:

 

I’ve been working on more ways to save…

More Ways to Save on Groceries

1. Skip the pre-packaged snacks.

This might seem like a no-brainer, but during this season in my life, I found that I was falling back on buying cases of little packages of crackers or other snacks at Sam’s or Costco. After all, I truly do need grab-and-go snacks for our kids to eat during walks, at the soccer field, or in the car.

Instead, though, I’ve been purchasing boxes of snack-sized ziplock baggies and letting my 6 and 8-year-olds help me package up snacks for these purposes. This is saving us a lot of money plus helping us choose healthier snacks overall.

Also, because of some extra helpers I’ve had during the past few months, I’ve also been a little bit more able to make snacks from scratch again. It feels so good to make more homemade goodies again!

2. Pack a lunch instead of buying a school lunch.

This might seem silly because the school lunch is very reasonably priced. But I can easily pack our kids’ school lunch for much less than the $3.20 that they charge. (Here are lots of ideas.) Plus, my kids don’t make great school lunch choices (eat the cookie, skip the veggies). ;) So packing a nourishing lunch for them saves quite a bit and helps them be healthier too.

3. Make meat a side dish instead of a main dish.

Instead of planning my meals around meat, I’ve started planning my meals around my fruits and vegetables and other sides. We have been eating a plateful of rice or potatoes, steamed veggie, bowl of fruit, and a little meat. Some meals we don’t have meat at all if we eat beans for protein.

4. Eat more fruits and veggies.

This truly is a money saver!!!!! Meat is $3-$8 per pound while fresh produce is between $0.19-$4.00/pound – with a lot in between. I love that we can eat such nourishing foods at such low cost. I’ve learned to fill my cart and not hold back, knowing that fruits and vegetables are much needed and extremely reasonable in price.

5. Do a little math.

If you take the time to do a price breakdown of some of your favorite meals, you might find, like I have, that many homemade meals cost very little to make. This doesn’t save money, necessarily. It’s just encouraging!! It helps me know that I really am feeding my family well for a very low cost per person!

Here are some examples I’ve shared here:

6. Buy turkeys on sale at holiday time.

I was shocked when I realized that I could make ten meals with just one turkey! I used that bird to feed company, to make soup, to create easy lunches – all for such a low cost! If we can take advantage of holiday sales on turkeys, then thaw and bake them throughout the year, we can really save a lot on great meat.

7. Don’t waste produce.

Here are details about how I buy and use all of our produce before it goes bad. This is a huge money saver!

8. Drink more water.

Ok, but don’t take away my coffee!! (<— which I make at home for only $0.35!)

Many of you probably already do this, and I used to be better at sticking with only water at our house. But as our older boys got older, I found that having Body Armor, Izzes, Bubblys and a few other fun drinks on hand was nice for when their friends came over.

I still plan to get some cases of drinks from Costco and Sam’s here and there, but it will save my grocery budget if I buy them less frequently.

9. Don’t overthink it. 

We need to eat and we want to eat well. So sometimes I just have to ignore the rising price and know that I need to buy it anyway, especially when it’s a nourishing need for our family. There are many of us, we eat a lot of food, and that’s that. (Still, it’s good that I’m considering splurges that I might be able to cut out while not worrying about the necessities.)

10. Recognize the huge cost savings compared to eating out.

Even when we’re eating something that has been pre-packaged for convenience, we are still saving an incredible amount of money by eating at home compared to eating out. Here’s what works for us and how much we save by eating at home!

Share your best grocery saving tips!

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How I Saved $480 on my Grocery Budget in September

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You’ve heard this tip before, but I wanted to share it again because practicing it gave us significant savings last month! Here’s how I saved $480 on my grocery budget in September.

I have a very large grocery budget, so saving $480 was pretty significant. We feed 9 people three meals every day, 2 additional people at dinnertime most nights, and regularly have guests and friends eating with us. So we typically spend around $1,200/month on food.

How I Saved $480 on my Grocery Budget in September

Every once a in while, I feel the need to focus on eating what we have instead of continually stocking up. This is a little bit tricky, simply because part of the way we save money is to constantly have a nice variety of food on hand so I can “shop” my freezers and pantry when I make meals and snacks. Running out can potentially mean a super expensive shopping trip to make up for all the food we’ve used up.

On the other hand, I reached that point most of us get to in which I needed to use up the random items lurking in the back of the freezer and pantry. There were plenty of great meals that could be made with what we had on hand; I just had to get creative!

And so, after huge stock-up purchases at Sam’s last month and at Costco early in September, I decided to see how long I could go without grocery shopping.

What I had:

Rest assured, I took the worst pictures ever to show you my freezer and pantry stockpile. I hate being unorganized, and yet, so much of the time I live in a state of disorganization while focusing instead on caring for so many littles.

Cringe with me while you look through my (unorganized) full freezers, fridge, and pantry so you can see that I truly had a lot of food to work with while I challenged myself to avoid grocery shopping!

Ack, here’s what my fridge always looks like right after a Sam’s or Costco trip: we just stuff the food in wherever it fits until we can regroup. :)

The cases of canned and jarred food go on a shelf in the kitchen.

While at Costco early in the month, I’d picked up three boxes of fruit.

As you can see, we had loads of food to work with! But…

What I’d still need

There’s no way for me to buy enough milk, fruits, or vegetables to last an entire month. So I still allowed myself to buy dairy products and produce as needed through the end of the month.

Some disclaimers

  • Three of our foster children qualify for WIC benefits. So each month, we are blessed to pick up around $180 worth of groceries (cheese, milk, produce, cereal, beans, and bread) at no cost to us. This is a huge help!
  • When I refer anyone to Azure Standard, I receive a small credit to my account. I let the credit add up for several months, then I place an order for a few free groceries about three times each year.

With so many mouths to feed, these two perks are a huge help to us and we are thankful for the bonus groceries!

What we ate in September

Now for the fun pictures! Here are many examples of food we made and ate during our weeks of eating from our stockpile.

I’d had a ham roast in the freezer for over two years (see why I needed this challenge?!). I think I had avoided it because I didn’t know what to do with it.

Solution: Cook it. Eat it. Hmmm, why didn’t I think of that sooner?

I simply put it into the crock pot in the morning to cook on low all day. Later in the day I dumped on some barbecue sauce. It was brainless and turned out super tasty!

Here are the plates I fixed for the seven littlest that night: ham roast, green beans, cheesy noodles, and sliced fruit.

I had a bag of fish sticks in the back of a freezer, so I air-fried them along with sweet potato fries one evening. We had corn on the cob, strawberries, and these smoothies to complete the meal. (I got my huge 10-quart air-fryer at Sam’s. It’s perfect for us!

I made these snacks to keep on hand for all the littles – these are a lifesaver! Mudballs, Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars, and Snickerdoodle Bites

Here’s a plate I fixed one afternoon for two of our toddlers to eat at our small picnic table while they played outside.

One night before our 6-year-old’s soccer game, we ate an entire double-package of tortelloni with sauce, spinach dipped in ranch, and a bag of clementines. (I forgot to take a picture, so I grabbed this one from my files!)

One Sunday, I’d run out of time before church to prep anything for our lunch so I just dumped some Costco meatballs into the crock pot with barbecue sauce. When we came home, I warmed up corn and got out a big can of peaches and some fresh spinach to eat with ranch dressing. It was simple and all the kids loved it!

I had a 4-pack of beef smoked sausages from Sam’s. So I cooked two (but needed a third one, so cooked that while we were devouring the rest!) along with a bunch of quesadillas, peas, and sliced pears.

I marinated a big 3-pack of chicken legs, then smoked them early one afternoon. I put them into a crock pot to stay warm while we headed to Malachi’s tennis match. When we came home I steamed broccoli, warmed up leftover corn, and opened cans of mandarin oranges for us to eat before we headed to a little league soccer game for our 6-year-old.

I had three small packages of different meat in my freezer that had been sitting in the back simply because not one of the packages was enough to feed my family a full meal. I decided one day to thaw all three of the packages at the same time and smoke them to make a meal. So, one big pork chop, four chicken thighs, and five beef ribs made us a feast that night! I served the meat with smoothies, steamed broccoli, and tortilla chips with this dip.

A dear friend gave us a rotisserie chicken from Costco, so I used some of the meat to create an amazing Chicken Alfredo meal. Matt, Malachi, the littles, and I all ate it. A family friend joined us. Then later that night Elias came home with two college buddies and they finished it off. :) :) :)

On Fridays, we often like to celebrate the end of a school week with “French Fry Fridays” at dinnertime. I didn’t have any frozen fries but had a big bag of potatoes so I experimented by making homemade fries in the air fryer. They weren’t difficult to make but it did take forever to cook them in the fryer compared to cooking store-bought frozen fries. The taste though? INCREDIBLE.

I had a double pack of brats in the freezer so smoked them for dinner one night. Justus and Kelsey joined us, which was a treat! Then Elias showed up – so everyone was here except for Asa and Eva, who live in Lincoln. :)

I served the brats with steamed broccoli and cauliflower, steamed green beans, several boxes of mac and cheese, and a few sliced apples.

We have a lot of company coming mid-October and I wanted to get ahead on meal prep one morning when I had help around to watch the littlest kiddos. I decided that our October guests would get to eat whatever I had to work with on this day, during the last week of September. Lucky for them, I had all the fixings for Lasagna and Chili. So those are ready and in the freezer to thaw and serve to the company (14-22 per meal).

 

I had frozen cooked turkey in the back of the freezer plus two jars of homemade broth. So one morning when I knew I’d be gone all afternoon, I made a big pot of turkey and noodle soup to warm up and enjoy when we got home. (Made like this, except that I’d bought a huge bag of egg noodles at Sam’s and used those.)

Here’s a look at a lunch I served to our four littlest kids, plus Malachi, Matt, and myself. I didn’t think to take a picture until after half of our lunch was gone! But we did go through an entire loaf of bread, lots of meat and cheese, and half a watermelon. And that was without any extra guests or our elementary kids at home. Grilled cheese is a favorite!

I discovered some chicken in the back of the freezer that I didn’t realize was there (woot!) and had all the ingredients needed to make White Chicken Chili, so at the end of the month, I put that into the crockpot to slow cook all day. It was perfect as we headed into fall!

As we reached the end of the month, I was pleasantly surprised to see that we still had about a week’s worth of great meal options left. It did help that I’d allowed myself to continue to buy fruits, veggies, milk, and cheese as needed. Still, we’d saved $480 on our overall monthly budget so I feel that this was a huge win!

Have you ever challenged yourself to avoid the store and eat only what you have on hand for a few weeks? It’s actually pretty fun and a great way to save money!

 

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Food I Often Buy at Costco

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Curious about what I usually buy at Costco? Here’s the list!

Perhaps I should start with the hotdog?

There it is, the monthly Costco-trip hotdog. As I’ve shared, shopping at Costco is a big deal for me, simply because I can only get there once each month and we have a lot of mouths to feed! I burn a lot of calories while shopping, and that hotdog keeps me on my feet. True story.

Here’s a refresher on how I shop Costco:

  1. Walk into the store, take a deep breath, and shop for all non-perishables. Clothing, paper products, canned goods, boxed snacks and chips, baking products, applesauce, and whatever else doesn’t require refrigeration or extra care.
  2. Check-out, load the van, then go back in.
  3. Take a bathroom break.
  4. Eat a hotdog and drink a big cup of water. This job makes a person need some major sustenance and $1.50 for the big dog/drink combo is pretty rockin’.
  5. Grab an empty cart again and fill it with all the fresh produce, frozen foods, refrigerated foods, and bread products that we need.
  6. Check out again, load the van again, open the box of Kombucha I just bought, and drink a bottle for refreshment and survival.

Indeed, I’ve found that I have to fill my cart twice when I shop at Costco. I’d take one of my big kids with me so that they could help me get the job done in one trip, but actually? My Costco shopping trips also involves “a day off for Mom.” Once each month, we make arrangements for me to head to Lincoln (about an hour from home) to have a day to myself. I take my laptop and work at Panera for hours. I shop at Sam’s, Costco, and any other place that has items our family needs. I come home refreshed and with a van filled with groceries!

Food I Often Buy at Costco

Beyond the hotdog, here’s a rundown of what I almost always grab when I’m at Costco.

1. Lots of fresh produce

  • apples
  • bananas
  • clementines
  • blueberries
  • strawberries
  • raspberries
  • blackberries
  • carrots
  • mixed greens
  • spinach
  • broccoli
  • potatoes
  • pears
  • grapes
  • melons
  • whatever else is in season

2. Frozen Food

I usually pick up frozen:

  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Hamburger patties
  • Pizza
  • Chicken nuggets
  • Sweet potato fries
  • Bacon
  • Tilapia

3. Refrigerated Food

  • Shredded cheese
  • Turkey and ham for sandwiches
  • Sliced cheese
  • White queso
  • Tortellonni
  • Cream cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Cottage cheese
  • Butter
  • Boneless chicken thighs
  • Kombucha
  • Avocado mash (our little girls love these!)

4. Snack Food

  • Applesauce squeezies
  • Tortilla chips
  • Granola bars
  • Occasional other individually packaged snacks to grab for the kids to eat at soccer games or on walks

5. Breads

6. Baking

  • Peanut butter
  • Almond butter
  • Honey
  • Brown sugar
  • Raw sugar
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Pancake mix

7. Other

  • Coffee
  • Canned tuna
  • Canned chicken
  • Pasta
  • Baked beans
  • Refried beans
  • Canned corn
  • Rotel
  • Canned olives
  • Spices
  • Mac and cheese

What do you like to buy at Costco?

P.S. I also shop at Sam’s, and my list there is similar. Which do I like better, Costco or Sam’s?? You can read my answer here.

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Sam’s Smoked Sausage Meal: $1.48/person

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This super tasty Sam’s Smoked Sausage Meal cost just $1.48/person. Here’s how!

Are you finding this as interesting as I am, or am I just a little on the geeky side as I break down the cost of our meals and discover that we really are eating well for quite a low cost!

If nothing else, perhaps you’re getting some good meal ideas. :) I just love that even with the big rise in grocery costs, we are all still able to eat for very little money overall. We can all be so encouraged!

Sam’s Smoked Sausage Meal: $1.48/person

I’d picked up a nice package of beef smoked sausage on a recent Sam’s trip. Cost for a 4-pack of beef smoked sausage was: $11.28. I like having items like this in my freezer because they offer a very quick meal I know my family will like!

One day when I was planning a meal around the leftover mashed potatoes and green beans in my fridge, I spotted the sausages and knew they’d be perfect! We had guests eating with us that night, so we fed six adults, three kids (who’d been swimming and were hungry!!), and three toddlers.

Total cost for this meal with smoked sausage, mashed potatoes, green beans, and watermelon was $17.78. Divided by 12 people, this cost just $1.48 per person!


Let’s keep looking for ways to cut back and save as we buy groceries. But let’s also recognize that eating high-quality, well-balanced meals is very doable on a budget!

 

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