Granny's grocery list for this week

Time to get started on those Christmas Cookies: Skagway has 4 pound bag of sugar for $1.38 and a 5 pound bag of flour for the same price. If you don’t want to make the cookies from scratch, Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough (16 ounce pkg) is priced at $2.50. You can still say you baked them yourself!

Speaking of stocking up for Christmas, 2-liter coke products are 89¢ each. Lakeside butter is $1.69 for a pound package (not quite as good as Thanksgiving prices, but still under $2, so that’s a good buy).

Skagway’s meat department is featuring split chicken breasts for 99¢ a pound, and chicken leg quarters for 89¢ a pound. They also have Wimmer’s ring bologna for $2.99 (a 14 ounce ring is usually $4.39).

Do you make your own guacamole? HyVee has Avocados for $1 each. They also have certain varieties of apples for just 98¢ a pound. HyVee has Korean Pears this week. I’ve heard of them, but not too familiar with that variety. If you’re like me, go by on Friday (late afternoon: 4-7pm) or Saturday (10-2) for some samples.

Look at the coupons throughout the HyVee flyer: there’s store brand tuna for 39¢, Ramen noodles are 8 for $1, and 18-count large eggs for $1.88.

Hot Pockets (I just love them for Gramps’ lunch box) are $2 a package, HyVee yogurt is just 40¢ each, frozen veggies (16 ounce bag) are just 88¢, and those little handy Michelina’s snack meals are just $1 each.

It seems like the grocery stores don’t have much of what I need this week; or may-be I just have such a lot of left-overs from Thanksgiving that I’m not really into looking for more groceries. But then, I see the canned beans at Super Saver are 44¢. I like to keep them on hand for when I want to make a big pot of chili.

Super Saver has Meadow Gold gallon milk for $1.97 and their store brand mac & cheese for 3/$1, selected pasta varieties are 68¢ for a 12-16 ounce bag, Best Choice cake mix is only 58¢ (remember my page about what you can do with a cake mix?), and frozen potatoes are just $1.43 for a 2 pound bag.

Super Saver produce department has bananas for just 38¢ a pound (great price: they’re usually 60¢), avocados are also 38¢ each, and a 3 pound combo bag of apples & oranges (they put Granny Smith, Red Delicious, and Navel oranges in the bag) is just $2.22.

Super Saver doesn’t usually put coupons in their ad (they have some online coupons all the time: this week they have free hot dogs!) but they have these in their flyer: $1 off Kraft dressing, $1.50 off Kraft Mayo or Miracle Whip dressing, $1 off Oscar Mayer cold cuts, and more.

Don't forget your list and your re-useable grocery bags! 

Shopping for Thanksgiving

I guess I’d better start making my Thanksgiving grocery lists—and of course all three local grocery stores are making it very easy! May-be I should say “four” because Walmart even has a grocery flyer in the paper this morning.


Skagway has sour cream for 99¢. I’ll be getting a couple so I can make my veggie dip…The recipe is on the Veggies page of my site. They also have salted butter for $1.39. The produce department has celery for 50¢, 12-ounce packages of cranberries for $1.99, and a 10-pound bag of potatoes for $1.68. Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes! Yams are 59¢ a pound—I usually want both types of potatoes at my dinner.

If you don’t want to make your own pumpkin pie, Skagway’s bakery has them for $3.99 each. I’m glad I’ve waited to buy whipped topping—they have it for 58¢ (limit of 4 tubs). And, there’s spiral cut hams for $1.57 a pound. Often we have both a ham and a turkey—with lots of people, it gives everyone a choice.

HyVee has turkeys for 89¢ a pound. But, they also have the same coupon that was in last week’s ad: buy a ham (at $2.99 a pound) and get a free turkey! What a deal!

Speaking of coupons—HyVee has a whole page full of them this week: chocolate flavored baking chips for $1.38, marshmallows for 69¢, canned cranberry sauce for 79¢, 5 pound bag of flour for 99¢, and eggs for 99¢.

Are you making a green bean casserole this year? The HyVee brand of crispy onions (6-ounce pkg) is on sale for $2.18. And, of course they have all sorts of beans on sale: frozen Green Giant Steamers are $1 each, and canned veggies are 48¢.

Super Saver is also gearing up for Thankgiving—they have a spiral sliced ham for $1.48 a pound and instead of advertising their price on turkeys they have a big banner announcing their Turkey Insurance. This says their price on turkey will be at least 2¢ per pound under the lowest advertised price of their competitors (and it lists HyVee, Walmart, & Skagway). Just remember, this refers to the advertised price, not any in-store mark-downs; although, I doubt this will be a problem!

Again, if you don’t want to bake from scratch, Mrs. Smith’s pies are priced at $1.98, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls are $1.48 for an 8 ounce tube, and cool whip is 77¢.

Super Saver is having a 2-Day Sale—so you’ll probably see me there Saturday or Sunday. I need milk—it will be $1.77 for a gallon of Meadow Gold! Bananas will be 38¢ a pound, and Rotisserie chicken is just $3.98 (sure makes for a quick meal, with leftovers!), cloverleaf rolls for $1.88 (I bet I can freeze them and save for later), and chocolate flavored baking chips are just 98¢. Check out Chelsea’s easy chocolate chip cookie recipe on my site (it’s made with a cake mix!).

Walmart is advertising a complete Thanksgiving dinner for 8 for just $20….the fine print says it includes a 12 pound frozen turkey, three cans of vegetables, 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, two cans of cranberry sauce, one package of rolls, 2 packages of stuffing mix, and one pumpkin roll cake. So it’s not ready to eat—you still have to cook it. So that’s why it’s priced so much lower than the other stores’ turkey dinners (theirs’ are ready to eat!).

Walmart has fresh green beans for 98¢ a pound, StoveTop Stuffing twin pack is $1.50 (fine print says while supplies last….), and Green Giant canned veggies are just 50¢ each. The deli department has 25 ounce cheese & meat party trays for $7.98, but I’m not sure how big that would be…I’m sure I could make my own for much less….

Well, time to write up my list—perhaps I’ll see you while I’m out at the grocery stores. And remember to take your reuseable shopping bags!

Revealed: The Super Saver Secret!

You can tell Thanksgiving is coming—a quick look through the grocery ads this morning gives me lots of ideas for the holiday meal!



HyVee starts out with the big word FREE all over the front of their flyer—if you buy a Honeysuckle ham you can get a free turkey….not a bad deal, really. Our family likes both, and with a big family dinner coming up, it’s nice to have a variety of meat to serve.

Other coupons on that page are for 99¢ sugar and coke for 4/$10. I just ran out of my favorite, Cherry Coke….looks like a good time to stock up!

The produce department at HyVee has naval oranges for 77¢ a pound. I’ve always liked those because they seem to be easier for smaller fingers to peel. They also have pears for 88¢ a pound, and green beans priced at $1.18 a pound.

Rib Eye Steak is featured in the meat department ($5.49 lb) as well as boneless chuck roast ($2.79 lb).

But, back to stocking up for that upcoming holiday dinner: HyVee brand stuffing mix is just 88¢ a box. Eagle Brand sweetened milk is $1.99 (check out our family favorite: Cherry Fluff), HyVee whipped topping (another ingredient in that Cherry Fluff), HyVee cottage cheese for $1.38 (24 ounce tub), and pre-made pie crusts are $1.77 so you can save some kitchen time!

HyVee is having a Friday the 13th one-day sale: Hamburger Helper for 88¢, Butter Kernel veggies for 49¢ a can, and select HyVee branded cereals for 99¢, and Mars candy bars are 3/$1 (time to stock up on the M&Ms!).



The first thing I noticed when looking at the new Skagway ad was the olives for just 67¢--we always go through a lot of olives at Thanksgiving dinner. They also have navel oranges for $1.99 for a 4-pound bag.

Skagway will provide you with a ready-made Thanksgiving dinner for 4 for just $49.99. That’s a good deal if you want to save time and effort. It includes a turkey, mashed potatoes (& gravy), stuffing, cranberry relish, corn, rolls, and pumpkin pie (with topping).

Blue Bunny ice cream is $2.50 for a cube, Roberts sour cream is just 89¢, and the Roberts half & half pint carton is 75¢. The Simply Orange juice is $2.99—I really need to try that: someone once told me that if I ever tried it I’d never buy any other brand. She said even though it’s a bit more expensive than other brands, it’s worth it. Anyone out there buy this brand of orange juice?



Super Saver’s ad is smaller than either Skagway’s or HyVee’s. But, here’s the big secret (unless already aware of this, many people are very surprised when I tell them this): Super Saver often prices advertised items just a penny below the other grocery stores. So, even if you see something at a better price in another grocery store’s flyer, you can expect to see it priced a penny lower at Super Saver. Just a rough guess: I bet they do this with over 90% of the advertised items if they are not already lower.

Super Saver is also promoting many Thanksgiving staples: Stove Top Stuffing is 77¢ a box, Sirloin steak (or roast) is $2.88 a pound in the larger value pack (re-wrap and put in the freezer for individual meals).

The Super Saver produce department has 5 pound bags of Russet potatoes for only 88¢, Texas red grapefruit for 28¢ each, selected varieties of lettuce are 77¢ each, and pears are 66¢ a pound.

Don’t forget your furry family members: Purina Dog Chow is $8.97 for an 18 or 20 pound bag!

I think I’ll be slipping on over to Super Saver early this morning to check out my special “Secret.” (Check back for details tomorrow!)

Granny forgot her coupons last week....

When I opened the paper today I thought I’d missed a few days and it was getting close to Christmas…there were nine extra advertising inserts in addition to the regular three grocery ads! And HyVee put in two instead of just one….


Once again HyVee is having a one-day-only sale on Thursday (tomorrow). There’s some good prices: Pepsi cubes for $4.99, Roberts milk (½ gallon for 98¢), Totino’s Pizza for $1, Wimmer’s Little Smokies for $1.77, and Tide 100 ounce bottle for $9.99 (no rain checks on the Tide, though).

Once inside the regular HyVee ad I notice they are also having a 3-day sale on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (how can they do this to me? I’m getting old and I confuse easily…) with butter for $1.38, 2 liter Pepsi for 88¢, $3.99 for a pack of four CFL lightbulbs (that’s those curly ones that last forever and are good for the environment and your electric bill), and rotisserie chicken for $3.99.

Once I got into the real ad for this week, I see the meat department has Bone-In Pork shoulder roast for 99¢ a pound. Did you see my tip last week on twitter about cooking a pork roast in a small bit of apple juice? A reader wrote back saying that she uses applesauce with hers—interesting concept! Either way, you’ll get a sweeter taste to your roast. (And if you want to use applesauce, they have Musselman’s 24 ounce jar for just $1.48.)

HyVee has some good prices on store brand items: cooking spray for $1.38, hot cocoa packets for 88¢ a box, pancake syrup for $1.58, bagged flavored croutons for $1, pretzels (10-15 ounce bag) for $1. Maybe I’ll make up some candy-coated pretzels for Thanksgiving…that’s something I can do ahead of time—I’ll just have to hide them from any visiting grandkids! I can hide them away in the HyVee slider storage (or Freezer Bags) that are priced at just $1.50 this week.

Wimmer’s Little Smokies are $2.50 (but remember you can get them for $1.77 on the Thursday-only sale), and olives (black or green) are on special for 99¢ a can—that’s another thing to buy ahead of time for Thanksgiving. When the kids were little they would always put an olive on the end of each of their fingers before eating them, and now the grandkids do the same! I suppose that makes it a family tradition….

Skagway also has a 3-day sale: ground chuck in 10-pound tubes for $13.80 (that might sound like a lot, but if you figure it out, it’s only $1.38 a pound), and a 20-ounce chub of Summer Sausage for $3.69. (That’s another thing to buy ahead of time when the price is good—I’m thinking of a meat & cheese tray for Thanksgiving).

Speaking of Thanksgiving, Skagway has a complete traditional Thanksgiving meal (in a box, ready to go) for your family for $49.99. They will even carve the turkey for you for an extra $25 (no thanks, I think I can do that myself…)

Back to groceries: Hunt’s snack pack puddings & gels are 78¢ (I know, I can make them myself for cheaper, but these are so easy to plop into a lunch box!), a 3-envelope strip of Fleishman’s yeast is $1.19 (don’t you just love the smell of fresh baked bread?), WestPac frozen veggies are just 99¢, and Coke 12-packs are priced at 3/$11.

These special short sales must be the regular thing now: Super Saver has a 2-day sale this week, too! Kraft chunk cheese is 98¢, Farmland Bacon and sausage is $1.98, and 2-liter Coke products for 95¢.

Super Saver is having a fall baking sale with their store branded items: 18-count eggs for $1.33, 4-pound bag of sugar for $1.37, 5 pound bag of flour for $1.14, and brown sugar (2 pound bag) for 98¢.

The produce department has navel oranges for 66¢ a pound, broccoli is $1.17 a bunch, and cauliflower is $1.34 each.

Need milk? One gallon of Meadow Gold is only $1.77! Hunt’s snack pack puddings are 83¢ (which is not as good as Skagway’s price, but I bet they lower it to match them!), Charmin Basic 12-roll packages is $4.98, and Best Choice whipped topping (another stock-up item since it freezes well) is just 68¢ for an 8-ounce tub. Meadow Gold Butter is $1.38 (another item that can go in the freezer).

Don’t forget to check out the Super Saver online-only coupons. They have new ones out now: $1 off rotisserie chicken and Fritos variety pack (those little bags you can put in the kid’s lunches). They also have a coupon for a 12-ounce bag of Super Saver potato chips for only 98¢ (that’s less than ½ price!). Just don’t forget to use the coupons! Last week I went there with my coupon for a free package of meat sticks…and when I was checking out I forgot to give it to the clerk! The Super Saver check-out clerks are always so friendly that we got to chatting and I forgot the coupon in my wallet. Oh well, it made for a good reminder….

You know, there's a good way to remember your coupons:  write your grocery list on the outside of an envelope, and put all the coupons you'll be using inside of it!  I used to do that, but I think I was more organized when I had lots of kids at home....these days I just scribble a list on a small piece of paper and stuff it into my jeans pocket!

Wednesday Grocery Shopping

It looks like I’ll be stocking up on canned veggies at SUPER SAVER this week. Their store brand is priced at 44¢ each. When I’m in a hurry (and when am I not in a hurry?) I am always thankful to have canned vegetables to add to my dinner. I personally like to serve frozen veggies, but in a pinch, I’ll grab the canned variety.

The produce department has a 5 pound bag of red grapefruit for just under $3 and fresh asparagus for $1.48 a pound.

Hot Pockets are on sale for $1.64—would you believe I was at SUPER SAVER yesterday and picked up a couple of packages (they were $1.98 yesterday, which was still good in itself!). I’ll still stock up at that price. They won’t go bad in the freezer. Other items I’ve circled in their ad are Hunt’s spaghetti sauce for 85¢, store brand yogurt for 3/$1, Peter Pan peanut butter is $1/38 for a 16 ounce jar, and 3 types of General Mills cereals are only $1.67.

Don’t forget SUPER SAVER'S online coupons—I just printed out the one for free Wimmer’s snack sticks. You can get it here.

SKAGWAY has a two-day sale (Saturday & Sunday) with some good deals: Duncan Hines brownie mixes for 99¢, Jack’s frozen pizza is $1.67, and store brand cake mix is only 49¢. (This would be a good time to check my website for my cake mix recipes!)

SKAGWAY'S produce department has a 2# bag of baby carrots for $1.99, navel oranges for 58¢ a pound, and Granny Smith apples are 99¢ a pound.

Bone-In Pork sirloin roast is marked down to $1.29 a pound. I also circled store brand yogurt (33¢), SKAGWAY brand bread for 99¢ (put an extra loaf in the freezer), and Colgate toothpaste for 99¢.

Swiss Miss hot chocolate packets are 99¢ this week—that’s my personal favorite brand if I’m buying packets. But most often I will make a batch of my own hot chocolate mix (find it here). Another good deal at SKAGWAY is an in-ad coupon for free bread when you buy two jars of Skippy Peanut butter (sale-priced at 2/$4).

HYVEE has a 5 pound bag of locally grown potatoes priced at 99¢ and Jonagold (or Braeburn) apples are just 88¢ a pound. Store-brand powdered or brown sugar is just $1.18. Campbell’s chunky soup is a good deal at $1.25 this week, too.

There are a few good in-ad coupons to clip: Grimmway Farms baby carrots for just 69¢, Hershey’s baking chips for $1.68, $10 off when you buy any 6 General Mills cereals, $1 off 10 Dannon yogurts, and canned Butter Kernel Vegetables are 3/$1.

I also see Edy’s Ice cream (they show pumpkin-flavored in the ad) for 2.99. I’m not sure if pumpkin flavored ice cream is a good idea….my daughter on the east coast tried a pumpkin flavored DQ blizzard, and she didn’t like it. I’m the same way: the only way to use pumpkin is in baked goods like cookies, bread, and of course pie.

Don’t forget that HYVEE gives you cents-off at their gas station when you buy groceries. The discount amount varies by day and I’ve even been known to call them to ask what that day’s discount is before driving across town to shop there. One day last week they had a 15¢ discount on their gas—a good thing these days now that gas keeps going up!

Granny's grocery list for this week

There are lots of good deals out there at our local grocery stores this week.  I usually sit down at the table with all the ads spread out in front of me, and circle the items I'm interested in.  That way if I don't make it out right away I can find the deals I want later on without having to check through the whole flyer!

HyVee has some “hot deals” on the front of their grocery ad—store brand Chicken Noodle (or tomato) soup for 38¢ a can. It’s always good to have a can of Chicken Noodle soup in the cupboard! There is a coupon inside for Chicken of the Sea tuna for 58¢ (limit of one with coupon).


The inside pages of are promoting their private label (HyVee) products: cereal for $1.88, tortilla chips for $1, 6-ounce container of sour cream for 66¢. They also have HyVee little smokies for $2.49 (quick & easy fixed in barbeque sauce), and pork shoulder roast for 99¢ a pound. Slice & Bake cookies are $2 for a tube. Their olives (both black & green) are $1.18—I’ll stock up for Thanksgiving (one less thing on that list!).

I think I’ll also be getting some more Hot Pockets (great to tuck into lunches!) for $2 and the 24 ounce cottage cheese that is priced at $1.38, broccoli is 99¢ each, and there’s a coupon for large eggs for 99¢.

I noticed that HyVee didn’t have any limited day sales this week! Good! I don’t like having to make separate trips to get the really good sale items. But, I’d bet that they will have another “special deal” flyer in the Saturday or Sunday paper….



Skagway does have a 3-day weekend special flyer with Campbell’s chunky soup for 99¢, ½ gallon Land o Lakes orange juice for 88¢, and bananas for 33¢ a pound—all great deals!

Other things I’ve circled in the Skagway ad are the sirloin steak ($2.99 a pound), a 4-pound bag of sugar for $1.49, Taco Bell taco shells or refried beans for 99¢, and wood roses for 10¢. This one made me laugh: New York Texas Toast croutons for 99¢.



Super Saver has a week-end sale: bottled 6-pack Coke products for $2.87, StarKist tuna for 62¢ for a 5-ounce can, 5 pound bag of carrots for $1.46, Old Orchard juice (64 ounce bottle) for $1.36, and chicken drumsticks for 96¢ a pound.

Other good deals this week at Super Saver I see: Store brand bleach for 98¢, and boxed mac & cheese for 28¢. The produce department is always one of my favorite areas: Bananas are 38¢ a pound, head lettuce is 74¢ each, celery is 67¢ a package, and a 5-pound bag of red delicious apples is only $2.84.

I went checked their online-only coupons, too: Free (with $10 purchase) Wimmers Little Meaty Snack Sticks, Iams 15-pound dog food has a $2 off coupon, $1 off cherry tomatoes, and a 16-count package of AA batteries for just $3.98. Their ad says they have a twitter account now! I love twitter, so I’m following their updates now! They are also on Facebook—see this week’s flyer for details.

Ready to go shopping?  Remember to make (and take!) you list, get the coupons that you'll need, and grab a couple of the re-useable shopping bags!