Schnucks menu suggestions

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Do you ever look at the lovely pile of groceries you have amassed from shopping the bargains and wonder "now what am I supposed to do with this?" If so here are some menu ideas for those shopping Schnucks this week

Shopping list
Catfish nuggets
Sweet corn
Summer squash
Pork butt
Italian, french or other substantial bread rolls
Potato chips
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Chicken breast
Potatoes
Bratwurst
Buns
Pork flavor ramen noodles
BBQ sauce


Fried cat fish nuggets (on sale for $1.99 lb); fresh sweet corn (.25 an ear); summer squash

Pulled pork sandwiches ( put pork butt, .99 a lb this week in crock pot, season w/ your choice of rosemary, garlic, onion, pepper flakes and 1 c of liquid--water, broth, beer, apple juice are all good choices depending on your taste and cook until it is falling off the bone; save "left overs" for another meal because you will see this as an ingredient later on) Serve w/ chips ($1.88 a bag of Lays) and fresh veggie platter (broccoli crowns $1.29 lb, tomatoes $1.79 lb, anything else that sounds appealing)

Chicken Parmesan (skinless boneless breast of chicken, cook extra for another day); baked potatoes ($3.88 for 10 lbs--bake extra); steamed broccoli ($1.29 lb)

Grilled brats w/ your choice of toppings; potato salad;

Pasta and sauce (Hunts sauce $1 a can, if you can afford an extra can or 2 this is not a bad price; Schnucks pasta .88 a box--if you want to cook extra it freezes well for quick prep later--throw in leftover chicken or sliced brats if you'd like)

Pork Lo Mein cook pork flavor Lo Mein noodles (abt 1 pkg per 2 adults eating) and add abt 1/2 c cooked pork; 3/4 c steamed broccoli and 1/2 T soy sauce per adult serving.

BBQ Chicken w/ potatoes Dice 1 cooked potato per person, lightly brown in a greased skillet (season w/ onion and garlic as desired); add abt 3/4 c of diced chicken per person and mix thoroughly w/ 1/4 c bbq sauce per serving.

How to stock pile

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You might want to start "stock piling" great sales because the stock pile is truly the way to get a varied and inexpensive diet!
People ask me "how much" they should stock pile and unfortunately I don't have a really good answer for that because it is going to vary SO much based on your individual circumstances! but there are several factors to take into consideration
--How much can you afford? You do not want to put yourself in the position of not having enough to cover other needs later in the week or in the month. Set yourself a realistic budget for the week or 2 weeks or the month and STICK WITH IT. There are advantages and disadvantages to budgeting on each of the time frames, most people find that they tend to learn to use the one that meets with their income schedule most effectively regardless of what the income schedule is. Many people find the envelope method (where they put all the money available for the particular expenditure available in one envelope and quit spending when the envelope is empty) to be the most effective choice!
--How much is your household likely to consume before there is another sale and before the food goes out of date? I have been known to buy non-perishables at 75% off at a store going out of business sale and turn down 90% off sales at the same store because I doubted we could finish enough of the item before it went out of date to make it truly a good bargain!
--How much can you reasonably store? There is no point to buying an entire steer even for a really, really good price if all you have is the top freezer in an apartment size refrigerator. You also do not want to "have to" store granola bars in your sock drawer and cereal under the bed!