If you follow me on twitter you know I like to post pictures of how much I save when I go grocery shopping. I’m no ‘extreme couponer’ I just buy what I need for meal planning, no 500 sticks of deodorant here.

People always ask me to give them a tutorial on how I save money. Today’s the day! Saving money is fun and can be time consuming, but it just got easier.

Vons (Safeway for all you Hawaii readers) invited me and a few bloggers to their headquarters and showed us how to use Just For U, a new way that savings are tailored to the things that YOU frequently buy!

You go online and add your deals to your Vons Club Card and the savings are automatic, so there’s no coupon clipping/forgetting them in the car etc. The money just comes off during checkout, no fuss! Not only that, you get one dozen free eggs just for signing up for Just For U – hey, you’re already ahead! The program is currently in California and Hawaii and about to roll out in the next month.

Vons took us to a local market where we shopped using Just For U and I ended up saving 54%. Not bad. Here’s how I did it – first I registered for the Just for U program, then I added digital coupons and then my favorite page: Personalized Deals. That’s where you get EVEN CHEAPER prices based on your purchasing history. Since I meal plan and use basic pantry ingredients, this is great.

You can even email all your deals to yourself so you have your complete list with you. This is awesome if you shop for groceries with your list on your phone like I do.

Now let me show you the ways of the couponing force, my young padawan…

1. Personalized Deals
So I needed lemons. At the store they are 88 cents and even if I walked in with a club card I’d still have to pay 88 cents. But with my Just For U personalized deal, they were selling lemons JUST FOR ME at a mere 33 cents. Come on!

This deal was seriously just for me, the woman next to me did not have this offer in her online deals. Vons must know I do Lemon recipe Week every year I guess…

2. Digital Coupons
So as far as the digital coupons go, once they are loaded they’re always in there. Barilla pasta sauce was 2/$4. Which means $2 for one jar. I had loaded a digital coupon for one dollar off, so in the end I only paid $1.00 for the regularly priced $3.29 jar of sauce and I only had to buy ONE not like a hoarder’s 100 of them.

3. Stacking Club Specials+Personalized Deals+Coupons too!
Finally – you can also STACK deals, which is key to saving a lot of money. Orville Redenbacher popcorn was on sale for 2/$4, basically $2 each. But my Just For U price was $1.49 PLUS I had a paper coupon for $1.50 off two, thus making the regular $3.59 popcorn just 75 cents!

So that’s my little ‘how to save $$’ tutorial. See how easy it is? And now I’m going to make it easier and let you save 100%! Vons generously gave me a gift card and since I saved $50, I’m going to give the $50 to you!

This is Super Bowl weekend and even if you don’t watch football, parties are a lot of fun. I should know, I throw a lot of them. Leave me a comment telling me what your favorite party food is to make OR eat! (You have from now until February 6th, midnight pst.)

If you need party food ideas I have plenty for you right here. Vons is having a ton of Superbowl shopping deals this week and thank you to them for their generosity in hosting the blogger event and providing the gift card!

Disclaimer: I received a gift card from Vons/Safeway. Opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by any form of compensation.

Whole chickens cost way less than smaller packs because having to break them down yourself is a pain. Instead – use a whole chicken with minimal work and still maximize the savings of buying whole by throwing it in a crock pot! And using Hawaiian Sun jelly gives it those nice flavors of the islands.

Cooking a whole chicken in a crock pot gives you nice succulent chicken that is easily ‘pulled’ and makes a delicious meal with very little work. Now don’t you feel better now that you’ve saved all that time and money? Ahh…

ingredients:
1 whole chicken
one 10 ounce jar guava jelly
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Hawaiian Sun jams and jellies are from Hawaii but can be found in most Asian markets and online.

In a small bowl mix together the guava jelly, apple cider vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and garlic.

Wash and dry the chicken and place it in the crock pot. Season with salt and pepper then pour the jelly mixture on top.

Cook in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. Yes, this is what it looks like. Sort of like it’s taking a bath. Odd.

Using two forks, ‘pull’ the chicken into shreds and serve.

In the Marvel Universe late last year Wolverine opened the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. This new mutant school is imaginary of course but that doesn’t stop them from having a pamphlet with faculty, a list of classes and of course: a twitter feed.

My friend Sarah’s fave Marvel character is Phoenix and last year I made her Phoenix/Jean Grey cupcakes. So this year for her birthday, I took the JG school logo and made lolly cupcake toppers. I like to imagine them being laid out for the Jean Grey School homecoming.

ingredients:
white chocolate
black frosting

Make the lollys by melting white chocolate in a double boiler and pouring them into molds. Pop them out and set aside.

I copied the image of the logo off my phone. Using a #2 tip I piped black frosting in two simple parallel lines.

Then added the straight line for the G and the curved edges to finish it off.

Sarah loves Coke about as much as she loves Jean Grey so I made some Coke-float cupcakes and placed the finished lollies in as toppers.

I wish my mutant power was to be able wash dishes using only my mind. School’s in session!

My friend Christy has been gone on vacay in Indonesia for months. It’s sad when people are gone so long, even with social media you still feel the distance. Yesterday she came back with a gift just for me and the box said it all!

She knows my love of Hello Kitty and desserts so I knew this had to be good…

Whohoo! Hello Kitty shaped daifuku! Little tender cakes filled with a sweet chestnut filling. Have you ever seen anything so adorable?! Why don’t we sell this on the regular here in the states? I’d buy them and eat them everyday. This was even cuter than the things I saw at the Sanrio dessert cafe in Hawaii!

Cutest food ever from halfway around the world and man, was it tasty!

Have leftover Kalua Pig? Unlikely! But if you do, make fried rice of course!

ingredients:
3 cups white rice, cooked
4 slices of bacon
1 cup kalua pig, cooked (recipe here)
1/2 cup corn
2 eggs
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
pepper to taste

Chop the bacon into small pieces and cook until crispy. Set aside to drain.

In the same pan over medium high heat add the cooked white rice. To the sizzling rice add the eggs, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to combine.

Once the eggs are cooked and the rice starts to cook through, add the bacon, kalua pig and the corn. I had cooked my kalua pig with cabbage which added some nice color to the dish. Season with pepper to taste.

What Would Vader Eat at recess? Sith Lords like healthy snacks.

See all of Vader’s past lunches, here.

It’s National Soup Month – drink up!

It’s getting colder, so to warm up I’m turning to lots of warm soups and comforting foods. This soup is hearty and full of flavor and texture. A perfect meal for those cold winter nights.

ingredients:
1 (14oz) kielbasa
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup corn
1/2 cup peas
1 diced carrot
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Chop the kielbasa into small pieces. In a large pot over medium high heat cook the kielbasa with the minced garlic for about 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, corn, peas and carrot. Pour in the chicken broth.

Add in the seasonings: basil, oregano, celery seed, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Today is National Pie Day and to celebrate here’s a recap of my faaaave pies both savory and sweet!

Broken Glass Jell-o Pie (recipe here)

Mac ‘n’ Cheese Pie (recipe here)

Captain America Apple Hand-Pies (recipe here)

Nutella Strawberry ‘Pi’ on a stick (recipe here)

Mini Chicken Pot Pies (recipe here)

This week the Kid turned 8! Last year he had a party where I made all Lego themed foods. This year was more low key but Legos were still a huge part of his big day!

We took a trip down to Legoland in San Diego (mecca for all brick-loving kids) and got to see Lego art form at its best. Right now the kids are really into Ninjago. Pronouced nin-jah-goh, personally I think it should be pronounced ninja-GO, but what do I know. Of course it’s not only a toy but also a tv show. Mmmhm, figures. The little Lego ninjas sure are cute and perfect inspiration for cupcakes!

I decided to make chocolate lollipop toppers, focusing on just the ninja mask – the eyebrows are what gives them character!

ingredients:
yellow candy melts
red frosting
black frosting
white frosting
cupcakes (I used cookies and cream, recipe here)

I melted candy melts over a double boiler, then poured them into lollipop molds. I’ve become addicted to chocolate molds. I’ve used them for everything from Phoenix-Jean Grey cupcakes to Lego minifigs!

Since Lego heads are yellow, the yellow pop provided a good background for the face.

Using a #5 tip and red buttercream I piped the outline of the ninja mask.

Then I filled in the two outer edges – leaving an opening for the eyes.

Using a #2 tip and black tinted frosting I piped two small round eyes.

Then I added the arched eyebrows. The eyebrows really start to give the ‘face’ some definition.

A white dot for the pupils completed the eyes. I popped them in the freezer to give them a little shine.

I placed the finished lollipops into cupcakes topped with chocolate ganache. They made the perfect birthday treat for my Lego-loving 8 year old!

I’m excited to announce that I’m a finalist in the Cakespy contest!

Please vote for my SmoresTroopers cupcakes by either commenting on the blog post, ‘like’ing on facebook or commenting on flickr! Thanks for your support!