Budget Shopping 101 and Chicken Subs Plus Weekly Plan

I went grocery shopping this week with a pretty limited budget of $80.00. I spent $70 and saved $12.00 in coupons. One of the best budget savers I can mention is paying attention to your check out total. I carry a calculator with me so I don't have sticker shock in the checkout. I also only shop on double coupon day.  I didn't double any coupons today. I generally double coupons I can get items for free. For example last week Ritz cheese crackers were $2.00/ each and I doubled a dollar coupon getting them for free. I also did the same thing with Krafts new home style dinners.

Today I returned some Childrens' Claritin because they must have been in the wrong place and when I got home and checked my receipt it was a whopping $5.00 more. I got a $12.00 credit on that one. Our store has a policy if the sticker is different than the checkout price you get the item for free. There were a lot of price differences today. I got mushrooms marked down to $1.39 because they were in the wrong place.

The operative word of the week is "Chicken."  Chicken is a great budget extender. Today I purchased chicken thighs at .89 cents/lb. I will be making several different things throughout the week with it. I also purchase a 3lb bag of boneless skinless chicken breast every week.

Here is the menu for the week:
Chicken and mushroom subs in the crock pot
Arroz con pollo (making Puerto Rican rice with the ham from Easter)
Chicken and Shrimp Etouffee and Zatarains rice (which I got for free for hosting a Houseparty)
Curried Chicken Salad sandwiches with pecans and apple
Hot dogs and brats on the grill
Friday Movie night (Groupon sent me free tickets for Thor) and Groupon dinner

Crock Pot Chicken and Mushroom Subs

1 loaf French Bread cut into 4 (makes 4 subs)
1 jar speghetti sauce
1 cup mushrooms chopped
4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 per person)
shredded cheese for topping
1 cup green pepper sliced (optional)

This is very easy to put together. Throw all the ingredients in a crock pot and set on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Right before serving remove the chicken from crock pot and chop into bite sized pieces. Place the chicken back into the sauce. Serve over French bread. Top with cheese. For an extra crunch place bread in a broiler for 5 minutes. Note: I used Ragu sauce and omitted putting water in it but if you notice your sauce is burning on the sides add about 1/4 c water.