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A few months ago I found out about this new food co-op program that recently started in Westchester County. I think the name is a little too "kum-ba-yah" and Josh and I haven't tried it out yet because it honestly seems a little too good to be true, but we're seriously considering joining up for March.

For $25.00 you get:

2 x 1 lb. packages of chicken burgers
2 x 1.5 lb. pork country style boneless ribs
1 x 2 lb. beef pot roast
1 x 2.5 lb. steaks - beef eye round (1" cut)

There is a catch though -- since it's a co-op -- you can only pay by cash or certified check (!) and you have to drop off and pick up your order at a certain day at certain times.

It's a little like being a spy... or smuggling... without the trench coats and dark glasses. Seriously, this is totally legit. I think the best way to describe how it works would be if you had a friend who had a Costco membership and offered to "pick up a few things" for you.

My local A&P finally offered triple coupons! I'd heard people rave whenever their local grocery stores do this so I was eager to see how it would actually work if any of mine did as well!

It was good. Not as good as I'd hoped though -- the best deals were still on items on special that I could match up with coupons. What I learned overall is that matching coupons up to weekly specials is still the best way to save money. Some items were practically a steal with the triple coupon, but some items were still a great deal without a tripled coupon (A&P will only triple (or double usually) coupons good for up to $.99).

Here are some of my better deals:

Simply Orange 1/2 gallon = $3.99
- $.99 Weekly Special
- $.55 x 3 = $1.65
Final Cost = $1.35

Kraft Dressings = $1.99
- $.66 Weekly Special
- $1.00 / 2 (non-tripling) = $.50
Final Cost = $.83 (for BLUE CHEESE DRESSING)

Ken's Dressings = $2.19
- $.94 Weekly Special
- $1.00 / 2 (non-tripling) = $.50
Final Cost = $.75

Viva Papertowels = $2.69
- $.75 x 3 = $2.25
Final Cost = $.44 (!)

Campbell's Tomato Soup x 4 = $4.00
- $1.32 Weekly Special
- $.50 x 3 = $1.50
Final Cost $1.18 or $.29 per can!

Maybe not two cents, but it was still pretty cheap!

Last week, my local Shop Rite had this teeny-tiny coupon hidden away in the middle of their circular good for one 5 lb. bag of Russet potatoes... for $.88 cents. I mean, that's just crazy talk. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to use them all before they went bad but I decided to rise up to the challenge! Can 2 people efficiently use 5 lbs of raw potatoes within 7 days? We did!! We ended up with 3 dishes:

1. Baked Potatoes
2. Mashed Potatoes (Josh used potatoes as a "base" for a whole chicken he made in the pressure cooker. It took friggin' 30 minutes total! If you've ever tried to start roasting a chicken at 7pm or 8pm at night you know how exciting this news is! If you have a pressure cooker, GO and make chicken this way. It was tender and amazing.)
3. Potato Salad. Who would've thought? Stop & Shop sells their pre-made for $5.99 or something stupid... did you know potato salad is like potatoes, eggs, mayo, and some other stuff? There's nothing to it! I figure that all the ingredients for this dish probably cost about $2.50 at the most and we have like a 2 quart casserole dish of the stuff.

SO I think it definitely does pay to use coupons -- because even if you sometimes are asked to buy more than you would if you were not couponing, there's almost ALWAYS a way to hang onto those extra savings!

Here's the recipe for the Potato Salad:


Ingredients

* 2 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes
* 2 large eggs
* Kosher salt
* 1/2 bunch sliced scallions, white and green parts
* 2 tablespoons drained capers
* 2 cups mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
* 1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles with 1/4 cup juice, about 2 pickles
* 1/2 small red onion, chopped
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1/2 bunch dill, chopped
* 1/2 lemon, juiced
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

Put the potatoes and eggs into a big saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to a simmer. After 12 minutes remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and let cool. Continue cooking the potatoes until a paring knife poked into them goes in without resistance, about 3 minutes longer. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them cool.

Reserve some scallion greens and capers for garnish. Meanwhile, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, pickles and their juice, onion, remaining scallions and capers, parsley, and lemon juice in a bowl large enough to hold the potatoes. Peel the cool eggs and grate them into the bowl. Stick a fork into the potatoes and lift them 1 at a time out of the colander. Break up the potatoes by hand into rough chunks, add them to the bowl and toss to coat with the dressing. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.