Spent – $3.94
Saved – $80.57
Register Rewards earned – $11
Grace and I attended a Pampered Chef party at a friend’s house tonight (a little Mommy-Daughter time), and on our way home, we stopped at Walgreens for a coupon-spending spree. (I’m teaching Gracie the frugal ways, you know.)
We were able to get all of these things pictured – including a package of Huggies, 8 boxes of tissues, 12 rolls of toilet paper, and MORE. I spent $3.94 out of pocket, but because I earned $11 in Register Rewards, it’s as if I *made* more than $7 overall.
I’d say that’s pretty spiffy for toilet paper and tissues – things we all use, don’t we?
(Do you like how I busted out the word “spiffy?” Haven’t used that one since, oh, junior high.)
In order to get my out-of-pocket total that low, I used a $25 gift check (like a gift card, but has to be spent in one transaction) that I earned from filling a prescription at Walgreens last month. (Earning store rewards from constant filling of prescriptions is one big perk to having diabetics in the house!)
I know many people look at couponing and think, “I spent a coupon once and it wasn’t that great of a deal.” Or “It’s so much effort. It’s not really worth my time.”
I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy-breezy. It does take some time. Definitely more at the beginning, until you really get a feel for what you’re doing. BUT I will say that our family (and our budget) has reaped the rewards of a little bit of work.
We do love a free roll of toilet paper, after all.
First, “I” rinsed and dried the apples. Actually, our three munchkins wanted to help, so (from right to left) Grace rinsed, Caleb dried, and Ava placed (read: dropped) the apples in a bowl. 
Next, I used my handy-dandy peeler-corer-slicer. I could not do apple prep without this thing (at least not without complaining a lot – right, Luke?)! After they were peeled, cored, and sliced, I used a knife to cut through the middle to make half-slices.
Then I threw the prepped apples into the crockpot. When it was full, I added some water (1/2c – 1c). 
Then I cooked them on low for a long time. Eight-ish hours? I tested them with a potato masher to make sure they were soft enough. 
If you want chunky sauce, I would recommend just using the masher to squish it up. Since I wanted mine pureed for baby food and to use in recipes, I dumped the apples in my blender and pureed for about 10 seconds. 
And we have APPLESAUCE! Yay! 
To store the applesauce, I used freezer jam jars and applied labels (made on my computer). I will also freeze some in ice cube trays and then put the applesauce cubes into a gallon-size baggie to store. Then I can pull a couple of cubes out to thaw for Jaden’s meals. (Since we have an ice-maker in our fridge/freezer, I actually only own one ice-cube tray that makes heart-shaped cubes! I hope to pick up some regular trays soon! I’m thinking WalMart or dollar store?) 