Something had to be done about the brats.
And by brats, of course I mean bratwurst.
We have some delightful family friends who love to grill out. They have a very nice backyard, with a very nice grill, and a very nice dog. We spend many nice evenings at their home during the summer.
The husband is excellent at grilling: burgers, hot dogs, chicken, you name it, this guy grills it. But the thing he grills best of all, his piece de resistance, is brats.
I don’t know what he does to the brats to make them so delicious. I even asked the wife once, “are they special, expensive brats? Is that why they’re so delicious?” She informed me that far from being special, expensive brats, they are just store brand brats from Kroger. KROGER!?!? That is where I buy my food as well. ( I don’t know why this caught me off guard. There is just the one grocery store in town. I think I expected them to come from like a fancy farm or they order them special from somewhere else and they get flown down in a helicopter.)
Not too long after this conversation, I was shopping at Kroger when I spotted some brats in the manager’s special section. One pound of brats for $1.49. And there were two of them! This would feed all our families for one very nice summer grill out! I bought them brats.
But then, in the way of the world, they lived in my freezer. One time I was going to bring them, but it rained, so we rescheduled. One time I was going to bring them but they forgot and bought their own brats and wouldn’t hear of using our brats. Until finally it wasn’t brat season anymore, and I forgot all about them.
Until I got a digital coupon for $.50 cents off hot dog buns. The moment I saw that, I had one thought: BRATS.
Now, it will have occurred to you that early March in the Midwest is not prime brat season. But this bee was in my bonnet now. I had to liberate these brats from my freezer. After copious research on alternative brat preparation I landed on the George Foreman grill. There, they would be similar to the delicious summer brats we know and love. And it would be very easy for me. I love a good (easy!) Foreman grill recipe.
Last week I bought ketchup, so all I needed was more mustard. And I was ready.
- Asparagus, 2.03 lb-$2.01. In-store sale, $.99 a pound.
- Bananas, 1.18 lb-$.70.
- Bell Peppers (3)-$2.97. In store sale for $.99 each.
- Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream-$3.49. *Digital Coupon* for $1 off.
- Boar’s Head Sandwich Pepperoni, .5 lb-$4.75.
- Earth’s Best Baby Food Pouches (5)-$4.45. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off $1.39, for use up to five times.
- Gerber Organic Baby Food Pouches (5)-$4.95. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off $1.49, for use up to five times.
- Haagen Dass Ice Cream, pint (2)-$4.98. $2.49 each with Buy 5, Save $5.
- Halos Mandarin Oranges, 5 lb-$3.99.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breasts, 4.53 lb-$9.03.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Drumsticks, 5.16 lb-$5.11. In-store sale, $.99 a pound.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Thighs, 5.42 lbs -$5.37. In-store sale, $.99 a pound.
- Kraft String Cheese-$2.99. *Digital Coupon* for $1 off.
- Kroger Heavy Cream-$2.19.
- Kroger Milk, gal (2)-$2.19.
- Mangoes (2)-$2.50.
- Parrano Gouda-$3.89. Manager’s Special!
- Private Selection Hot Dog Buns-$1.49. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off.
- Private Selection Ice Cream, pint-$1.79. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off.
- Private Selection Ice Cream, .5 gal-$3.49. *Digital Coupon* for $1 off.
- Private Selection Wildflower Turkey, 1 lb-$8.01.
- Private Selection Wheat Bread-$1.49. *Digital Coupon* for $.50 off.
- Red Leaf Lettuce, .53 lb-$.90.
- Simple Truth Mustard-$1.79.
- Silk Almond Milk (2)-$3.98. *Digital Coupon* for $1 off the original price of $2.99.
- Starbucks Coffee-$5.49. *Digital Coupon* for $1.50 off.
- Strawberries, 2 lb-$5.
- Vidal Onions, 1.55 lb-$2.
Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta ($.10 Off Any Item, $.20 off Mandarin Oranges, $.45 off Starbucks Whole Beans), CoinOut
Total Budget: $97.96
Total Spent: $96.01
Total Saved: $33.15
Rolled Over to Next Week: $1.95
Gosh, that was a good week for digital coupons.
The brats ended up being delicious and a nice change from our usual fare. I’m super curious, what out of season meal do you like to prepare? Are there other ways of cooking brats I need to know? Tell me in the comments!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!