Dollar General recap, tips and tricks

5 dinners for $50 or less, that was the challenge.  Was I successful? Yes indeedy.  Read on to see how, as well as other tips for shopping at Dollar General.

Here's a recap of the five meals and their cost:

Frosted Meatloaf $11.15
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake $11.95
Chicken Kiev $4.50
Chicken Pizza Italiano $9.55
Southwest Skillet Nachos $11.20

Total $48.35  Or is it?
I also used a $5 off digital coupon bringing my total down to $43.35.

This left enough wiggle room to add in a dessert. The dessert of choice was

Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

found at https://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/strawberry-lemonade-cookies/c4862722-1e0f-42e7-877c-45e7a37b062c

Ingredients

1 Box Lemon Cake Mix $1.15

1 Box Strawberry Cake Mix $1.15

4 Eggs Pantry

2/3 cup Vegetable Oil (divided) Pantry

2 tsp Lemon Juice Pantry

2 cups Powdered Sugar (divided) Pantry

1 Tbsp Milk Pantry

Directions

• 1

  Preheat oven to 375°F.
• 2

  Begin by making the two cake mixes

  
  
• 3

  Pour the lemon cake mix into a large bowl and the strawberry cake mix in another bowl. To each cake mix, add 2 eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice; mix until well blended. Cover and refrigerate each bowl for 20 minutes to firm slightly.

  
  
• 4

  Remove batters from fridge, and take 2 rounded teaspoons of lemon batter and roll into a ball. Repeat with the strawberry batter. Gently roll the lemon and strawberry dough together to make one large ball.

  
  
• 5

  Transfer the dough ball into a bowl with 1 cup of powdered sugar, and roll to lightly coat in sugar. Place on a parchment-covered baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough.
• 6

  Bake each batch for 10 minutes, until they turn slightly golden and are cooked through. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

  
  
• 7

  To make the glaze (optional), whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of milk until combined. Add more milk to thin the glaze if needed. Drizzle with a fork or piping bag onto the cookies once they have reached room temperature.
• This made my new total $46.65. The remaining balance leaves a little wiggle room for items that I 
• listed as pantry items that perhaps you don't already have on hand. 
• 
  
• A few things I've learned from this challenge was to:
• 1. Shop the ads, this challenge came in an ad cycle that chicken breast and ranch dressing were both
• on sale.
• 2. Use digital coupons.  I was able to save $5 off my total purchase by simply checking the website
• before I left to go shopping and entering my phone number at checkout.
• 3. Join Ibotta, this is a great rebate app.  Though it didn't apply to this shopping trip there have been
• plenty of times I've saved using it in the past.
• 4. Save at the Dollar General by paying attention to prices when you buy in quantity.  
• For example, when I buy an item at say Safeway that is priced 2 for $3, if I only buy one, usually,
• it will still ring up as $1.50.  This is not the case at Dollar General, at DG you must buy the full
• quantity to receive the savings.  This applied to the shopping trip for my challenge where the 
• canned vegetables were concerned. Canned veggies are .65 a can unless you buy two in which case
• they are 2 for $1.
• 5, Don't forget good ol' paper coupons.  I didn't list it on any of the blogs because it wasn't in any of
• the recipes but I was able to get Best Foods mayonnaise for a bargain price.  It was on sale for $2.50 
• in the DG weekly ad, I had a paper coupon for .75 off, bringing it down to $1.75 and I also had an 
• Ibotta rebate for .45 making a 32 oz jar of mayo $1.30, great deal, especially for our little town.
• Yes! You can use paper or digital coupons and still use Ibotta rebate.
• 
  
• If you genuinely have a grocery budget, enjoy the savings and apply them to existing bills or save for
• something fun.  Most of us have bills that are a set amount that we have no control over, but 
• groceries and dining out are one spot most of us can find places to save.
•