Be a coupon champ

What's the worst thing about using grocery coupons? Hands-on scissor time, organization hassles, fear that your time investment won't pay off?

Whatever you hate about coupons, Teri Gault has heard it all before. And Teri's mission is to overcome coupon roadblocks. She's the founder and CEO of The Grocery Game, a subscription coupon-information Web site, and she's passionate about helping families fight the rising cost of food.

"Most people don't really know how to use coupons," she told us when we recently caught up with her by phone. "So they try it and don't save very much money. They feel defeated by the effort."

The essential secret to coupon success is a strategy long known to coupon queens: You wait for the item to go on sale and then cash in the coupon to get compounded savings.

But here's the problem: That sale typically occurs weeks after the coupon comes out in the Sunday newspaper, creating a coupon-tracking nightmare. For a $5-per-month membership, The Grocery Game solves the problem by providing you with a regional, store-specific list of on-sale items, matched to the coupon by-date and the specific booklet it came from. The list even tallies the percentage saved, plus identifies "rock-bottom" sale prices whether there's a coupon for the item or not.

Using this system, all you have to do is file the entire coupon booklet by date and watch for Teri's list to alert you when the item goes on sale. Then you just retrieve the correct booklet and clip only the coupons you plan to redeem that week.

I've been a paying member since May and testing out the Web site (unbeknownst to Teri). And while I've been a proficient coupon clipper for decades, my weekly savings has easily doubled using The Grocery Game. Plus, the time I've had to invest is significantly reduced.

While The Grocery Game is up and running in all 50 states, it may not be available in some zip codes. You can check for your area and get a trial 28-day subscription for $1 at www.thegrocerygame.com.

Today's recipe for Tomato-Ham Macaroni Skillet was developed with typical coupon items in mind, but it makes a budget-friendly meal whether you clip or not.

Suggested menu: Tomato-Ham Macaroni Skillet, pineapple rings and crusty rolls.

• Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross write "Desperation Dinners." Contact them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. Or visit desperationdinners.com.

Tomato-Ham Macaroni Skillet

2 cups (8 ounces) elbow macaroni

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 large onion (for about 1 cup chopped)

½ medium green bell pepper (for about 1/2 cup chopped), see note)

8 ounces diced baked ham (see note)

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon dried basil

⅛ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

2 cans (141/2 ounces each) no-salt-added seasoned diced tomatoes (see notes)

¾ cup (6 ounces) shredded cheddar, mozzarella or Italian-blend cheese

Bring 2½ quarts of water to a boil in a 4½-quart Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the macaroni and cook until firm-tender according to the package directions, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet that has a lid over medium-high heat. Peel and chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop. Stir from time to time. Rinse, seed and cut the bell pepper half into bite-size pieces, adding as you cut.

If the ham is not already diced, cut it into bite-size pieces. Add the ham to the skillet, and stir and cook while adding the garlic, Worcestershire, basil and black pepper. Continue to cook and stir until the onion is translucent and the ham just begins to brown, about 2 minutes more. Stir in both cans of tomatoes with their juices, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the macaroni is done.

Drain the macaroni into a colander, shaking the colander to remove as much liquid as possible. Pour the drained macaroni into the skillet with the tomato mixture, and stir until the macaroni is well coated. Remove the skillet from the heat. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top, and cover the skillet until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Serve at once.

Serves five.

Cook's notes: The green pepper can be left out, or substitute sliced mushrooms. Red, yellow or orange bell peppers work well, too.

Some brands now offer already-diced ham in packages alongside ham sliced for sandwiches. You can use any type of fully cooked ham - even ham already sliced for sandwiches will work (chopped), but it will brown faster.

Seasoned diced tomatoes come in lots of flavor combinations, and any type you like will work. For this recipe, we used 1 can seasoned with garlic and 1 seasoned with celery, green pepper and onions. If you can't find no-salt tomatoes, regular work fine.

Nutrition values per serving: 326 calories (25 percent from fat), 10 g fat (4 g saturated), 46 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, 20 g protein, 38 mg cholesterol, 760 mg sodium.