The end

Here is to the wonderful paid time off work to enjoy my family. Now back to reality. Cleaning toilets and massive amounts of laundry. Today will be spent doing all the "reality" stuff or domesicated chores, whichever you'd prefer to call it.

Bring on the dirty work and then back to coupons. The past two weeks the value of said coupons has been miserly compared to normal. Hope this is because of this wonderful holiday. Hope they are better next week. We shall see!
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Christmas Check in Again

Forgot to mention the other part of our Christmas and how we're doing...

We've gotten a bit more done... and have stayed within budget so far!

Here is another one that we saved a bit on...

My granny and papa, we budgeted $25 because they are really simple and love simple things. I ordered a lot of pics when different websites had promotions on free prints (photo sites like seehere.com, shutterfly.com, snapfish.com). I paid shipping on one of them for $3 and $6 on a photo album. I have about 150 pics that I got for nearly nothing.

That was a savings of $16 compared to what we had budgeted.

Saved $40 on my mom and $16 on my granny and papa, total saved for these two gifts... $56!!

Works for me Wednesday

Crock pots!

I love my crock pots... yes plural... I have four.

I don't need four of them everyday but some days I do use two or three.

Crockpots are great for busy families.

You come home from a long day... kids whining "I'm hungry! Can I have a snack?" And YOU KNOW if you give them a snack they won't eat all their dinner, so you tell them no. Wow... that goes over well... more whining ensues. It's a tired, endless circle, so I broke out the crock pot last night.

I made a new recipe I found online.

The hubs and I love sandwiches, so here is what I did...

I had a beef brisket I bought on sale at the store (on clearance because nearing the use/freeze by date). It was about $2 and I bought it. Even though I never cooked one before so I was a bit intimidated because I didn't know what to expect out of it, I bought it anyways.

It was worth it. A great $2 investment.

Plan to wrap brisket in foil... put 1/4 cup liquid smoke on brisket and then sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder and celery seed.... wrap completely and securely in foil. Put in fridge overnight (if you can)... put in tupperware so it doesn't leak... put in crock pot while still in foil and put on low for 9-12 hours.

I cooked mine for 10 hours and it was great. Pulled apart with a fork and no effort. Put on sandwiches and that's what we had.

Not the "best" dinner ever but it worked for us. The girls had chicken tenders (which I cooked last night... hubs and I ate it last night).

Also, it seems to work for us that the girls eat left overs on those "oh so busy" nights. Sometimes the hubs and I plan to eat after the girls go to bed so we can have a quiet dinner. It's the next evening that the girls have leftovers and we make something that isn't their favorite for us to eat. It works out great because we got a meal without whining after the girls went down and the next night we have a family meal while the girls eat something they like (leftovers) and we get something they don't really like.

WORKS FOR US!!

Christmas 2009 - Update

Here is my update for our Christmas on a budget this year. So far I have done well.

Take my mother's gift for instance. I'm making her a gift basket and my budget was $50. Here is what is in her basket...

Magnet of our two girls (free other than paying for shipping for MULTIPLE items so extremely cheap, maybe .20)
Picture Calendar made online (free, same as above)
Book "Christmas Box" (.75 - ordered 20 for $15)
3 boxes french vanilla Cappucino (free with triple coupons)
2 Christmas mugs (2.00)
Large Glade soy candle (2.00, after sale and coupon)
2 small Glade soy candles (2.00, 1.00 each after coupons)
3 iMotion oil air fresheners (3.00, 1.00 each - after sale and coupons)
McCoy Pottery Book (new from Amazon 19.77 but got for FREE!!!)

Total Spent - $10.15
SHOULD have spent - $91.52
SAVINGS - $81.37

This is a great example of using what you've got and what's on sale (with coupons) to stock up on stuff to buy for others.

Mom just finished rehabbing a house so I figured some candles and smelly things would be nice for the house. She asked for the book specifically and I'm sure you're wondering how in the world I got that for free!

Well... one word... SWAGBUCKS!! There is this great site. It's a search engine that is powered by google and ask.com. You just go on and use that for your search engine and "poof" you will earn swagbucks. I redeemed some of my swagbucks for amazon e gift certificates and got my mom's book for free! I have been slack on this site and have just NOW realized it's full potential and am definitely going to be using it all that I can to earn more.

I am going shopping on Black Friday, the BEST shopping day of the year. The sales this year some are saying aren't as great, but I'm not one of the "crazy" people out there that's pushing and shoving people to get to a $50 computer or $10 laptop! I am there for the toys and those they always have plenty of. Bring on the Barbies, Cabbage Patch Kids, Play Doh and Crayola stuff!!

I have an annual tradition with one of my oldest friends that we do this together. It's just the one tradition that we have always kept up with. The hubs' hate it, the kids are asleep and we are out and about for hours child and hubs-less. Free to do any and all holiday shopping that we wish. While we rack in the bargains and shell out the bucks we seriously get into the spirit of the season (not like we haven't been listening to Christmas music since the day after Halloween!!).

We start out about 11:00 p.m. on Thursday night. We have an outlet center about an hour away that opens at midnight so we are going to head out there first. Toys R Us also opens at midnight, but we won't get there until about 3:00 or so. Then, to Walmart and Target after that. They open at 5:00 a.m. this year and that seems a bit late for them, but oh well.

Regardless of where we go, we get into the spirit... we're not pushing and shoving, but saying excuse me and I'm sorry when someone runs into us! We gather all our treasures and finds and head home. When we get home we start decorating the house (drinking lots of coffee!), putting up the tree, string out the lights, putting up stockings and wrapping presents (when the girls are napping of course). It's the greatest day of the year to me.

At least that's what I'm saying today... ask me again come 7 p.m. Friday!!!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving as we all have tons to be thankful for as we're probably doing better than someone else in this world.

Works for me Wednesday

What works for you this Wednesday?

Do you know what works for me?

To do lists.

I love lists.

I love crossing things off of them. I love the feeling of accomplishment and seeing what I've done and how much I have left to do. Helps me keep things in focus and keeps me driven.

However, there are some times when they are quite daunting, but for some reason they keep me going.

I just found my list from last weekend and here it is...

Buy nephews birthday present
HT for rain check shopping
Price books for school
Clean all floors - vacuum down, vacuum up, hardwoods
Clean all bathrooms - master, girls, half
Cook for freezer
Bake banana bread
Change garage light bulb
Toss candy that's in coat closet
Clean big closet
Laundry
Pay bills
Order shutterfly pics for granny (free)
Walgreens shopping for Axe and Sinus Buster
Kodak - $15 gift certificate sign up
Edible arrangements order
Clean fishtank (poor fish)
wash and vacuum car
wash and vacuum blazer
oil change car
oil change blazer
Wash dog
Mow grass
Clean front flower bed
Post baby clothes on Craig's List
Daughter's Rx filled (Target for $2o gc - printed out on receipt)
Insurance healthy living points

Here are the things that I got done...
Nephew's birthday present
HT raincheck shopping
Cleaned master bath
Vacuumed downstairs
Cooked for freezer
Baked banana bread
Tossed candy in coat closet
Laundry
Pay bills
Shutterfly pics ordered for granny

That's it... out of that huge long list, that's all I got done. I'm sitting here looking around the house now thinking of what I need to do this week. My list is ever growing and I do mark things off constantly but as a mom and everything to this household my list will never be complete.

BUT that's OK with me. Just shows me how much I do for my family, doesn't allow me to forget (mommy brain!), and keeps me moving forward. I don't dwell on what I haven't done because I know I will get to it and my list just shows me how much I have accomplished, not where I'm falling short.

Get you a notebook and carry it with you. Add things to it when you think of something you need to do. Doesn't matter what it is. I'm not going to lie... I sometimes do things I forgot to put on my list and I put it on there anyways and immediately cross it off! Yes, I do, but it makes me feel good and shows me my time is never wasted.

What works for you?

Shoppingless Weekend

With all the money that I spent during triples week I did not go shopping this weekend except for milk and eggs (literally). 

 

However, there is some shopping that I need to get done this week…

 

Diapers and wipes… Target because Target has a $1 off coupon on their website for their UP wipes.  The normal price for these range from $1.47 - $1.55 (in my store), so that would be .47 or .55 per pack of wipes.  I am going during lunch to see how many they have and I will buy them out!!!  That is too good of a deal to pass up.

 

Hubs and I are both in need of a few toiletries… face wash, shave gel, razors, etc.  He tried my “girly” Quatro razor and did not like, so now I have to get some more of his manly razors!  That’s OK… I have some great coupons from the paper last week (?) or maybe the week before.  I’m not really sure as I am behind on sorting my coupons.

 

How was everyone else’s weekend?  Mine was great!  I didn’t have to go grocery shopping, I got a LOT done around the house and I do mean a LOT.  That was great to fall into bed last night knowing that almost everything was done.  Hubs was great and weed eated, mowed and blew off the yard.  Next, will be decorating for Christmas!

 

I have to get everything down out of the attic.  I started some Christmas shopping this weekend and my mother in law (MIL) called me and asked me to pick up these two 4 foot Christmas trees (fakes ones) that are in pots at this particular store I was going to.  I told her OK and picked up two of them.  Come to find out there are two trees in each box so I bought her four.  I decided now that I will keep the other box of two and put them up at our house.  I’m actually kind of excited about that.  It was $29.99 for two little trees in pots (to go on each side of the front door) and the garland to go above the door. 

 

I know I’m not old (barely 30) but I am getting excited about having our house and getting more decorations each year stockpiled to make the next year even that much more decorated.  The girls love it and the oldest gets so excited about hanging lights on the house.  The worse part about all this is we have one week between Thanksgiving and one of the girl’s birthday that we have to get it all done during that one week so everything is decorated for her birthday!

 

Oh what fun it is to ride…

TGIF

Yes, finally... I made it through the work week and the weekend is almost upon us. I have worked diligently all week at work... did you know how much work you can actually accomplish if you work all day at work? It's amazing what you can do!

Now, the weekend is here. The hubs is off and the girls are home as well. I would say we were going to have a relaxing weekend not doing much of anything, but who knows what is in store. I know I have an ever growing to do list that never seems to be done. I had one last weekend and didn't even get 50% of it done. Now how's that for procrastinating?? LOL

I didn't procrastinate, it just didn't all get done because a lot of it was time consuming, we had a birthday party and friends of the in law's came down from out of town. It was a great weekend but I'm ready for one that has a bunch of nothing on the list!

Today is just getting started and I'm excited for 5:00 p.m. to roll around so I can head home to my hubs and girls.

How was your week? What was the best thing about it?

Lots of times we look at reasons we are thankful that the week is over because it was hectic, so let's try and look at some positive things that happened this week.... what happened in yours?

Today is Thursday

Today is Thursday and the new grocery store ads were out as of yesterday. I am planning on doing simple shopping this week. Only the bare necessities... milk, bread, eggs, and fresh produce. I went over budget for the past two weeks. WAY over budget for both those weeks, so now is the time to make it up.

I couldn't tell you how much over budget I went. I know two weeks ago I spent $85 and there is no telling what I spent last week. I think one trip was $11, the next was $55 and the third was $35, so total... $101. All in all for those two weeks I spent $186. That's more than four weeks worth of groceries! Jeez... I didn't realize how bad I did until I just put the numbers up there.

I have some making up to do, so let's just do $20 for the next four weeks. That won't bring me completely back on track, but it will bring me close. With as much as I save each week on groceries (the weeks I overspent included) I'm sure I have saved way more than that so you know what? I will just keep to the bare necessities this week and then go back to normal budget.

I have stocked up on enough laundry detergent and fabric softener for a while. I have five of each right now, so I won't have to buy that for hopefully until next year. Same goes for paper towels. I have two packs of toilet paper (nine rolls each) so hopefully that will last us through the month, but we shall see. I'm hoping I have enough to get through the rest of this year.

I have stocked up on enough baking stuff (flour, sugar, condensed milk, etc.) to do some baking for the season, so that will be nice.

Now, I guess is the time to start doing some Christmas shopping. I've started some and need to take stock before I actually start. I am starting tomorrow with my cousin's wife. We are going to hit some discount stores and see what we can't find. I'm also keeping an eye out for deals online for photo stuff, gift certificates, coupons for stores, etc. to help with this. If you see anything good just let me know!

Now is also the time for "de-cluttering", clearing out closets (especially the girls) and decorating. I asked hubs if I could start decorating for Christmas already and was greeted with a huge sigh and "OK". So, I need to get all that stuff down out of the attic.

The question now is... real tree or fake tree???

Works for me Wednesday

I saw this on another blog (moneysavingmom I think) and I am going to start doing Works for me Wednesday. I think this is a great way to pass on information to help others so here's to my first Works for me Wednesday!

Babies...

My best friend just had a baby girl (one day shy of two weeks ago) so of course I've been reminscing on when my girls were teensy...

I have spoke with her on multiple occasions through the past ten months about things that worked for me and just little hints that might work for others.

Here are the things that I remember...

Laundry lingerie bags are not just for lingerie! I used one to keep all of baby's socks together. They are so tiny that they get lost in EVERYTHING.

Do not buy the baby laundry detergent. Just buy one of the "free" ones... free from dyes, perfumes, etc. Much cheaper this way.

Buy before baby gets here! I stocked up on coupons, matched with sales and had a lot of diapers and wipes before baby even got here. Same with baby food.

Speaking of baby food. I made my own with child #2 and it was a huge money saver! I bought whatever produce that was on clearance of sale. I bought the steam bags to cook the foods (maintains more nutrition if steamed versus boiled or cooked otherwise). Then I put through the blender mixed with some formula, froze in ice cube trays and then put in freezer bags. This was GREAT! I froze all foods by themselves... didn't mix the flavors. That way when it came time for meals I could then mix them when I thawed them out. I got to switch things up without any extra effort, cooking, or time.

Don't start something you don't want to have to keep doing. If baby is restless in the middle of the night don't get up and pace the floors bouncing and cooing to baby if you don't mind doing this EVERY night! Don't rock baby to sleep every night if you don't foresee yourself doing this EVERY night. Just a simple rule of thumb... don't start something you don't mind doing EVERY time the situation arises.

Baby nipple brushes (for cleaning) are not just for nipples! Buy multiple because they are great at cleaning the spaces in spatulas and slotted spoons. They truly are wonderful for a multitude of things.

There were a few things that I thought were a complete waste of time. **This is only my opinion and remember EVERYONE has them! These just happen to be mine**

Diaper wipe warmers... if you get your baby used to this then what is baby going to do the first time you are at the mall and, heaven forbid, you have to use wipes right out of the pack to clean that little butt??

Diaper genies and other special trash cans for baby's diapers... these are great, but honestly I can think of other things I would rather spend that $40 (or whatever) on something else like diapers, wipes, extra nipples, etc. Just keep a stash of grocery bags handy. Toss the diaper in a grocery bag, tie it off and out it goes! Much cheaper!

Brand name baby wash, creams, lotions, etc. There are some things that just don't have to be brand name. Baby wash does the same thing regardless of the brand.

Save yourself some money and get more practical baby clothes. Babies pretty much wear the same things for the first few months. They grow quick. Get the basics while they are little with a few cutesy outfits for pics, going out to see the grandparents and doctor appointments. Doctors really don't care what they wear but I'm sure you will.

OH... don't forget to have plenty of baby tylenol and motrin on hand. If they do get sick you won't want to take them out anywhere.

Keep a plastic tote in baby's closet. As you do laundry and find stuff they've outgrown, just toss it in. This makes it easy to see what baby has and what baby needs.

Reminder again, these are only my opinions!!! Not facts and may not work for you. Find what works for you, but remember to keep it simple. The simpler things are, the less clutter, the less mess, the less cleaning, the less stress, the happier you are!

CVS .10 photos

I just got an email that if you order 50 or more prints online through CVS then you can get them for .10 each!  That would be $5.00 for 50 prints.  That could make for a good photo brag book for a grandparent for Christmas.  Use promo code “10CENTS” to get this deal.  It does say that it excludes “prints in hours” and it’s good through 11/16/09. 

 

Hurry up and take advantage!

Tuesday's Thoughts

I think I am going to start a weekly post called Tuesday's Thoughts. This can encompass any and all things. Welcome to the first Tuesday's Thoughts!

This Tuesday I have quite a few thoughts that I've been mulling over.

My number one thought has been on starting over. Starting Over can apply to multiple situations... divorce/separation from your significant other and starting all over again. Starting over on a major life goal for yourself. Starting over with another child and just a slew of so many things!

I have embarked on a few of the starting over points in my life at various times.

I separated from my ex-husband in 2006 before my eldest child even turned a year old. That was a major event in my life that caused me to analyze everything in my life. I hadn't worked in two years and had to find a job to support my daughter and myself. I had to find a new place to live that would accept my dog. He's labeled as a "bad" breed being a pit bull, but truth be known... he's run away from pomeranians! He's definitely not a "bad" dog, but that's for another time.

I found myself faced with many "do overs". I had to start all over with a new job, a new place to live, being a single mom, which I had been the entire length of her life at this point, but I was going to be a working single mom which is entirely different. I was facing the fact that I was going to have to start over in the dating field when the time came and just everything!

It was extremely scary and there were some days that were so trying and taxing that I wasn't sure I'd thought it through before I made that leap.

In the end it was all worth it. I made the right decision for my daughter and myself to separate and ultimately divorce my ex-husband. I found a great job that was a stepping stone to an even better one. I "found" my current husband. I had another baby girl. I got married.

I am the happiest I have ever been in my life! There are many starting over points in life, or "do overs" if you'd like to call them that and they are all hard, some more than others. But they all seem to have the same steps to get through them.

Lead with your head. Think things through. Let your heart have an opinion, but do what's right for you and yours.

Make a list of what you need to accomplish or do in order to get through it. Lists seem like daunting things at times, but in the end when you have marked everything off you get a great sense of accomplishment and good self esteem is always a plus!

Write or talk it out. You don't even have to write or talk to anyone. Keep it for yourself so once you are through it you can look back and see how far you've gotten OR you can do my favorite... burn it.

Burning your written thoughts from when times were tough, trying or just more than you thought you could handle is liberating somehow. To sit back, watch the final reminder of tough times burn away and to know they are all completely gone now is a GREAT feeling!

Regardless of what you are going through or what you have gone through there is always a dignified way out. Always rise above these things and make yourself a better person. Just remember you can do this and you will.

Menu Monday

I think I am going to come up with a title for each day. Monday will be "Menu Monday"! HA... how original!

Here is my menu for the week...

Monday - baked chicken (precooked on Sunday), seasoned broiled potatoes, corn.

Tuesday - steak on the grill & chicken legs, Uncle Ben's rice, steam fresh veggies

Wednesday - pasta with chicken parmesan meatballs and spaghetti sauce

Thursday - homemade shake n bake chicken, scalloped potatoes, veggie of some sort

Friday - eating out! I won a gift certificate to Outback from work so the hubs and I are going out to eat for free (or close to it)

My menu this week is not at all exciting and not much thought but this is our week! Wednesday's dinner in our house has to be quick as the eldest has dance that evening, but other than that... I like to keep it simple.

I will try and do some more precooking in the next few weeks or might double some of the meals I am making to freeze some additional, but we shall see how it goes. I would like to have lasagna in the upcoming weeks, but it depends on how quick I recoop the difference that I overspent the past two weeks.

Yes, I overspent the previous week as well. Food Lion had a great sale on chicken and I bought a ton because we love chicken and we're going to eat it anyways, so might as well buy when it's on sale or clearance!

Harris Teeter Rack UP!

This past Wednesday HT started their triple coupon week finally. I had expected it to be this upcoming Wednesday, but I was happily surprised to see it come early. I did overspend on my normal $40 budget this week, but it was well worth it and I will compensate by not shopping for a few weeks except for the necessary bread, milk, eggs and fresh veggies.

I already posted on some of the great deals I got this week and I got some more!

Progresso Broth - BOGO Free at $2.70
Buy one at $1.35
Use .50 coupon = $1.50
Free after coupon

Welch's Refrigerated Juice - $2.50
Use .75 coupon
.25 each

Chef Boyardee small microwavable meals - $1.00 each
Buy 2 for $2.00
Use .40/2 = $1.20 off
.80 for 2 (.40 each)

Gold Medal Flour - $2.39
.50 coupon
.89 each

Select Light Progresso Soups - sale $2.00
.25 coupon
$1.25 each

Hormel Compleats meals - $2.69
.75 coupon from All You
.44 each

There were more deals than that but those are the ones I remember

I am going to do some more shopping this week for the things that are BOGO free and buy one (get at half price) and use one coupon on it. More free broth in time for the holidays!

I had some rain checks that I cashed in, so please pay attention to the items that are out of stock so you can really rack up on some deals during triple week!

Rain Check for Viva Papertowels @ $4.99 each
coupon .40
$3.79 each... this is cheaper than I can get cheap papertowels!

Hefty Gripper Tall Kitchen Trash Bags - BOGO Free ($8.55 for two)
Bought one at $4.28
.55 coupon
$2.63 (saved $5.92)

Purex HE laundry detergent
On sale for $4.55 and I have a BOGO free rain check!
Bought 4 at $9.10
2 x .35 coupons ($2.10)
$7 for 4 or $1.75 each!

Clorox cleaning wipes - $3.55
Have rain check for BOGO free
bought four at $7.10
2 x .50 coupons = $3.00 off
$4.10 for 4 or $1.03 each

Progress French Onion Soup - $2.39 each
B2G3 free rain check
Bought five for $4.78
.50/2 coupon
$3.28 for 5 or .66 each

Those were the best deals that I found. I will be trying to find some online coupons to go up there with this week.

Post Freezer Cooking Thoughts

Let me preface this by saying this was an impromptu freezer cooking day. I didn't really plan on it, but I read all these blogs this week about women who did this and saved tons of time each week, month, year, etc. They all say it saves them time and money. Leaving them with the ability to be less stressed during the week and getting dinner on the table. Spending less on dinners as they are already premade and you can cook what you have on hand and have bought (or got for free) using coupons and sales. It saves them money on their overall grocery bill and since it's already cooked they don't eat out as often.

For someone like me who has "mastered" the art of coupon shopping at the grocery store this should work for me. I only buy meat on sale and promptly freeze it when I get home so I always have food on hand, but it's not always thawed out. I have started using menu planning and this is wonderful, but I'm still learning and no matter what, there is always room for learning and improvement.

Doing this small impromptu mini freezer cooking this afternoon has taught me a few things.

1. Have a clear and defined list of what you are going to make and check your ingredients beforehand to make sure you have everything you need. I was disappointed today that I couldn't make my homemade cinnamon raisin bread. Also, I decided amidst the cooking that I wanted to make corn pudding for dinner and oops... didn't have any sour cream!

2. Make sure all your meats are thawed out before starting! As I was starting the banana bread I was defrosting the meat in a sink full of water. Not only did I have to wait for some of my meats to thaw out which delayed my cooking and getting some stuff in the oven, but it also took up one side of the sink that I could have used to put dirty dishes and rinse them for the dishwasher.

3. I have much more energy in the mornings and should have started this much earlier than I did. I couldn't this time around and no matter how much coffee I drank I didn't seem to have the energy that I have first thing in the morning!

4. Start with an empty (or almost empty) dish washer. The top of my dishwasher was completely full of sippy cups that hubs had cleaned out of his car. This didn't leave me with much room to put dishes so it took me much longer to clean the majority of them by hand.

5. Make sure you have all the freezer bags, etc. that you need for storing your foods. I only had one quart size freezer bag and that was it. I did have the vacuum ones, but I could have used more zip freezer bags for doing everything.

6. Have a clear and defined list of what you are going to do, the order in which you are going to do it and how you are going to store them. This way you can check it the night before to make sure you have everything (recipes too!).

I will do this again but I think had I planned today out better it would have only taken me half the time that I invested today.

Make sure to check back later for some of my HT deals that I snagged with triple coupons this week!

Post Cooking Kitchen

Now that I'm done cooking (kind of), here are the pics of my filthy kitchen. It's not as bad as it could be as I was throwing dishes in the dish washer as I went along. Not that I had a lot of room in the top as it was slam full of sippy cups (hubs cleaned out his car... gross!). I ended up doing a lot of hand washing. I don't mind washing my hand as it's therapeutic to me somehow, but wow... that would have been a lot!

Stay tuned for my post mini freezer cooking thoughts.

More Chicken!

I had six boneless skinless chicken breasts to cook next. I took three of them and just put in the oven, sprinkled with spice and baked them for later use. I can cut them up and make stir fry, put in a Macaroni Grill box meal (GREAT!), or really anything.

I took the other three chicken breasts and put in a vacuum seal bag with a Sesame Ginger marinade that I got for free with coupons a while back. Not sure when that was, but I'm always looking for new tastes, marinades, spices, etc.

My Chicken Meatballs

I am one of those that has a hard time following a recipe to the "t" so I don't fry my chicken meatballs. I bake them instead. This frees me up to do other things while they cook. Plus, I won't have grease/oil splattered all over my stove to clean up. The one pound of chicken made 36 one inch meatballs. These are GREAT and taste like chicken parmesan and is a great way to stretch your dollar and meat!

Here is the finished product (YUM!). I put them all in sandwich bags, twice. In other words I put what would fit in one bag and sealed. Then, took that bag and put inside another and sealed. Then put multiple bags inside a quart sized bag and stuck in the freezer.

Whew... more cooking!!!

OK, now I have to move onto the chicken and chicken meatballs. I love the chicken parmesan meatballs. Here is the recipe. I'm not sure where I got it so I can't give credit where it's due this time.

1 lb ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (any)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2/3 tsp dried oregano (eyeball it)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
2 Tbsp olive oil (or any oil)

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT FOR the oil until evenly combined. Form into 1 inch balls. In large nonstick skillet warm oil over high heat. Place meatballs in pan (up to 8 at time) cook until all sides are browned (about 8 minutes each meatball). Remove and drain on papertowels. Add to your favorite spaghetti sauce!

Banana Bread Complete!

Here is the banana bread cooling right from the oven. There is one mini muffin missing (bottom of the pic) but I had to try the new recipe while it was hot from the oven!














Review as of now... the banana bread is good. I do like the flavor from the vanilla in it. I think next time I might add a touch of cinnamon for a change. Overall it is good.

Brown Ground Meat

Now, for the browned meat... I put in a huge skillet that I have and browned it all with some onions. Next, I drained it and then put in separate freezer bags (quart size).

Now, please note that I did put in the freezer and that the meat is lying flat. This way it is much easier to store space wise. I do have an extra freezer in the garage, but I still find old habits die hard. This also helps it to thaw more quickly. More than one reason to freeze flat!

First for the ground meat that I am turning into meatloaf... here is the mix. Sorry to all the pregnant women who cannot stand the sight of raw meat!

Next, I took all the meatloaf and made into huge meat balls. Here is "our" thing... hubs and I both like the ends to the meatloaf so I don't make in a loaf pan. I push them into the muffin pans and make meat loaf muffins. This definitely works out to our advantage. Here are our meat loaf muffin balls. I put them on a cookie sheet and am sticking them in the freezer. I ended up with eleven of them. Once they are frozen then I will put in a freezer bag. I have a few reasons for doing this.















I freeze them individually like that so they won't stick to each other once I put them in a freezer bag. This is for multiple reasons. For the four of us I would probably only cook six of them. If we end up with company then I can pull out more. The opposite applies if hubs is working one night and I only need to cook for the girls and myself. ALSO, one more reason to freeze as huge balls... if we want to grill out one night then we can just mash them into burgers.

Look for short cuts every where you go... you might be surprised with what you come up with!

Banana Bread

OK, I have accomplished step one... I have mixed the ingredients to the banana bread. I hunted a new recipe down because I was unenthused about the one I was using, so I am trying this one here. I'm not going to lie... I tasted the batter (yes, even though it has raw eggs in it) and it was quite delicious! I hope they turn out as well as the batter did!!

Step two is below... the banana bread is baking in the oven and I am about to start on the ground meat. I started with the bread because it bakes so long. I made less than what I had intended, but evidently the hubs and girls ate quite of few of the ripe bananas I purchased in the last two days. Oh well! I ended up with a round springform pan, 6 muffins and 12 mini muffins.

This is my to go breakfast for work. I have even made a ton of it before, froze it on a cookie sheet (after slicing) and then put in the vacuum seal freezer bags. Honestly, they were better after being frozen. That's bad, which is why I hunted up a new recipe.

On to the next task....

Ground meat!

Road Block #1

Not enough yeast! I JUSTgot this bread machine last week and have yet to use it. Today would be the first run and I don't have enough yeast. I need 9 of the little envelopes and I have 6. So, no cinnamon raisin bread today! So sad!!!!

Freezer Cooking Day

Today I am going to be cooking for the freezer. I am getting a late start because we had breakfast with the inlaws and then had to go sock shopping because the dryer seems to eat all of them!

Here is my list of what I'm going to be making today.

2 meatloaves
spaghetti sauce with ground meat
brown ground meat precooked for future use
chicken parmesan meatballs
6 baked boneless skinless chicken breast
loaf of cinnamon raisin bread
tons of banana muffins, mini muffins and loaves
cookie dough (freeze in balls for future use)

This is what I hope to accomplish so we shall see how far I get. Amidst all this I have two children (napping for now), piles of laundry, cleaning, scrubbing and vacuuming to do so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Below is a before picture of the kitchen, let's see how bad it gets.

Experiment for the Week

I am trying out an experiment this week.  You ready to hear what I’m doing.  You’ll probably think me weird or odd, but that’s OK… just trying out something else to see what works for us.

 

I baked two whole chickens on Saturday and my experiment is to see if we can eat five dinners off these two chickens.  The chickens were only $6.00 total for the two.  If I can get five meals out of them then the cost of meat for each meal is only $1.20. 

 

Sunday – chicken and vegetable soup (like my Granny’s… cooked in crockpot overnight Saturday and it was AWESOME!)

Monday – chicken chili

Tuesday – had penne pasta with chicken, broccoli, tomatoes in a chicken broth, olive oil and seasoning sauce

Wednesday – Buffalo chicken wraps

Thursday – chicken casserole or burrito casserole (not sure)

 

I’m trying to think of about how much each meal cost (if I get five meals from chicken)…

 

Chicken Vegetable Soup – 1.20 chicken, 1.50 broth, .66 vegetables = $3.36

Chicken Chili – 1.20 chicken, 1.00 for seasoning, .77 beans, .33 corn = $3.30

Penne Chicken – 1.20 chicken, penne was free, .50 broth, broccoli was free, tomatoes about .25 = $1.95

Buffalo Chicken – 1.20 chicken, hot sauce was free, .50 Italian seasoning, .50 tortillas, .75 cheese = $2.95

Chicken Casserole – 1.20 chicken, .79 cream of mushroom, corn was free, breadcrumbs were free = $1.99

Five meal total = $13.55

 

That is my experiment for the week and so far seems to be working out for total cost.  Would you think I was anal if I put a sticker on everything I bought and put how much it cost me just so I can see how much all of my meals cost??  LOL  J

 

Not only has this saved me money, but the time that it has saved me each evening has been EXTREMELY valuable and very noticeable to me.  The chickens cooked by themselves in a big turkey oven bag.  Then I pulled some off to put in my soup and it cooked in the crock pot over night and the house smelled great.  I took the rest of the chicken and didn’t debone it and just tore it apart and put in a storage bag.  I pulled some out for the chicken chili on Monday after work.  It took all of about ten minutes to put dinner together.  Last night I did the Penne chicken and it was done in less than 20 minutes (started the water and cooked the pasta, put the steamfresh broccoli in the microwave, put the sauce together and then threw it all together and let the chicken heat through).  Tonight the tortillas will take a few minutes to make but the meat of the meal is already done and I can get the chicken and sauce concoction together while they cook.  Probably less than 30 again! 

 

I think I am going to start precooking all my meat on the weekends.  This week hasn’t been hectic at all when it comes to dinner and super quick.  I’ve enjoyed it immensely!!  And my family has appreciated it as well.  A happy mom is always a good thing (ask dad J)

 

HT Triples Yet Again!!

I’ve already been to HT this morning (for trip 1 since can only use 20 coupons that multiply in a transaction) and was at work before 8:00 a.m.  Working diligently already!!  You better get on over there before I buy them out! 

 

Here is what I bought…

 

3 x Scrubbing Bubble bathroom cleaner

($2.50 - .75 cpn = .25 ea)

 

3 x Joy dish detergent

(.99 - .30 cpn = .09 ea)

 

Strawberry Nestle Quik Powder

(2.99 - .50 cpn = 1.49)

 

Chocolate Nestle Quik Powder

(2.99 - .50 cpn = 1.49)

 

6 x Carnation Evaporated milk

(.69 - .50/2 cpn = free)

 

Starkist Tuna salad pouches

(1.85 - .50 cpn = .35 ea)

 

Bumble Bee Tuna pouch

(1.99 - .55 cpn = .34)

 

5 lb HT sugar

(.99 eVic price)

 

2 x Mt Olive Sandwich Stackers

(2.59 - .50 cpn = 1.09 ea)

 

2 x Mueller Macaroni

(1.00 - .55/2 cpn = .17 ea)

 

2 x Mueller Spaghetti

(1.00 - .55/2 cpn = .17 ea)

 

2 x Mueller Lasagna

(1.50 - .55/2 cpn = .67 ea)

 

 

Spent $11.27

Saved $39.34

Total $50.61

Saved 78%

 

 

 

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons

Harris Teeter has triple coupons starting TOMORROW (11/04/09)!  You will find me there about 6:00 a.m. getting things before I get to work and again that evening for the perishables. 

 

I will post later on what to match up.  Keep in mind that I don’t know which paper my coupons come from nor is it an all inclusive list.  I can only find the sales they post at this time and go off of which coupons I have (I may have used some already so don’t have those).

 

Anyways… see you there!