Menu Planning Monday

I have one word for last weeks menu...YUM! Everything was so good last week but if I had to pick a hands down winner it would be Jamika's Salmon with Pineapple Salsa.

As many of you know, my son (12) does not like potatoes of any kind. We continue to serve them and he taste them but usually leaves them on his plate. I keep hoping that his taste will change but so far nothing. This week will be the week of pasta to give him a break and use up some of our stockpile. Once again I have selected several of Rachael Ray's best. I hope you'll give them a try.

Monday - Goodness Gracious, That's Great Goulash, green salad and bread

Tuesday - Peach Glazed Chicken w/corn on the cob and baked beans, fresh fruit for dessert

Wednesday - Tuscan-Style Chicken with Rosemary, pasta w/garlic, oil and parsley, side salad

Thursday - Canadian Maple Turkey Chili, cornbread and fruit

Friday - Fried Cod, pesto pasta, bread and fruit

Saturday - Dinner Out for my birthday

Sunday Supper - Turkey Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie, Hot Rolls and fruit

That's our menu for the week and I'm really looking forward to these fall/winter comfort food recipes. We have tried a few of these last year and can't wait to have them again.

For more menu plans you can check out the Menu Plan Monday links over at Org Junkie.

Receive Free Food At Whataburger For 12 Days In December

If you go here and sign up with your email and zip code, you will receive an email with a coupon for free food from Whataburger. You will get one of these emails every other day from December 2nd to December 24th. The coupons will vary and can be anything from fries to a Whataburger. So hurry and sign up to enjoy a little free food while you're out doing your holiday shopping.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving this morning.

I know everyone is probably really busy with Thanksgiving Day preparations. I had a few free minutes and decided to update my blog with the promised tuna recipes. If you don't like tuna checkout the recipes anyway because they would also taste wonderful with some of that leftover turkey.

I will be looking over the Black Friday ads a little later today. What are your plans for Black Friday?

We will be going to the movies this afternoon to see The Blind Side. The whole family has really been looking forward to this outing. What movies are your families looking forward to?

Asian Tuna In Wonton Cups

I have so much tuna in my pantry from all the great sale this month. I have been searching high and low for new tuna recipes that don't include the word casserole in them. Here is one that my family really enjoyed.

Dressing:

1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp chili paste

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp honey


Mixture:

2 cans (6 1/2 oz. each) tuna, drained

3 tbsp crushed peanuts ( we used chopped cashews, free from CVS)

4 cups coleslaw mix


1 package of wonton wrappers to make cups to hold tuna mixture.

Heat oven to 350*.

Mix up the dressing ingredients and set aside.

Next, put the tuna mixture ingredients in a large bowl and toss to mix. Add the dressing to this mixture and toss.

Brush 24 muffin tins with peanut oil (1 tbsp). Place 24 wonton wrappers in tins and brush any dry spots, especially tips with oil. Put in oven and bake for 6-7 minutes. Take out of tins and cool on wire rack.


To serve, place a pile of mixture on the plate and 6 wontons per person.We served this with egg rolls and fresh fruit. You could also serve it with corn on the cob, if you don't have or like egg rolls. This was a really lite and refreshing dinner.

I think this mixture would also make a yummy wrap if you don't want to mess with the wontons.

Sicilian Tuna Salad

My daughter and I had the most wonderful tuna salad panini at a little bakery last week. We wrote down a list of the ingredients from the menu on the back of a receipt so that we could make it at home. If you don't like mayo in your tuna then give this recipe a try. It is fresh and delicious.

12 oz. of tuna (close as you can get with what you have on hand)

1 Roma tomato, diced

2 green onions, sliced or a little bit of onion diced

12 black olives, sliced

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella or 1 mozzarella cheese stick, chopped

1 lemon, juiced

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 to 3 tbsps. of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Drain the tuna if using canned tuna. Put the tuna in a large bowl and flake. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until everything is distributed throughout.

I love this salad on a croissant but Jessica loves it on whole wheat. What's your favorite bread for tuna salad? Do you make your own bread? If you do make your own bread, what recipe do you use?

To see more great tips on what works well for others, (recipes, uncommon uses for everyday objects, tips, etc.) check out Works For Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

Last Minute Shopping At Walgreens

So this afternoon, I realized that there was no more coffee creamer in the house. I could not possibly wake up and face Thanksgiving Day without coffee creamer for my morning cup of joe. I searched a few of my favorite blogs for Walgreens deals and decided that Melissa's Bargain Blog had some of the best scenarios. I pulled my coupons for Theraflu, Triaminic, Comtrex, Nabisco Crackers, and Vanity Fair Plates and headed for my favorite Walgreens.

Now you may be scratching your head and wondering why I need all these coupons when what I needed was coffee creamer. Well, the Vanity Fair Plates and Bowls were on sale BOGOF and the coupon I pulled from the October All You was BOGOF (I had 5). So after sale and coupons, I got 6 plates and 4 bowls totally free (no dish washing for me this holiday season). These had to be rung up in separate transactions because the register would only take one coupon per transaction.

Here is a list of the rest of the deals that I picked up.

5 - boxes Comtrex $5.99 ea. minus 5 - $3 MQ and 5 - $3 walgreens coupons from Healthy Savings booklet (took off $15)

5 - boxes Wheat Thins 5/$10 minus $1 MQ and 2 - $1/2 MQs and scanned $1/2 walgreens coupon from Diabetes booklet (took $2.5 off)

2 - boxes Sugar Free Theraflu 2/$10 minus $2 walgreens coupon from Diabetes booklet (took off $4) there is a MQ out for $3 off 2 Theraflu products (I forgot to pull mine)

2 - boxes Triaminic Sever Fever $1.69 ea. minus 2 - $1.50 MQ and scanned $2 walgreens coupon from Healthy Savings booklet (took off $3.38)

1 - Carnation Coffee Mate $3.79

My total after all coupons was $11.24.

I received $3 RR for Nabisco crackers, $3 RR for Theraflu, and $4 RR for the Triaminic.

So this trip cost me $1.24 for everything.

We are set on cold medicine and dinner plates.

Menu Planning Monday

Well it has certainly been a long time since I posted last. I have been dealing with a lot of craziness at my house and am finally feeling more in control. With the upcoming holidays, menu planning is going to be a huge part of keeping stress at bay. I hope you will join me and your holidays are truly a joy.



We are definitely in the mood for a change in our menus. I have scoured my magazines for some great inspiration and am looking forward to this weeks menu.



Monday - BBQ Pork Sandwiches (made with sliced leftover Spice-rubbed Pork Loin from Sunday), chips and fresh fruit



Tuesday - Maple-Walnut Chicken w/wild rice and sauteed spinach



Wednesday - Sizzling Shrimp Quesadillas w/shredded romaine, guacamole, and black beans



Thursday - Thanksgiving Dinner with all the trimmings



Friday - Jamika's Salmon with Pineapple Salsa, basmati rice, and fresh spinach salad



Saturday - Dinner out after church



Sunday - leftover night

I hope after looking at the recipe links you are inspired to try one of these recipes. I know that seafood can sometimes be expensive but I often pick up ez peel shrimp for $3.99 a pound. A pound of shrimp is all you need for a family of four. The rest of the ingredients for the quesadilla can be picked up fairly inexpensively. This is a restaurant quality meal for a fraction of the cost. As we get close to the winter season, the price of salmon has come down and my daughter has asked for salmon this week (I'm always happy to oblige a request when I can).

I will be posting a couple of recipes that we made last week and really enjoyed. One of those recipes uses canned tuna (which is a stockpile staple) and won ton wrappers. Stop by tomorrow to take a peek at these recipes.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

For more menu plans, hop on over to the Org Junkies Menu Plan Monday post.

Crock Pot Wednesdays - Mexican Pulled Pork

Debbie from Dining With Debbie left a comment on my Menu Planning Monday post and here is my response. A very delicious and super easy Mexican Pulled Pork recipe for the Crock Pot.

3-6 pounds of pork (we use pork tenderloin when it is on sale)
1 can cola (no diet please)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cinnamon sticks or sub 2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic (whole or chopped)

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

We shred the meat and use it two different ways. First, we add bbq sauce to some shredded meat and make pulled pork sandwiches. Then a couple nights later we use some of the shredded meat to make burritos with rice and black beans (we heat up a drained can with a 1/4 cup of salsa). This recipe is a family favorite and great for those nights my son has a football game.

If you'd like to see how others use their crock pots to make life easy, please visit Dining with Debbie's Crock Pot Wednesdays.

Menu Planning Monday

Last week life happened and the menu plan was not followed to the T. My sons football game ran really late because of rain and lightning. I had the black beans and chicken in the crock pot. My daughter had that for dinner since she stayed home to work on her homework (high school has been a killer). I ate at the game and grabbed Chick fil a for my son on the way back to the school to pick him up. It was 9 o'clock by the time he got to eat something. Sean and I had leftovers the next night and Jessica had a frozen dinner with some fruit. We all really liked the Black Bean and Chicken burritos and will make them again.


Thursday we ended up having frozen fish fillets, mac and cheese, and canned peas (all from the stockpile).


Friday we had a Birdseye Garlic Shrimp and Pasta skillet meal (again from the stockpile).


Saturday rolled around and my daughter was dying for something make from scratch. We eat out after church on Saturday nights. So I told her she could make chili and cornbread for lunch. We altered a recipe to use what we had on hand and came up with Canadian Maple Turkey Chili. I honestly believe that this is the best chili we have ever eating or made. If you try it come back and let us know what you think.


Now Sunday we decided to make the Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter and Creamy Farfalle with Bacon, Tomato and Peas from Wednesday's menu.


As you can see not everything got made and some things shifted a bit but everyone was fed.


Sometimes life happens but if you have a well stocked pantry and freezer it is easier to roll with it.


Now for this weeks menu:


Monday-Chicken and Apple sausages with leftover Creamy Farfalle with Bacon, Tomato and Peas, and fruit


Tuesday-North African Meatballs with Couscous and Glazed Carrots


Wednesday-Sleezy Chicken, Green Giant Mixed Veggies w/Cheese, and baked potatoes


Put Sticky Chicken in crockpot and cook for use on Friday.


Thursday-BBQ Pork Chops (copied from Simple Frugal in Canada), Ranch Mashed Potatoes, and Broccoli


BBQ Pork chops


Enough pork chops to feed your family (you can also use ribs)
Your favourite BBQ sauce (we like Bullseye)
Onion, cut into rings


Place onion rings on the bottom of the slow cooker. Place pork on top of the onions. Pour enough BBQ sauce over top the pork to coat every piece. Cover. Cook on low for about 5-6 hours.


Friday-Creamy Spinach and Chicken Enchiladas, black beans and a side salad


Saturday-Dinner out after church


Sunday Supper-Leftovers or homemade pizza

Thanks for stopping by.

If you want to see what others have on their menus, hop over to Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday Link Up.

Splenda Coupon

If you like Splenda, you can find some great coupons here. With the upcoming holiday baking season just around the corner, I wanted to share this link with you now. You can print 2 coupons per computer.

The Best Chili Ever - Canadian Maple Turkey Chili

I just finished having a bowl of the best chili my daughter and I have ever made. We wanted to make the recipe from the Dinner Survival cookbook but did not have everything for the recipe. So, we decided to wing it. Following is the recipe we came up with.

1 to 1 1/4 lbs. lean ground turkey

6 slices bacon cooked in the microwave on paper towels, about 4 minutes or until done

1 onion, diced

2 ribs celery, sliced

8 oz. container of white mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

1/2 of a green bell pepper, diced

1/2 of a 1 lb bag of baby carrots, chopped

2 to 4 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

ground pepper to taste

1/2 ground ancho chili powder, less if you don't like spicy food (you can substitute ground cayenne pepper)

1 Tbsp tomato paste (we use a tube because it is easier to store)

1 small can Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes

1 can cannellini beans (mix with 1/4 c. bbq sauce and 2 tbsps molasses) or 1 can baked beans

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 can of corn, drained (save the other have to put in cornbread)


Put 1 to 2 Tbsps oil in dutch oven or large pot. Heat over high heat and add ground turkey. When meat is browned add the onion, celery, carrot and mushrooms. Cook 1 to 2 minutes to soften vegetables, then add maple syrup, salt, pepper and spices. Cook for 3 more minutes, then add tomato paste, canned tomatoes, baked bean mixture, corn, and ketchup. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes.

This chili goes great with homemade cornbread. We follow the recipe on the canister of cornmeal and add the leftover 1/2 can of corn. We mix up the cornbread while the vegetables are cooking.

I hope you will try this recipe and let us know what you think.

For more great recipes, you can visit The Groery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

"Release Your Inner Gloria" House Party

I was chosen to be a finalist in the "Release Your Inner Gloria" House Party. This House Party is sponsored by Glory Foods. It combines my three favorite things southern food, family and friends. In my opinion this is a winning combination.

I have done one other House Party in the past and have been impressed with the quality of the party packs. The best thing about these party packs is there is no charge to you. They send you gifts of the product and coupons to share with your guest.

Here is a picture of the party pack that I received for the "Release Your Inner Gloria" House Party.

If you'd like a chance to host your own House Party sign up here.

Good Luck and let me know what House Party you are selected for.

A Little Fun At Target

I went to Target to pick up some of the great with coupon deals. It's trips like this that make it worth the time to go.

I used the Huggies coupon printed from this link. It is good on any Huggies diapering product. The wipes were $2.39 - $2 printable coupon.

I used the Hasbro coupons printed from this link for the games. I used the coupons on the travel games found in the luggage area of Target. I will be donating these to a toy drive or the Rainbow Room mentioned in this post.

I price matched the Skippy PB with Walgreens ad for $1.66 (go to customer service for this) and used $1 off target coupons found here.

For the Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls I used the $1/2 insert coupon from 8-30-09 and (4) $1 Target coupons printed from here.

The coupons for the Chef Michael's came from several source. Some were found in previous bags already used. I had two Target coupons from an insert and a coupon printed from here. I also used coupons from the 10-11-09 SS insert.

The $2 Rimmel Mascara coupon came from the 8-23-09 RP insert making the total for the mascara only $.29. There is also a coupon in the November issue of All You.

The orange juice and Cheerios coupons were printed on the bottom of previous receipts.

My total out of pocket for this trip was $13.42.

A Time to Give

One of the reasons that I work at saving is so that I can give to others. Not very long ago, I was involved with a backpack stuffing project for under resourced children. I met Terri from Montgomery County CPS. She was telling us about a project called Rainbow Room. This is a room that they hope to have filled with supplies that the CPS workers can pull from to fill needs of children recently taken from their homes. I asked Terri what types of things they were in need of. She said, "Believe it or not, toothbrushes and toothpaste would be nice." You can only imagine how that spoke to me being an avid couponer. I told Terri I would love to help in this area.

It was to my great delight that Walgreens started having awesome deals on toothbrushes with Register Rewards. In less than a month, I have collected 30+ toothbrushes and about 20 full size toothpaste. I have been putting these in a box along with other items that I have found a great deal on. I really can't wait until I met with Terri to hand over this box.

So, as you can see you don't have to look very far for children who really need your help. This is just one way your desire to save money can help others.

For more inspiration head over to Saving and Giving and see what others are doing for A Time to Give.

Kraft Cheese Coupon

I was reading through some of my usually list of blogs and noticed that Marcy over at Stretching a Buck had posted a link to a new Kraft Cheese coupon. I love reading other blogs because not every person can post about every deal/coupon available. I try to pick some of my favorites to pass on to you. If you find a great deal or coupon, please feel free to leave me a comment. I always read them and try to respond after reading them.

When there is a coupon for Kraft Cheese make sure you print them right away. This one is for $1 off 2. You can print 2 per computer. Thanks, Stretching a Buck.

Menu Planning Monday

Well I haven't posted a menu in a couple of weeks and it is time to get back into the swing of things. The first week I didn't post we were mainly eating from the stockpile (frozen meals and easy throw togethers). The second week I just wrote it down in a notebook and never got back to post it. This week I feel like we need to be a little more organized, so this is what's on the menu.



Monday - Porkchops, Baked Acorn Squash, side salad and rolls

Tuesday - Black bean and chicken burritos (slow cooker) - This is a recipe received in a feed for Melissa's Bargain Blog. I thought we would try it today because my son has a football game tonight. Quick and Easy is the name of the game tonight.

Ingredients:

1 taco/fajita seasoning packet

2 cans black beans, drained

2-3 chicken breasts

1 can green enchilada sauce

Place chicken breasts in bottom of the crockpot and then add remaining ingredients. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken before serving and serve in tortillas. We add cheese, sour cream, etc. to the tortillas. We sometimes add rice (cooked rice to the mixture once we're ready to serve, not in the crockpot!). This is also really good if you use beef instead of the chicken!

Wednesday - Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter and Creamy Farfalle with Bacon, Tomato and Peas with a side salad

Thursday - Chili with cornbread and fruit

Friday - Chipotle Chicken Pizza, salad and fruit

Saturday - Dinner out after church

Sunday Supper - Braised Short Ribs with Carrots and Onions over Creamy Polenta (we have made Rachael Ray's version with Beets but it was to much work with the fresh beets and not everyone liked them)

I hope you find something worth trying this week. I personally am looking forward to Tuesdays dinner.

For more inspiration hop over to the Org Junkies Menu Plan Monday link up.

One Hot Artist

Michael Buble` - Haven't Met You Yet"

You just have to love a music video that takes place in a grocery store. Michael Buble`'s new music video for "Haven't Met You Yet" is great. I love the upbeat music and the story in the video. You can check it out for yourself here. Come back and tell me what you think.

I think that all grocery stores should play this while we shop. I think it will be my new theme song when I'm looking for a bargain.

Randalls: Cheap Cereal and Free Kleenex

Today, I did two transactions at Randalls on Tuesday and ended up with everything in the picture for only $4.10 . The Promotion ended 10/06. If they do it again I will post to let you know. I didn't find out about it until Tuesday morning. Here are my transactions:

Transaction #1

4 boxes Raisin Bran $9.96

1 box Cocoa Krispies $2.49

3 boxes Kleenex $2.97

1 bottle Dial Liquid hand soap $1.00

- $3 off your next order cat.

- $5 instant discount when you buy 5 Kellogg's cereals

- $.35 MQ tripled

- $.50 MQ doubled to $.99

-(2) $2.00/2 MQ for cereal

- $1 MQ for Cocoa Krispies coupon received from Vocal Point

Total oop = $1.57 (Received a $3 cat. off my next order from Kleenex

Transaction #2

2 boxes Raisin Bran $4.98

1 box Cocoa Krispies $2.49

2 boxes Mini Wheats Little Bites $5.98

3 boxes Kleenex $2.97

1 bottle Dial Liquid hand soap $1.00

- $3 off your next order cat.

- $5 instant discount when you buy 5 Kellogg's cereals

- $.35 MQ tripled

- $.50 MQ doubled

- (2)$2.oo/2 MQ for cereal

- $1.00 MQ for Cocoa Krispies received from Vocal Point

Total oop = $2.53

We are definitely stocked up on cereal for a year. I will be donating future purchases and rotating stockpile if I pick up any more cereal.

I believe that Kellogg's and General Mills are just getting started with these offers so hang on to those coupons. Always stock up at the lowest prices. Don't worry if you missed this sale, another one will be just around the corner.

Have a great day and remember to, "Pay it Forward."

To view more great shopping trips checkout The Suburban Jungle, Southern Savers, The Grocery Cart Challenge, Money Saving Mom and Coupon Geek.

New Procter & Gamble Magazine: Free

I received an email this morning from P&G. They had sent me a preview copy of their new magazine, Rouge. I like the magazine very much and it had some great P&G coupons. The magazine is free and you can sign up to receive yours here.

Have a great day.

Coupon Updates

New Cellfire coupons are available today. If you load them to one card early in the cycle and use them, they will be available to load on your other loyalty card. I loaded most of them to my Randalls card and will use them soon. Then I will load them to my Kroger card.

I want to let you know that there are many Hasbro coupons ranging from $2 - $10 off Plaskool toys. These are bound to go on sale soon. Keep an eye on your store fliers and check back here to see if I find any great deals. Print as many as you can and pass them out if you can't use them. With the holidays right around the corner, think toy drives and Angel Trees, these will help stretch our giving dollars and put a lot of smiles on children's faces. You can find these coupons here or by clicking on the Coupons.com button in my sidebar.

If you find any great deals on these toys please feel free to share in the comments section.

Free Redbox Rental Today

Here's the Free Redbox Rental Code for this month, QNGJ7KD. It will be good for one nights free rental until midnight tonight. Enjoy.

Spend A Little Time Visiting Healthy Choice For High $ Coupons

When you visit the Healthy Choice site here you can print 2 of each high $ coupon for a total of 4 coupons. If you have more than one computer, you can print these coupons 2 times each per computer. These coupons can make for some really cheap/possibly free lunches. I've tried the frozen Sweet Asian Potstickers and they were fabulous.

Spend A Little On Joint Juice And Save A Lot On Everything Else

I made 5 separate transactions today a 2 Randalls and got everything in the above picture for only $14.79 out of pocket. I still have a $10 cat. and a $3 cat. leftover to use for something else. So it is really like I only paid $1.79.

Here's a list of my transactions and coupons that were used.

#1

3 boxes Kleenex tissue (110 ct) @ $.99 ea - 1 -$.50 mq from insert (expires 9/30)

Total OOP=$2.12 (received $3 cat.)

#2

7 bottles of Joint Juice @ $1.39 ea

3 boxes Kleenex tissue (110 ct) @ $.99 ea - 1 -$.50mq from insert (expires 9/30)

Used $3 cat. from first transaction

Total OOP=$8.95 (receive $10 cat. for Joint Juice, $3 cat. for Kleenex and a coupon for $5 off the purchase of 7 bottles of Joint Juice)

#3

7 bottles of Joint Juice @ $1.39 ea - $5 off 7 cat.

3 boxes Kleenex tissue (110) @ $.99 ea

1 loaf Ciabatta Bread from bakery @ $2.09 - $1 off Randalls coupon found here

2 pkgs of Turkey Store Lean Ground Turkey @$4.99 B1G1 - 2 - $1 off mqs

Used $10 cat. from second transaction

Total OOP=$1.13 (received $10 cat. for Joint Juice, $3 cat. for Kleenex and a coupon for $5 off the purchase of 7 bottles of Joint Juice)

#4

1 BC Warm Delights @ $1.50 - $.50 cellfire ecoupon and $.50 shortcuts ecoupon and a $.50 mq from insert

1 BC Chocolate Cookies @ $2.50 - 3 - $.40 cellfire ecoupons, and $.40 mq from insert

2 Capri Sun Lemonade @ $2.50 ea - 2 Free mq from cereal deal last week at Randalls

7 bottles of Joint Juice @ $1.39 ea - $5 off 7 coupon from tranaction 3

3 boxes Kleenex (110 ct) @ $.99 ea - $.50 mq from insert (expires 9/30)

1 Fresh Pet Select @ $2.49

9 Yoplait individual yogurts @ $.55 ea - 3 ecoupons for $.50, $.40mq and $.60mq

2 #2 bags of baby carrots @ $3.49 B1G1 - $1 Randalls coupon found here

Used $10 cat. and $3 cat. from third transaction

Total OOP=$.70 (received a $10 cat. from Joint Juice, $3 cat. from Kleenex and a coupon for $5 off the purchase of 7 bottles of Joint Juice)

#5

3 boxes Kleenex (110 ct) @ $.99 ea - $.50 mq from insert (expires (9/30)

1 Fresh Pet @ $2.49 - Free coupon from insert

1 Birds Eye Steam Fresh @ $1.50 - $.50 mq from insert

1 box Yoplait Yo Plus @ $2.50 - $1 mq from insert

1 granny smith apple @ $.40

1 gala apple @ $.35

Used $3 cat. from fourth transaction

Total OOP=$1.89 (received a $3 cat. from Kleenex)

I want to thank Erin over at Jane4girls $800 Annual Budget for the post about the Joint Juice catalina deal at Randalls.

I also would like to thank Tiffany over at My Litter of Six for the post about the Kleenex catalina deal at Randalls.

You can go to this post for links to printable coupons and ecoupons.

To view more great shopping trips, head over to Coupon Geek, Southern Savers, Money Saving Mom and The Grocery Cart Challenge.

A Great Post I Wanted To Share

This is a great post. The post is about a husband's new found perspective. I often hear from my husband that we don't need 10+ boxes of cereal. He doesn't really understand the whole stockpile concept. It's kind of like the stock market...buy at the lowest price and never at full price. Our grocery bill is getting lower every month and we could live off of our stockpile it we needed to. I think he will come around by Christmas when our bill doesn't go up. I also like sharing with friends and family.

Bumble Bee's MyCookbook

I received an invitation to sign-up for Bumble Bee's MyCookbook today. I received a link to print a $1 off coupon for Bumble Bee's Easy Peel Sensations Tuna Medley. They will send me a menu plan and a $1 coupon each week for 4 weeks. We love tuna and I am looking forward to trying some of their other products.

You can follow this link to sign-up to receive recipes, menu plans, and $1 off coupons for the next four weeks.

Menu Addition

We didn't have enough leftovers for dinner on Friday so we made this recipe instead.

It's called Farmhouse Chicken Dinner. We really liked it and we had everything already at home. We had a side salad and dinner rolls with it. So next time you don't have enough leftovers, check a few websites and see what you can make with what you already have at home.

Great Coupon...Hurry it Won't Last!

Here's a new link to Nature Valley Nut Clusters coupons for $1.60 off purchase of one.

This link runs out fast. Print 2 per computer. These are great for the GM sale at Randalls (Safeway).

Menu Planning Monday

Having a menu plan for each week makes my week run a lot smoother. Especially during football season. My son Sean plays on Monday nights, so you will see a lot of prep ahead meals for Monday's dinner. Sunday we doubled the recipe for the Garlic and Rosemary Meatballs in Red Sauce from last weeks menu. We had it over buttered egg noodles Sunday night and used the leftover meatballs and sauce in hot dog buns with shredded mozzarella tonight(Monday). This made for a very easy post game meal without hitting the drive-thru. I will post this recipe tomorrow. If y'all have any great two for one recipes please feel free to leave them in the comment section or post a link to them.

The Big Boy Sugo turned out good. We made a few changes to the original recipe and I will post it tomorrow. I does take a little time to prepare. I would recommend making it on the weekend when you won't feel too rushed. The flavors of this dish are very good. It is even better the second day and reheats well.

Finally, my favorite new side dish is the Not Potato Salad. It has roasted red peppers in it and I really love those. The recipe uses gnocchi instead of potatoes. I really enjoyed the texture of the gnocchi. Even my son, who dislikes all things potatoes, gobbled up this side dish. I will be making this again.

Now for this weeks menu.

Monday-Leftover Garlic and Rosemary Meatballs in Red Sauce on hot dog buns, chips, and cantaloupe

Tuesday-Chicken Enchilada Casserole with all the fixing's and sliced apples

Wednesday-Steaks, baked potatoes, and salad

Thursday-Parmesan-Dijon Chicken, angel hair pasta w/pesto, Basil-Red Pepper Muffins, and salad

Friday-Cinnamon-Apple Pork Chops, Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes, and salad

Saturday-Dinner Out after church

Sunday Supper-Dinner-Size Texas Chili Cheese Fries (a request of my daughter's that I agreed to since Dad will be out of town) and fruit

I know what you're thinking. I told you, just a few minutes ago, how much Sean dislikes potatoes. In my defense, I am not trying to torment the poor boy. My theory is that I keep offering the detested veggie in hopes that someday that he will enjoy them. As of right now, he likes baked potatoes and steak fries. The Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes is a new recipe for us. I will let you know whether it gets a thumbs up or down from Sean next week.

Are there any veggie detesters in your household? How do you get your kids to eat their veggies?

If you would like to take a peek at what others have on their menus this week head over to Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie.

Randalls Shopping Trip Breakdown

Good morning everyone. I hope you are ready for this breakdown. It's a little crazy and will be hard to replicate because of all the extra loadables that came off this trip. I love that the Randalls system takes off multiples but you can never really predict what your total will be. I always plan on a little overage and buy a few things that I never have many coupons for (produce, meat, etc.). Here is a list of my purchases and how the coupons came off.

1 Chex Mix $2 - 2x 50cent ecoupons - 50cent mq insert
2 BC Fruit Roll Ups $2.50 ea - 2x 50cent shortcuts (ecoupons) - 50cent cellfire (ecoupon) - $1 mq
2 GM Cocoa Puffs $2.50 ea - 75cent shortcuts - 2x $1 mq IP(Internet printable)
12 Nature Valley Nut Clusters $2.50 ea -3x $1 ecoupons - 3x 40cent ecoupons - 12x $1.60 mq received from Pssst (I will be handing these out to friends and neighbors to get their opinions)
2 Pillsbury Cinnamon Mini Bites $1.89 ea - $1 shortcuts - 40cent shortcuts - $1 IP
2 Grands Biscuits (small cans) $1.49 ea - 2x $1 shortcuts - $1 IP
1 Toaster Strudel $2.50 - $1 IP
2 Green Giant Steamers $2 ea - 50cent IP
1 Kid Cuisine frozen dinner $2.50 - 3x $1 shortcuts
1 Yoplait Yo Plus $2.50 - 2x $1 cellfire -$1 mq
1 OM Bacon $3
2.19 lbs bananas $1.07
.79 lb Roma tomatoes $1.18
2.05 lbs red grapes $$1.99
5lb bag potatoes $2.19

4x $4 off GM Cereal deal

All these deductions brought my total down to $8.37

My total savings at the bottom of my receipt was 91% or $86.12

I also received a catalina for a free box of Capri Sun and found a $5 giftcard in one of the boxes of Cocoa Puffs.

If you would like to see a picture of this shopping trip you can read my post here.

Spend A Little Time With Swag Bucks Today!!

Fridays are Mega Swag Bucks Day. You have a chance to earn big with every search you do on Fridays. Swag Bucks gives out 10,000 swagbucks in Mega amounts of 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, and even 100.

I also highly recommend that you install their toolbar this month TSG(the Swag Guy) gives you an extra swagcode each day in September. I have earned over 40 swagbucks between my regular searches and redeeming the code he gives out each day.

If you haven't signed up yet, please use the Swag Bucks Link in my sidebar. This really helps me out. We both get credit for the first 100 swagbucks that you earn. When you sign up they will start you out with 3 swagbucks right away.

Thanks for your support and Happy Mega Swag Bucks Friday.

Spend A Little At Randalls And Save A Lot

With a little preparation, loading ecoupons, printing Internet coupons and finding the ones from Sundays inserts I was able to get everything in the pictures for only $8.37. My total before sales and coupons was over $94. I will list the deals for you a little later today. For now you can go to this post for the links to printable coupons and the ecoupon sites (load all coupons for products in the picture).

Here is a picture of everything I bought today at

Randalls.

This is the $5 gift card that was inside one of the

boxes of Coco Puffs cereal.

For more great grocery trips head over to The Grocery Cart Challenge.

How We Deal With Moving

It is truly hard to uproot your family and go somewhere you've never been. I have officially moved my family 4 times since 9-11 and no we are not military. We are in the burger business. God has been very good to us. I have two children and my oldest was in 1st grade when we started all this. She is now a freshman in high school. I always told my children and everyone who asked "How do you do it?" "We grow where we are planted."

My children have seen many things and places that they might not have if we would have stayed put in Texas. We moved to Gilbert, AZ first and so they have been to the Grand Canyon. They have also been to San Diego and San Francisco. We use to drive everywhere when we lived in Houston, Texas. And it would take us a day just to get out of Texas, so I don't believe we would have ever ventured to California. They have also lived near the beach in Corpus Christi because of one of these moves. And we have lived in West Texas in the very family oriented town of Midland. We have loved all of these place and had great adventures but we are glad to be back home in Houston, Texas.

Things have come full circle for us and we are Happy were we are planted.

Procter & Gamble $35 Coupon Booklet

Procter & Gamble is offering a new coupon booklet and it will probably have a coupon for a free item. I the past it has been for a free bottle of dishwasher rinse agent ($3+ value). It has always been worth my time to fill out the address form. Go here to get yours. It says it will take 6-8 weeks due to high demand but I always get mine in couple of weeks.

Great New Coupons!!

Go here to print the following coupons.

$.25 off of Dole Juice products

$.25 off of 20 oz. Pepsi

$.25 off of Sobe Lifewater

You can print each of theses coupons twice.

Remember to "Pay it Forward."

Tell your friends to come visit me to get their coupons.

Chance to Win Free Groceries For a Year!!

I just found out about this great sweepstakes on The Suburban Jungle.


You can enter the "It Pays To Eat Pasta Sweepstakes" here. You may enter once each day until October 30th of 2009.

Prizes:

8 Grand Prizes of free groceries for a year ($5200)
42 First Place prizes of a mini grocery spree ($200)

With coupons and sales we could easily turn $5200 into $10,400 or more. If I win, I will post all my shopping trips to see how far that $5200 will go.

Target And Savings Go Hand In Hand

When I saw the Target ad in this past Sunday's newspaper, I knew that we would be making a trip to Target. You see, Jessica loves Kashi products and is always on the lookout for a good deal. We have been saving some peelies from a month ago for a sale just like this one.

When you buy 5 Kashi products you will receive a $5 gift card. You can do this deal as many times as you want (no limit). I did 2 deals and split it up into 2 transactions along with a few other items. Here are my transactions.

1st Transaction

4-Johnson's Buddies $1.02 ea. - (4)$1 mq from 9/13 inserts(Johnson's Any)
4-Market Place cheese sticks $.40 ea - (2)$1 Target coupon found here
5-Kashi waffles $1.83 ea - (5)$1 mq peelies found on packages of Kashi cereal last month (still some out there)

Total after coupons was $4.24.

I paid with a $5 gift card from a previous week and owed nothing. I then received a $5 gift card.

2nd Transaction

1-Sara Lee Soft and Smooth loaf of bread $1.99 - $1 mq received in a Wizards of Waverly Place House Party kit.
1-Kashi cookie $2.88 - $1 mq peelie
2-Kashi granola bars $2.88 ea - (2)$1 mq peelie
1-Kashi cereal $2.88 - $1.50 mq
1-Kashi waffles $1.83 - $1 mq peelie

Total after coupons was $8.84.

I paid with $.74 left on gift card use in previous transaction and used the $5 gift card earned in the last transaction. That left me owing a grand total of only $3.08 for all these item.

And then I received a $5 gift card to use later.

Menu Planning Monday

Last weeks menu was a great success. The Hoisin Chicken Wraps on last weeks menu was definitely a family favorite and will be repeated before the year is over. The fish taco menu was also very yummy. Jessica especially liked the green rice. We thought that the Spicy Ginger-and-Orange Chicken with Broccoli was not spicy enough. We will add some crushed red pepper flakes the next time we make that one. We only used a 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper this time.



This week my son Sean has his first football game of the season. He is in 7th grade and we are very excited for him. Because we don't know exactly when we'll be home, sloppy joes will be on the menu. Reheating that will make for a quick gamenight meal.



We are using proteins we already have in the freezer to keep the grocery budget down a little this week. Because we had a lot of chicken last week, I have decided to really mixup the menu this week. I hope you are ready. It's going to be a good one.



Monday-Sloppy Joes

Tuesday-Mexican Turkey Casserole

Wednesday-Big Boy Sugo over egg noodles, green beans and rolls (The recipe for the Sugo is from Rachal Ray's Big Orange Book cookbook. After we try it, I will type it up if we feel like it was worth the time it takes to make.)

Thursday-Chicken Sausages, Not Potato Salad, and Cantelope

Friday-Leftover Night

Saturday-Dinner Out after church

Sunday-Garlic and Rosemary Meatballs in Red Sauce, eggnoodles, and salad

After reading our menu plan, I hope your mouth is watering and you are ready to try something new.

Have you tried any new recipes recently that your family liked? If so, feel free to leave a comment and share some of your favorites.

For more great menu options you can visit Laura over at Org Junkie.

Mexican Turkey Casserole

2 tablespoons oil (we use extra-virgin olive oil)
1 pound ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 bag of baby carrots, sliced into small pieces
1 small zucchini, diced
2 tablespoons of canned diced green chiles (put the rest in a baggie and throw in the freezer for another recipe)
10 oz. frozen corn
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Zest and Juice of 1 lime
12 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, removed from skin, pitted and chopped for topping
1 head of lettuce, shredded
Salsa (optional)

Preheat oven to 375*F.

Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and brown for 4 minutes, breaking up as it cooks. Season the meat with chili powder and cumin. Add next six ingredients and cook for 8 more minutes. Next, stir in the chiles, corn, and beans and heat through. Check the seasoning and add more if you like. Stir in the chicken stock and cook for and additional 2 minutes. Take pan off the heat and stir in the cilantro, 1 tsp of the lime zest, and the lime juice.

Put half the mixture in a 13 x 9 baking dish, top with 6 corn tortillas and repeat. Top with shredded cheese and bake 7 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Top each serving with lettuce, tomato and avocado. Put salsa on the table for those who like it spicy.

For more great recipes you can go to the Recipe Swap over at The Grocery Cart Challege.

EAT THAT FROG

FRIDAY!!

This is my first official post for, "Eat That Frog Friday!!" I hope you will join me each Friday to see how much of my frog I have eaten. Now before you go getting all squeamish on me, know that I am not talking about a real frog. I am talking about an unpleasant task that I have put off for the past two years. This task has taken on a life of its own and in essence has multiplied.

Well, today is the day that I say no more. I plan to eat this frog once and for all. You may be wondering how one goes about eating a frog. Simply put, "One bite at a time."

And now ladies and gentlemen to show you in pictures what words could not possibly describe.

This was to be my own private sanctuary. My craft room that has become a catchall for my husbands castoffs. There were several TVs that didn't have a home in this house. So he put them in here. Then there was a filling cabinet that he wanted out of his workout room closet. It too found a home here. Unwanted pictures also found a spot on my craft room flour. He has many times asked me when I am planning on working in my craft room. As you can see, I barely have room to turn around much less work.

Well today is the day that I start eating this frog and I hope you will come back weekly to see my progress. Please feel free to leave comments on my progress or any suggestions you may have.

Do you have a Frog that you're ready to Eat? If you do, feel free to link up with the Mister Linky below.

She Shops...She Scores!! - Another great trip @ Target

Target is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to score bargains and freebies. I am able to get things that my family needs and wants at bargain basement prices. This week I purchase stuff for my son's lunches (he takes everyday), dog food and treats, more candles and ice cream. I really wanted to post this so you too could get in on some of the bargains.

Here's my list:

4-Glade Scented oil tins $1.66 ea - 4 mq for $1.50

6-Glade Scented oil refills $2.50 ea - 4 mq (buy holder get refill free) and 2 mq (buy 2 refills get 1 free)

1-Bounce Dryer Bar $3.74 - 1 mq for $2.50 from Vocal Point and 1 Target coupon for $.75

1-Tide 20oz. Stain Release $3.79 - 1 mq for $1.50 and 1 Target coupon for $1.50

2-Hillshire Farms lunch meat $3.04 ea - 2 Target coupons for $1 ea

4-Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers 2 @ $2.15 ea and 2 @ $2.54 ea - 4 mq for $2 ea

4-Healthy Choice Frozen Entrees $2.04 ea - 4 mq for $2 ea

2-Artisan Petite loafs $.99 ea - 2 Target coupons for $1 ea

2-Single cups Cheerios for $.95 ea - 2 Target coupons for $1 ea

1-Loaf of Sara Lee bread $1.99 - Tear pad coupon for a free loaf of Sara Lee bread when you buy 2 pkgs of Hillshire lunch meat

5-containers of Edy's/Dreyers ice cream $2.50 ea - 5 mq for $1 ea and 5 Target coupons for $1 ea ( Your Target may only let you use 1 Target coupon for the ice cream per transaction. ) Be prepared to do 5 transactions if you have to. The register will take them off if the cashier will let you use them.

1-Schick Intuition Plus Razor $8.29 - $4 mq and $4 Target q from inserts

1-Cesar dog treats $3.99 - $1mq and $1 Target q ( register took $3.99 off for the treats instead of the wet dog food which was $.89) the best I can tell is because this is the first coupon that I handed the cashier and it took off the most expensive Cesar product. The coupon was for B1G1 free wet Cesar dog food.

2-Cesar wet dog food $.89 ea - B1G1 Target q and B1G1 mq (always give the mq first and then the Target q or the register will beep and say item not found)

Total OOP = $13.62

All of the manufacturer coupons came out of Sunday inserts except for the Healthy Choice coupons. They were Internet printable (IP) coupons that you can print from here. You can print 2 of each coupon per computer. I have 2 computers so I was able to print 4 of each.

If you want to print multiples of the Target coupons that didn't come from inserts (cheerios, artisan bread, ice cream, etc.) you can go here. Some of these coupons expire on the 12th of this month so you will need to hurry.

This was a really fun trip and I hope you are able to get in on some of the deals. Let me know how your trip works out. I love when others are able to score fantastic deals.

Remember to, "Pay it Forward."

Menu Planning Monday

Welcome back y'all. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday weekend.


Well from looking at what my daughter and I have planned for meals this week, it is the week of the chicken. We've thrown in one fish night for good measure and to throw a curve ball to the guys when they say, "What's for dinner, chicken?" LOL. Can't wait for that one.


As you have probably noticed, we don't repeat a lot of meals often. We like variety and we never get bored trying new recipes. We will pull out a few of our favorite fall and winter recipes from last year. For the most part we will have at least a few recipes that you have not tried. We will always update you the following week if we made any changes to the recipes used.


This week we were in the mood for food with a lot of flavor. I guess it's that whole going from summer to fall transition. We are in the mood for comfort food and our comfort food has a lot of flavor. I am so excited about the fall and winter recipes. I hope y'all will check back to see what we're cooking.

There were no changes to last weeks recipes. We liked everything except the slaw recipe from friday.


Monday-Labor Day Family Get Together


Tuesday-Hoisin Chicken Wraps and sugar snap peas


Wednesday-Bourbon Orange Skillet BBQ Chicken with Cornbread Topper and a side salad


Thursday-Spicy Ginger-and-Orange Chicken with Broccoli, rice and egg rolls


Friday-Fish Tacos with Quick Slaw, Avocado Sauce and Green Rice


Saturday-Dinner Out after church


Sunday Supper-Old-Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings with a side salad



What are some of your family's favorite recipes? Feel free to leave a link to your favorites or just leave a comment. Maybe will be trying some of your favorites next.

To view more menu plans, head over to Org Junkie.

Super Savings Saturday: Target Spree

I didn't take a picture for this post but it was a great hall. I usually get really frustrated with Target but not this time. Sure they were out of stock on a few items, however as you will see I got my fair share of freebies.

The main reason I went was because of the Intuition Razor deal, my daughter Jessica loves these things. So when I can get them free or really cheap, I stock up. There are manufacturer coupons out for $4 off and there are also Target coupons for $4 off in last weekends inserts. You can stack these two coupons together for some overage. Make sure you give all manufacturer coupons first then hand over the Target coupons. And whatever you do, don't give all your coupons to the cashier if you have a lot. I made this mistake and the cashier got flustered. I know that she missed a couple of my coupons now. It is the price I paid to learn this lesson.

Now on to my shopping trip.

I purchased:

1-Gerber baby bottle = free with Target printable
1-Petite loaf Artisan bread $.99= free with Target printable
1.27 lbs bananas =$.56 (cashier missed this coupon, should have been $.06)
6-Glade Scented Oil Candles refill packs$2.50 ea (5 were free, you guessed it the cashier missed one for $2.50)
4-Glade Scented Oil Tins $1.66 each-$2 off coupon on each for $.34 overage on each
2-Palmolive Pure and Clear $2.49 ea - $.75 mq on each and $1 Target q on each
2-Hillshire Farm Lunchmeat $3.04 ea - $1 Target q on each
1-Bottle good balsamic vinegar $9.69
2-Cheerios single serve cups$1 -$1/2 mq and $1 Target q makes them free
1-Sara Lee bread $1.99= free when you buy 2 Hillshire Farms Lunchmeat tearpad coupon
1-carton Tropicana OJ$2.89 - no coupon
1-16oz International Delights refridgerated coffee creamer$2.04 - $1 IP mq
4-Intuition Razors $6.99 ea - $4 mq each and $4 Target coupon each for $1.01 overage
2-Hefty One Zip trial size bags $1.04 each - $1 mq IP
8-Chef Michael cans of wet dog food $.84 ea - 4 BOGO mg and 4 BOGO Target q


My total for all this was only $17.90.

And I will be sending off for a $2.49 rebate for the Palmolive Pure and Clear.

How did your week go? Did you find any great deals?

I Love CVS!

Yesterday, I decided to pop into CVS to see if they had any of the Glade reed diffusers in stock. Low and behold the very thing I had been searching everywhere for was sitting on the shelf. I had $7 in ECB on hand and a $3 mq for the Glade. I did some quick math in my head and decided that I could purchase the diffuser, a gallon of milk and 1 box of the Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies with very little out of pocket. Here's what the purchase looked like...

1-Glade reed difuser($6.99-$3mq=$3.99) and receive $6.99 ECB

1-box Nabisco Nutter Butter cookies(on sale for $1)

1-gallon of milk on sale for $2.49 and receive $1 ECB

The total after coupons was $7.48 plus tax

I paid with the $7 ECB and .52 cents cash.

Not bad for milk and cookies. The diffuser was a bonus.

I received a $6.99 ECB and a $1 ECB back. They paid me to take the cookies and milk.

Remember to, "Pay it Forward."

Stocking Up On Snacks at Walgreens

I've been holding onto my BOGO free coupons for Reeses and it finally paid off. Walgreens is offering a free 20oz Coke Zero with the purchase of 2 Hershey candy bars. Reeses is a part of this deal. So, here is what I got today.

4-Coke Zero 20oz for free

4-Reeses regular size for free w/BOGO coupon

4-Reeses regular size @ 89cents minus 4-55cents mq

3-Arizona Tea 16oz with in ad coupon for 50cents each

1-Colgate 360 toothbrush minus 40 cents mq

Used 2-$2 RR to reduce oop.

Total oop after coupons and RRs=$1.09

Received a $3 RR to use on my next purchase.

If You Love Blue Bunny Ice Cream...

Blue Bunny is offering a TMF (that's try me free) offer for Labor Day weekend. You can purchase either the Aspen or Sedona Ice Cream Novelty from Blue Bunny this weekend. Print out this rebate form and send it in with your dated cash register receipt, dated for sometime this weekend (September 5th-7th, 2009). Be sure to fill out and send off your rebate offer right away since the time period is short.

Enjoy some cool treats over this holiday weekend.

Thanks Kimberly over at Just Frugalicious.