Menu Planning Monday

Last weeks menu was enjoyed by all. The Pecan Crusted Salmon may be a new family favorite. The crust is a mixture of dried breadcrumbs, crushed pecans, grated ginger and shallot. It was very tasty.

My daughter is actually teaching me a thing or two about saving. Yesterday she asked me if we could freeze leftover stock. We buy the stock in the box because we like the slow cooked taste. She hates when we have to throw away stock after 10 days of sitting in the fridge. I told her of course we could freeze the stock in ice cube trays. After they're frozen, we can put the stock cubes in a freezer bag for later use. It really kills me that I didn't think to do this sooner. We've wasted a lot of stock this summer. We don't have a problem in the winter. We make a lot of soups and dishes that require stock.

Anyway, on to the menu plan for this week.

Monday-Chicken Spaghetti, Rosemary Scones, and a side salad

Tuesday-Canadian Maple Turkey Chili w/cornbread

Wednesday-Pork and Pineapple Curry w/rice and Balsamic Nutty Green Beans

Thursday-Leftovers

Friday-Sweet 'n' Sour Sirloin Stir-Fry w/Ranch Mashed Potatoes and Sesame Slaw

Saturday-Dinner Out after church

Sunday-Summer Shrimp Rolls, baked beans, and fresh fruit

I hope y'all are inspired to try something new. Let me know if you try one of the recipes and what your family thought.

For more great menu ideas, head over to Org Junkie.

CVS Shopping Trip

I had a great shopping trip this week. I was able to buy a lot of scented oil candles and a pair of Phillips headphones. Here's what I got and how I paid.

6-Scented Oil refills
2-Scented Oil candle holders
2-Glade Sense & Spray
1-pair Phillips headphones (used a rain check to get the sale price of $6.99 + earned $7 ECB)

coupons used:

$4 off $20 coupon from ready fill booklet
4-$1.00 off Scented Oil refills (insert coupon)
2-B2G1 free coupons for the refills (took $2.50 off)
2-$2.00 off Scented Oil candle holders
2-$4.00 off Glade Sense & Spray
1-$8 ECB

Total OOP=$4.28

ECBs earned=$9 for the Glade deal, $7 for the headphones

Become a Taste Tester for Kashi

Yesterday I received a package from Kashi. The package included a sample box of Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal, a coupon for a free full size box of this cereal and several $1.50 off coupons to pass out to friends and family.

My 14 year old daughter couldn't wait to try the cereal this morning. She thinks it is delicious. Being frugal at a very young age, she suggested that we hold on to the coupon until it is about to expire. You might be wondering why she suggested this. The reason is that we currently have 20 boxes of cereal to eat before we add more. She figures if we wait then we can find one with a further out expiration date and it won't get stale. I'm so proud of her. She opens my eyes in so many ways.

If you would like to become a Taste Tester for Kashi then go here and click on Join the Community button. Fill out the registration form. If I remember correctly, after you submit the form there is a little survey and that is where you check the box to join the Taste Tester Panel.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Ever little bit helps, especially when it's a product you know and love. We love the Kashi brand and hope you do too.

Menu Planning Monday...The Late Edition

Hi Everyone,

Sorry about the late post. Last weeks menu worked out great. We made the full recipe for the Turkey Fried Rice and we added frozen peas and some shredded carrot. The Apricot Chicken had a little too strong onion flavor. Next time, we will only use a half package of onion soup mix.

This weeks recipes come mostly from cookbooks we own or have checked out from the library.

Monday - Sloppy Joe mixture w/corn in added put into a casserole and topped with cheese. Take a can of biscuit and cut each in half. Put biscuit around the edges of the casserole and brush with butter then sprinkle them with a mixture of 1 Tbsp cornmeal, 1/2 tsp paprika, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. We served this with shredded lettuce, fresh diced tomatoes, and cubed avocado.

Tuesday - Pecan crusted salmon w/sweet potato fries and steamed broccoli

Wednesday - Sweet Soy Chicken w/rice and asparagus (Recipe from Dinner Survival cookbook)

Thursday - Cranberry and Grainy Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloin w/BLT Potatoes

Friday - Hamburgers and Pasta Salad

Saturday - Dinner out after church.

Sunday - Braised Beef w/Polenta

I will write a few post with recipes from the cookbooks with any changes that we might make.

For more great menu ideas head over to Org Junkie.

The Menu Plan Is Coming...

Sorry, I wasn't able to post my menu plan yesterday. I'm sure a lot of you had kids going back to school just like me. This year is a little more challenging for me. I have one in middle school and a brand new freshman in high school. My daughter is the freshman and got up at 4:30 yesterday to get ready for school. Her hair was beautiful but I personally prefer a little more sleep.

I will be posting my menu plan with recipe links a little later this morning.

Thank you for your understanding. I hope every ones first day of school went smoothly. Please think of me while you are filling out all those lovely school forms and know that I am thinking of you.

Have a Great Morning and I hope to see you later.

Tammy in Texas

Great Giveaway!!

Alyssa is offering a great giveaway over at Keeping The Kingdom First.

The prize package includes:

*an insulated lunch tote for healthy snacks

*Apples to Apples To Go Game

*Uno Card Game*Activity Sticker Book

*$10 Subway Gift Card

(NOTE: colors, games, accessories may vary but kit is valued at approximately $35-40)

Thanks Alyssa!!

Remember to, "Pay it Forward."

Why Menu Plan??

Menu Planning has really helped me to focus on the age old question, "What's for dinner?" I generally consider myself a fly by the seat of my pants personality. However, this attitude tends to cause me a lot of stress around dinner time. With a menu plan, I just check that morning to see what needs to be pulled from the fridge.

Because I take the time to do a menu plan, any of the other family members can check to see what's for dinner. They can also help start dinner if for some reason I'm not home. This is going to be very helpful as we start back to school.

I've mentioned before that my daughter has become an excellent cook at the ripe old age of only 14. This has truly been a blessing. We envision her as a chef of her very on restaurant someday. Until then, we will enjoy her wonderful creations and from time to time share with y'all.

I'm not real ridged with the menu plan. I've been know to move things around to suit our schedules. As we all know plans sometimes change. If for some reason we don't have one nights menu then I try to shift it to the next week.

And the final reason that I menu plan is to help use up some of my stockpile. Sometimes I forget what we actual have in our pantry. When I'm working on my menu plan I try to incorporate several items we already have. Having a well stocked pantry is another blessing. What are some of your must have on hand pantry items?

Coupons To Help Fill Those Lunchboxes!!

Checkout the Lunch Box Builder site. You can create a lunch box for a chance to win some cool prizes. Most importantly, you can print 3 great coupons to help you fill those back to school lunch boxes. These coupons are for Mott's Applesauce, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers and my personal favorite Smucker's Uncrustables Sandwiches.

Go here to print these Great coupons.

May your children's lunch boxes always be full when they leave the house and empty when they return home.

Menu Planning Monday

We pretty much stuck to the menu plan last week. The only thing we changed is that we went out Saturday night for dinner after my daughter finished Fish Camp. Yes, I have a high school er now. It feels like just yesterday I was dropping her off at Kindergarten. Where does the time go. She has grown into such a lovely young lady. She will always be my little girl.

Back to the menu plan. Last week we made two types of quiche. The one in the recipe and one made with 1/2 a pound of shrimp and broccoli with Italian cheese. The shrimp was my favorite. I had the leftovers for lunch the next two days. My son(12yrs old) liked the one in the recipe. The burger recipe we cut in half and only used ground turkey, we didn't want any leftover burgers this week. The recipe would have made 8 burgers for our family of 4.

On to this weeks menu.

Monday-Frozen Fish Fillets, Velveeta Mac & Cheese, and frozen peas

Tuesday-Turkey Meatballs with Quick and Spicy Tomato Sauce over pasta, salad and Popovers

Wednesday-Pulled Pork Burritos and fruit

Thursday-Turkey Fried Rice over Spinach

Friday-Easy Apricot Chicken, rice and veggies

Saturday-Dinner out after church

Sunday Supper-Dinner out after the ball game using a gift certificate earned at viewpoints.com

Don't forget to stop by Org Junkie for more great menu ideas.

I Survived Kroger Super Doubles!

Good Morning Everyone!

I have finally recouped from Kroger's Super Doubles Saturday. What a great adventure I had. As you know from my previous post, I did a lot of prep work and it really paid off. My daughter and I showed up at Kroger around 11:00 a.m. I wasn't expecting to find a lot of the stuff that I wanted. Because as we all know, a lot of people showed up at the 24 hour stores at midnight or a little before. Anyway, my store was full of people and the shelves were being restocked as fast as the great employees at Kroger could stock them. It was all hands on deck, from cashiers to managers. Everyone was polite and helpful. I sure hope that all these employees know how much we appreciate them. Next time your in Kroger's make sure you tell them if you were there. Remember my motto is to "Pay it Forward." We took just over 2 hours to finish shopping and checkout. The lines moved fast and I was grateful and starving. I forgot to eat(Gasp) before going shopping. Luckily we were only shopping for items that I had coupons for...no impulse buys today.

All in all, I'd say we did pretty well. We purchased 123 items for $94 and some change. Many of the items I purchased were over a dollar. However, I didn't mind because I normally pay 3 to 4 dollars for most of these items. Here's a list of a few of those items.

Batteries
Parchment Paper
Flat Bread Melts
Odewalla Juice
Large can of Enchilada sauce
Assorted Cereal Bars
Organic Frozen Peas
Chips
Shampoo
Shaving Gel

I will also be sending off for the Kellogg's Fuel For School $10 rebate. You can go here to find out more about that.

After this week, I am so well stocked that I should only have to buy milk, some fresh fish, and fruits and veggies.

I'd like to say, "Thanks" once again to all the employee's of the Kroger located at 2920 and Kuykendahl.

As always, remember to "Pay it Forward."

Getting Ready For Kroger Super Doubles!

I have been M.I.A. for the past few days because of Super Double Manufacturer's Coupons at Kroger in the Texas and Louisiana markets. To prepare for this sale, I have gone through all my coupons and pulled high values that don't normally double(55cent to $1). While I was pulling these coupons I checked expiration dates and pulled all expired coupons. This helps keep my file more manageable. I have also printed all printable coupons available at these sites and loaded all ecoupons to my Kroger card. Using a combo of these two types of coupons should provide huge savings. You can go here for a list of all these sites.

I have gone to Kroger a couple of times this week to pick up milk and fresh produce. While I was there, I checked prices for some of the things that I have coupons for. I have also checked the google document that ZM has put together on HCW to see what's going to be free or very cheap during this sale. Everyone here in Texas is really excited about this sale. We haven't had doubles up to and including $1 in a very long time. They are limiting coupons to one like. I'm hoping the sale lives up to all the hype, all of us have been giving it.

If you live here in the Spring area, I hope to see you all having fun. Remember to pack your patience since the checkers are likely to get frustrated with all the coupons. Also, be prepared to wait lines will be long. My hope is that Kroger is as prepared as all of us.

Happy Bargain Hunting!!

And remember, "Pay it Forward."

Free Taco Tuesday at Jack in the Box

Today, August 11th you can get two free tacos from Jack in the Box(no purchase necessary). All you have to do is go here to print your coupon. Have a Great Tuesday.

Thanks Melissa @ Melissa's Bargain Blog.

Menu Planning Monday

Everything that was planned for last weeks menu actually got made. We enjoyed all the recipes and will be making them again in the future. Our favorite leftover was the BLT Potatoes from Thursday's dinner. We warmed these up in the microwave the next morning and served them with eggs over easy and toast. This was a quick and easy breakfast. We plan on making more of these potatoes. Who knew that we would like the flavor of the leeks so much. Well if you've never tried leeks before, I hope you'll give them a chance. One little change we made this week is to add a bit of ground cumin to the pulled pork recipe. We love the smokey flavor of the ground cumin and it just seemed to belong their. What changes or adjustment did you make this week. Please share, I love hearing from you.

Monday-Quiche and tossed salad

Tuesday-Mexican Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and salad

Wednesday-Creamy Pesto Shrimp w/Linguine and Roasted Zucchini Slices w/Parmesan Cheese

Thursday-Leftover Night

Friday-Turkey-Club Burgers and Fruit

Saturday-Spaghetti, tossed salad and bread

Sunday Supper-Steak, baked potatoes, salad and brownies for dessert(it's DH B-day).

For more delicious menu ideas head over to Org Junkie.

Remember to, "Pay it Forward."

Kroger Year of Free Gas & Groceries Sweepstakes!!

I signed up for the Kroger Year of Free Gas & Groceries Sweepstakes 3 days ago. I won $5 on my first spin. It only takes a second to sign up and add it to your favorites to remind you to go back each day for another spin. What do you have to lose? You just might win!! Anyway, go here if you want a chance to win. Good Luck!! Let us know if you win anything, so that we can celebrate with you.

Remember to, "Pay it Forward."

Chiquita Fruit Bites Coupon Has Reset

The Chiquita Fruit Bites coupon has reset. You can go here and print 2 more coupons per computer. I still have not found these close to where I live. I believe that with Back-to-School sales that I will find these soon. If anyone in the Spring/Houston, TX area has found these, would you please let me know.

Remember to, "Pay it Forward."

Milk-Bone Coupon For Man's Best Friend

Go here to get high dollar coupons good on any Milk Bone Essentials PLUS biscuits, chewy treats or long lasting chew items.

Remember to hit the back button a couple of times to print a second time.

The coupons are for $2 off the long lasting chew item and $1 off the biscuits or chewy treats.

Menu Planning Monday

Well last weeks menu plan changed a little (read about those changes here) but was very successful. The leftover chicken, from the Maui Chicken showed up in today's menu on the Ginger BBQ Chicken Pizza. We added another days menu to Tuesday and didn't go out to eat. But as the saying goes, "Life Happens." I hope y'all get inspired to cook as a family and try something new. Let me know what kind of food your family is interested in. My daughter and I decided that most crock pot cooking turns out really bland. We have a really easy and delicious pulled pork, done in the crock pot on this weeks menu.

Monday-Homemade Ginger BBQ Chicken Pizza and cantaloupe

Tuesday-Pork Chops in Tangy Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce with Bacon-Pea Polenta

Fresh Fruit

Wednesday-Shrimp Enchiladas w/lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa, and sour cream (We have tweaked the enchilada recipe to our taste, we only use about 2 Tbs of green chilies and we use the red enchilada sauce not the green.

Thursday-Chutney and Cheddar-Stuffed Chicken Breast w/BLTP (Bacon, Leek, and Tomato Potatoes)

Friday-Baked Ziti with a side salad (The recipe we use for the baked ziti comes from the clean eating cookbook. The main difference from most recipes is we use 1 bag of matchstick carrots.)

Saturday-Dinner Out after Church

Sunday-Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Pesto Potato Salad, and Fresh Fruit (Our recipe for pulled pork is 3 to 6 pounds of pork tenderloin or roast, 1 can sweeten condensed milk, 1 can of coke, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 to 2 bay leaves put into a crock pot and cooked on low for 8 hours.)

Remember to, "Bring the Kids into the Kitchen."

This weeks Menu Planning Monday is being hosted by The Happy Housewife.

Schwans - Free Food

Yesterday (August 1st), Schwans started offering 1 free item(up to $10) to the first 500,000 new customers (anyone who hasn't ordered from them in the past 14 weeks).

I just place my order for the Fiesta Lime Chicken for 2. I plan to use this as a nice lunch with a side salad for my husband and I. The best part, when I checked-out the total was $0.

Go here and get your free food, delivered to your door.

Remember to, "Pay it Forward."

New Coupons!!

The beginning of the month is reset time for most of the printable coupon sites. Coupons .com has reset. Click on the Coupons bar at the right side of my blog to see all the great coupons for back-to-school (Chex Mix, yogurts, cereal, and much more). Also, take a peak at Red Plum for more coupons. You can find even more coupons ready to print on the Smartsource site. A little tip for you is to try several zipcodes to get a larger variety of coupons. Try 90210, 77379, 63090 and of course your own zip code.

Here are some links to the ecoupon sites. These are sites that you load electronic coupons to your shoppers card(Randalls, Krogers, CVS, etc.).

Shortcuts.com

Cellfire.com - can be added to your shoppers card or sent to your cellphone. I have mine put on my shoppers card.

P & G esaver - has your coupons for P & G products that you know and love.

Upromise.com - sign-up to save for college with loadable coupons that go into an account for college all for free.