Saturday, June 30, 2012
I'm Back In Town (And It's The End Of The Month!)
I just got back into town late yesterday afternoon. I'm still tired and very achy from being cooped up in the car for so long, so I've pretty much just been trying to relax and stretch all of my muscles out today.
Then I realized that today is the last day of the month and that I had not even looked at coupons.com for the past 10 days because I didn't have a working printer!
If you are like me and the end of the month snuck up on you, head over here and check out if there is anything you need to print, just in case it disappears tonight!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Dishing It Up Recipe Hop: 4 Layer Delight
School is out. Summer is here, maybe not yet on the calendar, but certainly on the thermometer! Even though the past few days in North Texas have been gloriously stormy, the Dishing It Up Gals and I are thinking about eating outdoors! All of our recipes this month will focus on picnics and barbeques!
I'm going to share with you a recipe that my mom has been asked to make for nearly every family get together I can recall.
Four Layer Delight:
Bottom Layer:--1 cup all purpose flour
--1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional, yet delectable)
--1 stick butter, melted
--2 tbsp sugar
Mix ingredients together and spread in tbe bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Bake at 350 until lightly brown. Let cool completely.
Second Layer:--1 Cup Cool Whip
--1 8oz pack Cream Cheese
--1 cup powdered sugar
--1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Mix ingredients together and spread over cool crust.
Third Layer:--1 Large or 2 Small boxes of instant chocolate pudding mix. Follow directions on the box for making. Spread over cream cheese mixture.
Fourth Layer:--Spread Cool Whip on top. Cover and refrigerate.
Here are more picnic and barbeque themed recipes for you to peruse. If you have one of your own, please link it up!
We'd love to have you join us by adding your recipes for BBQ or picnic dishes below. To share the blog hop love please include a link back to our Dishing It Up website and visit as many of the other recipes as you can. We hope you're enjoying your summer so far!
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Friday, June 22, 2012
Just A Quick Note...
My husband came down with the flu, so my girls and I moved up our trip to visit my parents. We left yesterday instead of this coming Saturday in order to avoid getting them sick. My mom's internet has been going in and out, and just all around being pretty moody.
So, that is the reason I was not able to post the grocery ads yesterday, as I was driving for 7 hours and then had no functioning internet last night.
It seems to be working ok for the moment, so I just wanted to write a quick post and let you know what's been going on and why I've been so quite.
My girls have had a great time so far. They got to hold baby chickens. (My dad has chickens. Not a farm. Just chickens. And citrus trees.)
They were there when we drove in last night, and again this morning. Imagine my surprise when I opened the front door of my parents house and that big male turkey was gobble-gobble-gobble-ing not 10 feet from the door! We had to wait for them to finish their trek through the driveway before we could leave because some of the young ones were under my van!
My dad says the female (which you can barely see at the far right in the picture) will come up and eat bread right from his hand! We're going to try that if they come back tomorrow.
We got to visit a cousin of mine who also has two girls that are close in age to mine. They had a great time today swimming, playing, and picking blueberries with their cousins that they rarely get a chance to see!
We're going to be here visiting through next Friday, so expect my posting to be as sporadic as my mom's internet and my busy schedule visiting family with allow.
I hope that you are all enjoying your summer!
Read more...
Monday, June 18, 2012
Menu Plan 6/18
I've planned out my menu plan for the week. It's a short week for me, as I'll be heading out of town, but I'm planning on trying to squeeze in some freezer cooking this week (on top of catching up on laundry and packing and whatnot) so that my husband has some easy things to munch on while I'm gone (he's working so he'll be staying home alone).
Here's the plan:
Monday: Catfish & Fries
Tuesday: Gumbo from the freezer (we didn't do this last week. We had BBQ chicken sandwiches instead)
Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pies (will make 4 and freeze 3--didn't get to these last week because Aldi was out of pie crusts. If they still are, this may get pushed back until I return, as I've frozen the cooked chicken.)
Thursday: Homemade pizza (will make dough for 4, cook and eat two and then make pizza pockets for the freezer)
Friday: Burritos (will make up a bunch and freeze the rest--we're down to the last in the freezer right now)
I also plan on making carrot muffins (didn't get to those last week) for the freezer, and last night I made three loaves of chocolate banana bread (delicious!!). We enjoyed the smaller of the three for dessert last night and I froze the two larger ones for breakfasts.
Hmmm....this is looking like an awful lot of kitchen work this week. Perhaps I am a bit too ambitious? Usually am! Ha!
We'll just have to see how things go! I think I can, I think I can! ;) (And if I can't there's plenty of soup in the freezer.....)
Sunday, June 17, 2012
What's Been Going On
Some of you may have noticed that I've been a little bit absent lately. No, I haven't left you! I did want to give you a brief explanation, however.
It's really pretty simple: since summer began I have been very busy trying to occupy my child who is home from Kindergarten now and really, really missing her structured days at school, and really, really not used to having to put up with a younger sibling all day long anymore!
It's nothing that any other parent in the world isn't having to deal with right now, it just takes up a lot more of my time!
We've been doing a lot of reading together, a lot of trips to the library for storytime and other activities (we've seen a clown and a ladies with animals that were endangered species!)
My husband is teaching summer school, and working even more hours than normal at his second job (not all teachers get summers off!) so we haven't been seeing very much of him lately, and my girls are really missing him and that's causing them to need even more of my attention.
I've still been keeping up with making my weekly menus (even if I don't stick to them) and making my weekly goals (ditto), even though I haven't been able to find much time to get them posted.
I'm going to try to keep up with blogging as much as a can this summer, but I won't be able to post as often, so please just understand that my family is needing me a bit more right now.
I've been doing some very frugal, fun activities with my girls, and I think I will try to take some pictures and post about some of them. It's not my usual post topic, but it's what I've been doing lately, so I thought you might enjoy seeing that (as opposed to silence!)
I hope to share a few things we've already done so far this summer with you soon!
But now, I'm off to make Father's Day dinner for when daddy gets home from work! =)
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
El Rio Grande Deals 6/13-6/19
Here are the best prices I see advertised at El Rio Grande this week:
Meat:
Split Chicken Breast $0.79/lb
Boneless Pork Stew Meat $1.19/lb
Produce:
White Onions 5lbs for $1
Small Avocados 5 for $1
10lb. Russet Potatoes $1.99
White Potatoes 2lbs. for $1
Green Cabbage 3lbs for $1
Green Or Romaine Lettuce $0.79 each
Small Golden Apples 4 for $1
El Rancho Deals 6/13-6/19
Here are the best prices I see advertised at El Rancho this week:
Meat:
Sirloin Ham End Pork Chops $0.98/lb
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast $1.19/lb
Chicken Leg Quarters $0.69/lb.
Produce:
Red Grapes $0.99/lb
Ataulfo Mangos 5 for $1
Tomatoes 3lbs. for $1
White Onions 3lbs. for $1
Cilantro 4 for $1
Yellow Peaches $0.88/lb
Watermelon 4lbs. for $1
Oranges 8 for $0.99
Other:
Imperial Sugar $1.88 each (Limit 2 with $10 purchase)
18ct. Eggs $0.98
Scott Extra Soft 12 Double Roll $4.29
Always Save 4qt Assorted Ice Cream $3.50 (Saw these just the other day for $7.99)
Aldi Deals 6/13-6/19
Here are the best prices I see advertised at Aldi this week:
Meat:
Chicken Leg Quarters $0.69/lb
Produce:
Blueberries $1.39 per pint
Strawberries $0.99 per 1lb. package
Blackberries $0.69 per 6oz. package
Bananas $0.39/lb.
Grapes (Green/Red) $0.89/lb. (Sold in 2lb. packages for $1.78)
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Menu Plan 6/11
I'm a little late posting this week's menu plan, and I pretty much gave up trying to match the foods to the letters we are learning (which I'm not really sure how that's going over anyway--the little one doesn't really seem interested at all, and the big one spends half the day telling me what we can do when we get to ___ day...)
Yesterday (Monday), I cooked up 10lbs of chicken split breast--I thought they were boneless but when I thawed them, they were not, so my plans became a little more messy and complicated. I boiled half and deboned it last night, and put the rest in the crock pot with BBQ sauce and let it simmer all night, then I deboned it today.
Monday: "Clean Out The Fridge" Stir Fry. --posted about this on fb last night.
Tuesday: Was BBQ chicken, but as I now have shredded BBQ chicken, I'm actually preparing a box of Suddenly Salad from the pantry to toss some into.
Wednesday: Gumbo from the freezer (this may change because I have lots of cooked chicken to use up!)
Thursday: Pepper steak (I'm actually going to cook the beef shank I just bought for $1.49/lb at El Rancho and use that for the meat in this)
Friday: Soup from the freezer (I have a few types to choose from)
Saturday: Chicken Pot Pies (will use some of the shredded non-BBQ chicken in these)
Sunday: Leftovers
After I deboned the BBQ chicken today, I washed out my crockpot, and I now have some pears that were getting soft simmering down into pear butter (using the apple recipe, but less sugar since pears are sweeter). No one else around here will touch the stuff, I have no clue why, but I love it slathered on buttered toast. It's a favorite midnight snack of mine. ;)
I also have plans of making more banana bread and carrot muffins this week because I'm out or nearly out of both of those in the freezer.
Garden Update
I haven't really posted much about my garden this year, but I have attempted some container gardening in pots (our garden soil is not the best).
Here are my plants:
The one thing I've been able to harvest already has been a handful of okra.
I've even got a mystery plant growing strong in the compost pile. I'm thinking its a cantaloupe.
I am having some issues with critters. I had intended to kill this one that was munching away on my basil, but when you have a two year old yelling "No! God made that!" it's kinda hard to follow through with it.
It was looking on the fat side, so we thought it might be about ready to begin its transformation, so we've got him in a bottle with some food and airholes and a stick to climb. If he starts looking ill, I'll release him. Don't worry, I was sure to ask my daughter what he needed, since they grew caterpillars and released butterflies in Kindergarten this past year. ;) Read more...
Printable Coupons Ending Soon
I've just received word that these coupons will only be around about another week on coupons.com, so grab them while you can:
- Save $1.00 on TWO Big G Cereals Cheerios - Original Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Multi Grain Cheerios
- Save $1.00 on TWO Big G Cereals - Chex, Fiber One, Total, Wheaties, Oatmeal Crisp
- Save $1.00 on THREE Big G Cereals
- Save $0.50 on EIGHT Yoplait
- $5.00 off Centrum ProNutrients Supplement
- $5.00 off on any size NasalCrom allergy product
- $1.00 off Sundown Naturals Vitamin or Supplement
- $1.00 off any Citracal
- $1.00 off on any Bayer Advanced Aspirin product
- $2.00 off Phillips' Colon Health Product
- $1.00 off ANY NEO-SYNEPHRINE PRODUCT
- $1.00 off one Campho-Phenique Product
- $1.00 Off any One A Day Multivitamin product
- $2.00 off on ANY Midol 20 ct. or larger
- $2.00 off on any Aleve-D product
- $1.00 off any Flintstones™ Multivitamin Product
- $2.00 off On Any Aleve 80ct or larger
- $3.00 off City Slickers on Blu-ray
- $3.00 off Valkyrie on Blu-ray
- $3.00 off Predator on Blu-ray
- $3.00 off Alien Anthology on Blu-ray
- $3.00 off Die Hard Collection on Blu-ray
- $3.00 off Man on Fire on Blu-ray
- $3.00 off John Wayne Film Collection on dvd
- $3.00 off X-Men Trilogy on Blu-ray
- $2.00 off ONE Konsyl Senna Prompt Laxative
- $1.50 off any ONE PF Chang's Appetizers
- $3.00 off Off the purchase of (1) Whey Protein
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Dear Ole' Daddy-O Giveaway Hop: Win Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil
I've barely used 1/4 of mine and I'm still learning of its uses (my friend Pary Moppins has posted some great non-cooking uses for the stuff!) I'm very excited to be able to give one of you the chance to win a jar of your own!
Here's a little bit about the product:
And here are all of the other lovely blogs involved with this giveaway. Head over to their pages and see what they have to offer!
Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. Read more...
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Dishing It Up Recipe Hop: June Theme--Picnics and Barbeques---Limeade!
School is out. Summer is here, maybe not yet on the calendar, but certainly on the thermometer! Even though the past few days in North Texas have been gloriously stormy, the Dishing It Up Gals and I are thinking about eating outdoors! All of our recipes this month will focus on picnics and barbeques!
I'm going to share with you a quick refreshing drink recipe, that is also very inexpensive to make right now--Limeade!
I have never ever made this before, and honestly never had it at all unless you count the strawberry laden ones I've ordered from Sonic. ;) However, last week El Rio Grande had limes on sale 15 for $1 (sale going on again this week as well!) For some unknown reason, I decided to pick up 15 limes while I was there, and then began wondering what on Earth I would do with them.
I decided that I would love to try making homemade limeade, and a quick google search revealed a recipe to me.
The recipe was very, very simple:
2 qt. water
3 limes
2/3 cup of sugar
I doubled the recipe, using a bit less than double the sugar and 6 of my limes, which were on the small side.
I had really no idea what to expect, how sour it would be, or if my family would enjoy it. I was actually very pleasantly surprised with it. It had a much milder flavor than I expected--more sweet than sour, but not too sweet, which made it very refreshing, and you felt like you could drink a lot of it. Some drinks are so sweet or so sour that they make you want to stop drinking after a few sips, but not this one!
My husband loved it, and my oldest daughter wanted to drink it at every single meal. I think I will be making up some more because she was very sad this morning when I told her there was none left! My younger daughter liked it too, but she's going through a "everything must be in a sippy cup even though I am perfectly capable of operating a normal cup" phase, and she was frustrated that the lime bits were stopping up her cup spout.
Here are more picnic and barbeque themed recipes for you to peruse. If you have one of your own, please link it up!
We'd love to have you join us by adding your recipes for BBQ or picnic dishes below. To share the blog hop love please include a link back to our Dishing It Up website and visit as many of the other recipes as you can. We hope you're enjoying your summer so far!
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Fiesta Deals 6/6-6/12
Here are the best prices I see advertised at Fiesta this week:
Meat:
Boneless Skinless chicken breast $1.49/lb (limit 2 w/$10 purchase)
Pork Spare Rib Cubes $1.29/lb (limit 2 with $10 purchase)
Produce:
Strawberries $1.69
Grapes (red/white) $1.49/lb
Watermelons $3.88
Red/Yellow Bell Peppers $0.69 each
Green Onions 2 for $1
Mangos $0.69 each
Peaches $0.99/lb
Fresh Express Garden Salad $1.59
Cucumbers 3 for $1
Yellow Onions 2lbs for $1
Green Beans $0.99/lb
Baby Red Potatoes $0.99/lb
El Rio Grande Deals
Here are the best prices advertised at El Rio Grande this week:
El Rancho Deals
Here are the best prices I see advertised at El Rancho this week:
Meat:
Beef Bottom Round Steak $2.09
Drumsticks $0.69/lb
Whole Pork Ham with skin $0.99/lb
John Morrell Hot Dogs $0.88
John Morrell Bacon $1.88
Produce:
Cantaloupe $0.98 each
Avocado 5 for $1
Tomatoes 3lbs. for $1
Calabacita Squash $0.58/lb
Jalapenos 2lbs. for $0.99
Green Bell Peppers 3 for $0.99
10lb bag Russet Potatoes $2.49
Pineapple $1.50
Key Limes 2lb. bag $0.99
Globe Grapes $1.88/lb
Oranges 8 for $0.99
Bosc Pears 4 for $0.99
Other:
Best Choice Sugar $1.50 (Limit 2 with $10 purchase)
Always Save Mayonnaise 30oz $1.77
Aldi Deals 6/6-6/12
Here are the best prices I see advertised at Aldi this week:
Meat:
Boneless Pork Butt Roast $1.59/lb
Produce:
Pineapple $0.99 each
Strawberries $0.99 per 1lb package
Cantaloupe $0.79 each
Blueberries $1.59 per 1pt container
Kiwi $0.89 per 1lb. package
Bananas $0.39/lb
Monday, June 4, 2012
Menu Plan 6/4
This week's menu plan was a little bit difficult to make because I'm trying to go with some alphabet themed days around here this summer. I jotted it down last night and I've been sitting staring at it all day trying to figure out how to make it better. I forgot to type it up this morning, and also forgot to put my stew on in the crockpot, so I ended up making it on the stove this afternoon, and just cooking the entire 5 lbs. of stew meat I had since it fit in my big stock pot, so I guess I got some freezer cooking accomplished today!
Here's my plan:
Monday (A day):
Breakfast: Cereal & Apple Slices (They opted for apple toaster strudels and I decided not to fight it.)
Lunch: Breaded Fish Fillets & Avocados (they did not go over very well....)
Snack: Applesauce....which somehow morphed into Doritos...yep, it was on of those days.
Dinner: Pork Stew with carrots, potatoes, and dinner rolls from the freezer that I forgot to take out and let rise so they were dense as....I dunno, something dense!
I should interject that my husband didn't have to go in until 1pm so it kinda threw off our routine (in a good way of course because we're always glad when he can be home a bit!) Thinking that tomorrow will go much better!
Tuesday (A day):
Breakfast: Apple Muffins from the freezer
Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches and some fruit we have on hand
Snack: I planned Ants on a Log, but I didn't go buy celery, so ??? Freezer Fruit Cups
Dinner: Maybe leftovers, maybe do something for our anniversary?? Not sure yet.
Wednesday (B day):
Breakfast: Breakfast Burritos (these are ham & egg)
Lunch: Baked Potatoes
Snack: Banana bread
Dinner: Biscuits, Bacon & Eggs
Thursday (B day):
Breakfast: Bagels
Lunch: Hot dogs & broccoli
Snack: Blackberries
Dinner: Burgers?
Friday (C day):
Breakfast: Cheerios
Lunch: Chicken Pot Pie
Snack: Celery
Dinner: Chicken Soup
Saturday (C day):
Breakfast: Carrot Muffins (which means I need to bake some more!)
Lunch: Corn Dog Muffins
Snack: Carrot sticks (goodness...I put those in my stew tonight *sigh*)
Dinner: Spaghetti & Corn
Sunday (Review day):
Going to be a raid the fridge sort of day...I think we'll have lots of leftovers to use up. Alternatively, depending on the sales this week, I may be cooking something I bought.
I plan to start doing my shopping on Friday mornings, and starting my menu plan with the weekend, which I will likely do this coming week.
Check out more menu plans.
CVS Trip 6/4
I have been absolutely so busy around here with houseguests and school ending, I happened to realize that all my ECBs were expiring tomorrow! I gathered up my coupons and made a quick trip there this morning to do one deal: DOVE! Then, I totally forgot that I was supposed to grab a deodorant for myself, but that's ok!
Here's what I got:
Total Shelf Price: $24.75
Total Sale Price: $17.50
Price paid after coupons and $11.75 in ECBs: $2.39 including tax 90% Savings
I also got back $5 in ECBs to use on my next trip. Took a big hit in ECBs but my husband was needing deodorant and I was getting low on shampoo, so I think it was a good trip. It will take some good sale/coupons and some hard work to build my ECBs back up, but that's a good excuse to get my back motivated. I'm been a total slacker regarding drug store shopping lately! Read more...
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Corn Dog Muffins
I saw a blog post recently that contained some easy lunch ideas. One of the ideas was so intriguing, i just had to try it out! You see, my kids love corndogs. Personally, I've never been a fan of the batter on the store-bought kind. Plus, those are pretty expensive.
I used to buy the cheap Jiffy cornbread mixes. They were the cheapest and our favorite, but I've recently been trying to make more things from scratch, and I found this recipe that we all LOVE! I just had to try these out with our favorite new cornbread!
I've frozen this particular cornbread before, and I know it thaws well, so I'm hoping the hot dogs fare well, also. I've frozen whole packages before, but never after cooking them. Anybody done this? Read more...
Friday, June 1, 2012
Albertsons Trip 6/1
My oldest daughter and I made a quick run to Albertsons this afternoon while the little one was sleeping. Mostly, I wanted to get $0.88 blackberries, but there were a few more items on sale or that I had some coupons for that I picked up while I was there.
Here's what I came home with:
Total Shelf Price (not knowing how much the blackberries originally cost): $34.96
Total Sale Price: $20.18
Price Paid After Coupons: $7.72 and I got back a $1 OYNO coupon!
That's a savings of at least 78% (factoring in no savings for the blackberries because the receipt doesn't list any.)
I got the Kikkoman absolutely free because I had $2/1 coupons (no longer available) and they were on sale for $1.99. Because I bought 2, I got a $1 OYNO coupon when I paid, so I essentially made $1 off of the terriyaki sauce! I used this Trix coupon to get $0.88 cereal and this Yo Crunch coupon (facebook offer--like page and click "savings" tab) to score $0.19 yogurts, and the Tabasco coupon from 4/29 RP to get $0.08 hot sauce. I also had coupons for the ketchup and crunch in munch that I had found inside of a package at some point. I love those kind of surprises!
So there you have my rushed Albertsons trip, trying to make it back home before the hubby had to leave for work. We accomplished the whole trip in 40 minutes! That's my kind of shopping! =) Read more...
New Trix Coupon = $0.88 at Albertsons
I just used this coupon to snag some cheap cereal at Albertsons!
Buy Trix for $1.88, use coupon (which doubles at Texas area Albertsons!)...final price $0.88!
My store will double multiples, and I had a couple of these left over from last month (you may, too!) so I just snagged three boxes for $0.88 each! Read more...
New Month: New Coupons!
Tons of new coupons in fact! And some really great ones at that!
There are too many to put all of the pictures, but here is a list of some of the newest coupons available:
- $0.70 off one Kellogg's Raisin Bran Cereal
- $0.50 off ONE BOX Trix cereal
- $0.75 off ONE BOX Kix cereal
- $1.00 off 2 General Mills adult cereals
- $1.00 off TWO BOXES Cheerios cereals
- $1.00 off 3 General Mills divisional cereals
- $0.60 off any (1) Silk Half Gallon or Larger
- $0.75 off Yoplait Light granola yogurt
- $0.75 off 2 Yoplait kid yogurts
- $0.50 off any flavor 32 OZ. Yoplait Yogurt
- $0.50 off 8 CUPS any variety Yoplait Yogurt
- $0.75 off Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce
- $0.75 off 3 any variety LÄRABAR bars
- $1.50 off any flavor Wanchai Ferry Frozen Entrée
- $0.50 off Fiber One Chewy Bars
- $0.75 off 2 Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie
- $0.50 off 2 Betty Crocker fruit Snacks
- $0.50 off TWO Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad Mixes
- $0.50 off TWO Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Bars
- $0.75 off on any Glad Food Storage container
- $1.50 off When you buy Hidden Valley and Glad
Read more...