2011 will be a year of frugallity

Today I made my first purchases of the new year. I will be keeping a close watch on spending this year. With Daniel's work situation still shaky and wedding season not starting back up until spring I need to really be on top of the couponing game.

My purchases for today:

Walgreens

Transaction #1

Oscillococcinum for Kids $8.99
Candy $.50
Filler $.33
-$4 RR
-$2 RR
Total $3.87

Got $9RR

Transaction #2

Oscillococcinum for Kids $8.99
Pencil case $1.39
Filler $.33
-$4RR
-$2RR
Total $4.71

Got $9RR

Transaction #3

11 Sunday Newspapers $.35 each
(these rang up wrong but the cashier did not car even after I pointed it out)

-2RR
Total $2.20

Remaining (2) $9RR

Total OOP $10.78


CVS

(5) Wisk Laundry Detergent $5 each

-4/$20 CVS Q
-.50ECB
-$4 ECB
-$6 ECB
-(5) $2.00/1 Man. Q =$10.00

Total OOP .50

Received $10ECB

All in all in was not a bad shopping trip. I spent a little more OOP than I had intended but my coupon at Walgreen's would not scan and my cashier was less than helpful. Now that I have a few more RR and ECB to spend I will make another trip later in the week. I also bought a few Electrosol coupons on Ebay using my gift card I received for Christmas. This will make for some nice FREE dishwashing detergent. I tried making it from scratch and it just did not get the dishes clean so this is a must have.

I'm back!

Sorry dear readers for my absence from the great world of blogging. It has been a very busy few weeks at work. Easter has come and gone and now I am preparing for an abundance of prom corsage orders. I hope to be able to stick with you and report on my coupon adventures but bare with me through the next few weeks.

Here are a few of the deals than I am doing this week:

Walgreen's
I have a love hate relationship with Walgreens. Their deals always get me to come in but once I am there it can become a little frustrating. I had a great time last week with all the money makers. I ended up with enough register rewards to do four Easter baskets for the kids and pick up a few other necessities. This weeks ad is not nearly as exciting but I have gotten a few packs of the Kotex U tampons and pads.

Buy 1 Kotex U 18 ct. Tampons or 14-16 ct. Pads $3.49
Get $2.50 RR
Use $1/1 Q in April All You Magazine or
$1/1 IP at http://www.ubykotex.com/
Total after Q $2.49 & get $2.50 RR is like getting it for FREE

While I was there I also picked up the
Pilot Erasable Frixion 3pk Highlighters or 2pk Gel Pens $1.19
-$1/1 Pilot Frixion Highlighter 3 pk or Black Gel Pen 2pk Wags Q, April IVC Coupon Book
-LOOK For packages with MIR & get up to $4.50 Refund!

I have not really done any serious grocery shopping in a few weeks. I have Saturday off work and I plan to attack the store then. I will post more on that later in the week.

Need ideas for inexspensive Easter dinner to feed 25 people!

Well once again another holiday is approaching at rapid speed and that means I have to get my butt in hyperdrive to clean up the house and crank out food for 25 people that will be coming to my house for lunch on Easter Sunday. If anyone has some ideas about what I can make for next to nothing please send them my way. We have the protein taken care of, Daniel is going to smoke a few whole chickens and we'll get a small ham but I need ideas on what I can make as side dishes.

I saved 92% at Walgreens today!

This week is a great week to try out Walgreen's. There are tons of freebies and money makers. I just got back from an awesome trip. Let me tell you how I did.
I got $261.95 in product. I saved $239.92! My out of pocket was $22.03 plus $16.54 in tax for a total of $38.57. I saved a total of 92%!!! Yippee!!!


I bought *8 Dulcolax Balance $10.00 each
Used (2) $4/1 IP
(6) $3/1 Hangtags on products
There is a $10.00 RR being printed for each one of these so this gave me a $26 overage! Please note you can only buy one of these per transaction to get RR and that you can not use the $10RR to buy the next one. Check out my scenarios below to see how it's done.

*7 Simply Saline $7.00 each
Used (7) $1/1 Q from SS 1/24, 11/15/09, 10/18/09
There is a $7.00 RR being printed for each one of these so this gave me a $7.00 overage! Please note you can only buy one of these per transaction to get RR and that you can not use the $7RR to buy the next one. Check out my scenarios below to see how it's done.

*8 Smart Waters $1.29 each
Used (8) $2.00/1 Water if you purchase Dulcolax Balance Hangtag
This coupon is not specific to Smart water. Any water could be purchased. There are some that are cheaper. I bought this one because it comes in a sports squirt top bottle. It is great for the kids. I made a $5.68 overage on these. Please note that this has to be purchased in conjunction with a bottle of Dulcolax. The register will beep when you make this purchase and your cashier will have to manually key in the coupon.

*2 Children's Benadryl Melt Aways $4.99 each
Used (2) $1.50 IP
There is also a coupon you can stack with this in the Walgreens childrens coloring book if you have one. I have yet to find them so I just did the $1.50 off.
There is a $5RR printing on the purchase of two Benadryl childrens products. My total was $6.98 plus I got back $5 RR so it was like paying $1.98/2!

*1 Dove Conditioner $4.00
Used (1) $2/1 Dove Hair care product IP (no more prints)
There is a $4 RR printing for this. This is a rolling register reward and there are coupons in this weeks paper so I am planning to go back and get more.

*1 Dentek Floss 55 yards $2.00
Used (1) $1.00/1 IP
There is a $2 RR printing on this purchase so it makes it free plus a $1.00 overage.


I also bought 15 Chattanooga Times Freepress as filler items. They are $1.00 each at Walgreens and it is something I needed anyways.

Other filler items were a paperback book ($7.99), petroleum jelly ($4.29), Misc. easter basket items ($10.50)

I still have $20.00 in Register Rewards that I plan to use to start the Dove rolling haircare transaction and buy some more easter basket goodies and maybe some cokes and cottonelle.

There are so many great ways to make money at Walgreen's this week I am sure I will make several trips back there this week. I did 16 transaction today and usually I will do no more than four. I would like to thank Morgan my fabulous cashier over in cosmetics for allowing me to do this and never getting impatient with me. I stopped twice an let other customers go ahead and check out and took a brief break to regroup and take my stuff to the car. It was an awesome trip!

Here are a few scenarios to get you started:

You’ll end up with $14 in RR, Spent $3.61 out of pocket (OOP) & You have $47.36 worth of product! Woo Hoo! :-)

If you don’t have the CAB coupon, skip the last transaction. And remember, I don’t include tax because tax rates and what’s taxed is differerent everywhere. Hope this helps!

Buy
1 – Dove Shampoo or Conditioner or Styling $4
1 – Dentek Floss $2
Use
-$2/1 Dove Haircare PRINT (must register)
-$1/1 DenTek Floss Pick Or Floss, Any Purchase Of $2.00 Or More – 01-17-10 SS
Total $3
Get Back $4 RR Dove & $2 RR DenTek

Buy
1 – Simply Saline Allergy Relief Nasal $7
2 – Easter Cups or Bags $.25 (w/in ad Q)
Use
-$1/1 Simply Saline Nasal Product, any – 10-18-09 SS or 11-15-09 SS or 01-24-10 SS
-$4 RR Dove
-$2 RR Dentek
Total $.25
Get Back $7 RR Saline

Buy
1 – Dulcolax $10
1 – Dentek Floss $2
1 – Easter Cup or Bag $.13 (w/in ad Q)
Use
-$4/1 Duloclax PRINT (must register)
-$1/1 DenTek Floss Pick Or Floss, Any Purchase Of $2.00 Or More – 01-17-10 SS
-$7 RR from Saline
Total $.13
Get Back $10 RR Dulcolax & $2 RR Dentek

Buy
1 – Simply Saline Allergy Relief Nasal $7
1 – Dentek Floss $2
1 – Walgreens One Daily Multivitamins 100ct. $3
Use
-$1/1 Simply Saline Nasal Product, any – 10-18-09 SS or 11-15-09 SS or 01-24-10 SS
-$1/1 DenTek Floss Pick Or Floss, Any Purchase Of $2.00 Or More – 01-17-10 SS
-$10 Dulcolax
Total $0
Get Back $7 RR Saline, $2 RR DenTek, $3 RR Wags Vitamin
AND You still have another $2 Dentek!

Buy
2 – Children’s Benadryl 4oz or Tablets 18ct. $4.99 each
2 – Easter Cups $.25 (w/in ad Q)
Use
2 -$1.50/1 from HERE.
-$1/1 Benadry, Childrens CAB WQ (expires 3/30) (takes off $2)
-$3 RR Wags Vitamins
-$2 RR Dentek
Total $.23
Get Back $5 RR & You still have $7 Saline, $2 RR DenTek!

Thanks! Wild for Wags and Southern Savers

Let me know how you did or if you know about any other great deals in the comments section. Visit Wild for Wags or Southern Savers for the coupon match-up links.

Skinny Cow Coupon

Here are a couple great coupons for Skinny Cow products, I really like Skinny Cow, they are nice to my waist:) You can print off a coupons for B2G1 Free Skinny Cow Cups here: http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?bt=xg&tqnm=zcypcjm79054818&o=62655&c=SC&p=difr0uaG

This weeks menu 3/24-3/30

Wednesday

Grilled Cheese Burgers on Onion Bagels

Ingredients
2lbs. ground beef
2tsp. onion powder
2tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt
ground black pepper
1Tbsp.Worcestershire sauce
Mix ingredients together and divide into 4 patties. Place on pre-heated grill and cook until desired doneness. I melted sharp cheddar cheese on top. We did not have hamburger buns but I did have some onion bagels that I got for $.4 cents (that made them taste extra yummy :) Served with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickle spears, and all the other necessary condiments. We had some yummy whole grain chips I got on BOGO at Earthfare to go with it.

Dessert by the fire

Since it was such a lovely day outside yesterday, Daniel made a fire in the chimanea on the deck last night. I whipped up some caramel popcorn and we just sat out there enjoying some time away from the TV until the flames died out. It was a great evening.

Homemade Caramel Popcorn with Peanuts


makes about 6 cups, since this is so delicious I doubled the recipe in order to have some leftover for today. I would suggest you pop the popcorn in two batches if you are doubling the recipe and use a large stockpot for the sugar. Trust me it is so worth the effort. Just be careful it is so very very hot!

adapted from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

1/2 cup roasted almonds ( I omitted this, Daniel hates almonds with a passion)

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt, depending on how salty you like your life

bowl of ice water

This recipe requires that you work quickly and carefully. I don’t want you to hurt yourself. ok?

First, make the popcorn. Place oil in a medium to large saucepan over medium high heat. Add one kernel of corn and cover pan. When the single kernel pops, add the 1/2 cup of unpopped popcorn and cover. Use a pot holder to lightly shake the pan as the corn pops. When the popping stops, turn of the heat, remove the pot from the burner and shake the popcorn into a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 to 1 teaspoons of sea salt… depending on how salty you like your popcorn. Set popped popcorn aside.

Prepare a bowl of ice water and set aside. If you get any hot sugar syrup on your body. Ouch. Stick it in ice water… fast.

Measure out the butter, vanilla extract, nuts and salt. Set aside. In a medium saucepan add the sugar. Pour the water into the pan with the sugar, but pour the water towards the side of the pan… not directly on top of the sugar. Mark an X with your finger through the sugar and water.

Place saucepan over medium-high heat and let cook. Swirl the pan every few minutes Swirl, don’t stir. The sugar and water will cook down and bubble and slowly begin to caramelize. The process takes 20-30 minutes of cooking and swirling. Be patient but keep an eye on it. At the 20 minute mark, you’ll begin to smell caramelization. When the sugar reaches a caramel color, remove from the heat. Add the butter and vanilla extract. The mixture will bubble up. Give it a few good swirls.

Working quickly and carefully pour the hot caramel mixture over the popcorn. If any hot caramel gets on your skin, immediately immerse in the bowl of ice water. Ouch! With two spatulas stir until most of the popcorn is covered in hot caramel. Carefully pour out onto a silpat or parchment paper. Break up any large clumps with the spatula, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sea salt and let come to room temperature.

Thanks! Joy the Baker


Thursday


I awoke this morning to Betty Crocker (Skye the muffin maker) in the kitchen making blueberry muffins from our huge stockpile of Krusteaz muffin mix. Well now that breakfast is out of the way lets move on to dinner. Mathis woke up this morning and one of the first things he said to me was, can we have dumplings tonight. Of course I want to make him happy so dumplings it is.

Chicken and Dumplings


Ingredients

* 3 boneless chicken breasts
* 1 celery ribs, sliced
* 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
* 1 medium onion, diced

* 3 (32 ounce) containers chicken broth
* 2 tablespoons dried thyme
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2-1 teaspoon pepper


DUMPLINGS (Next time I am going to double this part of the recipe. Everyone was fighting over the dumplings. Clearly there was not enough to feed the 6 of us)

* 2 cups flour
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup milk

Directions

1.
Cook chicken over low heat, covered for one to two hours until very tender in 64 ounces of chicken broth or water.

2. Remove chicken from pot and let cool.

3.
Put sliced vegetables in chicken broth and let cook until tender.
( I let it cook for 30 minutes)
4.
Shred or dice chicken and return to pot.
5.
Add aditional container of chicken stock and let it heat through.
6.
Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
7.
Add thyme
8.
In a mixing bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough.
9.
Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup.
10.
Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
11.
Serve immediately.
12.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
13.
*SOUTHERN STYLE DUMPLINGS (heavier and chewier) 2 cups flour, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 beaten eggs. Combine flour, broth, baking powder and eggs; mix well to form a stiff batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Friday

Jerk Pork Tenderloin

Juicy, grilled pork tenderloin gets a burst of flavor from an herb-packed marinade (cilantro! parsley! thyme!) that also has hints of orange juice and brown sugar for an unexpectedly sweet touch.

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:

* 1 cup olive oil , plus more for grill
* 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
* 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley , leaves only
* 1 bunch fresh cilantro , leaves only
* 1 bunch whole scallions , coarsely chopped
* 2 medium coarsely chopped shallots
* 1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger , peeled and coarsely chopped
* 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar
* 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
* 1/2 habanero chili or 1 jalapeño chili , coarsely chopped (with seeds)
* 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
* 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
* 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
* 2 pork tenderloins (1 pound each), trimmed of silver skin
* 1 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

Put all ingredients (except pork tenderloins and salt) in a blender and puree until smooth.

Put tenderloins in a large ziploc food storage bag. Pour half the marinade over pork; seal bag and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

When ready to grill pork, preheat a gas grill or a ridged grill pan to medium, or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill, letting coals burn until covered with white ash. Take reserved marinade out of the refrigerator. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and bring to room temperature by letting it sit while grilling pork.

Remove pork from marinade and brush off herbs and spices. Discard marinade in bag.

Sprinkle tenderloins with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Oil the grill rack. Grill tenderloins (turning them at least 4 times to ensure even cooking), 18 to 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of each reads 145°; the meat should still be faintly pink and juicy. Transfer to a carving board and let rest 10 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute.

Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices. Divide among 4 plates and serve with reserved marinade as a sauce.

Adapted from Michy's restaurant and Cuisine à Latina by Michelle Bernstein. Copyright © 2008 (with permission from Houghton Mifflin).

I am serving this with Uncle Ben's 90 sec Rice Pilaf, Grilled Pineapple, and ????

Saturday

Pot Roast Sandwiches


Jennie's Italian Beef

2-3 lb. Beef Shoulder Roast


1 jar Pepperoncini Peppers

1 Package AuJus Seasoning Mix
Use Publix brand, about $.49 each

Hoagie Rolls

Trim fat from roast. Place roast in crock pot, cover with pepperoncini peppers (in liquid). Cook 8 hours on low. Remove peppers (I usually save the jar in the morning and put the peppers back in it to throw them away in). Shred beef and mix in AuJus Seasoning. Cook another 30 minutes on low in crock pot. Serve on hoagie rolls. YUMMMMMM!

Thanks! Laurie @ www.publixpennypincher.blogspot.com

I will probably serve this with some roasted sweet potato fries.

Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

* 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
* 4-6 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
* 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1.
Preheat oven to 425*F.
2.
Cut sweet potatoes in wedges or like french fries.
3.
Place wedges on large baking pan or cookie sheet. Pour over olive oil, and toss to mix.
4.
Now sprinkle over brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. Toss to coat wedges.
5.
Spread out in a single layer. Place pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes, then take out and turn wedges over.
6.
Place back in oven and bake another 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy on the outside.
7.
Sprinkle with extra kosher salt to taste. The cooking time will depend on how big the wedges are. Enjoy!
8.
Note: These are also good with a little ground cumin sprinkled with the other seasonings. Have fun and experiment!

(adapted from Ina Garten)

Sunday

Breakfast

Ingredients

* 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
* Butter, for pan
* 8 large eggs
* 2 cups half-and-half
* 1 cup milk
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* Dash salt

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with Raspberry Syrup.
Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above.
Raspberry Syrup:

1 cup raspberry preserves

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (recommended: Framboise)(I am going to omit this part)

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until warm and thinned out like syrup.

Wow this is going to be rich. Definitely not something we will eat everyday but it is great on occasion.

(adapted from Paula Dean)


Lunch

Sesame Ginger Chicken

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size strips
1/4 cup bottled Light Asian Sesame & Ginger Dressing
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup baby carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
salt and pepper

Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of a skillet. Add chicken and cook over medium-high heat; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until browned. Add the carrots and peppers; cook for 2 minutes. Add the dressing and broth. Cook over medium-high heat until sauce is thickened and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 6-8 minutes. Reduce heat to low.


Thanks! Fairhope Foodie


(adapted from Better Homes & Gardens)


Fried Rice

Ingredients

* 4 cups cooked rice or 1 cup uncooked rice
* 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
* 2 tablespoons carrots, finely diced
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1/2 cup onion, diced
* 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* salt
* pepper

Directions

1.
Cook rice following instructions on package (Bring 2 cups water to a boil, add rice and a dash of salt, reduce heat and simmer in covered saucepan for 20 minutes).
2.
Pour rice into a large bowl to let it cool in the refrigerator.
3.
Scramble the eggs in a small pan over medium heat.
4.
Separate the scrambled chunks of egg into small pea-size bits while cooking.
5.
When rice has cooled to near room temperature, add peas, grated carrot, scrambled egg and diced onion to the bowl.
6.
Carefully toss all of the ingredients together.
7.
Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium/high heat.
8.
When butter has completely melted, dump the bowl of rice and other ingredients into the pan and add soy sauce plus a dash of salt and pepper.
9.
Cook rice for 6-8 minutes over heat, stirring often.

Thanks! RecipeZaar

For dinner Sunday night we are going to a BYOP (bring your own pizza) party for Daniel's Grandmothers 75th birthday.


Monday

Rosetti Manicotti w/ Ragu traditional sauce and melted mozzarella cheese
Italian Salad (think Olive Garden)
Garlic Texas Toast

Tuesday

Santa Fe Soup

2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 16-oz. can pinto beans
1 16-oz. can black beans
2 16-oz. can white beans
2 16-oz. can corn
2 cans Rotel
2 packages Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 package Taco Seasoning
2 cups water (I used chicken broth)

**Drain corn- NOT beans

Brown beef and onion in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Drain off excess fat. Add seasoning packets and stir. Add beans (do not drain), add corn (drained), add Rotel (do not drain), add water (or chicken stock). Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer at least 20 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and Tostitos.

Thanks! Fairhope Foodie

Taco Puffs
I know this kind of seams like another meal in itself but, my kids don't always eat soup that well so I am going to make this as an alternative option/ side item plus I can make a batch with faux meat for Evie and some extras she can take for school lunch.

I plan to at least double this recipe but since I am serving it as a side dish I will skimp on the meat a little.

Ingredients
6 refrigerated biscuits
3 cups taco meat (approx. 1/4 cup per puff)
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese
lettuce (optional)
sour cream (optional)
salsa (optional)
olives (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin. Take 6 refrigerated biscuits and half them horizontally. Take each half and flatten out with your hands and press into 12 greased muffin cups to form "shells". Put approximately 1/4 cup taco meat in each cup (the Pampered Chef Large Scoop works great for this!) Top each puff with shredded cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden around the edges. Let the puffs rest in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing. Top with desired toppings.

Thanks! Fairhope Foodie

I hope this inspires you to cook something tasty this week. I hope to post pictures as I cook this week so keep checking back!

It was a great day of freebies!

This morning for breakfast snack the boys and I enjoyed a FREE lemon pound cake slice from Starbucks while walking around Target. This evening after dinner we went to Ben and Jerry's and we all got a FREE scoop of ice cream in a cone. What a treat. When we got home, I checked the mail and my FREE Tasters Choice samples were in the mail box. Not a bad day. Goodnight!