Recipes

Do you ever find yourself getting asked "What's for dinnder?" Well, I do almost daily. LOL! Sometimes I have something planned. Then there are days that I can't come up with anything. So I do a quick search and usually find something. If it's really good, I will take a photo and post on social media. I get asked for links to the recipes so I figured I'd post them here. I've also been trying to use the Instant Pot and Air Fryer more. So some of the new recipes may be geared towards those devices. 

Instant Pot 

Main Course Recipes

Beef and Broccoli https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/instant-pot-beef-and-broccoli/

Chicken Adobo https://www.thespruceeats.com/instant-pot-chicken-adobo-recipe-4584486

   I add a bit more sugar and another onion.  Traditionally we make this on the stovetop.  I'll try to get that  one up soon. 

Air Fryer - coming soon

Hello again

Hello again,

I want to apologize for being away from this blog for so long.  Sometimes life has a way of throwing things at you when you don't expect it.  One major thing was the passing of my mother. I miss her dearly and know that she is still with me in my heart.

With that being said and tomorrow being Father's Day, hug your loved ones and tell them that you love them.

I'm at the point in my life right now that I feel that I can return to blogging and crafting. So expect new posts.

Good night,
Naomi

Super 1 Foods ~ Current Catalina Promotions

Super 1 Foods has the Catalina coupon machines at their registers.  Every so often companies will contract with Catalina and grocery stores to promote their products.  Sometimes you can get a coupon for so much off your next purchase when you buy a product.  Other times, you may get coupon good for the product itself or even a free coupon product.  In addition, some companies will give you a coupon when you buy a competitor's product.

Super 1 Foods lists the current promotions on their website.  You can go here to see what is currently being offered.

General Mills ~ Sweepstakes

Since I am the primary grocery shopper and chef in the house, I've been trying to get the family to eat healthier.  I am also slowly doing the switch in adding more whole grains and less processed food (sshhh...don't tell the kids!).  I have also gotten into a habit of reading food labels.  Sometimes the labels can get confusing.  So I am glad to share the following news!

The Dietary Guidelines recommend choosing products with a whole grain listed as the first ingredient. It is also recommended that we eat at least 48 grams of whole grain in our daily diets.  One way to do this is to eat cereal!

The General Mills cereals with the "white check" now have more whole grain than any other single ingredient, with the same great taste. You will see whole grain as the first ingredient on the ingredient list, indicating that whole grain is the first and most prevalent ingredient.

To help make it easier to find whole grain products, General Mills developed "Fast Lane for Whole Grain," an online educational game. Consumers can navigate virtual grocery store aisles and identify products that have whole grain as the first ingredient. There is even a sweepstakes to enter to have a chance to win one of each of the 50 cereals with the white check! Go here for more information.

(Information and coupon provided through General Mills and MyBlogSpark.)

(Details about the sweepstakes: No purchase necessary.  Many will enter few will win.  Open only to legal residents of the United States, 18 years of age or older. Ends 3/18/12)

Valentine's Day Ideas

Here are some really neat Valentine's Day ideas that you might want to do with your kiddos!

When I was younger, friendship bracelets were all the rage.  It looks like they are making a comeback.  I recently spotted a cool Valentine's Day handout idea on Pinterest that involves them (see pic below).  Kaylee and I are going to these for this year.  If you need a tutorial (or refresher like myself), go here to make a Diagonal Striped Friendship Bracelet (click here).  You might want to look around that site as they have patterns for the bracelets.  To do this project, you'll need embroidery thread or what I call DMC thread (actual brand name).  In craft speak, this is thread that you use to do cross-stitch.  In my area, it was hard to find.  I just about gave up when I spotted some or rather something revamped for the 21st Century!  It is called "Friendship Thread" (of all things...lol!) and comes in a variety of colors.  I found a box of 36 skeins at Wal-Mart for just under $4.00.

The idea below is from Design Mom (click here).
She has graciously uploaded a pdf file of the messages and even a tutorial on the bracelets ones that are featured in the pic.
Just print on cardstock to save time!

Here's another take on this idea. This one comes from Dandee Designs. 

Another cool idea I found while surfing through Pinterest was this one from Alissa at Keepin' It Real: 24-7-365!  How creative!  To read more on how to do this yourself...click here.

Last year, my daughter and I made these Rock Candy Valentines (see below) for her to hand out to her friends.  This craft was featured on the Family Fun website.  I updated the song list as she had no idea what those songs were...lol!  I think Nerds would work as well if you tweak the wrap-around to fit.  Boys could use yellow or light blue instead of pink paper.

Here's yet another idea seen on Pinterest.  This comes from The Teacher Wife.  I'm thinking these would be great as a party favor for older kids.

New Glade, Scrubbing Bubbles, and Fantastik coupons to print!

Go here to print out some new coupons from SC Johnson!  If any catch your eye, I suggest printing them now as they tend to run out of prints fast. 

• $1.00 off one Scrubbing Bubbles Foaming Bathroom cleaner
• $1.00 off one Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel
• $0.75 off any one Fantastik product
• $2.00 off any on any Glade PlugIns Scented Oil twin refill or two single refills
• $3.00 off any Glade PlugIns Scented Oil Lasting Impressions holder
• $1.50 off on any two Glade 4-oz. Jar Candles
• $1.50 off any two Glade Scented Oil Candle refill packs
• $1.00 off any Glade Scented Oil Candle holder
• $1.00 off on any Glade® Fabric & Air Odor Eliminator product
• $0.55 on any Glade Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator
• $3.50 on any Glade Sense & Spray starter kit
• $1.00 off any Glade Automatic Spray refill
• $2.00 off any Glade Expressions Oil Diffuser starter kit
• $1.00 off any Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist starter kit
• $0.55 off on any Glade Premium Room Spray
• $1.00 on any Glade® Press & Spray starter kit

https://www.rightathome.com/Offers/Pages/default.aspx

Super 1 Foods ~ 1/25 - 1/31 ad highlights

I really meant to get the highlights typed up last week but as you can tell that didn't happen.  We had an ad in the office and I quickly glanced at it as I needed to pick up milk and eggs on the way home.  I am so glad that I did as it reminded me that they had 3 lb. bags of apples on sale for $1.98 each. Here is the ad in case you didn't get one in the mail.

See the pic above?  All you see plus 4 six-packs of Shasta soda (not pictured) was just $47.16 w/tax!  Now, how did I do this?  Here's the breakdown:

3, 3 lb. bags of Northwest apples - Red Delicious, Granny Smith or Gala (I bought one of each.) ~ $1.98 each
1, 3 lb. bag of bananas ~ $1.44 each
1 head of cauliflower ~ $1.48 each
2 bunches of mustard greens ~ 2/$1
2 packs of baby Portebella mushrooms ~ marked down to 99¢ each
1 small tub of canteloupe ~ marked down to 99¢
2 tangerines (came out to two of them) ~ $1.28/lb, 78¢
1, 17 oz. bottle of Food Club olive oil ~ $2.88
1, gallon of Foremost milk ~ $4.19 (This is cheaper than the store brand!)
2 packs of Eckrich Bacon Cheddar Smoked Links ~ $1.97 each (These had $0.55/1 peelies on them!)
2 packs of Jenny-O Smoked Turkey Cheddar Links ~ 1.77 each (These had $1/2 peelies on them! Sale price runs through early Feb.)
18 ct. package of eggs ~ $1.89 w/in-ad cpn
2 boxes of Kellogg's Pop-tarts ~ $1 each w/in-ad cpn
4 six-packs of Shasta soda ~ 97¢ each w/in-ad cpn
3 packages of boneless skinless chicken breasts ~ $1.27/lb w/in-ad cpn (4.26 lbs, $5.28 total)
4 boxes of Nabisco Premium Crackers ~ $1.50 w/in-ad cpn (There was a $1/2 tearpad near the display which made them $1 each!)
1 bag Foster Farms Value pack of chicken patties ~ $2.00 each (*See note below!)


I am probably going to make another run tomorrow to get more apples, chicken, olive oil, and maybe crackers.  Hubby loves his crackers so I've got to keep them in stock.  This price is the cheapest I've seen in some time for the Nabisco ones.

*The Foster Farms chicken is part of a new promo that Super 1 has started doing called Super Shockers.  The patties and nuggets are $2 each.  I think this sale price is good thru 02/07/12 but is on a while supplies last basis.  So once a store is out, that's it.  More info can be found here.

Boost Your Budget Pantry Challenge ~ January 2012 wrap-up

First off, I would like thank Denise at the Shopper Strategy for organizing this challenge! 

I started this challenge late and was a week behind my co-hosts.  I was going to finish up this week but I've decided to restart the challenge for February instead. 


So how did I do...

I think I did okay for what went on in my home (work, health, etc.).  I did not meet my goal of not going over $160 but did not go over $200 for groceries. I downsized the stockpile a bit and made some room in the freezers.  I brought my lunch to work more which allowed me to grab some good holiday clearance finds.  I lost some weight and learned how to make two new soup recipes.  All in all, I think I did pretty good and can't wait to challenge myself again in February!   

Recap of the Boost Your Budget Pantry Challenge 2012 version:

Denise at Shopper Strategy suggested this challenge as a way for us to support each other in giving our budget a boost by cleaning out our pantries. The general idea is use items in our stockpile and freezers to give our budgets a boost to start off the New Year. Each of us that are participating have set up our own personal goals/rules.  The Challenge is being co-hosted by myself, Shopper Strategy, Going Crazy Wanna Go?, The Frugalista Chick, Matter of Cents, Thrifty Divas, Frugal Mom of Two, How About Free, TheItMom.com, All The World Is Art, Sweeping The USA, Mommies Point of View, Mama's Money Tree, Crunchy Frugalista, Fab Find Foodie, Making Time For Mommy, Adventures in Coupons, Full Price? NEVER!, The Frugal Navy Wife, Generations of Savings, A Savings WOW!, and of course, Shopper Strategy. 

Each Monday during January all of us that are participating are going to post an update of our goals and how we're doing at meeting those goals through the linky below. Plus, we’re also going to be giving away a $25 Coupon Clutch gift certificate each week to one participant who either leaves a link to a challenge post or a comment about their challenge goals. Congrats to Danielle from The Frugal Navy Wife for winning last week's drawing of the $25 Coupon Clutch gift certificate! 

Walgreens ~ Highlights for 1/29 -2/4/12 Ad

Below are the best deals that I see for this week.  Once I see what coupons we have, I'll update the list.  Be sure to pick up the new monthly booklet. We should have some new MegaSavers and Monthly RR deals.  You can view the ad here. 

Review on how to do the deals at Walgreens can be found here.

Red coupons are manuf. cpns (insert, printables, etc.).  
Green coupons are store coupons (in-ads, monthly booklets, etc.). 
Blue coupons are RR's.


RR Deals:

Earn $2 RR wyb St. Joseph Enteric Aspirin, 36 ct. 81 mg dose ~ $2.00 each (Free after RR!)

Earn $10 RR wyb Pur-Absorb Iron Supplement, 28 packets ~ $10.00 each (Free after RR!)

(This item might have been recalled.)

Earn $8 RR wyb Blink Tears Eye Care Drops, 0.33 or 0.5 oz. ~ $8.00 each
- $1/1 Blink Tears or GelTears Lubricating Eye Drops (1/15/12 SS)

- $1.50/1 Blink Tears internet printable coupon here

- $1/1 Blink Tears internet printable coupon here

(Free after RR! Plus overage if you have a manfu. cpn!)

Earn $4 RR wyb Lysol Neutra Air Freshmatic or Air Wick I-Motion or Freshmatic ~ $7.99

- $2/1  Air Wick Freshmatic Ultra Starter Kit or Freshmatic Compact Kit, exp. 1/29/12 (1/1/12 SS) Expires today!!!

Earn $5 RR wyb $15 worth of 20 ct. Alka Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough, Flu, Sinus, or Allergy Relief; 24 or 36 ct. Digestive Relief ~ $3.99 each

- $2/1 Alka-Seltzer Plus Product, exp. 1/31/12 (RP 10/23/11)
- $2/1 Alka-Seltzer Plus Product, exp. 3/31/12 (RP 12/04/11)
- $2/1Alka-Seltzer Regular or Plus Product $2/1 (SS 1/1/12 #2)

Below are my shopping scenarios for the week.  Please feel free to share your deal runs!

I am starting out with two $5 RR's from last week.

My Deal Scenarios:

1st Order

Buy: 

1 Blink Tears Eye Care Drops, 0.33 or 0.5 oz. ~ $8.00 each

1 St. Joseph Enteric Aspirin, 36 ct. 81 mg dose ~ $2.00 each

1 newspaper ~ $1.50

Use:

- $5 RR

- $5 RR

- $1.50 Blink IP cpn

Pay: $0.00 + any tax, earn $2 RR St. Joseph and $8 RR Blink

2nd Order

Buy: 

4 20 ct. Alka Seltzer Plus ~ $3.99 (total $15.96)

1 St. Joseph Enteric Aspirin, 36 ct. 81 mg dose ~ $2.00 each

Use:

- $8 RR Blink from 1st order

- 4 $2/1 Alka Seltzer Plus manuf. cpns

Pay: $1.96 + any tax, earn $2 RR St. Joseph and $5 RR Alka Seltzer

3rd Order

1 Blink Tears Eye Care Drops, 0.33 or 0.5 oz. ~ $8.00 each

2 filler items (need to total 50¢)

Use:

- $5 RR Alka Seltzer from 2nd order

- $2 RR St. Joseph from 1st order

- $1.50 Blink IP cpn

Pay: cost of filler items (minus 50¢) + any tax, earn $8 RR Blink

4th Order

Buy: 

1 Air Wick I-Motion or Freshmatic ~ $7.99

1 St. Joseph Enteric Aspirin, 36 ct. 81 mg dose ~ $2.00 each

1 cheap filler item

Use:

- $8 RR Blink from 3rd order

- $2/1 Air Wick manuf. cpn

Pay: cost of filler items (minus 1¢) + any tax, $2 RR St. Joseph and $4 RR Air Wick

Summary:

2 Blink eye drops, 3 St. Joseph Aspirins, 1 Air Wick, 4 Alka-Seltzers, 3 filler items, and a newspaper

Total before coupons/RR's = $47.45 + cost of fillers (round this up to $48)

Total after coupons/RR's = $2.00 plus $8 RR's (two $2 RR St. Joseph & $4 RR Air Wick) left over to use later.

CVS ~ Highlights for 1/29 -2/4/12 Ad

Here are the best deals that I see for this week.  I may add more depending on what coupons we get in the 1/29 inserts.  Let me know if you come across any other good deals!


ECB Deals:

Earn $0.87 ECB's wyb Hershey's milk Chocolate Bunny, Cadbury's Egg, Reese's single egg ~ $0.87 each, limit 1 

(Valid  Sun/Mon/Tues only!)
Free after ECB's!

Earn $3 ECB's wyb three (3) American Greetings Cards ~ limit 1
- $2/3 American Greeting Cards internet coupon - print here
(Buy 3 of the 99¢ cards to get 3 free after ECB's!)

Earn $3 ECB's wyb Tom's of Maine Deodorant, Toothpaste or Mouthwash ~ $3.99 each, limit 2

(I found a $2/1 tearpad on a display at Albertson's.  Others have found some at CVS.)

Earn $4 ECB's wyb three (3) Pepsi product 12 packs ~ 3/$10, limit 1
(Comes out to $2 each after ECB's!)

Earn $7 ECB's wyb $10 worth of ANY Physician's Formula (excludes clearance) ~ limit 1

Earn $3 ECB's wyb $10 worth of participating Hellmann's, Lipton, Ragu, or Bertolli items ~ limit 1

(I hope we get some coupons to use for this deal!)

Other Deals:

Dawn dish soap, 9 - 10.3 oz. bottles ~ $0.98 each

- $0.50/1 Dawn Hand Renewal, exp. 1/31/12 ( 01/01/12 P&G)

- $0.25/1 Dawn Dish Liquid, exp. 1/31/12 ( 01/01/12 P&G)

Olay Daily Facial Cloths, 30 - 66 ct, Cleanser 0.78 - 7 oz., Day or Night Cream 2 oz. ~ $3.99 each

- $1/1 exp. 1/31/12 (01/01/12 P&G)

24 pack of Purified Water, 16.9 oz. bottles ~ $2.22 each, limit 4

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

My Deal Scenarios:

1st Order

Buy: 1 Hershey's milk Chocolate Bunny, Cadbury's Egg, or Reese's single egg ~ $0.87

Pay: $0.87 + any tax, earn $0.87 ECB's

2nd Order

Buy: 3 American Greetings Cards ~ 99¢ each

Use:

- $0.87 ECB from 1st order

- $2/3 American Greeting Cards IP cpn

Pay: $0.10 + any tax, earn $3 ECB's

3rd Order

Buy: 2 Tom's of Maine Deodorant, Toothpaste or Mouthwash ~ $3.99 each

Use:

- $3.00 ECB from 2nd order

- $2 Tom's tearpad cpn

- $2 Tom's tearpad cpn

Pay: $0.98 + any tax, earn $6 ECB's

4th Order

Buy: 3) Pepsi product 12 packs ~ 3/$10

Use:

- $6.00 ECB from 3rd order

Pay: $4.00 + any tax, earn $3 ECB's

Summary:

3 twelve packs of soda, 2 Tom's mouth care products, 3 greeting cards, and chocolate

Total before coupons/ECB's = $21.82

Total after coupons/ECB's = $5.95 plus $3 ECB's left over to use later.

You can see a more detailed list of the ECB deals and other scenarios on the blogs listed below.

• amit 19 
• Couponing to Disney
• i heart cvs
• Hip2Save
• Simply CVS
• Southern Savers
• The Q-Tipping Mom