September 28 - Dinner - Meatloaf Minis

These are a DEFINITE make again! Westley ate almost 2 just by himself!

Meatloaf Minis

1 lb ground beef

1 pkg stuffing mix (dry)

1 cup water

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup green & red bell peppers (these can be omitted)

Heat oven to 375. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and peppers and add-in (see below). Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

Make an indentation in the center of each meatloaf with a spoon (I just used my fingers, why dirty another utensil); fill with sauce (see options below).

Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Top with cheese; continue baking 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

OPTIONS:

American-Style: Add-in: 1 tsp garlic powder (and a couple shakes of onion powder); Sauce: 3/4 cup barbeque sauce

Italian-Style: Add-in: 1 tsp Italian seasoning; Sauce: 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce

Mexican-Style: Add-in: 2 tsp chili powder; Sauce: 3/4 cup salsa

I will definitely make these again sometime! They were sooo delicious!

Estimated Cost: about $5

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Weekly Wonders 9/21 - 9/27

Ok, well, first of all, I'm going to change the name of these posts to Monday Mailbox Madness! I just think it's more fun! =)

So, here's what I got last week in the mail:

1 Free sample of Fancy Feast Appetizers wet food for cats

5 $4 off coupons from Star Fine Foods (great for using on their olive oils!)

1 Free Huggies diaper from Walmart's free sample site

1 Full-Size Sample of Lip Fusion XL from fusion Beauty

Refresh Your Nest Coupon Book from Proctor & Gamble (over $35 in coupons!)

What did you get in your mailbox?

Love,

Sarah

Cinnamon Buns & Air Buns

So, this is another AMAZING Devynn recipe! I had these for the first time at playgroup at Devynn's house (she's actually the one who introduced me to the fabulous group)! Anyways, HERE's her original post with the recipe. I'm going to modify it just a bit (only the way it's worded).

AIR BUNS (MODERATE)

1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 package dry active yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lard
1 tbsp salt
1-1/2 tbsp vinegar
4 cups scalded milk (how to scald the milk is in the directions below)
6-10 cups of flour
Mix 1/2 cup warm water (I turn the hot water on the tap on and when I can let it run hot on my wrist and not take my wrist away, but it's fairly warm, then I know it's the right temperature), 1 tsp. sugar, and one package of yeast in a small bowl (if you use the quick-rise yeast you can skip the first rising stage later on). Let stand 10 minutes (or until yeast is dissolved).

Meanwhile, scald 4 cups of milk over medium-low heat in a small pan on the stove. [My mom always used powdered milk but I use regular whole milk. To scald your milk, put it in a pot on the stove on low-medium heat. Watch it and stir constantly. When the milk starts to steam, then it is scalded. Don't burn it!]


Move the yeast mixture to a LARGE mixing bowl and add milk to the yeast mixture, as well as: sugar, lard, salt, and vinegar.
Use your mixer (I only have a hand mixer that has dough hooks, but Devynn uses a Kitchen Aid mixer) to add 6-10 cups flour one cup at a time. Dough should be sticky to the touch, but should come off of the sides of the mixing bowl when you are running the mixer through it.

Knead well.

Place in a large greased bowl, turn once to coat the bottom. Raise 2 hours. Punch down.

Raise 1 more hour.

***Set in buns. To do this stir the dough down first. Then melt some lard and use that on your hands so you can work with the dough (I did not need to use lard on my hands, but it may make it easier). Take a small palm full of dough and knead the dough into a small bun shape. Then put this into a greased sheetpan and continue until you are done with the dough.

Raise again.

Bake 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned on top and sound hollow when you tap them.

***If you want to make these into cinnamon buns take a small amount of dough in your hands and knead the dough and then make it into a 'snake' shape. Dip that into butter and then a cinnamon/sugar mixture and then tie your snake into a knot. Place these into greased muffin tins so they keep their shape. **I don't really know the exact amount of cinnamon and sugar, I pretty much just poured sugar in a bowl, and topped it with cinnamon, mixed them together and went for it. When I ran out, I added more.**

These are soooooo good!

I then made cream cheese frosting to put on the cinnamon buns:

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients together until you achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency (you may have to SLOWLY add a little more milk).

I made these on Saturday, and we are still eating them today. I ended up making half regular air buns, and half cinnamon buns. For the cinnamon buns, I made 12 large buns, and then used 2 mini-cupcake sheets to make mini-buns! They are all sooooo good!

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Menu - Mon, September 28 - Sun, October 4

Monday, September 28
L - Mac & Cheese w/sweet peas and hot dogs
D - Meatloaf minis

Tuesday, September 29
L - Meatloaf minis
D - Steak w/onion & potato cakes

Wednesday, September 30
L - Hummus, Chicken & Salad Pitas
D - Family Dinner @ Potter's

Thursday, October 1
L - Italian Tortellini Salad
D - Family Dinner @ Dymond's

Friday, October 2
L - Orzo w/Broccoli & Pine nuts
D - Baked Fish Fillets

Saturday, October 3
B - Ham & Egg Wraps
L - Fish sticks
D - One dish Chicken Skillet

Sunday, October 4
B - Pancakes
L - (Not sure yet)
D - Stuffed Shells


Alright! Here it is! Hopefully all will go well this week! I'll start visiting the grocery store again on Thursday. No more spending for this month! =)

Love,

Sarah

September 25 - Dinner - Lamb Tagine w/Apricots

This was o.k. Definitely NOT a favorite. I LOVE lamb, so when I saw this recipe, I was extremely excited. Unfortunately, I think it calls for WAY too much cinnamon, which made our tongues numb after a few bites. Don't get me wrong, it WAS delicious. But, I've decided WHEN I make a dish like this again (because my love for lamb will force me too), it will be more of a lamb curry (and NO apricots).

Lamb Tagine with Apricots
4 teaspoons canola oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound lamb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1-1/2 teaspoons each cinnamon, ground cumin, and turmeric (definitely use LESS of these)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
12 dried apricot halves (I did NOT like the texture of these)
3 carrots, sliced
1 large (8-oz) potato, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (I omitted this because I do NOT like mint on my food)

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the lamb and cook, stirring, just until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, ginger and salt; cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Stir in the broth, apricots, carrots, and potato. Transfer to a casserole dish. Cover and cook until the lamb is very tender, about 1-1/2 hours.

Stir in the mint before serving.

If you like lamb, you might as well try this. Just lessen the spices. I tossed this with whole wheat egg noodles.

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Budget BUST!

Well, it's official. I TOTALLY busted my budget this month! So badly, I don't even want to tell you about it. But, I did get 30 lbs of cat food for $18 ($0.10 less per pound than the local warehouse store). I'm going to share some of the deals here, because it's important for you to know that I did stock up on things that I will use in several recipes over the next several months. i.e. I shouldn't have to buy pasta sauce for at least 3 months! And cat food for that matter. Anyways, overall, I did save almost $500! I'd say that's more than 50% savings. I'm going to try to be really good this month, and I shouldn't need lots of things. (I tried to include amount of each if I remembered.)

Here are some of the things I stocked up on last month:

(6) Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta: $0.79/2 boxes - normally $1.79 EACH
(6) Newman's Own Pasta Sauce: $0.69/jar - normally over $2.00 per jar!
(10) Hunt's Diced Tomatoes - $0.55/can - normally over $2 per can!
(9) Purina Cat Food 3.5 lbs - $2.00/bag - normally $5-6/per bag
Cereal - $1 - $1.50 per box - normally between $3-$5/box
(8) Eggo Waffles - $0.68 /box - normally $2.36 per box
(8) Glade Oil Twin Refill packs - $0.75/box - normally $5.49 per box!!!
(3) Glade Oil warmers - FREE - normally $3.99 each
(6) Boxes Green Giant Frozen veggies - $0.50/box - normally $1.99 per box

And there were MANY more things! I'm pretty sure my grocery lists will be pretty small this month (unless I find an EXTREMELY good deal). In fact, I will only have to pick up a few things from Costco until my meat all runs out.

I've also decided I'm not buying bread ever again! I think I've gotten raising yeast down to a science, and I love it! Fresh bread tastes so much better than store bought! Now, to eat the several loaves in my freezer to free up space for more storage!

TTFN!

Love,

Sarah

Busy Weekend

So...yes, I'm a little bit behind. Sorry. I let too many things pile up, and had to catch up on those before I could catch up on here. You should see the pile of laundry I've been washing and folding today! Anyways, I'm going to catch up on what I did cook this weekend.

I did finally give in on Saturday night, and we ordered a pizza! The first time in almost 2 months! I'm proud to say, that it definitely was NOT as good as having a home-cooked meal on a Saturday night, but I was just too worn out to cook.

I'm going to mainly focus on dinners this month. Since we always have something different for breakfast, but usually store-bought, I'll only add breakfast recipes when I actually make something from scratch.

For now, here goes catching up!

Love,

Sarah

September 24 - Dinner - Cheeseburger Chili Mac

I saw this recipe on the Rachael Ray show one day and decided to try it. I've made it several times since, and it always tastes fantastic! It basically takes 3 of everyone's favorite comfort foods, and turns it into 1 dish!

Cheeseburger Chili Mac
1 box elbow pasta (I tend to use ANY whole wheat pasta that's in the house, who cares what shape?)
1-1/2 lbs ground beef (or turkey)
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
chili powder (to your taste. I just add a couple shakes. We don't like it too strong!)
1-2 cups beef broth (depending on how liquidy you want it)
shredded cheddar cheese
olive oil

Preheat the broiler (if you don't have broiler function on your oven, just Preheat it to 450).

Heat the oil (2 turns of the pan) over medium high heat in a skillet. Cook the beef. Drain. Add the chopped onion and chili powder; cook until onions are tender. Add ketchup, mustard and broth. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer about 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta to al dente, according to the package directions. Pour pasta into your 3-4 quart casserole dish.

Mix beef mixure with pasta in the casserole dish. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Put under the broiler until the cheese is cooked.

Estimated Cost: about $4

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 22 - Dinner - Chicken Bruschetta Bake

I wasn't totally thrilled with this one, but I think it's because the layering directions were written out of order in the book. I'm writing it the way I think it SHOULD have been written.

However, Will & the kids all loved it! I liked it too, just wasn't one of my favorites. =)

Chicken Bruschetta Bake
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken (dry)
1/2 cup water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves (I just had dried basil, worked just fine)
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

Heat oven to 400 F. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix (dry), water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

Layer chicken, basil, stuffing mixture and cheese in 13 x 9-inch or 3-quart baking dish.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy now or cover and refrigerate. To reheat, microwave each serving on HIGH 2 to 3 minutes.

**NOTE: I used pre-cooked chicken and still cooked it about 30 minutes. The chicken was still very moist because of the juice from the diced tomatoes and the water.**

Estimated Cost: about $5

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 22 - Lunch - Asian Cabbage Slaw w/Pork

Well, I've decided not to post about breakfast anymore, unless I'm making something other than the usual (cereal, waffles, bagels, oatmeal, etc). It just makes my life easier! =)

For lunch yesterday (yes, I'm a day behind again), we had this recipe:

Asian Cabbage Slaw w/Pork
1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar (I'm sure you can use any white wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger (I had ground, who keeps fresh ginger around the house?)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon honey
2 cups packaged coleslaw mix
1 cup finely chopped cooked pork
2 scallions, thinly sliced diagonally (I don't like scallions, so I skipped these. It's a texture thing. LOL)

Mix together the vinegar, ginger, soy sauce, oil and honey in a medium bowl. Add the coleslaw mix, pork, and scallions, toss to coat.

**This only makes 2 servings. You can EASILY double, triple, etc to make more (which you'll want to because it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!**

Estimated cost: about $4

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Weekly Wonders 9/14 - 9/20

One of the blogs I read on a daily basis does something called "Mailbox Mondays". So, I've been saving everything I received in the mail for the past week (and will continue to do so on a weekly basis). Since I don't want to be a total copycat, I HAD to come up with a different name. Mine will be called "Weekly Wonders". Anyways, here's all the things I got in the mail last week:

*Coupon for 1 free chocalate bar from Mars Candy

*Costco Coupon Book - Didn't find too much in here that I would use

*A book from Publix called "Baby You" with 2 diaper coupons (could make some great deals) and 2 formula coupons (which I'll be passing on to a friend)

*Kashi Cereal Sample and $2 off coupon

*Bed, Bath & Beyond $5 off any item coupon (has to be on $15 total)

*Publix Preschool Club mailing with toy for Felicity & two Publix coupons\

*Bealls coupon for $10 off $50 purchase (expired Sun, 20th)

*Colgate Palmolive Fliers with 5 coupons (received 2 by accident...this came in the junk mail flier we all receive in our mailboxes once a week!)

Can't wait to see what I'll get this week!

Did you get anything good in your mailbox this week?? Share it!

Love,

Sarah

September 21 - Dinner - Capellini Caprese w/Shrimp

Ok, so this is another one I'll be making again next month! Will & I both had 2 helpings! Deliciouso!

Capellini Caprese w/Shrimp
1/2 pound capellini or spaghetti, uncooked
1/2 cup Tuscan house Italian Dressing (I just used plain house italian because the Tuscan wasn't on sale!)
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes (you could also use 3 tomatoes, chopped)
1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil, finely sliced
2/3 pound cooked shrimp (mine were frozen, so I thawed and drained them)

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat dressing in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and shrimp; cook 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta. Add to tomato mixture; mix lightly. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

This was very delicious. There's only 1 serving for leftovers today! Good thing I planned on making something else for lunch!

Estimated Cost: about $10

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Menu - Mon, September 21 - Sunday, September 27

Ok, I just realized I forgot to put the menu up again! LOL. Anyways, Here it is:

Monday, September 21

B - Toaster Strudels
L - Hummus, Chicken, & Salad Pitas
D - Capellini Caprese w//Shrimp

Tuesday, September 22
B - Cereal
L - Asian Cabbage Slaw w/Pork
D - Chicken Bruschetta Bake

Wednesday, September 23
B - English Muffins
L - Chicken Bruschetta Bake
D - Family Dinner @ Potter's

Thursday, September 24
B - Oatmeal
L - Italian Tortellini Salad
D - Cheeseburger Chili Mac

Friday, September 25
B - Bagels w/cream cheese
L - Stuffed Baked Potatoes
D - Lamb Tagine w/Apricots

Saturday, September 26
B - Mozzerella & Tomato Strata
L - Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
D - Lemon Pepper Pork

Sunday, September 27
B - French Toast
L - Spicy Thai Chicken Wraps
D - Burgers (we'll probably be watching the Dolphins game! Hopefully, they'll win this one!)

Ok. So, as long as everything goes as planned, this is what we'll be having for the week!!

Follow along!

Love,

Sarah

September 21 - Breakfast & Lunch - Nothing Special...

Well, yesterday for breakfast, we were all about the toaster strudels again! LOL. It's so nice, because almost every morning, Will will take the kids (who wake up at 6) after Westley's done nursing (about 6:30) and get the started on breakfast. Most mornings, I won't even have to give them any breakfast! How fantastic it is to have a hubby that does this for me!

Anyways, for lunch, I had to make the Chicken, Hummus & Salad Pitas again! They were just sooo tasty last week! Will loved them again, so they will definitely become a weekly thing in our home!

September 20 - Dinner

Well, Yesterday was my late brother-in-law's b-day. So, to remember him, Will's mom took us out to dinner. Well, we actually ordered in, but it was still nice of course. We ordered PA BBQ Grille, and rented one of the funniest movies ever, Guess Who.

Check back in a little bit for this week's menu!

Love,

Sarah

September 20 - Lunch - Spicy Thai-Style Chicken Wraps

I made this for my family, and everybody loved it (except I didn't make it spicy)!

Spicy Thai-Style Chicken Wraps
4 teaspoons canola oil (I used olive oil)
4 cups packaged coleslaw mix
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (LEAVE THIS OUT if you DON'T want it spicy!!)
2 cups finely chopped cooked skinless chicken breast (you could also use turkey)
1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
4 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 (10-in) burrito size tortillas, warmed (we used sun-dried tomato wraps)

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high hear. Add the coleslaw mix, scallions, and crushed red pepper (LEAVE THIS OUT if you DON'T want it spicy!!); cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage begins to wilt, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the chicken, peanuts, lime juice, and soy sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil.

Spoon half of the filling onto each tortilla, roll up the tortillas and cut in half diagonally.

We doubled the recipe and were able to make 4 wraps and had enough leftover for at least 2 more! My sister Katie went on and on about this meal! It was delicious!

Estimated Cost: about $6

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 20 - Breakfast - Blueberry Pancakes

I wish I could say I made pancake batter from scratch, but I didn't. I will next time though!

Blueberry Pancakes
Pancake mix
blueberries

Follow box/bottle directions to make pancake mix. Spray skillet/griddle with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Pour some of the batter into the skillet. Add some fresh blueberries. When batter starts to bubble, flip the pancake over.

Will actually cooked this one. We don't add the blueberries until the batter is poured into the skillet because Felicity and I prefer plain pancakes. =)

Estimate Cost: about $3

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 19 - Dinner - Lemon Thyme Chicken w/Roasted Potatoes & Carrots

Alright, so this is basically a Roasted Chicken, with a little twist. I'm not going to re-write how to roast a chicken. You can click HERE for that. You just have to combine this with that recipe.

Lemon-thyme Paste for Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons dried
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt, divided 1/4 & 3/4

**needed separately** - 1 lemon cut into 8 slices

Chop the ingredients (3/4 salt) together until a thick paste forms (I use a kitchen chopper for this).

**How to use with the roaster chicken**

Carefully separate the skin from the breast of the chicken. Shove half of the Lemon-thyme paste under the right side of the breast. Carefully massage it all the way to the front of the chicken, making sure it is evenly spread out on the breast. Repeat with the left side. Put lemon slices on top of chicken.

This turned out so well! I also stuffed it with sliced oranges and lemons. The meat was extremely moist and full of flavor. My whole house smelled fantastic!

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 19 - Breakfast - Denver-Style Shirred Eggs

On Saturday mornings, I like to try to make something special. This weekend it was this:

Denver-Style Shirred Eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup diced lean ham (I didn't have ham, so I used bacon)
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 large eggs
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 325. Spray 4 (6 ounce) ovenproof ramekins or custard cups with nonstick spray.

Heat oil in a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Divide the bell pepper mixture among the ramekins. Carefully break 1 egg into each ramekin.

Place the ramekins on a small baking sheet and bake just until the eggs begin to set, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle each egg with 3 tablespoons of the cheese and the pepper. Bake until the egg whites are opaque and the yolks are set, 4-5 minutes longer.

This was a delicious breakfast! (Of course, the kids didn't want this, neither of them really like the texture of eggs, but Will & I loved it!)

Estimated cost: about $4

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Tip #2 - Buying Produce

Alright. Now, I have to tell you, that I went produce shopping Friday, late morning, which is why I never got to make the chicken broccoli orzo. Anyways, there's a little "farmer's market" (actually it's about the size of a barn), called C&D Produce, not too far from my house. While I was there, I spent $18.29! For 2 weeks worth of produce! Now, if you shop at a grocery store for your produce, $4.xx of that would just be for pre-bagged lettuce! Here's what I got:

1 red pepper - $0.90 ($1.29/lb)
5 plum tomatoes - $0.58 ($0.79/lb)
.59 lbs string beans - $0.47 ($0.79/lb) - that's less than a can costs, and it's better because it's fresh!
2 green peppers - $0.37 ($0.69/lb) - these were $0.78 EACH at Walmart on SALE!
Romaine lettuce (2 hearts) - $1.75
1.97 lb Mini-bananas - $1.75 ($0.89/lb)
3 beefsteak tomatoes - $0.85 ($0.49/lb) - these would have cost about $4 at Publix!
1 orange - $0.35 - I think these were 3/$1
3 LARGE red potatoes - $0.93 ($0.59/lb)
3 bulbs garlic - $0.79 ($1.49/lb)
6 Idaho potatoes - $2.16 ($0.59/lb)
2 Granny Smith apples - $0.76 ($0.79/lb)
1 pint grape tomatoes - $1.79
red creamer potatoes - $0.99 ($0.99/lb)
1 red onion - $0.33 ($0.59/lb)
1/2 pint blueberries - $1.99
6 LARGE carrots - $0.90 ($0.49/lb)
2 HUGE sweet potatoes - $1.28 ($0.69/lb) - I really mean HUGE when I say it about these! 1 could feed 3-4 people!

Total cost: $18.29! Next time I go to Publix, I'm going to check out prices on these items, and I'll compare. I'll try to make a spreadsheet to show you! These are all items I would normally buy even if I wasn't planning monthly meals. If you include the less than a gallon of gas it takes me to get there, I probably spent a total of $20! Not bad!

It's totally worth it! Plus, the little market is Spanish based, so they have some REALLY interesting fruits/veggies there, and the kids get to feel and hear the names of the stuff. Plus, they can TOUCH everything without getting looked at funny. It's a whole learning experience!

Next time you need to buy produce, think twice before getting it at your normal store! (Plus, you can go here before your grocery store because it won't go bad sitting in your car while you grocery shop...as long as you don't take forever!)

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 18 - Dinner - Chili Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Chili Stuffed Baked Potatoes

4 russet (Idaho) potatoes

1 can (15 oz) chili

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sour cream, divided

1/2 green pepper, finely sliced

1/2 red pepper, finely slice

Put potatoes on microwaveable plate. Prick in several places with a fork. Cover. Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until tender (My microwave has a baked potato setting, and you just choose how many potatoes you are making).

Heat chili in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Cut potatoes. Scoop out inside of the potato. Mix with 1/4 cup sour cream, green and red peppers (you can omit these if you like). Reheat for 1-2 minutes, until peppers are slightly cooked.

Stuff potato mixture back into the potato shells. Top with chili, sour cream and cheddar cheese.

This was a hit in our house! Westley ate almost a whole potato on his own!

Estimated Cost: about $5

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 18 - Lunch - Chicken Orzo w/Broccoli & Pine Nuts

Ok, so I didn't actually get to make this, but I wanted to post the recipe because it just sounds sooooo good! And, I WILL make it one day this wek.


Chicken Orzo w/Broccoli & Pine Nuts
2 (14-oz) cans vegetable or chicken broth
2 cups water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 shredded carrot
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups orzo
1 (16-oz) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed & patted dry
1/4 cup half & half
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1 cup shredded or cubed chicken breast

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat and keep at a simmer.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the orzo and cook, stirring, until it is lightly toasted, about 2 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup of the broth mixture and stir until it is absorbed. Continue to add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed before adding more. Cook until the orzo is tender but slightly firm, adding the broccoli & chicken with the last addition of broth. Remove from the heat and stir in the half & half, Parmesan, and pine nuts.

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Backed Up!

Ooops! I just realized I never posted about Wednesday or Thursday on here! Well, normally on Wednesday nights, we have family dinner at my parents' house. This week, my mom & sister both weren't feeling well, so we didn't go over there (just in case of swine flu, you know. LOL) Anyways, I took it as my chance to take a one night break from my cooking schedule since I didn't have anything planned anyways. So, I took advantage of the fish sticks I bought on Monday (and the ones from a couple weeks ago that were taking up room in my freezer), and made fish sticks with green beans & apple sauce. Very simple meal , but no one complained.

For Thursday breakfast, we all had toaster strudels. We had a playdate at a friend's pool, so it was a nice light breakfast.

For lunch, I stumbled back to mac & cheese w/hot dogs and sweet peas. It was supposed to be BLTs, but I still haven't made it to the produce market, and I used our last tomato for our taco salad. Oh well.

This week for family dinner with Will's mom, we went to her house. That's why I moved the Bruschetta Chicken bake to later this week. I still can't wait to make it. Anyways, she made crock pot pork roast with egg noodles, green beans, carrots & potatoes. It was DELICIOUS!

Today we have had cereal for breakfast. For lunch, we'll be having Chicken Orzo with broccoli & pine nuts! MMMMMMmmmm!! Sounds delicious already. For now, it's off to the splash park with the kids!

Love,

Sarah

September 15 - Dinner - Pork Chops with Apples & Stuffing and Steamed Green Beans

Well, EVERYONE raved about this dish! It will definitely go on the menu again for next month! Even the kids loved it! And, it was sooo easy to make!

Pork Chops with Apples & Stuffing
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling
6 boneless pork loin chops (1-1/2 lbs), 3/4 in thick (I only made 4 chops because we don't like too many leftovers)

Heat oven to 375 F. Prepare stuffing as directed on the package.

Spread the pie filling onto the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan (I used an 8 x 8 for 4 chops) sprayed with cooking spray; top with chops and stuffing. Cover with foil.

Bake 30 minutes; uncover. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until chops are cooked through (I actually had to bake another additional 10 minutes and I don't think mine were 3/4 in thick).

Will went on and on about how good this dish was! Even several hours later. (Like I said, he doesn't rave unless it's extremely good.)

Steamed Green Beans
1 lb fresh string beans
water

Snap off the ends of the string beans and break them in half. Rinse with running water. Fill steamer with water and place green beans on the top. Bring to a boil and steam for about 10 minutes. Empty water and move beans to the saucepan. Toss with salt, pepper, and a little butter.

Estimated cost: about $8

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 15 - Breakfast & Lunch

So, for breakfast today, Will let me sleep while he fed both the kids oatmeal! What a GREAT husband (and a GREAT surprise!)

Since we're going to playgroup today at Patsy's (my oldest FL cousin), I'm making my egg bake again. This time, I used bacon instead of sausage.

For lunch, we'll have leftover taco salad. And I can't wait for dinner! Pork chops with apples and stuffing! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

See you later!

Love, Sarah

September 14 - Dinner - Taco Salad

Taco salad is one of the easiest meals to make!

Taco Salad
1 packet taco seasoning
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 bag of lettuce, or other lettuce (about 1.5 cups per person)
salsa
sour cream
1/2 bag frozen corn
taco blend Mexican cheese
3/4 cups water

In a large skillet, brown beef. While beef is cooking, cook corn according to package directions. Once beef is browned, drain and return to the stove. Add 3/4 cups of water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, and simmer about 3-4 minutes (or until most of the liquid is absorbed).

Place about 1 cup of lettuce in each bowl. Top with ground beef, corn, onion, tomato, sour cream, salsa and cheese.

Estimated Cost: about $7!
**You could also cook the beef in Italian dressing instead, and add red kidney beans. I don't like beans, so I don't do this. Also, you could crumble up tortilla chips into the salad (I normally do this, but totally forgot last night).**

Delicious! Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

$50 Publix Gift Card Giveaway!!

One of my FAVORITE bloggers is giving away a $50 Publix gift card! Check it out!
_____________________________________________

It is official–I Heart Publix has 1000 fans on Facebook! I am honestly blown away as it took less than 2 weeks!


I started this site less than 6 months ago and it has completely surpassed all of my expectations! You guys are the best about sharing deals you find, emailing me the latest coupon booklets and passing on information that I could never find all by myself!

So–I think it is time to celebrate with a giveaway! I am going to give one reader a $50 Publix gift card to use as they wish! I bet most of you could make a $50 gift card stretch a long way. You could also use it to splurge and grab things that you might not typically buy. It is up to you!

How to enter:
Leave a comment –just say HI or tell me how the site has helped you cut costs.
Tweet about this giveaway- include me (@iheartpublix) in the twitter so I can see it.
Grab my button (located on right sidebar) Make sure to leave the link to your site in your comment.
Blog about this giveaway (leave your blog link in the comment)
Subscribe to the site via RSS (if you already subscribe just say–current subscriber in the comment)

That means you can enter up to five times. You MUST leave a separate comment for each entry (up to 5 comments)! Specify each entry method in the comment and leave the appropriate info for me to verify. The contest will end 9/21 at 11pm. I will select a winner using random.org.

GOOD LUCK!!

Hawaiian Bread

So, I made THE most amazing Hawaiian bread last night!! Sooo delicious and perfectly sweet!

Sweet Hawaiian Bread

4 - 4.5 cups of flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 envelopes (.25 oz each) dry active yeast

1/2 cup warm water (120 F - 130 F)

1/2 cup warm milk (120 F - 130 F)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

2 tablespoons honey

3 large eggs, divided

Combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl; mix well. Add water, milk, butter and honey. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on high speed 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs; mix until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour until a soft dough forms.

Knead doungh on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes.Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in a warm place until almost double in size, about 1 hour.

Grease baking sheet. Punch down dough. Shape dough into a ball. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover; let rise until almost double in size, 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat remaining egg in a small bowl until smooth. Uncover loaf; brush with beaten egg. Bake bread until golden and sounds hollow when lightly tapped, 25-35 minutes. Remove loaf from baking sheet; place on wire rack to cool.

***For Hawaiian rolls, shape dough into 24 balls and place in a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Let rise until almost double in size. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 350 F until golden, about 20 minutes.***

Yummy, yummy!

Love,

Sarah

Tip #1 - Shredded Chicken

Here's a tip about shredding chicken and freezing it for future meals! My friend Devynn taught me this and posted it on her blog, so I thought I'd post it here to. HERE's her link.

Boil your chicken until it isn't pink anymore (I boil 5+ at a time in my biggest pot straight from the freezer) and then take the chicken out of the water and put it in your Kitchenaid mixer with the whipping attachment and shred your chicken! Then I freeze them in approximately 1-cup increments and I always have shredded chicken on hand. It's awesome!!!!

Now, I don't have a Kitchenaid mixer, but this chicken is so moist when it's finished boiling that, once it cools down, you can shred it with your hands (or two forks). Or, if you want to be really brave, you can put it in your food processor for a very short time. (Each time I've done this, I end up with teeny tiny pieces. It's great for mixing into applesauce for Westley, making chicken salad, or topping your salad with, but not so great for meals with substance. So, still working on getting it "just" right.)

September 14 - Lunch - Chicken, Hummus, & Salad Pitas

Breakfast was pretty boring this morning. It was more of a mish-mosh of things. LOL. The kids ate some of Will's bagel with cream cheese, watermelon, and yogurt. Then, they both had their own bowl of cereal.

Lunch, on the other hand, was awesome! I made Chicken, Hummus & Salad Pitas!

Chicken, Hummus & Salad Pitas

1 cup chicken, shredded or cubed

1 plum tomato, chopped

1/2 cup chopped seedless cucumber (I think one with seeds would be fine. I didn't even have one.)

1 scallion, thinly sliced (I don't prefer scallions, so I omitted this)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (another item I don't prefer)

1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

1 (6-inch) whole wheat pita bread (you can buy pita pockets already cut and sliced open)

2 tablespoons hummus (I like the garlic kind)

1 cup loosely packed mixed salad greens

3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the tomato, cucumber, scallion, dill, lemon juice and chicken in a medium bowl; set aside.

Halve the pita bread crosswise to form 2 pockets. Spread 1 tablespoon of the hummus inside each pocket.

Gently stir the salad greens and feta cheese into the tomato mixture. Spoon evenly into the 2 pita pockets.

Serve at once or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 6 hours.

Now, mine made enough to fill 3-4 pita halves, so I would say this could easily feed 2-4 people. However, Will ate 2 halves and I had 1 and the leftovers in the bowl. This was absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making this again.

I didn't have a cucumber, and I don't think it made THAT much of a difference. Oh, and my Feta cheese was already seasoned with sun-dried tomato flakes and basil, so I didn't use any dill.

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Grocery Shopping Trip

Well, looks like I have hit my "budget" for the month. Although, I still have to go to the produce market to get some fresh fruits and veggies. Darn. HOWEVER, the trip I made today included stocking up on quite a few things. Here's what I got:

I paid out-of-pocket (OOP) $80.74. But I saved $107.07!!! I'd say that's pretty darn good! Plus, I stocked up on pasta sauce, pasta, cream cheese, laundry detergent and frozen veggies! Ok. Hereare my highlights and best deals...

4 All Detergents - On sale $4.99 Each BOGO - w/Qs, I paid $1.50 each!

6 jars Newman's Own - BOGO - w/Qs, I paid $0.85 each!

2 Boxes Kix Cereal - BOGO - w/Qs, I paid $1.25 each!
2 Boxes Frosted Mini Wheats - BOGO - w/Qs, $1.35 each
6 Green Giant Frozen Veggies - 10/$10 - w/Qs, $0.50 each!
4 Toaster Strudels - BOGO - w/Qs, $0.25 each!
6 Healthy Harvest Pastas - BOGO - w/Qs, $0.40 each!
5 Philly Cream Cheese - 5/$5 - w/Qs, $0.40 each!
3 Duncan Hines Brownie Mix - 10/$10 - $1.00 each!

I also purchased items I needed for the rest of the month's meals. So, if you were to take away all the stuff I "stocked up" on, I'd still be under $250. But, since I bought it in September, it's going in my total grocery spending. We'll hopefully make it to the produce market this afternoon, but if not, definitely tomorrow. I'm hoping to only spend about $20 there, but sometimes they have such great, fresh produce, you can't help but spend more! We'll see!

At least I won't have to buy pasta sauce, detergent, frozen veggies, or breakfast stuff for a while (other than eggs)! =)

Happy shopping!

Love,

Sarah

Menu - Mon, September 14 - Sun, September 20

Alright. Here's the menu for the next week!

Monday, September 14
B - Cereal
L - Hummus, Chicken, & Salad Pitas
D - Taco Salad

Tuesday, September 15
B - Toaster Strudels
L - Taco Salad
D - Pork Chops w/apples & Stuffing

Wednesday, September 16
B - English Muffins
L - Pork Chops w/apples & Stuffing
D - Family Dinner @ Potter's

Thursday, September 17
B - Oatmeal
L - BLTs
D - Family Dinner @ Dymond's

Friday, September 18
B - Bagels w/cream cheese
L - Orzo w/broccoli & pine nuts
D - Chili Baked Potatoes

Saturday, September 19
B - Denver Style Shirred Eggs
L - Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
D - Lemon Thyme Roasted Chicken w/roasted carrots & potatoes

Sunday, September 20
B - Mozzerella & Tomato Strata
L - Spicy Thai Chicken Wraps
D - Burgers

This is what the plan is. Of course, things could change at any minute! Hopefully not, but we'll see. For now, I'm off to the grocery store. Hopefully, I won't have to go back after this week, unless there are some AMAZING deals that I just can't pass up! =)

See you later!

Love,

Sarah

September 13

Well, today was very uneventful. At least cooking wise!

For breakfast, we had scrambled eggs with 1/2 bagel & cream cheese each. Lunch, was leftovers. And dinner is frozen pizza.

The Dolphins lost. Ugh! Oh well. At least we got some great deals at CVS!

2 Airwick FreshMatic Minis for FREE! - Coupons & ECBs
2 Small Listerine Bottles for $0.99 each - Coupons & ECBs
2 Children's Motrin 4 oz bottles for $7.00 - thanks to ECB & Coupons

But the best deal of all was yesterday!

I was able to get 12 bottles of shampoo/conditioner for $0.23 each (pre-tax)!! Yes, I only paid $2.76 for 12 bottles of VO5 (yeah, so it's not name brand, but it still smells good and cleans great! Anyone local should definitely take this Coupon Class! It's soooo worth the $20!

Anyways, tomorrow I make my trip for the last of the groceries for the month. Also, I'm going to make Hawaiin bread!

See you tomorrow!!

Love,

Sarah

September 12 - Dinner - Shrimp Pomodoro Pasta

This meal was DELICIOUS! The leftovers were a huge hit today at my parents' house as well!

Shrimp Pomodoro Pasta - 4 servings, 1-1/2 cups each
1/2 cup basalmic vinaigrette dressing
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, UNDRAINED
2 cups penne pasta, uncooked
1 lb cooked cleaned shrimp (I used frozen from Costco)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Heat large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Add dressing, onions & garlic; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; cook 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook pasta accoring to package directions.

Add shrimp to the sauce; cook 2 minutes or until cooked through.

Drain pasta, toss with shrimp mixture and sprinkle with cheese!

This was extremely easy to make! I served it with my homemade bread, that I buttered, garlic powdered, and toasted! (Easy peasy garlic bread!) I think I was supposed to make a vegetable too, but I was so tired.

Anyways, this was extremely delicious!

Estimated cost: about $7!

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Change in Dinner Plans

On the menu tonight was frozen pizza. However, I just learned that we are going to be spending the day at my parents tomorrow, because the Fins' first season game is tomorrow!! So, I'm going to save the frozen pizza for tomorrow night's meal because we will probably end up eating at my parents', and I REALLY don't want to miss out on making Shrimp Pomodoro Pasta! Mmmmmm....I'll be making that tonight instead! I can't wait!

See you later!

Love,

Sarah

September 12 - Breakfast & Lunch

Well, we were going to have fruit & yogurt smoothies for breakfast, but we still haven't made it to the produce market yet. We're hoping to go today once the kids are done napping.

Since we got such a great deal on cereal yesterday (and no, I normally would not buy sugary cereals, unless there was an EXTREMELY good deal on Lucky Charms), we had Fruit Loops mixed with Cheerios for breakfast.

For lunch, we'll be finishing the pork fried rice and the little bit of cheesy chicken broccoli & rice casserole.

Woo-hoo!

For now, I've got one child napping, and the other is heading there!! =) Lots of laundry to do today!

See you later!

Love,

Sarah

CVS Trip - 9/11/09

So, I wouldn't normally buy groceries (except milk) at CVS, but when I was in there buying milk yesterday, I noticed that their General Mills cereals were $2.00 a box, and I knew I had a $2.00 off of 2 coupon, which would make it be BOGO for me. So, I grabbed their weekly ad on the way out and went home to see what I could do.

Here's how I did!!

4 boxes cereal: $4.00

2 Ajax Dish Soaps: FREE!

2 Colgate Toothpastes: $1.39

1 Crest Toothpaste: $0.99 (after $2.50 ECB)

2 VO5: $1.54

3 lb bag cat food: $2.99

4 full-size EDY's Ice Creams: $5.99! (That's $1.50 each!)

Total cost: $15.19! I saved $49.23! That's a 70% savings at a drugstore! I just couldn't pass up that Edy's deal! They were BOGO. Plus, I had a coupon Buy 3, get 1 free. Since the store offered the BOGO, I was technically purchasing 3. So, I got 4 for the price of 1! We eat ice cream a LOT here, so it was a fantastic deal! Plus, I got $2.50 back in extra care bucks, so my total cost was really only: $12.69. That's just $0.80 per item!

September 11 - Dinner - Pork Fried Rice

So, this recipe also came from my friend Devynn. Her original recipe is Chicken Fried Rice (you can find that HERE). I've modified a few things to make it for my taste.

Pork Fried Rice - You need a large frying pan for this (I use a wok)
3-4 cups of cooked rice
2 cooked and cubed pork chops
veggies, broccoli, carrots, onion, corn, peas (whatever you want or have on hand) - I also always buy a can of Oriental Stir-fry Vegetables. It's a yellow can.
butter (margarine)
olive oil (Devynn uses canola oil, but I don't normally have this on hand)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder or about 1 minced garlic clove (we use pre-minced)
onion powder
3 eggs, slightly beaten
Lawry's 30-minute Marinade Sesame Ginger

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in your wok. Cook pork until cooked through (inside should be almost completely white). Move to a plate or bowl and save for later.

Put a tbsp or two of oil in your pan and coat the pan and then saute your veggies until almost tender. I salt and pepper my veggies, I think it helps bring out the taste while they cook. Right before they are done, I pour the Lawry's Sesame Ginger once around the pan, just enough to let them soak in while you are cooking the rice. Start with a little. Remember, you can always put more in later! Put the veggies in a dish and set to the side.

Put another tbsp or two of butter and oil as well in the pan and warm up and coat the bottom of your pan and then put in your rice. I like to kind of pat the rice down so it is all flat.

Don't stir. You will be tempted to. Let it 'fry'. Don't let it burn! BUT, let it get crispy. One that bottom part is crispy, "flip" the rice and do the same thing again, flatten the rice, let get crispy. When the rice is starting to brown on the bottom, make a space to cook your eggs in. You basically scramble them on the side, then mix them in with the rice.

Add your veggies back into the rice and your pork, along with the garlic powder, onion powder and some more marinade (I'm not giving you an exact amount, because this stuff can get very strong if you use too much. Some people just like a little flavor, and some like a lot, and you can always add more to it). You may want to turn your heat down a bit so you can saute them more. At this point you are just reheating the veggies and heating up the pork.

I made this with chicken for family dinner once, and my mom loved it so much, she made it again just 4 days later!

**After making this with pork last night, we all decided that we definitely like it better with chicken. Pork just doesn't hold it's juices when cut into small pieces like chicken does. It was still delicious!**

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

Homemade White Bread

Ok. so my good friend Devynn bakes fresh bread EVERY few days! It always looks and smells so delicious in her house, I decided why not give it a try? If I could bake bread for pennies instead of buying it, I might as well try.

Here's the recipe from Devynn's blog. (You can find the original link HERE). I was shocked that I got it right on the first try! Even without a rolling pin or loaf pan. LOL. It is DELICIOUS!

Basic White Bread

1/2 cup milk
3 TBSP sugar
2 tsp salt
3 TBSP marg. or butter
2 pkgs active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 - 115 F)
5 - 6 cups all purpose flour

Place milk, sugar, salt and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm. (I find that if I dissolve the sugar and salt in the milk and then add the butter, it melts the butter and cools quicker - less waiting).

Dissolve yeast in warm water in mixer bowl. Add milk mixture and 4 1/2 cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Mix about 1 min. on speed 2.

Cont. on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 min. Knead onspeed 2 about 2 min. longer, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour or until doubled on bulk.

Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll each half into a rectangleapprox. 9 x 14". Roll the dough from the short end. Pinch at ends to seal the seams. Place dough seam side down in loaf pan. Cover. Let rise about 1 hour.

Bake at 400 F until golden brown - about 30 minutes (my oven only takes about 21 minutes). Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

I sometimes use up to 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and substitute 3tbsp ground flax for 1 tbsp butter.

Homemade Chicken Broth

Ok. So normally, if I roast or buy a rotisserie chicken, I just throw away all the bones. This time, I knew that I would be needing chicken broth later in the month, so I decided to try making my own! Here's how I made it last night:

Homemade Chicken Broth
bones from 1 roaster chicken
tops of celery
onion slices
lime & lemon (from the inside of the chicken I roasted on Tuesday)
salt
pepper
any other flavorings you may want in your broth
6 cups of water

Place all ingredients in a large pot. Cover with water. Turn burner on high and bring water to a boil. Let it boil about 30 minutes. Turn heat down to low, and let it simmer for a few hours (I think mine simmered for at least 3. I lost track of time cooking dinner, feeding the kids, etc.)

Use a fine strainer to strain the bones and other stuff out of the broth, and pour it into a large bowl (or measuring cup). Store how you would normally store a liquid. I personally measured out 1 cup servings and poured them into ziplocs. Then, when it's time to use them, I will just drop the broth into whatever I'm cooking, or defrost it in a bowl of warm water.

Oh, and your home smells delicious while this is cooking!

Love,

Sarah

September 10 - Dinner - Cheesy Broccoli Chicken & Rice Casserole

This was one of my favorite meals as a kid. My mom used to make it all the time! But, since she's out of town, I had to figure out my own way of making it. After looking at several recipes, here's what I came up with. (Which, BTW, Will kept saying "this is sooooo good"!)

Cheesy Broccoli Chicken & Rice Casserole
2 cups minute rice (cooked according to package directions)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pound velveeta cheese (I only used about 2/3 of a block and it was still really cheesy)
1 (16 oz) package frozen chopped broccoli (or you can use fresh steamed broccoli)
1 cup milk
1-1/2 to 2 cups shredded or cubed chicken (I used the leftovers from my roasted chicken that I made Tuesday night)
French fried onions, bread crumbs, or crumbled crackers

Preheat oven to 350. In a large saucepan, combine soup, Velveeta and milk, until a creamy sauce forms and all Velveeta is melted (be careful not to have the stove on too high, or you will burn the cheese. I used medium heat.) Mix the broccoli and chicken into the sauce. Pour the cooked rice into a 2-quart (or whatever size you have) casserole dish. Mix the cheese/broccoli mixture in with the rice. Top with french fried onions (or whichever topping you decide to use). Bake about 1 hour (or until cheese mixture is boiling).

As I said before, Will & his mom raved on how good this is (Will usually eats everything, but only comments when it really is good!). Westley ate 3 adult size helpings!

**I know, I was supposed to make pork fried rice last night, but for some reason I had it stuck in my head that this was supposed to make this. So, look for Pork Fried Rice Tonight!**

Estimated Cost: About $6 for 6-8 servings

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 10 - Breakfast & Lunch

Ok, so nothing fancy yesterday morning. We all had English muffins with butter & jelly.

For lunch, we were still at our playdate (Thank you Andrea!), so the kids had chicken nuggets while we were there. Will & I finished the lasagne.

Very boring.

Love,

Sarah

BIG COUPON WEEKEND!!!

This is a big weekend for coupon inserts…there will be FIVE different inserts this weekend’s paper: Two SmartSource, A General Mills insert and TWO RedPlum inserts! You can see all the coupons HERE at The Coupon Clippers site.


There are going to be some Publix coupons available that might make for a good deal since they can be used with a manufacturer coupon to save big buck! Here are some ideas:

-$1 off OJ WYB General Mills CEREAL, 8.9 oz or larger
-Buy 2 General Mills products and get a FREE PUBLIX reusable shopping bag
-$1 off Fresh Fruit WYB Nature Valley Granola Bars, Nut Clusters, Chex Mix Bars or Milk ‘n Cereal bars
-$1 off Pillsbury Biscuits or Bread WYB Progresso Soup
-$1 off Publix Ice Cream WYB Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix
-$1 off Ground Beef WYB Hamburger Helper

**Thank you Michelle at iheartpublix!

Love,

Sarah

September 9 - Dinner - Beef & Zucchini Lasagne w/Steamed Broccoli, Carrots & Garlic Toast

Beef & Zucchini Lasagne
8 oz (1/2 package) lasagne noodles, uncooked
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese, divided
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
6-1/2 cups (52 oz) of your favorite pasta sauce
1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage, cooked and drained
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 large zucchini

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the Mozzerella cheese, parmesan cheese, and eggs. Mix well. In a separate bowl, add browned meat to pasta sauce and mix well. Slice zucchini into very thin slices (I use a veggie slicer for this).

Spread 1 cup of the meat-sauce mixture in a 9 x 13 pan. Place 1/3 of the uncooked lasagne noodles over sauce. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the noodles. Place zucchini slices evenly over the cheese mixture. Top with 1/3 of the meat-sauce mixture.

Repeat layering. Top with remaining noodles and meat sauce mixture. Cover with foil. Bake 55 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with reserved Mozzerella and parsley flakes. Bake an additonal 5 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Buttery Garlic Toast
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup of butter or margerine, softened
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons water
2 baguettes, or 1 loaf French or Cuban bread, thin sliced (most bakeries can just run the bread through their slicer if you ask)

Preheat oven to 425. Put garlic and water into a blender. In a glass measuring cup, mix together butter and olive oil. Slowly add butter mixture to the blender. Blend until garlic is pureed and you have a "paste".

Arrange bread pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush garlic butter paste onto each slice of bread. Bake until golden brown.

Steamed Carrots/Broccoli (recipe is the same for both)
2 bunches broccoli , cut into pieces or 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced

Put water into your steamer. Place broccoli or carrots into the top part of the steamer. Steam until tender (a fork pierces them easily). Be careful not to oversteam the broccoli. Steamed broccoli should be bright green in color, and easily pierced with a fork.

This was a big hit last night! Since my mom and sister were out of town, I had family dinner here. Everyone had at least 2 helpings!

Estimated Cost: about $10! And it could have served 8-12 people (if we didn't like it so much!) =)

We were lucky to have leftovers for lunch later today!

Delicious meal!

Love,

Sarah

September 9 - Breakfast & Lunch

First thing's first...HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLLS!

Ok. Now that that's out of the way, onto breakfast and lunch for the day. This morning for breakfast, Felicity had cereal (she doesn't like eggs), and the boys had the rest of the egg bake from playgroup yesterday. I will have a yogurt mixed with cereal (I waste the milk if I eat it with milk, and isn't the reason I'm writing this about saving money???)

For lunch, we'll be using some of the leftover chicken from last night and either having chicken salad sandwiches, or just eating the chicken with barbeque sauce. I'll be saving just enough chicken for Friday night's dinner, which is Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice casserole! Mmmmm.

Then for dinner tonight, since my Mom & sister are out of town, I'm holding family dinner at my house, and I'm cooking lasagna with beef and zucchini. We'll have broccoli and garlic toasts on the side. (Which reminds me, I need to get the bread for the toasts.)

So...check back later for the recipes!

Love, Sarah

P.S. Also check out my other blog, as I'm going to start posting deals that I read from other blogs. Enjoy!

September 8 Dinner - Roast Chicken w/Roasted Carrots, Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Roast Chicken w/Roasted Carrots, Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Ok. My first attempt at this was last week, and it was pretty good. Tonight, it was AMAZING!

**Thank you Andrea for giving me the confidence and introducing me to roasting chickens!**

Roast Chicken w/Roasted Carrots, Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli
4-5 pound fryer chicken
3 large red potatoes
1/2 bag baby carrots (or 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced)
oil
garlic powder
onion powder
1 lemon cut into 3 pieces
1 lime cut into 4 pieces
1/2 an onion sliced
salt
pepper
2 bunches broccoli

Preheat oven to 350. Scrub and rinse potatoes. Cut potatoes into small pieces (about 1-1/2 in). Place potatos and carrots in a roasting pan (or dark 9 x 13 baking pan). Mix potatoes and carrots with 1-2 tablespoons oil and S&P. Make sure they are coated well.

Prepare your chicken. Remove giblets and other parts (usually in a bag stuffed in the chicken. Mine were not today, GROSS!) Throw them away, or you can keep them for gravy (if you like that kind of stuff in your gravy. I throw mine away.) Rinse chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Stuff with your lemon, lime and onion. Place chicken in the baking pan in the middle of the veggies. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle S&P, garlic powder and onion powder over the chicken. Put the pan in the oven. Cook it for about 20 minutes per pound (for a 4-5 pound chicken, I cook it about 1 hour and 45 minutes). Every 40 minutes or so, I check on it and try to pour some of the juices back on it. (**You will know it is ready when the internal temperature, not touching bone, reaches 180 degrees, and juices run clear.**)

About 20 minutes before the chicken is done, place the broccoli in your steamer and let it steam. The color should still be bright green, but you should be able to easily pierce it with a fork.

When the chicken is finished cooking, put the potatoes and carrots into a bowl. Move the chicken onto a cutting board and let it sit for abuot 15 minutes before carving it. Pour the juices from the chicken into a small pot. Mix some cornstarch with cold water until it's smooth. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the chicken juices and bring the pot to a boil. Remove from heat a stir. (You can add water or broth if it's too thick, or more cornstarch if it's too thin.)

Mmmmm! It was soooo good! However, we weren't thrilled with the gravy. It was good, just missing something. If anyone has any ideas on what I can add to make it better, let me know!

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September 8 Lunch - Mac & Cheese with Hot Dogs and Peas

Today for lunch was an extremely easy and quick meal!

Mac & Cheese with (Turkey) Hot Dogs & Peas
1/3 package of frozen peas
1 box Kraft Mac & Cheese
3-4 turkey hot dogs (or beef, whichever you prefer)

Cook Mac & Cheese according to box directions. Cook peas according to bag (I always boil/steam, never microwave veggies). Cook hot dogs according to package directions.

Cut hot dogs into bite size pieces. Mix peas and hot dogs into the mac & cheese.

Enjoy!

We eat this 3 different ways here. Felicity doesn't like Mac & Cheese. (I know...wierd, huh?) So she just eats the hot dog with ketchup. Westley may or may not eat the hot dog, but today for the first time ate all the peas and mac & cheese. Will eats this with ketchup! (Yuck!) And I don't like my hot dogs to touch my other food. I know, silly, but it just takes away the delicious cheesy flavor. LOL

Love,

Sarah

September 8 Breakfast

Ok. So, the kids and Will had oatmeal and cereal this morning for breakfast (like I mentioned before, the breakfasts won't always match the menu). But, since playgroup was at my friend Devynn's house today, I decided to make my Egg Bake to bring.

So, here's the recipe:

Egg Bake
8 eggs
1/2 of an onion
1 broccoli bunch (or 1 cup cut up broccoli)
6-8 sausage links
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat cooking spray (or oil) in a skillet on medium-high heat. Sautee the onion and broccoli until cooked. Transfer the onion and broocoli to a bowl.

Cook sausage according to the package directions in the same skillet. (I usually just spray cooking spray right into the dirty skillet because I like the onion flavor.) Cut the sausage into bite-size pieces.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and cover the bottom with cheddar cheese.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Add the onion, broccoli and sausage. Pour mixture over the cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until the center of the egg bake has set (you will know when this is done because it won't jiggle like jello when lightly shaken!)

Let it cool for just a few minutes. Cut it into whatever size pieces you like, and enjoy!

Mmmmmm! It was DELISH!

(Ingredients can be added or taken away. I've also made this with ham or bacon instead of sausage, and I usually use red bell pepper as well. Spinach would probably taste good in it too!)

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah

September Totals So Far

So far this month I've spent a grand total of $145.06. I think I'll probably come a little closer to $250 this month, but it's still in my budget of $200-$250! Here's the breakdown:


Costco: (these items will last the month): $81.14
Publix: (several items will last 2 meals or more!): $48.68
Winn-Dixie: (I only bought produce and will normally go to the farmer's market for this stuff. But I needed to get stuff for tonight's dinner and had too many plans today to get there): $15.24

Ok. Now the reason the Publix stuff will last 2 meals or more is because Publix has BOGO (buy one get one free) deals EVERY week. So, I tend to almost always pick this stuff up. So, here's an example:

Lawry's 30-minute Marinades were BOGO this week. (I also had a coupon. LOL) Anyways, I needed to get the Sesame Ginger flavor for the Pork Fried Rice I'm making next week. I'll maybe use half of the bottle. But, since it was BOGO, I also got a Lemon Pepper flavor for the Lemon Pepper Pork I'm making later this month. Again, I'll probably only use half of the bottle.

Since both of these items can be refrigerated and kept until their expiration dates, I will use both of them again next month, and maybe make a different recipe with them. Hence, I won't have to buy them again next month. (Plus, I think I might already have both of these flavors open in my fridge already. Felicity loves the Sesame Ginger Marinade as a dipping sauce for her chicken, so we use it often.)

I mentioned the farmer's market. It's actually more like a HUGE barn that sells fresh produce. I've found grapes for as low as $0.99 a pound (which is really low for South FL). I've purchased 2-3 weeks worth of produce there, including produce for Westley's baby food, for under $30 before. (Yes, I made ALL of his baby food purees. I think we maybe once bought 1 jar of food when we were out of town.) Anyways, when we do go there, we make it like a field trip. People who speak Spanish run it, and we have a large population of Guatemalens, Mexicans, etc in our area, so they have some really interesting looking and smelling produce sometimes. Both kids love to touch and smell all the produce, so it is a really fun time for us!
Overall, not too shabby! I'm really enjoying this so far! We'll see how the rest of the month goes! =)

For now, I'm off to get started on the chicken and veggies I'm roasting for dinner tonight! Check back later for the recipes from today!

Love,

Sarah

September 7 - Breakfast - Stuffed French Toast!

Happy Labor Day all! So, to start our day off right, I made stuffed French toast for everyone (except for myself since I don't like bananas! I just had regular french toast.)

Here's how to make it:

Stuffed French Toast - 4 Servings

4 eggs

8 pieces of bread (I use whole wheat, but it could be any kind. Cinnamon Raisin would be the best!)

cinnamon

sugar

milk

cream cheese (softened or room temperature to make it easy to spread)

1 or 2 bananas, thinly sliced

Break the eggs into a bowl. Whisk in milk (about 1/4 cup, but I usually just "eye" it), cinnamon & sugar (to your taste). Heat the skillet or griddle to medium high heat. Spread cream cheese on one side of each piece of bread. Cover the cream cheese with banana slices and place a second piece of bread on top (cream cheese should be touching the bananas). It should now look like a cream cheese and banana sandwich.

Take the "sandwich" and dip it in the egg mixture, turning on both sides to coat it. Place your "sandwich" on the griddle. Cook about 1-2 minutes and flip until both sides are golden brown. Let it cool a little, cut it, smother it with syrup, and ENJOY!

Now, we have some finnicky eaters in our house. Westley devoured his (and had fun making a mess with it), and so did Will. Felicity on the other hand, didn't like it and ended up having plain French toast. And I, of course, don't like bananas, so I had plain French toast with Tize as well.

I will definitely be making this again for the boys. Maybe next time I will use strawberries and then I can eat it too! :)

Estimated cost: about $3 for 4 servings! Not bad!

Anyways, check back later for my grocery shopping costs!

Love,

Sarah

Menu - Mon, September 7 - Sunday, September 13

Well, here it is! Our menu for the first week! Remember, tomorrow is Labor Day, and I'm not actually starting this until Tuesday, since we will be out with Will's mom tomorrow during the day. We will scrounge up something around the house for dinner, and probably have lunch with Will's mom. Anyways, here it goes!

***I can't promise that each person will eat exactly what's on the menu for breakfast. Will usually gets up before the rest of us, and I doubt he will "follow a menu". LOL. But that's ok. It shouldn't mess things up.***

Monday, Sept. 7
B - Stuffed French Toast
L - ???? (We will be out and about)
D - Probably Tuna Fish sandwiches or a Tuna Helper (just to get rid of our last "boxed" dinner)

Tuesday, Sept. 8
B - Oatmeal
L - Mac & Cheese w/Hot Dogs (sounds gross right? Will & the kids love it)
D - Roast chicken w/roast carrots, potatoes and steamed broccoli

Wednesday, Sept. 9 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLLS!
B - Cereal
L - Chicken sandwiches (maybe chicken salad sandwiches)
D - Meat & Zucchini Lasagna w/steamed broccoli and garlic toasts

Thursday, Sept. 10
B - Bagels
L - Lasagna (yes, we will eat leftovers for lunch as much as possible in order to save $$ on deli meats)
D - Pork fried rice

Friday, Sept. 11 - GOD BLESS AMERICA & OUR TROOPS! We'll NEVER Forget
B - English Muffins
L - Pork Fried Rice
D - Chicken Broccoli Rice casserole w/a lettuce salad

Saturday, Sept. 12
B - Fruit & yogurt smoothie
L - Chicken Broccoli Rice casserole
D - Frozen Pizza

Sunday, Sept. 13
B - Scrambled Eggs
L - English muffin pizzas ??? (I haven't decided on lunch for this day. If the Fins are playing, we'll probably cook out at my parents' house.)
D - Shrimp Pomodoro Pasta w/sweet peas

A lot of these recipes came from a magazine I get from Kraft.com. Not sure how or why I get it, but I never paid for it. Anyhow, here's the online version. It's the same magazine, just internet form. You can print and store recipes on there if you create an account. You can also print coupons from Kraftfoods.com as well. It's a GREAT resource.

The rest of the recipes are either recipes I've always made, came from Andrea or Devynn, or from this Weight Watchers Mix It Match It cookbook. Of course, they'll be changed a little bit if they come from the WW cookbook. (I like REAL eggs, not egg beaters, and REAL sugar. LOL).

I think everything should be a pretty good mix of healthy stuff. I always try to have at LEAST one green vegetable at every dinner, whether it be mixed in or on the side.

So, now that I've given you this week's menu, I'm off to fold some laundry until my family wakes up from their naps! (Yes, both kids and Will are all napping!)

TTFN!

Love,

Sarah

September 6 Breakfast

Ok. So, I didn't make anything fancy for breakfast. In fact, pancakes were on my calendar for today. Normally, if I wasn't so tired, I would get out the mix, stir it all up, and cook fresh pancakes. But, since we woke up later than expected, and I still had frozen pancakes leftover from Publix BOGO, that's what we had (well, at least that's what the kids had). We went to Mass at 9, and since Felicity was well-behaved, she earned her McDonald's Vanilla Ice Cream. =) It's the first time in 3 weeks! So, Will ordered a Deluxe Breakfast and I had a cinnamon melt. Ok, I know. Not the healthiest, but I figured since my journey is supposed to start on Tuesday, why not? LOL.

I haven't decided what will be for lunch today. I'm thinking Pasta with sweet peas or maybe an Easy Mac w/broccoli cup. Dinner for us adults will be out tonight. I recieved a "Complimentary Entree" from a Japanese restaurant in CityPlace called Kona Grill. Yes, you heard right. I'm using a coupon to celebrate our anniversary! How awesome!

So, there won't be any recipe for tonight. More than likely, my parents will eat the leftover pulled pork for their dinner, and the kids will have PB&J (a HUGE staple in our house). I will however, post the menu for the next week! Soooo excited to start "Cooking with Cents"!

Love,

Sarah

September 5 Dinner

Ok. So, we ended up having PB&J's for lunch. Well, at least the kids did. Somewhere in all my craziness, I forgot to eat lunch. LOL. Anyways, I've had the pork cooking in the crock pot all day long! Mmmmmm! Smells delicious!

Here it is:

Pulled Pork Sandwiches - 4-6 Servings

2 thick cut boneless porkchops
1/2 bottle BBQ sauce
4-6 buns
4-6 Slices White American (or your favorite) Cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped (optional)

Place frozen (or raw) porkchops in the crock pot on low. Cover with about 1/2 the bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (our's is Sweet Baby Ray's). Cook on low for 6-10 hours. The longer, the better. (You can also speed this up by cooking at a higher speed. I've done it in just under 4 hours with the same great flavor.) Shred pork with two forks and stir in sauce 20-30 minutes before eating.

Butter and toast the buns. I like to butter them and put them under the broiler just until the brown up. Spoon pork onto the bun and top with your favorite cheese.

Serve with baked beans, some sort of fruit, and a warm vegetable.

Voila! You have your own BBQ picnic in the comfort of your own dining room!

Estimated Total: about $5

We'll be having Betty Crocker Cookie Bars for Dessert! Mmmmm!

Enjoy!

Love,

Sarah