A Single Moms Life

Menu Week of 2/12-18

2012-02-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

This week is a little different for us. I am starting my clinicals for the NAC course this week which leaves my oldest to fix dinner 2 nights this week. I also need to pack my dinner/snacks with me so I have to prepare ahead of time.

Breakfast Options:
Cereal (Special K, Cheerios or Rice Crispies)
Eggos
Eggs/Turkey Bacon
Smoothie

Lunches:
*The kids will have school lunches.
*My oldest will be eating at home (he gets out early for Running Start). He usually has leftovers, salad or a burger.
*My lunch focus this week will be on salads with protein. I will cook up extra steak, chicken and hardboiled eggs to have on hand for those. I am also going to thaw a freezer meal of white chicken chili I receive din our last swap and will use that for lunches and some dinners for myself this week.

Dinner:
S- New York Steak, brussels sprouts and sweet potato. I will fix burgers for 3 of the kids they don't care for steak.
M- Tacos for the kids at home. I will pack white chicken chili and cut up raw veggies.
T- Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken, Rice and raw veggies with LF ranch
W- Tomato Soup and grilled cheese for the kids, I will take leftovers from Tuesdays dinner
Th- Asian Glazed Chicken, rice and broccoli.
F- We are scattered this day. The kids are all doing something different for dinner. I am going to pack leftovers from Thursday.
S- I will be eating at a scrapbook crop and the kids are having pizza.

Menu Plan Week of 2/5-2/11

2012-02-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

Most of my recipes this week (and most weeks) come from Skinny Taste I LOVE this website. The recipes are healthy and family friendly. The nutrition information is posted as well as the WW points are already calculated, could it get any eaiser?? I think not :).

Breakfast options:
Cereal (Cheerios, Special K or rice crispies), fruit
Yogurt/fruit
Eggos with peanut butter/fruit
Bagel with lowfat cream cheese
Eggs w/turkey bacon or turkey sausage crumbles

Lunches:
The kids eat lunch at school. I pack my lunches on days I have class.
This week my lunch options:

Butternut Squash Soup
Sandwich and veggies w/hummus
Leftovers from the night before
Salad with grilled chicken

Dinner:
S- grilled New York Steak, roasted veggies and sweet potato
M- Baked Chicken Parmesan, Whole wheat pasta w/sauce and salad
T- Taco soup in the crockpot
W- Turkey meatloaf, mashed cauliflower, steamed broccoli
Th- White Chicken Chili and cornbread
F- Pizza and salad

February 6th

2012-02-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

Well, sometimes the best made plans just don't work out the way we intend. That is a common occurrence with me and this blog LOL. It has been busy busy and it sort of fell by the wayside. Quick recap:

Things are going very well. I am taking 16 credits this quarter, on of which is the NAC class. I will be starting clinicals next week and am nervous but excited. This is my last pre req before the nursing program! A big change is that I have rejoined Weight Watchers. I am tired of being overweight and do not want to be a "fat" nurse. I have made a commitment to myself to change my life this year.

I started WW a few weeks ago and am already down almost 8 pounds. No it doesn't seem like much but to me it is. I am not focusing on the scale as much as knowing I am changing not only my life but that of my children. We are all eating healthier, focusing more on exercise and learning PORTION CONTROL!

I signed up to do the St Pattys Day Dash in Seattle with my best friend for my birthday in March. I will walk it this year and my goal is to run it next year. I have never done anything like this before and am nervous but extremely excited.

Meal planning has become even more key for us now. I have to plan ahead so that meals are healthy and that we have what we need on hand. I hope to get back to posting/sharing what we have discovered recipe and food wise, and healthy changes and habits we are developing as a family.

The kids are doing great. School is keeping them busy as are their extracurricular activities. Spring sports will be starting up again soon and then it will be all out insanity in our house! LOVE IT!

Grocery shopping and menu planning Week of 1/1/12

2012-01-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

The first half of this week was meals from things on hand. I did our grocery shopping yesterday for the rest of the week and a little bit of stock up. We are trying to focus on eating healthier which means more fresh fruits and veggies which sadly are expensive this time of year.

Menu:
Wednesday:
B: Eggs/turkey bacon or cereal
L: At school for kids, I had a sandwich
D: Stuffed peppers for ODS and I and tacos for the rest (using the same mix of taco meat from the freezer)

Thursday:
B: Pancakes/turkey bacon or cereal
L: At school for the kids, out with a friend for me or salad at home
D: Cod, brussels sprouts for ODS and I and tacos with leftovers for the other kids

Friday:
B: Cinnamon rolls
L: At school for kids, salad for me
D: Homemade pizza

Saturday:
B: Biscuits and gravy, eggs
L: Homemade soup and sandwiches
D: Subway after church (we just get the $5 footlong sandwiches no chips or drinks)

Groceries purchased:
Fred Meyer $69.26

4- Special K cereal $10
1- Store brand Rice Crispies $1.99
2- pancake mix $3.98
Raw sugar $3.09
Half & half $1.79
3 shredded cheese $6.50
2 OJ- $5.00
4 bagged salad kids $4.00 (wish these would last longer they are on sale for a great price)
brussels sprouts $3.38
6 grapefruit $2.00
3 green bell peppers $2.04
mandarin oranges 1.07
9 yogurt $3.00
sour cream $2.00
Bacon 1.56
cod 3.89
2 whole chickens $9.71 (.88#)
1 gallon milk $2.59

The chickens went into the freezer for future use. I also placed an order with Zaycon foods for 40# of boneless skinless chicken breast that will be here later in the month at $1.69 a pound.

See how others did at the Grocery Cart Challenge

Photo of the Day (Days 1-3)

2012-01-03T09:12:00.000-08:00

I am following the list found here Photo A Day that I found on Pinterest.

Day 1: A photo of myself

Day 2: Photo of Breakfast (Mango Chobani , turkey bacon and coffee)

Day 3: Something I adore (Our kitty Houdini)

January 2nd

2012-01-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! Hard to believe today is the last day of Christmas vacation. Tomorrow is back to the daily grind and crazy schedule that is our life. As is tradition, today was a day of cleaning and decluttering in our household. Thankfully, this year it wasn't a huge process. While we did put together a few bags of things to take to consignment, we are finding we are "collecting" less and less junk. This is a good thing!

After decluttering my bedroom closet it was time to tackle some frugal activities. I am really wanting to make sure to use things up and have little to no waste this year. Food can be one of the biggest wastes in our house which is expensive. Tonight's dinner consisted of Chicken Pot Pie, Salad and apple pie with whip cream. 98% of what I used to make tonight's dinner was free to us and the rest was reaching its expiration date in our fridge. The next project to tackle was a stack of ripped/torn jeans. These were not jeans to be mended but rather to be taken apart. I had planned to make a denim quilt for Christmas 2011. I had collected free to me ripped jeans all year, and they were still sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Today I cut them apart and now have a box full of denim fabric strips ready to cut into quilt squares.

Now we are ready for the week, I think. The new quarter brings a new schedule and a new routine for us to get used to. Ready or not, here we go!

HAPPY NEW YEAR Bring on 2012

2012-01-01T09:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I am so excited for 2012 and what it will bring. Last year was such a roller coaster full of changes for our family. I sat down this past week and wrote out my resolutions for the year and really thought about what I want to focus on. What changes do I want to make to better things for our family as well as help our budget. I think I have come up with some great ideas that I can follow through with and stay on top of.

Here are my resolutions for 2012. I decided to make a list of 12 :).

1. Prayer and devotion time daily.

2. Gym 3 x per week.
3. Eat healthier as a family.
4. Stick to our budget and reduce extra spending.
5. Working on handmade Christmas 2 items per month.
6. Implement a regular family game night each week.
7. Dinner at the table as a family 3 times per week.
8. Keep my blog up to date.
9. Learn one new skill per month.
10. Be more positive and thankful in the way I think, speak and act.
11. Keep in better touch with friends and family via phone and letters NOT FB or email.
12. 2 Random acts of kindness per month.

I have decided to take on several challenges through various websites that I follow as well such as the Photo a Day Challenge and I am joining a Biggest Loser Challenge that a friend is putting together.

So we are off and running! I look forward to posting regularly to this blog to hold myself accountable and hopefully share some great tips, ideas and projects along the way. Speaking of projects....have you discovered Pinterest yet? If not, check it out! I have saved a lot of recipes and craft projects already that I look forward to trying and sharing my successes (and failures) with you all here (I know you are thrilled right LOL).

December 27th- Christmas Recap

2011-12-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

This Christmas has been a bit out of the ordinary for our family. Our Christmas vacation started off with both feet running. My youngest sons birthday party, my daughters Christmas dance performance and my ex husband coming to visit the kids all fell on the same day. That was day 1 of vacation. Day 2 brought another dance performance and kids spending more time reconnecting with their dad, and day 3 again more reconnecting time. Day 4 (Tuesday) brought the kids leaving with their dad at 3:30am to head to Idaho for Christmas. I was so excited for them to spend time with him and his family.

I had 5 whole days to myself. I was bored by the afternoon of day 1 LOL it was way too quiet! I wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself over those 5 days. However, the week before I had found out that we had lost a good high school friend and classmate. In a class with only 29 students this hits very hard. I decided that I needed to spend those 5 days reconnecting with friends and just visiting. Wednesday many of us made the 4-5 hour drive to attend Daves service. It really didn't seem real until we were all there together in the same room saying goodbye to one of the funniest people I have ever met. We all spent that afternoon crying, laughing and sharing great memories. We reconnected with each other over beer and pizza, something Dave would have loved.

The rest of the week was quiet and I had a lot of time to think, reflect and just be still. Something I never do. I had a movie night with a friend, dinner with former co-workers, sushi with a couple of other friends and got some craft projects finished. Christmas Ever I volunteered at church and attended a beautiful Christmas service. Sunday, Christmas Day, I went to the city and spent the day with my best friend and her family. I was able to see her beautiful new home and precious time with her that we don't often get with our busy schedules. Monday morning I was up early and making the drive to pick up the kids. They had such a fabulous time and had many stories to tell. We drove to my parents house and did Christmas with my family. My oldest son met us there, he had been at his dads all week having a blast jamming on his guitar and writing music, along with working for my parents and earning money.

Now we are back home. Its 7am and everyone is sleeping, except for me. My oldest son should be home in a couple of hours and we will do Christmas here at home. I am so very thankful and feel so very blessed this holiday season. Thankful for our many family and friends, the opportunities the kids got last week to be with family and experience new things. And for myself, the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and just be still for a few days.

We hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend full of laughter, love and great memories!

December 19th-Long Update-

2011-12-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

**sigh** I really never intended to stay away from this blog for so long. I have missed blogging, and being organized, and sleep.....the list could go on and on. I took a condensed A&P course Fall Quarter. Full A&P 1 and Full A&P 2 condensed into one quarter. If you are ever considering doing that....don't do it. The last couple of months have been extremely difficult. The amount of hours spent on school and studying has been overwhelming, BUT I am so glad that the class is done, I earned a solid grade in the class and can now move onto my very last pre requisite in winter quarter (along with a couple of other classes).

Now we are onto Christmas vacation. This year, ours is a bit different. The kids are going to be spending the first half of the vacation with their dad! He has been here all weekend spending time with them, reconnecting and celebrating our youngest sons birthday as well as getting to watch our youngest daughter dance. He and the kids will head out bright and early tomorrow morning for Idaho.

That leaves me with 6 days of no children!! This is the first time in 4 years I have gone more than 48 hours without the kids here. However, I am ready for a little break and so excited for the fun they are going to have!!

I am going to spend this time deep cleaning my house, finishing up some projects, visiting with friends I have not spent time with lately and just RELAXING. I am also focusing on getting back on track with meal planning, organization and budgeting as these have gone out the window lately.

The kids are all doing great and enjoying school. We have had performances for each of them this week for either music or dance and they have all done fabulously! I am one proud mama!!

Menu Plan and Grocery Shopping Week of Oct 30th

2011-10-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

I have been horrible about menu planning and actually cooking the past few weeks. This week I am determined to get back on track. Here is our menu plan and the grocery shopping the kids and I did yesterday.

Dinner menu:
Sunday: Tacos
Monday: Chicken pot pie
Tuesday: Zuppa Toscana Soup and french bread
Wednesday: At sons soccer party
Thursday: Spaghetti, french bread and salad
Friday: Hamburgers and french fries
Saturday: Subway after church

Groceries purchased:
2-2 liters of soda $1.58
3 boxs ceral $8.97
hot sauce $1.49
Shredded cheese $2.50
Hot pocket $2.50
Taco shells $1.99
spanish rice 1.59
2 boxes eggos $2.98
fajita seasoning .89
chicken broth 2.99
milk 2.59
tortilla shells 3.89
seasoned ground turkey 1.99
ground beef 7.33
kale 2.49
bananas 1.92
apples 1.89

Total: $50.61
We had alot of leftovers from last week and the weekend that will be incorporated for lunches as well as parts of the meals planned for the week. I will also end up picking up a couple more gallons of milk later in the week.

Struggling to find Balance

2011-10-31T06:57:00.000-07:00

The past 6 weeks have proven to be some of the busiest and most challenging weeks I have ever faced. With an heavy class load and 4 very active children I have barely found time to breath, and I have been getting by on very little sleep and large amounts of caffeine. However, I found that I was slowly drowning on the to do lists and places to be. I found myself in tears more often than I have in the past few years. I wasn't quite sure what to do, how to fix it or make it better. For the first time in a very long time, I felt out of control, unable to keep up and actually started forgetting things that needed to be done.

I feel very strongly that going back to school is Gods plan for my future. I feel in my heart and soul that this is the right path not only for me but for my family at this time. However, I had lost sight of the fact that I needed to put my worries, stress and fears in Gods hands and let Him guide me down this path. I had let go of the sight that God will provide!!

Last weekend our Pastor gave a sermon titled Beautiful Day (the link is a recorded video of the sermon). The sermon was about Sabbath, taking a day of rest. During that entire sermon I felt as if he was talking directly to me, it was such a smack up side the head. I have been so go, go, go, do, do, do that I haven't taken any time to rest. I had THOUGHT about it, but then felt I couldn't because I would fall further behind. Our pastor challenged us to implement a Sabbath at least thru Thanksgiving. Even during the sermon I kept thinking to myself, how will I do this? How will I find the time and not fall further behind? He shared the scripture in Mark 6:31 which says: "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.". I realized, how could I NOT do this. It is what God wants for us, what he has instructed us to do in the bible. Even God did this as we were shown in Exodus 20:11, "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy". If God felt it important enough to take a day of rest, why would we ignore that in our lives?

So I accepted this challenge to implement a day of Sabbath. We attend church on Saturday night. That next day, we went to my parents house for the afternoon to celebrate my moms birthday. Nothing fancy, no prepared meal just sandwiches so that we could all rest and visit. There was no fuss over cooking a big meal or the clean up. The kids took their pumpkins with them and spent time carving pumpkins with their cousins. For those few hours, everyone was relaxing, resting and feeding our minds and hearts with fellowship. I discovered that by taking that day away from the hustle and bustle of our schedule things were OK! I put my trust in God that He would provide. This weekend, we did the same thing. Sundays seem to be the best day for our family to set aside but your Sabbath can be any day of the week. Yesterday we went and had family pictures done (our appointment had been scheduled months ago). We had a fun time with the pictures and then came home and spent a relaxing/lazy day at home. It was perfect. No running around, no to do list just time with each other and REST.

I encourage you, if you have time, listen to the sermon that I linked to. Then find a day each week to be your Sabbath if you don't already. We all need time to rest our mind, body and spirit!

Quick Catch Up

2011-10-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

I had originally hoped (as usual) to keep up with this blog, posting regularly. BUT, I have not found a way to fit it in with our new insane schedule. So here is a little "recap" of the past few weeks.

School is going very well for the kids. My oldest daughter has found that high school is much more overwhelming than middle school. With sports, band and school work she has been on the go much more than she has been used to. That said, she is adjusting and handling it very well (most of the time). My oldest son is attending high school classes and Running Start classes at the college. He is having to prioritize, manage his time and really focus on staying on top of things. He has been doing very well with this so far!
The younger 2 kiddos are really enjoying school this year. They both have great teachers and a fun group of classmates.

My classes have been much more intense that I had originally anticipated. The Condensed A&P class is extremely fast paced and alot to learn in a short amount of time. I have been functioning on very little sleep for the past few weeks. My day time hours are packed with school/homework/studying and then evenings are packed full of kids activities, more homework and studying. I thank God daily that coffee was created!!

I have been doing very well with taking my lunch with me daily and not purchasing lunches. While we haven't had "fancy" dinners, we have been cooking dinner at home and not eating out. My menu's have been simple, with one to two crockpot meals per week. I am excited we are getting into "soup" season, as soup and sandwiches are a quick and easy dinner for those busy nights!

Menu Week of 9/18/11

2011-09-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

This week, Fall Quarter starts at the college. With my school schedule and the kids activity schedule, I MUST be prepared. The kids eat lunch at school most days (and pack once in a while). I will be packing my lunch with me daily.

Weekday breakfast options: Cereal, bagels, eggos, oatmeal (I eat a ff Chobani yogurt, fruit and whole grain english muffin with 2 T. peanut butter)

Lunches: I will pack my lunch with either leftovers, salad, sandwich in a Flat Out Wrap or Lean Cuisine.

Dinners:
Sunday: Roasted Sticky Chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables
Monday: Chicken Francese, brown rice and vegetables
Tuesday: Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili, brown rice again
Wednesday: Spaghetti (I will have spaghetti squash in place of pasta), French bread and salad
Thursday: Pot roast in Tastefully Roast SauceSimple Tender Pot , baked potatoes, veggies
Friday: Kids Choice
Saturday: Subway after church

Defining Success

2011-09-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

We as a society are bombarded with "lose weight quick" ads and commercials. There are pills, drinks, powders, creams and who knows what all else that "guarantee" you to lose a large amount of weight in a very short amount of time. Add to that shows like the Biggest Loser (which I LOVE and watch regularly don't get me wrong), where they are losing BIG numbers week after week. I know for myself personally, I have struggled in the past with losing smaller numbers because of this. I felt I was failing because I couldn't pull those big numbers or have the rapid weight loss. This time, I am approaching things MUCH differently. The scale is no always the determining factor of success in weight loss.

I have had several people ask me what I am doing to lose weight. So here are the details. I have chosen to follow the Weight Watchers plan. This is not a diet but a lifestyle change. It is something that can be easily embraced by the entire family (over time). I am a nerd when it comes to lists and tracking things, making the Points system something that works well for me. I am using the online program which is perfect for me. I do not go to any meetings, it is all done online. Each morning I log onto the website and I track what I plan to eat for the day. I know how much wiggle room I have for the day. There are also online forums where I connect to people in my age range, with the same amount of weight to lose as I do as well as places to share recipes, new product reviews and the like.

I have been at this for almost 2 weeks now. Yes I know, that is not long, but that in itself is a SUCCESS. I have changed many aspects of how I eat, my activity level and how I do things in those 2 weeks. In the forums these are called "non scale victories" (aka NSV). Here are ten of my NSV for the past two weeks:

1. Menu planning for the family with healthy recipes
2. Stocking up on healthy foods/snacks
3. Exercising 4 times per week
4. Quit drinking soda completely
5. Changed what I drink when I go out for coffee from a drink worth 9 points down to one that is 3 points
6. Making very wise choices when eating out
7. Water Water Water I went from drinking very little to filling up and drinking my 16 oz cup 5 times per day (and sometimes more)
8. Reading labels! This is HUGE I am amazed at how much junk was in some of the things we ate
9. Trying new exercises (such as Yoga)
10. Being proud of the 1.4 pounds I lost last week and not being disappointed that it wasnt' 5 or 10 pounds

One of the tools I am using is a website full of recipes with the WW points already calculated. I cannot rave about these recipes enough! Check out the website http://www.skinnytaste.com/ . Another is a website that has many of the items on restaurant menus calculated http://www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html . Both of these are great resources to have on hand!

I hope to blog regularly about my struggles and victories as well as share things I find that might help someone else. I HOPE to, with our fall schedule and school starting for me next week, I may find myself not getting here as often as I would like.

Change of Plans and Revamped Menu

2011-09-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago, I made a decision. I desperately need to make a lifestyle change. I have spent too many years sabotaging myself with my weight and eating habits. I took action and did four things last week.

1. Joined Weight Watchers Online
2. Joined the YMCA
3. Joined a Biggest Loser competition (local group of ladies)
4. Stocked up on healthy foods

Last week was week 1 in my lifestyle change. I took a water aerobics twice and tried yoga for the first time (and loved it). I stuck to my WW points, drank my water and was rewarded with a 1.4 pound loss! Yes its a small amount on the overall amount I need to lose but it is a positive start!

With this change comes a need to modify our menu. I found a fabulous website http://www.skinnytaste.com/ that is FULL of fabulous recipes. The nutritional information is provided AND the WW points have been calculated! This weeks dinner menu is coming from that site with the exception of Sunday.

Our revised dinner menu:
S: Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Walnuts, green beans (for the kids that don't eat Brussels sprouts), pasta roni for the kids, and green salad.

M: Asian grilled chicken, cucumber salad, roasted spaghetti squash

T: Mexican slow cooked pork carnitas, rice and veggies

W: Pasta Fagioli, French bread

Th: Caramelized Onion, Red Pepper and Zucchini Fritata, Green salad

F: Burgers & baked fries for the kids, turkey burger and baked chipotle sweet potato fries for me, skinny ranch dip and salad.

S: Pizza for the kids. I will be eating at an all day scrapbook crop!

September Menu

2011-09-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

I have stocked up on breakfast and lunch options for the kids. The kids will eat lunch at school most days (free lunch) but will pack on some days. I will stock up on soup/salad options for myself at home. Later in the month, school will start for me and I will be packing a lunch for myself as well. HMM, I better get myself a lunch box ;)

This menu is the dinner menu for the month. I will be attending a Freezer Meal (FM) swap this month which is focused on crockpot meals! I will take 12 of the same meal to the swap and come home with 12 different meals for my freezer.

1- Bratz, burgers on the grill
2- Pizza for some of us, at the football game for the rest
3- Soup, sandwiches
4- Ribs on the grill, baked potatoes and veggies
5- Roast, mashed potatoes and veggies
6- Tacos, rice
7- Crockpot meal (FM)
8- Spaghetti, french bread, salad
9- Meatloaf, mash potatoes, veg
10- Subway after church
11- Brown Sugar & Balsamic Pork Loin, Brussels Sprouts w/ bacon/walnuts, green beans
12- Creamy wild rice soup, french bread
13- Tacos, rice
14- @ church
15- Crockpot FM
16- Hamburgers & french fries
17- Kids choice
18- Encheladas
19- Zuppa Toscana and french bread
20- Tacos, rice
21- Crockpot FM
22- Crockpot FM
23- French dips
24- Subway
25- Sticky chicken, mashed potatoes and veg
26- Bake potato chowder, french bread
27- Tacos, rice
28- Crockpot FM
29- Crockpot FM
30- Kids choice

September :)

2011-09-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Today is September 1st, and with the start of a new month it was like a switch was flipped with the temperature! It was 45 degrees this morning BRRRR!

With the start of September, we are starting our fall/winter prep around our house. Today my oldest son is getting the weedeating done and replacing chicken wire on the coop. The other kids and I are working on smaller projects around the house. We are restocking our pantry and getting menu's, budets and schedules in place.

School starts for the kids next week and I start again in a couple of weeks. I am determined to go into this organized and prepared! So off we go!

Menu Week of 8/21

2011-08-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Only a couple more weeks of planning 3 meals per day. While I enjoy menu planning, just planning dinner is much easier LOL!

Sunday:
B: cereal, muffins, whatever each wants
L: ??
D: Grilled burgers for the kids, grilled steak bites with blue cheese dipping sauce (Freezer meal) for ODS and myself. Salad and potatoes.

Monday:
B: Cinnamon Rolls
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: @ a wedding reception

Tuesday:
B: Hashbrowns and eggs
L: Pizza in Crescent rolls
D: Encheladas

Wednesday:
B: Waffles with homemade blueberry sauce
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Chicken Divan, rice, veggies

Thursday:
B: Pancakes, eggs
L: Tacos
D: Olive Garden (copykat) Fettucini alfredo, homeamde french bread and salad

Friday:
B: French toast, eggs
L: At home for the boys, out for the girls
D: Fondue!!

Saturday:
B: Homemade muffins
L: Picnic at the beach
D: Subway after church

Whee!

2011-08-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. In the past couple of weeks:
- I finished up my summer quarter classes at college
- The kids and I went to Family Camp where I coordinated an evening preschool class for approx. 38 preschoolers
- We went to Silverwood with some great friends
- We went on a tour of Grand Coulee Dam
- We went to the fair
- We started to prep for back to shool

WHEW! It has been fun and amazing and crazy busy. But, sadly, tomorrow starts the beginning of back to school insanity for us. No, school doesn't start yet, not until Sept. 6th, but sports start tomorrow. Twice a day soccer practice. Woohoo!

I have a few weeks off between Summer and Fall quarter. For those few weeks I am VERY thankful. I need to get caught up on things and back on track. Sept-Dec. is going to be a rough few months on us with our schedule so I need to be as prepared as possible.

What I am doing to prepare:
- Stocking pantry
- Stocking freezer with meals (attending 2 freezer meal swaps and then some on my own)
- Decluttering and hauling off things for donation (outgrown kids clothes etc)
- Prepping for Christmas with handmade cards/gifts
- Updating family calendar and keeping it current
- Meal planning
- Budgeting
- Cleaning house from one end to the other and top to bottom
- Making sure we are all ready with school clothes/supplies/sports equipment etc.

This past week the kids and I cleaned out our garage. We hauled away a large load of things to Goodwill and I have several bags for consigment. We also need to winter prep our chicken coop as well as windows/door frames etc.

Menu Week of 7/24

2011-07-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

This weeks dinner menu is based mostly on freezer meals from this weeks freezer meal swap! Love the variety of meals we get to try.

Sunday:
B: Donuts (from the bread outlet)
L: Sandwiches and chips
D: Beer can chicken (freezer meal), pasta roni, green beans and salad

Monday:
B: Choice of cereal, muffins, yogurt/fruit
L: Ravioli, salad
D: Hamburger helper, salad and garlic bread

Tuesday:
B: Choice of cereal, muffins, yogurt/fruit

L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Mexi Chicken (freezer meal), rice

Wednesday:
B: Choice of cereal, muffins, yogurt/fruit

L: Penne with Garlic cream sauce, garlic sourdough, salad
D: Hamburgers (Premade and in the freezer) & french fries, veggies

Thursday:
B: Choice of cereal, muffins, yogurt/fruit

L: Packed from home picnic at the park if its nice
D: Cheesy Chilada Bake (freezer meal)
Friday:
B: Hashbrowns, eggs, bacon
L: Leftovers
D: Pizza for the kids, sushi out for me (I had the dates mixed up last week OOPS)

Saturday:
B: Belgian waffles
L: Mini corndogs, fries
D: Subway after church

Menu Week of July 17th

2011-07-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

Breakfast this week (weekdays) will be cereal for the kids. Thats what they like to have and well, really all they want to eat in the morning. So I have decided to throw the breakfast battle out the window for the rest of the summer. I will have either egg and toast or yogurt and fruit before I head out to class. And of course, LOTS of coffee!

This weeks Lunch/Dinner menu:

Sunday:
B: Waffles
L: Odds and ends from the freezer/fridge
D: Grilled steak, pasta roni, vegetables

Monday:
L: Chicken fingers & fries
D: Pork ribs in Crockpot, rice and vegetables

Tuesday:
L: Hot dogs/Mac & cheese
D: French dip sandwiches, french fries and salad

Wednesday:
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Pomegranate/Chipotle meatloaf, mashed potatoes, veggies and salad

Thursday:
L: Tacos
D: Leftovers/CORD (Clean out refrigerator dinner)

Friday:
B: Muffins
L: Sandwiches & chips (if the weather is nice we will pack this as a picnic and head to the park)
D: Pizza for the kids I am going to sushi with a good friend!

Saturday:
B: Cinnamon rolls
L: Grilled burgers, creamy parmesan pasta salad

D: Freezer meal

I am providing a meal for another family on Wednesday (Urban Garlic Chicken). Saturday morning I am hosting a freezer meal swap and will prepare some brunch items for the group.

Week of July 10th Recap

2011-07-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

School, homework and more homework. That pretty much sums up my week! These three classes I am taking are high volumes of homework, I will be glad when they are finished! This weekend I tried to spend some one on one time with the younger kids. Friday, my youngest daughter and I went and got pedicures, something she has been wanting to do :). Saturday, I took my youngest son to the movies, we had a blast. Its important to remember even in our super busy schedules, that one on one time IS important. Its a time when that child can talk to the parent without the competition of siblings and has the parents undivided attention.

Today, back to business. I have an extremely large to do list that I need to tackle. I am starting to realize again that when I don't stay on top of everything my stress level gets high and I have trouble sleeping. Time to nip that in the bud very quickly!

Grocery Shopping Week of July 10th

2011-07-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

This week I am using mostly what is on hand. I tried the new Target Grocery at our local Target not a bad selection!

I will be shopping again later this week for camping and will post that later on. But for now....

Salad dressing 1.99
Refried beans .99
2 hard shells 2.04
2 spanish rice 1.92
1 can corn .69
fettucini noodles 1.09
ground beef 3.50
2 lemonade 1.94
gallon milk 2.49
whipping cream 2.29
shredded cheese 2.59

Total: $21.53 I used a $5 gift card I had earned a few weeks ago on a womens razor deal they had. That brought my total to $16.53. I then used my Target card (which I came home and transferred the money to pay it) and that took an additional 5% off making my final total: $15.70!

I received a register coupon for $5 off my next grocery purchase of $50

See how others did at the Grocery Cart Challenge!

Menu Week of July 10th with recipe links!

2011-07-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

This weeks menu will be a use it up menu. There are a lot of bits/pieces of things or partial packages in the cupboard that need to be used up. I did supplement with a few items from the store. I tried out the new grocery section of our local Target this week while shopping for other items. Not someplace I would want to do regular grocery shopping, but, great selection for just needing a few items!

This weeks menu:
Sunday
B: at camp
L: sandwiches & chips
D: Garlic Panko Chicken Strips , Parmesan Garlic Pasta, green salad

Monday
B: Cereal or yogurt/fruit
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Tacos and spanish rice

Tuesday:
B: Cinnamon Melt Muffins from Tastefully Simple
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Olive Garden Fettucini Alfredo and Salmon, french bread and salad. I will make some regular spaghetti for the 2 kids that don't like fettucini alfredo.

Wednesday:
B: Cereal or yogurt/fruit
L: Chicken strips & french fries, watermelon
D: Pork Ribs in crockpot, rice and veggies

Thursday:
B: Cereal or smoothies
L: Leftovers
D: at camp

Friday- Sunday should be at camp but we will have to see how the weather holds up. Camping meals will be kept very simple.

Unexpected Getaways

2011-07-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend my parents were camping at their camping property. Thursday night the kids and I decided to sneak over and surprise them for the weekend. My oldest son couldn't go, he had to work, so I got him set up at home with meals, emergency contacts etc. The rest of us loaded up the car and headed out Friday morning. It turns out that my parents had taken my niece and nephew with them so the kids were super excited!

We arrived at camp and my parents were gone they had taken the kids fishing. We had most of our tent set up when they came back. My niece was so excited to see us she almost bailed out of the car before mom was done driving YIKES!

We had a great time. The cousins had a blast playing together. Saturday we went into Winthrop for ice cream. Mom took my youngest back with her to camp and the girls and I stayed and walked around Winthrop, had lunch and just spent some time together. I am so glad we decide to make the trip!

I didn't snap many pictures but here are a few from the North Cascades Pass on our drive over and a few in Winthrop of the girls :).

Saving Money on our Furry Family Members

2011-07-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

We have three cute kitties in our home. Unfortunately, the cost of vaccines and regular flea treatment can get expensive. Last year, I learned how to vaccinate my own cats at a fraction of the cost. The vet told me how to do it (for free) and then I purchased the vaccines (which came with a needle/syringe) at the local feed store.

Today I learned how to drastically cut the cost of monthly flea treatment. I use Advantage for the cats. The cost for a one month supply (3 individual doses) from the vet is $40 after tax. When I went in today they asked me if I felt comfortable measuring doses into a syringe, which of course I do. They now offer a large dog size dose of Advantage with dosing instructions per the weight of your cat. This one vial of Advantage is enough for me to dose all three cats for THREE MONTHS! The cost for one vial $18.49 after tax!! I calculated out the savings over three months......$98! This was simple and easy to do. If you have ever measured medicine in a syringe (no needle) for an infant you can do this. Same application as you would with the little tube.

My kitties will now be happy and flea free and my pocketbook will be much happier with the savings.

Fourth of July Fun

2011-07-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

Our community has a very nice fireworks display over the bay each July 4th. The past few years we have fought the crowds to enjoy them from the waterfront. This year we met some new friends and they invited us to join their annual 4th of July party. Great food, great fellowship and we were able to watch the fabulous fireworks from their deck! Earlier in the day I made my children pose for some pictures. They are not big fans of matching shirts of group photos but they cooperated and we were done quickly so we were all happy :). Here are a few shots of our 4th of July fun! By the way, this was FRUGAL fun! The party was a snack potluck. We took chicken drummettes in Bayou Bourbon Glaze and Lemon Bars both from Tastefully Simple. All items used I had on hand no money spent! We took our own drinks, which came from leftover camping stock, again, no additional money spent. We enjoyed the many fireworks going off around us, we did not spend money on fireworks, again no money spent. Yet we had the BEST 4th of July we have had in a very long time!

This Bald Eagle landed in the field across from our house while we were out taking pictures!

My favorite shot of the kids, shows their true personality :)

Crab!!!

Our fabulous party hosts Jen and Jeff!

One of these days I will learn how to use the fireworks setting on my camera properly but I thought his one turned out pretty cool!

Garden Treats

2011-07-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Sadly, this year we are not enjoying our own garden treats. With the late and very wet spring we were unable to get a garden in the ground. I also decided that with school and our crazy schedule this summer, it might be too much to take on a large garden as well. Instead, we are getting produce from a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) on a local farm. We are also taking advantage of the many berry farms around us and a fabulous farmers market. The cost of these items is great and the quality and freshness cannot be beat! Here are a few of our items from this week:

Homemade waffles with homemade blueberry compote. These berries were in the freezer from last year. Blueberries require no work other than to package/freeze!

Strawberries from a local field. I cut the green tops off, froze on the cookie sheet and then placed in ziplock bags in the freezer. We now have plenty of fresh berries on hand for smoothies!

This is our farmers market dinner. The bread came from a local baker, the lettuce for the salad as well as the peas and garlic scapes in the stir fry from a local farm (same that we get our CSA box from). The pasta is from a fresh pasta company here in town. It is Garlic Scape Fettuccine and to die for delicious! The chicken on the skewers is also local but wasn't picked up at the farmers market. This is an inexpensive meal that feels/tastes like it cost alot more. Cooked at home with love but the purchases helped support local farmers and businesses.

Grocery Shopping Week of 7/3/11

2011-07-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

This week I did my major shopping trip at Haggens. I need to go to the bread outlet and pick up a few items sometime this week. Saturday I will pick up skewers to cook that night so that they are fresh and not frozen.

My total spent: $80.15

Milk $2.69
Corn $1.50
Parmesan cheese $3.99
Chips x 3 $5.97
2 packs Bagels $5.00
Shredded cheddar $2.99
1 loaf bread $1.99
Ground beef $4.27
Cream of celery $1.49
Hot dogs .99
Steak $6.59
Pork Ribs $8.03
Drumsticks $6.49
Chicken satay $8.00
Red onion 1.11
Alfredo sauce 4.99
3 boxes cereal $6.99
garlic .79
cantaloupe 1.12
watermelon 4.27
lemon .89

This will fill in what I need for the menu posted earlier today for 3 meals a day plus snacks.
Check the Grocery Cart Challenge to see how others did this week!

July 3, 2011- Summer activities update, menu and ramblings

2011-07-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

We are discovering new ways each day to enjoy frugal fun this summer. Yesterday we walked around the fabulous Farmers Market here in town. We picked up a few items for a delicious all local dinner for tonight. We then drove towards home and stopped at several garage sales. We found items to add to our back to school box for the fall as well as a couple of items on our wants list (such as a flour sifter!). On our way home a friend called and asked if we wanted to head out to the beach with them. OF COURSE! We stopped by the house and threw some snacks and drinks in the ice chest and headed out.

Washington State passed a new law that requires a Discover Pass to park in State Parks. We have not yet picked ours up so that excluded our favorite beach. Our friends showed us a public county beach that we didn't even know existed! We had a fabulous time before heading off to church!

This week is going to be a hectic week. School starts for me on Tuesday and my oldest daughter has a soccer tournament this coming weekend. July also brings additional challenges of expenses of youth group camp and dance camp. With the busy schedule and additional expenses it is very important to stay ontop of menu planning and being prepared. We also need to make sure that we keep our activities free or low cost to avoid financial stress, which personally, I feel is one of the worst kinds of stress.

With that, here is our plan for the week!

Sunday:
B: Cereal or egg/toast
L: Chicken drummettes and leftovers
D: Garlic scape pasta with Alfredo sauce, salad and chibatta bread (all from the local farmers market)
S: Fruit (grapes/cherries)
Activity/craft: Movie day or the park depends on the weather

Monday:
B: Waffles
L: Hamburgers
D: At friends BBQ
S: Fruit bars
Activity/Craft: 4th of July BBQ with friends

Tuesday:
B: Cereal or bagels
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Chicken, stir fry veggies, rice
S: Popcorn
Activity/Craft: Park and thank you card(s)

Wednesday:
B: Blueberry muffins
L: Cheeseburger spaghetti, salad
D: Pork ribs in cp, coleslaw, rice a roni
S: Ice cream cones
Activity/Craft: Library

Thursday:
B: Cinnamon rolls
L: Chicken & vegetable summer tostadas or bean/cheese tostadas
D: Steak/egg salad or hotdogs/chips
S: Popcorn
Activity/Craft: Giant bubble wands and homemade bubbles. Family game night.
Friday
B: Cereal or egg/toast
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Pizza after soccer game
S: Cookies
Activity/craft: Soccer tournament/playground

Saturday:
B: Cereal or yogurt/fruit
L: Packed from home picnic for soccer tournament
D: Grilled kabobs, grilled "baked" potatoes, salad
S: Packed stuff from home for tournament
Activity: Soccer tournament/playground

Menu and Shopping Trip Week of 6/26

2011-06-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

I have planned out Sunday-Thursday of this week and will finish out the week when the sale ad is available. I did our grocery shopping last night, with the kids so a few extras made it into the cart. Hmmm not sure HOW that happened :)

Sunday-
B: We ate at camp. We sauteed leftover potatoes, peppers and onions in a cast iron pan over the camp fire and fried up eggs to go with it.
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: The two older kids had a BBQ for youth group and I treated the two younger kids to dinner at Billy McHales on Sundays their kids meals are 1/2 price!

Monday-
B: Leftover muffins from camping
L: Mini corndogs/french fries or sandwich/chips
D: Grilled chicken, grilled potato/veggie packets, salad
Snack: Smoothies
Activity: Family movie night

Tuesday-
B: Eggs, bacon, hashbrowns
L: Tacos
D: Slow roasted sticky chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies and salad
Snack: Popcorn
Activity: Dance classes. The dance studio where my youngest daughter takes classes is offering drop in classes on Tuesdays over the summer. Both of the girls are going to try some different kinds of dance this summer. My youngest son is going to reluctantly give Hip Hop a try :).

Wednesday-
B: Biscuits/gravy and sausage
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Spaghetti, french bread and salad
Snack: Ice cream cones from a local dairy farm
Activity: Library and farm for ice cream cones

Thursday-
B: Cereal or eggos
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Grilled burgers/hotdogs
Snack: Crackers/cookies etc.
Activity: TBD

I didn't take a picture of my shopping trip but here is our list of purchases for the week:
2- Eggo Waffles $3.98
2- Apple Juice $3.78
2- Whole fryers $7.73 (one is for our family and one for a family we are providing a meal for)
1- shredded cheese $2.50
1# bacon- $5.71
Sausage links $3.49

Total: $27.52
I will pick up our CSA Farm box on Wednesday and that adds in more veggies. We are still using what we received last week as well!

Camping and the Beach

2011-06-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took our first camping trip of the season. While we were only about 20 minutes away from home, it seems like we were a world away. This is our 2nd year making this group camping trip with friends. We reserved a double site giving us lots of room for tents, tables, fire pit and the kids to play. We are just a short walk from the beach which is AWESOME. By splitting the cost among the families that went, we were able to camp for 4 days/3 nights for less than $40! Keep the meal simple and this is a very low cost way to have some family fun!

The beach is one of my families favorite places to be. Especially my youngest son. He can spend HOURS at the beach collecting rocks and shells. The weather was nice but the wind kept it a bit too chilly to really play in the water this trip. Except our last night there. Despite the cold water the kids were determined they were going to swim once this camping trip. So as we sat on the beach waiting for the gorgeous sunset, the kids swam.

One of the best parts of this camping location is the AMAZING sunsets.

This is our first year tent camping. We invested in a new 10 person tent. I was worried about setting it up for the first time. I have to say, this tent was probably the easiest tent I have ever set up! The hardest part was staking it down because the ground where we were was hard and rocky. We are so excited for our many camping adventures to come this summer!

This is a picture of 3 of my kiddo's and my daughters best friend. My oldest son seemed to have been MIA in all of my pictures LOL. I am sure that wasn't on accident on his part.

First Day of Summer

2011-06-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day! After such a dark, wet winter and spring it was a delight to have such a beautiful sunny day for the first day of summer. I have a two week break between spring and summer quarters at college and hope to make the most of it with the kids.

My youngest son was a little down the other day and when I asked him why, he had a very good point. The older kids had so much going on the past few weeks he hadn't had a day that was about him. So we made yesterday all about him and what he wanted to do. We had originally planned to go bowling (Free with Kids Bowl Free) but we opted to skip that for the outdoors and the park. We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed the park and playground. After the park, we headed to the library to check out books for the week. While we were there, all four of the kids signed up for the summer reading program. We stopped at Dairy Queen for ice cream cones to cool off on the way home. Last night we had lasagna for dinner (his favorite) and ate outside in the back yard. Such a great way to spend the first day of summer!

There are alot of free options out there for activities. We participated in the Kids Bowl Free and the Summer Reading Program at the library last year as well. Even if you do not live in our local area, check your local library to see if they have such a program. The Kids Bowl Free website has a list of participating bowling alleys and suggestions if yours is not currently participating.

We are off for day two of summer vacation! Make sure to take time today to make some memories!!

Summer Vacation- Week 1

2011-06-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

YEAH summer vacation has finally arrived. This summer, I won't be working but I will be taking 12 college credits. 7 of those credits will be online classes which allows quite a bit of flexibility. However, as with anything, routine is key. We started off the summer by creating a rotating chore chart for the family. By using this chore chart, it will take about an hour each day to get thru all of the daily "stuff". This allows us the entire afternoon for fun!

Along with chores, we have made sure to add in 20 minutes of reading time daily. I feel reading is very important for the kids as well as myself. It allows one time to relax and step back from the insanity of life, along with keep up on a very important skill. As I type this blog post, the two youngest kids are sitting here with their books :). Our local library offers a summer reading program that awards the kids for their reading and best of all, its FREE!

Our menu has been planned for the rest of this week along with fun activities. Here is a peek at our week :)

Monday:
B: Egg/toast or cereal
L: Leftovers
D: Pecan Crusted chicken, mashed potatoes and salad
Snack: Popcorn
Fun activity: Game night!
Craft: Chocolate covered strawberries (ok not really a craft but hey the kids are excited!)

Tuesday:
B: Blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs
L: Potato chowder and sandwiches
D: Lasagna, salad and homemade french bread
Snack: Free ice cream cones
Fun activity: Bowling and the library
Craft: Cards

Wednesday:
B: Omlets or cereal
L: Sandwiches & chips for those at home. Oldest daugther and I will be heading to a soccer BBQ. We will take cucumber salad and snicker salad.
D: Leftovers, steak bites with blue cheese dipping sauce, salad
Snack: Smoothies
Fun activity: Park
Craft: Sun visors

I will post the rest of the week later on!

Graduation, Dance and Summer Vacation!

2011-06-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

We made it thru our busiest five days WHEW. Last Thursday brought my oldest daughters 8th grade graduation and her first high school dance. She looked beautiful and so grown up!

Friday was the last day of school for the kids. They are ready for summer vacation and all of its fun! Friday night we had our first big BBQ of the season. We celebrated summer and the 8th grade graduation with family and friends.

Saturday was dance day. My youngest daughter had her spring performance for ballet. She too looked beautiful and so grown up. This is a picture of her in her costume/hair/makeup.

Sunday was Fathers Day. The kids dad doesn't live locally. We went and spent the day at the beach with friends for a BBQ celebrating the day and my friends birthday. It was alot of fun and great to just sit and relax for a few hours.

Today we are on the first official day of summer vacation. We have done alot of planning today. Chore lists, extra projects and menu's. We are also working on our list of summer fun activities. This is going to be an AWESOME summer!

Lots of Catching Up to Do

2011-06-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

Every morning as I write my daily to do list, "update blog" is on there. However, as you can tell, that has fall off the list every day UGH. I hope to do better (yes I know said that many times before). It has been an extremely busy month here. Here are a few highlights!

We have decided to not grow a large garden this year. We have had such a very wet spring and the ground is just now ready to till. However, the farmers are so busy trying to get their fields done, tilling the garden just isn't in the cards. I have decided I am totally ok with not having one this year though. We are going to be so busy this summer I am worried it would just be added stress. Instead, we have joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program thru one of the local farms. For a fee, you buy a share in this years crop. Each week we get to pick up a box of produce. Here is what our first weeks box brought us:

We survived the end of the year band concert. This was an all district band concert and was L-O-N-G. The high school band/jazz band are really really good, the jazz band even received a standing ovation! I am excited that next year I will only have to attend one concert per season as I will not have a middle schooler for one whole year **sigh**. In other "music news" and a "proud mom moment", my oldest son lettered in both Band and Jazz Band this year! I didn't even know you could letter in music, one of the things I guess I missed growing up in a very small school. The 2 oldest kids also marched in the Farmers Day Parade with band. My oldest daughter plays bass which is too hard to do with band so she volunteered to help with the flag team instead.

The biggest highlight of this past month was getting to go on a mission trip with my oldest daughter. This is what she chose to do for her 14th birthday. We went to Esperanza, BC with a group of 14 from our church over Memorial Day Weekend. We were gone 5 days, volunteering with a women's retreat. Our team cooked, did dishes, provided child care and worked on a list of maintenance projects. It was so amazing in so many different ways!! We cannot wait to go back again next year!

The two younger kids are so excited for summer vacation. They both LOVE the outdoors. Our summers are full of days at the park and camping which they both love. My youngest son finished up soccer season and cannot wait for fall soccer to start. My youngest daughter finished up fast pitch and is practicing her pitching skills to be ready for next year! This week she will finish up dance for the season as well.

My biggest news is actually winning something! I won a $1000 shopping spree in the Haggen Monopoly game WOOHOO! I will be blogging about how much I can actually get with that win using sales/coupons and hope to use it to well stock my pantry for next fall/winter! School is going really well. This week I wind down spring quarter and then summer quarter will start July 7th.

I really do hope to blog more frequently over the summer.

Insanity and Catch up (no not Ketchup) :)

2011-05-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

On one word, that's how our schedule has been the past couple of weeks! We have about one more month and things will start to slow down a little, well, for a couple of months anyways. I have had some trouble adjusting to school along with the kids schedules, the house and all that I need to get done in a day. However, I think its finally coming together in a good routine. I under estimated how much time I would need to spend studying this quarter whew! I registered last week for Summer and Fall classes so I know what I am facing ahead. I like KNOWING whats going on, I am not a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal at all these days.

It has been an exceptionally wet spring here in Western Washington. This has not been good for our spring sports season. Many of the fast pitch games have been cancelled due to rain, and even three soccer games (which is not normal). We finished up soccer this weekend and will be done with fast pitch in a couple of weeks. After that its just finishing up dance, the rest of the school year for the kids and its onto summer vacation!

We did have a big event in our house this week. My oldest son is now driving. I have discovered that having to let them have that freedom is one of the hardest things one can do as a parent! It is gut wrenching to watch them drive away for the first time, but he is doing great with it. It will be nice to have a second driver in the house that is for sure!

This week I need to do my freezer cooking session. We have a freezer meal swap next Saturday. I am not sure yet WHEN I am going to fit this in, but, somewhere in the week I need to find some time. I cannot stress enough how valuable and time saving it has been having these meals on hand.

I was going to add some pictures but that function doesn't seem to be working this morning. Ahh the joys of technology!

Tuesday May 3rd- Getting Crafty and a Birthday

2011-05-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

Today is my oldest daughters 14th birthday. I still cannot believe she is 14, it seems like just yesterday that she was born! She is growing into such an amazing young lady and I am very proud of her! She hates having her picture taken but here is one taken last summer. This photo was taken by Shannon at Sweetpea Memories Photography if you are looking for a local photographer check her out!

I have also been getting crafty this past week. I keep getting comments of trying to be "super mom" or an "over achiever" LOL but really, I love to craft and making things myself is MUCH more cost efficient!

This week is staff appreciation week at our school. Volunteering is important to me especially in our church and at the schools. For staff appreciation I volunteered for two things I knew I could do, take photos of staff for the bulletin board and bake cookies! My daughter and her friend helped me frost and package them. Making these cookies vs buying them was a huge cost difference. Here are the cookies ready to be delivered.

Every year I also make a gift for each of the younger kids teachers. Google is a great tool to use when looking for fabulous and fun teacher appreciation gift ideas! This year I found this Box of Teacher Goodies which I thought was super cute! I picked paper that matched each teachers likes and had fun with filling them with goodies! For me the personal touch to these types of gifts is important.

And then there are cupcakes. The younger kids are not able to take homemade goodies to school anymore on their birthdays due to too many allergies in classrooms. The middle school and high school however, are different. My daughter wanted to take 30 cupcakes today. If I had bought them pre made it would have cost me at least $20 just for cupcakes. We made them ourselves at home. I bought cute liners, orange frosting tint, 2 cake mixes and frosting for about $7. That is a huge savings.

So, sometimes, it is more of a financial factor in doing the things I do than trying to be "supermom". Although I do have four SUPER kids that I would do anything for! :)

Monday Musings-May 2nd

2011-05-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

I love spring for many reasons. Sunshine, flowers, sounds of birds and frogs. But most of all, I love spring because the electricity and natural gas bills go way down! We are getting to the time of year where I can use my clothes line instead of the drier and we can put on a sweater if we are chilly instead of turning up the heat YEAH! Spring, my checkbook thanks you :).

Another thing I love is our church. Our church has great programs for not only adults but children of all ages. I posted last week about my daughter who went to the "old fogey" night for the middle school youth group. Last night was my sons turn. The high school youth group had "thrift store formal" night. Check out these "special" duds HA! The Scooby Doo tie was an especially huge hit at our house since it is my youngest sons favorite character!

There are a few areas I need to address this week and focus on.

*I need to re inventory my pantry and freezer so that I know what we have on hand. With the cost of gas and food prices rising, I want to make sure I stay stocked on things we use regularly. I will watch for sales on those items and avoid running out and having to make a "quick trip" to the store. Those quick trips can be very costly not only in buying more than you need, but also with the price of gas.

*Re look at our budget and expenses. I did this 6 months ago (in November) and I need to do it again to make sure we are not overpaying for services.

*Front flower bed. It needs major attention. This week I will measure the flowerbed to see how much bark we will need and what we might want to plant.

*Garage sale list. No, not a list of garage sales we are going to but rather a master list of things we are looking for this summer. For example, my youngest daughter has a series of books she would like to have. If we bought it new it would be close to $100. However, we can usually find books at garage sales for .25-.50 each. HUGE savings! I would like to find a bike for myself (a particular one) and will watch for that over the summer.

Mix those in with a long list of activities and events this week as well as housework and homework and well, that's my week :).

May Menu

2011-05-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

If you seen the note FM that stands for Freezer Meal. I have alot of meals in the freezer from the past 2 months freezer cooking sessions and swaps. I am planning another for May (see below). Each night as I am doing the dishes I take out a freezer meal to thaw overnight. There is alot of variety in our freezer so I just choose whatever sounds good that night for the next day!

May Menu
1- Grilled burgers, hot dogs and pasta salad
2- Slow roasted rosemary/garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies
3- FM
4- Chicken ceasar pasta, salad and french rolls
5- FM
6- OUT- we will be attending an art walk with childrens art from local schools (including my daughters art) and will have dinner there
7- Mission Team Potluck (I'm taking chili)
8- Mothers day I am hoping we can go to the beach again and roast hot dogs. If not I will probably pull out a freezer meal.
9- FM
10- FM
11- BBQ at church
12- FM
13- Tacos
14- @ a graduation BBQ
15- Shepherds pie, salad, hm rolls
16- FM
17- FM
18- Spaghetti, salad, french bread
19- FM
20- Homemade pizza
21- Subway
22- BBQ burgers
23- FM
24- FM
25- Chicken ceasar wraps

26/27- free choice
28/29- meals at other locations
30- On the go or sandwiches
31- FM

My May Freezer Cooking Session will include:

3-Chicken Broccoli Bake
3-Chicken Cordon Bleu
3-Daves swamp blues bbq chicken
4-Cheesy Chilada bake
3-Shanghai Stir Fry
15-Cheese Burgers
4-Rice Pilaf
4-Garlic Mashed potato
8-Tropical Fruit Smoothie
8-Lasagna

All recipes except the cheeseburgers come from the book Fix Freeze Feast I cannot recomend this book enough! The # next to the item is the quantity of meals I will be making. The Rice Pilaf and Garlic mashed potatoes will be a side dish. The cheese burgers is an individual # not meals.

The lasagna will be my meal I am making for this months freezer swap. I will take the 8 lasagnas and come home with 8 different meals for our freezer. This is a great way to try new recipes without the commitment of making several of them!

May 1- Happy May Day

2011-05-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

I was so happy to wake up to beautiful sunshine this morning! We have had some very rainy gray days here in Western Washington this past week. The sun came out long enough yesterday for my son to get the lawn mowed YEAH! I have a strong urge to work in the flower bed this morning, sadly, there is no time today. It will be a day full of birthday lunch, baking 100 cookies for staff appreciation at the school, a soccer game and a Thrift Store Formal for my oldest son at youth group. We are however, going to BBQ tonight, something we love doing!

April Catch Up

2011-04-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

I have learned several things over the past 3 weeks, here are a few.
1. There are not enough hours in the day.
2. The use of turn lanes (what they are or how to use them) seems to have evaporated.
3. Freezer meal cooking is saving my sanity AND my bank account.
4. Do not take a single day for granted. Take time to hug your loved ones and tell them how much you care about them.

The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind of insanity. We are finally getting into a good solid routine with me going to school. The homework for the 3 classes I am taking is more than I anticipated at times but I really am enjoying it. I have ended up with 2 fabulous partners in Biology which is really helping!

Here we are performing one of our fun experiments.

Spring sports are also in full swing. I have to get pictures of the older kids yet (one in track and one doing flag team for marching band) but here are the younger two!

Danielle playing catcher (Fastpitch)

Tyler after a very muddy wet game on the soccer field

Our middle school youth group held "old fogey" night. My oldest daughter and I hit up Value Village for some old lady gear and borrowed a walker that was sitting at my parents house. Here is a picture of her before and after!

As I stated above, freezer meals have saved me so much stress, time and money this month it makes me VERY thankful I got started again! As I clean the kitchen after dinner, I pull a meal out of the freezer for the next night. Dinner takes only a short time to prepare with very little effort and mess. With our crazy schedule having these on hand keeps us from grabbing dinner out which can get very expensive. I am getting ready to put the finishing touches on another cooking session for May. The kids are even getting into it now, looking thru the book and picking recipes they would like to try.

On a "closing" note, I would like to ask for prayers. My oldest daughter and I will be joining a mission team on a 5 day mission trip to Esperanza in Canada in May. Please pray for our team that we will be able to to successfully be the hands and feet of Christ. That we will have a safe journey and that lives will be impacted in a positive way! This mission trip is what my daughter has chosen to do for her 14th birthday which has made me a very proud mom :)

April Freezer Meal Plan

2011-04-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

I am still working on my April freezer meal plan. I would like to do a large batch of both main dishes and sides. I am going on incorporate some help for this session with the kids and maybe a couple of friends. Of course, the friends will be rewarded with a meal to take home!! :)

Right now I hope to make:
Three Cheese Manicotti-3
Taco Kits-3
Lasagna-4
Chicken encheladas-3
Twice Baked Potatoes- 15 individual
Breakfast burritos- 15 individual
Quiche in a bag-3
Pie crust- recipe makes 20
Chicken Parmigiana-3
Pecan crusted chicken strips-3
Cashew Chicken Stir Fry-3
Mozzarella meatballs-6
Broccoli Beef Stir Fry-3
Steak Skewers with blue cheese dipping sauce- 3
White sauce butter balls- recipe makes 28 individual
Biscuits- 3 dozen

I may add to this I am not sure yet.

April Menu/Meal Plan

2011-04-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

This may end up being tweaked a bit once we get the fast pitch game schedule for April. My goal was to do another freezer meal cooking session before school starts but it doesn't look like that will get done, and that is ok. I will do it in a couple of weeks before our next freezer meal swap.

On the nights I have indicated Freezer Meal I will pick something the night before from what we have on hand to thaw overnight in the fridge.

April
1- Pizza rolls (mom was out kids cooked)
2- OUT
3- Burgers & fries
4- Chicken Pot Pie
5- Spaghetti, french bread, salad
6- Freezer Meal
7- Freezer Meal
8- Out we will be spending the day in Seattle
9- Subway after church (we get the $5 footlongs only no chips etc and bring them home to eat. We can add sides at home)
10- Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies
11- Freezer Meal
12- Tacos, rice
13- Freezer meal
14- Freezer meal
15- Saucy garlic chicken, noodles, salad
16- Grilled steak (or turkeydogs for the younger kids), beer baked white beans, blue cheese slaw
17- Salmon w/ Brown Sugar and mustard glaze, rice, veggies
18- Italian sausage rigatoni, garlic bread, salad
19- Taco
20- Freezer meal
21- Freezer meal
22- Freezer Meal
23- Subway after church
24- EASTER- ham, make ahead mashed potatoes, marmalade candied carrots, marinated cheese topped salad, cool coffee gels and cheesecake
25- CORD/leftovers
26- Encheladas
27- Freezer meal
28- Freezer meal
29- School carnival
30- Kids choice

April 1- No fooling!

2011-04-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

I had a good laugh at some of the April Fools jokes that people came up with this year. And even more so at some of the people that believed them! I was lame this year and didn't pull any pranks or jokes.

I took time today to move one step closer to my oldest son driving. I am having such a hard time accepting that he is old enough to drive. I keep reminding myself that my parents had to do a lot more "letting go" when I learned to drive. We had to drive an hour each way to get pretty much anywhere including to work. Yesterday I put his truck in my name and got him new plates. My parents gave him an old pickup they had sitting around which will serve as a great first vehicle for him. This week my mom is taking it to have tires put on it and then we will move forward with him getting his license. **GULP**

A high school friend had coordinated a fundraiser scrapbooking crop for her daughters preschool. I spent time putting together page packets to take and work on. If you are not sure what a page packet is, you take your pictures and pick the paper and embelishments you want to use for those photos and put them together. When you get to scrapbook you just pull out that packet and assemble the pages. By putting in the time to make the packets it cuts down on the amount of things you need to carry with you to the crop. Also, I was able to put 23 pages together!!

March 30th

2011-03-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

Wow the days are flying by as usual. Having freezer meals on hand has saved us several times already! We have added in soccer and fast pitch practice which land right at dinnertime several nights a week. Its been great to have something that is ready to go and quick to prepare!

This is my last week before college classes start. I am working on getting things finished up, caught up and organized. I had one child down this week with walking pneumonia and we have been dealing with several deaths of aquantences. Such a sad time for so many families. I have found myself in a funk and just not getting things done so today I am foucsing and getting back on track.

I will work today on a menu plan for April and another round of freezer meals and grocery shopping. The kids are on spring break next week and I will plan a craft/activity for each day for them for some extra fun. Hopefully I will be posting more regularly UGH I keep saying that don't I!

Freezer Meal Update

2011-03-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

So this week I did my first large freezer cooking session. This is something I hope to get back to doing on a regular basis. This took me the equivelent of a day to do, however, I broke it out over two days. In the end, I have 38 meals in my freezer at a cost of $4.45 per meal (average). That is PER MEAL which has enough servings to feed my family of 5 and the potential of leftovers for lunch for me the next day.

In comparrison. This past Tuesday we were running late. I had not planned dinner and didn't have time to really fix anything. I picked up Little Ceasars and spent $31.41 which provided dinner for the 5 of us and lunch for my son the next day so 6 servings. That is $5.24 per serving. Of a meal that is NOT really healthy. The freezer meals which include vegetables if broken down into 5 servings is a cost of $.89 per serving. That is a savings of $4.35 PER SERVING for just one nights dinner!

I did invest a little more $ than I have included in my calculation on items that I didn't use all of (such as olive oil). However, the items I purchased are items I use regularly and would have purchased anyways so it was not a burden on my grocery budget. Here is the breakdown of the groceries I used and the cost I have calculated out for them. Some items I already had on hand and were previously calculated in the grocery budget(such as the potatoes I used for the soup)

Meals I made:
(All recipes came from the book Fix Freeze Feast)
Baked Potato Soup-4
Tomato Basil Soup-3
Cherry Skillet Chicken-3
Tequila Lime Chicken-3
Sesame Soy Sirloin-2
Basil Balsamic Chops-3
Garlic Studded Pork Loin-4
Pork Barley Soup-8
Rice Pilaf-8

I will take 6 of the Pork Barley Soup and 6 of the Rice Pilaf to a Freezer Meal Exchange tomorrow and bring home 12 different meals to try and add more variety.

What I purchased and the cost:

ITEM COST
Olive Oil $5.35
Chicken $31.98
Steak $20.85
Pork Loin $36.25
Celery $3.29
Garlic $2.00
Half & Half $0.75
Onion $1.75
Pork Chop $16.58
Carrots $3.99
Tomato paste $1.59
Lime Juice $1.00
Basil $0.24
Sesame Seeds $0.65
Barley $2.78
Cheddar Cheese $6.00
Soy sauce $2.75
Fresh Basil $2.50
Green pepper $5.77
Orange $0.49
Margarita Mix $0.40
Tequila $1.50
Sesame Oil $0.25
Balsamic vinegar $0.25
Chicken broth $2.93
Rice $2.95
Diced tomatoes $7.36
Cherries $3.49
Thyme $0.25
Crushed red pepper $0.10
Gallon ziplock bags $2.66
Quart ziplock bags $0.30

Total Spent: $169
I am already planning my next cooking session its quite addicting!!

Here are a few pictures!

Dishes ready for the freezer

Baked potatoes cooling for the Baked Potato Chowder

Double batch of Rice Pilaf

Pork Barley Soup and Rice Pilaf ready for the freezer

Week of March 13th

2011-03-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last week went by in a blur. It was a long and emotional week for many reasons. This week, starting fresh and focusing on PREPARATION! With school starting for me soon and the kids sports in full swing I need to be prepared if I am going to stay ontop of things.

This past weekend I was blessed to be able to attend a Freezer Meal class taught by Lindsay Tkacsik author of Fix, Freeze, Feast (if you click on the book title it will take you to their website)the book and the class were an amazing inspiration to kick off my freezer cooking again. If you are a freezer/OAMC/Batch meal fixer or have wanted to try, this book is a must have in your kitchen! You can order it from Amazon at a great price!

I have decided to tackle 3 big projects this week:
* Spring Cleaning
* Batch/Freezer cooking session
* Baking session

I will break these down to one project a day with some (such as spring cleaning) taking a couple. The kids will each have a part in each one of these projects as well, especially the cleaning part :)

Today I will start with the Spring Cleaning. My daughter did quite a few things yesterday that got me started which is AWESOME. I am hoping that this evening I will get to Costco to pick up most of the items needed for both the freezer and baking sessions so that I can start that tomorrow.

I will post pictures as I go along, not of the cleaning that would be boring but the cooking sessions :)

Grocery Shopping Week of Feb 27th

2011-03-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

This weeks grocery list was VERY small since the menu is made up mostly of whats on hand. I went to one store but then had to stop at Fred Meyer last night and picked up a loaf of french bread to go with dinner.

Cost Cutter:
French fries $3.49
2 butter $5.98
Prawns $3.36
Half & Half $2.99
chocolate chips $2.99
avacado .99
Total: $19.80

Fred Meyer:
French bread $1.99

Total Spent: $21.79
I am leaving this as part of the February budget since the $ was spent IN February. See how others did this week at the Grocery Cart Challenge

Menu Week of Feb 27th

2011-02-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

This weeks menu is focusing on what needs to be used up in the pantry/freezer and fridge. All of those partial packages and little bits of leftovers.

Dinners:
S- steak, baked potatoes and roasted veggies
M- Tuna Casserole, biscuits and salad
T- Chicken nuggest & fries (it will just be the boys)
W- Queen Bee's chicken, rice and veggies
Th- Tripple Decker Tortilla and veggies
F- Fend for yourself night (it will just be the 2 older kids)

Lunches:
Kids will eat at school
My options: soup, salad, Cajun Rice.

Breakfast (they can either eat this or cereal)
S- baked french toast casserole
M- Pumpkin muffins
T- Sausage, scrambled eggs, toast
W- Pancakes, eggs
Th-Biscuits/gravy
F- Waffles, eggs, bacon

End of February

2011-02-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe we are at the end of February already! We finally got snow this weekend and the kids were thrilled. The younger kids spent Sunday morning outside building snowmen and making snow angels before the rain came and melted it all. There are small glimpses of spring each day. Baby calves in the field, the chickens are laying regularly and a small little flower has popped up from the dirt in the front flowerbed :).

I have been determined to start up OAMC again, however, I am putting this off by at least one more week. I need to use up things in the freezer/pantry that are partial packages or have been there a while. This weeks menu is based on whats on hand that needs to be used up. My grocery list for the week is VERY small which I love.

I did more crafting this past week. This weeks main project was Mini Treat/Gift bags. I found this pattern last fall at a quilt show I attended with my mom. You use Fat Quarters and with 2 Fat Quarters you can get 4 bags. They are super cute and easy to make. I had purchased quite a bit of fabric to make some and have been using that up this week. I also did some card making, thank you cards for my daughter to use as well as some cards to have on hand.

Crafts and a Birthday

2011-02-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

Last week I decided to get a few craft projects done that had been sitting around for some time. I had finished up a stack of Rice Warmers and the headbands I showed in my last post. I finished up PJ shorts and pants for my oldest daughter and then moved on to reuseable shopping bags. I had found a Resuseable Shopping Bag Pattern online and had purchased the fabric. I found a price sticker still on one of the yards of fabric with a date of 11/21/2008. Yes, it was time to get this project finished :).

Here is a picture of my current craft area. I had moved the majority of my craft supplies to our living room so that I will actually USE it. This space is very functional for me and I am able to leave projects out and not clear them away for meals.

This past weekend was my youngest daughters 10th birthday. We have opted to NOT have birthday parties anymore but rather, to do something fun and special. She wanted to go to the bit city for her birthday, stay in a hotel with a pool and have fondue. She picked one friend to go and my mom went as well it was a fabulous time!

Blog Slacker and Craft Projects

2011-02-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have officially become a Blog Slacker. I am adjusting to not working and having too much time on my hands. While most would LOVE the opportunity to have all of the free time, I do not do well with it. I enjoy being busy busy busy! I have found myself shopping more than I should. Not necessarily buying things but browsing the stores which could be potentially very dangerous on the budget.

I am setting a goal for myself over the next couple of weeks to finish up some craft projects that have been sitting around collecting dust. Yesterday it was headbands. I found this pattern online last year at Paige and Brook on Blogspot . The girls picked out their fabrics at that time and then it just sat, in a drawer in my "to do" craft area. Yesterday I pulled it out and made 12 headbands! I did modify it a bit. I printed the pattern hey supplied but made it a little bit longer. I also just used fabric and elastic I did not use the interfacing, well, because I had since used what I had bought for another project and I was NOT going to go to the fabric store. It worked just fine. My next project will be the resuseable shopping bags that I bought the fabric for almost 2 years ago! Again, using a free pattern I found online.

I am also working my way back into Freezer Meals and Once A Month Cooking. I will start school right at the time that Spring Sports for all 4 children are in full swing. That will make for an insane schedule for a few months. By planning ahead with freezer meals I can cut down our grocery expenses AND curb eating out.

Grocery Shopping Week of Jan 30th

2011-02-01T09:17:00.000-08:00

No picture this week, I will get back to posting pictures of the shopping trips next week. This week I am just filling in a few items and the rest comes from our pantry/freezer. I have been trying to restock the pantry when things go on sale.

milk 2.79
cottage cheese 2.29
yogurt 1.99
hamburger buns .99
oxtails (will put in freezer/use for Pho broth) 6.94
green onion 1.29
romaine hearts 2.99
cumin 1.29
rotissery chicken 5.00
deli 6.99
2 pkg lasagna noodle 3.00
diced tomato 1.00
2 orzo 2.00
corn tortillas 2.09
chopped garlic 1.99

Total Spent: $43.65
See how others did at the Grocery Cart Challenge

February Menu

2011-01-31T07:25:00.000-08:00

February, really? Wow January flew by!! I am going to continue with my monthly menu plan here goes! (includes Jan 31st). Towards the end of the month you will see "Freezer Meal" on the menu. I am so excited because later this month I am going to attend a Freezer Meal Exchange! I will take 6 of a prepared freezer meal and get to bring home 6 others. LOVE IT!

31 Chicken cacciatori w/ pasta, ceasar salad
1 Tacos/Tamales and Mexican Rice
2 Lasagna, french bread and salad
3 Sour Cream encheladas
4 Hamburgers & french fries
5 Tomato soup & grilled cheese
6 Roast in CP, baked potatoes and veggie
7 White Chili, cornbread
8 Tacos/Tamales and Mexican Rice
9 Beef stew with Beer/Paprika, french bread
10 Spaghetti, salad
11 HM Pizza
12 Chinese food theme-game night
13 Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies
14 HM chicken soup, biscuits
15 Tacos/Tamales and Mexican Rice
16 Baked Ziti, french bread
17 Breakfast for dinner
18 Grilled ribs, grilled potatoes (hot dogs)
19 Freezer meal
20 Danielles birthday dinner
21 Sage rubbed pork chops, apple sauce, veggies
22 Tacos/Tamales and Mexican Rice
23 Country Cassoulet Recipe
24 Chili lime fajitas
25 Hamburgers & french fries
26 Freezer meal
27 Freezer meal
28 Freezer meal

Menu Changes

2011-01-24T07:21:00.000-08:00

For the most part we have stuck to the monthly menu. There have been a few nights we substituted leftovers, soup/sandwiches or have had dinner at a friends house. I am gearing up to write my menu for February and am excited about trying some new recipes.

With my job change, we have decided to scrap the no eating out/no coffee challenge as it is no longer needed. BUT we will be still guarding how often we eat out etc. It can be a money drain! That said, we are eating out tonight. LOL however, it is a fundraiser for the high school band which my son is very active in. One of the local restaraunts is donating 20% of sales to the band and they have great prices to begin with.

I do need just a few groceries for this weeks menu items and am planning a large stock up trip next weekend!

Changes Changes Changes

2011-01-24T07:13:00.000-08:00

I have decided the only thing constant in life is change. Change can be good and change can be bad. Change can cause us panic or cause us to take a solid look at our lives and see what needs to be done.

On January 11th, I along with 79 other people were laid off. While this wasn't overly SHOCKING news, I didn't expect it to happen this soon. I thought I would have more time to prepare, pay off debt and well I don't even know what else.

This has been a whirlwind couple of weeks. I have never been laid off or fired from a job before. There is ALOT of paperwork! I took a good look at what I wanted and where I want to be at this point in my life. The job market for what I do is non existent and jobs that would be a fit are so few and far between with a large number of people looking for those same jobs.

I have decided to fulfill one of my life long dreams, going to school to be a nurse! I really didn't think at my age I would be going back to school, not that I am old but I am preparring for my 20 year high school reunion next year and here I am going back to school! I am excited and nervous! My children are extremely supportive and excited. I have told them over the years how important it is that they go to college and how I wished it was something I had done when I had the opportunity. Now I get to set that good example by starting and finishing it!

So, my journey is changing a bit. This change is a good change :)

Grocery Shopping Week of Jan 9

2011-01-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

This weekend all of my grocery shopping was done at one store. This is for the menu I posted here January Menu .

I didn't get a picture of the groceries so you have to use your imagination :). One change in this weeks menu will be Wednesday night. We will be going to a family program at church that has FREE PIZZA! That helps the budget!! :)

Cost Cutter - $70.95 (spent)
Savings with coupons/sales- $30.97

Italian Sausage $4.07
Pepperoni $2.39
Basil $2.99
Canadian Bacon $2.38
Lunch Meat (4pk's) $11.96
4 Rice a roni $3.52
cream $1.99
bananas $2.05
bologna $1.58
2 loaves bread $1.54
10# potatoes $2.99
apple juice $2.79
crushed tomatoes $.69
acedophelus milk $2.39
parsley .99
kale 1.99
1 ltr dr pepper 1.50
6 cans green beans 1.98
2 pizza cheese $5.98
parm cheese 3.99
chicken broth 3.49
milk 1.67
chicken breasts 5.86

Kids will eat lunches at school and I will eat leftovers at home.

Breakfast options:
cereal
eggs/toast
pancakes/eggs
waffles/eggs
pumpkin muffins

Snack options:
homemade cookies
popcorn
homemade soft pretzels
carrots/dip
ants on a log

First Week of January Recap

2011-01-09T08:53:00.001-08:00

This week was our first week back to the busy routine after vacation. It was nice to be back to the regular routines but I was missing all of the free time we had!

This week included school, work, ballet, youth group, worship practice, basketball for band, drivers ed and church. My oldest daughter took the Red Cross Babysitting course this weekend and my oldest son got to go to the Seahawks game! The younger 2 and I had a "date" afternoon at the movies where we saw Yogi in 3D it was AWESOME! The movie was no cost to us as we used gift cards the kids received last year.

We did really well this week sticking to the menu and the budget. I have balanced the checkbook and updated the budget tracker daily. So far, we are on track with the goals for 2011!

January 3

2011-01-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

Today was a rare day in our household. I had the day off of work and the kids were in school. I used the day to get caught up on a very long list of things. Appointments, phone calls, errands and housework. It felt so good to get all of those things done and off my desk or list.

I also took time today to finish a book I was reading from the library. It is called The Quickening by Michelle Hoover. This was a really good book one I had a hard time putting down!

Dinner tonight was chili that had cooked in the crockpot all day and cornbread. A great end to a busy day!

January Grocery Shopping

2011-01-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

This month I am attemping to do one major shopping trip and then fill in weekly with fresh produce, milk and stock up on any good bargain sales if there are any and it fits into my budget.

I shopped several stores so far. I did not take pictures and am not going to post the individual items for this big trip but will next month.

Grocery Outlet: $21.64
Costco: $27.86
Food Pavillion: $27.93
Bread Outlet: $7.64
Asian Market: $6.87
Just Deals: $16.20
Haggen: $39.27
Safeway: $38.04
Spice Hut: $5.99
Liquor Store: $1.50
Coupon Clippers: $3.94 (coupon order placed)

Total to date: $196.88
Budget: $400
Remaining: $203.12

January 2

2011-01-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

We are at the tail end of Christmas Vacation. The sun is shining and its beautiful outside but oh its cold, about 29 degrees. We HAD to get out of the house. I took the 2 youngest kids to the park to run off some energy. There were a hand full of other families there so we were not alone! What a great fun and frugal way to spend some time on a Sunday afternoon :).

I tried another new to us recipe tonight Filet au Poivre . Fancy but super easy and oh so delicious! We purchased beef from the farmer however, you could find a great cut of steak on sale or in the clearance section at your local market to make this treat! I picked up the peppercorns at my favorite spice shop Spice Hut

The day wound down getting ready for the week. Updating the family calendar, getting papers, backpacks and whatnot together. Back to the insanity of life!

Jan 1, 2011

2011-01-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

Friday I attempted to do all of my grocery shopping but there were just way too many people. Finally stopped and will finish on Monday when its a little less crazy in the stores. I did get about 90% of it finished though!

We had an awesome Jan 1st. What a great way to start off the New Year! My mom came up for the weekend and we are having a crafting weekend. I spent all day scrapbooking and mom spent the day working on a quilt. The kids were hanging out enjoying the last bits of their vacation.

We are beginning our 6 month no eating out/no Starbucks (etc) challenge. One of the things I was going to miss during this time is Pho. I did some online research and found recipes which were really time consuming. Then I hit the jackpot when I found a Crockpot Pho recipe! Do not be overwhelmed by the steps in this recipe it was actually VERY easy. I went to our local Asian Market and found the spice packet, fish sauce, hoisen sauce and rice noodles and spent under $7. I used OxTail bones that I got from the farmer and flank steak that I found on sale. It was delicious! The only thing the broth recipe did not call for that it needs is salt. However, each added it to their own bowl at the dinner table and that worked just fine as well.

I have started doing a few new things and re implementing a few things I had done in the past to help save $. Here are a few:

* using Swagbucks and MyPoints. By using these 2 programs I can earn points just for doing my regular online searching or shopping and use those points to earn GiftCards (to places like Amazon, Starbucks etc). If you would like more information on either of these let me know!)

* Ordering coupons. I do not get the local paper because I can see what I need online for free. I also don't buy something just because I have a coupon for it. However, I do like to get coupons for the things I buy regularly. I have used The Coupon Clippers for quite a few years to order coupons and have had great success.

* Shopping around for loss leaders. We have a variety of grocery stores in our area. Each will post Loss Leaders, or those big sale items on the front page of their ads to draw you in. Our stores are close enough I can go from store to store to pick up just those items which can be a huge savings to the grocery budget.

* Just ASK! We receive a weekly section of paper in the mail that holds ads (this is a free service). In that this week we received a coupon from a local place that does oil changes. It was a great deal and I need an oil change. However, I noticed the coupon expired in November. I called and it was a print issue and they couldn't honor it, however, I asked and he said they had coupons on their website. I went to the website and they had a coupon expiring THAT day. I called back, they had decided to close early for New Years. I asked if he would still honor the coupon on Monday and he said sure no problem and scheduled my appointment. The worst he could have said was NO but by asking I am saving $15.00.

A few photos for you. The bowls waiting for the Pho Broth and the final result!

January Menu

2010-12-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

I am going to go back to MONTHLY menu planning and see how that works for me. I have made out my grocery list for non perishable items and the perishables I need for this week. Tomorrow I will do a major shopping trip. I will then go weekly for perishables and any stock up items that fit in the budget!

Here we go. I have included links to the recipes if there is on!

Date Menu Item(s)
1 Beef Pho
2 Filet au Poivre, Salad, Twice Baked Potatoes
3 Chili w/ cornbread
4 Tacos, mexican rice
5 Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies
6 Spaghetti, hm french bread, salad
7 Hamburgers & french fries
8 Tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
9 Chicken & Dumplings
10 Olive garden Zuppa Toscana Soup, garlic bread
11 Tacos, mexican rice
12 Hamburger Helper, peas
13 Three Cheese stuffed shells, hm french bread, salad
14 HM Pizza
15 HM Chicken & rice soup, HM biscuits
16 Roast, mashed potatoes, green beans
17 Stiry fry veggies w/ shanghy stir fry sauce, top ramen noodles
18 Tacos, mexican rice
19 Breakfast for dinner
20 Fancy macaroni, hm french bread, salad
21 Encheladas, rice
22 Top Ramen, Peanut butter crackers
23 Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, veg
24 HM chicken/veg soup, HM biscuits
25 Tacos
26 Meatballs with peppers/pineapple, rice
27 Spaghetti, HM French bread, salad
28 Hamburgers, french fries
29 Dads Birthday Dinner
30 Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, veg
31 Bake potato soup, garlic bread

2011 Project Kickoff

2010-12-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

I have been working hard the past couple of weeks to gear up for what I am calling "2011 Project". Here is what I have accomplished so far:

Finances:
* Switched us back to cable from satellite. Saving us $50 a month
* Got rid of my Blackberry (gasp) and went back to an older phone we had laying around. Reduced our cell phone minutes package. Overall, saving us $90 per month.
* Budget- I have written out a budget and entered it all into excel to track every penny I spend.
* balanced checkbook- this is always a struggle for me but I have got it set and ready and am determined to stay ontop of it!

Crazy Schedule:
* Reduced my volunteering at church to 2 weekends per month instead of all 4
* Turned down several requests to watch others children or fill in volunteering already

Groceries/Menu:
* I am going to switch back to planning a full months menu at once. I will do one major shopping trip at the beginning of the month and fill in weekly with fresh produce/milk. If the budget allows for it and if there are any great stock up sales, I will stock up on items.

So we are off! I will post my monthly menu along with links to recipes and then my major shopping trip is tomorrow!

Menu Plan Week of Dec. 19th

2010-12-19T08:20:00.000-08:00

This week is the first week of Christmas Vacation. This means not only planning dinner, but all 3 meals plus snack. I am also planning a craft a day for the kids.

S: Family Christmas dinner (roasted chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy, green bean casserole, rolls, green salad, brussels sprouts, raw veggies w/dip, deviled eggs, pickle rolls. For dessert: Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Pie.

Monday:
B: Eggs/toast (or cereal)
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: My youngest and I will be eating out for her dance performance. The other kids will be fixing something from the pantry-their choice.
Snack: Popcorn
Craft: Snowman Craft

Tuesday:
B: Waffle/eggs (or cereal)
L: Top ramen, peanut butter crackers & carrot sticks
D: Tacos, rice
Snack: Make Your Own Pretzels
Craft: the pretzels and we will make cards

Wednesday:
B: Pancakes
L: English Muffin Pizzas
D: Spaghetti, meatballs, french bread and salad
Snack: Popcorn
Craft: Reindeer food

Thursday:
B: French Toast
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Burgers & fries
Snack: Cookies that we will be decorating
Craft: Cookie decorating

Friday:
Friday is going to be a grab as you go day. Part of our meals we will be eating at church.

Getting Crafty

2010-12-14T15:01:00.001-08:00

I love making crafts and am working in more time to do these things that I love. I am not great at coming up with ideas on my own, however, there are some amazing people who do and blog about them!

Here are a couple of crafts I made last night and links to where you can find the instructions to make them too!

These little "snowman soup" templates are so darn cute! I made these for the teachers at our primary and elementary school from the PTA.

Source: Design With Heart

Next:

Ribbon angels! I picked up the wireless ribbon and some foam christmas tree ornaments at the Dollar Tree. The glass charms on the front I had on hand in my craft stash.

Source: Happy Birds Crafting Haven

Grocery Shopping Week of Dec 12th

2010-12-14T14:53:00.001-08:00

This week my grocery shopping was done at just one store.

See how others Did this week at the Grocery Cart Challenge
Cost Cutter- total $67.42
They were out of the whole chickens that were on sale so I had to improvise. I also found 4 packages of ground turkey marked down to $1.99 that we grabbed for the freezer.

2 cereal $3.98
chicken legs $6.07
4 ground turkey $7.96
4 vitamin water $5.00 (for dd's basketball games)
acedopholus milk $2.39
6 yogurt $2.94
2# block tillamook med cheddar $3.99
roll of sausage $2.50
2 butter $3.54
2 pkg meatball $5.00
granny smith apples $2.46
braeburn apples $2.19
5# satsumas $5.98
bananas $1.88
2 boxes capri sun $2.94
3 corn muffin mix $1.47
dry beans $2.29
gallon milk $1.67
15# potatoes $2.50

Menu Week of December 12-17

2010-12-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

This is a very lean money week so our menu is simple. It is based on what we have on hand and what was on great sale at the store this week.

S- roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans
M- Homemade chicken noodle soup, homemade biscuits
T- Homemade chili in the crock pot, cornbread muffins
W- Spaghetti/meatballs, homemade french bread, raw veggies
Th- Waffles with blueberry sauce and eggs
F- It is my youngest sons birthday so I will let him decide

Breakfast Options:
Eggs/toast
Hash browns/eggs
Cereal
Oatmeal
Yogurt

Lunches:
Kids eat at school. I will have leftovers or soup.

Gearing Up for the New Year

2010-12-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

Every year I set "New Years Resolutions". I do great until about oh, February and then they seem to slowly drop off my radar. I am a list person and I usually have a LONG list of resolutions which is probably the majority of my problem with keeping them.

This year my goals will be simple:
* Live more simply
* Focus more on family
* Reduce debt

I am naming it the "2011 Project"

I have become one of those people who is checking my phone every 10 minutes for email, Facebook, text messages etc. We are always in a rush to get to the next thing. Our lives are hectic and stressful. I find us more often than I should in separate rooms doing our own thing when we could be doing something together as a family. We do alot together as a family, however, its just simply not enough.

We have decided as a family on a 6 month challenge starting January 1st. This will include:
* no eating out
* no Starbucks
* reducing or getting rid of our TV service
* reducing our cell phone service (I will get rid of my Blackberry and go back to a regular cell phone)
* more theme nights such as family game night, family movie night or "cooking/baking" lessons. I would also like to teach at least the girls how to sew.

One other area I will be cutting back, is my volunteering. I love to help others it is always a blessing to me, however, I am going to learn to say NO once in a while. This will help reduce some of the hectic running around.

This will help in two ways. First, help strengthen our family bond and second, help financially.

I hope to blog about my journey, not that really anyone will read it LOL but it will help keep me accountable and maybe, someone will read it and it will help inspire them.

Grocery Shopping Week of December 5th

2010-12-06T06:10:00.000-08:00

Once again, was in a hurry and didn't get a picture of the groceries. I shopped at one store, Haggens. I am not counting the items I purchased for the friends lunch in my Shopping Totals as that $ was designated in my "holiday" budget for this year.

2 milk- $4.98
half & half $1.99
3 vitamin waters - $2.64
2# cheese $2.99
3 bags chips $3.87
ground beef $2.93
turkey tenderloin $5.99
steak $7.14
celery $1.29
2 bags carrots $3.00
2 butter $5.98
2 lunch meat $5.98
3 cereal $8.97

Total: $57.75

I will need to pick up acedopholus milk and salad later in the week.

Menu Week of December 5th

2010-12-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

This week I menu planned as I shopped. Not the best way to do it but it works in a pinch. Sunday I hosted our 2nd annual "friends" lunch. It was alot of fun! Always nice to get together with friends/co workers outside of work and just laugh, have some good food and wine and relax!

This weeks menu:
S- leftovers from lunch
M- HM chicken noodle soup and hm biscuits
T- Steak, baked potatoes, creamed Brussels sprouts
W- Turkey tenderloin, mashed potatoes, green beans
Th- Tacos, Mexican rice and beans
F- Spaghetti, hm french bread and salad

Grocery Shopping Week of Nov 14th

2010-11-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

I was in a hurry to get the groceries put away and my soup started so I didn't get a picture this week. I did all of my shopping at Safeway. They had a special this weekend if you spend $25 you could get a turkey for .29 a pound. I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year AND I hope to get a couple of extra turkeys for later in the year.

Safeway:
Total Spent $64.65

cous cous $2.29
Tortilla chip $1.99
4 cans corn $1.96
2 diced tomato $1.98
tomato sauce 1.00
oatmeal 1.88
2 boxes cereal $3.98
Panko $2.69
5 cans chicken broth $3.00
2 cans beans 2.00
2 ltr dr pepper 1.99
shredded cheese $1.99
sour cream $1.50
milk $2.39
pork loin $8.61
bs chicken thighs $5.87
cod fillet $4.79
red onion 1.33
cabbage 2.18
kale 1.99
parsley .99
2 lemons 1.98
grapefruit 1.29
20.82# turkey $6.04

Sunday November 14th

2010-11-15T07:03:00.000-08:00

Today was a productive day, love those! We tackled the rest of our fall cleaning. We still have some winter prep to do. They are predicting a long/cold winter with alot of snow so we will be prepared just in case.

I am very excited to be starting a small group thru our church. This small group is for single parents, a way for us to be able to get together, connect, worship, and study Gods word. Our first meeting was tonight, an informal potluck meet and greet. We had a great time. These parents are able to bring their children and they will have an activity of their own during our study time.

I tried a new to us soup tonight Taco Soup. I have linked to the recipe. It was delicious! Definitely something we will be making again! I was short on time so I made it on the stove which worked just as well.

I also found time today to finish up my Christmas shopping list. I have one person I am not sure what to get, that is my dad. He is a hard one to shop for. My goal this year is to have all of my Christmas shopping and wrapping done BEFORE December 1st. I already have my Christmas cards and Christmas photos done and printed to mail the day after Thanksgiving.

This week I need to finalize menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas and a holiday party I am having with friends. I also want to finalize my baking list and make a master grocery list for the items I will need so that I can stock up as they go on sale.

Menu Week of Nov. 14th

2010-11-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

Back to menu planning. Well I have been menu planning but not blogging about it.

This weeks dinner menu:

S- Taco Soup
M- Parmesan crusted chicken, rice, veggies
T- Seared cod with grapefruit slaw (grilled cheese/tomoato soup for those that won't eat what I am fixing)
W- Cider braised pork w/ harvest veggies, mashed potatoes and homemade rolls
Th- Creamy chicken and cous cous soup with garlic toast
F- homemade/make your own pizza
S- Subway after church

Blog? Oh yes I do have one of those!

2010-11-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

Ok I MUST get back to blogging. I enjoy it and well, while no one really reads it, it does hold me accountable to my menu planning etc.

It has been a busy couple of months for us. School is going very well for all of the kids. Tyler played soccer this fall and really enjoyed his team! Erika is playing basketball and they will have their first game next week. Danielle is taking dance again, Ballet II and is going to dance twice per week as they prep for the Christmas Performance. DJ started drivers ed this week and made Honor Band this year!

Things around home have been busy as well. We hosted a harvest party last month and were able to share the many pumpkins we grew in our garden with family and friends. We have been doing some fall cleaning and decluttering as well as stocking up our pantry in preparation for a long winter.

I have been keeping myself overly busy with work, kids, household stuff, and PTA. My newest venture is becoming an independent consultant for Tastefully Simple! I love their products and was always telling people about them so thought, why not make some extra $ to help replace some things we need replaced in our home. You can check out my webiste at Rachels Tastefully Simple Website

Below are a few pictures from our adventures the past couple of months!

Summer Winds Down

2010-09-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

As summer winds down, we quickly find our selves with a busy schedule and fall weather! It doesn't take much for the weather switch here in Western WA. The nights are cooler, the leaves are changing colors and I absolutely LOVE it. Fall is one of my favorite times of year!

We took advantage of the only nice day we were set to have for the long 3 day weekend. We ventured out to a local apple farm and the library. My 2 youngest have been participating in a summer reading challenge thru our local library. Both of them met their reading goals for summer I am so proud of them! They received certificates from the library yesterday and were a part of 25,336 books read by children thru our library branch!! At the apple farm, we sampled apples and picked our favorite. Thankfully we all agreed on the same apple and we picked up a 25# box.

Here are a few pictures enjoy!

Grocery Shopping Week of Sept 5th

2010-09-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

This week I did the multi store shopping which I hope to get back to. I had written out what I needed and what were the best deals at each store. It did not take me much time in each store which is great. We also went to the local apple farm and picked up a 25# box of seconds for $20. These will be for lunches, snacks and some yummy pies!

See how others have done this week: Grocery Cart Challenge

SAFEWAY:

Dill spears $2.19
Tomato sauce .69
Angel hair pasta .89
2-re fried beans 2.00
Mayo 1.99
beef broth 1.25
cream of chkn soup 1.49
3 Capri Sun 5.00
3-shredded cheese $5.07
cream cheese 1.49
sour cream 1.50
margarine .99
ham 2.99
2.77# bananas 1.63
MDA donation (roundup) .41

Total Spent $30
Total savings $15.55

COST CUTTER
2 bread 1.98
22 pk snack bag chips 4.99
3 turkey bologna 2.97
6 french cut green beans 2.00

Total Spent: $11.92
Total saved: $7.96

HAGGEN
3 Hamburger Helper $3.00
Romaine hearts 2.50
2 bacon 5.00
2 pkg ground beef 4.40
stir fry meat 4.34
butter 1.88
mexicali dip 4.99
dry onion soup mix 1.79
green pepper .69
zucchini .21
half & half 2.19
5# yellow onion 2.00
2 tortilla 3.98
3.16# cantaloupe 1.17
2 ltr root beer 1.00

Total Spent: $39.44
Total Savings: $17.45

My overall totals for the week
Spent: $81.36
Saved: $40.96

In addition to this was the $20 I spent on the case of apples. Most of these will be canned or frozen for later use.

Menu Week of September 5th

2010-09-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

We are back to school this week. I am making the kids all pack lunches this year for the most part.

BREAKFAST:
S- cereal or leftover muffins
M- Cereal and toast
T- Breakfast wraps or cereal
W- Bacon/egg/toast or cereal
Th- Pancakes/eggs or cereal
F- Blueberry and/or banana muffins
S- Biscuits and Gravy

LUNCHES:
Sandwiches & chips
Cesar salad
Tortilla wraps
Leftovers
(For me it will be leftovers or homemade soup)

DINNER:
S- hamburger helper, green beans
M- Spaghetti casserole, french bread and salad
T- Salmon, rice and veggies
W- Savory chicken dinner, homemade rolls
Th- marinated beef stir fry, rice
F- Tacos
S- Subway after church

SNACK OPTIONS:
homemade cookies
homemade muffins
apples with homemade caramel dip
apples with peanut butter
celery with peanut butter

How I Grocery Shop

2010-09-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

None of the ways I shop are anything I have created, however, its all information I have learned over the years from various websites and blogs. One of my FAVORITE frugal sources is Frugal Families . There is an annual membership but it is WELL worth it!

I try to menu plan each week and do my shopping on the weekend. Over the summer I was doing my shopping on Sundays but that will move back to Saturdays for the school year.

I start by collecting the grocery ads that come in the mail. I receive grocery ads from 4 different stores. I start with the Loss Leaders which are the big sale items advertised on the front page. These are the deals they use to draw you to their store. You can save alot of money by going store to store for the loss leaders if they are something that your family will use. I do NOT buy something just because its a good deal. I do buy things if its something I know our family will use.

Next I make a list of the best deals at each store. I may end up crossing something off a stores list if I find a better deal in another ad. For example, juice pouches. Store A has them for $1.97 with a limit of 2. However, when I got to the ad for store 3, they have them on sale for 3/$5 ($1.67 each) with no limit. Once I have gone thru and identified what the great deals are, I start planning my weeks menu around those items and fill my grocery list in with other ingredients I need for that week.

Coupons are also a GREAT option. Our grocery stores will list Store Coupons in their ads. Some will let you use both a Store Coupon AND a Manufacturer Coupon on the same item for even greater savings! Ask your store manager what their coupon policy is each is different. Coupons come in the mail but you an also order larger quantities online. There are quite a few coupon sites. The only one I have ever used (and NEVER had a problem with) is The Coupon Clippers . Using coupons can really add up. If you have a Kmart in your area, watch for their Double Coupon Weeks. We do not have double coupons in Washington on a regular basis. However, KMart does offer this occasionally. It can be a great way to stock up on health and beauty aids!

Check for clearance bins or markdowns. Often stores will discount things the week of their expiration date but those items are still perfectly good.

Make sure to check the per unit price. For example cheese. You can buy it in either the block or preshredded. It can vary as to which is the better deal depending on the per unit price not the total price! (NOTE I have taught my children to read the shelf tags and they are quick to find which is the best deal and its a great way for them to practice their math skills!)

Stock Up. I like to stock up for the winter months. I do not like to drive if the weather is bad and having a stocked pantry removes the worry of running out of things we regularly use. I sat down last week and wrote out a list of what we use on a regular basis and what I would LIKE to have in the pantry. For example, we use ALOT of french cut green beans, I would like to have 20 cans in my pantry for the winter. I put this list in excel. Over the next few months I will watch for sales on these items and stock up! Many grocery stores have case lot sales or 10/$10 sales which are a great way to fill up that pantry when things are on sale. Don't have a lot of room? Buy and extra 1 or 2 of those items that you use alot while its on sale at a great price.

Don't forget pets and health and beauty items, TP, cleaning supplies etc. You can stock up on any and all of these items when you find a great deal!

Menu Week of August 29th

2010-08-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

Last week of summer vacation!! It was definitely closer to fall this morning, cool, foggy and the sun rise was later. I LOVE IT! Fall is one of my favorite times of year!

This weeks menu has more convenience foods than normally for lunches. I thought I would treat the kids to some of their favorites. I did things backwards this week as well. I shopped without a menu or list. I happened to be going past Super Walmart on Friday and decided to take advantage of the low prices. Here is what I came up with while I shopped (Note, I will NOT do this again it was too hard to shop this way LOL)

Breakfast Options:
eggs/bacon/toast
eggs/bacon/hashbrowns
cinnamon rolls
french toast
pancakes
cereal

Lunches:
corndogs/fries
chicken nuggets/fries
spaghettios
leftovers
sandwiches/chips

DINNER:
S-roasted chicken, baked potatoes, green beans and garlic/sourdough bread
M- enchiladas, Mexican rice
T- Pork tenderloin, cheesy rice and veggies
W- White chicken chili, cornbread muffins
T- Spaghetti, french bread and Cesar salad
F- Leftovers
S- Subway after church ($5 footlongs)

Grocery Cart Challenge Week of August 22nd

2010-08-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

No picture again this week. Most meals are from whats on hand or from our garden! :)

Food Pavillion- $33.35
2 loaves wheat bread $1.98
paper towels .85
spaghetti .99
2 pkg bacon $4.00
veg oil $3.49
spaghetti sauce .99
alfredo sauce .99
shredded cheese 2.49
tortilla chips 1.99
10# potatoes 3.79
tea .99
lactose free milk 1.50
2 gallons milk 4.78
3.77# bananas 2.22
garlic .79
2 ltr dr pepper $1.25

To see how others have done check out the Grocery Cart Challenge

Menu Week of August 22nd

2010-08-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

This weeks menu is mostly from whats on hand.

S- roasted chicken with veggies, homemade bread and salad
M- chicken corn chowder and homeade biscuits
T- spaghetti, homemade french bread and salad
W- Hamburgers, roasted potato wedges, broccoli/carrots with ranch
Th- Fried chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and veggies
F- Pizza night

Breakfast options:
cereal
waffles
pancakes
muffins
eggs/toast

Lunch options:
sandwiches/chips
soup
cord
hot dogs/mac & cheese

Snacks:
I am baking this week so there will be lots of options:
fruit
cookies
muffins

Sunday August 22nd

2010-08-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

The days seem to be flying by! We had a great and busy week. For the most part stuck to the menu. Our only "fail" was Wednesday night. We ended up at the county fair MUCH longer than I anticipated. I ended up caving and getting pizza on the way home. The kids were thrilled!

Our exciting news of the week is adding chickens to our little "farm". Some friends are moving and we inherited their chicken coop and 13 chickens! We got them all moved last night and they are happily eating cucumbers and bean ends from our garden this morning.

Today we are finishing up a large to do list around home and the afternoon is going to be "each to their own" fun time. I plan on spending that time sewing and stamping. FINALLY!!!

We also did some canning this week and put up:
6 quarts of green beans
8 quarts and 2 pints of dill pickles

Here are a few pictures from the week!

Monday August 16th

2010-08-17T07:02:00.001-07:00

As with many other Washington State residents, I am ready for some cooler temperatures! We have had several days of high temperatures. That's a rare occurrence here so not many have A/C in their homes. We finally figured out the system of the windows/blinds/fans to keep the house cool YEAH!

This week is the county fair. My oldest daughter went with friends today and came back tired and sunburned but had a great time. We are heading to the fair on Wednesday as a family and I cannot wait! Growing up my grandparents camped at the Skagit County fairgrounds with the Grange. We spent so much time there and formed great memories. While we have switched "counties" it still brings back some great times!

My oldest son got a 2nd farm job this week (just temporary) working for a farmer up the street. He is doing property clean up (weed eating etc) for them that they just don't have time to do. He loves having the ability to earn his own money and is saving up for when he starts to drive next year EEEK!

I thought I would do a recap of the recipe I tried today the Crock pot Fajitas. The link to the original website/recipe posting is in my MENU post below. It was a HUGE hit! Our grocery store was out of flank steak so I purchased Carne Asada meat. It was melt in your mouth tender by dinner time! I will definitely make this again but only when the meat is on sale. It was a little pricier than I like to pay but well worth it!

I also wanted to share one of my FAVORITE websites!! www.frugal-families.com it has an annual membership but well worth the $$. I have been a member on the site for many years and have learned so much about how to be frugal, save in so many areas of our budget etc. Its a group of amazing women who will love to hear your thrills of garage sale finds or FREE toilet paper :)

Grocery Shopping Week of Aug 15th

2010-08-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

No picture this week. I was in a rush to get things put away due to the heat on Sunday and preparing for the girls baptism and BBQ afterwards. I only shopped one store this week Cost Cutter/Food Pavillion and the rest is from whats on hand. My mom was up this weekend and supplied us with Costco muffins the kids are thrilled! Those will be used for breakfast this week.

tomato sauce .99
pork roast 4.86
carne asada meat 8.92
2 shredded cheese 1.98
meatballs 6.48
5 limes 1.00
dry white beans 1.85
lettuce 1.28
2 tortilla chips $3.98
2 wheat bread 1.98
dr pepper 4.50
beef patties 8.68 (for BBQ)
onions 3.84
2 diced green chilis 1.35
2 refried beans 2.38
2 whole peeled tomatoes 1.30
2 ketchup 1.54
rice 1.89
parmesan cheese 3.99 (for BBQ)
gallon milk 2.39
freezer pops 1.50
Frozen OJ 1.49
sour cream 2.49
2 green bell peppers 1.36
tomatoes 1.51

TOTAL: $75.26

To see how others did this week check out the Grocery Cart Challenge

Menu Week of August 15

2010-08-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

I am going to use my crockpot every day this week (except Sunday) for dinner. My poor crockpot has been somewhat neglected this summer and I need to fix that!

For other great menu ideas check out: Menu Plan Monday

This weeks dinner menu:
Sunday- BBQ celebrating the girls baptism
Monday- Slow Cooker Fajitas, rice and beans
Tuesday- Cranberry Roast, Mashed potatoes and green beans
Wednesday- White Chicken Chili, Homemade biscuits
Thursday- Spaghetti, homemade french bread and salad
Friday- Orange chicken, rice and stiry fry veggies
Saturday- BBQ at my parents house I am going to take Buffalo Chicken Dip with veggies and tortilla chips

July/August Catch Up

2010-08-16T09:53:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe I didn't get on here to post at all in July! It was a crazy busy but oh so fun month for us!

I took a weeks vacation the first part of July. We went camping with my parents in Eastern WA over the 4th of July weekend.

We came home to find our mama kitty had her babies! 4 kittens (1-Gray, 1-white, 1-black and 1 black/white). Sadly, 2 weeks later our mama kitty was hit by a hay truck and killed. We had to take on the role of mama bottle feeding the kittens. A friend adopted 2 of them and the other 2 have become a big part of our family! Their names are Houdini and Blackjack!

We also came back and spent 2 days at home (Just enough time to get caught up on laundry) and packed up to go camping at the beach! The beach is one of our favorite places to be and to be able to camp there for 4 days with amazing friends was just awesome.

That camping trip was full of laughs and great memories! My mom came up and joined us along with Jodi and her family, Lisa and Zack! We spent time in the ocean, on the beach, playing games, working on puzzles and making some memories none of us will ever forget.

We worked on our garden which is doing amazingly well! We spent time at parks, swimming, on the slip & slide. Making the most of the summer!

Towards the end of the month we had some amazing family pictures taken. If you live in the area (Skagit/Whatcom County) check her out! Sweetpea Memories Photography

The first week of August brought Family Camp at Warm Beach Christian Camp. A week of family time, worship and relaxation! I was able to teach the college group again this year which is always a blessing! The kids had a blast with their friends old and new. We made some more great memories with the Davis family :). If you are looking for something to do during the summer with your family, check out Warm Beach Christian Camp !!

This weekend brought back to school shopping (woohoo we are done and got it all done in one trip!).

The best part is that our church Cornwall Church held a lake baptism. 170 dedicated their lives yesterday with hundreds along the shore praying for them and cheering them on. Among those 170 were both of my daughters. When they announced earlier in the summer that this lake baptism was going to take place, they both approached me and said they were ready, they wanted to take this step in their lives. I was so proud and felt so blessed! Not only that they wanted to take this step in their lives but that they wanted to do it TOGETHER!

I am setting a goal for myself to get back to regular postings. School is just around the corner and menu planning and budgeting are going to be key this year with our schedule.

Monday June 28th

2010-06-29T06:41:00.000-07:00

Well, today was one of those days that just didn't go as planned. Our fun activity for the day was the Sculpture Exhibit at Peace Arch Park. The information came in a weekly local activity email. The weather was somewhat iffy but we thought we would give it a shot. Looked up the Park website to find the exhibit was in April and they were doing light replacement maintenance starting yesterday for 3 days. So, we scrapped that idea. Then, thought we would go to Fun Zone to allow the kids to burn off some energy (have a gift certificate). They are closed on Mondays. So it ended up being a stay at home and watch cartoons type day.

We did stick with the menu with one exception. The kids were so excited to have cereal in the house they begged to have cereal and bananas and I caved. I stopped buying the sugar cereal so it isn't too bad.

I currently have 3 crafty projects on my plate for the summer. I am helping with wedding invitations and helping put together a bridal shower for a friend. I also need to create invitations for the girls baptism/BBQ. I have been spending alot of time stamping and making cards over the past few weeks and really enjoying it, along with the great company of friends! As crazy as it sounds, I need to start putting thought into Christmas gift crafts and cards when these are completed. If I do not start early I will never finish with our crazy school year schedule.

Another new "idea" in our house is, having the TV shut off for the summer. I have several friends who have this done and I am thinking it to be a wise choice for our family. We would still be able to watch/rent movies, however, we do not watch much TV in the summer and the financial savings would be a great bonus.

That's about it in a nutshell. I am counting down the days until vacation. Hoping for some nice weather and relaxation for our staycation!!!

Grocery Shopping Week of June 28th

2010-06-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

With trying to use up items in the freezer, the grocery bill was quite a bit lower this week (no meat). I do hope to go to the Farmers Market on Wednesday and pick up a couple of things (lettuce, arugula and strawberries) but this should be less than $10.00.

To see how others did this week check out the Grocery Cart Challenge

TOTAL SPENT: $48.00
4 Goldfish Crackers $3.52
2 salad dressing $2.98
re fried beans .99
pasta sauce $1.79
Tortilla chips $2.00
3 boxes cereal $5.97
Tortillas $3.79
TP .88
mozzarella cheese $2.49
2 cream cheese $1.98
mex blend cheese $2.49
1 gallon milk $2.99
sour cream $2.59
hamburger buns .99
2.86# bananas $1.69
2.01# green grapes $1.99
1.70# red grapes $1.68
2 lemons $1.58
green pepper .50
.36# carrots $.36
garlic/herb feta $2.50
1 bud light $1.99 (for beer bread)

The 2 kids in the picture, well they are priceless :)

Menu Week of June 27-July 2nd

2010-06-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

I am trying to finish cleaning out our freezer so that we can start fresh. This weeks menu is based mostly on whats on hand making my grocery list for the week very small (which I love).

Sunday:
B: Biscuits/gravy and sausage patties
L: not sure yet we will be on the go so I may treat the kids to a Happy Meal
D: Clean out the refrigerator dinner (CORD) or as some call it, refrigerator buffet

Monday:
B: French toast and eggs
L: english muffin pizzas
D: Chicken pattie burgers, baked potato wedges and veggies

Tuesday:
B: Cereal or eggs in green pepper and toast
L: Hoagies, chips
D: Pasta/sausage bake, veggies, salad and hm french bread

Wednesday:
B: Waffles with strawberries and whip cream
L: Tacos
D: Grilled steak/hotdogs, salad and rice roni

Thursday:
B: Bagel bake french toast
L: Sandwiches & chips
D: Marinated chicken kabobs, corn salad

Friday:
B: Cereal
L: Grabbing lunch on the way out of town for camp
D: camping!

First week of Summer Vacation Recap

2010-06-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

This week went really well and we had alot of fun. The new White Board idea worked GREAT. Each day the chores were done by the time my work hours were finished. There was no "I didn't know what needed to be done", or "I didn't hear you say that". They loved having the daily fun activity listed so they knew what we were doing that afternoon.

Our fun activities for the week:
Monday- library where the kids joined the summer reading program. They pledged how many books they would read over the summer. Each week they come in and mark how many books they read and get a drawing entry for some great prizes. They even have a drawing entry for the parents for coffee cards, just for bringing the kids in!

Tuesday- the 2 older kids had youth group activities. While they were doing that the 2 younger kids and I took a picnic dinner to a new to us park. Some great outdoor fun and photo ops!

Wednesday- this was a back yard sprinkler day! It was great weather to enjoy our back yard.

Thursday- dropped the 2 older kids off, my son off to his dads for the weekend and my daughter off to my parents for a week. She is going to do some work for them and earn some spending $$. The 2 younger kids and I headed off to the beach. It is one of our favorite spots.

Friday- BBQ with friends. We headed off to a friends house to BBQ and have some great laughs and conversation.

The best part of this weeks fun activities, they were all FREE!

Monday June 21st-Happy Summer!

2010-06-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of summer! We didn't get much "summer" weather but hey we will take what we get and be happy with it!

Today was the start of the first full week of summer vacation for the kids as well. I am trying to have a somewhat structured but free schedule for them, if that makes sense. We have a white board on our kitchen wall and that contains all of their information for the day. It lists chores, our fun activity for the day and the menu. This way they know what needs to be done, what they have to look forward to and whats to eat without having to ask me 50 times in a day. Yesterday was the test and it worked wonderfully! Chores were done without me having to make a peep. They were ready to go for our fun activity when my work hours were finished and no one asked me what was for dinner :).

One of my goals for this summer is to have a fun activity each day. My goal is to have this activity be FREE or very close to it. Today was the library. We love the library and this summer they are offering a great kids reading program. If the children sign up, they get entered to win prizes for every book they read. As an incentive to parents to BRING them to the library, parents get to enter a drawing ticket for a free Woods coffee card. Whats better than FREE coffee!! Danielle and Tyler filled out their forms and pledged the number of books they would read over the summer and got started. We came home with a nice pile of books and the cost = $0!

We are also trying new recipes this summer. We have slowly switched our eating over to healthier and things are going very well. Lunch today was a new to us recipe and was a hit.

Chicken Apple Burgers
1# ground chicken
1 granny smith apple, 1/2 small dice and 1/2 slices
season salt
olive oil
1-2 slices bacon for each
buns
2 T. mayo
honey
1 T. Dijon mustard

Mix the ground chicken, diced apple and season salt and form into burgers. Cook in a little olive oil until done. Mix 2T. mayo, 1T. Dijon mustard and a little honey. Toast the buns and add a little of the mayo mixture, a patty, 2 slices of bacon and apple slices and enjoy! We ate these on Whole Wheat Thinwitches.

And finally a little garden update. We were able to get our garden in the ground last weekend. It was a long wait for the ground to get dry enough and I was worried we were getting it in too late. We were very excited when we went out to water last night and found plants starting to poke up out of the ground! I will get pictures and post this week of the progress so far. We are hoping for a good amount of produce to be able to can/freeze for winter.

Menu Week of June 20th

2010-06-21T07:52:00.001-07:00

Now that summer vacation is here, I will be planning 3 meals per day plus snacks. This way I can be prepared.

Sunday:
B: Pancakes with fresh strawberries and scrambled eggs
L: sandwiches
D: Hamburger helper for 3 of the kids, YDD and I went out for her dance celebration

Monday:
B: Cereal for dk's, egg/toast for me
L: Chicken/apple burgers on thinwiches, chips
D: Encheladas

Tuesday:
B: Belgian waffles
L: Buffalo chicken and cucumber salad for the 2 ODK's and I, chicken nuggests and fries for the 2 YDK's
D: Tilapia, rice and veggies

Wednesday:
B: Berry blast smoothies
L: Spaghetti
D: sausage & chicken kabobs, salad

Thursday:
B: French toast
L: Turkey loaf, mashed potatoes and green beans
D: Homemade pizza

Friday:
(This will just be the 2 YDK's and I)
B: cereal for dk's, egg/toast for me
L: sandwiches & chips or CORD
D: Hot dogs/mac & cheese for kids, steak and baked potato for me

Snack options:
fresh fruit
smoothies
raisins
popcorn
hm soft pretzels
hm cookies

June Catchup

2010-06-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

Whew the month is going by way to fast! We have been busy busy busy. With finishing up all activities, school etc and now finally we are on summer vacation! Well, the kids are, I still get to work :) Here are a few pictures of our activities from the past couple of weeks. As we head into summer, we will be looking for fun FRUGAL activities.

6/1/2010

2010-06-02T07:39:00.001-07:00

So today was our first day of our new eating style. It went really well. There were no complaints and we even tried a few new to us recipes.

For breakfast during the week/school year, everyone usually does their own thing. Today my oldest had a piece of his quiche he had made the day before. The girls had smoothies made from OJ, vanilla yogurt and mixed frozen fruit. For my youngest and I it was cheerios and banana. The kids all ate lunch at school. I had chicken and broccoli sauteed in a little olive oil. After school snacks consisted of raisins, apples and smoothies each with their own choice.

Dinner was spaghetti with whole grain pasta. This was our first meal with the whole grain pasta so I was a bit nervous. However, it was a hit. The kids didn't notice a difference and I liked it much better than regular pasta. I also made Ceasar salad with homemade dressing. Here is a link Ceasar Vinaigrette it was a huge hit with the kids and a definite keeper.

I did end up going to the grocery store for a few items I had forgotten, mostly the dressing ingredients. I spent $12.43 bringing my monthly total so far to $104.99. My goal is to stay at or under $400 for the month. Today I picked up:
raisins $2
olive oil $4.99
anchovy paste $1.79
french bread $1.69
straws .99
lemon .89

As for the rest of the day it FLEW by. Not much on my chore to do list was completed. My youngest daughter had her last Fastpitch game of the season. We have one more activity to finish, ballet, and then we are done for a couple of months over summer vacation. My oldest daughter finished up her small group for church last night with a little celebration. That will also resume once school starts again.

I am looking forward to the calm weeks of summer. I love our crazy life but I am looking forward to spending our evenings doing fun family activities! I am also looking forward to the sun making its return! We need to get our garden planted and I would love to be able to hang my clothes to dry on the outside clothesline again soon.

But, all in all, a good day!

Grocery Shopping and Menu Week of June 1st

2010-06-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am starting the week at June 1st because we were camping the first 2 days of the week. Starting fresh with a new month and a new way of eating. We are moving away from processed foods to more fresh fruits/veggies, leaner meats, whole grain pastas etc. This is starting June 1st and this weeks shopping trip reflects that change.

I shopped 2 places this week:
Youngstocks (Produce stand)
Safeway
Total for the week: $92.56

I did something I normally do not do and that is buy cat litter and dishwasher soap at the grocery store. I was too tired to make another stop and was happy to find they had both things ON SALE!! I added them in the picture but do not count them in my grocery totals so I have removed them from the $ spent.

To see how others did this week check out the Grocery Cart Challenge

Youngstocks : $25.09
The receipt doesn't tell me which amount is for what so here is what I purchased there:

celery
broccoli
Brussels sprouts
walla walla sweet onion
head of lettuce
romaine lettuce
2 mini avocados
1 lemon
granny smith apples
red delicious apples
honeydew melon
baby carrots
small white potatoes
bananas
ginger
1 gallon 1% milk

Safeway: $67.47

Peanut butter $1.49
2 whole grain spaghetti $2.78
1 2% milk $2.99
cottage cheese $2.19
2 large plain yogurt $3.98
frozen peaches $2.99
frozen mixed fruit $4.99
2 OJ $6.00
2 Welches mixed juice $5.00
1 sunny delight $2.99 (for youngest daughter who has a nasty cold)
2 frozen pie shells $2.99
turkey burgers $5.99
lunchable $2.79 (for youngest daughters lunch today-can you tell who went shopping with me this week hehe)
boneless skinless chicken breast $5.27
salmon fillet $6.15
green pepper 1.99
garlic 1.99
strawberries $3.99

MENU

Breakfast choices:
Non sugar cereal (Cheerios, rice crispies, special K)
Fruit smoothie
Cottage cheese/fruit
HM pancakes/fruit

Lunches:
At school-hot lunch
At home- chicken/Brussels sprouts, salad, leftovers

Dinner:
T- Spaghetti with whole grain pasta, Cesar salad, french bread
W- Grilled salmon, rice, salad
Th-Turkey burgers, baked potato wedges, salad
F- Funky chicken with sesame noodles, stir fry veggies
S- Subway after church

Snack choices:
smoothies
fruit
celery with peanut butter
popcorn

June 1, 2010

2010-06-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

June is upon us. The kids are excitedly announcing there are only 13 school days left. Our first full weekend of camping is under our belt with only one mishap, the car breaking down. But all is good, it was fixed quickly and we are very thankful to have such a helpful and loving family!!

We have decided as a family to make some major changes in our household effective today where it comes to meals/groceries etc. We are going to focus on a much healthier eating lifestyle and for once EVERYONE is on board. We live in the perfect area for such a change this time of year. With our own garden, local farmers markets, blueberry/raspberry and strawberry fields around every corner and local grain fed beef and free range chickens and eggs in great supply. We also have a fresh fish market just around the corner!

We have worked the past few weeks on using up the items in our pantry. While there is still quite a bit of "processed" foods left, we will still incorporate those into our diet but in smaller quantities until they are gone. After yesterdays shopping trip, our refrigerator is filled with fresh fruits/veggies, juices/yogurt for smoothies and fish/chicken for the week.

Our garden still isn't ready to plant but our plants are doing well! It needs to be tilled one more time, however, it has not been dry enough for the farmer to get that done. Hopefully over the next 2 days we will have some dry weather so that we can get these plants in the ground! Our lettuce, herbs and flowers we planted from seed in the front flowerbed are coming up though and starting to look great!

Menu and Grocery Shopping week of 5/16

2010-05-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

This is another one of those "lean" weeks money wise. No worries! Shopping the bargains of the week and using whats on hand we have a good menu planned.

I don't have a picture of this weeks groceries so I thought I would share a picture of a foggy morning on the farm from last week!

Dinner:
Sunday- grilled steak, french fries and corn
Monday- tuna casserole, garlic cheese bread and peas
Tuesday- tilapia, rice and salad
Wednesday- tacos
Thursday- Pineapple pork stir fry, rice
Friday- grilled burgers, baked potato wedges

This weeks shopping:
Total spent $27.16
To see how others did this week check out the Grocery Cart Challenge

french bread $1.69
hot dog buns .49
hamburger buns .49
marinade mix $1.24
salad $1.79
2 bags potato chips $2.00
2 gallons milk $4.78
3 tuna helper $2.97
cream cheese $1.49
5# baking potatoes $1.39
tortilla chips $1.50
green onions .99
fish food $1.34 (we ended up with 3 free gold fish as prizes at the soccer BBQ)
lemon .89
4 boxes of cereal $4 (this was a GREAT deal this week)

Recipe Recap

2010-05-16T08:07:00.001-07:00

So a quick recap of last weeks recipes. The potato salad and penne recipes were a HIT! The potato salad is served at room temperature and is not very good the next day so definitely make it if you are going to use it up that day. The penne recipe makes ALOT and is great reheated for lunches! I didn't get a chance to make the Pork Stir fry so we will try that this week!

The chicken sandwiches I ended up modifying but they were delicious and the slaw is definitely a keeper!