Super Cheap, Super Delicious and Egg, Dairy and Peanut Free

This is one of my favorite frugal desserts. I don't have a name for it, nor do I remember where I even got it. I am pretty sure that I got it from some frugal site a year or so ago, because it is printed from the computer. That is about all I can remember about it.

It is super easy and super cheap. Here are the ingredients.

1 sleeve of saltine crackers

1 bag of chocolate chips

1 stick of butter

1 cup brown sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Take the saltines and lay them out flat on a cookie sheet. On the stove top melt the butter and brown sugar to a low boil. When all the sugar is melted and mixed well with the butter, pour it over the crackers and spread it evenly.

Bake on 350 for 5 minutes.

Take it out of the oven and immediately pour the bag of chocolate chips (or approx 2 cups) on top of the crackers. They will start to melt. As they melt, spread the chocolate around evenly. Once you are done spreading the chocolate chips, put it in the refrigerater until it cools or hardens.

When it has hardened, simply break it apart and eat! It is super yummy. You will probably have to make more than one batch though, one to eat and one to share! I cannnot keep my hands off this dessert.

I made this dessert last year and put it in cute little treat bags with a pretty ribbon and tag an gave it to the bus drivers. They loved it and it was a nice gesture. Showing I appreciate their care in getting my kids to and from school safely.

This post linked to Tasty Tuesday and Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Menu Plan, Week of November 29

This is a busy week for us. Basketball starts, we have a Brownie meeting and we are spending a few days with friends. Add to that the fact that my 8 month old is teething and not sleeping well, which means momma isn't sleeping well. That means a week of easy meals.
I am going to try to do some baking this week to freeze but have a lot of other stuff to do, like get an oil change, pack, get my niece special food(she is watching our animals), pack, and just do the usual homework and laundry!

Sunday, November 29
Busy morning--Wendy's for lunch and homemade chicken and rice soup for dinner.

Weekday breakfasts--cinnamon rolls, cold cereal, toast

Lunches--leftovers, soup, lunchmeat sandwiches

Dinners--Vinnies spaghetti sauce with ziti noodles, taco soup (new recipe from my friend Jeannie, I can't wait to try it), stew and biscuits, hamburgers

This post linked to Menu Plan Mondays.

Easy Transformation

With the hubub of school, comes a mountain of papers. Papers to turn in, papers about future projects, homework papers, art projects, invitations, papers about other papers, the list goes on and on. And having two in the same school system, means any paper that pertains to school information, we get two of.

I try to stay on top of it. And yet, my shelf that contains all this paper looks like this more often than not. And yes, I do need to do something with those bananas. They will be turned into chocolate banana muffins, yummy!

I tried to get organized. Notice the three tubs on the bottom, they are all labeled with my oldest three names on them. Which is great, except that I have 4 kids and eventually I will need another tub for my youngest. And the light blue tub is mine, I put receipts, papers I want to keep, photos I haven't put away yet, basically anything that I don't know where else to put goes there.

I also keep a box of cards ready on hand. Birthday, get well, congratulations and sympathy cards are all stored in the pretty striped box. That way when I need to send out a card, I don't have to make a quick trip to the store, I already have it. That is pretty organized right?

I also have a tub for my tape and stapler, which is a great idea. Exept little ones find my tape and use it to tape things down. All kinds of things. So my tape/stapler tub is really just a stapler/empty tape dispenser tub.

I have a binder for my allergy recipes, nicely labeled. I keep my black coupon binder here, except it is sitting on top right now, not nicely in my bin. Pencil sharpener, check. Tissues, check. Random box of crayons on my fruit plates, check.

I would like to say that I spent a whole day organizing this. I said I would like to say it, not that I could. Placing my kids artwork in their labeled tubs under my bed(yes, I do that, keep a tub for each childs artwork under my bed). I would like to say that the dust bunnies are gone in this shelf, the empty notebooks and that my stapler/tape tub has reclaimed its original glory. But I can't say that. Because I didn't find the time to do that.

Instead I did this. This will have to do until I do find the time to go through this shelf. And yes, I did eventually turn the bananas into chocalate banana muffins. Maybe that is why I don't have time to tame the paper beast. I bake too much. Oh and notice how my lines don't match up? Well, no one's perfect.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Amazon Deals!

For those of you that don't know, Amazon is running some great deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This is great for those of you that don't want to go out to shop! Just click here to see the list of deals. This same link provides both the deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

I ordered a couple things this morning that will go under my tree! They have great prices right now on dvds. Including Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Single-Disc Edition) which I cannot wait to see.

It looks hilarious and I know it will be a great family night movie. The first one was a great movie and this one has been very anticipated in our house.

It doesn't come out until December 1st, but you can preorder it right now for a very low price! Check it out.

Black Friday Anyone? More Like Red and Green.

I know many of you cannot wait to wake up in the middle of the night, or even not go to bed at all and go out shopping. I too have done it a few times in the past.

One year I stood outside for hours in line to be able to get my husband a widescreen, flatscreen computer moniter for Christmas. The price was awesome, then since the box was open when I went to pay(after being in line again for an hour or so) they took another $50 off the purchase price since there weren't any more left. It was totally worth it for that one thing. Yes, he loved it of course. But it made for a very long day, and since I went by myself, not nearly as fun as if I had gone with friends.

This year however, my husband works, so unless I want to either go out and try to be home by 7:30 when he has to leave, or take all 4 kids with me to try and snag some deals, I will be staying home. Yes, I take my 4 kids with me all the time. To the grocery store, Target, Sams Club, the zoo, etc. However, taking them to the store to stand in line for hours, with the chaos and keep an eye on them and keep them safe and right next to me, um, no thankyou.

We will be spending Black Friday sleeping in.  Sleeping in for me is sleeping from anywhere between 5-7:00 a.m., or until my 8 month old decides it is time to get up and feed him! Depends on the day, he isn't sleeping that well lately, working on getting some teeth! So far he only has one.

Then as the other three slowly trickle out of bed, I will ward off the inevitable question while I drink a cup of tea. You all know the question . . . "mom, when are we going to put up the Christmas tree?" And why is it that you have so many helpers putting up the Christmas tree, but they all seem to scatter when you have to take it all down?

I do love putting up holiday decorations, I love listening to music, drinking hot chocolate, still wearing my pj's. It just makes the house so warm and cozy.

However this year we have a new little helper, he is an 8 month old destroyer. He loves getting into anything that he isn't supposed to. He goes right for the plugs, wires, dvd shelf, tissues, cats and dogs.  So you all know that a 7 foot tree that has lights and shiny decorations on it are going to be his favorite thing!

I am hoping that it atleast stays verticle. It might not have any lights or ornaments on the bottom half of the tree but hey, that's okay. We are used to it mainly because we have cats that like to climb the tree, a great dane/lab mix, who's tail can be quite destrucive. Not to mention the German Shephard mix that loves to chase the cats, you guessed it, under the tree.

I will post photos of my tree tomorrow after we are finished and you will notice a design flaw that I failed to notice when I purchased the new tree a few years ago. I didn't notice it at all, but my husband did and loves to point it out every year! Gotta love it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Clearly photography is not my thing. Just imagine that it isn't blurry.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We will be spending the day with my side of the family.

The girls whipped these up above on Tuesday, I got the idea here. They are supposed to be turkeys and made with candy corn. My food allergy daughter cannot have candy corn, so I used Mike-N-Ikes instead. I think my kids did a great job, I didn't help a bit. In addition to that, my oldest made a pumpkin pie, I made mint chocolate brownies and frugal chocolate cracker desserts(I have no idea what the real name is, I will post the ingredients soon, they are delicious!

I hope you all enjoy your holiday and count your blessings.

Swagbucks Holiday Gift Card Blowout!

I recently read on the Swagbucks Blog that starting on Black Friday, November 27, and through January 1, they are going to offer a different gift card every day at a drastically reduced price. There’s no way to tell which cards will be discounted each day, so you'll just have to check every day to find out. Two of the bargain cards can be "purchased" each day.

I first posted about Swagbucks here, it is a wonderful opportunity to earn points, which in turn earns prizes, just for searching, which we all do anyway. I love this site and cannot say enough about it.

Click on the link above to go to Swagbucks and get started earning points!

Number 2 on My Thursday Thirteen Ways That I Save Money

I bet you thought I would never post this. Well, to be honest, I completely forgot! This is number two on my list of Thirteen Ways that I Save Money - Planning Ahead.

Not only does planning ahead help out with saving money, but it is a must when you have food allergies in your family. And two of my favorite things are saving money and making our life with food allergies manageable.

Some of the ways that I plan ahead are having a "to do" list for every day that I am not working. This will list everything from returning books to the library, baking muffins, dropping off things at Goodwill, to ironing and laundry. Anything that needs to get done, including phone calls that I need to make will  go on my list. I found my lists here. I love this site, there are all kinds of lists that you can print off.

I plan ahead on just about everything. When I grocery shop, I do what I call "offensive shopping". Which means that I buy things at the lowest possible price, knowing that I might not need it now, but will definately in the future. For instance, when green peppers are at their lowest price of the season, I buy a bunch and cut and freeze them for when I need them during the out-of-season times. I do the same things with onions, fruit, meat, I will freeze just about anything for use later.

So by planning ahead with my grocery shopping, I am able to buy things at great prices and have them there when I need them, so that I don't have to  run to  the store because I planned on making something with ground beef. I have 20 pounds, packaged individually in my freezer that I got for $1.25 a pound!

When I have leftovers, which I discuss here. I make sure that I plan ahead and not only label them (with item and date), but make sure that I divide them properly for future use. So for instance, if we have baked chicken one night, I will take the chicken off the bone and freeze it that way. That way it is ready to use, already in bite size pieces.

As for hamburger, I buy whatever is on sale and freeze it. But if I have bought it in a bulk 8 pound package, I will individually wrap one pound sections in wax paper, then put many one pound helpings into a large freezer bag. I do this the day I bring home my meat. I always separate it out into the proper sizings before I freeze them. This way when I need a pound, I simply take a wax paper section out and reseal the bag. This way I am not trying to thaw 8 pounds of meat when I only need one.

When I make a large batch of pasta sauce, I make enough for 4-5 meals. Same thing, I make sure that I package enough for one meal,  label them and put them in the freezer for another night.

I also plan ahead by making a two week meal plan. What I normally do is when I come home from the grocery store, as I am putting my groceries away, I keep a notepad close by. As I come across  my pork shoulder, I write it on the list, same for lasagna noodles, hotdogs, chicken, you get the picture. Then I will sit down with my meal plan papers, printed from SimpleMom.net and go to work. I make sure that I keep in mind what activities we have going on that week and also how many days a week I work.

On the days I am home, I often make not only that days meal, but the meal  for the following day when I work. It is super easy since I have the oven on anyway. If I am baking a chicken, I might also make meatballs for the next days spaghetti. If we are having homemade pizza or bread sticks, I will make the dough the day before when I am home so they are ready on a work day. I night throw in a roast at the same time as my chicken. So that I can make shredded barbeque the next day.

Another way I plan ahead is with baking. When I know that we have 2 birthday parties to attend this month, I make sure that I have cake made. I will make an allergy safe cake, ice it and then cut them into individual servings, wrap in wax paper and freeze in a large container. Then I simply pull out a piece of cake and put it in a container and by the time we get to the party, it is thawed and ready for my daugther to eat.

As for snacks, we go through a ton. The older 2 girls like to pack their lunchs, they can be a bit picky with the school lunches. And since I am home half the time, we just go through a lot it seems. I always have fruit on hand and veggies of course. But I also like to have some sort of crunchy, salty snack. We usually have pretzels and I will buy the generic rice "chex" cereal. So about every other week I will make a big batch of homemade Chex mix.

We cannot buy many store bought snacks due to the food allergies, with the exception of very few. Homemade snack mix is not only healthier, but by making it at home, I make sure that it is safe for my daughter to eat.

I do  the same thing with muffins, granola, oatmeal, cookies, I make all my own at home, from scratch. I usually make a batch or double batch and always freeze some for later. Again, planning ahead for those mornings when we are rushed. Or when the kids are hungry and are not in the mood for fruit!

Dealing with food allergies means that you cannot count on others to make sure that they have safe food for you or your child, you have to do it. By planning ahead, you can do this easily and don't have to be stressed and rushed.

I also do it to make sure that my child doesn't miss out. Sure there will be times that we simply cannot help it, that she will not be able to have certain foods to eat and will have to simply deal with it. But a little planning and work on my part means that she can have cake at the party too, or a snack at a friends, or popcorn at the movies. It is the simply everyday things that are taken for granted. But they can mean a lot to a little 4 year old with food allergies.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesdays and Frugal Fridays.

Guest post from my oldest daughter!

This is a guest post from my oldest daughter, who is 9. She felt the need to talk about how she feels  about my "frugal" ways and my new blog. I thought it was really cute.

                                  

I think all this frugalnis, coupons,and making a website is starting to hurt her mind!Now everytime she makes dinner,lunch,or well really whatever she makes she takes a picture of it.Just the other day I had to get on her for taking a picture  of somthing she made for dinner!


Saturday night we went to Arby's,on the way home from my indoor soccer game,and on the way there she got out the entertainment book she ordered from our school to look for a coupon for Arby's!She just got a new laptop that she can use from home,and she tries to work on it  every minute of the day.


A few weekends ago she was working on her laptop while we were waiting  for her to play with us.I said I don't think you can stay off the computer the rest of the day, she  said alright I won't work on it till tonight. And she didn't work on it till that night. And I was proud of her right up until she got on the computer that morning. So I just forgot about it. A few weeks ago she told  me to remind her to take a picture of something, and I forgot so I got just a little bit in trouble. But I didn't care because it was just a little bit of food she got from Aldi's. Now that's all I realy have to say about my frugaling mother. So yall have a good THANKSGING!!!!!!

The Gift of Children

We have four kids. Yes, it can get crazy some times. Yes, sometimes I miss having any privacy. Yes, sometimes I miss having a moment of time for myself. Yes, I miss being able to hold a conversation with my husband without the constant interruption of little ones. Yes, I miss cleaning a room and having it stay clean longer than five minutes.

Do I love stinky baby feet? Absolutely. How about slobbery kisses? Bring them on! Holding hands with my kids? Love it! The hours we spend making crafts? Wouldn't trade it. Watching them grow up? Priceless.

I wouldn’t trade them for anything. They are my life, my joy and my purpose. I always knew I wanted kids but didn’t know how many. After 4 years of marriage and dodging questions of when we were going to have kids, my husband and I had our first child, a little girl. I said right away in the hospital that I wanted another. He said, let’s wait a little while.

Two years later, after dodging the question of “when are we having a second?” we had our second child, another baby girl. We had discussed and agreed on two. I knew right away again that I wanted a third. I did not feel complete.

Yet another 2 years after that, we were pregnant with our third. That time, we got the “wow, you guys are brave” and “hoping for a boy huh?” People weren’t as happy for us this time around. Not sure why, 2 was great, wouldn’t three be even better?

Well, we had our third, you guessed it, another girl and right away, we agreed to a fourth. And then that one became mobile and I thought, there is no way I can do a 4th. So we got rid of everything.

Fast forward a couple of years and I thought I was pregnant. When I found out I wasn’t, I was disappointed. I didn’t expect that at all. I spoke with my husband about it and he was so wonderful. He said, if you want a fourth, lets do it now, I don’t want you to regret it years down the road.

So that is what we did, we went for it. I was super excited to be pregnant with our fourth. We told everyone right away and we were not greeted with anything but the look of “you guys are crazy” or my favorite question of “was it planned?” Funny how the more kids you have the more people stop being excited for you and start to feel sorry for you or are just plain dumbstruck?

Right from the beginning that pregnancy was not right, I just never “felt” pregnant and had problems from the start. But I kept having sonogram after sonogram and everything looked normal and we kept hearing a heart beat. But in my heart I knew something was not right.

At 13 weeks I had a miscarriage. And while it was not a surprise to me, it was still very hard to take. I struggled with whether I should just be happy with the three I had. I had three beautiful, healthy kids and wondered it I simply was not meant to have any more. I had many people tell me that it was Gods way of preventing heart ache in the long run and that everything happens for a reason. That did not make it any easier.

Well, once we were given the go ahead from the doctor, we got pregnant right away again. Clearly, getting pregnant is not a problem for us. My friends joke that my husband has to just wink at me over the paper and I am pregnant.

Again, from the beginning I knew something was wrong again. At only 7 weeks I had a rough weekend and thought that I had miscarried again. Only to find out that I had an ectopic pregnancy, where it is stuck in your fallopian tubes.

Again, I was shocked, how could two things happen back to back? After having 3 normal pregnancies with no problems?

After having being pregnant twice in a couple of months I was unsure of what do to. I was in turmoil wondering why all of a sudden I was having problems. My heart goes out to the women who have struggled with this and not been able to bear any children.

It was through this that I started to pray with abandon. I am not one to go around shouting about my religion, I feel it is a personal choice and am not comfortable with talking about it. I grew up going to church every Sunday, taught Sunday school and volunteered when I could at the church. But I did it because you were supposed to, I don't think I ever really got "it."

I didn't pray for another child as most of you probably thought I would. I prayed for peace. I prayed that no matter what He had in store for me, that I would be okay with that. I prayed for the family that I did have, for the blessings that I did have. I prayed every night, mostly for other people. People I knew who were sick, or having a hard time. I prayed for everything but what I really wanted.

Sounds wierd I know but I really felt that I was already blessed enough. I needed to pray for those that needed it. I even found myself jotting down notes throughout the day if I heard of someone in need or going through a rough time, so that I wouldn't forget them in my prayers.

I spoke with my husband and even after all the poking, prodding, shots and havoc on my body, I still wanted to try one more time for another little one. He knew that, saying he knew all along that as I was going through all the medical stuff, that I would do it all over again, just to have another baby.

And so, we tried just one more time, and got pregnant right away. Right from the beginning I knew this one was different as well. But different in a good way. I was sick as a dog. I was sick morning, noon and night. I was so sick that every week that I went to the doctor I would lose another 3-4 pounds. They were watching me very closely, to make sure that I didn’t have a repeat of before.

Again, I prayed that I would be at peace with whatever the outcome. I declined testing. Being over 35, they wanted additional testing due to my age. I declined those as well. It didn’t matter to me or to my husband, all we wanted was a healthy baby. Everyone asked if we wanted a boy and we both said that we would like a healthy baby, it didn’t matter if he or she was green.

They offered prescription medication to help with the nausea, I even went as far as to have the prescription filled. But I could not bring myself to take it. I was so afraid of doing anything that could jeopardize the baby. I was put on a restrictedions. No heavy lifting, no vaccuming, resting as much as possible, you get the picture. I wasn’t even supposed to lift a gallon of milk at the grocery store.

But they kept telling me that being so sick was a good sign. That it meant that it was a very healthy pregnancy. So even though I was so sick, I was also thankful that I was so sick. Every day I woke up in the morning and was sick, I was ecstatic. At around 15 weeks, the sickness went away, but I had passed when I had miscarried before.

I just wanted to make it to 27 weeks. That was my cutoff, in my mind that was when I could finally breathe easy. Because I knew that at 27 weeks, if the baby came, there would be a fighting chance, that all could still go okay. Well 27 weeks came and went and I was getting bigger by the day.

Well, I can say that in March of this year, we finally had our fourth child. A boy. He has been such a gift and a joy. I am loving every minute of it and cherishing it, as I know this is our last. And this time I did pray for myself and my family and thanked Him for all of it. And I finally got "it." And yes, I am at peace.

How many children you have is definitely a personal decision. I can honestly say, I am happy that we had four. Four is definitely our number.

This post is linked to Gratituesday, Finer Things Friday.

Meal Plan Monday, November 22

I cannot believe that it is Thanksgiving already, where has the time gone? I am thankful for so many things, you can read some of them here or here. I want to wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving, I will be spending the day with my family and my extended family at my sisters house, I am bringing dessert and the rolls.

With the kids off of school this week, it is a slow week, but I do still work two days, so that means two easy meals.

Sunday, November 22
Breakfast--pumpkin muffins
Lunch--leftover chili
Dinner--Ham, mashed potatos and green beans

Here is what is in store for us during the week.

Breakfast--pumpkin muffins, cold cereal, cinnamon rolls

Lunches--leftovers, spanish rice, lunch meat sandwiches, buttered noodles

Dinners--leftover ham, spaghetti, chicken stir fry, beans with the ham bone and a salad, and of course turkey!

I will have to post about my desserts, we are making cute turkey cupcakes (if I can find candy corn) and my mint chocolate brownies. Both of which are egg, dairy, treenut and peanut safe.

This post is linked to Menu Plan Mondays.

Aldi

I am going to talk today about Aldi's, my favorite grocery store. I had always thought that Aldi's was a store that sold outdated food, food that was going bad and that only "poor" people shopped there. Plus the ones in that were near me at that time were in not to great neighborhoods. Then they finally built one a couple miles from my house, in a very nice part of town.

I kept hearing about it from the blogs that I frequent. The bloggers were constantly singing the praises of Aldi. And on this new frugal mission, I thought I should give it a try. Well, in June of 2008 I finally went and I was shocked at the prices, they were that low.

They only sell their store brand, so instead of 12 brands of pasta, there is just one. Same for tissues, icecream and flour!A few things to note is you need to put a quarter in the cart to get it out and need to bring your own bags (or pay for theirs) and then bag the items yourself.

I started off slowly, just buying a few things and only one of each, just to try, that way if we didn't like it, I didn't have 10 of them sitting in my pantry. If it was something my family didn't like, I simply didn't buy it the next time.

They do sell soy milk, but for the other soy products for my daughter with food allergies, I do have to shop else where. I buy all of my staples there and their produce is great.

I am going to list some of the items that I routinely buy there and the prices, prepare youself to be amazed!

canned green beans 49 cents
Quick oats (large container) $1.79
canned tomato sauce (8 ounces) 25 cents
tomato paste (small can) 39 cents
gallon of milk $1.25-$1.79 depending on kind, we buy skim, so $1.79 for us
diced tomatoes (large 28 ounce can) 89 cents
can of sauerkraut 55 cents
spaghetti 2 pound box $1.59
10 pack of powdered drink mixes 89 cents
ground turkey (frozen) 1 lb $1.19
Italian bread $1.19 a loaf
white or wheat bread 60 cents a loaf
Their prices on fruit and vegetables vary but I cannot beat their price anywhere.

I also know that most of thier store brands are made by top notch name brand companies. We have loved all of the products that we get their. I get all my staples there, it really stretches our grocery money.

I have not noticed a flaw in the name brand. Even their store brand Cheerios taste just like the name brand ones. And I am a Cheerio snob, they are hard to match.

So what are you waiting for? Try it out, you won't be sorry, I promise.

This post links to Frugal Friday, Super Saving Saturdays and Works for Me Wednesdays.

Can I Get A Shout Out for Leftovers?

Does anyone else love leftovers? I love them! The possiblities are endless.

It wasn't always this way. When we had food leftover, they would get thrown out if they weren't eaten as is as a leftover meal.  Usually those would be eaten my myself on the days I am home, or packed for my lunch on a day I worked.

But in my quest not to waste things and be more frugal with our money, I have changed the way I look at leftovers. Now I rethink everything. Dinner is a poop shoot, we either have no leftovers at all or lots, depending on how many helpings my oldest child eats. Sometimes it is one helping, other times it is 3-4, depending on how much the dinner is liked and how hungry she is!

We have some form of veggies every night with our meal, sometimes even two. I grew up with a complete meal consisting of a meat, vegetable and a starch. So that is what we have most nights, it is  rare that we do not. But I never thought of keeping them and reusing them as a completely different meal.

Now when we have veggies and there are some left, they go in a freezer bag that is labeled. Corn in the corn bag, grean beans in the bean bag, you get the picture. Left over mashed potatoes go in a bag labeled as such. Leftover blueberries get frozen, so do strawberries, bananas, I freeze almost anything. Even left over spaghettis sauce and rice!

What do I make with them you ask? Well I'll tell you, all different kinds of yummy things.  With the veggies I will make homemade soup, shephards pie or a pot of hash.  The mashed potatoes are also used for shephards pie. The leftover rice I will keep for chicken stir fry. The spaghetti sauce gets kept to make homemade pizza with.

As for the fruit, the strawberries will get made into a slushy. Blueberries into muffins, bananas turn into chocolate banana muffins.

Not only that but I plan on a night where we will eat leftovers for dinner, add a salad or some applesauce and dinner is complete.

This is a great way to save money and reduce the amount of food that is thrown away. I just hate being so wasteful when there are many people that do not eat as well as we do. So what do you use leftovers for?

This post links to Frugal Friday and Finer Things Friday.

Thursday Thirteen, November 19

Since I will not likely be posting a Thursday Thirteen next week, seeing as it is Thanksgiving and all. I thought that I would write 13 things that I am thankful for today! A little early I know, but honestly, is it ever too early to be thankful for anything?

Okay, here goes!

I am thankful for (not in any particular order)

1. my kids
2. my husband
3. my extended family
4. lazy days
5. the dishwasher
6. my large capacity washer and dryer
7. that we have more than we need of healthy food
8. that we are able to help and give to others
9. that I have found a true friend that I finally have something in common with (you know who you are, my laundry soap buddy)
10. my 2 dogs
11. my 2 cats
12. I have a roof over my head
13. little debt


I honestly had to stop at 13, I could have listed many more. How great is that? It goes back to the mentality of the glass being half full. My cup is so full it is running over. Things are good, life is good, we are all healthy and here. For that I am very thankful.

Enjoy your holiday next week.

This post links to Thursday Thirteen.

School Papers--Can you organize them?

I got this idea from here, she used hers in her homework center area. I needed a place to keep all the important school papers. I had been keeping them in my "mom's binder". I will talk about that another time, but that wasn't working for things that had a return by date, as I would forget about them, I needed them out in plain sight. However, being out in plain sight means they can get food dropped on them, dropped on the floor and into the dog slobber, or the 4 year old finds them and colors on them.

Then I saw this that We Are That Family had used, an old tray! I thought that was genious! I found this tray at good will and yes, it was perfectly cute the way it was, but I didn't want a Christmas tray hanging up all year round.

So I took my new favorite thing to use, my chalkboard paint and painted it! I found this at the local hardware store. I should have used primer first, after I sanded it, but I was out and too anxious to get started. So I painted 3 coats of the chalk board paint instead.

Here is the finished product, already in use. I have it on my back door going from the kitchen to the garage. I love it there, I am able to see things on my way out the door. I have 4 clips, one for each kid.

This is linked to Works for Me Wednesdays and Tackle it Tuesday.

Turkey Pie

So the other night I was getting  ready to make turkey pot pie. But when I got out the shortening, it had a funky smell. Then I looked at the date and it expired int 2007. Clearly, I don't use it very often. I already had the leftover turkey, a can of mixed vegies and the left over gravy simmering in a pot so I had to do something with it.

I thought about making homemade noodles to put this over but I really wanted to use my pretty pie plate. After all, I had to dig it out from my cupboard above the fridge. Where long forgotten pieces of cookware go.  Instead of using this pretty pie plate, I usually use my plain aluminum one. Why do we do that? Save things for good, but then never use them?

Well, no more, I am going to use this pie plate all the time. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, my turkey pie concoction.

As I said before, I took the leftover turkey that I had frozen from the week before, and the leftover gravy that I also froze. I put those in a pot along with some water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes and let that simmer for about 30 minutes. I then added a can of mixed vetables to  that and about 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken it.

I started to look through my pantry and freezer and thought, what about mashed potates that I had leftover and frozen. It would have been like a turkey shepards pie. But then I saw my box of stuffing that I had gotten for almost nothing.

So that is what I did, I poured the turkey mixture into my pie plate. Made the stuffing according to the directions and then spread that out on top.

I then heated the oven to 350 degrees and baked it for about 25 minutes. I made a salad to go with it and dinner was done. And can I just say YUM? It was so delicious, I will definately be making it again. I now have another recipe to make to use up leftover turkey and chicken!

This post links up to Tasty Tuesday and Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Menu Plan, Week of November 15

This is a three day work week, so some of my meals will be very simple.

For Sunday, we had brunch with sausage, pancakes and toast. Dinner was my moms lasagna recipe and a salad. I also made a bath of chocolate chip cookies from this book, The Parent's Guide to Food Allergies: Clear and Complete Advice from the Experts on Raising Your Food-Allergic Child.

The rest of the week goes a little like this.

Breakfast--cinnamon rolls, lazy granola, cold cereal and pumpkin muffins

Lunches: leftovers, fried bologna, homemade chicken soup

Dinners: leftovers, spanish rice with corn, sour kraut with sausage and mashed potatoes, grandma Vinnie's spaghetti sauce and spaghetti, homemade pizza

Unless I have forgotten something this week, we have a pretty slow week.

This post is linked to Menu Plan Mondays.

Deals for the week of November 15-21

Here is a listing of links for you to get the scoop on the sales combined with coupon deals!

For those that shop at Bigg's you're going to want to visit Miss Know It All for the listing of savings.

For CVS deals, visit The Thrifty Momma.

If Walgreens is your store, head on over to My Litter for the listing of deals.

For Aldi deals click here.

For Kroger deals, matched up with printable coupons, click here.

Go here for Meijer deals.

Have you noticed anything about my blog? It is now a three column and there is a coupon box on the left had side. If you have not tried printing coupons from Coupons.com, you are missing out. About half my coupons that I use are printed off the internet. Coupons.com is great because they update them the beginning of every month.They do usually have a limit of printing two coupons each.

You will know if you have printed it this month because the last couple of pages on the website will have your printed coupons grouped together. It will say "print limit reached" by the item. Then they get reset on the first of the month. I get all of my yogert for less than a dollar a four pack that way. They very frequently have $1 coupons on the 4 packs of Yoplait or Activia.

A word of caution, if you live in my area of town, it has been my experience that WalMart will not take internet coupons. But I have had great luck at Target, Kroger, Meijer, CVS and Walgreens. I have used internet coupons at all of those stores and have never had a problem.

For those of you that have little kids to buy for, or would like to buy a gift and donate it, there are some great toy coupons out there right now. Just click on my side link on the left and you can page through the coupons. There are some $5.00 Playschool coupons.

If you can match that up with a sale and use your coupon, it could make for some great gifts at great prices!

VistaPrint

For those of you who are not familiar with VistaPrint, let me give you some information. VistaPrint is a website for all your printing needs. From checks, to pens, to notepads, to magnets, to envelopes, to holiday cards, you name it. If you want it, they have it. I first heard about this site from Money Saving Mom, so a big thanks to her!

Once you join, you will get promotional emails sent to you. These have great deals in them. Since I have joined, I have gotten a ton free, including 100 free holiday postcards, which I am sending out for Christmas. The following I also got free: calendar magnets, car window sticker, post it notes, memo pad, business cards and a rubber stamp. The last group of items I had printed up with The Zepf Life blog info on it.

I thought it was a great way to advertise my site, but just starting out I do not have a budget for those things. This way, I just had to pay shipping. And I am able to get my blog name out there without spending a lot of money.

So, if you have a need for any of this, or are simply curious and want to check it out, I have made it very easy for you. Just click on the logo above and it takes you right there.

I hope you find this site as wonderful as I have.

Buying in Bulk

As I said in my Thursday Thirteen this week, I am going to be posting individually about my top 13 tips to save money. First, though let me give you a bit of background information.

I was not always frugal. Growing up, when I had money, it would burn a hole in my pocket, I would itch to spend it. I was always coming up with what I wanted next, what I wanted to save for next and so on. In college, I couldn't really afford to spend alot of money, however, my husband, then fiance, would spoil me and buy me almost whatever I wanted. I have never really cared about name brands, but just had a lot of stuff. Then when we got married, we would spend almost all that we made.

I can honestly not tell you what we spent it on. Going out, hanging with friends, I am really not  sure. I remember thinking that if we only made X number of dollars, then we would be set. Boy do I wish that I knew then what I know now! I used to think that people who looked like they had money, had the money. They dressed nicely, drove nice cars and lived in nice houses. It took me a while,  but I finally reallized that those people did have something, debt and worry.

I don't know many people that have it all, if any. They give up something along the way to attain what is important. What is important to one person is not to another.

In my journey into being a wise steward of my money, I have tried many things, some have worked and some have not. I remember talking to my friend Ellen a couple of years ago when I was pregnant with my third. We were talking about how they could afford for her to stay home with her kids. She told me all that she did, the coupon clipping, looking at the sales flier, price matching, store hopping. I remember thinking, there is no way I have time to do that.

Well, I was full time then and slowly I began thinking if I could find a way to save some money, or simply not spend so much, that would help in my goal to go part time. So I started slowly.

This is something that took some trial and error. There are some things you can buy in bulk that simply you won't use it up before it goes bad.  But if you can afford to buy in bulk, it is a great idea.

Some things that I buy in bulk are yeast, baking powder, coacoa, rice, flour and sugar. Also I buy large bags of dog and cat food. We have 2 cats and 2 large dogs, so the food definitely gets eaten. I also do a ton of baking. I make my own muffins, cookies, cakes, some breads and pizza dough. So I go through a lot of baking supplies. I have found that in my area, it is certainly cheaper to buy these things in bulk.

Of course you have to have an area to store these things. Luckily I have a large pantry and the dog and cat food are stored in a tub(cat food) and galvanized garbage can(dog food). As for the flour and sugar, make sure you store them in a container, to avoid bugs.

So, these are some of the items that I buy in bulk, what do you buy in bulk?

Stay tuned next Friday when I talk about planning ahead and how it too can save you money.

This post links to Frugal Fridays and Super Saver Saturday.

Meijer Deals

For those of you that shop at Meijer, head on over to Andrea at MommySnacks.net for her listing of the deals there this week. She tells you how to match these up with coupons and where to find the coupons. These deals end on Saturday, so you have 2 more days to shop!

Thursday Thirteen - Thirteen Things I Do To Save Money

Another Thursday Thirteen is here! Today I am going to share 13 things that I do to save money. I will turn this into a larger post, where I go in depth on each item. But for now, here are my top 13, I have plenty of others, but these are my best tips, not in any order.

1. Buy in bulk
2. Plan a head
3. Use coupons
4. Watch sales ads
5. Shop on-line
6. Make home-made cleaners
7. Cook a head/in bulk
8. Free samples
9. Keep a price book
10. Shop at various stores
11. Meal plan
12. Reuse/repurpose
13. Blog

This links to Thursday Thirteen.

Wordless Wednesday

Couldn't you just eat him up?

This post linked to Wordless Wednesday.

Pumpkin Bread, baking and a book!

Yesterday I did some baking. I made spice muffins and I made my favorite, and my kids, egg free pumpkin muffins. I forgot to add the pumpkin pie spice, not uncommon for me lately as I seem to constantly be doing 10 things at once! And you know what, I actually like them better, they seem to have a sweeter taste.

These are so moist and delicious, you won't even miss the eggs.  I usually make muffins without the papers, and these come out beautifully.

Pumpkin Bread

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 T water, 3 T oil and 2 tsp baking powder mixed together (this is the egg substitute)

1-2 cups sugar, depending on how sweet you like it

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

1/2 cup applesauce

1 T wheat germ

Optional: 1 T pumpkin pie spice

Simply mix everything together in a bowl. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake muffins for 15-20 . These freeze wonderfully, so I usually take half and put in a container to eat now and the other half I will freeze. It makes about 18 muffins. Enjoy!

Now as for the spice muffins, I cannot share that recipe. It is from this book The Parent's Guide to Food Allergies: Clear and Complete Advice from the Experts on Raising Your Food-Allergic Child. I got it years ago, when my second oldest had a peanut allergy.

The recipes that I list below are egg, dairy, peanut and treenut free. They do however have other recipes that are wheat free. Some recipes that I bake I have come up with on my own based on what I have learned about substituting for the eggs. But these 3 listed below I have yet to find a better recipe for. And what is the saying? If it ain't broke, don't fix it?

I read it cover to cover and use the recipes even today. I make the Wacky cake all the time. There is a chocolate version, which I use as my go to birthday cake recipe. I have used this recipe for shaped character pans, cakes, cupcakes and simply ice as you would a normal cake. I have served this for years and everyone loves it. I think it tastes similar to a devils food cake.

The spice version of Wacky cake is what I call my spice muffins. You just swap out the coacoa for various spices. It also is delicious and friends and family alike love it.

In this book is also my famous chocolate chip cookie recipe. Again, I wish I could share it, but it is from the book mentioned above. It is wonderful. I take these cookies to all my family get-togethers and they are the first cookies that are gone.

I make their zuchini bread recipe also. I usually make mine in muffin form and bake for about 20 minutes. But they taste just like the egg version that my mom has made since I was little.

Whether you have food allergies or not, you will love these. And little ones can lick the bowls without worry as there are no eggs in them!

This is linked to Tasty Tuesdays and Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Menu Plan, Week of November 8

Well, this has been our time for us to be sick. Last week my husband, oldest and youngest were sick, then my second youngest. Now this week, my second oldest has a fever of 103 degrees. So you may see some repeats as I didn't get to make alot of what I had planned last week.

That is the joy of a meal plan though, you don't always have to follow it. But it does give you some where to start from. Since all my meat last week was frozen, except for the pork shoulder, I simply didn't thaw it out. So I am not out anything if I plan for something else.

Sunday night, we ordered pizza. It was a beautiful weekend here and we spent as much time as we could outside. When we weren't doing that, we were working on projects in the house! So, dinner came upon us suddenly last night. On Saturday I did put a turkey in the roaster, so that is what we ate for lunch yesterday, turkey and mashed potato left overs.

So this is how our week is looking.

Breakfast: pumpkin muffins(I will be posting this recipe soon, it is delicious), spice muffins, cold cereal, cinnamon rolls

Lunches: soup, leftovers

Dinners: homemade chicken noodle soup, leftover pork shoulder made into bar-b-que, spaghetti sauce(made another big pot of grandma Roz's yesterday), turkey pot pie(with turkey leftovers), shephards pie

I am hoping that everyone gets well soon, and that I don't get it.

Check out more menus at Menu Plan Mondays.

That girl of mine.

This is my second oldest and myself. On the schoolbus on the way home from a field trip where we went hiking in a nature preserve. It was by far one of the best field trips I have been on.

This one was right up her ally. She loves nature, bugs, animals, the outdoors, anything natural. She says she is going to be a bug doctor when she grows up. And most importantly, she was looking forward to having her mom all to her self. She was counting the days and couldn't wait.

She is my little girl that dances to her own tune. She doesn't care what anyone else is wearing, it is perfectly normal for her to wear Halloween and Christmas socks all year long, and no, they do not have to match the outfit. And as for her outfits, the more colors, the better. And yes, blue plaid and blue stipes do match, they both have blue in them.

She is the best one to take to the grocery store with you, she doesn't ask for anything, doesn't ask if we are done and never complains how long it is taking.

She is a go with the flow kind of girl and is very easy to please.

She is my hugger. She gives me a hug every day and loves to snuggle. I will often say that I have not had a hug today and she will run right over and hug me for as long as I like.

She loves to color and play games. This Bug-Opoly game is one of her favorites. Like Monopoly only with bugs! It is too sweet.

She is still young enough to enjoy and actually want to hold my hand.

I am embracing each day that she is like this and hope that she holds onto her unique qualities as she gets older.

She is greatful for the little things in life. A snuggle on the couch reading a good book, watching a favorite movie, playing a favorite game, or drinking hot chocolate on a cold day. Those are the things that make this girl happy.

It is such a reminder that kids don't necessarily want things, they want your time. There is no replacement for time spent with your child, teaching them, guiding them and being crazy with them.

Have you hugged your child today?

This is linked to The Finer Things and Gratituesday.

Halloween Photos - A Little Late!

Here the kids are, minus the 7 month old, he just watched and ate Cheerios. (Yes, that is my hallway that is half painted. Sometimes life happens and you have to leave the hall way half painted! I have been banned from painting, but my husband has done a lovely job on the other rooms.) They have so much fun carving the pumpkins.

We clean and roast the seeds with salt, pepper and a little Hot Salt. We all love them, they are so tasty!

Here are the finished pumpkins. Believe it or not, it was dark outside and they were lit, but for the life of me I could not figure out how to take a photo in the dark of the glowing pumpkins. I tried every setting on my camera, so you will just have to imagine how spooky they were!

And here are the kiddos! In my crew we had a witch, monarch butterfly fairy, Belle and Superman. Their cousin was a lady bug, aren't they all adorable!

Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

Homemade Baby Wipes

When my third child was little, she had horrible eczema and would get diaper rash quite often. After trying every brand of wipe I could find and have them all irritate her skin, I finally resorted to making my own. I remember thinking at first that it was going to be so time consuming. It only takes minutes though and even my older 2 kids like making them for me. It is super simple.

Here is what you will need:

1 roll of paper towels
baby wash (I use Target brand)
baby oil (I use Target brand)
water

I have seen this done many ways, with getting the whole thing wet and pulling out the inner tube, or cutting the roll in half with a knife, this is just what works best for me. I don't like all the paper balls I get when I use the knife.

I use whatever paper towels that I have on hand, usually either Bounty select-a-size that I bought with a coupon, on sale of course, which is my favorite. Or Target brand, my second favorite. I like both, but the Target brand you have to cut.

Here is how I make it. I tear the towels off the roll and make a big pile. If you don't have the select-a-size then you will need to use scissors to cut them once you get your pile done. Just cut them in half. Then separate into two equal piles.

I use 2 cups of water with mine, as I like my wipes really wet. Mix about 1 tablespoon of the baby body wash and 1 tablespoon of the baby oil in the water. I pour about 1/3 of the water in the bottom of a diaper container I already had. Add a third of one of the piles of towels to that to soak up the mixture. Then add another third of the towels, pour a third of the mixture over it. Then finish with the last of the towels in that pile and the rest of the mixture. That is it. This makes me two containers and lasts about a week.

I do buy premade baby wipes for when we travel and for grandma's house. Mainly because I know not everyone likes the homemade wipes. But with my son, I have not had any problems using these wipes and he has had almost no diaper rash at all.

I have also used these as a quick type of bath. when I am getting him dressed I will sometimes give him a once over with the wipes and it makes him smell like a baby again! I love that baby smell.

I choose to do this for the health of my kids skin. So as far as cost saving, I don't really know the exact numbers. But I do know they are cheaper than store bought wipes. I get my rolls for less than a dollar a piece and get two containers of wipes from each roll. That is a huge savings in my book.

This links to Works for Me Wednesdays, Super Saving Saturdays and Frugal Fridays.

Thursday Thirteen--13 things I always have in my pantry

In honor of Thursday Thirteen, I thought I would post 13 things that are staples in my pantry. These are things that I keep on hand as the basis of a meal. With these things, I can always prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner in a hurry.

1. pasta (some form at all times)
2. potatos
3. white and brown rice
4. onions
5. oats
6. hamburger (not really a pantry item, but still a staple)
7. flour
8. sugar
9. ground turkey (again, not in the pantry)
10. diced tomatos
11. tomato paste
12. tomato sauce
13. garlic

This links to Thursday Thirteen.

My Favorite Frugal Book

Miserly Moms: Living on One Income in a Two-Income Economy

I can honestly say that this book by Jonni McCoy is my favorite frugal book of all time. I have read many frugal books in the last 4 years. When I was pregnant with my third child, I decided I needed to be a little more proactive about our money and what I spent on things. This was the very first book that I bought, I was actually looking for another book and they were out of that one. So I bought this one instead and started to read it right away in the car. I finished it that night, it was that good. I was like a sponge, just taking in everything she had to say.

I have had many people tell me I am good with money, or that I am cheap, or even frugal. I just like to say that I am being proactive about my money. I try to do the best that I can in areas that are flexible to give us the extra that we need to be able to do the things that are important to us. This allows us to be able to buy the more expensive items that my daughter needs. Or the expensive formula my son needs. She talks alot about cooking from scratch, that everything you find in a store, at one point in time, was actually made at home. It was in this book that I first heard about making your own cleaners.

While there are many things that I buy already made and done for me. Due to my daughters food allergies, most mixes, premaid food and store bought baked goods are out of the question. I have learned over the years how to alter recipes to make them not only safe for my daughter, but I am able to make it frugal as well. And I believe that spark, that interest to try to not only eat healthy meals, but do them while spending the least amount of money has come from this book.

As someone that didn't use coupons, bargain shop, or even make a meal plan, this was like found gold. The ideas were so amazing to me. Not only does she give you a background of why she started her frugal journey, but she tells you how and gives you examples and recipes.

I have read and reread this book many times, so much so that it is almost falling apart. I have pages that are dog-eared, highlighted and have notes on them. I get it out every couple of months and reread it again. And I almost always find a tip that I missed or forgot to put to action. If there was one book that I would recommend, it would be this one.

This frugal book with all its tips and treasures, definately works for me.

This post links to Works for Me Wednesdays.

Allergy Free Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

We love chicken in my house. Our favorite is on the grill that daddy makes, with a pop can, it is delicious. However, that takes devoted time to the grill. So our second favorite chicken meal, is roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. I will show you how I make it allergy free!

First, I take carrots, onions and garlic and make a kind of bed for the chicken in the bottom of my pan. I usually put my chicken in frozen, as I forget to thaw it. But a fresh bird works well too. I put it in breast side down, so the juices help to moisten the breast meat, which is usually drier. Then I salt and pepper the top. If you put it in frozen, as I usually do, I put it in around 1-1:30 in the afternoon on 300 degrees then let it cook until dinner time, around 5:30-6:00 p.m.. You are looking for the inside to be atleast 180 degrees. I always use my meat thermometer when cooking whole chickens, just to be safe. If you are putting the chicken in fresh and not frozen, it will only take about an hour or so on 350 degrees. And that is it, I add no water or anything and I get a ton of juices to make gravy.

Here is the chicken done. Some of the skin fell off, that is why it is not that appealing! But this is so juicy, the meat falls off the bone, which upsets my younger two girls, who like to eat the legs! Once it is done, I take it out of the roasting pan and place on a plate to cool a little.

I didn't take a photo but to make the allergy free gravy I first make a rue, of floor and butter. In our case the only cooking butter I can use to flavor things is the Smart Balance made with flax seed oil. It is vegan, so it is safe for my daughter. Once the butter melts in your saucepan, you add about a tablespoon of flour and mix together to make a paste. Then I simply add the chicken juices from the pan that I took the chicken out of. Heat it to boiling, then turn it to simmer and cook until it thickens. I use a small wisk with mine to break up the rue with the chicken juice. I make enough gravy for our meal that night.

To make allergy safe mashed potatoes I simply peel and dice the potatoes. Then boil like normal. However, when you drain them, do not drain off the water. I keep about 1/2 cup of the water in there. Then add the same butter I mentioned before.

Then I use my mixer to mix them together and fluff them up. They won't look right yet. You then need to take a spoon and mix them together, then they will look as creamy as normal mashed potatoes. These are also a little healthier since we don't add a whole lot to them. My whole family loves them.

Once dinner is over, I take the whole chicken and pull off the remaining meat and put them in a container for another night that week, or freeze it for later.

The chicken carcass and vegies and leftover gravy all go in one big pot along with about a gallon of water. I add no other flavoring. I bring it to a boil and then simmer it for about an hour or an hour and a half. Then I let it cool a little. From there I fill up containers and freeze for later! This is what I use to make rice, soup anything that I need chicken stock for!

My whole family has adjusted to eat what is safe for my youngest daughter and no one complains. This is a delicious, healthy meal that we all enjoy.

This links to Tasty Tuesdays and Ultimate Recipe Swap.