Foil Potatoes

Many people probably already know how to do this but I figure there are as many people who don't so I thought I would post it. This is a really easy side dish for any grilled meal especially when you already have the green peppers and onions chopped and ready. On Monday's I usually prep all my chopped veggies for the week and put them in my Pampered Chef 1 cup Prep Bowls. It saves a ton of time to cut all my onions for the week at one time instead of getting everything dirty each day. So, that being said, the onions were done and the chopped green peppers were in the freezer.

Foil Potatoes

1 lb potatoes, cubed about 3/4"
onions, chopped
peppers, chopped
Season Salt
garlic powder
2 t. olive oil

May Menu

I've been working for a couple of days on my May menu and I think it is finally ready to post. Just like last month, there are less meal plans than actual days during the month because of The Hubby's schedule. Also, I had about 5-6 meals from April that weren't eaten for one reason or another that I am carrying over to May.

Baked Chicken, Sour Cream & Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli*
Polish Sausage w/potatoes, onions & peppers
Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
Chicken & Noodles, Whole Wheat Biscuits
Crappie, Foil Potatoes, Basil Zucchini & Onions*
Teryaki Chicken on Grill, Baked Potatoes, Asparagus
Mexican Casserole*
Scalloped Potatoes & Ham, Brussel Sprouts
Fish Sticks on a bun, Shells & Cheese, Green Beans
Grilled Pepperloin, Micro Steamed potatoes, Cabbage
Hamburgers/Veggie Burgers, Brown Rice Salad w/Black Beans
Green Pepper Skillet
Chicken-etti, Broccoli*
Tuna Casserole, Green Beans
Tacos, Refried Beans
Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs, Salad
Pork Tenderloin in Crockpot w/carrots, potatoes, onions, Cabbage
Breakfast for Supper
Dorito Casserole, Corn*
Tuna Patties, Shells & Cheese, Green Beans*
Fajita Pork & Pasta
Baja-Style Fish Tacos*
Grilled Brats, Baked Beans, Pasta Salad

*Recipes will be posted as eaten. :o) Hopefully I will remember to take more pictures of the meals when they are done. Usually I remember to do this as I'm cleaning up. :o(

Salisbury Steaks

This recipe is not necessarily Weight Watcher friendly and I've not even calculated the points for it but it is a regular in my meal plans and The Hubby's favorite dinner. The recipe came from a family friend and tastes fantastic. It is also one of those things that is ALWAYS in my freezer to pull out with just a few hours notice of company for dinner. Paired with a side of mashed potatoes and corn and you've got yourself a stick to your ribs dinner that they will be raving about for days!

Salisbury Steak
Makes 6 patties

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, minced
1 c. crushed Wheaties (I just use bran flakes because that is what we have usually)
1 t. pepper
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1 t. salt
2 cans 98% FF Cream of Mushroom soup

Combine all ingredients except the soup. Form into 6 patties. Place in baking dish and cover with soup. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

To make this for the freezer, I usually do up 3-4 lbs of meat at a time. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Place formed patties on the lined cookie sheet and freeze overnight or until hard. Transfer to a labeled and dated zip baggie and return to freezer. When you are ready to eat them, remove from freezer and place in a baking pan to thaw. When thawed, cover with soup and bake as usual.

Chicken & Rice Casserole

This recipe comes from Halfmysize.com and is it awesome!!! The original recipe calls for regular rice but I don't have that so I used brown rice and got no complaints from The Hubby. Add a side of steamed fresh broccoli and you have a simply wonderful comfort food meal for a chilly evening.

Chicken and Rice Casserole
Serves 6 @ 7 WW points each

2 c. cooked brown rice
2 c. Kraft 2% reduced fat cheddar cheese
2 c. chopped cooked chicken breast
12 oz. fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 c. egg substitute
2 T. light margarine, melted
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9 x 13" baking dish. Combine all ingredients. Mix well. Bake 45 minutes.

The original recipe served 8 at 5 points each in case you are looking for a smaller portion. Not me baby!

More Recipes To Come

I sorry that this week has been rather slow in the recipe department. This is due to us not eating the planned meals because of The Hubby not being home as scheduled-sometimes life just gets in the way. Never fear! The items that didn't get eaten this month will be rolled over to the May menu which I am already working on; so the recipes will be posted as eaten in May (theoretically).

4/18-4/24/10 Deals

Total OOP: $17.17

This week I started out with zero RR or ECBs. However, about mid-week, I got an invitation by email to do a survey at CVS.com and received a $5 ECB!!! This has happened to me twice now. :o)

Wags was done in 4 transactions. (This allows you to get RR from one deal to roll over to the next.) Here's the breakdown.
*4 Velveeta Shells & Cheese
*2 boxes Kotex U
*1 chocolate bunny
*1 Veet hair remover
*1 Tri Color injet refill
*1 Cover Girl mascara
*1 lip liner
*1 Nature's Bounty Vit. D Tablets

Saved $25.45 due to sale prices
Used $17.08 in MQ and RRs
Paid $9.21 OOP
RR for next week $2.50

CVS was done in 2 transactions.
*2 Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats cereal
*2 boxes of Oreos
*2 Thermacare Heat Wraps
*1 gallon milk
*2 bottles Dimetapp (one Cold & Cough/one Nightime Cold & Cough)
*2 Clairol Root Touchup kits
*1 can of Slimfast (yes, I love Slimfast)

Saved $22.53 due to sale prices
Used $29.21 in MQ & ECBs
Paid $7.96 OOP
No ECBs for next week :o(

I'm telling you, it pays to watch for sales and stack them with MQ from your local paper or printing them out online! I don't find these deals on my own though. I rely on other ladies' blogs who take the time to find these deals. Some of my favorite ones are listed on my sidebar. Take the time to check them out. I sometimes do this a couple of times a day but I'm home all day and this is part of my "job". I feel that part of my job as a homemaker is to make our money go as far as it can to buy the things we need. Did we "need" the Oreos? No, but they were free after coupon and will be a nice treat for Little Bit so I bought them and she was very excited. Score one for mom! Did I "need" the root touch up? HECK YAH!!! But, I saved $8.98 buy buying it on sale and having a coupon. I decided that $5.00 for 2 of them was a fabulous deal.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. It is supposed to rain alot here and we are going camping. It will be great...as long as I maintain a positive attitude. See ya!

Meet Beulah Mae

A few days ago my mom was reading one of my recipes that called for ground chicken breast and she asked me where I bought it at. I replied, "I don't, I grind it myself." I refuse to pay $4/lb for ground chicken breast when I can buy a bag of frozen chicken breasts on sale for $1.67/lb and grind it myself.

So, when I began spliting the ground meat in my recipes for half chicken/half ground beef I needed to find a grinder. I would LOVE to have the one that attaches to my Kitchen Aid stand mixer but it is $50 and I realize in the long run I would still be saving money but I just couldn't put out that kind of money just yet. A recent trip to a kitchen store in the mall led me to a manual grinder for $25...half the price but still...... Then I thought, FREECYCLE!!! (Click the link to see if there is a group near you.)

I've given and received many things on Freecycle over the last couple of years (including enough canning jars to get me started on my canning last year) so there was no reason to think that there wasn't someone out there who had one of these lovelies just sitting on a shelf begging to be put to work. SCORE!!! One of my Freecycle friends came thru.

Introducing Bealah Mae:

She's such a hard worker. In no time flat she can turn this:

Into this:

After Beulah Mae has done her part, it's my turn. I've been getting my 95% lean ground beef at our local IGA for about $3.46/lb. BUT I've also been blessed to find it recently with 75¢ coupons attached because it needs to be sold within the next day or two. I always get right at or a little under a pound which ends up being between $2.60-$2.75 for a package.

This is two packages of ground beef with 1.9 lbs ground chicken breast.

Using my Pampered Chef Mix 'n Chop, I break down the meats and brown.

Eventually it will look like this.

After it cools, I will divide it up into baggies, label and freeze flat. When is it completely frozen, I will move it to my deep freeze and stand it up on it's end like a book. When I need it for a meal, I just take it out and let it thaw which takes MUCH less time when it is cooked than when it is raw.

I hope you enjoyed meeting Beulah Mae! Some day soon I will introduce you to her best friend Betty (aka my Kitchen Aid mixer).

White Chicken Chili

We were supposed to have this for supper last night but since The Hubby took some friends from church to the White Sox game, Little Bit and I just ate on the fly.

I've been making this recipe for years and it comes from a cookbook put out by Decatur Christian School back in 2003. As soon as I got the book and leafed thru the pages, I knew this recipe would become a staple in my menu plan. I like regular chili OK but this one is awesome.

I have adapted a few things for ease of preparation, cost, etc. For example, the original recipe calls for 4 cups of chicken breast but just use whatever I have AND a whole lot less-actually only about 6 oz. I kinda like to save breasts for grilling. By using dark meat, it makes it just a little more economical. The chicken is also generally cooked in a batch and separated, labeled and frozen so I can just pull it out of the freezer when needed.

White Chicken Chili
Serves 6 @ 5 WW points each

1-1 lb. bag white Northern beans
6-8 cups (3 or 4-14 oz. cans) 99% FF chicken broth
2 cloves minced garlic
2 med. onions, chopped
2-4 oz. cans chopped green chilies
2 t. cumin
1 1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
6 oz. chicken, chopped (dark or light-point value is with dark)

Combine beans, broth, garlic and half the onions in large soup pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer til beans are soft (approx. 3 1/2- 4 hours), or you can use a can of prepared Northern beans. Add more chicken broth if needed.
After beans are soft, add remaining onion, seasonings & chilies and mix thoroughly; then add chicken. Simmer 1/2 hour.
NOTE: Top with Jack cheese if desired just be sure to add in the points if you are counting.

Freebies from the USPS

This just in from Common Sense With Money:

Go here to complete a short survey to see if you qualify to receive a sample pack that may include the following:


I qualified and can't wait to get my samples in the mail. Hopefully some of that chocolate!!! LOL

Taco Burgers

I doesn't get any easier than this if you are in the mood for Mexican but don't want to mess with all the fixin's for Tacos. Introducing, THE TACO BURGER. Yea, it sounds grand doesn't it, but it couldn't be any easier. They also freeze wonderfully. Just mix them up, pattie them and freeze them individually on wax paper. When frozen place them in a zip baggie, label and put back in the freezer for a day when you just don't want to cook anything. Afterall, The Hubbies run the grill right??? I plan to try working with my ground beef/ground chicken mixture next time I make these.

Here's my recipe:

1 lb of ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

Mix the two, form into patties, grill. Yup! That's it! Serve with anything you might put on a taco: lettuce, cheese, onion, tomoato. We've just had them with cheese on a bun and they taste great.

I generally serve them up with a boxed (GASP!) pasta salad and corn. FABULOUS!

Free Kindle Book for PC

Mercedes over at Common Sense With Money has a post about a new FREE Kindle book called Living Organized: Proven Steps for Clutter-Free & Beautiful Home. Check out the post here.

For those of you who don't know what a Kindle is, check it out at Amazon. There is a video to watch too.

I long for the day when I can have a Kindle. They are kinda pricey but I still want one! Current price on the latest generation is $259.00 on Amazon. But for now, I've downloaded the Kindle for PC which YOU can download too! The laptop is not as convienent as the Kindle would be but we have a wireless one. So, I can take it out on the deck to my swing and read to my hearts content a free book (that's all I have on it so far-free books) and not have to put it on a bookshelf or table when I'm not reading it! AND, this little guy will hold up to 1500 books...amazing. Less clutter-LOVE IT!

Preview for the Week of April 18, 2010

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. As usual, ours went by really fast. Here is a preview of posts to come this week:

Recipes: White Chicken Chili, Polish Sausage w/potatoes, onions & peppers, Foil Potatoes, Tuna Patties

Check out Mercedes' posts at Common Sense With Money for the deals at Wags & CVS this week. I'm working on my Wags deals now and plan to use up my last Velveeta Shells & Cheese coupons, pick up 2 more boxes of KotexU, some Nature's Bounty Vit. D and Maybeline mascara. I haven't gotten thru the CVS one yet, not sure if there is too much there for me this week. I will post my deals after I've been shopping.

Hope you all have a fabulously blessed week.

Purple & Green Smoothie

Are you aware that the CDC recommends that we eat 5 to 9 servings of colorful fruits and veggies each day? Click here to see how much you should be eating. Did you also know that spinach is now considered one of the world's healthiest foods? I don't know about you but I have an awful time getting my fruits and veggies in and I can't even imagine sitting down to a big bowl of spinach each day. But, never fear, I've got a recipe for you that helps you get some of those 5-9 a day in and it tastes great too!


Purple & Green Smoothie
Serves 1 @ 4 WW points

*All of these ingredients are measured by WEIGHT not volume, including the liquids. Also, all of the fruits are frozen.

2 oz. purple juice (grape, Acia, pomagranite)
2 oz. lowfat vanilla yogurt
2 oz. blueberries
2 oz. strawberries
2 oz. peaches
2 oz. banana
2-3 cups of baby spinach

Place all items in a blender and blend slowly until its really moving in the blender. I almost always have to add some other calorie free liquid such as Crystal Light White Grape to get it loosened up enough to move. After it is moving good, slowly add in the spinach allowing it to incorporate after each addition. Pour into a really big glass and enjoy!

I promise, you can't taste the spinach, just make sure it is blended really well so you don't end up with chunk pluggin' up your straw! LOL

Scalloped Potatoes

So, tonight we are having grilled ham steak with scalloped potatoes and broccoli. Late last year we bought half of a hog and ham steaks were one of the things that we requested. They are good fried up in a pan or grilled. Just don't grill them too long or they tend to get dried out. Fortunately for me, the weather has taken a big dip and having the oven on this evening is just the thing to warm the house up! :o)

The scalloped potatoes recipe below is another recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. It bakes up golden brown and creamy. Perfect for a chilly spring evening.

Scalloped Potatoes
Serve 6 @ 4 WW points each

1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. light butter
1/4 c. flour
2 1/2 c. 1% milk
5 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (5 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°. To make sauce, cook onion in butter till tender but not brown. Stir in flour, 1 1/2 t. salt, and 1/8 t. pepper. Add milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Place half of the sliced potatoes in a greased 2 qt. casserole. Cover with 1/2 of the sauce. Repeat layers. Bake, covered in a 350° oven for 45 minutes, stirring once. Uncover; bake about 30 minutes more or until the potatoes are done.

ENJOY!!

4/11/10-4/17/10 Deals

Just got home from a Wags, CVS & Walmart run. I got all this for $4.14!!! Most of the information here I found at Common Sense With Money. Here's the deal:

Wags:
*2 Rembrant Whitening mouthwash-sale 2/$7.99 (had 2 $3/1 MQ)
*1 TGIF Snack-$1.99 (had a $1.50/1 MQ)
*2 Russell Stover SF Marshmallow eggs (yea, they just sounded good and are only 2 points each AND they were on sale for 12¢ each)
TOTAL after MQ & RR from last week: 80¢
NOTE: Here's the info on the Rembrant and TGIF coupons

Walmart:
*2 Benadryl Itch Sticks-$2.46 each (had $5/2 MQ)-FREE plus overage!
*3 Scotch Brite scrubby sponges-84¢ each (had 3 $1/1 MQ)-FREE plus overage!
*1 box trash bags ($2.79)
TOTAL after MQ (including the overage from the coupons): $2.30
NOTE: Info on the Benedryl and sponges here and here. I do believe I read somewhere that the Scotch Brite coupon is printing at $1/2 now.

CVS:
*4 rolls toilet paper-2/$1.00 (had 2 $1 off any CVS paper product)-FREE!
*2 Filippo Berio EVOO-Sale $3.99 (had 2 $1/1 MQ)
TOTAL after MQ and ECB from last week: $1.04
NOTE: The CVS paper product coupons came from the coupon printer in the store. You just scan your CVS card and coupons come out! :o)

I have 2 more MQ for the mouthwash and the itch sticks and I understand that the CVS paper product coupons are printing out each day so I may go back tomorrow and see what happens. After all, a girl can't have too much TP in the house! LOL!

UPDATE:
I did end up going back to CVS on Saturday night and got 2 more roles of TP for free...not even tax!!! :o)

I also made another trip to Wags on Saturday afternoon. I got the following for $3.63. The deal would have been sweeter if I would have taken all of my coupons with me because my local Wags finally got another shipment of the Velveeta Shells & Cheese in....oh well.
Trans. #1:
*1 box Kotex U-Sale $3.49 less $1.00 MQ
Total with tax-$2.73
Trans. #2:
*2 Rembrant mouthwash-Sale $7.99/2 less 2-$3/1 MQ=$1.99 for 2
*2 Ban Deodorant-Sale 99¢ each less 2-75¢/1 MQ=48¢ for 2
*2 SF Russell Stover Marsh. Eggs-Sale 24¢ for 2
Total with tax-90¢

Stir Fry Chicken

I LOVE this recipe simply because it is a HUGE serving for only 6 points (rice extra). This is how we like our chicken stir fried but the possiblities are endless depending on what type of veggies you like or have on hand. I would love to put mushrooms in but The Hubby doesn't care for them so I don't. You could add broccoli too, that would be awesome and would only add about a point to the entire recipe.

Stir Fry Chicken
Serves 2 @ 6 WW points each

6 oz. cooked chicken, chunked into about 1 in. pieces
2 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 package of LaChoy Snow Peas, thawed
cooking spray
Season Salt
Garlic powder

I had already prepared the chicken for this meal as I do with many of my meats-see post here. But, if you don't have it precooked, just season the chicken chunks with Season Salt and garlic powder, spray a teflon pan with cooking spray and cook the chicken until done and slightly golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and spray again. Toss in the onions and green pepper and season them with the Season Salt and garlic powder. Stir fry until they start to get just a little soft then add the Snow Peas and water chestnuts, stirring until warmed through. Finally add the chicken back into the pan and heat to desired tempurature. Serve over brown rice. Three quarters of a cup of brown rice will add 3 points to the meal making it a 9 point meal total and a HUGE meal at that!
NOTE: As mentioned above you can really make this recipe your own by changing up the veggies. The Hubby also enjoys adding some chopped walnuts or pecans to his bowl but I choose not to use my points for that. In the past, we have poured bottled Sweet & Sour sauce on our own bowls which is super good too.

Stocking the Freezer

I love to have comlete meals in my freezer to make dinner time easy. There are many great sites dedicated to this process so I won't go into the whole thing here but I have learned several great tips that may help you also.

*I "almost" always have browned ground meat in my freezer. It used to be ground beef but I've been leaning more toward a combination of 95% lean ground beef and fresh ground chicken breast. (It's the whole Weight Watcher thing goin' on). Since most of my recipes call for 1 lb. of ground beef, I will brown 1/2 lb. beef and 1/2 lb. chicken for the recipe, bag it up in a zippered freezer bag, mark it with a date and contents and throw it in the freezer. Truth be told, I'm usually browning up several pounds of both at once to save time.

*I also love it when I find bell peppers on clearance at our local IGA or Save A Lot. Most of the time, if you chop them up the same day you buy them they are fine AND tons cheaper than buying them out of the veggie bin. I currently have green, yellow, red and orange pepper all diced, chunked & sliced, in separate baggies of course. The sliced and chunked ones have 1 or 2 peppers per baggie and the diced ones are usually in 1/2 cup measures in snack baggies.

With both the ground meat and the peppers, if you lay them flat while freezing them, they stay flat and are easy to line up in your freezer like books on a shelf. Chopped onions are another excellent item to chop and have ready in the freezer to throw into a dish. You would be amazed at how much time you can save having these things done.

*Many of your favorite recipes are easily frozen to have complete meals in the freezer. While you are making one of these for supper, must make up a double or triple batch and freeze the extra. I have several that I generally always have ready including:
♥ Meatloaf-mix as directed, shape and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and freeze. When froze place in freezer bag and label.
♥Meatloaf muffins-your favorite meatloaf recipe baked in muffin tins. You can freeze before or after baking. I like to freezer after baking so The Hubby can just grab a couple for lunch on his way out the door.
♥Salisbury Steaks (recipe to come later)
♥ Taco Meat-brown ground meat and go ahead and add the taco seasoning and water, simmer, cool and bag up into meal sized portions. Great for tacos and taco salad.

There are just so many ideas to make mealtime preparation just a little easier on you. I hope this post will help you get started. Let me know if you have any tips that make your cooking life a little easier!

Carole's Tuna Casserole

This tuna casserole is my favorite evahhh! The recipe comes from my step-mom Carole and I've been making it for years. I grew up on some tuna casserole from the 70's I think. You know the one-tuna, peas, topped with corn flakes. Now growing up I hated peas so you can imagine how this recipe went over with me (I've since come to love peas but that is another story). Anyway, this recipe has the "trinity" in it; chopped onion, celery and green pepper. Fresh veggies that stay slightly crunchy in this delicious dish of comfort.

Carole's Tuna Casserole
Serves 6 @ 4 WW points each

8 oz. Smart Taste elbow macaroni
2 cans tuna, drained
2 T. light mayo
2 T. light sour cream
1 c. chopped celery
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. chopped green pepper
1 can 98% FF Cream of Celery soup
1/2 c. 1% milk

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. Combine macaroni, tuna, mayo, sour cream & veggies together. Blend soup & milk; heat through and add to macaroni mixture. Pour into 1 1/2 quart casserole. Bake in 425° oven for 20 minutes.
NOTE: Original recipe called for placing 4 slices of cheese on top to melt. I've eliminated this step to save on calories and have never had any complaints.

Target Deal

Here is a great deal from Common Sense With Money. My total came to $2.73 for all four after rebate but I included tax and I don't think she did. But, 68¢ each still is an awesome deal! Also, this continuous sprayer product seems to do a better job of cleaning my tub scum better than the regular Scrubbing Bubbles.

Cucumbers & Onions

Few things remind me of Summer like Cucumbers & Onions. I just love the crunchy, sour, sweet combination of this salad, it's just so light and fresh. I'm not sure why but it took me forever to get this recipe right so last year I finally wrote it down and it is now taped inside my kitchen cabinet to be whipped up in a moments notice! MMMMMMMM..... We had this with our Grilled Chicken last night but this recipe makes enough for 2 meals for The Hubby & I.

Here's what you will need:

*1 cucumber, thinly sliced
*1 medium onion, thinly sliced
*vinegar
*Splenda (you can use sugar also but since finding out that The Hubby is diabetic, I tend to lean towards Splenda)
*water
*salt & pepper

I use my mandoline to thinly slice both the cucumber and onion into a bowl and then add some salt and pepper to taste.

For liquid, pour 1/2-3/4 c. white vinegar into a 2 cup measuring cup then fill to 2 cup line with water. Stir in 1 1/2 T. Splenda(more or less to your liking). NOTE: Depending on the size and shape of your bowl, you made need to make a second batch of the liquid mixture. You want the cucumbers & onions to be covered in liquid.

MMMMMM.... Summer in a bowl!!! Enjoy!

Southwestern Skillet Macaroni & Cheese

Here is another new Weight Watchers recipe I'm going to try tonight. Hopefully it will go over as well as the first two this month. This one is adapted from the Weight Watchers Stir It Up! Super Skillet Cookbook. Update: This dish had LOTS of spice. The Hubby liked it but doesn't like "stringy" cheese so next time I think I'll use 4 oz. of Velveeta Light instead of the Kraft 2%. By making this substitution, I will also save a point for each serving making it 4 points.

Southwestern Skillet Macaroni & Cheese
Serves 6 @ 5 WW Points each

1 c. Smart Taste elbow macaroni
1/2 lb. ground beef, 95% lean
1/2 lb. ground chicken breast
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
2 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes, with their juice
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce
1-4 1/2 oz. can chopped mild green chilies
1/2 water
1 c. shredded Kraft 2% sharp cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, brown ground beef/chicken mixture until no longer pink. Stir in onion, green pepper, chili powder, cumin and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 3minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chilies and water, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes. Add the macaroni and the cheese, stirring to combine.
NOTE: Read here to see how to make this meal come together in a snap by having some of the items ready to go in your freezer.

IGA Deal

As I've mentioned before, either on this blog or my other one, I don't usually get too many deals at my local IGA. BUT, sometimes I do and they are worthy of blogging. Here's what I got today for $6.67.

*2 cucumbers (mmmm cucumbers & onions!)-not really a deal but they sounded so good
*2 bags of Dole salad mix (59¢ each on clearance)
*3 boxes of Smart Taste elbow macaroni (on sale 3/$4 and I had 3-75¢ coupons, 58¢ each)
*6 McCormick griders (had a raincheck from a couple of weeks ago and they finally came back in stock; was worried that my $1/1 coupons would expire before they did-final price 27¢ each)

The bags of salad mix stated a "best by" date of 4/14/10 so I came home and dumped them out on a flour sack towel to get rid of the built up moisture and then put them in a Green Bag. Let me tell you, if you've never tried a Green Bag, they are worth EVERY PENNY PAID FOR THEM!!! I've had strawberries stay fresh in one of them for 3 weeks! And you can wash them and reuse them several times. They are awesome. Even Dollar General sells a knock off of them that work equally as well and are less expensive.

Green Pepper Skillet

This is what we are having for dinner tonight. I found out years ago that I love Stuffed Green Peppers but hate to make them. This recipe gives the taste of them without the hassle of boiling the peppers, stuffing them and then waiting for them to bake. We love it! The recipe has been adapted from my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook.

Green Pepper Skillet
Serves 4 @ 5 WW points each

2 large green peppers
1/2 lb. ground beef, 95% lean
1/2 lb. ground chicken breast
1/2 c. chopped onion
1-16 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 c. cooked brown rice
1/2 c. water
1 t. salt
1 t. Worcestershire sauce

Remove the seeds and stem from peppers and coarsely chop them. In a large skillet cook ground beef & chicken and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off excess fat. Add chopped peppers, undrained tomatoes, rice, water, salt Worcestershire sauce and a dash of pepper. Simmer until peppers are cooked to desired softness.

NOTE: The Hubby likes it when I substitute a can of Rotel tomatoes for the can of diced tomatoes.

How do you get those deals???

Many people ask how I do my deals and honestly it's not that hard. I look at other sites where nice ladies have done the leg work for me and I just use their suggestions. Here are several of the sites I check each week. I will also be putting them in the sidebar to be found later.

I Heart CVS-This site has current ads as well as ads for 2-3 weeks in the future as well as the deals associated with them. Lots of GREAT info!

I Heart Wags-Also a bunch of great info. As I type, this site has ads out as far as 5/8/10. This really enables you to see where your coupon will be most beneficial.

Common Sense With Money-This is really one of my favorite site. If you are also on Facebook, you can be a fan there too. She really gives the best deals out there and also links to ALOT of online coupons. This is were I get info on where to find the really high value coupons too.

Here are a couple of coupon printing sites. Rule of thumb is check it at the beginning and middle of the month. This is when alot of them add new coupons to print. "Most" coupons can be printed twice from each computer by hitting the back button in your browser. Also, some coupons have a total limit that can be printed out. So if that is 1000 and you don't check the site until the 20th of the month, you may have missed out on some good ones!

SmartSource
RedPlum
Coupons.com

Gotta run for now The Hubby is taking Little Bit and I out for Mexican. YUM!

4/7/10-4/10/10 Deals

Staples
I was so excited when I went to Staples a couple of weeks ago and saw that they were selling the Marcel's Small Steps individual rolls of paper towel. I can't tell you how many coupons for free rolls that I've thrown away because I couldn't find them anywhere. Now I know just where I can score me some paper towel when those coupons hit the paper!!! :o) So, I got 3 rolls of paper towel and a ream of paper for 23¢!!


Walgreens
My Wags trips were spread out thru the week because our local one didn't have some of the items I was looking for but oh what deals they were. I got all this for $4.73 OOP BUT I still have a $4.50 rebate on the pens to submit making my true OOP only 23¢. PLUS, I also have a $1.50 RR for my next trip.
*3 jars of green olive
*1 can of black olives
*1-3 pack Pilot highlighters
*2-3 packs Pilot gel pens
*8 single serve Velveeta Shells & Cheese (Little Bit was soooo excited!)
*1 box Kotex U
*1 bottle Dawn dishsoap
*1 chocolate crispy bunny (filler item)


Target
Spent $2.81 after rebate on the following:
*3 Seventh Generation Multi purpose spray cleaners
*1 Air Wick motion sensor spray
*1 Crest kids toothpaste
*5 solar lights for my corner garden


Kroger
Grocery deals aren't as cheap as the drugstore deals but not bad if you ask me. I paid just a little over $9.00 for all of this.
*11 boxes of Smart Taste pasta (25¢ each after coupon)
*2 Snack Pack puddings ($1 each)
*4 cans of Chef Boyardee ($1 each plus had a $1.50/4 coupon)
*2 Birdseye Steamfresh frozen corn (30¢ each after double coupon)
*4 Yoplait Greek yogurts (29¢ each after double coupon)
I will also be joining the Chef Boyardee/Snack Pack receipt with a Walmart receipt for this ConAgra Rebate-Buy $10 get a $25 coupon booklet.


Walmart
Only got one great deal at Walmart, the Tucks. I paid $1.17 for all 4 boxes. The other picture does include a couple of good deals too actually. The Brie logs (thank you to my friend Trena who got me hooked on Brie last summer) were regularly $4.88 and I had 2 $3/1 coupons so they were only $1.88 each. The Chef Boyardee were 92¢ each and will go toward the Con Agra rebate mentioned above. Two of the crackers were 98¢ each and one was only 48¢. The Campbell's 98% FF soups were $1.32 each and I had a 2 $1/2 coupons so it made them cheaper than the store brand.



CVS
I spent $11.10 at CVS last week but also walked away with a $5 ECB to use later AND the following:
*4 John Frieda Brilliant Brunette shampoos
*1 hair color
*1 Colgate toothpaste
*1 Dawn dishsoap


Finally, I got this lonely box of Act popcorn for 20¢ at our local IGA. It was the only deal there this week. Still waiting for them to get more spices in so I can get some more of the Grinders mentioned here. When I went back that week, they were gone so I got a raincheck. Hopefully my great $1 coupons won't expire before they restock!!!


Hope you all have a thrifty week!!!