Sites that Save You Money

I'm cheap and I'm not even a little ashamed to admit it. I hate paying full price for clothes, books and groceries. If I can get stuff online without paying shipping and at a discount - I do the happy white girl dance in front of my computer. (I don't have an ounce of rhythm in my bones so it's pretty funny looking!)

Being single (and constantly trying to make sure I fit into "skinny" jeans), I hardly spent any money on groceries. I went from a tiny food budget to having a grocery bill that fed five people. Needless to say, there were several moments when I stood at the checkout with my mouth hanging open and wondering where all the money had gone.  After watching a very informative news story, it occurred to me that I no longer had to have a weekly heart attack at the supermarket. I could buy things on sale (before we needed them), use coupons and build a stockpile of toiletries and basic foods.

It's very nice to be able to actually afford the bill at the end of the week so I wanted to share my resources with the nice people who are kind enough to read this blog.

1. Coupons.com : This is the big site. The one that restocks it's printable coupons on the first day of every month.
2. Redplum : Not as big as Coupons.com but has coupons based on your zip code.
3. Smart Source : Pretty much the same as Redplum with slightly different coupons. 
4. Krazy Coupon Lady : This site has a searchable coupon database so when you're running on low on something you can search the brand
5. Fabulessly Frugal : These gals send daily emails with coupon matching, discounts and helpful articles
6. Couponmom.com : This site is much like Krazy Coupon Lady and also sends emails with daily deals, has contests and lists sites with giveaways.

If you have a baby and you want to save money on formula and diapers:

1. Diapers.com offers SUPER GREAT DEALS for first time customers. (Check out Retailmenot.com before you buy though as they have the latest online codes to use.)
2. Amazonmom.com - Best deals for diapers that I have found! (And believe me I have looked!)

Kraft's Senorita Fajita Sandwich

I think this recipe belongs in the "man food" category. I served it to Ken, a guy friend and the girls. The girls didn't like it the pepper jack cheese. (They don't do spicy - even cinnamon gum.) But the guys really loved it. You have to weigh their opinion against the fact that they were really hungry and are not particularly picky eaters. I didn't try it because I HATE mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup thin green pepper strips
• 1/4 cup  thin onion slices
• 2 oz. Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Bread
• 1 whole wheat tortilla (8 inch)
• 1 Tbsp. Chipotle Flavored Reduced Fat Mayonnaise
• 1  Slice Pepper Jack Cheese Slice, cut in half

Preparations:

1. COOK and stir vegetables in medium nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 4 min. or until crisp-tender; spoon to one side of skillet.
2. ADD meat to other side of skillet; cook 2 min. or until heated through, turning after 1 min.
3. SPREAD tortilla with mayonnaise; top with cheese, meat and vegetables. Roll up.

Rachael Ray's kid friendly Sloppy Joes

Kids are kind of hilarious. Kess said the other night "Sloppy joes have soft meat and they're sweet. What's not to like?" I couldn't argue with that logic so instead of opening a can of Sloppy Joe mix (and I really want to do because I'm dog-tired!), I made Rachael Ray's recipe. It was surprisingly good. I used ground beef instead of ground sirloin and used green bell peppers instead of red and it was awesome. They tell me that they were "way better than the ones in the school cafeteria". :)

I wish this picture turned out better. I had a baby in one hand and the camera in the other.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered (or cheap hamburger buns that you got on sale at the Hostess store...)

Preparations:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. 
2. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. 
3. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. 
4. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

Low Calorie Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I was kind of hoping all the baby weight would come off the day I gave birth, but sadly some still remains. These days I find myself eating a lot more low calorie food and trying to make time to exercise. Hence, this recipe. The cookies are 69 calories each and are very good. The texture is very dense and they turned out quite fluffy.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup rolled oats

Preparations:

1. Mix flour, baking soda and oats. 
2. Separately, combine egg whites, vanilla, sugars, margarine and peanut butter. Beat well.
3. Combine both sets of ingredients. Mix well.
4. Take a rounded teaspoon worth of dough and roll into a ball. Bake at 375 for 8 - 10 minutes or until edges are golden. 

Makes 36 servings.

Family Circle's Beef Curry in a Crock Pot

If you sign up with Family Circle, the give you access to free give-aways and easy recipes. I've never really won anything but who's to stay that my luck won't turn around?

Our family really likes Indian food and this recipe is pretty mild. (Add more Cayenne if you like your curry hot.)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch chunks 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced 
• 3/4 pound small potatoes, about 2 inches in diameter, quartered 
• 1/4 pound peeled baby carrots
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon light reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 3    large pitas or flatbreads, cut into wedges

Preparations:

1. Coat slow cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season beef with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and add to skillet. Sauté 3 minutes per side.
3. Transfer beef to slow cooker. Layer in onion, potatoes and carrots. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together coconut milk, curry, soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder and cayenne. Pour over beef and vegetables in slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours. Gently stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve over flatbread wedges with parsley, yogurt and lime, if desired.

Egg-white Crepes from Allrecipes.com

I had eggs whites leftover from the key lime pie recipe and wanted to put them to some sort of use. This is an easy recipe that tastes on the healthier side. :)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries, thawed and drained
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preparations:

1. Whisk together the wheat flour, egg whites, milk, salt, and oil in a large bowl until smooth.
2. Lightly coat a skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the skillet. Tilt the pan in a circular motion to allow the batter to spread to the edges. Cook until the bottom is light brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the crepe and place 2 tablespoons of the mixed berries in the center of the crepe; cook another 2 minutes. Fold the crepe in half and remove with a spatula to a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve.

Dirt Cake from Allrecipes.com

I've heard that after you have a baby, your memory can be affected. I have to say I think it's true. Ever since KC came into this world, I forget ingredients all the time. Even though I made a list, I still forgot the gummy worms for this recipe. I was also distracted by the fact that I had to make it for a work party after being given very little notice. I have no idea if it tasted any good because Ken whisked it away. Hopefully, it didn't suck. :)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 32 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling

Preparations:

1. Chop cookies very fine in food processor. The white cream will disappear. (Kess and I used a rolling pin to crush these instead of a food processor.)
2. Mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar in bowl.
3. In a large bowl mix milk, pudding and whipped topping together.
4. Combine pudding mixture and cream mixture together.
5. Layer in flower pot, starting with cookies then cream mixture. Repeat layers.
6. Chill until ready to serve.

Leftover Chicken, Cheese and Vegetable Quesadillas

My refrigerator is often a wasteland of leftovers. I hate cleaning it out so for the first few years of married life, it was pretty common to find leftovers covered in green fur or vegetables that had liquified. (so gross!) After three years, I finally wised up a bit and decided to set a limit on how long food stays in the fridge (leftovers get two weeks.) and to freeze vegetables rather than let them become a science experiment in the vegetable drawer.

Green and red bell peppers were on sale at the grocery store a while back so I chopped up what I couldn't use, put them a freezer bag and stored them. They came in very handy this last Saturday when I was trying to get rid of leftovers. This recipe combines my leftover chicken breasts, corn and frozen peppers.

Ingredients:

• 2 large cooked chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green and red bell peppers
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup cooked corn
• 1 Fajita seasoning packet
• 8 tortillas
• sour cream  & salsa (optional)

Preparations:

1. Place chicken and peppers in large skillet. (I didn't use oil because the peppers were frozen.)
2. Cook on medium heat for five minutes. 
3. Add fajita seasoning and water as directed on packet. 
4. Pour corn into pan. Stir well. 
5. Let vegetables and chicken simmer in seasoning. 
6. In a separate pan or quesadilla maker, place one tortilla. 
7. Put a fourth of the chicken mixture on tortilla, add 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. Cover with tortilla. 
8. Cook until cheese is melted and top with sour cream and/or salsa.

Makes 4 servings

Easy Key Lime Pie from Allrecipes.com

My husband isn't a fan of cake. He thinks frosting is too sweet (my favorite part of the cake!) so for his birthday this past weekend, I made him a Key Lime pie. This recipe is super easy and doesn't require much time in the kitchen. If you want a more complicated recipe, check out Emeril's recipe on the food network's website.

Ingredients:

• 5 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Mix well. Pour into unbaked graham cracker shell.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Top with whipped topping and garnish with lime slices if desired.

Making Cheap Enchiladas

Smith's Grocery store is running a sale on Don Julio tortillas which are made locally in Utah. They are awesome for making enchiladas, burritos, soft tacos and etc. Until midnight July 19th, you can pick up 10 for 88 cents. What a steal!!!!

PS: Seriously, these tortillas are way better than Mission tortillas which taste like cardboard. :)

Meatball Hero Sandwiches - Crock pot recipe

Meatballs are a big hit around my house. They always get good reviews so I'm happy to make them when I can. If you don't want to wait hours for these to be done in the crock pot, you can also bake them at 375 degrees for approximately 30 - 35 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 1lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1 jar of Pasta Sauce
• 4 Italian rolls (6 inches long, halved lengthwise)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preparations:

1. Mix ground beef, egg and bread crumbs.  Shape mixture into 12 balls.
2. Arrange meatballs in crock-pot. Pour pasta sauce over them.
3. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until meatballs are done. (The amount of time it takes to cook them really depends on the size of your crock pot.)
4. Serve meatballs on rolls. Top with cheese.

Blueberry-Banana Bread

I'm always in search of banana recipes because I buy bananas and then no one seems to want to eat them. Maybe I should just stop buying them altogether. :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Bisquick mix
• 3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease or line loaf pan.
3. Combine Bisquick, oats, sugar, milk, bananas, and eggs. Beat well. 
4. Add blueberries. Pour mixture into pan.
5. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until knife comes out clean. (I had to bake for 65 minutes.)

Banana Split Cake

This is an easy, fast dessert for when you have company on a week night.

Cake before being frosted.

Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix
• water, vegetable oil and eggs (according to directions on the cake mix box)
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 container of chocolate frosting

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of 13x9 inch pan.
2. Beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and mashed banana until mixture is well mixed.
3. Add chocolate chips. Pour into pan.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until knife comes clean.

"Peachy Keen" Dessert Treat

Fair warning: our 13-year-old did not like this particular dessert. It wasn't the taste, but rather the texture. It's kind of mushy and tastes a little like bread pudding, I think. It didn't photograph well either so here's a picture and link to California's peaches, plums and etc. website.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup buttermilk baking mix
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 pounds fresh peaches (8 medium), peeled and sliced

Preparations:

1. Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray
2. Combine oats, sugars, baking mix, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl.
3. Add peaches. Mix well. 
4. Pour into crock pot. Cook for 4-6 hours on low.
5. Pour into crock pot and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours.

Kid-friendly Green bean and Chicken Casserole

This recipe is kid tested and kid approved. In other words, there were no complaints around the dinner table so it was a good night. :)

Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing crumbs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb), cut into 1-inch-wide strips
2 cups Green Giant® frozen cut green beans, thawed

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 11x7-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. 
2. In small bowl, mix soup and milk until well blended. In another small bowl, mix stuffing crumbs and melted butter.
3. In baking dish, layer chicken, green beans, soup mixture and stuffing mixture.
4. Bake uncovered about 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and mixture is hot and bubbly.

Extreme Couponing

If you've seen the show "Extreme Couponing" on TLC and wondered how to do it - here's an article I came across that you'll find helpful. It breaks down how to do it in seven easy steps. Skip past the "buy this" part for the information.

Fabulously Frugal's Article

Beef and Penne Pasta - A Freezer Meal

Like my previous pasta dish, if you freeze this then you don't add the cheese. Also, I didn't have Penne pasta handy so I used Rotini.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried penne pasta
• 1 lb of ground beef
• 1 jar of Marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup canned sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain off fat.
3. Spread 1/2 cup of Marinara sauce over bottom of Lasagna pan or 13x9 pan that's been coated with non-stick spray.
4. Top sauce with pasta, cooked ground beef, mushrooms and onion.
5. Pour remaining sauce over pasta and meat. 

At this point, you can cover and freeze or top with cheese and bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. If you freeze it, leave off the cheese and defrost in the refrigerator before baking according to directions.

Roasted Chicken Lasagna - A freezer Meal

Whoever said that women can "have it all", was either crazy or had a lot of help.

I was sitting in the Pediatrician's office yesterday with a four-month-old who keeps screaming and refuses to sleep because of a bad ear infection. It's his third one in two months and the antibiotic wasn't working so I agreed to give him shots three days in a row. (Made for a super fun for 4th of July weekend!) During the second course of shots, I broke down and cried right along with my son. This working mom thing is kicking my butt and somedays, I think I'm totally going to lose it. On the plus side, one of the nurses wasn't very nice and the sight of me sobbing drove her out the door.

So why am I sharing this tale of woe? Well, I figured that the only real solution to my being overwhelmed is help and since that is in very short supply, I came up with another idea - make as many meals as I can ahead of time and freeze them. That way when I've been up with the baby, worked and driven the freeway and I hear "What's for dinner?" as soon as I walk in the door - I can say "Chicken Lasagna. It's in the freezer."

This is an "unfinished" casserole because you don't add the cheese when you're freezing it.

Ingredients:

• 1 purchased whole roasted chicken
• 1 28-ounce jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 9 dried lasagna noodles
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

1. Remove chicken from bones and cut into bite -sized pieces. (Or you can cook a 1lb of chicken breasts in a crock pot and use it instead.)
2. Combine spaghetti sauce, undrained tomatoes, and chili powder. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a lasagna pan or 13x9 pan that sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (I've found that buying the cheap disposable lasagna pans at the Dollar Store is a huge time saver and works better.)
3. Add 3 uncooked lasagna noodles. Cover with chopped chicken. Pour 1 cup of sauce over the chicken.
4. Top with 3 more noodles. Cover noodles with sauce.
5. Mix cottage cheese, garlic and egg. Dollop mixture on top of sauce. Top with remaining noodles. 
6. Pour remaining sauce over all of it.

If you decide not to freeze at this point, then bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with mozzarella and then bake ten more minutes or until bubbly.  If you do freeze it, defrost it in the refrigerator before baking as directed.

Bacon Cheeseburgers by the BBQ Pit Boys

I had big plans this year for actually using our BBQ. I even hired a neighborhood kid to clean it up, only to find out that the BBQ that came with the house, is just trashed. It's beyond cleaning and using. So in honor of the BBQ that I am NOT having this fourth of July, here's a video from the BBQ Pit Boys. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

Please help this writer out....

To the wonderful people who read my blog -

I recently published a short story on Yahoo. The more hits the story gets, the more valuable I become as a contributor.

So if you wouldn't mind, please help this writer out by checking out my story at -
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8187927/the_wicked_stepmommy_tale.html
Thanks!