hey everyone! I just got back from 

a REALLY good Publix trip!

As you see above-couponing is worth the time.

I spent $50.35 and saved $106.60! Yay!!

This was the most I have ever saved and it felt great. 

I had $27.27 worth of vender coupons and $30.25 Store coupons 

Combined with this weeks BOGO'S and other sales of $49.08-this was a great week.

Stretch that Nickel baby!

  I  have at least a dozen good friends who love to save money and have learned how to use coupons on a regular basis. About a year ago, my 
'very good best friend' drug me to one of these classes.  I left early and was aggravated at myself for wasting the $10 for the class. Thinking' " I will never do this! There has to be some sort of trick to really making this work...besides, I shop wisely already!". Well...in a few months I gave it a go-now I almost ALWAYS go to www.southernsavers.com before heading out.There are soooo many great couponing web-sites out there. You can find tons on Facebook, or leave a message for more sites. My favorite is SS. Before shopping, I head to Southern Savers, go to the Publix link-then the weekly ad.  She shows what is on sale and links each item to either a  Sunday insert coupon and/or a printable internet coupon. here are more of my favorite tips.

• Grocery shop a few times a week if you can-break your lists up so that you spend around $25-$30 (AFTER COUPONS)-so that you can use a $5 off (Rite Aid/ Dollar General/Target or Publix) each trip. You can usually find these on-line. The Dollar General prints on their receipts.

• Stacking…this is when you use a store coupon and a manufacture coupon on the same item. Publix will take 2 coupons on one item.

Example: Juicy juice-cost is $2 on sale-use a manufacture coupon for $50 off and a Target coupon $1 off-OOP (out of pocket) cost will be 50c.

·        Internet coupons-If you hit the back arrow or backspace-you can usually print 2 of the same coupon. Most sites allow a maximum of 2. here is where being a facebook aholic pays off...be-friend manufactors/frugal websites and other couponers. They daily post freebies, coupons and giveaways. Jump on these-sometimes they go fast! 

·        HARVEY’S is the place to save on meat! You can often buy ground beef for $1.49-1.59/lb! Chicken for 89c/lb! They also have GREAT wed specials and often good deals on produce.

note:I know it is not very lean-but if you brown and drain the fat-it really is pretty good. I buy at least 5 pounds and break up into 1 ½ size packs and freeze. This amt. works well in most recipes. It is good meat and makes great juicy burgers!

·        all*you magazine. This magazine is wonderful y’all! It is full of great coupons, bargaining tips and recipes. It is available only at Walmart or

       get a monthly subscription.

 

·        Rain Checks-here is the deal-LOTS of people are trying to save money-when a really good deal is out there-the item you want may be sold out.

Go to customer service on the way out and ask for a rain check that you can use when that item is restocked-hold on to any coupons that go w/ the deal! Watch your coupon expirations!


Lastly, get together with other couponers to swap/trade coupons you don't use. Thankfully, I don't need any more diaper coupons so I am hoping to trade them in soon!

Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

Valentine's Day is a perfect time to whip up these delicious cupcakes for your sweetie! My 4 boys love cupcakes.. The pretty red and white of these are a great way to say "I love you". Red Velvet is full of chocolaty goodness and a little tang from the buttermilk...topped with sweet cream cheese. Yummmm...


3 C. self rising flour
¾ C. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
6 Tbsp. red food coloring
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ C. buttermilk
1 ½ tsp. vinegar

½ tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place muffin liners in muffin tins and spray them with cooking spray.

In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add eggs until well-combined.

In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla.   Add to the batter and beat well.  Next, add the buttermilk.  Stir again.  Next, add the flour little by little.  Beat until all ingredients are fluffy and well-combined without over mixing.

.  Add the baking soda to vinegar-add to mixture and stir

Pour the batter into cupcake cups and fill them 2/3 full.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool.

Frosting: 
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
6 Tbsp. butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
5 C. confectioners’ sugar

Cream the frosting ingredients together until smooth.  Use to frost your yummy red velvet cupcakes after they’ve cooled completely.

A Chilly Picnic and Dentist Day

Logan at the park

We had a big day yesterday. Logan's 1st dentist visit. To hopefully keep dentist visits a positive experience, I decided to make the boys a picnic lunch and squeeze in a park trip before the teeth cleaning.  It went great. The train even came by (the track is really close) the picnic table as we ate our bologna sandwiches. Logan loves to play at the park and when it warms up, we will go weekly. By the way, he did great and had no tooth decay! YAY!  

Chicken and Veggie Stew with Dumplings

I just love my crock pot. Today, my sweet 3 yr old is still snoozing, it is damp and chilly out...just a perfect day for this recipe. While Logan sleeps-it took me 10 minutes tops to cut a few veggies and throw the rest of this stuff into the crock pot. Want good dumplings? Do not over-mix the batter and to drop the batter onto very hot, bubbling liquid. That way the dumplings begin cooking immediately and don't get soggy. You can be creative and add 1-2 TB basil, dill,parsley, thyme or tarragon to the dumplings. Just pick one please-you don't want too much green in these or they will be weird. Trust me. Fresh is much better-but dried is ok in a pinch. Just use about 1/2 the amount. I like this one pot meal-it has protein, lots of vegetables and some starches to fill up your family. 
Cook Time: 8 hours

Ingredients:
1-2 potato, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, sliced
1/4 onion, chopped (NOTE:there is only a little onion because the crockpot really intensifies onion flavor!-a little goes a long way)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped celery (if you have a celery hater aka a 12 yr old-chop REALLY (*wink*) small.
14 oz. can ready to serve chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 fresh bay leaf(Optional-but be sure to remove later) 1 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 2" pieces
1/4-1/2 pkg. frozen baby peas(optional) 
1-1/2 cups Homemade Biscuit Mix
1 Tbsp. snipped chives or dill or one of the other herbs mentioned above
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Preparation:
In a 4 quart crockpot, mix potato, carrots, onion, garlic, and other veggies. In medium bowl, combine chicken broth, flour and seasoning and mix until smooth. Pour over vegetables in crockpot. Add chicken. 

Cover crockpot and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked and no longer pink in center. Add peas and cover again. Cook on HIGH for 20 minutes until peas are hot. I forgot to add peas later-I added with other veggies and am not gonna go fish them out. They will be just fine.:)

In small bowl, combine baking mix with herb, milk, and melted butter and mix just until combined. Do not over mix.

IMPORTANT!!If you don't have any baking mix, combine 1-1/2 cups self rising flour and 1 tablespoon snipped chives(OR dill, parsley, tarragon, thyme..) in a small bowl. Melt 6 tablespoons butter and mix with 1/2 cup milk; add to flour mixture and stir just until combined. See? Crisis averted!

Drop dumplings by tablespoons onto hot, bubbling chicken mixture in crockpot. Cover and cook on HIGH for 20-25 minutes until dumplings are cooked through, fluffy, and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve hot and enjoy!

Groupon

Have you heard about Groupon ? I have heard of it but just jumped on board today. Think of it as a group deal for a bunch of people.  Daily (most deals look like they run about a week) a new deal will be available. The cool part is you look at deals in your area. They may be in your town or nearby city.  I was very excited to see my local fresh cheese shop for todays deal $20 of Sweet Grass Dairy for $10!! Woo-Hoo! Also available is another 50% deal for Strings and Beans-a popular music/coffee shop in nearby Moultrie. Live in Tallahassee? How bout $5 for $10 worth of Cold Stone Creamery? Check it out. No yearly fees or anything like that-just great deals every day. Are you in? I am!!! Click on the word Groupon  or the link below to check out deals in your area.

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu21052329

I AM NOT LISTENIN MOMMY!!!

Chicken Nachos and an Apology

I have been a bad blogger. I think my last post was in July. I am ashamed.So very sorry and ashamed. No excuses~I have been neglectful and to make it up to all of you, I am sharing a awesome recipe. :)
Are you excited? I hope so! I am!!! 
Great for a snack or even a meal. The past month or so, I have been trying to eat a little healthier and think most of us can make little changes to take a little better care of ourselves.


ChIcKeN NaChOs!!
About a half bag of baked tortilla chips (I like Baked Tostitos)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken (poached works well)
1 can rinsed and drained (reduces sodium 40%) black beans
1 cup salsa 
1 1/2 cup Mexican Cheese blend or Pepper-jack cheese-shredded
Sliced jalapeños (optional-but soooo good!)
Guacamole-1/4 cup (optional-but sooo-ok you get the idea)
sliced scallions(again..sooo....)




Heat oven to 350 -Line bottom and sides of large baking dish or cookie sheet w/ chips. Scatter chicken and beans over chips.Spoon salsa over beans(spoon guac if you like it over the salsa) and top w/ cheese. Sprinkle scallions and jalapeños over top.
bake at 350 for 15 minutes and serve hot! You can also dollop a little sour cream on top after removing from oven. YUM!!!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin w/ Green Tomato-Pineapple Salsa

Here is a great Summertime recipe I found in my All You Mag. A friend of mine has given me several green tomatoes-and although we love them-we are a little tired of them fried. 

2 med green tomatoes-cored/chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 tea. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/4 fresh pineapple/about a cup(ok to sub canned-but try to get fresh)
1/4 cup cilantro/fine chopped (optional)
whole pork tenderloin(about 1-1 1/2 lb)
clove of garlic-thinly sliced
salt/pepper

Combine 1st 6 ingredients and chill till ready-can be made a day ahead covered and refrigerated.
Make small slits in tenderloin-insert garlic slices until well studded.Season w/ salt and pepper.Grill until reaches 160degrees F-lightly browned and no pink inside-about 40 minutes.Let pork rest 10-15 minutes.
Season salsa w/ a little salt and pepper-top w/ cilantro if desired.
Slice tenderloin thin and serve with cold salsa.

Light Summer Pasta and Laughter

After a FABULOUS evening with two of my most favorite people, I felt inspired to share a great recipe for a  tasty, meatless pasta dish. This is a light yet filling meal, perfect for a balmy summer evening. Pair it with good friends who make you giggle and maybe a crisp green salad for the perfect meal. I am lucky to have such friends-friends who remind me that when parenting three wild boys gets overwhelming-there is always a chair at their table for me. Thanks Rebecca and David...


SPINACH, SUN DRIED TOMATO and ARTICHOKE PASTA

• 12 ounces Pasta (any Short Shape Like Penne, Or Bow Ties)
• 12 ounces,Marinated Artichoke Hearts
• ⅓ cups Oil-packed Sun Dried Tomatoes, Thinly Sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Sun Dried Tomato Oil
• 5 ounces Baby Spinach
• 3  Green Onions, Sliced Into 1/2-inch Pieces
• ½ cups Feta or fresh Mozzarella Cheese
• Salt And Pepper

Preparation Instructions

In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions. Remove the pasta from the water and drain just shy of al dente. (The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.) Turn the burner down to medium heat.

Return the pasta to the pot and add the artichokes (including all of the liquid from the jar), the sun dried tomatoes, and the sun dried tomato oil. Stir everything together until the artichokes are heated through and the pasta has absorbed most of the liquid, about 3 minutes.

Add the spinach and cook until wilted, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the pasta mixture to a large serving bowl. Add the green onions and cheese. Stir to combine.

Season to taste with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

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