Menu Plan Monday 6/27

It's not terribly busy around our house this week.  Just a few things going on here and there.  My oldest is away visiting his grandparents for most of the week, so I'm taking it easy on the cooking.  I'm still getting lots of fresh veggies from my hay bale garden.  We've already harvested lots of squash, bell peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes.  I ready to get enough tomatoes to make fresh salsa to can and put away!

Here are our dinner plans for the week:

Monday - Slow Cooker Cheeseburger soup (missed this last week)

Tuesday - Chicken alfredo pasta, broccoli

Wednesday - baked bean and cheese chimichangas, veggie

Thursday - dinner out for a fundraiser

Friday - Girl's dinner out  (the boys are having pizza and a movie night!)

Saturday - leftovers (husband working)

Sunday - tacos, zucchini

For more menu ideas, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Mega Swagbucks Friday!

Don't forget that it's Friday!  That means that it's Mega Swagbucks Friday!  That means the odds are better that you will win higher amounts of Swagbucks for searching the web!  Not familiar with Swagbucks?  Swagbucks is a search engine where you earn digital dollars periodically for doing things like searching the web.  (This is something you do anyway so you might as well get paid for it!)  Swagbucks can then be cashed in for gift cards and other merchandise.  I use mine to buy Amazon gift cards.  It only takes 450 Swagbucks to earn a $5 Amazon giftcard.  I use these giftcards to buy things such as diapers and other nonperishable items.  This really helps to lower my budget and save money!  I promise, it really works!!   Click here to learn more and to sign up!!

Weekly Shopping Trip for 6/20

Not a lot of shopping around here this week.  We just had too much going on.  Here is what I did spend.  (Sorry, no pictures)

Walmart

total spent:  $30.81
total saved:  $7.26

Brookshire's


total spent:  $1.79
total saved:  $2.20

total spent this week:  $32.60

I didn't shop at CVS or Walgreen's this week.  Hoping for some good deals next week and that I actually have time to shop!

Menu Plan Tuesday?!

It's a busy week with Vacation Bible School, lessons, dentist appts, etc. so I have not had a free minute (or at least one where I felt like getting on the computer) to post my menu plan for this week.  So here you go, a day late.

Monday - Rotini and Meatballs, broccoli

Tuesday - Mexican Tortillizzas

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

Thursday - hot dogs, baked sweet potatoes wedges

Friday - bacon & cheese grilled sandwiches, chips

Saturday - husband working = leftovers

Sunday - leftovers/sandwiches

Sunday Coupon Preview for 6/19

Head over to the Sunday Coupon Preview and see what coupons you might find in your Sunday paper.  Remember, coupons can be regional and there is no guarantee that you will get every coupon listed and the values may differ.

We can expect the following inserts this weekend:

Smartsource
Redplum

Friday Featured Recipe

This recipe is another adaption of a Weight Watchers online recipe.  I changed it up to suit our tastes and to use the ingredients that I had on hand.  I try to have at least one meatless meal each week.  They are healthier and are more budget friendly.  This one was great.  My husband ended up having to work late and was not home for dinner, so there were plenty of leftovers!

Bean and Rice Casserole
1 15 oz. can black beans (I use dried, cooked) or pinto beans, rinsed
1 c. cooked rice (white or brown)
1 c. corn (frozen or canned, drained)
3/4 c. light sour cream
3/4 c. shredded cheese
2 T. chopped green chiles
1/4 c. sliced green onions (green part only)
1/4 t. each salt, pepper, chili powder
1 c. corn (frozen or canned, drained)

Mix all together, reserving a small amount of cheese for the top.  Pour into greased 2 qt. dish.  Bake 30-40 min or until golden and bubbly.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.  Serve with corn muffins.  This is 6 Weight Watchers servings and probably 4 regular servings.  It could easily be doubled/tripled to feed larger families.  

I try to always have cooked beans in my freezer.  It is much more economical to buy dried beans and cook them than to buy canned beans.  You can also control what goes into them.  I typically pay around $.50-$.75 (on sale) for 1 lb of dried beans.  This easily makes the equivalent of 5-6 cans of beans.  I usually keep both pinto and black beans on hand in the freezer for easy, throw together meals.

Weekly Shopping Trip for 6/13

I didn't do a lot of shopping this week.  Only stopped at Walgreen's, Dollar Tree and Walmart.  I was  excited to actually find the items I wanted in stock at Walgreen's even though I didn't do my shopping early like I normally do.  Maybe that is because of the daily limits that have been put in place in some of the Tyler stores.  I only have a picture from Walgreen's.  The Walmart trip was an issue in itself (that's a whole different story) so by the time I got home my groceries were mostly thawing/room temp and needed to be put away.

Here is how the week went:

Walgreen's

Trans #1
Purchased:
(1) Blistex Men @ $2
(1) Bayer Advanced @ $3
(2) Dial 12 oz lotion @ $4.99/each
(1) Granola bar @ $.25
total:  $15.23
Used:
(1) $2/1 Bayer insert Q from 6/12
(2) $2/1 Dial lotion or body wash from 6/12
Bogo Sale on Dial (took off $4.99)
(2) $2 RR
total spent:  $.24
RR received: $1 for Bayer and $2 for Blistex

Trans #2
Purchased:
(4) Nestle Crunch Bars @ $.39
(1) Bayer Advanced @ $3
(2) Lysol Toilet Bowl cleaner @ $2.99/each
(2) Granola bars @ $.25/each
total:  $11.04
Used:
(1) $2/1 Bayer insert Q from 6/12
(4) $.35/1 Nestle Crunch printable (I don't believe these are available anymore)
(1) $1/2 Lysol insert Q from 6/12
Bogo sale on Lysol (took off $2.99)
(1) $.99 RR
(1) $1.50 RR
total spent:  $1.16
RR received:  $1 for Bayer

Total:  $1.40
Total saved:  $30.50 (sale and coupons)

*I could have used my $2 RR from T1 but decided to pay a little more and get rid of my smaller ones instead.*

Walmart/Dollar Tree
Total spent:  $44.84
Total saved:  $21.53 (price matching and coupons)

Total spent this week:  $46.24
Total saved:  $52.03

Menu Plan Monday 6/13

We don't have a lot going on this week.  Now next week is a different story...


Here are our dinner plans for this week:

Monday- Chili Spiced Braised Beef over pasta, green beans (slow cooker meal)

Tuesday - chicken tenders w/buffalo dipping sauce, mac & cheese, zucchini

Wednesday - Bean and rice casserole, corn muffins

Thursday - mini meatloves, potato and bacon pie, peas and carrots

Friday - dinner out

Saturday - leftovers/sandwiches

Sunday - Father's Day dinner with family

For more meal plan ideas, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Weekly Shopping Trip for 6/5

I did my shopping early this week and didn't do a whole lot of it.  I don't even plan to shop at CVS or Walgreen's this week *GASP*.    That's what I like about having a nice stockpile, I don't HAVE to go shopping!  I did go to Walmart and Brookshire's for the sales and few good deals, as well as milk, produce, etc.  I also stopped in Dollar Tree for bread and picked up a couple of things at Target.

Brookshire's


Brookshire's had a BOGO sale this week so I was able to get some good deals and have restocked my freezer!

Here is the breakdown:

Purchased: (BOGO for $.01)
(2) Fast Fixin's chicken @ $7  = $3.50 each
(2) Ground Turkey @ $3.80 = $1.90 each
(2) Boneless Pork Chops @ $3.87 = $1.94 each
(2) Nature Valley Granola bars @ $3.56 (- $.50/2 insert coupon) = $1.53 each
(2) Classico Pasta Sauce @ $2.89 (-$1/2 insert coupon) = $.95 each
(4) Lean Cuisine @ $5.46 (-$1/4 insert coupon) = $1.37 each
(2) Turkey Meatballs @ $4 = $2 each
(2) Nilla Wafers @ $4 = $2 each
(2) 5 lb Russet potatoes @ $3 = $2.50 each

Total spent:  $35.08
Total saved:  $39.72 or 53%

*you can search the coupon database on the right for the specific Qs that I used during my trip.  I threw the post up during a small window of time and didn't have time to get the info for you.  I know there are several Qs for the Granola bars.


Walmart/Dollar Tree

I didn't save a lot with coupons at Walmart this week, and I didn't do any price matching.  I did get a few deals on produce and the frozen pizza, however.

Fresh corn on the cob was on Rollback for 10/$1 so I grabbed 10 of those to freeze.  Strawberries were on Rollback for $1/lb, so I grabbed 2 of those to freeze.  (My little one LOVES them!)  The Totino's frozen pizza was on Rollback for $1 each.  I bought 4 and used a $.50/4 insert Q making them just $.86 each.  (These are cheap lunches!)  I also grabbed 2 Pictsweet frozen veggies for $.96 each and used a Q for $.75/2 making them $.59 each.  The Borden singles were $1.98 and I used a $1/1 Q to get those for $.98.  The tiny bottle of Heinz is $.60 in the deli and I used a $.50/1 Q, making it just $.10.  )Figured I'd stick it back for a picnic or camping trip.)  I also grabbed 2 gallons of milk, Sweet 'n low, chips (my Hubby pleaded for the Julio's!), tuna, sour cream, biscuits and cinnamon rolls along with bananas,  avacado and cilantro (for tonight's pork chops!).   I grabbed the bread at the Dollar Tree for $1.

Total spent:  $31.90
Total saved:  $2.75 (not including Rollbacks - I forgot to check the regular price)


Target

I grabbed 2 small boxes of granola bars (from the $ spot) for $1/each and used a $.50/2 insert Q making them $.75/each.
The Lipton was $1.97 each and I used a $1/2 Target printable and a $.60/2 insert Q making each box $1.17.

Total spent:  $3.84
Total saved:  $2.10


Total spent this week:  $70.82
Total saved:  $44.57


And that's it!!  I plan to do no more shopping this week!!  I spent more than I normally do to stock up on the deals at Brookshire's but I still came in UNDER budget for the week!

Menu Plan Monday 6/6

So far, we are enjoying our Summer!  The heat is on in Texas right now, so we are trying to take advantage of our outdoor grill when we can and keep the heat out of the kitchen during these hot days!  There were lots of good deals on meat this week so we are eating quite a bit of it.

Here are our dinner plans for this week:

Monday-  Mayo Pork Chops (Thanks Pary Moppins!), cheesy broccoli
Tuesday- dinner out (gift card we were given)
Wednesday- Turkey Tacos
Thursday- (breakfast for dinner) turkey bacon, eggs, biscuits
Friday- BBQ grilled chicken, potato packets, green bean packets
Saturday- Chicken Enchiladas, zucchini (fresh from the garden!)
Sunday- dinner at church

For more menu planning ideas, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Mega Swagbucks Friday!

It's Friday and that means it's Mega Swagbucks Friday!!  This means, the odds are greater to win higher amounts of Swagbucks by doing web searches!  Not familiar with Swagbucks?  Swagbucks is a search engine that periodically rewards you for searching the web,  something you already do anyway!  You can use these Swagbucks to earn prizes such as Amazon Gift cards.  I use my Amazon gift cards to buy diapers and other non - perishables which helps me save on my overall budget!  Give it try!  Go here to learn more and to sign up!

Friday Featured Recipe

I recently started Weight Watchers so lose the last few pounds from my son who is 15 months old.  :)  We tried these Chicken Tortillizzas from Weight Watchers (slightly modified) and we loved them!  I knew the kids wouldn't eat them with the peppers, so they had something else.  Sorry, I completely forgot to take a picture before we had eaten them all!  This will be a keeper for sure!

Spicy Chicken Tortillizzas
(makes 4 servings)
2 frozen chicken breasts (about 8 oz), roasted and finely chopped
4 flour tortillas (6 in)
2 T. chopped jarred jalapeno peppers
1 t. juice from peppers
4 t. reduced calorie mayo
1 t. lime juice, optional
salt, cumin, garlic powder and chili powder to taste (it doesn't take much, just taste as you go)
1/2 c, shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions:
Combine the chicken, peppers, juice, lime juice, mayo and seasonings.  Set aside.  Coat skillet with cooking spray.  Heat tortillas (one at a time) over medium heat until slightly browned on each side.  Don't over cook.  Top each tortillas w/ 1/4 of chicken mixture.  Spread to edges.  Top each w/ shredded cheese.  Return to skillet (one at a time) on low heat.  Cover with lid until cheese is melted and the bottom is crispy (1-1 1/2 min).  Be careful not to burn them!  I served them with baby carrots.

*I suppose that you could do these on an electric skillet if you wanted to cook them all at once.  Just don't worry about covering them.  I haven't tried them that way but assume it would be fine.

In my Mailbox...

I had several freebies in my mailbox this week:

Free 10.5 oz "sample" of Chex Mix Muddy Buddies (yummy!)  This was an awesome sample!!  I don't know if it's still available but check out the Chex Mix Facebook page.
Free sample of Gold Bond Ultimate Body Wash & coupon
Free sample of TRESemme shampoo/conditioner
Free Pilates DVD from veria TV
3 Free 20 oz Coke coupons from My Coke Rewards (click the link to find out how to get free Coke!)

I am not sure which of these you can still get but check the links!