MrsB's Challenge

We have a new home!

2007-01-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

Everyone please update your favorites. We have a new home at http://www.clearblogs.com/MrsB Since its much easier to log in there, there will be more posts than there was here.
Also, please tell your friends about us!

Chili and Totals

2007-01-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

One of the things I got for Christmas this year was a Crockpot from my parents. I've been drooling over them and had planned on buying one with any gift cards I got for Christmas. Anyway I got a really nice 5 quart Rival crockpot with removable stoneware. OK to my point....I fixed a yummy pot of homemade vegetable soup in it the other day. For some reason homemade veggie soup just will not turn out on my stove! I have no idea why! I think its because my burners don't heat evenly so the bottom of the soup burns and the biggest pot I have barely holds my soup ingredients. So I took a pack of stew beef and browned it on the stove. Then I threw it in the crockpot along with my other ingredients. I let it cook on high for 6 hours and yum-o! The potatoes were kind of smushy for some reason but other than that it was yummy.

Chili....I love chili. OK I pretty much love any kind of soup or stew that you put in front of me. lol I have a bunch of recipes for chili ranging from very very very simple (hamburger, pork n beans and chili powder, super easy and yummy) to the very very complex (these recipes are still sitting wanting to be tried). Well the other day I wanted chili. I took out 2 cookbooks, Not Just Beans and a cookbook called Village Vittles that we bought in the mountains on our honeymoon, and looked for a yummy but simple chili recipe. I wanted one more complex than the 3 ingredient chili. So I took the 2 recipes I found and combined them to come up with this recipe.

1 lb ground chuck (ground beef or ground round would work to, or even ground chicken or turkey I would think)
1/2 onion
1/4 green pepper
1 1/2 TBS chili powder
1can kidney beans, drained
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1can diced tomatoes, drained
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS vinegar, I used red wine vinegar
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
Brown the ground chuck, onion and green pepper in a skillet. Add other ingredients and let simmer for 30 minutes-1 hour. Serve topped with shredded cheese.

I found my receipts from my shopping trip the other day among the inch thick stack of receipts that have been collecting in my purse. LOL I don't have the sizes on hand, but they're the "regular" sizes that you usually find at the grocery store. Make sense? lol Anyway, if anyone wants to the know the exact size of something I can find it.

Aldi:
Baby Carrots 0.99
bread 0.59
4pk toilet paper 0.89x2
Frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts 5.99 (I think theres about 7 chicken breasts in the pack??)
12" pizza 2.19
Potatoes 3.29 (I think its a 10# bag)
Tangerines 1.99
No-Bake Cheesecake 1.39
Graham cracker crust 0.89
cool whip 0.69
2oz hand sanitizer 0.69 (I was out of the bottle I keep in my purse and this is a MUST HAVE for me at all times lol)
DVD $7.49
cinnamon rolls 1.39
canned veggies 0.35x6
canned raviola 0.69x3
canned diced tomatoes 0.49
creamer 1.99
Biscuits 0.27
dozen eggs 1.09
Chocolate syrup 0.99
granola bars 1.89
cereal 1.69
Au Gratin potatoes 0.79
Cheese slices 1.49
Ketchup 0.99
canned Kidney Beans 0.35
Instant pudding 0.29x3
Fabric softener sheets 0.99
Olive Oil 3.49
Canola Oil 1.79
All Purpose Flour 1.29 (5# bag)
AA batteries 1.99
Tomato Sauce 0.19x4
5# bag Sugar 2.09
Total 60.78 (includes tax and 3 grocery bags that I had to buy b/c I left mine at home..opps)

Piggly Wiggly:
Mac & Cheese 1.69
Toothpaste 3.29
Stew Beef 2.59
Stew Beef 2.03
Boneless Pork Chops 2.69
Round Steak 1.68
Country Style Ribs 3.06
Country Style Ribs 3.22
20oz drink 1.09
Total 21.98 (includes tax)

K-Mart:
Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent $3

My total for the day was $85.76. Way over my $40/week I know, but its been ALONG time since I went grocery shopping and we needed alot of stuff. Some things listed aren't grocery items, like the DVD and batteries, and some weren't really needed to re-stock the pantry but I've got my appetite back and its fairly large since I'm pregnant so I like to keep things in the house I can snack on (tangerines, pudding, cinnamon rolls, etc the biscuits are for me to fry and roll in sugar, yummy). Next week all I should need to buy is meats and maybe a few things to snack on.

MTC,
MrsB

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2007-01-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! I wanted to wish everyone a very belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas!
I know I've been hopelessly slack on posting anything even after I said I was feeling better and would start posting again. But now I've come up with a way to hopefully solve this problem. :-) I don't have the internet at home, I come next door to my mom's house to use the Net. But I do have my laptop at home. So I'm going to write my posts at home on the laptop when I have time, and then I'll put them on cd and come to Mom's and post them. :-) At least this is the plan. LOL That will also make it easier once the baby comes along. I promise to start posting my grocery totals again soon!

My DH got me a CD for my laptop for Christmas that has like 5,000 recipes, a pantry list, grocery list, etc. I think its called Mastercook. As I try recipes from the CD I'll post them for you all. :-)

When I started my grocery challenge I was only shopping the sales and didn't pay much attention to the price of the meats that weren't on sale. Well when I finally started grocery shopping and cooking again a few weeks ago we desperately needed meats in our freezer. So I had no choice but to check out the "non-sale" meats at the grocery store. I had no idea we could eat for so cheap even without sales! Now granted its just the 2 of us right now, so this may not work for those of you with larger families. Its perfect for singles or couples. At our Piggly Wiggly I can get a Pork Tenderlion that is around 1/2 pound for less than $2. Stew Beef, Round Steak, and Pork Ribs in portions perfect for one meal for us all can be bought for less than $2 a pack, usually closer to $1.50. I can get enough meat to last us a week for around $10 which leaves $30 for my other groceries (potatoes, carrots, canned veggies, paper items, etc) And I've been having alittle left over to pick up myself a quick meal from a fast food place while shopping or buying a little something we will need for the baby.

Now I'm on the quest for lots of recipes that use Pork Tenderlion and Round Steak so we don't get tired of them. LOL

OK thats all for now.

More To Come,
MrsB

Freecycle AND It's A............

2006-11-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hi!
It's a BOY!!!!!!!! Yay! We're so excited. We found out Tuesday what our little pumpkin is going to be, but I hadn't been able to get into Blogger to tell you guys yet. I'm 19 weeks today and doing better alittle each day. Seeing our little guy on the ultrasound makes every day of it worth it though.

I also wanted to take a minute to tell y'all about freecycle. I love Freecycle. Go to freecycle.org to see if there's a group near you. What you do is post something you have to give away (for free) to another member of your group. Or you get things (for free) that you need. We've gotten and given tons of great stuff through our local Freecycles including 2 kittens. (now grown cats.)

MTC,
MrsB

Graham Cracker Mini Gingerbread Houses

2006-10-31T11:58:00.000-08:00

I visit an awesome Christmas site organizedchristmas.com and today while going through the craft section I found the cutest idea! Its a mini gingerbread house made from graham crackers!

http://organizedchristmas.com/article40.html

MTC,
MrsB

I'm Back, Black Friday & Maternity clothes

2006-10-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!! I hope y'all are still visiting me. :-) Sorry I went MIA. Its a long story so I'll make it short.
On August 2nd my dh and I found out we were expecting our first child. Yay!! A week later morning sickness kicked in BIG time and I spent the next 2 weeks not eating or drinking, and throwing up 24/7. I ended up at the ER and spent some time in the hospital. Now here we are 3 months later and I've been in the hospital 7 times, spending most of the last 3 months in there. Come to find out I have Hyperemisis (sp?) which basically morning sickness 24/7 that lasts beyond the first trimester in most cases. I'm on 4 different medicines to help keep me in line. I've had a good last week or so until day before yesterday when we started cleaning out closets and the nursery and I got behind on my eating and drinking. Yesterday I had to back to the ER for 2 bags of fluids but today I'm much better. Anyway, I'm 17 weeks pregnant now and we go back to the doctor on the 7th on Nov to for a weight check and to find out what gender our little pumpkin is.
I won't be here everyday like I was for now, but I'll post as much as I can. I'm getting ready for Christmas while I'm still not to big to walk around the stores. LOL

So enough about me. Let's talk about Black Friday. Last year I went shopping for the first time on BF and got some good deals. I found out that the small Wal-Mart here is better to go than the Super Centers b/c NO ONE goes there! lol I walked in, got my deals and walked out (after paying of course. lol) This year I hope to be able to do the same. We'll see. Anyway, the BF ads are already making their way to the Internet. So far all I've seen are Ace Hardware and KMart. If you go to blackfriday.gottadeal.com to see a list of the deals so far. Hopefully Wal-Mart and Eckerd will be up soon.

Maternity clothes..... Who has the best deal on these?? Our thrift shops don't have any maternity clothes what so ever. Arghhh! I checked the yard sale ads last weekend and no one listed any. I'll check again this weekend and see what I can find.

Keep an eye out for ALOT of Christmas and baby posts to be posted here. Christmas is my favorite time of year. :-)

More to come,
MrsB

Snickerdoodles anyone?

2006-07-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Old Fashioned Snickerdoodles
1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
3/4 cup sugar
1 medium egg
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2/3 cups flour
2 tablespoons white sugar mixed with 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
In a large bowl mash together the margarine and sugar. Add the egg and beat until everything is creamy. Add the baking powder, salt and flour. Stir it up until you have a nice thick dough. In a cereal bowl, combine the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar.
Now comes the fun part; let the kids help. Make sure everyone's hands are clean adn then shape the dough into balls the size of a walnut, or an egg yolk. Roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place the coated balls on an oiled cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a smooth cup or glass, press the dough down to flatten the cookies slightly. Bake them at 400° for 10 minutes. If your oven runs hot, turn it down to 375°. These cookies are great in lunch boxes and for after school snacks. These are an old favorite of mine. My momma made them for us as children, and they are exceptionally good.
Thanks Miss Maggie at HBHW for the recipe!

These are so yummy! I made the dough this morning and put it in the fridge. Tonight when it gets cool again I'll bake them up. After they cool I'll be able to wrap them indivially in plastic wrap to send when dh to work.

MTC,
MrsB

Italian Pork Chops & Praline Sweet Potatoes

2006-07-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

OK I promised the recipes so here they are. :-)
For the pork chops I put them in a glass dish and sprinkled salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Then I poured some italian dressing over them and baked until done. How easy, right?

Praline Sweet Potatoes
2 - 29 ounce cans of Sweet Potatoes or Yams, drained OR 6 cups of peeled, chopped and boiled fresh sweet potatoes or yams
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans preferred)
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons melted margarine
Heat the oven to 350°. Arrange the drained sweet potatoes in a well oiled 2 quart casserole. In a small bowl, mash together the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle this liberally over the tops of the sweet potatoes. Bake for about half an hour, or until the top is crispy brown. This is a wonderful change from marshmallow topped sweet potatoes around the holidays. Whenever I serve this dish I am inundated with requests for the recipe. Excellent for holiday potlucks. Serves about 8.
Thanks Miss Maggie at HBHW for the praline sweet potato recipe!

An a change jar update (Its missing from the sidebar, who knows where it went? lol) We have $32.85 so far!!!! woohoo!!

MTC,
MrsB

Fridays shopping trip

2006-07-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

OK I finally had to go shopping. lol But I carpooled with my mom so no money spent in gas. yay!
From Aldi:
Butter $1.99
Olive Oil $3.59
Pretzels $0.99
Cheddar Cheese $1.49
Montery Jack & Colby block cheese $1.49
Brownie Mix $0.99
Cheesecake $1.59
Eggs $0.65
8pk Gatorade (store brand) $3.99
Ketchup $0.99
2 liter drink $0.49
Sugar $1.85 x2
Creamer $1.99
Chapstick (store brand) $0.49
Paper bag $0.05
Total w/ tax $25.52

Staples (I need these items for the business I'm starting)
4pk glue sticks $0.99
Mini Gel Pens (12 ct) $2.99
Keychain calculator $0.99
Total w/ tax $5.32

At Big Lots I got a 14.5oz can of Fire-roasted tomatoes for $0.70, 2 cracker & chicken salad snacks $0.99 each and a 20oz drink $1.05. My total was around $4 (I lost my receipt so I don't know the exact total. Opps.

Total for the day was $34.54....Yay! Under budget this week!!

MTC,
MrsB

No $$ Spent so far!!

2006-07-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Can you believe that its already Thursday and I've spent $0 so far?! And we only need a couple of things from the grocery store sooo I'll probably either go tomorrow if I can come with more things that I need OR I'll just wait until next week. :-)

We added $1.09 to the change jar last night. Yay for us!!

I'm doing pretty good at sticking to the menu plan I made! Tuesday night we had Mozzerela Chicken Sammies with BBQ potatoes. This was SO quick, easy and yummy!
I cut 4 (4oz) chicken breasts up into bite size pieces and sprinkled oregano, basil and garlic powder on them. Then I diced up a half of green pepper and onion and a whole roma tomato. Threw everything into a hot frying pan (that had a little olive oil in the bottom) and cooked until done. Then I took some leftover french bread and toasted the slices in a hot buttered frying pan. Put the chicken on the bread with some mozzerela & cheddar cheese and a little lettuce.
Yummy!

For the BBQ potatoes (I think I might've posted this recipe before) Boil the potatoes until done. I drained about 1/4-1/2 of the water off (but you don't have to) add some butter, salt, pepper, and ketchup. Mix and heat through. Serve. I don't measure so I don't know how much ketchup I use. I like it really tomato-y, but its up to your taste.

Last night we had turkey sandwiches and chips. Not on the menu plan but we had to go to town and do some things so I had to change it.

Tonight is Italian Pork Chops and Praline Sweet Potatoes. Since I like to make up the recipes as I go alot of times I'll post them tomorrow. :-)

More to come,
MrsB

Works for Me Wednesday

2006-07-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

There's a great site out there that does WFM Wednesday (Works for me Wednesday) http://www.rocksinmydryer.typepad.com Anyway my WFM tip is.......

Unplugging items that you don't use often. This is will help save $$ on your electric bill. If you don't use an item that much such as your microwave, radio, tv, hairdryer, etc unplug it. The only thing I wouldn't do is unplug things that have to be reprogrammed such as your clocks.

More to come,
MrsB

1 Item you could do without?

2006-07-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

I was reading on a message board and they were talking about what 5 convience items could you give up.
Well I wanted to start small (mainly b/c we already don't use alot of convience items anyway) Soooo What 1 convience item could you do without? Some examples are dryer, dishwasher, hairdryer, TV, coffee shop coffee, lunch out once a week, etc. It could be anything.

I rarely use my dryer (only when its raining or to make my line dried clothes fluffy and bug free), we don't go out to eat really, the TV is only on mainly at night, etc. So this is going to require alot of thought. lol I'll get back to you on it.

In the mean time, What one item could you do without?

More to come,
MrsB

Menu Plan for this week

2006-07-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

This is the menu plan I've come up with for this week.
Mon-We ate at my mom's house
Tues-Mozzarela Chicken Sammies with BBQ Red Potatoes
Wed-Italian Pork Chops with Praline Sweet Potatoes
Thurs-Cheeseburgers, Fries and Baked Beans
Fri-Chicken w/ a Sweet Corn & Potato Saute

I'll post the recipes for them later. :-)

Living in the sticks

2006-07-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! I wanted to do a re-cap on what I'm doing and explain alittle better where I shop and how far I drive to do so.
My "challenge" is to spend only $40 a week on groceries and other household items such as toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc. Some weeks I go alittle over and some weeks I'm alittle under (rarely). At the current time I don't do a "pantry re-stock", I only do my regular grocery shopping, mainly because so far I haven't needed to.

So anyway, I realized I've never really explained our grocery store situation. We live in the boondocks! The town we live in has a Food Lion, thats it. And with no competition their prices are pretty high on a day to day basis. The next closest town has a Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion and regular Wal-Mart. All of their prices are unreal! I can't afford to shop that town! lol I do occassionally shop their WM if my dh needs a couple of items and I can't justify driving 20 miles to the closest Super WM.
OK Then we have 2 towns that are about the same distance from us. Town One has a Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly and Super Wal-Mart. They are reasonably priced and their WM is the only Super WM I'll shop at. I do pretty much all of my "non-Aldi" grocery shopping in this town.
Town Two is where Aldi is. They also have the normal grocery stores as well as a Super WM, Target and bunch of large "high end" grocery stores. This is our university town.
I have to drive 20-30 miles to get to any point in towns One & Two. But Aldi is actually about a 45 minute drive depending on the traffic.
I'm able to save gas though b/c I'll hit both towns in one day (they're only about 10-15miles apart I think) Or I'll drive to one town and take my sis with me and we'll do my shopping and my mom's shopping and then a couple days later my mom will drive to the other town and I'll go with her to do my shopping in that town.
OK I know I started rambling so I hope that last part made sense. LOL
So even if you don't have an Aldi or alot of stores in your town it can be worth while to research the surrounding towns to see what they have store wise and how their prices are and make the drive there to do your shopping. If you have a family member, neighbor or friend you can carpool with it would be even better. :-) But if not and you use your price book, weekly ads, and do all your shopping one day a week it can still be worth while.

~MrsB

Chili Recipe, A Complete Pantry list and other ramblings

2006-07-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

I wanna hear from y'all! Please continue to leave your comments and thoughts in the comment sections of the entries. I enjoy reading your comments and being able to interact with y'all. So anyway, I want to know what you want see here. What brings you back?
One of my favorite quick meals is a chili recipe with only FIVE ingredients! I wanted to post it sooner but I couldn't find it in my recipe book! LOL I really need to re-organize that thing! I have a 3 ring binder with dividers that I'm supposed to put my recipes in. But somehow they all end up in the little "pocket" in the front and back of the binder.
Here's the recipe:

Quick & Easy Chili
1 lb ground beef
1 diced onion
1 can tomatoes
1 can Pork 'n Beans
1 TBS chili powder
Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet. Add tomatoes, beans and chili powder. Stir well, bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. If you have time let it simmer longer to let the flavors combine, but its yummy eaten immediately too.

I just got the Rachel Ray "Express Lane Meals" cookbook. Its full of 30 minute meals and helpful tips. Each recipe has a side note stating which items you should have on hand and which items you need to go to the grocery store and buy before you make this recipe. This is going on the assumption that you work outside of the home and that you can stop at the grocery store and pick up the items in that list and just go through the "express lane" (hence the title of the book). Personally I don't go to the grocery store everyday since it not only takes up to much time but also is too expensive. The "Express Lane Shopping List" can still be helpful though since you can compare that list to the sales fliers, etc. Anyway, she has a full list of items that you should keep on hand at all times in the beginning of the book, and its divided by catergories (spice rack, freezer, fridge, etc). Another good thing about this cookbook is that if you have to buy a full container of any item for a specific recipe (buttermilk for example) she will tell you what you can do if the leftover (freezing the leftover buttermilk and using it for another recipe for example). To my point I know I'm rambling. LOL I wanted to post the list hopefully to help some of you. I don't have all of these items on hand and some of them I'll never buy b/c we just will never use them. But its a great base to build off of. What I'm going to do is make a "masterlist" of the items I think we'd use that I don't have and look in the weekly sales fliers for those items because I know in doing my pantry stocking a few weeks ago I know I left out a few things.
OK OK here's the list. lol The book lists how much of each item you should have on hand, personally I think it depends on each indiviual household and how much you use (like she suggests keeping 2 quarts of milk on hand but we keep a gallon). Anyway I'm not going to list the amounts but if there is an item you want to know how much she suggests just let me know and I'll post it.

Spice rack

coarse salt
coarse black or peppercorns to grind
chili powder
ground cumin
grill seasoning (she suggests using McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning but you can use whatever you like or whatever is cheapest)
paprika
smoked sweet paprika (?? I've never seen this, does anyone know what the difference between this and regular paprika is?)
whole nutmeg
curry paste or powder
ground coriander
poultry seasoning
bay leaves
red pepper flakes
dried oregano
dried thyme
ground cinnamon
fennel seeds
ground allspice
cayenne pepper

Fridge

Milk
heavy cream or half-and-half
Unsalted Butter
Eggs
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Pecorino Romano cheese
bacon
hot sauce
Dijon Mustard
Spicy Brown Mustard
Capers
Flat-leaf parsley
celery
carrots
mayonnaise

Freezer

Frozen Peass
Frozen Corn
Frozen Chopped Spinach
plain and Italian bread crumbs

Somewhere in the Kitchen

Idaho Potatoes
small, red baby Yukon Gold or small white boiling potatoes
lemons
limes
Spanish or yellow onions
shallots
peanut butter, chunky or smooth
garlic

In the Wine Rack

White Wine
Red Wine
Dry Sherry

In the Cupboard

chicken stock, in a box
beef stock, in a box
diced fire-roasted tomatoes
diced tomatoes (regular and petite-diced)
crushed tomatoes
tomato paste
tomato sauce
chipotle chilies in adobo or dry chipotle powder
black beans
chickpeas/garbanzo beans
cannellini beans
long-cut pastas, such as spaghetti, linguine, vermicelli, angel hair, and fettuccine
short-cut pastas, such as penne, ditalini, gemelli, and cavatappi
plain couscous
white rice
all-purpose flour
white sugar
brown sugar
Italian tuna in EVOO
tuna in water
Alaskan salmon
Worcestershire sauce
vegetable oil
tamari
balsamic vinegar
red wine vinegar
cider, white wine and/or rice vinegar
honey
EVOO (personally this is too expensive so I use regular olive oil)
anchovy fillets
roasted red peppers in water
canned clams, whole baby

I hope this helps someone! If you get a chance I recommend at least watching one episode of one of Rachel Ray's shows on FoodTV. She's so awesome! I miss having cable so that I could watch her shows. Luckily one of our local stations is going to starting showing one of her shows in the fall. Yay!!
I mentioned my change jar the other day. I finally got it counted and I'm going to start keeping track of how much I put it in through my blog. I still having decided on a monetary goal for it yet. :-) I took the $7 I made at a yard sale saturday and $10 of my birthday money and stuck it in my jar with my change. So my total is $28.61 so far.

Also I was talking to my dh last night and we decided to take some of the money that we received from my grandparents as a housewarming gift and get a patio set for our porch. Well while I was telling my mom about our plans she reminded me that the patio sets would be going on sale soon because its getting close to the end of the season. Soooo I'll be waiting on my patio set and in a couple weeks I'll start my "patio set clearance" search. Wish me luck!

Free Corn & Taters!! And my coin jar

2006-07-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

Guess what!?! It will be awhile before I have to buy corn or potatoes again! Through my uncle and a guy my step-dad works with, my mom got a LOT of fresh sweet corn and red potatoes. And being the sweetheart that she is, we also have PLENTY of corn and taters to last a long time! Yippee!

We all have change leftover at the end of a shopping trip or whatever. What do you do with yours? I'm putting all of mine, along with any money I have leftover at the end of the week (or like from when we don't go out to eat, buy a 20oz drink, etc...*see $104 bag of chips*) into a jar. I don't have a set goal of how much I want to have in the jar in a certain amount of time. I do have a purpose for this jar though.
Throughout this summer, fall & winter I'll be putting my change in this jar. And come spring of next week I'll use whatever is in this jar to help (if not completely) buy the plants I want for my garden.

Along the lines of the garden.... Next spring I want to have a large flower garden that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. We moved onto our new lot to late to really get a good garden started, plus with the new house and being newlyweds money is tight. So from now until the spring I'll be researching the flowers that will grow in our part of NC that attract butterflies and/or hummingbirds. Also Gradually (probably 2 or 3 a week) I'll be buying the stepping stones and edgers that I want for the garden and any other "decor" that I want, such as hummingbird feeders, my bench, etc. I already have my bird bath. It was bought for and used at our wedding reception to hold the birdseed and now I'll use it in our yard.
I did manage to get 2 Lantana plants from Lowe's the other day for $3.96 a piece. They are planted next to our porch and before the end of the day we already had 2 butterflies loving them! :-D

I plan on keeping track of my change jar total and my garden project on the blog if anyone is interested in keeping up with it. :-D Also if you want to join in the change jar savings I'm working on coming up with some creative ways to challenge myself (and anyone thats interested) to add to the jar.

Gotta run for today!
MrsB

Freebie Friday (a day late)

2006-07-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

I know this is late, but better late than never right? :-)

www.schickintuition.com/freeoffer/
Schick Intuition Women's Razor
you have to manually type in Promotion code: INTSMP06

Wal-Mart has alot of Free Samples!
http://walmart.triaddigital.com/Free-Samples.aspx

BIZ Laundry Detergent
http://www.bizisbetter.com/

Remember, I can't guarantee you'll get these freebies, I just signed up for them myself.

Grocery Budget for this week

2006-07-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

I couldn't get in to post this earlier but here's my lists from this week.

Piggly Wiggly
12oz Bacon $1.79
2.79# Ground Round $5.55
2.80# Ground Round $5.57
6pk Pepsi $2
6pk Sierra Mist $2
Total w/ tax is $17.35

Aldi (I don't have the sizes of the items I bought here with me)
Watermelon $2.99
BBQ Sauce $0.79
Tomato Soup $0.43
Dill Pickles $0.99
Mayo $1.39
Croutons $0.99
French Dressing $0.99
Brownie Mix $0.99
Sugar 5# $1.85
Corn Muffin Mix $0.25
Chips $0.99
Toilet Paper $0.89
Coffee $3.99
Milk 1 gal $2.99
Block Cheese 8oz $1.49
Bread $0.59
Hamburger Buns $0.65
Total w/ Tax $23.25

Total $40.60 Opps!

2 recipes

2006-07-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Quick Tangy Roast Beef Sandwiches
Serves 4
1 can tomato soup
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
12 oz sliced cooked deli beef
4 hamburger rolls
Mix soup, vinegar, sugar and Worcestershire in skillet. Heat to a boil. Add beef and heat through. Serve on rolls.
**I would think this could be made using leftover roast instead of deli meat. At least thats what I'm going to do. :-)

Poppin' Fresh Barbecups
3/4 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon instant minced onion
1 can refrigerated baking powder biscuits (12 biscuits)
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
In large skillet, brown ground beef; drain. Add barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and onion. Set aside. Separate biscuit dough into 12 biscuits. Place one biscuit in each of 12 ungreased muffin cups pressing dough up sides to edge of cup. Spoon meat mixture into cups. Sprinkle each with cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Snack foods?

2006-07-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hi!
The other night I took a can of biscuits (10 for $0.30) and cooked half of them for my dh. The other half I cut into quarters and fried on the stovetop. When they were done I rolled them in cinnamon sugar. It was a quick and easy snack for a few cents! These are soooo yummy! You could roll them in powdered sugar or just plain sugar. They're yummy even not rolled in anything.

Another tip I wanted to share that I found the other day: Bake a pan of brownies and let cool. Then cut them up and wrap each brownie in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. Now you have a quick snack whenever you need it. You could pull one out in the morning to take to work instead of buying something from the venting machine. Or take it grocery shopping with you (with your frozen water of course!) and when you get hungry you have something to eat instead of stopping at a fast food joint.

Now take the money you would've spent at the vending machine or fast food place and put it in your change jar. You'd be amazed how fast this little bit of extra money adds up. And you'll never miss it because you were going to send it anyway!

Thats all for today. I hope you've had a great 4th of July!

Oven Baked Swiss Steak

2006-07-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Oven Baked Swiss Steak

2 pounds lean round or chuck steak
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 large onion, sliced
4 oz can mushrooms, undrained
15 oz can tomato sauce

First cut the meat into serving size pieces. Place the meat into a large casserole, or 9 by 13-inchpan. Sprinkle the salt and pepper and garlic powder evenly over the meat. Scatter the onion over top. Pour the mushrooms and tomato sauce over the meat too. Give the dish a gentle shake to settle everything down together in the pan. Cover the pan with tin foil, or a tightly fitting lid. Bake at 350° for 1-1/2 hours. Serves about 6 people. I like this dish with baked potatoes, green beans, muffins and blueberry pie. The potatoes can bake with the steak, and the muffins can bake the last 25 minutes or so. The green beans can be cooked on top of the stove, and the pie should be made ahead of time.

Thanks Miss Maggie at HBHW for the recipe

Saving $ in the laundry room

2006-07-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

I just read this tip in an email newsletter I get: Instead of buying an expensive specialty product for your fine washables--try using a small amount of baby shampoo.

Personally I only do my laundry in cold water. And I use between 1/4 & 1/2 cap full of laundry detergent instead of the recommended full cap. The detergent companies want you to use more so you'll buy more. But you really don't need all that soap, especially for smaller loads. Also something I've started doing (thanks mom for the idea) is marking the bottle with a marker everytime I use it. When the bottle is empty I'll be able to see exactly how many loads I got. The bottle I'm using now says it contains 52loads (200fl oz), We'll just see about that. ;-)
Another thing I do to save money in the laundry room is to not use the dryer unless necessary. I hang all my clothes on the line to dry outside. When they're dry I bring them inside and throw them in the dryer for a max of 10 minutes to make them fluffy and kill any creatures that decided to take up resident in my clothes the short time they were on the line. Check out this link for a great article on drying your clothes.
http://www.creativehomemaking.com/articles/020499b.shtml
Make your own Cleaning Supplies
Cleaning With Vinegar
White distilled vinegar is a great addition to your cleaning supplies. It works well for cutting grease and fighting odors. It's a wonderful laundry aid as it both softens water and fights odors, just add it to your rinse cycle or use as you would fabric softener. While vinegar has a strong smell, the smell dissipates fairly quickly so you don't have to worry about a residual smell. Put white vinegar mixed with water in a spray bottle and use it for quick cleanups in the kitchen or as a maintenance spray in your bathroom. It's also effective for cleaning mildew. You can buy white vinegar at your local grocery store in the salad dressing section. Buy it by the gallon and don't be afraid to use it, it's a safe cleaner. Warning: Do not mix with chlorine bleach!
Cleaning With Isopropyl Alcohol
Isopropyl Alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, is effective in many cleaning projects. Put it in a small spray bottle and it works well for cleaning and shining chrome faucets. It also can be helpful when trying to remove ink stains from fabric and upholstery. Always pretest the alcohol in an inconspicuous spot before using on a stain. Isopropyl Alcohol can be purchased in the grocery store or the drug store. It's usually in the first aid aisle. Look for sales and save.
Cleaning With Salt
Salt makes a wonderful and ecological friendly cleaner. A paste of salt and vinegar help clean tarnished brass or copper. If you spill wine or grape juice on your carpet you can cover the stain with salt to absorb much of the stain. Soaking washable fabrics in salt water will help remove many stubborn stains. Salt can be purchased in the spice section of your grocery store. Buy in bulk and save. For cleaning purposes use plain salt not iodized salt.
Cleaning With Baking Soda
Baking soda is one of the most versatile substances you can have in your home. It makes a wonderful mild abrasive for surfaces that you want to be careful not to scratch. Just make a paste of baking soda with water. You can use it instead of Comet or other abrasive cleaners for cleaning bathroom fixtures. It works well for cleaning spots off chrome and stainless steel. It can be added to your laundry as a booster (1/2 cup should work) to help clean really dirty clothing or fight odors. Baking soda can be purchased in the baking section at your grocery store. Look for two pound boxes or bags at big box stores to save money and have plenty of it around.
Cleaning With Borax
Borax is an effective ingredient in many cleaning recipes and also is a good laundry booster. Add one tablespoon of Borax to 1 quart of water and use it as a safe all-purpose cleaner. Dissolve 1/2 cup of borax in a sink full of water to clean delicate dishes like fine China. Follow the directions on the box to use it as a laundry booster. If you do construction or landscaping work and have really dirty work clothes adding Borax to your laundry helps a lot. Borax can be purchased in the laundry section at your local grocery store. Sweeten musty basement floors by sprinkling around on the concrete, let it sit for a while, then sweep up.
Cleaning With Washing Soda
Washing soda is often confused with baking soda but it's quite different. For starters, you don't bake with it! It's not edible. It is great as a laundry additive, to boost the cleaning of your detergent. You can make an effective scouring powder out of washing soda and baking soda. Mix 1/4 cup washing soda with 1 cup baking soda and use it as you would Comet or Ajax scouring powder. Washing soda can be purchased in the laundry aisle of your local grocery store.
Cleaning With Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen Peroxide works well for cleaning cuts, so it should be no surprise that it is effective for blood stains. It can have a bleaching effect so you will want to pretest it before applying it to a fabric stain. Keep a spray bottle of peroxide handy to tackle tough blood stains, even dried ones. For blood stains on carpet, pour peroxide directly on the stain and blot with clean cloth. Pretest this solution on a remnant. Hydrogen peroxide can be purchased in the first aid section of your local drug store or grocery store. Always keep a bottle on hand.

Freebie Friday

2006-06-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

Sign up now to get free samples, notepads, tattoos, and other fun stuff from Always Have a Happy Period. Just fill in the information below!
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Free gift from Simple Green
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I can't guarantee you'll get these samples. I just signed up for them today myself. With the exception of the Simple Green. This is for people that have heard their ad on the radio. I haven't so the "freebie code of ethics" prevents me from lying on the questionnaire.

A quick tip for those that want to sign up for freebies. Make a junk email address and use it solely for freebie offers, etc so your personal email inbox isn't slammed with spam.

Pirate's Booty?

2006-06-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hey,
Since I'm in a talkative mood today I thought I'd tell you about a snack that a blogging buddy found in her grocery stores health food aisle. Its called Pirate's Booty and its a caramel corn type of snack. Have you heard of this? I'm going to look for it at the grocery store, hopefully they'll have it. I'll post if I can find it and its good.

Thrifty Tip Thursday

2006-06-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

My tip today is to keep bottled water in your freezer and pull one out before you leave to go shopping, etc. As the day goes on the ice will melt and you'll have cold water for the whole trip and you won't have to stop at the gas station to by a drink.
Re-use your bottles to save even more.