Alana's Weekly Menus

Midwest BBQ Pasta Salad

2011-08-29T13:37:00.001-07:00

Here is the recipe everyone keeps requesting!!! I've made it a few times at weddings, showers, parties, etc. So here it is...

1lb dry Garden Rotini
3/4c BBQ sauce
2c chopped chicken (optional)
1/2 c bacon, cooked and chopped--or just use real bacon pieces
1/2 c bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c scallions, minced
1/2 c red onions, julienned
1/2 c cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese to taste

Cook rotini according to package directions. When pasta is "al dente" drain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking. Drain off excess water thoroughly. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss well. Season to taste with grated parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Serves 6-8

Bacon, Linguini and Tomato Toss

2011-08-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

12 slices bacon (use turkey for more healthy option), divided
4 cups chicken broth
2 cans (14.5oz) Italian Style diced tomatoes
1 med onion
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes, optional
12oz uncooked linguini pasta (whole wheat for a healthier option)
1/2 t salt
1 c loosely packed fresh parsley, divided (also optional)
4oz cream cheese (can use the low fat)
1oz parmesan cheese, grated

Slice bacon into 1/4 inch strips. Place into a skillet and cook over medium high heat 8-9 min until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet and drain on paper towels. Drain skillet leaving 1T bacon drippings in skillet.
Meanwhile, place broth and diced tomatoes in large micro cooker. Microwave, covered, on HIGH for 6-8 min or until hot. Finely chop onion. Return skillet to heat and add garlic and pepper flakes. Cook 10-20 seconds until fragrant. Add onion; cook 2-3 min or until tender. Carefully add broth mixture, pasta, half of the bacon and salt. Simmer, covered 9-10 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm, stirring occasionally.
Finely chop parsley, reserve 1T for garnish. Cut cream cheese into cubes. Grate parmesan. Cut grape tomatoes in half, if using. Remove skillet from heat and stir in remaining parsley, cream cheese and grape tomatoes, if desired. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes or until pasta is tender and sauce is thickened. Serve with remaining bacon, parmesan cheese and reserved parsley.

Alana's Weekly Menus

2011-08-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

Alana's Weekly Menus: I know that now's the time when everyone's getting back into the swing of things with school starting back up and along with that comes Football and fall baseball. That's no excuse to feed your kids through a different drive-thru everynight (guilty of this). I can give you some great recipes and really good hints to make your life a little easier and still have time to sit down and feed your family a good meal. Statistics show that kids that sit down with their family at dinnertime are more likely to talk to their parents about sensitive situations, get better grades, less depressed, and less likely to do drugs and alcohol. All too often family meals are the first thing to get squeezed out of a family's hectic schedule. Even if you're picking up a pizza coming home from dance or football, come home and sit down at the table and eat it together. This is something that your kids will remember and you'll be amazed at how better you'll feel about yourself too!

Sorry, I just had to get serious for a moment. Now, on to some yummy recipes.

Kentucky Derby Pie Recipe - Food.com - 336902

2010-11-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

Kentucky Derby Pie - has been in the family for years. Makes a great pie for the holidays!!

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup pecans or 3/4 cup walnuts
9 inches unbaked pie shells

Directions:Prep Time: 10 minsTotal Time: 55 mins1
Combine all ingredients and mix with fork.
2 Bake in pie crust at 350 for 45 minutes, or until brown on top.

Chicken Casserole with Green Beans and Wild Rice Mixture - Chicken Casserole Recipe

2010-11-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

Delicious Chicken Casserole Recipe!! If you've never had it its very good. I don't always use the pimientos and water chestnuts and it's equally delicious!

Chicken Casserole with Green Beans and Wild Rice Mixture - Chicken Casserole Recipe:
3 cups cooked, diced chicken
1 package Uncle Ben's Wild and White Rice, cooked
1 can cream of celery soup
1 med. size jar sliced pimiento
1 med. onion, chopped
1 can French-style green beans, drained
1 cup mayonnaise
1 can water chestnuts, diced
salt & pepper to taste
grated cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together then pour into buttered 3-quart casserole. Spread grated cheese over top. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes.
Chicken and green bean casserole serves 8."

2010-08-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

One of my great time-saving tips comes in handy this week. On Sunday, cook up 5lbs or so of ground beef or ground turkey (whichever you'll be using this week). Divide it into 1lb portions and put in ziploc bags and freeze. You will use these later on in a few of my recipes. Goes right into the crock pot frozen!!

Easy Steak and Gravy

4 pieces of cube steak
1 cup flour
1t seasoned salt
1t peper
1 can cream of mushroom soup or golden mushroom soup
1 small jar sliced mushrooms
1 cup water

Put flour into a quart size ziploc bag; add seasonings. Add steak one or two pieces at a time and shake the bag to coat. Place steak in the crockpot. Add soup, mushrooms and water. Place crockpot on low and cook for 8 hours. The steak comes out very tender and the flour on the meat mixes with the soup to make it's own gravy. This is great with rice. Add a biscuit and some peas and you've got dinner!

Creamy Italian Chicken

3lbs chicken
2T melted butter
salt and peper to taste
2T dry Italian Seasoning mix
1 can cream of mushroom
8oz cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 c dry white wine or chicken broth
1T chopped onion, optional

Brush the chicken with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in slow cooker and sprinkle seasoning over all. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. About 45 minutes befor its done, mix the soup, cream cheese, wine, and onion in a small saucepan. Cook until bubbly and smooth. Pour over hte chicken and cover and cook 30-45 min longer. (you can also add a can of mushrooms here) Serve over hot buttered noodles or rice. Serve with a salad and you've got dinner!

Easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork

1/2 c Ketchup
1/3 c worcestershire sauce
1/3 c apple cider vinegar
1T ground mustard
1T garlic powder
1/2 t paprika
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2t liquid smoke
dash red chili pepper flakes
pinch salt and pepper
1 med sweet onion, chopped
3lb pork shoulder, trimmed of fat

Combine all ingredients except for onion and pork into crockpot. Whisk all ingredients until well blended. Place pork and onions into mixture, coating both sides of meat. Cook for 8-10 hours under low cook setting. After meat is cooked, remove from slow cooker and plate to break apart with fork. If meat has any bones, discard at this time. Place meat back into the warm sauce to reheat. Serve on hamburger buns or kaiser rolls.
Great with coleslaw on top!!
You can also not make your own sauce and buy your favorite bottled BBQ sauce, pour over the pork shoulder and cook 8-10 hours.

Alana's Crock Pot Roast

I like to use a shoulder roast but sometimes they're hard to comeby. If so, you can always use a chuck roast. Take the roast, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Put in crockpot. Pour a can cream of mushroom over the top. Fill the can up with water, pour over roast. At this time, youc an add chopped onion, carrots, and potatoes. If you're short on time canned will work fine. If not, add fresh baby carrots, 2 whole potatoes, diced. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. If should be falling apart. Great for a main course just add some veggies. The next day, you can take the leftovers in the form of a roast beef sandwich, yummy!

Ideas for your frozen hamburger meat...

Sloppy Joes
Spaghetti-
Beef Stroganoff
Chili

August 26, 2010

2010-08-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

I know that now's the time when everyone's getting back into the swing of things with school starting back up and along with that comes Football and fall baseball. That's no excuse to feed your kids through a different drive-thru everynight (guilty of this). I can give you some great recipes and really good hints to make your life a little easier and still have time to sit down and feed your family a good meal. Statistics show that kids that sit down with their family at dinnertime are more likely to talk to their parents about sensitive situations, get better grades, less depressed, and less likely to do drugs and alcohol. All too often family meals are the first thing to get squeezed out of a family's hectic schedule. Even if you're picking up a pizza coming home from dance or football, come home and sit down at the table and eat it together. This is something that your kids will remember and you'll be amazed at how better you'll feel about yourself too!

Sorry, I just had to get serious for a moment. Now, on to some yummy recipes.

2010-08-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been awhile. It seems like after Easter, T-ball started up then we had dance rehearsals and recitals and then school was getting out and then summer came. We spent lots of great times at the lake with some great friends. Now that school has started back so has the menu/supper planning. I will soon be posting some of my new favorite recipes back on my blog. Please tell me what you think! See you soon...in the kitchen :)

Black and White Cookies Recipe With Picture - Joyofbaking.com Tested Recipe

2010-04-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Black and White Cookies Recipe With Picture - Joyofbaking.com *Tested Recipe*

Chocolate Crinkles Recipe With Picture - Joyofbaking.com Tested Recipe

2010-04-06T16:56:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Crinkles Recipe With Picture - Joyofbaking.com *Tested Recipe*

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL

2010-04-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone had a great Easter holiday. My family and I had a great time with family especially since my brother was home from the Navy and my son Kyle is here for spring break. We had the traditional Easter lunch with all of our favs including Grandmama's hen and dressing, green beans and corn. I brought roasted veggies, squash casserole, broccoli salad, spinach deviled eggs, oreo cheesecake, kiwi lime cups and chocolate covered strawberries. My mother brought a layered salad, a strawberry pretzel salad and a carrot cake. My aunt brought ham and chicken. My sister brought mac and cheese. One cousin brought mashed potatoes and another cousin brought rolls and drinks. Everything was sooo delicious. Our family is so spoiled! I am so happy and blessed that we are able to get together and have such a nice time. I think we're up in the 30's now! WoW!! My grandparents are so brave to have all of us come to their house!

I just ran across a few recipes I wanted to share. I think we will be having at least one of these this week. Yummy!

White Cheese Chicken Lasagna

9 lasagna noodles 1t dried basil
1 onion, chopped 1t dried oregano
1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 t ground black pepper
1/2 c all purpose flour 2C ricotta cheese
1 t salt 2C cubed cooked chicken
2C chicken broth 2 (10oz) pkgs chopped spinach, thawed &
1-1/2 C milk drained
4C shredded mozzarella cheese, divided 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1C grated parmesan cheese, divided 1/4C grated parmesan for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and the milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Season with basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach and the remaining 2 c mozzarella cheese and 1/2 c parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
Bake 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven.

Sloppy Joes

3lbs ground beef or turkey, browned
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1T worchestershire sauce
1t chili powder
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t garlic powder
sandwich rolls.

Combine all. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours in crock pot or on high 3-4 hours. Serve on top of sandwich rolls.

Carraba's Chicken Marsala

4T of butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breas halves
4 shallots, chopped fine
1/2 lb of mushrooms, sliced
1/4c dry marsala
1/2c heavy cream
1t lemon juice

Pound chicken breasts to even out thickness and lightly salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, saute chicken in 2T of melted butter until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side.
Remove from pan and set aside.
Melt remaining butter in a pan and add shallots and mushrooms; cook until lightly browned.
Add Marsala and bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan. Add cream and lemon juice and return to a boil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Return chicken to pan for about 3 minutes to reheat and finish cooking.
Serve with buttered fettucini.

Here's the Strawberry Pecan Bread Recipe!!

2010-03-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

2 pkgs frozen strawberries, 10oz each, thawed and drained

4 eggs

1-1/4C vegetable oil

3C all purpose flour

2C sugar

3teaspoon cinnamon

1teaspoon baking soda

1teaspoon salt

1C chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 (9x5 inch) loaf pans; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, combine strawberries, eggs and oil; stir to mix well. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and pecans. Add strawberry mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Pour into loaf pans; bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely.

This week's sales

2010-01-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

INGLES has triple coupons this week!!!!! gather all of your $.50 or less coupons and go to town!!!

Pepsi 12 pk cans 4/$10
Edy's Ice Cream $2.48--there are $1 coupons that came in the mail today
Mueller's Pasta BOGO--$1.38/2--stock up!
Ragu Pasta sauces BOGO--$2.48/2--stock up!
Keebler's Chips Deluxe cookies BOGO--$3.95/2
Post Kid's Cereals BOGO--$3.26/2--there are $1/2 coupons out there.
Huggies, Pullups boxes $18.88--use coupons with this deal
Land O Lakes spreadable butter BOGO--$1.92/2
Uncle Ben's Rice 6oz BOGO--$1.25/2
Sorrento or String cheese snacks BOGO--$3.98/2
Hefty easy grip cups BOGO--$2.78/2
Hefty one zip bags BOGO--$2.48/2--look for coupons on the boxes in the store
M & M's 12.6oz-14oz BOGO-2/$5
Pillsbury refrigerated baked goods-$1--use your coupons!! Get these as low as $.25 each!
Jose Ole Taquitos $3.98--use your coupons from the Sunday papers
Steak-umm's 32oz BOGO 2/$8.98
Carolina Pride BOGO 2/$2.98

PUBLIX
Oscar Mayer Beef Franks BOGO 2/$3.99
Juicy Juice 46oz BOGO
Pace Salsa BOGO 2/$2.79
Eight O'Clock coffee BOGO 2/$4.99
Kraft BBQ Sauce BOGO 2/$1.54
Progresso Soup 4/$5
Gatorade 32oz $1
Ronzoni Pasta BOGO 2/$1.29
Post Cereal BOGO 2/$3.89--use your coupons
Prego Italian Sauce BOGO 2/$2.07
Knorr Sides BOGO 2/$1.49
Aquafina 24pk $3.99
Pepperidge Farm whole grain bread BOGO 2/$3.69
General Mills Chex Mix BOGO 2/$2.49
Keebler Club Crackers BOGO 2/$3.99
Mars Candy Bars 25ct box BOGO 2/$14.99
nabisco honey maid grahams BOGO 2/$3.99
Emerald mixed nuts BOGO 2/$5.79
Pop Secret popcorn BOGO 2/$4.69
Entenmann's Little Bites BOGO 2/$3.99
Farm Rich Mozzarella sticks BOGO 2/$7.69--coupons
Stouffer's french bread pizza BOGO 2/$2.99
YoPlus yogurt BOGO 2/$2.50
Pillsbury toaster strudels BOGO 2/$2.49
Hungry Man Dinners BOGO 2/$3.59
Sargento shredded cheese 2/$4
Solo plastic cups or plates BOGO 2/$4.99
Glade Candles BOGO 2/$3.49
Tombstone pizzas $2.99

In the publix sales flyer there is a $3 off a box of Huggies coupon.

Store Deals this week!

2010-01-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

Take your Kmart sales ad to WalMart or Target and get 12pk Scott toilet tissue for $5.49--use $1 off coupons getting it for $4.49---smoking hot DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!

CVS
Pesi 12pks are 6/$20--get $10 extra care bucks on 6, so you'll essentially get 6/$10!
Pampers cruisers $8.88--use any coupons you might have
Dawn $.96
Glade Fabric & Air $3.99--get $3 extra care bucks=$.99
Smooth Away B1G1-$9.99--use your $1.50 off and get 2 for $8.49
M&M's big bags 2/$5--get $2 in extra care bucks=2/$3--Tues only
Pantene $4.99-$2 in extra care bucks=$2.99-use your $1/off 2 coupons

WALGREENS
DayQuil or NyQuil $5
-buy $15 worth, get $5 back
-buy $20 worth, get $10 back-----use your $3 off coupon
Flipz $1.50
Tropicana OJ 2/$6--get $1 register reward, use your $1/2 coupon as well
Scotch tape (packing or masking) B1G1 ($3.29) use your $1 off coupons
Duracell 24pk AA or AAA $8.99-use your $1 off coupons
Curel or Jergens lotion 2/$12--$5 back in register rewards=2/$7 less your coupons
Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences and Aussie $5.99 $2 in register rewards + manufacturer coupons
Cover Girl, B1G1--use $1/ off of one product
Pampers Jumbo 2/$10, $3 in register rewards =2/$17--use any coupons you have for Pampers

KROGER
Herbal Essences shampoo $2.77-use $1 off coupon
Huggies jumbo pack $8.88-use your $1 off coupons
B1G1 Nature's Bounty vitamins-use your $1 off coupons
B1G1 sundown vitamins-use your $1 off coupons-get 1 1/2 price and use coupons
Hot pockets/lean pockets $1.78
Gatorade 10/$10--there are some $1 off coupons out there
Gain and Cheer detergent $4.99
Cheetos or Fritos 3/$4
Boneless skinless chicken breas $1.79lb
Ground Chuck $1.99lb

This week's savings

2010-01-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

PUBLIX
If you are a member of the Publix baby club, you should've gotten a $10 off 2 boxes of Huggies diapers coupon. Well, this is the week to use it! Publix has the box of Huggies diapers for $19.99-use your Huggies manufacturer coupons (I happen to have 2 coupons for $3 off each pkg). Scenario: If you buy two boxes of Huggies diapers for $19.99 each, that's $39.98, then you hand them your coupons totalling $16, you will pay $23 for two boxes of diapers!! Also, I had a coupon for a free tub of Huggies wipes when you buy a bag or box of Huggies diapers, so I got that for free too.

Juicy Juice is BOGO
Propel Water is BOGO
Entenmann's Little Bites BOGO
Keebler 100 Calorie Right Bites BOGO--use your $.75 off coupon
Perdue Chicken Breast Short Cuts $3--use your $.75 off coupon
Teddy Grahams are BOGO
Jello 6pk pudding $2.00--use your $.35 coupon, doubling it making it $.70 off
Pillsbury ready to bake cookies $2--use your $1/2 coupon
Totinos frozen pizzas 4/$5--use your $1/5 coupon
Pepsi 6pk 240z 4/$10---in the Publix sales flyer, there's a coupon for a free Publix reusable shopping bag when you spend $10--so buy 4 of these get a free bag!
Boca Bugers $2--use your $1/2 coupon
Ken's salad dressings BOGO--use your $1/2 coupon
Boneless, skinless chicken breast is $1.99lb

2010-01-12T05:19:00.000-08:00

This week's recipes are some new favorites as well as some classics. Enjoy! I got a few of them from this website:
http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/Copycat.html

Fontina Mushroom Bruschette like Carrabba's®Serves : 3-6
Prep. Time : 0:30
6 mushrooms - sliced thin
1 Tbls. butter
1/4 cup butter - softened
4 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
(6) 1/2" slices Italian OR French bread
6 slices Fontina cheese - trimmed to fit bread slices
extra virgin olive oil - to top
julienne fresh basil - to top
-Saute mushrooms in 1 Tbls. butter until soft, drain liquid from pan, and set aside.
-Mix 1/4 cup butter with garlic and garlic powder.
-Spread butter mixture over bread slices.
-Place a slice of fontina on each piece of bread.
-Spoon sauteed mushrooms over each slice of fontina.
-Place bread on a cookie sheet and bake in a 500 degree oven for 4 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
-Remove from oven and drizzle olive oil over tops.
-Sprinkle basil over top.

Chicken Divan
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen broccoli, chopped
6 cup shredded chicken, cooked
2 (10 3/4 -ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoon butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the outer wrappers from the boxes of broccoli. Open one end of each box. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes, until thawed. Drain the broccoli and put into a casserole dish. Add the shredded chicken.
In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, cheddar cheese, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, and wine. Whisk together to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and chicken. Mix well with a spatula.
Place the mixture into an 11x7-inch casserole dish or two 9-inch square disposable aluminum foil pans that have been sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray. Pat down evenly and smooth with a spatula. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle over the top.
Bake for about 30-45 minutes.
Cook’s Note: Try topping with cheddar or gruyere cheese.
PD & Friends, 68
Recipe Courtesy Paula Deen
Servings: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Difficulty: Easy

Paula’s Pizza Dough
5 cup All Purpose Flour
2 pkgs Active Dry Yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoon salt
2 cup water, warm
Directions
In a standing mixer with a hook attachment, place the warm water, yeast and sugar and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Allow to sit until yeast begins to foam. Add flour and salt and mix the dough until it is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Drizzle half of the remaining olive oil over the top of the dough. Turn the dough over in the bowl cover and allow it to rise to approximately twice it’s size. (about an hour)
Punch the dough down and pour out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead again. Place it back in a bowl and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Turn over, cover and allow to rise a second time. After it has risen, punch it down again. It is now ready to roll out for your pizzas!

Philly Cheesesteak Pizza
1 med. onion - sliced
1 med. green bell pepper - sliced
8 oz. mushrooms - sliced
1 Tbls. olive oil
8 oz. roast beef - shaved
3 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 recipe pizza dough—make your own or buy premade store bought crusts
3 Tbls. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
4 cups shredded provolone cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-Saute vegetables in olive oil until limp; add roast beef.
-Cook for three more minutes.
-Add Worchestershire sauce and pepper; stir and remove from heat.
-Set aside.
-Brush prepared dough with olive oil and spread crushed garlic over entire surface of dough.
-Top with a light layer of shredded cheese, then meat and vegetable mixture, distributing evenly.
-Top with remaining shredded cheese, then Parmesan.
-Bake in 500 degree oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.
-Let sit 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas like Chi-Chi's®Serves : 8
Prep. Time : 0:45
1 sm. onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 Tbls. vegetable oil OR butter OR margarine
2 cups salsa
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken OR turkey
(8) 12" flour tortilla
1 cup canned refried beans
non-stick cooking spray - as needed
-In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté onion and garlic in oil/butter until tender; stir in salsa, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and salt; fold in chicken/turkey; remove from heat and set aside.
-Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon 2 Tablespoons of beans down the center of each tortilla; top with a scant 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture.
-Fold the top and bottom of the tortillas toward the center, then roll up the sides.
-Secure with wooden toothpicks or pieces of spaghetti noodles if necessary.
-Place chimichangas in a 13" X 9" X 2" baking pan, seam side down.
-Spray all sides of the chimichangas with a light coating of cooking spray.
-Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, turning after 10 minutes.
Notes : Serve with sour cream and guacamole.

Stuffed Peppers Casserole
Serves : 4
Prep. Time : 1:15
1 Lb. ground beef OR turkey
2 Tbls. chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup cooked rice
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
(2) 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
3 med. green bell peppers - seeded, sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
-Brown meat, onion, and chopped peppers in skillet, stirring occasionally.
-Drain off fat.
-Stir in rice, salt, garlic salt, and 1 can of tomato sauce; heat through.
-Spray a 9" X 9" X 3" baking pan with cooking spray and line with 1/2 the sliced peppers.
-Pour half of meat mixture over peppers.
-Layer remaining sliced peppers on top of meat mixture.
-Pour remaining meat mixture on top.
-Pour remaining tomato sauce over meat mixture.
-Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
-Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
-Sprinkle with cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes

Sticky Fingers like Winger's®1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbls. honey
2 tsp. hot sauce (more or less as desired)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
12 - 16 oz. box frozen breaded chicken tenders
-In a saucepan over low heat, combine all ingredients, except chicken. Warm sauce, stirring occasionally, while you cook the chicken.
-Prepare chicken as directed on package in the oven.
-Toss chicken in sauce and remove with a slotted spoon to a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
-Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 - 7 minutes, or until sauce thickens and becomes sticky.
-Serve chicken with remaining sauce on the side for dipping.
Notes: These chicken strips also taste great when prepared in a quesadilla. You can also use this sauce to coat chicken wings.

Christmas Goodies

2009-12-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well...It's that time again whether you're ready for it or not. Candy making, waist watching, mall crowds, family outings, Christmas pageants, parties, doctor's offices, runny noses, etc. But in light it's still time to make time to slow things down. Life is short no matter how we look at it. Spend your time wisely but have fun while doing it. Be glad in it. Jesus is the reason for the season and we should thank him every day for what we have. I love Christmas because it means togetherness and laughter. I will have the best Christmas I can this year and I hope you do too. I'm going to share with you some of my "secret" candy recipes. I make candy trays every year. I think last year I did almost 60 candy trays! So...if you'd like to venture out on your own, give some of these a try. It's just not Christmas to me without the smell of butter and sugar ;)

http://www.corndawgs.com/ Visit this website. They had a cornmaze for halloween, now they have a winterwonderland with ice skating, real reindeer, kiddie train and more. It's in Walnut Grove near Loganville.

Here's a link for $11 off at Lake Lanier Lights...it's gorgeous but it can be quite expensive...to the tune of about $40 a car if you go during the weekend.

http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-bargain-hunter/2009/11/13/save-11-on-lake-lanier-holiday-lights-callaway-gardens-special-5-off-a-christmas-carol/

Stone Mountain Park is also really pretty at Christmas. This is a great deal. It's a Family Christmas 4 pack of tickets for $109. If there's more than 4 in your family, to add an extra person on is $28. These tickets will get you one meal at one of the three popular resturants there, the Christmas snow angel show, the fireworks display, The Polar Express 4-D show which is magnificent, Christmas parade nightly, live entertainment, sing-a-long Christmas train, over 2 million lights.unlimited hot chocolate and much more. By the way, you can only purchase these online. Otherwise, Kroger has discount tickets available but I don't think they're good for the Christmas time.

http://www.stonemountainpark.com/offers-packages/default.aspx?id=231

Fantasy Fudge recipe from Kraft

1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine

2/3 c evaporated milk (that's the small can)

3c sugar

1c nuts, optional

1t vanilla

12oz chocolate chips (you can use peanut butter chips, vanilla chips, etc--whichever flavor you prefer)

1 jar of Marshmallow Creme

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter, milk and sugar over med heat. Bring to a full rolling boil for 4 1/2 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and immediately add chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, nuts and vanilla. Stir until completely smooth. Pour into a greased or foil lined 9 x 13 baking sheet. Cool at room temperature. Cut into squares. Makes about 3 pounds.

Date Nut Balls

2 sticks butter or margarine

1 c sugar

8oz pkg chopped dates

1c chopped pecans

2c Rice Krispies

powdered sugar

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and nuts and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add nuts and Rice Krispies. Allow it to cool long enough so that it's easily handled. Roll into 1 inch balls and then into powdered sugar.

Chocolate Covered Oreos

1 package of Oreo Cookies

1 package of white almond bark

Melt almond bark in a glass microwavable bowl for about 2 minutes. Stop it at 1 minute and stir to prevent burning. When all smooth, dip oreos into the chocolate with a fork. Shake off excess and place on waxed paper. Let cool at room temperature or put on a a waxed lined cookie sheet if you're in a hurry :)

Chocolate Covered Ritz with Peanut Butter

1 Package of Ritz crackers

peanut butter

1 package of white almond bark

Make ritz cracker and peanut butter sandwiches..follow the above instructions for the chocolate. Super easy!!

Here's the recipe for the Strawberry Pecan Bread I baked last night. It's very very good!

http://southernfood.about.com/od/quickbreadrecipes/r/bln540.htm

It's Holiday Cooking Time!!

2009-11-17T19:06:00.001-08:00

I'd like to share some of my favorite holiday recipes with you guys even though some people say you should keep some recipes "to yourself". Not me...I like to share. So, I've picked out a couple of holiday favorites that are usually requested alot!!

Squash Casserole

6 cups sliced or diced fresh squash (you can also use canned squash)

1 large onion

1/2 stick butter

1/2 c sour cream

1t house seasoning*

1 c cheddar cheese

1 c crushed Ritz crackers

Boil the squash until tender-about 15 min. Saute onion in butter in medium skillet over med heat until translucent. When the squash is done, pour into a colander and use the back of the spoon to squeeze out the excess moisture. Mix all ingredients together, place in a buttered casserole dish. Place a few more Ritz cracker crumbs mixed with a tablespoon or two of butter on top and bake for 20-25 minutes. *this is Paula Deen's mixture of 1c salt, 1/4 c pepper, and 1/4 c garlic powder-keep in container for later use.

*this is also good using squash and zucchini together.

Broccoli Casserole

2 (10oz) boxes frozen broccoli, chopped, cooked and drained

1 c mayonnaise

1 c cheddar cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 c crushed ritz

2 T melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray or butter a 13 x 9 casserole dish. Combine all but the crackers and the butter. Place the buttered crackers over the mixture. Bake 35 min or until set.

Allie's Mac & Cheese--this is a tried and true recipe-it's delicious but a tad time consuming. But, boy is it worth it!!!

8 oz elbow macaroni

5T butter

5T all purpose flour

1 quart warm milk, 110 degrees

salt & pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1/4lb cubed ham (I usually omit this)

5oz cubed cheddar cheese

5oz cubed monterey jack cheese

5oz cubed mozzarella cheese

paprika to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 13 x 9 casserole. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add macaroni. Cook 8-10 min. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and flour to make a roux. Cook 1 to 2 min stirring constantly. (If you don't, this will burn very easy) Slowly whisk in milk a little at a time to make a white sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Mix in salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses and ham. Combine pasta with sauce and stir well. Pour into buttered casserole dish. Use paprika to make a decorative pattern on top. Bake 45-60 min until golden on top. Let rest 20 minutes before serving.

Red Velvet Cookies--a new favorite!!

1 red velvet cake mix

1/3 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

cream cheese frosting

Mix until it forms a dough. Roll into walnut sized balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Let cool, then spread the flat side with cream cheese frosting and top with another cookie.

Vegetable Lasagna in Parmesan Cream Sauce recipe at Kraftfoods.com

2009-11-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

Vegetable Lasagna in Parmesan Cream Sauce recipe at Kraftfoods.com: "Vegetable Lasagna in Parmesan Cream Sauce PrintAdd to My Recipe BoxAdd to
Shopping List Send to a FriendRate Recipe Prep Time: 40 min Total Time: 1 hr 40 min Makes: 9 servings What You Need3 Tbsp. butter or margarine 2 Tbsp. flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne) 2 cups milk 1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese 2 Tbsp. oil 3 cups chopped broccoli 1 cup shredded carrots 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cup chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups POLLY-O Original Ricotta Cheese 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 9 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained 3 cups POLLY-O Pizza Shreds 4 Cheese Blend, divided Make ItPREHEAT oven to 375°F. Melt butter in medium saucepan on low heat. Stir in flour, salt and ground red pepper; cook 2 min. or until bubbly, stirring frequently. Gradually add milk, stirring until well blended. Cook on medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 min. Stir in Parmesan cheese; set aside.
HEAT oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, onions and garlic; cook and stir 4 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender; set aside. Mix ricotta cheese and basil.
SPOON 1/4 cup of the Parmesan sauce into 12x8-inch baking dish; cover with layers of 3 of the noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture, 1/3 of the vegetable mixture, 1 cup of the pizza shreds and 1/3 of the remaining Parmesan sauce. Repeat layers of noodles, ricotta cheese mixture, vegetable mixture, pizza shreds and Parmesan sauce. Top with remaining 3 noodles, remaining Parmesan sauce, remaining vegetable mixture and remaining 1 cup pizza shreds; cover.
BAKE 55 min. Uncover. Bake an additional 5 min. or until hot and bubbly."

Mexican Chicken Casserole recipe at Kraftfoods.com

2009-11-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

Mexican Chicken Casserole recipe at Kraftfoods.com: "3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 green pepper, chopped 1-1/2 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa 2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed 1 can (15 oz.) no-salt-added black beans, drained, rinsed 1 tomato, chopped 2 whole wheat tortillas (6 inch) 1/2 cup KRAFT Mexican Style 2% Milk Finely Shredded Four Cheese, divided Make It!HEAT oven to 375ºF.
COOK and stir chicken and cumin in nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat 2 min. Add peppers; cook 2 min., stirring occasionally. Stir in salsa; cook 2 min. Add Neufchatel; cook 2 min. or until melted. Stir in beans and tomatoes.
SPOON 1/3 of chicken mixture into 8-inch square baking dish; cover with 1 tortilla and half each of the remaining chicken mixture and shredded cheese. Top with remaining tortilla and chicken mixture; cover.
BAKE 20 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese; bake, uncovered, 5 min. or until melted."

2009-09-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

The store www.6pm.com is having a huge sale. You can get real UGG boots, shoes, sandals as well as other designer shoes for up to 75% off. Check it out. Shipping is just $6.95!! The sale is this week only. Thanks Frugal Coupon Living!!
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www.footballamerica.com is also having a great sale just in time for football season. You can get a college football beanie (they have Georgia left--go DAWGS) with free shipping!! They also have hats, visors, apparel on sale. Use the code on the home page and get 10% off everything. Check it out! www.baseballexp.com is having the same sale. Baseball pants for $7.19-free shipping!
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If you haven't signed up for your free Blockbuster.com 6 week trial, do it!! Be sure to use the coupon code "groupon". If you don't want to continue your service after the 6 weeks, just cancel. It's that easy. Nothing to pay for--really! I signed up and 2 days later got my 2 movies. Just this weekend we watched 2 blockbuster.com movies and 1 redbox movie--all for free. If you haven't signed up at redbox.com, go there and sign up for their free movie mondays and they'll text you a code for a free movie every monday!! We watched " I Love You Man"--recommended, it's really funny. "Adventureland"--it's okay. "Sunshine Cleaning"--it's okay too. We also watched "The House on the Left"--it's really good. Scary and suspenseful.
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My menu this week will include some of my Pampered Chef dishes seeing as we have dance and T-Ball every day of the week. If you haven't invested in my Deep Covered Baker, you really should! This dish is going to save you so much time and money--it will pay for itself in no time. This month you can get it for as low as $27.60--it's regularly $69! Visit my website today. wwww.pamperedchef.biz/alanaskitchen

Southwestern Meatloaf

Serve with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob! Yummy!

Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco

Serve with bruschetta and a side salad!

Mexican Chicken Lasagna

Serve with mexican rice!

Lastly we'll be having grilled turkey burgers with roasted sweet potato fries.

Deals this week & Chinese Recipes! Yum!

2009-08-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

I've had some people ask me where I get my coupons...here are some of my sources.
www.coupons.com
www.redplum.com
www.afullcup.com -this one has alot of Target coupons
www.couponmom.com
www.coupongeek.net
www.frugalcouponliving.com
www.retailmenot.com --this is a good website for online codes and promo codes if you're ordering online i.e.--I never pay full price for pizza anymore. Just go to this website and search for Papa John's or whatever kind of pizza you want and you can usually find a really good code. This month's code is ATLBOGO--put that up top where it says promo code and you'll get buy one get one free pizza! 2 pizzas for $15 not bad.

You can also go on www.publix.com and click on their link for coupons. www.ingles-markets.com also has a link for their coupons. You just have to look around and be prepared BEFORE you go venturing to get the best deals. Yesterday at Publix I spent $40 and saved $79!! You can do it too! Some of these websites above require you downloading the coupon printer but it enables you to print coupons right from your printer at home and they usually scan at the stores.
I also get the AJC on Sundays and clip coupons. The Gwinnett Daily Paper has a Sunday paper as well with coupons (just sometimes not as many).
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Old Navy has kids jeans for $10 this week!!!

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Okay, now on to the good stuff.

I was walking today and started smelling Chinese food and this is why I'm posting these recipes. Tonight I believe we are having one of these! Yummy! These are great served with frozen eggrolls if you don't have time to make your own. I also make crab rangoons sometimes to go with these. I'll post that recipe too--it's super easy!!

Sesame Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder

Wash the chicken breasts and pat dry. Sprinkle with seasonings and drizzle with olive oil. Bake on a baking sheet or pampered chef stone ;) at 350 degrees for 35-45 min depending on how thick the chicken is. When it's done, let it cool slightly so it'll be easier to cut.

For the sauce:
1 c chicken broth
1 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 c water
1/8 c vinegar
2T soy sauce
2T sesame oil
1 t chile paste (sometimes I don't have this, so I'll leave it out)
1 clove of minced garlic

In a saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch, stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, get the sauce and the rice ready!

Slice chicken into thin strips and serve with white or brown rice and drizzle with sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Yummy!

Roasted broccoli (or steamed) is really good with this too. To roast broccoli, just put the washed and dried broccoli on a baking sheet and drizzle it with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake until it begins to get a little brown.

Pineapple Chicken

I roast the chicken just like in the above recipe.

For the sauce, it's a can of pineapple tidbits, brown sugar, soy sauce, cornstarch.
In a saucepan, drain the pineapple juice into the pan, Add 1/2c brown sugar, 2T soy sauce, some minced garlic (if you like) and stir in a few tablespoons cornstarch. This should get thick--just taste and adjust as you go. I don't have the exacts because I usually just do it as I go without measuring anything, so you'll have to do the same:) Add in the pineapple in the end and serve over the chicken. Great with rice.

Another recipe is to do the same as the above but use mandarin oranges, reserving the juice to use as the sauce base and then adding the oranges in last.

CRAB RANGOONS

1 pkg egg roll wrappers (found in the produce section)
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 can crab meat, drained (where the canned meat is)
1/4 c red onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1T Worchestershire sauce
Oil for frying

Mix cream cheese, crab meat, onion, garlic, and w.sauce in a bowl. Take one eggroll wrapper at a time and place about 1t of crab mixture in the middle. Wet edges with water, fold over making a triangle. Fry immediately in hot oil or the eggroll wrappers will dry out. Fry until golden, will only take 1-2 min depending on how hot the oil is. If you have a deep fryer, the oil needs to be around 350 degrees. If you're frying them on the stove in a pan, you can see the oil get a little shimmery--then it's ready. You'll just need to turn them to get both sides golden.

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My PUBLIX picks

Eat Smart veggies 3/$5
Squash is $.99/lb
Cantaloupe is $2
Grapes $1.29/lb
Strawberries and blueberries 2/$4
Publix rotisserie chicken $4.99
Taco Bell dinner kits BOGO
Cheez It's BOGO
Nature's Own bread BOGO
Dove Chocolate BOGO
Fiber One yogurt BOGO
YoPlait You plus BOGO
Kozy Shack pudding BOGO
Velveeta cheese BOGO
Edward's pie singles BOGO
Weight Watchers smart ones 4/$10
Egg Waffles $2
Tombstone pizza BOGO
Green Giant frozen veggies BOGO
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream BOGO
Cole's Garlic Bread BOGO
Purina Beggin Strips BOGO
Lysol BOGO
Febreze 2/$5
Juice Juice is BOGO
Hebrew National hotdogs are BOGO

Winder and Publix deals 8-12

2009-08-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

PUBLIX--just my picks

Extra Large White Shrimp $5.99/lb
Ronzoni Pasta BOGO (up to $1.29)
Barilla Pasta sauce BOGO (up to $2.75)
Simply Potatoes mashed potatoes BOGO ($2.59)
Blue Bell ice cream $3.99
Totino's party pizza 10/$10--there's $1/5 off coupons floating around
Lender's Bagels BOGO ($1.99)-use $1 off coupons making them FREE
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers 4/$10--use coupons
Publix old fashioned lemondade-gallons BOGO ($2.99)
Kellogg's cereals BOGO--great to use with the Kellogg's fuel for school reward
8pk Gatorade $4.99
Hormel canned chicken breast BOGO ($3.39)
General Mills Cereal BOGO--use your $1/2 coupons
Knorr sides BOGO ($1.49)-use coupons
Capri sun $2
Boxes of teddy grahams BOGO ($2.99)
Keebler chips deluxe BOGO ($3.99)-coupons
Frito lay variety pack 24ct $5.99
Arnolds' bread BOGO
Entenmann's donuts BOGO
Keebler Town House crackers BOGO
Master Lock combination locks BOGO ($4.99)
Flinstones vitamins $4.79
3.5lb Beneful dogfood BOGO ($5.49) coupons available
Pantene hair products 3/$10--use $1/1 coupons
Huggies baby wipes, 40ct BOGO
There's a $3 off box of Huggies diapers coupon in the Publix circular--use with your $3 off Huggies coupon and your Publix coupon for free Huggies wipes..box of diapers and tub of wipes for $13.99!!
Schick quattro power razor or 4ct cartridges BOGO ($10.99)--use with $4 off coupons!
Hamburger helper $.99-use $.75/3 coupon
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This Saturday at the Winder Sonic is customer appreciation day and everything on the menu (excluding the $1 menu) is 1/2 OFF!! from 8am-8pm

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The new Super Cuts at the new Target in Bethlehem is having a special--1/2 off all haircuts. Worth checking out if you need one!!

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Today at Arby's--their Wednesday freebie is:

Free Roast Chicken Club w/purchase of soft drink

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Great Back to School Savings this week! 8-10

2009-08-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Publix ends tomorrow...sorry I was late guys--still got time to catch some great deals though.
I went today, the penny coupon was a frozen Publix pizza (regularly $4.79). Also this week only if you buy theirs, get ours free! Example if you buy Kellogg's Nutri Grain bars, you'll get publix fruit and grain cereal bars free. Buy Honey Maid graham crackers, get publix graham crackers free. Buy Planters cashews, get Publix cashews free.

Other great deals include:
Publix milk 2/$4
Del Monte fresh cut veggies $.79
Hot or Lean Pockets $1.49
Hamburger Helper $.99--use $.75/3 coupon
Clairol Herbal Essences $2.49--use your free styler coupon-I bought the shampoo and got the mousee for free.
Post Honey Bunches of Oats cereal-BOGO ($3.99)-use your $1/2 coupon
Crisco EVOO-BOGO ($6.49) Use your $1/1 coupons you can get 2 for $4.49!!
Fiber One Toaster Pastries BOGO ($2.29) use your $.50/1 coupons and get 1 for $.14. Luckily I had 2 coupons, so I got 2 boxes for $.28
Baked Lay's Chips 2/$6-use your $1/1 coupon (publix also has some coupons right at the chips)
Red Baron Pizzas BOGO ($5.79)-use your $1/1 coupons
Fresh Cherries BOGO ($4.99)
Grape Tomatoes BOGO ($2.99)
Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Pasta BOGO ($1.79)
Kellogg's Fruit Flavoried Snacks BOGO ($2.95)-use your coupons
Welch's Jam or Jelly 2/$3--use the Welch's coupon plus the $.55 off milk coupon when you buy Welch's jelly
Nabisco single serve variety packs BOGO ($5.99)--use your $.75/2 coupon or $1/1 if you have any left
Entenmann's Little Bites BOGO ($3.99)
Lance cookies, crackers, or wafers variety packs BOGO ($2.89)
Luigi's Real Italian Ice BOGO ($2.99)-use your $.50 off coupon making them $.50
Kraft chunk cheese 3/$5-use your $1/2 coupon
Kraft singles 3/$5-use your $1/2 coupon
Pampers cruisers $8.99--use your $1 off coupons
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STAPLES

SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ONLY------Staples 1 subject wire bound notebook, 70 sheets $.01!!! You can get 6!!

Staples multipurpose paper, 500 sheets $5.99-$1 instant savings-$3.99 easy rebate=$1

Casio handheld label maker $19.99-$5 instant savings-$15 easy rebate=FREE

Staples slim-line pencil sharpener $15.99-$5.99 instant savings-$10 easy rebate=FREE

Handy-lines dry erase maerks, 3 pk $3.99-$3.99 easy rebate=FREE

Avery heavy duty view binders, BUY 2 get 1 FREE

Brother 575 plain paper fax machine $59.99-$50 easy rebate=$9.99-use your $5/$50 coupon and you will pay $5.99 for a fax machine!!

There's a $5/$50 in store purchase coupon on the front of the sales flyer (these are available at the door when you walk in)

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CVS

Sun, Mon, Tues only buy Revlon ColorStay mineral mousse makeup for $9.99 and get $9.99 in extra care bucks=FREE and GA pacific 500 sheet copy paper is $2.99

Gain $4.99

Colgate BOGO--use your coupons!

Coke or Dasani 12pk cans or 12oz bottles 4/$13, get $3 in ECB, you'll pay 4/$10

Scott 12 roll $6.99-use your $1 off coupons

Spend $15 on candy such as big packs of M & Ms, Werther's, Reese 8pk, Hershey's 8pk, Snickers, Hershey singles, Snickers/Hershey's 6 pk, Extra 3 pk, Reese/Hershey kisses, nips--get $5 in ECB

Spend $10 get $2 ECB bucks when you buy CoverGirl outlast lipstain, lash blast luxe mascara, exact eyelights shadwo, liner, mascara, simply ageless blush or foundation--plus use your $1/1 coupons and $2/2 coupons!

Spend $20 get $10 in ECB when you buy Nexxus shampoo/condition or hairbrush

Old Spice High Endurance or Secret solid 2/$5--get $1 ECB-use your coupons

Bic Soleil 1 ct or 4ct $6.99, get $3 in ECB-use your coupon

Huggies jumbo pack or pull ups 2/$18-get $4 ECB on 2 plus use your $1.50 off coupons, you'll get 2/$11!!

VO5 shampoo or conditioner is $.77

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Wal-Mart

Ed Hardy folders $.97

Pro Platinum Zipper Binders $11

Crayola 24 pk crayons $.25

Elmer's Glue Sticks $.25

Elmer's Glue $.25

Post It Super Stick Pads, 90ct $1

Crayola 10pk washable markers $1

Crayola 12 pk colored pencils $1

Bic Cristal 10pack pens $1-printable coupons available for $1/2

Sterilite file cubes 2/$5

PC Key Calculator $5

L'Oreal Voluminous mascara $5-use coupons

L'Oreal Preference Hair color $7.94-use coupons

Flintstone's children's vitamins-$5-$1/1 coupon

Children's Tylenol/Motrin and Disney gummy vitamins-$5

Clariin liqui-Gels $9

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TARGET

Nintendo DS $99

Scotch Magic Tape in donut dispenser $1.50-use $.50 off coupon

TRESemme' hair spray $2.79--all other products are 15% off

Charmin 30 pk or Bounty 12 pk giant rolls $15-use coupons

Huggies or Pampers Box diapers $18.99-use your $3/box coupon!

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OLD NAVY is having a really good sale this week. Be sure to go to www.oldnavyweekly.com and catch your coupon before it's too late. Their back to school sale ends Aug 20. You can get $75 off of a $100 purchase if you can catch the coupons right when they drop! The best I've gotten is $10 off $50 purchase and 15% off total purchase. Anyway--here's what they've got.

Boy's Rugbys $10

Girls graphic hoodies $10

kids graphic hoodies $10

Girls polo dresses $10

girls 3/4 sleeve polos $10

KIDS OLD NAVY FAMOUS JEANS $10

Boys cargo pants $10

Girls cardigans $10

Girls belted corduroy pants $10

Girls long sleeved hoodie tees $10

Best Friend/BFF tees 2/$10

girls 3/4 sleeved henleys 2/$10 or $9.50 each

Boys long-sleeved tees 2/$10

boys athletic teest 2/$10 or $10.50 each

Kids collectabiliTEES $10--get free comic book w/purchase

Women's Mandarin-collar henleys-$9 (good 8/7-8/13)

Women's wide neck smoked shirts $8 (good 8/14-8/20)

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Kroger

Seedless black grapes $.99/lb

Fresh CA strawberries $1.88

Kroger gallon milk $1.99

Kroger 8oz cheese 4/$5

Jumbo cantaloupe $1.99

Fresh Boneless, Skinless chicken breast $1.99-use $1 off coupons

Breyers Ice Cream or Klondike bars $2.27-use $1/2 coupons

Kroger saltines-$.99

Kroger donuts $.99

Kroger apple juice $1.29

Kroger white or wheat bread $1

Kroger english muffins $1

Pillsbury biscuits, rolls or pie crust 4/$5--use coupons

Scott paper towels 6ct-$4.99-use $1 off

Pepsi 2 liters, 4/$5-buy 4 get one free=$5/5

Ragu pasta sauce $1.67-use $.60/2 coupon

Tide laundry detergent $5.88

Oxy Skin care $1.99-use $1 off coupons

L'Oreal face and lip cosmetics BOGO

Smithfield fresh boneless pork tenderloin BOGO

ReadyPac garden salad 2/$3

Chiquita fruit bites $.79

Buy 4 get $4 off: Kellogg's cereal, fruit snacks, eggos, keebler cookies, town house crackers, ends up costing you $1.50 each--use with coupons for even bigger savings.

Kroger is also having a CRAZY EIGHT'S SALE:

Kroger Pasta-$.88

Kroger Frozen potatoes $.88

Kroger frozen veggies $.88

Kroger canned fruit $.88

Kroger whole or sliced mushrooms $.98

Kroger 3 minute french bread pizza $.98

Kroger 3 minute microwave pizza $.88

Kroger foam cups $.98

Kroger frozen whipped topping $.98

Kroger Nice N Soft facial tissue $.98

Kroger long or med grain rice $.88

Kroger Premium chunk chicken breat $.98

Carolina Pride select slices lunch meat $.98

Kroger diamond head toothbrushes $.58

Kroger sloppy joe sauce $.88

Kroger break free eggs $1.88

Kroger ibuprofen $.98

Kroger sandwich or snack bags $1.18

Mennen speedstick deodorant $.88

This week's deals Aug 3

2009-08-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

CVS DEALS

Free CoverGirl Lashblast Mascarea when you buy $25 worth of these P & G products:
(lots of these have coupons in this Sunday's Paper)
Charmin 16 big rolls-$9.99--coupons for $.25-$.50
Bounty Basic 6 big rolls-$5.99--coupons for $.50
Dawn 10oz-$.99-look for coupons
Tide $5.99
Downy or Bounch $5.99
Clairol Natural Instincts -$5.99--coupons
Always or Tampax-$5.49--coupons
Crest pro health with scope or extra whitening-2/$5.50

BACK TO SCHOOL 3-DAY SALE:

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday ONLY

Caliber/CVS pencil/ink eraser 1 ct, glue stick 3 pk or sticky notes 2pk-$.99, get $.99 Extra Care Buck =FREE

Caliber or CVS 1 subject notebook-$.99, get ECB $.99=FREE

Caliber or CVS ball point pens, 20ct or wooden pencils 10ct-$.99, get $.99 ECB=FREE

Caliber or It's Academic 5" pointed or blunt tip scissors $.99, FREE after ECB

Caliber or It's Academic 12" Flexi Ruler-$.99, FREE after ECB

Caliber or It's Academic Stretchable Book Cover-$.99, FREE after ECB

Caliber or It's Academic Compass or Protractor-$1.50, FREE after ECB

2pocket poly portfolio-$.49, FREE after ECB

_________________________________

Kleenex-buy one for $2.39 get one free
Nestle 24pk Pure Life water $3.99
Softsoap Nutri Serums 15oz-$4.99-get $4 in ECB=$.99
Pantene 2/$7--get $2 ECB on 2 plus use your $1 off coupons=2/$4
PAMPERS jumbo pk 2/$20--get $5 ECB on 2, plus use your $1 off coupons=2/$14
___________________________________________________________________

STAPLES

VALID SUNDAY THRU WEDNESDAY ONLY

8x10 1/2 inch filler paper, college and wide ruled $.01--limit of 5

(no strings attached, I just bought 5 packs and paid only $.05, because it was tax free too on Sunday, yeah me!)

__________________________

1 subject Accel notebooks, 100 sheets $.75

HP office copy paper, 20lb boxes 2/$20 after easy rebate of $19.99

PNY Attache' 4GB USB flash drive-$12.99

Staples retractable gel pens, 2 pk-$1

Westcott 7" bent handle scissors-$1

Foohy Petz assorted monkey head cap erasers-$1

Zebra Z-Grip retractable ballpoint pens, 7pk-$1

RoseArt watercolors $1

Staples photo plus 4x6 glossy paper $1 after $8.99 easy rebate

Staples 3-hole punch $1

Staples clear glue $1

All Avery heavy-duty view binders, buy 2 get 1 free

Fashion and composition notebooks, buy 1 get 1 free

There's also a $10 off $30 purchase coupon on the front of this week's salespaper!!

_____________________________________________________________________

RITE AID

Bausch & Lomb ReNu Multi Plus Solution, $9.99-$9.99 rebate=FREE

Zantac 150 8ct-$4.99-$4.99 rebate=FREE

Werther's Originals $2.99-$2.99 rebate=FREE

Duck Brand EZ Start Tape $1.49-$1.49 rebate=FREE

Soft White Longlife Lightbulbs $2-$2 rebate=FREE

Creat pro health whitening toothpaste-$2.79-$2.79 rebate=FREE

Garnier Fructis- $2.99-$2 rebate =$.99--check for coupons as well

L'Oreal cosmetics-Buy one get one free-coupons in paper

Gilette disposable razors-$4.99-$2 rebate=$2.99

Pampers $8.99-$1 coupon =$7.99

Back to school savings ideas

2009-07-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share some of my Back to school shopping savings:

I have two daughters, ages 9 and 5. They wanted to go to Justice (which used to be Limited Too). So, we went. If you sign up for their cattzine, you'll get 40% off coupons a lot which is good for anything in the entire store including clearance. And sometimes their clearance stuff will be like $2.99!! You just have to check periodically. Anyway, back to my story. The girls tried on numerous outfits and finally chose 7 outfits a piece with headbands and fingerless gloves (yes...the 80's are back ya'll....I vividly remembering buying my white lace fingerless glove at CATO back in the day). So, I get to the checkout and the lady says $286--yikes!! I give her my 40% off card and now it's $177--yeah!!. And in turn she gives me $120 in Justice bucks. The trick to these bucks is using them!!! If you keep up with it you'll have a good savings in the end. For example I spend $177, if I use the $120 bucks....I only REALLy spend $57...see? To use the bucks, you do have to spend a certain amount but it's a 50% savings. And you can use them online. www.shopjustice.com And they really do have cute little clothes.

My other bright idea was going to Plato's Closet. I've always wanted to go and since I have a 14 year old son I thought now would be the best time to go. He gathered some things from his closet and off we went. They have a Plato's Closet in the Beechwood Shopping Center in Athens and there's one at the Mall of Georgia beside DSW shoes near the Ross and Chuck E Cheese across from the Mall itself. Anyway-they seem to have pretty good deals. Had some trouble selling the clothes because we went around 7pm and they wouldn't have our credit ready until the next day. But my son did find a couple of DC skater shirts for $4 and a $60 pair of skater pants for $14 and a really nice $80 hoodie for $14. This is the place to go if your kid has to have those namebrands but you don't have the money! They even have adult sizes up to 18/20 in women's and 42 in mens! If you sign up on their website you'll get a $5 off of a $25 purchase.

We also hit up Rugged Whse. If you haven't been there it's an experience as well. They have one in Athens at the Old Navy/Chuck E CHeese/Bed, Bath and Beyond shopping center. The also have one at the Mall of GA beside Pet Smart where the old Toys R Us used to be. Anyway, they are kind of like a clearance store with namebrand clothes. They have different things at different times. They have shoes, clothes, some home decor, purses, scrubs, etc. Last night we got my son some Volcom shirts (skater shirts that usually are $24.50) for $7.99. They had a lot of funny Hot Topic tees for $4.99. They had Justice clothes for $2-4.99 as well as Limited Too clothing. Nike tennis shoes for $24.99.

Lastly, Friday we'll probably be hitting the mall along with everyone else. It's TAX FREE too so take advantage!!

Deal finds for this week 7-29

2009-07-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

PUBLIX DEALS

General Mills Cheerios BOGO ($3.99)
Kellogg's Cereal BOGO ($3.99)
Post Cereal BOGO ($3.99)
Bertolli Pasta Sauce BOBO ($3.75)
Kellogg's PopTarts BOGO ($2.39)
Dole Fruit, Gel or Parfait Bowls BOGO ($2.35)
Better Crocker Fruit Snacks BOGO ($2.59)
Hunt's Ketchup BOGO ($1.75)
Thomas' English Muffins BOGO ($2.99)
Arnold Natural Soft Bread BOGO ($2.79)
Entenmann's Pop'ems Glazed Donuts ($3.99)
Ritz Crackers BOGO ($3.49)
Mars Chocolate Bars 25ct BOGO ($14.99)
Bird's Eye Steamfresh Frozen Veggies 50%off
Yoplait Trix Yogurt BOGO ($2.79)--use your $.75 off coupons!!
PhillySwirl Frozen Treats BOGO ($2.99)
Stouffer's French Bread Pizza BOGO ($2.99)
Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits 2/$3--use your $.35 off coupons!!
Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix BOGO ($2.69) -use your $.75/2 coupons!!
Hamburger Helper is $.99-use your $.80/3 coupon
Keebler 100 Calorie Right Bites-BOGO ($3.19)--use should have a coupon for these
KRAFT Delux mac and cheese dinner or Velveeta Shells & Cheese BOGO ($1.99)
Jello-O Snacks 3/$5
KRAFT BBQ sauce BOGO ($2.79)

Buy 4 different Kraft products on the list and spend $50 at Publix, get a $10 Publix gift card. And you can get up to $30 back. Plus Publix has many of those things on sale this week!!
More details here:
http://cookingwithkraft.com/pdf/fullplate-offer-form.pdf

There's a $2 off Huggies Diaper Box coupon in the Publix circular. If your a Baby Club Member, pair this coupon with your regular Huggies $1.50 off coupon and your Publix baby club coupon and get a free tub of Huggies wipes too!! In other words, that's $3.50 off a box of Huggies plus a free tub of wipes.

Also, Kellogg's is doing their Fuel for School rebate where you buy 10 Kellogg's products in a single transaction and you get a $10 rebate and $70 savings coupon to use at Dell towards a computer. You can buy a few boxes of Frosted Flakes, Froot Loos, Rice Krispies, Pop Tarts, 100 calorie Right Bites. (Which are ALL BOGO free at Publix this week) Just be sure to have the cashier ring these up separately so that you can have 2 different receipts for both transactions if you're doing the Kraft one as well.
You can read more about it here:
http://www2.kelloggs.com/uploadedFiles/Kellogg/Family_Focus/09_Kelloggs_DellAd_FSI_Final.pdf

Menu Plans for this week

2009-07-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

I've been requested to repost some of these recipes, so here you go!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

1 pizza crust-bought, canned, boxed--anything will do
1 pkg of pre cooked grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken or cook your own chicken breast and slice
1 c or so of Franks or Moore's buffalo sauce or hot sauce
1/2 stick butter
Monterey Jack cheese
Ranch Dressing

Spritz or brush the crust with extra virgin olive oil. Cover the crust with ranch dressing--not too much, just enough to cover the bottom. Melt the butter with the hot sauce--add chicken and stir to coat. put chicken on top of ranch dressing. Sprinkle with Monterey jack cheese. *You can also sprinkle with parmesan to make the crust nice and cheesy*. Bake at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. Yummy!

Chicken Kabobs

3-4 whole chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into chunks
1 pkg fresh mushrooms (cleaned)
cherry tomatoes, optional
pineapple chunks, optional
Lawry's Jerk Marinade

Skewer these onto metal or wooden skewers. (make sure you soak the wooden ones in water before skewering or they WILL BURN!). I do chicken, pepper, onion, mushroom, chicken, tomato, pineapple. Brush with the marinade. Grill 5-6 min on each side until juices run clear. Great served with rice.

Paula's Onion Burgers-from Pauladeen.com

1lb lean ground beef
2-3 T all purpose flour
1 can French Onion soup
yellow mustard
mayo
hamburger buns
onion, sliced in whole rings

Brown ground beef and drain. Sprinkle in the flour and add the soup. Stir and cook meat mixture until thick and liquid is absorbed. Spread mayo and mustard on toasted buns and spoon meat onto buns and top with onion.

Yummy Broccoli Salad Recipe
http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/broccoli_salad/

Grilled Vidalia Onions--yum!
http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/grilled_vidalia_onion_steaks/

Cheese on the Cob...great recipe for the grill to go along side your chicken or steak
http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/cheese_on_the_cob/

Corn Casserole...always good
http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/corn_casserole/

Chocolate Gravy and Biscuits!
http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/chocolate_gravy_and_biscuits/

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FOR BACK TO SCHOOLERS:

Wal-Mart Deals

24 pk Crayola crayons $.25

2 pk Elmer's glue sticks $.25

Elmer's liquid glue $.25

1 subject notebooks $.15

2 pocket folders $.15

24 count pencils $1

Crayola colored pencils $1

10ct Crayola markers $1

10pk BIC pens $1

Savings for the week of July 21

2009-07-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

This is my big deal find of the week. Staples has FREE bookbags. Yep. I said it, FREE. It's on the front of their sales paper here if you don't believe me.
http://http//staples.shoplocal.com/staples/default.aspx?action=entryflash&adref=staples_right_hand_nav&cm_sp=merchandising-_-weekly%20ad%20right%20rail-_-weekly%20ad%20right%20rail

I went in yesterday and purchased my son a $79 bookbag that was on sale for 25% off and then Staples is mailing me a rebate for $52, making it totally FREE after the rebate. The cashier said I don't know how they're doing it but they are. I said well I'm glad. You know as well as I do especially with 3 kids how expensive back to school shopping can be. So, what I do is hit up the weekly sales instead of going and buying everything at once.

THIS WEEK'S BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING DEALS:

STAPLES-

10pk of Zebra Coodoodles mechanical pencils, you pay $2.99 minus the $2.99 rebate=FREE

5pk of Zebra retractable gel pens, $4.99 minus the $4.99 rebate=FREE

4pk of retractable highlighters, $4.99 minus the $4.99 rebate=FREE

4pk of EXPO dry erase markers $1--no rebate needed--and these are always on the school lists

(limit 2)

3 hole punch is $1

Staples Photo Supreme Matte paper is $12.98, you get a $11.98 rebate making it $1!!

Pilot 3 pack of gel ERASABLE pens, $2

Composition notebooks are $.50--I actually got 2 graph paper notebooks for $.50 total!

I did spend $100.25 but I will be getting $77.44 back in rebates making my total $22.81 for a bookbag, 50pk of photo paper, erasers, 3 packs of pens, 2 packs of dry erase markers, 1 pack of gel erasable pens, 2 composition notebooks, 1 pack of highlighters, 1 pack of mechanical pencils, 2 composition graph papere notebooks, 3 hole punch, 2 packs of notebook paper and 3 20 oz bottles of coke (because I had the kids with me). Not a bad day!!

WAL-MART

Spiral notebooks and 2 pocket folders-$.15

Crayola 24ct, Elmer's glue, Elmer's glue sticks 2pk-$.25

Crayola colored pencils, Crayola markers, BIC crystal pens, 24pk pencils $1

10pk mechanical BIC pencils $1.50-printable $1 coupon--$.50

Expo dry erase markers $1.50
___________________________________________________________________

INGLES has TRIPLE coupons this week. If you don't have any coupons, find some. You can go on coupons.com or frugalcouponliving.com or coupongeek.com and print some out and unless it says not to be doubled or tripled, Ingles will triple it up to $.50. So, if you have $.50 coupons, you'll get $1.50 off!! This is a great opportunity to get free things.

KROGER

Kroger milk $1.99
dozen med eggs $.59
grapes $.99/lb
Kraft dressing $1.49 (after the buy 10 get $5 off at checkout)
Kraft cheese $1.49 " "
Marie Callendar meals $1.67 " "
Coke 2 liter $.79 " "
Cheez its-$1.49 " "
Sunny D-$.79 " "
Sargento cheeses $1.49 " "
Tombstone pizza $2.49 " "
Kelloggs cereals $1.99 " "
Aussie $2.99
Huggies $8.99
Speed Stick $.88

You can go to the Kroger.com website and download coupons on your Kroger card. For example, $1.50 off of Luvs
$1 off of Gilette series
$1 off Duracell
$1 Bounce dryer bar, $.50 sheets
$.50 Always
$.50/2 pringles
$1 pampers
$2 Aussie shampoo
$1 Cheer
$1 Always infinity
$1 Herbal Essences
$.25 Bounty
$1 Febreze
$2 Gilette disposables
$1 Gilette body wash
$1 Gilette fusion razors
$4 Prilosec

________________________________________________________________

PUBLIX

Jif 40oz Peanut Butter BOGO ($5.63)
Mott's Apple Juice BOGO ($2.95)
Bananas $.49/lb
Hebrew National Hotdogs BOGO ($4.99) $1 off coupon
Yoplait Go Gurt BOGO ($2.79) $.75/2 coupon
Sargento shredded cheese $2, $.40 coupon
Lean Cuisine 4/$10
Kid Cuisine BOGO ($1.99)
Kellogg's BOGO
Honey Maid graham crackers BOGO ($3.99)
Planters BOGO ($4.29)
Hostess mini donuts BOGO ($2.99)
Hefty Everyday plates BOGO ($4.99)
Aussie/Herbal Essences 2/$5--coupons $2 off
Tombstone pizza $2.99--$2 off of 2 coupons available
__________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE 40% off online--use code 563 at checkout for back to school clothes!

www.shopjustice.com

Happy Friday Deals!

2009-07-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to be addicted to saving money...because I totally think I am. Let me tell you about the deals I found this week.

Snapfish...ends today so hurry you have until midnight. 50 prints for 50 pennies, just use the Code PENNY at checkout. Also, if you sign up as a new member, you'll get 30 prints for free plus a credit for a 16 x 20 collage! What are you waiting for? Go now www.snapfish.com. I've already ordered mine. It cost me $3.92 I think for 54 prints. Not a bad deal!

Today at Chick Fil A if you dress up like a cow you can get FREE chicken!!

Also, it's FREE chocolate friday. I've done this for 4 Fridays in a row now. go to www.realchocolate.com and sign up for a coupon for a FREE candy bar. This coupon was great last week because Ingles had their candy bars BOGOF, paired with this coupon, I got 2 free candy bars!! Yay me!

You also have to visit www.coupongeek.com, she posted some really great deals.

Okay, now on to our local deals.

RITE AID

Head & Shoulders shampoo is on sale for 2/$8

use BOGO coupon from Sunday's paper

use $4 rebate from Rite Aid

You'll get 2 bottles of Head & Shoulders FREE

Crest Pro Health Rinse $4.99

use $1 off coupon from Sunday's paper

use $2.25 rebate from Rite Aid

You'll get the Rinse for $1.74

Venus Razor is $7.99

use your $2 off coupon

use the $5 rebate from Rite-Aid

You'll get this Venus Razor for $.99

Oral B toothbrushes on sale BOGOF

use the BOGOF coupon

You'll get 2 Oral B Toothbrushes for FREE

Sally Hansen Nail Polish is $1.99

Use your BOGOF coupon out of the ALL YOU magazine

Use the $1 rebate from Rite Aid

You get 2 bottles of Sally Hansen Nail Polish for FREE

And the biggie--Pampers are $8.99

use your $2 or $1 off Sunday coupons

use the $2 Rite Aid rebate

You'll pay $4.99-$5.99/pack!!

________________________________________________________________

PUBLIX DEALS FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 9

A1 steak sauce-BOGO ($2.89) use your $2 off coupon and the $1 printable coupon, you'll make $.11 and get 2 bottles of A1 free!

Betty Crocker fruit snacks are BOGO ($2.59) use your $1/2, you'll get 2 boxes for $1.59

Bertolli Olive Oil is BOGO at $5.99--stock up price!

Entenmann's Little Bites are BOGO at $4.29

Nabisco single serve trays are BOGO at ($5.99) use your $1/1 coupon and you can get two for $3.99--printable coupon

Planters nuts are BOGO ($3.19) use $1.50/2 and $1/1 Publix coupons, you'll get 2/$.69

Crystal Light BOGO ($3.99) use $1/1 and coupon for free crystal light skin essentials

Smart Balance spread is BOGO ($2.79) use coupon for free Smart Balance milk when you buy Smart Balance spread and $1 off Smart Balance spread, you'll get the spread and the milk for $.38

Nature's Own Bread is BOGO

Klondike Bars are BOGO

$3 off Duracell batteries with Publix coupon, pair it with your $.75 coupon

Huggies bath products BOGO ($3.29) use your $1.50 off and get them almost free

Spray n Wash BOGO ($2.99) use, $1 off, and the Ingles $1 off and get 2 for $.99

Sparkle Giant Roll paper towels $2.50, use $1 off coupon

Cottonelle 12 roll $6.49, use $1 off coupon

Huggies box of diapers $19.99, use Publix circular coupon for $2 off and your $1.50 off Huggies

Enfamil is 2/$10

Scott 4 roll lis $2.50--you can usually find coupons for Scott

Del Monte fruit is $2, use $.55 coupon

General Mills cereals are BOGO ($3.99) Use your $1/3 coupon. And if you buy 10 specially marked boxes of General Mills Cereal from PUBLIX you can get 2 free movie tickets. So, you can get 3 boxes of lucky charms, 2 boxes of cookie crisp, 3 boxes of Reese Puffs, and 2 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (that's 10). With the BOGO sale, the $1/3 General Mills coupon and the $1/4 ingles coupon and the $.50 printables for Lucky Charms and Reese Puffs, I could get these 10 boxes for $13.95--which is only $1.39/box. Look at it this way, you'll be stocked up for summer and school starting back--it lasts a while and you'll be getting 2 free movie tickets that are worth up to $12/piece!!

PUBLIX HAS A COUPON IN THIS WEEK'S SALESPAPER THAT IS $10 OFF A $50 GAS CARD. YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH THIS!!! I'M BUYING TWO TO TAKE TO FLORIDA WITH US FOR OUR TRIP!! It is for BP and Shell only but you can always find one of those!

Also at PUBLIX, if you buy 4 participating Kraft products and spend $50 at Publix, you can get a $10 PUBLIX gift card.

HAPPY SAVING AND SHOPPING EVERYONE. HAVE A GREAT FRIDAY AND WONDERFUL WEEKEND. SEE YOU SOON!!

2009-06-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

CHECK YOUR CARTER'S CLOTHES!

About 4 months ago, Carter's put out a "recall" of their "tag-less" labels in their Fall 2007 clothing line. The labels were causing an irratation (even burn) to babies skin. They are taking back your appropriate clothing items for the Suggested Retail Price. For example - that means if you got a onesie on sale (that is on the recall list) for $3, they will take it back for the SRP of $18 (if that was the SRP.) Most of Carter's clothes are tag-less so realize it is not every Carter's item in your closet.

Go to to see if you have any of these items. From the Frugal Coupon Mom- "My daughter had a lot due to the timing of her birth. Oddly enough, once I returned all her clothes, a rash she had on her upper back disappeared. We got back a check last month for her returned items."

Here's a picture of what the tags look like.

__________________________________________________________________________________ $2 OLD NAVY TANKS

Old Navy is having an in-store sale this Saturday, June 20th. All women's and girls rib tanks will be $2 with a limit of 5 per person. What a great deal! If it's anything like the flip flop saturday, you'd better be one of the first in line if you want a selection to choose from!

HOT Deals for the week of June 8

2009-06-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

Diapers.com Deal --THANKS FRUGAL COUPON MOM
-Make a purchase of $49 or more and get free 2-day shipping, no code required
-Get an extra $10 off your first diaper order by entering the following referral code: DIAPERSV(think diaper save). This is for first time only purchase.
-Get either a FREE year subscription to Parenting magazine or a $14.97 rebate (I would go with the rebate. You will find FREE Parent magazines all the time.) You will see the information you need at the bottom of the order summary (in your cart.) Make sure to read the details. Details shown Here for more on the rebate offer. You DO NEED to submit that form if you want the rebate!
.
My Scenerio
-1 Pack Huggies Snug and Dry Extra Large Case- Size 1 -2 (228 diapers) $39.99
-1 Pack Pampers Baby Dry Jumbo Pack - Size 1 (50 diapers) $9.99
= Total: $49.98
.
$10 off with code DIAPERSV
Total after code = $39.98
.
$14.97 refund - Mail in Rebate offer (make sure to fill out this information.)
Total after code and refund = $25.01
.
Divide $25.01 by 278 (the number of diapers purchased) and that is ONLY $.09 a diaper! Choose to forgo the rebate and keep the Parenting magazine and it is only $.14 a diaper - still a great deal!
.
Delivery should take around 2 business days.
.
You can also creat your own scenario - just make sure you have $49 or more dollars for FREE shipping and diapers in your cart. Currently there is an ecoupon for Pampers ($1 off.) You have to check the box when you order the diapers (during the selection phase.)
.
DON'T FORGET: Diapers.com price matches. I have always purchased my products and called back to get credit/money back for every order I have done. I have found cheaper prices on the internet. This is counter active to their FREE shipping - keep that in mind. Still, I have always gotten a reduced price buy researching around - you can do this before or after your order. I do it after to give me time to look around.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Free country music album downloads from People Magazine from artists like Jason Aldean, Holly Williams, Caitlin and Will, Gloriana, etc. I just downloaded it myself!

http://www.swaggrabber.com/blog1.php/Freebies/free-country-music-album-download-from-p
______________________________________________________________________________
ORIENTAL TRADING-

Get $10 of a purchase of $10 or more at Oriental Trading Company Here. Use the code SE1019772. S&H begins at $6.99

_________________________________________________________________________________
FISHER PRICE TRIKE 2 BIKE FOR $15

Amazon has a special on Fisher-Price Trike 2 Bike. Get it for $15 (regular $49.99.)
You save 70%.
Read the reviews before you decide.
Thanks, "Deal"icious Mom for the deal find.
__________________________________________________________________________________

CVS DEALS this week

Coppertone sun care-get free 12pk Aquafina w/purchase $1.50 coupon + $3 printable coupon online

Banana Boat suncare-get $7 in Extra Care Bucks when you buy 2 (you can probably find a coupon online as well)

Coke 12pk cans are 4/$13--get $3 in Extra Care Bucks when you buy 4

Dawn dishwashing liquid-like getting 2/$1 after Extra Care Bucks

Spend $15 in candy on pages 2 and 3 of the CVS circular and get $5 in Extra Care Bucks

Gilette Fusion Razor or Venus Embrace 7.99
$4 off coupon availabe + $4 Extra Care Bucks print out

Always Pads 2/$6 -use your $1 off coupons and you'll get $2 Extra Care Bucks when you buy 2

Kraft BBQ sauce $1.25- $1 off coupon =$.25

Also when you buy 60 digital prints online or in store, you get 20 free!!
-_________________________________________________________________________________

Oldnavyweekly.com is still up and running. There are still coupons left for 15% off.

__________________________________________________________________________________
I also wanted to let everyone know that for the months of July and August Pampered Chef is having some great deals for hosts and guests!!

In July if your guest sales total $500 or more, Pampered Chef will give you an EXTRA $40 in FREE product bringing your total to $140! If you have $600 in sales, $165 in free product and if you get $700 or more in guest sales you'll get $75 more bring your total of free product from $215 up to $265 if your guest sales total $900!. And on top of that with $150-$549.99 in guest sales, you can get the Ultimate Mandoline for $23.80--that's 60% off. If your sales are $550 or more you can get the $74 Stainless Steel mixing bowl set for only $29.80!

The July guest special is a free peeler of your choice with a purchase of $60 or more.

Also if you're in the market to buy your last set of cookware, this is the time to do it. You can get Pampered Chef's Executive cookware at incredible deals. If you host a show in August, you can get up to 60% off on two pieces of cookware. If your show has $550 or more in guest sales you can get the 5 piece set for $114 or the 7 piece set for $170 (reg price $425!!)

The August guest special is a free cookbook with $60 purchase!!

So, if you're thinking of hosting a party and would like to take advantage of these great deals, contact me today!! These deals are also good with catalog shows, email or call me for further details.

__________________________________________________________________________________
I came across this delicious looking recipe at Publix.com, check it out!
http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/AllRecipes/SimpleMeal.do?mealId=2468&mealGroupId=1000

Publix deals--ends tomorrow

Kraft Mayo-BOGO $4.99 -you should have $1 off coupon, if not check online. So you can get 1 mayo for $1.50.

Juicy Juice BOGO-$3.65/2--register at JuicyJuice.com for $1 off coupon if you haven't already.

Hunts ketchup is BOGO-$1.39/2

Bertolli pasta sauce is BOGO-$2.69/2

Ronzoni pasta is BOGO

Luzianne tea bags BOGO-2/$2.29

Minute Maid Juice Coolers BOGO

Betty Crocker fruit snacks BOGO, there's always coupons out there for these $1/2, so you could get 2 for $1.79

Ritz crackers are BOGO, there's online coupons for these $1 off, making them 2/$2.49

Pop Secret popcorn is BOGO, you usually have a $.40 off coupon for this.

Keebler Fudge Shoppe cookies are BOGO

Klondike ice cream bars BOGO 2/$2.59

Philly Swirl Italian Ice BOGO 2/$2.99 or one for $1.50!

Kraft chunk cheese 2/$4-there are $1/2 coupons floating around out there.

Pantene shampoo/conditioner is 3/$10--look for coupons!

Sparkle paper towels 2/$5--use $.50 coupon, double it and get them for $1.50

Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls and grands $1--we all have coupons for those!!
_____________________________________________________________________________

One more deal my cousin Brooke just told me about. If you have a Bank of America card, you can get into museums free the first full weekend of each month. This month is July 4 & 5. Go here for more info http://museums.bankofamerica.com/ Fernbank, Zoo Atlanta, etc. Worth checking out even if it is a holiday weekend. Maybe they'd be less crowded??

Awesome Deal Finds Monday May 18

2009-05-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

I wish I had known about this sooner. www.oldnavyweekly.com This is an interactive type of website that changes on Thursdays (so says some of the savings websites.) If you can catch them there are awesome coupon deals on here. For example $75 off of $100, 10% off, 15% off, etc. I just did it and got 15% off, all the other ones were already gone. So, don't forget on Thursday night to go to this website and click around. I had to move a flag from a little girl's shirt to the little boy's hand to get my coupon. You have to play around with it. But there will be hints on the internet if you google it too.

Free Candy bar!! Starting every Friday you can get FREE Mars Chocolate Coupon. The coupons are limited to the first 250,000 people EACH Friday through September. The time runs 9 am - 11:59 pm (EST.) This coupon can take 6 weeks to arrive to your email box (do not use a junk email account.) Only 4 per household.

Sign up Here. https://aws.realchocolate.com/

FREE Coldplay Album

As a speical thanks to Coldplay's fans, you can get a FREE copy of Coldplay's newest album Here. http://www.coldplay.com/lrlrl/lr.html

If you're not a member of Ridetherewards.com, which is Huggies new site. Huggies products will have this code you can enter on this website for different contests. Here are some free codes to enter.

Listen up Huggies Enjoy The Ride Rewards account holders. Here are 21 codes worth a total of 62 points that have been listed across the world wide web. If you are not already an account holder you can read more about this new incentive program from Huggies in a previous post here. (Thanks Sisterly Savings/Frugal Coupon Mom)
It will take a little while only because you have to enter a security code after each entry. But it's worth it!

Codes Worth 1 Point Each

DRRLN-QJSRH-KWPGB
FFQLB-PSQMP-ZCPGB
GMHPR-XCQWL-FRPGB
JFBLF-MCMCZ-GCPGB
HNCXQ-JJMCJ-FCPGB
HPDTG-XHMGX-BWPGB
PXGDB-WGHLZ-FGPGB
QSHCR-CHRND-ZJPGB
RPLSZ-BRLDD-RTPGB
SQJTJ-NJBXK-CMPGB

Codes Worth 2 Points Each

RZMRR-QFZNP-WGPGB

Codes Worth 5 Points Each

BBRJH-WHDPT-JZPGB
BGZQZ-JCXFC-HZPGB
JXBQX-LWHPP-HPPGB
LNXBX-DXTSH-BSPGB
RSZNG-TJNPH-DHPGB
STLPM-MBQPZ-RLPGB
TXZKZ-JNRJQ-DDPGB
XXDZB-QBPHH-GLPGB
ZKZTH-XSJJN-MHPGB
ZQQGS-FLRLM-XBPGB

2009-05-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

Get 70% off at Restaurant.com using the code TASTY. This means you get a $25 gift certificate for ONLY $3! I have used these quite a few times and they do work. Sometimes you can only go Mon-Thu or something like have to spend $50 to use the $25 off but usually it's still a great deal.

Also at McDonald's a while ago I spotted a sign that says "Free Mocha Mondays", supposedly on Mondays from 7am-7pm you can get a free mocha!

I just went to Publix and saved $52.53 and spent $61.51. I purchased a box of Huggies supreme diapers (reg price $19.99) I had a $1.50 off Huggies coupon, a $2 Huggies coupon (from the Publix sales paper) and a $5 off coupon from Babies R Us, and I got to use them ALL! I got a box of 76 diapers for $11.50! That's pretty darn good these days! BTW, Publix accepts manufacturers' coupons in addition to Publix and competitor coupons, so at times like these, you can really save!

Also, Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing was BOGO (3.19) I had a $1 off of 2, which comes out to 2/$2.22 for a big bottle.

Juicy Juice was BOGO at $3.65, I had a $1 off 2, bringing them to $1.40each

Suave Hair shampoo/conditioner (the big bottles) is on sale for .99, I had a coupon for $1/2 or $1.75/3--so it was like getting the shampoo and condition for $1.

The Nabisco single serve packs are BOGO at $5.99each, I had a $1/1 so I got each pack for $2--makes great snacks for the kiddos to take to school--that can be expensive. But I got 24 individual snacks for $4!

Honey Maid graham crackers are BOGO at $3.99. I bought one for $1 because I had a $1/off of one box!! BTW-why have graham crackers gotten so expensive? Even the "cheap" ones aren't cheap?

Danimals crushables are $2-I had a $1 off coupon bringing them to $1.

I printed most of these coupons online at smartsource.com, coupons.coml, babiesrus.com and I also went to JuicyJuice.com and printed the $1/off there.

Well, that's my savings for today--have a great week!

2009-05-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

I had to share this-it's from the Frugal Coupon Mom's website. Couldn't have said it better myself....you can go to Target.com and print coupons from their website as well as Ingles. Smartsource and coupons.com have printable coupons as well. Alot of manufacturers will also have printables up on their website. This helps if you don't get the coupon insert from the AJC, which we won't be getting here in Barrow County soon. (And that makes me soooo mad) Anyway...here you go!

Way to Use Your Kraft Coupons at Target
Crystal Light Drink Mix $2.99 and Crystal Light Skin Essentials $2.99
$1 printable
$2/2 printable
B1G1 printable
$1 Target printable (print 1 for each MFR coupon)
=FREE
.
Easy Mac and Cheese Single $ .77
$1/2 printable
= $.27 each
.
Kraft Mayo $1.99
$1 printable
$1/2 Target printable (print 1 for every 2 MFR coupons)
= $.49 each
.
Kraft Salad Dressings $1.59
$1 printable
$1/2 Target printable (print 1 for every 2 MFR coupons)
= $.09 each
.
Kraft Velveeta Shells & Cheese $1.50
$1 printable
= $.50
.
Nabisco 100 Calorie Cakesters $1.93
$1/2 printable
$1 Target printable (print 2 for each MFR coupon)
= $.43 each
.
Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs $1.93
$1 printable
$1 Target printable (print 1 for each MFR coupon)
=FREE
.
Ritz Bits $2.00
$1 printable
= $1.00
.
Ritz Crackers $2.50
$1 printable
$1 Target printable (print 1 for each MFR coupon)
= $.50
.
Triscuit Crackers or Wheat Thins $2.04
$1 printable
= $1.04
.
While at Target, do this deal as well
Swiffer Refills - Dry Pack $4.04 (buy 2 get $5 gift card)
= $1.54 each after gift card
If you do this transaction 3 times (you can pay with your $5 gift card from the pervious transaction during the 2nd and 3rd transaction and submit for a Swiffer $10 Debit Card Rebate Here.)
= $.76 MONEYMAKER after rebate.
Get Your Kraft Coupons Here

New Recipes! Pampered Chef Week!

2009-05-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

I am posted some Pampered Chef recipes seeing as I am now a Pampered Chef consultant. Now time for my plug...if you'd like to learn new ways to cook for your family while saving time and money, call or email me today to book a show! Okay, now on to the recipes!!

Mexican Burger Bar

Burgers

2 pounds (80% lean) ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 slices (1 ounce each) Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend
8 Kaiser rolls or hamburger buns, split

Mexican Sandwich Spread

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons Pantry Southwestern Seasoning Mix

Mexican Toppers

2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 large avocado, peeled and sliced
1 cup pickled jalapeno pepper slices, drained

For burgers, crumble ground beef into a bowl. Finely chop onion. Add onion, Worcesteshire sauce, salt and black pepper to ground beef; mix gently but thoroughly. Form mixture into 8 round patties, 1/2 inch thick. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to grill.

For Mexican sandwich spread, combine mayonnaise, sour cream and seasoning mix in a bowl; mix until well blended. Cover and refrigerate.

For Mexican toppers, slice tomatoes. Slice avocado. Place toppers in individual serving bowls; cover and refrigerate.

When ready to grill, prepare grill for direct cooking over medium coals. Place patties on grid of grill. Grill, uncovered, 11-13 minutes or until centers are no longer pink, turning once. About 1 minute before burgers are done, place cheese slices on top.

Meanwhile, place roll halves, cut side down, on grid of grill. Grill 1-2 minutes or until rolls are lightly toasted. Place burgers in rolls. Serve with spread and toppers.

Serve this with your Mexican Burgers...
Black Bean Salsa Dip

Tortilla Bowl and Tortilla Chips
14 (7-inch) flour tortillas, divided

1 egg white

Dip
2 package (8 ounces each) fat-free cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise

3 tablespoons Southwestern seasoning mix

2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced, divided

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 can (3.25 ounces) pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped

3/4 cup salsa

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (8.75 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained

1. For tortilla bowl, preheat oven to 350ºF. Brush 5 of the tortillas with egg white. Using a pizza cutter, cut tortillas in half. With flat edges facing right, arrange tortillas, egg white side up, in an overlapping pinwheel pattern in deep dish pie plate (edges of tortillas will extend beyond edge of pie plate). Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to rack; cool completely.

2. For tortilla chips, increase oven temperature to 400ºF. Cut each remaining tortilla into 8 triangles; arrange in single layer over flat baking stone. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Remove from baking stone; cool completely on cooling rack. Repeat with remaining tortilla triangles.

3. For dip, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and seasoning mix in small bowl; whisk until smooth. Attach closed star tip to a decorator. Fill decorator with 1 cup of the cream cheese mixture; set aside. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over bottom and halfway up sides of tortilla bowl.

4. Slice green onions using; set aside 2 tablespoons for garnish. Dice bell pepper & chop olives. In bowl, combine green onions, bell pepper, olives, salsa, garlic, beans and corn; mix well. Spoon half of the salsa mixture over cream cheese layer. Pipe half of the reserved cream cheese mixture in a zigzag pattern over salsa layer. Top with remaining salsa mixture. Pipe a decorative border around edge of bowl using decorator. Sprinkle with reserved green onions. To serve, place pie plate on a platter; arrange tortilla chips around edge of platter. Serve.

Yield: 24 servings

Nutrients per serving: (Light) (1/4 cup dip, 3 chips): Calories 110, Total Fat 2 g, Saturated Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Carbohydrate 18 g, Protein 6 g, Sodium 420 mg, Fiber 2 g

Source: Pampered Chef

Chicken Fajita Pizza

1 pouch (16 ounces) Pizza Crust & Roll Mix (including yeast packet)
1 1/4 cups very warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornmeal
8 ounces cooked chicken, coarsely chopped (2 cups)
1 medium red pepper, sliced into strips
1 medium green pepper, sliced into strips
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 tablespoon Pantry Southwestern Seasoning Mix (or fajita mix if you don't have this)
1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa
6 ounces shredded Mexican cheese blend (1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°F. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine pizza crust mix and yeast packet. Add water and vegetable oil; stir until mixture forms a ball. Turn dough out onto floured surface. With floured hands, gently knead dough 8-10 times. Sprinkle cornmeal over Large Round Stone. Roll dough to edge of baking stone using lightly floured Baker's Roller(R).

Chop cooked chicken using Food Chopper; set aside. Slice red and green peppers into 1-inch strips with Chef's Knife. Slice onion using Ultimate Slice & Grate fitted with v-shaped blade; slice onion slices in half. Heat Stir-Fry Skillet over medium-high heat; spray with vegetable oil. Add peppers, onion, garlic using Garlic Press and seasoning mix; stir-fry 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salsa.

Arrange vegetable mixture over crust. Sprinkle chopped chicken over vegetable mixture. Top with cheese.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle cilantro over pizza. Cut into wedges. Serve using Mini-Serving Spatula.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 320, Total Fat 12 g, Saturated Fat 6 g, Cholesterol 45 mg, Carbohydrates 36 g, Protein 18 g, Sodium 280 mg, Fiber 2 g

Cook's Tip: Cook chicken in advance. Place two boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4 ounces each) into Sauté Pan. Cook 6-8 minutes turning once or until meat is no longer pink in center.

Source: Pampered Chef

Tex-Mex Chicken Melts
Posted by Rini

Canapé Bread
1 package (11 ounces) refrigerated French bread dough

Filling
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated, divided (1 cup)
1 can (10 ounces) chunk white chicken, drained and flaked
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Pantry Southwestern Seasoning Mix
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly spray inside of a bread tube and caps with vegetable oil. Cap bottom of bread tube; fill tube with dough. Place cap on top. Bake, upright, 50-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove bread from tube onto cooling rack. Cool completely.

2. Cut bread into 20 1/4-inch slices. Arrange slices on Rectangle Stone.

3. Chop onion & bell pepper. Grate cheese. In a bowl, combine chicken, onion, bell pepper, 1/2 cup of the cheese, mayonnaise, Seasoning Mix and garlic; mix well.

4. Divide filling evenly among bread slices. Slice tomatoes. Place one tomato slice over filling on each bread slice. Snip parsley. In a bowl, toss remaining cheese and parsley to combine. Sprinkle over tomato slices.

5. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot.

Barbecue Beef Bundles

3/4 pound lean (90%) ground beef
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons vinegar
3 tablespoons Pantry Barbecue Seasoning Mix
3 ounces cheddar cheese, grated, divided (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 package (17.3 ounces) grand-size flaky or buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)
1 package (10.2 ounces) grand-size flaky or buttermilk biscuits (5 biscuits)

1. Cook ground beef in large (10-inch) skillet over medium heat 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350° F. In small bowl, combine ketchup, vinegar and Seasoning Mix; mix well and set aside.

3. Grate cheese. Slice green onions. Chop bell pepper. In a bowl, combine cooked beef, 1/2 cup of the cheese, green onions, bell pepper, garlic pressed with Garlic Press and half of the barbecue sauce; mix well.

4. Separate 12 biscuits and place on cutting board. (Discard remaining biscuit or set aside for another use.) Using a roller, roll each biscuit into a 5-inch disk, flouring dough as needed. Using a large scoop, divide beef mixture evenly onto center of each biscuit.

5. Gather up edges of dough over filling, pinching lightly to seal. Place biscuits, seam side down, into muffin pan. Do not press down into cup. Using serrated bread knife, cut through top of each bundle, making a crisscross pattern.

6. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over bundles. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve with remaining barbecue sauce.

Yield: 12 servings or 24 sample servings

Nutrients per serving (1 bundle): Calories 320, Total Fat 14 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 20 mg, Carbohydrate 36 g, Protein 12 g, Sodium 1090 mg, Fiber less than 1 g

Source: Pampered Chef

This is great with spaghetti, lasagna, or my stuffed shells.

Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread

1/3 c butter or margarine melted
1 c Parmesan cheese grated
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 packages (11.3 oz each) refrigerated biscuits

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray fluted pan with oil. Combine cheese, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cut each biscuit in four pieces. Dip each piece in melted butter then roll in cheese mixture and arrange evenly in pan. Bake 27-30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on rack then carefully invert to remove bread. Cool slightly.

16 servings

170 calories, 8g fat, 150mg sodium, 1g dietary fiber
Caesar Pasta Salad
Posted by Linda

3 cups (10 oz) penne pasta, uncooked

2 hard-cooked eggs

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1/2 cup red or green bell pepper, chopped

1 ounce (1/4 cup) Parmesan cheese, grated

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped

1 bottle (8 oz) fat free creamy Caesar salad dressing

1 head (3/4 pound) romaine lettuce, shredded (6 cups)

1 small tomato, for garnish (optional)

Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water. Place in a bowl. Set aside. Meanwhile, chop eggs, red onion and bell pepper. Grate Parmesan cheese with grater. Snip parsley. Add eggs, onion, pepper, Parmesan cheese and parsley to pasta. Pour salad dressing over pasta mixture; mix well. Stack 3-4 lettuce leaves on top of each other; cut into thin shreds. To serve, line a bowl with lettuce. Spoon pasta salad in center of bowl. Garnish with tomato rose. Serve.

2009-04-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

I found a hot deal for Six Flags if you're wanting to go before the heat really sets in. We're planning on going this weekend so I was on the lookout for some great deals. First I went to their website www.sixflags.com and found that they're selling all tickets, adults and children for $29.99-only online-you print them yourself for an extra $5. OR-if you're going before May 17, you can use the promo code WOMANSDAY (the promo code box is in the upper right corner of the webpage-I think they make it hard to find on purpose!) Anway, with that code, you buy an adult ticket at regular price, $39.99 and get a kid's ticket free which is still a great deal.

We will be packing a lunch and going out to the car for a picnic seeing as the meals there range from $8-$13. You are able to buy meal vouchers and drink vouchers cheaper online. For example, they have 2 bottles of water and 2 bottles of soda voucher for $6, that's usually the price of just 2 so that is a pretty good deal.

IF you're wondering why I haven't posted a menu lately, I've been on a little hiatus. I will be back shortly and posted new and exciting recipes for ya'll to try. So, don't give up on me! Summer's coming and I'm in the mood for light and refreshing meals!

Easter week recipes

2009-04-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

Great pie for Easter morning
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easter-Pie/Detail.aspx

Colored Deviled Eggs--look so cute on the table!
http://www.ehow.com/how_4859372_colored-deviled-eggs-easter.html

Southern Dressing
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/southern-cornbread-stuffing-recipe/index.html

Allie's Mac And Cheese

1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 pound cubed ham
5 ounces cubed Cheddar cheese
5 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
5 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
paprika to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
In medium saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour to make a roux. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then whisk in warm milk a little at a time to make a white sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer. Mix in salt, pepper, and cayenne, and stir frequently until sauce thickens.
Remove pan from heat and stir in cheddar, mozzarella, jack and ham. Combine pasta with sauce and stir well. Pour into baking dish. Use paprika to make a decorative pattern on top. Bake 45 to 60 minutes, or until top is the desired crispiness. Let rest 20 minutes before serving.

Easter Pie-Yummy!

20 Miniature peanut butter cups

50 Chocolate Kisses

1 Large tub (12 oz.) frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed

1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust (6 oz size)

Garnish: Candy coated chocolate eggs

1. Chop each peanut butter cup into 6 pieces; set aside. Microwave 50 Kisses in a medium microwave safe bowl on high - 1 minute or just until chocolate is melted when stirred. Stir in 3 1/2 cups whipped topping until blended.

2. Spread half of chocolate mixture into crust; sprinkle with peanut butter cup pieces. Top with remaining chocolate mixture. Refrigerate 3 hours or until set.

3. Spread with remaining whipped topping just before serving. Garnish each slice with 3 candy coated eggs.

Makes 8 servings.

Hershey Bar Easter Pie
1 ea graham cracker pie shell
1/2 c milk
6 ea 1.35 oz. Hershey bars with nuts
20 ea large marshmallows
1/2 pk 9 oz. whipped topping

Place milk, hershey bars and marshmallows in top pan of double boiler and mix together thoroughly.

When melted, set out of water to cool completely.

Fold whipped topping into chocolate.

Pour into pie crust and chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or until ready to serve. Top with green-tinted coconut nest with robin eggs for a cute easter look.

ALICE'S EASTER BUNNY PEAR SALAD

Chilled half pears for body, almond slices for ears, dab of cottage cheese for tail, half cherry for nose and raisins for eyes. Serve on lettuce leaf with a little mayonnaise.

March 30

2009-03-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

Monday Night

Poppyseed Chicken

1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1c sour cream
6 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cut into chunks (big timesaver is to get a rotisserie chicken if you're looking for a quick supper)
salt and pepper to taste
2T poppy seeds
1 stack Ritz crackers, crushed
1 stick melted butter

Place chicken in casserole dish. Mix soups, sour cream and poppy seeds. Pour mixture over chicken. Mix crackers and butter; spread over casserole. Bake 20-30 min at 350 until golden brown.

Tuesday night

Spaghetti Casserole

1c onion, chopped
1c green pepper, chopped
1T butter
28oz can tomatoes, undrained
4oz can mushrooms, drained
3.8oz can sliced black olives, drained
2t dried oregano
1lb ground beef, (or ground turkey), browned and drained
12oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
2c cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can cream of mushroom
1/4c water
1/4c parmesan

In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives and oregano. Add meat and simmer, uncovered for 10min. Place 1/2 of the spaghetti in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with 1c cheese. Repeat layers. Combine soup and water; stir until smooth. Pour over casserole. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 min or until heated through. Makes 12 servings.

Tuesday Night

Aussie Chicken

Chicken & Rice Casserole

3 c diced, cooked chicken
1 med onion, diced and sauteed
8 oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped (optional)
2 (14oz) cans French green beans, rinsed and drained
4oz pimientos, rinsed and drained (optional)
1 can cream of celery soup
1 c mayo
1 6oz box of long grain and wild rice, cooked
1 c grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 300. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 3qt casserole dish. Bake 25 min.

Redbox code tonight

2009-03-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Wednesday March 25th's REDBOX code is MMM325.
Just enter this code in the promo code box at the redbox kiosk
and viola! free movie

...You're welcome :)

This week's meals & savings March 23

2009-03-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Publix and spent $52 and saved $59. Publix isn't my favorite grocery store, but I do try to hit their deals every week. For instance, this week they have the Tropicana 50 OJ on BOGO, $3.79 for 2, I had $1 off coupon for each bringing my total for each $.88. Also Ocean Spray Cranberry juice was BOGO, $3.99, I had $1 off so I got one of those for $1. Post Select Grains cereal was BOGO 4.19, I had $1 off bringing each box to a little over $1.50 each and this cereal is good. Betty Crocker cake mix is BOGO $1.59 and I had a coupon for a free reusable Publix shopping bag when you buy 2 Betty Crocker Products. Actually I had two of these coupons, so I bought the BOGO Hamburger Helper. Spray and Wash was BOGO $2.99, I bought one for $1.50 and had $1 off coupon bringing the total to $.50. Entemann's Little Bites are BOGO, they're usually $3 or $4 a box depending on where you are, I got them for $2.14. Dole little fruit bowls are BOGO, 2 for $2.35 (great for kid's lunches). Smart Balance is BOGO $3.59 and I had get a free Smart Balance Milk coupon. So I got the Smart Balance butter and smart balance milk for $1.79. Sparkle big roll of paper towels-8ct was $5.49 and I had $.75 off bringing each roll to $.57!. Fast Fixin chicken nuggets BOGO $5.99, I bought one for $3 and had $.75 off.

So, just a few little hints for this week's shopping trip. Publix' sale does end tomorrow, Tuesday by the way.

Now, on to this week's meals. I need an easy week seeing as I'm leaving Thursday afternoon to go to New York/Connecticut/Rhode Island to see my brother that's in the Navy. I'm so excited.

MONDAY
Greek Salad

Bag of Romaine Lettuce (or whichever you prefer)
sliced banana peppers
sliced red onion
feta cheese
sliced black olives
Caesar dressing

This is so yummy!!

TUESDAY
Pizza Meatloaf Cups
-good with potatoes and green beans or corn on the cob

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
additional pizza sauce (optional)

Directions
1In a bowl, combine the egg, pizza sauce, bread crumbs and Italian seasoning.
2Fold beef into mixture and mix well.
3Divide meat mixture into 12 greased muffin cups.
4Press mixture into bottom and up the sides.
5Fill center with cheese.
6Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
7Serve immediately with additional pizza sauce and cheese if desired.
8Or cool, place in freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
9To use frozen pizza cups:
10Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
11Heat in microwave on high for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
12Top with additional pizza sauce and cheese if desired.

WEDNESDAY

Creamy Italian Chicken (for the slow cooker)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 envelope Italian salad dressing
1/4 c water
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken
4oz can mushrooms, drained
hot cooked rice or noodles

Place the chicken in a slow cooker. Combine salad dressing mix and water; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and soup until well blended. Stir in mushrooms; pour over chicken. Cook 1 hour longer or until chicken juices run clear. Serve over rice or noodles.

Thursday

Cheesy Beefy Stuffed Shells
-can serve with side salad and/or garlic bread

18 jumbo pasta shells
1 med onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2c grated mozzarella
1/2 c grated parmesan
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/4c fresh chopped parsley
1 egg, slightly beaten
14oz jar spaghetti sauce
1-lb ground beef (or ground turkey of course)
dash pepper

Cook pasta adding 1T salt and 1T olive oil. Cook until tender, drain and set aside. Brown ground meat and drain. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 min longer. Stir in mozzarella, bread crumbs, parsley, egg and pepper; set aside. Spoon 1/4 of the spaghetti sauce into a lightly greased baking dish. Stuff the shells with the meat mixture. Arrange in a baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan. Cover. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Friday

Wings & Things Chicken Tenders

2 1/2 lbs chicken tenders
1/2 c butter
2T white vinegar
1C Frank's original Red Hot cayenne pepper sauce

Deep fry chicken tenders. Melt butter and hot sauce together. Add vinegar to the butter and hot sauce mixture; pour over cooked chicken tenders.

Serve with fries (sprinkled with seasoned salt straight from the oven or deep fryer)

New Deal Finds

2009-03-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've found a few new blogs that I quite enjoy and I'd thought I'd pass the savings on to you guys.

If you have Dish Network, which we do, you can get two free movies until 4/30.
Just fill out this form. I'm so glad I found this, we rented a movie the other night because we were so bored (Nights in Rodanthe--don't bother!!)

http://www.dishnetwork.com/freemovie

(found this on frugal coupon living)

The deal is ending soon and this is a fantastic deal...the $5 Huggies coupon. I've bought 3 packs of diapers for my sister using this coupon and only paid $4.88/pack! This week until Sat Ingles has the Huggies for $9.88. $9.88 - $5 coupon is only $4.88!! Stock up people.

This is a handy little chart. I carried one around with me similar to this when I had little ones. Of course, it wasn't this fancy, most likely it was written on an old bill envelope or church bulletin. Anyway, it has the diapers listed with how many is in each pack, etc.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/5364437/HowManyDiapersPerPack

Also on babycheapskate.blogspot.com they say Nordstrom has baby Robeez on clearance for $15.90 and they SHIP FREE!! Just use CODE: SHOES

Kodakgallery.com Free shipping on orders $4.99 and over! Use code SPRING2020 and get 20% off of everything!!

www.Freebies4Mom.com is another useful website I found!

Cellfire.com is an awesome coupon site where you can electronically add up to 50 coupons straight to your rewards card. Unfortunately, the only store anywhere near us is Kroger where it would be of any use to me. Still, occasionally I like to go to the Kroger in Jefferson when they're running good specials.

Menu for the Week of March 16

2009-03-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

Monday Night

Easy Chicken Alfredo Night

4 chicken breasts, sliced thinly and cooked

1 jar of Alfredo sauce

Fettucini noodles, cooked

After the chicken is brown, add the jar of alfredo sauce and heat until warm throughout. Serve with pasta. I like to add onions and mushrooms but the kids like it without of course. Serve with a side of steamed broccoli.

Tuesday Night is St. Patrick's Day, we're going to have something green of course

1 whole chicken (or just chicken breast)
2 onions (1 halved, 1 chopped)
1 red pepper, finely chopped (optional)
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 bunch cilantro (about 3/4 cup chopped)
2 cans green chilies
salt and pepper
1 quart water (about)
1 cup canned or jarred tomatillo salsa

Directions

1In a fairly shallow soup pot, place chicken, water, 1 onion, halved, 2 cloves garlic, halved, and salt and pepper.
2Bring to a boil and simmer 1-2 hours until chicken is very tender and falling off bones.
3Remove chicken, and allow to cool enough to handle.
4Strain stock, and discard veggies, reserving the stock in the same pot.
5When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred chicken, by pulling it apart, discarding skin and bones.
6Add meat to soup pot.
7Add remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour, or until desired thickness of sauce is achieved.
8Serve in burritos with rice, beans, cheese, sour cream and guacamole.

Lucky Lime Drinks

Put one, or two small scoops of lime sherbet in a clear glass ice cream cup, or beer mug. Pour 7-Up over the sherbet. Add a dollop of whipped cream, green sugar sprinkles and a green maraschino cherry!

How to make green beer: (from http://www.myrecipes.com/)

Instructions:Place 2 drops of green liquid food coloring in the bottom of a beer mug or glass. Add the beer. No stirring needed. Voila. Green beer. Two drops seemed to be the right amount to get a nice olive-green sort of color. Three drops resulted in more of a kelly green shade.

Dark Beer vs. Light Beer

We experimented with a light lager and a dark brown lager and got good results with each. Obviously, the darker beer was a slightly darker green, but it was still a nice olive green color. We used the same amount of food coloring (2 drops) for each, and got good results.

Tips:Use liquid food coloring instead of the gel because the liquid will disperse into the beer instantly. Be careful with the food coloring. When you're adding it to the beer, it's easy to get some of it on your hands. It's water-soluble, but the green does linger on your fingers a while. It will probably stain tablecloths and clothing as well. We did so a bit of sampling to see if we could (1) taste the food coloring or (2) if it turned our lips green. No on both counts. We did not, however, test what the results might be after a whole evening of green beer drinking. Here's to the drinking of the green!

**To make the night a lot of fun, add just one or two drops of green food coloring to the kid's bathwater. Don't put more than this, you don't want your tub green or even worse your kids going to school looking like we little leprechauns.

Wednesday-Crockpot Roast Beef, a classic

1 shoulder roast
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 onion, sliced
1 can of carrots
1 can of sliced or whole potatoes

Put the shoulder roast in the crock pot. Salt and pepper both sides. Pour the cream of mushroom over the roast. Fill up the empty can with water then pour over the roast. Add the vegetables and cover. Let cook all day for about 8 hours and you'll have the perfect roast. Serve with mashed potatoes! * Save the leftovers, you'll need them for tomorrow night's meal.

Thursday-Chimichangas

Using the leftover roast beef from last night

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked beef
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
2 (8-count) cans crescent rolls
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Serves 4

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic powder. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add beef. Cook until heated through. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup Cheddar.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Unroll crescent roll dough. Separate into 8 rectangles. Pinch perforations to seal. Spread 1 tablespoon salsa over each rectangle to within 1/2 inch of edges.
Step 3
Grease a baking sheet. Spoon 1/3 cup beef mixture over each rectangle. Roll up dough from short end; press edges together to seal. Place chimichangas seam side down on baking sheet.
Step 4
Bake chimichangas until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and green onions.

Friday-Have a night in with this great meal!

Alana's Stuffed and Wrapped Hot Dogs with Blue Cheese Chips

1 pkg of your favorite hot dogs-Nathan's All Beef works really good
(I now use turkey dogs)
8oz block or shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon
(I use turkey bacon with turkey dogs)
8 buns (I prefer the top slit for this recipe but the others will do)
1 onion, sliced and sauteed in 2T olive oil until caramalized

Take the hot dog and slice it down the middle longways (don't go all the way through. Stuff the slit with cheese and then wrap with a piece of bacon. Place on broiler pan or grill. Broil for 5-10 minutes until the bacon is brown and crispy. Serve with caramalized onions and the toppings of your choice.

1 bag of plain Kettle Chips (must be Kettle)
1 bottle of chunky blue cheese dressing (Must be Chunky)

Put the bag of chips in a deep pan and pour the dressing on top. Bake at 400 until the dressing is melted and the chips start to brown.

Menu for week of March 9

2009-03-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Mexican Manicotti

1 pound lean ground beef
1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
2-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 package (8 ounces) uncooked manicotti shells
2-1/2 cups water
1 jar (16 ounces) picante sauce
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican cheese blend
1/4 cup sliced green onions
Sliced ripe olives, optional

Directions: In a large bowl, combine the uncooked beef, beans, chili powder and oregano. Spoon into uncooked manicotti shells; arrange in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Combine water and picante sauce; pour over shells. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour. Uncover; spoon sour cream over the top. Sprinkle with cheese, onions and olives if desired. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Yield: 8 servings.

Broiled Salmon with Pesto Mayonnaise

-w/Rice and Black bean Bake

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs center-cut fresh salmon fillet, 1 inch thick, cut into 4 pieces

1/2 cup Italian Dressing

For Pesto Mayonnaise

3 Tbsps Mayonnaise

1 Tbsp prepared Pesto (store bought)

PROCEDURE:1. Preheat broiler. Rinse salmon with cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Line baking sheets or broiler pan with aluminum foil and set aside.2. In a ziplock bag combine salmon and dressing. Squeeze air out from bag and seal. Gently massage bag to coat fish, set aside.3. For Pesto Mayonnaise - combine mayonnaise and pesto, stir, set aside.4. Remove salmon pieces from bag and place on the baking sheet flesh side down. Discard marinade. Broil fish 4 to 6 inches from heat for up to 10 minutes until flesh flakes easily when tested with a fork. 5. Serve salmon with pesto mayonnaise on top.

Rice and Black Bean Bake
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 jar (8 ounces) picante sauce
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Corn or tortilla chips

Directions: In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Stir in the rice, sour cream and 1 cup of cheese. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with corn or tortilla chips. Yield: 6 main-dish or 8-10 side-dish servings

Cajun Turkey Burgers w/Creole Curly Fries

Ingredients
For Fries
1 (28-ounce) bag curly fries (recommended: Ore-Ida)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For Burgers:
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1 cup frozen chopped onions and bell peppers, thawed
1/4 cup real bacon pieces
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 onion buns
4 leaves butter lettuce
4 slices tomato
4 slices red onion

For Sauce:
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 scallion, finely chopped

For Curly Fries:
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In large bowl combine all ingredients and toss until fries are well coated. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until crispy.

For Sauce:
In small bowl combine all ingredients and mix until blended. Set aside.

For Burger:
Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
In a bowl mix together the ground turkey, onions and bell peppers, bacon pieces, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, salt, and ground black pepper.
Wet hands to prevent sticking, and form 4 patties of equal size. Spray grill pan with cooking spray.
Reduce heat to medium and cook patties for 5 to 7 minutes per side or until cooked through.
For the sauce:
Place all the ingredients into a small serving bowl and stir until combined.
Place the cooked burgers on the buns and serve with lettuce, tomato, onion and ranch dressing.

Five Veggive Four Cheese Lasagna

Chicken Tacos

(serve with spanish rice for a complete meal)

8oz cream cheese

1/3 c milk

1 1/2 c cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

4oz can chopped green chilies, drained

1/2 t salt

1/4 t chili powder and 1/4 t cumin

10 taco shells, hard or soft

shredded lettuce, tomato, sour cream (for toppings) optional

Combine cream cheese and milk in saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth. Stir in chicken, chilies and seasonings; heat thoroughly stirring occasionally. Fill shells with meat mixture, lettuce and tomatoes.

Chinese Style Pepper Steak

(serve with frozen eggrolls for a complete meal)

2lbs boneless top round steak

1/4 c veg oil

1/2 c onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 green peppers, chopped

1 c beef broth

1t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/2 c soy sauce

1/4 c water

2T cornstarch

hot cooked rice

Partially freeze steak. Slice across the grain into thin strips. Brown steak in hot oil in large skillet. Combine soy sauce, water and cornstarch; set aside. Add onion, peppers, broth, salt and pepper. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture. Cook, stirring constantly until thick. Serve over rice.

White Cheese Chicken Lasanga

(serve with a salad and garlic bread for a complete meal)

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

The Dessert of the Week is: Key Lime Pie!!

1-9" graham cracker pie shell
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks (whites not used)
1/2 cup Nellie & Joe's key west lime juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie shell and bake at 350°F degrees for 15 minutes.
Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream and garnish with lime slices, if desired--or serve with fat free Cool Whip!

March Deals!

2009-03-03T05:09:00.000-08:00

I love going to the Redbox at Wal-Mart in Winder or there's also one now at the Kangaroo in Winder across from Video Warehouse. If you go to their website http://www.blog.redbox.com/ every Wednesday you'll get a code for a free movie. Also if you sign up to get texts to your phone from Redbox, they will text you a code for a free movie on Mondays. For now, I believe this is only for March but they always run some kind of specials like this. I just think this is an awesome deal. (as long as you return it the next day by 9:00pm you only pay $1 for a movie--where else can you get a deal like that?)

Also, I noticed while I was at the Chick Fil A at the Mall of GA (the one outside the mall), I read this thing they had on the table that said "Receipt Day", so of course I was curious. Okay, so here's how this works. On Thursday, March 5 if you go to that Chick Fil A and buy anything and keep that receipt, you can take that receipt back to that Chick Fil A and get the same items free. So...if you have a family of five and you get 2 chick fil a combos and 3 kids meals on March 5....you can take that same receipt (yes, this means you have to keep up with it) to that Chick Fil A anytime in March they will give you 2 chick fil a combos and 3 kids meals free! I think this is a great deal if you're going to be up around the Mall of Georgia that day.

Until March 12, you can go to www.snapfish.com and order 75 prints for $9.99 including shipping. This is a great deal! I'm going to do my uploading right after Kyndall's birthday party. Yeah!

Also, one of my other tips as I'm printing my weekly Hobby Lobby coupon...I don't ever get a Hobby Lobby sales flyer but you can go to their website at http://www.hobbylobby.com/ and print their weekly coupon for 40% off and regular priced item. I love this coupon! This week is Kyndall's birthday, so I'm going to use my coupon to buy the doll skirt cake pan I've been wanting. It's $17.99, so I'll get it for $10.80. Because I also have a 40% off coupon at Michael's, which is always in the Sunday paper, I will go there and get a helium tank for balloons for Kyndall's party for almost 1/2 off!! I also printed off a Party City coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase. You can sign up at www.partycity.com and sign up for their email and you'll get another coupon. One of my favorite websites for promo codes and coupons is www.retailmenot.com. Anytime I am purchasing something online from pizza to American Girl dolls, I check this website for promo codes. 9 times out of 10 they usually work and if they don't, try another one. I can ALWAYS find a promo code for Papa John's pizza buy one get one free. I ordered an American Girl doll online and got $10 off my purchase with a code from this website, so the shipping was basically free.

If you got your Savvy Shopper in the mail, don't toss it in the recycling bin before you look in it! This week, there's Johnny's Pizza coupons-family meal deal for $21.95 includes large 2 topping pizza, 2 salads and cheese stix. There's also a coupon for $5 off of $30 and free chips & drinks with sub purchase.
Dakota's Grill & Bar in Auburn has some coupons in the Savvy Shopper as well. 20% off of lunch and dinner coupons. We've been there twice and it's pretty good. A little different than Beef O'Bradys and Loco's but still the same concept--way better food if you ask me. Just don't order kids drinks there-they are $1.99 just like the adult drinks! Drink water people-that's a ripoff!

Menu for March 1-March 8 Paula Deen Week

2009-03-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

Monday--Alana's Buffalo Ranch Chicken Pizza

**This is great with a salad**

This recipe will make 2 whole pizzas, so if there's just two of you....save one of the crusts and 1/2 everything else in the recipe. Or...go ahead and make it and if you have a vaccum sealer...seal it and make your own frozen pizza!!

1 package pre made pizza crust (I like to use Mama Mary's) Publix also has freshly made pizza dough balls in the deli section that are great!

4-5 bonless, skinless chicken breasts

4-5T Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided

1C Frank's buffalo wing sauce

1/2 stick butter

1C ranch dressing

1-1/2C pizza blend cheese or mozzarella

Parmesan cheese

Slice the chicken very thinly on the diagonal and cook in about 3T olive oil. (may need to add more as the oil cooks down). While the chicken is cooking, in a microwave or small saucepan, melt the butter and Frank's hot sauce together; stir and set aside. Drizzle the pizza crusts with olive oil. Spread the ranch dressing over the crust. When the chicken is done, add the wing sauce mixture and stir to coat. Place the chicken on top of the ranch. Sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle the outside crusts with parmesan cheese. Bake at 450 for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Can serve with an extra side of ranch and/or Frank's hot sauce.

Tues-- Gold Medal Sizzling Fajitas (from Pauladeen.com)
**These are great alone or get a bag of tortilla chips and salsa to go with them or maybe some spanish rice.**

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Dash hot sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds meat (boneless, skinless chicken breast, skirt steak or peeled and deveined shrimp)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced lengthwise
1 green bell pepper, sliced*
1 red bell pepper, sliced*
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 lime, juiced*
for topping: Sour cream*, Salsa*, Guacamole*, shredded Cheddar cheese*
*all of these are totally optional but sure make it delicious!

Directions
In a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce, salt, pepper and your choice of meat. Seal and toss the bag around to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator. *Cook’s Note: 15 minutes for shrimp, 20 minutes for chicken and 1 hour for skirt steak.
Preheat your cast iron servers in a preheated 400 degree F oven for at least 20 minutes, to get a good sizzle when you plate the fajitas. (if you happen to have these)
Heat the outside grill or a large indoor grill pan to medium-high heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and place it on the hot grill, discard the marinade. Cook chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, skirt steak about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare and about 2 minutes for shrimp. Slice the chicken and steak into strips if you are using.
In a large skillet heat up the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and fry the onions and bell peppers until crisp-tender with some salt and pepper.
Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven with the servers for 15 minutes.
When you are ready to serve, remove the cast iron servers from the oven and quickly arrange the meat and peppers and onions on it. It will immediately start to sizzle from their fat and moisture. Serve sizzling immediately with the warm tortillas and other accompaniments.

Wed--Shepherd’s Pie (Alana's modified version, taken from Pauladeen.com)
**This doesn't even need side items, it's a whole meal on it's own. Of course, if you wanted you could fix some biscuits or another vegetable side.

Ingredients:

"Beef" Filling:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I like to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I use ground turkey)
16 ounces canned tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked mixed vegetables (peas, diced carrots and corn)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mashed Potatoes:5 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cups low fat or fat free milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup red fat or fat free sour cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cornbread Crust:1 (12-ounces) boxed cornbread mix

Directions
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onion in oil. When the onion is soft add the ground meat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon and brown. Stir in tomato sauce and mixed vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.
In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the potatoes about 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well and return to the pot. Whip the potatoes with an electric mixer until moderately smooth. Add milk, butter and sour cream and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Adjust consistency with more milk, if desired.
Follow directions on box to make cornbread batter.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease 6 (8-ounce) ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.
Spoon the mashed potatoes into the bottoms of each prepared ramekin, spreading them evenly with a rubber spatula. Then add the meat filling, spreading that evenly over the mashed potatoes. Pour the cornbread batter evenly over the meat layer in each ramekin.
Bake for about 30 minutes until the cornbread is cooked through and golden on top.

Thurs--Northern Italian Pasta Shell Stuffing (from Pauladeen.com)

**Pair this with a salad and some garlic breadsticks**

Ingredients:
3 packages frozen, chopped spinach

3 pounds ground round (or ground turkey--or meatless)*

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (go low fat for less calories)

2 large onions, chopped

Grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper

2 jumbo eggs

1 (1-pound) package jumbo pasta shells

2 cups tomato sauce (your own or ready-made)

Directions
Place frozen spinach in a strainer and run under hot water until thawed. Squeeze all of the water out and place in a large bowl. In a large saute pan, cook the ground round until browned. *If you're sing turkey you'll have to brown the meat in about 2T of olive oil since the turkey doesn't make it's own fat like the ground beef.*Drain meat, reserving 2 tablespoons fat in the pan, and place meat in the same bowl with the spinach. Stir in the cream cheese until blended with the meat and spinach. Saute the chopped onions in the reserved meat fat until transparent. Transfer onions to the bowl with the other ingredients and stir to combine. Add grated cheese, salt, and pepper, to taste, and combine. Let mixture cool and then add the eggs. The filling can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook pasta shells in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and cool to the touch. Stuff the shells with the meat mixture. Place shells in a large baking pan and cover with tomato sauce. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 1 hour. Serve. Recipe courtesy of Barbara Plutoni

Fri--Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf (from Pauladeen.com)

**This is great with mashed potatoes and green beans or corn on the cob.**

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chuck (OR ground turkey)

10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (OR turkey bacon)

1 (8-ounce) package sharp Cheddar, grated

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup bread crumbs, toasted

1/4 cup mayonnaise (can use light mayo)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 (3-ounce) can French fried onions

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck and next 8 ingredients, mixing well.
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mixture into meat mixture, reserving remaining ketchup mixture.
Press meat mixture into a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, or shape into a loaf and place on a rack in a broiler pan. Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 40 minutes. Top with French fried onions; bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.

Homemade Girl Scout Cookies? Are you kiddin' me?

2009-02-25T07:12:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this. I ran across it today on this website http://www.bakingbites.com/. Looks delicious. I have not tried these but I do plan on it. I love these cookies!!

Homemade Samoas (a.k.a. Caramel de-Lites)

1 cup butter, soft

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

up to 2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F.In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough. Alternatively, use scant tablespoons of dough and press into an even layer in a mini donut pan to form the rounds.Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set.

If using a mini donut pan, bake for only about 10 minutes, until edges are light gold.Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Topping

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

12-oz good-quality chewy caramels

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp milk

8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
Makes about 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.
Note: These cookies are fairly time consuming to make, but if you take your time and have fun with them, the results will be worth it. That said, if you want something a little bit quicker, try baking a batch of Samoas Bars instead, which require no rolling and cutting of the dough!

Homemade Tagalongs (a.k.a. Peanut Butter Patties)

1 cup butter, soft

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F.In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk. The dough should come together into a soft ball.Take a tablespoon full of dough and flatten it into a disc about 1/4-inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Cookies will not spread too much, so you can squeeze them in more than you would for chocolate chip cookies. (Alternatively, you can use a cookie cutter, as described in the post above).Bake cookies for 11-13 minutes, until bottoms and the edges are lightly browned and cookies are set.Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, use your thumb or a small spoon to make a depression in the center of each cookieCool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (natural or regular)

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar*

generous pinch salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

about 8-oz semisweet chocolate

In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt and vanilla. When the mixture has come together, heat it in the microwave (again in short intervals, stirring frequently), until it is very, very soft. Working carefully with the hot filling, transfer it to a pastry bag (or plastic bag with the tip cut off) and pipe a generous dome of the filling into each cookie’s “thumbprint”.Chill cookies with filling for 20-30 minutes, or until the peanut butter is firm.Melt the chocolate in a small, heat-resistant bowl. This can be done in a microwave (with frequent stirring) or on a double boiler, but the bowl of melted chocolate should ultimately be placed above a pan of hot, but not boiling, water to keep it fluid while you work.Dip chilled cookies into chocolate, let excess drip off, and place on a sheet of parchment paper to let the cookies set up. The setting process can be accelerated by putting the cookies into the refrigerator once they have been coated.
Makes about 3-dozen
*You might need slightly less sugar if you’re using the conventional peanut butter, as it tends to be a bit sweeter. Taste the filling before using to make sure you like the sweet/savory balance.

Cakes

2009-02-24T06:38:00.000-08:00

The Kitty Litter Cake!

(yes, it's totally edible)

The Hello Kitty Cake

Pretty cute, huh?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake. Yummy!!

Here is my latest creation, the Teapot Cake!!

Menu plans for Feb 23-Mar 1

2009-02-22T18:17:00.000-08:00

MONDAY NIGHT

Enchilada Casser-Ole!

1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey of course)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups salsa
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 flour tortillas (8 inches)
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
Directions: In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, taco seasoning and cumin. Place three tortillas in a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer with half of the meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro. Yield: 8 servings. 357 Calories, 12g fat/per serving

TUESDAY NIGHT

Pan Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

2, 7oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4, .71oz slices of mozzarella cheese

1/2c Prego Traditional Italian Sauce

Salt/ Pepper/ Garlic Powder

1 Tbs Olive Oil

Dried Rosemary Leaves

Ground Oregano

Dried Basil

Directions
-Cut chicken breasts in half to create 4 pieces -Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. -Heat skillet with 1tbs olive oil-Cook chicken till done and transfer to a baking dish.-cover each chicken breast with 1/8c Prego Sauce, 1 slice of cheese and dashes of herbs.-bake in countertop oven, broiler or regular oven till cheese is melted and slightly browned. Number of Servings: 4 Calories: 220.4 Total Fat: 9.8 g

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Chicken Lo Mein

Ingredients

1 tsp. ground ginger
1 large clove garlic, cut into 4 pieces
3 Tbs. canola oil, divided
1 lb. linguine
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1/3 C low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1/3 C thinly sliced onion
2 C broccoli florets
1-1/2 C chopped carrots
1/2 C sliced red bell pepper
1/4 C bean sprouts
1/2 C sliced mushrooms
1 C snow peas

Directions
Start water heating for linguine. At the same time in your largest skillet or wok, combine ginger, garlic and 2 Tbs. canola oil. Turn on heat to medium and heat until garlic begins to brown. Remove garlic and ginger slices. Add chicken and 2 Tbs. soy sauce. Cook until chicken is browned on all sides. When water comes to a boil, add linguine and cook according to package direction. Drain, reserving 1 C cooking waterAdd onions, carrots and broccoli to wok and cook until carrots start to soften. Add remaining vegetables, tossing to combine. When pasta is done, add to wok along with remaining soy sauce and enough cooking water from pasta to keep noodles separated and form a nice sauce.Number of Servings: 6 Calories: 438.6 Total Fat: 9.0 g

THURSDAY NIGHT

Turkey Meatloaf Florentine

Ingredients
1 10oz box of frozen spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp canola oil
1.5 pounds ground turkey (93% lean, i.e., not ground turkey breast)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 egg
1/4 cup ketchup
1 cup (approx.) unseasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp poultry seasoning or other herbs and spices
4 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (do not use fat free cheese, as it does not melt properly. If you use a cheese other than mozzarella, such as monterey jack or provolone, use the full-fat variety.)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Defrost spinach in the microwave. In a large frying pan, heat the canola oil and add minced garlic and drained spinach. Cook until heated through and all of the water is absorbed. Do not let the garlic brown. Set aside.In a mixing bowl, combine onion, egg, ketchup, and any herbs or spices. Mix thoroughly. Add turkey and mix with your hands. Add enough bread crumbs to hold the mixture together, approximately 1 cup or more.On a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil, spread out the turkey mixture to approximately 1 inch thick. Spread the spinach on top of it, and the shredded cheese on top of that.Using the waxed paper or foil, roll up into a meatloaf shape. Seal the edges and ends to ensure that all of the spinach and cheese is contained in the middle of the turkey. Transfer to a baking dish or cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked all the way through.Number of Servings: 6 Calories: 343.5 Total Fat: 15.2 g

FRIDAY NIGHT

Turkey Sloppy Joes and Crisp Garlic Oven Fries

Ingredients
1 pkg (1.25 lb) Jennie-O lean ground turkey

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp Monteal Steak seasoning

1 small onion, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (or white vinegar)

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 15-oz can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp tomato paste

Directions
Place turkey in a skillet and season with steak seasoning and brown sugar. Mix and brown. Add onion and pepper, cook until meat is browned. Add vinegar and worcestershire, cook 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste, cook additional 5 minutes. Place on whole grain burger buns (not included in calorie count). Enjoy!Number of Servings: 8 Calories: 164.7 Total Fat: 5.2 g

Oven Fries

Ingredients

2 Lg Baking potatos with skin

Olive Oil

cooking spray

4 t Garlic salt

1T Oregano flakes

1T Mrs.Dash

1T Paprika

Directions
Preheat oven to 450'.Wash and pat dry Potatos skin on, cut into thin strips or wedges.In large ziplock bag mix garic salt, oregeno, and Mrs. Dash.Spray potato strips with cooking spray, place in ziplock bag and shake to coat.Place on cookie sheet, sprinkle with paprika and bake 15 - 20min., then turn to brown evenly, bakeanother 15 - 20 min.. . For extra crisp, turn on broil for a minute or two. WATCH closely!!!! Servings:4 Calories: 144.0 Total Fat: 0.4 g

Sausage, Onion & Mushroom Casserole-great for weekend mornings!!

Ingredients
3 cups white bread, cubed

2 hot italian turkey sausages

1 small to medium onion, chopped

9 medium sized mushrooms, sliced

1 16-oz carton Egg Beaters or egg substitute

1/3 cup non-fat milk

1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

Directions
Slice bread into 1 inch cubes and set aside. Remove casings from sausage and set aside. Chop onion and slice mushrooms. Add sausage and onion to frying pan over medium high heat. Break sausage apart and cook until sausage are browned and onion is cooked through. Remove any fat drippings from the pan and return to heat. Add sliced mushrooms and cook another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.Toss together sausage mixture and bread in large bowl. Mix together entire carton (16 oz) of Egg Beaters and 1/3 cup milk. Pour over bread.sausage mixture. Place half of mixture in large casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Top this layer with 1/2 cup reduced fat cheddar. Cover with remaining bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.Preheat oven to 350F. Cover casserole with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove aluminum cover and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake uncovered for an additonal 25 minutes.Allow casserole to set for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Makes 8 1-cup servings.Number of Servings: 8 Calories: 175.8 Total Fat: 7.9 g

And finally, the dessert of the week:

Fudgy Brownies

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp baking cocoa

1 cup water

2 large eggs

Directions
Mix eggs, sugar, flour, cocoa and water together with mixer until smooth. Add in vanilla mix until thick. Pour into 8x5x2 pan and bake in oven at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes 9 servings. Number of Servings: 9 Calories: 82.9 Total Fat: 0.3 g

ENJOY YOUR WEK, FRIDAY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!

This week's deals!!

2009-02-21T19:43:00.000-08:00

Good deals at Publix this week--ending today. Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil is BOGO-if you've been clipping your coupons you'll also have a $1 off, so you can buy one for $2 and some change or 2 for les than $5--this is a really good deal for olive oil. Also Juicy Juice is BOGO, I also had a $1 off coupon, making 2 big bottles $2.29. They have Coke 2 liters BOBO, so you can get one for $.79 which is a good deal seeing as they have gotten so expensive lately. Ragu and Ronzoni pasta is also BOGO for those quick spaghetti nights. Also they had a Scott 4 roll for $2.79 and I had a $1 off coupon, making a 4 roll of Scott $1.79 which is a good deal. So, during my shopping trip at Publix yesterday.....I saved $82.37--even the cashier was amazed. This is with the store's specials and my coupons combined.

Ingles specials--Tyson Boneless Skinless Chicken breast is $1.68/lb--stock up this is an awesome deal. Honeysuckle ground turkey is $2.50, which I'll be using this week in my Enchilada casser-ole! Organic toaster pastries are BOGO. And if you buy 4 general mills cereals, which are on sale and Fiber One Toaster Pastries (which I had a $1 off coupon for) and/or Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, you get $4 off your total bill! Oh, and I did buy some Blue Bell, I can't help it...whenever it's $3.98--I'll eat 1/2 cup at a time to get my sweet tooth fixation.

Hello! I suggest you all grab an Atlanta Journal newspaper for this Sunday. Over $100 in coupons combined with this week's sales will definately help your checking account.

One coupon I did notice is a Ruby Tuesday Buy One Entree get one Free, this is a pretty good deal especially if you don't have very many people in your family! Great date night opportunity ;).

Fatz has this thing where two people can eat for $19. This is an appetizer and two entrees. Not bad for a nice sit-down dinner. Just order water and save those $4!!
http://fatzcafe.com/files/fatzcafe_partyoftwo_menu.pdf

Also for those of you with kids (like me) I look for places with free or reduced price kids meals during the week for those days I just don't feel like cooking or just DON'T have the time! But you can easily find yourself spending $30 or more if you're not careful. So here's a few places that we've found.

-Johnny's Pizza has 1/2 price kids meals on Mondays after 5pm.
-Shane's Rib Shack has kids meals free with each adult entree. (Mon-Wed)
-Smokin Po Boys--kids eat free Mon, Tues, and Wed from 5-8pm I believe.
-Joy's Buffet--kids eat free on Wednesdays with each paying adult (I'll have to double check this one to see if they still do)
-And of course you always have Little Caesar's where you can get a large pizza, a 2 liter soda and an order of crazy bread for $8.99. Pair this with a bag salad and you have a really good meal. These days $5 won't buy a frozen pizza in the store!

Chicken

2009-02-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

This is one of my all-time favorite chicken recipes. I have changed it a little-I use turkey bacon now and it's just as good!!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken-This recipe can easily be halved...

12 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
2 (8 oz) cartons chive and onion cream cheese
12 slices of bacon
salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Between 2 sheets of wax paper with a mallet flatten chicken breasts to ½” thickness.Step 2: Spread 3 tablespoons of cream cheese over each chicken breast. Then Dot with butter and season with salt. Wrap with bacon and stick a toothpick through the rolled chicken breast to hold it together. Roll up and stick a toothpick through to hold it together.Step 3: Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes (or until juices run clear).Step 4: Turn on the broiler and broil six inches from the heat for 5 minutes or until the bacon is crispy.

Money & Time Savers

2009-02-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

These are just a few of my money/time saving ideas.
I like to go to Sam's and get a couple of packs of bonless skinless chicken breasts-there's usually about 12 chicken breast halves in one pack. This should be enough chicken for your week's meals for around $12. If you're a meat eater, the ground beef is usually a good deal, anywhere from $1.98lb-$2.48. The ground beef usually comes in 5-10lb packages. Brown up all of the meat when you get home and separate portion sizes into ziploc bags. When you're ready for a quick taco or spaghetti night-you've already got the ground beef cooked up. Sam's also has whole pork loin for like $1.98lb, this is a huge piece of meat. You can cut this into thirds and freeze them and have whole pork loin or barbecue or anything. You could also slice into porchop sizes and freeze (I have a vacuum sealer that works great for this).
Also, the bread there is a really good deal. The bread I buy for the kids is the WhiteWheat (because they won't eat "brown" bread). The two-pack of bread there is $2.88, which is what one loaf will cost you at Ingles. If you don't eat that much bread, freeze one! Bread takes no time to thaw out. Also milk and eggs tend to be cheaper at Sam's. I fully believe that the membership fee of $35/year is so worth it in the long run. Plus I share my membership with my sister (yes, you can do that) so actually my membership is $17.50. They give you two cards and since my husband is usually with me anyway, I figured I might as well help out the rest of the family.

Oh and another thing--I buy the big bar of soap pack and it lasts us all year and we don't ever run out of soap! We have soap all year long for $7!

Monday February 16-20

2009-02-16T18:54:00.000-08:00

Monday-Roasted Chicken Breast, Broccoli, Brown Rice
-make low fat peanut butter pie and enjoy all week

Tuesday-Million Dollar Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Salad
-this can be cooked the night or morning before and put in the frig to be ready for the oven. Just have to heat up the garlic bread and fix the salad.

Wednesday-Pork Loin, Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob

Thursday-Chicken Alfredo Pizza
-so easy! quick meal I use for those dance/soccer/gymnastic nights

Friday-Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries
-this is always a good go-to meal

Saturday-Bacon Wrapped Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Green Beans

Sunday-Chicken N Dumplings
-you can put the chicken in the crock pot on low the night before and have it ready for the dumplings to be put in before church. When you get home you'll have lunch!

RECIPES:

Roasted Chicken:
Boneless, skinless chicken breast
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
House Seasoning*

Place the chicken breasts on a cooking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with house seasoning. Bake for about 30-45 min depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts.

Broccoli:
If it's fresh, you can steam it or drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and roast for 10-15 min. If it's frozen, you can boil or steam it.

Million Dollar Spaghetti
1 (7 ounce) package thin spaghetti (for healthier version use whole grain)
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 pounds ground beef (I like to use ground turkey)
salt & pepper
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
8 ounces cream cheese (for healthier version you can use low fat or fat free cream cheese)
1/4 cup sour cream (for healthier version, you can use fat free sour cream)
1/2 pound cottage cheese (can use low fat)
1 tablespoon minced green pepper
2 tablespoons melted butter

Cook spaghetti drain. Saute beef (or turkey) in olive oil until brown. Add tomato sauce, salt & pepper, remove from heat. Combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and green pepper in a food processor.In a 2 quart dish, spread one half the spaghetti and cover with the cheese mixture. Add remainder of spaghetti and pour melted butter over spaghetti. Spread tomato-meat sauce over top. Chill.Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Pork Loin:

Take a whole pork loin and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and grill seasoning. Wrap entirely in foil. Bake at 400 for 50-60 min. Let cool slightly before slicing.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza:

Store Bought Pizza Crust
1 Jar Alfredo Sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cooked, sliced chicken breast (if you're totally out of time, you can buy the pre-packaged cooked sliced chicken breast in the meat section of the grocery store)
Toppings of your choice: I like to use chopped red onion, mushrooms, parsley, mozzarella cheese

Take the pizza crust and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil; spread the alfredo sauce over the crust. Add chicken and other toppings. Lastly sprinkle with cheese and parsley. Bake at 400 for 10-14 min.

Turkey Burgers:

1-2lbs ground turkey
Grill Seasoning
Worchestershire sauce

Mix well and fry in 2T olive oil in frying pan or on broiler. Cook until well done. Grill the hamburger buns in the same pan. Enjoy!

You can use frozen sweet potato fries or slice up fresh sweet potatoe thinly and drizzle with olive oil and grill seasoning and bake at 450 for 15 min.