Commissary Shopping March 30th

For those who have been to my home, you have seen my "store". It is the place in my basement where I store all my great buys and stockpile. I was helping my neighbor try to figure out how to save more with coupons. So I showed her the store with the promise that her hubby could come take a look too! I guess I am a dork that I love to help others figure out how to save their hard earned money! I love it!

This week, I was sent a special box of coupons by Sherri from swaggrabber.com. She had gathered over $19,000 worth of coupons. I had a ball going through the box and have some much needed work on my coupon binder! With some super high value coupons and free product coupons, I rocked out this week. My total was $139.83 before coupons and sales. My total was $54.17. I used over 53 coupons. I saved 62%! I was so excited. That will allow us to eat for the next 9 days without making a trip back to the store!

I had to restock our cereal since the boys finished off about 15 boxes in 3 weeks. We had some detergent, meds, and some basics that just needed restocking!

Have a great week. See you after Spain!

Menu Planning Week of March 30-April 8

I am so sorry that I have neglected my blogging for so long. I have gotten super involved around here and don't have as much free time. A good thing but still I have to slow down some!

It has gotten cooler here and we have rain all week. That is why you will see so many soups!

T: Chicken Noodle Soup-too easy not to make homemade (from Progresso Soups and More Recipe book)
1 Tbsp olive or veg oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 med green onions sliced (1/2 cup)
2 med carrots, chopped (1 cup)
2 cups cooked chicken
2 cups uncooked egg noodles (4 oz)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
1 dried bay leaf
5 1/4 cups Progresson chicken broth (2 32oz containers)

In 3 qt. saucepan, heat oil over med heat. Add garlic, onions, and carrots; cook 4 minutes, stir occasionally

Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occassionally until carrots and noodles are tender. Remove bay leaf.

I did not use bayleaf and cooked in my crockpot.

W: Chicken Stir Fry
From a birthday party this weekend, I was able to use the veggies left from our veggie tray. Serve with brown rice.

H: Chunky Veggie and Brown Rice Soup (from American Heart Association Light and Easy Recipes book)

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 lg white or red onion, coarsely chopped
1 med rib of celery, coarsely chopped
1 med carrot, coarsely chopped
2 sm zucchini, coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked instant brown rice
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crumbled
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

In lg saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom. Cook the onion, celery, and carrot for 2-3 min or until tender crisp, stirring occasionally. Stir in zucchini. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the broth. Increase the heat to med. high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes, or unitl the veggies are tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes, or until rice is tender and flavors blended.

F: Burgers

S: A birthday party

S: Ham

M: Breakfast for dinner

T: Homemade Pizza
Whole Wheat Crust Recipe

1 pkg dry yeast
1 c water (very warm)
1 Tbsp honey
2 1/2- 3 c whole wheat flour

Sprinkle yeast with water. Add honey, stir and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Add flour, work to form dough. Knead and place in lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down.

Add your favorite ingredients (load up on those veggies) and cook about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven!

W: Salmon Steaks with Mustard
Go here for the recipe. I don't think I can copy the recipe onto my site.

H: Chili Dogs

We are living for Spain for Spring Break. I will post when I get back or if I get my menu together before we leave. Enjoy!

High Value Coupon for Fruit Snacks and Skinny Cow

Love high value coupons!

Go here for the fruit snacks! Click on get a coupon! Makes them only $0.50 at my commissary!

Go here for Skinny Cow coupon! I don't know if my store carries them or not but I love Skinny Cow ice cream!

Have a great Friday!

The Story of Coupons

Collin, at hip2save.com, has done a marvelous piece to inform you about how a coupon works. Go here to read the full story!

Scotties High Value Coupon

Go here to receive a high value coupon on Scotties tissue. This should make for free or very cheap tissue! When you put in your info, make sure to answere "NO" to the question! You can print out your coupon!

Love those free tissue. Store them for the winter even if you don't have seasonal allergies!

Commissary Trip on March 16th

Short week for me due to our trip to Prague this week. I still have meat in the freezer and just needed to pick up a few things. There were so HOT deals at the commissary!

HOT DEALS:
Gold Medal Flour $1.25 (cpn. 75 cents)= 50 cents!
Cookie Mix $1.25 (cpn. $1/2)= 75 cents
Dawn Dish Liquid $1.49 (cpn $1.50)=FREE!
Ziploc Easy Zip Bags 99 cents (cpn. 55 cents)= 44 cents


My youngest asked for breaded fish fillets for his birthday in a couple of weeks. They were down from $4.29 to $2.99 plus 50 cent hanging coupon! Yippee! Not my favorite meal but it is what he wants!

I saved 58% with coupons and sales today and only spent $28.72 out of pocket! I sure wish that $2.42 surcharge would take a hike though!

Have a great week!

Lettuce Wraps

While I don't usually post friends' recipes, I thought that this was one that I must pass on. My friend, Melissa, made these for her family and said they were delicious! It is nice to have something to remind us of PF Chang's for those of us overseas who won't get any for awhile!

Turkey and Lettuce Wraps

1/2 C. water
1/2 C. instant brown rice
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 lb. 93% lean ground turkey
1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 lg. red bell pepper, finely diced
1- 8 oz. can water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. five-spice powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 heads boston lettuce
1/2 C. chopped herbs*
1 lg. carrot shredded

I will annotate changes I made due to what I had on hand

1. Bring water to boil in saucepan. add rice, reduce heat to low and cover. cook 5 minutes. remove from heat, set aside.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick pan over med-high heat. add turkey and ginger (I used powder instead of fresh), cook 6 minutes, stirring and crumbling. stir in cooked rice, bell pepper, water chestnuts, broth, hoisin sauce, salt and five-spice (couldn't find at commissary so made my own; anise, clove, cinnamon, szechwan pepper and ground fennel seed-i didn't use the fennel seed, didn't have any). Heat thru for 1 minute.

3. to serve, spoon portions of mixture into individual lettuce leaf (couldn't find boston lettuce, just used regular iceberg and it worked fine) top with herbs and carrot
* suggested herbs: cilantro, basil, mint, chives

Says it makes 4 servings, but it was enough for my hubby and I to have dinner 3 wraps each and lunch the next day in spinach tortillas.
Hope you enjoy it!

Victoria Secret Free Shipping and Reward Card

I love VS. I don't always buy from them but I do miss browsing the store at the mall. Right now, VS is offering a great deal esp for those of us overseas!

Victoria Secret is offering free shipping on ALL orders with coupon code SHIPFREE PLUS they are sending Secret Rewards cards with every order (NO MINIMUM). These cards are great because you at least get $10 off your purchase, but if you are lucky you could get $50, $100, or $500!!! This is for future purchases and will be placed in the box with your order. Check out the clearance section for sure!

Last time, VS offered this. I was able to order a sweater, a free gift of a scarf and free shipping all with a $10 reward card!

If you are part of Ebates or Shop at Home, you also get 2% back on your purchase from VS. Not a member, sign up and receive a $5 first time purchase reward!

Clearance and Mark Down Foods

Do you ever wonder why someone would buy marked down bread, meat, cheese, or chips? Do you have any idea for what to do with them? I have to say that I look at the mark downs as a way to extend my grocery dollar.

Crushed bag of chips...use to make a coating for chicken and bake in oven
Meat...................freeze it and it will be fine later(you should check out the bacon in my freezer)
Graham crackers........make a crust for a cheesecake or other dessert
Cheese.................freezes very well!
Milk...................can be frozen; just shake very well when you take it out
Day old bread..........french toast, toasted sandwiches, breakfast casserole
Very ripe fruit........freeze for later, use in muffins, smoothies, baking

When you see a markdown, think not I wonder why someone would buy that but what could I do with that!

Happy Clearance Shopping!

Commissary Shopping March 9th

Whew! I think now that I have been doing this for awhile now, I have gotten my speed and money down where I need them. This week was a week of sales.
I went back with more Del Monte coupons and had to stock up. I promise very soon that they will be back to normal soon!

I also had to buy my Snuggle. The large bottle were $2.99 and the $3 coupon made them FREE!

I also bought two Duncan Hines cake mixes for 79 cents each and then used my 75 cents off coupon--4 CENTS!

Celestial Seasonings Tea is on sale for $1.49 and $1 off coupons make it 49 cents. Cleared out the binder for that!

Cream cheese was back to $1.09 so I used $1/2 to get them for 59 cents each.

Do you make your own granola or use large quantities of oats? The large size is $2. I know I paid $3.82 the last time I bought them!

My total was well over $100 this time. I saved 52% with coupons and sales ($71.64). I did spend over my $50 budget but I have stocked up on some products that will cost way over double when they return to regular price! Total I spent $66.73. Again, a great week!

I would love to see you Monday, March 15th at 10 am at the Yellow Ribbon Room. I want to share some tips with you!

Eating Out Request

We simply don't eat out that much. Our choices are limited and it is expensive. So yesterday, Easton requested that we eat at Burger King. I already had dinner thawed and was ready to throw it on the stove as soon as we got back from picking up Ben. (His car needs a new starter)! We discussed the possibility and decided that Tuesday would work much better for us.

I have spent ALOT of time in the gym and have really been watching what I eat to lose the last of the weight to reach my GOAL! I had to do some research so I didn't blow my time at the gym today and the rest of the week for that matter. Just some info to share: Whopper Jr (NO mayo), Hamburger or 5 pc Chicken Nuggets have 290 cal and 12 fat grams. Small fries adds 230 cal and small onion rings 150 cal. I paired the Whopper Jr with a small fry and a diet coke! While it does take some adjustment to a smaller amount of food, I did not leave hungry. My perspective changed and I saw all that I did get to eat.

Are you having a hard time maintaining your goals from the New Year, losing self control, or desiring to see more results? I know when my friend Allyson commented she could tell how much working out had helped me when she was watching me Sunday in the praise band that she helped my self control go up a notch!

Your body is yours and you want it to last! Take care of it!

MY Family! AHHHH!

Tonight, we had fish tacos. While not everyone is a huge fan of fish, they have loved pan fried fish in the past. Of course, tonight was NOT that night. So after eating my fish taco with salsa and guac, I left the table. That is right. I walked away and left them to figure it out on their own.

I guess I am just done with people who do nothing to get ready for dinner complaining. I enjoyed dinner. It was so yummy and very healthy. I cook most of the time for my whole family but tonight it was just for ME (apparently)!

Share some of your funny, frustrating, and fizzle dinner stories! I can't be all alone, can I?

Menu Planning for Tuesday, March 9th-Tuesday, March 16th

Well, another busy week at my house! What to do, plan AHEAD! While I long for a Chickfila meal, I detest the thought of having to eat Taco Bell, Subway or Pizza Hut at the Food Court. I make sure to plan ahead to keep myself away from the nastiness and the fat! Can you tell I have been working really hard at the gym?

This week, this is our menu!

T: Chili Frito Pie; not so healthy but paired with a salad not so bad!

W: We have an FRG meeting this week (thing Family Readiness Group-families of soldiers).
I will take Banana Pudding (recipe care of Michael Groover (Paula Dean's hubby). I will also make Chicken Dorito Casserole that was shared with me by my friend, Rebecca!

Banana Pudding:
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 5 oz pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 8oz container cool whip
1/2 a 12 oz pkg vanilla wafers
4 bananas, sliced

In a lg bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in HALF cool whip.

Line bottom of 9 X 13 dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with cool whip.

Chill 1 1/2 hours.

Chicken Dorito Casserole: See Tuesday of this week's menu plan


H: Chipotle Chicken Sandwich (care of Pillsbury Recipes)

F: Birthday Party NO DINNER PLANS!

S: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs: See here

S: Empanadas and Brown Rice: I use pie crusts, cut in 8ths. I usually stuff with chicken that I have already cooked in crockpot (frozen chicken breasts in chicken stock; cook all day; tears apart easily), cheese, salsa, black beans, and then dip into guac or sour cream.

M: Mexican Pasta Skillet (Care of Woman's Day Feb 2010 p. 136)

1 cup cooked pasta (bowties or rotini)
1 tsp oil
1 lb. ground meat
1 small onion
2 tsp cumin
1 10 oz can mild enchilada sauce
1 11 oz can Mexican style corn
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
Cheese to garnish

Heat 1 tsp oil in skillet. Brown meat, add in onion and cumin.

Stir in enchilada sauce, corn and pasta

Add cilantro to skillet and cook until mixture is heated through. Garnish with cheese.

T: Ginger Chicken (care of Taste of Home Dec/Jan 2010 p. 42
Ingredients:
1 egg white, beaten
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

SAUCE:
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

STIR-FRY:
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons peanut oil, divided
1 medium green pepper, julienned
3 green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, finely chopped
2 to 3 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
Hot cooked rice, optional

Directions
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the egg white, soy sauce, cornstarch and pepper. Add chicken; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. For sauce, combine the cornstarch, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar until smooth; set aside.

Drain chicken and discard marinade. In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken in 1 tablespoon oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.
Stir-fry green pepper and onions in remaining oil for 2 minutes. Add bamboo shoots and ginger; stir-fry 3-4 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Stir sauce mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken and heat through. Sprinkle with almonds. Serve with rice if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

Have a happy week! Not matter what you are eating, plan ahead so you don't just grab something on the run!

COUPON CLASS

44th ESB is hosting another coupon class taught by yours truly on March 15th(Monday) from 10-11:30. I will give you tips to save you and your family some cash on your commissary shopping trips! Bring a pen and paper and I will supply the rest. We will have drawings during the class! Come on out!

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

In my opinion, there is no easier recipe than this. Great news, dump it into the crockpot and 8 hours later...tada!

Here it is folks!

1 pkg chicken breasts (3-4 depending on number of people serving)-FROZEN
1 can rotel
1 can corn, drained
1 can pinto, ranch styles, black beans (your choice); drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa
2 Tbsp cumin
1 carton of chicken broth(make it as soupy or stewy as you like)

I use Pam on the bottom of my crockpot. Put chicken breasts in first FROZEN (how easy is this) and then dump. It is that easy. Turn on the crockpot to low and cook 7-8 hours. I have let it cook as long as 12 hours before using a 110V crockpot. Serve on top of tortilla chips with sour cream, guac and/or cheese. Yummo!

Hope you enjoy!

Commissary Shopping Week of March 1-8

Well, I did not have a very long list this week but I stumbled upon some great deals that made me pull out my binder and use as many coupons as I could find.

If you use canned veggies, tomatoes or fruit in your cooking, you DO NOT want to miss the sale on Del Monte's canned foods this week. Regularly as low as 60 cents or as high as $1, this week they are between 37 and 54 cents! Half price sale! So use those coupons you printed off or have gotten from ACS or the Yellow Ribbon Room!

Tide was also on a big sale down from $8.47 to $4.99. Use those $1 off coupons to get it for less than $4 and save over 50%!

Watch the cereal, they have started to go on sale again. Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Kashi Crunchy Lean were in my basket this week. Great coupons out there for cereal so be ready to go with those!

This week, my savings was amazing! My total was $98.59 without coupons or sales. With coupons and sales, I saved 56%! I walked away paying only $43.47. I will tell you that I have enough canned veggies to last awhile!

I know storage can be an issue. Please remember that stocking up now allows you to pay less in the future. My savings didn't happen overnight. Build up those stockpiles so it is no problem when you need to make a dish for FRG or PWOC!

Have a great week saving!

Please check out coupons.com and redplum.com. Many have reset because it is a new month!

Menu Plan for Monday, March 1-Monday, March 8

Sorry I have not been posting. Honestly, I didn't know if anyone was actually reading them. My friend, Allyson, told me today that I hadn't posted in a while so here I am. My planning got off some while Ben was away!

M: Beef and Veggie Stir Fry (comes from the Parents January 2010 Issue)
Recipe:
1 lb lean beef strips
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger, divided
2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups chopped celery
1 lb. mixed frozen stir fry veggies * I subbed fresh peppers.
2 tsp canola oil
2 cups cooked brown rice

!. Season beef with salt and pepper and 1/4 tsp ginger. Combine soy sauce, water, viengar, cornstart, onion and garlic powders, and remaining ginger in a bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, mix celery and veggies, set aside.

2. Heat wok or skillet on medium high. Add oil and seasoned beef; stir fry until seared, 2-3 min. Remove beef from pan and set aside. Add veggie mixture to pan and stir fry until thawed or about four minutes. Return beef to pan. Stir sauce mixture and add to pan. Cook until sauce is thickened about 2 minutes. Per serving: only 226 calories!

T: Grilled Chicken: I usually marinate in Italian seasoning but have really enjoyed the
**Cook extra for Friday's meal

W: Spaghetti

H: Honey Grilled Tenderloins: See Wednesday

F: Spinach Salad with Chicken: I add mandarin oranges and almonds. I use this balsamic recipe.

S: Herb Chicken Sliders with Raspberry Mustard: Click here for the recipe from Pillsbury

S: Chicken Tortilla Soup

M: Fish Tacos: You may use any fish you wish. I will pan fry some tilipia.

Sauce for on top.
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tsp fresh lime juice
2 green onions, chopped

Combine and set aside.

Place fish on torilla and serve with sauce.
I will serve with rice and green beans.

Happy Eating In!

All You Printable Coupons

There is a great coupon site that I had not seen before and wanted to share with you! If you click here, you will find some of the following coupons that are fabulous!

$.50 off Lenders Bagels
$1 off Welch’s Juices
$1 off Stacy’s Pita Chips
$1 Off Tazo Tea
$1 off Boca Meatless Products
$1 off 1 newsstand issue of Southern Living Magazine
$1.25 off 1 Slim Fast product
$1 off any (2) 9-lives wet cat food
$1 off any Poise product
$2 off any Carvel Ice Cream Cake
$1 off Arm & Hammer
$1 off Healthy Choice Mixers
$1 off Marie Callendar’s Home Style Creations

I was super excited to see the ice cream cake one since they carry it at our commissary and a little guy at our house will turn 5 next month!

Thanks Coupon Geek!

Target Deals for 2/21-2/27

For all you who live in the states and love Target, hip2save.com has worked up a GREAT deals list for you to take a look at for all your savings!

Save lots of money and walk an aisle for me!

Shopping Trip for Week of Feb. 15th-28th

Since we were gone, I didn't make it to the store until Feb. 18th. I decided then to purchase all I would need until right before Ben comes home. My cost before coupons and sales would have been over $100 ($88.58 not counting sales). After $27 of coupons, I paid $61.37. I must tell you that it is important to count your sales too because that is part of the savings. I don't like that the commissary doesn't calculate this so I do it myself. The biggest sale of all was GM cereal. The small boxes are $1.99. It has been over 4 months since they have had a sale so I stocked up! The other deal was Valentine's Day candy. I scored big and will use it to make cookies and other goodies. The candy can be cut up and used just like a baking bar. Needless to say, I scored several bags for 15-42 cents! So cheap! I have bought a total of 15 bags!

I hope you are finding sales, maximizing your dollars, and increasing your family's savings trip by trip!

Menu for Feb. 21-28

Well, the craziness of being gone has gone back to normal. Ben is TDY (Army business) to Texas this week so our menu is not quite as fancy.

S: Chicken Tacos, Black Beans and Rice

M: Breakfast for Dinner

T: Honey Grilled Tenderloins (click here for recipe)

W: Chicken Nachoes

T: Ham, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes

F: Beef and Veggie Stir Fry
Recipe: 1 lb. lean beef strips
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger, divided
2 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups chopped celery
1 lb mixed frozen stir fry veggies
2 tsp canola oil
2 cups cooked instant brown rice

1 Season beef with salt and pepper and 1/4 tsp ginder. Combine soy sauce, water,vinegar,cornstarch, onion and garlic powders, and remaining ginger in bowl; set aside. In another bowl, mix celery and veggies. Set aside.

2 Heat a wok or skillet on medium high heat. Add oil and seasoned beef; stir fry until seared 2-3 minutes. Remove beef from pan; set aside. Add vegetable mixture to pan; stir fry until veggies are thawed about 4 min. Return beef to pan. Stir sauce mixture; add to pan. Cook until sauce is thickened about 2 minutes. Spoon over brown rice. Serves 6

Courtesy of Parents Magazine Jan 2010**Have not made before!**

S: Homemade Waffles

S: Break! End of the month so NO cooking!

Hope you are eating in, eating well and everyone is healthy!

Lumiani Shoes from $9.95

6pm.com is offering some very nice shoes (esp for men) at only $9.95. Considering many of these started out at over $150 and are 90% or more off, you will need to be quick. Shipping is $6.95 no matter what size your order so find a few pairs to add to the cart! You can't beat a great deal on nice shoes!

BATH and BODY WORKS coupons

There are some great deals out there just in time for Valentine's Day!

Get a FREE Antibacterial soap (up to $5 value) with any $10 purchase or more!
Expires Feb 21st!

Get Free Signature Body Care Item (value up to $12) with any $10 purchase or more! Expires Feb 21st!

Get a FREE Signature Body Care Item (value up to $5) with ANY purchase!
Think small items: small hand sanitizer,lip product, clearance between $1-2.
Expires Feb 24th!

Even if you are ready for Valentine's Day, there is always a birthday or anniversary around the corner!

Thanks Hip2Save!

FREE Excederin

If you like FREE as much as I do, you must go here to fill out this survey about pain relievers. It is one question and you DO NOT answer Excederin. Give them your mailing address and a coupon will be sent your way in 3-5 days!

Thanks Hip2Save!

Great Printable Coupons

I have found several.

Contadina Products 75 cents/3. This will make for cheap sauce or paste!

55 cents/2 Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Reynold's Products

Original Cheerios $1/1

Delmonte Canned Food $1/4

Enjoy! Save money!

Inexpensive Diapers

Money Saving Mom has just shared about a great deal on diapers from diapers.com. They have all the disposable brands that the stores carry as well as cloth diapers for those of you who have choosen this route.

Here is what you need to do!
::Set up a new account with Diapers.com (this offer is only valid on new accounts).

::Add any number of diaper products to your cart which total $50.

::Use the promo code SAVEMOM at checkout to get $10 off your order.

::Your out-of-pocket costs will be around $40 after the coupon code and shipping will be free.

::But wait, there’s more! Print and submit this mail-in rebate within four weeks and you’ll get $14.97 back! (The rebate link looks like it’s only a free magazine subscription at first, but scroll down and you’ll read how you can actually just mail it in for a $14.97 check!)

::So when it’s all done and said and you’ve gotten your rebate back, you’ll have paid only around $25 for $50 worth of products! This can make for incredible deals on diapers or cloth diapers!

If you need more info, just go to the link above to get to her site. Hope this helps you save money!

Mom's Best Printable

Love high value coupons that result in little OOP (Out of pocket) expense. Go here to print out a 75 cents/1 Mom's Best product.

I have heard Walmart and Walgreen's carry these products (Oatmeal for sure). They are very inexpensive and help stock those pantries!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Making Cookies?

A new Nestle's Toll House Morsel coupon is available here for your printing. It is a fairly high value coupon at $0.75/1! I know at the commissary that makes them $1.25. That makes alot of Oatmeal Scotchies at my house!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

Happy Baking!

Quizno's Printable Coupons

Do you love Quiznos sandwiches but not the price. Never fear, there is a coupon near. Go here to print out your BOGO sandwich!

Have a bite for me! Sure do miss Quizno's!

Pampers Gifts to Grow

Pampers offers a program to parents whose children wear diapers. You have to register here
and enter these codes

GTGPLAY2USA2010
GRATUIT89102009
GROWWITHVILLAGE
JOINTHEFUNGTG09
JUSTBECAUSE2009
OHAMANDAAWGTG08
STARTEARNINGNOW
THRIFTYMOMMYGTG
WELCOME2GTG0809
WELCOME2VILLAGE
WELCOMEBONUS089
XKCMYXFVD96VXVK

to rack up 160 points. Now why would you do this? Pampers offers freebies, coupons, etc to those who have this account. If you are buying diapers, I know you want to save money!

Cinnabon Copy Cat Recipe

Jen over at beautyandbedlam.com has just posted an amazing cinnamon roll recipe that is much like the Cinnabons you pay an arm and a leg for at the local store. How do I know? This is one of the places we have over here in Germany. Now, I have to travel to Wiesbaden or Ramstein (2-3 hours) to get one but it can still be found. However, it feels like such a gouging whenever I have to pay. These little babies will take some time (which some of you do not have) but I think they would be very worth it. Hurry over to her site and check it out!

Coupon Roundup

For those of you who are improving your coupon skills or this whole coupon thing is new to you, I just wanted to remind you to check out these websites every few days. Many times they reload coupons or list new ones that you can print out at home. I love this because I don't have to sort through a coupon insert or box, and I can do it at home!

So, check out:
coupons.com
redplum.com
smartsource.com

Lastly, there are some other bloggers out there that list the latest deals at Walmart and Target that are the best bang for your buck. I would check out hip2save.com or swaggrabber.com to see this week's deals.

Have a great day!

Organic Valley Coupons

Love organic products but not the price. This is a great way to become familiar with the products without breaking the bank. We LOVE the milk (having only two choices) and this is all my boys will drink! At $4 a half gallon, I realized that I was going to have to figure out a way to get some coupons. Go here http://www.organicvalley.coop/farm-friends/moo/join-moomom/ and you can register for an Organic Valley Welcome Pack. It includes: Kids’ activity flyer, newsletter, bumper sticker and valuable coupons for Organic Valley products.

Don't miss this one! They have butter, cheese, sour cream as well as milk! Yummo!

Thanks Thrifty Mama!

Crock Pot Bean Dip

I had an FRG meeting (a support group in the army from the same unit) and needed something yummy to take with minimal work. This is definitely a party type dip.

Bean Dip:
Ingredients:
1 16 oz can pinto beans
1 cup picante sauce
3 oz cream cheese
8 oz colby jack blend cheese
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Throw everything into the crockpot. Stir only one to two time during the cooking time of two hours (on low). The pinto beans mash quite easily as you stir it up. Serve with tortilla chips.

It is super yummy, quick and easy, and is gone in a flash! Enjoy!

English Tea Scones

This recipe is unlike any other scone I have ever had and that is why my friend, Krista, shared it with me. You will be grateful as well.

English Tea Scones
Ingredients:
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or dried cherries, apricots, raisins--CHERRIES are best in my opinion!)
1/2 cup white chocolate baking pieces

Directions:

Place egg in 1 cup liquid measuring cup. Add buttermilk to equal 1 cup (no buttermilk substitute vinegar with milk--check online)
Set aside. Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Stir in cherries and white chocolate pieces. Add buttermilk mixture. Drop approximately 1/4 cup dough onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Devonshire Cream (spread on scones)**I have never used.**
3 oz softened cream cheese
1 T sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3-1/2 cup whipping cream

Beat cream cheese. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Then, beat in enough whipping cream to make the mixture a spreadable consistency. Do NOT overbeat. Chill 2-24 hours. Makes one cup.

Love these with a great cup of tea or coffee.

Commissary Shopping Trip Feb. 8-14

This weekend and early next week we will be out of town and I have NO cooking responsibilities.

This week's trip was only $38.54 out of pocket. It said I saved 31% but that did not include sales or markdowns. I am thinking more like 40%. I needed some milk (markdown 1/2 price and had a coupon), shrimp, chicken, and got some cereal. Ben and I are really trying to curb the sugar habits in our sons but I do like to buy some goodies every once in awhile. This week, they had "cinnamon cereal" (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) on sale for $1.99 plus my $1 off coupon--$1 is my buy price for this cereal. I bought several boxes.

I didn't see any really great deals this week. Sometimes that is how it is but when you shop the outside aisles of the grocery store (the perimeter) and are cooking most of your food from scratch, it makes it possible to have groceries without breaking the bank.

Looking foward to hearing your success stories. My friend, Allyson, made her goal this week. Do you have a goal to shoot for or are you just aimlessly using coupons? Are you using your list or do you just buy what sounds good? Are you menu planning or do you open the fridge every day and hope for the best? Planning takes time but it will also save you MONEY! Remember that coupons are like cash so use them wisely and you will see the difference! Happy Shopping!

New Recipes

Here are two new recipes that we will be trying in our few days home this week and next. I HAVE NOT eaten these or ever made them myself but I have been very pleased with what I have found in Woman's Day prior to this issue.

Meatball Souvlaki
Prep: 20 min Total: 45 min.

If you don't have time to make your own meatballs, you can buy prepared meatballs. Just roast for the last 10 minutes.

Yogurt Sauce
1 c plain Greek yogurt
1/3 c chopped fresh mint
1/4 c water
1/4 tsp each ground cumin, garlic powder and salt

Meatballs
1/3 c plain dry bread crumbs
1 lg egg
1/3 c water
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp each garlic powder, salt and pepper
1 lb lean ground beef

1 lb med zucchini cut into 1/2 in rounds
1 med red onion, cut into 1/2 in thick wedges
2 tsp olive oil
3 plum tomatoes, cut into 4 wedges

Warmed pocketless pitas
Lettuce, optional

Directions:
1. Position racks to divide oven in thirds. Heat oven to 500 degrees. You will need 2 rimmed baking pans lined with nonstick foil!

2. Yogurt sauce: Mix all sauce ingredients in med bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Meatballs: Stir bread crumbs, egg, water, minced onion, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper until blended. Add beef; stir with fork until thoroughly blended. Roll rounded Tbsps into balls; place on lined baking pans.

4. Put zucchini and red onion on other lined baking pan; toss with oil. Place veggies on top rack, meatballs on bottom. Roast 20 minutes.

5. Remove pans from oven, turn browned veggies over, then push to one side and add tomatoes; turn meatballs. Roast meatballs and veggies 5 minutes more or until zucchini is tender; toss together.

6. Serve on pitas with lettuce if desired. Top with yogurt sauce.

We have found a love of greek food over here in Germany but I don't like the price tag so much. I am excited that this will be a yummy alternative to going out!

Tuscan Chicken and Bean Stew
Prep: 10 min Total: 35 min.

1/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
1 pkg (about 2 lbs) chicken thighs, skins removed *I will substitute white meat since my family won't eat dark meat!*
2 tsp oil
1 med. onion, diced
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 in chunks
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 14.5 oz can reduced sodium chicken broth
1 19 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1. Heat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper. Coat chicken in flour mixture. Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add chicken and brown. Remove chicken to a plate.

2. Stir onions and carrots into Dutch oven with drippings. Cook, stirring 4 min or until onions soften. Add garlic and cook 1 min. Stir in diced tomatoes. Top with chicken. Pour broth over chicken. Bring liquid to a boil. Cover and cook in oven for 20 minutes.

3. Mash some fo the beans and stir into the Dutch oven. Cover and cook for another 10 min or until chicken is done.

Thanks Woman's Day Feb 2010 Issue!

Have a great time cooking for your families! Hope you are finding recipes that you like! If you need help with a certain type of meat or dish, leave me a comment and I will help you out!

FREE Movie Ticket

Do you love going to the movies but hate the price of movie tickets? Do I have the deal for you! Collect codes from any (2) specially marked boxes of General Mills cereal. Offer ends 6/30/2010.


Go to this link: http://new.emoviecash.com/gmills/ and type in those codes!

Have a great time on a cheap date or just take in a movie by yourself. Don't forget to check out the website of your favorite restaurant so you can also score great deals for a fabulous date!

P & G Rebate

Go to this link:http://www.pg.com/en_US/brands/all_brands.shtml?utm_source=eds&utm_medium=crm&utm_campaign=February10Newsletter
It will let you know which brands will quality for this upcoming rebate! Buy $50 worth of participating products and you’ll be eligible to receive a coupon booklet full of $100 in P&G coupons by mail. It will appear in this weeks paper(overseas: find a friend in the states to grab you one)! I will be begging my sister or mom (check the library)! This is a great way to use coupons, get your products cheaply, and then get more coupons. Most rebates take the price BEFORE coupons. We will have to read the fine print but I am so excited!

Printable Pet Coupons

If you are a pet owner, you must go to coupons.com and see all the pet product coupons available for you to print out at home!

Here are the coupons that I see:

■$5/1 Greenies Dog Chews
■$1/1 Pedigree Marrobone Dog Treats
■$2/1 VitaLife Product (16, 20 or 32 oz)
■$1/1 VitaLife Product (5 or 8 oz)
■$2/1 Purina Moist & Meaty Dog Food (72 oz)
■$1/1 Pedigree Good Bites Treats
■$1/1 Pedigree Dentastix Dog Treats
■$1/1 Purina Friskies Party Mix Cat Treats
■$1/1 Pedigree Jumbone Treats for Dogs
■$1/1 Milk Bone Essentials Plus Biscuits or Chewy Dog Treats
■$2/1 Milk Bone Essentials Plus Long Lasting Chew Item
■$1/1 Cesar Treats

You can print out two per coupon!

Great Freebie Coupon Booklet

Go to this link: http://freecouponbooklet.boxtops4education.com/BTFECouponBooklet/Default.aspx
and sign up to receive the Box Tops for Education Newsletter and qualify for a $10 coupon booklet!

Yeah for free coupons!

Saving Money While You Travel

Well, we just got back from skiing this weekend and had so much fun. We are tracking our money this month very carefully so we saved some money by making dinner Saturday night. Yes, we did ski so I knew I would be exhausted. Hence, the crockpot made the trip with us. I made Chicken Tortilla Soup and it was so nice to have it already ready when we got back. Not to mention that we saved at least 30 euro by eating in. Leftovers came home and will be frozen for later use.

We also tried to save some money by renting our skis on post. I think that to ensure a better fit, we will rent where we ski next time. The skis and boots are in better shape and can be adjusted if there are problems (like Easton's bindings being tooooooo tight!).

We took snacks with us as well as water and apfel schorle (like apple soda). Since I get great deals on all my snacks or make my cookies from scratch, I know that I have saved money.

For some of you, vacationing means not cooking. I am the same way but after spending 30-40 euro ($50-60) on a meal, it makes me look at cooking in a whole new way. Use your crockpot, buy a premade lasagna, or other short cuts that you might not normally. In the end, you will still have a great vacation with more money to spend and get to eat well.

We will be gone this weekend and early next week for some retreats. I will post some new recipes, but needless to say, I won't be cooking myself!

Commissary Shopping Feb. 3rd

Well, I couldn't go shopping yesterday for groceries because someone at my house was SICK. Shocking I know since we have all been so healthy recently. Pardon me while I pick myself up off the ground and try to control my laughter. Sunday was to be my break from cooking day but due to another child sick and the weather so bad, I created some pizza rolls from some on hand ingredients.

Last night, I called Ben and told him to stop and pick up some food on the way home. I think I was just so overwhelmed with sickness that I couldn't contain myself!

This week's shopping trip was incredibly profitable! My total was $92.24 before and $54.40 after coupons and sales. I saved 42%. Now I am not trying to half my budget but I guess my great habit from January are creeping into February. Not that I mind.

A great deal that I found was online you can print out a coupon for $2/2 Nabisco crackers. Ritz are $2 a box so I bought 4 since I had coupons for that. $1 for a box of crackers is great!

There is also a clearance on Whole Grain Cheese Its. They are $1.13 and I had 75 cent off coupons. They are so good and good for you!

Now if we can only get the chicken on sale. However, I did speak with a bagger today who said that there is a meat market down by KFC. She said the meat was very inexpensive. Sounds like a trip that I will be planning next week!

Have fun shopping and as always, share your good deals too!

Great Coupons Online!

There is a great coupon from Pepperidge Farm for goldfish. Go to this link, http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/ and find the 75 cents off goldfish coupon. You will have to enter your email address. I entered two different addresses and got two coupons(that is the limit). I found them for $1.25 for plain ones at the commissary so I got two bags for only a $1! Great since Easton threw up today and needed something to calm his stomach.

If any of you are Kashi fans, I had some coupons that were hanging a few weeks ago. It was 75 cents off a box. The Kashi Crunch is on sale at the commissary for $2.12! This is an amazing deal for Kashi cereal! I found it kept me full and satisfied unlike many other cereals!

Heinz Vinegar is offering a coupon for 50 cents off any white or apple cidar vinegar ANY size! Get the smallest size and pay very little! Go here http://www.heinzvinegar.com/. You do have to fill out a short survey!

$1 off 1 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter product. Last week, the sticks were $1.29! This makes for a great deal! It does not look like it has a print limit so have fun! Go here http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=qkpfezl77362200&bt=wi&o=59584&c=IC&p=DtuPHF0Q

For all those moms or soon to be moms with small children in diapers, this one is for you! Go here http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=zasmbtx77899695&bt=wi&o=61293&c=WM&p=x1noivPl for a coupon for $2 off any Huggies Diaper Product! That is a great deal!

Another moms coupon is $1 off 1 Balmax Diaper Cream! Go here http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=zbaieqx42843491&bt=vi&o=61119&c=BA&p=mxzPDjuQ

Woot Woot for all these great coupons!

Free Sample of Yogi Tea

Have a friend, family member or yourself who loves tea? Send an ecard care of Yogi tea and included will be two samples of tea. You can choose from quite a few although I chose relax. Here is the link: http://www.yogiproducts.com/ecard

What a great idea on this very cold day here in Germany!

Kikkoman Play and Win Game

If you like free and want a chance to win some fabulous prizes, go to this link: http://promotions.kikkomanusa.com/chinese_new_year/ and enter pin code 0996753 to play. I won a basting brush! Let me know what you win!

Prizes you could win include:
Silicone basting brush
Spoon rest
Stainless steel tongs
Cookbooks
Buy One Get One Free
Coupon for $1 Off 10 oz. bottle of Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Coupon for $1 Off 10 oz. bottle of Kikkoman Curry Sauce

You will have to enter your address as APO, NY if you are stationed overseas!

PX Razor Deal

For all of you who are military, you may want to check out your PX for this deal. I found the Schick Quatro Titanium Power on clearance for $4.27 down from $8.49. Pair this deal up with a $4 off any Schick Quatro Titanium Razor purchase and get it for 27 cents (25 cents since they don't take pennies :))!

My cashier just kept blinking because she couldn't believe what a great deal I got. I just picked up my bag and walked out. I figure she was going to be blinking for awhile!

Hope this can be found for you! Happy Shopping!

Menu for the week of Feb. 1-7

Sorry this is late this week! This is the first day I have felt more like myself. I had a viral infection that was hanging on for dear life. Due to my menu planning, I was able to put together some quick meals so we didn't eat out!

M: Spaghetti, Frozen Bread, Salad

T: Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomatoes
I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS RECIPE!!!! I had this at a great hotel in Poland called the The Blue Beetroot. I am just trying to recreate the magic of my meal there.
Recipe:
Use a paring knife to cut the small pocket into the chicken breasts. Serve this dish with orzo or rice to soak up the shallot-thyme sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water
Preparation
Combine boiling water and tomatoes in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and finely chop.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup shallots, sugar, and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon into a bowl; stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar.

Combine chopped tomatoes, shallot mixture, cheese, basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well.

Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm. Add broth, remaining shallots, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and thyme; bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over chicken.

W: Spinach Salad
This is an easy meal! I grill my chicken with a Italian dressing marinade (or whatever you please). Slice and serve on a bed of spinach, mandarin oranges, slivered almonds and top with balsamic vinegarette. So yummy!

H: Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Recipe: I halve each bacon strip. Wrap it around small bite sized pieces of chicken. Put in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve with green beans and fruit salad. So delicious!

F: Hot Ham and Cheese
Made just like a grilled cheese but add ham also!

S: Pork and Zucchini Stir Fry (from the Quick and Easy Weeknight Favorites Southern Living)

4 servings of brown rice (can cook while you make stir fry)
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c water
1 lb boneless pork cut into thin strips
3 Tbsp veg oil, divided
3 sm zucchini, sliced (about 3 cups)
1/3 cup Hunan sauce
1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

I personally don't use the cornstarch or the sesame seeds.

Combine cornstarch and water, stirring until smooth. Add pork, tossing well. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in lg skillet over med high heat until hot. Add pork mixture, stir fry 3 minutes or until pork is no longer pink. Remove from skillet. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in skillet. Add zucchini; stir fry 3 minutes or until tender.

Return pork to skillet, add Hunan sauce and sesame seeds. Stir fry until thoroughly heated. Serve with rice.

If you can't find Hunan sauce, substitute hoisin or stir fry sauce.

S: Chicken Parmesan
Recipe:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depending on how many are eating)
1 egg beaten
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/2 c shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
Red sauce
Whole wheat noodles
Addition Parmesan for topping

Flaten chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. You can do this by placing the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and then flatten using a rolling pin or meat mallet. Mix bread crumbs and cheese together. Dip chicken in egg and then coat with bread crumbs. Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or chicken is done. Serve with whole wheat noodles and red sauce. Top with more Parmesan cheese.

I hope you can use at least one of these with your family. I know my boys will not be eating the chicken stuffed with goat cheese but they will have plain chicken. Have a great week! Cook some wonderful meals for your family!

Commissary Shopping Week of Jan 25- Feb 1

This week, I have felt lousy. In fact, I felt so bad yesterday that I didn't go shopping. I am a person who craves consistency so this was a bit hard but I knew I wouldn't feel like messing with the coupons. Today, I had to go because when you cut your grocery bill in half, it left little room for extra stuff to cook.

Well, I did it! Under $50 again! This week I saved 44% with sales and coupons. The commissary just figures what you save with coupons but I think it is important to factor in your sales as well. My total was $85.94 before coupons and $48.94 after. Of course, $3.62 is that surcharge! YUCK!

To let you know what I was buying, I thought I would share so you understand that Ramen noodles are not a staple on this 1/2 budget plan.
I did stock up on some items that were on sale and I love but would NEVER pay full price for! I purchased 4 Lysol wipes, 3 cans of chili for that unexpected chili dog night or fast meal needed, and a box of cereal that was already $1 off plus my 75 cent coupon! I also had to buy coffee, mahi mahi, onion powder, olive oil, minced garlic, pickles, milk (Organic by the way at $4 a half gallon), and shampoo and conditioner. I tell you this to encourage you that you can cut your own budget (by 1/2 perhaps not this early in your coupon experience). I have been couponing seriously for about 2 years now. Make a goal for your family: 10% or $10 for your first 2-3 shopping trips. Experience some success and then raise the bar. I look foward to you sharing your experiences. Leave a comment. I want to celebrate with you!

Next week, I will be back to regular budget in order to build my stock back up. In the next 3-4 months, I will be 1/2 my budget again!

Commissary Coupon Policy

Well, I have had some questions about the acceptance (or lack thereof) of some of my coupons but now I have an answer for you all. One of my favorite websites, Hip2Save, just did a video shopping experience for all her readers at the commissary. I commented about the commissary not accepting my coupons that exceed the value of the item and she sent me the manual for training the cashiers. Here is the link that I would cut and paste to find it for yourself http://www.hip2serve.com/2009/10/does-commissary-provide-overage.html. It is on pages 45-48. On page 48 it states, 'Valid coupons will be entered at the value stated on the coupon. If the value of the coupon exceeds the cost of the product, the customer will be given the full value of the coupon.'

I am now armed with a printed copy of the coupon policy and will use it when necessary. My advice--print one out too and carry it with you. Let's be informed shoppers saving money rather than scared shoppers reluctantly using our coupons!

Coupon Class

Due to the snowy weather conditions and rough roads, the class was not as big as I expected. However, I did have a few ladies come and they all took away a freebie and some useful information. My plan is to try again in February. I am thinking the first part of the month will work best.

Have a great week and happy coupon shopping!

Coupons at the PX

For all my military friends out there, I confirmed what my friend, Kim Messer, told me a few weeks ago. Overseas PXs will accept coupons SIX months past the expiration date. They DON'T take internet or printable coupons though. I give full credit to Kim for setting me straight!

We learn something new everyday. Today that saved me $2! Yippee!

Pizza Crust Recipe

Tonight, we had Make Your Own Pizza. I wanted to try out a new recipe for pizza dough before I shared. It was SO yummy and much healthier than buying one from the store so I had to share!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 pkg dry yeast
1 c water (very warm)
1 Tbsp honey
2 1/2-3 cups whole wheat flour

Sprinkle yeast into the water. Add honey and stir. Leave for 10 minutes without touching. Add flour and work to form dough. I used 2 1/2 cups and it was enough. Knead and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes. Punch down. This made four individual pizzas to feed my whole family. I will tell you this is so SIMPLE. I normally don't make my own crust but will be from now on!

Enjoy!

Menu for Jan. 25-31st

Hope you liked some of the new recipes I posted last week. There are a few more new ones this week as well!

M: Easy Chicken Fried Rice

Recipe: 1 pkg chicken tenders
3 Tbsp veg oil, divided
2 lg eggs, lightly beaten
1 lg sliced onion-finely chopped
1 10 oz pkg frozen veg, thawed
5 cups cooked brown rice (3 bags)
1/4 c teriyaki sauce
1/4 c soy sauce

Cut chicken in small pieces. Brown in 1 Tbsp of oil until brown.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil over med-high heat; add eggs and gently stir one minute or until soft scrambled. Removed eggs and set aside.

Heat remaining oil. Add chicken and vegs and fry 2 minutes. Add rice and remaining ingredients. Stir fry 5 min. Add in eggs.

T: Blackened Mahi-Mahi

This seasoning recipe comes from About.com. I make my own since I can control the amount of salt and other spices according to our likes and dislikes. You can buy this at the store if you choose. Ben will only eat fish that is grilled or pan fried. NO baked fish for him!

Recipe for Blackened Seasoning

•1 heaping tablespoon paprika
•2 teaspoons salt
•1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder
•1 heaping teaspoon onion powder
•1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
•2 teaspoons black pepper
•1/2 teaspoon leaf thyme
•1/2 teaspoon leaf oregano

Here is the recipe for the fish. This is from cooks.com.

Enjoy!
1 1/2 lb. firm-fleshed fish fillets (We use Mahi-Mahi).*carried at comm.
1/4 c. flour
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. cooking oil
1 tbsp. blackened fish seasoning or Creole seasoning

Dust the fillets with flour. Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the flour-covered fillets and cook 3 minutes on one side, turn, and sprinkle seasonings evenly over the browned side. Cook another 3 minutes and turn, sprinkling this side with seasonings. Turn the heat to high and sear each side for about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

We also have done this in our cast iron skillet on the grill. Yummo!

W: Loaded BBQ Baked Potatoes
I will be using some of the BBQ from last Saturday. I will freeze what remains uneaten for this meal!

H: Honey Mustard and Bacon Smothered Chicken
Recipe: 4 6 oz. skinned and boned chicken breasts
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp veg oil
1/4 c honey mustard dressing
8 fully cooked bacon slices (I just cook while chicken is cooking.)
1/4 cup (1 oz) shredded Mexican 4 cheese blend

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper

2. Melt butter with oil in large skillet over med-high heat; add chicken and cook 8 minutes on each side or until done. Reduce heat to med-low; brush chicken with honey mustard.

3. Top each chicken breast with 2 slices of bacon and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook 2 minutes or cheese is melted.

ONLY 372 Calories! Serve with green beans and apple wedges

F: Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu-NEW one for MY family!
Recipe: 1 5.5 oz box season croutons, finely crushed
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg whites
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 6 oz skinned and boned chicken breasts

6 1 oz cooked ham slices
6 1 oz swiss cheese slices
Optional: Honey Mustard Dressing

Preheat oven to 400. Combine crouton crumbs and Parmesan in lg. baggie; seal and shake well. Whisk egg whites and 2 Tbsp water in shallow bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken. Dip 1 chicken breast in egg and then place in baggie. Seal and shake to coat. Place chicken on lightly greased rack in a broiler pan. Repeat for remaining chicken.

Bake 20 minutes. Top each chicken breast with 1 slice ham and cheese. Bake 5 more minutes. Serve with honey mustard.

Can be served with wheat noodles or a salad with strawberries and vinegarette.

Cal: 469 Serves 6

S: Chili Dogs
*Funny story about this. Easton is a picky eater, and therefore, never eats in the cafeteria. We have been eating so healthy that the other day he was actually craving a hot dog on the school lunch tray. I figured we should add these to our menu since the boy wanted one so bad!

S: I am taking a BREAK! I have cooked almost every night for a month. Momma wants a break. Leftovers, cereal, etc!

DEALS at the Commissary!

YMMV! (This means that it is more than likely a local deal-your mileage may vary!)

Some great deals I found today that I had to go pick up:

Strawberry Special K Bars reg. $2.33 now $1.17 plus I had coupon for $1/2 so only $0.67 a box!

1/3 Reduced Fat Cream Cheese reg. $1.79 now just $1 and I had $1/2! Just 50 cents each!

Pepperoni Bite Sized Pack reg. $2.50 only $1.25 plus 75 cents off one coupon! Only 50 cents each. These freeze well and are great for make your own pizza nights!

Amy's Organic Enchiladas reg. $3.99 now $2.54! Great deal for organic!

They had refrigerated Jello, ham, Lactaid milk, and other dairy marked down!

Just had to share these great deals with you!

Baked Lays

Smartsource.com has just loaded a printable coupon for $1 off 1 bag of Baked Lays. Commissary shoppers these can run for $1.42 to $1.87 a bag and a much healthier treat than regular chips! Great in the Dorito Chicken recipe posted last week!

Don't miss this one! You can print it twice!

Giveaway to Win FREE Diapers

All my friends with kids in diapers, this is a MUST for you! You could win!

Wow! Pampers has a great promotion available on their Facebook page! Currently, when you become a fan of Pampers on Facebook, they’ll donate a diaper to charity (up to 200,000 fans)! Not only that, but everyday, for the next 25 days, one lucky fan will win a years supply of diapers! Plus, you can enter each day for even more chances to win!

Don't think you won't win! Instead think, what if I did? What would you do with ALL that extra diaper money? A trip? Pampering for mom? Clothes?

Enter today!

TAX PREP FREE for Military

Another one of my favorite sites made me aware of this awesome deal! Thanks Swaggrabber!

Prepare your 2009 taxes – state and federal – with this easy-to-use program. H&R Block At Home (formerly TaxCut) Basic Online is free to active duty, National Guard, and Reserve service members and their families. To access this free service provided by the Department of Defense, you must be registered and logged into the Military OneSource Web site.

Tax consultants are also available 7 days a week from 7 am - 11 pm ET by calling the Military OneSource Tax Hotline at 1-800-730-3802.


Go to this website for more info: http://www.militaryonesource.com/MOS/FindInformation/Category/TaxFilingServices.aspx

FREE Ensure 8 oz Shake or Coupon for Pack

Getting your hands on one of the creamy, delightful flavors of Ensure is easy. Just answer a few quick questions to receive a coupon — one for a free Ensure 8-fl-oz shake or one for savings on the many flavors and varieties of Ensure six-packs.

Go to http://ensure.com/free-ensure-sample to get your coupon!

Thanks Hip2Save!

Soft Scrub Printable Coupons

Here is another deal thanks to Hip2Save!

Go here http://www.softscrub.com/special-offers to print out the following coupons:
$1.50 off one Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl or Soft Scrub Total Kitchen Cleanser
$1 off one Soft Scrub Cleanser
$1.50 off one Soft Scrub Bleach Clean Gel Cleanser

or go here http://www.softscrub.com/members/add and sign up for the Soft Scrub Club to print a buy one get one FREE Soft Scrub Cleanser coupon!

Love these coupon deals! NO clipping and easy to grab!

FREE Sample of Playtex Sport and Coupon

Ladies, I love FREE!

Here is a good one. I got one just the other day that I requested at the end of 2009. It is being offered again.

Go here http://www.playtexsport.com/Demand-It.aspx and fill out the form. It takes 4-6 weeks for delivery!

LOVE samples and LOVE coupons!

Thanks Hip2Save!

DINNER was GROSS!

If you haven't made it yet, skip the Monterrey Black Bean Chicken and Rice. Needless to say, this would have been a meal where I would have sent Ben out for more food in the states. My options are MUCH more limited here so I am eating peanut butter toast, chips and a diet coke. I try to limit my carbs so you have to know it was bad!

Since I have been stretching our food budget for the month of January, I have quit buying convience foods as well. Plus the fact that they are so bad for you. In fact, Easton mentioned that he was craving a hot dog on the school lunch tray just the other day. So I have made sure that next week, we will have Chili Dogs.

Just had to share my disaster (Ben says it wasn't that bad) and let you have a great laugh!

How To Save Your Fresh Herbs

I love cooking with cilantro (coriander over here in Germany). I don't cook often enough with it, and it goes bad. I have been trying to stretch our money so I have divised a plan that will work. I am going to put small portions of cilantro in an ice cube tray, fill with a little water, and freeze. When they have frozen, I will take them out and put in a ziploc bag. Tada! Now you can have fresh herbs to cook with and not have to fix dishes that all contain that herb in one week! Make sure you label the baggie with name and date with a sharpie so you make sure to use them in a reasonable time period!

Have any money saving tips or stretchers! Share with us all!

Shopping Trip

BUSTED my shopping budget by $10 this week.

Why, oh why? Well, you know I am always on the lookout for a great deal. This week, I found two! One was for Special K Blueberry Cereal (normally $3.31 a box) and on sale for $2.12 PLUS I had $1 off coupon per box! Needless to say, I stocked up using ALL of the coupons I had! So that explains $5.75.

The other great deal was on Lay's Kettle Chips. I am not much of a chip eater but Ben loves them for lunch! So they were discounted from $1.42 to $1.19 (not huge I know) and then I had a BOGO so I used my two coupons. There is another $2.50.

My last little problem was called Schweinfurt, Germany. Often, we will completely run out of a product for several weeks. This week was the 4 lb bags of chicken. So...I had to buy the smaller packages that are much more expensive. There went another $2.50. There is my sad story! HAHA!

I still saved over $30 and 34% (which honestly is much higher if you count sales). Not too bad for a week where I needed a rump roast, a 4 lb. bag of chicken, and baking stocks (like flour, sugar, butter, etc.).

We have saved about $200.00 this month and still have one week to go. Maybe you saved more money this week! I would love to hear about it. Post a comment!

HIGH Value Soy Milk Coupon

For all you soy milk drinkers, here is a great way to save some money on your milk.

Wa-hoo! There’s a super high value 8th Continent Facebook coupon available! Just go to http://www.facebook.com/8clopez and become a fan of Sara Lopez- 8th Continent Soymilk’s Own Soy-lebrity! …AND write on the wall, “I want my coupon!”. After doing so, you’ll receive a $2 off any 8th Continent Soy Milk Product coupon in your Facebook mailbox and also in your email account that you used to sign up for Facebook!

Thanks Hip2Save!

HIGH Value Dog Food Coupon

Follow this link directly to the website and sign up to score a $10 off coupon for dog food! It should arrive in 6-8 weeks!

http://www.puppystart.com/EukGlobal/US/en/jsp/prepuppy/Landing.jsp

Have a great day saving money!

FREE MILK!

This was taken from another money saving blogger's site!

Yay! I am so excited! Why? Well, the *HOT* milk instant win game I told you all about previously has a smokin’ HOT new coupon available to print! Just head on over here promotions.whymilk.com/ggg/ to enter to win FREE milk for a year and just for entering you’ll be able to print a coupon valid for a FREE gallon of milk (any brand) with a $100 grocery purchase (before coupons)! You’ll see this coupon offer advertised in the bottom left hand side after you find out if you’ve won or not. You’ll also receive this coupon link via email after entering.

As you may know, milk coupons are very RARE, so I always get excited when they’re available!

If you live in Germany, I am going to check with the commissary to see if they will accept this for our half gallons of milk. I will let you know!

Thanks Hip2Save for this amazing coupon opportunity!

Menu for January 18-24th

So I hope your families are enjoying some new cuisine or some old favorites that you haven't made in a while!

M: Breakfast for Dinner
For us this means, eggs, bacon and toast or biscuits.

T: Monterrey Black Bean Chicken and Rice
Ready in 20 MINUTES! Boy do I love that! 4 Servings

1 bag of boil in a bag rice; 2 cup size
PAM
3 Skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into large pieces
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (DON'T drain!)
1 16 oz can pinto beans (DON'T drain!)
1 15 oz can black beans (DON'T drain!)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp of Mexican-style dry seasoning blend

Prepare rice.

Preheat over to 350. Spray lg. casserold dish with PAM. Arrange chicken pieces and add remaining ingredients. Cover and place in oven. Cook 15-20 min.

Serve with rice. You can garnish with lime, green onion or cilantro (corriander for all you German stationed friends-in the produce section of local market or commissary)

THIS IS NEW TO ME! NEVER TRIED IT! Tell me what your family thinks!

W: Tangy BBQ Sandwiches with Sweet Potato Fries

For those of you who know, I am doing this without the carbs so I will forgo the bread. Still very yummy though!

Recipe: CROCKPOT Recipe! Yippee!

Cook 7-8 hours
3 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1 cup bbq sauce
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 boneless chuck roast 3-4 lbs, trimmed
14-18 hamburger buns

In slow cooker, combine first 12 ingredients, mix well. Add roast. Cover and cook on high 7-8 hours (if you are using a 220V crockpot , don't cook on high. Cook on low.). Remove roast, cool. Shred meat and return to sauce. Heat through.

My recipe for sweet potato fries is just cut up the sweet potatoes into long strips. Spray with PAM and sprinkle with cinnmon. Cook about 15-20 or until tender!

H: Chicken Nachos
I cook my meat in my crock pot with some chicken broth during the day. When you get home , shred the chicken and then add all that you like. We use fat free refried beans, tomatoes, cheese, and chicken on blue corn chips. I bake these on 350 for about 6-8 minutes or the cheese is melted! Add tomatoes, sour cream and guac when you take them out of the oven.

F: Chicken Pesto Pasta (Wheat Noodles)
2/3 cup basil pesto (green stuff by the spaghetti sauce for the newbies)
9 oz pkg of fettucine
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups pulled cooked chicken meat (cook extra when you cook the chicken for nachoes or buy a rotissiere chicken)
2 cups sliced red bell peppers
1/2 cup pitted olives, halved
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan plus LOTS more for the table

Put pesto in lg bowl.

Cook pasta according to packagae. Drain pasta but reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water. Whisk the pasta water into the pesto.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add garlic until fragrant and soft. Add the chicken, peppers and olives. Cook and stir about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the pasta and cheese to the pesto. Toss to combine. Add the chicken mixture and combine. Serve immediately with extra cheese on top!

S: Pizza (make your own)
You can make your own crust or you can buy the already made pizza crust. We add our red sauce, pepperoni, ham, pineapple, peppers, mushrooms, feta cheese, artichoke hearts, banana pepper rings, and of course, mozzerella cheese on top! Bake 8-10 minutes. So much better than take out!

S: This is a leftover day for us since we ate out one day last week for Ben's job! Have fun and relax with your family!

Questions, tips, comments! Post them now! Have a great week and enjoy cooking for your family!

Coupon and Keeping Them Handy

I have had several questions about where I get my coupons and how to I keep them organized so let me share what works for me!

I have a binder with baseball card holder sheets. I have used dividers to divide mine into sections such as:

Baking goods/Sweets
Self Care
Household
Paper/Plastic Goods
Frozen
Dairy

I know some of you will want to have more dividers and be more specific about your divisions. Again, this will only work for you if you organize in a way that is helpful to you!

Other ways to organize are to keep all the inserts together and label with the date. I need to actually see my coupons so this doesn't work for me. You can try and index card box or shoe box with envelopes. The key is organization so that you can find the coupon you need when you are looking for it! It doesn't help when you find it several weeks after you bought the product.

Now to share about where I find my coupons:

Since I am overseas, we are allowed to use coupons 6 months past the expiration date. We receive coupons from people in the states so I am able to go on post to collect them or I have friends who send them.

For those of you in the states, DO NOT buy a small town local paper. When we were at Ft Hood, I bought the Dallas Morning News or Austin American Statesman to get coupons. My mom is in Houston so she would buy the Houston paper for me.

I also go to coupons.com or redplum.com. There are two blogs that I love that also give links to coupons. They are hip2save.com and swaggrabber.com. These blogs will also let you know when a company is offering free samples. Sign up! There are often high dollar coupons sent inside these samples!

Side note: I would create an email account for just these types of sign ups to keep the junk mail out of your regular email account!

Check your magazines as well. Many times there are great coupons in those that you just skip right past.

There are sometimes valuable coupons on the product itself at the store or hanging coupons right beside the product. Use these if you need the product and don't have another coupon. Many times they will put these out though and raise the price. Take a few, store them for later and watch the price!

I know for many of you that couponing is new so ask questions and I will try to help you save money!

Stocking Up at Rock Bottom Prices

I have taken the liberty of sharing a post on another blog that I read called thethriftymama.com. There Crystal shares how she decides when to buy as much of a product as she has coupons for and when to just buy what she will need for a few weeks.

Stock Up at Rock Bottom Prices to Save Money
by Crystal Collins on January 11, 2010


One of the ways to really cut your grocery spending, is to stock up on items when the price is either FREE or rock bottom. This can be hard to fathom when you are first starting out in the coupon game, because you feel very overwhelmed. The easiest way to get started is to make yourself a list of about five things that you use on a regular basis. This is besides your fresh fruit, vegetables and milk. After you start getting better at couponing, you can add more to your list. Here’s an example of what a beginning list would be for me:

Oatmeal

Cereal

Canned Veggies

Evaporated Milk

Pasta

So for the next few weeks, I would look at the sales that run on those items. I would also hunt down any coupons that are available for those items. One great resource I use to hunt down coupons is the Hot Coupon World Coupon Database. Just type in the name of the product you are looking for and it will give you a list of available coupons.

My stock up price is always lower than my buy price. There are times when the deal is good enough that I would buy a few of an item if I needed it. For example, I would buy oatmeal if it was under $1 for a bin of oats. However, if a bin of oatmeal is free or even .25 cents after coupons, then I would stock up. Stocking up would entail me getting several months worth or more of an item. Allow me to break this down for you all with some current examples:

Quaker Oats are .50 cents at Walgreens this week (1/10-1/16) after the in-ad coupon and this $1/1 printable HERE. .50 cents is a good price, and I would probably buy several bins if I was getting low in my stockpile. If I had Register Rewards from other deals, then I could lower my out of pocket even more buy paying for the oatmeal with my Register Rewards. However, Quaker Oats are free after the $1/1 printable at SuperFresh and Giant Eagle this week as well. I do not have either of those stores in my area, but I would be stocking up on oats at those stores if I had them. A .50 cent difference may not seem like much at the moment, but in the long run it is the key to maximizing your savings on grocery shopping.

Quick Facts for Stocking Up:

1. Go where the best deal is. Don’t be store loyal or brand loyal.

2. Watch your local sales, and start to become familiar with the sales (all sales are on a cycle).

3. Match coupons with those sales to maximize your savings.

4. Only stock up a lot when an item is FREE or a rock bottom price. There are many items that never end up free with coupons, so you need to figure out what rock bottom is for a particular item.

5. Once you get into a rhythm of only stocking up at rock bottom prices, then you are only buying sale items each week along with regular weekly purchases of dairy and produce.

So for my personal note (Jen) on all this: My stock up items are:

Cereal or Oatmeal

Peanut Butter

Popcorn

Almonds or Peanuts

Crackers

These are items that keep well, are eaten on a daily basis at my home, and can be found for great prices using sales and coupons. While I can't comparision shop, I can wait for the deals and then buy them up! It is not unheard of for me to buy 6-8 boxes of oatmeal or 10 boxes of cereal. Remember that this is a great way to save money. Have fun, ask questions, and keep practicing! It does get easier with time!

Grocery Shopping

FUN TIMES SHOPPING!

This week's shopping trip was great! I know that I get a kick out of saving as much money as I can. Several of the checkers are really into watching my total fall! I was able to $88.88 worth of groceries for only $50.76. While over my $50 limit for the week, I did buy prizes to give away at my coupon class. While it was only about $4 worth of money for over $20 worth of stuff, every dollar has to go far on $50! I saved 42%! I am really enjoying my challenge for myself and Ben and I decided to purchase ourselves a special gift with all the money we saved this month.

My family would have to tell you that we have eaten better, been healthier, and I have even lost 7 pounds while doing this challenge. My trips to the grocery store are purposeful and short since I have a very defined list!

Many ask where I get my coupons and I will be doing another post soon to share where to get great coupons! Stay tuned!

Coupon Class

I have been asked to teach a coupon class on post here in Schweinfurt. The date has recently been changed to January 25th from 10-11:30. I will be giving away door prizes (which of course I used coupons to buy)and will have some great money saving tips for you! Please contact me via email if you are interested or the point of contact, Kim Messer.

Since reducing our food budget by half for the month of January (which I started a week early), I have dropped 7 pounds. Even more of an incentive to cook dinner, eat healthy, and coupon!

Menu for Jan 11-17

This week, I will be introducing several new recipes to my family. We shall see what they think!

M: Ham, Roasted Carrots
Carrot Recipe:
1 lb bag baby carrots
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp House seasoning(1 cup salt, 1/4 cup garlic powder, 1/4 cup pepper-store in air tight container to use whenever necessary!)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Heat oven to 350. In lg bowl, coat carrots with olive oil. Toss with house seasoning and place in 9 X 13 pan. Cook about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and toss carrots with butter and parsley. I leave out the last step and they are very yummy!

T: Dorito Chicken
4 chicken breasts (boiled and chopped)*
1 can cream of chicken
1 can rotel
2-3 c of shredded cheese
1 bag baked Doritos

Spread chips on bottom of 9X13 dish. In lg bowl, mix soup and rotel together. Layer your dish: chips, chicken, soup, cheese, etc. I layer twice. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
You could add cream of mushroom soup if you like it creamy, add onion, or use green chilis instead of rotel.
*I cook my chicken in the crockpot all day with chicken broth (7-8 hours) and then shred to use for this recipe.

W: Chili, Cornbread
I use Chili Magic which calls for a can of tomatoes and 1 lb of meat.

H: Breaded Chicken Breasts, Brown Rice, and Tomato and Cucumber Salad (chopped and tossed with Balsamic Vingerette)

Chicken Recipe
3/4 c dry bread crumbs
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
4 1/2 tsp minced fresh parsley
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 c butter or margarine, melted
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
dash of paprika

In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. In another bowl, combine the butter, lemon juice, and garlic. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then roll in crumbs.

Roll up chicken jelly-roll style and place seam side down in a greased 9X13 dish. sprinkle with paprika. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes at 350 degrees or until juices run clear.

F: Honey Grilled Butterfly Tenderloins, Sweet Potatoes, and Salad
Recipe:
2 pork tenderloins
1/4 c soy sauce
1 Tbsp bottled minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp dark sesame oil

Make lengthwise cut down center of each tenderloin to within 1/4 inch of opposite side open tenderloin.

Combine soy sauce, garlic, and ginger in a lg zip lock freezer bag, add tenderloins. Seal bag and chill for at least 30 min. turning occasionally.

Preheat grill to med-high. Stir sugar, honey and oil. Drain tenderloins, discard marinade. Grill, cover with lid, for 10 minutes on each side or 155 on meat thermometer. Bast often with honey mixture. Let stand 5 minutes.

S: Penne Puttanesca (from Feb Woman's Day)
Recipe:
1 lb penne pasta (whole wheat if you can find it)
1 5 oz can of tuna
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c pitted olives, halved
2 Tbsp drained capers
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Cook pasta in lightly salted boiling water according to package directions.

Meanwhile, pour 2 tsp oil in large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, olives, capers, and pepper. Bring to boil. Readuce heat; simmer 5 minutes for flavors to blend. Add tuna.

Drain pasta, and return to pot. Add sauce and toss.

403 cal Serves 6

S: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, Brown Rice and Green Beans
Recipe: Comes from Feb Woman's Day Magazine
1 lb ground chicken or turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup scallions *I won't use.
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
Hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)

Heat oven to 475(I think this may be a mistake from the magazine. I am going to try 375). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a bowl, mix ground meat, bread crumbs, scallions, and spices. Roll into 32 inch balls; place on pan. Bake 10-12 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove from oven and drizzle with hot pepper sauce. Toss to coat. Serve with blue cheese if desired.

Hope this inspires you to meal plan for your own family. We are trying four new dishes at our house. Ben even picked out the Penne Puttanesca himself!

Have a great week!

Money Saving Grocery Shopping

Yesterday was my weekly commissary shopping trip. I watched my total ring up to $149.68 and then watched the coupons do their magic and bring that total down to $88.98. I still thought that was high even though I had saved 42% and $61.30. I came home and checked my receipt as all good shoppers do. I realized some razors I bought rang up at $7.49 instead of $4. Even with my $4 high value coupon, I still paid $3.49 for the razors, and I had bought 9! I went back in today to double check the price and then asked the manager for a refund. We figured out what I was owed and it came to $33! Ouch! When I refigured my grocery bill savings, it came to 52% and a total of $55.98. I was $5.98 above my budget but that included pork chops and chicken that I will end up using for next week's meals. So really I spent $39.64 for a week's worth of groceries. Look at my meal plan, we aren't eating ramen noodles either!

With all this said, I do shop on the local economy to get my produce, bread, and eggs. This week I spent 10 euro or about $14. Not too bad for a family of four eating healthy in Germany!

Menu for the Week of Jan 4-12

Well ladies, here is my weekly menu. I have been trying out some new recipes as well as some old favorites.

M: Hamburgers, Fries, Salad

T: Pork Loin (in crockpot) with carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and onions; add in some chicken broth and it is done; cook 7-8 hours on low

W: Crispy Garlic Chicken: 1 tsp bottled minced garlic, 1/4 c olive oil, 3/4 c Italian seasoning bread crumbs, 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp pepper, 4 6 oz skinned and boned chicken breasts
Preheat oven to 425 F. Combine garlic and olive oil. heat in microwave 30 sec or until warm.
Combine breadcrumbs, cheese and pepper. Dip chicken in olive oil and dredge in breadcrumbs. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. (Lazy way: cover baking sheet in foil!)
Bake 20-25 min or until chicken is golden. Serve with whole wheat angel hair and marinara (or in my case: brown rice)
CAL: 339

H: Chicken Fajita Salad with Guac (I just grill the chicken after marinating in Italian dressing or Soy Sauce).

F: Chicken Tortilla Soup (in crockpot): 3-4 chicken breasts, frozen, 1 carton of chicken broth, 1 can stewed tomatoes, 1 can corn, drained, 1 can pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained, 1 c salsa, 2 Tbsp cumin; Place chicken breasts in bottom of a PAM sprayed crock pot, dump everything on top; cook on low 7-9 hours; serve with tortilla chips, cheese, low fat sour cream and guac if desired!

S: Ben will take care of this since I will be gone!

S: Tacos

Enjoy the meals! I will post next weeks very soon!