Tuesday's CVS Trip

The CVS deals this week were pretty scarce, but I did manage to roll my ECB's.  I am planning to go back Saturday and finish the Eucerin and Nivea deals.  Here's what I ended up with this week...

2 Colgate Total TP $3.79 ea - $0.79 ea Sale - $1/1 MC x 2 - $3 ECB wyb 2 = 2/$1

1 Cultrelle Probiotic $24.99 - $14.99 Sale - $2/1 MC - $10 ECB's = FREE + $2 Money-maker!

1 pkg CVS Size 1 Diapers $9.29 - $1.30 Sale - $3 ECB's = $4.99

1 Slim Jim $1

+ $0.61 Tax

- $4/$20 CVS Coupon 

- $8 ECB's used to Pay

Total OOP: $9.60, Earned $16 ECB's for next time!

Linked to Simply CVS!

ALDI Deals, Starting 02/19/2014

Here are some of the AWESOME deals this week at ALDI...

• Weds. 02/19 ONLY: Tyson Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs $1.49/lb
• Weds. 02/19 ONLY: Cattlemen's Ranch Fresh USDA Choice Beef Pot Roast Kit 2.75 lbs $7.99 ea
• Green Bell Peppers 2 pk $0.99 ea
• Mushrooms 8 oz $0.69 ea
• Roma Tomatoes 16 oz $1.39 ea
• Romaine 2 lb bag $0.59 ea
• Carrots 3 pk $1.19 ea
• Yellow Onion 3 lb bag $0.79 ea
• Carlini Extra Light Olive Oil 17 oz $2.99 ea
• Pure Olive Oil 16.9 oz $2.59 ea
• Priano Lasagne Sheets 9 oz $0.99 ea
• Priano Filled Italian Pasta Mushroom, Cheese, or Spinach and Cheese 8.8 oz $1.49 ea
• Priano Assorted Tortellini Spinach Ricotta, Mushroom, or 4 Cheese 8 oz $1.29 ea
• Priano Vodka Pasta Sauce 23.5 oz $1.79 ea
• Priano Arrabiata or Primivera Pasta Sauce 24 oz $1.49 ea
• Priano Alfredo Sauce Roasted Garlic, Light Creamy, or Sun-dried Tomato 15 oz $1.69 ea
• Priano Italian Style Diced Tomatoes 14.5 oz $0.59 ea
• Priano Shredded Parmesan Cheese 5 oz $1.99 ea
• Simply Nature Yogurt Squeezies Assorted Varieties 4-3.5 oz pouches $3.69 ea
• Friendly Farms All Natural Rice Pudding 22 oz $1.99 ea
• Specially Selected Parmigiano Reggiano 7.05 oz $4.99 ea
• Belmont Gelato Tiramisu, Triple Chocolate, or Mixed Berries 30 oz $3.99 ea
• Kellogg's Pop-Tarts Cookies and Cream, Frosted Blueberry, or Unfrosted Strawberry 21.1-22 oz $2.79
• Kitchen Living Stainless Steel Colander 5 Qt Red or Brushed $3.99 ea
• Kitchen Living Stainless Steel Rotary Cheese Grater $6.99 ea
• Kitchen Living 11" Cook, Fry, and Serve Pan $16.99 ea
• 10" Tropical Plant $9.99 ea

For more information about shopping at ALDI, visit their Homepage!

Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday: Orange Chicken

Chinese is one of our favorite types of take-out, but when you start learning about what's in the food you eat, you begin to realize that most Chinese take-out has bad things in it, like MSG.  So I decided to try and create our absolute favorite at home.  I had great luck with egg rolls, so why not orange chicken too?!  This recipe has a long ingredient list, but it is all things that we keep in the house on a regular basis, so I was cool with that.  This recipe is perfect for 2 with a little bit leftover, so if you are feeding a crowd, you'll need to double or triple accordingly.  This recipe comes together very quickly, and is super tasty! 

Sauce*:

1/2 c OJ

12 tbsp Brown Sugar

4 tbsp Sugar

4 tbsp Soy Sauce (which is about 8 take-out packets)

6 tbsp White Vinegar

1 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Worchestershire Sauce

2 tsp Ginger Powder

4 tbsp Water

2 tbsp Cornstarch

Chicken:

2-3 Chicken Breasts, cut into small chunks

1-2 Eggs, beaten

Salt and Pepper

Paprika, a couple shakes

1 c Flour

Olive Oil

Cooked Rice (We used Jasmine)

1.) Mix together the water and cornstarch and set aside.  Combine the remaining sauce ingredients in a sauce pan, and heat over medium high heat until it reaches a gentle boil.

2.) While the sauce is cooking, mix together, eggs, salt and pepper, and paprika in a shallow bowl.  Place the flour in another shallow bowl.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Dredge chicken pieces in egg, then flour, and then fry in oil until crispy brown.  Remove the done chicken pieces to a towel-lined plate to drain.

3.) When sauce is boiling, add the water/cornstarch mixture slowly, while stirring.  Boil this mixture to your desired consistency, and then remove from heat.  Watch it carefully, because it takes no time at all to thicken.

4.) Serve chicken and sauce over rice.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

*You can add red pepper flakes to the sauce as well if you like things a little spicy.  We added about 1/8 tsp, and it was just right for us.  You can also sprinkle them on top of your personal serving, if you are the only heat-lover in your household. 

Linked to One Project at a Time, the Super Saturday Link Party, Homemade Mondays, the Homestead Barn Hop. and Thrifty Thursday!

Menu Plan Monday: 02/17/2014

This week we got to have dinner with family to celebrate two birthdays, and I didn't even have to cook it!  I just brought a cake!  Then we have the usual cleaning, running of errands, trip to Joe's grandfather's house, working in the nursery, and hopefully NOT getting trapped in by snow.  I LOVE snow, don't get me wrong, but the quantity is getting a little large here in the mid-Atlantic.  We're starting to run out of places to shove it.  I planned a simple menu this week so I will have plenty of time to list stuff on amazon, and work in the nursery, only one more corner to go!  Here's what's on the menu for this week...

Breakfasts: Oatmeal for Me, Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread for Joe (*new recipe)

Lunches: Grilled Cheese or PB and J Sandwiches, Leftovers

Dinners:

Sunday - Birthday dinner, my niece made Chicken Ring and BBQ Sandwiches, plus a few other things, and I brought one of the two cakes we had.  Very yummy!

Monday - Baked Fish Sticks and French Fries

Tuesday - Homemade Waffles and Creamed Chipped Beef Gravy

Wednesday - Mushroom Mozzarella Chicken (*new recipe), Rice Pilaf, Steamed Vegetable

Thursday - Working at Joe's grandfather's house, so he'll probably take us to Chili's as usual.

Friday - Chicken Fajitas, Mexican Rice, Sweet Corn

Saturday - Homemade Pizza

Extras: Pudding Cookies (*new recipe)

For more AWESOME Menu Plans, visit Org Junkie!

Weekly Spending Report: 02/09-15/2014

This week went pretty well budget wise, a little over the $50 a week mark I try to hit, but that was mainly due to a need for cat litter.  I'm okay with that.  Overall for the month we are doing great.  I'm slowly trying to restock things that were depleted during the pantry challenge last month, as well as stock up on great deals for things we'll need once the baby arrives.  I've also been doing a LOT of baking each week, so that has been using things up as well.  Here's how this week went down...

• Sunday's ALDI Trip (no picture, just Eggs, Honey, Pineapple Chunks, Butter, and a box of Granola Bars): $10.11 oop
• Tuesday's CVS Trip: $11.32 oop, Earned $18 ECB's and $6 MIR
• Tuesday's ALDI Trip (no picture, just milk and sour cream): $4.68 oop
• Tuesday's Giant Trip: $22.86 oop
• Saturday's Dollar Tree Trip (no picture, just 2 newspapers, and 1 pk Snickers Minis): $3.18 oop
• Saturday's Wal-mart Trip (no picture, just 2 bags marked down Valentine's Day candy, and 1 container Baking Cocoa): Zero oop, used gift card to pay
• Earned $5 Amazon Gift Card from Swagbucks 

Total OOP: $52.15
Total Earned: $29
Total Remaining for February: $82.32

Linked to Couponaholic! 

Tuesday's CVS Trip

The deals were to be had at CVS this week.  Our favorite cashier helped us out with the Eucerin deal, since they were out of the bigger sized lotion, so she forced the ECB to print for us, which I thought was super nice!  I also used a rain check for the Advil PM since they finally had it in stock, and I got a bonus ECB because it apparently counted towards this week's cold deal.  I broke my purchases up into two transaction to get the most band for my ECB!  So all in all a pretty amazing trip at CVS!!!  Here's what we ended up with...

Transaction #1:

3-24 pks Basics H2O $3.99 ea - $1.55 ea Sale = $2.44 ea or 3/$7.32

2 bottles Eucerin Calming Creme Lotion $8.49 ea - $3.40 (20% off CVS coupon) - $1.50/1 MC x 2 - $10 ECB's wyb $20 = 2/$0.58

+ $1.26 Tax

- $13 ECB's used to Pay

Total OOP: $6.16, Earned $10 ECB's!

Transaction #2:

2 bags Hershey's Miniatures $3.79 ea - $0.79 ea Sale - $1/2 MC - $2 ECB's = 2/$3

3-20 ct boxes Advil PM $5.99 ea - $1 ea Rain check Sale - $1/1 MC x 3 - $2/$10 CVS Pain Relief Coupon - $3 ECB's wyb 2 Rain check deal - $3 ECB's wyb 2 Cold weekly deal (not sure why this printed as it was for the Advil Congestion Relief) - $6 MIR wyb 3 Advil = 3/FREE + $2.03 Money-maker!

+ $0.19 Tax

- $10 ECB's used to Pay

Total OOP: $5.16, Earned $8 ECB's and $6 MIR!

Linked to Simply CVS!

Tuesday's Giant Trip

Lowe's was out of pine pellets, probably since it's been so cold here!  So I unfortunately had to buy cat litter at the grocery store where I got have as much for twice as much - ugh!  So, that was an unexpected purchase, but since there were a lot of other deals to be had, it balanced out okay.  Hopefully next week the deals will be sparse and I can stock up on some needed items as well.  Here's what we ended up with this week...

2 bags Utz Chips $1 ea = 2/$2

2 boxes Captain Crunch Cereal $3.39 ea - $0.91 ea Sale - $0.60 ea Promo ($1.88 wyb 5) - $0.75/2 MC doubled to $1.50 = 2/$2.26

2 boxes Quaker Instant Oatmeal $3.69 ea - $1.21 ea Sale - $0.60 ea Promo ($1.88 wyb 5) - $0.75/2 MC doubled to $1.50 = 2/$2.26

1 box Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $3.29 - $0.81 Sale - $0.60 Promo ($1.88 wyb 5) = $1.28

2 boxes Fiber One PB Chocolate Brownies Marked-down to $1.74 ea - $0.50/1 MC doubled to $1 x 2 = 2/$1.48

2 bottles Powerade Zero $1.19 ea - $0.31 ea Sale - $0.50/1 MC doubled to $1 x 2 = 2 FREE + $0.24 Money-maker!

1 bag Cascadian Farms Frozen Organic Sweet Corn $2.29 - $0.75/1 MC doubled to $1.50 = $0.79

1 bag Cascadian Farms Frozen Organic Red Raspberries $3.59 - $0.30 Sale - $0.75/1 MC doubled to $1.50 = $1.79

1-20 lb bag Pine Pellets Cat Litter $9.99

+ $0.65 Tax

Total OOP: $41.83 - $18.97 Savings/Coupons = $22.86, Savings of 45%! (even with the ridiculous cat litter!)

ALDI Deals, Starting 02/12/2014

Here are some of the AWESOME deals this week at ALDI...

• Weds. 02/12 ONLY: Fresh USDA Choice Beef Tenderloin Filet Mignon $9.99/lb
• Strawberries 1 lb $1.99 ea
• Pineapple $1.39 ea
• Gala Apples3 lb bag $1.99 ea
• Yellow Onions 3 lb bag $0.89 ea
• Broccoli Crowns 1 lb pkg $0.99 ea
• Mushrooms 8 oz $0.69 ea
• Fusia Asian Dipping Sauces Sweet and Sour, Duck Sauce, or Thai Chili 12 oz $1.99 ea
• Fusia Wok Sauces General Tso, Orange Ginger, Sesame Teriyaki 12 oz $12 oz $1.69 ea
• Fusia Sweet and Sour or Szechuan Stir Fry 21 oz $2.49
• Fusia Sweet and Spicy Chicken or Honey Ginger Chicken Meal Kits 24 oz $3.99 ea
• Fusia Mini Egg Rolls 7 oz $1.99 ea
• Fusia Crab Rangoon 4.8 oz or Pot Stickers 10.2 oz $1.99 ea
• Fusia Sweet and Sour or Crispy Honey Chicken 26 oz $4.99 ea
• Friendly Farms Lemon Greek Yogurt 6 oz $0.85 ea
• Bolt House Farms C-Boost Fruit Smoothie 32 oz $2.99 ea
• Sterilite 2-bushel Laundry Basket $4.99 ea
• Easy Home Woven Strap Hamper with Liner Drawstring Closure Espresso or Cream $12.99 ea

For more information about shopping at ALDI, visit their Homepage!

Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday: Homemade Brownies

I have been looking for recipes for boxed mixes using items that I keep in my pantry on a regular basis.  Most recipes include the same ingredients, so it was just a matter of playing around with the amounts, etc.  This works well during a pantry challenge, where the only thing I'd have to make sure I had was the eggs.  I also like that this dry mix can be made ahead of time, stored in bags/jars, and then you just add the wet items when you decide you want some brownies.  I used the Ghirardelli cocoa I already had for these, I think I might try it with the ALDI cocoa next time and see how it turns out.  I use the Ghirardelli for my homemade icing, and it's not cheap, so we'll see how it turns out.  However, these brownies are AMAZING, especially warm, and with ice cream.  They are better than any boxed mix I've had, but they only make an 8" pan.  I'm going to try doubling the recipe next time to see if I can get a 8x13" out of it.  Anyway, without further ado, the best brownie recipe ever...  and just is time for Valentine's day!

Dry: 

1 c Sugar (I used raw)

2/3 c Flour (I used unbleached)

1/2 c Cocoa (I used Ghirardelli, which turned out rich and fabulous)

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

Wet:

1/2 c Oil (I used Safflower)

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

Optional: 1/4 c Chopped Walnuts or Chocolate Chips, Powdered Sugar

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 8" baking pan.

2.) Mix together dry ingredients.

3.) Add wet ingredients to dry, and blend well.

4.) Stir in mix ins if using (optional).

5.) Pour into greased pan, and bake for 15 minutes, rotate pan and bake 15 minutes more.

6.) Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional), and cut into bars.  Also try not to eat the whole pan by yourself, as it is totally possible!  :)

Linked to One Project at a Time, Homemade Mondays, and the Homestead Barn Hop!

Menu Plan Monday: 02/10/2014

I cannot believe that valentine's day is already upon us.  Monday Joe has a Dr appointment, and I'm cleaning the house.  Tuesday we go for our 31 week baby doctor visit, and we'll probably run our shopping errands after that.  We are going to work at Joe's grandfather's house on Thursday to get ready for our next flea market in March.  And then Friday is Valentine's day!  It will be a full, productive week, but it should also be fairly easy-going.  I have a couple new recipes I want to try out this week, but other than that, I kept the menu fairly simplistic...

Breakfasts: Yogurt with Granola and Special K Bars for Me, Pineapple White Chocolate Chip Muffins (*new recipe) for Joe

Lunches: Leftovers, or Sandwiches

Dinners:

Sunday - Potato Soup, Homemade French Bread

Monday - Parmesan Pasta with Broccoli (*new recipe), Garlic Bread

Tuesday - Baked Fish Sticks, Baked Onion Rings

Wednesday - Onion Gravy Chicken (*new recipe), Rice Pilaf, Vegetable

Thursday - Working at Joe's Grandfather's House, probably out to Chili's with him :)

Friday - Valentine's Day! Smoked Ribs, Baked French Fries, maybe Tossed Salad

Saturday - Homemade Pizza

Extras: PB Chocolate Chip Oat Bars (*new recipe)

For more AWESOME menu plans, visit Org Junkie!