Tuesday's ALDI Trip

Our last stop Tuesday was ALDI.  I had a little extra money in the grocery envelope, and they had some great mark downs, so we picked up a few snack deals to stash for later, and a few things that we needed for our meals this week.  Here's what we ended up with...

1 dozen Eggs $1.79
2 tubs Cream Cheese $1.49 ea = 2/$2.98
1 Ricotta Cheese $1.79
1 pkg Sliced Deli Cheese $1.99
4 bags Gardetto's Snack Mix $0.99 ea = 4/$3.96
3 boxes Organic Animal Crackers marked-down to $0.99 ea = 3/$2.97
1 box Thin Wheat Crackers $1.25
1 bag Kettle Chips $1.79
1 box Granola Bars $1.89

Total OOP: $20.41

Tuesday's Target Trip

Tuesday we also stopped into Target, mostly for milk, and to use up a few coupons.  I picked up a great deal on unbleahed flour!  I also got a HUGE, AWESOME, new dish rack.  I used gift cards to pay, so no oop for me.  Here's what we ended up with...

3-5 lb bags Gold Medal Unbleached Flour $1.22 ea = 3/$3.66!
2-1/2 gallons Organic 2 % Milk 3.59 ea - $1/1 Target Coupon x 2 = $2.59 ea or 2/$5.18
2-5 ct boxes Mucinex Allergy $7.49 ea - $2/1 Target Coupon x 2 - $5/1 MC x 2 - $2.49 MIR = 2 FREE + $1.51 Money-maker!
2 bags Market Pantry Bagels $1.34 ea - $1/2 Target Coupon = 2/$1.68
1 Large Metal Dish Rack $10.98 - $5.48 Clearance = $5.48
+ $0.33 Tax
Total OOP: $17.31 - Used gift card to Pay, so zero oop for me!

ALDI Deals, Starting 03/19/2014

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

• Weds. 03/19 ONLY: Roseland Fresh Pork Roast Kit 2.75 lb $6.99 ea
• Weds. 03/19 ONLY: Kirkwood Fresh Chicken Breast Roast Wrapped with Bacon 24 oz $5.99 ea 
• Gala Apples 3 lb bag $2.29 ea
• Grapefruits $0.39 ea
• Strawberries 1 lb $1.59 ea 
• Bananas $0.44/lb
• Pineapple $1.39 ea
• Cantaloupe $1.29 ea
• Fit and Active Healthy Meals 5-Cheese Lasagna or Chicken Alfredo Florentine 8 oz $0.99 ea
• Bremer Single Serve Entrees Macaroni and Cheese or Fettuccine Alfredo 8-8.5 oz $0.99 ea
• Clancy's Corn Chips Big Dippers, or Chili Cheese 9.25 oz $1.19 ea
• Clancy's Butter Twists Tub 22 oz $3.49 ea
• Happy Farms Preferred Feta Cheese Crumbles Mediterranean Herb or Reduced Fat 4 oz $1.99 ea
• Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen Pizza Rings Cheese or Pepperoni 19 oz $3.99 ea
• Season's Choice Whole Onion Rings 16 oz $1.89 ea
• Season's Choice Frozen Strawberries or Blueberries 12-16 oz $2.29 ea
• Season's Choice Crinkle Cut or Seasoned French Fried Potatoes 32 oz $1.89 ea
• Crane Mini Stepper with Resistance Bands $39.99 ea
• Holmes Hepa-type Air Purifier $34.99 ea
• Dupont Allergen Air Filter $6.99 ea
• Huntington Home 2 pk Allergy Pillow Protectors $4.99 ea
• Huntington Home Twin or Queen Allergy Mattress Protector $14.99 ea
• Huntingotn Home Allergy Bed Pillow 20x26" $4.99 ea
• Welby Hot/Cold Therapy Pk Assortment $4.99 ea
• Gardenline Bird Feeding Station $9.99 ea
• Gardenline Bird Feeder Assortment Assorted Varieties $7.99 ea
• Gardetto's Original 8.6 oz $0.99 ea
• Steak-umms Sliced Steaks 21 oz $4.99 ea

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

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 12

Today's challenge involved cleaning the microwave and the stove.  Both took very little time.  I wiped down the stove and washed the spoon rest and burner covers while I was at it.  Everything is nice and shiny now!

 Then it was onto the microwave, which got a wipe down, and the cover and bacon maker inside got washed as well.  Our microwave is very old, so it's kind of stained on the inside, so this is as clean and sparkly as it gets, but I'm pleased, and that's really all that matters.  :)

I also pitched 10 dried up chap sticks that I found in my stock-pile - whoops!

Linked to Money Saving Mom!

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 11

Today's challenge involved a quick pick-up of the house, which I do every Monday before I do my weekly cleaning, so that was simple enough.  Then it was onto the silverware drawer.  I still have not figured out how so many crumbs get in a drawer where you only put clean silverware?!  Does anyone else know?  Anyway, this is the after, no crumbs, and a nice sparkly clean utensil holder.  I also tossed some misc paper clutter and clipped coupon inserts, more than 7 for sure.

Linked to Money Saving Mom!

Menu Plan Monday: March 17th 2014

This week Joe and I are going full force on the nursery as well as our spring cleaning.  I've been working a little at a time to get rid of excess clutter as well as get things deep-cleaned before the baby arrives in just 4 more weeks!  Since I knew doing all of this while being 8 month pregnant was going to make me tired, I planned simple meals that I knew I (or Joe) could manage.  Here's what on the menu this week...

Breakfasts: Cold Cereal or Oatmeal for Me, Butterscotch Banana Bread for Joe (same recipe as link, but made with butterscotch chips instead of chocolate)

Lunches: Leftovers, or Deli Sandwiches with Chips

Dinners:

Sunday -  Bacon Cheeseburgers with Baked Onion Rings

Monday - Pasta with Red Sauce, Ground Sausage on Joe's, and Garlic Bread

Tuesday - Ham and Cheese Egg Scramble with Toast

Wednesday - Shake and Bake Chicken, Jasmine Rice, and Steamed Vegetables

Thursday - Working at Joe's grandfather's, so we'll probably eat out with him

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Smoked Ribs with Baked French Fries

Extras: Homemade Butterscotch Chip Cookies

For more AWESOME Menu Plans, visit Org Junkie!

Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday: Pumpkin Streusel Bread

Pumpkin Streusel Bread is amazing, even if it isn't Fall!  This bread whips up quickly, freezes wonderfully, and stays deliciously moist.  It also takes ingredients that I keep in the pantry on a regular basis, and you probably do too.  Here's how you can make 2 loaves for yourself...

Batter:

1/2 c Butter, Softened

2 Eggs

1 c Brown Sugar

2 c Flour

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1 tsp Salt

1/2 c Milk

1 tsp Vanilla

1 c Pumpkin Puree

Streusel:

1/2 c Flour

1/3 c Brown Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

4 tbsp Cold Butter

3/4 c Chopped Pecans (optional)

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour 2 loaf pans, set aside.

2.) Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add vanilla and pumpkin, mix well.

3.) Mix together the dry ingredients, add them to the wet ingredients, and mix until just combine.  Add milk, mix to incorporate.  

4.) Pour batter into greased loaf pans.  

5.) Combine streusel ingredients in a bowl, combine using a pastry cutter, or two knives, until streusel is crumbly.  Sprinkle crumbs over batter in loaf pans.  

6.) Bake in preheated oven 40-50 minutes or until the center is done.  Cool in pans 20 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Store in an airtight container.  P.S. These freeze wonderfully as well.  

Linked to Homemade Mondays, One Project at a Time, the Meal Planning Monday Recipe Link up, the Ginger Jamboree, Thrifty Thursday, the Super Saturday Link Party, and the Homestead Barn Hop!

Saturday's Freezer Cooking Results: Stocking up for Baby!

Since I've been pregnant, there are two pieces of advice that keep popping up.  Not only in everyday conversations, but all over the web as well.  #1 Sleep when the baby sleeps, and #2 Stock your freezer/stock-pile for after the baby comes.  Since these two have been repeated over and over again, I decided to take heart and tackle what I could before the baby arrived.  With a month to go, I think my nesting urges have finally kicked in, not that I feel amazing or anything, but I do have a drive to get things done.  Stocking the freezer was high on the list, because after all, you HAVE to eat!  This week at the store I stocked up on ground beef, day old rolls, and over-ripe bananas.  I also had 6 lbs of onions in the cupboard from a couple of weeks ago that needed to be used up.  Since I had just straightened the freezers last week, I decided this week was the time to refill them.  So I made up a plan, and here's how it went down...

First up on the freezer stocking 'challenge' was sweet breads.  I ended up with 3 large loaves to freeze, and 1 to slice for the week, plus 8 mini loaves to freeze.  I made 2 batches Butterscotch Chip Banana Bread (same recipe as link, but with butterscotch chips instead of chocolate), this made 2 large loaves and 4 minis.  Then I made a batch of White Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, which made 2 large loaves.  And lastly, 1 batch Banana Crumb Bread, which made 4 mini loaves.  Joe was very pleased to have so many breakfasts in the freezer, and so was I. 

Next up was processing the beef I bought earlier this week.  I had a little over 3 lbs to work with, so I first made up hamburger patties.  Two for dinner Sunday, and 4 for the freezer.  Then I took the rest (about a 1 and 1/2), and fried it up with onions, and was able to get 5 meals worth for the freezer.  This is what I use when I make Crock-pot Lasagna, or Spaghetti, or even Taco Meat.

Since I needed diced onions for the beef, I went ahead and diced or sliced the rest of the 6 lbs I had bought a couple weeks ago while I had the food processor out, and froze them for future use.  I got 7 meals worth of diced onions, and 8 of sliced to freeze.

Last, and most easiest on the agenda was making Garlic Bread for the freezer.  It's so easy to make, and is such a nice addition to so many meals.  I bought marked down rolls from Giant twice this week, so I made 3 meals worth (6 rolls) earlier in the week, and again Saturday.  Here they both are, ready for the freezer.

Overall I feel very accomplished.  Hopefully I can do another round next weekend.  I am praying my nesting drive keeps up and I can get some serious stuff done!

Anyone else stocking their freezers?  If so, what are your favorite items to stock?

4 Weeks to a More Organized Home: Day 7

Today's challenge involved a quick pick-up of the main living areas in your home, as well as wiping down all the baseboards in the house.  Since I just cleaned the house yesterday, the house was still picked-up, so I moved onto wiping baseboards.  Needless to say, this took me a while, probably would have even if I wasn't 8 months pregnant.  However, it is nice to have everything nice and dust-free. 

I also worked ahead on the dresser drawers, I checked all 20, but I only needed to clean out 2. I did one today, and I'll do the other tomorrow.  Today was my purse/scarf drawer.  I keep a minimal amount of both, only what fits in the drawer, but it still gets too full sometimes.  Here's the after...

I removed 8 items to get rid of as well...

Linked to Money Saving Mom!

40 bags in 40 days Update #2

I decided to join along in the 40 bags in 40 days challenge to help decrapify the house before baby Rogers arrives in April.  Here's how week #2 went...

Day #5: Quick house pick-up, and weekly house cleaning.  Items decluttered: 6 coupon inserts, 2 empty toiletry bottles.  Here's an after of the kitchen, so sparkly clean!

Day #6: Dusted the baseboards, and worked on cleaning out a dresser drawer.

 This is the after, plus the 22 items I got rid of.

Day # 7: Wiped down all of the door handles, and cleaned another dresser drawer.

 This is the after, now I can get the drawer shut again.  I also removed 8 items to get rid of.

Day #8: Wiped down the light switches, and did a quick pick up of the bathroom.  Here's the after of the bathroom, so nice and tidy.  I also ditched 7 misc toiletry/medical items.

Day #9: Dusted the Ceiling Fans and Lights.  Items Removed: 7 Misc coupon inserts/papers

Day #10: Did a HUGE freezer cooking session, so cleaning today for me.  Items Removed: Zero