31 Items for FREE!!

I am so excited about my trip to CVS that I can't wait to share it.  I got 2 tubes of Colgate toothpaste, a box of ThermaCare, organic, all-natural Physician's Formula mascara and 28 packs of UP2U gum!!!

Thermacare was $3.79 and you get $3.79 back in ECB's so it was free.  I found a $2 off coupon that a grocery store register had printed me several months ago so I made $2 from that purchase.

The Colgate was $4.99 and you get $4 in ECBs back with a limit purchase of 2. I had a 75 cent off coupon from this past Sunday's paper making them 24 cents each.

The Physician's Formula make-up deal was to spend $10 and get $7 back in ECB's.  I thought this sounded like a great deal on make up.  I found some mascara for $10.49 and it had a coupon peelie on it for $2 off!!  So my mascara came to $1.49.

The gum was on sale for 99 cents.  There is a $1 off coupon in the Smart Source from 1/1/12 and also 2/5/12.  Actually when I clipped the coupon, there were 2 coupons per paper.  One said for multi packs of gum.  I decided to try it and it worked. I had 14 papers from that date and so I got 28 packs of gum for free.  The Fish Sticks couldn't be happier.

Without tax and including the ECBs, I spent NOTHING !  Go to CVS this week and see what you can grab!!

Big Deals

Just wanted to let you know that Walgreens is having tons of freebies this week and MOST of them are not with coupons, but Register Rewards.

I will post later what I got but here's my list so far:

Multi-Vitamin Orange drink mix
Melatonin Time release tablets
Ultimate Flora Probiotic
Burt's Bees Throat drops
Blue Science Anti-Aging support
Belvita Biscuits (coupon in Sunday's paper)
Baby Magic Powder (with mail-in-rebate)
Nivea Lip Care

All items are free except for the Nivea Lip care (99 cents).  It would be free if I had a facebook account and signed up to "like" them and get a coupon.  There's also denture cream for free also but not sure if I know anyone who has dentures.  :)

Look in the ad and most items I listed are on the back page so it's easy to find them in the stores.

POPCORN!

 We love popcorn in the Fish House.  I love popcorn because when it's purchased like this....well, it's just plain ole cheap!  I got a 50 pound bag of it at Sam's for $21.38.  I think (but don't quote me on this) that the bag even said organic.  (WHOA!)

Just this past week I got an email newsletter from TEACH Magazine with a recipe for Microwave Kettle Corn.

I gave it a try - 4 times.  I had to tweek the recipe some and wanted to give you the "Fish House conclusion" to it.

If you want a single serving of popcorn, this is the way to go.  If you are feeding 6 hungry kids, fast forward to the end of this post for my other recipes. 

Stir together 2 TB. kernels, 2 tsp. oil, 1 TB sugar and a dash of salt.

Cover with vented microwave splatter lid.  Microwave on high until kernels slow down considerably.  I set mine to 5 minutes and it almost took the entire time.  

Here's the finished product.

You can also pour the mixture into a brown lunch sack.  Fold the sack over 1" twice and set on a microwavable plate.  If you do this method, it took about 1 minute 5 seconds to pop completely.  It did make the bag so greasy with the oil that I then put it in a bowl for the Fish Sticks.

I quit buying the bagged microwave popcorn after I saw a news show on Popcorn Cancer that is caused from the butter flavoring used in the microwavable popcorn (even though it is yummy and convenient).  Another reason is that when we eat popcorn while watching a movie, we could easily eat 4 bags.  That just didn't seem to fit my budget.

Here's 2 of our favorite recipes, taken again from TEACH Magazine and found in this cookbook.

Kettle Corn

1/2 cup popcorn kernels, unpopped

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 TB granulated sugar

dash of salt

Heat oil in heavy pan over med-high heat with 1 kernel.  When kernel pops, add rest of kernels, sprinkling with salt and sugar.  Put lid on pan and shake constantly over burner.  When popping has slowed considerably, remove from burner and pour into large popcorn bowl.

Last year the following was a great recipe to make before heading to pick up the Fish Sticks at school when we were heading to a baseball game straight from school.  The "problem" for the Fish Sticks was when everyone else on the bleachers realized what a great snack it was.  :)

Microwave Caramel Corn

3/4 cup unpopped popcorn

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Pop popcorn (I use about 1/3 cup of oil to do that) and place in a large, paper grocery sack.  Microwave the sugar, butter, and syrup on high for 4 minutes.  Stir in the baking soda and salt and pour in bag over popcorn  Fold the top of the bag over a couple of times.  Microwave for 1 minutes.  Take it out, shake it up.  Repeat.  Microwave again for 30 seconds and shake bag.  Repeat that.  Spread out on cookie sheet to cool (or if you're like me, throw the bag in the car and it will be cooled by the time the kids fight over it).

NOTE:  This cooks a total of 3 minutes and you will shake it 4 times.  Just remember 1 minute the first 2 times and 30 seconds the last 2 times.

Let me know if you try them!

To Buy in Bulk or Not?

 I seem to always be about tweaking our grocery budget and the way that I grocery shop.  I wish I could tell you that I have arrived with the perfect plan for my family that works every month, but it's just not true.  To be honest, I have struggled with staying within our budge for years and years.  It highly frustrates me and I feel ashamed to burden my husband in this way because I feel that he is generous with our budget for groceries.  I don't splurge on luxuries.  We don't eat out any more.  I don't blow it on myself.  I'm not frivolous.  It just is hard to keep things under budget. 

I have had a Sam's card before and tried to purchase all of our grocery needs for the month at one time.  I learned after a few months that that just didn't work for us.  Fresh produce can't be bought once a month and I was sucked into the "good" deals at Sam's and wouldn't stick to my list only.  I always spent more than I planned on.

 I just bought another Sam's membership in January.  I have been there 3 times in the last 2 months.  So far, so good.  My plan is to check their web site for prices, keep a strict price list that I stick to and set goals for myself as to how much to spend in Sam's.  What I have loved is when I have figured out prices per ounce as compared to Aldi or my coupon attempts, Sam's comes out really well.  For my large crew, it's nice to buy in bulk and not have to shop so often.  I think and hope it will save me in the long run.

As for the barrels you see in the photo, 2 years ago I started buying dry bulk foods from my bread making coop.  I buy wheat by the bulk to make into flour for making bread.  I have added gallon buckets of lima beans, brown rice, millet and other things like that plus huge buckets of rolled oats and popcorn kernels.  Buying these types of products in bulk means I always have them on hand and it aids me in my attempts to feed my family healthy, hearty  meals.

So does buying in bulk work for you?

Learning Walgreens

After learning the system of couponing at CVS, I then moved to Walgreens.  They have a few more rules to remember, but it's not too complicated.  Walgreens is now one of my weekly stops and I believe that they give away more free items than other pharmacies.  Check out your ad for next week because there are lots of freebies to be had - even without coupons.

Here are some guidelines to shopping at Walgreens:

*  You must NOT have more paper transactions (like coupons or Register Rewards) in a purchase than you have items.  Walgreens has a monthly coupon booklet that is filled with Walgreen coupons.  These can be used with a manufacturers coupon to get double savings.  If you purchased one item and used both a Walgreens coupon and a manufacturers coupon, you would need to make sure you purchase something else too because you would have more coupons in that transaction than items.  When this has happened to me, I have grabbed a 30 cent caramel that they have at the check out to make it work (and they are so delicious too).

*  When you have 2 kinds of coupons for one item, hand them the Walgreens one first.  Sometimes the register won't let you use the Walgreens one after you have had the manufacturer coupon scanned.

*  Register Rewards have an expiration date that is closer than the CVS ones, so be careful that you don't let these expire.  I can't remember, but I think it's about 2 weeks that you have to use them.  Remember they can be used as money on your next purchase.

*  The great thing about Walgreens is there is no customer card (like Kroger Plus or CVS) to give you the savings.  This way you can go in to Walgreens multiple times to get their weekly deals.  If you have a RR printed for one item one day and the next day you go to snag the deal again, don't pay with the RR from the previous day or it won't print you out another one.  Save it for the following week.

So this week it was a slow week at Walgreens and CVS in my opinion.

Walgreen has Goody Ouchless Elastics (27 pack) for $2.99 but you get back $2 in RR so that makes them only 99 cents.  Because I have a house of 5 girls with long hair, we lose elastics like nobody's business.  I got a pack of these and then when I passed another Walgreens, I went in and got the deal a second time.

They also had Tylenol Precise Cream for $5 and in Sunday's paper was a coupon for $5 off (I think this coupon was only in the Nashville area).  I wanted to grab 2 of those deals but they were out so I was bummed because the coupon expires next week.

At CVS, they also had the Tylenol Cream for $7.49 with a $2 ECB so matched with the $5 off coupon it was only 49 cents.  They had Eclipse Gum for $1.00 and $2 when you buy 3 of them making them only 33 cents each.

I also got Nivea products but was a bit disappointed about it.  According to Faithful Provisions, they had Nivea body was for $4 each.  If you buy $10 worth of Nivea products, you get $3 back.  I had a coupon for $1.50 off body wash so it came to $3.50 for 3 bottles of body wash.  When I got to CVS, the body wash was actually $4.88.  This kind of messed up my plan.  What I did was buy 2 body washes using my 2 coupons and then a container of Nivea cream for 99 cents.  That way I spent around $10 and got the $3 ECB with $3 off in coupons.  Really I just got the body wash for $1.88 each.  Not the best deal hindsight, but sometimes couponing can still be a learning experience for those of us who have been at it a while.  

Yummy Snack Idea

My most favorite snack that my mom made when we were kids was ham wrapped around cream cheese and celery.  It never had an official name but it was awesome!  When I make this for the Fish Sticks, they devour them!  It beats the Ants on the Log (peanut butter, celery and raisins) by a long haul, in my opinion.  Try it and see if you and your kiddos like it.

King Cake

I grew up during my elementary school years in a town outside of New Orleans.  February was always filled with going to Saturday and Sunday small-town parades to celebrate the upcoming Mardi Gras.  I have wonderful memories of screaming, "Throw me something, Mister!" and coming home to sort, count and compare my parade loot with my sister.

About 3 years ago, I decided that we would begin the Lent Season by celebrating Fat Tuesday with a King Cake - just like I had as a child.  I got my favorite cinnamon roll recipe and shaped it into a circle.  I finished the top with icing and colored sugar - purple, yellow and green - the colors of Mardi Gras.  I found a plastic baby to hide in the cake and have created a family tradition.

The Fish Sticks love it and can't wait to dig in and see who has the baby.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and we will begin our family Lent devotions.  I am so excited and really love to be daily reminded of the life of Jesus here on earth that leads up to His resurrection.  Later I'll show you what we do and would love to hear if you do anything with your family.

Wisdom from My Kitchen Window

More Leftover Ideas

 I posted a while back about using leftovers to make fried rice. Here's another idea....quiche.  I had leftover broccoli and ham in the fridge. I added some black olives, 5 eggs, a little bit of cheddar and mozzarella, some milk, salt, pepper, basil and ground mustard.  Poured it into a pie shell and baked it at 350 for 45 minutes.  It was gone in no time.  I think it would have made a good breakfast too.

 Added a side of mixed greens with 1 avocado, half of a cucumber and a spoonful of feta cheese.

Baby carrots with leftover dill dip and hummus and it was a quick, easy meal and 

helped me clean out the fridge.

Cooking Generously

 Since I recently wrote a post about giving generously through couponing, I thought I'd do a post on giving generously through cooking.  With 3 kids in school and 3 kids at home and homeschooling, I knew it would be hard for me to be as involved in my kids' school as I might want to.  One way I can minister and serve INSIDE my home is through cooking.  I am part of the cooking ministry at school that provides meals for school families in need.

It's so easy to double what I am cooking for the Fish Sticks and share with another family.  I will confess that once or twice, I spent time cooking and delivering a meal to another family to then realize I had no clue what WE were going to have for supper that night.  :)

**Remember to stock up on disposable containers at the Dollar Tree to make it simple for the family in need.  Who wants to have to wash someone else's dishes and then have to try to get them back to them? 
**Make enough that they can have leftovers for lunch or supper the next day. 
**Try to keep it well balanced...not loaded with processed foods.  See if you can find out what foods they are already receiving so that they won't get pasta and red sauce for 5 days in a row.  Make sure they don't have any allergies.
**Be generous.  Make sure the meal is complete with a main dish, side dishes and even a dessert.  Occasionally go above and beyond by adding salad dressing, drinks, etc.

Some of you might not like to cook or might not have the time to cook.  If that is the case, get creative.  Grab a few $5 pizzas from Little Ceasars and a salad kit at the grocery store with a pack of cookies.  Once a friend brought us Chick Fila.  That was a big treat as we don't eat out much.  Get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery with side dishes.

Tender Cornmeal Muffins from the Hillbilly Housewife (my favorite!!!) with Ham and Veggie Chowder.  There were 2 containers of chowder, one for leftovers or to freeze.

Salad kit of mixed greens, cubed apples, Craisins, pecans and feta cheese

Cake batter cookies - these are awesome and so easy.  I usually make them with Devil's Food cake and chocolate chips but I used what I had and did vanilla cake with butterscotch.  If you want the recipe, click HERE.

Boxed up and ready to go.

Six Cents!

So did anyone give Walgreens or CVS a try with couponing??  My friend, Whitney, left a comment about her CVS run and I'm so excited to head back and grab the deals that she got!

So now that you've tried a couple of stores with couponing, here's my next advice.

Step 2:  Give Harris Teeter a try.

I always thought of Harris Teeter as one of those elite grocery stores...kind of like Publix.  A bit too pricey for my taste.  But once you enter the world of couponing, you will find that both these stores are great when you only clip to buy.

Harris Teeter has a few rules that once you know, you should be good to go.  The wonderful thing about HT is that every couple of months they have SUPER DOUBLES!!  Normally they double coupons up to 99 cents (which is more than the usual double 50 cents that most other groceries do), but on SUPER DOUBLE week, they will double coupons up to $1.99!!!  This usually means you can get quite a bit for free or nearly free.

Here's the catch....
Rule 1:  You can only use 20 coupons PER DAY with your VIC card.
Rule 2:  You can only use 3 of the SAME coupon per day for the same item.

When HT has their SUPER DOUBLE week, I usually make one trip a day for as long as needed to use 20 coupons each visit and to use the ones that I have multiples of.  Thankfully HT is the closest grocery store to me and so it's not too inconvenient to do that.

Today I went to ONLY get the free items.  I got:  3 Revlon nail clippers (great for donations or gifts), 3 protein bars (ate one for lunch on the way home) and 3 bottles of hot sauce which the Fish Sticks and My Man and I love!  Grand total:  6 cents!!!  Yup!  Only 6 cents. 

I also planned on buy Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese, but they were totally out so I got a rain check and will check back when they get a shipment in this week.

And because I had 7-8 coupons for each of these items and HT only lets you use 3 per day (so one person doesn't wipe them out), I plan on heading back one or 2 more times, if it's convenient, to grab some more.

Sale runs through Tuesday of next week.  You can find 3 lists of good coupon deals at Southern Savers or the freebie list I found at Faithful Provisions.

Valentine's Day

 I grew up with a very festive Mom.  She did so many little things to celebrate holidays, creating wonderful family traditions and memories for us 4 kids.  I try to follow in her footsteps, using some of the same traditions and creating some of my own to make holidays fun and memorable for the Fish Sticks.

This Valentine's I made a plate of fruit on a heart shaped plate that I got on clearance last year (which is something I recommend doing to help celebrate - grab those 80% off post-holiday clearances!)

 We rarely have shrimp in our house because of the high cost, but I bit the bullet and bought some to make my mom's famous Shrimp Etouffe.  She learned how to make this the authentic way when I was a child growing up outside of New Orleans.  The smell alone brings back some wonderful memories. 

To end the special Valentine's Day, we enjoyed Cherry Berries on a Cloud.  I make this every year just like my mom used to.  It's beautiful and delicious!!  It takes careful planning to make the meringue in time to enjoy for supper, but it's just once a year so it's worth it to me. 

Here's my recipe.  Try it!!

Cherry Berries on a Cloud

Meringue shell:  

(It's important to use fresh eggs - not ones that have been in the fridge for a while.  

I learned this the hard way!)

3 egg whites (1/3 to 1/2 cup)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.  Beat in sugar, 1 Tb. at a time;  continue beating until stiff and glossy.  Do not under beat!  On brown paper on cookie sheet, shape meringue into 9" heart, building up sides.  Bake 1 1/2 hours on 275 degrees.  Turn oven off;  leave meringue in oven with door closed for 1 hour.  Remove from oven;  finish cooling meringue away from draft.

Filling:  

1 pkg cream cheese 8 oz. soft

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. whipped topping

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. mini marshmallows

Blend cream cheese, sugar, vanilla.  Fold in whipped topping and marshmallows.  Pile into cooled heart shell.  Cover.  Chill at least 12 hours.

Cherry Topping:

21 oz. can cherry pie filling

1 tsp. lemon juice

Just before serving, spoon cherry topping on top of filling.  Cut into wedges.  Serves 8 generous servings.

Let me know if you try it!

Where does the Wisdom Come From?

A couple of you have asked about my "Wisdom from My Kitchen Window" posts that I have been doing.  I purchased these notecards probably 10 years ago from No Greater Joy Ministries.  They have been a jewel to me over the years that I constantly refer to.  I contacted them to see if they have any more available for purchase.  They informed me that they sold them only for a limited time but you can find the notecards listed in an article HERE at their web site if you'd like to make your own set.

Wisdom from My Kitchen Window

Deals this Week

The shopping this week looks slow.

I didn't see any Walgreens deals that I wanted to snag except possibly some Campbell's soup.

CVS only had some spike gel for my Little Man who seems to constantly want me to make a mohawk on his head.  It's $3.99 and there's a coupon in Sunday's paper for $3 off.  That makes it only 99 cents.  You can also get 2 tubes of Colgate Total for free.  If you buy 2 for $2.75 each, you get $2 ECBs back for each one on your next purchase and there is a 75 cent off coupon in Sunday's paper.  You don't have to buy 2; there is just a limit of 2.

Kroger has a few good deals.  They have their Bonus Savings week where if you buy 10 participating items, you will get $3 off at purchase and $2 printed coupon off your next purchase.  That will make:
** Kraft BBQ sauce 69 cents
**Degree Deodarant 69 cents matched with $1 off coupon from Red Plum 1/29
**Dove Deodarant 69 cents matched with $1 off coupon from Red Plum 1/29


While I'm at Kroger, I will grab their loaf bread for $1 since one Fish Stick doesn't like my home milled wheat bread.  Also Gillette Shave Gel is $1.79 and there is a $1 off coupon from Proctor and Gamble 1/29.  Red Seedless grapes are only 99 cents a lb. too.

Anybody else find some good deals?

Sunday Suppers

 I grew up with a family tradition involving Sunday night meals.  Mom always had a super, delicious, Sunday, post-church meal, but Sunday nights were her night off for cooking.  My grandparents declared that Sunday night supper was ice cream and popcorn.  Growing up, we LOVED that, especially when the ice cream was usually homemade coffee or mint chocolate chip!!  My mom, who was more health-conscious, dropped the ice cream part (much to our dismay) and usually spread the counter with finger foods, including popcorn.  There was usually a fun array of foods to choose from.

I like this tradition and have carried it over into feeding the Fish Sticks.  Sometimes I'll do something special like homemade prezels or homemade caramel corn when lunch involved little cooking.  For Super Bowl Sunday, I decided to try the ultimate finger food buffet with a healthy hint.  It got rave reviews from all Fish Sticks.

Hummus with sugar snap peas, celery, avocado and carrots

Veggie Straws, cheese sticks and a platter of almonds, pecans and walnuts

black olives, green olives, a bowl of dried apricots, prunes and Craisins and a platter of pear and orange slices beautifully arranged by one of the more artistic Fish Sticks

Before you panic over fixing supper when you haven't thawed the meat or planned the meal, check your pantry and try a finger food buffet...especially on Sunday nights.  Every mama needs a rest occasionally.

Wisdom From My Kitchen Window

Breakfast for Supper

We love to have breakfast for supper, especially now that we have chickens who produce about 10 eggs a day!  Every once in a while though I want breakfast but not the normal pancakes, waffles, eggs, biscuits.  This week I decided to try something new. 

Years ago I bought these great breakfast recipe pamphlets from here and I use them all the time.  I thumbed through those and found a few recipes that inspired this supper.

We made a baked oatmeal that was 3 cups of oats and 1/3 cup of coconut mixed together.  Pour 4 cups boiling water over top and bake.  For fun, I added 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips.  It made the recipe and was a huge hit - even to my coconut hating Man!! 

I also found a recipe for Hootnanny Panckaes.  It's 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk, 6 eggs and baked.  I cut it into squares and put a scoop of apple pie filling on top.

Last I vaguely remembered seeing on a cooking show once (or maybe it was in a magazine) where they cooked eggs in muffin tins lined with ham.  I gave it a shot and sprinkled cheese on the top.  They were wonderful and all Fish Sticks and My Man gave them rave reviews.

Not your typical breakfast supper but definitely one to repeat!

Great Deal this Week

Here's a deal I got today that I have to share because I happened upon it accidentally.

This week at CVS, you can get $4 Extra Care Bucks (ECB) when you buy $12 worth of Suave products.  In the Red Plum coupon insert on January 8 there is a coupon for buy 2 get 1 free.  The clerk at my store knows me and worked with me on this deal.  I bought 6 Suave body wash for $2 each, totaling $12.  Then I used 2 coupons of the buy 2 get 1 free.  That took off $6 (regular price was $3).  Then the register printed out $4 in ECB bringing my payment to $2 for 6 body washes.  That comes to 33.3 cents each!!  The clerk told me that the ECB's print out based on my purchases, not on my savings through coupons.

Go grab that deal this week.  Who doesn't need body wash??

Oh and by the way, while you are there, grab some Zarbees Children Cough Syrup.  It's $6 with $6 in ECB's so it's free.  It's a great, natural cough syrup for kids and the Fish Sticks say it works!

Generous Couponing

As you begin to coupon, you might encounter times when something is free but you don't really think you will use it.  When I first started several years ago, I passed those items up.  Just couponing itself was hard enough for me to keep up with and do well and I wasn't interested in getting things I really didn't need. 

Over time though I've realized that it doesn't take much time for me to stock up on those items and give them away.  One of the wonderful things about couponing is being generous with your deals and sharing them with others.  I do have a stockpile, not near what you see those crazed woman on Extreme Couponing have, but one nonetheless.  My biggest one is the toiletries.  I have boxes stored under my bed, much to my husband's dismay (he says that beds are not for storage - sorry Sweetie!).  Almost once a month I love to share some of my deals with others.  Single moms.  Families in financial need.  Food pantries.  Friends for their birthday or just to show appreciation to someone.  I know it sounds like a weird gift but it always seems well received.  Who wouldn't want a huge bag filled with personal items that we all use?

So as you get the hang of it, grab the freebies and think of someone you could bless it with.  Can't use a $30 blood glucose monitor?  Give it to a diabetic friend.  Got a curling iron, but don't ever use one?  Pass it to your sister who goes through one a year.  Have 10 bottles of shampoo already?  Then grab them anyway and donate to a friend who is struggling to make ends meet.  Use your fun in couponing to be generous and bless others.  You'll be glad you made the extra effort!

Fun Snack

I get tired of the same ole same ole snack foods around here.  Here's a favorite that I made this week (using a box of my cheap Triskets from Kroger).  Triskets with cream cheese, bacon bits and a sliced cucumber on the top.  They went through the entire box of Triskets for this snack.  They look prettier with the cucumber between the cracker and cheese, but spreading the cheese on a moist cucumber was more labor intensive than this Mama was willing to work!  You like how I lifted the cucumber lid for you to see the bacon?  I thought you'd like that.  :)  So what fun snacks do your crew like?

Just to Clarify...

Dear Readers,

It has been brought to my attention that my post about collecting coupons made some of you think that I might be swiping my neighbors newspapers.  This is not the case and I will re-write what I said in that post to clarify. 

There are several homes in my area (we live in the country, not a neighborhood) that are uninhabited and for sale and have been for some time.  These papers that I collect from their driveway are never picked up by anyone including their real estate agent.  Over time they pile up, get totally soaked and nasty.  I wait until there are several weeks worth of papers before I pick them up.  The ones that are unsalvagable, I trash.  The ones where the coupons are still in tact, I keep.  Sometimes that means drying them out by the fireplace.  These newspapers are not purchased by my neighbors.  They are free and only small, local papers with one reading section and the rest are ads and coupons.  There is one or 2 other neighbors who allow their papers to do the same....stack up in their yellow, plastic bags and make a huge mess at their mailbox.  I clean up their mess for them also and take the coupons that are able to be saved, but most of it needs to be thrown out.

I'm sorry for being unclear and sounding like I was stealing my neighbors papers.  I've heard of folks doing that and I would never do that.

Thanks for hearing me out and I'm so sorry I was unclear.

Drug Store Couponing Review

 Did anyone shop for the Walgreens freebies this week?  The Iron supplement, aspirin and eye drops were all free after you receive your Register Rewards (RR) and no coupon was necessary.  What a good week to start.  The Alka Seltzer came to 74 cents each after RR so my total before tax for these items was $2.96!!

This is what I got at CVS and I'm gonna share a little secret with you so lean in closely. 

The 2 Pantene products were $1.48.  Not totally cheap but a good price if you like Pantene.  The Tom's toothpaste came to 99 cents after Extra Care Bucks (ECB) and the 3 greeting cards were free because I chose only cards that were 99 cents. 

The deal on John Frieda products was this:  you could get $5 ECB if you purchased $15 worth of John Frieda products.  The only coupon available was for the Precision Foam Colour.  I have never colored my hair and don't have plans to anytime soon so you might think this deal wouldn't be one I was interested in.  I have found though that many coupons that claim they are product specific can actually be used for another product of the same name brand.  The shampoo, conditioners and stylers were $5 each.  The foam colour was $12.  I purchased 3 shampoos/conditioners (and even ventured out to try the one that said it would lighten my hair with highlights...we'll see) spending $15.  I got $5 ECB, taking my total to $10 and decided to try 3 coupons for the foam colour that were $3 off each.  They rang up at the register with no problem and so I got all 3 John Frieda products for $1 total!! 

Worst case scenario is that the coupon won't go through and you can just tell the cashier to take the items off.  So far, it hasn't happened to me.  Try it!

Creative Leftovers

I don't know about your families, but occasionally usually when I say "leftovers" to the Fish Sticks, it is followed by moaning.  It's not that they didn't love it the first time around, but for some reason, it doesn't sound so appealing the 2nd time around.  This calls for a bit of creativity on my part.  Now some leftovers are just leftovers and there's no 2 ways around it.  Some though I have found I can re-create into a new meal and no one has any clue that they were leftovers.

Last week I made a great pork roast in the crock pot on Sunday with carrots, potatoes and onions using Italian salad dressing as a marinate.  We had it for meal #2 on sandwich bread and then I had 1 cup leftover.  My job was to feed it to them for the third time, stretching one cup of meat into a meal for 8 and preventing them from ever recognizing it.  The best way was fried rice.  A handful of frozen peas, half of a chopped onion, 2 eggs, a tad bit of oil and rice in the rice cooker.  Voila!  They never knew that the yummy pork fried rice was just pot roast leftovers.  It was my one-dish meal with a side of cucumber slices and baby carrots.

I'm not always full of good ideas.  My friend, Amy, will attest to that this week when I served her leftover chili on top of leftover fried rice because cooking rice for 20 minutes didn't seem a good option as we tried to visit with 6 little munchkins to tend to.  It wasn't that bad, but when Amy left and I actually thought about what I had done, I got pretty embarrassed.  Sorry Amy.  I'm so glad we're still friends.  I owe you one of my Martha Stewart lunches.....next time.  :)