Deal Alert

I don't know if you saw Carri's comment earlier but she let us in on an awesome deal! Apparently every Wednesday morning at 8 am KARK releases new Super Saver Gift Certificates for restaurants across Arkansas. Most of these gift certificates are for 50% off your meal, for example you can purchase a $50 gift certificate for $25. You can find out more about Super Savers at KARKs website arkansasmatters.com. Thanks Carri!

Kroger Celebration!!!

Let me let you in on a little secret..... I love my Saturday nights at Kroger. Now don't tell my family- to them I play the martyr that has to leave her warm home to trudge up and down, up and down each and every aisle; sacrificing my time and energy, all to bring home nourishment for "the family." But in actuality, it is a complete joy.


Saturday night's I've got the store to myself- I can take all the time I want to read labels and comparison shop; and with no crowds I can even hear the music. Yes the music! "Just Another Manic Monday" was on tonight while I was in the produce section. Now normally I save my dancing until I am safely down the canned vegetable aisle, but tonight I was dancing and singing (probably too loudly) before I even got past the apples.



Now the music got me hopping but the deals I scored tonight left me down right giddy. Not only did I take advantage of most of the deals I wrote about earlier this week; I also scored an incredible deal on Kraft Cheese. Two% Hormone Free Kraft cheese was part of the mega event and right beside the cheese there was a blinkie for $0.75 off 2% Kraft cheese. After the coupon and the mega event discount I got each package of cheese for $1.34- that is a 69% saving (normally $4.29 a package)! I stood at that blinkie forever just pulling coupons (there is about a 10 second wait between each coupon). I ended up with 13 bags of cheese!


This was one of my best trips to Kroger ever. I ended up doing the Mega Event 3 times. When all was said and done my final bill was $90.44 and I saved $102.64! Woo Hoo!



Some of the highlights of my trip:
2 four packs of cottenelle toilet paper- Free (used $0.50 from coupons.com)
Crest Pro Health Toothpaste- $0.50 profit (used $1.50 1/18 PG and $1.50 from Esaver)
13 bags of Kraft 2% Hormone Free Shredded Cheese $1.34 per bag
3 boxes of Fiber One bars $1.19 per box (used $0.50 1/4 SS)
2 boxes High Fiber Instant Oatmeal $1.19 per box (used $1 from 1/4 RP)
French's Yellow Mustard $0.19 (used 1/18 SS)
3 bags of Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers for $0.09 and free each (used a $0.60 from coupons.com and $0.50 from 1/4 SS)
2 boxes of Kleenexs for $0.29 each (used $0.40 from 1/4 SS
2 loafs of Natures Own 100% Whole Wheat bread for $1 each



Thanks so much for letting me tell you about my deals. What a high! I'd love to hear how you did!

recipe change in plans

I wanted to let you know that I have switched Jalapeno chicken recipes. I have about 6 bricks of Light Cream Cheese (hit a big sale) that is going to expire soon, so I decided to go with this recipe. The ingredients are different from what was on the master grocery list, therefore I wanted to give you the heads up asap so you could pick up the necessary ingredients if your planning on following my meal plan. To lighten this recipe up I am going to use the light cream cheese and Turkey Bacon.
I am also going to go ahead and marinade the chicken in the FF Italian dressing tomorrow so it will be ready to go on Monday.
Asparagus is on sale this week at Kroger so I am going to pick up a bunch to have with this meal.

Family Fun Can Revisited

Well after months of neglect, the Family Fun Can was finally reopened today. I had told Colby earlier this week we could draw a card out for Saturday so last night before bedtime we drew the fateful card that would determine our today's activity. . . . Bowling!

To be honest I was pretty pumped about going bowling. Not only was it a nice warm indoor event, I was also excited to see how all our hours of training on wii bowling would translate on the actual playing field, or I guess I should say bowling lane. I truly expected to finally break my all time high of 79.

Nope! Not only did wii bowling NOT prepare me for real life, my 4 year old son beat me by 6 points. Oh well, it was a good time had by all.

February Menu Preparations

My big goal for this weekend is to get my February Menu and Grocery List ready for next weekend's Super Saturday Roll Out. If you have any recipes you would like me to include please let me know. Thanks!

Scrapbook Saturday

I am sooooooo excited today will be the first Saturday I have gotten to sleep late in a looooong time! I am actually writing this post Friday night so my hope is that I am still snoozing when this post is scheduled to hit the blog. It all depends on how long my sweet husband can hold out before he comes and dumps an almost 16 month old on top of my sleeping body. No really, he literally plops Cohen on top of me to wake me up- it has become tradition. Can't say I wouldn't rather be woken up with breakfast in bed or even a kiss on the cheek but hey if he is willing to get up with our early rising boys to allow me some extra sleep, he could wake me up with a fog horn and I wouldn't complain.

Deal Alert

Here are some coupons for Scrubbing Bubbles cleaning products.

If you have always wanted to try the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner this could be a great deal for you. The coupon link will give you a $6 off coupon for the Shower Cleaner and Walgreens has a $5 rebate in this month's EasySaver book so if they are on sale next week at Walgreens you could get a pretty sweet deal. I actually scored a free Automatic Shower Cleaner a couple of months ago with a similar scenario (normally $19.99 I think). I will say that I have not loved mine but only because I forget to push the button after I get out so it can do it's job.

Errand Report

Errands today went.... ok. I can tell you this, if I had not spent so much time writing about my attitude before going on our errands it could have been disastrous. I don't know what the deal was today, but I was sooo tired- ok, so I guess staying up every night until 1:30am could help explain a little of the sleepiness, but anyways... For me fatigue and patience do not go well together. So I truly believe FOWPL and DRS accountability is the only reason I did not have a meltdown during errands today. I am sad to say that I totally missed out on all car ride conversations with the boys. Although Colby didn't stop talking the entire car ride, I couldn't tell you a word he said because I was having my own conversation with the Lord- praying for energy, patience, attitude etc.

My only other regret from errand day is that Walgreens only had 6 jars of peanut butter left. They were also out of the $1.99 Ragu that was part of the Register Reward promotion, so I was forced to choose two $2.99 items (Q-tips and Lipton Tea) to get me to the 8 participating products so I could get the $10 Register Reward. What stinks is that I had coupons for both Q-tips and Lipton Tea at home, I just didn't know to bring them. Oh that just burns me up!

I did get the Revlon Makeup and the Orajel Free after Rebate Items but they were out of the Car Freshener. I went ahead and purchased these products in the store vs online because I didn't know if I could use my coupons online. I still need to mail off for my Orajel manufacturer rebate but I did already enter my receipts online at walgreens.com for my easy saver rebates. Woo Hoo!

Familytime- Update

Well, today did not go exactly as planned. I'm sorry I did not post on our craft time or learning time. We actually did do a craft- we made a pig out of a cup and Colby made a medal that he wore to Walgreens along with his football uniform. For Cohen's craft he colored his fingers and everything around him red when he figured out how to unscrew the lid on Colby's paints.

As far as learning time- Cohen and I got to spend a lot of time working on his body parts at the doctors today. We went in for his well-baby check-up and came out with double ear infections (apparently his ear infection from 2 weeks ago never went away). The bad news is Cohen had to get 3 shots (1 for his ears and 2 vaccinations) the good news is he has officially met his belly button!!

I am sad to say that Devotional Time did not happen today. However Colby did make up his own memory verse before he went to bed. Let me see if I can recite it for you:

"The Lord sent his angels. The Sheppard's followed a star to see the most specialist baby in all the world."

Although this verse might not be found word for word in the bible, it was still a FOWPL moment!

Hit a Wall!

Sorry there has been so few posts today. I think I wore myself out this week- but anyways I promise to update tonight as soon as boys go down. Hope everyone has had a great day!

Devotional Time

For Devotional Time- I am going to "try" another chapter from the Gotta Have God, Fun Devotional for Boys book. We will also review Colby's Awana verse and FOWPL.

Familytime Friday

TGIF!
Today the boys and I have several errands to run. Running errands with the boys can be a rather trying experience. I will never forget my very first outing with both boys. Cohen was just 2 weeks old when I decided to load the boys up and head to Hancock Fabrics to take advantage of a 50% off sale. By the time I got both boys, the stroller, baby bag, and a toy for Colby all loaded in my 2-door car I was exhausted and covered in sweat. After juggling the stroller, a crying baby, and a run-away 3 year old inside the store- let's just say all 3 of us were crying on the way home. Complete misery!
On the other end of the spectrum I have had some great shopping experiences with the boys. There have been numerous trips that resulted in some memorable backseat conversations with Colby in route to our errand destination. And it's fun to remember the time Colby played detective in Kroger, complete with magnifying glass, on the "case of the lost bargains" while Cohen sat quietly in the buggy and attracted smiles from other shoppers.

You know what the biggest difference is between shopping trips that end in misery vs those that end with smiles? My attitude! It's true. If I am completely focused on my to do list- I am easily frustrated when it takes 10 minutes to get the boys loaded or when Colby insists on visiting the toy aisle at Walgreens when I need to knock out 2 more errands before Cohen's nap time. But when I remind myself that errand days are foremost "Mommy Days" I am sooo much more patient with the boys, I'm more likely to appreciate our car time together, and if I try real hard, I can even turn errands into a fun or even learning adventure for the boys. Although the task master Mom might get the errands done faster the kid focused mommy is much less physically and emotionally exhausted by the end of the shopping trip.

What a blessing it is that you hold me accountable to Familytime Friday. Surely your accountability, FOWPL, and the fact that Donna never had a meltdown in aisle 7 will help me keep my attitude in check so this errand day is more likely to end in smiles. I'll let you know!

Deal Alert

Earlier this week I told you about ALL YOU Magazine. I wanted to provide you with an idea of what kind of coupons are available in this magazine- so without further introduction I present to you the January ALL YOU coupons:

Advil $2

Advil PM $2

Banana Nut Cheerios $0.75

Caltrate $1

Centrum Vitamins $1

Dove Cream Oil Body Lotion $1.50

Emerald Breakfast on the Go $1

Fiber One Shredded Wheat $0.75

Fireproof DVD $5

Hormel Compleats $1

KY Brand $2

Little Debbie 100 Calorie Snack Cake $0.55

Nature Made $1

Open Season 2 DVD $3

Ortega Mexican Foods $1 off 2

Pedialyte $2

Sam's Club One Day Membership

Softsoap Brand Ensembles $1

Splenda $0.55

Spot Shot $2

StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouch Buy 2 get 1 Free

ThermaCare $2

WetOnes Hands and Face Wipes $0.75

Ziplock Fresh Shield $1.50/2

Now I don't want you to think I took the time to go throughout the magazine and alphabetize all the coupons. No- the magazine always provides you with a table of all the coupons and the respective page numbers to find the coupons- how nice!

Deal Alert

Breaking News! I just learned that the Entertainment Book is now on sale for $15 at Kroger. What a deal! Thanks Brandy! I am seriously thinking about picking up a 3rd book (it would pay for itself in 2 months with Kroger coupons alone) "2 months?" your thinking- "I thought you said that it only had one $5 coupon per month?" Yes my dear readers I did say that, BUT what I neglected to tell you was there is one additional $5 off your $50 purchase that is good for any month!!!

Deal Alert- Walgreens

Below are my favorite deals of the week at Walgreens. To see additional Walgreen deals visit Money Saving Mom.

Register Reward Deals

On page 10 of the Walgreens Flyer there are several products that qualify for the following: Buy 4, Get $2 RR, Buy 6, Get $6 RR, or buy 8 and Get $10 RR
The best deal for this promotion is for the Skippy Peanut Butter and Ragu Spaghetti Sauce at $1.99
For the Skippy use $1 off 2 from 11/16 RP, and for the Ragu there was a coupon in the 1/11 RP (I did not get the RP that week so I can't verify the amount) Final Price as low as $0.24 each after RR

To be honest that is all I am interested in this week as far as the weekly deals go. I am going to go ahead and purchase my free after rebate items this weekend from the Easy Saver catalog. I have been waiting around for a $5 off $25 or $10 off $50 purchase coupon to do this transaction but I just learned that if I purchase these free after rebate items online I can get $5 off my bill by using the promo code HEALTH when I check out. That $5 along with the other money makers below and the additional 10% added to my rebate amounts for choosing to get my rebate $ back on a Walgreens Gift Card vs a check will make for a nice little profit.


January Free-After Rebate Deals (rebates are found in the Easy Saver Catalog at the front of the store. You can submit your rebates online at walgreens.com )

Revlon Matte Collection Blush or Eyeliner at $9.99 or Revlon Matte Collection Lipstick for $7.99 or Revlon Matte Collection Eye Shadow at $4.99 Use $2 off 1 or $1 off 1 from 12/7 SS and other recent inserts Final Price: Free plus $1 - $2 overages after coupon and rebate

Orajel Cold Sore Medicine for $8.49 Use $1/1 from 10/26 SS and submit for $8 Manufacturer's Rebate (info for rebate found here) Final Price: Free plus $9 overages after coupon, manufacturer's rebate and Easy Saver rebate

AutoExpressions Vent Fresh Elite Auto Air Freshener for $4.99 Send in for full manufacturer's rebate here Final Price: Free plus $4.99 in overages after both rebates

It's nice to get paid to shop isn't it?

Budget Countdown- Update

Can I just tell you how much I am loving having to stay accountable to you on this anual budget countdown. It has made me sooooo much more mindful of my purchases. This past week I had purchases at both Kroger and Walgreens.

Kroger: Total Spent: $94.98 for 53 items
Total Saved: $52.41

Walgreens: Out of Pocket Spent: $0.22 (most of my bill was paid with my November Walgreens Gift Card) Total Saved: $4.08

Total Spent to Date: $331.79
Total Saved to Date: $237.03
Total Left for Year: $4668.21

For me to get back on track with my annual budget I need to spend no more then $53 this week. This is going to be extremely difficult because I am going to want to stockpile some items at the Kroger Mega Event. We'll see what happens!

Deal Alert- Kroger

Below is a list of the sale items and coupon match-ups I am most excited about this week. By no means is this an exhaustive list. Please pick up a Kroger flyer or go to kroger.com to see a complete list of sale items. You can also go here for a very impressive list of coupon match-ups for our area.

Product, Kroger Sale Price, Coupons Used and Source with Date, Final Price

Tyson Boneless Sinless Chicken Breast or Tenderloins (2.5 lb bag) $4.99

Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread, $1

Spider-Man Vitamins, B1G1 Free, use 2 $1 off 1 from 1/18 SS, Final Price: Unsure but Colby loves these vitamins and so this is a pretty good deal!

Washington State Red or Gold Delicious Apples, $1.29

Blackberries or Blueberries, $2.50

Kroger Bagged Fish, $4.49

Below are the items I might take advantage of on the Mega Event (ME). Save $5 instantly at checkout when you purchase any combination of 10 participating items = $0.50 off per item. Limit 3 rewards per transaction.

Fiber 1 Bars, $2.69, use $0.50 off 1 from 1/4 SS or $1 off 2 from recent coupons.com sidebar, Final Price with ME discount: $1.19 to $1.69

French's Mustard, $1.69, use $0.50 off 1 from 1/18 SS or sign up here for $0.50 off 1 coupon and other great coupons, Final Price with ME: $0.19

Frank's Hot Sauce, $1.69, use $0.50 off 1 from 1/18 SS or sign up here (same as above) for $0.50 off 1, Final Price with ME: $0.19

Cattlemen's BBQ Sauce, $1.69, sign up here (same as above) for $0.75 off 1, Final Price with ME: $0.44

Green Giant Fresh Steamers, $1.59, use $0.50 off 1 from 1/4 or 12/7 SS, Final Price with ME: $0.09

Kleenex Facial Tissue, $1.59, use $0.40 off 1 from 1/4 SS, Final Price with ME: $0.29

Kens Salad Dressing, $1.99, use $1 off from 1/11 SS, Final Price with ME: $0.49

Rotel Tomatoes, $1, use $0.30 off 1 from 1/18 SS (I could not find this coupon) Final Price with ME: $0.10 overage

CoffeeMate Creamer 32 oz, $3.29, go here for a $1.50 off 1 coupon, Final Price with ME: $1.29

Thrifty Thursday

Good Morning, Welcome to Thrifty Thursday. I went ahead and posted a big Kroger deal last night so make sure you scroll down and see those deals. As always Walgreen Deals will be coming your way later in the day. Several other money saving opportunities are scheduled to post throughout the day. So stay tuned!

What's Up Kroger of the Delta Region!

I am beyond sad right now. After finally getting to spend time looking through our Kroger flyer I have come to the harsh realization that our Kroger Mega Event isn't so mega after all. All across our country couponers have been writing about the great deals they are getting with this event BUT when I sat down to start compiling the deals for Thrifty Thursday I realized that our Mega Event prices are MUCH higher. For example in Cincinnati Kraft Cheese is priced at $1.99 and at our Kroger it is $2.59. This really is ridiculous because how the mega event works is it takes $5 off your final bill when you purchase 10 of the participating items, which equals out to be a $0.50 discount per product. Well, our Kroger often sells Kraft cheese for $2, so even with this so called mega event it is still more costly to buy it now vs wait for another sale- Does that make sense?


Now there is still some ok deals but last time the mega event came to town I loaded up on lots of free to nearly free products and I was sooo looking forward to sharing these kind of deals with you. So I just feel bad that I got all your hopes up with my big patriotic spill this afternoon- please forgive me. That and the spaghetti squash has made for a real poor performance on my part this week. (The fish, however, was delish tonight!- there is hope for this blog after all!)


Check back on Thrifty Thursday for the best deals I did find at Kroger- $0.09 vegetables, $0.19 mustard and hot sauce etc.

PS To add to my sadness, I just found 2 expired cottenelle toilet paper coupons!!!!

I need to confess

Ok i just got done detailing the toilets (zone 3, Day 2) and I am ashamed to tell you that I seriously contemplated asking my boys to please use the bathroom outside for a couple of days so the potties could stay nice and shiny for a while. Thank goodness Jesus intervened, whispered FOWPL, and reminded me that I clean the toilets to provide a clean, sanitary, healthy environment for my family and sending the boys outside in the frigid air to do their business would send a contradictory message.

Product of the Week

Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burgers are the product of the week. I know what your thinking "Morning Star- ewe isn't that the company with all the soy and tofu products" Yes it is, but trust me this spicy black bean burger is delicious!

I was first attracted to this product when I read on the packaging that it was made from black beans, sweet corn and tomatoes. I thought to myself, "hey I like all those things- I think I'll give it a try." And now these little burgers are a regular part of my lunches. My favorite way to eat them is crumbled up on a taco salad. I have also been known to take them to cookouts as a healthy alternative to hamburgers.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1 burger

Meal Plan: 120 Calories, 1 lean meat, 1 starch, 4g of Fiber

My only complaint is that these rarely go on sale at Kroger and I don't recall ever seeing any coupons for these products. I will usually make a special trip to Walmart just to stock up on these burgers (they are at least $0.50 cheaper at Walmart).

Big Week in American History

Men and women all across our great nation are celebrating. This week marks a great week in history, a week that some may not forget for many months to come. Many of us knew the day was coming, it was just a matter of time. People started talking about it days before we got to join in on the excitement. But today, Ladies of the Delta Region, we too can join in on the celebration because today, Wednesday, January 21, 2009 the KROGER MEGA EVENT Begins!!!!!!



Ladies start your shopping carts......


You better believe there will be more to come! Stay Tuned!

Wellness Wednesday

This week for Wellness Wednesday I am going to go outside of my expertise and write to you about Environmental Wellness.


Have you heard about BPA? I hadn't until last year. Bisphenol A is a compound found in many of our plastics- specifically the see through, shatterproof plastic that resembles glass. BPA has been around for well over 50 years but in 2008 became headline news when several government agencies issued safety concerns regarding this material. Specifically, that BPA has been linked to behavioral changes in children and has shown to be a trigger for early onset of puberty in females. Other scary findings show that BPA has been linked to ovarian disease and can alter the activity of genes in normal breast cells in ways that mimic what is found in breast cancer.

The problem with plastics made with BPA is that overtime these plastics break down and the BPA can leach into our foods and drinks. This process is accelerated with heat. So everytime we send our BPA plastics through the dishwasher or put them in the microwave we run the risk of BPA contamination.

Because children are especially in danger of BPA toxicity much of the BPA-Free movement has focused on baby bottles and sippy cups. In fact, this is huge- Walmart announced in late 2008 that it would be removing all BPA baby bottles from it's shelves. I would imagine this change has already taken place, but you can double check by looking for the BPA-free label on all your baby bottle and sippy cup packaging.

It literally makes me want to throw up to think about the 3 years my now 4 year old drank microwaved warm milk through his nonBPA-Free bottles and sippy cups. (Yes, he was a little spoiled and insisted on warm (almost "coffee hot") milk until he was 3- that is a whole other issue) And even my 16 month old was exposed most of his life- But NO MORE!

I am proud to announce that I used some of the proceeds from my last weekend's garage sale to purchase all new BPA free sippy cups!! Out with the old, In with the new!! I went to Target to get our new sippy cups and I noticed that most brands did carry BPA-free models. I was especially pumped to find that Nuby even had some BPA-Free choices- that's our favorite.

Well, I hope this post did not scare you but simply made you more aware. Really, I just know enough about BPA to be dangerous so read up on the subject to form your own opinion about it and to learn other things you can do to remove BPA from your home.

Deal Alert

Forgive me for not letting you in on this little secret already. The book you see to the left is a gold mine of Kroger coupons. Inside you will find one $5 off your purchase of $75 coupon for every month through October 2009. So if you got the book in January you would have $50 worth of savings for Kroger alone. In addition the Entertainment Book has coupons for restaurants, travel, retail, etc.

Right now you can buy this book at Kroger for $20 (they are in a display near the checkouts) or you can go to my coupons.com sidebar and click through the coupons until you come to the Entertainment 2009 link. Follow the link and have the book shipped to you for $16 and some change. At one point you could also get the book at Walgreens but I have not thought to look to see if they are still there.

Just so you know I have 2 books- so every month I shave at least $10 off my bill.

Spinach Pork Tenderloin- Verdicts In

Here are my true thoughts on the pork tenderloin- it was ok. Not lick my lips fantastic but it wasn't the spaghetti squash either. The pork was tasty enough I just didn't think the spinach stuffing added much to it (although I thought it had an impressive presentation). If I was to do this meal again, I would probably skip the stuff the pork step and just serve the spinach artichoke mix as a side. I did think the cranberry sauce added a nice flavor to the pork. So here are my recommendations for those that want to try this recipe:

• Marinate pork in cranberry sauce recipe


• Prepare spinach and artichoke mix according to recipe and serve as a side dish.


• Stay away from the Spaghetti Squash

Welcome!

Wowzers! I just looked at my statcounter and there has been about 52 new visitors to this blog today! I am sooooo excited to have you here. Welcome to my craziness! I hope you find something on this site helpful or at least entertaining. Thanks again for stopping by- come back real soon!

Random Thoughts

So I am sitting in my office/dining room preparing for a "talk" I'll be giving tonight, and I just looked up and noticed there is a passy (pacifier), shoe (just one, don't know where the other is), and a tube of toothpaste sitting by my son's highchair. Odd huh! If a shoe, passy, and tube of toothpaste is sitting on the floor in my dining room, kind of makes you wonder what the rest of my house looks like today. Just wanted to share- must get back to work!

Zone 3- Bathrooms,Living Room and Entryway

Day 1- Tuesday

• Clean Tub and Showers
• Wash Rugs
• Wash Shower Curtains

Day 2- Wednesday

• Clean Mirrors
• Clean Toilets
• Clean Sinks and Counters

Day 3- Thursday

• Organize and Clean Bathroom Cabinets and Drawers (inside and out)
• Dust Living Room Furniture
• Dust Entryway Furniture

Day 4- Friday

• Dust Bathroom, Living Room and Entryway Baseboards
• Vacuum/Swiffer Bathroom, Living Room and Entryway Floors
• Clean all Windows and Fans in this Zone

Day 5- Saturday

• Organize Bookshelf
• Update Pictures in Frames

Tidy Tuesday

Ready or Not Here comes Tidy Tuesday. The good news is I truly think it is possible to do most of the zone work this week in around 15 minutes per day.
Let me just tell you, I always dread the floor day the most. Give me a toilet to clean any day over floors. What about you? What's your least favorite chore?

Confessions of a Dietitian

Dinner left me a little.... hungry! So guess what? I made cookies. That's right the dietitian had cookies tonight. And guess what else? It wasn't my first time!!

I just felt I needed to let you know about my snack because I wanted you to know that it is ok for you to have cookies every once in a while too. There is nothing wrong with cookies. All foods, including cookies, can fit into a healthy diet. So go ahead and have a cookie- Your dietitian said you could.

Beware of Spahgetti Squash!

Ok Folks, if you haven't already bought the spaghetti squash- don't. If you have bought the spaghetti squash- take it back. If you have already cooked the spaghetti squash- I'M SORRY!

I'm not sure I cooked it right, but I thought the process was way too timely and not worth the end result. Again, I'm not sure I did it right, but the noodles were crunchy and that just bothered me. It WAS edible but not enjoyable.

Final Verdict: 1 thumb down. You will not see Spaghetti Squash on the month of meals again, or at least not for a very long time.

PS I do have pictures of how I prepared the squash, and I will be happy to let you see them if anyone still wants to give this recipe a go. My recommendation would be to look at my pictures and then do it differently.

Mommy Day Report

Well the boys and I have had a pretty good "Mommy Day."

For Devotional Time we read Colby's new Awana Cubby story and Colby learned FOWPL.

For Craft Time: Colby and I actually collaborated on an idea- this is huge! Colby came to me and said he wanted to make tires out of paper plates. Then I said sure- but why don't we make a whole race car. And he agreed! We used a laundry basket as our car. Take a look at our finished product. Our race car is sponsored by Cinnamon Life Cereal.

Normally, I do not allow my children to play on top of "the table." This picture was taken for your benefit. (I was also hoping you might notice that other than a race car, my table is CLEAN!)

Learning Time: Cohen and I played bucking horse (I was the horse). To get the horse to go he had to touch my nose. I know this is a stretch for learning time, but what can I say.

Oh! and we also read some books when we went to the Library- so there you go official learning stuff.

Step by Step- Spinach Pork Tenderloin

Please don't let this post insult you. I realize most of you do not need any further instruction other then the written recipe. But some of you might be a little intimidated by the idea of pounding and stuffing your meat- this post is for you.

First, let me say I used a pork loin cut into 2 (to feed 2 families) instead of a pork tenderloin. The pork loin was simply a more economical choice because it was on sale and 1 pork loin could easily feed 2 families versus the need to buy 2 pork tenderloins. I think a pork tenderloin would actually be a lot easier to work with because it is not as thick and often comes in 2 sections.

Step 1- Pork loin cut down the middle to make into 2 meals (skip if using pork tenderloin)

Step 2- Next I used my cooking scissors to cut down the middle of each pork loin to within 1/2" of bottom. (I'm not left handed but my right hand was being used to take the picture)

Step 3- Next I opened my pork loin up like a hot dog bun and placed it on wax paper. I then placed a second piece of wax paper on top of the opened pork so I could hit it with my mallet without pork juices flying everywhere! I pounded the pork several times until it was as thin as I thought it was going to get (recipe says to flatten to 1/4th inch thickness)

This is what one section of my flattened meat looked like.

Step 4- After I had my meat flattened. I started on the spinach. Instead of adding water to the spinach, I simply put the undrained jar of artichoke hearts, rosemary, and Parmesan in with the fresh spinach to saute until spinach was wilted.

Step 5- I then added the spinach artichoke mixture to the center of the pork.

Step 6- Fold the meat up around the spinach mixture. I used 6 or 7 toothpicks to hold it together. The toothpicks went in one side of the pork and out the other. The recipe calls for kitchen string, and that would have worked great too, I just didn't have any string.

Step 7- The last thing I did was wrap the stuffed pork in a double layer of foil to store until I'm ready to cook it. I could cook the pork in the foil but I will probably unwrap and cook according to the recipe.
I can't wait to try it and let you know if it is worth all the effort!

This has been an episode of cooking with Donna. Stay tuned to watch as Donna tries to prepare Spaghetti Squash!

Meals Done!

Well it took me 1 hour and 29 minutes to complete the following:

2 Orange Rosemary Chickens

2 Sweet green beans

2 Southwest Stews

6 Fish Packets

2 Asparagus Packets

2 Stuffed Pork Tenderloins

2 Sauces for the Tenderloins

2 Grilled Chickens Breasts for tonight's side salad

Bag of chopped tomatoes and onions for tonight's meal

What I did not do was prepare the spaghetti squash- I will start that around 4:30ish for tonight's dinner. Stay tuned for step by step photos of the stuffed pork loin- Not bad at all!

Spinach Pork Tenderloin

I love stuffed meats so I am betting I am going to like this dish. I'll let you know.

2 cups torn fresh spinach
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped (I am using canned)
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 TBS fresh)
1 lb pork tenderloin
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/8 tsp pepper

Sauce
1/2 cup apple-cranberry juice concentrate
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBS sugar

Directions:
In a nonstick skillet, cook the spinach in water over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until wilted; drain well. Combine with spinach, artichokes, Parmesan cheese and rosemary; set aside.
Cut a lengthwise slit down center of tenderloin to within 1/2 in of bottom. Open meat so it lies flat; cover with plastic wrap. Flatten to 1/4 in thickness; remove plastic. Sprinkle meat with with 1/4th tsp of salt; top with spinach mixture.
Close meat; tie with kitchen string and secure ends with toothpicks. Sprinkle with pepper and remaining salt. Place in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Pour over the meat. Bake 10 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 3 oz of meat with 2 TBS of sauce
Meal Plan: 262 Calories, 4 very lean meats, 1 vegetable, 1 fruit, 1/2 fat

I will serve with rice and mixed vegetables (frozen green giant I got on sale this week).

Southwest Stew

I'll admit this is another recipe I have yet to try but it looks pretty safe. I am going to attempt this recipe in the crockpot. To make this dish crockpot ready I will brown the beef first and then add an additional 1 cup of water to the recipe. I'll cook on low all day and then come home from work to a hot bowl of stew. Kinda makes me look forward to my work day.

Go here for recipe.

Southwest Stew

Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1/8th of recipe
Meal Plan: Calories: 290, 3.5 meat and 1.5 starch, 1/2 vegetable

I will serve this with southwest cornbread (cornbread with green chilies).

Spaghetti Squash

Ok, this is the wild-card recipe of the week. I have only cooked with spaghetti squash one other time, and I'll admit I am a little intimidated. I will attempt to provide step by step pictures of how to prepare the squash so you can feel more confident in your preparation. I will also make sure to provide a recipe review of the finished meal to let you know if it is worth the extra effort.

PS I am not a fan of olives so I omitted them from my recipe!

Go here for the recipe.

Spaghetti Squash Dish
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe
Meal Plan: Calories: 148, 1/2 meat, 3/4 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 fat

I will serve with a side salad. This meal looks especially light; therefore, I will probably throw some grilled chicken into our salad or I fear I am going to have some hungry boys!

Fish in Foil

This is one of my all time favorite ways to prepare fish! The foil packets work great in the oven or on the grill. And talk about easy clean-up! I substituted talipia for the trout and I prefer lime over lemon- purely personal preference.
Go ahead and throw your asparagus in a separate foil packet, add a dab of olive oil and your favorite spices and toss in the oven or grill alongside the fish. Yummy!

Go here for the recipe.

Fish in Foil
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 Fish Packet
Meal Plan: Calories: 213, 3 lean meats, 1/2 fruit, 1 fat

I'll serve with the asparagus mentioned above and rice.

Orange Rosemary Chicken

Last year was the first time I ever attempted to cook with fresh herbs and Wow what a difference in flavor! This recipe calls for fresh rosemary, but feel free to use your dried spice if your not quite ready to try the fresh. I am substituting boneless skinless chicken breasts for the whole chicken and will probably grill rather then broil our chicken, weather permitting.


Click here for the original recipe.


Orange Rosemary Chicken

Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 4 oz chicken breast
Meal Plan: Calories: 200, 4 lean meats, 1/2 fat


I know my original meal plan says I will serve this with noodles and my sweet green beans, but I think I will substitute rice for the noodles.

Mealtime Monday

This week I have 2 recipes (spaghetti squash and spinach pork tenderloin) that are a little more timely to prepare then usual. Therefore, I am going to HOPE to finish in 1.5 hours but I may be pushing it today. I am also going to try to provide some step by step photos of the 2 more involved dishes to make sure we all feel comfortable with the preparation. Following are the designated days I plan to serve the meals and how I will store until final preparations.


Monday: Spaghetti Squash. This is the wild card recipe of the week. I am a little nervous about this dish so I am not going to attempt to prep and store, rather I will prepare and serve tonight. The only prep I will do this afternoon will be chopping up my onion and tomatoes. I will also go ahead and grill one chicken breast to add to our side salads. (I know this was supposed to be my vegy meal but it just doesn't look hearty enough to satisfy my boys.)


Tuesday: Spinach Pork Tenderloin. Today I will stuff pork then wrap in foil and place in refrigerator until tomorrow evening. I will go ahead and mix sauce ingredients but will wait to boil until tomorrow night. Tomorrow night I will unwrap pork and place in oven for final preparations.


Wednesday: Fish in Foil. Today I will prepare foil packets with frozen talipia. Then I will place packets in the refrigerator until ready to bake or grill on Wednesday night. If I wasn't serving by Wednesday I would put foil packets in freezer ziplock bags and store in freezer.


Thursday: Southwest Stew: I will combine all ingredients into a gallon size ziplock and store in refrigerator. I will then transfer stew into crockpot on Thursday morning.


Friday Night: Leftover Stew


Saturday Night: Out to Eat.


Sunday: Rosemary Chicken: I am going to prepare marinade in freezer ziplock bag and add the chicken. I will then place marinating chicken into the freezer. I hope to remember to take frozen chicken out of freezer Friday or Saturday and place in refrigerator to allow the chicken plenty of time to thaw.

End of Day Update

Well I gotter done! And it is a little after 10:30 and I'm calling it a night. I'll talk to you on Mealtime Monday. Fun things planned for tomorrow!

Weak stomachs- look away!

Do you see that dust? That is the amount of dust that has accumulated under my bed in just 1 MONTH!!! Here is the gross part- when we lived at our last house, I never, not once in the 5 years we lived there, vacuumed the carpet under the beds. Just because you don't see the dust- doesn't mean it's not there!

Today's Mission

Sorry so few posts today. I have been working like a mad woman at trying to catch up on my zones from last week. My goal is to make it to bed at a decent hour tonight with clean, organized bedrooms and closets and a tidy kitchen and cleared table, oh and laundry would be great too. I'll let you know.

Sonday Sunday- F.O.W.P.L.

You remember back in the early 90s when there was a rebirth of the phrase WWJD (What Would Jesus Do, or Walk With Jesus Daily). I say rebirth because I just wikipediaed the phrase and learned it originated in 1890. Pretty neat story if you want to read about it (WWJD). Anyways.... Around that time I remember running across Ephesians 5:10 and thinking that this verse could really be the next BIG Christian slogan to follow the WWJD movement.

Ephesians 5:10 says "and find out what pleases the Lord;" so simple, and yet this verse, if remembered, could truly guide your every movement. For example if the Holy Spirit would simply whisper "Find out what pleases the Lord" I bet I would be much more likely to start my day out with my bible opened and my head bowed. If I would think "What would please the Lord?" I'm sure I would be less greedy with my time and more willing to give of myself to a friend in need. And I have no doubt that if every second of my day was spent searching for things that "Pleased the Lord" my life would look a lot less like Donna's and much more like Jesus'- Ouch!

Back in 1990 I attempted to get the FOWPL (pronounced "fough pull") movement going by throwing the phrase out in my everyday conversation- people just looked at me strange. I even considered getting FOWPL bracelets made but as a preteen I just didn't have the capital to make it happen. At this point in my life, my greater desire is to have FOWPL branded on my heart rather then draped around my wrist. Therefore; this week I pray that FOWPL will become a part of my everyday mindset and not just a passing fad- won't it be fun to find out what makes the Lord smile!

And find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5: 10

Done-enough

It is after 2am. I am not thrilled with the post, but I am mostly done. Going to bed! Talk to you tomorrow after church!