What in the world!?!?!

Once again, I had your thrifty thursday post ready to post at it's normal thursday time, and for some reason it didn't post. So I just got it up for ya- better late then never!

Thrifty Thursday

Well couponers- your on your own for a while. I have no doubt your gonna be just fine. Today rather then posting the deals for Walgreens, Target, and Kroger, I want to show you some of my favorite links for match-ups. As you start to search out your own match-ups just know that the coupons refrenced are not always the correct value for our region.

For Walgreens and Target I ALWAYS turn to thethriftymama.com AND moneysavingmom.com I also will sometime check in with dealseekingmom.com

Kroger is a little tricker. If I don't want to wait until Sunday (or late Saturday night) for the deals to post on thegrocerygame.com, I will go get a copy of the Kroger flyer on Wednesday or access it online at kroger.com and then go to hotcouponworld.com and look under "forums" for Kroger Delta Region. At the Delta Region Kroger forum there is sometimes someone who will kindly do the match-ups BUT sometimes no one does it. If no one does the match-ups I will go over to the coupon database at hotcouponworld and search for my own match-ups. Give it a try!

I would love to hear about some of your favorite websites for coupon match-ups/deal alerts.

As for me: I really don't ever think I could go back to my noncoupon days now that I know how much money I can save playing the coupon game (of course I never thought I would be giving up the blog....lesson: Never say Never! anyways..........) so you should still be able to find me dancing down the kroger aisles late Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.

Happy Savings!!!!

Woops!

I just noticed that yesterday's tidy tuesday posts that were scheduled to post DIDN'T POST! How frustrating is that! Anyways.... there up now. Sorry about that.

Zone 5- laundry, garage, car

Day 1- Tuesday

• Wipe down Washer and Dryer
• Organize Laundry cabinets
• Sort through and toss all out of date medications

Day 2- Wednesday

• Clean Laundry Floors
• Clean behind washer and dryer (odd months only)
• Clean out Lint trap (even months only)
• Clean Trash Can

Day 3- Thursday

• Clean out all of car clutter
• Vacuum inside of car
• Clean carseats
• Wipe dust off dashboard and paneling
• Wash car

Day 4- Friday

• Organize garage closet
• Organize tools and tool bench
• Organize right side of garage (odd months)
• Organize left side of garage (even months)
• Sweep out garage

Day 5- Saturday

• Clean up flower-beds
• Change wreath on door
• Sweep Porch

Tidy Tuesday

Oh, how I wish my old computer was fixed so I could post a picture of the current state of my house for all of the DRS world to see..........it's bad folks! Funny- cleaning accountability was one of the MAIN reasons I started this blog and yet....it was the first to go when life got crazy.

We are set to close just as soon as the appraisal is done on the new house. By the looks of my current house you would never believe that I am actually pumped about getting into the new house and figuring out a new cleaning schedule. I am giddy just thinking about all the labeling opportunities... In fact, as soon as I get done with this post I am going to order a new shipment of labels so my label maker has plenty of backup for the task ahead.

As for the future: for those of you who have enjoyed zone cleaning know you can always come back to DRS and click on the zones in the archives. Or even better, I recommend visiting flylady.net to help you develop your own system of home management.

As for me: I think me and flylady might have a refresher course once I hit the new house.

Mealtime Monday Support

For those of you DRSers who have taken advantage of the recipes and eat/prep schedule every week-know that the blog will ALWAYS be available so you can reference all the recipes used over the past 6 months- over 100 to choose from. To add to your collection of recipes I recommend the following:

• www.allrecipes.com
• www.crockpot365.blogspot.com
• www.bhg.com

As for me: I will definitely continue with my weekly marathon cooking/prep day. Sure there have been a few weeks I was not in the mood to spend 1.5 hours in the kitchen BUT I was ALWAYS glad the meals were done once the craziness of the work week began and I didn't have to worry about "what's for dinner." Although I would love to think I would plan my menu a month at a time- I betcha this will turn into a week by week task. The other family I cook for is excited they can request meals when ever they want again rather then making sure no meal is repeated within the same month!

Please leave a comment if you have any other hints/resources for helping fellow DRSers with their future Mealtime Mondays!

Southwest Eggrolls

If you love Chili's Southwest Eggrolls but you don't love all the Calories and Fat they pack in- your going to love this recipe. I went ahead and attached a picture of the Athens Fillo Dough so you would know what to look for when shopping. I will warn you the box was $4.39 at Kroger! Not cheap but you will still come out ahead over paying for them at Chili's.

Southwest Eggrolls

1 bag of shredded cabbage and carrot mix (coleslaw mix)
1 lb ground chicken, turkey, or extra lean ground beef
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 can black beans well drained
1 can corn well drained
25-30 Athens Fillo dough sheets
3 Tbsp butter melted

Preheat oven to 425

Spray a deep pan with Pam, toss in cabbage, carrots, and 1/2 of taco seasoning. Put a lid on it, stir as needed. Meanwhile, combine meat with remainder of spices and brown. After the meat is cooked, combine it with the vegetables including drained corn and blackbeans. Make sure Fillo dough has thawed (otherwise very hard to roll out) Place 1/4 cup of meat/veg mix on top of Fillo sheet and roll up like an egg roll (illustration to follow) I usually use 2 Fillo sheets per eggroll. Brush the top with butter for browning and flavor. Makes about 22 eggrolls!

Meal Plan
Serving Size: 1 egg roll
Meal Plan: 140 Calories, 1 starch, 1 meat, 1 vegetable

I am going to add a little bit of the taco seasoning packet to some light Ranch dressing and use this as both a dip for the egg rolls and a dressing for a side salad! I got an avocado to add to our side salad-yummy!

Turkey Burgers with Mustard Sauce

I thought this looked like a tasty twist to turkey burgers! Don't tell DH it calls for Mayo!!!


go here for recipe.


Turkey Burgers with Mustard Sauce


Nutrition Information: (based on bhg analysis- feel it can be a lot lighter with the extra lean turkey)
Serving Size: 1/4th of recipe
Meal Plan: 610 Calories, 4 meats, 3 starches, 4 fats



I am going to serve this chips and salsa

Stir-fry Shrimp with Cheesy Grits

Oh boy am I excited about this recipe. I have only had cheese grits with shrimp one time at a restaurant and my oh my was it Yummy with a capital Y (not to mention HEAVY with a capitol H.E.A.V.Y.) so I was excited to find this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. Cross your fingers!

Go here to see recipe.

Stir-Fry Shrimp with Cheesy Grits

Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1/4th of recipe
Meal Plan: 385 Calories, 4 meats, 1 starch, 1 vegetable, and 2.5 fats

I am going to cook up some green beans to go along with this meal.

Artichoke Spinach Lasagna

I'm telling you this smelled great while cooking! I am thinking company dish for sure!

Go here for recipe

Artichoke and Spinach Lasagna

Nutrition Information: (according to allrecipes.com)
Serving Size: 1/8th of recipe
Meal Plan: 427 Calories, 3 meats, 2 starches, 2 vegetables, 2 fats

Crockpot Asian Shredded Beef

I like to look for different ways to cook a roast over the traditional carrot and potato route, so I was so excited to find this recipe at crockpot365.blogspot.com


Go here for recipe

Asian Shredded Beef

Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 3 oz meat (lean roast)
Meal Plan: ~260 Calories, 3 meat, 1 starch, 1/2 fat

I am going to serve this with cabbage and rice

Mealtime Monday

Welcome to the last Mealtime Monday (at least for a while). I think it will end on a yummy note! It took me around 1.5 hours to make the following:

• Turkey Burgers for 2 families


• Southwest Eggrolls for 2 families (this took around 30 min. alone)


• Asian Beef for 1 family


• Spinach Artichoke Lasagna for 1 family

I chose not to make the shrimp with cheesy grits ahead of time. Here is your prep and eat schedule:

Monday- Turkey Burgers. To premade the turkey patties according to the recipe and separated each patty with foil (out of wax paper) and stored in fridge. I also premixed sauce. Tonight we will through those turkeys on the Barbie and enjoy!

Tuesday Night- Southwest Eggroll. I fully prepared eggrolls according to recipe and stored in fridge (I bet these would freeze nicely too). Tuesday night I will take out of fridge and bake.

Wednesday Night- Crockpot Asian Beef. I dumped all the ingredients into a ziplock bag and stored in fridge. Wednesday morning I will dump contents of ziplock bag into crockpot and cook on low all day.

Thursday Night: Shrimp with Cheesy Grits. Thursday night I will have to fully prepare this recipe.

Friday and Saturday Night: Leftovers and Pantry challenge

Sunday: Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna. I fully prepared recipe up until final baking and stored in the freezer. Saturday afternoon I will transfer from freezer to fridge to begin thawing. Sunday I will pop the dish into the oven after church.

Farewell to DRS week

Well DRSers this is my last week (at least for a while) as your Donna Reed Syndrome Support Group Leader. The disease has taken over my life. As you know, people with advanced stage DRS are incapable of moderation and therefore when they start a new project they do it full force at a unrealistic, unmanageable pace and therefore eventually burn out. In my weight management program I call this the "All or Nothing" personality. Well folks, that is where I am.

When I started this blog January 1st of this year I really thought it would be my ultimate tool for achieving full Donna Reed status via world wide web accountability. What instead happened, was I began spending more time writing about my plan and less time implementing the plan. I dreamed of being the perfect wife and instead my DH began resenting the time I was spending on the computer-ouch! I wanted the perfect house but by the time I finished my daily posts I was too pooped to clean. I wanted to be the perfect mommy- but instead of quality time with my kids there were days I felt like my time with them was more or less something to check off my list- not good. And my quite times with the Lord- what quite times?!?! So needless to say my experiment was a bust.

Not to say, I haven't had fun. Oh I have. I will miss you all terribly. I have loved having an outlet to share all my craziness and I especially enjoyed reading your comments. I tell you it was your comments that gave me the energy to make it as far as I did on this little project.

I would love to think that I will be back on the blog in the near future BUT I need someone out there who is immune to DRS to teach me how to make it more manageable. In the meantime, this week I am going to try to give you some helpful hints and resources you can use in the future to help you cope with your DRS without me.

For ol' time sake, I'm going to put a Mr. Linky up so you can record your thoughts.

Deal Alert

Happy National Flip Flop Day! In celebration of this holiday hop on over to Tropical Smoothie to get a FREE 24 oz Jetty Smoothie. The first 500 customers who enter wearing flip flops will get a free Jetty Punch smoothie. I have not called ahead to verify our T.S. is participating- but they did last year!

Kroger Deals

Below are the deals that stick out to me as I glance through the weekly flyer:

Sanderson Farms Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Tenders on sale for $1.77/lb
Time to stock up!

Red Bell Peppers on sale for $0.99 each

Fresh Blueberries only $1.49

Bounty Single Roll Paper Towels on sale $1
Use $0.25 off 1 from 6/7 PG
Final Price: $0.50

Kool-Aid Drink Mix on sale 10 packages for $1
Use $0.50 off 10 from coupons.com sidebar
Final Price: 10 packages for FREEEEE

McCormick Grill Mates or Grinders on sale for $1
I am confident there are $0.50 off 1 coupons I just couldn't find them
Final Price: FREE

Suave Deodorants on sale for $1
Use $0.50 off 1 from 5/17 RP
Final Price: FREE

Washington Cameo Apples for $0.99/lb

Walgreens deal alerts

Here are my favorite Walgreens deals for the week:

Maxwell House Coffee 11 oz on sale 2 for $5
Use $2 off 2 from coupons.com sidebar
Final Price: $3 for 2

Cottenelle Fresh Wipes on sale for $1.99 with Walgreens Flyer coupon
Use $0.50 off 1 from June ALL YOU magazine
Final Price: $1.49 (can you say "wet wipes for adults" I don't think this sounds pleasent at all but if you have wanted to give em a try- now would be a good time to buy!)

Right Guard or Dry Idea on sale for $0.99 with Walgreens Flyer coupon
go to coupons.com sidebar to print a $2 off 1 for Dry Idea
(make sure to hand in manufactuerer coupon before walgreens coupon!)
Final Price: FREE to $1 in overages

Bryer Ice Cream for $3.99, buy ice cream and get FREE 2 L of A&W Rootbeer or Sunkist
Use $1 off 1 Bryer Ice Cream coupon from 5/17 RP

Final Price: $2.99 for ice cream and root beer

Schick Quattro Razor for Men, on sale B1G1 FREE at $9.49
Use 2 $4 off 1 from 6/14 SS
Final Price: $1.49 for 2


REGISTER REWARDS

St. Ives Bodywash at $2.99, Get a $2.99 RR when you buy 1
Final Price: FREE

Select Unilever Products: Buy 6 get $4 RR, Buy 8 get $8 RR

• Ragu/Skippy 2 for $4
• Hellmann's Mayo 2 for $7
• Lipton Tea 2 for $5

Best Scenario with thanks to Thrifty Mama:
Buy 4 Ragu and 4 Skippy PB
Use 2 $1 off 2 Ragu coupons here AND 2 $1 off 2 Skippy coupons from 4/5 RP
Final Price: $4 for 8 items!

Purex 3 in 1 for $5.99, Earn a $2 RR when you buy 1
Use $2 off 1 from 6/14 SS
Final Price: $1.99 after coupon and RR

Johnson's and Johnsons Baby Powder 1.5 oz for 2 for $2, Get a $1 RR when you buy 2
Use 2, $1 off 1 from 3/8 or 4/26 RP
Final Price: FREE plus $1 in overage

Thrifty Thursday

Hi Ladies- boy will I be glad when next week is over and I can stop feeling so guilty about these sorry posts. I have always lived by my Dad's saying "If you can't do something right, don't do it at all" and here lately I don't feel I have it in me to "do it right." I do have your Walgreens and Kroger deals ready to post but I am going to ask you to head on over to nwadeals.net for your Target deals. While there check out her Walmart deals. As always I would looooove to hear about any deals you have run across!

Zone 4- Office and Playroom

Day 1- Tuesday

• Dust Playroom Furniture
• Sanitize Toys
• Clean Playroom Windows and Fan

Day 2- Wednesday

• Organize Craft Closet
• Playroom Baseboards and Floors
• Office Baseboards and Floors

Day 3 - Thursday

• Dust office Furniture
• Organize Desk
• Organize Cedar Chest

Day 4- Friday

• Clean Office Window
• Organize Coupon Center
• Organize Window Seat

Day 5- Saturday

• Dust Computer and other Electronics
• Sort Magazines and File
• Organize and Update all Files

Tidy Tuesday

Well thank goodness for the air conditioner man. He was my motivation for getting my house in livable order yesterday. As soon as DH told me that someone was coming over to look at our air conditioner I kicked it into high gear and spent most of the morning cleaning all the rooms that lead up to the air conditioning unit. Maybe we can schedule the bug man next week......
I'm ready to move!!!

For the rest of you Donna Wannabes- your zone posts soon!

Annual Budget Countdown-updates

Wow, I think it has been 4 weeks since I last did my annual budget countdown!

So here are the results of my spending from week 21-24 of 2009!

Week 21
Kroger Spent: $72.23
Kroger Saved: $27.44

Week 22
Kroger Spent: $78.91
Kroger Saved: $46.21

Week 23
Kroger Spent: $67.89
Kroger Saved: $31.93

Week 24
Kroger Spent: $72.15
Kroger Saved: $48.41

Totals for weeks 21-24
Total Spent: $291.28
Total Saved: $153.99

Total for 2009:
Total Spent: $2142.52
Total Saved: $1624.84
Total Left for year: $2857.48