Mini Deal Dive

Just sharing a quick Deal Diva with ya this morning.  I made a trip to UGO mid-week and ran into $GM this morning to use my $5 coupon on pet food and what not.  Most likely won't do my big shopping (first of the month stock up) until Monday, but on the other hand I will get to spend some quality time at my local dentist office discussing root-canal options.  Sigh.

 

 

Wed. at the UGO, they were pretty wiped out but I did find ground pork for $1.49 a pound.  Any time you can find meat under $2 a pound, great deal.  I grabbed 4 of these, wonderful for mixing with beef or turkey for meat loaf and such.

 

 

 

Found these reduced turkey sausages at the local Pig.  I had some leftover home made Spanish rice from dinner the night before, and thought these would be great mixed in for a whole new lunch : )

 

 

 

Wed. I also ran into Wal-Mart (for contact paper - none here in the 'bury) and if your already there . . . yup, might as well look at the reduced items : )  I love grabbing their bakery French bread, for making home made garlic bread.  This is the 'everything' bread (Bre's favorite) and will accompany chicken alfredo for dinner latter in the week.

 

The romaine I snagged at the local Save a-Lot.  I only get romaine reduced if using immediately, and tonight is Taco salad for dinner!  Fate : )  I grabbed a tomato while there, only one = hubby won't eat them) and happily discovered that they are local; about 45 minutes away!  No idea what type of chemicals they used, but decided my chanced were better local than national.

 

So that is it.  Hope these shopping posts serve as a money saving inspiration or at the very least; give ya an idea for dinner? 

 

Blessings, Beth Ann

Poe ~ tastic!

When do you start thinking about Halloween?  That was a question I read today on Face Book.  So I started thinking.  Then realized I am not normal and you shouldn't ask me - LOL  I have an A+ personality as well as OCD, which means I am uber organized.  Also being low income means I plan ahead to make sure we have what we need, when we need it : ) 

 

That said, I already posted about the leopard print pumpkins hubby picked - up for me as a get well soon gift.  Well here is our newest acquisition, I call it the Poe Pumpkin!  Saw it in a catalog, has the money, ordered it.  Couldn't pass it up, reminded me too much of dd Bre.  Bre adores Poe, she loves how creepy weird he is - LOL  I am kinda proud of her and her uniqueness.  I don't raise no sheepeople here!

One of our highlights last spring, while on vacation, was a trip to Sullivan's Island and eating at Poe's Tavern.  Poe had been stationed at Fort Moultrie briefly, and wrote he book The Gold Beetle while living on the island. 

  This is one of Bre's rare and true smiles.  She mentioned just the other day that she would like to go back, me too.  Sullivan's Island is beautiful!  She also said that one she might like to have that pumpkin!  LOL  We are getting ready to paint her room (waiting for some cool temps) and we decided that the pumpkin could be a good theme.  She had been planning a nice shade of purple (not eggplant) but maybe we could do the crow/tree silhouette in one corner?  Throw in some crow accessories?  See, none of my kids are usual and I am ok with that; neither am I!  Ha! 

 

Blessings, Beth Ann

Last Deal Diva of Aug.

Here we are, Labor day week-end.  The start of fall!  In the good 'ole days, where I came from, school would start the first Tuesday after Labor day.  Big culture shock for us moving down here.  In a good way.  Once we got use to it : )  Either way; Labor day is the gate way to the holiday season.  Here at my house twin son is already on a count down to pumpkin patch day.  We usually pick a day the first week of Oct. and he hasn't missed one yet, including when I was pregnant! LOL  Our family believes it is in the top 3 most fun events of the year.   We also have many birthdays starting Oct. 2nd. with dd Bre.  Many things to look forward to, including cooler temps, I hope!  LOL

So with dreams of end of summer bon=fires in my head and bbq's,  I headed out to do my weekly hunting and gathering.  There are two truths in grocery shopping; the first of the month is crazy - for obvious reasons - and the end of the month is slim pickings, again for obvious reasons (store inventory - all about the money folks).

 

 
With that said, I did find a deal at my local Save A-Lot on ground turkey.  I grabbed all four packs of 1.25lbs. each, at $1.99 @.  Making it cheaper than ground beef, and leaner.  I can mix this with the ground beef I got at the beginning of the month (16 chubs).    Great for chili or meat loaf, two mainstays here.

I had to shop the store ad's at Kroger but did get these organic cage - free brown eggs  for only $2.99 each.  Only needed two dozen , so didn't break the bank there.

Then, unwilling to give up the dream and remembering a wonderful memory, I grabbed these bratwurst at Wal-Mart.  Not healthy in the least, but a yummy treat.  Hubby and I got married down here and had a giant BBQ at our church for the reception.  One of the things we offered was Bratwurst.  The gentleman in charge had never cooked them before and many folks had never even had one!  Thankfully they were a big hit, to the point that hubby and I spied a couple of guests stuffing their pockets and purse with some before they left - LOL  Memories : )

If you have never cooked these before, I recommend par=boiling them for about 20 minuets before grilling.  That will kill everything and cut the cooking time in half.

 

Praying all have a wonderful holiday week-end.  Blessings, Beth Ann

 

Suprise ~ it's leopard print!

I am soooo, blessed.  Yesterday around 4 a.m. I awoke with a major headache.  You know they are bad when they wake you from sleep.  I though if I got up it would feel better - wrong.  It quickly became a migrain : (  I spent the day either in the bathroom (admiring the cleaning job Bre did on the tub) or in the comfy blue chair (a/k/a the sick chair).  I was scared to go up and lie down, made headache worse.  Children were great (twins were thrilled with a day off school - wait till I tell them we are making it up Sat.!) and hubby brought them lunch from Mc'D's on his lunch break (perk of working local).  Around 5 p.m. I started to feel better, no nosia but still a headache.  I texted hubby to bring home cat litter and not only did he, but he brought me home a little surprise to make me feel better:   a couple of these super cute leopard print pumpkins!!!!!!!!!!!!  Anyone close to me knows how I feel about leopard print, and those who don't are always surprised!  LOL  Fall is my favorite time of the year and this was just too cool : )

 

I worried all day yesterday that I wouldn't feel well enough to take dd Bre to oral surgeon today, to have her wisdom teeth removed.  That dang migraine hung on like 18 hours - geese.  Almost thought I would have to cave in and make some coffee.  Hubby kept urging me to, but I held my own : )  Anyway, woke up much improved this morning and made my famous Amazing Banana and Blueberry muffins for breakfast.  Shame Bre couldn't eat : ( 

 

Her appointment went well but she has been sick since she has been home. She is now the one in the comfy blue chair (a/k/a sick chair) I don't remember being sick like that when I had mine out 9 years ago.  I worry.  I almost cried when they wheeled her out to our car.  She was so drugged and helpless looking : (  One minute I see that she is soooo grown up; helping with the housekeeping, cooking dinner last night (Dr. Pepper baby back ribs) and even getting your 3rd. molars out means you have reached a certain mature age.  Then I see her sick, helpless, miserable . . .  gotta love parenthood.    Either way, I am blessed.  She is the such a blessing.  All children are blessings.  Not just mine, but all children are gifts from God.  And I was doubly blessed by finding my soul mate over ten years ago, who not only loved me but all my children.  That man took up the reins another man dropped and our lives have been better ever since.  That man rushed out today to get his little girl some pain meds and chocolate ice cream, just because he loves her and that is her favorite.    I see these people everyday and know God loves me, and this is His way of blessing me.  I am so undeserving, but grateful nonetheless . 

 

Blessings, Beth Ann

Mini post- dinner tonigh

Not much exciting going on here, which is a good thing.  Mostly dental appts. for dd and me, like every day it seems.  I have a bad case of 'mommy~itis' and don't feel like cooking.  But everyone was counting on me and hubby is at work.  So I went for stir-fry.  You can do ANYthing with stir-fry.

 

 

Here is the super cool stir=fry cookbook I got from our local library book sale, circa 1990.  And it does have anything!  They have recipes in there for stir=fry lasagna, beef stroganoff and taco salad!  LOL

 

 

 

I made a Hawaiian chix dish with the uber organic breasts I bought back on Friday,  I also found a bag of frozen stir=fry veggies in the bottom of my freezer.  These had pea pods and those are not my twin sons fav.  So he spent a large amount of time 'shelling' them before eating them!  ROFL  Now THAT I should have taken a pic. of : )

 

 

 

Feeling kind of rice out and not inclined to even drag out the box of minuet rice, I instead opened the unhealthy bag of chow=main noodles I found at UGO last week.  Kids thought that was cool/different and I saved face, a bit.

 

So there ya go; chix breast, pineapple chunks, frozen veggies and chow mein noodles = dinner tonight.  Thought I would share so you could keep stir-fry in mind for the next time you have 'mommy-itis'.  Blessings, Beth Ann

Deal Diva 8/23/13

Wow, what a crazy week it was!  Good news is that I got plenty of chances for searching out deals for meals  : ) 

 

Thur. I ran into $GM and found these reduced baby backs, score!  Have been hankering these for a while but since I won't pay full price and we won't buy from Smithfield anymore . . .   Not a huge fan of Tyson either, but at least it doesn't come from China, like all other recalled food items from the past three years.

 

 

I have a killer recipe for these, made with Dr. Pepper.  Healthy?  No, but I win mother of the year with middle daughter : )  Was hoping to be able to make these while army son was here.  Sigh.

 

 

 

As you can see I also purchase reduced produce.  Makes for a great lunch treat for the children, and with oranges you don't eat the skin, so not so picky about organic here.

 

 

 

Friday saw me at the 'ghetto' Kroger again, and buying more reduced greek yogurt ; )  We really like the mini bite, with dark chocolate.  Great for me and dd during PMS week. Shhhhhhh, don't tell her I said that out loud.

 

 

 

At the Wal= Mart I did pay full price for a 3pk. of organic b/s chicken breast, but got these Angus beef patties and country ribs reduced.  I love getting my burgers at less than a buck a burger, and the ribs will be a great bbq meal.  I make my own sauce, so done there.  : )

 

Some days I feel like I deserve a cape, and others I just want to blend into the woodwork and not have to fiddle with 3 meals a day, every day.  But I know God has blessed me and my hands, to make me a Proverbs 31 mom and I can feel his love for us everyday.  However, know this, if I had a cape; it would be leopard print!  LOL

 

Blessings, Beth Ann

menu maddness

Here we are again, it's Friday and you know what that means; Deal Diva is prepping!  LOL    I thought I would use this post to show you how a couple hours of prep (not all at one time) can save you some money when it is time to shop.  Everyone knows the basics; plan your meals before, make a list, use your coupons  and shop in-store specials.  And that is exactly how I do it, just not your reg. coupons or store sales.  It also takes dedication.  I am a stay home mom, whom home schools, this is MY JOB and I take just as seriously as I would any joy I have held in the past (maybe more so).  For example, today I had to be in town early and used that as a chance to visit a couple different stores and search for reduced items to include in next weeks meal plan, which I am making today.

 

I work on my menus a few minutes everyday, basically whenever I get a idea for a meal, but I know that Thur. is my deadline.  When I go to bed Thur. night I have to have my menu and shopping list done for the following week, so I can be ready to shop Fri. morning at the crack of dawn for those great deals : )

 

 

 

This is my menu book, a reduced notebook from the dollar store.   I have my cup of tea, ink pen, highlighter and phone ~ I am ready to rumble!  By the way, I love Perry the Platypus and the never flinch refers to menu plans in my case - LOL

 

 

 

Each week has it's own page, labeled with the date it encompasses at the top.  I run a list of days of the week down the side, with the three meals of the day branching off from each day.  I also include any outings, special plans or things to be done; on that given day and highlight it for easy reference at a glance latter.  I have some room at the bottom of the page and label that Notes, and write down numbers, on-line orders to place, or blog notes : )  I also reference and highlight any food prep that needs to be made ahead of time.

 

 

 

The page in the book right behind the menu is labeled for the upcoming shopping day  As I plan a meal, I turn the page and record the ingredients I need for that meal.  This  allows me to keep a running shopping list during the week of any item I may run out of.  I also do this for paper, pet and any misc. item be purchased on that same shopping trip.  That leads to another tip, plan all shopping trips to coincide with other outings, so as not to waste gas.  Lastly: as you can see from the picture,  keep all coupons together with your shopping list.

 

 

 

During the week I cross off menus or items I have already used.  This helps me stay organized, as my old brain gets confused easily and I like to be able to see at a glance what still needs to be done, when and what my menu choices are.  Just because I wrote down a food item for Monday, doesn't mean I ate it then.  I might eat Tuesdays food Monday, Wed. food Tuesday, etc.  You get the idea, the list is just to help you stay organized.  The list is your friend - LOL  Basically I now have a list of what I can make with what I have bought and can eat it whenever.

 

 

 

 

Once the menu is done (the hard part)  I take a sheet of scrap paper (backside of junk mail) and organize that shopping list I have been keeping.  I make different sections for different stores, since I don't get all my items at one store.  I list the food for each store in the order I shop, as best as I can remember the aisle layout.  I also list any coupon for each store I will use it at.  Don't you just HATE when you get home and find out you didn't use your coupons?  I do!  Every little bit helps : )

 

 

That's it!  Your done for another week!  Stick that bad boy in your purse before you forget, and you are ready to be a Deal Diva in the morning!    Now that you have a list, when you see a special at the store you can quickly see if it is needed for this shopping trip or if you start planning ahead you might find something for the next week that you can take home and freeze.    Either way doesn't matter.  This is just how this OCD SAHM does it and stays in budget (mostly) (sometimes) (well it helps some) - LOL

 

Blessings, Beth Ann