Plan-It-Out

S- Chili, corn bread
M- Teriyaki Meatballs, noodles, peas
T- Crockpot Night- Roast, mashed potatoes, corn
W- Taco Skillet, green beans
T- Swedish Meatballs (modified version of that recipe), salad, french bread
F- Cheese Pizza, birthday cake (husbands birthday)
S- Texas Road House and the movies (to celebrate my husbands birthday)

Taco Pasta Skillet
8 oz Lean Ground Beef 90% Lean
1 pk taco seasoning
11 oz Corn,Undrained
14 oz Kidney Beans,Undrained
1 c salsa
3 c hot water
8 oz Barilla Plus Multigrain
-Penne Pasta,Uncooked
4 oz Cream Cheese Fat Free
4 oz Kraft 2% Cheddar Cheese

Brown in meat in a large skillet. Drain fat and rinse under hot
water to remove additional fat. Add taco seasoning, corn, beans, salsa, water, and pasta. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked. Add cheeses and stir until melted. Makes approximately 8-- 1 cup servings

Per Serving: 330 Cal; 8 g Tot Fat; 7 g Fiber

Teriyaki Meatballs
White from 1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup(s) minced scallions
2 tablespoon(s) soy sauce
2 1/2 teaspoon(s) grated peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoon(s) toasted sesame oil
1 clove(s) garlic, crushed through a press
1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pound(s) ground pork or chicken
1/2 cup(s) thick teriyaki sauce and marinade
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

1.In a large bowl, whisk egg white, scallions, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, and pepper until blended. Add pork and mix in with your hands until combined. Shape into 30 (1 1/2-inch) balls.
2.Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add half the meatballs and sauté 5 minutes, or until lightly browned on all sides and meatballs firm up. Brown remaining meatballs.
3.Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Place meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with teriyaki sauce. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, brushing once with remaining sauce, until cooked through and glazed.
4.Insert toothpicks into meatballs and transfer to a platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Plan-It-Out I love my crockpot (edition II)

Can I start by saying, I've really missed not menu planning over the past couple of months? And I LOVE this time of year, comfy cooking is my fav! My vegetarian is now eating meat, so we've abandoned the vegetarian night.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND - I LOVE MY CROCKPOT EDITION II
Click here to see the first edition

S- Baked Potato Soup Crockpot (or by stove)
M- Ribeye (see below) and crockpot "baked" potato
T- CrockPot Brown Sugar Chicken Recipe
W- Slow Cooker Lasagna
T- Crockpot French Beef served over noodles
F- Chili in the crockpot (see recipe below)
S- BBQ Pork Sandwiches

CROCKPOT CHILI
1 pound ground chuck
2 cans of chili (I use hungry man vegetarian)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 small onion, diced
chili seasoning, salt, pepper
shredded cheddar

Brown hamburger. Add all ingredients to crockpot, adding seasonings to taste. Cook 6-8 hours on low. Garnish each bowl with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.

UPDATE: Inquiring minds want to know... This is my plan for cooking the ribeye. The Naughty Chef's recipe for the most tasty looking ribeye's...will it hold up against my high standard set by the mouth watering Texas Roadhouse Steaks? Stay tuned to see.
8-Inch Bone-In Rib Eye
Serves 1

Ingredients
•1 tablespoon salt
•1 tablespoon pepper
•1 teaspoon cayenne
•1 tablespoon butter
•1 8-inch bone-in rib eye
Directions
Rub salt, pepper and cayenne all over meat.

Heat pan on medium-high with canola oil.

Sear meat on both sides for 3 minutes (2 minutes for rare). Rub butter on top of meat.

Finish in oven at 400 degrees (5 minutes for medium-rare, 8 minutes for medium, 12 minutes for medium-well, or as long as you want for well-done). Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Halloween Class treats

I am in charge of classroom treats for the Fall Festival at my youngest's school this year. So I've been doing some searching for fun treats, and let me tell you, there are plenty to chose from. I do work full time outside the home, and commute - so I will have to pick something that can be made ahead of time and stored until the big day. So, I'm leaning toward the pumpkin spice popcorn. I might have to make some this week to try it. :) ...Although, I do love the mummy dogs. They will be flying high on sugar by the time the party gets to this point, so that might be the best option.

UPDATE: I tried this recipe last night - a no go! It was gross. While baking in the oven the popcorn shriveled.
Pumpkin Spice Popcorn Mix
Ingredients
1 bag light butter microwave popcorn
10 tbsp. butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions
Prep time: 5 minutes, Cook time: 25 minutes
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pop popcorn according to package directions; place in a large bowl and remove any unpopped kernels. Stir together butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Add popcorn and pecans; mix well to coat as evenly as possible, using a rubber scraper. Transfer to a large baking sheet with shallow sides and bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Let cool, stirring occasionally.

Makes 6 cups.

Nutritional Information:
(based on a 1-cup serving): 350 calories, 2 g protein, 29 g total fat (13 g sat., 0.5 trans), 23 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 16 g sugar, 50 mg cholesterol, 230 mg sodium, 9 points



White Chocolate Popcorn
Ingredients
15 cups popcorn
2 large bags M&M's (may use plain, peanut, almond, or a combination)
2 bags of white chocolate chips

Fresh popped popcorn. Measure 15 cups of popcorn into a large mixing bowl. Add 2 large bags of M & M's --- plain, peanut, almond, or a combination. Either type will add to this delicious popcorn treat. Melt 2 bags of white chocolate chips and pour over mixture. Stir until most of the popcorn is covered. Pour the entire popcorn mixture onto 2 cookie sheets to let the white chocolate set. Crumble into pieces and place in a storage container.


Lit'l Smokies® Mummy Dogs
INGREDIENTS
32 Hillshire Farm® Lit'l Smokies®
1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent dough rolls
Mustard or ketchup, if desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll dough, separate at perforations, creating 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. With a knife or pizza cutter cut each rectangle lengthwise into 8 strips making a total of 32 strips. Wrap one strip of dough around each Lit'l Smokies® stretching dough slightly to look like bandages, leaving tip exposed to create face. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Draw features on tip of Lit'l Smokies® to create face. Serve with mustard or ketchup, if desired.



Munchkin Mama's Crispy Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients:
3 c. crispy rice cereal
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. chopped salted peanuts
1 c. peanut butter chips
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow creme
1/2 c. candy corn
fine tip food safe marker, such as Wilton's Food Writers

Add the peanut butter, peanut butter chips, and marshmallow creme in a large bowl. Once the mixture is nice and whipped-looking, you can add the 3 cups of cereal and stir until combined. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Spoon out about a golf ball sized amount of the cereal loosely into your hand. Place the candy on top and pack tightly into a cookie shape, using your other hand to help pack it all together. Place on waxed paper.

Repeat with remaining cereal mixture. Using your food safe marker, make cute faces on the candy corn. Let them chill out in the fridge for about an hour.
Keep stored in an airtight container.



Other great ideas on:
Bakerella.com - I love her cake pops, they look so fun.
FamilyFun - spooktacular!

Coupon How-To: FAQ's

I thought it would be good to post some FAQ's. I use alot of terminology and tricks to accomplish my goal of saving money. For those who are new to the subject, this can be overwhelming.

We'll tackle Walgreens first, since I think they are the easiest.

Walgreens has a typical weekly ad with a bit of flair. They add coupons to their flyers. Be careful, if you miss one, most cashiers will not offer it. For this reason, sometimes I will clip those coupons and put them with my MFQ (Manufacture coupon) in my organizer. That brings me to my first point. You can use a Walgreens coupon and a manufacture coupon on the same product. This is completely legal. Also, don’t miss their IVC Coupon book (available online and in stores). They offer monthly rebates and coupons that you can match with your coupons.

CVS has a system all their own. They have weekly ads too; however you will notice that they offer ECB’s. ECB’s are like coupons for a certain amount off your next purchase. Example, last week if you went to CVS before Tuesday and purchased a bottle of Aussie shampoo for $2.99 you would receive a printed ECB for $2. Now you have $2 to use toward your next CVS purchase. This works like cash. The trick with ECBs is that they expire, so you have to be diligent in making sure you redeem them in a timely manner. The key is to be able to use a coupon on that item and receive an ECB. That is double savings.

Coupon How-To: It's all in the details

Previous Posts - Introduction - Tools you will need - Online Resources - Plan of Action

As promised, here is a glimpse at what I'm clipping and purchasing this week

Keep in mind, if you are just starting, you only have this week's coupons. I have months worth of coupons saved, so you may not have all of these (yet).

CVS
I have noticed CVS goes in cycles. This week there isn't alot of GREAT things to get excited about. I'll be purchasing the candy corn b/c in the fall we love candy corn and peanuts. They are great to have out when company is coming over.

Brach's Candy Corn 9oz 2/$1 Limit 4 Buy 4 -- $2
Suave Bodywash $2 ($2ECB WYB $6) Buy 3 -- $6
Coupon(s):
Aussie 33.8oz $5.99 Get $2 ECB Limit 1 Buy 1 -- $5.99
Coupon(s):
Total: $11.99
Minus ECB from previous shopping: $
Minus Coupons: $
Total OOP: $
Leaving with ECB:$4 for next trip

Walgreens

Kroger
Because Kroger is pretty straight forward and I have other things on my list besides just these items, I will just list the matchups I will be using. For a full list see here. Also, my Kroger doubles coupons under .50¢. However, I am not sure about the eCoupons.

Big K Soft Drinks Select Varieties, 12 pk, 12 oz Cans $1.99 With Card
-50/1 Big K 12 pk Shortcuts eCoupon
Aunt Jemima Breakfasts Select Varieties, 5.3-6.3 oz 10 for $10 With Card
-$1/2 Aunt Jemima Frozen Pancake items 08-16-09 SS
Michelina's Entree Frozen, Select Varieties, 5-11 oz 10 for $10 With Card
-$1/5 Michelina’s Lean Entrees printable
-$1/6 Banquet Meals September All You Magazine
Healthy Choice or Marie Callender's Entree Select Varieties, 6-17 oz 5 For $10 With Card
-$1/2 Healthy Choice Meals September All You Magazine or printable
-$1/2 Marie Callender Al Dente September All You Mag.
Kroger Deluxe Ice Cream Select Varieties 10 for $10 With Card
-75/1 Kroger Deluxe Ice Cream Shortcuts eCoupon
Charmin Bath Tissue Select Varieties, 4 Large Rolls $1.88 With Card
-1 off Charmin PG eCoupon
Purex Laundry Detergent Select Varieties, Liquid, 24-32 Loads $2.49 With Card
-.50/1 Purex Natural Elements printable
Betty Crocker Cake Mix Select Varieties 10 for $10 With Card
-50/2 Betty Crocker Cake Mix and Frosting Shortcuts eCoupon
-.50/2 Betty Crocker Cake Mix & Frosting printable
Brut Deodorant Select Varieties, 2-2.5 oz 10 for $10 With Card
-55/1 Brut Deodorant August All You Magazine
Kotex Pads, Liners or Tampons select varieties $2.50 With Card
-$1 off Kotex Products printable

I hope you have enjoyed this mini series and I hope you've learned something new. Coupon How-To: FAQ's later today.

Coupon How-To: Plan of Action

Previous Posts - Introduction - Tools you will need - Online Resources - Stockpile

Today we are discussing Our Plan of Action.

Are we ready? We have our tools - check. We know our online resources and have taken a peek at least once at them - check. We know how much stockpile room we can accomodate - check. We have our list - um...not yet.

Ok, since we are just starting our stockpile, we are open limited only by our space. Now we need to know what necessities we need (standard grocery list).

My old preferred method comes from Karen Ehman. I love the idea of a pre-printed grocery list. I modified my own to mimic hers found here. However, these days I use and electronic list on my phone in excel. So whatever method you chose, be sure it doesn't take up too much time.

There are going to be things you just have to purchase this week. There is no getting around it - the only thing we can hope for is that they are either on sale or we can find a cheap generic. Don't stress this too much, these items get fewer and farther between as your stockpile grows.

You have started the ball rolling. Tomorrow is the big day.

Next Post - I'll give you a glimpse at what I'm clipping and purchasing this week.