Now That's Fun!

Spinach Turkey Noodle Bake Recipe

2009-11-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

I just put a very yummy recipe in the oven that I thought I'd share! I've tried this recipe a few times and my family really loves it. I was pretty hesitant because my 3 year old is a picky veggie eater. But, I was happy when he devoured his serving and begged for more. This is a super way to use up the leftover turkey that I made a few days ago in the crock pot. (Chicken could also be substituted.)

A side note: We showed our 3 year old an episode or two of Popeye the Sailor Man on Utube to see if that would get him interested in giving spinach a try. It worked!!! Popeye is a pretty tough dude. When he eats his spinach, he's "tough to the finish." Thanks, Popeye!

Here's the recipe:

Spinach Turkey Noodle Bake

6 Servings
Prep: 20 min. Bake: 45 min. + standing

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups uncooked yolk-free noodles
2 cups diced cooked turkey breast
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
Dash pepper
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup (8 ounces) fat-free cottage cheese
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/8 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the turkey, soup, garlic salt, rosemary and pepper. In another bowl, combine the spinach, cottage cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
In a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray, layer half of the noodles, turkey mixture and cottage cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Cover and bake 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until edges are lightly browned; sprinkle with paprika. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 cup) equals 242 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 53 mg cholesterol, 568 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 26 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 very lean meat, 1-1/2 starch, 1/2 fat.

You can find this recipe and gazillions of other great recipes at the Taste of Home website here.

Scalloped Chicken in the Crock Pot

2009-10-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Wahoo!! I'm so excited about dinner tonight. I wasn't sure what to make until I went out to check the mail and got my free Betty Crocker Scalloped Potato sample! I was expecting a teensy box, but got a full-size box instead!! I also got a coupon for $.50 off of a Betty Crocker box of potatoes. That is awesome, isn't it?!?

Anyway, I remembered a recipe that I wanted to try out that included a box of scalloped potatoes. I found the recipe in a great book called 101 Things to do with a Slow Cooker. Here's the easy recipe:

Scalloped Chicken

Ingredients:

1 box (5 ounces) scalloped potatoes, including seasoning packet

1 can (8 ounces or larger) white meat chicken (I had cooked up some chicken last night to use "somehow" today so I used that.)

3 3/4 cups water

Put potatoes in greased 2 1/2 to 3 1/2-quart slow cooker first, followed by the seasoning packed and chicken. Pour water over all. Cover and cook on high heat 1 1/2-3 hours or on low heat 4-5 hours.

Makes 4-6 servings.

The book suggests serving this with steamed asparagus sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

This recipe was super easy and it already smells yummy in my house.

Turkey Breast in the Crock Pot

2009-10-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

My family loves turkey. Turkey breasts were on sale at Kroger a few weeks ago for $.99 a pound. For less than $7, I will be able to get 4-5 meals from one turkey breast. My new favorite way to cook a turkey breast is in the crock pot. It's a very easy and a fabulous way to get a lot of bang for your buck!

Here's what you need:
1 (6-7 lb) turkey breast; 1 can cream of chicken soup; 1/2 to 1 can chicken stock; 1/2 stick of butter, optional

Stir together the soup & stock. Pour mixture in the crock pot. Rinse and pat dry turkey. Put it in the crock pot. Add butter. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 8-10.

Here's how to use the liquid in the crock pot to make very flavorful gravy:
Take out about 1/4 cup of the broth. Add enough water to measure up to 2 cups. Put in a saucepan over medium high heat. Gradually add 2-3 Tablespoons of flour. Whisk constantly until it comes to a boil. Take the pan off the heat for 1 minute. Yum! (If you don't want to make it on your own, most turkey breasts will come with a gravy packet. The instructions will be on the packet.)

What an easy way to make a deliciously juicy turkey!

Hearty Beef Chili

2009-10-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

I love using my crock pot and use it about once a week. This fabulous recipe is one that freezes well - it tastes just as yummy thawed and reheated.

Hearty Beef Chili
(10 Servings)
Ingredients:
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained; 1 10 oz can chopped tomatoes & green chili peppers, undrained; 2 cups vegetable or tomato juice; 1-2 T chili powder; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp dried oregano, crushed; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1" cubes; 2 c chopped onion (2 large); 1 1/2 cups chopped celery (3 stalks); 1 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 med); 2 15-oz can of any of the following: black beans, kidney, garbanzo--rinsed & drained
Toppers:
Sour cream, tortilla chips, cheese, snipped fresh cilantro, jalepenos

In a 6-quart crock pot, stir together both cans of undrained tomatoes, the juice, chili powder, cumin, oregano & garlic. Stir in meat, onion, celery & sweet pepper. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
*If using the low setting, pour in the beans after 8-10 hours. Put on high heat for 15 minutes more.

Tip: When the chili is finished cooking, I like to shred the meat because it ensures that just about every bite will have some beef in it.

I don't like celery in soups so I just leave it out. I think you could easily add corn, carrots, etc.
YUM!

Sign up for a FREE Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich!

2009-08-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

Chick-Fil-A is giving away a FREE Chicken Sandwich coupon to the first 250,000 people that sign up here! The next 750,000 people to sign up get a coupon for a free Coke! Signing up will also enter you to win in a daily $50 gift card drawing.

Meijer Trip #1

2009-08-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here's how I got some good deals at Meijer this week:

Mt. Olive pickles - $1.99
- Buy (2) and use (2) $0.50/1 coupons from the 8/16/09 Smart Source insert
- Stack with $1/2 Meijer Mealbox printable coupon here
Final price - $0.48 each
(Thanks Cincinnati Cents!)

Tony’s Crisp Crust Pizza - $0.98
- $1/2 Tony’s Multi-Serve Pizza printable
Final Price - $0.48 each

Dannon Yogurt Cups - 10 for $4
Buy 12 Dannon Yogurt Cups
Use (3) $1/4 Dannon Yogurt printable via Meijer Mealbox
Use (2) $0.60/6 Dannon Single-Serve Cups, exp. 10-15-09 (SS 8/16/09)
Final Price - FREE after coupons
(Thanks Cincinnati Cents!)

Aunt Millie’s Potato Bread - $.99
$0.35/1 from 8-16 Red Plum Insert
Final Price - 29¢

Chef Boyardee Forkables Tins - on clearance for $.72 each
Buy 6
Use (2) $0.35 off 3 Chef Boyardee cans or tins
Use (1) $1.00 off 5 Chef Boyardee cans or tins via Meijer Mealbox
Final Price -$0.32 each

Easy Mac Original Cups 5 for $5.00
Buy 5
Use (2) $1.00 off two Meijer Mealbox
Final Price - $0.50 each
(I had hoped to be able to use 2 buy one get one free Easy Mac coupons, but the coupons specifically state "Shells" not original. Some couponers have been able to score these for free, but not me. Bummer!! I know the boys will eat these up so it's still an alright deal.)
La Choy Lo Mein Noodles - $1.44 on sale, no coupon

*I didn't realize it until later...6 of my 7 Meijer Mealbox Q's did not scan! Big time BUMMER!! I also had one of my $0.60 coupons that did not scan. I had to go back in and get a price adjustment. I need to pay attention when they're ringing up and triple check my receipt after paying.

Total Spent $4.66

Homemade Flour Tortillas

2009-08-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

I recently made a list of some new recipes that I'd like to try. One of the recipes on my list is "Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe" that I found here. I made them tonight and I am crazy excited about how easy & yummy they were! It never really occurred to me that I could make these on my own until I came across a few recipes for them online and saw how easy they would be to make. Tortillas are a staple in my house. I cannot wait to make these again!!

Here's the recipe:
Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe
* 2 cups of white flour
* 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
* 1 tsp. salt
* 2 tsp. vegetable oil
* 3/4 cup warm water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil.

Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough. The dough will be sticky.

Kneading The Dough
Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough.

Kneading is done by pushing the dough with the heals and palms of both hands down onto the board. Fold the dough back onto itself, give a quarter turn and push again with the palms and heels of your hands. Just repeat the process of pressing, folding and turning for about 4 or 5 minutes. Add a dusting of flour when the dough gets sticky.

If the dough sticks to the cutting board while kneading, scrape up the dough and dust the board with a little flour and continue kneading. Eventually the stickiness will go away and you will have a nice smooth dough.

Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.

Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth. Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.

Rolling The Tortillas
Preheat a skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. You really can't beat cast iron pans for even heat distribution and their ability to withstand high heat without warping.

Lightly dust your wooden cutting board with flour. Take one of the balls of dough and flatten it out on the cutting board to a 4 inch circle. Rub flour on your rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough starting from the center out. Roll the tortilla until it is 6 or 7 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.

Cooking The Tortillas
Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds.

Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft.
Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.

Storing Tortillas
Tortillas are best eaten hot right off the griddle, but you can refrigerate and freeze them too.

If you freeze the tortillas, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put them in a ziplock bag. When you are ready to use them, first thaw at room temperature and then wrap them in foil and place them in a 250 degree oven for a 10 to 15 minutes.

Microwaving them is not recommended as this tends to toughen them.

I got this recipe & the great tips here.

What new recipes have you tried lately?

$50 Hanes Giveaway

2009-08-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

I was excited to to find out this morning that one of my favorite blogs, Common Sense with Money, is hosting a giveaway for a $50 Hanes gift card. Go here to enter. This giveaway ends 8/16 at 9PM CST.

How COOL would it be to win this and get a bunch of undies for Underwear for Africa???

Free Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions Sample

2009-08-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Go here to get a free sample of Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions! Select mild, moderate or severe when asked if you suffer from acne or the form will not show up.

Free Covergirl Makeup!

2009-08-09T17:57:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about this fantastic deal I got on some CoverGirl makeup & applicators at Kroger today! I got all of this stuff for free and got $.90 overage (I used that to put toward bananas...not pictured)!! Here's how I did it:

Bought 10 CoverGirl makeup applicators & sponges at $2.17 each
Bought 10 CoverGirl eye shadows at $2.24 each
Used 10 $2.50/2 coupons from the 8/2 P&G insert
Got $4 off instantly (for every 4 items) as part of the P&G promotion (I got $20 off b/c of the promotion!)
Free plus a small money-maker after coupons and P&G promotion

With my coupons, Kroger Plus card and the promotion I saved over $44 on this makeup! I got the head's up on this from Money Saving Mom. Check out her site and find out how to score some deals like the one here!

Saving the World with Underwear

2009-08-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

With two boys in my house, there are plenty of jokes and comments about underwear every day. Yesterday while playing outside with the slip 'n slide, my 3 year old son (Gibson) said, "As long as I have my underwear, I can save the world!" He was very proud and gave me a huge thumbs up. I've been amused by that off & on yesterday and today. I get a real kick out of the funny things that kids say.

As I was cleaning up lunch today I thought again about what Gibson said yesterday and I wondered...is the Holy Spirit trying to remind me of something that I felt convicted of last week...through my 3 year old??

I was reminded of a website that I came across last week called, Mothers Fighting For Others where men and women across the country are asked to donate underwear/money for school children, orphans and young adults in Africa who do not have any. Since orphans only receive underwear if it is donated, it is considered a luxury to have brand new underwear. This article makes reference to another article called, 'Undignified' underwear the only choice for Kenya's poor. This article explains how Kenyans are driven to buy used underwear out of necessity. Yes, used underwear.

Doesn't it break your heart to think of little children not having underwear? This is just one of the gazillion things that we take for granted. I explained to the boys that some kids don't have underwear in other countries, but they don't get it. My almost 7 year old (Graham) thinks it would be pretty great not to have to wear it. My husband and I have decided that this project is something we would love to take part in.

Gibson's statement about his underwear allowing him to "save the world" kindof puts things in a different light - imagine how confident and proud a child with no underwear could suddenly become with several brand new pairs!

If you're interested in participating in this opportunity to donate, you can find all the details for donations here. I encourage you to check out some of the pictures and comments also. Let me know if you decide to donate!

My Meijer Deals week of 8-2

2009-08-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

On Monday night I grabbed my coupons and went out to Meijer to pick up some sweet deals:

2 jars of Skippy peanut butter= $.03 each
*plus, because of a catalina deal, I made $.94 on these two jars! (buy 2 Skippy natural peanut butter get 1.00 Meijer coupon to use on your next order)
(I used -.40 08-02-09 RP and -1.00/2 meal box coupon)

2 Ragu pasta sauce= $.50 each
(I used -.60/2 08-02-09 RP and -1.00/2 meal box coupon)

2 Mott's Applesauce multipacks= $.16 each
(-.50 mott's plus 6pk printable and -1.00/2 meal box coupon)

1 box Lipton tea bags=? less than $.25
(-1.00 meal box coupon and -.60 08-02-09 RP)

2 Jell-o ready to eat gelatin 6 pack= $1.00 each
*instant promo: buy 2 gelatin or pudding get free cool whip aerosol!!
(-.50 07-12-09 SS on gelatin)

1 Hellmann's mayo= $.50
(-.50 08-02-09 RP and -1.00 meijer meal box coupon)

2 1 Gallon Meijer Milk= $1.59 each

1 bottle Heinz Ketchup= $.60
(-1.00 meal box coupon)

2 8 oz. Kraft Shredded Cheese= $.67 each
(2 -1.00 printables)

2 Ken's Dressing= $.68 each
(-? and meal box)

Total: around $11 (I can't find my receipt! I'll update this blog when I find it.)

*When I got my receipt, I recieved the $1 catlina for buying Skippy pb instantly in the form of a printed coupon AND a $2 coupon of my next Jell-O purchase!

I found out about these deals from Dayton Deals!

I'm heading back out to Meijer tomorrow to pick up some more peanut butter! I have Skippy coupons from the 8/2 insert so can't pass up the crazy awesome bargain! I just hope they still have some left.

Old Navy Hidden Coupons

2009-08-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I discovered that Old Navy is offering up a fresh batch of coupons each week on its online circular website, Old Navy Weekly. The coupons are strategically hidden throughout the site and are for use on in-store only purchases. The site refreshes each week sometime between Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning. The past few weeks the big coupon has been $75 off of $100 purchase.

Head on over to the site for a bit of practice & start clicking around to uncover valuable store coupons like the ones below:

5% (unlimited)
10% (unlimited)
15% (25,000 unique codes)
20% (10,000 unique codes)
$10 off $100 (5000 unique codes)
$50 off $100 (3500 unique codes)
$75 off $100 (1000 unique codes)

The highest valued coupons have been hidden in some pretty sneaky places. Each week, the ad picture may change completely or have some similarities. Here is where coupons were hidden two weeks ago:

$ 75 off $100: click on the apple as it falls.

$50 off $100: Move the apple next to the golf club, then click on the club to make it swing.

$15 off $75: In video. Click on Mannequins leg sticking out of dumpster 3 minuets into video.

25% off: Click on Life as a Supermodelquin kid sign, “Who is Kimmy’s BFF?” Answer is Natalie.

20% off 2 pair of jeans: Put blue pen into school bag.

15% off: Put black & white scarf on Michelle in top picture.

10% off uniforms: Put blue scarf on Michelle.

My husband won the $50 off $100 coupon two weeks ago! We were able to get $100 worth of clothes for $50 for our son who will be starting first grade in a few weeks!! Yippie!

I won the 25% off any purchase coupon and used it toward the shoes in the picture.
They were $4.00 Even Steven.

Here are some helpful tips for redeeming your coupons at stores:
- Print or email your coupon from the site
- Take it into the store the next time you shop (make sure to check valid dates)
- This coupon is one time use only — use it on yourself or give to a friend, but don’t bother making copies, because it’ll only work once!
- Applies to merchandise only
- Hand to the cashier upon checkout and have them scan the bar code.
- If for some reason the bar code doesn’t scan, suggest they manually enter in the discount code on the coupon and amount.

Happy Hunting!!

Easy Meal Ideas and a Flop!

2009-07-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

When I start cooking something in the kitchen, it's a given that one or both of the boys will run up and ask to help. Today it was Gibson (age 3). I love using recipes that my 3 year old can help out with - Barbecue Chicken Legs in the crock pot. YuM!

Barbecue Chicken Legs:
Put 8 chicken legs in a crock pot and 1 bottle of sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays) on top. Put the cooker on low for 7-8 hours. That's it! (I let Gibby pour the whole bottle of sauce on.)

Yippie for an easy meal! It smelled deliciouso all day. I also had some corn on the cob that I soaked in the sink (in the husks) for a couple of hours. Then I threw them on the grill for about an hour and was supposed to flip them every 10 minutes or so. While the corn was cooking, I put some red potatoes tossed with fresh rosemary, a little bit of olive oil, and salt & pepper on a baking sheet in the oven. The potatoes were supposed to cook for about 30 min @ 375.

So, here's where things flopped---->My boys were DEMANDING.

While I was trying to get the corn & potatoes together, my little darlings fought, complained, whined, needed potty help.....and on and on. Seriously, I wanted to scream {ok, I did scream}. Jason is usually the grill meister and takes great care to cook the corn. He said he flips it every 10 minutes or so. Unfortunatley, I have not mastered wearing my referee and chef hats at the same time and I forgot about the corn. {Aaaggh!} I was not able to flip the corn on the grill until about 20 min. into grill time and the cobs were burned on one side. Jason explained the corn as "chewey" and I had to agree. The boys did not notice and ate it right up.

Now, the potatoes for whatever reason, took 4ever to cook. After about 45 minutes in the oven I decided to boil them and make smashed potatoes (I know, brilliant). But alas, we had NO MILK! So, while they were boiling I rushed to the grocery to get the daggon milk.

They will be wonderful tomorrow. (I'm going to add a little sour cream and bake them-they'll be yummy.) Everyone was finished eating when I came home. In fact, Jason had sent both boys to their rooms for being so whiney and Gibson ended up falling asleep during his time out! Ha! Talk about tired! I think he fell asleep before 7:00.

Although supper was sort of a flop, lunch was superb. I made Crunchy Pizza Baguette.

Crunchy Pizza Baguette:
Cut baguette in half length-wise and width-wise, scoop out some of the bread and cut the big pieces into six small ones. Brush a little butter on, add a cup of pizza sauce, piece of provolone or a sprinkle of mozzarella and some pepperoni on each piece. Bake in preheated oven @350 for 10-15 minutes (until the cheese is melted). Yummalicious.

What's cool about this little recipe is that you can use the bread that you scooped out to 1. Make bread crumbs or 2. Dip in olive oil and snack on while the pizza is cooking.

Another cool thing about using a baguette is that you really can make this for one person or more. If you have extra bread, you can make garlic bread and/or croutons!

Despite a flop here & there today, it was a good day.

Coupons

2009-07-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

I have a tendency to let my hobbies take over me. When discovering a new interest, it more than consumes me. Many of my interests offer some kind of creative outlet (ie. crochet, scrapbooking, music). However, a new interest that has captivated me lately is "couponing." I have used coupons here & there, but have never used them to the extent that I have actually seen a substantial savings until recently.

Over a month ago, I came across a few blogs that challenged readers to use coupons in a major way. What caught my attention is the idea that I could actually save a substantial amount money on necessities and in return pay off debt, build up savings and have extra cash for some fun things for my family.

It's been almost a month since I started using coupons and I can honestly say that we have saved a lot of money so far. Hooray! I am blown away by how many items we have been able to get for free or next to nothing! If you would like to learn more about saving money with coupons, check out some of the blogs that I follow-they offer a great deal of advice and how to's!

The most exciting part about using coupons to me is the idea that I could donate some of these free or practically-free items. During my first week of couponing, I was able to get over $50 worth of toiletries for FREE! I could not {still can't} believe it! I will most definitely be donating all of those items to a women's shelter (and some to my extended family). How COOL is that?! I get crazy excited about that aspect of it. Giving away free stuff that people actually need, now that's what I call fun!