About Me

Who Am I? Family of 3 adults plus 1 pet kitty on 1 income trying to live like I have an unlimited budget & I have to STOP!!!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Crochet Project Baby Bootie

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I found this quick Grandma's Easy Ten Step Baby Booties on the internet . This project can be whipped up in less then get this 1 hour...Pattern

Dollar Store Deals


Deals for just you guessed it $1.00 each


  • 3 pound bags of rice "Hello can you say buy 2 asap"
  • 32 oz boxes chicken broth
  • Bags Egg Noodles
  • A & D cream
  • 2 Sara Lee Pita Breads "to make pizza's on"

Thrift Store Deal

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I got it for $4.98 had I purchased this at a local book store it was $ 11.96 so I saved $6.98!!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Whatz 4 Dinner Day 14

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I created on the fly took less then 30mins to make from start to finish. Just add what you like... but this was mostly to use what was on hand in the house to create a great tasting meal. SO Wing it!!! You'll be FINE!!

  • 1/2 cup of orzo
  • 5 pieces of broccoli diced
  • 1 large carrot cleaned/peeled
  • 2 Green Onions, diced
  • 2 big handfuls of fresh spinach leaves
  • 1/4 c. shredded chicken
  • 2 tbsp of Asian Garlic Chili Sauce
In a pan of boiling water cook orzo until done 8-10 mins drop in broccoli around 5 mins cook until done. Drain the mixture into strainer, pour back into pan turn heat down to very low, Add in the Asian sauce heat for 1 min to release the flavor of the sauce along w/ all the other ingredients. Serve warm or cold.

Cat in a Bag

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DD was having some issues finding space to pack her stuff to go to grandma's house!

Whatz 4 Dinner Day 13 Prt 2

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Recipe is as follows: This was a quick late evening snack at work.
  • 2 good size handfuls of fresh spinach
  • 1/4 cup of shredded chicken
  • 1/4 cup of chow mein noodles
  • 1/4 cup of Asian sesame dressing
  • Shredded Cheese

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Whatz 4 Dinner Day 13

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Cost of meals: $2.29 not including sauce price as it was open.
  • 1/2 a bag of egg noodles $1.00 per bag so 50 cents
  • 1 pound ground turkey on clearance $1.79
  • 1 jar open sauce from another meal $1.00 for jar
  • 1 loaf of Pillsbury french bread free ($.99 w/$1.00 off coupon)
Yielded 3 meals (1meal to freeze /1 cup of sauce to freeze)

Quick spaghetti sauce w/ ground turkey mixed w/egg noodles and a piece of bread.

Got up at 0830 fried up thawed ground turkey add that to a jar of sauce dd opened the other day dropped that in the crock-pot. Popped Pillsbury french bread into the toaster oven for 30 mins cut the loaf in half for DD & me. Boiled noodles made up then stored food to go..With dinner in hand :O) it was that quick...Less then 1 hour had I been home & did it on the stove top.

Walgreens Shopping

The deals this week..
  • 4 rolls of Scott Big Rolls for 50 cents a piece total before tax $2.00
  • 4 bottles of Walgreen soda for 39 cents each total before tax $1.56
  • 1 Stick of Mitchum Deodorant for $1.99 I had a coupon for $.75 cents off

CVS Deals

They had buy 1 bottle of of Mentos Gum & get one free I also had 2 coupons for $1.00 off when you purchased 2.. I had $2.00 in extra bucks from last week leftover so for a total of $3.28 cash I was able to get a total of 8 bottles for DD..

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 12

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This week by really fast & I forgot to post last Sunday lunch/dinner at work.. I made the meatloaf before going to work and pulled the ready made rice out of the freezer. Peas from a can and the BBQ Macaroni came from the store... It just takes a little bit of planning the meat parts..

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Zucchini Appetizer

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Recipe..Quick side dish to go with dinner to use up to 2 zucchini in the frig however I could only use 1/2 in zucchini so now I am in search of another zucchini recipe to use the other 2 cups of zucchini in. Update: something not sure what went wrong w/ this recipe it was slimy/gooey like it was under baked (I baked it 2 hours)

Veggie Burgers

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The first picture is of the burgers prior to baking..Here is where I got the recipe from I had to use ingredients I had on hand to I didn't have any green peppers so I substituted frozen corn and green onions over regular onions :O) Say YUMMY!!! I topped this burger w/ a slice of cheese & some BBQ sauce..

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This is a picture of the burger when it was baked them.
I had made them for quick lunch meals. This is what I used in my recipe..

1 large can (27 oz) black beans w/ vidalia onions
1 cup of frozen corn
2 hand fulls of green onions
1 tbsp of Garlic Chili Paste
1 tbsp. Chili Powder
1 tbsp. Cumin
1/2 cup bread crumbs

I mixed together then let the burger mix sit over night then
I shaped into burgers & baked for 375*F for 12 minutes per side.

Yield 6 burgers

6 burgers cost me less then $10 to make around $1.60 per burger...



Sunday, August 22, 2010

Whatz 4 Dinner Day 11

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I woke up this morning a 9 am going crap I forgot to pull meat out of the freezer last night before I went to work for me to cook this morning for dinner tonight. Well I knew I had the ranch & peppers in my frig and I can get 2 slices of pizza a local pizza place down the street from my house for $4.00 including a drink. So on the way out the house I stopped and got 2 slices for the road. Next time I have pizza for lunch it will be homemade on these pita bread :O) I can bake it at 9 am allow it to cool/slice/pack it to go for less $$.. I guess as of late I have been slacking on getting in the mood for food.Must be this damn hot weather here..

Whatz 4 Dinner Day 10

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Spend 30 mins & cook up 2 pounds of ground turkey and taco seasoning. Then divide it into portions you would use per meal each time you eat tacos. This allowed me to create 10 (1/4 cup portions) for quick grab & go lunches/dinners. Extra prep work also includes bagging shredded cheese & 2 tortillas but for me I have these items on hand it take me less then 5 mins to pour shredded cheese/green onions in a to go cup & drop 2 taco shells in ziploc baggie into my lunch they go. I prefer to use containers over (Ziploc baggies ) as much as possible it costs me ZERO to wash them so I have lots of different sizes & jars containers I use to tote my lunch in.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Family Dollar Store Deal

Dawn Dish Soap $3.00 for 56 oz $1.00 off coupon

The price of $3.00 is the regular price at Family dollar but if I had gotten this at Walmart right next door where I got other groceries today it would have been$5.99 before coupon..So that was the deal it only took less then 5 mins to run in & out :O)

Walmart Shopping

I didn't get lots of deals here but I also had to purchase products
here that were cheaper then other places & they carry my dd milk.
Total Price $23.59
this will last 2 plus weeks.


DD Lactose Free milk $2.58
2% Milk $2.18
4 cans of Tomato Sauce $.26 each (4 batches of enchilada sauce)
BBQ Lays Chips $1.00 each
2 package of Egg Noodles $1.25 each (4 meals of soup)
Large bag Animal Crackers $1.94
1 bag Croutons $1.00
1 jar Pasta Sauce $1.22
Tortillas $1.84
Philly Crm Cheese 4 mini cups $1.84-$.50 off coupon (2 meal uses per cup)
1 Plain Greek Yogurt $1.00-$.30 cents off coupon
1 bag Mints $1.00 in place of anti-acids works better for me

CVS DEALS

First things about coupons/sales/deals/MONEY & me I will only use them on things we use & must be on sale as well or they don't get used/bought. That is the true way to save sale plus coupon = SAVINGS...

The following are deals I got this week at CVS w/ sale prices & coupons & reward bucks. I started out w/ $15.00 cash and a hand full of coupons.


Kellogg Cereal 3/$10 $1.00 off coupon=Paid $10 got back ($5 buck rewards & $5.00 off if you spend $15.00 buck rewards)

Dial Bath Soap Gel 2/$8.00 had 2 $1.00 off coupons (use bucks from above $$)

Degree Deodorant 2/$5.00 had 2 $1.00 off coupons (use bucks from above $$)

Dawn Dish Soap 97 cents had 25 cent off coupon (use bucks from above $)

Head & Shoulders $4.99 bucks back $2.00 had $1.00 off coupon (use bucks from above $) Total for this was $4.25 would have been less if I had purchased as 2nd trans action.

I have $2.00 in bucks left over due to messing up above would only have had to pay $2.25 but I will use the buck next week maybe I have a month :O)

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 9

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This was a nice quick meal w/ a packet of BBQ Sauce from a recent outing at work. I saved it just for uses like this :O) The shredded cheese & onions went on my burger.

Fry's Deals 2

Picked up ground turkey on sale $1.79 a package for 8 packages in the freeze it went
3 rolls for $1.00 for me from the bakery
Total $15.59

Fry's Deals 1

Crazy 8 Deal Days ( purchase 8 of selected items get discounted sale price & $4.00 off)

8 cans of Pillsbury canned products 4 cinnamon & 4 biscuits
(99 cents each w/ 80 cent off 2
(had 6 coupons) $7.92-$4.80 coupons-$4.00 off =

Total Price Free food w/ credit of +$.88


3 boxes of cereal for $2.99 each =$ 8.97 plus $1.50 off coupon=$7.47
2 cans of Pillsbury canned products (99 cents each w/ 80 cent off 2) $1.18
2 boxes Fiber One Bars $1.99 each= 50 cents off a box had 2 coupons $1.98
1 Kraft Sliced Cheese for $1.79
$4.00 off plus the other coupons above
Total price=$12.42-4.00 off=$ 8.42

2 packages of ground chicken on clearance $1.89 each
3 bottles of conditioner .69 each
2 packages of oyster crackers $1.39 each
1 packages of Animal crackers $ .99 each
2 packages of Gold Fishes $1.00 each

Total out the door was $22.77 !!!!!! ($64.27 - discounts/coupons/sales $41.50)

Friday, August 20, 2010

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 8

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The other night we had homemade soup I froze 3 containers for quick meals/lunches but what I also found out it keeps those noodles fro expanding in the soup as well sucking up all that nice broth so when I make soups w/ noodles even if I am going to eat it the next day I freeze it to stop the noodles for getting out of control

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Crochet Project

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Yet another project for me to work on while I sit around at work ( I have a job where I sit & wait alot some days it can be 8 hours of nothing but crochet projects & reading books )I plan to make these in different colors I forgot to grab a coffee cup at work to use as a test (cup) but I had this Solo cup at home so I used that and reduced the rows :O) This took less then 45 mins to make while watching TV last night. I plan to sale these as well if people inquire about them

Thrift Store Deal

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Picked up the book for DD who will be needing lunch snackie things for college starting next week since she will only be gone in the am.I can't wait to try a few of these recipes :O) Great Price too $2.99 got it free after the store mislead me on a 50% of store discount sign that was posted outside their store. The manager gave it to me for free.

Crochet Project

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I have been crocheting these Towel Hangers for weeks recently people at work have been eyeballing then I have given a few sets away they were willing to buy them from me.I have decided to sell them at work when people desire them I have yet to decide on a price :O)

Thrift Store Deal

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Love this set too :O) Tupperware are great plus I got 4 little mini containers for sauce/dips for 99 cents and the bowl for $1.99 I likes this for veggie dinner plan I have :O) Can't wait to try it out.But the best part is not spending the usual $12-$20 on Lunch containers lots of the Tupperware products I have seen lately on there site are about that. Why pay full price when I can save $$ and pick up other things?

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 7

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This should have been posted on Monday but I forgot due to life I even forgot to make dinner this day. My dd was not to happy :O) As usual I got up at 9 am and mixed this recipe up and popped it in the toaster oven & dropped the carrots in my rice cooker/streamer w/ little bit of water then drizzled them w/ honey & butter spray.
This dinner was good even if I only had 10 mins to eat it. I nuked it ate lol only 5 bites & where I work had a emergency issue & I had to take off & return later to eat it was still warm :O) so this container is great.

Thrift Store Deal

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Picked up this nice open container for $1.99 for quick lunches like Spaghetti or Lasagna where you need a little more space :O) I will use a small container for salad slipped right inside this when needed. I still have to work on a pretty way to closet is but rubber bands will work just fine for now plus it fits in my lunch box..Why pay full price?

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 6

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Before work I fried up 2 Turkey burgers and diced up 8 small potatoes into some herb mix with a little bit of oil to keep it from stick. Baked those in the toaster oven for 1.5 hours in 8 x 8 pan. Split the meal between myself for work and my dd for dinner. I picked up the condiments at a local convenience store in the area of my job where we stop several times a night :O) I keep these little packets on hand for my lunches. Took less then 5 mins to heat the food in the microwave at work and assembly the sandwich.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 5

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This was one of my 8 hour shift nights so I decided for a quick meal. I had the lentil chili in the freezer already the size that fits well in this container I just popped in frozen and grabbed some oyster crackers to nibble. I really love the quickness of getting this ready before work this morning maybe 10 mins.

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 4

Dang it!! I forgot my camera at home...:O( so no picture of last nights lunch at work but I guess I will have to WOW! you with my description instead. It was a Cheesy Jalapeno Bagel Sandwich w/ Green Onion Cream cheese/slices of cheese and Turkey. Diced into 4 pieces as the bagel bread as very big these are those grocery store bin bagels. I had this with yogurt covered pretzels.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Walgreens Sales/ Deals

Walgreen's ad this week had Kotex brand products 2 for $7.00 w/ instant $2.00 off each package. So that brought 2 packages to $3.00 I had coupons for either $2.50 or $1.50 each package so it came to 1.68 for 2 boxes w/ all coupons.
For under $10.00 I got 6 boxes for Tampons ( got a free coupon for another box of tampons) 4 packages of pads for $3.36.
What a deal :O) enough stuff for months.

Fry's grocery store weekly deal if you purchase 8 of the participating items you get discount price as well as $4.00 off.

For $16
6 bags of 16 oz Kraft Cheese for $1.49 deal
2 boxes of Chex Cereal bars for $1.49 deal (2 $1.00 coupons off each box)
$4.00 off the above 8 items
2 donuts for $.88
2 bagels for $.88
Silk Milk for $.99

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 3

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This was dinner Sunday Night I had previously on Saturday made the food all I had to do w/ plate it up before going to work.
This picture was not one of my better ones I was in the main crew room w/ lots of people around trying to take a pic w/ out being noticed :O)First issue I had was my plate get tipped and the beans ended up in the chicken since I forgot my dipping sauce I was kewl w/ BBQ flavored Chicken this was a great dinner.

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 2

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At 8 am in the morning on Saturday I got up seasoned 4 chicken breasts popped them in my toaster oven for both my lunches and my daughter's dinners since I would yet again be at work during dinner time (I work nights on the weekends) I also grabbed a bag of carrots diced/cooked them up adding brown sugar along w/ some butter before dropping this mix into my food processor. I was able to get 3 containers from the carrots ( which meant I would have enough for 3 meals approx 1 cup each) I will throw one in the freezer for quick meal prep for next weekend... I had the Soy mashed potatoes in the freezer so I just broke a few pieces out of the Ziploc baggie and added that to the tray as well. DD also during this time cooked up 2 ears of fresh corn on the cob so it would be easy to just nuke for lunch/dinner. However I wasn't hungry enough for that so I saved it for tomorrow nights dinner.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Whatz 4 Lunch Day 1

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I had this last night.. I had weeks ago cooked 6 lbs of chicken breasts and shredded all the meat for quick use meals this was a little I had leftover from a meal I made the other day so I grabbed it from the freezer frozen along w/ the other ingredients I had around the house I had to buy pre-made lettuce in a bag due to all the lettuce here at the local store being nice a brown mushy. I have several Knott's jelly containers & small mason jars I picked up at a Estate sale just for this use. I use what I have on hand and not go shopping for what everyone says should be in a Asian Salad. It was great and quick.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Grocery Deal

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I was able to cut my budget by purchasing this 6lb can at one of the local big box membership places for $3.00 really much cheaper then buying one bottle at the local Walmart for $1.50 as you can see I reuse bottles & refrigerant those and the other 8 container made their way to freezer land where when I am ready to use them they will be there fresh & ready to use. I use the 1 cup portion control sizes for lots of things I freeze as I can pop them out of the freezing containers to into Ziploc sandwich baggies in to a gallon really quick plus I know exactly the amounts of each size.

"Whatz 4 Lunch?"

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"Whatz 4 Lunch" that is for most people the issue of the day and week. I find at times it can be a challenge for me but I have recently found these creative ways to take my lunch to work With out spending Lots of extra $$ on containers. I use the above containers along with a few other ones which I will be posting along the way.
I have been surfing the net and hitting up that Japanese craze Bento Box Lunches however for me that is TOO much extra work but I loved the ideas of the lunches so this is what I use to transport my homemade meals into work.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

August Menu

The W is for Days that I work and the H is for when I am home

Day 1- W- So it's fix it yourself
Day 2- H-Spiced Chicken/Mashed Potatoes/Corn Bread
Day 3- H-Meatloaf/ Corn on Cob/Baked Beans
Day 4- H-Spaghetti/Salad
Day 5- W-Pot-stickers & Rice for DD & I had Bean quesadilla w/Veggies
Day 6- W-DD had Southwestern Egg roll w/ Rice & I had Chicken Asian Salad
Day 7- W -Baked Chicken/Soy Mashed Potatoes/Pureed Carrots
Day 8- W-
Baked Chicken/BBQ Beans/Pureed Carrots/Corn On cob
Day 9- H-Skillet Enchilada/Mexican Rice
Day 10 H- Homemade Pizza & Homemade Ranch Dressing
Day 11 H- Leftovers
Day 12-W-
Cheesy Jalapeno Bagel Sandwich w/ Grn Onion Crm cheese/cheese and Turkey
Day 13- W-Lentil Chili w/ oyster crackers
Day 14 W-Turkey Burger /Herb Baked Potatoes
Day 15 W-Turkey Meatloaf/ Herb Baked Potatoes/Honey Glazed Carrots
Day 16 H- Chicken
Day 17 H- Pizza
Day 18 H-
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup/ oyster crackers
Day 19-W-Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup/ oyster crackers
Day 20 W-
Turkey Burger/ Risotto/Honey Glazed Carrots
Day 21 W-
Day 22 W-


Holy Crap I forgot to blog it lol... I have been craving burger since I can't change then ingredients to whatever mood I am in so over the last few weekends I have been having them :O)


New Plans

This month will be creative trying to use up lots of household items first before spending. I will have to purchase a few things like special milk for my dd who is now lactose intolerant as well as condiments/shredded cheese/bread. But I want to see how creative I can be this month.

I also plan to try out a new blog concept called Whatz 4 Lunch? Where I will snap a shot of my lunches I take to work.To maybe inspire other who keep ask what to take as well as try to photo my weekly dinners as well.

This will save me lots of dough that I will now be saving in my new coffee can :O) as my stash $$. So the more I can save each week that will go into the can if I budget say $25.00 for that weeks extras and spend only $10 the $15 goes the can.

I will also start getting ready for this October's Park Sale where I plan to have some craft items to sale like T-towels & hanging t-rings. Yes I have lots of plans and I will see what I can get from this cute sale I am thinking about also maybe doing a few bake sale items to get extra money as well. We shall see...