"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."

- Hal Borland

Frugal Confessions- What we DON'T do frugally

With the coming of the New Year, I want to briefly focus on a few aspects of living a frugal life. I love sharing how we chug along with keeping our goals in this family, and the pitfalls that we may encounter. But, I do also love sharing with you all, and finding out from you all, the ins and outs, ups and downs of trying to save.

Today, I wanted to share the few things that we don't do frugally.  Yes, there are some things that we choose not to worry about when it comes to how much it costs. I do know that these things can be done in a frugal way, but I found that we need a balance in our lives of what to hold back on and what to splurge on. I'll try to explain why we do what we do in each one:

1. We go to the movies. Movies are something that are near and dear to mine and Hubby's hearts. Yes, we are the couple that you can ask about "so and so" movie with "so and so" in it, if you don't remember the exact name. More often than not, we'll have the answer. This is something that we bonded over when we were dating (along with our love of obsure 80s cartoons) and something we choose not to let go.  For those 2 hours or so, we are in a whole other place. It becomes a mini-vacation for us, without having to pack a bag.

Yes, there are ways to save on this. Matinees(which we try to do), free movie tickets from swagbucks(which we've done a few times) and even waiting until it comes on video or on television. But, we don't really like to do that. We like to treat ourselves to a night out, WITH expensive movie popcorn and drinks, and get away through film. Although this is becoming an even bigger splurge for us, we probably won't falter. When it comes to blockbusters, or those have-to-see kids films, we're in line to see. And we don't feel at all bad about it.

2. Cable. Yes, we have cable. Not only do we have cable, but we have cable in two rooms with a DVR box in one room. Premium cable. "Good" cable. This actually is one of those splurges that my Husband won't do without. He lived with a grandmother and aunt who took a long time to decide on basic cable, and then moved in with roomates who had no intention of allowing cable in their house(this will contribute to splurge #3).  So, he feels he needs this. Me, on the other hand, grew up with cable in every room and gets "cabeled out" quite easily, unless it's on a food show.  We do enjoy having cable at the moment, but to be truthful, this would be the first thing to go, on my list, if we needed to cut back drastically.

3. DVDs. This splurge was one that we fell upon when we moved in together before our wedding. We realized that we each had a substantial DVD collection. A few doubles of movies we both loved, and of course, the movies that might have just been loved by one of us. I'll take responsibility for this one. Since I worked at a video rental place for 2 years, we were able to get the newest releases, and some of our old favorites, for next to nothing by combining sales and my discount. I don't dare count the amount of DVDs we have now, but each movie that we still have(we purged quite a few a while ago when we moved from our first apartment) actually hold some type of importance. Whether is one that we know will cheer us up, or one that we remember seeing as a kid and takes you back to that time, they all hold a memory of some sort. And yes, we do keep adding to the bunch. Like I said in #1 we have a "thing" for movies.

4. The Boy. I think as a parent, this one is a given. There are a few things that we do frugally when it comes to Sonny Boy, like getting his clothes at a discount, and finding his vitamins and special dietary foods on sale, but if he needs it, we buy it. Plain and simple. The most recent example of this is the amount of his new school. He was already past the age that he should have been in school, and I was very leary to let him go. But, when it came down to it, we did end up picking one the most expensive schools in our area. Why? Because he has less than a year to be ready for kindergarten, and I want him to be part of the best learning environment possible. There are always ways to cut back on something else, but I learned from being blessed to attend 10 years of private school, the best possible learning sets your child up for continued confidence. Confidence not only in school, but in life. So, if we one day have to cut out the first 3 splurges to take care of this one, so be it. It's that important to us.

Now, because we don't give on these few things, we do buckle down on everything else.  We see these things as the icing on the very frugal cake we build all year. If we didn't stay aware of all the other aspects of our everyday life, like bills, well taken care-of vehicles, and stocked fridge and pantry,  we could not dwell in these "luxuries." We could easily take away all of these things and ascend even higher into savings, but I wouldn't want to risk the sanity of my family. I gotta give them some slack every once in a while so they don't hate me. I'm a good Mom like that; make them delve into the fugal life just deep enough and then pull them back with a new DVD. For this, splurges are just fine for us :o).

Meal Plan Monday!

I think I might be getting over my aversions to some foods, but i'm going to tread lightly and nibble a bit. This will be a good week to do it, because it's the end of the year and all of my "freebie" coupons need to be used up. I'm also going to treat the family to an IMAX viewing of Avatar on New Year's Day and then FREE dinner at On The Border(I did a survey for them and ended up winning a 50.00 gift card!).

Monday: FREE dinner from Boston Market with the coupons I got from bzzagent
Tuesday: Slow cooker pot roast with potatoes and carrots
Wednesday: Mexican Corn Soup with easy yeast pan bread
Thursday: New Year's Eve! We'll be eating a late dinner at my parents' annual party
Friday: Off to the movies and FREE dinner at On The Border
Saturday: Turkey Burger Patty Melts with fries and string beans
Sunday: Leftovers night! Gotta finish off that pot roast

Dessert of the Week: Homemade cinnamon rolls(making 10 pans of these to give away at the NYE party)
Bread of the Week: None! There is more .09 bread to be had at Shop Rite, so I'm stocking back up on that

Shop Rite Deals 12/27-01/02

The new year is here! A fresh start, and a new week of deals.

wacky mac pasta- .79
use .75/1 printable coupon doubled- FREE

Nature's Pride bread- 1.59
use .75/1 printable coupon doubled- .09

Mission tortillas- 1.49
use .55/1 printable coupon doubled- .39

Land O' Lakes seasoning- 1.39
use 1.00/1 coupon from 9/13SS- .39

4ct Sylvania light bulbs- 1.49
use 1.00/1 coupon 11/8SS- .49

Kraft singles- 1.77
use .50/1 coupon from 12/6SS doubled- .77

Tetley tea bags- 1.88
use .55/1 coupon from 12/13SS doubled- .78

purex 2x laundry detergent(includes natural elements)- 1.99
use 1.00/1 printable coupon for natural elements- .99

SuperPretzel, pretzelfils, or tito churros- 1.99
use .50/1 coupon from 10/18RP or 12/6SS doubled- .99

juicy juice apple juice- 1.49
use 1.00/2 printable coupon- .99

Breyers Ice cream- 2.50
use .75/1 coupon from 10/18RP doubled- 1.00

Mellitta ground coffee- 2.24
use 1.00/1 coupon from 9/20SS or 11/15SS- 1.24

Sunkist, Canada Dry, A&W and 7up 12 packs- 4 for 10.00 (must buy 4, limit 1 offer)
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/8SS or 11/15SS- 4 for 6.00(when you use 4 coupons)

Gillette Fusion razors- 7.99
use 4.00/1 coupon from 11/29PG- 3.99
Buy 2 razors, use 2 4.00/1 coupons, pay 7.98 and get back an 8.00 catalina! FREE!

Nestle Deal: Buy 15.00 worth of products, get 5.00 back
Hot Pockets- 1.66
use .75/3 coupon from 10/25SS doubled- 1.16 each wyb 3

Nestle crunch bars- 2 for 1.00

Deal Idea:
Buy 6 hot pockets
buy 1 nestle crunch bar
use 2 .75/3 coupons for hot pockets
pay 7.50 and get back 5.00 catalina! 2.50 for all after coupons and catalinas

This deal is based on shelf prices, so that's why you only reach 10.00 and some change in this scenario. Also, this deal can be rolled, so keep going until you run out of freezer space. THANKS SAPHIRA!

Other deals
great lakes chunk cheese- .88
stouffer's mac and cheese- .99(good stuff!)
Cantaloupe- .99 each (limit 2)
broccoli crowns- .99/lb
Eastern potatoes 5lb bag- 1.49
whole boneless pork loin- 1.49/lb

Last Minute Gift Idea----Sock Cake!

If you are looking for a very, very last minute gift idea, how about making a sock cake?  This is very similar to those cute diaper cakes that everyone makes for baby showers, but utilizes something that everyone seems to need, especially during the winter!  My wonderful friend Jenn told me about this awesome gift that she's made before, and I just had to run with it. Hubby's grandmothers is ALWAYS cold and in need of warm clothing and socks, so this was the perfect gift to put together for her. Let's go through the steps I did so you can see how I got to the lovely "cake" up there:

                                     

1. Decide on a center. The easiest thing would be something hard and round, like the person's favorite can of coffee, a big candle, or a nice round bottle of foot lotion. I decided to use one of the Old Navy sweatshirts I got at a great price last weekend. I rolled it from one end and from the other end, and had the rolls meet in the middle. As you can see, it kind of looks like a heart. I placed a rubber band around the sweatshirt and then a few skewers down the middle to keep it steady on the cake board.

2. Build around the center.  I placed the sweatshirt in the center of the cake board. Then, I folded the socks in thirds to make them full but the same height of the sweatshrit. I kept the wrapping on the socks because it helped to keep them upright, but once you fold them in thirds, all you need to do is place a rubber band around each folded sock. Place them all around the center until you make sections of the "cake." You can  make a fuller cake by making another row of socks, but I was going for a smaller cake here.

3. Tie the "cake" together.  I used a small green ribbon and tied everything together very tightly.  Then, I fluffed the tops of the socks a bit to make the cake look full and even on top. If you used the rubber bands to keep the socks together, you may want to place the ribbon over the rubber bands to hide them.

4. Place the cake back on the cake board, and then in a cake box. At this time, you can take the skewers out of the middle, if you used a soft middle.  Place a few pieces of tape around the cake board to secure it to the box and then fold that baby up. Once the box is all folded up, you can use some of the ribbon you used to hold the "cake" together to wrap up the box. How fun and funny will it be when you give this cake box to your friend or family member and they open it up to see what's REALLY inside?

NOTES TO REMEMBER:

- Pay attention to height. You want everthing to be around the same height so the cake will look "even" on top.  This was part of the reason I folded the sweatshirt the way I did. If you use something with a flat top, that will help the sitations a bit. But, If you do end up using something that will be taller than the socks in the long run, grab a cheap Christmas hat and cover it with that. It will look like a little ornament the middle of the cake! Just make sure that the box will be able to close.

-Different colored socks are great for presentation, but plain old Hanes white socks still make a great cake. This is one of reasons I love this idea. You can run to Target or Walmart, get a big bag of socks, grab a store brand bottle of lotion and you're on to a great start. Run by a party or craft store for the cake board and cake box, and your adorable, inexpensive gift is ready to be put together!

-Don't just think of Christmas! Since this originated from the cute diaper cakes for baby showers, why not think of other times to use it? A bridal shower would be a great time to make this cake. Instead of using socks, try using tea towels, pot holders and aprons. You can even use a wooden spoon holder as the center and fill that baby up with wooden and plastic cooking utensils.

Easy Ginger Snaps

This recipe is for the moms or domestic divas out there that just don't have the time to make "real" gingerbread cookies but want to have something with that homemade ginger flavor on their dessert table Christmas Eve. It's also great because you use bagged cookie mix and if you dont have molasses, that's OK! Brown sugar works out as a great substitute here.

Easy Ginger Snaps

1 package sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup molasses or brown sugar
1 whole egg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves(optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix all ingredients and chill for 1 hour.
Roll out out thin (you're making a "snap" cookie, remember?) and cut with round cookie cutters(I use 2 or 3 inch ones).
Bake for 8 minutes. Pull out of oven and leave on cookie sheet for a few minutes until they harden slightly, then you can move to a cooling rack.
For a more intense ginger flavor, you can mix a small amount of powdered sugar with a few teaspoons of ground ginger, and sprinkle on top of the cookies.

Peanut Butter Fudge

This is a tried and true, Alton Brown recipe that I have been making for at least 4 years now. I ALWAYS get compliments on this recipe, even from people that don't like peanut butter.  I think the trick is using chunky peanut butter to give it that real "fudgey" taste without it actually being made like real fudge. The best part? Your kids can help you make it! It's made in the microwave, so no hot stoves. You'll have to take the bowl out of the microwave for them, but they can mix it up and help prepare the pan. Whoo hoo!

Peanut Butter Fudge

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 cup peanut butter (I use chunky to give it texture)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Spray an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray and line the bottom and sides with wax paper. Put to the side.
Place butter and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Cook for 2 minutes on high in the microwave.
Stir, and then microwave for 2 more minutes.
With a wooden spoon, stir vanilla and powdered sugar into peanut butter mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared 8x8 inch pan and place a second piece of wax paper on the surface of the fudge, and refridgerate until cool.
Once cool, cut into cubes and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Meal Plan Monday!

Well, I should say "lack thereof" because there won't really be one this week. Since we leave on Christmas Eve and we have a few leftover meals in the fridge, I want to make sure all of that is gone before we go. I also have yet another craving for a genuine corned beef sandwich(with pickles, of course), so thats what we are having tonight.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Shop Rite Deals 12/20 to 12/26

Slim pickings this week with the holiday coming up, but we need a break anyway! Here are the deals I see, along with some deals from Hot Coupon World:

Sunny D- .99
use .55/1 printable coupon double- FREE (if smoothies are included)

Heluva Good dips- 1.29
use .75/1 coupon from or 11/15RP or 12/13SS doubled- FREE

Nature's Pride bread- 1.59
use .75/1 printable coupon doubled- .09

Mt. Olive pickles- 1.74
use .75/1 coupon from 11/1SS doubled- .24

Chobani greek yogurt- 1.25
use 1.00/1 coupon from 12/13SS- .25

Butterball turkey bacon- 1.50
use .55/1 coupon from 10/11SS doubled- .40

Duncan Hines brownie mix- .99
use .55/2 coupon from 10/11SS doubled- .44 each
Duncan Hines cake mix- 4 for 4.00(must buy 4)
use .55/2 coupon from 10/11SS doubled- .45 each

Friendship sour cream- .99
use 1.00/2 coupon from 11/22SS- .49 each

Bar-S franks- .99
use 1.00/2 printable coupon- .49 each

Diamond Kosher Salt- 1.19
use .30/1 printable coupon doubled- .59

Nabisco crackers- 2 for 4.00(must buy2)
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/8SS- 1.00 each

Tysons anytizers or breaded chicken- 2.50
use .55/1 coupon from 10/11SS doubled- 1.40

Kraft cracker barrel cheese- 1.99
use 1.00/2 coupon from 11/15RP- 1.49 each

farmland skim plus milk- 2.49
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/15SS- 1.49

Lloyd's BBQ- 3.99
use .75/1 coupon from 11/1SS doubled- 2.49

Kids and raisin bran post cereal- 3 for 4.00 (must buy 3)
use 1.00/2 coupon from 12/6SS- 1.00 each
Deal Idea: Buy 6 boxes of selected post cereals
use 3 of the 1.00/2 coupons
Pay 5.00 for 6 AND get back 3 1.00 catalinas. 6 boxes for 2.00!

Frugal ways to get through cravings....

I'm convinced there is no way to get through cravings, pregnancy or not, by being frugal.

Let's go back a bit. Last week, I went to the doctor to confirm that yes, I am pregnant. According to the ultrasound I had to do yesterday, the little bugger is about 8 weeks old.  So yes, get ready to see diaper stockpile pictures soon.

Anyway, I have been extremely tired, sleeping all day, morning sickness during daylight hours and hungry as the dickens at night. Although it would have been nice to crave items that we have an abundance of in our stockpile, it seemed to never work out that way. When you're pregnant and you have a craving, you have to obey. No substitutions will do. It's much different from being a woman and craving chocolate but getting a small piece of dark curbs the craving without adding the calories. If I want a large pickle and a liter of ginger ale, that's what I want. And if you don't give it to me, I'm going to cry. The End.

Now, when it comes to being frugal about this little problem, I haven't been able to conquer the challenge. With my last pregnancy it was easy: my cravings were fruits and veggies and the occasional Taco Bell crunchy beef taco with no cheese and extra lettuce. No silly stuff like ice cream and pickles or whole steak dinners. This time, with this little bundle of insanity, I crave the finer things.

Beef. And lots of it. Chili, steak, burgers, I need it all. If I could get a big porterhouse steak for dinner every night, I would. I could easily get my iron from some wonderful veggies that are loaded with it, but no. The baby wants meats. And not just any meat. Chicken seems to not sit well, and after thanksgiving, turkey isn't gonna cut it. I need beef.

Chinese food. This one is SO hard for me because you all know how much I love to make my fried rice. It's easy, it's tasty and it usually curbs my chinese food craving as a normal woman. But, preggo brain lady needs Chinese food. And guess what? It has to have BEEF in it. Beef and mushrooms over white rice, beef fried rice, beef won tons and teriyaki beef sticks. I ordered all of that JUST FOR ME one night. I don't even want to tell you all how much that bill was. Remember, there are 2 other people who had to eat as well, so add in their meals. And yes, within 2 days, I ate all of that food. Lord help me.

Pickles. This is a new one for me. You hear that it's a "pregnancy staple" all the time, but it just wasn't for me with Sonny Boy. Cucumbers, yes, but pickles, no. Every night now, I find myself at the fridge eating a salty, brine-soaked, pickle. Unfortunately, I had no stockpile of this either, and had to pay the "sale" price for them. I had been craving them for 3 days and couldn't take it anymore.

Canned corn. Nope, not fresh, not frozen, it has to be canned. I am lucky enough to have a stockpile of this, but at this rate, it's going to be gone very soon.  It has to be buttered and made in the microwave. Any other way, and it makes me nauseous.

Those are just a few things that have caught me off guard so far. Usually, I would stay level-headed, take on this challenge and come out victorious.  But, I'm not quite sure how to tackle this one. I can easily stockpile on these few things(except the Chinese food) and be prepared for my evening munchies, but as most women who've been pregnant know, your cravings can change in a drop of a hat. Can you imagine how extremely angry I would be to suddenly HATE pickles and have 20 jars stockpiled? Or go crazy the next time ground beef is at a rock bottom price and all of a sudden not be able to stand the sight of it?

I've decided, for now, that we'll tighten a little bit more in all of the other aspects of the budget and add a little more to our entertainment/eating out budget. That's the only thing I can see that might help. I do anticipate a few impulse buys at the store too, since "the baby" will be shopping with me from now on, but I'll try to restrain myself. Yeah, right.

So, I turn it over to you. Do you have any ideas on how I can not turn this into a great big money pit? Or should I just let it ride? Or you can just tell me Via Con Dios, and say a prayer for me. Yeah, I like the last one.

Homemade Marshmallows

I think this recipe has been one of my most requested on 4 hats. Well, in quite a while. I guess it's because no one would think just to make their own marshmallows or to make them and give them out as part of a Christmas gift. Pair these with some homemade hot cocoa mix and a nice mug, and you have a great gift that people will be talking about for years to come.  Just a heads up: this recipe comes out best if you have a candy thermometer, but if you don't, you'll just have to follow the recipe to a tee and keep an eye out on your syrup to make sure it doesn't get dark. You'll see what I mean.


Homemade marshmallows

3 packets of plain gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided into 2 half cups
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup corn starch

Place the gelatin in a clean bowl of your stand mixer and cover with half a cup of cold water. Let sit.
Find a small saucepan with a matching lid. Place the rest of the water, the granulated sugar, salt, and the corn syrup inside of the saucepan. Place over medium high heat cover, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
After 4 minutes, uncover the mixture, place your candy thermometer on the side(if you have one) and continue to cook for 7 minutes. You are looking for the temperature to reach 240 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, stay near the mixture and take it off heat after 7 minutes.
Once mixture reaches 240 degrees, immediately take off of the heat.
Place your whisk attachment on your stand mixer and turn on low.
While mixer is going, SLOWLY pour the sugar mix into the bowl.
Once all of the sugar syrup is added, turn the mixer to high, and let it continue to mix for about 12 minutes.
While the marshmallow is being formed, mix together the corn starch and powdered sugar.
Spray a 9x13 metal pan with cooking spray and dust it with some of the powdered mixture. Make sure all sides are covered. Place the leftover powdered mixture to the side to use for later.
After 12 minutes, the mixture will look glossy and light, like marshmallow! Pour in the vanilla and let mix for 1 more minute.
Turn off mixer, and with an oiled rubber spatula, pour the marshmallow mix into the prepared pan. Dust the top of the marshmallow with some of the powdered mixture, and save the rest for later.
Now, the marshmallow mixture MUST set for at least 4 hours to overnight. You can leave it out, uncovered, and it will be fine.
Once you've waited in agony, turn out the marshmallow onto a cutting board, and with a pizza slicer(powdered with the powder mix) cut into whatever size cubes you want. Toss the cubes in the leftover powder mixture, to make sure they don't stick together when you store them. As you can see, I make mine big because I can't stand to wait long enough to make small ones.

Place in a tupperware container and they can last up to 3 weeks. Or, place in a cute cellophane bag, tie with holiday ribbon and pass out to your favorite people.


If you like this recipe, check this out: Marshmallow fluff

Quotable Wednesday- Knocked up edition

"A Ship under sail and a big-bellied woman, are the handsomest two things that can be seen common."

Ben Franklin

"A baby is something you carry in your tummy for 9 months, in your arms for 3 years, and in your heart till the day you die."

Mary Mason

"Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside."

Rita Rudner

Meal Plan Monday(or Tuesday....)

Yes, I'm late with this. I'm still not feeling well, and cooking is just not at the top of my list nowadays. I did do something smart and made a triple batch of pasta sauce with meat to use for most of the week. So, it looks like lots of italian meals in our near future.

Monday: Spaghetti and meat sauce with buttered bread
Tuesday: Rachael Ray's not-sagna toss
Wednesday: Red beans and Rice
Thursday: Turkey Burger Patty Melts with braised carrots and fries
Friday: Pizza night!
Saturday: Turkey Noodle Soup(for the boys....I can't stand the smell of roast turkey right now)
Sunday: Leftovers night or whatever my parents wanna treat us to at their house ;o)

Dessert of the week: Cookies! Sonny and I will make some on Tuesday and Thursday. Maybe more shortbread cookies...
Bread of the week: We're still working on the .09 loaves I got at the grocery store recently

Shop Rite Deals 12/13- 12/19

It was just my luck that I didn't get my circular until Saturday, and it was just my luck that I had drill weekend this weekend and JUST was only just able to review it.  Thank goodness for hot coupon world and their matchups, or you all would be waiting until tomorrow for them. Well, let's get down to business, shall we?

Nesquik drinks- 1.00
use .50/1 coupon from 11/1RP doubled- FREE

Breakstone's sour cream- .99
use .55/1 coupon from 12/13SS doubled- FREE

Skippy peanut butter- 2 for 3.00 (must buy 2)
use .75/1 coupon from 11/15RP doubled- FREE

Campbells canned gravy- 3 for 1.00 (must buy 3)
use .50/3 coupon from 10/11SS doubled- FREE

French's yellow mustard- .99
use .50/1 printable coupon doubled- FREE

French's brown deli mustard- .79
use .50/1 printable coupon doubled- FREE

Dole mixed fruit- .99
use .50 printable coupon doubled- FREE

Jell-O gelatin- 4 for 2.00 (must buy 4)
use .50/2 printable coupon doubled(print twice)- FREE

Hefty trash bags- 1.19
use .55/1 coupon from 11/15RP doubled- .09

coffee mate creamers- 1.24
use .50/1 coupon from 11/1RP doubled or 1.00/1 printable coupon- .24

Campbells select harvest soup- 4 for 5.00 (must buy 4)
use 1.00/1 printable coupon(you'll need 2 computers)- .25 each

Knorr sides- .94
use .60/2 coupon from 11/15RP doubled- .34

Campbells cream of chicken or mushroom soup- 5 for 4.00
use 2 .40/2 coupons from 12/13SS doubled- .48 each

Breyers Ice Cream- 1.99
use .75/1 coupon from 10/18RP doubled- .49

Philadelphia cream cheese- .99
use .50/2 coupon from 12/6SS doubled- .49 each

Trident layers gum- .99
use 1.00/2 coupon from December All You magazine- .49

Fisher Chef sliced almonds- 1.49
use 1.00/1 from 12/6SS- .49

Marcal small steps tissue 4 pack- 1.49
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/15SS- .49

Maypo hot cereal- 1.66
use .55/1 coupon from 11/1SS doubled- .56

Sargento cheese- 1.66
use .55/1 coupon from December All you magazine doubled- .56

Pillsbury grands biscuits- .99
use 1.00/3 coupon from 11/8SS- .66 each

Ragu pasta sauce- 3 for 4.00 (must buy 3)
use .30/1 coupon from 11/15RP doubled- .73 each

Red star yeast strips- 1.49
use .35/1 coupon from 11/15SS doubled- .79

Florida Natural Premium- 1.99
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/22SS- .99

Nabisco snack crackers- 2 for 4.00(must buy 2)
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/8SS- 1.00

Post cereals(select ones)- 2 for 3.00 (must buy 2)
use 1.00/2 coupon from 12/6SS- 2 for 2.00
Buy 2 boxes and get back a 1.00 catalina, so after catalina, its 2 boxes for 1.00!

Maxwell House coffee- 1.99
use 1.00/2 coupon from 12/13SS- 1.49

Polly-O ricotta cheese- 2.99
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/15RP(regional)- 1.99

Meow mix dry cat food- 3.99
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/8RP- 2.99

Gift Idea:
Buy 2 bags starbucks coffee for 6.99 each
use 2 1.50/1 coupons from 10/18SS- 5.49 each and get back 3.00 OYNO
Take your spare change to a Coin Star machine at SR and exchange it for a Starbucks gift card
Place in a gift bag or cute basket

Total OOP: 15.00! Take off the 3.00 catalina, and you only pay 12.00!!!

Other Deals
4lbs navel oranges- 2.49
5lb sweet potatoes- 2.49
Shop Rite canola oil- 3.99

Easy shortbread cookies

This recipe I adapted from Claire Robinson's of the food network. I needed a recipe that was easy, quick, and didn't require me to stand up for too long of a time. I've had to re-arrange my whole holiday treat list to find the easiest recipes that require a small amount of work. This one does not disappoint! It's only 4 ingredients, and I even changed one ingredient(from butter to shortening) so I didn't have to wait until the butter came to room temperature. I had Sonny Boy decorate the cookies for me once they cooled and let him eat a few :o). I also changed the time in the oven. When I followed the time Claire had posted, my first batch of cookies burned. I also love that I can make the dough, freeze it for a month, and pull it out when I need it. Perfect for holiday baking!

Easy Shortbread cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shortening(or 2 sticks room temp. butter, cut into chunks)
1 teaspoon water

Combine flour, salt and powdered sugar in a large bowl and mix together.
Add in vanilla, shortening(break up into larger chunks), and water.
Mix only until a dough is formed.
Place dough on plastic wrap and shape into a log about 10 inches long.
Place in fridge and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
When ready to bake, turn oven to 375 degrees.
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and cut cookie log in half. Cut each half into 12 pieces.
Place 12 cookies on one cookie sheet. Place in oven for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, turn cookie sheet and cook for another 5 minutes.
Once done, take out of oven, let sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move cookies with a spatula onto a cooling rack.

Pillsbury gift pack winner!

Wow, all of your responses made me drool all over the place! I loved the usual french toast and pancake responses, but the out-of-the-ordinary ones were so great! Tacos for breakfast? Now thats what I'm talking about! Let's see what the winning comment was, as selected by random.org:

entry number 40 says:

"I waited tables in a restaurant years ago that had the absolute BEST french toast- they used slices of real French bread dipped in the traditional egg and milk batter and they topped off the golden, delicious dish with powdered sugar mixed with cinnamon...I used to dribble a little maple syrup on top, too! YUM! (I always rewarded myself after working the killer Sunday morning breakfast shift by getting an order of that calorie laden goodness!) :)"

Congratulations to Virginia Mom! I'll be e-mailing you this weekend to get all the information MyBlogSpark needs to send off your prize pack.

Don't forget to enter!

Hey people! Don't forget....today is the last day to enter the Pillsbury giveaway here on 4 hats and Frugal.  So, if you haven't entered yet, scroll down and good luck!

I'm off to make homemade marshmallows. Wanna see? Come back Monday ;o)

Apologies to you all.....

I know my regular readers have probably noticed that I haven't been posting as much as I ususally do, especially when it comes to new frugal-inspired articles and great new recipes with pictures. For that, I am sorry.

I've been going through some medical "stuff" lately and am waiting for all that to finish up so I can get back to focusing on the blog and you all.

Please bear with me. By the end of next week, everything should be finished and "all will be revealed."

I appreciate all of your support and keep checking in for quotable wednesdays, a few more giveaways, Shop Rite match ups, and hopefully, so new holiday cookie and treat recipes.


P.S.-Thanks to all who shot me an e-mail asking if everything was OK. It will be :o)

Quotable Wednesday

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

-J.K. Rowling

Pillsbury Giveaway!

If you read my blog regularly, and take a peek at our meal plans for each week, you know that we love to have breakfast for dinner every once in a while. It's fun, it's fast and it's cheap. Perfect for a frugal mama like me.

Well, recently, MyBlogSpark asked me to try out the new Pillsbury Honey butter biscuits that have been released. I figured, why not? We love Pillsbury products here, and when I don't feel like making homemade biscuits, their biscuits do just fine for our meals.

Let me say, I LOVED the biscuits! I have a thing for honey, and when we have it in the house, I do spread it on my biscuits. These had a great hint of honey and the usual Pillsbury biscuit buttery taste. Yum Yum Yum.

So, Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Pillsbury, I have a wonderful prize pack to give away today! It includes coupons for FREE Pillsbury biscuits, an adorable butter dish (they sent me one too!) and butter knife. How sweet is that?

To Enter: Tell me what your favorite breakfast item is. Are you a die-hard cereal fan? Do eggs over easy float your boat? I'm curious to see what you all say!

This giveaway will be open until Friday, December 11th, until 8pmEST. The winner will be picked at random on random.org and announced Saturday morning. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT, PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS! All entries that do not have an e-mail address listed(that aren't part of google or blogger) will be deleted. I need to be able to get in touch with you if you win, darlings.

Good Luck to you all and happy eating!

Winner of the Toy giveaway!

Thanks to all of you for entering! That was a really fun contest. I loved reading all of your favorite toys. Mine, for the record, is a tie between my cabbage patch pretty crimp and curl and my easy bake oven. Of couse I had to pick the easy bake. Ha! Anyway, on to the winner....

The winner, as per random.org, is entry number 135! Congratulations to anonymous at loubitetti@......

I will be contacting the winner immediately and they have 24 hours from the time I contact them to give me the proper information. If they do not, I'll pick another winner.

On another note: those of you that enjoy my giveaways and my blog, I want to say Thank you for your support! I was recently nominated into a contest call the Cheepie Awards by a few of my online friends and readers and I would love it if you could take a second to enter me as well! I know i'm a small blog, but how cool would it be to win something like that? Plus, when you nominate your favorite blog, you yourself get entered to win $100! Now that is awesome! If I become a finalist, I'm in the running to win $150 dollars! I can't imagine what kind of giveaway I would do with that amount of money, can you? It would be fun to think one up lol.

So please pop in here and give me a shout out and let's see how far up the ladder this little frugal blog can go. Thanks again you all, and see you tomorrow for the next giveaway!

Another Giveaway....Toys!

 Made this a sticky post! Remember to enter for today and then scroll down to see the new posts!

OK, it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to give away next and I knew I wanted to do a toy to take care of the kiddos. BUT, since everyone may be buying for different ages, I just couldn't decide on one toy and risk keeping an age group out. So....I came up with a brilliant idea! I picked the cutest, most fun toys from 4 age groups, varying from 0 months to 11 years old. The winner of this giveaway will tell me which toy they would like for the kiddo they need to buy for. Now how awesome is that?! I really surprise myself sometimes. Here are your choices:

For ages 0 to 24 months

Playskool Explore and Grow Tumble N Twirl

For ages 2 to 4 years

Fisher Price Elmo's Tickle Hands

For Ages 5 to 7

Crayola Glow Station

For Ages 8 to 11

Ematic 2GB MP3 video player with FM radio and voice recording

Whew! That's a lot of toys! I hope I was able to cover everyone.

TO ENTER:

This will be just last the last giveaway; just leave me a comment under this post, and make sure to do so EVERYDAY of the giveaway! That's 6 entries! You can tell me what your favorite toy was as a child, what you're having for dinner that day, or just pop in and say "hey! i'm entering!" Whatever you want to tell me, just make sure you enter everyday to increase your chances. Please remember to leave me an E-MAIL ADDRESS so I can contact you if you win. If you do not leave an address(and don't have a google or blogger account), I'll have to delete your entry.

This giveaway will end on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6TH AT 11:59PM EST. The winner will be chosen at random on random.org and announced Monday morning.

Good Luck to everyone!

Meal Plan Monday!

We are so tired of turkey by now but have tons left. I think we're gonna take a little break from it(except for a turkey noodle soup), and go with beef and chicken this week. Plus, since I have to go to the base this weekend, I want to make a big pot of chili for the boys to eat while I'm gone. That should keep them from the fast food places since it's one of their favorite meals.

Monday: Marinated Chuck steaks with mashed potatoes and corn
Tuesday: broiled Asian BBQ wings with string beans and white rice
Wednesday: Faux crab cakes with mixed veggies
Thursday: Turkey noodle soup
Friday: Pizza night!
Saturday: Texas no-bean chili (I'm gonna start it in the crockpot when I leave in the morning and the boys can have it for lunch and dinner)
Sunday: Either frito pie or chili dogs, depending on how much chili is left when I get home

dessert of the week: Lots of cookies and treats!
Bread of the week: store bought...we still have a few .09 loaves to eat up

Shop Rite Deals 12/6-12/12

There are a few good deals this week, but not many baking deals! I'm shocked! Hope they step it up before Christmas comes.

 Rayovac batteries(AA or AAA)- .99
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/8SS- FREE

Marcal Dinner napkins- 1.19
use FREE coupon from 11/15SS for dinner napkins- FREE

Wet Ones wipes- 1.24
use 1.50 printable(IE bricks) coupon- FREE

Natrol Vitamins- 3.19
use 3.00/1 printable coupon(scroll to the bottom of coupon page)- .19

Oscar Meyer bacon- 1.99
use .75/1 coupon from 11/15SS doubled- .49

Knorr sauces, gravies or mixes- .99
use .50/2 coupon from 11/15RP doubled- .49 each

Chex Mix snack mix- 2 for 3.00(must buy 2)
use .50/1 coupon from 10/25SS or printable doubled- .50 each

Gold medal flour- 1.79
use .50/1 printable coupon doubled- .79

Daisy sour cream- 1.79
use .50/1 coupon from 11/15SS doubled- .79

Brut antiperspirant- 1.84
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/22SS- .84

Rtiz crackers- 1.99
use 1.00/1 coupon from 11/8SS- .99

General Foods International Coffee- 2.99
use .75/1 coupon from 10/4SS doubled- 1.49

emerald roasted peanuts- 1.74
use 1.50/2 coupon from 11/8SS- .99 each

Chock full o' nuts coffee- 2.59
use .75/1 coupon from 11/8SS doubled- 1.09
use .55/1 printable coupon doubled- 1.49

Northland 100% cranberry juice- 2.50
use .50/1 coupon from 10/4SS doubled- 1.50

Hillshire farms select deli lunch meat- 2 for 6.00
use 1.00/2 coupon from 11/15RP- 2 for 5.00

Kleenex- 4 for 5.00
use .75/1 printable coupon doubled- FREE
GOOD DEAL: Buy 4 boxes of Kleenex, get 1.00 catalina
Buy 4 boxes for 5.00
use 4 .75/1 printable coupons(will need 2 computers to print 4)
Pay 0.00 OOP and get back 1.00!

4 day sale(Wednesday to Saturday)

Tony's pizza singles- .88
use .50/1 coupon from 10/4SS doubled(its DND5)- FREE

Coffeemate creamers- .88
use 1.00/1 printable coupon(coupon is for 15oz or more)- FREE

Haagen Daz- 1.66
use 1.00/1 printable coupon(for Haagen Daz five)- .66

Klondike bars- 1.66
use 1.00/1 printable coupon- .66

Other deals
tyson chicken leg quarters- .59/lb (rock bottom)
Top round beef london broil- 1.69/lb (rock bottom is 1.49/lb)
Snow crab legs- 3.99/lb (good price!)

Holiday Baking is on it's way!

The decorations are out, and my Santa Cookie jar is just begging for something in his tummy. It's time to bake! Since I do most of my baking for the guys down at the base, I'm going to do all of it next week. I have drill on Saturday and want to take double the amount of items I did last year. I think the best way to do this is to stick to all( or mostly) cookies this year. I have so many great cookie recipes to pick from that I love, it shouldn't be an issue. Plus, with my new kitchen, stove and freezer, I know I can make lots of doughs earlier in the week and bake them off on thursday and friday.

One exception is the marshmallows. I have to make the marshmallows. Homemade marshmallows are just the best and are such a surprise when I make them for everyone every year. And truffles. Gotta make tuffles too. Oh boy...here i go again....

Here is my (tentative) list for this holiday season. I think I may be adding a few things to show you all, but we'll keep that between you and me:

Chocolate meringue cookies
Lazy mom's gingerbread cookies
Cut out sugar cookies (decorated by sonny boy)
Ultimate chocolate chip cookies
Ritz cookies (so easy!)
Peanut butter cookies
Ricotta cookies
Strawberry struesel bars
Homemade marshmallows
Homemade chocolate and coconut truffles

And possibly added to the list:
Stupid Easy Peanut Brittle
Five minute fudge
peanut butter fudge
chocolate popcorn
butterfinger purses

Wait, thats still a lot of stuff! Oh well, it's only once a year! Now, lets see if I actually get through all of these. Wish me luck!