{Walgreens}: FREE Pure Leaf Iced Tea

 

 

Starting 8/4, you can grab an 18.5oz bottle of Lipton Pure Leaf Iced Tea for $.99!!

When you purchase the bottle, you get $.99 RR (register reward)! And to make it an even sweeter deal, if you go HERE you can print a coupon for $.95 off!!!

 

Deal:

Buy 1 bottle of Lipton Pure Leaf Iced Tea $.99

Use $.95 coupon

Pay $.04

Get $.99 RR

So, you get a FREE bottle of tea with money left over!!

{Walgreens}: FREE Reach Toothbrush

 

This week you can pick up a reach toothbrush for FREE at Walgreens.

 

Here's the deal:

Reach Toothbrush $2.99

Use $1/1 printable coupon

Pay $1.99

Get $2 RR (register rewards)

So, it's like you get it FREE!!!

{Money Saving Tips}: Make Your Own Food

Americans spend a TON of dough (no pun intended!) on food! It's true!

Why not do yourself a favor by saving some money and make your own foods. It's easier on the wallet AND your body. If you're cutting out a lot of processed, additive filled foods, you're doing your body some good. You may think it's time consuming but au contraire!!

Below you'll find some easy, and delicious recipes to make your own goodies!!

 

Homemade Peanut Butter

Ingredients

2 cups dry roasted peanuts

1-1/2 tsp organic oil (like peanut, olive, or veggie oil)...this is optional

salt (also optional)

 

Pour peanuts into your food processor or blender.  Chop continusouly for 2-3 minutes.  If you like your peanut butter really smooth, add a little oil to the mix to get it to the desired consistency.   Add salt for taste.  Store in the refrigerator. 

 

 

Homemade Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups of flour (plus more for dusting)
• ¼ tsp yeast (yes, only ¼ tsp)
• 1 ¼ tsp salt
• 1 5/8 cups water 

Time Estimates

Prep time: 15 min, plus 18 hours to set, and 2 hours to rise  

Cook time: 25 min  

Total time: 40 min  

 

How is it done?

1. Mix all ingredients together and put in bowl covered in plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature for about 18 hours or until the dough is dotted with bubbles.
2. Place dough on a floured surface. Turn it over a couple of times on itself, cover with plastic again and let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Form the dough into a ball and place on well-floured cotton towel. Cover with another cotton towel. Let it raise for two hours.
4. Place in a pot with a lid that has been heated in a 450 degree oven and let bake.

 

Homemade Pasta Sauce
Ingredients

• 1 1/2  med bell pepper; diced
• 1 1/2 med onion; diced
• 3 cloves garlic; minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cups plum tomatoes; diced (I used a combo of plum and slicing)
• 3 tablespoons parsley; fresh, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oregano; fresh, chopped
• 4 tablespoons basil; fresh, chopped
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

 

 

Time Estimates

Prep time: 10 min  

Cook time: 30 min  

Total time: 40 min  

 

Directions

1. Saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in oil until soft.
2. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Serve over hot pasta.

 

Yield

Makes about 6 cups of sauce

 

Notes

All ingredients may be adjusted to taste.

Appropriate amounts of dried herbs may be substituted for fresh.

Regular tomatoes may be substituted for plum, but sauce will be soupier.

 

Homemade Baby Food
Check out my friend's, Anne, post over at Simply Savvy Supermom on how she makes organic baby food for her little one. She gives you a price break down of how much money you're saving each month by making your own baby food for your sweet baby!!

 

Homemade BBQ Sauce
Head over HERE to find 3 easy recipes for 3 different, yet basic, BBQ recipes! They all sound super yummy!

 

 

Easy Homemade Ice Cream

 

 

{Walgreens}: $1.24 Purell Hand Sanitizer

 

Starting 7/28 Walgreens will run Purell Sanitizer for $2.99 each

There is a printable coupon good for $3 off a $10 Purell Hand Sanitizer purchase.

 

So, buy 4 sanitizers @ $11.96
Use $3/$10 Sanitizer Coupon

Use $1.00/1 $1/1 Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer (Walgreens, July) (will deduct $4.00)

Pay $4.96 for 4 bottles or $1.24 per bottle!!

 

With school starting in a month, that sounds like the right price for my budget since I'm buy supplies for TWO this year!!

 

Thanks, Saving Common Cents!

 

{Target}: FREE Fresh Corn!

 

This week at Target, you can get 4 ears of fresh corn on the cob for just $1!

Great deal you say?!

 

How about 4 or 8 ears of corn for FREE?!?!?

 

Text JULY4 to 827438 for $1/$1 fresh vegetable mobile coupon

AND
Text FRESH to 827438 for $1/$1 fresh vegetable mobile coupon

 

VIOLA! 4-8 ears of fresh corn for FREE!!!!

 

{Thanks, Saving Common Cents}

{Foodlion}: Pasta-A-Roni/Rice-A-Roni.....$.50 per box!

 

Foodlion is currently having their Big Deal promotion.

This week they're running Pasta Roni & Rice A Roni on sale for 10/$10 and it's also a part of their Big Deal promotion.

 

If you buy 10 boxes @ $10 you will save $5 instantly.

You'll end up paying $5 for 10 boxes or $.50 per box!!

 

Menu Monday

Monday- Eat out since we have VBS

 

Tuesday- Cereal, leftovers, Hot Dog Soup

 

Wednesday- Pancake Bacon Dippers, Leftovers,  Easy Crock Pot Chicken

 

Thursday-Homemade French Toast Sticks, Leftovers, Chile Colorado Burritos 

 

Friday- Homemade French Toast Sticks, Leftovers, Crockpot Thanksgiving Dinner

 

Saturday- Eat out, Boxed Velveeta Meal ,Hamburger Steak w/ onion gravy, mashed potatoes, and sweet peas

 

Sunday- Pancakes & Bacon, leftovers ,Crockpot Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Road Trippin' with the Kidlets!

Myrtle Beach HERE.WE.COME!!

 

Circa 2010

 

Circa 2010

 



Circa 2010

 



That's right--come Friday, our toes will be in the sandy shore of Myrtle Beach, SC.

I am beyond excited and ready! We've set our budget, booked our room, planned our trip, packed our suit cases, etc. The one thing we're finishing up is getting things together to keep the kiddo's happy and occupied!

 

I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas/tips to make our car ride as smooth & peaceful as possible. I figured I'd share some of my favorites:

 

1. Movies--We have a DVD player built into our car, so we're packing PLENTY of movies.

2. Video Games--The kids have Nintendo DS', so those are being charged as we "speak"!

3. Snacks-- A must! In our house, happy tummies equal happy kiddos! Below are some creative ways to pack these snacks for On-The-Go!!

 

Source: The Ginger Bread Blog

 

Source Unknown via Pinterest

 

4. Meals: We'll be traveling TO the beach during lunch time & home FROM the beach during dinner time so I'm L*O*V*I*N*G this idea

Source Lookie What I Did

 

5. Drawing Boxes: The Kids LOVE to draw! They seem to draw on EVERYTHING! So, I figured why not give them a way to draw...neatly! :)

Source Simply Frugal Mom

 

 

 

 

 

 

25 Manners all Kids should have by age 9

If you're like me, nothing "irks" me more than an ill mannered child, adult, etc.  I was raised by momma and daddy to have good manners, and I was adamant with my children that they be raised the same.

The good folks over at {parents.com} have compiled a list of 25 manners every kid needs by age 9!

 

 

 

 

{Krispy Kreme}: Buy 1 Get 1 dozen for $.76 on 7/13/13

 

Check out the list of participating locations {HERE}

My Chick-Fil-A Cows!

Today was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A, So of course, I took the kids.

Before we went, I had "cow-ify" the littles up. I had all the supplies on hand, so it took me about 5-7 minutes to get them ready.

All I did was cut white "cow spots" out of contact paper & stick them on their shirts and pants.

Then I cut a piece of poster paper in half and added "Eat Mor Chikin" to it & safety pinned it to the back of their shirts and VIOLA!

They were considered in full cow attire, so they received a {free} kids meal!

 

 

{The kids before we left}

 

When we got to Chick-Fil-A, the place was OVERFLOWING with "cows" of all ages!

Everyone was enjoying their free meals!

 

 



 

 

The kids loved their meals, but they {REALLY} enjoyed their treat....

 

They exchanged their happy meal toy book for a nice, cold IcE cReAm!!

 

 

So all in all....

2 {free} meals + 2 {free} ice creams = 2 happy kids & 1 satisfied mommy!

Southern Comfort Food At It's Best!

I took Ray's favorite meal {pinto beans, fried potatoes, & cornbread} and added a favorite of mine {collard greens}and put some ham in there because Ray L*O*V*E*S meat with every meal and this was the end result:

 

The meal turned out DELISH!!!

 

I bought the dry pintos & cooked them with salted fatback slices.

The ham is cubed ham steak.

I made the cornbread homemade {recipe below}

The collards were cooked fresh {recipe below}

And the potatoes were fresh, sliced, and baked!

 

Homemade Cornbread:

1 1/2c. yellow or white cornmeal

2 eggs

1 3/4c. milk

2 TBSP butter

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

 

Preheat your oven to 450.

Mix the cornmeal, salt, & baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Next, add in the milk. Stir. Then add in the eggs. Mix {VERY} well!

Now, cube your butter. Put into a loaf pan & put in the oven until melted. Once the butter is melted, swirl it around the pan to coat. Then pour remaining butter into your mixture. Again, mix.

Pour your batter into your loaf pan and bake 30-40 minutes {depending on your oven....mine took the entire 40 minutes}.

 

Collard Greens

I used Mrs. Paula Deen's recipe for the greens.

You can find that recipe HERE

 

 

 

 

DIY Cow Costume Ideas

With Cow Appreciation Day coming up tomorrow, I thought I'd share some cute & easy D.I.Y cow costume ideas!

 

Enjoy!!

 

{Image Courtesy of Brian & Bethany's Blog}

What costume is complete without some SuPeR cute & easy cow ears!
Go check out this tutorial to get your cow ears!!

 

{Source Unknown}

 

For a quick & easy top, do just as these ladies did---get a white top & slap some black cow spots on there and VIOLA!!

 

 

{Source Unknown}

 

To add {that} extra finish to the costume, a little face paint is sure to do the trick!

 

 

And if you still need some help check out the CHICK-FIL-A site & download their costume starter kit!

 

 

Redbox: {FREE} One Night Movie Rental...TODAY ONLY!!

 

Score a free one-night DVD rental from Redbox (tonight only) when you use FREEBIE CODE: LN885GHP at checkout. This code should work online as well as at kiosks.

This code works one time per debit/credit card.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom

7-Eleven: {FREE} Small Slurpee

 

On July 11, 2013, stop by any 7-Eleven location from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to get a free Small Slurpee.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY!!!!

 

Head on over to www.7-eleven.com to find a location near you!

 

 

Chick-Fil-A Cow Appreciation Day

I was perusing the internet and stumbled across this tid bit of loveliness via www.chickfila.com :

Join us July 12, 2013 at your favorite Chick-fil-A Restaurant!

For one day only, black and white spots, cow bells and furry ears will be appropriate attire at Chick-fil-A restaurants across the nation. In celebration of July 12, Cow Appreciation Day, Chick-fil-A will award a FREE Meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) to any customer who comes to one of our 1,700+ restaurants fully dressed as a cow.

For more questions or information visit http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Cows/Appreciation-Day

We'll be taking our 2 little "calves" to Chick-Fil-A Friday and I'll be sure to post pictures. If you or your little one dress up, feel free to share the pictures!! :)

Menu Plan Monday

My mom is out of state for the week, so I'm sending meals over to my dad everynight. Keeping that in mind, I planned my menu around my daddy! :)

Monday: BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Green Beans, Zucchini Cakes, and Rice & Gravy

 

Tuesday: Shepherd's Pie w/ Garlic Bread

 

Wednesday: Crockpot Sausage, Potatoes & Green Beans

 

Thursday: Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

 

Friday: Pintos, Ham, Cornbread, Collard Greens & Fried Potatoes

Sunday Funday!

Today ended our four day, holiday weekend! :( Tomorrow it's back to normalcy, back to work, and our everyday routine. We figured that we'd make the most of it today! We decided to take the kids out for a day of fun in the sun and to the movies!

We started our day off at the local Splash Pad & Park...........

 

Then made a stop by

for dinner! The kids LOVE their meatball subs!

 

After our meal we headed to the cutest theater around, it's the

and we watched

 

The kids LOVED the movie! And overall, it was a cute movie with some super funny parts!