Works for Me Wednesday

Here I go again! My "Works for me Wednesday" this week, again, has to do with unpleasant smells. I cannot stand unpleasant smells and work hard to eliminate them in my home. I posted a couple weeks ago about kitchen sponges and how to eliminate odors there!
Well, this one has to do with chicken. I cook chicken almost daily! When I prepare chicken to cook, I am very thorough on cleaning the chicken, cutting off any excess fat, etc. Well, I would throw the unused portion of chicken in my trash can. Leaving uncooked chicken in a trash can for even a short time could end up very unpleasant. Then, the trash would sit in the outdoor can for a time, depending on our trash pick up day, and that would be unpleasant outside! I also tried the disposal, but for some reason, it seemed as though I could never get it completely gone in the drain and smells would start to come from the sink. I quit doing that due to problems from it. So, I needed another solution.
Well, here it is...I have a plastic container with a lid in my freezer that I pull out when I am cleaning chicken. I put any excess that I remove from the chicken, place it in the container, put the lid back on and pop it back in the freezer! This eliminates all of these offensive odors. The chicken stays frozen until trash pick-up! When we put trash out, I simply empty the container in the trash, and it goes out and is gone in a very short time!
Check out all of the helpful hints over at Rocks in My Dryer!

Soups On!

Here is our project for the week. We are picking 3 soups with common ingredients and having a "soup making night" one night this week. We are going to make huge double batches and split them up and freeze them. This will save time and money because these three soups have similiar or the same ingredients, but are very different in taste. Soup is so easy to reheat and delicious too! We are going to make it a "girl's night" of sorts and possibly sip on a glass of wine while we cook!
Here's what we are thinking:

1. Smoky-Spicy Sweet Potato Soup by Rachael Ray. We had this on Sunday night and could not get enough! Yummy!
   
2. French Onion
3. Some sort of a rotini, tomato, vegetarian soup

We will post pics and recipes when all is said and done!

Huge IKEA Sale! Free Breakfast!

IKEA is at it again! Another Huge sale and more free breakfast! This one is titled "Seize the Days" and there are some great deals here. AND......FREE Breakfast!
Here's the details:

• Free Breakfast until 10:30 am Sat. Oct. 11- Mon. Oct 13.
• Offer valid for one small breakfast AND one small coffee.
• NOT available in Hicksville, Houston and Seattle or IKEA Direct.

What are the best deals?

• 17 Piece container storage set 1.99..THATS RIGHT! 1.99! They are square too, which fit way better in refrigerators and pantry's. I am going just for this!
• IKEA cookware set. 19.99! Normally 59.99! Includes 3 and 5 quart pots with lids, saucepan with lid and frying pan! This is a great deal!
• Dining set for 199.00. Normally 399.00!
• Flooring .49 square foot. Normally 1.19!

There are also kitchens and appliances on sale also. Click here to check it out!

Free Stuff

MEIJER
So, I went to a few stores and got a few things for free. Dixie napkins are on the 10/10 sale at Meijer. There was a .50 off coupon recently. This made them free! They are cute too! They come in a little box, almost a dispenser, you can set on your table! Thrifty in the Cincy talks about it here.

Johnson and Johnson band aids are on sale for .99 too. There was also a coupon recently for .50 off. When it doubles, they are free. Be careful though, some of the band aids are not marked on sale, but when I scanned them, they were on sale. All of the ones that were marked were sold out, so I tried one of the other ones and, to my surprise, it was on sale!

WALMART
Purex has a new fabric softener, there has been a lot of coupons lately for it. I found it at Walmart for 2.99. There have been some $1 off coupons, so 1.99 for 52 loads! Worth a shot, I'll let you know how it is! Smells so good though!

CVS
There is a great deal at CVS. Buy $20 worth of Tylenol/Motrin products, get $10 in ECB's. I am definitely doing this. Seeing as cold season is upon us, there can never be too much Motrin and Tylenol in the house when you have young kids! There are so many coupons out there for these products also, so that would make the deal even sweeter!

Premieres are continuing!

On Thurs. Oct 9 at 8:30 there is a show airing on NBC called Kath and Kim. This is one of the ones I have been waiting for. It stars Molly Shannon and Selma Blair. These are two wonderful actresses, I love them! SO, I am so excited for this premiere. I really like 30 minute shows, they are easy to fit in!
There is also a premiere at 9:30 on NBC called SNL on Thursday Night. This sounds great. I love SNL, but, like I said before, I can't stay up to watch it! So, I think I will be tuning in to watch this also!

Experience Columbus..Oct 10th-13th

Experience Columbus is Oct.10-13, If you live in or near the Columbus area, this is a great time to get out and do some fun family things! There are tons of dining deals and attraction deals...50% off admission to the zoo, aquarium, Cosi (for adults), and the list goes on and on! Click here to check it out and print out the flyer for all the huge savings!
This is definitely a great time to take the kids to some attractions or get a sitter and have a "date" night with your hubby! I think there is something for everyone there!

Culvers!

Yummy! Culvers is having their famous "butter burgers" for $1 today! It is celebration of their 24 years in business. These burgers are worth full price, so I will be taking the kiddos there today for some awesome burgers! There is a limit of 5 though, but hey, 5 is alot! Enjoy!
click here for the details on their website!

The Mercy of God

Hello, All- Yesterday's service was very near and dear to my heart. The pastor talked about God's mercy and how He always shows up for us even though we are so undeserving. I have personally seen God show up in my life when I needed him most. Four years ago (almost to the date) my father passed away and talk about needing God...did I ever. God gave me strength to get through it and the peace and healing to finally come to a point where I was able to make it through an entire day without breaking down in tears. Don't get me wrong...I still have my days and moments when it overcomes me..and I loose control of those emotions!!

However, were it not for God showing up and embracing me...I would have never been able to put that first smile on my face after his passing.

It is the Holy Spirit that reminds me of the great times that we had together and how blessed I was to spend 21 years with him. That is more than some people get...and I will cherish every memory. God also reminds me that I have to get past the grief in order to enjoy the people that are still here in my life. He also blessed me with a husband who's comforting arms were right there around me every time it overcame me. Again, it is not my strength that got me through it is God's strength and His mercy!! The scripture listed below was discussed in the service..and talks about not only mercy, but also judgement. Please read..and let it sink into your heart.

Titus 3:4-7

4 But the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared. 5 He saved us. It wasn't because of the good things we had done. It was because of his mercy. He saved us by washing away our sins. We were born again. The Holy Spirit gave us new life.
6 God poured out the Spirit on us freely because of what Jesus Christ our Savior has done. 7 His grace made us right with God. So now we have received the hope of eternal life as God's children.

I Timothy 1:15-16

15 Here is a saying that you can trust. It should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
And I am the worst sinner of all. 16 But for that very reason, God showed me mercy. And I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in him. Then they would receive eternal life.

James 2:13

13 Those who have not shown mercy will not receive mercy when they are judged. To show mercy is better than to judge.

One of my favorite dinners!

This is one of my favorite dinners, to prepare and to eat! I think it may be the easiest one to make, it holds well, I can cook some before hand, etc. I love it!
These are your ingredients (above).

• 1 package chicken
• Iron Chef ginger orange sauce (found in the specialty section of the grocery store). This is so delicious and a "must" for this recipe. I can "jazz" it up or just use it out of the bottle!
• Dried cranberries
• Cashews
• Mandarin oranges
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, diced (not pictured)
  
• Here's some other things I put it occasionally: Fresh diced peppers, crushed red pepper flakes, pineapple, fresh ginger, hot sauce, soy sauce, orange marmelade.

You can mix and match as you like. I kind of change it up whenever I make it, depending on what is in the pantry. I love putting fresh peppers in, great way to get some veggies in there!

The steps are simple:

• Saute garlic (ginger too, if you are using it) in olive oil for a few minutes
• Add chicken (peppers would go in when chicken is almost done), saute until cooked through
• Add sauce
• If I am making this earlier in the day for that evening, I would only add those ingredients, then add the rest when I was reheating or about 10 minutes before serving. BUT, this is so easy, you can add whatever whenever. I do not think it can be "messed up"!

The result is a delicious, re-heatable, versatile dish! My young children eat this like crazy! They are getting chicken, veggies, nuts, fruit (cranberries), all in one meal! I serve it with rice, they eat it without, but it is so popular, I have begun making it with 2 packs of chicken so we can have leftovers too!

Giant Eagle

Here are the Giant Eagle deals for the week of 10/02-10/09. They are courtesy of Stretching a Buck. Be sure to stop by her awesome blog here! She puts the coupon links and everything on there for optimal savings! Be sure to click on the coupons.com bar on the side of our blog to print some valuable coupons too!

Old Navy Sale

Old navy is having another big sale this weekend. It is coined the "1492" sale. They are having over 1,492 items on sale for 14.92 or less. It also said "get one two or three items for 14.92 also". I think this may be worth checking out!
I am not seeing it on the website, I saw it while I was watching my show last night! See, it pays to watch television! Oh and Lipstick Jungle is so good! I love it!

Caramel Apples!

So, I guess we are on the subject of preschool....my last post, so I thought it would be good to put a post about our class "treat". We were able to bring a treat in, on behalf of my son. It was his turn. I am sure many schools do this, taking turns, letting children "share" something with the class. Well, I toiled over this decision. I don't know why, but I could not think of what to bring? No nuts, candy, cupcakes, etc.; there goes all my ideas! Then I figured it out! Caramel apples! Healthy, not too boring, cute, seasonal, and frugal!
Well, we made them (he got to help), and they were so easy! We bought caramels with sticks in the bag. All you do is melt caramel and a few tbsp. water on the stove, dip and put on buttered wax paper. Refrigerate and that's it! I wrapped them in more wax paper with bows (to make them pretty). All in all, I think this is gonna be a great snack....so, if you are out of ideas on something similiar...maybe this is an idea you might be able to use!

Reflection

Ok, maybe I am getting a little "soft", my oldest child is sleeping in his own bed now...it is causing me to reflect about him. He is kind of growing up. Now I know a lot of children never slept with mom and dad, so they have always had their own beds, but my son has always slept with us...this sleeping alone thing is a big step forward for him! Me also, I kind of miss the little guys knees in my back, in some crazy twisted way!
So, we were in our local grocery store the other day and we saw his preschool teacher, (wow, I love preschool...some quiet time!). Anyways, she said "hi" to him and he acted shy. She said "I know you are not shy!". This hit me so big.. she is the only person who has a special relationship with him that I do not have! She knows a side of him I will never see! Sure, they let you come to the class if you would like, but they also guarantee they will act differently! She sees a side of him I have never and will never see! It is so strange. I have been with him, I am thinking literally every waking and sleeping, for that matter, moment of his life! I understand everything he's done, why he's done it and can predict what he is going to do next in almost any situation. Sure, he's stayed at grandma and papa's, but I usually get a pretty detailed and honest report of all the funny things that took place, if he listened, etc. This doesn't happen to the same extent in preschool.
My reflection, I guess, is my baby boy is growing up! He is out there acting independently, doing who knows what, saying who knows what, (hopefully, not some things he's said at home!), acting, playing, etc. and he doesn't have me there correcting him! It is weird, but great at the same time....one thought that keeps going through my mind is "I hope I did a good job!".
We prepare our children for this and the decisions he's making now are so small compared to the big picture, teen yrs., etc. but, he is making independent decisions! It is so bitter sweet....my baby is growing up =( / my baby is growing up =) .....but I do know in my heart, he is making me proud!

Glorious Day!

I hope I am not jinxing anything here, but my 4 year old son has decided he is to big to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed! I know, why was he 4 sleeping there anyways...I've heard it a million times! We just could not put him in his room screaming until he fell asleep! We tried things over the years, but nothing stuck. The fact of the matter was, we were all sleeping and that was important overall to us! BUT........for some crazy reason that I love, he is on his third night of completely sleeping there, in his own bed, from falling asleep to waking, and I love him for it! Yahoo!
Feels good to stretch out at night!

New Coupons

Being the beginning of the month, the coupons at coupons.com have reset. I looked there a few days ago and found nothing. I just looked today and whoa! Great coupons! Some of my favorite coupons?

• Pillsbury ready made dough. You can usually get these for under $1 and they have a long shelf life! I love doing this with the kids as a project. They roll the dough balls, we put sprinkles, chocolate chips, shapes....I mean the world is the limit here! There are no rules when it comes to homemade cookies!
• Pillsbury pizza crusts. At least one store always has these on sale every week. They cost next to nothing. Also, a long shelf life! These are awesome! I always have cheese and some sort of canned tomatoes or sauce, so again...kid project. the sky is the limit here too!
• Bars of soap. I admit, I am not very "brand loyal". I tend to be sick of things pretty quickly, so I like to switch it up! With these coupons, I rarely pay more than $1 for bars of soap!
• There is a coupon for Bonne Bell Lipsmackers. I have tons of nieces who love these things...Great Birthday or Christmas gifts! Plan ahead!
• Frosting and cake mix coupons. Again, these end up costing me under $1. For this much, I can bake a delicious cake and again, give the kids something to do. I also love the oven in these chilly months!
• Soup. Does it get any easier than soup for lunch? These canned soups have come a long way too! They have a delicious french onion in the new Campbell's line! It is enough for me to heat a can of soup, eat half, then eat the other half the next day! These also end up costing around $1 or less, depending!

So, those are some of the ones I love and why. Just click on the "see all coupons" on the coupon box in the side bar and check the ones you want. Hit print and you are ready to go!

KMart is Doubling Coupons $2 and Less!

There is a little rumor going around that Kmart is doubling coupons up to $2! This means if you have a coupon for $2 off of something, it would double to $4 off that product! I am sure there are many things to be gotten for free here! I have two separate posts on this with more info.

• Click here to see what Coupon Cravings is saying!
• Click here to see what Cincinnati Cents is saying!

I have not gone, there really isn't a Kmart in my area. I know alot of friends and family that does have Kmart. My advice is to call your local store first to see if this is, indeed, true? There seems to be a lot of speculation. Wow....worth a phone call though if it is indeed true!

Works for Me Wednesday

This is a post for Works For Me Wednesday over at Rocks in My Dryer. Today's theme is kitchen organization. I have to say, I probably lack in this department, so I will be reading everyone else's tips!
The best tip I use that I have to offer is this. I have quite a large pantry with a lot of shelves. My organization tip I use in my pantry is to put the stuff I want the kids, (I have a 2 and 4 year old), to eat low, so they can grab things themselves. I place granola bars, cereal, raisins, cereal bars, fruit snacks, etc. down low. They tell me they are hungry and they can go in and grab a snack. The things I moderate, I put up high; i.e. chips, snack cakes, and messy things I do not want them to get into. This frees up a lot of the "Mom, can you help me's?" throughout the day. I also like knowing they are making food choices themselves at such a young age!

Dining Out

Dining out can be a very large expense these days. How nice is it though to have someone take care of your needs and no dishes at the end of a meal? I love dining out but we can not do it everyday! Here are a few tips and resources to help!

• Here is a great resource to help lower your restaurant bill. You provide a zip-code and you will receive a list of local restaurants that offer children's specials. You can narrow your search to a day of the week, cuisine, city, etc. This can really help a budget. Think about it; even if you are going on vacation, you can enter the zip from the city you are visiting and find specials! Click here to check it out! It is free and no registration required! *The site supports all information they put on their site, however, they still suggest calling the restaurants to be sure the deal still stands. They provide phone numbers.
• Do you have a Qdoba Mexican Grill nearby? Click here to sign up for their e-club program. You will receive a voucher for a free chips and salsa just for signing up! Also, a big surprise for your birthday! Get the latest news evites and offers right to your inbox!
• Bob Evans has a coupon here for a free child's meal. You can only use one coupon per visit. Thanks Thrifty and Chic Mom!

Have any other deals you know about? Please let me know, so I can add to my post!

*TIP: Get another e-mail address for sites like stores, restaurants, places like this that may be sending deals, etc. that you can sift through when time allows. This way, your important e-mails, work, family, etc. aren't jumbled up with these "fun" e-mails!

Whole Foods

I know there is a big dilemma about suffering quality for quantity when you are working with a budget. We would all love to buy the best money can buy for our families, sometimes though, it is not always feasible to do that and stay within a budget. Well Whole Foods just did a Budget Recipe Challenge and I think, if you are interested in shopping there, it may be worth a look. The criteria for the recipes submitted was it had to be a budget friendly (under $4 a serving) meal that did not sacrifice taste. There are 6 finalist listed on their website, click here to see them! They also have the recipes on there too and the cost per serving! They are asking us to vote by leaving comments on the recipes. Your vote will get you entered into a drawing for $500 gift card to Whole Foods (wouldn't that be nice?). There are 10 runner ups that will receive a $25 gift card.
The catch...you have to register on their website. Might not be bad though if you can get deals e-mailed or sale items?

Archivers

If you are into scrap-booking, then this post is for you. Archiver's is offering classes for the holidays. You sign up, pay a small fee, use their supplies, etc. and get to leave with one-of-a-kind homemade things. They are focusing on the holidays right now, so the classes they are offering include gift tags, Christmas cards, and calenders. There are so many more too. The average cost of a class is $20. You will get to leave with some supplies and certain amount of what you made. Click here for more details, including times, dates, stores and phone numbers. What a great way to get some "mom" time and be productive at the same time!