Posts made in June 2009

I thought that it would be fun to list a few more of my favorite stockpile recipes! These are some of our family’s favorites! I hope that you will enjoy them too!

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is actually from my mother, but it is the easiest and tastiest chicken pot-pie that I have had anywhere! You may also substitute cooked turkey cutlets for the chicken. This is a great recipe to use up that leftover Turkey around the holidays!

1 box Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust (the kind that you roll out)
2 cans of Veg-All (even the store brand mixed canned veggies works great-whatever you have in your pantry is just fine!)
1 can of Cream of Chicken
2-3 cooked chicken breasts shredded (other chicken pieces work great as well, but I prefer the white meat!)
Salt/Pepper to taste

~Mix all ingredients together. In a pie pan, unroll one of the pie crusts. Place chicken/veggie mixture on top. Unroll the remaining pie crust on top. Flute the edges of the crust just as you would on a regular pie. Place a couple of vents in the center of the pie. Place the chicken pot pie in a 350` degree until crust is nice and golden brown. Normal cooking time is 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven-let cool-Enjoy!!! Your family is sure to come back for seconds!

Mexican Chicken

This recipe is taken from my favorite Slow Cooker cookbook- Super Fast Slow Cooking. This wonderful cookbook can be found at www.gooseberrypatch.com As I have mentioned previously, I absolutely love my slow-cooker and try to utilize it as much as possible! This recipe is so easy! Drop the ingredients in your slow cooker and you will be on your way to a Mexican Fiesta!

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 15-1/4oz. cans corn, drained
1 cup picante sauce, divided
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 8-inch flour tortillas

For Garnish: Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, other Mexican toppings if desired.

Mix together beans, corn and ½ cup of the picante sauce in a slow cooker. Place chicken breasts on top; pour remaining picante sauce over chicken. Cover and cook on high setting for 2 ½ hours, or until chicken is tender. Shred chicken and return to slow cooker. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and cook until melted. Serve with tortillas and garnish with sour cream and your other favorite Mexican toppings if desired. Enjoy!! Serves 6.

Easy Sausage & Egg Casserole

I wanted to make sure that I added a breakfast recipe to the list, so here it is! This recipe comes from one of my favorite online recipe sites- www.allrecipes.com

1 pound bulk sausage (I have used fully cooked sausage patties before and just crumble them up; works just fine too!)
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground mustard
6 slices of white or wheat bread cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, brown sausage, drain, and set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs; add milk, salt, and mustard. Stir in bread cubes, cheese and sausage. Pour into a greased 11x7x2 inch baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered, at 350` for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Enjoy! We love to have breakfast for dinner some nights!

I hope that you will enjoy these recipes! I know that there are hundreds of other recipes out there, but these are easy, quick and delicious! Also, most of the things in these recipes should already be in your pantry if you are a stock-piler like me! Keep your comments coming to me please! I would love to hear more of your favorite recipes!

How many of you are always looking for a way to make FREE money? Well, you would not need to ask me twice because I am always on the lookout! Did you know that just by doing surveys and searching on the web, that you can get FREE money and gift cards? I found out about this awhile back and now have gotten countless checks, gift cards, and other FREEBIES! Now, I know if you are like me, you must be thinking, “That is just too good to be true!” It’s not though, and I have some awesome websites for you to try out! I will go ahead and list for you my favorite sites and then explain how they work! 😉

Swagbucks- www.swagbucks.com Swagbucks is one of the easiest ways to get FREE gift cards that I know of! They have a wide variety of ways to earn points; however, the easiest way is to use their search-engine. If you were planning on searching for something online, why not make money while doing it? Signing up is easy and you will watch your points grow quickly! I will be cashing in soon for a FREE $20 Target gift card!

MyPoints- www.mypoints.com MyPoints is definitely another one of my favorite ways to earn FREE gift cards. Once you sign up and fill out your profile, you will receive emails from various companies on a daily basis. All you have to do is click on the email and you will earn points to trade in for gift cards. I can’t begin to tell you how many Kohl’s and Starbucks gift cards I have cashed in on from my MyPoints! And it was a FREE shopping trip for me!

Vocalpoint- www.vocalpoint.com VocalPoint is more of a survey and freebie site than anything else; however, if you sign up, they send some awesome high value coupons in the mail on a regular basis. Most recently, I received coupons from them for FREE boxes of Kashi waffles! They often send items for you to sample as well which is nice! I definitely love this site as well!

BuzzBack Market Research- www.buzzback.com BuzzBack is great because when you do online surveys for them, they PAY you!!! I have received many checks in the mail from them! They also can deposit money into your PayPal account for doing surveys which is really nice! When you sign up, you fill out a profile section-they will send you surveys based on your profile! Sometimes you will qualify, sometimes you may not! It is still a fun and easy way to make FREE money!

Modern Mom- www.modernmom.com Modern Mom is a great site for all of you mommies out there! They always have great tips and advice on their site, and they will often send out great coupons for you to try items. This week I received coupons from the try out Charmin Toilet paper! Join and have fun!

She Speaks- www.shespeaks.com She Speaks is another great site! I love this one because they will send you a product in the mail and let you try it out then give a review on the product. I know many of you are familiar with the Bliss Spas in NYC –they have their own product line; well, last week I received a full-sized Bliss Daily Moisturizer (this retails for almost $30 a tube!) in the mail from them to try out. I will use the product and then give my review. What a great way to be able to try products!

BzzAgent- www.bzzagent.com I have a feeling that many of you may be familiar with this particular site, but if not, let me fill you in! They are so awesome! They will send you product and coupon for free products to try. You will give the coupons that you receive from them to friends, co-workers, relatives, etc…. so that they can try the product as well. You then Bzzz the product—tell what you like or dislike about the product(s), have your friends tell you what they think about the products(s), and then email a general report to back to BzzAgent. This is also one of my favorites! I have gotten to try Glade candles, Mahatma Rice, Affrin products, Scrubbing Bubbles Shower Cleaner, the list goes on and on. Sign up for this one and you will not be disappointed! The more campaigns you sign up for, the higher your status goes and you will get even more invites to try more items! Just remember to submit several reports for the items that they send you! It is just that easy!

These are just a few of my favorite ways to earn money, gift cards and freebies! I know that there are other programs out there, so why not fill me in! I am always looking for a SWEET way to get something for FREE!

Well, today I had such an amazing trip to Publix that I wanted to go ahead and share all the details and pictures with you! I spent $19.79 and saved $107.76! This time I thought that it would be helpful to you newbies out there if I posted the coupons/breakdown that I used on my shopping trip. Here it is! 😉

2 Mahatma Jasmine Rice -$2.99 each (2 FREE coupons from BzzAgent)

2 Nabisco Honey Maid Graham crackers -$3.99 each (these were BOGO and I had 2-$1.00 printable coupons from www.cookingwithkraft.com

3 DelMonte Fruit Chillers- $2.53 each (these were B2G1 and I had 2 $1.00 printable coupons from www.redplum.com )

2 Perdue Chicken Nugget Boxes- $4.39 each (these were BOGO and I had 2 $1.00 coupons found inside packages of Perdue Shortcuts from a previous purchase)

1 box of Kashi Waffles- $2.79 (FREE coupon from Vocalpoint-go here to sign up and become a member! They send out awesome coupons! www.vocalpoint.com)

1 package Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs- $3.99 (FREE coupon from Oscar Mayer Hot dog giveaway earlier in the month)

1 box Jello Sugar Free Pudding packets -$1.50 (FREE coupon sent to me from General Mills)

1 dozen large eggs $1.39 (no coupon, but we needed them!)

2 pints of Starbucks Ice Cream -$3.79 (BOGO and I had 2 $1.50 printable coupons) (this stuff is deadly, beware! (FYI- There are supposed to be coupons coming out in this Sunday’s newspaper inserts for $2.00/1 coupons-that would be .21 overage!)

2 boxes Morningstar Chicken nuggets- $3.79 (BOGO and I had a Target CRT for $2/2-I finally found a Publix that will honor Super Target Grocery coupons, so I was happy!)

2 lb. Publix ground beef -$3.24 (used 2 coupons for -Save $1.25 on ground beef WYB Kraft Deluxe Mac n Cheese. I had 2 boxes of Mac N Cheese, so I was able to use 2 of the Ground Beef coupons! These coupons were found in a Kraft booklet at Publix)

2 bags Jennie O Turkey Sausage patties -$2.99 (BOGO and the bags had .55 peelies on them!)

2 boxes Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats- $4.19 (BOGO and I had a BOGO coupon from Vocalpoint- maximum value allowed was $3.10-ALMOST FREE!)

3 packages of Ramen Noodles .20 each (filler items and no coupons-Filler items are inexpensive items that you use when you think you will have more coupons than items. At some stores I find that this is not an issue; however, at Publix you cannot have more coupons than items-I always count how many coupons I have, then how many items are in the cart to make sure!)

8 packages Fisher Snack mix -$1.79 each (BOGO and I had 8 $1.00 coupons from Sunday insert coupons.) (.21 overage per every 2 bags!)

2 packages of Bic Soleil razors- $5.49 each (BOGO and I had 2 $2.00 coupons from Sunday insert coupons.)

2 boxes Kraft Deluxe Mac n Cheese -$1.49 each (used 1-$1.50/2 printable coupon)

2 packages Juicy Juice juice-boxes- $2.99 each (BOGO no coupons, but we needed juice!)

2 boxes Kraft Easy Mac- $3.39 each (BOGO and I had a home mailer coupon for a FREE box! Once again, 2 boxes for FREE)

2 ½ lb. bananas .69 lb (no coupon, but we needed them)

4 packages Yoplait Yo Plus Yogurt- $2.50 each (BOGO and I had 4 $1.00 printable coupons from www.coupons.com and www.redplum.com)

I also had a $5/$50 grocery competitor coupon that Publix accepted on top of all my other coupons listed. So, after all BOGO promotions and coupons I paid a whopping $19.79 for all of this and saved $107.76! I hope that my breaking down the details and coupons for you will help you understand how I saved so much! You can do this too-I promise! Contact me with any questions and don’t forget to share with me your sweet savings-I always love to hear from you!

I just wanted to pass along a few sweet Friday Freebies for tomorrow, June 19! Enjoy them everyone! 😉

Print your coupon here for a FREE Light Smoothie at Orange Julius!
www.orangejulius.com/downloads/freeCoupon.pdf

Tropical Smoothie Café will be offering a FREE Jetty Punch Smoothie to the first 500 people that walk through their doors wearing Flip-Flops! Check it out here: www.tropicalsmoothiecafe.com

If you are like me, summer-time can not only be a busy time of the year, but there are some days that I just don’t feel like cooking because it is so hot outside! Here are some great printable restaurant coupons for you and your family to eat out on a budget this summer! Enjoy!

TGIF Restaurants offers a Buy One Get One FREE Entrée until June 22 with this printable coupon: www.fridays.com/promos/JuneBogoCoupon.aspx Use this one this weekend as it expires Monday! This is a great coupon! We used it on vacation last week for an inexpensive meal out!

BJ’s restaurant is offering a $5/$25 purchase coupon here: www.bjsrestaurants.com/promotions/?gclid=CJT-ptzPj5sCFQ3xDAod5y-mog

Go out and have some fun with your family this weekend by enjoying these great deals! Are there any other freebies or food finds that I should know of? Please let me know! 😉

I don’t know about you, but summer vacations are always one of the highlights of my year! This year’s vacation was no exception! As I mentioned previously, we decided to drive to this year’s destination (TN & GA) instead of flying, so I was not quite sure how my 3 ½ year old would handle an 11 hour road trip! Well, I must say, he did AWESOME! I think he did even better than both my husband and I together!

Originally, we had made plans to drive for several hours the first day and then stop at a hotel along the way. Well, forget the hotel, we drove straight through! Amid the hours of playing with his Leapster, watching DVD’s, coloring, and reading books, my son, Drew, was so funny, he kept saying, “Are we at Dee Dee’s house yet?” We kept telling him, “Almost!” By the time that we arrived at my sister’s house, he was ecstatic!! Oh, he did somehow manage a quick power nap in the midst of all that as well! 😉

My sister and her husband live at a camping ministry in TN, so Drew had a lot of fun looking at the horses, and seeing the wild turkeys and deer in the yard every day! I must admit, I enjoyed it as well. One day we went into Nashville to visit some friends and then we took in the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills outlet mall. The hotel is gorgeous with all the water falls and greenery throughout! If you have never been there, it is a sight to behold! While walking around the hotel and exploring the river-walk, my husband treated me to a new Godiva frozen caramel drink. It was so good and I did share it with him-well, just a little!

The next leg of our vacation was about 5 hours away from TN in Stone Mountain, GA. We stayed at a wonderful Marriott Resort called the Evergreen Resort. It was so beautiful tucked away in Stone Mountain. Our room overlooked the lake and we thoroughly enjoyed the swimming pool, took in the sights at Stone Mountain, rode the train, and just relaxed! It was definitely a fun and memorable vacation! Drew is still talking about it!

Tell me about your plans for summer vacation this year! I would love to hear where you are headed with your family! Don’t forget to take money-saving restaurant coupons with you! Check your hotel concierge to see if there are any deals that you can take advantage of as well! Happy vacationing everyone and have a sweet time!

Tomorrow, June 5, is National Doughnut Day! Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts will be offering a FREE Doughnut of your choice! I will definitely be heading to Dunkin for my Toasted Coconut Donut. What about you? What is your favorite doughnut flavor? Go out and support National Doughnut Day!!

If you are like me, I am sure that there are times you just don’t feel like cooking an elaborate meal. It is so nice to have an abundance of stockpile items on hand, for those busy days when you don’t have time to think about what to make for dinner! I thought that it would be fun to share with you a couple of my family’s favorite stockpile meals-Stockpile Shepherd’s Pie and Crock Pot Garlicky Bacon Chicken. All of these meals are super easy and you can add a salad or veggie along-side for a quick meal in a matter of minutes!

Stockpile Shepherd’s Pie

1 lb. of ground turkey (ground beef can be substituted as well)
1 can of corn (other canned veggies may be added or substituted-this is my family’s favorite!)
1 packet of brown gravy with onions mix
2 packets of cooked Idahoan (Fully loaded) instant potatoes
1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese

Brown the ground turkey until fully cooked then add in the gravy packet mix. Add in the corn to the ground turkey and gravy mixture. Place this mixture in an 8×8 or 9×13 baking dish. Place the cooked instant potato mixture on top then sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese is ooey and gooey! This dish tastes like that down-home meatloaf that mom used to make! Serve with a salad or other veggies for a delish and easy meal from your stockpile! Enjoy! 🙂

Crock Pot Garlicky Bacon Chicken

This particular recipe comes from my favorite Crock Pot cookbook that my mother-in-law gave me. Super Fast Slow Cooking is from Gooseberry Patch  and has tons of wonderful recipes that can actually be made from a well-built stockpile, but this is one of our family favorites!

8 slices of bacon
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 10 ¾ oz. cans cream of mushroom with roasted garlic soup
1 cup sour cream
½ cup all purpose flour

Wrap one slice of bacon around each chicken breast and place in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, whisk together soups, sour cream and flour. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low setting for 6-8 hours.
This is so yummy served with baked potatoes and a salad! Enjoy!

What about your sweet stockpile meals? Do you have any that I should try? Please let me know! I love to cook and try new recipes for my family!