Baltimore Sun - $0.99/week

 For the next 48 hours, you can get home delivery of the Friday, Saturday & Sunday Baltimore Sun for just 99¢/week. The fine print says the price is good for a minimum of 16 weeks.

If you have always wanted to be a couponer, but have been waiting for a good deal this is a great time to start. At 99¢/week you'll save more by using the coupons than you will spend on the subscription.

You can get this deal by calling 1-877-BUY-A-SUN and or go online to: www.baltimoresun.com/subscriberservices.  (You have to mention offer T483 to get the deal!)

The ad I received also said you can add the Wednesday paper for an additional 1¢. The Wednesday paper has the grocery store fliers so the combination of coupons from Sunday and ads from Wednesday can really help you save on your grocery budget.

Keep Barrettes in Fine Hair

I am so psyched. I've been wanting to post this hint for a long time, but I hadn't figured out how to do it.

If you have a girl, like I do, with very fine hair you will love this hint.

I have learned a trick for keeping barrettes in fine hair. And it really works for me!

Barrettes just don't stay in very fine hair very easily. You put them in and an hour later at least one, if not both barrettes, have fallen out. I cannot begin to count the number of times I have re-placed barrettes in Cora's hair. If you've ever tried keeping barrettes in fine hair you know what this is like.

I've been putting barrettes in her hair this way for about 2 years now and I loooveee it. They actually stay in her hair -- most of the time.

So today I'm passing along this wonderful little trick. I'm posting this vlog of me putting a barrette in her hair. There's no audio in the video, so don't think you're computer has freaked out. It's just my phobia kicking in - camera goes on and my brain goes completely void of words.

Basically the steps are:
1. Place barrette through hair.
2. Wrap a small portion around the barrette.
3. Add a small additional bit of hair.
4. Clip barrette.

The video really does a better job of showing it than I can explain it in words.

I need to thank a few people for this hint.

First, thanks to my cousin who originally showed me how to do this.
Second, many thanks to my hubby who used his fantastic camera and video-editing skills to get this vlog together. He's really amazing.

For more tips and tricks that work visit WeAreTHATFamily.

Kalua Pig

Several years ago, before I was married, I attended a Bible Study at the home of a wonderful lady who was also a wonderful cook. She introduced me to foods I had never heard of, and helped this picky eater become a little less picky. Having lived in Hawaii for several years, she had a short-run tradition of having a luau at her home every summer and this dish was always on the menu. It is basically an Asian-style pulled-pork. Every time I ate it I wanted more. Finally after several years, I begged her for the recipe.

Kalua Pig
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 5 lb pork shoulder or pork butt*
• 3 Tbsp. Hawaiian or Kosher salt
• ¼ Cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 2" piece crushed ginger
• Liquid Smoke
  

Directions:

1. Mix together salt, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and ginger.**
   
2. Put pork roast in pan and rub mixture into pork.
3. Sprinkle Roast with liquid smoke
4. Tightly cover pan with foil.
5. Roast ~5 hours at 300° or until pork reaches at least 170°.
6. Serve over sticky rice.
   

Notes:
* Pork loin does not work well for this recipe (I've tried). It is too lean and dense and the marinade cannot penetrate the meat.
** You can easily adjust the ingredients of the marinade up for larger roasts.
After roasting, let it rest in it's juices for a while. Then, pull it apart, discarding the fat and bones. Place the pulled meat in a serving bowl or on "warm" in Crock-pot.
There should be a good bit of juice. Save the juice; serve it in a small pitcher with the meat, it's delicious.
This feeds a crowd. I only make it for large groups.

You can find more great recipes at:
Tempt My Tummy @ Blessed With Grace
Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Tuesdays at the Table @ All the Small Stuff

Menu Plan - Sept 27, 2009

Amazingly enough, we actually stuck to the menu plan pretty closely this week. It really helps when Hubby's schedule is more predictable. The weather here has been in the upper 70s and low 80s - not exactly conducive to Fall recipes. So, we've been eating a fair number of repeats.  Here's what's left from the September plan:


Stir Fry x2
Mac & Cheese/Hot dogs
"Go To" Chicken Casserole - from the freezer
Tacos
Chicken Tettrazini
Breakfast for Dinner - waffles, sausage, fried apples
Hamburgers on the grill
Meatballs - maybe Sweet &Sour
Spaghetti x2
Pizza x2 x1 (using this dough and this sauce, topped with ham & pineapple)
Honey Garlic Chicken
Parmesan Crusted Porkchops (holdover from August)
Sloppy Joes (another holdover from August)
Chicken & Dumplings (probably on the first really crisp day)
Tortellini
Vidalia Onion Pie (holdover from July and August!)
Omelets
Twice Baked Potatoes
Leftovers x4
These weren't part of the original plan, but we also had:
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Homemade Shake N Bake Chicken Nuggets


And here's what's on the plan this week:

Sunday
B - Cereal
D - Leftover Kalua Pig (recipe to be posted Tuesday)

Monday
B - Apple-Raisin French Toast Casserole*
D - Dinner with Friends (kids are off school)

Tuesday
B - Scrambled eggs, toast & fruit
D - Vidalia Onion Pie

Wednesday
B - Omelets
D - Pizza Meatloaf*

Thursday
B - Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal
D - Leftovers

Friday
B - Pancakes & fruit
D - Parmesan Crusted Porkchops

Saturday
B - Planning (again) to try this Cinnamon Roll recipe
D - Steak on the grill

Lunches:  Lots of leftovers, PBJs, smoothies, turkey and cheese sandwiches

Side Dishes will include: green beans, peaches, glazed carrots, broccoli, corn, grapes, cantaloupe

*Recipes to be posted soon

For lots more menu options, visit Organizing Junkie.

Maryland - Children's Consignment Sales

There are several upcoming Children's Consigment Sales in our area.

Here are the dates:

September 23-27 (Gaithersburg)
October 7-11 (Columbia, Howard County)
October 21-25 (Frederick)
November 4-8 (Timonium)

All of these events are coordinated through Tot Swap.  These consignemnt events are a great way to save money on clothing, toys, equipment and accessories for your young children. You can get all the details at their website here.

I will confess, I've never been to one of these events before, but I'm seriously considering it. I need to get winter coats for my kids this year. I know of people who save lots of money by attending these events regularly.

If you've been to a large consignment event like this, what are your tips & suggestions for a successful trip?

You can find more frugal ideas at Frugal Friday at LifeAsMom.

Ta Ta Ti Ti Ta

I don't remember exactly how it started.

Sometime, not too long after we got married, one of us was in the shower and needed help with something. It might have been we were out of shampoo, or a dropped bar of soap. I also don't remember who exactly started it. It might have been Hubby, it might have been me. But, there was a need to get the other person's attention.

So, the one in the shower stomped on the floor, the rhythm - Ta Ta Ti Ti Ta.

At that sound, the spouse came up to check, "What do you need?" And then whatever the problem was, the problem was solved. This method of getting each other's attention while in the shower has worked very well for us through 4 different residences.

This worked extremely well for us when I was pregnant with our first child and the smell of my soap would make me throw up. (Yes, I know you needed that image didn't you?) I would lose my breakfast, stomp my Ta Ta Ti Ti Ta and Hubby knew to come in with a very cold cup of water for me. I would rinse my mouth, drink a bit, feel better, and we would both go on with our day.

This message system has worked both ways, sometimes he needs a new bar of soap; sometimes I want him to scrub my back.

I had not realized how much a part of our daily lives this had become until very recently when my 7 year old, being quite proud of himself, had gotten into the shower on his own one morning. A shower in the morning for him was unusual, so I checked to be sure all was okay. He was fine. He just wanted a shower before school. So, I went on getting breakfast ready.

Then I heard it. "Ta Ta Ti Ti Ta" -- The stomp that said "I need something."

So I went upstairs thinking he had soap in his eye or some other painful thing happening.

"Can you scrub my back?" he said.

"Sure."

And then we both continued on with our day.

What can I say? "Ta Ta Ti Ti Ta"  It works for us!

Lemon Pepper Chicken Drumsticks

This recipe had inspiration from several sources. Several years ago a friend introduced me to some amazing lemon-pepper wings from a local restaurant. Later I determined to try to make them myself. So I started a series of experiments to invent my own lemon pepper wings recipe. Then, this week when chicken drumsticks were on sale and hubby was actually going to be home for dinner and it wasn't going to be so hot that I was avoiding the oven, I decided I wanted to try this recipe from PioneerWoman. But as I read the recipe I realized my tender-tongued children would probably not go for it - too spicy, plus I didn't have any of the "Hot Salt" called for in the recipe. So, I opted to combine a bit of her technique with the lemon-pepper wing seasoning I had tried.

Mmmm. They made the house smell aammaazzing!

Lemon Pepper Chicken Drumsticks
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 large package chicken drumsticks (aprox. 10)
• 1 stick butter
• ¼ Cup lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp Lemon & Pepper seasoning salt
• 1 Tbsp Salt Free Lemon & Pepper seasoning

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°.
2. Melt butter in small skillet or saucepan.*
3. Pour in lemon juice, and both Lemon & Pepper seasonings. Stir. Turn off heat.
   
4. Place rack on foil lined baking sheet (much easier clean up).
5. Spray rack with non-stick spray.
6. Using tongs, transfer chicken legs, one at a time, to butter mixture. Turn to coat. Place on rack.
7. When all legs are coated, use a small brush to coat with additional mixture. (The seasoning tends to collect at the bottom, and the extra coating adds more flavor!)
8. Bake for 30-45 minutes until juices run clear and digital probe thermometer reads 180°.
9. If you have additional seasoning left, you may want to coat them again half way through your cooking time.
   

Notes:
This easily served my family of 4 with a few leftover for lunches.
* I found that it was easier to coat the chicken in a small skillet than in a small saucepan.


For more great recipes visit:
Tempt My Tummy @ Blessed With Grace
Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Tuesdays at the Table @ All the Small Stuff

I Made IT - Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

For those who have been visiting here for a while you know that I like to cook.. Those who know me in real life know that for the most part I don't invent recipes. I am not that kind of cook. I usually find recipes from someone else and follow that recipe. Occasionally I'll tweak something about that recipe to make it fit my family's tastes, but not often.

For most of my cooking life I have relied on several good basic cookbooks for the recipes I needed. But, in the last year or so I've been finding more and more recipes on-line, many of them on blogs.

So, I decided to start an occasional series titled, "I Made It."

When I make a recipe found on another blog, I'm going to post a review of the recipe. I'll tell you my thoughts, what I changed (if anything) and how my family reacted.  At least some of the time I'll tell you our story connected to the recipe.

Today's review is for Chocolate Sandwich Cookies from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures. Lynn graciously agreed to let me post her picture of the cookies, since my family devoured them before I remembered to take a picture.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies - Review

The Story Behind the Recipe:
Back a few months ago, when my kids were begging for Oreos and I was refusing because they're so expensive, I went in search of a recipe for homemade Oreos. I found a few and then never had the time over the summer to make them (or the desire to turn the oven on when it was 90+° outside). Then I spotted this recipe back in August and saved it in my Recipe folder. It looked easier than the other recipes I'd found and didn't require so many specialty ingredients.  I liked that. I'm not fond of recipes that require ingredients that I don't keep on hand. Why should I buy a bottle of some spice, when I'm only going to use a tsp of it in one recipe in 6 months time?

So, the recipe sat in my folder for a while. Then one day last week my son asked to buy lunch the next day - a grilled cheese sandwich and a fudge bar.  Hmm. $2.00 for a grilled cheese sandwich? Mmmm, not so much.

I gave him a choice. I could make his lunch and we would have grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner that night (my compromise) or he could pay the $2.00 for his lunch. He chose grilled cheese for dinner. Smart boy.

But, the conversation made me realize it was time to up the "Wow Factor" for his lunch. This is the same boy who was content to take a peanut butter sandwich, applesauce and granola bar every day all year of kindergarten. But, this year, his tastes have expanded (a good thing) and he's feeling a bit deprived when looking at the sweet-processed stuff his classmates are eating (not a good thing).

So, I decided it was time to pull out this recipe and make it.

The Review:
As I said, one of the reasons I was initially attracted is because it doesn't have any funky ingredients that I don't keep on hand. This made it easy to make.

The cookie recipe itself goes together very easily. You basically dump everything into your mixer and let the machine do the work. When using a dry mix, I always use a whisk to break up any lumps before I add the wet ingredients. I definitely found this helpful as there were a bunch of lumps in my cake mixes. Baking went exactly according to Lynn's directions. I baked them for 8 minutes, but this will vary a bit with each oven. Some of them I cooled on the pan and then moved to a rack, others I moved to the rack right away. It didn't seem to make a difference either way.  Confession: some of the cookies did not get cool before they were consumed. They smelled wonderful and I was craving chocolate. I ate them. I enjoyed them. I'm not sorry. (My hips may be sorry.)

The frosting also went together very easily. I used 4 cups of sugar because it seemed a bit too soft after only 3 cups. One addition I would make to the directions would be to sift the confectioner's sugar before adding it to the butter/cream cheese mixture. I find confectioner's sugar to be on the lumpy side and this does not make for smooth icing, therefore, I sift. I did not add food coloring, but if I were making these around a particular holiday this would be a fun addition. Even with 4 cups of sugar I found the icing to be a bit soft (maybe my butter & cream cheese were too soft to start?), so I chilled the icing before I iced the cookies. They iced very easily, but I will say, between the cookies we ate without icing and the fact that I didn't stuff them too full I think I have enough icing for 4 or 5 batches of these cookies. (I wonder if you can freeze cream cheese icing. Anyone know?)

My family loved these cookies - as evidenced that I had to beg a picture off of Lynn because we ate them all. These are not the crispy crunchy lard filled cookie of an Oreo. These are, however, wonderfully chewy cookies. We liked them iced as sandwich cookies, but we also enjoyed them non-iced, especially with a cold glass of milk. They were really delicious. And, I think they satisfied my son's craving for more "wow" in his lunch, at least for a week or two.

Menu Plan - Sept 20, 2009

Ugh. My menu plan kinda went out the window this week. Instead of Hubby being away 4 dinners this week, he was away 6! I really don't  like cooking a big meal, with lots of dishes to do when he's not home to eat and run some interference with the kids. When I plan a big meal without him I tend to get interrupted many times and end up being too stressed or burning something. I'm afraid I didn't have that many things planned/stocked that I could whip up quickly and the kids would like. So, there were several changes and less than healthy meals at our house this week.


Here's what we've used from the September plan:
Stir Fry x2 1x
Mac & Cheese/Hot dogs
"Go To" Chicken Casserole - from the freezer
Tacos
Chicken Tettrazini
Breakfast for Dinner - waffles, sausage, fried apples
Hamburgers on the grill
Meatballs - maybe Sweet &Sour
Spaghetti x2 x1
Pizza x2 x1 (using this dough and this sauce, topped with ham & pineapple)
Honey Garlic Chicken
Parmesan Crusted Porkchops (holdover from August)
Sloppy Joes (another holdover from August)
Chicken & Dumplings (probably on the first really crisp day)
Tortellini
Vidalia Onion Pie (holdover from July and August!)
Omelets
Twice Baked Potatoes
Leftovers x4 x2
These weren't part of the original plan, but this week we also had:
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Homemade Shake N Bake Chicken Nuggets


And here's what's on the plan this week:

Sunday
B - Cereal
D - Lemon Pepper Drumsticks (recipe to be posted this week)

Monday
B - (Free) Bacon  and Veggie Potato Pancakes w/ sour cream
D - Chicken Stir Fry (Hubby's favorite)

Tuesday
B - French Toast Casserole
D - Meatballs with grape jelly and chili sauce

Wednesday
B - English Muffins, scrambled eggs and fruit
D - Leftovers

Thursday
B -Pancakes and fruit
D - Spaghetti

Friday
B - Oatmeal w/ peanut butter or blueberries
D - Planned pot luck dinner with friends - taking Kalua Pig (will post recipe next week)

Saturday
B - Planning to try this Cinnamon Roll recipe
D - Another pot luck dinner with more friends - taking an as yet undetermined side dish.

Lunches:  Lots of leftovers, PBJs, smoothies, ham and cheese sandwiches

Side Dishes this week will include: green beans, peaches, glazed carrots, broccoli, corn, celery sticks, grapes

For lots more menu options, visit OrganizingJunkie.

Free Nights at the Theater - IT'S HERE!

I've been waiting patiently to be able to post this wonderful opportunity. Finally after weeks of waiting - It's here. You can get a free night of theater!  Sounds wonderful doesn't it?

For the last five years, Theatre Communications Group has sponsored a free night of theater.  Last year 650 theaters in 120 cities across the nation participated. This year the schedule begins October 15.

You should be able to make reservations on or about October 1, 2009. To find out if a theater in a city near you is participating visit their website and click on "Find a Show" on the lefthand side.

Lots of cities and states are participating. See if there's one near you.

For more frugal ideas visit LifeAsMom.

Peanut Butter Bananas

The URS theme this week is snacks And, Wow! There's a giveaway attached for each entry!

This is not a football specific snack (we're not football fans at our house - yes I know we are weird) But, this is one of the favorite snacks for our picky eaters. It's also quick and healthy which makes it a favorite for me.

Peanut Butter Bananas
(printable recipe)
 

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• peanut butter

Directions:
1. Slice banana into circles
2. Spread small dab of peanut butter onto each banana circle.
3. Freeze long enough to fix a drink
4. Serve & Enjoy.

For more great snack recipes visit the Ultimate Recie Swap at Life As Mom.

Free Night of Theater

Mark your calendars!  Free Night of Theater is coming soon!

For the last five years, Theatre Communications Group has sponsored a free night of theater.  Last year 650 theaters in 120 cities across the nation participated. This year the schedule begins October 15.

You should be able to make reservations on or about October 1, 2009. To find out if a theater in a city near you is participating visit their website beginning Friday, September 18.

Kids' Picks - September

This will be a short post. We've been reading and re-reading a lot of old favorites this month and with both of my kids in full-day school we're not going to the library quite so often, yet. We've spent the last few weeks establishing and getting into the new routines of a new school year.

Family Favorites:

Mr. Skinny by Roger Hargreaves. This is part of the Mr. Men and Little Miss series. My son discovered this series 2 years ago, in kinderagarten. We find them to be funny and enjoyable all the way around. Joseph borrowed this book from the school library (again) this week and while I was reading it, his sister crawled up into my lap too, so she could hear too!

"Mr. Skinny was extraordinarily thin." When he turns sideways he's almost too thin to see and because he lives in a place called Fatland his problem is worse. His problem is that he has no appetite. Each day he eats only one cornflake, one baked bean and the worl'd smalles sausage. So, he geos to the doctor, Doctor Plump. Doctor Plump is able to help Mr. Skinny with his problem in a very unique way and by the end of the book Mr. Skinny has what he's always wanted - a tummy!

I love the unique, natural way that this series of books teaches opposites. My kids enjoy the exaggerated characteristics and funny situations they create. 

You can find these books at your local library or under, "I Recommend" in my sidebar.

For more of our book recommendations for kids go here.

For more children's book recommendations visit 5 Minutes for Books.

Menu Plan - Sept 14, 2009

I'm a bit later than I should be doing this menu plan, but I chose to spend some much needed time with Hubby yesterday evening rather than cloister myself on the computer with the menu plan. It was one of those times when the marriage needed time. So other things could just wait for a bit.


So here I am today, Monday morning figuring out the menu plan. Not everything went as planned last week, and this week Hubby is out of town for at least 4 dinners. Also, the weather is going to be warm for a few days and then cooler for a few. I'm planning meals with those variables in mind.

Here's what's on the plan this week:

Monday
B - Bird in a basket
D - Omelets

Tuesday
B - Oatmeal w/ peanut butter or blueberries, Grits
D - Pizza w/ ham & pineapple (using this dough and this sauce), another veggie (holdover from last week)

Wednesday
B - Wh. Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, scrambled eggs & fruit
D - Chicken Stir Fry (Hubby's favorite)

Thursday
B -Pancakes & fruit
D -Leftovers (something quick & easy as I'll be out of town all day)

Friday
B - French Toast or French Toast Casserole
D - Breakfast for Dinner (waffles or panckaes, sausage links, fried apples)

Saturday
B - Baked Oatmeal
D - Chicken & Dumplings

Sunday
B - Cereal
D - Hamburgers on the grill

Lunches:  Lots of leftovers, PBJs, smoothies, ham & cheese sandwiches

Side Dishes this week will include: green beans, cantaloupe, peaches, glazed carrots, broccoli,

For lots more menu options, visit OrganizingJunkie.

Oh I almost forgot --- For health reasons, I'd like to add more fish to our menu, but 1) it tends to be expensive and 2) there are some picky eaters at our house.  Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Coupons & More Coupons

If you've always wanted to start clipping coupons, but never seemed to find the right time to start -- this is a good weekend to start!

There are 5 coupon inserts in tomorrow's Sunday Sun Paper.  Just some of the highlights I found were:

• $1.25/1 Shedd's Country Crock Side Dishes
  
• $0.50/1 Nestle Chocolate morsels
• $1.00/2 PopTarts
  
• $1.00/3 Gneeral Mills cereals
• $1.00/1 YoPlus Yogurt 4 pack
• $0.50/2 Bettey Crocker Gushers, Rollups, or Fruit by the Foot

You can find out what other coupons are in this week's paper here.

I bought extra newspapers today so that I could stock up on a whole bunch of coupons!

Working with Family

For those who've been reading here or following on Twitter for a while you know that my dad passed away last November. Since Mom died several years earlier that left my siblings and I with the task of cleaning out their house.

Cleaning out your parent's house does not conjure the same image for all people. Some parents' homes are small and uncluttered. For others it's large and uncluttered. Some parents downsize during retirement. Some parents expand their home to accommodate in-laws and grandchildren.

For my family, my parent's home is a medium size home, but it was very cluttered. My parents both grew up during the Great Depression and with the mentality that almost everything should be saved because it surely it would or could be used at some time by some one in the future.

My sister and I have been methodically working through all this clutter to try and get down to the usable stuff. We've met at Dad's house one day each week since the beginning of January. There have been a few weeks we missed, but not many. Most of what we've been dealing with is the paperwork clutter. The years and years worth of financial records, assorted generations of photographs in various locations that eventually filled an entire chest of drawers, years and years of magazines that had been kept, teaching notes from 40+ years of Sunday School, and (we've guesstimated) ~2500 books, plus more that I can't even recall at the moment.

This last week my brother took a week of vacation and flew in (he lives 2000 miles away) to help deal with Dad's workshop and work barn.

He, my brother-in-law, my husband, and we two sisters have spent the better part of the last 7 days sorting through power tools, hand tools -- old and new, nails, screws, scrap wood, bottles and bottles of various household toxic fluids (paint thinners, de-greasers, engine oils and more). And we've made good headway. The guys completely cleaned out the top of the barn (where they found our old sled and the old manual mower) as well as cleaning out the bulk of the workshop. I am so encouraged by the progress that has been made.

I am exceedingly grateful for my siblings right now.

Yes, sometimes they get on my nerves. I'm sure I've gotten on theirs too. We don't always agree on what should be kept, sold or tossed. But, for the most part it has not been a divisive process. We have continued to plug away at all the stuff.

I am extremely grateful that I have not had to go through this process and all this stuff alone. If I had to do it alone I would not be nearly as far along in the process as we are. And, I would be far more exhausted. The physical and mental exhaustion from going through each item in the house and making a decision about it is nearly indescribable.

My family, willing to work together, not against each other - most definitely A Finer Thing!

Lunchbox Love

Today's theme at the URS is Lunchbox Love. I was stumped on this one for a while. I don't think of myself as very creative when it comes to lunches. Lots of room for improvement in this area of our lives.

Lunchbox love at our house is usually a note. About once a week I try to include a note in the kids lunches, (occasionally I do this in hubby's lunch too!). Sometimes it's when I know they're going to have an especially exciting day or when I know they had a rough start to the morning. The kids really like these and have even requested them. My son often saves the notes for posterity. Even my kindergartner, who can't read most of them yet, enjoys getting the notes and will ask a nearby grown-up to read it to her. I like to use an interesting notepad or shaped notepad, but any kind of paper will do. I recently found this form at MomAdvice which would be great for lunchbox notes too!

The typical lunch at our house is either leftovers or one of several different sandwich varieties. My son has absolutely no problem taking a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to school every day. He loves them. I think he really loves the predictability.

My daughter on the other hand is not a big fan of the same ol', same ol'. she gets tired of sandwiches quickly and wants more variety.

Enter the Thermos.

I found a Food Jar Thermos last year and this has been a wonderful addition to our lunch rotations. This allows me to send some of their favorites for lunch: mac & cheese, soup, spaghetti, leftover whatever! We haven't tried a hot dog yet, but that's on the plan for later in the year. They love having a hot lunch, especially on those cold days in winter. You can probably find a Food Jar Thermos at Walmart, Target or K-Mart. Anyplace that sells camping gear might also have them.

I have a problem, though, that maybe you all can help me with. My kids much prefer soft veggies, which means - cooked. They really do not like raw crunchy veggies. But, I really want to include a veggie in their lunches. So recently I've been wondering...

Is there a smaller container of some kind, only large enough for about 1/2 cup of food, that I could use to keep their veggies warm for lunch? The Food Jar Thermos is a bit large and heavy for just a side of veggies. Anybody have a suggestion?

There are lots more lunchbox ideas at LifeAsMom.

Two Birds with One Stone

Since school has begun all over the country, I thought I'd post one of our strategies for teaching my son responsibility and frugality all at once.

When he started kindergarten he started taking a lunch to school every day. At the beginning of the year I put the sandwich, fruit, and snack in their own separate baggies in his lunch. His lunch also included a juice box. Each day, he threw away the juice box (whether empty or not) and all of the empty baggies.

As the year progressed, I realized that this was a waste of money. I could send in a thermos of juice and he'd bring it home along with any juice he didn't drink. That worked well.

But, what to do about the baggies? So, I started asking him to bring the empties home. He balked at first saying, "Nobody else does that!" Then, I came up with a plan. I would pay him to bring them home. The first year we did this each item had it's own value which totaled about 9¢, the next year he was pretty much in the habit and we just averaged it out to 10¢. This made payment much easier.

This year, we've upped the responsibility. Bringing home his lunch materials now qualifies as a "Red Chore". When he does not do this job, he has to pay me the 10¢!

This is definitely working for us.
You can also find more frugal ideas at LifeAsMom.

Menu Plan - Sept 7, 2009

I know this is Tuesday. Really I do. We have been extremely busy over the last several days cleaning out my father's house - or at least working toward cleaning out my father's house. We've been across town 1 hour away most of the last 4 days and extremely exhausted, thus I've had no time (much less energy) to develop or post a menu plan. It may be a day late, but here it is. Some people would say better late than never. I'll hope that you all feel the same.

Surprise, surprise! We actually stuck pretty close to my menu plan last week, at least we did for dinners. Breakfast was a bit different. I'll have to work on making a better plan this week, like not planning two new things in the same week. (Hubby & I loved the Baked Peach French Toast, the kids are going to take a while to convince, however. But I'm not giving up, we will definitely try this again!)

Here's what's on the plan this week:

Monday
B - scrounge whatever you can find in the fridge/cabinets quickly - Mommy ain't cooking!
D - Spaghetti, watermelon, salad bar (@ Dad's w/ extended family - cleaning out)

Tuesday
B - Peanut Butter Toast or Bird in a Basket
D - Lemon-Pepper Chicken in the Crockpot w/ broccoli & glazed carrots

Wednesday
B - waffles, scrambled eggs, fruit
D - Leftovers (something easy since I'll be away most of the day)

Thursday
B - french toast & fruit
D - Tortellini (holdover from last week), watermelon, green beans

Friday
B - Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal
D - Pizza w/ ham & pineapple (using this dough and this sauce), another veggie

Saturday
B - muffins, scrambled eggs, fruit
D - DH & I are attending a wedding; we'll probably have pizza leftovers for the kids

Sunday
B - Cereal
D - Omelets

Lunch:
Lots of leftovers, PBJs, smoothies, ham & cheese sandwiches

For lots more of menu options, visit OrganizingJunkie.

Plastic bags

I've been informed this morning that there's another item to stockpile this month. When I posted last week about stockpiling, I mentioned several items to be watching. But, today I got an email from HotCouponWorld informing me that this is the best week for sales on plastic bags.

We have greatly reduced our use of plastic bags since we started washing them. However, I never ever re-use a bag that's had raw meat, so I do tend to go through a fair number of freezer bags. I'll definitely need to check the sales for these.

Life Intervenes

My siblings and I are spending much of the weekend working at my Dad's house. So, I'll be a bit scarce for the next several days. I hope to have the menu plan done on Tuesday morning. But, please forgive me if I'm a bit late.

Have a great weekend.

Stockpile Rules

I know there are many people out there who cannot stand the clutter of stockpiling (my sister included - it drives her nuts.) But, for me, this is one of the best ways of keeping our grocery budget low and keeping things on hand that I use nearly every day.

I prefer to buy things as they go on sale, especially if they are on a good sale and I have a matching coupon (like here and here). The "clutter" doesn't bother me, as long as I have a place to put it. I will stockpile almost any grocery item - as long as it has a long shelf life. At the moment I have a whoooole bunch of peanut butter, granola bars, cereal, and many bottles of apple juice. I have enough toothpaste, toothbrushes for about a year, and the list goes on.

There are some rules I live by when it comes to stockpiling.

1. Never stockpile an item your family does not use or does not eat.
2. Only stockpile items when they are on a good sale. (Not all sales are good!)
3. Only stockpile as much as you have space for. (I do not stockpile milk - too little freezer space.)
4. Be extremely careful of stockpiling items with a short shelf life, i.e., produce, dairy products. (If the food goes bad before your family can eat it then it didn't save you money.)
5. Sales go in seasons - watch for which items are on sale at what time of year.

This is the beginning of a new month, so it's time to examine what items are likely to be on sale in September. I was reminded by Hot Coupon World these categories will likely be on good sales sometime this month:

• Lunchbox foods/meals
• Pudding cups
• Lunchables
• Juice boxes, Capri Sun
• Pop Tarts
• Lunch meat
• Bread
• Cold cereal
• Waffles
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Tomato soup
• Canned tomatoes
• Tomato sauce

Also likely to go on sale are housewares, bicycles and canned goods.

I'll be keeping my eye out for good sales on these items as well as coupons that match up.

Does stockpiling work for you? Or are you a "clutter-phobe" like my sister? I'd love to hear your thoughts on stockpiling.

For more great frugal tips visit LifeAsMom.
And for more thoughts on stockpiling visit TheHappyHousewife.

Favorite Recipes

Today's theme at the Ultimate Recipe Swap is Favorite Recipes.

I am going to confess right away. I am not going to post my favorite recipe. I can't.

When I'm looking for comfort food that I enjoy making, I enjoy eating, and I hope against hope that no one in my family will be very hungry so that I can hoard all the leftovers, I fix fried chicken. When I was pregnant and craving a food, it was fried chicken -- my fried chicken. The problem is... I don't have a recipe. I just do it the way my mother taught me. I only make it about once or twice a year because 1) it is not very healthy, 2) it is very bad for hubby's cholesterol, 3) it makes a mess of the kitchen and smells up the house for 2 days after I make it. So, I don't make it very often. I don't have a recipe written out and I don't have a photo so I couldn't post my favorite recipe. Maybe someday over the fall or winter, the next time I make it, I'll write down what I do and post it for you all. Maybe.

So then I thought well, what would be my second favorite recipe. And there - I could not decide. There are too many foods I like and too many recipes I like to make. I do love to cook. I do not mind spending most of my day in the kitchen (oh wait, that's for another post - back to the topic). So, well, here are some of my second favorites....

Favorite Smoothie: Purple Lava

Favorite Fast Dinner: Chicken Stir Fry

Favorite Muffin: Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip

Favorite Veggies: Glazed Carrots & Asian Spinach

Favorite Cookie: Chocolate Crinkles


Do you have a favorite recipe?

Word of the Day

I've been getting a Word of the Day via email for a few years now.

For the most part I read it and delete it.

But this one made me smile. I just had to post it.

abecedarian \ay-bee-see-DAIR-ee-uhn\, noun:

1. One who is learning the alphabet; hence, a beginner.
2. One engaged in teaching the alphabet.
3. Pertaining to the letters of the alphabet.
4. Arranged alphabetically.
5. Rudimentary; elementary.

Abecedarian derives from Latin abecedarius, from the first four letters of the alphabet.


So, if you have a child in preschool, learning his alphabet, you can tell him he is an "abecedarian"!

Organizing Tip

WeAreTHATFamily is hosting a themed "Works For Me Wednesday today -- organizaiton tips.

Can I just tell you now, this is NOT my strength. If you saw my house right now, you would sooo agree with me. Organization just ain't my strong suit. But, she's doing these really great giveaways that I thought, "Wow! This might actually help me make some progress in organizing my life. So, I've been wracking my brain all day for some kind of tip. As I canned peaches for 3 hours yesterday and again today I've been wondering, what organizational tip I could post.

This is what I came up with: Sort like objects together.

That's it.

That's the best I can do. It helps when sorting laundry. It helps when placing food in the fridge. It helps in the pantry, with the kids toys, and with the overwhelming flood of paperwork. Put like objects together. Once you do that, don't ask me. I'm just not that good at organizing.

For a whole lot of organizational tips, please visit WorksForMeWednesday at WeAreTHAT Family. There are tips there that will actually, you know, help!