Freezer Meal Plan

This is a freezer meal week. The only main dish I have not already prepared are the Chicken Packets only because I am taking these to friends this week and wanted them very fresh and piping hot when they arrive. Check back later this week for my guide on how to prepare 5 meals in 3 hours start to finish. I'm looking forward to the extra time outside of the kitchen I'll have this week.

Breakfasts:
Muffins (from freezer)
Amish Baked Oatmeal
Homemade Yogurt & Fruit
Waffles (from freezer)

Lunches:
Hummus, Greek Pita Bread & Green Peppers
Chicken Fried Rice
Leftovers


Monday-Burritos w/ guacamole, sour cream & tomato wedges & fruit

Tuesday-Chicken Packets (doubling & bringing to friends), Asparagus, & Fruit

Wednesday-Chicken Noodle Soup over mashed potatoes

Thursday- leftovers

Friday-Meatloaf & Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Saturday-Calzones, Salad

Sunday-Chicken Pot Pie & fruit

For more great meal plans this week head on over to Org Junkie!

Happy Meal Planning!
Erica

Walgreens 4/12-4/18

Good Deals this Week
Coffeemate 16 oz 2/$3
Use $1.50/2 IP
Total=$1.50/1

Skippy Peanut Butter BIGI Free 3.29
Use two .40/1 IP
Total=$2.49 for 2 jars

Chex Mix .99
Use .50/1 MF
Total=.49

BIGI FREE Lysol Products
Use .50/1 MF Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Use .50/1 IP All Purpose Cleaner Pourable
Use .50/1 All Purpose Cleaner Trigger
Use .55/1 Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaner
Use .55/1 Bathroom Cleaner
Use 1.00/2 IP Lysol Disinfecing Wipes

Bounty Paper Towels 3/$5 w/ in ad Q
Use 3 $1/1 MF
Total=$2/3 Rolls!

Tuft Trashbags 2.99

Hefty One Zip Storage Bags BIGI free 3.29

Scotch Paper Bubble Mailer 3/$1

Charmin 12 pack 6.99
Use 1.00/1 MF
Total=5.99

Easy Saver Rebates
Bayer Breeze2 or Contour Blood Glucose Monitor 14.99-14.99
Submit $14.99 for ES Rebate
Total=Free after Rebate

Register Rewards Deals
Colgate Max White Or Max Fresh Toothbrush $3.29
Use $1/1 IP when you sign up or .75/1 MF
Get $3.29 RR
Total=either 1.00 or .75 Overage after RR

Fiber Choice 10 ct $2.49
Get $2.49 RR
Total=FREE after RR

Scunci Elastics 18 pack $2
Get $2 RR
Total=FREE after RR

Axe Shampoo or Conditioner, Body Spray, Shower Gel 2/$10
Use two 1.00/1 MF
Get $3 RR wyb 2
Total=$5.00/2 after RR

Claritin Allergy Relief 24 hr 40 ct
Use $2 MF
Get $5 RR
Total= $7.00 off price after RR

Dasani bottled water 24 pk 2/$10
Get $3 RR wyb 2
Total=$7.00/2 after RR

Dove Chocolate Minis 2/$7
Get $2 rr wyb 2
Total=$5.00/2 after RR

Kashi or Kellogg’s cereal 3/$10
Use three 1.00/1 MF
Get $3 RR
Total=$4.00/3 boxes after RR

Get $2 RR wyb 4, get $6 RR wyb 6
Caress body wash or 6 pack bar soap
Use 1.00/1 MF

Degree 1.7 oz or larger deodorant
Use .75/1 IP

Dove body wash or 6 pack bar soap
Use 1.00/1 or 1.50/1 IP Cream Oil

Dove Deodorant

Dove Hair Care

Lever 2000 Bar Soap 8 pk

Ponds Skin Care

Q-tips 500 ct
Use .30/1 MF

Sunsilk Shampoo & Conditioner

Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion
Use 1.00/1 MF

Happy Savings!
Erica

Weekly $ Report

This week I spent $56.82 on groceries at Wal-mart, Dillons & Aldi and I spent$20.20 on household products. All these groceries are for two weeks worth of main course meals. I made several freezer meals for next week due to a busy coming week. I only went over 6.82 for two weeks worth of main dishes. Next week should be pretty light as I only need to pick up a few things to complete our meals.

Walmart $11.62

Brown Rice 1.42
Vinegar 2.50 (not pictured)
Lentils .94
Black Beans 1.18

Ranch Dressing .08!

Trip 2 $5.11

5 lb. Bananas Priced matched to Leeker's

Loaf of Bread
Container of Plain Yogurt

Eggs

Dillons
Food $23.77 & Household items $17.51

Premium M&M .79 (I confess this was an impulse buy, they were MS and I had a coupon plus I love mint chocolate…..they were sooooo good!)
2 Boxes Wheat Thins 2.00
Red Tape Bananas .34
2 packages Ground Turkey 1.74/package
Soy Milk 2.50 each
Cantaloupe 1.58
Canned pineapple .83/each
Broccoli 1.24
Pecans 1.50 (not pictured)
Mach 3 Razors 1.50
Venus Razors 1.50
Gillette Body Wash Overage of .50!
Secret Deodorant 2.09
Tampax 2.79

Pampers 5.99

Washing Soda 2.85
Fels Naptha 1.29

Aldi
Food $21.43 & Household items 2.69

Whole Chicken 3.70
Lunch Meat 2.99
Tortillas .99
Skim Milk 2.30
Pepperonni 1.99
Bell Peppers 1.69
Sweet Potatoes .79
Mild Salsa 1.49
Cream of Chicken Soup .49
8 oz. Mozzerella Cheese 1.29
Bread 1.29
Dishwashing gel 2.69

Walgreens
Total taken off of gift card: 11.27
I received $3.50 in RR & will submit $6.00 for rebates

4 Bags of Candy $8.50 (submitting for a $5 rebate)
Oust Air & Surface Spray .99 (submitting for $1 rebate)
Colgate Toothpaste 2.74

Frugal Family Easter Fun!

I love Easter, probably more than Christmas because there aren’t as many distractions that take away from the reason we celebrate. It gives my heart more time to reflect on the gift Jesus gave to us.

I want our son to understand from an early age the importance and significance of this “holiday”. So I hopped on google and tried to find some good ways to help a toddler celebrate. Even though our son is still a bit too young to comprehend what is going on, I do feel that building traditions into our family from the time our son was a newborn will help our family continue them as it grows.

One neat way to help give kids a good picture of what Jesus went through is by using Resurrection Eggs. I had thought about trying to find some on sale after Easter, but I stumbled upon how to make them, which is the cheapest option and more fun.

All you need is the following:
One Empty Clean Egg Carton
12 Plastic Eggs
Sharpie
Paper to decorate with

Fill each egg with the following:

1. Small Piece of bread (don’t forget to throw this away and replace every year)
2. Coin
3. Piece of Purple cloth
4. Thorns (I clipped this off of our rose bush)
5. Small Piece of rope or a thick string
6. Cross (I hot glued two sticks together)
7. Nail
8. Sign with the words: This is the King of the Jews
9. Sponge
10. Spear (I just whittled a point on a stick)
11. Rock
12. Empty

Go to this website to find the verses that accompany each egg. In my opinion it is best to read these directly from the Bible, so I wrote the verse on the eggs with a Sharpie. I want our son to learn that this isn’t just a story but it comes directly from God through his Word.

A friend of mine also posted a great idea of making Easter Story Cookies. When I read the title I thought these would be sugar cookies decorated to tell the Easter Story, but I was wrong. This project uses ingredients that in my opinion very effectively represent the story. It’s a great way for kids to interact with some ingredients that share the story of Christ's death and him raising from the dead. What a wonderful tradition for your whole family to do the night before Easter, plus when they wake up in the morning they’ll find the finished project. Check out Meshellyn’s Blog for full details.

I do think egg hunts can be great fun, in fact we have had several egg hunts already, my toddler is very into putting things in buckets recently. We prefer to have our own hunts, I'm not that into crowds especially when children and candy are involved. But if you have a hankering for a public egg hunt here is the link to the Wichita City Egg Hunt taking place this Saturday at Watson Park starting at 10:00 a.m. Check the site for hunt times for your child's age group.

Also taking place this Saturday from 10:00-3:00 is Easter Eggstravaganza at the Sedgwick County Zoo. There is no egg hunt involved but there will be a special guest hopping around, games and goodies found throughout the zoo, so bring your Easter Basket.

This year instead of candy I’m cutting out pictures of things my son loves and putting them inside. I may even add a few rocks & dandelions. (I love this age. The simplest things, often free things, make his day.) You can use clues for older children to help them find the next egg, which could lead to the ultimate prize. Be creative, I am sure that your children will remember it for years.

I hope you have a great Easter!
Erica

Easter Ham

My dad makes the best ham, I cannot wait until Sunday for one of my favorite meals in the world. Since ham is often out of our price range this meal is quite a treat. This is definately worth the labor of watching the clock to cook it.

1 good quality, whole, bone-in ham (NO WATER ADDED, our family loves Fanestil Hams)

3/4 -1 t. dry mustard

Whole Cloves

1 8 oz. can sliced pineapple, drained but save the juice

1/2 c. brown sugar

1. Place ham in pan, fat side up and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

2. Remove ham from oven and pull of the hide (if ham has one), then score the fat side into diamonds and put in cloves at the points of the diamonds. Bake the ham for 60 minutes.

3. Mix brown sugar, dry mustard and pineapple juice. Baste ham with mixture and bake for another 30 minutes.

4. Remove ham and baste again. Place the pineapple slices on the ham and bake another 20-30 minutes.

5. Remove ham from oven and let it rest for 10-30 minutes before slicing.

For other great recipes check out the Recipe Swap on Friday over at Grocery Cart Challenge.

Dillons 4/8-4/14

The P&G Event is still going on and there are several other great buys this week. I hope you can find some good deals this week that fit with your family's budget.

Produce
Driscoll's Strawberries 1.88
Jumbo Artichokes or SnoBall Cauliflower 2/$5
Sweet Potatoes .99 lb
Del Monte Gold Pineapple 2.99Use .75/1 IP (if you printed these out earlier this month)Total=1.99

Meat
Cook's Spiral Sliced Hams 50% off (3.99lb.)
Cook's Rump Half Ham 1.39lb
Pacific Salmon Fillets 50% off
Private Selection Whole Frozen Turkey .79lb


Other Grocery Deals
Dillons Large Eggs .99 (cheaper at Aldi)
Kroger Cheese 8 oz. bars or shreds 1.58 (cheaper at Aldi)
Kroger Whipping Cream 1.99
Kroger Dips or Sour Cream $1
Philadelphia Cream Cheese $1
Cool Whip Topping $1
Blue Bonnet Margarine Sticks .77
Kroger Milk Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Baking Chips $1!

Duncan Hines Cake Mix $1
Use .35/1 MF
Total=$0.30

Nabisco Snack Crackers 2/$4
Use 1.00/2 MF or BIGI FREE Artisan Crackers
Total=2/$3 or 2/$2 for Artisan

Folgers Coffee 23-34.5 oz 5.88
Use 1.00/2 MF
Total=$10.76/2 large containers of coffee

General Mills Cereal, Nature Valley, Fiber One or Chex Mix Bars 3/$8 plus a FREE
Gallon of Milk
Use three .55/1 IP for Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Honey Nut Cheerios & Multigrain Cheerios on side bar
.60/1 IP on side bar Nature Valley
.50/1 MF Chex Mix Bars
And use the following
.55/1 eQ (shortcuts) Honey Nut, .55/1 eQ (shortcuts) Cheerios .50/1 eQ (cellfire) Fiber One, .50/1 (cellfire) Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Total=$5.00 maximum for 3 boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk

Household
Kotex Pads, Liners or Tampons 3.00
Use 1.00/2 Cellfire eQ & 2.00/2 pkgs of pads IP or 1.50/2 pkgs tampons on sidebar
Total=$3.00/2 packages pads or $3.50/2 packages of tampons

Buy 3 Select P&G Products Get $3 off at the register
You may receive 3-Rewards per transaction
Prices reflect $3 reward & Best Deals in my opinion are in bold

Cascade Complete Dish Detergent Gel/Powder or Action Pac 4.99
Use .25/1 MF & .25/1 p&g esaver
Total=$4.24

Dawn Dish Detergent 56 oz. 3.99
Use .50/1 MF & .50/1 p&g esaver
Total=2.50/1

Bounce Fabric Softener 105-120 sheets 4.99
Use$1/1 & .50/1 p&g esaver
Total=$3.49

Bounty Paper Towels 6.99
Use 1.00/1 MF & .50/1 p&g esaver
Total=$5.49

Febreze Fabric Refresher Sprays 3.99
Use 1.00/1 MF & 1.00/1 p&g esaver
Total=1.99

Tide Laundry Detergent Liquid or Powder or Cheer Laundry Detergent Liquid or Powder 10.99
Use 1.00/1 MF & .50.1 MF Tide
Total=9.49

Charmin Bath Tissue 12 Big Roll 6.99
Use 1.00/1 MF & .50/1 p&g esaver
Total=$5.49

Crest Toothpaste 6.2 oz Twin Pack
3.771.00/1 MF & .75/1 p&g esaver
Total=$2.02

Head & Shoulders 5.29

Olay Soap 6 Bars 4.99
Use $1/1 MF & .50/1 p&g esaver
Total=$3.49

Secret Flawless Deodorant 3.29
Use $1.00/1 MF & .25/1 p&g esaver
Total=2.04

Always Pads, Liners or Tampax Tampons Pads, Liners, Tampons 4.79
Use 1.00/1 MF & 1.00 p&g esaver
Total=$2.79

Gillette Body Wash, Ivory, Safeguard or Zest Soap 2.50
Use 1.00/1 Gillette & 2.00/1 p&g esaver
Total=$0.50 OVERAGE!

Mach 3 or Venus Disposable Razors 5.49
Use 1.00/1 MF Mach 3 & 3.00/1 p&g esaver; 2.00/1 MF Venus & 2.00/1 Venus p&g esaver
Total=Mach 3 $1.49 Venus 1.49

Duracell Batteries AA or AAA 8 ct, C or D 4 ct or 9V 2 ct 5.99
Use 1.00/1 MF & 1.00/1 p&g esaver
Total=3.99

Iams Cat Food 12.99 & Dog Food 15.99
Use 2.00/1 MF 3.00/1 p&g esaver
Total= $7.99 Cat Food & 10.99 Dog Food

Oral-B Advantage Artica or 123 Toothbrushes 1.99
Use .50/1 p&g esaverTotal=$1.49 (I often can find free toothbrushes)

Pampers Sizes Newborn-6 Jumbo Pack, Pampers Easy Ups Sizes 4-5 Jumbo Pack or Under Jams Sizes 7-8 Jumbo Pack 8.99
Use 2.00/1 MF & 1.00/1 p&g esaver
Total=5.99

Pampers Wipes 4.99
Use .50/1 p&g esaver
Total= $4.49

Prilosec OTC 23.99
Use 2.00/1 MF & 3.00/1 p&g esaver
Total=$18.99

Febreeze Noticables 5.5 oz Select Varieties Noticeables Kit 1 ct Select Varieties 4.99
Use 1.00/1 MF
Total=3.99

Olay Regenerist 17.99
Use 5.00/1 MF & 3.00/1 p&g esaver
Total=$9.99

Happy Savings!
Erica

Why I love Containers

One of the simplest ways to cut costs in your grocery budget is to bring your lunch to work. I'm sure you've heard it over and over again, but buying prepackaged food is ridiculously expensive. Even if you do take your lunch to work often times you'll go through ziplock bags like there's no tomorrow.

When we lived overseas ziplock bags were treasured items, and since we've returned to the states I've had a hard time throwing them away, even if we do live in the land where ziplock bags are readily available. When I think about how wasteful it is to throw a perfectly good bag away I'm encouraged to try to use containers as much as possible, and because I HATE to wash ziplock bags. I absolutely love these ziplock and glad containers. Not only are they cheap but you can fill them will all sorts of goodies that bring a little zest to your lunch, they will pay for themselves before you know it. Now I don't condem using ziplock bags, but we try to limit the number we use and it's amazing how infrequently we have to use them.

By doing the prep work for these containers before the week begins or Monday morning it's easy to grab a container in the morning and throw it in my husband's lunch box as the week goes on. Which makes this mama, who is not a morning person, very, VERY happy!

Here are some ideas you can fill your ziplock and glad containers with that are great cold:

• Crackers (chips are often too big)
• Homemade cookies, just make them small enough to fit into these containers
• Hummus
• Veggie Slices, or Cherry/grape tomatoes
• Veggie Dips/Salad Dressing
• Fruit Slices
• Fruit Dip
• Applesauce
• Baked Apples
• Pudding
• Cottage Cheese
• Chex Mix
• Rice Cakes
• Peanut Butter
• Dry Cereal
• Homemade yogurt
• Dried Fruit & Nuts
• Cubed Cheese
• Summer Sausage
• Chicken Salad/Tuna Salad/Egg Salad
• Salad Toppings so your lettuce will stay nice a crisp
• Cold Quesidillas slices
• Salsa
• Chip Dip (On of my hubby's favorites!)
• Mini Muffins
• Small peices of cake
• Cole Slaw
• Potato Salad
• Macaroni Salad
• Pasta Salad
• Ants on a Log

The possibilities are endless. So now that you've read my list, what do you add to your lunches to make them a little less boring? Post a comment and share your idea with the rest of us. I always love new ideas.

For more great ideas this week check out We're THAT Family for Works for Me Wednesday.