Birthday Boys

Today is my husband's birthday and Saturday is our little guys birthday. Talk about a birthday week. I love birthdays and love to make a big fuss, unfortunately this year the fuss is going to have to wait. We'll be celebrating my husband's birthday tomorrow night. Complete with Tacos, the real kind & peanut butter pie.

This recipe was a favorite made by his grandmother growing up. It's easy to throw together and is a crowd pleaser.

Grandma Jean's Peanut Butter Pie
For a 9 inch pie
1 baked pie crust (you decide what you want to do. I tend to make my own, but store bought crusts work well too.)
1 large box vanilla pie filling
2 c. cold milk
1 container cool whip
1 c. chunky peanut butter
1 c. powdered sugar

Prepare your pie crust, make sure you prick the bottom of your crust with a fork and bake according to recipe you are using.

Once this is baked and cooled it's time for the filling. In a small bowl cut powdered sugar into crunchy peanut butter using a pastry blender. You may have to add a little more sugar, you'll want a crumbly consistency. Save 1/4 c. of this peanut butter sugar mixture and set aside. Pour the remaining in the bottom of your pie crust.

In a new bowl mix 1 large box pudding with 2 c. cold milk, then add 1/2 container of cool whip and mix well. Pour on top of peanut butter crumbs.

Allow to sit for several hours. Just before serving top with remaining cool whip and sprinkle the peanut butter crumb mixture you set aside. Enjoy!

For more great recipes check out the Recipe Swap on Friday.

Erica

Dillons Deals 10/7-10-13

Wow there are some amazing deals this week at Dillons on staples that you won't want to miss out on. Let me know you see something I missed.

Produce
New Crop Granny Smith, Missouri Jonathan, Red or Golden Delicious .99 lb.
10 lb. Kroger Value Russet Potatoes 2.99

Meat
Farmland Whole Boneless Ham 1.39 lb.
Boneless Pork Loin 1.99 lb.
Pork Butt Roast 1.39 lb.
Hillshire Rope or Like Smoked Sausage 2/$6
Use 1.00/2 MF
Total=$5.00/2

Other Grocery Items
Kroger Brown or Powdered Sugar 1.00
5 lb. Kroger Flour 1.00 each
Kroger Cheese Bar or Shredded 24 oz. 3.00 each wyb3; 3.50 each wyb 2 3.99 each wyb 1
Kroger Cottage Cheese, Sour Cream or Dips 1.00
Kroger Vegetable Oil 2.00
4 lb. Kroger Sugar 1.88
Kroger Butter 2.00
Betty Crocker Cake Mix 1.00
Kroger or Private selection spices or extracts 25% off
7 Up Products .80 each wyb 5

Pringles 4/$5
Use .50/2 Fat Free Pringles (not sure if these are included)
Total=4/$4.00

Yoplait Yogurt 20/$10
Use three .50/6 MF or IP & .50/6 Cellfire & .50/6 Shortcuts eQ
Total=$6.00/20 containers of yogurt plus $2.00 will be donated for Breast Cancer Research

Pillsbury Biscuits, Crescents or Rolls 1.77
Use .50/2 MF & .50/2 Cellfire eQ & 1.00/2 Shortcuts eQ
Total= $1.04/2

Kraft Cheese bar or Shredding 5-8 oz or Singles 1.98
Use 1.00/1 Kraft Singles (from Dillons Mailer)
Total=.98 each

Household Products
Arm & Hammer Laundry Detergent/Fabric Softener, or 2 in 1 Sheets 3.49

Kotex Pads, Liners or Tampons 2.50
Use 1.00/1 MF or .75/1 MF
Total=$1.50

Huggies 9.49
Use 2.00/1 MF or 3.00/1 MF & 1.00/1 Cellfire eQ
& submit for .75 rebate from Caregivers Marketplace
Total=$5.49 before rebate $4.74 after rebate

Sauve Professionals Hair Care 1.28
Use .50/2
Total=$1.56/2

10 Mega Sale
Buy 10 products and get $5.00 off your bill. Prices reflect the $5.00 deduction. Limit of 3 $5.00 savings per transaction.

Healthy Choice or Marie Callender's Entrees 1.88 each

Freschetta Pizza 4.49 each

Breyers Ice cream or Dove Ice Cream 2.49 each
Use .25/1 Unilever eQ Breyers

Sara Lee Pies or Cakes 2.99 each

Kroger Appetizers 3.49 each
Use 1.00/1 SC
Total=$1.99

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers 1.49 each
Use .50/2 MF or .50/1 IP below
Total=.50/1 or 1.98 each

Happy Savings!
Erica

Worth Signing Up for

I've always intended to sign up for Farmland coupons, but always forgot. I finally did it a few weeks ago and boy was it worth the 2 minutes it took me. They sent me these beauties. Since farmland sausage was on sale this past week at Dillons for $1.00 I was able to get 8 packages of sausage for FREE! Stop what you're doing and head on over to Farmland and sign up for their coupons.

Also I'm a big fan of Vocalpoint. They send some great coupons usually with one FREE coupons and several high dollar coupons a long with it. I've loved stocking up on cereals using vocalpoint coupons. If your not a member I highly suggest you also take time to sign up for these. It's worth the energy.

Enjoy these fabulous coupons!

Erica

Frugal Family Friday-Craft Show & Fall Festivals

Aren't you enjoying these beautiful temperatures? I sure am.

This weekend is what I've been working like a crazy woman to get ready for and I'm very excited. I would love it if you would join the fun a the Lord of Life Lutheran Church Craft Fair and Fall Festival this Saturday October 3rd. The fun starts at 9 a.m. and ends around 2 p.m. There will be lots of booths full of handmade crafts, including yours truly. Please stop by my booth, I'd love to meet in real life.

On top of all the yummy crafts you'll find there will also be games for kiddos as well as a bounce House to get all that energy out. Paint a Pumpkin and eat some yummy food. It's sure to be a great family event and something for everyone.

The Lord of Life Lutheran Church is located at 11215 W. 13th. Street North (Between Maize Road & 119th St.)

I hope to see you there!
Erica

Dillons 9/30-10/6

Sorry for the delay but I've been sewing my little heart away. I finally finished last night around 2:30 a.m. and am so glad to be done. Now only little stuff left to do for my craft fair this weekend. Praise the LORD!

Here are the best deals I see this week at Dillons. Let me know if you see something I missed.

Produce
1 lb. Driscoll's Strawberries 1.99
10 lb. Kroger Value Potatoes 2.99
Ripe-N-Ready To Eat Hass Avocados or Red Peppers .99 each
New Crop Missouri Jonathan Apples 3 lb. bag 2.19

Meat
Fresh Ground Chuck 1.99 lb.
Pork Butt Roast 1.39 lb.
Farmland Whole Boneless Ham 1.39 lb. ($6.95 each)
Boneless Pork Sirloin Chops 1.69 lb.
Farmland Roll Or Link Sausage 1.00 each!!!
JC Potter Pork Rib-Bits .99 lb.

Other Grocery Items
12 pack Kroger Vegetables and Tomatoes 5.99
Bar or Shredded 24 oz. Kroger Cheese 3.99 (better than Aldi)
Betty Crocker Cake Mix 1.00
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese 2/$1
Kroger Cottage Cheese or Sour Cream 1.98
7 Up products .80 each wyb 5

Pringles 4/$5
Use .50/2 Fat Free Pringles (not sure if these are included)
Total=4/$4.00

Cambell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup 2/$1
Use .40/4 MF
Total= $1.20/4

Save $5.00 on Kingsford Match Light Charcoal wyb 3 Coca-Cola 12 packs 3/$12
Use 2.00/1 MF Kingsford Match Light
Save $7.00 wyb 3 coke 12 packs

Totino's Pizza Rolls .99
Use .40/2 MF
Total=$1.18/2

Yoplait Yogurt 20/$10
Use three .50/6 MF or IP & .50/6 Cellfire & .50/6 Shortcuts eQ
Total=$6.00/20 containers of yogurt plus $2.00 will be donated for Breast Cancer Research

Pillsbury Biscuits, Crescents or Rolls 1.77
Use .50/2 MF & .50/2 Cellfire eQ & 1.00/2 Shortcuts eQ
Total= $1.04/2

Kraft Cheese bar or Shredding 5-8 oz or Singles 1.98
Use 1.00/1 Kraft Singles (from Dillons Mailer)
Total=.98 each

Happy Savings!
Erica

Did you See it?

As I was browsing through yesterday's Eagle I spotted a great coupon. On the back of the Sam's Club insert there is a coupon for a FREE ONE DAY MEMBERSHIP expiring October 14th. This a great way to stock up on some basics at a great price without having to pay the membership fee.

Wondering what my thoughts are about Sam's? Go here to learn more. Make sure your read the comments too. Other's had some good thoughts that aren't the same as mine.

I'm very thankful I didn't have to beg a friend to buy a few things I was needing. This free membership came at just the right time. I'm looking forward to stocking up on a few things we can't get overseas!

Erica

Cloth Diapering

A few years ago I didn't think I would ever consider the idea of using cloth diapers, but I came around. Honestly it was the thought of possibly toilet training early that gave me the motivation to use cloth. From what I've read it's not uncommon for cloth diapered kiddos to train early. It's been a couple of months of using them and it's going great and not at all as bad as I once thought. It's much easier and doesn't take too much longer for diaper changes, I just change him more often.

Here are my 2 cents on cloth diapering:

• Since I have been able to find some great deals on disposable diapers and we often go, go, go on the weekends I made the decision to only use cloth during the week and use disposables during the weekends and at night. I love our little system. It gives me a little laundry break and it's nice not to have to worry about bringing a wet bag everywhere we go. Remember you don't have to do it all the time.
• One thing is for sure is cloth diapering takes some research and let me tell you there is a lot of information out there on cloth diapers.
• At first glance we considered going with the basic prefold diapers. 2 features of prefold diapers drew me in 1. They were the cheapest option and 2. They dried the fastest. After reading a ton about these types of diapers I decided this wasn't the best fit for our little guy, even though it was the cheapest. He's very hard to change and never stops of moving. The thought of trying to use a snappy to close the diaper, and add a diaper cover was a little frightening.
• I looked into All-in-one diapers but someday soon we'll be living in a land without dryers and I wanted something that didn't take a week in the winter to air dry. These are the most expensive and the most convenient, but not for us.
• We went with a fitted diaper I actually found them at a garage sale. I had planned on making my own but I found a huge stack for $50 with about 10 covers of various sizes. AWESOME deal. The diapers we have can be used from birth to potty training and snap together very easily. I did purchase a few Velcro diaper covers because I felt they would be easier to use. I'm very happy with it.
  

The question your all wondering is, "Is it worth it?" This is a question you need to ask yourself. For us the thought of potty training early due to the awareness of what is going on under the diaper is worth the price. If my son trains at 30 months rather than 36 months that is 6 months of diapers I don't have to buy, $120 for 6 months of diapers, not counting the money we are saving using cloth diapers now. Since I found them at a garage sale they were much cheaper than if I had purchased them for full price. Plus we can use them for future kiddos without the extra expense of having purchase them again. I really haven't' seen a huge increase in our bills due to the extra laundry, it may be up a couple of dollars.

I'm not miserable using them, which a couple of years ago I thought I would be. It's working for our family. If you're wondering if you want to make the switch I'd highly recommend ordering a few and see how it goes a couple days a week, this way if you hate it you're not out a ton of money. There are various websites that do sell used diapers. (I used to think this was disgusting but then I researched how diapers were washed and sanitized and was okay with it.)

I also made my husband install a DIY diaper sprayer (he spent about $25 at Home Depot for all the parts). It's worth the extra expense to not have to touch the contents of the diaper in my opinion. Thankfully those types of diapers are few and far between. I only have to change one of those a day, sometimes two.

I'm never going to be one of those moms who are passionate about cloth diapering, but it's working for us and hopefully it will save us some money in the process. I hope this gives you a little insight into the cloth diapering world.

Erica