Garden Update: I can taste the veggies!

With all this rain and hot weather, my garden has been growing at a rapid speed.  I am lucky that my garden is a "raised" garden so the heavy rains haven't hindered it as much as some other gardens. 

I harvested my first cabbage today!  This beauty is going to be used to make a Chinese Cabbage Slaw recipe!

I will be eating fresh broccoli by the end of the week as well!  YUM!

This is my first zucchini that is setting on!  It won't be long until my freezer will be filled with Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Pie!

My tomato plants are a bushy mess; however, they are starting to fill with blooms.  Better mark my calender for canning days full of tomato juice and catsup!

At first glance, my second planting of green beans are looking good...

It turns out that dirty rotten varmit has been back. I decided that it can have my green beans as long as it leaves everything else alone.  If you have extra green beans this year, I might know someone who you can share with!

My cucumbers have a long way to go since I had to replant them as well.  However, I am already looking at pickle recipes to try out.  Let me know if you have a good one!

I hope you enjoyed this garden tour! I bet you can taste the veggies already!

Frugalista Shopping: Week of June 27

This Fruglista had a busy morning shopping.  I was prepared with three piles of coupons: one stack for Meijer, CVS, and Walgreens.  I would say that I had a very successful day.  I was able to stock up on some pantry and freezer staples to last me for a while. I also stocked up on a lot of drinks to keep my HHBL hydrated during these hot summer days!

Meijer

Total Spent: $46.01

Total Saved: $43.84

Number of items: 44

I got a ton of stuff so I will just name a few of my favorite deals from this week.

Best Buys:

Ronzoni Pasta: On sale for $.99 minus $1.00 coupon= FREE!!  I found these coupons in several different magazines such as Parenting and Rachel Ray.

Sara Lee Cheesecake: On sale for $2.49 minus $1.00 coupon found here= $1.49

Heluva French Onion Dip: On sale for $.99 minus $.75 coupon= $.24

Old Orchard Juice: 2 for $1.99 each minus B1G1 coupon minus (2) $.50 Meijer coupons= $.50 each

Oscar Meyer Hot dogs: (2) On sale for $.99 minus $1.00= $.50 each

CVS

Total Spent: $16.32

Total Saved: $58.04

Total ECB Earned: $11.00

Best Buys:

Spend $10 on Select Cleaning Items, Get $5 EBC

• Pledge: On sale for $2.50 minus $1.00 coupon= $1.50
• Windex: On sale for $2.50 minus $1.00 coupon= $1.50
• (2) Pledge Fabric Sweeper: On sale for $2.50 minus $1.00 coupon= $1.50 each

I spent $6 out of pocket and earned $5 ECB= $.25 each for the cleaning supplies

Spend $15 on Clean and Clear items, Get $5 EBC

I spent $15.97 + used (3) $2.00 coupons found here= $9.97 out of pocket + earned $5 ECB= $1.65 each

Stayfree Pads: B1G1 at $6.99 minus (2) $2.00 coupons= $1.50 each

Deans Milk: On sale for $2.69 + earned $1.00 ECB= $1.69

Walgreens

Total Spent: $18.61

Total Saved: $28.00

Total RR Earned: $7.00

Best Buys:

Pepsi 12 packs: 4 for $13 + earned $5 RR= $2.00 each

Huggies Wipes: Walgreens coupon for 2 for $4.00 minus (1) $.50 coupon and (1) $.75 coupon= $1.38 each

Purina Dog Food: On sale for $5 minus $2.00 coupon= $3.00

Colgate tooth brush: On sale for $1 minus $.75 coupon= $.25

Twizzlers: On sale for $1.50 each minus $1.00 coupon + earned $2.00= $.50 each

I spent $80.94 total this week for 68 items total!  Not so shabby.  I think I will take a nap now as my reward!

Why I Married a Farm Boy

This past week, my HHBL and I celebrated our two year anniversary.  His gift to me was a beautiful desk that he has been building for the past couple months.  I absolutely love it.  He actually has only been working with wood since this past Christmas.  It all started with a 12 in compound miter saw that I gave him as his Christmas gift.  I want to share with you all the goodies that he has built for me in the past 6 months. 

He built these pedestals for my new washer and dryer to set on.  I wasn't about to spend $250 for each of them at the store.

This handy dandy box keeps all my plastic sacks contained in one spot.

This lovely bookcase shows off my numerous cook books and his WWII books.

He built these shelves for my new laundry room.  They even have a bar so I can hang up freshly laundered clothes.  (Pretend you don't see the junk up there.  I haven't gotten around to putting pretty things up there yet!)

This bench also adorns by laundry room.  It is a perfect place for my HHBL to sit down at the end of the day to take off his dirty work boots!

Last but not least...the masterpiece of his short career!  This is my gorgeous anniversary present. 

Can you believe you has built me all this stuff in just six months?  I better get a bigger house someday so because I see no end in sight.  This is just ONE reason I married a farm boy; he can do anything he sets his mind to!

Yummy In My Tummy: Oven Roasted Chickpeas

During our fun-filled family vacation in Florida, I must have flipped through twenty-five different magazines throughout the week. My favorite part of magazines are the variety of new recipes and pictures that go along.  One of the recipes that caught me eye was this one.  I am a big fan of using beans in recipes.  They have multiple health benefits, and they are relatively cheap. 

The star of this recipe is chickpeas which are also known as garbanzo beans.  Each half cup serving of these beans contain 6 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein and only 2 grams of fat.  They also have 110 calories in each half cup.  Hope you enjoy this easy snack!

Drain 1 can of chickpeas.  Rinse and dry thoroughly.

Drizzle the chickpeas with a healthy amount of olive oil.  Season to your own taste.  I just used salt and pepper but you could use whatever spices and herbs you prefer.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Bon Appetite!

Frugalista Shopping: Week of June 20

I will have to admit, I had a pretty fun time shopping this week. Maybe that is just because I got some GREAT deals. So lets cut to the chase already...

CVS

Total Spent: $7.53

Total Saved: $26.40

Total Extra Care Bucks Earned: $16.00

Best Buys:

Gallon of Dean's Skim Milk: $2.69 + earned $1.00 ECB= $1.69

Colgate Toothpaste: On sale for $2.99 minus $1.00 coupon= $1.99 + earned $2.00 ECB= FREE

Box of Huggies Diapers: On sale for 19.99 minus $3.00 coupon from CVS Coupon Center minus $1.50 manufacturers coupon= $15.49 + earned $10.00 ECB= $5.49

(2) Power Bars: $.99 each + earned $1.00 back for each= 2 for FREE

Walgreens

Total Spent: $1.41

Total Saved: $16.28

Total Register Rewards Earned: $5.50

 

Best Buys:

Lysol Wipes: On sale for $2.99 minus $1.00 coupon= $1.99 + earned $1.00 RR= $.99

Old Spice Body wash: On sale for $4.49 plus used coupon B1G1 men's deodorant + earned $4.50 RR= FREE body wash and FREE deodorant (Shhh I did it again!)

Happy Shopping!

Busted!

After my post this week about my frugalista shopping trip, fellow blogger and friend Hoosier Farm Babe pointed out that I seem to get great deals on men's body wash quite frequently.  GUILTY AS CHARGED!!  I knew that I had some body wash for my HHBL stockpiled in a couple different spots, however, I didn't realize the full extent of this issue. 

Go ahead and count them.  Yes, there are ELEVEN bottles of men's body was just chilling in my cabinets waiting to be used.  This doesn't include the full bottle that my HHBL just put in the shower this week. 

 Lets do the math!  If he uses one bottle a month, I have enough body wash to last a year, but that is being pretty conservative.  I bet a bottle lasts more like two months meaning I don't have to buy any body wash for TWO whole years.  Not bad since I am positive that I got every single one of these bottles for free from either CVS or Walgreens with Extra Care Bucks and Register Rewards. 

But let's face it, if there happens to be any more good deals on men's body wash, I probably won't be able to resist.  Looks like all the men in my family are getting body wash for Christmas this year.

Shhh don't tell anyone but I have just as many bottles of women's body wash as well! 

Frugalista Shopping: Week of June 13

I know it has been a couple weeks since I've filled you in on my frugalista shopping trips.  That is because I have been playing it low-key.  This doesn't mean, however, that I haven't been clipping coupons.  This is an activity I rarely miss; I have, on the other hand, taken a couple weeks off from shopping. 
I did make a couple quick stops this week at CVS and Walgreens.  Here is the damage:

CVS

Total Spent: $11.67

Total Saved: $88.62

Total Extra Care Bucks Earned: $8.00

Best Buys:

Old Spice- On sale for $4.00 + B1G1 coupon= 2 for $4.00 + Earned $8.00 ECB=  SWEET

Several bottles of wine & 1 bottle of vodka 90% off....I won't be pregnant forever, right?= GREAT DEAL

***I also used a $4 off a $20 purchase coupon that came from the coupon center in the store.  Love it!

I felt kinda strange buying alcohol while I'm prego, but my white trash hillbilly neighbor assured me that I didn't look pregnant in the outfit I had on that day.  What a relief! 

My wine cooler was looking pretty lonely prior to my shopping trip...

But that lone bottle of wine now has some friends to chill out with...

Walgreens

Total Spent: $22.75

Total Saved: $17.50

Total Register Rewards Earned: $9.00

Best Buys:

Nivea Body Wash- $5.99 + B1G1 coupon= 2 for $5.99 + earned $6.00 RR

Nivea Chapstick- On clearance for $1.59 + B1G1 coupon= $.79 each

12 packs Pepsi/ Mt. Dew- 3 for $11= $3.67 each + earned $3.00 RR

Overall, I spent quite out of pocket; however, the Extra Care Bucks and Register Rewards that I earned should help me in the next couple weeks to spend less. 

How I Love to Make New Friends

I have complained many times about my lack of new friends.  Well as it turns out, I made two new ones in a very unlikely manor this past weekend.  It happened on Saturday while I was at work.  On Saturdays, I am usually the one and only manager at work.  This means that I am in charge of many different areas of the potato chip factory.  It all started with me being paged over the intercom system.

It turns out that there was a semi-truck that arrived unexpectedly to be unloaded.  However, we do not normally have receiving technicians there on the weekends.  One of my team members offered to unload the truck so that the truck driver wouldn't have to sit there until late Sunday night.  So there I was on my way to talk to this truck driver.

I headed outside and made my way up to the semi.  As it turns out, the truck driver was Polish.  You see, this gave us common ground since my sister, Gal, studied abroad in Poland while she was in college.  I actually went to visit her in the 7th grade over Spring Break.  In my mind, this made me fast friends with the truck driver.  He must have agreed. 

Before I knew it, he was offering me Polish candy.  I tried to refuse, but he wouldn't hear of it.  So I ended up with some cherry coconut Polish Candy. 

At this point, a little Polish woman popped her head out of the back of the truck.  She must have also agreed that we would be friends because before I knew it, I heard the word sausage.  Yes, that's right...SAUSAGE.  This is how I ended up coming home from work with the longest Polish sausage that I have ever seen.  I once again tried to refuse but I really didn't want to hurt their feelings so I finally accepted. 

So this is the story of my new Polish friends and the world's longest sausage.  Hope this brings you some laughter because I know it certainly did for me!

Yummy In My Tummy: Italian Pizza Bake

I modified this recipe from the back of a box of Bisquick. It is quick and easy and could be made in a thousand different variations.  I am already dreaming up a taco-inspired pizza for next time.

Mix 2/3 cup Bisquick, 1 egg, 3 Tbsp water, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder together.

Spread into the bottom of a sprayed loaf pan. Sprinkle with an Italian herb blend.

Spread a generous layer of tomato or pizza sauce onto the dough.

Sprinkle with your favorite toppings (whatever you have on hand).  I chose ground beef and green peppers.

Top with a generous handful of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 20- 23 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Bon Appetite!

2 Years of Wedded Bliss

Happy Anniversary to my HHBL (HUNK A HUNK A BURNING LOVE)!  It has been two amazing (and quick) years since we said our vows.  So in his honor, here is our story!

Handsome single farmer meets ...

Crazy Senior Girl from Purdue...

Boy and Girl's first official picture together! Lovely self-portrait!

Boy introduces Girl to the "other" woman in his life!

Boy spoils girl...

 Boy and Girl have tons of fun...

Boy and Girl fall in love...

Girl graduates from Purdue...

  

Boy proposes after 7 months....

Boy and Girl get married....

Boy and Girl travel...before kids...

Boy and Girl travel some more with baby #1 on the way...

And they lived happily ever after....