Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Happy Birthday!


Today is a special day! Twenty-five years ago today, this little baby girl was born.  Yep, she's a cutie.  Guess I am biased since this is a picture of me!  So what exactly am I hoping for my birthday?  I guess I have two bithday wishes.  1. I hope that I am a good momma when the day comes.  2. I hope that the baby girl growing inside me is as blessed as I am! 

Be sure to wish Cris over at Goodeness Gracious a Happy Birthday as well!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Frugalista Shopping: Week of July 25

I stopped at my usual places this week.  Found a few good deals, but I'm still waiting on one of those amazing weeks.  I had to spend quite a bit out of pocket at CVS, but I got several Extra Care Bucks for next week.  At Walgreens, I got a lot of clearance and sale items but didn't earn much back in Register Rewards.

CVS

Total Spent: $27.67
Total Saved: $25.15
Total ECB Earned: $16.99

Best Buys:
Pampers Diaper: On Sale for $21.99 minus $2.00 coupon= $19.99 + Earned $10 ECB
Palmolive Dish Soap: On sale for $.98 minus $.25 coupon= $.73
Kotex Pantie Liners: $4.99 minus 1.00 coupon= $3.99 + Earned $4.99= BETTER THAN FREE
Arm and Hammer Laundry Soup: On sale 2/ $7.00 minus $1.00 coupon= $3.00 each + Earned $2.00 ECB

Walgreens


Total Spent: $13.45
Total Saved: $28.80
Total RR Earned: $2.00

Best Buys:
Softsoap Refill Jugs: Buy 1 Get 1 @ $7.99 minus (2) $.50 coupons= $3.50 each
M&M's: On sale for $.49 minus $.75 coupon= $.12 each
Men's trouser socks:  On clearance for $1.29
Cheez-its & Austin Crackers: 5 for $5 + earned $2.00 RR
Nutra Grain Bars: On clearance for $1.99 minus $.75 coupon= $1.24
Dr. Scholls Skin Smoother Cream: On sale for $6.99 minus $5.00 in store coupon= $1.99

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Nursury Update: Gliding in Style


Our friends were nice enough to pass along this glider for the nursery.  The only thing better than buying a glider is getting one for FREE!  Guess that is the Frugalista in me!  The fabric matches the room perfectly!  I can see many nights being spent with our little lady here in this glider! 

D-Day is quickly approaching, and the whole family is excited! Zuma Girl has found her new favorite place in the house! It is a perfect spot to watch over the crib!


Friday, July 23, 2010

Yummy In My Tummy: Zucchini Pie

I have oodles and oodles of zucchini.  This week alone, I have picked approximately 20 zucchini, all being on the large (slightly obese) size.  I ran into this problem last year.  I gave away dozens from my garden. Did I learn my lesson?  Nope, I think I even planted more this year than last.  In the past week and a half, I have made 5 large and 8 small loaves of zucchini bread, 2 zucchini pies, roasted zucchini for dinner, 11 pints of zucchini pickles and this doesn't include the 9 zucchini that I am taking home to give away to my family this weekend. 


Last year, I had a co-worker pass along this Zucchini Pie Recipe!  It is phenomenal if you like a good cream pie.  It is a mix between a sugar cream and pumpkin pie, if you can imagine that. 



This pie freezes extrememly well!  Just wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil, toss it in a plastic zip lock freezer bag, and throw it in the freezer. 

The blogosphere has been full of talk about weight loss and diets! Well YOU are in luck! This pie can be made with fat free evaporated milk, splenda, and without a crust for a low calorie treat.

First off, you need to cook your zucchini.  Follow these easy steps!

Start off with some peeled zucchini or bare-naked ladies as I like to call them!


Dice up the bare-naked ladies into large chunks.


Boil them in water until fork-tender.

Strain the zucchini.  I press the excess water out of the chunks with a paper towel.

Now for secondary ingredients. (Disclaimer: Only one egg was harmed in making this recipe.  It landed with a lovely splat as it hit the kitchen floor!)


Mix all the ingredients in a blender!  It is almost as fun as making margharitas (almost I said)!


Pour into a deep dish pie shell!


Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, then reduce to 325 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.  Sprinkle with cinnamon!
 

Zucchini Pie

1 cup cooked zucchini
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Tbs melted margarine
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs flour (heaping)
1 egg

Bon Appetite!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Lets Get Snappin...Green Beans That Is!

Have you ever met someone who you very quickly knew you could be friends with? Well it just so happens that we got a new manager a few months ago at the potato chip factory.  At the time, I wasn't too thrilled with having to train a newbie.  Give me a little credit: I had just gotten pregnant and wasn't feeling so hot, AND I was still trying to learn my new job, let alone train someone else.

Anyhow, she was assigned to me and luckily, she turned out to be sown from the same seed.  I often refer to her as my partner in crime (PIC) at work, and just recently she has become my canning buddy.  I am pretty sure that all the other managers make fun of us for talking about gardens and canning and these sorts of things all the time, but that is ok because we enjoy it!

Believe it or not, I hadn't ever canned green beans before so my PIC (pictured below) invited me over after work for just that reason.  Oh boy, did she work me hard.  I believe that we snapped around 13 pounds of green beans! 


That is one large bowl of green beans!

Lets heat it up...for about 5 minutes in boiling water.

The pressure is on..10 pounds for 10 minutes!

We ended up with 12 quarts total!

Did I mention that we also canned bread and butter pickles!  Canning is definately easier and funner if you find a canning buddy! 

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Nursery Update: The Rug is Here

So what do you think?  How did I do?

Monday, July 19, 2010

Frugalista Shopping: Week of July 18

To be quite honest, I haven't been all too impressed with the deals and coupon match-ups at my usual digs.  Last week, I even skipped my mainstays and headed to Aldis to purchase some basic baking goods to use with all my garden treasures.  This week, however, I did stop by CVS and Walgreens and jumped back into the swing of things.

CVS

Total Spent: $13.90
Total Saved: $31.19
Total ECB Erned: $7.00

Best Buys:
Maxwell Coffee: B1G1 Free at $5.19 minus $1.00 coupon= $2.10 each
Huggies Diapers: On sale for $8.99 minus $2.50 coupon= $6.49 + earned $3.00 ECB
Schick Intuition Razor Refills= On sale for $8.99 minus $4.00 coupon= $4.99 +earned $4.00 ECB

Walgreens:



Total Spent: $9.12
Total Saved: $7.88
Total RR Earned: $4.50

Best Buys:
Colgate Toothpaste: On sale for $3.50 minus $1.00 coupon= $2.50 + earned $3.50 RR= Better than FREE
Drano: On Sale for 2/$6.00 minus (2) $.55 coupons= $2.95 each + earned $1.00 RR

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Yummy in My Tummy: Golden Harvest Bread

I found this amazing recipe in a magazine last summer.  In the magazine, they call it a cake but I think it is more like a bread.  The star of this recipe is the zucchini!  I love planting zucchini in my garden.  They are so versatile; they can grilled, roasted or baked, and they are wonderful in desserts.  My momma always made zucchini bread in the summer.  Actually to be more specific, she made Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread (we wouldn't eat it as well without the chocolate chips). 

So here is my take on an old favorite...

I started off with these gorgeous zucchinis.

I love any recipe that allows me to break out the food processor! Well it just so happens that the grating tool on my food processor is perfect for grating zucchini for bread.



Time to work on the dry ingredients!  Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.



Add the shredded zucchini.  I sometimes add half carrots and half zucchini for a spin (not today).



Now lets focus on the wet ingredients. Mix together buttermilk, vegetable oil, and eggs.  (I happen to use the same trick that they do over at the pig pen.  I mix together regular milk and a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to make buttermilk).



Now it is time to mix the wet and the dry ingredients together.



Now, it's the time you have all been waiting for!  Lets add the chocolate chips.  I mix mine in flour to prevent them from sinking from the bottom of the pan.



I made a triple batch this time.  That way, there is plenty to share.  I'm sure our white trash hillbilly neighbors would enjoy some! I like to use both regular loaf pans and mini loaf pans. Be sure to spray them with cooking spray!



Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30-35 minutes for the mini loaves and 45 minutes for a regular loaf.





Bon Appetite!

Golden Harvest Bread

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 cups zucchini
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs


Monday, July 12, 2010

A Bountiful Harvest

Check out what I harvested from my garden this morning!


Here is what I have up my sleeve for today: Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, Eggplant Parmesan from Ott, A for dinner, and Golden Harvest Bread for dessert (more on this later in the week)!

Looks like I have a fun and relaxing day ahead of me.  I think I will put in my James Taylor CD and get started!


Our Homeschool Home

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Nursery Update: We are Making Progress!

We have made some real progress to the nursery this weekend.  Although, you probably can't tell by just looking at it.
It looks....empty!  Yes, this is a good thing.  We finally got all the extra furniture out of the room! It looks so much bigger without the spare bed, dresser and all my extra junk!  My HHBL also spent today cleaning the carpet.  It really did make a big improvement!  He actually cleaned the carpet throughout the entire house.  What a stud! 

I also ordered a beautiful rug online from Target.  It is a paisley floral pattern that has green, pink, and a touch of lavender in it.  Hopefully, it arrives within the next couple weeks!

To Do List:
  • Decide on window treatments: either curtains or some fabric to make a valance
  • Find replacement cushions for a glider
I am still taking any suggestions you might have for decorating the nursery!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

FREE Deli Bites from Johnsonville!!!

Johnsonville is having a great FREEBIE right now!  Click here to fill out a quick and easy form to receive a free package of Deli Bites!  I signed up earlier today, and have already gotten an email saying that they will be shipped the week of August 2! 

I would hurry though...they usually only give out a certain number of samples!

Enjoy!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Nursery Decorating Step 1

The first step to decorating the nursery is complete!  The crib is bought, and my HHBL assembled it the day it arrived!


Check out the green paint!  I painted this room just last year and am not wanting to do it again.  I think we can keep it as is and still make it "girly."  Any suggestions on completmentary colors??

TO DO LIST
  • Clear out the rest of the furniture!
  • Look at crib sheets and sets!
  • Find a rug to hide the not so great carpet!
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