Walgreens Shopping List

Walgreens 10/2

I will be following www.couponstl.blogspot.com 's shopping list this week.  The only change from her list is that I added in Cottonelle toilet paper to my first transaction and I have to purchase 2 packages of kleenex that's on sale this week because my coupon in the Smartsource was for a $1/2 instead of her .50 cents off 1. 

 Transaction #1
purchase:
(1) Coldcalm $6.99

(4)Cottonelle Bathroom Tissue (12 large rolls) - $5.00
$1.00/1 Cottonelle - 9/11/11 SS
and use $1/1 Walgreens coupon in October Coupon Book
= $3.00 each after coupons
use:
Register Reward from last week - $6.00
= $10.99 + tax and get a $7 Bioron Register Reward

Transaction #2
purchase:
(1) Cepacol Sore Through Lozenges $2.99
(2) Kleenex Cool Touch Facial Tissue $1.49
(2) Nivea Lip Care Items $4.00
(1) Pert Plus $1.99
(1) Dawn Dish Liquid $0.99
(1) Novelty Halloween Candy $0.39 (needed as to make transaction large enough to use RR)
use:
(1) Kleenex Cool Touch coupon (10/2/11 SS) - $1.00/2
(1) $3/2 Nivea Lip Care coupon (10/2/11 RP) - $3.00
(1) Pert Plus Coupon (10/2/11 SS) -$1.00
(1) Dawn coupon (10/2/11 P&G) - $0.25
Register Reward from previous transaction -$7.00
= $1.10 + tax and get a $3 Reckitt Benckiser and $0.50 Kimberly Clark Register Reward

Thankful Thursday

My husband has been away at a conference all week and I was finally able to pick him up yesterday evening.  We came home, ate dinner, put the kids to bed and crashed on the couch to watch X-factor, so that is why there was no post yesterday.  So here are all the things that I've been thankful for this week!

22. Watching DVR'ed shows ALL morning long

23. Getting a full nights rest - Maiya is FINALLY started to stay asleep through the night

24.  Surprises on my porch - 2 dozen corn, a bag of tomatoes, and some coupons waiting for me when I came home on different days this week

25.   My neighbor teaching me to sew & quilt

My fabric strips all cut & ready to be sewn.

26.  Dinners out with family

27.  Help from my husband cleaning the house

28.  MORE free fruit and veggies from my Uncle - I'm one lucky girl!

29. Some weekends off of work for Tim

30.  Free secret products in the mail to test out from a company that I do surveys with

31.  Getting a letter home saying that Kaylee was chosen as Student of the Month for September - Its a secret for her until she gets awarded at her ceremony on October 5th. - Shhhh :)

Apple's Galore!

Fall is my favorite time of the year!  I love baking and filling my house with the wonderful aromas.  Cinnamon, apple, and pumpkin are some of my favorite scents.  Today I went to work making apple muffins and an apple pie.  I wanted to share with you my apple muffin recipe, its Kaylee's favorite breakfast choice lately.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup salad oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use half all-purpose, half whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup diced or grated apple
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon ( I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons because we love cinnamon in our house)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 400.  Grease muffin cups.  Beat egg; stir in milk and oil.  Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened.  Batter should be lumpy.  Add in apple and cinnamon. 

Fill muffin cups (12 medium or 6 large) 2/3 full.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately remove from pan and cool on a rack. 

Variation:  I add a pinch of brown sugar to the top of my batter before I bake it to give it a crunchy topping.  You can also mix the brown sugar with some chopped nuts and a bit of cinnamon and sprinkle on top before baking to have a nut crunch topping.  These muffins are sooo good!
I had to take some photos of my apple pie I made this afternoon also.

I do not consider myself a pro at making pie crust, but I was very happy with the new recipe my friend shared with me.  The dough was very easy to handle, which is where I usually fail at making at making homemade pie crust. 

Ready to go into the oven.

Here is my baked pie, I did forget to brush it with an egg white before I put it in the oven to give it that glossy look, but I am sure its going to taste delicious, and that's what counts! :)

Freezing Produce

Today I had alot of "kitchen" things to get accomplished.  My wonderful Uncle gave us a TON of green peppers and apples from his garden.  Its amazing how much produce one tree/plant will grow! So this morning I got to work chopping and peeling.  I need to add that my husband and I...well, we make an awesome team!  I love how he is always there to help me out, he never puts household tasks into a "that's a women's only job" category.  He cut all the tops off of the peppers, and got all the seeds out, and I chopped them up.

I decided to cut half of them into strips to use in stir fry, on top of steak with onions, in fajitas, and things like that.  The other half I diced up to put in sauces, eggs, on top of pizzas, etc.  Here is our pile after I was done. Here is what an hour and a half of chopping looks like. :)

Here is a freezer tip that I love to do.  Instead of stuffing a Ziploc full of peppers and throwing them into the freezer, I get out all my baking sheets and flash freeze the peppers spread out onto them first.  That way when I want to get some peppers out for a recipe they aren't frozen all into one big clumpy ice ball.  I can just grab some, or pour them out easily for whatever dish I'm making. 

I also made a batch of homemade applesauce today.  For some odd reason, I forgot to take pictures! :) It was so easy to make.   I only added a tiny bit of sugar to mine because I wanted to feel good about giving it to my kids, especially Maiya.  I froze the applesauce in Tupperware containers instead of canning it.  I wasn't sure about freezing applesauce, but alot of my friends on facebook say that's the only way they eat it.  I still have a bunch more apples to bake with.  Kaylee is requesting some apple-cinnamon muffins, so I will have to get a batch made for the freezer.  My friend emailed me a recipe for pie crust that I want to try out tomorrow also.  I have NEVER been able to make homemade pie crust, so I can't wait to try her recipe.  I will keep you posted on how it turns out. 

Menu Plan

Week of 9/25/11

Sunday:
Scrambled Cheesy Eggs, Sausage, & Toast

Scalloped Potatoes, Pork chops, & Applesauce (We ended up going out to dinner yesterday, so we will have this tonight for dinner)

Monday:
Banana Bread, Yogurt

Homemade Pizza, Tossed Salad

Tuesday:
Waffles, Fruit

Leftovers

Wednesday:
Cereal/Oatmeal, Toast

Stove top Beef Stroganoff, Peas

Thursday:
French Toast, Fruit

Chicken & Stuffing Casserole, Corn

Friday:
Free Friday - kids can choose whatever they want

Leftovers

Saturday:
Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls, Yogurt, & Fruit

Tacos, Rice, & Corn

Walgreen's Shopping List

There are so many great deals this week at Walgreens, I can't wait to go! Here is my shopping list, I will be doing 4 separate transactions.

Transaction #1

Balance Bar (1.76 oz) - $1.59
Get a $1.59 Register Reward (Balance Bar Company)
$0.55/1 Balance Bar - 9/11/11 SS (regional coupon - not in Post-Dispatch)
= $0.55 Money-Maker after coupon and RR

 

Up 2 U Gum (14 piece) - $0.99 with in-ad coupon
$1/2 Up 2 U packs - 9/11/11 SS
 And use $1/2 Walgreen coupon in October Coupon Book
= 2 FREE after coupons

Zarbee's Nighttime Cough & Sleep Drink - $5.99
Get a $5.99 Register Reward (Honey Naturals LLC)
= FREE after RR
$1 Money-Maker if you printed the coupon that is no longer available

(1) Plastic Tumblers or Gift Sacks - $0.13 with in-ad coupon

Total: $6.16

Use $3 RR & $2 RR (RR's from last week's purchases)
Final: 1.16 + tax
Get back $1.59 RR & $5.99 RR

Transaction #2

W Maxi Pads (14 ct. Overnight or 24 ct. Regular) - $2.00
Get a $2 Register Reward (Walgreens)
= FREE after RR

 TheraFlu - 2/$10.00
-- Liquid (8.3 oz)
-- Caplets (24 ct)
Get a $5 Register Reward when you buy 2 (Novartis Consumer Health)
$2/1 TheraFlu Warming Syrup or Warming Caplets printable coupon
= $0.50 each after coupons and RR

(1) Plastic Tumblers or Gift Sacks - $0.13 with in-ad coupon

Total: $8.13

Use $1.59 RR & $5.99 RR
Final: .55 cents + tax
Get back $2.00 RR + $5.00 RR

Transaction #3

Remington King of Shaves Azor 5 Blade Razor System - $4.99
Get a $4.99 Register Reward (Spectrum Brands)
= FREE after RR

(2)Kettle Chips (8 or 9 oz) - $1.99 each
$1/1 Kettle Chips - 9/25/11 RP (Regional coupon - not in Post-Dispatch)
= $0.99 each after coupon

(1)Plastic Tumblers or Gift Sacks - $0.13 with in-ad coupon

Total: $7.10

Use $5.00 RR & $2.00 RR
Final: .10 + tax
Get back $4.99 RR

Transaction # 4

Colgate Optic White Toothpaste - 2/$7.98
Get a $6 Register Reward when you buy 2 (Colgate-Palmolive)
$1.50/1 Colgate Optic White Toothpaste - 9/11/11 SS
= $1.02 Money-Maker after coupons and RR

(1) Plastic Tumblers or Gift Sacks - $0.13 with in-ad coupon

Total: $5.11

Use $4.99 RR
Final: .12 + tax
Get back $6.00 RR

Bedtime Routines

I love our family's bedtime routine.  My kids have always craved a schedule.  They have never been one of those babies that would fall asleep quietly on my shoulder where ever I happened to be.  They NEED their bed.  And I'm not complaining, I love that they fall asleep so peacefully without giving me a fuss.  We've all seen those shows "Nanny To The Rescue",  where kids scream relentlessly for hours and refuse to be in their rooms alone.  I am SO thankful that my kids don't come crawling into my bed at night, I need my space! 

Our nightly routine begins around 7:15 pm.  The kids are usually upstairs playing together in their bedrooms(unless its bath night which is every other night) and I will let them know to start changing into their pj's and to meet me in the bathroom so I can brush their teeth.  Yes, I still brush their teeth at night.  I am the overprotective Mom who never wants anything bad to happen to her kids, and I can't control illness from striking them, but I can control cavities from forming in their teeth.  They do brush their own teeth in the mornings though. :)

After I get Maiya snug into her bed, I meet Kaylee and Hayden on Hayden's bed for story time.  We read from a children's devotional book called "Blessings Every Day." 

 I think I received this book at a baby shower for Kaylee, and I absolutely love it.  It has 365 simple devotions for the very young in it, one for every day of the year.  I have been reading it over and over to the kids throughout the years that our binding is holding together by a piece of tape alone, here is a picture to prove it...I really need to try and repair it again! :)

After our devotional, we read a book of choice from the kids.  This is followed by nighttime prayers and then I tuck them each in their beds, give them a kiss, and my quiet time starts.  They never give me a hard time.  I am so thankful for this time spent with them!  I hope that they will carry on our bedtime traditions with their children someday!

If you are interested in the Blessings Every Day Children's Devotional you can find it on Amazon.com for around $15.00

Blessings Every Day: 365 Simple Devotions for the Very Young (Little Blessings) by Carla Barnhill and Elena Kucharik (Hardcover - Sep 1, 2001)

Buy new: $17.95 $15.34