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

 

Organizing The Craft Cupboard

My kids love to draw, and create their own one of a kind crafts, they are definitely collectors, so every few months the craft cupboards needs to be cleaned out.  When you can't shut the doors or the top drawer, you know its time to re-organize! :) So that's what I decided to tackle while Maiya was taking her afternoon nap today.

 You wouldn't believe what they had stuffed into there.  I found magnets for the fridge, old written on pieces of paper, about 5 boxes worth of  loose crayons, necklaces, a few plastic rings, and a bunch of other little trinkets they had collected along the way. Here are our before pictures.

It only took me about an hour to empty the cupboard out, throw out a ton of stuff, put a ton more stuff where it belongs, and neatly put everything back in.  I wonder how long they will keep it this way?? :)  Here is what it looks like now.

Yay!! All the draws easily shut!   Very helpful when you have a mischievous little 1 year old
crawling around.

This makes me feel much better.  I hope it stays this way for longer than a couple days!

Thankful Thursday

13. Having Dental Insurance ( I had to have a cavity filled today)

14.  Hot coffee after a long night (with vanilla creamer!)

15.  Landscaping our yard

16.  My mom getting a promotion at work (SO happy for her!)

17.  Freezer meals when I don't feel like cooking

18.  Dinner & Shopping out with my parents

19.  Bug hunting with my kids & playing outdoors







20.  Overnights at Grandpa & Grandma's for my kids (and a break for Mom)

21.  Maiya learning new things (animal sounds, body parts and she points at what she wants now)

Leftover Chicken For Dinner

I had 4 pieces of barbecued bone in chicken from a dinner earlier in the week that I wanted to use up today.  When my Grandmother moved back down South, she gave me a bunch of awesome cookbooks with my favorite kinds of recipes.  I was looking through one of them tonight from Taste of Home called Easily Family Casseroles and I came across this recipe for a Chicken Potato Casserole.  I LOVE casseroles because they allow me to use a smaller amount of meat for our meals, so we save money.  Our chicken had BBQ sauce slathered on it so I wasn't sure if the flavor would be transferred to the chicken casserole, but I gave it a try anyways.  I actually just gave the chicken a rinse under the faucet to get the sauce off it it before I pulled it off the bone.  The recipe was so yummy and it made enough for 2 meals, so I was able to stick one in the freezer for another day. Here is how you make it.

Chicken Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 6 large baking potatoes
• 2 pounds chicken breasts, cooked, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cups sour cream (16 oz)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 envelope onion soup mix ( I omitted this and just sprinkled in a tablespoon of dried minced onion)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped spinach (the recipe called for fresh, but all I had was frozen and it came out just fine)
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Directions:

• Peel potatoes, boil until tender, and drain.  Meanwhile divide chicken between two greased 8 in square pans.  (I used 2 pie pans)  In a large mixing bowl, add potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese, butter, Parmesan cheese, soup mix (or dried minced onion), spinach, carrot, salt, garlic powder, and pepper; mash until smooth.  Spoon over chicken; sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• Bake one casserole uncovered, at 350 degrees, for 35 - 45 minutes or until potatoes are browned on top.  Cover and freeze the other casserole for up to 3 months.
• To use frozen casserole:  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake as directed.

Homemade Bread Tutorial

I love making homemade bread for my family. There's nothing yummier than a warm slice of bread with butter, fresh out of the oven.  I use a recipe from a Betty Crocker Cookbook that my parents received as a wedding gift, so it's older than I am. :) Here are the directions:

Ingredients:

• 2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp.)
• 3/4 cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
• 2 2/3 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 9 to 10 cups all-purpose flour ( I use half whole wheat when I make it)
• Soft butter or margarine

Directions:

• Dissolve yeast in 3/4 cup warm water.  Stir in 2 2/3 cup warm water, sugar, salt, shortening.

•  Put your paddle attachment on your mixer and beat with 5 cups of the flour until smooth. (About 3 minutes)

• Take paddle attachment off and attach your bread hook onto your mixer.  Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough come together and not stick to the sides of your mixer.  Mix on high for 5 minutes, or knead by hand for 10 minutes.  Place dough in greased bowl; turn greased side up.  Cover.  I put mine on a cooling rack over a bowl of very warm water.

• Let rise in a warm place, free from drafts until doubled, about 1 hour.

• Punch down dough; divide into thirds.  Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle, about 18 X 9 inches.  Roll up, beginning at short side.  With side of hand, press each end to seal.  Fold ends under loaf. Place dough seam side down into greased pan. (I use shortening to grease my pans) Brush loaves lightly with butter. 

• Let dough rise for 45 minutes.  I re-warm the water up and put the loaves back on top of a cooling rack over water.  I do not cover the loaves with anything the second time around so they can rise nicely.  After 45 minutes is up, preheat your oven to 425 degrees and continue to let the dough rise for another 15 minutes. 

•  Place loaves on a low rack so that the tops of pans are in center of oven.  Pans should not touch each other or sides of oven.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped. 
• Remove from pans.  Brush loaves with soft butter; cool on wire rack.

You can also make cinnamon swirl bread too.  After rolling dough into rectangles, sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon water and mixture of sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up as directed above and let rise for another hour, then bake.  So delicious, my kids love to eat this for breakfast, and it makes wonderful french toast too!



My Flower Garden

Isn't my husband wonderful?  he bought me a bunch of flowers that will never die, they will come back year after year :)

I love my new flower garden.  We planted a bunch of tulips around the curve near the stones and I also planted some purple thistle in spots near the back.  The hosta and lilies were so overcrowded in the back.  Tim took alot of them out so that is why those plants look a little rough right now.  I can't wait until next Spring when everything fills in.

Tabletop Soccer Stadium Craft

Kaylee's teacher had the students each draw a name of another student today so they can have a "secret friend."  They are to write anonymous letters, bake, make crafts for their friend etc., as long as they do not go out and purchase anything for them. Kaylee drew a boy so I asked her what she would like to do for her friend and she drew a cute picture.  Then I thought of this neat craft that I had read in my Family Fun magazine.  Its a tabletop soccer game.  Here is what you need to make it:

• 1 Shallow cardboard box such as a pizza box (we used the box that our bottled waters sat it
• Green paint or green card stock
• Black marker
• pipe cleaners
• cotton ball (we used the colored balls that you can buy at the dollar store)
• straws
• hot glue gun
• knife to cut holes for the goals

Here is how you make it:

1. Paint the inside of your box green or cut greed card stock to fit into the bottom of the box.
2. Draw a soccer field
3. Make goalposts from pipe cleaners and hot glue them in place
4. Carefully cut holes in the bottom part of the box for goals
5. I cut my straws into thirds

Directions to play game:

Prop game up on a book so that ball can fall through the goals.

Divide people into teams.  Use straws to blow the cotton ball across the field and try to score - no hands allowed.

Here is how our Tabletop Soccer Stadium turned out:

I think Kaylee's secret friend is going to like his new soccer game! :)

Flowers For Me

Wow, what an awesome day it was outside today.  I love these sunny, cool days.  65 - 70 degrees is just perfect for me! 

Tulips are my favorite flowers, and my Mom gave me a package of 30 bulbs this week.  That sparked some landscaping thoughts for Tim and I.  Thankfully, it was Tim's days off and he cleaned out a bunch of overgrown, unwanted plants & shrubs to make room for my new flower garden. He here is the area Tim was just getting started with clearing.

 We dropped the kids off at my parents after Kaylee got home from school and headed to Lowe's.  All of their potted perennials were marked 50% off so we picked up and bunch of plants, along with 2 gorgeous hydrangea's.  I love those plants, they are so beautiful.  They are supposed to grow more like a tree, up to 6 feet tall so we planted it in front of our large window in our dining room.  I didn't get to take any pictures because Tim was still planting the flowers, and after I put the kids to bed it was dark outside, so I will post some tomorrow, but I love it! 

I had to post on our bunny, Lulu too.  We bought a leash for her so the kids could take her for walks.  She loves running around the yard.

She did get loose for a few seconds because her hook came undone, but we trapped her by the kid's playhouse and fixed it.  Isn't she so cute!?   

 





Walgreens Shopping Trip

Here are the things I purchased at Walgreen's today:

(1) Hylands Nighttime Cold 'N Cough for Kids - $4.99
Got back $5.00 Register Reward
Final Price: Free

(1) Blistex Cold & Allergy Lip Soother - $2.00
Got back $2.00 Register Rewards
Final Price: Free

(4) M&M's Pretzel Chocolate Candy 9.9 oz  - 2/$5.00- $10.00
Used 4 $1.00 off coupons - 9/11 Redplum
Got back at $5.00 Register Reward
Final Price: $1.00 for 4 big bags - such a good deal!

(2) Kotex Pads- 3/$9.00
(1) Poise Liners - 3/$9.00
Used 1 $2.00/2 Kotex coupon - 9/11 Smartsource
Used 1 $1.00/1 Poise coupon - 9/11 Smartsource
Got Back $3.00 Register Reward
Final Price: $3.00 for all 3

(3) Trident 18 pack gum - $.79 (with in ad coupon)
Used 1 $1/3 coupon 9/18 Smartsource
Used store in ad coupon
Final Price: $1.37 for all 3

(3) Royal Gelatin - 5/$1 (with in ad coupon)
Used Store in ad coupon
Final Price: $.60 for all 3

(1) Tom's of Maine Mouthwash - $3.99
Used 1 $1.00/1 coupon- 9/18 SmartSource
Got back $2.00 Register Reward
Final Price: $.99

(3) Campbell's Soup Cream of Chicken - $.79 (with in ad coupon)
Used 1 $.40/3 coupon - coupons.com (zip code 23235)
Used store in ad coupon
Final Price: $1.97 for all 3

(4) Gain Dishwashing Detergent - $.99 (with in ad coupon)
Used 2 $1.00/2 coupons- 8/14 Redplum
Used store in ad coupon
Final Price: $1.96 for all 4

Menu Plan

Menu Plan
9/18/11

Sunday:
English Muffin Bread, Fruit

Ribs in the crock pot, Chicken Tenders, Beans, Potato Salad, Macaroni & Cheese

Monday:
Cereal/Oatmeal, Toast

BBQ Chicken on the Grill, Pasta Salad

Tuesday:
Bagels, Yogurt

Cheeseburgers, Oven Fries (We never got around to making this last week)

Wednesday:
Muffins, Fruit

Leftovers

Thursday:
Waffles, Sausage

Chicken Parm., Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Tossed Salad

Friday:
Free Friday - kids can choose what they want

Tacos, Corn, Rice

Saturday:
Eggs Easy Over, Bacon, Toast

Scalloped Potatoes, Pork Chops, Applesauce

Great Deals at Dollar General

I couldn't wait to put the baby to bed so I could post on all my deals I got tonight at Dollar General.  My parents took me out for dinner and we stopped real quick to see if they had anything good on clearance, and boy did they ever!  All their clearance stuff was marked 50% off, and then buy 1 get 1 free on top of that!  Here is all the stuff I bought:

1 pair of boys pants - Retail $11, paid $2.75

2 pairs of boys shorts - Retail $18, paid $4.50

1 pair of boys swim shorts - Retain $8, paid $2.00

8 boys inflatable swords - Retail $16.00, paid $4.00

 4 packages of flying gliders - Retain $4.00, paid $1.00

 7 packages of Foam Force Rockets - Retail $14, paid $3.50

8 jump ropes - Retail $8.00, paid $2.00

2 kids rakes- Retail $4.00, paid $1.00

4 bug catchers - Retail $8.00, paid $2.00

2 Velcro Catcher games - Retail $8.00, paid $2.00

2 packages Firefly light up toothbrushes - Not sure retail, paid $3.00

So I got all this stuff for $28.26 with tax, and it retails for over $100!  I will be using alot of the boys stuff for party gifts at Hayden's birthday party coming up in December.  The boys shorts and pants I'm going to put away for next year. The jump ropes I'll put away as party gifts for Kaylee's birthday party in the Spring.  The bug catchers and rakes I'll put outside in our bin for the kids to play with.  The Velcro games and toothbrushes I'm going to use as stocking stuffers. I love finding great deals like this!  This is a major way that I save my family money.

We also went to 3 yard sales today and picked up some nice toys, clothes, and a 3 drawer storage bin for the kids. I got the cutest Halloween costume for Hayden too.  He's going to be a dinosaur this year, and his costume has a fan inside it that blows up into this giant red dinosaur with a long tail, its so awesome, and I only paid $2.00 for it! My parents bought a bunch of toys for them also! :)  

My Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe

I promised to let you in on my favorite pizza dough recipe so here it is:

4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups ice-cold water
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1.  Mix the first 3 ingredients in your mixer.  Measure water and add oil in with water, no need to mix.  Gradually add water/oil in with the dry ingredients in a slow, steady stream while beating on low speed for 3 minutes.  Beat at high speed for 5 minutes

2.  Cover your dough with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until almost doubled in bulk and dough is springy to touch.  Punch dough down.

3.  Cut dough into 2 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and stretch top of dough around the outside of ball.  Pinch the edges together forming a smooth ball.

4.  Place dough balls on a lightly greased baking sheet, sprinkle flour on top of dough and cover with a damp towel.  Let the dough rest in a cool place for 1 hour. 

This dough comes out perfect every single time.  It makes 2 large pizzas, or about 8 calazones. 

Pinecone Research - Favorite Survey Company!

I have been doing surveys with Pinecone Research for about a year now and I love them!  Their surveys are short in comparison with other survey company's and  you get paid $3.00 for every survey you complete. I get anywhere from 1 to 6 surveys a month, and I have my payments deposited right into my Paypal account.  It's great when we go to order something online and see that I have $20 or $30 dollars that I've earned to put towards our purchase. 

How the program works is you will get an email with "Household Questions."  This is a very short survey that you need to answer so that you can qualify for paid surveys.  They only take about 2 minutes to complete.  After you have completed the household questionnaire you will then receive another email for your paid survey.  These take about 15 minutes to complete.  You will be given a user name and password to log in to your survey and after you submit the survey at the end, you can either have your $3.00 mailed to you in a check form or you can have the money deposited into a Paypal account.  I have never had a problem with this company, they are great and I highly recommend doing this to earn a little bit of extra cash!

Right now, Pinecone is offering select members the opportunity to recommend membership to a friend or relative.  If you are interested, comment on this post and I will email you the link so you can sign up!

Dinner Tonight

My menu plans have been a little off this week, but that's okay! We ended up making pizza tonight for dinner.  After many attempts and many different pizza dough recipes, I have finally mastered it!  I will share the recipe with you tomorrow, but for now here's a picture. mmMMmmm

Shopping Trip

I hadn't had a chance to shop this week , so I FINALLY went today and got it out of the way for next week too.  I went to Walgreen's and got some great deals on some sale items.  I'll be posting my shopping lists starting next Sunday on what deals I will be scoring for the current week.  I was needing hamburger for the freezer, and when I arrived to Price Chopper, there was CLEARANCE hamburger! Yes!! My favorite part of Price Chopper is their discounted meat.  We were also able to get some ribs and spicy sausage that was discounted.  Price Chopper was having great deals on their canned products, so we stocked up on tomato sauce, tomato puree, diced carrots (my fav.!), and peas/carrots combo.  Tim cleared some shelving down in the basement and that's where I'll be storing all my canned goods and things that I've personally canned this summer.  Every week Price Chopper posts store coupons on their Facebook page and on their website, so I purchased 2 jars of peanut butter and a bottle of jelly and was able to get them for free using their store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon.  I actually made 50 cents on the jelly because the store coupon made it $1.00.  Then I used a .75 cent coupon that doubled to $1.50, making it a .50 cent moneymaker, my favorite kind of deals! :)

Thankful Thursday

Complaining comes so naturally for everyone, me especially. I think its so crazy that people can "bond" so easily over how rude this person acted, or how horrible their day has been. So, I have decided to start listing the things I am THANKFUL for every Thursday. Our family is so blessed and it is refreshing to jot down things that happen during my week that I am truly so thankful for!

1. Smooth transitions into school

2. Being a Stay at Home Mom

3. The ability to drive my kids to school in the morning

4. Cooler nights with the windows open so we don't have to use air conditioning or fans

5. A daughter who naturally, without asking wants to take care of her younger siblings and help Mom out

 

6. My father unexpectedly bringing over cooked meals for our family

7. Extra vegetables given to us from friends and family's gardens

8. Siblings who love one another

9. Maiya transitioning easily from 2 naps a day to 1

10. My husband husking 5 dozen ears of corn for me

11. Hair dye :)

12. My parents getting a new vehicle we can all fit in