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  • Fresh & Healthy: Community Supported Agriculture (Week 2)

    It is our second week receiving fresh produce from our CSA!  Our family purchased a half of share and will be receiving fresh produce, local honey, eggs and more for 20 weeks.  I plan to give an update on the items we receive from week to week.  Jake picked up this weeks goodies on his way back from Charleston, thanks handsome!!!

    Week 2 of Fresh Goodies from our CSA!

    Garden Veggies & Fresh Eggs!

     

    Items in our Basket this Week:
    • Bundle of Green Lettuce
    • Bundle of Purple Lettuce
    • Bundle of Wild Broccoli
    • Half a Dozen of Fresh Eggs
    • Stock of Collard Greens
    • Bag of Snap Peas – (most of these were eaten right after washing a few barely made it to the fridge)
    • Bundle of Parsley
    • Bundle of Scallions

    I am looking forward to eating these goodies this week!  Thanks everyone for the delicious Collard Green Recipes!!!  I think it was our first time having Collard Greens.  Our family has been eating a lot of salads and lettuce meals (tacos, wraps, etc…) with the lettuce from our garden and the CSA.  Do you have any amazing recipes to share that use a variety of fresh lettuce?

    To find out how you can be a part of a local CSA check out this post – Fresh & Healthy:  Community Supported Farms

  • Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    Another week of doing Groceries $40 for 4.  It was a busy week but I was able to stock up on some items, including hamburger. I mainly stocked up on non-perishable products this week because we have a few family road trips coming up that I need snacks / easy to prep meals to pack.  Eating out for all the meals on a road trip will add up quickly.  Below are my grocery shopping adventures for the week

    BiLo Groceries

    Groceries from BiLo:

    • $13.19 at BiLo 3 packages of ground Hamburger (1.6 pounds or more each) and Soy Sauce (marked at $1.14 with 75 cent clearance stickers).  In had a $5.00 off BiLo Meat coupon that I used as well.  The amount was right $19.96 before coupons and discounts.

    Bargain Foods Groceries

    Groceries from Bargain Foods:

    • $50.62 at Bargain Foods for the following items
    • 4 bags of Chex Mix
    • 2 boxes of Elbow Pasta
    • 2 Oscar Meyer Snack Packs
    • 1 box of Hamburger Patties
    • 1 HyTop Berry (6 pack)
    • 1 bundle of Bananas
    • 1 bag of Tater Tots
    • 1 Lance Variety Pack
    • 2 bags Reeses Pieces
    • 2 packs Twizzlers
    • 1 bag Raisinets
    • 2 Bazooka Bubbles
    • 1 Betty Crocker Gel
    • 1 box of Mini Corn Dogs
    • 1 bag of Andes Peppermint
    • 1 bag of Nestle Dark Chocolate
    • 1 bag of Brach Cinnamons
    • 2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
    • 1 Dole Juice Packs
    • 1 Earthbound Organic
    • 1 Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
    • 1 bag of Cherry Raisinets
    • 1 bag of Planters Trail Mix
    • 1 Wasabi Sauce
    • 1 box of Betty Crocker Fruit Foot
    • 4 cans of Green Beans
    • 1 bag of Carrots
    • 1 Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip
    • 1 Salad Topping
    • 1 Apple Juice
    • 1 Betty Crocker Dora Fruit Snacks
    • 1 Annies Cheddar Bunnies
    • 1 Betty Crocker Scooby Doo Snacks
    • 1 can of Planters Cashews
    • 1 Canola Oil
    • 1 Emeralds Chocolate Almonds
    • 2 Breakstone Light Sour Cream
    • 2 cans of whole Green Bean
    • 1 bag of Oyster Crackers
    • 1 Eve Juice Boxes
    • 1 bag of Sea Best Tilapia
    • 3 cans of Mushrooms
    • 1 Natural Valley Trail Granola Bars
    • 3 packs of Cheese Cubes
    • 1 bag of shredded Two Cheese Pizza
    • 1 Golden Bake Wheat Bread
    • 1 Golden Bake Hot Dog Buns
    • 1 Gold Bake Hamburger Buns
    • 4 boxes Animal Crackers

    Bargain Foods is a another great place to shop if you are in the area.  We ran into 3 people that we knew just the short time we were in the store.  It is a “bent / dent” store so some items are dented and you want to make sure to check the expiration dates.  The items available will depend on what they receive from other places who have overstock or for whatever reason want Bargain Foods to move it for them.  You can find some great deals but always check the prices when shopping.  Bargain Foods is a discount grocery store so they don’t take coupons at their stores, some items you may be better off buying at a local store that takes coupons.  I purchase 72 items and very few of them were over $1.

    WalMart Groceries

    Groceries from WalMart:

    • $0.00 at WalMart (I had a $5 gift card so didn’t have to pay anything for these items) for clearance French Loaf Bread ($0.90), Purple Grapes, and Strawberries.

    I am excited to be back doing our Groceries $40 for 4 budget again.  This week I spent $63.81 on groceries.  I went over the grocery budget this week and used up most of the extra cash I had in my “grocery wallet” to stock up on items.    This week we had couple extra events that I had to purchase items for which I didn’t have on hand so that brought the amount up as well.    Hopefully next week I will do better and keep it well under $40.  Thankfully I had a little bit left over from previous weeks to cover the extra amount.

    It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks!  As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me.  I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too.  The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

  • Family Recipe: Grandma’s Homemade Ice Cream

    It is the season for Homemade Ice Cream! There is something about spending time with family and friends followed by homemade ice cream.  The fellowship is enjoyable and the food delicious!  I am looking forward to dusting off my ice cream maker, picking up the ingredients and eating the tasty ice cream.  The recipe I am sharing is one that my Grandma Willa has made for years.  We used to make this recipe in the hand cranked ice cream maker, the one you got a work out from before eating the ice cream.  We are spoiled now with electric ice cream makers!

    Homemade Ice Cream Recipe: (makes 1 Gallon)

    • 5 Eggs
    • 1 1/2 Cup Sugar
    • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
    • (beat together)
    • Add: 2 cans of can milk (or use 2 cups cream and 1 carton 1/2 & 1/2 in place of can milk)
    • Pour mixture in container and fill to the line with whole milk
    • Freeze

    If you want a specific flavor instead of vanilla add it to the cream before freezing.  We have added fresh fruit, crashed up candy bars, cookies, peanut butter, or chocolate syrup to the ice cream (strawberries, peaches, butter finger bars, snickers, oreos and more)!  When you are serving a large crowd I have found it is easier to do vanilla ice cream and offer a variety of toppings – hot fudge, fresh fruit (blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, etc…), crushed candy bars, cookies, caramel, sprinkles and whatever else you want to add.

    Now I just need to find a good “excuse” to make homemade ice cream!  Anyone having a party soon?

    Photo by jeffreyw

  • Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Fresh Lettuce, Spinach, Dill, Broccoli, Radishes….Oh MY!

    We are enjoying our garden!

    Here are some of the fresh veggies we were able to eat and share this week:

    Fresh Leafy Garden Lettuce and Spinach, first pick of the week!

     

    Fresh Garden Dill

     

    Fresh Garden Broccoli and Radishes

     

    Another day of picking fresh veggies in the garden. Sink full of fresh garden Veggies - Lettuce, Spinach, Radishes, Broccoli!

     

    Another batch of Fresh Vegetables from our Garden! Love eating fresh salads!

     

    And MORE Coming Soon…..

    3 Baby Summer Squash Growing on one of the plants in the Garden!

     

    Beautiful Flowers Blooming on the Beans! We will miss the pretty flowers but are looking forward to the yummy beans!

     

    Two Big Tomatoes begging for the sun to shine this week so they can ripen!

    Hopefully next week you’ll see the ripened version of some of the produce.

    Looking forward to seeing what we’ll be picking from the garden in the next few days to eat and share!

  • Mom’s BIG Mess!

    Yes, Mom makes messes too.  Last Wednesday while I was cooking dinner for our church Community Group I made the biggest mess my kitchen’s ever seen.   I couldn’t blame anyone else either (Jake and the girls were innocent), it was completely my fault.  I decided as I was cooking my lasagna sauce to make a quick trip out to the garden and pull a few more pieces of lettuce for dinner that night.  While outside I got distracted and did a few “extra” small chores before heading back into the house.

    Lasagna Sauce EVERYWHERE!

    As soon as I stepped into the house I could see the RED in the kitchen!  Instead of turning the burner down I turned it up and the sauce exploded everywhere!  I had sauce from the floor to ceiling, stove to refrigerator, and on the walls, cabinets, and counter tops.  Of course the counter was loaded with stuff, including Wednesday’s mail (some bills will be sent with extra “color” this month).  I spent the next hour scrubbing up the red splattered kitchen.  Before the mess I was ahead of schedule, we made it to the event just a few minutes late.  For a few days I was still finding random spots of red splatter marks.  Oh well……guess it was great lesson learned and my kitchen got some good scrubbing in the process.

  • Save A Lot: Deals for the week of May 18 – 24, 2011

    The Save A Lot weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience.   There are a lot of great deals for grilling out, here is a great Blessings Multiplied BBQ Brisket recipe, you could also do this recipe with the spare ribs that are on sale at Save A Lot this week!  Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!

    Meats and Seafood

    Beef Spare Ribs – $1.99 per lb

    Holten Beef Patties (24 oz, 6 patties) – $1.99

    Fairgrounds Hot Dogs (12 oz) – $0.69

    Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage (14 oz) – $1.99
    Use $1/1 coupon from Hillshire Farms
    $0.99 each after coupon

    Ocean Market (Flounder, Tilapia, Lemon Herb Tilapia, Pollock) (4 oz) – $1.00

    Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).

    Fridge and Freezer

    Libby’s Steam Bag Vegetables (12 oz) – $0.69

    Coburn Farms Dozen Large Eggs – $0.99

    Sunny D (48 oz)  – $0.99
    Use $0.25/1 coupon insert from 5/15 Smart Source (Expires 8/31/11)
    $0.74 each with coupon

    Reser’s Potato and Macaroni Salads – $2.99
    Use $1/1 printable coupon from Coupon Web
    $1.99 each with coupon

    Fudgsicles or Popsicles – $1.00

    Borden Singles or Grilled Cheese Melts (12 oz) – $1.50

    McClary’s American Singles – $0.99

    World’s Fair Junior Pops – $0.99

    Coburn Farms Sour Cream (16 oz) – $1.29

    Coburn Farms Dip (16 oz) – $1.39

    Coburn Farms Yogurt – $0.50

    Household

    Wrightware Foam Plates (100 count) – $2.00

    Pert Paper Towels – $0.69

    First Force Pine Cleaner – $1.00

    Produce

    Idaho Potatoes (5 lbs) – $1.49

    Jumbo Vine Ripe Tomatoes – $0.99 per lb

    Jumbo Vidalio Onions – $0.59 per lb

    Grocery

    Summerset Tagless Ice Tea Bags (100 Count) – $1.19

    Kool-Aide (assorted variety) – $0.20 each

    Cowboy Billy’s Baked Beans (16 oz) – $0.79

    Cowboy Billy’s Pork & Beans (16 oz) – $0.50

    Kurtz Dill Pickles (32 oz) – $1.59

    Kurtz Yellow Mustard – $0.69

    Kurtz Ketchup – $0.89

    J Higg’s Butter Round Crackers – $1.69

    Port Side Chunk Light Tuna – $0.53

    Del Pino’s Canned Pasta – $0.69

    Hargis House Beans & Franks – $0.69

    O Days Mac & Cheese – $0.39

    Maruchan Ramon Noodles – $0.89

    Portmann’s Salad Dressing – $1.29

    Save-A-Lot Brand Soda – $0.69

    Crisp Lemonade – $0.99

    Thirst Quench’r Drink Sticks – $1.19

    J. Higg’s Cornies Corn Chips – $1.29

    J Higg’s Potato Chips – $1.19

    J Higg’s Cheezie Puffs – $1.29

    Gourmet Onion Rings – $0.99

    CK Cheese Balls – $1.29

    Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals!  Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.

    For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here.  If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.

  • Fresh & Healthy: Community Supported Agriculture (Week 1)

    I was super excited to start our CSA Program (Community Supported Agriculture) this week!  Our family purchased a half of share and will be receiving fresh produce, local honey and more for 20 weeks.  I plan to give an update on the items I receive from week to week.  Jake picked up this weeks goodies since I was tied up with a project, thanks babe!!!  It was hard for me to wait until he got home, I was so excited to see what we got!

    Week 1

    Fresh Goodies from our CSA!


    • Two Bundles of Lettuce
    • Radishes – Purple, White, and Red & White
    • Bundle of Broccoli
    • Half a Dozen of Fresh Eggs
    • Local Honey
    • 2 Bars of Homemade Soap
    • Collard Greens

    Looking forward to eating these goodies and using the soap!  I didn’t grow up with Collard Greens so it is new food for our family.  Do you have any good collard green recipes?

  • Recipe: Liege Waffles (Gaufre de Liege)

    My cousin Renelle made these waffles a few weekends ago and they are AMAZING!!!!  You don’t even need to put syrup on the waffles!  I ate mine with blueberries on top.  Later that weekend I had them just plain and they were sweet and tasty. You may want to make these the night before if you are planning on an an early breakfast otherwise they would make a great brunch since the dough has to rise.  They are just as delicious reheated as well.  Renelle made deep Belgian waffles for everyone, thanks Renelle for sharing such an awesome recipe with us!!!

     

     

    Liege Waffles:

    Sponge –

    • 4 1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
    • 1 1/3 cups warm Milk
    • 1 3/4 cups Flour
    • 1 tablespoon granulated Sugar
    • 1 Egg, lightly beaten

    Batter –

    • 9 tablespoons unsalted Butter (room temperature)
    • 1/4 cup Flour
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • Pinch of Salt
    • 2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar
    • 3/4 cup Pearl Sugar
    • Extra Flour (for sprinkling)

    Directions

    Sponge –

    1. In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over the milk.  Add 1 tablespoon of flour and sugar; set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.
    2. Sift remaining flour into a large mixing bowl.  Make a well in center and add yeast mixture and egg.  Stir well to make a smooth batter.
    3. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm place and let rise until doubled or tripled in bulk, about 2 hours.

    Batter –

    1. Place butter, flour, vanilla, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and pearl sugar into a bowl and work with back of a wooden spoon to form a paste.
    2. Work butter mixture into a sponge mixture until well combined.  Cover, and set aside for 10 minutes
    3. With floured hands, shape dough into 10 balls.  Flatten one slightly and dust it with flour.  If dough seems too wet to handle, just pour the batter directly onto the waffle iron.
    4. Heat a waffle iron until medium hot.  Place a flattened ball in the middle of the iron; close top.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.  If waffle iron is too hot, sugar will burn.  Continue baking until all the waffles are done.  Waffles may be kept warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

    Yields:  10 Waffles

    Photo by EvinDC

  • Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Fresh Lettuce, Spinach, Radishes, & Broccoli

    Directly from the garden to the table! Fresh Spinach, Broccoli, and Radishes . Love Garden Veggies!

    I have been enjoying our Vegetable Garden this year. Many thanks to my amazing husband for putting in the time and energy to help get it started for me.  The girls are thrilled to help me pick veggies.  The vegetables are fresh, delicious and they can be taken directly in to eat at dinner.  This week we picked A LOT of lettuce (a variety of leafy lettuce), some spinach, a few radishes, and a couple small broccoli heads.  My broccoli doesn’t get as big as the ones in the grocery store but they taste good!  I even made homemade White Pie Pizza topped with fresh spinach from the garden, black olives (from the box sale), and mushrooms.  All the neighbors and some of their family members have received lettuce from our garden already this year.  It is amazing how having a garden will encourage your neighbors to come over and visit for a few minutes every week.  The girls helped me deliver lettuce to those who haven’t had the chance to stop by the house this week.  I am thankful that we have been blessed with a garden this year, I LOVE being able to eat fresh veggies and share with others.  It has been a wonderful adventure and has already been a great venue for teaching the girls about giving to others and how to cook what we grow.

     

    Fresh Garden Vegetables we picked this week! We were able to take lettuce around to the neighbors this week, we had a great time catching up with everyone!

     

    Fresh Garden Radishes, the girls comment on their taste was "SPICY"!

     

    Fresh Homemade White Pie Pizza with Fresh Spinach from the Garden, Olives and Mushrooms!

  • Save A Lot: Deals for the week of May 11 – 17, 2011

    The Save A Lot weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience.   Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!

    Meats and Seafood

    Fresh Bone-In Split Chicken Breast – $0.99 per pound

    Pork Spare Ribs – $1.79 per pound

    Sugardale Bratwurst (14 oz) – $1.99

    Bone-In Assorted Pork Chops – $2.49 per pound

    Sugardale Super Dogs – $3.99

    Hillshire Farms Sausage – $1.99
    Use $1/1 coupon from Hillshire Farms
    $0.99 each after coupon

    Holten Beef Patties – $3.99

    Hillshire Farms Lit’ Smokies – $2.59
    Use $1/1 coupon from Hillshire Farms
    $1.59 each after coupon

    Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).

    Fridge and Freezer

    Fudgsicles or Popsicles – $1.00

    Borden Singles or Grilled Cheese Melts (12 oz) – $1.50

    Wylwood Mini Corn on the Cob – $1.69

    World’s Fair Ice Cream (1 gallon) – $4.99

    World’s Fair Round Top Sundae Cones – $2.49

    Crisp Premium Orange Juice – $2.69

    Take & Bake Pepperoni or Supreme Pizza – $5.99

    Take & Bake Cheese Pizza – $5.49

    Stouffer’s Party Size Lasagna (90 oz) – $8.99
    Use $1/1 coupon from Nestle Family
    $7.99 after each coupon

    Household

    Colortex Bath Tissue (12 double rolls) – $2.99

    Wrightware Foam Plates (100 count) – $2.00

    Solo Plastic Cups – $0.99

    Wrightware Napkins – $1.55

    Kindle Charcoal Lighter Fluid – $2.49

    Royal Oak Charcoal (8.3 pounds) – $2.99

    Produce

    Fresh Strawberries (1 pound) – $1.50

    Extra Large Green Peppers – $0.33 each

    Grocery

    Gatorade (1/2 gallon) – $1.69

    Cowboy Billy’s Pork & Beans (16 oz) – $0.50

    Senora Verde Tortilla Chips – $1.29

    Senora Verde Mild or Medium Salsa – $1.49

    Senora Verde Taco Dinner Kit – $1.99

    Senora Verde Refried Beans – $0.79

    El Monterey Steak & Cheese Taquitos – $2.99

    Kurtz Yellow Mustard – $0.69

    On the Side Pasta Salad – $0.99

    Kurtz BBQ Sauce – $0.99

    Portmann’s Real Mayonnaise – $2.29

    Kurtz Ketchup – $0.87

    Kurtz Sweet Relish – $1.29

    Save A Lot Brand Soda (12 Pack) – $2.29

    Crystal 2 0 Drinking Water (24 pack) – $2.49

    Frosty Flakes, Circus O’s or Captain Choco’s Cereal – $2.99

    Toast Em Strawberry or Brown Sugar – $0.99

    Malt O Meal Cereal – $0.99

    Ralston Crisp Crunch Cereal – $1.99

    Ralston Essentially You with Red Berries Cereal – $2.49

    Pebbles Cereal – $1.79

    Velveeta Cheesy Potatoes – $1.99

    Kraft Homestyle Mac & Cheese – $1.99
    Use $1/1 coupon from insert 4/17 Smart Source (Expires 5/17/11)
    $0.99 each after coupon

    Bakery

    Bakery Fresh Cherry or Apple Pies – $2.99

    Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals!  Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.

    For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here.  If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.