Author: Abby H.

10/21/19 Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

stemarie_1650skitchen

This week is going to be busy with appointments and running around, so I’ll be leaning on stuff in our freezer. This week batch cooking will be saving our bacon!

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done, so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian, but I am trying to get more veggies into our diet. I do a lot of cooking from scratch- I find it easier to get veggies and fruit into recipes that I can have 100% control over.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day:

Breakfast: Coffee with heavy cream for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids (they love the Kodiak Cakes Mix).  I also keep sandwich Ziploc bags of other frozen fruit on hand to make the kids smoothies when they request them (a few times per week). Berries, peaches, and mangos are pretty popular.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or soups for me and Bitty. The big kid takes his lunch to school, but once in a while, I can convince him to buy his lunch.

For dinner, when we’ve got busy days (like Mondays), I’ll try and put something in the crockpot in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked. I did a lot of prep for the coming week over the weekend. I cut up the produce, bagged it for meals, made up some smoothie kits, and cut up cantaloupe to have this week. Thanks to some frugal shopping over the weekend, I’ve only spent half the grocery budget for the week. I will probably use it all.

  • Monday: Spaghetti or zoodles with Veggie Loaded Pasta Sauce 
  • Tuesday: Omelets with cheese, bacon, veggies. And Dave’s Killer Bread 
  • Wednesday: Chinese Chicken Salad, garlic bread
  • Thursday:  Taco Salad (Taco meat from the freezer)
  • Friday:   Date Night!
  • Saturday:  Breakfast for dinner: Smoothies and Bagels with cream cheese
  • Sunday:   Leftover night

 

Talk Back: What are you planning to cook this week?

Great Buys at Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

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A few years ago I wrote about my top ten buys at 99Cents Only, but now that there is a Dollar Tree right next door to our house, I’ve had times to peruse the aisles, and I’ve come up with a list of Dollar Tree purchases that are a great deal!

1- Cards! Most discount stores sell off-brand greeting cards, but Dollar Tree sells Hallmark cards! Heartline by Hallmark are 2 for $1, and Expressions by Hallmark are $1 each! And they have tons of cute options for every and all occasion!

2- Party Supplies. From party favors, disposables (cups, silverware, plates, bowls, etc), DT has you covered. I love that they have plain colored stuff, in addition to themes, including baby shower supplies!

3- Craft Supplies. Y’all know how much crafting we do. Dollar Tree has a lot of good, name brand products. Crayola crayons, markers, colored pencils were spotted on my recent trip.  I also like their construction paper, pom poms, chenille stems (aka pipe cleaners), white glue, and small craft kits.


4- Hair accessories. Hair elastics, barrettes, brushes, combs, headbands, you name it! Besides the store brand, you can also find Goody brand, among others.

5-Kitchen Towels, Hot Pads, etc. If you are looking for a quick kitchen makeover on the cheap, Dollar Tree has a lot of great kitchen linens and kitchen decor. For $20, you can give your kitchen a little facelift without a trip to Home Depot!

6- Frozen Veggies. KT Farms and Pictsweet are two of the usual brands that DT stocks. Most bags are 12 ounces, which is a great size for $1!

7- Juice boxes and powdered drinks My kids like the small Juicy Juice juice boxes, so .25 or less each is my price point for juice boxes. Dollar Tree and 99 Cents Only both stock these. The powdered drink sticks sometimes vary by store, but we love the strawberry lemonade the best. And as a bonus, a few times a year there are coupons available. Oh, yeah, Dollar Tree accepts coupons too. Their coupon policy can be found here.

8-Push up/freezees/bolios pops. Whatever you call them, most Dollar Tree locations stock these in different varieties. Our local Dollar Tree sells Sonic Drive-in brand, and two types of Kool Pops. 10 pops in a box for $1 is a great deal, and it’s my price point (or less), so we stock up monthly.

If you need a lot of a specific item, you can order them from Dollartree.com, and have them shipped for free to your local store. Saves time, and shipping fees!

I’ve been shopping at Dollar Tree for years, and I’m stoked to be working with their affiliate program. Please be aware that if you click on any of the links above, I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase. You can see my disclosure policy here.

10/18/19 Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.

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Woo Hoo! Friday means Freebies and deals! There are a lot more freebies and deals this week. I’m excited to share!

 

Free Food:

 

Free Personal Care/Beauty:

 

Free Magazines:

 

Events/Etc.

10/17/19 National Pasta Day!

Abby H.

d885edea4dac6850a5f9bdde459b5c86.jpgDid you know that 10/17/19 is National Pasta Day?

I didn’t. There aren’t tons of freebies. Like… None.

Olive Garden has some sort of shenanigans going on via Twitter, but ain’t nobody got time for that. IF you sign up for their email club, you can get a free app or dessert.

For those of us who don’t have time to chase deals, and want to eat a bowl of plain ‘skettis at home, here are some yummy pasta recipes to try:

The kids have requested Mac and Cheese for dinner- so we’re celebrating!

Quick & Easy Meal: Ravioli Soup

Abby H.1 Comment

cooking-1.jpgThis recipe is super easy, you can add meat (like in the picture) if you like, or keep it meat-free and add some extra vegetables.

I try to have the ingredients for this soup on-hand. It’s quick and perfect for when you want a hearty bowl of soup in a hurry.

Ravioli Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1/2 c. each: chopped carrots, celery
  • 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1 14.5 ounces (or so) fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 1-quart vegetable stock
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 2 T. Mural of Flavor
  • 1 9oz. package of Ravioli (I Like 4 cheese)
  • 1/2 c. good quality parmesan cheese, divided

Directions:

  1. In a stockpot, heat olive oil and saute all of the veggies for about 5-10 minutes.
  2. Lower the heat to medium/low, add tomatoes, tomato paste, and veggie stock.
  3. Simmer on medium/low for 20-30 minutes.
  4. Add ravioli and cook 8-10 minutes, until ravioli are cooked.
  5. Ladle into 4 bowls, top with cheese and serve with a green salad.

It’s that easy!

Substitutions-

  • Add 1/2 lb. of protein- your choice. I like cooked, crumbled Italian sausage. Meatballs or  Italian sausage sliced into rounds work great too. Add into the soup after step 2.
  • Use ravioli with meat if you prefer.
  • Use Gluten-free ravioli if you need to.
  • If you want more veggies in your soup, add 3-4 cups of fresh spinach when you add in the ravioli.

 

 

Save with Target Circle!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2019-10-16 at 10.04.12 PM.pngTarget is at it again! First Target RedCard (learn about it here as well as my other tips for saving at Target), and now Target Circle!

How it works: When you check in with Target Circle™ and pay with RedCard™, you’ll earn one vote to help direct where Target gives for every eligible purchase and continue to save 5% right away. Plus, you’ll redeem your saved offers if you check-in before your purchase.

Not using your RedCard? When you check in with Target Circle™ you’ll earn 1% to redeem at Target later instead of saving 5% right away.

It works online and the Target App too!

In addition to saving, you’ll earn a birthday surprise, and special deals and offers tailored to you and your previous purchases. All the details can be found here.

Fetch Rewards: 4,000 Per Referral!

Abby H.

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Win 100,000 bonus points! 

Tomorrow (10/17) through Wednesday (10/23), Fetch Rewards increasing your bonus to 4,000 points* per referral.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Invite your friends to Fetch Rewards with your referral code. Use my code ND2TB and find the app wherever you get apps.
  2. Your friend enters your code and scans their first receipt.
  3. You’ll get 4,000 points, and your friend also gets 2,000 when they complete their first receipt scan!*

*In order for you to qualify for the increased referral bonus, they must enter your referral code and complete a valid receipt from 10/17/19 through 11:59 PM PT on 10/23/2019. After 11:59 PM PT on 10/23/2019, the referral bonus will expire.

 

 

Any grocery store, mass merchandiser, dollar or 99 cents store, or convenience store receipt can be scanned for points!

Such a Deal! Sam’s Club – Join for $45 Get $50 in Savings

Abby H.

If you have Sam’s Club location near you, check out this awesome deal!

Join for $45 and get $50 in savings.

GET A $20 GIFT CARD AND $30 IN INSTANT SAVINGS:*

  • Member’s Mark™ prepared entrees ($9.98 avg retail value): $9 off each; any two
  • Member’s Mark™ Soups ($5.98 avg retail value): $5.50 off each; any two
  • French Bread or Baguette ($2.98 avg retail value): FREE, Limit 1
  • Must scan free item to apply Instant Savings.

I’ve heard that our local Sam’s Club is a great place to save money!

Cents of Style: Fall Sweaters WITH POCKETS!!

Abby H.

Yup, you read that correctly- Sweaters with POCKETS! I don’t know why, but I love functional pockets.
Graphic Sweatshirt

With five designs to choose from in sizes XS-3XL, these babies won’t last long. Now through 10/21/19 they are just $24.95 and FREE Shipping w/code: SNUGFALL

This is the one I ordered:

Graphic Sweatshirt

I love the different styles and sizes that Cents of Style offers!

San Diego Local Halloween and Fall events for Kids!

Abby H.

7be30acaf94af3fc23ce78b5df96f46cHalloween is just TWO WEEKS AWAY!! Are you ready? Thankfully I only have a few last-minute tweaks to make to the big kids’ Knight Costume, and Little Miss’s Elsa dress is store-bought (much to my chagrin).

Trick or treating door to door isn’t really popular in our area, but a lot of churches and civic groups host carnivals or events either on Halloween or on the weekends leading up to it, so there is no shortage of fun for the kids.  If you are in San Diego County, here are just a few fun events that we’ve enjoyed in the past:

10/25/19:

10/26/19:

10/31/19:

a9e9d4b9823ec9482155e106114ca37cDon’t Forget HalGLOween at the San Diego Zoo! And most YMCA locations host a Halloween event that has a small fee, but has lots of fun games, crafts, and candy.

And if you are looking for tons of fun, don’t forget that Brick or Treat is still going on at Legoland California, tickets are on sale here.

Talk Back: If you know of a free, fun Halloween or harvest event for kids in San Diego County, please leave a comment.