food

February 2021: New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

file000786402730Here is your monthly reminder!  A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!

Check out the following sites:

One of my favorite websites is the Sunday Coupon Review.  It helps me plot out scenarios in advance and I can email friends to ask for coupons in advance. Remember if clipping coupons isn’t your thing, but saving money is, check out my list of Smartphone apps that can save you the big bucks! New offers are added on the Smartphone Savings Apps all the time!

February means that sweets, flowers, strawberries (for chocolate dipped strawberries), and other giftable items will be on sale- Valentine’s Day is 2/14/2021. For a complete list of types of foods and items that will be on sale, check out this post on the cycle of sales.

Here are a few of my favorite new coupons:

Save $0.75 on ONE (1) Hidden Valley® Secret Sauce
Save $1.50 off FOUR (4) Lean Cuisine Frozen Items
Save $1.00 When You Buy TWO (2) Hidden Valley® Original Bottled Ranch, Secret Sauce or any Dry and Ready-to-Eat Dips (excludes 1ct Dry Dips
Save $1.00 On any Unbun product, limit one per visit
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) package of Green Giant® New Frozen Product, Any Variety
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) package of Green Giant Veggie Spirals™

And my favorite Coupon:

Save $1.00 any ONE (1) Dave's Killer Bread® Breakfast Item

2/1/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThis week is going to busy! Between doctor’s appointments, my birthday, and the usual stuff that we do each week- I’m so glad that I meal plan! It’s going to make dinner time each night.

I did my weekly trip to the store this morning after school drop off for bread, milk, eggs, and snack/lunch items.

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 (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

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

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: The kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling (I’ve been prepping bean and rice bowls on Sundays for us to have during week) so we can get back to our adventures.  Big kid takes his lunch to school. He’s been digging on Bear naked protein granola in his lunch lately. It’s his new favorite.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Soup, Salad, and Garlic Bread
  • Monday: Dream Dinner Meal, steamed veggies
  • Tuesday:  Protein shakes, Meal of Snacks
  • Wednesday: Nuggets, fruit, garlic bread
  • Thursday: Dream Dinner Meal, steamed veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Leftover Fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Family Recipe: Cheesy Potatoes!

Abby H.

Potatoes are delicious and versatile. One of our favorite family recipes is these nomtastic cheesy potatoes!

Cheesy Potatoes 

Ingredients:

  • 6 – 8 large potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces (preferably russets)
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons AP flour
  • 1.5 cups whole milk
  • 4 cups cheese (I like medium cheddar, but you could use colby, or a sharper cheddar)
  • 1/2 cup bacon bits (I use Kirkland brand from Costco)
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
  • One sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed

Directions:

  1. Parboil potatoes, 6 to 8 minutes, drain.
  2. While potatoes are cooking, in a pot, melt the butter. Sprinkle melted butter with AP flour and stir until a paste forms over a low heat. The paste should brown slightly- DON’T BURN IT!
  3. Pour milk into the flour/butter paste and whisk briskly. You do not want lumps. Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens. This may take a few minutes. As the mixture thickens and there are no lumps, add the cheese slowly, about 1/2 cup at a time, until it is incorporated/melted into the sauce. Once the sauce with complete, remove from the heat.
  4. Mix drained potatoes with sauce, add bacon pieces
  5. Pour into a greased baking dish (I use 11 x 9 baking dish)
  6. Top with half a cup of cheese, and crushed Ritz crackers.
  7. Bake 30 to 45 minutes at 350°.

Serve with steamed veggies, or a green salad. I also like this with crusty French bread. This makes a great side dish, or contribution to a potluck.

You can omit the bacon if you are vegetarian.

You can swap out the bacon for 1 cup cooked, chopped ham or chicken if you want to make this a hardy main dish.

 

Recipe: Butternut Squash Bisque (GF, Vegan)

Abby H.

This recipe is super simple, and I’ve included some steps to shave off more time to get the soup in your belly faster!

Butternut Squash Bisque

Ingredients

  • 1 T. Avocado Oil
  • 1/2 Large onion, diced
  • 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (You can save time by buying it in the frozen foods section)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
  • 1 Quart Vegetable Stock
  • 2 cups Hazelnut Milk
  • 1t. Rubbed Sage
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a large stockpot, heat oil. Add onions, and cook for 5-10 minutes, until clear and fragrant.
  2. Add squash and carrot. Cook approx 10 minutes until softened.
  3. Add vegetable stock, and simmer until veggies are tender/soft.
  4. Remove from heat, add hazelnut milk.
  5. Blend soup with a stick blender until smooth.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve this luscious, velvety soup with hot, crusty bread and a crisp green salad.  It freezes well, in case of leftovers.

Meal Prep and Menu Planning Made Easy With Dream Dinners!

Abby H.

My girl Brooke hooked me with Dream Dinners recently. Most of you know that I am a huge proponent of meal prep and menu planning. I also recognize that not everyone has the time to spare a few hours each week prepping veggies, marinating meats, preparing sauces and bagging it all up to cook later.

And when you don’t have time to shop or do prep work, you lean on fast food or take out. Once in a while, it’s ok, but any more than that and it’s not healthy or good for your pocketbook.

Enter Dream Dinners! For less than the price of take out or a drive-through visit for the fam, and in 30 minutes or less, you will have a tasty, hot, fresh homecooked meal! I’ve reviewed Meal Kits in the past, and there are a lot of inherent problems with fresh and frozen food being mailed to you. Frozen cucumbers, smashed produce… You don’t have these issues with Dream Dinners. This is one of the reasons that Dream Dinners is better.

A few other reasons Dream Dinners is superior:

Dream Dinners is less expensive than other Meal Kit Programs.  That’s a plus in my book!

With locations all over San Diego County (and nationwide), you order online and pick it up at your local Dream Dinner Location. Pop your trunk, and the lovely Dream Dinners employee will place your food in the trunk. You are all set to go!

Chicago style chicken with roasted red potatoes

Your meals are prepped locally in store just for you! No squished produce, accidentally frozen ingredients, or worse (and this was a big fear for me) having to rearrange your entire day so you are home when the Fed-ex guy delivers your meal kit box so the food doesn’t sit on your patio. Here in San Diego, it’s hot and sunny frequently, and that means food sitting out (even in a sealed box with dry ice) might go bad or be unsafe to eat.

Lasagna Soup & Garlic Bread

I’m hosting a Facebook Party to share my love of Dream Dinners. If you are interested in joining and taking advantage of some great deals, Message me on Facebook and I’ll add you.

If you don’t have Facebook, you can visit the Dream Dinners Website and you can take advantage of the great deal going on!

Right now when you use the coupon code 15OFF, you save $15 on the $99 Starter kit- It’s a great deal.

To take advantage of this deal, make sure to use the drop-down box and type in my email: akeen02037@gmail.com to take advantage of this sweet Deal!

And with locations all over San Diego and the US, you can order meals, pick them up and have one less thing to worry about! I plan on buying meals each month, so we are eating well on those nights when I would rather play legos or Playmobils with the kids, or go for a walk to the park.

Talk Back: Which Dream Dinners Entree has you interested? Menu for February is here. 

2021 Birthday Freebies!

Abby H.3 Comments

I’ve been doing a lot of research over the past few weeks to get this post up before my birthday. There are tons of posts online with birthday freebies, but few of them take into consideration where you live or that there is a global pandemic going on.

So, I’m here to change that.

I live in Southern CA, all of these freebies are specifically for those of us in that area. I recommend signing up for these freebies at least a month before your birthday, so there is enough time for you to be added to their list. I have included only the freebies that I have signed up for and personally received (mostly last year, because I am just starting to get them trickling in for 2021), so there is no bunk. I have removed companies that have gone out of business (RIP Fuddruckers)/.

First up, for those of you in CA, OR, FL, MY, SC, AZ, WA, and NV, check out eBirthdayClub. There are TONS of great freebies on this site.

birthday-border-edges

Non-food Goodies:

  • Free goodies at Sephora (It changes every year)
  • DSW Shoe Warehouse – $5 off birthday coupon
  • Members of the Cost Plus World Market Explorers program get a surprise birthday gift, among other perks; you will also get a 10% off coupon upon enrollment.
  • Torrid– Members of the DivaStyle Club will receive $10 off their next purchase of $10+
  • bareMinerals (cosmetics)- The birthday freebie changes each year. Last year it was lip gloss.
  • ClearWater Cleaners (dry cleaners)
  • Aqua Clean Carwash
  • Free brow wax at the Benefit Brow Bar. It’s back. More info can be found on their FAQ page.
  • Dave & Buster’s: $10 in free game play for those in the D&B Rewards Club.
  • This is a BOGO, but I know a few people who have done this and they said it was fun- Free Trip to Catalina Island! Free round-trip travel for two with the purchase of one full fare Adult ticket on your birthday
  • My Aunt told me about this one! Join Passport to Provence to score a FREE birthday gift from L’Occitane en Provence. Also, you can score $20 off your first purchase at L’Occitane here!
  • Join the Sally’s Rewards Club and score a $5 coupon on your birthday, as well as tons of other super sweet perks!

birthday-border-edges
Free Food Noms:

  • Red Robin:  FREE burger on your birthday and all the latest Red Robin news.
  • Rubio’s   Free plate/combo (You have to download their app)
  • Del Taco  Free Shake (You also get something free when you sign up!)
  • Starbucks – Download their app and get a free birthday handcrafted beverage of your choice.
  • Baskin Robbins– Donwload their app, and you can receive a small scoop of ice cream for your birthday.
  • Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream – Free single scoop.
  • Sonic Drive-in: Free Medium beverage (OMG- Cherry Limeade FTW!)
  • Denny’s: Free Grand Slam for your Birthday. They also email out other freebies and coupons.
  • IHOP: Free Meal (It varies by year) on your birthday.
  • Arby’s Birthday Club: Offers a “surprise” it changes each year.
  • Dunkin Donuts Birthday Club will kick down with a free coffee.
  • Bj’s Brewhouse– Rewards members receive a free Pizookie for their birthday.
  • Jersey Mike’s: Free Sub for your Birthday! (No matter what you read online, there is no Subway or Submarina birthday Freebies- Those deals are DEAD)
  • Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt: When you sign up for a Smile-age Account, you’ll score a free Fro Yo for your B-day!  (I love Menchie’s!)
  • Nothing Bundt Cakes: Join their email list and receive a FREE Bundlet on your Birthday. (look for the link at the bottom of their website)
  • Sbarro Rewards Club: Free piece of pizza for your birthday when you purchase a drink. You’ll also get a coupon for a free slice when you sign up.
  • Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt: Free Frozen Yogurt on your birthday.
  • Sprinkles: Get a free cupcake for your birthday when you join the Sprinkles birthday club.
  • Pita Pit: Free Pita for your birthday when you join the Pita Pit E-Club!
  • Bruegger’s Bagels gives you three free bagels for your birthday. SCORE! Our family eats tons of bagels, so this is a sweet deal.
  • EBirthday Club. For CA Peeps: They have offers in San Diego, Orange, LA, San Bernadino, Riverside, and Santa Clara Counties.
  • D Z Akins
  • Mary’s Donuts– East County peeps know what I’m talking about! Free drink and TWO Donuts!
  • Habit Burger Grill’s CharClub Score a free Charburger on your birthday.
  • Panera– Sign up for MyPanera and get a free pastry or sweet on your birthday.
  • El Pollo Loco- Sign up for Loco Rewards to get a FREE birthday meal (2pc Chicken Meal or Classic Chicken Tostada Salad.)!
  • Food, but not a restaurant offer. Like Yogurt? Join the Noosa Yoghurt fan club, Cream of the Crop, and they will mail you a coupon for free yogurt for your birthday!

There are tons of other birthday freebie lists, but they may include offers that are not available here or may include stuff that I don’t consider worth it (like a free Rice Krispy treat when you buy an entree that’s $10+… That’s a hard pass from me, or the Aveda “freebie”- pay $10 and receive a product valued at $23+… No thanks).

Another deal that everyone and their mama go nuts about is Benihana Japanese Restaurant – complimentary meal up to $30 when you purchase an Adult meal at Regular Price (You must sign up for The Chef’s Table club). This used to be a FREE meal, no strings attached, but it has changed to basically a BOGO. That’s a no go for me, but it may still get you excited.

I have not included Ulta in my list because you have to make a purchase the year previous (and it needs to be a certain amount- I’ve been told different amounts by various Ulta Employees anywhere from $5-$50), so for me, that’s not a freebie. If I have to buy something to receive something, that’s a BOGO deal.

Talk Back: What is your favorite birthday freebie?

Fetch Rewards: Mix & Match Grocery Rewards are Back!

Abby H.

Fetch Rewards is hooking us up again with sweet grocery rewards!

Tons of points and lightning-fast rewards! Now through 2/21/2021, spend $15 on a wide range of popular Unilever brands and get 5,000 points*. Redeem this Special Offer up to 4X for a total of 20,000 points.

If you aren’t sure which brands are included, here is a list of brands that are made by Unilever:

Redeeming this offer is simple. Head to any of these 5,000+ participating grocery stores, buy your favorite products from these Unilever brands, and snap your receipts!

And if you are wondering how fast it is to earn Fetch Rewards, I’ve earned $20 in Fetch Rewards since 1/1/2021.

If you are new to Fetch Rewards, download the app and get started. It’s super easy! Use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 2000 points ( that’s the equivalent to $2 in rewards) after you scan in your first receipt with Fetch Rewards. You can find Fetch Rewards in your app store.

1/25/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgMy Word- It’s cold outside! The forecast for the week here in San Diego is cold, rainy, breezy weather. I’ve planned meals around warm, filling, comfort meals.

I did my weekly trip to the store yesterday for bread, milk, eggs, and snack/lunch items.

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 (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

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

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: The kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling (I’ve been prepping bean and rice bowls on Sundays for us to have during week) so we can get back to our adventures.  Big kid takes his lunch to school. He’s been digging on Bear naked protein granola in his lunch lately. It’s his new favorite.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Lasagna Soup and Sourdough toast (Dream Dinners)
  • Monday:  Hashbrowns, Egg/veggie scramble, Fruit
  • Tuesday:  Soup (we’ve got a batch of Potato Cheese soup in the freezer)/Meal of Snacks
  • Wednesday: Chicago Style Chicken, Roasted Veggies, Salad (Dream Dinners)
  • Thursday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches, Salad, Soup
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Leftover Fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

6 Baked Potato Toppings That Make a Complete Meal!

Abby H.

Potatoes have gotten a bad rap over the past ten years or so. Potatoes are not the enemy that they have been made out to be. They aren’t an empty vessel to top with copious amounts of butter and sour cream (although that sounds pretty tasty).

In terms of nutrition, potatoes have a lot going on for them. 1 medium-sized potato contains:

  • 25% Daily Value of Potassium
  • 18% Daily Value of Fiber
  • 70% Daily Value of Vitamin C
  • 30% Daily Value of Vitamin B-6
  • 12% Daily Value of Magnesium

Now that you know that potatoes are a healthy food choice, let’s talk about incorporating them into some healthy meals!

Here are six of my favorite baked potato toppings that make a plain ol’ potato a meal!

  1. Chili, cheese, onions
  2. Stew (This is a great use for leftover stew)
  3. Veggies with Sauce (I like the Birdseye broccoli and cheese sauce)
  4. Madras Lentils (and bonus- this is a vegetarian option)
  5. Curry (Some of these curries are vegan!)
  6. Grilled Chicken, broccoli, and alfredo sauce (BJ’s restaurant has a potato with this combo and it is SOO good and filling)

Leftovers of most varieties make great baked potato toppings. One of our favorite camping meals with a baked potato bar. Make up a mess of baked potatoes and heat up and set out any of the above in addition to:

  • Cheese
  • Sour Cream
  • Chives
  • Sauteed or grilled veggies

 

New Recipe: Corn and Avocado Salsa!

Abby H.

I received two ears of corn the other day, and unsure of what to do with them, I left them on the counter with bell pepper, onion, avocado, and tomato and went about my day.

Coming into the kitchen to make lunch, I glanced at my pile o’produce and realized that we had almost everything to make Corn and Avocado Salsa.

This is a quick, simple recipe- Enjoy!

Corn salsa

  • 1 cup fresh corn (removed from the cob with a knife) you can also use frozen corn defrosted
  • 1 bell pepper color of your choice, chopped (I used red)
  • 2 medium-sized tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
  • 2 FRESH Jalapeños, deseeded, minced
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped (I used a sweet onion, but red/purple onions are tasty too)
  • 1 avocado, chopped
  • 1 14 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Approximately a handful of cilantro, minced (if you are like me and cilantro tastes like soap, use parsley instead)

Directions:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients, stir to combine.
  2. Place in refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours before serving. It’s best if it rests overnight before eating. This gives it time for the flavors to mingle and blend.

This is a very pretty, colorful dish. It is great as salsa or as a salad.  It’s great with chips, as a side, on tacos, in burritos. No lie, I ate some out of the mixing bowl. 10/10, would do it again.

If you don’t like black beans, good substitutes are white beans or pinto beans.