food

2/5/2021 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.
bright boxes

Friday Fun Times! We’ve got a three day weekend ahead of us- The kids and I are planning on a trip to the zoo sometime over the weekend.

My birthday was earlier this week and I rocked a bunch of freebies. Wanna check out my list of goodies? Check it out here.

Most of these freebies and deals are online. I am not encouraging anyone to go into stores or go out into public. Mask up, wash your paws, stay socially distanced!

Freebies:

Free $135 Snacks Research Study
Free Sample of IT Cosmetics Hello Results Retinol Cream
Free Aerin Mediterranean Honeysuckle Duo Samples
Free Medicated Shampoo
Free Casey’s Gift Card Giveaway
Free Subscription to People Magazine
Free Goody Bag at buybuy BABY Stores
Free Mountain Dew Melon at Publix
Free Hand Cream
Mack’s Free Ear Plug’s Giveaway – Every Weekday at 11am EST
Free Coors Light 6-Pack
Free Sample of Sasmar Personal Lubricant
Free Subscription to Cosmopolitan Magazine
Free 4 Hass Avocados at Winn-Dixie
10 Free Disney Movie Insiders Points
2 Free Setting Powders + $25 Amazon Gift Card
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday
Free Valentines Day Postcard
Teachers – Free Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Kit
Good Housekeeping Institute Panel – Free Products
Free Cool Beans Frozen Wrap
Get on Betty Crocker’s Free Sample List
Free COOLA Great Barrier Cream Sample
Free Subscription to Shape Magazine
Become a Funovation Toy Tester & Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card
Free Pinkberry Yogurt for Your Birthday
Free Subscription to Parents Magazine
Free Subscription to Better Homes and Gardens Magazine
Free Progresso Toppers Soup at Publix
Free Scotch-Brite Stainless Steel Hood Degreaser Wipes
Free Urban Skin Rx Clear Complexion for Healthcare Workers
Free Macy’s Fragrances
Banfield Pet Hospital – Free Office Visit & Consultation
Free Sample of Tim Hortons Coffee Pods at Sam’s
Free L.A. Girl Jetsetter Mascara or Eyeliner
Free Vital Proteins Collagen Peptide at Sam’s
Free Collagen Gold Eye Mask & Collagen Lips Mask Set
Free Hot or Iced Coffee at Pret A Manger on Fridays

Deals:

Dinosaur Bring Along Backpack and Dinosaur Toy $6.50 (Reg. $23)
KidKraft Waterfall Mountain Train Set & Table $85.26 (Reg. $230)
Disney Plush & Stuffed Animals as Low as $1.98 at ShopDisney
Relative Insanity Party Game ONLY $12.18 (Reg. $21)
Clarks Women’s Sillian Tana SOLO $29.99 Shipped (Reg $120)
Cooks 3-Piece Cast Iron Fry Pan Set ONLY $22.49 (Reg $50)
Baby Alive Tea n Sparkles Doll ONLY $7.49 (Reg $20)
Sun Joe Cordless Handheld Vacuum ONLY $20.99 (Reg $28)
Hello Kitty Modern Kitchen Play Set ONLY $47.99 (Reg $100)
Finding Nemo Baby Bath Toys Set ONLY $6.64 (Reg $11)
TRESemme Shampoo & Conditioner ONLY $2.53 (Reg. $8)
Kim Rogers 3-Piece Handbag Set ONLY $31 (Reg $78)
Multipet Loofa Dog Plush Dog Toy ONLY $3.99 Shipped (Reg $10)
Frigidaire Portable Retro Mini Fridge ONLY $24
Dental Tools 6-Piece ONLY $8.47 (Reg $17)
MUK LUKS Women’s Janet Boots ONLY $24.99 (Reg $65)
Walgreens Custom Photo Poster $1.99 with Coupon (Reg. $11)
10-Piece Food Storage Set ONLY $11.99 at Amazon
Bella Pro Series Analog Air Fryer 2qt ONLY $17.99 (Reg $40)
Women’s Sherpa Jacket ONLY $7.88 at Walmart (Reg $20)
Wakeman Folding Utility Cart ONLY $89.99 (Reg $159.99)
NUK Rest Easy Spoons 6-Pack ONLY $2.82
Free $10 Nordstrom Rack Gift Card When You Ship to Store
T-fal Nonstick 10 Saute Pan with Lid ONLY $31.81 (Reg. $56)

Small Changes to Make your Box Cake Mix Taste Scratch-Made!

Abby H.

When cake mixes were first invented most of them only required the addition of water and one or two eggs. Some early cake mixes only required the addition of water, as the cake mixes contained shortening and powdered eggs.

Nowadays most of us use cake mixes, but we long for the taste of scratch-baked cakes and pastries.

Here are a few tips to make your boxed cake mix taste a little bit more like the scratch-baked treats you remember your grandmother or mother making in your youth.

  1. If a cake mix calls for water, use milk.
  2. When the cake mix calls for vegetable oil, use softened butter. Or coconut oil (room temp).
  3. If you are using a spice cake mix, omit eggs, oil and, water and substitute a (14.5 Oz) can of pumpkin to make a tasty pumpkin spice cake.
  4. If you are watching your cholesterol, you can omit oil and eggs in a cake mix for applesauce. 1/4 cup of applesauce per egg, and an equal amount of applesauce instead of the oil. The cake will come out delicious and moist.
  5. Adding ingredients such as chocolate chips, dried fruits (I like dried blueberries, dried cranberries, and dried cherries), or chopped nuts can also make your box cake a little fancier.
  6. I love making a yellow cake mix into a coffee cake by making a streusel topping: 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup room temperature butter, 1 tsp. cinnamon or pie spice to taste. After the cake batter is poured into the greased cake pan, sprinkle the streusel topping on top of the cake and bake per box directions. It makes a great coffee cake for brunch!

If you are looking for more ways to fancy up a plain boxed cake mix, check out the Cake Doctor books on Amazon!

Food Resources for February 2021 (San Diego County)

Abby H.

I’ve decided to put together a monthly round-up of food resources for San Diego County.

You can still find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.

Neighborhood Distributions for February 2021:

These Distributions are primarily produce/fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.

Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide).

If you have a child attending public school in San Diego County, check to see if your school distributes free lunches daily.

In Eastern San Diego County, Grossmont Union High School District schools are distributing lunches to kids ages 2-18, Monday through Friday at various times (Check your closest school to find out exact times and locations within each school). They also do Pizza Fridays, where each kid receives a pizza, drink, salad, plus food to be eaten over the weekend. It is definitely more than enough food to keep kids fed over the weekend.

 

If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.

 

 

 

 

Penzey’s: $50 Gift Cards $35 Groundhog Day Repeat

Abby H.

Penzeys Gift Card

Penzey’s is hooking us all up today! $50 gift cards for just $35.

If you don’t live near a Penzey’s Store (Where contactless pick up is available), you can score free regular shipping with $30+ purchase.
In addition, $1 Oregano and Cinnamon Sugar are available too! 10 free mini BLM heart stickers with any purchase.   Visit penzeys.com now and have your order be one of the first out the door.

Value Sizes Available From Kabrita

Abby H.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Scanning through my email this morning, I discovered that Kabrita (that’s the Goat milk formula folks) now have an even better deal!

Value size containers of Kabrita (900g tin) of their gentle Goat Milk Formula on KabritaUSA.com.

If you are new to Kabrita, check out their freebie offer here.

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.