food

Meal Plan Monday 3/19/18

Abby H.

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Bitty Bird has been sick for the past week and I’m hoping that it clears up soon. We’ve been cooped up into the house, and I want to take the kids to the park!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Grilled Chicken and veggie skewers

Tuesday:

  • D: Frittata and fruit salad

Weds:

  • D: Colonial Chowder and cheese biscuits (I’ll be posting these recipes this week)

Thursday:

  • D: Been, Rice, cheese, and veggie bowls – Think Chipotle Bowls at home. 

Friday:

  • D: Turkey Meatloaf, mashed potatoes/cauliflower, and fruit

Saturday:

  • D: Henry has been asking to go out for dinner, so maybe Souplantation (one of his favs).

Sunday:

  • D: Chef Salad/leftover buffet. I love chef salad because you can just put whatever you’ve got in the fridge in the salad.

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).

Corned Beef Deals (and a recipe)

Abby H.

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Even if you aren’t Irish, most of us love an excuse to party and eat. Saint Patrick’s Day is this coming Saturday.

I’ve scanned all of the ad’s for local area grocery stores to find you the best deal on corned beef. The winner for this year is Von’s/Albertson’s (They are owned by the same company, so they run the exact same ad).


Log on to your preferred stores App (or website) and add this clipless coupon to your card:

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Or, check the circular in store- There is a coupon in the circular too!

I’m not a huge fan of boiled meat, so I cook my corned beef in a crock pot. My recipe is here.

Helping Neighbors with Blessing Boxes

Abby H.6 Comments
So for those of you that live in San Diego, one of our local Methodist Churches (The one in Santee-8964 Magnolia Ave, Santee, CA 92071) has a Blessing Box where neighbors can put food, toiletries, diapers, formula, etc. to share with neighbors who are in need but can’t make it to the local food bank for whatever reason. It was started last year. You can read more about it here and see some pictures.
I try to stop by every few weeks and put some stuff from our pantry in it. I pick up a few extra items at the grocery store (or 99 Cents Only or Grocery Outlet) when I shop each week. Instant oatmeal, canned soup, tuna, or beans with a pop-top (in case someone doesn’t have access to a can opener).
When I walked to the blessing box this AM there were 4 packets of oatmeal, some citrus fruit, and a fleece blanket (in the grocery bag).
I quickly scoured my car for everything I had. I didn’t have a lot extra in my trunk, but I emptied it of all of the food I had- I even went through the kid’s Snack bag that is for “emergency car snacks”.
IMG_8728.jpgHere is what it looked like after I put in my donation. I picked up a package of wipes from Huggies at a bloggers summit a few weeks back. I hadn’t yet opened it, so I added it to the Blessing Box.  I know that this box gets utilized by a lot of locals with great frequency. I will be back to add more groceries tonight.
Some of you may have Little Free Pantries or Free Food Boxes in your area too. If not, it’s easy to start one! Many local schools also have a food pantry for kids whose families face food insecurity. Santana High School has one!
My call to action for you is this:
  1. Look into your pantry and pick out 5 things you can live without. They must be in date and something someone actually wants to eat (I’m looking at you, jar of cocktail onions).
  2. Find someone in need. Add it to your local Little Free Pantry, post it on a neighborhood forum, a local parents group, or donate it to your local school food pantry.
  3. Give freely and with love.
  4. Repeat.
I know that most of us have grocery budgets. Imagine if we all cut $5 out of our budget and bought 5 (or more) items to share with a neighbor in need- That would go really far to help hungry families!
If you aren’t sure what to donate, here are a few suggestions:
  • Canned Meats
  • Canned Vegetables
  • Canned Fruits
  • Canned Soup
  • Peanut Butter
  • Cereal & Oatmeal
  • Rice & Pasta
  • Powdered Milk, beverage mixes (like shelf stable juice concentrate, instant coffee, hot cocoa pouches)
  • Infant Formula (The sample sized canisters or sample pouches that you may have received free in the mail are perfect donations!)
  • Toiletries and hygiene items
 I can’t wait to hear about how you’ve helping a neighbor!

2/20/18 Meal Plan… Tuesday?

Abby H.

dsc07997The past two days have been CRAZY. Yesterday was a holiday, so.. no school or therapy. In the morning we hosting a rock painting and hiding event. The kids painted, played and had a great time.  Then in the afternoon, we went to an afternoon playdate at KidVentures sponsored by NFAR. Afterwards, we were hungry and pooped out from a very busy day of play, so we stopped at Denny’s!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Denny’s!

Tuesday:

  • D: Southwestern Chicken Stew

Weds:

  • D: Roasted chicken and veggies- I found some cool recipes in the most recent EatingWell Magazine, and this is one. 

Thursday:

  • D: Grilled cheese and soup ( I really want to make soup from scratch- It’s been super cold here lately). Maybe Colonial Chowder, I’ll post the recipe, whatever I choose. 

Friday:

  • D: Date Night- Probably Himalayan food, since we’ve both been craving it.

Saturday:

  • D:The kids and Daddy are having pizza, I’m going to an influencer event where there will be tasty noms.

Sunday:

  • D: Chef Salad/leftover buffet

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).

Free Friday Download from Ralphs!

Abby H.

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Perfect for Valentine’s Day! This week, score a

FREE Sweetarts Hearts Box Receive ONE (1) FREE Sweetarts Candy® Hearts Box (1.5 oz.). Available in most stores and while supplies last. Instead of the usual 2 weeks to pick up this freebie, this offer expires 02/14/18.

If you are new to Free Friday Downloads from Ralph’s, here is more info about how it works:

WHAT IS FREE FRIDAY DOWNLOAD? An exclusive benefit to having an account online at ralphs.com is FREE products (yes, we said FREE!). When you download the free product coupon, it will be loaded directly to your Shopper’s Card and applied at checkout in-store.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Visit this page on Fridays

DOWNLOAD the digital coupon for the free product (make sure to download between 12:01 am and 11:59pm PT). View the coupon under ‘My Coupons’ in your account online or in the mobile app.

You have two weeks to redeem this coupon in store! Pick up the product at your local Ralphs store and digital coupon will automatically apply at checkout.

Don’t forget to check out the Kroger affiliate in your area, if you don’t have a Ralphs. There are usually freebies for all of the stores!

Family Recipe: Chicken Divan

Abby H.

DSC02717.JPGChicken Divan is also known as chicken and broccoli casserole, but we just call it yummy at our house. You can bake it in the oven, make it on the stove top, or cook it in the crockpot.  I’ll give you all three cooking directions.

My family loves it!

The original recipe calls for rice or noodles, but I use Quinoa.

Chicken Divan

Ingredients:

  • 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 4 cups of broccoli (Fresh or frozen, your choice)
  • 2 cups white sauce, or 1 can Progresso Recipe starters (I prefer the roasted garlic, but the mushroom is good too)
  • 3 cups cheese, divided (I like cheddar, but gruyere or swiss is good too)
  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed or toasted (You can substitute in 1 cup uncooked white rice instead)
  • 2 cups chicken broth or water
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Crockpot

  1. Saute onions in butter on the stove until softened and clear.  About 5 minutes.
  2. Place all ingredients except 1/2 c cheese, all water, and quinoa in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. add quinoa and water/broth, turn on crockpot to high for 1-2 hours, or until quinoa is cooked. Top with cheese and serve.

Stovetop:

  1. Saute onions in butter on the stove until softened and clear.  About 5 minutes.
  2. Add chicken and continue to cook until chicken is no longer pink.
  3. Add remaining ingredients except 1/2 c cheese, and cook  covered on medium/low for 15-25 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the quinoa. Top with cheese and serve.

Oven:

  1. Saute onions in butter on the stove until softened and clear.  About 5 minutes.
  2. Add chicken and continue to cook until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from heat.
  3. Mix in remaining ingredients except 1/2 c cheese, and pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the quinoa.  Top with cheese about 10 minutes before it’s ready, and continue to bake.

Serves 6-8.

Never made white sauce? Here is a pretty basic recipe.

You can also substitute in 4 cups Winter Blend (1/2 cauliflower, 1/2 Broccoli), or another veggie that you prefer.

2/5/18 Meal Plan Monday

Abby H.

dsc07997The next few weeks will feature a lot of meals with chicken. Vons and Albertsons had Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts on sale for .99/lb (limit 10 lbs) on Friday. Of course, I picked up 10 lbs. I then spent an hour cutting up the meat, as it was whole breasts. I prepped 10 ziploc freezer bags, some with spices or marinade. We’ve now got 10 meals worth of meat prepped! Yes, I did use the kitchen scale to make sure that each bag was as close to 1 lb. as I could get.

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Salsa Chicken- It’ll be going into the crockpot in a bit!

Tuesday:

  • D: Cheese Enchiladas, Beans & Rice

Weds:

  • D: Chef Salad

Thursday:

  • D: Chicken Divan (recipe will be posted tomorrow)

Friday:

  • D: Leftovers (I will be at the Influential Summit for the day, so I’ll pull together some leftovers when I get home)

Saturday:

  • D: I’m not sure- We’ll be out of town for an event during the day, and I don’t know when we’ll be home.

Sunday:

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first). My birthday is this weekend, so we may be using up a lot of my birthday freebies as we are in the vicinity of deals.

Free Pizza at Round Table Pizza!

Abby H.1 Comment

Screen Shot 2018-02-03 at 8.00.23 AM.pngWe live pretty close to a Round Table Pizza, and I love their crust. It reminds me of sourdough bread.

When checking my spam folder for birthday freebies this morning, I came across this offer (which I double checked and is totally legit).

Screen Shot 2018-02-03 at 7.52.32 AM.png Check out this sweet deal: On February 9, 2018 enjoy a FREE original personal pizza (cheese or pepperoni) with the purchase of any Pepsi Product.
Available for dine-in only at participating locations from 2 – 5 PM. Offer valid with purchase of Pepsi fountain drink only. Limit one per guest. Customer must be present to redeem offer.

I checked and all of the locations in San Diego are participating. If you live outside San Diego, here is the list of locations that are participating in this awesome event.

This would be a great after school treat or early dinner.  I know the kids and I will be going!

New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

I’m a few days late, but I’ve been super busy! Planning hubs Birthday fun, getting prepped for the holidays, and taking care of sick kiddos (and me too!).

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

Check out the following sites:

One of my favorite website 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!

Here are just a few of the new coupons that have me excited:


Save $3.00 on TWO (2) Carnation Breakfast Essentials® Nutritional Products

Save $2.00 on any ONE (1) multipack or canister of BOOST® Nutritional Drink or Drink Mix

Save $1.00 when you buy FOUR any Progresso™ products (excludes Progresso™ Pasta Bowls)

Earn $0.55 when you purchase Mission® Tortilla Chips

Earn $0.55 when you purchase Mission® Super Soft Flour Tortillas

Earn $0.50 when you purchase Seventh Generation™ Baby Wipes

Earn $2.00 when you purchase Clean & Clear® Products

1/29/18 Meal Plan Monday

Abby H.

dsc07997One month into the new year, and our new routine/schedule is starting to firm up!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Soup (I’m really tired- Sleep Regression is a bitch!)

Tuesday:

  • D: Pork Scalapoini (It’s a kit, so we’ll see), Steamed veggies

Weds:

  • D: Veggie enchiladas, Rice, and Baked Apples

Thursday:

  • D: Chicken Soup (Crockpot)- I have a chicken carcass in my freezer that I need to use up!

Friday:

  • D: Date Night (dinner out)

Saturday:

  • D: My birthday, so who knows!

Sunday:

  • D:  Fiesta of leftovers!

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first). My birthday is this weekend, so we may be using up a lot of my birthday freebies as we are in the vicinity of deals.