Pizza Hut Book It Enrollment (2021-2022) is Open!

BOOK-IT.pngWoo Hoo! My Kids are stoked.

Enrollment is now open for the 2021-22 BOOK IT! Program year. Homeschool parents can now enroll their children!

Enrollment is also open to all parents for Camp BOOK IT!, which will run June-August, 2021.

PreK students (age 4 by Sept. 1st, 2021) are now eligible for all BOOK IT! programs. Be sure to include those students in your enrollment!

The nice part about BOOK IT is that each teacher can choose to participate, it’s no longer a school wide program. Everything is done online, and certificates are emailed when they are earned.  With the digital program, parents can use digital certificates in person, over the phone, or online, for carryout, delivery or dine in providing even more ways for them to celebrate their child’s reading accomplishments.

Get Started here!  And remember to share this post with your teacher friends!

Everyone loves pizza- and nothing is better than FREE PIZZA!

4/5/2021 Weekly Meal Plan!

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The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes on Monday, so that’s helped me be able to meal prep and write up this post.

I usually spend time over the weekend getting the meal plan and prep started. Saturday I made banana bread (recipe here), and a big box of chicken brown rice. I portioned the cooked rice out so we can have it for lunch and dinner as a side dish a few times this week.

Sunday I made chicken stock using the rotisserie chicken carcass I had tossed in the freezer a few weeks ago, along with the veggie scraps I keep in a large bag in the freezer. It’s usually celery tops, carrots bits, onion skins, and the ends and pieces from various vegetables from my weekly veggie prep. I cooked the stock most of the day, strained off the solids, and used the stock to make a yummy chicken vegetable soup. I used this recipe, substituting the chicken stock for veggie stock.

I did a grocery trip on Saturday- Milk, eggs, cheese, and butter. We are pretty well stocked on most other stuff. I went to Costco last week and did the quarterly stock-up trip- Snacks for lunches, coffee, powdered peanut butter, trash bags, laundry soap, paper towels, and toilet tissue, and a few other things fell into my cart.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal.

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 little kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling, lately it’s been sandwiches on croissants, and strawberry yogurt.  Big kid takes his lunch to school.

Dinner: 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: Vegetable Soup, homemade apple sauce, sourdough toast/Banana Bread
  • Monday:  Poached Eggs with Hashbrowns, fruit salad, Protein shakes (Big kid doesn’t like eggs)
  • Tuesday:   Tamales, Salad, Rice
  • Wednesday:  Roasted Veggies, Baked Potatoes (with an array of toppings)
  • ThursdayCheesy Bacon Meatloaf, Roasted Broccoli, Noodles (or rice)
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout 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?

Food Resources for February 2021 (San Diego County)

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.

 

 

 

 

Little Caesar’s $5 off First Deliver Order!

You read that right! $5 off your first Little Caesar’s Delivery with coupon code TRYDELIVERY6. This deal isn’t good forever: it’s only valid through 1/31/2020. Download the Little Caesar’s App wherever you get apps.

In addition to pizza, the small Roman (that’s what we call it around here) also has breadsticks, wings, and drinks!

Details/Small Print:

The $5 Off First Delivery Promotional Offer (“Promotion”): Between January 4, 2021 and January 31, 2021 (“Promotion Period”), customers who have never before ordered for delivery on the Little Caesars mobile app (“App”) or online at LittleCaesars.com (“Site”) will get a $5 credit (“$5 Credit”) on their first delivery of any pizza (“Qualifying Pizza Purchase”) when they order via the App or Site in accordance with these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”). To redeem the Offer, Eligible Customers (defined below in Section 2) must (i) obtain a valid promo code (“Promo Code”), which Sponsor will make available on in-store materials, TV and its social media platforms; (ii) place their Qualifying Pizza Purchase in the cart; and (iii) enter the valid Promo Code at checkout. The $5 Credit will be deducted from the Eligible Customer’s order for delivery at check-out. Promo Code numbers may vary depending on how they are communicated, but each Promo Code will entitle an Eligible Customer to the same $5 Credit regardless of the Promo Code number.
OFFER REDEEMABLE ONLY WITH ONLINE AND APP ORDERS FOR DELIVERY MADE THROUGH LITTLE CAESARS AND NOT REDEEMABLE ON IN-STORE ORDERS OR PIZZA PORTAL® PICK-UP ORDERS OR ON THIRD-PARTY ONLINE SITES OR IN ANY MANNER OTHER THAN PROVIDED HEREIN.

 

Book It: Enrollment is Open for the 2020-2021 School Year

BOOK-IT.pngHey, Homeschoolers…Book It Enrollment is Open for the 2020-2021 School Year!unnamed.jpg

And if you aren’t a home schooler, You can still participate! New for 2020-2021:

Enroll your own class: Book It no longer accepts campus-wide enrollments. Please select the option that works best for your classroom and only enroll classes you teach.

New and Improved Digital: The updated parent approval process no longer requires parent emails. Just share a personalized link with parents to gain approval or print blank certificates to ensure that all students can be rewarded for their reading accomplishments.

 

More ways to celebrate your students: With the digital program, parents can use digital certificates in person, over the phone, or online, for carryout, delivery or dine in providing even more ways for them to celebrate their child’s reading accomplishments.

Get Started here!  And remember to share this post with your teacher friends!

Everyone loves pizza- and nothing is better than FREE PIZZA!

 

Need Pizza? Free Delivery with Little Caesar’s!

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Social distancing doesn’t have to mean no pizza. I mean, really. PIZZA.

And while we are still nomming the leftovers from Big Kid’s birthday celebration, some of you may require pizza.

Little Caesar’s is offering free delivery for online orders of $10 or more 3/16/3/22/2020. Limit 1 free delivery per person, per day, small order fee for orders of $10 or less. taxes still apply.

Want them to leave your pizza at the door? Add “No Contact- Leave at Door” in the delivery directions during checkout.

And don’t forget- Wash your hands!

1/20/2020 Weekly Meal Plan

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgLast week’s veggie prep really has us all set for a week full of yummy dinners! I’m hitting the store this afternoon to buy some stuff for kid’s lunches, and a few things that will round out meals for the week. My shopping list includes:

  • AP Flour (Probably a 10 or 25 lb bag- it will last for a while)
  • Avocados
  • Cheddar Cheese (block to be cut into pieces for kiddo snacks)
  • Milk
  • Coffee
  • Juice boxes
  • White Sugar/Raw Sugar (for baking)

Everything else on the menu for this week is made of stuff that we have on hand. Thanks to Brooke from Crying Out Loud for sharing some of her yummy goodies from her Porch Light box this week too.

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 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 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: You may notice a lot of plant-based meals- We are not vegetarian (well, the big kid is, but the rest of us aren’t), 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.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  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.

IMG_9133.JPGFor 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. We’ve got a bunch of stuff in the freezer, as I’ve been portioning out 2-3 adult-sized entree portions from several meals a week and freezing them for later meals.

  • Monday: Chicken Chili topped with cheese, cornbread, and strawberries
  • Tuesday: Fritatta and green salad
  • Wednesday: Veggie Loaded Pasta Sauce and pasta
  • Thursday: Pancakes, sausage, & eggs
  • Friday:   Grilled Cheese and Soup
  • Saturday: Home made pizza
  • Sunday:  Leftover fiesta!

 

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

 

10/7/19 Weekly Meal Plan

stemarie_1650skitchen

I bought a few things yesterday to sort of “round out” what we’ve got on hand, and I think I’ll hit up Sprouts on Wednesday for Double Ad Day to get produce, but other than, we’ll be eating a lot of the stuff in the freezer I recently meal prepped this week. I don’t feel really great (Big kid brought home the new germ du jour from school and it’s felled us all).

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: Flautas, Beans, Rice, and Mexican Caesar Salad
  • Tuesday:  Veggie Stir Fry with brown rice
  • Wednesday: Chicken Meatball skillet (new recipe coming up this week)
  • Thursday: Pizza Night – The past few weeks we’ve been doing individual personally topped pizzas- It’s super fun and everyone gets what they want.
  • Friday:  Breakfast for Dinner- Waffles, Poached Eggs, sausage, and fruit salad
  • Saturday: Dinner out! My cousin, his wife, and kiddo are coming from AZ with my Uncle and Aunt. We are having a big family dinner out. At Soupantation!
  • Sunday:   Leftover night

 

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

9/23/19 Weekly Meal Plan!

stemarie_1650skitchen

I’m trying to use up a lot of what we have on-hand before I do any shopping for the week. We are running low on milk and veggies, so I’ll hit up Grocery Outlet (I have a $5/$20+ coupon), and Sprouts today after the gym.

I’ve got two melons (watermelon and cantaloupe), so we’ll be having melon a lot this week.

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 (I am picking up my new crockpot this week) in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

  • Monday: Chicken and rice soup (from scratch), grilled cheese sandwiches, melon slices
  • Tuesday: homemade breakfast sandwiches ( Bagels with sunny side up eggs, cheese, and sausage patties), Melon slices
  • Wednesday: Vegetarian Chili, melon slices
  • Thursday: Pizza Night
  • Friday: Homemade Pasta sauce, zucchini “noodles” (We didn’t end up having it last week
  • Saturday: Leftover night
  • Sunday:  Pasta Free Lasagna, and you guessed it- Melon (if there is any left)

 

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

9/9/19 Weekly Meal Plan!

stemarie_1650skitchen

The heat has broken! Thank goodness- This week I plan on making brownies, banana bread, and pizza from scratch.

I’ve also got a lot of fresh fruit, so I’ll be making up a huge batch of fruit salad. We’ll be eating it a lot- It’s a great way to get the kids to eat fruit, and it cuts down on food waste.

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 (I am picking up my new crockpot this week) in the morning, or pull something I’ve already prepped out that can be quickly cooked.

  • Monday: Protein shakes and Dave’s Killer Bagels
  • Tuesday:  Veggie and cheese frittata, fruit salad
  • Wednesday: White Bean Burgers, baked sweet potatoes, green salad
  • Thursday: Waffles, bacon, homemade applesauce
  • Friday:  Date Night
  • Saturday: Homemade Pizza Night (I’ll probably bake cookies too)
  • Sunday: Leftover night

 

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