Some of my favorite bloggers keep posting about how good the organic deals are at Costco. Hope we can get there soon. In the meantime, we are still shopping at Sams, HyVee, the Dollar Tree and the bakery outlet this time. I'm debating Sunshine.. LOL
Here's your ad links (and even for the new Walmart on 60th, I must say, It's tempting)..
Hy-Vee
Fareway
Sunshine Foods
Dollar Tree
Walmart
Happy Ad Shopping!
Triple Clicks
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Changing The Diet
We've had some major hits to what we can eat at our house.
Hubby has been having some stomach problems, so we have to take out if not eliminate the majority of tomato/cheese combinations. Bye bye pizza and spaghetti.
Eva is what makes things challenging. She has an allergy to beta-carotene. Basically nothing red, orange or green can enter her stomach without it making her sick. Do you have any idea how much food that eliminates?? You just tell me a fruit or veggie that ISN'T one of those colors. It's HARD.
Add to that everybodys intoleration of dairy products and this is making meal planning SO MUCH FUN! (Insert sarcasm)
Luckily, we have figured out with Eva the various amounts of certain food she can have and how often. In the meantime, we get a hurting stomach and fun clean-up for mommy. (again, there's sarcasm there). But every once in awhile we let things slip and I feel bad. The only way to figure this out is keeping a food journal. I keep track of what she eats when (and I do mean EVERYTHING), then write down if she has a reaction. With cantaloupes and carrots, it's been within hours and lasted for days from a small amount. With watermelon, the effect wasn't realized until we added cantaloupe to the mix. (And there went the smoothies, out the window...)
In the meanwhile, I am working on meal planning for this week and trying to keep in mind all the allergies and intolerances so we don't have sore stomachs to deal. So far for this month I have
Now. Only 10 more meals to figure out! Happy meal planning!
Hubby has been having some stomach problems, so we have to take out if not eliminate the majority of tomato/cheese combinations. Bye bye pizza and spaghetti.
Eva is what makes things challenging. She has an allergy to beta-carotene. Basically nothing red, orange or green can enter her stomach without it making her sick. Do you have any idea how much food that eliminates?? You just tell me a fruit or veggie that ISN'T one of those colors. It's HARD.
Add to that everybodys intoleration of dairy products and this is making meal planning SO MUCH FUN! (Insert sarcasm)
Luckily, we have figured out with Eva the various amounts of certain food she can have and how often. In the meantime, we get a hurting stomach and fun clean-up for mommy. (again, there's sarcasm there). But every once in awhile we let things slip and I feel bad. The only way to figure this out is keeping a food journal. I keep track of what she eats when (and I do mean EVERYTHING), then write down if she has a reaction. With cantaloupes and carrots, it's been within hours and lasted for days from a small amount. With watermelon, the effect wasn't realized until we added cantaloupe to the mix. (And there went the smoothies, out the window...)
In the meanwhile, I am working on meal planning for this week and trying to keep in mind all the allergies and intolerances so we don't have sore stomachs to deal. So far for this month I have
- Egg Rolls (I'll share the recipe when I get batteries in my camera)
- Sweet Hawaiian Chicken
- Chicken and Broccoli over Rice
- Tacos
Now. Only 10 more meals to figure out! Happy meal planning!
Monday, August 18, 2014
Grandma's Birthday Dinner
I was excited at the prospect of trying out my adult cake making skills. I'm learning through the internet on how to decorate cakes. It will make it cheaper in the long run with birthdays.
I made a basic buttercream icing for the flowers two days before.
1/4 cup butter
about 1/4 cup water (supposed to use milk, but we are all allergic-especially grandma)
a splash of vanilla
powdered sugar
Cream the butter, water and vanilla together. Add sugar until it reaches the consistency you want. Remember if you are adding food coloring to add more sugar because the food coloring will make it runnier. For the flowers, I made purple, pink and yellow.
I used my Pampered Chef cake decorating kit and went to work. I think they turned out pretty good, but I definitely need some practice. :)
I put coconut oil and flour on the cake pan before baking so the cake would pop out easier. Then followed the box instructions for baking-but with my crazy oven it took more like 45 minutes.
For the cake icing, I did a cream cheese icing with less sugar than the recipe called for, I just added until spreading consistency.
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Powdered Sugar
Soften the cream cheese and butter. Cream together then add powdered sugar.
I did add some green to it for a border and some yellow for the words since My words wouldn't come off the wax paper.
Added my premade flowers and wa-la. :)
Dinner was steaks, potatoes and broccoli.
I cooked the steaks on the griddle (we aren't much for outdoor grilling around here), steamed the broccoli and baked the potatoes....And forgot the rolls. So now I have a tube of biscuits to do something with.
It turned out pretty good and the steaks were pretty juicy. :D I didn't do too bad. And grandma loved it-which was the important part.
Grandma's Birthday Dinner Shopping
This last Saturday was my mother-in-law's birthday and we wanted to do something special for her. We were thinking it would be cheaper to just do dinner at home, but in the end (thanks to small town prices), all we saved was the gas money and some stress on my part with keeping two toddlers and a baby happy in a restaurant for an hour.
The menu for grandma's birthday party:
Steaks
Baked Potatoes
Broccoli
Birthday Cake
Dinner Rolls
The shopping trip.
I did this in town since hubby decided last minute to stay home.
Cream cheese 8 oz 2.19
Broccoli cuts (frozen) 1.69
Powdered Sugar (2) 1.69 each 3.38
Ball Tip Steak (not the best, but it's what they had) 3 steaks for 19.83
Top Sirloin Steak (for daddy and grandma-I had to mix and match what I bought) two steaks for 22.44
Baker Potatoes .59/lb at 2.32 lbs 1.37
We were also running low on a few things, so had to buy some stock up items..
Coconut 1.65
Pretzel snacks 1.19
candy (I'm a sucker lol) .24
Deli meat 4.00
Hot Dogs 2.00
Total of this trip was 63.56
Two days later I realized I forgot the rolls...so back we go
Grands Biscuits 1.99
Cinnamon Rolls 2.45
Rootbeer .99
Nut roll (told ya, I'm a sucker) 1.00
because of store policy I had to get enough to be over $5 to run a debit card....
Total 6.82
So I spent $70.82
But we were ready to have a good little party with yummy food.
The menu for grandma's birthday party:
Steaks
Baked Potatoes
Broccoli
Birthday Cake
Dinner Rolls
The shopping trip.
I did this in town since hubby decided last minute to stay home.
Cream cheese 8 oz 2.19
Broccoli cuts (frozen) 1.69
Powdered Sugar (2) 1.69 each 3.38
Ball Tip Steak (not the best, but it's what they had) 3 steaks for 19.83
Top Sirloin Steak (for daddy and grandma-I had to mix and match what I bought) two steaks for 22.44
Baker Potatoes .59/lb at 2.32 lbs 1.37
We were also running low on a few things, so had to buy some stock up items..
Coconut 1.65
Pretzel snacks 1.19
candy (I'm a sucker lol) .24
Deli meat 4.00
Hot Dogs 2.00
Total of this trip was 63.56
Two days later I realized I forgot the rolls...so back we go
Grands Biscuits 1.99
Cinnamon Rolls 2.45
Rootbeer .99
Nut roll (told ya, I'm a sucker) 1.00
because of store policy I had to get enough to be over $5 to run a debit card....
Total 6.82
So I spent $70.82
But we were ready to have a good little party with yummy food.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Homemade Taquitos
Years ago Taco Johns came out with an awesome (what I'm assuming) Tex-Mex food. Taquitos. Oh my goodness those things were yummy. :D
I fed them to my youngest when she was little, the perfect taco food for a toddler once they cool off.
So since i bought corn tortillas for the littles when we have taco night, i decided to use some leftover taco meat and some refried beans and make my own.
I looked and looked for a recipe, and every recipe I found had shredded steak meat. I can't afford steak, let alone steak to just shred and use in other meals. So I used other ingredients.
I got about 3 cups of coconut oil going in a small pan for frying, mixed a can of refried beans and about a cup of leftover taco meat. In hindsight, I should have heated them, but I didn't.
Once the coconut oil started bubbling, I started warming up corn tortillas on another burner. I have a gas stove, so I just put them straight on the burner until they got bubbly. Getting them warm helps them not to break. I scooped a little of my filling into the tortilla, rolled and held it together with a toothpick.
You want to do this in batches of two, they keep each other together. the instructions I found said this, but I didn't listen-I should have. Put the ends so they face each other and run a couple toothpicks through. (Sorry, I completely forgot to take pictures until the end.)
You fry until the shells are hard. Put on a paper towel to drain the oil and done. It only took about 20 minutes to fry up about 2 dozen. If I wasn't avoiding cheese, I would have melted some cheese to dip. Salsa or guacamole would work great, too.
The kids didn't much like them, but they are pretty good, and easy to eat with a grumpy baby (which I have right now).
I fed them to my youngest when she was little, the perfect taco food for a toddler once they cool off.
So since i bought corn tortillas for the littles when we have taco night, i decided to use some leftover taco meat and some refried beans and make my own.
I looked and looked for a recipe, and every recipe I found had shredded steak meat. I can't afford steak, let alone steak to just shred and use in other meals. So I used other ingredients.
I got about 3 cups of coconut oil going in a small pan for frying, mixed a can of refried beans and about a cup of leftover taco meat. In hindsight, I should have heated them, but I didn't.
Once the coconut oil started bubbling, I started warming up corn tortillas on another burner. I have a gas stove, so I just put them straight on the burner until they got bubbly. Getting them warm helps them not to break. I scooped a little of my filling into the tortilla, rolled and held it together with a toothpick.
You want to do this in batches of two, they keep each other together. the instructions I found said this, but I didn't listen-I should have. Put the ends so they face each other and run a couple toothpicks through. (Sorry, I completely forgot to take pictures until the end.)
You fry until the shells are hard. Put on a paper towel to drain the oil and done. It only took about 20 minutes to fry up about 2 dozen. If I wasn't avoiding cheese, I would have melted some cheese to dip. Salsa or guacamole would work great, too.
The kids didn't much like them, but they are pretty good, and easy to eat with a grumpy baby (which I have right now).
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Shopping Trip July 31
Well....apparently I need to reset the algorithms on my spreadsheet because they aren't working right. :/
We went to Sam's and HyVee this time. The kids were actually good, so that was a nice treat for mommy.
Sam's Club
Dog Food 50lb 17.98
Beef Patties 19.88
Quaker Oats 7.98
French Fries 6.98
Flour Tortillas 2 at 2.67 each 5.34
Vinegar 2 at 3.68 each 7.36
Puppy Pads 15.38
Velveeta 12.20
Flour 4.69
Deli Meat Ham 6.98
Deli Meat Turkey 6.98
Deli Meat Roast Beef 9.98
Canola Oil 8.48
Bacon (4 lbs precooked) 11.74
Chicken Breast 11.74 and 12.20
Granola Bars 7.93
Corn Tortillas 3.57
Spinach Ravioli 9.98
Hamburger Buns 2.38
Combos 7.68
Whole dill Pickles 2 at 4.62 each 9.62
Alfredo Sauce three pack 5.38
Chips 50 pack 11.98
Total of 235.51
HyVee
Sour Cream 8 oz 1.38
Sour Cream 2 pounds 3.59
Lunch Pail Cookies 3.99 (+ .10 gas rewards)
Cottage Cheese 16 oz 1.49
Sweet Cream Butter Quarters 4 at 2 for $6 12.00 (+.04 gas rewards)
Yogurt 40 at .29 each 11.60
Fettucine Pasta 2.39
Toilet Paper 6 pack 3.29
Cinnamon Spice Tea 2 at 1.99 each 3.98
Spicy Brown Mustard 1.49
Refried Beans 3 at .99 each 2.97
Nutty Bars 2 at 2 for 7.00 7.00
Orowheat Pocket Things 7 at 2.99 20.93
Q-Tips 2.48
Hot Dogs 2 at 1.19 2.38
Egg Roll Wraps 3.29
Total of 89.31
Grand Total of $324.82
I told you my algorithms needed reworked. My spreadsheet told me I would come in $6 under. Well. We have enough food to last a month and probably then some.
And we'll save $0.14 off per gallon of gas next time we get gas. That's always a plus. On the other hand, I realized why I shouldn't talk and count at the same time-I got more yogurt than I intended. :/ Oops.
We went to Sam's and HyVee this time. The kids were actually good, so that was a nice treat for mommy.
Sam's Club
Dog Food 50lb 17.98
Beef Patties 19.88
Quaker Oats 7.98
French Fries 6.98
Flour Tortillas 2 at 2.67 each 5.34
Vinegar 2 at 3.68 each 7.36
Puppy Pads 15.38
Velveeta 12.20
Flour 4.69
Deli Meat Ham 6.98
Deli Meat Turkey 6.98
Deli Meat Roast Beef 9.98
Canola Oil 8.48
Bacon (4 lbs precooked) 11.74
Chicken Breast 11.74 and 12.20
Granola Bars 7.93
Corn Tortillas 3.57
Spinach Ravioli 9.98
Hamburger Buns 2.38
Combos 7.68
Whole dill Pickles 2 at 4.62 each 9.62
Alfredo Sauce three pack 5.38
Chips 50 pack 11.98
Total of 235.51
HyVee
Sour Cream 8 oz 1.38
Sour Cream 2 pounds 3.59
Lunch Pail Cookies 3.99 (+ .10 gas rewards)
Cottage Cheese 16 oz 1.49
Sweet Cream Butter Quarters 4 at 2 for $6 12.00 (+.04 gas rewards)
Yogurt 40 at .29 each 11.60
Fettucine Pasta 2.39
Toilet Paper 6 pack 3.29
Cinnamon Spice Tea 2 at 1.99 each 3.98
Spicy Brown Mustard 1.49
Refried Beans 3 at .99 each 2.97
Nutty Bars 2 at 2 for 7.00 7.00
Orowheat Pocket Things 7 at 2.99 20.93
Q-Tips 2.48
Hot Dogs 2 at 1.19 2.38
Egg Roll Wraps 3.29
Total of 89.31
Grand Total of $324.82
I told you my algorithms needed reworked. My spreadsheet told me I would come in $6 under. Well. We have enough food to last a month and probably then some.
And we'll save $0.14 off per gallon of gas next time we get gas. That's always a plus. On the other hand, I realized why I shouldn't talk and count at the same time-I got more yogurt than I intended. :/ Oops.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Ads are out! Shopping Trip for Jul 31
After last month and the terror of my four year old, I'm getting a little intimidated about taking him shopping again. So yes, I'm completely dreading tomorrow an the inevitable three hours of shopping. On the plus note for my sanity (though not my budget), the sales aren't great unless you are buying school supplies.
I'm just shopping at HyVee, Sam's and Dollar Tree this month. Here are the ads for the rest. Happy Ad Shopping!
Sunshine Food Stores
Fareway Food Stores
Hy-Vee
We have also been changing how we are eating. Trying to take out, if not eliminate, the majority of the tomato sauce/cheese combos. Husband has not been feeling well, having some stomach issues we, nor the doctor, are just not sure of what's going on.
My meal plan this month includes a chicken taco bake, lasagna, burritos, sesame seed chicken, tacos, ravioli with alfredo sauce, chicken alfredo, egg rolls, and meat loaf.
I'm using something new to help get my months and meals planned out. I was in the process of looking for refill pages for my planner I used many years ago and found free calendar pages from an awesome blogger on Pinterest. I printed these off and put them in my household folder. These are just for 2014, so only four months more, but you can find them here at I Heart Nap time blog.
I'm just shopping at HyVee, Sam's and Dollar Tree this month. Here are the ads for the rest. Happy Ad Shopping!
Sunshine Food Stores
Fareway Food Stores
Hy-Vee
We have also been changing how we are eating. Trying to take out, if not eliminate, the majority of the tomato sauce/cheese combos. Husband has not been feeling well, having some stomach issues we, nor the doctor, are just not sure of what's going on.
My meal plan this month includes a chicken taco bake, lasagna, burritos, sesame seed chicken, tacos, ravioli with alfredo sauce, chicken alfredo, egg rolls, and meat loaf.
I'm using something new to help get my months and meals planned out. I was in the process of looking for refill pages for my planner I used many years ago and found free calendar pages from an awesome blogger on Pinterest. I printed these off and put them in my household folder. These are just for 2014, so only four months more, but you can find them here at I Heart Nap time blog.
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