Frugal Living

Recipe and a coupon giveaway

August 24, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

On our menu for the week is Baked Ziti so I thought I would share my quick and easy (yet delicious) recipe:

1 pkg whole wheat ziti (or other small noodle)

1 large can organic crushed tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 clove garlic, crushed

1/3 C. parmesan cheese, grated

1 C. mozzerella cheese, shredded

1 lb. ground turkey

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.
Combine onion, green pepper and garlic in a small pan with 2 TB EVOO and saute until tender.
Add can of crushed tomatoes to cooked veggie mixture and heat until boiling. Remove from heat.
Cook ground turkey until browned, drain any fat. {I usually add some fresh basil and oregano to the turkey while it is cooking for extra flavor}
Toss pasta and turkey together and put in a baking dish.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the mixture.
Pour tomato sauce over the mixture.
Sprinkle mozzerella cheese over the top.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Yum, yum!

Now on to a great giveaway! While I was at the BlogHer conference I received coupons to some great products {I just don’t happen to need them all} I am passing the savings on to one lucky reader.

The coupon prize pack includes:

a green coupon organizer
coupon for FREE Arm and Hammer detergent
coupon for FREE Hillshire Farm lunchmeat
coupon for FREE Soft Scrub Total Kitchen cleaner
coupon for FREE premium salad from McDonalds
coupon for FREE Healthy Choice frozen meal

To win this coupon prize pack simply leave me a comment telling me how long you have been using coupons {or why you don’t}. I will randomly draw a winner on 9/1/10 and mail the prize pack out on 9/2/10.

Happy Saving!

This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday.

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Home & Family, menu planning Tagged With: coupons, easy recipes, giveaway

Feeding my book habit

August 6, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

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I love to read. Devour words. Learn. Memorize. Read!

I am currently reading four books at the same time and that is just how I roll.

Reading voraciously can be an expensive habit. But, it does not have to be! Here are some ways I feed my book habit, frugal style:

Frequent the library. I visit the library A LOT! What in the world is better than free books? You do have to remember to return them on time {my kids are the bane of my existence in this area} or you will fund the library through your late fees. And, you are not limited to the public library. Many churches have great resource libraries!
Buy books online. I never pay full price for a book, whether it is a text book for college classes, a book for a Bible study or a novel. Amazon is my favorite place to shop for books but Ebay is good as well. There is no shame in buying a used book that is in good condition, particularly when it is $3.00!
Book swap. My friends and I like the same fiction and non fiction genres. So, we book swap. Make sure that you put your name/address in the front of a book that you own so that it eventually makes it’s way back to you. You can even do this with friends that live far away by requesting the book rate at the post office {wish that was the rate to ship everything!} My friends and I even swap magazines!
Peruse yard sales and consignment/thrift stores. I love buying a good book for .10 or a quarter! Sometimes you have to dig to find a treasure but it is worth it in the end.

For tips on organizing books you can visit this archived posts here.

This post is linked to Frugal Friday.

Filed Under: Everything Else, Frugal Friday, Frugal Living, Home & Family, Office & Business, magazines Tagged With: cheap books, Frugal Living, organizing books

What is on your menu?

August 2, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

This week is strange for me…all my kids are gone for the week and I will be traveling this weekend. So *gasp* I haven’t made a menu for the week {I already have the rest of August planned}.

As a testament to how used to menu planning my family is, my hubby was looking around the kitchen last night for my menu, thinking it must have fallen off the fridge. I had to break the news to him that I hadn’t made one this week- ha!

We ended up having tomato soup and grilled cheese.

I have also heard about an awesome service, called Homemade Gourmet, this week that I plan to try and review for you soon.

So, what is on your menu? Feel free to share in the comments and don’t forget to visit these menu planning sites: Mindful Menus and Menu Plan Monday.

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Menu Plan Monday, menu planning Tagged With: easy dinners, menu planning

Frugal Travel Plans

July 23, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

In the early morning hours tomorrow, our family will be hitting the road for the 736 mile journey to see my family in Florida. This is a trip that I have made countless times since childhood both by car and by plane.

With a family, we find it easier to drive down for a myriad of reasons. But, road trips can be expensive. Here are some of the ways we save money:

Pack a cooler. We pack a cooler with lots of ice and bottled water. Then I buy the generic boxes of lemonade mix, iced tea mix, etc. so the kids don’t complain about “just” having water to drink. We can buy a 24 pack of bottled water for $2.97 at WalMart when we would pay .99+ for each bottle at a gas station or convenience store.
Pack breakfast. Eating out for breakfast is unnecessary. I make a slew of muffins beforehand and bring along mini bagels and granola bars as well. This gives the kids breakfast and provides snacks for the ride down.
Scout out stops. I plan our stops beforehand by visiting restaurant, coupon and travel sites to get coupons for places along our route. It is also often worth it to pick up a coupon book at rest stops.

This post is linked to Frugal Friday.

What do you do to make road trips affordable?

Filed Under: Frugal Friday, Frugal Living, Organized Life Tagged With: affordable travel, frugal travel, road trips

What’s on the menu…chicken salad recipe

July 19, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

Sunday- Leftover sandwiches from amusement park outing

Monday- Whole Wheat Penne with turkey kielbasa and tomato sauce, salad

Tuesday- Chicken Salad Pitas, corn on the cob

Wednesday- Homemade Ham and Bean Soup, biscuits

Thursday- Turkey Burgers on whole wheat buns, sweet potato fries

Friday- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Saturday- on road for trip to Florida

Chicken Salad Pitas

1 lb. chicken breasts, boiled until cooked thoroughly and chopped/shredded

1/2 C. mayonnaise with olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 can mandarin oranges, rinsed and chopped

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

Mix all ingredients together, stir well.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight
Serve in pita with romaine lettuce.

This post is linked to Mindful Menus, Tasty Tuesday and Delicious Dishes.

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Menu Plan Monday, menu planning Tagged With: easy dinners, frugal menu planning, recipes

Organize your pantry…save money

July 16, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

This may not sound like a Frugal Friday type of post but it is!

Have you ever gone grocery shopping without checking your pantry first? Have you ever NOT checked your pantry because it would be time consuming?

Knowing what you have can save you from buying duplicate items and wasting precious grocery money. Here are some tips:

I keep a running list of pantry contents (how many bags of brown rice, how many boxes of cereal, etc) on the inside of the pantry door. Every family member knows to cross an item off when they have used all (or almost all of something). I do this for my deep freezer too!
I have my pantry organized by category- a baking shelf, canned goods, snacks, etc. If everything is haphazardly thrown in the pantry, it is much harder to keep track of what you have.
Use clear organizing containers so you can see how much rice, flour and other staples you have left.
Periodically clean out the pantry and make some meals based on what has been lingering in there so that items don’t risk expiring, etc.