Once a Month Cooking

This past Sunday my husband and I cooked 15 meals for the month and it took about 5 hours of working together to get it all done. Overall the experience was great and I feel so relaxed when I come home from work knowing I have food in the freezer. We made double batches of everything.

Here are the meals we made (with links):
Ground Beef Casserole
Burritos (only 1 batch)
Spaghetti Pie
Broccoli, Chicken/Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
Buffalo Chix Pasta
Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Monterrey Chix Quesadillas
French Toast Sticks

So far we have tried the Buffalo Pasta, Beef Casserole and the Layered Enchilada Casserole. Everything is very good!

Candied Pecans

I made these for my coworkers and hubby's coworkers for Christmas. I have even gotten a request to make more because they are so addictive.

You will need:
1/2 cup egg whites
1 bag pecans or walnuts (usually 4 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
Ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300. Mix egg white with pecans stirring until pecans are coated evenly. Place pecans on ungreased baking sheets. Evenly place sugar over pecans and stir pecans to coat evenly. Add more sugar if needed. Sprinkle ground cinnamon over pecans and stir to coat evenly. Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over pecans. Stir until pecans are evenly coated. Bake 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. Makes 4 cups.

Walgreens Deals for 1/3/10

Progresso Soup 4/$5
Use $1.10/3 Q from www.smartsource.com or www.coupons.com(can print 2 Q per computer)

Buy 9 soups for $11.25
- $3.30 in Q
= $7.95
Get RR for $3 on next purchase
Total cost for 9 cans = $4.95 or $0.55 each!

Colgate 360 toothbrush $3.49
Get RR for $1
Use $1 Q from www.smartsource.com (can print 2 Q per computer)
Total cost = $1.49

Kelloggs Cereal $2/5 (goes for $3 a box at Walmart)
Get RR for $2 when you buy 2 for $5.
There are Qs out there but you'll have to search for them at least for the Special K.
Total cost = $3/2 boxes

Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti

I'm going to try this one just for Dan!

1 lb. spaghetti, fully cooked and drained
1 – 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
salt & pepper, to taste
2 c. chicken stock
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. hot sauce (more or less, depending on desired intensity. 1/4 c. will be mild to medium in flavor.)
1 c. Ranch or Bleu cheese dressing

1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste. Place in a skillet with chicken stock, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken and reserve 1/2 c. cooking liquid.

2. In a saucepan, combine the cream cheese, hot sauce and reserved cooking liquid. Cook over medium-low heat until the cream cheese is completely melted. While the sauce is cooking, shred or cube the cooked chicken.

3. Add the dressing and chicken to the saucepan, stir to combine, and then toss with the cooked spaghetti.

From http://onceamonthmom.com

Cheese Chicken Quesadillas

1/2 lb. shredded or diced cooked chicken
3/4 c. barbecue sauce (bottled or homemade)
1/2 lb. bacon
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 c. shredded cheese (any would work)
6 burrito-sized flour tortillas
Butter

1. Combine chicken and barbecue sauce. Set aside.

2. Dice the bacon and add to a small skillet. Cook until desired crispness. Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon to drain.

3. Add the sliced onion to the bacon grease in the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes, until fully cooked. Remove onions with a slotted spoon and drain.

4. Build quesadillas – on a tortilla layer cheese, chicken, bacon, onion, more cheese and top with a second tortilla.

5. Cook quesadillas in a large skillet with melted butter.

From http://onceamonthmom.com

Saving money and time on cooking

As a working mom I find that coming home right at dinner time with a hungry child was always so stressful for me. I never prepared anything in advance and often asked "what's for dinner?".

My friend Lori gave me the link to Once a Month Mom and gave me the idea to start batch cooking to save time and money. I am hoping that by batch cooking I can save the stress, the time and the money by just reheating all the meals. With Once a Month Mom, she shows how to cook once a month for all your monthly meals. So this month we are going to begin batch cooking and I will post my favorite recipes here to share.

Please check out both Once a Month Mom and My Kind of Rain as they are great blogs that share cooking ideas along with other great ideas!

Abbreviations

B&M = Brick and Morter Store
B1G1 = Buy 1, Get 1 free
CAT - q that prints out at the register
DND = Do not double - If the q starts with a 5 it can be doubled in NH
ECB = Extra Care Bucks at CVS
ESR = EasySaver booklet at WAGS
IP = Internet Printables
MNF = manufacturer q
OOP = out of pocket
P&G = Proctor & Gamble
Q = coupon
RP - Red Plum insert
RR = register rewards - use on next purchase
SS - SmartSource insert
V = Valassis insert
WAGS = Walgreens
WYB - when you buy
YMMV = Your Market May Vary

Bargain Hunting 101

This blog is to help others learn the game of Bargain Hunting and enjoy in the bounty of free, almost free and cheap stuff!

To truly take advantage of deals you must follow these simple steps:

1. Cut coupons or search online for printable coupons
2. Plan your attack...know what is on sale at what stores (for example Ritz crackers on sale at Shaws for b1g1 and you have 2 $0.55 coupons.)
3. Use coupons and sales to get the most discounts and stock up on your favorite items this way
4. Visit sites that specialize in bargains. See my list to the side.
5. Have fun and enjoy the "high" of getting something great for so less!