Making Cents Of It All

I received lots of Freebies this week. I got these seeds in the mail. I follow coupon pro blog and I believe that I got them thru there. You've got it.  A free bagel every day for 2 weeks. I got this email on Monday while I was at work, so I stopped on the way home.  We live very close to a Panera so it will not be a problem getting this everyday. Because my son works there I am entitled to free drinks too. Since I was there I took one home for later. The employee also thru in some butter packets. So far I have gotten a bagel everyday.  Monday: Choc. chip bagel with a hibiscus  with ginger tea. Tuesday: Choc. chip with a green tea Wednesday: Choc. chip with hibiscus with ginger tea Thursday: Sesame with green tea. My kids have been eating the bagels. I had to run to Staples for work to pick up some items. They were giving out a free tide pod and coupon with every purchase. I went to Stop & Shop to get my last 2 wee...

I keep a well stocked pantry. It really helps me keep my food costs down. When I find a good sale I could buy 20 of the same item so that I don't have to buy it again for 3 months. Well today I was near Stop & Shop so I stopped in to get the past 2 weeks of free items. They are going in Easter baskets so I will try and remember to show you them next week. I always check the marked down area in all of the local stores. And it usually pays off. Today was all about meat.  I got a whole chicken marked down to 84 cents a pound. That went right into the freezer. Specialty Italian Sausage marked down to $2. 64 a pound. We have never had this kind before but at that price I am willing to try it. My best find was over six pounds of chicken legs for 49 cents a pound. We love chicken legs on the BBQ or in the smoker. I'm hoping we will be getting some nice weather soon so that we can do both. I' m lucky to have an extra freezer in my basement. We h...

We love pizza! But we live on a budget. So getting takeout all of the time just doesn't work for us. Also, my family has food allergies. Add all of that together and you get homemade pizza. I have tried many different recipes for pizza dough. We have even gotten it from pizzerias and the supermarket. This is our favorite. It makes a 18 inch pie. 1 cup room temperature water 1 teaspoon honey 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil 3 cups of flour 1 3/4 teaspoons active yeast I run it on the dough cycle in my Cuisinart bread machine. I pull it out to rise and let it sit for at least an hour. I put a  little oil in the bottom of a glass bowl that I cover with a towel. I have occasionally left it in the bread pan to rise but since I usually make 2 I just pull them out. If you want individual pizzas, cut the dough in half before you let it rise. We have a stone for our oven but in the Summer we use it on the BBQ. We make pizza sauce with my homegrown ...

  It has been a weird week. We had snow midweek. School let out early Wednesday and was closed on Thursday. However my job was not closed (I work at a movie theater part time). Super Storm Sandy is the only time I remember my job being closed. They will close and hour or 2 early but that is it. Luckily Hubby has a 4 wheel drive truck and loves me enough to drive/pick me up from work. Both days were quiet at work so I did get to catch up on paperwork.   The snow was beautiful but now it is almost all gone. Temps were in the 40's Friday and Saturday so things seem to be warming up. I'm hoping to get some peas planted this week but I'm not sure if Mother Nature is going to let that happen. We had some of Hubby's cousins from out of state come for a visit. We invited my in-laws to come for the day so they could see everyone too. The pastries above are the leftover pastries that Hubby's cousins brought. They have the most amazing bakery by them. When ever we ...

So spring is finally here. I love Spring. It means I get to start my vegetable garden. I can't plant most things outside until mid May but I can start planting things inside. I have built my garden up over the years. My small garden with string beans 2017 I have a small garden (16ft x 8ft), and a larger garden (24ft x 18 ft.). I usually start tomatoes first inside. I grow San Marzano, Big Boy and cherry tomatoes. We love tomatoes. I love when I start seeing all of the flowers and then the baby tomatoes.  It is so exciting to see my work paying off. They just keep getting bigger and bigger. Then they start to turn that light orange and you know that soon they will be ready for picking. Then the first ones are ready. Just a few a day. The kids and hubby are just popping them into their mouths. Maybe I can hide a  few so that they can make it onto a salad. But before long they all are ready at once. 2017 And that is when the fun really begi...

Friday Freebie at Stop & Shop FREE NibMor® FREE NibMor® All Natural Cherry Bars 1oz (Max Value $1.00) Exp: 04/05/2018 You must have a Stop N Shop loyalty card and download the coupon today. Happy Shopping! * I got it and I'm putting it in my son's Easter basket. Don't tell him.

So we are supposed to get more snow.  The schools are talking about closing again or early dismissal. I like snow. I really do. I like it in December or January or February. There is nothing more beautiful then a white Christmas. Seeing it when you first wake up in the morning when it is still perfect with no footprints in it. Catching a snowflake on your tongue. I liked it when I was young. Running around pulling my sister in the sled. Waiting for my turn.  Building a snow man and giving up before his snow family was done because I  got  cold. Building a fort and then having a good old snow ball fight with my friends from the neighborhood. Then going inside and having a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream. Nothing would be better over winter break when the kids were home from school. But its March and its officially Spring. SO PLEASE, NO MORE SNOW!         *So we ended up getting around 16 inches from ...

I was at my local Meat Farms yesterday and I always head straight for the reduced produce rack. It is either a hit or miss. Yesterday was a hit. They had 6 yellow peppers for $1.99 and 6 cucumbers for $1.59. So dinner was Chicken Fajitas. I had everything else on hand. My daughter managed to sneak a few of the slices of peppers to snack on. All the rest went into the freezer for future uses as omelets, chili, or sausage and peppers.  I added a side of rice and beans and dinner was served.

One of the easiest things to make homemade, in my opinion, is salad dressings. And they taste so much better then store bought. My husband likes to tweek recipes so this is his final recipe. It is SOOOO GOOD! -2 fresh garlic cloves minced -1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (we use Grey Poupon) -1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (we use BJ's brand) -2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (not bottled) -1/2 teaspoon of sugar -3 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar (My FIL makes it and it is STRONG) -2 Tablespoons of white vinegar -1/2 teaspoon of crushed dried basil (I grow a ton in the summer and dry it) -1/4 teaspoon of oregano Whisk all the ingredients together and let it sit at least 15 minutes. Shake well before pouring. Enjoy! *I am on a low sodium diet so we do not add salt. If you would like to, then I recommend 1/4 teaspoon.

What a week! Hubby and I were away for a long weekend because it was our 25th Anniversary. We stayed in my sisters's timeshare (Thanks K). It was a ton of fun. We went to a farm and learned how they make maple syrup and got to try lots of samples. We did bring some home as a treat too. We played ping pong, air hockey, went in hot tubs, watched movies and just relaxed. There were icicles everywhere.  They were absolutely beautiful!                                            The unit did have a kitchen so we cooked 2 meals a day and ate out once a day. We did bring home all the leftovers.We had to cut the trip short by a day because a snowstorm was coming but we ended up staying home with the kids that day as schools were closed.  I did find time to be frugal. Here was my week: - Running only full loads in the washing machine and hanging most...

           Do you know who Dave Ramsey is? I found out about him about five years ago. My oldest daughter was in college and we were starting to pile up student loan debt. My husband and I were not liking it one bit.  We had worked hard to pay off our car loans early. We had learned our lesson with credit cards but we didn't think that we could put 3 kids through college without going deep into debt.We were wrong.             I started reading different financial books and came across The Total Money Makeover . I borrowed if from the library and after the first night of reading it I was hooked. There were stories of other families, couples and singles that had a lot more debt than us and still managed to get out of debt.The book explains how to make a zero based budget and Dave's 7 baby steps. We started making a zero based budget right away. We had budgeted before but never like this. It really opene...

My daughter Liz started an Etsy shop. She makes everything herself. I think she is amazing at what she does and I'm sure you'll think the same. If you are interested in checking her shop out please click the link below. https://www.etsy.com/shop/AtomicBluffsKnitwear?ref=shop_sugg Here is an example of her beautiful work.

Thanks for stopping by. I am a wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt, friend and now a blogger. I care about lots of things as you will find out through my writing. I want to make sure that my family is happy, healthy and financially secure. This is my first blog.  I'm learning as I go so I hope you will all be patient with me. This is meant as a happy place for people so please only positive comments.  Thanks again. I hope you come back soon.