Is it possible?

I have often heard people say that eating healthy and using coupons is just not possible. Saying that the coupons "out there" are for only junk food. The following example is of a recent grocery "find" shows that this just isn't true. This is how I was able to purchase organic food for little to no cost:

Right now, there are printable coupons available at these locations : Link, Link or Link. They are Save $1/1 when you buy any flavor/variety of Muir Glen/Cascadian product (Exp. 10/18)

I used these at our local North Western Albertson's store that has Muir Glen organic diced, whole, or fire roasted tomatoes 14.5-15 oz on sale for $1.25. With coupon, made them .25 cents each! [price good till 10/3]

Then again at our local Fred Meyer's (Kroger Company), I used these with their Muir Glen Tomato paste for .99 each. Which made them FREE, but for some tax.

Lastly, at WalMart, I used this coupon with their Muir Glen organic diced, whole, or fire roasted tomatoes 14.5 - 15 oz. for $1.17. Final price .17 cents each. They also had packages of the Cascadian Farm Broccoli Florets - 8 oz package for .48 cents w/coupon.

Last year when these coupons came out, I was then able to find the Muir Glenn Tomato products, and Cascadian mixed vegetables, corn, carrots, cereal, and granola bars for some good prices.

I simply brought these coupons with me when I did my regular shopping trips, and then made notes of whether these would be good values or not. Our family really enjoys these brands of organic products. They seem to have a much better taste than even some of the name brands; and they are healthier for you, too!

Be sure to stop over at Money Saving Mom where this discussion of "Balancing health and frugality" continues...

*Special thanks to pinchingyourpennies.com for the links*

Quiet here...

...on the blog that is, but not at home. Daddy is coming home from another business trip, and then again in a few more weeks. So, this causes mom to be on double duty". :) Despite this, I really do enjoy having one on one time with the kids. Just simply playing together is good stuff.

My little boy's favorite game is playing, "TAG - YOUR IT!", and then another new game we made up that closely resembles Soccer. The object of the game is to kick the ball past mommy and sister; ultimately hitting the fence to make a goal. I have to say that "J-dog" has a pretty good kick. :)

Then today, we tried to find different ways to turn a small amount of orange juice, into the color RED. Ketchup, red slushy, red sprinkles, and paprika work good. :) Mom had to stop the fun when the kids started asking, "Let's put grass, and then let's put dirt in it..."

Beautiful

Dear friends,

If you love things about the home as much as I do, then be sure to visit Everyday Graces with her posting "Measure for Measure". It's beautiful posting.

Welcome Autumn!

There are just a few more days until Autumn officially starts. But, I am already celebrating its arrival. This is my favorite, favorite, favorite time of the year! :)


~The first leaves have fallen on the grass.
~The weather is in the 70's - which is perfect for me!
~The stores are showing off their Autumn decorations (even some Christmas -shhh. I didn't say that) .
~Starting to dream about Thanksgiving Meal delights.
~There is that "baking is in the air" mood with friends here at home and with "blog friends".
~We've pulled out the lightweight jackets from their slumber.
~Looking forward to going on our annual country drive of the valley and into the mountains to view the splendor of the changing colors.
~Then there is hopes of going to the pumpkin patch and finding that perfect pumpkin...
~Hoping to visit a Bazaar or two.
~My kiddo's are eagerly anticipating more leaves falling down so that they can jump into "Mommy's leaves" as soon as she gets a nice big pile raked up. And then again rake up the same pile so that they can gleefully tear it down. Doing this again for 20 or more times. :)
~Last night, I made my husband some Rice Crispy treats. Puts a smile on his face every time.
~MMM... Maybe it's time to break out the hot chocolate or apple cider.

Welcome Autumn!

Freezer Pleaser #5

Simple Salisbury Steak

1 can of mushroom soup
1 pound of ground beef
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (or 2 small cans of sliced mushrooms)

In a bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the soup, beef crumbs, egg and onion. Shape firmly into 6 patties. (If you are using raw meat, you can freeze it now and brown the mushrooms and freeze them too, or you can freeze everything after cooking)

In a skillet over medium heat, cook patties, a few at a time, until browned on both sides, spoon off fat, set aside.

Stir in remaining soup and mushrooms, return the patties to the skillet, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until done, turning patties occasionally.

Allow to cool and place patties and sauce into freezer bag. Lay flat to freeze.

To COOK: Allow to thaw. Reheat and eat!

*Can put this dish over rice or noodles and make with a little extra gravy mixture.

(Campbell's soup recipe)

A first

We had an abundance of tomatoes gifted to us by a neighbor. So I decided to try my hand at making Spaghetti Sauce from fresh tomatoes.

There were 8 tomatoes to work with. Most of them were small and getting very ripe.

Making this sauce was very easy. Just blanched the tomatoes. Peeled the skins off and pureed in the blender. Added seasonings, a can of tomato paste, and additional veggies. Then simmered for 1 to 2 hours. Added some ground sausage (optional) . And served.

This made 20 oz of red sauce that we used for pizza and then kept the remainder for spaghetti another night. It was yummy and flavorful!

Happy Dance

There are some people that I call my friends who don't use creamer in their coffee. Just black is good for them. I'm not one of those people. ;) I love to flavor up my coffee. So when I came across this deal at Walgreen's, I was doing the happy dance.

Here's how it worked out:

~2 Coffeemate Liquid Creamers 16 oz: $4.38 regular price
~Buy one get one free: $2.19 on sale
~Used two, $1.00 off each printable coupons = .19 cents

Aroma

There's just something about the smell of bulk cooking spices. So says the cashier at WinCo. I sure wouldn't know as I don't have much of a smeller for a nose. : )

Here is what I picked up to help restock and refill the spice jars:

~Parsley Flakes
~Nutmeg
~Cinnamon
~Pumpkin Spice
~Garlic Powder
~Minced onion
~Parsley Flakes
~Yellow Mustard
~Basil
~Italian Seasoning
~Grated Parmesan Romano Cheese
~Dried Cranberries

All these spices were purchased for just under $5.00 total. Lovin' the bulk section!

Job Title Change

Whew! So glad this week is done! It has been another busy one. I think that my title of "Stay at Home Mom" was changed to "Stay in the Car Mom". We were gone every single day along with 3 out of the 5 weeknights. Then Dad was gone for another business trip. Toward the end of this week the kids were falling apart.

This busy schedule is not my true desire for our family. My goal is to usually stay home for at least 2 days a week, even better would be three days. This helps me to manage my home better, care for my husband and kids, and save money with less gas usage, not going out to eat, etc.

I find that so often us moms say that we are "Stay at Home" Moms, but are rarely home due to the demands of our busy schedules. I know for me, this is an area that I constantly need to be balancing. Purposing each day and week for what is really important and lasting.

Thanks!

Thank you to all you wonderful bloggers out there that have been leaving comments on this blog. You are such a source of encouragement to me! It puts a smile on my face to have this connection with you.

Grateful to walk with you in this life and online journaling.

40% Chance

Today, I decided to take the kids to the Zoo. Since we have a yearly pass, it makes going to the zoo another option than going to the park again. They offer a nice kids section that has an Educational building for children to discover all sorts of things, exhibits that are kid friendly, a giraffe slide, and gopher tunnels to play in.

Before leaving, I checked the weather forecast. It said a high of 74 degrees with a 40% chance of rain. The clouds in our area didn't look threatening. More just heavier clouds than usual with blue sky shining through some pockets. Well as soon as we left the play area the skies opened up and let go it floodgates of water. Let's just say that we learned so much about the Kimono Dragons.

We huddled there for 10 minutes. Then decided to run to the next exhibit for cover. I looked back and my little boy was missing. He had tucked himself into a kids tunnel near the Mearkats viewing area. He called me over and we huddled there until the water started to then stream into our small area. Then we ran into the Rain Forest Exhibit to get out of the rain!. Pretty ironic. This rain forest didn't even have the real mist. Just dry as can be. :)

The rain had stopped, but thunder was still threatening another downpour. So we quickly went over to the Penguin exhibit. What we found was an empty pool with penguins walking around the bottom of it. There was a window in the viewing area that had cracked. So until the workers got it fixed, the penguins were enjoying the rain from above. My little children couldn't understand how the penguins could be happy without water in their pool. Momma did her best to explain and cheer them up.

Next time I read 40% chance of rain, I will take head. :)

4th Time

Today, has been one of those busy, full days where I am now on my 4th attempt to warm-up a cup of tea. And this one is being threatened by the dog whining for a walk and then the kids fighting sleep with all their might. Their Daddy is gone on a business trip. So here I am, "escaping" to the blog.

My complaints are really not warranted. There truly are many more people out in this world that are having much more than just a "hard day".

Reading about Amy's First Day of traveling to their new home really made me feel more thankful for my present circumstances. You'll come away thinking, "Man, I hope tomorrow gets better". Check out Amy's Humble Musings.