Last nights dinner

I made something amazing last night. Truly. Amazing. I thought so anyway. Chicken parmesan in the oven! So fast and so easy. Check out the recipe here. There is a nice little video you can watch so you are sure not to mess it up.  I will say this though...I should of butterflied my chicken breasts. The recipe says 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until the chickens are fully cooked. Well, at 35 minutes the top of my dish was perfect, but the chickens were still half raw. I ended up cooking mine for about 65 minutes total because the chickens were so fat. When I realized it wasn't going to be done in time I added a little more tomato sauce so my cheese didn't burn. I also halved the recipe since it was just Aus and me.  Anyway, SO super easy and SO delicious. Please try it and let me know your thoughts! :) 


(and no, these aren't my pictures...they are from the blog the recipe came from. blog posts are just waaay better with pictures, right?!?) 

Happy Tuesday!!

This is it, I promise...

Ok, so enough of the couponing blog posts...this will be the last I promise. I went back to Teeter last night for one more round (since I got a few new coupons in the Sunday paper yesterday) and I did ok.  I didn't take pictures of everything but did want to share my numbers. My total was $70.16 but I saved $50.74 and only paid $19.42. I also went back on my old posts and added in my VIC savings, making my numbers even better!  I realized I was only including the "coupon savings" section of the receipt when really I save with the coupons and the regular VIC sales.  I would still get the VIC savings without couponing but still, savings is savings.  I finally convinced Aus to go with me last night and boy was that a bad idea. He rushed me the whole time and was completely annoying- he even started clapping his hands giving me a round of applause when the total at the registered came up. Embarrassing. He didn't take my couponing very serious and will not be invited back again! Which I know he is glad about and was probably his intention the entire time. :)

My triple coupon week totals at Harris Teeter:

total bill- $215.42

total savings- $152.90

total spent- $62.51

Pretty cool, sign me up for the extreme couponing show! HA :)

Round 2...

 I went back to Harris Teeter for round two today.  Here is what I got:

My total was $88.99 but I saved $74.99 and only paid

 $14.00! For ALL that stuff!

I've decided couponing is sort of like a giant scavenger hunt, trying to find all the specific items the coupon asks for and hunt up and down the aisles.  It is a fun game to me and now I find I'm timing myself to see how fast I can get in and out with the specific items on my list...a true scavenger hunt! 

I am trying to get Aus to come along and play, he takes 10 items, I'll take the other 10, and see who can find them all the fastest. He isn't having it.  Actually, he doesn't even like telling people I am using coupons and refuses to go to the grocery store with me and my coupon book. Ha. He will come around. :)

Coupon Craze

 So, it's time. It's time I tell you. I've jumped on the bandwagon and joined the extreme couponing craze.  I started clipping the coupons in the Sunday paper about 6weeks ago and now have a nice little collection. I've done okay so far- saving  about $30 with each grocery store trip.  Typically, I spend anywhere from $100-$120 a week on groceries, adding up to $450-$500 a month. I saved about $100 last month. I've talked to several of my coworkers about their grocery bills/couponing etc. and they totally got my hooked.  One girl told me she feeds her family of SIX (four school aged kids) for $150 a month. SO nuts.  I know I'll never be that good, but any savings is better than none at all. Yesterday started the infamous triple coupon week at Harris Teeter- it lasts from Wednesday (9/14) to Tuesday (9/20) at midnight.

WELP, here was my first triple coupon experience:

The total was $118.77 but I saved $89.73 and only paid $29.04!

My total really would of been about $20 if it wasn't for Aus making me pick up a rotisserie chicken + deli made potatoes for dinner.  Those aren't even in the picture, so really, I got everything in this picture for around $20! Not too shabby, eh?

The rules at Teeter- they will triple any coupon under $.99.  You can use 20 coupons, per day, per house hold (tied to your VIC card). So, many people go everyday during this week and use their allotted 20 coupons each trip.  I definitely had more to use so I'll be going back another day, if not two, while the sale is still going on.

These are my two favorite blogs that give me all the info I need- Southern Savers and My Coupon Teacher.

I really only read about Harris Teeter and the sales they have with the coupon match ups.  I'm not investing a ton of time into this so I'll never be driving around to numerous grocery stores to save- watch me eat those words! I am definitely the girl in the grocery store with the coupon binder that I use to make fun of. (I only have a small little accordion pocket thing.) I think I like it so much because it's like a huge game- 'how much can I save this trip' and y'all know how much I like my games! :)

How do you coupon? How much do you save? What are your favorite coupon blogs?

Salsa Verde

So last week this guy I work with brought in the most amazing salsa verde I've ever put in my mouth. I can't even begin to describe how amazing this stuff was.  I asked him how he made it, and he told me, and I thought I did exactly what he said. He basically threw all these items in a food processor, let it set overnight and wah lah there you have it.  Welllll, not so much for me.  I did what he said, I swear I did, but it sure didn't turn out as good as his.  It was still delicious, don't get me wrong, but it was not the same.  After I made this I looked up salsa verde recipes and almost all of them have you boiling the tomatillos (green tomatoes) or roasting them before you chop/blend them up. Hmm. Maybe that was it. He sure didn't tell me that part! I actually ended up throwing in a few beef steak tomatoes last night just for fun. It is still super yummy and I'll be making it again, or something like it, when we go to the beach next week!

What you will need:

1.5 lbs Tomatillos, husked and washed

1 red onion

1 lime

1 bunch of cilantro (I used about a 1/4 of it)

4 cloves garlic (might be too much for some)

1 anaheim pepper

2 large red tomatoes

salt to taste

New favorite lately

Mm-mmm Good!

I've been a cooking mama-jama lately (no worries, this is sure not to last much longer)and I've got a few more recipes to share.  Last night I made a meatloaf, (without following a recipe!!) an onion casserole, red skin potatoes and corn on the cob. I made this because Austin loves meatloaf and is aaaalways wanting me to make one.  When we were eating this I asked, "you really love meatloaf that much?" He replied with, "Basically it was my birthday meal request from ages 4-9." I guess he really does love meatloaf.

Meatloaf

What you will need: 

1.5 pounds ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs

1 cup (about 3/4 sleeve) Ritz crackers, crumbled

1 cup tomato sauce (1/2 into meat loaf and another 1/2 for sauce on top) 
1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp minced onion
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl combine all above ingredients except for brown sugar, worcestershire sauce and 1/2 cup tomato sauce.  Mix everything well and place in meat loaf pan.  Then mix tomato sauce, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce in small bowl and set aside.  Bake at 350 for about an hour then add sauce and bake another 15 minutes.  Delish!

Vidalia Onion Pie

What you will need:

1 1/2 cups Ritz crackers (about 1 sleeve)

6 tbsp butter, unsalted

2 eggs

3 cups Vidalia Onions, (about one onion) *I read this wrong and thought it said 3 onions, ha, oops.

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crush Ritz while in sleeve. Mix crackers and 4 tbsp. butter in a bowl until well blended.  Press the mixture on the bottom of a pie plate. (I used a casserole dish and I don't think it worked so well.)

Melt remaining 2 tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until tender.  Add onions on top of Ritz crust.

Beat milk, eggs, and salt and pepper. Pour over onions then sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 30-35 minutes.

*This is suppose to be a pie, not so much a casserole.  Mine didn't turn out so well (although it tasted delish)

For the potatoes I just chopped 3-4 red skin potatoes and brushed olive oil and various seasonings on them and into the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes. Bon appetite!

Chicken Florentine Lasagna

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and it was sooo yummy. Again, super easy and delicious! I made it ahead of time so Aus could pop it in the oven while I was at work.

What you need:

2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken, I used 1.6 lbs chicken breasts but you can use thighs, chicken pieces etc.

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 10oz pack frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp)

1 6oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained

1/4 tsp (or more) pepper

1 8oz container sour cream

6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

1 cup parmesan cheese

3/4 cup pecan pieces (I'm not a fan so I skipped out on these)

In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, soup, spinach, cheese, mushrooms, pepper and sour cream - stir all together. After cooking and draining noodles, lay 3 noodles down in 9x13 or 11x7 dish. Layer half of mixture on top of noodles then repeat with 3 more noodles and second half of mixture. Sprinkle parmesan and pecan pieces (I put a little cheddar too) on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake another 15 minutes or until bubbly. If you let it sit a while it will be easier to cut.  Makes about 6 servings.

HAHAHA this happened when I was defrosting the spinach. I guess I let it go a little too long :)

good little wife! :)