Don't Forget!

Two giveaways end tomorrow at noon! Don't forget to enter!

Rainy Day Umbrella giveaway

And

Real Salt giveaway

Chicken Burritos

Lately when I have been taking food photos the flash on my camera turns things a weird neon yellow color. Do not be frightened by my food...it doesn't look quite like this in real life!

Chicken burritos are a yummy and quick meal in this house. They are also reasonably cheap as we use just one chicken breast for all five of us.

Make brown rice according to the package directions. Throw a packet of enchilada seasoning into the rice water before cooking as well. Cook a chicken breast (boil, bake, or cook to your liking) with or without seasoning. When cooked, shred the chicken and place a small amount in a tortilla. Spoon rice over the chicken, and top with a sprinkle of cheese. You can add a variety of ingredients such as black beans, corn, or whatever you have on hand. The kids prefer these simple chicken burritos but we do experiment at times.

Pair with a spinach and lettuce salad with a little dressing and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and call it a complete meal!

Menu and Grocery Shopping

Our menu for the week is:
Vegetable Lo Mein
BLTs
Boca Burgers and pea salad
Turkey ham and corn casserole
Chicken and stovetop
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Mac and cheese and pork and beans
All are served with other side dishes. Lunches are leftovers, sandwiches, fruits and veggies, or other combinations. Breakfasts consist of cereal, yogurt, fruit, toast, eggs, oatmeal, or pancakes.

For dessert this week I made 2 peach cheesecakes. That totaled about $12 for just that. But I think it was worth it as we all enjoyed the first cheesecake and have the other in the freezer for some other time (this is a freezer recipe, which I will post later this week). I did not get a picture of my groceries this week as I arrived home from shopping at lunch time and everyone was starving, which is the reason I threw the groceries into the fridge and cabinets and stuck two pizzas into the oven. Had I planned more accordingly to what time I shopped I wouldn't have had to purchase two pre-made frozen pizzas. My shopping goes as follows:

2 frozen pizzas $2 each

cool whip 89 cents

Morning Star Veggie burger $3.59

4 blocks of cream cheese $1.29 each

butter $2.59

Whole chicken $4.31

chunk of cheddar $1.67

Turkey bacon $2.69 (minus $1.50 coupon)

wheat bread $1.29

hamburger buns 99 cents

pretzels 99 cents

turkey ham $5.15

mac and cheese $1.39

Stovetop 79 cents

peach gelatin 40 cents

chopped walnuts $1.19

spaghetti $1.19

3 containers blueberries 99 cents each

2 graham cracker crusts $1.99 each

Cranberry trail mix $2

2 cans corn 60 cents each

apple juice 99 cents

5 candy treats 67 cents each

Skippy peanut butter $1.99 (minus $1 coupon)

Can of peaches $1.29

dish soap $2.39

2 apples 99 cents

80 oz. jar of pickles $2.99

Minute Maid Lemonade $1.25 (free with watermelon purchase)

can peas 60 cents

Jiffy corn muffin mix 55 cents

2.67 lb. bananas $1.58

coleslaw mix $1.69

1.38 lb. broccoli $2.06

1.44 lb. peaches $1.14

1.85 lb. strawberries $2.74

radishes $1.19

carrots $1.19

1.76 lb. tomatoes $1.74

13.31 lb. watermelon $5.19

Total: $82.68 which means we came in about $17 under budget this week. I may need to pick up milk or eggs later this week though but we have plenty left for that!

Frugal Quick Tip for Frugal Mamas

If you love BabyLegs you will want to jump over to their site today. They are having a special on the three packages of boys BabyLegs pictured above for just $10 total (free shipping!), that's a $36 value! Sorry, the girls are all sold out. While I've never tried BabyLegs and think my two year old would pull them off, I have heard others who layer them under t-shirts for their older kids which sounds like a neat idea.

What I am excited about is that they have several packages of socks on sale, usually $10 each for just $2 with free shipping. Use the code 247MOMS at checkout and receive 20% off. I bought 5 packages of socks for Joe (10 pairs total) and paid just $8 in the end! Click here to go to their sale page.

Real Salt (& Giveaway)

Years ago my mother-in-law introduced me to Redmond Real Salt. My husband and I fell in love with it as the taste is unlike any other salt that we have ever tried. It replaced our typical salt; until we ran out of the bag and couldn't find it in any local stores. Luckily, I ran across it again just a few weeks ago at a local store and bought more. I found out that it can be purchased on Amazon as well.


$5.51 for a bag of salt may sound expensive, but even when used liberally we rarely need more than one bag a year, so the daily cost of it is less than a penny.

What makes this salt special? This is real salt. You may not realize that the typical white salt is heat processed, stripped of trace minerals, and may contain dextrose and anti-caking agents. Real Salt has a pinkish appearance with flecks of color, which come from more than 60 trace minerals, including iodine. Your typical table salt is white because of refining. Real Salt contains calcium, potassium, sulfur, magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, maganese, copper, zinc, along with a host of other minerals. Who knew that salt could be good for you?

Our sweet corn has much more flavor since switching back to Real Salt. Tomato and cucumber slices are divine when sprinkled with Real Salt. Not all salt is the same.

When Real Salt heard that I was doing a review of their product (just because I love it so much; not a paid review) they sent a box of goodies to be given away to one lucky reader.

A wooden box full of spices (I haven't tried the onion, garlic, or seasoning they make so the winner will have to tell me how it tastes!), coconut oil, two containers of bath salt, a container of clay, and an organic wash cloth! All you have to do to be entered to win is leave a comment on this post. Winner will be chosen on Tuesday, the 13th.

Apple Raisin Salad

This was my lunch today. It looks a little gross, doesn't it?!

That is exactly what I thought when my mom used to make it when I was a child. I wouldn't even try it. Then once, when I was a teenager, I couldn't find a single thing to eat in the house so decided to grab a bowl of this and give it a taste. And it was delicious! It is so good that I crave it and it is perfect for a hot summer day when you don't feel like cooking. My children enjoy it as well.

Today I made a big bowl of it (about four times the amount you see if the photo above) and by late evening I finished the bowl...all by myself! I don't even feel guilty about it as it is all healthy goodness so no worries.

I also realized halfway into my first bowl of it, that something was missing but couldn't figure out what. Later I realized what it was when I saw the can of pineapple on the counter. I forgot the pineapple! It was still scrumptious without the pineapple but not as scrumptious as it could have been with the pineapple.

Don't judge a book by it's cover; you will love this salad as a side dish or as a yummy lunch!

Apple Raisin Salad

2 apples, cored and sliced into bite sized pieces

1 shredded carrot

1 small can pineapple, drained (can be chunks or crushed, whichever you prefer)

handful of raisins

1 tiny package walnut pieces

1-2 T. Miracle Whip

1 container yogurt (I used strawberry, hence the pink tint)

dash of cinnamon

Mix everything in bowl and enjoy. You can add more of some ingredients and less of others if you prefer. This always turns out a bit differently for me as I throw in everything without measuring.

Cool Lunches

When it is hot outside I don't feel much like cooking. First of all, turning the stove top or oven on heats up our house and second, when it's hot out, you don't usually feel like eating something hot.

I've been relying on a new favorite...whole wheat tortillas with lots of goodies inside! I have several variations but my two favorites are chicken, lettuce, a sprinkle of cheese, and salsa.

Or, a slice of ham, handful of spinach, sprinkle of cheese, and some spicy mustard.

Roll it up and presto - a nice cool summertime lunch which is healthy and filling.
The kids aren't into these roll ups as they seem to be hard for them to eat without them falling apart, no matter how I roll them up. They are happy with a sandwich, some fresh blueberries, and a handful of healthy trail mix.