Pop-Tarts Money Maker at Publix

I'm beginning to think that there's no such thing as a free lunch, but I've got breakfast covered! First there was the free Kashi waffles that I didn't even bother to blog about, then the free cereal and this week at Publix, it's money making Pop-Tarts!

Here's the deal- they have Pop-Tarts buy one get one free this week. They are $2.39 for 2 boxes or about $1.20 each. Target has a $.75 printable coupon here. This takes them down to $0.45 each. Pretty good deal, but wait... it gets better...

There is a printable coupon for $.55 the Blueberry Muffin flavor here. Stack both coupons for $.10 overage! My Publix also had peelie coupons for $.55 each box, so I got 10 boxes of Pop-Tarts and $1!!!! Woo hoo!!!!

If I had not already submitted my Kellogg's Fuel for School Rebate, this deal would actually be a $10 money maker.

As always, thanks to Sarah at Fiddledeedee and also Michelle at I Heart Publix for their coupon match ups.

Chicken Pot Pie

My husband loves chicken pot pie. I like it in that it's easy to pre-cook and I can use leftover chicken or less expensive cuts of chicken (i.e. thighs) and he does not notice. The past few times I've made it though, it just seemed to be so much WORK- too much chopping, too many pans dirtied. I went as far as declaring I would no longer make it myself (I won't say from scratch since I wasn't rolling out pastry or anything). I decided I would just buy the frozen premade pies and be done with it.

I never quite got around to buying those premade things. I went to the grocery store yesterday and brought home some other chicken for dinner. My husband saw it, and promptly scarfed it for LUNCH. Can I tell you how much I HATE when he does that???? Lunch around here is leftovers or a sandwhich or something from the cupboard- nothing fancy and certainly NOT what I am planning for dinner! I played it cool though and didn't say anything- food is for eating, the time isn't really ALL that important, right? Except now I had no dinner plan... I checked out the fridge- I had some leftover baked chicken from Sunday night and hubs had just commented on chicken pot pie...

I did a little Swag Bucks search and found this Rachael Ray recipe. I combined that with the Alton Brown Good Eats recipe I usually use and came up with the below recipe. It was EASY, quick, involoved no chopping and dirtied exactly one pot and one casserole dish. WOO HOO!!!!! It was also yummy and comforting. So here is my new and improved Chicken Pot Pie recipe:

Chicken Pot Pie

4 Tbsp Butter
4 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1/2 Cup milk (I used 2% with no problem)
Salt and Pepper
1- 1/2 tsp Brown Mustard
Sprinkle of Poultry Seasoning
2 cups cooked chicken (or turkey)
1-1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (the kind with peas, carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans)
1 sheet frozen puff pastry or tube Pillsbury Crecent Rolls

Heat a small skillet over medium heat with 4 tablespoons butter. When the butter has melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the stock and milk and season with salt and pepper. Cook the sauce, whisking often, for a couple of minutes until is has thickened up, then stir in the mustard and poultry seasoning and remove pan from heat. Add in the chicken and frozen vegetables. Stir to combine. Spread into casserole dish.

You can make it up to this point, then pop it in the fridge to cook later. That's what I did- I made it while the baby napped, then heated it back up in the oven at dinner time. When I worked outside the house, I used to make my pot pie to this point, then leave it overnight. My husband would finish it when he got home.

When you are ready to cook the pie, get your puff pastry out of the freezer and let it thaw for about 30 minutes on the counter top until it softens up. Also get your casserole out of the fridge so that it can come closer to room temp before you pop it in the oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a small buscuit cutter, cut out circles of puff pastry and place on top the chicken pot pie. If you are using crescent rolls, just unroll and place on top of the pie. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. You might want to alter that for the crescent rolls- this was the timing for the puff pastry though.

My husband is a big fan of the puff pastry on top the pie. I think that it's expensive and not all that much more special than crescent rolls. I had some left over, so that's why we used it last night. I think that in the future, I will get crescent rolls. I've tried making it with a homemade drop buscuit crust and he wasn't a fan of that, but your family might be. I hope that you find this recipe as easy and yummy as I did!

WFMW- Glad Press'n Seal® Placemats

This WFMW actually comes courtesy of my mom- this was her idea. My little guy is 10 months old and loves nothing more than feeding himself. He loves Cheerios, carrots, cereal bars, fruit of all kinds- if he can pick it up, smoosh it around and get it into his mouth, he's happy! This is fine at home when he has a huge high chair tray to work with, but what to do when you're out in public and a little worried about him eating right off the table?

A Glad Press'n Seal® place mat, of course! According to the Glad website, "While other wraps cling, Press'n Seal® wrap actually seals to a variety of surfaces including paper, plastic, and wood." So basically, you just tear off a length of the wrap, slap it down on the table, apply a little pressure, and you have a place mat that your little one can't pull off and fling across the room. In all fairness, Tyler did try to peel the edge off the table, but it was a slow process that I could manage and distract him from, not an all out fling as with a plate or normal place mat. I was even able to seal the wrap around the edge of the table- top and bottom- to keep a clean surface for him.

Fore more WFMW, visit We Are THAT Family. Thanks for reading!

Breast Fed in Public and Lived to tell about it!

(Alternative title for this post was LOOK MOM, NO CAPE! :-))

So it was story hour at the library today. It's a really great program for babies under 18 months. We sing a few songs, do a little baby sign and hang out afterwards for some mommy chat. I knew that my little guy would need to be fed after story time and I wanted to run by the grocery store before coming home. In the past, I would have thrown the makings of a formula bottle in the diaper bag and been done with it, but we were running late and I really DO want to get more comfortable feeding him in public, so off we went with no bottle.

About half way through story time, T. started getting a little fussy. When we made the sign for milk, he started reaching down my shirt and it was pretty clear to everyone that he was ready. I tried to distract him and we finished story time, then hung out with the other moms and babies for a little bit. I figured that I could find a back corner of the library to have a little privacy while he nursed. No such luck. Busiest library in the state because on a random Tuesday morning, every back nook that I could find was occupied with someone READING! Of all things, in a library, really???? ;-) I decided that my best bet was to go back down to the room where we had the story hour and tuck myself in a corner to feed him. I will admit, though, I was more than a little worried. What if one of the other moms said something? Accused me of warping their child or something? I reminded myself that I had a legal right to feed my child and that no one would probably pay attention anyway. I pulled a chair over to a dark corner of the room and away we went!

So guess what happened???? NOTHING! One of the other moms came over with her little girl and talked to me while I fed T. Another mom came over, changed her baby and maybe inspired by me (?????) also started to nurse her baby. T. was asleep by this time, so I just put him up on my shoulder and continued to talk. MUCH better than being buried in the back of the stacks somewhere. I feel like I conquered a little something today.

Publix Sweepstakes

A while back, Lissa over at Saving Your Cents posted about how Publix sweepstakes generally have less than 2,000 entries, so your odds of winning are better than state lotto or something like that. With that in mind, I am keeping my eyes open for Publix sweepstakes and I saw two today at my local store.

Go Green For Summer- Super easy entry, call 800 969 0156- grand prize is a 2009 Lexus RX 400h hybrid vehicle (sign me up please!) and runners up get $100 Publix gift card (I'll take that!). Official rules are available by calling above number, only open to residences of AL, FL, GA, SC and TN. I might be reading this wrong, but it looks like they are giving away 4 vehicles and 1,000 gift cards??? If so, the odds are even better. This is sponsored by Frito-Lay, Inc.

Green Works- Grand Prize is a Whirlpool HE Washer and Dryer (25 winners) and First Prixe (100 winners) get $100 Publix Gift Card. Mail 3x5 card with your name, address, birthdate and daytime and evening phone numbers to Clorox GreenWorks/ HE Sweepstakes, PO Box 550932, Jacksonville, FL 32255-0932 or check your local store for entry forms. Void outside FL, GA, SC, TN and AL. See official entry form for official rules.

Happy Playing- Let me know if you win!

Garlic Beef Stroganoff- Crock Pot Recipe!

Menu Planning Monday- not happening lately... I have a general idea of what we're going to eat, but I've not been in the habit of getting everything down on paper. I wanted to share this recipe with you though- the first time I made it, I was still working. I left it to cook and my husband got home first, cooked the egg noodles and ate the meal. I got a text saying, "Wow babe, awesome dinner!" That's about the highest form of praise you get from my husband, and he doesn't hand it out lightly, so this is certified yummy! Of course today, I didn't get it into the crock til 2 pm, so I'm hoping that it will still be yummy cooked on high for less time, but that's okay!

Garlic Beef Stroganoff
(adapted from a Taste of Home Slow Cooker Book, I think):

• 2 tsp beef bouillon granules
• 1 cup boiling water (I use hot tap water)

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (one of these days I'm going to be cool and make my own cream of soup, but today it was Campbells all the way!)
• 1 can (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained (original recipe calls for 2 jars, but we are not big mushroom people, so I cut it back)
• 1/2 JUMBO onion from Costco (original recipe calls for 1 large), chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1-1/2 to 2 lbs boneless round steak, trimmed and cut into thin strips (I've used several different kinds of been in this recipe, all with good results. Tonight it's round roast, cut into smallish pieces.)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
• Hot cooked egg noodles

In a slow cooker, dissolve bouillon in water. Add next 5 ingredients. In a skillet, brown beef in oil. Transfer to slow cooker. (I skipped this step today- just threw the meat in. The browning gives it good flavor, but this recipe has enough without it thanks to the Worcestershire sauce.) Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until the meat is tender. (I'm hoping 4 or so on high will do it... not sure since my meat was still a little frozen- easier to slice that way, BTW.) Stir in cream cheese until smooth. Serve over noodles. Yield: 6-8 Servings. (Not at my house- we get 1 daddy sized serving, 1 mommy sized serving and 1 lunch serving, usually...)

WFMW- The TO DO List

Meet My TO DO List. After spending some time (months) running around like a chicken with my head cut off feeling like I never accomplished anything, I finally put some of those free school supplies to good use and created a TO DO list. When a random though crosses my mind (as in "I really need to...." or "Wow, I've got to remember to...") I just jot it down on my TO DO List. When it's done, I cross it off. Can I tell you how great putting a nice thick slash line through something feels?? We have a little celebration and move on to another item.

My husband can also see my TO DO list and occasionally decides to jump in and complete one of those tasks that I've got listed. He can also see (as evidenced by the thick slashy lines) what I've accomplished. It helps me from having to point out that even though our house LOOKS like it's inhabited by wild monkeys, I really DO DO things around here. (Wild Monkeys, DO DO, HAHAHAHAH!!!)

Anyway, this is a simple, simple thing that has helped me from having all those random thoughts rattle around in my brain and resulted in less thinking, more doing and a greater sense of accomplishment. It doesn't cost anything and doesn't have any negative environmental impact. Someday, I might get really fancy and start prioritizing my TO DOs, but for now, this is working for me! Try it- maybe it will work for you too!

As always, visit We Are THAT Family for more WFMW.

FREE Cereal at Publix!

So I know that I have not been here lately... we've been working through some stuff, I've been working through some stuff... maybe more to come later if I can ever really get some time to sort it all out, maybe not... In the mean time though, I wanted to share with you how I got 10 boxes of cereal FREE at Publix this week. Here goes:

• Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Pops and Fruit Loops are BOGO this week- $3.99 for 2 boxes, or about $2 each.
• Kellogg's is running a Fuel for School rebate right now- buy 10 Kellogg's products, get $10 back by mail. (Makes it $1 for each box.)
• If you still have your 6/7 insert, there are $1 off coupons there. I didn't, but was okay with paying $1 per box...
• When I got to Publix, there were $1 off any Kellogg's peelies on a bunch of boxes of Kellogg's cereal. They didn't specify brand, so I peeled off 10 and got $1 MORE off per box, taking my final cost down to nada.

But wait, wait, it gets better! I signed up for Save-A-Lot's Smart Shopper Club (thank you Bargain Briana!) and got a coupon for $5 off $20. I had to buy a few more things to get to my $20 after coupons, so my final total was $14.53. I will submit for $10 rebate, bringing it down to $4.53!!!! Here is what I got:

• 10 boxes Kellogg's Cereal
• 2 packages Texas Toast Croutons (BOGO plus $.50 coupon)
  
• Package of pens
• 2 Liter Soda
• Mustard (used $.50 coupon)
• Organic Applesauce
• 2 jars Newman's Own Salsa (on sale for $2 less $.50 coupon)

Not bad in my book for under $5!!!!!!!

(By the way, I ALWAYS make my grocery list using Fiddledeedee's weekly coupon matchup. Sarah didn't post last week and I felt all kinds of lost.)