Weekly Recipe

So though I have an incomplete kitchen, I still have to cook! I just miss it too much! So here is one of the recipes I have made recently in my half finished kitchen. It was really easy and really good! I hope you enjoy it! Click here to check out my Chicken Nacho Bake!

MIA/Kitchen Incomplete

I know I have been MIA for a while. We have had a lot going on around here. This month has flown by! I can't believe that July is almost over! We started our kitchen remodel on June 25th. Well that was the date that we tore out the cabinets.

Before Pictures...

Demo... didn't take long at all!

 The following week we patched, painted and did whatever needed to be done before the cabinets could be installed.

Cabinet installation went well! Peter, my Dad and brother had the cabinets installed in 2 days (July 2 & 3). So everything was going very well and getting done quick! It was so nice to see it come together so quickly... then they came to measure for the counter top...

My new cabinets!

Still missing the pantry in this pic.

Making sure the cabinets are strong enough to hold all of Mommy's dishes.

here comes the bad news! The counter top is on back order... 3-4 weeks! Well that was what they told us on July 5th. It has now been 3 weeks today... still waiting on a phone call! Thankfully we have part of our old counter top temporarily sitting on top of the cabinets and we have our old sink temporarily set up. I had already gone without a workable kitchen for almost 2 weeks, so I was so happy just to get a temporary set up! However, I am beginning to become more and more frustrated with the counter top company! I just want my kitchen finished! Anyway, this is part of the reason I have been MIA! Once the kitchen remodel started things got kinda crazy around here. And I haven't been posting recipes because I haven't been cooking... which I really miss. I am a much happier person when I am cooking! Hope to be posting my finished kitchen sometime next week!

Weekly Recipe

Garlic Asparagus and Squash in Lemon Cream Sauce Yes, I know, I am posting a recipe with asparagus again. But all 3 of us love it so much and it was on sale this week... how could I not cook with asparagus? Anyway, I also used some of the free pasta I bought a few weeks ago at Bloom. It was a very healthy, yet amazing dish that actually turned out to be very inexpensive. Check it out!

Weekly Recipe

Check out my new recipe this week! It is a great easy healthy recipe! And if you like asparagus, this recipe is for you! Chicken & Asparagus Kabobs!

A Steal of a Deal!

As you all know, I love couponing! Lately I have become even more crazy about it! I get so excited when the Bloom, CVS and Rite Aid ads come out. I now have a "coupon binder" which holds close to 100 card collector pages of coupons! So of course when I found out that Bloom was doubling coupons up to $1.99 this Wednesday and next Tuesday... I just knew I was going to find some great deals! I starting planning out my trip on Monday and was the first person in the door at Bloom 7am Wednesday morning! I went straight for the items I was going to make money on (yes, they were paying me to take it out of the store) and then went for the free items! It was awesome! Just wanted to share all of my deals with you! Here are the pics, list of items and what I paid for my "Steal of a Deal"!

Bloom will only double 20 coupons in one transaction. So this is 2 separate transactions.

I paid $6.23 for all of this!
With out coupons it was $119.53!

The list:

4 bottles of BBQ sauce

3 tubs of Mayo

4 half gallons of Organic Milk (that alone would have cost me $15)

6 bags Sweet Potato Fries

4 Stouffers harvest frozen meals

2 Yo Crunch Parfaits (4 pack)

8 Yo Crunch Yogurt (individual)

4 Luncables

4 Suddenly Salads

6 Garden Delight Pastas

2 Reynolds Wrap Foil

1 Pack Orbit gum

I had to buy a pack of gum at the end of the second transaction because Bloom actually owed me $.58!!! They cannot give you money back so I just quickly grabbed a pack of gum and only paid $.13 for that transaction!

Peter, Matias and I went back later that day and did 2 more transactions!

I paid $10.92 for all of this!
With out coupons it was $124.71!

The List:

8 boxes of Suddenly Salad

8 boxes of Healthy Harvest Pasta

8 boxes of Smart Taste Pasta

2 Reynolds Wrap Foils

15 packs of Orbit gum

2 packs Jello Temptations

4 Lunchables with fruit

2 Lawry's Marinades

2 boxes Oatmeal

2 Back to Nature Crackers

3 bags Tortilla Chips

2 half gallons Organic Milk

At the end of the second transaction Bloom owed me $7.28!!! So I had Peter run back and pick up 2 half gallons of Organic Milk which I thought would cover it! But they still owed us $.03! I told the cashier she could keep the $.03 and I would just not pay anything. But she said she couldn't do that. So I picked up another pack of Orbit gum and ended up paying $.68 for the second transaction!

I know some of you might think this is a little crazy and maybe even wrong! But I truly enjoy doing it and I am saving my family a lot of money! If you would like to know how to do this kind of crazy couponing just email me and I will explain the basics! It takes a while getting used to but once you get the hang of it you will love it!

4 Favorite Things to Eat... This Pregnancy

You would think that I would be craving the same things as I did with my last pregnancy. I mean I am having another boy, so why would it be any different? However, it is very different! With Matias I ate a lot of bacon... like 1-2 pieces for breakfast and lunch (BLT usually). I just ate a lot of protein with Matias... which is weird for me because I am not big on protein. I also wanted a lot of sweets... ice cream, cake, pretty much any kind of dessert. But this pregnancy is totally different! I find myself not really wanting dessert. I want something sweet, but not overly sweet so most of the time I turn to...
1. Fruit! Which is really weird for me because I normally am not a big fan of fruit. I am eating more fruit now than I have ever eaten in my life! See normally I only like seasonal fruit... nectarines, peaches, plums, strawberries. But I have actually been eating apples, grapes and oranges! It is awesome because I actually want to eat it and am not just eating it because I know I need to!

When I was pregnant with Matias I ate a lot of cereal. Which is pretty normal for me. I love eating a bowl of cereal in the morning and a bowl before I go to bed. However, this pregnancy I have been slightly lactose intolerant... more so in the morning than in the evening. Lately I have been able to eat a bowl of cereal before bed, but I just started that about a month ago, before that it would have made me nauseous. But I still cannot eat cereal in the morning, so I had to come up with something else for breakfast and lately it has been...
2. Chocolate Chip Pancakes or Waffles! Yum! Just thinking about them makes me want to go eat one now! I know they don't sound very healthy... but I actually buy the Fiber Plus Waffles and if I make pancakes I make whole wheat pancakes with flax seed. They are slightly healthier than the regular version. But I think when you add butter and syrup to them it kind of defeats the purpose! Anyway, they are amazing and usually what I have for breakfast every morning!

Due to the fact that I was having lactose intolerance issues this pregnancy the doctor was worried about me not getting enough calcium. She suggested ice cream... still made me nauseous. So I tried yogurt... still made me nauseous. And obviously I couldn't just drink a glass of milk... though I love milk and really wish I could! So I finally tried cottage cheese... NO NAUSEA!
3. Cottage Cheese is my 3rd favorite thing to eat this pregnancy! I used to love cottage cheese and ate it a lot. But is kind of one of those things I had forgotten I loved so much! And now I have gotten Matias to eating it! He and I will sit and share a bowl of cottage cheese for lunch. Lately I have been going through 1 1/2 (16 oz) containers a week! It is really good plain... but sometimes I add in stewed tomatoes and onions (I know sounds gross, but it is really good) or other times I will add in peaches or some other kind of fruit. I am so glad I found a dairy product that does not bring on nausea!

I saved this one for last. Mostly because it is the most unhealthy thing on my list. It really has no nutritional value. But I have been craving sour things... lemonade, sour fruit, pickles and... sour candy! So my 4th and final favorite thing to eat this pregnancy is
4. AirHeads Xtremes Sweetly Sour Belts! Before I was pregnant I probably would have never even noticed this in the candy aisle! I really do not care for sour things. But now that I am craving sour things I have realized that good sour candy is really hard to find! This was the only sour candy they had at CVS! (besides those gummy worm things which just weird me out) This is the only sour candy I have found that soothes my craving for sour! I usually eat only a half a pack a day... so only like 4 belts. But for those of you who have not tried them, I highly recommend them! I have posted a picture below for those of you who do not know what I am talking about!

 

 

As you can see the package is empty!

 

 

 

So far, these are the foods I am craving! I'm sure I will add a few more things along the way, but for now these are the things that keep me happy!

Weekly Recipe

This is a great summer recipe that I hope you all enjoy! It is great for parties because it is easy and can be prepared ahead of time. It also is a great side dish for grilled foods! Maybe you can even use this weekend for Memorial Day! Check it out! Edamame Garden Salad.