Not meaning to be neglectful

We've still been catching up on appointments and yesterday I twisted my back putting my toddler in the car.  It's better today, but I tried my best to rest, in between everything else.  We also have been trying out new activities in our city to see what we might enjoy.  

Here's a list of some of the fun we've been doing lately:

• Conservatory with outdoor garden ($1 each)
  
• Zoo (free)
  
• Playgroup (first visit was free)
  
• Open Gym ($3 with coupon)
  
• Library (free)
  
• Walks (free)
  
• Park (free)
  
• Backyard (even though there's not much back there yet -- free)
  

I paid $1.69 per gallon for gas

The expensive grocery store here just started a new rewards card program.  I signed up right away, not knowing what the benefit would be.  The card is free and of course, it still offers discounts throughout the store.  Some good ones, too.  Usually that's the reason I go to the store after looking at the ad.  The new card is also connected to a program called Fuelperks.  For every $50 I spend at the grocery store, I get 10 cents off a gallon of gas.  You can let the reward accumulate and earn more cents off for gas.  You have two months before the reward expires.

I had accumulated 40 cents reward to go toward gas.  When I went to fill up, I swiped the rewards card and it automatically lowered the gas from $2.09 to $1.69 a gallon.  The max you can fill up is 20 gallons.  The best part is that BP stores are participating and we have a BP Chase card that gives us 5 percent back on gas.  I figured I save more than $5 on gas and at these higher prices that like getting more than 2 gallons free. 

Grocery Stores that are participating in Fuelperks include:

• BI-LO
  
• Giant Eagle
  
• Roundys
  
• Ukrop's
  
• Winn-Dixie
  

My advice, don't scoff at free reward programs.  I have tons of card in my wallet.  But I use them at the select stores.  Every little bit helps out and eventually you gain a reward. 

What's Cookin" -- Lazy Lasagna

I can't remember where I read this one, but it was on a blog.  This is a super easy recipe that tastes really good.  I also like that you can easily adapt it for a large family or small family.  

Lazy Lasagna

1 large bag frozen ravioli (I used beef ravioli, but any will do)

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 jar spaghetti sauce (or homemade sauce)

1. Layer ravioli, cheese, and sauce in casserole dish.  End with cheese on top.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for half hour.

Serve with Garlic Bread.  Yummy!

A Little Slow

We've been busy with appointments and things lately, so I'm not getting as much on my blog as I would like.  I've got the dentist tomorrow and need to go grocery shopping, too.  Seems like it's been hard to catch up.  Hopefully, in the next day or so I'll get a project up, a recipe and a great deal I go on gas!  

However, I did want to share why it takes me 45 minutes to make a 20 minute meal. Yep, I was making dinner and in runs my proud 20-month-old with no clothes or diaper on.  In case you were wondering, the dirty diaper is about to go on the top of her head.  I think she's turning 2 a little early.

More on freezing meals

I'm trying to figure out what will work for my family in order to spend less time cooking every day.  I've started freezing meals for future.  Recently I checked out some books from the library that are great resources for meal planning and freezing food.

Here are some books that I've found helpful.  They do go with the Once a Month Cooking plan, but I don't find that realistic for me.  I can't imagine making meals that we aren't familiar with just to freeze them.  The books are all a great resource for how to do this with your own meals and give great recipes.  I also like some of the tips for freezing and unthawing food.  

• Frozen Assests, Deborah Taylor Hough.
• Once a Month Cooking, Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg
• Prevention's Freezer Cookbook, Sharon Sanders
• Fix, Freeze and Feast, Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik
  

Shopping at a Bread Outlet Store

Since we moved, I keep driving by a Sara Lee Outlet store.  We almost exclusively eat Sara Lee bread and buns.  I try my best to find them on sale and stock up, but on sale is still around $2.50 for a loaf of bread.  Last weekend I made a trip to the outlet store and

was pleasantly surprised. 

Here's what I bought:

2 loaves of bread -- 99 cents each

2 hamburger buns (8 count) -- $1 each

2 hot dog buns (8 count) -- $1.25 each

Total: $6.48

Normally I would have paid twice the cost or more for these items.  I brought them home and split up the buns into packages of 4 each and froze them.  This will help with our freezing meals plan.  With a small family sometimes we end up throwing away buns because we don't eat them all up in a week.  By splitting them up , this will cut down on waste, as well.

For more info at shopping at an outlet bread store, go here!

What's Cookin -- Chicken and Cashews

This is a Thai dish that I came across while I was searching for a chicken meal that had cashews in it.  It is really good and tastes like a good home-cooked Asian meal -- not tasting like fast food like so many places do these days. 

For more great recipes, check out the Grocery Cart Challenge!

Chicken and Cashews

This recipe was found here.  I added my variations below.  This is a large 2 serving meal.

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

2/3 cup water

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 medium onion

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 chicken breasts, cut in 1/2 inch pieces (I cut mine in strips)

1 cup salted cashews

Hot cooked rice

1. In a bowl combine sugar, cornstarch, water and soy sauce until smooth, set aside.

2. In skillet saute onion in oil until tender.

3. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink.  About 5 minutes.

4. Stir in soy sauce mixture.

5. Bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes or until thickened.  

6. Stir in cashews.

7. Serve with rice.

**If you were to omit the cashews it would still taste really good.  Between steps 5 and 6 I put broccoli in the skillet.  I steamed it first for 3 minutes in the microwave.  You could be very creative and use different vegetables to vary the taste of this meal.  See the reviews for the recipe here.**