Target Deals: Candles and Stain Remover

I ran into Target the other day and found some great deals on candles and stain remover, both of which we use a lot.

Glade Scented Oil Candles

Currently, these are $2.50 each.   If you buy 5, you get a $5.00 gift card.  Inside the packages, I found a coupon for $2.00 off 2.  I purchased 4 candles and a refill pack.  This is the breakdown:

$2.50 x 4 candles = $10.00

$2.50 x 1 refill      = $  2.50

$12.50 subtotal

$  4.00 coupons

$  8.50 subtotal

$  5.00 gift card

$  3.50 grand total for all candles

I plan on rolling this deal a few more times because the deal doesn't end until 12/26.  Also, I saw some coupons in the past Sunday paper for these so I am going to use those as well.

Tide Stain Booster

I am the laundry queen.  I love a good stain challenge and believe me, my family can throw some good ones my way.  I LOVE this new Tide Wash Booster, but it is so expensive!  Imagine my complete and utter happiness that I came across the 50 ounce bottle in the cleareance section of my Target!  They were originally $11.99 but were marked down to $5.98 and I had two $1.50 coupons making these a steal at $4.48 each.   That is $.49 more than the small bottle that they had in the laundry section for $3.99.  This should last me at least until the end of the year.  Woo-hoo!!!

Walgreens Deals: More rolling deals!

I had some great rolling deals this morning.  Here is what I purchased:

TRANSACTION #1
Bought:

1. Vaseline Infustion Lotion   $6.99
2. Halls Refreshe  $1.00

Subtotal:  $$7.99

Coupons Used:

1. Vaseline Infusion Lotion  $1.50
2. Halls Refreshe $.35

Subtotal:  $1.85
Total OOP:  $6.65 w/tax

Received:

1. RR Vaseline Lotion $7.00
2. RR Halls Refreshe $1.00

Subtotal:  $8.00

Total for transaction #1:  $1.35 profit

TRANSACTION #2

Bought:

1. Dulcolax Balance $7.00
2. Robitussin To Go $2.49
3. Trident Layers Gum $1.29
4. Trident Layers Gum $.71

Subtotal: $10.49

Coupons Used:

1. Dulcolax Balance $3.00 (cpn can be found on bottle or here)
2. Trident Layers $1.29 (cpn was B1G1, Walgreen's takes the highest price)
3. Chapstick RR $3.00

Subtotal: $7.29

Total OOP: $3.94 w/tax

Received:

1. RR Dulcolax Balance $4.00
2. RR Robitussin To Go $2.50 (also received a $1.00 cpn for the 10ct pack)
3. Trident Layers Gum $1.00

Subtotal: $7.50

Bonus:
There is a $5.00 MIR for the Dulxolax Balance, so this make it even a great deal!

Total for transaction #2: $3.56 profit + $5.00 MIR = $8.56 (This is a great money maker!)

Grand total for both tranactions:
   $10.59 OOP
  -$15.50 RR
  -$  5.00 MIR
   $9.91 PROFIT!

Walgreens Deals: Made a Profit!

I stopped by Walgreens today and picked up a few items.  Here is what I purchased:

 

 

I bought:

1. Oust Surface & Air Spray   $2.99
2. Dulcolax Balance  $7.00
3. Chapstick  $2.99
4. Trident Total Gum  $1.29 ($2.00 for 2)
5. Trident Total Gum  $  .71
6. Halls Refresh $1.00
7. Robitussin To Go $2.49
8. Emergen-C $3.49
9. Super Poligrip $2.49 (to keep my neice's vampire teeth in)
10. Beano-To-Go $2.49
11. Dentex Dental Floss $2.00

Total $28.45

Coupons Used:

1. Trident B1G1 Free $1.29
2. Halls Refresh  $.75
3. Oust Surface & Air  $1.00
4. Vasseline Lotion $1.50 (I  just realized that I forgot to put this item in my basket, but the cashier ran the coupon anyway)
5. Dulcolax $3.00
6. Gillette MVP Razor Reward $6.00

Subtotal of Coupons $13.54

Total OOP:  $14.91 + $1.82 tax

Rewards Received:

1. $1.00 Oust Surface & Air
2. $1.00 Trident Layers Gum
3. $1.00 Halls Refresh
4. $2.00 Poligrip
5. $2.00 Dentex Floss
6. $2.50 Robitussin To Go
7. $2.50 Beano
8. $3.00 Chapstick
9. $3.50 Emergen-C
10. $4.00 Dulcolax Balance

Total:  $22.50 RR

Summary:

Spent $16.73

Received $22.50 in RR

Profit:  $5.77

Recipe: Mom's Chicken Tortilla Soup

My mom makes the most awesome chicken tortilla soup.  She doesn't have a written recipe...just throws things together.  That is a talent that I don't always have.  She gave me her basic recipe and I adapted it to what my family would like.  Her recipe is more creamy than some of the tortilla soups that I have had at restaurants, it is not a typical broth like soup.  So, here goes.....

Mom's Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 chicken breast, cubed

1 large onion, diced

1 tbsp cumin

6 - 8 cups chicken broth, depending on how thick you like your soup

2 cans cheddar cheese soup

1 can fire roasted tomatoes, diced

1 cup salsa, I used tequila lime salsa

2 cups crushed tortilla chips

salt and pepper to taste

shredded cheese

sour cream

1. Brown chicken cubes and onion in dutch oven with a little oil.
2. After chicken has browned and onions are translucent, stir in cumin, coating chicken well. 
3. Add six cups of chicken broth. 
4. Add both cans of cheddar cheese soup, stirring well. 
5. Add can of diced tomatoes, with juice.
6. Add salsa, stirring well. 
7. Once all ingredients are stirred and mixed, add crushed chips. 
8. Simmer with lid on for about 30 minutes.  If soup is too thick, add a little broth until it reaches the consistency you like.  We like ours thick, so six cups of broth worked for us. 
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. To serve, add crushed chips in the bottom of the bowl and garnish with cheese and sour cream.

There are so many variations on this recipe.  My mom sometimes uses the cheese sauce sold in the pasta sauce aisle.  She also will use the salsa with corn and black beans. 

This soup was perfect for our cold snowy evening after the kids came in from playing in the snow.

Linked to:

  *  And Baby Makes Five, Collen's Kitchen Recipe Swap
  * It's a Blog Party: Fall Fest 2011

Recipe: Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

It was a cold morning and these sounded so good!  I LOVE anything made with pumpkin and these are yummy!  This is the perfect after school snack for my kids.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup oil
1/2 butter, melted and cooled
3 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp salt
12 ozs butterscotch chips

1. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, oil and butter until smooth.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together and add to pumpkin mixing between additions.  Stir in chips.
3. Fill greased or lined muffin tins 3/4 full.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 16 - 20 minutes.

I made 16 regular muffins and 24 mini-muffins.  My cooking time was about 17 minutes.

Menu Revision

Ok, well, for the most part I stuck to my menu plan this week. On Thursday, we went costumes shopping so we didn't get home until late. So, I made Eggs on Toast....a recipe that I learned from my mother and it is so good, easy and quick! On Friday, I made pot roast and balsamic potatoes with green beans because it was my husband's birthday. Saturday we had chicken enchilada leftovers. I made the cheese sauce from the beef burritos that I previously posted hoping that it would make the taste of the enchiladas more to our liking. It didn't work and we ended up just eating nachos with the cheese sauce. The chicken enchiladas weren't bad, it just wasn't the way that we are used to eating them.

Tomorrow, I will work on the menu plan for the upcoming week. I want to challenge myself to use as much out of the freezer and pantry which are both well stocked.

Walgreens Deals

I stopped by Walgreens this afternoon to pick up on a few deals before they ended tonight. Here is what I got:

• Northern TP 2 packs @$3.99 each = $7.98
• Fruit Loops Cereal 2 boxes @ $1.75 each = $3.50
• Halls Fruit Lozenges @ 1.00 = $1.00
• Starbucks Frappuccino 2 @ $1.59 each = $3.18

SUBTOTAL = $15.66

Coupons Used:

• Northern TP $1.00
• Northern TP $1.00
• Fruit Loops Blinkie $1.00
• Fruit Loops Blinkie $1.00
• Starbucks Frap Coupon $1.00
• Starbucks Frap Coupon $1.00
• Walgreens Frap Coupon $ .20
• Walgreens Frap Coupon $ .20
• Chapstick Register Reward $3.00

TOTAL = $6.06 + $ .78 tax

I received one $1.00 Register Reward for Halls Lozenges.

Tinkerbell and The Lost Treasure

This movie comes out on Tuesday, October 27. My girls can't wait! We are definitely Tinkerbell fans in this house. So imagine, my excitement, when I found a $10 coupon on the combo pack. When Snow White came out, Safeway had an awesome deal. Purchase the movie and receive a free bottle of juice and a pumpkin. So, for $14.99, I received the combo pack movie, a $4.99 bottle of all natural pomegranate juice and a $7.99 pumpkin. What a deal! Crossing my fingers for another great deal!

Seasonal Decorating: Halloween

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today, It's The Little Things That Make a House a Home, when I came across one of her postings about decorating for Halloween with bats. She did a project off the Country Living website and I think it looks terrific and easy to do....right up my ally! I would like to try it this weekend with the girls. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold and rainy and that sounds like the perfect time for craft projects.

Thanks Karla for the inspiration and did I mention that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your blog!

Photo provided by It's The Little Things That Make a House a Home.

~*~* QUOTE*~*~

"I've learned that people will forget what you said,

people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Maya Angelou

Texas Rice Balls

UGH! I have been looking for a recipe for Texas Rice Balls for a while now. I remember them very fondly from when I was a kid and ate them at the Texas Rice Festival in Winnie, Texas.

I have found all kinds of recipes for rice balls but these are unique because they are fried. I did another Google search tonight and found this recipe which sounds close. I don't remember them being spicy so I might have to pick my mother's brain.

I might give it a try this weekend or maybe later next week when the kids are in school.

Recipe Review: Enchilada Casserole

Well, so far I have stuck to my menu plan. Tonight we had chicken enchiladas. They were pretty good, but I like my mother's better.

Here is the recipe that I used:

Enchilada Casserole

Next time, I will stick with my mother's. These weren't as creamy good as what I have had before. I think there was too much enchilada sauce. I even used two cans cream of chicken soup and it still wasn't the right sauce that I like. I did like having the refried beans inside the enchilada.

I also made a pot of pinto beans. I printed out the recipe here. I followed some of her recipe, except I added a hunk of ham that I had frozen in my freezer. I also cooked my beans much longer....I like them mushy. The steps for making the refried beans were very easy. Although I used bacon fat (yum!) instead of butter to saute my onions in. All in all, homemade refried beans taste so much better than the canned stuff. I don't think I will go back to canned unless in a pinch.

Weekly Meal Plan

In an effort to be more organized and to save time and money in the kitchen, I am going back to planning our dinner meals. Here is what I have planned for this week:

Sunday
Chicken Cannilloni
Salad
Breadsticks (I have not tried this recipe yet, but my family loves bread sticks.)
Mom's Peach Cobbler (this is my mother's recipe and it is SOOOOO good!)

Monday
Sloppy Joes
Tater Tots
Corn

Tuesday
Crockpot Texas Hash
Cornbread

Wednesday
Enchilada Casserole
Refried Beans
Mexican Rice

Thursday
Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Green Beans
Biscuits

Friday
Quick Croque Monsieur
Chips

Saturday
Steak Inspired Slow Cooked Beef
Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Green Beans
Homemade Rolls

Some of these recipes are new for me. Once I try them I will let you know how they are.

Countdown to Christmas

I have been thinking how close Christmas is. Maybe because it snowed here over the weekend and Halloween is around the corner. I have five kids in school....three in elementary. It gets so expensive at Christmas with teacher's gifts, gifts for neighbors, friends and family. Over the summer, I read a blog about making vanilla extract. I thought that would be a fabulous idea for teacher's gifts...not the usual mug. I think that I am going to try the recipe in the first blog. I have included a few more to reference.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/06/how-to-make-vanilla-extract/
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_vanilla_extract/
http://homecooking.about.com/library/howto/htvanilla.htm

The "standing" time seems to differ, but I am still going to give it a try.

Time Flies...

It is amazing how fast time can fly by. Summer is gone. I don't think we really had a fall season because this morning when I looked out my window...the ground was covered in snow. SNOW!!! Can you believe it?

That means today is a perfect day to watch movies with the girls, do some baking and make a big pot of stew. So, I am going to browse the internet and my recipe books to find some yummy treats to make as well as an awesome recipe for beef stew.

In Memory of Grandpa Kirk

(Grandpa Kirk, Nana, Zoey, Abby & Hailey @ the Blue Bell Creamery Tour)

It has been a while since I have blogged. The girls and I came home from our summer vacation at my mother and stepfather's house. Just as we were trying to get back into a routine and get ready for a school, we received the devastating news that my stepfather died very unexpectedly in his sleep. So, after only 5 days at home, the girls and I loaded up the van and made the 1100 mile trip back to Texas to be there with my mother and to mourn the loss of our dear Grandpa Kirk.





While we are back and everyone is in school, we are still dealing with the loss. I am so glad that we were there this summer to play with him and drive him crazy. These are memories that I hope my girls will keep with them, I know that I will.





In his memory, last night I made one of his favorite meals....pinto beans and cornbread. YUM! The man had good taste buds!





We miss you Grandpa Kirk!

Recipe: Ground Beef Enchiladas

I LOVE Mexican food! If given the chance, I would eat it for every meal, snack and in between. I ate Mexican food through both my pregnancies. My mother and I (mostly my mom, but I assisted!) made a batch of beef enchiladas that were delicious goodness (to coin my girl's phrase). Here is the recipe we used:


Ground Beef Enchiladas

For the meat filling:
1 lb ground meat
1 chopped onion
1 pkg. grated longhorn cheese (we used colby jack mix)
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes, drained
1 - 2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
1 can chopped green chillies
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pkg Monterrey Jack cheese
1-1lb velveeta cheese
1 small can evaporated milk
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes

Brown meat with onion. Add cheese; stir until melted. Add tomatoes and seasonings. Fill flour tortillas with meat mixture. Place seam side down in a 13"x9" pan. Pour sauce over tortillas. Cover. Bake at 450 degrees for about 15 min. Top with sour creem, sliced black olives, or jalapeno peppers.


The sauce is so good that we put some aside and used as a dip with chips. No more Velvetta and Rotel for me! I now know the BEST cheese dip!

Enjoy!

Sometimes you can't go home....

I was raised in Texas. My dad was a police officer so we moved around a bit. When I was little (ages 4 - 7) we lived in Thornton, TX. We lived in a small brick house and then my parents bought a big house across the street. I have very fond memories of that house. My mother had a huge garden that we all took care of. I remember her in the huge kitchen canning all kinds of goodies from the garden. I remember going to kindergarten in the neighboring town, Groesbeck. Today, I took my girls on a road trip so that they could see where I lived when I was their age. I made the trip with the girls, my mother, sister and niece. I was a little excited to show them that I was actually their age once and this is where I played, lived and went to school. As we drove through the very small town, none of it was familiar to me anymore. We turned on the dirt road and traveled past a graveyard....funny, I don't remember living near a graveyard at all! Suddenly, we were at the houses. I am so sad...they don't look like anything that I remember. Sure, over the years, changes were made and I do see a shell of the house that I once lived in, but there were so many things that I did not remember. Was the house really that close to the road? Everything seemed so much bigger and wide open when I was little. There were so many trees and out buildings that were not there before. My memories were way better than reality. My girls could not believe that I once lived here. I couldn't believe that I once lived here.

While I was very disappointed, I decided to carry on and drive to the town were I went to elementary school. So, down the road we went and as we were driving I just could not get over the changes. The town that I remembered so fondly was not the town in present day. The school that I remembered was not the school that I saw today. Yes, it is much older, just like me! Needless to say, my girls were not impressed at all with my childhood home or school.

After today's excursion into the past, I have come to realize that sometimes you can't go home. Sometimes, it is just better to keep your past in the past and cherish the memories.

Vacation

The girls and I have been on vacation in Texas visiting my family since mid-June. Although it has been hot, we have enjoyed the relaxing days of summer. The girls have been swimming every day and playing outside as much as possible. In a few days, we will be leaving for home to get ready for school that starts August 13.

While we have been here, my mother and I have been cooking and baking. I have had the opportunity to test several recipes....some have turned out better than others. My mother bought a bread machine while I was here and we have had fun putting it to good use. Who doesn't love fresh bread, rolls and goodies? There is nothing better than warm rolls fresh from the oven to go with dinner and a tall glass of sweet tea.

I found a roll recipe that is so wonderful. Every time that I have made a pan, the rolls go so quick they don't have a chance to get cold. If you have an opportunity, you must try this recipe.
My girls love them fresh out of the oven smothered in butter and honey. The rolls are dense enough that you could easily turn these into hamburger buns and hot dog buns which is what the recipe is for.

I hope that you are enjoying the summer as much as we are!

And so it begins....

I wanted to started this blog months ago, but when you have a family, times gets away from you. I really should have started this blog a year ago when my husband retired from the Air Force after 20 years of service. That is when the real adventure in the "real" world started. We moved to Colorado and gained three more children, my two stepson and my neice. It has been a long and hard year with lots of ups and downs with the boys, but I am determined to keep home life as normal as possible for my girls with both their parents.

Not only did we get more children, but our income reduced by half and now my husband is a full time student. I am trying very hard to continue to be home with my kids so it has been a challenge, thus this blog. I would like to document this frugal life we live...


...so here comes the Rickett Chronicles.