Frugal Friday

Today is Frugal Friday over at http://www.lifeasmom.com/.  When you boil veggies or pasta, do you pour out the water when you are done?  I let mine cool and then use it to water my outside plants.

Enchilada Casserole

I recently roasted a whole chicken.  When we were done, I picked off the rest of the meat and turned it into this:  Enchilada Casserole.  I did not have a recipe but looked in my pantry to see what I could use.  Here is what I came up with:

• 
  
  chicken picked from the bones
• 
  
  tortillas (I used 6 I think.)
• 
  
  1 can of green chili enchilada sauce
• 
  
  1 can cream of chicken soup
• 
  
  grated Mexican cheese

Here is how I made it:  Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Place a couple of spoonfuls of chicken in each tortilla, along with a little of the chicken soup.  Roll each up and place seam side down.  On top pour the can of enchilada sauce and sprinkle cheese all over.  Place in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

I even had enough for the freezer.  There are 2 in each of these containers.

Enjoy!

Cats on Tuesday

Cat lovers write about their cats once a week, on Tuesdays.  For more, go to Gattina's.

Below:  I adopted Lovey when his former family (with 7 children, I think.) moved back to Australia.  His other mum emailed me these two pictures from when he lived with them:

This explains why he loves to curl up in the bathroom sink; he likes close places that remind him of the womb, in my opinion!!!

Below, I had some free cans of cat food so here are 5 of the 6 together.  For some reason, Thumper was not interested!

Aren't they adorable????!!!!

Left to right:  Minnie, Snowflake, Humpty Dumpty in back, Lovey, and Miles

Monday Menu

Here is my meal plan for this week:  Clean out the freezer/pantry.  Last night I told my son he was having leftover Mexican casserole.  When I thawed it out, it was Not Mexican casserole.  He was ok with that, though, because he liked the chicken dish.  I want to be able to do freezer cooking next weekend since I start back to work next Monday, so I need to clean out what I have.

Monday:  lunch:  ham sandwiches
               dinner:  Mexican casserole

Tuesday:  lunch: pizza
               dinner:  spaghetti

Wednesday:  lunch:  Red Lobster
                    dinner:  chicken enchiladas

Thursday:  at my parents and son will be there a week, so I will wing it on Weight Watchers

Saved 84% @ Publix

I was first in Publix when they opened Thursday because the last time they had Smart Balance milk, they sold out fast and I had a hard time getting any that week.  Here's how I did:

• 
  
  Smart Balance:  Sale price: 2 for $5.00
• 
  
  Tombstone pizza:  Sale price:  2 for $5.95

I had four (4) $2 coupons, so with tax I paid $3.06 for all 4 items! 

Frugal Friday

Today I am participating in Frugal Friday over at http://www.lifeasmom.com/.

What do these items have in common?????

When you can't get any more product out of a tube of toothpaste or lotion, etc..., cut it open.  I have found with toothpaste I often have 3 or 4 more uses in it.  My son refuses to do this, so when he demands a new tube, I take his old one and finish it up.  Does anyone else cut tubes open to get the last little bit of product?

Tuna Pasta/Veggie Salad

Today at http://www.lifeasmom.com/ we are sharing picnic recipes.  Recently, I wanted to clean out my pantry of some of the items that have been stockpiled. I came up with a tuna/pasta/veggie salad.  

This was out of my head, so you could use pretty much anything:

• 
  
  1 box of whole wheat penne pasta
• 
  
  1 pouch of Starkist tuna in water
• 
  
  steamed broccoli and asparagus
• 
  
  feta cheese
• 
  
  red peppers
• 
  
  red pepper flakes
• 
  
  parmesan cheese
• 
  
  4 T. balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing

Enjoy!

Local Touring

Alas, this summer there was no money for a *real* vacation, so we are doing things locally.  Today we are headed  here  to see these:

Cats on Tuesday

Cats on Tuesday are cat lovers who write about their furry babies on Tuesdays.  For more, go to Gattina's.

My dear sweet Lovey has this obsession, and I do mean obsession, with all things water.  Here are a few shots of his obsession in action:

I can not even take a bath in peace:

I do believe he has some gymnastic talents, maybe the balance beam?

Someone challenged me awhile back to get all of them in one picture.  Well, Miles is my 13 year-old anti-social teenager, so here he is on his pink bed (I did not buy it; it came with Humpty and Thumper.)

But, here are the others in a "kitty crack party" picture:  Notice how the catnip plant has grown (I keep it outside.))

Notice gray Lovey on the black guitar case next to Humpty.

Above, Humpty had too much kitty crack; he is literally head-over-heels for it!

Thumper!

Not only does Thumper have BIG feet, but he eats in a BIG way, too........with a special guest appearance by Lovey.

Saved 63.32% @ Bi-Lo

The total retail for this before sale price and coupons was $21.02.  Here is how I got it for $7.71:

Red Baron pizza:  $5.32 each  /  Sale:   2 for      $5.32/ After coupons:  $3.32

Bi Lo brand pudding: .99 each/ Sale :  .88/After coupons:  FREE

Cottonelle Tissue:  $8.99/ Sale:  $4.99/After coupon:  3.99

I used $1.00 coupon for the Cottonelle

Pudding was FREE for doing a survey

I had 2 $1.00 coupons for the pizzas

Frugal Friday

Today for the first time I"m participating in Frugal Friday. 

I don't know if this idea is new to anyone else, but it was new to me about a year ago.  I have quite a few pets, and I was having to change my filter for my central heat/AC quite often.  I decided, "Why not try vacuuming out the pet hair and dust that has accumulated?  That way, I can stretch the filter for a couple of months instead of twice *a month*. 

Before:

And, *after*:

Does anyone else vacuum their filter to make it last longer?

Cats on Tuesday

Cats on Tuesday are cat lovers who write about their kitties once a week, on Tuesday.  For more cat tales, go to Gattina's.

I decided to try my hand at a couple of videos this week.  Don't forget to turn up the volume!  The first is of my boy Thumper:

The next is Lovey and Thumper "arguing":

And, some still shots:

It was time Sunday night for the dogs to go to bed, but looks like  Snowflake, a.k.a, Goldilocks, decided it was a bed fit for a princess:  HER!  (She had been sleeping in it all day and I had to get my son to get her out so the dogs could go to bed!!)

Also, another shot of the white and black cat (Minnie) and the black and white one (Thumper) because I rarely get them together:

Mexican Skillet

For more good cheap eats, go to http://www.goodcheapeats.com/

My son loves Mexican food, and in searching the web for an EASY recipe, I came upon this from Libby's.  It needed to be a recipe that I could *stretch* for several meals.  Since I am on weight watchers, I didn't want to calculate the points for this, so it is all for him. 

After his scoop taken out, it still made enough for 3 more meals, which I put in the freezer in single serve containers.

Here is the recipe if you want to try it:

• 1 can of black beans, drained (I had some in the freezer; they freeze really well.)
• 1 can chili beans, drained (I did not have these.)
• 1 container olives (I did not have.)
• 1 lb. hamburger
• flour tortillas (I used 6.)
• 1 jar salsa
• 2 cans refried beans (I economized and used 1.)
• 1 pk. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 container sour cream (I did not use this since he doesn't like it.)
• I threw in a can of diced green chilis I had

Brown hamburger in a  skillet, add black beas, chili beans, salsa, and olives.  Continue cooking until hamburger is completely cooked, set aside.  Place 3 tortilla wraps on bottom of 9x13 pan.  Spread a layer of refried beans and then hamburger mixture over wraps.  Add cheese, repeating layers as many  times as ingredients allow.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with sour cream.

In Remission

Today, July 11, marks my three years since I have been in cancer remission.  You can read about it here1 and here  Even though I ended up going through 6 months of chemo as a precautionary measure, the oncologist told me I was in remission from the time of my colon cancer surgery on July 11, 2007.  It is a miracle because the tumor had perforated the colon wall, which was what was causing the severe pain.  Any natural thought would be that the cells had spilled into the bloodstream, then.  They had not, though.  The cancer was confined to that area.  Praise be to God!  He never left me. 

Target:Saved 46%

Shelf cost for this was $26.73.

After B1G1F Sobe coupons, 1.50 off Digiorno, .60 off Old El Paso, and a B1G1F Bear Naked coupon, I paid $14.52

Poor Miles!

Poor Miles!  Caught in the closet with Humpty Dumpty and Thumper (behind him through the clothes)

Cats on Tuesday

Cats on Tuesday are crazy cat lovers who write about their furry babies on Tuesdays.  For more, go to Gattina's.

Regular readers of my COT know that Humpty Dumpty and Thumper are blood brothers.  Their closeness often results in a bath-time session:  (HD was minding his own business ASLEEP when his brother jumped up and decided he was DIRTY.)

Below:  Lovey liked the feel of the dog bed and did not mind Buddy coming in until Buddy swished his face with the fluffy dog tail.

Below:  Minnie has taken over my computer chair.  I don't know what kind of acrobatics she was trying here.

Finally, below is my Snowflake.  My son does NOT like her for a few reasons:  1.  She's all white.  2.  She has a blue and a green eye.  3.  She's stuck-up (really, she is!)  So, he did this to annoy her:

.24 @CVS

So, on the way to church Sunday I stopped in CVS to snag some deals.  Here is what I got for .24.

• Crest:  2 for  $4.98
• Pantene Conditioner:  $5.99

Total Before ECBs and coupons:  10.97  (not counting tax)

Total after coupons and ECBS:  $.24

60.42% Savings @Publix

This represents $49.11 worth of groceries for .....$19.44.  Here is the breakdown:

• 
  
  Reynold's Wrap:  2 for $4.29:  used 2 coupons totaling 2.15, making them 2.14 for 2
• 
  
  Mueller's Spaghetti:  2 for $1.29:  used a $1.00 coupon making them .29 for 2
• 
  
  Morning Star Farms Grillers:  2 for $3.99:  used 2 $1.00 coupons making them 2 for $2
• 
  
  French's mustard:  2 for $1.69:  used 2 coupons worth .80 making them 2 for .89
• 
  
  Chicken of the Sea Salmon:  1.85 each:  used 2 $1.00 coupons making them .85 each
• 
  
  I did not have coupons for the corn (10 for 1.49 for my DAD), wraps,organic chicken, oil, flour, or Arnold Thins (B1G1FRee)

That is a savings of 60.42%

****Publix accepts competitors' coupons, so I used a $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon, too!

Saved 48% @Bi-Lo

I went to Bi-Lo today and came home with $60.92 worth of groceries for $32.97. The following were FREE:  6 pack of Pepsi, Pepperidge Farm cake, Totino's Pizza Rolls, Garlic Bread,  1 pack of fish, and Hershey's milkshake.  This probably represents 10 meals for us with the fish, pizza, and organic ground beef.