Menu Plan Tuesday

Sorry I am behind this week. We had a busy weekend and my normal Saturday chores got moved to Monday. I am still working on my 30 day meal plan for October. All the recipes this week can be found in previous posts. Just click on 'recipes' or 'menu planning'.

Monday- Red beans and rice, smoked sausage, salad

Tuesday- Chicken fajitas, rice, refried beans (I missed making these last time I planned.)

Wednesday- Lemon garlic crockpot chicken, green beans, rice, salad

Thursday- Broccoli and Chicken casserole, salad

Friday- Homemade pizza, salad

Saturday- Hot dogs, mac and cheese, carrot sticks

Sunday- Roast with potatoes and carrots

Have a good week!

Free grapes at Target!!

I love free stuff. Free fresh items are almost unheard of! This week Target has their grapes on sale for $1/pd. There is a coupon for $1 off grapes on their website. Enjoy!
http://http://sites.target.com/site/en/supertarget/page.jsp?title=coupons_specials

My Homeland- stockpiling trip. 9/28

I was going to post a pic but my camera is broken. My 3 yr old said, "Mommy, are we going to take a picture of the groceries? I have ruined her!

Tonight I got.....
30 bags of Lipton rice
6 boxes of wheat thins
7 bottles of Kraft dressing
3 bags of chex mix
4 bottles of Dawn
2 refried beans
3 grands biscuits
1 cascade rinse aid
More kool-aid than we will ever drink

total: 13.40
total savings: 118.51

I did buy some of the coupons I had so I spent about $10 on that. I was going to get Easy Mac but they were out.

A picture would have been much more impressive. The best thing about this trip is that we will use all of the items I got, eventually.

Oh I wish.......

Got this in an email regarding the Big Bailout...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in
a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000
bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman
and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to eve ry person 18+ as a
We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college – it’ll be there
Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car – create jobs
Invest in the market – capital drives growth
Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company
that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it...instead of
trickling out
a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by
one of our candidates for President.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail ou t every adult U S
Citizen 18+!

As for AIG – liquidate it. Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate. < BR>Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it
up and clean it up.

Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.

Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington
DC.

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5
Billion is returned
instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Kindest personal regards,
Birk
T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

Don't know who this is, but what a great idea. Maybe this guy should run for office!

Menu Plan Monday- with recipes

Monday- Spaghetti Pie, Salad, Garlic Bread
Spaghetti Pie
6 oz. spaghetti
2 tbsp butter
1/3 c. Parmesan
1 egg
1 pd. ground beef
1 can or jar of spaghetti sauce
1 c. cottage or ricotta cheese
1/2 c shredded mozzarella

Directions: Brown the ground beef, drain, and add spaghetti sauce. While the ground beef is browning, cook the spaghetti according to package directions and drain. Add butter, Parmesan, and egg to the hot spaghetti. Place the spaghetti mixture in the bottom of a greased pie plate. Spread the ricotta over the spaghetti. Spread the meat sauce over the ricotta. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Spread the mozzarella over the pie and bake until melted. Let stand 5 minutes, cut into wedges, and serve.

Tuesday- Boneless Pork Ribs, Baked Beans, Corn, Rolls
BBQ PORK RIBS
Recipe from COOKS.COM

3-4 lbs. country style ribs (boneless)
1 lg. bottle BBQ sauce
1 thinly sliced onion
Brown sugar
Garlic powder

Place ribs in 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle with garlic. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Remove from oven. Lower temperature to 250 degrees. Drain fat from meat. Sprinkle with a little more garlic and brown sugar to taste. Pour BBQ sauce on top with thinly sliced onion. Bake 3 more hours at 250 degrees. Don't over cook.

Wednesday- Peppery Beef & Veggies, Beef Rice (Lipton sides), Egg Drop Soup
This recipe looks involved but if you read through it, it's not so bad.

4 oz. thin spaghetti
1/2 c. water
3 tblsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
non stick cooking spray
1 c. fresh or frozen pea pods, halved crosswise
1/2 c. chopped green or red sweet pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tblsp. cooking oil
3/4 pd. lean boneless beef, cut into thin bite size strips

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain well and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small bowl stir together soy sauce, cornstarch, black and red pepper. Set aside.
3. Spray a cold wok or large skillet with non stick cooking spray. Heat over med-high heat. Add pea pods, green or red sweet pepper and garlic; stirfry 1 minute. Add mushrooms; stirfry 1-2 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove veggies from wok.
3. Add oil to wok. Stirfry beef in hot oil for 3-4 minutes or until done. Push the beef to the sides of the wok. Stir sauce and pour into center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return veggies to wok; cook and stir all ingredients 1 minute. Toss with spaghetti. Makes 4 servings.

Thursday- Chicken Flautas w/ black beans, Rice, Guacamole

6 10-inch tortillas
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp. cooking oil
2 c. shredded chicken
1 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. bottled salsa
1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese
Cooking oil for frying
3 c. shredded lettuce

1. Preheat oven to 350. Wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in oven about 10 minutes or until heated through.
2. Meanwhile, for filling, in a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in the 1 tsp. hot oil until tender. Stir in chicken, black beans, 1/2 c. salsa, and cheese.
3. For each flauta, spoon about 1/2 c. filling across each warm tortilla about 1 1/2 inches from one edge. Roll up tortillas as tight as possible. Secure with wooden toothpicks.
4. In a very large, deep skillet, heat 1-1/2 inches of cooking oil to 365. Fry flautas, 2 at a time, for 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Keep fried flautas warm in a 300 degree oven.
5. To serve, remove toothpicks. Halve flautas crosswise. If desired, serve with lettuce, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream.

*Baked flautas: Prepare as directed. Place flautas on a large baking sheet and brush with 1 tblsp cooking oil. Bake in a 350 oven for 30-40 minutes or until heated through. Serve as directed.

Friday-Pork tenderloin, broccoli & cheese rice, salad, rolls

Saturday-Sesame chicken w/ broccoli
Speedy Chicken Stir-Fry
8 oz. angel hair pasta (capellini), uncooked
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. each: ground ginger, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/3 cup chopped PLANTERS Dry Roasted Peanuts

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 3 min. of the pasta cooking time.

MEANWHILE, spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 to 8 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper; cook 1 min., stirring occasionally.

DRAIN pasta mixture; place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture; mix lightly. Spoon evenly into four serving bowls; sprinkle with the peanuts.

Sunday-Crockpot roasted chicken, mixed veggies, garlic red potatoes
I love this site. I have gotten lots of great recipes from it.
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/lemon-and-herb-crockpot-roasted-chicken.html

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CVS this week- 9/21

Ok so I got some decent deals today but I am most excited to tell you that the Malt o Meal cereal is clearanced 75% off! I don't need any more cereal, but for .25 a box I am thinking of building the kids a fort in the living room! It will be like a gingerbread house, only cereal boxes. I know how this going to go. This week they will be excited. Next week, they might have a couple of bowls for a snack. Next month, they will be giving it to the mail man. I sure hope he likes 'Froot Loops'.

Target dealios!

I like Target. I don't shop EVERY SINGLE deal there because I end up wandering through the kids clothes and shoes and buy things I don't need. Therefore I save nothing, and spend money I wasn't planning. I know I need to work on my self-control. However, I have 2 deals that I can only get at Target and they are too good to pass up. I will be putting on my blinders. "They do not need more clothes. They do not need more clothes. 75% or not, they do not need more clothes."

Deal 1-Iams dog food
If you signed up for the free Iams dog food coupon a few weeks back, you should be receiving your coupon anytime. I just got mine today. On 's Target coupon generator there is a coupon for $5 off any 6lb or larger Iams dog food. My free coupon states 'free up to $7'. If you combine it with the $5 coupon you can get a good size bag for a few cents. Woo Hoo!

Deal 2- Barbie lunch pails
Remember when we bought all that Skippy peanut butter at Target? Remember the $5 off Barbie sportswear peelie on the creamy variety? I made a mental note of these at the time. Well, now the Barbie lunch pails are on sale for 4.98. I guess they are considered sportswear b/c the coupons are being reported as working. These will make good birthday gifts. I love really good free stuff!