$1.00 off Athenos= FREE at Wal-mart

Another great coupon from coupons.com. $1.00 off Athenos feta, hummus, baked pita chips or greek yogurt. Wal-mart has the greek yogurt priced at $1.00, making it FREE.

Homemade Marshmallows

Calling all marshmallow lovers. Here is a recipe you gotta try.

I never buy marshmallows because I think they are soooo bad for you. These marshmallows have a lot of sugar but no high fructose corn syrup- yeah. I found this recipe from a lady that left a commit on Heavenly Homemakers blog. If you haven't been to Laura's site, go check it out. She is my cooking ideal.

We had a snow day last week and I had 3 of my sister's 4 kids plus my daughter. I had to keep them busy, in the kitchen we stayed. My two little nieces love to cook with me. Krista, the 5 year old, didn't care much for the marshmallows. I'm having a hard time getting this child to eat anything homemade.

Homemade marshmallows

2 Tbsp. gelatin
1/2 cup cool water

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa

In a small bowl, stir together corn starch and powdered sugar and cocoa. Prepare a pan: spray a large casserole (13 X 9) with oil and sprinkle with powdered sugar to coat. Combine cool water and gelatin in large bowl. In a saucepan combine water, sugar, honey and salt. Bring to a roiling boil until liquid reaches 238-240 degrees. Turn on mixer at low speed and slowly pour in hot syrup in bowl. Beat until fluffy about 12-15 minutes. Add vanilla at the end of mixing. Pour into prepared pan and cool at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Dump marshmallows onto a cutting board. Cut into desired shapes. Toss in cocoa mixture until marshmallow is coated. Enjoy.

I have so many different ideas now to do with these marshmallows. How about brown sugar and cinnamon? Roll them in colored sugar, maybe even use a cookie cutter to make different shapes. Try using a small pan to make GIANT marshmallows for s'mores. The ideas are endless.

Chicken and Broccoli with Rice

Chicken is a staple in our house. We eat more chicken than any other meat. I'll always trying to find different meals to make with chicken. Since my grocery budget of $50 is already used this month, I have to get creative.

To the cabinets I go. What's inside? Garlic, soy sauce, broccoli and rice. I can make my own "Chinese, chicken and broccoli" I say! The wheels are turning in my brain (no sarcastic remarks please.)

The other night I had cooked a whole chicken for dinner. We ate some that night and I'm using the rest for this recipe.
2 cups broccoli
1 1/2 cups chicken
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 spring onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste


Tare the meat off your chicken until you get approx. 1 1/2 cups worth of chicken. Throw the carcase of the bird in a large pot and add some salt and pepper. I added some onion for flavoring also. You can also add carrots, celery. If you get more than 1 1/2 cups great. Save that to make cranberry almond chicken salad. Boil in pot for about 20 mins. While your broth is cooking, cook your broccoli in another pot, just until it's almost tender. You don't want mussy broccoli. Yuck!

Measure 2 cups of broth and add to a large skillet or wok. Add the broccoli, chicken, minced garlic, soy sauce, onion, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10-12 mins. Serve with rice.

Coupon: Earthbound Farms $1.00 coupon (if you pass the test)

Earthbound Farms has 12 questions for you to answer about organic farming. If you get all 12 right they will send you a coupon for $1.00 off their product. Go here and get the Organic 101 first. Good Luck!!

Coupon: $8.00 worth of Organic Valley coupons

Organic Valley has $8.00 worth of coupons for you to print. You can print up to 2 prints per coupon. Everything from milk, cheese, butter, eggs and more.

Coupon: $0.50 off Driscoll's berries

Sign up for Driscoll's email and they will send you a coupon for $0.50 off berries. Also receive a special berry offer on your birthday (will let you know what that is next month), delicious berry recipes too.

Free sample of DenTek dental floss picks

Get your FREE sample of Den Tek dental floss picks here. These are great to keep in your purse or car.

Gratituesday: Thankful for my Bread Machine

This Gratituesday I am thankful for my bread machine.

I have given myself only $50 to spend this month in groceries. That limit has been reached already. Time to head to the cabinets and cook from scratch.

My cabinets and freezers are stocked but I don't have much bread on hand. Thankfully I found this recipe yesterday from MoneySavingMom for bread machine buttery rolls. They are so sweet and buttery and oh so good.

You can make so many different types of bread with a bread machine. Bread machine Cinnamon Rolls are one of my favorite. What are your favorite bread machine recipes?

Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars

Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars: This recipe comes from Laura @ HeavenlyHomemakers. I just added a sweet twist to it. I made some the other day with sunflower seeds, raisins, almonds and coconut flakes, they were yummy. You can add pretty much anything you like. Dried blueberries, craisins, chocolate chips.

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup of raisins




In medium sauce pan melt peanut butter, honey and coconut oil. Remove from heat and stir in oats. Mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips and raisins. Spread mixture into an 8 X 8 pan. Place in refrigerator for 2 hours. Cut into bars. Melt remaining 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips in sauce pan and drizzle over bars with spoon. Sprinkle with coconut flakes. Wrap them up for a quick snack. Thanks Laura these are delicious.

CVS: $40.86 in product for only $2.46

CVS has some great deals this week, tons of ECB's. Here is a list of the things I bought today.

First Transaction:

Spend $20 in Excedrin get $10 ECB.
Excedrin 24 count tablets $4.79 -used FREE coupon from FB-$5.99(no longer available)
Excedrin 250 count tablets $14.99-used $1.00 off coupon

Total: $12.79-used $2 ECB I already had = $10.79 out of pocket, plus got back $10 ECB.

Bonus: Year End ECB- $6.50. This is based on how much you spend at CVS through out the year.

Second Transaction:

Buy any 2 Revlon Cosmetics or beauty tools get $7 ECB's
Spend $10 in Listerine, Rembrandt or Reach products get $5 ECB's
2 Reach toothbrushes $3 each- used BOGO coupon (10/10 RP)
2 Reach dental floss $3 each- used BOGO coupon (10/10 RP)
4 pk Energizer lithium batteries-on sale for $9.79-used $1.00 of coupon (1/2 RP)
Revlon nail file- $2.99
Revlon multi-pack nail files-$3.29

Total: $28.07-used $10 ECB from first transaction, plus my $6.50 year end ECB= $3.67 out of pocket, plus got $12 ECB back.

I know the math doesn't add up, so I looked at my receipt and the cashier put the Reach coupons in as $3.99 each instead of $3.00 each. Going back tomorrow to get the Angel Soft toilet paper and Wish laundry detergent. Here is a complete list of sale items and coupon match ups.

Get 8 Swag Bucks

Swag Bucks is giving away 8 bucks to ring in the New Year. Hurry, expires 8pm PST. Click here to get your code. If your new to Swag bucks head over here and sign up. It's FREE and you earn FREE stuff.

Coupons

$1.00 off 2 Mars seasonal Valentine's Day candy

Buy One Get One Free Life Savers

$2.00 off Pedigree Good Bites Snacks

January 2011 Goal: Lower grocery bill

One of my goals for 2011 is to cut down on my grocery bill. I spend way to much for a house hold of only 2 people. My cabinets are over flowing and it's time to eat it all up.

January Goal:
-Eat from the pantry and freezer
-Spend only $50 on groceries for the month
-Only eat out 2 times

I tend to set goals and never stick to them. Now that I posted it here, maybe you guys can help me stay on track. I think the month to month goals will work better for me. I like to see results fast!