Gardner Grub - it's been awhile.

If feels like I haven't blogged about food in forever! I have been so busy living life, planning parties, and decorating the house. It's been fun, but I'm ready to slow down.

Tonight I made a Greek Salad which was good, not amazing, just good. I'll probably make it again but add a couple of different types of sliced olives. It has Farfalle pasta, spinach leaves, sliced grape tomatoes, feta cheese, chopped chicken, chickpeas and a half cup of greek dressing.

Also on the menu this week is Grilled BBQ chicken with corn and baked beans and Grilled Teriyaki Salmon with rice (Mr. G got a new grill a couple of weeks ago). I hope you are checking up on coupons.com and target.com and saving a few dollars here and there. I've gotten several great free items the past couple of weeks at Target.

Noelle's Toy Story Birthday Party

Little G's birthday party was a blast. I'm a little annoyed with myself for not taking pictures of everything before guests arrived but I was so busy! Don't throw a party at 10am unless you are a morning person or get most of it set up the night before.Here are some pictures of her fun day :)

Me and the Birthday Girl

The front door - I made Andy's room wallpaper. The guests loved it.
Some of the kids playing in the kiddy squirt pool - we had two other pools for bigger kids
Food! We had Frito boats, hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ beans, my pasta salad, and fresh fruit.

Little G sitting at the table
Plates, napkins, utensils
My mother-in-law makes all of the grandkids cakes :) It was so yummy!
My mom and grandma
She asked to go swimming at Daddy's big pool after her nap so we went.

After swimming in her Buzz poncho!

I love free stuff!

I took a quick trip to Target and Super Wal-Mart today and picked up some great deals.

At Target I got all of this for only .84! The cashier really had no idea what she was doing. I should have paid a little over 2 dollars but all of the coupons I used were worth more than each of the items.

The Pampers wipes were $1.97 and I had three coupons for $2 off.

The razors were on clearance for $2.48 and I had two coupons for $4 off. The Ketchup was on sale for $1.00 and apparently was free as was the .99 Relish. The subtotal is negative 5 cents so i just paid for tax. I found a crisp one dollar bill earlier this morning so really it was all free! Don't you love it?

Other good finds.

Yesterday I picked up a pair of Merona shorts on sale for $10. I used two $5 Target gift cards that I got free last week.

I used two B1G1 coupons for the Old Spice body wash = 2 free body washes

Febreeze plug-ins are usually around $8 but this was on sale at Wal-Mart for only $5. I used a $1.00 off Febreeze refill coupon and my house is smelling lovely.

Welch's grape juice - $2 off coupon

The pudding was also on sale and I used a .50 coupon and ended up paying just pennies for both!

I hope you are inspired to start clipping coupons. It really isn't as time-consuming as you'd imagine. Just pick up a couple of Sunday papers and check Coupons.com & Target.com a couple of times a week and you'll be saving in no time!

Kimmy's Baby Shower

Here are a few pictures from the After Baby Shower I threw for my best friend, Kim. It was a "Sunset Brunch" starting at 6:30 pm which turned out to be perfect on the warm day.

Here is the table all set up with the centerpieces. I got the pompom balls at Michael's with a 40% off coupon.

I made these Rice Krispy Pops for favors.
The centerpieces - floating Gerber Daisies and candles with 4 tea light candles around each centerpiece.
The menu - the food was delicious! I made my famous Amaretto Brie and Asian Chicken Salad.
The food table
View from above - centerpiece
Christopher Adam. Isn't he adorable!!
Kim and Christopher opening up presents.
Now on to Little G's birthday party - next Saturday! Please keep your fingers crossed for a cool day.

Memorial Day Savings

Happy Memorial Day! I am having a relaxing day which started off with some coupon clipping and then a trip to Target for several much needed items. I learned from the fabulous ladies over at Totally Target that Target accepts one manufacturer coupon (MQ) AND one Target coupon (TQ) for the same item. Hallelujah!

This is called coupon stacking. So this morning I got up early and matched my TQ and MQ and looked online for other coupons for items I needed.

Here's what I bought with coupons.

For Little G - 6 shorts and 3 tops

TQ $5 off purchase of $30.

= $26.50 for all that!

Vanish Drop Ins

MQ B1G1 free

=$2.14 for 2

Colgate Max Toothpaste

TQ $1 off

MQ .75 off

= $1.19

Swiffer Dust & Shine (I just ran out)

MQ $1 off

= $2.49

Up & Up Carpet Cleaner (Just ran out of Folex - will give this a try)

TQ $1 off

= $1.92

Listerine Whitening Mouth Wash

MQ $1 off

It was on clearance for $1.98 = .98

Coppertone Sun Screen Sport

MQ $2.00 off & on sale at Target for $6

= $4.00

Maybelline Mascara

MQ $1.00 off

= $3.49

Mr. G's Old Spice Body Wash

MQ B1G1 free

= $3.99 for 2

Lysol Wipes

No coupons but they were on sale for only $1.89 each

Jon Frieda volumizer - $5.39

Jon Frieda heat protector $5.39

2 MQ for $2.50 off 1 product

TQ for $3.00 of 2 products

= $2.78 for both

Scrubbing Bubbles Cleaner and refill

MQ $5.00 off when you purchase starter

MQ free refill when you purchases starter

TQ $5.00 gift card when you purchase starter

TQ $3.00 off when you purchase starter

= .69 + $5 Gift Card!

I used the $5.00 gift card on a second transaction to purchase the printer ink.

I'm very impressed with my coupon savings today (and so were the two women behind me in line!).

Gardner Grub

Chicken Marsala was on the menu tonight along with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. I added onions this time because I had a few in the fridge and I've been meaning to use them. I'm glad I did because the sweet onions were the perfect complement to the mushrooms. Little G ate a little of the potatoes and chicken and really filled up on broccoli.

Here's a video of her coming in from playing outside after dinner asking for MORE broccoli. She's so sweet - listen closely to her say "thanks, mom."

Chicken Marsala
4 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup of flour
2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tsp dried Parsley flakes
1 cup of fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup Dry Marsala Wine
salt and pepper

On a plate mix flour with a quarter tsp each of salt and pepper. Heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat chicken in flour mixture, shake off excess and add to skillet. Brown each side.

Add Marsala, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook 8 to 10 minutes (turning once) or until chicken is no longer pink.
Serve hot with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.

Gardner Grub

Tuesday's are super busy so I try to keep it easy. For dinner I made Four-Cheese Pasta Florentine. It is cheesy-spinach goodness. Actually I probably put too much spinach in it, but oh well - it was good. I make at least one vegetarian dish a week and those dinners usually have cheese in them. When there is plenty of cheese, I don't miss the meat. For this dish, if you need meat, add a cup of chopped chicken. Recipe listed below.

Little G had a little of the pasta when it was done around 4pm and then chicken nuggets and strawberries at 7pm. It took her awhile to try the strawberries but once she had one, they were gone in seconds.

The Brie & Cranberry purses were a hit. I sprinkled them with sugar when they came out of the oven and served them with Cool Whip on the side. I forgot to take a picture before my bible study group arrived so I grabbed one and set it aside. Doesn't it look delicious?

For dinner tonight I had Four-Cheese Pasta Florentine leftovers. Mr. G is teaching CPR/1st aide tonight then has to go straight to a sports banquet so instead of cooking I decided to try the leftovers and it was still good.

I made Little G a small bowl of noodles with peas and chopped chicken nugget (leftover from last night). I think she's getting annoyed with me taking pictures of her while she's eating. :)

Four Cheese Pasta Florentine

3 cups Penne, uncooked
1 package (10oz) frozen chopped spinach
4 oz (1/2 8oz package) cream cheese, cubed
1 cup 2% low fat cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 package (8oz) shredded mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook spinach as directed on package; drain well. Place in large bowl. Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Stir in cottage cheese. Italian seasoning and eggs until well blended. Add salt and pepper.
Drain pasta. Add to spinach mixture with mozzarella and chicken; mix lightly. Spoon into medium sized casserole dish; top with Parmesan.
Bake 25 min, or until heated through.

More Little G

Now that I've had a couple of questions regarding how I get Little G to eat veggies and try new foods I'll work on adding that info to the blog.

She doesn't always eat what I want her to, in fact it goes in spurts. One week she willingly eats everything I give her, then the next week she doesn't want anything to do with food. I've picked up a few tricks over the past year which I use all the time.

Here are 10 tricks I use.

1. Add a tsp of butter and a pinch of salt to veggies. Would you want to eat peas without seasoning? Plus everything tastes better with butter.

2. One of my newest tricks is offering a dip. She'll eat almost anything right now if she can dip it in ketchup. So I squirt a bit on her plate and she dips away. Sour cream is another dip she enjoys.

3. Add peanut butter. Plain oatmeal with 1/2 a Tbs of peanut butter is one of her favorite breakfasts. For a snack, a slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter - another favorite.

4. Put it in pasta. Little G really likes pasta (angel hair cut in half) so I'll make her a bowl and add a tsp of butter and a variation of peas, carrots, chicken, pork, broccoli, and olives.

5. Eat dinner together. We always eat dinner together as a family at the table (she's in a high chair pulled up to the table). I've found that if she watched us eat, she'll likely try anything. I usually give her a portion of the protein I make for dinner along with a veggie/fruit. For example, if I'm making Chicken Marsala for dinner, I'll make a portion for her with a little seasoning and set it aside and also give her some mashed potatoes and mushrooms to try.

6. Wait it out. If I put something new in front of her she'll yell, "Don't like it, Mom!" But if she sits there long enough she'll eventually give in and eat. It's not easy when she's throwing a fit. It usually takes a good 10-15 minutes. I also sing "Try it, you'll like it!" from Yo Gabba Gabba.

7. Offer the veggies/fruit first and nothing else. For dinner, I sometimes give her the veggies first if she's in "one of those moods."

8. Rice. Little G is crazy about rice. All kinds of rice - white, brown, spanish, fried. She loves it all. I chop up chicken and veggies and add it to the rice for dinner or lunch.

9. Steam-In-The-Bag veggies are so easy and cheap. Right now I have 7 bags of veggies in the freezer ready to microwave. I get them at WalMart for $1.00 each.

10. Make grocery shopping fun - my mom taught me this. When Little G and I go grocery shopping I let her hold the fruits and veggies and teach her the name of them. We smell them together and feel their texture. It's really fun. I once had a woman come up to me and say she wishes she would have done that with her children. Make every experience a learning one.

Well hello, Monday.

Where'd you come from?

I went shopping at Fresh and Easy today and only spent a total of $32 on everything I need for this weeks meals - I also received a free canvas grocery bag for signing up for the F&E newsletter.

Weekly Meal Plan

Mexican Mac N Cheese

Turkey Burgers - using the ingredients from last week

Four-Cheese Pasta Florentine (vegetarian)

Chicken Marsala

Small group - I'm making Brie and Cranberry purses

Last week, I made two recipes shared by Ashley in her blog Cupcakes & Combat Boots. The first, Giada De Laurentiis' Parmesean-crusted pork chops which were mouth-watering delicious.

The second, Turkey Burgers! They were such a hit that we are having them again this week. Plus I still have all the ingredients for them which is a super bonus!

Here they are along with bacon-wrapped asparagus (I usually use prosciutto but didn't have any on hand) and fries.

Thank you Ashley for your wonderful blog and inspiring me to try new things in the kitchen :)

10 minutes saved me $324.00!

I received my monthly Direct TV e-bill this morning and I finally decided to do something about paying $98 a month on television. I logged on to www.directv.com and compared our current package to their basic package. After adding $7 for the DVR and $10 for HD we'd end up having 200 less channels and only saving $4 a month.

So I picked up the phone and called customer service. We have been Direct TV customers since 2005 so I thought they'd be able to help me put a less expensive package together, but they did even better. We are keeping our current package with HD and DVR service and they gave me a $20 discount with free DVR service for 12 months! That's $27 a month or $324 saved for a year. Thank you Direct TV!

If you think you are paying too much for a service, give the company a call and ask what they can do to help you save money. You've got nothing to lose.

Talk about a deal...

One-Year subscription to Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine for $3.99!!

I love Rachael Ray - she taught me how to cook. True story: Before Mr. G and I got married the only thing I knew how to make was grilled cheese sandwiches. So in an effort to become more domestic I would come home from class or work and watch 30 Minute Meals. Then I'd head over to Alberton's (just down the road) and pick up the ingredients and make what Rachael did that day. There were several inedible meals at first, but after about a year I was creating my own recipes and enjoying cooking more than I ever thought I would.

So when I saw this deal on one of my favorite blogs The Prudent Patron, I was thrilled and wanted to share it here. Just use the code EVERYDAY at checkout. The price fluctuates about $1 - I bought my subscription yesterday for $3.99 and others said they only paid $2.99. Either way, what a great deal!

Order your subscription HERE

Photo Friday

For my first Photo Friday I wanted to share a picture that would give you a moment of joy. Out of the thousands of pictures I have stored in iPhoto, the one that makes me smile every time I see it is this one

Mr. G and Little G were relaxing in the warm sand in Santa Barbara when I snapped this peaceful image. Little G, then 11 months old, has a shovel in her hands and was having a blast digging away. She looked up often to gaze out at the harbor and I was able to capture this sweet moment. I love it so much that a 23x18 resting above the fireplace. Hope it brought a smile to your face :)

Vacation In A Glass

I've been waiting all week to enjoy this:

Nope. Not these Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas - although they were soooo yummy!

This:

A sweet glass of chilled Riesling. It immediately takes me back to a vacation Mr. G and I took to Santa Barbara several years ago. If I take a sip and close my eyes I can see myself sitting on the beach, reading a great book and soaking in the sun. Ahhhhhh.

This is the only Riesling available at Fresh & Easy. It was only $4.99 and surprisingly delicious. Very fruity and smooth.

Back to reality.

So far this week has been filled with friends and fun. We hit 83 degrees on Wednesday so I was able to fill up Little G's pool with a couple inches of water and let the kids (Little G and my niece and nephew) have a blast splashing around for an hour.

We got a visit on Tuesday from my best friend, Kim and her new baby boy, Christopher. He is such a sweetie! And on Wednesday night we had dinner at our friends Justin and Jenny's house. They made teriyaki hamburgers with grilled pineapple.

Mrs. G and Little G with Kim and Chris

Another treat was this Chocolate Pie from Marie Callender's which was given to Mr. G by a co-worker who recognized his hard work and wanted to show her appreciation. Thank you, Mrs. Shepherd!

Thankful Thursday

So much to be thankful for! I can make a list that includes everyone in my life and everything that God has blessed me with - but to keep it more specific, today I am thankful for my unbelievably sweet and beautiful daughter who sleeps in past 8am and naps without a fuss (most of the time).

I hear from my mommy friends all the time about how their kids wake up with the sun every morning. I am SO thankful Little G likes to sleep in as much as me because 6am is not my friend. I should add that because I am a SAHM bedtime for Little G is later than most kids I know. She usually goes to bed between 8:30 and 9 pm - sometimes around 9:30 if Mr. G comes home late and the two of them are enjoying some time together. I would never cut their time short because of a "bedtime." I'm positive her favorite part of the day is when she hears Mr. G's truck pull up and she gets to run out and greet him - telling him all the fun things she did and learned.

It's one of my favorite moments each day too.

Vintage Little G - June 2008

Week 3 - Already?

This month is going by so fast! And the weather is out of control - hot, cold, rainy, hot, hot, rainy. I can't keep up!

So far the $250 Challenge is going as planned. I am amazed at how relaxed I am this month. I'm not worrying about how much money is in the account, because I know how much there is. Mr. G has only used his check card three times this month, each time the purchases were for less than $20 and he told me right after using it. I've been using cash and I can't tell you how much that has changed my spending habits. I'm definitely going to keep taking out cash for my monthly spending money from now on.

Weekly Meal Plan

Budget - $50 of the $125 for the rest of the month

Dinner

Asian Chopped Chicken Salad

Tuesday - small group - I'll bring an appetizer

Wednesday - Dinner at a friends house - bringing dessert

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas with rice and beans

Friday - I'm on my own, Enchilada leftovers

Lunches

Ham and Turkey sandwiches

Chicken Noodle Soup :)

Left overs

Breakfast

Eggs

Breakfast bars

Yogurt

Oatmeal

Pancakes

At Fresh and Easy I spent $40.72 which included 4 bottles of the sulfate-free shampoo & conditioner I use (F&E brand Retreat) - it was 50% off!! I also spent $12.10 at Whole Foods leaving me $72.18 for the remainder of the month.

Monday Night I made Asian Chopped Chicken Salad - my most asked for recipe. It is crunchy, sweet and overall a party in your mouth. And to make Monday night even better, the new edition of Food & Family came so I got to relax with my magazine and scrumptious salad. :)