Angie Gets Organized

This is why I'm trying to get organized...for my family. I am a strong believer in family meal time, but I know that without a little planning, it will be hard to keep us all together. It will also be easier to spend money foolishly on prepared foods or fast food. I love trying out new recipes, so this is my site to pass on recipes, while also organizing them into a meal plan. I hope it helps you to keep your family together. I would love to hear what others are having for dinner, or see a new recipe or two! Feel free to leave me some feedback in the comments section...at least then I would know someone is reading this!

It's not gourmet...just good food!







Thursday, February 25, 2010

Menu 2/27-3/5

Well, even though our dog ate my original menu, I think I've remembered everything that I was thinking of for this coming week. I reviewed the sales flyers again, and again most of the sales are at Giant. Weis seems to be coming up short these days.

2/27 "Souper Saturday" Italian Meatball Soup. This calls for crushed tomatoes ($1.00/can at Giant), shell pasta (you should be stocked up since there have been pasta sales the last two weeks at Giant), and meatballs (I'll be making my own, but storebought could be substituted for a quicker meal).
2/28 Pork Chops. There are several "bone-in" specials at Giant this week, including BOGO on large family packs. We prefer boneless, but I'm still looking for a better sale on those. We'll just be preparing them "shake-n-bake" style.
3/1 Easy Chicken Parmesan. "Fast Fixin" brand of chicken strips on sale at Giant for $5.99. But I've also noticed that the Giant "Guaranteed Value" brand is $4.99 for chicken patties. We've tried this brand, and actually prefer it to the more expensive brands. Hunt's spaghetti sauce is $1.00/can and Giant brand Shredded Cheese is 4/$6.00 (must buy 4). Pretty cheap meal, especially since you won't need the whole bag of chicken strips or patties.
3/2 Hamburger Skillet. I believe ground chuck is on sale at Henicle's Market ($2.14/lb). Red potatoes are on sale at Giant ($3.49/5lb), but you can most likely get white potatoes cheaper at Henicles, Save-a-Lot, or Aldi's. Again, the cheese is on sale at Giant (4/$6.00).
3/3 Pancakes with sausage or bacon. I'll be making them from scratch, although I believe Giant did have mixes on sale (unsure of price). Bacon is BOGO at Giant ($4.99/pack) but if you want an even cheaper meat alternative, the Brown and Serve sausages are always $0.98/box at Walmart (that's half priced compared to Giant's regular price!).
3/4 Leftovers
3/5 Hot Turkey Sandwiches with fries. Not sure if there is any good turkey on sale, but we like the store-roasted turkey from Butcher Shoppe. Seems the closest to "real" turkey leftovers, instead of just lunch meat. For a cheaper option, you could use the Banquet Turkey slices in the frozen dinner section.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Bargains Galore!

Got to check in on some of my favorite sites today, and found a load of bargains to pass on to my friends.

Walgreens Free 8x10 print
*print a coupon out from their site (walgreens.com) for a free 8x10 print. Coupon is only good through tomorrow (Thursday).

Toys R Us --Nearly free game
*Looking for a cheap birthday gift, or looking ahead to Christmas...here is a bargain! Toys R Us has the Pictureka Flipper game on sale for $6.98 (not sure of the regular price). With the $5.00 coupon from http://playsaver.com or http://coupon.com, the game becomes $1.98!!!

Taste of Home--$5.00 Cookbook Clearance
*Yet another "think ahead" gift (hostess, Christmas, birthday, etc.). Go to their site, http://shoptasteofhome.com to see the pretty big selection of $5.00 cookbooks. Some are regularly $24.99! To make the deal even better, here are some additional codes that you can use at checkout if you are thinking of making a larger purchase:
LST02 (free shipping on orders over $20.00)
LST16 (free shipping + 10% off orders over $40.00)
LST 18 (15% off orders over $25, 20% off orders over $35, and 25% off orders over $45).

Huggies Wipes Deal at CVS
*I haven't tried this yet, but apparently Huggies Wipes refills (reg. $7.99) are ringing up $2.50 at CVS. With a coupon, this will be a VERY sweet deal! I'd recommend a price check first. If someone verifies this, please let me know.

Free Smucker's Classic Cookie Recipe Book
*Looks like you need only send a postcard to the following address to request your free recipe book. Sounds like a sweet deal (no pun intended) :)
The J.M. Smucker Company
Attention: Classic Cookie Recipe Collection
Consumer Relations Dept.
P.O. Box 280
Orville, OH 44667

new menu mishap

Next week's menu is on it's way...had it all ready to type last night and woke up this morning to see that the dog decided to eat it, along with one of the kid's books!!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

New Menu 2/20-2/26

Here's the new menu for next week. I've changed the layout of the blog to make it look a little neater, so now you will find the recipes under the recipe tab on the right side of the page. There weren't any "big" sales that jumped out to me this week. If you found any, please share!

2/20 "Souper Saturday": Ham and Bean Soup. Ham Shanks are on sale at the Butcher Shoppe for $1.79/lb
2/21 Steamers (aka Sloppy Joes). Bulk packs of ground beef seem to always be $1.99/lb at Giant. May want to make extra steamers for leftover night, turning it into chili dogs.
2/22 "Happy Birthday, Mary Elise". Make some spaghetti, her favorite meal. DelGrosso's Spaghetti sauce is $1.00/jar at Giant, Barilla pasta (any shape) is $1.00/box at Giant, and salad mix is $0.99/bag (generic) or BOGO (Dole brand) at Giant. Gee, Mary, you're a cheap date!
2/23 Cheesy Chicken Hashbrown Casserole. Can used cooked chicken breast, canned chicken, or leg/thigh meat cooked off the bone (cheapest version).
2/24 Roast Beef, mashed potatoes & gravy. Boneless Chuck Roasts are BOGO at Giant this week. I already checked these out, since sometimes they aren't really a good deal. It seems most of the packages were pretty big roasts costing $10-$12/pkg. But since one is free, it's like getting a roast for $5-$6. Not too bad (around $2.50/lb). And since the roasts are pretty big, it will make extra for leftovers or you could cut the roast in half and freeze some for later.
2/25 Leftovers: plenty of options this week!
2/26 Ham Steaks, fried potatoes. Ham Steaks are also BOGO this week at Giant. I had trouble finding them on my first trip to Giant, so I hope that when I go back they will be better labeled. If not, I might be making leftovers again!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Rite Aid FAQ’s

Rite Aid FAQ’s

Thought I would link this info about how to best use the rebate system at Rite Aid, in case any of you are new to it. I've been using it for awhile, and really see a lot of savings from it. I went to Rite Aid tonight and (after coupons and rebates) purchased 4 Nivea lip balms, a pack of Pampers, and a big bottle of Nivea body lotion for $5.00 + tax!!! The Nivea lotion alone (when not on sale) is $7.99! SWEET! I'll try to post any good combos that I see.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

New Menu 2/13- 2/19

(S) Vegetable Soup: Saturday feels like a good day to have a big pot of soup going. Plus, roasts and stew meat are on sale at Giant this week.
(Su) Valentine's Day: Make something special for your sweetie...or if you're really lucky, go out!
(M) Pepperoni Chicken: Chicken is on sale at Giant $1.89/lb! Cheapest I've seen in awhile! Pepperoni is $2.62 + 0.55 coupon (on the package) at Walmart. Plus, Walmart's generic pizza sauce is awesome!
(T) Ham Loaf: using the ham loaf mixture that I bought on sale a couple of weeks ago. If you didn't get the ham loaf or don't like it, substitute a meatloaf for tonight's meal.
(W) Grilled Cheese: Just felt like something easy tonight!
(Th) Leftovers: All of us can find at least one meal using leftovers in the fridge or with stuff that's been hiding in the pantry.
(F) Steak-Um Sandwiches and Tater Tots

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Free 6 month subscription to Thriving Family

Go to http://focusonthefamily.com to receive a free 6 month subscription to "Thriving Family" magazine, a publication of Focus on the Family. It contains family/parenting tips surrounding the Christian life. There is a banner at the bottom of the home page that you have to click on and fill out your info.
Thanks, Becky M. for the tip!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Free Coldplay Album Download

Free Coldplay Album Download
Go here, http://www.coldplay.com/lrlrl/lr.html enter your email address, and get a free download of Coldplay's album "LeftRightLeftRightLeft". Very easy way to score some free music! There is a box you can uncheck if you do not want to receive emails from them.

Cute Valentine's crafts

Familyfun.com has some really cute Valentine's crafts and printables for your kiddos while they are stuck inside this weekend...that is, if you can pull them away from sledding!

cheap pizzas at Walmart

Walmart is running a special on DiGiorno Frozen Pizzas...$3.98. Look for the $1.00 coupon in last Sunday's paper and get a pizza for $2.98!! Better than take-out for sure!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

new menu 2/6-2/12

With a house full of sick kids, it's been difficult to get a menu and recipes together for you all. But here's what I've come up with.

Here's the new menu for this week, starting Sat. 2/6. There are a lot of Mexican type items on sale this week at all of the stores (I guess for Super Bowl Sunday), so stock up if you like Mexican food. Also got a tip that Kline's Grocery has pork tenderloin on sale (could probably ask the butcher to cut it into chops for you).

Basic Menu (recipes to follow):

(S) Mexican Pizza

(Su) Baked Potato Bar with favorite toppings

(M) Honey BBQ Chicken Tenders

(T) Brown Gravy Patties

(W) Breakfast Hash

(Th) Lasagne Roll-ups
(F) Chicken Patties and Fries

Sat 2/6: Mexican Pizza. The number of pizza's you need will depend on your family size (obviously :>). My recipe says two pizzas serves 8 people. This recipe is from my "Meals for a Month" cookbook. It freezes very well, so since this is Saturday, you may have some extra time to make a few extra to keep in the freezer for an easy weeknight meal.

  1. Roll out 2 refrigerated pizza crusts (these are on sale this week at Giant, with coupons in Sunday paper, as well). Prebake at 400 degrees for 8 min. or until lightly browned. Set aside.

  2. Brown 2 lbs. ground beef (I have used less, so whatever you like) with 1 small chopped onion and 2 cloves minced garlic. Drain well. Add 1 (16 oz) can refried beans (also on sale this week at Giant), 1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste, 1/3 c. water, 12 oz jar of salsa (on sale everywhere), and 4 oz can of green chilies (I don't use these...too hot for us). Stir to combine. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 min. to blend flavors.
  3. Divide sauce among pizzas and spread evenly over each crust. Top with cheese blend (3 c. shredded mozzarella and 2 c. shredded cheddar mixed together).

  4. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. or until crusts are done.

*Note: If you're freezing more for later: follow instructions till step 3, but do not top with cheese. Put the cheese in a separate ziplock bag. Chill the pizzas, flash freeze, wrap and label with reheating instructions. To reheat: Bake the frozen pizzas at 400 for 12-18 min, sprinkle with cheeses and bake 10-15 min longer till cheese bubbles and begins to brown.

Sun 2/7: I won't be cooking much, but I figured a Baked Potato Bar would be easy enough to feed the gang while watching the big game. Bake the potatoes at 350 degrees till fork-tender. Top with broccoli/cheese/ham or chili/cheese/sour cream. If you bake too many potatoes, save them for tomorrow night's supper as a side dish.


Mon 2/8: Honey BBQ Chicken Tenders (crock pot recipe).

  1. Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Arrange 2 lb. of cut-up chicken breasts or chicken tenders in slow cooker.

  2. Combine 1 1/2 c. BBQ sauce, 1/4 c. honey, 2 tsp. mustard, and 1 1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce in a separate bowl. Pour mixture over chicken.

  3. Cover and cook on low heat 4-5 hours or high heat for 2-2 1/2 hours. Could be baked as well for a quicker meal.

* If you make extra, this would be good to save for later for a chicken BBQ pizza. (Can you tell we love pizza?)


Tues 2/9: Brown Gravy Patties, mashed potatoes, corn...yum, comfort food!

  1. Mix 1 lb ground beef with 1 egg, salt and pepper, chopped onion, and some bread crumbs (a basic meatloaf recipe).

  2. Shape the meat mixture into small hamburger patties.

  3. Brown on both sides in a large frying pan.

  4. Mix 2 envelopes of brown gravy mix with water (follow directions on pkg). Add to frying pan, reduce heat, and simmer until patties are cooked through and gravy is thickened.

Wed 2/10: Breakfast Hash This is just my own creation of whatever we have on hand. You can change it to include/omit whatever you want.

  1. 3-4 large potatoes, shredded or 1 bag of hashbrowns. Brown with a small amount of oil in a large frying pan.

  2. Add 1 c. chopped onions, 1/4 c. diced green peppers, and 1 c. cubed ham steak to the cooking potatoes.

  3. When hash is nearly cooked to desired "brown" color, add 3 scrambled eggs and 1 c. cheddar cheese. Cook till eggs are set and cheese is melted.

Thur 2/11: Lasagne Roll-ups A faster version for weeknights.

  1. Boil 12 lasagne noodles, drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

  2. In a medium bowl, combine: 2 c. mozzarella cheese, 16 oz. cottage cheese, 1 egg, some parsley flakes and a sprinkle of italian seasoning or basil.

  3. Arrange the lasagne noodles on a flat surface. Spoon a thin layer of cheese mixture onto each noodle. Roll up each noodle (starting from one of the short sides) and secure with a toothpick. Place the rolls side by side in a prepared pan.
  4. Pour prepared pasta sauce (with or without meat) on top of each roll. Sprinkle with 1 c. mozzarella cheese and 1/4 c. parmesan cheese.

Bake 20-25 min, or until cheese filling melts and the top is golden brown. 4-5 servings

Friday 2/12: Chicken Patties and Fries Just a quickie meal from the freezer.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Backpacks on clearance

In case your child has already ruined his/her bookbag for this school year...
Walmart has a huge selection of clearance bookbags...at least at the Chambersburg, Pa location. Mary and I found a whole wall of clearance bags, prices starting at $3.00. Good deal for replacements, extras, or looking forward to next school year.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Rite Aid Bargains 1/31-2/6

Free Items!!
Complete Multipurpose Contact Solution $7.99-$7.99 SCR (Single Check Rebate)
Colgate Total Toothpaste $2.99-$2.00 SCR-$1.00 MF Coupon=FREE!!

*You can only pick up one free contact solution and one free toothpaste. But, even if you don't use these items for yourself, you could get them for the donation pile. I'm sure the toothpaste would be a welcome donation for Haiti relief.

Cheap Soda for the Super Bowl:
Pepsi Products 12 pk cans 3/$8.99 after in-ad coupon.