Lots of free stuff at Wal-Greens

I love free stuff, and there's lots of it at Wal-Greens this week! I spent $13.50 for all these, and walked out with $21 in Register Rewards for next week. I could have spent less, but I miscalculated. Go to moneysavingmom.com to find coupon match-ups.

Here's what I bought:

Transaction #1

Vasiline hand lotion, Robitussin, Halls, Herbal Essence shampoo, Floss picks, 3 tomato sauce: spent $1.18 before tax (I used $10 in Register Rewards that I earned last week.)

Trasnactin #2

Gillette razor, Herbal Essence, ponds cream x2, 3 hunts sauce. (Messed this one up a bit. Should have been $1.5 useing RR from hand lotion.) Paid $4.74

Transaction #3

Chapstick, Hand lotion, Emergen -C, 3 tomato sauce. Have to take this receipt back because they didn't get the tomato sauce coupon. Spent $7.11

Transaction #4

Floss, Oral B tooth brush, Halls, 3 tomato sauce. Spent $.94

Rite Aid has some good deals too. I'm going to get 24 count Zanatac and 2x 24 count Tylenol for $3 after coupons and rebates.

c

Harris Teeter Tripple Coupons

Harris Teeter is trippling Coupons this week. http://couponteacher.blogspot.com has coupon match ups for lots of free, less than $1 and less than $2 items.

Oatmeal

This is the oatmeal packets that my brother used when we went hiking in Utah. He had them in ziploc baggies, then poured the ingredients into a styrofoam cup and added hot water. It would be perfect for a 72 hour kit. Here are the proportions:1 cup oats, 1 T powdered milk, 1/2 T sugar, 1/2 t. salt, and then add 2 and 1/2 cups of boiling water. The powdered milk should not be the instant kind, otherwise it doesn't mix well with the water. He also said that he sometimes he will add dried apples (also food storage item!)

Homemade Laundry Detergent & Fabric Softener

At our meeting on Tuesday night the topic of Homemade Landry Detergent came up. Anita Daines has experimented with both the poweder and liquid form and shared her recipe with us.

This recipe is for a smaller quantity than we talked about which might be better for some people.

Homemade Laundry Soap

*The ingredients can be found at Walmart, Harris Teeter & Renfrow Hardware

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap such as Ivory or Zote

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder

2 gallon bucket

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the Borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. Stir mixture well.

It will look like this:

Fill an empty liquid detergent container or other container half full with warm water. Fill the rest of the container with your homemade detergent. You can add 10-20 drops of essential oils if desired. Shake container before using each time. Use ½ cup per load.

Homemade Fabric Softener

1 cup baking soda
6 cups distilled white vinegar
8 cups water
10-15 drops orange essential oils (optional) or lemon essential oils (optional) or essential oils, of choice (optional)

Directions
1. You will need a one gallon container.
2. First add the baking soda to the plastic container.
3. Next add 1 cup of water to start with.
4. Slowly add the vinegar to the bottle as the vinegar and baking soda will start to fizz.
5. Then add the rest of the water swirling around & cover venting the top a few times.
6. Last add the essential oil.
7. Add 1 cup in your final rinse cycle for each load.

Recipes from Enrichment Night

Here's the Chicken Salad from the Neely's Food Network stars of Down Home with the Neely's:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/neelys-chicken-salad-in-tomato-cups-recipe/index.html

If anyone liked the Strawberry Trifle it's Super Easy:

1 Angel Food cake, chopped in squares(You can get from most grocery store bakeries already baked)
1 Lg. box vanilla instant pudding
1 container of fresh strawberries sliced vertically
1 pkg. strawberry glaze
1 small tub cool whip

Topping:
1 container of frozen strawberries in syrup

In Trifle bowl or other large glass bowl. Fill bottom of bowl with 1/2 of chopped Angel Food cake. Line bottom sides of bowl with one layer of sliced strawberries. Then layer 1/2 vanilla pudding, 1/2 of glaze. Repeat all of the layers above then top with cool whip. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. To serve, spoon onto plates and top with thawed strawberries in syrup.

Any questions about these recipes just call me. I have now posted my first blog! Looks like I'm joining the 21st century!

Becky

Wal-Mart School Supplies Sale!

On an impromptu trip to Wal-Mart this morning I happened upon their huge display of school supplies that are (for a limited time) RIDICULOUSLY cheap to kick off the upcoming school year.  If you have any need for school supplies now is the time to stock up!  There were many supplies I didn't get simply because Jackson has no need for them just yet (i.e. post-its, 3x5 cards, white-out, etc.), but I did get a nice supply of the basics!  Here's what I got:

24 ct. Crayola Crayons:  Bought 4 boxes @ 25 cents ea. = $1.00 total

12 ct. Crayola Colored Pencils:  Bought 1 box = $1.00 total

Pencil Box:  Bought 1 box = $1.00 total

8 ct. Washable Crayola Markers:  Bought 1 box = $2.00 total (the non-washable are only $1.00 a box for those of you with older children!)

2 pack Elmer's Glue Sticks:  Bought 2 packages (so four sticks total) @ 25 cents per package = .50 cents total!

TOTAL:  $5.50 

I am probably going to go back and take advantage of these prices while they last!  Like I mentioned previously, there are MANY other supplies at seriously discounted prices.. Some more that I just thought of were:  Scissors, pencil-top erasers, hand sanitizer, one subject notebooks for 15 cents a piece!, book covers, and MORE!  Happy Shopping! :)

Sweet Wheat Chili

2 cups wheat berries, cooked*
1 pound Ground Beef or Turkey
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 package Chili Seasoning
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 to 1 cup water
1 1/2 cups frozen corn

Brown and cook ground beef or turkey, seasoning as desired. Drain any fat. Add cooked wheat berries, browned meat and remaining ingredients to a crock pot or stock pot. Stir everything together and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or simmer on the stove for 1 to 2 hours on low heat. Serve with sour cream, cheese and honey cornbread. Enjoy!


*To cook wheat berries on the stove, place desired amount of wheat berries into a pot and cover with 4 times the amount of water (ie. 1 cup wheat berries + 4 cups water). Add a pinch of salt. Boil for 60-70 minutes or until wheat is tender. Add more water if needed.

*To cook wheat berries in a slow cooker, place 1 cup wheat berries and 3 cups of water in slow cooker. Add a pinch of salt. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Add water if needed.

*Freeze any unused portions for later use. Its a good idea to cook a large batch of wheat berries and freeze them for quick additions to any meal.


Food Storage Groups: Wheat and Beans