Eat From the Pantry Challenge - Week 2

Crystal asked everyone to post how they did last week with the challenge. (Check back here if you want to see my plan for Week 1.) I bought chicken, milk, formula, and $11 worth of other food because we had guests on Saturday night.

This week, I spent about $35. $31 was for us (mostly produce and dairy/cheese items we were out of) and the other $4 covers the meal I'm bringing to a friend. She had a baby a week before Christmas and I'm bringing her dinner tomorrow because I remember how awesome that was when people did that for me!

Here's the plan, Stan!

Monday - Homemade {Turkey} Bacon and Onion Pizza

Tuesday - Veggie Stir-Fry (this is the meal I'm doubling because my friend is a vegetarian and also breast-feeding. It's a hard combo to cook for, let me tell you!)

Wednesday - Chicken Parmesan (Rachael Ray's recipe - I don't use the thyme or rosemary)

Thursday - Burgers with Rachael Ray's Oven Fries (are you sensing a theme?!)

Friday/Saturday - Taco Soup (I couldn't make this last week because I forgot that I didn't have any crushed tomatoes; I made two crockpot meals instead)

Sunday - Any leftovers (we eat a big family dinner every Sunday afternoon)

Desserts:

Banana-Chocolate Chip muffins (those got subbed for berry crisp last week)

Berry Crisp (this will be doubled for my friend - can you tell I have a lot of frozen berries taking up space in my freezer? :)

I think this challenge has been great for us so far - we've definitely come in below our $75 weekly grocery budget both weeks. We've also only spent $16 of our $50 household budget (so $100 total) for the past two weeks. Since I'm not really shopping, I'm not picking up anything for the house while I'm in the store. Although we're definitely going to need diapers and toilet paper next week. :)

The biggest challenge so far is not buying a lot of my regular "diet" foods (they're SO expensive!) So far I have been steadily losing weight again, so maybe I'll realize I don't need them anyway!

Attention, Attention!

Hellooooo girls - I have some fun news today!

You will notice from now on that I have a Tupperware blinkie on my site. This is because I have my very first sponsor! Amy is a Christian SAHM looking to make a little extra money, and she's the sister-in-law of a friend. She wanted a blog to advertise on, I said yes, and the rest is history!

So what does this mean for YOU?

It means that we'll be hosting some fun Tupperware giveaways in the future (yeah free stuff!) and you'll periodically get the inside scoop on Tupperware's great sales (for instance, they're having a 40% off sale right now on their "Modular Mates" collection, shown below).

Clicking the link on my website takes you directly to Amy's site, where she'll advertise the current specials. Her site will also take you directly to the Tupperware website, where you can make purchases.

It's a quick, easy, and painless way to order more Tupperware!

Remember to check back for that giveaway! :)

$1 Target Shopping Trip

We were at Target the other day to pick up some formula, and as we rounded the corner toward the Christmas section my heart stopped beating for a minute when I saw the sign:

90% off!

Of course, it had reaaaally been picked over at that point, but I was able to snag 3 ornament packages for a quarter each! That's right people! Perfect for filling glass jars with next year.

Then I went through the food clearance section and on my way over noticed that the Select Harvest soup was $1.25 each. Using a $1/1 coupon I had, the price was brought to only a quarter as well.

{I just want to say that I never was all that crazy about veggie soups before, but now that I've been on Weight Watchers for a while I eat them several times a week. They are usually really low in calories, and the Select Harvest soups use all natural ingredients. The one I picked up was Southwestern Vegetable and if you top it with a little reduced-fat sour cream and some reduced-fat cheese, it's only 3 points and it is SO good! I told you I'm a mexiholic! lol}

Anyway, you know you've done well when even your male cashier comments that "You can't beat these prices!"

Nope, you really can't. :)

Happy weekend!

{Linked to Money Saving Mom for Super Savings Saturday.}

Show Us Your Life: New Year's Resolutions/Goals

This is my first time ever participating in one of Kelly's parties and I think this is as good a one as any to start (wow, bad grammar but you get the point!).

Chris and I sat down a few days ago and made a list of our goals for this year. As I wrote before, this is the first year I really feel like January's a fresh start (rather than September). I figure writing out some of the resolutions here will help keep me even more accountable. I'm going to share the resolutions that directly involve me (not the two of us).

I'll revisit this list on June 1st and then December 31st/Jan 1st to see how I've done!

Personal:

1. Lose 7 pounds by March 1st and 7 more (reaching my goal weight) by June 1st. I am back on Weight Watchers after my holiday hiatus. I'm so mad at myself for gaining 5 pounds over Christmas, but there's nothing I can do about it now except suck it up and work it off!

2. Be more engaged in prayer. I know this might sound ridiculous, but I tend to be a sporadic and quick "prayer-er". I am also one of those people whose mind always never sits still and Chris and I will be praying and I'll realize that I've thought about 50 things before the prayer's up and never really heard most of it. Prayer is a gift that God gives us and I truly want to be more engaged in it.

3. Continue working out at least 4 days a week.

Financial:

1. $300/month on groceries (this includes formula and baby food) and $200/month on household (this includes diapers, wipes, and other baby needs), with the goal of reducing these numbers drastically by the end of the year

2. Cut household waste and find even more ways to save money

3. Find ways to substitute homemade foods for convenience foods (yogurt was my first food like this; next I'm going to try making my own bread crumbs)

4. Make $300 via consignment shops and the flea market {already made $71.17 so far, so I'm off to a good start!}

5. Find some other ways to bring in money besides subbing part-time (which I will start in approximately 2 weeks) {God has already brought two small money-makers into my life - he has provided a voice lesson student and the other one is a surprise which I will share on my blog as soon as it works out!}

*Our goal is to roll as much money as we can into paying off our credit card*

Parenting:

1. Sleep train Luke (he starts next week - poor baby, if he only knew what was coming! lol)

2. Get Luke on a routine that works for both of us

Yikes, this is my 3rd post this week without pictures - I hate reading posts without pictures, so thanks for sticking with me!

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

I just want you all to know that as I typed this title I accidentally wrote "panty" the first time. Whooo!! Not that kind of blog, that's for sure! :)

Anyway, a friend and I are doing a freezer cooking day on Martin Luther King day, so I figured that these two weeks would be the perfect time to work out cleaning out the freezer to make some space. It's actually kinda fun!

This week wasn't completely grocery-budget free; I purchased about 12 pounds of chicken on sale for $1.88/pound and some milk for both of us and formula for Luke. Next week I'll probably have to stock up on some raw veggies again. But other than that, we're pretty much good to go!

The plan:

Tuesday: Smothered Chicken

Wednesday: BBQ Turkey Meatloaf {from the freezer}

Thursday: Rachael Ray's Pasta Carbonara {I make a few subsitutions like turkey bacon, white cooking wine, and whole wheat pasta}

Friday and Saturday: Taco Soup using freezer beef {we'll eat the leftovers on Saturday}

Sunday: Pasta with meat sauce {I'll reserve a little meat before I add it to the soup}

Desserts/Snacks:

Raspberry Yogurt

Chocolate Chip Cookies from the freezer

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins {bananas from the freezer}

We may have my brother- and sister-in-law over this weekend; if so I'll make a berry crisp using frozen berries when they come over.

I think this is my first week EVER to use a menu - it was more fun than I thought!

Tasty Tuesday - Smothered Chicken

MMMmmmmmmm girls, this recipe is fabulous! I am doing the "Eat From the Pantry" challenge this week (I'll post about that tomorrow) and as I made this tonight I remembered that today is Tuesday and I could link up to the party at Beauty and Bedlam (I'm just fashionably late).

If you are a mexiholic like I am (yes, I made that up), then hopefully this will be a recipe you will learn to love as well. Super easy, relatively cheap, and not all that bad for you. I feel like Applebee's sells/sold this meal, but I'm not really sure. What I do know is that I've been making it for years and it's in the regular rotation at our house.

Smothered Chicken

{all amounts are approximate - use what you have!}

10 chicken tenders/chicken breast strips

oil for sauteing

garlic

salt and pepper

1 green pepper, cut into strips {can add as many as you want; can also add colored ones}

1 onion, cut into strips {can also add mushrooms}

mexican/colby jack/cheddar cheese

salsa, chips, sour cream

1. Cook rice according to package directions

2. While rice is cooking, saute chicken in oil until cooked. I always add garlic at the last minute so it doesn't scald. Add s & p to taste.

3. Transfer chicken to plate and saute onions and peppers in leftover oil, adding salt and pepper {this step is totally due to the fact that I hate washing dishes - you can definitely cook the peppers and onions at the same time in a different skillet}

4. When peppers and onions are cooked, add chicken back to pan and scoop the veggies on top. Smother with cheese.

It will look like this:

5. Serve with salsa, chips, and sour cream on the side.

In case you're wondering, this is a salad plate - not a regular. I'm really not a porker. :) I'm trying the whole trick-your-brain-into-thinking-you're-eating-more deal as advocated by Weight Watchers.

Also, if you use reduced-fat cheese, sour cream, and nacho chips like I did, it's really not bad calorie-wise!

I have no doubt you will love this as much as we do!

2009: The Year in Review

When I was pregnant with Luke, I kept a detailed pregnancy journal - something I have also continued after he was born to document his milestones and day-to-day experiences with him. I have a picture in my head of him being a little boy and wanting to read his journal with me and us sitting on the bed and reading all about when he first smiled. Maybe I'm a sap but that's what I hope for! (The pregnancy journal, however, is just for me - I reaaaally don't think he's gonna want to hear about the first time I got stretch marks or how much water I retained. ;)

However, I don't journal everyday life events for myself or us as a family, so part of the reason for this blog was to capture moments of my family's life. I have drifted away from that a little bit recently, so I will be making more of a weekly effort to do that. For my own records, I just wanted to capture a few brief highlights of 2009 for us so I'll remember them later.

January

Severe morning sickness pretty much dominated my life for a few weeks.

February

Not much happened this month, although I finally was able to stomach ground beef again so we celebrated Valentine's Day by going to Johnny Rockets and it was FAB. :)

This was also the month I started to feel Luke move.

March

Found out we would be having a Luke and not an Olivia. One of the best and most emotional moments of my life.

Traveled to Florida for free thanks to wonderful friends and spent the weekend with them. It was so much fun.

May

First baby shower in Connecticut, thrown by my mom.

Officially decided I'd be leaving my job in the fall to stay home with Luke.

Last time seeing my brother before he left for 6 months in Iraq to work with a Christian non-profit.

June

First yard sale at my house - actually had fun and made some money!

Second baby shower in Pennsylvania, hosted by my mother- and sisters-in-law.

Labor scare with Luke that turned into hospital stay.

July

Luke was born via unexpected c-section after induction on the 8th. We had lots of family and friends come visit. First grandchild for my parents, 8th for my in-laws. Luke was born on our niece's 11th birthday, which thankfully she turned out being thrilled about and not jealous or upset.

Recovery coupled with my attempts at breastfeeding was extremely difficult and painful. Not gonna lie, those were some really, really dark days. I have never been happier to see a month pass.

August

Able to drive, exercise, and be normal again!

Celebrated our 3rd anniversary with dinner at Olive Garden and seeing The Proposal.

Mom and Dad came to visit twice and my sister visited once.

Decided to start blogging again.

September

First road trip with Luke over Labor Day weekend to see all of my extended family and friends in Connecticut.

Started Weight Watchers to lose the last 16 pounds of baby weight that refused to come off on their own.

October

Fall party at our house - definitely going to become a fall tradition!

Mom and Dad came to stay again.

November

We don't celebrate Halloween, so Thanksgiving was Luke's first holiday!

Spent it in Connecticut and saw many family members and friends again.

Saw my brother after 6 long months.

December

My birthday - celebrated again with Olive Garden (definitely a favorite)

and The Blind Side (SO good!)

Officially lost all the baby weight (only to gain back 5 over the holidays - yes, you heard me!).

Got our house reappraised in order to refinance our mortgage, saving us over $150 a month.

Spent Christmas in Connecticut, and had 5 college friends come over/stay over for New Year's Eve. Some of these friends we hadn't seen in two years so this was really wonderful!

It's been quite the ride - I can't wait to see what the 2010 brings! I have lots of blogging and personal goals for this year that I really hope I'll be able to accomplish.

This is the first year in basically my whole life that I haven't lived by a school schedule, so January really does feel like a fresh start for me.

Happy 2010!