Menu Plan Monday: March 15, 2010

Monday: Chop Suey over rice

Tuesday: Taco Night

Wednesday: Skillet Shepherd's Pie & Cabbage

Thursday: Jambalaya

Friday: Turkey burgers & sweet potato fries

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Chicken and Wild Rice Bake

Skillet Shepherd's Pie

1lb ground turkey
1/4 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1 large potato, cubed
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp ketchup (or tomato paste or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)

1. Cook ground turkey, onion, thyme, oregano, salt & pepper in a skillet until turkey is no longer pink.

2. Add potatoes and carrots to the turkey. Pour in chicken broth and ketchup/tomatoes and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender, adding more broth if needed.

Quick Cooked Cabbage

Original recipe found here (FamilyFun).


Quick Cooked Cabbage
2 pieces sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 lbs cabbage, sliced
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano


1. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp; remove bacon and reserve drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon and set aside.


2. Cook chopped onion in drippings over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring often.


3. Add cabbage and next four ingredients; cook, stirring for 1 minute.


4. Cover and cook until tender. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle bacon on top.

Chop Suey

Cook until tender:
1lb lean pork, cut into strips (I use a pork tenderloin)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Add to meat and cook 3 minutes:
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup sliced bell pepper
2 cups thinly sliced bok choy (I'm using green cabbage this time)
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup sliced mushrooms

Add to above and cook until thickened:
1 cup chicken broth (or 1 cup water + 1 bouillon cube)
1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

Add to above and heat thoroughly, then serve over rice:
16oz can bean sprouts, drained
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce (or more to taste)
*can also add dash sesame oil

**Vary the vegetables to your taste.

CVS: Cereal Deals: March 14-20, 2010

CVS has several good cereal deals going on this week.


Kashi Heart to Heart -- priced at 2/$5
Buy 3 boxes at $2.50/each
Use Buy 2 cereals Get 1 Free coupon here
Use (2) $1.50/1 coupons for Heart to Heart cereal here

Final price is $2 for 3 boxes of cereal or $0.67/each!
*Original Kashi cereal deal found here at MyFrugalAdventures.

*Your CVS might not take the Buy 2 cereals Get 1 Free coupon -- it is a manufacturer's coupon, but it prints with the Target logo. I did not have a problem using it at my store.


*Some boxes of the Kashi cereal had peelie coupons for $1 off any Kashi cereal, $1 off any Kashi frozen item & $1 off any Kashi TLC Granola bar.


**I just did this deal and ended up paying $0.04 for the 3 boxes of cereal! The cashier valued my free box at the regular price ($4.69) instead of at the sale price ($2.50)! I'm not sure what they are supposed to do, but I took it anyway. So, $2 or $0.04 -- great deal for 3 boxes of cereal.



Kashi Granola bars -- priced at 2/$5
Use this for $1.50/2 boxes
or use the $1/1 peelie coupon
Final price: $1.50 to $1.75 a box






Chex Cereal -- priced at 2/$5
Use this coupon for $0.75/1 box
Final price: $1.75 a box

Target Deals: March 7-13, 2010 (Updated!)

I went to Target today and found several good deals I wanted to share... these are all easy deals to do if you're just getting started with grocery savings. You can easily find these coupons and score some good deals.


You can always verify specials using the Target price scanners... they will show gift cards available and buy 3, get one free deals, etc. Also, check out My Baton Rouge Mommy for a full list of this week's Target deals.


Some additional Target tips:
*Check the meat section for peelies (peel-off coupons)...usually the meat will expire in a day or two and they'll mark down the price and put a peelie on, making for some great meat deals! Just stick it in your freezer at home if you don't cook it right away.


*Target places clearance items on the ends of aisles. If you can pair a coupon with a clearance item, you'll score a great deal (ex: Diego bandaids below).

Get a free box of General Mills cereal when you buy 3 boxes

Rice Chex and Corn Chex (both labeled gluten free) $3.04

Use this coupon for $0.75/1 (print 3 copies)

Buy 3 boxes, get the 4th free

Final price: $6.87 for 4 boxes ($1.72/each)

Diego Bandaids -- clearance on end of aisle by pharmacy for $1.58

Use this coupon for $1/1 (I also received one in a Target mailer yesterday)
UPDATE: There is a $0.50/1 coupon coming out in tomorrow's (3/14) RedPlum coupon insert!

Final price $0.58 -- with new coupon = $0.08

Select Tampax & Always products

Get $5 Target giftcard when you buy 2

Always 48ct -- $6.99

$2/1 coupon in the 3/7 P&G insert in paper

Final price $4.99

Tampax Pearl 36ct -- $6.99

$2/1 coupon in the 3/7 P&G insert in paper

Final price $4.99

Total: $9.98 + a $5 Target giftcard to be use on a future purchase (it's like getting them for $2.49/each)

Menu Plan Monday: March 8, 2010

Monday: Pork Chops Supreme

Tuesday: Oven Fried Drumsticks

Wednesday: Pecan-Crusted Tilapia

Thursday: Pintos & Cornbread (with taco toppings...guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese)

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Eating with friends

Sunday: Kids eat free at Salsarita's

Pecan Crusted Tilapia

I am using this recipe from Faithful Provisions, but I will make a few changes to make it gluten-free/dairy-free:

1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I buy gluten-free bread crumbs at Whole Foods)
1/4 cup GF flour mix
1/2 cup rice milk
1 egg
1 to 1 1/2 lb tilapia fillets
salt/pepper/paprika
1/4 cup canola oil

Process pecans in a food processor until chopped well; combine with bread crumbs in a bowl.
Place flour in a second bowl.
Blend milk and egg together in a third bowl.

Preheat large skillet on medium heat. Sprinkle both sides of fish with salt/pepper/paprika.

Dip fillets in flour (coating both sides), then dip in egg mixture (allowing excess to drip off). Finally, dip in pecan/bread crumb mixture.

Pour oil in skillet, swirl to coat. Add fish and cook 2-3 minutes on eat side until golden on outside and flaky on inside.

Oven Fried Drumsticks

12 chicken drumsticks
paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper
Egg wash (eggs scrambled with milk added) or 4 Tbsp butter
1 cup bread crumbs

Remove skin from drumsticks.
Sprinkle drumsticks with with paprika, garlic powder, salt & pepper.
Dip in egg wash or butter, then roll in bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, or until cooked through.

Pork Chops Supreme

6 pork chops
dash of salt & pepper
dash of garlic powder (optional)
4 cups thinly sliced potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom or celery soup (homemade version here)
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp chopped onion

Season pork chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Brown in a skillet on both sides.
Arrange potatoes in a 2-qt baking dish. Place pork chops on top.
Mix soup, milk and onions and pour over the top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until potatoes are tender.

Ultimate Recipe Swap: March 4, 2010

It's Thursday and time for another Ultimate Recipe Swap...the theme today is Flour. My contribution is below, and you can find more recipes at http://www.lifeasmom.com/. My recipe is gluten free, but you can change it up and use whole wheat flour or half white/half wheat if you prefer.

Zucchini Bread (Gluten Free)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar (I sometimes use honey instead of brown sugar)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups GF all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (only needed if you are using gluten-free flour)
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 cups grated zucchini (squeeze it in a towel first to drain the liquid), 3-4 small or 2 med
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 8x4 inch loaf pans with cooking spray.
In large bowl, cream oil, sugar, eggs, applesauce and vanilla together with electric mixer until very smooth.
Add flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Gently stir in zucchini, nuts and raisins. Batter will be somewhat thick.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until tester in the center comes out clean.

Seventh Generation Cleaner

In addition to the basic vinegar, baking soda and Bon Ami cleaners, I like Seventh Generation cleaners. Here's a great deal on Seventh Generation at Target (original post found at MyFrugalAdventures):

Target coupon found here for $1 off Seventh Generation Disinfecting products (this coupon is only printing once, so you'll need additional computers to print more).

Stack the Target coupon with this $1 off manufacturer coupon for a total of $2 off (these coupons are printing twice).

The Seventh Generation cleaning products are reportedly $2.99 at Target, so they'll be 99cents after stacking both coupons.

Turkey Taquitos

Corn tortillas
Turkey meat, cooked and shredded (you can also use chicken, ground turkey or ground beef)
1 pkg Taco seasoning mix (or use this homemade version)
1 cup Turkey broth
**Optional add-in's: diced onion, can of green chilis, can of tomatoes drained, shredded cheese

Soften tortillas in a skillet of oil over medium heat and drain on paper towels.

Warm turkey meat in a separate skillet on medium-high heat and add in taco seasoning and 1 cup turkey broth. Cook until all is incorporated and warmed through. Add in any other ingredients (sauteed onion, green chilis, drained tomatoes, etc), except for cheese. Warm through and remove from heat.

Spoon 1/2 to 3/4 Tbsp meat mixture onto lower 1/3 of tortilla and add a pinch of shredded cheese (if you are using cheese). Roll tortilla tightly and place on a cookie sheet.

Continue until all tortillas are rolled.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until crispy and warm. Top with lettuce, cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Or use the taquitos to dip in sour cream/salsa/guacamole.

*You can flash freeze prior to baking (place taquitos on a cookie sheet in the freezer), then transfer them to a ziploc bag back in the freezer until ready to use.

Turkey Tetrazzini

1 pkg spaghetti noodles (8oz) -- I use deBoles rice noodles since we don't eat wheat
approx 2 cups turkey meat, cooked & chopped/shredded
1 small jar pimentos, drained
1 can cream of chicken/celery/mushroom soup (or use this homemade version)
3/4 cup turkey broth
Parmesan cheese
**Optional add-in's: peas, red pepper, mushrooms, shredded cheese, onions

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package instructions to al dente.

Spread turkey meat in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Mix in drained pimentos & any other vegetables you are using.

Drain spaghetti noodles and add to the turkey/veggie mixture. Mix in cream soup and broth.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.