Spinach Quiche

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Christie

quiche

Today is Moving Day for my family. Most of our house is packed up and ready to….including ALL of our dishes and everything in our kitchen. Last night my sweet sister brought us a Spinach Quiche so we could enjoy a hot breakfast. So delicious!!

quiche 2

We love this Spinach Quiche. It’s a great dish to make early in the week and have for breakfast for the next few days. It reheats really well! Serve with fruit for a refreshing, balanced breakfast.

Spinach Quiche

1 10 oz bag of spinach, chopped

2 T melted butter

1 container cottage cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 eggs, beaten

Directions

1.  In a bowl, mix all ingredients together.  Pour into a greased 9-inch pie plate.

2.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

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Weekly Shopping Trip – May 30

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Christie

 berkots

Since we are moving in a few days, I didn’t want to buy too much, so this week’s shopping was for items we really needed!

Berkot’s

This is my favorite store to browse through the produce section (pictured at the top). I just love the displays, all the bright colors of fresh fruit and veggies. It looks like a magazine and I’m always afraid to touch it in case I mess it up!

shopping 2

  •  Broccoli @ $0.99/lb – $1.67
  • Peaches @ $0.99/lb – $1.18

Total Spent (with tax): $2.90

Aldi

shopping 1

  • 2 gallons of milk @ $2.29 each
  • 1 dozen large eggs @ $0.78
  • Tortilla chips @ $1.19
  • Bananas @ $0.29/lb ($0.54 total)
  • Garlic Bread @ $1.79
  • 24 pk of water @ $2.29
  • Evaporated Milk @ $0.79
  • Honey Wheat Bread @ $1.29

Total Spent (with tax): $13.48

Total Weekly Spending:  $16.38

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Frugal Family Fun

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Christie

School is out, Summer is here and  you’re probably looking for cheap (or free) activities to do with your children. For those super hot, scorching days you may want to do something indoors. Here are two great options to look into:

bowl

You can register at KidsBowlFree.com to get two free games of bowling per child every day of the Summer!

(Note:  Shoes are not included!)

skate

And at KidsSkateFree.com you can sign-up to receive free roller skating at certain locations. There are not too many places and hours are limited, but it may be well worth it to look into!  If there is not a location close to you, KidsSkateFree has a letter you can print and bring to your local skating center to try to bring this program near you!

(Note: Skates are not included….but if you already have them – SCORE!)

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Clutter Busting Challenge: Part 8

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Christie

clutter-busting-challenge

As the Clutter Busting Challenge wraps up, so has my packing. I will be so glad once we get settled into our new place next week! We are now using paper plates and cups, since we packed all our good ones.

Yesterday I packed up one more small cabinet in my kitchen and found the following.

clutter 8

Items included:

–  Old manuels to small appliances we no longer have

–  Salt & Pepper shakers I have never used

– An oven mitt (I also have never used)

– Expired prescription!

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Clutter Busting Challenge: Part 7

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Christie

clutter-busting-challenge

As the Clutter Busting Challenging is winding down, so is my packing! Thanks to the help of my sister yesterday, we finished packing the kitchen and china cabinet. I now have left the bathrooms and two closets. I have to admit, it’s a little sad as we take pictures off the walls, patch holes, and see cabinets and closets become bare. Our home doesn’t feel much like a home any more.

This week I went through our medicine cabinet. This is what I found:

meds

All of these were either expired or empty. Yes, empty! Who puts back empty medicine bottles? Apparently we do!

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Clutter Busting Challenge: Part 6

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Christie

clutter-busting-challenge

While packing up the kitchen for our move, I found a few random things that needed to get tossed!

 clutter #5

I got rid of: expired vegetable seeds, lids that had no container to match, and containers that didn’t have lids!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Christie

 cookie bars

I love chocolate chips cookies. Who doesn’t love them? To me, they are one of the best comfort foods, especially if they are coming right out of the oven.

Since most people love them, chocolate chip cookies are often my “go to” dessert. I make them when I bring people a meal. I bake them when my husband has a bunch of guys over for a fantasy football draft or some. I take them to gatherings. And never have I had any leftovers to bring home.

But over the last year, I’ve gotten lazy. Sometimes I just don’t have the time to make the batter and let it cool in the fridge before dropping the dough balls onto the cookie sheet.  Sometimes I just don’t want to take the time to make the cookies and wait for each tray to come out of the oven.

So I started making bars. Oh, do I love making chocolate chip cookies bars. Same great taste with less of a hassle and less of a clean up.  Twenty-two minutes, plus a few more for prep time and they are done.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 pkg vanilla instand pudding

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 c all-purpose Flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 (12 oz) bag chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375

  1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt..set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugars, vanilla, and pudding mix. Beat until smooth and creamy.
  3. Beat in eggs. Add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
  4. Spread batter evenly in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake for 22 minutes at 375 degrees, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
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Clutter Busting Challenge: Part 5

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Christie

clutter-busting-challenge

In my attempts to purge clutter from my home, over the weekend I tackled a few craft drawers that were in my closet. This is what I found:

Sewing stuff (and a few random other items)…

clutter sew1

More sewing stuff…

clutter sew2

And even more sewing stuff! And can I just say, what was I thinking ever buying a sewing pattern to make a skirt when I have a hard enough time sewing a simple straight line? Apparently I had high hopes for myself!!

clutter sew3

And since I am just not good at sewing, there is no point in keeping this stuff! So out it goes!!

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Weekly Shopping Trip – May 24th

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Christie

This week I found a few sweet deals grocery shopping, so I thought I’d share!

Walmart Shopping

photo 1

(4) Bottles Sweet Baby Ray BBQ Sauce – $0.78 ea. (price matched with Food 4 Less)

used 2 $1/2 coupons for a total of $1.12

(3) Gallons of Water Refills – $0.37 each

(2) Folgers Instant Coffee – $1.00 each (used 2 $1.50/1 coupons for an overage of $1)

Total Spent with tax: $1.34

Jewel-Osco

photo 4

2 packages of Pub Burgers – a total of 5 lbs ground beef

TIP:  These are 85/15 ground beef. For $2 a pound, you can just buy these and use for recipes with ground beef!

Total Spent with tax: $10.20

Berkot’s

photo 2

(4) 8 oz pkgs Centrella Cheese – $0.99 each

Total Spent with tax:  $4.03

I also went to Aldi and spent $19.33 for milk, fruit and veggies! So all in all, I spent $34.90 in groceries this week!

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Friday Night Pizza Night

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Christie

pizza 2

Since I was a little girl, Friday night has always been Pizza Night. It may have been frozen pizza, sometimes delivered, maybe even homemade. But on Friday night we almost always had pizza.

Friday night was also the one night where we could eat in front of the TV. We would get our pizza and turn TGIF  on TV.  You know….”Family Matters”, “Perfect Strangers, “Step by Step”. This was an extra special night, because we didn’t watch much TV!

My husband’s family also declared Friday night “Pizza Night”, so it is only right that we carry on that tradition in our house!

For the most part, Farid and I are home bodies. We are on the go all week, so as much as we can, we try to keep Friday night as a family night.  I make pizza, Farid picks out a movie, and we just relax together.

So today I thought I’d share with you our pizza recipe!

Homemade Pizza

Pizza Crust

1½ cups warm water (about 105°F)

1 (1/4 oz) packet active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)

2 tblsp sugar

½ tsp salt

½ cup non-fat dry milk

3 1/2 cups flour

Pizza Sauce

1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

(or you can just make it super easy and buy premade pizza sauce)

Toppings

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese + whatever else you want (the options are endless…we usually just put pepperoni)

Directions

pizza

1.  In a bowl dissolve yeast, sugar and salt in water.  Let sit for 5 minutes. Add non-fat dry milk and flour.  Knead the dough until smooth. Turn the dough onto a floured surface.  Roll the dough to the size of your baking sheet or pizza pan. (I like to make it a little bigger and then roll up the sides a little to give the pizza an “edge”). Place dough onto baking sheet or pizza pan. Let rise for 15 to 30 minutes. (It’s OK if you don’t let it rise! The crust will still rise some while baking. The longer you let it rise, the thicker the crust you will have.)

2.  In a saucepan, mix crushed tomatoes, oregano, garlic powder, salt and sugar over medium heat.

3.  Spread pizza sauce over dough.  Top with mozzarella cheese and desired toppings.

4.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake pizza for 20 minutes.

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