The Frugal Farmwife

Moving Day

2011-12-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

From here on out, I'll be posting over at frugalfarmwife.com.

My brother was kind enough to design and set up the new blog for me, and I think I've pretty much got the hang of how expression engine works (finally, lol).

My aim with the Frugal Farm Wife blog is to log life on the farm, post tips for frugal living, and whole foods/gluten-free recipes. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll be posting junk food recipes too ;)

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Photo Credit

Freezer Cooking: Barbecued Meatballs Shredded Pork

2011-12-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

I had planned to make shepherd's pie for the freezer this week, but chickened out. I've never frozen mashed potatoes before, and wasn't sure how they'd turn out. Besides, barbecued meatballs are soooo yummy!

Since we're getting low on ground beef I only used three pounds which made enough meatballs for lunch plus two quart sized zip-top bags full.

While I was cleaning out the deep freezer, I found several bags of pork that we'd never got around to grinding for sausage, so I put one in the crock-pot over night and shredded it up this morning.
Pre-cooked, shredded pork will be nice to have on hand for barbecue sandwiches, shredded pork tacos, and who knows what else ;)

This was only the second time I've made barbecue meatballs, but we really love them, and I have a feeling that they'll become a regular entry in our freezer cooking. :)

Kmart: GOGO 50% Off Sale

2011-12-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow only, Kmart is having a buy-one-get-one 50% off sale on all regularly priced toys, children's clothing, and shoes. This sale is both in store and online.

If you spend over $40 use promo code KMFUN to get $5 off your order. If you spend over $60 use promo code DEC2SAVINGS to get $10 off of your order.

Thanks, Wheels and Deals Mama!

Huggies Diapers As Low as $3.00/Pack!

2011-12-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

Today and tomorrow only, Toys R Us and Babies R Us is having a sale on Huggies Little Movers Santa diapers. Normal price at these stores is $12.99 and they're going on sale for $5.00!

I"m guessing these diapers will sell out fast, so if you're going shopping this weekend, you might want to make TRU or BRU your first stop.

You can make this deal even better by using the $2/1 or $1.50/1 coupon from the 11/20 Smart source insert making your final cost as low as $3.00!

Thanks, I Heart The Mart!

Free Subscription to Martha Steward Living

2011-12-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

Rewardsgaold is offering a free subscription to Martha Steward Living. I've never subscribed to this magazine before, but I'm thinking that if it has recipes in it, it must be good, right?

Thanks, Hey It's Free!

Buy One Get One Avocado Coupon

2011-12-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

Here's something you don't see very often. A coupon for fresh fruit? Oh yeah!

Click "like" on the Chiquita Avocado facebook page to get a printable BOGO avocado coupon!

Thanks, Couponing For 4!

Enter To Win A Handmade Toddler Animal Hat

2011-12-08T07:02:00.001-08:00

In beautiful, historic downtown Franklin, Tennessee, there's a shop called Heart and Hands. If you ever have a chance to visit Franklin, be sure to stop in.

Heart and Hands is chock full of handmade, unique items from home decorations, to jewelry, to clothing and everything in between. Heart and Hands is a place where you can feel good about shopping because you're supporting local atisans and local economy.

Right now, you can enter to win a hand crocheted animal toddler hat by "liking" their facebook page.
These unique hats are made by my talented sister Johanna, using patterns created by her.
She's given several of these hats to Garrett and I love them! My favorite so far is the puppy hat (picture above). It's so cute! plus, I love that it covers his ears and ties under his chin so that it won't fall off.

The drawing will take place when they reach 200 facebook fans, so hurry over and "like" the Heart and Hands facebook page!

A Ten Year Old At Work

2011-12-07T12:57:00.000-08:00

Gabriel walked past my little brother Boaz yesterday and jokingly asked him why he wasn't outside.

Boaz answered with "Because I'm working!"

And what, you ask, might work be for a ten year old? Why making cardboard tractors of course!

One White Wintry Day

2011-12-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

We woke up to rain this morning. And then it turned to sleet. And then it became this winter's first snow storm!

So my sister did what photographers do best and started taking pictures. Isn't this one pretty?

Free John Frieda Sample

2011-12-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

"Like" John frieda on facebook and get a free sample of their root awakening shampoo and conditioner + a $1 coupon!

Thanks, couponing For 4!

Free Seventh Generation Baby Wipe Sample

2011-12-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a deal that's making me do the happy dance!

"Like" Seventh Generation on facebook to get a free baby wipe sample.

Thanks, Mojo Savings!

Six Months!

2011-12-06T12:17:00.001-08:00

Guess who's six months old today!

Can't believe how time has flown! Of course, I think I say that every month, but six months is kind of a mile stone right?

This month Garrett got another tooth - he now has two bottom teeth - and he's gotten really good at getting up on hands and knees. He even gets up on his hands and toes! But he has yet to start moving forward.
He's also getting closer to sitting up by himself.

Pretty blue eyes!

Spoons are so tasty! (don't worry, we were watching him carefully!)

Cousins!

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get four kids to look in the same direction at the same time, let alone all smiling?

Awww!

Homemade Ham

2011-12-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of making my own food. I like to know exactly what's in my dishes, and since commercially cured meats invariably contain nitrates and nitrites, we prefer to steer clear when we can.

Besides, when you're raising your own hogs, there's really no excuse for bacon or ham is there?

Bacon is easy. All you need to do is rub it with salt, the cut isn't huge, and you can quarter it up to fit in zip-top bags.

I thought ham would be more complicated but it's not!

The back leg of a pig - the part that's generally accepted and excepted as ham - is huge, so we had the butcher cut ours in to smaller roasts and steaks.

The fact is, we don't even always use the traditional "ham". This time around, I used a loin roast.

First you make a brine. Here I boiled about a quart of water, and added 1/3 cup of salt, 1/8 cup of brown sugar, and a generous sprinkling of black pepper and cloves.

I like to cut the pork into usable pieces. That way I can just reach into the freezer and grab one when I need it rather than having to thaw a big piece out only to use a little bit.

This photo cracks me up and is kind of embarrassing at the same time! Baby feet sticking out of bumbo seat? Check. Empty nacho package behind bumbo? Check. Various and sundry discarded baby toys scattered around table? Double check.

Last but not least, we put the pork pieces in zip-top bags, filled them up with brine, pressed all the air out, sealed them, and put them in the refrigerator to brine for about a week.

We'll turn them and shake them up every day (if we remember :P).After that, we'll drain the brine off and freeze them.

See? Easy. You don't have to smoke it (though if you're in to that sort of thing, great! I just don't have time), and it doesn't take an enormous amount of effort. It's way easier than making dinner, and most people don't think twice about doing that every night.
I'm so looking forward to a big put of ham and beans later this week!

$1/1 Printable Band-Aid Coupon

2011-12-06T06:56:00.000-08:00

There's a new $1/1 coupon for decorative band-aids out. It's a manufacturer's coupon so you should be able use it anywhere even though it is from Walmart. This should make for some pretty inexpensive band-aids :)

Thanks, My Frugal Adventures!

CVS 20% Off Shopping Pass

2011-12-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

CVS has an offer on their facebook page for a 20% off shopping pass when you take a short quiz.

You need to have an Extra Care Card number which you can get here if you don't already have one.

Thanks, Freebies For U!

Weekly Goals

2011-12-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

If you had told me how hard it is to get back into the normal swing of things after being gone for a week, I wouldn't have believed you.
Garrett's sleeping schedule is all messed up. Which is my excuse for why I didn't get before, um.... ::cough::... 6:30 a single time last week.

Last week's goals:

Get the house back in order. The kitchen table is still full of stuff. I keep pushing it back at mealtime :P
~~Make a menu plan for the rest of the week~~. Did it. Now ask me if I stuck to it.
Start the 30 Day Shred program I got the DVD out. Does that count?
~~Get back on track with freezer cooking.~~
~~Practice photography~~. While we were still in Texas, I took a walk with Garrett through historic downtown Hico and tried valiantly to get some good shots. Every time I got the camera focused Garrett did what baby's do best and all my pictures were blurry.

Week after week, I get frustrated with myself because I feel like I'm not making any progress with getting my life organized so I can add more things to my schedule.

I'm giving up. My house just isn't going to be sparkling clean. While I do want my home to be a pleasant place to be, and at least reasonably clean, it's always going to look lived in, and get dirty every day. If I wait to add more activities to my week until I have a perfectly clean house, it just ain't gonna happen.

So with that in mind, here are this week's goals:

Be up by 6:00
Practice photography
Plan ahead for mealtimes
Tame the freezer monster. Yeah, I still haven't cleaned the deep freezer
Begin the 30 day shred
Ride a horse! My dad has a couple of 4 year old mares that are in dire need of training. I've been wanting to start working with them for a while, but just never have gotten around to it.
Get the house cleaned up I know, I just said I was giving up. But I'm not quitting cleaning entirely ;)

Free Hot Fudge Cake Day At Shoneys

2011-12-05T11:53:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow Shoney's in giving away free hot fudge cake. All you have to do is ask for it. Check out their facebook page for more info.

This is definitely not gluten free, so we won't be partaking (not that we'd be anywhere near a Shoney's tomorrow anyway) but it's a yummy deal for those of you who eat that kind of stuff :)

Possible Free Vitamins At Target

2011-12-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

Target reportedly has 10 count Women's One A Day multi-vitamins for $1.99 each. Which means that if you use this printable coupon with your purchase, you get then for free!

Use zip code 19543 if needed, and look under the health care label for the $2/1 One A Day coupon.

Coupons.com typically lets you print two of each coupon per computer, so you could get 20 day supply of vitamins for free!

Thanks, For The Mommas!

Monday Menu Plan

2011-12-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

Theoretically, menu planning is supposed to save time, energy, and money. This assumes of course, that one actually sticks to the plan.
One night last week we were supposed to be having chicken with spaghetti. I knew this all day long, but every time I went to get the chicken out of the freezer, I got distracted. So come dinner time, we had no chicken.
No problem, I thought, we'll just have the spaghetti and add another side. Wouldn't hurt to go vegetarian for one night right? So then I looked in the fridge for the cream to make spaghetti sauce and... we were out.

At this point I was mildly frustrated, and decided to quickly whip up a skillet of my favorite back-up meal - kielbasa-potato hash. Only to look into the freezer and see.... everything but kielbasa.
I consulted with Gabriel and he decided that we should go get some kielbasa from the deep freeze I share with mom up at her house.
When we got there mom was having a busy evening and saying something about finding something to make for supper, so we ended up making the hash and having supper with the whole family.
So, it all ended up working out well. Still, I hope to be a little more organized this week.

Here's the plan:

Lunches:
Burritos
pulled beef sandwiches,
Shepherd's pie
Chicken ceasar salad
leftovers x2

Dinners:
roast beef with potatoes and carrots
Spaghetti with cream sauce
Meat balls and rice
Chicken and dumplings
pork and beans
Chicken fried steak

Freezer cooking: Shepherd's Pie

I decided not to bother listing the side dishes this time around since we're always changing them up.

Now I just need to write out a daily to do list so I don't forget to thaw out the next days meat :p

HOT Mars Candy Printable Coupon!

2011-12-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

Ya'll know how much I like to be healthy. And eat healthy. But you have to splurge sometimes right?

And if you're gonna splurge you might as well do it right - which means getting the best deal you possibly can - which usually means coupons.

So head on over and print this hot coupon from Walmart for $1/2 Mars Holiday candies. That is, if you don't mind being guilty of pre-meditated splurging.

Most stores have single serving sized packages for about fifty cents so you might even be able to score some free candy!

Thanks, Mom's By Heart!

$10 Target Gift Card with $50 Purchase

2011-12-03T13:57:00.001-08:00

Er.... how did I miss this?
If you're a Target shopper, you'll definitely want to print this coupon for a free $10 gift card with a $50 purchase!

Thanks, The Deal Scoop!

25 Fays of Free Music From Amazon.com

2011-12-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

Check out amazon.com's 25 days of free Christmas music. A new song will be added to the page every day until Christmas. There are of course, already three songs available.

Freezer Cooking: Tamale Pie

2011-12-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

It took me about five minutes longer than usual to make lunch today. But considering that I made not just enough food for lunch in that time frame, but for four other meals as well, I was okay with that.

Seriously. It took five extra minutes tops!

Tamale Pie is the easiest freezer recipe I've tried yet. Since there's no vegetable chopping involved (except for onions which I didn't have so I used onion powder), quadrupling the recipe is just a simple matter of browning more hamburger, opening a bigger can of sauce, stirring a larger pot of polenta, etc.

As always, I lined my pans with parchment paper so they could later be taken out and put in zip-top bags. There was only enough room in the oven for for four casseroles and I had five, so the one on the left was put into the freezer without pre-baking. Might be interesting to see how it compares to it's pre-baked fellow casseroles.

The end result; four entrees ready to be pulled out of the freezer at a moments notice. This makes me super happy!
Having already prepared meals in the freezer means that I don't have to stress any time we have unexpected company, or the baby's fussy, or I just need to spend my time on something else.
It's a good feeling :)

Old Navy Printable Coupon + Online Coupon Code

2011-12-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

Now through the15th of this month you can print a coupon for $10 off of a $50 or more in store purchase.

Also, through tomorrow, you an use the code ONGIFT30 to save 30% off of your entire online purchase (excluding every day steals and weekend wonders).

Normally I try to buy all my clothes second hand, or at second and prices, but when I was expecting Garrett I had a really hard time finding second hand maternity clothes. I found that Old Navy has a great selection of cute maternity clothing.
With a 30% off coupon code + free shipping you may be able to get some clothes *almost* as inexpensively as you would at Goodwill (and you don't have to go anywhere! That's worth something, right?).

Printable Bottles Water Coupons

2011-12-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Here are some coupons that might be nice to print and keep in your purse for when you're out and just have to have some cold water. You know, after the bottle you brought with you gets warm because you left it in the sunny car window while you were shopping? No? Well then, maybe I'm the only one who does that.

Anyway, Deal Seeking Mom has a list of printable bottled water coupons that should get you some bottled water for just pennies or even free. Enjoy!

Free Gather Together Coupon Booklet

2011-12-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

Go here to request a Gather Together coupon booklet ( formerly called the Organize in Style coupon book).
This booklet has over $35 worth of coupons in it. I mostly get it for the Dawn coupons, but every once in a while you'll come across a deal for really cheap, or even free products using these coupons, so it's worth getting even if you don't typically use those brands.

Thanks, Lady Savings!

This Week's Abreviated Menu Plan

2011-12-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

We're home! Finally.

After ten hours in the car yesterday with nothing to do but plan a three day menu, you'd think I'd have it all figured out down to the last ingredient, but it's colder here at home than it was in Texas, so I've decided that this menu needs more soup!

So here's what we're having for the rest of the week:

Lunches:
Birthday celebration with family
Tamale Pie
Leftovers

Dinners:
Chili with cornbread, okra
Chicken, spaghetti with cream sauce, and green beans
Potato soup

Freezer Cooking:
Tamale Pie

I don't think I'll bother planning out breakfasts. we usually run through a fairly boring rotation of pancakes, waffles, eggs with cheese and/or sausage, potatoes, hot cereal, and on Sunday, biscuits and gravy.

I'm really enjoying having a plan to consult throughout the week rather than wracking my brain an hour before meal time trying to come up with something. I both makes my day less stressful, and makes cooking much more enjoyable.

Spaghetti with cream sauce

Thanksgiving with the Family

2011-11-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

My husband's family traditionally holds their Thanksgiving feast together on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

This means that we get to spend Thanksgiving with both of our families since mine celebrates on Thursday with the rest of the country... theoretically at least. The reality is that we decided to skip family's celebration this year so we could spend a few more days with Gabriel's family.

Thursday Evening: Garrett Playing on the floor with cousin Zoe.

Gabriel brought down a deer that he'd shot for his parents.

He and his dad worked on cutting it up Friday morning.

Garrett wiggling around and making lots of noise while his laid-back cousin noah looks on in astonishment at his bad behavior ;)

Showing off his new skills...

Friday evening we got so busy in the kitchen that we even had the dudes working hard ;)

I think we all agreed that the white chocolate complimented the pumpkin cake balls a lot better than the dark.

And then my camera ran out of batteries. But we had a lot of fun, and ate a lot of good food.

Free Duracell Batteries From Staples

2011-11-29T06:08:00.001-08:00

Free batteries! I can't believe how fast we go through the double As. And they're usually so expensive!

Through December 3rd you can get two 16 packs of AA or AAA batteries for free at Staples!

Just use your Staples rewards card to buy two packs and you'll get 100% back in Staples Rewards.
The rewards come in the form of checks which I believe are mailed out every 60 days.
How can you say no to a deal like that?!

Thanks, Mojo Savings!

Weekly Goals

2011-11-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

Last week, most of my goals were geared toward getting ready for the Thanksgiving madness.
It was so awesome to be able to get together with family (and eat pecan pie!) this week, but there's no place like home, and I'm really looking forward to getting there.

Here's what went down last week:

~~Make and freeze several pumpkin cakes.~~ The cake balls were definitely a hit, and definitely better with white chocolate coating.
~~Do all laundry~~. There's still a basket of diapers waiting to be folded and put away, but otherwise done.
L~~ay out all the clothing, diapers etc. that Garrett and I will need for the week~~.
~~Finish weaving in the ends of the afghan~~. Whew! Finally done with it. Now if I'd only remembered to give it to it's recipient. That's what they make shipping boxes for though right?
~~Continue taking vitamins every day~~. Yay for me! That makes two weeks in a row ;)
~~Make sandwich bread and filling for the road~~.
Make snack foods for road. We ended up just taking chips and salsa.
~~Decide what sandwich fillings and snack foods to make :P~~
~~Continue reading photography material.~~ I forgot the books, but did get the online articles my sister recommended read.

~~Gather all the food we'll need for our contribution to the Thanksgiving feast~~.

We traveled down to my in-law's on Thursday and had nachos and salsa for our Thanksgiving dinner in the truck, lol. Our big family Thanksgiving dinner was on Saturday.

This week, my first goal is of course to get home, after that....

Get the house back in order. Seriously, we seem to lack the ability to go on a trip without leaving the house a complete disaster.
Make a menu plan for the rest of the week. (I'll actually be doing that while we're on the road)
Start the 30 Day Shred program (because I'm bored of biking).
Get back on track with freezer cooking
Practice photography. After all, what good does reading do me if I'm not going to actually use it?

Not a real ambitious list for sure, But hopefully it'll get us back on track for next week. It all depends on when we end up heading for home.... and how sore I am after over-using some muscle groups I'd forgotten that I had ( AKA, trimming hooves for my father-in-law's horses).

$1.25/1 Printable Reynolds Wrap Coupon

2011-11-28T10:33:00.001-08:00

Here's something that ought to be handy for all of us. :)

Go here to print a $1.25/1 Reynolds Wrap product.

Thanks, I Heart The Mart!

Walgreen's: Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark $1.25/bag

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

At Walgreen's this month you get $3 in Register Rewards when you buy $10 of select Ghirardelli products.

This week, there's a 2 for $6 sale on the 4.75 oz. packages of Ghirardelli peppermint bark. Which means that you can:

Buy: 4 packages of Ghirardelli peppermint bark ($12)
Use: 4 of these $1/1 Coupons.
Out of pocket cost: $8
Get back $3 register rewards
Final cost: $5 or $1.25/bag

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me! (Pardon the pun :))

Thanks, Hip 2 Save!

Kitchen Aid 6qt.Stand mixer $209.99 Shipped!

2011-11-28T05:33:00.001-08:00

Amazon.com has the KitchenAid KP26M1PGC Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer in either gloss cinnamon or silver on sale today only for $259.99.
This item ships for free and there's a $50 mail in rebate bringing your total down to $209.99!
These things are usually priced closer to $400 so this is definitely a great deal!

I've mentioned before how much I love Kitchen Aid stand mixers, but I'll say it again. These things rock!
I have limited cupboard space in my kitchen and hesitated to put mine on it because it's huge! But it's the best thing I ever did. I can dump ingredients in while holding Garrett with the other hand, and I can walk away and do something else while things are mixing.
Also Garrett seems to thing the balloon whip is rather tasty. :)

Thanks for the heads up, My Sweet Savings!

Wal-mart: HP Printer for $19

2011-11-26T09:47:00.001-08:00

You can get this printer for just $19 when you choose site to store shipping. That might even be almost as cheap as replacing the cartridges in an existing printer ;)

I looked around for some reviews on this printer, and they were all very positive. So if you're looking for a printer, check it out!

Thanks, I Heart The Mart!

Praise the Lord For Spare Tires

2011-11-25T09:40:00.001-08:00

I've always liked our dually. Sure, I know that the fuel mileage isn't as good as a single rear wheeled vehicle, but it really is nice when you're pulling trailers. And it looks cool. That's important ;)

But now I know that there's a downside. Sooner or later, you're gonna have a blowout.... and when you do?

Say bye, bye to your fender.

Even though it tore things up a bit, I'm still thankful that it was a rear tire rather than the front.Given that I was driving, A front tire blowout might have been a real mess. :-/

So if you were driving on I-30 in east Texas yesterday and saw a white dually on the side of the road, now you know who it was ;)

Black Friday Funny

2011-11-25T05:00:00.001-08:00

Be careful ya'll, and have fun!

Kohl's: Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer As Low As $87.99!

2011-11-24T16:26:00.001-08:00

So here I am at my in-laws on thanksgiving night surfing the web and.... Lookie what I found!!!

Kohl''s has a Kitchen Aid stand mixer on sale for $199.99.
Add it to your cart and automatically get another 10% off (early bird special) bringing it down to $179.99

Use the code GOBBLE15 to get another 15% off bringing it down to $152.99

Get $45 in Kohl's cash ($15 for every $50 you spend).

Send in the $20 mail-in rebate.

Final price after Kohl's cash and rebate: $87.99 + tax!

I'm a huge fan of Kitchen Aid mixers! Especially now that I have Garrett. Mixing is so much easier when all I have to do is flip a switch. :)

Thanks, Fun Finds For Families!

A Thankfulness Post

2011-11-23T12:36:00.001-08:00

I was over at mom's yesterday complaining about how long it's taking me to weave in the ends of this afghan I've been working on for so long.

My sister graciously began working on it for me, and then I forgot to take it home ( I promise, it really was an accident!) and when I picked it up later it was almost done!

This is what happens when you try to take a picture with a wiggly baby in one arm

He was a little more still for this pic ;)

That was definitely a load off my mind! One thing I'm really thankful for right now are my siblings.

My sisters are so willing to come help out at the drop of a hat when I've bitten off more than I can chew. And my brothers help Gabriel with the farm a lot, not to mention all the various random things I trouble them with.
Like computer help.

Which I'm not giving any examples of because I don't really want to admit my lack of tech skills ;)

So today, I'm thankful for family. Yes indeed!

Verse This Week

2011-11-23T11:29:00.001-08:00

In keeping with the spirit of Thanksgiving, I put Psalm 107:1 on the refrigerator this week.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.

I'm so glad we have this holiday every year to remind us of our need to give thanks!

Ace Hardware: 50% Off Coupon

2011-11-23T05:26:00.001-08:00

Go here to print a coupon for 50% off of one $30 or less regularly priced item. This coupon is only good on Saturday, the 26th.

I wonder if it works for The Home Place At Ace, because if it does...... well, that would make me very happy :)

Gluten Free Pumkin Cake Balls

2011-11-22T06:45:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin cake balls sprinkled with cinnamon.

Thanksgiving shall ever in my mind be equated with pumpkin flavored desserts. When I was little, it was pumpkin pie, and only pumpkin pie. My horizons were broadened one year by a friend who brought a pumpkin roll for desert rather than the traditional pumpkin pie.

I wasn't very appreciative at the time, and I still think of pumpkin pie as THE Thanksgiving desert, but now days I love trying new things with pumpkin.
Pumpkin bread, pumpkin roll, pumpkin torte, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cake and...... pumpkin cake balls!

These are so easy! I mentioned in an earlier post that I was making gluten-free pumpkin cake. I never knew that making a gluten-free cake could be so easy. This recipe from the Gluten-Free Goddess, doesn't even have xanthan gum in it and yet, it holds together as well as any wheat cake I've ever made. So well that it seemed a pity to mash it all up....

....But not that much of a pity ;)

So, after mashing up your cake, add cream cheese to taste. You can leave the cream cheese out if you don't like it, or if you're like me and are avoiding dairy for some reason. Well, I'm supposed to be. But I did have to taste the cake balls so.....
Anyway, I don't use precise measurements. Just add it until it tastes right, roll them in balls and dip in Chocolate. Tasty! Next I'm gonna try white chocolate.

I still haven't mastered the art of making pretty, round balls (maybe a cookie scoop would help?) But I like to think that my cake balls have character ;)

Thanksgiving Week Goals

2011-11-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

Garrett got his first cold this week. Poor little guy has been all stuffed up and a little bit miserable for the past several days. But he did cut another tooth and learn to get up on his hands and knees, so all in all, he had quite a productive week ;)

I on the other hand... well, I caught Garrett's cold a few days after he got it, so that cut in on my productivity. Still, I did manage to achieve most of the goals on my list last week.

~~Up at 5:30~~ Ever since the time change getting up hasn't really been a problem. I do kind of miss Garrett sleeping until after 7:00 though.

Exercise for at least 30 minutes on four days this week. I did during the first part of the week, but Garrett kept waking up before I was done and on Wed. I was feeling kinda poorly and just threw in the towel.

~~Stick to the cleaning schedule~~ WooHoo! I get to cross this one off the list for once :)

~~Finish edging the granny square afghan~~ Actually got all the edging done before Saturday. Now I just have to weave in all the ends.

~~make test batch of gluten-free cake balls~~ And they were good!

~~Learn some photography basics~~ My sister Johanna lent me some books and sent some links. And now I have an inkling of just how much I don't know.
Eliminate dairy from my diet in an effort to ease Garrett's digestive problems As far as I know, I didn't consume any dairy products except a little butter this week. Hopefully, we'll start seeing some positive results soon.
~~Take vitamins every day.~~ All the colds going around sure did help with motivation ;)

Since this is obviously Thanksgiving week, my goals are all geared toward preparations for the big feast to be celebrated with extended family.
Here's what I need (or want) to do between now and Thursday:

Make and freeze several pumpkin cakes (For the gf cake balls I'm taking to the thanksgiving meal).

Do all laundry.

Lay out all the clothing, diapers etc. that Garrett and I will need for the week.

Finish weaving in the ends of the afghan.

Continue taking vitamins every day.

Make sandwich bread and filling for the road.

Make snack foods for road.

Decide what sandwich fillings and snack foods to make :P

Continue reading photography material.

Gather all the food we'll need for our contribution to the Thanksgiving feast.

Almost all of these goals are preparations for Thanksgiving. I hope to get the reading and working on the afghan done in the car. The rest will hopefully get done by Wednesday evening. Whew, it's going to be busy, but it's worth it. I love Thanksgiving!

The granny square afghan I've been working on for so long!

Luvs Diapers Starting as .10 each Shipped

2011-11-21T08:06:00.001-08:00

Here's a pretty good diaper deal without the need for coupons. I've found Luvs diapers to be every bit as good as Pampers and much cheaper (for online orders anyway).

Here's a price breakdown of the cost per diaper using the subscribe and save option and Amazon Mom membership:

Luvs Ultra Leakguard, Size 1, 300 Count .10 each

Luvs Ultra Leakguard, Size 2, 258 Count .12 each

Luvs Ultra Leakguard, Size 3, 234 Count .13 each

Luvs Ultra Leakguard, Size 4, 204-Count .15 each

Luvs Ultra Leakguard, Size 5, 168 Count .18 each

Each box is $30.39 but of course, the count per box decreases with size.

This price is good but not really fantastic unless you're like me and don't always make to town for the good sales and coupon match-ups, but always have gift cards from Swagbucks to redeem :)

As always, make sure you double check the price before subscribing and un-subscribe after your order ships if you don't wish to continue getting deliveries.

Jet-puffed .40/1 Printable Coupon

2011-11-21T07:08:00.001-08:00

Fist off, I'm morally opposed to putting marshmallows on top of yams or sweet potatoes. In my book, marshmallows are for apple salad, and marshmallow fondant, and for roasting over a fire.
Sweet potatoes are for sweet potato casserole.

But if you must put marshmallows on top of your sweet potatoes this Thanksgiving, you should know that there's a .40/1 printable coupon out for mallow bites and flavored marshmallows.
Some of those flavored marshmallows might make for some interesting fudge too.

Free $20 e-Voucher To YMI Jeans

2011-11-19T10:25:00.001-08:00

No More Rack is offering a $20 voucher to YMI Jeans with no strings attached. I've never been motivated enough to sign up with No More Rack until now, but I have a hard enough finding good, inexpensive jeans that I decided to go ahead and do it and got the voucher without any trouble.

Of course, I've never ordered from YMI before either, but since the voucher's free, it's worth a try. Some of the things in the YMI clearance section are priced as low as $24.99 so you could potentially end up with a pair of jeans for $5

Thanks, Saving With Shellie!

Free Nature's Bounty Fish Oil Sample

2011-11-19T05:56:00.001-08:00

Become a Nature's Bounty facebook fan and sign up for a free seven day supply of Nature's Bounty fish oil +a $2 coupon.

Thanks, Freebies 4 Mom!

Black Friday Ads

2011-11-18T07:17:00.001-08:00

If your planning a black Friday shopping trip, check out this website for lots of Black Friday sales flyers and they'll be adding more as they become available.

Sadly, I'm not going to make it this year again. But I may send a list with my sister if I find something I just *have* to have ;)

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake

2011-11-18T06:20:00.001-08:00

I'm supposed to be taking some sort of truffles to our family's Thanksgiving get-together next week. But so far, I'm not making any progress.

I really want to make white-chocolate-pumpkin-ganache truffles. But the more I think about it, the more expensive that sounds.

So now I'm thinking gluten-free pumpkin cake balls.

Now I've never made a gluten-free cake from scratch, so I searched online until I found this recipe on Gluten-Free Goddess that looked like it ought to work.

Sadly, it didn't work. Why? Well, it went like this:

Hey look, the cake didn't fall apart when I dumped it out of the pan. (and it's gluten free???)

Maybe I should cut a piece off while it's hot to see how it tastes.

Wow! That was really good! But I'll have to try another piece when it cools because it might get starchy.

Nope, still good.

And then Gabriel came in. And tried it. And mentioned how good it would be if it had icing on it.

And I protested that I needed to make a test batch of cake balls, and besides, we didn't have any cream cheese.

But after some thinking I decided that it wouldn't be so bad just to use buttercream icing.

And the rest is history. All I can do is try again, right?

And by the way, there was a piece left over that we ate the next morning and it was still good!

Note: Instead of using the suggested flour mix for this recipe I used my standard 2c. brown rice, 2c. white rice, 1c. cornstarch.

Thrift-Store Find: A Better Soap Bottle

2011-11-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

Remember the ugly plastic soap bottle I put my homemade liquid soap in last week?Well, it's been upgraded.

I found this little glass bottle at a thrift store for $.50 It's not exquisitely beautiful or anything, but then, I like plain-Jane stuff. And I like glass. I guess that's why I'm so ridiculously thrilled with it. :)

Kraft Printable Coupons

2011-11-17T10:30:00.001-08:00

There are a bunch of high value Kraft printable coupons on the Publix coupon page. They are manufacture's coupons but do say "redeem at Publix" on them so other stores may not want to take them. I'm going to try a few at Wal-mart in a few hours and will come back and update.

Amazon.com: Cuisinart Immersion Blender $29 Shipped

2011-11-17T06:27:00.001-08:00

For a limited time Amazon is offering the Cuisinart Immersion Hand Blender for $29 + free shipping.

I have a Bamix which I love, but I was thinking about getting another one to dedicate to soap making and the reviews on Cuisinart are really good.

Besides soap making, here's a list of things I use mine for:
Mayonnaise, mixing batter (such as pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole ect.) blending gravy or pudding when I accidentally get lumps in it, chopping veggies (mostly onions), re-fried beans, and the list goes on.

I'd trade my blender and food processor for a stick blender any day. It has just as many, if not more uses, and takes a lot less room on my counter :)

My Verse This Week

2011-11-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 14:1
Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

I've come to realize that there are a lot of ways to build up or pluck down my house. It's not just in being diligent with my housework and looking for ways to help build the family economy.
No, you'd be amazed at how the words we speak or don't speak can build up or tear down the members of our households.
So I feel like this verse applies to all areas of my life. I want very much to be the wise woman who builds her house. The only way to get there is to constantly strive for it and this verse is hanging on my refrigerator this week to remind me of that.

$1.50/2 Breyers Coupon

2011-11-16T12:46:00.001-08:00

Print a $1.50 off any two breyers ice cream products (scroll to bottom of page) and you could get a really good deal on single serve cups since this coupon doesn't have a size restriction.

Menu Planning: I Think I've Got This

2011-11-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, I think I have a list of seven dinners that will work for this week.

I mentioned earlier this week that I was going to try my hand at menu planning in an effort to get more organized and stop wasting time every day doing this fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants thing.

This week I'm just sticking to dinner and hope to move up to planning all three meals as I get better at this.

Here's what I've come up with:

Beef Ribs (crock-pot) with homemade rice-a-roni, butternut squash, and green salad

Chicken ceasar Salad

Pork roast with beans (crock-pot), cornbread, okra

Hamburger-potato stove-top casserole (that I can't find the recipe for :P ), green salad

potato soup, cornbread or dinner rolls, and green salad

Meat loaf from the freezer, mashed potatoes, gravy and green salad

Kielbasa hash, corn, green salad

We had the chicken salad last night, and the beef ribs Monday night. I've got the pork roast and beans in the crock pot for tonight, but I'm not committing to doing them all in order necessarily - it just depends on what sounds good on that particular day and I'm crossing them out as I make them.

For lunches, So far we've had hamburgers and barbecued meatballs over rice. I plan to make bread today and have sandwiches and leftovers the rest of the week.

I realize this menu plan is meat heavy and doesn't really look very frugal, but that's a result of raising our own meat and having dietary restrictions that make food that most people consider cheap, expensive for us because we need to buy the wheat-free version.

We are so blessed that all of the meat, dairy, and vegetables on this menu come straight from our farm.

Next week I'll try to add a breakfast menu as well.

Emergen-C Kids Free Sample

2011-11-16T05:24:00.001-08:00

Get a free sample of Emergen-C kids here by becoming an Emergen-C email subscriber or facebook fan.

We're die-hard Emergen-C lovers around here. It's great for soothing a sore throat so we keep some around all the time.

Thanks, Mojo Savings!

Free e-Book: Money Saving Mom's Guide To Freezer Cooking

2011-11-15T07:46:00.001-08:00

I'm a huge fan of Money Saving Mom and a huge fan of freezer cooking, so this deal really appeals to me. I can't wait to read it!

Right now you can get a free copy of the e-book Money Saving Mom's Guide To Freezer Cooking when you pre-order The Money Saving Mom's Budget, blog about it or facebook/tweet about it.

Check out Money saving Mom for more details.

Apple Salad

2011-11-15T07:15:00.000-08:00

Fall means apples. Apples mean apple salad.

I grew up eating this stuff, and fortunately, Gabriel loves it. And, and, it's easy to make which is essential for a person like me who usually prepares dinner while holding a baby in one arm. ;)

Apple Salad

Ingredients: Chopped apples, celery, dates, marshmallows, and mayonaise.

Measurements? Well, if you like less marshmallows, use less marshmallows. If you don't like dates, try raisins. Want more celery? Add more celery.
See? It's easy. That's why I love it. Well, that and it tastes really good :)

Linking to:
Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Tasty Tuesday

Stumble Upon: Free $10 Amazon Gift Card

2011-11-15T06:44:00.001-08:00

Have you tried Stumble Upon yet? I've been playing around with it for the last few days and, to be honest, still haven't quite figured it out. But I'm not exactly a tech wiz.

They're worth checking out if you haven't yet though, because they're offering a $10 Amazon.com gift card (+ a chance to win an ipad 2) when you refer five friends.

Here's how it works.

Then invite friends here.

Once five of your invitees sign up, you should receive your Amazon gift card within six weeks.

Thanks, Maven of Savin'!

Goals This Week

2011-11-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love setting goals? Even though It's sometimes a bear at the moment -especially when I'm dragging myself out of bed :P - It gives me focus throughout the week, and it really is nice being able to look back with satisfaction at the things I've been able to accomplish - even if it's just ordinary house work.

So, here's the update of last week's goals:

~~Be up by 5:30~~- For the first time, I did it! Gabriel has started getting up with, or even before me, and I can't believe what a difference that has made in my motivation!
~~Bike (or run) at least 30 minutes on four separate days~~.- Also done. I can't live with myself if I don't get a little exercise in during the week.
stick to the cleaning schedule- Uh, fudged on this one a little. Okay, a lot. Turns out I like sewing granny squares together a lot more than cleaning toilets :P
~~continue working on the granny square afghan~~- I'm happy to report that all the square are sewn together and that I've even started on the edging. Boo-yah!
Clean and organize the deep freeze- Out of site out of mind I guess.
Swap out summer for winter wardrobes.- Did that! But the bag of summer clothes is still hanging out in my bedroom.

I'm trying really hard to get that afghan done before Thanksgiving. It's taken a ridiculously long time to get done considering that I started it a month or two before Garrett was born. Even so, I hope to do better with keeping the house clean this week.
A dirty house is so oppressive that it's hard to be in, let alone, get things done in.

Also, I read an article about menu planning on moneysavingmom.com. not long ago and it occurred to me that I need to set "goals" for meals. Otherwise known as having a flexible menu plan. Usually I waste a lot of time staring into the fridge, freezer, or pantry wondering what the world I'm going to make for dinner. Just like I do with the other house work if I don't write down specific goals.

So this week I'm going to try my hand at menu planning . Wish me luck!

With that in mind, here's this week's list of goals:

Up at 5:30

Exercise for at least 30 minutes on four days this week

Stick to the cleaning schedule

Finish edging the granny square afghan

make test batch of gluten-free cake balls

Learn some photography basics
Eliminate dairy from my diet in an effort to ease Garrett's digestive problems
Take vitamins every day. Ever since Garrett was born I've been really bad at being consistent with this. Time to change!

I was inspired to learn a little something about photography when I was looking through the pictures I've taken of Garrett so far. Twenty years from now I think I'll be disappointed in the low quality.

Well there they are; such trivial things, some of them, and yet, I have to write them down in order to not forget to do them.

It makes me wonder, if it's true what they say about pregnancy and childbirth causing the loss of brain cells.

Naw, I was always like this. ;)

$2.00 Tide coupon

2011-11-14T11:48:00.001-08:00

Thanks, Sample Stuff!

Down On the Farm: Our new Bull

2011-11-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

Gabriel has found what he's looking for! A bull. Yep, a bull.

And so we traveled thirty-ish minutes to pick him up at.........

A truck-stop!

Now that's an odd place to find a bull isn't it? LOL.

That's where we met the hauler who was bringing him to us. Poor guy would have been there at about lunch time if he hadn't been stuck in traffic for several hours earlier that day. But as it was, it was dark when we finally got to pick him up.

We got a lot of funny looks out in the truck parking lot backing the trailers together.

The hauler said some comforting words along the lines of "We don't loose one very often". Suddenly I had this wonderful mental picture of our bull running across the parking lot unstoppable, waking a lot of truckers up and finally making his way out to the nearby interstate highway.

But thankfully, none of that happened. He jumped right into our trailer and began devouring the hay (provided by the gracious hauler).

We put him out with the new heifer calves where he seems to be quite happy to stay.

We're still in the naming process. I'm pulling for Johnny whitefeather, with "Red Bull" being his tribal name (that will make sense if you've ever seen the movie "Imagine That"). Abigail's going for "Burger King". One of the others suggested "Incredibull". Yes, we're a pun-ny lot.

Whatever name he ends up with, he still has a lot of growing to do. Though you can't really tell it from the pictures, he's at least twice as heavy as the calves.

Our hope is that he will throw small to medium framed calves which we believe will thrive the best on an exclusively grass-fed diet. We also chose red angus over black because of heat tolerance issues with the black cows. It's pretty sad to look out in the pasture and see the black cows lying in the shade, covered with flies while the red and jersey cows are out grazing (and therefore gaining weight) with hardly a fly to be found.

We have great expectations for this bull and look forward to his first crop of calves! :)

Gillette Shave Cream Moneymaker at CVS

2011-11-14T06:07:00.001-08:00

At CVS this week you get back $2 ECBs when you buy Gillette 4-12 count cartridges, shave gel or cream (excluding foamy).

The trial size Gillette Fusion Hydra Shave Gel 2.5 oz is priced at $2.37 each.

Using the $1/1 shave cream coupon in the10/30 P&G insert makes your out of pocket purchase price $1.37.
You'll get back $2 ECBs making your final cost free + $0.63 overage!

If you're not familiar with CVS Extra Care Bucks (ECBs), you can read about it on their site.

Thanks, Tip Resource!

Freezer Cooking: Beef Pot Pie

2011-11-12T07:55:00.001-08:00

I used to believe that beef pot pie was made with pie crust and only pie crust. You know, the kind you roll out, put half on bottom, and half on top?

The first time I saw a recipe with drop biscuits on top, I was shocked at the sacrilege!

But now I know that this is how you make it when your bumbo seat is taking up all the counter-space you would normally use to roll crust out on. Or if you don't have time for pie crust. Or if you just like the biscuit version.

Garrett Teething on a cold carrot.

Anyhoo, I hope the biscuit version of pot pie freezes well, because I froze enough for about six dinners yesterday.

As always, I lined my pans with parchment paper so I could pop the frozen casseroles out and put them in zip-top bags for storage. Parchment paper comes in a rather awkward size for lining an 8x8 pan and I always end up having to trim the edges. But that's neither here nor there really.

I didn't really use a specific recipe. Just made beef gravy and added cooked beef, boiled, chopped carrots and potatoes, until it looked right. I would have used peas, but Gabriel hates peas. Anyway, then I spooned biscuit dough on top.

It took a 4 cup (of flour) batch of biscuits for the four casseroles pictured above, plus the one we ate at lunch.

This was really very easy to make and if we like the way they come out of the freezer, I'll be adding this to my freezer food cooking rotation. Not that I have a rotation.... yet.

Energy Saving Tips

2011-11-11T08:44:00.001-08:00

Everybody knows that you can save a lot on your electric (or gas) bill by doing little things like turning your thermostat and water heater down. Here's a few more money saving tips that you may not have thought about:

When you turn on the oven, make sure you use all that heat. For instance, if you bake potatoes, bake enough for two or three meals. You can use them over the next couple of days for things like

Fried potatoes made from
leftover baked potatoes

twice baked potatoes or quick fried potatoes (one of my favorite breakfast foods!).

Close doors and shut vents. In our house, we have two bedrooms that we don't use, and a bathroom that only gets used when we have company. There's no need to pay for heating/cooling these rooms.

Dry laundry consecutively. Assuming you're using your dryer, switch loads while the dryer is still hot. That way the dryer's heating coil doesn't cool down and have to be re-heated, saving energy.

Use your clothesline. I know, winter's coming and clothes don't dry as quickly now, but you can still use your clothesline, especially if it's windy outside. I'm a dryer-phobic and have only used mine once since Gabriel and I married - and that was because I ran myself out of clean cloth diapers.

Make sure your washer's full. Why run the washing machine more often than you need to?

Check your doors. a lot of doors have a small gap underneath them. You can keep cold air from seeping in by rolling up a towel and snugging it up to the door jam.

Turn off the shower while you soap up. You'll use a lot less hot water that way. Less hot water used= lower gas or electric bill.

All of these things are little things, but they do add up!

If there's some ideas you'd like to add, leave a comment. I'm always looking for money-saving tips and I'm sure other readers would appreciate it too!

Get 110 Points Just for Signing up On Swagbucks!

2011-11-11T07:44:00.001-08:00

Swagbucks regularly awards new signees with 30 swag bucks. You can use the promo code SBPAYSFORME when signing up for a new account to get an 80 point bonus. That ups your points to 110 just for signing up!

These points can be redeemed for lots of cool prizes such as Amazon gift cards.

This code is good through the 17th and only works for new sign-ups and must be used while signing up for a new account.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Free Woolite Sample

2011-11-11T07:23:00.001-08:00

Go to Woolite's facebook page and click "Like" for a free Woolite extra care dark sample and to be entered to win a $5000 shopping spree!

Thanks, Maven of Savin'!

$.55/1 Chore Boy Coupon

2011-11-10T18:05:00.001-08:00

Chore Boy is my friend in the kitchen. I'm not sure life is even possible without Chore Boy ;)

Right now you can print a .55 off of any 1 Chore Boy product coupon at coupons.com.

Keep in mind that most printable coupons have a limited number of prints available. I can't tell you how many times I've decided to hold off printing until I was putting my shopping list together only to find the coupon to be gone!

If it's a coupon you're reasonably sure you'll use, go ahead and print it when you see it!

Dollar General: Printable Coupon

2011-11-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

Dollar General has a printable coupon for $10 off of a purchase of $30 or more off select items. Good for Saturday November 12th only.

Qualifying items include grey and blue dot hanging apparel and shoes, toys that have an yellow dot, aqua star, or aqua star and numerous Christmas items.

This coupon is also printing on the bottom of receipts.

Five Months Old! (Brag Post)

2011-11-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Garrett turned five months old on Sunday, so it's time for my monthly brag post :)

His new talents over the past month include getting up on his hands and knees, drinking from a sippy cup and riding with Daddy in the backpack.

He also cut his first tooth a few days ago.

Garrett loves being outside, especially if he's being carried around!

Mornings are so hard....*

But afternoons are great :)

Getting an early start on washing dishes....

You know your child is too big for the bouncy seat when he levers himself up to chew on the toys.

Garrett's going to be a chef one day I tell ya! He's already getting to know the Kitchen Aid tools :)

*Mornings are actually one of Garrett's best times, he just happened to be making a lot of funny faces the morning of that picture.

Kikkoman Buy One Get One free Coupon

2011-11-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

We don't eat much soy around here. Actually, I would say we don't eat any soy, but I make an exception for soy sauce because, well, what would Mongolian Beef be without it? And what would life be without the occasional Mongolian Beef dinner?

Kikkoman is currently offering printable coupon for a free Kikkoman product with the purchase of any other Kikkoman product.

Go Here to print yours.

Up-Cycling: Baby Scribble Bows

2011-11-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

I object - strenuously - to buying gift wrap and decorations. Basically, anything that costs $$$ and is just going to be thrown away.
Okay, so I have seven siblings, seven siblings-in-law, two parents, two parents-in-law, 19 nieces and nephews, a son.... you get the idea.

That's a lot of paper!

In my quest for up-cycling and saving my dollars, I came across this really cool tutorial for making gift bows out of scribbled paper (you know, like little kid's drawings) or newspaper, or whatever you come up with. Use your imagination!

I love stuff like this! It showed how being thrifty doesn't mean being drab or ugly. It does mean that your gift packaging will stand out and be different and memorable. Which is a good thing :)

Check out the tutorial on the rather awesome crafting blog Lines Across My Face.

Verse This Week

2011-11-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

You may notice a recurring theme in the verses I choose to meditate on throughout the week.
Lack of discipline (aka slothfulness) has got to be my greatest character flaws. It is my constant nemesis. But with the Lord's help, I'm endeavoring to improve.

That's why I keep writing dow these verses on the perils of slothfulness.

Proverbs 24:30-31
I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.

Free Idahoan Potatoes At Wal-Mart!

2011-11-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

Go to the Idahoan Thanksgiving website and add food to your plate. Then click "enter the contest" to download and print your free $1/1 Idahoan coupon.

You can use this coupon to get free instant mashed potatoes at Wal-Mart. Who doesn't like free?!

Thanks, I Heart The Mart!

Gluten-Free Cheesecake

2011-11-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how the definition of frugality changes from person to the next. For instance, you probably wouldn't think of cheesecake as a cost effective dessert would you?

But I do. That's because we have our own laying hens and milk cow.

Cheesecake is a great option even in regards to stewarding my time because making cream cheese is a long process, but not labor intensive or difficult at all.

This recipe comes from the book Gluten-Free Baking Classics (one of the best gluten-free cook books I've read yet). And has the best gluten-free crust that I've yet tried.

We made this for mom's birthday topped with apple pie filling and everybody loved it!

Gluten Free Cheesecake

Crust:

1 Cup brown Rice Flour Mix.

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Position rack in center of oven. Grease bottom of 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Dust lightly with rice flour.

2. Place flour, xanthan gum, butter, and sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Mix on low speed until crumbly. Press into bottom of springform pan

3. Bake in center of oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Turn oven up to 475.

Cream Cheese Filling:

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese 5 large eggs

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 2 large eggs yolks

3 Tablespoons rice flour mix 2 tablespoons cream or half and half

1/4 Tablespoon salt

1. To make filling beat cream cheese until smooth in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed. Reduce speed and slowly add sugar, then flour, salt, egg yolks, and cream. Scrape bowl and beaters; beat at heigh sped for 5 more minutes.

2. Pour cream cheese filling onto baked crust. Bake in center of oven for 12 minute; turn oven down to 300 and bake 50 minutes more. Turn oven off, but do not open door leave cake in oven another 14 minutes. Cool cake on wire rack and refrigerate. When cold, remove pan sides and slide cheesecake off bottom onto a platter.

Happy Anniversary To Us!

2011-11-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

Two years ago yesterday I married my best friend. It's amazing to look at how radically different my life is now.

It went from living in Tennessee, training horses, and barrel racing, to living in Texas, married and home making, to moving back to TN and becoming a mother.

But enough of my reminiscing. In honor of me and Gabriel's second anniversary, My little sister, Laurel made this lovely little cake:

And to give you a glimpse of just how scatter-brained and disorganized I am here's a pic of us:

Yes, we were *supposed* to get dressed nicely for family pictures but I totally forgot. I blame it on my fussy baby - he's teething, poor thing.

Did I mention that the cake was gluten free? Vanilla with raspberry filling. You like? I did :)

Thanks to Johanna for taking these pictures!

Swagbucks: The Web's Premier Digital Dollar

2011-11-08T06:31:00.000-08:00

Have you tried Swagbucks yet?

Swagbucks is a search engine that randomly rewards users with points (known as swagbucks) for web searches.

It's like getting paid to google. Which begs the question of why one would choose to use a free search engine when they could use a paying search engine.

It takes 450 swagbucks to get a $5 amazon.com gift card. You can easily get a gift card in a month. Five dollars a month doesn't sound like much? Oh, it adds up. I've used mine to buy literally hundreds of diapers, laundry detergent, birthday gifts, and a few things that we didn't really need as well.

There are also other ways to earn such as surveys, games, swag tv, polls, swagcodes, and printable coupons.

You will also be rewarded 30 swagbucks just for signing up!

Check out this video for some ideas on how to earn.

Goals This Week

2011-11-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Another week gone by! I would say that it's been another really busy week, but I'm learning that every week is busy - especially with a baby.

A recap of last week:

Up at 5:30 - I actually did pretty well this week. Except for Saturday when I slept in until.... um, yeah, except for Saturday.
~~Bike (or run) for at least 30 minutes on 4 separate days~~
Cloth diaper exclusively during the day - Managed to stick to it except for Friday evening when we attended a friend's barbecue party
~~Stick to the~~ cleaning schedule
Clean and organize the deep freeze - Still haven't managed to get that one done. >Sigh<
~~Make The Food Philosopher's french bread~~ - I'm very happy to say that this bread was awesomely wonderful. It might even give wheat bread a run for t's money :)
~~Continue working on the granny square afghan as much as possible~~
Make Liquid soap from the recipe on Little House In the Suburbs It took a little trial and error, but in the end I was very happy with the results.

This week I hope to:

Be up by 5:30
Bike (or run) at least 30 minutes on four separate days.
stick to the cleaning schedule
continue working on the granny square afghan
Clean and organize the deep freeze
Swap out summer for winter wardrobes.

I'm gonna keep it short this week in an effort to get as much work done on the afghan that I can.

I've also decided that, for the time being, I'm not going to push myself to cloth diaper exclusively. I admit that it doesn't take that much extra time to wash, fold and put them away, but right now, it's an hour or so in my week that could be spent on something else.

If I didn't have a stash of over 1000 diapers that I built up before Garrett was even born I might feel differently. Praise the Lord for diaper deals! :)

Free book: God's Smuggler

2011-11-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

Free while supplies last! Go here so sign up for your copy.

Thanks The Freebie Blogger!

Current Amazon Diaper Deals

2011-11-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

Here'a a round up of some of the best diaper deals on amazon.com right now. Remember, Amazon prices fluctuate with demand and availability so check the price before you place an order.

Huggies Little Movers, Size 4, 112 Count - $37.94

-Save 5% with Subscribe & Save
-Save 15% with Amazon Mom
-Click $3 Huggies Coupon
Final Price = $27.35

Huggies Snug & Dry Diapers, Size 3, 156 Count - $41.69

-Save 5% with Subscribe & Save

-Save 15% with Amazon Mom
-Click $3 Huggies Coupon
Final Price = $30.35

Pampers Cruisers Diapers Size 4, 160 Count -$48.41

-Save 5% with Subscribe & Save
-Save 15% with Amazon Mom
-Click $2 Pampers Coupon
Final Price = $36.73

Pampers Baby Dry Size 3 Diapers 222 Count -$47.19

-Save 5% with Subscribe & Save
-Save 15% with Amazon Mom
-Click $2 Pampers Coupon
Final Price = $35.75

Luvs Ultra Leakguards Diapers, Size 3, 234 Count -$44.58

-Save 5% with Subscribe & Save
-Save 15% with Amazon Mom
Final Price = $35.66

Seventh Generation 140 ct. size 3 -$48.41

-Save 5% with Subscribe & Save
-Save 15% with Amazon Mom
Final Price = $30.40

Don't forget that shipping is free with the subscribe and save option and you can cancel at any time with no further obligation.

Also check out Saving With Shellie for a round up of in store diaper deals this week

Free Nature's Path Granola Bars Sample

2011-11-07T05:40:00.000-08:00

Go here to enter the natures path sweepstakes for a chance to win a prize pack + $500 Whole Foods gift card and get a free Natures path granola bars sample. You get to choose the flavor!

Thanks, Freebie Shark!

Liquid Soap Experiment

2011-11-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Liquid soap is notoriously finicky to make to the point that people like me simply aren't going to try it. But last week I found this awesome recipe on Little House in The Suburbs and decided to try it. It's so ridiculously easy that you'll wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. At least I did.

It starts with shredded soap. Now, the original recipe calls for castile soap which I don't have, so I used three different kinds in hope that one of them would work.

The green on the left is peppermint goat milk soap (colored with liquid chlorophyl) and it smells like a peppermint patty. Mmmmm.

Middle is soap that a friend made. I think it's made with several really good oils (like coconut and olive). And the one on the right is old fashioned lye soap that another friend gave us.

the next step is to add water. Just enough to cover your soap.

As you can see, the green soap wasn't packed down very well and ended up with a much higher ratio of water than the others.

After soaking over night it looked like this:

As it turns out, the lye soap on the right wasn't such a good choice for this project. The soap doesn't seem to have dissolved at all.

The green soap was a bit thin and the white was way too thick for a pump bottle so I mixed them together and put them in an empty bottle.

Voila! Now I have all natural, good for you, no artificial anything liquid soap, and it was so easy!

Don't let the bottle fool you, it was here when we moved in to this house and I cleaned it out just for this project :)

Freezer Cooking: Not This Week!

2011-11-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

I had every intention of sticking to my weekly freezer cooking plan this week, but an ornery ram lamb put himself on the to-do list when he started chasing and head-butting the cows.

*Grossness Alert*

The boys ran out, caught the lamb and put him in the trailer before he did any damage and he became our freezer project for the week - except I didn't actually do much, it was mostly Gabriel.

Mom has a bigger table than we do, so she got the dubious privilege of having it done at her house.

This project has been on our "one of these days" list for so long, it's a big relief to have it done and out of the way.

30% Off Entire Purchase At Old Navy

2011-11-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

use code ONFRIENDS to get 30% off of your entire Old Navy online purchase.

OR

Go here to print a coupon to use in store.

This deal is good through Tuesday the 8th and excludes outerwear.

I typically try to find my clothes second hand at places like Goodwill, but I found that to be extremely hard with maternity clothes and Old navy's maternity selection made me drool ;)

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Toys R Us: Fisher-Price Diaper Deal

2011-11-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

*Hot* diaper deal!

Babies R Us and Toys R Us have Fisher-Price diapers on sale this week for $4.98/package which is already a pretty good price. To make it even better, Today and tomorrow they're having a buy one get one half off sale.

That makes them as low as $3.74 per package!
I've not tried Fisher-Price diapers yet, but at this price, I think I can afford to :)

Thanks, The Thrifty Couple!

Another Farm Baby

2011-11-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Gabriel, the animal lover, went to look at some breeding age heifers a few days ago and came home with this:

A twin whose mother rejected her, poor baby!

Definitely not breeding age, but very cute. Even on a rainy day :)

Walgreens: Free Clabber Girl Baking Powder

2011-11-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

With the holiday baking season coming up, here's a deal you won't wan to miss!

Go to the Smart source printable coupon center and select the Clabber Girl $.50/1 coupon to print.

Next week (starting 11/6) Walgreens will have an in-ad coupon that you can stack your printable with for free baking powder!

Thanks, Saving With Shellie!

Printable Nestle Hot Cocoa Coupon

2011-11-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Smart Source currently has a printable .55/1 Nestle cocoa coupon. Go here to print.

Thanks, Together We Save!

The BEST Gluten Free French bread

2011-11-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this week was to try a new french bread recipe from the book Gluten-Free Baking Classics (by Annalise Roberts, which my mother-in-law so graciously lent to me).

I don't usually fall prey to the claims of various gluten free recipes to be "the one" but the pictures in the book just looked so yummy that I had to try it. Even though I've never made gluten free bread from scratch before.

And now I have a confession to make. I splurged. On millet.

See, this book stresses that you must follow it's directions exactly, and the bread recipes all call for millet flour. I typically buy rice in bulk and grind it myself because it's so much cheaper than other gf flours (.30 to .40 per pound), but mom was making a trip to our local bulk food store so I asked her to pick some millet up for me.
It's a nice change, and it's still quite a bit cheaper than most of the good pre-mixed gluten free flours. (that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.)

I made this recipe yesterday afternoon to go with supper and it was so good that I made it again this morning just to make sure the results weren't a fluke ;)
The inside was soft and springy and a little chewy with a crispy, crunchy crust that I'd never encountered with gluten free bread before. It does soften as when it cools, but you can easily re-crisp it with a few minutes in the oven.

Gluten Free French Bread

2 Cups of gluten free bread flour blen
2 Tablespoons of sugar

3/4 teaspoon of salt

1 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum**

2 teaspoons of yeast

Mix above ingredients and add:

2 teaspoons of olive oil

1 cup of warm (110 degrees) water

Stir until moistened, scrape down sides and them beat for three minutes. Spoon into a greased french bread pan, rounding the top. and let rise for 30-40 minutes until roughly double in size.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Don't expect it to brown like wheat bread. Mine stayed a pale yellow unless I baked it for an extremely long time.

* 2/3 cup of millet flour, 1/3 cup of sorghum flour, 1/3 cup each of cornstarch, potato starch and tapioca starch.

** I used guar gum. It's cheaper. Much cheaper. I know, I know, the recipe says to follow it exactly, but I don't even have xanthan gum.

I don't have french loaf pans, so mine looked like regular loaves of
sandwich bread.

Look at that texture!

Skippy Natural Peanut Butter $1.80 Shipped!

2011-11-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Rumor has it that peanut butter prices are going to sky-rocket soon, so now's a great time to sock up on peanut butter!

Amazon.com currently has 15-Ounce Jars of Skippy Natural peanut Butter available for $1.80 each with free shipping when you choose the subscribe and save option.

If you're not a fan of the super crunch, check out Amazon's deals on other Skippy varieties.

Thanks, Be Centsable!

Upcycling: DIY Book Page Wreath

2011-11-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

This is so cool! This wreath is made from book pages. Book Pages! Don't you just love re-purposing?
I'm not very "crafty," but this wreath makes me want to tear some books apart :) How cool would it be to use sheet music for the paper?

You can find the instructions to make it yourself on Dodging Raindrops.

Using Freezer Food

2011-11-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

My mentality when it comes to using things I've set aside for a "rainy day" tends to be a little extreme.

For instance, when I was pregnant with Garrett, my sister-in-law sent me a box of Preggie Pops. They really did help ease morning sickness. So I kept them back for when I was really feeling bad. But I wouldn't let myself use them because I just knew that when I did I'd regret it later on when I felt worse.

As a result, I ended up only using three of them.

So now I'm experimenting with freezer cooking and preparing food for when I'm having a really busy day. I don't want to end up not letting myself use the freezer food because I might be busy later on, but I'm still waffling a little on how to incorporate it in to our menu and hadn't used any of it until Monday.

That was when Gabriel decided at 10:30 in the morning to go pick up some calves. It was over an hour drive one way to his destination so he needed to eat before leaving.

Suddenly, freezer food became very handy indeed! I'm so thankful that I was able to pull out a few frozen pizzas and a dozen cookies to quickly bake, add a little salad and call it a meal!

I'm still not sure exactly how I'll incorporate freezer food on a regular basis. You can't always predict your busy days after all, but I'm sure glad to have it!

Carhartt Coupon Code

2011-11-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

If you like Carhartt here's a deal you might be interested in.

Check out Couponology for a coupon code to save $20 on a $100 or more purchase of Carhartt clothing at Sears.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my dear mother's fifty-fourth birthday. Much to her chagrin we not only remembered, but made her a cake and put candles on it :)

Happy birthday mom! May you have a blessed 54th year.

$.50/1 Gold Medal Printable Coupon

2011-11-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I don't have any use for this due to my husband's food allergies, but wanted to pass it on anyway as we're heading in to baking season and Gold medal coupons are relatively rare.

Head over to the Gold Medal website and click the ".50 off any Gold Medal Product" banner to print your coupon.

Thanks, Deal Seeking Mom!

New Heifers

2011-11-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

I would show you some pictures of the heifer calves Gabriel brought home yesterday, but nobody can get close enough to get a decent picture, so think of these as snapshots of grass and trees with a few cows in the background.

First I thought I'd sneak around the hay shed. But that didn't work.

They all went in to the corner and that was the closest I was able to get. Hopefully they'll tame down soon.

These girlies are somewhere around five months old.

This past summer we noticed over and over that while our black cows were covered with flies and spent the majority of their days in the shade, the lighter colored ones were out grazing and were virtually pest free. The jerseys and piedmontese definitely have better heat tolerance than the black angus.

So, we're going with red cows. this little group of five are mostly red angus and simmental.

My Verse This Week

2011-11-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

1Timothy is full of great verses but this one stood out to me this morning.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

1Timothy 6:6

For me, it's so easy to become discontent. whether it's with the things I have or the situations I'm in (usually trying to fold laundry while holding garrett).
I need to be reminded of these things daily because, as verse seven goes on to say: For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out.

Hot! Muir Glen Organic Tomato Paste $.17

2011-11-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Wal-Mart typically sells Muir Glen organic tomato paste for $.92/can. Coupons.com has a new .75/1 Muir Glen product printable coupon out making your final cost just $.17 per can!

To find this coupon to coupons.com and enter 77477 into the zip code box. I selected the "food" category and found it on the 3rd page.

Check out Stingy Momma for a list of other current Wal-Mart deals!

Tide Free and Gentle, $4.08 Shipped!

2011-11-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

If you missed yesterday's amazon deal for Tide, here's another great deal you can take advantage of.

Go here and clip the $2 tide coupon. Then choose the subscribe and save option for the Tide Free and Gentle, 50-Ounce 2 pack.

You'll get two 50 ounce bottles of Tide free and gentle delivered to your door for $8.17 or $4.08 each!

Be sure to cancel your subscription once your order arrives if you do not wish to continue receiving regular deliveries.

Thanks, My Frugal Adventures!

Goals for the Week

2011-10-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, this week has really flown! Despite Garrett's unusual fussiness, I still feel like I made quite a bit of progress this past week.
Part of that is due to having my brother an sister over for an entire afternoon of course :)

Here's a review of last week:

Up at 5:30 - I was mostly successful here though I honestly don't expect to make this one every week. I still want to shoot for it though. The earlier I get up, the more stuff I can get done before Garret wakes up.
Clean and organize the deep freeze preparatory to hopefully filling it with venison - We're still cycling our bulk rice (that we grind for flour) through to freeze out any weevil eggs that might be in it so I wasn't able to make much progress
~~Create a daily cleaning schedule~~ (and stick to it!) - Did it! And stuck to it during the latter part of the week.
~~Bike (or run) 4 days for at least 30 minutes -~~ Once again, I tend to put exercise pretty high up on the priority list.
~~finish two more rows on my granny square afghan~~ Actually got three rows done. Whoop!
~~Get back on the cloth diapering wagon~~. I'm proud to say that Garrett wore cloth diapers all week except for at night.

And now for this week's goals. I figured I go out on a limb and go for eight goals instead of six since half of them are things I should be doing as a matter of course anyway.

Up at 5:30
Bike (or run) for at least 30 minutes on 4 separate days
Cloth diaper exclusively during the day
Stick to the cleaning schedule
Clean and organize the deep freeze
Make The Food Philosopher's french bread
Continue working on the granny square afghan as much as possible
Make Liquid soap from the recipe on Little House In the Suburbs

There are lots of other things I want to do this week, but these are the ones that I must do.

Tide: 50 oz for $3.99!

2011-10-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

Gohereand clip the $2.00 coupon for Tide with bleach alternative Add the 50 oz bottle of tide liquid detergent to your cart and proceed to checkout. Your final price should be $3.99.

This deal worked for me, but there's no telling when may Amazon.com change the price so hurry!

Thanks, Coupons and Freebies Mom!

The Frugal Farmwife

Moving Day

Freezer Cooking: Barbecued Meatballs Shredded Pork

Kmart: GOGO 50% Off Sale

Huggies Diapers As Low as $3.00/Pack!

Free Subscription to Martha Steward Living

Buy One Get One Avocado Coupon

Enter To Win A Handmade Toddler Animal Hat

A Ten Year Old At Work

One White Wintry Day

Free John Frieda Sample

Free Seventh Generation Baby Wipe Sample

Six Months!

Homemade Ham

$1/1 Printable Band-Aid Coupon

CVS 20% Off Shopping Pass

Weekly Goals

Free Hot Fudge Cake Day At Shoneys

Possible Free Vitamins At Target

Monday Menu Plan

*HOT* Mars Candy Printable Coupon!

$10 Target Gift Card with $50 Purchase

25 Fays of Free Music From Amazon.com

Freezer Cooking: Tamale Pie

Old Navy Printable Coupon + Online Coupon Code

Printable Bottles Water Coupons

Free Gather Together Coupon Booklet

This Week's Abreviated Menu Plan

Thanksgiving with the Family

Free Duracell Batteries From Staples

Weekly Goals

$1.25/1 Printable Reynolds Wrap Coupon

Walgreen's: Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark $1.25/bag

Kitchen Aid 6qt.Stand mixer $209.99 Shipped!

Wal-mart: HP Printer for $19

Praise the Lord For Spare Tires

Black Friday Funny

Kohl's: Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer As Low As $87.99!

A Thankfulness Post

Verse This Week

Ace Hardware: 50% Off Coupon

Gluten Free Pumkin Cake Balls

Thanksgiving Week Goals

Luvs Diapers Starting as .10 each Shipped

Jet-puffed .40/1 Printable Coupon

Free $20 e-Voucher To YMI Jeans

Free Nature's Bounty Fish Oil Sample

Black Friday Ads

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake

Thrift-Store Find: A Better Soap Bottle

Kraft Printable Coupons

Amazon.com: Cuisinart Immersion Blender $29 Shipped

My Verse This Week

$1.50/2 Breyers Coupon

Menu Planning: I Think I've Got This

Emergen-C Kids Free Sample

Free e-Book: Money Saving Mom's Guide To Freezer Cooking

Apple Salad

Stumble Upon: Free $10 Amazon Gift Card

Goals This Week

$2.00 Tide coupon

Down On the Farm: Our new Bull

Gillette Shave Cream Moneymaker at CVS

Freezer Cooking: Beef Pot Pie

Energy Saving Tips

Get 110 Points Just for Signing up On Swagbucks!

Free Woolite Sample

$.55/1 Chore Boy Coupon

Dollar General: Printable Coupon

Five Months Old! (Brag Post)

Kikkoman Buy One Get One free Coupon

Up-Cycling: Baby Scribble Bows

Verse This Week

Free Idahoan Potatoes At Wal-Mart!

Gluten-Free Cheesecake

Happy Anniversary To Us!

Swagbucks: The Web's Premier Digital Dollar

Goals This Week

Free book: God's Smuggler

Current Amazon Diaper Deals

HOT Mars Candy Printable Coupon!