Chicken & Cabbage Spring Rolls

 

These tasty little treats are low in calories and are easy to make.  The kids didn't like the feel of the spring roll paper but loved the filling.  I loved it all.  Logging at at just 62 calories for a 1/2 c. of filling and one spring roll wrap it makes a satisfying lunch.  Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try.  (Remember, you can just enjoy the filling as a stir fry kind of meal.) 

Chicken Marinade

2 medium sized chicken breasts, cubed into small pieces (weight after cooking the meat is 9.5 oz)

1 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Veggie Ingredients

1 bag Dole classic coleslaw

1/4 c. chopped onion

1 medium red pepper

4 tsp. cornstarch

4 tsp. cold water

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

3/4 C. chicken broth

Spring Roll Wrappers

Mix ingredients for chicken marinade with the chicken and set aside.  

Cut onion and pepper in small bite sized pieces. 

In a separate bowl mix 4 tsp. cornstarch and water. 

Heat wok until 1 or 2 drops of water bubble and skitter when sprinkled into wok.  Add 1/4c. of chicken broth along with chicken.  Cook until chicken is tender and white all the way through.  Remove chicken from the wok.  Add onions, peppers, garlic and 1Tbsp. soy sauce back into the wok.  Stir-fry for about 2 minutes and then add the cabbage.  Stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes.  Add the chicken and remaining broth into the veggies, heating to boil.  Stir in cornstarch/water mixture and cook until thickened, about 10 seconds. 

Take one spring roll wrapper and place under water for 10-15 sec, just until softened and can fold without breaking.  Place wrapper on plate and spoon 1/2 c. of hot stir-fry into wrap.  Wrap as you would a burrito or taco to hold together.

*Adapted from Betty Crocker's Chinese Cookbook...Recipes by Leeann Chin

Strawberry Dream

My kids say "Mom is way better than McDonald's"!  I feel like the bomb with this wonderful taste summer treat.  The recipe is easy, it is a delight to eat and you turn up "the best" in their eyes.  What could be better?

This recipe serving size is 1

1. 2T. strawberry jam mixed with 1 tsp. water placed in the bottom of your glass
2. Next place 1 scoop vanilla or strawberry ice cream in your glass
3. Follow that up with a few fresh sliced strawberries
4. Next, another scoop of ice cream
5. Pour in 1/4 c. + Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash soda or other ginger-ale
6. Top with real whipped cream and serve!

 Enjoy you delightful treat! 
* Modified from Taste Of Home Magazine Recipe

Chicken Kabobs

Kabobs always seem like a complicated meal to me.  In reality they are easy to prepare and cook but take a bit of time to assemble.  They are a great low calorie meal as you have lots of flavorful veggies along with some great tasting protein.  Here are the chicken kabobs I made for my crew last night.  They loved them...


3-4 chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes
4 tsp. or so of seasoning rub of choice
1 red onion
1 red, green, or other pepper cut into 1" pieces
pineapple chunks - fresh is best but in a pinch I use canned (like last night)
tomatoes - cut into large chunks because they have a tendency to fall apart when on the heat
button mushrooms
any other veggie that you might want to try


Place the seasoning rub and a bit of water in the bottom of your bowl to create a liquid.  Add chicken cubes into the seasoning, stir, cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble.


**When assembling the kabobs be sure to keep raw chicken juices separate from your raw veggies and fruit.  When you are done spearing your chicken and veggies/fruits, be sure to discard any veggies/fruits that might have come in contact with raw chicken juices.**


To assemble your kabobs line up your chicken, veggies, and fruits.  Take one item at a time and spear with kabob skewers.  Set aside and assemble next one.  Continue until you have used up all of your food items.  (If you are using wood skewers be sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes prior to using.  This will prevent them from catching on fire while over the heat.)


Heat grill to hot temperature, reducing to low when you are ready to cook your kabobs.  Use a paper towel coated with oil and your tongs to grease the grill grate and eliminate your meat from sticking while cooking.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until grill marks appear.  Rotate on grill and cook other side for about 5 minutes or until done through.  Check chicken to be sure it is cooked all the way through.

Enjoy this great taste of summer!

Walgreens, Target and Walmart...Working hard to find good deals!

I know...I need to post more recipes for those of my friends who love to cook.  I will start working on that.  I am in the craze of couponing and loving it.  Truth be told, I am also working on losing some pounds and it is hard not to eat all you cook and bake.  Right now I think I would be tempted to over eat if I did too much on the food end.  Please hang with me as I walk this road balancing my addictions to food and saving money.  Here is a break down of what I paid at the different stores this week...Remember you can find these deals on sites like:

http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/   - Pocket Your Dollars
http://www.passionforsavings.com/    - Passion For Savings
http://www.survivingthestores.com/    - Surviving The Stores
https://www.facebook.com/FrugalFabulousFinds    - Frugal Fabulous Finds (on Facebook)

Walgreens

 

I went through the line twice to get these good deal.

The first trip through the registers:

• 3 Scotch Tapes - $1.99/each and with coupons they paid me $1.01+++
• 4 Reach Tooth Brushes - $ .99/each and with coupons they paid me $ .04 + $4.00 in register rewards toward my next shopping trip.
• 3 Gillette Body Washes - 3 for $10 and with coupons I paid $4.00 + got $3.00 register rewards towards my next shopping trip.  At the bottom of my slip they also gave me 50% off the 3rd body wash so my total became - $2.33 plus the register rewards.
• 3 Gillette Deodorants - (There were some that were $4.99 each and would have been a better deal but Steven likes the solid sticks vs. the gels.)  $5.79 each and with coupons for buy a body wash get a deodorant free up to $4.99 each, I paid $.80/ each.  That isn't the end of this deal...They were on sale for buy one get one at 50% off so they took 50% off of one and deducted another $2.90 making to total cost of the 3 deodorants paid to me $ .50 +++ 

All together I paid $ .77 + tax + I got a $4.00 and $3.00 register rewards to use next time. 

Second trip through the registers:

• 3 Scotch Tapes - See same deal from above
• 4 Reach Toothbrushes - See same deal from above
• 1 Dove Deodorant - $3.99 - They gave me a $3.00 register reward to use next time I shop.

All together I paid $2.94 - $3.00 register reward from the first time through = them paying me $ .06 + tax + another $3.00 and $4.00 register reward.  I had to buy a few extra items because they won't actually pay you cash back for your order.

All in all the total out of pocket for these items was $. 71 + taxes + I still have a $4.00, $4.00 and $3.00 register reward to use for my next visit.  Really Fun! 

Target

There are some good deals here and some that are only okay.  The beverages are okay and they will be refreshing treats as I garden and enjoy the summer.

• T-shirts - with coupons 1 for $ .49 and 1 for $1.24 = $1.73 for 2 shirts
• Crystal light - with coupons $ .99/ box 
• Sure Deodorant - with coupons $ .50/each
• Aquafresh - training toothpaste w/coupons - $ .89
• Aquafresh - training toothbrush w/ coupons - $ .01
• Revlon Eye Shadow - coupons made it $ .99
• Revlon Emery Boards - coupons made it $ .99
• Zyrtec - free with coupons (Saved $5.29 each)
• Aluminum Foil - $ .74 w/coupon
• Kleenex - $ .09 after coupon
• Cutter Bug Spray - $1.99/ each after coupon
• Up and Up Pads - $ .14/ each after coupons
• Care Free Pads - free with coupons (Saved $ .99 each)
• Up and Up bandages - $ .47 per box after coupons
• Lipton boxed tea bags (decaf is more expensive) - $1.69/ each after coupons
• Lipton bottled tea - $5.00/ each and for each 2 I bought I got a $5.00 gift card.  The total was $20.00 with $10.00 in gift cards.  (works out to be $2.50 each after gift cards)
• Frappaccinos - $4.79/each for 2 and $4.49/each for the other 2.  For each 2 I bought I got a $5.00 gift card.  The total was $18.56 with $10 in gift cards.  (works out to be $2.14 each after gift cards)

Walmart

My last stop was at Walmart.  You might think that 8 jars of pickles is over the top.  I have tried canning our home grown pickles a couple of time and I just can't get them to work.  Some of my Kiddos and I love pickles, just not the soggy kind.  This will take us through the summer picnics and into the winter so I don't have to try to make pickles again.  That alone is a savings in money and time.

8 Vlasic pickles - after coupons $1.33/ jar for the 46 oz. size
3 French's mustard - after coupons $ .87/ bottle for 20 oz. size
3 Frank's hot sauces - with coupons $ .48/ bottle
7 KC Master Piece BBQ sauce - after coupons $ .42/ bottle
4 Duncan Hines Brownie mixes - with coupons $ .50/ box

I had to pay tax...not a problem!

We went shopping  today...this really was a fun one.  Our local Pamida has double coupons this week.  I found that they had some great sales and clearance items that matched beautifully with my coupons.  Praise God for lining up these deals up.  

1. 2 Clue Secret and Spy Games
2. 2 Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
3. 1 Dawn Dish Soap
4. 8 packs Stride Gum
5. 3 Scotch Scissors
6. 8 Dove Chocolate Bars (3 dark and 5 milk chocolate)
7. 11 packs Scotch Magic Tape

For all of the above I paid $1.55

***Nicolas thought this was so cool, to walk out without really having to pay for our things!***

$ .85 per item seems to be my magic number!

 

GRAND TOTAL AVERAGED

FOR ALL ITEMS PICTURED ABOVE:

$ .85 per item

These are a few of the bargains I found yesterday.

5 Phenom Coconut Water - FREE

2 Red Box rentals - FREE

7 Noxema Disposable Razors - .67 each

8 Zantac - .21 each

4 Sally Hanson Nail Color - +.01 each

2 Soft Scrub - $1.00 each

2 Tide Stain Release - .99 each

6 Right Guard Men's Deodorant - .50 each

2 Colgate Toothpaste - .74 each

 

 

Great Deals at Pamida

Our local Pamida is having double coupon week.  It really pays when your coupons, up to $1.00, are doubled and the item is on sale.  Here is what I ended up spending $15.32 on...


4 bottles of Garnier Fructis shampoo
4 bottles of Garnier Fructis conditioner
3 cans of Garnier Fructis hairspray
1 can Garnier Fructis mousse
2 boxes Tylenol Percise Pain Relieving Heat Patches
4 bottles of 2x Ultra Era laundry soap

GRAND TOTAL PER ITEM:  roughly $ .85


I love great deals that help on my families budget.

Strawberry Angel Food Delight

 

This was a very tasty and refreshing treat to end a beautiful spring day.  Goodness knows that we need to celebrate all of the spring we can since it is going to become summer soon.  We had the privilege of visiting friends for dinner this evening and my job was to bring dessert.  I couldn't decide what to make but knew that angel food cake and strawberries sure sounded good.  For some reason I tend to try new recipes or create an original whenever I am asked to bring the dessert.  Fortunately for all, it turned out delicious.

What you will need:

Angel Food Cake Mix - prepared as directed or make from scratch

1 - 8 oz. cream cheese or neufchatel cream cheese, softened

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 large box of vanilla instant pudding

1/2 c. water

2 - 8 oz. cool whips (I used fat free)

3 + cups strawberries, mashed

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. corn starch

Prepared and cool angel food cake.  Soften cream cheese.  Combine cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, pudding and water in bowl.  Fold in one 8 oz. cool whip.  Place mashed strawberries, sugar and corn starch in pot over medium heat on stove.  Cook until thickened, cool.

Now you are ready to assemble...

1.  Tear half of the cake into piece and line a 9x13 pan with it.

2.  Next use half of the pudding mixture and spread over cake.

3.  Follow that with half of the strawberries, spread.

4.  Repeat layers one more time.

Spread on the remaining 8 oz. cool whip and garnish with fresh strawberries.  Chill for 3+ hours.  Cut or scoop to serve.

Mom's Peanut Butter Cookies

I love these cookies.  They are the perfect combination of sweetness and the rich peanut butter flavor that I enjoy.  They are a winner with my kids!


Cream together:   
1c. shortening
1c. sugar
1c. brown sugar

Add and cream until light and fluffy:   
1c. peanut butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Add dry ingredients and mix will:   
2 1/2c. flour
2 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. salt


Scoop dough into balls and roll in sugar.  Put on the cookie sheet and slightly flatten with the tines of a fork.  Turn fork 90 degrees and flatten a bit more to create a checker pattern on your cookie.
Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  Let baked cookies cool slightly on pan.
Makes about 4 1/2 dozen.  Delicious!!!

End of the Week Deals from Targe!

 

To round out this last week I picked up a few more great deals at Target.  Let me share a few of the specifics:

The Kandoo wipes - $.42 each

The Aveeno Lotions - $3.14 for all 9 of them, on sale for $2.69 each

The Halls Cough Drops - $.04 for both

The 3 pk of Scotch Tape - $.99

Those were the really great deals with the rest making the grand total come to $16.29.  That isn't too bad and there are all things we will uses.  I have been asked a lot lately if I get things that I really don't need.  My answer is "No, unless they make money to help cover my other items."  The items in the picture might not all be the exactly the brand that I would usually purchase but they do eliminate similar items off of my list resulting in money saved.  

One of the great benefits of buying ahead like this is that you can wait for the really good deals to come along.  You can be selective as to what you want, how much you want to pay and when you want to purchase it because you already have what you need on hand.  If you end up getting extras that you won't use, give it to someone in need.  Many people bring in items to the food shelf to help out others who have less.

I am looking forward to the next few weeks and the sales that will be coming.  This Sunday's Star Tribune has 5 coupon sections in it and I am sure it will promise to meet up with some great sales!

Why Shop After a Holiday?

I don't know about you but I enjoy shopping after a celebrated retail holiday.  You see, if you go at the right times you can get amazing deals on things that can be used for many different occasions.  Take for example this Easter.  Many items have colorful eggs or Easter sayings on them.  These work best to save for next year's Easter.  Other items have bunnies, chicks, flowers, polk-a-dots, or are just soft pastel colors.  These items can be used for spring events, birthday parties, gifts and what ever else you can think of.


If there is an item I really want and am unwilling to miss out on it, I will go shopping the day after to get a mild discount.  If I am willing to wait for great prices, a week seems to be the key so far.  I would love to know what everyone else has experienced with this. 

Different stores clearance things out at different rates.  If you look at the picture above you will see that I got many items at Walmart for only $12.25.  The reason for this is that they reduced all of their Easter things to $.25 an item.  Great!  I can use the Wilton cupcake decorations/picks and pink tissue paper for birthday parties for my little girls, the cellophane wrap is blue circles and works for my boy's parties.  The chocolate is a given for any occasion!  (Yes, that big bag of Ghirardelli Chocolate was $.25 - SCORE!)  I allowed each child to pick out two items as a special treat for shopping so well.  The kids had so much fun and it was easy on my pocket book!

This picture is of the items I found at Target.  There are considerable fewer for a bit more cash.  This group of items came in at a total of $15.00.  These items were found in the dollar section of the store and were only 50% off.  Target did have their Easter things on clearance for 75% off but I didn't find really useful things there.  Each of the above items were $.50.  I will use the pails for gifts or as treat buckets to send home after a birthday party.  The pencils, bubbles and stickers are great ways to fill them without breaking the bank.  The 4 packs of note cards can be used as invitations, notes to grandparents, or encouragement from me to my children.  The Sesame Street items I will tuck away in my gift box to add with some paper and other art supplies as a gift.  The magnetic tablet is on my fridge and the plant sticks were just so cute.  I plan on using  them in my flower gardens. 

So, I would love to hear about your after season retail shopping and any hints, tips or great ideas that you are willing to share.