This week's menu is from Kalin, a substitute teacher and the blogger behind Eating Machine. She’s a newlywed who lives in Portland with her husband and two kittens-the only babies she’s planning to have around for a few more years! MONDAY: Valentine's Day -- eating out! TUESDAY: Enchiladas plus salad (using leftover roast chicken) WEDNESDAY: Split Pea Soup, bread (homemade if I'm motivated!) THURSDAY: Sweet & Sour Meatballs, brown rice, broccoli, salad FRIDAY: Brown Sugar Salmon, quinoa, green beans, spinach SATURDAY: Dinner out SUNDAY: Pulled Pork, sweet potatoes, salald Sweet and Sour Sauce: This is quick, easy, and Keep Reading
Menu Plan Monday
Guest Post: Recycling 201
photo credit This is the third in a three-post series on Recycling from Selena Moffitt of 1 Mom’s Mission. Catch up on the first and second posts if you missed them! *********************** Do you feel like you have a handle on what you can recycle curbside? Remember, the heavier your recycling bin, the lighter your garbage can! If you have a smaller garbage can, you pay a smaller fee! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could drop down to twice-a-month service! There is money to be saved! How can we do this? Let’s trash-talk for a moment. Yup, I mean talk about what is IN your trash. You may be surprised to know what things you can Keep Reading
Menu Plan Monday
This week's Menu Plan Monday is brought to you by Stephanie from Olympia, Washington! She's a stay at home mom of a nine month old. To save time during the week, she prefers crockpot meals and make-ahead dinners. MONDAY: Spinach Egg and Potato Casserole with green salad -- see recipe below (find more Meatless Monday ideas here) TUESDAY: Crockpot chicken chili with cornbread WEDNESDAY: Chicken and pears over arugula with homemade bread THURSDAY: Popcorn chicken (about half the chicken will be coated with Franks RedHot Sauce prior to breading, to make buffalo chicken), pears, tomato soup FRIDAY: Orange chicken from Trader Joes with brown Keep Reading
The Ultimate Guide to Couponing in the Northwest: Know the coupon strategies {RAINCHECKS}
RAINCHECK: A piece of paper given to a customer from a store that serves as a commitment to sell an out-of-stock item when it is restocked at the advertised price. Rainchecks are given by all grocery and drug stores in the Pacific Northwest. This is what a raincheck from Albertsons looks like: Some things to keep in mind regarding rainchecks: Note the expiration date, which varies by store. Stores will not give you a raincheck on a sale item marked "while supplies last." They may also refuse to give you a raincheck on an item that is not advertised in their weekly ad, even if it's tagged as on sale on the shelf. Keep rainchecks in your Keep Reading
Frugal Habits: a temporary fad or a lifestyle change?
photo credit My husband and I like to play the "Lottery/Rich Uncle Game" that starts out, What would you do if you won/inherited/found _____ dollars? (Warning: for entertainment only, not investment purposes). You've played some version of it, right? We dream up vacations we will never take and house projects we will never start and checks we will never write and gifts we will never give. Then we wonder about the practical stuff: Would I still clip coupons? Would my husband quit his job? Would I still clothe my children from clearance racks? Would my husband still be obsessed with lowering our energy bill? Last Friday's Oregonian featured an Keep Reading
Guest Post: Recycling 101
This is the second in a three-post series on Recycling from Selena Moffitt of 1 Mom's Mission. You can read the first post here! *********************** Let's dive into addressing the reasons why we don't recycle: 1. “I don’t know what I can recycle.” 2. “I don’t know where to recycle.” The first place to look would be on the top of your curbside recycling bin. There is typically a list or picture of what you can recycle curbside. Here is a list for reference (compiled from Metro Recycling): Don't fret when you see the "un-recycleable" list! In the Recycling 201 coming next week, I will tell you how some of these items can escape the Keep Reading
Menu Plan Monday
This week's Menu Plan Monday is brought to you by Bre (of Thrilling Thrifties) from Portland! She's a stay at home mom of three: a 9 year old daughter, a 5 year old son and a 5 year old daughter (yes twin 5 year olds) and two dogs. She's an avid couponer, blogger and soccer mom! With all her Monday recipes she makes two and freezes one meal to have three weeks later! Here's Bre's menu plan for this week: MONDAY: Breakfast for dinner -- Bacon cheddar waffles, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs TUESDAY: American Chop Suey, to make this more delicious add 1 cup cheddar cheese, top with bread crumbs and bake @450 until golden brown, and a loaded Keep Reading