SUPER DOUBLES AT HARRIS TEETER THIS WEEK!!!!

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I opened my email and saw the email from Harris Teeter saying they are doubling all coupons up to $2 for the next week.  Harris Teeter always doubles up to .99 but anything over $1 is generally not doubled.......except for weeks like this!  So those $2 off coupons you have are now $4 off!!!! Coupling your coupons with the VIC prices give you the best deals.  I paid $34 for over $110 worth of groceries!  (35 items!)

Today I got Pop Secret popcorn and two cans of tomatoes for FREE and a ton of great deals on other things for less than $1!  Some of my coupons came from http://www.coupons.com/ and others came from the Sunday paper.  There were a lot of things "buy one and get one free".  Some of the higher value coupons are if you buy two but if you have a coupon for just one and the item is "buy one and get one free" you don't have to get two of them---little known secret---at Harris Teeter the BOGO items ring up at half price!  So I had a coupon for Pop Secret (one box) for $1 off---it was a BOGO item but I only bought one---it rang up at $1.77 and I got my $1 coupon doubled! 

I used the following coupons from coupons.com today:  save $1 on 2 Big G cereals, save $2 on any 3 Mars chocolate (that is how I got the M&Ms), save $1 on one box of Pop Secret popcorn, save $1 on men's Degree deodorant, and $1 off any Tai Pei.  The rest were from the paper---definitely a good investment if you use the coupons.  The shampoo and conditioner were on sale for $4.99 each but I had TWO $2 off one item coupons and they both were .99 each in the end!  Happy shopping!

Crockpot Vegetable Curry

My sister told me about this dish about a month ago and I finally got around to trying it.  ;)    You can find the recipe linked HERE.  This was relatively easy to put together but some of the veggies did take time to chop etc.  I didn't have any turmeric but I found out online that dry mustard was a good substitute.  I reduced the amount of cayenne pepper since 1 teaspoon seemed like a LOT and it was pretty spicy when I used about 3/4 of a teaspoon!  I didn't add the peas in the end mainly because I forgot.  lol

I served it with rice and IT WAS SO GOOD!  Evan said to me "this is something you should make when we have people over because it's the type of dish that seems hard to make because it tastes so good."  I will definitely make this again---the fact it was a crock pot recipe made me love it even more!

Panera's Autumn Squash soup at home?

YES!  A few weeks ago I tried this soup at Panera instead of my normal order of black bean soup (which is also fabulous btw).  I was in love with this soup from the 1st btw--I'm serious.  It's thick, sweet and tastes like fall.  That afternoon I started to comb Pinterest and other places for versions of the soup.  Panera lists most of the ingredients on their website and I was having trouble finding a recipe that seemed to have all of the ingredients listed until I stumbled upon this one linked HERE.  I was beyond excited......it was on my menu for this week.......

I prepared it as the recipe stated but there are many other ways you can do it.  The recipe says to roast the squash in the oven but you can sautee it if you would rather (I have made another butternut squash soup recipe that tells you to sautee them in a pan).  I used my immersion blender directly into the pot which I find easier than a larger blender.  I also added a tiny bit more honey than it called for since the original version is quite sweet and I think it needed a little more.  A friend of mine also added a shallot when she cooked the squash which is a great addition and also added some sage.  It's a recipe you can do almost anything with.

I do wish that I had some type of pumpkin seed or pine nut etc to garnish the top with since they serve it at Panera with roasted pumpkin seeds on top and the crunch is a very nice addition.

This soup is awesome and can easily stand alone as a main dish or be a side dish in a smaller portion. I am tempted to make it as a side for Thanksgiving! 

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

I found this recipe (linked ) on Pinterest awhile ago and have always wanted to try it.  On Sunday I was already making a turkey pumpkin chili in the crock pot that can be found HERE......so I thought it would be fun to have a pumpkin dessert to go along with it.  Evan's parents were here also and I like to have a dessert planned when there are people over. 

I mainly stuck to the recipe except I did spice cake mix instead of yellow.  A bunch of people that commented said that the spice cake made it even better.  Oh and I also left the pecans off since Travis is allergic.  Now if I make this again I will be sure to have a lot of people over because it makes a huge amount and a little goes a long way.  I loved it---it was so good BUT it's very rich so I ended up eating too much of it and getting a slight tummy ache.  Just cut portions in 1/2 from what you would normally serve and you should be good to go.  I did serve it with cool whip in case anyone wanted that "pumpkin pie feeling".  Enjoy!

Reviews of 5 recipes

I am very behind in my reviews of new recipes that I have tried.  Oops.  Maybe one day I won't be behind but what fin would that be?  lol

Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary and Balsamic Vinegar

This recipe can be found by clicking HERE.  I made this on a whim since my family was coming over for dinner and I had a bunch of butternut squash in the fridge.  Dear lord this recipe is AWESOME!  I could've eaten all of it by myself!  Try it--it's easy and tasty--you won't be disappointed!

Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki

The recipe was on Pinterest and just pointed you to a picture---you can find that linked HERE (I hope-lol).  We served this with rice and threw in some broccoli when it was served.  YUMMY!  Anything this easy, moist and tasty from the crock pot is a huge winner with me!

Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup

I was intrigued by this immediately since I love Thai food and I love my crock pot!  I lightened up the recipe by using light coconut milk.......you can find the recipe linked HERE.  It did require a bunch of ingredients I didn't have on hand though which I didn't love---now I need to find new recipes for red curry paste and fresh ginger--lol.  I wasn't 100% sold on this recipe but I did eat my whole bowl--lol.  Evan wasn't sure at first either but he ended up eating his portion and seconds and then proclaimed it was really good.  :)  I preferred the Tom Yum soup that I have made before over this soup.....you can read about that one and get the link HERE. 

Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

Last Saturday we didn't have football because of the rain so I thought it was a great time to try a new breakfast recipe.  Oh my goodness these are SO GOOD!  The only thing I didn't have in the house was the buttermilk and now I have some leftover of course so I guess I will be making them again!  lol  You can find the recipe linked HERE.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

Hmmmmm I'm not sure what to say about this recipe since it has so much potential to be great!  I made it last night and we ate it on hamburger buns.......I didn't put the butter in at the end like the recipe called for by the way........ So I read in the comments that a few people said it was very salty.  This in my case was unfortunately correct.  I don't know how to reduce that other than cutting the amount of Frank's sauce in the recipe since it's so high in sodium on it's own.  I will try this recipe again and will likely cut the Frank's amount in half.......stay tuned on this one.  If you want to try the recipe now and make the adjustments I am going to try you can find it linked HERE.

Videos of Brody reading and balancing

Gymnastics is obviously his thing.  ;)  He did this over and over again for over 30 minutes!  Monkey--through and through.



He read this with some silly voices but he reads everything these days!  He loves the Pigeon books--this is a new one and he read it every day multiple times a day for a week!  lol

Uploading........

I got an email the other day saying that Snapfish was running a promo through Oct 11th that all 4x6 prints are only 1 cent EACH!  Just use the code "UNLIMITED".  I am currently uploading June-yesterday to take advantage of this great price.  Sometimes you can get lucky with "free print" promos but a lot of times the shipping price is sky high.  If you scrapbook like I do or if you just like to have current pictures in frames around your house....jump on this deal!  I am currently at 431 of 852 on my upload.  lol  (and yes I will weed out some of the bad pictures before ordering.  lol)

Brody at school---Jack and Jill week!!!!

I love that Brody's teachers send pictures of what they are doing in class.  I just love it!  This week they were working on "Jack and Jill" and here are some of the pictures from the last week!

Brody acting out "Jack and Jill" on the Promethean board

Brody reading in the class library

Participating in the float/sink activity

Brody, Lauren and David seeing what sinks and floats

Magnet pom poms

Playing at the water table

Making their "pail of water" for their Jack and Jill re-enactment

Brody and Lauren's re-enactment of Jack and Jill---too cute!

Outside tunnel time

BACKPACKS ARE 70% OFF AT TARGET!!!!

If your kids are like mine and they don't have to be the one to choose their backpack for the new school year this memo is for you.  ;)  Target in the last day or so marked all of the back to school backpacks to 70% off.  I found this one for Travis---it was originally $39.99 and I got it for under $12!  He got a new backpack this year of course at the beginning of the school year but he is already excited to use this one in 5th grade next year!  At the Target closest to my house they didn't have any of the character ones so I will be checking the other Target by the gym to see if I can find one for Brody next year as well.  :)

There are a few school supplies now at 70% off too but they are a little hard to find now.  Look on the endcaps.  I also got him a VT 3 ring binder for $2, packs of notebook paper for .12 each and the jumbo book covers he needs next year for .35 each!

One boy.......three seasons.......

It's amazing how much Travis has changed and grown since his 1st year playing tackle football.

!st year with the Bears---played 2nd team center and 2nd team defensive end---7 years old--around 64 pounds

2nd year in tackle and 1st year with the Cougars (the Bears were disbanded from the league)--played 1st and 2nd team tight end and 1st and 2nd team defensive end--8 years old-- around 70 pounds

3nd year in tackle and 2nd year with the Cougars--plays 1st team center and 1st team defensive end---9 years old--weighed in at 87 pounds at tryouts in June but is currently 82 pounds