Chicken Parm Round 2

Remember when I posted about "Cooking with the Bach's"? Well I forgot to mention something about the Chicken Parmesan Bundles. We didn't like the spinach that I put in there. We actually only ate the outside of the chicken and that's about it, sad. So I tried for round two the other night and used broccoli, and it was a winner! Steve said to put it on the 'make again' list. WOO HOO!!

Want to see a meal that was on the 'never make again' list??

Cheeseburger Bacon Mac.

This tasted a lot like hamburger helper but was a big pain to make. AND it was so bland and just... just... gross. This could be due to the fact that I forgot to thaw out the bacon so we tried using Bacon Bits (Highly recommend to NEVER use - sick) and so it just didn't turn out. However, I'm so glad, I am blessed, to have a husband who will try anything with me!

Here was another meal we made.... we liked it. BBQ Chicken something or other... It got a little burnt but it was still good, and Steve loves anything with the sound of BBQ (or BACON!).

On the savings note... I'm keeping it up!

We are trying to stay at $200 a month for groceries (including toiletries etc). Mom said I was crazy but all the best to us... ha-ha.

We shop at Meijer but once in a while if I see a GREAT deal I'll head to Walmart or Walgreens, and I've also been to Dominicks once before. So far the BEST deal I got was the other day at Walgreens. The shelf cost (total cost without coupons) was $26.88 and I paid OOP (Out of Pocket) $1.40 plus I got $7.00 back on my next purchase. That means I made $5.60 to go shopping and bring home two Schick 5 razors and blades (for Steve), 2 tubes of toothpaste (we were getting low), some chapstick and wheat thins. Not a TON of stuff, but I needed toothpaste so it was worth going to Walgreens to shop to get paid $5+ bucks! Go us! And if you are interested in how I'm doing this or want to join in on the savings, let me know! I would love to share the savings! :)

With pinchin' the pennies our kitchen remodel, basement and laundry room remodel will come along quicker than expected. Then you know what?? Time for savings for babies! :)


For those of you who don't know already, I have the BABY ITCH real bad. Steve has it once in a while, more often than not, but we just want to wait a little bit and enjoy each other and our time together as just us. But it's ok to look at baby clothes, books, items for a soon to be nursery??? Right? Ha! All in God's perfect timing though.

Back to house things...

If anyone is in need of paint, the Ace Hardware in McHenry is having a rebate on BenMoore paint. Buy a gallon (for $5) get $5.00 back in rebates! That's FREE paint!! There is a limit of 4 gallons, but it looks to me like a GREAT time to go get paint for our guest bathroom, master bedroom and bathroom. If Steve goes with, we could get 4 more gallons! Anyone want to have a painting party? Just kidding....

Everyone have an awesome day!

xo m.

p.s. Has anyone used the website Restaurant.com ? It's a site where you can purchase gift certificates to local restaurant in your area for a cheaper price. There are rules like... buy $25 and have to spend $50 and only valid on Sun-Thursday.... 18% gratuity added....

Well the other day they had a sale for 90% off! So I checked out the restaurants in my area and I bought a $10.00 gift certificate to the Rib House in CL for only $.40. Steve and I thought we could have a date night and get ribs for super cheap?? (There goes our date night budget! - ha ha). But we shall see if the $0.40 purchase was worth it or not.....