If you came here looking for the link for the Kraft First Taste community that I posted about yesterday, unfortunately that offer is already full. You can still join the Kraft Community to get great money saving coupons and recipes by clicking on the link above.
Summer fun on a budget: Cheap movies!
June 15, 2009 by
This is my first week of summer break and I’m so excited! This entire week, I’ll be sharing ideas for summer fun on a budget. Today’s topic features cheap movie options. The following theaters have summer “movie camps” featuring free or discounted movies for kids. I’m taking my kids this week!
AMC Summer Movie Camp – $1 movies weekly (on Wednesdays) from June 17-August 5 – all proceeds benefit Variety – The Children’s Charity and The Will Rogers Institute. Kids Pack conessions including a kid sized drink, kid sized popcorn, and kid sized snack are $3 – Click here for more details
Carmike Cinemas – Enjoy $1 concessions (popcorn and drinks) every Tuesday this summer – click here for more details or to find a theater near you
Cinemark Theaters: Summer Movie Clubhouse – 10 weeks of movies for kids (all films are either rated G or PG), a different movie each week – all 10 movies can be purchased in advance for $5 or can be purchased separately for $1 per show – click here for more details or to see what’s playing in your area
Rave Motion Pictures Free Family Film Festival – free movies every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 a.m. for 8 weeks – movies are G or PG only – seating is on a first come, first served basis (no reservations allowed) – click here for the schedule and to find a theater near you
Regal Cinemas – Enjoy free family-friendly movies (G and PG ratings) each Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 a.m. Admission is on a first come, first served basis. Get more information and find out what theaters are participating in your area here.
Menu Planning Monday: My menu for the week of 6/14
June 15, 2009 by
Menu planning on a $40 budget is about to become a LOT trickier. When I am working, my kids eat breakfast and lunch at daycare. Now I am faced with the challenge of planning three meals a day for a family of 4 on $40 a week….
I’m always looking for new recipe ideas, so if you have a menu plan for the week, share it using “Mr. Linky” below!
Here’s my plan for this week:
Sunday:
Breakfast – Puffed Pancakes – I got this recipe from Marci’s blog awhile ago and tried it out. My whole family loved it and it’s super easy to make (perfect for Sunday mornings when we’re running out the door for early church!)
Ingredients:
1/2 cube butter (not margarine)
6 eggs
1 cup Milk
1 Cup Pancake Mix (or Bisquick)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 Degrees. Place butter in a 9 X 13 inch pan. Put in preheating oven until butter is melted. In a blender, combine eggs, milk and pancake mix. Pour batter into baking dish. Bake for a bout 15 – 18 Minutes until pancakes are puffy and lightly browned. Do not open oven while pancakes are cooking. Top with sifted powder sugar.
Serve with warm maple syrup or fruit toppings.
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Lasagne – I use this recipe from Barilla (if you haven’t tried their oven ready lasagne noodles yet, they are a lifesaver!)
Monday:
Breakfast – cold cereal
Lunch – peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit
Dinner – Teriyaki Chicken (freezer meal) – if you are wanting to get started with freezer cooking, this is seriously the EASIEST freezer meal to put together and a great one to start with!
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup pineapple juice
4 chicken breasts
Directions:
Mix marinade ingredients together and throw in a freezer bag with the chicken breasts. If you use it as a freezer meal, just defrost and cook as you please when ready to eat!
Tuesday:
Breakfast – waffles (Kashi ones from the Target deal)
Lunch – Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes and Poppy Seed Dressing – I LOVE pasta salad in the summer! I found this recipe on Bettycrocker.com and decided to try it out.
Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker® Suddenly Salad® classic pasta salad mix
1/2 cup refrigerated poppy seed dressing
1 1/2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
3/4 cup halved red grapes
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
Directions:
1. Empty Pasta mix into 3-quart saucepan 2/3 full of boiling water. Gently boil uncovered 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Drain pasta; rinse with cold water. Shake to drain well.
3. In large bowl, stir together seasoning mix and dressing. Add pasta and remaining ingredients; toss to combine. Serve immediately, or refrigerate.
Dinner – Spare ribs (slow cooker) and BBQ beans (slow cooker) – yes, I have two slow cookers (three actually) which is wonderful!
Baked Beans
for each 1 lb. can baked beans add:
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. syrup from pineapple juice
1 T. catsup
1 teas. prepared mustard
Add a small can of crushed pineapple or some tidbits drained
You can also add either bacon, hotdogs, or ham pieces.
I place all of this in the slow cooker on low and stir it occasionally until we are ready to serve.
Spare ribs
I got this recipe from my mother in law and my whole family just loves it!
Ingredients:
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. catsup
1 med. can tomato sauce
1 to 2 teas. liquid smoke
1 1/2 T. dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Put all ingredients in crock pot and stir…put meat in and turn the crock pot on low heat – I usually cook them for 8-9 hours and the meat is so tender that it is just falling off!
Wednesday:
Breakfast – Pop tarts
Lunch – eating out with friends after our $1 movie (we’re seeing Space Chimps!)
Dinner – Chicken Tortilla soup (slow cooker/freezer meal) – I have some in the freezer taht I’ll defrost and serve!
Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla soup
3 cans chicken broth (100% FF)
3 cans cream of chicken soup (98% FF)
3-4 chicken breasts
1 can Rotel
Mrs. Dash original seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot. Add Mrs. Dash’s seasoning to taste. Add broth and cream of chicken soup, and Rotel. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken in crock pot.
To serve: (if frozen)
Defrost in refrigerator. Reheat on stove. Serve and top individual bowls with desired toppings (tomatoes, green onions, avocadoes/guacamole, cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream, etc.).
Thursday:
Breakfast- Pancakes – My daughter loves to help me in the kitchen. Marci posted this recipe for “Simple Pancakes” and I thought that it would be a fun one to try this morning! (we’ll add the chocolate chips like she did, too!)
Ingredients:
-1 c. flour
-1 T. sugar
-2 t. baking powder
-1/4 t. salt
-1 beaten egg
-1 c. milk
-2 T. cooking oil
Directions:
-In a mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
-In another mixing bowl combine egg, milk, and cooking oil.
-Add to flour mixture all at once.
-Stir mixture just till blended but still slightly lumpy.
-Cook them up!
Lunch – Tuna sandwiches (yes, my kids will actually eat them!)
Dinner – Braised pork chops – I got this recipe from my mother in law awhile ago – I think she may have gotten it from a Martha Stewart magazine (or online)
Ingredients:
2 T. veg. oil
6 boneless center cut pork chops trimmed of fat are preferable (but any will do)
1 teas. Dijon Mustard
1T red-wine vinegar
2 T. light brown sugar
1teas. garlic salt
1 T. worcestershire OR soy sauce
Heat oil in a lg. heavy skillet over med. high heat.
Brown chops on each side 2 to 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, site together all other ingredients with 1/3 cup water. Pour over chops. Reduce heat, cover and cook until tender, about 1 hour.
Transfer chops to a serving dish. Raise heat to med. high and cook sauce until thickened….about 5 minutes. Pour over chops and serve.
Friday:
Breakfast – Scrambled eggs with ham and cheese
Lunch – Crescent dogs – My daughter happened to be next to me when I was browsing Marci’s blog (are you seeing a trend yet?) and she had posted this recipe. She has been begging me to make them ever since and I kept telling her “once summer comes.” The time has come and my daughter is super excited!
INGREDIENTS
8 hot dogs
4 slices (3/4 oz each) American cheese, each cut into 6 strips (we just used shredded cheddar cheese)
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°. Slit hot dogs to within 1/2 inch of ends; insert 3 strips of cheese into each slit.
2. Separate dough into triangles. Wrap dough triangle around each hot dog. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up.
3. Bake at 375° for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Dinner – Tator tot casserole
Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground beef
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can French style green beans
1/2 (32 ounce) package tater tots
shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef and drain fat. Stir in condensed cream of mushroom soup, water, garlic salt, cheese, and green beans. Pour the mixture into a medium-sized casserole dish and layer with the tater tots. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until tater tots are browned and crispy.
Saturday:
Breakfast – Banana Crumb muffins – I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it looked yummy!
Lunch – Eat out as a family
Dinner – Steak and baked potatoes (our HEB grocery store always runs a “meal deal” around Father’s Day that includes filet steaks and baked potatoes)
Need diaper coupons?
June 14, 2009 by
The best way to get diaper coupons is to sign up the manufacturer’s website. Join the Luvs family now and you will get their monthly newsletter, a heads up on diaper deals, and special coupons (I get mailers from them with diaper coupons every few months).
What’s hot at Target this week!
June 14, 2009 by
I’ve been having so much fun at Target lately! Since last week was my last week at work, I didnn’t have time to go because I was trying to wrap things up, so I ended up going five times yesterday! This week there are more hot deals!
WEEKLY GIFT CARD DEALS:
*Buy 3 Huggies Snug & Dry, Little Movers, or Little Snugglers diapers or Pull-Ups training pants – $8.99, get a $5 Target gift card (even if you don’t have coupons, the $8.99 price is great for diapers!)
There are $3/1 printable coupons for the Pull-Ups here (you can print two per computer)
There are $2/1 printable coupons for the Little Snugglers or Little Movers diapers here (you can print two per computer)
There were also $1.50/1 Huggies diapers coupons in the 5/17 SS#2 and $2/1 Huggies Pull Ups in the 6/14 (today) SS insert
There are also $2/1 Target Huggies coupons that came in a recent home mailer.
Here are some scenarios:
SCENARIO #1:
Buy 3 Pull-Ups – $8.99/each
Use 3 $3 Pull-Ups printables
Use $5 Target gift card (if you have one)
Spend $12.97 OOP, get a $5 gift card
SCENARIO #2:
Buy 3 Huggies diapers – $8.99/each
Use 3 $2 Huggies printables
Use $5 Target gift card (if you have one)
Spend $15.97 OOP, get a $5 Target gift card
***Don’t forget to save your receipts to submit to Caregivers Marketplace (you need receipts for at least five jumbo packs before you can submit). You will get .75 back per jumbo pack!
*Buy 5 of the following frozen treats: 1 pint Ben & Jerry’s, 1.5 qt Breyer’s, 6 pk Klondike Bars, or 24 ct Popsicles – $2.50/each, get a $5 Target gift card
The following insert coupons match with this deal:
*$1/1 Breyers Ice Cream, Any 1.5 Quart + – 05-17-09 RP (YMMV on the amount – they ranged from .60/1-$1/2 depending on your area)
*$1/1 Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Sorbet, or Frozen Yogurt, Any Pint (this is from a tear pad)
*$1/1 Ben & Jerry’s Flipped Out Ice Cream, Any – (this is from the Food Lion Sweet Dreams Booklet)
*$1/2 Klondike bars printable here
SCENARIO #1:
Buy 5 Breyer’s ice cream – $2.50/each
Use 5 $1/1 coupons
Use $5 Target Gift card
Spend $2.50 OOP, get a $5 Target gift card
SCENARIO #2:
Buy 5 Ben & Jerry’s pints – $2.50/each
Use 5 $1/1 coupons
use $5 Target gift card
Spend $2.50 OOP, get a $5 Target gift card
SCENARIO #3:
Buy 5 Klondike bars – $2.50/each
use 2 $1/2 coupons
Use $5 Target gift card
Spend $5.50 OOP, get a $5 Target gift card
*Buy 3 Kellogg’s cereals (ad specifies 18.2 oz Raisin Bran Crunch, 16.5 oz Cocoa Krispies, or 12 oz Apple Jacks), get free milk
$1/1 Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, or Apple Jacks Cereal, Any 10 Oz. + – 06-07-09 RP
*Buy 3 Lean Cuisine frozen meals ($2/each), get a free Lean Pockets
$1/4 Lean Cuisine, Any – 05-03-09 SS
Buy 2, Get One free coupon in July All You magazine (get 3 Lean Cuisines and a Lean Pockets for $4!)
*Buy DiGiorno pizza – $5.50, get a free 2 liter Coke product
$1/1 printable from coupons.com (no longer available)
*Buy Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh lunch meat (14.7 oz) and Kraft cheese singles (16 oz), get a free Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh lunch meat (lunch meat and cheese priced at $2.79/each)
*Buy 2 16 oz Archer Farms yellow or blue tortilla chips ($2.33/each), get free Archer Farms salsa (16 oz)
Use $1/1 Archer Farms chips printable here or here
*Buy 1 Welch’s Squeezable grape jelly (22 oz) and Skippy peanut butter (15-16.3 oz), get free 24 oz Orowheat bread (jelly and peanut butter priced at $1.79/each)
$1/2 Welch’s 22oz squeezable jam, jelly, spread (any flavor) or 18.8 oz reduced sugar spread (any flavor), 3-29-09 SS
.40/1 Skippy Peanut Butter Product, Any 15 Oz. + – 04-05-09 Unilever
*Driscoll strawberries or raspberries – $1.99/each
Use $1/1 Target printable here or here = $.99/each!
*Pepsi products on sale (prices not listed in my ad) – Use $1/1 Pepsi 12 pk coupons here or here
*Banana Boat Sunblock – $6.69/each
$2/1 printable here – $4.49 after coupon!
OTHER DEALS:
*There is a $1/1 ReNu contact solution printable on coupons.com (see the blue link on my right side bar). There are travel-sized contact solutions priced at $1 in the travel section at many Target stores. Use the coupon and get it free – graet for summer travel! (Thanks Money Saving Mom!)
*There are Vaseline Aloe Fresh travel size lotions priced at $.99. Use the $1/1 printable coupon here or the $1.25/1 coupon from the 5-17 RP insert to get them for free!
*There are Nexcare travel-sized bandages for $.99. Use the $1/1 printable here to get them for free
*Cottonelle Travel-sized wipes are .97. Use the $1/1 coupon from the 6/7 SS insert to get them for FREE (thanks Stretching a Buck!)
*Baked Lays are $3. There is a $1/1 printable on Smartsource.com (print it fast because they tend to go quickly!)
*Degree for Men Deodorant – $2.49 – Use the $1.50/1 printable here and the $1/1 manufacturer’s coupon from the 5/17 RP insert = FREE deodorant!
*Glade scented oil tins are on price cut for $1.67 through 6/22 (at my stores only the Dewberry scent is on sale). There is a $1.50 coupon inside (it’s right on top when you open it up reportedly – I haven’t found any yet), so after coupon, they are .17/each!
Here’s a picture of what they look like:
The following Target coupons expire on 6/20/09 and are available through the coupon generators on HCW or AFC:
*Archer Farms chips, 6-oz. or larger – $1/1 – use this with the chips and salsa deal this week! (see above)
*Archer Farms Hot dogs or Smoked Sausage – $1/1
*Chex Mix snack mixes, 6-oz. or larger – $1/2
$1/2 Chex Mix Or Chex 100 Calorie Snack Mix, Any – 06-07-09 SS
.50/1 printable here (must register) and on coupons.com
*Dixie disposable Bowls, Plates, or Grab ‘n Go cups – $1/1
.50/1 Dixie Or Dixie Ultra Paper Plates Or Bowls, Any – 05-10-09 RP
*Driscoll’s strawberries, 1- or 2-lb. – $1/1 – they are on sale this week for $1.99 (see above!)
*Frito-Lay Smartfood popcorn, 5 oz multipack – $1/1
$1/1 Smartfood Brand Snacks, Any 5 Oz. + – 05-03-09 SS
*Hefty trash bags – $1/1
$2/1 Hefty Trash Or Lawn & Leaf Bags, Any – 05-17-09 RP
$2/1 Hefty Tall Kitchen Bags, Any – 05-17-09 RP
*Kraft Mayo, Miracle Whip, or Salad Dressing – $1/1
$1/1 printable on coupons.com or here (must register) (coupons.com printable is no longer available for print)
*Morningstar Farms products – $2/2
$1/1 printable here
*Pepperidge Farms Hot dog or Hamburger buns – $0.75/1
*Pepsi beverage, 12-pk. – $1/1 – these are on sale this week – check your store for prices!
*Sutton & Dodge steakhouse quality choice Angus beef: Steak or Roast – $1/1 – check your store for markdowns!
*Target Brand Napkins or 40-ct. antibacterial moist wipes – $0.50/1
The following coupons expire on 7/4/09:
*Archer Farms deli cheese in the Deli Dept., 1-lb. or more – $1/1
*Archer Farms deli meat in the Deli Dept., 1-lb. or more – $1.50/1
*Gain Laundry detergent or Fabric softener – $1/1
$1/1 PG Year of Savings booklet
*Green Giant Iceberg Lettuce or 3-ct. Romaine Hearts – $0.50/1
*Ming Tsai dry dinner kit – $1/1
*Nivea My Silhouette body cream – $1/1
*Pace salsa – $0.50/1
$1/1 Pace Picante Or Salsa, Any 15 Oz. + – 04-26-09 SS (amounts of this coupon vary by location from .50/2 to $2/1)
*Produce item (1) AND Hefty Fresh Extend bags, 20-ct. – $1/2
*Tuna Helper, Chicken Helper, or Hamburger Helper – $1/2
$1/3 Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, or Chicken Helper Skillet Meals, Any – 06-07-09 SS
.75/3 Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, or Chicken Helper Home Cooked Skillet Meals, Any – 05-31-09 SS
.80/3 printable on coupons.com
*Ziploc Bags or Containers – $1/1
$1/2 Ziploc Brand Bags, Any – 05-10-09 SS
$1.50/2 Ziploc Brand Containers, Any – 05-10-09 SS
*The Ziploc containers and bags are priced at $2.49 at my stores – so you can get Ziploc containers for .74/each with coupons or Ziploc bags for $.99/each with coupons!
Did I miss something? Feel free to comment and share your Target deals for the week!
For more deals, check out Attention Target Shoppers.
