Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken & Vegetables

One of our favorite Sunday dinners is easily a roast chicken dinner.  There are many ways to make a roast chicken, either whole or pieces, and they are all easy and delicious.  One of our favorites is Lemon Chicken.

I start by thoroughly washing a chicken and letting it dry a bit.  Meanwhile I cut up carrots, onions, celery and potatoes.  I find yellow or red potatoes more flavorful.  I coat a baking dish with non stick spray and arrange the vegetables in the pan.

After seasoning both sides of the chicken with lemon pepper I place the pieces on top of the vegetables.  I cover the dish with a sheet of foil and place in the oven for an hour at 350° for an hour before removing the foil and allowing it to bake another thirty minutes. 

The chicken falls off the bone and the juices flavor the roasted vegetables to perfection.  Leftovers reheat beautifully too.

Our Fun Day Out

After working our little fannies off getting our house in order I wanted to treat myself and my girls to a nice day of shopping and going to lunch.  I was inspired by my friend and fellow blogger over at Blessed Beyond Measure to do it sooner, rather than later.  Sometimes in the middle of a lot of hard work you need to take a day off and do something fun.  Saturday was our day to do exactly that.

Friday night I gave the girls their allowance along with an additional $5 bonus.  I told them it was because they had been working so hard and doing such a good job in helping me get things cleaned up and put away, plus they had helped me get the RV ready to sell and had been incredibly patient and resilient during the whole move in process.  I am very proud of them.

We started out Saturday morning checking out thrift stores looking for gifts, items for our house or whatever caught our fancy.  As it turned out there wasn't much that we found that was worth buying.  Not much tempted us to part with our hard earned cash.  So we went to lunch.

I had received a gob of coupons to area restaurants.  Normally I toss these in the recycle bin but last time I received them I decided to cut some of them out and put them in the glove compartment of our truck.  We went through them and decided to go to Burger King.  We ordered two Jumbo Jack meals complete with fries and a refillable drink for me and my oldest for $7.99.  The youngest ordered a 10 piece chicken nuggets for $3.  It came with fries.  It was more food than we could eat but quite enjoyable.  We left feeling pretty full and ready to tackle a few more thrift stores.

In the afternoon we took another break and stopped in to visit the mom of a friend of ours at the nursing home.  She loves it when the girls come to see her.  We stayed for about an hour and then headed off to check out more thrift stores.  At this point we still hadn't bought anything.

At the final store we went to I found a brand new Belgian waffle iron for $4.99.  I thought it would be nice to have so we could make more waffles in a shorter amount of time and we could eat together instead of in shifts as we often do so everyone gets a hot waffle.  We tried it out on Sunday and I really was nice.

As we were leaving the store my daughter was checking out the bargain table set up outside.  The sign said "Fill A Bag For $1".  We rummage around in all the stuff and my daughter picked up a purse to move and I recognized it as a Kate Spade.  It was in wonderful condition except that it appeared to have had something spilled all over it.  I checked it out and inside was a matching wallet in equal condition.  My thought was for $1 I could risk it and see if I could clean it.  We grabbed a bag and stuck it inside.

We also found a freezer container, three votive candle holders, a laundry sign we felt we could makeover, a wooden matte for a picture frame, a cute little wicker basket and a decorative hook that I thought would be nice in our garden or on our porch to hang a flower basket on next spring.

After that bonanza we headed back toward home and stopped for gas before heading over to A & W for a root beer float.  I used a coupon that got us three medium sized floats for 99¢ each.  We also used another coupon to get an order of fried cheese curds for $1.99.  They were really yummy.

On the way home we stopped at ShopKo to get a few things that were on sale in their flyer and use one of the $10 coupons I was given at my last visit.  I treated myself to the cutest long sleeved top on sale for $7.88 regularly $19.99.  We found flip flops on clearance for $1.59 a pair so the girls each picked out two pair to put up until next spring.  I bought two of their basic pillows on sale for $2.88 each to use with my new pillow shams for my bed.  I also wanted to get a rug for the downstairs bathroom.  I found a nice one on sale for $15.  I wanted a good quality one that won't fall apart after a few washings.  It is also super soft on bare footsies.  I picked up a bag of cat food on sale and used a $1 coupon.  I also grabbed another bag of Milky Ways off the clearance shelf for my new pumpkin jar. 

We finished off our day by going home and making up a veggie plate with dip.  Healthy snacks to counter our junk food lunch and afternoon snack.  After putting away our new purchases we settled in to munch and watch a marathon of How I Met Your Mother on our Roku.  It was the perfect way to end our day.

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday morning I went to Albertson's right after breakfast and picked up a bunch of stock-up items for the pantry and freezer:

48 pkgs. of ramen - on sale for 2/25¢

6 containers of frozen juice concentrate - 50¢ each

4 cake and brownie mixes - 75¢ each

2 tubs frosting - 2/$3

4 pkgs. Of flour tortillas - 75¢ each

16 sauce & gravy packets - 25¢ each

4 cans tuna - 69¢ each

1 dozen eggs - $1

2 pkgs. extra lean ground beef - marked down $2.04 & $ $2.68

2 pkgs. chicken thighs - marked down $1.17 & $1.77 - Great price!!

I sold the camper shell off my truck and our RV on Craigslist.  So long tiny house, but... Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I made three loaves of whole wheat bread.  I gave one loaf to a friend which made him pretty darn happy.

I made a big pot of chili in the slow cooker and put up three containers in the freezer.

We made a double batch of applesauce muffins for our weekday breakfasts.

We made homemade pizza.  It was delicious!

On the way home from work I stopped at Fred Meyer for fresh produce and picked up some veggie dips and salad dressings from the markdown area.

Friday night I went to ShopKo to pick up two captains bed frames for the girl's bedroom.  I had been waiting for them to go on sale and this week they did.  Regularly $249 each they were on sale for $98.88 each.  When I checked out at the register they gave me two $10 coupons good at my next visit.

While I was at Shopko I also bought a clear glass pumpkin jar I have wanted for a very long time and a bag of Milky Ways off the clearance shelf to put inside.  The jar was on sale $4.88 and the candy was $1.85.  I can use it all fall until Christmas time.

Saturday we did some thrift store shopping and went out to lunch, which I'll touch on more later.

In the last week I have watched gas prices drop 24¢ a gallon.  Yaaay! I stopped to fill up my gas tank Saturday, first time in a month, and used my rewards points to save an additional 40¢ a gallon.  Extra Yaaaaay! 

What did you do last week to save money?

I've Decided To Make Some Christmas Cards

With less than three months left until the big day I decided it is time to get in gear and get in the spirit.  I had planned to pick up a box of Christmas cards at the dollar store since I had sold off the bulk of my stock at a yard sale and then subsequently sent out what I had saved last Christmas leaving me with exactly zero cards left.

One thing we do have an abundance of around here are craft supplies so it seemed rather silly to spend money, even a dollar, to buy something I can make myself.  Plus I love making them!

I did a post early on in January of 2013 about how I make my Christmas cards so I thought I'd review with all of you because this weekend I plan on sitting down with a nice warm beverage and making a set of these for myself.  These are pretty stinking easy and you don't have to have a lot of artsy talent to make these.  That is why I can do it. J

Three Christmases ago someone sent me an email with this super cute picture in it.  I liked it so much that I saved it so I could make Christmas cards with it.  You are welcome to use the picture if you'd like.  Here are the instructions. 

Once I get these done I will be ready for card sending this year.  All I’ll have to do is print off my mailing labels, which I have already updated, and buy some Christmas stamps when they become available at the post office.  I also like to tuck in a little Christmas letter and pictures of the kiddos too. 

Do you send out Christmas cards?  Do you write a Christmas letter or take a family photo?  Have you ever made your own Christmas cards?

My Uber Thrifty Month In Review - September

This month was anything but a money saving venture, but my thriftiness leading up to this point certainly made everything we needed to do possible.  Moving expenses coupled with the back-to-school expenses made it a real challenge but I'm thrilled with how it all worked out.

I was able to pay all of our monthly bills and add to our Christmas fund.  However, I did not add to my savings accounts.  Amazingly, I did not have to move any money out of savings this month, so that was a relief.

I used my excellent credit standing to take advantage of some six month and twelve month same as cash offers to purchase our living room furniture and my new bed.  I used my state tax refund to pay off half of the living room furniture.  I used my earned overtime to pay off the credit card I used to purchase the dining room furniture.  I paid cash for everything else.

I maximized my budget to refill our pantry and freezer by scouting out sales at three different grocery stores and using as many coupons with those sales items as I could to bring the costs down even lower.  I stuck to our meal plan, jostling around those meals based on what we had purchased each week so I didn't feel the need to make additional purchases and thereby spend more money on things than I wanted to.

I did some investment cooking too by making a good sized batch of chicken broth and some refried beans for the freezer.  I find that investment cooking is a great way to inexpensively and healthfully add basic staples to our food storage.  I saved money by making bread and buying less of it from the store.  Homemade bread is so much better anyway and I enjoy making it.

We were careful to use up our food and leftovers before any spoilage occurred and avoided a lot of food waste.  Nothing irritates me more than to toss out food.  To me it is like throwing money right into the trash.

I carefully kept track of all my spending and regularly kept tabs on my bank account to avoid overspending.  I also made sure I didn't put anything on my credit cards that I didn't already have money to pay it off with when the bill came due.

To top things off I switched over from the temp agency to a permanent company employee.  Instead of getting paid weekly I am now paid semi monthly.  My first paycheck was mailed to me on the 19th of August but didn’t make it.  Buy the time they reissued it I had gone almost four full weeks without a paycheck.  Now my direct deposit is set up and we've had not paycheck problems, thankfully.

My much shorter commute meant I filled my gas tank once and despite the fact that I had plenty of errands to run I still ended the month with a quarter tank of fuel!  Not to mention how much extra time I have in the mornings and evenings now that I'm no longer stuck in traffic. 

So that is pretty much it in a nutshell.  As I look back on the month I am amazed I accomplished as much as I did with as little as I spent.  I feel truly blessed too.

Monthly Meal Plan - October

Okay, what the heck?!?  Weren't we just talking about my birthday?  Where did September go?

Well, obviously I have no control over the time so I'll just post this month's menu plan instead.  Here goes:

Cheese Omelets

Pork Fried Rice & Egg Drop Soup

Pepperoni Pizza

Hamburgers & Fries

Roast Chicken

Bean & Cheese Burritos

Pasta & Italian Sausage

Ham & Cheese Quiche

Chili Dogs

Quesadillas

Vegetable Lasagna

Meatloaf & Baked Potatoes

Ground Beef Tacos

Taco Salad

Buffalo Chicken & Rice Pilaf

Sausage Pesto Pizza

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

Chicken & Dumplings

Pasta Marinara

Denver Egg Scramble

Spanish Rice

Thai Noodle Soup

Nachos

Split Pea Soup

Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Macaroni & Cheese

Mushroom Gravy & Rice

Patty Melts

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I based this meal plan off of what items I already have in my pantry and freezer.  I have a basic weekly shopping list of produce to make salads and sides to go with the main entrees.  It all sounds pretty good to me. 

What is on your meal plan for this month?  I want to hear about it!! J

The Joy Of Spray Paint

Got something a little on the ugly side?  Just grab a can of spray paint and make it darling!

Our little mini fridge was beginning to show its age and a couple of scratches on the side had decided to rust.  Not the shabby chic look we were going for and since it still works like a champ we weren't too motivated to trash it either.

My oldest decided she wanted it in her new "teenager hangout/bedroom" so we decided to paint it.  She chose a can of turquoise paint at Home Depot and we got to work.  After spending a little time cleaning up the outside of the refrigerator she carefully masked it off with painters tape.  Then she gave it a final wipe down with a clean rag and some rubbing alcohol to make sure there wasn't any type of residue on it that would cause the paint to lift.

I had the pleasure of doing the actual painting.  I gave it two coats and two hours later it was ready to move upstairs to the "hangout".  She loves it and I think it turned out fabulous.

That project motivated me to grab a can of gloss white and give our stair rail a fresh coat of paint.  It had been awhile since it had been painted and the tenants had removed it to bring down their furniture from upstairs and had left it leaning against the living room wall.  May as well spruce it up before I go to the trouble of re-installing it.  Right?!

We cleaned it off and gave it a once over with rubbing alcohol just like the fridge.  It amazed me how much stuff came off the railing with the rag and alcohol after it had just been cleaned.  After two good coats of paint and a couple hours to dry the three of us girls got it back in the house and screwed into place on the stairs.

How cute is this!?!

It felt really good to give two worn out items a much needed facelift.  I almost forgot how much I love these kinds of projects.  Now they are done and I am fueled to get going on another one.  Hmmmmm.  I wonder what it will be? 

It's really good to be home.