Today is Mega-Swagbucks Day!

For those of you who already have Swag Bucks accounts, Fridays are always mega-swagbuck days, where a lot of high value swag bucks are awarded for searches!

New to Swag Bucks? Start HERE! I just recently redeemed some of mine for $55 worth of Amazon.com gift cards!

Happy Friday!

New Coffee-Mate Coupons Available!

Dear Fellow Coffee-Mate Junkies,

Coupons.com has new printable coupons up including $1 off 1 Coffee-Mate Creamers! (15 oz or larger) Print limit of 2 per computer.

Please use my coupons.com widget to the right to print your coupons!

Love,
The Fabule$$ly Frugal Mom

P.S. Save these for a sale or use at Albertsons with doublers, there have been times when I have gotten these for $.50 or even free!

Weekly Dinner Challenge - Week 5

Hello! Sorry there was no week 4 challenge last week. Naomi is in a terrible terrible two's phase right now so life around our little house has been hectic lately! So this post might be a little long, I apologize! (You can learn about my "challenge" goals in my first week's post HERE.)

Last week I did do a challenge, however it didn't turn out the greatest. I made another batch of pulled pork in my slow cooker. I had gotten a large pork shoulder for less than $5.00 so I threw it in with the last of the Kraft BBQ Sauce that I got for free a while back. Cooked it for about 10 hours and it turned out really moist and yummy! As a side dish I decided I wanted to make sweet potato oven fries, only problem, I had never bought sweet potatoes before so I didn't buy the right thing, I think they were just regular potatoes shaped like sweet potatoes, who knows! At any rate the fries turned out pretty good, just not super good, not blog-worthy anyway! I do plan to try them again, but with actual sweet potatoes next time! But dinner was under $7 and we had enough pork left over for the next night, so I steamed a little rice and it was great!

Since this week is so busy (not going to be home for dinners much) I was not planning a "challenge" per say, but when I realized I was out of teryaki sauce, I had to improvise and create! I didn't go to the grocery store either this week because we are not going to be home so I wanted to use things I already had.

I had the hubby grill up a couple of chicken breasts and I invented my own side dish. Here is what I did:

Cook 3 cups of rice
Chop up 1 cup of fresh brocoli
When rice is almost cooked, add brocoli to the rice, just place on top, it will steam
When rice is cooked and brocoli is steamed, stir in the following:
1/3 cup milk, 1 can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup, sprinkle garlic powder, salt & pepper
If you want, add a small handful of shredded cheddar for extra gooey rice
And Voila - Homemade Cheddar Brocoli Rice!

Everyone thought it turned out yummy and Naomi ate all of her's! We even finished it off for dinner tonight!

I actually did 2 challenges this week! Two in the same day even!

I have always wanted to try and make my own homemade pumpkin pie (not from a can) but I was always told it was very complicated and time consuming. Then I came across this article on one of my favorite money saving blogs last week and had to try it out! Pumpkins were only .19/lb at Smallwood's Harvest in Peshastin this weekend so we bought one especially for pumpkin puree!

I did just as the article instructed: clean, cut, scoop (with Naomi's help), microwave, blend to puree and done! I ended up with about 6 cups of fresh pumpkin puree! I couldn't wait to use it so since I didn't have the ingredients to make a pie I decided to make the pumpkin cookies listed on the article. The recipe only needed one cup of puree so I plan on making another batch of these later in the week and then will freeze the rest for Thanksgiving.


You can get the recipe for these cookies (which are SO SO good!) HERE. I also made the icing from the bottom of the recipe and they added a nice sweetness to the cookies. Trust me, this is a must make for fall!

What did you make this week? I am always looking for new challenging recipes! Feel free to comment!

Thanks go out to Money Saving Mom, Frugal Femina and Beautiful Century for their pumpkin posts and recipes!

Halloween = FREE FOOD and Store Events!

Halloween (This Saturday!) is apparently a great day to go out for dinner, because there are a ton of free food offers out there right now! I am almost bummed that we aren't spending Halloween here at home this year, but are going to Eastern Washington to visit family and celebrate my birthday, oh well, all of you will have to go to these places instead to take advantage of these great freebies!

Chipotle is offering you a free "Boo-Rito" on Halloween evening (6pm - 12am) if you come to the restaurant dressed up like a burrito! Or an ingredient in a burrito, such as lettuce or cheese.

Taco Bell is offering everyone a free Black Jack Taco from 6pm-12am on Halloween as well.

The Old Spaghetti Factory is offering a free kid's meal on Oct. 31st to any kid dressed in a costume that is 10 and under as long as an adult entree' is purchased! Not available in Minneapolis, Spokane or Newport Beach.

Bass Pro Shops Halloween Event: Go Here for information, lots of activities from Noon - 7pm!

Toys "R" Us Halloween Event: From their website: Customers can visit any Toys"R"Us store – dressed up in their ghoulish garb – on Saturday, October 31 from noon to 3pm to participate in a spooktacularly safe Halloween celebration. Toys"R"Us store employees will also be dressed in costume, showing off their spooky best. Children ages three and up who attend Geoffrey’s Trick "R" Treat Parade will receive a complimentary, reusable bag, which they can fill up with goodies and giveaways (while supplies last) as they parade around the store with everyone’s favorite mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe.

Albertsons Doublers!! Valid 10/26 and 10/27

Did you get your doublers in the mail yesterday?! Seattle Times had a 1 sheet flyer with 3 Twice The Value coupons on it!

This week Campbell's Cooking Soups are on sale for $1.00 per can.
Scenario:
Buy 6 cans of cooking soups (creams, cheddar cheese, tomato, etc.)
Use 3 $1.00/2 printable
Use 3 Doublers
Total: 6 Cans for FREE!

Cream of Chicken soup is one of those things that I always stock up on, especially for the fall and winter months as it makes excellent casseroles.

Unfortunately, I went to pick up my 6 cans today but my store was all out so I requested a rain check for 6 cans at $1.00 each. Then next weekend if we get more doublers I can use my coupons to get my 6 cans. Did you know that if a store puts an item on sale and then runs out of that item then they will give you a rain check to buy the item at the sale price at a later date, unless they advertise no rainchecks? You will get the sale price and are still able to use your coupons for the items!

No need for soup? Here is another idea:

Starbucks Ice Cream - $2.99
Use $1.00/1 Printable
Use 1 Doubler
Final Price: $.99 each
This ice cream is SO yummy!

HOT Huggies Pure & Naturals Deals This Week!

There are TWO great places to stock up on Huggies diapers this week if you are in need.

Target:

Buy any 2 Super Mega Pack Huggies (16.99 each) and receive a $5 Gift Card.

Scenario:

Buy 2 Packs of Pure & Natural Diapers (33.98)

Use 2 - 3.00/1 Pure & Natural Coupons - Found in this weeks Smart Source insert and HERE**.

Total Out of Pocket: $27.98 (22.98 for 2 packs after coupons and gift card!)

Do you get the Target baby coupons in the mail? I am not sure how to get on that list, I just know I receive one of these booklets once every couple of months. There is also a $1.50 off any Huggies diaper product in the booklet so that would make your total $21.48 since you are allowed to use one manufacturer coupon and one store coupon per item purchased.

To see some of Target's other great deals this week check out Stretching A Buck's post HERE!

Rite Aid:

Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers $9.99

Use $3/1 Pure & Naturals coupon**

or

$1.50 off Huggies Diapers from this week's Smart Source insert

Get a $3 Single Check Rebate (new to this program? Start HERE)

As low as $3.99 after coupon and rebate!

Deal Seeking Mom has Rite Aid's other deals and freebies for this week posted HERE.

I am not sure how many diapers are in the super mega or the jumbo packs (usually my price point on diapers is less than $.20/diaper) but it is a pretty good price for the Pure and Naturals since they are made of organic materials. If I make it to Target and Rite Aid in the next few days I will update this post with the price per diaper info. I am not a big Huggies fan usually but I do like these.

**If you like my blog and would like to support it, please print your coupons.com coupons from the widget in the right column of my blog, just scroll through to the Huggies Pure and Natural coupon.

New Fabule$$ Feature!

Happy Saturday Everyone!

If you haven't yet noticed, I have added a new feature to my blog. I have teamed up with Coupons.com/Brandcaster and now you can print money saving coupons directly from my site!

Just look to the coupons bar on the right side of the page and scroll through the coupons, then print whichever ones you want! So easy!

Right now there are some high value printable toy coupons on there that don't expire until after Christmas! Print yours now and save them for some great Black Friday sales!

Have a wonderful weekend! Have any big plans? Leave a Comment!

Safeway's New Everyday Low Prices Progam + a BIG Promotion!!

ATTN Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana Safeway shoppers!! Safeway rolled out their New Everyday Low Prices Program this week throughout all 4 states! This new program is lowering prices on thousands of items including ice cream, pet food, cereals, frozen foods, pasta, pizza, cheese, yogurt and salad dressing! You can easily spot the new yellow price tags below the items, they will be displaying the old price and the new lower price plus any additional discounts you will receive with your Safeway Club Card. This new program couldn't be coming out at a better time as the holidays are fast approaching and we all know how much money turkey and all the fixings can cost!

To promote this new awesome program Safeway has teamed up with Star 101.5 and over the next week they will be giving away $1,000 Safeway gift cards to 7 lucky Seattle Area customers!

How can you get in on this action you ask? It is so easy! Just head to Safeway and pick up your yellow car decal (see photo on left) at customer service or checkout and put it on your car's back window. Then listen to Star 101.5 everyday between October 24 - October 30th to find out where to get "spotted". One customer will be spotted each day!

But wait! It gets even BETTER!!

Next week I am going to be heading to Safeway myself to test out this new Everyday Low Prices Program and I will be sharing with all of you my shopping experience.

This is where it gets good: in that post the Fabulessly Frugal Mom will be doing her very first Fabule$$ Giveaway!! 3 lucky readers will get a chance to enter to win one of THREE $50 Safeway gift cards!

So stay tuned and don't forget to check back next week for your chance to enter to win! One of these gift cards could pay for Thanksgiving Dinner + holiday baking supplies!

What I got for FREE in my Mailbox this Month!

I am always on the lookout for different freebies, coupons and free money on the web! Going to get the mail has been one of those things that I have loved since I was a little kid and it is always fun when there is more in there than just bills! Naomi also loves walking to get the mail with Mommy or Daddy!


It seems like my mailbox was stuffed with free stuff this past month!

Sample + Coupons of Honey Nut Cheerios
Sample pack of feminine products
Coupons for free baby food and cereal - Get yours HERE!
Free EOS Lip Balm
Free LeapFrog Book
4 Free Magazine Subscriptions - Rolling Stone, Parents, Parenting & Shape
$25 in checks from various survey companies!

Free $5 Check from Magazines.com! I received this check just for receiving their e-newsletter! Read more HERE.
And more freebies and coupons came from one of my FAVORITE sites, Vocalpoint.com!! I have gotten so many samples, coupons and full size freebies from this company since joining earlier this year. You can read about some of the things I've received here. It's FREE to join and they only ask that if you like what you receive, you share it with your friends so that is what I am doing here!
This week I got a pack of high value coupons for Kashi Go-Lean cereal. We are big Kashi fans in this house and these coupons paired with a sale will lead to a nice stockpile of free cereal!

I also signed up at the site for a free sample of Olay's new Pro-X line and they sent me a full-size sample (28 day supply!) and 5 coupons for $10.00 off! WOW! Granted this stuff is pretty spendy at the stores but this sample should last me a good long time! LOVE this website!

What did you get for free this month? Leave a Comment!

FREE Kid's Hot Chocolate and a Small Cookie at Barnes & Noble - Saturday 10/24

Head to Barnes and Noble this Saturday (10/24) armed with this Coupon for your FREE kid's hot chocolate AND a small cookie! Woot!

Thanks Stretching a Buck!

FREE Chocolate Covered Fruit from Edible Arrangements!

Edible Arrangements is giving away 100,000 boxes of free chocolate covered fruit!

Go HERE to become a fan of Edible Arrangements on Facebook and when you do you can request your FREE box of chocolate covered fruit! The coupon will be sent to your email within a couple of days, it took 2 days to get to me. You can either take it to a store near you for totally free fruit or you can place an order online and it will be shipped to you, but you have to pay for shipping.

I am so excited to go pick up my fruit! This would also make a great birthday or anniversary gift for someone, the coupon doesn't expire until 11-21-09!

Free Sample! L'Oreal Paris EverPure Color Care System

Go HERE to get your free sample! You can also print off a coupon for $2 off. I think you have to register with the site to get the sample so remember to use the email address you have set up for newsletters!

PineCone Research - Accepting Applications! Hurry!

Speaking of online survey companies... This one is a must sign up for! They only accept new applicants every few months and they don't accept everyone. It took me two times of applying before I got accepted.

When you take surveys for them you get paid $3 per qualified survey you take and they automatically send you a check as soon as you take the survey. In my experience it is typically a 3 day turnaround. I also got an email from them recently stating that they can send money directly to your Paypal account if you prefer instead.

I highly recommend this company as do many others so hurry and sign up now while you can!

Go HERE to apply today!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!

The Drugstore Game - FABULE$$ FREEBIES at Rite Aid!

Rite Aid is looking hot this week with a bunch of items for free after rebate!

Go HERE to print your coupon for $5 off $25.

New to the wonder that is Rite Aid?

Rite Aid's rebate program is called Single Check Rebates or "SCR". Basically you go HERE to sign up and then when you shop at Rite Aid you bring your receipt home and enter some basic information into the form. You don't have to mail in ANYTHING! You can request one rebate check per month and they mail you a "check" good on your next purchase at Rite Aid. Oh and the best part - you can use manufacturer and store coupons on the items you are recieving a rebate for as well! With this program you can sometimes even make money on your purchases! For example, a couple of months ago I actually ended up being paid $15 by buying Huggies diapers! If you are new to the drugstore game this is definitely a program you want to be a part of. Read more about the program at the link above and sign up today!

As I said before, this week there are a bunch of freebies you can get! There are some great cold medicines for sale, and it would be perfect timing for cold and flu season beginning.

See a complete list of all the Fabule$$ Freebies at Frugal Living NW!

My favorite freebie this week is EOS Organic Lip Balm. Purchase for $1.99 and receive a $1.99 SCR! I received one of these lip balms for free in the mail a while back and I love it! Definitely picking up one more of these for the dry weather ahead.

Weekly Dinner Challenge - Week 3 - Adventures in Baking

The past two weeks have been a crazy blur of business with this little family. It seems like we have been here, there and everywhere lately. And with that comes a lot of eating out and quick, easy meals at home.

I have to admit that I have not been the best "Frugalista" these past couple of weeks. I am keeping up with couponing but I just haven't been able to get to the store as much to use those coupons to my advantage. I also haven't been meal planning as well and because of that I haven't planned any of my dinner challenges lately. I am hoping that the week ahead will be a little less hectic and I can get back to my goals of planning, eating better, cheaply and from scratch.

I did however, have some interesting adventures with my beloved Kitchenaid mixer the past couple of days. Let me share!

Thursday: I knew my sister's birthday was Friday and wanted to try baking a cake from scratch. Something I have never done. I have made brownies, cookies, you name it from scratch but some how a cake has never been one of those things. I took stock of my pantry and realized I needed sugar and baking powder. Off to Albertsons I went! I bought 5 lbs of Sugar and 2 lbs of Powdered Sugar for about $5. Not a great deal, I even had a coupon, oh well, this is why planning and stockpiling is a good idea. When I stock up on necessities at rock bottom prices then I don't risk last minute grocery store trips and end up spending more on something. At any rate, those were the only two things I needed to buy and Whoops - forgot the baking powder! I ended up scraping the bottom of the old jar and it was definitely past it's prime and therefore - my wonderful idea of baking a cake from scratch was a total FLOP! It was so so so bad! The cake didn't rise and looked like flat bright yellow cornbread. EEW!

Friday: I was so disappointed with the way my 1st cake turned out, but I wasn't about to let it stop me. It was time to try again! I picked up some baking powder from Safeway for $1.25 and that should last through the holiday season and beyond, not too bad. Got home and took out all of the ingredients I needed to make these Vanilla Cupcakes! I didn't need eggs because when we went to my dad's in Idaho last week he gave us a dozen, so nice! Naomi even got to gather them herself, she has been obessed with "Nickens" ever since! Here is a photo:

Then when I pulled out my flour I realized that I had used the last of it the day before for that aweful yellow cake. Thank God that I have a lovely neighbor next door who was willing to lend this terrible planner 3 cups!

Into the mixer everything went and I was AMAZED - this time the batter actually looked like cake batter and not some weird yellow science project! I put the batter into the cupcake cups and when in the oven they actually rose up! They were fluffy and moist and just like real cake! SUCESS!!

I had also never made buttercream before so I mixed up a batch of this Chocolate Buttercream and piped the icing on the cupcakes just 1 hour before my sister's party started! Whew!

All in all, it was a little stressful, a lot rushed but a lot good too and now I am hooked!

Those were my adventures in baking this week! How was your week? Feel free to leave a comment as always!

CHEAP Organic Valley Milk at Fred Meyer!

Starting tomorrow (10/18) Fred Meyer's Anniversary Sale begins!

Organic Valley 1/2 Gallons will be on sale at 50% off. Use this printable coupon HERE to get $1.00 off and your milk will be about $.64 per 1/2 gallon! That is a FABULE$$ deal on organic milk! You should be able to print 2 coupons per computer and Fred Meyer will let you purchase up to 4 1/2 gallons.

Thank you to Frugal Chic Living! You can check out her post HERE to see some more of the deals and coupon match ups for this upcoming sale!

Make Money By Doing Online Surveys!

So far in 2009 I have cashed over $150 in checks from companies that pay you for your opinion. This isn't going to make you rich and taking surveys isn't for everyone, they can be very time consuming, however if you have some spare time and want to earn a few extra bucks this is an excellent way to do it!

The most important thing to know about online surveys: NEVER PAY A COMPANY FOR A LIST OF SURVEY COMPANIES! You will find companies out there trying to scam money out of you telling you that you can make thousands of dollars doing surveys and then you have to pay them to get a list of companies to sign up for. Don't do this! You can find plenty of information out there for survey sites that is totally FREE! Including in this post!

My personal story: I started doing surveys back in April/May of 2009. I found a great website that listed a bunch of companies that I could join for free and I signed up for a few of those. There are a lot of survey companies out there, if you are just getting started pick one or two and go from there. I started receiving emails for surveys in my inbox and away I went! I take surveys whenever I want. Mostly during Naomi's nap time and in the evenings after she goes to bed while we are watching TV. I don't take every survey and I certainly don't qualify for every survey I take but I have made a good bit of money for just giving my opinion. I have also gotten to do some great product testing as well. I get paid for the 1st survey, get sent the product for free to try and then get paid for the follow up survey! I can't tell you exactly what I have tried because it is confidential but I have gotten to try things like shampoo & conditioner and even cheese! Like I said above, I have cashed over $150 in checks and that does not include the money/points that I haven't requested checks for either.

How it Works:
Once you have signed up and filled in your profiles you will start receiving emails for survey invitations. There will be a lot and remember, you do not have to participate in every survey! The first few minutes of each survey is a pre-qualifier survey to make sure you fit the right demographic. If you fit, the survey continues and you earn money in your account. Some companies will even pay you a little bit for every pre-qualifier you take as well.

If you qualify and finish the survey you will get points in your account. Once you have a certain amount of points you can "cash out". Some companies pay you right away for each survey, some you have to reach a certain amount of points before you can get rewarded. And each reward amount is different; some are $10 to cash out, some are $25 or even $50. You will typically earn between $1 and $5 per survey. Typically, the longer the survey, the more money it pays.

Getting Started!
First things first; set up a new email account just for surveys. Trust me on this one! You will receive A LOT of emails for survey invitations and this way it isn't coming into your main inbox like a tidal wave! Email accounts from Yahoo and Hotmail are free and fast to sign up for; example: samssurveys@.

Second: I recommend downloading Roboform. This will save you a lot of time because it will save your information and auto-populate a lot of info for you on those pre-qualifier surveys. Trust me again, you will get tired of entering your birthdate a million times!

Third: Sign up for some companies! This is very time consuming at first. You will need to set aside a couple of hours to fill in your profiles on the companies you have signed up for. A lot of times they will pay you a small amount for filling in your profiles and then you get surveys sent to you that you have a better chance of pre-qualing for.

Fourth: Check your email frequently and start taking surveys!

Recommended Companies: Here is a list of some survey companies that I am a part of and recommend!

Opinion Outpost - $1-$3 per survey, $5 minimum cash out.
HCD Surveys: Surveys about current world events, typically fun and short! $1-$2 per survey/$10 pay out.
MySurvey.com (please email me HERE to receive your invitation to join) - $1-$3 per survey/$10 cash out.
Gobal Test Market - $.25 per pre-screener/up to $5 per survey. $50 minimum cash out.
Toluna - $1-$3 per survey, $10 minimum cash out.
E-Rewards - Join through your Upromise account first. Your cash out credits your Upromise account.

YouData - View online ads and get paid weekly via Paypal. Not a lot of pay (Typically only $.10 - $1.00 per week) But very quick and easy money.

I apologize for the lengthy post! Was it useful? Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question!

Fabule$$ Printable Coupons!

Go HERE to print your coupons for $1.00 off Horizon Organics new Little Blends yogurts. They are little yogurts blended with real fruits and veggies! I just recently bought these and my daughter actually loved them, you can't taste the vegetable at all!

Not a coupon but go HERE to request your free sample of Little Duck Organics fruits!

Albertsons is running a HOT General Mills promotion this week beginning tomorrow (8/14). If you like Pillsbury, this would be an excellent time to stock up and freeze! Their crescent rolls go great with holiday dinners! Head over to The Krazy Coupon Lady's site HERE to get a whole bunch of printable coupons that match up with this promo.

Stay tuned... I am working on a post about how you can make money online doing surveys!! I have cashed over $150 worth of checks from these survey companies since this June!

Get Your FREE Sample!

Playtex Sport is offering a FREE sample pack! Go HERE to sign up now! Expect to receive it in about 4-6 weeks. Thanks Stretching a Buck!

Weekly Dinner Challenge - Week 2

Well I actually didn't make anything "new and different" last night as I thought I would. BUT I did make a recipe from scratch and for pretty cheap. James has been asking me for pesto again lately, I usually only make it about 4 times per year so it was good timing this week since we are going out of town again for the 3rd weekend in a row!

I have made this recipe many times before, I even wrote about it once already this year on a different site but I wanted to share how I did it and for how much. A few of the ingredients I already had and didn't need to spend money on were: olive oil, pine nuts and garlic. The recipe doesnt call for much so when I do buy the supplies they last for quite a few batches.

The things I did buy for last night's dinner were:

-I bought a basil plant for $2.99 at Trader Joe's last week. I do have a plant already but it has not re-grown since my last pesto batch and I am trying to make sure it doesn't die.

-I bought 6 oz of parmesan cheese flakes for $2.99 but only used about about a 1/4 of the container so I will use this in many other meals.

-Pasta, I had a coupon for Barilla Piccolini pasta and got that for $1.00

-Chicken, Manager's special on 2 yummy pre-seasoned/marinated breasts $1.89

TOTAL: $8.87 - Not super cheap and the cost would be higher if you have to buy the other 3 ingredients but it was a delicious and large meal for under $10 this time around.

Here is how I made it:

- 2 packed cups of fresh basil leaves

- 3 fresh cloves of garlic, depending on how much you like garlic (I put in 3 large cloves)

- 1/4 cup of pine nuts (Walnuts will work as a substitute but I think the pine nuts give it a good bite.)

- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese - I crumble up a fresh block or you can buy fresh shredded, don't use the dried stuff.

- Olive Oil! 1/2 cup should do the trick, but you may need to add a tiny bit more if it's looking dry.

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and make sure you do a taste test before you take it out. Most of the time I end up adding more basil and parm to mellow out the garlic just a bit. One very important thing - do not heat up the pesto! Toss it with hot pasta and the heat from the pasta will warm the pesto. I also cubed and cooked the chicken and tossed that with the pasta and pesto and added a few extra flakes of parm to complete the meal. You should have plenty of left overs to eat cold the next day as well!

What recipe did you try this week? Comment PLEASE!!

Free Birthday Treats!

October and November are two of the busiest months for birthdays in my family. It's always fun to find places that will give you freebies on your birthday or during your birthday month.

http://www.freebirthdaytreats.com/

This website is an excellent resource for finding restaurants, retailers and entertainment places that will give you freebies and discounts on your birthday, your kids' birthdays and even your pet's birthday!

Weekly Dinner Challenge! Fabulessly Frugal Grilled Pizza!

I have recently become inspired by many of my friends to start challenging myself in the kitchen. Thanks mainly to Emily, Tasha and Rebecca! They are doing a variety of things that have really made me think that I would like to do much of the same things they are. I want to start making not only healthier, but more challenging meals that also don't break our weekly budget.

So I have decided to do a new challenge of sorts. At least once a week (maybe more), prepare a new meal that I have not attempted before and do it as cheaply as possible.

I started this off a couple of weeks ago when I got pork shoulder for very cheap and made pulled pork bbq in the slow cooker for the first time and it turned out great.

I didn't use a new recipe per say this week but I did try to imitate something James and I ate on vacation a few weeks ago. We went out for lunch at a clay oven pizza place and had an amazing slice of thin crust pizza with red sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and thin slices of meatballs. It was SO good that I was determined to figure out a way to make it myself at home. When I was at one of my favorite stores yesterday, Trader Joe's, I bought some fresh pizza dough, sauce and frozen meatballs. While not everything was from "scratch" I did figure out a challenging way to prepare it; on our gas grill.

I have made pizza at home before but usually the crust turns out bad, too thick or too thin and not crispy at all. Making it on the grill gave it an excellent crispy, wood-fired type feel and it was excellent!! I think it was as close as we could've gotten to that pizza we ate in Vegas!

How I did it:

Pizza Dough (I bought this pre-made simply because I knew it would turn out) Roll out into 2 thin 8 inch rounds, brush bottom with olive oil and put on a low-med pre-heated grill. Cook for approx 2-4 min depending on thickness, brush top with olive oil and flip over.

Toppings:

Quickly add your toppings as the bottom will get crisp fast.

Red Marinara Sauce

Ricotta Cheese

Mozzarella Cheese

Thin slices of spicy Italian meatballs

Thin strips of fresh basil

(You could also toss on a few pine nuts for extra flavor and crunch)

Close lid and let cook about 5 min or until cheese is melted in the center.

We made two pizzas (yummy leftovers!) and since the process is so quick I recommend doing one at a time. When the first is finished, slide it to the side of the grill that isn't on and it will stay hot until both are ready.

I made this dinner for about $10!! Pizza Dough $1.29, Pizza Sauce $2.29, Meatballs $3.19, Ricotta $3.50. Plus, I have enough ingredients left over so that we can make it again next week!

Enjoy! I know we did!! Tune in next week to see what's new in my kitchen and for how much! Also, feel free to leave a comment with some suggestions, maybe I'll take on one of your suggestions!!

1st of the Month! That Means New Coupons!

It's the 1st of October and that my friends means, NEW COUPONS!!

Printable Coupons: You may print each coupon twice.
Coupons.com
SmartSource.com
RedPlum.com

E-Coupons:
Upromise.com (Need Account)
Shortcuts.com
Cellfire.com

I also want to apologize for my sparse these past couple of weeks. I started a new job and it has been hard getting used to working again after 2 years. I work in the mornings and home by mid-day for Naomi's naptime but I seem to have ZERO energy to do much in the afternoons. I am working on eating healthier right now so I am hoping some of my food choices will give me more energy during my mid-day slump!