WInners

AND THE WINNERS  OF THE DECEPTIVELY DELICIOUS COOKBOOKS ARE:

  AMBER THOMAS
  TAMMIE BROWNING

Thanks to all that participated in this giveaway and keep your eyes open I will be doing another cookbook giveaway soon!!

Cookbook Giveaway

Who needs a last minute gift? I know some of you wait until the very last minute! :-)
This is a real quick giveaway, I have two copies of this cookbook. Would make a great gift for a mom with younger kids! I have tried some of the recipes and they turned out great! :-)

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
 Deceptiveley Delicious

Here is how it will work;

 You will have 3 ways to win one of these cookbooks.

 1. Subscribe to my blog, come back and leave a comment on this post.

 2. "Like" Working Mommas Kitchen on Facebook, come back here and leave a comment on this post!

3. Share this giveaway with all of your friends via Facebook,Twitter,Blog, etc... come back here and leave a comment on this post.

I will choose a winner randomly by the number of your comments, so PLEASE remember to come back and leave me a comment with your full name! :-)

I will have this giveaway up from Monday December 19th at 12 Noon-Wednesday December 21 at 12 Midnight. I will contact the winner on Thursday.

Open to US residents only!

Menu 12-11/12-18-11

Monday:
Cereal w/Fruit
Bento/Tuna Melt
Vegetable Beef Stew

Tuesday:
Muffins w/Fruit
Bento/L.O.
La Carrettas(Cary-Over)

Wednesday:
Eggs,Turkey Bacon and Toast
Bento/Beef and Taco Salad(Carry-Over)
Pantry Meal

Thursday:
Cereal w/Fruit
Bento/Salad
Pizza Soup w/Grilled Cheese

Friday:
YOYO
School/L.O.
Shepherd's Pie

Saturday:
Pancakes and Fruit
YOYO
Pantry Meal

Sunday:
YOYO
YOYO
Steak,Baked Potato, and Roasted Mixed Veggies

Christmas Stove Top Potpourri

When I was younger every other Christmas my family and I made the long 14 hour trip to upstate New York to have Christmas with my Mothers family. My Grandmothers house always smelled so good(partly b/c she lives in a log cabin) but I think she has other smells too. Instead of just picking up the phone and asking her(duh) I decided to try to recreate it. In comes Pinterest.

I have a confession to make...I am addicted to Pinterest!! There I said it out loud! Ha Ha
Seriously, I am though! I found this recipe the other day and decided it was time to try it.

This is so simple and has made my house smell so good the last few days!

1 orange, quartered
1/2 cup cranberries
1 tsp cloves
3 sticks of cinnamon
A bit of ground nutmeg

Put all the ingredients in a pan and fill it with water. Put on the smallest burner, at the lowest setting.
Refill water as needed, do not let it run out of water!

One pan should last through the Christmas season.

If you would like to see the original post with FABULOUS pictures go here

Catch Up + Menu 12-5/12-11-11

Hey Y'all!! Did you think I forgot about you? I have not posted since Halloween! I needed a little Bloggy break, but I am back now and have lots to catch up on! 

First, it was a sad day when Brother got his curls cut off...but he looks so handsome with a big boy cut!

I got an early Christmas present from Big Daddy!  :-) SO VERY excited!!

I tryed my hand at making,

Hutspot (Recipe coming soon)

Pioneer Pie (Recipe coming soon)

Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast

Brother had a Birthday party

Big Daddy made the cakes!!

Then I brined my turkey

Big Daddy and Brother watched the parade

 Then we had some AWESOME turkey! SO JUICY!

Still playing around with Bento since Sissy and I are on a food war...

Brother wanted to help decorate the tree...

I tryed to take some Christmas pictures to send to my Grandma...fail!

We went to a petting zoo..

We got a house guest...His name is Alex!

He has already been up to some mischief

I think that catches us up! :-)
Now on to the menu for this week...

Monday:
Avocado,Hard Boiled Eggs,Cherry Tomatoes
Bento/Salad w/Yellow Squash
Veggie Soup

Tuesday:
Cereal w/Fruit
Bento/ L.O.
Chicken w/Roasted Veggies

Wednesday:
Eggs,Turkey Bacon, and Fruit
Beef and Bean Taco Salad
Pinto Beans,Corn Bread,Taters,Sauerkraut and Wienies, Tomato&Onion Salad

Thursday:
Cereal w/Fruit
Bento/L.O.
Ratatouille Sausage Saute

Friday:
Yogurt w/Cantaloupe
Bento/L.O.
?

Saturday:
Veggie Omelet w/Turkey Bacon
?
Pantry Meal

Sunday:
Breakfast "Muffins"
YOYO
Hamburgers w/Sweet Potato Fries

Shopping 10-30-11

These are my most recent shopping trips. There have been a few sales here and there the last few weeks.

5 Kids Suave Shampoo/Conditioner and 5 Detangler = $2.97 .29cents each!!!
  Used .50/2 and B1G1 coupons

10 Glade room sprays-FREE!!!! I only paid tax!! :-)
 Used 5-$2/2 coupons
(Long Story goes with this one...bottom line,do not expect this deal it was a fluke!)

12 Travel Old Spice body wash- FREE!! Paid .78cents tax!
 Used $1/1 Old Spice coupon

FREE! Paid .68cents tax for all!
 Used $1 Cover Girl coupon

DOLLAR GENERAL:

32 Cans Libby's Veggies
On sale 2/$1
  Used 8-$1/4 coupons

Paid $9.36----Original Price: $28.48!!
Tax:$1.36
SAVED:$19.12!! :-)
 

KROGER:
 There is a great Mega-Event going on right now! :-)

5 Annie's Mac and Cheese-$1.19
 On sale with Mega Event .69cents


5 Del Monte Green Beans and 5 Del Monte Corn- .99cents
 On sale with Mega Event .49cents each

Pumpkin Carver 4in1 tool- .99cents

2 Toy Story Trick or Treat Bags- .49cents each

Light Bulbs- $1.99

Kleenex Cool Touch- $1.49
 On sale with Mega Event .99cents
 Used .50cent coupon that doubled
 FREE KLEENEX!!

Cobblestone Mill Sourdough Bread-$3.19

4 Domino's Sugar-4lb- $2.99
 On Mega Event $1.49
 Used .50/1 Domino's coupon that doubled to $1
 Paid-$1.49 each

Gerber Graduate Cereal Bars-$2.60each

Vegetable Bouillon- $1.29

Sauerkraut-$1.29

15 Cream of Mushroom/ 15Chicken Soup- .99cents
 On Mega-Event .49cents each
 Used 10  .40/3 coupons
 Paid .22cents each

2 Land O' Lakes Butter- $2.99
 On Mega Event $2.49 each

2 Kroger Mozzarella Blocks-$2.99 each
 Used .50/2 Kroger coupon
 Paid $2.74 each

2 Pepperoni- $2.99
 On Mega Event $2.49 each
 Used $1/2 coupon
 Paid $1.99 each

Kroger Pepper jack Cheese Slices- $2.29

2 Cover Girl Blush- $2.55each
 Used $8/2 coupon
 FREE + $2.90 OVERAGE  :-)

3 Ricola Cough Drops- $1.49
 On Mega Event .99cents
 Used 3- $1 coupons
 FREE! :-)

2 Cranberry Sauce-$1.49
 On Mega Event for .99cents each

5 Heinz Beef Gravy- $1.25
 On Mega-Event .75cents each

7 Swanson Chicken Broth/5 Beef Broth- .99cents
  On Mega-Event .49cents each


Paid: $64.87
Tax:$6.37
SAVED:$76.70(56%)

FOOD CITY:

10lb bag potatoes- $2.99

Carrots- .99cents

Pumpkin Carving Tool- .99cents

Peppers- $2.99

Shedd's Country Crock Butter- $2.99
 Used $1 coupon
  Paid $1.99

Chiquita: 3 Pineapple
                3 Apple Slices
                2 Carrots
 On Sale 10/$10
 Used 4 B1G1 coupons .50cents each

Paid:$15.54
Tax:$1.58
SAVED:$12.90

FOOD LION:

3 Ground Beef
 $1.86
 $1.92
 $1.95

5 Ball Park Turkey Dogs $1.40 each

4 Jimmy Dean Sausage $1.75 each

Plum Rose Ham $2.45

Oscar Myer Lunch Meat $2.79

2 Sirloin Steaks
 $2.34
 $2.15

2 Beef Bits $2.58 each

Paid:$37.55
Tax:$2.93
SAVED: ?? Not sure, they do not print savings on receipt and didn't think to write down original prices...I know the hot dogs are normally like $3 and the sausage I normally buy is $3.29.

I did go over budget this week but I think I did pretty good, especially with all the stock pile items! :-)

Here are my little football players...

             

Corn Dog Muffins and Taco Muffins

As Sissy says these are Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!!

Corn Dog Muffins

2 cups cornmeal mix
2 eggs
1 T. honey
¼ cup melted butter
1 cup buttermilk

5 hot dogs
1 cup cooked corn

Stir together all cornbread ingredients until just mixed. Add diced hot dogs and corn.
 Spoon batter into 12 muffin baking cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Taco Muffins

Use the same cornbread recipe but add left-over taco meat, corn and cheese.

I like to make a bunch of these in stick them in the freezer! Put in micro for 1 minute and they are great snacks or lunch fillers! :-)

Shepherd's Pie

This is one of the best recipes I have found for Shepherd's Pie so far! We love it! It's a great cold night meat and potato meal!

Here is what you will need:

8 potatoes
1 pound carrots ,chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion,chopped
1 jar(12oz) fat free brown gravy
1tsp salt
1/2tsp rubbed sage
1/2tsp dried thyme
1/4tsp crushed rosemary
1/4tsp pepper
1/3 skim milk(or whatever you got)
2Tbsp butter
Parmesan Cheese, Shredded

Peel, cube,and boil potatoes until tender. Drain and add milk,butter, and 1/2tsp salt. Mash with potato masher.

Add 1 inch of water to a small saucepan and add carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat cover and simmer until tender, about 7-9 minutes. Drain.

In a large nonstick skillet add ground beef and onion and cook until meat is no longer pink;drain.
Stir in the carrots, gravy,1/2tsp salt,sage,thyme,rosemary,and pepper. 

Transfer to a baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover with the mashed potatoes all the way to the edges. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.

Makes 4 servings.

Sissy loves this so much she took the leftovers in her lunch the next day! :-)  This is definitely a keeper at my house!

Menu 10-25/10-30-11

We had a BUSY weekend. Corn Maze Saturday and Circus Sunday, plus LOTS of family time! We watched some Halloween movies with Sissy and carved pumpkins last night! Love this time of year!! :-)

I just realized that I forgot to post a menu! So here is what we are having this week:

Monday:
Shepherd's Pie

Tuesday:
Yogurt
Bento/LO
Visit with YaYa and Papa!!! :-)

Wednesday:
Biscuit and Eggs
Bento/BLT(Carry-Over)
Stuffed Peppers with Corn .....Yum Yum Pudding

Thursday:
Cereal
Bento/L.O.
FALL FESTIVAL

Friday:
Oatmeal
Bento/L.O.
White Chicken Chili

Saturday:
Breakfast Burritos
YOYO
Pantry Meal

Sunday:
Biscuits and Gravy w/Eggs and Sausage
Rachel Rays Roasted Ratatouille Pasta
Sauerkraut and Wienies, Beans and Cornbread,Taters, Tomato and Onion Salad

Chicken Taco Salad

Chicken Taco Salad

1lb chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup red pepper,chopped
1/2 cup green pepper,chopped
1Tbsp Homemade Taco Seasoning
1Tbsp oil

Lettuce
Tomato
Avocado

Put chicken in a bowl with taco seasoning and let sit for at least 15-20 minutes.

Heat oil in large pan and add chicken and peppers. Let fry stirring often until done.

Simple and Yummy!

Menu 10-17/10-23-11

Yesterday we went riding in Cades Cove(along with 50,000 other people). I love going riding in the mountains with my family! It's so pretty right now too! We saw lots of deer, turkey and 1 bear!

Monday:
Cereal
Field Trip/L.O.'s
Tammies Amish Ribs w/Baked Beans

Tuesday:
Oatmeal
Bento/PBJ w/Raisins and Apples
Quesadillas w/Salsa and Guacamole

Wednesday:
Biscuits and Eggs
Bento/BLT
Hamburgers w/Sweet Potato Fries and Corn on the Cob

Thursday:
Yogurt
Bento/Cheese,Ham, and Crackers
Breakfast Casserole

Friday:
Bananas w/Toast
Bento/Pantry
Chinese Take Out

Saturday:
French Toast w/Bacon
Grilled Cheese w/Soup
Pantry Meal

Sunday:
Cereal
YOYO
Steak,Twice Baked Potatoes,Baked Beans, and Mushrooms and Onions

Shopping

SAVED 99%!!

KROGER:

I had 2 coupons that were about to expire on things that I needed so I decided to do a second trip to Kroger. Usually I only go once a week on Sunday. But I did REALLY good today! :-)  I bought 2 Peanut Butters b/c of all the hype about the prices going up soon. We don't normally eat a lot of it but, I like to have some on hand for sandwiches and such.

2 packs thin Chicken Breasts on Mark Down- One was $3.70 and one was $2.60

3 Dr Pepper TEN 2Liters-
 FREE with coupons from Sunday paper

Pine sol $1.79
 Used .50cent coupon that doubled to $1
 Paid  .79cents

Kroger Creamy Peanut Butter: $2.19

Peter Pan Peanut Butter: $2.49
 Used .50cent coupon that doubled to $1
 Paid $1.49


2 Cover Girl sharpeners: $2.69
2 Cover Girl sponges: $2.69
4 Cover Girl puffs: $2.69
 Used 4 $8/2 coupons. SO these were FREE with $10.48 OVERAGE!!! :-)
(Will use some of these in baskets too)

Paid: $3.70
Tax: $3.41
SAVED: $40.20(99%)

 FAMILY DOLLAR:

11 Nail items all priced at $1. Used $1 coupons from Sunday papers. ALL FREE :-)
Paid:$1.07 in tax!
I am going to make baskets for some teachers at Sissy's school! (Thanks Tammie)

CVS:

2 Finish Dishwasher Tabs on sale $2.99
 Used 2-$1 coupons
 Paid $1.99 each

Used $2ECB

Paid:$2.56 for both!

WALGREENS:
(Yes, I know that's alot! I DID NOT clear any shelves, these are from 3 different Walgreens on two different days and after a truck order)

Cottonelle 12pk Toilet Paper $5
 Buy 2pks and get $3RR
Used .75cent coupons, .50cent coupons and 1 $3/2 coupon
Also used $1 coupon from Walgreens October coupon book

I also bought diapers but I do not have a picture of them, I think I got 6or7 of the Huggies Slip on Diapers, they were not advertised as part of the RR deal but it did still print.
So I used my RR from the diapers on the TP and vise verse.

8 pieces of candy I got as fillers: 37cents each

Paid: $31.59 Got $18RR -Like getting them for $1.13each! :-)
Tax: $6.10
SAVED: $38.25

Pretty good day. Glad to have my toilet paper stock back up! It's really hard to believe how much I have in my stock pile from just 8 months of stocking up! I have couponed for years but really got into it right before I lost my job.  One day I will take some pictures to share with all of you! :-)

Homemade "Fall" Granola

Homemade "Fall" Granola

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats (if you want bars use steel cut oats so it will stick together better)
• 1 cup raw sliced almonds
• 1 cup raw cashew pieces
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Also need – parchment paper
• *Can use unsweetened shredded coconut and raw pumpkin seeds

Directions

1. Place an oven rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a large rimmed rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place the oats, almonds, cashews, coconut, seeds and spices in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine.
3. Heat the butter and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Stir in sea salt and vanilla. Remove from the heat.
4. Pour the hot liquids over the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are evenly moist. Turn the granola onto the prepared pan and press firmly with a spatula to create an even layer, about 1/2 inch thick. Bake until the granola is firm to the touch and a deep golden brown, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. (The granola will become crisper as it cools.) Cool completely in the pan, then lift an edge of parchment and break the granola into pieces (if making bars) or break it up into small chunks by pounding it in a zip lock bag (if making cereal). Store in plastic bags or air tight container at room temperature. The granola will keep at the height of its texture and flavor for 2 weeks. Serve with dried or fresh fruit and milk or yogurt, or eat out of hand.

*I got the original recipe from 100daysofrealfood

Avonlea- GIVEAWAY!!

OK guys..you have heard me talk about Avonlea before here and here . It is one of my favorite shows!
I was sorting through my movies the other day and realized I had a few repeats so, I decided to do a giveaway! Now 2 of you can have these movies!!
They look different but they are about 98% the same. The clipped a few parts here and there.  

So here is how it will work...

There are 3 ways to enter this giveaway:

1. Follow my Blog. You can do this by scrolling down and looking on the left hand side of my blog and you will see my Followers, I believe there is a button that says "Join this site" Once you have done that leave a comment with your name and an email on this post.

2."Like" my Blog on Facebook here. Make sure to come back and leave a comment telling me that you liked the blog on Facebook with your name on this post.

3. Share my blog/giveaway on your Facebook/Blog etc...  Be sure to come back here and leave a comment on this post with your name and email, telling where you shared.

I will choose the winners randomly and will contact them by Friday night!

Giveaway begins now(Monday at 2pm) and will end Friday at 5pm.

Not valid outside of the U.S.!!

Thank You so much for checking out this Giveaway!! :-)

Garage Sale Finds

5 Toy Story Shirts
3 Toy Story PJ's
2 Pajama Pants
TN T-Shirt
Smurf Shirt
2 Cars Shirts
1 Long Sleeve Onsie
2 Dress Shirts
1 Winter One Piece

ALL of that for $5!!! I could not believe it!! I was very excited b/c we had Disney shirts on Brother Christmas list!! Plus there is a set of Toy Story Christmas PJ's!! :-)

Condiment or Dip Server

The lady had this priced for $5 and I got her down to $2!! I love this!

I also like the bottom part to use for taco salad or something..

I got all of these flags for $2.  .50cents each! :-)

Tennessee Hoodie for Sissy. $1!!! I was going to put this up for Christmas as well but was afraid it may not fit her much longer after, so she got this and some Arthur books for getting 110% on her very first spelling test! :-)

Now...sometimes, I get those friends who are VERY generous to GIVE me clothes and things for my kids. A very nice generous friend of mine had a yard sale recently and I asked her to save me some pj's for Brother b/c I can NOT stand spending $5+ for pajamas!! I had EVERY intention of paying for them but when I went to pick them up she GAVE them to me!!! I was so excited and appreciative!! Thank you again friend!!! :-) 
Here are a few that she gave me...there was more but Brother had already worn some of them..

I also recently got a HUGE bag of clothes for Sissy! (no picture) :-(  But we really appreciate that blessing as well!! :-) 

I thank God that I have such good friends!!