Back to School :)

I can't believe it's that time already but apparently it is because I keep getting mail from Harmony Elementary and Pacific Middle School.

This last week at Safeway we had an opportunity to get boxtop for education catalina's and at the time i didn't think too much about it, it seems like such a small thing...

However, I received a welcome letter from Harmony today and in it it says that last year we alone (via various fundraisers etc) as a school raised $25,000 to be used in our school. This paid for;

Additional field trips,
New playground equipment and PE equipment,
New Library books,
Summer Reading program (the library was open in the summer for activities etc..
Art Discovery Program
All School Read (this was really fun last year, every child in the school receives a brand new copy of a chosen book and the whole school reads it together and has related activities and discussions etc.
Additional educational materials for staff

Wow! I can't wait to send in my boxtops!

Lentil Soup

Over the years, I have had so many requests for this recipe I have lost count!

When Brian turned 1, I remember vividly stepping on the scale and seeing that my last 28 lbs of post pregnancy weight was still with me. At that moment i decided to part ways with it as it no longer served me to maintain the relationship.

Over the following months the weight slowly started to disappear and I can partially credit this wonderful soup. It's hearty, filling and satisfying. I would make a big batch and freeze in serving size containers.

This recipe makes 14 cups. Each cup has;
111 calories
127 mg sodium
less than 10% fat and high in fiber

4c. low sodium chicken broth (if not watching your sodium you can use bouillon)
4c. water
1 c. dry lentils, rinsed
28 oz can whole or chopped tomatoes (I always chop) with juice
6 oz. tomato paste
1 Tb brown sugar
1 c. each; sliced carrots, italian green beans (or a bag of frozen mixed)
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic (or a big spoonfull of jarred garlic)
1 c. small dry pasta (you could also use rice)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp each; basil, oregano, thyme, black pepper and marjoram ( sometimes use 1 T. Italian seasoning)
1/4 c. wine vinegar

In large pot combine broth, water, lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vegetables and garlic.
Bring to a boil, lower heat, simmer 30-45 minutes.
Add 2 more cups of water, pasta, spices and vinegar, simmer 30 minutes.

If you are going to freeze some, now is the time to do it before the pasta gets too soft. If you are not going to freeze, you can put it in a crockpot and just leave it on low so people can serve themselves as they roll in the door :)

Since we are nearing fall, I thought it would be a good time to share this wonderful recipe. Again.

xo,

G

Rolling those Walgreens Register Rewards

It's so rewarding, lol!

I paid .46 cents plus tax for all this stuff
Recieved $13 Register rewards to use next week
Submit $3 Rebate Finesse
Submit Schick Hydro Rebate $9.99

Thats $9.18 profit Plus $13 Register rewards

Anybody make it to Walgreens this week??

Dad babysits while Mom shops :)

.44 after tax

Riteaid just does it for me, ya know?




I needed a few more Olay items to submit my 'buy $50 get $20 rebate'.

http://www.olay.com/publishingimages/offers/rebate/july232010/crossbrand/20_olay.com.pdf

4 Olay b1g1 half off ($7.99, $3.99, $6.29, $3.14)
4 m&m candy $2.50 each ($10)
total $31.41 plus $1.51 tax

Coupons used;
$5/20 RaQ
(2) b1g1 free Olay from newspaper insert ($6.99 each is the value of the q)
(2) $1 Olay cleanser
(2) $1 on skincare RAQ (at this point I'm -$1.57!)
(3( $1 m&m
(1) b2g1 M&M free
(1) $1 wyb $10 bagged candy RAQ
(1) $3 +up reward Q
total: $32.48

Paid .44 cents cold hard earned cash :)
Recieved a $1 +up reward for the M&M's (this is RiteAid "cash", to be used toward anything I buy next time.

Now I can submit my $20 Olay rebate!

More Sisters fun

Click on the picture to see the whole thing. I pushed a dry Kelly into the pool, hahaha, she was shocked!!

sisters

http://mail.aol.com/32360-111/aol-1/en-us/mail/get-attachment.aspx?uid=1.28267971&folder=NewMail&partId=14

I Lied

People frequently ask me if now that I coupon, do I buy things I wouldn't normally buy?

I didn't think I did, but the more I think about it..... I DO!

Here is an example;

This is a picture of some items I recently purchased at Target. (The fact that I was there doing my Christmas shopping is a whole nother story, lol!)

Anyway, Chef Boyardee isn't anything we really eat and before couponing I didn't buy much candy. However, when Brian is in town he Loves this stuff as well as some of Keenans friends. And when I break it down, it doesn't seem so bad...

Wonka dark chocolate on sale 2/$6
Chef Boyardee .87

Used (2) $1 Target q Wonka
used (2) $1.50 Manufacturer q Wonka that I printed
used (3) $1 Target q Chef Boyardee

Paid $.61 for $9.61 worth of stuff.

My trio of Chef friends are holding down the fort in my food storage and the Wonka is lounging in a pretty candy dish :)