Although, coupons have been a struggle for me for quite some time, I’ve been researching it, and finally put the effort in this past week for Harris Teeter triples!

Here were the results. In 3 shopping trips, using around 50 coupons, including items that we did not have coupons for…

Total saved: $155.56

Total spent: $62.56

I’m sure you might want to know if this is items that we would normally buy. Admittedly, some of the items are NOT, but most are, we racked up on items like turkey bacon, reynolds wrap, household cleaners, croutons, hot sauce, frozen fruit, french fries, canned fruit, jello snacks, mustard and more. Some of these items I will donate to the food bank. And others I will find creative uses for!

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Fresh Broccoli
1 Cup Carrot, Diced
3 Cups Tap Water, Divided
1 Sm Onion, Chopped
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup (98% ff)
2 Cans Cream of Celery Soup (98% ff)
1 Can Evaporated Lowfat Milk
2 Cups Skim Milk
6 Oz Velveeta 2% Cheese, Cubed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Steam broccoli and carrots till tender, reserving liquid. Chop broccoli & add broccoli & carrots to 3 qt crockpot. Add enough water to reserved steaming liquid to make 3 cups & add to crockpot along with remaining ingredients. Cook on high approximately 3 hours, (till onions are tender & cheese melts) stirring occasionally.

Oh my, it’s so delicious!
This is also, surprisingly Weight Watchers friendly, it serves 12 @ 2 Points each

It’s hard to make grocery listing and planning fun, I think. Although it is necessary and can give you a sense of success when saving lots of money happens. (Speaking of, super doubles at Harris Teeter this week!) I found this cutest ever idea to make a grocery list with matching clip board and pen box accessories! If it’s too much for you to do the clip board idea, the lists are cute and useful, too.

Download the lists here:

-grocery list
-menu grocery list
-grocery list items

Enjoy! Happy listing and saving!

I’m still going with the “best of 2009′s” but I’m a few days behind. So here is my attempt to catch up!

Best restuarant moment; Would have to be any time I go to Osteria Chicetti, I mean, this place is incredible. The atmosphere, the food is sensational, and the price isn’t so bad either! The italian salad is to die for, the Parma pizza is a delicious combination of flavors, and my friends and I swoon over their white bean dip.

Best Article: Pretty much, I’ve searched and I’ve looked and I guess the conclusion is that I didn’t keep track of articles very well. I did love this article. An article about “how to be happy in business” the venn diagram shows off where I am and where I’d like to be – I like the article for delivering practical perspective. [Dear Kelly in 2010, please keep track of articles better.]

Ingredients:
1 medium Onion chopped
1 clove Garlic, mined
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup All purpose flour
1 teaspoon Salt
2 cups Chicken broth
1 1/2 cups Milk
4 cups 16 oz. Mozzarella cheese shredded; divided
1 cup Parmesan cheese; grated, divided
1 teaspoon Dried basil
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon White pepper
2 cups Ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon Fresh parsley; minced
9 Lasagna noodles; 8 ounces cooked and drained
2 package 10 oz each; frozen spinach thawed and well drained
2 cups Cubed cooked chicken

Instructions:
In a saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in the flour and salt; cook until bubbly. Gradually stir in the broth and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano and pepper; set aside. In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parsley and remaining mozzarella; set aside. Spread one quarter of the cheese sauce into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish; cover with one third of the noodles. Top with half of ricotta mixture, half of spinach and half of chicken.Cover with one quarter of cheese sauce and one third of noodles. Repeat layers of ricotta mixture, spinach, chicken and one quarter cheese sauce. Cover with remaining noodles and cheese sauce. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese over all. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered; for 35-40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes.

I believe that recipes are best when they are shared, so here is the recipe I used for the chicken chili at the Pumpkin Party on Halloween! Enjoy!
Ingredients

* 1 1/4 lbs boneless skinless chicken

* 2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans or navy beans

* 1 (15 ounce) can hominy or white corn (I used hominy)

* 1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning (I used spicy taco seasoning!)

* 1 (4 1/2 ounce) can of chopped green chilies

* 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

* 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* chopped green onion (optional)
* monterey jack cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Place chicken in a 4 quart slow cooker.
2.Top with beans and corn (or hominy).
3   In a medium bowl, combine taco seasoning, chiles, condensed soup, and chicken broth. Pour over top of ingredients in the crock pot.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. (I cooked it on high for 5 hours due to time)
5.Before serving, stir gently to break up chicken, then stir in the sour cream. (At the same time I took the chicken out and shredded it, then put the chicken back in the mixture)

6. Serve topped with green onions and jack cheese, cilantro (delish) and sour cream, if desired (and you should desire it!)

Serve and enjoy!

This morning I was fortunate enough to catch Healthy Apetite on Food Network, and discovered a few new recipes that I tried out today. Delicious roasted red pepper & mozzerella stuffed turkey burgers (recipe) and baked onion rings (recipe). Then, I was craving key lime pie, so I went ahead and made that of those too.

The finished results are tasty so far, although I’m waiting on a friend and her mom before I dive into the key lime pie. Pie is meant to be shared.

It’s been a delicious day so far.