Savings Angel

If you aren't interested in coupon savings feel free to skip this post :-)

This week, my goal was to try and eat what we had at home and keep the grocery bill low.  I didn't do as well as I would like and I noticed some flaws in my "system" but this is a learning process.  If I don't take specific time each week and really work on the menu/grocery list/coupons, than it doesn't go well at the store.  This week, because my mentality was to use stuff up at home, I didn't pay attention to the other items so much and in the end, it kinda backfired on me.   My total bill was around $80.00 and I was hoping for more of about $50.00 . . .but I still saved money with SavingsAngel.  The picture above shows items that would have cost $26.04 but I paid $14.78.  Most of the items are things we will use up this week, actually, so those are really good savings. 

This week was Meijer's "buy 10 get the 11th item free" week.  There are pros and cons to this sale.  I feel like I HAVE to buy 10 things or it isn't worth the 11th item but more times than not I ended up with one item over OR one item under because I grabbed the wrong item (Did that tonight!)  There are some great deals to be had but you have to check the original prices.  I picked up some of those Handi-Snacks (Cheese and Crackers) for $1.00 a piece and they normally run $2.17 but they also had a few other things for $1.00 that were either $1.00 normally OR were less than $1.00. 

Throw in all of the above with the fact that it is pouring outside, my sidewalk has water covering it that covered the tops of my shoes, my garage is becoming a swimming pool, and I really didn't want to go to the store tonight and I'll chalk this one up as a "better luck next week" kind of week :-)  I must add that I wish this rain was snow - when there is still 6-8 inches of snow in my yard, the last thing I want is rain because the only place for it to go is my sidewalk, garage, or please no . . my basement (none yet!!) Sorry all of you snow haters but this rain is a nightmare right now.  It needed to wait until the snow melted :-( 

So on that note - I'll enjoy my Chocolate Haagen-Dazs Ice cream I got for a buck ( a whole whoppin' 3.6 oz!) and relax for a few before hitting the hay!!

Chicken Pot Pie and Country Cinnamon Swirl Bread

We had a yummy dinner so I wanted to share the recipes with you!

I found this great recipe for Chicken Pot Pie over at Superchikk, one of the fun blogs I follow!  I love that it is easy, quick to throw together and easy to freeze :-)

Chicken Pot Pie
2 Pie crusts
1 egg (for egg wash)
1/2 bag frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, peas, green beans) (You can also use canned Veg-All or toss in whatever you have in the fridge/freezer)
1/2 – 1 cup Southern Style Hash Browns (I just dump these in until I think there’s enough)
1-2 chicken breasts (or whatever kind of chicken/turkey you want to use). I usually cut the chicken into small chunks and sauté with minced garlic and pepper. You can leave it raw in small pieces and bake it in the pot pie, but you have to be sure it gets thoroughly cooked. I’ve never had trouble with it, I just prefer to cook it ahead of time when I can.
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup (or so) sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste; any other seasonings desired

To prepare:
Cook the chicken with garlic and pepper.
Dump soup & sour cream in a bowl and stir together. Add salt, pepper and any other seasoning desired.
Add frozen veggies, potatoes and chicken, stir until all combined. The mixture should be thick.
Place bottom crust in pan; Brush egg wash on the inside of the bottom pie crust.
Dump the veggie mixture into the crust and smooth.
Roll out the top crust. Brush egg wash on one side, place the egg wash side down on the pot pie.
Cut off excess crust, crimp pie crust as desired. Brush egg wash on the top of the crust. Cut slits to vent.
(I put a foil ring around the edge so it doesn’t brown too quickly)
Bake at 375 for 45 min – 1 hour, until crust is golden and the insides are bubbly

Yummy!  We all enjoyed this alot!

The finished pie before it was cut

My Notes:
This is great just as it is!!  I actually used to leftover pieces of KFC chicken (two breast pieces) and it was perfect!!

And this great recipe for Country Cinnamon Swirl Bread comes from AllRecipes.com. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, 1 cup sugar and egg until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture alternately with buttermilk. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and remaining sugar.

2. Pour a third of the batter into a greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan; sprinkle with a third of the cinnamon-sugar. Repeat layers twice. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely

My Notes:  This is so easy and so yummy!  My kids just love it!!

I'm linking up with Comfy in the Kitchen!