Earth Day Deals

I'm not a big Earth Day person because I do not believe you should celebrate "Mother Earth" since God created the earth......but hey, there's free stuff up for grabs, so why not get in on the action. I am trying to use re-usable bags so I do need to add to my collection. Go HERE to find all the deals, savings and free bags this month for earth day.

Some of the deals out there for using a reuseable bag:

Target- On April 18th Target will be giving away 1.5 million reusable bags. Every time you bring a bag with you, you will receive .05 cents off your bill per bag.

CVS pharmacy- will pay ExtraCare reward card members $1 back for every four shopping trips where they decline plastic bags; whether you use a reusable bag or carry out your items.

Safeway (Vons)- Look in the Vons add in the store for a coupon for a free reuseable bag with a $40.00 purchase.

Trader Joes- You will receive a raffle ticket for each bag you bring in for your groceries for a chance to win $25.00 GC. You have to ask for your tickets.

I just received this email...score!

Dear Lora,

We have received your request for a free EarthGrains reusable shopping bag and are processing this as quickly as possible. To thank you for being patient, we'll be sending you an additional bag! Your bonus bag will be a handy EarthGrains drawstring tote bag - and it's yours FREE.
Please expect arrival of your two EarthGrains bags around May 1st - May 15th. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our consumer affairs department at 1-800-323-7117.
Thanks again for your patience and continued support of our Earthgrains bakery products. We hope that you enjoy your additional bag!

Your Friends at,
The EarthGrains Baking Company

Nutritious Banana Bread

I felt like cooking yesterday and made this banana chocolate bread that is nutritious and lower in calories.


Recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp each of baking soda and powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3 mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used non-fat)
2 eggs
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.
2. Mix all the dry in ingredients in a bowl and stir together.
3. Whisk together bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter and vanilla. Add dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and fold in chocolate chips. Do not over mix.
4. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

174 calories
6 grams protein
6.2 grams total fat
27 grams carbs
3.5 grams fiber

I took the recipe out of Taste of Home and switched a couple of the ingredient to what I had on hand. You can use wheat bran instead of wheat germ and they say to use 2% yogurt, but I did not notice a difference with fat free yogurt. Next time I am going to make it with whole wheat flour. It turns out really moist.

Lora's Homemade Chili

Recipe:
2 pounds ground beef chuck
1 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 regular size can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 jar Pace Picante sauce
1 cup beer (I used a lager)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos®
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
2. Add the onion, Pace Picante sauce, and beer. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, basil, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.

I served the chili with Frito's, cheese, tomatoes (green and red from Farmer's Market), lettuce, onions and light sour cream. I put avocado in mine and it was really good!

Italian Pork Stew

My sister gave me a bunch of her canned tomato products since she can't eat tomatoes right now. I have planned a couple recipes using all these crushed tomatoes and tomato sauces I have received. Thanks!

Ingredients and my new dutch oven.

Brown the pork first by cutting the pork up in 1" cubes, coating the pork with flour and browning it on both sides.

Add all the ingredients together and then the pork, cover with lid and simmer.

Serve over bow tie pasta and top with parmesan cheese.


This may seem like a lot of ingredients, but it did not take long to throw everything together and then you just let it simmer for 2 hours.

Recipe:

2/3 cups flour
2 lbs. boneless pork loin, cut into 1" cubes
4 tbsp of olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes (I used crushed)
1 cup dry red wine or beef broth
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 tsp each of dried oregano, basil and sage leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup minced parsley (I put spinach in mine instead)
Hot cooked bow tie pasta
Grated parmesan cheese

1. Place flour in a large Ziploc bag. Add pork, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. In a dutch oven, brown the pork in 3 tbsp of oil in batches. Remove and keep warm.

2. In same pan, saute onion in remaining oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add tomatoes, wine, bay leaves, cinnamon, tomato paste, vinegar, anchovy paste, herbs, salt, pepper, chili flakes and pork; bring to a boil.

3. Reduce heat; cover and simmer or 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally (I added a little water while cooking). Stir in parsley or spinach and cook 30-60 minutes longer or until meat is tender. Discard bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Serve with pasta and sprinkle with cheese.

It was a good rainy day dinner.

Meal Plan Monday

Sunday- Turkey Cheeseburgers with sweet potato fries

Monday- Italian Pork Stew (I will post the recipe)

Tuesday- Chili Boats with homemade chili, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce

Wednesday- Leftovers

Thursday- Lettuce wraps and chicken cilantro pot stickers

Friday- I'm gone for a seminar until Saturday night

You Can't Pass This Up!

Target Deal

In today's paper there was a $5.00/1 coupon for Extend-A-Clean Scrubbing Bubbles
Have a friend, mom, sister etc....give you their $5.00/1 coupon or buy an extra paper.
Go HERE for a free refill coupon with purchase of a starter sprayer valued at $3.99. Hit the back button twice once it prints and it will print 2 coupons.
There is another coupon in today's paper, if you buy 3 Scrubbing Bubbles products you will receive a $5.00 Target gift card. This is the breakdown for you:

Purchase 2 Extend-A-Clean SB $7.99 use (2) $5.00/1 coupon
Purchase 2 refills and use 2 free refill coupons (you will pay .15 cents for each)
Use buy 3 SB products and receive a Target $5.00 GC
You will pay out of pocket $6.28
You will get a $5.00 GC making your grand total for these 4 products $1.28!

There is a SC Johnson rebate form for $5.00 with a purchase of 3 SC Johnson products. If you do this it will be a money maker for you.

Bob's Natural Honey

At the Farmer's Market at Shaw and Blackstone Bob sells his natural honey and other honey products. The prices range from $4.00 for a small bottle to $16.00 for a large bottle. I buy the medium size (he told me the ounces etc... but I forgot) for $8.00.
He is there on Saturday mornings and I believe I have seen him there on Wednesday afternoons as well.