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Birthday Party Planning

Little man is celebrating his 5th birthday this Friday! We are having a birthday party for him at the house and his request was a bounce house and ALL of his friend to come. He even wants the mail man to come too...LOL! At first I thought, I am going to keep it simple and then I think, oh this food would be good to have, this would be a good idea, this would be fun and on and on.

It started out with hot dogs. Then it turned into chili dogs, then it turned into chili dogs with toppings. You can't just have chili dogs now can you. How about baguettes with brie and fruit, veggie tray, chips with guac and salsa. See where I am getting at!

How about a cupcake cake and cupcakes with camo frosting and army men crawling on the cake. Of course little man wants a rainbow cake where you bake the cake and then put 7 different kinds of jello into the cake. It is yummy, but takes a little more time.

Little man wanted some camo decorations, so off to the party store, dollar store and Walgreens I went trying to find decorations without spending too much money.

And then there are cupcakes to bring to school on Friday. All the cupcakes will have different colored frosting with candy presents on top.

Am I missing anything else? I think he is worth it and I am having fun planning it. I do love having parties!

Not my day in the kitchen.....and Meal Plan

This is how my day went when I would try to cook something.

This morning I guess I did not have the top part all the way down on my Mukka Express and it shot coffee everywhere.

Burnt my arm on the iron.

Propane ran out half way through cooking the chicken.

My Mukka Express fell off the counter and shattered in tons of little pieces.

My pepper mill top broke.

I guess the kitchen was telling me to stay away today. I still managed to make breakfast and dinner tonight. Hopefully the rest of the weeks meals will go smoothly.

Meal Plan Monday

Sunday- BBQ chicken sandwiches with onion strings and sweet potato fries.

Monday- Leftovers (cooked a lot this past week).
Ended up making carnitas on my leftover night last week.

Tuesday- Bacon wrapped pork loin, salad and baked potatoes.

Wednesday- Chicken marsala

Thursday- Dinner at the in-laws in celebration of little man's b-day.

Friday- Little man wants to go to John's Incredible Pizza for his b-day.

Saturday- Little man's b-day party (he is making it last)!

Sunday- B-day party at my sisters for my nephew.

It is a busy week of parties!!

Southwest Corn Guacamole

I made this guacamole last night and it was sooooo good! I love getting the Food Network Magazine because it has tons of recipes and gives me lots of ideas too.

Directions
Oil 1 ear of corn; sprinkle with chili powder, ground coriander and kosher salt. Broil the corn, 2 plum tomatoes and 1 bunch scallions, 5 to 7 minutes. Chop the scallions and tomatoes; mash with 3 diced avocados, 2 minced jalapenos, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and the juice of 1 lime. Add the corn kernels and season with more chili powder, coriander and salt.

I used frozen corn since I did not have corn on the cobb and chives instead of scallions, again that is what I had in the frig. I only used 1 jalapeno since I did not want it too spicy because I made salsa as well. The bowl was empty in no time flat.

Honey Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

I found this recipe from Ellie Krieger who has the Healthy Appetite show on Food Network. It passed the test since my daughter said, "Can I have another cookie?...Yum!"


Recipe:
2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg
1/4 cup smooth unsalted almond butter (Trader Joes)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mist 2 baking sheets with cooking spray or use parchment paper. Beat the butter, canola oil, honey, egg, almond butter and vanilla extract in a large bowl with a mixer until combined.

2. In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients minus the oatmeal and raisins. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine. Stir in the oats and raisins.

3. Scoop tablespoons onto lined cookie sheets and bake until golden brown about 12 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Calories 100
Fat 5g
Carbs 13 g
Fiber 1g
Protein 2g

Check your receipts

This past week I have checked my receipts and because of that I have $11.00 more in my pocket. At Vons I was charged $6.98 for 2 Asian Pears that I never purchased and at Target after telling the cashier that one of my coupons did not take (and she proceeded to tell me that they did) I checked out and looked at my receipt and a $4.00 off coupon was not on there that I gave her. Since I have been paying more attention to my receipts I catch someone miss-ringing me at least once a month.

Today I took $25.00 for my shopping. I went to Walgreens and Target and spent $25.00 out of pocket. I received $7.00 back in Register Rewards at Walgreens and I will send in another $5.00 SC Johnson rebate, so my total comes to $13.00 for everything you see.
At Walgreens I spent $7.86 and received $7.00 back in RR's.
*Kotex U $3.95 at Walgreens $2.50 back in RR and $1.00 coupon (2X).
*2 Scotch Bright Sponge 3 pack $3.99 at Walgreens, buy one get one free coupon and 2 $1.00 off coupons.
*Colgate toothpaste at Walgreens $2.99, $2.00 back in RR and $1.00 off coupon.

At Target I spent $10.44 on my first purchase and received a $5.00 GC and on the second purchase I spent $7.97.
*3 packages of Milk Bone Plus dog treats at $2.96 each. I had a buy 2 get $2.00 off coupon and a $2.00 off coupon on 1. $1.82 for 3 packs.
*Merona purse on clearance for $6.98, used a Target $5.00 off coupon for a Merona purse.
*2 XHIL socks at $2.00 each, used 2 $2.00 off Target hosiery coupons, FREE!
*6 Yoplait yogurts at .59cents each, had a .50 cent off coupon w/purchase of 6.
*Windex outdoor window washing kit $12.99, used a $3.00 off Target coupon and coupon for $5.00 back in GC with purchase, $4.99.
*36 count Tide Stain release on sale $10.99, used $3.00 off coupon.
*I had another $5.00 GC from a previous purchase as well.

I saved $39.00 today and add the $5.00 rebate and that brings my total to $44.00.

With a little planning you can get a lot for a little money. And make sure you check your receipts!

Meal Plan Monday

Sunday- Crispy Pork Chops with cucumber salad and white rice

Monday- Spaghetti with turkey meatballs

Tuesday- Chicken Tandoori, rice and green beans

Wednesday- Grilled steak, black-eyed peas and garlic mashed potatoes

Thursday- Leftovers (hubby at a meeting)

Friday- Out to dinner

I will post a new low sugar oatmeal raising cookie recipe once I make them. It has honey and almond butter in it. Sounds interesting and hope they are yummy. Looks like a great treat for the kids.