Lazy Roast

Here is a recipe for a roast that is quick and easy. It does take a bit of time to cook, but the preparations are quick, and it uses my favorite cooking tool: the crock pot. I love being able to throw in a bunch of stuff in a pot and forget about it for a few hours, and it still taste like I spent a lot more energy making it.

Ingredients:

• Roast (I usually use a chuck roast because it's cheaper, but this time I did a rump roast because it just looked so good at the store)
• 1 can beef gravy (or flour to make yours from scratch, but this is the lazy recipe, lol)
• 1 envelope French Onion soup mix
• Carrots
• Onions
• Potatoes (everything below is optional, if you are making mashed potatoes)
• Butter
• Milk
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper

This is what time it was when I started making it.

Steps:

• Open French Onion Soup Mix (I use Liptons) & spread onto a plate.
• Take the roast and lay on top of the plate, coating it evenly with the soup mix. Keep flipping it and rubbing the soup mix into the roast, pressing it into the steak so that it sticks.
• Place roast into the crock pot.
• Peel carrots, cut in half, and drop into the crock pot.
• Slice up a few slices of an onion and put into the crock pot.
• Pour 1 can of beef gravy mix into the crock pot. If you want to make the gravy from scratch, add about an inch of water to the bottom of the crock pot and make sure you have flour to turn drippings into gravy later on.

* I made mashed potatoes later on for a side, but if you prefer to make it really quick and easy, you can peel the potatoes & throw them right into the crock pot as well.

• Cook on Low for anywhere from 4-6 hours, depending on size and type of meat. Usually a roast takes about 8 hours on low but mine was smaller and only took about 4.

Here's the time I was done with these steps, along with a picture of what it looked like. The most time-consuming thing is peeling the carrots, which you can do the night before & just keep covered in the fridge to save time in the morning.

Here are some pictures of how it progressed:

11:46 AM

* Note: Make sure you flip it & spoon gravy over.

 

1:00 PM

1:50 PM * DONE *

Mashed Potatoes:

• Peel potatoes & place in a pot of boiling water.
• Keep checking on potatoes by poking with a fork. When they feel soft like they could crumble if you poke too hard, take the pot off the burner and turn the burner off.
• Drain water from potatoes and place into a large mixing bowl.
• Depending on how you like your mashed potatoes, you can mash them yourself to get the consistency you like, or you can be lazy like me and use an electric mixer. Put 1 stick of butter in the mixing bowl with the potatoes, pour a splash of milk (keep the milk out incase you need to add a splash more...sorry, I never measure with mashed potatoes lol), and throw in a handful of shredded cheddar cheese (optional. I do this so it's flavored and doesn't need gravy). Mix.
• Add garlic, salt & pepper and mix.

ALL DONE! :)

$10 Nintendo DS & Wii Games at Target

I'm not sure how long this sale is going on for, or if it's all Targets, as it wasn't in the weekly ad, but there were select Nintendo DS and Wii games on sale for $10, located by the check-out lines.

Here's the ones I remember seeing (I should've taken notes but forgot until just now, lol).

* Not showing up for sale price on the website.

My Target Trip Today 12/14/11

There's tons more deals you can get, but I decided to just start posting the ones I either get, or are just really good deals, because it's too time-consuming for me to post every single matchup. I might sometimes if I get bored, lol, but for the most part it will just be deals that I take advantage of.

* RAIN CHECKS * These come in handy this time of year big time. They usually have different stations set up in different isles that look almost like coupon dispensers, but they dispense a rain check that you take with you to the register, where they'll print a receipt with a barcode and the product's description and current price. This way if something is on sale this week, but there's none left, you can get a rain check and get it for that same sale price the following week. Last week Doodle Bears were on sale for $14.99 (regular priced at $19.99), but there were none left. I had a rain check so I was able to use that today to get it for the sale price, even though it went back up to regular price. Many other stores do this too, but don't advertise it, so be sure to ask the cashier when you're checking out if they issue rain checks if they're out of something, even if it's something silly like cheap canned vegetables or toothpaste.

Dunkin Donuts Coffee

I was excited to see that the holiday specialty flavors (Vanilla Nut, Pumpkin Spice, Mocha Mint) were on clearance today! Not sure if every Target has this same deal or for the same price. I have 2 Targets close to me, and the Target I frequently shop at (the ones that's in a strip mall and has a 1% higher sales tax) usually has things drastically cheaper on sale than the other Target with the normal sales tax.

Clearanced price $5.58 (reg price $9.99 I believe, but has been on sale for $6.99 in past weeks)
Printable coupon here for $1.00 off, making it only $4.58!

Eucerin

[ Found out about this from dealseekingmom.com. ]Check the travel section for a travel-sized 1 oz Eucerin Calming Creme lotion, on sale for $0.97. Printable coupon here for $1.00 off Eucerin or Aquaphor Skin Care Item, making it FREE with a $0.06 profit!

* The coupon did not scan for me, and the cashier said it was probably because it was travel size, but since the coupon did not specify she went ahead and put it through manually, so that on the receipt it showed "TARGET COUPON $1.00" twice (I got 2 of the lotions since it lets you print 2 coupons). Since the 2 lotions only came to $1.94 for 2, they ended up being free, and then the other $0.06 went towards the rest of my purchase, so I ended up MAKING money from getting them.



M&M's 11 oz Bag

In past weeks these have been on sale for 2 for $5, or $2.69 if you were to buy just one, which made it to where you had to purchase 4 to get the best deal when using for $1 off 3 coupon. But now they're just flat on sale for $2.50 each. Combine Target coupon for $1 off 3 bags , printable here , and $1 off 2 bags manufacturer newspaper coupon, purchasing at least 3 bags, making it 3 for $5.50, or about $1.84 each!!

Mentionable : This deal may differ from store-to-store (as they were still full-priced online) but there were some girl's character pj's, as well as matching slippers, on clearance at my Target. There was Hello Kittie and Disney Princesses left. There were packaged long-sleeve shirts with fleece pants, or just fleece pants, and then the slippers. Tomorrow my daughter has pajama day at school so I needed to get her some, so I got her the fleece Hello Kittie pants for $6.98 and the matching slippers for the same price. I was hoping for the short-sleeve stuff and shorts being that I live in FL but no such luck, so the fleece will have to do. There were also 2-pack patterned fleece pj pants on sale for $8, which I believe is everywhere because it's the same on the website as well.

Disney Princess Storytime Belle EVEN CHEAPER!!!

The week of Black Friday I was so disappointed that I didn't buy this for my 3-year-old, because it was "on sale" for $64.99, when everywhere else had it for $89.99. Well everyone else pretty much still has it for this ridiculously high price, but I'm glad I held out on getting it until now!!!

As featured in Target's weekly ad, it's on sale THIS WEEK ONLY for $39.99!!! Luckily for once I took my own advice and got $50 worth of Christmas gifts (I should've done groceries too though) when the $10 gift card for $50 spent in the store coupon was still going on, so I had a $10 Target gift card. So hubby was sent to the store and applied the gift card to the purchase, getting it for only $29.99!!! But even if you don't have a gift card to apply towards your purchase, $40 is still a pretty sweet deal for this once oh-so-expensive gift. 

Free $10 Target Gift Card

When you purchase $50 or more worth of stuff at Target, get a free $10 gift card. It's great if you're already planning a grocery trip there, or buying an expensive toy, or a few toys.

http://tgt.bz/6037RlRJ

Used my Kohls $10 coupon today

I love that I get the Free $10 off coupons in the mail for Kohls. They're amazing. They work on everything, even sale. I wish I knew more people that got them so I could use theirs! lol. I bug my dad and grandparents every time but they never get them. I'm guessing the reason I get them is that I got one stuck on my front door when we first moved, and at the time I figured it didn't work on sale stuff, so I gave it to my mother-in-law to use, and since then I've been getting them in the mail. Could be coincidental or not, but I know a lot of people that don't get them, and a friend of mine gets mad because she has a charge card there and doesn't get them anymore.

My 7-year-old knows how to read so I can't post exactly what I got...but they had 20% off games (which kind of made them the same price as everywhere else, but I made out with the coupon) so I was able to get a game that was really on the top of the Christmas List for $19.99, then used my $10 off coupon and got it for $9.99. The cheapest I've seen it anywhere else was $18.88 I believe. I just wish I had had more because there were so many toys I could've gotten for super cheap or even free and just paid the tax, but I wanted to get something that was on the list for sure.

CVS Matchup 12/4 - 12/10

I wasn't that impressed with this week's deals. Maybe I overlooked some. The Glade ones are very mentionable though. :)

·         [GC] is for all the items where if you spend $30 total you get a free $10 gift card to the one of your choice.

·         Coupons are from the Sunday paper unless otherwise noted. Printed coupons are from www.coupons.com unless otherwise noted.

-          Page 1

[GC] General Mills cereal 2/$5 - $1 off two coupon printed = 2/$4 ($2 each)

[GC] Progresso soup 2/$3 - $1 off 4 coupon

[GC] Hershey’s Holiday candy 2/$5 - $1 off two coupon = 2/$4 ($2 each)

[GC] Mucinex or Mucinex DM 28–40 ct $19.99 - $1 coupon = $18.99

-          Page 2

Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels 2/$3 - $0.75 off two coupon = 2/$2.25 ($1.13 each)

       -          Page 3

M&M’s 15.4-19.2 oz $4.99 - $1 off two coupon = 2/$8.98 ($4.49 each)

DeMet’s Turtles 6.4 oz $3.99 - $1 off coupon = $2.99

Godiva Gems 2.6-4.25 oz 2/$6 – two $0.50 off coupons = 2/$5 ($2.50 each)

Hershey’s Kisses $3.99 - $1 off three coupon = 3/$10.97 ($3.66 each)

-          Page 9

Duracell batteries $5.99 - $1 mailer coupon or $0.50 coupon = $4.99 or $5.49 (Spend $15 on batteries and get $5 extrabucks)

-          Page 10

Neutrogena Skin Care BOGO 50% off - several $1 off coupons to choose from

L’Oreal Skin Care BOGO 50% off – several $1 off coupons to choose from

Neutrogrena Foundation, Powder, Blush or Concealer $10 - $2 coupon or $1 coupon = $8 or $9

Neutrogena Lip or Eye $7.99 - $2 coupon or $1 coupon = $5.99 or $6.99

-          Page 11

Gillette Fushion ProGlide Razor $9.99 - $5 coupon IF you buy ProGlide cartridges = $4.99 (plus cost of cartridges)

-          Page 12

[GC] Garnier Cleansers $5 - $1 coupon = $4

[GC] Garnier Ultra-Lift $12 - $2 coupon = $10

[GC] Garnier Skin Renew dark spot corrector or Ultra-Lift Intensive cream $14 - $2 coupon = $12

[GC] Garnier Skin Renew Lotion, moisture cream or eye roller $10 - $2 coupon = $8

DermaSilk 5-minute face lift or 90-second eye lift $39.99 - $10 coupon = $29.99 + $5 extrabucks

Clean & Clear Facial Product BOGO 50% off - $2 off coupon

Nivea BOGO 50% off - $1 off coupon

Jergens moisturizer $6.99 - $3 off two coupon = 2/$10.98 ($5.49 each)

Curel lotion $6.99 - $1 off coupon = $5.99

Tone Bar soap 2-8 pk $1.99 - $0.35 off coupon = $1.64

-          Page 13

L’Oreal Cosmetics BOGO 50% off - $1 or $2 coupon

-          Page 14

L’Oreal EverPure, EverStrong or EverSleek shampoo, conditioner or stylers - $1 off coupon + get $5 extrabucks when you buy 2

John Frieda Precision Foam Colour $11.99 - $3 off coupon = $8.99

Garnier Fructis shampoo or conditioner 2/$7.98 – two $1 off printables = 2/$5.98 ($2.99 each) + $3 extrabucks

Clairol Nice ‘n Easy Hair Color $5.99 - $2 or $1 coupon = $3.99 or $4.99

-          Page 16

Colgate Total Advanced, Total Whitening, Optic White toothbrush or toothpaste 2/$7 – two $1 off coupons = 2/$5 ($2.50 each)

Arm & Hammer Spinbrush $5.99 - $1 off coupon = $4.99 + $2 extrabucks

Polident Cleanser $4.49 - $1 off coupon = $3.49

BOGO 50% off Colgate kids manual toothbrush - $0.40 off coupons

K-Y Yours + Mine or Kissable Sensations $5 - $2 off coupon = $3

Stayfree pantiliners or pads $4.99 - $1 off coupon = $3.99

Carefree $4.99 - $0.50 off coupon = $4.49

OB tampons $4.99 - $1 off coupon = $3.99

-          Page 17

Johnson’s Baby oil $2.99 - $1 coupon = $1.99

Desitin $2.99 - $1 mailer coupon = $1.99

Pull-Ups $9.49 - $2 coupon = $7.49 + $1 extrabucks

Huggies Jumbo pk $9.49 - $1.50 mailer coupon = $7.99 + $1 extrabucks

Playtex Sport 18-36 ct - $1 coupon from previous box (spend $20, get $10 extrabucks)

Schick Hydro 3 or Hydro 5 razor - $2 coupon (spend $20, get $10 extrabucks)

-          Page 18

Zegrid OTC 42 ct $24.99 - $6 coupon = $18.99 + $8 extrabucks

Align Probiotic supplement 42 ct $39.99 - $5 off coupon = $34.99 + $7 extrabucks

MiraLax 30 doses $19.99 - $3 off coupon = $16.99

RevitaLens multi-purpose solution 10 oz $8.99 - $3 off coupon = $5.99 + $3 extrabucks

Blink Tears $8.99 - $1 off coupon = $7.99 + $3 extrabucks

Prilosec OTC 42 ct $24.99 - $2 off coupon = $22.99 + $5 extrabucks

-          Page 19

Zicam $9.99 - $2 off coupon = $7.99

Alka-Seltzer Plus 20 ct $4.88 - $2 coupon or $1 coupon = $2.88 or $3.88

-          Page 20

Excedrin $6.99 - $1.50 off coupon = $5.49

Aleve 200 ct or liquid gels 80 ct $11.99 - $2 coupon = $9.99 or $5 off two coupon = 2/$18.98 ($9.49 each)

Ensure $6.99 - $3 off two coupon = 2/$10.98 ($5.49 each)

-          Page 21

Kleenex Tissues 3 pk $2.99 - $0.50 off coupon = $2.49 [ Puffs coupon still available for same Puffs deal  if you didn’t use it last week like I did, lol]

Lysol wipes 2/$10 - $1 off two coupon from inside Publix store = 2/$9 ($4.50 each)

Lysol spray 2/$10 – two $1 off coupons = 2/$8 ($4 each)

All Laundry detergent $3.99 - $.075 or $0.50 coupon = $3.24 or $3.49

Glade scented oil plugins refills $5 - $1 printable or mailer coupon = $4 [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks]

Glade Lasting Impressions $5 - $3 mailer coupon = $2 [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks]

Glade Sense & Spray Start Kit $5 - $3 mailer coupon = $2 [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks]

Glade candle, Plugins refill, oil candle refills, sense & spray, fabric spray 2/$6

Glade Fabric & Air spray 2/$6 - $1 mailer coupon = 2/$5 ($2.50 each) [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks. Can mix with any below 2/$6 items.]

Glade Décor holder 2/$6 - $1 mailer coupon = 2/$5 (2.50 each) [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks. Can mix with any 2/$6 items.]

Glade scented oil candle products 2/$6 - $1 off two coupon = 2/$5 ($2.50 each) [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks. Can mix with any 2/$6 items.]

Glade candles 2/$6 - $1 off two coupon or printable = 2/$5 ($2.50 each) [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks. Can mix with any 2/$6 items.]

Glade scented oil candle refills 2/$6 - $1 off two coupon or printable = 2/$5 ($2.50 each) [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks. Can mix with any 2/$6 items.]

Glade Plugins refill 2/$6 - $1 off two mailer or printable coupon or $0.75 off two = 2/$5 ($2.50 each) or 2/$5.25 ($2.63 each) [spend $12, get $4 extrabucks. Can mix with any 2/$6 items.]

Renuzit Adjustables $0.88 [ I know there’s a coupon available but I can’t remember what it was..I want to say $0.55 off three. I used it a few weeks back, but the ones that came with it are still good until 12/17.]

Milkbone biscuits 2/$5 – Free 5.6 oz bag of Milk-Bone Soft & Chewy treats with the purchase of two Milk-Bone dog snacks coupon from inside previous box of milkbone treats = Milkbone biscuits 2/$5 + free bag of Soft + Chewy treats

-          Page 22

[GC] Dunkin Donuts $6.99 - $1 off coupon and printable or $0.75 off coupon = $5.99 or $6.24

-          Page 23

Folgers Coffee $8.99 - $0.25 off coupon = $8.74

Nature Valley 2/$5 - $0.50 off  Sweet & Salty Nut granola bars coupon and $0.75 off Granola thins  coupon (or use two of the same) = 2/$3.75 ( $1.88 each)

-          Page 24

Bounty Basics paper towel 8 pk. $5.99 - $1 off mailer coupon or $0.25 off one roll coupon = $4.99 or $5.74

Holiday M&M’s 2/$5 - $1 off coupon = 2/$4 ($2 each) + $1 extrabucks

John Frieda Precision Foam Colour Review!!

I completed a survey on the John Frieda website a few months ago, and finally got my coupon to get a free box in the mail. This was what I had gotten with my CVS shopping trip I posted about earlier. I got the color "brown-black". My hair is naturally blonde, but I've been dying it brown lately. The problem with my hair is that it doesn't hold color too well, so it usually fades a couple of weeks later. Last time I used the Revlon Colorsilk ($2.99) and did it black and within a week it was brown. I'm not sure if this is due to my hair or the fact I used cheaper stuff, so this time I got brown-black, incase it doesn't fade being more high-end, and I didn't want to be stuck with it being black. So I'll update this review a few weeks later to let you know if it faded or not.

* I've heard so many mixed reviews when it comes to foam hair color. Most people I talked to that had used it said they didn't like it because it dried out their hair, or was hard to do. I'm not sure what brand they used or if they were dying their hair darker or lighter (dying it darker adds to your hair so it's actually better for your hair, whereas lighter is stripping color from your hair), but the John Frieda Precision Colour Foam did the opposite to my hair. When I was rinsing it out, before I even added the conditioner, my hair felt silky-smooth and was easily brushable with my fingers.

* If you read the instructions all the way through (which are short and to the point, unlike some that seem to go on and on about nothing) it's easy to apply. If you don't read the instructions you'll miss key steps though, which I imagine a lot of people probably do. Usually people don't read the "Caution: Don't..." stuff because they assume it'll be common sense stuff, like, "give to children, consume by mouth, etc", but this one lets you know some very important things not to do or you'll mess up the foaming process. For instance, you DON'T shake the bottle. Most hair coloring treatments require you to shake the bottle, but after you add the liquid to the first bottle of liquid, you tilt slowly 5 times, and then that's it. Too much tilting or shaking can make it too liquidy and it won't come out like a foam, which means it won't get applied the way it should to evenly coat your hair as well as mess up the timing process. The other important tip is to squeeze the bottle to dispense the foam. Otherwise you'll be sitting there trying to pump it out and barely anything will be coming out, but when you squeeze from the sides of the bottle it comes out perfectly.

* Keep a close eye on the time. It said no longer than 30 minutes. I made sure to rinse it out after 20 minutes because I didn't want to risk drying my hair out like others said they did.

* The foam was super easy to apply. The gloves are excellent. They actually are fitted and don't slide off, so it made it a lot easier than those cheap clear plastic gloves that are 10 sizes too big. At first I was a little discouraged because the foam was disappearing right after I applied it and I couldn't seem to make it look like a rich lather like in the pictures, but then all of a sudden towards the end of the bottle my hair was covered in a thick lather from just adding more and more.

* You only need 1 bottle!! Unless you have crazy long hair. I'll post a picture of my hair from after I dyed it. 1 bottle was more than I needed. I ended up throwing some out because I was tired of applying it. Usually I have to buy 2 boxes of hair dye, so even the cheap stuff is almost the same price as the John Frieda.

* Added bonus: The conditioner smells amazing. And there's plenty left to keep using it for at least a week after. You're supossed to save it and use just once a week for a month, but it smells too good that I'm sure I'll use it again tomorrow. And the conditioner is in an actual bottle, not a plastic sample pack that you have to rip with your teeth.

Here is a picture of my hair after I dyed it. I wish I would've thought to do this review before I started coloring, or I would've included pictures of me doing it as well as a before. I literally thought, "Hey I should review this" as I was rinsing the conditioner out of my hair.

Publix Matchup Dec 1 - Dec 7

Publix Matchups

*All coupons are from Sunday papers unless otherwise noted. The ones that say printed are from coupons.com unless otherwise noted. Majority of the printed ones are no longer available on there, but were printed previous weeks. Feel free to double-check me though.*

*Additional savings if you have two coupons on the BOGO Free stuff. I only recently started purchasing two Sunday papers instead of only 1, so a lot of the matchups only show 1 coupon being used.*

*Of note: I feel like there are probably more coupons out there than I have that I could’ve printed out but didn’t think to, because some of them I remember seeing so you might have them for any BOGO deals I didn’t list on here.*

 * I will add any additional savings from any new coupons that pop up or from this Sunday's paper.*

Uncle Ben’s Long Grain Rice 5 lb bag BOGO  $7.79 - $0.75 coupon = 2 for $7.04 ($3.52 each)

General Mills cereal BOGO $3.99 - $1.00 off two coupon printed = 2 for $2.99 ($1.49 each)

Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn BOGO $5.13 - $0.55 coupon = 2 for $4.58 ($2.29 each)

Nabisco Toasted Chips BOGO $3.69 - $1 off two coupon printed = 2 for $2.69 ($1.34 each) * Not sure if coupon will work. States $1 off any two Nabisco Crackers 6-16 oz any variety *

Shedd’s Spread Country Crock Spread BOGO $2.79 - $0.25 coupon = 2 for $2.54 ($1.27 each)

Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits 3 for $5 - $0.30 off two coupon = 3 for $4.70 ($1.56 each)

Pepperidge Farm Stone Baked Artisan Rolls BOGO $3.69 - $0.75 coupon = $2.94 ($1.47 each)

Sargento Shredded Cheese 2 for $6 - $0.50 off two coupon = 2 for $5.50 ($2.75 each)

Cottonelle Toilet Paper 12-roll pkg. $6.49 - $0.50 off 12-pack or larger coupon = $5.99

Viva Paper Towels 8-roll pkg. $6.99 - $1 off 6-roll or larger coupon = $5.99

Kleenex White Tissue 3-bundle pkg. $3.99 - $0.50 off one bundle package coupon = $3.49

Ziploc Storage or Freezer Bags 2 for $7 - $1.50 off two coupon or $1 off two coupon = 2 for $5.50 ($2.75 each) or 2 for $6 ($3 each)

Tide Detergent 100 oz bottle $11.99 - $0.50 coupon off Tide or Downy = $11.49 (also a $1.50 off coupon if you get both Tide AND Downy)

Febreze Set & Refresh Air Freshener 2 for $5 - $1 off coupon from mailer = 2 for $4 ($2 each)

Ultra Downy Fabric Softener $6.99 - $0.50 coupon off Tide or Downy = $6.49 (also a $1.50 off coupon if you get both Tide AND Downy)

L’Oreal EverSleek Hair Products $5.49 - $1 off coupon = $4.49

Olay Body Wash $5.49 - $1 off coupon = $4.49

Stayfree Ultra Thin Pads BOGO $6.39 - $1 off coupon = 2 for $5.39 ($2.69 each)

Nature’s Bounty Fish or Flaxseed Oil 25% off + $1.00 off printable from coupons.com (still there)

Poise Pads $10.99 - $1.50 coupon = $9.49

Aleve-D 10 count $3.99 - $1 off printable from coupons.com (still there) = $2.99

Aleve-D 20 count $5.99 - $1 off printable from coupons.com (still there) = $4.99

My CVS Trip Today

Total Spent: $9.43      Retail value: $48.31

What I Got:

• Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap System
• John Frieda Precision Foam Colour
• Olay Age Defying Bodywash with vitamin E 23.6 oz
• 2 Xtra 45 oz liquid laundry detergents
• 2 Puffs Basics 100 count tissues
• 2 Dawn Olay Hand Renewal Dish Soap 9 oz

Retail Value:

• Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap System $12.99
• John Frieda Precision Foam Colour $12.99
• Olay Age Defying Bodywash with vitamin E 23.6 oz $8.99
• 2 Xtra 45 oz liquid laundry detergents $5.98 ($2.99 each)
• 2 Puffs Basics 100 count tissues $3.98 ($1.99 each)
• 2 Dawn Olay Hand Renewal Dish Soap 9 oz $3.38 ($1.69 each)

How I Did It: (CVS associates will allow you to do separate transactions. I had planned to go back 3 different days - lol - but the girl at the counter asked me from the start if I'd like to do separate transactions for further savings.)

Receipt 1: Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap System was on sale this week for $9.99. I had a $3 off manufacturer coupon, making it $6.99. Then I got a $5 Extrabucks printed on my receipt for further use. I also had a coupon for a FREE John Frieda Precision Foam Colour from doing a survey on their site a few months ago. [ Subtotal: $6.99 ]

Receipt 2: Olay Age Defying Bodyhwash 23.6 oz on sale for $6.00. Used manufacturer coupon for $1 off Olay bodywash and $5 Extrabuck from previous receipt. Got a $2 Extrabuck printed on this receipt for further purchase. [ Subtotal: $0.00 ]

Receipt 3: The Xtra 45 oz liquid laundry detergents were on sale for $1.49 each. I had a $1 off the purchase of 2 Xtra laundry detergents manufacturer coupon, making those $1.98 total. The Puffs Basics tissues were on sale for $0.99. I had a $1 off the purchase of 2 manufacturer coupon, making those $0.98 total. The Dawn Olay Hand Renewal dish soap was on sale for $0.99. I had two $0.25 off manufacturer coupons, making those $1.48 total. So that came to $4.44. Then I used my $2 off Extrabucks coupon from my previous receipt. [ Subtotal: $2.44 ]

So CVS is kind of like my favorite store now! lol. I'm doing care baskets for Christmas so a lot of those things will come in handy for that. The tissues will more than likely go to my oldest's classroom. They go through them like crazy this time of year.

 

CVS Matchup Nov 27 - Dec 3

CVS Match-Ups – [GC] means it’s one of the qualifying products where if you spend $30 you get a free $10 gift card to your choice store.

* Coupons are all from Sunday papers unless otherwise noted. If I have more than 1 coupon for the same thing at different prices, I’ll list both incase you only have one of them.

* Extra savings if you have been buying 2 Sunday papers for a few of the 2 For items. I only recently started doing this and wish I had started sooner.

[GC] Puffs 95-108 ct. or Puffs Plus 48-72 ct. $0.99 - $1 off 2 coupon = 2 for $0.98 total ($0.49 each)

[GC] Tide liquid 19-32 loads $5.94 - $0.50 off coupon = $5.44

[GC] Dawn 9-10.3 oz $0.99 - $0.25 off coupon = $0.74

[GC] Bounty paper towels  12 pk $9.99 - $1 coupon  OR $0.25 coupon= $8.99 or $9.74

[GC] CoverGirl Foundation, Powder, Blush, Concealer or Eye BOGO 50% off - $1 off coupon

[GC] Oral-B Cross Action Power toothbrush 1 ct $4.99 - $3 off coupon = $1.99

[GC] Duracell AAA, AA 16 pk, D 8 pk, 9-volt 4 pk, Ultra Power AAA or AA 12 pk - $9.99 - $1 off coupon or $0.50 coupon = $8.99 or $9.49

[GC] Vicks NyQuil, DayQuil 48 ct, liquid 24 oz  $9.99 (Buy Two, Get One Free coupon) = 3 / $19.98 ($6.66 each)

[GC] Vick’s Nature Fushion liquid/caplet Combo pk $9.99 - $1.50 off coupon = $8.49

[GC] Olay Regenerist Facial Care $20.99 - $3 off coupon = $17.99

[GC] Pantene Pro-V 2/$6.97 - $3 off two coupon = 2 for $3.97 total ($1.98 each)

Folgers Instant Classic roast or decaf coffee 8 oz - $4.99 - $1.00 off coupon = $3.99

Bigelow Tea 20 ct 2-$4 - $0.55 coupon = 2 for $3.45 total

Pringles 4/$6 - $1 off 4 coupon = 4 for $5 total ($1.25 each)

Downy liquid 40 loads fabric softener $3.99 - $1 off coupon  or $0.50 off coupon = $2.99 or $3.49

Xtra 2x Laundary detergent 28 loads $1.49 - $1 off two coupon = 2 for $1.98 ($0.99 each)

[GC] Glade Scented Oil PlugIns Refills 2 pk $4 - $1 off 2 coupon or $1 off coupon = 2 for $7 ($3.50 each) or  1 for $3

[GC] Cottonelle Wipes 42 ct $1.99 - $0.50 off two coupon = 2 for $3.48 total

Duracell AAA, AA 4 pk, C, D 2pk, or 9-volt 1 pk batteries 2 / $7 – 2 $0.50 off coupons or - $0.50 off coupon and $1.00 off coupon = 2 for $6 total or 2 for $5.50 total

L’Oreal Eye or Lip BOGO 50% off - $1 off coupons

Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap System $9.99 - $3 off coupon = $6.99 + Extrabucks reward of $5.00 towards next purchase

Gillette Bodywash 16-18 oz $3.49 - $1 off coupon = $2.49

Olay Bodywash 23.6 oz $6.00 - $1 off coupon = $5 + Extrabucks reward of $4.00 towards next purchase

Aussie or Herbal Essences Shampoo or conditioner 2/$6.97 - $1.00 off two coupon = 2 for $5.97 total ($2.98 each)

Clairol Natural Instincts or Natural Instincts Vibrant Hair color $5.99 - $2.00 coupon = $3.99

Old Spice Bodywash $3.49 - $1 off two coupon = 2 for $5.98 total ($2.99 each)

Secret Deodorant 2/$4 - $1 off two coupon = 2 for $3 total ($1.50 each)

Old Spice Deodorant 2/$4 - $1 off two coupon = 2 for $3 total ($1.50 each)

Mucinex or Mucinex DM 20 ct or maximum strength 14 ct $11.99 - $1 off coupon = $10.99

Mucinex Fast-Max Liquid 6 oz $9.99 - $1 off coupon = $8.99

Robitussin or Children’s Dimetapp Liquid 8 oz $6.99 - $1 off coupon = $5.99

Poise Pads 27-72 ct $11.99 - $1.50 off coupon = $10.49

Garnier Nutrisse Hair color $4.99 - $1 off coupon = $3.99

Pampers Jumbo pk Diapers 2/$19 - $1 off two bags or one box (use 2) = 2 for $17 total ($8.50 each)

Other Pampers deal : $2 off coupon for One Pampers Diapers AND One Pampers Wipes so…get the diapers and throw in the wipes for $2.49, get another $2 off, and it’s like getting the wipes for $0.49.

Prilosec OTC 42 ct $24.99 - $2 off coupon or $1 off coupon = $22.99 or $23.99 + Extrabucks reward of $5 towards next purchase

Align Digestive Care 28 ct $28.99 - $5 off coupon = $23.99 + Extrabucks rewards of $5 towards next purchase

Metamucil $12.49 - $1 off coupon = $11.49

Disney Gummies Vitamins BOGO 50% off - $2 off coupon or $1 off coupon (or combine if you have both)

Hershey’s Holiday Assorted 7.8 oz – 8.5 oz 2/$5 - $1 off two coupon = 2 for $4 ($2 each) + Extrabucks reward on 2 of $1 towards next purchase

Charmin Big rolls 16-pk $9.99 (limit 3) - $1 off two coupon = 2 for $18.98 ($9.49 each)

[ I won't be getting all of these deals, but I thought I would post all of the ones I noticed that I had coupons for.]

Sunday Funday!!!

It's sad how excited I get on Sundays. I never thought that would be my favorite day of the week. And to think, I don't even have the day off! But on my way to work I stop at 7-eleven and get 2 newspapers, and then on my lunch break I clip coupons. Awesomeness. lol. I already went online to coupons.com to print some coupons, and then printed some more from target.com, checked their weekly ads, and then went to couponmom.com to check what she had listed for savings. But I won't know any further deals until I get the paper and compare my coupons. I won't post any deals until I go myself and actually get them, because it drives me crazy when I see something and then I go and it's not for sale for the same price due to living in a stinky couponing state. lol.

Another reason Sunday is my favorite day of the week is my new favorite show (One Life To Live ends in January so I can't call that my favorite show for much longer) is on: the Walking Dead!!! I love it. If you don't think you would like it just try watching it, but you have to start from the beginning so either buy the season or watch it online. It plays on A&E. I never liked zombie movies much (they creep me out) so I didn't think I'd like it, but this show has such an amazing story line. Love it. And it does creep me out too. I have to shut my bathroom door before I go to bed and leave my closet light on. (For some reason I feel like if zombies were to suddenly appear, they'd come through my bathroom, but with the door shut I'd be safe?) Just found out a few weeks ago too from my friend from work that they play it for free every Sunday at one of the movie theaters around here. But I never catch it when it first comes on. I always end up watching it late, at like 11 pm, because for some reason, as much as I try to watch it at 9 pm, I'm always in the middle of a project that requires me to catch it later.

Well gtg get ready for work!!! Have to make sure I leave early enough to get my newspapers!!

Planning A Yard Sale

I think I might have a yard sale this weekend. I work every day, but I don't go in until 6 pm on Friday and 5:30 on Saturday. From my experience, there's no point doing a yard sale on a Sunday.

So once I decide that it's final that I'm doing one, I need to start advertising ASAP. I don't do any of the costly advertisements, like in the paper or anything. I do it on craigslist, and some local yard sale websites where you post when you're having one. Sounds silly but there are a lot of people that go weekly (mostly in search of antiques, or stuff they can resell themselves) so they'll check those sites. I don't know if it's the fact that I work in retail or what, but I can't stand haggling with people. So that's the one thing that's going to drive me crazy about having a yard sale. The "10 cents" people when it's clearly marked $15. At that rate I'd rather donate it. But hopefully I can make some extra cash to help out around the holidays.

Unfortunately, also from my experience, the worst time to do a yard sale is around the holidays, so I might end up like last year and make $5 the whole day. If I'm needing extra money, everyone's needing extra money, and not wanting to go out and spend it. The best time is tax return time, but then of course I'm not hurting as badly then so I don't think to do one then. lol. I need to remember this come March, April.

Sugar Drop Cookies

Made these with the kids on Thanksgiving. This recipe will be enough for several dozen. I didn't have time to finish baking all of them so I decided to store the leftover cookie dough in my refrigerator, but you can also freeze leftover dough.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup vegetable oil (canola will work as well)
1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (or as I call it, powdered sugar)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tarter (can't remember why in the world I had it, but I did!)
about 1/2 cup or so of white sugar for decorating, & sprinkles optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large bowl, cream together the butter, oil, white sugar, and confectioner's sugar until light and fluffy (I gave in and used my mixer).
3. Beat in 1 egg at a time. Then stir in the vanilla.
4. In a separate, also large bowl (or you'll run into the problem I had with the flour getting knocked out of the bowl by crazy kids, or by your crazy self), combine the flour, baking soda, and cream of tarter. After mixed, pour into the creamed mixture.
5. Real quick on a separate plate, pour the 1/2 cup or so of sugar & sprinkles if you want it, because you'll need it after the next step.
6. The only way to really mix this together is to use your hands, so make sure you did a good job washing them, or double-wash the kids' hands in case they did anything gross in between washings, and dig in.
7. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, and then roll onto the plate with the sugar (and sprinkles if you chose to add those too, like I did).
8. Put onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and use a fork to gently flatten them. Be careful not to press them too flat (I had to redo the ones my 3-year-old did when she wasn't looking because she flattened them like a pancake) or they'll come out super thin and crunchy. Unless you like super thin and crunchy cookies.
9. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges appear slightly brown. If you've never made sugar cookies before, it might look like they're not done, or you'll poke them and it'll cave in and you'll think they're not done, but they are. After a few minutes of cooling they firm up. Took me a couple of times to realize that so in the beginning of my baking life I would keep burning all the cookies I made, lol.

Cranberry Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients :

1 pie crust (or if you are making it homemade, which this time I did not, 2 cups graham crackers and 1/3 cup melted butter)

Filling:
4 8-oz packages of cream cheese (I used Philadelphia's, as I always do for cheesecake)
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cranberry topping:
1 package of fresh cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. If making your own crust, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom of pan and bake for 5-8 minutes. Cool.
3. For the topping, rinse cranberries and throw into a saucepan with the water and sugar. Turn heat all the way up until bubbling and then reduce heat and cover. Stir constantly or it will become a sticky clumpy mess all over your pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, then take off the stove. What I did next, I threw it all into my blender and chose the "liquify" setting, then set aside.
4. Beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Then gradually beat in 1 egg at a time. Add the sugar. Add vanilla. Beat until light and creamy. Pour into the crust.
5. Take a few spoon fulls of the cranberry sauce you made and pour down the middle of the cheesecake. Then take a butterknife and do a fancy swirly pattern with it to give it a marble effect.
6. Bake for 15 minutes at the 350 degrees, then turn the oven down to 200 degrees and cook for about an hour, or until the cheesecake is slightly jiggly when you gently shake it. The key is timing. If you leave it in too long it will start to crack, but don't worry, because then you can just use the cranberry sauce left over to fill the cracks and it's good as new. If preferred you can cover the whole top of the cheesecake with the leftover cranberry sauce, or do what I did and leave it on the side for people's personal preference. To me I thought covering the whole top would've been too much of the tartness.
7. It's best if you can refrigerate overnight (try to let it cool first  for 15 minutes or so, so the condensation doesn't build up when you cover it), but if you're making it the day off like I was, 4 hours in the fridge will do.
* If the cranberry is too tart for some guests, serve with whip cream that they can top it with. It's the perfect touch to add some extra sweetness.

Happy Black Friday!

I didn't think I would be anywhere near the computer today. I had to be at my first retail job last night at 11:30 PM. I thought I was going to be late due to traffic and left my house an hourly early, and therefore arrived at work 45 minutes early. Oops. lol. So I had to wait in the parking lot for a while. Then I worked until 7:30 AM. We were busyish (nothing compared to the electronic stores I'm sure) until about 4 AM (but still nothing that 2 people couldn't handle) and then slow and boring. There's one good thing about the stores opening ealier every year. You can avoid the craziness and still get some good deals. On my way home from work I decided to stop at Toys R Us, and found they had some BOGO Free Nintendo DS and Wii games. So for $19.99 I got Hello Kittie: Seasons Wii (I looked it up. It's $26.99 at Walmart) and Jewelry Designs Nintendo DS. I wanted to get more so bad but I had to control myself because I think today is the day we are going to get the Xbox Kinect sensor on sale for $99. Hubby is about to head out to Best Buy to TRY. It wasn't too busy there on my way home. Then I have to leave at 4:30 PM to go to job #2, which I have a feeling is also going to be super slow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Getting ready to leave in a few hours to my inlaws, where we will enjoy a nice turkey dinner, until I have to rush off to work. My first retail job is opening up at midnight, so I have to be at work at 11:30 pm, and will get off at 7:30 AM. But it works out better that way, because job #2 doesn't have me going in until 5 PM Friday, so I'll get some time to sleep in between.

I am so mad at myself because I had my glass pie pan packed away in a very unorganized fashion in the garage, and cannot find it (I know what my next project will be), so I had to whip up something from what I had on hand. This is the year I made: Cranberry cheesecake. I haven't tried it yet, so I will let you know tomorrow if it was a hit or a miss. But here's a picture of it baking, and the recipe will be following shortly, when I have more time, and when I decide if it's recipe:post-worthy.

Coupon Tips

1. Know your store's coupon policy. Some stores are different in different locations, so if you read what someone in Michigan said about their Publix, it could be completely different than your Publix. I made this mistake when I went to Publix and tried to buy ONE pack of Tyson's BOGO Free chicken patties, expecting to get it half-price and use 1 coupon to get it cheaper. Well apparently in Florida, unlike other areas, you can't get just one for half the price. You have to either get 2 for the full price, or 1 for the full price, so you might as well get two.

2. Check the expiration dates ALWAYS before planning to use a coupon. Nothing is more embarrassing than getting to the check-out line and the cashier telling you the coupon is no longer valid, and then either having to pay full price, or ask to take the item off.

3. Buy 2 Sunday papers. It's well-worth what you'll save. A lot of times Publix will have a Buy One Get One Free deal going on, or Winn Dixie too, where if you have 2 coupons, you can use them. For instance, let's say Betty Crocker's cookie mix is BOGO Free. You can use 2 of the 40 cents off manufacturer coupons from the paper to get 80 cents off, instead of only 40 cents off. I promise, if used correctly, you will always save more than you spent on that extra paper. If not that week, you will the following week, or the week after that. Or if you really can't afford to buy the 2nd one, as sometimes I can't if money is too tight, ask a relative or friend. I'm sure you've got one close by that subscribes to the paper but thinks clipping coupons is a waste of time.

4. If you don't buy any other Sunday paper, get the first one of the month. It's always the best. It has the most store ads as well as more coupons.

5. Always check your paper before you buy it. I sent my husband to the gas station to pick up a Sunday paper, and I was so mad when he got home to find that there were NO COUPONS in it! Someone had taken them out, and probably stuck it in theirs to double-up. I sent him back to the same gas station to get another one, since you can't return the paper. Also a local convenient store (family-owned) got in trouble because they were stealing the coupons out of the papers and keeping them for themselves.

6. Check out store websites for coupons as well. Publix will have some you can print out from time to time, and Target has TONS. This is where you'll really save. Also keep a look-out for when Publix sends you any coupon booklets in the paper or regular mail, and Walgreen's coupon ad in the paper as well. Every store that I know of will allow you to combine a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon, doubling your savings. So let's say Dunkin Donuts coffee is on sale for $6.99 at Target, and you find a $1 off coupon on Target.com for Dunkin Donuts coffee. And then you have a $1 off coupon you clipped from the paper. You can combine them and get $2 off, making it $4.99. This came in handy for me last week, when also for every 3 bags you bought you got a $5 Target gift card. I was planning on getting a few for teachers at my daughter's school for Christmas, so it worked out perfectly.

7. Keep your coupons organized. Everyone has their own preferred methods. I would NOT recommend spending a lot of money on a coupon binder sold off the internet. I've searched for a lot of ways to organize coupons and came across all these binders that cost $20 or more, not counting having to pay separate for the baseball card inserts. When I looked at them closer I thought, "Jeez, not only is that easy to make on your own, but I wouldn't want to split my coupons up the way they are." Right now I'm in the process of making my own coupon binder. Up until now I had been using a small accordion binder I found in the dollar section at Target, but it's become overstuffed and annoying to flip through and find a coupon I need. I already had a 3-ring binder, and I found someone getting rid of a box of toys on craigslist. One of the things listed that was in the box was a few baseball card sleeve inserts. I did originally ask if I could just take the baseball sleeves, but the person really wanted to get rid of the whole box and not deal with it anymore, so then I offered to take the whole box, and just add it to my Red Cross donations boxes (I've been cleaning out the house & have scheduled a few pick-ups). Unfortunately I still need more baseball sleeves, but don't want to spend the $10 that a pack of them is in the store, so I'm kind of in between right now with my organizing them. But I do have all the personal hygiene stuff and cleaning supplies in the binder, which seems to be what I use the most often. For now though, I'll have to flip through the envelope for any food coupons.

8. Print coupons. Coupons.com is the only one that I really use, just because all the other trusted sites seem to be linked to where if you print too many on one site it won't let you print any more on the other, so it seems to be pointless to use the other ones. But I could be wrong. At first I was only relying on Sunday paper coupons, and getting annoyed at all the deals I was missing out on according to other blogs, so I finally sprang for some new printer ink (I just got new black ink & figured I could just pring back and white, and it was about $15) and have already saved in coupons what I spent on the ink.

What I Got For Free This Week

So I'm really obsessed with coupons lately. I think I'm driving everyone just a little nuts, and my co-workers look at me strange when I come walking into work with more than 1 newspaper and spend my lunch breaks clipping coupons. But that's ok. So far I got 2 things for free! I live in Florida, the worst state ever for couponing, so I can't expect to get many things for free. I've gotten quite a few good deals over the past week but since they're not going on anymore I won't post them here because I feel like that would be bragging and rubbing it in. (Ok, let's just say I got tons of Dunkin Donuts coffee and Glade candles, which I will be giving out for Christmas presents, and some $5 Target gift cards were included in those deals).

So the first thing I got for free was some Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. I had signed up to get a p&g coupon book mailed to me (they let you request coupons from them in cycles, and I think the next cycle is coming up in December, so keep checking back and I'll post as soon as I find out) and one of the coupons was $2 off a Johnson & Johnson baby product. It didn't specify type, but it did say "No travel sizes included". At Target they had a smaller (but not travel sized) bottle of shampoo (3.0 oz to be exact) for $1.67, so I used my coupon and got it for free! I was so embarrassingly excited that I wouldn't shut up about it.

Then I decided to check out this great site called Coupon Mom. It's a bit hard to understand at first glance, but once you get the hang of it and realize how everything is split up, it's a huge time saver when trying to find good deals. You can not only search different stores, but it's personalized for your state too, which is good because Florida's coupon policies in stores are different than a lot of other stores. Well on that site I found that I could go to Target or Wal-Mart and use a $1 off any Johnson & Johnson First Aid product coupon that was in the Sunday paper to get a FREE Johnson & Johnson  First Aid To Go Kit! I felt like such an idiot because I kept going to the store (finding excuses, like, oh I need more toilet paper, when really I just wanted to get this darn thing for free) and searching the band-aid isle but couldn't find a first aid kit for lower than $6. Well finally I decided to check out the travel sized isle (mainly to see how much the Tide detergent was, since I did have a 50-cent off coupon and could get a travel-sized 1 load packet for 50 cents) and found it in there for 97 cents. So I used my coupon and got it for free! Then I rushed home to brag to my husband (who pretended he was excited but I could tell he really didn't care...) and put it in the diaper bag.

I probably won't do any more "extreme couponing" until next week, because this is the Black Friday week. I know most people that run these kind of sites thrive on Black Friday and post a ton of deals, but I work TWO retail jobs, so I will be WORKING ALL DAY (and even a little bit on Thursday night) so in between jobs I'll be sleeping, not shopping. Plus I hate waiting in lines. But I promise I will be back to it starting Sunday! :)

First Post!

So this is my first post for this blog, Mom Is Cheap. It took me forever and a day to try to think of a halfway creative name for a blog that includes recipes, great finds with coupons, freebies that I run into, homemade crafts, etc. Just about every name is taken and I was surprised that this simple one wasn't. Maybe it's because people don't really want to be referred to as "cheap", but my husband hates when I say "frugal", and my kids just don't know what that means. And so I don't take "cheap" as an insult. I think of it as being smart. :) So here's to being cheap!!