3 New Ways to Use Your Hexagon Punch

What’s that? You have all these awesome punches but tired of the same ole same ole ways of using them? Well great news! I just discovered several new ways to use your hexagon punches. Yes, any size hexagon punch will work for what I am about to show you.

 

First you need paper and your hexagon punch. Also a paper trimmer.

Then you need to figure out how wide your punch punches. This punch measures 1 and 3/4 of an inch so I cut my paper at that measurement.

Then I took my long strip of paper and fed it into my punch but pulled the end THROUGH the back of the punch instead of just sliding it through the middle like normal.

When you punch, it should look like a tag!!

You can do this technique in many different sizes. Use a different size punch or vary the length of the tag.

Now the next idea I had. I saw the remaining strip of paper looked a lot like a chevron so I decided to try to make a nice chevron pattern. Put the paper back through the punch but stop at the size chevron you want to punch.

Punch it out and you get an awesome chevron. Put these together and you got a pretty neat design for any scrapbook page or card! You can vary the sizes.

Or you can put something together like this…

Once I did these steps, I realized the tag looked an awful lot like an arrow. I started trying things and came up with an arrow idea.

Take the original strip of paper. Insert it into the punch with the angled side inside the punch. Pull it through the window of the punch as if you were making another tag. Like so…

Except this time………

Ta Da!! An arrow! Again, this can be altered to be any length you would like it to be!

I used the tags and arrows for journaling on some scrapbook pages I did recently. I can’t wait to use the chevrons to make fun designs and embellishments for cards!

Tell me what you think!!!!!!!!!!!

*Please do not use my photos without my written permission. Thx!

My First “Extreme Couponing” Shopping Trip

I’m beginning to settle into this “stay at home mom” thing and have kinda become a bit scary with couponing! I really like it. I mean, reeeaaaally like it! It’s a bit of a rush when I can find something free or for cents on the dollar! I’m not crazy yet. No worries.

Tonight I went shopping at Kroger and Meijer and saved nearly 50% at each store! I should have spent $180 but spent just shy of $90. WOW! Below I have broken down for you the products I bought and what discounts or coupons were used. Hopefully this will inspire all of you to clip those coupons to save some money!

Here’s my list from Kroger:

2 Silk Soy Milk – Closeout $1.74 ea – $1 off ea = $1.48
4 Silk Shake – Closeout $1.99 ea – $1 off ea = $3.96
2 Kraft Salad Dressing – $2.49 ea – $1 promo – $1 off 2 = $1.98
Cheez Its – $2.50 (will get $1.25 from Ibotta app)

4 Chex Cereal – $2.99 ea – $1 promo – $2 off 4 = $5.96
2 Swanson Chicken Broth – $1.99 ea – $1 off 2 = $2.98
2 Trix Cereal – $2.99 ea – $1 promo – $2 off 2 = $1.98
Velveeta dinner kit – $2.89 – $1 promo = $1.89
2 Kraft Mayo – $3.49 – $1 promo – $4 off 2 = $.98
2 Martha White Muffin Mix – $1.99 – $1 promo – $2 off 2 = FREE
2 Land O Lakes Turkey – $3.98 ea – $1 off 2 = $6.96 (not a deal but we needed this)
2 Angel Soft 4 ct – $1.19 ea – $1 off 2 = $1.38
3 Campbells Soup – 2 @ $.79 and 1 @ $.69 Manager Special – $.80 off 3 = $1.47
4 Skinny Cow = $1.79 ea Manager Special = $7.19 (these are normally $3.50!)
2 AirWick Candles – $2.79 ea – $4 off 2 Kroger e-cpn = $1.58
2 Armour Meatballs – 2 for $5 – $1 off 2 = $4
2 Gerber Grabbers – $1.25 – $1 off 2 = $1.50
Kraft Shredded Cheese – $2.99 – $1 promo – $1 off 1 Kroger e-cpn = $.99
2 Chapstick Sport – $1 ea – $1.10 off 2 = $.90
Chapstick Apple Lipbalm – $1 (will get $1 from Ibotta app)
2 Breakstone Sour Cream – $1.67 – $2 off 2 = $1.34
Domino Sugar – $2.50 
Kroger eggs – $1.65
Total Before all sales & coupons – $123.62
OOP – $61.03
Savings – 50%

 

 

Here’s my list from Meijer:

Everything was 5% off today using my mPerks!
Dial Liquid Handsoap – $7.58 – $.38 mPerks – $2 off 2 = $5.20
Celery – $1.99 – $.10 mPerks – $1.89
Smart Balance Milk – $3.43 – $.10 mPerks – $1.50 Meijer e-cpn – $1.50 off 1 = $.33
3 Bob Evans Sausage – $2.29 ea – $.34 mPerks – $3 off 3 = $3.53

Apple Pie Filling – $2.56 – $.13 mPerks = $2.43
Meijer Stick Butter – $2 – $.10 mPerks = $1.90
Velveeta (2 lb) – $5.48 – $.50 mPerks – $.50 Meijer e-cpn – $.55 off 1 = $3.93
30 oz Pillsbury Cookie Dough – $3 – $.10 mPerks – $1 Meijer e-cpn = $1.90
3 Pillsbury Break & Bake Cookies – $2 ea – $.25 mPerks – $1 off 2 Meijer e-cpn = $4.75
Meijer Milk – $2.79 – Buy 4 Pillsbury Cookie Dough get milk free promo = FREE
Total Before sales & coupons = $51.91
OOP = $26.78
49% Savings

More of Something Special

Matt’s 25 days of Christmas continues!!!

 

December 5 – Russel Stover Caramel Chocolate – I don’t have anything clever but I know how much you love caramel!

December 6 – Craisins – I’m “Craisi” for you!

 

December 7 – Extra gum – You are Extra special to me!

 

December 8 – “The Yankee Years” by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci – I will love you for many “years” to come!

 

December 9 – Gobstoppers – There’s no “stoppin'” my love for you!

A Little Something Special

This year for Christmas, my husband and I decided we were going to buy each other a deep freeze. Glamorous I know! We try not to spend too much on each other and instead buy for our new family of four or friends and family. Well I felt bad with this scenario this year. I just gave birth to our second child in mid-October and we have not had much sleep. He also stays up late with me to help but our infant to bed. Sweetheart right? So this year I wanted to get him something special… but what? How about giving him a gift a day until Christmas? Perfect!

 

So here are the first several…

December 1 – Orange – Orange you glad we’re together?

December 2 – Spicy cheese – You spice up my life!

 

December 3 – Starbucks gift card – God “brewed” you just for me!

 

December 4 – Pepperoni log – You put the “pep” in pepperoni!

 

He has really enjoyed getting these every day. I put them in places where I know he will see them (so I don’t have to hide them). I also vary the times that he gets them. Like he doesn’t get it every morning… that way it’s totally unexpected!

 

Pesto Salmon

Alright ya’ll. Here is a recipe I did NOT get from Pinterest!! I have NO idea where I found this one but it has quickly become a favorite in my house. My husband is not a huge salmon fan but he enjoys this recipe. I make this probably once or twice a month. It is pretty inexpensive and it’s healthy!

Here’s the recipe:

2 lbs thawed salmon filets (4 filets about 8 oz each)

1/2 – 3/4 cup parmesan cheese

12-15 cherry tomatoes halved (or 1/2 tomato sliced and quartered)

pinch of black pepper

1 tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp sage

1 1/2 tsp garlic salt

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place thawed salmon filets in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Rub olive oil over both sides of filets. There should not be much if any olive oil pooling in the pan. Add pepper, lemon peel, sage and garlic salt until tops are dusted with spices.

Next, sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the filets evenly coating them.

Next, place tomatoes directly on top of the salmon. I usually use a sliced and quartered tomato so it looks like this…

 

And if I’m feeling frisky, I will sprinkle a little more parmesan on top of the tomatoes.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (time will vary depending on your oven).

I typically serve this with mashed or baked potatoes, green beans, and sometimes garlic bread! Get creative and let me know your side dishes!!

 

Let’s break it down by price:

2 lbs salmon filets (I usually buy the frozen in a bag kind, not fresh) – $12

1/2 tomato – $0.80

3/4 cup parmesan cheese – $0.50

lemon – $0.44

olive oil – $0.66

Total cost for this meal is $14.40

There are 4 servings making the cost per serving only $3.60!! You can’t get salmon at a restaurant for anywhere close to that!

At http://www.myfitnesspal.com, I have entered the recipe and total calories for the meal are 1628. That means per serving of salmon you are looking at 407 calories! Pretty good I would say! 

Enjoy!

Cooking a Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot

About 2 months ago I bought a 5 pound chicken on sale at the local grocery for $8.00. I remember thinking, surely I can find a good crock pot recipe and have a delicious meal. It took a lot of searching but I finally found one. And it is amazing. Once again, while perusing Pinterest (I think I’m obsessed), I came across a crock pot recipe that uses the whole chicken WITHOUT cutting it up beforehand. 

Here is the recipe:

Rub Ingredients
4 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

3 1/2 to 5 lbs whole chicken
1 cup chopped onion, approx 1 medium or 1/2 large
4-5 carrots, scrubbed, no need to peel, chopped in halves or thirds
4 celery stalks, cut in thirds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed or 1 tsp minced garlic
1 lemon quartered

directions:

Combine rub ingredients in a small bowl.

Remove chicken from packaging and remove neck and pouch with organs. Discard or reserve for later use in another recipe. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels.

Rub garlic powder all over outside of the chicken. Put minced/ smashed garlic inside the chicken. Sprinkle the rub all over the outside and inside the chicken. Add quartered lemon to the inside of the chicken.

Place onions, carrots and celery inside the slow cooker. Place chicken on top of the vegetables. Cover slow cooker and cook chicken on low for 4-8 hours. (When I used a 5 lb chicken, it took 6 hours. The time will depend on the size of the chicken and your slow cooker.) Cook until the internal temperature of the leg is at 160 degrees F or use a pop-up thermometer.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The chicken was literally falling off the bones. It was so easy to cut. Actually I didn’t even have to cut. And it was kind of hard to serve because the pieces kept falling off the spoon!! It rivaled any roasted chicken I have ever purchased pre-cooked and it was SO easy!

I was worried before making it because the recipe didn’t call for any liquid to be added. I thought the chicken would be really dry. By the time the chicken was done, liquid filled the crock pot dish about half way. I guess between the chicken and the lemon… anyway I shouldn’t have worried because it turned out FABULOUS!

Everything had a fantastic lemony flavor and the veggies were soft and flavorful. This is one I will be making at least once if not twice a month. I can’t wait to break down the price and calories for you. Let’s do this!

Ingredients with average price:

5 lb whole uncooked chicken – $8.00 (I’ve seen sales for $1/ lb roaster chicken)

whole bag of baby carrots – $2

2 stalks of celery – $0.74 ($1.48 for 4 stalks)

1 medium or 1/2 large onion – $0.79

2 cloves of garlic – $0.25 (if that)

1 lemon – $0.44

Total cost for this meal – $12.22

It makes 6 servings so that comes out to $2.03 per serving! Another WOW!!! You could even use any leftovers in a different recipe!

 

Using http://www.myfitnesspal.com, I entered this recipe into the calorie counter and found that the whole meal is 3,073 calories. This makes each serving 512 calories. Pretty good considering this is your meat and veggies!

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and HAD to try it! It seemed easy enough and didn’t need too many ingredients. Pinterest sent me to Laura’s Real Mom Kitchen blog (which I have since subscribed to – http://www.realmomkitchen.com).

Here is the recipe:

2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk (not fat-free)
1 (1 oz) pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix
3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken 
1/8 tsp pepper
8 oz (half a box or 9 noodles) lasagna noodles
1 1/2 to  2 C cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 to  2 C mozzarella cheese, grated

Cook the chicken and noodles first at the same time. Once noodles are done–rinse in cold water and set aside (it keeps them from sticking together). Combine evaporated milk (don’t use fat-free version) and Ranch dressing in a 3 quart heavy saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently until dry ingredients are dissolved. Stir in chicken and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes (don’t do any less), stirring frequently. Layer half of lasagna noodles, poultry sauce, and cheese in well-buttered 9×13 pan. Repeat layers again. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

 

I found this to be a fantastic recipe. Usually you need to change, add, or delete things but she had the perfect amount of ingredients. The directions were also spot on!

Here’s what it looked like when it was done (per Laura’s site)

 

Ingredients with average price:

evaporated milk (2) – $1.39 x 2 = $2.78

lasagna noodles – $2.17 but you only use half so $1.09

chicken – varies but around $2 per pound

cheddar cheese – 8 oz for $2.79 – I used about 3/4 so $2.09

mozzerella cheese – 8 oz for $2.79

Hidden Valley Ranch mix packet – $1.79

So total cost for this meal – $12.54

It makes 6 servings so that comes out to $2.09 per serving! WOW!!!!

 

Also, I use http://www.myfitnesspal.com to enter recipes. It spits the calories for the whole meal and per serving back at me. So according to this site using the ingredients listed above, the total calories for this meal are 2412 making each serving only 402 calories! Healthy and delicious!

The Easy Way to Defrost Ground Beef

Up until a few months ago, my freezer was overrun with bulky packages of ground beef. I would lose some in the back, go buy more, and realize I have no room! I started thinking about buying the bulk packages of ground beef. Ya know, the 5 pound kind? It’s usually cheaper by the pound if you buy in bulk.

But where was I going to put a log of ground beef? So I had this great idea to start breaking the ground beef up into pound increments and packing them in freezer bags. You all are probably thinking, “duh Lauren. I’ve been doing that forever.” Well it took me a while! 🙂 Still the problem of bulky ziploc bags continued to haunt my freezer. Until my husband, (I can’t take credit for this one) took out the 5 pound package and started dividing it up like usual.

Then he did something crazy. So crazy I hugged and kissed him! He closed the freezer bags and smashed the ground beef as flat as he could get them. 

You wouldn’t believe the space I now have in my freezer for everything else!! This takes up way less space than the way I had been doing it. Not to mention, when I take a package out of the freezer to thaw (I know each one is a pound and most recipes call for a pound) it doesn’t take up much room in the fridge if I am thawing overnight. To add to the awesomeness, if I need to thaw a pound in a hurry, I just fill a large bowl or my sink (if there’s room) with hot water and within 30 minutes, it’s thawed. No more putting it in the microwave to defrost only to have it cook half of it before it’s done. No more wasting money buying more ground beef than I need! No more bulky freezer storage. 

 

 

About Me

 

 

 

 

 

Hi!! I’m Lauren and I have decided that sometimes I will share my thoughts and inspirations with the world. I named my post “Whatever Happened to Predictability?” because the world we live in is anything but predictable. As much as we try, life throws us for a loop. We make conscious decisions that affect our relationships and daily activities. Hopefully I’m not the only one who struggles on what decisions to make and how those will affect my family and me. It’s only through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that I can even begin to make the decisions that lead to a better life for my family. 

Photo courtesy of In House Studio & Design