Yummy Chicken

This is my dd14y's "secret" recipe so I can't tell you exactly what is in it!

She pulls the chicken out to defrost in the refrigerator after breakfast.

After lunch while the chicken is still half frozen she slices them in half horizontally to make them thinner and cook more evenly. She also cuts them in smaller portions for all the little ones.

She then marinates them in orange juice "and other spices". She thickens it with Arrowroot (or cornstarch if you prefer). You know your pallet. Add whatever flavors you like.

Let the chicken defrost/marinate in the refriderator until it is time to cook. Grilled is the yummiest. Baked is great. You can also do this in a skillet if you are in a hurry or don't want to heat up the kitchen.

Serve with flavored rice and sugar snap peas.

New Glasses!

dd10y got new glasses...ha ha ha.

Actually she earned these from our school treasure box for finishing another Math-U-See chapter.

Too funny!

I'm finally doing it!

Are you doing it? I finally signed up on swagbucks. I've earned 10 in just 3 days. What are swagbucks? Swagbucks are points you earn just for doing what you already do: search and shop.

I do a lot of research and I just love looking things up so it only makes sense for me to earn a few things along the way. I am working towards gift cards. I only need 45 swagbucks to earn a $5 amazon gift card. Not bad. Personally, I'm holding out for the Target card!

It doesn't cost a thing. If you would like to sign up or learn more then just click here!

Friday was good!

For those who wonder what a stay at home mom does all day here one of your answers:

Friday was a little busy for me. I had dd babysit for me so that I could concentrate on this run. We have a new Target in our area so it had many great deals that were for this store only. Between sales, its mailer coupons, Target website coupons, internet coupons, and manufacturer's coupons from the paper I did done good! I won't go into the details of each individual deal since there were just too many to list and just give you the total savings for each transaction.

Transaction #1:

The above purchase is good at any Target. When you buy 5 Quaker qualifying products you receive a $5 gift card. These were on sale for $2.50 a piece and I had 5 $1/1 internet coupons. So I spent $7.50 and received a $5 gift card back.

Transaction #2:

This one took two pictures because the kids forgot to bring in the chip bags from the vehicle! So the above two pictures were both from Transaction #2. Total before coupons was $91.03. After coupons and the $5 gift card from Transaction #1, I paid $28.96. (24 pk of 16.9 oz water was $1...crazy!)

Since my new Target is not a Super Target I then headed over to our Super Target 5 miles down the same road (Health Food store and ALDI were on the way on the same road)

Transaction #3:

This transaction at Super Target before coupons was $42.10. After coupons I paid $2.55!!!

Now off to Wal-mart for some more deals and for things that I can't get anywhere else.

Transaction #4:

Total before coupons was $102.62. After internet and manufacturer's coupons from the paper this transaction was $22.54!

Altogether I saved $186.30. That means I earned $31.05 an hour for a 6 hour day. (I also went to the library and some price checking at Walgreens) Most people working 40 hours a week on minimum wage take home what I saved so that is how I justify having enough time to do all this.

I clip coupons while I'm sitting there watching a documentary or my favorite show. If I have to wait for someone in the car or at an appointment I file my coupons in my book. I grab moments here and there that would otherwise be wasted.

Yes, it takes some time. But these days I can't afford NOT to have time. If I don't have time to SAVE money because I am too busy SPENDING money (lessons, sports, classes) then I don't have my priorities in order for our household budget.

While I was taking my photos for this blog one of my children asked what I was doing. Another of my daughter's pipes up with, "She's taking pictures for her blog so she can brag to her friends." That comment really hurt my feelings (and I let her know it) because I do not have the intent of bragging. I want to share with all of you who have ears to hear so that I may be encouraging that even in this economy one-income families can still make it.

If I have inspired you and you want to learn what I do then please visit http://www.moneysavingmom.typepad.com/ . This is where I get much of my information. Just read it for a couple of days to follow what she is saying and explore her site as she has many links that will teach you these processes.

How nice!

The weather has been so nice here in N.E. Oklahoma! Spring break is extra nice when it actually feels like Spring. (Why do they call it Spring Break when it isn't even Spring yet?) We went to the park for a nice change of pace.

What was really funny is the kids were all playing on the equipment and I was doing my Biology homework. A young mother was also sitting at the picnic table. She looks at me in horror and asks, "You're not doing their homework for them are you?"

What a hoot. I should have kept her going with that one but I didn't. I explained that it was definintely my homework and that when you go back to college they charge you an arm and a leg to RETAKE all the courses you were required to pass to graduate from High School!

Why do I eat?

I read an interesting quote. I don't remember where I read it so all I can say is that I did not author it! It asked, "Do you eat to live or live to eat?"

I must admit that I fit into the latter category. I love to taste food. I want it to be so yummy that I think that it would actually be served in heaven! Why? When food tastes THIS good then I eat too much of it.

I was always a slim trim athelete. When I was in the Army I was running 3 miles a day and also doing arobics and/or weight lifting as well (even when I was 7 months pregnant!). I had to eat quite a bit to keep my caloric intake in balance with what I was burning.

Well...I'm not in the Army anymore...AND I've had 4 more kids since. Needless to say...I'm 20 pounds overweight. Simply because I eat too much. I eat healthy...but too much of a good thing isn't good.

I find the yummier I make something the more I'll eat. So why is my food so yummy? Oh...maybe it is the brown sugar I add to everything to make it more appealing?? The soy sauce, the gravy, the honey mustard, they......I'm really working on making things as close to the natural way God made it again.

One of my customers had ordered pinto bean flour. Why? She told me it makes great instant "refried beans". So I tried it.

I have to admit that it wasn't as good as when I cook the beans to death for 6 hours all day long simmering in a huge hunk of salty, virus infected pork and a pound of salt. No, it wasn't as good tasting as the can of refried beans that I could have conveniently opened that is filled with who knows what. Here is the recipe:


2 cups pinto bean flour
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder or 1/4 chopped (my kids think they don't like onions)
1/4 tst chili powder
1 3/4 cups water

Mix first 6 ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Gradually add water and simmer until consistancy desired. Feel free to add any other flavoring to taste.


Of course the point I was trying to make with this recipe was to try not to add any extras that would immediately affix themselves to my hips.

I placed a spoonful in a small bowl sprinkled some cheese on top and melted this in the microwave for 1 minute. I try to avoid microwaving as much as possible as this kills the enzymes required for digesting.

I added some salsa on top and a few chips and some raw sliced green pepper on the side.

Like I said it wasn't as yummy as the "traditional method", however, one small bowl of 1/2 cup of this dip and I was full. Because I wasn't salivating while I ate it and I wasn't lathering at the mouth for more so I left the table satisfied. I can honestly say that I ate to live today.

Poems from dd10y

The Night
The night is black as coffee
It's as rare as orchids
And as beautiful as a rose.



The Old Farmhouse
As the children play
the wind chimes clang
and the old farmhouse
window screeks.

The "Igor" in me has broken through!

As many of you know, I have gone back to college full time. This sememster I am taking Biology and Geometry. For my Biology Lab I have to plant pinto beans and test the effects different light rays have on their growth. I'll keep you posted!



What do you think will be the outcome of the plants? The platic sheets are clear, blue, red, and green. My guess is that the clear will grow the best, red second, green third, and blue the worst.

My hypothesis is that the clear will produce the best since this is the natural way God designed our sunlight to be. I guess the red will do the next best because of the infared light exposure. Green is my third guess just because the plant is green, and blue will be the worst because it won't let enough of the rays the plant needs to get to it.

Just a guess without further research. I will research it more thoroughly AFTER the experiment so that it doesn't blow the surprise (like no one has ever done this before and I'm going to make a multi-million dollar discovery that could save the world and life as we know it!! ha ha ha)

And if you already know the answer please don't spoil it for me! Let me have this one little excitement in my life for just a brief moment!!

More deals

My second purchase faired out much better since I had all my duckies in a row!

16 pkgs (8 oz) various cheeses on sale $1.49

1 pkg styrofoam cups $1.79

I needed the cups for a school project AND they were my filler to qualify for my minimum $25 order to use my second $5/$25 mailer gift card. Here's how those coupons worked.

8 cheese Target printable coupons $1/2

1 $5/$25 Target mailer gift card

OOP $13.69

The printables made each of these cheeses $1 a piece. Not free...but not bad. Plus they freeze well. With seven to feed we use a lot of cheese so this stash should last me about a month.

Target Deals

Here is the first purchase of my Target deals. We have a new Target so there were some extra new store deals. Didn't do as well as I could have because I did not pay attention!

4 Chex on sale for $1

8 Goldfish on sale for $1

2 Orange juice on sale for $1.99

1 lb Top Round steak on sale for $1.99/lb

1 divider package $2.49

1 door pull $4.99

I did not pay attention and grabbed 4 goldfish flavors that were not on sale so I paid .79 cents a piece for these and left my internet mfr chex coupons of .50/1 at home on my desk (so I lost $5.16 in savings!). I needed the dividers for a school project. The door pull was my filler to qualify for the $25 minimum so it was free. Here's how my coupons worked:

4 Chex mix Target printables (from Hot Coupon World) $1/1

8 Goldfish Target printables $1/1

2 Orange juice Target mailers $1/1

1 Sutton & Dodge Target printable $2/1lb

1 $5/$25 purchase Target mailer

OOP was $10.85

I've moved...sort of.

My other blog was not giving me the support I needed so I have moved to blogspot. I'm trusting I will like this one better since I have some friends already using this place. For my housewarming you may all come to my house and clean it and leave your cassarole on my stove...thank you.