When Times Are Tough...

I want to make something very clear. The road we are traveling to meet our financial goals is not always easy. It has come with it's fair share of pain and suffering. I tend to focus on the positive aspects when sharing with others in hopes that it will inspire and encourage them to do the same. For the last few weeks it feels like our family has been under attack. I used to joke about karma and think about how my own misfortune would surely entertain those who I'd somehow displeased in the past. What an arrogant way to live.... believing that people are that focused on ME all of the time. Everyone has their own problems. That I firmly believe. They are not the same as mine, but they are real and difficult just the same. In the last two weeks, both of our cars broke down within 24 hours of each other. That's a pretty frustrating and humbling experience altogether. After that our son got sick, we had to deal with selling Brian's truck, and medical bills from Macy's surgery have been coming in. Last night we had to take our daughter to the emergency room after having what appeared to be a seizure. Time stood still. And through all of these things happening none of them seemed so important anymore. Who cares about the cars? Who cares about the bills? Who cares whether someone takes joy in my sorrow? All that mattered was that she was okay.... that my beautiful, brilliant, amazing gift from God was perfectly okay. The rest doesn't matter anymore. I plan to try my best in my finances, in my friendships, in my spiritual life, in my family. I will make mistakes. I will fail at times. I will disappoint you. But I will keep going. I will fight. I will fight for them. I will fight for you. I will fight for it all. -Jules

Super Simple Recipes. Because That's How I Roll...

If you haven't noticed, I do simple. I don't want to waste time & money buying a ton of ingredients at the store. I want to be able to remember off the top of my head what I need when I'm shopping. Co' Brown & I are a bit obsessed with Chicken Marsala. So, you can imagine my excitement when I found this little baby at the store yesterday! Serve it over your favorite pasta with some crusty garlic bread and you are good to go!

Tuscan Style Chicken Marsala!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 1/4 cups water

1 package Lawry's® Tuscan Style Chicken Marsala with Garlic and Basil

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet. Add mushrooms to skillet; cook and stir 3 minutes or until tender.

2. Stir in water and Seasoning Mix. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 1 minute or until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Return chicken to skillet.

3. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Serve with cooked pasta or rice, if desired.

Variation: For thicker chicken breast halves, increase cook time in Step 1 to 5 minutes per side.

Creamy Chicken Marsala: Prepare as directed, using 1 1/2 cups milk in place of the water.

**FYI.... I HATE MUSHROOMS and made it without and it was really, REALLY good!!! Oh, and I doubled the recipe.

Crockpot Barbecued Chicken

I'm not sure you can handle this one.

1 bag frozen Chicken Breasts

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ Sauce

Trust me.

You'll thank me later.

Place both in crockpot ....

AND WALK AWAY.

6-8hrs on low

or

4hrs on high (until chicken starts falling apart)

Serve with mashed potatoes or even over rice.

Typically there is alot of juice/gravy so get ready to sop it up with somethin'!

Angel Chicken

by far one of the best recipes around.

Props to my friend Anne for sharing! Check out her awesome recipies here!

1-1/2 lb chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1/4 c butter
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
10 oz can golden condensed mushroom soup
1/2 c dry white wine (or chicken broth)
4 oz cream cheese
angel hair pasta

Melt together all ingredients except chicken and pasta. Place chicken in the crock pot; pour all the rest over the chicken. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve over angel-hair pasta. For some reason, this is SO much better with angel hair than regular spaghetti. People claim this to be the best crock pot meal they've ever eaten.

***P.S. ...use the white wine, people...***

Ranch Roasted Potatoes

these do NOT last long at my house!

a hit with everyone!

Ingredients:

2lbs small red potatoes, quartered

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 packet (dry) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing & Seasoning Mix

Place potatoes in a gallon-size storage bag and add oil; seal bag. Toss to coat. Add salad dressing mix and toss again until coated. Bake in ungreased baking pan at 450°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are brown and crisp.

Menu Monday... Here We Go!

This week, I've got chicken on the brain. And hopefully on the grill! Brookshire's has 3lb. bags of Pilgrims Pride frozen boneless/skinless breasts (or tenderloins) Buy One at $9.99 get one for 1 cent! Which makes them $5 bucks/bag. But, you better go soon because I think their ads end on Tuesdays each week.

Monday: Chicken Marsala over Vermicelli with French Bread and Italian Green Beans

Tuesday: Grilled Mojito Lime Chicken, Saffron Rice, and Ranch Style Beans

Wednesday: Crockpot Barbecued Chicken, Smashed Red Potatoes, Corn on the Cob

Thursday: Grilled Chicken Tacos, Spanish Rice, Pinto Beans

Friday: So, I figure we'll be tired of chicken. We will probably do frozen Pizza or maybe BREAKFAST FOR DINNER! Oh! Now there's an idea! :)))

I am DETERMINED to eat at home this week! Our daughter is scheduled for surgery on the 13th and we are serious about paying cash for her surgery. We haven't used credit in over 2 years and I do NOT intend to start now! We have worked too hard and come too far. No turning back. I will not be in debt because it's easier to go out to eat. Period. And I am willing to air my dirty laundry if it helps someone else become motivated to do the same. You can do it!!!

Menu Monday... What's For Dinner?!

I'll have to admit, we have been dining out way too frequently lately. With our crazy schedules and the kids extracurricular activities, it has just been easier to go out to eat. But, when we think about how much we are spending on convenience, we are once again convicted about not putting that money toward our debt snowball. So, welcome to my lame attempt at meal planning! I figure if I post it here, it will keep me accountable and maybe inspire YOU to eat at HOME, too!

**********************************************************************

Tonight, I am going to make this Spicy Shredded Pork, these Borracho (Drunk) Beans, and this Basmati Rice in hopes of making several meals out of it! I think I will try this approach the next couple of weeks and see if it makes meal planning easier.

Monday: Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup....keeping it simple since Co' Brown has a track meet and I'm under the weather. However, I am going to cook everything for the week tonight so it's ready to go!

Tuesday: Shredded Pork Tacos (see pic above! yum!) on corn tortillas, Borracho Beans & Rice

Wednesday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Side Salad, & Fruit

Thursday: Quesadillas on the Forman Grill, Chips & Salsa

Friday: Pizza! We'll probably do frozen this week. Typically, we love to get Little Ceaser's $5 hot & ready pizzas. But for the principle of the matter, we will either buy frozen or make our own.

Saturday & Sunday? Well, I'm at work and you're on your own! :)

What is on your menu this week? Let me hear your ideas on menu planning and how you fight the urge to go out to eat!

Say Yes To The Dress! Uhh, If It's 75% Off...

This is Mak. You can call her Mak B. Or Mak-to-the-B. Or Mak-Diggety. Or even Makenzie. She'll answer to most anything. She's 14... which probably means she doesn't want her name mentioned anywhere on her mom's lame blog. Especially if her mom is going to tell you what a great deal she got on the outfit she is wearing. Which is exactly what is about to happen.

Sorry, Mak...

And please ignore the ugly pot on my porch. Yes, it is STILL there.

Dress: $23 bucks, Dillard's for 75% off

Earrings & Necklace: $1.62 for both! Charming Charlie for 75% off

Shoes: Could've found a better deal but was in a time crunch. Payless $19.99.

Clutch: Payless $7.50 after BOGO with the shoes.

Total OOP = just over 50 dollars!

I think the necklace & earrings were a steal! You can see them better in the 1st picture.

And, there are several dresses still at Dillard's for 75% off. I'd love to go back and buy them just to have on hand. So cute & fun!

Deals of the Day!

So I've got two words for y'all..... Target Clearance!!! The Waxahachie location had several pair of shoes marked 75% off today. I only bought two pair due to sizes being off, but you can bet your sweet little behind I will be hitting up the Cedar Hill location tomorrow. My ten year old son begged for these Converse with flames earlier in the year...

Now they're marked down to $6.24. Drew's happy. Momma's happy. See how this works?

------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not usually big on anything animal print...

But, these flats were $2.16. I'll deal with it! ;)

----------------------------------------------------------

Moving on... You can print out a coupon here for Healthy Choice frozen dinners buy 3 get 1 Free. It's a Target coupon, so you can combine it with your manufacturer's coupon that is buy 5 get 1 Free and end up only paying for 3 and they are on sale for $1.69. Let's see that makes them just $1.01 each! Love it.

----------------------------------------------------------

Next... you can print out a coupon here for $1 off Target condensed soups. The Tomato soup is $0.57/each. After the coupon you end up paying $0.71 for all three cans and your purchase will prompt another coupon to print at the register for $1/4. They're making this too easy :)

------------------------------------------------------------

But my favorite deal of the day came from Ross! I found these New Balance Lightening Dry Capri Tights for $2.99/pair!!!! I bought one for myself and one for Mak to wear to dance. Sweet!

I am going to end by saying that if you haven't done your CVS deals this week, shame on you! But there is still time. Coke products are (5) 12-packs for $15/get $5 ECB's back. Also, Crest 6-in-1 Mouthwash is $3.99/get $3.99 ECB's back(FREE). You can do the mouthwash twice. This is a good way to get your bucks rolling for next week's deals! What deals have you found this week???