On Friday, Michael and I went to his friend's apartment for drinks and snacky food. Grandma was generous enough to keep the boys for us :) We got to enjoy a night out for only the cost of a bag of chips and a jar of salsa. Considering how many beers Michael consumed, I think we actually netted a profit on the evening.

I made a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup to take over to Grandma's so she wouldn't have to feed the boys dinner. On Sunday, we still have plenty of leftovers for lunch today and tomorrow. I actually managed to stretch that chicken through three meals. I bought it on sale for 0.55/lb. at Fiesta. The whole chicken was roughly $2.70. I made a pot of chicken soup with half of it, last night we used some of the cooked chicken to make chicken enchilada casserole, and I held back one cup of the chicken for tonight's dinner of Chicken fried rice. That reminds me that I need to cook the rice so it can chill.

Last night Ethan's school hosted "Family Fitness Night". I was hoping that Family Fitness Night would entail dinner that Mom didn't have to cook, but alas, no food this time. We decided to eat leftovers for dinner before we left for school. We had a good time acting goofy with the kids--found out that my husband really sucks at Dance, Dance Revolution, lol :)

Tonight I'm making chicken fettuccini alfredo. I made fettuccini alfredo without the meat in my last menu cycle, but I still had enough heavy cream for another meal, so we're having it again. I bought the chicken breast with the B1/G2 deal that Albertson's had last week. I don't think anyone will mind eating it again. :)

Good finds on food at the Dollar Store

I've had really good luck finding staples at the 99 Cents Only store. My sister turned me on to the fact that they sell food, including produce. They always have different things, so I can't really plan for what I'll buy there. I usually go there first to see what staples I can get for a cheaper price than the grocery store
This week I got:
Romaine Lettuce
Butterball Turkey Lunchmeat
5 lb. bag of potatoes
A dozen eggs (I bought 2)
A big package of green onions

Everything was $1, except for the green onions, which were $0.25.

I had an awesome find of half-pints of blueberries the last time I went. They don't have any limit on how many you can buy. Nothing is out of date--I think they just get overstock, because you never know what you'll find the day you go in.

I shopped on Saturday for the next two weeks. Here are our dinner meals:

Beef fajitas, spanish rice, guacamole (V-Day)
Homemade chicken noodle soup and bread
Polish sausage dinner
Chicken pot pie, salad
Chicken enchilada casserole, lettuce and tomato
Beef tacos, refried beans
Homemade Italian sausage and mushroom pizza, salad
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, greens
Chicken fettuccini alfredo, broccoli
Chicken fried rice w/peas
Salmon cakes w/mustard sauce, mac and cheese, zucchini
Breakfast for dinner
Not-sagna (Rachael Ray recipe), broccoli
Chicken in the crockpot, mashed potatoes, corn
Pantry Meal

Homemade "Cinnabon" Cinnamon Rolls

Ethan was running a fever last night, so he stayed home from school today. And since he stayed home, of course he would be acting just fine all day. To keep them entertained, I decided we would make cinnamon rolls from the book Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy, that I just picked up from the library.

I used her recipe for the dough and filling, but her icing recipe required a lot of ingredients, so I opted to just make a simple milk & powdered sugar glaze. They were time consuming, but soooo worth it.

Cinnamon Rolls:
Dough:
1 T. dry yeast
1 c. warm milk
1/3 c. white sugar
1/2 c. soft butter
1 tsp salt (I omitted, because I used salted butter)
2 eggs
4 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Knead into a ball or put in a bread machine on the dough setting. Let rise until double in size. When ready, roll out to about 1/4-inch thick. Spread with filling.

Filling:
1/4 c. soft butter
1 c. brown sugar
3 T. cinnamon

Spread butter evenly on dough. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon evenly over buttered gouh. Roll up dough. Slice roll into 1-inch slices. Place on a greased pan. Let rise until double in size. Bake 10 mns. at 400 degrees.

Icing:
1/2 c. soft butter
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 oz. cream cheese
2 tsp. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Beat until fluffy. When rolls are hot spread icing on them.

or you can use my cheaper and simpler recipe for icing from my ancient Redbook cookbook:
1 c. sifted powdered sugar
4 tsp. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together and drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.

We ate some for dessert tonight and my husband raved over them. Ethan will love having one in his lunchbox tomorrow.


...I will not be making these after Friday when my biggest loser challenge starts :)

Valentine's Day 2009

On Friday morning I heard this review on NPR for a new album by Willy Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel. From what I heard, I thought that Michael would probably really like it, so I thought I'd get it for him for Valentine's Day. I went to three stores to try to find the album, but ended up buying the digital version from Walmart.com. So I spent $9 of my spending money on his V-Day gift. While I was out yesterday afternoon, my husband made me a slide show of family pictures and had the kids hold goofy signs to tell me Happy Valentine's Day. He even got the dog in on the action!

We had a homemade family Valentine's dinner of fajitas, spanish rice, and chips and guac. Michael used some of his Christmas present (I restocked his liquor cabinet ;) to make margaritas. Kroger had Blue Bell half gallons for $2.99, so we got chocolate covered cherry ice cream, complete with cordial cherry hearts. After we put the kids to bed we cuddled on the couch and watched a movie that we borrowed from the library.

Last night we went to a baseball game at Michael's school. He was an assistant coach last year, so he still likes to go and support the kids. Ethan, in particular, really loved watching the game. I think high school games are perfect for him, because he can be right there with the action and easily see everything that is happening in the game. It was a nice way to spend the evening with my family without having to spend money. :)