Gas Grill Maintenance Checklist

Gas Grill Maintenance Checklist

the Last of Indian Summer

Here in Northern KY it's a warm, sunny day--a perfect day to finish up all those outside duties that have fallen by the wayside. Knowing that taking care of things helps them last longer, I cleaned out my new grill. Not knowing where to start, I found that the real simple website had the one that fit me the most (see previous post for link). It was a little messy but worth it, hoping that this prolongs the life of my grill (a wonderful gift from the hubby)! Happy Winterizing!

Coupon Deals and Steals

It is about 2:15 am right now and I cannot sleep! So...I went to Wal-Mart! I realized that some of my "steals" may be ending tomorrow so I grabbed my coupons and away I went.

Now, it is a little harder for me to find "excellent" deals here in Florida. None of the stores in my area double coupons, ever. As far as I can tell from searching the net the whole state of Florida seems pretty much this way; I really don't know why but hope to find an answer. When I lived in Michigan there were often sales for Buy One Get Two Free or Buy Two Get Three Free! Here the best I can do is Buy One Get One.

That being said, I realize that in other states the deals that I will post may not be the "best" you can do, but it's pretty much the "best" I can do!

So here is the breakdown:
2 Suave deodorants @ .97 - 2 coupons @ .50/1 = .47 per deodorant
2 Suave Men deodorant @ .97 - 2 coupons @ .75/1 = .22 per deodorant
1 Progresso High Fiber Soup @ 1.50 - 1 coupon @ 1.00/1 = .50 can
1 Midol @ 4.96 - 1 coupon @ 2.00/1 = 2.96 box

I am giving the deodorants to my outreach group at church; we are feeding the homeless and giving them personal hygiene bags the first weekend in December.
I would highly recommend that when you find excellent deals that you pick them up even if it is not your brand of choice; there are so many organizations that could make use of them and at .22 cents a piece you will never feel it in your pocket!

The Midol was probably not the best deal I can get, but I needed it. If I need something that I haven't stocked up on and it isn't on sale, I always check for coupons on the manufacturer's website; 2.00 off is pretty decent!

Now, where did I find the coupons? As I mentioned the Midol one I got from their website, the Suave coupons were in the Red Plum inserts for 10/25, and the Progresso one I printed off of an online ad.

I subscribe to couponmom.com and moneysavingmom.com newsletters. I also check out allyou.com as they have some really high coupons on their site. Their are alot of different places on the internet to get free printable coupons and tons of blogs dedicated to couponing and all the intrigue involved (seriously there are some super sneaky tricks to learn).

Bottom line is that every family has different ideals for their budgets. Sherrie's family has a different level of need vs. effort than mine does. She can really only shop one store, maybe two on occasion, per week due to her schedule and family size. My family only has one vehicle and one child so depending on the work schedule for my husband I may only get to shop after nine in the evening or I may have the car for the whole day and shop three or four stores.

Also it varies from week to week how "good" the deals are. If they seem really good to me I will make a bigger effort to get out and stock up.

Couponing can be fun or tedious depending on your mindset and level of devotion to saving money; to me it is a great little game to play and I currently have the time to play it! Come play with me! :)
--Dessy

So here is the roast chicken I made for dinner that night. My husband actually came home kind of late so it wasn't quite as juicy as I wanted but the meat still fell right off the bone.

A Baking Kind of Day

Today is rather overcast in Florida though still warm but overcast always makes me feel like baking!
I had four VERY ripe bananas that were screaming to be made into banana bread but as of today I am on a month long dessert-free period. (But it is criminal to waste anything LOL) So I wanted a healthier version of bread and turned to my go-to recipe site recipezaar.com
I found an interesting looking recipe that actually included wheat bran which I currently have in abundance. It turned out great! I actually made it in muffin cups filling about a third of the way with batter and putting a dollop of All Fruit Strawberry Jam in and covering up with more batter. So yummy! Just the right amount of sweet and relatively guilt free as banana bread goes.
Here is the recipe

WEIGHT WATCHER FRIENDLY BANANA BREAD (LOW FAT)

4 medium bananas, very ripe
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup rolled oat
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare muffin tins with liners or grease 2 loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas with the baking powder. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine the flours, wheat bran, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
Stir the egg, applesauce and canola oil into the banana mixture.
Add dry ingredients to wet in three batches. Folding to combine.
Stir in oats.
For muffins- measure out 1/4 c of batter for each muffin- bake for 25-30 minutes.
For loaves, split between w loaf pans- bake for 40-50 mins or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 10 mins on a wire rack.

I also plan to roast a whole chicken for dinner tonight. I got them on sale at Food Lion for .59 a pound and Liam LOVES roast chicken!
I'll give you that recipe as well. I buy McCormick Rotisserie seasoning and it tastes just like the ones you buy at the deli! I think it costs somewhere between $2.00 and $2.50 but if you have a coupon better yet; it lasts for ALOT of chickens so it's worth it for my household.

ROAST CHICKEN

Take thawed chicken and sprinkle Rotisserie seasoning in cavity. Sprinkle over outside of chicken to coat. Place in greased casserole dish (at least 8 1/2 x 11).
Roast at 425 degrees for 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours. There will be sizzling sounds but this is very normal.
When the chicken pulls easily away from the bone it is done. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice and a veggie or salad. (Note: serving size and cooking time will depend on the size of chicken.)

-Dessy

Remember Grandma's home remedies?

So the flu hit our house over the past few days and babies cannot take cough suppressant, what to do? The nurse at our pediatrician's office suggested 'warm apple juice with honey'. It's great! My 3-year-old is sleeping without coughing! I am going to try this myself! --S.

Getting Started: Assessing the Frugal "Frantry"

To me one of the most important aspects of living frugally is to find out where you are right now. Most of us have way more lurking in our cupboards, fridges and freezers than we know. How many times have you gone out and bought an ingredient only to find a few days later that it was there hidden in the back of your cupboard the entire time?
I have not yet mastered the self discipline of making a weekly menu (it is one of my goals in life) and so I rely a great deal on what I call "frantry" cooking. That is simply taking ingredients that are already in my fridge, freezer and pantry and assembling a meal; therefore the term "frantry". This works well for me only when I keep an idea of what I HAVE!
My husband was gone on a business trip this week and I took the opportunity to completely assess my pantry; removing EVERYTHING from the cupboards I use for food, lining it up on the table and counters and documenting what I have. Next week, I will do the same to my fridge and freezer.
It is not enough to simply look at the boxes, cans and jars; you also need to open them up and see how FULL they are! There is nothing worse than thinking you have plenty of baking soda, cocoa powder or some other ingredient and finding out at the last minute you were wrong!
After you know what you have and how much, see if you have duplicates that can be combined. I purchased cheap plastic containers that were stackable and placed dry ingredients like rice, beans, oatmeal and the like in them and labeled them with my lovely label gun. My pantry has so much more room and I can now easily find the ingredients I need.
The next step will also be to type up the ingredients on the computer and have a master list. This way I will know what ingredients that I use and when a sale comes up I can stock up on the appropriate items.
I also had to weed out a few things that were taking up valuable real estate in my pantry. There were about five things that I realized had been in my pantry for awhile and I had no plans to use them anytime soon (or ever). I lined them up and had a couple of my friends take their pick; everything was taken and I now have more room for things I use.
Once you know what you have in YOUR frantry, check out a site called supercook.com
This site allows you to enter the ingredients you have and searches the web for recipes that utilize them! It is great for last minute meals or when you want to make a dish to use up meats and produce before they go bad.
After using the site for awhile, you will be able to pull your own meals together with ease. Some of my husbands favorite meals are the result of my "experiments" from the frantry. I like the challenge of taking one meals leftovers and turning it into a completely different meal.
Frugal living doesn't have to be a drag, it can be an adventure if you have the right attitude. Our grandmothers were champion thrifty chicks many years ago and they had way less to work with! We can do this!
-D

Welcome to Sister Cents!

Being life long learners, we want to know more and share what we have learned about living frugally. Married with young children, we have felt the tangible obstacles to living within our means; but we still strive to do it! We will share with you things that work for us and things that don't, hoping that you will join the discussion and share your triumphs and failures. --Sherrie and Hadessa