Bargain Meal of the Week

Click on the image to go find your Bargain Meal of the Week!

I've discovered that Hy-Vee has an "exclusive on-line ad" so I am actually using that one for my deal today. I found this recipe at All Recipes, my go to site for finding new recipes.

Potato, Broccoli and Cheese Soup (I've provided pricing on the sale items)

2 cups chopped onion ($0.34)
2 tablespoons margarine
2 1/2 pounds peeled and cubed potatoes ($0.94)
5 cups boiling water (free!)
4 cubes chicken bouillon
3 cups fresh broccoli, cooked and drained ($1.67 per package, which I'm guessing is more than enough)
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese ($3.00)


In a large stock pot saute onion in butter. Add potatoes, water and bouillon cubes. Cover, bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Remove tough outer skin of broccoli stems and cook broccoli. Once cooked add to soup.
In a blender or food processor puree half of the soup and return to stock pot. Season with salt and pepper.
Add cheese and heat soup through until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

This would make a great (meatless) Lenten meal, if you like options other than Fish (which I certainly do!).

A One Sided Conversation

Yesterday morning, Bodie to Barrett:

"What the matter Barrett? You tired? You need go back bed?"

Barrett was just sitting in the living room, not making a peep. Not sure why Bodie thought something was wrong with him.

Morning at the Museum

On Saturday morning Curt, Bodie and my dad took a trip to SAC Museum. We've been trying to find things for Bodie to do on the weekends to get rid of some of his winter energy. He is interested in the airplanes that fly over our house daily so we thought he'd enjoy seeing them up close. He had fun, but Curt thought he was still pretty young to really enjoy it.

This one is kind of dark, but Bodie is "driving" a flight simulator.

Curt said this was Bodie's favorite part. Probably because it was something "hands on" that he could do.

Bargain Meal of the Week

Click on the image to go find your Bargain Meal of the Week!

I have 2 ideas based on 2 different sales ads I have seen.

I'm not sure if the Thunderous Thursday deals are Hy-vee wide or local (Eastern NE) but if you have these deals available you can make yourself a Mexican comfort meal. Growing up these were called Walking Tacos but my husband calls them Texas Straw Hats.

1 lb hamburger (weekly flyer $2.79/lb - 90% lean roll)
Fritos (Thursday sale $1.68)
Cheese (Thursday sale $1.19)
Lettuce (weekly flyer 3/$5)
Taco seasoning ($0.33)

Simply brown the hamburger and add seasoning according to package directions. Spread Fritos on plate and top with meat, cheese, and lettuce. You could also add corn (Steamfresh is advertised in the Thursday sale as $1 per package or $1.18 in the weekly flyer - cheaper if you have coupons). You could also do this a more healthy way by spreading the lettuce on your plate first (taco salad style). The Thursday flyer also advertised Michelob products for $4.25/6 pack and if you buy 4 you qualify for a $15 rebate, which works out to $0.50/6 pack. I think beer makes a nice edition to a Mexican meal!

From the main flyer this week I have a recipe for Garlic Mushroom Chicken Melt:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves ($0.99/lb)
1 envelope Savory Herb with Garlic Soup mix
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained ($1.00)
1 T olive or vegetable oil
1/2 c shredded mozzarella or Monterrey Jack Cheese ($2.48 or $0.62 for this recipe)

Preheat oven to 375. In 13x9-in baking or roasting pan arrange chicken. Pour soup mix blended with tomatoes and oil over chicken. Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Sprinkle with cheese and bake an additional 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve with a side of rice (Minute Rice on sale for $1.88/box) and Steamfresh veggies ($1.18).

For more Bargain meal of the week ideas visit $5 Dinners.

Bargain Meal of the Week

It looks like Hy-vee is making up for their so-so sales of last week with some great bargains this week. The first thing that jumps out of me is the whole chicken for $0.59/lb! I think we will be trying this over the weekend as the rumor is there is going to be so much snow we will not want to leave the house.

Baked Slow Cooker Chicken - Need 3lb chicken

Oven Roasted New Potatoes - 1.5 lb New Potatoes ($0.88/lb)

Side salad ($0.69 with in ad coupon)

Both the chicken and potatoes call for various spices that you probably already have on hand. If not you'll need to purchase them but their cost per use will only add a few cents onto each recipe.
I should add that I try skimming over the reviews when making recipes from Allrecipes.com. There usually are great tips and ideas from people that have tried the recipes.

A very yummy way to use the left over chicken is Chicken Pesto Paninis (works out well this week too, because Hy-vee also has their cheese on sale). We've made these before and they are great! One warning - if you try to save half of your sandwich to have for your lunch the next day, please don't leave it on the table while you take you children upstairs for baths. Hungry dogs have been known to get on the table and eat these while you are away. They are that good! (Ok, who am I kidding, my dog would eat anything - but he did eat my leftovers, and I was none to pleased about it).

Where'd he learn that

I admit that we are not the best about letting Bodie do things on his own. A lot of times it is just easier to do things for him. This morning we learned that Bodie is capable of getting himself dressed. In the past, we've seen him fumble around and manage to get his pants off. Sometimes even his shirt. I do have to say that I was pretty impressed with his skills this morning. He had a fit because Curt had picked out a shirt that he didn't want to wear. Curt sent him back upstairs to pick a new shirt out. I had gone up to pick out Barrett's clothes and Bodie quickly picked out a shirt from his drawer. He then tried to put it on but then told me "I need take pajamas off first". So he did. He even took his socks off (not a big deal in itself) and I told him that he could leave his socks off because Daddy had new socks for him downstairs. He of course didn't listen and then put his socks back on. I really didn't think he could put socks on by himself. Then he put his shirt on, and realized it was inside out, took it off and put it back on. I really think he could get himself completely dress if he wanted too. He didn't put his pants on because he still needed to get his diaper changed, but hopefully we'll see him do that soon.

Frugal Meal of the Week

I'm happy to provide a frugal meal idea using the Hy-vee weekly ad as my guide. I wasn't very impressed with the sales for this week, but after digging I've come up with the following:

Lazlo-like Rainbow Chicken ($3.85)
Mashed Potatoes ($0.72) (need in ad coupon to get the great price on potatoes)
Steamed Baby Carrots (.40)

What is on sale: Chicken breast ($1.79/lb); Roma tomatoes ($0.77/lb); Potatoes ($0.99/5lb - use only 1/4 bag); Cheese ($1.77); Baby Carrots ($0.99/2-1lb bags)

Lazlo's Rainbow Chicken is at the top of my favorite dining out meals. I try to recreate it in my own kitchen and it is pretty good, but will never be as good as what you can get in the restaurant.

Rainbow Chicken
Season chicken breasts to your tastes (I use salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice). Cook on grill until chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes). Top with about 1/2 cup cheese, diced tomatoes, and chopped green peppers. Cover (or close outdoor grill) and cook until cheese is melted.

We mash our potatoes with the skins still on them for a little nutritional boost (and add butter and milk). The baby carrots are missing from this plate as a certain 2 year old requested broccoli instead.

For other frugal meal ideas visit $5 Dinners.

6 Months!

Barrett had his 6 month appointment today and was such a ham and show off for the doctor. He can sit up great on his own, loves tummy time, pushes himself backwards, and is loving his solid foods. We have seen him roll over both ways but really seems to lack the motivation to do so often (I'm pretty sure I can count on 2 hands the number of times he's rolled for us). The doctor wasn't concerned, and pointed out that Barrett has a big brother helper that will get him anything he desires (and everything he doesn't desire).

The Stats:

Height: 27 1/2 inches (80%)

Weight: 18 lb 1 oz (65%)

Head: 17 1/4 inches (50%)

We brought Bodie along with us to Barrett's appointment and while we were in the waiting room Bodie stood quietly next to a toy and said "I go poopy". Great! Right then they called us back to the exam room, which quickly began to smell. Unfortunately I had taken the wipes out of the diaper bag and forgot to put them back in, so Curt took Bodie to the bathroom to get him cleaned up. Pretty soon here comes Bodie with no pants on, he had a blow out. I cannot remember the last time Bodie had a blow out and haven't packed him a spare pair of pants in a long time. As we were getting ready to leave the doctor's office Curt tied a blanket around Bodie's waist and Bodie exclaimed "I so cute". It was pretty funny.

(Yes, we sometimes dress our baby boy in pink pajamas.)

Short but Sweet

I think I mentioned in a recent post how Bodie likes using our words against us. If we are eating something "different" at dinner we will try to relate it to something we know he likes. Last night we were having Stromboli and we told him "try it, you will like it, it is like pizza". We use the same variation of this every night but substitute pizza with chicken, spaghetti, etc. So last night we are eating and Bodie hands Curt a piece of corn and says "try it, you'll like it, it is like corn". It was sooo funny.

He never did eat the Stromboli.