If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Saturday cooking, boy fun, some make-do sewing and CVS

I got busy with some cooking Saturday morning.  I made a Dutch oven full of chili.  I put some aside in a saucepan to reheat for our supper.  2 chili-loving grandsons were here for an overnight and that is one reason I cooked chili.  My dad has been wanting chili so I filled a quart jar to take to him.  The other containers were labeled and went in the freezer for future meals. 
Chili is such a convenient freezer food- it reheats quickly and is just as good after freezing as it is fresh cooked.  We like it with corn chips or rice or crackers or pasta.  
I have based my chili loosely on the Flat Landers Chili recipe on AllRecipes.com for years.  I don't add the celery or bell peppers, sometimes I make it heavier on meat and sometimes heavier in beans but the spice mixture in the recipe is simple and just right to us.  
I also sliced a pound roll of breakfast sausage into 13 slices and cooked them.  I also baked 2 small cans of biscuits, bought with coupons for 19 cents a can.  We had sausage biscuits for breakfast and the extras all went in the freezer for future breakfasts,  
I prefer homemade biscuits but store bought biscuits really do freeze and reheat better than scratch biscuits. M

The grandsons wanted to do a craft so they painted some pine car kits from the thrift store. 
I set out acrylic paints and was a little nervous that 3 year old Braeden might be trouble with permanent paints but it was just fine.  The table was covered with a big sheet of brown packing paper I saved from a delivery box.  
The boys had lots of fun painting the cars and playing with the cars once the paint dried.  
They wanted to sleep with the cars but I said the cars had to stayed parked on a table all night.  


Saturday sewing was 5 potholders.  The blue squares with appliqued hearts were in 2 huge bags of scraps given to me awhile back from an acquaintance.   There were not enough heart squares for a quilt but they were the perfect size for potholders.  
I put all the old potholders in the laundry.  Once washed, some may return to the kitchen, some may get recovered and some might get thrown out. 


CVS 
I had coupons for everything and I had $27 in extra care bucks.  
It didn't go quite like I expected.  The Gold Emblem coupons I blogged about yesterday can only be used 1 kind per customer.  So, I checked out a second time and got more nuts and snacks on the second receipt
I thought I was buying the right things to get the $5 back on Gold Emblem like in the ad below but only $6 of it counted.  

Still- I am very happy with the outcome.
5 6 roll packs of Viva paper towels
4 100 count Lipton tea bags - we drink lots of hot and iced tea!
6 bags of cashews and mixed nuts
6 bags of assorted snacks
2 pounds of elbow pasta
2 boxes organic white cheddar shells and cheese- we had them for lunch and it was delicious 
Total spent was just under $15 and I got back $13 in extra care bucks.

CVS shopping takes some preparation and organization to get the best deals but for me,  it is worth it! 

CVS is the only store where I try to do deals.  I've read about other shoppers doing good at Target, Dollar General, Publix, Rite Aid, Sears, Kmart .....if you want to stretch your shopping dollars and are willing to do the preparation, my advice is to look on Facebook for a deal group for a store you can shop at or to look at the forums on SlickDeals.Net 

I hope you have all had a nice weekend! 

21 comments:

  1. Yum! Chili is one of my favorite foods. Every year I can dozens of pints from all the garden produce.

    Your little grandsons look like they are having fun. That's a good project for little boys.

    Those potholders would make cute Valentine presents. I love the patchwork one with the feather stitching!

    Looks like you can get some great buys at CVS. We only have a Walgreens. It seems that the bonus points are pretty stingy there.

    Hugs
    Jane

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  2. Corn chips are a favorite with chili here. I have it on my menu for this week. Like you, I always make extra to freeze.

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  3. Wow, I think you got a lot for $15 and you got $13 back so you only spent $2. and got a heap of stuff. Well done.

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  4. We had chili tonight for supper. There's plenty left in the crockpot, so I'll probably serve it again one night when it's supposed to be really cold. When the kids were home we served it over rice both to stretch it and to tone down the spiciness for them.

    I have my CVS list made out. I have to gather my coupons and will go do my thing on Tuesday. As well, I mean to take advantage of the Office Depot sales on composition books and paper and go by Target for an awesome deal on Greek yogurt. They also have their annual white sale with high value coupons in their ad. I have a comforter in my shopping cart online and mean to purchase pillows at the store using another coupon.

    I have to use John's computer to print coupons. Mine doesn't allow me to do so!

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  5. Those boys look like they are having fun painting those cars. Keeping them busy is good.
    You got some great deals at CVS even though it didn't turn out like you wanted. It's worth going over the ads. Someone once told me it was sad that I have to watch the deals and do coupons. I'd never heard of that before-it always makes me happy to stretch my family's dollar as far as it will go!
    Have a great day!

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  6. Inspiring! I wish my brain worked better to do the deals at the drugstores. I used to but I have such a hard time anymore. I looked on FB but wasn't sure how to find a local group. Any suggestions?

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    1. I only do CVS(we have RiteAid and Walgreens but I find their programs to be more confusing). I use iheartcvs(dot)com and Coupon Mom's CVS deals. Coupon Mom uses Ibotta and Checkout51(which I don't use) but I do use Saving Star, since you can link it to your loyalty card and not have to download an app/take photos of your receipt. I love Saving Star, they have deals and you can work them out for any store you link to(I only use ShopRite and CVS). Combining a sale with a manuf. coupon with a Saving Star rebate is often a great deal. HTH!

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  7. Must be a chili kind of night everywhere, except ours was white chili!

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  8. Chilli gets better the next day and out of the freezer I think. I love that you fed everyone. Also i love that the biys wanted to sleep with the cars!
    The sewing is lovely too. Xxxx

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  9. You are so productive. BTW, chili, yes everyday!

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  10. Greetings Rhonda,

    Your potholders are terrific. This has inspired me to make some for my secret sister. I think she'd enjoy some new ones. When I get them completed, I'll post a photo and since you've inspired me, a link to your blog.

    Blessings,
    Mrs.B

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  11. Thanks for the biscuit tip. I don't think I have ever frozen and reheated store biscuits.

    The new potholders look great! It was pasta sauce that got mega cooked here over the weekend. Chili will be needed soon.

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  12. I got some new potholders for Christmas. That's how bad my old ones were. LOL.

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  13. I love chili and your sounds wonderful. Those biscuit sandwiches look so good. Instead of English Muffins, I will have to use biscuits next time. Thanks for the idea.

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  14. Corn chips and chili for me! :) Yummy!! The heart squares are so cute. I love the quilted pot holders! Did you make them? I have enough squares left over from my quilt top, I think I'll use them for pot holders. I 'm so glad I saw this picture, because I was just thinking about what to do with all those squares.

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  15. It is chili weather here, to be sure, but I have at least one chili hater in the house, so I can't fix it as often as I'd like. I did make a nice pot of turkey soup to chase away the chill.

    I love your potholders! I'm brainstorming ideas of things I could make as gifts and that would be perfect. Can't we all use a few new potholders now and again?

    Have a lovely week! Blessings, Leigh

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  16. What a treat for your grandson's. We love chili. I had know idea that can biscuits would freeze. That is great to know. What a wonderful day!!!

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  17. It all looks great. I need to make some of the biscuits for my hubby for breakfast on the go.
    Have a great week.

    I'm in love with the potholders.

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  18. Sounds like you have been busy and productive. What do you put inside your pot holders so that you don't burn your hands?

    Please drop by and say hello!

    Have a wonderful winter season!
    Blessings,
    Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

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  19. Rhonda, You're a GO-GETTER!
    You're off to a terrific start this new years.
    God bless,
    d

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  20. We are having chili for dinner tonight too. I wish I had enough left over to freeze. lol I'll have to make a double batch next time.

    You did great on the CVS purchases!

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