Pantry Cooking Challenge

If you're like me, you probably buy more at the grocery store than you need or plan for.  Or you get ingredients to make a meal, and then don't, and those special ingredients just sit in your pantry.

It's time to try the Pantry Cooking Challenge!

I will do the pantry challenge 3 or 4 times a year, usually before we go out of town or when I deep clean my pantry and fridge.

You'll see that I make a lot of meals in bulk and freeze half or more for later, which is a great money saver as long as you eat them.  Sometimes I'll forget about some meals, or they slip to the back and can't be easily seen and forgotten.

I also stock up on meat when it's on sale and freeze it for another meal.  Until I forget about it or it's on sale when I'm shopping and use that instead.

Why should you do this?
1. It saves you money.  It's great if you're doing a no spend month, or need a little extra money one month.  You should already have most of what you need in the house, so you can use that money elsewhere.

2. It helps you clean. You're already going through to look at what you have, might as well clean up too.

3. You're stopping waste.  By regularly going through your freezer, you're able to see what you have that will expire soon.  Most frozen items have a 6 month shelf life, so by going in every 3 or 4 months you're making sure you get through everything.

What you do:
1. Look at everything you have in your pantry, fridge, and freezer.  I will take everything out of my pantry on shelf at a time and inventory it (this is when I wipe down where it came from) then I repeat with my freezer and fridge.  It's amazing what you find that you forget about!

2. Now that you know what you have, make meal plans that revolve around them. I try to buy as little from the store as possible to make these meals.

3. Start using up what you have. This can last me anywhere form 1 week to a month, depending on what I have laying around.

4. Look at all the space you have!

It's amazing to think you had so much just sitting around, and now there's room again!

After I finish, I try to meal plan as much as possible to keep from piling up.  I'll do a big batch of fresh freezer meals to fill the freezer back up a bit, but other than that I try and keep it light.

Then a few months later I'll do it over again.

I hope you enjoyed this! Let me know when you try this, or if you have tried this before and have any extra tips!

XOXO,
Sarah

Looking at My Impact On the Environment

Hello everyone!! So I have been taking a second look at my impact on the environment.

This all started about a month ago when I was walking on the beach and noticed plastic straws on the sand.  With a little digging I started to see how much waste is created by plastic and single use items.

I decided it was time to make a change.

I will probably not make it to be 100% waste free, but I am working to greatly reduce the impact I am making on the environment and hopefully helping others cut back on their waste as well.

Please stay tuned for more developments and my views and struggles with this change.

If I can reach and impact at least 1 other person, then I will be happy!

Please share and send this out to friends and family and let me know in the comments below what you will be doing to help our environment.

XOXO,
Sarah

Aldi Haul, 1 month under $100 for 2!

So if you haven't shopped at Aldi, do it now!  It's an amazing store, but you just need to give it a chance.

It is a budget grocery store, so it doesn't have the bells and whistles, but I'll get a post together with what you need to know when you shop at Aldi.  You can also watch my video here.

Now I was able to get enough food for a month for under $100 for 2 people. We do go out to eat once a week and have a leftover night, so this gives 5 dinners a week.  I did already have some ingredients at home, but if you're shopping sale meats, you should have some too.

One of the keys to these meals is cooking lager quantities and having leftovers for lunch and maybe even dinner the next night.  I'll make double quantities and freeze half for a couple weeks in the future.

Here are all the dinners I can get from this (each meal also has at least 1 serving for lunch):
Spaghetti and Meatballs: 2
Spaghetti Pie: 2
One Pot Pasta Dump: 2
One Pot Greek Pasta:2
Meatloaf: 2
Bean, Cheese, and Rice Burritos: 2*
Beef Stroganoff: 1
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup: 1
Chili: 4*
Pizza: 1
Meatball Subs:1
Hot Dogs: 1
Hamburgers: 1
Breakfast For Dinner: 2 (no leftovers)
Beef Taco Soup: 2*

*These meals I made a big batch and freeze in individual portions. They are easy to defrost and take for many lunches throughout the month.

Lunches: Leftovers, pizza, sandwiches, hot dogs, quesadillas, etc.

Breakfast:  I actually did a whole post on the breakfasts, that I will be linking shortly.  Lots of goodies including oatmeal, chorizo and eggs, waffles, pancakes, hash, and muffins.

I hope you enjoyed this post and are ready to give Aldi a change!  Let me know some of your shopping wins!

XOXO,
Sarah

My Favorite Meatloaf

There's nothing quite as comforting as a nice meatloaf. It's great any time of the year, and is great leftover for lunch. Plus you can keep all the ingredients on hand so you'll always be ready for some nice comfort food.

There are a lot of variations, but this one is simple with a sweat glaze.  It's also great in muffin tins for easy serving and saving.

What you need:
Meatloaf:

1 LB Ground Turkey

1 Egg

½ cup Breadcrumbs

1 TBSP Roast Seasoning

dash Worcestershire Sauce

Sauce:

¼ Cup Sugar

½ Cup Ketchup
1 TSP Worcestershire Sauce

What you do:

Heat oven to 350. Mix all meatloaf ingredients in a bowl until incorporated.   Mix sauce ingredients in a separate bowl.  Put meatloaf mixture in an oiled loaf pan and pat down.  Pour sauce mixture over. Bake for 55 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

That's it!  Let me know if you try it and what you think!

XOXO,

Sarah

Easy Chicken Veggie Soup

Soup season is here!  There's nothing quite like a nice warm cup of soup on a cold winter day. I love that you can toss everything in the slow cooker while you're out braving the cold, and come home to piping hot soup.  Plus soup is relatively cheap and very healthy!

I love making big batches in my slow cooker and freezing half to eat later!  You can make soup for months in only a couple weeks.   Then you can rotate and never get bored (not that I would anyway). I'll have something up soon with how to freeze soup...

There are so many different varieties, but Chicken Veggie Soup is on of my favorites!  Plus you can change what you put in, depending on what you have on hand! You can make it with canned veggies if you want, for those days you're feeling soup or trying to clear out the pantry.

The best start is Homemade Turkey Stock. You can also use homemade chicken stock, which you make the same way.  Homemade stock is so much richer than store-bought, and if you make whole chicken or turkey so easy to do!

I have a base to this recipe, but I always look at what I have on hand to use up, or add extra flavor.  This is great if you have your own garden to use what you grow, or use what you get on sale!

Printable Recipe

Base:
2 cans beans (or the equivalent dry beans)
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cups shredded chicken, or diced chicken
8 cups broth

Other Additions:
zucchini
onion
tomatoes
pasta
spinach

Put everything in the slow cooker (except pasta and spinach). Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add pasta the last 30 minutes of cooking.  Once you're ready to serve, add spinach to the bowl, and pour the soup over.

See super easy!  Let me know what you think! What else would you add?

XOXO,
Sarah

Slow Cooker Turkey Stock

It's soup season!!!  I love snugging up on the couch with the fire going and a nice warm cup of soup!  I could eat soup every day! There are so many varieties and they're so easy to make. Plus you can make a huge batch and freeze it so easily!  I'm making 2 or 3 a week, and easily filling up my freezer for the rest of winter, or when a cold hits.

Now nothing adds a kick to soup than homemade stock.  I have to confess, it took me way to long to start making my own stock.  I don't know why I thought it would be a daunting task.  Now I can never look back!

I made Slow Cooker Turkey Breast, and realized I can leave the carcass in the slow cooker after getting the meat off, and then throw everything on top!  I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this, but I'm very proud of myself! Plus it's basically free, since you'd just be throwing the bones away anyway.

Seriously you just stick everything in the slow cooker for 24 hours! The bones add all the flavor, so all you need to do is add a little celery and carrots.

Once it's done I'll stick in the fridge overnight to let cool before dividing up to freeze.  You can see that a layer of fat forms, so refrigerating it lets you get that out!

Then strain the stock into a bowl and divide it into your containers. Make sure you have the measurements on them, so you'll know what you need to grab for your recipes!

I like to divide mine into different measurements (1/3 cup in the muffin tins, 2 cups in a couple mason jars, and 4 cups in freezer safe bags. Why the bags? They store so easy in the freezer, and when I'm making soup, I'll just pull a bag or two out (depending on the volume of soup) cut it open, then heat up in the pot or slow cooker.

Print Recipe
What you need:
1 carcass from a turkey or chicken
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
about 18 cups water (enough to fill your slow cooker)

Dump everything in the slow cooker.  Cook on low 24 hours.  Chill overnight.  Remove fat, and strain stock.  Divide into your containers and refrigerate up to a week, freeze up to 6 months.

Make about 16 cups stock (depending on the size of your slow cooker and how much water you add).

Total cost: basically free (just water and energy).

I hope you enjoy this!  Let me know when you try it out!

XOXO,
Sarah

15 Minute Veggie Chicken Pasta For $1 a Serving!!!

There have been many days that I just don't have a plan for dinner.  I've gone through my leftovers, or I'm really not feeling what I had planned that day (yes the one downfall of meal planning).  The pasta base is Pasta Roni (no I'm not paid by them to promote this, but I'd happily take free stuff!) which is so easy as a side too. 

This pasta is great when you don't have a plan, time, or have leftover chicken or turkey.  It's great with cooked shredded chicken or you can cube and cook the chicken first.  I always make it with turkey after the holidays.

You can also use any veggies you have on hand, so it's great for using up any extras you have or busting out some seasonal sales. I've used carrots, broccoli, peas, corn, zucchini (like here) or any squash, the possibilities are endless!

I also love this recipe because it uses 1 pot for all the cooking. I love one pot pastas since you just dump everything in and only have 1 pot to clean.

Pasta Roni is a little more pricey than just plain pasta, but it's so easy to have on hand when you just want a little kick.  You can get a regular box around $1(I've gotten it as low as 88c), and the family size (twice the size) for about $1.50.  I keep an eye out for coupons or sales in the store and stock up when I can. I've tried it with a variety of flavors, and they are all great.

What you need:
1 box Pasta Roni
1 cup (about 4 oz) shredded chicken or turkey
1 cup veggies (I used zucchini here, but any veggies are great!)

Cook Pasta Roni according to directions. Add meat and veggies in the last 3 minutes of cooking and stir.  Let sit according to package (about 3-5 minutes to make a sauce).

*If using fresh chicken, dice and heat in the pot you are using for the pasta with 2 tbsp butter (don't add the butter, and cook about 2 minutes. Then add the water and cook according to the package instructions. The chicken will continue cooking with the pasta.

Makes about 2 servings.  Total cost: $2.00 or $1.00 per serving.

I hope you like this!  Let me know when you try it.

XOXO,
Sarah

Ibotta.. Save on What You Buy Already! Plus $10 sign up bonus with code!

So I'm not the biggest couponer. I don't get the paper, and don't want to take the time with figuring out which coupons work best where. Plus I don't want to be buying stuff I don't really need.

 

I'm trying to make more and more meals at home from scratch, and cut out a lot of processed foods.  Coupons aren't so great for that. You can get all sorts of pre-packed meals and snacks with coupons, but what about fresh produce?

THAT'S WHERE IBOTTA COMES IN!!!

I've gotten rebates on any brand/quantity of bananas, carrots, peppers, milk, eggs, ground turkey, and more!  It's so easy and really pays off. Oh and did you know you don't even need to have the coupons up in the store? You can add what you bought AFTER you go shopping!! (I do recommend taking a look at the app before shopping in case they have specific deals for an item you're buying).

When you sign up you join a team with your friends (join my team here) and the more you all shop, the more monthly bonuses you can unlock!

You also can use your own coupons with the app!  You can usually find coupons for products that are on the app. I once got 3 Totinos Party Pizzas for .50c by combining coupons and sales!!

It's so easy.

1. Download the app
2. Add rebates to your list
3. Scan receipt and verify purchases
4. You're done!! Redeem for gift cards or Paypal!

I hope this helped!! Do you use Ibotta? What do you think?  Leave a comment, and we can all be on a team together!

XOXO,
Sarah

8 Tips To Start Working Out

Hey all! So we all know working out is not the easiest thing to do. Seriously it took me a long time to get back in the swing of things.

YOU DON'T NEED A GYM! Or to spend money on equipment. I'll be bringing new workouts to you every week, but unless you want to bulk up you don't need to spend money at the gym.

Here are 8 tips that should help you get back on track:

1. Get a buddy. See if any friends want to join you. Support each other to stay on track and workout together. Keep each other accountable!
2. Have a plan. Why are you working out? To stay healthy, loose 10 pounds, gain muscle? Know what your goal will not only help you stay on track, but will help you with the right workouts.
3. Start small.  Schedule 5 minutes a day to start. Keep adding more time until you reach 20 minutes or more. 
4. Diversify.  Mix up your routine so you don't get bored.  Workout different parts of your body each day (abs, legs, arms, etc). If you're running or walking, take a different route.
5. Get a workout app.  I'll be reviewing some soon to give you ideas, but for now type in workout in the app store and see what they have!
6. Walk more. Park farther away in the parking lot, don't move your car in the shopping center, walk to your neighbors house, just walk around the block with a friend and talk.
7. Eat healthy.  I'm not saying completely change your diet, but make the healthy choice. Plus eating healthy and working out go hand in hand, so it's easier to do one with the other.
8. Bribe yourself.  If you have a hard time, give yourself a dollar a day (or quarter, or whatever) every time you workout.  Have a goal in mind of what you want to get with that money such as Starbucks, new earnings, a new swimsuit to show off your hot body, whatever!

I hope this helps! What are some of the ways you get yourself to workout?

Swagbucks Review... Is it worth it?

We've all heard about those websites that give you a little extra money in your pocket.  Some are scams, some aren't.  Some promise you lots of money, but you end up doing survey after survey for only 50c or less. I was done trying new sites, until my sister told me about Swagbucks this summer, and I wanted to share with you what I found...

I like it! I really do! I mean I'm not paying the bills with it, but it's nice to get a little extra money in my pocket so treat myself. I'm getting about $60 a month from it, and I really don't put that much effort into it. Most of what I do, I do while doing other activities, so it's not taking up much extra energy or thought.

SB: Swagbucks are the currency you earn. 1 SB=1 penny so it's a super easy conversion. You redeem SB for gift cards or money straight into your paypal account.

BEST BONUS: The first $25 gift card you redeem each month is only 2,250 SB ($22.50) so I get a gift card to different places each month and then save up to do a big paypal order with the extra.  This year I'm saving it all up till the end of the year to see how much I've earned in full (Check back at the end of 2017 to see!!!).

How do I do it?
WATCH APP: This is my favorite. You download Swagbucks TV app to your phone and let the videos play. You get 2 SB for every 6 videos for your first 10 SB, then it's anywhere from 8-20 videos for every 2 SB (the more you earn, the more videos you need to watch).
SB/Day: 30
WATCH DESKTOP: When you download the SB toolbar, you can access the watch pop-up.  You get 3 SB/20 videos watched.  You get credit for the video after 30 seconds and can skip to the next one, or just let them play out in the background. There are also playlists through the website you can watch for 1-3 SB/playlist (again you only need to watch 30 seconds of each playlist before moving on).
SB/Day: 50

NCRAVE: There are auto-tours of different websites (make sure you click on the auto tours) that you can load up and let play out.  Again you can pull it up and let them go in the background and just check in on them every 10-15 min to switch to another one it finishes.
SB/Day: 30

SEARCH: Use their search toolbar and get paid.  Every 20-40 searches you get a SB bonus that ranges from 4-40 SB, but usually average around 7. This is something I don't count on for a lot of SB, but it does pay off sometimes.
SB/Day: 10

SURVEYS: This is how you get real money, if you qualify.  There is a list of surveys every day, and how long they take.   I usually don't count on getting any surveys a day, but when I do it's a great bonus.  I try them while watching TV, and usually will complete one every couple days or so (like I said I don't rely on these, but I think it was from getting burned on other sites).
SB/Day: 50+, but I count on 3 for being disqualified.

Bonuses:
DAILY GOAL: Always make sure you get your bonus daily!!! Each day you hit your goal you get a bonus (the more you hit the higher it gets).  You get 10% of the bonus amount, I hit about 14 SB/day bonus.  There is also a streak bonus, so if you hit every day each month you get a 300 SB Bonus.  You redeem this at the beginning of each month for the previous month.
SB/Month: 600ish

DAILY BONUS: Complete different activities to earn a bonus.  You get 1 SB for completing 6/8, 3 SB for 7/8, and 5 SB for completing all 8. You also get 1 SB for the daily poll, crave, and deal of the day. I typically get 7/8 since I don't always complete a survey.
SB/Day: 5-8

SWAGO: Each month there is a bingo called Swago. The more activities you do, the higher your bonus is.  This is something I don't really participate in because you need to buy a gift card for the big bonus. Other activities include clicking through to a website, completing a survey, referring a friend, actions on your mobile acts, and more activities through the site.
SB/Month: 5-300

REFER AND EARN: You get 300 SB when anyone you refer reaches 300 SB (they also get the 300 SB bonus), and 10% from all their earnings (with some exceptions).  So if you are thinking of Signing Up I would really appreciate you doing it through me.

Thank you so much for reading all this! I know it was long, but I hope it helped you out!

XOXO,
Sarah

Easy Breakfast Sandwiches

What's better than a nice full breakfast?  Well I don't always have the time, or desire, to cook it all up, but I do have time for breakfast sandwiches.  I used to pick them up all the time from McDonalds when they were $1 each, but now the price has jumped to $2.50 so I'm absolutely not down anymore.  Years ago I saw how easy it is to make your own, and I'm all about it! Plus it's about 75c each, so that's a plus for an easy grab and go breakfast.

 

All you need are English muffins, breakfast sausage patties, cheese slices, and eggs!

 Spray a muffin tin with oil, and put one egg in each cup. Crack a little pepper on each egg.

 Bake at 350 for about 13 minutes, or until almost cooked through. Let cool.

 Assemble your sandwiches! I did 4 sandwiches without meat, but the rest had sausage. Plus if you're using frozen sausages, you can just put them in and you're good to go!

Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and put in a freezer safe bag. Freeze until you're ready to eat them!  To reheat, place in the microwave for 90 seconds at 30% Power (or put sandwich in the fridge the night before to defrost). Flip the sandwich and heat for another 45 seconds or until the sandwich is heated through.

Print Recipe

What you need:

• 12 eggs
• 12 slices of cheese
• 12 English muffins
• 12 sausage or ham patties

Heat the oven to 350. Oil each muffin cup and crack an egg in each. Crack a little pepper on each egg. Bake the eggs in muffin cups for 13 minutes, or until almost cooked through. Let cool.

Assemble your sandwiches with 1 egg, slice of cheese, and meat of choice on an English muffin.

Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to eat.

To reheat. Either defrost overnight or cook on 30% power for 90 seconds. Flip and heat for 45 seconds on high or until sandwich is heated through..

I hope you enjoy these! Let me know what you think!

XOXO,
Sarah

Degustabox Review

Who's ever wanted a snack? I know I always do! I'm a big fan of snacking and love to try new things. So when I heard about Degustabox I had to try it out! It's a monthly box service with 10-15 goodies inside! I just got it a week ago and I am in love! Seriously it comes packed with goodies that I would probably buy myself, and they're all tasty!

Oh, and your first month is only $9.99 so it's beyond a good deal!!!

I did some research on previous boxes to see if they did add up to the $20/month price, and I can say that they do. Plus unlike most monthly boxes, you can sign up for just 1 box for the $9.99 to make up your mind yourself! Cancelling is really easy through the contact form, although I won't be cancelling mine!

So here's a review of what was in my box, or you can just watch the video above:

• Cow Tales Candy (it's like marshmallow and caramel, and one of my favorites so I was super excited about that)
• Korma Curry Sauce
• Cello Whisp crisps (that can be used like croutons)
• Little Bites Party Cakes (little cupcakes)
• Aloe water (which I'm too scared to try out)
• Green Tea Powder
• Granola Bar
• Jolly Time popcorn
• Fruit and Yogurt bites
• Hungry Jack Pumpkin Pancake mix
• Fruit Snacks

I hope this was helpful! Don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel for more unboxing videos!!

XOXO,
Sarah

Welcome!!!

Hello Interweb friends!

My name is Sarah and married living in a Dallas suburb. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats.  I love to try new things to make my life easier, and wanted to share what I do with you.

Let me know if there's anything you want me to try and I'll do it!  I also have a Youtube channel, so if you're more of a visual person, I'll try and have a video with every post! Plus you can like and subscribe to my videos on there.

This is my first attempt at a blog, so I hope you'll be kind to me!

XOXO,
Sarah