Penny Pinching Peach

For the semi crunchy, homeschool friendly and totally frugal!

Author Archives: pennypinchingpeach


by Leave a comment

Cheap Movie Night, Anyone?

Movie Night at Home With Baby Princess Peach

Movie Night at Home With Baby Princess Peach

How many of y’all out there are night owls and love movies? If that fits you as well as it does alot of my kinfolks (hello, my night lurking relatives! 😉 ), then this is a deal that I’m super duper excited to share with you!!

At select AMC theaters this summer, they are hosting special 10pm showings with tickets for only $3!! Even better, the proceeds go toward causes that benefit autism! These are not just lame-o boring movies, either. The next two movies are The Amazing Spiderman and The Hunger Games, both of which I gather were very popular at their first showings. 🙂

If you’re like the hubby and I, you’d be too sleepy to enjoy these movies, although we are seriously overdue for a date without munchkins. However, alot of our relatives, especially mine, have schedules almost more vampire than human, so I’m sure some of them would love to go to one of these movies! 🙂 How many of y’all are nightowls who would love a good movie on the cheap? Which of these movies would you be most interested in seeing?

Now for the magic link with the schedules, movies and other pertinent details…

http://www.amctheatres.com/programs/summer-movie-nights


by Leave a comment

Huggies bargain!

Checking out his new stash

Checking out his new stash

There is another great diaper deal going on at CVS this week, just in time for me to re-stock on diapers for my little Peanut! 🙂

If you buy $30 of certain items, including Huggies, you get $12 in Extra Care Bucks back. I bought three packs of Huggies at $9.49 apiece and one container of wipes for $3.00. I had three $2.00 off Huggies coupons and a 50 cents off Huggies wipes coupon from this past Sunday’s paper and one $5 off any $20 worth of Huggies products from CVS.

I used the ECB to stock up on sodas with the deal they have going for three 12 packs of Coke products for $10 with a coupon from the magic red machine and get a couple packs of M&Ms as a treat.

My total out of pocket between the two transactions was: $22.63
My savings: $41.98
Percentage saved: 65%

I could’ve done better had I bought things I had coupons and a sale both on, but I only bought things that I wanted that were on sale. I didn’t have time to plan more than what I had to.

The Huggies products, though, worked out to $2.50 each!! AMAZING!! 🙂 I wrote this post Thursday, minus the numbers, with my baby sleeping on me, and had things happen to prevent me from making it to the computer to complete it in a timely manner. This deal is probably expiring tomorrow, so hurry on out!

That’s a pretty amazing deal, if you ask me! It was so easy that it only took five minutes to clip and write my list, and no time at all to shop. I was able to run into CVS alone while the kiddos and hubby waited in the car without coming back to cranky people, and that’s saying it was pretty stinkin’ quick. 🙂

I was holding out for another good diaper deal, and this one came just in time. 🙂 Who else is going to take advantage of this?


by 5 Comments

Breakfast Burrito For One

Cheesy Spinach Breakfast Burrito

Cheesy Spinach Breakfast Burrito

Let’s face it. Sometimes we all want a warm, healthy breakfast that won’t break the bank, but we’re either too busy or too lazy to take the time to cook it up. This recipe is perfect for that kind of morning! It is one of my favorite super simple breakfasts to make when my hubby is working and my kiddos just want cereal or fruit. I came up with this while I was pregnant with my son. I needed to eat healthily even when alone with my toddler, but was unable to stand for more than a few minutes to cook without complications. I was also craving spinach morning, noon and night. This Cheesy Spinach Breakfast Burrito hit the spot! You can also use the same ingredients, multiply it by the ammount of burritos you need, and just cook it stove top like scrambled eggs. When I do that, I add sliced fresh mushrooms, since they cook better in the pan. (They’re good in the microwave, too, just slice thin.) If you’re like me, and want to keep it simple and snappy in the mornings, this is a meal for you! It literally is completely done, from opening the fridge to that first yummy bite, in less than five minutes. There are also some great coupons to go along with it this week. You can’t beat that! 🙂

How to make it…

Cheesy Spinach Breakfast Burrito

1 cup fresh spinach, torn or cut into smaller pieces

1 egg

1/3 cup shredded mozarella cheese

1 flour tortilla

1 Tbsp. sour cream

Spray a microwave safe bowl with cooking spray.

Place spinach, egg and cheese in the bowl.

Stir with a fork until everything is well mixed.

Microwave for one minute.

Stir contents.

Place tortilla on top of bowl and return to microwave for 15 seconds.

Spread the sour cream on the middle of the tortilla.

Dump the rest of the ingredients in the tortilla and fold like any other burrito.

Gobble it up and head into your day well fueled!

There are some good coupons to go with the recipe this week!

To print your coupons, please go to http://www.coupons.com/coupons/Food-Coupons-107/

Print coupons for Breakstones or Knudsons Sour Cream and Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese.

What are some of your favorite quick breakfasts for those hectic (or just plain lazy) mornings?

For more recipes, please click the Chef’s hat!


by 5 Comments

Grandma’s Sunday Special Ritz Cracker Chicken

A Family Favorite!

A Family Favorite!

This is a treasured family recipe, dating back at least to my great-grandma. My mom told stories of going every Sunday to her grandma’s house for this Ritz cracker chicken and a good time with her huge, close-knit clan of kinfolks. This was one of her stand-by meals for our family growing up, and one we looked forward to every time. When I was dating my now-husband, I fixed this chicken for him. He had a fit over it, and insisted on taking me to his parents’ house and having me fix it for him. Maybe it brought on a proposal? 😉 He requests it from time to time, and my little Princess Peach and her baby brother are already in love with what she also calls Grandma’s Special Ritz Cracker Chicken. She thinks it is a “recipe from Heaven”, though, because it is so yummy and she knows it is a recipe I learned from her Grandma, whom she never met ’cause she went to live in Heaven before Princess Peach was born. This recipe has so many good memories attached to it for me, in addition to being delicious! I’m happy to share it with you, and hope you can make memories with your own family while feeding them this scrumptious chicken treat.

We don’t always make this with chicken breast, for the record. You can use any pieces you want. We just like breast meat better in our house, so I buy huge packs when we find it on sale. I also frequently add chicken liver, made the same way, in with our chicken breast. It stretches the budget, and  the hubby and I love liver. I usually serve this chicken with mashed taters and either green beans, corn, baked beans or mac & cheese, but it would go well with just about anything. It is truly that good! 🙂

With no further ado…

Grandma's Sunday Special Ritz Cracker Chicken

Grandma’s Sunday Special Ritz Cracker Chicken

♥Grandma’s Sunday Special Ritz Cracker Chicken♥

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large strips

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

1 stick butter, melted

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix crushed Ritz crackers, melted butter and black pepper until all is moistened.

Coat each piece of chicken well with the Ritz cracker mixture, and place in medium sized baking pan.

 Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through and lightly browned.

Enjoy!

She was enjoying her chicken and wouldn't stop to pose. :)

She was enjoying her chicken and wouldn’t stop to pose. 🙂

This recipe doubles well, and I usually do at least double the recipe so we can eat it

Chewing his chicken with a cheesy grin

Chewing his chicken with a cheesy grin

multiple times. You just have to cook it a few minutes longer for the extra chicken. The pan shown is about double the recipe, for reference. We love it so much that we’re always happy to eat the leftovers the next day!

No coupons this week, but this is a super frugal main dish.

So, now that I’ve shared one of my favorite family recipes with you, what’s a dish your family has long term ties with? If you don’t have a recipe like that, what dish do you fix that appears to have the potential to become “Grandma’s special recipe” for your own future generations?

For more recipes, please click the Chef’s hat!


by 5 Comments

Another Great Diaper Deal!

Diapers and stuff

Diapers and stuff

If you have munchkins who are still diaper bottoms, this is a great deal for you! I’m surprised to have deals this great so close together! Also, if you’ve not yet done the Kimberly Clark Rebate, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of that. (See my previous post about it here: https://pennypinchingpeach.com/2013/05/24/fantastic-diaper-deal-rebate-and-more/ ) You could get diapers and wipes for nearly nothing after rebate if you buy three packs of Huggies and $5 worth of Huggies wipes and haven’t done the rebate yet! 🙂

I did two transactions during a quick trip to CVS today. My main purposes for going in there was to take advantage of the diaper deal I’d put together and to get some ibuprofen we needed. There was also a good sale on Pepsi products. I went in with no Extra Care Bucks to spend. I spent $21.49 out of pocket and saved $36.60, with a less-than-impressive savings percentage of 63%. I don’t feel bad about that, though, because I had to get the Ibuprofen since we’d actually ran out, for once, and I bought a couple of extra sodas just to be able to use my Extra Care Bucks from the diapers so I wouldn’t have to use my money.

Pay attention here! :)The deal I’d recommend you going to get before the stores close Saturday is the one on Huggies diapers. I had a couple of coupons from Sunday papers for $1.50 off and printed one for $3.00 off (which you can find for at least $2.00 off on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pennypinchingpeachpage , where I sometimes share “bonus deals” that I don’t write entire blog posts about). CVS is running a deal where you get $10 in Extra Care Bucks when you buy $30 in select items. Huggies and Pull-ups are two of those items, and they are $10 a pack. They also have a coupon printing off for alot of people at the magical coupon machine in the store for $5 off a $25 baby purchase. After my coupons and the ECB, they only cost me $3 a pack!! Now, that is a diapering deal to dance about, y’all! 🙂

CVS shopping tip: When you scan your card at those lovely red coupon machines in the stores, don’t just do it once. Keep scanning it again until it tells you there are no more coupons available, which is usually after two or three scans. That makes you more likely to get all of their current special coupons, but it’s not something they’re going to tell you. Try it! You’ll see. It keeps printing new coupons for at least two scans! 🙂

Which items do you search for bargains on? For me, it’s obviously diapers and wipes, but also grocery items that we use consistently.


by 2 Comments

Cheesy Spinach Enchiladas

When I Became a Spinach Addict

When I Became a Spinach Addict

As someone who is addicted to both cheese and spinach, and loves Mexican food, this is a fantastic recipe! I’ve been a lifelong lover of cheese, but spinach has become a consistent craving for me ever since I got pregnant with my now one year old son. Weird, random, but true, especially since I was barely a mediocre fan of all things green and leafy until then. I’m drooling right now just thinking about these Cheesy Spinach Enchiladas! I want these right now, seriously! This is an awesome meal for a vegetarian or someone like me who can do without meat easily…or the guy whose wife can sneak in a meat-free meal when there’s enough cheese and sauce involved. 😉 It’s also very inexpensive, so who can complain about this one? If you’ve got someone who can’t do without meat at even one meal, just add a sprinkling of shredded chicken to each enchilada (or just his), so everyone will be happy. If you want to double the recipe and freeze one before you finish cooking, usually enchiladas freeze well, although I can’t guarantee them, of course. There are also coupons available to go with this delicious dish, which makes an inexpensive dish even cheaper. Can we say woohoo here?? 🙂

~*~Cheesy Spinach Enchiladas~*~

1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach , thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
10 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1 (19 ounce) can enchilada sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion; cook for a few minutes until fragrant, but not brown. Stir in spinach, and cook about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, and mix in ricotta cheese, sour cream, and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese.

In a skillet over medium heat, warm tortillas one at a time until flexible, about 15 seconds. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Roll up, and place seam side down in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cup of Monterey Jack.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned at the edges.

Go to this site: http://www.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=MKRU3JAAR6CCY

Print these coupons: $1.00 off 2 Las Palmas Products and 50 cents off one Sargento cheese

I’m in love with this recipe, but I have a meat addict for a hubby, so I’d probably have to add some shredded chicken to mine, or at least make some beans with it. Does anyone else have a meat junkie in their household? Did anyone else crave something during pregnancy, and never lose the newfound love for a food which wasn’t a favorite before? My weakness is cheese. I could live as a vegetarian, if necessary, but being vegan would probably send me into withdrawals. 🙂

For more recipes, please click the Chef’s hat!


by 3 Comments

FANTASTIC Diaper Deal, Rebate and More!!

Diapers and Deals

Diapers and Deal

If you’re looking for a killer deal on diapers, I have got a red hot bargain for you!!! This is one of the best diaper deals I have ever seen, and I’ve been buying diapers for close to 4 years now. I’m shocked, because I haven’t seen this scenario on any of the multiple deal sites I’m subscribed to, even the ones specializing in baby bargains. This is amazing!! 🙂

Kimberly Clark is running a promotion where if you buy $35 worth of select products in one transaction, you can get a $10 rebate. Huggies products are one of the eligible products, but there are others for those of you who are not in need of diapers. You can check it out at the link at the end of this article to find out the details.

CVS has a deal this week where if you buy $30 worth of Huggies diapers, you get $10 in Extra Care Bucks back. Their large Huggies multi-packs of wipes are $6 apiece. In the Sunday paper this week were some Huggies coupons, in one of the two Smart Source inserts. One was for $2 off of one pack of Huggies Slip-Ons, and the other was for $1.50 off any pack of Huggies diapers. I had bought a double paper this week, so I got two packs of the slip-ons and one of the snug & dry at $10 each, using two $2 off coupons and one $1.50 off coupon. I also got one of the $6 multi-packs of wipes, although I had no coupons for that.

After the Extra Care Bucks, coupons and rebate come through, this deal will wind up at $10.50 for three packs of diapers and a 186 count multi-pack of wipes. That is just over $2.50 each!! If you have ever bought a pack of diapers, you know this is beyond a terrific bargain! Hurry!! The CVS sale is only going on through tomorrow, although the rebate is available on purchases through the end of July!

I also got two coupons for $1.00 off any Wet & Wild nail, lip or eye products in the same Sunday paper, so I was able to get two nail polishes for absolutely free at CVS! This would work at most other stores as well, since they usually have polishes at 99 cents each.

CVS has another noteworthy promotion I took advantage of today, which is a 2 liter of Coke for 99 cents, along with a 25 cent off coupon at the magical coupon printer in store, making it only 74 cents for a bottle of Coke! There is a limit of one, so I wouldn’t make a special trip just for this, but it’s a great deal.

Blissful sleep in discount name brand diapers

Blissful sleep in discount name brand diapers

My husband was letting me run into the store quickly with the baby while he took our little girl with him to pick up a part for a repair, so this had to be a simple and planned trip. There are alot of other good deals this week at CVS, especially if you want makeup, but I haven’t had the time or need to take advantage of them all. If you are making a trip to CVS, I’d advise taking all of your makeup coupons with you this week, as they have some great promotions and in-store coupons on several brands right now.

Is anyone ready to jump on this fantabulous deal?? I absolutely couldn’t pass it up! I saved enough on diapers and wipes to pay for an entire week of groceries on a week when I’m not having to super stock on anything. 🙂

Here is the webpage with instructions and the link for printing the Kimberly Clark Rebate:
http://www.kcbrokerrebate.com/April-June2013/


by 4 Comments

Smart Phones and Coupons

Smart Phone Savings

Smart Phone Savings

Have you ever had a great shopping trip planned revolving around certain high value coupons, only to reach the store and realize you didn’t actually bring aforementioned high value coupons? Well, maybe I’m the only one, but that has happened to me more than a couple of times! I hate it. I mean, I mega-seriously-deep-down DETEST when that happens! As a lifelong penny pincher, when I have a plan for some serious savings, and my own scatterbrained moment costs me some great bargains….ooooooo, it burns my butter, lemme tell ya! Thankfully, with my recent free upgrade to a smart phone, I’ve found a solution to many of these disappointing moments.

We were going to Party City to get a banner for our son’s upcoming first birthday, using a 20% off coupon I had found. Horror of horrors, we were nearly to the store when I went into my purse to get the coupon and realized I didn’t have it!! Well, I was pretty peeved, to say the least. However, I had a blessed “AHA!!” moment! I used my smart phone to search http://retailmenot.com for a coupon from Party City. Sure enough, there it was. I saved it to my phone’s main screen and headed into the store with high hopes. We got to the register, and it worked! They scanned my coupon right from my phone’s screen! My savings were…well….saved by the magic of technology!

Maybe everyone else has been using these smart phone dealimabobbers for ages, but I only got mine in the past couple of months. I am so thrilled when I’m able to use my new technology to help save money for our frugal family!

Moral of the story: If you have a smart phone, next time you forget your coupons at home, it may just save your savings, too. Now, if only I’d always remember that fact… 😉

Does anyone else forget her coupons and start kicking her own hiney?


by Leave a comment

Hot Dog Casserole

Hot dog!

Hot dog!

This is one of those recipes I love, because it has your veggies for the healthy appeal, your hot dogs for the kid appeal, and the ease of throwing it together for the busy person appeal! It’s also very budget friendly, which teetotally appeals to the penny pincher in me! The doggie in the picture isn’t exactly the kind that goes in this casserole, but I think she’s pretty cute! I hope y’all enjoy this recipe! I’d say it’s a keeper. 🙂

First comes the recipe…

♦ Hot Dog Casserole ♦

16 hot dogs , cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 (15 ounce) cans cut green beans with liquid
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes with juice
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a 2-quart casserole dish, stir together sliced hot dogs, green beans with their liquid, and stewed tomatoes with their juice.

Bake in the preheated oven until the juice is thickened, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, stir again, and sprinkle the casserole with mozzarella cheese. Heat the broiler of the oven, and place the casserole under the broiler until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it, as the broiler works quickly and could burn.

Now comes the savings…

Go to this site: http://www.coupons.com/coupons/Food-Coupons-107/

Print these coupons: Ball Park Lean Hot Dogs and/or Jennie O Turkey Franks

What’s your favorite way to eat hot dogs?


by 2 Comments

MyPoints

Penny Pinching Peach

Penny Pinching Peach

If you are on this site and reading this article, the chances are that you already print off coupons. Did you know that you can earn points toward gift cards just for doing something that you do already? That’s right! Just for printing and redeeming the same coupons you would print for free, you can rack up some additional goodies on the side!

I have been a member of MyPoints for a few years now. It’ a pretty nifty program where you can earn points toward gift cards by clicking on emails, using their toolbar, printing and redeeming coupons, shopping through their sites’ links, referring your friends, etc. Just by doing things you would normally do, you can rack up some pretty dandy gift cards. The selection of types of gift cards you can get here is nearly endless! They seriously have enough variety that everyone should be happy.

When I had more time to devote to working toward my points, I earned my gift cards at a much more consistent rate. Lately my participation has been more spotty, due to various factors having nothing to do with the program, so I’ve been slower to earn. I just redeemed some points for a $10 gift card to Red Lobster. I’m hoping between that and a coupon, maybe my husband and I can go on a date alone for the first time since our son was born. (We went on one with the baby with us.) One year I saved them up all year without redeeming them, and cashed out for a larger gift card to help pay for Christmas. That definitely came in handy!

The quickest way to build up your points is to install the toolbar. Confession here: I’ve never installed the toolbar, or I’d earn my points much faster. I just find extra toolbars annoying, and don’t want to bother with them. If they don’t annoy you, then go right ahead. I’m just infernally honest, and don’t want to pretend I’m taking advantage of one of the best ways to earn the points when I’m not merely ’cause it’s not my thing. 🙂

Another way to really add up your points is to click on the emails they will send you. They usually send me a few messages a day. Some are surveys. Some are special offers to click and view to earn a few points, whether you actually participate in the offers or not. When I’m really busy and need to clean out my inbox, I just delete them. When I have time, I click and watch my points slowly climb up, up and away! You can opt out of the emails if you find that you don’t want to click and earn or are just getting too many messages. It’s as simple as going to My Account, then Email Subscriptions, then just select “Unsubscribe From All” and save the settings at the bottom. No more emails! You can also choose to only receive certain emails, like survey opportunities only. You can also access the surveys directly on the site.

If you do online shopping regularly, this is a way to basically be paid to shop. You can search for the online merchant you wish to buy from, type of merchant you’re looking for or just browse to see which merchants are participating in their program. Again, their selection is huge, so I’m sure you’ll find whatever you are looking for! They will say up front how many points you earn per dollar you spend with each merchant (it varies), so you’ll know how many points you should get and roughly how much value that has for you.

My favorite way to earn is just printing and redeeming coupons. You pretty much get the same coupons you would get from Coupons.com, SmartSource and Catalina. The difference is that you get 10 points for each coupon you print through their site and redeem. You also get a bonus when you print or redeem 10 or more coupons in a month. That’s like being paid for saving money! How awesome is that?? There is also a promotion going on until the end of May where you get an entry into a $2,500 sweepstake for every coupon you print. 🙂

The final way to earn points toward gift cards is through referrals. You can earn a few points just for your friends joining, and rewards for their future interactions. The more folks you get to sign up under you, the better you will do at earning rewards quickly. While your friends are shopping, clicking and printing, you are both benefiting. It’s a win-win situation, and costs neither of you anything. It doesn’t get better than that!
You won’t get rich, dig yourself out of debt or any other sort of magical things just by participating in this program. If someone claims you’ll be rewarded out your ears for your participation in an online program like this, they are probably just blowing smoke in your face. Ignore them. You will, however, slowly and steadily earn some great gift cards to use on things you need or just plain want. There’s nothing difficult about it. They don’t ask for a credit card, your social security number or any other uncomfortable personal information. You won’t have to pay a penny for any of this, just use your time & noggin a little to remember to click through their site before you shop online and other little details like that. Since we all need to exercise the grey matter between our ears now & then, this seems like a no-brainer to me. 😉

Quick review: MyPoints gives you points for clicking emails, shopping through their site at various merchants, printing & redeeming coupons, referrals and other fun stuff most of us would do even if noone was giving us anything. Those points are redeemable for all sorts of fantastic gift cards that would appeal to anyone of any age or interest. They charge you nothing, period. It’s super easy to sign up and use. What’re you waiting for?? If you are interested in joining MyPoints, I’d love to be your referrer. You can go to my Penny Pinching Peach friend page (as opposed to my fan page) http://facebook.com/pennypinchingpeach where a referral link is posted, and/or leave a note on my facebook fan page with your email address and I’ll have the link for your referral to you in a jiffy. I’m convinced that you will enjoy it, and be pleasantly rewarded for just being the frugal person that you are!

Pleasant Penny Pinching! 🙂