Oh car seats. We started with the infant carrier, and got a taste of the super-cool rear-facing Graco® Snug Ride® Click Connect™ 40, which rocked my socks. But, alas, children continue to grow, and we need to explore more options. *sigh*
Promoting literacy is such an integral part of my life, as a teacher and a mother, and I wanted to extended it to all of you. Therefore, I aim to bring a series “Whatcha Reading” to AFM. Here you will find book picks for children, adults, as well as tips for promoting literacy within your home.
I recently re-read Crocket Johnon’s Harold and the Purple Crayon to my daughter. We marveled at how he kept the moon in his sight, and at how he used his crayon to carry his imagination even further, yet still end up safe and sound in his comfy bed. This was a perfect book, also, to enhance her beginning reading skills: we payed careful attention to the sight words she already mastered, as well as the ones she’s currently working on. Further, it was a great opportunity to introduce a few new words, like “moon”. (This was a great one, since we’ve been discussing the /oo/ sound with her “word eggs”; and its a simple phonetic spelling.)
Further, Harold served as a catalyst the following day in our driveway, bucket of chalk in hand, to create our own world, and travel far on our own adventures!
Later, we were inspired to pull out our copy of Harold’s Trip to the Sky, which extends his adventures with his trusty ol’ crayon. We had discussions on what we would do if our crayons had that kind of magical power. And given that I have a 4-year-old daughter, most of her responses involved princesses, fairies, mermaids, a sprkingling of pixie dust, and a few unicorns. 😉
Harold was a childhood favorite of mine, which I was thrilled to share with my children, when we found a copy of it at a garage sale a few years ago. I was further elated when I saw it as an HBO animated series for kids. We’ve caught it a few times, but I most enjoy the magic of Harold that is nestled between the pages of our books. So……
What are YOU reading? 🙂
Which stores double coupons these days? In light of recent news at Kroger’s allegedly lowering prices and -more importantly- ending their double coupons as of 9-21-13, I felt compelled to create a list of stores around the southeast that still DO double coupons. If there’s a store I left off, please let me know. 🙂
Publix
Update 1/2017: Sigh. Publix no longer doubles coupons in Georgia. You can still stack store and manufacture coupons, but they are no longer doubling coupons. I am deeply saddened by this news and their explanation, but it is what it is… First and foremost, Publix remains the most user-friendly grocery store around. Hands down. While they have acquired the reputation for being “too expensive” – I certainly do not find this to be the case. While I wouldn’t buy non-sale items from there, their BOGOs and sales each week, along side double coupons stacked with store coupons simply make for exceptional deals! You can read more about my hints and tricks for shopping at Publix.
Target
Although they do not double coupons, they do allow you to stack manufacture’s coupons with store coupons on top of Cartwheel discounts, as well as combine with awesome Shopkick and Ibotta deals. In my opinion, it’s worth keeping Tar-zshay on your list!
Bi-Lo
Bi-Lo doubles up to 10 coupons per transaction per day, up to 60¢ when you use your Bi-Lo Bonuscard. See their full policy here and locations here.
Ingles
Ingles has a tiered doubling policy. Coupons 50¢ or less will double: $10 transactions will allow for 3 doubled coupons, $20 for 6 doubled coupons, $30 for 9 doubled coupons, and so forth. You MUST have an Ingles Advantage card in order to benefit from doubled coupons. You can read their full coupon policy here and find a location here.
Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly will double coupons up to 99¢, but only 10 coupons in one transaction per day per household. Also only 4 “like” coupons allowed in one transaction. For more on their policy, go here; find a location here.
Kmart
Kmart does not double every day, but on designated days. They do not have a policy available online, but according to AllYou.com, Kmart doubles manufacture’s coupons to 99¢ on doubling days, up to 10 coupons per day, and only 4 like coupons. Find your local Kmart store here — you may wish to verify your store’s specific policy.
Harris Teeter
Doubles up to 20 manufacture’s coupons per customer per household per day, up to 99¢. Up to three “like” coupons will double in a single transaction. Read full coupon policy here, and find locations here.
Farm Fresh
With stores in North Carolina and Virginia, Farm Fresh does not appear to have their coupon policy posted online, but according to several frugal websites, I have gathered the following: doubles 99¢ everyday, but $1 on Wednesdays; up to 20 coupons per customer, per day; maximum of two “like” coupons per customer per day. Find locations here.
Winn Dixie
In Alabama and Georgia Winn Dixie will double coupons up to 50¢. However, Florida locations do not double.
Cream puffs. You know you love them. I typically buy the tub of them from the freezer section of the grocery store as an impulse, you know like when you’ve been shopping for over an hour and your kids are asking for everything and you haven’t had dinner and OH MY GOD I MUST HAVE THESE RIGHT NOW.
Those shopping trips. Lol.
However, if I actually plan ahead, I can just make them at home in under an hour for a lot less money. Cream puffs are actually one of the easiest desserts to make, yet they come out looking fancy schmancy like they took all day. They always make me think of the rice krispies treats commercial from years ago, you know the one I’m talking about! (No? What’s wrong with you?! Just kidding, you can check it out below!)
Today I’m sharing how to make cream puffs at home, with a delicious caramel apple twist on the traditional cream and chocolate. I got a jar of Musselman’s Apple Butter at a conference I attended this summer (they were a sponsor for Reviewer’s Retreat) and I knew it’s spiced apple flavor would be perfect for making my fall inspired cream puffs! Check out the recipe below, and see just how easy they are to make for yourself!
Ingredients:
Dough for Puffs
1 cup water
1/3 cup butter
1/3 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs (beaten)
Apple Cream Filling
8 oz container whipped cream (frozen)
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Musselman’s Apple Butter
Caramel Drizzle
1 cup of unwrapped hard caramels
Directions:
Puffs
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Bring water, salt and butter to a boil in a small saucepan.
3. Quickly stir in flour until the dough forms a ball in the middle of the saucepan.
4. Remove from heat and add eggs. Whisk until smooth. (Quickly, before the eggs cook from the heat)
5. Grease two mini muffin pans (Cake Release is AWESOME for this!)
6. Scoop dough by the tablespoon into the mini muffin pans. (I know it doesn’t look like a lot, trust me!)
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and cool. (With a fan, if you are impatient like me!)
I wasn’t joking about the fan!
Cream Filling
1. Mix all cream ingredients together until smooth.
2. Fill a squirt bottle or piping bag with the filling.
3. Poke a hole in the side of the cooled puffs and fill with cream mixture.
Caramel
1. Melt the caramel in a microwave safe bowl for 10 seconds at a time.
2. Remove and quickly drizzle with a fork over tops of cream puffs.
3. Reheat as needed, as it will cool VERY quickly!
Now put your beautiful Caramel Apple Cream Puffs out on a fancy plate and tell everyone to get over there and ohh and ahh over them grab one and experience the deliciousness!
Thank you to Double Duty Divas, iRetreat Conference, and Musselman’s Apple Butter for the inspiration behind this recipe! I hope you enjoy these tasty puffs of amazingness as much as we do!
On busy nights, one of my favorite things to do for dinner is a one dish casserole. Casseroles mean less dirty dishes, less preparation, and less time, all of which are awesome when Nate has a report due, Nikoletta needs help with handwriting, Eva is asking for me to listen to her read out loud, Ryan is confused about his algebra….you get the point. 🙂
Just because it’s a one dish meal doesn’t mean that is has to be bland. Simple does not have to mean boring. Tonight I put together a delicious carbonara pasta casserole that took less than 20 minutes to prepare, and was ready and on the table in just 40 minutes, from start to finish.
Traditional Italian carbonara is made with eggs, cheese, bacon and black pepper, and of course pasta. I tweaked that a bit and added in some veggies and skipped the eggs in favor of a ricotta to help hold the casserole together better. It was really delicious, and all of the kids just gobbled it right up! I hope your family enjoys it as much as we did!
Ingredients:
1 pound of short pasta noodles
1/4 cup Country Crock spread
1 cup thin sliced red onion
1 cup bacon bits
1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper
1 bag of baby spinach
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup ricotta
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs grated Pecorino Romano
2 Tbs grated Parmesan
2 tsp black pepper
1/2 Tbs salt
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook pasta, drain and set aside once finished.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Melt 1/4 cup Country Crock spread over medium heat in a large saucepan.
4. Add in sliced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft.
5. Add in bacon bits and red pepper to onions and cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the eye and fold in the spinach to wilt (about a minute)
7. Remove from heat completely and mix in cooked pasta.
8. Add in tomatoes, ricotta, milk, pecorino, parmesan, salt and pepper.
9. Pour into a baking dish and top with Italian cheese blend.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
11. Set oven to high broil and cook for another 2 minutes to brown cheese on top.
12. Remove from oven and enjoy!
Download the printer friendly version of Carbonara Pasta Casserole
Now, I know the list of ingredients looks a little long for a “quick fix casserole,” but it’s really not as much work as it seems. Most of the time for this dish comes from baking, so you can get back to taking care of your family and home while it’s in the oven! Here’s the prep work involved for this recipe:
-Slicing cherry tomatoes in half (or you could use canned diced tomatoes that have been drained instead)
-Slicing the red onion
-Chopping up roasted red pepper (comes in strips already, I just like it in smaller pieces)
Everything else can just be poured right in and mixed up! It’s easy and delicious, I know you’ll agree once you try it yourself!
What’s your favorite one dish casserole recipe? I’d love for you to share in the comments below!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Free lunch bags, FREE Shutterfly, FREE diapers, FREE Coca-Cola, and more are all awaiting you, if you join all the right programs. Rewards programs, that is. The gist of most of these rewards programs is the same, enter their codes or save UPCs/proofs of purchase, and you can redeem some cool gear. Where there is variation, I’ve tried to clarify. If you are part of a rewards program that’s NOT listed here, pretty please let me know about it! 🙂
Here are some great rewards programs you may wish to join, if you purchase their products: [Read more…]
