Super savings ~ Spent $27 saved $108!

Last night I made my weekly trip to Publix to buy my groceries for the week. I am getting back on track with restocking my stockpile and buying the finishing touches to my meal plan. I was thrilled at my savings. I spent $27 and saved an amazing $108! I’m telling you ladies, if you really want to learn how to save these dollar bills, contact me or head on over to www.centralfloridacouponers.com!

My short list of what is in the above picture:

Paper plates

3 shrimp rings

milk

Nilla waffers

Lunch meats

clorox wipes

trashbags

popcorn

coffee

eggs

mushrooms

hoagie rolls

2 bags of small potatoes – yellow and red

BBQ sauce

black beans

Bananas, and more……

Meal Plan Monday

This is what I “plan” on seeing on my table for the week. Enjoy!
Sunday – Good ole fried catfish – courtesy of the hubs
Monday – Cubesteak sandwiches and potato fries – I don’t know how many points this is but I will try to make some adjustments to make it as point friendly as possible, if that is possible! – Recipe is from The Pioneer Woman
Tuesday – Shrimp Fajitas with cilantro lime rice – 5pts - Both recipes are from Skinnytaste!
Wednesday – Chicken Sabroso with some type of asparagus recipe – 0pts depending on the asparagus recipe
Thursday – Pernil with cabbage and cornbread – 3pts
Friday – Leftovers
Saturday – Pizza Night moved from Friday
A lot of the recipes I am using this week came from http://www.skinnytaste.com/. Check our her site if you never have before. She has lots of great recipes that are point friendly.

New Post, New Page

This may change again but for tonight I am going with spoons, forks and knives! Have an awesome day tomorrow.

Making it easier!

I am in the process of making it easier to get the word out to new people. I love to teach people the success of health and saving money so if you see some odd changes over the next few days, I sawy. 
We will be back to a normal schedule soon :-)….

Staying focused ~ there are days…

Counting weekly points can get discouraging and little boring at times. These past few months have been a huge struggle for me to maintain my weekly allowance. (I’m just telling all my baggage today.)
I ask myself, daily it seems like, why has this become so hard? Why do I give up or in (depending on the circumstance) halfway through the week? I have totally lost my focus and drive. Yet, I still get angry when I’ve discovered not one but two more pounds have crept back up on my thighs.
I have even lost the motivation to make grocery lists and prepare my coupons to make massive savings posts. I am in a funk and I can’t seem to clear my goggles to see my way out!
To me this feels like the 7 year itch in a marriage. It has become the 3 year itch of loosing weight.  In number prospective I’ve only gained back a few pounds but I feel the inches back in my thighs and hips. I know they are there whether the scale says so or not.
How can I motivate and shape you if I am cheating myself? I don’t want to fall into the category of “Oh yeah I did that once before.” or “Oh, yeah it works but I just can’t do it now.”
I didn’t make a new years resolution this year because I didn’t want to set myself up for failure and to me it shouldn’t be the question of whether I can do it or not because I know I can, its the question of, What will it take to motivate me to light my fire back up and get back in the game?”
Close your ears I say, close your ears to the voices of disdain, to the voices of unreasoning and look yourself hard in the mirror to say ~ “Yesterday was yesterday and today is today. The week is not over, only by half I say. Take it one day at a time and if you fall behind, remember to just take it one day at a time!”

Hump day! Hop Day!

Woohoo ~~ two great things in one day. Its Hump day and its Blog Hop day! If you are here for the first time, thank you so much for taking the time to stop by. If you are coming back again and again, well I love you for reading the madness of my mind :-)!
Click on the picture above if you want to jump in on the fun!

Menu Monday

This week at the Osborne house we continue our themed week – chicken, chicken and more chicken, oh and pork.
Sunday – Chicken Fajitas with Santa Fe Rice – 2pts (2 fajita size flour tortillas)
Monday – Chicken wraps with onion potatoes – 3pts (Soft taco size flour tortilla when you only eat one.)
Tuesday – Veggie stuffed Quesadillas (I also add chicken to fill it up and make a meal out of it) – 3pts (soft taco size flour tortilla when you only eat one)
Wednesday – Shredded lime chicken tacos with cilantro rice – 5pts (2 corn tortillas and 1/2 of rice)
Thursday – Leftovers – 5pts – see above notation
Friday – Pizza Day – (cheese pizza, thin crust – 4pts for one slice)
Saturday – Pulled Pork sandwiches – 2pts (reduced calorie buns or reduced calorie sliced bread)

Click on the links to print out your own copy of these yummy recipes. Today they are courtesy of Publix, bhg, Melissa’s bargain blog, and of course The Pioneer Woman! The chicken wraps are my own invention, it being the easiest and quickest of all of these to make.

Can you fight the bitter bug?

With all of the illnesses floating around these days, I think one got missed.
The I’m bitter and annoyed bug. Well, it bit me today. I don’t know why and I normally am a happy go lucky kinda girl, except for when I’m not. If I wasn’t at work, I would probably still be at home in my pj’s wishing my annoyances away but I’m here and I have to find a way to work it all out.
Maybe I will try to take a walk later or preoccupy my mind with other things but for some reason it seems that this one is not going to go away that easy.
Hopefully it won’t last all day and I can get back to my normal self.
I do hope all of y’all have a much better day than I’m having now.
Should I start by saying “Happy Monday”?!

Chicken, rice & black bean tacos - 5pts

Last night we continued with our Bahamas' trip menu. For those of you that are new, you missed the comment about me feeling like my house is having a weekly menu from and island or Mexico.
Last night I made chicken tacos with rice and black beans. Seems simple and maybe even a little boring right? Wrong. They were scrumptious. As with any of the recipes I make I tweak them always with fat free and/or low fat products to stay good on my points but again this just goes to show anyone that my plan is not and never will be a “diet”. I don’t feel like I’ve ever been on a diet and I sure don’t eat like I’m on one.
Click here to get the recipe.
The things I did differently were:

1. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs.
2. I seasoned my chicken with my own seasonings instead of taco seasoning.
3. I also added fat free sour cream and low fat shredded cheese.
4. I soft fried my corn tortilla shells with olive oil to give then a little crispy flare.
5. I also used my leftover cilantro lime rice instead of Mexican rice. This will probably be a standard thing in my house now!

Why did I tempt fate?

Why o why did I learn how to make ewey gewy yummy cilantro lime rice? I am in love with cilantro lime rice! I should have just left well enough alone and never dabbled in the adventures of making this rice. It is over from this point on and I am in heaven. So, now instead of driving to Chipotle just to get the craving curbed by spending half my salary, I can just make my own and not have to share with anyone!

Sorry, I skyrocketed to another planet for a moment. I really love rice…..oh and potatoes……and macaroni and cheese! Is there any hope for me? I know all about portion control and keeping things balanced but every time I took a bite of this rice last night I kept hearing this one particular line from an old Friends episode:
“A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips!” But its oh so good! Now if I get up the nerve I guess I could try brown rice but I’m not that brave yet!
If you want to come live on my planet for a while click here to check out this recipe. Its from a fabulous website called skinnytaste.com and she has amazing recipes that are all pretty much on the healthy side and they are all delicious.

Creating a Button

Please excuse my dust for a moment, I am trying to figure out how to make a button and the article says to post the image on your blog lol.

Two milestones in one week!!!

I am so excited and overjoyed. I know it’s small potatoes to a lot of bloggers but for me its MAJOR!
I just hit 100 followers and my car hit 100,000 miles this week too!
I don’t know if I can handle all these changes and its only Wednesday! I can’t stop using exclamation marks!
For all you fantastic readers out there, thank you everyday for reading and enjoying my blog. I love writing about all my successes and failures and am glad someone else gets a kick out of it!

Its blog hop day! Woop Woop!

Hooray for blog hop days! Wednesday has been designated my official blog hopping day. If you are here for the first time Welcome, I hope you find something of interest to you. If you are coming back again and again, I love you for that!
If you want to join in on the blog hop, click on the picture above or just click here.

Meal Plan…. uh Tuesday!

Since yesterday was a holiday, I took a break from everything, even showering until late afternoon (TMI I know lol). Here is what I plan on cooking for the rest of the week.
Have a great Day :0)
Tuesday – Leftover Three Cheese Stuffed Shells – I have not attempted to determine the points for this meal. When my husband requests it I just close my eyes and enjoy!
Wednesday – 16 minute Beef & Bean Burritos – 3pts – Of course I alter it some but it still has the same kick me in the tail flavor!
Thursday – Chicken & Rice Tacos – 1pt when you use brown rice
Friday – Pizza Night – I’ve been outvoted. Friday nights have been declared pizza nights in my house. 
Saturday – Chicken fajitas – 3pts
I think I’m gonna start having themed weeks in my house! This week and next feels like we are on a trip to the Bahamas or something.

Its a Hot Tortilla soup kinda day - 0pts

My husband and I had a discussion about hot tortilla soup. Personally, I could eat it any time of the year. Him on the other hand only wants it when its below 60, which is very short lived here in Florida. So, since yesterday was a monster of a day for me and today was a holiday, I made a huge pot of Hot Tortilla soup just for me! If you haven’t tried it, you don’t know what you are missing. If you are feeling bold, check out the recipe here.
Its mmm good!
Tip to save points ~~ use cut up corn tortilla shells instead of tortilla chips. It still gives you the same flavor as the chip but without the points. Two corn tortillas is 1 point, so if you only use one corn tortilla, fat free sour cream and fat free cheese it turns out to be one heck of a free points meal!

Big Trip, Small payout

I knew that a large Publix trip was coming around the corner. We’d been gone for so long for the holidays that I was almost out of everything. So, Friday I spent my day preparing a trip and pulling out all of my coupons. I was glad that I did way better than I expected to! Some of it didn’t even make the picture.

In all, I spent $43 and saved $135! I was very pleased.  And I’m guessing just for kicks my husband added the dvd in the picture that I got for my birthday lol and I just now noticed it.

Is a day at the doctor a day wasted?

So, I am still fighting this weird throat thing that I somehow acquired over the holidays. Yes I know I probably should have gone to the doctor a lot sooner but I wanted to try resolving the issue on my own. Not successful! Last night, at my birthday bash of all places, I was convinced (i.e. scared into going) to go to the doctor today by my nurse friend to find out the issue.
I was diagnosed with possible Gerd, aka acid reflux disease. I still need testing but really, that’s what has been making my throat sore for two weeks now. I am flabbergasted and a little annoyed that I spend 30 minutes driving around the parking lot looking for a spot and two hours waiting in the doctors office to find this out! I guess I should be thankful that it is not anything more serious and it is treatable if that is truly what I have since more testing has to be done after 2 weeks of medications but geez!
This means that the weekly menu plan I prepared is now garbage. I have to rethink my week because I can only tolerate soft foods. No yummy tacos or juicy chicken wraps for me. 
I guess my lesson learned today is when you think things are the worst they usually are simple and fixable. This also relates to anything in life you have to deal with. So next time don’t be so hard on yourself.
Have a great weekend everyone!

Its my birthday, its my birthday!

Woohoo! Today is my birthday. I know its been said many a times, many a ways lol, but the 30’s are a great time in a woman’s life. I don’t know how to explain it but it is truly enlightening.
I don’t have any big plans for tonight but whatever my family and I end up doing, I’m sure we will have a grand ole time!
Have a great day, y’all and you better believe I am!
Tune in tomorrow for updated shopping trips and tips! Now go have fun!

Bloghop Wednesday

I am going to just pick one day to do blog hops because there are so many and Wednesday seems like a great day for a boost! If your here for the first time, welcome and I hope you like what you find.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas - 4pts

Well my friends, I do not have a great picture of this recipe because after seeing the creamy, dreamy sauce I pretty much devoured it once it came out of the oven! It was just amazing. Try this tonight for dinner if you are looking for a change of pace.
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 cup fat free sour cream
• 1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese
• 1 cup reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
• 10 (8 1/2 inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups cooked chicken breasts, cubed
• Optional: 1 can of black beans

Directions:

1. Spray skillet with non stick cooking spray and sauté onion until tender; remove from heat.
2. Add soup, tomato, sour cream and 3/4 cup of each cheese and mix well. Optional: add can of rinsed and drained black beans.
3. Place 3 TBS on each tortilla, top with chicken.
4. Roll tight and place in a Pam sprayed 9x 13 pan.
5. Top with remaining soup mixture.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.
7. Bake uncovered at 35o for 20-25 minutes or until heated through

The recipe is from www.food.com and many more just like this if you have the time to look for others.

Italian chicken with Angel hair pasta (5pts)

This is an oh so yummy recipe I made Sunday night. If you are looking for a quick and healthy, low in points, kinda meal. Check this one out!
Here is the recipe:
Italian Chicken with Angel Hair pasta
1 1/2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 c FF Italian dressing
3 c Cooked Angel hair pasta
Place chicken breasts in a sprayed baking dish and cover with dressing. Cover and bake 30 min. at 350. Remove cover last 5 min. Divide chicken and dressing into 6 servings and serve each over 1/2 c angel hair pasta.
Serve with baguette loaf and/or salad

Learning to stretch a dollar

So over the weekend I had to make a double trip to Publix. The second trip was because I’d completely run out of milk and oj. Instead of running into the store to get just those two things and spend oh around 6 bucks I decided to put together a trip large enough to use a 5/25 purchase.
This is how well I did:

Instead of spending $6 on two things, I spent $6 on several things!
Learn how to make your money work for you and not the other way around.
Later on, I will post the breakdown of both trips to publix and my trip to CVS. All in all I spent $18 this weekend on around $200 worth of groceries/household things.

Best gift ever

Now that I’ve complained I want to give out an awesome shout out…..
I had to wait until I came back from Christmas to get my gift from my friend but I am so excited about it that I leave it on my kitchen counter at all times…..

The Pioneer Woman cookbook! I was ecstatic.
Thanks Michelle your the best friend ever!
Disclaimer: – These recipes will be a bazillion points each so you will have to save these special days or days when you just don’t feel like counting a thing!

Complain, complain, complain

I’m sorry that the first post of the day on a Friday is a complaint but I can’t hold it in much longer. To save you some boring details, I will give you the semi-short version.
Right now my family is on an intense budget and I feel like one of the fortunate ones that knows how to coupon to save money but BUT I am completely annoyed that I live in a county amongst other couponers who find it necessary to buy every single item on the shelf of every deal I need right now!
I love my fellow couponers but I really get annoyed when they tend to loose respect for the rest of us out there that only buy enough to stock pile for a few months ~~ not a few years!!
Ok, I am done complaining after I say this. If you use coupons, the next time you are at the store will you please leave a few items on the shelf for those of us that might need that item in a time of need. 
Thank you and good day :0)!

Taking the wheel

Well its been a long few weeks but I think I’m coming back around and getting back in the swing of things. Anytime I’m off for a while, it takes a few weeks to get going again.
We spent two weeks at home for Christmas along with my hubby recovering from surgery so it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I missed it and I missed shopping.
I always wonder how many people truly read my blog on a daily basis so if you are one of them I truly thank you and apologize for the long delay but I’m baaack hehe and will continue on as usual.
I’ve had this weird throat thing going on for about a week now so even though I made a weekly meal plan, I’ve changed it like four times already so I will share a new one starting next week. I also haven’t really gone shopping since we’ve been back so I will begin adding new trips next week too.
I did start something back and that was my weekly food journal. Its harder than I remember lol! But, for you and because of you I’m gonna keep on keeping on and do the best I can. I am doing great so far. I have two days left and 12 points. It helps that I can only eat soups and soft foods though because the good stuff hurts to go down.