That's a Whole Lotta Sauce!

Chris wanted to use his food mill to make applesauce so he went to the grocery store tonight and got 5 pounds of apples. All he had to do was boil them down in water, brown sugar, salt and lemon juice. He also added cinnamon for flavor. Then when they are mushy you toss them into the food mill and get to grinding.

In total it took him a little over an hour, but it is the best applesauce ever! We ended up freezing it and it filled 5 very large glass jars. That will last the 3 of us for several months. He got a variety of apples so it cost about $17. However, you could always just get a big bag of one type and it would be much cheaper.

So, if you have been buying some at the grocery store for yourself or your kiddos just about every week, STOP! It doesn't take that long to make and it will really be worth it in the end.

DIY Dye (Update)

I went to Sally's tonight and got some hair dye. I knew it was time when Chris asked when I was going to be doing my roots. He means well.

I was fortunate enough to go on the very last day of a promotion I didn't even know was happening. The deal was that if you got a bottle of Ion color, you would get a bottle of the developer for free!!! I ended up getting a bowl and brush too. The guy who rang me up was nice enough to let me split the transaction (since you are supposed to only be allowed to do the BOGO deal once). Now I have enough developer to last me the year (literally) and I have two tubes of color, which means I should be set for about 4 months. I used to color every 6 weeks but now I'm trying to space it out to 8.

One of the best parts was how helpful the staff was. Hopefully the people at your Sally are just as nice. The girl answered all of my questions perfectly. Good luck if you ladies try to do this as well. It really is easy to do if you are only doing solid color and you aren't trying to bleach your hair.

I've said it many times....

If I could marry Target, I would. Don't know if you ever noticed, but right when you walk in there is a little area with Dollar Deals. You should really check it out if you haven't before. I got a little coupon organizer there yesterday and some really cool Strawberry Shortcake stickers for the girl that I watch. Her bday is this weekend and I also got a gift bag to put her gifts in. For my own little rugrat I got two board books, one about North America and one about the world. They are nifty!

I go to Target all the time (because it's my other lover) and I usually try to check out what they have. It's great for seasonal gifts and decor and cheap little rewards for your kiddos.

What a gal!

The lady I work for recommended that I check out this site and I lurve it. I must say I'm green with envy, but in a good way. Not in a creepy, I'm going to hunt her down and give her the Evil Eye, way.

She's about the same age as me and is a savings guru. I aspire to be like that someday. So remember, the more people you tell about my site...the more people will read it!! (cough, cough)

Eeeewww....Spam!

This may seem obvious, but you should get a free email account just for your "spam." The thing is, to get all of these great coupons and discounts, you have to sign up for a lot of stuff. You need to register your info with a lot of companies, especially with retailers.

Now, this would be annoying if all of the emails from your friends and family were getting mixed in with the latest deals from your favorite stores. You might just want to say to heck with this spam, but that's a mistake. The emails that come from retailers often contain coupons, special "members only" deals, free shipping offers and more. If you are skipping or deleting them out of frustration, it will be your loss. Just get some random email account and whenever you are signing up on a website or the cashier ringing you up asks for your email, just give them that one.

Again, it seems obvious enough, but you'd be surprised.

Oooops.

Well it's been too long. This week was a little bonkers though. Tuesday was the Inauguration (!!!) so I was glued to the TV all day (literally, it was insane, way too much CSPAN). Then Wednesday and Thursday I was feeling a little ill. Friday I had a job interview, and now I have a job again. Holler!! This weekend has been a migraine-fest for me, which is always delightful. I'm going to need to find a chiropractor tomorrow. So if anyone would like to donate to the fund, I'd really appreciate it. Sadly, my insurance does not support "alternative" therapies.

So let me tell you about some good shizz happening at a mall near you. I really recommend that you check out WOW Coupons before heading to your mall because they have super amazing free coupons and I saved a bundle today by using them.

Bath and Body Works just ended their Semi Annual Sale, but all of their original collection products have had a makeover and everything in the old packaging is massively marked down. It's the same exact product, just in the packaging that they've been using for as long as I can remember. I got lotion, body gel, creamy body wash, bubble bath and a purse lotion for $13.

Express is having their Shop the Box Sale and they have tons of stuff in bins marked to $9.99. Plus all of their red lined clearance is another 40% off. I got a dress for $5, which I think was originally about $60, maybe even more.

JC Penney is having a BOGO on their clearance. It's not Buy One Get One half off, it's Buy One Get One FREE!!! Seriously!!! It's on just about everything too, not just their clothing.

New York and Co. has tons of stuff for 50% and 70% off. I got the most awesome coat today, originally $80, and it cost me a little over $20.

Retailers are hurting and it's up to you to take advantage of it. I don't mean go in a be a raging jerk with a pocketful of coupons, but make the most of the good values that are at your local mall right now.

It's a "Two-fer"

I heart bagels. I really, really do. I also love things made from bagels. Tonight I whipped up two bagel-licious recipes and I shall share them with you.

First, my gourmet croutons. I've been making these for quite some time and they are AMAZING! You will never buy croutons again. This is so easy and forgiving that you will never run out of ways to mess with these babies to suit your flavor desires. You can buy fresh bagels but you really should buy day-old bagels. If you use fresh bagels you may just have to cook them for longer. If you go to a place that specializes in bagels you can usually get whole bags for cheap. I got mine from a coffee shop in my town, and they are 6 for $3. If you like your croutons to be minimally seasoned, buy plain bagels. If you are like me, the "Seasoning Queen," get something like the Everything Bagels. I also recommend getting these if your spice collection consists of no more than salt and pepper. And away we go...

You are going to want to turn your oven on to 400º. Get out your bagels and a breads knife. Also get a big bowl and two big spoons. You can also use a large Ziploc style bag for this too. Make sure you have some EVOO and any spices you may want. Get out cookie sheets and tin foil. Lay the tinfoil down on the cookie sheet. This step is not totally necessary but I really hate scrubbing my cookie sheets down.

Cut the bagels (you can use as many as you want, but I suggest 3) in any size chunk that you wish. Toss them into the bowl or baggie. Then drizzle in some EVOO. Don't overdo it! Add a tablespoon and try to coat the pieces with it. It is easier to use a baggie for this, but that's also kind of wasteful (unless you wash and reuse your baggies). If you are using a bowl, here's where you are going to use the big spoons to toss everything around. You only need enough oil to coat the pieces, so continue to add a little more at a time until they are lightly coated. If they are soaking it will be disgusting when you try to eat them. Once they are coated you can add seasonings. If you are unsure about this, stick with salt and pepper. Dried parsley goes well in croutons too. Tonight I made them with sage, cumin and parsley. I've even made them with curry before. Again, get everything mixed well. Now just dump them onto the cookie sheet and make sure each piece is lying flat on the sheet. You don't want pieces piled on each other, or they will cook unevenly. Put them in for about 10 minutes. You are going to want to keep checking them. After they start to get light brown on the edges you should carefully remove one, blow on it, and try it. If it's not crisp enough, wait a few more minutes, and try again. As soon as they are as hard as you like them, remove, let cool, and put them into something air tight (baggie, container, etc.).

These are not only great on salad but awesome for soup too, as they don't get soggy right away like store-bought ones. They are also cool because you can change the flavor to suit what you are using them for. Let's say you are making some fancy Mexican salad, add chili powder and use jalapeno bagels. If you are going to have a big Italian feast, just toss in some Italian seasoning and get Sun Dried Tomato bagels. I think you get the point.

Recipe #2-Bagel chips!

I haven't bought bagel chips from the store in awhile, but they aren't super cheap. I mean, if you live at home and your parents buy your groceries, and you are just buying these as a snack, it's probably not a big deal. Or, if you are Bill Gates, you probably don't worry about your grocery bill. At any rate, I think it's always more rad to make something at home and tailor it for yourself.

Basically you are going to keep your oven at the same temp. While the croutons are cooking, take the other 3 bagels and slice them. I would recommend that you cut them in the middle. Not the way you cut them when you are going to toast and schmear them, I mean cut them the other direction. This gives the bagel a flat surface for the rest of your cutting. This prevents you from cutting yourself and bleeding all over your yummy bagels.

Now keep slicing as thick or as thin as you want them to be. You will probably get about 10 slices out of each bagel. Now take the bowl that you were just using for your croutons and toss in 5 slices at a time. Drizzle lightly with your EVOO and try to get them coated again. It's fine if every little part isn't covered, just make sure to get some on each piece. When you are done, place them on the cookie sheet. You can sprinkle salt on them if you like, or leave them plain. Complete this step until you have put all the pieces onto the cookie sheets and then pop them into the oven. When they start to get light brown on the edges, flip them over and put them back in until the back side is done.

Again, you can add seasoning to this if you want. Or, if you want a good snack for your kids, you can use Cinnamon Raisin or Blueberry bagels. You could always sprinkle sugar instead of salt over these, or leave them with just the EVOO.

Any way that you make these, people with think you are brilliant when they try them. You could probably even bring them as Hostess gifts or whip up a yummy dip for the chips and bring them to your next potluck. Enjoy!