Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken

April 12th, 2007

Flipping a whole chicken is awkward, but worth the effort. You can also substitute the whole chicken with chicken parts, if you prefer.

 Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken

1 (3#) broiler-fryer chicken
1 tsp dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chicken broth (or sherry wine if it is in your pantry)
¼ cup lemon juice
salt & pepper

Wash chicken; pat dry; season chicken generously with salt and pepper; sprinkle half of oregano, rosemary and garlic inside cavity of chicken; melt butter in frying pan and brown chicken; transfer to slow cooker or crockpot; sprinkle with remaining oregano, rosemary and garlic; add sherry to frying pan and stir to loosen brown bits; pour into slow cooker. Cover, cook on LOW (200 degrees) for 7 hours; add lemon juice and cook 1 more hour (total of 8); transfer chicken to cutting board; skim fat from juices and serve over chicken.

Yield: Four servings

Serve with rice & baby peas.

Posted in Aldi, Main Dishes | No Comments »

Banana Pancakes

April 12th, 2007

These taste just like a yummy slice of banana bread- enjoy!

Banana Pancakes

1 cup flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ripe banana

Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder cinnamon, & salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, & bananas. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop batter onto the griddle, using approximately ¼ cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.

Yield: Four Servings

Serve with warmed syrup & orange juice

Posted in Aldi, Breakfast, Kid Eats | 1 Comment »

The Gift Closet Part Two: Thrifty Graduation Gift Ideas

April 11th, 2007

It has been awhile since I talked about my gift closet, but with the graduation season upon us, I thought this might be a good time to chat again about it.

The first part in my gift closet series included information on how to wrap your gifts and explained how a gift closet worked. Gift closets are such a fantastic way to take advantage of clearance and thrift store opportunities, and will make gift-giving a lot cheaper when planned out this way. Be sure to read that entry for the information you need to get started.
Today, for the second part in this series, I would like to share with you a list of great gifts you can give to a high school graduate. Please be sure to share a favorite gift you received or gave for graduation.

Thrifty Graduation Gifts:

1. College Coupons– One of my favorite things to ever get in the mail, when I was in college, was a care package…from ANYONE! Giving the graduate coupons for care packages can be a very frugal gift and one that they can enjoy throughout their first year in college. Coupons can be assembled with a self-addressed stamped envelope. I like to provide a menu of choices and let them write on the coupon what they would specifically like. I include simple family favorites that can easily be packaged and enjoyed by them. Cookies can be shipped to them in empty Pringles containers or in Christmas tins. Bar cookies are very good choices for your menu options because they hold up well in the shipping process. You can download a template for creating your own college coupons by visiting the download section on MomAdvice.com, and create any kind of coupon that you would like to give. I mount these coupons on cardstock and tie them together with ribbon. They are a fun & creative gift and it is a gift that the graduate can look forward to throughout their school year.
2. Gift Cards– Gift cards, while not the most inexpensive choice, are something that a broke graduate can truly appreciate. I love to give gift cards to their local supermarket so that they can stock up on food while they are at school. Other good choices for gift cards are the gas station (if they have a car while they are at school), the local salon, the campus bookstore, local eateries, or the movie theatre.
3. Useful Gifts– Try and think of the things that the graduate will need to take with them when beginning college. Some of the things that come to mind are a backpack, an umbrella, alarm clock, a shower tote (filled with things they need), a small lamp, bed linens, towels & washcloths, school supplies (cheap during the beginning of the school season), luggage, or zip drives & disks.
4. Food Kit– My food kit is all put together inside of a dish tub. Within the dish tub, I provide a set of four place settings (plastic forks, knifes, spoons, bowls, & plates) and a sponge & dish soap for doing their dishes. I also put in Ramen Noodles, Cup of Noodles, and any other food that I can find that can easily be prepared in their room. Just tie a bow on the outside and know that this is a gift that they will actually use.
5. Laundry Kit– This is one of my favorite gifts for a graduate. Just assemble everything in a laundry basket and tie a bow on the handles of the basket. Inside stick a roll of quarters, a mesh laundry bag, detergent, fabric softener sheets, a Downy Ball and you can put together a tutorial for them on how to treat stains and easy directions on how to do their laundry. Step-by-step instructions, for the newbie to doing laundry, (as many graduates are!) can be found here and ten tips for the perfect wash can also be given to them too. If you are even more ambitious than that, you can put these things in a binder for the graduate and include your own tips and recipes for getting stains out or you can laminate these.
6. First Aid Kit– What graduate is actually going to remember to stock a first aid kit before they leave? Put together a container of items for their medicine cabinet so that they are prepared when they leave home. Fill it up with aspirin, band aids, stomach medications, ointments, cotton balls, tweezers, and sun block. Include anything & everything they might need for an emergency.
7. Journals & Address Books– Gifts for a graduate who is not planning on attending college or who will be attending a community college can be a challenge. Many of the gifts, traditionally given to a graduate, are made for those who are going away to school. For these graduates an organizer or a journal can be a wonderful and thoughtful gift option. Address books, so that the graduate can record where all of their friends are going, are also nice for them. These can be purchased at your local dollar store or found at local card retailers.
The important thing, in my opinion, is to offer a gift that they can actually use. I can’t tell you how many books I got for my graduation- the infamous Dr. Suess book, Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and coffee table books. These are nice, but are usually read once and put away. I rarely reread them and they ended up collecting dust on my shelf. I am disappointed when gifts I give are not used because, to me, it is like money going down the drain. Don’t be afraid to ask your graduate what they are in need of so that your gift is actually used!
If you are the mother of a graduate, I wish you congratulations on making it this far with your child. It is an accomplishment for you both and you should be very proud!

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Posted in Gifts | 9 Comments »

Thinking Blogger Awards

April 10th, 2007

I was so thrilled to see that I was nominated with a Thinking Blogger Award from Home Ec 101. Those ladies rock and if you haven’t had an opportunity to visit their site, I highly encourage it. I am very grateful for the nomination and I am looking forward to sharing a few of my own favorite blogs that I think should be nominated.

1. Scribbit– She is one of my absolute favorite bloggers and every day that I read it, I learn a little more about her family and her life in Alaska. She is a creative parent, a thinker, crafty, and an amazing writer. Her blog inspires me creatively and is a pleasure to read. If you are a blogger, she writes some great tutorials for gaining traffic and becoming known within the blogging community.

2. the homespun heart– Monica is such a great blogger whom I always look forward to reading. Her blog focuses on enjoying the simple pleasures in life. I look forward to her creative ideas for the home and the crafts that she comes up with during the holidays. I try to check this blog daily because I truly enjoy it that much!

3. Fish Creek House– I came across this blog more recently, but it is already one of my favorites. It is a wonderful journal filled with stories on how they built their own dream home bed and breakfast in Montana. They share their recipes, tips on how to explore the great outdoors, and tips on traveling.

4. Rookie Moms– This blog is an excellent resource for finding things to do with your children. It is the type of blog that I wish I had when I first became a mom, as it is filled with great activities for you to do with your child. The activities are broken down by age brackets and categories, making it easy to find just what you need when you need it. These ladies are fabulous, and you can tell that they put a lot of effort into this blog! Kudos to you!

5. The Simple Dollar– What can I say about this blog? It is a wealth of knowledge and I am in complete amazement at how much information is offered each day. The posts are thought-provoking and takes the art of saving money to new heights. This blog is worth your time invested in reading through their extensive archives.

Should they accept the award, these are the rules of the game:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

Again, many thanks to Home Ec 101 for their thoughtful nomination!

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Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Reynold’s Slow Cooker Liners

April 10th, 2007

The Reynold’s company contacted me and asked if I would be game to review their Slow Cooker Liners that are now part of their product line. As someone who uses her slow cooker regularly, I was very anxious to give this product a try and see what I thought about it.

Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners are made of heat resistant nylon and designed to make slow cooker cleanup fast and easy. The liners help you avoid all that soaking and scrubbing that is associated with slow cooking. All you have to do is place the liner in the slow cooker bowl, add ingredients, and cook as you normally would. After cooking, remove meal from the lined-slow cooker, allow to cool, and simply toss the liner. It’s that easy!

Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners are 13″X21″ liners, optimally-sized to fit 3 to 6.5 quart round or oval slow cookers. There are 4 liners in each carton.

For my review, I decided to roast a chicken in the slow cooker. This is one of those messier meals that I don’t enjoy cleaning up at all. I wanted to really put these bags to the test and cleaning up after roasting a chicken is one of my least favorite tasks.

I was not disappointed at all, as the product actually did contain my entire dinner in the bag with no mess on the outside for me to clean up. I was able to easily take the chicken out and pour the drippings into a pan to make gravy.

To be honest, I don’t usually mind cleaning out my slow cooker so this is not a product that I would buy regularly. This would be a great investment for entertaining though or for really messy dishes (like red sauces),where cleaning up can be more time consuming.

Be sure to visit our One Month with Your Slow Cooker article, where you can get an entire month’s worth of yummy recipes for your family. You can also visit the Reynold’s website where they have a special section dedicated to slow cooker recipes.

For step-by-step directions on how to use these liners, you will find a picture tutorial on the Reynold’s site.

Much thanks to Reynold’s for giving us this opportunity and encouraging families to eat together at the dinner table!

Try to stop over at the Reynolds No Scrub RV Club site and enter their current sweepstakes! They are offering several freebies for the first entries and gift certificates for a photo contest that they are running.

Feel free to share your own personal experience with this product- I am sure that the company would appreciate the feedback.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

New Menu Planning & Grocery List Format

April 9th, 2007

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have made some updates to, “the Aldi Queen” blog and you can now print out your grocery list and menu planners for the week. These are in PDF file form, as it makes it more difficult for people to take my work without permission, and these should make your shopping day a little easier. The latest planner is located here.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Meal Planner & Grocery List for 04.06.07

April 8th, 2007

I am going to try something different this time and I am VERY anxious for your feedback. Please click and leave me a comment about the new format and let me know how I am doing.

I have decided to make these lists printable PDF files for everyone. There will be two files- a grocery list & a menu planner with all of your recipes on it. This is a lot of work to put together each week, but this is the most user-friendly way that I can do these and make it easy for you to print and take with you to the grocery store.

In light of that, it is difficult for me to price everything out each week so I will be omitting the final cost. I do guarantee that you will never spend more than $50 on groceries every week and most times you will spend much less than that since many of my recipes contain ingredients that you already have in your pantry.

I know that there are many services out there that require you to pay for something like this and I would never charge you. The only way I am able to stay home with my kiddos and run something like this though is through you visiting the awesome sponsors that we have on our site. These people make my job possible and without them I would not be able to do this. The other way that you can support us is by sharing our site with your friends, family, neighbors, strangers- anyone and everyone!

Please send me feedback- I need it as it keeps me motivated!

040607 Grocery List

040607 Menu Planner

Posted in Grocery Lists, Meal Plans | 36 Comments »

Crock Hot Dogs

April 8th, 2007

Crock Hot Dogs

8 hot dogs (about one pound)

Put the hot dogs in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH until hot & slightly browned around edges, 1.5-2 hours. Remove with metal tongs and serve hot, in buns, with the fixings.

Serve with chips or pretzels.

Posted in Aldi, Main Dishes | 1 Comment »

Herb Baked Tilapia

April 8th, 2007

This is a HUGE hit in our house. I guarantee once you try this recipe, you will never want tilapia any other way. My son calls this, “Fish With Sprinkles.” I just call it delicious! Enjoy!

Herb Baked Tilapia (or “Fish with Sprinkles”)

4 (4 to 6 ounce) tilapia fillets
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (I prefer the Italian breadcrumbs & I skip the dried seasonings)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place tilapia on nonstick foil. In a small bowl, combine cheese and mayonnaise. Spread evenly over fish. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs, basil, oregano, salt and pepper.Sprinkle over fish. Coat fish lightly with cooking spray. Bake 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.

Serve with steamed broccoli and rice.

Posted in Aldi, Main Dishes | 10 Comments »

Freebie Friday: April 6, 2007

April 6th, 2007

*Photo from Flickr.com*

Here is an Easter basket full of freebies. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter with your families!

Wal-Mart is offering a free sample of Purex Ultra Concentrate.

Please allow up to four weeks for delivery of this freebie.

Sign up to receive a free South Beach Diet Sweet Nut Creations Bar. This offer is good while supplies last. Please allow six to eight weeks for delivery

Wal-Mart is offering a free sample of Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant. Please allow up to four weeks for delivery of this freebie.

Get a free sample of Garnier Fructis Products from Lucky Magazine.

Wal-Mart is offering a free sample of Advil PM. Please allow up to four weeks for delivery.

Ben & Jerry’s have a Free Cone Day coming up. On Tuesday April 17th from 12pm until 8pm participating Ben& Jerry’s scoop shops around the world will be hosting Ben& Jerry’s Annual Free Cone Day. Is it a time for you to try a new flavor that you’ve been wondering about without committing your hard earned dollars or is it a time for you to enjoy an old favorite and savor in the deliciousness that is free ice cream? The answer from us at Ben& Jerry’s is yes. Visit our scoop shop locator to find hours and directions to the closest Free Cone Day experience near you, and while you’re there check out our flavor list to see what awaits. So start getting those licking muscles in shape and mark your calendars twice because this is one day you don’t want to miss.

Parenting Magazine offers a chance to Mom-Test Products. Volunteer moms from across the country reality-test these items with their own families in their own homes. When they report back on their favorites, we know these products have been approved by the toughest critics out there: real moms like you. Sign up to be part of their testing panel.

This offer is not technically free because you do need to pay $7.95 for shipping, but I thought I would list it anyway. This is for a Special Pack Scotch-BriteTM Carpet Touch-Up Roller Mega Pack. This special pack Carpet Touch-up Roller is available for just the cost of shipping ($7.95). Just roll it up and toss it out. It’s that easy to pick up pet hair, dirt and lint from floors, stairs, sofas and chairs.And while you’re visiting the 3M eStore, check out other innovative cleaning products and solutions from Scotch-Brite(TM) and 3M. Shipping is free on your entire order when you pay shipping for the Scotch-Brite(TM) Carpet Touch-Up Roller Mega Pack. Limit one Carpet Touch-up Roller per customer.

Houston, TX residents can enjoy one free complimentary admission to Studio Movie Grill. Enjoy!

Sign up to receive a complimentary one-year subscription to Golf for Women Magazine sponsored by American Express.

This one was offered before, but it is a goodie for all those country folk! Sign up to receive a one-year subscription to Living the Country Life Magazine.

Another awesome Wal-Mart sample is available. Try Huggies Supreme Diapers for free. Please allow up to four weeks for delivery.

Wal-Mart is offering a free sample of Biore Products. Please allow up to four weeks for delivery and limit one freebie per household.

New England residents can receive a coupon for a free quart of Elan Frozen Yogurt just for joining their mailing list. This offer is only available for a limited time.

Claim a complimentary one-year subscription to Ministry Today Magazine.

Sign up to receive a free Blue Note Records Sampler.

In May, Bank of America customers can enter select museums for free in Ct, MA, NY, DE, NH, PA, ME, NJ, & RI. Please check this site for details (currently it is listing just that the details are coming soon).

SC Johnson is giving away 10,000 Spring Entertaining Gift Packs as prizes. These include four Off! Family Care Towelettes and various coupons.

American Greetings is offering a free sample of Whiskas Purrfectly Fish Tuna Entrée. Please limit one per household and this offer is good only while supplies last. Please allow six to eight weeks for delivery.

Wal-Mart is offering a free sample of Pledge Multi-Surface Wipes. Please allow four weeks for delivery and limit one freebie per household.

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Posted in Freebies | 1 Comment »

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