Crock Pot Seasoned Chicken with sauteed Spinach

So tonight I kind of made up dinner as I went...I knew chicken was on the menu and I wanted it in the crock pot so after checking out a few recipes from assorted cookbooks, etc I came up with this based on what I had on hand:

1/2-1 Vildalia onion sliced
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tap garlic powder
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (of course you could use as many as you need and just adjust your seasonings, etc)

Turn Crock pot on high
Cover Bottom of crock pot with onion slices
Add 1 cup water
Add chicken breasts and cover with seasonings listed above
Cook for about 3 1/2 - 4 hours

Sauteed Spinach

1 bag of fresh spinach (don't forget about how much spinach shrinks-I sure did--if your cooking for more than 3, you may want to add another bag)
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tsp Unsalted Butter

Add butter and garlic to a pot and saute for about 1 minute
Add Spinach and saute for about 10 minutes or so

Top chicken over spinach or enjoy seperately!

DIY Pepper Sauce

So today my hubby has a great idea to use up some peppers my cousin Renee gave us last week that came right out of her garden.  We sliced them up and put them in a container and added vinegar!  Easy!  Now all I need is some turnip greens!

Dry Rub Burgers

I checked out the book "Everyday Paleo" from the library and I am trying out new recipes over the next few weeks.  Tonight we made "Dry Rub Burgers" and they were really good!

Recipe:

1 1/2 tbsp Chili Powder

2 1/2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Ground Cumin

1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/4 tsp Ground White Pepper (I used black pepper)

Sea salt to taste

2 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (makes 7-9 med size burgers)

Mix all dry rub ingred together

Form burgers into patties and cover both sides generously with dry rub

Let the burgers sit for 30 min before cooking

Enjoy!



How to save $$$$ at Publix!

So I get asked all of the time about saving $$ at Publix.  Basically this is what I do:

Buy 1 Sunday newspaper (buy 2 for more savings-that way when something is BOGO you have a
coupon for each item--even if it's buy one get one free).
Clip coupons while watching TV on Sunday night and file accordingly (here is my filing system)

I have mine labeled this way:

Vitamins/Toothpaste/Protein bars
Soap/Shampoo/Makeup/Facial products
Paper Products, Cleaning Supplies/Laundry/Dog Food/Treats
Chips/Peanuts/Popcorn/Crystal Light/Water
Deli/Bacon/Produce/
Cookies/Craclers/Fruit Snacks
Salad Dressings/Sauces/Marinades/Baking Items/Condiments
Dairy/Eggs
Frozen
Juice/Mexican/Tuna/Cereal/Coffee/Jelly

~Our weekly ad comes out on Wednesday and I get the paper delivered which is nice. 

~I go through it page by page and the items I normally buy, I will look through my bin and check  
  to see if I have a coupon.  If I do not have a coupon for something I want,  I will check coupons.com  and print it off from there.  This process takes time so keep that in mind!  You can use a Target coupon + a manuf cpn on ONE item even if it is BOGO.  You can use a Publix cpn + a manf cpn on ONE item even if it is BOGO...you could use 4 cpns total on a BOGO deal if you have it available.    ALL stores are different and have different rules so check with your store first to see
 what competitor cpns they take!  Our Publix doubles all Manuf cpns that are .50 and under!  That is
 awesome!   Once you do this over and over each week, you will get faster =)

~Also if I see something I might use and I KNOW I just clipped the coupon I will get it out to see if it
  is worth it to buy it (ex. if it will cost under $1 or so why not try it out, esp a new item that is out).

~I put my coupons in a large envelope in order of the way I shop at the grocery store (I have the store
  memorized) ~I start at the vitamins/personal care isle and then work my way to the end of the store
  which is the deli/floral area where I shop.

~Always check your receipt when your done to ensure everything rang up right...if it did not, Publix
  will give you that item FREE!   Excluding Postage stamps, wine, and beer~DARN!

~Good Luck!

Publix Deals

These are some deals I picked up tody!  Total was $18.93

Now mind you I try to eat healthy for the most part but I do drink my little coke every day at lunch as my treat!  It's only 8 oz which is better than the 12 oz or larger!  My kids and hubby are cereal LOVERS and I do indulge them with the surgary kind as a treat...not an everyday breakfast or anything.....
Soft soap $.49
Dog Shampoo $1.99
Ziploc baggies $.50 (used a $1 off Publix cpn + $1 off Manuf + they were 2 for $3)
Danimals $1.69
Cho Greek Yogurt 4 pack $.50 (Used a $1 off Target cpn + $1 off manuf cpn)
Quaker Granola Bars $1.12
Silk Milk $1.50 (Kendra's fav)
Juicy Juice 8 pk $.62 (used a $1 off man cpn on each at BOGO)
Brownie Box Mix $1.59
Coke 8 pks $2.00 ( 2 packs  for $6 - $2 Publix cpn when you buy 2)
Water 6pk $.01 (Penny item)
Vlasic Pickles $.20

Publix deals...

I got a great coupon book from the cashier at Publix last week and was able to double up and use Publix coupons/Target coupons with my manuf coupons which is how you REALLY save serious $$$.  I spent 1.5 hours going through my coupons, getting them ready, etc but it really paid off!  I keep them in this bin/drawer type thing labeled which makes it quick for me to find the latest sale items for that particular week!

These are deals I got:

Tide 4.99
Coppertone Sunscreen 3.49
Snuggle Fab Softner 1.99
Palmolive Dish Deterg .75
Comet Bathroom Cleaner .64
Kleenex Viva Paper Towels 1.00
Razors (4 pk) 2.49
Coffee (reg $9.99 a bag) $2.50
Breyers Ice Cream 1.75
Silk Berry Protein Drink FREE
Publix hot dogs .01
South Beach Snack Bars 1.50
Yoplait Gogurt .87
Toothbrush .99

Order total $32.07                                        SAVED $ 61.84

Earth Fare Deals

So I got a coupon emailed to me that if I replaced my current tooth paste, lip balm, and multi vitamin all of which contained harmful crap, Earth Fare would give me their Organic brand for FREE!  My vitamins were EMPTY and the lip balm was partly used which was OK!  SCORE!

 

Paleo Spaghetti Sauce..aka Justin's fav!

I found this recipe online somewhere back in Jan and it REALLY makes a great sauce!

This is what you will need:
1- 1 1/2 lbs of Lean Ground Beef or Grass Fed Beef
1/2 onion chopped
2-3 large tomatoes shopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Yellow, Red, and Green bell peppers chopped (I normally use 1 of each but whatever you have on hand will work just fine
2 6oz cans of organic tomato paste
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp oregeno
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Fry ground beef and add onions and garlic

Next chop all veggies and add everything (beef, spices, veggies, paste, etc)  to a large sauce pot. 

 Simmer for an hour +
Serve over shredded spaghetti squash!  Yum!

Oven baked Squash

Here is a recipe I make a few times a week!  Seems like I always get a great deal on squash when at the market so we eat a lot of it.  Here is a simple way I make it in the oven. 
Slice up squash and put in a large piece of alum foil
Add veggies you like (ex. bell peppers, green onions, red onion, anything goes)

Throw in a pat of butter, seasoning salt, pepper
Wrap the alum foil up

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes!  Enjoy!

"Snack Time" Savers!

If there is one thing that drives me CRAZY it's hearing my kids always ask for a snack and me reaching in the pantry getting a little bit of this and a little bit of that for two kids that like two different things.  It gets tiresome!   So......I decided to bag up about 30 "snack" size ziploc bags and put a lil salty snack and a lil sweet snack inside.  I think the snack size portions are great for kids...it's the perfect size and portion.  I threw them in a big bowl and placed them in the pantry so now when they ask for a snack I can get the bowl out and they can quickly pick out a baggie!

Farmers Market Deals!

So today I hit the market and got a great deal!  All of this for $3.30!

So now my veggies for the week are complete!  I plan to roast the squash  (2 dinners worth) with peppers and onions and I am making Paleo Meatloaf  this week with the rest of my veggies I have on hand!  Yum!



Earth Fare deals

So I kid you not, I was on my way to Earth Fare to pick up a fab deal on these wonderful Organic, Gluten Free chips that are delish and I get a text from Earth Fare that if I spend $5 I would get a 48 ct box of Organic Green Tea for FREE.  Well, I had already planned to spend $5 so why not!  I also had $1 off coupons for EACH bag of chips which made them .67 each!  These are normally $3.50 a bag plus  10% of every purchase goes towards summer camp scholarships! 

A pretty good $5 deal!  I would say we are set on chips for a while!

1 chicken = 3 small meals + chicken stock!

This past weekend we cooked up a few chickens on the grill.  I usually buy natural, minimally processed chickens as these are better than the ready to eat ones you can buy from the store.  We ate one with dinner guests and then used the other chicken (aprox 4.5 lbs) to make 3 small meals for family.  I decided to make chicken enchilada's which are really easy to make up!  Whole chickens are pretty cheap (usually about .99-1.29 lb) and usually you can make up at least 2 good size meals with 1 chicken!

Afterwards, I take the chicken bones and make chicken stock!

Paleo Guac

I make this once a week and it is SOO good!  I eat avocado's 3 times a week in addition to making this..can you tell I love avocado's!  Just wish they were cheaper!    This is a great easy recipe!

3-4 Avocado's, scoop insides, place in dish
1/4 c red onion diced
1/2 c tomatoes diced
2 garlic cloves diced
1/2 - 1 jalepeno diced
juice of 1 lime

Mash everything with fork, stir and enjoy!

Paleo Taco Soup

This is a great soup recipe I got from fastpaleo.com  I have many friends who have also made this and everyone loves it!  You can use just about anything you want in it!  I always hit the farmers market right before I make this for great deals on veggies!

1 + lbs Ground Beef
1 red onion
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 jalepeno chopped
black olives chopped
3 garlic cloves
6 cups chicken broth (or more to make more soup)
1 can green chili's
4 tomatoes diced
1 cup salsa
1 tbsp chili pdwr, 1/4 tsp garlic pwdr, 1/4 tsp onion pwdr, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, dash of salt, pepper to taste

Cook ground beef, drain fat if you wish
Add veggies, spices, and chicken broth
Simmer for a few hours
Top with fresh cilantro and avocado!
Enjoy!

Chicken Stock

After making 2 chickens this weekend, I decided to make chicken stock with the bones.  I found a few recipes for doing this and decided to make mine like this:

Place bones in Crock pot
Add some carrots and celery
Add 8-10 cups of water
Cook on low for 24 hours
Add salt at the end if you wish for taste

After the time is up, let everything cool then strain through a sieve into a large bowl and discard the solids. I like to add about 1 tablespoon of sea salt at this point but you can adjust the salt to your taste.

You can keep the homemade chicken stock in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or freeze it. While it is in the refrigerator it’s a good idea to leave the fat that forms on top. It helps keep out bacteria until you are ready to use it. You can even reduce the stock down to a more concentrated form for storage. Some people like to freeze it in ice-cube trays so it is readily available to add to recipes in smaller amounts.