But lets get back to frugal things. Last week my husband found a really deal at Target. Pillows. I know, pillows? Yes adorable “Pirates of the Caribbean” pillows. Some have that microbead stuff in them and some are those regular throw pillows. I guess the big question is why and how many. Well my husband picked up 8. Why? My son has recently became obsessed with “Pirates of the Caribbean” so my husband bought 2. When he told me the price and the other 3 kids saw the pillows he had to go get 4 more. The pillows were regular price $13.99, on sale for $1.50!!! And oh my goodness they are soooo comfortable. It does not hurt that my favorite color is green and the pillows look nice on the couch.

I have not started my make ahead cooking yet, I hope to start soon but I am still cooking at home. We have eaten out a few times but it has definitely been in moderation and with coupons!! Last week my dad came over and we got pizzas from Sam’s club his treat. That was nice and as usual the pizza was good. I took a few pictures to show I am cooking at home which hands down is always cheaper.

this is way cheaper than shake and bake $.99, and gives chicken a nice crispy golden skin.

still one of my favorites, quick and you get 4 for $1.00

quick and easy to fix, only need to add water. $1.00

really good treat, and easy for kids to make.$1.50

the chicken wings I fried that were really big. $5.99 for a bag at my favorite store, Aldis!!

My oldest daughter turned 14 and I did not go overboard spending. My hubby went to Dollar Tree to get balloons, you really can not beat the price especially since we used to spend lots on balloons from Factory Card Outlet. We got her a pair of K-Swiss athletic shoes for $40 and a Sansa mp3 player on clearance for $25 (a really good price. Plus both hubby and I have one which we paid much more for and we love ours) She was really happy because those were the only things she really wanted. She has been asking for both of those things since her birthday last year. We are not big fans of birthday cake (DH used to work at a bakery for 7 years) so we got her the cheesecake sampler from Sam’s Club for $12.99. She really loves cheesecake so Jazz was definitely surprised. I also thought it would be a good idea to treat Jazz and a friend to a movie since I was not doing the party thing. She got to see Step Up 2 and spend time with her friend. The best part of all is we used cash so no paying for it twice!! I think it was a pretty good day all around, now I have to prepare for Nannah’s birthday which is April 30th.

Today I hope to grocery shopping, but I doubt it because I am not prepared. No list is made and no coupons are cut. It is so quiet, I just want to enjoy the peace and relax.

Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to catch up.

Country breakfast casserole – a make ahead dish
( eggs, sausage, hash browns, cheese, etc)

Banana cinnamon french toast – quick and easy

Chicken taco casserole – make ahead freezer meal

Frozen french fries – quick freezer dish

User friendly meatballs – freezer dish

Barbecue short ribs- crock-pot meal

Hearty chicken and noodle casserole – easy from Campbell’s Kitchen

 rice $.99 (really easy to cook, just add water)  

 $.94 (really good deal, found on sale)  total price $4.70

DH wanted to eat out last night so we got fish from my favorite fast food restaurant. I was excited because it feels like years since the last time I had some.(it has really only been almost 1 month) Guess what happened? It was absolutely horrible! Everything tasted different.  The food was cold and flavorless. The fries(which are normally my all time favorite) was cold, hard and tasted like cardboard. I called and complained , and the manager said they were using a different fry supplier.  He did offer me a free order so DH went back to get it. They tasted ok but it is just not the same. Sadly I will not be eating there anymore.