Month: January 2012

I’m Going To Try Extreme Couponing-Any Advice

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I use my coupons.  Well, most of the time.  When I remember to bring the coupon envelope into the store.  And I can find the coupon I want.  And they didn’t expire first. And I remember to buy the right item, in the right quantity.

Its just that I hate to leave money on the table and I hate to think someone is getting a better deal than me.  This is what also drives me nuts about travel.  Everywhere I go, I know someone is paying less for the same flight, rental car or room than I did, even though I think I am shopping carefully.

So, I am going to follow the advice of The Krazy Coupon Lady. 

I am starting day one of the program today.  I am rethinking how I shop.  I usually hit one store (right now I am shopping Shaw’s because I got sucked into that stupid Monopoly like contest) and then I will hit a store once per week for last minutes oops type items.  You know, ran out of milk, need fresh salad stuff, etc.

However, this week I am going to search the flyers and see where the best deals are.  I am also going to hit my local craft store this week and see if I can find the coupon binder cheaper than I saw it on Amazon.

So, any advice readers?

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Cooking Without Drama-Meat Sauce

I am always surprised that so many people spend lots of money on jar pasta sauce, when its quick, easy and cheap to make your own, and you also get control over what is in the sauce.

If you want a quick meatless sauce, drizzle a little olive oil in a medium saucepan.  Throw in a couple of cloves of garlic and saute them for a minute or two.  Sprinkle a little dried basil and oregano in the garlic oil.

Then turn the heat on low, add a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, and simmer on very low until the pasta is done.

I personally like Tuttoroso tomatos, and Cook’s magazine likes Hunt’s brand, but my feeling is buy whatever is on sale and you will be fine.

A meat sauce requires a little more effort, but not much more.  I also use my crock pot. This makes a lot of sauce, so I put the leftovers into tupperwares and freeze for  later date.

Meat Sauce

1lb Italian Sausage (Sweet, Hot, Turkey, Chicken-whatever floats your boat)

1lb lean ground beef.  (I use 90 or 93% lean)

2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes

1 80z can tomato paste

1/4 cup basil

1/4 cup oregano

Few dashes of crushed red pepper.

1. Brown sausage and beef, add to crock pot

2. Pour tomatoes over meats

3. Add basil, oregano, pepper and stir

4. Set crockpot on low and cook for 6-7 hours.

If your crockpot has a warmer setting, you can brown the meat the night before and whip this together before you go to work, and have it sitting and getting warm when you get home.

Make some pasta and salad and dinner is served.

 

Book Review-The Wedding Wager

The Wedding Wager (McMaster the Disaster)The Wedding Wager by Rachel Astor

I stumbled on the “McMaster the Disaster” books while traveling to Paris for my 40th birthday in October. I loved the fun, frothy book with a relate-able heroine and quickly devoured Bridesmaid Lotto and Gamble on Engagement.

I found the third book in the series to be fully delightful, and I am hoping that The Disaster will strike again!

View all my reviews

Loves Theatre….Hates Drama

I remember once when I was ten my mom got all panicked, and wandered the neighborhood looking for me.  No one had seen me for hours, and she being of a paranoid bent, was convinced some awful shadowy person kidnapped me from the peaceful Long Island neighborhood where I grew up.

Turns out, I was taking a nap in my closet, which I had set up with some old pillows and a blanket, having found a place where my bratty younger brother couldn’t find me.

Today I still try to find that sweet spot of peace and quiet, but now, instead of a little brother, I am trying to hide from a demanding boss, the kids, the dog, my co-workers, and sometimes, even my Husband.

All my life I’ve been the peacemaker, trying to avoid drama.  I hate tension, arguments, and bullies.  I also hate people who hide behind the internet to say the horrible things they would never say in public.

Yet I have stuff to say, so I blog.

I like to talk about my kids, but I am not a Mommy Blogger.

I like to talk about food, but I am not a Food Blogger.

I like to talk about Human Resources, but I am not a Human Resources Blogger.

I also like sex, current events, pop culture and books, but I am not blogging about any one thing.  I like to blog about whatever is on my mind.

I do love to share tips, ideas and recipes that I have found help make my life easier, because the worst thing you can do with a good idea is to hide it.

I am a wife, I am a mom, I am a failed dieter who has not given up hope.  I am an avid reader, and I am usually a nice person.  Except of course when I am a raging bitch.

I just turned forty in 2011, so join me as I go from being 40 to being in my 40’s.

My blog motto: