I purchased two Squash Neck pumpkins last fall from Bulk and Natural Foods. I canned most of it since my freezer was quite full from good deals, chicken and blueberries. This was my first time canning squash but I will definitely do it again.
As you can see these squash are quite large, in the first picture that is a quarter sitting next to the squash! The bottom of the squash was full of seeds but the rest of the squash was solid giving a good value for the money. I paid $12 something for both of them and ended up with about 30 cups total some canned and some cooked then frozen. See how to bake the squash here.
On this weeks menu plan I included a Butternut Squash recipe that I got from the P90X nutrition guide. I decided to try out the canned squash for this recipe. It literally took me about 10 minutes from start to finish with a delicious warm soup ready to eat.
1 Tablespoon shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
3 cups butternut squash
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth, low sodium
Combine the shallot and garlic in a nonstick saucepan and cook over low heat until translucent, adding a little water if necessary to prevent scorching.
For this step I opened my quart jar of canned squash strained the water (keep the squash juice). Then pureed with my handi-dandi hand blender. OR Add the squash and chicken broth and simmer until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes. Transfer to blender or processor to puree.
Combine the shallot and garlic, broth, (milk if desired) and squash together and cook until heated through. Serve.
OPTIONAL: I added the canned evaporated milk to the recipe as I thought my kids would like it better with a little more of a sweet taste.
I’m quite surprised at the number of people I talk to that pay an accountant to file their taxes. I’m certainly not against paying someone to take care of your taxes and for some it really is necessary, but for others it may be easier and less expensive to purchase a tax software do it for you.
My husband and I like to use the TurboTax software and have filed this way for ten years now. It is simple to use and if you have all the proper paper work in front of you can be finished in less than an hour. Using a tax software is not for everyone, but if you have the basic deductions than you might want to consider trying out a tax software.
This year we bought the TurboTax Deluxe Federal + E-file + State 2011 Download
version from Amazon. By the way when we purchased it on January 18th it was only $39.79-so quick tip buy this before January 31st rather than later!
Here are two FREE Federal file online tax software offers for simple tax returns if you’d like to try it out without the cost. State filing is NOT included.
This post includes my affiliate link, all thoughts and opinions are mine.
My husband and I have decided to try to eliminate more carbs in our diet and stick to fresh superfoods. We certainly aren’t going extreme but it will be change from the way we’ve been eating. We are hoping our bodies thank us for eating this way!
I went out shopping today to purchase our much needed protein, fruit, and vegetable items. My fridge is overflowing! I might have bought too much:-) It seems like it’s going to be more expensive now but I’m hoping to be able to continue to stick to our $350 a month budget although it might not happen this month.
This menu is from Monday to Sunday for a family of 2 adults and four boys ranging in ages 8 to 1. Most of the dinner meals I haven’t tried before so if they are successful I’ll be sharing the recipe with you. If you have any low-carb meal suggestions I’d love for you to comment below!
Breakfast
Cream of Wheat & Blueberries
Whole Wheat Cinnamon Toast & Fruit Smoothie
Oatmeal & Strawberries
Vegetable Quiche
Cereal & Hot Chocolate
Whole Wheat Pancakes & Blueberries
German Pancakes (we’re trying a low-carb recipe this time) & Oranges
Scrambled Eggs & Bacon
Lunch
Pasta Vegetable Salad
Chicken Salad
Egg Salad
PB & Honey/Jam Sandwiches (kids lunches)
Turkey Sandwiches (kids lunches)
Leftovers
Dinner
Salmon, Aspargaus, Butternut Squash Soup
Olive Garden’s Gnocchi Soup (we’re attempting to copy this delicious soup!), Breadsticks, Shrimp & Fruit Salad, Broccoli
Chef Salad (beans, eggs, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, avocado, cheese)
Shrimp Stir Fry
Pork Tenderloin, Aspargaus, Lentils
Grilled Chicken and Spinach Salad
Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Salad
Snacks
Trail Mix
Apples & PB
Pears
Oranges
Carrots
Almonds
Pistachios
Yogurt & Homeade Granola
Tomato & String Cheese
Popcorn
Frozen Yogurt
Gingersnaps
No-Bake Cookies
Chocolate Milk
Protein Bar
Zuchini Bread & Pumpkin Muffins
Thanks for stopping by The Savers Bungalow! Share with us your favorite shopping trips and deals that you found this week below!
With our 10-year anniversary vacation in the first week of this year, I am just now getting around to examining our 2011 spending habits and goals.
I paid a total of $4254.43 for the year for all groceries and household items for a family of 2 adults and 4 boys which averages out to $354 a month.
I saved $5792.91 for the year 2011 using coupons and shopping the sales or an average of $482 savings each month! See two of my favorite shopping trips below.
Shopping at Kroger and Walgreens I paid $19.43, saved $233.97 with $2 RR leftover
Walgreens: Paid $8.80, Saved $126.36, Earned $32
It really helps a budget to keep track of every penny-and I do mean every cent! Last year I was really strict about writing down everything so I could find out what we were spending in each category. Here’s what our spending and saving categories looked like last year.
There is room for improvement but, overall my husband and I were pleased with the results. If It’s really encouraging to set goals and then slowly month by month make progress to reach the goal by the end of the year. Shopping has really changed in the last six months so it will be interesting to see what happens to my budget and saving numbers in 2012.
For this week in 2012 I shopped at Kroger, CVS, & Walgreens last Saturday spending $72.94, saved $111. I took a second trip to Kroger this week spending $40.23 and saving $45.68. with a total of $113.70 spent and saved $156.68 this week.
Did you find a great deal or have a great shopping trip? Share your deals and weekly shopping with us below with a link or a comment! If you are linking please link directly to your post.
Thanks for stopping by The Savers Bungalow! Share with us your favorite shopping trips and deals that you found this week below!
Are you looking for some fun, festive food for Halloween? Our wonderful Mother sent me the pictures and instructions for making Jello worms for Halloween. The pictures look pretty realistic. I am sure that kids would love this!
Mom wrote:
I thought these were so Halloween. They did take a little bit of time, though. I can’t wait to make them when I come stay with Kaehl, Braedon and Tayte. This idea is on
Pineterest, but theirs looked more like gummy worms. I just used what I had, and I got quite a realistic worm look. What do you think? I had a hard time eating the first one!
Ingredients:
1 small package green jello
1 small package red jello
1 cup of water
1/2 cup canned milk
straws
Instructions:
Dissolve green & red jello in 1 cup water (total). Once jello is completely dissolved, mix in 1/2 cup canned milk.
Pack a cup full of straws (pull the flex-neck part straight & put it at the bottom), then pour the jello into the straws. Place the cup in the fridge and let it set. (Sorry the picture is blurry!)
The un-molding is a little tricky. I ran each straw under hot water for about 4 seconds, then pushed the ‘worms’ out ontoa wax paper lined cookie sheet. They came out pretty easy that way. Be careful not to leave them under the water too long. They go runny quick!
Once they are all out of the straws, they need to go back into the fridge for an hour or so to set up so they don’t stick together when you put them in a bowl.
I made orange jello and put the worms on top of it. It would take a lot of work to make a whole bowl of worms for everyone. We served it with mummy hot dogs, deviled egg eye balls, and
Natasha’s pumpkin soup.
Thanks mom for sharing!
Looking for a simple, quick, inexpensive fall craft? How about making these adorable pumpkins. All you need is 3 toilet paper rolls (per pumpkin), paint and scissors.
First cut one TP roll in half-ish to make the center. You will want it to be a little smaller than half. You will use the other half of that roll to make the stem & vine.
Paint the larger half brown & green to use as the stem & vine.
Paint the 2 whole rolls & the 1/2 roll orange. These will make the body of the pumpkin.
Cut the two rolls up the middle, then in small strips. (about 1/4″ thick) If they are much thicker than that they don’t stay on as well.
The strips will naturally curl. After I cut them, I curled them around my finger to help them keep their shape. Then I hooked them around the 1/2 roll to form the pumpkin.
Then I curled up the stem and squeezed it in the middle along with some curly green for vines. That’s it! I told you it was simple.
Didn’t they turn out cute?
Meet Natasha, founder of Saving a Bundle and mother of four rambunctious boys, and LeaDawn writer and new mother of one boy. Raised in a frugal lifestyle we continue the family tradition by cooking from scratch, using money-smart techniques,
living simply, hunting for good deals, have fun with frugal crafts, and use coupons. Join us on our journey as we, two sisters, learn & share ways to live a more frugal lifestyle to reach our common goal to save our families money.