Extreme Couponing...Could I Tackle It?

Seriously, have you guys seen the episodes on TLC?? If you haven't, the next time you pass by the channel, stop and watch.  Even for just five minutes, please, watch the train wreck.  It's so completely entertaining and yet really intriguing all at the same time.  I find myself saying things under my breath like, "Holy Cow, that woman is nutso." and "seriously, who needs 100 bags of croutons??"  But then I also catch my nerd brain thinking, "I could soooooo do this."  Definitely not to the extent that all of these women (+ 1 man I've seen) go to, but even just a little bit to save some money.  For me, being a math teacher, I like numbers.  Numbers are fun.  Say it with me! No?? Ok... I guess to me this whole idea of couponing is a challenge.  A challenge to see if I can beat the system and save money. 

One of the major rules of couponing is not to buy things just because they are on sale.  Ummmmmm, I'm the girl that used to buy (key word used to!) two of the same shirt at Gap in different colors just for the "buy one get one 1/2 off"...I know.  I'm ashamed.  So I was a little worried about having that problem.  But honestly, I haven't done that in years.  You see, there's something that happens when you get married.  It's a little thing called a financial conscience.  And I have one.  I get horrible buyers remorse now, way more than ever before.  So I don't think I would have any problem not buying 50 bags of Cheetos just because I have a coupon for it. 

I think the one thing that attracts me to it is the giving aspect of it.  Some of these women go straight from the grocery store to the food pantry and drop off food that they have just purchased gotten for practically pennies.  It would be an amazing feeling to not only be able to help out those in need, but just to be able to give family and friends a few things now and then.  If you can get it for free why not?

Now there's a science to it, and I'm definitely still learning, but I think it's safe to say that this wifey is officially going to attempt it.  I plan to start small though...very small.  Because seriously who gets 50 bags of free cat food without even having a cat?!?

2-Way Kabobs

While I've been doing the Boot Camp Challenge, I have been trying to incorporate some healthier alternatives to my cooking, while still giving the hubs what he desires...meat and potatoes.  So I came up with this marinade, and just changed one ingredient in the marinade to switch from beef to chicken, and it was fantastic!

A few tips to the perfect kabobs.  And look, I'm no expert, but I have seen a few things here or there on the food network...and the fab chefs on that channel have been doing this stuff for a long time, and I'm a very trusting individual.  Makes for a great relationship.  First thing is if you are planning on using wooden skewers, make sure you soak them first.  This will ensure that the skewers won't burn.  Yes, I soaked my skewers in my develled egg tray.  Don't hate.  I'm resourceful.

Next you want to mix up the marinade...super simple just whisk it together.  I believe that this one was the beer marinade.

Once you are finished mixing the marinade, pour it over your chopped meat and veggies.  The bottom container is our Foodsaver quick marinade container (love this! marinade in about 15 minutes, what would normally take 12-24 hrs!) and the top bag is the chicken.  I knew that the chicken would not take as much time to marinade as the beef. 

In the meantime, I parboiled some red potatoes for a few minutes, then cooled and quartered them.  Once Timothy was home from the farm and got the grill going (it's a fine art) I skewered them and had them ready to grill.  I never did get a good picture of the chicken kabobs (there's nothing good about the lighting at 9 pm) but they were WONDERFUL! There was something about the honey and the grilled pineapple that was killer!  Hope you enjoy these kabobs, I'm interested to see what vegetables you choose to use!

Easy Steak Kabobs
printable recipe
makes 6-10 kabobs

Marinade Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
2 cloves garlic minced
cracked black pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together and pour over 1 lb of chunked sirloin along with vegetables of your choice.  I used red onion, green pepper, and red potatoes.  Marinade for 12+ hours.

**For chicken kabobs, replace the worcestershire sauce with honey, and the spicy brown mustard with dijon mustard.  With the chicken kabobs instead of potatoes I used pineapple. Yum!

My Crazy Life + Updates on Getting Clean and Staying Clean!

Whew life is super crazy right now.  I thought that once basketball season was over I would be ready to rock and roll when it came to cooking, cleaning, and all that jazz.  Turns out, I decided to do another round of boot camp.  Crazy I know, but my butt and thighs are thanking me, and so are my pants that were getting too tight.  So my schedule right now is pretty much the same as it was during basketball.  But I am happy to report that the hubs and I are working together to keep a spotless cleaner house.  We do laundry each day, we pick up after ourselves (what a concept), and we take time on the weekends to work together to get some stuff done. And for that, we are happier, and closer than ever before...

Today I am thankful for my husband, who I heard doing dishes at 5:30 am.  LOVE HIM!!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor - Ecclesiastes 4:9