Foodie Friday: Chicken and Wild Rice

After an extended hiatus, Foodie Friday is back!!!  I have been working on some new recipes... so hopefully I will always have something to post!

I actually made this today for Patrick.  I made it all then he just had to bake it when he got home.  Patrick really likes this dish... I think it is one of his favorites.

Chicken and Wild Rice Bake

-Adapted from About.com

-3 cups cooked wild rice

-3 cups chopped cooked chicken

-16oz pkg frozen French cut green beans

-17oz jar Alfredo sauce

-1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix rice, chicken, green beans (thawed), and Alfredo sauce in a large bowl.  Plane in a 12x8 casserole dish.  Sprinkle with bread-crumbs.

Cook 45-50 minutes until casserole is bubbly.

You can also freeze this dish if you want to make it ahead of time for an good make ahead meal.

Freezer Directions:

Undercook rice by 10 minutes.  Do not thaw green beans.

Mix all ingredients and place in baking dish.  Wrap well and attach a small bag of bread crumbs.

Freeze for up to 3 months.

When you are ready to cook it: thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  Uncover, sprinkle with bread-crumbs, bake at 350 degrees for 50-65 minutes until bubbly.

Bless Others

We were taught from a young age that we should use the blessings God gave us to bless others.  So, each week when I am looking at my coupons and sales I keep a special eye out for items that I can buy and give to a local food pantry.  These may be items I have extra coupons for, or items that we don't like or won't use in our house (macaroni and cheese, boxed potatoes, etc.)

This week's sale at Publix is the perfect time to help stock the food pantry with good quality canned goods... for a very good price!!  Here is what I got today to donate to the Lawrenceville Co-op... a ministry that is special to our family.  All the coupons are found in the store, so it is super simple for anyone to do!!

10 Cans Green Giant Veggies: Normally $1.29 each; On sale B1G1 free, had $1/4 coupon - Total $5.45 for all 10 cans

6 Cans Hunts Tomato Sauce: Normally $.59 each; On sale $2/6 - Total $2

4 Cans Progresso Beans (2 Black Beans, 2 Cannellini Beans): Normally $.99 (Black Beans) $1.29 (Canellini Beans); On sale $2/3, had a $1/4 coupon - Total $1.67 for all 4 cans

1 Baguette: Normally $1.79; On sale for $1.49, had a $1.50/1 Publix Bakery Bread when you buy 6 cans of tomato sauce - Total FREE (a bonus for you!)

**All of these items qualified for the $5/20 coupon in the Viva Italia sale this week.  So, I got an extra $5 off the total price.**

So the Grand Total for the 20 items I will donate to the food pantry...

$4.12 (for $21 worth of food)

That is about $.21 per can!!!

I am so excited about these good buys!!  I would encourage everyone to try it this week... Like I said all the coupons are already in the store... they can be found on a tear pad on the Viva Italia display at the front.  Let me know if you try it... I would love to hear what you get!

Groceries 2/22

Here are my grocery buys for this week.  I am starting to get the hang of it... and I'm really enjoying all the money I have been saving.  I use the shopping list on Southernsavers.com for all my match-ups.

2 Bottles WishBone Salad Dressing: Normally $2.65 each; On sale B1G1 free, had 2 $1/1 coupons - Total $.66 for both

2 Boxes Finish dishwashing tablets: Normally $6.99 each; On sale B1G1 free, had 2 $2.25/1 coupons - Total $2.49 for both

2 Bottles CoffeeMate creamer: Normally $2; On sale 3/$5, had 2 $1/1 coupons - Total $1.34 for both

2 Bags WanChai Ferry frozen dinner: Normally $7.99 each; On sale B1G1 free, had 2 $1.50/1 coupons - Total $4.99 for both

1 Box Deluxe Brownie Mix: Normally $2.65; On sale for $1.99, had a $1/1 Publix coupon and a $1/1 manufactor's coupon - Total FREE

2 Bags Sargento shredded cheese: Normally $3.99 and $4.19 (I had two different kinds); On sale 2/$4, had 2 $1.50/1 Publix coupons and a $.40/2 coupon (which doubled) - Total $.20 for both

1 Bag Macaroni Grill dinner: Normally $7.99; On sale B1G1 free, had a $1.50/1 coupon - Total $2.50

1lb Publix butter: Total $3.19

1 Package Publix Cream Cheese: Total $.99

1 Carton Publix Eggs: Total $1.69

1 Package Oreo Cookies (Can you tell I am made Oreo Balls this weekend?): Total $2.99

*4 Cans Pillsbury Rolls: Normally $2.49 each; On sale 3/$5, had 2 $.40/2 coupons (which doubled) - Total $5.07 for all four

*1 Box Green Giant veggies: Normally $1.66; On sale 10/$10, had a $.50/1 coupon (which doubled) - Total FREE

*4 Cans Green Giant Veggies: Normally $1.29 each; On sale B1G1 free, had a $1/4 Publix coupon - Total $1.58 for all four

*3 Boxes Progresso Chicken Broth: Normally $2.59 each; On sale B1G1 free, had a $1/4 Progresso Publix coupon - Total $3.14 for all three

*1 Can Progresso bread crumbs: Normally $1.97 each; On sale B1G1 free, had a $1/4 Progresso Publix coupon (combined with the item above) - Total $.74

*4 Large Cans Hunts tomatoes: Normally $1.89 each; On sale B1G1 free, had a $1/3 Publix coupon, had a $.45/3 manufactor's coupon (which doubled) - Total $1.88 for all four

*3 Totinos Party Pizzas: Normally $1.25; had a $.40/2 coupon (which doubled) - Total $2.95 for all three

*These items are part of the Viva Italia sale at Publix.  During this sale, there is a coupon at the front of the store for $5 off when you buy any 20 of the selected products.  So, I got 20 and got $5 off on top of my other coupons!*

TOTAL: $104.76 (before sales and coupons)

MY TOTAL: $33.51 (with tax)

That is a 68% savings!

I'm Back!

Hey there... Yes, I confess, I am one of those bloggers.  I got a little behind on my blog... then a week turned into two, turned into a month... and gasp, turned into a few months!  Since I got out of my groove it has been very hard to get it back!  However, I am going to do my best to get it back together... I hope!

Today I am going to list 5 important things that we have been doing since I last blogged... all will be explained better in future posts.

5.  Grocery Shopping
I have been working to get into a good habit on my coupon shopping.  I am not one of those crazy people on TV who has enough deodorant for 5 years in their closet, I try to keep my buys on scale for our family.  I have a stockpile, but it all fits in our pantry.  I am hoping there is a deep freezer in our future... just to make things easier.  Speaking of groceries... can you guess how much I spent on the groceries below this week... I'll post a break-down tomorrow.

4. Moving
One of my best friends, one of my Maids of Honor, our matchmaker...... moved to the other side of the world in January.  "See you laters" are always hard... but I am so excited for her adventure!  I miss her so much already... but I know she is going to do great things!

3. Crafts
I have been making fabric FLOWERS!  To be honest that is what has really filled my free time in place of blogging.  I found a pattern I thought I could make late last year... and it has been nonstop ever since then.  I have now expanded my collection... I can do several different kinds... both pins and hairclips... they are such a stress reliever!

2. Church
Patrick started an internship at our church.  We are SO EXCITED!  He is really enjoying what he has done so far (this is only his second week).  We are both loving getting plugged into our new church family.  If you are ever in Atlanta we would love for you to stop by Mt. Vernon to visit us!

1. Time goes on...
Today is our six month wedding anniversary!  I can't believe it... it seems like just last week we were celebrating at Disney!  We are so blessed!

Alright... those are 5 things we have been up to over the last few months.  Stay tuned for more info on each... Happy Monday!

Special Visit!

Look who we got to meet yesterday...

Touchdown!

Our sweet niece Reagan is home from the hospital and we got to hang out with her family all afternoon yesterday.

This is pretty much how I spent the whole day... just holding her as she slept so sweetly!

She is a such a sweet little girl... and she can sleep through anything!  We had a great time visiting with her parents too!  Sorry we didn't get a picture with them!

We can't wait to come back and visit... really soon!

Christmas Cards!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere I go…  One of my favorite Christmas things are photo Christmas cards.  I have been looking all over the web for fun designs, there are so many to choose from!  I think I found my favorites on Shutterfly.com, they have such a great selection and their prices are great… plus they are offering 50 free cards to bloggers!  You certainly can’t beat that!

I have been looking forward to sending out cards since I found out were were going to be married by Christmas 2010.  It is such a fun way to share a special picture with friends and family all over the country.  We have so many pictures to share this year, I am so glad that so many of the Shutterfly cards have space for multiple pictures.

I am a sucker for anything with a monogram, that is why I love these two cards.  They are so classy and sleek… but for such a great price!

Found here.

Found here.

I also love the simplicity of this card.  It’s not too fancy it’s just classic and elegant! 

Found here.

There are so many colors for each design!  This makes choosing a card great for us, because I know that no matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to get away with a red and black card this year.

I am also thinking about making a wall calendar with some of our wedding pictures.  I think that would be a fun way to remember our special day all throughout 2011.  The prices are fantastic… you really can’t beat this personalized keepsake!

We have not decided on our card yet; however, I will be sure to share it when we do!

Coupon totals...

Did you guess?  Here are the totals for this week...

2 Boxes Mueller Spaghetti: Normally $1.29 each; On sale B1G1 free, had a $1/2 coupon - Total $.29 for both boxes

2 Packages Ziploc containers: Normally $3 each; On sale 2 for $5, had a Publix coupon $1/2, had a manufacturer's coupon $1.50/2 - Total $2.50 for both

2 Boxes Nabisco crackers- Triscuits normally $2.99, Pretzel Crisp normally $3.09; On sale B1G1 free, had a $1/2 coupon - Total $2.05 for both

5 Boxes Betty Crocker muffin mix: Normally $2.59 each; On sale B1G1 free, had 5 $.50/1 coupons (which all doubled!) - Total $1.50 for all 5 (that's $.30 per box!!)

1 Bag Fresh Express Salad: Normally $3.99; On sale B1G1 free, had a $.55/1 coupon - Total $1.45

1 Bag Sister Shubert's Rolls: Normally $3.45; On sale 2 for $5, had a $.75/1 coupon - Total $1.75

6 Cans Rotel (YES... we eat of lot of Rotel!): Normally $1.39 each; On sale B1G1 free, had two $1/3 coupons - Total $2.17 for all 6 (that's $.36 per can!!)

1 Package Nestle Tollhouse cookies: Normally $2.95, On sale B1G1 free, had a $1/1 coupon - Total $.48

1 Can cranberry sauce: Normally $1.55; On sale for $.89 - Total $.89

2 Bottles vitamins (one Vitamin D, one Vitamin C): Normally $4.99 (for Vit. D) and $4.49 (for Vit. C); had a $6/2 Publix coupon, had a $3/2 manufacturer's coupon - Total $.48 for both

Total... without tax... $13.74 (this is what I was charged... although when I add it up I somehow get $13.54, close enough) for $57.35 worth of groceries for a total savings of 76%

Still a GREAT week!  I'm excited that I think I am getting the hang of this whole coupon thing...