Mommy Octopus – Page 216 – We can all use a few more hands

Tasty Tuesday: Let’s Make A Smoothie!

September 6, 2011 By MommyOctopus 3 Comments
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Although it’s hard to imagine wanting a smoothie on this cool, crisp day here in the south, it makes for a quick, easy, and healthy snack! Normally I’d be loving 66 degree weather but after months of 90 degree weather, I may have to go grab a winter coat! 🙂

On to smoothie making!

First gather up your ingredients. I like to use Simply Orange Juice, Trader Joe’s Berry Medley, whatever yogurt we have on hand, and also a banana. Don’t forget that there is a $1 off Simply Orange Juice coupon available!

Throw your ingredients in your blender, or in my case, I use the Magic Bullet. I got this a couple months ago from some of my facebook fans recommendation. I have been really pleased! I purchased the Magic Bullet MBR-1701 17-Piece Express Mixing Set and we use it all the time!

Throw your ingredients in. I have never really measured, but I use a half of a banana, a bit of the frozen fruit, couple scoops of yogurt, and then fill in the gaps with orange juice. Make sure they you leave room at the top for everything to move around and it mixes. Blend away and enjoy!

What do you like to put in your smoothies?

Tasty Tuesday: Make Your Own Granola!

August 30, 2011 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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This past week, I’ve been struggling to find things that I can give my son. Most boxes cereals have soy as an ingredient. My son LOVES cereal and would eat it all day long if I’d let him. After a very frustrating trip to the grocery store, and purchasing a tiny $4.99 box of granola, I decided to take matters in my own hands. I thought it would be hard to make granola but it was surprisingly very easy! I even had all the ingredients in my pantry! Let’s make some granola!

Ingredients:

4 Cups Rolled Oats
3/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins

First things first, grab your strongest kid and put them to work smashing the pecans! I like to put the pecans in a baggie and then give my son a meat tenderizer to hammer them out.

While your kid is happily pounding away, bring the oil, honey, cinnamon, and brown sugar to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to make sure all ingredients are well dissolved and blended. Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract.

Combine the oats and pecans in a large bowl and pour the brown sugar mixture over the oats and pecans. Stir well to coat.

Pour out the oats on a pan in a single layer and cook for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir after 10 minutes.

Cool completely before adding the raisins. Store in an airtight container.

Have you made granola before? What’s your favorite recipe?

Tasty Tuesday: Make Your Own Sandwich Rolls

August 23, 2011 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Welcome to the new Mommy Octopus weekly feature: Tasty Tuesday! I will be showing all of you different recipes that I make with my kids. First up this week is making your own sandwich rolls from scratch. I promise that these are easy to make, super yummy, and much better than anything you can buy in the store. And SOOO soft in the middle!

I like to keep things simple and less messy, so I use my bread machine on the dough cycle to make the dough. If you’re looking for a good bread machine, I highly recommend mine, the Breadman TR2500BC Ultimate Plus 2-Pound Stainless-Steel Convection Breadmaker.

Let’s gather the ingredients that we need:

1 1/4 cup warm milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/4 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 teaspoon yeast

Put the ingredients in your bread machine in order and then set for the dough cycle.

When the dough is ready, place it on a lightly floured surface and then roll it out to about 3/4 inch thick. (My kids got a little carried away with the flour!)

Use a cookie cutter, or in our case, a large cup to cut your rolls. It’s a great time to grab those kiddos with clean hands to come help.

Lay the rolls out on a greased cookie sheet, allowing room in between for the rolls to rise.

Cover and let rise for about an hour until they have doubled in size.

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes or until a nice light brown.

Then ENJOY! We used a few of them for Cheesesteak sandwiches yesterday. So delish!

There you have it! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Make Your Own Popsicles!

June 25, 2011 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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One thing that my kiddos enjoy during these hot summer months is a good popsicle. Unfortunately, not all popsicles are good for them and the ones that are, aren’t very friendly on the wallet. I’ve gone to making our own popsicles using an ice pop maker. You can find the Back to Basics Lickety Sip Ice Pop Maker for just $3.99 on Amazon (ships free with Amazon prime – you can get a free Amazon Prime membership through Amazon Mom, which is free to join.). Amazon has tons of other ice pop molds as well. Good investment that can be used over and over again and the kids can pick which flavor they want to make. All you do is just pour in the juice and freeze. I’ve even put smoothie ingredients in them before (already blended of course) and it makes a wonderful frozen fruit bar.

What creations have you made using ice pop molds?

Hi! Eliza Here!

June 22, 2011 By MommyOctopus 3 Comments
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Hi there! It’s me, Eliza! Just wanted to stop in and say thank you all for being great fans of my mommy’s page. I’ve taken over the computer this morning, so please excuse my mom’s inability to post much today. I’m trying to keep her on her toes by crawling way before I should. Can you believe I’m just 4 1/2 months? No stopping me now! Hope ya’ll have a wonderful day!

Recipe: Mom’s Lasagna

June 5, 2011 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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One of the first things I learned how to make was lasagna. It’s so simple and easy, anyone can make it, including my 7 year old 🙂

Ingredients needed:

4 jars of spaghetti sauce
8 cups of mozzerella cheese
1 box of lasagna noodles
1 carton of cottage cheese

First things, first. Boil noodles according to package instructions, drain, rinse with cool water. They may need time to cool before you can touch them.

1.Spray your pan

2. Spread a light layer of sauce.

3. Layer noodles on top of sauce and add a spoon full of sauce on each noodle

4. Spread the sauce over each noodle.

5. Add a spoon full of cottage cheese on each noodle and spread out just like the sauce.

6. Add 2 cups of cheese spread out evenly.

7. Repeat all steps 3-4 times, or as pan allows room, starting with the sauce layer.

8. Finish with a layer of sauce on top.

Bake at 350 until the middle is bubbly and enjoy!

Fun and Free (Or Almost Free) Things For Hot Or Rainy Summer Days

May 30, 2011 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Another great article sent in by reader, Edith. Thanks so much Edith! Do you have an article you’d like to submit? Just use the contact form at the top and send it in!

We all face those endless summer days when it is just too hot outside to play, or we’re hit by a summer downpour and the kids get antsy. You’ve played every board game and watched every DVD you own and need OUT of the house! Here are some budget ideas to help get you through.

Chuck-E-Cheese

Chuck-E-Cheese, it’s not just for parties! Stop by and let the kids play for free. They can fill out rewards calendars found here and get free tokens to play games, or they can just climb around on the indoor play areas. You can also get some good coupons on their site, and especially if you sign up for emails, for food and token combos. Great if you want to stop by for lunch or dinner and let the kids go crazy. We visit CEC often and they have recently changed their pizza recipe and it is MUCH better! A great spot for hot and/or rainy days.

Public Libraries

Check out your local Library for Story time and other kid friendly events. Georgia public libraries also allow you to check out a voucher for free admission to Zoo Atlanta for your family (check your local library for details), and Georgia park passes to save you on entrance fees! Also a great place to pick up a DVD for a rainy day along with your summer reading books!

Bounce House Centers

Places like Pump it Up and Jungle Jumpers are open during the summer for kids to come in and bounce! Bring a book and let the kids bounce until they can bounce no more! Check their webpages for times and fees.

Summer Movies

Check your local cinema for summer movie specials like free or reduced admission to special showings of kid’s films. Also check out your local $1 (or $2) cinemas for kid friendly features. When it’s hot outside it’s nice and cool in the theaters!

Bowling and Skating

Check out your local bowling alley to see if they have any summer specials, ours is offering free bowling for kids! Skating is another fun way to wear the kids out and stay cool and dry. Our local rink offers deals such as $1 skates times and pizza nights!

Shopping Malls

Some malls have great play areas for little ones. These can get crowded, so try and hit them early in the day before the crowds get there!

IKEA

If you happen to live close to and IKEA store you can stop by and drop the kids (potty trained only) off in the kids club area while you shop, hit the food court or just browse without little ones clinging to you!

Do you have any other great spots to cool off or stay dry this summer? Please share them!

Finding Locally Grown Produce

May 22, 2011 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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A few of you have asked about how to find deals on locally grown produce. One of my favorite sites for finding local produce is a co-op called Locally Grown. Here’s how to find one in your area:

First go HERE and look at the map to find your closest Locally Grown Co-Op. There are divisions all over the US. (CLICK HERE for the Athens, GA Locally Grown)
Once you find yours, then click on The Market. You’ll find everything from meats, veggies, eggs, and fruits, to homemade pies, breads and more.
From here, you place your order and pick it up at the designated time and location in your city. For the Athens area, you can pickup your orders from 4:30 until 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays at Ben’s Bikes, located at the corner of Pope & Broad Streets near downtown (670 W. Broad Street).

We’ve placed many orders through the Athens Locally Grown and have been very pleased with the goodies we receive. If you have any questions, just read the FAQ section on their site. It helps out a bunch!

Do you have any experience with Locally Grown or a similar co-op? Leave a comment and tell us about it!

How To Save Money On Meats (For Real This Time!)

May 20, 2011 By MommyOctopus 3 Comments
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Some of you may remember the last post I wrote about how to save money on meat for April Fools Day. I’m sure you’ll be relieved to know that I’m writing the post for real this time! Here are a few tips to save money on meat:

Check with your grocery store’s butcher and find out if/when they mark down close dated meats. I’ve been able to find close dated meat for more than 50% off at times. You do not have to worry about using it all right away – just throw it in the freezer!
Sometimes buying meat in bulk is cheaper. Be sure to do a price comparison per ounce to make sure you’re getting the better deal.
Try to plan a meatless dinner each week. Some of our favorites are black bean burgers and zucchini casserole.
Consider making the meat stretch by using oatmeal or breadcrumbs and making a meatloaf.
Stock up during the sales. If there is a great price on chicken, don’t just get enough for that week, get enough for several weeks. Freeze it until you need it.

Do you have any tips on how your family saves money on meat? Leave a comment and let us know!

Saving Money On Family Vacations

May 13, 2011 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Taking a vacation with the family doesn’t have to break your bank. There are many ways to take a wonderful trip and still stay within the budget. Here are some ideas that my family has found helpful.

When planning a trip, first choose your destination. It helps if you are flexible on dates or locations. You can look online for free travel brochures such as Travel Alaska or order some from Free Travel Guides website.

Hotels:

Once you have an idea where you’d like to visit, go to Groupon and signup for that city’s deals. We were recently able to get a deal for a suite at a hotel in Savannah Georgia with a $20 food credit for just $69 through Groupon! We bought two nights and are looking forward to a nice little weekend getaway some time soon. I’ve seen most of the cities offer some sort of hotel deal. You also can use this to find great deals on restaurants and other attractions in your destination area. Another place to check out for hotel deals is Priceline.com. This can help you find good rates without having to call a million different hotels. If you do decide to book through Priceline.com, be sure and click through Ebates so you can earn cashback on your trip. Consider staying at a cabin in a State Park. We have done this many times when we travel. It’s cheaper plus they usually have good playgrounds for the kids to unwind. If you are really flexible with dates, check out the Cabins For You facebook page. They offer Flash Sales quite often. They tell you what time to call in and if you’re the first caller, you get a cabin in Tennessee for dirt cheap!

Dining:

Now that you’ve figured out where you will be staying, time to think about the next necessity- Food! This doesn’t have to be much of a worry if you plan in advance. Our family typically brings our food along with us, allowing to dine out maybe once or twice on a vacation. It’s much cheaper for us since our kids are very hearty eaters. Some ways to frugally dine out while traveling is to take along gift certificates. You can purchase some from Restaurant.com or also from Groupon. Also consider doing a search for daily deals in that city. There are TONS of daily deal sites where you can purchase deals. Also, I frequently talk on my blog about joining survey sites and Swagbucks. That’s where these sites will come in handy! On some of them, you have the option to cash out for a prepaid visa card or for gift cards to restaurants such as Long Horn, Chili’s, and Macaroni Grill to name a few. A few weeks before you take your trip, cash out so you receive your prize in time.

Attractions:

I mentioned using Groupon above, but there are also other ways to save on attractions during your vacation. Before you leave home, do a search for coupons, discount codes, etc on the attractions that you plan to visit. Check out their facebook page to see if they are running any promotions. Call and ask them if they have any coupons out and how you can obtain one. You may be surprised at all the options out there to make your visit cheaper.

These are just some ideas that I thought up about how we make our vacations more affordable. Do you have any ideas that I’ve missed? Leave a comment and tell me what your tips are for dealing with vacations on a budget.