September Length Check

Do you see how much this chik's hair is growing and how fast? I'm starting to regret cutting off her blonde ends before taking this picture though. We cut the remaining of the blonde hair over a week ago, if we would have left it then her fro would have been even bigger. We weren't thinking about these length checks at the time though. Oh well, there is still a difference in length nonetheless.

How to Significantly Increase Your Income Without Working Harder (Part 1)

Many times, I’ll receive emails from people saying how they wish they could be in the financial position we’re in but it’s just not possible because they only make $20,000 per year. Not too long ago, making $20,000 per year would have been a significant pay increase for us as we were barely eeking by making $600 to $1,000 per month.

We knew that we needed to increase our income if we were ever going to get financial traction, but we decided to go about it in non-traditional way: instead of focusing all of our time and energies on getting a better job with better pay, we looked for ways to build additional income streams outside the 8 to 5 traditional job. This has been the key to our financial success. The 8 to 5 jobs have helped to pay the bills, but the nontraditional income streams have allowed us to save aggressively and give generously.

In this series, I’m going to share some things we’ve learned over our eight and half year journey of entreprenuerial endeavors and failures. My hope is to help you see that you’re not stuck, no matter how bad of a financial situation you may feel like you’re in right now. There is always hope–especially if you’re willing to think outside the box.

READ MORE. Also, be sure to check out Part 2 and Part 3.

I don't know why I didn't think to price match fruit at Wal-Mart.

I am so going to do this on my next grocery shopping trip (Tuesday).

Tip on the Cheapest Rate to Buying an Airline Ticket

I just saw an expert on the Nate Burkus Show saying that if you want to pay the lowest price for an airline ticket you won't find it online and you definitely won't find it over the weekend. Airline tickets are at their highest over the weekend.

The best time to buy is at 12:01 AM on Wednesday morning in your time zone. The airlines lower their ticket prices at 11:59 PM Tuesday night and will be available to us at 12:01 AM.

Also, for the best rate, pick up the phone and call the airline to speak directly with an agent. They only release the prices that they want you to see on the web. They have so many more choices over the phone and you will be surprise how much you save by doing so.

The Real on Couponing

The new show "Extreme Couponing" on TLC has shocked everyone with the incredible potential of coupon savings. It has also exposed the dark side of couponing.

I think the people on that show are likely not as extreme as they were portrayed (it is television after all), however the show has given people unrealistic expectations for couponing and given couponers unfair representation.

If you want to learn to coupon and save 50% or more on your grocery bill, then I can certainly help – and you won't need to spend 70+ hours a week on couponing!

Realistic Time

Realistically I spend 30-45 minutes a week clipping coupons and putting together a shopping list. This is typically for shopping at 2 stores – 1 grocery store and 1 drug store. How long you spend on this depends on how many stores you shop at and how long you have been couponing. My couponing grocery trips rarely take longer than a trip where I don't use coupons (scanning coupons really only takes a few minutes in a normal shopping trip).

After you set up a coupon system like a coupon binder, there really isn't that much to it! Coupon sites like mine even match up coupons for you which saves you a ton of time! Just pull the coupons you need, print your list and go!

Realistic Spending

Sure the people on that show save a ton of money, but how much are they spending to get that savings? I also consider my time valuable. If I'm taking away time from my family then the cost is too high, regardless of the savings.

I think it is entirely possible to save 50% or more on your grocery bill. The savings will vary depending on your family size and eating habits. I do think that everyone can use coupons though. There is a myth that there are no coupons for healthy foods and it is simply not true. They are not quite as common, but nutritious deals are definitely available.

Realistic Stockpile

Okay, 1500 sticks of deodorant? 40 years worth of toilet paper? That is just not realistic to me. Sales come in cycles and you should definitely buy a few months worth of the items your family will use or eat, but there’s no need to buy more than that. A good rule of thumb is to buy one newspaper per family member. Then when your favorite pasta goes on sale, you buy more than one box because you have multiple coupons.

For our family of three I used to buy three newspapers per week. Now that I've been couponing for a while (and the cost of newspapers has gone up), I have cut back to just two newspapers per week. This really is plenty for our family! We have an extra shelf in the garage to store our stockpile (I could probably eliminate this too if I were more organized), but everything else is just stored regularly in the pantry or cabinets. I am also able to donate on a regular basis, even with my relatively small stockpile.

Realistic Expectations

Please don't expect to save 98% on your very first coupon shopping trip. Yes, it can happen, but it takes some time and work. You have to collect coupons every week and build up your stockpile. Once you've done that, you have the freedom to "cherry pick". That means you only go to the store to buy the freebies and cheapies.

I am not trying to discourage you at all, I just want to make sure you have realistic expectations. Couponing really is a blast, so I completely understand how some people can become addicted to it!

Couponing can be a great way to save your family money, and it doesn't have to be an obsessive hobby!

What's For Dinner? Italian Sausage and Eggplant Parmesan

It was a big hit, "Go Nik! Go Nik!"

Ingredients

Not pictured:Italian Bread Crumbs, olive oil, white wine, eggs, seasoning and other misc. little things that I used to complete this meal. Charge it to my head and not to my heart but these are the items that I bought from the store today for tonight's dinner.

Pan seared Italian Sausage

I cut them in halves, put a little olive oil in the bottom of the pan and seared them for about 8 minutes on each side. I cut up some red peppers, green peppers and onions for added flavor. I deglazed the pan with a little white wine and poured it over the Italian Sausage when I put them in the glass dish. I then added marinara on top and threw the peppers and onions on top then boom! We like to use white bread or buns for Italian sausage.

Eggplant Parmesan with Mostaciolli

Eggplant is very absorbent so after I peeled and sliced the eggplant, I sat it in ice water for about an hour to keep it from soaking up all the grease when I fried it. I then dumped out the ice water and seasoned the eggplant, dipped it in egg then covered the slices in Italian Styled bread crumbs. I fried it for about 3-4 minutes.

I made the mostaccioli with red marinara (pasta sauce), green and red peppers, onions, mushrooms, garlic and seasoning. I mixed the egglant in while the mostaccioli was still on the stove top. I poured half of the pot in the foil pan and topped it off with a 6 cheese blend of Italian cheese. I poured the other half of the pot in the pan then put the other half of my cheese blend on top. I popped that baby in the over for about 30 minutes in 350 (or until golden brown) then bang!

I think I just made my son's day today. It feels darn good too! :-D

Chicken Florentine with Spinach and Bowtie Pasta

Sorry for the lack of flash, I took this photo from my lap in a low lighted room. I was about to eat and I was like "Oh wait, I need to get a picture of this!". LOL

I used Jessica's Recipe . The only thing I did differently was use an Italian Blend of 6 Cheeses (she used straight Parmesan) and I seasoned with my staples in addition to the Italian seasoning, I also used Lawry's, garlic powder and Adobo. I can't seem to cook without those three, especially Adobo.

Bowtie Chicken Pasta Florentine

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed of fat and sliced into 1/2 inch strips
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 pound bowtie pasta
2 cups half and half
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt and then add the bowtie pasta. Cook according to package directions (about 10 minutes).

In the meantime, pour 2 teaspoons of olive oil into a saute pan heated to medium high. Add chicken and cook until slightly golden brown. Sprinkle on garlic salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Remove from pan and set on a plate. In the same saute pan, add half and half and spinach. Stir to combine. By now the pasta should be cooked. Drain water from pasta and pour into the saute pan with the spinach. Return chicken to pan, add Parmesan cheese and stir.
Put on plates and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

Okay, So My life isn't that Interesting and I Might as Well Call This a Food Blog. LOL

Ever since starting the new job all I do is go to work, go to the grocery store, cook, work from home on my other gig, watch TV with the kids and do it all again the next day. LOL Nothing really exciting going on and yes, the highlight of my day is cooking dinner. It is how I relax and I love to see my kids grub. That's how I can tell that they really like it. If they pick over it then I know not to make that dish again or at least do something different with it.

I don't even take pictures of every meal but I have several meals on my phone that I took on reserve in case I have nothing really to blog about. I also wanted to spread some meals out because they are too similar (like pasta for instance, I've made several different pasta meals especially lately because that's what my family likes). I didn't want this blog to be all about food, especially pasta.

About 5 minutes ago, I said forget it, and I will unload a few meals that are on my phone. Forget the order and variety of the posts. It's not that serious anyway. Today I made Eggplant Parmesan and Italian Sausage. I will post about it in a few minutes but first I want to rid my phone of the Chicken Florentine picture that has been sitting there for almost 3 weeks. LOL

Chicken Quesadillas

Okay, so "Plating and Presentation" is not my strong suit, but I sure know how to make tasty food. Lol My preference is quick meals because time is not my best friend.

My kids had a half-day of school today therefore I knew that it meant that they would be eating lunch at home. By using:
left over baked chicken
Mild Cheddar cheese
Monterey Jack cheese
flour tortillas
butter
green salsa (for dipping)
that I had in the fridge, I was able to whip up a 10 minute lunch for them as soon as they came home.

There are no rules to quesadillas, you can put whatever you want in it, onions, jalapenos, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, any and everything. As long as you use flour tortillas and cheese, which "queso" means in Spanish. I do know that it tastes better in a cast iron pan. Some may use olive oil but I used butter in the pan. The kids loved it. I ended up having to make them more. LOL

What's for Dinner? Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta Bowl in Alfredo Sauce

My family loves pasta. Not the gluten-free or wheat pasta, the bad for you kind. I balanced it off with healthy veggies and shrimp though and it turned out great. Fettuccine was my first choice in pasta but I didn't have any so I used Spaghetti. It really doesn't matter what kind of pasta you use though, it will work with any.

Ingredients
1 package of fettuccine (I used spaghetti)
1 pound peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1 bag of thawed frozen broccoli
2 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/3 cup half-and-half
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preparation

1. Bring Pasta to boil. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Combine shrimp, broccoli, onions, and garlic in a small bowl. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil; swirl to coat. Add shrimp mixture, and sauté for 4 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

2. To make the Alfredo Sauce; reduce heat to medium. Add reserved cooking liquid, Parmigiano-Reggiano, half-and-half, cream cheese, and pepper to pan. Cook 2 minutes or until cheeses melt. Combine pasta, Alfredo sauce and shrimp mixture.


I love to eat my pasta with some buttery bread and so I made little Pillsbury Crescents and boom! A quick, easy, fun, delicious and balanced one course meal.

Oooh! I LOVE!!!!

Antonio isn't my favorite designer but her threw down on this project!

What's for Dinner? Labor Day Edition

I had to work earlier in the day, so I only grilled three things: steak, asparagus and corn on the cob. I don't need to put a step by step tutorial on how to grill steak and asparagus because it's pretty self-explanatory but you're probably wondering "why does her corn on the cob looks that way?"



The reason why my corn looks that way is because after grilling it I made ELOTE. Elote is Mexican Corn and Chicago street vendors usually sell them. It is so yummy. I always wondered if Mexicans outside of Chicago really eat their corn this way (because Tex-Mex cuisine is so Americanized)but in Chicago I know that they do. Elote is really easy to make. Here is how:

Ingredients

4 ears corn, shucked (I cut each cob in 3 portions)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated cotija cheese
a pinch of chili powder
12 wedges lime (optional)


Directions

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.
Grill corn until hot and lightly charred all over, 7 to 10 minutes, depending on the temperature of the grill. Roll the ears in melted butter, then spread evenly with mayonnaise. Sprinkle with cotija cheese then chili powder. You can serve with a lime wedge if you like a little lime juice on it, but it is just as great without it.

Super easy, super quick and super delicious!