Restaurant Deal: B1G1 Entree at Bakers Square

Hey mommas! Happy Friday! Alisha here.

Does anyone use/ refer to the restaurant deals when they are posted? Has it helped anyone in the past? I am currently at a point of deciding if it is something I will be posting on a weekly basis or not.

If you are someone that uses these deals, could you please drop me a comment on this post? If I get ten or more I will consider it worth my time and continue finding and posting deals in the future, as I have in the past.

In the meantime...here's what my family is doing tonight:

Here’s a great coupon for BOGO Entree at Bakers Square…You need to fill out the simple form and then they will email you a coupon for a free entree with the purchase of 2 drinks and one other entree! We're taking our family out right now. We will be paying for one adult entree, 2 drinks, and 1 kid's meal (our kids are young enough they can share a meal still, and the other is just a baby). I'll let you know later what our total comes to!

(Thanks Save the Coupons!)

Toddler Snack Idea: Frozen Peanut Butter Bannanas on a Stick

This is a Tasty treat for anyone, but especially Toddlers! It is so simple, all it takes is a few minutes the night before you want to serve them and they are ready to go!

Here is what you need:

Foil, Popsicle sticks, 1 banana per person and peanut butter.

Step 1:
Slice banana in 1/2 length wise.

Step 2:
Spread Peanut Butter on one side of the Banana.

Step 3: Put the popsicle stick between the 2 bananas and make a sandwich.

Step 4:

Wrap in foil.

Step 5:
Place in the freezer. Allow time for banana to freeze.


Step 7:
Take out when ready to use and Enjoy! This is my daughter, Ruby Anne, eating her "banana Popsicle" I did not put peanut butter in hers, I just slid a Popsicle stick into the whole banana, wrapped it and stuck it in the freezer. It works GREAT for teething babies/toddlers!

You could also drizzle the bananas in chocolate, then dip in peanuts or sprinkles!

YUM! What a great alternative to store bought Popsicles!

Wednesday: Black Bean and Corn Tostadas and Sparkling Limeade

This meal was created based on what I already had in my pantry. It is so simple, yet very nutritious and tasty. This was a perfect way to get all 3 of my girls to eat Black Beans. Yeah!


Here is what you need for the Tostadas:

1/2 lb Ground Beef, 1 Small Onion, 1 can Black Beans, 1 can Sweet Corn, 1 Tomato, Corn Tortillas (or whatever kind you have on hand), 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Kraft Naturals Mexican Style Cheese), Ground Cumin Seed, Garlic or Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper and 1/2 of a lime.


Step 1:
Brown 1/2 lb of beef and small onion.

Step 2:
Add 1 can of Black beans and 1 tsp of ground cumin seed. (taste and add more if you would like!)


Step 3:
Then add 1 can of drained sweet corn. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Step 4:
Add chopped tomato and squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lime. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 5:

Put 6 corn tortillas on a cookie sheet and add a large scoop of the bean mixture.

Step 6:
Add a handful of Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese to the top of each Tostada. Place in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted and tortilla is a bit crispy. May take 7-10 minutes.

Step 7:
Serve with a side of Mexican Rice and enjoy! This would be excellent with the additions of avocado, sour cream, salsa or pico de gallo as well.



Now for the Sparkling Limeade:

Here is what you need:
Chilled Sparkling Seltzer Water, 1/2 of a lime (a whole lime for 4 people) and sugar.

Instructions: Fill your glass with seltzer water, squeeze 1/4 of a lime in water, add enough sugar to taste , stir to dissolve and enjoy!

This is a favorite summer time drink for me. You can use any citrus fruit to make this.

Mommyland is Crazyland right now!

Hey everyone!

This week is absolutely nuts around my house! My husband is out of town for 9 days and balancing the 3 girls, housework plus all the extra meetings I have had this week has in turn made me miss my post yesterday and today.

Don't worry.... I will get on it as soon as I get home from my meeting this morning.... oh wait, I have to pack for my trip with the girls to Rockford. Okay... when I get to Rockford, get the girls in bed- I will then post my 2 missing recipes!

Thanks for being so understanding!!!!! In the meantime. search our previous recipes, lots of great stuff out there!

Congratulations to the Smith's!

The SMITH FAMILY won our Plan to EAT Give-Away! We sure hope that they enjoy the resources Plan to Eat has to offer and maybe.....just maybe...they will come back to Meal Planning Mommies and share some of their meal ideas with us!

A free year subscription is pretty neat! Thanks to the folks at Plan to Eat as well for this fun give-away.

If you have not checked out Plan to Eat yet, go for it. There is a thirty day free trial and it is plain fun for any personality type that likes to have things organized and handy!

Congrats, Smith Family, and Happy Meal Planning! 

Tuesday: Homemade barbecue chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and peach cobbler

Yummm.... This was a fantastic meal! The barbecue sauce was amazing!!! Since we have been doing a lot of shopping at the farmer's market lately, I have been using a new cookbook: "Simply in Season" by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert. I have checked it out from my local library, but I will most likely end up buying it. It is FANTASTIC! All of the recipes in the book are categorized by season- based on what produce is available at the time. It is such a fun book!


Here is what you need for the barbecue sauce:



1 lb chicken (I used boneless, skinless- but you can use bone-in also)
1/3 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. mustard
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Step 1:




Saute' onion until tender


Step 2:




Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer, uncovered for 15 min.


Step 3:


Put chicken in a 9x13 pan and pour sauce over uncooked chicken.

Step 4:


Bake at 350 degrees, 45-60 min. Every once in awhile, pull the chicken out and re-baste.

Place on a plate, cut slices and pour extra sauce over the chicken. Enjoy!!!


Now time for the corn and potatoes! First I cooked the corn, then I pulled the corn out with tongs when it was done and used the already boiling water to boil my potatoes. It worked nicely!

Shuck your corn, then place in boiling water for 10 min.

Pull out with tongs, place on a nice plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Wash and then peel your potatoes


Dice and place in boiling water until tender (about 10 min.)
Put 8 oz. creamed cheese, 3 TB butter and 3 garlic cloves in your mixing bowl

Add your potatoes, a bit of milk and mix. Add more garlic, salt and pepper to taste.


Put it all together and you have a delish summer dinner! I was able to buy the corn, potatoes and peaches for the cobbler at my local farmers market.

Get out there and support your local farmers, if you aren't doing so already!


Dessert: Peach Cobbler

Here is what you need:

8-10 peaches (I only had 6, but I would recommend using more!)

3 TB butter, 3/4 c. oats, 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. brown sugar, 2 TB oil, 1 TB corn starch, 1/4 cup water or peach juice

Step 1:Peel and slice your peaches and place in an 8x8 or 9x9 dish.

Step 2:
Sprinkle with 1-2 TB cornstarch, 1/2 TB brown sugar and 1/4 cup Peach Juice (mine naturally had peach juice in the pan from slicing the peaches over the pan) or water. Place in 375 degree oven and bake until it thickens and is bubbly, about 10 minutes. You may need to add more cornstarch if the sauce is not thickening. You don't want it too thick, b/c you will be cooking it again once you add the topping.

Step 3:
Mix together 3 TB butter, 3/4 c. oats, 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. brown sugar and 2 TB oil until crumbly. (see picture below)


Step 4:
Evenly sprinkle the crumb topping over the peaches. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Step 5:

Serve warm!

My mother-in-law is a pro at peach cobbler, I haven't reached her level of cobbler goodness yet, but it was still yummy!

Toddler Snack Idea: Peanut Butter Play-dough

After all the times we have told our kids to not eat their play-dough, we are going back on our word. This Play dough is an edible snack and craft rolled into one. It smells delicious, is easy to mold into shapes and the kids love that they can actually make a play dough "pancake" and eat it too!

There are lots of recipes out there, but here is the one that I used:


1 cup peanut butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup of honey. *Kitchen tip: If you lightly grease your measuring cup before putting in the honey, it will pour out easier!

Mix all together and have fun! You can store this in a plastic baggie or container.


Here is the playdough all mixed up:


Here are a few pictures of my kiddos having fun! We used raisins to make little faces on the playdough and forks to poke holes and of course- little fingers to make imprints!

Monday: Peek-a-Boo Eggs & Fresh Fruit

This is one of my husband's creations and the girls love it! I don't know about you guys, but around here- breakfast is always an option for dinner!




Here is what you need:

Eggs (about 2 per person), toast (1 per person), cheese


Step 1:
Scramble your eggs! We like to bit in a little bit (1/4 cup or so) of milk or water. It tends to make the eggs fluffier!


Step 2:

While your eggs are finishing up, make your toast! 1 per person.

Step 3:

Put cheese on your eggs and give it some time to melt


Step 4:
Cut out a circle in the middle of your buttered toast. My husband is using the top of a Spice container.

Step 5:
Save the circle you cut out to put on top for the "peek-a-boo" effect.


Step 6:
Put it all together! Start with eggs on the bottom, then your toast and then the circle that was cut out.

Step 7:

Add some fresh fruit and enjoy!

As you can tell my younger daughters get a kick out of these! :<)

The Frugal Table Meal Plan

It has been a crazy week! Totally being real here, Meal Planning Mommy a.k.a. Frugal Momma does not always have a meal plan ready to go! I know, I know... but "I am" the Meal Planning Mommy- right?

So last week was one of those weeks where I felt behind in everything! So the meal plan didn't get done... and each day I was doing what I hate to do... It was 4 p.m. and I was saying... WHAT IS FOR DINNER?!?

Seriously, meal planning has to be a priority. It makes each day of that week so much easier! It is one less thing to think about. If you have not sat down yet to make your meal plan for this week, do it now!

Sunday is a great day to plan out your week. Get out your calendar, your grocery ads, an idea of what you have in your pantry, and bring up Meal Planning Mommies. Search our archives and find some great recipes to try out this week! Chicken on sale at your grocery store? Type "chicken" in our search tool on the left hand side of the page and you will get tons of great recipes that use chicken.

Happy Sunday- take time to rest, renew and MEAL PLAN!




Monday- Peek-a-book Eggs and Fresh Fruit




Tuesday- Homemade Barbeque Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Peach
Cobbler



Wednesday- Black Bean and Corn Tostadas with Sparkling Limeade








Thursday-Pesto Pasta with homemade Foccacia Bread and steamed carrots




Friday: Chicken & Noodles, Mashed Potatoes and Biscuits







Toddler Snack: Homemade Peanut Butter Play-dough



Toddler Snack: Frozen Banana Peanut Butter Pops




Extra: Zucchini Cookies



Extra: Homemade microwave popcorn