expired coupons and coupon trains

i just finished going through all of my coupons and pulling the expired (or the ones that are about to expire) ones. some i knew i probably wouldn't end up using, some i genuinely thought that i'd find a use for, and others i wanted to use but the item even *with* the coupon just didn't warrant what various places wanted to charge for it.

it's been a few months since i've done this, but i've put all of the coupons that i've pulled into an envelope and i'm getting ready to send them off to a navy base where i hope someone is able to get some use out of them. in case you hadn't heard, families on military bases are able to use expired coupons on base up to 6 months past the expiration date. the list i use most frequently i found here, and it's broken down by branch of the military, so if you'd rather send to one branch or another, you certainly can. i chose a navy base in japan simply because j's son is in the navy and is currently stationed in japan...very complex system i use to select a destination, i know...

i'd love to start a coupon train. they can be very fun, and it gives you a chance to get coupons that you might not have seen otherwise, or gives you duplicates for things that you actually would buy and use. for example, this morning there were a *ton* of baby coupons that i clipped because i know *someone* will be able to use 'em...but i don't have any real need for them. now, pet coupons? send 'em my way, pretty please... :D

i've only done a coupon train a few times, and it was something on a forum that i frequent. someone else organized it, and i was just a car on the train. i know there are pros and cons, but overall it was a positive experience for me and i know it has been for many others. plus, it's probably fairly difficult to get off the gound...so, the debate rages on for me. if you're interested, let me know in the comments, or feel free to send me an email at cricket@dagnabbitalready.com.

chicken stroganoff

i didn't have a specific recipe when i made this the other night, was more winging it than anything else, but it turned out fabulous, and here's what i did...

what you need:
1 pound ground chicken (or beef, whichever)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can milk
1/2 envelope onion soup mix
8 oz cream cheese
olive oil

first off, brown the mean in olive oil with the onion soup mix. since i was using chicken, there wasn't anything really to drain off. add the can of soup and the milk. i cut the cream cheese into chunks to make it a bit easier to incorporate, then i just stirred over low heat until everything was all melted together and looked heavenly.

i served it over rice, but i bet it would be equally delicious over egg noodles. enjoy!!

menu plan monday!

in keeping with my "to do" list, here's what (tentatively) we've got going in terms of our weekly menu:

monday: chicken alfredo (no recipe, using last week's roast chicken leftovers and bottled alfredo sauce)
tuesday: pork roast, veggies, mashed potatoes
wednesday: "chicken stroganoff" with rice
thursday: beefy mac skillet (from the campbell's kitchen meal mail that i can't remember exactly how i signed up...probably just from a link on their site)
friday: leftovers (or "breakfast for dinner", whichever is most appealing by then)
saturday: dijon rice and egg skillet (i found this recipe on the incredible egg site, i don't think it'll let me link to it directly, but i will likely reproduce the recipe here if it's any good...very like a sopa seca recipe - never mind, the link works now! *happy dance*)
sunday: whole roast chicken, veggies, rice

visit menu plan monday over at the organizing junkie's blog for more ideas!

hopefully this becomes an easy habit for me to keep...happy "menuing", all!

wow. just wow.

first there was a bit of a "thought drought", but recently i've just been so busy working and trying to work and holding down various forts that i haven't really had the energy to get out here. and that sucks, because blogging always has been an outlet for me to get and keep things straight in my head.

what's on tap around here...let's see...

• i've had some really great frugal shopping moments that i'd love to share about even if they are after the fact
• i've been sent two or three really awesome samples that i want to sit down and write some worthwhile reviews about
• i need to get more mentally organized in terms of menu planning and such, especially considering my schedule is so freaky of late, and that may be something that i can do here to not only get/keep it organized but also give me that measure of accountability that i always seem to need
• time. i had some...now where did i put it??

and on that note, it's time for me to pull dinner out of the crockpot and get the dog, the cat and the man fed...