Life and a Little Pasta Primavera

Wow - I can't believe it has been two months since I posted! Things have been absolutely crazy.  In addition to the normal craziness of a mother of 2 (almost 3) we recently put our house up for sale.  I can not even stress how exhausting it is to be pregnant and trying to sell a house.  We are doing it "by owner" to try to save a couple bucks and between the cleaning, open houses, regular showings (and being 7 months pregnant) I feel like I don't have time for anything extra. 

Did I mention that Emma started soccer, and Aiden started baseball? Ouch! ;)

They are lucky they are so cute or else I am not sure that I could juggle everything right now!

I did squeeze in a run/walk today which was a rare treat.  I couldn't turn down the beautiful weather and my neighbor's offer to go with me.  We ended up going about 3.4 miles which included a poop stop for Utley (yes...the dog) and a bathroom break for me.  I just can't run like I used to! lol...



After the run I had to get the kids from school and decided to make dinner super early.  I was STARVING and needed something quick and easy to satisfy me as well as the kids when they decided to eat.  Enter this little gem that I got super cheap with a coupon:

I was a little hesitant.  I always made alfredo type sauce from scratch and wasn't sure how this would turn out.  Let's just say I was pleasently surprised! Here is what I came up with:



I found an awesome new veggie stand near my house.  Everything is super cheap but really fresh so I stocked up yesterday on a ton of veggies.  The only thing I would have done differently in this dish is add mushrooms.  I didn't have any and didn't necessarily miss them, but I love mushrooms in a primavera.  The recipe is approximate as I just chopped and tossed as I went...


Pasta Primavera

8 oz dry penne
3 cups broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 of a red onion (chopped large)
2/3 cup baby carrots (make nice size chunks)
2 tomatoes (seeded and chopped large)
2 tsp minced garlic
1 green pepper chopped
2 tbsp butter (I use Light Life by Bob Greene - saves a few calories)
1 tbsp flour
1 cup skim milk
1 tub Philadelphia Cooking Creme - Italian and Herb
Parmesean Cheese
Black Pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Add broccoli and cauliflower during last 3 minutes of cooking.  Drain and set aside.

In a saute pan, melt butter and add rest of veggies and garlic.  Cover and cook about 10-15 minutes until carrots are soft enough - stirring occasionally.  Add flour and make sure it is dispersed evenly among veggies.  Add milk and stir to create a thin sauce.  Add cooking creme and stir until all combined.  Add in drained pasta/veggie mixture and stir until sauce evenly coats everything.  Top with parm cheese and black pepper (salt if you need it too). 

That is it - super easy and I thought it was really good.  It is heavy on the veggies, so if you need more pasta than veggies give or take some of the ingredients.

I am not one to buy processed foods at full price but if you can find the $1.50 off Philadelphia Cooking Creme coupon I would definitely give this a try!

Until later!

Target Tuesday!

I haven't cooked one thing that was blog worthy all week long.  How lazy of me!

But honestly, I have been super busy this past week and didn't have too much extra time to spend in the kitchen.  We are putting our house up for sale within the next 2 weeks and I have been cleaning, packing, and organizing to make it look like a civilized family lives here instead of a bunch of monkeys. 

So, instead of posting a non-homemade recipe, and since my last post on couponing was so popular, I thought I would post about what I picked up at Target today.  Here is what I got:

Purex Complete with Zout - on clearance for $4.49.  I had a $3.00 coupon so I paid $1.49.

Purex Complete 3-in-1 laundry sheets - on clearance for $4.24.  I had another $3.00 coupon so I paid $1.24.

Up&Up all purpose cleaner with bleach - on sale for $1.37.  Target has online coupons one of which is for $1.00 off any Up&Up cleaning product.  I paid $.37 cents

Up&Up dental floss - on sale for $.89.  Another online Target coupon for $1.00 off any oral care item. FREE

Benefiber sticks - regularly priced $5.49.  Target had an online coupon for $3.00 off and I had a manufacturer coupon for another $3.00 off.  Remember you can stack Target coupons with manufacturer coupons.  FREE.

I have also been wanting to reorganize how I hold my coupons.  This is how I was doing it for the past year or so...

I didn't have enough slots for categories and it took me forever to flip through each section to find what I wanted.

Now that I am a "serious" couponer (ha ha) I wanted to reorganize how I hold my coupons.  At Target today I found a purple binder on clearance for $1.74 and then on a tip I got from The Krazy Coupon Lady, I bought baseball card holder sleeves to put inside.  They are also at Target and cost $4.99 for a pack of 30 pages.  Let me warn you...it isn't really too pretty, but it is functional! We'll see how I like it once I need to find coupons out of it.

I used each card holder for a different coupon. I like that everything has it's place :)

Hopefully I will have a new recipe one of these days! Until then, good luck couponing!

Thanks Target!

I have always had a love/hate relationship with Target.  I love going there but hate spending a ton of money that I didn't mean to (which happens ALL THE TIME!).  Today however is a different story.  I went in with an agenda...and my coupons...and came out a winner.  Check it out:

Mossimo Jeans on clearance for $4.98 (I bought 2 pairs, and gave one to my neighbor)
                        MINUS two $5.00 off target coupons on any jeans purchase
                        FREE JEANS!!
Finish Dishwasher tabs on sale for $2.49
                        MINUS $1.50 off target coupon
                        MINUS $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
                        FREE DISHWASHER SOAP!!
Finish Jet Dry (small bottle for $2.59)
                        MINUS $1.50 off target coupon
                        MINUS $.40 off manufacturer coupon
                        PAID $.69
Up and Up brand toothbrush for $1.29
                        MINUS $1.00 off target coupon for any oral care item
                        PAID $.29
Aquafresh Extreme Clean travel size toothpaste for $.97
                         MINUS $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
                         FREE toothpaste!!
Dentyne Ice 3 pack of gum on sale for $1.79
                         MINUS $.75 off target coupon
                         MINUS $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
                         PAID $.04
Lysol Wipes dual action on sale for $2.04 each (I bought 2)
                         MINUS $1.00/off 2 manufacturer coupon
                         PAID $1.54 each

All of this for a grand total of $4.10.  Don't mind if I pat myself on the back for this one!!! 

Here are my favorite coupon sites...

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

http://www.forthemommas.com/

Check them out! You won't be disappointed!

FYI - I found all of these deals at the Target in Wyomissing.  Not all Targets will have the same sales.  Good luck!!