Creamy Cheesy Tortellini Soup

Creamy Cheesy Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

8 cups chicken broth

19 oz bag frozen cheese tortellini

12 oz bag frozen peas and carrots

16 oz bacon or sausage

1/2 cup heavy cream

shredded parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top

Directions

1. Bring the broth to a boil over medium high heat in large soup pot.

2. Meanwhile, pan fry bacon or sausage until cooked, drain off grease.

3. Once broth is boiling add frozen veggies and return to boil.

4. Add the tortellini, cook 3 minutes.

5. Add bacon or sausage.

6. Add heavy cream and simmer an additional 2-3 minutes.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with a pinch of parmesan.

Say grace and enjoy! 

Free Cereal, Get Your Rebate Fast!

Free Cereal, cheap snacks and a fast return on your rebate

Some people don't like or can't afford to have their grocery budget wrapped up in rebates, I totally understand.  Ibotta is a rebate program which means you have to put the money up up front.  They don't allow you to withdrawal until you have $20 in rebates.  If you're only earning rebates a quarter at a time it may take some time to build up that $20.

Once in a while though higher value rebates come along and you can earn your $20 in one transaction.

Just today I saw that Fillows cereal was being offered up with a $3.00 rebate and could be redeemed up to five times in a single transaction.  I checked Walmart's website and sure enough, the price on Fillows had been rolled back from $3.64 to $3.00.  That makes this cereal, all five boxes free after the rebate.  I don't buy a lot of sugary cereal but for free if we don't eat it I can have it on hand for local food drives that always increase as we near the holiday season.

So that is $15 of the $20 I need to cash out my Ibotta rebates.  $5 to go.

Last week I posted about how much my daughter and I are enjoying the Sargento Balanced Breaks.  I noticed a rebate for Hormel Natural Choice snack packs.  The rebate was $1 and can be redeemed up to five times in a single transaction.  Price at Walmart is $1.48 or .48 after the Ibotta rebate.

Basically, I spent $22.40 today and earned $20 in rebates.  I can now cash out that rebate and it will be returned to my checking account within 48 hours.  What a fantastic way to stretch your grocery budget.

Bottom line, I got five family size boxes of cereal and five Hormel Natural Choice snack packages for $2.40.

Use referral code cjbduxp when you sign up for Ibotta to join my team.

Cash Out Bonuses

I decided to cash out $300 in Ibotta rebates to start my grocery shopping fund for the month of September.  Upon cashing out I was prompted to use part of my balance to purchase a Cabela's gift card.  With the purchase of a $25 Cabela's gift card I would earn a $2.50 Ibotta bonus.  In this house a Cabela's gift card is as good as cash so you can bet I took advantage of this offer.

I wasn't super impressed with very many rebates this week, plus I'm pretty well stocked up on most of our necessities from last month's shopping. But I did take advantage of picking up this Hunt's BBQ sauce for .75 after Ibotta rebate.

I've mentioned that my daughter's favorite Sunbelt granola bars were the fudge dipped coconut but when I was passing the clearance section at Walmart they had a couple damaged boxes (nothing inside was damaged at all) of banana oat marked down to .96, after the Ibotta $1 rebate these granola bars actually ended up being a .04 money maker per box.

If you'd like to be part of my Ibotta team and start earning for yourself use referral code: cjbduxp when you sign up.

.67 Pringles, .38 Pasta, 1.25 Toilet Paper, Let's save together!

Happy September to you all!

School is starting soon and for us that means quick breakfasts, packed lunches, after school snacks and speedy dinners.  My focus starts to shift to the holiday season and budgeting for Christmas gifts.

With that said I am always on the lookout for an amazing bargain.  Have you heard of Ibotta?  Ibotta is a rebate app you can put on your android or apple device.  You can get rebates for the items you're already buying.  You do have to pay for the items up front but you have the choice of cashing out your rebate after you've earned $20, or you can let it build up, I'm getting ready to cash out $300 from my Ibotta account, it will be sent directly to my checking account. You can earn bonuses for purchases and as a team.

As part of a team you may earn bonuses faster.  If you'd like to be a part of my team use referral code cjbduxp . 

Below I'm going to show you some of the my favorite deals I got the month of August.

I earned over $190 in Ibotta rebates of which, $41.25 was bonuses in the month of August.

My husband likes to take chips in his lunch daily and occasionally enjoys a few when he gets home from work as well.  When I had the chance to pick them up for .67 a can you can bet I stocked up.  Here's what I did.  Walmart's regular price was $1.44.  Ibotta offered up a .44 rebate that could be redeemed up to 5 times in a single transaction.  I printed out a coupon for $1 off when you buy four from coupons.com. When I got to Walmart Pringles were on a roll back for $1.38.  $1.38 - .44 - .25 = .67 a can.  You can use paper coupons at check out and still redeem your Ibotta rebate.

The Godiva cake mixes I nearly didn't purchase.  In the beginning of August I saw the rebate for $1 off a cake mix, I put the offer in my "cart", I thought how much can a boxed cake mix be.......$4.68, that's how much. I've never spent that on a boxed cake mix and I wasn't about to start now.  Then I noticed an additional $1 coupon from coupons.com.  Would I buy it for $2 off, nope, still didn't want to spend the $2.68 even though the molten lava cake seemed amazing.  Then it happened, Walmart rolled back the price on Godiva cakes to $3.67.  For $1.67 I thought I would give these luscious desserts a try.  I have tried the Godiva instant pudding, thanks to Ibotta, and let me tell you, it puts Jell-o brand pudding to shame.

Best Foods Spicy Dipping Sauce was .48. $2.98 regular Walmart price, $1.00 paper coupon in last Sunday's paper and $1.50 Ibotta rebate.

American Beauty Pasta, I know what you're thinking, pasta is cheap always, why bother? I say why not? If you're buying pasta anyway why not get it for .38 a box.  Walmart regular price $1.38 less a $1 Ibotta rebate.

The Sunbelt Bakery Fudge Dipped Coconut bars where a very welcome addition to my cart.  These are my daughter's very favorite granola bar, they taste like a Girl Scout Samoa cookie.  Regularly $2.13 at Walmart they were rolled back to $1.93 and Ibotta offered a rebate of $1 a box up to 5 boxes per transaction. .93 a box was a stock up price for me.

Haven't tried Toffifay? It's amazing!!!!!!

Normally $2.18 a box at Walmart.  Ibotta had a $1 rebate, so I bought one for $1.18.  Once I got home I realized that there was an additional $1 bonus when you redeem two separate Toffifay rebates. So I waited two days for the rebate to reload and bought another for essentially .18 because it once again had the $1 off, plus I have now received the $1 bonus.  So I got two boxes for $1.36.

Sargento Balanced Breaks have quickly become a favorite snack for my daughter and myself.  I told her not to get attached because once they aren't on rebate I won't be buying them anymore.  You get a 3 pack for $2.98 at Walmart so they are nearly $1 per serving.  Ibotta had $1 rebate and then I found a printable coupon for an additional .75 off, making them .41 per serving.

Now as much as my daughter likes the fudge dipped coconut granola bars, my husband loves these Jif Power Ups. Rolled back Walmart price $2.86, $1 Ibotta rebate and .75 paper coupon brings these down to $1.11

Ok, I'm not sure about these but my daughter and niece love them, they have popping boba in them.  Regular Walmart price $2.48, .75 Ibotta rebate, .75 paper coupon brings these 4 packs down to .98 or less than a quarter per serving.

These are everyone's favorite right now,  regular Walmart price $3.48, .75 Ibotta rebate, $.75 paper coupon makes the final price $1.98 a box.

These were not a paper coupon or an Ibotta rebate, they were just a crazy good unexpected deal that I thought was worth mentioning.  We were traveling and popped into a Fred Meyer to pick up a snack.  These are one of my all time favorites.  Fred Meyer had them for $1.99 a bag, nothing special about that. But......when you bought 5 bags you got $5 off your purchase making these $1 a bag.

Dollar General bargains right here! This weekend DG was running a Buy One Get One Free deal on Cottonelle toilet paper.  Regular price for six jumbo rolls was $4.  In addition to the BOGO deal, if you spent $15 on Cottonelle products you got an additional $3 off your total purchase.  

Sparkle paper towels were on sale for $5.50 for 6 jumbo rolls (not a super great deal, but competitive, I needed them and they were going to help me get an additional discount)

My husband has sensitive skin and needs perfume free laundry soap so this all free and clear had a $2 off digital coupon.

I also bought a broom and dustpan for our back porch in the same purchase.

I got all of that for $22, much to my surprise DG took the $3 off the $15 toilet paper purchase off the four free packages as well as the ones I had to pay for.

I also had a digital coupon for $5 off any $25 purchase.

So I got 8 - 6 jumbo roll packages of Cottonelle toilet paper for $1.25 each, 6 jumbo rolls of Sparkle paper towels, all free and clear laundry, 39 pacs, and a broom all for only $22.

The best part of Ibotta is that many offers reload to what they call the gallery within about 48 hours of redeeming them.  The Pringles, for example I purchased five different times, as well as the pasta and coconut granola bars.  When things are offered at a stock up price I try to do just that.

During the month of September I will be posting the best deals I find, whether, in store ad, Ibotta rebate, paper coupons or hopefully any combination, because that's where savings really happen.

Fresh Berry Pie and So Much More

Never one to leave well enough alone, when I find a recipe I like I enjoy making alterations.  How many ways can I change it and still yield a result as good as the original?

Recently we picked some fresh strawberries and my daughter requested pie.  Everyone has the classic fresh strawberry pie recipe in their collection, you know the one.  No bake, fresh berries and jello.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 Baked or Graham Cracker Crust (I buy mine, so I won't judge if you do the same)

4 Cups Strawberries, rinsed, hulled and drained (if very large half or even quarter them)

1 Cup Water

1 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Corn Starch

4 Tbsp Strawberry Jell-O

1. Bring water, sugar and corn starch to boil, starting over low heat until sugar is dissolved gradually bringing temperature up to medium, until thickened.  Stir constantly.

2. Add Jell-O and cool slightly.

3. Pour Jell-O mixture over berries in a large bowl and fold gently until berries are coated.

4. Pour berry mixture into pie crust and refrigerate until firm.

This pie is always a hit so I wondered how I could tweak it a bit.

The first and simplest idea I had was to substitute one cup of the strawberries with blueberries.

That was the only change I made and it turned out amazing.

I took a stroll down the baking aisle to see what my Jell-O flavor options were when I happened upon Island Pineapple.  It's summer time so my mind automatically went tropical.

Substituting Island Pineapple Jell-O and canned tropical fruit made a delicious, light and fresh tasting pie.  I used canned fruit, fresh would also be amazing but I was in a hurry to make this for a family event.

A couple days later I get a call from my sister in law telling me that blueberries are ready for picking at their house. I started wondering how a all fresh blueberry pie might be.  Blueberry Jell-O apparently isn't a thing but Berry Blue is so that was my choice.

Did I mention I like to tweak recipes?  I thought why not add a layer of no bake cheesecake in the bottom and top that with the blueberry concoction.  Best part, this is now enough filling to make two pies.

No Bake Cheesecake Filling

1 8oz Cream Cheese, softened

3 Tbsp Butter, softened

1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1. Cream the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl.

2. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar and vanilla, cream until smooth.

3. Divide filling between two pre made pie crusts or one deep dish pie crust.

4. Top with slightly cooled berry topping.

5. Refrigerate until firm.

I'm still thinking up new flavor combinations.  I love orange, strawberry, banana together so might give that a try.  I hate orange Jell-O though so I'll use all fresh fruit and strawberry Jell-O.  I'm hoping the glaze will keep the banana from browning.  I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy!

Dollar General recap, tips and tricks

5 dinners for $50 or less, that was the challenge.  Was I successful? Yes indeedy.  Read on to see how, as well as other tips for shopping at Dollar General.

Here's a recap of the five meals and their cost:

Frosted Meatloaf $11.15
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake $11.95
Chicken Kiev $4.50
Chicken Pizza Italiano $9.55
Southwest Skillet Nachos $11.20

Total $48.35  Or is it?
I also used a $5 off digital coupon bringing my total down to $43.35.

This left enough wiggle room to add in a dessert. The dessert of choice was

Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

found at https://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/strawberry-lemonade-cookies/c4862722-1e0f-42e7-877c-45e7a37b062c

Ingredients

1 Box Lemon Cake Mix $1.15

1 Box Strawberry Cake Mix $1.15

4 Eggs Pantry

2/3 cup Vegetable Oil (divided) Pantry

2 tsp Lemon Juice Pantry

2 cups Powdered Sugar (divided) Pantry

1 Tbsp Milk Pantry

Directions

• 1

  Preheat oven to 375°F.
• 2

  Begin by making the two cake mixes

  
  
• 3

  Pour the lemon cake mix into a large bowl and the strawberry cake mix in another bowl. To each cake mix, add 2 eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice; mix until well blended. Cover and refrigerate each bowl for 20 minutes to firm slightly.

  
  
• 4

  Remove batters from fridge, and take 2 rounded teaspoons of lemon batter and roll into a ball. Repeat with the strawberry batter. Gently roll the lemon and strawberry dough together to make one large ball.

  
  
• 5

  Transfer the dough ball into a bowl with 1 cup of powdered sugar, and roll to lightly coat in sugar. Place on a parchment-covered baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough.
• 6

  Bake each batch for 10 minutes, until they turn slightly golden and are cooked through. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

  
  
• 7

  To make the glaze (optional), whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of milk until combined. Add more milk to thin the glaze if needed. Drizzle with a fork or piping bag onto the cookies once they have reached room temperature.
• This made my new total $46.65. The remaining balance leaves a little wiggle room for items that I 
• listed as pantry items that perhaps you don't already have on hand. 
• 
  
• A few things I've learned from this challenge was to:
• 1. Shop the ads, this challenge came in an ad cycle that chicken breast and ranch dressing were both
• on sale.
• 2. Use digital coupons.  I was able to save $5 off my total purchase by simply checking the website
• before I left to go shopping and entering my phone number at checkout.
• 3. Join Ibotta, this is a great rebate app.  Though it didn't apply to this shopping trip there have been
• plenty of times I've saved using it in the past.
• 4. Save at the Dollar General by paying attention to prices when you buy in quantity.  
• For example, when I buy an item at say Safeway that is priced 2 for $3, if I only buy one, usually,
• it will still ring up as $1.50.  This is not the case at Dollar General, at DG you must buy the full
• quantity to receive the savings.  This applied to the shopping trip for my challenge where the 
• canned vegetables were concerned. Canned veggies are .65 a can unless you buy two in which case
• they are 2 for $1.
• 5, Don't forget good ol' paper coupons.  I didn't list it on any of the blogs because it wasn't in any of
• the recipes but I was able to get Best Foods mayonnaise for a bargain price.  It was on sale for $2.50 
• in the DG weekly ad, I had a paper coupon for .75 off, bringing it down to $1.75 and I also had an 
• Ibotta rebate for .45 making a 32 oz jar of mayo $1.30, great deal, especially for our little town.
• Yes! You can use paper or digital coupons and still use Ibotta rebate.
• 
  
• If you genuinely have a grocery budget, enjoy the savings and apply them to existing bills or save for
• something fun.  Most of us have bills that are a set amount that we have no control over, but 
• groceries and dining out are one spot most of us can find places to save.
• 
  

  

Dollar General Challenge Day 5, Southwest Skillet Nachos

This is the 5th and final recipe in my Dollar General Challenge.  It was originally written as a casserole but I had my niece staying with us when I prepared it.  When she asked, "What's for dinner?" and heard the word casserole she said, "I don't like that."

I thought it was funny because I asked her if she liked nachos, when she told me she loved them I knew she would like this recipe but she heard the word casserole and decided in advance she wouldn't like it.  What's an Auntie to do?  Flexibility is my mantra, so I took the corn chips out of the baking dish and moved the rest of the ingredients to a skillet and a new recipe was born and that's what I'll be sharing with you.

Southwest Skillet Nachos

Ingredients:
1 bag Corn Chips 2.00
1 lb Ground Beef 4.00
1 pkg Taco Seasoning mix .50
1/2 cup Water pantry
2 Tbsp dried minced onion pantry
1 8oz Can Tomato Sauce .70
2 cups Shredded Cheese 2.85
1 15 oz can Olives 1.50

Recipe Total $11.20

Directions:
Brown beef until crumbled, drain.
Return to pan, add taco seasoning, onion, tomato sauce and water, simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Chop olives.
Top beef mixture with shredded cheese and olives.
Heat just until cheese is melted.
Spoon onto plate and serve with chips on the side for dipping.

Optional toppings could include sour cream, green onion, cilantro, avocado.....

Keto option:
Serve with pork rinds for dipping