Cloth Diapers-I

I always thought that I would be a cloth diapering person.  Even before I met my husband, and even before I was sure I wanted to HAVE children, I knew that the wastefulness of diapers was not my thing. 

But once I was pregnant, I wasn't so sure about it.  We got a brand new puppy one month before I got pregnant, and I spent months cleaning up messes, preventing messes, following her around waiting for messes... I was overwhelmed!  So I said no to cloth diapering and we loaded up on the disposable variety.  The less contact I had with poo the better!

Now I should be honest, thanks to the generosity of friends and family we haven't spent a dime on disposable diapers.  The baby is 3 months old and I've bought (maybe) two containers of wipes (only because they were super cheap).

But I see the end of our stash in sight, and I see the amount of plastic diapers filling up our plastic diaper pail bags.  So I was ready to try cloth diapering. 

Stay tuned to learn about my (very successful) cloth diapering experiences!

I saved big at Toys R Us this week!

I made a pretty significant effort at getting some Christmas shopping done this week.

I went to Toys R Us with my coupons in hand and did great!

I bought:

1 Strawberry Shortcake berry cruiser (on sale and $5 off Hasbro Q)
1 Strawberry Shortcake story in a box set
1 Elefun Ball Popper (on sale and $5 off Hasbro Q)
1 Girl Talk Game
1 Spider Ma web slinger (on sale and $5 off Hasbro Q)
1 Pictureka Disney board game (on clearance)
1 Pink Hair extension (I needed this to get my total above $75, after Qs)
-used the in ad spend $75 and get a $10 gift card

-so although my total was $76.86, I walked out with and extra $10.

So I spent $76.86, saved $33.25, and earned $10.  This is a savings of 36%!

Italian Lentil Soup

I'm sharing this recipe for Italian Lentil Soup with you because it is wonderful (and cheap), and it also utilizes frozen spinach...an ingredient that I am highlighting this week.  When I made this soup last week, I added 1/2 of a smoked sausage rope and sauteed it along with the veggies.  I sort of wish that I hadn't done this, because it took over the taste, but I knew that the sausage would help to make it a hit with my husband, and it had been sitting in the back of the fridge and needed to be used.  (He joked that even though I had wanted to leave out the sausage, he thought I should leave out the lentils!)

This made a HUGE pot, and I froze a lot in individual serving sizes to bring for lunch.  The soup holds up very well to freezing, and I recommend it as a hearty on the go meal to grab!

Light and Cheesy Manicotti

This recipe is fairly simple and definitely a delicious way to get some veggies in your diet!



1 package of sliced mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic

3 egg whites
15 oz light ricotta (or cottage cheese, blended)
splash of sherry (optional)
1 10 oz package of frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
1/2 t Italian seasoning
1 C mozzarella cheese
1/3 C Parmesan cheese

1 package of manicotti shells (cooked, cooled, drained)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Saute mushrooms and garlic with a little cooking spray about 5 minutes, when it's about cooked, splash the sherry in the pan and let the liquid cook out.
• Beat the egg whites lightly and add the mushroom mix, the spinach, ricotta, Italian seasoning, and half of the cheese.
• Spoon this mixture into the manicotti shells.  It helps to cool them first, but if not, just run under a little cold water and brace yourself for some warm/red hands!
• Place into a 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover with the sauce and cook for 45 minutes.  At the last five minutes, cover with remaining cheese.

Serve with a salad and some garlic bread!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Cheesy Manicotti, Homemade bread, salad
Tuesday: chicken burritos with black bean salsa
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Falafel sandwhich &greek salad
Friday: blue cheese stuffed chicken breasts,  roasted potatoes, another veggie
Saturday: Go out for dinner
Sunday: Tortalinni with fresh pesto, bruscetta

Eat More Spinach!

I think most of us can agree that the more veggies in your diet the better.  Last year,  the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of a national study on fruit and vegetable consumption, which found that only 26% of American adults eat vegetables three or more times a day (not including french fries).  I try REALLY hard to get my 5 servings of fruits/veggies a day, but I often fall short.  So this week, I'm going to feature one recipe a day that used frozen spinach.  (And no, I don't count french fries as a vegetable either.)

Frozen spinach is a cheap way of adding a nutritional punch to your meals.  I purchased a 10 oz package of frozen spinach at Publix today for $1.09, and have been able to get it for free on occasion with the right sale/coupon match up.

Frozen spinach also has a way of sort of disappearing into whatever meal you add it to, so you may be able to get your kids to eat spinach without even really knowing it.

A Real Power Food:

This food is very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Vitamin C, Thiamin, Vitamin B6 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper, Manganese and Selenium. But do watch out because it can tend to be higher in sodium.

So come back everyday this week to learn a new way to include this super veggie in your dinner plans!

Shrimp and grits

I have discovered grits in the last few years.  I grew up "up north" and never even knew what grits were.  When I moved south as an adult, it reminded me of cream of wheat and looked bland and tasteless.  Thanks to my favorite show "Top Chef", I was encouraged to order the shrimp and grits on a menu. 

Thank goodness I did, because they are delicious.  So I finally made my own last week, and it was incredible. I had dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes, start to finish.  Incredible.

I had bought a bag of grits at the store months ago, and accidentally bought quick grits.  I know some of you purists would say that it doesn't count, but I don't know any better and it was nice that they cooked in 5 minutes.

I followed the directions on the grits bag, half milk/half broth and add a handful of grated cheese when it's cooked. 

The shrimp was easy, I cooked 6 pieces of bacon, then I removed and crumpled the bacon.  Into the grease in the pan I added a minced garlic clove and about 1/4 diced onion.  This cooked for a few minutes, then I threw in 3/4 lb jumbo shrimp (de-shelled/tail on).   After the shrimp cooked a few minutes and was almost done, I added about 1/8 C lemon juice and cooked that down a minute.  When the shrimp is done, add the bacon bits back into the pan and remove from heat.  You could hit this with some fresh herbs if you have any (parsley, chives...).

Serve the shrimp over the cheesy grits and I guarantee you'll love it!