A Favorite: Cheesy Ranch & Bacon Mashed Potatoes

While I can't commit to saying that this is our absolute favorite recipe (that would most likely be poppyseed chicken), this is definitely one of our favorites & maybe a little different for some of you! So, without further ado:

Cheesy Ranch and Bacon Mashed Potatoes
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 c. sour cream
1 3/4 c. milk
1 (22 oz.) pkg. frozen mashed potatoes
6 cooked & crumbled bacon slices
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Whisk together dressing mix, sour cream, and milk in a large glass bowl. Stir in frozen mashed potatoes. Microwave on high for 12 minutes - stirring every 4 minutes. Stir in the crumbled bacon & cheese.

Serves: 8

So easy but soo good! Hope you enjoy. :)

Menu Plan Monday - September 22-28

Welcome to my post for Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Once again, we have our weekly potluck on Wednesday. We're also starting to paint our den/dining room this weekend, so quick meals were definitely in order this week!

Since this is Family Favorites edition of Menu Plan Monday, check out one of one of our favorites, Cheesy Ranch & Bacon Mashed Potatoes. There are so many recipes that we love, it's hard to pick one - but give these are a try, they are delicious!!

Monday: Cranberry chicken (in the crockpot), sauteed asparagus, rice. We need to start using up the cranberry sauce from our Sav Mor trip - another ideas for how to use cranberry sauce?

Tuesday: Homemade pizza & spinach salad

Wednesday: potluck! I'm taking crockpot green beans.

Thursday: Tuna mushroom casserole.

Friday: Leftover homemade pizza from Tuesday. (We make two, eat one & save one for another night usually.)

Saturday: Leftovers for lunch, spaghetti from the freezer for dinner.

Sunday: grilled hotdogs for lunch, breakfast for dinner!

Please let me know any suggestions you may have for our menu plan or for things you'd like to see in my future menu planning posts!

CVS Deals: September 21-27

This week I really used the first transaction to help "grow" my ECBs and start the candy deal (for Halloween), but I was really most excited about the second transaction! I also spent more out of pocket than usual, but we got a lot of things that we really needed that don't normally give ECBs (toilet paper, for example - at least as far as I've seen).

Transaction #1:

$11.99 - Revlon Revitalift (earns $11.99 ECBs - so free!)
$4.99 - Nivea for Men Body Wash (earns $4.99 ECBs - moneymaker after coupon!)
$4.99 - Adidas deodorant (earns $4.00 ECBs - free after coupon!)
$9.00 - (2) Hershey's big bags M&M (start toward spend $15/get $7 ECBs candy deal)

Coupons used:
-$5/$30 CVS coupon from e-mail
-$2 Hershey's big bags - CVS CRT (cash register coupon)
-$1.00 Nivea body wash, newspaper insert
-$1.00 Adidas deodorant, newspaper insert

Total after coupons: $23 (not exactly - I lost my receipt)
Used $14 ECBs from previous trip

Total OOP: $8 (again, this is a higher than normal OOP, but helps out transaction #2)
Earns: $20.98 ECBs ($11.99, $4.99, & $4.00)

Transaction #2:

$12.98 - (2) Cottonelle toilet paper 12 packs (toward spend $25, get $10 ECBs)
$6.49 - Viva 8 pack paper towels (toward spend $25, get $10 ECBs)
$6.00 - (6) Kleenex (finishes spend $25, get $10 ECBs)
$6.16 - (7) Hershey's/Mars 8-pack candy (finishes spend $15, get $7 ECBs from transaction #1)

Coupons used:
-$5/$30 CVS coupon from email
-$.50 Cottonelle from 9/21 newspaper insert
-$.50 Cottonelle from older newspaper - nice cashier took expired coupon
-$.50/3 Kleenex from newspaper insert
-$.35 Viva paper towels

Total after coupons: $24.28
Used $20.98 ECBs from Transaction #1

Total OOP: $3.30
Earns: $17 ECBs ($10.00 & $7.00)

(I won't be doing these deals again, but according to my receipt, the Kimberly Clark deal AND the candy deal both have a higher limit than 1 as advertised!)

Mmm... Ice Cream!

Don't miss out on this... FREE Cold Stone Creamery ice cream on September 25 from 5-8 pm.
Find a location near you here. Also, it does look like they will be accepting donations to help the Make-a-Wish foundation. What better - great ice cream all for the cost of helping a great cause?

Newlywed Tip #4: Exercising Together!

So the wedding is over, jobs are busier, you're cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry for two now instead of one... and you just can't seem to find the time to exercise that you could before the wedding! I'd be pretty surprised if I was alone in this. :) You've also lost the motivation of "I need to fit into my wedding dress". So... what now?

We've found that some of our best motivation for exercising can come from each other! It's much more fun to walk or run with someone else than to attempt this by yourself. It also keeps you accountable.

Here are 5 simple tips to help you get the most out of your exercise as newlyweds:

1. Start small!! This may be obvious, but if you try to run a marathon right off the couch, you'll hurt yourself and lose any motivation that you had before you started.

2. Pick something you both enjoy. This could be running, walking around your neighborhood, playing tennis, or even tossing the frisbee.

3. Make a plan. You're much more likely to get out and stretch your legs if you set time aside for this. (Side note: we're still working on this part! We're learning how important this really is.)

4. Better late than never. Or maybe, better something than nothing. :) Even a 10 minute walk is worth it. We find that we feel our best when we're regularly getting outside for something.

5. Be creative and have fun! Try something you haven't tried since you were a kid - like roller blading or playing basketball. Don't be scared to try something just because you haven't done it in a while, and keep trying new things until you find something you both really enjoy.

And just for fun - we love this website WalkJogRun that lets you click on a map to figure out how far you've walked, jogged, or run. Happy exercising!

*Picture taken this summer on a hike.

Inbox Dollars

I recently joined Inbox Dollars, a free program that allows you to make money simply by reading emails or completing other offers. I tend to be pretty skeptical of things like this, thinking they may be scams or just a waste of time.

While I haven't gotten paid yet (you have to reach $30 before they send you a check), the money is adding up at a slow but steady rate. They send me a few emails a day, I click on the "Confirm this paid email" link, and I make a few cents. It really only takes a few seconds. You can also make more money by taking surveys or completing special offers. Be careful though because some of these are not 100% free!

If any of you are interested in trying out Inbox Dollars, check out their website here. Or, if you would like to help me out, feel free to click my referral link here. One other tip - you may not want all of these emails to come to your regular email address. I have a separate address for offers from stores and such that I wouldn't want to clutter my normal inbox.

I know there are other programs like this - Cash Crate, eBates, etc, and I haven't tried enough of them to make a fair comparison. I know some will pay you sooner than others, and some pay you by gift cards instead of cash.

What types of programs do you use to earn a little money online? Or, have you decided it's not worth your time? Please share in the comments below!

Reusing Listerine bottles

This Works for Me Wednesday trick comes compliments of my husband! Earlier this summer, we got some Listerine SmartRinse free after ECBs from CVS. Now, one thing we loved about this SmartRinse was how you could squeeze the bottle and exactly 10 mL of rinse would fill up the top & you'd use just the right amount every time.

When we finished the first bottle, Javier figured out that you can pry the top off & refill it with the mouthwash of your choice! It works best to use pliers to grab the little top, but now we can always measure out just the right amount of mouthwash and get to recycle the SmartRinse bottles!

Check out Shannon's blog for more tips!