Happy LOVE Day!

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Loving is not just looking at each other, it's looking in the same direction."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Happy Valenine's Day!

I'm a FrEaK!

I'm a freak! I feel that way. Let me explain. There are some amazing people out there with extreme couponing talent and I am not one of those. I do watch for diaper and wipe coupons. Those things can leave you broke, especially paying full price. Our local grocery store has been running daily promotions that will soon come to an end, for example on Wednesdays you get free milk with your $60 grocery purchase and on Thursdays, it's double your coupon day up to a dollar. What a steal...a $1 coupons turns into a $2...amazing don't ya think? Well, I tried it...shopping with coupons and I feel like a freak. Let me say this, I bought things that I would normally buy and not things that I think I will use or feed my family. The picture you see are the goods I snagged up this morning. So the total for this before taxes was $74.49. Doesn't buy you much if you ask me. After my coupons and before taxes my total came out to be $35.54 with $38.95 in savings. I did a great job for being a newbie. Let me just fill you in, see that toothpaste...my store is running a sale on it for a buck a peice (Colgate). I had coupons for a $1.00 off and they doubled it...so I was actually paid to buy it and the big thing of Dawn dish soap (24 oz), only .59 after my coupons. Yay me! So that my friends is why I feel like a wierdo.

February's Me Make-Y We Taste-Y We Like-Y

What do you know I am on a roll. I must have been a good girl this past year. I say that because Santa brought me a Kitchen Aid mixer. I never have used one these in my life, until now. I decided to take it out of the box and play with it. Can I just tell you that I absolutely love it. I can't believe I ever functioned without one of these babies. I decided to make something simple, so I could get a feel on how the mixer works.

I subscribe to Parents magazine and in the October 2010 issue I found a recipe for Shortcut Pumpkin Bread. It is super easy and doesn't require much to make. This recipe involves pumpkin, bananas, and yellow cake mix. My hubby doesn't like pumpkin or cream cheese both of which this bread has. I was kind of nervous, but it is a hit. He loved it and even asked for a second slice. It is actually quite tasty and I will be making it again. In my opinion, the bread would also taste great without the frosting. K scraped the frosting off and just ate the bread. I can't complain. Compared to my banana bread recepie, this bread has a lighter texture and a cake feel to it. On a good note, a slice of this bread counts as 1/2 servings of fruits and veggies. So eat away. Enjoy!

Shortcut Pumkin Bread

Parents Magazine

-Prepare a yellow cake mix according to the package directions leaving the water out. -Stir in 1 cup of pumkin puree, 1 cup of mashed bananas, and 1tsp. cinnamon. -Pour into a greased 9' loaf pan and bake at 375 degrees F for 50 minutes. -Once the bread is cooled it can be frosted. For the frosting, beat 4oz. softened cream cheese, and 1/4 cup softened butter until creamy. Stir in 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and slowly add 1 cup opwdered sugar.