One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1092 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Square Watermelons

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 9, 2014 · 24 Comments

My friend Heather from Massachusetts sent me this video about Japan’s production of square watermelon. What a waste. Growing the watermelon takes up water, nutrients, etc. that could otherwise go to growing actual consumable food. As much as 1/3 of the food produced in the world each year goes to waste. They grow these watermelon knowing full well they are not going to be eatable, so they instantly become part of that statistic. I get that they look cool, but do we really need to spend $100 to have a square inedible fruit conversation piece. I don’t get it.

Anyway, you all know how I feel about food waste. The average American family throws away nearly $1500 worth of groceries each year. I don’t know about you, but I would rather have that $1500 to, I don’t know, fly someplace new.

What do you think? Cool or wasteful?

~Mavis

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Free Kindle Books, TOMS Shoe Sale, Pet Treats, Recipes, Coupons, and More

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 9, 2014 · 7 Comments

This little snuggle puggle didn’t want to get out of bed this morning… in fact she’s still laying in her little pink egg bed. What a life she has. I wish I could lay in bed all day too. 😉

Have a great Tuesday everyone,

♥ Mavis and Lucy

Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day – 45% Off New Balance Running Shoes

Available eBooks I think are cool…

The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook $0.99
The Ultimate Guide To Waking Up Early Free
Activities For Kids with Homemade Toys Free
Go to Sleep Kitty Free
Container Herb Gardening Free
Visitor’s Guide to London $2.99
Housework Harmony Free
Like Dandelion Dust $2.99

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can. Don’t have a Kindle? Download the kindle app on your other devices. It’s easy! 🙂

Zulily has Toms Shoes on sale with savings up to 35% off PLUS free shipping on orders over $65. New to Zulily? Go HERE to Sign Up and get this deal!

I just ordered Lucy the Puggle Dog another bag of her favorite Paragon Whimzees Alligator Dental Treats and found a few more deals for our furry friends:

Nylabone Durable Dental Dinosaur Chew Toy $4.99 * add on item
KONG Medium Cozie Dog Squeaky Toy $5.69
Safari Professional Nail Trimmer $7.54
Zuke’s Mini Naturals Dog Treats $7.59 with subscribe and save. Lucy’s Favorite!
220 Dog Waste Bags $9.99

Snag a pair of White Plum’s Print Leggings {33 styles to choose from!} for just $10.99 a pair.

Today and online only, Fall Favorites are 40% off at Crazy 8!

Oh Amazon, how I love thee! I especially love saving money on Amazon. Check out my 10 Secrets to Saving Big on Amazon. Find more cool tips and money savings ideas on my Money Saving Tips Pinterest Boards.

Pinecone Research has by far the best reputation among survey companies. You evaluate new product ideas in the comfort of your own home and earn points for each survey, which can then be exchanged for cash!

Need a new set of pillowcases? Amazon has the Utopia Bedding 2 Standard Size Pillow Cases 20″ x 32″ on sale for $7.99 and they ship FREE with Amazon Prime.

Discount Mags is offering a 1 year subscription to Yoga Journal Magazine for only $4.99 a year when you use code MAVIS at checkout. This deal will expire tonight 9/9/14 at midnight EST so be sure and grab your subscription before then.

Through 9/11/14 get Maidenform Bra’s for only $10 each! Go HERE to check out the sale.

Amazon has the Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker on sale for $24.99

This Butternut Squash Salad recipe was the first time I ever tried butternut squash in an actual green salad. It certainly wasn’t the last! Get the recipe HERE or Pin it for Later.

Get an Oneida 20-Piece Stainless Steel Flatware Set for just $24.99 shipped! There are 3 styles to choose from.

Amazon has the Bohemian Palace Vintage Style Leather Bracelet on sale for $3.43 shipped. This would make a fun inexpensive gift for a teen girl.

Get 32 Double Rolls of Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Care Toilet Paper for just $15.66 when you clip the $2.00 off coupon and use the subscribe and save option at checkout. Only $13.80 if you order more than 5 subscribe and save items that arrive in the same month.

Check out these New Printable Coupons:

Find More Printable Coupons

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Ground Beef Freezer Meal – Taco Casserole

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 8, 2014 · 20 Comments

This recipe is awesome. You should go make it. But not if you have a Monkey Boy who will then beg you for endless amounts of Doritos so he can dip them in this meaty, cheesy casserole of awesomeness. Although secretly, even though I’m not a Doritos lover, there’s part of me that can see how a Dorito dipped in this would be amazing. But let that be our little secret.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice
1 lb ground beef {I used Zaycon ground beef}
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
1 can {15 oz} black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can {8 oz} tomato sauce
1 cup corn {I used frozen}
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1 cup cheese, shredded {cheddar or Monterey jack work best, but use whatever you have on hand}

Preparation

Brown the beef with the onion until beef is cooked through. Add the bell peppers and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in rice and all remaining ingredients except cheese together in a large roasting pan. Let mixture cool completely and then transfer to a gallon freezer bag. Place cheese in a small sandwich bag and then place in the gallon freezer bag with meat mixture. Freeze flat.

When ready to prepare, thaw in fridge overnight. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish and set aside.Pour mixture into prepared dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Cook an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy.

*This recipe makes 1 9×13 pan. When I make this I will typically triple the batch. 🙂

You can skip all the spice ingredients above and make your own taco seasoning! Here’s my Taco Seasoning Recipe.

Looking for more make ahead meals? Check out the complete list of Freezer Meal Recipes.

Links to freezer pans I commonly use:

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How to Prevent Freezer Burn

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 8, 2014 · 6 Comments

There is nothing worse than going to all of the trouble to prepare and freeze food, only to pull it out with freezer burn, though. Here are a couple of really simple ways to prevent freezer burn and get your through the winter:

Don’t skimp on the freezer bags/containers. Make sure, at the very least, the bags are labeled “freezer bags”. I personally like Ziploc and have no problem spending the extra money for them.
Make sure your food is completely cooled before you put it in the freezer. The cooling process can cause condensation on your food, if you throw it straight into the freezer still warm, it will lead to faster freezer burn.
Consider buying a separate freezer, if you don’t have one already. The freezer on your fridge really is designed for items that will be used up faster, because you open it and close it more frequently. All of that opening and closing causes temperature fluctuations, which lead to…yep, you guessed it: freezer burn.
Consider double wrapping items that are more prone to freezer burn {think: meat and bread}. Wrap the item with freezer paper and then put it into a ziploc bag. It’s double the protection.
Make individually sized freezer bags portions. If you freeze all of your items in one large bag, everytime you get it out of the freezer, use some, and then return it to the freezer, you create a fluctuation in temperature.
When you load your freezer, make sure to put the newly added items toward the back, so you can use the items that have been frozen the longest first.

How about you, how do keep your frozen food fresh?

~Mavis

You might also be interested in How to Freeze Soup, Sauce, and Puree.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.