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One Hundred Dollars a Month

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.


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Mavis Garden Blog – New Flowers for the Window Box, Planting Peas and More

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pallet garden

Now that I’m all caught up on sleep, and our bags are unpacked and all the laundry has been put away, I can finally get back to gardening again.

planting peas

I started a few packets of peas in gutters a few weeks ago and put them in the greenhouse because it was too cold to plant the pea seeds outside. Yesterday I planted the rest of the peas along the edges of some wire cages I picked up last summer at a yard sale down the road from us. I’m excited.Because once the vines get going, I think it’s going to look pretty cool. Umm, and uniform which is super important if you have OCD. 😉

baby carrots

Carrots. I couldn’t wait any longer for them to grow so I dug up a few babies for a recipe I’ll be making a little later on today. Lucy the Puggle dog will help me dig up the rest of the carrots today. winter leeks

Winter leeks! Is it weird that I don’t want to harvest them?

winter garlic

Garlic! Holy cannoli’s, we will have more than a years supply for garlic this year that’s for sure.

window box ideas

And last but not least, the front window box. The Home Depot had cyclamen in stock so I grabbed 6 plants. Now I’m on the hunt for some English daisies to fill up the rest of the window box.

How is YOUR garden growing these days? Do you still have snow? Are you going crazy yet because all you can think about is your garden?

~Mavis

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Missing Roosters, Free Kindle Books, Cast Iron, Garden Deals, Pet Smart, The North Face and More

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paris fruit stand

Yesterday afternoon Lucy the Puggle dog and I were working in the backyard when all of the sudden it dawned on me that I hadn’t heard the roosters in quite a while. So I went to investigate. Sure enough, the HH got rid of them while we were away.

WHAT A STINKER!!

Can you believe that? When I asked what he did with them he told me he gave them to the Hunter up the street, who then gave them to the couple down the road who keeps chickens. {This is true because occasionally I see a “Fresh Eggs” sign out in front of their property.}

But still, what a total meany giving away our roos like that. We didn’t even get to say goodbye. Grrrr.

What do you think? I mean really, not everyone wants to be woken up at 4am by a rooster. But still.

♥ Mavis

Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day – 40% Off New Balance Trail-Running Shoes

free kindle booksAvailable Kindle Books I think are cool…

bottle ring opener

Get a Bottle Ring Opener for just $0.75 shipped! Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. 😉

cast iron pans

Get a set of 3 Cast Iron Pans for only $22.99! The reviews on these are great.

recipe how to make hot cocoa miz from scratch

Have you ever made your own hot chocolate before? Homemade cocoa is super easy to make! Get my recipe for homemade hot cocoa mix HERE or Pin it for Later.

garden toolsCheck out these deals on garden tools:

botanical interests seed collections

Have you ordered your garden seeds yet? Botanical Interests is offering FREE SHIPPING with all orders over $50. Wahooo! You can check out the seeds I ordered for my 2014 garden HERE.

angel soft

Get 48 Double Rolls of Angel Soft Toilet Paper shipped to your front door for only $19.89 when you “clip” the $1.00 off coupon {must be logged into your Amazon account to see it} and use the subscribe and save option at checkout.

pet smart logo

Pet Smart is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders through March 2nd, 2014. No order minimum. I’ve ordered dog food from them and the shipping was fast!! Plus, if your order is over $60 you’ll save an additional 15%.

440

REI Outlet Deal of the Day – The North Face Grizzly Fleece Jacket  $79.93 shipped {was $160!} I have this jacket is and it is so unbelievably cozy!!

amazon localHave you checked out Amazon Local lately? Here are some of my favorite deals right now:

Women-s-Health magazine

Discount Mags is offering a 1 year subscription to Woman’s Health Magazine for only $4.99 a year when you use code MAVIS at checkout. This deal will expire tonight 2/27/14 at midnight EST so be sure and grab your subscription before then.

yummy earth snacks

Groupon is offering a 60 Snack Pack Assortment of YumEarth Fruit Snacks, Gummy Bears, and Sour Beans for just $24.99 shipped.

tiny prints

Tiny Prints Birthday Sale 30% Off Sitewide – Now through March 4th, 2014 you’ll receive 30% off your Tiny Prints order when you use code BDAY10 at checkout. I’ve ordered from this company in the past and have been very please with their products and quick shipping.

starbucks couponsDrink Starbucks? Here are a few printable coupons:

Find More Printable Coupons

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Freezer Meal – Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

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Freezer Meal - Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

I should put a warning on this recipe: if you want leftovers, do not make this. Well I guess if you have a Monkey Boy of your own this warning would apply. He’d probably stage a revolt if I stopped making this. He’s a lasagna junkie and this stuff is like candy to him.

Freezer Meal - Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

Freezer Meal - Chicken and Spinach Lasagna Recipe

Freezer Meals Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

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Freezer Meal – Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

Author Mavis Butterfield

Ingredients

  • 1 lb shredded chicken
  • 1/2 yellow onion , finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 {24 oz} jar of spaghetti sauce or 3 1/2 cups homemade tomato sauce
  • 2 cups cooked spinach leaves
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 {1 lb} tub cottage cheese {you could use ricotta if you’d rather}
  • 2 tbsp parsley
  • 4 oz lasagna noodles , cooked then placed in cold water to cool
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese {I sometimes bump this up to 2 cups}

Instructions

  1. In large skillet, mix onions, salt and garlic powder {I add a dash of olive oil} and cook until onions are translucent. Add spaghetti sauce and chicken, and simmer for 10 min, stirring occasionally. While sauce is simmering, combine spinach, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and parsley in a separate bowl. Mix until combined and set aside.
  2. Next up, you’ll layer the lasagna. I use 3 layers, but you could do more or less, depending on preference. I always coat the bottom of my 9×13 pan with a bit of spaghetti sauce to keep the noodles from sticking. Then layer a single row of noodles, followed by about 1/3 of your sauce/meat mixture and then 1/3 of the cottage cheese mix {try to spread this out a bit}.
  3. Then add 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. You can reverse the cheese, cottage cheese mixture layer. I’ve made it both ways & didn’t notice a difference. Just make sure you end with mozzarella cheese on top of your top layer. It browns up nice and bubbly! Repeat 2 more times.

Recipe Notes

To Cook: Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until cooked through. To Freeze: Cover with foil and place lasagna pan on a cookie sheet so it freezes flat. When ready to use cook from frozen for 60 -75 minutes at 350 degrees.

Looking for more easy freezer meal ideas? See the full list of freezer meals HERE. Here are a few of my favorites:

Links to freezer pans I commonly use:

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How to Keep Guacamole from Turning Brown

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How to Keep Guacamole from Turning Brown

I love guacamole–not in the tastes great sort of way, but in the I want to marry it sort of way.  It’s one of the fastest things to go at a party {next to brownies, I think}, so I love to whip it up and take it when we get invited somewhere.  I don’t love when it turns brown before we get there, though.

How to Ripen Avocados

Avocados turn brown because of oxidation–so basically, the minute you expose them to the air, they start to age {hmm, maybe that’s my problem–too much air}.  So, really, the trick is to minimize exposure to air.  😉

avocado peels

Over the years I’ve learned two great ways to keep guacamole green. The first is to whip up your favorite guacamole recipe as usual and then cover the top with lime slices.

The second is to put the guac in an airtight container, squirt the top with a TINY bit of lemon juice {not too much, since your recipe probably already had lemon or lime juice in it}, and then lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the guacamole, tucking it in at the edges then throw the lid on your container and head to the party.  {If you aren’t using the guacamole right away, make sure to store it in the fridge.}

Easy enough, right? How do YOU keep your guacamole green?

Mavis wants to know.

How to Freeze Avocados

Stock up when prices are low! See my How to Freeze Avocados Tutorial.

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.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy