Happy Tuesday!

I have to say I can't believe that this month is almost over. We have only 8 days left!

This weekend was a whirlwind for sure. My little lovebug had her first cold. She just seemed more uncomfortable than anything. I called the pediatrician to see what we could do to help make her more comfortable and they said the basics - humidier, nasal aspirator, prop up her mattress so it's on an include, saline drops - all because she can't take any medication yet. I had a humidifier in the attic that I had used several times. I pulled it out and set it up in her room. Well it decided to make our fire alarm go off! Aparently our house fire alarm is super sensitive and warm mist makes it go off. (That was so fun at 3:30am!) Needless to say I went and bought a cool mist one the next morning.

After my running around that morning, we took her to her first swim lesson. She did really well and I'm excited for this weekend's class since she won't have her headcold. Following that we went to get our taxes done and all because of the energy credit forms, our taxes could not be submitted yet. Thank you Congress for waiting until the last minute to change things. So we have no clue when we will get our refund. We did learn that Ken was paying too much in federal taxes because he never changed his deductions to married 0. He was still claiming as single 0. This will lessen our tax return next year, but he will also be getting a big chunk of money in his paychecks. We much rather have the money now than wait.

Sunday morning was a big day for us since it was Abby's baptism. We got to the church around 10am and already a lot of our family was there. Following the service we went to the restaurant for a tasty lunch. It was a nice day. I'm so glad I planned her baptism for this weekend. We were both off on Monday which we needed!

Yesterday I was able to sit and relax in the afternoon for a bit. We did some grocery shopping in the morning and did well with coupons again. The total before they swiped my store card and scanned the coupons was $191. After it came to $136. I still never figure out how our bills are so high. We've been good about not buying stuff we don't need. I do know that coldcuts, produce (we get a lot), and meat are the bulk costs, but I don't always buy meat. We also did have a case of beer, but that would have only brought the total to $115. I did buy Allegra so $24 would be alloted for that as well. Some of my coupons included:

$1/2 Diet Pepsi
B1G1 Diet Pepsi
$1/2 Brisk
$.55/1 Sargento Shredded Cheese
$.60/3 Old El Paso items
$.60/3 Old El Paso items ecoupon
$.60/3 Old El Paso items Savings Star
$2/1 70 count or higher Aleve
$2/1 70 count or higher Aleve ecoupon
$2.50 fresh meat department
$.55/1 Friendship Cottage Cheese
$.35/1 Colgate toothpaste

I had others but don't remember them off the top of my head. I got toothpaste for $.31; Aleve for $4.99, 2-liter bottles of soda for $.40 each, Old El Paso items for $.20 each, shredded cheese for $1.40 each, cottage cheese for $1.40, etc. I didn't have any ibotta deals either. I know this stuff will never be free for me, but I definitely want to see an even smaller grocery bill. We'll see what happens next week.

Weekend Cooking

My husband has told me on numerous occassions that there is nothing to eat in the house, meanwhile we have cabinets and a pantry full of food. Not to mention a fruit bowl on the table and plenty of things to eat in the fridge. But I finally understand what he is saying, because many times I open the fridge to find something prepared and there is nothing, just stuff that will take a lot of work. So this weekend I cooked and baked and roasted.

Last week I had Sauerbraten for dinner at one of our local favorite pubs, Connolly Station,  and thought it was heavenly so I looked up a recipe and found one by one of my favorite Food Network hosts, Alton Brown. I had a round bottom roast in the freezer so I took it out to defrost and on Thursday night I made the marinade, browned the meat and then set the meat into the marinade to sit for the next 3 days.

On Saturday I peeled a large butternut squash, chopped it up and roasted it. When it was soft, I added it to the blender with chicken stock and salt and pepper and made a roasted butternut squash soup.

On Sunday I got up and began my heavy cooking. I first made blueberry muffins, followed by tuna salad, egg salad, roasted asparagus and baked chicken cutlets. I also chopped up chicken breast into tenderloin size pieces and have them marinating in a hawaiian flavored marinade. I plan to grill these tonight. At about 4pm I took the Sauerbraten out of the fridge and put it in the crockpot to cook. I had it cook for 3 hours on high and it came out so tender and juicy. It really was a great recipe to follow. I posted the link to it above but here it is the way I made it.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, additional for seasoning meat
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) bottom round
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

In a large saucepan over high heat combine the water, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, salt, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, juniper, and mustard seeds. Cover and bring this to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pat the bottom round dry and rub with vegetable oil and salt on all sides. Heat a large saute pan over high heat; add the meat and brown on all sides, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side.

When the marinade has cooled to a point where you can stick your finger in it and not be burned, place the meat in a non-reactive vessel and pour over the marinade. Place into the refrigerator for 3 days. If the meat is not completely submerged in the liquid, turn it over once a day.

After 3 days of marinating, place the roast and marinade into the slowcooker and turn it on high.

Add the sugar to the meat and marinade, cover and cook until tender, approximately 3-`4 hours.

Remove the meat from the vessel and keep warm. Strain the liquid to remove the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and place over medium-high heat. Whisk in the cornstarch and cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Slice the meat and serve with the sauce.