$65 CVS Gift Card Challenge: Week 2

I haven't been to CVS since the first week for Huggies. Hubby and I are in SERIOUS mode when it comes to saving for our house, so there hasn't been much shopping of any kind around here lately. So... we will call this $65 CVS Gift Card Challenge Week 2! :)

Here's the breakdown:
1- Tom's of Maine Deodorant  $3.99
1- Reese's PB Egg  $0.87

I used my $1 ecb from my previous trip

After tax my total came to: $4.18
I left with a $3 ecb and a $0.87 ecb

Left on Gift Card: $60.82
Ecb's to use: $3.87
Total Spending Power: $64.69

$65 CVS Gift Card Challenge: Week 1

Here's my Week 1 Purchase..... Huggies. Just Huggies. I hate running out and they were free so who can blame me?
They were on sale for $9.49 and I got back $1 ecb. However, I had a FREE Huggies coupon from Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards that i've been saving for this sale.

So my first total: $0
ECB's Earned: $1
Total Spending Power: $66.00 ($65 Gift Card and $1 ecb)

*So... why $65? Well, that's how much I got in gift cards from family for Christmas :) So I thought it would be fun to see how far I could stretch it. Want to start your own CVS Gift Card Challenge? You can start your own challenge of any amount. Check out Simply CVS for all the details! Cheryl is awesome about showing you all the deals, keeping you updated, and of course, doing her own GC Challenge!

Drugstore.com: Oh how I love you!

I, like many parents, want my child to eat healthy. However, there are a few problems that try to get in my way.

1. Kids can be picky
2. Healthy foods are sometimes inconvenient
3. Healthy foods are expensive

Let me first start my rambling by saying that my son is amazing. I know every parent says that.... but he is! He eats everything. He will eat any veggie, any fruit, and anything off the floor.... um... ya. We have to watch him! lol
But, every kid has their moments. The ones that we don't usually boast about. I will put a spoonful of mashed potatoes and carrots (which my son LOVES) into Colton's mouth and he will take two of his adorable, tiny fingers and take the mashed potatoes out of his mouth and throw it onto his tray... or the floor. However... if you put anything... and I mean ANYTHING into a squeeze pouch... he will eat it. No matter what "mood" he is in.
Which brings me to point number two. This crazy invention that houses veggies and fruits of all types in a convenient squeezable pouch is expensive! At $1 a piece (ON SALE!), they quickly add up to WAY more than my tiny budget can afford. Especially when I give my sons a fruit pouch and a veggie pouch everyday. We are looking at $60 a month... for 1/8 of his food intake. You also have to add in Organic Milk, Healthy baby friendly dinners, and Organic Crackers or Cookies (Don't judge). It adds up quickly. Is it worth my sanity and all the worrying I do about him getting enough nutrients? Maybe... :) But it sure doesn't make my budget happy. There had to be another way. I scanned site after site and finally found one that wasn't SUPER overpriced on these pouches. Drugstore.com. They had (or maybe still have?) a sale that takes $10 off when you buy $50 worth of food. That includes baby food! They also let you combine coupon codes. Plus... if you go through Ebates you will score 10% cash back. On top of that.. they also have a rewards program which will earn you 5% of every purchase. So... a purchase that would have cost me well over $65 at the store (Believe me, I checked) Only cost me $25 after cash back! I also got free shipping from my free Shoprunner membership I scored last week. Plus... I have $1.54 drugstore dollars that I can use towards my order next quarter. I highly recommend you check it out. Also, please remember to go through ebates and use coupon codes when you check out. It will save you SOOO much money! "The Storal of the Mory" (to quote Archie Campbell) is that being a smart shopper, got me a killer deal on items that I normally wouldn't be able to afford. Check out  what my $25 got me...

*No... the Gerber Graduates are not that healthy... they have a pretty high salt content but are something that I have yet to find a healthier version of so until then, I mix them in with foods that are good for him.

**My gushing over Drugstore.com are my opinions and they haven't offered me anything in return for these opinions.... although... that would be great! he-he-he

My CVS Trip 12/11

Didn't get formula like I previously wanted... but it still worked out to be a great trip. I only had to shell out $0.86!
Here's what I got:

1- Kleenex Cool Touch Tissues  $1.34
2- Glade Air Sprays  $0.99 ea.
3- American Greetings Cards  $0.99 ea.
2- Pro Nutrients Vitamins  $9.99 ea.
1- Stetson Cologne $4.99
1- 12 pack Coca-Cola  $4
1- NYC Concealer  $1.99 (no coupons I just had $1 to go on the beauty club to get my $5 ecb)
1- Huggies Jumbo Pack  $11.99

Coupons Used:
$0.40 Kleenex Cool Touch coupon (from sample)
$2/2 Glade coupon from CVS.com
$2/3 American Greetings coupon from CVS.com
$5 Pro Nutrients printable coupon
$7 Pro Nutrients coupon from Sunday's paper
$5 Pro Nutrients CRT coupon
$2 Stetson coupon (from ? magazine)
FREE Coca-Cola 12 pack coupon from MCR
FREE Huggies Jumbo Pack coupon (from the buy 6 get 1 deal)
$8 in ecb's

Final Price: $0.86 (and yes I dug out my nickels, dimes, and pennies to pay for it) ;)
I received $3 ecb for the Greeting Cards and a $10 CVS Gift Card (I'm waiting for the $5 beauty club ecb to print next time I shop)

*If your wondering what happened to my Gift Card Challenge.... Black Friday messed me up.... COMPLETELY. I'll be starting a $50 Gift Card Challenge in January. You can start one too! It's a great challenge by Cheryl at Simply CVS!

Private Selection Products: My Review

I've said it before and i'll say it again. I love store brands! Sometimes there is an item you are craving or your children (or husband) will actually beg for. If a coupon or sale isn't available... it's typically worth it to try out the store brand. I have found some favorites this way.

*Private Selection products can be found at Kroger (and their affiliates).  The appetizers typically run $5-$7. There are several to choose from... I chose the Chicken Trumpets. There was just something about them... they are so petite and it's hard to go wrong with Chicken and Cheese! :)

So... I preheated my oven and waited for them to become melty and delicious. Which they did! They were terrific. The chicken tasted like.... well.... chicken! Which doesn't always happen with frozen foods. They were stuffed with bell peppers that still had a little crunch (NOT overcooked, for once) and cheese which... once again.... you can't go wrong with. I loved them! Hubby liked them as well even though he is by NO means a fan of bell peppers. Now nine appetizers for $7 isn't exactly a great deal... far from it. But... you get what you pay for and these are delicious!

Next to try... Pizza! Who doesn't love Pizza?!? Our family sure does. After a small spat in the pizza aisle... I finally won and we got the Barbecue Chicken Pizza.

There are 3 others to choose from and they are around $5 each.  Once again.... I preheated the oven and placed the pizza inside. As I waited, good things happened. The Barbecue sauce bubbled, the cheese melted and the chicken became warm and delicious!








Hubby and I were very impressed with the quality of ingredients on this pizza. It was quite tasty. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the flat-bread crust. But then again... i'm a traditional gal. I'd much rather have a sweet, chewy crust but... it didn't ruin the pizza. It is still quite delicious, especially if you love crunchy flat-bread.







And Finally..... Dessert! It was hard to decide on which dessert to buy. Since I won the pizza spat... I let hubby win the dessert spat. He chose the Apple Crisp. Good choice... I'll give him that. It was slightly sweet, slightly tart, slightly crunchy and all delicious!

Overall, I'd say the Private Selection Frozen Line of Products are delicious. They are quick and some of the products are even party friendly. If you've got a holiday party coming up, I would certainly recommend you trying these out for yourself. You never know!

Sausage, Pepper & Caramelized Onion Sub

I have been wanting to try out the King's Hawaiian Mini Sub Rolls for a while now. Finally, a I gave in... not at great price... but I felt weak... I love King's Hawaiian anything and hubby and I HAD to try them. They were $2.49 ea. and I used $1/2 coupon and a catalina I had from my previous trip so I didn't pay anything out of pocket for them.
My next thought.... what do I make with them? The possibilities were endless! Then it hit me.... I just bought Sausage links at 2/$5 and had a bell pepper going bad in my fridge. Sausage, Pepper & Caramelized Onion Sub it is!

Ingredients:
1- Small Bell Pepper, Sliced
1- Small Onion, Diced
1- Tbs. Olive Oil
1/2 of a Sausage link
1- Pkg. King's Hawaiian Mini Sub Rolls
*Optional: Leftover Pasta Sauce

Directions:
1. Add the Olive Oil, Diced Onions and Sliced Peppers to a large skillet

2. Caramelize the onions and peppers.

3. Slice the Sausage almost all the way through and add it to the pan. Cook the sausage all the way through.

 4. Top the Sausage with the Onions & Peppers.

5. Warm the Rolls.... there is nothin worse than "Cold Buns" he-he.

 6. Fit it all together and enjoy. Add some leftover sauce if you'd like.

Enjoy!


So how did it turn out?

 Well.... I didn't bother getting a plate. :)

And here is hubby's lunch snack.

My CVS Black Friday Trip!

My only goal today was to purchase everything I wanted in one transaction. There were several freebies that I just didn't need or want. Here is what I did! *2 Snickers are missing (blame Hubby!)

I spent $13.68 after coupons and my $11 in extra bucks and I got back $30.14 in extra bucks back.
Now... if I could only get my hands on a $ off $$ coupon!