What are you doing this weekend?

I love this time of year!  So many fun festivals and carnivals, especially this weekend.  Many of the activities going on this weekend are FREE!  Which of course you know I LOVE!!!

Friday October 29:

Free Scary Face Pancake

IHOP will celebrate Halloween a little early and offer trick or treaters 12 and under a free Scary Face Pancake (one per child) from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at participating locations. For more information or to find an IHOP restaurant near you, please visit www.ihop.com.

TW Davis Fall Festival and Haunted Hayride- Bring your little ghosts and goblins for a fun and safe night of games and much, much more.....Don't forget to wear your costume if you want to participate in the Costume Contest and bring a carved pumpkin to see who's going to be voted the Best Pumpkin Carver.

The Haunted Hay Ride will be appropriate for all ages. Invite all your family and friends for this Free community-wide event.

Miller Outdoor Theater-Jumpstart Halloween with a costume contest and this popular Dream Works 2009 animated film featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Kiefer Sutherland, Stephen Colbert and Paul Rudd. (Note: the DVD version is not 3-D) Prizes!

Saturday October 30-

Gifts Galore Greatwood -  This year’s rain or shine event features over 100 vendors with a variety of unique gift items for teachers, family members (even those picky ones!), friends and yourself! A variety of home décor, yard décor, candles, food products, kitchen items, jewelry, handbags, embellished clothing, baby and children’s items will be offered. Many of our vendors are Greatwood residents, so come out and see the talents of your neighbors! They will also feature local area restaurants such as Chick-Fil-A and Dominos who will be serving breakfast and lunch items. Admission is FREE and strollers are welcome!

Celebrate Halloween Town — Sugar Land Town Square is transformed into Halloween Town October 30 from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.  Enjoy games, entertainment, and pounds of candy for the trick or treaters!

Carnival at Austin Elementary School, 1630 Pitts Road, Richmond.

Enjoy a day of family fun from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., including hayride, haunted house, 30-foot climbing wall, duck races, pit crew challenge, spin art, concessions and many more. Everything is $1! 

Ghost Town Haunted House at George Ranch High School

The Ghost Town will be open 4-8 p.m. for children ages kindergarten through eighth grade and parents. Cost is $5 per person.

Bullritos: Kids in costume eat free all day October 30, at Bullritos. One free kid’s Bull Bag ($3.99) per bowl, bullrito, or taco purchase ($6.29).

Sunday- Halloween

Kids eat free all over town!!!

Boston Market: Enjoy a free kid’s meal with the purchase of an adult entree from October 28-31.   Print this coupon to get this deal.

T.G.I. Friday’s: Kids in costume October 31 score a free kid’s meal on Halloween, with the purchase of an adult entree.  Take the kids out for free before trick or treating!

Bring the niños to Gringo's Mexican Kitchen for a pre-trick or treating meal. A free niños meal (a $4.69 value) for children 12 and under with the purchase of an adult entree. Two children per adult after 4 p.m. on October 31.

What's for dinner? and One more deal

When I was pregnant with the little one, my WONDERFUL cousin Bev stocked my freezer with homemade frozen dinners.  It was the most amazing and generous gifts anyone ever did for me.  She also included the recipes with each meal so I could duplicate later the ones we liked.  Well, one of my favorite ones was Chicken and Wild Rice casserole.  I had completely forgotten about it until Bunco a few months back when one of the girls served it to us for dinner.

CHICKEN AND WILD RICE CASSEROLE
1 can French style green beans, drained 1 sm. onion, diced 1/2 c. mayonnaise 2 cans celery soup 1 sm. jar pimento 1 can water chestnuts, sliced and drained 3 c. diced cooked chicken 1 3/4 c. chicken stock 1 box wild rice with herbs and seasonings Mix all ingredients and place in 3 quart (9 x 12) casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour with last 10 minutes, covered with foil.

And because you know I do things frugally (is that even a word?) I am using the leftover chicken from the fajitas last night.  :)  They had a little bit of a southwestern seasoning but I think it'll be okay.  I guess, we'll find out.

I just found this on some other deal blogs and I HAD to share it.  A friend of mine is looking for a play kitchen for her 2 year old for Christmas so I'm mainly posting this for her, but also for anyone else out there looking for a deal on one.

http://www.playkitchens.com/  Enter code HF-5549 for an extra 10% off.

Deal of the Day: Snapfish

I get a TON of emails and follow 4 different deal sites on Facebook everyday.  As much as I would love to share every deal, right now I just don't have the time.  So here in the beginning I will post my favorite deal of that day.  Today's deal comes from Freebies 4 Mom.  I follow this one on Facebook and also check her site daily.  She has some great deals over there.  


She posted this yesterday but I thought I would share it today since it is valid until Nov 2.  Get 100 free prints ($9.00 value) at Snapfish when you order two 8x10s with coupon code SCARYPRINTS(shipping costs $5.89 plus applicable sales tax). It will cost you $5.98 to order the two 8×10′s. This coupon code can only be used once per account and it’s valid thru November 2.  Love this deal?  Do it again with the coupon code HWPRINTS (same deal, same expiration date).


I think this is a great deal considering certain people on my Christmas list will be getting photos as gifts.  :)

Tonight's Dinner: Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday nights we have soccer practice at 6:00 pm. So, usually dinner is something quick and easy. Ashamedly, last Tuesday my 4 year old had Ramen noodles for the first time. I made myself feel better by boiling them in low sodium chicken broth but I still fed her Ramen.

Well tonight I have thought and planned ahead and we're having chicken fajitas with spanish rice and refried beans.

I am so excited to use my new Pampered Chef Grill Pan to grill chicken for the first time. I used it last week for pork chops and it was so quick and easy.

To grill chicken:

Heat pan over medium heat 5 minutes. Spray pan with vegetable oil. Cook chicken 7-10 minutes. Turn chicken over; cook 7-10 minutes or until Digital Pocket Thermometer registers 165°F (74°C) and juices run clear.

The fajitas are the seasoned chicken thighs from HEB. These are on sale all the time and I usually have a package in my freezer. I got the tortillas last week at Kroger's, they were in the bakery for $1.

The refried beans are also the Kroger brand, as is the instant Spanish rice. I try not to use pre-packaged foods but it was so cheap and easy that I couldn't pass it up.

For the baby and myself, I have 2 fresh avocados that were also on sale last week. The husband or the 4 year old won't eat avocado.

There is usually some sort of cheese on sale, this week Kroger has them 3 for $5. So I have the mexican blend shredded cheese.

Total this meal probably cost less than $10 and is enough for us to have for dinner tonight and the hubby can take some to school for lunch tomorrow.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog and all the excitement that will ensue.

Let me first start by introducing myself. I am a stay-at-home mom to 2 wonderful girls. My husband is a high school football coach, and for extra money I sell Pampered Chef. I love my life and everything that goes along with it.

The purpose of this blog is to share with all of my friends how my family of four can comfortably live on a teacher's/coach's salary. Trust me, it's hard. But I do it and I've learned how to do it well. Some people find it hard to believe that our grocery budget is $500 a month or that we very rarely go out to eat without a coupon.

So, I hope you will follow along on my "cheap" adventure. I will share budget-friendly recipes, free local activities, and other online deals that I find around cyberspace.