Recipe Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

2 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour (I used 2 Cups 100% Whole Wheat & 1/4 cup Buckwheat)

1 teaspoon Baking Soda (I add a little more, since I am using Whole Wheat)

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

½ teaspoon salt

2 Eggs

2 cups Sugar (You can use less. These turned out very sweet)

1 Cup Canned Pumpkin (I used pumpkin I had pureed in the freezer)

½ cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup dried cranberries

1. In bowl combine the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.

2. In a separate mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar; then add the pumpkin and oil mix well.

3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until moistened. Then fold in the cranberries.

4. Fill greased muffin tins ¾ full.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-22 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan.

~  ~  ~

The Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins have a great blend of tartness of the cranberries and the sweetness of the pumpkin that blends well together. They were very moist and almost melted in my mouth when we ate them.  The sugar caramelized to make the edges a little crispy.They still are very moist and delicious after you freeze them. I know you will enjoy these.


I let them cool on a wire rack. Then I place  Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins  in a large gallon freezer bag and freeze for the kids to take out and enjoy every morning before school. Pop 2 of them in the microwave for about a minute. Let me know if you try these delicious muffins.

I have switched all of my flour use to 100% Whole Wheat flour. The biggest difference I have noticed it is more dense than regular white four and a little more grainy in texture. The kids don't seem to mind. The flavor is great. The whole wheat flour has little more nuttier flavor than the bland white flour. There is  more nutrition in using whole grains than processed and bleached products and your body can digest this better. I would recommend going whole grain before going gluten free.

I am thinking of adding a linky to my Wednesday recipe posts. Let me know if you would be interested in a recipe linky?


Find more great savings deals and steals join Pounds4Pennies on: 

BlogFrog community - COUPONS                       Facebook                                                                Google +

Super Saving Saturday

Here are a ton of new coupons to print for the month of March:


Baby & Toddler

•   $1.50 off ONE Pampers Cruisers or Baby Dry Diapers
•   $1.50 off ONE Pampers Swaddlers Diapers
•   $0.75 off ONE Pampers Wipes 60 ct or larger
• $3.00 off AVENT Multi-pack BPA-Free Baby Bottles 
• $1.50 off AVENT BPA-Free Toddler Cup
• $1.00 off THREE gallons of GERBER® PURE™ Water 
• $1.50 off when you buy any ONE AVENT Pacifier Pack
• 75¢ off Gerber® Graduates® Fruit Pick-Ups™ / Veg Pick-Ups™ 
• 75¢ off Gerber® Graduates® Breakfast Buddies™ Hot Cereal 

Food

•  $1.00 off any 3 General Mills Cereals
•  $0.50 off two Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts
•  $0.75 off two Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough
•  $0.40 off three Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls
•  $0.40 off two Pillsbury or Grands! Sweet Rolls
•  $1.00 off 2 Cheerios cereals
•  $0.40 off six Yoplait Yogurts
• $1.50 off NESCAFÉ® TASTER'S CHOICE® or CLASICO™ 
• 75¢ off when you buy any ONE Dean's® Heat 'n Eat Dip 
• $1.00 off POST Honey Bunches of Oats NEW Fruit Blends 
• $1.40 off when you buy EIGHT HOT POCKETS® Brand Items 
• 50¢ off when you buy any THREE Cans of DOLE® Tropical Fruit
• $1.85 off when you buy any ONE Birds Eye® Voila® Product 
• 40¢ off when you buy THREE Totino's® Rolls Snacks 
• 40¢ off when you buy THREE Pillsbury® Crescent Dinner Rolls 
• 50¢ off when you buy ONE BOX Lucky Charms® cereal 
• $1.00 off when you buy any TWO BOXES select Cheerios® cereal 
• $1.00 off when you buy any TWO BOXES General Mills cereals
• 50¢ off 4.5 OZ./ LARGER Chex Mix® OR Chex® 100 Calorie Snack 
• 30¢ off when you buy any Yoplait® Lactose-Free Yogurt cups 
• 50¢ off when you buy EIGHT CUPS any variety Yoplait® Yogurt 
• 40¢ off Pillsbury® Sweet Rolls OR Grands!® Sweet Rolls 
• 75¢ off when you buy ONE BOX Cookie Crisp® cereal 
• 75¢ off Pillsbury® Refrigerated Cookie Dough 
• 50¢ off Pillsbury® Rolled Refrigerated Pie Crusts 
• 65¢ off when you buy ONE Knorr® Homestyle Stock 

Personal Care

•  $1.00 off one imPRESS Press-on Manicure
•  $1.50 off any JOHNSON'S NATURAL product
•  $3.00 off any Slo-Niacin
•  $1.00 off one Bronkaid product
• $5.00 off Philips Norelco Shaving Replacement Head Printable Coupon
• $1.25 off when you buy any ONE Disney or Marvel Vitamins
• $1.25 off Glucerna® Multi-Pack Bars or Multi-Pack Shakes 
• $2.00 off any ONE Bausch and Lomb Soothe® dry eye product
• $1.40 off when you buy any NatureSmart Ester-C® item 
• $1.10 off Nature's Bounty® Vitamins or Supplements 

Household

• $0.50 off ON (1) BOTTLE OF ANY PALMOLIVE
• $0.99 off SCOTT Naturals™ Flushable Wipes Tub or Refill  
• $0.99 off when you buy SIX or more rolls of SCOTT® Towels 
• $0.99 off SCOTT Naturals™ Bath Tissue
• $0.99 off SCOTT® Extra Soft Bath Tissue
• $0.99 off when you buy 6+ rolls of SCOTT Naturals™ Towels 
• $0.99 off SCOTT® 1000 ct. Bath Tissue
• 75¢ off two Cottonelle Fresh Care™ Flushable Moist Wipes 
• 50¢ off when you buy any ONE Comet® Stainless steel cleaner
• $3.00 off Osteo Bi-Flex® Supplement or Powder

Pets

• $1.00 off when you buy 6 cans of Mighty Dog® brand dog food 

Misc

• $2.00 off when you purchase any PEOPLE® Magazine 
• Video Reward: Knorr Homestyle Stock Printable Coupon 
• Video Reward: NatureSmart Ester-C® Printable Coupon 
• Video Reward: Nature's Bounty® Vitamins or Supplements Printable Coupon

Affiliate Links are used in this post. I may get a commission if you click on any of the links above.

Friday Finals - Kroger, Tom Thumb, Sprouts, CVS, Walgreens

I have announced my winners for the two giveaways I had on Purex items. Stop by my Giveaways page to see if you won. 


Also I am still looking for five guest bloggers to post on the week of 12-16 contact me or post a comment and I will get back to you. Looking for articles you have written or want to write on topics such as:

Frugal living ideas

Ways to save money - not grocery related

Couponing ideas

Any tips concerning cooking, cleaning, organizing

Fun kid activities 

Here are the most clickiest links from last week:

Couponaholic

Frugal Follies

Durham Deals

~   ~   ~

Now on to savings totals:

Kroger 

1 Perdue Chicken $2.50 - $1/1 Perdue Chicken Kroger eCoupon

            -Final $1.50

1 Armour Pepperoni $3.00 - $1/1 Armour Pepperoni catalina

            -Final $2.00

2 Gortons Fish $3.25 - $1/1 Gorton’s Product Printable

            -Final $3.00 each

1 Kroger Cheese $1.67

1 Kroger Butter $2.25

1 Kraft Easy Mac & Cheese $1.19 – FREE Kroger Daytona days

            -Final FREE – I LOVE FREE

1 Package Kroger Chicken Breasts $7.20 - $1.50/7 lbs meat Kroger Home Mailer

            -Final $5.70

I spent $18.62 and saved $16.11 on $34.73 mostly on meat this shopping trip. My daughter loves those Kraft Mac & Cheese cups, since she can take them to school for lunch. I am also trying to change from margarine to Butter. Butter just seems more natural than all the other artificial ingredients in margarine.

Tom Thumb

1 Wesson Canola Oil $2.99

2 18 Count Eggs $1.99 each Store coupon

8 Milk 50% off clearance $1.04 each – I plan on freezing these

2 International Delight creamer $2.49 Each store coupon - $1/2 Peelie coupon

            -Final $1.99 each

1 Martha White Muffins $1.19 - $0.35 tripled RP 11/13/11

            -Final $0.14

3 Cans Hunts Tomatoes $0.89 each store coupon - $0.45/3 doubled Hunts Tomatoes SS 1/22/12

            -Final $0.59 each

1 Starkist Tuna pouch $1.25 - $0.50/1 doubled Tuna Pouch March All YOU MAG

            -Final $0.25

2 Kettle Chips $1.98 each Store Q - $1/1 Kettle Chips RP 01/08/12

            -Final $1.48 each

I spent $23.99 and saved $23.95 on $47.95 worth of food. Since I now have milk and bread and I am stocked up on nearly everything. The only thing I am a little low on is lunch meat.  

Sprouts

.42lbs Dried Cranberries @ $2.99 lb

            -Final $1.26

4 So Delicious Coconut Milk 1 Qt $1.79 each – 4 $1/1 So Delicious Product

            -Final $0.79 each

3 Clif Bars $0.89 each – 1 is missing from the pic. It was too good I ate it.

1 lb Asparagus @ $0.99 lb

            -Final $0.99

2 Avocados $0.69 each

2 Organic Seed Packets $1.99 - $2/2 Seeds of Change March ALL You

            -Final $1.98

1 Garden Kit $3.99 - $2/1 Seeds of Change Garden Kit. March ALL You

            -Final $1.99

I spent $13.45 and saved $8.00 on fresh food and groceries this trip. The two seed kits will not go towards my grocery budget this week. But I did want to show you this awesome deal. How awesome to get organic seeds and also have coupons for them? I was excited, since I looked at these last week, but thought it was a little expensive. Then I found the coupon. Woo Hoo.

Walgreens

1^st Transaction

6 Boxes of Gelatin $0.10 each clearance

            -Final $0.10 each

1 Burts Bees Throat Drop Honey $1.99

OOP

$2.59

Received

$2.00 RR for the Burts Bees.

2^nd Transaction

1 5 Blade mens razor $3.99

Used:

$2.00 from Previous transaction

OOP:

$2.15

Received:

$3.00 RR for the Razor

CVS

1 Can Lindsey Black Olives $0.99

1 Hydro Razor $8.49

1 Colgate Toothbrush $3.99

1 Physicians Formula Blush $12.79

Used:

$4.00/1 Schick Hydro 5 Razor SS 02/26/12

$0.75/1 Colgate Toothbrush SS 02/26/12

$1/1 Physicians Formula SS 02/12/12

$4 ECBs

$1 ECB

$6.99 ECB

OOP:

$8.53

Received:

$4.00 ECB Schick Hydro

$7.00 ECB Physicians Formula

$2.00 Colgate reward

So I made money this trip!

I may not need to go shopping next week. Wow what will I do with all my free time? Any suggestions 

Altogether I spent $65.36 and saved $63.80 for groceries and healthcare items this week.*

*I did not include my seed cost or savings in these totals.

~   ~   ~

Want to reduce your grocery budget checkout my

How to Start Couponing Beginners Guide

Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies BlogFrog community or stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook  for MUCH MORE great savings and deals and steals.

How did your savings go this week? Looking at how others save is the best way to learn great couponing strategies and where good deals are. 

6 Winners for Purex Coupons

Thanks everyone for making my first giveaways a success. Here are the winners of both contests picked by Rafflecopter. Thanks so much for participating.

3 Purex FREE Bottle Coupon Winners!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 Purex FREE Ultrapacks Coupon Winners!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies on:

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Tips 4 Tuesday - Why I Never Shopped at Walgreens. Until TODAY!

One thing you have to realize when you are first starting to coupon is you can’t always get all the deals all the time. There are just too many stores and the amount of gas you would use would offset the saving you were getting anyway. That is mainly why I never shopped at Walgreens. It was too far away for me to justify making a trip out that way to get just a few items each week. Even if it was FREE. Since most of the time the FREE item was gone off the shelf by the time I got there. So all I did was waste gas and drive around for nothing. I spent time planning my scenarios, gathering my coupons. Instead of being excited about the awesome deals I was about to get, all I got was disappointment. This was not worth my time, gas or energy. I did this on several occasions. I vowed I would not go to Walgreens anymore.

Until now! I just realized that there is a Walgreens close to my son’s preschool, since this is on my way and I won't waste any gas money. I thought to myself “How can I now add Walgreens into my shopping rotation?” I stopped by there today, and the cashiers were so much nicer than the Walgreens closest one to my house. Someone in the aisle even asked if I needed help. They even had a ton of the sale items still in stock, and it was Tuesday. I was very impressed and I will go back to this store.

My new plan of savings is to hit Walgreens and CVS on Tuesdays. Then do my grocery shopping at Tom Thumb, Kroger and Sprouts on Thursdays. This way I will not waste any gas, since all of these are on the way home from my son’s daycare. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the closest to when the new sales cycles start for those stores. Woo Hoo more savings!


Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies on:

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Money Saving Monday - Maximize Savings on Clearance Items at Tom Thumb

Just a few things first. My DI team made 6th place at our tournament. We are thrilled with the results. The team worked so hard and they are excited they placed this year. Now I can focus a little more time on my blog.

Second; don’t miss out on my giveaways. They are both ending March 1st. If you haven’t registered do it now before it is too late. There will be 3 winners for Purex Laundry Detergent FREE product coupon and 3 winners for Purex Ultrapacks FREE product coupon. For a total of 6 possible WINNERS! Super easy entry.

Lastly, I just love yogurt and I hate paying full price for it. I have to say Yoplait is my favorite yogurt. It is just thick and creamy and I love most of the flavors they make. I am always looking for ways to get this stuff cheaper. I like to shop the clearance bins for maximum savings.We eat yogurt pretty quickly around here so it won’t ever go to waste. I can usually buy what we will eat before it expires. Here is a scenario you can try to get any clearance items even cheaper at Tom Thumb.

~  ~  ~

Using Coupons on Clearance Items at Tom Thumb

In each store, there are several clearance bins for items reduced for quick sale. One in dairy, meat, dry goods and produce. If you are a newbie, you should start trying to familiarize yourself where these little gold mines of savings are located at each of the stores you shop. You can really score some great deals in these areas. Check the product thoroughly and make sure it is in good condition before you buy it. Also check the expiration date on perishable items to see if you will use this or freeze it before the expiration date. It is also a good idea to find out what day they move certain items to the clearance bins to get them when they first hit the sales rack.

Tom Thumb has several clearance bins throughout the store to shop. Notify the cashier you have a clearance item(s) before they begin to check you out. It is best to set these aside or have them ring them up last, so you can pay attention to how they do it. The clearance item is supposed to be rung up first at full price, then scan the red clearance bar code. Always check this when they are checking you out, and . If not done this way your item may still ring at full price. You may experience some problems if the product is not scanned correctly.

Since they scan the product at full price then take the discount off after, you can still use a coupon to maximize your savings. This is great when it can also be a coupon that can be doubled or tripled.

~  ~  ~

Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies BlogFrog community or stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook  for MUCH MORE great savings and deals and steals.

I haven't had any problems trying this scenario at Tom Thumb. Now I am testing this at Kroger. I have used it on a couple of items with success. Have you had any successes using coupons on clearance items at Kroger?

Friday Finals

I am super busy trying to get my DI team ready for their competition this weekend. I can't wait to share with you how we do this Saturday. Wish us luck. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I guide them but I really don't have much to do on performance day except all the darn forms I have to complete. Right now this is my focus and where I love to spend my time. Helping nurture and grow seven 9-10 year olds to become not only leaders, but learn to be on a team. Both very important qualities and a difficult balance.

Since all this is going on, I don't have much time to post all my items and coupon match ups, so I am just going to give quick totals. If I have time tonight I might update my post.


I still have two giveaways going on right now. One is for Purex Laundry Detergent and one is for Purex UltraPacks. The UltraPacks have a lower entry right now! You have a chance to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex Triple Action or you could enter to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex UltraPacks. Enter now for your chance to win you can enter both contests. Spread the word and tell all your friends.

Kroger

1 Nestle Cookies Clearance $0.69

1 Loaf Raisin Bread $1.00 – Clearance

2 Loaves Whole Wheat Artisan Bread $1.00 each

1 Kroger Shredded Cheese $1.67

2 Hunts Manwich Sauce $0.79 each

1 Corn Tortillas 24 count $1.00

4 Bags Kettle Chips 2 reduced fat, 2 reg $2.50 each - 2 $1/1 Reduced Fat, 2 $1/1 Regular Kettle Chips

          -Final $1.50 each

6 Boxes Zatarains Rice Mixes $1.01 each avg – 3 $0.50/2 Zatarains Rice Mixes

          -Final $0.76 each avg.

1 Millstone K-Cup Coffee $6.99 - $2/1 Millstone coffee

          -Final $4.99

2 Heluva Dips $0.99 each - $0.75/1 Heluva Dips

          -Final $0.24 each 


I spent $24.95 and saved $21.03 on $45.98. There is more savings, since I got all the bread at $1.00 a loaf and they are around $4.00 each. I didn't realized until I got home the Manwich sauce has high fructose corn syrup in it. I am trying to stay away from this for the kids. So I guess I will make my own using no high fructose corn syrup ketchup. I also got the Zatarians with brown rice. Now I can just add more brown rice to make it work for all five of us.

Tom Thumb
I spent $28.21 and saved $35.83 on $64.04.

CVS
1 Boiron ColdCalm $6.99
1 Minced Onion $1.77
1 Pepper FREE


B1G1 FREE on most spices. Since this was cheaper than the $1.00 store I got two items. I LOVE FREE!


Used: 
$2.00 ECBs
$4.00 ECBs


OOP:
$2.76 


Received $6.99 in ECBs. Woo Hoo money making trip!

I have two giveaways going on right now. One is for Purex Laundry Detergent and one is for Purex UltraPacks. You have a chance to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex Triple Action or you could enter to win one of three FREE coupons for Purex UltraPacks. Enter now for your chance to win you can enter both contests. Spread the word and tell all your friends.

Altogether I spent $52.00 and saved $56.86 on $108.86 worth of food and other items. Barely over budget!

Want to reduce your grocery budget checkout my

How to Start Couponing Beginners Guide

Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies BlogFrog community or stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook  for MUCH MORE great savings and deals and steals.

How did you do shopping this week? One of the best ways to learn is from seeing how others coupon. I can't wait to see how you did this week. LINK UP below.

Tasty Taco Soup Recipe

Taco Soup is a very versatile and great stockpile recipe that can easily be made into a vegetarian version. There are two ways to prepare Taco Soup. One is on the stove top or use a slow cooker. Taco soup is very simple and great on those days when you are super busy and no time to make dinner. This almost makes itself. I call it a dump soup, since you simply open a few cans and dump it in a pot and then voila you have a quick and easy meal.

I don’t like to dirty more dishes than I have to. So I will show you how to make this using only the slow cooker or using only one pot on the stove. 

 Taco Soup

Ingredients:



1/2 to Whole Onions
1 Pound Ground Meat

1 Can Stewed Tomatoes

1 Can Beans (I used Black Beans) (Vegetarian add another can of beans)

1 Can Whole Kernel Corn (Or you can use 1 cup of frozen)

1 Package of Taco Seasoning (1/4 cup of taco seasoning, if you make your own)

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Sauté ½ to a whole onion in two table spoons of butter or oil

     Slow Cooker: place on high for 30 – 1hour stirring every 15 min.

     Pot: Saute onions in butter or oil on the stove top in a large pot.

2. Add 1 pound of ground meat to the onions and brown the meat then drain (skip this if Vegetarian)

     Slow Cooker: place on high for 1hour stirring every 15 min.

     Pot: Brown the meat stirring frequently. Then drain.

3. Now open all those cans and dump:

1 Can Stewed Tomatoes

1 Can Beans (I used Black) (Vegetarian add another can of beans)

1 Can Whole Kernel Corn

1 Package of Taco Seasoning (1/4 cup of taco seasoning)

Salt and pepper to taste

4. Heat all the way through
     Slow Cooker: Cook for an additional hour on high or turn on low until ready to serve.

     Pot: Let cook for about 20 min. for the flavors to meld.

Serving suggestions:

Serve over rice or tortilla chips

Top with Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

Top with shredded cheese

Or you can do all of the above

~   ~   ~ 

Now wasn't that easy? Anyone can make this Taco Soup. This soup is one of my favorites, because it is so delicious and simple to make. The kids like it too, since it tastes like tacos. Let me know if you try it or have any other easy soup recipes you would like to share.


Find more great deals join Pounds4Pennies BlogFrog community or stay connected with Pounds4Pennies on Facebook  for MUCH MORE great savings and deals and steals.