August 31, 2011

Veggie Lasagna Recipe

I apologize for the lack of photos on this one. Sometimes I make up recipes out of necessity from whatever I have available, and sometimes they work. This was one I thought might not work, so I have no before or during pictures.  This isn't the original box of veggies--it's my next one.


First, I have been getting these awesome boxes of veggies from a local farm. My last box was huge, and I had a lot of veggies to use up in a hurry before the next one arrived. Looking in the box, I saw 4 baby eggplants, a green bell pepper, a green (maybe) anaheim pepper, an onion, and a WHOLE LOT of tomatoes. From my own garden, I have a ton of tomatoes and one lone red bell pepper. What to do with all of it? So, here's what I did.



Vegetable Lasagna
Filling:
4 baby (asian?) eggplants*
3 various peppers*
1 onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons sea salt

I diced all the veggies except the onion (used the food processor so it was smaller pieces), and mixed them with the olive oil, lemon juice and salt while I prepared other parts. After they had "marinated" for a bit, I put a little olive oil in a large skillet, threw in the onion and sauteed till it was translucent. Then I added the other veggie mixture in with the onion and sauteed for 5 minutes or so. Set aside.

*your vegetables can vary based on personal preference or what you have on hand. I think mushrooms would also be great in this.

Cheese Mixture:
1 cup cottage cheese**
1 cup plain greek yogurt**
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup dried parsley

Mix these all together, set aside.

**or two cups of cottage cheese or ricotta.

Tomato sauce:
Approximately 8-10 tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon sea salt
cracked black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in big cooking pot, then add in sliced or pressed garlic until it smells good (a few minutes, don't burn it!) Cut tomatoes in quarters, and throw in the pot, seeds and all. Mash with fork or potato masher. Cook on medium high for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Throw in a handful of fresh basil (12 leaves, more or less.) When the 10 minutes is up, use immersion blender to puree everything.

To put it all together:
  1. Use about 1/2 cup of sauce on the bottom of a large casserole dish.
  2. Layer UNCOOKED lasagna noodles.
  3. 1 cup veggie mixture.
  4. 1 cup cheese mixture.
  5. 1 cup of sauce.
  6. Repeat layers.
  7. Top with remaining sauce, then 1-2 cups of shredded mozzerella, depending on your family preference.
  8. Cover with foil, bake at 375* for 45 minutes, removing foil for the last 15 minutes to brown cheese.

Now, don't go thinking this is difficult or even time consuming.  I had the veggies cooking in the skillet while the tomatoes cooked on the back burner.  I mixed the cheese mixture in between stirring.  I think the hardest part was cutting everything up, but I got help with that part.  This took around 30 minutes to put together.

You don't have to make your sauce from scratch.  I did it because I had a million tomatoes to use up, but you could just as easily make this with a large jar of sauce.  For another way to use up lots of veggies, check out my stuffed with veggies bell peppers, or click on the easy recipes tag to see other recipes I've posted.

Bath and Body Works Deals

Bath and Body Works is having a clearance event in store and online, and it looks like there are a lot of items 50% off. Today only, they also have free shipping when you spend $25 with code FALLSHIP.

Here's a full list of other savings they have right now:

Buy 3, Get 2 Free Signature Collection
4 for $15 or 6 for $20 Fall Anti-Bacterial Soaps
4 for $20 or 6 for $24 Mix & Match Home Fragrance
Buy 3, Get 2 Free Online Exclusives

On Sale Now

Try Our Newest Fragrance for $1
Limited Edition Bundles
$5 Mini Body Butters
$6 Pumpkin Soap
$10 Paris Amour Bag with any Paris Amour Purchase
$45 Wexler 3.4 oz Intensive Night Cream
Online Only! $65 Wexler 3.4oz MMPi

Buy More, Save More

2 for $5 Anti-Bac Lotion
2 for $20 Wallflowers
2 for $22 or 3 for $30 Victoria's Secret PINK
3 for $5 1.6 oz. Mini Candles
3 for $10 Minis to Go: Mix & Match
5 for $5 Mix & Match PocketBac
4 for $15 or 6 for $20 Anti-Bacterial Online Exclusives
Buy 2, Get 1 Free True Blue Spa
Buy 2, Get 1 Free C.O. Bigelow
Buy 2, Get 1 Free Lip
Buy 3, Get 2 Free Signature Collection Hair Care

Save Up to 50% Off Select Items!

August 30, 2011

FREE Sample of Business Cards

It's only 10 free cards, but these cards look great. It would be a great opportunity to check them out to see if you like them. Also, TOTALLY free--don't even pay for shipping.  All from Moo.

August 29, 2011

Great Amazon Fruit Leather Deals!

Another staple of snack time in our home--the Stretch Island fruit leathers are marked way down. Jump on them before they sell out!  These are gluten-free, dairy free, and 100% juice.

As low as $8.92 after the subscribe and save option** for 30 snacks--this makes them under 30 cents per snack.  Here are the best prices I see for them.



**Remeber, you have to purchase through Amazon (not a 3rd party seller) in order to get the 15% subscribe and save discount.  Your subscription can be changed or cancelled at any time after you place your order.  You'll have to order them separately if you want more than one kind, though you can buy as many of each type with each order.

August 28, 2011

MyPoints Referral Deal

If you've read about MyPoints but haven't yet joined, this might be a great opportunity to do so. Join today, and get a $20 Chili's gift card for only $10.  You can read my review of MyPoints HERE.  It's free to join and there's no obligation at all.  Here is the link for joining and getting in on this gift card deal.


FREE Chick Fil-A Breakfast Item

They want to make you work for this one, so you remember that Chick Fil-A now has breakfast. First, you go to this page--starting TOMORROW, August 29, and you make a reservation for breakfast and what you want to try. I'd make the reservation early, before they fill up.

THEN, you go in when you've made the reservation and try it out. That will be sometime between September 6 and September 10.


August 27, 2011

Ten FREE Photobooks from Artscow

I've posted offers from Artscow before. Be sure to get on their mailing list (or Facebook page) if you want these offers straight to you. This one's my favorite one that rolls around every couple of months, and it's 10 free photobooks (you pay shipping, usually around $6). Here are the details from Artscow:

Encapsulate those special moments over the Summer break on a set of personalized photo books from ArtsCow. With the Summer nearing its end for another year, there is plenty to smile about as we are offering each user 10 free photo book credits. You are just a few clicks away to claiming SEVEN 8"x8" (20p) and THREE 9"x7" (20p) photo book credits.
If you aren't already a member, click HERE and you'll also get 1200 free prints credits, 3 8"x8" photo books, and other great photo gift credits. If you are, just log in and use code TENFREEBKS before August 29.  Once you enter the code, you'll have 30 days to create your books.  The other credits should be good for a year.

FREE Biore Sample

Take a look at these free samples from Biore. This should be a good one.

August 26, 2011

Amazon Grocery Deals 8/26

Well, I've been swamped with work and have pretty well ignored Amazon grocery deals this month. It's getting toward the end of the month, and it's also Friday, so we've got lots of great deals.

I'll start with the Friday sale deals:
(there is no Friday sale?  WHAT?)

Then a few good prices that I see right now:

This Ragu sauce is under $10 for 4 big jars, there's a 30 cent click coupon, then 15% off with subscribe and save, bringing it under $9 for 4 big jars. Here is the link to all other sauces.


These thinkfruit pineapple tidbits are going to be $7.45 after the $1 clickable coupon and subscribe and save.  That's for 10 bags.



And finally, don't forget to check out all of these August grocery deals. There are some great snack, cereal, and cracker sales right now. Many of these coupons are only good through the end of the month. Since I now have snacks to provide for two different classes, I'm stocking up now.

Organic snacks right here!

Annie's Homegrown snacks, an additional 25% off with code Y7RBIXY3 through September 15.

GoGo Squeeze Applesauce!  I know I push this stuff, but we love it here.  When you can get these for 25% off code GOGO4343, you can bet I'm buying them all.  This is also through September 15.

Revolution Foods (code REVFOO23) will be 30% off total.  These are similar to the GoGo, but have fruit and veggies and a few more options.

Back to Nature nuts and snack foods.

And there are a MILLION great deals on crackers, cereal, and other snack foods from many of the major name brands.  I'm going to list all my favorites, but you'll want to check them out for yourselves.

Snack foods--Crackers
Use code KRAFTAUG for a total of 20% off these crackers (you can sort by clicking on the link for the brand you like, or see the whole list HERE:

And COOKIES!
MORE!  All these Kellogg's products will use code KELBTSII for 10% in addition to the 15% for Subscribe and Save.  I think I'll skip the individual links and just post the general link and the name brands.  Cheez-its, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Keebler cookies, Nutri-Grain, Pop-Tarts, Club crackers.

Here's the link to all the Kellogg's cereals in this promotion.

All these Quaker granola bars and snacks are 25% off with QUAKBTS.  Many of the Quaker Chewy will end up around $1.85 for a box of 8 granola bars, or 23 cents per bar.  Not bad!

Just two more deals to share, and then I think I'm done for the day.

These aren't snacks, but are necessities in my house.

Community Coffee, 30% off with  coupon COMMCOF7.  I think the best deal out of all of these is buying these 10 one pound bags--for around $3.81 per bag!  With the price of coffee these days, this is a great price.  There are a couple of different varieties offered this way, but I love the chicory.




Kitchens of India has 35% off total with subscribe and save and coupon KITCHNOI.


What are your favorite deals?  I'd love to share more.

Good Facebook Freebies

These will start at noon eastern time, so in just a couple of hours. Be sure to have the page open and ready to go when it happens, because I'm sure they'll be gone fast.
  • Folgers has some new products, so this is a free sample giveaway to call attention to that.  I love that Folgers usually sends some good coupons with their samples.
  • Pantene is also giving away 10,000 samples at noon (eastern) today.  You'll need to keep an eye on their page for the announcement and link.
  • Hartz also has a noon giveaway.  Looks like there will be a lot of Facebook action today.  They only have 500 free samples, so jump on that one first.

FREE Broadway Tunes

This Itunes coupon is good through the end of October. Get a free Sampler of 15 Broadway tunes with coupon code 7RNEWMYWMWXH. See the details HERE.

August 25, 2011

BOGO Oikos Yogurt Coupon

I always love a good Greek yogurt, so here's another good coupon. This one will let you buy one yogurt, get one free. Often you can pair one of these with another coupon, so this could make for some great deals.  It seems there are a couple of coupons out:
  • 50 cents off 2, and $1 off 3 in the Smart Source inserts.
  • $1 off a quart sized printable. (this one seems to have a limit of 4)
  • 50 cents off, printable.  The coupon section on Stonyfield.com has a TON of good coupons, print twice each. 
  • $1 off 2, printable.

This one comes to your email, so be sure to give them the correct one.

SheSpeaks Cerra Freebie

This one takes a couple of steps, but looks like a great freebie opportunity.



SheSpeaks is a program similar to Vocalpoint or Bzzagent, where you get items to test and rave about to friends.  I've been a member of SheSpeaks for several years, and have gotten some great items/coupons.  Their latest campaign is for Cerra.

So, if you're already a member of SheSpeaks, just click through them to the Cerra campaign.  If not, you can go to this link, sign up for SheSpeaks, and then sign up for Cerra.

Both are free to join, no strings attached. 

HyVee DEALS!

I noticed this in the HyVee circular yesterday, and it's a great stock up opportunity. This is for their 3-day sale, so Thursday-Saturday only. Get 9 packs of Charmin extra strong or extra soft for only $3.99. If you really want to clean up (heh) this is a great opportunity for you to use up all your Charmin coupons.

In my coupon sorter, I have:
  • $2 off Charmin from the Charmin Sensitive coupon book, making them $1.99 each.
  • 25 cents off Charmin from either of the last two Brandsaver coupon inserts.
Even without the coupons, this is a pretty good opportunity.  While inside the store, I noticed that they also have 20 pack double rolls of Charmin Basic (so the equivalent of 40 rolls) for $7.49, also a pretty great deal.

They also have Lunchables with Fruit 10/$10 and HyVee brand pastas for 77 cents per box. 

If you're like me, you can go to Fareway and get all of these items price matched while saving money on the rest of your groceries.  I love that our local Fareway almost always has the items already reduced without me even having to ask.

FREE Activia Selects

Here's a place to get a coupon for free Activia Selects.  Choose either French or Greek.  What the heck is French yogurt?  I love Greek, but now I'm curious. 

FREE Redbox Rental August 25

Go here, to their Facebook page, today only, click on get one for yourself, then get your own code for a free rental.

August 24, 2011

FREE Movie at the Bandshell

This looks like a fun event for my local readers. I'm adding it to the free fun calendar on the right, but it's too good not to post about.

Free screening of the movie Despicable Me, August 27th at 8:00pm at Bandshell Park (6th Street and Duff Ave). This is a FREE movie and guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets to sit on. There is no rain location. This movie marks the first of a possible movie series for the Ames community. There will also be free popcorn while supplies last. Movie Under the Stars is a partnership between United Ames and the Ames Police Department.

Roast Recipe Rewind

I couldn't find this post when I searched on my blog for it, and I noticed it's from well over a year ago. This is what we're having for supper tonight, then tomorrow night, and the night after that. :)  If you like this recipe, be sure to click on my easy recipes tag and check out more.

I've been making this roast for so long that I can no longer remember where I first found the recipe.  I may have gotten it from a friend or family member, or may have found it through online search, so I apologize for the lack of attribution for the recipe.  I know it's been a staple in my core recipes for at least 6 years.  It is always a hit, and it's my go-to recipe if I am entertaining or we just have a roast we need to cook.





We just refer to it as "Our Favorite Roast"

1 3 pound beef roast (though I have used this recipe with a pork loin roast with good results).  We really like chuck roasts, but I've used whatever happens to be on sale.
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon garlic powder (do not use garlic salt, the soy sauce is salty enough)
1 whole bay leaf
4-5 whole peppercorns

Put all dry spices over the roast, then mix the liquids and pour over.  I do this in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.  It's a great recipe to make in the morning and leave on all day long.  The smell from the cooking roast greets you as you walk in, and it is just delicious.





Serving suggestions
I sometimes cook this with cut up potatoes, carrots, and onions in the crock pot with it, sometimes just serve it with baked potatoes.  It makes a delicious broth that we spoon over our veggies or potatoes, and it also makes a really good open face sandwich.  Just serve it the way you like best.

Leftovers
I put the leftover meat and broth in the fridge and set some beans to soak overnight.  The next morning, I rinse the soaked beans, add another 2-3 cups of water to the broth, and put it on to cook all day again.  This process can be sped up with a large cooking pot on the stove if you'd like.  My favorite style of beans for this recipe is one of the mixes, like 10 or 15 bean soup mix.  I will also throw in whatever leftover vegetables we have, or finish off open bags of frozen vegetables.  Tomatoes are a good addition, and I will use whatever style of tomato we have or a can of diced tomatoes.  I don't drain the can, because the juice from the tomatoes just adds depth to the flavor.

The leftover soup can be bagged in quart- or gallon-sized freezer bags or put into freezer storage containers.  It's a great thing to pull out and serve as a side or hearty enough for a full meal.  By doing this, one 3 pound roast is good for four or more meals.

FREE Rockstar Pink or 2X at Kum & Go

Click here to get this Kum and Go coupon for a free energy drink. This one can be printed more than once, so load up till August 29.

Outback Steakhouse Freebie

Tune in here and get a free something from Outback Steakhouse. 10 more hours, so don't miss out.

FREE Rentals from Blockbuster Kiosk

Here are a bunch of codes for $1 rentals from Blockbuster.

August 26
  • 96PBCG3
  • 43SGJC5
  • 99BRAB3
  • 85JEAH2
  • 67PPLA6
  • 56TTDR2
 August 29
  • 48KRVF2
  •  27PGAR6
  • 29JEAH5
  • 39PBCG4
  • 26TTDR3
 August 31
  • GORACETRAC

August 19, 2011

FREE We Can Wristband

It looks like you could order up to 10 of these blue wristbands. Check it out HERE.

August 18, 2011

FREE Bic Pens Every Hour in August!

Give this one a try. They're giving away free pens every hour of every day in August. Start out by liking this page, then join in the fun.

Even if you don't win a pen, check out the $1 printable coupon on that page.  Target had a $1 Bic coupon recently (not sure if they're still available) so you could potentially get even more free pens.

August 17, 2011

Redbox 10 Days of Deals

This is one I'll have to take your word for. I'm cheap and have no texting, so I won't be able to get in on these deals. Every day between 8/15 and 8/24, you can get a discount by texting to Redbox. Check out all the details HERE.

Allure August Freebie Month

I'm two weeks behind on this, but Allure magazine is giving away some awesome freebies! Here are the giveaways for today:

12 P.M. Banana Republic Mad Men Collection dress Channel Betty Draper with this retro, tailored houndstooth dress. Log on for your chance to win one of three dresses (retail value: $175).

1 P.M. Revlon ColorStay Lipstick in Creamy Coral, Juicy Plum, Fabulous Fig, or Smooth Coffee One of the original long-wearing lipsticks, this Best of Beauty winner keeps color intact and lips moisturized for hours. The first 250 Allure readers to sign up will get one shade free (retail value: $9.99 each).

2 P.M. Rsession Tools Nalu Waver Hairstylist Mark Townsend uses this double-barrel curling iron to create little bends by wrapping hair around it in a figure eight. It also comes with a glove to prevent burns. The first 20 Allure readers to sign up will get one free (retail value: $179.99)

3 P.M. Prabal Gurung for Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Runway Red-y This crimson looks gorgeous against skin with warm undertones. The first 50 Allure readers to sign up will get one free (retail value: $7.99).

4 P.M. Make Up For Ever Flash Color in #6 Use navy eye shadow to create a fresh take on the smoky eye. The first 100 Allure readers to sign up will get one free (retail value: $18).


Check out all the freebies here.  Since such a limited number of people will win, I'm not sure it's worth a daily post. 

FREE Rentals from Blockbuster Kiosk

First off, my apologies for so long without posting.  I was on a trip, then have been catching up on work that got let behind.  I may still be a little sparse with the posts for a while, so I'll limit my findings to the really great freebies.  How about a whole pile of free Blockbuster movie rentals?

These only work for the $1 rentals.

August 19:
  • 27TGAF6 
  • 34BCRD4 
  • 62BRAB4 
  • 98ARDQ2 
  • 92JEAH8 
  • 29SGJC3 
  • 65PPLA8
August 20
  • 68HLG3W
August 22
  • 26PBCG2
  • 68TTDR5
  • 29BRAB6
  • 22JEAH4
  • 58PPLA7
 Each code can be used once per account, so this should keep you entertained for a few days.

August 3, 2011

FREE Freschetta August 4!

Watch this one! Freschetta is giving away (per their page) tens of thousands of slices of their pizza on August 4, starting at 11 central time. I guarantee they'll be gone within a matter of a few minutes, so be camping at their door, form filled out and ready if you want to get one.

This one doesn't say that it's a Facebook freebie, but you may want to like their page just in case.

August 2, 2011

FREE Lactaid Sample

Need a little ice cream, not sure you can handle it? Take a free sample of Lactaid and see if it helps.

**posts this week have mostly been typed up ahead of time and auto-posted.  I apologize if samples have run out before you see this.

August 1, 2011

August Amazon FREE Kindle and MP3 Downloads

I'll start with the Kindle bestsellers.  The free bestsellers are in the list on the right, but if you also look on the left, you'll see many books for under $5.  Did you know you don't even have to have a Kindle in order to read these free books?  Amazon has reader apps for many different types of devices.  You can download that HERE--free.

I'll add in some of my favorites here when I return from my trip, but book decisions are pretty personal.

On to the free music...  You can start here on the bestsellers list.  The top 100 free downloads are in the list on the right.  Some are singles, and some are entire albums.   Find your favorites, or try out some new artists.  When it's free, anything goes.

Don't forget the cheap MP3s for the month.  Since this is a free post, I'll just post the link to the August $5 whole album downloads

Amazon August Grocery Deals

I'm out of town and don't have much access this week, but I hate to leave people without the August grocery deals from Amazon.  The grocery posts are very popular around here.  As an appeasement, I'll post the general link to the best grocery deals for the month, then in about a week I'll get in and post the individual deals for the month.

So, we'll start with the "clippable" click coupons.  They're always listed in my Amazon post on top, but I'll include them here as well.  I understand people in NY state may not get as many as those of us in other places.  The key here is that the coupons change when you refresh, so if you don't see one that is mentioned, refresh till you do.

The Managers' specials are HERE.

Now for the coupon codes and markdowns!  Remember there's already the 15% with Subscribe and Save, so the coupon code is just added to the per cent off.  The pickings are pretty slim this month, but hopefully Amazon will add more later in the month.  You can see all the deals right here