Planning for Holiday Cards | Shutterfly 2011 Holiday Card Collection

Six years ago this December, my husband and I celebrated our first Christmas as parents. We were so excited to send out a photo Christmas card to introduce our new little bundle to our friends and family. That year started our tradition of sending out a photo card to our close family and friends. We chose Shutterfly to order those first photo cards and have since ordered them several times. We have also ordered regular photo prints from Shutterfly.

I have always been impressed by their quality and their design selection. This year, I’m trying to be more organized and order my photo cards early in the season. One year, we were very late in ordering cards and bought Happy New Year cards instead of Merry Christmas cards.

This year, I’m going back and forth between a couple of designs for our photo cards. I like Merry & Bright (not my family in photo)

But I also like Naughty or Nice (again, not my family)

Shutterfly offers many products for the holidays:

• Christmas Cards
• Holiday Cards
• Christmas Photo Cards
• Calendars
• Photo Gifts

Do you send Christmas or Holiday cards to your family and friends? Do you send photo cards or a regular holiday greeting card with a photo inside? Let us know your tradition in the comments.

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Disclosure: I will receive 25 free cards from Shutterfly for writing about my experience with the company and my plans for 2011. All opinions are my own.

$5 Dinner Mom's Holiday Entertaining Guide

Will you be entertaining a big crowd for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas? Or maybe a small holiday brunch or cookie exchange? $5 Dinner Mom, Erin Chase has put together an ebook, Holiday Entertaining Guide, to help you make your holiday entertaining less stressful and more enjoyable.

I was able to get a copy of the ebook to review. In the Holiday Entertaining Guide, Erin offers tips on

• Budgeting for your get together
• How much meat you'll need per person
• Couponing and grocery shopping tips
• How to get it all done with ONE oven
• What to do with those amazing leftovers
• Budget friendly decoration and centerpiece tips
• Ideas for getting the kids involved with helping
• And 30 recipes, from appetizers to desserts, and everything in between.

The ebook, Holiday Entertaining Guide, is $3.99, but use the code THANKS to buy it for $1.99. Great deal.

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$5 Taste of Home Book Sale - Great Gift Ideas

Taste of Home is having another $5 sale! From October 31st - November 7th select books are only $5, up to an 80% savings!

The selection includes cookbooks, gardening, home and children's books for only $5 while supplies last! These make great gifts.

$5 Book Sale now through November 7th. Supplies Limited! For additional savings use code: LST88 for free shipping on orders over $20!

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Turkey Sausage, Arugula, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Have you ever made a meal and thought "WOW, I would have paid big bucks for this at a restaurant." This is one of those meals.

Enjoy!

Turkey Sausage, Arugula, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
inspired and adapted from Food & Wine

• 1 lb turkey sausage, casings removed
• 12 reconstituted sun-dried tomato halves - it is cheaper to buy the non-oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, simply re-hydrate by soaking the tomatoes in warm water for about a minute
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2/3 C olive oil
• 1 large bunch of arugula - cut into thin strips. You could easily substitute spinach.
• 1 lb pasta - penne, rigatoni, or bow tie
• Parmesan (optional)

Boil water in a large pot and cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper in a food processor. Blend until well combined. Stream the olive oil into the processor while the machine is running.

At this point your kitchen will smell absolutely divine.



Heat about 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan and add the turkey sausage. Break into tiny pieces and brown until it is cooked through.



When sausage is done cooking, add chopped arugula and mix together.



In a very large bowl, mix together the turkey and arugula mixture, cooked pasta, and the sun-dried tomato sauce. Serve warm.

If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan and prepare to be knocked out!

Print recipe for Turkey Sausage, Arugula, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta.

This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop and Your Green Resource at The Greenback Gal.

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21 Pumpkin Recipes To Tempt Your Taste Buds

We have waited all year for pumpkin season. Can you believe it is here already? Let's enjoy the season with some awesome recipes from around the web.

• Angel Food Cake Pumpkin Roll at Big Bear's Wife
• How to Cook a Pumpkin at Renaissance Mama
• Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal at Get Busy Living
• Butternut Squash and Cranberry Muffins at Family Balance Sheet. (Replace the squash with an equal amount of pumpkin.)
• DIY - Pumpkin Pie Spice at Whole New Mom
• Homemade Pumpkin Pie with a Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin at Big Bear's Wife
• Probiotic Pumpkin Dip at The Humbled Homemaker
• Iced Pumpkin Cookies at Faith and Family
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake at Saving and Giving
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies at A Latte' with Ott, A.
• Pumpkin Chowder at Newlyweds
• Pumpkin Cran Smoothie at Christian Mommy Blogger
• Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Bars at Finding Joy in My Kitchen
• Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie at A Latte' with Ott, A.
• Pumpkin Pear Muffins at Day 2 Day Joys
• Pumpkin Spice Biscotti at Shugary Sweets
• Pumpkin Spice Latte at Renaissance Mama
• Pumpkin Spice Meringues at Big Bear's Wife
• Spicy Pumpkin Soup at If You Can Make Than You Can Make This
• Ravioli with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce at Alli and Son
• Roasted Toasted Flavored Pumpkin Seeds at Big Bear's Wife

Do you prefer to use canned pumpkin or home-cooked pumpkin in your pumpkin recipes? My grandmother is a hard core 'cook it yourself' person and swears that she can tell the difference between a pumpkin pie made with canned pumpkin versus one made with cooked pumpkin. I have done both and don't really have a preference except that canned is much easier. Do you have a pumpkin recipe? Please share it in the comments.

Calling all bloggers: My next themed round up will be SOUPS and it will run Thursday, November 3. If you have a recipe to share, email me your link at familybalancesheet at gmail dot com.

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This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are That Family and Mommy Club Wednesday at Milk and Cuddles.

Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Saving Money on Meat and Poultry | Kitchen Economics

Meat and poultry are usually the most expensive items on my grocery list. We eat mostly poultry and I only buy it when it is on sale. I stock up if the price is exceptionally good, like the $1.59/lb chicken breasts a few months ago. A price like that happens rarely though, so I don't stock the freezer with a lot of poultry, because the normal sale rotation of it is fairly frequent.

The best bargains that I have found from the meat department comes in the form of a yellow sticker.



What do the yellow stickers mean? All meat has a 'sell by date' and when that date is within a day or two, my grocery store marks it down. The prices are usually much better than the best sale price on the item.

My first experience with the yellow stickers was several years ago when I came across a case full of Perdue whole chickens marked down to $2.00. These were 5-6 lb chickens that are normally around $7.00.

Confused, I asked the meat manager why they were so cheap and he explained to me that they were close to their expiration date. There was nothing wrong with the chickens as long as I used them immediately or put them in the freezer. I think I bought 5 chickens that day.

I have never had a bad experience buying marked down meat. Although, if the meat would look off color, I would pass on the deal and maybe even show it to the meat manager.

Ask your meat manager when they mark down their products. My store does it in the early mornings. I am not able to get to the store too early in the mornings, so I suspect I miss out on many good deals, but I always look for the yellow stickers every time I'm in the store even if meat isn't on my grocery list.

A marked down deal can be even sweeter if you happen to have coupons on the product. I had a 50 cent coupon on Nature's Promise products that I used on the marked down natural chicken below.



Next time you are in the meat department in the grocery store, keep an eye open for the clearance stickers and hopefully you will find some good bargains too.

Do you buy marked down meat? Or does the thought turn you off? Please let us know in the comment section.

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This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life as MOM.

Apple Crumb Pots

It all started one day when I was hungry for apple pie. I didn't have store bought crust in the refrigerator and I didn't feel like making the pie crust.

What is a girl to do...Apple Crumb Pots.

The ingredients are simple. Slice 6-7 of your favorite baking apples. I love Ginger Gold for baking. The apple slicer is a well used gadget at our house.



Use non-stick spray or butter to cover the bottom of 6 ramekin cups. Place the ramekin cups on a baking sheet. Fill the cups up with your favorite baking apples. This is a great job for helpful little hands.



Combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle about 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of mixture per cup over the apples, depending on the type of apple that you like. Ginger Gold is on the tart side, so I sprinkle a teaspoon on each cup. Set aside the balance of this mixture to make the crumb topping.

The crumb topping...my favorite part. Take the balance of the sugar/cinnamon mixture and add more sugar until you measure 1/2 cup. Combine with 3/4 cup flour and 1/3 cup cold butter. I use my clean hands to mix together until crumbly.



Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the apples. You can also see why you need to use a baking sheet.



Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until bubbly.



At this point, your next major decision in life will be what to put on top of your Apple Crumb Pots: Homemade Whipped Cream or your favorite ice cream.

On this day, we chose the homemade whipped cream.


For our anniversary, I made my honey Blueberry and Peach Crumb Pots. We chose vanilla ice cream that night.



Print Recipe for Apple Crumb Pots.

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This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and Mommy Solutions - Share Your Resources at Crystal & Co .

Breakfast Ideas and Menu Planning Tips

Some of my recent posts at Money Crashers:

"You have five minutes before you need to head out the door to make it to work on time, and you haven’t eaten anything for breakfast. Do you skip breakfast altogether, visit a drive-thru, or stop by the vending machine in your company’s break room? If you answered yes to any of these options", then check out 12 Healthy Breakfast Food Ideas That Are Quick and Easy. Also, offer your tips for grab and go breakfast ideas.

"If your grocery spending has spiraled out of control, yet you often feel like you have “nothing” to eat", then head over to Money Crashers for 10 Family Meal Planning Tips and Ideas on a Budget.

Are you familiar with Money Crashers? Their "mission is to develop a community of people who try to make financially sound decisions. The website strives to educate individuals in making wise choices about credit and debt, investing, education, real estate, insurance, spending, and more." The site is a wealth of information and I encourage you to go check it out.

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How Organized Is Your Purse? Take a Peek Inside Mine

Recently, I participated in the BlogHer and P&G Life Well Lived Blogger Panel where they explored the topic of Getting Organized: When Your Purse Weighs More Than Your Body

The panel was asked: What are the biggest issues you have in keeping your purse organized and neat and what is the best advice you have to keep your purse neat and orderly? What 3 things in your purse are must haves and what 3 could you live without?


I keep a fairly organized purse, but my biggest issue is paper clutter (e.g. receipts, coupons, to-do lists). I found that the bigger the purse I carried, the more I put in it, so I have gone small. My purse now contains my wallet, a small cosmetic bag, a gift card carrier, my phone, and sunglasses. The cosmetic bag keeps my purse organized. It has travel wipes, feminine hygiene stuff, lip gloss, pen, travel hand lotion, and some mints. All of that stuff would be floating around, if I didn’t keep it contained in my cosmetic bag.

The 3 must haves in my bag would be my wallet, cell phone, and lip gloss. I regularly clean out my purse, because I can do without all of the paper clutter.

My current bag of choice:

I have to confess that I am a reformed bag lady. In my past life, I was a handbag buyer for a department store. I was responsible for the handbag assortment for over 70 stores. Some of the companies that I dealt with were Liz Claiborne, Stone Mountain, Coach, Dooney & Bourke, Fossil, and Rosetti. At the time, I was absorbed in the fashion retail world and carried many different bags, depending on my outfit or occasion.

Now, my life is much different. The woman who used to own over 25 handbags, now only carries one and I long ago sold or donated most of those bags. I like this bag, because I can cross it over my body and I am then hands-free. It also happens to be my favorite color. I can see myself carrying this bag for years to come.

Inside my bag (the receipt was promptly filed as soon as the picture was taken):

This cosmetic bag is the reason my purse stays so organized. Can you imagine all of this stuff just floating around if it weren't contained?

This is my favorite wallet. I like it because it has room for me to keep my cash envelopes.

Now it's your turn. What are the biggest issues you have in keeping your purse organized and neat and what is the best advice you have to keep your purse neat and orderly? What 3 things in your purse are must haves and what 3 could you live without? Let us know in the comments.

And then head on over to enter the discussion about Getting Organized: When Your Purse Weighs More Than Your Body.

Also, be sure to read BlogHer's Life Well Lived Campaign, where they are exploring the topics: Looking Your Best, Getting Organized, and Getting Happy. While you are there, be sure to enter to win the $250 Visa gift card in the Life Well Lived Moments Sweepstakes.

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Reusing Glass Jars | Kitchen Economics

I have a grandmother who would never dream of buying containers to store leftovers or food for the freezer. She has always reused food containers, such as glass pickle jars or plastic cool-whip and sherbert containers, so I am not quite sure how or why I got started buying plastic food storage containers. Maybe it was the screw on lids that attracted me and how they were so uniform and neatly fit in my freezer or cupboards.

Several years ago, it struck me that I was using plastic food storage containers (with screw on lids) that I bought at the grocery store to store my homemade freezer food and at the same time I was throwing perfectly usable glass food jars in the recycle bin. It seemed a bit wasteful. I have since made a vow to not buy any more plastic ware and just reuse the glass containers from the pickles, salsa, pasta sauce or any other food that I buy.

The glass jars are perfect for storing my homemade sugar-free applesauce, homemade chicken stock, and roasted tomato sauce in the freezer. They can be used for storing anything and not just in the kitchen. I use recycled jars to store baking goods (those blue Ball jars were a yard sale find), leftovers, matches, Q-tips, cotton balls, and office supplies.

The jars might not all be the same shape and size, but I'm not shelling out money for containers anymore. I soak the jars in water to remove the label and clean in the dishwasher. When using a glass jar for freezing, do not fill all the way to the top, leave an inch open to allow for expansion that will happen when the food is frozen. To label, I have written with a sharpie on the jar or the lid, used a piece of masking tape or my label maker.

Do you buy food storage containers or reuse food containers?

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This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life as MOM.

Apple Gingerbread Cake with Homemade Whipped Cream

I have loved just about every dessert that has ever crossed my path, but this cake is one of my all time favorites. If you love gingerbread, you'll love this cake.

Apple Gingerbread Cake

• 1/2 Cup brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup butter
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 Cup molasses
• 1 Cup sour milk - 1 cup milk with 1 Tbsp of white vinegar added to it. It will bubble and curdle, but that is what is supposed to happen. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
• 2 Cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 of your favorite baking apples. Peeled and cut into 8-10 slices. I used an apple slicer.
• Homemade Whipped Cream

Mix the sugar, butter, ginger, cinnamon and salt until creamy. Add 1 large egg and beat until fluffy. Add molasses and sour milk. Mix well. Add flour and baking soda and mix until combined.

Prepare a 9 x 9 glass pan with non-stick baking spray. Layer the pan with the apples.


Pour the cake batter over the apples. Apples will float in the batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.



This cake smells so good. You want to dig in as soon as it comes out of the oven, but WAIT, something is not right.




That's it. Much better.

DO NOT eat this cake without the HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM. Well, I guess you could, but why?

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This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Oue Home Will Never Sound the Same...

...and we are okay with that!

My husband and I have been talking about getting a piano for about a year. We went to a piano sale at a local college in the spring. Their music department leases pianos for a school year and then sells them to the public. (It doesn't sound very cost effective to me, but I digress.) The prices ranged from $1500 - $3000...moving along... We checked Craigslist occasionally, but the piano search was put on hold when other things became a priority.

Last weekend, we got a call from my mom that a family friend, who is downsizing, needed to unload the piano and was looking for a taker. We are now the grateful recipients of a FREE piano. The piano is in great condition; it just needs to be tuned. I'm heading to my personal Facebook now to ask my local friends for recommendations for piano teachers.

In the meantime, my husband and I just cringe (and giggle) at the music that our two little monkeys are making. We always wanted a home filled with music and now we have it.

Do you or your family members play the piano? Are music lessons important for you and your family? Let us know in the comments.


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12 Awesome Halloween Ideas

Anticipation is starting to build at my house for all of the upcoming Halloween festivities: costumes, parades, parties, candy, and of course trick-or-treating. Here are some great posts that I have found recently that center around all things Halloween.

Costume Ideas

• DIY Kate Middleton Costume at Modern Mrs. Darcy. ~ So cute!
• 17 Ways to Save on Halloween Costumes for Kids and Adults at Money Crashers.
  
• 35+ Easy Homemade Halloween Costumes for Kids at Parenting

Halloween Food Ideas

• Spiderrific Cupcakes at Beurrista.
  
• Sweet and Salty Halloween Bark at Crystal & Co.


• Halloween Cake at Finding Joy in My Kitchen


• Haunting Halloween Recipes at Social Moms.


• 3 Recipes for Leftover Halloween Candy at Formula Mom.


• 5 Spooktacular Halloween Treats at Pizzazzerie


• Halloween Spider Cracker Snacks at La Jolla Mom


• Sugar Free Halloween Party Recipes at Good Food and More


• 20 Ways to Do Halloween Without Candy at 100 Days of Real Food

What will you be munching on this Halloween? Do you have your costume yet? Please share your Halloween recipes and ideas in the comments.

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Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to Save Money at the Apple Orchard | Kitchen Economics

One of my favorite times of year is apple season. Every fall, we head to a local orchard for a fun-filled day. The orchard offers a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, a children's play area with slides, swings, peddle-powered go-carts, and a corn box, and of course, apple picking. While my husband and the kids are playing, I head to the farm stand to check out the seconds bins. The seconds are the apples that are perfectly edible, but they just aren't pretty enough for retail. They might be ugly apples, but they make delicious applesauce, pies, crumbles, and crisps.

At this particular farm stand, the seconds are $8 for a 1/2 bushel as opposed to $12 for a 1/2 bushel of the pretty apples on display or the u-pick orchard. I always buy the seconds. There are usually several varieties to choose from and I sort through the bins to pick from all the varieties offered. I am convinced the secret to delicious homemade applesauce (or any apple dish) is to use a wide variety of apples: Ginger Gold, Stayman, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, MacIntosh, Jonagold, Granny Smith. The variety of sweet and tart apples balance each other out and little to no sugar is needed for my homemade applesauce.

This weekend, I bought (2) 1/2 bushel bags worth of seconds and I spent all of Sunday night making my sugar-free applesauce for the freezer. I'm a little paranoid of running out of applesauce over the upcoming winter that I might go buy some more apples. We ran out around March this past year and had to settle for store bought and it just isn't the same. When I went to buy a jar at Wegman's last March, I was amazed to find high fructose corn syrup in their store brand version. WHY?? I guess they don't know the secret.

So next time you go apple picking, ask the orchard if they have a seconds bin. If you are buying a large amount of apples and the seconds are in good condition, it will be worth it.

Are you apple picking this season? Check out these 20 apple recipes for some delicious ideas..

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life as MOM and Works for Me Wednesday at We are that Family.

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$5 Deals on Select Taste of Home Cookbooks - Great Gift Ideas

The first $5 cookbook is the Everyday Slow Cooker & One Dish Recipes 2010 Cookbook. This cookbook comes packed with 350+ great-tasting recipes and tips. Treat your family to savory entrees, amazing appetizers, hearty casseroles, fast-and-flavorful skillet meals, delectable desserts and more using your slow cooker, casserole dish or skillet-itżs like 3 cookbooks in 1!

Save 80% on Everyday Slow Cooker & One Dish Recipes 2010. Now only $5 with $2.99 shipping. Use code LST87 at checkout.

The second $5 cookbook is Holiday and Celebrations 2010. It contains 300+ recipes and tips for a whole year of celebrations! Whether the occasion is a grand Christmas dinner, Easter brunch, a spooktacular Halloween party or a movie night at home, you'll find mouth-watering recipes to please the whole family.

I have this cookbook from several years ago and it is a fun cookbook. Lots of great holiday entertaining ideas.

Only $5 for Holiday & Celebrations 2010. Save 80% now and get $2.99 shipping. Use code LST87 at checkout.

Both of these books sound like a great gift ideas, but hurry, these offers end on October 15.

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