Organic Pumpkin Deal

Click on the link above to get 12 cans of organic pumpkin for $12! If you have a Amazon Mom or Amazon Prime account shipping is free! Signing up for an Amazon Mom account is also free. If you sign up for 'Subscribe & Save' you can get this for $10.20. Just remember to cancel the 'Subscribe & Save' after you get your order. It states you may cancel at any time.

Free Spicy Chicken Biscuit

From January 3 to 8, 2011, Chick-fil-a is giving a limited number of free Spicy Chicken biscuits to customers who make a reservation. It will not be added to the menu until January 10th. Make your reservation to claim your Spicy Chicken biscuit here.

No More Rack ~ Holiday Credit

Did you sign up for No More Rack? If so, check your account and see if you have an additional $5 Happy Holiday credit. I did!

No More Rack

No More Rack is a new daily deal site and they are offering a free $10 credit for signing up! 
To get your credit:

• Sign up with No More Rack
• Click on 'my profile'
• Click on 'redeem a gift card'
• Enter code P1070

I just looked over their website and saw several items you could get for free now! They update their sales daily and they charge a flat $2 shipping for everything. I have used several daily deal site promotions like this one to get free Christmas presents this year. It's too late for Christmas, but these could make great Birthday presents. Check it out soon, I don't know how long the $10 promotion will last.


Update: Some are reporting that the site is telling them the credit is only good on a $20 purchase. This could still make for a great deal.

Free Veggie Tales Christmas music

You can download the entire The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree album for free on Amazon right now.

Target deals

I stopped by Target tonight and found a couple of good deals.

You can get 2 bottles of 7th Generation dish soap for $.69 each when you use 2 Target coupons ($1 on 7th Generation products) with the $2/2 7th Generation products coupon or you could get the disinfecting spray for about $1 by using the Target coupon and the $1/1 7th Generation disinfecting product.

You can get Suave shampoo for free by using the $1 on any Suave product coupon (print it twice). When I used this coupon tonight it beeped and the register said something like, 'no product purchased for coupon'. I'm guessing it did this because the shampoo is priced less than the coupon value, but the cashier knew I purchased it so she put the coupon through for the whole amount, $1. I had a couple of other items so the overage was covered.

By the way, you get weird looks when you try to take pictures of products in Target.  :)

Free Beginning Sewing Series

Homeschoolblogger.com is offering 4 free beginner sewing classes. Class one and two have passed, but you can view them here. Sign up for class three and four here. While you're there check out all the other free webinars they offer. I think I'm going to watch Babies & Sign Language - Give Them Their Words next.

Learn the basics of sewing with Janome’s Beginning Sewing Series. This series will help you get to know the basics of the sewing machine and the process of sewing, while at the same creating a series of fun and creative projects. Sewing unites a variety of important skills – from math to hand-eye coordination – while encouraging students to explore their creative talents. Bring a life-long and fulfilling hobby into your homeschooling curriculum with Janome’s classes. Sign up Here.

Kroger Deals 12/15-12/28

A great way to start building your pantry supply is by stocking up on the best sale items each week. I try to go to Kroger every week and take advantage of the best sale items even if I don't need anything. By doing this you won't have to pay full price for something when you do need it. I currently have a super large supply of cream cheese, pasta, chicken broth, and evaporated milk. So any recipe that calls for one these ingredients automatically gets put on the menu :) Most of these were free or nearly free!


Kroger's sale is running for 2 weeks over the Holiday. You can see the full list of Kroger deals here.

IMO ~Here are the best sale items this week:

Pillsbury Grands Biscuits - $1.67

use the $0.30/2 printable

plus the $0.30/2 ecoupon

$1.07 each after coupons wyb 2

*catalina deal* ~ Buy 4 get back $1 off your next purchase, Buy 5 get back $2, buy 6 get back $3

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls - $1.67

use the $0.50/2 printable

plus the $0.50/2 ecoupon

$0.92 each after coupons wyb 2

*catalina deal*

~ Buy 4 get back $1 off your next purchase, Buy 5 get back $2, buy 6 get back $3

Pillsbury Sweet Rolls - $1.67

use the $0.50/1 from the 12/5 GM

plus the $0.40/2 ecoupon

$0.47 each after coupons wyb 2

*catalina deal*

~ Buy 4 get back $1 off your next purchase, Buy 5 get back $2, buy 6 get back $3

Idahoan Potatoes - $1
use the $0.40/1 printable
plus the $0.40/1 ecoupon
free after coupons

Gas-X Prevention 20 count $3.99 (through 1/11/2011)
LOAD $4/1 Gas-X Prevention e-coupon via Kroger
Use $4/1 any Gas-X Prevention product coupon
FREE 

Tennessee Pride Sausage Gravy $1.00
Use $0.55/1 Tennessee Pride Product 11/14/2010 RP Insert (exp 12/31/2010)

FREE

Birds Eye Vegetables $1.00
Use $1/3 Birds Eye Vegetables 11/14/2010 SS Insert (exp 12/26/2010)
Use $0.50/1 Birds Eye Variety 
FREE

Free Pack of Stride Spark Gum

Send a friend an Oomph intervention through Facebook and you will be able to get a free pack of gum.
You will have to type in the e-mail address for the person who needs an Oomph Intervention and then you will be able to enter your shipping address for the free pack of gum.

3 free Christmas cards from Tiny Prints!

'Like' Tiny Prints on Facebook to receive a coupon code that enables you to send FREE Christmas greeting cards to three of the special people on your list, from Mom to Grandpa, your husband or wife and even the littlest members of your family tree. I made some cards on Tiny Prints last month. They turned out great and shipped quickly. Click here to 'like' Tiny Prints.

New Coupons

Use this coupon to get $.50 off 4 cups of yoplait yogurt. Remember Kroger will double this and these are usually priced at $.50 each or less.

Use this coupon to get Betty Crocker boxed potatoes for free at Schnucks starting tomorrow. They are on sale for $1 and this $.55 on one coupon will double!

Free cup of Yoplait Yogurt

Yoplait is giving away 1,000,000 cups of yogurt. Go here to get yours before they're gone!

$25 for $50 Worth of Toys, Games, & Books at the Knowledge Tree ~ Memphis Groupon Deal

There's a great deal on Groupon today! $25 for $50 worth of toys, games, and books at the Knowledge Tree. This would be great for Christmas presents or save it to buy school materials for next year. It doesn't expire for one year. Sign up for Groupon HERE and then look at today's deal. This deal is only available today, so snag it quick if you want it!

Kroger Deals 12/8-12/14

Here are some of the best Kroger Delta Region deals this week. You can find all the deals here. Thanks Bethany!


Crisco Oil - $2.49
use the $0.55/1 product printable
$1.39 after coupon

Chapsticks Products - $1
use the $1/1 printable
free after coupon


Mega Event 
Buy any 10 Participating Items and get $5 off your total at checkout (or $0.50 off each item) the price listed here is AFTER the discount. 


Bumble Bee Tuna Puch - $0.49
use the $1/2 or $0.55/1 from the 9/12 Smart Source
free after coupon

Krusteaz Cookie Mix - $0.99
use the $1/1 from the 12/5 Smart Source
Free after coupon

Birds Eye Vegetables - $1.49
use the $0.50/1 printable
$0.49 after coupon


General Mills Cereals - $1.79
Honey Nut and Original Cheerios, Trix, Chex
use the $1/2 from the 10/31, 11/14 or printable
$0.55/1 Trix printable
plus various ecoupons here, here or here
$0.14-$0.74 each after both coupons


Hot or Lean Pockets - $1.49
use the $0.50/1 printable
$0.49 after coupon

Healthy Choice Meals - $1.38
use the $1/2 from the 10/17 Smart Source or Printable
$0.88 each after coupon wyb 2


Best Life Buttery Spread - $1.29
use the $0.50/1 from the 10/17 Red Plum or the $1/1 printable
$0.29 after coupon


Colgate Wisp - $1.50
use the $1/1 printable or printable
plus the $0.75/1 ecoupon
free plus overage after coupons


Mom's Best Natural's Cereal - $0.99
use the $0.75/1 printable
$0.24 after coupon

Silk Almond Milk - $1.99
use the $2/2 from the 10/17 Smart Source
plus the $1/1 ecoupon
$0.49 each wyb 2 after coupons


Carnation Milk - $0.69
use the $0.50/2 Carnation Printable or from the 9/26 Smart Source or 11/14 Red Plum
$0.19 after coupon wyb 2


Pam Cooking Spray - $1.99
use the $0.35/1 or the $0.50/1 from the 11/14 Smart Source
$0.99 - $1.29 after coupon

Wesson Oil - $1.99
use the $0.40/1 from the 11/14 Smart Source
$1.19 after coupon


Thanks Bethany!

Chadwicks: $5 off any order of $5 or more plus free shipping

Use coupon code CHNEG5 at Chadwicks.com or to get $5 off any order of $5 or more plus free shipping. You can get this skirt for $4.99 shipped!

Thanks MSM!

What's really in vanilla extract?

 I do a lot of baking and use a lot of vanilla. I like to know where my food comes from and what's in it, but vanilla has been confusing me. Some of my friends are making or wanting to make their own vanilla extract because store bought vanilla contains vanillin. I've heard vanillin comes from the waste products of a paper factory. Yuck! And from the article below (last sentence) it can also come from cow dung. Even more Yuck! And now today someone tells me that my yummy precious Kirkland Signature Vanilla Extract contains vanillin. What's a girl to do???  or eat for that matter? Research. I started by studying the wording on my Kirkland bottle. 

Ingredients: Vanilla Bean Extractives in Water, Alcohol (35%) and Sugar. 

I don't see any vanillin in there, but wait, examine the wording on the side of the bottle: 

It looks like there is some sort of vanillin in there after all. I did several Swag Buck searches on vanillin and from what I've read it looks like there are two kinds, natural vanillin and synthetic vanillin. It's the synthetic vanillin that you want to stay away from and from what I can tell Kirkland contains natural vanillin. Phew! I'm safe. Now I can go to sleep :) 

I would love to hear what you think about vanilla and vanillin. I did a quick search of my pantry and couldn't find anything with vanilla or vanillin. I suspect they hide it under the term 'artificial flavoring'. Search your pantry and tell me what you find.

This info came from Wikipedia.  

Natural production

Natural vanillin is extracted from the seed pods of Vanilla planifola, a vining orchid native to Mexico, but now grown in tropical areas around the globe. Madagascar is presently the largest producer of natural vanillin.

As harvested, the green seed pods contain vanillin in the form of its β-D-glycoside; the green pods do not have the flavor or odor of vanilla.^[20]

β-D-glycoside of vanillin

After being harvested, their flavor is developed by a months-long curing process, the details of which vary among vanilla-producing regions, but in broad terms it proceeds as follows:

First, the seed pods are blanched in hot water, to arrest the processes of the living plant tissues. Then, for 1–2 weeks, the pods are alternately sunned and sweated: during the day, they are laid out in the sun, and each night, wrapped in cloth and packed in airtight boxes to sweat. During this process, the pods become a dark brown, and enzymes in the pod release vanillin as the free molecule. Finally, the pods are dried and further aged for several months, during which time their flavors further develop. Several methods have been described for curing vanilla in days rather than months, although they have not been widely developed in the natural vanilla industry,^[21] with its focus on producing a premium product by established methods, rather than on innovations that might alter the product's flavor profile.

Vanillin accounts for about 2% of the dry weight of cured vanilla beans, and is the chief among about 200 other flavor compounds found in vanilla.

[edit]Chemical synthesis

The demand for vanilla flavoring has long exceeded the supply of vanilla beans. As of 2001, the annual demand for vanillin was 12,000 tons, but only 1800 tons of natural vanillin were produced.^[22] The remainder was produced by chemical synthesis. Vanillin was first synthesized from eugenol (found in oil of clove) in 1874–75, less than 20 years after it was first identified and isolated. Vanillin was commercially produced from eugenol until the 1920s.^[23] Later it was synthesized from lignin-containing "brown liquor", a byproduct of the sulfite process for making wood pulp.^[9] Counter-intuitively, even though it uses waste materials, the lignin process is no longer popular because of environmental concerns, and today most vanillin is produced from the petrochemical raw material guaiacol.^[9] Several routes exist for synthesizing vanillin from guaiacol.^[24]

At present, the most significant of these is the two-step process practiced by Rhodia since the 1970s, in which guaiacol (1) reacts with glyoxylic acid by electrophilic aromatic substitution. The resulting vanillylmandelic acid (2) is then converted via 4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylglyoxylic acid (3) to vanillin (4) by oxidative decarboxylation.^[4]

In October 2007 Mayu Yamamoto of the International Medical Center of Japan won an Ig Nobel Prize for developing a way to extract vanillin from cow dung.^[25]

[edit]

DIY ~ Nativity Scene

My mom found this in her attic last week. Isn't it cute? She thinks she made it at least 20 years ago. 

You will need:

• felt in assorted colors
• disposable cups
• card board
• small piece of wire or coat hanger to attach star
• small pieces of styrofoam
• small styrofoam balls or wooden balls 
• yarn

To make the stable: Cut a piece of cardboard and felt to size. Fold the cardboard into the correct shape and glue on felt pieces. Cut a star shape out of cardboard and felt and glue together for stability then attach with wire.
To make the people: Each person is made using two disposable cups turned upside down. Cover cups with solid colored felt then cut pieces of various colored felt and glue on to make arms and decorative clothing. Attach a small piece of styrofoam to one of the cups to add height to your characters (see picture below). Attach a styrofoam ball for the head. Use small snippets of felt for the face and yarn for the hair.
To make the manger: Cut off the bottom half of a disposable cup. Cover with felt.

U.S. Senate Bean Soup

If you have a ham bone left over from one of your holiday meals you need to try this recipe. Yum!! This is rumored to be served in the dining room of the U.S. Senate. I found this on food.com.

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried great northern beans
• 1 meaty ham bone
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 celery ribs, chopped (I used 5)
• 1 cup instant potato flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I used dried)
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Put beans and enough water to cover in pot.
2. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and soak for 1 hour.
4. Drain and rinse beans.
5. In large pot, put beans, ham bone, and 3 quarts water.
6. Bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat,cover and simmer for 2 hours.
8. Add next 5 ingredients.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.
10. Simmer for 1 hour.
11. Remove hambone.
12. Remove meat from bone and cut in small pieces.