Chunky Black Beans Chili

I love my Slow Cooker. The other day I was craving some Chili so I decided to put my good ol' slow cooker to use. Well this is my own version of Chili  it is delicious.

Chunky Black Beans Chili.

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs of turkey ground meat
• 2 cans of black beans
• 1 small jar of Chunky mild salsa
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 dash of Cayenne pepper
• 1 dash of Salt
• 1 dash of Adobo seasoning
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 envelope of Sazon garlic and onions ( you can use powder garlic and onions )

Spray the slow cooker with olive oil or some type of non sticking spray. Put the ground meat on the bottom. Pour the black beans from the can with the juice. The salsa and the tomato sauce. Add all of the seasonings. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Mix half way thru the cooking to break up the meat.

Its delicious. Enjoy it!!!!

Wealth Watchers way to save money.

A couple days ago I read an article on how a couple was able to save $10,000 dollars in 1 year and pay up debts. I was mesmerized by how they did it and I wanted to share in this blog so maybe others can follow in their footsteps.

Save money and budget comes hand in hand. Honestly its a pain to calculate budget and then self sacrifice in order to save some money in the end. I read how they did it and I found it very easy to follow.

You calculate how much of fixated bills you have to pay up in a month (rent/morgage, utilities, phone bill, etc) then you subtract that amount with how much you bring to the table at the end of the month (after taxes). Once you have that number divide it by 30 (which are days of the month) the number you have its the amount you have available to spend daily. It puts a cap on how much you can spend and in order to save money always spend less than your daily cap.

Let put in writing as an example so you can have an idea:

ex: John Smith makes $3000 monthly after taxes
His monthly expenses run to about $1500 (rent/ cable/ phone/ utilities)
$3000 / $1500 = $1500 (left to spend on other things such as gas/ groceries/etc)

John Smith has $1500 left in his pocket to make ends meet till the end of the month but he wants to save money for his retirement/ debt etc. Now divide $1500 by 30 and in the end the result will be $50.
John Smith has a $50 daily cap to spend. If he wants to save he go strive to spend less than what his daily allowance is.

Now lets put this example in my real life. I can spend easily $200 on a trip to the supermarket. Well if you go over your daily allowance make sure to spend less in the next following days.

I am excited to start this method of saving. Are you???

Save on kids clothing!

What I am gonna share it might not work for every household but with 3 kids it sure works for mine.
I buy all my kids clothes I dont sit around and wait for someone kind enough to part with their hands- me-down. I do take hands-me-down and I like it dont take it wrong but I just dont wait for someone to come with the bag on their arms.

So I go to mall just like everyone else and whenever I see a sale and I mean a SALE lets say 70-75% off I go for it. If I find a cute outfit for a resonable price I get it. But its not just anything. I put a price cap on how much I find worth spending on outfits for kids that are soon going to outgrow it. My cap its $5. I refuse to spend a penny more on an outfit.

When I do find what I like I get it then I get another one a size bigger with a different pattern for the next year. I also dont like going for bargain cheaper clothing. Its usually made of cheap materials and it dont last as long. I rather buy brand names with clothing at a on sale/clearance rate.

You bet my kids are well dressed in good clothes and you can also bet that I am the lady all the way in the back going through the racks.

My favorite stores to shop for my kids are:

• Target
• Kmart
• Walmart ( I dont find all the items from Walmart of good quality so mostly what I get from there its lounging clothes. Nothing too fancy)
• Gymboree ( My kids are always dressed in this brand but I refuse to spend an arm and a leg on it. I signed up for the email and discounts and whenever they are on sale thats when I go for it. $20 buys a lot when I find the right deals.)

Well that is all for now but stay posted and when I score you will score because I cant keep it all to myself and I want every mom out there to have the best deals ever..... xoxo

Homemade Laundry Fabric Softner

Here is my promised recipe for Homemade Fabric Softner.

• 1 bottle of cheap conditioner. (white rain, suave, v08)
• 1 cup of white vinegar
• 1 gallon or soap bottle empty.

Empty half of the conditioner bottle into the big bottle. Pour the vinegar and fill up with water all the way up. Shake prior use everytime.

Free kids haircuts!!!

Jc Penney is offering free haircuts for kids all month of August. Dont miss the opportunity to trim your little ones hair.... I am sure taking my troop over there now at the beginning and again at the end of the month for my boy. See ya xoxo

Food consumption at my house

We consume a lot of milk, eggs and veggies/ fruits. I cook breakfast lunch and dinner everyday with a light snack in between. I made a vow of my kids to eat at least 1 fruit a day and I always include it with either their lunch or a snack before dinner. I drink coffee everyday and God forgive me if I dont have my much needed cup of joe. So we also consume a lot sugar since I bake a cake at least once a week. My kids dont consume cookies and candies but they do deserve to have a lil sweet every now and then.

We also consume either chicken or pork grilled in our meal everyday. Its healthy but it can get boring sometimes. I try to change it up with different dishes and sometimes cooking it on the slow cooker.

My kids love the chicken noodle soup. I avoid to give it to them as much as possible but sometimes I rather give it to them than run to the nearest fast food joint. But I trick them I add 1 jar of baby food veggie to it like carrots, sweet potato or squash and cook the noodles in it. They love it and eat it without having a clue that their meal got vegetables. :)

I try to stay away from packaged foods but packaged = fast and sometimes I need fast.
My methods wont fit for every familybut it sure works for ours. :)

Groceries List in my Household.

Hey I wanted to share an example of what groceries in my house is like. It runs about $200 a month for a family of 5. Let me know what you do that is similar and what is different.

I lilke to shop at Aldi for a few items but it doesnt carry everything that I like or items that my family enjoy.
So I am gonna start with items that I would get at regular store.

Supermarket Shopping list:
 Ill put the letter R for regular supermarket next to it and A for items that I get at Aldis.

• R 2 large boxes of cereal ( Cheerios, Golden Granham)
• A 2 loaf of whole wheat bread
• A 1 pkg hotdog buns
• A 1 pkg hamburger buns
• A 1 pkg of sliced cheese
• A 2 pkg of string cheese
• A 2 pkg of sliced ham
• R 2 pkg yogurt (danonino)
• A 1 bag of potatoes
• A 1 bag of onion
• A 1 pkg of mix peppers
• A 1 bag of apples
• A 1 bag of oranges
• A 2 bags of baby carrots
• R 1 10 lbs bag of rice
• A 2 boxes of instant rice
• A 2 bags of sugar
• A 1 bag of flour
• R 2-3 packages of Bustelo coffee
• R 1 large package of powdered chocolate
• R 1 large pkg of ritz crackers ( For the Homemade Lunchables) ;)
• R 8 cans of Goya beans ( pink, black, red, kidney etc)
• A 10-15 cans of vegetable (corn, carrots, sweet peas, green beans, garbanzo beans etc)
• A 1 12ct. package of  noodles (chicken flavor)
• R 10 cans of whole wheat chef boyardee. (lasagna, mini 123's)
• R 4-6 baby food jars ( carrots squash and sweet potatoes)
• R 4 bottles of 100% juice
• R/A 3-4 packs of 24 water bottles ( I always buy when its on sale)
• R/A 2 bags frozen onion/ pepper mix
• R/A 4-5 bags of frozen brocolli/
• R/A 4-5 bags of frozen cauliflower
• R 2-3 large trays of boneless chicken breast
• R 2 large trays of boneless pork chops
• A 2 packages of turkey hotdogs
• A 3 packages of turkey ground meat ( great for making patties in the foreman grill)
• A 2 packages of turkey bacon
• A 2 packages of eggs
• R 1 large box of nutrigrain
• R 2 pkg of bagges salad
• A 3 cans of tuna
• A 3 cans of pink salmon
• A 2 pkg of frozen mussels
• A 1 frozen bag of shrimp salad
• A 1 frozen bag of medium shrimp
• A 1 pkg of frozen pancakes
• A 1 pkg of frozen french toast
• A 2-3 jars of peaches

Well here I tried to cover most of the items that are included in my monthly grocery list. Other things such as dish soap toilet paper etc. I get from several stores such as my local supermarket when its on sale walmart and local dollar tree.

I try to separate my grocery budget with $100 for one store and $100 for the other. And always shop with a list. Other items such as milk and bananas I get as a needed basis since we consume a lot of it.