Friday Dinner: Pasta Pillows in Brown Butter

Earlier in the week I made a Roasted parsnip and cauliflower soup that I thought was delicious, but was not as well received by the kids. I wanted to repurpose that into a healthy pasta, so I bought some wonton wrappers this week in the produce section. I took a cup of the soup (it was thick) and mixed it with one cup of ricotta cheese, some freshly grated parmesan, two cloves of garlic, kosher salt, pepper and some fresh (chopped) thyme and rosemary from our herb garden we just planted this week. I put a teaspoon of the ricotta mixture in the center of a wrapper, folded it in half to make a triangle and then folded the tips together to make a hat.

I placed the “pasta pillows” (as my kids like to call ravioli) in boiling water for three minutes in batches. Meanwhile, I made a brown butter sauce by placing a stick of butter and two more cloves of garlic in the pan with the butter. After it browned, I put the cooked ravioli in the pan with the sauce. I served it with some sauteed asparagus and crescent rolls. Though it took me awhile to fill the ravioli, it was light and fresh and allowed me to get some veggies into the kids they might otherwise not have eaten!

Frugal Friday – Avoid Fines and Fees

There’s one thing to be said for saving money; there’s another to be said about wasting it.

Before you worry about clipping coupons or stockpiling groceries, make sure you’re not throwing your money away needlessly. A few examples:
*Library Fines
*Service Charges
*Convenience Fees (paying a bill by credit card through the company itslef instead of free bill pay through your bank, for instance)
*Finance Charges (not paying bills on time)

Some companies are notorious for offering “free” items, but they sign you up for a club and if you don’t cancel in a predetermined period of time, you get automatically billed every month. Even something as simple as library books or videos can add up to a lot if not returned on time.
Whether it’s a bill to pay, books to return or a subscription to cancel, make sure you mark it on a central family calendar at least three days in advance of the due date so you don’t get caught with a surprise charge at the last minute.

Free Breakfast at Ikea this Weekend

For those of you lucky enough to live near an Ikea (come on Nashville, get with it!), they are offering free breakfast this weekend! Click here to find out the details and locate a store near you!

Grocery Deals by State

If you’re looking for a one stop shop on all the circular’s in your state, visit The Coupon Mom’s site here and you can find all the grocery deals in your state along with the coupon match ups.  It still takes a little time to sort through, but the savings are well worth it!

Free Burger – Ted’s Montana Grill

Ted’s Montana Grill is giving away a free burger and a chance to win more! Click here to visit their site and sign up or to see if you have a Ted’s in your area.

Publix Deals

There’s a blog called Fiddledeedee that seems to be the guru on the Publix deals and matching coupons with those each week. In TN, our deals run from Wednesday to Tuesday, though in Florida I think it goes from Thursday to Wednesday, so make sure to verify what the sale week is for your area.

Also, Publix offers a Penny Item (sorry, not in FL)  every Sunday and Monday: Usually this will be prominently displayed by the cash registers and for every $10 in groceries you spend (pre-coupon total), you get one of the items for a penny! This past week it was Publix Tortilla chips, last week it was cookies and the week before it was Greenwise Toilet Paper! You can even break your shopping cart into $10 increments so you can stock up (like on the toilet paper). It takes a little more time, but the savings sure are worth it!

Kariss’ New Tricks

While it’s true that our son has been saying his fair share of funny things lately, our daughter has been learning some new tricks of her own.

We just joined the YMCA (why we didn’t have these in FL I’ll never know) and every child has to take a swim test to be in the pool by themselves. Kariss swam two lengths of the pool by herself without stopping or touching the bottom, earning her the coveted green bracelet that gives her freedom to roam throughout the slides and fountains as she pleases.

She’s also nearly perfected the art of winking and snapping, the latter of which I still cannot do. Seriously, I’m ok that my four year old is more talented than me. It just means she’ll be really good at taking care of me one day!

Are your kids smarter than you?

The good news: I’ve started writing my “schedule” down on an index card before I go to bed every evening so I can think about and pray over my priorities for the next day. It’s helped set my mind at ease to go to sleep and helped me to focus throughout my day, measuring “emergencies” against what I’ve already identified on my list as a real priority.

The bad news: I often write more down than is possible to accomplish in one day
The result: I am still starting multiple projects without following through on everything.

Case in point: Ricky pulled out a bag from the Disney Store after he came home today while I was working on the computer downstairs (we usually keep a Disney “stash” of finds we pick up when we come across an outlet to use for future holidays and special occasions). Anyway, my husband had taken out a red, sequined Snow White headband that we found for $.99 and accidentally set it on the arm rest of one of our chairs and forgot to replace it in the bag. 

Shortly after, Kariss woke up, came downstairs, and spotted the red prize. “What is that red thing?” she said.
“What red thing?” I asked, seriously unaware of what she was referencing.
She pointed across the room and said, “I just saw that because it wasn’t a good hiding place.”
What’s a parent to do? Maybe we should start putting her in charge of her own surprises…

Why am I so weepy?

Ok, so I understood when I first got pregnant why the tears flowed so easily – I mean I discovered hormones I never knew existed and Johnson & Johnson commercials took on a whole new meaning to me…
But why, three years after giving birth to my last child, do I still weep so easily. Seriously. My kids were watching the 1950’s version of the Parent Trap in our van the other day (yes, I am trying to indoctrinate them with my favorite childhood movies, including White Christmas, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Singing in the Rain and more…) and all of a sudden I start tearing up when I hear that Sharon and Susan are going to have to be split up again after reuniting for the first time in 13 years! It’s one person! I know that! What happened in this wierd world known as motherhood that prevents my brain from accurately communicating to my heart? Crazy.
What wacky things make you tear up? Help a sister out so I don’t feel so nuts!

Ah the smell of springtime and …paint fumes?

Yes, the saga continued this morning. After our late night visit from the Fire Dept, we ended up vacating our host most of the day because the fumes were still penetrating our walls.
I woke Kariss up to take her to the doctor at 4 and she’s worse now than she was then – all of us have raw throats and she’s developed a fever with chills in addition to her throat/coughing issue. Partner that with what’s turning out to be an irrational neighbor who doesn’t actually live there, and we’re left between a rock and a hard place, literally. Anyone feel like making a call for us?