Cheese Balls

Did you get the Checkout 51 cream cheese? Whether your answer is yes or no, you  get another chance this week! The $4 off when you buy 3 blocks is still on for Dec 20-26. As you can see from my last post I picked mine up at Costco. It works out to $1.63 per 250g brick.Which is wonderful if you have a hankering(yes, I said hankering...fun word!) for cheese ball. We love cheese balls at Christmas time! To buy one in the store(200g size) you usually pay at least $7. To make this homemade version(250+g each) it costs about $4.26 for 2, or $2.13 each! It is so simple, the hardest part is waiting the 2 1/2 hours for it to get more solid!

The original recipe is from my from Linda(thanks Linda!). Of course I modified it so I will provide you with both!
Linda's Cheese Ball
1 lb cream cheese(I used 500g)
8oz sharp cheddar cheese(I used about a 1/2-3/4cup of old)
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard(didn't have this so left it out)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
pinch of pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans(I used sliced almonds) 

Finely grate the cheese. Add to 2 bricks of room temperature cream cheese in large bowl. Use electric mixer to beat together.

Add mustard, sauce and pepper, beat together. If you like you can add in the  finely ground nuts too, or you can roll the cheese ball in them. Or both!

I plopped the mixture onto wax paper as I did not want that much cream cheese under my nails!  I shaped it with the wax paper all around it. then I sprinkled the almonds on and shaped it again.

 Wrap it in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator 2 1/2 hours or overnight. So, in 2 1/2 hours I will be sitting down to have some cheese ball and crackers! How about you?
I think I will be getting more cream cheese this week, as we love the layered dip this time of year! I will post the recipe soon. 

This Week's Checkout 51 Deals!

This week's Checkout 51 offers are awesome! As Christmas gets closer food prices tend to rise, so don't forget to check out(ha ha) Checkout 51 this week, the discounts are substantial. If you are squeamish about coupons this is the way to go, as you don't have to hand anyone anything, just take a picture of your receipt and upload it. Wanna save even more? Add in a coupon! Need Baby wipes? There is a coupon here for $1 off, plus checkout 51 has a rebate of $3! So, if you were to buy them at Rexall drugs this week, you would make money, they are $3.99 there. 

You can see here that some of the offers have 0 remaining, that means when the offers come out on Thursdays we need to get them soon as there is a limit to how many are available. I was away for the weekend and so I thought I missed out on some badly needed Ketchup! However, I got a wonderful email this morning saying that Beta testers still have access to all the offers all week. This may change in the future.

Here's what I got...
Cheerios 1Kg(Costco) $6.99-$2 cash back=$4.99
Ketchup 2.84L(Costco) $5.94-$2.50 cash back=$3.44
Philly Cream Cheese 3X250g(Costco) $8.89-$4cash back=$4.89
Unico Chickpeas(Walmart)$1.15-.50cash back=$.65
Miss Vickies Chips $3.67(Walmart)-$1.50-$3.67 coupon=$1.50profit
I got the wrong brand cake mix, so be aware, it's easy to get it wrong!
Total Spent $28.03
Total Cash Back $10.50
Coupons used $3.67
Out of pocket total $13.86!!!
I needed the Ketchup and Cream cheese right now, so I was very happy to get this deal! I hope you are able to take advantage of some of these great deals!

 

3 Cheese and Broccoli Lasagna

Years ago I found a recipe for 3 cheese pasta pinwheels. I think it was in a Kraft magazine. We love it. I had all the ingredients on hand, but didn't really feel like doing the work that was involved in the original recipe. So, I wondered if I could skip the work of precooking the noodles and filling it with the filling and then cutting them in half and adding sauce and cheese. So, I did my own little cooking experiment, and it worked out great. 3 cheese and broccoli lasagna was born! We won't call it vegetarian as some people in my family(won't mention any names) get scared when meat is missing! The ingredients are shown above. The assembly, I did as follows.
Your favorite sauce on the bottom of the pan, maybe a 1/3 a jar? Then I layered some lasagna noodles(I love oven ready!). Next I added one egg and some salt and pepper to the container of cottage cheese. I layered the whole container of the cottage cheese mixture on the next layer and topped it with broccoli.  Next another layer of noodles topped with the rest of the sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 35-40  minutes. Remove foil and let bake for  5-10 minutes more until nicely browned.

Let sit for 5 minutes.....enjoy!

    

Free Shipping, No Minimum

I wanted to buy a book as a gift the other day, but the shipping was almost as much as the book! Right now at Chapters you can order a book and have it shipped for free! Go here and find the book you want before Wed, Dec 12, and get it shipped for free!

Homemade Condensed Milk

Are you doing some Christmas baking? Do you need condensed milk? You can whip it up  yourself in just a couple of minutes! This recipe is equivalent to a 300 ml can.
1 cup powdered milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup boiling water
3 Tbsp melted margarine(or butter)
Blend until smooth! 

Add caption

This Week's Sales

Safeway
 7-9 only
 Royale TP double 12 or Mega 9 roll $3.99(there are $1 off coupons from gocoupons)
This is a great deal as the 12s have 290 sheets per roll and that makes it 3480sheets for $2.99 or .000859/roll!
Mandarin oranges 8lbs $5
Pork Side ribs $1.99/lb
All week
Grade A frozen turkeys under 7kg .99/l limit 1
Cheez Whiz 1Kg $4.99
Miracle Whip 1.5L $4.99
Lucerene ice cream 2/$6
They still have the buy 3 Kellogg's cereals get a free milk coupon.

Superstore
7-8 only
Christie Crackers 140-454g $1.77 limit 4(combine with $1.50 checkout 51 coupon to get for .27)
All Week
Spend $250 get a $25 gift card
Frozen utility turkeys .95/lb all sizes
Vine tomatoes .96/lb
Cauliflower $1.96 each
Cook's Ham $1.98/lb
NN English Muffins $1 
Bulk bagels 6/$2(.33 each!)
Campells soups case of 12 $5.97 limit 2
Cracker Barrel Cheese 500g $6.97(use $2 off checkout 51 coupon for $4.97)
PC tortilla chips $1.88

Walmart
Onions, celery and carrots $1
Roma Tomatoes .88/lb
Barilla Pasta 454g $1.27(.75 coupons out there making it .47!)

Save On
Cracker Barrel Cheese 600-700g $7.99(less $2 checkout 51)

Checkout 51

This morning I got an a long awaited email from Checkout 51.They are now taking new members! I have been part of their Beta testing group since August of this year. What is it you ask? Well, each week  you get an email with a list of products they are offering coupons for. You can use your own coupons in combination. I have blogged about it in the past here. Last week they offered a Kinder surprise for $1 off.
The Kinder surprise was .99. Many times I have been able to get food items free, and sometimes even make money!

This week's offers look like this. So, starting today you could go to Superstore(or price  match at Walmart) and buy  the Triscuits for $1.77.( Please note that you can only buy one of each item and get cash back.) Upload your receipt and get them for .27! The Arm and Hammer toothpaste can be combined with the coupons that were in last week's Smart Source.
I love how easy it is. Now that the app is available for free in the iTunes store, it just got easier! Just use your iPhone or iPad(must have camera), go into the app store and install the free Checkout 51 app. They will have an android version available soon.

Here's the fine print:

Summary Guidelines

You need to be a member of Checkout 51 to claim offers. If you're not a member yet, get the app (coming soon!).

A quantity of one (1) of each offer is eligible for cash back per member.

Receipt photos must be clear and readable.

Each receipt can only be used once.

You can claim more than one product on a single receipt. You can submit multiple receipts for products bought at different times and/or at different stores.

Please read carefully - we can only give cash back for the exact product listed.

You are permitted to use Checkout 51 cash back offers with any other coupon or discount.

Offers only valid for purchases made in Canada between 12:00 AM EST December 6 2012 - 11:59 PM EST December 12 2012. Receipts must be submitted by 11:59 PM EST December 12 2012.

You will be able to cash out when you have accumulated a $20 balance

Customer Appreciation Deals

Tomorrow is 10% off day at Safeway and 10-15% off at Extra Foods. Here are some of the deals out there.

Safeway has mushrooms $1.99/lb($1.79/lb on 10% off day)

Buy 3 Kellogg's cereal for $12 and get a free milk.
Works out to $10.80 for the cereal on 10% off day, use some coupons to get your total even lower.

Windex are 2/$5 and have bonus airmiles if you by 3 or 6. This weekend in the  Smart Source there was this coupon for by 2 save $2. Making it $1.50/ bottle or $1.25 on 10% off day.

Kraft is having their buy 3 products and get a free Cracker Barrel cheese again. Combine this with coupons and  10%  off day for an even better deal!

Oven Joy Bread $1.25 a loaf! $1.23/loaf on 10% off day!

More deals at Safeway.

Lakeview Market has some coupon deals. The chicken works out to $2.99/lb.

You could price match the romaine at Walmart or Superstore(Extra Foods).

Again you could price match the avocadoes.

Extra Foods
Sirloin tip $2.68/lb
pomegranates .96 each
Roma tomatoes .86/lb
NN Pepperoni, salami, or summer sausage 500g $1.98
Quaker Cereals 350-750g $2 limit 4
Astro yogurt 650-750g $1.97
Bok Choy .48/lb

Do you need iTunes gift cards for stocking stuffers? In the Superstore flyer  they have a coupon for 3, $10 gift cards for $24.

Coopers and Save On both have the Stayfree on for $1.99. Again you could price match if you  don't plan to go to these stores. The coupon that's here is good until Dec 31, so you could get them free!

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My Talented Niece....

This post is strictly a brag! My niece has had some time on her hands as she has been unable to go to school for awhile now. She has been keeping herself entertained by creating nail designs. She gets some of her inspiration from instagram. I call her art, "Nails by Faith!"

Christmasy designs. Don't you love the tree?

                                         Can you see the little snowflakes?I need all of these designs! I love them!

Look at these fun ones! I bet my niece, Karlee, wishes she could have Faith do these on her nails! Which ones are your favorite Karlee?
Below are grandma's nails. Faith did them for her when she was here for a visit. Mom confided that she wore rubber gloves to protect her beautiful nails, even in the shower! :)

Christmas nails! 

This is such a cool way to do nails! First, I had to choose the colors I wanted. Then in a  cup of water she dropped nail polish. You just keep adding nail polish colors until it no longer expands.Then you wrap your finger edges with masking tape. She says don't try other tapes, you will fail! In the cup you put a toothpick to swirl the nail polish and make a cool design.

This is an action shot as you can see the the blurry hand Faith has! Next, I dip my  taped finger into the middle of the  nail polish. While my fingers in there she gets in with a toothpick to pull the polish away from my finger.

Now you can see why the tape is necessary! Peel off the tape, carefully, and then drop on some Flash dry.

I felt so special with my "Nails by Faith" design!

Wow! Look what she did to her mom's nails!

Last night she did Marissa's nails. Aren't they beautiful!
 You are amazing Faith!
  I think you should pick a great Christmas design for me next!

Spend Your Points Event At Shoppers

This weekend, Dec 1 and 2, at Shoppers they are having a spend your points event. Last year the points were worth more, but here's the levels for this year.
 95000 points = $210 
50000 points = $105 
38000 points = $70 
What are you buying? I am going to get lots of groceries!