Best Chocolate Cheesecake

Today I was looking for our favorite cheesecake recipe! I had a hard time finding it and so I decided I better get in on the blog!

This is the original Company's Coming recipe.(Click on the picture to see it bigger) I changed it up in omitting the cocoa in the crust(I didn't have any) and melting the margarine in the microwave.  The chocolate chips and margarine I also used the microwave for. 

All the ingredients are shown here. The cream cheese is from the deal here. Putting the ingredients together takes no time at all. The baking is the longest part 1 1/2 hours at 325.

It's quick, easy and freezes wonderfully!
Total cost...less than $9!

Garage Saling!

It's garage sale time again! Next weekend Gallagher's Canyon has their huge yearly sale! Our  family from Alberta try and organize themselves to be here so they don't miss it! (It's a golf course community, and there's no junk!)

 This past weekend hubby found this treasure! A shelf for our young man's Lego collection! For $5!!! So happy!

Lego Shelf

We have been on the hunt for a door for sometime. At Home Depot and the like they are pricey! Imagine our glee at finding this beauty at a garage sale! $40!
We have a list on the fridge of all the things we need, but do not want to pay full price and tax for! Here's an idea:

Garage Sale List
Roaster(for the deck to cook things in the summer)
Crock pot (mine cracked)
Starbucks coffee thermos
Pampered Chef pineapple, mango cutters as well as mandolin
Wine glasses
Extension cord
Ski boots and skis
snowpants
boots
towels(I got the best wine colored towel set at a garage sale 6 years ago and they are just starting to wear out!)
Garage saling is great entertainment for us as well as a great way to save money.Neighborhood garage sales mean we don't have to drive much! Do you have a list? 

Deals, Deals and More Deals!

Finally found the free Vileda Kitchen scrunge! At Walmart! Seems most stores have pulled them off completely?!
The Crest Mouthwash was $1 and there are $1 off coupons. I saw them at Superstore today.(Since writing this I have seen them at IGA and Rexall, the coupons, that is)  So, 9, 36 ml bottles = tax only or  $1.08 for a total of  3.24 L of mouthwash!
Grand total at Walmart $1.44

Jackpot in the clearance at Superstore!
The Sunlight dish washing liquid were $1.52 for 1.2L
The Sunlight dishwasher tabs were $4.82 and I had a $2 off coupon, plus I am doing the MIR from Shoppers Voice for it. So, I was paid $2.61 to buy it!
The Lysol No Touch was $4.97 and I had a $5 off coupon, so .57!
Dr Oetker pudding was .99-.50 coupon=.49
The sliced mangoes were .25 a can!!!!
The tums and the right guard are explained below.
So, grand total after MIR and tums points is $9.15!!!

This was my Safweway shop. New at Safeway site has .50 off on the puddings. They are on for .99 this week. So, .49 per box. The Grillems were a buy one get one coupon, they were on for $5 and 10 Airmiles when you buy 2.
The IOGO yogurt worked out to .99 after coupon.
Grand total $8.93(plus about $1.05 in Air Miles)

Our Costco has Spiral Hams for $6 off.  This was the smallest one I could find.
$21.23-$6=$15.23 works out to $1.95/lb!
Havarti is also on sale. 454g, for $4.49!

This is the XSCargo flyer. It has Barilla pasta on for .88. Here's an coupon from an insert for .75. .13 for pasta is an awesome deal! I hoped to price match at Walmart or Superstore, but couldn't find any whole wheat Barilla.

The recent insert had this coupon for $1.50 off any right guard body wash or deodrant. Our  Superstore had them for $1.49. Since posting this I saw these for .99 at London Drugs.

Remember me talking about the Fresh Juice magazine coupons? Well, the 25 of Tums are  $2.29. There was a coupon from a mail out for $1 and you get $1 worth of points, so .29 for these Tums!

$5 off Internet Coupon used to get Lysol No Touch system at Superstore for .57.

The Reactine is a Checkout 51 deal this week. $2 Cash Back. There is also  $3 off coupon on Healthy Essentials,
or this one from the Reactine website.
I found the 3's for $3.29 at Safeway.
Combine these means you would make $1.48!

This is another Checkout 51 deal this week. They are offering $2 cash back. The Buy One Get One Free Glade Coupon expires today, so that would mean you would get 2 of these for $6.87-$2= $4.87 plus taxes. Or, you could use the $5 Websaver coupon off, it expires on the 27th. Using the $5 coupon you'd pay some of the taxes.(.69 in BC)

In the recent insert, there were $2 off coupons for dial. At Walmart  Dial is $2.50!

Sausage Supreme Crock Pot Recipe

This is one of our favorite Crock Pot meals. It is so easy and I thought I would share. I don't know where I  originally go the recipe, it may have been from a Crock pot manual. I, of course, have modified it! :)
My sausage is a Check out 51 deal! It cost $1.24.
Sausage Supreme
1 package sausages(the original recipe called for breakfast sausages)cut small
potatoes, cubed
onion, cubed
sweet potato, cubed(optional, I added this today for color)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
Put onion and potatoes in bottom of crock, top with sausage and soup.
Cook on low 8 hours(unless you only own turbo crocks like me, then low for 5)
Enjoy!

Free Starbucks Coffee for Earth Day

Today at Starbucks if you bring in your reusable cup they will fill it for free with freshly brewed coffee in support of Earth Day!
     Also, watch for your free movie code today from Red Box.

This is my favorite Thermos  I got it last year at a garage sale for $1. It seems that coffee gets hotter throughout the day! Love!
I had a mishap this winter. I left my lovely Thermos on the floor by the wood stove. The cup cap shown in this picture was not on, just the drinking lid. It has a plastic button you push in order to get a sip. Well, seems the wood stove really throws off the heat as it melted the button.... :(
So, I will be on the hunt for another one of these this garage sale season!

Red Box Movie Rentals

Red Box in Safeway

Would you like a free movie rental? Do you have Red Box rental kiosks in your area? Click here to see. In our area they seem to be in Walmart and Safeway. 
1.What I love about this is that you can return it to ANY Red Box in Canada, if you are in Canada, Or in the US if you live there! 
2. Rental time is until 9pm the following day
3. DVDs cost $1.50/night Blue Rays $2/night
4. You can use your free movie code for a free DVD or $1.50 off you Blue Ray rental(.50)
5. Easy to use!
If it's the first time you are renting, you can use the code REDBOX4ME. If you have already used that and don't mind getting texts. Text 828282 before Sunday the 21st and get a free code on Monday for a 1 day rental.

 On their website it says text SIGNUP and you will get a free rental every month! To stop messages at any time text STOP 828282.
 I have been wanting to see Lincoln.....What about you?

Costco Deals, Checkout 51 and Air Wick MIR

Costco Deals this week at our Costco.
Kraft Peanut butter(only smooth or light)2Kg $5.39(it used to go down to $4.49, last year at this time it was a screaming $3.89! but not this year!)
Kraft Singles 1Kg $5.39
The box is a belt that was in the clearance for $5
18 pack of Cadbury Chocolate bars $9.99(.55/bar) notice I didn't buy any!
Pace Salsa 2X1L $5.49
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing 2X1.18L $5.99
Heinz Ketchup 2X1.25L $5.89(it's still cheaper to buy it in the tin which is 2.84L)
Olives 2L $4.69

Safeway had these sausages in the 50% off bin. They were $3.24-$2 from Checkout 51, so $1.24  each!

Did the Air Wick MIR today. I bought it at Shoppers it was $10.99. I had a $5 off when you spend $10 coupon. After taxes and MIR I make .66 for buying it.

Bananas .49/lb Today Only!

Hopefully this will post quickly, as this deal is good only today, Tues April 16. Quality Greens has bananas for .49/lb! Last week they had strawberries for .99/lb, so maybe they will be having a weekly special?

Air Wick MIR

Another Mail In Rebate. This time it's for Air Wick. You can print your official  MIR from Facebook , here's the link. If you don't want to spam your wall, you can always open another Facebook account for these things. :)

Purchases must be made from April 1-July 31.  Maximum rebate is $8.25 to cover the product and the taxes. Your  rebate needs to be sent in within 30 days of your purchase.Limit of one per family.

I have done several of these in the past. If you want to read about them the link is here. 

This Week's Sales

This Week's Sales 
 Superstore 12-18 The gas deal is on again! 
 Spend $100-$250 and get 10-35 cents/liter off your gas.
 Must buy your groceries Apr 12-18 and your gas by Apr 24.
Coupons are on the front of the flyer or in store.

Pork Chops Frz Bone in rib center or sirloin center $1.78/lb
20Lbs Potatoes $4.88
Hot House Tomatoes .87/lb
Ice berg lettuce .96 each
NN English Muffins 6s $1
NN Beans or Chick peas 540ml .78 limit 2
NN Yogurt Plain 1Kg $2.48  limit 2
NN Beans 398ml .66  limit 2
NN Pasta 900g .98 limit 2
NN Cottage Cheese 1Kg $4.98  limit 2
NN Jam, Jelly, or Marmalade 1L $3.98  limit 2
Kraft Dinner Smart .99(Checkout 51 .50 cash back)
Cauliflower $1.69
Ham Picnic Smoked .98/lb!
Ragu $1 limit 1
Green Onions, Cilantro, Parsley .50

Walmart
Beef Steak Tomatoes .88/lb
English Cucumbers .88
Ragu $1
Green Onions, Cilantro, Parsley .50
Spinach $1

Shoppers
Eggs $2.29 limit 2

Sun-Mon only
Paper Towels Life 8s $1.99  limit 4
Always Pads $2.99  limit 4

London Drugs
Chunk Light tuna 170 g .79

Save On 

Pork Sirloin End Roast $1/lb This is what it looks like. The are $2-$5 sizes. Save On limits 2 per customer. Our Coopers had the same deal, but you could have as many as you want. Great! Deal!

Coupon in flyer for Schneider's All Beef Wieners B1G1, turns out these are $5.99 for one, so $3 each
(Checkout 51 has $2 off any Schneider's wieners or sausages)
Country Harvest Bread is $2.50 there are coupons in store for .75 off
20 lbs potatoes $4.99
Cauliflower $1.69
      

Using Pinterest to Menu Plan and Peanut Udon Noodles Recipe

Recently I started using Pinterest. I did try it shortly after it came out but I didn't get. I just didn't spend enough time exploring! Well, I have found I can waste huge amounts of time find fantastic recipes for menu planning! You can type in the search bar "chicken" and viola you have all manner of recipes with pictures! 

Part of keeping it organized is about the boards you pin things to. Originally, I had one for Recipes to Try. That got overwhelming very quickly, as I had to scan through so many pins to find the recipe I wanted! Then I started one with Desserts to Try and half of my Recipes to Try left. Then today as I was menu planning I thought, "Self, why not a board called This Week's Menu!" (I know you thought of this already, but it was a light bulb moment for me!) Now, I have a lovely area to go to see what we are eating this week! Once I have tried the recipe it either goes into Recipes We Love or it gets deleted. I wish there was a way to delete them forever from  Pinterest because it's about the visual for me. What will happen is I will see it in Pinterest world again and I will repin it because I like the picture and forgot I had tried it already!
The fun thing is you can be as creative as you want for the naming of your boards! 
I got a kick out of one guy who had all these lovely chocolatey desserts....his board was Things I Wish My Wife Would Make!

My menu planning inspiration before Pinterest!
Today one of my Recipes to Try that went into my This Week's Menu was Peanut Udon Noodles. It was so good and so easy!

Ingredients needed for this quick, yummy, Peanut Udon Noodle recipe. The original recipe is here. The  red  pepper paste is optional. As you can see I have a LARGE bucket of it! This came when we had a lovely Korean lady living with us and she taught me some spicy, super tasty Korean dishes.
The thing that takes the longest with this recipe was boiling the water! The udon noodles only take 2-3 minutes to cook. I would definetly use at least 2 packages to feed 3-4. 
The sauce calls for chicken broth, but I just used water.

Peanut Udon Noodles

1/2 cup chicken broth(I used water)

 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced (I used grated frozen)

3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce 

3 Tbsp. peanut butter

 1 1/2 Tbsp. honey 

1/2 tsp.hot chili paste (optional) 

3 cloves garlic, minced

 8 oz. Udon noodles

 green onions, chopped 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced roasted peanuts, crushed fresh cilantro, chopped

I didn't use the peanuts or the cilantro(there's a ban on it in my house)

I didn't know it was going to be so yummy. I didn't know I would want to blog it, so this is the sad bottom of the bowl  left in my son's portion. He had a hard time stopping long enough for me to take this picture! Next time I make it I will add pictures. The sliced pepper and bits of green onion added nice color to it.

 r

Deals....MIR...

Did you get this magazine in the mail? It's free and it's from President's Choice. If you didn't get it, I saw a stand of them by the produce in our store. Inside are these coupons. They are good for PC points IF you use your PCMC to pay. Earlier in the week I used one for nasal strips, along with a coupon :), to get 5000 points, or $5! Ended up being cheaper than Costco! There also is one for 3000 points if you buy the Spectro. That little bottle was .99 so you could make $2!

I like to drop into Safeway just after 9am as the guy who goes around marking things down is done about then. :) This last week's Checkout 51 had the Liberte yogurt $1.50 cash back. These were 50% off, so I got them for .99 each! The finish was marked down to $4.99 and I had $2 off coupons, so $2.99. The Yoptimal was $1.75-.50=$1.25 each. The whipping cream was $2.41. 
Grand Total was $15.06

Walmart had the Europe's Best on Clearance! $4.50/bag!
With a $1 of coupon and $2 from Checkout 51, that made it $1.50/bag!

$1.50 after coupon and Checkout 51.

I did this part of my shop as a MIR. President's Choice is offering a $10 gift card if you  Spend $20 on participating products. The form is in the coupon zone at the store. I am strange. I actually enjoy figuring these things out! So, I parked myself in front of a self scanner and tried different combos. I was wanting to try the Scrubbing Bubbles One Step system for awhile now, so this was good! Turned out it and a refill were in the 50% off stuff! When the scanner scans it, it gives you the price before discount.
One Step $7.24-3.62=$3.62
One Step Refill $3.54-$1.77-$1.50=.27
Kitchen Cleaner $3.57-$2=$1.57
Toilet Cleansing Gel $2.97(coupons inside for $3 and $2)
Toilet Bowl Cleaner $2.77-$2.77(free when you buy a toilet cleansing gel)=0
Shower Cleaner $2.97-$1.50=$1.47
Ziploc Freezer bags $3.27-$1=$2.27(2 sets of coupons worth total of $6 inside)
Total $12.17 plus tax $2.50= $14.67-$10 GC(hopefully, there were 5000 available)=$4.67

Mail In Rebates

There are a few new MIRs. One from Resolve and one from Finish.
The Finish Quantum one is good from April 8-May13. It's for up to $8.49. The official form is on Facebook and can be found here. There are $2 off coupons out there. It would be a good one to use  during the upcoming spend $75 get 18500 points at Shoppers( April 13-16) or Customer Appreciation Days at  Safeway(10% off) or Extra Foods(10-15% off).
The Resolve One is good from April 13-May13. It is good for up to $7.99. The official form is here . I know of $1 off coupons out there. There maybe others too.
I don't think you could do both at Shoppers in one shop as they say original receipt and if you bought them both on the same receipt and got a duplicate I think it would say duplicate on the receipt. Have any of you done this? 

Gas Savings Update

Hubby got this amazing shot this weekend!
Back in January I did this post on saving money on gas.
Well, last night I did the shop shown below and was surprised to learn I already had $20 in PC Points! I was surprised because I only use the PCMC for gas purchases as they started giving 7 cents per litre in gas bucks starting this January. I thought they gave 10 points/$1, but it is actually double. It's 20 points/$1.
So, these are my numbers so far this year.

Gas bucks $54.44
PC Points 15321=$15.32
Total $69.76
This means that over the whole year(based on last year's spending) my PC Points will be double what I thought, or $59.24.
Making the year's saving $234.92, instead of $205.30.
All of that to say, if you use PCMC to save money on gas you may be getting a bigger bang for your buck! :)

Last night at Superstore I got the above groceries.

The 3 Harvest Crunch were $2 each and I had .50 coupons=$4.50
The Trop 50 was $3.97-$3.97 when you buy 3 Quaker Harvest bars.
The Highliner fish were $4 limit 3=$12
The Fruit Crisps were $2.50-$1 coupon=$1.50
The tomatoes were $1.97
The green onions .57
The cookies 1.44-.72=.72
The whipping cream $2.97-$1.49=$1.48
The Nasal Strips $13.99-$2=$11.99
Total $31.74
Used one gas buck for 6.18 and $20 worth of PC Points.
My total was then $5.54
In the latest Fresh Juice Magazine there was a coupon for 5000 PC points if you buy nasal strips. 5000 PC points as you know are worth $5. So my grand total really is .54!

This Week's Sales

Superstore April 5-11
 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $2.98/lb 4Kg box $26.28 limit 2 Package of 3 English cucumbers $2.28(works out to .76ea)
 Basa, Cod, Sole Frozen 1.36Kg $10 
Ginger .76/lb 
Harvest Crunch Granola Bars $2-.50 coupon(was in Superstore in the past few weeks) 
Buy 3 Participating Quaker or Aunt Jemima products and get a free Tropicana Orange Juice. (If you were to buy 3 of the granola bars and use the coupons it would cost you $4.50 for 3 boxes of granola bars and one orange juice!)
10lbs navel oranges $3.98
Mushrooms 454g $1.98(this is a better deal than the ones at Walmart)

Walmart 5-11
Mushrooms 8oz $1.27
Kraft BBQ sauce 455ml $1
Special K Crisps $2.50-$1 coupons from Websaver
Special K Granola 553g $3-$1 coupons from Websaver

Rexall has stamps 10% off limit 3.

This weekend at Shell is Bonus Air miles
Spend minimum $20 on gas and $50 total.
Buy bronze gas get 25 bonus air miles
Buy VPower gas get 50 bonus airmiles
25 Airmiles are worth $2.63 in Air Miles Cash
50 Airmiles are worth $5.26 in Air Miles Cash
My plan is to spend $25 on the VPower gas and buy a $25 Gift card, probably for Shoppers.