Cheesy Beef & Bacon Meatloaf

Credit: Gooseberry Patch Cookbook

Printable Version

1 lb. bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled and divided
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef sirloin
1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
3 Tsp Dijon mustard

Set aside 1/2 cup bacon for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining bacon and other ingredients except catsup, hot sauce and mustard; mix well and set aside. Mix together catsup, hot sauce and mustard; set aside 3 tablespoons of mixture. Add remaining catsup mixture to beef mixture; blend well. Press into an ungreased 9"x5" loaf pan; spread reserved catsup mixture over top and sprinkle with reserved bacon. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees or 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 5 to 6 minutes before slicing. Serves 6 to 8

Couponing Tips

I wanted to share some helpful tips for successful couponing. Let me just say....I LOVE COUPONS!!! They are the best thing ever! I have been couponing for about 2 years now. It has been worth every minute of it. There are so many "secrets" to getting free groceries or other items from the stores free. Recently, I have been able to stock up Special K cereal for so about $.50 a box. That's awesome!! I was happy about that. I can offer some tips though that might help others looking to save money. I will try to make as much sense as possible.

1) Shop at more than one store if you are able to. I used to limit myself to just Walmart b/c I always thought Walmart had the best deals. Not true. I shop at Walmart, Super Target, Kroger, Brookshires, Walgreens, and CVS. It may seem like a lot of stores but it's not like I go to all of these every week. Broaden your horizons if you have a favorite store.

2) Become familiar with the stores coupon policy. Every store's coupon policy is different. Contact the stores customer service and they will usually email you back a copy of the policy. Keep a copy of that policy with you when you are at that store. You never know when you will get an unfriendly cashier or someone that doesn't know the policies.

Walmart
Target and Target's Price Matching Policy
Walgreens
CVS does not have a coupon policy available but these are some tips to understanding their store.
Brookshires

3)There are several websites to get coupons from. Examples:

www.coupons.com
www.bettycrocker.com
www.eatbetteramerica.com
www.redplum.com
These are just a few examples. Also, you can go directly to the manufacturer websites and get on email lists. I receive offers and specials that way too.

4) Give yourself a budget and stick to it. There will be times when you will splurge and I tell myself that's ok...every once in a while. Not all the time!!

5) Stay organized with coupons. It may seem overwhelming at first but if you stick with it, you can walk out of a store and saved so much money. Get a binder, baseball card inserts and dividers and organize your coupons by sections. If you would like to know how I have my tabs on my dividers just ask. I just smile b/c I see other people checking out spending so much money and I don't. There is a lot to learn but don't give up.

6) Plan your meals around what is on sale at the stores. Those weekly ads that are in the newspaper are there for a reason. Read them and plan your dinners around that. I plan my meals 1 week at a time since the sales change weekly. If chicken is on sale this week then I get it while I can. Today I got chicken breasts at Target and I had a Target coupon for free frozen veggies when you bought a bag of frozen chicken. There's dinner one night this week! Easy!

7) There are websites/blogs that can guide you through the process of coupons. My favorite site is www.hip2save.com. I am so glad I came across this site. She puts together deals for you so you just have to look up the coupons and go shopping. Love it!! There are so many other blogs along the same line.

8) If you want to save money then you will find the time to coupon. People have said to me...Oh you have 2 young kids wait until they get older. You won't have as much time. My response is this is not an option. I am not super rich and I do this not only to save money but it is also fun too. This will be something that I will be doing as long as I have fingers to cut out coupons. Even if you only save $5 on a shopping trip that is $5 in your pocket.

9) Do not pay any website to do couponing for you. There are websites that will charge you for shopping lists or the coupons themselves. There are way too many other blogs you can look at for FREE! I will say that if there is an amazing deal that I would like to stock up on, I have in the past, bought coupons off of ebay. But it is a rare thing for me to do that. This is all about saving money right!!

10) Stores usually get reimbursed for the coupons you use. In the small print on the coupon it says something like the store will get back $.08 handling fee for each coupon used. So the store gets reimbursed for the amount of the coupon plus the $.08. So they are still making money even though you may have gotten the item for free or really really cheap. So I don't feel bad at all when I score a great deal.

11) DO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO USE EVERY COUPON BEFORE IT EXPIRES!!! In my opinion, there is no need for an expiration date. This is a ploy by the manufacturer to get you to spend money. It makes you feel like you have to use the coupon or you will miss out. If you use every coupon you will not save money. You will more than likely end up spending more out of pocket. There is always going to be a sale on something. There will always be another coupon that will come around for you to use. After doing couponing for a while you will catch on to what coupons are most frequent.

I know this may seem like a lot of information but it is very helpful. I'm sure I have forgotten something but these are the main points. Please know these are just my opinions and tips. What may work for me might not work for you. Good luck and happy couponing.

$3/1 Glad ForceFlex Trash Bags *Print Now*

This is a hot coupon you need to print now. Go over here to print a $3/1 coupon for Glad ForceFlex Trash Bags-any count. These kinds of coupons do not come along very often so print while you can.

Stack this with the $1/1 Glad Target coupon and you can get an even sweeter deal.

A mother's love

A mother loves their child/children like no other. The relationship that a mother has with her kids is different from any other as well. We will go to the ends of the earth to make sure they are ok and have the best of every.single.thing. I am blessed to have 2 beautiful boys that love each other and depend on each other so much. And Jax is only 11 months. I now know why Jax was sent to me b/c I think if I would have had a girl second it just would not have worked for Levi.

I realized recently that maybe there might be something wrong with Levi's speech. It has been a tough thing for me to swallow and accept. In all other aspects of his development he is perfectly fine. I am truly grateful for that. It wasn't until I was in his Sunbeam class at church that I realized he wasn't talking like the other kids. But at the same time, he just turned 3 in December. He is by far the youngest in his class.

I cried...and still cry...I cry as I write this post. I felt a sense of failure for Levi. I felt a sense of responsibility for they way he talks. I felt that if I had only read more books or tried a little bit harder he would be perfect in all aspects. I am at home with him and I am with him 24/7. I failed him. But then I knew it could be fixed and he can get help. I got some helpful advice from my sister who just happens to be a Speech Pathologist. And our new journey has begun to help Levi communicate better.

Matt and I decided that I should do my own mini pre school with Levi. Everyday we work on something with his speech. We do it while Jax is asleep so he can focus and learn. I teach him 2 letters a week and we work on the sounds the letters make. We do shapes and colors and numbers. He already knows how to count to 15 and on the first try he got all the shapes correct. This time alone with mommy is our special time. It's just me and Levi. No interruptions! He loves it! This is our second week doing the mini pre school and it really works. He looks forward to what I have in store for him that day.

Levi's biggest struggle is putting the sentences and words together. He talks so fast that his words get jumbled. He has a big vocabulary but he needs to think about what he wants to say. I think that is why he gets so frustrated b/c we can't understand him. Tomorrow morning we are going to have him officially tested to see if there is a speech delay. I will probably cry...again...but I know it will be ok. Levi is a bright and smart kid. Tissue please...I need a tissue dang it.

We love Levi and whatever struggles he has we will do any and every thing to fix them. I know it isn't my fault and that I didn't fail him. I know he will get better and that he will be ok. We want him to know that mommy and daddy will always be there to help him and he can depend on us for anything. So we will see what tomorrow brings.

To be continued....

$1 Laundry Detergent

If you have a CVS or Rite Aid close by you may want to snatch up this deal. I haven't tried this brand of detergent before but it is a great deal. You can print 2 coupons per computer.


Rite Aid Deal
Xtra Detergent $1.88
Use the $1/1 printable coupon available here
Final cost ONLY $0.88!

CVS Deal
Xtra Detergent $1.99
Use $1/1 printable coupon available here
Final cost only $0.99!


Thanks Hip2Save!

Ideas from the fridge

When was the last time that you went shopping for decorating ideas in your refrigerator? Probably never, right? I can say I have done it and will probably do it again. Have you ever noticed the jars that food comes in? Some of them are really pretty and we just throw them out with the garbage. So the other day I purchased jute from Hobby Lobby and I had an idea. I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I love it!! So I took my applesauce jar that started out like this:

And after about 10 minutes of twisting I made this:

Then I took this pretty jar and did the same thing.

I'm not sure if I like them up there or not. Maybe I'll put some sort of flowers/greeny stuff in the pitcher. What do you think? Be honest...it won't hurt my feelings. The more I look at it the more it does seem blank up there or that something is missing. I would love ideas! Either way, I love how they turned out and these cute jars will find a home somewhere.

Drab to Fab!!

I turned this:

Into this:

Those are supposed to be flowers in the corner. It was my first attempt at making them. I think I did ok. I made the black and white flowers out of my husband's old socks. The frame was free so all I bought was the chalkboard spray paint at Walmart.

Then I turned these:

Can you guess where I am going with this?

Into this:

Apothecary jars!! I love them and I have wanted them for so long. I used my $25 gift card that I won to Hobby Lobby to get these. My total was only $17!!! That's less than what 1 apothecary jar costs. Score for me!! And the best part is my wonderful parents gave me another $25 gift card to Hobby Lobby for Christmas! I'm so excited I can't stand it! Happy New Year!