For me, the Purse to Plate series is not just about coupons, saving money or a recipe. It is also about friendship and sharing. I look forward to learning, laughing and sharing with Karen each week. Soon she will be moving to another part of RI and although I know I won’t see her each week at CVS, I know we will continue to learn, laugh and share from and with each other.

Back to savings: This week I did not purchase too much although I did score a crayola kit 75% off and used $3 in Extrabucks to buy it. However, Karen saved big this week (over $66!) and although I could create a number of recipes with that money, today I will share this Greek Inspired Chicken Breast Recipe.

Feel free to modify this based on what is on sale at your local store such as, using a different cheese, type of tomato, herb or even meat/protein.

Cost Breakdown:
Chicken $1.50 (B1G1 – $3.00 for 2 packs but froze one):
Grape tomatoes $1.50
Olives $.62
Feta  $.63
Baby Spinach $.15 (B1G1 so reduced price)
Pantry Staples: AP flour, oregano, pepper, salt, olive oil, garlic $1.00

Total = $5.40 but if you serve to 6 people = ~87 cents per person. Crrrr-azy!!!

Go to Koupon Karen’s post where she will show you how she saved over $66!

Friday began with a drop-off playdate after school so once my husband was done with work, we headed out for one of our famous ‘running errands’ dates.

We explored a few stores for possible patio furniture then found this teak table at Home Goods. Funky and eclectic; Yes. Run of the mill; No. We look forward to it adding to the patio as a functional conversation piece.

Saturday included soccer practice followed by a Birthday Party (and fighting a few Star Wars characters).

The afternoon included buying paint for our 9-year old Adirondack chairs while my husband worked on the cat house he is building. The color I chose for the chairs is called ‘Sunny Yellow’.

See, a Cat house! And yes, it even has an attic/second floor. This week we will add shingles and a paint job.

Sunday I awoke, as millions of Moms did, to the clattering of pans and the smell of breakfast being cooked. The kids busted in the bedroom and declared ‘Happy Mother’s Day!’ and gleefully placed a heavy plate of food on my belly and with the sweetest of intention, ‘placed’ a balloon in my face. I was groggy and not ready to eat but the bright beaming eyes staring at me implored me to stuff my mouth full of food. I complied and once they left, I tossed the covers back over my face and took my time waking up.

In the late morning, we went to a birthday pool party, came home to play in the yard while I painted the chairs and my husband stained the deck and new patio stairs. For dinner, I made the Sauteed Scallops and then went to read for a few hours.

How was your Mother’s Day?

I am blushing. I am about the shade of um, red lipstick right now. Why you ask? Well, I spent some time reading yesterday and the books I am reading are enough to make one blush.

You guessed it right? Yes, I am reading the ‘Shades of Grey’ series and just telling you that has made me blush. I was hoping to spend plenty of time reading on Mother’s Day but we were very busy with multiple fun tasks which I will share in another post.

Back to food: For some reason instead of having a meal made for me, I bought one of my husband’s favorite foods, scallops and made a simple and quick dish. We ate a salad and brown rice with the scallops.

Then I ran upstairs to read.

Awesomesauce eh?

Yesterday I headed to T.J.Maxx to get some wrapping paper and a dog toy to finish off the bridal shower gift I spoke of yesterday and while I was there I spied two outdoor chairs. They weren’t very colorful but I thought they had potential.

I headed home to workout and then went back in the basement to do more sorting etc. Then I headed to the transfer station and when I got home, my hubby asked if he could take me out for a ride before we got the kids from school.

I knew this was a good opportunity to show him the chairs and guess what? We know own them. A few colorful pillows will be just the right touch.

After kiddo homework and some monopoly playing, I changed up for the bridal shower, took my girl to gymnastics and then headed to Leo’s Ristorante in Bristol, R.I. We were served many tapas style dishes but to be honest, my belly is still not 100% so I nibbled here and there. We started with clam cakes….

Followed by chicken salad served in edible spoons…

Then we had stuffed clams, chicken skewers, steak salad (I ate just the salad with some vinaigrette)…

The last two dishes were Hoisin Salmon followed by dessert with covered strawberries and pistachio cannolis.

All the while, Jane was opening gifts. Naturally, I bought her some cooking/baking essentials.

I was honored to take part. Three generations of lovely women: Jane, her Mom Sharon (both a part of Mom Generations) and Grandma Rita.

One morning earlier this week, after I dropped the kids at school, I headed over to Target to choose a wedding gift for a friend.

While I was there, I decided to peak at what they had for outdoor furniture offerings and spotted a few items I wanted to show my husband.

At lunchtime, I met my friend Janina (an awesome Life Coach by the way) and opted for the Spinach Salad and cup of clam chowder.

The dish was described as having a fried egg on it but I have never seen one like this…..

After cracking it open, I dove in….There was a bit too much dressing but otherwise, it was very good.

The I spent some time in the afternoon resting thanks to side effects to the meds. I am taking for my throat. Boo to afternoon sleepiness.

I might have let out a slight squeal at CVS Monday night after Karen and I purchased my items at CVS.  I only had two items on my list for the week and I walked out the door only spending about $1! Insane right? I know.

I went gallivanting around Stop & Shop to see what was on sale and what would be interesting for you to make this week and decided on using the chicken sausage that is on sale. Naturally, I also thought about you making sausage, peppers and onion on a roll as an option but then changed my mind because….

Everyone gets excited about pizza! Not only that, I make a fun pizza with sausage and egg but trust me, you can easily pick up some vegetables on sale and toss those on instead of egg if you wish.

This meal should cost you about $8.00. If you wish to lower the bill even further, don’t buy a premade shell but opt for making your own dough or buying a frozen ball of dough.

Chicken Sausage & Egg Pizza
Boboli whole wheat shell ($4.69)
2 teaspoons of olive oil ($0.10)
1/2 cup of Stop & Shop shredded cheese ($0.50)
2 links of al fresco Chicken Sausage ($2.00)
4 eggs ($0.80)
2 Scallions ($0.20)

Total $8.29 for 4 people -> $2.07 per person.  To make the pizza, follow these directions!

Go to Koupon Karen’s post where she will show you how I saved over $20 and paid only $1 on this trip!

I don’t know how this has happened. Somehow the basement has become a mess. There used to be organized shelves, labeled plastic bins and toys in one area.

I am wondering if trolls have been living down there because it has become a mangled, tossed about mess but I am determined to whip it into shape. I began by breaking down and stacking miscellaneous empty boxes and now I am going through bins and sorting through years of ‘stuff’.

See, while the house was on the market, I had the habit of keeping things in order by placing papers into a plastic tub telling myself I would go through them each week. Guess I missed a ‘few’ weeks. In fact, I wonder if TLC would like to record this for an episode of ‘Hoarders’

At any rate, while I was busy sorting, I had made a pile of cake making supplies and left said items on the kitchen table. The kids had been playing near me but after a while I realized they had gone upstairs and were being mischievous so I went to peek at them. As I emerged from the basement, I found that the kitchen was in a swirl of sparkly magical fairy dust, I looked at the kids and saw their faces were covered in glitter. They took off running so I looked around trying to figure out the source of the magical sparkles and saw the open container of Wilton gold dusting powder.

I recruited my under age cleaning crew and set them work cleaning. Ben ended up declaring his love of vacuuming so I plan to take advantage of that as often as possible.

After cleaning, we went outside as we finally had a sunny dry day so I set about applying protectant to the new patio table. During this time, Isabel was working on her ornithology homework while Ben decided to arrange outdoor chairs all over the yard, as far as he could carry them.

Ben (6 Year Old Son): “Mom, when can we go to Italy?”

Me: “What made you think of Italy Ben?”

Ben: “Oh, today when Daddy was falling asleep on the couch, I watched House Hunters and they were in Italy”

Me: “Maybe we can go visit there when we go to Portugal to see where Daddy was born”

Ben: “Can we go see that leaning tower thingy? will it fall if we stand in it? will there be an earthquake? if there an earthquake, will it fall then?”

Me: “Do you mean the Leaning Tower of Pisa?”

Ben: “Yeah, that building. Are there earthquakes in Italy? cause I don’t want to go there if there is earthquakes”

Me: “Well, you never know when or where there might be an earthquake really”

Ben: gentle crying ensues……

Me: thinking doh, bad move mommy and then saying “Uhhhhh…..want to play Angry Birds?”

Lately, I have been trying to play around with some more meatless meals and seeing that soon there will be fresh, local vegetables, now is a good time to start experimenting.

Preparing the Zucchini…..

Chop, Chop…..

Sizzle, Sizzle…..

Do you recall the somewhat embarrassing story behind the ‘Baked Potato Chip Nachos with Gorgonzola & Bacon‘ recipe? I knew you would! We dined at the same place, Bridge Restaurant, on Saturday to celebrate Communion.

I wanted to share what we ate so you can see more evidence as to why you need to dine here.

Plus, there is some outdoor seating and entertainment (between the river and maybe a few kids running up and down a ramp)……whose kids are these anyway?

No worries, no one else was outside or in the same room when the kids were burning off energy.

Back to the food: I opted for one of my favorites: Mushroom Ravioli with Frizzled Leeks.

Ben went for the Fish Sandwich but insisted we toss the pickle off his plate…

Isabel drooled over the Steak Frites (shown in the first photo) and my hubby went for the Fish Tacos. They were a bit spicy which made him happy….

Both grandparents enjoyed the Herb Roasted Flounder….

Chow down!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. The sun came out a bit today so I felt the need to plant some flowers while my husband cleaned the shed and the kids ran around us.

We have had a few exciting days around here as we prepared for our daughter’s communion yesterday. On Friday I was in full swing preparation mode with cleaning, cake buying and preparing to host the maternal grandparents for the weekend. However, they had car trouble on the way here and had to turn around and go home, fearing they would never make it here. The kids were sad but then their Godfather called to say he was coming down and smiles returned.

The day started off early and we arrived in the church full of excitement. It was so heart-warming seeing all the children posing for photos, giggling and the boys and the girls finding silliness in seeing each other all dressed up.

Isabel was thrilled to be sharing this special occasional with her classmates as well as her buddy since birth, Maddie.

The ceremony went off without a hitch and then we went home to relax at home before a lovely celebratory lunch with the paternal Grandparents.

After lunch, we went back home to prepare for Maddie and her family to come share some riDQulous ice cream cake with us.

After they left, we played a bit more and then headed out to pick up one car that was at the repair shop and then I took Isabel out for some mommy-daughter time shopping.

Such a blessed day!