Girls Coupon Brunch & Spicy Breakfast Pizzas

So while I am used to teaching little 5 year olds, I am not used to teaching my friends. I should say "teaching" lightly because technically, I sat on an ottoman in front of a close group of friends and shared with them about my couponing tips while stuffing my face with yummy breakfast food. But seriously, I kind of taught a coupon class:) It was alot much fun and I had to apologize in advance for my excitement over the issue.

One of my friends from my sunday school class immediately jumped on the couponing topic after I blogged about it last. Before I knew it, we had a date set for our very own sunday school brunch where I would give coupon advice. My friend who eagerly wanted to learn and offered her home to host was my start student! She tried out couponing that week prior to our brunch and texted me late one night about her savings. Ummm...I could not have have been prouder! Since our brunch together, I have learned that there have been other friends who are hitting the stores with coupons in hand and I LOVE that they share their successes with me. 

Not only did I make breakfast pizzas (and even the low-er fat version:) but I also offered a few more tips about couponing that I did not have enough room to share in my previous blog. I promised I would type up the extra notes so I figured I would do so here in my blog and with the recipe for breakfast pizzas. Enjoy!

If you are behind and need a coupon 101, see my earlier blog posts to catch up. Here are the extra notes...

*Where can you get coupons? EVERYWHERE! Newspapers, magazines, product website, coupon websites, on a product at the grocery store and in the grocery store. Another place for great coupons is your doctors/dentist office. Collins's pediatrician's office always has awesome coupons waiting for us mommas to grab them.Also, if there is an item that you like such as Wholly Guac, check their website! Most will offer coupons and you can stock up so print as many as you can!

*This may sound a bit too much and yes, it technically is butttttt I would suggest organizing coupons by aisle. It will make your trip so much faster. And with a baby now, I do not have the leisure time to just play around in the grocery store! I would much rather spend my leisure time in a mall somewhere but that doesn't seem to happen much either. 

*Once you start stocking up on more and more coupons, the greater chance you will have that you a coupon for your favorite items on sale.

*Once you stock up on foods (because you are buying them on sale, NOT when you need them), you can make a menu based off of what you have and feeding your family doesn't seem to break your bank anymore. And I to make fun and fancy foods, so rest assured that I can even make fun menus that will include the things I stock up on. 

*Coupons are not just for dry food and cereals. You can still watch your store to see when their produce and meats go on sale and buy, but then you can freeze it! We had a huge discussion about being able to freeze fruits and veggies. So yes, you can!

*You can even buy toys and baby products on a great deal. This momma has brought Collins a few pretty neat and rather costly toys at practically nothing because there will be a manufacturers coupon paired with a store coupon definitely makes it budget friendly. Jason laughs because I will come home randomly with toys for Collins that I bought for a steal.  

I bought the above precious Fisher Price toy that Collins loves to play with for $15 when it was regularly $40! I had a $15 off coupon for Target and a $10 off coupon for Fisher Price. Proud momma here! Notice my child bouncing to the beat in the video. She just might have her momma's moves;) (Video may not show if you do not have the right updates. It does't show up on my IPAD. I am lazy and hate installing new updates)

And this adorable, famous little dog? $5 from Target when it should have been $25! Similar scenario: $10 off manufacturer's coupon and $10 off Target coupon. Why didn't I buy more???? They could have been tossed in as part of a baby shower or birthday gift? I hope this doesn't sound at all cheap. I am frugal. Big difference. I love nice things and will spare no cost over those things that mean the most. 

And as far as these little breakfast pizzas go, they were so stinking easy and good! 

Spicy Breakfast Pizzas

1 (16oz) package spicy pork sausage ( I used reduced fat. You could even use turkey sausage and season it yourself)

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese (I used fat free)

1 bag of seasoning blend (found in the freezer section by veggies)

*Seasoning blend is made up of what we call the "trinity" in Louisiana: chopped Onions, bell peppers and celery. It truly is a gift to cooks instead of having to buy these things and chop them ourselves!

6 English muffins (I used whole wheat), split

Garnish: chopped red and green peppers 

In a large skillet, combine sausage and seasoning blend. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until sausage is browned and crumbly. Drain sausage mixture. Reduce heat to medium low. Return sausage mixture to skillet. Add cream cheese to skillet. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until cream cheese is melted and combined with sausage. Spread on split muffin halves. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Hello! Best part of this recipe for this mom!!). Take out pizza 30 minutes prior to cooking and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Enjoy!

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This Coupon Girl: How I Do It

So I mentioned why I coupon but how did I get started? First thing is first, I have to be honest. It takes time, dedication and organization. But a little of those three things go a long way!

Second of all, you need something to organize your coupons with. Some people have binders and that is fine. That is kind of too much for me but by all means, I love seeing a girl with a binder because I know she is serious too! I have an accordion type file folder where I organize my coupons in a way that makes sense to me. Dry foods, breakfast foods, snacks, paper goods, baby stuff etc.

Third step, stock up on all the coupons you can. How do you get them? Newspaper, the grocery store, magazines, internet etc. Cut out all that you think you will use or might use if you get a good enough deal on. You might find that the store you shop at always puts certain items on sale and there are always coupons but you don't use that item. I would still buy it (if a great deal!) and give it away. I have brought bags to our church food pantry as well as pack up these things to give to families in need during the holidays. All that to say, don't shy away from not buying something that you won't use but that you could buy for next to nothing.  Someone else can use it and it is a blessing to give those things away.

Fourth step, choose your grocery store and I would choose one that has good sales. I used to do my shopping at my sweet Publix  before we moved to TX (it will forever be my favorite store and best at deals!) but now I shop at Randalls. Kroger is also another great grocery store and Super Target can be great too. Unfortunately, I don't really have experience with many others but I know there are more out there! Choose a store based on their sales, BOGO (buy one get one free) deals, their STORE coupons and their coupon policy. By that I mean, do they double and/or triple their coupons?

Fifth step (and my favorite). I really am a nerd, get their weekly ad and sit down with a notepad and pencil. Look through the things they have on sale and write down anything that you know you have a coupon for. Write down the sale price listed in the ad, subtract the value of your coupon and voila, you have your new price! You will have to decide if the new price is a deal or not. There are deals I say no to because it isn't low enough. If I am about to buy something that I do not need at that time, it better be for little to nothing! Also check your store ad for store coupons to cut out. Read below to see why.

How do you get the biggest bang for your buck? Find a product on sale and have a manufacturers coupon (it will say on it somewhere) AND a store coupon for it as well. Stores will take one of each but not two of the same towards the same item. For example: Colgate Optic White (my favorite toothpaste) is on sale for $2.99 versus $4.99 at its regular price. Then I have a manufacturer's coupon for .50 for this same toothpaste and that .50 coupon turns into $1.00 because Randalls doubles coupons .50 and below and triples coupons .30 and below. So now the toothpaste is $1.99. The kicker is when I also have a store coupon for $1.00 off this same product which will then make my favorite toothpaste .99. DEAL! I just saved $4 on that item.

You may think $4 isn't a lot or worth all of this and you would be right. But it is when you save this kind of money on a majority of the items you buy because remember, you no longer have to buy many things full price because you are only buying them on sale. Well, when you start saving 60%-80% of your grocery bill because most of the items you buy are on sale now, that is when you see your grocery bill stretched. And saving in groceries (and I mean it all: diapers...baby stuff is expensive!, paper goods, beauty stuff, groceries) means you have extra to spend elsewhere. And don't forget, you are now making meals based off of what you have, so feeding your family just got frugal too. Your little savings can add up in a big way. I know for a fact:)

I recently went shopping and bought all of this for $11 with a few coupons and saved 66%. I should have spent at least $33. These are just a few of the deals I bought that day.  And yes, I eat Frosted Mini Wheat and Nature Valley Bars like they are going out of style. I didn't need the rest of the things but guess what? Garcia will have 2 boxes of treats ready when she runs out, the Rosemary Salted Premium Rounds will no doubt be used with the next dip I make and the Dark Chocolate Brownie mix will be used for the meal that I bring next Wednesday for friends who just had a sweet little baby. 

Hopefully, if you know me and now know that I do this, you won't judge me for being a nerd or too thrifty. It is fun and I believe that if I do well with what God has entrusted me to then He will entrust me to more, whatever that may be:) So if we are already friends and you didn't know about this secret obsession, just now think of me as your "money savvy and fabulous;))"  friend.

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This Coupon Girl: Why I Do It

Unless you know me really well, you may not know my little secret...I totally coupon. Now before you imagine me with 100 boxes of cereal stocked in my home, please know it is not like that at all. I stock up on what we use to a small degree and anything that we do not use, I give away to friends, family or a food pantry. And before you imagine that I hold up the line at the grocery store, just know that I have my coupon stash ready to go and I always apologize to the person behind me as well as the cashier just in case they are not all jazzed up about my coupon stack. But you know what? I have never had one person get impatient with me. If anything, they love watching the price go down as the cashier scans the coupons. Everyone is always amazed and it just tickles me:) I have had many moments where I call Jason laughing about what random people say to me about my coupon skills. 

 So how did I learn the art of couponing? A few years ago while living in Nashville, one of my dear friends in our bible study told us about couponing. I was like "oh yeah, I am great at couponing". Um...wrong. Just because you cut coupons and use them if you happen to buy that product is NOT couponing. That is just crazy and a waste of time. And that is what I used to do. Until I learned and now I just love the game. 

Some people may think of coupons as silly, a time waster, embarrassing etc. and that is okay.They are the people I want to make sure I apologize to before I scan all  my coupons because they will probably not care for my little game or how much I am about to save. But if you are one of those people, I hope you will think of why people may take the time to coupon:) Jason and I want to be smart about saving money and I hope we will always be no matter how much God may choose to bless us. We want so much to do well with what He has already given us which is why I coupon and Jason is my #1 fan. I want to stretch our budget to make our finances go farther. We want to save, tithe, give, pay off our debt, sponsor our precious World Vision child (Nery from Guatemala...see below:) as well as do the things we love. And we are NOT going to get there by spending but NOT stretching.

Seriously the cutest child on the planet. If you are interested in sponsoring a child from World Vision, let me know! I have a forever friend who is a child ambassador for this amazing organization. 

How does it all add up? You have to change the way you think. You have to buy the things you need and use when they are on sale, not when you need them. If you run to the store when you need something, you will pay full price and not to mention the stress of being without something until you get it. Or you can buy the things you need at 50%-75% off and just be ready for when you do use them. You are going to buy the things you need and want no matter what so why not buy those things when they are on sale? I call this " stock up and save". Another perk is buying food on sale with your coupons and making your weekly menu from what you already have versus making a huge list of things you need and then going out to buy it all...full price and full of stress. Eventually, your bottom line for your grocery budget will get smaller and smaller because you are only going to buy a few things that are on sale that you can use your coupons towards and then of course the things you need that you will always need, coupon or not. 

So yes, I am passionate about saving and being a good steward of what God has entrusted us to. I seriously have husbands of friends ask me to teach their wives how to coupon and I have lots of friends always ask so I figured I might as well share via blog. It may not be a new recipe but I KNOW Mamou would be proud and that is all that matters.  I have taught so many friends about how to coupon and I truly cannot contain my excitement when I share how to do this and then the light bulb comes on. I just love it! My little sister has said before that she is going to walk into my classroom one day and I will be in the middle of teaching my students about how to coupon and I will have them cutting coupons out with their little scissors. Ha! Hmmm...maybe as an economic lesson one day?:)

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Supporting Paula Deen

I am not one at all to ruffle feathers when it comes to debatable issues. I cringe when people around me start talking politics or anything that might get others in arguements. The thing is, we are all entitled to our own opinion. And it is just that, an opinion. And I usually have one, but I don't find myself voicing it over these type of matters unless it is in the safety of very close friends or family. I do not even want to get into religion and the difference between catholics, baptists etc. (and I love to talk faith because I am one believing girl!) but I WILL happily tell you about our awesome God. Because He is for everyone: methodist, lutheran, democrat, republican and everyone else out there...He love us ALL. I will stand up for the things that matter and  make a difference in my life or the lives of my loved ones.

But this issue leaves my stomach in knots and I just have to share my opinion this time. I have loved Paula Deen and all that she has stood for. If you have ever read her biography, you will find that she built her career from NOTHING and I admire her so much for it. She presents cooking with lots of fun and makes anyone feel that they too can whip up great dishes. She reminds us that anything good is somehow centered around food and she definitely celebrates that and encourages us all to do the same. Food brings family, celebrations, laughter, memories and life is too short to go without embracing all that food has to offer...even the extra few pounds:)

The thing is, we are all guilty of making mistakes and saying things we regret. We are all guilty of something or another. She is not perfect and never did I think she was. I knew all along that she puts her shoes on the same way I do, every single day. Do I agree with the word she used? No, not at all. I don't use it myself and cringe when I hear that word used.  But I promise I have been guilty of using some word at some point that didn't paint someone else in the best light. I have hurt feelings and undoubtedly offended others. And I was sorry for it and it still makes my heart hurt, but I hope I have been forgiven. And I can only offer the same forgiveness to others who have hurt me. Paula didn't lie in her deposition and her honesty caused great ruin. Why is it that she is the one to take the fall for a sin we have all committed at some point or another? What if we all lost our jobs because we have said something before that was hurtful? We would all be without a job! Again, I do not agree with the words she used and she made a mistake. BUT she has paid for it in more ways than one and all the stone throwers out there still have their job. We are all guilty of the same exact thing...we just never have been caught. So Paula Deen, you have my support. From one imperfect person to another.

The pictures above were taken at a book signing that I stood in line for hours for. We were told that were not allowed to take pictures with her because she had too many books to sign. Well, you know what...she still took pictures with anyone who asked...white, black, cuban, spanish and whomever else. We were ALL there! And she was incredibly sweet about it. But I was early in the line and didn't realize she was so kind and willing to take pictures so I never asked. All to see her take pictures with many more that followed me in line. The aspiring cook in me was so crushed that I missed my chance. So my sweet husband, told me to go buy another book, get back in line and he would be ready with the camera. I did just that all to wait again and have them end the signing right before I was up again to get my book signed. And do you know what? She saw me and my obvious disappointment all over my face and got me out of the crowd of people to go and stand with her and her husband and take a picture with her. Just me...the one who waited through line twice. She could have left, not giving two cares about me. It was late and I pretty much had closed down Costco with her. But her sweet character shined through. You know, everyone makes mistakes but you can tell who a person is by their character. And this southern lady, made a mistake but she does have great character. I saw it firsthand.

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3 years later, but better late than never!

Well, it has been a LONG time since I posted on this blog. I never forgot about it and I am a person who actually feels guilty about not finishing something I start. This was one of those quilty things. But life has been busy in the umm...almost past 3 years since I last posted. Seriously, has it been that long? But to justify and make myself feel better, I will say that life has changed drastically in the last three years. Back to school...AGAIN and this time to be a teacher, moved from Nashville to Texas (oh so bittersweet), got my dream job as a Kindergarten teacher at an amazing school (God is good and faithful...AMEN!) and we had our first baby...our little baby bug,Collins Catherine! So that sums up our three years in a few sentences...or at least the main parts.

We were able to visit our sweet Momou over Easter this past March and my little blog came back on my heart. But who has time to blog when you add a first year Kinder teacher AND a first time mom to the mix??? Not this girl. I barely have time to brush my teeth (but I do). So I added "get back to my blog" on my summer bucket list and here I am on my first day of summer. Go me! I am so productive:) Now if only I can keep up with it. But here is the thing, when you are a busy, new, working mom, there is barely any time to be fancy and try new recipes. So I certainly haven't been able to try any of Momou's recipes but I think that she of all people would understand. But what I DO have is a collection of "Fast and Fabulous" recipes that I have been adding to and keeping for years as I tried new recipes. I have been pulling from that list all year to make sure we can eat some sort of dinner.

So Momou, for this season of life, I may just have to blog about those recipes and whatever else life throws me but I promise to cook some of your recipes as much as I can, especially now with summer here. I plan/hope/pray to add to my "Fast and Fabulous" list so I will be ready for the fall when school starts again. As far our sweet Momou? She is still as lovely as ever with the same easy, beautiful heart. She recently moved to a nursing home which is different and hard to see, but she is still queen! Her family is ever growing and she is still a prayer warrior with grace poured all over her. So for this season of life, this blog may have to take on a new meaning where I can TRY to make it all like Mamou...family, love, grace, motherhood and of course, food. I am really not a writer at all but there is something fun and that makes my heart happy about this tribute to Momou so I am going to try to keep going. Key word here:Try.

3 generations of Catherines...well, I am Katherine with a "K".



Only a few of the grandchildren and a few great grandchildren. Notice the other baby, that would be my sister's (Jonah), born only 20 days after Collins.



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So The Story Goes...

I recently saw the new movie Julie and Julia and oh wow...I was inspired. That movie was so cute, so interesting and it kept me on the edge of my seat like a thriller would have done. If you haven't see the movie I say you go right this minute! You will fall in love with both Julie and Julia as well as a love for cooking even if you don't love to cook! So again I say I was inspired. I walked out of that theatre bound and determined that not only was I going to blog about cooking but I was going to find the perfect set of recipes to blog about! So I go to thinking and racking my little brain and I finally realized that I have in my possession a certain collection of recipes that would be PERFECT to blog. Why I hadn't thought about this sooner I will never know. I could have beaten Julie to the punch and wrote a blog, book and created a major motion picture all about cooking. But I didn't think of it sooner so I will just say thank you to Julie for passing along her bright idea. Now what will make my blog different is that I personally know the person who is responsible for the recipes behind my blogging. She is my grandmother that we call Momou. Her name is Narcille Katherine Roy Mayeux and that darling lady is known for her cooking. So the story goes like this: The last time that she and I had a slumber party (about 3 years ago) I asked her if we could go through some of her favorite recipes and I could write them down in my recipe binder. So she takes out an accordion type file folder with TONS of clipped newspaper recipes and hand written recipes stuffed right in that folder. I knew then and there that it was going to be the best slumber party yet! She and I stayed up all night taking turns pulling out random recipes and reading them to each other. We would "ooh and ahh" over every recipe that we read aloud and then tuck it back in the folder while reaching for the next. Momou told me that the recipe collection had been started the year she married my grandfather in 1939. To many people that little file folder would look like nothing special...it wasn't even a real cookbook. But to her and I it contained recipes that were like little tiny dreams collected over a lifetime. Anyone that clips recipes or flags a page in a cookbook knows that you are saying to yourself that one day you will make that recipe and you will find the perfect time in life to do so. Well that night came to an sleepy end. As hugs and kisses were exchanged Momou told me very nonchalantly that I could have the recipe collection. Again, to others it would look like I had just inherited a folder that had more dust than anything but to me I had just inherited a priceless gift. In my 24 year old, newlywed eyes it felt like she was entrusting me to carry on with all of those tiny dreams in that folder. So here I am...3 years later and I am ready to take on the challenge she gave me that night. All of the recipes that she clipped with the hopes of making one day will be made. I will never forget her pulling out a recipe that night for some type of yummy sounding pie and she told me that she never had the chance to make it. Well Momou...I will make it for you. I am going to lovingly prepare, cook and taste each recipe that you had at one point clipped with the intention of making. Momou is loved by many and my hope is that this blog will serve as a way for all of us to have a copy of that dusty old file folder with the precious recipes inside. I invite you to write in about your favorite memory, recipe or story about Momou or your own grandmother. And between my husband and I, we have 4 wonderful grandmothers that share a love for cooking: Momou, Momee, Maw Maw and Deal. So while this is a tribute to cooking for Momou I want to take the time to share beloved recipes by all four of these women at some point. I don't know how often I will get to post to this blog. The blogs will consist of the actual recipe itself and then my little story about my experience with that recipe. Get ready because there are lots of recipes for me to try. Whew...there is lots to do so let's get cooking!

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