KitchenAid Stand Mixer as low as $87.02+tax (ends 11/28)

The Classic - I have this model.

I absolutely LOVE my KitchenAid stand mixer. It is a great multi-tasker for my kitchen. I can use it's bread hook attachment to make bread, I use the whisk for whipped cream, the paddle for pretty much everything else, and then I bought a pasta roller attachment, which is so much fun. I am also looking to get the food grinder and sausage stuffing kit. With all that said, Kohl's has an amazing deal on all of their KitchenAid stand mixers.

The Laundry Monster is tamed!

There's a monster who lives in our house and I never seem to be able to keep it under control. It haunts me on regular basis but especially at night. It's at it's meanest when I just want to fall into bed and sleep. It's name, you may ask...

Clean Laundry!

With 2 adults and 4 children, we almost have enough dirty clothes for a large load by the end of the day, which means I go through roughly 7 loads off laundry a week. Now that doesn't include soiled bedding and towels. I used to have 1 set laundry day a week but since we moved my schedule just doesn't allow for that. I now try to do a couple of loads every other day, which has helped a bit with taming the dirty laundry monster. We also use a laundry sorter and that helps even more. 

Now our biggest problem has been the clean laundry. I struggled with getting it all folded right away and many times the clean clothes would pile up unfolded in the laundry baskets till they all needed to be ironed, but who has time to iron every piece of "visible" clothing? Not me! So I started folding the clothes as I took them out of the dryer. It did help but then I ran into another problem...I sorted the laundry on our bed (usually during naptime when the house is, for the most part, still) but I didn't always find time to put the sorted laundry away before we put the kids to bed. This was when the clean laundry monster reared its nasty head. I'd be so tired and frustrated that all the nice, clean, folded, sorted laundry had to go back in the laundry baskets to be put away another day. It made me feel like I wasn't really finishing my task (and it took up a lot of space in our bedroom since we currently have 6 people crammed into a 3 bedroom, 850 sq. ft. house).

I'm sure you've seen the amazing pictures of laundry rooms that people have shared on Pinterest and wished your laundry room could be so neat and organized. Yes, I'll admit that I have. However, the Lord provided a way of escape from my temptation to covet, and this escape came in the shape of 4 dollar store "mini" laundry baskets. I found them by "accident" really, I was looking for some little plastic boxes for sort small items when I saw them. I figured that for $1 each, we could swing it. I am so glad that I did. I still struggle with getting all the hanging clothes put away but now the kids can easily put their own folded laundry away.

Temperance: Eating for Weight Control (Health Matters)

It has been many months since I posted any updates on our weight loss progress so I figured that I should share.
I had gotten down around 200-202 by mid-summer 2012 and was working really hard at it. Then by late July I just stopped losing even when I was monitoring my calories and getting in the needed exercise time. By the end of August, I started gaining again no matter what I did. There were many other issues that began to develop throughout the fall but I just chalked it up to being a WAHM of 4 kids and the additional stress of homeschooling. In early December, I went in for my annual physical and had to schedule my first cholesterol/thyroid labs for the end of the month since I'm closing in a 30. Less than a week after the labs were done, my doctor called me and informed me that I had developed postpartum hypothyroidism (meaning my thyroid had stopped producing the proper hormone levels due to pregnancy). Normal thyroid numbers range between .5 and 5, mine were over 40. Hypothyroidism explained all the issues I'd been having and I am starting to get better now that I'm on a thyroid hormone replacement. We're still working to get the right dosage and with moving/selling our current home I haven't really started losing but at least now I'm maintaining. Hoping to start focusing more on calorie intake and exercise once we get settled in the new house.

This is one of the reasons that I make the disclaimer to discuss weight issues with your doctor! Check out my original post on temperance here.

Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

Here is a list of my favorite kitchen gadgets and appliances, things that I would have a hard time living without. With Christmas coming up, these are some good gift ideas for that someone special in your life who likes to cook.

Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker - I have fallen head over heads for my aeropress. It is really easy to use and even easier to clean, which is great for this busy mom who dislikes doing the dishes. We use it to make delicious Americanos every morning for breakfast and I even use it to make lattes and mochas since it's way cheap than buying a good quality espresso machine.

Slow Cooker - I have a whole month's worth of crockpot meals and they really do make the day a bit less stressful. I have several sizes but my 6-quart programmable gets used the most.

KitchenAid Mixer - the hubby bought it for me with his first big Christmas bonus the second year we were married, I was due any day with our first child and he wanted to really surprise me. It gets used a TON in our house with all the baking that I do. I use the whisk attachment to make up some killer whipped cream, the bread hook for all kinds of homemade breads (pretzels, dinner rolls, breads), and the paddle attachment for pretty much everything else. We just recently purchased the pasta roller attachment (which is really fun to do with the kids) and I'd love to get the food grinder and sausage stuffing kit.
From 11/24/14-11/28/14, Kohl's is having a HUGE pre-Black Friday sale on these babies!

Coffee Grinder - fresh ground coffee tastes incredible, so much better than pre-ground.

Large Griddle - these come in handy for French toast, pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc. when you have a larger family or company.

Large Sauté Pan, cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan with a lid  - we use one of these three items every Saturday morning when the hubby cooks up his traditional breakfast skillet.

Meat Mallet - I finally got one of these and I love it.

Waffle Maker - you have to make waffles from scratch or sweet potato waffles but do not use a pancake mix as it just does not taste as yummy. There is also a recipe on Pinterest for hashbrowns using your waffle maker. Who woulda thunk it?! :o)

Cuisinart Food Processor with a cheese grater attachment - I hate how long it takes to grate a block of cheese and my wonderful hubby bought me one for our anniversary in 2011. I use it for way more than just the grater as it is amazing!




Disclaimer: I have not been paid to advertise any of these products. I just really, really love them and think that you will, too! Of course, this post may contain affiliate links in case you choose to increase my meager income by your purchase. :)

Cleaning the Bathroom, Pinterest Style

I am going to admit something to you. I HATE cleaning, and the two things I hate to do most are washing the dishes (we'll save the reason for some other post) and cleaning the bathroom. I just plain do not like cleaning the bathroom, it's dirty, smelly, and takes a good chunk of time to get really clean. BUT, thanks to Pinterest, I have found a better way to clean my bathroom. In fact, it's so easy (and almost chemical-free) that Mr. R., who's only 5 1/2, can do about half of it. This literally takes 15 minutes if you clean the shower and wash the floor, even less if you're just cleaning the sink, countertops, and toilet area.

How to Plan a Menu

Last week our assistant pastor's wife asked me to speak to a group of our church ladies on how to plan a menu. It was definitely something new for me as I have never done any sort of public speaking regarding my menu planning. I am including my notes from this as a post to hopefully be a help to you as you write your menus.

Bulking Up Ground Meats

I have recently started adding a few things to my ground meats - venison, chicken/turkey, and beef, haven't tried it with pork yet - to add more nutrients, flavor and bulk (making it stretch a bit farther). Here are some things that I've added and a few that people have suggested (**). This is per pound of meat:

• 1 cup finely shredded carrot
• 1 cup  finely chopped fresh spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2-4 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1/2 refried beans** (I'd opt for making homemade beans and then pureeing them)
• grains such as cooked rice, cooked barley, uncooked oats, bran cereal, crushed crackers or breadcrumbs
• finely chopped mushroom**

Harvest Time Ideas

With Fall fast approaching, I have begun the task of harvesting the fruits of my labor - from tomatoes and peppers to melons and summer squash. Here are things that I do with my "extra" produce (what I don't eat up or share).

Temperance: Getting Out of Debt

In September of 2008 we were at our whit's end with finances. We had a negative cash flow, 5-6 credit cards (a few of them were maxed out), 2 car payments, some medical bills (our oldest spent almost a week in NICU at birth), a couple of student loans, and our mortgage.

Temperance: Eating for Weight Control

Our Story (You can check out our updates here)
Over the weekend Jared found a couple of pictures of us at our heaviest. It was quite a shock to look back and really see how other people saw us. When you are obese, you try not to have your picture taken very often and when someone does catch you on film you tend not to look at them very close or keep them out for others to see. Both the hubby and I were (and still are) obese. Weight is something that we've both struggled with since we were young. Granted a small part of it is probably due to genetics but most of our struggle is due to the choices that we've made in the past and present.

Early March 2006
(I was around 245 at the time.)

 I have never really been small (got to love that Norwegian and Swedish heritage) and shifted blame almost solely to my large frame for weight struggles most of my growing up and early adult years. I refused to accept that I was obese because of the choices I had made and was continuing to make.

The Many Uses of Cucumbers

Extra cucumbers in the garden this year? Feel like you've got them coming out of your ears? Cucumbers are a great summer garden veggie. They are fairly easy to grow and one small plant can produce dozens of cucumbers. I recently heard that there are many more uses to cucumbers than simply topping your salad.

Tip 8: Stocking the "Pantry"

There are certain things that I always try to keep on hand so that if (when) plans change I can easily make dinner on the fly. This helps to keep me from spending more money than I need to later on. Here are some things that I will stock up on for "EDM" (emergency dinner management). I will continue to add to this list as I have time but wanted to get it up right away while I was thinking about it. An "*" means that I have added something to the post from comments others have made. :o)

Dry Goods

• pasta - this is such a great "base" item to keep on hand. There are almost limitless possibilities for it. Plus, you can stock up when the price is low or free after coupons, and it doesn't really go bad.
• rice (regular, brown, and Minute)
• baking items: bisquick, corn meal, flour, sugar, yeast, baking soda, baking powder, etc.
• instant potatoes - plain, flavored, or specialty
• cereal* - this can make for a nice snack

Canned Goods 

• soups: cream of ___ or tomato soups can provide you with basic sauces, and main-dish type soups (Progresso, Chunky, etc.) can be purchased inexpensively with coupons and kept on hand for a really quick fix.
• jarred sauces (marinara, alfredo, etc.) 
• diced tomatoes - in a pinch you can use this to create your own pasta sauce, pizza sauce, etc.
• mushrooms
• black olives
• broth, stock, or bouillon
• pasta sauce
• canned tuna or chicken*

Frozen/Refrigerator Goods

• dinner rolls, bread dough, biscuit dough, etc. - I usually try to keep one of these bread options on hand as an emergency filler.
• veggies - I much prefer fresh veggies if I can get them for a good price, but I always like to keep a few staple frozen veggies on hand, such as corn, peas, mixed veggies, etc. Throw some mixed veggies in with some pasta, meat, and a quick sauce. VOILA! You have dinner.
• meat - I like to buy a lot of meat when it's on sale for cheap, then I freeze it to save for dinners down the road.
• ground beef, turkey, pork, etc.
• roasts
• chicken (wings, thighs, breast, whole chickens, and roasters)
• stew meat
• cheese (Yes, this is a staple in our house.)
• sour cream or plain yogurt
• smoked sausage
• breakfast sausage (links or patties)
• frozen potatoes (hashbrowns, fries, or o'brien style)

Your Turn: What are some items that you like to keep on hand for dinner emergencies?

Things to Know

Got this list as an email from a friend. I thought several of these were good ideas, have any of you tried these? I especially want to look into #42.

THINGS TO KNOW
1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair
2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish
3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes
4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair
5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea
7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water
8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste
9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!
10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too
11. Bee stings - meat tenderizer
12. Chigger bite - Preparation H
13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H
14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)
15. Stinky feet - Jello!
16. Athletes feet - cornstarch
17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub
18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)
19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!
20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray
22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby
23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls
24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on
25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar!
26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!
27. Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak
28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia, soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!
29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!
30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.
32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.
33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter !
34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , soak overnight!
35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!
36. Dirty grout - Listerine
37. Stains on clothes - Colgate
38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup
39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola, it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!
40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax - sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox, or 2 Bayer
aspirin, or just use 7-up instead of water.
42. When you go to buy bread in the! grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie. They are: Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red, Friday = White and Saturday = Yellow. So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow , Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

Church Valentine Banquets

This year will be year number six that the hubby and I have been planning our church's Valentine Sweetheart Banquet. In that time we've done almost every game imaginable. Being I am knee deep in planning for this year's banquet, I thought that I'd share a few things I've learned or done. I should note here that we only invite married and engaged couples attend.

Location - In the years that we've organized the banquet, we have never held the banquet on our church property. I know that this is more expensive for the couples attending, but it is also less work. Our church does not have a fellowship hall or any other room that is a large enough in size AND aesthetically appealing. We have an old gymnasium that takes a LOT of work to transform it into something even remotely romantic. This will not work for everyone, it is just what our church does. We do charge $45 per couple and usually still have 30-40 couples attend.

Program - We usually have 3-5 games throughout the evening, sing a couple of songs as a group, and have some special music. We also get a special speaker and have a big prize drawing at the end. The hubby is and always has a been quite the entertainer (he'd thought of going into comedy before God called him into the ministry).

Games - We've done several different games in the past and try to do completely new ones each year. Although, we may end up reusing a few of the old ones this year as we are getting low on game ideas. Please comment if you know of another game or two that you or your church has done.

• Love Bingo - Use the conversation hearts candies as markers. We usually play a few rounds and have small prizes for each winning couple.
• Candy Count - We've done this every year except our first. Place a giant jar of candy hearts (kisses, m&m's, etc.) at the entrance to the party room. As each guest walks in, hand them a slip of paper and encourage them to write down their name and the number of hearts they guess might be inside the jar. Toward the end of the evening, announce the name of the one who guessed the closest amount and give him the candy as a prize.
• Newlywed Game - Pick 4 or 5 couples. Have the wives sit on one side of the room and the husbands on the other side. Ask each group a different question about their spouse. Then have the other group write down the correct answer.
• The Most Romantic Husband - We had each of the wives at the banquet fill out a questionnaire about how romantic their husband was. Each question had to be answered by a number. The wives then added up the numbers to get a total. Then the 4 husbands who scored the most "points" were given a love poem. The husbands had to read this poem to their wife as romantically as they could. The crowd then voted on which husband did the best job. Many of the "shyer" husbands scored higher romance points and had to read poems to their wives.
• Love Songs - have each table pick one husband to participate in this game. Give each husband a kazoo and have them play "Jesus Loves Me". The crowd decides who does the best job.
• Verse of Love Match - make up a list of verse and have guests try to guess what the reference is. They get one point for book, 1 for chapter, and 1 for verse. 
• Proposal - each table picks a couple, then the wife sits in a chair while the husband gets down on one knee. The husband must then "propose" to his wife all over again. The crowd picks their favorite proposal. 
• Pudding Head - Each table picks one couple to participate in this game. The couple is then blind folded. The wife has to feed a pudding cup to her husband. The other couples at the table can help by telling the wife to move her hand up, down, left, or right. The first couple to finish the pudding is the winner. Bibs are a must for this game. :o)
• Love Trivia - Make up a list of questions about Love, Valentine's Day, Marriage, etc. and have the couples try to answer them correctly.
• Will You Be My Valentine? - The hubby came up with this idea last year as a starter game. We put card making stuff at each table (crayons, markers, scissors, constructions paper and completely blank cards and envelopes). As the guests arrived, the husbands were told to make their wives a valentine. They had till the end of the dinner portion of the evening to finish. Then all of the guests voted on which Valentine was the best. It was really fun and everyone enjoyed it (at least they seemed to).
• How Well Do You Know Your Wife - This is a variation on the Newlywed Game. Most of the paid staff at our church attends the Valentine banquet each year so one year we played a game involving only those on staff. A few weeks before the banquet we gave the wives of 3 staff members a questionnaire about themselves (15-20 questions about their favorite food, favorite Bible verse, etc.). The night of the banquet we had the different husbands sit and answer the questions from the questionnaire. It was lots of fun to see how many of the questions that the husbands actually got wrong.
• Baby Picture Match - A month or so before the banquet collect baby pictures of different couples at church. Then print copies of the photos (in either black and white or sepia to keep them uniform). Put together a poster or display board with the different pictures giving each a number. On the game sheet put the couples names like this:
• Husband _____ & Wife _____ Last Name
  Then tell those playing the game to match the numbered baby pictures with the corresponding husband or wife. I like to have pictures for 12-18 different couples (24-36 pictures total). Couples get 1 point for each correct match (24-36 possible points). 
• Engagement Stories - A month or so before the banquet talk to 12-18 different couples and get some info on how they got engaged. Ask them to answer 5 different question about their engagement: where, when, how, how long had they been dating, and wife's maiden name. We then wrote up a short story of each couple's engagement. At the banquet, each team (couple) had to try to guess which couple went with which engagement story. We had a list of the couples and numbered the stories for matching purposes.
• Candy Necklace - I know it's an odd name for a game. Have each wife here a candy necklace around her neck and the husband has to eat the candies off the necklace without using his hands (this may not work if your group is on the "stiff" side).
• Pickup Lines from Song of Solomon - pick some outlandish verses from Song of Solomon (i.e. SS 4:1b, "...thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead." keep the choices G-rated), give one to each husband. The husband has to come up ith some sort of pickup line to use on his wife based on the verse. Each table picks a winner and then the winners from each table read their lines to the audience and they vote on a winner. Here's the winning line from this year's banquet,
  Verse: SS 7:4a, "Thy neck is as a tower of ivory;"
  Pickup Line: "Your neck is fair and slender like an ivory tower, and I want to climb it."
• What would you do for your wife's affection, would you...? - Each husband picks a number out of a hat, which corresponds to an activity (see the list below for ideas). The husband must then complete the activity for a prize.
• Whistle at your wife after eating crackers
• While blindfolded, identify your wife
• Change a “stinky” diaper in 30 seconds (plastic baby doll + chocolate pudding filled diapers)
• Burp “I Love You” to your wife 
• True or False Question (must verify with the wife) 
• What style cut is the stone on your wife’s ring? 
• Where did you and your wife go on your first date? 
• Where would your wife say that you went on your first date? 
• In 30 seconds, name 10 things your wife keeps in her purse.
• Wedding Picture Match - This game is much like the Baby Picture Match game except you get wedding pictures from 12-18 different couple (make sure the copies are in black & white or sepia). Then for the game have people match the wedding picture with the couple AND guess the correct month and year, like this:
• ______ Husband & Wife Last Name - when _______ (month) ________ (year)
  The teams (couples) get 1 point for each part of the question that they get right (1 for correct picture, 1 for correct month, 1 for correct year).

Here are a couple of other game ideas that we haven't used before but I've found while looking for new ideas.

1. Bible Sweethearts Matching Game
2. Valentine Word Scramble

Prizes (for the games) - I put together inexpensive gift baskets for the different game prizes (yes, I do use double coupon days to get much of the filler items). We try to have 2-3 prizes for each game. Here are a few of the different baskets that I've done:

• Breakfast Basket - pancake mix along with syrup or muffin mix, coffee packet, mugs, hot chocolate packets, and tea.
• Romance Basket - sparkling juice, candles, chocolates, goblets, love poem book or something similar.
• Movie Night Basket - microwave popcorn, candy boxes, root beer, and root beer mugs.
• Game Night Basket - some small games like Uno, Skip-Bo, Boggle, etc., small bags of chips, candies, etc., and tumblers.

Favors - We want everyone who attends to go away with some type of prize so we've tried to include favors each year. Most years we just do little candy bags at each place but last year we got fresh cut roses for the centerpieces and then let the wives each take one home with them. This year I'm trying to come up with something different. Any ideas?


Prize Drawing - 5-8 weeks before our banquet we start contacting local businesses about donating items for our prize drawing. We offer them advertising in return and place a "Thank You" page in our program with the names and addresses of the different donors. We also encourage those attending to stop in and thank the different businesses. We usually end up with around 10 different prizes ranging from free Culvers ice cream to a nice hotel room.

Menu - Being we've always had the banquet at a restaurant or banquet facility, I've never had to make up a menu from scratch. One thing we try to do is stick to a chicken entrée and then a beef or fish option. Also, when picking a veggies we usually go with a California medley veggie as most people like at least one of the veggies in the blend.

Decorations - Usually the only decorating we do is centerpieces for the tables. One year I was able to get roses for $10 a dozen from Walmart the day before the banquet so we put 4 roses in a bud vase and then let the ladies each take one home. We've done little glass bowls with floating candles and glass beads sitting on top of mirrored tiles.
I've also taken cylindrical vases; filled them with the glass "rocks", valentine party wire, water and floating candles; and placed them over mirrored tiles.

    

One year, I was able to get a bunch of terracotta pots for free from a nearby florist. I then painted them dark brown, sponged them in a bronze metallic paint, and filled them with fake flowers (that I got for 75% off a few weeks after Christmas at Walmart) and large pillar candles (50% during a Hobby Lobby sale). Everyone thought that I had purchased them. 

This past year (2012), I was able to dress up some simple clear glass vases with ribbon and a flower. The vases had decorative glass stones and pillar candles in them. I added some 2.5" brown burlap ribbon and then secured the ribbon with a floral/feather hair clip.

KitchenAid Mixer Deal at Kohl's

The hubby bought me a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas almost 4 years ago and, as many of you know, I LOVE it! If you are in the market for a stand mixer or looking for a good Christmas gift idea for your wife then you'll want to check this out. A friend posted this link on Facebook and I just couldn't resist sharing it here on the blog.

Kohl’s: Amazing Deal on 4.5 qt Kitchenaid Mixer (Beats Black Friday Pricing)

BY CHRISTY ON NOVEMBER 11, 2010

Kohls.com had the KitchenAid® Classic Plus 4.5-qt. Stand Mixer on sale for only $199.99, but if you use the coupon codes that are available you can score an amazing deal in conjunction with the mail in rebate and FREE Kohl’s Cash. Your final price can be as low at $103 (+ tax).   You will need to purchase the mixer by November 15th in order to claim the rebate.

Kohl’s Cardholder Deal

KitchenAid® Classic Plus 4.5-qt. Stand Mixer 199.99

Use the code HOLIDAYGIFT for 30% off = 139.99

Shipping is FREE, but there is a $3.25 surcharge you will have to pay

Pay today = 143.24 (+ your states sales tax)

Get $20 back from Kitchenaid mail-in rebate

Brings price down = 123.24

Plus, earn $20 in Kohl’s cash ($10 for every $50 you spend)

Final Price = 103.24 after coupon codes, rebate & Kohl’s cash

**You can earn an additonal $10 in Kohl’s cash if you spend $10 more to get you over $150

Non-Cardholder Deal

KitchenAid® Classic Plus 4.5-qt. Stand Mixer 199.99
Use the code EXTRA20 for 20% off = 159.99
Shipping is FREE, but there is a $3.25 surcharge you will have to pay
Pay today = 163.24 (+ your states sales tax)
Get $20 back from Kitchenaid mail-in rebate
Brings price down = 143.24
Plus, earn $30 in Kohl’s cash ($10 for every $50 you spend)
Final Price = 113.24 after coupon codes, rebate & Kohl’s cash

This is a super deal considering you can pick one up on Black Friday at Sears for $199.99, which has a mail in rebate of $50, making the final price $149.99.   With the Kohl’s deal, you pay less and you don’t even have to leave your home!

**The Kohl’s cash you earn is based on your total after discounts, but before any tax or shipping charges.

FREE Thanksgiving ebook

Moneysavingmom.com has a free ebook that you can download. It has Thanksgiving recipes, traditions, decorating ideas and more. There are also some helpful printables and downloads to make Thanksgiving more organized for you this year. Download free ebook here.

How to Reuse Plastic Bottle Caps

Do you hate having to grapple with rubber bands that are tied too tightly? Or maybe frustrated with those twistie-ties because the paper comes off of them? Here is an idea that I received by email for sealing a bag and making it air-tight!

Step 1: Cut up a disposable water bottle and keep the neck and top, as in photo.

Step 2: Insert the plastic bag through the neck and screw the top – to seal. The bottle is made to be air-tight, such that water will not leak, the secret lies with the top and screw!

Pancakes and Low Fat Topping Options

I love pancakes, waffles, and French toast. But I have a problem, they are all fairly high in calories (2 - 5" pancakes are almost 300 calories). So I started looking at some other topping options than just maple syrup (210 calories for 1/4 cup, which is about 4 tablespoons). Here are some other options for toppings:

• Fresh fruit
• blackberries (1/2 cup) - 25
• blueberries (25) - 19
• whole mango - 40 calories
• whole peach - 35 calories
• whole pear - 45 calories
• raspberries (1/2 cup) - 32
• strawberries (5 large) - 50
• Unsweetened applesauce (only 50 calories per 1/2 cup)

Fluffy Pancakes (Taste of Home recipe)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk (I plan to try using coconut milk)
• 1/4 cup shortening, melted - I did substitute about 1 tablespoon of the shortening with unsweetened applesauce and may try substituting half of the shortening with unsweetened applesauce next time, or maybe even substitute coconut oil.

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk and shortening; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2. Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes; cook until the second side is golden brown. Yield: 8 pancakes.

Nutritional Analysis: 2 pancakes equals 283 calories, 15 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 59 mg cholesterol, 534 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 6 g protein.

Aluminum Foil & Plastic Wrap Boxes

My MIL just sent me an email about these, and I will confess that I didn't know about this until I got her email! The following is quoted directly from the email.

Don't tell me you've known about this for years!!!! Did any of you know this? I can't even believe this!!! If you did know this how come you never told me? I've gone through my whole life being frustrated at those stinkin' rolls and all these years there's been a solution on the end of the box!!! Whoever looks at the end of your aluminum foil box? I guess we're never too old to learn something...

Was this something we were supposed to learn from our Moms????? I can't believe it's been there all this time. I had to go into the kitchen and check this out for myself. Whoever looks at the end of your aluminum foil box? You know when you try to pull some foil out and the roll comes out of the box. Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over. The stupid roll always comes out at the wrong time. Well, I would like to share this with you. Yesterday I went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I turned it, and looked at the end of the box. And written on the end it said, Press here to lock end. Right there on the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place. How long has this little locking tab been there?
I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too. I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I can't count the number of times the Saran wrap roll has jumped out, when I was trying to cover something up.

I'm sharing this with my friends. I hope I'm not the only person that didn't know about this. I know you're going to go and check your boxes, so go ahead!

Tip 7: How to Peel a Potato without a Peeler

My aunt posted a link to this YouTube video by Dawn Wells (Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island) on how to peel a potato without using a peeler and thought it was a very interesting idea. In fact, I may try it the next time that I need to peel a potato.