What's not to love?

I just got my Summer issue of Kraft's Food & Family magazine in the mail. Yay!

Even though the whole thing is essentially an advertisement for Kraft products, I don't care. I love it and I use it and I save every copy. A subscription used to be free, but now it is $11.98. However, you can view the current issue's Digital Edition (complete with videos) for free at www.kraftfoods.com. You can also look up any past issue in the Food & Family archives. Each issue is chock full of:

• Recipes
• Coupons
  
• Advice section with smart solutions, easy how-tos, and healthy living ideas.

I love the recipes. They are easy to follow, require few ingredients, and are generally delicious. For example, this is what I made last night:

Barbecued Chicken Packet
Prep: 5 min. Total: 20 min. Makes 1 serving.

1 small boneless skinless chicken breast half (1/4 lb.)
*I used chicken breast tenderloins
1 pineapple ring

1 green pepper ring
1 Tbsp. barbecue sauce

Heat grill to medium heat. Place chicken in center of large sheet of heavy-duty foil; top with remaining ingredients.

Bring up foil sides. Double-fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

Grill 15 min. or until chicken is done. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packet.

Instead of grilling, I put the packets (I made 4) on a baking sheet and baked in the oven at 425°F for about 20 minutes. Then I served them with brown rice and a simple green salad.

There were no left-overs. Even my non-chicken-eating-children couldn't get enough.

Later this week, I'm going to try this one:

Enchilada Casserole

Prep:5 min. Total: 30 min. Makes 4 serving.

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onions

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tsp. chili powder

4 corn tortillas

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup light sour cream

Cook meat and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat 3 to 5 min. or until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, water and chili powder; cook until heated through. Transfer to bowl.

Place 1 tortilla in the skillet you just used; top with layers of 1/4 each meat sauce and cheese. Repeat layers 3 times. Cover; heat 2 min. or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and tomatoes.

Yummy, healthy, cheap, and easy. What's not to love?

Dumpster turkey

Getting free stuff is all about being in the right place at the right time.

Last week, some friends of mine made a quick trip to the neighborhood grocery store to pick up a few small items. When they arrived, they were informed by the store employees that all the freezers had just broken, so all the frozen food had been thrown out. As my friends were leaving, a light bulb went off. "Let's check the dumpsters!" And sure enough, the dumpsters outside were filled to the brim with everything from the freezers inside - still frozen. They grabbed as much as they could carry, including several turkeys. The next day they feasted on what they dubbed "dumpster turkey" - as delicious as ever, especially since it was free!

You never know when you might stumble upon an incredible blessing like that. In the case of the dumpster turkey, it was simply about being in the right place at the right time - AND thinking creatively.

Another way to increase your odds of getting free stuff is helping your friends move, and/or being around when a neighbor is moving out. We recently helped two separate families move, and, just by being there, we turned into receptacles for a lot of useful stuff they couldn't fit or keep (shower curtain, shoe rack, baking sheets, diapers, wipes, dishwashing detergent, and more!).

When people are moving, they tend to reevaluate which of their belongings are really important enough to pack up and take with them. And a lot of their stuff ends up on the curb. I have given plenty of stuff a new home thanks to this "reevaluation": an artificial ficus tree, a leather chair, a bed headboard, a play kitchenette, and so much more that I'm forgetting right now. Once again, it's just all about being at the right place at the right time.

So, let's recap:

There's no magic formula, but these tips might help you end up stumbling upon a great deal:

• DO check the dumpsters at grocery stores, especially if there's been a recent power outage
• DO help your friends move, and
  
• DO pay attention to what might be on the curb!

It's Tax Day! Get free stuff!

Tax Day (April 15) Freebies:

1. MaggieMoo's Ice Cream & Treatery
   Get one free single scoop ice cream cone all day. Limit one per customer. The closest MaggieMoo's I know of is in City Center at Oyster Point (Newport News).
   
   
2. Chick-fil-A
   If you eat at a participating Chick-fil-A restaurant on April 15, save your receipt. You can get your same order free if you return with your receipt on April 30.
   
   
3. T.G.I. Friday's
   Get a $5 gift card when you spend $15-$25 on tax day. Get a $10 card for a purchase of more than $25.
   
   
4. Cinnabon
   Free cinnamon-roll bites from 5:00-8:00 p.m.
   
   
5. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
   Save 15% off your bill.

Thank you to Vanessa, walletpop.com, and SmartMoney.com!

Swaptree

I recently learned about this site called Swaptree.com, and I'm curious to know if anyone else has heard of it or used it. Apparently, you can trade books, music, movies, and video games with other users online for free. The only cost is shipping, but you can print out mailing labels directly from their website, so you don't even have to go the post office.

According to their website, Swaptree was founded in 2004, so I may be the last to know about it. Even so, I thought I would mention it! I think it's a cool idea and a good way to get rid of clutter. It follows the "one in, one out" rule -- if you buy something new (book, movie, game, toy) you should get rid of one item you already have. Good way to avoid stacks of paperbacks and DVD's piling up.

So, let me know if any of you has tried this out. Or else I will give it a try and report back later!

A perfect day

Ahh, what a beautiful day yesterday. Sunny, breezy, and warm - the perfect day for . . . thrift store shopping! While Jeff and Hannah were out running some errands, John Ryan and I took a trip to the CHKD thrift store near our house. I found some Stride Rite white dress shoes for Hannah for $1.98 (just in time for Beatrix Potter Day at school tomorrow) and a fun Barney fold-out book for John Ryan for $0.78. Score!

Later on, after Jeff went to work and the kids had their naps, I decided to take them to Riverview Farm Park, which is always great for free fun. I love that the kids are getting old enough to entertain each other - this is a cell phone pic of Hannah pushing John Ryan in the swing.

After the playground, we hopped on over to Jeff's Starbucks for drinks - on the house! When Jeff is working, he always makes our hydration a top priority. An iced venti nonfat chai, an iced tall chai, and an apple juice later, we were much improved. And a bonus - a customer had left their copy of the Sunday paper in the bin so I collected all the coupons and inserts. Yay for me!

The best things in life really are free, or $3.00 at the thrift store.

SnapTell

This one is for all you iPhone owners out there. Even though this doesn't include me (yet! I'm holding out for a pink one), I thought this was too cool not to share.

From Apple:

"You're at the mall and see a DVD, CD, book, or video game that looks really interesting. But, you start wondering, can I get it for a better price? And what kind of reviews did it get? Pull out your iPhone. Start up SnapTell. And take a photo of the cover. SnapTell will deliver information, reviews, pricing from other vendors, even directions to other stores. Best of all. It's free."

How does it work? It uses advanced image recognition technology developed by SnapTell to instantly match an image against millions of product images. Get the app here.

Now if only they'd develop one to help you compare prices at the grocery store.

Never stop to ask for directions again

Put this number in your phone right now:

466453 (GOOGLE)

To get driving directions texted directly to your cell phone, send a text message to this number. Simply enter DIRECTIONS then your start address then TO and finally your destination address (ex: DIRECTIONS winnipeg TO r3h 0h4). Within seconds, a series of texts will be sent back to you containing the full step-by-step directions. It's so easy it's laughable.

Driving directions is only the tip of the iceberg with Google SMS (stands for Short Message Service). This little six-digit number provides United States local business listings, movie showtimes, weather conditions, stock quotes, dictionary definitions and more, all in text message format on your mobile phone. Obviously, if you have a fancy iPhone or GPS, this may not be as cool to you. But me and my little Verizon LG VX5400 are loving it.

Click here to learn more about the brilliance of Google SMS. Oh and yes, it's free.

Redbox

What's better than a free movie? How about a free movie EVERY Monday? Beat the Monday blahs with a free rental from Redbox. Click here to sign up to receive a text message every Monday with a code for a free one-night rental.

Also, if you sign up for their email list, you can get a free rental immediately (code sent via email).

Redbox is popping up everywhere. If you've never seen one, it is a red DVD-dispensing kiosk (hence the name "red box") placed in all sorts of locations: inside grocery stores, outside grocery stores, outside Wal-Marts. I've even seen one in a McDonald's. You can search for the nearest Redbox location on their website.

As for their movie selection, they carry mostly new releases and popular titles. Their variety may not be extensive, but hey! it's only $1/night.

Free chicken

I love kids' night at Chick-Fil-A. Raise your hand if you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, well, then, let me educate you. Every Tuesday or Thursday night, from 5-8, CFA has kids' night. You get a free kids' meal for every adult combo meal purchased, and, as if you needed any more reason to come, there is usually a guy dressed up in a gigantic cow suit.

Lately I've been taking the kids almost Thursday night, since 1) Jeff is working, and 2) it's almost the end of the week so I'm usually all out of dinner ingredients at home. Tonight we bundled up and headed out the door by 4:35 in order to make it to our neighborhood CFA before the craziness commenced.

Let me tell you about the craziness. Apparently, there are lots of other people who like getting free chicken. By 5:15, the lines at the registers are 10 people deep, all the tables are taken, the play area is packed with screeching kids, and drinks are being spilled all over the restaurant with almost-predictable regularity. Fathers ignore, mothers scold, children run amok. It's quite a scene.

Did I mention the FREE kids' meals?

Thankfully, we made it in time tonight to order our food and procure a table before it got nuts. We had a nice, leisurely dinner, including ice cream cones with sprinkles (free if you trade in your kids' meal toys), and then coloring at the craft table set up for the occasion. Oh, and yes, the giant cow was there, so our evening was complete.