Banana Ice Cream

Ok, let me first start off by saying I did 2 things "wrong" based on the original recipe.

Those 2 things are, that I froze the bananas for 24 hours instead of the recommended 1 hour. The other thing is that it was recommended that the banana peel has brown spots on it, and my banana peels were very yellow. I have a few bananas left, sitting on the counter, that I plan on trying again in a few days, to see if this prevents the need for milk. So here we go.

Take 4 bananas. Using 4 bananas provided enough "ice cream" for 2 very big bowls. So adjust accordingly! Slice the bananas. I sliced them to about half inch slices. Then, freeze the bananas. I froze them all in one little container. I had to spend about 10 minutes breaking them apart, because they became one big banana slice mass. So, If you are able to, try to freeze them in smaller portions, or maybe in a larger container, spread out.

After the bananas freeze (again, recommended time was 1 hour, i did 24) throw them in the blender. When I got to this part, I blended as much as I could, and I have a decent blender, and they just weren't getting creamy. So this is the part where I had to add milk. I'm going to try it again without milk, because I know a lot of people like to avoid milk, or HAVE to avoid milk... but I'll get back to you on that once the bananas ripen.

So, I blended the bananas with the milk, until it was blended through. If you like the taste of banana alone, you are now ready to enjoy!!! I don't mind bananas alone, but I just needed a little something else. I added peanut butter, just a little spoonful, and that gave it enough of a little extra peanut butter flavor.

It was delicious, simple, and HEALTHY!!! You should be able to flavor with anything you want!! Or, add toppings etc etc.

Again, I will post again once I try this the "right" way!!!

Deal of the day! 80% savings on shorts!

Today, I got an e-mail from womanwithin.com that you got this awesome free weekender bag with purchase of any 2 items (using code WW68414) . So, I'm like, eh, lets check out the clearance section. I got 2 pairs of like, work out shorts, as well as the bag.

Original price: 79.80 (this includes taxes and shipping)
I paid: 16.39 and will receive 0.57 cash back with eBates

How?

Shorts were originally 17.99. They were on clearance for 4.88 each.
The bag would have been 34.99. but since i bought 2 items, this was free!!
I of course had to pay taxes, and though I found a free shipping code, I could only use this if I didn't get the free weekender bag. So, shipping cost 5.99. I HATE paying shipping. I really do, but it cost FAR less than the bag.

So after cash back, my total is 15.82. I saved a total of 63.98 and this was an 80% savings!!!

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ignore this!!!

Chicken Broccoli Cheese Braid!!! DELISH!

 

Out of all the weird new meals I've tried, I think this is my favorite!!  The best part is that you can pretty much customize it with anything you want!! Here goes:

Ingredients: 

1 Can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

1 chicken breast (cooked and cubed)

2 cans of reduced fat crescent rolls

2 cups of shredded cheese (i used cabot vermont cheddar)

2 cups of broccoli

1 egg yolk

Rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine the soup, chicken, cheese and broccoli in a bowl. I used a cookie sheet with foil and then sprayed the foil with non stick spray for the next step. 

Lay the crescents flat on the sheet, and press the seems together to form one giant rectangle of dough. Pour all the ingredients from the bowl onto the rectangle of dough, and kind of form everything in a "log" in the middle. 

Cut 1 inch strips into dough along the sides. "Braid" the strips of dough (alternate left side, right side) until all dough is braided.  Pinch closed as many holes as possible. 

Beat egg yolk and brush over the top of the dough, sprinkle rosemary on top of that.

Cook for 25-30 minutes, until a nice gold color. 

Entire recipe is about 2728 calories. This may change based on the dough and cheese you use. We divided it into 4 portions, which was very filling, you could probably get away with even less if you have a normal, or small appetite! As I said above, you can really make this with any ingredients you want, i think next time i'm going to try more mixed veggies and go for an almost "chicken pot pie" feel!

Enjoy and please feel free to ask questions or leave feedback if you make this!!!

Deal of the day: Crocs!!

My girly LOVED her flip flop crocs my mom bought her at a yard sale last year, so ive been keeping my eye open for a deal ever since. Today was that day!!

Normal price for the crocs (crocband toe bumper flip to be specific): 24.99
On sale for: 14.99
Shipping:  4.99

Coupon code: fallship provided free shipping
Coupon code: FRIENDS provided 20% off.

Total before sales and discounts:  30.98
I paid: 12.47
Cash back on eBates: 5% or 0.62 (bringing my eBates earning total up to $2.50 plus the $15 i got for making a purchase over $25)

Total cost after cash back: 11.85

Total savings: $19.13 or 62%!!!

Recipe of the Day: Taco Casserole!

Yesterday, I made taco casserole. Kind of. I don't know if that's the best name, but def a recipe I recommend! Bear with me, because I did go off recipe, and i'm trying to portray that! The entire dish is about 2556 calories, and I made it in an 13x9 pan, so it makes PLENTY to make a reasonable portion, i divided it by 4s, so i ended up with 639 calories, and satisfying my needs for that kind of food!!

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef (i had 80%)
2 tbsp homemade taco mix (see below)
1 can of hunts petite diced tomatos
1 can of corn (or frozen corn, or fresh corn...)
1 box of cornbread mix (i used jiffy, you will need all ingredients needed to make the cornbread, most likely eggs and milk)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Brown meat, drain. Add tomatoes (i blended them into a puree because i cannot stand tomato chunks!) add taco seasoning,  warm through. Mix in corn. Pour into pan.

Make corn bread mix as directed on box, and pour liquid on top of mixture in pan. (i used 1 box, but i really think it would have turned out better with 2 boxes, BUT the entire box is 1020 calories... so if you are calorie counting, you might want to make 1 box make due... it was fine, but if you want a LOT of cornbread, use 2...) 

Cook for 20-30 minutes.  Everything else is prepared, so you really just need to make sure the corn bread is cooked thoroughly. Remove and eat!!! (when cool enough of course!)

Now for the seasoning.

Mix all ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

I did not have cumin, and it turned out ok, however, I like a good kick to my meat, so I added a few more dashes of red pepper flakes and chili powder. It really depends on what you like as far as spiciness.

This meal was delicious and filling. I will make it again, no doubt. Even the picky husband loved it! I had to yell at him for eating too much!

Deal of the day! Contacts!

Yay! I'm on my last month of contacts, so REALLY needed to buy more. I was nervous, because last time i bought contacts, it cost me about $200 for a years supply. BUT today, I got 6 months, for 34.49 shipped!! I really need to go to the eye doctor, but want to give my brain some more time to heal.

If i had paid full price, on this companies site (Vision Direct, they had the cheapest prices i could come up with!) the contacts would have been 24.99 per box, plus shipping. I bought 2 boxes, 1 for each eye. Shipping would have been 6.99, so I would have paid 56.97 with no effort. I did have a 28% percent off code (RMN28 which is only good for first time orders), but they said i have ordered from the site before so they couldnt honor it. I haven't, but I called customer service to sort this out. They claim to know nothing about this code (even though it worked before i logged into the site...) but gave me 25% off and free shipping. I feel like I missed out on that 3% because i did also have a free shipping code (679D9B44), but meh whatever.

So this brought my order down to 37.49. The additional $3 came in the form of my 8% cash back from eBates! Seriously.

Those of you not using eBates are CRAZY! I joined only a few months ago, and have earned $9.88 PLUS i got a $10 gift card for my first $25 purchase. So I have gotten $19.88 in a few months time, and it cost me nothing more than I would have spent anyways! I still shop on my normal sites, I just have to remember to go through eBates first!!

So, original total: 56.97
I spent (after cash back): 34.49

This is a total savings of $22.48 or 40%.

Next up: Taco Casserole!!!