..with the lamb chops.

Remember the lamb my husband purchased from his farming coworker?
Last night I made my first lamb recipe ever! I used a recipe from my Everyday Food cookbook. I made Lamb Chops with Mint-Pepper Sauce. I was nervous about making them, because everyone has told me "lamb is so hard to cook". This recipe wasn't that difficult. It does ask for the lamb to be cooked medium-rare......but I am not a rare-of-any-kind eating type of gal! I will only eat meat if it is well done. So, I just kept an eye on the lamb while it was in the broiler and cooked it longer than the recipe states. It was not overcooked and it had great flavor...even without the mint-pepper sauce! This recipe will be filed away as a keeper!

...with the weekend in photos.

~the building blocks to a healthy baby ~ homemade baby green beans~












~sweetpea sportin' her new pink shoes~












~checkin' the stock market~

















~reading the "funnies"~

...with the plantain for Elena

Making Elena's baby food has become a little hobby of mine! I love trying out something new and seeing if she likes it! So far, she has been a great eater and has enjoyed all the foods we've offered to her. Since she just started on solids only a few weeks ago I am still only making her single-food entree's. However, we do offer her 2 things at a meal occasionally - a new food, plus something she has already had in the past. We do this so she doesn't "forget" about the foods she's already tried.
Since my husband is from Puerto Rico and we want Elena to love Puerto Rican food as much as we do, I wanted to offer to her some Puerto Rican food as soon as possible! What better food to offer her than a plantain! We have already given her banana's and she loved them, so since plantains and bananas are so similiar in taste, I thought it would be an easy transition for her. Since none of the baby food cookbooks I have mention plantains, I had to wing it on how I was going to prepare it.

I purchased a yellow plantain, because they are softer and sweeter. The one difference between a banana and plantain is that you must cook a plantain! So, I chopped the plantain into fourths and boiled the chunks in water for several minutes.













After boiling, I cut out the strip of seeds in the center. At first, I thought I would just smash the plantain with a fork like I did with bananas and it would be good to go. However, after trying this method, the plantain still had too much texture and Elena wasn't too fond of it.














Into the food process it went! After a few pulses in the food processor it was a nice smooth consistency and ready for Elena!
This time, she enjoyed the plantain!














Now I can't wait for her to try more Puerto Rican food!

...with the farm fresh eggs!

My husband came home from work the other day and announced that he bought some farm fresh eggs from one of his coworkers who lives on a farm and raises chickens. I was so delighted that my husband did this, that I took a picture of the pretty little eggs!
I have been wanting to start purchasing more of our meat and dairy products more locally, but didn't know where to start. So thanks to my hubby, he started for me!
Not only did he bring home a dozen fresh eggs, he also brought home half a lamb that he purchased from the same coworker. We now have a freezer full of lamb steaks, chops and ground lamb meat. I can't wait to try out some new recipes using the lamb!

...with Valentine's Day dessert

My husband and I do not celebrate Valentine's Day with cards, candy, gifts...etc. This was a mutual agreement between the two of us. Just "I love you's" all around!
This year, for Valentine's Day I decided to make a nice homemade dinner and dessert. I chose the Pioneer Woman's French Onion Soup for dinner, followed by her Baked Fudge for dessert.
Both recipes were incredibly easy to make. The French Onion soup makes a ton....I should have known that, considering it calls for 4 cups each of chicken and beef broth and another cup of wine! It was tasty....however we have so much left over, I am not sure what to do with it all!
The Baked Fudge was also incredibly easy to prepare and OMG.
It was delicious.
Rich?
Yes.
But, heaven.on.earth.
I took a picture so I could remember it forever. Ok not really, I took it so I could share it with you all! You have to try this recipe! (I seriously had all these ingredients in my cupboard......go check and see if you have them too, and if so - make this - you deserve a little piece of heaven too!)

...with the invitation only shopping!

You are cordially invited to shop to your hearts content at bargain prices!

In my previous post I let you in on my secret to bargain shopping online. Now I've got even more for you. Only this one requires an invitation.
"What do you mean I need an invitation to shop online? Are you crazy?"
Don't shoot the messenger! I have no idea why it works this way. I don't really get it....but whatever. My best guess, is that because they are offering you great deals (40-80% off retail) on designer products, they want to limit the number of shoppers? I have no clue!

How do these shopping sites work?
You have to create an account online using your "invitation" (I'll tell you about that in a minute).

These sites tell you several days in advance which products they will be selling (you can get email notifications). Then the "store" is open for several days. Each site has some sort of count down, telling you when that particular store closes (each store event is usually open for 2-3 days, sometimes longer). All these sites have more than one "store". For example: Haute Look has a ton of different stores. They actually have categories! Womens, Mens, Kids, Home and Beauty. Each category then has several stores that are open at overlapping times. Confusing? Let me tell you about some of these stores, then you can skidaddle on over and see for yourself.....and shop for yourself!

Haute Look ~ this site definitely has the MOST stores. As mentioned above, they have a womens, mens, kids, home and beauty store category. Under the women's category they generally have anywhere from 5 -10 different "storefronts". This site tends to sell designer clothing and accessories in the mens and womens categories. I'm talking Gucci. Coach. Stuff I've never heard of for the mere fact that I can't afford it. The kids, home and beauty store usually have 0-4 storefronts open at a time. I have purchased from the kids section before. I bought some Plan toys for my daughter at 50% off the retail price and I also bought my nephew a really cool Plan airport from here for a great deal too! I most recently purchased some Basq skincare products from the beauty section.

RueLaLa ~ This site has several "storefronts" open at a time also. They tend to have more of the designer clothing/accessories. One thing I think that is really neat....is that they also have vacation related items.....like a night at a resort, or spa activities. If I was planning a vacation, I would check this site to see what kind of hotel deals they have at the time.

These next ones, are baby/child related.

The Mini Social ~ they tend to have 2-6 stores open at a time. They tend to have mostly clothing and shoes.

Totsy ~ a smaller site, usually having 1-4 stores open at a time. The stores stay open for several days. They have a wide variety of stores...clothing, toys, baby gear (stroller accessories, furniture, carriers, etc).

bTrendie ~ sell items for moms and moms-to-be. I just found this site recently and haven't purchased anything yet, but so far I've seen Graco products, clothing and toys.

So, how do I get an invitation, you ask? Click on the site names above! It should take you straight to the sign up page. The only exception, is for the bTrendie site. If you want an invite for that, leave a comment with your email address and I will email you an invitation code!

Now you are set to shop, shop, shop!

...where I share my bargain shopping sites!

Ok, I am a pretty frugal person. I rarely buy something for full price (even if I have a gift card!). I generally only buy if it's on sale, if I have a coupon, or better yet....both!

When shopping online, I often google the "store name + coupon code". There are a ton of coupons to be had out there....ya just have to look for them!

My other "secret" is shopping online on the "deal-a-day" sites. Maybe you've heard of them?

I mainly shop at baby/child related online shops, but there are others out there if that's not your thing! How do these work? Most sites offer one item per day, for anywhere from 40-80% off the retail price. There is a limited quantity available of each item, so once it's sold out you are out of luck! A few sites offer more than one item per day.

Here are my favorites!

Mamabargains ~ I bought my first cloth diapers from this site for 50% off. This site offers more than one item per day. If an item sells out, a new item is soon to follow. If there is a lag in the selling of an item, a new item appears. So in a given day, you may see two items, or 10 items, it depends on how the item is selling! If it's a popular item, expect it to sell fast! This site is also one of the few that has "big ticket" items.....like strollers. In fact, I purchased my baby stroller from this site! I got an EasyWalker Sky stroller for $220-ish. It sells for $399 on Amazon.

BabySteals ~ Sells one item per day. Either they have smaller quantities of the item they are selling, or people just really love this site.....because the item almost ALWAYS sells out, and fast! They list the deal for the day at 10am central time, and I've seen many things sold out 30 minutes later!

KidSteals ~ Sister site to BabySteals....only for older kiddos.

If you scrapbook, they also have Scrapbook Steals!

Green Baby Bargains ~ all of their items are "green" is one way or another and the listing always gives you the specific details as to what makes it "green".

EcoBaby Buys ~ One item per day. I haven't ordered from here, but check the site daily. If you are into organic clothing, this is the site to stalk!

Baby Half Off ~ One item per day. I purchased eco friendly wood puzzles for my nephew from this site for a great price!

There are certainly more sites like this out there. These just happen to be my favorites!

Have you shopped at any of these online stores? Tell me about your deals in the comments!

Next up: I will share with you about "invitation only" shopping sites!