Blog Moving Time! Oh, And Happy New Year...

At the start of 2012 I have decided to consolidate all my blogging into one site.

Happy New Year to you and please consider joining me at my new site:

Dorinda Writes

I will still be couponing and meal planning but it will be taking a back burner to writing. Over the past three years I have enjoyed sharing how I coupon and save money but find that its taking away from my real passion: writing Christian suspense fiction and I want to get back to it.

I hope that you keep saving money and I plan to do the same.

Thank you for hanging out with me over the years and seeing how our family has grown financially!

Merry Christmas!

Here's wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!!

We are celebrating with family and will be back in the New Year with some fun new things so please stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy a picture of my brand new niece, Aubree Noelle who was born on December 23rd weighing 6 lbs 13 ounces and 18 inches long. I'm so excited to be an aunt and think she's just adorable :)

$10 Dinners: Chicken Pinwheel Pot Pie

I've been meaning to post this recipe for a LOOONG while and I have finally gotten around to doing it.



This recipe came from my mom and was originally meant as a hot tuna dish but my dad doesn't like hot tuna so we substituted chicken for tuna and I have been modifing it from there.

My ingredients as I use them:



6 Tablespoons Crisco
2 1/2 cups Bisquick (divided)
3 cups milk
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Veg-Al
1 cup or more of Chicken (cut-up into bite-size pieces)
1/2 cup (4 oz) of shredded cheese: Mexican or Cheddar will do
1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 425

Step 1: Melt Crisco in Large Pan



Step 2: Add 1/2 cup Bisquick and mix well

Step 3: Slowly pour milk, stirring as you pour - stir occasionally till it boils - the more you stir the thicker it will get so it will be up to you how thick you want your mixture to be - I like mine a little thinner so I don't stir as much - you can also add less milk if you like it thicker - more if you like it thinner - play with it to see how you like it



Step 4: Add 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup and stir - you could also use 1 large family can if that's easier



Step 5: Add can of drained Veg-Al and chicken - you can use a few chicken breasts cooked and cut-up or dark chicken that you picked off the bone - this is a recipe that you can make cheaper by adding less chicken - so add however much or little meat you want!



This is your base mixture - keep it warm on the stove while you move on to the topping.

This is the fun part!

Step 6: Mix 2 cups of Bisquick with a 1/2 cup of water to form a dough



Step 7: Flour your counter or a large cutting board



Step 8: Roll out your dough so it's as flat as you can make it



Step 9: Add cheese to the center of the dough



Step 10: Roll dough carefully around the cheese to make a tube





Step 11: Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 inch pan



Step 12: Slice your dough into pinwheels



Step 13: Place on chicken mixture in rows



Bake at 425 for 20 to 22 minutes or until pinwheels are golden brown and the cheese bubbles.

Serve and enjoy!

With just a few ingredients you can see how inexpensive this dinner can be. Most of them I usually have on hand so it's often a meal that costs me a few dollars for the chicken.

Menu Planning Monday

We're already a few days into December and I don't know about you but I bet you're busy like me! The good news is that I'm under budget for this month and due to the holidays I'd like to keep it that way so I'm focusing this week's menu on what I have on hand. Currently, meat wise that means a lot of chicken. Fortunately I can change it up in a number of different ways to keep us from getting "bored" with the same meat day after day.

I've also included a meatless recipe (the ziti) so that I don't have to run out and buy a given meat at full price. One more way to save a little cash!

Monday: Chicken Salad and Appetizer Meatballs - I had a nail party today and we just ate what was left for dinner

Tuesday: Chicken Taco Bake

Wednesday: Sante Fe Chicken Casserole

Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie (my recipe)

Friday: Date Night and Kids Pizza Night

Saturday: Creamy Baked Ziti

Sunday: Burgers N Fries Pot Pie

Just one more week of menu planning for me to go this year! Since we are spending time with the family over Christmas it will be more of a combined effort hopefully this will save me some time and money! Of course, the holidays are rarely about being cheap so we'll see...