Savory Chicken Nuggets

I have been looking for a recipe for chicken nuggets that are egg-free and yet moist and flavorful.

This recipe is all of those!

I've made a few adjustments, but here it is:
(I have also included a gluten-free and/or dairy-free option at the bottom of this post!)

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (I use Trader Joe's bread crumbs and add my own Italian seasonings)

3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 tsp salt

1/3 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 cup butter, melted

Cut up chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch sized pieces. Soak in milk or buttermilk overnight in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme, and basil. Put melted butter in a separate bowl for dipping.

Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, turning the baking sheet halfway during baking time.

These go great with a side of fries, like these.  Enjoy!

* For an dairy-free option, soak the chicken pieces overnight in coconut milk instead of milk, and leave out the butter and parmesan cheese. They still taste great! 

* For a gluten-free option, use gluten-free bread crumbs, such as Glutino.
I have made these nuggets in a gluten-free and dairy-free form, using gluten-free bread crumbs, coconut milk, spices, and salt. They were still delicious!

Day Trip To Toys "R" Us

It was time to get a new bicycle for my oldest daughter. She was outgrowing her bicycle and my youngest daughter would then take over the "old" bicycle.

We decided to head over to Toys "R" Us.

I noticed that all of the bicycles in the size we were looking for ranged from $70 - $80.

I was excited when I saw a bicycle for only $49.99! Plus, my daughter's favorite color is purple, so I thought this was perfect!

When I took the slip to the cash register, I was told that the one on display was the only one left. I wasn't sure what to make of that, until he said that I would receive a 30% off discount since it was the one on display. He assured me that he would check the bicycle to make sure that none of the parts are missing, etc.

Plus, I had a 15% off coupon, which I had gotten off their website and printed out before our trip. After all the discounts, the cost of the bicycle came out to $29.74 + tax. Not bad compared to $49.99, or even the other bicycles for $70 - $80.

In that same trip, I also picked out a princess costume for my youngest daughter, whose birthday is coming up (she has been wanting one for months). Actually, I let my daughter pick out the costume and fortunately, the one she picked out came with an accessory set of a tiara, a pair of earrings, and a purse.

This particular set was $19.99, but I noticed that one of the gems was missing. I asked the cashier about this, who said that this was the only one left. I asked for a discount and he said they normally give a 15% off discount, but he gave me a 30% off discount, for some reason.

Again, I had a 15% off coupon! After all the discounts, I paid $11.89 + tax for the princess costume set.

Additional savings = Happy mom!

The cashier, who was an assistant manager told me that there were 2 coupons circulating. One was 15% off of one item, and the other was 15% off the entire purchase. Fortunately, I had the latter!

So, if you're taking a trip to Toys "R" Us (or anywhere for that matter), check their website for any coupons, and always ask for discounts if you see a reason for one!

French Fries Craze!

I love french fries, and so do my kids....I mean, who doesn't??

During the past couple of months, I have been looking for recipes for homemade, healthier options for fries to serve to my family.
Here are three of my favorite recipes.
(These are all gluten-free recipes, and I have also included dairy-free/vegan options for each recipe.)

Baked French Fries
(I only made slight changes to the original recipe.)

Ingredients:

3 large baking potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
salt to taste (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut potato into thin wedges and place in large mixing bowl. Coat potatoes with oil and spices. 

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes in preheated oven until golden brown.

Enjoy! 

Herbed Potato Wedges

(Again, I didn't make many changes to the original recipe.)

2 potatoes

2 tsp of olive oil

1/4 tsp of garlic powder

1/4 tsp of black pepper

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese (Omit this for a dairy-free/vegan option.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut potato into thin wedges and place in large mixing bowl. Coat potatoes with oil and spices.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes in preheated oven until golden brown.

Sweet Potato Fries

A good friend of mine passed this recipe along to me. I made the fries without the dip and loved it! You can also add some spices like salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper if you wish.

Since I didn't make any changes to the original recipe, you can check out the recipe here.

Shop Your Way Rewards

Update (5/30/14):
Instead of receiving emails that state that I have surprise points toward any purchase, I now receive emails stating that I have surprise points toward a clothing purchase only. 


I have never really shopped at Sears until about a year ago.
I somehow joined a program they offer, called Shop Your Way Rewards, which is free of fees, etc.
It includes Kmart as well as Sears. I haven't really used the points at Kmart, so I'm not exactly sure how it works at Kmart. I've only used my points at Sears, so I will be sharing from my experiences at Sears.

I started to shop at Sears because I began receiving emails from the Shop Your Way Rewards program saying that I have $4 on my account. No minimum required. I have been getting these emails about twice a month or so. In addition, you can also rack up points (every 1,000 points = $1).
Here is the email I receive every couple of weeks:

Congratulations! You have been awarded $4 worth of surprise points (4,000 points) to your account for being our valued member.

HURRY! These points are valid 9/26/13 - 10/02/13. You can redeem them towards any Sears purchase, in store or online.

I know that a lot of stores offer similar programs, such as Kohl's, Famous Footwear, DSW, etc. However, I rarely shop at Kohl's because I don't live near one, and I often don't want or need anything at Famous Footwear, DSW and many of the other stores that offer a similar program.

Sears, on the other hand, has a large array of items to choose from: clothing, kitchenware, toys, candy, hardware, electronics, etc. I often find things at Sears that I need and/or get small things that I don't necessarily need but don't pay anything/much for.

The first time I went to Sears, I bought 3 packs of socks for $1.98, but I didn't have to pay anything since I had $6 on my account.

About a month ago, I discovered a small clearance section (it's not always there). I found a King sized bed skirt (original price was $49.99) on clearance for $1.99. I also purchased 2 King sized pillow covers (original price was $29.99) also on clearance for $1.99. Again, I paid nothing since I had $4 on my account. What a steal!

When I don't find anything that I necessarily need, I look for something fun for the kids.
Today I went to Sears and paid $0.37 for these (after using $4 on my account):

A pack of two necklaces and a pack of two bracelets. Perfect for my two daughters. Plus, my youngest daughter's birthday is coming up! It even beats the dollar store, both in price and in quality!

Sometimes I don't have the motivation to go to Sears and use the $4 they put onto my account 1-2 times a month  (for doing nothing might I add), but when I do find the time and energy to go to Sears, I always come home glad that I did, even if they are small items.

Update:
I finally went around to Kmart to use my Shop Your Way rewards points, and it worked the same as Sears.
I was able to get a Ninja Turtle toy camera and some peanuts without paying a cent!
Not a big purchase, but I plan on returning to Kmart with my Shop Your Way reward points during the next few months to stock up on Christmas presents for the kids. Shopping for 3 kids for Christmas can add up!

2nd Update:
My daughter needed a new backpack for school. I wasn't thrilled about purchasing a new backpack considering the one she was using was relatively new. However, the zipper broke, making the backpack useless. I was concerned that this would happen again to the new back pack, but she needed a backpack, so we set out to Kmart.

Thankfully Kmart had some backpacks on sale, and my daughter picked one out originally priced at $17.99. The sale price brought it down to $9. I had recently received an email saying that I had $7 of surprise points added to my account for being a member. (I usually get only $4, but from time to time I will receive $7 or $8.)

I used my $7.45 Shop Your Way rewards points ($7 from the surprise points simply being a member and 45 cents came from points racked up from previous purchases.) and thus only had to pay $1.55 plus tax! 

Needless to say, my daughter and I both came out of the store very pleased!

All-Natural Soaps

Ever since I learned that sodium laureate (found in many products such as soaps, shampoos, and toothpastes) can cause irritation, I've been on the search for all-natural soaps.

As my kids all have varying degrees of eczema. I wanted to try out an all-natural soap to see if it would help their eczema in any way. Sure enough, I have seen some improvements in their skin, once we've made the switch.

For our hands, we use Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild Castile Soap. You only need about 1 tablespoon of Dr. Bronner's castile liquid soap mixed in water and use as you would in a soap dispenser. Castile soap actually has many different uses, as shown here, but we personally only use it as handsoap. I just can't get used to using it for other means as of now.

As for baths, we have found Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild castile soap, both in the liquid version and the bar soap to be quite drying. I was looking for an all-natural soap that was moisturizing since my kids have dry skin. I have found  Nubian Heritage Shea Butter Bar Soap to be very moisturizing and the size is larger than the average bar soap, off-setting the cost a bit.

My youngest, however, seems to have a sensitivity/allergy to shea butter, so I went on yet another search for an all-natural and moisturizing bar soap for bath time, but without shea butter.

We have discovered Mother's Special Blend Soap. It uses cocoa butter instead of shea butter, and it is silky, smooth, and moisturizing. I just wish the size was larger, as it is smaller than the average bar soap.

At first I was discouraged when I was looking for an all-natural bar soap as they don't come cheap! I certainly didn't want to be buying soap after soap after soap, trying to find one moisturizing enough. Thus, I was relieved that the search didn't take long for us to find ones that met our needs (Thank goodness for product reviews!).

I hope you find these helpful for those of you searching for good all-natural soaps!

Update: 
The Mother's Special Blend Cocoa Butter Soap seems to burn when getting into the eyes. My 7 year old is fine with it, but my toddler isn't liking it very much for her face. We've been using our old soap (Cetaphil gentle cleanser) just for her face and continuing to use Mother's Special Blend Cocoa Butter Soap for the rest of her body.