Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

Okay, I am not a food blogger, so I am not great with the photos of food prep that usually accompany a recipe post, but I thought I might share one of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes! So, if you're in search for a delicious, easy, last minute recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, you are in luck!

I love cranberries. They are delicious. But I have never been a fan of the cranberry sauce in a can that was commonly served at Thanksgiving dinners. Food just should not be can-shaped. Last year, I looked up a bunch of cranberry sauce recipes and came up with one of my own by combining my favorite parts of each recipe and adding some of my own touches. It uses fresh fruit and has a very pleasant appearance with a natural fruity taste. 

What You Need:

12 oz Fresh Cranberries

1/2 cup Water

1/2 Orange Juice (Pulp Free is best)

1 1/4 cup Sugar

Half a Pear- chopped 

Half an Apple- chopped (I used Red Delicious)

Dash of Cinnamon (Okay, so I use a big "dash")

2 tsp Grated Orange Peel (or about one orange's worth)

What You Do:

1. Divide the cranberries roughly in half.
2. Combine half the cranberries, water, orange juice, sugar, pear, apple and cinnamon (everything except half the cranberries and the orange peel) in a medium sauce pan and cook on medium heat until the cranberries pop (about 5 minutes).
   
3. Add the other half of the cranberries and the grated orange peel and cook for 5 more minutes.
   
   
   
4. Remove from heat and put in a serving bowl and place in the fridge to cool.
   
   
   
5. Serve and enjoy!

See? Fairly simple and quite tasty! So, go on out to your closest grocery store and grab some ingredients to make your own! You won't be sorry! You may even outshine the turkey. 

'Tis the Season to Start Saving!

Only 45 days until Christmas!!! Okay, don't shoot me. I LOVE Christmas. It is my favorite time of the year. I love the decorations, the food, the activities, the weather, the presents and pretty much everything else. Well, I don't really enjoy going broke finding everyone that perfect gift but I do love seeing their faces when they open the gifts. As a SAHM, we live on a tight budget which makes finding that perfect gift and paying for it a little bit tougher. Luckily I have found a way to work the system, in a matter of speaking. I have started using rebate apps and websites to make a little money back on my purchases. They are easy to use and I can use the money I earn for every day things or more gifts. All of them also offer referral bonuses, which gives you even more incentive to share and put more money back in your pocket.

The most recent rebate program I started using is ebates. Ebates is a simple website that provides you with links to some of your favorite online retailers. Simply log in to your account, search for the website you want to buy from and, if it's one of the thousands of websites connected to ebates, click the link provided. When you click the link you will be automatically directed to the website and you can shop like normal. After you checkout, your ebates account will automatically update, giving you a certain percentage back on that purchase. The percentage of money you get back varies from website to website, but when you search for the stores you can see not only how much of a percentage you get back but also if there are any restrictions. You can also download a little ebates notification that lets you know if a website you are on is eligible for ebates just in case you forget to check through ebates first. They automatically send out check periodically, so as long as your address is updated, you will get your money with no fuss. Any amount $5 or more will get mailed out. If you haven't gotten $5 or more by the time they mail the checks they will roll the amount over for the next payout. They also have incentives for signing up. Right now I believe you get a $10 giftcard to one of a few stores after you have made $25 in purchases. My Target gift card is in the mail! Honestly, getting money back was never any easier! You can sign up for your own account here.

Rebate apps are super handy, too. Two of my favorites are Snap by Groupon and Ibotta. There are other rebate apps out there such as Shopmium or Walmart Savings Catcher but these are the ones I have found to be the most useful. They have items I am buying anyways and they are easy to use. You can even redeem receipts with both apps and make even more money back!

Ibotta is the one that I probably use the most. They have their rebates sorted by categories (grocery, apparel, entertainment, etc.) and then by the store. You can choose the rebates you are interested in and unlock them by watching a video, taking a poll, reading a fact or some other simple task that only takes a few seconds. Most of the items available for rebates are particular brands and they have to be redeemed at specific stores. There is a barcode scanner available on the app so you can verify that the product you are buying is indeed the item listed and that it meets all the requirements. After you make your purchases, simply choose the redeem portion of the app and verify any barcodes that you did not verify in store, submit a photo of your receipt and wait for everything to be officially verified. Usually it only takes a couple of hours for the money to appear. Once you reach $10 you can cash out through PayPal or Venmo or redeem the money for gift cards instead. I personally redeemed mine for a movie gift card that went towards a date night for me and Hubby. In addition to just getting money from rebates, you can also get additional money through bonuses. There are teamwork Bonuses and purchase Bonuses. The bonuses are easy to get and they add extra money to your account. It's super easy and profitable! Sign up here.

Snap by Groupon works a lot like Ibotta. There are fewer options to redeem for rebates but there are more generic items like bread, fruit, milk and eggs. Most can be redeemed at any grocery store, too, which makes it easier to get what you need and still get your rebates. If an item has certain restrictions they are clearly laid out for you. Some rebates can even be redeemed more than once! You get more back on average with Snap over Ibotta but the cashout point is higher. With Snap you need to have $20 before you can cashout. After you make your purchases, simply choose the big, green Snap receipt circle at the bottom of the app to send in a picture of your receipt. Within a day or so (sometimes it's fast, sometimes it takes forever) the money will be credited to your account. You can sign up for Snap here.

Every little bit that you can get back helps and if you are making the purchase anyways, why not take advantage of these great deals?  I know I am! With the help of these rebates my Christmas is shaping up to be a lot less stressful and a lot jollier!

Ebates- http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=8vBUwYqA%2BmRJjhIdsh7pKQ%3D%3D&eeid=26471

Ibotta- https://ibotta.com/r/ukydypc

Snap- https://snap.groupon.com/app?ref=6d2e6f82d650df64

**Please note that these are referral links and I may receive referral credit if you sign up through my link. Thanks!**

Sickness

Client One is sick. She had a slight cough last night before bed but woke up around 1:00 this morning with a full-blown cough, sore throat and fever. Her poor little throat was so sore she would cry every time she coughed. This, of course, would wake up Client Two. I spent the majority of my night going from client to client trying my best to comfort them and get them back to sleep.

I hate when my babies are sick. They just lie there so miserable. A couple of months ago Client Two was sick. He was majorly pathetic. All he wanted to do all day was snuggle. He had a fever that got almost scary high. I took him on in to his doctor and had him checked out but there wasn't a whole lot they could do for him except recommend Tylenol for his fever. Even with the Tylenol his fever stayed fairly high around 103*. I stayed up pretty much all night just rocking and holding him for two nights straight. I spent most of those nights in our living room chair. I was exhausted but my baby needed me.  After his fever finally broke, he got a rash from his head to his little piggies. Turns out, he most likely had Fifths Disease. It was scary but we made it through.

Now, it seems, it is Client One's turn. It's not the first time she's ever been sick, but she doesn't get sick often. Last time she was sick it was a stomach bug. She threw up in Barnes and Noble right in front of the registers. That was a blast. Luckily, her bug only lasted about 24 hours before she was pretty much back to normal. This time it's a nasty cold of some sort. Her sweet little voice has been replaced by the voice of a forty-year-old smoker lady. Since she can't call out for help I have provided her with a maraca to shake when she needs me. She's shaking it every five minutes or so. She has a pretty sweet set-up. She's back in the main bedroom all comfy on my bed with three pillows and big fluffy blanket. She has her Bo (the teddy bear she takes everywhere) and a new stuffed cat her "Frandma" brought over for her. She also has a cup of lemonade, cup of water, little bowl of strawberry Jell-O (which is a treat because it has red food dye in it), Goldfish crackers and a cough drop sucker (which is another special treat since she rarely gets suckers). She gets to watch TV all day in her pajamas, so she doesn't mind being sick as much. Right now her fever is down a bit thanks to Tylenol and she seems a little less miserable thanks to her "bee medicine" (Zarbee's Natural's Children's Cough Syrup). Like a dutiful mother I will make her chicken noodle soup for lunch.

Sick kids are never any fun. If I could I would happily take my clients' sicknesses away and be sick myself instead. I don't like it when they're sick. But, since I can't take their sickness away I try to make them as comfortable as possible. Now, granted, since I am with them 24/7 the chances are high that in a day or two I will be sick with whatever illness has beset upon them. Chances are also good that Client Two will get whatever Client One has, despite my best efforts to keep them separated over the next couple of days. Then I will have two sick clients and might be sick myself but we will make it through. Such is the curse of a mother.