Chicagolandia
1 box classic white or french vanilla cake mix
1/3 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. apple cider or juice
2 eggs
1/4 C. unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract (1 1/2 tsp. if using classic white cake mix)
1/4 tsp. rum extract
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 C. white chocolate chips
1 C. fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed

Preheat oven to 375.
Grease a 13x9” pan.
Mix well all but berries and chocolate. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Spread evenly in pan, top with additional berries or chocolate if desired.
Bake 23-26 minutes.
Cool completely and cut.
Yield = 36 bars
2.5 grams of fat

*for all chocolate lovers, substitute chocolate cake mix for classic white - this tastes yummy, too!
Chicagolandia
Dh was listening to the radio on his way into work and every Monday morning there's a coupon lady telling about the deals and steals for the Chicagoland area, and she finally had a deal I could do. She was talking about Dominick's (our version of Safeway) and a deal on Nature Valley granola bars. I absolutely love those bars. Healthier than candy and they taste even better! Yum!
The deal? The boxes were on sale for 2/$5, get $5 off instantly if you bought 5. Okay, not bad but I can do better. Combined with coupons (both Sunday insert and IP) saves me another $2.60. But, wait.....I'm not done yet - a Catalina prints for $3.50 OYNO! Naturally at the first store no Catalina prints, so I think I've done the deal wrong. Nope, at the 2nd Dominick's I went to the Catalina prints just fine so I take that and my receipts (2 of them) from the first store right up to customer service and walk away with $7 cash - the manager didn't know how to print the Catalina, so I just got cash! Total OOP for both Dominick's = $19.71. Then -$3.50 Catalina & -$7 cash gives me and grand total of $9.21 for 15 boxes of granola bars and 4 4lb. bags of sugar. That'll come in handy for the free apples we went picking on our way to Dominick's!
Chicagolandia


I've been talking about my coupon organizer, and here it is. This is COOP, here it's folded up to look like an oversized clutch, fits great in the purple Earthbound Organic bag many of us have, and is an absolute dream for organizing my coupons. The top picture is COOP folded into a clutch. The next picture is of COOP partially opened, the last picture is of COOP - ready for coupons.
COOP has 12 pockets, sized specifically for coupons and was designed by a hound-in-training. After witnessing the organizationally-challenged hound trying to get her tail in gear for hounding, my mother designed this organizer that would be functional, portable, and cute. COOP is even designed to hang on a hook as a small home decoration, and can tie behind your car seat to maximize on space. This has been such an amazing time-saver and organizer for me. COOP is even washable! Tell me what you think!







Chicagolandia
I spotted a few deals last Friday - specifically at Jewel-Osco. I found a coupon online for $6 off any purchase of "The Other White Meat" when you bought Kraft BBQ sauce (on sale for $.79 a bottle), a Coke product (on sale for $.88), and a bag of charcoal - which we needed anyway. Porkchops and roasts were $1.79 a lb. - a little high for me typically, but with $6 off, it made it easier to swallow. Ran 2 separate transactions, total OOP for 3.1 lbs. of porkchops, 3.4 lb. pork roast, 2 bags (18 lb.) Kingsford charcoal, 2 2L Cherry Coke, and a 2L Dr. Pepper (peelie for $.55 off) came to $23.47. Saving of $36.08. I think I can live with that.
My next deal (tonight) is at Meijer. The promotion is for 120 boxtops for education when you buy 15 boxtops products. After printing out all my Q's, I think I'm ready. I've got enough coupons lined up for 2-3 transactions, and heard (on HCW) about a catalina for $2 OYNO that prints wyb 4 Toaster Streudels.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/coupons-promotions/coupons/default.aspx?WT.ac=homepage_05-01-2008

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