Odd Bits Archive

Making Dinner with Limited Ingredients

– March 16, 2020Posted in: Odd Bits, recipe

With grocery stores running out of basics and the need to keep closer to home, we will be required to use creativity to feed our families. Thankfully, we couponers have a stockpile to fall back on. However, even we run out of the fresh stuff.

Although we are creative people, sometimes we need inspiration. (What DO I do with a can of corn, chicken breast, olives, and rice???) You can use the following websites to help you make delicious meals with whatever you have at home. These sites take the guesswork out of putting basic ingredients together to create a meal. Please let me know what you come up with!

Posts You May Have Missed.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Tags: recipes

Sad News – Please Read

Gina

– September 4, 2019Posted in: Odd Bits

I was just notified the coupon database I use on my site has gone from costing $8 per month to $40. Considering I already pay $60 each month for hosting my site and another $30 per month for state fees, taxes, etcetera, there’s absolutely no way I can pay the additional $32 per month to keep the database up and running. I just don’t make enough. I try very hard to have Gina’s Kokopelli cost me nothing but time, and that’s why I do use advertising and affiliate links; however, to add an additional $32 per month just won’t be possible. I hope you understand.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Free Sample of Planters Choice Bamboo Plant Markers

Gina

– May 8, 2019Posted in: Everything Else, Free Stuff, Gardening

Order a free sample of Planters Choice Bamboo Plant Markers.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Tags: freebie

Free Coffee Grounds for Your Garden at Starbucks

Gina

– February 13, 2019Posted in: Everything Else, Free Stuff, Gardening

Starbucks offer free coffee grounds to gardeners with their Grounds for Your Garden Program!

Stop by your local participating Starbucks and pick up a free pre-packaged bag of used coffee grounds to enrich your gardens and compost. These bags can usually be found in a bin or container near the entrance of the store. *Note: Pre-packaged bags of Grounds for Your Garden may not be available in all stores, so be sure to check with your barista or call ahead.

Go HERE for more details.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Have A Cat? You NEED To Use This for Cat Litter – CHEAP!

Gina

– January 13, 2019Posted in: Good Deals, Odd Bits, On Line Deals

For about four years, I’d been using chicken feed crumbles as my cat litter. The crumbles worked the same as clumping cat litter and was a bunch cheaper than actual cat litter. I paid about $15-20 for a 50 lb bag. Because it weighed so much less than cat litter, this bag was huge and used to last me almost a month with eight cats and seven litter boxes.

About a month ago, my friend, who runs a cat rescue, told me about horse pellet bedding. These pellets are made from all natural pine sawdust. When they get wet with urine, the crumble back into saw dust. Furthermore, the litter boxes are so much easier to clean. I change them every three to four days. The used litter just slides right out of the boxes. Changing the litter takes me far less time than it used to because I don’t have to scrape the stuck litter mixed with urine off the bottom of the boxes. The best part? THE PELLETS ARE ONLY $6 FOR A 40 LB BAG!!! And one bag lasts the same amount of time as my old litter. Another advantage is I hardly have any more smell with my boxes. All my boxes are in one room in my basement and I don’t notice a bad smell. Mostly I smell something that’s akin to a horse barn or lumber mill. I honestly can’t say enough good things about my switch to using the horse bedding pellets. Please give it a try and tell me what you think. It’s only a $6 investment.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Happy Thanksgiving from Gina’s Kokopelli

Gina

– November 22, 2018Posted in: Odd Bits

Image result for happy thanksgiving pictures

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I am very thankful for all of you, my readers, who make what I do so much fun and rewarding for me. Please enjoy your day!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

ACK!! My Underwear is on FIRE and I Can’t Find Any Water!

Gina

– October 15, 2018Posted in: Odd Bits

Okay, my underwear really isn’t on fire, but that’s the best description I can manage. It’s been a CRAZY few weeks. Here’s what I’ve been doing:

I spend every weekend at a fair or farmers market selling barbecue sauces, spice rubs, black garlic and brine for Mac Brothers Gourmet Foods. The end of August through November is our busiest season. Plus, we’ve picked up two more retail locations! If I’m not at work, I’m selling, making, bagging, bottling, labeling, or schlepping.
Work: I work as a school counselor at a magnet school in East Hartford. I love my job, my school and my students. I usually don’t have a lot of extra stuff to do outside the school day (which is 8 hours long – much longer than a regular public school), but we are going through NEASC accreditation. We’ve had a lot more meetings and responsibilities these past few weeks. This week marks the culmination of all the hard work, though. Hopefully, work will settle down to a dull roar soon.

Unfortunately, what had to give was Gina’s Kokopelli. I’ve felt horrible about letting all of you down and not posting very much. But – LIFE! I’m hoping to get back in the swing this week.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

I’m Back – And Why I Was Away

Gina

– September 4, 2018Posted in: Odd Bits

Hi everyone. I’ve been away from my blog for two weeks now and I’ve been missing it. Originally, I got overwhelmed with the start of school (I’m a high school counselor) and just didn’t have enough time in a day. Then, I picked up a nasty virus that had me down and out for over a week. The next phase was double pink eye! I’m just now able to talk above a whisper and don’t sound like a bullfrog in heat.

Although I strive to get the deals up and done in a timely fashion, sometimes life catches up with me. I fully intend to get the grocery store and drug store deals up this week as well as some freebies and deals. Sorry for any inconvenience my absence may have caused you.

Gina

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

From Coupons to Cuisine – Episode 5 (Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops)

Gina

– February 27, 2018Posted in: From Coupons to Cuisine

Welcome to our next installment of From Coupons to Cuisine – a joint endeavor with my husband, Gary. Gary is the cook in our family and has a blog, A Real Dad Makes Real Food, that features his recipes. I thought it would be fun to use my couponing skills with his cooking prowess and create recipes using the weekly sales at ShopRite. (My grocery store of choice!)

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This week’s recipe, Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops, utilizes the pork chops on sale at ShopRite this week for $1.99 lb. Not only is recipe OMG delicious, it is made in the crock pot. Several of you have asked for more crock pot recipes, so we thought we’d take that to heart. Gary isn’t a big crock pot person, but he’s accepted the challenge. What he came up with is definitely going to be a regular in our house! Enjoy, and please let us know what you think.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*

From Coupons to Cuisine – Episode 4

Gina

– February 13, 2018Posted in: From Coupons to Cuisine

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This week, ShopRite has chicken breast and ground Butterball turkey on sale for $1.99 lb (and there’s a coupon!). Because both are on sale, we have two recipes for you this week.

The first recipe is called Chicken a la Steven and is a really quick and easy one. In addition to the chicken being on sale, several of the recipe’s ingredients are on sale as well:

Boneless chicken breast 1.99 lb STOCK UP PRICE
SR baby Bella mushrooms 1.99
Red Pack tomatoes .88 STOCK UP PRICE
Pride of Thailand jasmine rice 2 lbs 1.99 (To serve with the chicken)
Dole salad blends 2.00 (for your veggie)

This recipe happens to be one of our son’s favorites (hence the name) and is really good heated up as leftovers/lunches.

The second recipe, Lettuce Wraps, utilizes the ground Butterball turkey on sale this week. Not only are these absolutely delicious, they are low carb. Instead of wrapping the filling into a tortilla, you use Boston lettuce (also called Bibb lettuce). Although not as many of the other ingredients are included in this week’s sale, you might want to buy the ground turkey for the freezer and remember this recipe for a later date.

Please let us know how you liked these recipes. We’re always looking for feedback!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.*