There’s an awesome deal at CVS next week that I don’t want you to miss! If you are just getting started (or been at this for ages) and the drugstores scare you… use this deal to at least get your toes wet.
Starting Sunday you can head in to the CVS photo center, use their photo kiosk and make a FREE photo book!!
The Deal:
Buy:
(1) 4×6 Photo Book, $4.99
Total Due: $4.99
Get Back: $4.99 ECB
ExtraCare Bucks can be used on anything else in the entire store, so turn around and use that $4.99 to buy another deal in the store…
Go ahead and get ready now, grab a usb flash drive and load any pictures you want on it. You can even put different pictures in different folders on the drive to make it more organized for you. Fro me I put each person in their own folder or even event. Now I can put pictures of the same trip easily on the same page without spending much time in the store.
Come Sunday you are set to walk and make your book!
These marshmallow chicks turned out delicious. However, they are not the easiest recipe. There is a bit of candy-making technique involved, and you’re going to need some special tools: candy thermometer, stand mixer, piping bag, tips, and patience. Are they worth it? Eh. If you REALLY want marshmallow chicks and refuse to buy the kind in stores, yes. If you want a fun project with the kids, sure. I won’t make these often, but I don’t mind the effort once a year.
The bright yellow, store-bought, marshmallow chicks are made with sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, yellow #5, potassium sorbate (preservative), natural flavors, and carnauba wax. Our homemade version will leave out the corn syrup, food dyes, preservatives, synthetic flavors, and wax. So, yes, it’s all sugar and gelatin. If you’re vegetarian, you’re out of luck. Marshmallows rely on gelatin which is made from animals. The gelatin used to make the store-bought chicks is derived from the pork industry and gets a bad rap for being very inhumane
The good news? One of the benefits to making marshmallows at home is quality control over your ingredients. There are more humane gelatin options, and that’s what I used. I found a Kosher, all natural, grass-fed cow-derived gelatin (pictured). This stuff is awesome. Chuck out the stuff in your pantry and replace it. It’s 88-92% pure protein and has an amazing amino acid profile. Yes, it smells like ponies as you cook it, but the smell goes away and doesn’t transfer to the food.
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 teaspoons gelatin
- 1/3 cup cold water
- 1 vanilla bean pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- Lots of extra sugar for coating
- small amount of chocolate to melt for eyes
Directions
- Get a pastry bag ready (I have the best luck with the large, plastic coated ones by Ateco) with a ½” plain round tip. Get a plate and pour ½” of sugar onto it. This will be where you pipe the chicks. Prepare a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. You will gently transfer the piped chicks onto the sheet. Get a standing mixer ready to use with the whisk attachment.
- Pour 1/3 cup cold water into mixer bowl and sprinkle gelatin over the water. Let hydrate as you cook the sugar syrup.
- In a saucepan over medium high heat, cook the sugar with ¼ cup water until it boils. Lower the heat a bit and let the sugar syrup boil until it reaches 240º F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and scrape the gelatin into the sugar syrup. Hand stir until combined. Pour into mixing bowl and whisk on medium high speed for 10-15 minutes, adding the vanilla for the last minute. The fluff should have stiff peaks. Quickly transfer fluff into piping bag to begin making the little chicks.
- Onto the sugar plate, pipe a flat oval shape. This is the base of the chick. Then pipe a head/neck at one end of the oval. Using your finger or a toothpick, pull a little beak shape from the head. Sprinkle the chick with more sugar. Using a spatula, gently lift the chick out of the sugar and transfer to the cookie sheet. Repeat.
- Once the chicks are all made, melt a few chocolate chips and use a toothpick to apply little chocolate eyes to your birds. Let set at room temp for about 4 hours before enjoying.
Notes:
-Yes, you need a candy thermometer. It’s the difference between firm marshmallows and soft fluff. Test your thermometer in boiling water for accuracy. Mine was off by 8º.
-98% of all marshmallow recipes require corn syrup. Why? It’s actually a logical addition: corn syrup prevents crystallization of the sugar, guaranteeing a smooth, fluffy texture. Without it, the marshmallow may get grainy over time as the sugars crystallize again. I left it out, because I know these chicks won’t make it more than a couple days in my house.
-I used plain, uncolored sugar for my chicks. You can use a colored sugar. I’ve seen all natural food dyes and sugars at Whole Foods, $7-20. There are some good DIY recipes online, though. I made a green sugar using chlorophyll that I had on hand.
-The kids LOVED this project. They wanted to pipe the chicks, sugar them, paint eyeballs on them, and they loved eating them.
-This project requires a good bit of space. I moved to my kitchen table for the piping.
-I’m not remotely talented with a pastry bag. Yes, you have permission laugh at my lumpy little marshmallow birds. I know they’re an eyesore, but that’s as good as I could get! If you make some with better results (or comical results), please share!
Vera Bradley has a great sale this weekend! Prices start at $7.999 and most things are over half off the original price.
You can also get a FREE Cosmetic Trio with any $100 purchase.
Deal Ideas
Saddle Hipster, $34 (reg. $60)
4/11 Only
Cassidy Bag, $29.99 (reg. $58)
Flower Headband, $7.99 (reg. $15)
Shipping is FREE on orders of $75 or more. The outlet sale ends 4/13.
Read More→
Get your inner Picasso ready for Frugal Date Friday! We are going to create some artwork!
Check out Living Social and Groupon for painting classes. They walk you through the paiting step by step and at the end you have a beautiful canvas. The great thing about this option is that they provide everything you need.
If you want to stay home, you can check out YouTube for painting tutorials. Grab canvases from Hobby Lobby or Micheal’s using a 40% off coupon. You’ll also need to get paint, brushes, and any other supplies.
You can create paintings that coordinate and hang them side by side somewhere in your home.
See more frugal date ideas.
Looking for a great photo deal? Shutterfly is offering 40% off your entire purchase through 4/15 when you use coupon code HAPPY40 at checkout. Go ahead and make something special for mom this Mother’s Day.
Shutterfly is my go-to place for all my photo gifts including photo books, calendars, cards and stationary and more! Also, if you’re new to Shutterfly you can also get (50) FREE 4×6 prints.
To save even more, use the coupon code SHIP30 to get FREE shipping with a $30 purchase.
Deal Ideas:
Prices before coupon code.
Photo books starting at $12.99
Photo Calendars Starting at $10.80
Custom Pillows from $29.99
Shipping is FREE with coupon code. Offer valid through 4/15.
See more Photo deals.
I found a lot of printable store coupons for this weekend. My favorite is the J.Crew coupon for 25% off your purchase. The coupon is on their Facebook page, so claim your coupon before they run out.
Store Coupons
Bealls, Goody’s, Palais Royal, Peebles or Stage – 20%-25% off purchase (exp 4/17)
The Children’s Place – 20%-30% off purchase – store code: 044 (exp 4/14)
Gap – 15% off purchase (excl clearance)(exp 4/13)
Hobby Lobby – 40% off purchase (exp 4/12)
J.Crew – 25% off purchase (Facebook Coupon)(exp 4/14)
JCPenney – 10%-15% off purchase (exp 4/15)
JoAnn’s Fabrics – 40% off purchase (exp 4/12)
JoAnn’s Fabrics – 15% off purchase (exp 4/12)
Lumber Liquidators – 20% off purchase (exp 4/23)
Macy’s – 15%-20% off clearance/sale items (exp 4/13)
Michael’s – 50% off 1 regular priced item (exp 4/12)
White House Black Market – $20 off $80 purchase (exp 4/29)
See the full list of in-store coupons.
The Children’s Place is having a great sale, today only! You can use The Children’s Place coupon code MORESALE3 to get an extra 20% off.
Want to save even more? Spend get an extra 25% off when you spend $50 or an extra 30% off when you spend $60.
The code even works on sale and clearance items!
Deal Ideas
Striped Tee, $2.79 (reg. $7.95)
Active Tee, $3.83 (reg. $12.79)
Bodysuit, $4.79 (reg. $12.95)
Shipping is FREE! The sale is valid today, 4/11, only.
Read More→
Famous Footwear is offering a fun new mobile coupon! Text EASTER351 to 326687 to get a Famous Footwear coupon good for $10 off any $10 purchase.
You should be able to get a pair of socks or some flip flops for FREE of close to it with this coupon.
Hurry and get yours before they are gone. The coupon is valid through 4/21 so you have some time to pick out a new pair of shoes for Spring.
You can also get $5 off your next purchase when you sign up for their email too!
See more in-store deals.
Check out this new printable Rice Krispies coupon! Get cereal for just 92¢ a box when you buy a gallon of milk this week at Publix! Look for the new Publix Happy Easter flyer in stores starting tomorrow.
Rice Krispies Coupon:
$1/2 Kellogg’s Rice Krispies or Cocoa Krispies cereal printable
Publix Deal Through 4/19
Buy:
(2) Kellogg’s Rice or Cocoa Krispies Cereal, 12-15.5 oz, B1G1 at $4.35 ($2.17)
Use:
$1/2 Kellogg’s Rice Krispies or Cocoa Krispies cereal printable
$1 off Milk wyb (2) Kellogg’s cereal, 8.56 oz+ (Publix), Happy Easter flyer
Total Due: $2.35
Submit:
-.50/1 White milk, 1 gal, Ibotta App mobile coupon
-.50/1 Milk gallon, Checkout 51 (exp 04/16) mobile coupon
Makes it $2.35 or $1.17 a box with $1 off Milk!
This is a nice price if you were going to buy milk anyway!
