FALL IS IN THE AIR! And soup-season is here! Yay! I love good soup. I could eat it for every meal when it is chilly outside. Here is a favorite recipe of mine. If you love Olive Garden’s fagioli soup…now you can make it at home!

1 lb ground beef (I usually use 1/2 lb)
1 small onion, diced (1 cup)
1 lrg carrot, julienned (1 cup) sometimes I grate mine
1 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, with liquid
1 15 oz can northern beans, with liquid
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 12 oz can V-8 juice
1 TBL white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 pkg Ditali pasta (short macaroni tubes)

Brown the beef in a large saucepan. Drain off fat, if any. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and saute for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook pasta according to directions until al dente, or slightly tough, about 10 minutes. Drain. Add the pasta to the soup and simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve. Serves 8.

If you find that it is too tomatoey, add some water until you find a consistency and taste you like. This recipe also freezes well. Enjoy!

Group A added this Old Orchard Cranberry Naturals Juice $1/1 coupon this morning.  This is a great coupon, so print it before it disappears!  Remember, you can print each coupon twice.

Zaycon Foods is in process of taking orders for their Chicken Savings Event across the country.  You will need to sign in to see exact ordering timeframe and the pick-up date and time at a location near you.
• 100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients
• Comes directly from the processor and has never been frozen
• Sold by the case — 40 lbs in each case (divided into 3 or 4 smaller bags if you want to split with someone else). $59.60 per unit ($1.49lb)
Click here for more information on this event and/or sign up to be notified of future events.

Being a penny-pincher and trying to reach a more excellent gazelle intensity on my Dave Ramsey plan, I decided to try my own at-home pedicure. It has taken me a few tries to get to a point where I am happy with the results. Here are some of the tips & tricks I have learned so far. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments!

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I will be recommending some products that will help make your pedicure closer to a spa experience. You can choose to pinch your pennies even further by not purchasing these tools, but I figure I have saved enough on the pedicures that it’s worth a little money to make my at-home experience a good one. Most of these things are one-time expenses or occasional expenses as opposed to the regular expense of the professional pedicure. Plus, I found I did not get the same results before these purchases. Having the right tools helps with any job.

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Step 1: Get your toes ready by removing old nail polish and trimming your nails. You will want to cut your toenails straight across in order to avoid ingrown toenails. I think it looks better to keep the toenail trimmed to about the top of your toes. Rub your finger across the top of your toes and you should just feel the tip of your nails. That’s how I like mine. You will want a good set of toenail clippers or scissors and an emery board.

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Step 2: Soak your feet. There are a lot of opinions out there on the best way to do this. You can soak them in a large bowl of milk (lactic acid helps soften callouses), you can soak them in scented water adding tea tree oil to help prevent fungus… but quite frankly, I do something that you can’t do in the salon – I soak my whole body in a luxurious bubble bath. Treat yourself to some yummy bubbles if you want. I do. You may want to hide it from the kids. Get them some dollar store stuff. 😉

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Step 3: Exfoliate your feet and legs. You can use bath salts for this step or these amazing sponges. Yes, they are $5/each. Each sponge lasts about 25 uses and I LOVE them. LOVE them. They smell divine and they really do their job. I do this part sitting on the edge of my tub as the water drains out.

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Step 4: Remove callouses. Okay, this is the area I have spent the most time on perfecting. I live my life in flip-flops and so my heels get pretty bad. A pumice stone really hasn’t been enough for me (although it is a great finishing touch). I own a Ped Egg and it works pretty well, but I finally got brave and purchased one of these. Seriously. Scary. But guess what? It works. Use whatever method you prefer for callous removal. I think it will vary depending on how bad your heels are. Make sure to do the balls of your feet and your big toes as well. I hope that now that I am keeping up on this I will be able to just use the pumice stone and it will keep things under control. We’ll see.

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Step 5: Push back/trim your cuticles. While your feet are still soft from soaking, pushing your cuticles back is a breeze. I just use  my thumbnail, but you can also use an orange stick. I haven’t purchased a cuticle nipper yet, but I probably need to.

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Step 6: Moisturize your feet. You can use Vaseline or Vaseline mixed with some lime juice, but your feet will be slimy. I recommend that if you do the Vaseline treatment you do it right before bed and that way you can put socks on and get an overnight treatment. I really like foot cream because it is designed to absorb quickly and it’s not as greasy as lotion so I can put my flip-flops back on without sliding around. You can do this after your polish dries, but I prefer to do it at this stage. I also apply it before I go to sleep.

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Step 7: Polish your toenails. You may need to use a little acetone to clean the lotion from your toenails. Be sure to use a base coat to prevent discoloration of your nails that comes from frequent polish. I recommend OPI polish because it goes on smooth and the polish doesn’t get gunky after a lot of usage. You can use one of those little toe separators if you want. A little baby oil or olive oil on a cotton swab rubbed onto the nails will help your polish dry faster.

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There you have it, a professional pedicure in the comfort of your own home for a fraction of the salon cost. I didn’t think I’d be able to do a very good job, but have been very pleased with  my results so far. I think a lot of it is having the right tools and not being afraid to mess up.

Get a FREE Small Drink and Curly Fries with the purchase of an Ultimate Angus Philly at Arby’s with THIS coupon.

Get a FREE rental of ANY Matt Damon movie at Blockbuster Express with the code DAMON.  Code is valid through 10/31.  There are about 6 options available,  including Invictus which I give a two thumbs up!

BLOCKBUSTER EXPRESS LINK

Code is valid thru Midnight 10/31/2011. Not valid on Blu-ray or Hot List Titles. Limit one free DVD rental per customer. Not valid with any other offer. Offer good for one night rental period. Limited time offer. Extra night charges and taxes apply. May not be combined with any other offer. Not valid at Blockbuster store locations

Shade Clothing  is offering FREE shipping with NO minimum for a limited time!!

LINK TO SHADE

There is a HOT deal on Cottonelle Bath Tissue starting on October 7th at Walgreens!

Details:

Purchase: (2) Cottonelle Toilet Paper 12 packs for $5 each

Use: (2) $1/1 Cottonelle Walgreens coupon found in the October Coupon Booklet

AND Use: (2) .75/1 Cottonelle Coupon from the Smartsouce coupon insert issued 9/11

Pay: $6.50 and receive $3 in Register Rewards

That works out to $3.50 for 2 packs or $1.75 each pack!!

(There is also a .50/1 coupon from the October 2 Smartsource coupon insert!)

Get 15 weeks of membership at Sam’s Club for only $15!!  You will need to sign up for this offer by October 10th.  Click HERE for more details.