money saving tips

Name: Instant Pot Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 4 min
Total time: 19 min
Ingredients: 1 pound Pasta Shells; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 4 tablespoons margarine; 8 ounces White Cheddar Cheese, shredded; 6 slices White American Cheese; 1 cup Milk; Black Pepper, optional

Instant Pot Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese

September 7, 2020 by Rachel 24 Comments

Busy weeknights are back. And that means I have even less time to make dinner for our family of 5. One of my favorite ways to save time on meals is by using my Instant Pot. And, by far, one of my families favorite weeknight meals is this Instant Pot Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese!

Instant Pot Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese

Panera Mac and Cheese is one of my families favorite guilty pleasures. But, guess what? It’s crazy expensive! I mean, for the serving size, it just seems ridiculous to pay $8 or $9 for a large macaroni and cheese when you can make 4-6 servings of the same thing for a fraction of the cost.

What you’ll need

The recipe itself is so crazy easy. And it takes very few ingredients.

16 ounces (or one pound) of pasta shells
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons margarine
8 ounces White Cheddar Cheese, shredded
6 slices White American Cheese
1 cup Milk
Black Pepper, optional

We use the big pasta shells because my kids know that those are the kind that Panera uses. And sometimes I have to ‘trick’ my kids into eating. And whatever works, right?

The process

If you are new to pressure cooking, this is a great recipe to start your Instant Pot journey off with. Instant Pot meals are oftentimes dump-and-start. This one is dump-and-start until the end. After the noodles are cooked is when you mix in the cheese. And then — bam! — done!

The prep time is listed as 4 minutes, but it truly shouldn’t take you that long. You’ll start by adding the pasta, butter, and salt to your Instant Pot. Add 4 cups of water, and then give a good stir making sure each noodle has been mixed with the water.

Close the lid on the Instant Pot, and turn the valve to sealed. Choose High Pressure and adjust the timer for 4 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for your Instant Pot to come to pressure (hence the ‘extra time’ in the recipe). Once the time is up, manually release by pulling the valve to you and opening it. Be sure to open using a towel, hot pad, or long wooden spoon.

You’ll want to remove some of the water from the pot. No need to make sure all is gone, just a bit. Then just add in the shredded cheese, slices cheese, and milk to the noodles. Mix until fully melted and incorporated. That’s it!

The Recipe

Instant Pot Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 19 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound Pasta Shells
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons margarine
8 ounces White Cheddar Cheese, shredded
6 slices White American Cheese
1 cup Milk
Black Pepper, optional

Instructions

Add to your Instant Pot pasta, butter, and salt. Add 4 cups of water, and then give a good stir making sure each noodle has been mixed with the water.
Close the lid on the Instant Pot, and turn the valve to sealed.
Choose High Pressure for 4 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes for your IP to come to pressure.
Once the time is up, manually release by pulling the valve to you and opening it. Make sure to open using a towel or hot pad.
Remove some of the water from the pot. No need to make sure all is gone, just a bit.
Add in the shredded cheese, slices cheese, and milk to the noodles. Mix until fully incorporated.
Serve in bowls, and enjoy!

PIN FOR LATER

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Invest in their future on 529 Day!

May 25, 2020 by Rachel 29 Comments

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions herein are my own.

We have been on a roller coaster lately. Times of uncertainty have been upon us and our children are going through something that will forever change their lives. Their education has been transformed overnight. Parents are working harder than ever to keep up with working and schooling, whilst also planning for the future.

There isn’t just one way to educate

Education happens in so many ways. Over these last few months, I’ve come to not only appreciate my children’s educators even more, but I’ve also learned that education comes in so many forms. Playing outdoors, making kitchen science experiments, and even planting a garden are incredible ways of learning. My 7-year-old even took part in an online coding camp!

Education doesn’t stop at school

We all now know this (whether we wanted to or not!). Our children are always learning, always listening, and always growing. Literally every single part of their days are spent learning about the world around them. And it’s our job to help nurture the process of education.

Invest in your child’s future with Ohio’s 529 Plan

As an adult with a decent amount of student loan debt, I can attest to the fact that the cost of higher education can be daunting. Regardless of your child’s age, opening an account with Ohio’s 529 Plan right now is the perfect way to invest in their future education.

Ohio’s 529 Plan can be used across the country at both 2- and 4-year programs and technical schools. Using the College Saving Planner you can see how an investment of any amount today can truly help cover the cost of schooling later!

Your child doesn’t need to know what they want to be today. My son still says he wants to be a YouTuber. But tomorrow he may say he wants to be a video game engineer. And, heck! He’ll probably at some point say he wants to be an electrician. The point is, any financial investment in Ohio’s 529 Plan today will help him to be whatever his heart desires. He can use the funds for a 4-year school as an engineer, or he can use the funds towards a technical school to be an electrician.

You only need a few items to start the process of opening Ohio’s 529 Plan and you do not need to be a resident of the state of Ohio! In fact, if you are an out-of-state grandparent or relative of a child and would like to give the gift of education, this is a great way to start. You can open and contribute to the plan for the beneficiary of your choosing.

Ohio's 529 Plan - Invest with Confidence

What better time to make an investment in Ohio’s 529 Plan than on May 29th?!

May 29th, or “529 Day,” is a day to highlight the importance of higher education. Ohio’s 529 Plan has partnered with BlackRock Investments to host a webinar (which you can find here) to provide helpful tips on how to save and prepare for the future during a volatile market. The webinar is completely free and will provide you with all the tips to help you invest in your children’s future with confidence!

The benefits of investing in Ohio’s 529 Plan

Investing in Ohio’s 529 Plan means you’re accruing tax-free compound interest towards your future education expenses. You’ll also receive a tax deduction of up to $4,000 per year for each beneficiary. You can use this tool to see the real Cost of Waiting to see just how much your money can grow by investing in an Ohio’s 529 Plan versus a low-interest savings account.

But what about market turbulance?

Ohio’s 529 Plan has teamed up with BlackRock to discuss this very thing during a live webinar on May 28th. You can register for this webinar at no charge here.

Check out my video for information on how to get started!

Tell me — how many of you could use $250 to start your Ohio 529 Plan?!

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How To Save Money on Everyday Essentials

May 6, 2020 by Rachel 23 Comments

This post is sponsored by Optum Perks but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

It’s hard to believe that I have been “laid off” from my job for going on 7 weeks now. The job that, over the years, became my happy place — has been missing from my life for nearly two months. As things have changed rather dramatically for all of us, I’m finding new and inventive ways to pinch pennies.

Saving Money on Essentials Can Be Easy

I made a lot of changes in these last 7 weeks. Surprisingly, most of them were incredibly easy! Here’s what my family is doing to cut down on our every day expenses.

Shop at discount grocery retailers.

Going to the grocery store is unavoidable. For my family, we are making far fewer trips than before — but we’ve also made the decision to use grocers that offer off-brand or discounted groceries like ALDI and Save-a-Lot. We still are getting the same quality fresh foods, produce, and non-perishables, but we’re doing so at a much lower cost.

Cancelling Unnecessary Subscriptions.

There was a time when we had a cable TV subscription, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Honestly, we’ve never had that much time to watch TV. So we have trimmed up our TV subscription services by cancelling our live-television services and picking one of the online streaming services.

This can go for many types of subscriptions like a grocery delivery service, music streaming service, and even beauty boxes.

Using Optum Perks to Save on Prescription Refills.

Prescriptions are another ‘unavoidable’ cost, but there are brilliant ways of saving cash when it comes time to fill or refill! Savings reach up to 80% with no membership and no fees!+

Prescriptions saving is easy. You just search, find, and save without ever having to enter personal information or data in. Optum Perks can be used at over 64,000 pharmacies nationwide, including Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS. Once you find the prescription and pricing, you can decide if you’d like the free coupon to be delivered by text, email, or by printing it out.

These prescription coupons can be presented to your pharmacist whichever way is convenient for you. So whether you’re using the drive-thru or picking it up in-store, your pharmacy coupon will be honored. Truly. That’s it.

I’ve been really open about my struggles with mental health, particularly since having children. As many know, I’ve relied mostly on my Lexapro prescription for the last 5 years. Usually my refills cost upwards of $20. By using Optum Perks I’ve been able to fill it at the rate of $9.00! That’s an eleven dollar savings! While it may not seem like a lot, with a family of 5, every bit helps.

You can see for yourself by heading to Optum Perks today and finding out just how much you can be saving on the prescriptions you need for the whole family.

Putting Memberships on Hold.

If you look at the number of items that are auto-deducted from your account each month, what would you see? For me, it’s our family gym membership, zoo membership, and my auto-renew of my coffee card. While these memberships are handy and even affordable in times of employment, they can be detrimental to savings when going through financial hardship.

Most memberships will allow a ‘hold’ or ‘break’ for anywhere from one to 6-months. And it’s usually as simple as giving them a call or shooting their customer service team an email.

These Adjustments Do Not Have To Be Permanent

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in these last couple of months it’s that I am capable of much more than I previously thought I was. I’m the same girl who would grab coffee from Starbucks before work almost every day. But I don’t have to be. In fact, I’m amazed at how these small changes I’ve made in our spending have had such a tremendous impact on not only our pocketbooks, but our overall psychological well-being.

But knowing that at least some of what I’m doing right now is just temporary certainly helps. I may not stay away from my beloved coffee forever, but I can tell you that I will never go back to paying full-price for my prescriptions.

+Prices are subject to change over time

Tell me — what will you do with all of the money you save using Optum Perks?

Learn From Home, Right Now with iD Tech Virtual Camps

April 3, 2020 by Rachel 29 Comments

This post is sponsored by iD Tech. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Here in the United States, our lives have been completely upended in the last 30-ish days. We went from ‘business as usual’ to basically living, working, and schooling with just our immediate family.

This has created an unprecedented amount of struggle and stress for so many of my friends and family members. We are all learning how to live in our new-normal, and we’re basically doing this one day at a time.

Creating normal in times of crisis.

During this time, it’s really important to create some sort of normalcy for our children. Their lives have been upended just as much as ours, if not more. And we need to be ready to make some changes to keep them healthy, happy, learning, and thriving.

Homeschooling versus Crisis-Schooling

Most parents across the country have been thwarted into the new role of ‘teacher.’ For some, this may come easy. For others, like myself, this remains difficult.

Time and time again I’ve heard friends refer to this time in our lives as “crisis” schooling, not homeschooling. And it’s true. Educators, administrators, and parents across the country are now adapting to a totally new way of learning and teaching.

We’re doing our best, given the conditions. But our children are used to so much routine in their lives. They are used to seeing their friends. Our children are used to laughing and playing with people who aren’t their siblings. They’re used to being social creatures!

Enhancing their education and social experiences

My previous intentions for this upcoming Summer included sending Ari to several camps, including one at Case Western Reserve University for coding. But things have changed so quickly. I needed something to stimulate Ari’s learning now.

Virtual Tech Camps from iD Tech allow him to learn from home, right now.

iD Tech offers online courses to sharpen and develop tech skills from the comfort of our stay-home order! These specialty designed courses, aimed at children ranging in age from 7-19, are structured, week-long sessions, and are offered in various time zones. The small classes (max 5 students) are taught by adult instructors from top universities like Stanford, Caltech, and NYU!

Courses, which include everything from Python, Java, Minecraft, Roblox, AI, Unreal Engine, Adobe, and 3D modeling, are offered in both small group camp and online private lessons. iD Tech is here to help families that are suffering from being ‘cooped up’ by offering Online Private Lessons in which the student can invite a sibling or friend to join them for free! How cool is that?!

Our experience with iD Tech Virtual Classes has been amazing

I quickly signed Ari up for the Minecraft World Designer course. Like most kids his age, he has been a tad bit obsessed with videogames like Minecraft for a long time. However, this course is created to teach him actual coding to make his own worlds!

Virtual Camps from iD Tech - Learn from home, right now

His three fellow classmates and instructor meet every morning on a virtual ZOOM video chat to learn level design and problem-solving. This has been helpful in so many ways. Not only is he learning about something he’s passionate about, but he’s interacting with kids his age. The first morning after class he kept referring to them as his friends. I cannot tell you how awesome it is to have this connection during such a trying time.

The week-long course stretches out in spans of 2-hours of classwork and two-hours of self-paced learning (without the ZOOM call and instructor). Not only is he building skills which will benefit him in the long term, but he’s engaging in something constructive — and that’s something he can feel proud of at the end of the day.

Sign up today and receive a discount of $125 off of your registration!

Need a boredom-buster or more routine in your kids life? Registration is open for all of iD Tech’s Virtual Tech Classes right now — which means you can start as early as Monday! Sign up here and use code RACHEL125 to save.

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Tips to Tackle Sick Days with Johnson & Johnson

December 29, 2019 by Rachel 20 Comments

This post has been sponsored by Johnson & Johnson®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The holiday season can be stressful. Between school, work, holiday parties, and the normal winter “sickies,” the whole family is bound to come down with something. To keep the aches and pains away, our family uses Johnson & Johnson products like Children’s Motrin®, Benadryl®, and TYLENOL® when we aren’t feeling our best.

With three kids and two adults in the house, it’s hard to say that there’s ever a time when everyone feels “great.” It just doesn’t happen. But, I have a mission for the upcoming year—and that is to stay ahead of the sickness by keeping my family as healthy as possible.

cold medicine — Use products as directed.

Tips + Tricks to combat the ‘icky’ days.

Wash your hands

This should go without saying, I’m sure, but I’m obsessive about making sure my children wash their hands. Even if someone in your house feels ill, the best way to stop it from spreading is by frequent hand-washing.

Get adequate sleep

Another thing I’m obsessive about is sticking to my children’s regular bedtime. It’s easy to get swept away by a cozy late-night movie, but it does us zero favors when our children wake up cranky and more prone to illness.

Set a bedtime and stick to it. And if you can’t stick to a “hard” time, set a general “within this 90-minute window” timeframe.

USE JOHNSON & JOHNSON PRODUCTS TO HELP KEEP THE ACHES AWAY

My children and I all get “aches” when we are feeling even the slightest bit under the weather. In those moments, it’s important that we slow down and listen to our bodies. I trust Johnson & Johnson products to help make my family more comfortable in these tough moments. A little rest and a little Children’s Motrin® will help their little bodies feel better in no time.

I, on the other hand, prefer Extra Strength TYLENOL®Rapid Release Gels. I don’t have a lot of time to be “down,” especially while taking care of three icky-feeling kids. I also keep Benadryl® on hand to help with congestion and allergy symptoms.

Watch your food and drink

Coming out of the holiday season can be rough for all of us. It’s not unlikely that we all get sucked into patterns of eating that are abnormal for us. Take this time to make you’re on a regular meal schedule and you’re drinking plenty of fluids.

Our family drinks a lot of water, but maintaining a meal schedule has always been more difficult. I keep soup and crackers on hand just in case one of them is feeling under the weather. If I can’t get them to drink water, at least I know they can sip some bone broth or noodle soup to maintain hydration.

Don’t get in a bind

Keeping the “ickys” away can sometimes feel like a full-time job. Instead of running out to grab more Children’s Motrin® or Benadryl® in the middle of a crisis, stock up ahead of time on all of your go-to Johnson & Johnson products AND save money in the process.

From now until February 1st, 2020, get a $10 Reward with your next $30 purchase of participating Johnson & Johnson products. Keep your receipt and upload it online here to qualify.

Johnson & Johnson cold medicines — Use products as directed.

Tell me, which Johnson & Johnson products will you stock up on to receive that $10 reward?

Tips To Stay Healthy This Winter with Johnson and Johnson

Tips to Get Picky Eaters to Eat More Vegetables

December 12, 2019 by Rachel 27 Comments

This post is sponsored by CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortilla but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Before having kids I was convinced my children would have a sophisticated palette. I mean, Chad and I have always been adventurous eaters. We weren’t going to change our eating habits for our kids. Nope!

For all of the parents in the room, you can totally eye roll and laugh with me now. Because the parent I thought I would be and the parent that I actually am? Those are two totally different people.

As babies, all three of our kids would actually eat anything and everything! But as they group from toddlers to preschoolers, they decided they only wanted ‘kid’ things. So I got creative.

Picky Eaters Will Be Picky Eaters

We make our kids try bites of foods they “don’t like,” but it often ends there. In my experience, creating a battle for the full length of a meal can be exhausting and lead to few results. I, for one, recall endless fights with my parents over my refusal to eat what they had prepared. I also recall having won those battles several times. It’s a battle of wills. And, guys… kids can be really strong-willed.

Beyond making them try the “gross” foods, we then allow them to have an alternative. I realize that this isn’t always a viable option. Preparing separate meals for the kids versus the adults can be exhausting, too.

Other Options

The good news is this — you have other options!

Mix it in!

I’ve come to love the option of pureeing vegetables, like carrots, and adding it to whatever I’m preparing. Our macaroni and cheese isn’t just any mac and cheese. It has pureed veggies in it! (Mom hack: You can sneak it in the boxed kind, too!)

If you don’t have the option to puree your own veggies, you can find dehydrated powder at the store to mix in.

Get creative with alternatives!

CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortillas have been a game-changer for our family. Since we are always on the go, we eat a lot of quick and easy meals like tacos and quesadillas.

My kids cannot tell the difference between a traditional grain tortilla and these CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortillas. They are vegan and dairy-freeand are available in both Original and Grain Free versions. And the best part? The first ingredient is cauliflower!

I picked up three bags from our local grocers freezer or refrigerated section, where I scored $2 off with this coupon! It’s also nice to know that they’re better for me, too. CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortillas contain less fat, fewer calories, and more fiber than traditional tortillas.

If they like it, give it to them!

My three-year-old has been on a near-hunger strike lately if she doesn’t get exactly the food she wants. But the one vegetable that she has decided she likes is brocolli. Sometimes her request for broccoli comes at breakfast.

My gut reaction was to say “no, we don’t eat broccoli for breakfast,” but I decided that if she wants it at 7:00 am, she can have it. So if your child is clinging to one vegetable, let them have it!

The Good News

The good news, friends, is that we all go through this phase. I went through it, my sister went through it, my husband went through it, and I’m sure his siblings did, too.

But it’s just that — a phase! Keep offering new foods, keep introducing new vegetables, and stay creative.

And don’t forget to save $2 off CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortillas by clicking here.