You know the phrase “You learn something new every day”? Well, if you’re me and you run a little business, that’s especially true. Some days I learn stuff that makes me cringe. And today was one of those days.

Basically, last night I heard from a customer telling me that there was no spot for the coupon code out the checkout page! Like….I’ve been running this sale for over a week, and I didn’t know this til it was over. I’M DYING!!!!!

So THAT explains why I had people paying full price for the Lifetime Membership, and why I was manually sending them back half their money saying, “Oops! You overpaid! We are having a sale and I wanted you to get the full discount!”

I wondered why that was happening, but it didn’t occur to me that with my new payment processor in place, it changed the content of the checkout page and took away the coupon spot. Oy vey!

So now I’ll be trying to figure out how to get our coupon code spot back, but in the meantime, I’m fixing this for those of you that wanted to get the 50% off deal but couldn’t figure out how to make it work. You’ve got from now through Saturday night to make your purchase, with NO coupon code needed. I’ve just adjusted the pricing on the purchase page so you can just add it to your cart easy-peasy, with HOPEFULLY no more crazy technological shenanigans! Click here to get it now.

I’ve ALSO just added The Ultimate Guide to Planning Thanksgiving Dinner to the site, and you can get that for half price as well! (It’ll be here before you know it.)

I’m SO sorry that this happened, and SO thankful that someone told me what was happening. If you ever see anything that isn’t working or doesn’t seem right, please please just shoot me a quick email so I can fix it. I appreciate it so much when someone lets me know if something’s broken.

Your September menus will be up later tonite, so Members, be on the lookout for those. I was trying to get them up last night and ran into a tech glitch on those as well. I’m working on it right after I send this to you, but wanted to let you all know about this Whoopsie Sale Repeat in case you were disappointed that it didn’t work! Thank you all for your patience and encouragement! It’s great to work with such kind people. 🙂

If you’ve been thinking about jumping into the wonderful world of done-for-you menu planning, NOW is the time!

From now through August 31 we’re having a big Back-to-School sale to help you get organized and simplified, and take back your time from the hours you’re spending now trying to figure out what you’ll be eating, what you need from the store, and “Oh no!  What on earth are we having for dinner tonite?!”

You’ve got two options:

1.  Get our Lifetime Membership to all 4 of our menu types:  Family Friendly, Frugal, Healthy, and Vegetarian.  Get it for half price using coupon code 50off.
2. If you prefer a monthly payment option, we’ve got that too!  Normally it’s $9.97 a month for 12 months to get to the Lifetime Membership level.  During the sale you’ll just pay 6 monthly payments and then enjoy all the benefits of Lifetime Membership!  Just pick this option at checkout, no coupon code required.

Affiliate links are used in this post.

Grilling season is upon us, so today I thought I would share a product review of a handy grill that doesn’t take up much space, and you don’t even need to leave home to purchase!

The Char Broil Patio Bistro Infrared Gas Grill adds a little bit of technology to the standard gas grill. As you’ll see, this grill could be just the answer for some of the dilemmas that grillers sometimes face.

If you only have a small space in which to grill, this grill, or it’s even-more-compact sibling, could be what just you’re looking for. It has a small, compact design that allows you to stow it in small spaces and is perfect for folks that have a really small patio space or just don’t want to take up a ton of room with a larger grill.

If you live in an apartment, you might particularly enjoy the size of this grill. And even though it’s small in design, it functions like a standard size grill. You’ll have plenty of room to cook your favorite foods.  In fact, you can cook a meal for four with this grill.

The infrared feature is really interesting.  It’s referring to the actual grill surface.  There are very small openings in the stainless steel cooking surface that prevent the flames from actually touching the food. The cooking surface heats quickly and evenly, without the flames actually touching your food, so there are no hot/cold spots.  The radiant heat helps lock in moisture, keeping your food delicious and flavorful without drying it out.  Despite the flames not touching the food directly, you’ll still get that smoky grilled flavored that you know and love.
This grill features two stainless steel cooking surfaces, so you’ve got space to move your more quick-cooking or delicate foods farther away from the heat.  The surfaces are easy to clean, too!  Give ’em a good coating of non-stick spray before you start cooking your meal and it’ll make it even simpler for you.

The parts are all high-quality and designed to make it through more than one grilling season. The grill does have an ignition that’s electronic making lighting an easy process. You’ll be able to light the grill quickly and be on your way to a delicious meal.

When you combine modern technology with a sleek, compact design you have a great grill for small spaces. You’ll enjoy the fast heating, even cooking, and simple cleanup of this grill.

You will need to assemble this grill, but that’s a one-time job.  After that you’re good to go for years of enjoyable cookouts.  

If you’re in need of a tabletop or portable camping version of this grill, they’ve got that too!  Same great technology and design, just easy to tote and store in a 30 gallon Rubbermaid container, and cook right on top of your picnic table.  

They also offer electric versions of this grill and the full-sized grill as well.  If you need a compact, high quality grill, the Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Patio Bistro Gas Grill is a great choice for you.

Affiliate links are used in this post.

Do your children know the 4 safe ways to use a knife, and the 3 safe ways to hold food that you’re cutting?

When my six kids were little, I did a lot of letting then stir and pour ingredients into a bowl, snap the ends off of beans, and they helped garden, but I was not too keen on giving them sharp knives!  I would not have thought they could handle it safely, and would not have known smart ways to teach them.  So, I think this free video course is pretty cool!  You and your kids will learn from a mom of four how to safely hold food and cut it with sharp knives, which should springboard them into more meaningful and competent help in the kitchen.

They are also offering a cool cooking school for kids!  It’s called Kids Cook Real Food, and it’s a video course that you and your kiddos can go through and start learning the ropes in the kitchen.  My 13 year old son loves cooking shows and has learned so much from them.  I think he will love this class and having something special to work on in the evenings after his school work is done.  I know he feels a lot of pride when he can cook a delicious food for us.  Maybe your kids would like to give this a try to.  Start with the free knife skills class and see what you think.  🙂

Affiliate links are used in this post.

You guys, THIS IS SO FUN!
I just learned about the #MyKidMadeThis Challenge yesterday, and it is only going on for a couple more days, but I wanted to tell you about it anyhow.

This event is hosted by Katie at Kitchen Stewardship, and the purpose is simply to get kids into the kitchen, starting to learn the ropes of food prep, or building on the skills they already have.

There is a HUGE prize package being given away, and this looks totally fun, so if you have kids in your home, I encourage you to jump in and get involved!