What's For Dinner??

I haven't done one of these posts in a while, so here's what I see for possible dinners for the week from the weekly sale of Publix.

Peppers & Sausages (think fair food)
mixed green salad
French bread

Oven baked tilapia-
drizzle the filets w/ olive oil, coat them w/ ground Fiber One cereal, salt and pepper, bake in oven until done
cheesy grits ( from your pantry)
Grands! biscuits

Chicken tetrazinni-
mixed green salad
French bread
(recipe from Money Saving Mom)

Roasted tomato soup-
roast Compari tomatoes w/ garlic and onions the oven, add to a pot of chicken broth, season to taste, puree w/ an immersion blender or stand blender
Grilled cheese sandwiches

Mushroom & Asparagus Quiche
Mixed green salad
Crescent rolls

Shrimp Fettucini Alfredo
Steamed broccoli


With the exception of a few items, all of the dinners listed above are made from items on sale, including the olive oil, this week. If your pantry is well-stocked, then the sky is the limit!
These are just a few that I can see right off the bat and I know that there are tons more! Remember, plan your your weekly meals around the sales and use coupons to maximize your savings. There are tons of blogs and websites out there to guide you before your shopping trip along with any coupon matchups.

Happy cooking!!

Why Do I Coupon???

I was at my local grocery store doing my usual-shopping. I had my list and all of my coupons that I would be using. I approached the check out and separated the items that I would be getting for free after a coupon.

As I was checking out, another customer came into the same line. I turned to her and apologized to her that I was using quite a bit of coupons. She stood there and stated that she was fine and that she had some as well. This sparked up a conversation about "why we coupon".

This got me to thinking. Why do I coupon? I guess the long and short of it is that I do it to make sure that my family has a certain way of life. Think about it. If you use your coupon when an item is on sale, you have now maximized your savings. More savings at the grocery store equals more money in your pocket. More money in your pocket gives you the ability to build your savings and take care of whatever you need to.

Couponing for me gives me the opportunity to make sure that my pantry is full. Full pantry means less trips to a restaurant and healthy meals for my family. Couponing also gives me the means to help someone in need. By couponing, I have been able to take care of a few households and donate to a local charity. Before using coupons, I felt that money was always tight and we had no wiggle room. Now, our room to wiggle is a bit wider.

I have been couponing pretty heavily now for the last three years and now I'm hooked! It only takes me minutes a day, overall about an hour a week to get all my coupons together for my weekly trip. The coupons that I don't use, I give to someone else who can use them. Do they use them? I hope so. I can't see why they wouldn't. Even a $0.50 coupon doubles to $1.00 and this is now a $1.00 saved.

Sure there are a host of other reasons that I could list, but I won't because they are all over the blogosphere. Just Google couponing blogs and "how to coupon" on YouTube. The results are amazing!

My DH promised me a long time ago, that he would do all that he could to take care of our household. I promised him the same thing. I guess this is one of my many ways of keeping mine to him. Oh yeah, that shopping trip, I almost forgot..... my total savings was $87.02. My OOP (out of pocket) was $90.00. This would have been less but DH had some items on his list that I didn't have coupons for.

Why do you coupon???

All You Grocery Challenge

It's all the buzz!! It appears that the magazine All You, from Wal-Mart is having a contest that will run from July 13th and ends August 17th. Details are as follows:

All You Grocery Challenge Guidelines
The challenge is to spend no more than $25 per family member per week on groceries. Do not include household supplies and toiletries in your total.
During the contest, groceries that you purchase count toward your weekly total. However, feel free to grow, barter or use stockpiled food.
If you eat at a restaurant or buy takeout, the cost must go toward the week’s total.

All You Grocery Challenge Tracking
Save all your receipts as you will be required to submit them if you are a finalist. You can also keep track of your spending on the optional Spending log.

All You Grocery Challenge Judging
All entries and exit forms will be judged by All You’s editors, based on the following criteria: Staying within contest spending guidelines (50%); creativity and ingenuity (25%); and healthy choices (25%). All You will select 10 finalists, from whom a winner will be chosen on or before August 24, 2009. All finalists must submit grocery receipts.

All You Grocery Challenge Saving Strategies
Post your strategies on the Grocery Challenge Blog and share your money saving tips with others!

So, if you're up for the challenge, sign up here!

I signed up! Hope you will, too!

Recipe Review

So I tried the "Perfect Fried Chicken" from Pam Anderson's The Perfect Recipe. Now, I know fried chicken a time or five, so this was a no brainer.

The recipe was very easy to follow and she explains in great detail her method to her madness. I like the idea of soaking said chicken in buttermilk and using plain flour instead of self-rising flour. I also like that once the chicken is floured, letting it sit on a wire rack before frying. She suggests using shortening instead of oil to reduce the "smell" that one gets when frying chicken. That worked as well.

Overall, a great recipe. But, if you have one that works for you, keep doing what you do. On to the next one....Oh, sorry for not having pics, the family devoured it before I could snap one!

Recipe Roundup

A little late on this post but this is what I can come up w/ from the Publix weekly sale for 05/28/2009 to 06/03/2009:


Shrimp frittata w/ mixed green salad, fresh fruit
Fish tacos w/ salsa
hamburgers, fresh fruit, chips or grilled chicken sandwiches
Breakfast for dinner-English muffin sandwiches, mixed fruit

Shrimp frittata-whole eggs or egg whites-from weekly sale, cheese-from weekly sale or pantry, mushrooms-from weekly sale, shrimp-from weekly sale
mixed salad-from weekly sale, add in what's on hand from fridge and pantry
fresh fruit-from weekly sale

Fish tacos- fish from weekly sale, grilled and seasoned to your taste
Taco bell dinner-use just the shells only
salsa- make your own or if in a pinch, use salsa from the taco dinner, cheese-from weekly sale,all the taco fixings

Hamburgers w/ chips- ground beef -from weekly sale or pantry, baked chips-from weekly sale, cookies-from weekly sale or pantry, Jell-o snacks-from weekly sale
chicken breasts-from weekly sale, although not the best price this week

Breakfast for dinner- English muffin sandwiches-English muffins from weekly sale, eggs or egg whites-from weekly sale, sausage-from weekly sale

You could even do coffee and biscotti

Of course, make sure you're using the coupons for the coffe, biscotti,English muffins, baked Lays, Jell-O, and Crystal Light just to name a few. Check CouponMom for the coupon match ups w/the weekly sales.

Happy cooking!!!

Recipe Roundup

Each week, I sit down and plan dinner for the week around what's on sale and what's in the pantry. This week, my local Publix ad looks very promising.

This is what I can come up with that I know my family will eat:

Memorial Day is this week, so we will definitely try to fire up the grill, if the rain holds off. DH wants to have ribs, pasta salad, mixed green salad and strawberry shortcake.

ribs-from the weekly sale
pasta salad-from what's on hand from the pantry
mixed green salad-combination of weekly sale and pantry items
strawberry shortcake-combination of weekly sale and pantry items

Buffalo drumsticks, baked, w/ bleu cheese mashed potatoes, green salad and chocolate chip cookies:

Buffalo drumsticks-seasoned w/ what's on hand from the pantry-cracked pepper, hot sauce mixed w/ melted butter, baked at 350 degrees until done
bleu cheese mashed potatoes-mashed potatoes (homemade or box), mixed w/ bleu cheese crumbles until creamy
chocolate cookies-from weekly sale

Grilled portabella mushroom sandwiches w/ grilled onions and provolone cheese, fruit salad:

portabella mushrooms-from weekly sale
buns-weekly sale
provolone cheese-weekly sale
grilled onions-from weekly sale or the pantry
fruit salad-combination of weekly sale and pantry items

Salmon fish sticks w/ couscous, mixed green salad, make-it-yourself ice cream sandwiches:

salmon fishsticks- salmon fillets from weekly sale:
cut the fillets in half, roll in an egg white, then seasoned breadcrumbs( made from scratch or from the pantry), baked in 350 degree oven until done
couscous-weekly sale or from the pantry
make-it-yourself ice cream sandwiches- from weekly sale, filled w/ ice cream from weekly sale, place in freezer until firm

BLTs w/ celery sticks, chips,pickle spears and popsicles:

bacon-from weekly sale
mayonnaise-from weekly sale, pantry or make your own
celery sticks from weekly sale
salad dressing (for dipping celery)-from weekly sale or pantry items to make your own
chips-from weekly sale
pickle spears-from weekly sale
popsicles-from weekly sale

Of course, there are hundreds of other combinations to answer the age old question of "what's for dinner". Be sure to visit CouponMom to get the coupon matchups w/ the sale items to maximize your dollar.



Happy cooking!

New Concept-at Least to Me

I know it's been awhile since I've posted. I think that I learned that trying to maintain two blogs is some WORK!!

While surfing one evening and reading one of my favorite blogs, I happened upon a concept. It's not new, it just never dawned on ME.

I have 50 million cookbooks, okay not that many, and have only referred to them every now and then. For one month, you take a particular cookbook and prepare recipes from it. Next month, a different cookbook, so on and so on.

I haven't really purchased any new cookbooks lately (insert gasp) but I have had my eye on few that I would like to add to the shelf. So for now, I'll work with what I've got. For June, my choice will be The Perfect Recipe by Pam Anderson.

Using this concept will take some planning on my part, so this will be a challenge. But, I've reached a point that I'm now cooking the same things over and over and I need to change it up a bit.

At the request of DH, and because he doesn't get it often, my first venture will be Rediscovering Fried Chicken. Yes, I know that I've fried chicken a time or five hundred, but this is the perfect recipe........

Happy cooking

Happy cooking!

Something New!!

So, anyone that knows me, knows that I love to cook and bake. I like cooking more so than baking only because, I tend to burn cookies and overbake brownies ;). Back to baking....

I always have in my pantry marshmallows and powdered sugar. I've awlays wanted to try my hand at making marshmallow fondant, but I didn't want all the mess associated with it. Until I saw this.....






I can't wait to show you what I did with it!!!

Meal Planning

My new past time is watching videos on YouTube. I found this and thought that I would share it....




I really like this method. This way you can see what you have on hand and work w/ the sales for week from your favorite grocery store(s).

Happy cooking!!

What's for Dinner??

That's the age old question in my home. I get phone calls at work about this. I get phone calls on my way home from work. The answer to this question for this week is....

*Black bean soup w/ tortilla chips & mixed green salad

*Fried Rice w/ wonton soup

*Buffalo or Jerk chicken bites (haven't decided yet), if Buffalo bites, then the usual suspects will be the normal sides of celery, carrots and bleu chese, w/ brown rice; if jerk style, then the sides will be curry rice and some steamed veggies

*Spaghetti w/ meatballs

That's my plan so far

My Latest "Cookbook"

Any one that knows me, knows that I loves me some cookbooks. I will sit and read them like magazines and novels. SAD, I know!! This one

is my latest that I got for Christmas. I tried a recipe from it on today, and must say that this will be one of my go-to dessert "cookbooks". I put it in quotations because it relies on pre-made items like cake mixes and frozen cookie doughs to complete the desired dessert. What I also like about this book is that it gives you a pantry list of items to have on hand to better use this book. It even comes w/ the ability to stand, so no more pages flipping while trying to read the directions.

The recipe I tried today was the Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. Now, I've made cheesecakes before, so this was pretty straightforward. I did make some changes b/c DH doesn't care for chocolate like I do (SIGH). So, instead of a chocolate chip crust, I used sugar cookie dough and omitted the chocolate chips. Overall, a very delish cheesecake. It's even better when you add carmel sauce to it! I will post the recipe for the carmel sauce very soon. This pic was taken as a piece was walking out my door to my neighbor's house.

Until next time,

Happy cooking!

What's In, What's Out

So the whole point of this blog was to make me more aware of the food that we ate and being able to cook more from my pantry. Doing this saves unnecessary trips to the grocery store. I stumbled across this article the other day. So, here's an updated list of what should be on your pantry and what should be out.....


OUT Packaged bread crumbs or croutons.
IN Take crumbs, cubes or slices of bread, and either toast evenly in a low oven until dry and lightly browned, tossing occasionally; or cook in olive oil until brown and crisp, stirring frequently. The first keep a long time, and are multipurpose; the second are best used quickly, and are incomparably delicious.


OUT Bouillon cubes or powder, or canned stock.
IN Simmer a carrot, a celery stalk and half an onion in a couple of cups of water for 10 minutes and you’re better off; if you have any chicken scraps, even a half-hour of cooking with those same vegetables will give you something 10 times better than any canned stock.


OUT Aerosol oil. At about $12 a pint, twice as expensive as halfway decent extra virgin olive oil, which spray oil most decidedly is not; and it contains additives.
IN Get some good olive oil and a hand-pumped sprayer or even simpler, a brush. Simplest: your fingers.


OUT Bottled salad dressing and marinades. The biggest rip-offs imaginable.
IN Take good oil and vinegar or lemon juice, and combine them with salt, pepper, maybe a little Dijon, in a proportion of about three parts oil to one of vinegar. Customize from there, because you may like more vinegar or less, and you undoubtedly will want a little shallot, or balsamic vinegar, or honey, or garlic, or tarragon, or soy sauce. ...


OUT Bottled lemon juice.
IN Lemons. Try buying six at a time, then experiment; I never put lemon on something and regret it. (Scramble a couple of eggs in chicken stock, then finish with a lot of lemon, black pepper and dill; call this egg-lemon soup, or avgolemono.) Don’t forget the zest: you can grate it and add it to many pan sauces, or hummus and other purées. And don’t worry about reamers, squeezers or any of that junk; squeeze from one hand into the other and let your fingers filter out the pips.


OUT Spices older than a year: smell before using; if you get a whiff of dust or must before you smell the spice, toss it. I find it easier to clean house once a year and buy new ones.
IN Fresh spices. Almost all spices are worth having. But some that you might think about using more frequently include cardamom (try a tiny bit in your next coffee cake, apple cake, spice cake or rice pilaf); ground cumin (a better starting place in chili — in fact, in many bean dishes — than chili powder); fennel seeds (these will give a Provençal flavor to any tomato sauce or soup; grind them first, or not); an assortment of dried chilies (I store them all together, because dried chipotles make the rest of them slightly smoky); fresh — or at least dried — ginger, which is lovely grated over most vegetables; pimentón, the smoked Spanish red pepper that is insanely popular in restaurants but still barely making inroads among home cooks; and good curry powder.


OUT Dried parsley and basil. They’re worthless.


OUT Imitation vanilla.
IN Vanilla beans. They’re expensive, but they keep. (If you look online you can find bargains in bulk, which is why I have 25 in my refrigerator.) If you slice a pod in half and simmer it with some leftover rice and any kind of milk (dairy, coconut, almond...), you’ll never go back to extract.


OUT Grated imitation “Parmesan” (beware the green cylinder, or any other pre-grated cheese for that matter).
IN Real Parmigiano-Reggiano. Wrapped well, it keeps for a year (scrape mold off if necessary). Grated over anything, there is no more magical ingredient. Think about pasta with butter and Parmesan (does your mouth water?). But also think about any egg dish, with Parmesan; anything sautéed with a coating of bread crumbs and Parmesan; or asparagus, broccoli, spinach or any other cooked vegetable, topped with Parmesan (and maybe some bread crumbs) and run under the broiler; how great. Save the rinds to throw in pots of sauce, soup, tomato-y stew or risotto.


OUT Canned peas (and most other canned vegetables, come to think of it).
IN Frozen peas. Especially if you have little kids and make pasta or rice with peas (and Parmesan!); not bad. Or purée with a little lemon juice and salt for a nice spread or dip. In fact, many frozen vegetables are better than you might think.
I don't know if I can can give this up yet.....



OUT Tomato paste in a can.
IN Tomato paste in a tube. You rarely need more than two tablespoons so you feel guilty opening a can; this solves that problem. Stir some into vegetables sautéed in olive oil, for example, then add water for fast soup. Or add a bit to almost any vegetable as it cooks in olive oil and garlic — especially cabbage, dark greens, carrots or cauliflower. I started using this myself, what a lifesaver!!

OUT Premade pie crusts. O.K., these are a real convenience, but almost all use inferior fats. I’d rather make a “pie” or quiche with no crust than use these.
IN Crumble graham crackers with melted butter and press into a pan. But really — if you put a pinch of salt, a cup of flour, a stick of very cold, cut-up butter in a food processor, then blend with a touch of water until it almost comes together — you have a dough you can refrigerate or freeze and roll out whenever you want, in five minutes.


OUT Cheap balsamic or flavored vinegars.
IN Sherry vinegar. More acidic and more genuine than all but the most expensive balsamic. Try a salad of salted cabbage (shred, then toss with a couple of tablespoons of salt in a colander for an hour or two, then rinse and drain), tossed with plenty of black pepper, a little olive oil and enough sherry vinegar to make the whole thing sharp.


OUT Minute Rice or boil-in-a-bag grains.
IN Genuine grains. Critical; as many different types as you have space for. Short grain rice — for risotto, paella, just good cooked rice — of course. Barley, pearled or not; a super rice alternative, with any kind of gravy, reduction sauce, pan drippings, what have you. Ground corn for polenta, grits, cornbread or thickener (whisk some — not much — into a soup and see what happens). Quinoa — people can’t believe how flavorful this is until they try it. Bulgur, which is ready in maybe 10 minutes (it requires only steeping), and everyone likes. If you’re in doubt about how to cook any of these, combine them with abundant salted water and cook as you would pasta, then drain when tender; you can’t go far wrong.


OUT “Pancake” syrup, which is more akin to Coke than to the real thing.
IN Real maple syrup, an indigenous gift from nature and the north country.
The New York Times

Of course, you should have items in your pantry that suit your style of cooking and what your family eats. I know that we are all striving to eat and cook healthier.
Now, this is what I am on the hunt for...






White balsamic vinegar



I know that I don't have to look far so I will be hitting my local Whole Foods this weekend to see if they carry any. Will let you know what I find. I absolutely heart this place, but my wallet doesn't.

Happy cooking!!

What A Girl Wants

This year I have promised myself that I would learn at least one new thing. I took a cake decorating class at my local Michael's some time ago. That was so much FUN and I made some new friends. This was a class that always wanted to take and am glad that I did. I can honestly say now that my son will not have the boring birthday cakes ever again. He and DH have certainly reaped the benefits of me taking that course. Now, with that behind me, I want to challenge myself and take it to the next level.



So one night, like most nights, I was on Youtube and came across a video of someone using a new blade for her upright mixer. MAN! I have got to get me one of these! I don't know about you, but I am gadget person and this blade would really make my baking world great. This beater blade looks like it would save you from having to stop and scrape, stop and scrape.












I am so adding this attachment to my list!! Can imagine how much smoother your batters and icings will be? I can't wait for the postman to deliver this little number to my doorstep. Will let you know when it shows up. Until then,

Happy Cooking

I Haven't Forgetten!!

I know that it has been months since I last posted. BAD BLOGGER! BAD BLOGGER! But, I will be back very soon. It's not that I have stopped cooking, I just kinda lost my mojo and haven't been inspired a whole lot. But, that's changing. I hope to some new posts soon now that the holidays are over. I also got a FLIP video from DH, so I hope to have some video posts for ya soon, too!. Stay tuned and thanks for sticking w/ me!!!

Happy cooking