Check your reciepts

We're all looking to save a little money these days, especially now that we are in the middle of the holiday season. A good place to save a little money is by checking your receipt. The picture above is the money I found in my pockets Monday after my weekly shopping trip - just over $3!

Upon checking my receipts, two 75 cent coupons were not taken off and I was incorrectly charged for an item. This isn't typical, but almost as often as not, I find something that's not quite right with my transaction.

To claim your savings, take your receipt to Customer Service and the situation is usually remedied without much hassle.

Start checking your receipts and start saving more money!

This Week's Menu

After last week's holiday meals, we'll be eating from the leftovers and simple meals from the freezer this week.

Monday: pasta primavera

Tuesday: vegetable beef soup

Wednesday: pork chops & potatoes

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: broccoli calzones

No real recipes this week. However, I'm looking for advice on making the soup using the leftover bone from last Thursday's roast. I think I'll make beef stock with it in the crock-pot, strain, then add the leftover meat and fresh veggies.

Back to Menu Planning!

Photo from Real Simple

Ok, I have been menu planning but not very well lately. However, I'm feeling especially organized this week so here is the plan.

Monday: pasta with zucchini & chickpeas

Tuesday: shredded pork tacos (with leftover pork from freezer)

Wednesday: chicken enchiladas (with cooked chicken from freezer)

Thursday: leftovers?

Friday: spicy beans & sausage (with beef instead of turkey sausage)

Saturday & Sunday: Leftovers, pizza or spaghetti with sweet sausage & cabbage?

Find more weekly menu inspiration at This Week for Dinner

Crock-Pot Conundrum

I purchased the 4 qt. Crock-Pot pictured at left this week from Target because I've been looking for a smaller slow cooker and this one is on sale for $17. I like to use my large Crock-Pot, but I think it would be easier to cook smaller portions (since it's just the two of us) in a smaller model.

However, when I brought it home I started having regrets. I decided to look at reviews online, which were mixed, people either loved it or they had an awful experience. Now I'm nervous if mine will be a good egg or a bad egg.

I used it for the first time today to "bake" potatoes for supper. When I checked on them early this afternoon, the potatoes were already done and it should have taken about 8 hours on low. I'll probably make something else in it later this week before I decide, but I'm wondering if I made the right choice by buying an inexpensive slow cooker.

What do you think? What are your experiences with slow cookers? What brand do you have? Should I just use my large (5.5-6 qt) Crock-Pot for everything, like I have in the past? I read that you can put a smaller oven-safe dish in a large slow cooker to cook smaller portions. Has anyone tried this?

Menu Week of August 24

Sorry I haven't been consistent with posting my weekly menus this summer. I just haven't been able to get on a good weekly schedule for a while. It's not like summer is that different for me than any other time of the year, but I guess it just feels more laid back so I'm more likely to let things slide.

Anyway, here is my plan for this week. It includes some new recipes, but also some favorites.

Monday: pork kebabs & couscous w/ scallion

Tuesday: pasta salad

Wednesday: loaded baked potatoes (will be using leftovers to make Baked Potato Soup for lunch later in the week)

Thursday: chicken stir-fry

Friday: calzones (from the freezer)

Menu Week of July 27

I'm back to meal planning this week. My hubby has been super busy with work, so I've just been feeding myself most evenings with whatever I can find in the fridge. However, this week looks like we'll both be home in the evenings so here is my plan.

Monday: soy-marinated flank steak & grilled zucchini

Tuesday: oven-fried chicken breasts & steak fries

Wednesday: stir-fry using leftover steak & brown rice

Thursday: mac & cheese or leftovers

Friday: leftovers or pizza

I also discovered a great resource for meal planning ideas today. I'm sure we'll be trying some of the meals - or variations of them - soon!

Stocking Up

Tuesday I spent a good part of the morning in the kitchen stocking up on some essentials around here - chicken stock, cooked chicken breast, black beans and cupcakes. None of this really took much of my time - the beans were in the crock pot, while the chicken simmered on the stove over low heat and the cupcakes came from a box (cake mixes are so easy and taste so delicious!)

Split chicken breasts were on sale this week for $.77/lb. I probably should have stocked up, but I decided to just spend a couple dollars. However, with the addition of a couple carrots, celery & some onion, I ended up with two cups of cooked chicken and 12 cups of stock/broth.

I use this recipe from Everyday Food as a guide:

• 4 1/2 to 5 pounds (about 6) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on (I only had 2.5lbs, so that's what I used)
  
• 1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 carrots, quartered crosswise
• 2 celery, quartered crosswise
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves
• 6 sprigs parsley (I forgot to get fresh parsley, so I used dried)
  
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

1. Combine all ingredients in a 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover with water by 2 inches.
Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook chicken until no longer pink in center and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat (avoiding bone) registers 160 degrees. about 15 minutes.

2. Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet; arrange in a single layer, and let cool. (I wanted my broth/stock to be a little more flavorful and I had the time so I left the veggies in and added some leftover chicken bones I had in the freezer as well as the bones from the breasts and allowed to simmer for a few hours.) With a slotted spoon, remove and discard vegetables.

3.Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a damp paper towel. If broth is more than 8 cups (2 quarts), return to pan; reduce over medium-high heat until you have just 8 cups. (I would recommend letting it reduce a little, but as you can see, I ended up with 12 cups rather than 8.) Once cooled, refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

4. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin and bones. Shred with forks (see above) or chop chicken, as desired. Makes 8 cups (2 pounds) poached chicken and 8 cups broth.

We're cooking more with beans these days and I've found it's so much cheaper to buy dried beans and cook them myself. I started with cooking them on the stove, but then discovered they can be cooked in a slow cooker.

Here is how I cook beans:

• Rinse beans and pick over
• Put in slow cooker and cover with about 2 inches of water
• Turn on high for 4-6 hours. (If you will be gone all day you could set it to low for 8-10 hours.)
• Check after about 4 hours, if beans are starting to get tender, season with salt & allow to cook until desired tenderness. If not yet tender, allow to cook longer before seasoning.
• Transfer to freezer containers or bags and allow to cool before putting in the freezer.

Menu Week of July 6

I apologize for not posting lately. My only excuse is that I've been enjoying summer and trying not to bother too much with household chores.

Here is my menu plan for the week. I wasn't feeling inspired by the grocery ads, so I wasn't sure what we were going to eat. Then I looked to the freezer for some inspiration and found some smoked sausage. I think, with a couple items from the grocery store, I was able to build a menu off what I already have in the fridge and pantry.

Monday: Leftover pizza or sandwiches on fresh bread

Tuesday: Smoked sausage with Spanish rice

Wednesday: Pasta with peppers & sausage (in marinara sauce)

Thursday: Leftovers?

Friday: Calzones

What are you making this week for dinner? For more inspiration visit This Week for Dinner.

Recipes

I've been working to organize and compile the recipes I use most often. Since I'm typing most of them with my changes and notes I thought I would post them here as well. Hopefully there will be pictures to go with them one of these days. Enjoy!

Quick Mix Pizza Dough

Tomato Sauce

Black Bean Quesadillas

Potato Vegetable Soup

Menu Week of June 8

I'm keeping my meal plan simple this week as we are heading back to Minnesota for a week on Friday. Most of our meals are coming from the freezer. If you aren't freezing leftovers or making meals ahead, I would highly recommend it. It is great to have a freezer full of meals to heat-up and enjoy during busy weeks. Feel free to use the following meals as inspiration to start stocking your freezer.

Monday: baked ziti (Many baked pasta dishes freeze well. Follow the recipe to the point where you would bake it, then freeze instead. If baking from frozen, allow extra time or allow to thaw in the fridge then bake.)

Tuesday: jambalaya (This was leftovers from last month.)

Wednesday: soup (Make a big pot of soup and freeze. If you freeze soup flat in freezer bags, they can be stacked to save space.)

Thursday: leftovers/clean-out the fridge

Friday-next Saturday: traveling

Menu Week of June 1

I wasn't feeling inspired yesterday while menu planning, but hopefully our meals will be a little more exciting than what you see here.

Monday: something with chicken breast

Tuesday: Campbell's Tasty 2-Step Pork Chops & mashed potatoes

Wednesday: bean burritos (from freezer)

Thursday: Pasta of some sort or leftovers

Friday: Tacos (leftover meat in freezer)

This Week's Menu

This week's meals will be pretty simple with most pulled from the freezer. I like having meals put away in the freezer for weeks when I don't really feel like cooking. Must be the Memorial Day weekend coming up that's making me want to take it easy.

Monday: pasta with veggies

Tuesday: leftovers

Wednesday: stuffed chicken (from freezer) with rice

Thursday: broccoli calzones (from freezer)

Friday: orange chicken (from freezer) with leftover rice

Weekend: Vacation!
I'm looking forward to this weekend and visiting some friends in Charleston, SC. It will be nice to get out of town (and the house) for a couple days, catch-up with friends and spend some quality time with Korey.

Keeping Celery Fresh & Crisp

We don't eat a lot of celery, but it's nice to keep in the house for soups and occasional snacking. However, we could never use an entire bunch before it would go limp - until I learned this trick.

Wash celery & shake off excess water. Then wrap tightly in a double layer of aluminum foil. Make sure it is sealed completely. Store in fridge for up to 6 weeks!

I think this celery has been in our fridge about a month and it is still crisp and fresh!

Another tip for already limp celery: Trim about an inch off the bottom of each stalk. Stand upright in a glass with about an inch of ice water. Refrigerate until crisp.


For more kitchen tips visit Tammy's Recipes.

This Week's Menu

Here's the plan for this week's meals.

Monday: leftovers

Tuesday: grilled chicken with zucchini & squash

Wednesday: smoked sausage & potatoes or rice

Thursday: something with leftover chicken from Tues. - quesadillas?

Friday: Spaghetti with meatballs (from the freezer)

Saturday: leftover smoked sausage with mac & cheese?

Baked Potato Soup

This is our favorite soup recipe.


Baked Potato Soup
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
Makes 6 servings

2 large baking potatoes, baked

6 T. thinly sliced green onion

⅓ C. butter

⅓ C. all-purpose flour

¼ t. each salt & pepper

4 C. milk

¾ C. cheddar cheese

4 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained & crumbled

Directions: Bake potatoes (see directions below) then scoop out pulp when cool enough to handle.

In a large saucepan cook 3 T. green onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour, salt & pepper. Cook for 1 minute.

Add milk all at once. Cook & stir until thickened & bubbly. Cook & stir 1 minute more.

Add the potato pulp & ½ C. shredded cheese. Stir until cheese melts.

Ladle into bowls. Garnish each serving with cheese, green onion & bacon.

Notes:
To bake potatoes: Scrub potatoes clean & pat dry. Bake in a 425° oven for 40 to 60 minutes or until tender. Or use leftover baked potatoes.

Potatoes can also be baked in the microwave. Most microwaves have a baked potato function.

Additionally you could make this recipe with leftover mashed potatoes. Use about 2 cups.

Delicious! This is one of our favorite soup recipes! Very filling and great the next day for lunch. I cook the bacon in the saucepan first, drain out most of the drippings, then continue with the recipe. It adds a little extra bacon flavor and I don’t have to dirty another pan!

For more recipes visit Tammy's Recipes

Tortilla Bowls

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo this evening with taco salads. As a kid, this was one of my favorite meals -- and still is as an adult. My mom always bought a kit from the grocery store to make the tortilla bowls, but it's easy to make these with just aluminum foil and large tortillas.


Preheat the oven to 425. Crumple large sheets of foil to make 3-inch balls; place on baking sheet. Place 1 large (burrito size) tortilla over each ball; spray with cooking spray.

Bake 6 to 8 min. or until tortillas are golden brown. (Tortillas will drape over balls as they bake.)

Fill with lettuce and your favorite taco fixings. Enjoy!

For more kitchen tips visit Tammy's Recipes

Menu Week of May 4

Monday: Red beans & rice (from the freezer)
Tuesday: Chicken taco salads
Wednesday: Pork chops on the grill with baked potatoes
Thursday: Leftovers or eat out
Friday: pizza, pasta or stir fry depending on what's in the fridge

No real recipes this week. I'm just going to wing it with these simple meals. What are you making for dinner this week?

Happy Earth Day

Here are a couple links to help you live greener from Lighter Footstep.

Ten First Steps Toward Lighter Living

Seven Stones of Simpler Living

I spent the day enjoying the weather and taking pictures with a friend at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden.

Adding Ads

I'm trying out the idea of running ads on my blog. What do you think? Let me know how you feel about looking at advertisements while reading this blog.

Kitchen Tip Tuesday - Freezing Bacon

I've found that most recipes which include bacon only call for a few slices. Rather than cook-up the extra for breakfast, I like to freeze the rest of the package. This way I don't have to buy bacon every time I need it for a recipe. It also allows me to stock up if I find it at a good price.

Wrap slices of bacon (two together, since most recipes call for an even number) between layers of wax paper and freeze in a freezer bag. When you need bacon, simply remove the number of slices needed. Chop or leave whole and cook from frozen.

For more kitchen tips visit Tammy's Recipes