New Years Eve is Here!

Wow, it's hard to believe that the year is already over! I'm ending it with a bit of a cold, but I have a feeling that if it's not gone by tonight, the alcohol will get rid of it for sure. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a big drinker! In fact, I hardly ever drink, but it's New Years Eve, so I consider it a special occasion!

Speaking of alcohol, I have to say that the old wives tale of drinking a hot toddy to cure your illness really is true! Why haven't I had one the past few days while I've been sick you ask? Well, it's because they taste horrible! Did I mention that I'm not the biggest fan of the taste of alcohol? That may explain why I don't drink often. Sometimes a good wine will complement dinner nicely, but if I'm drinking, I like the good tasting stuff, like this daiquiri I had on my honeymoon, OH MY! It was made with rum and bananas and who only knows what else, but it was AH-MAZING! I digress... so if you are ever sick and you need a cure, drink a hot toddy! Here's a recipe that has worked for me.

1 cup and a good nights rest and you'll be on your way to recovery! Enjoy, or at least enjoy the outcome! 

Hot Toddy Recipe

Ingredients:

1 - 1/2 teaspoons of honey
Juice from 1/4 - 1/2 of a lemon, including a little pulp
2 ounces bourbon or brandy (some like rum)
Very hot water or hot tea (better, I think, with tea)
A cinnamon stick or three-four whole cloves

Directions:

Mix first three ingredients in a mug

Top off with very hot water (if it boiled, let it cool a minute or two)

Add the cinnamon stick or cloves and serve (breathe fumes, sip slowly)

Apricot Pork Roast Recipe

Is it just me, or is everything better in the slow cooker? I fell in love with this recipe when I was looking for lower carb meals that didn't taste like cardboard, and I'm happy to announce that this tastes nothing like cardboard! Since there are only two of us, we normally just get a little pork shoulder and end up finishing it off in one meal. Now that I think about it though, it would be a tasty lunch the next day too! Time to start buying bigger pork shoulders!

Apricot Pork Roast Recipe

Ingredients:

1 3lb pork shoulder roast, boneless, fat trimmed
1 16-oz jar low-sugar apricot fruit spread
1/4 cup low salt chicken broth
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 large onion, chopped

Directions:

Place pork roast in slow cooker. In a small bowl combine apricot fruit spread, broth, mustard and onion pieces, stirring well. Add to slow cooker pouring over top of roast. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.

Transfer pork roast to cutting board. Skim fat from top of slow cooker broth, then serve over pork roast.

Enjoy!

Free Yoplait Yogurt

Woo-hoo for us! Yoplait is giving out ONE MILLION free cups of yogurt! Want to get yours? Click here to go to their site! The chocolate mousse style is my FAVORITE! I like to freeze it and eat it as my own little frozen yogurt. Yum! 

50 Percent off Coupon at Borders

What a great time to get 50% off any item! You only have until December 16th (Thursday), so take advantage of this deal quickly! 

As a heads up, you have to become a Borders Rewards Perks member to use this coupon, but that's free and you can easily sign up for it here. 

Chocolate Mousse Recipe

While the hubbs and I were on our honeymoon, I was introduced to chocolate mousse for the first time ever! It was AHH-MAZING!! Seriously, it's up there with crème brûlée and red velvet cake on my favorite desserts list! Back to topic though, at first taste, I knew had to find out how to make this dessert. After digging around the internet, trying to find the best tasting one, I found this recipe that I swear is to die for! I like to serve it in either shot glasses (make sure that your spoons fit!), or martini glasses for a glamourous look. You can even top it with a little whipped cream and raspberries, or chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Mousse

image from: www.theworldwidegourmet.com

Ingredients:

4 ounces (115 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
2 large eggs, separated
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

Garnish: (optional)
Whipped Cream
Fresh Raspberries
Shaved Chocolate

Directions:

In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Then whisk in the two egg yolks. Refrigerate while you whip the egg whites and whipping cream.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), whip the two egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add two tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form, yet the whites are still glossy and not dry. Set aside.

In another bowl, whip the heavy cream, remaining one tablespoon sugar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form.

Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator, and stir a couple of spoonfuls of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and then fold the remaining whites into the chocolate mixture, gently but thoroughly. Fold in the whipped cream.

Spoon the chocolate mousse into six individual serving dishes or glasses. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Can serve with additional whipped cream, fresh raspberries and/or shaved chocolate.

Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy, but beware, it's addicting!! 

Cornish Game Hens Recipe

On the last night of my honeymoon with the hubbs, we had a dinner on the beach. Marty had lamb, and had a cornish game hen for the first time and I don't know if it was just the love in the air or what, but I though that it was a very tasty meal! A few months ago I decided to try it out on my own. It was surprisingly easy, and turned out moist and tasty. Here's the recipe that I used, enjoy!

Cornish Game Hens with Garlic and Rosemary

image from: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

4 Cornish game hens
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, quartered
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
24 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.

Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.

Serves 4.

Easy Razzleberry Pie Recipe

A ways back, the hubbs told me how much he liked razzleberry pie. Dumbfounded, I had to find out what this was. I'm sure I've had it in the past, but had never heard the cute name before. I ended up finding a super easy and tasty recipe. I need to warn you, it's probably not that healthy, but dang, it is good!!

Razzleberry Pie Recipe

image from: simplyrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 box of ready-made pie crusts with 2 crusts
1 bag of frozen raspberries
1 bag of frozen blackberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons flour

Directions:

Thaw fruit almost completely and pour in colander to strain juice.

In large bowl, mix fruit, sugar and flour together. Line bottom of greased pie tin with crust. Fill with fruit. Before adding top layer cut design into crust (as vents) Lay over top of crust, moisten edges with water to "glue" the two crusts together. With the back side of a fork, pinch edges together, or pinch with fingers.

Lightly brush top crust with water. Sprinkle sugar over the top.

Cover edges with 1 1/2" strip of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Dinner

Way back when I was a nanny, I would fix this chicken recipe at least once every couple of weeks, it is delish! Since you're cooking it in foil, it makes for a speedy clean up as well, you can't go wrong with that, right?!

image from: www.kraftrecipes.com

Foil Pack Chicken & Broccoli

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1-1/2 cups water
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), 1/2 inch thick
4 cups broccoli florets
1-1/2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup Bacon Bits
1/2 cup Ranch Dressing

Directions:
Heat oven to 400°F.
Combine stuffing mix and water; spoon onto centers of 6 large sheets heavy-duty foil (spray with Pam first to keep it from sticking). Top with remaining ingredients.
Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and both ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place in 15x10x1-inch pan.
Bake 30 to 35 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Remove packets from oven; let stand 5 min. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packets.

Voila! Dinner's ready!

Download Free Holiday Songs Today Only!

Today only, download your 13 free holiday songs from Target!

Click here to go to there website!

Coupon Freebies

If you haven't looked into CouponSense yet, you are seriously just throwing money away! I use it all the time and save so much money! Our monthly grocery bill has been cut in half, and I owe it all to CouponSense and my strategic shopping! The trick is to create a stockpile of the items that you use all the time (mind you I mean stockpiling, not hoarding) so that you can just maintain and buy perishables where needed, like milk, fruits and veggies. 

Here are some freebies that you can take advantage of this week:

Clabber Girl Baking Powder - Walgreens
Price with in-store coupon = 2 for $1.00 - coupon worth .75 = FREE when you buy one

Just use this online coupon (making sure to use zip code 77477), and then the in-store coupon (yes, this is what I mean by stacking).

Side note: Since the coupon actually makes the final total in the negative, you may want to take in a copy of their coupon policy in just so you don't get any pushback, you can print a copy here. 

Reach Floss - Walgreens
On sale for .99 with in ad coupon - $1.00 coupon below = FREE

Use their in ad coupon and stack it with the coupon from this site

There are many, many more too! Don't take my word for it, go to CouponSense and check it out for yourself! It's only $4 for the first month and then $12 a month after that! Just be sure to let them know that I sent you! My referral code is: 2003537

I personally will never pay for toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, hand soap or dishwashing soap ever again! Can you say that?

Great Thanksgiving Sales and Freebies

image from: http://www.delish.com

I need to be better about posting my amazing buys on here. Yesterday I went to Fry's grocery store and saved $98.82 on my entire bill, ending up only paying $12.27! I'm tellin' you, those coupons really do work! 

Speaking of great deals, the paper today has a coupon for Sara Lee pumpkin pie (.75 off), and if you use it at Fry's grocery store where all coupons are worth $1, it will make your pie only $1.50!

If you're looking for a turkey, and you have some room in your freezer, right now Fresh & Easy has their turkeys on sale for only .37 a lb! I bought two, one for a work party, and one for our Thanksgiving dinner at home, and only paid roughly $7 for each of them!

Although I make my mashed potatoes from scratch, if you prefer yours from the pouch, you can get them FREE right now! Right now at Albertson's, Idahoan buttery homestyle potatoes are on sale for $1.00 a pouch. You can print a coupon from here just by liking them on Facebook, which will make them free!

Normally our Thanksgiving dinners are a little over $100, but this year, I'm shooting for around $25 and I think I'm going to make it!!

Who said Thanksgiving had to be an expensive meal?! Now we're breaking all the rules!

Easy & Healthy Snack Idea, Cinnamon Apple & Cheese

I get the munchies in the afternoon, and more often than not I go for something that's not all that healthy, it's true. During this phase of my life where I have to pay for stuffing my face and being lazy I'm focusing on being healthy, I'm pulling out some of my old standbys when it comes to meals and snacks!

One of my favorite things to munch on in the afternoon was something that my mother taught me to do quite some time ago. 

Cinnamon Apples

Ingredients: 

1 apple, chopped into bite size pieces

Dash of cinnamon

1 pkt. splenda

Directions:

Put ingredients into a tupperware, seal and shake. Easy peasy, huh?

 I like to eat mine with a piece of low fat cheese so that I'm getting some protein in as well.

P.S. Thanks mom!

Protein Pancakes Recipe

I love pancakes, but I know they're not great for me... good thing I found this yummy recipe in my Eating for Life cookbook! They really are scrumptious; I like mine with some I Can't Believe it's Not Butter and sugar-free maple syrup.

image from: http://nosheteria.com/

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Fat Free Cottage Cheese

4 Egg Whites

1/2tsp Baking Powder

1/2tsp Cinnamon

1/2 cup Instant/Quick Oats

1 TBSP Splenda

Directions:

Put all of your ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Pour onto greased griddle and cook as you normally would do a regular pancake. Breakfast is served! 

The Gift of Giving

From a young age, I was raised to give unto others, whether big or small. Many of my happiest memories with my family and friends involve community service, charity, and other acts of kindness! I find that when we do these things, we are taking others into consideration, putting their needs before ours, which is where the selfless act of charity comes into play.

With the holiday season fast approaching, I think that it's more important than ever that we all try to do what we can to help others in need. I'm personally finding that through my coupon craze that I'm getting a lot of free things, more than I need in fact! Instead of passing these sales by because 'I don't need any more toiletries, food, etc." I'm going to be stocking up and giving it to a local food bank. What would you like to do this holiday season to help others in need? Stuck on ideas? Here's some fun, inexpensive things that you can do with family and friends:

Have a blanket bee with your friends, each making a quilt square. Once it's completed, donate it to Project Linus so that a lucky child in a hospital will be able to have their very own quilt. I don't know about you, but I still have my 'sick blanket!'

For those of you with children who can read, take time practicing and then go to a senior citizen center where you can take turns reading to someone who could use the companionship.

Volunteer your time to a shelter/food bank/storehouse. If you get a group of family or friends together to do this, you won't just be doing a great thing, but will also have a blast in the mean time!

Rake leaves or shovel snow for an elderly neighbor. You will make their day when they see all of the hard work that you did, knowing that you did it out of the kindness of your own heart.

Walk dogs at the local animal shelter. This one can be a lot of fun, especially when they have puppies!

The great thing is that even if you don't have a lot or anything to give, you can still donate your time and efforts to serve others, and in return, you will be blessed. I'm excited to hear what you will be able to do this holiday season for those in need!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle Recipe

If you know me personally, you know about my trifles. I even have to admit, they are sinfully delicious! I found this recipe through The Food Network, and although I haven't tried it, it sounds amazing! It will definitely be on my 'to make list' this fall/winter for the holidays! 

image from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle Recipe

Ingredients:

2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix

1 (5.1-ounce) box cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix

1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon

1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping

1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional

Directions:

Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.

Bruschetta Recipe

One of my favorite things to make when I have people over is bruschetta. It's simple, classy and tasty! You can't go wrong! Now one of the things that you should know about me is that I'm pretty picky when it comes to my recipes. If I don't love it, I don't make it again and I don't share the recipe! This recipe really is to die for, you'll love it! I wish I could take credit for it, but I can't, I found it through Simply Recipes. 

image from: www.simplyrecipes.com 

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

Ingredients:

6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.

2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.

3. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.

5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Makes 24 small slices. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)

Our Haunted House Adventure at The Nest

First off, I have to tell you that I hadn't been to a haunted house before last night since I was 21. Let's just pretend that was recent though for my own sake... on to my story though... 

Last night the hubbs and I went to a haunted house here in the valley (The Nest) with a couple of our dear friends, Ty and Jess. We were all excited, got dressed up for our plan of evening events and when we got to The Nest, we shortly found out that we were part of the very few who decided to dress up! A bit embarrassing to say the least. Well after we got our wrist bands we went to the haunted house and had a blast! It was so scary, and our friends shortly found out the set of lungs that I have with all of the screaming that I did! Apparently the characters like it when they find someone who freaks out, so I was picked on a little to say the least. Don't get me wrong though, that's what we paid the $60 admission for! Speaking of, when did the acceptable price for a haunted house admission go up to $30 a person?! That's scary enough in my mind!

Tonight is the last night that they are open, but if you're in for a scare, I say, check it out! 

www.Frightened.com

Bread Recipe

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite smells from the oven is of homemade bread! The hubbs gave me a bread maker for Christmas a couple of years back and although I don't use it as much as I like, it really is a time saver! 

I found this recipe through Allrecipies; it has a great artisan density and it is oh so yummy!

White Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1 C water

1 tsp salt

2 tbs vegetable oil

2 tbs sugar

2 tbs dried milk

3 C bread flour

1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Directions:

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select basic white bread cycle; press Start.

Whew, a lot of work, right? Tee-hee.

Meat Sale, Don't Miss Out!

We're a carnivorous family, so when there's a good sale on meat, we don't joke around! I just got back from my weekly shopping trip and oh my, do I love Albertsons! They're having a great deal right now on their meat - buy one get one free on most. 

To make things better, their boneless pork chops are on sale for $1.77/lb., AND if you buy the 4 packs, you get $3.00 off a buy one get one free deal. What does that mean for me? We just scored 2 packages of pork chops (about 3 lbs. total - or 8 chops if you count em that way) for $2.30! Holy guacamole, now that's what I call a good deal! 

I also bought two bee-utiful pot roasts for $13.47. You can't beat that with a stick!

The sale runs from 10/06 - 10/12, don't miss out!

Phoenix Movies in the Park

image from: www.lighthousedistrict.net

Looking for a free, fun date night activity, or something to do with the family? Here's a list of 'movies in the park' in the Phoenix area that are coming up.

Grab your picnic blankets, some snacks and have some fun!

Biltmore Fashion Park

Fridays, October 15 - December 17
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM

October 15 – The Seven Year Itch
October 22 – Chinatown
October 29 – Young Frankenstein
November 5 – Bye Bye Birdie
November 12 – North by Northwest
November 19 – The Great Gatsby
November 26 – no movie
December 3 – American Graffiti
December 10 – Holiday Inn
December 17 – Scrooged

Click for more information

Kiwanis Community Park

Fridays, October 15 - October 22

6:00 PM

October 15 - Monsters VS. Aliens

October 22 - How to Train your Dragon

Click for more information

Steele Indian Park

Saturday, October 16 - The Wizard of Oz

6:30 PM

Click for more information

Things to Do in Phoenix, October 8th - 10th

Who doesn't like to have fun without spending a ton of dough?

50th Annual Greek Festival

Hosted by: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Community Center
1973 E. Maryland Ave.
Friday, October 8th - Sunday, October 10th
Hours:

Friday 5 pm - 10 pm
Saturday 11 am - 10 pm
Sunday 11 am - 8 pm

Cost: $2 per adult, kids 12 and under are free
Click for more details

Arizona Taco Festival
Hosted by: Affordable Food Festivals, LLC
7125 E. Via Soleri
Saturday October 9th
Hours:
10 am - 5 pm
Cost: $10 general admission, $50 VIP, $10 tequila expo
Click for more details

Cupcake Love-in

Hosted by: Hotel Valley Ho

6850 E. Main Street

Sunday, October 10th

Hours:

11 am - 3 pm

Cost: $10 in advance, $15 at the door, kids under 6 are free

Click for more details

Old Navy Deal of the Day

I don't know about you, but I love Old Navy! They're having an online sale today only on their jackets, only $16 a piece! To add on, they have free shipping right now on any orders over $50, just use the code ONSHIP50 when you're checking out. My favorites?

Too cute!

Rosemary, Lemon and Garlic Chicken

image and recipe from: http://www.foodnetwork.com

Can I tell you how much I love chicken?! I found this recipe through one of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals quite some time ago and fell in love with it. It's super easy too, and great served with some wild rice.

Rosemary, Lemon and Garlic Chicken

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks

6 cloves garlic, crushed

3 Tbs fresh rosemary leaves stripped from stems

3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 Tbs grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning) or corse salt and black pepper

1/2 C dry white wine or chicken broth

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 450 F

Arrange chicken in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Add garlic, rosemary, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon zest, grill seasoning or salt and pepper to the dish. Toss and coat the chicken with all of the ingredients, then place in oven. Roast 20 minutes. Add wine (or chicken broth) and lemon juice to the dish and combine pan juices. Return to oven and turn oven off. Let stand 5 minutes longer then remove chicken from the oven. Place baking dish on trivet and serve, spooning pan juices over the chicken pieces.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

image from: http://bakingbites.com

One bite and you will think you've died and gone to heaven! This recipe is so yummy and easy, and the hubbs can't get enough of it so it's become a staple dinner in our home. I deviated from the original Bisquick recipe just a bit, and I have to say, I think I nailed it on the head. Enough chatter, here's the recipe!

Chicken and Dumplings

2 C milk

1/2 C frozen carrots

1/2 C chopped celery

2 baked boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 can (10 3/4) condensed creamy chicken and mushroom soup

1 C Bisquick mix

1/3 C milk

Paprika

1. Bake chicken - I like to cut up my chicken breasts, put them in a baking dish with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and then bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the chicken's internal temperature is at 165.

2. Heat 2 C milk, soup, veggies and chicken to boiling in 3-quart saucepan, stirring frequently.

3. Stir Bisquick mix and 1/3 C milk just until soft dough forms - Don't overmix! Drop dough by 8 spoonfuls onto chicken mixture, and then sprinkle with paprika. 

4. Cook uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes longer.

Enjoy!

An Unwelcome Guest

It all started this morning, I woke up all bright eyed and bushy tailed (or something like that), jumped in the shower, then decided to come downstairs to DVR my workout for the day. Well while I was on the couch, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye that moved... 

I looked over and to my dismay I saw...

Okay, he may not have been in a white lab coat, but I swear, this guy was HUGE! To top it off, I couldn't exactly wake my hubby up to 'take care' of him, so it was up to me. There was no way I was getting anywhere close enough to him to smash him, and the concept of sucking him up with a vacuum didn't sound great since I'd have to dump out the dust bin afterwards and let's face it, that's just too risky for him crawling back out and attacking me so what do I do? I google 'how to kill a cockroach' and find this quirky video on how to kill a cockroach 'kindly.' 

I decided to go with the 'spray em with soapy water' method, so I prep my spray bottle, get a good 5 feet away from the thing and just go crazy. Picture this, I start spraying this nasty thing who then starts running down the wall after me (I swear he was trying to attack me), so now I'm spraying faster than humanly possible, panicking because I'm about to be eaten, and all the while drenching my walls and floors with soapy water. After he realized that he was no match for me, he ran under the table and then the soapy water starts to kick in. Almost like telling a dog to play dead, the thing flips over on it's back, legs flailing, and all of a sudden I start feeling bad for the little guy. I can't just leave him suffering like that, so I pick up the hubbs shoe and squeal as I smash him. The crunch was so loud that I started dry heaving like the baby I am. Of course then I had to flush him because knowing my luck he would spring back to life and seek out revenge, that was a blast, really.

Oh the adventures I come across...

Recipe for my Favorite Rolls!

If you haven't had good ol' Utah famous Lion House Rolls, you are really missing out on a piece of life my friends. I used to go to Deseret Book to buy the mix because I could never get the recipe to taste right myself, but I found the trick! You've got to use bread flour, no lie, it really takes the cake!

As a heads up, they do take some time, but most of it is just waiting for the dough to rise, and it's totally worth it. I'm going to be making some this week for lunches because there's nothing like yummy soup and a roll to get you through a fall day (even if it doesn't feel like fall just yet here in AZ, we'll pretend).

image from: http://blog.betterthanburgers.net

Lion House Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)

2 tablespoons dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/3 cup butter, shortening, or margarine

1 egg

5 to 5 ½ cups bread flour

Directions:

In large bowl or electric mixer, combine water and milk powder; stir until milk dissolves. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add 2 cups flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand). Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour).

Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about one tablespoon of vegetable oil all around sides of bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so it is covered with oil. (This helps prevent dough from drying out). Cover with plastic and allow to rise in warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Scrape dough out onto floured board. Turn dough over so it is floured on both sides; gently flatten to about 1 inch thick. With rolling pin, roll out to a rectangle about 18 inches long, 8 inches wide, and ¼ inch thick. Brush with melted butter. With pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut dough in half to make two strips about 4 inches wide. Make cuts through strips of dough every 2 inches, making about 18 pieces of dough.

Starting with short end, roll up one piece of dough, with butter on the inside. Place roll on parchment-lined pan with other short end down on the paper. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Be sure all rolls face the same direction on baking pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light to medium golden brown. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Serve with Honey Butter. Makes 1 to 1 ½ dozen rolls.

Helpful Tips for Making Rolls

Always add flour gradually and keep dough as soft as you can handle. A soft dough will produce a lighter roll.

It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour called for in the recipe—add only enough flour to make dough manageable.

To shorten dough's rising time, use one of these methods:

1) When dough is thoroughly mixed, oil bowl and cover dough with plastic wrap. Fill sink or larger bowl with about 2 inches of hot water or enough water to come about half or three-fourths the way up outside the dough bowl. Place bowl of dough in bowl of water and allow to rise until double in size.

2) Just before mixing dough, turn oven on lowest possible temperature. Place a pan of hot water on bottom oven rack. When dough is thoroughly mixed, place in oiled bowl. Cover dough with plastic wrap; place in oven. Turn oven off, shut oven door, and allow dough to rise until double in size, about 50 to 60 minutes. Shape or cut into desired rolls. Place rolls on greased or parchment-lined pans and allow to rise until double in size. Bake according to recipe.

Brush top of rolls with butter when first taken from oven.

How to consistently make attractive, good-tasting rolls? Practice! Practice! Practice!

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned!

I think I've made my point already to how much couponing can help, but just to drive my point home more I had to share my little story. 

The hubby's computer fell in love and ran away about a month ago (e.g. died), and since football season is back, which means fantasy football, it was time he had his own computer to use! Don't get me wrong, I'm more than willing to share, but football season gives me more time to do my homework, so I need my computer at the same time that he does. Long story, well... long, we decided to go computer shopping. We were able to pick up this little bad boy and paid cash! That's right, no cards, no additional debt, we had a need, and had the money to pay for it. Man, can I tell you how great that feels?! 

image from: http://www.laptopreviews.org.uk/toshiba-laptops/toshiba-nb205-netbook/

P.S. If you're interested, the best price that we found for this little guy was at Fry's Electronics. By the way, when I say little, I mean little... it's a mini computer! Absolutely adorable - just can't tell the hubbs that, as far as he knows, it's very manly! 

Mini Banana Muffins

I made some scrumdelicious muffins for a potluck at work today, and they were a hit. High five me! Here's the recipe.

Mini Banana Muffins

Makes around 35 - Prep time 10 minutes - Baking time 15 minutes - Total time 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 large bananas, mashed

3/4 C white sugar

1 egg

1/3 C butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat muffin pans with butter or margarine, and lightly dust with flour so that muffins will slide out easily. You can use muffin liners if you'd like as well.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Combine bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in the flour mixture until wet and smooth, but don't over-mix! Scoop into muffin pans. 

Bake in preheated oven for 10 - 15 minutes (it was 13 in mine). You'll know they're done with the edges are golden and they spring back with lightly tapped.

Enjoy!

Getting Organized

One of the biggest questions that I get is "how do you manage to get everything done in a day?!" My response... 

I don't. 

There is a lot that I don't get to that I really wish I had, and I'm still balancing my day to day, trying to push my limits where I can, see what I can and cannot accomplish. For what I do get done though, I owe to planning! I love organizing, in fact, I'd marry it if I could... although that would put me in a pretty odd situation since I'm already married... awkward pause... 

Back on subject! There is this great book that I've had for years. The bindings worn, there's pink highlighter on most pages and any onlooker would probably wonder why I occasionally drag it around since it's not super small, but it's my standby when it comes to all things organized! 

I bought mine straight off Amazon for pennies on the dollar (gotta love a good used buy) and am still finding new tips and tricks inside. 

One of the great tips that I got from this book was to organize your week vertically and horizontally. This tip came especially handy for me years ago when I was suffering burnout because I was 'never getting anything done,' or so it seemed. My problem was that I would organize my day in a list form, but wouldn't organize my week in the same manner. What this meant was that I would put a bunch of big projects in one day's work, and then be super disappointed and confused when I couldn't accomplish everything in my day. Looking back I would love to just smack myself upside the head and say "duh silly, of course you're overwhelmed!" Truth be told though, we all want to be superwomen, and at first, at least for me, that felt like getting everything done in a days time. 

The real trick here though is to list out all of the big items that you need to get done, and spread them throughout your week (or month, depending on what you're planning) so that you're not overwhelming yourself on one specific day. Also, get rid of anything that is not important or conducive to what is really important to you. This means figuring out your priorities and getting rid of any 'fillers' in your day that don't contribute to those. This may mean saying no occasionally, and that's okay! Here's an example: For me, which would be more important: A. making 2 dozen homemade cinnamon rolls for my co-workers or B. taking a quick trip to the store to pick up a treat for work and taking that extra time spending a date night out with my husband? 

Drum roll please... B of course! Although I love to bake (just as much as I love organizing!), I love my husband more and enjoy spending time with him. Easy answer, right?

I would definitely look into buying this book, or checking it out at your local library. There are so many topics like organizing your time, household chores and simplifying your holidays. Good stuff!