finds of my day

Corned Beef & Cabbage

2005-03-17T08:57:00.000-06:00

Either you love it, or you hate it. Me? Love it.

State of the Blog

2005-02-27T12:47:00.000-06:00

Name: Still lame. What was I thinking?
Look: Better, but not quite "there" yet.
Content: Sporadic. I'm working on it.

Stuffed Rigatoni

2005-02-14T21:36:00.000-06:00

Apparently stuffed rigatoni isn't as common as I thought. There's not even a recipe to be found on Allrecipes! (Gasp!) So I had to improvise. And let me tell you, filling those teeny pasta tubes with cheesy goodness is a labor of love.

Combine:
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
4 ounces shredded mozarella
2 ounces grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, if you've got some -- I used 1 t. fresh

Then put it in a big ole Ziploc bag and cut the corner off. Pipe into a whole bunch of cooked rigatoni (al dente!!) until you can pipe no longer. Then throw the leftover pasta and the leftover filling into the fridge, vowing to fill more later. (Yeah, right.)

In a casserole dish, layer sauce, rigatoni, sauce, rigatoni, sauce. My husband insists that marinara is much better than meat sauce for this particular dish. You can throw some cheeses in between, or just save it all for the top. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

I'll be back

2005-01-28T16:13:00.000-06:00

A little light on the food blogging this week because of all the food-related sickness in my house. I haven't felt much like eating, let alone cooking. In a few days I'll be cooking again...

Aebleskivers

2005-01-14T13:26:00.000-06:00

So, I got an Aebleskiver pan for Christmas. I read about them in Cuisine At Home (IMO one of the best cooking magazines out there) and was intrigued. Armed with dozens of free eggs (thanks to the Dominick's Unilever deal), I finally got up the nerve to make them.

Funny how I'm so green, yet I questioned the instructions. They said to turn the aebleskivers with a skewer, and I thought, wouldn't a knife work better? Or a spoon? Nope, a skewer really does it best. About four batches in, I got the hang of it, and they started to look like the picture. By the end, they were beautiful.

I'm not sure what kind of occasion would call for these, but they were really fun to make, and pretty tasty.

One more time....

2005-01-12T17:14:00.000-06:00

The Cub Quaker deal is back again, starting tomorrow.

silly little find

2005-01-12T17:06:00.001-06:00

You know the cool Danish Loaf Pan in the Baker's Catalogue...I had been eyeing it because the size is so unique. Then, lo and behold, I was at Ikea, and they have one that's a tad different, but the same size, for like $3. Usually the wacky European sizes kind of irritate me. But not this time! Yay Ikea!

Yay Food TV

2005-01-01T13:25:00.000-06:00

I really don't watch much television....there are five shows I must watch, and I tape them all and watch them under the cover of darkness. So I don't channel surf on a regular basis. But this morning my 4-y-o was hogging the computer (jk...sorta) and so I watched FoodTV for a while. The chick on Everyday Italian (you know, the wiggy lookin' show that is filmed rather than taped...what's up with that?) made this really yummy lookin' scrambley-egg thing that I really want to try.

I did it.

2004-12-31T13:11:00.000-06:00

I finally bit the bullet, ended my search, and bought a new set of pans. I've been toying with diong this for the past few months...and Chirstmas money has made it possible. The set was part of the Friday Sale this morning, at an incredible price with free shipping and an additional $25 off to boot. Yippee!

*skips off to put all metal utensils in deep storage*

P&G

2004-12-31T13:10:00.000-06:00

Even though they're satanists, you gotta love P&G for all of the fantastic coupon and movie ticket deals they put out.

(LOL! Just kidding folks! They're not satanists!)

If you have a K-Mart, go get in on this great deal! Buy 4 P&G products (from a list) and get either an 8-pk of paper towels or a 24-pk of Charmin (or 12 double rolls) for free. Hello, do the math: 4 bottles of Dawn at $1 each with 30¢ coupons...that's 4 bottles of Dawn and 24 rolls of TP for $2.80. The coupons for the free TP/PT are next to most of the P&G items in the store.

Hey Julies....

2004-12-30T20:48:00.000-06:00

Or Rebecca...anyone have a good tried-and-true chicken enchilada recipe? Real rolled enchiladas, not the layered tortillas and stuff. I had one that was quite good but I seem to have misplaced it. TIA...

Note to self

2004-12-30T20:43:00.000-06:00

I get this really tasty white wine from Trader Joe's. And every time, we're finished, I recycle the bottle without remembering to write the name down. So in turn, every time I go to TJ's to look for it, I have to identify the bottle by sight. Duh.

So, note to self, it's Rene Barbier Mediterranean White. Not at all bad for $3.99 a bottle. (I've also seen it at Cost Plus, if you're not lucky enough to have a TJ's nearby.)

A resounding thumbs up...

2004-12-29T13:22:00.000-06:00

...for the Baby George.

You know the chicken is good when you and dh are gathered round the plate, still on the kitchen counter, grabbing hunks straight off of it, no time for plates. Hee. It was his present, but I'm going to have a lot of fun with it!!

Who would have thought??

2004-12-26T18:35:00.000-06:00

I'm not a big fan of asparagus. But wow, we had this on Christmas day and it was fantastic!!

Pasta with Asparagus

Very spicy! Watch out!! ;)

Spinach Phyllo Roll Ups

2004-12-21T10:52:00.000-06:00

I'm getting ready to make these for Christmas Eve....never worked with Phyllo before, so wish me luck. I had them at my friend's house and she assures me that it was a snap....and boy, were they tasty.

Pancakes

2004-12-21T10:47:00.000-06:00

I've spoken before of my love for this recipe. . . my kids eat pancakes like there's no tomorrow, and they love these. I've also had great success tweaking the recipe. Last time, I added a half can of pureed pumpkin that was sitting in my fridge. Yum! This time, I substituted one cup of eggnog for one of the cups of water. Double yum! Very subtle.

I always add a few teaspoons of this, too, but currently I'm fresh out. And you'd have to pay me money to go to Penzey's the week before Christmas. Well, not Penzey's itself, but the downtown area in which it is located. It's nuts.

Cookies

2004-12-04T22:32:00.000-06:00

Have to give these a mention.....Jodi, thanks for the recipe...they are fabulous...

ANDES MINT COOKIES

3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
2 TBSP water
2 cups chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 boxes Andes mints.

Melt butter in a saucepan on the stove. Add sugar, water, and chocolate chips, and stir until melted. Take off stove. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Put pan in refrigerator for one hour.

Roll into 1" balls and place 2" apart on a cookie sheet (they will spread). Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. As soon as a pan of hot cookies comes out of the oven, put an unwrapped Andes mint on top. When it is shiny, spread it out on the chocolate cookie with the backside of a spoon. Then place cookies on a cooling rack, and put in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the mint. Makes about 6 dozen.

Matt's Salsa

2004-11-19T16:47:00.000-06:00

I met Amy a few months ago on a committee at my church. Her husband Matt makes killer homemade salsa. She sent me the list of ingredients, and as I made it, I wrote down the missing measurements for some of the ingredients. Salsa is really a "to-taste" kind of thing, IMHO, but this is a fantastic starting point....

28oz crushed tomatoes
15oz diced tomatoes
2 4oz cans green chiles
1 4oz can diced jalapenos
(or substitute 2-3 fresh jalapenos, seeded & mined)
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions (two bunches)
chopped fresh cilantro to taste (I used 1/4 cup)
1 t. salt, 1/4 t. black pepper
3 T chili powder
garlic powder/salt to taste (I threw in 1 t., then thought, "what am I doing?" and added four cloves of fresh garlic, peeled & minced)
1/2 t. cayenne pepper

Using fresh jalapenos gives you a little more flexibility on the heat...I used 2 and it's a good heat for general consumption. If it was just for me, I would have added another.

Yum. It's good stuff.

Very Quick Chicken Tortilla Soup

2004-11-13T23:58:00.000-06:00

In a deep pot, combine 2 cans chicken broth, 2 1/2 cups water, 2/3 c. minute rice. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes, then add 1 can corn, drained, 1 1/2 c. salsa, and about 1 c. shredded chicken. Bring to a boil then simmer until ready to serve. Serve with crushed tortilla chips on top.

Not super fantastic, but a nice change. Had to spice it up a bit....next time I'll use hot salsa instead of mild, and maybe use all broth instead of broth/water. The chips really make a difference.

WalMart

2004-11-13T23:54:00.000-06:00

While I never relish the thought of setting foot in WalMart, there are some good deals to be had there. I got word from my loop that the B&D Brew-n-Go Deluxe coffemaker (that brews one cup into a travel mug) was $9.79, and the $10 B&D coupon from this month's P&G insert wasn't beeping on it. So off to WalMart I went...imagine my glee when mine rang at $5.00. Woo hoo! Two free gallons of milk, courtesy of B&D! :)

Slacker

2004-11-11T08:26:00.000-06:00

Okay, sorry, if anyone has been checking, I've been slacking.

A deal of note today for you moms!!

Jewel (Albertson's) apears to be clearancing their Huggies Convertibles at $3 a package. With the $2.50 mfr c/os that have been running....that's 50¢ for diaper-pull-up-thingies. Personally I preferred these to pull ups because they are more diaper like. And therefore don't give your kid the illusion of grandeur (i.e. "I'm such a BIG GIRL wearing BIG GIRL PANTS!!" Um, no, not yet, you still pee in your diaper last time I checked.) that pull ups do.

Happy Hunting....

Old Navy

2004-10-23T13:57:00.000-05:00

All clearance is an extra 50% off this weekend! Not many fantastic deals for women or kids, as their summer/early fall stuff was pretty meh this year. But there are great deals for men...a lot of shirts for 99¢ - $3.99.

Wild Rice Chowder

2004-10-20T23:06:00.000-05:00

Made this today: Wild Rice Chowder

The whole time it was cooking I was very leery of it -- it just didn't smell quite right. So of course I tossed a zillion odd things into it, and it turned out fabulous, and I will never be able to recreate it...

My search is over.

2004-10-19T17:13:00.000-05:00

I've found it: the PERFECT dinner roll recipe....ixnay on the omsmay eastyay ollsray....these ones are the absolute very bestest:

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls

Had to add 1/2-1 cup of flour, but other than that, no modifications. Perfection.

Mom's Yeast Rolls

2004-10-12T13:05:00.000-05:00

Forgot to post this last week in the midst of my bread kick:

Mom's Yeast Rolls

Definitely needs more flour, as many reviewers have commented. But goodness, they turned out AWESOME. A sad comment: I was so proud that they looked store-bought. Sigh. What our world has come to...lol...

Chalkboard paint.

2004-10-09T22:05:00.000-05:00

My mom was 30 years ahead of her time, and we had an entire hallway painted in chalkboard paint back in the 1970's. It's become pretty popular in the past few years...and here is how to make your own (any color). Nifty!

How to make chalkboard paint

Still on a bread kick.

2004-10-01T13:39:00.000-05:00

Now THIS is a great recipe. Success on the very first try. I can't wait to tweak it... Schlotsky's Bread

Bread woes.

2004-09-30T10:19:00.000-05:00

So yesterday, I had quite a time battling with yeast and wheat flour. I really love the idea of making whole-grain things. I make awesome whole grain pancakes. And pretty decent whole wheat chocolate chip cookies. But for some reason, wheat bread eludes me. It taunts me. It hates my guts. And after two failed attempts, I was desperate for some yeast bread success. And I found it in a familiar place: KitchenAid Sixty Minute Rolls (scroll down to "variations").

Yay for white yeasty rolls.

Free cereal!!

2004-09-30T10:14:00.000-05:00

Free cereal at Walgreen's this week....here's how: their 8oz GM cereals (cheerios, lucky charms, cinn. toast crunch I think) are $1.99 regular price. Buy four: $7.96. There's an Easy Saver coupon in this month's book for $6 off when you buy 4 GM cereals. Combine that with two $1/2 coupons and they're free! Credit to Hollie for spotting this great deal!

(The occasional Walgreen's will not let you combine the coupons, but it is their policy that mfr coupons can be combined with Walgreen's store coupons.)

Still here.

2004-09-29T08:25:00.000-05:00

Wasting away, on my wacko diet. Just kidding....last night I broke down and had a chicken melt and cherry coke from Steak & Shake. I swear, it was the best sandwich I have ever had in my entire life. Chicken. Cheddar. Bacon-ey goodness.

I'm eternally grateful that I'm not doing this because my health depends on it. My heart goes out to restricted-diet folks everywhere. I don't know how they do it.

Just so you know....

2004-09-26T13:49:00.000-05:00

....the good recipes will be scarce while I'm following this crummy diet.

Chronic dieters of the world, you have my utmost respect. I haven't had a coke in five days and it's KILLING ME. However, I am not desperate enough to go near anything containing aspartame.

Crummy Diet.

2004-09-24T13:24:00.000-05:00

So I'm trying to adhere, not strictly, but generally, to this anti-inflammatory diet. It kind of sucks. No bread, no sugar, no pasta, no rice. I haven't had a pop since Tuesday. But it's supposed to counteract my rosacea, and I would really like to not be so beet red next to my perfect-skinned children when we have our family pictures taken next month.

So here's what I'm making for dinner:

Marinate salmon in teriyaki sauce if you have time. Bake or grill on the George. Cut up and toss with angel hair pasta (cheating), thinly sliced green onions, and a splash of teriyaki sauce. If you think of it, throw in some julienned carrots near the end of the pasta cooking time. Adds some color.

It's really yummy and not too terribly inflammatory, I think.

Beef Stir-Fry

2004-09-24T11:18:00.000-05:00

This recipe isn't completely mine...from a book, but I have revised it somewhat. ;)

Combine in a little bowl:
1/4 cup soy sauce, 1T oil, 1T arrowroot starch, a swig of wine and a swig of oyster sauce. Marinate 1/2-1 lb. thinly sliced beef while you get the vegetables ready.

Cut 1 green bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper into strips. Wedge one half of a medium onion. Cut up (or defrost, if you're like me) two cups of broccoli florets. Set it all aside.

Fire up a wok or big skillet, heat 1T of oil. Add the beef/marinade, 1/4 t crushed red pepper, 2 cloves of garlic (minced or crushed), and 1/2 t of ginger if you like it. Cook over med-hi heat until the beef is no longer pink, then remove and set aside.

Add a touch more oil to the pot and cook the vegetables until they are crisp-tender. Then add the beef and 1/2 cup beef stock. Bring to a boil and let cook for a minute or so, or until slightly thickened. Serve over rice or noodles.

Our fourteen-month-old chowed this down last night, every last bit. Yum!

Very funny.

2004-09-22T23:25:00.000-05:00

So tonight I was getting ready to go on my 5th and last Cub run, and DH says nonchalantly, "um, while you're there, could you maybe pick up.....some OATMEAL?" Heh. Very funny. That's FREE oatmeal that's taken over the dining room, and don't you forget it.

Also very funny: this blog template.

Best. Cake. Ever.

2004-09-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

And I MEAN it.

Got back from my 2nd Cub run of the day (4 oats, 16 boxes of instant oatmeal for free!) and made myself a birthday cake. Technically, I'm not done yet...it's in the oven. This is by far the best cake recipe I have ever found. I can't stop eating it. Normally, raw dough or batter kind of skeeves me because of the raw eggs -- I'm not prone to snack on it. But this batter? I could eat it with a spoon. It's unbelievable.

No link for this recipe...here goes...mix a yellow cake mix (no pudding) with a 3 oz. package of vanilla pudding mix. Add 4 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, 1 cup sour cream, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix well. Coarsely grate 6 ounces of milk chocolate -- I process yummy yummy yummy Guittard milk chocolate chips in the baby Cuisinart...works like a charm. Fold chocolate into batter and try not to eat the entire bowl with a spoon. Pour into a prepared bundt-type pan and bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

Now, the recipe just calls for a dusting of powdered sugar on top. And it's fine like that...really, I could eat the entire cake with no assistance. But what sends it over the edge is this yummy glaze: place 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and 1/3 cup whole milk in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. After it comes to a boil, cook for 1 more minute, then remove from heat and add 6 ounces of chocolate chips and stir until they are melted and the glaze is smooth. Pour over cake. It will seem thin but it will firm up and become the Perfect Glaze. I promise.

Actually, the glaze recipe makes a LOT. If I remember, and if I'm up for the math, I half the recipe and it's sufficient for a bundt cake.

Yum. Cake. Happy Birthday to me.

Party Time

2004-09-19T21:34:00.000-05:00

No time for deals today. No real cooking either....unless you count the awesome sandwich wraps I made for the party. Flatout is a gift from heaven.

The Quaker deal is back!

2004-09-16T18:36:00.000-05:00

Can't believe it's back....Cub Foods had this mega-deal in May, and no way did I expect to see it again so soon. Here's how it works: you buy 10 Quaker products (from a list) and you receive a $10 Catalina (coupon good for $ off your next shopping order). So then, you go and buy 10 more items, pay for it with your $10 Catalina, and out pops another one. And so on, and so on, and so on. There are current coupons for almost all of the items on the list, and they are also on sale, so it's super easy to come in under $10 each time.

I've only been able to do it twice so far, but I just scored some more coupons....and I have more coming in the mail, hopefully Monday. Depending on how much stock has been depleted, I should be able to get a total of about 70 items for FREE. Yay! I love this hobby.

Hee

2004-09-15T16:39:00.000-05:00

"J. Geils????? Yes, I think we've pretty much accepted that the only way Rush is getting into the HoF is if everybody at Rolling Stone is stricken with the plague and falls dead on their signed copies of Oops...I Did It Again, but J. Geils? Uh, how about Yes? Boston (are they eligible)? Man, I can't wait for the 2010 induction ceremony with Wham! and Wang Chung."

-- Kathryn Lively

Sticky Chicken

2004-09-13T23:14:00.000-05:00

I've been hearing about Sticky Chicken for years....little did I know that I already have the recipe (under a different name) and have been making it for a while now. Here is the recipe!

I highly recommend making a big ole batch of the rub (like 2 or 3 times the recipe) and keeping it on hand in a shaker bottle. When I get bone-in chicken breasts on sale for 99¢ a pound I like to rub them with this mix, throw a bunch of carrots and onions (celery too if I have it) in the pan, cover and bake it at 350F until it's reached an internal temp of 170F (about 60-90 minutes). Then I rip it apart and use it in other recipes....what's left of it, that is. It's a great way to cook a bunch of chicken with minimal effort. Very yummy. Makes the house smell awesome too.

Not much to tell today....

2004-09-11T20:25:00.000-05:00

First of all I just have to say, The Week rocks. It is by far the best mag I get, and I get a LOT of magazines (over 30 at last count). You can get a year's subscription here for $10. That's 50 issues, folks, what a bargain.

Not much to tell today. Got to go to the Jewel sans kids which is always a thrill for me. I know, pathetic, right? Got 10 packages of Idahoan potatoes for free (20 total this week). Also picked up a bunch of $1 Juicy Juice -- the big bottles. Woo hoo. My cashier was very sweet, told me I did a great job shopping. :)

Bourbon Chicken

2004-09-10T17:07:00.000-05:00

So today I am making Bourbon Chicken. I love Allrecipes -- I find the reviews especially helpful. Except that they are sometimes hilariously opposite. On this one, alternating reviews say "Tastes exactly like the chicken at the mall!" and "This tastes nothing like the Bourbon Chicken at the mall!" So I guess I'll just have to make it and see for myself.

I had to go in search of bourbon....not really knowing what to look for, as I am totally lost when it comes to hard liquor. The neighborhood grocery store? Dead end. Unless I wanted to drop $15 on a honkin' bottle of Beam. So I bopped across the street to the little liquor store, feeling kind of weird as I went in there with my two very small children (one of whom kept saying, "mama, it's smells funny in here!"). "I need a little tiny bottle of bourbon. For a recipe." You think they hear that all the time?

Anyhoo, it's still marinating. I will come back and edit after I've actually eaten some.

eta.....It was good....can't really compare it to the mall chicken because I haven't had it recently.....but dh didn't like it, and he doesn't like the mall chicken either. Too sweet for him. So I take that as a good sign.

Finds

2004-09-10T09:28:00.000-05:00

I figure that every day I do one of the following: find a really great deal, cook something worth talking about, or read something worth sharing. So I'm going to blog those here and share them with the world.