saving money

I like to save money on things.  I have joined a ridiculous number of money saving "deal" websites.  You have to be careful, because you can get suckered into buying things you would otherwise never buy, but you can also get great deals on restaurants, diapers, and other good stuff that you would regularly spend money on.  So, in this post, I will post links to some of the deal sites I belong to.  Check them out (and yes, if you use my links for most of these, I get benefits, but mostly I just want to share my fun shopping sites!).

Groupon: one local deal each day (you choose your city).  This one is, by far, my favorite.  They really like restaurants and yoga. http://www.groupon.com/r/uu3696926

Eversave: like groupon, just not quite as big.  http://eversave.com/share/pLn7


Jasmere: online, not local; one deal a day.  Some of these are great.  http://www.jasmere.com/r/77778761?l
 
Living Social: one local deal each day; this is where I get the Smiling Moose deals!  https://livingsocial.com/redeem_invite/2025383-hippo_?ref=lnk
 
Plum District: I just found this one today, but it was a diaper deal so I TOTALLY joined.  https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=uffa892a6b09
 
Woot: one deal each day.  Check out woot.com, kids.woot.com, wine.woot.com, and shirt.woot.com.  These guys give you the added benefit of being hilarious.
 
MotherofaSale.com: one online deal for moms each day. 
 
And then one final money saver, check out http://tns.tellapal.com/a/clk/gNqDt for 10$ off a $25 purchase at TheNaturalStore.com.

Phew!  Happy shopping!

Canning

This is my new favorite website: Pick Your Own

'nuff said.

Pretzels

1 C milk

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp cooking oil

3 C bread flour

2 tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1-1/4 tsp active dry yeast or bread machine yeast

1 slightly beaten egg white

1 tbsp water

Sesame seeds or coarse salt

1. Add the 1st 7 ingredients to the machine according to the manufacturer's directions. Select dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough, punch down, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12" x 8" rectangle. Cut into 16 12" x 1/2" strips. Gently pull the strips into 16" long ropes. Shape each pretzel by crossing one end over the other to form a circle, overlapping about 4" from each end. Take one end of the dough in each hand and twist once at the point where the dough overlaps. Carefully lift each end across to the edge of the circle opposite it. Tuck ends under edges to make a pretzel shape; moisten ends and press to seal. Place on 2 greased large baking sheets.
3. Bake in a 475º oven for 4 minutes (for crispier pretzels, bake in upper half of over 4-5" from the top). Remove from oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350º. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring 8 cups water and 2 tbsp salt to boiling. Add pretzels, 3 or 4 at a time, and boil gently for 2 minutes, turning once. Using a slotted spoon, remove pretzels from water and drain on paper towels. Let stand for a few seconds. Place pretzels about 1/2" apart on 2 well greased, large baking sheets.
4. In a small bowl combine egg white and 1 tbsp water; brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or coarse salt. Bake in the 350º oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets; cool on wire rack.

Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish

While I am sure that you all think it is abnormal, I don't like pumpkin but this soup is great. I add a little extra hot sauce (I actually use cayenne pepper) to give it a little more flavor.

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped (save time and purchase celery already washed, trimmed and cut into sticks, this makes chopping fast work)
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 (28-ounce) can cooked pumpkin puree
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
•
Relish:
• 1 crisp apple, such as McIntosh or Granny Smith, finely chopped
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in cream and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

While soup cooks, assemble the relish: combine apple, onion, lemon juice, cranberries, chili powder, honey and cinnamon.

Adjust seasonings in soup and relish and serve soup in shallow bowls with a few spoonfuls of relish.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pumpkin-soup-with-chili-cran-apple-relish-recipe/index.html

Molten Chocolate Cake

Maybe September's theme should be "saving $$ by making it yourself". The latte was a good start. Another item I hate spending $6 or $7 on is the "Lava" cake at certain restaurants. I always thought it was labor intensive to make, or expensive. Certainly something that looks so fancy can't be EASY. Wrong! Here goes...

1-1/4 C sugar, divided

1 C flour

7 Tbsp cocoa, divided ( I like the special dark)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c milk

1/3 C melted butter

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 C packed light brown sugar

1-1/4 C hot water

Preheat oven to 350.

In medium mixing bowl combine 3/4 C sugar, flour, 3 tbsp cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour batter into 9x9x2 pan. In small bowl combine remaining 1/2 c sugar, brown sugar, and remaining 4 tbsp cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top, DO NOT STIR. Bake 40 min, or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 min before serving.

Goes great with the simple vanilla ice cream recipe!

Curb your Pumpkin Spice Latte fever for less

I can't keep spending $4 for a coffee. I LOVE Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but I have to find a way to get through this fall without personally keeping my Starbucks in business. So I experimented today. What I found? Yum.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee

16 oz brewed coffee
1 BIG tablespoon of pureed pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Sweetener to taste (I used two packets of pure Stevia)
Milk to taste (I used a tablespoon of powdered milk; I like powdered milk for coffee because you can get fat free powder, but because you mix it directly into your coffee instead of into water, it makes the coffee rich and creamy like you used half and half, but doesn't add the fat or take up the space)

Mix it all up and enjoy. Not only is it totally tasty, it is actually GOOD for you. Coffee has antioxidents, milk has calcium, and pumpkin is a super food. You can't go wrong!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I am just putting the 1-1/2 lb recipe. If you want the 2lb measurements, just let me know.

3/4 cup Milk

1 Egg

3 tbsp Margarine or butter

3 cups Bread Flour

3 tbsp Granulated sugar

3/4 tsp Salt

1-1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast of Bread Machine Yeast

1/3 cup Walnuts or Pecans, toasted

1/3 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1-1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tbsp Butter or Margarine

Sifted Powdered Sugar

1. Add first 7 ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's directions. Select dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough. Punch down and let rest for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium bowl stir together the walnuts or pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14" x 9" rectangle. Spread with 1 tbsp margarine or butter and sprinkle with filling. Starting from both short sides, roll up each side into a spiral toward the center. Place, rolled side up, in a greased 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan. Cover; let rise about 30 minutes or until nearly double.

4. Bake in a 350º oven about 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. If necessary, loosely cover with foil the last 10 minutes to prevent over-browning. Remove from pan; col on wire rack. Before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens - The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking

This one is seriously good!!

French Bread

I use the bread maker to start it but do not cook it in the bread maker. I suppose you can but I never like the flavor of bread maker bread.

Ingredient: 1.5 lb 2 lb

Water 1 cup 1-1/3 cups

Bread Flour 3 cups 4 cups

Salt 3/4 tsp 1 tsp

Active Dry Yeast of Bread Machine Yeast

1 tsp 1-1/2 tsp

Yellow Cornmeal

Slightly Beaten Egg White

Water 1 tbsp 1 tbsp

1. Select loaf size. Add first 4 ingredients to bread machine according to manufacturer's directions. Select dough cycle.

2. When cycle is complete, remove dough. Punch down. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide 1-1/2 lb dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a 10" x 8" rectangle. (Divide 2 lb dough in half; roll each half into a 15" x 10" rectangle.) Starting from a long side, roll up into a spiral; seal edge. Pinch and pull ends to taper.

3. Place seems down, on a greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Combine egg white and 1 tbsp water; brush some over top of loaves. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 35 to 45 minutes or until nearly double. With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4" deep across top of each loaf.

4. Bake in a 375^ oven for 20 minutes. Brush with remaining egg white mixture. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes more or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from baking sheet; cool on wire rack.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens - The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking

Pure and Simple Vanilla ice cream

2/3 c sugar

2 lg eggs

2 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp salt

1-2/3 c milk

1 c heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

In medium mixing bowl, beat sugar into eggs until thickened and pale yellow. Beat in flour and salt, set aside.

Bring milk to a simmer in heavy saucepan. Slowly beat the hot milk into eggs and sugar. Pour entire mixture back into saucepan and place over low heat. Stir constantly until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let it boil! Remove from heat and pour through a strainer into a large clean bowl. Allow custard to cool slightly and stir in cream and vanilla. Allow to cool overnight, or until well chilled.

This is a basic recipe from the Ultimate Ice Cream book. It is lower fat than some I have tried, and equally delicious, if not more so. It has a great texture and flavor. It is also a forgiving recipe. Sometimes I use more milk, or more cream...depends on what I have, and what needs to be finished off. Don't be afraid to make slight adjustments based on what you have on hand! Enjoy!

Seriously Simple Maple Glazed Nuts

Seriously, you can make this fabulous treat in less than 15 minutes using just 3 ingredients!

2 C Nuts (I've use almonds and pecans, I think walnuts would be great too)

1/2 C Maple Syrup

1/4 C Raw Sugar

Toast nuts at 350 degrees 8-10 min, or until fragrant.

While nuts are toasting, combine syrup and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil mixture for 2 minutes, the add nuts. Stir to coat, and boil additional 30 seconds. Remove from heat, spread evenly over cookie sheet to cool. At this point you can sprinkle with coarse salt if you are a sweet/salty person like me, or just leave plain. Stir around on cookie sheet to separate, cool, and enjoy!

Tangy Summer Veggie Salad

1 Pint Grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 cucumber sliced and cut in half moons

1 red bell pepper cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup parsley sprigs

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix it all up in a bowl. Let it sit for a least 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Crunchy Herbed Chicken

4 Slices of toasted bread

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley

2 cloves of garlic

Salt & Pepper

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Dijon mustard

4 - 6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Heat oven to 400

In a food processor, pulse the bread, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper until course crumbs form. Add oil and transfer to a dish.

Spread mustard over chicken and dip the pieces in the bread crumb mixture.

Place on a baking sheet and bake until golden and cooked through (18-20 min)

Cheap and Easy Stoup

I got this recipe from my mom, she may have ripped off Rachel Ray, but never-the-less, it's super cheap, incredibly easy and ridiculously delicious! With fall coming right around the corner I already made a big batch and froze it so I can be prepared for cool evenings when I don't feel like cooking.

This stoup would also be good over rice, or topped with cheese, sour cream and a little green onion. However, since Brett and I are counting calories we pass on the extras and enjoy it just the way it is.

Also, the cans in this recipe contain extra unnecessary sodium, so if you are down with dry bean (which I use almost exclusively) then you can adjust the salt to your own taste.

20 oz ground turkey
1 onion- chopped
1 bell pepper- chopped
salt to taste
pepper to taste
cumin to taste
Italian Seasoning to taste

Brown the turkey in a large pot, add onion, bell pepper and seasoning- cook through. You can use a little oil for this process since there isn't much fat in turkey, but I just add a little water to (again) avoid extra calories.

Next add the equivalent of 5 cans of beans. I do: pintos, kidneys and black beans. Through in a can of corn (or fresh/frozen) and let it simmer for 1-2 hours.

So easy and so good!

Prep time- about 10 minutes! Cook time- 1-2 hours.

Tilapia Puttanesca

"Puttanesca" means "whore". Yep, it really does. There are a lot of theories on how "puttanesca" become a sauce. I like the version that says: this sauce can take anything. :-) By anything, I mean, if it is in the fridge and it sounds good, throw it in. I can't give you ingredients, because that will be up to you and what you keep as your staples. Here is how I do it:

1. Saute some onions and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add tomatoes (fresh or canned, diced)
3. Add flavor: roasted red peppers, sweet peppers, capers, olives, pepperoncini peppers, sun dried tomatoes, anchovies (you can saute these in the olive oil, too, if you like), you get the idea. I like to add some of the brine from the different peppers.
4. Add herbs: basil, oregano, thyme; if it sounds good, it goes. You can change the dish a lot by picking and choosing different combos.
5. Add chopped cauliflower (this is the best part... don't skip it; you can add other veggies too, if you want, but DON'T SKIP the cauliflower). Simmer and let the flavors combine (15-20 minutes).
6. Add tilapia (or any type of fish, although I have found the mildness of the tilapia is fantastic because it absorbs so much flavor. *bonus: tilapia is a sustainable fish*) Simmer 5-10 minutes until tilapia is firm.

Serve over pasta or rice or just with bread or salad. I like to top it with feta cheese, but it is also good with parm or just as is. It is delicious.

Pinkberry

Ok. I have never actually had a pinkberry, so I have no idea if this ACTUALLY tastes like it. But, this is tremendously fabulous tart and sweet and fruity frozen yogurt!

1. Take as much greek yogurt as you want. Use 0%.
2. Add a couple tablespoons of your favorite jam. Don't use too much. You want this to be tart.
3. Add 1/3-2/3 cup of fresh chopped fruit (depending on how much yogurt you took).
4. Plop it all in your ice cream maker.

YUM!

I used sour cherry jam and chopped sweet cherries. A small serving is incredibly satisfying AND very healthful!