Quick Tip - Fruit Cups

If you are like me I do my best to make sure that I stock up my grocery cart with fresh fruit in a variety of flavors and colors! But, what tends to happen is that by the end of the week a portion of what I bought does not get eaten, and we end up wasting it (one of my pet peeves). So I've started preparing fruit cups and keeping them in the fridge, and they are a huge success!! I just chop up whatever I have purchased that week; apples, berries, melons, etc. and seal them in airtight containers and they are ready for snacks, meal accompaniments, dessert, or whenever. It's crazy that when things are in individual packages they get eaten up!! Delicious, nutritious and easy!

Mommy Tip - Whole Roasted Chicken

I often see whole roasting chickens on sale at the grocery store and when I do - I snatch them up! I've recently seen them for as low as $.79 a pound, which on a 3-4 pound chicken is under five dollars, and you can really stretch the chicken for a couple meals, a weeks worth of lunch/deli meat or a combination of both. I usually roast the chicken up on a Sunday, and shred it off the bone and store in the fridge in Tupperware ready to go. It's great for pizza toppings, salads, sandwiches, soups, nachos, etc....the list of uses goes on and on I even grab a few pieces for my daughter when she wants a quick snack or addition to her meals. it's so easy to cook and really is worth the effort and time!
To roast:
Clean all insides (remove all giblets and rinse out with cold water)
Pat dry with paper towels
Tuck wingtips under bird so they don't burn
Stuff cavity with lemon wedges, onions, garlic, herbs - anything you want.
Rub outside of bird with olive oil or melted butter and salt and pepper top
Roast in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours or until juices run clear and internal temp is above 180 (I know you don't have to cook it that long, but I am petrified of salmonella, so I cook until 180)
Take out of oven and let rest - then shred (with or without skin) and refrigerate

*If you're ambitious you can always use the carcass to make homemade stock :)

Etsy.com

If you haven't wandered into www.etsy.com, you are MISSING OUT!! I am loving this website, and you can find so many great things. It's sort of an ebay for handmade and vintage stuff, so you can find anything from handmade crochet baby hats to vintage lace pieces, and the beauty of it is that you are dealing with small business owners, stay at home moms, etc. I always believe in supporting other mom's business ventures regardless of how big or small :)
Check it out at www.etsy.com and happy shopping!

Recipe of the Week 9/7/09

Broiled Salmon with Mustard Sauce

I found this recipe from Giada DiLaurentis on the Food Network, and absolutely love it! I have been making it consistently for over 3 years and it is a no-fail, go-to dinner. I changed the ingredient list a little bit, but it's basically the same. It is made with Dijon mustard so it can be a little spicy for kids...pre-warning!

Ingredients
2 garlic cloves
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Nonstick olive oil cooking spray
6 (6 to 8-ounce) salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
In a mini food processor, combine garlic, rosemary, thyme, wine, oil, Dijon mustard. Grind the mustard sauce until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl. Set aside mustard sauce.
Preheat the broiler. Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick spray. Arrange the salmon fillets on the baking sheet and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Broil for 2 minutes. Spoon the mustard sauce over the fillets. Continue broiling until the fillets are just cooked through and golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.

Back in the Saddle

After a short (5 month) break from blogging, I am back and ready to post all my new ideas, recipes, crafts and tips just in time to prep for the holidays!! I love this time of year, when the weather starts to get cooler and it's a lot easier to get outside and we can bring out the Autumn clothes from the back of the closet. Ahhh how I miss jeans and scarves!! It's also a great time for new crafts, apple cider and lets not forget WINE SEASON!! (well for those of us not preggo this year) I am looking forward to new posts and please keep sending me comments, I love feedback!

Leftover French Bread

I love buying fresh french bread or baguettes at the grocery store - but it always seems that I don't eat it fast enough and I have to throw away 1/3 of it away. So in attempts to save money and use what I do buy I figured out a couple ways to use it up:

1. Homemade croutons - cut the bread into 1 in. cubes and spread out on a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, paprika and parsley. Place in a pre-heated broiler and broil about 5-7 minutes. Watch them, some ovens are stronger than others!! When lightly browned and crispy take out. Store in an air tight container for a couple weeks.

2. Garlic Bread - Since you have to toast up the bread anyway - why not.

3. French toast - a yummy treat

4. Soup Crouton - Toast each slice with some shredded cheese on top. Float on your lunch soup - the cheese toast will get warm and mushy on the bottom. Very yummy :)

To Coupon or Not to Coupon....

I myself have struggled with the notion whether to clip coupons or not to waste the time it takes. What it boils down to is a. how much time are you willing to spend looking and b. if you personally purchase brands that actually distribute coupons. In my current situation I beleive it's worth it and heres why; coupons have a bad rap. They are not for "cheapskates" and are not a pain to get a hold of - if you know where to go. Coupons have in the past been known to save you a ouple bucks at the grocery store, and honestly I get more savings out of them at my "miscellaneous" monthly shopping trips. This would include the trips to Target or Walmart for toothpaste, make-up remover, etc - on average I save about $10 each (monthly) trip to Target and about $5 each weekly trip to the grocery store. All in all thats about $30 a month, which could be a trip to the movies or Starbucks money or some beautiful new hair accessories for my little one from Miss Maddie....So where to go:

1. Subscribe to your local paper - for weekend service only. My area paper (Sacramento Bee) offers weekend service (Fri-Sun) for $.99 a week and the Sunday paper is full of coupons. To buy from the newspaper stand each week costs you $1.50 so it's worth it.

2. Register with your grocery store. Most grocery stores have websites with a member email service. My store (Raleys) send me weekly free printable coupons that include anything from $.50 off deli meat to a free bag of mini carrots. Plus stores have promotion sales too that give you early sale info - for instance my store every other month or so offer a $20 coupon if you spend $100 or more. I love this coupon and look for it constantly!! It's basically free $20 worth of groceries.....so check with your store's website

3. Online coupon sites. There are some sites out there who offer free printable coupons, it's finding the good ones that takes time - after that you can have them sent directly to your email inbox. Here are a few I like and use often:
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.couponloop.com/
http://www.hotcouponworld.com/
http://www.wow-coupons.com/grocery.php

4. Check your snail mail. I often throw away the junk advertisements every week, and then started looking through them to discover restaurant coupons! I keep the ones I actually will use (otherwise there is no point) such as Subway, Togo's, etc. for when we stop to pick up lunch to go on the weekends and such. And since weekends is where we tend to spend a lot of money, this is a way to keep budgeting even while on our way to the park!

These are the 4 main places I get my coupons and I have it down to a science now, so it really doesn't take too much time. Good luck coupon clippers!