Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Kitchen Tips

So many of my recipes call for bread crumbs, and although I could make my own, I just don't ever think about it in time. I also think that bread crumbs are over priced. So what I do is buy stuffing. I either buy the off brand stuffing or I wait until I can find a coupon and buy it then. I have found stuffing to beat a lot cheaper than buying bread crumbs. The holidays are also a great time to stock up. What I like about stufffing is that it's pre-seasoned so there is no need to add a lot of extra spices to your dish.
I usually will take some of the stuffing and grind it up before I store it so that I can speed up those dishes that want you to coat the meat or vegetables in bread crumbs.

You can find more great ideas at Tammy's Recipes and Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays

Monday, June 29, 2009

For This Monday's menu stretching tip, I'll share the recipe from a great book I found at our local library.


The following recipe is from the book Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month by Deborah Taylor-Hough (Champion Press, ISBN: 1891400614).


All-Purpose Ground Meat Mix
(Makes about 12 cups)

This is a basic ground meat mix that can be used in many casseroles and recipes.

5 pounds ground meat (beef or turkey)
2 cups celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup green pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt (optional)

Brown meat in a large pot. Drain. Stir in celery, garlic, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper; cover and simmer about 10 minutes until vegetables are tender but not soft. You can use this mixture immediately during your cooking session or freeze in two-cup portions for later use.

Suggested Uses (be creative):

Tacos:
Add one package taco seasoning to two cups All-Purpose Ground Meat Mix (follow package directions for amount of water). Freeze. To serve: thaw and heat taco mixture; prepare tacos as you would normally.

Taco Potatoes:
Follow instructions for taco mixture (above), but serve the mixture over baked potatoes instead of tortillas or taco shells. Top with grated cheese, diced tomatoes, sour cream, sliced green onions, sliced black olives and salsa.

Easy Taco Salads:
Follow instructions for taco mixture; place a layer of corn chips or tortilla chips on plate; spoon taco mixture over chips; add layer of shredded lettuce; add diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, sliced black olives, sour cream and salsa.

Sloppy Joes:
In a large skillet, place two cups Ground Meat Mix, one (10 3/4 ounce) can tomato soup, two tablespoons brown sugar, and one teaspoon prepared mustard. Stir. Cover and simmer ten minutes. Serve ladled onto hamburger buns.

The All-Purpose Ground Meat Mix can also be used for: stuffed peppers, chili, spaghetti, and baked ziti (further recipes can be found in the Frozen Assets book).

Friday, June 26, 2009

Frugal Fridays

Ok, my frugal Friday tip might not work for all but we have done well with it. If you are looking for cheap/free entertainment, why not try winning tickets from your local radio station. In the past 3 years we have won too many things to mention from both my husbands and mine radio stations. My husband just today won concert tickets to Cutless and Toby Mac (one of our favorite perfomers) We have won Six Flag tickets, water park tickets, several concert tickets, park admission, the list goes on. We live in a large metropolitan area so competition is stiff if you live in a smaller area you might have even better luck. Here are my tips on winning.
Place your radio stations number in your speed dial on your cell phone. If you and your husband have seperate stations, have his in yours as well. Team up when it's time to call and win, have both you and your husband on the phone. Try to win at times when not a lot of people are on the road listening or call on the weekends- I have the best success on the weekends. Good Luck!

Fighting the Fat Friday!!

 

 

My thoughts this week serves double duty. I am notorious for sneaking in veggies where you least expect them. Thankfully, I have kids and a husband who will eat veggies without much of a fight. So we found something to do this summer, and found a way to connect our kids with with heathy food. Find a Pick-Your-Own fruits and vegetables farm. My daughters and I got the pleasure of meandering up and down rows of blackberries and strawberries and SQUWEEZIE ( Squash ). We found a place on the edge of town... 20 minutes away. Check out www.pickyourown.org. Near or far... pack a picnic, enjoy and connect with God's bounty.



Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Thrifty Thursday!

Just a word on money savers this week. I have two in diapers so this was particularly a deal for me, HUggies and Pull Ups are on sale at Kroger for 8.99/ pack. There are Shortcuts.com coupons for 2.00 off and 1.50 off plus paper couons for 3.00 and 2.00 off. SO let's do the math... 17.98 for diapers - 8.50 off makes is roughly 9.48. That's about half off. And let's face it, generic diapers just dont cut it.

Lauren found her dream laptop. Find the PC that's right for you.

Thrifty Thursday!!!!!

Okay!!! I had to share this. I dont know if you know... but coupons ROCK!
I went to Kroger tonight and my  money saving rush was this: My total was $127.58 but when I was finished with my shortcuts coupons, paper coupons , and in store card, I was down to $58.44. THAT'S A WHOPPING $69.14!!!!!!!!!! CHECK ME OUT!!! -Janette


Lauren found her dream laptop. Find the PC that's right for you.

Friday, June 19, 2009


We all have weight loss/gain stories and we are no different. We struggle like the rest of you to live a life style that honors the bodies God gave us. With our Fighting the Fat Fridays post we are going to share some of the strategies we are doing to take and keep the weight off. With it we will share helpful tips and some of the recipes we are using. We hope that you will share yours as well too. To begin this journey we want to share our stories.

Angela: I have never been what I consider a thin person- of course looking back in pictures I have to wonder why I ever thought I was "fat" -was it because I was heavier than some of my friends, at the time or just because society has allowed me to believe a lie about myself? I have always been someone whom believed exercise was important, I would way rather exercise than give up any kind of food, and through college I was pretty consistent with going to the gym. My weight struggles didn't really begin until I started having children. While pregnant with my first I put on 50 pounds while pregnant. I worked like crazy to take it off. I joined Curves, used their diet plan and lost about 25 pounds. Then with my second I didn't work so hard to take the weight off, and it took me about a year to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I joined another gym (my Curves had closed) and went regularly for about 4 months. Then I got pregnant again and never went back. That was a year and a half ago. So here I am. I'm about 30 pounds from my goal weight and have finally realized that I have to do something. My immediate goals are to start going back to the gym ( I am still paying for it after all) and to make a menu that includes at least 3 healthy low calorie meals a week, as well as snacks. I want to be intentional in all parts of this journey.

Janette: my weight loss journey is on going. As is everyone’s goal is to be healthy and be at a weight that is comfortable, I have and continue to struggle since I was a teen. I guess my breaking point is when I reached 336 pounds! I decided to have gastric bypass as a weight loss aid. I only lost about 40 pounds from that, not the typical 100, due to a botched surgery. Then, I had two back to back pregnancies and was careful with my gains but, with most pregnancies, gaining still happens. I realized that surgery was not the answer and have tried Weight Watchers and had some success, but not enough to keep me motivated. I have since joined a gym and hired a personal trainer whom I see once a week for now. I have lost a dress size and I think this was a good motivator. Also, my mother has lost over 100 pounds in just a year. It is a motivator to hear how much it has changed her life and how happy she is. My husband has jumped on the fitness bandwagon and he has lost about 80… I hate him… just kidding. I know my two beautiful girls should be my motivation, but I LOVE FOOD! I pray that God helps me to end my deadly love affair. I know there are people that say, “Well just stop eating, or eat less,” but food is my addiction, and I am an addict. Until Next time…

Janette turned me on to Hungry Girl. If you don't know who Hungry girl is, you should check out her site. I recently checked out her book from the library to get some ideas on low cal. dinners and snacks and have decided that I'm going to just have to go and buy the book. I actually bought it for Janette's birthday this past year, and she said she won't share :) I'm making this for dinner one night this week. It sounds yummy and I think it's something my family will enjoy too.
Crazy-good turkey taco meatloaf
1 pound raw extra-lean ground turkey
2 slices fat-free cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese
1/2 cup canned sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 packet of taco seasoning mix, dry

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook peppers and onions for 3 minutes over medium heat in a pan sprayed with non stick spray. In a large bowl, combine onions and peppers with turkey, corn, and seasoning mix. Spread half of the mixture evenly into the bottom of a loaf pan sprayed with non stick spray. Later the two slices of fat free cheese on top of the mixture ( try and keep away from pans sides) Evenly top with the remaining mixture. Pour salsa over the top of the loaf. Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Top loaf with shredded cheese, return to oven for another 15 minutes