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Sunday Supper: To Die For Pot Roast

Sunday, July 2nd, 2006

I am running out of ideas for polls (which I usually do on Sunday) so I thought that I would share what is on our dinner table each Sunday. This will hopefully give you some ideas for your own dinner table, and it will be fun for me to share my endless supply of recipes.

This Sunday we dined on, “To Die For Pot Roast.” I think I ran across this recipe on Recipezaar and it has been making a regular appearance at our house ever since. This roast is delicious- it is juicy and it makes an amazing gravy, which I pour on top of a mound of mashed potatoes.

When looking for a roast, I just use the cheapest cut of meat available at the store (whatever is on sale or chuck roast) and it turns out perfect ever single time. Slow cookers are great at tenderizing tough cuts of meat. Still too tough? Cook the heck out of it for another two hours and it will be falling apart.

We dined on this roast, mashed potatoes, & sweet baby peas. Our dessert was a slice of the Starbucks Banana Pound Cake. The perfect ending to a yummy dinner!

Just a note, this recipe was included in my One Month of Slow Cooking article. If you are looking for a way to keep your kitchen cool this summer, those thirty recipes will certainly help!

To Die For Pot Roast
Serves Eight

Ingredients:
1 beef roast – any kind
1 package dried brown gravy mix
1 package dried Italian salad dressing mix
1 package dried ranch dressing mix
1 cup water

Place beef roast in slow cooker. Mix the dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roast. Pour the water around the roast. Cook on low for seven to nine hours.

Nutritional facts per serving (daily value):
Calories 441cal, Protein 28g, Total Fat 31g, Sat.4g, Chol.104mg, Carb. 10g

Tags: Recipes
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Frugal Momma’s Test Kitchen: Magic Milkshakes & Slushies

Wednesday, June 28th, 2006

This week we decided to try out a few new recipes because we have added a new appliance to our kitchen- the smoothie maker! I have wanted one of these for a long time, but $40 seemed like a lot of money for something that I didn’t think I would use all that often. My girlfriend was selling one in her garage sale though and I decided I wouldn’t mind spending FOUR dollars to try it out. I can tell you that we have already gotten our four dollars out of it (and probably would get forty dollars out of it, if that were the case) and made some incredibly yummy summer treats.

The recipes that I wanted to review this week were from one of my favorite websites- Hillbilly Housewife. This website is full of great information and I particularly enjoy her budget-friendly recipes & menu plans. If you haven’t had a chance to swing by her site, I highly recommend it. Don’t be fooled by the title- there is so much that you can learn from this woman.

We tried two of her recipes and they have already made numerous repeat performances at our house. The first was the incredibly yummy, Magic Milkshakes. What makes them magic? Well, you don’t have to dump a carton (or two) of ice cream in the blender to make them. In fact, it involves no ice cream at all! Not using the ice cream and only using powdered milk, makes this the most budget-friendly yummy milkshake you will ever drink. If you don’t believe me, look at my son and his magic milkshake mustache! I call them magic in our house though because they have been magically disappearing. It is the closest thing to a Wendy’s Frosty that I could ever make and one batch of these will give you four shakes.

The other recipe that we tried were for her Slushies recipe. These are seriously just as good as any you will buy in a store or restaurant. Don’t be fooled by the simple ingredients- they make amazing slushies. We were drinking these often enough that I decided to purchase the sugar-free versions of fruit drink mix so that we weren’t consuming so much sugar before bed time. She estimated that these were about six cents per serving, but it is a treat that is worth so much more than that! I let my son pick his favorite color for the evening and it provides good motivation for him to pick up his toys before he goes to bed. Now that is a drink that keeps on giving!

I hope you can enjoy these sweet summer treats and feel free to comment what you thought about them. If you have a favorite summer dessert or snack that you would like to share- feel free to include your recipe in the comments section.

Thank you to Hillbilly Housewife for providing me with some (much needed) inspiration in the snack department! Please visit her website for more great recipes and ideas.

Tags: Recipes
Posted in Food & Recipes | 12 Comments »

Frugal Momma’s Test Kitchen: Starbucks Banana Pound Cake

Monday, June 19th, 2006

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Father’s Day and that you were able to spend time with the dads in your life. We spent the day with both of our dads and I spent a portion of the day doing some baking for a Father’s Day treat to go along with our gift.

This year, I bought the dads a pound of Starbucks coffee. Coffee is always a good no-brainer gift and I was able to get a pound of it for $6.99 at Target, which I thought was a pretty good deal. Now usually I pair this with a coffee mug, but I have noticed lately that both of our fathers’ coffee mug collections are getting a little bit much for them. I know that this is a gift that they get frequently, from one of us kids, and so I decided to not do that this year. Last year though, I used a coupon and hit a decorate-your-own pottery place and I made a mug for my dad. It is his absolute favorite mug and he uses it every day. He won’t let it go through the dishwasher and I always see it sitting by his coffee pot. Maybe one of these days, I will make another mug, but he seems to really like the one he has now. This is a good (and personal) alternative to the coffee mug gift.

With the coffee, I wanted to pair it with a sweet treat. The dads in my life are very health-conscious though and so I didn’t want to bring them a snack that they couldn’t eat. Trying to pick something healthy was a challenge, but I was up for one. Thankfully, I had just checked out a new book at the library called, “Fast Food Fix,” by Devin Alexander. In this cookbook were all these restaurant favorites, but she makes a copycat version of them with half the fat & calories. I decided to give her version of Starbuck’s Banana Pound Cake a try since I thought it would taste so good with the coffee. I did these pound cakes in my stoneware mini loaf pan (one of my all-time favorite purchases from Goodwill for five bucks!) and they turned out absolutely perfect. In the mini loaf pan, they looked done after about forty minutes. You will just want to check it a little bit more frequently if you are doing it in a smaller pan.

I really liked this recipe and thought that it was a nice treat with the coffee, but not that overly-stick-to-your-teeth sweet that leaves you with a tummy ache.

The book is full of some really great recipes and I am excited to try a few more out, given the success of the pound cakes. I hope you guys can give these a shot! It was a great way to use up some of my ripe bananas that are in my fruit basket. If you are looking for a stick-to-your-teeth treat, try my heavenly banana bread.

Starbucks: Banana Pound Cake

Ingredients: Butter flavored cooking spray, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, 1 cup sugar, 2 egg whites, 2/3 cup fat-free vanilla or banana yogurt, 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted the walnuts)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350. Mist a 9x5x3″ nonstick loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, sugar, egg whites, and yogurt. Using a sturdy whisk or a spoon, mix until throughly blended. Add the flour mixture. Stir until no flour is visible. Stir in the nuts. Pour into the reserved pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool in the pan on a rack for ten minutes. Remove to the rack and cool completely. Cut into eight slices. Serve warm or room temperature. Wrap and refrigerate any leftovers for up to three days.

According to her book, this will shave off 57 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 10 grams of saturated fat- not too shabby!

Posted in Food & Recipes | 5 Comments »

Italian Chops

Tuesday, April 25th, 2006

I don’t know if I have mentioned this before, but I am a huge Food Network junkie. I watch (at least) half dozen shows on the Food Network and this station definitely helps inspire me for dinner. They help me try foods that I wouldn’t know about or help me see foods in a different light altogether.

Now I have never been a big fan of pork, in general, mainly because I have not cared for the way this meat is prepared. The pork dishes that I have ate have always been tough & lacking in flavor.

A few months ago though, I saw an episode of Everyday Italian that changed my way of thinking about pork chops forever. This recipe has gone into our family rotation and it makes its appearance every couple of weeks. I made some modifications to the recipes (to fit with our family’s likes/dislikes) and came up with my own version of the recipe. The original version is just as delicious (I am sure), but this is my version of the dish that is now in our weekly rotation. Giada calls it Pork Chops alla Pizzaiola. Her dish is very spicy and has a lot of heat to it, but our family prefers the blander version. The name of her dish is definitely pretty & does fit with the spiciness factor of her dish (but is too difficult for me to pronounce or remember) so I have renamed this dish to Italian Chops and the family loves it! Whichever version you try, it makes for an affordable & elegant meal. I entertain with this dish all of the time and haven’t met a guest yet who didn’t enjoy it!!

Italian Chops
Serves Four

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 pork chops – bone in
1 can petite diced tomatoes – in juice
2 teaspoons Italian Seasonings Blend spices
¼ cup white wine (anything you would drink)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 pound angel hair pasta

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork chops to the skillet and cook until they are brown approximately 3 minutes per side. Transfer the pork chops to a plate and tent with foil to keep them warm. Add white wine to the pan and deglaze the pan with a whisk (getting up all of the drippings from the pan). Add the tomatoes with their juices, and spices.. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend and the juices thicken slightly, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt.. Return the pork chops and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet and turn the pork chops to coat with the sauce. Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente and then drain. Place 1 pork chop on top of the angel hair pasta onto each plate and spoon the sauce over the pork chops and pasta. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Nutritional facts per serving (daily value):
Calories 293kcal
Protein 21g (42%)
Total Fat 19g (29%)
Sat. 4g (19%)
Chol. 59mg (20%)
Carb. 10g (3%)
Fiber 2g (7%)
Sugars 5g
Calcium 57mg (6%)
Iron 2mg (11%)

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Homemade Pizza

Thursday, April 20th, 2006

I am a huge fan of homemade pizza, but for some reason I always dread the work of preparing it. Despite the fact that homemade pizza is very easy to prepare, the idea of picking one of these up and having someone else do the work for me is much more appealing.

Pizza is a favorite food of the whole family though so when I do go to the trouble of making the dough and sauce, I make sure that I have enough for (at least) a couple of other night’s worth of meals.

With this in mind, I will share with you my favorite pizza dough recipe and then share with you the experiment I decided to undergo last night in making a pizza.

Amy’s Favorite Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 ½ cups warm water
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup whole wheat flour
5 ½ cups bread flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit until creamy (approximately ten minutes). Stir the olive oil, whole wheat flour, salt, and four cups of the bread flour into the yeast mixture. Mix in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out into a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about eight minutes. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and put in a warm place (I set this bowl in my oven) to rise until doubled in volume; about one hour. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and form into rounds. Cover the rounds and let them rest for about ten minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Shape your dough using a rolling pin and top with your favorite toppings. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese and crust is golden brown.

This pizza dough actually yields enough for three pizzas. I use this dough when making pizza for a large amount of people, or if I want to freeze dough for later use.

This dough can be frozen in a couple of different ways. I have frozen the dough balls in freezer bags and then allowed them to unthaw (within the freezer bag) on the counter until they have come to room temperature. If you are a fan of Boboli pizza crusts (because of the convenience factor) you can also par-bake the pizza crust and store them in your freezer. Simply flour your surface, roll out the dough and bake at 450 degrees for about eight minutes. You will then allow these to cool and then wrap. If you are a frugal gal like me, save the cardboard rounds from your other frozen pizzas and use these for placing under your baked crusts, cover with saran, and freeze them that way. If you chose to par-bake the crusts, just remove them from the freezer, and add your toppings. You can skip the defrosting step altogether and just go straight to baking.

Last night I decided to make the pizza crust in my bread machine instead. The consistency of this dough was more like a foccacia rather than a light & airy pizza dough. It made a very thick crust, but could be lightened by using all-purpose flour (rather than the bread flour). All in all, it was still a good pizza, but my favorite pizza dough still wins, hands down.

Italian Herb Pizza Dough

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2 cups warm water – 110 degrees F/45 degrees C
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
6 cups bread flour

Mix yeast, warm water, and sugar together in your bread machine. Set aside for five minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and set your machine to dough cycle. Allow it to go through the complete cycle. Remove the dough and then punch down. Roll out onto a floured surface. Place the rolled out dough onto your pizza stone. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese and crust is golden brown.

*If you have a small bread machine (like me!) just halve the recipe for one crust. You could also prepare this with your electric mixer, using your dough hook. Stir olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, cheese, and 3 cups flour into the yeast mixture. Gradually mix in the next three cups of flour. Dough will be stiff. Knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and rubbery. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn to cover the surface of the dough with oil. Cover with a damp linen dish towel. Allow to rise for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. Punch dough down to release all the air. Then follow steps that are listed above.

This time I also decided that I wanted to try a recipe that I have had in my files for awhile for making my own pizza sauce. I found this copy-cat recipe for Papa John’s Pizza sauce and just had to give it a try. This sauce was perfect- just the right balance of sweetness & spices. It would make a wonderful dipping sauce for breadsticks. I highly recommend giving this sauce a try- I don’t think you will be disappointed. This sauce will make enough for one pizza.

Papa John’s Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato puree (I substituted with crushed tomatoes)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes.

Yield: 1 cup

I hope these recipes help to inspire you for your next pizza night. This is a great meal to involve the whole family and I haven’t met a kid yet who doesn’t love pizza! Have the kids help put on the toppings or roll out the dough- making pizza can create some really great memories for your kids and for you!

Posted in Food & Recipes | 2 Comments »

Why I Shop at Aldi

Wednesday, August 24th, 2005

Yes, I know that you think that I have given up on blogging, considering how infrequently I have been updating this, but the website has taken precedence over blogging these days.

I have had many projects in the works for the past few months and one of them has been creating a menu plan just made from ingredients purchased at Aldi’s. I had decided to make it my goal to create a month’s worth of meals, complete with a price book, of dishes you could make from this supermarket. You will see this up on our website at some point, but it is going to take awhile since it is 25 pages of information for my husband to post for me. I could see him visibly cringe as I revealed that I had finally completed my masterpiece, and oh by the way, it is 25 pages that need to be broken down by meal, by tip, by item, by grocery list, etc… Considering his busy schedule it might be a little while before it is up, but in the meantime I did write an article on Aldi so make sure you check that out too. You can also show your appreciation to me by clicking our Google advertisements, on our site, so I can continue wasting time on the internet and claiming it is research for all of you.

Now the main question that people have been asking me since I wrote this article has been if I have been endorsed by the company in any way, shape or form. I never approached the company about my idea, but considering their “no frills” approach to the grocery experience, I doubt if I could get anything for my efforts anyway. I would love some money, of course, but would settle for a few other perks from them. VIP parking, no deposit on my cart, free bags, a small discount….well, that is just to name a few. For all the business that I have been bringing them, a small spokesperson position would be lovely too.

We shop at Aldi once every two weeks, in an effort to save our family some money, and I usually take my son with me to do the shopping there. Now my son can be a real handful, at times, but he is also is about the friendliest child you will ever meet. He is very persistent in getting to know every single person around us whether we are at the grocery store, the gas station, a public restroom, a restaurant. You see his love for people just has absolutely no boundaries.

Now, not to characterize the average Aldi shopper, but just like any other grocery store, there are some interesting people shopping at the store while we are there. Ethan does not seem to mind if these people have absolutely no interest in him or if they are particularly weird, he just prevails on…”Look! Look! LOOK! Look at my dinosaurs!” or “Hi! Hi! HI! HI!” until he receives an acceptable response. If no response is given he will continue on until he, at the very least, gets a nod from the person who could care less about the engaging conversation that he has to offer.

Now in spirit of the interesting shoppers, I have been meaning to blog about my particular experience that I had as I was shopping at the store one day with my son. We were just beginning our shopping and we were headed towards the milk, when we overheard (I use this term loosely since she was shouting at the top of her lungs) a young woman on her cell phone. Always a people-watcher, I pretended to browse the milk section (believable isn’t it considering there are only three types of milk there) as she was talking, just to get a closer look at her. Here is how her conversation went…

“No, you will NOT be moving back to my f*?%$#$@ house and sleeping on my f*&^%$#@@@ floor and I will NOT put up with your f%$#@$% s%$#@ anymore you, f$#@$% piece of s%$#%. NO, NO, NO, F&^%$ Y&^%#! Mother @#%###@”

As the woman hung up the phone, she then repeated exactly what she said to her girlfriend who was standing next to her. I then wondered if she had no idea how loud she was or if she had any idea that every single person in the store had stopped to watch her in disgust and/or amazement. Apparently oblivious to us, she continued repeating word for word what she had told this guy on the phone as though we all had not witnessed her nasty vocabulary.

Now this, in and of itself, was a classic moment in supermarket visit history for me, but I haven’t gotten to the good part yet….are you ready?

So then her phone starts to ring and I begin to unconsciously hum along to the ringer tone. Was her ringer tone hard core gangster rap? Well, considering her language that is exactly what I had expected….but no….that would not be very funny, now would it?

Are you ready????

Her ringer tone was, “Our God Is an Awesome God.” (this is a popular Christian hymn, for all of you heathens out there!)

When it finally registered what I was humming along with, I had to run away from the milk section so that I would not bust up laughing and become the new target of this woman’s anger.

Apparently, I caught her in a fallen moment from her Lord, but it certainly brought some irony to the situation.

I just don’t think you can have an experience like that at any other supermarket and that is just one, of many reasons, why I shop Aldi Supermarket.

Posted in Aldi, Frugal, Money & Finance | 1 Comment »

Picky Eaters

Thursday, April 14th, 2005

It is hard enough to menu plan for your family with family members who will eat just about anything, but try to plan a menu around a picky eater. Trust me, it isn’t fun! Not only am I blessed with a son who is extremely picky about his food, but I was doubly blessed because I am the proud wife of a picky eater. With two picky eaters in the same house, with different likes and dislikes, there are days where I want to throw in the towel and let my family eat Pop Tarts, chicken nuggets, and macaroni for the rest of their days.

The problem is that I know that this isn’t the nutritious route for them and I enjoy eating a variety of foods in my own diet, despite their pickiness. So what is a mother to do with a picky eater? What are some guidelines to follow to get them to eat? And where in the world can a mom find a menu that fits her child’s likes and dislikes? Here are a few ideas for the mommies of picky eaters everywhere.

My Own Picky Eater

I have always had a concern about my son’s diet ever since he started solid foods. At the age of four to ten months my child would eat anything that I fed to him. I made my own baby food for him and provided him with every fruit and vegetable under the son.

Once my son began to feed himself, however, food as he knew it began to change. He realized that he had a choice as to whether or not he wanted to eat the food and, for the most part, he chose not to eat anything that was given to him. Consistency, texture, if the food stuck to his hand, the color of the food, if the food was a meat, and if the food was a vegetable all became variables in whether or not he would be eating that particular dish. The worst part about all of this was preparing food for him only to discover that this was not listed on my son’s weekly top three list of favorites- chicken nuggets, macaroni, or bagels.

As a mother, and someone who studied nutrition, I wanted a variety of healthy foods for my child and refused to give in to the monotony of this menu. I started reading & researching on the topic and discovered that I was definitely not alone and that this was all normal and part of most children’s development. These are a few of the tips that I have gathered through researching for my own family.

Picky Eater Basics

Despite the guilty feelings you may have about what your child isn’t eating, realize that this is part of a child’s normal development. If your child is growing and is active, then there is probably very little to worry about. Even if your child does not eat particularly well on one day, keep in account all of the days during the rest of the week that he/she ate well. If you are still concerned, daily vitamins can provide some peace of mind for parent’s of picky eaters although they are usually unnecessary.
It is normal for children to go on eating binges on one particular item of food. My own personal opinion is to go on the binge if it is healthy food and if it is adding value to their diet, but be more conservative with it if it is not part of a well-rounded meal.We have had our own experience with “binging” many times in our household. The first time, my son went through a stage where he loved peanut butter and jelly and that was the only food he would eat. Thinking I was saving money and pleased that he was actually eating for a change, I ran over to Sam’s Club and bought the biggest container of peanut butter that they sold. One week later, my son hated peanut butter & jelly and only wanted grilled cheese. I learned a very valuable lesson that week- don’t buy in bulk for a toddler no matter how crazy you think they are over a particular food. They change their mind very easily and their loyalty to foods changes all of the time.
Keep snacking to a minimum so that when the dinner hour rolls around, your child will be hungry and more willing to eat new foods. Don’t forget that snacking can also include all of the milk & juice that your child consumes. These beverages can pack in a lot of calories and give your child the feeling of fullness.
Even if you think your child does not like a particular food, try reintroducing it to him again and again. Surprisingly, research shows that children need to be exposed to a new food usually between ten and fifteen times before they will accept it. If your child doesn’t like green beans one night, give it a week and then reintroduce the vegetable.
Don’t offer your child too many new foods at one time or they may get overwhelmed and uninterested in the entire meal. Limit your exposure to one or two new foods each week and keep the portion size minimal (one tablespoon should suffice) giving you’re child a taste of the food and not wasting food unnecessarily.
Do not equate food with behavior because it can lead to many problems down the road for your child. You never want your child to think that eating is a symbol of esteem or love. Likewise, you do not want your child to associate eating with negative feelings and punishment. It is great to comment on how much your child enjoyed a particular dish, but stay away from praising your child for eating everything on their plate. In a similar manner, also try to refrain from the you-will-sit-here-until-you-clean-your-plate mentality or punishing your child for not eating all of their food. We want our children to have a healthy relationship with food and to learn to exercise their own self-control towards their diet.
Allowing your children to help you in the kitchen may be a great way to get them to add new foods to their diet. There are so many benefits in having your children aid you with the meal preparation- math skills, understanding science, and important bonding time with you as the parent. Having them help you will give them a sense of pride and ownership in the food that they have created. This ownership will hopefully get them interested in the new food and maybe even an amazing career path.
Leave it to Family Fun Magazine to help you in menu planning around a picky eater. Family Fun offers a “Picky Eater Problem Solver” where you can exclude ingredients that your child doesn’t like and they also help you come up with recipes using meals or ingredients that your child will eat.

I hope that some of these tips that are offered here help you with your picky eater. The important thing to remember is to relax and not make yourself (and your child) crazy about what they are and are not eating.

Please be sure to visit our Picky Eater Dinner Ideas for some great recipes for dinners that you can prepare for your own picky eater.

Posted in Kid Eats | No Comments »

Camp Cheesecake

Sunday, March 13th, 2005

It has been several days since my last entry, but I have a pretty good excuse this time…really! My husband has had the last couple of days off and so we have been tackling a few of those lovely homeowner projects that have been pushed off until we had “free time.” Any parent knows that this will never happen so that is why my poor hubby had to use his “vacation” to “work.” It is nice to get a few of these things accomplished though.

Today Ryan shared with me that he read about the recently released list of people who made the Forbes billionaire list. Among them was a 21 year-old guy (unbelievable) and the amazing Martha Stewart. Apparently, her status has actually risen since her recent time in jail. Her business is thriving, her stocks have increased in value, she has landed a reality television series, she has won Emmy’s for her and all of her friends, and she lost weight too. Basically, if you hated her before, you will certainly hate her now because she is even more desired after her brief (but lovely) hiatus in jail.

After giving this a lot of thought, I have decided that I would like to go to jail. I have not discovered the perfect crime yet, but I do know that I want it to be something stupid and/or minor that would result in everyone feeling sorry for me so that would leave out any biggies like murder or drugs.

Once I have received my just punishment (by the way, I want my jail to be called Camp Cheesecake, okey-dokey?), I expect that Mom Advice will take off like CRAZY! People will be calling me to set me up with a new show, I will have like forty people come and visit my site, my ranking on Google will sky-rocket to the 2 billion ranking, and I will get one of those cool mom site flashing banners on my homepage. In other words, I will ROCK! It will be an exciting year for Mom Advice and it will all be just because I shoplifted my twenty-nine cent mac & cheese from Aldi’s Supermarket.

I will also let you all say that you knew me before I became so famous and successful, however, autographs will have to be denied due to my extreme popularity.

So enjoy all the freebies that Mom Advice has to offer you because there are no guarantees after my career takes off and I land myself a starring role as inmate number 9387539857.

And just think…you can all say, “I knew her when….”

Posted in Food & Recipes | No Comments »

Price Books 101

Sunday, January 23rd, 2005

Several months ago, I thought I knew it all on how to save money when grocery shopping. I have found, however, that there is always more to learn as months later I am beginning to address this topic again. I know I am not the only one who thinks that we are playing a game when we go to the grocery store. Educated consumers walk away with loads of goodies for minimal money and others of us fork over the big bucks for the same exact thing. What sets one shopper apart from another? How do you beat the grocery game? Is it really all about coupons and rebates?

Let’s begin by discussing the fliers that you receive in your mailbox each week which outline the stores deals and steals for that week’s particular campaign. These items are called the store’s loss leaders. Loss leader simply means that the store is losing money by offering these items to you at a lower price in hopes that you are going to do the rest of your grocery shopping with them. Will you, an educated consumer, necessarily put all of your money down into one store? Absolutely not! An educated consumer walks away with the loss leaders and adds nothing more to her basket unless the prices are unbeatable elsewhere. How does this educated consumer know that these prices cannot be beaten? They know this because they keep a price book.

A price book will make you the smartest consumer in the store because you will actually know whether or not an item really is on sale or not. Begin by setting your price book up in a way that makes it easy for you to use. There are two common ways that price books are set up- alphabetically or categorically. I find my price book is easier to use when it is set up by category because it is easier for me to locate milk under the category of dairy rather then the letter M.

Each page in your price book should contain the date, name of your grocery store (use a code that is easy for you to remember), the brand of the item, the size of the item, the price of the item, and then the unit price of the item. The unit price can be discovered by dividing- size/price. The unit price can also usually be found on the actual grocery sticker below the item which can save you some time in the math department.

Here is a sample of what a price book entry would look like for Peanut Butter:

Date	Store	Brand	Size/Price	Unit Price
10/14	Jim’s	Store Brand	18 oz/.99	.88 lb

The first couple of months of filling your price book is very tedious, but after you have logged this information in for awhile the best deals will emerge and you will also see a pattern in the store’s timing of these sales. For example, you will know that John Doe’s Supermarket runs their special on pasta at 25 cents a box every July and January.

Begin filling your price book by writing in all of the items that appear in your local fliers and the unit prices on them. After filling in these, you can then begin logging in all of the receipts that you have from your past visits to the grocery store. Doing this the first time was rather sickening when I wrote all of it in for our family because this is when I realized my steal of a deal was actually a dud. Don’t kick yourself when discovering this; pat yourself on the back instead because you know you will be saving money from this moment on.

Write in your price book items that you purchase on a regular basis: bread, milk, eggs, cheese, etc… Your job this month will be to fill this price book with this information on your next grocery trip.

One good strategy that I found when reading The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn was to shop at different stores each week of the first month so that within a thirty day cycle you can hit all of the stores and begin filling your price book with each of the store’s information. By the end of the thirty days you will have a clearer picture on the great sales each of the stores run.

As time goes on your entries will slow down and your price book will now be a great reference to you. The real question is what do you do with this information and how do you make it work to your advantage? I find that the best thing you can do is that when you see a particular item on sale at a great price then stock up! And up and up and up! The last thing you want to do is have to buy that item when you run out of it because chances are there will be no sale in site and you will be stuck paying full price for that peanut butter that you are now scraping the bottom of. Buy as much as your budget allows, but be smart about how much you buy and how much you can use between now and the next sale. The last thing you want to do is to stock up on bologna and then end up throwing half of it out because it has gone bad before you could eat it. I tend to stock up the most on items that I can freeze, staples, and pantry items.

I hope that this month you can make it your goal to discover the best deals in your local market. There is definitely something empowering about having your own price book. More empowering though is knowing that your wallet is just a little bit fatter then it would have been had you not been armed with this information.

Posted in Frugal, Grocery Lists, Saving | No Comments »

Make Your Own Baby Food

Friday, August 13th, 2004

I am definitely by no means an earth mother. I wish that I had more concern for our environment or had more time to think about what my child is eating. I know many mothers try to only buy organic products for their children to eat, but if my son is happy eating an overly processed disgusting hot dog, then that is what he eats.

Before I had my son I was going to plant my own garden, grow my own vegetables, and everyday I would go out to my garden to find that special piece of fruit or vegetable to serve to him. I would cook it and serve it at the perfect temperature and consistency. I frowned on mothers who actually bought store-bought baby food because you just “never know what is in those jars.”

I never did have a garden and I never hand selected each vegetable and fruit to put in my son’s mouth, but I can proudly say that I made my child’s baby food. To be honest, it is extremely easy and will save you an incredible amount of money if you can find the time and energy to do it.

I did a lot of research on the topic and found the best way for me was to devote a weekend to just making baby food. I honestly made a six month supply doing this and it took me two days, but we did save a lot of money.

I went to our local wholesale club and bought fruits and vegetables in bulk. The ones I found to cook the easiest were the ones that baby food you would buy on the shelves at your local grocer’s. Some of the fruits and vegetables I chose were pears, carrots, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, and apples. I also bought tons of ice cube trays and a food processor to complete the task at hand.

The best way I found to do this was to devote my time and efforts to a couple pots of veggies/fruits at a time. The important thing is not to overcook them and not to add a lot of extra water to the pot. The reason for this is that all of the good vitamins and preservatives will become null and void if you overcook the vegetable or saturate them in water.

After the vegetables have softened either through boiling or steaming them, remove them from the heat and put them in the food processor with either a little bit of water, breast milk, or formula. I chose to add water because the baby food will last longer if you do not put milk into it.

After they were pureed to a good consistency (very smooth when they are first beginning to eat, chunkier as they get older) then I spooned the mixture into ice cube trays. The reason for this is because this is the perfect size for their little tummies. When they are first starting out, they are only eating one ounce portions which are the exact size of one ice cube. I then topped these cubes off with water and then froze them. Once they are frozen you can pop them out of the trays and store them in whatever is convenient for you and your freezer space. We had a very small freezer so I stored them in large Ziploc freezer bags. Clearly label the bags with the date that you made the food, the date of expiration, and the type of food that you are storing. It is as simple as that if you want to do a large session of baby food cooking.

Many other parents chose a different method than this. You have to find what works best for you and your family. Some mothers simply puree whatever they are eating for dinner for their child at each meal. My main complaint with that method is that sometimes I chose to eat a little less healthy and my poor son (although he might have enjoyed it) would end up eating pureed chicken nuggets, burgers, or french fries. I also hate cleaning the food processor so I wanted to do this as little as possible as well. You have to find the system that works best for your family though. Below I have included just a few guidelines for making your own baby food. Please feel free to contact me if you have any of your own inventive baby food recipes or helpful hints to our novice baby food making mommies.

Freezer Storage Guidelines for Baby Food

Vegetables = 6 months
Fruits = Six months
Purees with milk = 4-6 weeks
Fish = 10 weeks
Meat & Chicken = 10 weeks

Sweet Potatoes

Peel or scrum and cut into ½ inch slices. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender. 2 1/2 pounds of sweet potatoes yields about three cups of baby food. Mash to the correct consistency.

Apples

Peel, halve, core, and slice the apples. Put them into a pot and add just a little water for cooking. Cook them on low heat until they have cooked down and are very soft. Puree the apples in your food processor or baby food grinder. If you would like to add a little extra flavoring, add nutmeg or cinnamon. Six medium apples should yield approximately three cups of baby food.

Pears

Peel, halve, and core pears. Cut them into small pieces. Put these into a pot and add a little water for cooking. Cook on low heat until they have cooked down and are very soft. Puree the pears in your food processor or baby food grinder.

Papaya

Cut medium papayas in half and remove seeds. Scoop out the flesh and steam the flesh for three to five minutes. Puree in your food processor or baby food grinder.

Carrots

Use the small baby carrots for this recipe. Boil the carrots in a small amount of water until they are nice and tender. Puree the carrots in your food processor or baby food grinder.

Peaches

Cut an “X” into the flesh of each peach and blanch in boiling water for approximately one minute. Cool the peaches in cold water and then remove the skin and pits. Steam the peaches for about five minutes. Four medium peaches yields two cups.

Posted in Food & Recipes, New Parents & Babies | No Comments »