Found the Perfect Chip

Do you have that one family member or friend that it is harder than heck to cook for? I know we all have differences in what we like but those also that have allergies. We have to take that seriously when preparing meals for them. I have some odd ones myself.  I can not eat anything cooked in aluminum.  Really!  Isn't that an odd one?  And I can not eat cumin, coriander or cilantro.  Let's not even talk about tomatillos.

But Dear Hubby has an Uncle T that is both macrobiotic in diet as well as allergic to gluten due to Celiac disease.  It makes cooking for him pretty challenging.  But I am always up for a challenge!  So I have learned how to bake cakes with rice flour, egg substitute and no milk of any kind.  My mom-in-law would just make him fresh fruit and veggie plates.  Not me, I wanted to be able to do more.  Create whole meals that start with lil snacks and end in dessert.  I have made him soups, salads, main courses and numerous side dishes.  And it has been fun to do.

Now that is all well and good when you have a kitchen to cook in.  But there are the times that a quick meal is needed.  And it is not as easy a pulling into the local fast food.  Uncle T actually has to think ahead and pack food for trips.  Many of the prepackaged foods do not taste all that .....well.  I found him something that works with his diet and taste great.  Beanfields  Bean &  Rice Chips.  I was quite shocked to find a chip that is made from navy beans, black beans, long grain rice sunflower oil and sea salt to be very good.  Why?  Well I did not expect any flavor or crunch to them.  But that is just not so.  These have a great flavor and perfect crunch.  Being corn and gluten free, a complete protein source, farmed and made in the USA too.  These were a perfect addition to our enchiladas the other night.  We tried the sea salt and pepper chips and the sea salt chips.  I so wanted to try the pico de gallo ones but they have that dreaded cilantro I can not eat.  Dang the luck. 

I am glad these are in California as that is where our Uncle T is at.  So I can now turn him onto a good snack that works with his diet.  Thanks so to Beanfields for sending me a couple of bags to try.  Everyone here loved them.  Even our friend down the street!  I found only one thing wrong with these chips......they are not in Texas.  Darn the luck.  Delicious is to simple a word for them.

Penny Pinching or Smart Thinking

I have had several things going on today. The first I wish to share is my goodie bag I have from Nessa and Con Agra Foods and HEB Stores. I won in a giveaway over at Ramblings of a Texas Housewife. Look at all the goodies I received.

• A reusable ConAgra shopping tote
• $25 HEB gift card
• Peter Pan peanut butter
• 4 - pack Low Fat Snack Pack Pudding
• Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer
• LaChoy Creation Sweet n' Sour Chicken
• LaChoy Soy Sauce
• Chef Boyardee Whole Wheat Beefaroni
• Hunt's Ketchup
• Marie Callender's Homestyle Creation

The best yet is there is a $25 gift card in that photo. With that card College Girl is stopping at the HEB in the town where she goes to school. She can use that card and buy 4 items and we will get 10 items free. See the shopping list that I am getting this way.

1. H-E-B Fully Cooked Burgers 24 - 32 oz.
2. H-E-B Hot Dogs, 16 oz.

• GET 7 items free!
• H-E-B Dip, 8 oz.
• H-E-B Potato Chips 4 oz.
• Hill Country Fare Mustard, 16 oz.
• H-E-B Bake Shop® Hamburger Buns 8 ct., regular
• H-E-B Bake Shop® Hot Dog Buns, 8 ct. 
• H-E-B Soft Drink 2 L btl.
• ChefStyle® Chip Clips, 2 pk. 

1. H-E-B Fully Cooked Beef Meatloaf with Red Sauce

• get free!
• Simply Macaroni & Cheese, 20 oz.
• Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread, 10 oz. 

1. 8 Piece Mixed Fried Chicken

• get free! 
• Hill Country Fare Buttermilk Biscuits 4 ct.

Now add that to the goodies in the bag and dear heart I have struck the mother load!  It adds up to 6 meals for my family and several items that College Girl can use for lunches at school.  And none of this cost me a red cent.  I have to say thanks so much to Nessa, HEB stores and ConAgra foods for helping me out this way!

Next is today's make it work lesson. First long story shortened. Lunch did not go the way I planned. We were going to have sliders. I had the hamburger meat, buns (or so I thought) and onions. So will at the store to drop off scripts for Dear Hubby I picked up a jar of dill pickles, sliced cheese and some lettuce. Well in our produce section they have discounted $1 bags. Today I snatched up a bag with a head of lettuce and 3 cucumbers. Now that saved me .29 cents on just the lettuce and made the cucumbers free. I went home and sliced up the lettuce for the sliders. Longer story there....did not work, did not have buns and hamburger meat fell apart cooking. So we had sliders in tortillas instead. Worked. Ha Ha.  Tonight the rest of the meat, lettuce and onions are going to help me make taco salad.  Have all the stuff here and will get another meal that way. 
But I used the cucumbers to make us 2 jars of homemade pickles for later use.  I sliced up the cucumbers and packed them into jars. 

Nice thin slices made with my lovely Yoshi ceramic knife. That was a birthday present this year and I adore it. Have not even cut myself which is the norm for me.

Next I drained the juice from the pickles I had bought into one jar. The other had 2/3 vinegar and 1/3 water in it.

I then added just a lil (oh about a tablespoon) of dill pickling powder that I already had to the first jar. The other jar I put in about 3 tablespoons of it.

Here is the Ball spice that was in the back of my cabinet already. Well I shook them up real well and stuck them in the fridge. I am going to let them cold pickle and hope to have two jars of pickles later on.

Well? What do you think? Are there things like that you do?  Ways to stretch the dollar.  Or ideas of gosh this did not work so what can I do with it?  Do you even try to cut corners.  Does it work or do you find that you just have to fix the "homemade" item with a store bought?  I know I really do try and stretch the almighty dollar and feed our family of 4.  With just this today I will have a total of 8 meals and the only extra cost was just under $5.00 today.  This is how we work to live frugally yet still be happy with our choices. 

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Watermelons

Last night we went on a Watermelon Raid!
Well, not that way....but we did empty the rest of a field for a friend.
College Girl and I picked over 75 watermelons.


We then was able to distribute some to family and friends.


And the rest.


We are taking to the local food pantry to hand out.
Yeah SUMMER!


Here is a bowl of yellow meat watermelon we are having today.

Wordless Wednesday

Homemade Bread Puddin'

Foodie Weekend

I have a wonderful friend who was here for a visit the last few days. And she brought with her a feast. We have eaten so much yummy food that I feel I will pop. But I enjoyed every bit of it.

From different kinds of cheese (apricot ginger, smoked mozzarella to fresh goat cheese and pepper corn) to all kinds of breads (white chocolate peach, sourdough on to garlic sesame pepper and Irish soda bread) then add in the fruits (blackberries, blueberries, peaches, watermelon and cantaloupe to start with) topped with salads, chicken n'dumplings and coffee. I feel like the south has risen to the occasion...what ever that occasion was.

We plan on doing some more cooking weekends and have a few cookbooks to dig in for recipes out of. I thought I would share some with you.

First is our favorite of Booze Cakes. There is some goodies in here. My favorite is the jello shot cakes. I love the bright colors and presentation beside having a shot and dessert in one. Some of the other votes to make are the traditional black forest cake or go for the sex-on-the-the beach cake. Honest this was a delicious looking book. I love the booze meter from a lil smiling face to a great big ol grin. That tells you just how much booze is in it. But are planning on 4 or 5 of us to get together and then make cakes cakes and more cakes. Wonder how we are going to be able to eat them all?

Another cookbook we all poured over was Yum Yum Bento Box. This is the cutest cookbook on how to make adorable lil lunches. I love that it is a great way to do portion control for diets. And of course who does not love a colorful meal? Since I am a great fan of jasmine rice this is a easy one for me to fall in love with. Using rice balls as a great portion of the meals. It is fun to see all the easy and creative ways to make a easy meal look like fun in a box. I also am cooking up all kinds of ways to use the ideas here to adapt for parties and special occasions. You might wanna use this if you have a picky eater. I mean having a penguin in your lunch box is more fun than just a plain ol sandwich.

Our other fine is The Secret Ingredient by Sally Bee. Now here is a treasure of a cookbook. Sally Bee has taken our favorite meals and has managed to tweak them into heart healthy recipes. With my Dear Hubby having a pace maker and heart values that were replaced along with Grandma's heart stints, we have to make sure our meals are good for all of us to eat. It is so much easier when I do not have to look and dig to find a way to fix a dish. That the hard work has been done for me is a God send. Also the dishes are ones that are common so Grandma will eat almost all of them. You know you can not change a persons taste in food in the later stages of life.

So what have you been cooking? Do you have a few favs to indulge in? How have you changed a dish to make it healthier for you? And what is the secret to getting kids to eat?

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided.

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Had Ourselves a Lil Party

Image by Cayusa via Flickr

We have had a wonderfully nice weekend.
Even though my DH had to work this weekend we finally was able to get to spend some time with each other.

This year I wanted to have a cocktail party.
My College Girl is now 22 and I have not had a proper cocktail party since she was 4.
Well that is just too long not to get to wear the heels and pearls while sipping a pretty colored drink.

And it went well!
13.5 people showed up.
Yes .5 is what I said.
Emma is only 3 yrs old so she can count as a .5.
And even she wore her pretty purple dress with matching pink heels and purse.
Dear Hubby made a wonderful bartender.
Nursing all of our desires to drink lots of different concoctions.
Then there was a table full of food.

But we all seemed to mingle well and did end up laughing our heads off.
Especially when a young gentleman tried to do a demo of just how flexible he is.
We had people from age of 3 (yes Miss Emma) to 75 attend.

And all in all, it was a wonderful party.
Just what I wanted for Christmas this year.
Thanks so much for all that attended.
You fulfilled my Christmas wish.

A Century of Flavor Giveaway

Loved having so many giveaway winners yesterday! What fun that is to share the goodness!
Well today I want to continue in that arena. So here is one really good good book!

Yeah, It has to do with food. You know me and my weakness.

A Century of Flavor by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas is the newest cookbook to cross my path. And oh my the yummy goodness inside makes me drool on the pages.

With the holidays coming up I thought I might share a yummy or two with you.

Pumpkin-Ginger Pancakes

Fruit Salad with Creamy Citrus Dressing

Honey Citrus Pork Roast


With all the holiday cookies I make I was thrilled to learn more about my favorite flavorings. Nielsen-Massey Vanillas recently introduced a new line of Pure Flavors: Pure Chocolate Extract, Pure Almond Extract, Pure Orange Extract, Pure Lemon Extract, Pure Coffee Extract, Pure Peppermint Extract, Orange Blossom Water and Rose Water. All Nielsen-Massey products are certified Kosher and Gluten-free. I know that I love to add different flavors to my cookies and make a twist or play on what they taste like. I have to say my favorite has to be the Rose Water in a light pink butter cookie.

Of course we have to share all of this yummy goodness. So Nielsen-Massey Vanillas would like to offer A Century of Flavor as a holiday giveaway of my readers. That would be YOU! Of course it is easy to win. All you have to do is pop over to Nielsen-Massey Vanillas and find a new recipe that you want to try and come and comment on it. (This is mandatory to enter.) You can also have extra entries too. Additional entries can all be done with a separate comment for each for following, having my button, twittering, links on face book, sending others to the giveaway (they have to credit you) and blogging about this great giveaway. Make sure that I can contact you some how in order to let you know if your the winner.

Relish!

Relish! Relish time! Relish food! Relish life!
Yes, there is so much that we can enjoy and Relish!

My newest diet aid is the shopping and recipe guide at Relish! This easy to use (really), mom-run website helps you prepare healthy, creative meals every week! You pick from excellent tested recipes, a cleverly organized grocery list will be automatically created, then all you do is hit the store for five days worth of home-cooked meals--not one of which takes more than 30 minutes to prepare.

You'll find a whole lot to choose from including freezer meals, vegetarian menus, super-quick and slow cooker recipes. And you’ll find tons of kid’s faves that don't include the word "nugget." I love that they have the meals marked with kid friendly, low calorie, quick and vegetarian. So I can pick 5 low calorie meals for dinner and click my way to the shopping list and recipes. And I can purchase the majority of any weeks meals for less than $95.00. That comes under $5.00 a person for dinner.

This weeks meals will be:
Serving Size: 4 People

[A] Oatmeal and Cranberry Squares Dessert

[B] Glazed Grilled Salmon with Blackberries | Sauteed Kale Quick & Low Calorie

[C] Spicy Brown Rice and Shrimp | Romaine with Apples and Bananas Quick & Low Calorie

[D] Hong Kong Rib-Eyes | Twice Baked Potatoes Simple Gourmet & Low Calorie

[E] Roasted Cornish Hens with Apple-Cinnamon | Couscous with Pine Nuts Simple Gourmet & Low Calorie

[F] Hearty Lentil Soup | Sweet Potato Biscuits Vegetarian & Low Calorie

I loved having the ability to use this site. At only $7.00 a month for a subscription, I felt it was a great deal and diet aid. But I can do better than that for one of y'all. Yeah! I have 1 year Free Subscription for one lucky winner. Fantastic! So pop over to Relish! and pick one meal you would like to try for your first entry. (This is mandatory to enter.) You can also have extra entries too. Additional entries can all be done with a separate comment for each for following, having my button, twittering, links on face book, sending others to the giveaway (they have to credit you) and blogging about this great giveaway. Make sure that I can contact you some how in order to let you know if your the winner.

Day 2 on New Diet Meals

Well I am trying another new food for my diet program. Today I added Progresso High Fiber soup for my lunch. It is becoming chilly outside and I love a nice hot cup of soup for a meal. Well with only 130 calories and only 4 grams of fat this Creamy Tomato Basil soup did the trick. This is only one of the 4 soups that Progresso added to its high fiber line. I also loved that I found a coupon for $1.10 off to purchase this soup with. Since there was a sale going on, I only paid .40 cents for this can. That was only .20 cents a serving for my lunch. College Girl is happy about this. As she took 7 cans of the Creamy Tomato Basil soup back to her dorm room this weekend.

Another is the Chicken Tuscany. I want to thank Progresso and MyBlogSpark for sending me this flavor to try out. I also received some of those wonderful coupons I told you about above too! Since each can is 2 servings, there will be plenty for me and Grandma to have for lunch tomorrow. The great tasting Progresso soups have 28% of the recommended Daily Value of fiber per serving (7 grams) and have no added MSG* or artificial flavors. The new varieties include Chicken Tuscany, Creamy Tomato Basil, Hearty Vegetable and Noodles and Homestyle Minestrone.

Quick Cool Answer to Dinner

I am so tired of all of the unhealthy meals I have put on the table. Especially this summer when we're all hot and tired. You know how it is. Your strapped for time and you want to just throw dinner together. It normally ends in disaster for me.

Image by Morton Fox via Flickr

Well I can now get over this hurdle! Certainly when I a making salads! I now have been adding Budding Fix Quix™ which is refrigerated cubed meat. Especially the Grilled Chicken but there is also Oven-Roasted Turkey and Smoked Ham. I can get the variety pack. This helps add protein to my salads. And I am able to keep my calorie count down too.

And now I can use the $1.00 online coupon that I downloaded. This coupon is only good in Texas, Arizona and St. Louis. Look for stores here.

Here are some more benefits of Budding Fix Quix™

• Great snack for kids!
• Certified by the American Heart Association
• Low in Calories – Grilled Chicken has 60 Calories per Serving, Ham and Turkey have 70 Calories per Serving
• Low in Fat – with Zero Trans Fat
• An Excellent Source of Protein
• Gluten Free and have No MSG
• Available in the Refrigerated Meat Section
• Download coupon here.

San Saba House

Here is the house in San Saba Texas that we stayed at this weekend with Nessa. It is a beautiful home and made my soul sing. I wish I could have taken all of my blog friends with me and had a great weekend sitting on the front porch drinking wine and yaking.
This is the children's bedroom. What a quaint iron baby bed that is there. Of course all of that lovely sunshine made me happy.
Here I am in the room that appealed to me the most. The front parlor with all of the roses, lace and sunshine made me feel so relaxed. I am not one of the formal ones there, nope curled right up with a book!


This is the downstairs bedroom that was the "servants" quarters. Don't we all wish we were servants here!


The front entrance hall with a massive staircase. Here is the setting for a bride to be coming down the stairs to meet her future husband. Think I need to get a second wedding soon?

The front "mans" den had all the right touches. It would be a great place for the fellows to talk about the fish that got away or how beautiful that deer was that they could not bear to shoot.

Oh how I love a large claw foot tub to soak in. Yes I did sit here and dream away some time. Bath time ladies is not for getting clean but for relaxing.

And my dream country kitchen! How I could spend my days making cakes and cookies here. But wait, that is an original oven from the 1900's without a thermostat.

This was a great home to visit. I would adore living here. Heck I would even be the "hired help" for a fantastic bed and breakfast. Think I can get a job from the owner????

Daily Life Workout

Image by egg on stilts via Flickr

Today has been a busy one for me.
Up and doing first thing in the morning.
Took time to go have coffee and breakfast.
Yumm, oatmeal, bacon and toast.....my fav breakfast.
Then off to Curves for my daily workout.
3 times around the circut and I am sweating all over the place.
Afterwards I grabbed a cup of ice.
That is my snack when I want something cool and crunchy.
No calories, no fat...lol...just cool.
From there off to Mary's B & B and Antique Store to work.
Had to clean all of the B & B, top to bottom.
Whew, that was another lil workout.
Now have a lil time to get to work online.
Then it will be time to go home, mow the back yard (did the front late last night).
Afterwards I need to see what I need to gather for a trip to San Saba with Nessa.
Tell you more about that soon!

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