Save with Sav-a-Lot

As I’ve mentioned before, I need to be able to be thrifty when feeding my family.  As a 1 income family, we can’t afford to over-spend on ANYTHING, even food. So when I hear about things like this, I feel the NEED to pass it along to my bloggy friends.

In fact, I’ve written in the past about how I can easily feed my family for under $15 a meal, but the fact is, when it comes to HOLIDAY meals, that’s just impossible.

Or is it?!

Sav-A-Lot is making it easy this holiday season to feed your family of 4 a wonderful holiday meal for UNDER $20!  I know – it sounds impossible, right?  But it’s not!  They’re offering a $5 coupon on their website, and with the rest of the fixings for a delicious holiday meal priced REALLY nice, it’s a snap.  Santa would be proud.

 

You might be thinking “yeah, but what do THEY consider a nice holiday meal? Spam and boxed mashed?”

No!

Their menu includes ham, sweet potatoes, salad (with dressing), veggies, pineapple for the ham, rolls, mac & cheese AND PIE!  All of that for $20 and then you apply the $5 coupon and you’re feeding your family for $15. 

With over 1,500 stores nationwide, there’s sure to be one near you. Go grab your holiday dinner and then put the extra money you saved towards a present for yourself! :)

Have a bigger family than 4?  No problem – the coupon is good for purchases over $20, so grab some extras and still, you save $5 on it. 

Happy holidays!

The OMG-SO-Good apple pie, revisited

Apple pie is like the official mascot of Fall, isn't it? Once the apple trees are laden with their beautiful babes, we start thinking of pies, crisps, crumbles, cakes and more.

I, of course, am one of those people. Just this last couple of months, I've followed and created so many delicious apple recipes, my family have been VERY happy with me.

One such recipe that I had to come searching my own blog for was my apple pie. Of course, things had changed and I had a different kind of apple, but it turned out even better than I remembered!

You will need:

• 7 Macintosh YORK apples or other similarly tart apple
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 Tbls. butter
• 2 Tbls. flour
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 Ready-to-use pie crust (the kind you unroll)
• an extremely helpful 6 yr old named Libby
• Deep dish pie dish is helpful.

First things first, I put the bottom pie crust into my glass pie dish and threw it in the oven while I prepared the apples. I poked the bottom of the crust with a fork several times, though I have no idea what that did for it LOL

Thanks to AMAZINGINLY fast shipping from Amazon, I peeled my apples in record time with my new apple peeler and then cored and chopped them into chunks.

My daughter mixed the sugars, flour, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl.

Once the apples were chopped into bite-sized pieces, we tossed the apples into the bowl with the sugar mixture and made sure every single apple piece was coated!

Next, we layered the apples into the pie dish, being careful because it's hot now. We cut the butter up into small chunks and placed it around the apples.

Next, we placed the top crust on to the pie, pinching the pie crust closed along the edges. We cut a couple of ventilation holes on top and then rimmed the edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning. I painted some scrambled egg white on top of the crust to help encourage that golden brown..ness.

Into the 375 degree oven (on a cookie sheet to prevent messy, burning spills). I baked ours for about 45 minutes or so - it really depends on the apples you use. The firmer the apple, the longer in the oven. But don't let them get TOO mushy. My suggestion for after the pie is done is to let it sit for a little while - an hour is good. That lets the juices settle and of course, the pie cools down from the molten lava stage. Top with some GOOD vanilla ice cream and you're in HEAVEN!!!!!

Baked Squash w/Apples

As I’ve mentioned a time or three before, I LOVE Fall squash season!  There’s just so many varieties of squash and ways to cook them, and they’re all SO YUMMY!

I recently took advantage of some great sales on Delicata squash, which some call the sweet potato squash.  They’re small, delicious and easy to handle and cook quickly.  I’d also bought a bushel of apples (York) and the two just sort of came together.

I began with 4 Delicata squash and approximately 4-5 apples, some butter.

• 4 Delicata squash
• 4-5 apples – peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 Tbs. flour
• 2 Tbs. butter, melted
• 2 Tbs. brown sugar

1. Begin by washing the outside of your squash. It has, afterall, been living in the ground for the last 5-6 months or so.  Once they’re washed, take the tip of a sharp knife and pierce the side of the squash.  CAREFULLY, split the squash lengthwise.
2. Use a spoon to scrape out the inside pulp and seeds. 
3. Poke holes into the flesh of the squash but try not to pierce all the way through to the outside.
4. In a separate bowl, the apples with the flour just to coat them.
5. 
   Sprinkle the brown sugar over the mixture, and then add the melted butter to the mix – toss again (gently). You should guard against unauthorized taste-testing – it can be hazardous to your dinner!
6. In a foil-lined baking dish, place the squash cut side up. Spoon the apples into each half of the squash and then sprinkle with cinnamon.
7. Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until you can easily sink your fork through the squash.
8. Enjoy!

 

*Note: The final photo does not do this delicious dish justice!  The beautiful squash melts into a gorgeous color, the apples actually crisp up – just fabulous!!!

This dish is perfect to make beforehand for the upcoming holidays.  You can do this the day before, then just keep them covered until the big day – just throw them back in the oven or microwave!

Holiday traditions – giveaway!!!

Gobble Gobble,

The holiday season conjures up many feelings - joy, nostalgia, sentiment, and the desire to carry on past traditions and create new ones.

Often times, holiday hosts will adorn their Thanksgiving tables with treasured family heirlooms like Great-Grandma’s gravy boat, Papa’s Silver Carving Platter, or China received as a wedding gift – each with its own precious memory. 

Yet, many hosts also want to infuse their own unique personality into their celebrations and look for creative ways to make guests feel just as warm and welcome as the celebration itself.

MyPunchbowl.com, the leader in start to finish party planning, offers FREE online Thanksgiving invitations that will immediately engage the recipient and generate such excitement and anticipation, they’ll think they can already smell the turkey roasting!   And remember, the etiquette pros always say to send invitations out a month in advance!

Here is just a small sample of the FREE online invitations for Thanksgiving:

I love the turkey one!  But they also have tons where you upload your OWN photo to include on the invitation. Being a photography LOVER, that’s a great feature.

Who wouldn’t love to receive a warm, welcoming online Thanksgiving invitation to join in the celebration?

A MyPunchbowl.com membership is absolutely free and offers a huge array of standard invitations templates and eCards for any celebration or occasion.  They have everything you need from online invitations to party supplies, personalized favors and much more.

And online invitations save times, money, the environment, and, let’s face it, your writing hand!!

And of course, because this IS a recipe blog, some recipes!  This first one isn’t going to wait for Thanksgiving Day, I’ll tell you!

Cinnamon Apple Muffins for Thanksgiving Day Breakfast

Muffin or cupcake liners
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ tsp. of baking powder

¾ cup of sugar

1.5 tsp. of baking powder

1 tsp. of ground cinnamon

½ of a cup of whole milk

1/3 of a cup of melted butter

1 egg

1 cup of peeled, cored and diced Granny Smith apples

1 cup of cinnamon chips

To make: stir the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the milk, butter, egg, apples and cinnamon chips next, stirring together until the mixture is smooth. Fill each muffin liner about 2/3 full, then bake in a 365 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving them.

Non-Alcoholic Thanksgiving Cranberry Punch

2 Bottles of chilled cranberry juice
2 Containers of lemonade or orange juice concentrate
1 Bottle of chilled Sprite, Ginger Ale or seltzer water

Cranberry Pomegranate Thanksgiving Punch

2 bottles of cranberry pomegranate juice
1 container of orange juice concentrate
1 bottle of flavored seltzer water
Vodka, Grain Alcohol or Rum to taste
Garnish: slices of fresh fruit oranges, lemons and limes

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

One lucky reader will receive a PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP UPGRADE!  All you do to enter is:

• Tell me your favorite holiday tradition.  Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you!
• If you’d like extra entries, tweet up this post. Use a seperate comment to let me know you’ve done it.
• Buzz me!  Visit my Food Buzz profile (click on that button up on the right corner) and view my recipes there. Buzz up the ones that you like :)
• Become a fan on Facebook, a follower on here, subscribe to my feed.  You know the deal :)  Just be sure to leave an entry for each thing that you do.
• ENTRIES THAT DO NOT INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

Winners will be chosen by random.org on November 13th!

Super Easter Dinner

Happy Easter everyone!

We typically have the standard ham dinner for Easter.  This year, however, I felt like changing it up, so I took advantage of an excellent sale and bought a 6.5 lb rib roast.  I’ve always been leery of trying to make a prime rib because they’re NOT cheap, and if I screw it up, that’s a lot of money wasted.  But last night, I went online and found a very easy, very basic recipe at  RecipeTips.com and decided to try it.  I wanted an easy dinner without tons of prep work, and without a lot of  fuss.    The prime rib recipe was exactly that.

You  take it out and let it sit on the counter until it becomes room temperature. 

You sprinkle salt & pepper all over it, rubbing it in to make sure it sticks.

You put it in the pan.

You preheat the oven to 460.

You place the roast in the oven at 450 for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, you reduce the heat to 325.

You bake it for 11-13 minutes per pound.  I’d figured on 2 hours.  I was mistaken LOL

After about 30 minutes or so, you place your sweet potatoes (see below) in the oven as well.    Do it quickly so as not to let the oven cool off too much.

Then after about an hour – an hour and a half (from when you put it in), check the temperature with a meat thermometer.   Depending on how well done you want the roast, you then make the decision whether it needs to stay in.  The recipe said

 

 

My meat thermometer read 160 so I took it out quickly and tented it with foil while I hurriedly made the veggies LOL

After it had sat for about 10-15 minutes, I removed the foil and sliced.

Voila!

It was tender and absolutely YUMMY!!!!!

Baked Sweet Potatoes

As easy as it sounds.  Peel your sweet potatoes.  Wrap them individually in foil.  I typically put myine on a baking sheet because the natural sugars inside the potato will come out and drip and smoke, otherwise.  I bake them while I am baking the meat – whatever I might be making.

TI baked them for approximately 1 hour, but your time will vary, depending on the oven temp.  When you unwrap them, they will be “juicy” – from the natural sugars that have been released.  I put them in a bowl, cut them up with a butter knife, sprinkle with brown sugar and then butter.

 

Finally, I also made approximately 1/2 a bag of frozen green beans.  To make those, I put  2 cups of water in a pan, along with a couple of teaspoons of chicken bouillon.  I add the green beans and bring to a boil , then  I let simmer until they are tender.

 

Oh, and can’t forget the rolls!

The best part of all of this is that it doesn’t have to be for a holiday.  Although I spent about $32 on the roast, it will easily feed 4-6 people (adults) or more with kids! 

Orange cranberry sauce

1 Bag whole cranberries

1 orange – juiced and zested

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Bring water & sugar to boil.  Add cranberries, orange juice (1/4 cup was yielded from orange) and approximately 1/2 teaspoon of orange zest.  Because I do not have a zester, I used a vegetable peeler gently – and then chopped it up finely. 

Bring mixture to a boil and then lower heat. Simmer mixture for 15 minutes or until juices reduce.    Remove from heat.  Mixture will thicken as it cools.  Serve :)

 

  

Super Sweet Potatoes

I know I promised to post my menu recipes, but things have a way of smacking you in the head and that’s been the case this week. However, I hope to appease you with some stuff I’ve made today :)

SUPER Sweet Potatoes

6 large sweet potatoes – peeled and cut in half

that’s it!

I wrapped each potato in a piece of aluminum foil.  I placed them on a foil lined baking sheet and baked them in a 350 degree oven for roughly 90 minutes. Then I let them cool all by themselves for an hour or two.  Don’t mess with them, don’t take them out of the foil. Just let them set.

When you’re ready, take them out of their little aluminum and sugar cocoon and into a bowl.  At this point, you can mash them with a fork, they should be so nice & soft.  They have caramelized, and mine, at least, need nothing. No butter, no brown sugar, nothing. They’re simply perfect.

12 Days & Counting

Hard to believe it, really. Just 12 days from now, another Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving was always a BIG day in my family growing up. All of us would gather at someone's house, whether it was my aunt & uncle's turn or my mom & dad's turn to host, and as the family grew bigger, so did the turkey. It was a favorite time of year because (maybe it was my naivete') we all had a great time together, and the food was always perfect. Always.

 

 

 

The standard fare was: (to serve typically 15+)

• A HUGE turkey (20+ lbs at least)
• homemade mashed potatoes
• pan gravy
• mashed butternut squash (they boiled the squash)
• mashed carrots (boiled those too)
• my family's recipe for stuffing (to drool over)
• various other sides, like corn, cranberries (both canned)
• celery
• desserts, typically a couple of different pies

After hubby & I moved to New Hampshire and had our daughter, it became impractical to be driving the 3-1/2 hrs down to RI for Thanksgiving with the family, only to rush back to NH for Jimmy to go to work on Friday.  So I began cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my small family.

The first couple of years, I struggled with cooking the turkey the way my mom did and my nana before her.  Last year, I finally – FINALLY – decided to do it like my mother always did – and like my grandmother always did.  It’s not the preferred method of Butterball, but it’s tried and true. Why fight history?

Last year, and this year, I’ll be going with this menu and I’ll be posting the recipes over the next few days.  If you are cooking Thanksgiving for your family and/or friends this year, won’t you leave your link so I can come visit you as well?

The menu will consist of:

• a 12(ish) lb turkey
• sausage stuffing from my nana’s recipe
• cornbread & cranberry stuffing
• oven roasted sweet potatoes
• oven roasted squash
• home-made rolls
• pan gravy
• home-made mashed potatoes
• home-made pumpkin pie

I can’t wait!