Travels in the South

 Okay I’m going to give you just a few moments to look at that picture.  Go ahead… I’ll wait.  Lick you lips.. wipe them.. listen to your tummy growl and your inner munchie monster say, “I need….”

This is a southern biscuit covered with cheddar cheese and then popped into the oven until all of that gooey cheese is melted all over that huge buttery biscuit. This happens to be one of dad’s favorites.  Mom got up and made these for daddy before she went to the worky place.  It’s not hard really.

You see we had some biscuits leftover from dinner last night.  Yep, here in the south we serve biscuits all day long 🙂  It’s one of the great things about living here.  Mom cut a biscuit in half, shredded some medium cheese from the block and put the biscuit in an 350 degree over for about 12-13 minutes… just long enough that all of the cheese is melted.  I wish you could smell the picture 🙂

 

Shopping Around the World

Hello sweet friends.  Welcome to another edition of Shopping Around the World.  This month we are highlighting things that we cook in this hot weather outside.  So without further ado, here is mom – take it away mom!

What we have this month is a meal that keeps on giving – LOL.  Friday morning before work, I put a beef roast in the oven.  I got a nice beef roast (around 3 pounds) at the market for around $14.00.  That night when I got home, I cut all of the meat up and put it aside.  In the meantime, I took a head of lettuce ($0.98 head) and chopped it all up placing it in a huge bowl.  On this date, I didn’t add anything extra – just the salad mix so far.  I then poured in some 1000 Island salad dressing into the lettuce (probably 1/3 bottle for the entire salad $0.34).  I tossed and coated all of the salad with the dressing.  At this time, you can add a little more if you need it.  Just make sure your lettuce is coated.

I then used some big plates and put some salad into the plates.  Next up, the beef that I had previously sliced was put on top of the salad.  Just as a garnish, I took some barbeque sauce I had on hand and drizzled it over the beef.  There you go – dinner is served.  The entire meal cost $15.32 and we had salads for two all weekend in this heat.

 

 

 

 

 

Mom is the Woman at Shopping!

Oh my friends – I have to share a little something that my mom did recently.  If you are on mom’s Facebook, you probably already saw this.  But shaking my head, it was an awesome shopping deal.  And dad is right about mom.  I do believe that woman can make Abraham Lincoln squeal when it comes to working with coupons.  Keep reading to see what you think and you tell me.

 Now mom shops at our local Kohl’s store, especially when they give you Kohl’s cash for the things you buy.  If you don’t know about Kohl’s cash, it’s awesome.  On certain promotional dates, you can receive $10.00 in Kohl’s cash for every $50.00 you spend.  Some people don’t like them while others like my mom can’t get enough of them.  At the end of April, mom had earned some Kohl’s cash.  She had bought several things that we needed for the Hotel Thompson – namely a certain coffee machine that does everything but sweet talk you when you use it.

Now, the big craze on television these days are the copper pans.  Mom has several of them here but there was a big one called the Copper Chef 5 had mom’s heart pitter pattering.  It was the big square pan with deep sides.  You can bake in it, fry, broil, saute, steam or braise food in this pan.  It comes with a recipe book, a fry basket, steam rack and lid.  On line with the copper company, you can get it for $60.00; of course Kohl’s had it for $80.00 – really?  Just shows you how they inflate prices, right?

Then of course, there is the Copper Crisper.  Mom I think you need an intervention with all of these copper pans – snorts with piggy laughter.  This one, you can cook french fries and other items by putting them in a box in the oven.  Air circulates around the items and crisps everything up.  Kind of like fried foods but without all of the oil/grease.  And you know that’s important here in the south where we fry everything.  Now this pan costs $20.00 on line but has an $8.00 delivery fee; of course Kohl’s had it for $30.00 – again you see how they inflate prices.

Now mom was stalking these two items at Kohl’s just waiting for the time period where she could cash in her Kohl’s cash.  Stalking is the right word.  Dad thought he was going to have to call in for additional help with mom.  You just don’t know my mom when she gets her mind on something.  Daddy says she’s very tenacious.  I’m not sure what that means but dad is serious when he says it.  So here came the date that mom was looking forward too for a couple of weeks.  Her and dad went into Kohl’s and mom went immediately to kitchen items getting the two boxes above.  Daddy just shook his head and laughed.  He knows mom way too well.  They then proceeded to the front line to check out.

The big pan was on sale for $59.99 and the crisper was on sale for $19.99 – about the prices they *should* be.  The cashier thought that was awesome but nope mom wasn’t done yet.  She then gave the cashier a 20% off coupon.  She then gave the cashier a coupon she had for $10.00 off the purchase of $50.00.

Then mom has a Kohl’s card and belongs to the Rewards program.  For every $100.00 you spend, they give you back $15.00.  Well of course mom had one of those too – thank you expensive coffee machine.  So mom then used this rewards.

Then here came the topper.  Mom had $50.00 in Kohl’s cash!  These were also applied.  So what was the bottom line you ask?  I’m attaching the receipt so you can also see with your own eyes.  Daddy was so proud.

Copper Crisper – $1.87

Copper Chef 5 – $5.59

Bottom line spent $7.46 to what would have been $80.00!

 

Shopping Around the World

Welcome my friends to Shopping Around the World.  This month we are highlighting one pot wonders.  

Mom is going to highlight her one pot wonder that she makes in the crockpot.  

I’m licking my lips now – Take it away mom!

With working and trying to rush home to fix dinner, sometimes it can be overwhelming.  So I take help where I can, just like with this one pot wonder in the crockpot.  In the morning before coming to work, I will put some baking potatoes in the crockpot.  So easy huh?  All you have to do is wash and clean a baking potato.  Take a fork and stick the potato several times.  Place it on some aluminum foil and salt/pepper to your desire.  Then wrap the baking potato up securely and place it in your crockpot just like the picture shows.  We always fix extra potatoes because they come out so good for the next night’s meal.  We bought a bag of baking potatoes at the market for $5.00 a bag.  There were 12 large potatoes in the bag making each potato $0.42 each.  After you get all of your potatoes washed, seasoned, wrapped and placed in your crockpot, turn the crockpot on low and forget it.

Now, before I leave the house, I checked the refrigerator for leftovers from the night before.  I found broccoli and cheese and beef sausage.  All I did was place these items in aluminum foil packets and put them back in the fridge.  Around 2pm, I called my hub unit and told him to also place these packets in the crockpot to heat them up.  The broccoli and cheese was a head of broccoli cut up from the  night before with some shredded cheese melted over it.  Total price was around $2.00 but this is the second meal so you can add $1.00 to tonight’s meal.  The beef sausage was $2.50 and again this is the second meal so add $1.25 to tonight’s meal.  So right now, we are looking at around $3.00 for tonight’s meal – so far.

When I finally get home from work, the fun begins.  You take out a baked potato and put it on a plate removing the aluminum foil. Go ahead and mash some of the potatoes out and add butter, sour cream, salt and pepper – whatever you want.  After it is fixed the way you normally eat a potato, add your leftovers. Tonight it was broccoli and cheese with beef sausage.  Now look at that potato. And remember you washed and seasoned the peel, so eat everything.

 It’s whats for dinner and a meal all in itself for around $3.00 for TWO people.  You can’t beat that and it’s great on a cold night… if we ever get cold here.

 

Shopping Around the World – Reminder

Thanks to everyone for another great edition of Shopping Around the World last month.  It’s so awesome to see the various prices around the world – and the pictures with recipes!

Me and my pal Fozzie will be holding another Shopping Around the World scheduled for   Friday, September 30th. 

Do a posting on your blog linking back to mine.  That way we can keep track of all of the different prices and recipes from all over the world.

This month we are highlighting one pot wonders.  This can be one pot over the stove, in the stove or in a crockpot.  What is your one pot wonder?  Something that you ‘go to’ when time is short or you will be working all day and want to come home to a prepared home cooked meal.  Please share and include pictures if possible with prices.  See you here my friends!

Come join the fun of Shopping Around the World – mark your calendars!

 

Shopping Around the World – Mark Your Calendar

Thanks to everyone for another great edition of Shopping Around the World last month.  It’s so awesome to see the various prices around the world – and the pictures with recipes!

Me and my pal Fozzie will be holding another Shopping Around the World scheduled for   Friday, September 30th. 

Do a posting on your blog linking back to mine.  That way we can keep track of all of the different prices and recipes from all over the world.

This month we are highlighting one pot wonders.  This can be one pot over the stove, in the stove or in a crockpot.  What is your one pot wonder?  Something that you ‘go to’ when time is short or you will be working all day and want to come home to a prepared home cooked meal.  Please share and include pictures if possible with prices.  See you here my friends!

Come join the fun of Shopping Around the World – mark your calendars!

 

Rest in Pizza Doughboy

 

Shopping Around the World

Thanks to everyone for another great edition of Shopping Around the World last month.  It’s so awesome to see the various prices around the world – and the pictures with recipes!

This month we have a suggestion from my cousin Sammy on highlighting cookies or other sweets for December.  Is there a special treat that you fix only around the Christmas holidays?  A certain cookie to share?  It does not have to be five items or less this month.  Share your recipe and picture of your sweet items.

This time of the year mom loves to fix what she has always called reindeer noses.  Now they have been called other things like yummy, pure grace, delicious, Rolo droppings, etc.  Snorts with piggy laughter.  It doesn’t matter what you call them because you will absolutely love them.  AND they are so easy to make.  You will need:  1 bag of pecan halves (prices range on this – the bag I bought was $8.99); 1 bag of Rolo caramels in milk chocolate candies ($4.00) ; and 1 bag of small pretzels ($1.50 on sale).  Total paid around $14.50 for some priceless candy 🙂

Turn your oven on to around 250-300 degrees.  While that is pre-heating, start taking all of the aggravating pretty foils off of the Rolo caramels in milk chocolates.  Yes you can be like my mommy and eat some for all of that painstaking foil removal.  Then, put some parchment paper on a baking pan.  Add a bunch of small pretzels and top with one Rolo each.  Now, here is the tricky part.  You don’t want to put so many on the baking pan that when you pull it out of the oven you don’t have time to top them with the pecan half.  You see they will cool fast and you want that finishing touch – trust me.  Okay so now you have your pan planned out.  Place it in the hot oven for around 5 minutes until the Rolo melts all over the pretzel.  Once that happens, remove the pan and quickly add a 1/2 of pecan to the top squishing it down in the chocolate.  mmm – just thinking about it.

Let these cool before trying one.  Trust me on this – daddy found out the hard way.  Once they are cool, put in a air tight container and share… or not 🙂

 

Food Porn

  Okay I’m going to give you just a few moments to look at that picture.  Go ahead… I’ll wait.  Lick you lips.. wipe them.. listen to your tummy growl and your inner munchie monster say, “I need….”

This is a southern biscuit covered with cheddar cheese and then popped into the oven until all of that gooey cheese is melted all over that huge buttery biscuit. This happens to be one of dad’s favorites.  Mom got up and made these for daddy before she went to the worky place.  It’s not hard really.

You see we had some biscuits leftover from dinner last night.  Yep, here in the south we serve biscuits all day long 🙂  It’s one of the great things about living here.  Mom cut a biscuit in half, shredded some medium cheese from the block and put the biscuit in an 350 degree over for about 12-13 minutes… just long enough that all of the cheese is melted.  I wish you could smell the picture 🙂

 

Helpful Tips – Let’s Share

My friends – I’ve thought of something so cool.  Today, let’s share some helpful tips.  Perhaps there is something that you do to make life easier for you that could make life easier for everyone.  

For instance, mom has three magnets on the refrigerator.  One is a dog, one is a cat and one is an alligator.  Yes you read that right.  An alligator – rolls piggy eyes.  Mommy couldn’t find a piggy magnet.  Too funny that the alligator represents me – snorts.  Anyway, they are always kept in the same spot on the fridge.  When mom feeds the cats, she takes down the cat one.  When she feeds the dog, she takes down the dog one.  And then when she feeds moi, she takes down the alligator one.  That way, just in case she is running late or sleeping in and daddy has to feed us, he knows which one of us have been fed or not fed.  So no more double feeding – darns it.  

Another thing mom does at work is that she keeps a shot glass on her desk.  Snorts and rolls with piggy laughter – not for drinking you funny person.  She keeps her staple remover in it.  She goes through a LOT of papers and a lot of times has to remove the staples.  She removes the staples and then puts them in the shot glass to hold them while she goes through the entire stack of papers.  Then all she has to do and toss the contents from the shot glass when she is finished.  Something easy that helps her out a bit.  

Do ever wonder how daddy is able to do household chores without ‘seeing’?  For anyone that has vision problems, these are very helpful tips.  Mom taped a toothpick to the washing machine.  When daddy does the washing, he feels for the toothpick so he knows how far to turn the dial.  Mom also taped a key disc (you know the ones that are colored and are empty in the middle that you put on your keys for coding) to the oven on the “on” button.  If daddy wants to cook something in the oven, he feels for the disc and is able to turn the oven on.  Mom also put a key disc on the on button of the microwave.  

What are some helpful tips that you can share?