Search
Archives
Recent Photos
Take a ride to...
-
Try something new this Thanksgiving!
I mentioned in a previous post how you should take a chance and try a new recipe this Thanksgiving. Well, I’ve done the dirty work for you! Here are a few for you to try. Some are traditional favorites, others have a unique twist. Even if you’re not much of a cook, click on the links anyway. They are all wonderful blogs!
SOUP
- Chrissy shares a recipe for a hearty Roasted Vegetable soup on her blog, Storm of Thoughts. The veggies can easily be chopped and roasted ahead of time!
MAIN DISH
- Melissa, from Your Fun Family blog, makes turkey several times a year, and offers up a simple recipe, including tips on how to roast it and make more flavorful drippings.
- Some people don’t like turkey, right? Jessica, from MomFuse, provides an alternative with her family’s recipe for Cranberry Meatloaf.
SIDES
- Jenn, at Frugal Upstate, shares a recipe for Mushroom Stuffing that one of her readers submitted for her Frugal Thanksgiving Mini Series. Great for mushroom lovers!
- Skip the canned stuff, and try this fresh Orange Cranberry Sauce from Feels Like Home.
- For something a little different, take a look at Linda’s Crock Pot Calico Beans recipe. You probably already have all the ingredients you need in your pantry.
- Kristie shares her grandmother’s recipe for Baked Corn on her blog, Karene’s Kitchen. She’ll be posting new recipes everyday up until Thanksgiving, so check back often!
- Sweet potatoes are a must-have on my Thanksgiving menu. Caryn, from Cooking and Eating Through Texas, shares her Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping.
- My mom always makes an apple salad for family get-togethers. This is an easy recipe for Apple Waldorf Salad, also from Caryn.
DESSERT
- Tara, from Feels Like Home, posts some incredible recipes every week. She’s making three pies for her Thanksgiving dinner, and is generous enough to share all three: her favorite Pecan Pie, gourmet Pumpkin Pie with pecan topping, and her incredibly easy Cherry Pie.
- Janine, from Twofer the Price of One, shares her grandmother’s famous Apple Pie recipe.
- Lori (aka, A Cowboy’s Wife) shares some interesting information about pears and a delicious recipe for Red Anjou Pie on her food blog, A Wooden Spoon.
- And just for fun, why don’t you try Jenni’s recipe for brownies? It’s the Jiggety Family Recipe. With the step-by-step directions and photos she provides, there’s no way you can mess these up!
If this isn’t enough inspiration for creating your Thanksgiving menu, check out Tara and Caryn’s full menus, and Jenn’s Frugal Thanksgiving Mini Series, for even MORE ideas!
Thanksgiving Tips
I was a guest at yet another Giant Food event last week. I’m so lucky to have an ongoing relationship with the grocery store chain. They really value mom-shoppers and it makes me feel so special to be a part of their ongoing improvements.
It was such a pleasure talking to Robin Michel, executive VP of Giant. She genuinely listens to what you have to say, be it positive feedback or not. It’s obvious how much she really cares and understands the needs and wants of moms. She’s been in the position for less than 6 months, but has done so much already! There’s a great Washington Post article about her here.
The purpose of the luncheon was to get some advice on how to save time, money, and our sanity this holiday season. I can’t believe Thanksgiving is really only a week away. Doesn’t it feel like Halloween was just yesterday?
Below are some pointers I garnered from last week’s luncheon. Hopefully this will help you in some way when you’re planning your dinner!
Thanksgiving Tips
- Jot down your guest list, noting if anyone has allergies or dietary restrictions. This forms a basis for your shopping list, and can help you figure out what other guests should bring if you’re doing a potluck dinner.
- Create your menu. Include your traditional recipes, but also search for a new recipe to try out. You might want to give it a trial run before the big night!
- Look at your dining table - will you need candles or a floral centerpiece? You can probably pick it up at the grocery store as well. A great idea is to create a fruit centerpiece; it can serve as dessert for those guests that don’t have much of a sweet-tooth.
- Create a complete shopping list, dividing it into “anytime” items and “buy later” items.
- Skip the peak shopping hours! Make your grocery run before 11am, between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, or after 8pm.
- Purchase your “anytime” items now. Things like decorations, beverages, canned and frozen goods. Don’t forget the turkey! For everything else, wait until closer to Thanksgiving for optimum freshness.
- The holidays are a great time to stock up! Buy an extra turkey; you won’t find a better value and it lasts 6-9 months in a deep freezer. Buy roasts, frozen veggies, butter, and enough maple syrup to last you all year. Fill your pantry with canned fruits and vegetables and your favorite cream soups. Your pocketbook will thank you next year!
- Remember that a 20-25 pound turkey will take at least 4 days to defrost in the refrigerator. You can buy a fresh turkey up to a week ahead, but remember that the sell-by date should not be more than 2 days before the day you plan to cook it, and fresh turkeys are significantly more expensive than frozen.
- Use a meat thermometer! It’s the best way to know exactly when the turkey is ready, without overcooking it or jeopardizing food safety. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, and remove the bird from the oven when it’s reached 160 degrees F.
- If you have kids at home, have fun activities available for them. Coloring books, stickers, games, a new toy - all items you can pick up at the grocery store while you shop. I’ve already started recording Thanksgiving-themed cartoons on the DVR for the girls to watch that day.
Shortcuts / Time savers
- Clean out the fridge ahead of time to make room for premade dishes, party platters, and leftovers from dinner.
- Set up the buffet and dining tables in advance.
- Use versatile cookware, like white Pyrex bakeware. You can cook the food ahead of time, reheat it, serve it, and store leftovers in the fridge - all using the same dish.
- Prepare as much as you can before Thanksgiving day. Make the soup and desserts, chop the onions and celery, peel and cook the potatoes, etc.
- Frozen vegetables can be easily dressed up by adding nuts, grated cheese, or a special sauce. I love green beans with toasted pecans and a drizzle of olive oil! Best thing? It’s ready in less than 10 minutes.
- Purchase party platters for appetizers.
- Serve store-bought pies, but make them your “own” by decorating with whipped cream, a sprinkle of nuts, or serve with ice cream.
- Place a variety of beverages in a big tub so guests can serve themselves.
- If you really want a stress-free Thanksgiving, order your entire meal from the grocery store! At Giant Food, you can get a 10-12 lb turkey, 2 tubs of mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, a dozen dinner rolls, and your choice of pie - all for under $50! Considering all the time saved, it really is a bargain.
I happen to have won a free Butterball turkey last week, so all I need is the sides to complete my dinner - and Giant has a solution for that as well, with their new “Meal Extras” package. I can get two side dishes, two large soups, a pie, and 12 rolls for $24.99. I’ll probably toss up a salad, and ta-da! Dinner is served. We’ve all been sick this past week, so I just want to relax for the next few days and not worry about the mad-rush at the grocery store. Oh, what the heck - I might even get it all delivered.
What are your plans for Thanksgiving?
Gobble-licious… that’s what it is.
Preparing Thanksgiving dinner leaves me in a bit of a bind, and not for the reasons you may expect. Don’t take me wrong, I LOVE the traditional roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, you know - the works. But my husband’s family is from Bolivia, and I’m not too sure they like my holiday cooking so much.
I remember when I was a little girl I looked forward to Thanksgiving the entire year. My grandma made a special asparagus casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, homemade rolls, roasted turkey and dressing… I could go on and on. We would all eat together, and have a second helping, maybe even a third, then finish it all off with a slice of delicious pumpkin pie topped with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. I’ve since grown up, moved away, and have tried to recreate that but I’m afraid I haven’t yet succeeded.
I know I can’t force certain customs on people that aren’t used to it, but I just can’t bring myself to just make plain ol’ sweet potatoes or not make cranberry sauce because nobody likes it but me. As long as Thanksgiving dinner takes place at my house, I’m going to continue preparing the traditional dinner that I hope my daughters come to love as much as I did when I was their age. This year my four-year old may even help me cook!
Speaking of that, the hardest dish to prepare, in my opinion, is the turkey. Don’t start baking it in time, and dinner will be late. Overcook it and it ends up too dry. Don’t season it right, and it can end up too bland. It’s just so easy to mess up! So thank goodness for 1-800-BUTTERBALL! You can call them up with virtually any turkey question and get an answer from their holiday meal preparation experts. I might just have them on speed-dial because with two kids ‘helping’ me in the kitchen, who knows what can happen!
This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Butterball.
Say “Boo!” to the Flu
Flu season is upon us once again. Something as simple as a cough or sneeze can spread the flu virus from one person to another. It’s an especially dangerous infection because people can be infected with the flu and not realize it for several days.
Families Fighting Flu, Visiting Nurse Associations of America, The Clorox Company, and Mom Central have teamed up to help families say “boo!” to the flu and have a healthier cold and flu season. This program was created to help educate families about the severity of the flu, and learn about vaccination and other prevention tips to help ’scare’ the flu virus away.
It’s important to get your family vaccinated now, before flu season peaks, then follow these easy tips to keep the germs away:
- Sing & Scrub - Make sure kids wash their hands frequently with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds. That’s the time it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice. That will clean off any germs that they may unknowingly pick up throughout the day and keep them from passing them on.
- Do the Elbow Cough - Cough into elbows, not hands where it’s more likely to spread bacteria and viruses through touch.
- Disinfect Hot Spots - Disinfect the surfaces kids touch most frequently with disinfecting products. Top five hot spots: phone receivers, fridge/microwave/door handles, kitchen faucets, light switches, TV remotes
- Follow Good Health Guidelines - Eat right, exercise, and get plenty of sleep. That will help boost your immune system which is your body’s way of fighting off the effects of colds and flu.
Visit the saybootoflu.com to watch some helpful videos, search for a flu vaccination clinic that’s convenient for you, and learn about some creative ways to teach kids to wash away germs.
No sew blankets - an easy, homemade gift
With the economy the way it is, we’re cutting costs like so many other families are, I’m sure. The holidays are coming up, which inevitably involves gift-giving. Instead of dreading it, I’m prepared! I’ve decided to try to make as many gifts myself as I possibly can.
Marsy has a huge Cinderella blanket that she insisted on taking to Grandma’s house last Christmas. In an effort to minimize our luggage, I made her a no-sew fleece blanket with all her favorite princesses printed on it. It was the perfect size to roll up and carry on the plane. At that point I realized just how easy it is to make these blankets, and how delightful a gift they could be.
I LOVE to craft, but I have absolutely no sewing skills. I can’t even sew a button on right. That’s why no sew fleece blankets are so perfect! You don’t need any special skills or fancy equipment - just fleece and scissors, although a ruler would also be useful.
These blankets are not expensive to make. Fleece costs around $4-8 a yard, but you can often find it on sale or use a store coupon. A soft, breathable fabric, fleece is tightly woven, so it won’t fray when cut or washed, making it ideal for a child’s blanket. There are countless fabric print and color combinations to choose from. You can make it all one color, or use a fun pattern on one side and a matching color on the other. For Marsy’s blanket, I chose the Disney Princess print for one side, and a lovely, super-soft baby blue for the other side - her favorite color and the exact shade of Cinderella’s ballgown.
Making a no-sew blanket is actually kind of fun, and keeps me busy while I watch TV after the girls are in bed. You can make it any size you want… from a small baby blanket, to a throw as big as your bed. It takes a good two hours to make a big blanket, but the time just flies by. Once you make your first, the subsequent ones are a piece of cake!
I scream for ice cream cone cupcakes
Have you ever had one of these? I got the idea from the Betty Crocker website, and was happily surprised by how easy and fast they are to make. I did it all two hours before Marsy’s birthday party, but I’m sure making them the night before would work just as well. They were a big hit with the kids and the parents, and fun for me to make.
Why did I choose cones over traditional cake or cupcakes?
- I had never done it before and novelty is always good.
- Each cone uses only a little batter, so I got more cones than I would’ve regular cupcakes.
- No messy hands or faces (for the most part).
- You can eat the whole thing! No just eating the top of the cupcake and wasting the rest.
- No cupcake wrappers strewn all over the ground in the party area.
You just need a few ingredients: a box of your favorite cake mix, water, oil, eggs, 30-36 regular ice cream cones (the ones I found were 99 cents for a 24-pack), and frosting and sprinkles to decorate the cones.
Now here’s the hard part -
Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box. Fill each cone to about a 1/2 inch from the top. Bake as directed, 20-25 minutes, and that’s it! Use a muffin pan when baking, so if one falls over it won’t be a big deal. I managed to get 31 cones filled, but could have done 36 if I would’ve put less batter in the first batch of 12.
Let cool, and frost with your favorite store-bought or homemade frosting. Applying sprinkles is so easy if you just pour them in a bowl and dip the cone in evenly.
To transport, I stretched a piece of aluminum paper around a baking pan, and cut slits in it for each cone. I placed the baking pan in a box, but just covering the top with more foil would be fine. They were packed in there pretty tightly so none fell over.
Next time I’ll leave them without decoration and set out sprinkles, candy, fruit, etc, and let the kids do it themselves.
Just as fun as an ice cream party but without any melting!
An alternative to juice boxes
My girls only drink milk and water at home because they get enough juice boxes and fruit “drinks” at playdates and other get-togethers. There are few products that are as convenient as juice boxes or pouches for drinking “on the go”. This is one of the reasons I was happy to sample all four flavors of Horizon Organic Single Serve milk that Mom Central sent us.
This product is not new to my girls - sometimes we make a trip to Starbucks just for chocolate “moo milk” as Marsy calls it. Okay, I admit I also get a vanilla latte for myself. But that’s not the point. The combination of the cute cow on the packaging and the delicious creaminess of the milk make this beverage irresistible to her, and I’m happy that she’s drinking something nutritious, produced without antibiotics, growth hormones and pesticides.
Like a juice box, Horizon Single Serve milk comes in an 8-oz container with an attached straw. It has a little foil part that you can peel away to open up the box so that the last drops of milk won’t go to waste, which makes it easy to pour it into a bottle for a baby to drink as well (although she drinks perfectly well from a straw). The milk “box” will keep at room temperature for up to seven months, or until the expiration date. 
Horizon Organic Single Serve milk comes in four flavors - traditional white milk, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Marsy prefers chocolate, and baby will drink any of them. She especially liked the strawberry milk that Marsy wouldn’t touch (she has something against anything strawberry-flavored, but not the fruit itself).
Generally I only let M&M drink flavored milk once in a while (like when we go out to eat), but I’m seriously considering having a pack of Horizon Organic Single Serve milk in the pantry at all times. Since baby is drinking whole milk now, it’s so easy to just throw one of these boxes in her diaper bag in case she gets a yearning for milk while we’re out and about. Once they start school it will be the perfect beverage to pack in their lunches.
Check out the Horizon Organic website to learn more about eating organically. You can also download an activity book, learn fun cow facts, print coloring pages, and find fun games to play with your kids!
It all started with a piggy bank…
On her last birthday, Marsy received a beautiful piggy bank from her savvy auntie, Monica. It’s so cute, and even has her name hand-painted on it. Immediately the money she got in her birthday cards went in there, as did the loose change from her daddy’s pockets.
I thought about it for a few days, did a little research on allowances both online and by talking to some friends with older kids, and decided it was the right time to start our own system. She was already showing interest in dealing with money, so I knew that was a good sign. My dilemma was whether to tie the allowance to chores or not. Ultimately I chose the former, because I didn’t want her to think that we were giving her money “just because”. I explained to her the concept of having a job and responsibilities, and how sometimes you get paid for that. Her “job” would be to keep her room tidy, clean up her toys after playing, and put her dishes next to the sink after each meal. I figured 3 responsibilities for a three-year old sounded fair. At the end of each day she would get 50 cents to put in her piggy bank if all her chores were done. She made her first purchase with a combination of gift cards and allowance money a few weeks later - a V-Tech Kidizoom digital camera.
Dealing with the steady stream of “I want that!” and “Can I buy this?” is easy. If she sees something she wants, I tell her that she has to save up for it. We still buy her Christmas and birthday gifts obviously, but anything extra is up to her. Her most recent purchase was a light-up hula hoop and a 3 gallon container of bubble solution. I didn’t think the hula hoop would have a long life (considering she doesn’t know how to use it) but she loves it. She still uses her camera on a regular basis also, and other than a few scuffs, it’s in pristine condition. Maybe the fact that she bought it herself makes all the difference.
It’s been almost a year since she received that piggy bank, and although I still have to remind her about her chores once in a while, she carries them out without complaint. Her fourth birthday is less than a week away, so it would make sense to add one more task to her daily chores, but I’m not going to. She is great about helping me when she sees me doing household work (transferring clothes from washer to dryer, sorting socks, unloading the dishwasher, watering plants, etc) so I think she really understands the concept. I’m still not sure if I’m going to raise her allowance, though… but I still have a few more days to ponder that question.
I wrote this post to participate in this week’s Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast. It’s sponsored by Capitol One, which just launched an interactive Moneywi$e eLearning tool to help you learn about money management, as well as how to talk to your kids about it.
The question I ask myself everyday….
What am I going to make for dinner?
For a time, I was so good about writing out a weekly menu, and shopping accordingly. That has fallen by the wayside, although I can’t seem to pinpoint exactly why. I let my subscription to the Menu-Mailer expire long ago, and my unread issues of Everyday Food are adding up. Cooking started to feel like any other household chore.
Until 10 days ago.
On August 12th I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon at Chef Geoff’s (in DC) hosted by Giant Food. Giant Consumer Advisor Andrea Astrachan provided us with ways to save time and money at the grocery store, and Chef Geoff Tracy was kind enough to treat us to a cooking presentation and a delicious four-course meal.
Andrea’s advice (these tips apply to any grocery store, not just Giant):
- Be Prepared
* Keep a “to buy” list handy so that you (and other family members) can write down what you need throughout the week.
* Check the circular for items on your list that may be on sale. If you don’t get the Sunday ads, or miss it in the mail, you can always find it online.
* Plan four dinners for the next week, taking into account that you’ll probably eat out one night, and eat leftovers the two other nights.
* Follow the list!
* Don’t forget your reusable bags. Many supermarkets (including Giant) reward you with cash back for each bag you use. And it’s better for the environment, obviously.
- Use Coupons
* Clip them from magazines, newspaper ads, or print from the Internet. MyPoints http://www.mypoints.com will even reward you for printing coupons off their site.
* Be careful - only use coupons for items on your list.
* Remember that even after a discount, store brands can still be cheaper.
* My tip - keep an eye out for days that grocery stores double or triple coupons. I just saved $27 last week doing that.
- Buy on Sale and In-Season
* Use seasonal sales as opportunities to stock-up. Store non-perishables and label and freeze perishables.
* Buy in season!
August/September - canned tuna, peanut butter, jelly, frozen waffles, Pop-Tarts
October - brisket, sausage, soups and chowders, pasta, squash, mac & cheese
November - baking goods, flour, nuts, cake mixes, rib roast, maple syrup, condensed milk, turkey (buy two - one for Thanksgiving and freeze one to eat early in the year!)
The fact that not only fruits and vegetables are seasonal was a revelation to me! Let me know (by leaving a comment) if you want a complete list for the entire year and I’ll email it to you.
Andrea’s main advice when it comes to cooking is TAKE SHORTCUTS!
* Buy prepared foods - soups, chicken tenders, rotisserie chicken (my favorite, because they are so versatile and affordable)
* Precut veggies, bagged salads, and grated cheeses all save you time in the kitchen.
* Use frozen foods - vegetables, seafood, pastas, waffles, bagels, etc. - for their convenience and shelf-life.
* Cook one-dish casseroles or pasta dishes, but make two and freeze one for later.
* Enjoy “no cook” meals once in a while, like salads and sandwiches.
I hope these tips helped you out as much as they did me! I realized what I needed to get excited about cooking again was inspiration, and boy, did I get it! Enough so to make a trip to Giant and try out some of their store brands:
Nature's Promise is an affordable organic line, and Simply Enjoy is also a reasonably priced luxury brand. I'll show you what I did with all this in a future post!
If there’s a Giant near you, pay them a visit this weekend (and no, they didn’t ask me to say that). Today not only are they unveiling a new logo (that I was one of the first in the area to catch a glimpse of!), and a new website (check it out and enter to win free groceries for a year), they’re also bringing more technology into their stores, to make shopping faster, easier, and maybe even fun:
* Personal scanners that let you scan/bag items as you shop.
* Electronic scales in the produce department, that let you print out a price sticker.
* Touch screens at the Deli that let you place your order and pick it up when it’s ready. The neat thing is that the computer remembers what you ordered during previous visits. Oh, and they’ll announce your name over the speaker when you’re order is ready! No time wasted standing around waiting.
* “Smiles for All”: new family-friendly lanes that offer better snacks (think string cheese, not Skittles), age-appropriate magazines (no half-nekkid photos of Britney, for instance), and sticker rewards for kids. I know this isn’t technology, per se, but an advancement nonetheless. I detest having to deal with a temper tantrum in the checkout line as a result of not buying Marsy a Ring Pop. It just makes for a cranky Mom and an unpleasant ride home.
Being fairly new to the blogosphere, I was more than honored to be invited to this event. Midway through the luncheon I received a call that my grandma had had an accident*, so I wasn’t able to stick around to chat with the other wonderful local bloggers in attendance, though I did meet the Moms behind TechSavvyMama, Petroville, and Okinawa Hai, in passing. Thank you to Giant Food, Chef Geoff Tracy, and the lovely ladies at 360 PR who made my experience so special!
So what are you making for dinner tonight? Do you have any advice for making cooking and grocery shopping more enjoyable? I’d love to hear it!
*My grandma fell, fracturing her kneecap, but is in good shape otherwise.
Juice pouches - a handy tip
I don’t give Marsy juice that often, so when she does have some she tends to suck it down like a college student drinking beer at a frat party. Her absolute favorite juice is the kind that comes in a pouch.
My tip? I freeze the juice pouches. Just before we go outside I pull one out and let it thaw until there’s just a little juice. As we’re enjoying the hot summer sun, the juice continues to melt. She still enjoys her refreshing beverage, but is forced to pace herself. It works for us!
I still feel just a little bit guilty, though. A better piece of advice would be to not buy juice pouches at all. Did you know that 4.6 billion are produced every year? And that every single one of them goes to a landfill because they aren’t recyclable? The problem lies in that they are EVERYWHERE! Go to any summer birthday party or cookout and you are sure to find them.
Since recycling is out of the question, my solution is to reuse. Crafty? Make a purse or a lunch bag out of them.
If you’re not so good with your hands, buy one from reuseablebags.com. It’s for a great cause.
A great program I just found out about is the Drink Pouch Brigade, where you collect pouches and send them in to TerraCycle. They’ll use the pouches to make tote bags and pencil cases. Sign up - it’s free!
-
Visit my Sponsors
-
Subscribe to my Feed
-
-
Grab my Button!
<a href="http://ridingwithnohands.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ridingwithnohands.com/gallery/RWNH%20125.gif" border="0" alt="Riding With No Hands" Title="Riding With No Hands"></a> -
-
Shop 'til you Drop
