Month of Thanks- Day 7 and 8

What a whirlwind of a Monday/Tuesday. I have two things I want to mention today. One deals with food and the other is music.

First, you'll note I try and blog about various foods and dishes. I'm thankful that I have the ability to have so much choice. Some people don't know where their next meal will come from, so they aren't being picky. I'm thankful I am able to feed myself and feed myself with tastes I enjoy.

Second, I'm thankful for music. Music is my ultimate cure for any ill. I've had a rough few days here lately and I loved putting the ipod in my ears tonight and running it out. I loved riding in the car tonight with Tim blasting songs from our high school days. Music is my addiction and I'm so happy its easily accessible. Nothing makes me feel the way I feel when I am at a live concert dancing around like a happy fool.

Now...as a total aside...if anyone from Flystyl is reading this...please have a reunion show in the PTC ASAP :)

The Art of Couponing: Back into Super Saving Action

You haven't seen me post one of these in a while, mostly because I've seriously been so busy we haven't even really been shopping. My mom has been taking on more of the feeding responsibilities because my niece and nephew are still around. But, since the online class is now over I decided to put my little coupons back into action. Note: I've still been clipping, just haven't been using.

So let me share some of the highlights from tonight's shopping trip.

@CVS:

Tonight's Out of Pocket cost was: $3.73

Yes. You read that right. I paid $3.73 for 2 Oral B toothbrushes, Tampax Pearl Tampons (get over yourself squeamish boys) and chocolate! PLUS: I earned $4 Extra Care Bucks. That's like a profit of 27 cents ha!

How I did it? Well, I had $3 ECB to use by 7/6 or else they expire, I used a B1G1 Oral B toothbrush coupon, I got a free chocolate coupon just by stopping at the coupon printer in store, I used a $1off Tampax Pearl, and the Toothbrushes+ Tampons had ECB deals. All in all a savings of 78%.

@Publix

All this can be yours for the price of $9.74

Above you see: Ritz crackerfuls, French's mustard, Viva paper towels, Mueller's pasta, 2 rolls of Reynold's non-stick wrap, Mahatma rice, Playtex tampons, and Breakstone's sour cream blends! All for under $10. The grand savings total was 64% off.

Let me go over a couple of the big deals:

Reynolds non-stick wrap, regular $4.39

On sale B1G1 so it's $2.19

Used a .75 off coupon to pay $1.44 a roll; that is a savings of 67% Not too bad. You can ALWAYS use this stuff.

Viva Big Roll paper towels, regular $3.00

On sale B1G1 so it's $1.50

Used a .50 coupon that DOUBLES to $1.00 off at Publix to pay .50 for one roll; that is a savings of 83%

Mueller's Pasta, regular $1.45

On sale B1G1 so it is .72

Used a .55 cent off coupon to pay .17; that is a savings of 88%

Please tell me I have persuaded some of you by now :)

Some of the best sites to help you are:
Southern Savers
Coupons Make it Free
20 Something Saver

Intro to Gardening: First Harvest!

I haven't been following this as much as I should have, but we are still gardening! We have already had our first "harvest." The beans below came out a week ago. They were a very pretty green. We have bell peppers that are almost ready. I think the parsley and basil are also ready, I just haven't brought them in.

Beans!

Tim ate them right out of the garden!

Restaurant Review: Koreana

It has been a while but this month we did try a new place in town. We went to Koreana. It is fairly new in town; before it was an amazing Japanese restaurant called Tokyo. Side note: my sister-in-law is half Japanese so she always gave us the 411 on which "Japanese" restaurants in town were the closest to the real thing. She liked Tokyo best.

Anyways, I had never had Korean food before so it was a totally new experience for me. We went with our new friends Johnson and his wife Crystal (I absolutely LOVE them by the way) and it was very nice. We all ordered off the menu a big feast of a special they had so we literally got to try a bit of everything they had to offer. Everything comes out on tiny little plates and you share a lot of what they bring out. It made eating a community experience and I enjoyed the quiet setting. If you want to try something new and different, I highly recommend it.

Restaurant Review: Wood Stone Restaurant

For a while, my dad and I have wanted to try Wood Stone. A long time ago, in Columbus, there was a place called Mediterranean Cafe and our family looooooved it dearly. Unfortunately, sometime while I was away in either college or grad school or wherever, it closed. Seems like we both had heard that there was a connection though between the old Med Cafe and this newer place. Dad's work recently had catering from Wood Stone and he loved it. (Come to think of it, maybe it was dad who had heard then that the two restaurants were related...)

Anyways, to get back on track- we all piled in to my parents new (well used, but recently acquired) grandkid-mobile (minivan), and headed to Wood Stone. We got there right before 7 p.m. which I think was probably a good idea. We were seated right away and our waiter came and greeted us. At first, he was very quick with everything, but then I think he slowed down some because traffic picked up- tables started filling fast. He was very polite and as attentive as he could be. I just wish he had brought the check with the to-go box because that added on an extra 10 - 15 minutes of waiting (which hey, I'm looking out for the restaurant), I'm sure they wanted to clear our table and sit some more folks!

As far as taste goes, I am in love. You get bread as an appetizer. It's a good balance of crunch and softness. It's dusted with Parmesan cheese and served cut into strips with a little bowl of what I think was oil, garlic and pepper. I inhaled 2.5 pieces... so not WW friendly I'm sure...

My parents were trying to get back that taste of Mediterranean Cafe Pizza, so they "built their own" using what they remembered was on the sort of "house pizza" from back then. I couldn't decide on getting a pasta dish, big salad, or pizza. Tim and I ended up splitting a "Meat Pizza" without the prosciutto (also not very WW friendly). I also ordered a Caesar salad with balsamic vinaigrette instead of Caesar dressing.

My salad was fresh, yum, and a good size. Our pizza was fabulous. My only comment about it was that it seemed like all the toppings were in the center of the pizza and not evenly dispersed. It felt like after the first few bites it became a cheese pizza. But, nonetheless, it was very, very tasty. I look forward to having leftover for lunch tomorrow. I even specially told Tim, that half of our leftovers were mine and not to eat them tonight as a snack.

Overall, I give this place a double thumbs up. It's close to our home in North Columbus, cute on the inside, quiet, pretty artwork for sale in the front area, obviously great food, and pretty good service. I would recommend this to anyone for either a date night or a family dinner. I really want to try this place for lunch sometimes. Unfortunately, it isn't close to work so it would have to be a Friday or Saturday lunch if I've read their hours correctly.

Give it a try if you haven't!

The Art of Couponing: Hang in there

I just wanted to post a quick blog update while I wait on dinner :) Tim and I just got back from Publix and it was a pretty successful trip. There are several good sales going on. I just wish we had gone sooner because some things were sold out.

Side note: If you haven't checked it out yet, you need to go to iheartpublix. Great blog about couponing at Publix.

Anyways, I titled this post "Hang in there" because I want you to know that it may seem totally worthless in the beginning, but HANG IN THERE! The more you clip, and the more practice you get at stacking and planning, the better savings you are going to have. I've been doing this right at a month now and my first visits were 19%, 21% and 28%. Tonight, I reached a 32% discount at Publix. It may not sound like much, but it was $38.11 off! And, we got materials to make AT LEAST 8 meals over the next week, have plenty of leftovers, lunches and we bought snackage (because we love to eat).

I thought I'd also spotlight a few good deals & example of stacking:

Example 1: Sargento Shredded Cheese [Pepperjack]
Publix Sale- $2.00 + $1.50 off coupon for Sargento Shredded Pepperjack = 50 cents
Since the cheese is regularly $3.19 that's a savings of almost 85%

Example 2: Crest Toothpaste [I bought the one that has coupons inside!]
Publix Sale- 2 for 2.99 (B1G1) + $1 off Publix coupon = 1.99 for 2 6.4 oz sized toothpastes
Since the stuff is regularly $2.99 each, this was a savings of 67%

Example 3: Sun Chips
Publix Sale- $3.00 + $1 off Publix coupon = $2.00
Since the chips are regularly $3.79, this was s savings of almost 47%

I also cannot promote these enough but check out Jaclyn's blog & SouthernSavers They both give me great ideas.

Restaurant Review: Old Siam

I realize that I haven't reviewed this place yet, but we did enjoy trying it out this month. We went to Old Siam before a hockey game this month. I had NEVER had Thai food before in my life. I always hear "it's spicy, really spicy" when people describe it. But, I also know it similar to Chinese food, and I like spicy Chinese food...so why not try it out?

First of all, this place has AMAZING SERVICE. Props to our young gal server who was extremely kind and accommodating. She asked if it was our first time and we said yes, and she even asked if it was our first time eating Thai and we said yes. She asked us questions about what we like and don't like and her recommendations were perfect.

Tim had the Spicy Basil Chicken and I had Red Curry Pineapple Chicken. Both were delicious, but I was more of a fan of Tim's dish.

All in all, it was a great evening. The service was good, the setting is cute, the food is great and we tried something new- and liked it!

Date Night: Toast of the Town

My wine glass and guide/notebook.

Tim and I got to do something we've never done before. We attended the Toast of the Town in Columbus, Ga. I decided to really take advantage of all the different wine and food tasting opportunities. I've really cut down on the amount of alcohol I consume for two reasons (1- it has too many points, and 2- my parents aren't drinkers so it is kind of weird to bring it in the house). However, when I do drink I'm mostly a Chardonnay, White Zin or Pinot Grigio gal.

Tonight, in following my theme of being brave and trying new things I thought I would try a few red wines (ok so I only ended up trying one- but I really liked it). I tried Te Kairanga, Estate, Pinot Noir. It was fruity but not like a fruit punch fruity. Light and tasty. I also tried a Pinot Grigio and the newer Kendall Jackson Avant Chardonnay. I think I like it better than the regular one they have at most restaurants. 


On to the food.


We circulated around the many food displays. From Ben's Chophouse, Tim tried the Seared Scallop with Fresh Apple and Celery Salad tossed in Champagne Vinaigrette. We both had brownies from Buford's Brownies (OH MY STARS! I wanted to eat them all...I had to keep walking). From C'Sons/Mare Sol we both had Handmade Chicken and Gorgonzola Tortellini (WAY YUM). I hope to try this place out if we catch a softball game of Katie's up in LaGrange. From Green Island Country Club, Tim tried the Smoked Trout Mousse in a Savory tart Shell with Trout Roe. But, we both had the AMAZING Trifle of Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta and Raspberry Mousse with Chocolate Genoise. From the Rivermill, Tim had the Chilled Sweet Three Onion Soup with Truffle Foam (and it was much sweeter than he expected). From the Cantina Bar and Grill, Tim really went out on a limb and tried the Ceviche- Citrus Marinated Sea Bass tossed with Fresh Tomoatoes, Onions and Cilantro. I don't think he normally would have tried it, but we bumped into a coworker who was raving on and on about it. From the Chattahoochee River Club, we tried Chocolate Truffles, Pistachio Checker Board Cookies, and Profiterole. I think Tim tried to sneak a few extra Checker Board cookies...


Finally...our favorite hands down of the evening: Vintage 222's Slow Roasted Filet Mignon Topped with Jumbo Lump Crab Encroute Drizzled with Sherry Cream. I want to eat this for the rest of my life. I've never had crab, I actually turn my nose up at seafood all the time. But, I thought it looked cute and appetizing so I just opened my mouth and took a bite. Hopefully, some day soon Tim and I will make it over to Vintage 222. I know they recently catered the other event we went to for YP and we really liked it. Maybe it will be our April new place.


All in all, it was a fun evening.   

Secret Weapon for Weight Loss

I thought I'd do quick mention of my new food scale. I got it a few weeks back and LOVE it. We often lie to ourselves about our portion sizes. This little gadget keeps me accountable. I can look at the serving size on a package, portion that out with the scale and enjoy!

Every morning I eat a 100% Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with Yogurt Butter. This butter says 14g for a serving.

Using my Sharper Image scale purchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I measure exactly 14g.

I then enjoy it on my bagel thins! My breakfast is only 2 WW pts exactly. You'll notice the 14g is plenty to cover the surface area of the bagel thins.

The scale is great to everything. I like to use it to measure out chips, especially once you get to the bottom of the bag and you can't count out the serving size. Do yourself a favor and invest in one of these. You can find a range in price from about $20-$50. My scale was $30

Dinner at Our House: SEC in the "SouthWest"ern Steak Quesadillas

Oh.my.goodness. I am on pins and needles waiting for tonight's BCS National Championship game between Auburn and Oregon!!! When I planned the menu this week I wanted to make something festive for dinner tonight. I found a recipe for quesadillas, but I didn't like it. So I instead found a recipe for Southwestern Flank Steak that I really liked, then decided to have some fun with it. As an avid Auburn Tiger...I named it "SEC in the "SouthWest"ern Steak Quesadillas"


The marinade alone sounded super yum. We used the marinade from the SW Flank Steak recipe and put it on some small thin sirloins that I bought.  I'll post it below:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 teaspoons chili powder
• 4 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 beef flank steaks (1 pound each)

Directions

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first seven ingredients; add beef. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• Drain and discard marinade. Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill beef, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 145°; medium, 160°; well-done, 170°).
• Let stand for 5 minutes; thinly slice across the grain. Yield: 8 servings.

Remember, though, we did not use flank steak. We used 1lb. of essentially sirloin meat. After letting it marinate over night I took it out this evening and got to work. I cut it into smaller strips and put it in a skillet with light cooking oil spray. I added in some veggies and then we slapped it together with reduced fat Mexican blend cheeses and a low fat tortilla. Presto! Dinner was served.

Mmmmm peppers and onions!

Yumz!

This one worked out a little better because we put them on one side.

Flipped!

Notice that I forgot to photograph before taking out a bite haha!

We also served this dish with Taco Rice plus some salsa. It comes in a package at the store. I only had half a serving (and we prepared it without the extra oil) so the rice was 2WW pts. As for the steak quesadilla, the total WW pt value was 10 pts. (6 meat filling, 2 cheeses and 2 tortilla). It would have been best if we could have had the total fat free tortillas. Oh well though! I also wish I had been able to grill the steak. I think that would have been best too.

Alright, well...this could either be the best night or thr worse. Let's get our hand up for Bodda Getta!

Bodda Getta, Bodda Getta, Bodda Getta, Bah

Rah Rah Rah, Sis Boom Bah 
Weagle, Weagle 
WAR DAMN EAGLE 
Kick Em In The Butt 
Big Blue. Hey!

Dinner at Our House: Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Mmmm. Starchy goodness round II. Tonight we tried another recipe from our tasteofhome cookbook. We made the Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes minus the chives (mostly due to not having chive). I wish we had them though, it would have added green to the plate. Note my attempt at trying to slide over the green salad to add color...

Dinner!

We also grilled chicken tonight. We bought a new marinade to try: Newman's Own Mesquite with Lime. It was the best marinade I've tried in a long time- I highly recommend it.

But, back to the potatoes. It wasn't a home run, but it wasn't a strike out either. I learned that when making mashed potatoes they can't be done too far in advance, and I think next time I'll leave out a little more of the broth so they are a little thicker. A 3/4 cup serving was 3 WW points so I ate them guilt-free.

Without further ado, the recipe:

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 5 large), peeled and quartered
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) fat-free sour cream
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, warmed
• 2 tablespoons minced chives
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Place the potatoes, garlic and paprika in a large saucepan or Dutch oven; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain.
• In a large bowl, beat the potatoes and garlic. Add sour cream, broth, chives, salt and pepper; beat until smooth. Yield: 10 servings.

And because it was cute:

Jackson hanging out in the kitchen, hoping to catch something dropped.

Snacking at Our House: Cupcakes!

Sorry it has been a while. Big project at work going on. Plus, I've started work on our annual holiday letter for family and friends. But, tonight I wanted to share a recipe with you all that I tried. I made Chocolate Cupcakes that are only 3 WW points each.

These were my first attempt at "dusting" any food item with powdered sugar.

My cupcake before it was eaten.

Recipe from here:

Ingredients

• 1  cup  all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1/3  cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 2/3  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4  cup  butter, softened
• 1/2  cup  egg substitute
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla
• 1/2  cup  1% low-fat buttermilk
• 1 1/4  ounces  dark (70 percent cocoa) chocolate, finely chopped
• 2  tablespoons  powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes). Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to granulated sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with muffin cup liners. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Dinner at Our House: Sesame Chicken

So I know it has been a bit since we've updated you, but there have been many events going on around (which of course I'll update you on in later posts). I thought I would do an easy one, and food is easy.

Last week I helped out with the cooking and we had Sesame Chicken, but not the fried fatty kind. This recipe is a much lighter version because it is baked. I wish I had made a veggie to go with it to add color to the picture.

Jasmine rice and Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and sesame seeds. Dip the pieces of chicken into the sauce to coat, then place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Bake for about 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until chicken is cooked through and sauce is caramelized.

from Allrecipes.com

Dinner at Our House: Weight Watchers Italian Night

My mom and I (and somewhat Tim... and thus, by proxy my dad) have all begun Weight Watchers. My mother was a member back around the wedding and lost some 60 pounds! Needless to say we've all kind of let ourselves go a little...that's why this past Monday we started together on the Weight Watchers Point System.

Since this is my first time trying it out, I really want to commit to the "lifestyle" change, and not simply diet. I got very interested in making meals that are WW friendly. I found the greatest resource ever and it's not the Weight Watchers website; it's www.skinnytaste.com.

Tonight we tried the Baked Chicken Parmesan that is worth 5.5 WW points. On a scale of 1-10 it was definitely a 10. So yummy! My mom even surprised us by making the No Bake Cheesecake. On a scale of 1-10 it was an 11. Hands down, yummiest healthy-type dessert I've ever had.

Now it wouldn't be a D@OH post without pictures so no worries, got you covered!

Added a single portion of bow-tie pasta and marinara sauce.

Its tiny but soooo yum.

Dinner at Our House: Mongolian Beef

On Sunday, Tim and I went grocery shopping. I decided we needed to 'give back' because my mom and dad have been feeding us quite a bit. I bought enough food to make three of our 'signature' meals (by which I mean meals we made in Athens because I only know a handful of recipes). I've been waiting all week to cook (I couldn't Monday or Tuesday night because of work stuff) but I finally had my chance. Tonight, I made Mongolian Beef with onions, green peppers and 'steamed rice.'

Let me explain...back in Athens, Tim and I would cook rice in a rice steamer. It was great. Measure the right amount of water + rice and you are good to go. However, we tried to use a microwavable rice steamer tonight that belongs to my parents and the result was not acceptable. Timing is everything when making this dish. I don't like veggies to overcook so I usually have the rice going while I'm making everything else so both end up ready at the same time. Because of our rice disaster we had to wait on a second batch of rice and it was pretty bleh. That is also why I didn't photograph it tonight.

I have in the past though. Here is what it looked like when I made it in the past (sans veggies and with fried rice):

I got the recipe from allrecipes.com but I'll post it here too. My secret ingredient that I add to this is a dash of red pepper flakes to give it a tiny kick.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 pound beef flank steak, sliced 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup vegetable oil for frying
• 2 bunches green onions, cut in 2-inch lengths

Directions

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook and stir the garlic and ginger until they release their fragrance, about 30 seconds. Pour in the soy sauce, water, and brown sugar. Raise the heat to medium-high, and stir 4 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce boils and slightly thickens. Remove sauce from the heat, and set aside.
2. Place the sliced beef into a bowl, and stir the cornstarch into the beef, coating it thoroughly. Allow the beef and cornstarch to sit until most of the juices from the meat have been absorbed by the cornstarch, about 10 minutes.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-sided skillet or wok to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Shake excess cornstarch from the beef slices, and drop them into the hot oil, a few at a time. Stir briefly, and fry until the edges become crisp and start to brown, about 2 minutes. Remove the beef from the oil with a large slotted spoon, and allow to drain on paper towels to remove excess oil.
5. Pour the oil out of the skillet or wok, and return the pan to medium heat. Return the beef slices to the pan, stir briefly, and pour in the reserved sauce. Stir once or twice to combine, and add the green onions. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cook until the onions have softened and turned bright green, about 2 minutes.

Dinner at Our House: Baked Ziti

A few nights ago I (Kelly) came home from work and cooked dinner. My mom had already gone to church for a meeting, and dad was still at work. We were going to have baked ziti. I enlisted the help of Tim to make the salad while I cooked.

Now, I have to share some of the events that happened. When you make baked ziti (a la Kelly style), it makes a LOT of food. This is about the 4th or 5th time I've made it at my parents' home. I curse my mother's Pyrex dish because it is actually not big enough to hold all the pasta.  Basically, we ended up having to use this:

Fan used to blow out smoke...

The pasta ended up bubbling some of the sauce over the sides of the Pyrex dish. Needless to say that sauce burned badly at the bottom of the stove and caused the entire house to fill with smoke. And with perfect timing my dad came home right as Tim and I were trying to eradicate all the smoke. He thought we had burned dinner, but alas...

Dinner turned out well!

everything was OK! It was quiet yum as usual. If you want to know how to make Baked ziti I'll post the recipe I use below.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, ricotta, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.