Friday, December 17, 2010

Food Waste Friday

I've been participating in Food Waste Friday with The Frugal Girl for a while now; I go through our fridge (and freezer) on Friday and toss anything that has gone bad. I also take a look at what needs to be used up so that it does not go bad and try to work that into our meals over the next few days. This has really helped us to throw out less food (and so we're actually buying less because we're using what we've already bought!).




I thought I wasn't going to have any food waste this week, but I totally forgot about this half loaf of french bread. Honestly, I don't even remember when I made it! As you can see, it is now sporting some blue/green mold spots!

How was your food waste this week? Be sure to check out the Frugal Girl too!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Thrifty Wrapping

I've started wrapping Christmas presents this week, and am so thankful that I am well prepared and will not have to run out for anything. Last year after Christmas I stocked up on wrapping paper and some fun chinese take-out style containers for 75%  off. That was the first week of January. By the next week, Rite Aid (and many other stores) had Christmas items at 90% off. There were tons of rolls of wrapping paper priced at 20 cents a roll! This year I am planning to wait for the 90% discounts to do my stocking up.

When I pulled out our box of Christmas decorations I found a pile of gift tags on top. These were cut from the Christmas cards we received last year and I'm so glad I took the time to cut them up when we packed away our decorations as well as putting them somewhere easy to find!


Do you re-purpose Christmas cards for gift tags too? What are you looking to find on clearance after Christmas?

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Christmas Baking Favorites

I have really been neglecting posting in December -- we have been so busy! I am having a ton of fun baking with my almost 2-year-old daughter, so I thought I would share some of the delicious recipes that we have been making.

Last year I posted our recipe for Candy Cane cookies. These are a favorite for our whole family!


I also posted about Molasses Sugar cookies last year. These bring back wonderful memories of my grandfather, who loved molasses. These are great cookies that are super chewie!


My dad's favorite Christmas cookie is Chocolate Crinkles. I have been meaning to give step by step instructions, but to save on time, I'll just post the recipe!

4 squares (4oz) unsweetened chocolate (I use Baker's)
1/2 cup shortening
3 beaten eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teasp. baking powder
2 teasp. vanilla
1/4 teasp. salt
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Place chocolate and shortening in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool 15 minutes. Combine eggs, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add chocolate mixture and combine (I use my Kitchen Aid for all the mixing!). Gradually add flour, stirring until thoroughly combined. Cover (I wrap my dough in wax paper for this; it will keep overnight too); chill 2 hours or until easy to handle. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes until edges are just set. Transfer to rack to cool. This dough gets really sticky when it warms up, so it is important to work quickly.


Another fun cookie is Gingerbread Cutouts. I know there are tons of recipes out there, but I love this one. Gingerbread cookies smell so amazing!

1/2 cup shortening
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsulfered molasses
1 egg
1 Tablesp. vinegar
1 teasp. baking powder
1 teasp. ground ginger
1/2 teasp. baking soda
1/2 teasp. cinnamon
1/2 teasp. ground cloves

Beat shortening with mixer on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half the flour, plus sugar, molasses, egg, vinegar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. Divide dough in half; cover and chill 3 hours. To make cutouts roll each half of dough to be 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. Cut with desired cutters. Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet and decorate with sprinkles, etc. Bake at 375 degrees about 6 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute, then remove to wire rack. Makes 36-48.


A new recipe that I tried for the first time this year is for Candy Cane Biscotti. The recipe is courtesy of Annie's Eats. This biscotti is so great and very versatile...they pair perfectly with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Food Waste Friday

I've been participating in Food Waste Friday with The Frugal Girl for a while now; I go through our fridge (and freezer) on Friday and toss anything that has gone bad. I also take a look at what needs to be used up so that it does not go bad and try to work that into our meals over the next few days. This has really helped us to throw out less food (and so we're actually buying less because we're using what we've already bought!).

 
A good week! We ate up our leftovers from last week, and have some new ones waiting to be eaten this weekend. I feel like I've gotten back into a good meal planning/cooking rythem since my son was born, and it is showing in the lack of food waste!

Edit: I just discovered two moldy bagels...boo. Next week!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Photo card deal from SeeHere!


Here is a great deal on photo cards for Christmas! SeeHere is offering 60 free flat photo cards, size 4x8. Shipping is just $4.90! I did my photo cards through SeeHere last year, and we were so happy with the way they turned out. The cards arrived very quickly last year, so you should have plenty of time to get them in the mail before Christmas!

To get your free cards, enter the code 50cards at checkout. You must buy exactly 60 cards for the code to work. Get started at SeeHere!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Food Waste Friday

I've been participating in Food Waste Friday with The Frugal Girl for a while now; I go through our fridge (and freezer) on Friday and toss anything that has gone bad. I also take a look at what needs to be used up so that it does not go bad and try to work that into our meals over the next few days. This has really helped us to throw out less food (and so we're actually buying less because we're using what we've already bought!).



This week's casualties were fairly limited -- a very mushy and fuzzy cucumber and a little serving of a fruity dessert that was looking like a science experiment.


We have leftovers in the fridge that will get used up this weekend, so I'm shooting for a no waste week next week!

Amazon is still running lightning deals, so if you are looking to do some online shopping, that would be a great place to start.

You can still stock up on Yardley soap through Saturday at Walgreens for just 69 cents a bar. This is a great deal, and perfect for homemade laundry detergent!

My husband and I had a blast using our free movie tickets last night! Be on the look out for specially marked cereal boxes for tickets of your own!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Free Movie Tickets!

Going to the movie theater is so expensive...wouldn't you like to go for free? Select boxes of General Mills cereal have codes that will earn you a free movie ticket!


Before Thanksgiving I was able to stock up on 4 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios for $6. The 4 boxes also means that we earned 2 free movie tickets!


The rest of the process was easy too! Following the directions on the box, we entered our codes online and printed out our certificates for a free ticket. The tickets are valid at many different theaters, but if you would like to check for a participating theater before purchasing the cereal, visit the Movie Cash site. The tickets have a value up to $12.

I bought my cereal at Acme, but I'm sure it is available at other stores also. The movie ticket codes were also on the large size boxes.
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