Category: Food and dining

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My Favorite Snack Craving

Everyone has a “go to” snack. Its the food – even if junk food – that you grab when you are just a bit hungry and don’t feel like cooking a whole meal. You want something to munch on while watching TV or working on the computer, or you’ve already had dinner and you just want something crunchy or salty or sweet to put a smile on your face before going to bed.

My favorite snack is a scoop of hummus with some dried pita chips with sea salt. The hummus has some mild spices and a scattering of pine nuts. I buy the big plastic container of hummus for only about $5 at Sam’s Club and a huge bag of dried pita chips with sea salt for only about $4, also at Sam’s. If I buy the same things at the local grocery store I end up paying the same money but getting containers with only about half of the servings. So it makes more sense to go to Sam’s and stock up.

If I don’t want hummus, I usually crave something sweet, like a cookie or a slice of pie. Lately I have been craving cakes, but I think I will try cake pops instead of a full size cake. I like the smaller serving size of a cake pop and I don’t need as much self control on portion size if I just grab a cake pop and don’t allow myself a second.

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No More Box Cake Mixes

The grocery store had box cake mixes on sale for $1.50 per box and then matching frosting on ale for $1.50, too. So add in the cost of a couple of eggs and some oil, the electricity used for a hand mixer and the oven to bake the cake, and you can make a cake for under $5 – that’s a pretty good price. You cannot buy a bakery cake for under $10 these days, so making it yourself does save some money – plus you know exactly what is in the cake. I know that I use real butter – not margarine, shortening or lard. I know that I use real eggs and real vanilla extract – not powdered, dry or imitation anything.

But now that I have seen a recipe for making a yellow cake from scratch, I wonder why I have been using a box mix to bake cakes? I can use regular flour and some baking soda and have just as good a cake as what comes out of a box. It just means I have to measure out a few more items. Big deal! I have decoded to make the next cake from scratch and not buy any more box mixes. And I am going to experiment with the amounts to make just one cake layer instead of the traditional 2 layers, or just 6 cupcakes instead of a whole dozen.

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Lots of Summer Vegetables Available

Guest post by Louise Stratham

I wish there was a Farmer’s Market close to my house. I don’t know of any except the one downtown, and I hate to drive downtown. I end up spending an extra $10 in gas to go all the way downtown and an extra $10 to the trip for paid parking. So the cost of fresh vegetables is already $20 before I even pick out the first one.

The last time I went to the Farmer’s Market, the price of vegetables was not any cheaper than what I can buy at Kroger grocery stores. I’m not sure there is much advantage to shopping at Nashville’s Farmer’s Market other than you are supporting local farmers and local businesses rather than a big grocery store chain like Kroger and whatever farms they decide at a corporate level to buy from.

There is a little place on the side of the road that sells fresh vegetables and fresh flowers on Lebanon Road. I don’t usually take Lebanon Road to go anywhere, but when I know I am going that way, I usually stop and buy a few things. I went by there yesterday and found lots of summer vegetables. They are a little cheaper than Kroger and the owner tells me that all the produce is grown locally. So I don’t mind supporting this guy and his wife.

I tried to grow some tomato plants on my patio, but they did not produce much. The tomatoes are so small and colored funny that I ended up throwing them out. It was nice to find a fresh picked, field grown tomato at the vegetable stand. One slice of their tomato covers the entire piece of bread! So I enjoyed a fabulous tomato and mayo sandwich last night. And I’ll have another one tonight for dinner, with a couple pieces of bacon and some lettuce on top.

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No cups or cans of drinks near the PC

eating and drinking near computer (free clip art)
eating and drinking near computer (free clip art)
I know a lot of people like to sit in front of their computer for hours and gradually surround themselves with all kinds of creature comforts so they don’t have to constantly get up from their perch. I have seen empty pizza boxes, stacks of plates and bowls, boxes of tissues, all kinds of pill bottles, phone chargers, a fish bowl, hand sanitizer and all kinds of knick knacks.

But remember this one important rule: No cups or cans of drinks near the PC. I’m serious. Because, no matter how careful you are, one day something WILL happen that results in the liquid getting spilled. Best case, it just spills on the desk or table. Worst case, it pours directly into your hard drive or saturates your keyboard. Not only do have a sticky mess that is almost impossible to clean up, but you can short out the electronics and end up with no computer.

I got lucky tonight, the cat jumped up on my desk and knocked over a small can of Arnold Palmer’s Half and Half. The mix of iced tea and lemonade went everywhere, soaking a stack of papers, dripping into the carpet, and little splashes dotted my keyboard. Thank goodness I was able to clean it all up and not lose anything important. I think this must have been a gentle reminder from Mr. Murphy of Murphy’s Law to follow that rule I just mentioned: No cups or cans of drinks near the PC.

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What Diet?

Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake
Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake

I have a lot of will power. But I cannot turn this down. This is as close to heaven as you can get on a plate. I can diet tomorrow.

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Lasagna

We bought some frozen lasagna the other day and I had forgotten how bad those things taste. To make it up to my family this week I am going to make homemade lasagna. That way we can get the horrible taste out of our mouths and get to enjoy some good tasting food. I think who ever invented frozen lasagna is nuts to say the least, it does not taste good and it is not that cheap, the good stuff does not cost much more and it is so much better. I have to make it up to my family for my mistake last week.

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What’s For Christmas Dinner At Your House?

What was for Christmas dinner at your house? Is it a repeat of the meal you had for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago or is it something completely different? I guess another question I could ask is when if your holiday meal? Do you have it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

In my family we have our holiday meal on Christmas day. We usually eat our meal in the mid afternoon around 3pm. We kind of do a copy cat version of everything we serve at Thanksgiving with the addition of ham. This year we had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, broccoli, peas, cheese sauce, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, and crescent rolls.

I know in some families they make tamales on Christmas. A family friend of mine does this and it’s a whole family process that all of the family participates in. I love tamales and would love to do this one year in our family. My neighbors always make a big giant lasagna on Christmas Eve for their holiday meal. That’s another holiday treat I would love to devour. Don’t get me wrong I love to have turkey but sometimes I wish we ate it stretched out over the year instead of all in November and December.

What did you have for your Christmas Dinner or holiday meal this year?

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What’s For Dinner? Time To Menu Plan

It’s almost 5 o’clock and I still have no idea about what is for dinner. I’ve been pretty bad about this for awhile now. It’s so darn stressful having to think of something for everyone to eat at the end of the day when I’ve been working all day. I enjoy cooking but I hate figuring out what to cook.

I really should work on meal and menu planning. It would be great to come home at the end of the day and just start dinner, or even better have it all finished in the crock pot and waiting for me to serve. That sounds much more relaxing than standing in front of the fridge, freezer, and pantry every night for 30 minutes trying to figure something out. It makes me cranky sometimes when I can’t find something easy after a long day and I’m exhausted and just want to eat and sit down.

I think maybe I will start meal planning I know it would make grocery shopping easier because I would only have to buy what’s on my list from the meals I have planned. Sometimes I can spend hours in the grocery store just wandering the aisles and tossing stuff in the cart. I can spend $100 or more easily and get home and not have anything to make a complete meal. I guess I just have to get to it and start. In the mean time, pizza it is for tonight.

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10 Budget Friendly Potluck Ideas

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It’s potluck time again.  This weekend we celebrate the service of our military and in doing so many of us attend or host a potluck.  Many people are on limited budget and can’t afford to spend upwards of $40 and $50 to go to a potluck.  I’ve put together a list of ideas that will feed a crowd and won’t rob your pocket book.

  1. Big pot of chili – toss some inexpensive beans in the crock pot with some tomato sauce and chili seasoning, add a pound of ground beef and you’re all set.  You can even be fancy and get some corn bread mix and serve it along side.
  2. Pasta Bake  – pasta can be bought for pennies. Get a few pounds of your favorite shape, cook till al dente and toss with your favorite sauce.  Pour it into a big casserole dish and sprinkle it with cheese. Easy Peasy.
  3. Baked Bean Casserole – again beans are cheap.  Toss them together with onions, celery, brown sugar, dried mustard, tomato sauce and a bit of barbecue sauce and you’re all set.
  4. Delived Eggs – a dozen will usually run you under $2. Add your favorite mayonnaise and seasonings.
  5. Homemade Bread – fresh baked bread is always a hit anywhere and you can make a loaf for under $1!
  6. Corn Chowder – buy your favorite creamy potato soup mix (Bear Creek makes an excellent one) and add frozen corn.  Everyone will think it’s made from scratch.  Simple, cheap and easy.
  7. Cupcakes –  are cheap and easy to make look impressive.
  8. Hummus – beans again… garbanzo beans, a little tahini , olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and you have a winner.
  9. Melon Skewers – some honey dew and cantaloupe scooped into perfect spheres served on a stick are a nice light choice.
  10. Baked Potato Bar  – a big bag of russets goes a long way with a dollop of sour cream and chives.
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Family Movie Night Starring Tinkerbell

Woo hoo! We made it through the week. I can’t believe it’s Friday! I’m looking forward to having a nice relaxing weekend at home with the family. I noticed that the new Tinkerbell movie is on television. I added it to our queue while I ate my lunch today. I think we’ll do a family movie night tonight when I get home.

I’ve been wanting to see this movie ever since I found out that it was coming out. I found out by stumbling across videos on YouTube one day and then got hooked. I’m a huge Tinkerbell fan. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I’m a big kid at heart.

Anyway, family movie night tonight. I think it would be fun to order pizza and make banana splits. I’ll have to run by the grocery store really quick on my way home to get some ice cream and bananas but I think I can do it and still get home at a reasonable time.

What are your plans for the weekend? Do you have anything fun planned or are you just going to take it one day at a time and see what life brings your way? I’ll love to be inspired for plans next week. Share away.