Cranberry sauce

I made cranberry sauce for the first time ever this morning. Yay. It turned out great. I may never go back to the canned stuff. My daughter was eating it for breakfast and saying how yummy it was. I just followed the recipe for whole berry sauce on the package of the Ocean Spray cranberries.

Cranberry sauce
Ocean Spray recipe

1 C. water
1 C. sugar
One 12 oz. bag of Ocean Spray fresh or frozen cranberries

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add cranberries and return to a boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. Pour sauce into a bowl, cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2-1/4 Cups.

Cake Mix Cookies

If anyone is still with me this week, and not running around like a turkey with her head cut off...... I went to Albertson's last evening to get the Betty Crocker frosting and cake mixes on sale. If you buy five at a time, the cake mixes are .69. That is the lowest that I've seen cake mixes for awhile. Unfortunatley the rewards only work one per transaction. So today I will be back to Albertson's, and then tomorrow I will be back, and then the day after that.....maybe. Below is a recipe for Cake Mix Cookies. .69 and you can make cookies for your family. There is also a really good recipe on the "Chocolate Garden" blog on my sidebar for big and soft homemade oreo cookies with a buttercream and cream cheese frosting blobbed in the middle of two of those bad boys. See the cookie section of that blog. You'll need two chocolate cake mixes for that recipe.

Cake Mix Cookies
Recipe from Carrie B. off of the couponsense message board

1 (18.25 oz.) package yellow cake mix
1/3 C. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in the oil and eggs until well blended. Mix in chocolate chips. Drop y teaspoonfuls onto the prepare cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from pan to cool on wire racks.

Carrie suggests different flavored cakes mixes, ie., chocolate cake mix with white chocolate chips, carrot cake cake mix with white chocolate chips. Or you could put cream cheese frosting on the carrot cake cookies. Lemon cake mix cookies with a lemon glaze, chocolate cake mix cookies with chocolate frosting, cherry chip cake mix cookies....possibilities to suit every taste and are endless.

Budget Menu for what's on sale Nov. 17-Nov. 26

Took me a long time this time. I get distracted easily and I was planning eleven days. Don't ask me why eleven. The ad this week runs until Thursday, the 26th, which is Thanksgiving day. And then I don't think that we will get an ad until Wednesday again. The following Wednesday, as in the first Wednesday in Dec. There might be some weekend specials though, to tide us over. So the total is twice as much. But there is a BIG Thanksgiving day menu and eleven days worth of food in there. Do as little or as much as you want. I think all recipes for this week are already on the left side. I am more scattered as usual as I'm writing this, so check your grocery list carefully with your final plan for your menu.

EDIT NOTE: I bought four packages of Oscar Mayer bacon at Fry's on Sat. and received two catalina print out coupons for $2 off of my next purchase at Fry's. Which I can use to purchase more bacon and freeze. makes the bacon really cheap. There was also a coupon in Albertson's ad Sunday for buy one Bar S bacon and receive two free that could be used at Fry's this week. I haven't figured out what the bacon would end up being per package with that deal. So, no excuses to go without pork fat this week.

$129.97


$129.95
- $5.00 from Sprouts coupon
- $5.00 from Fresh and easy coupon
$119.95

Breakfast
1-Egg biscuit, cranberry juice
2-Pancakes, bacon
3-Oatmeal
4-Ham and eggs, toast
5-Cold cereal, milk
6-Pancakes, sausage
7-Oatmeal, cinnamon toast
8-Pancakes, bacon
9-Cold cereal, milk, apple juice
10-Breakfast tacos
11-Egg biscuit

Lunch
1-PB&J sandwich, banana, cookie
2-Ham sandwich, banana
3-PB&J sandwich, apple, pretzels
4-Ham sandwich, wheat thins, apple
5-Turkey sandwich, orange
6-PB&J sandwich, wheat thins, cookie
7-Turkey sandwich, animal crackers
8-Bacon sandwich, cookie
9-PB&J sandwich, orange
10-Egg salad sandwich, apple
11-PB&J sandwich, cookie, apple

Dinner
1-Ham, scalloped potatoes, vegetable (freeze ham in portions for sandwiches and meals, then thaw accordingly)

2-Grilled cheese sandwich

3-Taco soup with sour cream and cheese as accoutrements

4-Thanksgiving Dinner
Cranberry juice
Potato chips, wheat thins, carrot/celery sticks, ranch dip(sour cream with garlic salt to taste, thinned with a little milk or water to desired consistency)
Turkey
Apple/Sage dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Cranberry sauce
Vegetable
Green bean casserole
Pretzel jello salad
Yams
Crescent rolls
Pie, whipped cream

5-Turkey Cottage pie, leftover vegs/salads

6-Baked Potatoes with leftover taco soup on top, leftover vegetables from Thanksgiving dinner

7-Spaghetti, garlic toast

8-Turkey Quesadillas, vegetable

9-Salad, crescent rolls. Use any leftover Ranch dip from Thanksgiving as salad dressing if desired, by thinning down with a little more water or milk. Or leave thick if you like it that way. throw in some dried onions or minced fresh onion if you like.

10-Ham Fried Rice, vegetables

11-Frittata, leftover vegetables

Dessert:
Ice cream
cookies

Grocery List:
Bashas
Norbest Turkey, .29 lb with $50 purchase, a 15# bird will be $4.35
Cooks smoked Ham, .99 lb., aprox. $10
Apples, .49 lb., buy 10 lbs. at $4.90
Pumpkin or apple pie, $2.99
Bashas milk, $1.49, buy 3
Flav R Pac vegetables, .69, buy 5
Bashas eggs, $1.29, buy 3
Ocean spray juice, $1.99, buy 2
Food Club butter with shocker coupon and $25 purchase, .98
Blue Bunny ice cream, $1.48 with shocker coupon and $25 purchase
Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, $1.00
Stokely's vegs, .59, corn for taco soup
Food Club tomatoes, .69, buy 2
Princella yams, $1.50
Wheat thins, $1.88
Carrots, .49 for a lb. bag
Celery, .79
Black beans, allow for .99 for a can
taco seasoning, allow for .99 for a packet
Flour tortillas, allow for $2.99, buy 2
Tomato sauce, allow for .50, buy 2
Onion, allow for $1, buy 2
Strawberry jello, allow for $1.00
Frozen strawberries, allow for $3.00
Lettuce, allow for $1.50
Tomatoes, allow for $1.00
rice, allow for $1.50

Fry's
Russet potatoes, 5 lb. bag, .58, buy 2
Heinz gravy, $1.00
Cool whip, $1.00, buy 2
Kraft Phildelphia cream cheese, $1.00
sour cream, $1.00, buy 2
Kroger shredded cheese, .97, buy 2
Kroger bar cheese, .97
Lay's Potato chips, $1.77
Oscar Mayer bacon, $1.77, buy 2 (there is a killer coupon out there, taking $1 off, see http://www.couponsense/ for more info.)
Bananas, .39 lb., buy 5 lbs.
Farmer John pork sausage links, 10/$10, buy 2 (buy 3 or 4 if you want sausage in your bread dressing for Thanksgiving day dinner)
French's fried onions, $2.99
Pillsbury Grands, $1.88, buy 2
Krusteaz Pancake mix, $2.49
Kroger pancake syrup, $2.49
Pretzel sticks, $1.50
Swanson broth, .75, buy 2
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 6
Fry's spaghetti, .88
Kroger Value pasta sauce, $1.15
Kroger Value cereal, $1.00, buy 2
Kroger Value cookies, $1.19, buy 2
Kroger Value animal crackers, .99
Kroger Value apple juice cocktail, $1.29
Pillsbury crescents, !.88, buy 2
Oats, allow for $1.50
Campbells cream of mushroom soup, .75
Kroger Value peanut butter, $1.49

Sprouts
Oranges, .33 lb., buy 10 lbs. at $3.30
Lean ground beef, $1.99 lb., buy 3 lbs. at $5.97

Other great deals:
Mrs. Cubbisons dressing, .99-Fresh and Easy
Farmer John half ham, .77 lb-Fresh and Easy
Stove top stuffing, $1.00-Fry's
C&H brown or powdered sugar, $1.29-Bashas
Lean ground beef, $1.99 lb.-Sprouts

Ingredients not listed:
brown sugar
spices
garlic salt
you'll need more butter most likely
oil
flour
sugar
Mayonnaise
jelly

Fun test

http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/8787/colortest.swf

Parsnips

My mom always had to have Parsnips at our Thanksgiving table so now sometimes I do and sometimes I don't have them at ours, because I'm the only one who will eat them. Maybe my daughter does now, I don't remember. Anyway, I think of them and I think of thanksgiving. For those of you who are clueless as to what I'm writing about, parsnips are those strange white carrot looking veggies in the produce section. They have a sweet earthy taste somewhat like a carrot but different from a carrot. There, that was clear. The thing that is clear is that there are two distinct camps when it comes to parsnips, you either hate them or you adore them.

Here is how I do it, seems like a labor intensive dish and you'll use every cooking technique while making them, but you'll be in the kitchen anyway and they can be prepared a day or two before and warmed up when you serve.

Parsnips
this is a no measure recipe

Parsnips-probably 1/2 per person if you've never had them before
butter
brown sugar
salt and pepper

So scrape or peel the parsnips like you would a carrot. Cut off the ends and I cut into chunks about 5 or 6 inches long. Cover with water and boil until tender but not mushy. Drain.

When cool enough to handle, slice lengthwise so that you have nice long and thin slices. I then fry in butter until golden or a little color on both sides but not overcooked, season with salt and pepper.

Then transfer to a casserole and dot with butter and sprinkle all slices with brown sugar. You will then bake to warm. Or do what I do and heat up in the microwave because by this time you've cooked them to death anyway. They are dead, and safe to eat by now. You can tell that I always thought this was a funny recipe or steps to take for one mere vegetable. But I must admit, now that I'm older, I am hooked and will be buying these next week to boil, fry and bake.

Parsnips are also great in stews along with the carrots. Treat them as you would a carrot if putting them in stew.


Post your favorite non traditional sounding Thanksgiving dish or recipe if you want on the comments section of this post.

Leftover Turkey Ideas

I know, early to be thinking this way, but you have to plan what you'll need that is extra from the Thanksgiving dinner, so you can get it all at once. These recipes are great because they make use of several Thanksgiving dinner ingredients.

Turkey Cranberry Sandwich on Cranberry Foccacia
This is something that DH serves in the Deli
I am working on finding a place that would sell Cranberry Foccacia b/c his vendor does not sell to the public. A soft yeast roll or yummy white bread would work well also, I think.

Ingredients:
Cranberry foccacia or rolls or bread
Whole berry cranberry sauce
Cream cheese
Mayonnaise
Green leaf lettuce
Sliced turkey

Directions:
Slice roll or foccacia in half
Spread cream cheese on top half, then a thin layer of mayo
On bottom half spread whole berry cranberry sauce on the bread, thin turkey slices on top of that, and a leaf of green leaf lettuce on top of that.
Put together and enjoy. If using a foccacia round or square, cut into pie wedges or squares


Turkey Cottage Pie
From Sara Moulton

Ingredients:
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup turkey gravy
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 1/2 cups bite-sized cooked turkey pieces
1/2 cup cooked peas
1/2 cup cooked carrots
1/2 cup cooked pearl onions
salt and pepper
2 cups turkey stuffing
Melted unsalted butter, as needed

Directions:
In a saucepan sweat the celery, carrot, onion and garlic in the butter, covered with a buttered round of waxed paper and the lid (or pretend you didn't hear that waxed paper instruction and don't do it), over moderately low heat for 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the gravy, stock or broth and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the turkey, peas, carrots, pearl onions, salt and pepper to taste, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Trasfer the mixture to a flameproof 1 1/2-quart baking dish, and with a spatual spread the stuffing over it. Drizzle the stuffing with some melted butter. Bake the pie in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes, or until bubbling, and put it under a preheated broiler until the top is golden brown.

Turkey Quesadillas
I saw this on one of Sandra Lee's shows

Flour tortilla
diced turkey
leftover stuffing
shredded cheddar

In a dry skillet, place a flour tortilla, layer some cheese, some turkey, some stuffing, more cheese and top with a flour tortilla. Cook until hot being careful not to burn. Cut into wedges.


Post your favorite ideas or recipes for leftover turkey in the comments section.

Turkey Enchilada Casserole or Turkey Enchiladas
see Chicken Enchilada Casserole or Chicken Enchiladas under the recipe section
Switch out turkey for chicken. Should work out fine to do so.

Up and Monsters Inc.

Some coupons for movies you may be interested in. They expire in a day or so, so hurry.

Up
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/up/couponoffer/

Monsters Inc.
http://momstayshomewithme.com/coupons/10-coupon-for-disney-pixar-up-monsters-inc/

Out of Turkeys

My friend tells me that they are out of turkeys at the Fresh & Easy on 12th/Northern Ave. So if that's where you were headed this afternoon or tomorrow, you may want to rethink your plan. She said that they told her if she was lucky she could maybe get one on Monday. I don't know what that means but I'm assuming that they are getting a new shipment in on Monday. You may want to call your Fresh & Easy first before going if it's not a convenient trip for you.

Green Bean Casserole

I love fresh green beans. I love Tyler Florence.

Tyler Florence's green bean casserole. What's not to love.
Right on top of the recipe, it says "video". Click onto that to see Tyler prepare the casserole from an old "Food 911" episode.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/green-bean-casserole-recipe/index.html

Sesame Street Cake pops

Clearly a woman with more patience than I have, but I thought it was fun to look at and read about. The Sunday, Nov. 8 entry is what I am "talking" about.

http://www.bakerella.com

Butterball Turkey Calculator

http://www.butterball.com/tips-how-tos/tips/calculators-and-conversions

Menu for what's on sale for Nov. 11-Nov. 17

Kids are gone (to school), dogs are resting, a load of sheets going in the washer, a load going in the dryer, the sink is empty, a load of dishes going in the dishwasher, insides of french doors have been windexed, bed made, I have the budget menus drafted and ready to type up. One would think I was organized. Nawwwwwwww. I can go one further and say that I am doing all of this wearing my dog print pj's. The ones my daughter picked out for me as a gift years ago. I'm pretty sure that the Flylady (http://www.flylady.com/) would not approve. But I do have a budget menu for the week planned for you.

If you scroll down further I also have a budget Thanksgiving Dinner menu planned out with items that you can buy this week, that are on sale for what I think are great prices in Arizona, that you can store until the big day. Wouldn't it be great to go get it and be all done with it? If you have the space in your pantry and freezer, that is. All for under $25. I'm thinking that it could possibly feed 10 adults. Certainly 6-8 quite well. You'll have to judge that one with who you have coming. At my Thanksgiving table no one ever eats yams except for two or three people and the same with the cranberry sauce, so I only have one can of each listed on the grocery list. The only thing is you may think that it's too early to buy fresh potatoes. I'm thinking that they may go on sale cheaper in a week or two anyway. That was the only perishable on my list. The only perishable that couldn't be frozen, that is.

Scroll down past the Budget Thanksgiving menu and there are links for recipes for ideas for foods for Thanksgiving if you feel like doing some of it from scratch. I love looking up recipes.

Here is the Budget Menu:
$68.27

$65.27 if you have a Fresh & Easy $3 off $30 coupon that you can use at Fry's this week.
$60.27 if you have a Sprouts $5 off $25 purchase coupon that you can also use at Fry's.

Breakfast
1-Cold cereal, milk
2-Instant oatmeal, apple juice
3-Blueberry pancakes, see recipe for pancakes under "recipes"
4-Cold cereal, milk, apple juice
5-Instant oatmeal
6-French toast
7-Egg biscuit

Lunch
1-Egg salad sanwich, clementine
2-Bologna sandwich, banana
3-PB&J sandwich, apple
4-Bologna sandwich, clementine
5-PB&J sandwich, banana
6-Meat loaf sandwich, grapes
7-Bagels and cream cheese, grapes

Dinner
1-Beef pot roast, potatoes, canned vegetable of choice
2-Spaghetti with Alfredo sauce, green salad
3-Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, canned vegetable of choice
4-Bear Creek soup of choice, biscuit
5-Ground beef quesadillas, green salad
6-Chicken, stuffing, canned vegetable of choice. If desired, buy a jar of apricot preserves/jam, for extra to current total, to make Apricot chicken, see http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apricot-Chicken-II/Detail.aspx
7-Fish fillets, canned vegetable of choice, green salad

Desserts:
Pie ala mode
Ice cream

Grocery List:
Bashas'
Boneless cross rib roast, $1.88 lb., buy aprox. 5 lbs. at $9.40
Jumbo Red Globe grapes, .79 lb., buy 2 lbs. at $1.58
Iceberg head lettuce, .79 ea.
Food Club cheese, .99
Bashas' milk, 1/2 gallon, .88, buy 4 at $3.52
Food Club jumbo biscuits, .88, buy 2
80% lean fresh gound beef, $1.38 lb., buy 5 lbs. at $4.14
Dreyers ice cream, $1.48, limit one, with shocker coupon and $25 additional purchase
Sara Lee frozen Pie, limit one, $1.48 with shocker coupon and $25 additional purchase
Bar S meat Bologna, $1.28
Tree Top apple juice, $1.69
Total came to $25.75. You need $25 in purchases to buy the pie and ice cream using the shocker coupons so make sure the meat packages you pick out come to at least the totals I have listed.

Fry's
Total came to $37.17
If you have a Fresh & Easy coupon from Wednesday's ad for $3 off of $30 purchase, you can use it for a total of $34.17
There may also be a Sprouts coupon that was sent out in the mail with the Paradise Valley Mall coupons that you can use for an additional $5.00 off. I can't find mine right now to verify information and the expiration date, I know it expires soon though. So go check if you have it.

California Cuties Clementines, $2.47 for 3 lbs.
Fry's large eggs, .97, buy 2
General Mills cereal, $1.47, buy 2
Stove top stuffing, $1
Heinz gravy, $1
Bear Creek Soup mix, $2.99
Sara Lee bagels, $1.99
Fry's instant oatmeal, $1.50
Ragu cheese sauce, $1.58
Van de Kamps fish sticks or fillets, $4.99
Kroger cream cheese, $1
Fry's spaghetti, .88
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 4
Boneless, skinless chicken breast, $1.57 lb, buy 3 lbs. at $4.71
Bananas, .39 lb., buy 3 lbs.
Onion, .50
Flour tortillas, I've allowed $2.99

Safeway
Green Giant canned vegetables, .39, buy 4 at $1.56
Sat. and Sun. only, Gala apples, .47 lb., buy 3 lbs. at $1.41

Sprouts
Blueberries, $1.50
Roma tomatoes, .88 lb., buy one lb.

Other great deals this week:
boneless 1/2 pork loin, $1.67 lb.-Fry's
Kroger Value sugar, .97-Fry's
apples, $1 lb.-Fry's
Fall squash, $1 lb.-Fry's
Bruce's cut yams, 3/$5-Fry's
Kroger or Pictsweet frozen vegetables, .88-Fry's
Fuji apples, .77 lb.-sprouts
Bosc and Bartlett pears, .77 lb.-sprouts
Navel oranges, .77 lb.-Sprouts
Jenny O turkey, .37 lb.-Fresh & Easy
Mrs. Smith's pies, $1.99-Fresh & easy
Cool Whip, .99-Fresh & Easy
Red delicious apples, $1.49 for a 3 lb. bag-Smart & Final
Asparagus, .99 lb.-Safeway
Sat. and Sun. only, hot do buns, .79-Safeway
93 % lean gr. beef, 5 lbs. or more, $1.67 lb.-albertson's
Farmer John franks or links, 5/$5-Albertson's
Del Monte vegetables, 2/.88, .24 a piece if you have a coupon, but the coupon expires on Sat.-albertson's
Celery, .99 ea.-Albertson's

Items not on the grocery list:
Peanut butter
ketchup
plain oats or crackers for the meat loaf
Butter
brown sugar
vinegar
Apricot jam/preserves
Pancake syrup
jelly
mayonnaise
salad dressing
salsa or taco sauce for the quesadillas
flour
baking powder
Pancake syrup

Thanksgiving Day Menu

To feed 6-8 people, maybe even 10 people, with what's on sale this week, for $24.39

Thanksgiving Day Menu
Roast Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Yams
Cranberry sauce
Vegetables
Olives
Apple juice
Pie with whipped cream

Grocery List
Fresh and Easy:
15 lb. Jennie O Turkey at .37 lb., $5.55
Mrs. Smiths Pies, $1.99, buy 2
Cool Whip nondairy whipped topping, .99
Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, .99
Heinz gravy, .99

Fry's
Stove Top dressing, 10/$10, buy 2
Bruces yams, $1.66
Kroger or Pictsweet frozen vegetables, .88
Kroger Olives, $1

Safeway
10 lb. bag of russet potatoes, $2.97 (usually go cheap the week before t-giving if you want to wait)

Bashas'
Tree Top Apple Juice, $1.69, buy 2

Pumpkin Pie and other Pumpkin Recipes (Libby's)

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cranberry Bread, Pumpkin Roll, Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake, Pumpkin Carrot Cake.

http://www.verybestbaking.com/libbys/classic/

Click onto videos for step by step instructions on how to make Libby's Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cake Roll and Pie Crust

California Candied Sweets (Yams)

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/2128/California-Candied-Sweets82134.shtml

Apples and Yams

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1850,154189-231193,00.html

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I don't know why I always think that I need to have this for Thanksgiving, but I do. Yummy.

www.dianaskitchen.com/page/favorite/pretzel.htm

Sausage and Apple Dressing Recipe

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/sage-sausage-and-apple-dressing-recipe/index.html


This is a lot like what I do for dressing although I don't put in walnuts, eggs and I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

cheap books

www.half.com

My sis-in-law just showed me this yesterday. You can buy paperback books for .75 in most instances. $3.99 shipping. Media mail takes 2 weeks or more. A friend told me that her son used this site for his college textbooks and spent 1/4 of what he would have at the college bookstore. With my son having to read a different book for school every 2 weeks, this site is certainly good news for us.

Menu for what's on sale the week of Nov. 4-Nov. 10

So, sitting here in my purple bathrobe working on this. It's a sight. Too bad you can't see it.


Here it is:


$71. 03 (and you can save $2-$3 on this price if you are a couponer)


$74.53 if you opt to have the s'mores ingredients added in. And we all want them.



Breakfast
1-French toast, sausage
2-Cold cereal, milk
3-Eggs, toast
4-Cold cereal, milk
5-Cold cereal, milk
6-Blueberry pancakes, see pancake recipe link on the left side
7-Cold cereal, milk


Lunch
1-PB&J sandwich, orange, cookie
2-Lunchmeat sandwich, orange, cookie
3-PB&J sandwich, apple
4-Lunchmeat sandwich, grapes, cookie
5-PB&J sandwich, orange
6-Pizza
7-Tacquitos


Dinner
1-Beef Teriyaki kabobs, mushroom and zucchini kabobs, Uncle Ben's rice mix. See below for Beef Teriyaki recipe. Add a dollar to the budget if you want a fresh pineapple for chunks from Albertsons with your skewers.

2-Broccoli and Cheese Frittata, hash browns, green salad and tomatoes. See http://www.mrbreakfast.com/superdisplay.asp?recipeid=638 for recipe

3-Spaghetti and sauce, baguette

4-Pork loin, Scalloped potatoes, canned vegetable of choice. If you wish to make Crockpot pork loin with cranberry sauce and Lipton onion soup mix, go to http://www.crock-pot-slow-cookers.com/recipes/creating-pork-loin-dishes-with-lipton-onion-soup/ for recipe and allow for $1 extra for a can of cranberry sauce at Albertson's and aproximately $2 for a box of Lipton onion soup if you don't already have it in the pantry.

5-Italian Cream cheese chicken over Uncle Ben's rice mix, canned vegetable of choice. See http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/u--3788/italian-cream-cheese-slow-cooked-chicken.asp

6-Green salad with leftover pork strips, baguette

7-Leftovers

Dessert idea:
S'mores. Grahams, marshmallows and half a Hershey bar either warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds or the marshmallows roasted over hot coals or embers. yum.
*** marks the ingredients in the grocery list and they are extra added to your total this week if you opt to have it.



Beef Teriyaki Kabobs
taken from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, pg. 221


1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry or apple juice
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon grated gingerroot or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced


Partially freeze beef. Thinly slice across the grain into long strips 1/3 inch thick. (I've also done chunks) For marinade, combine soy sauce, sherry, molasses, mustard, gingerrott, garlic, and 1/3 cup water. Pour over meat. Marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.


Drain meat, reserving marinade. On 8 long skewers, (soak for an hour if bamboo or wood) loosely thread meat accordion-style.


Place skewers on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 3 inches from the heat 5 to 6 minutes or to desired doneness, turning and brushing occasionally with marinade. Makes 4 servings.


Grill directions: Cut, marinate, and skewer meat as above. Place on uncovered grill directly over hot coals 5 to 6 minutes or to desired doneness. Turn and brush with mariade often.


NOTE: Do not serve the marinade as it has been touching raw meat.

Grocery List:
Albertson's
Roma tomatoes, 5/$5, buy one lb.
TJ Farms shredded potatoes, 5/$5, buy one
Pork loin, $1.57/lb., so aprox. $6
Pillsbury flour, 5/$5, buy one
Cream cheese, 5/$5, buy one
Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.57 lb., buy aprox. 3 lbs. at $4.71

Bashas
Boneless top sirloin, $1.99 lb, so aprox. $3.98
Navel oranges, .39 lb., buy 6 lbs. at $2.34
Bashas large eggs, .99, buy 2
Italian or yellow squash, .89 lb.
***Hershey bars, 2/$1, buy 2 if you opt to have s'mores

Fry's
Blueberries, $1.50
Fry's milk, $1.47, buy 2
Apples, $1 lb., buy 2 lbs.
Kroger butter, $1.88
Fry's cream of chicken soup, .88
French baguette, $1, buy 2
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 3
Del Monte canned vegetables, .67, buy 2
Kroger Value peanut butter, $1.49
Fry's spaghetti, .88
Kroger Value spaghetti sauce, $1.19
Italian dressing mis, allow for $1
Land O Frost lunch meat, 10/$10, buy 3
***Kroger marshmallows, 10/$10, buy one if you opt to make s'mores
***Grahm crackers, I've allowed for $1.50 if you opt to make s'mores

Fry's mega 10 event
1-Kellogg's cereals, $1.99
2-Kellogg's cereals
3-Tombstone pizza, $1.99
4-Keebler Fudge Shoppe cookies, .99
5-Kraft shredded cheese, $1.99
6-Jose Ole tacquitos, $1.99
7-Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes, .99
8-Brown and serve sausage, .89
9-Uncle Ben's rice mix, .99
10-Uncle Ben's rice mix

Safeway
button mushrooms, .99
Red seedless grapes, .88 lb.

Sprouts
Hass avocados, 3/$1, buy one at .33
Lettuce, red, green or romaine, .88, buy 2
Apples, .88 lb., buy 3 lbs.
Broccoli crowns, .99 lb.

Other great deals:
Cucumbers, 2/$1-Sprouts
Pears, $1 lb.-Fry's
Vegetable oil, $1.99-Fry's
Food Club brown or powdered sugar, .88 with shocker coup and $25 purchase-Bashas
Nestle choc. morsels with shocker coup and $25 purchase-Bashas
Hershey bars, 2/$1-Bashas
food Club stuffing mix-.99-Bashas
Kraft buy 3 deal, buy 3 Kraft products listed on ad coupon and get a Capri Suns box free
Del Monte pineapple 5/$5-Albertsons
Stove top stuffing, 5/$5

Items not on grocery list:
soy sauce
molasses
pancake syrup
jelly
spices-ginger
check closely, I feel as though I've forgotten a lot this week.

Be patient with me

Well, I had hopes of getting the new budget menu for the week up before my company came into town, but it didn't happen. I will try to do it tonight once things settle down. In the meantime if any of you see my husband galavanting around town with another woman in the next couple of days, it's not him, but his twin brother. So you don't have to worry about whether you have to tell me or not. You may be laughing, but it's happened before. It took the poor woman two months before she told me.

Joy

And time to ponder on what we are grateful for.

http://www.thejoymovie.com/

My friend Carolyn sent me the above link. Thanks.

Mashed Potatoes

Check out this video by Alton Brown on how to make perfect mashed potatoes http://www.foodnetwork.com/altons-mashed-potatoes/video/index.html

However. If you don't have a food mill you have my permission to use a potato masher. We happen to like rustic style lumpy mashed potatoes over here and that's what I'll be using come turkey day.

Mashed potatoes can be put in the crockpot on low to keep warm or you can put the covered bowl over a pot of water that has come to the boiling point(turn heat to low or off) for about an hour. Or put hot foods in an ice chest to hold until dinner. I wouldn't do this for longer than an hour or two though.