Learning Couponing with Athena

This year,  we are looking to cut back and save in different areas. The bill that can be cut the easiest is the food bill. The average family spends about $100 a person. Having a large family myself, you can see how this can get very expensive.  Today I am researching, googling, and reading to figure out all of the ways to save using coupons. I want to document my journey on our blog.  I don't have much to offer today because I am just getting started. What I can offer are links and the few things I've picked up so far.

1. Don't ignore coupons. We went to Target yesterday and after getting to the car I found old coupons in my purse that could have saved us $5 on our bill. Even if you don't want to be a coupon queen that is still savings.

2. Get the Sunday paper it is were the largest coupons are going to be and all the store deals.

3. Don't ignore the local drug and grocery store. It is were you can get the best savings and the places were you hear about people getting $100's worth of groceries for almost nothing.


Hear are  links that I found helpful. Go to the 101 areas if you are as new to this as me and you will be further educated.

Good Housekeeping
Money Saving Mom
Money Saving Queen 

There are many others you can find with little amounts of research. I liked these the best because they are good for beginners like me with most descriptions and instruction.

We also have a follower that has a Facebook site for saving money. Penny Saver

As I am a beginner I am open to any suggestions.

Amy's Leftover Turkey Ideas

If you are like me you have a lot of leftover turkey.  I am just posting a couple of recipes for that turkey.
If you have any ideas or recipes you use let us know.

BBQ Turkey

2-3 cups leftover turkey chopped
1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce

Mix turkey and sauce together on medium heat until it begins to bubble. Remove and serve on buns or as a potato topper.

This recipe reminds me of chopped beef in a restaurant. It's good because the turkey is getting used but it gives the turkey a totally different flavor. Feel free to add more sauce if you like your chopped BBQ more messy. Add just a tablespoon at a time until it's the consistency preferred.



Turkey Noodles Soup

2 cups leftover turkey
3-16 oz. cans chicken broth
2 cans of water
8 oz egg noodles
1 to 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1/4 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook noodles and drain. Mix all ingredients over medium heat until boiling.  Cover and turn to low heat. Allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.  

This soup taste best if you can use other leftovers from the holiday meal. If you have any leftover green beans or corn substitute it for some of the frozen vegetables.  

Turkey can be substituted in some chicken recipes. For example I have used leftover turkey in my chicken enchilada recipe and it was great. I hope these recipes has given you some ideas for your kitchen. As always let us know.

Athena's Heaping Advice
I love leftover turkey. After the holidays for something light I like to make a turkey salad instead of a chicken salad. So, easy.  You can mix Miracle Whip, nuts (walnuts or pecan), apples bits, little onion or onion powder, and of course the turkey and you are set.  It looks pretty with the different colors. You could set that out on your table with some sliced Italian bread or crackers for guest to make their own. Having a table with different sandwich options are a great choice this time of year and easy for the host. Give it a try.

Christmas Breakfast Ideas and New Years Reflections

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Hash Brown Casserole

6 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled
7 eggs
1/2 cup eggs
3 cups hash browns (thawed if frozen)
1/4 cup green onion
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease a 7x11 pan and set aside.  Whisk eggs in a large bowl and then add the other ingredients. ONLY add 1 cup of the cheese.  Pour ingredients into your dish and cook for 25 to 30 minutes until knife comes out of the center clean. Then add the remaining cheese and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until melted and serve.

 


Hot Chocolate Pancakes

1 large egg
1 cup flour
1t vanilla
3/4 cup milk
2 T oil
3 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 T hot chocolate powder mix (a packet usually has 2 tablespoons)

DIRECTIONS: Beat egg and then add all wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients and then add to wet.
Heat griddle and pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto buttered pan. Flip when small bubbles appear and burst.
 
Athena's Heaping Advise

Casserole: When I'm making anything with eggs and meat, I use the oils from the meat to grease my pan. It has more flavor than other oils that will compliment what you are eating. Butter is okay, I prefer it for more of my baked items.....maybe the pancakes.

Pancakes: Doing it from scratch. Give it a try. You can do it. I will usually have to double this for my family because it is a smaller recipe. If your feeding more than four people double it.  Good luck!


WHY BLACK EYED PEAS ARE SO LUCKY
Everything I came up with pointed to the Civil War. The Union soldiers would go through the farms in the south and take food for their army. They left the black eyed peas because they believed them to be food for animals. This left food for the "lucky" Southern families and the Confederate Army to survive on, and a added story for the rich heritage of yummy southern food.

 
Black-Eyed Pea Salsa Dip

1-15oz can black-eyed peas drained and rinsed
1-15oz can corn drained and rinsed
1/2 onion chopped
2 Roma tomatoes chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1tbs garlic powder or 1 clove garlic minced
1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients. Allow to set in fridge for at least two hours. Serve with tortilla chips.




French Toast Casserole 

-Week old french bread
-5 eggs
-2 1/2 cups milk
-3/4 cups brown sugar
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

*Topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

-Optional
1/4 cup blueberries
and/or
1/4 cup pecans

Arrange bread in 13X9 baking dish. Combine eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg.  Cover and refrigerate over night or 8 hours.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine topping and pour over top. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Optional- add blueberries or pecans after 20 minutes and then bake 10 more minutes.





Amy's Tidbits 

I really enjoy making any type of salsa and the black-eyed pea dip has that flavor to it. I think what makes it taste so good is allowing it to set in the fridge and the flavors all coming together. You will be tempted to eat it as soon as your done mixing , but resist and you will be rewarded! Feel free to add a chopped jalapeno if you want to spice it up.

The french toast is a really good Christmas morning breakfast. You can make it the night before and then pop it in the oven in the morning. The key to this recipe is the french bread. French bread is a bit more dry than other breads which makes it resistant to become soggy in this recipe.

As always if you have any questions, comments or recipes you want to share please let us know. We are always excited to hear from you!

Dandy Candy Ideas for Christmas

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Cookie Balls
 1 pkg sandwich cookies
 1 pkg cream cheese
 1 pkg chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS: Crush all the cookies with potato masher. Crush completely until there are no big chunks.  Mix in cream cheese.  Make quarter to half-dollar size balls. Freeze for a minimum of an hour. Lay out wax paper to place finished balls after dipping. Melt chocolate. Dip frozen balls and place on wax paper.




Amy's Tidbit's
I just want to encourage you to try any type of sandwich cookie. Last year I tried candy cane flavored Oreos and it turned out awesome. I've thought about trying peanut butter sandwich cookies this year. Let us know if you try a different flavor.  This is a really easy and delicious treat.


Peanut Brittle
1 cup Spanish peanuts
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS:  In a large skillet mix the sugar, syrup, and water together. Cook at a medium-high heat, stirring regularly.  Heat to 250 to 265 degrees F, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a ball. If you don't own a candy thermometer, occasionally hold spoon above mixture, allowing it to drip off spoon. When mixture is at hard ball stage, it will 'hair' off the spoon when falling, looking like a clear spider web. Once mixture is at hard ball consistency, add raw peanuts. They will pop a little. When mixture starts to turn a light clear-brown, as if it's starting to burn, remove from stove. Add soda and stir. Mixture will foam up. Spoon out bite-size pieces onto a cookie sheet covered with buttered foil or pour out as one piece and then break into smaller bits.

 

 

 

Athena's Heaping Advice 

When your making this recipe make sure you have all the ingredients measured and ready to use. It will help you not to feel rushed when it is time to add the ingredients so that you don't get that "burned" taste. 

Washing up can be a sticky mess. After making my peanut brittle I put soapy water into the pan, placed it on the stove on medium/medium high, and it came right.

 

 

Athena's Heaping Recipes

Meaty Breakfast Eggs

I made this for breakfast this morning with some left overs out of my fridge. I'm going to list some suggestions to dress it up for the holidays after I give the basic recipe.

8 eggs
2 slices of cooked thick sliced bacon
1 Cheddar braut thinly sliced
1/4 c. milk
1/2c. cheddar cheese
1 t. bacon fat*

*You can use oil of your choice if you don't like using fat. However, no excuses here, I love the stuff.

DIRECTIONS: Allow bacon fat* to melt on warmed frying pan. Add bacon and braut, and let crisp up a bit, then add wisked eggs, milk, and cheddar. Scramble over medium heat.

ADVICE: The braut in this brings a little bit of a change from the traditional breakfast sausage.  Now, if you want to impress the relatives make this into a breakfast casserole. You could also try a little Cajun seasoning instead of salt.

 NEEDS:
4 more eggs
1/4 c. more cheddar cheese
2 to 3 more slices of bacon
1 more cheddar braut
2 rolls of crescent rolls


 DIRECTIONS: Crisp meat as above. Place crescent rolls on bottom and egg mixture on top. Cook at 350 for about 25 minutes or until eggs cooked throughout. If you like the lighter yellow look of your eggs cover for the first 15-20 minutes and then uncover for the remaining time.

Thanksgiving Ideas

Classic Green Bean Casserole

3 pkg. (9 oz. each) frozen French cut green beans, thawed, drained
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup CHEEZ WHIZ Cheese Dip

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 can (2.8 oz.) French fried onions, divided


DIRECTIONS: Mix all ingredients except 1/2 can onions in 1-1/2-quart casserole and then bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Top with remaining 1/2 can onions. Bake 5 minutes.

TO Make Ahead: Prepare as directed except for baking; cover. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes or until thoroughly heated, topping with remaining onions during last 5 minutes of cooking time.




Athena's Heaping Advice
The classic recipe was made with Cheez Whiz.  My family loves the older recipe. It is just a dump and heat kind of recipe. If you prefer canned green beans you will need to get three cans of low sodium green beans. If you don't,  it will taste too salty. Make sure you drain before adding. Hope you enjoy this old kickback to days when mystery food was still okay.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 c melted butter
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup milk

Topping
 1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
*optional-1 cup chopped pecans
               1 1/2 mini-marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350. Combine potatoes, sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk. Mix well. Spread into buttered 9x13 baking dish.
Topping- combine 1/3 cup melted butter with remaining ingredients.  Sprinkle over potatoes and bake for 25 minutes.
* If using the pecans sprinkle after topping from above.
   If using the marshmallows, sprinkle over the top during the last 5 minutes of baking.



Amy's Tidbits

Sweet potatoes is one of my favorite side dishes during the holidays. If you would like to try sweet potato pie use the pumpkin pie recipe from the previous blog and substitute mashed sweet potatoes for the pumpkin. I would love to see any other recipes with sweet potatoes.  Please share some of your favorite recipes or suggestions to any of the listed recipes.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Appetizers (The Prefood Food)

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Vegetable Pizza
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese  


DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Roll out the crescent roll dough onto a 9x13 inch baking sheet, and pinch together edges to form the pizza crust.  Bake crust for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Once finished cooking, remove crust from oven and let cool 15 minutes without removing it from the baking sheet.  In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and dry Ranch dressing. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust. Sprinkle broccoli, green bell pepper, cauliflower, shredded carrots, and Cheddar cheese over the cream cheese layer. Chill for one hour, slice and serve. 

 Whipped Cream
 1 cup heavy cream
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS: In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like. It works well when the bowl and whisk are chilled a bit before using.

Athena's Heaping Advice
What's a peak? A peak is when you have beat your cream until it becomes firm enough to form little curls or a "peak".

Next week is Thanksgiving week. Do yourself a favor a make a menu that plans for leftovers. This allows for more time to ready yourself for next week.  So.....now go clean that closet your relatives need to shove their coats in.

Spinach Dip

1  small pkg. chopped spinach
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayo or Miracle Whip
1 pkg veg or leek soup mix
3-4 chopped green onions
1 can chopped water chest nuts

DIRECTIONS: Mix all ingredients. Hollow out 1 loaf round french bread and put dip in the bread or serve dip in  bowl.  Can be warmed or serve as is.


Amy's Tidbits

Thanksgiving is coming and a lot of the focus, whether we want to admit it or not, is on the food. I want to encourage you to make Thanksgiving a family activity and get the kids involved in the kitchen. I encourage our kids to help with simple things now but my hope is that as they grow they will help with more difficult recipes. I have them help with is simple appetizers like stuffed celery and making trays of cheese and crackers.  This allows them to learn the family recipes and establish memorable traditions. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and hope you are too!

Please let us know ways that you get your kids involved during the holidays.