Lemon Yellow Squash Pie

Need to get rid of your squash?

This recipe was featured in The Salisbury Post by Sue Davis about 3 years ago.  It was an instant smash with my husband and family.  (Unfortunately, the joke was on my uncle who hates squash and whom I tricked into eating and loving in front of everyone - Sorry Uncle Gray.) It fits perfectly into the Suburban Challenge because it is simple and freezes easily.  I made four.  I took one to a Father's Day get together last weekend and have frozen the other three for the next time I am "asked" to bring a dessert.

1 cup yellow squash grated in food processor
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 pie shell (I used the graham cracker ones)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grate squash. Mix all ingredients together and put mixture into pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes on the oven's lowest rack.

I was only able to cook 2 at one time since that is all that would fit on my lowest rack.

My freezer is starting to look good!  You can see the three extra pies in the back, zucchini bread in the front, and a bag of muffins ready for next month.

Canning 101

I can my own fruit jams and my own vegetables - big deal! I get a lot of weird looks when I tell people that, like their thinking, "That is so old school,"  or "I would never have the time or the patience for that,"  or even, "I'm scared to do that."

I got into gardening three years ago inspired by my grandparents' successes. Realizing how much more I could do if I could preserve some of this food to last longer than the three weeks its harvest is fresh, two years ago I bought Canning & Preserving for Dummies, Karen Ward. Literally, canning for dummies because I didn't have the slightest clue how to can food.  Thoughts of botulism and salmonella danced in my head as I dreamed of creating cute little Christmas presents for the secretaries at work. However, I rationalized to myself that canning has been a survival skill for over 100 years. If farmers could do it in the 1800s without a class - so could I. Thus, I set out on a journey to self-educate moi-meme about canning.

I quickly learned that there were two types of canning: water bath and pressure.  After reading the chapter about pressure canning, I decided that I was going to start off small and just focus on water bath canning. Water bath canning is placing the jar into boiling water to seal the jar. Simple - yes. The canners with racks can be purchased at Walmart for $30-40. With this process, you can preserve anything that has acid - fruit, salsa, pickles, tomatoes, and relishes.  This was a great way to start small.  I had so much fun that first year that last year I decided to take the plunge and begin pressure canning as well. This canner is a bit more expensive than the water bath and much more technical $70-85.

Now, my sister-in-law who has an exploding garden wants to also preserve some of her cucumbers with pickling recipes.  I am walking her through the very easy process. I think that America is having a renewed interest in learning the art of canning - proof is in the canning aisle at Walmart. It is fun, safe, and even easier with today's modern-day techniques. Here are some tips:
1. My biggest piece of advice is - Don't buy a canner if you know someone who has one.  Borrow It!!!  Why add another piece of equipment to the house if you don't have to. If there are of two of you in a circle of friends who want to start canning but don't know of anyone who has a canner, split the cost and share it. You only use it for about four-five times in a harvest.
2. Think of all of the cute, cheap Christmas gifts you can start creating.  Make cute little labels that say "From the Kitchen of Jane Doe 2011," and you have got yourself the best teacher, secretary, neighbor, step aunt, mailman, preacher, hair dresser, or swim coach gift ever.

I so don't have room in my kitchen for all of the extra cans, so I found room in my front living room to store them.  Magazine, picture frame, candle, ...... green beans?

Healthful Squash Breakfast Muffin

Similar to my issue with Zucchini, all of my yellow squash wants to harvest at the same time. And, as with zucchini, there are wonderful ways to eat it fresh.  My favorite is grilled with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil - or the casserole Kimberly made on memorial day from Southern Living.  (It had BACON!)

I set out on a mission to create a healthier breakfast muffin involving the yellow squash. I researched other healthy breakfast muffins as well as squash dishes to maximize the yellow boy's flavor. It took me three attempts - but I nailed it! (At least I think it is good for having no white sugar or oil.) Enjoy!

Healthful Squash Breakfast Muffin
1 medium yellow squash grated
1 egg
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup non fat vanilla or plain yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
the juice and zest from one lemon
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tablespoon flax seed
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon poppy seeds.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix together the egg, applesauce, yogurt, honey, brown sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Add the grated squash. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, flax seed, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and poppy seeds. Stir in the applesauce mixture into the flour mixture. The mix will be lumpy. Pour batter into a greased muffin pan or liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top edges start to brown. Makes 12 muffins. Can be frozen.

Reader Recipes

Some of you have sent me your awesome recipes in response to my previous posts.

Maureen, my dear friend in Richmond, VA and former roommate, sent me her breakfast casserole recipe. This recipe, similar to "Clean the fridge out Frittata" is flexible enough to use with whatever you currently have in the fridge that is getting ready to go bad:

"So I have been making this breakfast casserole for the last month and I thought you might like it for your blog. Which by the way love it.   I started doing it to make things easier during the week when it came to packing lunches so I didn't have to think about what I was going to eat for breakfast.  It's easy and I can heat it up in the microwave at work. 

 

Egg casserole: 

choice of meat

choice of veggies

8-10 eggs beaten

cheese (if desired)

 

Cook the meat (bacon and/or sausage). Once cooked, place in casserole dish crumbled.  Saute veggies (this week was left over peppers that weren't used in salads, onions and mushrooms). Once soft place in dish, then pour eggs and cheese if using over the mixture and bake at 350 for 45-60 mins until firm.  Cool, cut into serving sizes and put in fridge.  It's quick easy and we eat it all week. One less thing I have to think about during the week... "

 

Here is Maureen and her daughter Liliana at the Kannapolis park when they visited in January.

 

My cousin Becky King just had a baby one week ago today and has still found time to email me her wonderful zucchini recipes:

 

"I have 2 zucchini recipes  that I wanted to share with you.

 

Zucchini strips:
Cut zucchini into strips

blanch it (boil for 5 minutes)

Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle parm cheese.  Can also add some garlic powder or salt.

Boil low till browned.

 

Zucchini casserole:

Cut zucchini into round pieces (like a cucumber slice)

In casserole dish add layer of zucchini, then place a spaghetti sauce (I use hunts) on top of the zucchini.  I think place a layer of mozzarella cheese. and repeat for another layer (zucchini, sauce, moz cheese). Bake on 350 for about 25-35 minutes."

Introducing the newest member of our family: Avery McCall King.  We love you already!!

Summer Meatball

Sneaking in zucchini, this kid friendly recipe is also healthy.
It is easy to make all four batches at once so that you can prepare dinner and freeze three batches for later. For each batch of meatballs you will need:

1 pound of ground turkey
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayo
1/3  cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup of grated zucchini (for all four batches you will need about 3 medium zucchini)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together.
Place a cooling rack on top of a rimmed cookie sheet. Form one inch meatballs and place them onto the cooling rack. This allows the grease to drip through the meatball and keep it crisp while baking.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops are brown and hard.
Using a fork, lift the meatball off the cooling rack and place into a freezer safe container till ready to eat.

The meatballs will have cooked and formed to the rack and will leave lines. However, cooking them this way allows you to cook an entire batch at one time without using a lot of oil and smoking up the kitchen.

To serve: Thaw if frozen. Place meatballs into a large fry pan with a jar of marinara of your choice. Reheat over medium heat for 15 minutes or when sauce begins to bubble.  Serve over pasta.

Zucchini

When it rains it pours!!

I love to plant zucchini every year.  It is easy to grow and produces a lot. However, its just my luck that it is all ready at one time.  There are tons of great recipes out there for eating zucchini fresh - however, it is a little more difficult to think in terms of The Suburban Challenge and making the zucchini last much longer. Here are three of my favorite ways of transfer zucchini from plant to freezer so that I can continue to enjoy it for months longer.


1. Zucchini Bread.  Make extra batches and freeze them for the holidays, house warming gifts, or when a friend has a new baby you can take over a breakfast dish for sleep deprived mom and dad.  I like hosting friends every year at Christmas for a holiday brunch. As with last year, I will already have one dish made and ready to thaw - the zucchini bread.  Paula Deen's recipe is my favorite:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/zucchini-bread-recipe/index.html

2.  Meatballs.  While grating the zucchini for the zucchini bread, I also grate some to incorporate into a summer meatball that freezes well.  Recipe to follow!

3. Baby Food.  Peal, steam, puree, then add liquid (breast milk, formula, or water) to create a creamy consistency.  Freeze in ice cube trays. Last week I made a vegetable blend of zucchini, broccoli, and green peas all from the garden. Cam loves it!

3 Ways to Save Money in June

Here are this months ways to save money:

1. Spoon yogurt into single-serve dishes. Everyday I pack a individual yogurt and applesauce in my lunch for work. I have done this for two years. I recently realized how much extra money I am spending that is not necessary. A carton of four yogurts at Aldi is $1.86. Or, the average individual yogurt is $.75.  However, if you buy the large, 2 lb container, it is $1.26.  Last week I purchased the large container and portioned the yogurt out into recycled baby food jars and got six servings out of my $1.26, and it took me less than five minutes. Well, this rule applies to my applesauce as well.  So, if my calculations are correct, and I continue buying the larger jars, I will have an extra $100 to spend at Christmas (as well as creating less waste for the environment).

2. Washing Lettuce. Too tired to rinse your own lettuce so you end up buying the pre-rinsed, chopped bag lettuce in the produce? The red leafy kind is $1.99 per pound if you bag it yourself and wash and chop at home, or $4.33 per pound if you toss a pre-washed bag in the cart. If you can wash a pound in five minutes, give yourself credit for making $30 per hour.

3. Peeling carrots. Baby carrots are cute, but at $2.65 a pound, they'd better be.  Peel regular carrots that cost 88 cents per pound in 5 minutes, and you made $53 per hour.

Burger Time

The simplest of recipes can be made ahead of time and stocked in the freezer to save money and time. Burgers are a great summer meal and, if your household is like mine, all I have to do is prepare them. Then, the other party (husband) insists on cooking them - even more time efficient. Here are a few tips on freezing burgers and some fun recipes to stock the freezer. Make four batches of your favorite, or two of each.

1. Mix all ingredients together. Form patties and stack two-by-two onto layers of wax paper with an extra layer of paper on the bottom and top.

2. Wrap the patties first in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.
Label and freeze.

Fiesta Burger
2 lbs Ground Beef
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Turkey Burger
2 lbs ground turkey
3 tablespoons mayo
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 scallions chopped
4 basil leaves chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt

Chicken Burger
2 lbs ground chicken
3 tablespoons mayo
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Paula Dean's Essence (or other spice blend)
2 scallions chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Adantages of Make-Ahead Cooking The Suburban Challenge Style

Keeping a supply of homemade, ready-to-eat food in the freezer or pantry is one of the smartest things you can do to save time and money and improve the quality and nutrition of the food your family eats.  I began this journey because I found myself resorting to too many frozen pizzas and take-out meals for evenings when there was no time to cook (a meeting after school followed by an aerobics class, then handbell practice....). Before you get out the army-sized pots and pans, here are some helpful tips I recently found at redplum.com:

1. DO automatically think, every time you make a meal, about whether you can cook extra and save it for another meal.

2. DON'T make a double or triple batch and put it all on the tale, expecting to freeze what's left. If it was really, really good, it may disappear.

3. Try a recipe - or more importantly, have your family try it - before you make a quadruple batch!

4. Label everything clearly and well. The label should have a description, date, and any cooking instructions. Write with something big and bold enough that you can read it through a little frost if necessary.

5. Start small. Instead of trying to cook every meal for a month in one day (a task so daunting especially by the time you clean up, you may never repeat it), make large batches of your family's favorite freezable recipes. It's not much more work to make a bigger pot of chili, for example.

6. Clean and sort your freezer before you start your make-ahead plan. Don't feel guilty about throwing away freezer-burnt old food no body's going to eat. It has to go, or you won't have room for you new, money saving make-ahead meals.

7. Put safety first. Keep your freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Don't add too much food at once, and never add hot food to the freezer, or it will warm up the whole freezer.

Spinning Away Monday

This past Monday, Abby commented in our Spin Class that she looked forward to "Spinning away her Monday." We all then laughed about how that sounded like the title to a new pop song. But, in all seriousness, she was really spinning away all of the drama, fatigue, and frustration that follows any "Monday, Monday - can't trust that day..."

"Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away," - Barbara DeAngelis

Personally, I love Spin Class. I can sit, with the lights off, listen to great music, sweat off 350-400 calories, and just daydream by myself. For me, it is the perfect marriage between being productive towards my Suburban Challenge goal and rewarding myself. For all of us, working out should not be dreadful and regretful. It should be that 45 minute period of the day where I can say "Thank you for the opportunity - this is for ME!" Of course that high also comes from the body's release of an all natural Prozac or Zoloft, GO SEROTONIN AND DOPAMINE!

Frittata: AKA "Clean the Fridge Out Frittata"

I love Frittatas! It is a crust-less quiche that is easy to make and has limitless possibilities. It is also a great way to clean out all of the odds and ends of produce left in your refrigerator. Since you are using up produce that would otherwise be thrown out, it is also saving money.  I use to work with a person at Camp Tekoa who would always say, "Waste Not Want Not." That phrase has always stuck with me.

You can make up your own Frittata with any combination of vegetables and meat with this easy guideline:
8 eggs
1 cup of grated cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
chopped fresh herbs
Whisk these ingredients and then incorporate your cooked leftovers/odds and ends. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes in a 10 inch pie pan. Presto, a main entree four four or a side dish for six.

Here are two examples of how I cleaned out the fridge this month:
Zucchini Tomato Frittata:
I had one left over zucchini from the Mango Pasta Salad recipe that was one day away from mold and a pint of cherry tomatoes that I have no idea why I bought them almost three weeks ago.
I cooked two slices of bacon chopped up. Removed the bacon and used the grease to saute the chopped zucchini, 2 leaves of Bok Choy, 1 red bell pepper, and the pint of halved cherry tomatoes. I sauteed them for about five minutes and then added 1 teaspoon minced garlic and four leaves of basil chopped. I sauteed them for one more minute. Then combined the vegetables with the cooked bacon and the egg mixture and into the oven it went.

Sweet Potato Swiss Chard Frittata:
Last year in the garden we grew sweet potatoes. I still have some that we have not eaten but they are too small for baking. So, I pealed one and finely chopped it for a Frittata. Once again, I started off with two slices of bacon chopped up. Once they were crisp, I removed them and used the grease to saute the chopped sweet potato and 2 leaves of Swiss Chard from the garden. I sauteed them for about five minutes before adding the herbs. I used fresh rosemary this time along with the salt and pepper. Returned the bacon and added the egg mixture. FIN.

In preparing your vegetable filling, her are my suggestions. Start out with the thick vegetables in olive oil or grease from meat such as bacon or sausage. Adding bacon or sausage allows some people (men) to be convinced that this egg dish is actually a main serving. But, you can always keep it vegetarian by sauteing the vegetables in olive oil. Soft vegetables like green onions, broccoli, and spinach can go in towards the end of the sauteing time. Cook them for about 5-8 minutes until they all seem soft, then add your herbs and cook for one more minute.

Spicy Marinade with a Mango Pasta Salad

Cuisses de Poulet Epicees et Salade de Pates

This is another great marinade to stock up on and make all four batches. It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about two months without having to freeze.  The pasta salad is just awesome and should only be made fresh.

For each batch of the Marinade:
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1/3 cup pineapple juice (It is cheaper to buy canned pineapple, drain it, then reserve the fruit for snacks or another use. If you are making four batches of marinade, you will need 2 20oz cans of pineapple)
3 teaspoons curry powder -or other spicy spice blend
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together and store till ready to use.

This marinade is great on Chicken. I used it two different ways.
1. I marinaded chicken breast for one hour, then grilled them. The picture below also has the pasta salad in it.

2. I browned 8 chicken thighs in 2 tablespoons of canola oil on medium high heat, about 5 minutes each side. Then placed all the chicken into a slow cooker with the marinade. I topped the dish with fresh cut green onions and the reserved pineapple from the juice. I then cooked it on low for one and a half hours.

The Pasta: I love this salad because it has one fruit serving, one vegetable serving, one dairy serving, and no oils (my old days of LA Weight Loss of counting servings are coming back to me now).
1 pound of pasta
1 mango
1 cup plain yogurt
white pepper
1 medium zucchini
2 green onions chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley

1. Cook the pasta.
2. Peal the Mango and cut the pulp into small cubs. Add to the pasta with the yogurt, salt and pepper. Toss well.
3. Slice the zucchini into fourths, seed, then slice. Blanch the zucchini with the green onions (drop into boiling water for 60 seconds then remove quickly and drop into ice water to stop the cooking process). Toss the vegetables into the salad.

Cornish Hens with Apples and Lemons

Although this recipe does not follow the pattern for The Suburban Challenge, I found it while exploring my French cookbooks. I translated and converted...and ate. Delish.  So, I'll share.

Serves Four:
1 onion chopped
2 Cornish hens
4 tablespoons canola or corn oil
3 apples, cored and sliced into wedges with their skins left on
zest of 1 lemon
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup raisins optional
1 fresh sprig of rosemary
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup of dry white wine
1 chicken bouillon
3 carrots, pealed and sliced into rounds
4 green onions diced

1. In a small pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, In a large oval roasting pot (my slow cooker insert can go on the stove top, so I used it) heat the rest of the oil over medium high heat. Place the chickens in the pot and brown them, about five minutes each side. Browning the chicken before you cook it allows the skin to harden on the outside and lock in the chicken's juices while it cooks.
3. Add the onion, apple wedges, and lemon zest and cook for five more minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the top of the dish with the cloves and add the bay leaf, raisins if using, white wine, bouillon, and place the Rosemary on top. Cook on low heat for one hour.
4. Add the carrots and green onions and continue to cook for another hour on low.
5. Serve by cutting hen in half down the middle of the breast, neck to butt.

The chicken fell off the bones! In one dish, you have a low fat protein, a fruit serving, and a vegetable serving. Seen here with a serving of rice before Steve split it for the two of us.

Three Ways To Save Money in May

One of the main focuses for this blog is addressing life as a domestic diva on a very tight and strained budget. Saving money is crucial. I have always lived more successfully if I set small, attainable goals. That said, here are my three goals for May:

1. Recycle at Staples. Did you know that Staples will take your used ink cartridges from work and give you store credit in return.  A couple of months ago, I recycled 10 (that is their monthly maximum) cartridges. I got an email coupon for a $20 store voucher.  I can buy new ink cartridges for our home computer this month and not spend a dime! 

2. I wear Aldi Make-up. There I said it, and I am no longer embarrassed. About a year ago when things began to get tight, I bought foundation from Aldi because I could not afford to go to Belk and get my usual Lancome product. Once I discovered that my skin was not going to turn orange and fall off, I also bought their powder, facial lotion, and blush.  Well, a year later, I am still using their product and here is why:

• It is an award wining skincare system that is sweeping Europe.
• It is made in Germany which, as part of the European Union, has the same safety standards as France's Make-up industry - Chanel, Dior, Lancome.....
• Lacura's Q10 Anti-wrinkle Night Cream came out on top in European quality tests alongside major brands such as L'Oreal, Olay and Helena Rubenstein.
• Every product ranges in price from $1.49 - $3.99.  Now you are talking my language. Much better than Lancome's $15.99 - $59.99

So, not only am I no longer ashamed that I had to purchase Aldi make-up, I am going to continue doing it and celebrate the process.

3. I am going to go the whole month of May with no AC or Heat. I am also going to try to use the oven minimally since it is very efficient at heating the kitchen. How am I going to do this? Well, as far as the oven, I have learned to cook almost everything in my slow cooker.  It uses less energy and doesn't heat the kitchen up like the oven does. For the AC, May is usually a mild month. The windows are open and the fans are on. This morning I have some extra time, so I am changing the flannel sheets out for our cotton summer sheets, and I am going to fold the down comforterr up on the end of the bed and use a lighter quilt/coverlet for the month. Since Steve and I are trying to save money to repaint the house and buy new shutters, my goal is to put about $75 dollars back into Steve's checking account from the power bill this month. Our bill last month was $85. So, is $10-$15 out of the question? We shall see.

Suburban Farms

It is time to plant now.
For most of us, we do not have large estates with a staff to maintain our organic, heirloom gardens - such as the case for Martha Stewart and The Fabulous Beekman Boy, my two personal favorites. Some of us have gardens large enough for canning hobbies and some of us just have the Noah's Arc garden (two of each to last the summer). And some of us just go to the farmer's market or Patterson's for the latest harvests.

At any rate...it is time to plant.  Here are pictures of friends and family who have found creative ways, despite living in suburban neighborhoods, to grow their own cornucopias.

Leslie wanted to plant on a particular side of the house because of the sunlight. However, in this spot next to the driveway, she could not dig due to gas lines. Solution - a raised bed. You can fill the bed with compost, top soil, etc... It took her 15 bags of topsoil to fill this bed.

Lacie is building a raised bed. These are easy to do because you don't need footers.  Just nail the corners together.  The point is to just hold some dirt long enough to grow okra and corn and....

My mom did not like the soil or sunlight in her back yard, so she just dug up the front flower bed next to the driveway. Here you can see her Swiss Chard and Romain Lettuce.

Here is another angle of my mom's front yard garden. She has got the stakes for the tomatoes ready.



These are called Earth Boxes. You water the box through the black tube. (Look on the far right corner of the back box to see the tube.) The results are amazing.  I have seen peppers, cucumbers, radishes, and lettuce all come out of these boxes.  In this picture, red lettuce is in the front and green lettuce is in the rear.

Here is a picture of my Aunt Cathy's Earth Boxes. She has broccoli in the first box, tomatoes in the second box, and I forgot what was in third box, HA!

Extreme Couponing on TLC

Have you seen this yet? These women (and men) are amazing.

The show estimated that Americans throw away about 57 Billion dollars of coupons per year. 57 Billion!! That is why Joanie collects 500 coupons a week. She does this by dumpster diving at the recycling center after everyone throws away their coupons from the newspapers. She estimated that she spends 30 hours a week couponing. One lady spoke about how her family of six only budgets $160 a month on groceries.  I think my family of 3 spends around $250 per month.

Joyce, AKA "Coupon Diva", rang up two buggies full of groceries totalling $230.38. After her coupons were rang in she paid $6.92. I find this absolutely remarkable. During her interview she said that someone once told her that, "I just don't have time for coupons." (Sounds familiar). Her response was, "Well Baby, You just ain't been broke enough."  Well Joyce... excuse me.... Coupon Diva, I am broke enough! I want this also!

Apparently the trick is to save all coupons and then match what is on sale each week with collected coupons.
I am ready to take the challenge. Here is my story.....

Sunday morning Steve went out and bought a Sunday Charlotte Observer.  I spend 30 minutes that morning cutting and organizing all the coupons. Mom brought over her circulars from the Independent Tribune later that afternoon, another 15 minutes spent cutting and organizing.
Sunday evening after I put Cam to bed, I took the CVS flyer for the week and spent another 20 minutes matching the sales to coupons I had collected. I then grabbed the calculator to estimate how much I would spend.  My total came to $91. So, I went back through the pile and eliminated the larger items - medicines, etc..- that I didn't need and reduced my expected bill to $20.
Monday afternoon, I went to CVS with coupons and flyer and made my purchases.  While I was there, I reduced my list by two items because the sales were not as good as it looked. This took around 15 minutes.

Total Time Spent:         1 hour 20 minutes
Total Money Spend:     $17.88
Total Money Saved:     $33.48

Here were my scores! Savings like that makes me giggle inside. But here is the question I pose myself and I pose to you - oh anonymous reader - Is it worth it? Are there Coupon Divas reading this blog who can offer their words of wisdom to all of us fighting The Suburban Challenge? Do any of you know of websites to get coupons easily without having to download a coupon maker?

At the end of the day, I spend $17.88 on items I did not need! Did I really save any money?

A Garden "Hoe-In"

The next two-three weeks are going to be very busy if you are planting a garden. There is a lot of work that will need to be done. If you planted Spring Vegetables, it is time to fluff, feed, and harvest.

• All lettuce leaves are ready to start cutting for salads.  You do not have to pull the plant out of the ground, just trim off the amount of leaves you need for a salad and the plant will continue to grow through late June.
• Broccoli, Sprouts, Beets, etc... are not quite ready. Take a hoe and loosen the ground around the plants (see photo) then add fertilizers such as 10,10,10 if you choose.
• If you started a plant from seed such as Carrots, you may need to thin them out.  Look at how close the plants are that actually emerged and move them if they are less than 6 inches apart.  (I usually put a lot of seeds in the ground since not all of them properly germinate. I have no idea how many will actually sprout and succeed.)

In this photo, I have loosened the dirt around my broccoli and applied 10, 10, 10 fertilizer.

Get ready for Summer Vegetables:

• Time to plant cucumbers, beans, peppers, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes.
• Start your herb gardens.  Keep in mind that Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, and Oregano will not die during the winter and will only keep getting larger each year.  Choose a part of your yard, close to the kitchen, where they will not be tilled or plowed up next year.  My herbs are mingled in with my rose garden along the patio wall. Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, and Chives will all die with the first frost but grow great in pots close to the back door.  You want to be able to get to your herbs when it is pretty, when its raining, or if its dark so you can continue cooking.
• Plant, and watch it grow! You will find that plants are not the only things blooming!

Lemon Oregano Chicken

"Poulet Marine au Citron et a l'origan"

A simple marinade can go a long way. However, sometimes making marinades from scratch can be very costly. Oils, vinegars and fresh herbs are not always cheap. If you do not have an herb garden, the little plastic pouches of fresh herbs run $3-4 each at the grocery store. My suggestion is to bulk up. If you begin making three-four batches of marinade at a time you will make the most of each ingredient you have to purchase. (I can't recall how many times I bought a packet of basil, used enough for the one tablespoon in the recipe, and then watched the rest rot away over the next three weeks while I searched for other recipes needing fresh basil.) This recipe calls for one lemon. It is more cost effective to buy a bag of lemons. Therefore, I recommend making three-four batches of the following marinade and storing it in the fridge (it will become solid but will return to a liquid after 30 minutes at room temperature) or tossing it into a bag of chicken before freezing. 

One batch of marinade:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tablespoon honey
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.

For The Suburban Challenge I made three batches and did the following:
1. Marinated chicken wings for the grill.
2. Placed a batch in a plastic bag with three chicken breast and froze it for a latter date.
3. Cooked it in a Slow Cooker with rice: I mixed 3 cups of chicken broth with 1.5 cups of rice. I then placed the rice into a slow cooker with the marinated chicken breast on top of the mixture dumping all of the marinade into the crock. I cooked it in the slow cooker for 2 hours on high. Alternatively, you could cook in a casserole at 350 for 50 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.

Here is a bag ready for the freezer. Next time Steve wants to grill, I'm ready.

Saturday night's chicken wings.

Individual Chocolate Cake

What?!?!
Can it be true?!?!

My world has been revolutionized! I received an email Tuesday, April 5th, from my dear friend Maureen for a chocolate cake recipe. Upon further review, I noticed that this recipe makes one serving in a coffee cup, in the microwave, and in less than 5 minutes.  Do you realize what this means! I can now have chocolate cake anytime I so choose. It also means that there are going to be more coffee cups in the dishwasher.

Although it has nothing to do with The Suburban Challenge....unless you negotiate the tendency to eat more than one serving of fresh chocolate cake....I will share with you this recipe. May it bless you life as it has enriched mine. (Insert noises of birds chirping.)

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.  Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT ! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous)

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3 Ways to Save in April

1. Reuse your plastic baggies. I give full credit for this to my friend Kimberly.  She encouraged me to start turning all my plastic bags inside out, wash them, and reuse them. Not only is it better for our environment, but I haven't bought a box of baggies in almost a year now.

Here is a large bag drying with all the other dishes.
2. www.zulily.com Credit for this idea goes to my cousin Becky King. I was a little skeptical at first. Designer children's dresses for $20 is still $15 over-priced for my budget. However, last week they had Crocs on sale for $15 for the whole family. Now that is a sale! Rather than just being another discount website, you register with zulily and receive the weekly specials via email. Thus, it is one less website to stalk.

3. Collect coupons for one month. Have you never been a coupon queen before? Well, for one month, clip all coupons for products you currently use. The key is "for products you currently use." Sometimes clipping coupons doesn't save you money because you end up buying products you don't normally need and thus spend extra money. At the end of the month, when Harris Teeter or BiLo have double coupon week, cash in. I'll send an A.P.B. out when this occurs.