cooking

Rare $15/$100+ Coupon at Sprouts (ends today)!

Abby H.

I love Sprouts! We grew up shopping for produce there, and as an adult, I love shopping there too. I discovered this coupon buried in my email, and it expires today!

This coupon is perfect if you are primarily a Sprouts shopper, or if you want to stock up on some of the goodness that Sprouts sells. I love that you can use other coupons too (either paper coupons, or in-app coupons from the Sprouts app). And to sweeten the deal, you can use cashback apps too- that saves you money after the fact.

However you use this coupon- It’s a rare deal!

Simple, Frugal Recipe: Coffee Cake!

Abby H.

I love coffee cake. I always have. It’s a quick, easy, frugal food to make for potlucks, or when you have company over for breakfast or brunch. Or because it’s Tuesday.

A few weeks back, Social Nature and Bob’s Red Mill sent us a Blueberry muffin grain-free mix. I don’t have a muffin tin (RIP muffin tin, it served us well for 10+ years), and the kit came with a recipe to use the mix for a coffee cake. HELLS YES.

The kids gobbled the cake up and the big kid asked if there was a way to make a coffee cake without a mix.

A quick glance at my handy dandy 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook and here is my version of the recipe. I have made found the perfect recipe. I’ve made some changes that are a little healthier, a little more modern, but don’t mess with the flavors at all.

Betty’s Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

 

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 cups AP Flour (You can use whole wheat flour if you prefer)
  • 2 tsp. baking POWDER
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
  • 2 Tbsp. AP flour
  • 2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp. melted butter
  • (optional, but tasty) 1/2 C. chopped pecans

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine white sugar, softened butter. Mix together until fluffy.
  3. Add egg and blend thoroughly.
  4. Stir in milk, and the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth.
  5. Pour and spread batter in greased (use spray release) 9×9 glass baking dish.
  6. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, remaining AP flour, cinnamon, melted butter, and pecans (optional). Spread this crumbly mixture over top of the baking dish.
  7. Bake cake for 25-32 minutes.

Serve with coffee (DUH), or a glass of cold milk.

2/8/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThankfully, this week is going to be a lot slower than last, but still, we’ve got at least one appointment or function each day.

I did a little shopping yesterday (we were out of tin foil and baggies for school lunches and leftovers), but I may hold off on shopping until mid-week. we’ve got a lot of stuff in the fridge and pantry, and if we could skip a week of shopping and just eat what’s on hand… That would be great! Everything on the meal plan below is from what we have onhand.

I received a couple Amazon GC for my birthday, and I picked up some teas to replenish my stash, and I traded in the empty cartridge for our Soda Stream for 50% off a new one a few weeks back, so we are good on beverages too.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: The little kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling (I’ve been prepping bean and rice bowls on Sundays for us to have during week) so we can get back to our adventures.  Big kid takes his lunch to school. He’s been digging on Bear naked protein granola in his lunch lately. It’s his new favorite.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Leftovers (Pizza, Pasta, Chicken and veggies)
  • Monday: Chicken Alfredo & Brocolli
  • Tuesday:  BBQ Chicken (in the slowcooker), baked sweet potatoes, Rice (or maybe a salad)
  • Wednesday: Meatloaf, Salad, mashed potatoes
  • Thursday: Protein shakes, Meal of Snacks
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Leftover Fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Small Changes to Make your Box Cake Mix Taste Scratch-Made!

Abby H.

When cake mixes were first invented most of them only required the addition of water and one or two eggs. Some early cake mixes only required the addition of water, as the cake mixes contained shortening and powdered eggs.

Nowadays most of us use cake mixes, but we long for the taste of scratch-baked cakes and pastries.

Here are a few tips to make your boxed cake mix taste a little bit more like the scratch-baked treats you remember your grandmother or mother making in your youth.

  1. If a cake mix calls for water, use milk.
  2. When the cake mix calls for vegetable oil, use softened butter. Or coconut oil (room temp).
  3. If you are using a spice cake mix, omit eggs, oil and, water and substitute a (14.5 Oz) can of pumpkin to make a tasty pumpkin spice cake.
  4. If you are watching your cholesterol, you can omit oil and eggs in a cake mix for applesauce. 1/4 cup of applesauce per egg, and an equal amount of applesauce instead of the oil. The cake will come out delicious and moist.
  5. Adding ingredients such as chocolate chips, dried fruits (I like dried blueberries, dried cranberries, and dried cherries), or chopped nuts can also make your box cake a little fancier.
  6. I love making a yellow cake mix into a coffee cake by making a streusel topping: 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup room temperature butter, 1 tsp. cinnamon or pie spice to taste. After the cake batter is poured into the greased cake pan, sprinkle the streusel topping on top of the cake and bake per box directions. It makes a great coffee cake for brunch!

If you are looking for more ways to fancy up a plain boxed cake mix, check out the Cake Doctor books on Amazon!

February 2021: New Month, New Coupons!

Abby H.

file000786402730Here is your monthly reminder!  A new month means new printable and electronic coupons!

Check out the following sites:

One of my favorite websites is the Sunday Coupon Review.  It helps me plot out scenarios in advance and I can email friends to ask for coupons in advance. Remember if clipping coupons isn’t your thing, but saving money is, check out my list of Smartphone apps that can save you the big bucks! New offers are added on the Smartphone Savings Apps all the time!

February means that sweets, flowers, strawberries (for chocolate dipped strawberries), and other giftable items will be on sale- Valentine’s Day is 2/14/2021. For a complete list of types of foods and items that will be on sale, check out this post on the cycle of sales.

Here are a few of my favorite new coupons:

Save $0.75 on ONE (1) Hidden Valley® Secret Sauce
Save $1.50 off FOUR (4) Lean Cuisine Frozen Items
Save $1.00 When You Buy TWO (2) Hidden Valley® Original Bottled Ranch, Secret Sauce or any Dry and Ready-to-Eat Dips (excludes 1ct Dry Dips
Save $1.00 On any Unbun product, limit one per visit
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) package of Green Giant® New Frozen Product, Any Variety
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) package of Green Giant Veggie Spirals™

And my favorite Coupon:

Save $1.00 any ONE (1) Dave's Killer Bread® Breakfast Item

2/1/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThis week is going to busy! Between doctor’s appointments, my birthday, and the usual stuff that we do each week- I’m so glad that I meal plan! It’s going to make dinner time each night.

I did my weekly trip to the store this morning after school drop off for bread, milk, eggs, and snack/lunch items.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: The kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling (I’ve been prepping bean and rice bowls on Sundays for us to have during week) so we can get back to our adventures.  Big kid takes his lunch to school. He’s been digging on Bear naked protein granola in his lunch lately. It’s his new favorite.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Soup, Salad, and Garlic Bread
  • Monday: Dream Dinner Meal, steamed veggies
  • Tuesday:  Protein shakes, Meal of Snacks
  • Wednesday: Nuggets, fruit, garlic bread
  • Thursday: Dream Dinner Meal, steamed veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Leftover Fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Family Recipe: Cheesy Potatoes!

Abby H.

Potatoes are delicious and versatile. One of our favorite family recipes is these nomtastic cheesy potatoes!

Cheesy Potatoes 

Ingredients:

  • 6 – 8 large potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces (preferably russets)
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons AP flour
  • 1.5 cups whole milk
  • 4 cups cheese (I like medium cheddar, but you could use colby, or a sharper cheddar)
  • 1/2 cup bacon bits (I use Kirkland brand from Costco)
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
  • One sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed

Directions:

  1. Parboil potatoes, 6 to 8 minutes, drain.
  2. While potatoes are cooking, in a pot, melt the butter. Sprinkle melted butter with AP flour and stir until a paste forms over a low heat. The paste should brown slightly- DON’T BURN IT!
  3. Pour milk into the flour/butter paste and whisk briskly. You do not want lumps. Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens. This may take a few minutes. As the mixture thickens and there are no lumps, add the cheese slowly, about 1/2 cup at a time, until it is incorporated/melted into the sauce. Once the sauce with complete, remove from the heat.
  4. Mix drained potatoes with sauce, add bacon pieces
  5. Pour into a greased baking dish (I use 11 x 9 baking dish)
  6. Top with half a cup of cheese, and crushed Ritz crackers.
  7. Bake 30 to 45 minutes at 350°.

Serve with steamed veggies, or a green salad. I also like this with crusty French bread. This makes a great side dish, or contribution to a potluck.

You can omit the bacon if you are vegetarian.

You can swap out the bacon for 1 cup cooked, chopped ham or chicken if you want to make this a hardy main dish.

 

Recipe: Butternut Squash Bisque (GF, Vegan)

Abby H.

This recipe is super simple, and I’ve included some steps to shave off more time to get the soup in your belly faster!

Butternut Squash Bisque

Ingredients

  • 1 T. Avocado Oil
  • 1/2 Large onion, diced
  • 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (You can save time by buying it in the frozen foods section)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
  • 1 Quart Vegetable Stock
  • 2 cups Hazelnut Milk
  • 1t. Rubbed Sage
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a large stockpot, heat oil. Add onions, and cook for 5-10 minutes, until clear and fragrant.
  2. Add squash and carrot. Cook approx 10 minutes until softened.
  3. Add vegetable stock, and simmer until veggies are tender/soft.
  4. Remove from heat, add hazelnut milk.
  5. Blend soup with a stick blender until smooth.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve this luscious, velvety soup with hot, crusty bread and a crisp green salad.  It freezes well, in case of leftovers.

Meal Prep and Menu Planning Made Easy With Dream Dinners!

Abby H.

My girl Brooke hooked me with Dream Dinners recently. Most of you know that I am a huge proponent of meal prep and menu planning. I also recognize that not everyone has the time to spare a few hours each week prepping veggies, marinating meats, preparing sauces and bagging it all up to cook later.

And when you don’t have time to shop or do prep work, you lean on fast food or take out. Once in a while, it’s ok, but any more than that and it’s not healthy or good for your pocketbook.

Enter Dream Dinners! For less than the price of take out or a drive-through visit for the fam, and in 30 minutes or less, you will have a tasty, hot, fresh homecooked meal! I’ve reviewed Meal Kits in the past, and there are a lot of inherent problems with fresh and frozen food being mailed to you. Frozen cucumbers, smashed produce… You don’t have these issues with Dream Dinners. This is one of the reasons that Dream Dinners is better.

A few other reasons Dream Dinners is superior:

Dream Dinners is less expensive than other Meal Kit Programs.  That’s a plus in my book!

With locations all over San Diego County (and nationwide), you order online and pick it up at your local Dream Dinner Location. Pop your trunk, and the lovely Dream Dinners employee will place your food in the trunk. You are all set to go!

Chicago style chicken with roasted red potatoes

Your meals are prepped locally in store just for you! No squished produce, accidentally frozen ingredients, or worse (and this was a big fear for me) having to rearrange your entire day so you are home when the Fed-ex guy delivers your meal kit box so the food doesn’t sit on your patio. Here in San Diego, it’s hot and sunny frequently, and that means food sitting out (even in a sealed box with dry ice) might go bad or be unsafe to eat.

Lasagna Soup & Garlic Bread

I’m hosting a Facebook Party to share my love of Dream Dinners. If you are interested in joining and taking advantage of some great deals, Message me on Facebook and I’ll add you.

If you don’t have Facebook, you can visit the Dream Dinners Website and you can take advantage of the great deal going on!

Right now when you use the coupon code 15OFF, you save $15 on the $99 Starter kit- It’s a great deal.

To take advantage of this deal, make sure to use the drop-down box and type in my email: akeen02037@gmail.com to take advantage of this sweet Deal!

And with locations all over San Diego and the US, you can order meals, pick them up and have one less thing to worry about! I plan on buying meals each month, so we are eating well on those nights when I would rather play legos or Playmobils with the kids, or go for a walk to the park.

Talk Back: Which Dream Dinners Entree has you interested? Menu for February is here. 

1/25/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgMy Word- It’s cold outside! The forecast for the week here in San Diego is cold, rainy, breezy weather. I’ve planned meals around warm, filling, comfort meals.

I did my weekly trip to the store yesterday for bread, milk, eggs, and snack/lunch items.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: The kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling (I’ve been prepping bean and rice bowls on Sundays for us to have during week) so we can get back to our adventures.  Big kid takes his lunch to school. He’s been digging on Bear naked protein granola in his lunch lately. It’s his new favorite.

Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Lasagna Soup and Sourdough toast (Dream Dinners)
  • Monday:  Hashbrowns, Egg/veggie scramble, Fruit
  • Tuesday:  Soup (we’ve got a batch of Potato Cheese soup in the freezer)/Meal of Snacks
  • Wednesday: Chicago Style Chicken, Roasted Veggies, Salad (Dream Dinners)
  • Thursday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches, Salad, Soup
  • Friday:  Pizza Night!
  • Saturday: Leftover Fiesta

Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?