cooking

Amazing New Creations at Boudin!

Abby H.

IMG_1509I love bread. And cheese.Imagine my excitement when Lil’ Man and I went up to Boudin‘s on Monday night and enjoyed their new seasonal offerings!

If you don’t know about Boudin, you are missing out. Crusty, tender, chewy sourdough bread, and so much more! For over 160 years, Boudin has been baking up crazy good bread, and they also have an amzing

There are tons of locations all over California, serving up amazing sandwiches, salads, soups, and heavenly bakery treats! Find your closest location here.

We sampled three of the new Seasonal Selections:Ham ‘N Brie on Rosemary Focaccia, Sourdough Philly, and Roasted Butternut Squash & Kale Salad

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Did you know that Boudin also has a Loyalty Club? Each time you make a purchase and for every dollar spent you will be awarded one (1) reward point. For every 50 points accumulated you will receive $3 off reward. The $3 reward will be automatically loaded to your account and you will receive an email notification to let you it’s there. Oh, yeah, but it gets better- You’ll get a free 1 lb. loaf of Sourdough bread each month upon any purchase that month!

Boudin also caters! Check out the awesome sourdough bread shapes you can order 24 hours in IMG_1514advance of your event: IMG_1513Yup it’s a Crab and a Turtle. They also make smaller turtles. One of the moms mentioned that she gets them for their kids. They hollow them out and turn them into bread bowls for soup. Such a great idea! You could hollow out the big ones and fill them with any kind of dip or soup to serve  at a party! They even make a Jack O’ Lantern shaped Sourdough loaf for Halloween! IMG_1535

They have all kinds of healthy, delicious foods- perfect for a busy family on the go. Eat in, or take it to go! If you opt to eat in, they serve a selection of Kendall-Jackson Wines, and have perfect pairings for everything on the menu!

Lil’ Man enjoyed a pizza and a ghost cookie. He told me the pizza was crispy and cheesy. This is coming for a four year old pizza fanatic, so you know it was good!

We’ll be going back to Boudin’s soon for lunch as a family! Big thanks to Boudin Bakery and Chef Alan Skversky for hosting a group of local bloggers on Monday night at their location on Balboa Drive. We had a great time! I received no monetary compensation for this post- I’m just sharing my experience!

 

 

 

Vegetarians- Rejoice!

Abby H.

I was scanning through all of the new printable coupons released over the past week or so, and I found a bunch of great new vegetarian meat alternative coupons!

$0.75 off any ONE MorningStar Farms Veggie Burgers
$0.75 off any 1 MorningStar Farms Grillers Burger
$0.75 off any ONE MorningStar Farms Veggie Patties
$0.75 off any 1 MorningStar Farms Original Patties
$0.75 off any 1 MorningStar Farms Chickpea Burger
$0.75 off any ONE MorningStar Farms Veggie Burgers

$1.50 OFF any ONE (1) Dominex brand product
Save $1.00 on any TWO (2) packages of Hilary's Veggie Burgers

I love how many different options there are for non-meat proteins!

What id your favorite non-meat protein?

Another way to receive high value coupons….

Abby H.

Everyone knows about the usual places to look for coupons, but have you heard about Brand Clubs? Some brands, like General Mills, Betty Crocker, and SC Johnson have e-clubs you can join. Each month or so, they’ll email you tips, trick, and recipes (usually), and also links to high value printable coupons you won’t find anywhere else online.

Here are a few of my favs:

SC Johnson’s Right@Home®

 Betty Crocker’sE-Club. Get exclusive coupons (up to $250 per year in savings), access to free samples (quantities limited – one per member), our hottest recipes, and more!

 

 
Tablespoon from General Mills! Subscribe and Get a daily dose of deliciousness right to your inbox!

Sign up for instant access to receive hot savings alerts for all of the latest General Mills coupons and deals as well as our BEST recipe ideas & ingredients, how to videos and new recipes right out of the oven and into your inbox!

Score some food freebies from Ralphs!

Abby H.1 Comment

I love that Ralphs has their Free Friday Download each week where you can score something free each week. This week, there are THREE freebies!

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If you are new to Free Friday Downloads from Ralph’s, here is more info about how it works:

WHAT IS FREE FRIDAY DOWNLOAD? An exclusive benefit to having an account online at ralphs.com is FREE products (yes, we said FREE!). When you download the free product coupon, it will be loaded directly to your Shopper’s Card and applied at checkout in-store.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Visit this page on Fridays

DOWNLOAD the digital coupon for the free product (make sure to download between 12:01 am and 11:59pm PT). View the coupon under ‘My Coupons’ in your account online or in the mobile app.

You have two weeks to redeem this coupon in store! Pick up the product at your local Ralphs store and digital coupon will automatically apply at checkout.

A New Month means 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 website 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 https://hewesfamilyfun.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/saving-money-with-your-smartphone/Smartphone apps that can save you the big bucks!

Here are just a few of the new coupons that have me excited:

$0.50 off ONE (1) package of HUGGIES Wipes
$0.50 off 1 Reese's Puffs cereal It’s our favorite family snack!
$1.00 off any 1 BOCA Foods product
$1.00 off any one HORMEL ALWAYS TENDER Meats

Recipe: Corned Beef in the CrockPot

Abby H.2 Comments

file291242792789I usually save this recipe for right around St. Patrick’s Day, but there are people who enjoy Corned Beef all year, so I thought, Why not post this now?

I know a lot of people don’t like corned beef because every time they’ve had it, it was chewy or tough.  I’ll share a secret with you: bake it, don’t boil it!  When you bake the meat at a low temperature in a crock pot for hours and hours, the heat breaks up the collagen and fat, leaving you with a tender, falling apart yummy corned beef, not the rubbery mess you got at the pub last year with your annual Guinness.

If the crock pot isn’t your speed, you can bake the corned beef in the oven at a lower temperature over several hours and get the same effect.

Baked Corned Beef

Ingredients:

  • 1 Corned Beef Brisket (2-4 lbs),
  • 1 cup (not packed) brown sugar- Light or dark, use whatever you have
  • 1 jar Stone Ground Mustard (I like Ingelhoffer or Moorehouse)- DO NOT USE DIJON. USE STONE GROUND MUSTARD ONLY.

Directions:

For Crockpot: line your crockpot with a Crockpot liner and turn on to LOW.

For Oven: Preheat oven to 250 degrees

  1. Remove beef from package. Rinse meat. Discard packaging and spice envelope.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar and mustard. Stir until combined. It’s ok if it’s lumpy.
  3. Place beef in crockpot or baking dish.
  4. Pour sugar/mustard mixture over meat.

Crockpot: Put lid on pot and cook for 6-8 hours on low.

Oven: Cover loosely with foil and bake at 250 degrees for 3-4 hours.  Remove foil for last hour of baking.

Serve with baked or boiled New Potatoes, cabbage, and carrots.  I dislike boiled cabbage, so I usually make Coleslaw with Walden Farms Coleslaw dressing.

If you have any leftovers (you probably won’t) it makes great corned beef hash too.

Oh, and Corned beef stays pink after it’s cooked because of how it is cured (or corned), so if you are squiffy about stuff like that, get a food thermometer. It should read 160 degrees or higher.

 

Learn a new Skill for Free from Craftsy!!

Abby H.1 Comment

Online Sewing ClassLooking for a good way to spend your weekend? Check out the new free mini classes from Crafsty.

Here are a few of the free mini-classes that are on my to-do list:

And here is another class I’m the MOST excited about taking…  the Perfect Pizza at Home will provide me with some tips and tricks to make our next pizza extra delish!

Want to check out the classes and see what the big deal is? Here’s the full list of Craftsy free mini classes to choose from!

 

Enter to win a $200 Grocery Gift Card!

Abby H.

Kroger (That’s the family of stores that owns Ralphs and Food4Less here in So Cal) and Hebrew National, wants to hook you up with a $200 Grocery Gift Card!

All you have to do is answer some trivia and build your own hot dog for a chance to win a Kroger gift card! This is seriously The Most Important Hot Dog Quiz You’ll Ever Take.

To get started and enter, click here.

Fine Print: You gotta live in one of these states to enter: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MO, MS, MT, NC, NE, NM, NV, OH, OR, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY

Family Recipe: Yummy Banana Nutty Bread

Abby H.1 Comment

IMG_0405We love bananas, but sometimes they get over ripe before we can eat them all. That usually only happens when the weather is so hot and muggy- or if I buy too many. In that case, I peel, slice and bag them in snack sized zip top bags and toss them in the freezer. They are now perfectly portioned for smoothies or baking recipes!  This week, I’m posting my favorite Banana bread recipe. It’s quick, easy, and it uses no white sugar, so it’s ideal for those watching their sugar intake.

I’ve included variations for various diets below.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Stevia or brown sugar splenda (or 1/4 c honey)
1/3 cup applesauce
4 egg whites
1/2 cup of ripe banana (about 3-4 ripe bananas)
3/4 cup almond meal or flax meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

  1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl with electric mixer until fluffy and creamy.
  2. Add in the remaining ingredients until smooth.
  3. Pour batter into 1 greased loaf pan.
  4. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
  5. Slice and serve hot or allow to cool, wrap in aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

Variations:

  • Gluten Free variation: Substitute coconut flour or GF baking flour blend.
  • Nut Free Variation: Use Flax meal in place of Almond Meal.
  • Vegan Variation: Substitute egg whites for flax egg.

Cow Appreciation Day- Free lunch at Chick-Fil-A tomorrow!

Abby H.

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It’s baaack! Once a year, Chick-Fil-A celebrates Cow Appreciation Day. You can celebrate too and score free food when you dress like a cow.

Need some inspiration or more info? Check out their Tumblr Page.