Christmas Dinner in Links

Our Christmas Dinner in links....

http://www.bigoven.com/163014-Classic-Creamed-Spinach-recipe.html

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/vermicelli/

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/lemon_chicken/

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/braised_onions/

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/lemon_chicken/

Beef Tenderloin (Just seasoned seared and cooked) with http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Horseradish-Sauce-2/Detail.aspx

Roasted asparagus (My usual recipe)

http://sarahscucinabella.com/2009/12/17/make-this-ultimate-chocolate-truffle-pie-recipe/#more-2116

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Key-Lime-Pie-VII/Detail.aspx

I also have brown sugar shortbread cookies, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter blossoms. Oh and don't forget the gingerbread houses the kids made and wrapped up and saved to share with their cousins on Christmas night.

Next year I plan to develop my own recipes and plan it out here to share with all of you. In fact, stay tuned for my romantic New Years Eve dinner for two. I am thinking Seared Tuna, Jasmine rice, Peanut dipping sauce, Soy dipping sauce, Roasted brocolli, and something chocolate and decadent for dessert.... Did I mention that my kids are sleeping at my parent's house for New years? Yep. Merry Christmas to us!

Hope your holiday is wonderful, delicious, and joyful!

Coupon Crazy

I am obsessed. With saving money at the grocery store. I started a few months ago after N. went to school and I decided to start shopping myself again after years of using the Peapod delivery thing. I read some websites of those coupon clipping guru's and bought a coupon holder and the first trip I saved $50 on a $250 order. I was hooked. The obsession had begun.

Here are my tips:

1) Clip every coupon you think you would possibly ever use, pull them out of the dispensers at the store, take them from your Mom if she doesn't need them. Even if it is something you can't imagine wanting but if it were free you would take it. Clip Clip Clip.

2) Organize the coupons in one of those cute little folder things that fits in your purse. Cute is important. It makes the whole thing much more fun. Mine is by Mary Englebreit. I got it at Michael's... with a coupon. But I digress... I organize by aisle. Every few weeks I go though and discard expired ones. I also try to take note when one I really should use is about to expire so I don't miss my chance.

3) Read the store circular. I will not go store hopping. Maybe when I am retired and wearing orthopedic shoes I will have time for that, but for now, not so much. I go to Stop and Shop. That is the only circular I look at, with one exception (see tip #4). I use the circular to make my shopping list. I rarely buy anything that isn't on sale, never unless it is something I need that exact week. The longer you shop this way, the easier this gets because you will start to stock up on the things you use when they go on sale. My goal is to only shop the center aisles for sale items. It doesn't work as well for perishables since they are harder to stock up on.

4) Clip any "$5 or $10 off your entire order" coupons from competing stores. Most stores take them from competitors.

5) I make my list on a big sheet of paper, I start it a few days ahead of time so I am not rushing. I list anything at all that is on sale and I have a coupon for. Often those things can be almost free so if you might use it or a friend might use it, buy it. I also list anything in the circular I need and anything with coupons I need. I list my perishables. Lastly I list things that are not on sale, that I don't have coupons for, and that I need right away. I often star these so I can keep my eye out for brands that might be on sale that I wasn't aware of. I also star anything on my list that I am afraid I will miss (because I do that a lot and time is money, is it not?)

6) Take advantage of any store promotions. Stop and Shop had a deal where if you earned a certain number of points you got a coupon for up to 20% off an order. I collected my coupon as soon as I was eligible and set it aside for my big Christmas shopping trip (more on this in a moment). In the meantime I qualified for another 10% the week the program ended and collected that and used it on a regular shopping trip.

7) Stock up on items you know you will use that do not go bad, when they are on sale. I buy four boxes of wheat thins at a time when they go on sale and I have a coupon. I know we will eat them. I store them in the garage. The trick is to remember what you have down there. I think one day I will make an inventory list, but so far I just remember.

So, here is how it works out. Usually I save about $50-$75 off of a $300 order bringing it down to around $225 or $250. Today though, I made Paul dig us out of a blizzard, left the kids home with my mother in law, and made Paul come with me to the store. We used two carts, stocked up big time on needed things like detergent and bottled water, and got almost everything I need for Christmas dinner. I did not get all the perishable stuff but I got everything else.

The total was $605.87. I saved a total of $214.70. I paid $394.56.

For the win!!! It is not always that dramatic, but it adds up. And it makes me really really happy!

Slowing down

It's a busy time of year. My son's birthday is Wednesday, Hanukkah is upon us, Christmas is coming, and so on and so forth. I have been reading a lot about Slow Parenting, Free Range Parenting, and thinking a lot about getting back to basics. In cooking, that translates to focusing on how I can make it easy to cook healthful, whole food, tasty meals and treats. Doing so in a way that makes it likely for me to do it often.

I always bake a lot around Christmas. Cookies and pies and breads galore. But this year I have been baking every week. The kids have been eating homemade, non processed home baked cookies every day at school in their Bento lunches. So I am not really feeling the need to go nuts. I suppose I could take this opportunity to bake fussier cookies that look beautiful on the table. I don't have time to do this usually. But frankly, who has time to do it now? So instead, I will stick to three cookies (I think)... my famous Big Chocolate Chip cookies (I made double the dough when I baked for the Daisy troupe last week, so it is in the fridge and ready to go), peanut butter blossoms with dark chocolate kisses (because Paul loves them and I love him.) and a simple rustic butter cookie. I asked some friends how they thought I should get my desired rectangle shape, and I got many ideas. Many included using my spritz cookie thing which is gathering dust at the moment, some involved rolling and cutting them into cookie cutter shapes, I went simple. I pushed the dough flat with my hands and cut the shapes with a knife. They came out good and rustic looking and simple. So as much as I love decorating cookies with my kids, this year we are sticking with easy.

Recipes to come, when I have some time to focus on them. For now, I am roasting a chicken for dinner, cleaning the house for the after school religion class my friend teaches here in my dining room, and rushing off to pick up N. at pre school.

Did I mention that I saved $78 at the super market today in coupons? Want to know my method?

Investing in Turkey Stock

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was nice, quiet and grateful. S. said a lovely prayer she learned at religion, the food was good, the pies were sinful, the company was the best. Our town lost two children this week to being hit by cars. It is so sad, and yet it reminds us again, as if we needed it, that life is a fleeting thing and no one can count on tomorrow.

Bill, my father in law, passed away last April, just after Easter. At that dinner I made a toast about how much I valued us all being together and how we all knew it wouldn't be this way forever. I certainly never expected to have him go so soon.

This holiday was quiet without him. He would have been so proud of S. saying that prayer. He would have enjoyed the food with abandon, and laughed more than anyone else at the table. We tried to honor him, by eating, laughing, enjoying and taking the time to appreciate each other.

In the spirit of taking time, I am making Turkey Stock. I plan to use it in my cooking, saving some for Christmas Dinner. I will use it instead of buying canned stock, so we will save money. But the biggest investment I see is in the lesson slow cooking teaches my children. They grow up in such a fast environment. Everything is convenient and quick. This shows them that we can be less wasteful, save money, make food that tastes better and is also better for us, and most importantly, that things that take time can be better than the convenient choice.

So before we sat down to eat our leftovers, I picked over the bones of the turkey and put what was left into a pot. Here is what I put in with it...

1 Turkey Carcass
1 cup of leftover roasted root veggies from last night. (Not important but will add to the depth of flavor)
all the leftover parts of the celery from my cooking (Stems, flowers, and two stalks that were left) I keep them big so I can strain them out later)
2 carrots (I love to eat these later so I peel them before I put them in)
1 yellow onion quartered
two handfuls of parsley
one handful of Thyme
2 bay leaves
a handful of kosher salt
a few teaspoons of black pepper
Cover the whole thing with cold water and boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for four to six hours. Near the end, taste it and season it with salt and pepper as needed. When it is done, let it cool a little and strain it using a cheese cloth draped over a colander. Put the colander over another big pot or bowl, and get some help with this step it can be spilly. Cool completely over night in the pot you cooked it in, I put the pot right in the fridge once it is cool enough. In the morning you can skim off most of the fat and freeze it in single use sizes, in freezer bags. (They freeze flat for easy storage.) Don't over fill the bags because the stock will expand a little when it freezes.

The house smells yummy, all the better to enjoy our leftovers.

And of course, I saved room for leftover pie.

Learning to plan

We are tightening our bootstraps around here. We are trying to save some money. Or rather, spend less, as the case may be. As many of you are too I expect. So I have taken to clipping coupons and comparing them to the store circular. Stocking up when things are on sale and hopefully avoiding buying too much at full price. Obviously the more you stock up, the eaisier this is. I spent the last few days planning our Thanksgiving menu, clipping coupons, checking circulars, and trying to be sure the scale of our meal is scaled down to our smaller group. The smaller group... well that is another post in and of itself.

With Thanksgiving, and actually any big meal I am cooking, I like to plan it well in advance, know when things move in and out of the oven, when I am to be doing what. I like to be on a schedule. It helps me to feel in control and relax and enjoy the cooking.

The Menu

I will have cheese and crackers, and my dad is making Lobster Rolls as an appetizer.

"Mom's Roast Turkey" from Elise at Simply Recipes.
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000037moms_roast_turkey.php

Gravy from that same recipe.

Stuffing- this I make myself, I use a mix, some sauteed onions and celery, some chicken broth and my slow cooker. It's not a science. I add enough broth to moisten (Apologies to Kelly who doesn't like descriptive food words.), and add more broth every hour or so when I stir it if the stuffing needs it. I like having it in the slow cooker, frees up valuable oven time.

Mashed Potatoes- Again, no recipe to speak of. I use Yukon Golds, peel, cut in small chunks, put in a pot of cold water and boil till soft. I mash them up with some roasted garlic, melted butter, heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste. Wa-La! Yum. One day I will have to write up these recipes but I am too busy planning now. ;)

Roasted Asparagus- I chop off the ends, put in a ziplock with olive oil and kosher salt and toss. Lay them out on a baking sheet and roast at 400 till done. Usually somewhere around the 10 minute mark.

Corn Bread- I am trying a new recipe this year, it looks good.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmothers-Buttermilk-Cornbread/Detail.aspx

My Dad is making a port wine cranberry sauce.

For dessert, two pies. One I have made before and it is amazing and one new one I chose to help me not waste some ingredients....

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandma-Oples-Apple-Pie/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttermilk-Pie-IV/Detail.aspx

So here is my plan-

Monday-

Move Turkey to fridge

Thursday-

Move Turkey to counter at 11
11:30 Roast Garlic
12:30pm Make Turkey (4 hours?) eat at 5, so start cooking at 12:30
12:40pm Stuffing in crock pot
prep ingredients for corn bread
Prep Pies
3pm Serve cheese and crackers and lobster rolls at 3.
4:00 prepare corn bread
prepare potatoes
4:30ish Take Turkey Out
bake corn bread
make mashed potatoes
make gravy
carve turkey
corn bread out
Roast Asparagus
bake two pies
eat dinner while pies bake
take pies out and serve

Could I do more in advance? Yes, I could. And some years I have. This year I am looking forward to spending the day cooking and eating things fresh and hot. I am having a small group this year, of people I see all the time, and I dont feel as much need to socialize. Plus, people will gather in the kitchen and cook with me. It seems like the right plan for this year. I will let you know how it goes.