Roasted Garlic

I love garlic. One of my favorite smells, not just food smells- any smells, is garlic sauteeing in the pan. It smells SO good!! Roasted garlic is really yummy. Garlic gets sweeter as it cooks, and when you roast it, it gets soft and sweet. It's really good to simply spread on bread, or add it to your mashed potatoes. You could absolutely set it out as part of your appetizer tray with bread or crackers.

Roasted Garlic
head of garlic
olive oil
salt

Cut the end of the garlic head, so it is exposed.

Place garlic head(s) on a piece of foil. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil.

Wrap and place in hot oven- 400 degrees. Roast for 45 minutes.
Open and let cool. Squeeze out the garlic.
Spread on bread or add to mashed potatoes.

Banana Cake

I buy my groceries to get us through 2 weeks at a time. I had a friend ask me one time, What about fruit? Meaning, fresh fruit doesn't last that long, so what do you do about feeding your family fruit? This is my fruit plan- we eat the fresh fruit first, and then we start eating canned fruit until it's time to go to the grocery store. I get the store brand, in juice (not syrup), canned fruit which is cheap and still pretty healthy.
Bananas are my nemesis, though. My family loves bananas. If I buy one bunch of bananas, they are gone in 2-3 days. But, if I go all out and buy a few bunches, we never get through them all and I end up having to throw some out. NO!!! Money...being wasted...can't take it...

So, I am mean and just buy 2 small bunches and when the bananas are gone, they are gone. Wait until the next grocery trip. One more banana thought, and I will get to the recipe. I buy my bananas at Sam's- they are 1.77 a bunch. Yes!!!

This recipe was found for this reason. The bananas were on their way to "I'm not gonna eat that one", and I refused to throw them out. Then, I had a thought. Don't most recipes ask for ripe, super soft bananas? So, I looked in my favorite baking cookbook, Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book. It is an exact replica of the original Betty Crocker cook book published in 1950. The photos and tips are pretty humorous, but everything I've made has turned out great. This is my go-to recipe when I have a few bananas that need to be used, but nobody wants to eat.

Betty Crocker's Banana Cake
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 lg. eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed ripe bananas, about 3
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350.

First off, I hardly ever have buttermilk. I use a substitution
Regular milk with a splash of vinegar (or lemon juice)- let it sit

Mash the bananas. I got my little monkeys to help.
Cream the shortening and sugar together first. Then add in eggs.
Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix the buttermilk and bananas.
Add the dry ingredients in alternately with the banana mixture
Let monkey #1 lick the beater.
This recipe is for a 13x9 pan, or 2-9" layer pans
bake for 35 minutesI frosted it with my vanilla frosting

Adaptations

This week I have been making things that I have already posted the recipe for, but I have also been changing them up a bit.
One night we had breakfast for dinner. I made a breakfast hash, fruit salad and monkey muffins. Instead of doing monkey bread in the loaf or bundt pan, I made the bread in muffin tins.

I still cut the biscuit into quarters, but put three pieces in each cup. Then I poured the butter and brown sugar mixture over each one. It baked for 15 minutes at 375.
I made the stuffed chicken breasts with bernaise sauce this week, too. Instead of the original dried pesto/cream cheese stuffing, I did a chopped spinach, garlic and cream cheese stuffing. Oh, and I crumbled up Lay's potato chips for the coating on the outside. They weren't as crunchy as I thought they would be. I think I will stick with the crackers. I liked the spinach stuffing, though. I thought it was a good alternative.

Last night, I did brown sugar chicken in the crockpot. I got the original recipe from the talented (and so funny! and also so nice about emailing you back when you email her recipes to try in her crockpot) Crockpot Lady, but when I first made it, it was too sweet for me. The original recipe calls for:
7-Up
brown sugar
garlic
vinegar
soy sauce

Last night I used:
chicken broth
brown sugar
garlic
vinegar
soy sauce
It still had a nice sweetness to it, without being too sweet. I bought a package of drumsticks at the store- they were $1.33. I couldn't resist!!! My husband doesn't like eating chicken off the bone, so that is why this crockpot meal is perfect. The meat falls off the bone!!

Tip for Today

Since I go to the grocery store twice a month, I buy alot of meat at one time and freeze it until we need it. It used to drive me crazy, because I always got ice on my meat, and I would swear it tasted different. I finally found a good way to freeze the meat, no ice and it still tastes the same. This is a simple tip, but it saved me from icy, yucky meat so I think it is worth mentioning.

This is the meat I bought today for the rest of January meals.

I cut the beef into 3 parts (it is a 3 lb. package)

Put one section, press it down and wrap in plastic wrap

Put all 3 sections in ziploc bag, and into the freezer

I separated the chicken into 2 sections, wrapped them, and put them in a freezer bag, too

**I put all the meals for the rest of the month on the sidebar over there. If I have already done a post on them, you can click and see it. As I cook the other things, I will post them. I think I like this better than the weekly menu posts. Those were just too long. Tonight is Poor Man's Steak and broccoli.

Deals, Deals, Deals

Aren't we all looking for some great deals? Especially now that we have our list of who to buy for, and what they want. I wanted to share a few sites that I go to to find great deals.

- retailmenot.com This site has coupon codes for online shopping. I always go to this site for I checkout. Just put in the site you are at (childrensplace.com, for example) and it will pop up with different coupon codes to use at checkout. It's awesome!!

- wantnot.net This is a great blog by Mir, a super funny gal who shares great deals and coupon codes.

I just learned something recently. McDonalds has these great Treat Cards for $1. They have 12 coupons on them, and some of them are for free items. Great stocking stuffer!!

Hope you all had an excellent Thanksgiving- I am still full!!! The fried turkey was PERFECT, and the sweet potatoes were excellent, as well. I'm so glad I did a test run of those on Tuesday, so I didn't have to worry about them on Thursday. It was great being with family, and watching the Cowboys win!!!

Did You Know?

I have collected some cooking and cleaning facts/tips from reading cooking blogs and cookbooks. I hope these are useful, and feel free to share your own. You're smart (after all, you're reading this blog) and I just love hearing from you. I have loved "meeting" some of you through your comments, and hope to "chat" with more of you!

I've mentioned this before, but it's a fact that bears repeating:
- Try to leave your crockpot alone. If you lift the lid to take a peek, it adds 20 minutes of cooking time to your meal. I am so guilty of this, but now that I know that it actually adds this much time, I hope I will be able to restrain myself.

- "But I don't have any buttermilk!!!" Do you ever start a recipe to find there is an ingredient you don't have? GASP!! Buttermilk always gets me. I NEVER have buttermilk. Thankfully, buttermilk has an easy substitution- Simply add 1 Tbsp. vinegar and enough milk to make 1 cup. Let it sit for 5 minutes and it can be used in place of buttermilk.
This is a great site that lists all kinds of substitutions.

- Did you know you can make your own laundry detergent? And when you do, it comes out to cost 1 penny/load of laundry. NO, not a typo, 1 cent. This woman is serious about her money-saving, and she is always sharing some good tips.

- Here's a problem I know I have had. I have plenty of food in the house, but no idea what to cook for dinner. Help is on the way!! On a great recipe site, called Allrecipes, you can search by ingredients. Plug in some ingredients that you have or want to cook with- you can also plug in ingredients you don't want- and they will bring up recipes with those specific ingredients in it. I have used this feature before, and it is great!!

Check back tomorrow for iCook's First Giveaway winners and thanks to all who took the time to participate!

Weekly Menu

Monday
mini bacon cheeseburger meatloaves
mac n cheese
green beans

Mini Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf
1 lb. ground beef
5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c bread crumbs
1/4 c mayo
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1/3 c ketchup
2 Tbsp. mustard
French fried onions

Mix beef, cheese, bacon, mayo, eggs, bread crumbs, worcestershire. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 c of it into meat mixture, save the rest.
*Here's a tip- For the mini meatloaves, I put a cube of bread in the bottom of each tin. This keeps the meatloaf from sticking, but most importantly the bread soaks up the grease from the meatloaf. You can also put slices of bread underneath your whole loaves of meatloaf before baking.
Spoon some ketchup mixture on each mini loaf. If the ketchup mixture doesn't sound good to you, you can use barbeque sauce, or plain ketchup, or tomato sauce (from the little cans).
I toasted some french fried onions, so they got nice and crispy.
Top the mini loaves with the onions. Serve

Tuesday
tamales with chili (leftovers from Sunday lunch at my mom's)
Mexican Rice

Wednesday
spaghetti with simple tomato sauce
garlic bread

Thursday
flank steak w/sauteed mushrooms and onions
baked potatoes
broccoli
My husband grilled the flank steak outside on the grill, and I sauteed the onions and mushrooms inside to go with it. I used 2 onions, and half a package of mushrooms. I sliced the onions first, and added them to the pan with butter and salt. I sauteed them for a good 5 minutes before adding the mushrooms.

Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper again.
I added worcestershire sauce as well.
Perfect. Mmmmm, these were so yummy with the steak

Friday
crockpot roast
mashed potatoes
roasted carrots

I browned the roast on the stove first. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil to medium-high.
You want a nice brown crust.
Put the roast in the crockpot and deglaze the pan (yummy roast bits) with stock. All I had was vegetable stock, or you can use beef. Pour this liquid in the crockpot with the roast.
I had onions, carrots and garlic. I didn't have any celery or I would have added that, too. Add these veggies to the crockpot with the roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Sorry, no after pictures. We had company and I just forgot. It was good, though.
Yeah, that really helps, I know.

*Did you know?*
Lifting the lid on your crockpot adds 20 minutes of cooking time to your meal.
I know it's hard- don't peek!!!

Tips for Today

Grocery store tips! I have been reminded this week how important my relationship with my grocery store is. I started going there because it was a new one in the area and it had a gas station with it. I don't mind saying- it's Kroger. If you use the Plus Card and spend at least $100, you get 10 cents off per gallon for gas. So I started going there for all my grocery trips. Since I go there twice a month, and use my Plus Card, they have a database or something that keeps track of all I buy. Last week, in the mail, I got a packet of coupons JUST based on stuff I buy. Milk, wipes, crescent rolls, cheese, eggs- things I buy everytime I go. Not only does this save me money (several of these coupons were getting these items FREE), but it definitely keeps me coming back!! They are taking care of me!
- Before I go to the grocery store, I check the ad for Kroger. Whatever meat is on sale, that is what I am buying. That dictates what meals we are having, and what other ingredients I need to go with it. The meat is the most expensive, so that is what I look at first. For example, when I went to the store on the 1st, they were having a good sale on pork tenderloin, salmon and chicken. So I got a big package of chicken tenders (cheaper than breasts), salmon and a pork tenderloin. Then I got produce and whatever we were already out of and needed for lunches.

- I clip coupons. On the first of the month trip, I saved $12 in coupons alone. I know there are people who really know how to do it, and save much more than that, but every little bit helps!

- I buy fresh fruit and canned. The fresh fruit usually lasts us through the first week, and then I go on to the canned goods (in juice, not syrup) to get us through the next week until the next shopping trip. This brings me to my next point...

- I buy store brand. I really do! I used to be a brand name snob, and still am on a few items. But, I seriously cannot tell the difference and it saves 10-20 (sometimes more) cents per can on canned goods, and butter is almost a dollar cheaper. Kroger has good butter.

Hope these help you get the most for your money! Do you have a good grocery store tip to share?

Tip for today

My kids love salad. My mom thinks it's weird (but great) that my 3 and 4-year old LOVE salad. Well, since we make salad pretty often, I was always running out of dressing. Not anymore! Instead of buying new bottles of dressing, I got good recipes for the kinds I make most often. The cool thing is the ingredients are some that I always have, so I never have to be out of dressing or spend money on it at the store.

Thousand Island
3/4 c. mayo
1/8 c. ketchup
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. worchestershire sauce
1/4 c. sweet pickle relish

Mix all ingredients. Taste. If it's too red, add more mayo. If it's to white, add more ketchup. I don't even look at the measurements anymore, I just squirt some ketchup and mayo in a bowl, then add a dash of lemon juice and worchestershire, and a good bit of relish. We like relish.

Easy Caesar Dressing
3/4 bottle of Italian dressing
1/3 c. mayo
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. mustard
1 t soy sauce

Again, mix all ingredients and taste. Alot of times I forget to add the soy sauce or mustard, and I probably add more parmesan than that. This is really good- I make this every time instead of buying the Cardini's that I used to buy.

I love having these easy options, and being able to throw a salad together whenever I want.

Tip for today

I am not a great baker, but I have really started enjoying it in the past year. When I started making cakes from scratch, I wasn't too pleased with how dry they quickly became. After you are used to super-duper moist cakes from a mix, made-from-scratch cakes just tasted dense and dry. I did love the flavor of homemade cakes, and was determined to find ONE recipe that I liked. I have found the recipe and more on that soon (as soon as a certain sister of mine sends me a certain picture I need), but I have a good tip to try that will make your homemade cake a little more moist.

You ready for this???

Pudding mix. Yes, throw a box of pudding mix into the batter (I mixed it in with the dry ingredients), and the cake suddenly became moist and yummy!!! (Thanks, Dad!!!!)
Maybe you knew this or do you have a trick of your own?? Like I said, I am not an experienced baker, but now I will be baking more cakes from scratch- with pudding!!!!

Tip for today

Grocery store talk...

- I go to the same store every time. They send me coupons in the mail because I am a frequent shopper- it helps!! Also, I know the layout and make my list in order of how I go through the store. You can also make your list up by categories: dairy, produce, canned, frozen, etc. so it makes it less likely to forget an item. There is nothing that drives me more crazy at the store than to have to walk clear across the store for one thing I forgot!!

- I make my menu for two weeks, then go through my pantry and see what I need to make these recipes. Add to my list the items we are out of, and there's your grocery list!

- The circular for my store comes in the mail in middle of the week, before I go to the store. I browse that for their sales for the week. If chuck roast is on sale that week, then, it looks like we're having pot roast, honey!! If you don't get the ad, check online. The stores usually have their ads online, so you can check for sales, add it to your list, and adjust your menu- instead of a bunch of impulse buys!!!

- Clip coupons!! It really makes a difference. It may be a beating, but overall, I think it's worth it. I usually save anywhere from $8-15 from coupons.

I bet you have a great grocery store tip. Let us in on it...

Tip for today

Go to Kraft website (on my links to the right) and sign up for their magazine. It's FREE. Yes, seriously free and full of recipes. It comes out 4 times a year, and the turn of the season. I just got my fall one, and it was pretty good.

From the magazine and can't wait to try:

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
I LOVE sweet potatoes. I make them a ridiculous amount during the holidays and never get tired of them (my husband, however, definitely got sweet potato overload last fall/winter)

2 large sweet potatoes
2 oz. cream cheese
2 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 c. pecan pieces

Heat oven to 425. Cut potatoes lengthwise in half; place, cut-side down, in foil-lined baking pan. Bake 30-35 min. or until tender. Scoop out centers of potatoes into bowl (be careful, don't let the skin break!), leaving a little bit of sweet potato in there as a shell. Add cream cheese, milk, sugar, and cinnamon to potatoes, mash until blended. Spoon potato mixture into shells; top with nuts. Bake 10 min. or until potatoes are heated through and nuts are toasted.
Can't wait to try!

The other reason I like this magazine so much, they show you how to do things; there are lots of pictures (as opposed to this blog, which has no pictures. In the future, my recipes will have pics with them). Step by step pictures to help you along the way.