Answering Questions- Costco or Coupons

I was asked about the savings difference between using Costco or coupons. I'll answer it here for anyone else that is interested.

The state we live in doesn't have very many grocery store chains and of those chains none will double our coupons (that I'm aware of). Of all the "good deal" kind of stores, Walgreens is about the best there is here and the only one that I can think of that has super good deals (that I'm aware of).

We do have a discount grocery that is cheaper than the rest and you bag your own groceries and can pay cash or check only. I know many gals that shop there but I'm unable to find all of our purchase needs there which requires driving to more stores. And it's not exactly close to my house.

So, with all of that, I have found for us personally it makes more sense to shop as much in bulk at Costco (plus I love the quality there) and then do the rest at the grocery store the best I can with sales and coupons (even though they aren't doubled). I could drive around and go to several stores in order to get better deals I think but my time is precious to me and with gas prices the way they are, I'm not interested in driving far between our spread out stores. I'm a one stop kind of girl. So, in general I go to Costco once a month or less and then a grocery store twice a month.

Those are my reasons for using Costco because if I do things the way I want to do them, Costco does actually save me money in the long run. It did take a bit of time to switch over to buying at Costco because it's a lot of money up front but once I got most of our things in bulk now it's just a matter of replacing them when we run out. If I was willing to drive to several stores instead and if our grocery stores doubled coupons then I would probably save even more money. But for now, this works for me. Shopping at Costco (because most of it is bulk) prevents me from having to grocery shop as often...I go 2 times a month instead of once a week like a lot of people.

I hope that cleared the mud a bit on why I do as much shopping at Costco as possible.

What to make for lunch today....

I've been working on coming up with a list of easy lunches that are healthier and provide some variety to our diet. I like to cook them from scratch as much as possible but keep them easy and it's all in an effort to avoid feeding my kids lunch meat, peanut butter and jelly, and hot dogs on a three day rotation! =0)

Here is the list that I made today and taped to the inside of my pantry door next to my dinner list.

tortilla wraps
simple tacos
macaroni salad and toast
pasta salad
grilled eggplant sandwiches
zucchini cakes
salad bar
homemade soup
grilled tomato & cheese sand. and tomato soup
grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches
tuna and crackers
tuna melts (recipe coming soon)
pita pockets filled with good stuff (goodwich; chicken salad, salad, veggies, etc.)
chicken salad and crackers
english muffin pizzas
toasted peanut butter and honey
bagel sandwich
stromboli
quiche
bakeover
fritta

Have more lunch ideas....share them in the comments! I'd love more!

Two Beef Pot Pies

You can make these pot pies with regular pie crust or you can use phyllo dough as a healthier option. These directions are for the phyllo crust version. If using pie crust just pour the filling into an unbaked pie crust and top with another pie crust.

Filling:
3-4 cups cooked meat
6 yukon gold potatoes or 3 large russet bakers
2 c chopped carrots
3 celery stalks
1/2 a chopped onion
1 tsp italian seasoning
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 tsp pepper
salt to taste
olive oil

Gravy:
You can make a gravy out of the meat juices using butter, flour, the juices and water as needed. Be generous with the gravy amount because the pie will soak some of it up and you want some gravy with it when it's served.

If you don't have the juices from your meat cooking, you can make a simple beef gravy by using these ingredients:
2 beef bullion
4 cups water
no salt (because the bullion is high in salt already)
pepper
garlic

Pie Crust:
1 package phyllo dough...about 10-15 layered sheets for each pie.


Using a clean counter space, layer the phyllo dough spritzing it with olive oil in-between each sheet of dough. Be sure to separate each sheet of thin phyllo. It's a good idea to have another spray bottle of water to spritz the dough to keep it moist. If it starts to dry it will get crispy and you won't be able to fold it. It will just crumble. So, keep it moist.....another idea is to lay a wet cheese cloth or towel over it till you are ready to use it. Lay the phyllo dough sheets in alternately turned directions so that you get a large pile that will cover a pie dish well.

Cook the meat, set aside. Cook the veggies and seasonings in the olive oil (top list of ingredients) until cooked. Add the meat to this mixture. Make the gravy and add the gravy to the meat and veggie mixture.




Place the phyllo pie crust that you made into a sprayed pie plate. This recipe will make enough for TWO pies. Once filled, fold over the phyllo dough that is hanging over the edge. Spray the top with olive oil.












Bake 350 degrees for approx. 30 min.
Freeze the other pie uncooked for another night.

Hubbard Squash

I'd never cooked or eaten a hubbard squash before so this is a first.

Cut the thing in half..which is not easy to do.

Scrape out the insides and steam like you would any other squash or put in your crock for 6 hours on low. This turned out yummy just like other squash. =0)



Serve with brown sugar and butter.

Favorite Gadget Thing - Silicone Mat

This is a new product that I got recently. I've always wanted one of those (okay 4 of those) nifty silpats that Martha Stewart has. You know the ones that cost $20 each!

Then one day I saw this at Target....it's made by Wilton and it's a silicone baking mat. I think I paid $11 for it but AMAZON has it for $9.99.

It truly is wonderful! I use it every time I use a cookie sheet. Nothing sticks to it. It's easy to wash and is more cost effective than buying parchment paper.

Best part is, it's very flexible, unlike the silpats...so I can easily roll it up tight and store it in the drawer with the foil and cling wrap.

Now, if you're considering buying it off Amazon, I'd appreciate you clicking on Amazon through my link on the right side bar to show your love and support of What's Cooking! =0)


And that's my Favorite Gadget Thing for this month! See ya Monday!

Featured Product- Asian Pears

This is my new favorite fruit. I had never tried one until this past year with our organic produce deliveries. Yum. I wasn't a big fan of pears to start with but this pear eaten cold and while it is still crisp like an apple is wonderful. My kids love them too! Haven't tried one before? Go ahead and give it a try! I hope you like it!

Getting Creative with Soup

Some good-for-you things I'm putting in my soups lately.....
cabbage
leeks
lentils
beets
kale
spinach
beans (sometimes mashed)
squash
garlic
split peas
tomatoes
brown rice


What are you putting in soups lately?

For tips on starting a base for most soups...click here and read the Soup 101 part.

Beets

Beets are good. Red beets stain. But beets are good. =0)

High in iron, beets are worth cooking. Wash them, cut off the ends, and then steam them with the skins on till fork tender. Once cool enough to handle, skins peel off with ease..in fact, they practically fall off. Serve them hot with butter and salt or let them cool and slice them for salads.

Instead of steaming them, cook them in your crock-pot on low for 4-6 hours or until fork tender.

(the beets pictured are red beets and white beets fresh from my dad's garden)

Down in the Dumps Cake

When I was a little girl, my mom made this recipe and when she was a little girl, her Grandma and Aunt Neetsa made it. My mom has told me her memories of eating this yummy dessert while watching slides and 8 mm movies of their latest family vacations (camping trips usually) with their friends the Zimmers. Mom is one of 10 kids and the Zimmers had 6 kids so these two family picture-nights were no small gatherings. This dessert is so rich it can feed a small army. My memories of it are at home with our family and sometimes with company. I remember my own Grandma making chocolate pudding with ice cream so it also reminds me of her. =0)



Nothing healthy about it unless you use the chopped nuts! This chocolate cake is made by pouring hot water over top of it and then the cake bakes up on the top and the rest turns into a hot pudding underneath waiting to be uncovered. I've made this many times in my oven according the directions below but this time I made it in my crock-pot while we were out to dinner. We had company coming back to our house for dessert and when we got back it was ready and waiting for us! Crock-pot directions are at the bottom of this post....



but first just to be sure this is the longest recipe post EVER, my early married story of making this dessert was taking it to a church meeting which we were late to. My ever so skillful driving husband was taking turns quite sharply in order to make up for our being late and I cringed as I knew my hot pudding would most likely not withstand all the tipping while it was sitting on the back seat of our car. Somewhere in the world, that car probably still has a chocolate pudding stain on the back seat....try as we did, we could never soak it all up. So, consider yourself warned before trying to transport this dessert! My lesson learned, DON'T transport a dessert with the word "dump" in the name of the recipe!

Original Recipe:



BATTER:

Mix together-

2 c flour

4 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 c sugar

1/2 tsp salt



Blend in-

1 cup milk

4 tbsp veg. oil

2 c chopped walnuts (optional)



Pour batter into an ungreased glass 9x13 baking dish.



PUDDING:

In another bowl mix together-

2 c brown sugar

1/2 c cocoa powder

Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the batter.



Pour 3 c hot water over the top of brown sugar and batter.



Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min. Let cool about one hour. The water makes a chocolate pudding underneath the baked chocolate cake. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream while watching family videos.



Crock-pot cooking instructions:

Coat crock with butter before putting batter in.

Cook on high heat for 2-2 1/2 hours. (it's very forgiving so if you cooked it for 3 hours it would probably be fine)

Let cool for about 30 min. or so out of the heating element.



You can make this in a dutch oven over coals as well!

1 year old

What's Cooking just turned 1 year old today!

Our eating has really changed this year thanks to this blog! I'm excited to see what new and healthy recipes we find to make this coming year!

If you're new to What's Cooking be sure to check out our category list to the right.

If you've followed What's Cooking for a long time, thank you for your dedication to follow us!

Oh, and the cupcakes are on us today so please take one and enjoy! You can pick off the nuts if you don't like them. =0)

(in case you are wondering, I'm sure the cupcake is totally good-for-you! I'm sure it's made with squash and pasta and then frosted with a cauliflower icing. j/k)

Butternut Squash

Tis the season for squash! I know some of you are cringing as were my husband and kids when I told them I was cooking squash. But after preparing this smooth and mild butternut squash drenched drizzled in a butter maple syrup glaze that I made, they were all pleasantly surprised and ate it.

How do you cook it?
Well, there are a couple of ways you can cook it......
1. Roast it in the oven: Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, place it face down on a cookie sheet and bake @ 350 degrees until fork tender.
2. Steam it: Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, steam it on the stove in a pot with water and a steaming basket till fork tender.
3. My new way: Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, place it face up in crock-pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until fork tender.

When it's done top with butter and brown sugar....or a mixture of 2 tbsp of butter melted with about 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup and a tbsp or so of brown or white sugar.

This also makes great pureed baby food and you can also sneak it into things like mac and cheese!

Sharing Tips

Today YOU get to share your KITCHEN tips! Do you have a great tip to share? Link us to your own post about your tips! Don't be shy! The more tips we share the more tips we'll have!
Don't have a blog to link your tips to, just share with us in the comments section of this post! =0)

Kitchen Tips

Leave the avocado seed with the cut avocado to slow down the browning process.

Put a heal of bread in your hardened brown sugar to soften it for a few hours. Just don't forget it and leave it in there because it will mold.

Burn a candle close to where you are chopping onions to help burn up the fumes of the onion.

Use a baggy on your hand like a glove to coat a pan with butter. Turn it inside out to throw away without the mess.

Throw your dish scrubbing sponge and brush into the dishwasher for easy and hot cleaning. Or, place wet sponge in microwave for 3 min. to sanitize it.

Add a tbsp of olive oil to your boiling pasta to help prevent sticking.

Cook pasta ahead of time by storing in a large ziplock with olive oil to keep it from sticking together. Refrigerate and use when ready.

Keep apples separate from other fruits because they cause them to ripen quickly.

Make freezer meals for company coming so that you can spend your day getting the house ready and the meal is already made. All you have to do is throw a salad together, slice some bread and put together a simple dessert.

Warm serving dishes by placing them in the sink with hot water or in your preheated oven on low. This helps keep food warm longer so that your dishes don't cool the food.

Keep a list on your fridge of your favorite company-is-coming meals or potluck meals for easy planning.

Snowflakes

My daughter insisted that I put this recipe on my blog for her. We checked out some fairy cookbooks from the library and decided to make this recipe on our vacation this summer. Even though it was summer, she wanted to make snowflakes! She loves snow and loves winter which is the opposite of me...I love summer and heat. Now that we are headed into winter soon, I thought I'd go ahead and post it.

Directions:

Fold flour tortillas in half and then half again. Trim with scissors like you would making paper snowflakes. Open back up and lay on a cookie sheet covered with foil. Brush with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixed together. Bake till just crispy. Let cool. Lightly dust with powdered sugar.

Sunday Church Meals

We tend to eat just one big meal on Sundays after church. Typically we try to make ourselves available to go out to eat with anyone from church that wants us to go as a way of spending time with friends. Recently, we've been making BIG changes to save on our budget and so our most recent attempt is to eat at home on Sundays as much as possible. The big problem though is that Sunday mornings are longggggg for our family in particular and so by the time church lets out in the early afternoon, I've got a very hungry family to feed that is famished! LOL

My new attempt at solving this problem is yet again, my crock-pot. I've come up with a list of crock-pot meals that work well to cook during church and are done by the time we arrive home. Now if someone asks us to go to lunch we can offer to have them over instead and the meal is at home waiting for us all. Not every crock-pot meal works well because it's only going to cook during the service. I also have to discipline myself to get up early enough to throw the crock-pot ingredients together and tidy up the house real quick. No one said that saving money would be easy...in fact, it's hard work, but it's worth it! Like Dave Ramsey says, "live like no one else so that later you can LIVE like no one else!"

So, here are my Sunday Crock-pot meals that I've tried or am going to try.....
Chicken Enchiladas (cook chicken over night in the crock on low and assemble the rest of the ingredients in the morning and cook on low while at church)

Green Chicken Chili served on warmed tortillas (cook frozen chicken breasts on high with ingredients while at church. Before serving, remove chicken, chop it and return it to the crock)

Shepherd's Pie (cook ground meat and mashed potatoes the day before. Assemble in crock in the morning and cook on low during church. Gravy optional)

Shredded BBQ Beef Sandwiches (cook roast on low all night. Add BBQ sauce in the morning and cook on low during church. Before serving, shred the meat and serve with sliced cheese and rolls)

Meatball Subs (in the morning fill crock with frozen meatballs and one jar of pasta sauce. cook on low while at church. Serve with sub rolls and provolone cheese.)

Taco Soup (brown meat ahead of time. in the morning put all ingredients into the crock and cook on low while at church. Serve with corn bread or pita chips that were made the day before.)

Baked Potato Bar (wrap potatoes in foil and cook on low over night. I haven't tried doing these for Sundays yet but I think I would turn off the crock in the early morning and remove the lid and then before leaving for church I'd put the lid back on and turn it back on low. The break in cooking would help prevent them from being over done while we were at church.)

Chicken Broccoli Stuffing Casserole (assemble ingredients in the morning and cook on high while at church)

Most soups will work as well cooked on low from the time you get up and while you're at church. If it's a soup with something like lentils that need to cook a long time, you could try cooking it on high while you are gone.

Most chicken roasted/baked recipes will work well cooked on high while you are gone.

95 Theses Nut Bars

For Reformation Day today, my kids and I baked this nutty bars recipe into the shape of 95s in honor of Martin Luther's 95 Theses that he nailed on the door on October 31st, 1517. These are not only VERY healthy but yummy too! My kiddos opted to leave the nuts off.

2 sticks of softened butter (1 cup)
1 c honey
2 c whole wheat flour
2 c wheat germ
chopped nuts (optional)

Mix together till it forms a sticky dough. Turn out onto a well floured counter. Using extra flour and a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1 inch thick. Use floured cookie cutters to cut shapes. Or you can let the kids shape it with their hands into their own shapes. You can also just bake it as one flat rectangle and then cut it in bars after it cools. Sprinkle with chopped nuts before baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 min.

Happy Reformation Day!

Saving at the Grocery Store Beyond Coupons and Ads

We all know about couponing and watching the weekly ads...but how about some other tips? Keep in mind that couponing is only good so far as it doesn't tempt you to buy things you wouldn't normally buy. It's also true that going to several stores to get all the deals takes extra time and extra gas. Be frugal in your couponing and deal shopping!

With that in mind, here are some other tips.....

Buy milk on sale and freeze it. (yes you can freeze it)

Buy bananas on sale and freeze your over-ripe bananas for adding to baking later.

Only shop twice a month. The less you go to the store the less likely you are to be tempted to buy other things. Less trips also cuts down on gas for your car. This doesn't mean you can't run down to the local store once a week to replenish your fresh produce supply if needed...but do your major grocery shopping only twice a month. This will save you a lot of time and money. You'll be surprised.

Shop at Costco first and then get the rest of what you need at the grocery store.

Split bulk Costco items with a friend or relative and share the price in half if it's more than you need.

Buy bulk when your budget allows.

Don't take kids with you! This naturally cuts down on the ocery bill for two reasons...they don't ask you to buy extra things and they don't distract you from figuring out the best prices.

Don't buy ready made meals/food. Prepackaged and ready made meals cost more and aren't as healthy. Make your own homemade snacks. Make your own freezer meals for nights you don't feel like cooking. OR buy just a few of Costco's ready made meals from their deli, they are healthier, lower in sodium, and much more cost effective.

Watch for in-isle coupons...they are often incredible discounts!

Pay with cash. (if you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey or haven't tried his methods, you may want to consider how it would change your grocery shopping-paying with cash keeps you from buying un-needed items. Paying with cash keeps us in a budget...which leads me to the next tip...)

Take a calculator! Figure out how much you have to spend in cash and then subtract your state's tax percentage and that's how much you have left to spend on items in your cart without going over in tax. Add up your groceries as you go. Paying with cash ties you to what you are buying emotionally and gives you the peace about spending what you have with confidence.

Shop during the week during work hours. The store is less crowded and therefor a more relaxing atmosphere. Shopping while you are stressed by all the people you are fighting to get your cart past down an isle will only cause you to rush and grab. Try to hit the stores when it's the least crowded.

If you must take small children with you, swing by the children's books first (or bring your own) to keep them occupied in the cart. Don't take babies during nap time! Mornings are usually kid's happiest times...go when they are happy! I don't understand these people who shop during the dinner hour when their kids are hungry or at bed time (OR LATER) when their kids are tired and cranky. Again, keep the stress level down so you can take your time to get good prices.

Crock-pot Cream of Wheat

My kids actually don't like this one but my husband and I do. It's cream of wheat in the crock-pot. Cream of Wheat is very high in iron. =0)

This makes a great first cereal for babies....I made it all the time for mine and it was much cheaper than buying Gerber's brand baby cereal.

7 1/4 c water
1 1/3 c cream of wheat (preferably the 10 min. cook time but the shorter cook time ones will work fine too)

Put water and cream of wheat in the crock. Cook on low all night (6-8 hrs). In the morning it may have a skin on the top which you can throw away or if it's not too thick just stir it. You can kind of see one starting in the picture but underneath that is creamy cereal. Serve with butter, brown sugar, raisins, honey, maple syrup, etc. like you would oatmeal. You can also mix in the honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup the night before.

This serves 6-8. It doesn't work well for leftovers so it's important to make the right amount. You can half this recipe to serve 3-4 by using these measurements:

3 3/4 c water
2/3 c cream of wheat

Featured Product- Bar Keepers Friend

I love this stuff. It works so good on glass top stoves! Unlike other abrasive cleaners like Comet, this is safe for glass top stoves and gets EVERYTHING off.

Some of you might have black marks that have been there forever from water that's boiled over and I'm here to tell you that this stuff takes it right off with a wet sponge.

I like to use a kitchen sponge that has the one side that is scratchy and it works great. Doesn't scratch the glass top though, just leaves it shiny.

Most grocery stores and Wa-lmart carry it (or at least Super Wal-marts do).

I like it so much that I now use it for my toilets, showers, tubs, and sinks. It's good stuff!

Meal Planning / Menu Planning

I've been wanting to do a post on here for quite some time about menu planning. I've been asked through the years how to do menu planning and tips for menu planning. I'll try to give you a simple list of options (and there are more I know so feel free to comment and share your ideas as well). This post is going to cover "types of menu planning", "tips for menu planning", and "why menu planning works."

TYPES OF MENU PLANNING:

I've done menu planning by the week, by the 2 weeks, and by the month. All of which served me well at certain times. It just depends on what fits for you. Currently, I'm planning by the week to two weeks. There isn't a right or wrong way to do menu planning as long as it's working well for you. Some people like to do two weeks at a time because it fits with their pay days and hence their grocery shopping. I used to plan by the month just because I hated planning and so that way the whole month was done and I didn't have to think about it for another month! Other times I can't seem to think past one week at a time.

I've done menu planning that consisted of breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I've also done just breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and my current favorite-planning just the dinners. I seem to have breakfast and lunch down to a routine without really needing to plan them out. I know several women (and other bloggers) that do breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu planning for their families and it works really well for them. Heavenly Homemaker and Life as Mom post their weekly menus for your viewing convenience if you'd like to see some in action.

TIPS FOR MENU PLANNING:

~probably the best tip of all is to make a list of the things you like to cook...or that your family likes to eat. I keep this typed list of meal ideas printed and taped to the inside of my pantry door. When I'm making my menu, I can quickly reference this list of ideas for dinner. And it even comes in handy when I get behind on menu planning and need a quick idea for dinner. I categorize this list by Poultry, Meat, and Vegetarian dishes. You can categorize your list any way you want to though...another great way would be Soups, Casseroles, Meat and Potatoes, Mexican, Italian, etc.....do what works for you. You can see my list to the right. You are welcome to print it and use it as a rough draft for your own meal ideas.

~if you tend to cook enough for leftovers, work a "leftovers" night into your menu. This is a night (towards the end of your cooking week) where you pull out all your leftovers from the week and have a buffet. This saves money and assures that leftovers get eaten.

~make double when you cook and freeze one. Making freezer meals gives you a night off of cooking from time to time. Be sure to put these freezer meals into your menu planning calendar. Remember that potatoes and carrots do not freeze well and be sure to pull that freezer meal out in the morning so it's defrosted in time to cook it according to the recipe instructions. Another tip is to write the recipe cooking instructions on the foil you cover it with making it easy to remember what temp to set the oven and for how long.

~include one breakfast dinner a week to save money on the food budget. What's breakfast dinner? It's having pancakes or the like for dinner. It's cheaper and saves money.

~when making your menu for the week start with looking through your pantry and freezer. Try to use items you've already got on hand and incorporate ingredients you need to use up.

~consult your home calendar/schedule to account for other dinners out of the house whether that's family get-togethers, church potlucks, or going out with friends. Another reason to consult your schedule is to account for busy days where the crock-pot meal may be the best option and schedule accordingly. For example...Friday is crock-pot day for us because it's always a long busy day.

~once you've planned your meals, make your grocery list off of your menu plan. This helps save time and money in the grocery store because you are shopping for what you actually need that week.

~if only planning dinners, then add some basic breakfast, lunch, and snack items to your grocery list.


~make your own menu calendar and stick it to your fridge for daily reference. This way you know where it is all the time. I've made them in excel before but now I use a magnetic paper calendar like this one pictured.


WHY MENU PLANNING WORKS:

First of all, you don't have to stick to the menu plan as law. I do plenty of scribbling out, switching, rearranging, and abandoning as needed for unexpected circumstances in my day. The menu plan is only a guide and a plan. Sticking to it is of course to your benefit and should actually help alleviate stress and busy schedules but there are times when you need to make changes.

Menu planning works because:
*it takes the stress out of figuring out dinner at the last minute.
*it allows you more time (because you planned) to make healthier, more balanced, and all around better meals rather than last minute ones. You can plan a more well rounded and balanced diet throughout the week/month.
*it saves money at the grocery store because you are buying what you need. Instead of buying a bunch of food and actually only using a percentage of it that week and throwing out what goes bad, you are going to use just about all of it because you plan to.
*it frees you up in the mornings and afternoons from figuring out what to make for dinner and from having to run to the store for that one ingredient you thought you had on hand and don't.
*menu planning may seem like it takes a lot of time if you haven't done it before but in reality it saves time. Just taking those 15-20 min (you get better and faster at it the more you do it) at the beginning of the month or week will save you tons of time in the grocery store and in the afternoons trying to figure out what to make.