Tools of the trade

I spend a lot more time in the kitchen than I used to. A LOT. Most of my family knows this, so it's inevitable that I get kitchen tools and gadgets as gifts all the time. More than a few times, I've unwrapped a gift and given a little eye roll when I'm faced with something that I've seen pitched on TV for "only 9.99 plus shipping!" (buy now and we'll double your order!). But surprisingly, a few of those items made my list of must-have kitchen tools - they save me time, and money when they help me avoid convenience packaging of fresh items.

Here's a little list of my favorite kitchen tools!

Vidalia Chop Wizard
This little tool came my way via my husband's grandmother. I definitely did my best Billy Mays when I unwrapped it, and expected that it would gather dust before eventually making its way to a yard sale. How wrong I was. I use this little gem DAILY. It has two attachments, one for larger cuts and one for small dices, and the food drops into a container that doubles as a measuring cup! It works FAST too, and cleanup is really easy. I haven't manually chopped an onion in forever, let alone peppers, carrots, celery, boiled eggs...

One Touch Can Opener
Ok, maybe this is just a convenience thing, but I LOVE my One Touch. When I'm doing big cooking sessions, it helps keep things moving because I can set it on a can, hit the button, and then do something else while this little guy does his work. Yeah, it's a few seconds here and there - but if you've got a lot of cans to open (especially when doing bulk cooking sessions) those moments add up fast. Plus my toddler is enthralled by it, and a captivated toddler makes for a happy mommy :)

Good Grips Apple Corer and Divider
I like the whole OXO line because of the chunky, padded handles - and my apple corer/slicer gets daily use. Getting snacks to the table is that much faster. But I also use it to make onion wedges for roasting, and potato wedges for homemade fries.

Oxo Good Grips 4-Inch Pizza Wheel
Even if you NEVER make a homemade pizza, a pizza wheel is a must-have tool. Crusts to cut off your bread? No problem. Quesadillas? Perfect triangles in seconds. Need to make bite-sized pieces for your toddler? 1-2-3 done. I use it when baking breadsticks to cut the dough evenly and quickly. And yes, we use it on homemade pizza too :)

What's your most prized kitchen tool?






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Grocery Tracking - week 11, '10

I didn't do too bad last week, total spent was $43.29 but that included some jarred baby food and Gerber puffs for the babe to snack on. It turns out that buying the 6pack from BJ's for $9.99 was cheaper than buying individual containers of the Wal Mart brand at $1.79 each! I will have to watch out for coupons, especially since the little guy LOVES them. I realized that I can't really get meats to the right consistency for him, so for now I'm going with jars of baby dinners...but he's getting better at chewing so it won't be long before I just mash up what we're having for dinner anyway.

I don't know how we'll do in the next 2 weeks before the end of the month - we need diapers and probably more formula, plus some cleaning supplies...I will really have to stretch what we have in the pantry to keep on budget, but it's not impossible!!

Here's how the spending went down:

BJ's
18-pack Beech Nut stage 2 dinners - $6.79 (got $1 instant rebate)
6lb bag Broccoli,carrot,squash frozen veg mix - $5.99
3lb bananas - $1.44
6-pack Gerber Puffs - $9.99
1gal milk - $2.45

Total: $26.66

Shaw's
1 loaf Whole Grain White bread - $0.65 (near sell-by, original price $2.50!)
6-pk whole grain English Muffins - $0.55 (near sell-by, original price $2)

Total: $1.15

Price Rite
14oz box PR cheerios - $1.59
32oz jar PR Strawberry Jam - $1.99
42oz canister PR quick oats - $1.79
1 loaf PR wheat bread - $1.19
.58lb green pepper (1) - $1.27
.57lb red pepper (1) - $0.96
2.76lb pears (6) - $2.73
3 avocados - $2.97
16oz Int'l Delight Fr Van creamer - $0.99

Total: $15.48

This week I had $1 in store savings!




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Menu Plan Monday - Mar 22, '10

After a gorgeous weekend, we're waking up to....rain. Well, you know what they say about New England...if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes :)

Last week we did GREAT sticking to plan. The Sue Sue's Casserole was a hit, especially with my toddler! It was a little heavy on the onions, and I *think* if I play around with it I can make it more like a creamy beef stroganoff casserole. We also managed to use up just about ALL of the leftovers - I love me a clean fridge!

This week we actually have TWO days when the whole family is home for dinner! I also had to plan for plenty of leftovers, this weekend hubby and I both work so we need enough to cover our meals on those days.

Here's what's on our table, don't forget to visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for tons more menus and recipes!

monday - Curried Turkey Tidbits, rice, mixed veggies - OAMC ($2.62 for 4 servings)

tuesday - Easy Taco Bake - OAMC ($3.21 for 4-6 servings)

wednesday - Fluffy French Toast, fruit, eggs ($5.04 for 6 servings)

thursday - Chicken Ranch Pizza, salad - OAMC ($5.90 for 4-6 servings)

friday - Grilled steaks, sweet potatos, mixed veg ($6.70 for 4 servings)

saturday - Leftovers (Free!)

sunday - Leftovers, hubby will be eating at his mom's (Free!)




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A bit of 'splainin to do...

I realize that lately my blog has been faithful to regular weekly postings (menu plan, grocery tracking) but I've been lacking in much beyond that. For that dear readers, I do apologize.

My physical health has been suffering lately, the hardest to deal with has been the fatigue and lack of motivation - I didn't know what was going on with me until I finally saw my doctor this week and added a new word to my vocabulary: hypothyroidism.

It's not a dire situation, thankfully - but it is one that requires a lot of my attention as I learn what adjustments I need to make, watch myself and become more aware of symptoms and potential problems, and try to regain some sense of feeling like myself again. I've never HAD to take a medication in my life other than the occasional antibiotic for illness. I have no history of chronic issues. While I am married to a Type 1 diabetic, I've always been able to focus on maintaining HIS health...now I have to add my own maintenance into the mix.

I PROMISE that as I feel better and get a handle on what's going on, I will get back to more frequent posting here. If you are interested, I've started penning my thoughts about this development at a new blog, The Butterfly Effect - feel free to stop in and say hi, and for those who have firsthand experience with hypothyroidism, I'd love to hear from you.





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Grocery Trip - week 10, '10

Hello, payoff!

Last week's shopping was the first post-Once a Month Cooking week, and boy did it show! Total spent was $32.87, and that was INCLUDING formula, some baby food supplies, and a big container of honey. The honey wasn't TOTALLY necessary, but the Lazy Granola I made for OAMC is such a hit, I'll be making it on a VERY regular basis.

It's SO hard to resist stocking up when I know I could squeeze a little into every week till the end of the month, but I'm really trying to see the impact OAMC has on the budget! At this point I've only used one OAMC meal per week, which would stretch my freezer stash almost to June - my goal is to use 2-3 per week, but either way the extra investment last month should do my budget good at least through April!

Here's what we bought last week:


BJ's
2 gallons milk - $4.96
51oz canister BJ's formula - $16.99 (got $3 instant rebate!)
3lb bag sweet potatoes - $2.49 (for baby food)
3lb bunch bananas - $1.44
3lb jar BJ's honey - $6.99

Total: $32.87

This week I got $3 in store savings!






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Dining deal from Adility for Boston area peeps!

This one is not to be missed if you are in the Boston area. Adility.com (another group buying deal site like Groupon) has a FANTASTIC discount deal available today only - $29.99 for a multi-discount card at David's Tavern in Newburyport - the total value is up to $400!

For your $30, you get:
- ONE Dining Spectacular deal - 50% OFF your total food bill,up to a Maximum Savings of $100.00 (excludes tax, tip and gratuity)
- SIX Buy One Get One Free dinner entrees (can use up to 2 of these per visit)
- SIX 50% OFF your total Dinner FOOD bill up to a $25.00 Savings. (Valid up to SIX TIMES before expiration date. Valid SUNDAY, MONDAY,TUESDAY nights only)
- TWO Buy One Get One Free Brunch Buffets ( Valid two times before expiration date)

You can only use one type of discount per visit, and the gift card expires 6 months from purchase date. But you'd be getting your money's worth even if you only used ONE of these discounts! A little about David's:
David's Tavern is located in historic Newburyport, MA, and we offer an extensive menu, weekly live entertainment, and raw bar, all within our casual pub atmosphere downstairs and fireside dining upstairs. David's Tavern also has full function facilities and offers childcare while you dine.

This deal is ON and will expire tonight, so if you live within travel distance of Boston's north shore (or know someone who does), this is a great deal op!




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Menu Plan Monday - Mar 15th, '10

So last week was going strong, following the plan, loving on my freezer meals....until Thursday. I forgot to take the Sloppy Joe out to thaw, plus I had a bunch of veggies in the crisper that were getting ready to turn, so I made Vegetable Soup instead. Then on Friday we ended up visiting my dad and an aunt from out of state, so dinner was on them :) At least it means my freezer stash will stretch a little further!

The one OAMC dish we got to, the Black Bean Salsa Chicken - WOW! Not only was it DEEEELISH, but we had a TON of leftovers. I'm reworking it into enchilada filling this week, but that is after making a couple of burritos over the weekend. Mix it with rice and it stretches FAR - that's the best kind of dish!

Here's our table for the week, drop in on Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for tons more menus and recipes!

monday - Leftover veggie soup, grilled cheese ($2.00 for 4 servings)

tuesday - BBQ Pork Tortillas, Mexican rice ($4.45 for 4 servings)

wednesday - Sue Sue's Casserole - OAMC ($4.62 for 6-8 servings)

thursday - Homemade Pizza, sliced peppers ($3.50 for 6-8 servings)

friday - Leftovers (Free!)

saturday - Enchiladas using leftover Black Bean Salsa Chicken ($3.68 for 4-5 servings)

sunday - Dinner at the in-law's (Free!)




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