For the Love of Coffee

You know whats inspirational? This cup of coffee sitting next to me...

I thought it only right that I share with you my recipe for what I have deemed the

"Perfect Cup of Coffee"

this coming from someone who is a self proclaimed Starbucks addict, If it's not better I'd say it's damn close!

You can start with your favorite roast but I really think freshly ground beans are where it's at, if you only have Folgers that will do too...

Lately I like to use a coffee press or a percolator but whatever your fancy while your brewing grab a saucepan and let the magic happen!

I like to use Silk Vanilla Soy Milk but regular milk would be divine! I pour about 2 cups then add to it (however much feels right) the following cast of characters:

Real Vanilla Extract

Good Quality Cinnamon

Ancho Chile Powder (a little more if there is a stuffy nose that must be dealt with)

Fine Sugar

Cocoa Powder

After simmering on low and stirring all the while add to a cup of freshly brewed coffee and enjoy preferably on the patio listening to your favorite music..

There you have it, my perfect cup of coffee..and by the way since when was Guns & Roses considered Classic Rock? Man this makes me feel old!

This is what I am brewing lately and by all means it trumps anything you can find in the grocery store! Where did I get might you ask??

Why Lot18 of course!

If you haven't had a chance to browse Lot18 it is THE place if your a wine lover, but also if you have a passion for chocolate and coffee, the good stuff! Even better if you sign up you can get up to a $20 credit towards your first purchase so you can try something for next to nothing, and you can earn credit by referring your friends how cool is that.....

Free Dark Chocolate Anyone?? It's okay go on and indulge, I won't tell anyone...

Long Weekend....

Bon Appetempts Strawberry Cake courtesy of Saveur

Pretty Eggshell Blue Manicure

Water Park

Grilling Steaks

Homemade Mashed Potatoes

A Big Pizza

Spa

Yoga

A Long Meditative Walk

A Cool Breeze

Boutique Popcorn

WSJ Magazine

Bon Appetempts Strawberry Cake Via Saveur

Sleepovers

Boys Rowdy Boys Sleepy

Such is a day in this beautiful life...2 days left to the weekend...wonderful

Menu Plannings

I have fun with planning my menus for the upcoming weeks, a lot of the times I am trying new things and god bless my family for being my guinea pigs,some are winners other losers but through it all I sometimes find that one thing for which becomes a signature dish. I have a huge I mean huge collection of cookbooks new & vintage and I add to it anytime I happen across a find at a used book store. I have everything from highly sought after collectibles, ones that belonged to my great great great grandmother which I treasure, to Paula Deans boys who lovingly signed their debut book to my son Logan who has aspirations to one day becoming a chef. Lately these cookbooks are gathering dust, although they are read from time to time as I love flipping the pages of a good cookbook, all of my menus lately come from websites and blogs. Sometimes magazines like Food & Wine or whatnot. I usually do my menu the beginning of every week  before I go shopping and am usually pretty good about sticking to the list buying only what the menu calls for with a few exceptions. Once in a while I splurge on the family sized Naked juices if they are on sale or an item that is on sale with a price that just can't be beat. The beauty of this I have found is not only do we eat little to no processed foods which goes without saying is better for our health and well being but by doing this I manage to feed a family of 5 on approx $525.00 a month. It also makes me feel good to cook for my family knowing that when we get together for a meal that it is one made with love.I know this may not seem spectacular to the couponers out there who manage to get $600 worth of groceries for $50 but I think this is pretty good.I usually throw in a "free for all" week every month or so where I may pick up just a few necessities and force myself to use up whatever I have left in the cabinets and freezer as I do freeze leftovers from time to time. Every week I throw in a leftover night to help reduce what is wasted which is little compared to the amount cooked. Our eating out consists of Pizza night usually twice a month and maybe 1-2 other meals out if that (If you don't count my husbands lunch hours which usually involve fast food...) I could care less about using coupons for free hamburger helpers and convenience foods even if they are free.This past week all of the meals that I made came from Envy My Cooking with the exception of the Tortilla Soup from the Pioneer Woman which won't be made till this week. I am also starting to add reviews and tips to my menus, please feel free to ask if you have any questions about something in particular you have been wanting to try. And with that here is our menu from last week, I would love to hear how your family shops for food, do you follow any kind of game plan and how do you save money on your grocery bills?

Monday: Chicken Tortilla Soup w/ Shrimp Pico De Gallo served with homemade corn chips

Tuesday: Lasagna & Fresh french bread : 2 words awesome for such a simple uncomplicated recipe this was not only quick to prep but made for a great traditional lasagna. Using cottage cheese makes this meal easy on the pocketbook too and the plus is you can't even tell. There were no leftovers and I made a whole pan!

Wednesday: Spicy Garlic Shrimp: This dish was pretty good, a little on the spicy side with it's use of Cajun & Creole seasonings but the combo of shrimp and sausage in a cranked up sauce made for a bit of different dish to which my husband exclaimed " Bland food bland life, Spicy food spicy life".....I used penne, next time I would recommend going with something a little more silky like egg noodles.

Thursday: Grilled New York Strips with Penne Fresca. I wasn't a big fan of the Penne Fresca warm. This may make for a good cold salad if the recipe was tweaked some what but as a warm pasta dish it fell flat of my expectations. I was attracted to this recipe by the fact that it resembles something somewhat Mediterranean but the penne al dente as choice of pasta used made the veggies just slip and slide right off the noodles. The balsamic added a nice touch but I think next time I would add the balsamic into the veggies first or grill them with it for more flavor.

Friday: Pizza Night/ Leftovers No Cooking

Prepare Knot Rolls for the weekend

Saturday: Caramel Knock Yourself Naked Brownies; this is a Oh My God You Need To Make These Now!

Salsa Chicken

Greek Spinach Melts

(Yes I know a weird combination, I think I may have been trying to paint my toenails and help with Science homework while I was making this menu....)

Sunday: Eggs & Cinnamon Mock Monkey Bread : Kids will love these little rolls kinda like donut holes but made with biscuits..these went pretty darn fast!

Homemade Calzones : This was my first time trying my hand at calzones. Although they turned out okay I could have used more sauce, definitely needed to serve with warm sauce on the side. They are a good way to use up leftover sausage & veggies. I wasn't a big fan of my dough though It was okay but I had a hard time working with it and it needed to be thinner than what I was able to pull off. If made again this
recipe will need some tweaking.
Once again you can find all the recipes from this week at

Envy My Cooking along with lots of cool things like a peek into other peoples dream kitchens! I like Envy for their no nonsense dishes which are quick to prepare and easy to pull off, also because they are keyed to feed families. Also this month on Envy Gwyneth Paltrow has teamed up with a great foundation Shaklee Cares and is donating a portion of the proceeds from her wonderful and inspiring cookbook My Fathers Daughter; Delicious, Easy  Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness  to providing aid for victims of natural disasters such as in Japan.If you haven't gotten a copy yet jump over to Envy's Amazon Affiliate Page ..this is a Great book you won't be sorry! 

Last Weeks Menu

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.

Harriet Van Horne

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Salad w/ fresh corn, feta & blueberries

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cake

Ham & Brie sandwiches on french baguettes

Monday: Quessadillas

Tuesday: Meatballs w/ Peppers & Pinapple over rice

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Sour Cream Enchiladas for Cinco De Mayo

Friday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Saturday: Shrimp De Gallo

Key Lime Pie

Beef Stew

Fresh Baked Dill Bread

All recipes last week courtesy of

The Pioneer Woman

The Best Avocado Facemask... Ever

Have you ever made homemade face and body products before? If not you should..not only are they easy to make but natural products are the way to go for so many reasons, the most important one is that you will avoid the Cancer causing agents found in most over the counter products you buy at the store.When buying anything for my face or body I tend to stick with Dr Bonners Magic Soaps, Lavera or Burts Bees lotions & cosmetics, Weleda rosewater face cleanser and California Baby for the boys. A good face mask however is not farther than my fruit bowl, feel free to switch this recipe up..variations would be adding more lemon juice, puree of 1/4  cucumber, a little olive oil.... either way you choose it will leave your skin silky smooth and luminous when left on for 10 min. I like to exfoliate with salt lemon and ivory soap before doing a mask..

Best Avocado Face Mask

1 avocado pit removed & smashed
1/4 cup fine milled oats
2 tbsp honey
Splash hot water
Dash lemon juice

Blend till smooth, paint on face. Let sit for ten minutes. Remove with hot towels and rinse thoroughly.

Avocado are in season & in addition to utilizing them on your face and body eat em up!Here's a fun fact about Avocados.. they used to be dinosaur food some 50 million years ago in California. Did you know one avocado has 3X more potassium than a banana? It is considered to be " a perfect food."Meaning it could be ones sole source of nutrition. They feed nutrients to the blood.. coat and protect the lungs & large intestines.. and balance out the liver. In homeopathy it can be used for everything from ulcers to insomnia to colitis.Want beautiful skin and hair eat Avocados, high in Vit E & Beta Carotene smashed up they make a great hair conditioner too! I like to dice mine up & add them to everything from fruit salads to tacos to eggs, halve them & stuff with seafood salad or my favorite drizzle w a tad olive oil and lemon juice with garlic sea salt and pepper..

Here is a little Tip for today, hope everyone is enjoying their Friday with family, friends and fun.

~~~~Buddha lived in his own way, then a temple was born; then thousands followed and they started living like Buddha. They missed their goal. Buddha never followed anybody, his way was his own, he was happy~~

Sunday

 The weekend has been all about family, homework and what to do with the blueberries. I spent the better part of the day studying Charlie Chaplin and the beginning of film making for my cinema class. I have concluded Thomas Edison took credit for way more than he deserved, that Chaplin was a comedic genius and that watching silent films is something I find to be relaxing. It made for a long day wherin the New York Times got neglected. Nicholas woke up with a fever and a stuffy nose so we have spent the day inside which should almost be illegal as it is a beautiful 70 degrees out. But we needed the rest and relaxation. Yesterday we got out and did some fun stuff and today I finally did something with those blueberries....

I whipped up a blueberry crumb cake from 3 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 pkg jello instant vanilla pudding, 1 cup of veg. oil, pinch of salt, shake or two of vanilla, nutmeg, a little milk and of course blueberries..I even through in a few blackberries...shhhhh topped with a homemade crumb topping and an hr in the oven....

And a boyfriend who likes to take pictures of me slaving away :)

Topped off with vanilla iced cream...whole bean while warm

Asparagus is in season ..I like mine steamed with a little butter sea salt and fresh parmesan

We spent Saturday at Chip & Ruby's and took the boys to Philadelphia Sandwich Co. for lunch.. it was a gorgeous day. Nicholas won 650 tickets from the arcade games. I couldn't believe it... enough for 2 hotwheels a foldup frisbee and a mini basketball hoop and ball

It is going to be a good week and I am very blessed to have re-charged my batteries this weekend. Happy Sunday and Sweet Dreams.

Whats Cooking This Weekend?

Experimenting with mixing the flavors of cinnamon red-hot candies and apples. The first attempt was to bake some Braeburn apples (cored) with the candies inside. After Charlie and I  had this dessert, served up with a little vanilla bean ice cream, I thought of a better concoction. Slicing the apples thin after skinning and sauteing them with butter and a few pinches of love..pulverizing the red hot candies into a homemade cinnamon vanilla ice cream...mmmmmm will make a yummy Valentines Day dessert!

In my house you will pretty much always find my milk glass bowl filled with kisses. Mostly they will be of various Holiday varieties depending on the month...So just as the candy cane & cherry chocolate ones disappeared, Valentines Day brings white chocolate and raspberry swirls with a little dark chocolate "hug" inside...

The Blueberry French Toast from Fridays post...turned out awesome! This I will make again and again..especially since I had no less than 5 pints of Blueberries in the fridge since they were having a wicked sale! Next time I will put a little more maple syrup in the eggs than what the recipe calls for. The blueberry topping was out of this world and just got better & better as it sat. Served this up with Havarti & herbed dusted eggs, sage sausages, thick cut bacon and these......

Yogurt parfaits...I love making this easy, little, fancy additions to brunch. I only have 4 parfait glasses so I like to use a variety of vintage glasses or milk glass cups as well. My vintage champagne glasses looks so pretty when filled with layers of yummy fruit and yogurt. I typically use whatever I have on hand yogurt..fruits..and granola. This am being it's berry season I had some plump and juicy blackberries on hand..sliced up fresh banana...used a combo of cherry and berry mix yogurt with some pumpkin flax seed granola...yum!

Tonight's dinner was thin sliced top sirloins...black beans & corn ...and this fabulous Lemon Pasta with garlic cheese baguettes.

Spring is almost here!

Sheppards Pie using the slow roasted pork from the crock pot topped with garlic mash... gotta make the most of these hearty meals while the weather is still calling for them...they also widdle down my endless supply of frozen veggies;) This dish is actually so easy to layer using whatever leftover meat you may have...with veggies layered on top and a nice layer of homemade mashed potatoes spread over it. I melt cheese on top of mine of course!

So Happy Sunday!! I would love to hear what is cooking in your house this weekend! Homemade brownies are waiting to be topped with vanilla ice cream & choc. syrup...should be illegal. We had a great weekend taking the boys to see The Green Hornet...napping...game playing..reading...and I got those bathrooms clean...but I did not go to church..I worked on my Sociology homework instead and did well on my quizzes. I would like to find more time for spirituality in my life and I will here soon. Hope everyone has a great week!

Namaste

Hello Weekend

What are you doing this weekend? I for one am glad to have a couple days around the house..I never have had the luxury of knowing what it feels like to be a stay at home Mom for any length of time. I love my job however I try to sandwich all of the things I would rather be doing in between weeks like most people. With three boys it is hard to make time for everyone and maintain a relationship as well. I'd like to thing what is key to being able to survive the madness is to slow down. I am one of those people who has a hard time sitting still. I am lucky to make it through a movie without getting up ten times.. so relaxing a little bit is definitely something I have to practice more.I guess at this stage in my life I am just busy. Thank god I don't feel that horrible I dropped the ball and can't seem to pick it up feeling. I am back in College as of a week ago, and it is a wonderful experience so far...and a lot of reading...a lot of studying..and writing. So this weekend although I have some schoolwork to do my plans are:
To make Blueberry French Toast with Bacon
Tickle my children
Scrub all three bathrooms top to bottom
Read the NY Times Sunday...the whole thing..(I got close last Sunday)
Go to church... (It has been a while)
Get outdoors
Buy a new hat
Watch a movie ( all the way through)
I may also bake this cake.... yes I think I need to;)

Nate Williams

And I will take pictures of it all and share later:) Hoping for a wonderful weekend full of inspirations and happiness.

Blueberry French Toast



• 12 slices day-old white bread, crusts removed


• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese


• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries


• 12 eggs


• 2 cups milk


• 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

 • Cut bread into 1-in. cubes; place half in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Cut cream cheese into 1-in. cubes; place over bread. Top with blueberries and remaining bread cubes.


• In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and syrup; mix well. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.


• Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 25-30 minutes longer or until golden brown and center is set.






• 1 cup sugar


• 2 tablespoons cornstarch


• 1 cup water


• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries


• 1 tablespoon butter






• In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Stir in blueberries; reduce heat. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until berries have burst. Stir in butter until melted. Serve with French toast. Yield: 6-8 servings (1-3/4 cups sauce).

January...So Far

My Status Report January



Making : Wonderful memories every day



Cooking :Chicken Curry..Spag & Meatballs...Pistachio Cake...Peanut Butter Drizzled Popcorn



Drinking : Lots of Green Tea & Good Coffee's



Reading: A new collection of cookbooks.. architecture & decorating books



Wanting: A new Mac home computer ;) Classes are about to start!



Looking: For love in all the wrong places...lol just kidding..to the stars every evening before bed
Playing: with these wonderful and inspiring young men I have
Wasting: No time with the television
Sewing: Nothing Currently
Wishing: For continued health and happiness
Enjoying: Sobriety
Waiting: For the weekend of course to be home with family..best thing in the whole world..nothing compares

Liking: my books...my thrift store finds..my new boots..cold days and coming home

Wondering: Where I should go to church
Loving: My children & family
Hoping: That god may carry the victims of the Tuscon shooting families in his hands through this tough time

Marvelling: Over some of the things I have been making in the kitchen lately
Needing: More rest

Smelling: Lavender... have been washing all the laundry with infused oil


Wearing: My sheep jumping over the moon Nick and Nora Pj's :) My new Uggs..skinny jeans...sweaters..light dresses
Following: The news more than I care to be
Noticing: How life keeps getting better every day
Knowing: That life is too short to waste time on bad company
Thinking:Of what I hope the year holds for me
Bookmarking: Recipes of course
Opening: Cookbooks & The NY Times

Giggling: Over Jim Carrey on Sat Night Live
Feeling: Enlightened and positive about what the New Year brings.....

Next time I will frost this cake with Chocolate Ganache!

Happy 58th Bday Dad!

We served it up with plenty of Cool Whip... Divine!

Dad & I

My new finds... Elle Decor is a neat magazine, I scored the Dec issue for a quarter! Love the photos.. a few vintage cookbooks for which I adore the illustrations..a cool vegetarian cookbook from The Moosewood Restaurant.. The photos & illustrations in the architecture book are stunning....total cost $5.25

Here's a ham glaze for ya: Corn syrup, brown sugar,ground brown mustard,Dijon, honey,Smuckers pineapple iced cream topping... Look Out!

Because I forgot to pick one of these up last time I was in Florida that's why;)

It's toooo late baby now it's too late....

Sunday we spent driving to my parents to celebrate my Dads 58th birthday! I made this throwback retro Pistachio Chocolate Cake in my new bundt pan and used my new mixer..great Christmas presents!! I had a wonderful and relaxing weekend ..actually watched a few movies..went to the library used book sale..did a little bit of thrifting..I was exhausted by Sunday evening however and my wonderful boyfriend got take out food which gave me a much needed break..Onto the week there are lots of exciting things ahead and I am open to them... coming home to this warm house and settling in is truly the best thing in the world.

What to do with all of the leftover holiday baking stuff?

If your like me then perhaps you had visions of grandeur when it came to baking this past holiday season. There was bag upon bag of chocolate chips bought..and there were white chocolate ones..toffee ones..chocolate mint ones..there were mixes and nuts and more confectioners sugar than any one person should have in the cabinet at one time..and there was the rum..lest we forget about the rum purchased to make extraordinary golden rum cakes... With the desicion to work through the holidays I was lucky to have produced a mere 2 batches of cookies and a loaf of bananna bread.. I did make and awesome
Pumpkin Cake with a citrus frosting  (twice) that could very well instigate proposals and solve the whole world peace debate..yes it was that good,in the words of my 4 year old you should try it..you'll like it! But back to the biz of all these leftovers sitting in my cabinet that are bound to fall into the dark corners and be forgotten till next year only to be salvaged and wasted. This holiday season I was on a real Ghiradelli kick. I bought the chips ( every kind) & the brownie mixes. I happened to notice the lonely box of brownie mix sitting on the counter and decided to make a batch for some brownie sundaes of course. Afterall we didn't have enough sweet treats bought or given to us over my measly 3 batches of cookies...It was around this time I discovered a little 7 layer bar recipe on the back that caught my eye and yes here I give you boys and girls my best recommendation for using up some of those lonely baking items.
The 7 Layer Brownie... I am no stranger to 7 layer bars and usually make mine with a layer of fine cornflake crumbs and melted butter on the bottom..and while those are good it was time I tricked up my 7 layer bars anyways as I have been in limbo making the same ones the same way for years..This was super easy and made for some pretty amazing sundaes..I think they are best right out of the oven so if you have a big crowd to please these would work wonderfully. Make some right away & your hubby and kiddos will be pleased if topped with a little coffee ice cream and dark chocolate syrup like I did.

Ghiradelli 7 Layer Bars

1 stick melted butter
1 box Ghiradelli Brownie Mix ( I am sure any old one will do)
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 bag semi sweet or milk chocolate chips
1 bag white chocolate or butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Layer ingredients in order in your favorite brownie pan and drizzle with condensed milk.. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly on the side..slice a good size bar and top with your favorite ice cream..why not we still have a good 6 mos till it's bathing suit season and all..now this is living!

Spicing it up on a Friday night....

Some of the greatest meals that I have created have come from lack of ingredients..let me explain..I see a recipe that I want to try..set out to prepare it then realize I am lacking a certain key ingredient..I substitute something ..go my own way..and it spirals out of control until the dish I am making and the ingredients involved bear no resemblance to the dish I set out to make.. sometimes I get lucky and tonight was one of those nights..I have been wanting to make this Butter Chicken for some time..I chopped the onion ..added lots of minced garlic and a pat of butter to the iron skillet...this is about as far as I got until it became time for marinading then I got lost in the spice cabinets adding a little of this a little of that and what I ended up with was this...and it sure did make the house smell good...


Curry Chicken

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (beat down)
1/2 white onion coarsely chopped
5 cloves of minced garlic
Cream
Butter
Yellow Curry Powder..I like spice islands.
Marinade:
lime juice
fresh herbs..I use rosemary thyme parsley and basil chopped fine
freshly cracked garlic pepper
red pepper
paprika
 

Saute onion and garlic until brown in cast iron skillet..idk why chicken always tastes better cooked in a cast iron skillet but I am sure any old pan you got will do..add cracked garlic pepper and saute until golden. Marinade chicken ideally hours before ( tonight it was ten minutes prior to cooking..I got boys to feed)..add all spices and lime juice to chicken after beating down while in a lg Ziploc..poor guys...add to pan and cook, turning 4 times until golden brown..while cooking add plenty of yellow curry powder and get the rice going...if I had more time tonight a nice basmati would have been nice but Minute Rice with a little butter and salt was just fine..when chicken breasts are in the final stage of cooking add cream to the pan..lift breasts up one by one..pour a little here a little there..now slap the lid on it turn to low and leave it be. 20 minutes later after fluffing your rice and cutting some fresh fruit and a nice french baguette to sop up all of this lovely sauce take the lid off and take it in...smells wonderful doesn't it? Transfer chicken to cutting board and slice thinly with a sharp knife serve over hot rice with a good spoon full of sauce over the top and love every minute of it! I do have to add that my boys would have preferred the dish be a little less spicy so ease up on the red pepper instead of going wild like me:)

There Has Been All Kinds of Good Stuff Coming Out Of The Kitchen..

I have been making an effort lately to eat at home 99.9 percent of the time and we are about three weeks in, whereas before we ate at home probably 80% of the time.... Don't get me wrong ,I love, I mean absolutely love going to a great restaurant and eating wonderful foods...sipping wines..little cafes...desserts.. I just found that it no longer became a special occasion to do so and therefore starves out my obscene love for cooking...So I am in the kitchen 2 extra days a week and loving every minute of it, I even have taken a step back to not only become more frugal in the kitchen (think early 20's just starting out) because it makes sense but I am a real eat by the season type of gal so it makes it easy and it is actually fun to try and use up all those strawberries or zucchinis ... With the weather still hot and sweltering most of what I make lately is easy on the oven time and easy prep time as well..which is a beautiful thing before the heavy meals of Fall come to be..Without further ado here are some of the meals I have been serving to my family lately...

Herb Roasted Chickens: On Sale 49 cents a lb. 3 Purchased

Cleaned, Patted dry, Rubbed Down with Veggie Oil -Fresh & Dry Herbs- Freshly ground salt & pepper- stuffed with aromatics onions, garlic, lemons, limes..Roasted 45 min - 1 hr at 375

Leftovers dices with mayo, dijon, sweet pickle relish, red onion, salt & pepper for a mean chicken salad!

My favorite thing to make with 3 ingredients courtesy of Smitten Kitchen Strawberries on sale 99 cents a pint

Fresh Strawberries (or any berry) Sour Cream & Fine Brown Sugar

Before

And After Broiling for 10 min on low then hi

Divine and yes I ate it all myself simple & wonderful

Green Chille Casserole Eggs on Sale 69 cents a Dz 10 eggs , evaporated milk, cayenne papper, split whole chillis fresh or canned, plenty of fresh cheddar and jack.. my mother has been making this since I was a kid, it is sometimes called easy chilli rellenos and is perfect any time of day

Banannas 49 cents a lb had 3 mushy ones left over combined with peach sorbet vanilla ice cream and milk for a smoothy for Nick & Jake

I think I may have gotten some on the lens & the lighting in my kitchen isn't the best...or maybe it's just me:)

More Strawberries after 1 pint was dusted with sugar and put on the counter and quickly eaten up, there was one last lonely pint for non other than The Pioneer Woman's Strawberry Shortcake Cake... I did cheat & use a boxed strawberry cake mix because I was having company for dinner but plan on making the from scratch version this week as strawberries are buy 1 get 2 free..

Ummm I didn't make these Sprinkles did Red Velvet anyone??

And The Veggies:

Zuchinnis 99 cents a lb made into a provincal , sauteed in olive oil, cracked pepper & salt, dash garlic, traditional red pasta sauce, sprinkled with parmesan melted over the top it is perfection.This was actually one of my favorite dishes when I was a little girl...strange but this is my Dad's recipe and makes for an easy and yummy side dish.

Funny Little Fingerlings Can't recall if on sale..drizzled with olve oil and herbs and roasted 30 min.. My sons favorite new potatoes..

There was also Penne with a Lemon Creme Sauce with Garlic Cheese Bread

Fried Porkchops ( great sale) with the veggies above and a french baguette

Green Chille Enchiladas ( ground beef sale extra for stuffed peppers tomorrow)

Tortilla Soup (Mexican Chille) with corn muffins

Grilled Ham Steaks with buttered carrotts & fried potatoes for a kids only dinner

Looking forward to good eats next week!

Saturdays Summertime Sangria... Need I say more?