Tobins' Tastes: July 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Homemade Bread Challenge: Simple No Knead Bread


The Homemade Bread Challenge is rolling right along and I have to say that the third and most recent item is definitely the easiest I have made and also without a doubt my favorite so far. When I first saw this pin from Cooking for Seven I was skeptical. I didn't really believe that great bread could be so easy. I mean they sell bread in stores for a reason right? Wrong.

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Basically all it takes to make amazing bread is so stir four ingredients together in a bowl (one of which is water), let is rise and then bake it in an oven with a pan of water. Sounds too good to be true? I promise you it isn't. When Justin tasted this bread he looked at me and said, "Why would anyone ever buy bread again?" And I have no answer to that question.

I always believed that in order for bread to be good you must spend an unreasonable amount of time kneading it (or letting your stand mixer dough hook do it for you). Wrong again. I have never made bread this good despite all the time I have wasted spent making sure I kneaded it for exactly the number of seconds required by the recipe. Never again I tell you!  : )


We ate this bread hot out of the oven with Butternut Squash Tomato Basil Bisque and it was delicious. We couldn't get over what an amazing crust it had and how light and airy the inside of the bread was. It was like really good bakery bread except the bakery was our house. And man did it smell ridiculous.

Best part? It made two loaves so I froze one and cannot wait to have it as a no hassle treat once school starts and my motivation to make things from scratch drops to negative one million. 


Simple No Knead Bread adapted from Cooking for Seven 
  • 3 cups warm water
  • One packet of active dry yeast (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
  • 6 cups of bread flour (maybe more depending on your humidity)
1.) Pour the yeast and salt into the warm water in a large bowl and gently mix.

2.) Slowly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. If dough is still very sticky, add more flour until dough has formed up a little bit.

Mine looked like this.
3.) Cover with a clean cloth and let dough rise. I left mine and went to church so it probably sat for close to three hours all said and done.

 

4.) Dough will have risen and flattened out on top. Punch dough down and form into loaves in a lightly greased and floured pan. You could make any shape you like or use any pan you like or you could skip the pan all together and just form it on a baking tray. Whatever you prefer.


5.) Lightly flour the top of your loaf and cut a few slits in the top of the unbaked loaf.


6.) In order to get the crust on the bread, you will need to preheat the oven to 450 degrees and put a metal pan or broiler tray in the over while it is preheating.


7.) When you put the loaf in the oven, pour a cup of hot water in the pan and then shut the door and let the steam do its job. I baked mine for about 30 minutes or until the top looked nice and brown and crispy.

8.) Try to let it sit for awhile before slicing. We only made it about 20 minutes but it was all we could mangage.

Enjoy!
 I invite you to join me in making the items on my list or to make any kind of homemade bread you want. If you post your results on your blog feel free to link them up below or copy the Blog Hop code and put it on your post as well. The more the merrier!


If you are planning on doing the challenge with me and using the blog hop code on your blog too let me know and I will include your name/link/button on the posts that you will be joining in on/co-hosting in a way. Just leave a comment or shoot me an email to couponingncooking@gmail.com  You can also grab the new "Homemade Bread Challenge" blog button from my sidebar now too : )


August 11th: Old Fashion Pull Apart Buns
August 25th: Cheesecake Factory Bread
September 8th: Homemade Croissants! (still figuring out what recipe I want to use for these)

I have started a Pinterest board for inspiration and will be pinning my result posts and what other people link up to it as we go. Hope you will join me and good luck!

Made any type of bread lately? Like up your posts and pictures here! The linky will be open and used on all future HMBC posts through September 13th!



Make sure you stop by this week's Mealtime Monday and link up any amazing recipes you have been working on lately.


***Depending on the day this post may be linked up to any of these fabulous linky parties.***

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Mealtime Monday Recipe Link Up Party & Features {#16}

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Welcome back! I cannot believe it is pretty much August. I always dread the beginning of August because it means I will be heading back to work way sooner than I would like. Despite my impending back to school doom, we had an amazing trip to San Francisco and while it's good to be back I would kill for some of the cooler weather to have followed us home to South Florida.

I skipped out on the features last week due to our trip so I have plenty of them for you today! This week I have added a "most viewed" feature as well as four other features that are themed around things/foods I love.

The most viewed link of the week was Love Bakes Good Cakes's BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf. I am not a big meat loaf person but I know that my husband would LOVE this!

 

First up in my personal features is this delicious look pesto recipe from The Holmberg Home. I love pesto and her idea to freeze it in ice cube trays to save for later is genius.

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I love potatoes, especially potatoes with cheese. So I cannot wait to make Bookcase Foodie's Creamy Cheddar Potatoes.

 

In college my girlfriends and I went on a huge Chambord kick so seeing this Kir Royale Granita recipe from Crazy for Crust was like a revelation. I didn't know that the drink Kir Royale existed but I will clearly be ordering it (and making this) soon. 


Break It, Make It, or Bake It created a dessert just for me when she posted about these delicious looking Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats. I am total sucker for all things "cake batter" and I am also in love with rice krispy treats of all kinds. 

 

Thank you all again for linking up! I love having lots of new menu ideas to add to our weekly rotations. I would love for you to spread this word about this link up by grabbing a button or by linking back. The more the merrier!

You can also check out my Pinterest board for Mealtime Monday Features where I will be pinning the original links to the items featured here each week.

If you were featured you can feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. I have finally worked out all the HTML kinks and I am very proud of myself : )

Can't wait to see what you have been up to lately and I love being inspired by all the delicious looking dishes you create.

I will be featuring my favorites next weekend and I will be pinning things to my Pinterest boards too. Make sure you check out my Link Ups page for lots more fun places to link up at too.

As I teacher, I enforce rules all day so I am going to call these my suggestions.

I would love it if:

  • You would link back to this post/blog. You can do so by grabbing my button (upper right hand corner), linking back to this post in your post, or by adding this blog to your list of places you link up to/party at on your Link Parties page. The more people who link up the better it is for all of us : )
  • Please follow this blog through GFC, Linky Friends or Blog Lovin.
  • As an added bonus you can now become our Facebook fan too!
  • Please only post directly to your recipe link. No giveaways, etsy shops or anything not family friendly.
  • Please do not link up to posts you have already linked up to before. Also, the recipe needs to be something you made with photos of your own and should give credit where credit is due : )
  • Visit at least two new blogs and show them some love.
  • Come back next Monday and link up!

Show me what you got!

Winner of the $25 Publix Gift Card!


And the winner of the $25 Publix Gift Card is Kristin ( cklane1991@....)! Please email me at couponingncooking@gmail.com in the next 48 hours so I can get your mailing address to make sure that your prize gets on its way to you!


Congrats to Kristin and thanks to everyone who entered!


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Disclosure:  The Publix gift card, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Friday, July 27, 2012

New Printable Coupons

As the end of the month slowly creeps up on us, don't forget to print any coupons you are needing since many of them could disappear on August 1st!

Here are some Publix store coupons to help with school supply shopping:
Lots of Coupons.com coupons to print too:

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Weekly Totals Link Up: Saved 60% At Publix

Paid $53 for $126 Worth of Groceries

After a few weeks of lighter shopping and not needing many basics/staples, I finally did a relatively large shopping trip this week. I also had a small Publix trip yesterday too and spent $5 total.

Many people have asked if my Thursday posts are the only weekly shopping I do and yes, unless I post a random Publix, drugstore, or Target trip these posts are all my weekly shopping. The only thing we do to supplement these is to visit our local Farmers' Market or the produce stand near our house for fresh things as needed, usually $5-$10 of grocery cash a week.

To answer a few comments and facebook questions: Yes we eat meat but really only poultry on a regular basis. We have a regular freezer and a deep freezer that combined have about 20 pounds or more of chicken and other meats that I have built up over the last year so I just supplement that stockpile on my weekly trips. I don't usually buy bread or deli meat because we usually make lunch ourselves from things we have on hand and we have found that bread goes stale and deli meat spoils before just the two of us can eat it.

We have a huge stockpile of frozen veggies and some frozen fruit from the fall and winter sales last year and I also make fresh bread using flour I stocked up on during the holiday season too (I bought around 50 pounds during the Thanksgiving/Christmas sales). I really try to make as much from scratch as possible. As a personal preference we rarely eat red meat which also happens to be a budget saver too. Just wanted to clear up a few things so people don't think we live off soap, crackers and salad dressing : )

Today's Publix trip was a combination of replenishing some of the basics as well as taking advantage of some of the super deals this week. I was able to get somethings that we will be needing for our big end of summer bbq in a few weeks (potatoes, rice, sour cream, chocolate syrup) and took advantage of some the Buy Theirs, Get Ours Free promos too. I also was able to stock up on ziploc bags for the year and got 3.5 pounds of chicken.

Despite a pretty large amount of stuff I only used 15 coupons plus a $5/$30 Winn Dixie coupon. As you can see on my receipt, shopping smart and taking advantage of sale cycles can be just as big (if not bigger!) a savings as using coupons. Also, none of my coupons today came from the paper which also shows that you can save money even without a newspaper subscription.

Most of my savings came from store sale prices
 Breakdown of today's trip:
Total retail value: $126.16
Total spent: $53.35
Total saved: $74.39
Percent saved: 60%

What I got with sale/coupon match ups:
  •  2 ten count bags of Papermate pens, retails for $2.09, on sale for .50 cents each
  • 6 boxes of Ziploc Bags, retails for $2.39 each, on sale for $1.50 each
  •  3/4 pound of Publix Serano Ham, $3.79
    • Used two $2 off Publix deli meat WYB three Ziploc products from the Yellow Ad flyer
    • Made it FREE plus a tiny bit of overage
  • 3 twelve packs of Coca Cola cans, retails for $5.29 each on sale B2G1 Free
    • Used a coupon for a FREE twelve pack from My Coke Rewards, max value $4.99
    • Made them $1.86 per twelve pack
  • Glad Cling Wrap, retails for $2.89
    • Used a .75 cents off coupon from the Yellow Ad flyer
    • Made it $2.14
  •  Publix Cling Wrap, retails for $2.69
    • Part of the Buy Theirs, Get Ours Free promo
    • Made it FREE
  •  2 bags of Quaker Rice Cake Snacks, retails for $1.85 each, on sale for $1 each
  •  2 boxes of Ghiradelli Brownie Mix, retails for $2.99, on sale BOGO ($1.48 each)
  • 1 bag of Publix Romain Hearts, retails for $3.39, on sale for $2.89
  • 2 boxes of Velveeta Shells & Cheese, retails for $3.03, on sale BOGO made it $1.52 each
  • 5 Hass Avocados, retails for $1.50 each, on sale for $1 each
  •  Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup, retails for $3.49
  • Publix Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup, retails for $2.99
    • Part of the Buy Theirs, Get Ours Free promo
    • Made it FREE
  •  5 pound bag of Mahatma Rice, retails for $5.56, on sale for $2.99
  • 2 bags of Crasins, retails for $3.79, on sale BOGO made them $1.89 each
  • 1 half gallon of Smart Balance Milk, retails for $3.99, on sale for $2.50
  • 1 dozen Publix eggs, $1.79
  • 2 tubs of Daisy Sour Cream, retails for $1.39 each, on sale BOGO made it .69 cents each
  • 1 two pound bag of Publix frozen chicken tenderloins, retails for $6.29, on sale for $5
  • 4 bags of Ore Ida frozen potatoes, retails for $3.89 each, on sale BOGO made them $1.94 each 
  • An around 1.5 pound package of fresh Purdue Chicken Tenderloins, on sale for $4.11

 How did you do this week? Inspire me (and everyone else) with your amazing savings and deals this week. Please link up directly to your specific post. Do not link up to your blog's home page, giveaways, or etsy shops please. You can now "like" Couponing & Cooking on Facebook too! I would love it if you would link back to this post or grab my button from the sidebar : )

Click below to link up your posts!

Candy Bar Pie


 I have been wanting to make this for forever. Pretty much ever since I made Lightened Up Key Lime Pie for the first time I knew I wanted to try a version of it with chocolate jello instead of lime. When we wanted a sweet treat the other night, this was the perfect thing to throw together especially since we had everything on hand to make it except the pie crust.

The cold, creamy filling was the perfect contrast to the rich and crunchy pieces of candy and it was a fantastic treat for the hot summer days we have been having here in South Florida.


This was so easy to make and so customizable to use whatever types of candy you have on hand. I used reeses cups, rolos and some pretzel M&M's because we had them in the baking pantry but I have already been thinking of all the fun combos of treats I can use next time. You could also change up the base flavor depending on what kind of pudding mix you have/like.


I was worried it would be too sweet or too intense with all that chocolate so I used sugar free Cool Whip and sugar free Jello Pudding Mix but I bet it would be amazing with the regular kinds too.

It did get a little hard to cut in the freezer so if you like a creamier pie you may want to store it in the fridge instead. I would love to hear what kind of candy combos you would use so I have inspiration for next time!


Candy Bar Pie
  •  1 pie crust
  • 1 box of Jello Pudding Mix (I used sugar free)
  • Amount of milk required on the back of the pudding mix
  • 1 tub of Cool Whip (I used sugar free)
  • Chopped up candy pieces (I chopped up 7 mini reese cups, 7 rolos, and used about 3/4 cup of pretzel M&M's)
1.) Combine milk and pudding mix as directed on package. 
2.) Fold in Cool Whip to pudding mixture. I keep mine in the freezer so make sure it is completely thawed before mixing. 

3.) Stir candy pieces into filling. The color on my M&M's ran a little bit but it still tasted delicious. 


4.) Pour filling into pie crust and spread evenly. I topped mine with a few extra pieces of candy. 


5.) Freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Store in the fridge or freezer depending on the consistency you like your pie : )

Enjoy!

“I’m partying at the Pi Day Pie Party at Crazy for Crust today. Come party with us!”

Make sure you stop by this week's Mealtime Monday and link up any amazing recipes you have been working on lately.


***Depending on the day this post may be linked up to any of these fabulous linky parties.***

Do you host a weekly party? If so, make sure to visit my party page and add yours so we all can join in the fun!

Saved 86% At Publix- Lots of Freebies!

Spent $5 for $36 Worth
 One of the many things I love about couponing is that even after being away for a week, I came home to a house that had plenty of food. We may not have had fresh salad or veggies but we did have some eggs, milk and tons of frozen veggies and meat. It was so nice to not feel the need to rush out and grab things.

Since I knew I would be making my regular weekly trip today (Thursday), I decided that yesterday (Wednesday) I would just run by Publix after a meeting and use some of my B1G1 free coupons that paired with the BOGO sales of last week's ad (ended yesterday).

Justin wasn't feeling too great so he wanted me to pick up a few things so we could make Butternut Squash Tomato Basil Bisque and I threw in a few free Cover Girl nail clippers to hit my $30 before coupons so I could use a $5/$30.

 It definitely looks like a random trip but I couldn't pass up the freebies when I was in the store parking lot anyways : ) We don't really drink Sunkist but I know some people who wouldn't mind free soda to share with and I also have something fun planned with it to make "orange slice" ice cubes for a party punch too.

Make sure you check back later tonight and link up at my Weekly Totals shopping post and be sure to enter the $25 Publix gift card giveaway too!

Breakdown of today's trip:
Total retail value: $36.01
Total spent: $5.13
Total saved:  $30.88
Percent saved: 86%

What I got with sale/coupon match ups (prices before I used my $5 off coupon):
  • 6 two liters of Sunkist soda, retails for $1.89 each, on sale BOGO (.94 cents each)
    • Used three B1G1 Free coupons from the 6/10 SS
    • Made them all FREE
  •  2 tubs of Smart Balance spread, retails for $3.59 each, on sale BOGO ($1.79 each)
    • Used a B1G1 Free coupon from a Facebook promo
    • Made them both FREE
  •  2 Cover Girl Nail Clippers, retails for $2.29 each
    • Used a $3/2 coupon from the 7/1 SS
    • Stacked with two $1 off Publix coupons from the Green Ad. 
    • Made them both FREE plus a tiny bit of overage
  •  4 liter bottles of water, retails for .99 cents each, on sale for .80 cents each
    • Used two B1G1 Free hang tag coupons found in store (plus I had some in my binder from earlier)
    • Made them .40 cents each (great for adding to our hurricane supplies)
  •  Publix goat cheese, $2.99
  • Publix Half & Half, $1.60
  • Imagine Butternut Squash Soup, $3.59 (pricey but the only brand in stock)

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

I'm Back!

We are back home and somewhat settled after an amazing week with my family in San Francisco. I had never been to California (or that far west for that matter) and we loved every minute.

Today and tonight I have been focusing on laundry, cleaning, and getting our lives organized but I promise to be back to regular posting tomorrow with a recipe post for Candy Bar Pie and my usual Weekly Totals shopping post.

A few reminders:
  • Mealtime Monday is up and running for those of you who still want to link up any of your delicious recipe posts.
  •  My $25 Publix gift card giveaway is open until midnight on Friday so if you haven't entered yet, make sure you head over and check it out.
  • Lastly, if you host a weekly link up or party please make sure you add it to my newly renovated Link Parties page so we can all join in the fun!

See you tomorrow!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Mealtime Monday Recipe Link Up Party & Features {#15}

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Hi all! I am keeping it short and sweet today since hopefully as you read this I will be wrapping up a fantastic trip with my parents and siblings in San Fransisco. No features this week but I promise I will make up for it with extras next Monday!

Thank you all for everything you do to make this party so fantastic each week. Can't wait to see everything you have been working on. Have an amazing week!


As I teacher, I enforce rules all day so I am going to call these my suggestions.

I would love it if:

  • You would link back to this post/blog. You can do so by grabbing my button (upper right hand corner), linking back to this post in your post, or by adding this blog to your list of places you link up to/party at on your Link Parties page. The more people who link up the better it is for all of us : )
  • Please follow this blog through GFC, Linky Friends or Blog Lovin.
  • As an added bonus you can now become our Facebook fan too!
  • Please only post directly to your RECIPE link. No giveaways, etsy shops or anything not family friendly.
  • Please do not link up to posts you have already linked up to before. Also, the recipe needs to be something you made with photos of your own and should give credit where credit is due : )
  • Visit at least two new blogs and show them some love.
  • Come back next Monday and link up!

Show me what you got!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Weekly Totals Link Up: Saved 62% At Target

Spent $28 for $72 Worth.
As you read this, God willing I will be enjoying a wonderful day in San Fransisco with my parents and siblings. Since I wasn't going to be doing my Thursday Publix shopping this week I decided to make a big Target trip earlier in the week before I left. I really wanted to take advantage of the Cottonelle and Sobe Lifewater gift card deals from this week's ad.

It was a great trip and I got tons of cheap deals and even a few freebies. There are lots of great Target.com coupons out there right now and my store even had Summer Clearance marked down to 70% as well.

Make sure you check out my post on the new Running Out? Run In. Publix promotion and enter to win a $25 Publix gift card! 

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of the post and link up your weekly totals/shopping posts!

Breakdown of Tuesday's Target Trip:
Total retail value: $72.49
Total spent: $27.85 after gift cards earned
Total saved: $44.64
Percent saved: 62%


Breakdown of what I got with sale/coupon/gift card match ups:
  • 2 travel sized St. Ives face scrubs, retails for .97 cents each
    • Used two $1 off (no size restr.) Facebook coupons
    • Made them both FREE
  •  1 Up & Up Hydrogen Peroxide, retails for .52 cents
  •  4 bottles of Heniz Vinegar, retails for $1.12 each, on sale for $1.05 each
    • Used four $1 off coupons from the 6/24 SS
    • Made them .05 cents each
  •  2 packages of Up & Up Cotton Rounds, retails for .85 cents each
  •  1 bag of Up & Up Cotton Balls, retails for .97 cents each
  •  1 bottle of Up & Up Rubbing Alcohol, retails for $1.24
  •  10 Sobe Lifewaters on sale for $1 each
    • Earned a $5 gift card wyb 10
    • Made them .50 cents each
  •  2 bottles of Comet Stainless Steel Cleaner, retails for $2.39 each
  •  1 bottle of French's Spicy Brown Mustard, retails for $1.47, price cut to .92 cents
  •  1 bottle of Purell (come with a travel sized and a $1 off coupon for later), retails for $2.99
  •  2 bottle of Garnier Fructis shampoo, retails for $2.99
  • Two packages of Up & Up cups, retails for $2.99 each, on clearance for .89 cents each
  • Set of lemon slice ice cube trays, retails for $2.00
    • On clearance for .60 cents
  •  2 rolls of Up & Up tin foil, retails for .99 cents each
  • 2 packages of Cottonelle Fresh Wipes and 2 packages of 12 Mega Rolls of Cottonelle toilet paper, retails for a total of $25.96 for all four
 How did you do this week? Inspire me (and everyone else) with your amazing savings and deals this week. Please link up directly to your specific post. Do not link up to your blog's home page, giveaways, or etsy shops please. You can now "like" Couponing & Cooking on Facebook too! I would love it if you would link back to this post or grab my button from the sidebar : )

Click below to link up your posts!

New Running Out? Run In, Publix Promotion & Coupons. Plus a $25 Publix Gift Card Giveaway!

One of the reasons I love shopping at Publix is all the amazing promotions and store coupons they offer. Not only does Publix usually have everything I am looking for but by using their store coupons and participating in rebate programs I can save even more than usual on my groceries.

The Running Out? Run In. promotion and coupons is something I always look forward to throughout the year. Starting today, you can visit your local Publix and take part in the Running Out? Run In. promotion. You can even send in for a $5 Publix gift card rebate when you spend $30 on participating products from General Mills and Proctor & Gamble. I am personally planning to stock up on Charmin and Cascade packets to earn my gift card. 

Also, don't forget to look in-stores for over $13 in coupon savings - coupons are valid July 19th through August 4th. Using the coupons on the items you are planning on getting for the gift card rebate makes this deal even better.

Here are the details: Receive a $5 Publix gift card to use on your next shopping trip when you purchase $30 or more in participating items between 7/18 and 8/4; simply mail in the rebate form found in-store or online at RunningOutRunIn.com along with your receipt(s). For more information about participating products or for further information on this great rebate, visit RunningOutRunIn.com.

Now it's time for a giveaway! Thanks to the folks at MyBlogSpark.com one lucky Couponing & Cooking reader will win a $25 Publix gift card. See the Rafflecopter widget below for all the ways you can enter! 

The giveaway will run from today (7/19 through midnight on Friday 7/27).  Disclosure:  The Publix gift card, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. Good luck! 






Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Saved 88% At Publix- Bayer Aspirin Money Maker!

Paid $4 for $35 Worth of Groceries.
One of my favorite things about doing my Weekly Totals post and link up each week is seeing what deals everyone else is finding. Last week I saw a few blogs that showed people using a $3 Bayer coupon to get free aspirin plus overage at Publix.

Most of the time my inserts don't get these high value coupons and even when they do my prices here in South East Florida tend to be higher so what is a money maker for most is normally not even free for me. In cutting coupons for a Target trip I discovered that my area did in fact get the $3 Bayer coupon in the 6/24 SS so I decided to cut them all out and check out my Publix for the deal.

As it turns out my Publix carries a few varieties of the 20+ count Bayer products for $2.65 each so I grabbed as many as I had coupons (7) and used the overage plus a $5/$30 coupon to get $35 worth of stuff for $4.14. It my seem like a random assortment of stuff but it was what we needed to make some lunch, a crust for Candy Bar Pie (post coming soon) and thanks to Justin being with me, some BOGO Ben & Jerry's.

Breakdown of Monday's Publix Trip:
Total retail value: $35.47
Total spent: $4.14
Total Saved: $31.33
Percent saved: 88%

Breakdown of what I got with sale/coupon match up (prices before using my overage and $5 off):
  • 7 boxes of Bayer 32 count aspirin, retails for $2.65 each
    • Used seven $3 off coupons from the 6/24 SS
    • Made them all FREE plus a total of $2.45 in overage
  •  1 half loaf of Publix Bakery sourdough bread, $2.13
  • A few slices of Publix Serrano Ham, .85 cents
  • Quarter pound of Boar's Head White American Cheese, $1.99
  • 1 Keebler Chocolate Pie Crust, retails for $2.05, on sale for $1.67
  • 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, retails for $4.95
    • On sale BOGO for $2.32 
 Did you find the Bayer aspirin deal in your stores? Make sure to come back on Thursday afternoon for the Weekly Totals link up!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Mealtime Monday Recipe Link Up Party & Features {#14}

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How is it almost August? I cannot believe that one month from today I will be back at work enjoy my pre-planning teacher workdays. Where has the summer gone?

Thank you for making last week's party the biggest and best yet! Over 50 link ups! You all continue to amaze me and make me hungry with all your delicious and mouth watering recipes.

This week's features are all desserts, whoops! Maybe it's because I just made Candy Bar Pie (recipe post tomorrow), but I am suffering from a major sweet tooth (or is it eye?) as I pick these favorites.

I am obsessed with Polar Bears, like really, really love the. So how I could I not pick these precious Polar Bear Cupcakes from Mary's Kitchen?


I am totally intrigued by this Avocado Chip Ice Cream from Inside Bru Crew Life and I might have to try and make it for Justin just to see how it tastes.


Evelyn from My Turn For Us made these Chipotle Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes and they make me want to get over my fear of cooking bacon (yes, I know I am weird) so I can recreate them.  What a fun flavor combo for a dessert!


Finally we have Biscoff Muddy Buddies from What's Cooking Love?. I have still never tried biscoff and I am totally dying to so these bite sized treats might be the perfect opportunity!

 

Thank you all again for linking up! I love having lots of new menu ideas to add to our weekly rotations. I would love for you to spread this word about this link up by grabbing a button or by linking back. The more the merrier!

You can also check out my Pinterest board for Mealtime Monday Features where I will be pinning the original links to the items featured here each week.

If you were featured you can feel free to grab a button from my sidebar. I have finally worked out all the HTML kinks and I am very proud of myself : )

Can't wait to see what you have been up to lately and I love being inspired by all the delicious looking dishes you create.

I will be featuring my favorites next weekend and I will be pinning things to my Pinterest boards too. Make sure you check out my Link Ups page for lots more fun places to link up at too.

As I teacher, I enforce rules all day so I am going to call these my suggestions.

I would love it if:

  • You would link back to this post/blog. You can do so by grabbing my button (upper right hand corner), linking back to this post in your post, or by adding this blog to your list of places you link up to/party at on your Link Parties page. The more people who link up the better it is for all of us : )
  • Please follow this blog through GFC, Linky Friends or Blog Lovin.
  • As an added bonus you can now become our Facebook fan too!
  • Please only post directly to your recipe link. No giveaways, etsy shops or anything not family friendly.
  • Please do not link up to posts you have already linked up to before. Also, the recipe needs to be something you made with photos of your own and should give credit where credit is due : )
  • Visit at least two new blogs and show them some love.
  • Come back next Monday and link up!

Show me what you got!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Homemade Bread Challenge: Pita Bread


For the second part of the Homemade Bread Challenge, I decided to attempt to make pita bread. I love pita bread but for whatever reason we never buy it. We also love making sandwiches for lunch but I hate buying a whole loaf of fresh bread (we don't particularly care for prepackaged bread) because it always goes stale before two people can eat it.

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Pita bread seemed like the perfect way for us to be able to have bread for lunch inexpensively and while knowing what went into it. I picked this recipe from Under the High Chair mainly because it was labeled "quick and easy" on Pinterest. And it really was quick and easy. And delicious.


Justin and I found plenty of uses for this bread. We stuffed them with turkey and cheese and veggies for lunch. We toasted them and dipped them in olive oil and bread seasonings as a side to dinner. I think Justin even spread one with peanut butter and ate it as an appetizer to his breakfast one morning : )


I was really scared about making pita bread. It seemed so complicated. How do you get a pocket to form? How long to you bake it to make sure that it is done but not too crunchy? What if I end up with flat crunchy disks? Lucky for me, these problems all took care of themselves with no help from me. I didn't get any really great pictures but since the bread turned out so well I don't even really mind.


 I adapted the recipe to incorporate whole wheat flour and I was personally very happy with how it turned out. I probably wouldn't go with all whole wheat though because it seems like it would be way too grainy and not bake up as it is suppose to if you left out all of the regular flour. The recipe made eight not so regular sized (user error) pitas and we found that it was best fresh but can also be stored in the freezer and used as needed.

Whole Wheat Homemade Pita Bread adapted from Under the High Chair
  • 1 tablespoon yeast  
  • 1 ¼ cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour
1.) Dissolve yeast in the warm water in bowl of a stand mixer for about 5 minutes. Add the salt and the whole wheat flour and slowly mix with the dough hook.

2.) Add the regular flour and knead for about 5-8 minutes or until smooth ball of dough has formed. Use more flour if your dough is too sticky. 

3.) Dump dough out onto a floured surface and evenly split into 8 pieces. I used a pizza cutter to make mine : ) 



4.) Form dough into balls and then roll out to about 1/4 inch thick circles. Let them rest for about 30 minutes. 


5.) Flip the rounds of dough upside down (resting on the opposite side that they were) onto a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes until lightly golden and fully puffed. 

6.) Remove from the oven and let them cool for a bit before you try and cut into them. Stuff, dip, spread and enjoy! 

Here is the schedule for the rest of the Challenge. I decided to move the posting day to Saturday since that seems to be the day that I am actually able to get around to posting it!

 I invite you to join me in making the items on my list or to make any kind of homemade bread you want. If you post your results on your blog feel free to link them up below or copy the Blog Hop code and put it on your post as well. The more the merrier!


If you are planning on doing the challenge with me and using the blog hop code on your blog too let me know and I will include your name/link/button on the posts that you will be joining in on/co-hosting in a way. Just leave a comment or shoot me an email to couponingncooking@gmail.com  You can also grab the new "Homemade Bread Challenge" blog button from my sidebar now too : )


July 28th: Simple No Knead Bread
August 11th: Old Fashion Pull Apart Buns
August 25th: Cheesecake Factory Bread
September 8th: Homemade Croissants! (still figuring out what recipe I want to use for these)

I have started a Pinterest board for inspiration and will be pinning my result posts and what other people link up to it as we go. Hope you will join me and good luck!

Made any type of bread lately? Like up your posts and pictures here! The linky will be open and used on all future HMBC posts through September 13th!



Make sure you stop by this week's Mealtime Monday and link up any amazing recipes you have been working on lately.


***Depending on the day this post may be linked up to any of these fabulous linky parties.***

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Weekly Totals Link Up: An Amazing Shopping Week

Paid $38 for $85 worth

I had an amazing shopping week. Between saving 89% at CVS (after Olay rebate) and getting paid to buy $89 worth of stuff at Publix earlier this week, I wasn't even disappointed that today's new Publix ad really had nothing for us in it.

Since we are heading out of town next week and need to clean out our fridge and freezer before we leave, I decided to just wing it and spent this week's grocery budget on things we wanted/needed to make some of the fun meals we have planned over the next few days. My list was only 4 items long... I NEVER do that.

I got goat cheese and fresh basil for the pizzas we are making from scratch on the grill tonight; I got deli meat and cheese to stuff the homemade pitas I made for lunch today, and I got a few extra things (like Doritos and cheddar) to make our lightened up version of Taco Pie early next week since we need to use up some ground beef.

I was still able to save 55% today and grab some great deals on school supplies, tp, and other things. It's nice to take a break from shopping the super deals and since we have a great stockpile (thank you couponing!) we can do that every so often without needing to buy much. I really only used a few coupons and a $5/$30 Winn Dixie coupon.

Remember to link up your weekly shopping trips at the bottom of this post and if you host any link ups of your own feel free to swing by my revamped Parties page and add them to my list : )

Breakdown of today's trip:
Total retail value: $84.57
Total spent: $37.94
Total saved: $46.63
Percent saved: 55%

What I got with sale/coupon match ups:
  • Charmin 18 Double Roll Package, retails for $14.69, on sale for $10.99
    • Used a $1 off coupon from a home mailer (Vocalpoint I think)
    • Stacked with a $1 off Publix coupon from the in store Stocking Spree display
    • Made it $8.99
  •  1 bag of Eat Smart Veggies, retails for $2.50, on sale for $1.67
  • 1 bag of Publix shredded cheddar cheese, retails for $3.59, on sale for $2.50
  • 4 EverReady Flashlights, retails for $3.99 each
    • Used four $2 off man. coupons from the Publix Smart Savings Booklet
    • Stacked with four $1 off Publix coupons from the Green Ad. Flyer
    • Made them .99 cents each (perfect to have on hand for hurricane season)
  •  1 pound of Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter, retails for $4.43, on sale for $2.50
  • 4 snack sized bags of Doritos, .50 cents each (I didn't want to buy a whole bag just for Taco Pie)
  • Around half a pound of Boar's Head Turkey, $5.45
  • Quarter pound of Publix Munster Cheese, on sale for $1.35
  • Publix Goat Cheese, $2.99
  • 8 pairs of Scotch Scissors (for my classroom), retails for $2.09 each, on sale BOGO ($1.04 each)
    • Used two $2/4 coupons from Coupons.com (no longer available)
    • Made them .54 cents each
  •  3 packages of 24 count Crayola Crayons (classroom), retails for $1.98 each
    • On sale for .33 cents each
  •  Garlic, .33 cents
  • Cucumber, .85 cents
  • Big tub of locally grown fresh basil, $2.99 (only .50 cents more than the little package I usually get!)
  • 3 Voskos Greek Yogurts, retails for $1.50 each, on sale for $1 each
    • Used a $1/3 coupon from the Publix Smart Savings Booklet
    • Made them .67 cents each
How did you do this week? Inspire me (and everyone else) with your amazing savings and deals this week. Please link up directly to your specific post. Do not link up to your blog's home page, giveaways, or etsy shops please. You can now "like" Couponing & Cooking on Facebook too! I would love it if you would link back to this post or grab my button from the sidebar : )

Click below to link up your posts!

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