Chi-Annie: at the table!

Looking for an alternative to your basic chicken? With a little time, and very little effort, you can have a Mexican feast on your table.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

8-10 chicken drumsticks or chicken thighs (bone in)
1 packet taco or burrito seasoning mix
1 tsp. cumin
1/3 C. flour
1/2 medium onion (any variety), thin sliced

In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour, seasoning packet, and cumin. Coat chicken with flour mixture and place on a greased baking sheet or pan. Top with onion slices.

Bake for 1 hour at 350, turning chicken over once during baking time.

Serve with cheese, tortillas, black olives, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and your favorite taco toppings. Serve with refried beans and rice, if desired.

Yields = 4-6 servings

Jewel is the place to be this weekend - and I should know, I spent over 2 hours there yesterday alone, between my mom, my friend Sandy, and I we filled 2 shopping carts with more than 15 transactions worth of goodies. To say we've got a jump on all things for the holiday season and parties would be about right! Here are some items and approximate breakdowns on deals we found:

All prices listed are factored AFTER the $15 in catalina coupons that print at the register and before taxes. Your store(s) may vary, but usually not by too much. All of these prices are factored without manufacturer coupons, which, if you have, will reduce your OOP for each order.

11 Progresso Broth (carton 32 oz.) $1.39

16 boxes Lipton soup mix $2.00

20 pkgs. Knorr Pasta Side Dishes $5.00, coupon will print for $2 off 8 - making 2nd round only $3!!! Look for coupons left behind by other customers at self-check- we found 2 of them to get us started.

5 1.5 qt. Breyer's Ice Cream, 1 Lipton Side Dish $.99

8 Klondike bars (what would you do.....for a Klondike bar) $8.83

24 cans 11-15 oz. Green Giant corn, peas, green beans $3.96

12 bags Gardettos, Chex Mix, Bugles $5.xx each flavor is priced slighly different, so you OOP maay vary.

So for my holiday parties, I've got loads of stuff to make cheap dip, tons of party mix (thank you Chex!), lots of veggies. For me, I don't have to do much for a Klondike bar!!

But, if you need something to do with all those cheap pasta sides - grab Target printable Q's, head over there wih the $1 off Archer Farms bakery and grab a loaf of garlic bread...for $.50. If you've got a Caputos near by, head there for Bston Leaf lettuce $2/1 (by the lb. I believe). There's a cheap and tasty meal!.

Check out here for a list of products and prices for this great cat roll!

http://www.jillcataldo.com

Go to:

Forum

Jewel

$15/$30

People will be posting the deals as they work out there - less work and calculating, but remember, each store has slightly different pricing.

I've been so tired, overtired, and restless - the idea of making a meal plan this week is funny. I will however, give a list of things I hope to accomplish in the realm of meal-planning:

1. Make at least 2 meals that revolve around bread - I've still got plenty left to work (like 3 loaves for 2 people). Paninis, anyone?

2. Go meatless for dinner at least 1-2 times this week. Not because I want to go vegetarian, simply to use some of the eggs I have (I don't consider eggs to be meat).

3. Dessert of the week: biscotti - I made a pan of them this past week. If I have the time, will make some apple crisp for additional desserting. Don't expect biscotti to last more than 2 more days - the batch yields 35-42 cookies.

4. Stay out of Boston Market. Their chicken is addicting and the coupon for $1 meal has expired. I went there 4 days in a row with that coupon! Better than McD's and with coupon, cheaper, too!

5. For a hearty snack, I'm going to try to keep all the ingredients to make a tasty wrap on hand. Chicken, salad dressing, cheese, and lettuce. Anything else I can include is a bonus. For a mini-meal on the go, will add chips and guac. Hearty and filling! Mental note - must get lettuce...

6. If craving breakfast sammie, will use free game piece from McD's (found on supermarket floor - so free!). This should fill in the gap since I only have 3 yogurts this week, and 4 days left of breakfast to cover before the weekend.

Items are with $20 minimum purchase - which I normally don't go in for, but here's Dominicks policy regarding that:

What does "minimum $10 (or $20) purchase required" mean?
To use store coupons that include a minimum purchase requirement, you must spend a minimum dollar amount on that shopping trip. You will reach the minimum purchase amount based upon total purchases before your Club Card discount is applied. This total will include the coupon item's regular price, not the discounted price. For example, the regular retail price of a box of Cheerios (before coupon and before Club Card discounts) will count toward the minimum purchase required in order to use the Cheerios coupon.

Found at: www.jillcataldo.com

Please check individual store for pre-sale price of items listed below.

$.88 Fritos/Cheetos (limit 4)
$.79 Doninicks apple juice 64 oz. (limit 3)
$2.33 12 pack Coca-Cola product (limt 3 - must buy 3!)
$1.99 Honey Bunches of Oats 14.5 oz. - must by 3 (limit 20)

2/$1 lbs. Bartlett Pears


Also: over at SuperTarget

Printable Targert coupons on the following items:
Duncan Hines Baking product $.50 off any one (cake mixes come to $.47 each)

General Mills cereal - $1/2, also there are $1/2 printable/newspaper insert coupons, pair this with Monster cereals for $.99 a box. Hey, that's cheaper than generic!

$1 off Skippy Peanut Butter - prices average around $2.04 a jar, some take home some cheap pb after coupon!

All Target printables are unlimited, but beware at the store, some cashiers may limit you to one per transaction. That's when you split your order up, or bring friends/famiyl with you to shop - more couponers, more fun!

Maybe it's all the talk of colds and flu going around, but I've been a little off my game lately - so I plan on keeping the menu simple, light, and satisfying.

Monday - Cream of Mushroom soup, crackers, salad
Tuesday - Pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, biscuits
Wednesday - Mushroom and cheese omelet, hashbrowns, toast, juice, fruit
Thursday - Chicken salad sammies, garden/spinach salad (we'll see which is cheaper), apple slices
Friday - Pizza Blanco with chicken, roasted garlic, mushrooms, and black olives, salad
Saturday - Helping a friend move - not planning a meal
Sunday - DH night to cook


Dessert of the week: Brownies - thanks to the abundance I stocked up on at Jewel!

Lunch of the week - Leftover shredded chicken, canned soup, sandwiches (chicken salad, tuna, roast beef, or ham).

Breakfast: yogurt, granola/Nutragrain bars, cereal, toast, french toast, poptarts, juice, fruit

This is soup and crackers/bread kind of weather and thanks to the deals I've been getting - I'm plenty stocked up on all the goodies to make soup night a quick, easy, and flavorful dinner!

Nabisco snack crackers $.99 a box, limit 4
The great thing about this is - you can use your expired coupons on it - like those $1/2 Nabisco snack cracker coupons from the booklet Nabisco put out around August (back to school booklet with yellow cover).

I've grabbed my first set of 4 boxes, but by no means will this be my last!

Nabiscoland - here I come...

Monday - Eggs over easy, wheat toast, bananas, juice
Tuesday - $2 angus burgers at Colonial Cafe
Wednesday - Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Thursday - Mushroom and swiss frittata, hash browns, apple slices, wheat toast
Friday - Ravioli with hearty tomato-basil marinara
Saturday - Italian-style chicken salad sammies, chips, smoothies
Sunday - Ground turkey enchiladas

Dessert of the week: Nutty Spice Bars, Apple Crisp
Lunch of the week: Oven roasted chicken (leftover from the weekend), soup (Campbell's sale last month), or chicken caesar salad with rolls.

I've always loved autumn, especially here in the Midwest. The leaves turning their vibrant colors, that crisp tang of the first frost in the air, and that seasonal favorite - apple cider. Nothing wrong with appel juice, but the rich, deep flavor of smooth, sweet cider for me simply cannot be beat. Ang, to make my favorite drink even more irrisistable - apple cider donuts.

Having had them for the first time this year, I have to be grateful that there are no donut shops directly on my way home, and I strongly rely on that unwillingness to travel out of my way to get the sugary treat. Though, I don't think my laziness will prove as effective as I'd like it to be. Even now, I'm imagining the smell of the crisp, juice apples combined perfectly with the decadence of doughnuts. Whoever came up with that combination was both brilliant and evil, tohugh my thighs are screaming that it's pure devilry and my taste buds are dancing with brilliance.

Now, this year, I'm going to get even more brave than I have been in the past, and this weekend I'll make my first attempt at homemade doughnuts, with - what else - apple cider doughnuts. Though, the pumpkin spice doughnuts I tried from Country Doughnuts were quite heavenly, too. But, one cooking (or frying) experiment at a time. In a year when I've expanded my cooking repertoire so much, that I've more than doubled the recipes I've created, and had food from across the globe, I'm still nervous about experiment with breads, pastries, and anything deep-fried.

If anyone out there has an easy recipe for homemade doughnuts, could you please share it with me - your resident fraidy-cat? I'm determined to dunk the doughnut, perfect the pastry, and bedazzle with breads this year and there is no time like this weekend to get started! Who's with me?!

I just returned home from my 4th wedding anniversary trip. This year, DH and I have done so well with our saving, that we treated ourselves to a trip to Savannah, Georgia. I've grown up hearing the stories of this magnificent, old, southern wonder and finally, I got my chance to walk her historic streets, see the shrimp boats slowly trolling the waters, and watch wild dolphins playing in the surf. Being a northern girl, with the Windy City and Minnesota being my hometown(s), this trip was nothing short of a treat.

We woke up to 80 degree weather, walked under the bright, southern sun, and walked on the beach. With that unmistakable tang of salt water in the air, it was impossible not to fall in love with Savannah. As the waves washed over the sand, there were little air holes that popped up, and just like my mama taught me, I turned to DH and told him, "There are clams under there." He looked kind of dubious, so I went on to explain that the clams needed the airholes to breathe, and that the pants called "clam-diggers" were made so you didn't have to roll up your pants while going out clam-digging. That seemed to make more sense to him.

We saw a single sanddollar on the shore, still wiggling. For a moment or two, we stopped to look at the little guy, before carefully walking around it and continuing on down the beach. Naturally, I was scouting for shells, but forgot to bring a bag to load them in, so DH graciously offered to put them in his pockets. In no time at all, his pockets were filled with shells, our feet coated in sand, and I was in heaven.

For dinner, we stopped at a kitchy, riverfront restaurant called The Shrimp Factory for some shrimp - after all, you don't go to the coast and not have some kind of seafood. The shrimp were advertised as fresh off the coast and the flavors certainly didn't disappoint. The shrimp were tender, sweet, and succulent - the remoulade sauce added a bit of tang, and the atmosphere was amazing.

All along River Street are shops, restaurants, bars/pubs, even 2 candy shops were - what else - salt water taffy are made in more than a dozen different flavors right before your eyes! The sugary sweetness of pralines filled the shops, and samples were offered everytime we walked through. If you love people-watching, bird-watching, and seafood-eating - this is an absolute haven.

After 4 wonderful days of fun in the sun, we reluctantly returned to Chicago and 40 degree temperatures. Though, a few days later, the scent of saltwater lingers on, even though the taffy is long gone. What I did take away from that trip - besides memories of hanging out with my cousins (yes, I only have 2 of those, so I get excited to see them!) and a longing for the beach is a new dish to try! Here's my version of that decadent Remoulade Sauce. Goes great on chicken...

There's nothing like going on vacation to make meal planning easier! I had a great time in Savannah, GA and came back with loads of new meal ideas that I just can't wait to try! I'm going to be looking for an adaptable recipe for Remoulade (the Shrimp Remoulade were heavenly!).

Monday - dinner at DaMama's
Tuesday - Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, french bread
Wednesday - Roast Beef and Swiss cheese paninis, salad, tomato basil bisque
Thursday - Chicken Parmesan (using leftover noodles and sauce from Tuesday)
Friday - Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar Wraps, cheesy quesadillas, taco salad
Saturday - Ground Turkey Tacos, refried beans, Mexican rice
Sunday - Grilled chicken, sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, tortillas

I'm doing a sketchy meal-plan this week - with my birthday, a wedding, and a party all planned for this week - I just figured we'd have a few meals at home, but not many. I also didn't want to buy much produce as we'll be taking a trip next week for our annie-versary. Here's my (overly ambitious) plan to empty the fridge, feed us quick and cheap, and hopefully not waste anything.

Tuesday - Pizza for the birthday girl (yeah!)
Wednesday - Tacos with peppers and onion
Thursday - Grilled chicken paninis, soup (ala Campbell's), chips
Friday - DH's cousin's wedding
Saturday - leftovers, if those are gone (still being optimistic, we'll rely on Knorr's pasta dishes topped with grilled chicken)
Sunday - birthday dinner at Olive Garden - all hail never-ending pasta bowl!

There have been so many deals lately, that I'm actually looking forward to a slowdown on sales, so I can get Annie's Market organized - right now there are bags and bags of canned soup ($.25-$.50 each) and canned veggies ($.39 each) that still need to be put away. I'm usually somewhat better at keeping up with the flow, lately though - everything else is sounding like more fun. Surprise....who knew I wasn't naturally inclined towards organization? Mom, this is a good time to keep quiet!

In a huge effort to clean out the freezer, each Sunday, DH & I pick a large, random item and spend the week trying to keep re-inventing leftovers out of it. The week of 32 pieces of grilled chicken went very well - none was left to make into chicken salad, and not a single piece went to waste. This week, it's a whole pork tenderloin, and I'm happy to report - it's about half eaten already. Two more dinners and it should be gone, or with just a small chunk left to get tossed into pork fried rice. Oh, that does sound tasty. I just gave myself another idea. But, naturally, I digress.

Even though this was my idea, I have to admit, it certainly challenges the creativity of the cook to keep making over the main meat of the week. I'm happy to note that my experiment is working well, and that for next week - I'm planning a rare treat - London Broil. I'm also planning some chicken drummies with that because I can't handle too much red meat, and because DH can plow through a cow (beef) like nobody's business. In his defense, London Broil on the grill is heavenly, so I can't really blame him too much. I hope there's enough left to make some Steak Sammies. A girl can dream...

If we can clear some room, we'll be able to grab some $.99 lb. ground beef from Butera this week - I've been craving po'boys, and some nice meatballs. I also am eyeing a deal on roasting chickens over at Caputo's for $.79 lb. Not the greatest deal, but I'd like to roast 3-4 chickens and freeze them - much better than having a chicken moment (where I breakdown and buy a rotisserie chicken and pay far more than it's worth) and having to settle for overcooked, dry, slightly cold rotisserie chicken or worse, buy a bucket of fried chicken (too greasy, though still very tasty), if I ever get chicken at all. I love having a fully stocked freezer of all my favorites, now I just need to clear some room to bring in a little bit of variety.

Any tricks up your sleeve to paring down the freezer and remaking leftovers? I'd love some fresh new ideas!

DH & I have been making a conerted effort to eat out of our freezer and have been on a very tasty journey. Sunday we grilled an 8 lb. pork tenderloin and will be having variations on that throughout the week. Thought we needed a break from chicken, since that's what we ate most of last week.

Monday - Mediterranean Pork Tenderloin sammies, salad, grapes
Tuesday - Aranchera (thin cut beef steak from the Mexican market), beans, tortillas, rice, lettuce, tomato
Wednesday - Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, gravy, and salad
Thursday - 3-Cheese & Veggie Frittata, hashbrowns, apples, toast
Friday - Pork tacos topped with cilantro and onion, beans, and rice, side salad
Saturday - Date night
Sunday - DH is grillin' again - meat of the week! LOL

Dessert - brownies, biscotti

Breakfast - yogurt, cereal, breakfast wraps, cereal, apples 'n' peanut butter, cereal - did I mention we have tons of cereal?!

Buy $15 get a $5 coupon OYNO for select Campbell's products. Here are some of the great deals I've grabbed from this sale:

Buy 20 cans tomato or chicken noodle soup (10.xx oz. each) at $.50/can. Spend $10, receive a $5 coupon that keeps on rolling. So far, I've done this transaction 4 times. I love tomato soup and grilled cheese (so does my sister, who will be the happy receipient of half of my spoils from this sale).

Buy 4 V-8 Splash (on sale 2/$5), 5 Pepperidge Farm cookies (on sale 2/$4), 8 Campbells Select Harvest/Chunky (on sale for $1.25/can), or 8 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers (small bags $1.25 each) and spend only $5 OOP after $5 cat coupon (cat coupons are the ones that print out at the register).

On Campbell's Select Harvest, an additional coupon for $1/3 prints before you pay (typically) when buying Select Harvest, so be sure to use that, too!) Only one of those prints per order, but every little dollar really adds up!

Now, if only Kraft would put their cheese on sale with overlapping cats again, we'd have fall and winter quick meals in the bag - or in our case, on the table.

Head over to Freebies 4 Mom for get your printable coupons for $3 off Sara Lee pre-sliced delimeats!! Great deal, easy meal. Best part of it - 4 prints per computer!!

Hey, everyone! I'm finally back to my regular posting. Getting back from my trip up north took a little while to fall back into the groove of things.

Monday - dinner at mom's - I'm bringing the chicken
Tuesday - Grilled chicken with rice and beans, salad
Wednesday - Pork Roast, potatoes, carrots
Thursday - Italian-style chicken salad sammies, salad, fruit
Friday - Pork tacos with cilantro and onion, rice and beans
Saturday - Paninis with leftover chicken, swiss, and bacon, apples/grapes
Sunday - DH's night to cook!

Lunch ideas:
chicken tacos, salad topped with chicken, pork and swiss sammies, and beans 'n' rice in a tortilla.
Dessert: Apple cinnamon coffee cake, cookies (thanks, Keebler!)
Breakfast - Nutragrain bars, yogurt, cereal cups, and toast

We grilled 32 pieces of chicken yesterday (which I hounded up the day before for $6.13 for all of it!), so this week, chicken is our meat of choice, until we eaten every morsel. We marinated/seasoned it 3 different ways, to maximize our leftover possibilities. The garlic and herb will pair into Italian-style chicken salad, the teriyaki will lend itself well to chicken tacos for lunch, and the spice-rubbed chicken will easily convert to BBQ chicken and pair with rice and beans. Must thank DH for thinking of all the varieties of ways to have chicken.

Everytime I turn around, I hear yet another fastfood chain annoucing their new "Chicken (fill in the blank here) Wrap". And what a bargain they are at $1.39-$1.99 each. Wow, do they think we're really that crazy? After a trip to a local grocery store or two - here's what I discovered:

A "wrap" is nothing more than a fancy word for flour tortilla. Which are fairly cheap, or dirt cheap if you have a Mexican grocer nearby - which we do. Lots of them, in fact. Chicken, my meat of choice anyway, happened to be on sale at Dominicks - and it was 50% off on top of that - $.39 lb. for bone-in, skin on chicken thighs. Taking off the skin is easy enough and so is lightly seasoning it and have DH grill it.

As for cheese, I'm still stocked like crazy from the Kraft catalina deal, so I pulled a bag of Mexican blend shredded cheese out of the freezer, and Target obliged with $.75/2 Wishbone salad dressing - and the small bottles were $1 each. Still not breaking the bank, which makes them taste oh-so-sweet. And, so much healthier than fastfood, my dressing is light or fat free and the cheese is made with 2% milk.

The final cost for a single wrap, though my "secret recipe" yields a dozen of them, is a whopping $.21 each. The best part is - I can have a wrap anytime, any flavor, and add anything I want to them....all from the comfort of my own home. But, shhhhh - don't let McD's, KFC, etc. know that I'm on to them.

Click on my "secret recipe" to see how easy it is!