My Auntie Pat was born in October. I will remember that until my dying day. Her husband, Uncle Bill, was normally a gruff man, but he celebrated the entire month of her birthday, in October, with a gift each day for her. The gifts may have been something small, but the sentiment behind it was huge - and for me, a new way to celebrate life's little steps.

Now that I'm married, my husband and I celebrate each other's birth month, mine being September, his in November. For our month, we get to pick which restaurants to go to, what entertainment venues to check out, and get small gifts throughout the month from each other. The gifts are simple, he replaced my windshield wipers, brought me home flowers, and even gave me a footrub. For him, it's a back rub, I'll bake him the Cinnamon Roll Brownies, and often, a new package of socks.

As we wind our way through the fall, we go to many of the sights that are too crowded, too hot, or too expensive in the summer. Last year we toured the Morton Arboretum, 2 trips to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, apple picking, raspberry picking, went to lots of movies (we saved up our stack of punch cards for that!), ate homemade pizza, and drove through the countryside (as much of that as you can find around here, anyway) to enjoy the changing colors of fall. For us, the birth month is something to look forward to year round.

This year, as we start into my birth month, I'm looking forward to some little perks and some pampering. I'll kick it off tomorrow with a pedicure (at the local beauty school, for less than $10!), dinner with my sister (I get to do that about 3 times a year), and tons of berry picking - which will be free (as it's in Amy's Organic Garden - Amy is the sister I'm looking forward to have dinner with). Hubby is already outlining which restaurant(s) he wants to go to during his birth month - with this economy, it's never been cheaper to eat out! I love all the deals discounts, and delectable bargains we've been able to try.

Any ideas of how I should celebrate my birth month? I'd love some new ideas!

How many people out there associate chicken noodle soup with being sick? I do. Glad I'm not alone in that, truth be told. I was never a big fan of the thin, watery soup, the typically overcooked noodles, and the rare pieces of chicken you might find, if you're really, really lucky.

With my current distaste for standard chicken noodle soup noted, I've decided to try my hand at a new recipe: chicken stew. I have rummaged through the pantry/fridge and have some up with enough veggies to make a basic chicken stew - not to mention I have some $.59 lb. chicken leg quarters that need to be cooked, and I've already done my favorite recipe, Easy Garlic Chicken, once this week.

I love a good soup or stew, but many restaurants don't cook them long enough to really develop the flavors, so with my latest creation, I'm trying to allow more than enough time for the flavors to really come together. And, if I get brave enough, I'll head over to the Elgin Fresh Market and grab some pork stew meat that's on sale this weekend and try a pork stew next week. Or a new twist on pork stirfry, or maybe even pork al pastor. Well, I shouldn't get ahead of myself just yet. Finish one project at a time...

I know stew is more of a wintery dish, but when you have someone at home with a summer cold - desparate times call for desparate measures. Two someone's, actually. DH and myself. Not that I can blame him, it was me that brought the cold home. The two great things about making stew in the summer: veggies are in season, which makes them much cheaper and you can make it in the crockpot, versus slaving over a hot stove. The only bad thing: being sick in the summer. Yech!

I tried to keep in mind the flavors I love in a good stew, while reminiscing over the lovely, hearty, rich chicken stew at Sweet Tomatoes. That place is a huge weakness of mine. Soup, salad, and homemade bread all in one spot. It's dangerous, very, very dangerous. On Mondays, when they have cream of mushroom soup - I'm a total goner. Seriously! My only consolation is going through the salad bar before loading up on bread and soup.

Chicken Stew

2 lbs. chicken leg quarters, skin removed
6 C. chicken broth (made with bouillion)
2-3 T. corn starch
2-3 T. margarine or butter
4 cloves of garlic, crushed/minced
1 medium onion (any variety)
1/2 medium red bell pepper
2-3 C. cooked carrots
1 rib of celery
2 large cooked potatoes, peeled
* 1 C. canned/frozen peas
* 1 small zucchini
* 8 oz. mushrooms, fresh any variety
2 T. basil
2 tsp. black pepper
3 bay leaves
* 1 tsp. rosemary or thyme

In a crockpot, add chicken and broth and cook over low for 6-10 hours, or until chicken falls off the bone.

In a large skillet, melt margarine and whisk in cornstarch. Over a medium-low heat, drain broth into skillet, whisking as its added. Mixture will thicken slightly. Return liquid to crockpot, de-bone chicken, and return meat to crockpot.

For a thicker broth, finely dice all veggies, for a hearty (chunkier) stew, rough chop all veggies. Add to crockpot. Add in seasonings, stir and cook over low for 4-8 hours.

Remove bay leaves before serving.

Yield = 12 servings.
* = optional ingredients

Sandy, DaMama, & I are all geared up for a money-saving girls night in. We've been snapping up 4 lb. boneless hams for $3.99 each, and tonight is slicing night. In honor of the occasion, I've grabbed about a quarter pound of fontina cheese (so smooth and creamy, it's makes you want to melt!), some strawberries, and some garlic.

I'll rub down some slices of bread with the cloves of garlic, drizzle on some evoo (extra virgin olive oil), and pile them high with fresh sliced ham and some creamy, dreamy cheese. Some large, fresh, plump strawberries (the last batch from Amy's Organic Garden) on the side - and it will feel far more decadent than running to Subway for a footlong. The entire cost of this meal? An unbelievable $3.94. Can't even buy a footlong for that!

Once we wrap up the slicing, we'll watch a redbox rental - I love only paying $1 for a movie - unless I luck out with a code, then I don't pay anything. Yeah, I'm awfully fond of that, too. Nothing quite beats a girls night in - even if we have a wee bit of work ahead of us first. That will make the relaxing time so well worth it!

Have you ever turned boring, ordinary chores into a mini-party? I'd love to hear about you ideas for a frugally fabulous girls night in!

With the abundance of summer berries (mainly FREE organic strawberries from Amy's Organic Garden), I've been brainstorming up a host of new ideas on how to use the deliciously sweet fruit - that is after eating a few generous handfuls of the tangy fruit myself.

With each idea comes another - from my (hopefully soon to be famous) layered Strawberry Cream Cake, to strawberry tarts (thanks, Amanda), to eating them by the mouthful (SonyaAnn - if I could've eaten more, there wouldn't have been any leftover!), to preserves, to decadent desserts - there's so much to love about a batch of beautiful berries. This weekend will mark the first of 4 experiments with strawberries - I've got some new ideas, and I'm aching to give them a try! Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up topping the next batch of Amish Friendship Bread!

I'm not shy about mixing bold flavors and trying new combinations - I'm more nervous about the outcome of different techniques and how the textures will balance each other. Nothing is worse than burnt toast, soggy bread, tough veggies (that are supposed to be fork tender), and gummy noodles. In that respect, I am a perfectionist. I don't know how the syrup from the berries will react with some of the other ingredients in my ideas, so this weekend - we'll start with a french vanilla cupcake surprise: the surprise being the strawberry center!

This weekend - a cupcake...next week, I'm out to conquer the world! Okay, I'll stick with conquering the berries. That's a sweet challenge I'm more than up for!

I got the best deal ever on a humongous batch of gorgeous organic strawberries! More than 18 lbs. of red, ripe, delicious berries came from my sister's all-organic garden in Minnesota - and these are some of the biggest, juiciest berries I've ever seen. What's crazy? She's got more berries still coming in! When she came for a visit over the 4th of July, she brought the sun-ripened fruit.

Last night, I spent about 2 hours cleaning, slicing, and snacking on berries, getting them ready to freeze. Later this month, I'll make my Strawberry Cream Cake with all those luscious berries. With the amount of berries I've now got on hand, I could make 8-12 cakes! Not that I'm complaining...

At least she let me trade some of some of Annie's Market items for those luscious berries. All in all, I still got the better end of the deal. Where I paid nothing for the grill marinades, less than $.40 a bottle for the BBQ sauce, free or nearly free salad dressing, and grabbed ketchup for $.39 a bottle - she brought berries that are selling for $5.99 lb. (organic is always more expensive). I kind of feel guilty for getting the better end of the bargain here, so when I make my trip to visit her in the coming months - I'll bring extra goodies from the market.

With all these yummy berries, I can't seem to decide which way I want to eat them first. Do I want a strawberry-banana smoothie? How about cheesecake with strawberry sauce? Maybe a good vanilla ice cream with the strawberries on top? I can always used them in baked desserts, too.

Do you have any ideas for a lovely batch of berries? I'd love some new ideas!