Thanksgiving

Boy do I love Thanksgiving! I celebrated this year with my husband's family, where the afternoon began with loading our plates full of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole, among other comfort foods. That's the true Thanksgiving way, no salad necessary. Then it was time for football. Flag football, family version; the sisters, the kids, and even great grandpa played their hearts out while I watched from a nearby window. In the end they came out with two busted lips and a couple of screaming children, not bad for your typical family gathering. After that we were able to enjoy the Cowboy's victory against the Sea Hawks. We wrapped up the evening with a couple games of Rumikub and cards along with coffee and seconds on desserts. It's been a fun food filled week, but now my stomach is starting to turn on me (literally) and so I think that it is time to bring this feast to a close.


Baby Z ate his very first Thanksgiving meal, last year he was too little for table food.


He sat in a chair all by himself for the first time too. Here he is at the kiddie table with his cousins. I just can't believe how much he has grown up in one year.

CVS BLACK FRIDAY DEALS!!!

Okay, this is unbelievable. I didn't do any black friday shopping this year. Except I did go to 4 different CVS's and do 4 different transactions between my hometown and Fort Worth. I got $156.51 worth of items for 15 cents. 3 out of the 4 transactions I walked out paying nothing! Not only was I able to get some stuff we needed for free even though it wasn't on sale, but here is where it gets really good, I now have $40.23 in ECB's. This is double what I started with!!! I have never had this much store credit. So as you can see I am just a tiny bit excited about my week at CVS. I am sure they are going to hold out on us for a while now, but I am cool with that, I can ride this wave for a long time.

So how did I do it? I got a $5 off $30.00 coupon in my email, and it said only one coupon per transaction not per customer, so I used one every time, there is $20.00 right there. I also had $20.00 ECB's to begin with, and add to that tons of free after ECB items plus $25.00 in manufacturer coupons. CHA CHING!

2 Colgate total -2 $1 Q
Phillips ear buds
5 hour energy shots
3 Gatorades
2 Cover Girl foundations -2 $1 Q
Cobalt Gum
Axe shower gel
King Size kit kat
Soleil razor -$3 Q
Garnier towelletes
Maybeline foundation -$3 Q
Hersheys- free hershey Q
Aussie mousse -$1 Q
Aussie hair spray -$1 Q
2 Playtex -2 $1 Q
2 Schick Quattro -$4 Q -$2 Q
Universal remote
Axe Deodorant
Crest
Loreal lip gloss
Sally Hansen's nail polish
2 Revelon eye shadow - 2 $2

Froogie Boogie: Eat up those leftovers

One of the things that keeps me a frugal queen is my ability to use up leftovers. Somethings I prefer when they are reheated, like pizza. When we eat out I can count on getting at LEAST 2 meals out of whatever I order so I don't feel like I am wasting money. Some people dread Thanksgiving leftovers, they enjoy it the first go round, but after that it just looses it's appeal. My solution is to make delicious Turkey sandwiches. Here is what you need

Rolls
Turkey
cranberry sauce
cream cheese

You just cut the rolls in half spread the cream cheese on one end and and your cranberry and turkey. You adjust this dish to your own personal taste, I like to add stuffing, or even ham. Either way, it is a tasty alternative to just nuking the same old thing over and over again. Bon Appetit.

You know you've had too much Turkey when...

I swear I didn't have any alcohol with my thanksgiving meal, but it sure has been quite a day and I think the fatigue is setting in because I just wrote this whole blog in my yahoo email account. No joke I put the title in the subject line and typed it all out and it wasn't until I went to edit that I realized I was not at blogger.com! Anyway here is what the "email" said,

I hope everyone had a happy and delicious Thanksgiving day. I celebrated with my husbands family. There was a ton of great food and my little contribution was Chocolate Eclair Dessert. Here is the recipe

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR DESSERT

2 (3.4 oz.) pkgs. instant French vanilla pudding
3 c. cold milk
9 oz. container Cool Whip
Graham crackers

ICING:

1 1/3 c. powdered sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa
2 tbsp. salad oil
1 tbsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. Karo syrup (white)
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. milk

Mix the pudding, milk and Cool Whip. Layer the bottom of a 9"x13" pan with a single layer of graham crackers. Place 1/2 of the pudding mixture on top
of the graham cracker. Spread pudding mixture evenly. Cover with second
layer of graham crackers. Place remaining pudding over second layer of
graham cracker. Spread evenly and cover with final layer of graham crackers.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour before icing.
Mix icing in the following order: powdered sugar, cocoa, oil, vanilla,
Karo, butter and milk. Spread and smooth over top layer of graham crackers.
Refrigerate at least 2 hours. May be made the day before serving.


I had another recipe that had more of a ganache like topping which I prefer, and if I find that version I will post it.

I guess I better get some rest. Happy Thanksgiving!

French Dressing

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the history and tradition. While I couldn’t even tell you where all of my ancestors are from, I do know that I am half French Candadian. My mom’s parents came to America from Montreal.

I don’t know a lot about the history there, but the one French Candadian tradition that did get passed down through my mom’s family is French Dressing. Contrary to what it sounds like it has nothing to do with salad dressing. It is more like the american version of stuffing, but with meat and potatoes and is traditionally served on Thanksgiving Day known as le Jour de Merci Donnan. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
6 medium potatoes ( 2 potatoes per pound)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Cup water
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. all spice
salt and pepper to taste


Prep
Cube Potatoes.
Finely chop onion.
Add all of the ingredients to a large kettle.
Cook over a medium heat for about one hour until meat is cooked and potatoes are tender.
Remove from heat. Spoon off about one-half cup of drippings and discard.
Mash the potatoes and stir mixture.



What about you? Do you have any unordinary Thanksgiving foods that are traditional for your family?

More Starbucks

If you are needing a boost to get yourself going before the big thanksgiving meal Starbucks will be open. You will have to check your local shops, but most have modified holiday hours. Where I live (Ellis county, Texas) they are open from 6:00 am-5:00 pm. Or better yet Black Friday shoppers are sure to need a pick me up at some point in the day and you can count on every one's favorite addiction to be there to serve you. The day after Thanksgiving Starbucks will be open with extended hours and a fully equipped barista staff! I am all about a toasty warm beverage during the holidays. Here is a list of my top winter drinks from Starbucks, along with the at home version, which I myself have yet to try, but look forward to doing so.

1. The Eggnog Chai Latte- Although it may not be on the menu one of my favorite baristas introduced me to it last night and I was very impressed with this creative concoction. I already love the chai latte, I opt for a creamier version by asking for the "no water chai". With the holiday season upon us I would now recommend trying the eggnog version. YUM!

To make this one at home you can pick up the chai tea latte mix at most grocery stores (I use the Oregon Chai) and make it with eggnog. Or if you are a wimp like me you can do half milk half eggnog.

2. Pumpkin Spice Latte- You know it's that time of year again when the pumpkin spice latte returns to the menu. This is a nick name I have for my son, because it was my drink of choice around the time he was born. Most parents call their cutie pumpkin and for me pumpkin spice latte just rolls off the tongue. Anyway, this drink is the traditional latte with the added flavor of pumpkin spices. I just found this crock pot recipe on another blog, which definitely sounds like something worth trying.

A Year of CrockPotting: CrockPot Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

3. The Salted Carmel Signature Hot Chocolate is mouth watering good. It's creamy, buttery, sweet and salty. I drink it as if I were a wine connoisseur letting it sit on my tongue to take in all the flavor before swallowing. Ah, it's expensive, it's almost 500 calories, and well it's the holidays what can say?

Check out this copy cat recipe to make it yourself.

Never underestimate the euphoria of a nice hot beverage on a cold winter day. Enjoy!

Look Back and Laugh: Drive Thru

Every time I go through a Starbucks drive thru I am a little self conscious. One time my husband and I were placing our order and the barista came over the speaker saying "Hi this Fabian what can I get for you?" My husband flipped out, because he calls people Fabian when he gets road rage. Don't ask why, but it's better than some other words he could use. Anyway, so he looks at me and he is pointing and mouthing "oh my gosh" because we are both surprised that we have come into contact with an actual Fabian. Our little silent outburst was interrupted by the words "I saw that" over the intercom. We immediately freeze. As it turns out they have cameras, not just the kind that can see your car, but they can actually see YOU! Fabian was actually a really nice guy and we talked with him for a while at the window. From now on though, I am on my best behavior anytime I go through a drive thru.