Price Chopper

I made a quick run to Price Chopper today to take advantage of all of those great Kraft coupons. I had a few match-ups, but apparently those coupons are manufacturer coupons. Who knew???!!! They say "in-ad" coupon, so I thought it was relatively safe to assume they were store coupons. I ended up putting back a few things that just were,'t that great of a deal, or we didn't need. No big deal.

This ended up being about $38 in groceries after our ginormous nearly 9% Kansas tax. Initially, I thought I didn't do very well, but now I'm looking at the picture and feeling better about it.I even have another half gallon of ice cream that isn't pictured! My standards are pretty high, so I guess I'll let it be ok.

I'll make another stop at some point this week, I think, but I'm not quite sure what's on the list. We'll definitely need milk. (My girls are drinking MORE than a gallon a week these days, which is causing me a problem!) It is also our week to take snacks to pre-K,  but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to work that within the budget this week. It may be an extra! Regardless, I'm going to start a little series about school snacks. I've been SO FRUSTRATED listening to what people are bringing at snack time. It's super important to me that my kids are getting good brain fuel for their day at school, and it just isn't happening. I think the main problem is just that people are busy and can't think of anything other than a box of fruit snacks! I'm hoping to provide some ideas that are just as quick and easy -- maybe even cheaper! We'll see!

Apple Cider Scones

Ya'll know I love my basic scone recipe. I am excited to try some new varities for fall. My dad's birthday is tomorrow, so I whipped up a batch of apple cider scones for him to bake up fresh for breakfast in the morning. Here is the recipe:

Scones:

• 4 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Zest of one orange
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 quarter tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup room temperature butter, cubed
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup of apple cider
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla
• 1 cup Granny Smith apples (chopped)

Icing:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp apple cider
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, spices and orange zest. Cube the butter and mix in to the mixture until the butter is pea sized. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, apple cider, milk and vanilla together. Stir into the flour mixture until the dough is moist, do not over mix. Knead in the apples. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a couple of times. Divide dough into two equal balls. Pat each ball into an 8 inch circle. (Be careful to make sure it is not too thick in the center.) Place each ball onto a parchment paper lined or greased cookie sheet. Score each circle with a knife into 6 wedges. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until done and lightly golden. Allow the scones to cool. Meanwhile, stir powdered sugar, apple cider and cinnamon together. Drizzle over cooled scones.

See also Country Store Fried Apples.

Country Store Fried Apples

These are the YUMMIEST apples. They are a dead-ringer for Cracker Barrel's cinnamon apples. They are great as a side dish and over waffles and pancakes, but I REALLY love them over ice cream. They're just awesome.

Here is the recipe, from an old copy of the KC Star:

5 to 6 cups of firm tart apples such as American Cameo or Granny Smith
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons of corn starch
1/2 cup apple cider

Peel, core and slice apples into medium to thick slices. Places apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in slow cooker. Dissolve corn starch in apple cider and blend well. Pour over apples and stir to blend. Cover and cook for 5-6 hours. Stir halfway through cooking.

I finallllllllllly feel like I got my life in order enough to have a good shopping trip! I finally got my coupon book organized. It's been MONTHS. I also had just a few minutes to pull out the few coupons I knew I needed. Those two things, friends, are a huge success for me right now.

I'm not going to list everything out because it's getting late! I picked up the two bell peppers and the cucumber at the Farmer's Market this morning for $1. At Hy-Vee, we spent right around $50 before diapers, pop and tax. The apples pictured were free. They're actually spilling over that whole portion of my counter. I'm not exactly sure how much I have picked from my secret source, but I'm thinking around 20 lbs. My source is running dry, but I think I will be able to pick a few more still. So, stay tuned for some new apple recipes!

Autumn Lovin' Baby...

Yup, she's the cutest...

Freezer Cooking Plan

My goal for the weekend is to spend some time getting my house organized and less time cooking. It's just something that NEEDS to be done as we're getting ready to add a baby to an already crowded house. I started tonight by cleaning out my Tupperware cabinet. I decided it was VERY MUCH time to toss everything I didn't have a match for. I threw away just a few bases, but about 30 lids! Where on earth do the bases go??? Anyway, it was very liberating! I highly recommend it. The other big thing on my agenda is tagging for the Just Between Friends sale next week. I have about 80 items, so that ought to take me awhile! Hopefully, the return will be worth it! Regardless, I DO have a little bit planned for freezer day:

I've been making "baby's favorite" with my free apples like crazy this week. I've made and frozen a batch of apple pear, apple pumpkin and apple nectarine. I still have enough apples for 2-3 batches, and I might go picking again. This will not be a freezer "day" project, but an ongoing project this week.

I'm also wanting to try this Apple Crostada. I've never made a "real" pie before, so I thought this might be an easy start. I'll make sure to share my thoughts!

Additionally, I plan on making a big pot of our favorite chili for dinner tomorrow night and for leftovers for lunch at work this week. And, I'm making my Cracker Barrel cinnamon apples for my dad's birthday dinner on Sunday. I've not shared either of those recipes, and they are GREAT. You can really look forward to them!

Opinion Outpost

I have already talked about Opinion Outpost a little bit, but I am just so happy with it that I had to share again! I cashed out my first check on 08/07, and a month later, I have made a total of $54.00. It's honestly been such a blessing for us! I have had a few glitches a long the road, but they're minor, all things considered. After all, no one else is handing out $50 bills!

If you could use an extra few bucks this month (especially as Christmas is drawing near,) I really recommend that you sign up. You can sign up through this link:


http://OpinionOutpost.com/join/8360138