Bluelight Savings This Weekend

This post was sponsored by Kmart. All the opinions are mine.

I remember Kmart Bluelight Specials from my childhood. There you were, shopping beside your mom (or having a family photo taken in the “studio” they set up special that week) when, suddenly, a voice would crackle over the loudspeaker announcing a Blue Light Special. At the sound of that voice all activity would stop to hear the location and the item. And then carts would turn and people would begin to walk toward the blue light flashing on the other side of the store.

I wasn’t aware that Kmart had done away with the Blue Light Specials until I heard they were bringing it back. This Saturday, August 1, 2009, the Kmart Bluelight Specials return. And I’m kinda pumped about it because included in that is patio furniture and grills. Oh how we need new patio furniture!

What else will there be? I don’t know, but over 40 items will host the blue light. Personally I’d like to see the Kenmore 8-piece Stainless Steel Cooking Set with the blue light hovering over it.

Can’t get to the store? Be sure to check Kmart.com for online deals and follow @kmartdealsnnews on Twitter for updates and special deals.

Basic Quiche

I'm a huge fan of quiche. It's one of the most versatile meals I make. It works for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner... Another plus is that you can add veggies or meat to it easily. And my girls love quiche- we call it "cheese pie". Two of the greatest things in the world: cheese & pie. And the leftovers re-heat really well. I love when we have quiche for dinner because it means left-over quiche for breakfast!

Another reason I love this recipe is that it's a great "make & take" if you're taking a meal to someone who just had a baby, has a sick child, etc. Quiche, a bagged salad and some cookies and you've got a meal.

This is my favorite quiche recipe. It uses Gruyère, which is a bit spendy, but you can use Swiss, Emmental or Mont Saint-Benoît.

I pulled this recipe out of a magazine years ago; I'm not sure which one.

1 T olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, diced (not being an onion person I use dried, chopped onions, about 2-3 T)
3/4 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 c fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
4 eggs
3/4 c half & half (I mostly use skim milk; it's what I have on hand and it works)
8 oz Gruyère, grated
1/8 t ground nutmeg
1 store bought frozen deep dish pie crust, or you favorite homemade crust

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, over medium low heat, heat the oil. Add the onions, 1/2 t of the salt and 1/4 t of the pepper. Cover and cook until the onions are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. (Skip this step if you aren't using fresh onions.) Add the parsley and cook, covered, for 2 more minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and half & half or milk. Stir in cheese, nutmeg, the remaining salt & pepper and the onion mixture. Place the piecrust on a foil lined baking sheet. Scrape the egg mixture into piecrust- it will be full. Bake until the filling is set and an inserted knife comes out clean; about 40 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Technically this makes 4 servings. Serve with a salad.

If you want to add ham or browned sausage add it to the egg mixture after you add the cheese.

How to Eat Cheap in College

OK, I'm gonna admit that I know absolutely nothing about going away to college. I lived at home while completing my cosmetology degree. But what I do know about is being poor and saving money on food.

First, the staple for any young broke adult: Ramen Noodles. I know, I know. Oss out the flavor packets and try a little mix of soy sauce, peanut butter and rice wine you have a nice peanut sauce. Toss in some chicken and it’s actually quite good. Or try adding a bit of olive oil, pepper, parmeasan and broccoli.

Next: cereal. Buy the store brand. It’s usually the same as the name brand, just different packaging. And it's cheaper in a bag.

Thinking pizza? Forget the frozen & don’t order take-out. Get some whole pitas or English muffins (both can be used with the peanut butter I mentioned earlier), some tomato paste, dried Oregano, toppings and cheese. Voila! Personal pizzas!

Fruits & veggies: if you have the storage buy canned or frozen. Fresh costs more and is more likely to go bad if you forget about it.

Of course there are a few things you may need beyond food. Like a mini-fridge, a microwave and a toaster oven. Of course you want to make sure your roommate doesn’t have them, too. Sears CampusReady can help with that. It’s a reloadable Sears gift card. The cards come in pairs- one for the student, one for the parent. The cards must be purchased in store but can be refilled online. It’s a great way to get the things you need and stay within your budget.

Sears also has CampusReady on Facebook, a great app to help you let people know what you need, design your room and get to know your roommate. It’s a fun and easy app to use. I played around with it for a while- and I’m not even going to college!

Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

One of my favorite comfort foods is biscuits and gravy. Of course I can't make them often... I suppose that's why they are called "comfort foods". But I plan to make them this weekend so I wanted to share the recipe I've found that is easy to make and very tasty. I found it on my Dinner Spinner (a great free iPod Touch/ iPhone app) from AllRecipes.

I made the biscuits using this recipe for Herbed Biscuits; just leave out the herbs.

INGREDIENTS
this recipe makes 4 servings

* 1 pound ground pork sausage
* 2 tablespoons margarine (I omitted this as sausage is plenty fatty)
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 4 cups milk (add slowly until gravy reaches desired thickness)
* salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the sausage for 10 minutes, or until browned. Stir in the margarine until well blended, then stir in the flour until mixture is thick and pasty.
2. Reduce heat to medium low and slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbly and to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pillsbury simply... Just Like Homemade

I'm not really a cookie baker. I know, it's kind of sad. But I've never been able to make what I consider a really good cookie. But I'm not a big fan of packaged cookie dough, either, as it has so many ingredients that just don't belong in cookies.

So, as you can imagine, cookies, being rare, are kind of a big deal at my house. Last week I received a coupon from General Mills to try their new simply... cookies. The cookies are available in both chocolate chip and peanut butter and are made from the same ingredients you would use if you were baking from scratch: * wheat flour * brown sugar * water * eggs * baking powder * salt * pure vanilla extract * all natural semisweet chocolate chips * peanut butter * sugar * skim milk.

Since my girls love to help in the kitchen and my cousin was watching them last week I thought it would be a great activity for a rainy afternoon.

The package has 12 cookies which didn't need to be patted flat, but it was fun and the girls enjoyed it.

My cousin enjoyed the no clean-up part.





And though, in my opinion,
she over-baked the cookies just a bit they were still quite good and disappeared in just over 24 hours.

Pillsbury also sent me coupons to share. I have 5 coupons for $1.25 off a package of simply... Just leave me a comment and I'll send one to you.

If you aren;t one of the first 5 to comment you can print your own coupon for $1 here.

Upside Down Deep Dish Pizza

When I hosted Mom's Nite Out a couple months ago one of the sponsors, Unilever, sent me a box of goodies that included the Family Fun Book.

About a week ago I made a recipe from that book: the Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza. It was really quick and easy to make; and inexpensive, averaging $3.44 per serving- less, actually, because the recipe says it is 4 servings but it easily fed my family plus our babysitter and left plenty of leftovers for two lunches the next day.

Another big plus: I put spinach in it and my girls didn't even bat an eye at the "green stuff".

* 1 lb. ground beef
* 1 jar (26 oz) Ragu® Old World Style® Sweet Tomato Basil Smooth Pasta Sauce (or the sauce of your choice)
* 1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli OR spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (optional)
* 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8 oz.)
* 1 can (11 oz.) refrigerated pizza dough

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Brown ground beef in 12-inch nonstick skillet; drain and season, if desired, with salt and ground black pepper. Stir in Pasta Sauce and bring to a boil; turn into 2-quart baking dish.
2. Top with broccoli, then cheese. Place pizza dough over dish, sealing edges tightly.
3. Bake 20 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 10 minutes.

Chocolate Turnovers

Pastries for breakfast area special treat in our house. Mostly because they are so yummy and I could eat them all in one sitting. So I held on to this recipe from Hershey's Kitchen for quite a while before I made it knowing that it would be delicious.

And I wasn't wrong. These little turnovers are so rich because they are made with dark chocolate (yum!) and a tiny bit of cinnamon. They were a HUGE hit in my house and disappeared quite quickly. Because the recipe makes 18 it's terrific to share or take to a brunch. They are especially good warm; just reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds per 2 turnovers.

Ingredients:

* 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) dark Chocolate Chips (you can also use Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips) divided
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 package (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry, thawed (2 sheets)
* 1 egg, beaten with 2 teaspoons water
* 1-1/2 teaspoons shortening(do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Combine 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips and cinnamon in small bowl; set aside.

2. Unfold one pastry sheet; roll on lightly floured surface to form 12-inch square. Cut into nine 4-inch squares. Place 1 heaping tablespoon chip mixture onto center of each square.

3. Lightly brush egg mixture onto edges of each square. Fold diagonally in half; seal edges. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet. Repeat procedure with remaining puff pastry sheet and remaining chip mixture. Lightly brush tops of turnovers with egg mixture.

4. Bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to wire rack.

5. Place remaining 1/2 cup chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred. Drizzle melted chocolate over each turnover. 18 servings.

Velveeta Shells & Cheese Cups

I'm just going to be straight about this: my girls are not fans of the "blue box". Powdered mac & cheese gets no play in this house. Why should it when my girls are used to home made? The powdered stuff just can't compete and, let's be honest, it really doesn't taste very good.

But I don't always have the time to make mac & cheese from scratch. Luckily Velveeta came out with a solution: Shells & Cheese Cups. They're perfect for quick lunches and Brenna, my little kitchen helper, can make it (mostly) by herself.

Say what you will about Velveeta... It's creamy and tastes good. At 99 cents (where I live) this is a nice alternative to fast food. We usually add some cut up hot dogs. Yum.

Want to try Velveeta Shells & Cheese Cup? I have one coupon- it's a buy one get one free. First person to comment gets it!

Recipes to Fire Up Your 4th of July!

Appetizers:
Super Easy Bean Dip
Bacon Horseradish Dip

Salads:
Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Salad
Southwest Layered Salad

Dessert:
Oreo Fudge & Ice Cream Cake
Boston Cream Cupcakes

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!