Nix9to5

Hey, Pumpkin.

// October 8th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Money Matters

I love fall.  Hot Husband’s birthday, Halloween, our anniversary, Bear’s birthday, my birthday, and Thanksgiving are all in this time of year.  The weather is cooling off after a particularly brutal summer, and it’s just my absolute favorite time of year.  We have our Halloween decorations up and our autumn-scented candles burning.  Of course, coffee shops re-releasing their pumpkin flavored lattes is another bonus.  I love pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice coffee . . . mmmmm.  I’ve been stockpiling recipes including pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon syrup (I slobbered on my keyboard just typing that), so this article from Living on a Dime came just in time:

How to Roast and Use Pumpkins!

by Tawra Kellam
http://www.LivingOnADime.com

Peter Piper Picked a Profoundly Plump Pumpkin — Now what does he do with it?

How to Roast a Pumpkin

You can only do this with a freshly carved pumpkin! Do not use on a pumpkin that has been carved and sitting out for several days.

To bake a fresh 6 to 7 pound pumpkin, halve the pumpkin crosswise and scoop out the seeds and strings. Place halves, hollow side down, in a large baking pan covered with aluminum foil and add a little water. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until fork-tender. Remove. When cool, scrape pulp from shells and puree, a little at time, in food processor or blender. Mix with a little salt.

To freeze pumpkin puree. Put 1-2 cups in freezer bags along with spices and use in pies.

To use pumpkin puree for recipes: Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth or a flour sack dish towel and let the pumpkin sit to drain out the extra moisture BEFORE cooking with it. Pumpkin is very moist, so in order for your recipe to come out correctly, you MUST strain it.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Boil seeds in water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Sprinkle with salt or seasoned salt. Place a thin layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees. Stir after 30 minutes. Bake 1/2-1 hour more or until crunchy.

*Squash seeds may also be used.

Pumpkin Smoothies

1/2 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup milk or vanilla yogurt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. brown sugar
4 ice cubes
whipped cream (optional)
sprinkles (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2-3 glasses. Serve with a small amount of whipped cream on top. You may also add orange sprinkles if you like. Serves 2-3.

Pumpkin Crunch

1 package yellow cake mix
1 can (15 oz.) solid packed pumpkin
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup nuts
1 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pumpkin mixture. Then sprinkle with nuts. Drizzle with butter. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown. Cool, served chilled. Serve with whipped topping.

Homemade Pumpkin Muffins

1 cake mix (any flavor works, but chocolate is our hands down favorite!) 1 can pumpkin or 2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin

Beat together with electric mixer until smooth (It will be really thick). Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips and stir. Line muffin tins with paper muffin cups and spray with non-stick spray. Use an ice cream scoop to put batter into muffin cups (I can get 24 muffins from one box of mix). Bake at 350 degrees for around 20 minutes. Cool and frost if desired. My family likes them just as they are when they are hot from the oven.

Spice cake mix is great – add white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips.

I have made pumpkin muffins with white cake mix and yellow cake mix too. They have around 120 calories apiece with the mini chocolate chips and are virtually fat free. If you are on weight watchers, they only count as 1 point.

This is a fabulous way to sneak some vitamin A rich veggies in on the kids. Just don’t let them see you put the pumpkin into the muffins and they will never know it is there. These are more moist than very expensive name brand double chocolate chip muffins.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Combine ingredients. Stir just until moistened; batter may be lumpy. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat. Brush lightly with vegetable oil. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles begin to burst. Turn and continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with Pumpkin Maple Sauce and nuts.

Pumpkin Maple Sauce

1 cup maple syrup
1 1/4 cups pumpkin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice Mix together until well blended.

Visit www.LivingOnADime.com for more easy recipes!

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the authors of the Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Dining On A Dime will help you save money on groceries and get out of debt by cooking quick and simple homemade meals. For free tips & recipes visit http://www.LivingOnADime.com , sign up for our free Living On A Dime Newsletter and learn to save more!

World’s Easiest Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

// October 5th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Cooking

I swear I don’t always cook in a crock pot.  Really.  But the slow cooker has really been making things convenient for me over the last few weeks, when I’ve been struggling to meet deadlines during one of my busiest months yet for work.  Thanks to the Crock Pot Girls, I’ve been finding quite a few new recipes:  including this one which I’ve adapted and called “World’s Easiest Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings.”

Now, generally, when I make chicken and dumplings, I use a recipe from the Amazing Amanda (of course) that I’ve modified for the crock pot.  It is a pretty basic recipe and allows for whatever type seasoning you want.  I’m not going to abandon the Amazing Amanda’s recipe in favor of this one.  They aren’t really that similar, because “World’s Easiest Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings” doesn’t taste quite like my definition of chicken and dumplings.  In fact, it tastes more like the chicken pot pie recipe I got from the Amazing Amanda (of course), only in a stew version.  Come to think of it, I should title that recipe “World’s Easiest Chicken Pot Pie.”

Anyway, here’s my modified version of the chicken and dumplings I found via Crock Pot Girls:

World’s Easiest Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

• 5 or so frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 7 smallish ones)
• 3 cans cream of chicken soup (I used reduced fat)
• 2 T. butter (I used a “blob” of reduced fat margarine)
• A sprinkling of dried minced onion
• 1 can refrigerated biscuits

The actual recipe called for real onion, but Hot Husband will have nothing to do with that.  He’d probably have a fit if he knew the dried onion was in there.  He doesn’t know, though, and he really liked this recipe.  Even Bear (otherwise known as Mr. I Refuse to Eat Meals But There’s Always Room for Dinosaur Treats) ate most of his dinner without prompting.  I thought it was a tad salty, but still really pretty good.  I think it might be yummy to dump some frozen vegetables in there, too, while it’s cooking–which would make it taste even more like World’s Easiest Chicken Pot Pie.  In fact, if I do that, I’m going to name that recipe “World’s Easiest Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie.”  I’m practically a genius with the recipe titles.

Oh–one other thing about the original recipe.  It called for two cans of biscuits, but I can see no possible way two cans of biscuits would have worked here, unless maybe they were teeny tiny cans or something.

There you have it.  A super easy recipe that you can make on the cheap and keep all the ingredients on hand at all times.  If you try it, let me know what you think.

Note:  The image above was taken from a similar recipe at Screaming Sardine.
 

Sweet, Dark Secrets (by Amanda)

// September 28th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Life in General

Note from Nicci:  Let me just tell you, this week is really about to do me in.  I don’t know what I’d do without the Amazing Amanda bailing me out.  In addition to the fact that she does all these fun, crafty things with her adorable boys, she is a phenomenal cook.  Here’s a recipe from my darling sister who eats brownies and still looks all skinny (don’t hate).  It is one that I could surely use about now.  I just wish I lived closer to the Amazing Amanda so I could just come over and eat hers.

Tonight, I needed a dessert for the in-laws, and I looked in the pantry to see what boxed mixes I could do something with.  I found a cinnamon swirl cake mix, a chocolate lava cake mix, and a yellow cake mix.  Nothing struck my fancy.  Then I noticed another box hiding in the back.  It was a dark chocolate brownie mix.  I’m not sure when I bought it, and I’m not sure why.  Chocolate is not my favorite thing, and dark chocolate is one of the last things on my list of favorite sweets…but it’s one of my hubby’s faves, so maybe I was feeling nice the day I caught the brownie mixes BOGO and got one I thought he’d like.  I remembered we had a little bit of vanilla ice cream in the freezer and thought brownies might be a good way to finish that off.  (I don’t think I ever eat brownies without vanilla ice cream!)

Do you ever try the recipes on the boxes of cake/brownie mixes you buy?  I have, a few times, and been pleasantly surprised!  Tonight I saw a recipe for dark chocolate espresso cookies.  I loves me some coffee-flavored stuff, so I was intrigued…but I didn’t want to take the time to make cookies.  So, I improvised and liked what I discovered.

Dark Mocha Brownies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8×8 glass baking dish and set aside.  Mix together brownie mix, eggs, oil, coffee, and cinnamon, just till all dry ingredients become moistened.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into greased baking dish and bake for approximately 40 minutes.  Cool slightly on wire rack.  Cut into squares and serve warm with vanilla ice cream!!

Yum!!  These are quite rich, however, so cut your brownies small and go back for seconds if you need/want/can handle more.

(I tried the toothpick test and it didn’t really work because I kept hitting melted chocolate chips.  I finally just pulled them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes, cut into them, and discovered they were superb!)

What a Crock!

// September 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Time Management

I’ve shared with you before my love of the crock pot as a lifesaving timesaving tool for busy moms–WAHMs, SAHMs, and WOHMs alike.  Obviously, I’m not alone in my belief that a slow cooker is integral to being able to prepare a hot meal for one’s family while still managing all of the other Mom Tasks one must accomplish.  In just a couple of days, the Crock Pot Girls went from a brand new Facebook page to having over a million fans (by comparison, Nix9to5 has been up for a year and a half, and I’m up to 245 fans.  Holla.).  If you haven’t heard of Crock Pot Girls, I can only assume that this is your first time using the internet EVER, and in that case, I’m wondering how you found my page.  Welcome.

Anyway, I was wondering what it would be like if I cooked dinner for a week only using recipes from Crock Pot Girls.  Not such a crazy venture when you look at Stephanie O’Dea’s Crockpot365, in which she used her slow cooker every day for a year (by the way–awesome recipes there, too).

Anyway, I’ve made two recipes in the last few days that I found on Crock Pot Girls.  Following are the recipes, my tweaks, and my reviews.  For the record, I’m posting the recipes EXACTLY as I copied them from the Crock Pot Girls discussion board. (more…)

She’s Got Legs . . . and She Knows How to Use Them

// May 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Couponing, Deals

No, not these kind of legs*:

THIS kind of legs:

Pilgrim’s chicken drumsticks are on sale this week for $0.74 cents a pound, and there is a coupon out for $1 off of Pilgrim’s Chicken (Thanks to Simple Saving Savvy for the link).  That made for a really good deal, and I am now the proud owner of about 10 pounds of drumsticks for a total of $2.50.  I’ll probably pick up another package tomorrow.  I told Hot Husband to be ready to expect lots of chicken leg meals coming his way . . .

Luckily, the weather is finally nice enough for grilling, which means between the crock pot and the grill, we’ll be able to have a lot of variety with our chicken legs without heating up the kitchen.

A couple of weeks ago, I tried cooking drumsticks in the crock pot on crumpled balls of foil via this Slow Cooker Sticky Chicken recipe from Creatively Domestic.  It was a success, and served with diced “fried” (cooked in skilled with no oil) potatoes and green beans, Hot Husband enjoyed the whole meal, and Bear ate a decent serving, too.

I found a different recipe for Slow Cooked Sticky Chicken from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, and I’ll be trying this recipe, too, for a variation.

We’ll also be firing up the grill and having barbecued chicken legs using bottled barbecue sauce I got for free or practically free with coupons, and we’ll also grill some drumsticks that have been marinated in bottled Italian dressing and in this Chicken Marinade from The Happy Housewife.

Of course, all of these chicken leg meals will be interspersed with other stuff so we don’t become the Crazy Chicken Leg Family.  Tonight we had steak and grilled vegetable kabobs, both marinated in bottled Italian dressing.  Oh, it was sooooo good.  I’ve forgotten how good grilled vegetables are, and we’ll definitely be having a lot of those this summer.

Do you have any great recipes for chicken drumsticks that you’d like to share?

*That is a picture of MY ACTUAL LEGS.  Really!  I mean it!**

** Not really.

Hastily Invented Southwest Pasta Stuff

// May 12th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking

I hate it when I forget to plan something for dinner, or think I have ingredients but don’t, or for any other reason end up just slapping something together with what I have on hand and hoping against hope that Hot Husband and the Bear will actually like it.

I love it when they actually do.

That’s what happened  for dinner tonight.  I don’t know what to call it , other than “Hastily Invented Southwest Pasta Stuff,” but here’s the  recipe, so to speak:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• frozen corn (I have no idea the measurement.  I just dumped some in the pan)
• 1 can mild diced tomatoes with chiles (Ro-tel, Red Gold, whatever I picked up free or cheap and had in the pantry)
• 1 tub Southwest Philly Cooking Creme (got this free)
• 8 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste rotini pasta (free)

Brown the turkey.  Add everything but the pasta, and simmer while the pasta cooks.  After the pasta is done boiling, stir it all together and serve.  Enjoy your stuff.

Chalupas and other Saturday Morning Cooking

// May 7th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Life in General, Time Management

I’m trying to eat from the freezer/pantry for the next few weeks, because April was a low billing month for me.  I had a pork roast in the freezer from Crest’s meat sale, and I decided to make that.  My first thought was to make pulled pork sandwiches out of it, but instead, I decided to stretch the meal by making Chalupas.

Now, I don’t know what a “chalupa” is supposed to be, but it seems like it is used to name everything from nachos to tacos to tostadas to taco salad.

Chalupa #1:

Chalupa #2:

Chalupa #3:

Chalupa #4:

This recipe is closest to Chalupa #4 — shredded pork and beans over corn chips or tortilla chips with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese . . . whatever kind of fixin’ you like.  My brother-in-law likes to eat his on a tortilla and squeeze lime juice on it, so whatever floats your boat will probably work here.  I use the thick tortilla chips, but not Frito’s style corn chips.

I’ll give you the recipe as I got it from my mom, but I don’t cook it according to directions.  Instead, I’ve made it a crockpot recipe.  I just dump everything in and cook it on low 8 hours or all day.  Shred the meat and stir it up.  It is soupier this way, so I serve it with a slotted spoon; today, I’m eliminating a cup of water to see how that works.

Bean Chalupas

• 1 lb. dried pinto beans
• 3 lb. pork roast
• 7 c. water
• 1/2 c. chopped onion*
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 4 oz. chopped green chiles
• 1 T. salt
• 2 T. chili powder
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 t. oregano
• 2 oz. diced pimiento

*I just sprinkle dried minced onion in the pot, because if Hot Husband knows there is an onion in any way involved in the recipe, he won’t touch it.

Place all ingredients in a kettle or dutch oven.  Cover and simmer about 5 hours until roast is fork tender.  Break up roast with fork and return to pot.  Cook uncovered about 30  minutes or until thickened.

This makes a TON–definitely enough to feed a crowd or to make 2-3 freezer meals out of (each with leftovers).

While this is cooking, I’m making a batch of Low-Fat Whole Wheat Pancakes for the freezer.  Bear loves pancakes for breakfast, and I love how easy it is to just pull one out of the freezer and pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so.  I’m tweaking the recipe this time by using half whole wheat flour and half white flour, and I’m replacing half the skim milk with almond milk because I’m low on regular milk.

I’m simultaneously blogging and making pancakes, so that last set was a little less golden and a little more dark brown.

Bear just walked up while I was cooking and said, “Is that a pancake?  Can I have a bite?  Can I hold it?  I LUFF pancakes!”  Guess that’s the seal of approval!

Yes, I’m still here.

// May 6th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Couponing, Family, Life in General, Time Management, Work at Home

Earlier, I questioned whether or not to keep this blog running or let it lapse.  Though my complete lack of posting and even an absence from the Nix9to5 Facebook page have made it appear that I decided to vanish into cyberspace–or rather, out of cyberspace–in reality, I’ve just been trying to get things In The Real World organized and pulled together.  Since my last post a hundred years ago, I’ve been not only working on existing client projects, but have also started new projects, including (gulp) launching a new business.  Time that would have been devoted to writing this blog has now been spent researching social media marketing strategies, SEO content writing, and other details related to the upcoming launch.

That’s not to say it has been all work and no play around here.   The Hot Husband and I spent last weekend at the Ozark Mountains Rat Raid, a four-day motorcycle rally geared toward Triumph enthusiasts, even though HH and I rode a gorgeous Suzuki V-Strom.

Here is an action shot I tried to take of the two of us while riding the twisty roads of the Ozark mountains.  Note the smattering of bugs smeared across the visor of my helmet.  Nice:

Here’s another action shot, sans bug-gut view, from the same ride:

Here we are, all cleaned up and looking beautiful, seated in front of the 2000 Triumph Sprint raffle bike, which we did. not. win.

And finally, the group shot of all the Triumph bikes involved in the Ozark Mountain Rat Raid (non-Triumphs weren’t allowed in the pic) and all riders at the Raid, Triumph owners or not:

So that’s what I’ve been up to when I haven’t been:

• Writing copy for various clients
• Launching a business
• Researching Social Media Marketing
• Pondering the fate of the Nix9to5 blog
• Testing a product so I can write a review for a fellow blogger
• Playing with my little Bear
• Considering potty training and deciding I don’t have the energy to undertake it until summer
• Clipping coupons and trying to score free groceries whenever possible
• Being inordinately excited about the box of products I received from the General Mills Groupon deal
• Baking a huge freezer batch of banana muffins to prevent the waste of a big bunch of bananas that turned black in a hurry once Bear decided, “NO!  I don’t LIKE bananas,” a sentiment which changed immediately upon the absence of said bananas
• Bemoaning the state of my messy house, but not finding the time to do anything about it
• Finding new ways to cook chicken in a crock pot (And here. And here.)
• Wasting time on Facebook and thinking, “You know, I should really be doing something productive.”
• (Insert any number of other things here)

In the meantime, I have decided to keep Nix9to5 up and running.  Well, at least up.  The running part may continue to be hit or miss for a while until I figure out how to integrate it into my schedule with some semblance of consistency.  Once I get back to regular posting, I hope some of you are still around to read it.

In case I don’t get back to you before, I want to wish you all a very happy Mothers’ Day.  May you be allowed to use the bathroom in peace at least once.

Moolala: 6 Months at E-Mealz.com for only $12

// March 23rd, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Budget, Cooking, Deals, Life in General, Money Matters, Organization, Time Management

I’ve heard about E-Mealz before (endorsed by Dave Ramsey, for all you Financial Peace graduates), but I’ve always been hesitant to pay for a subscription.  I mean, sure it gives you cost-effective meal plans to help you save money and give you dining ideas, but . . . well, I just wanted to see if I could cut costs on my own.  I will say that saving money on groceries has been more time consuming than I expected, and when push comes to shove, sometimes the coupons just don’t get clipped.   Today’s Daily Deal from Moolala is going to give me the chance to try E-Mealz at an attractive price.

Right now through Moolala, you can get a six month subscription to E-Mealz for only $12–60% off the standard price of $30.  Here’s what Moolala has to say about E-Mealz:

Until the advent of fast food, Americans deferred to the wisdom of the Meal Planning Committee, a congressional caucus tasked with handling such conundrums as ‘fish or chicken?’ Tap into some old-school wisdom with today’s Moolala deal: for $12, receive a six-month subscription to E-Mealz.com, a meal planning resource for busy families (a $30 value).

Breadwinning may not seem like an easy task, but wait until it’s time to put those loaves into the oven. E-Mealz takes care of the groundwork: the recipe testing, menu planning, and price comparisons. This isn’t a one-size-feeds all system: E-Mealz offers a cornucopia of meal plans, including gluten-free, low-fat, and vegetarian options. Popular stores (Wal-Mart, Publix, Kroger) are covered, as well as plans for food found at smaller grocers. Additionally, E-Mealz has unveiled specialty meal plans based on both the original and new Weight Watchers point system.

Although children may insist they’d be happy eating pizza, burgers, or baba ghanoush for every meal, the pros at E-Mealz know better. The site’s extra-special recipes are seasoned within the meal plans in the perfect proportions. E-Mealz also makes wrangling with picky eaters a breeze: dropping a potentially unpopular meal is as simple as crossing off a few ingredients. The plans arrive every week – just log onto the site with your username and download the plan. Each plan is posted for an extra week, which is a pleasant aroma indeed for busy noses.

With the mealtime makeovers from E-Mealz.com, caring cooks will have access to a graduate-level Home Economics course. Whether you’re preparing meals for two or a whole tableful, E-Mealz will help you make the right choices. Buy today’s Moolala deal for yourself – or as a budget-ballasting gift for a love one – and swap stress for togetherness.

I’ll definitely be taking advantage of this deal.  Don’t forget Moolala’s excellent referral program–instead of getting credit for a referral’s first purchase, you get commission on every sale . . . and their referrals’ sales . . . and their referrals’ sales . . . and so on!  Sign up for Moolala today to take advantage of this E-Mealz deal and the Moolala PayMatrix!

Chicken Thighs in a Crockpot

// March 14th, 2011 // 4 Comments » // Cooking

Here’s an update on my chicken thighs:

9:30 a.m.:

• microwaved 3 lbs. of frozen chicken thighs for 2 mins. (just long enough to pry the packaging off with a fork)
• placed frozen chicken thighs in a crockpot and sprinkled with garlic salt
• set crockpot to low and walked away

1:30 p.m.:

• added 1 c. brown rice to crockpot and stirred a little

4:30 p.m.:

• checked on thighs, which are perfectly done
• lifted each chicken thigh out of the crockpot with tongs, watched the meat slide off the bone back into the pot.  Okay, on a couple I had to use a fork, but just barely.  Most of these quite literally had the meat slide off the bone.
• Removed the skin from the thighs while removing meat from the bones (this was just as easy as the deboning, actually).
• stirred the meat and rice together, realizing that all the juices were absorbed and there was no one home to eat dinner yet.
• Pulled one cup of chicken stock (from Whole Chicken in a Crockpot) out of the freezer and microwaved one minute (to get it out of the bowl).
• Stirred chicken stock into the chicken/rice mixture in the crockpot to wait for HH and the Bear to come home and eat.

5:00 p.m.

• Sat back down to work and decided to blog about chicken thighs first.

I’ll let you know the final verdict after my boys get home and we eat, but so far, I think this So-Easy-It-Should-Be-Illegal recipe is a winner!  Plus, it was crazy cheap–$2.00 for a three pound package of chicken thighs, plus whatever a cup of not-instant brown rice costs–I’m guessing pocket change.  I’ll be interested to see how many meals we get out of my $2.50.

UPDATE: The chicken and rice were moist and flavorful after cooking on low for about 7 hours and then leaving on warm for an hour or so until HH and the Bear got home.  I used regular rice, not instant, and there were a few crunchy bits, so if that bothers you, be sure to use instant rice and add it only an hour or so before serving.  The only complaint I have is that it was too greasy.  Next time, I’ll remove the skin from at least half the thighs before cooking instead of after.