Cat's Muse

Monster Cookies

2012-02-14T14:41:00.000-08:00

For this recipe you will need:

5 C. All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Salt
2 sticks Butter
2 sticks Margarine
1 & 1/2 C. Granulated Sugar
1 & 1/2 C. Packed Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 18 oz. Jar Crunchy Peanut Butter (a 16 oz jar is ok, too)
4 Eggs
1 & 1/2 C. Oatmeal
1 C. Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1 8 oz. pkg. Heath Bits 'O Brickle Toffee Bits, or 1Multi-pack of Heath Bars (see Note)
1 14 oz. Package M & M's

Preheat oven to 375 F Degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl & set aside.

Beat butter, margarine, sugar, brown sugar & vanilla in a large mixer bowl.

Add peanut butter and mix well.

Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.

Gradually beat in flour mixture, add oatmeal, chips, bits (or Heath Bar pieces), and M&M's.

Add the M&M's last and mix minimally so you don't break the shells. This can be done by hand, but it is a BIG batch of dough, so takes some muscle to get it mixed in.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. I really like the baking mats because they are washable & reusable. They are also non-stick. These can be purchased from Amazon, as well as from other retailers. Bake for 12 - 16 minutes or until golden brown in your 375 F oven. I like to rotate the pans half way through cooking moving the one on the top rack to the bottom & turning it at the same time. It just gets that nice crispy on the outside, soft on the inside cookie going. Let stand for 2 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approx. 7 dozen cookies.

**Note: If you can afford it, I really like using the whole Heath bars broken into pieces in these cookies. The overall flavor is just so much better & richer.

Now, if you don't want to bake all of these cookies the day you make the dough, don't. I usually make a big batch of this dough and then freeze off portions in freezer bags to take out when we want some cookies around. I also will make them for Christmas cookie exchanges, potlucks, or other things that seem to pop up from time to time. It's nice to be able to pull of homemade cookies in less than a half hour when you need to. The dough can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator the day before baking. I have been known to cut off chunks of mostly frozen dough from time to time and bake those off as well. If you're really organized, you can scoop the dough out onto a cookie sheet, freeze the dough balls, and then store them in the freezer bags. Then you'll have your frozen dough pucks ready to go when you want cookies.

Hope you all enjoy these cookies as much as my friends and family have when they eat them!

This post contains an Affiliate link. When you use it, you help to support this blog. You can find my Disclosure Policy here.

My Disclosure Policy

2012-02-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

So, the disclosure policy thing is something that has come up since the first time I blogged, and now that I am blogging again it's time I go ahead and address it. I will start talking about where I have gotten some of my kitchen items from, and as a result, will probably post a link to a store where you can get the same item or something similar.
I am an associate with Amazon, and will earn a small percent of anything you purchase on there. It is less than the sales tax in the state that I live in, but it's nice to know that by clicking the link and making a purchase you are supporting my site as well. I appreciate the support for my blog, and your making a purchase of something I have posted about tells me that you like what I am blogging about.
I also am affiliated with a couple of other companies besides Amazon, and will post a link to this disclosure policy once I make sure the links still work. I am not doing this blog to earn money, but to share my cooking style and recipes with you all. To earn a few bucks doing something I enjoy is a nice perk, but I won't post something that earns me money but doesn't make sense for the blog. I know I've seen other bloggers do this and it's a bit annoying when they are promoting something that you know really isn't worth the money.
I hope that all of you are enjoying trying out some new foods & recipes, and that I am helping to make cooking fun and enjoyable for you. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to e-mail me through the blog (chefcatnky (at) gmail (dot) com).
Thanks again for reading, and I'll be posting some more recipes soon!

All works copyrighted under federal copyright law. All rights reserved.

Last updated 2/14/2012

Hummus

2012-01-26T10:48:00.000-08:00

For this recipe you will need:

1/2 to 3/4 cup Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas), dried
7 Tbsp. Olive Oil
6 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled
1 tsp. Sesame Oil
Salt to taste
**Optional: 1/4 c. Plain Greek Yogurt

I want to start by saying Hummus usually has Tahini in it, which is a paste usually made from sesame seeds & olive oil. It can be found in most of your local grocery stores, I usually forget to buy it. I do, however, usually have a bottle of Sesame Oil in my fridge & find it can be a nice substitute when combined with the olive oil. Feel free to make hummus both ways & make up your mind as to how you like it. I do recommend keeping Sesame Oil in the fridge after it's open so it doesn't go bad as fast. You will notice that it does get a little cloudy when cold, that's perfectly normal. As it comes back to room temperature the cloud will disappear. If you decide to leave it at room temperature, just be aware that it will probably oxidize in about a month or so.

You may also have noticed that I use dried chickpeas in my recipe. I just find that they have a better flavor and add a nuttiness to the finished product. I also like to use the cooking liquid in the hummus to help reduce the amount of fat/oil I'm adding. You probably could used canned beans (drained & rinsed) and vegetable broth, but you'd have to play around with the amounts/ingredients a bit.

Start by putting your beans in a pan and adding water to cover the beans by a couple inches. Throw in a pinch of salt. Bring the beans to a boil, reduce heat to medium (to simmer the beans, you still want a couple of bubbles rising to the surface) for an hour to 90 minutes. Go ahead & taste one of the beans to make sure they are done, but blow on it first, so you don't burn your mouth! You don't want them to be mushy, you want them to have some bite/texture to them, but you don't want them hard either. Basically the texture is like a soft peanut.

Here are what my beans looked like in the pan:

Pour around 1 cup of the cooking liquid off the top of the beans, and set aside. Drain the beans the rest of the way. Place beans into a food processor. Add garlic, 4 Tbsp. of the lemon juice, the sesame oil, 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, and 4 Tbsp. of the olive oil. Pulse and then run the machine until a smooth paste is formed. you will probably need to scrape down the bowl at least one time. Now taste what you have. Adjust as needed. Add more lemon juice if it needs to be a little more tart, add more salt if you need it. If you want more creaminess, add more olive oil & some more of the cooking liquid. **Here is where you can also add that little bit of greek yogurt. It will provide an extra creaminess to the texture without adding more fat.

If you want more garlic, go ahead & add more! Pulse again and taste. It should be close. Adjust seasonings again if you need to, otherwise, go ahead & put it into a serving dish and enjoy! I have heard about people adding kalamata olives or roasted red peppers to their hummus. I haven't tried it, but it you want to add them, give it a try. Just remember to adjust your salt down if you're using olives. You can also add a dash of cumin & ground red pepper as well.

Here is what mine looked like in the food processor:

Since I used my small food processor, it did take a couple of batches to do the amount of beans I had.

And here is what my finished Hummus looked like:

I like to eat my hummus with Pita Chips & carrots. I know others that like colored peppers, celery, or pretzels. You can also use it as a spread on sandwiches. Let me know what you think if you try this recipe out!

Ham & Cheese Quiche

2012-01-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

For this recipe you will need:

1 prepared pie crust, I used a Pillsbury refrigerator crust, but you could easily use one of the frozen crusts that come in the pan in the freezer section.
1/2 - 1 LB of Diced Ham
1/2 medium sized onion, diced
6 eggs
1/2 cup Milk (I used 2% since that's what we have in the house)
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Salt and Pepper to taste, Dried Herbs (or fresh) of your choice

Quiche is such a great, easy dinner. You can fill it with so many wonderful things, especially leftovers you may want to try a different way. I originally wasn't going to post this to the blog, but since I had a couple of my facebook friends ask for the recipe, figured others would be interested and that I would share. Preheat your oven to 375 F.

The first thing I did was cooked my onions in a small saute pan over medium heat on the stove until they were translucent with a little bit of browning, about 10 minutes. These probably would cook in the oven in the quiche, I just don't like my onions overly crunchy coming out of the oven. I set my onions aside and then put the ham into the pan that the onions were in. I turned the pan up to medium high and sauteed the ham a little to remove the extra water.

When ham is processed, water is typically added to it. My ham we purchased from a local butcher, so it is minimally processed, but I had pulled it out of the freezer, so knew it probably still had a little liquid in it.

While the ham was in the pan, I went ahead and scrambled the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper, and I used several shakes of a Fine Herb Blend from Penzeys Spices.

So, toss the ham and onions together, and put them into a raw pie crust. Pour on the eggs, and then top with the cheese. Place into the oven for 30-40 minutes. I would suggest either putting your pie pan on a cookie sheet, or putting a cookie sheet on the oven rack under your quiche. This way if things bubble over a bit the clean up is much easier than having to clean the entire oven. A knife inserted into the center of the quiche should come out cleanly. Well, you might pull out a little melted cheese, but you shouldn't feel a soft, gooey center and see egg come out on your knife.

Bear in mind that if you have a smaller crust/pan than mine you may not use all of the eggs, or if you have a super deep dish crust you may need an extra one or two. Also if you don't like cheddar cheese or happen to have a different cheese or filling in your house, go ahead & use them! This is a suggestion based on what we had for dinner last night.

*edit - I forgot to mention if you want to reduce the calories a bit make a crust-less quiche. I used to make one with imitation crab & scallions without a crust that was pretty tasty on its own.

Here is what my finished quiche looked like:

And a single piece. SO tasty!

I served it with Honey Corn Bread, and wished I had a salad to round it out the rest of the way. We ~~had apple pieces instead.~~ Just remembered we actually had grapes I found on sale yesterday. I also had roasted a couple of beets I had in the fridge with the other half of the onion. I still think a salad would have been nice.

So, still think Quiche would be hard to make? What types of quiche do you enjoy most?

A Reader's Question: How do I Blanch Vegetables?

2012-01-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

I had one of my friends text me this morning asking how to freeze broccoli, and I asked her if she knew how to blanch in response. She said she didn't know, so I told her I was going to turn it into a blog post. Too much to type in a text, and I think it's something that others would want to learn about.

This basic guide should help you when preserving your fresh vegetables. I used this method quite a bit this past summer, and I'm sure I'll get some pictures taken this coming summer to update this post.

First things first, what do you need to blanch vegetables. Well, you'll need a cutting board & knife, alarge pot of boiling water, a colander or spider tool (basically a handheld strainer...works better than a slotted spoon, especially if you're working with a bigger batch of vegetables), a large bowl filled with cold water and ice, and a sheet pan. Once your vegetables are frozen you will also need a bag or container to store them in.

First things first, wash and cut your broccoli into florets, or spears or whatever size you know you will want to use it in later.

Second, put broccoli into your pot of boiling water. Now here comes the tricky part. Depending on the size of your broccoli will depend on how long you boil it for (usually at least 2 minutes). Watch for the color change. The color of the broccoli will turn a brighter green. Once you see that color change, immediately pull it out of the boiling water using your spider tool, or drain into your colander. Shake off the excess hot water & immediately put it into your large bowl. The reason you have water in the bowl with your ice is to transfer the cold faster. The idea is to stop the cooking process as quickly as possible. Go ahead & move the broccoli in the cold water to speed the process. Another thing that will help speed the process is to add additional ice once you see how fast your other ice is melting, or to even add a little salt to the water.

You will see the ice melt slow as your product cools, and you can leave it in the cold water for a minute or two. The reason I prefer the spider tool to the colander method is because you can do more than one batch of vegetables in your boiling water. First corn, then cauliflower, then broccoli or beans or peppers. It's easiest to learn what to look for with the green vegetables first. Then you can get a better feel for the timing of the piece size with your equipment. If you boil for too long, your vegetables cook too long and will get mushy.

So, once your broccoli is cooled pull it out of the cold water with the spider tool or drain into a colander. Pick out any extra ice by hand. Spread into an even layer on your sheet pan and then place in the freezer for about an hour. You can leave it in there overnight as well & then pack off your broccoli in the morning. Just depends on how many pans you're putting into your freezer.

Finally, package your broccoli into freezer storage bags, vac seal, or use containers. Don't forget to label & date your product so you know what to eat first. First in, First out is a saying we learned in school and it makes sense to use up your oldest product first.

Hope this helps simplify the blanching process. Let me know if something isn't clear!

Pfannekuchen (A German wrap or pancake)

2012-01-18T16:20:00.000-08:00

This recipe was shared with me by one of my friends, Regina, who is German from the area near Frankfurt. She says that the recipe originally came from her Grandmother's 1957 Bertelsmann Kochbuch.

For this recipe you will need:

2 1/2 cups Flour

2 1/2 cups Milk

3 Eggs
Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. It's ok to put the bowl in the refrigerator if you can't cook them off right away. You do want to make sure your batter doesn't have any lumps & that it's thinner than what is shown in my picture below. Just keep adding Milk. It's ok if you need more than what the recipe calls for. You want it to be like a very thin pancake batter, slightly thicker than crepe batter.

You will add about 1 1/2 Tbsp. oil & 3/4 c. batter to the pan to make one "pancake". Make sure that your pan is over a medium high heat. You don't want it on high or you will burn one side of your pancake before you have a chance to flip it.

Put your oil in the pan & spread it over the whole surface. Ladle or use a cup measure to put your batter into the pan and roll the pan to get it to spread quickly.

As you can see from the pictures, the batter gets darker as it cooks. Use a spatula or tongs to make sure that your Pfannekuchen isn't sticking. The easiest way to flip it is to slide it towards the front of the pan & flip it in the air catching it back in the pan. Kind of like what you see some of us chefs do with an omelette. You can probably try flipping it with a large spatula, let me know if it works for you. Regina flipped it, so that's how I do it. Just keeps things simple.

Once flipped, let the other side cook & then place on a plate in a stack or on a cooling rack in a stack. Here are what a couple of mine looked like. My pan was getting a bit hot as you can see from this bottom pic. I like the lighter brown coloring like above better, but they both tasted good.

Now, what to fill it with....well for this time I used a round steak because I had one in the freezer. I cooked it in that same 375 F oven that I had used for the cauliflower & brussel sprouts. I put salt & pepper on it and cooked it for about 20 minutes or so.

I then sliced it thin and put some onions & mushrooms I cooked up with it. I'll post the recipe for those next.

Fill it kind of like you would fill a tortilla for a fajita. Roll it up & enjoy! We did.

Other ideas for filling these? How's about grilled chicken or steak, lunch meat & cheese with lettuce and tomato, a vegetarian option with roasted vegetables. My friend Regina also does one with Nutella that she sprinkles on the top with cocoa powder & powdered sugar. You could fill them with pie filling, chocolate chips, peanut butter & bananas. You could also turn them into a breakfast on the go with a slice of bacon and eggs or part of an omelette with cheese or the possibilities just keep on going. Let me know what combinations you come up with!

A reader's question: What kind of potatoes did you use for the mashed potatoes?

2012-01-18T11:13:00.000-08:00

Well, the answer to this question is I'm not sure. I used either Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. They work really well with both. We get a produce delivery box bi-weekly from Full Circle Farms, and I know that's where my potatoes came from. If you decide to sign up please tell them Catherine Skinner sent you so we can both get a $10 credit. :)

Anyhow, back to the potatoes. The yukon golds are usually a bit more yellow fleshed, so I'm inclined to think that I used russet potatoes. I'm guessing I used around 3#. I also tend to roast the yukons since they are a bit more delicate, creamy potato.

I also did have another question that I've answered in the comments section of the post. The brussel sprout recipe also has some good comments/questions as well.

Finally, feel free to enjoy the cauliflower roasted on its own. Add some herbs or garlic if you like! Hope this clarifies things a bit. Keep the questions coming!

Roasted Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

2012-01-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

Here is another side dish we had with our dinner the other night. For some odd reason, my kids won't eat mashed potatoes that don't have roasted cauliflower in them. So, here is a small head of cauliflower that I've prepped to go into the oven with salt & pepper and drizzled with olive oil.

I already had the oven set to 375 F for when I was making the brussel sprouts, so these fit in the oven just fine. I baked them for 35 - 40 minutes until it was nice and tender. You can check it by looking at the nice lightly browned color & when you insert a knife it should go in easily.

Once I got the cauliflower in the oven, I got the potatoes boiling. A lot of the time when I make mashed potatoes, I also roast the potatoes, but this time I decided to boil them. Once your salted water with the potatoes in it starts to boil, it usually takes about 20 minutes for them to be cooked. Again, an inserted insert knife should go in easily. Drain & return them to the pan & burner that it was on (this will help the butter to melt & the potatoes to stay warm).

Yes, I also left the skins on this time as well. You can peel them before you boil them if you don't want the skins in your mashed potatoes. When I roast them, I leave the skins on and then peel them before mashing. I freeze the skins and then pull them out for loaded potato skins for lunches.

Now here's where I'm going to tell you NOT to do what I did. I don't make mashed potatoes all that often & I forgot I needed to separate the cauliflower and put them into a separate food processor with some milk. Once those are processed into a fine paste they can go into the pot.

What did I do? I used my immersion blender & that wound up creating too much shear for the potatoes, making them a bit on the gummy side. They were still tasty, but the texture would have been better if I had used my old fashioned hand masher & added in the already pureed cauliflower.

Here is what my final product looked like. I used 1 stick of butter and a generous 1/2 cup of milk in this batch. I also added salt to taste. Sometimes I also add pepper, this time I didn't. Some purists chefs will say to only use white pepper so you can't see it as much in the potatoes. I say use what you & your family like.

All in all, this batch turned out pretty tasty, and we have been enjoying leftovers warmed up in the microwave with some melted shredded cheese on them. You could also add some bacon crumbles, sour cream, green onions, or whatever you have on hand that you like to have with potatoes.

Let me know what you all think of these & what combinations you come up with to use the leftovers with!

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

2012-01-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Thought I would share a recipe that several people have asked me for after trying these at my house. I know that my husband always thought he didn't like brussel sprouts until I started to make them this way. Now, he would eat them every night of the week if I made them that often.

First things first, do yourself a favor & buy some FRESH brussel sprouts. Take a small amount off the bottom, remove any outside leaves that still look dirty after washing, and cut them in half. For this recipe, I'm guessing I used about a pound of sprouts, but I didn't weigh them first.

Place them in an oven safe saute pan, add a Tablespoon or two of Olive Oil, some salt and pepper. Preheat your oven to 375 F.

Turn the heat up to Medium Hi, almost Hi and toss them around ever minute or so, just not constantly. You want your sprouts to get some browning/caramelization going on them.

When the sprouts have some nice browning on them and start to stick to the pan a little, it's time to deglaze the pan.

Add a little bit of water to the pan & toss around your spouts a bit (or use a spoon). For a batch this size you really don't want to use more than 1/4 cup of water. You really don't want to make the sprouts soggy. Most of the water should steam off instantly really leaving no water in the pan (like in above picture).

Place the pan in your preheated oven and let them finish cooking for about 20 minutes.

This is how mine looked after they came out of the oven last night. They usually turn out a little brighter, so I'm thinking I got a touch too much water in my pan. They were still good & we had no leftovers, so they must have been acceptable. My daughter has even decided that she likes sprouts from time to time. My son is still working on it...

Hope you all enjoy this easy side dish. Give them a try, you just might like it! You can put a little more olive oil on them before you serve them & adjust the salt & pepper to your taste. I'm looking forward to hearing your comments & questions!

Update from a reader & a couple of new questions.

2012-01-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

I wanted to let you all know that the loaf pan worked for the Monkey Bread recipe. Also the cooking at 325 F for 35 minutes turned out to be a time that worked for her pan. So, if you don't have a bunt pan & want to try it out using a loaf pan this might be an option for you. Just be aware that different pans may require a slightly different bake time. She used the Pillsbury brand instead of Rhodes, so that's another option.

She also wanted to know some additional suggestions for the Vanilla Sugar recipe besides using it on berries. Essentially, you can use vanilla sugar in the place of regular white sugar in any recipes you want a touch of vanilla flavor added to. You can also use it in coffee, tea, or other drinks you use sugar to sweeten. You can use a coarser baking sugar when making the vanilla sugar and then use it to top muffins or cookies. You can also use a glass container to hold your sugar in; basically you want a container that won't let extra air into it. You want to keep all of the vanilla goodness inside.

Finally, I wanted to share that I made a batch of meatballs last night but I didn't make them into soup. In fact, I didn't even add any seasonings except for salt & pepper. I did use the rest of the ingredients pretty much like what I did for the soup, though. I started to brown them up, got lazy & then threw them into a 350 degree oven to finish cooking. You could bake them in the oven the whole time if you don't want to brown them on the stove. The caramelized/browned parts taste the best, but sometimes we all need an easy meal. Make your meatballs, put them on a baking sheet, and then put that into a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Go ahead & cut one in half to see if they are done. The time will vary depending on the size of your meatballs. The reason I used a 350 degree oven to finish mine the other night was because I was getting ready to bake some muffins and I didn't want to change the oven temperature. (The muffin recipe is on the Cat's Muse facebook page for those who want it - Gingerbread Pear with dark chocolate, they were yummy).

What did I do with my meatballs the other night? I made meatball sandwiches. I took hamburger buns, put a piece of Provolone cheese on one half & then toasted them in the toaster oven. I topped them with the meatballs & some Roasted Marinara Sauce I had in the fridge (I did warm it up first before putting it on the sandwiches). Any tomato sauce you like will work. The kids didn't want sauce & one didn't want bread, so it was an easy meal for our family. I served it with chips, which we don't have very often, sauteed rainbow chard, and some fresh blueberries. The muffins were dessert.

Another option that the meatballs can be used for is the traditional spaghetti & meatballs.

Hope this answers most of the questions for now! Keep them coming. I think that the questions & answers help everyone.

Vanilla Sugar

2012-01-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

First of all, I would like to apologize for how long it's taken me to post this. I took pics shortly after the new year and well, life has happened. I love the blogging, but my real life comes first.

So, let's talk vanilla sugar. Here is a batch I made about a month ago. We get a bi-weekly organic produce delivery & they have a grocery area you can order items from . So, I ordered 2 vanilla beans one week since they had them for a decent price.

I put 4 cups of sugar into one of my taller ziploc plastic containers, dropped in my two vanilla beans, put the lid on, and then forgot about it for a couple of weeks. Here's what the vanilla beans looked like in the container:

Here's what the vanilla bean looked like when I went to pull one out when I went to make some gelato (recipe will be coming soon). I did leave the other bean in the sugar so I'll know where to find it when I need to use it:

So, this is the vanilla sugar I used on the strawberries when we had our Italian Wedding Soup a couple of weeks ago.

I also wanted to talk about another way you can make your vanilla sugar. You can go ahead and harvest the seeds from the middle of the vanilla bean using a knife or other scraper and use them in a recipe or what you have planned for them. Before you throw away the pod you can go to step one and insert the split pot into some sugar to make the vanilla sugar that way. Set aside the container for at least a couple of weeks.

When I make custard, I usually soften up the entire pod in the warm cream/milk before I put in the sugar/egg part. I take out the vanilla seeds and then put it into the custard and then discard the pod. By making my vanilla sugar first, I've re-used my pod a couple of ways before harvesting the seeds for what I want to use them in. You can't make vanilla sugar with a pod that's been soaked in milk/cream first.

Any questions?

Recipes Are Guides

2011-12-31T19:19:00.002-08:00

I'm going to head on to my soapbox for a minute here. The people who have taken a class with me have heard me say this, but I'm going to say it again. Recipes are guides. If you need to substitute something, go ahead. If you have canned chicken broth or powdered bullion instead of the better than bullion, go ahead & use what you have.
The main time I would say to follow a recipe is when baking. There is quite a bit more science involved and for a novice cook substitutions can be a challenge.
Otherwise, if you only have a half of an onion and the recipe calls for a full onion, you can probably still make it. If you don't like spinach, don't add it, or replace it with chard, or put in something else you like. If you make food that you and your family enjoy you will probably cook more. And it will probably not feel like you're working much at all.
Ok. Soapbox time is done. Hope you all are having fun doing a little cooking!

Italian Wedding Soup

2011-12-31T19:19:00.000-08:00

Every time I make this soup, my husband always tells me he wishes I made a bigger pot.

You will need for the meatballs:
1 LB Lean Ground Beef
1/4 Milk
2/3 Cup Breadcrumbs (I'll show you how to make these if you're like me & don't have any in the house)
1 egg
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated or shredded
1 tsp. McCormick Italian Herb Blend
1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
Ground Pepper to taste

For the Soup:
2 - 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 medium sized Onion
3 medium sized Carrots
A couple handfuls of Spinach (this will cook down, so see how much you like)
1 big spoonful Better than Bullion Chicken
1 small spoonful Better than Bullion Vegetable
12 cups water
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a separate Pan:
1/2 box of Pasta - Orecchiette works nicely, for this batch I used Barilla Piccolini Mini Farfalle

Here's a look at my ingredients minus the milk, oil, water & pasta:

First things first, I needed to make bread crumbs. So, I found an Italian Style Bread in my house and put a couple of the pieces close to the end of the bread into my mini food processor and pulsed it until I had a nice coarse bread crumb.

I left them a little on the coarse side, which is fine. If you want your smaller, pulse a bit longer.

I wound up with close to a cup of bread crumbs according to the measurement on the side of my bowl, so plenty for the batch of meatballs I'm making. The extra crumbs can be stored in a container in the fridge (where they will continue to go stale), or can be put into the compost.

Now that I have the breadcrumbs made, I can add the rest of my meatball ingredients into a bowl. I usually mix these by hand, but I do wear disposable gloves. I just find it easier when dealing with meat to wear the gloves, and they do sell these in the grocery store now. So, mix by hand until well blended.

Now it's time to roll into balls. You can see that I got quite a lot of meatballs from my pound of meat. I like to make them small, so they fit on the spoon better. When you make a dish, it's good to think about how you're going to eat it. When we had this soup, I found that I did cut a few of the meatballs in half with my spoon, but overall they were easy to eat at just one bite. So, set those aside a minute, or jump ahead to the browning step. I chose to set them aside.

Time to cut the carrots. I usually put a slit in my carrots through the thicker part as shown here, so when I go to slice them I don't have to make smaller pieces later.

Here are my diced carrots for the soup, not too big, not too small, just a nice bite to go on a spoon.

Here is my diced onion. If anyone would like to know how to cut an onion, let me know & I will post it. Just wanted to show my piece size for now.

Here is the spinach. I had a half of a bag of baby spinach left over from something else I was cooking, so it wound up being 2 larger handfuls for this batch of soup. I cut through it each way so that pieces would also fit on a spoon nicely as well.

Here's how I started out cooking my meatballs, which turned out not to be the best way to do them. It's been awhile since I've made them & I knew not to crowd them in the pan, but since my meat was very lean, they stuck to the bottom of my soup pan. So much for my trying to save washing an extra pan.

Here's how I wound up finishing browning the meatballs. In my non stick saute pan with a little bit of oil added to it. I really like browning the meatballs first. It just adds an extra flavor dimension to the soup. Your meatballs will cook in the broth of the soup if you want to skip this step, they just might not taste as good. Once you have all your meatballs browned, set them aside on a clean plate. You never want to put cooked food in a place where you've had raw meat. That's just asking for a nasty foodborne illness.

Before we start to cook the soup, go ahead & put a pot of water to boil on another burner for your pasta. I typically add a pinch of salt to the water since it's the way I learned to cook pasta in Italy. Once your water starts boiling, you're going to add your pasta and cook it for about 2 minutes less than what the package tells you to cook it. Drain & by the time that's ready it will probably be time to add it to the soup.

So, while you're waiting for the water to boil for you're pasta it's time to get the soup started.

In the pan that you're going to make your soup in heat your olive oil (if you don't have olive oil, use vegetable or canola oil, or what you have on hand) over medium hi heat. Add your diced onion and saute until the onion is translucent about 5 minutes. We're not trying to brown the onion, just start the cooking process. Add your carrots and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes until they soften. Add the spinach and allow that to cook down for a minute. Put your meatballs in the pan and then add 12 cups of water.

Add 1 Tbsp + a couple of tsp (or just use one of the big spoons from your drawer & add that) of the Chicken Better Than Bullion, and add 1 & 1/2 tsp (or use one of the small spoons out of your drawer) of the Vegetable Better Than Bullion.

Bring temp up until a few bubbles rise to the surface and then add your drained pasta. Simmer* for 5 minutes, then TASTE your soup. This is where you adjust your seasonings by adding any salt & pepper, or if you need a touch more chicken flavor (if the soup tastes watery) add a little more of the Better than Bullion. If the soup is too salty, add a little more water. Enjoy!

*Simmer is a culinary term used frequently that I want to explain here. You will probably turn the heat back down to about medium or so on your stove, but you want to make sure that you still have some bubbles coming to the surface of your pan. Not boiling, but a light bubbling.

Here is what my finished soup looked like:

Sorry for the slightly blurred picture. Here is what my soup looked like when served:

Feel free to sprinkle on some extra Parmesan Cheese as a garnish!

Here's a quick look at what my kids had for dinner. They usually have soup with us, but since I had the minor fiasco with the meatballs sticking I put those bits that stuck to the pan and tossed it back into my non stick pan after I wiped out the extra grease. I tossed in some pasta that I finished cooking and then topped with some extra Parmesan cheese. They were happy with their meal.

I served our soup with some strawberries I tossed with some homemade vanilla sugar. Let me know if anyone wants to know how to do this later & I'll make it a blog post.

We also had homemade baguette as well. This probably will be a future blog post. For some reason people think it's hard and time consuming to make homemade bread, stay tuned. Hopefully I'll be able to change some of your minds about this.

Let me know what you think about the soup if you give it a try!

A Reader's Question: What happens if I don't have a bunt pan?

2011-12-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

So, I am excited to report that I've had a question about how to make the Monkey Bread if you don't have a bunt pan. Well, I'm thinking that the recipe would work fine using a loaf pan, just adjust your cooking temperature to 325 F for 35 minutes. I haven't had a chance to try this, so make sure to keep an eye on it. You don't want your bread to burn, but you want to make sure the middle is cooked.

Also, the second part of the question was where to find the Rhodes Roll 12 pack of Cinnamon Rolls. Well, those you find in a bag in the freezer section of your grocery store. If you want a recipe that works even faster, you can buy two packages of 6 rolls that comes in the foil pan, thaw them slightly, cut them, put on the cinnamon sugar, pour on the butter & throw them in a cold oven following their package directions.

Hope this helped to clear things up a bit! Glad to hear that several of you want to try my recipe. I want to hear how it turns out for you all.

I've been working on the blog a bit today; getting things linked on facebook and coming soon google plus. Look for another recipe coming soon.

A little about my Culinary Background

2011-12-29T15:10:00.000-08:00

Starting out here & switching over my blog, several of my friends probably already know this. For those of you who are finding me for the first time, Welcome! I've always have had a love of cooking & would help out my mom in the kitchen a lot when I was growing up. By the time I got to College, I studied for a degree in Nutrition and Food Science with the Food Science emphasis. My first job out of college was in quality control at an industrial Bakery. From there, I went into flavor applications at a small flavor company that manufactured liquid smoke. I realized there that I really wanted to go back to school to get my Culinary Arts degree. So, while I was working I started my Culinary Studies and did my restaurant internship at the Wisconsin Room at the American Club in Kohler, WI. Now that was a learning experience! It was a good thing I did it while I was young, because I worked full time at the flavor company, spent Fridays at Culinary School, and then went and worked the dinner shift at the restaurant on the weekends Fri - Sun. From here, life happened a bit. I wound up changing positions to work in flavor applications for another flavor company and wasn't able to make it back to finish my culinary degree for a couple of years and several moves later. So, about 4 years after I started, I finally re-entered a Culinary Program in Cincinnati and later earned my Culinary Certificate by going to night classes. (The counselor at the school told me an Associates Degree would be repetitive since I already held a Bachelor's Degree). This also helped my career a bit and I was able to switch a bit from just doing flavor applications to expanding into Creative Development. I also was promoted to a Senior Food Scientist/Research Chef. I waited until others recognized me as a chef, before I called myself one. I felt like it was something I had worked hard for and was proud to be recognized as such. Then, after a few more years, life happened a bit again. My husband went active duty in the Army and our first duty station was overseas in Germany. It was time for me to walk away from the flavor industry for a bit and focus on being a mom & wife. I've enjoyed my time exploring new recipes and cooking for my family, and as I've shared on facebook I've started to have more friends ask me for recipes, and ask food questions in general. I also had some fun teaching a few cooking classes while we were overseas. Now that we're back in the States I decided to go ahead & start taking some pictures and share what I'm cooking.
Feel free to look around, ask some questions, post some comments. If you have a dish that you've been wanting to cook but feel like it's too intimidating, let me know. I may already have a recipe for it and would be happy to share.
Thanks for joining me in my cooking adventures! I may not post every day, or I may post every day. Life kind of has it's way of keeping things interesting, but I hope you all will enjoy this as much as I do.

Catherine

Monkey Bread

2011-12-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

The first recipe I want to share with you all is for a quick and easy Monkey Bread. For this recipe you will need:

Rhodes Rolls - Traditional Cinnamon Rolls (12 pack)
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
4 Tbsp. Butter, Melted

Cooking Spray Oil (like Pam, Crisco, etc.)
Bunt Pan

Take the rolls out of the freezer & allow to thaw slightly, around 15 minutes. Then, place on a cutting board and cut into fourths.

In a separate bowl, blend sugar and cinnamon.

Place pieces of dough in the bowl with the sugar & toss to coat. Transfer into a greased bunt pan.

This is what my pieces looked like while tossing in the sugar:

When finished tossing all the pieces, sprinkle any extra cinnamon sugar over the dough in the bunt pan. Cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate overnight.

You can see that mine really doesn't look like it's risen a whole lot overnight. It's ok though. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Melt butter in the microwave & pour over the dough after you remove the plastic wrap and then bake for 20 minutes.

This is what it looks like when it comes out of the oven (almost to the top of the pan). Allow to cool for about 5 minutes & then turn out on to a plate. You need to flip it while it's still warm or you will probably have trouble getting it to come out of the pan:

The next 2 pictures show what it looks like if you forget to grease your pan or spray it with non-stick spray:

And this is how it turns out when you remember to spray your pan:

Enjoy this recipe with the cream cheese icing that comes in the package. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you try this out.

Fair Warning - Getting Ready to Blog Again

2011-11-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that I'm working on the blog and getting ready to post again soon. I probably will still have a few deals now and then, but will mostly be focused on food. More details to come soon.
Enjoy!
Catherine

I now have an Amazon Store!

2009-02-15T04:15:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty excited about this! We had talked about it in my last coupon class that people were unsure of where to get the baseball card holders over here. Well, I've found a spot on Amazon that has them with the FREE super saver shipping over $25 or FREE shipping for those with Amazon Prime memberships.

For those of you who are stateside, this also is an easy way to get the baseball card holders, although you do have more store options than we do here.

For those of you who are unsure of what I'm talking about, I sort my coupons using the binder method where multiple coupons are sorted into the baseball card holders so you can see and find coupons quickly and easily at the store. I use dividers to separate the categories, and my binder is a Mead 5 star notebook. Although I do have some friends who have upgraded to a binder with a handle for easier carrying, I haven't done that yet.

To find my store, just scroll down to the bottom of the page on my blog. You'll see the pictures there of some binders and coupon sorters that I've added as a start. I need to contact Amazon to find out why part of it is being cut off with some of the extra categories, but the store is working!

I'll probably add a few books and other things as I get used to having a store. I have several cookbooks I'd like to put in there since many of you know I'm a (retired for now) chef.

Enjoy!

Thanks to those who attended my class yesterday!

2009-01-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun & I learned a few things as well! I love giving classes because I always learn something from someone who attends the classes.

I have a ton of posting to do today. I do need those of you who have cats to e-mail me: chefcatnky(at)gmail(dot)com I found those cat treats that I have the free coupon for at the Baumholder Commissary, so I want to MPS them to you so you can get some for your furry friends.

I also will get a baby websites post done in the next couple of days with easy links for those of you who were wanting to sign up for those coupons & freebies as well.

Hope I'm not forgetting anything! Please post a comment if I'm missing something.

Enjoy!

Markdown Mondays at Amazon!

2009-01-05T08:23:00.001-08:00

I almost forgot to post the link to this one today. If you are looking for Legos, today is a good one for you! Here' s the link for Markdown Mondays.

I also see that they have a Melissa & Doug Wooden Railway Set for 49% off.

I'm always looking for early birthday/Christmas ideas, so I'll post the link to these weekly in case anyone else is looking also.

One other item I want to mention that is on a hot sale right now at Amazon is their HDTV's are also on sale, along with other electronics. They also are offering free scheduled delivery to any room in your home on every flat-panel HDTV 40 inches or larger. If you've been thinking about getting a new TV, check out some of their specials.

Enjoy!

Nick Jr. Panel Polls

2008-12-16T02:45:00.000-08:00

The kids & I got to see a preview of a new Wonder Pets episode that should be coming out soon on Nick Jr. TV. It reminded me that I wanted to share this with others who have small kids and might want to participate in this program. You answer a survey about the age of the child who is going to watch the show, watch the show on your computer with your child, and then give your opinion & your child's opinion on the episode that you watch.

My kids have really enjoyed this. We have see Wonder Pets, and an Olivia episode that we have been able to give our opinion on. Something fun and different to do every so often. They don't run panels all the time, but maybe every couple of months. You do have to be quick with your e-mail, these fill up fast! Best of all it's FREE, and you actually earn points for giving your opinion.

Click Here to sign up for their program.

Enjoy!

Bzz Agent Word of Mouth Company

2008-12-15T05:46:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share about a Company that I participate on word of mouth campaigns for. It is FREE to join and they run some pretty awesome campaigns from time to time. www.bzzagent.com is their website. I'm currently on a campaign for BP Gasoline where they sent me a $50 gas card and 5 $5 gift cards to try the product & give to friends! This was one of the better campaigns. I also just finished up one for Smuckers uncrustables where we got a free box of product & some 0.75 cent off coupons to give to friends.

You just need to submit reports to them whenever you talk to people about the product on the campaign. Not very difficult. You also answer a survey about that campaign when it's done.

If you decide to sign up, answer every survey they send your way & then go into their frog pond & leave some comments on the websites. When you click on the "your status" tab they will tell you how to work your way up the honeycomb ladder. The higher you get, the earlier you get invited to the campaigns.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about this: chefcatnky at gmail dot com

Enjoy!

Restaurant.com Last Day to get a Bonus gift when ordering gift certificates

2008-12-15T05:26:00.000-08:00

This offer ends today, December 15, 2008:

Click Here to get to their home page. You can get a Free $15 deLaFlowers gift certificate when you order your $25 restaurant gift certificates for $3. Enter discount code Wrap at checkout & hit Apply.

Don't forget to send out your FREE $10 gift certificates with their Feed it Forward program while you're there!

Enjoy!

This one is for those of you who love Ebates!

2008-12-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Ebates is doing a double your money back on Monday, December 15. There are over 100 stores that are going to be participating in this program, so check it out!

Don't have an ebates account? Click Here to sign up and get a FREE $5 in your account, just for signing up.

Ebates is like Big Crumbs where you need to go to their site first to do your shopping so your account can get credited for the money back on your online purchases.

Enjoy!

Toy Deals and so much more at Amazon!

2008-12-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

They have increased the reduction on some of their toys to 70% off, and they seem to add and take away a few new ones each day. Check out their December Deals Here

They also have some markdowns going on with the DVD's, Electronics and Books, and don't forget to check the Gold Box Deal. Today's includes 80% off Men's & Women's outerwear.

Enjoy!

Get a Fresh Start Journal to start the New Year!

2008-12-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

You do need to buy one of the featured products on this page at Wallgreens and then be one of the first 2000 to submit your receipt.

Enjoy!

Red Box Codes for a Free Weekly rental at Wal Mart through the end of the year

2008-12-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the Centisable Sawyer for posting this one...

I thought that those of you who were still stateside & had access to a Wal Mart would want to take advantage of watching some Free Movies!

Every Sunday in December (and the first Sunday in January), you can
get a free rental from Redbox locations inside of Walmart stores. All
you need to do is use the code specific to the Sunday you are renting
on. These are for one night rentals.

The codes are:

12/07/08 - 11MOMS4US

12/14/08 - 11MOMS4UA

12/21/08 - 11MOMS4UN

12/28/08 - 11MOMS4UT

01/04/09 - 11MOMS4UA

I also wanted to add how to use the Red Box:

1. Go to any place that has a Red Box (However, for these codes you'll need to go to one located in a Walmart). Not sure... search for a location HERE.

2. (It has a touch screen) touch the button on the left bottom corner that says "rent with a promo code"

3. Enter your code

4. Select your movie

5. Swipe your credit card - because they want to know who to charge it to if you skip the country and never return it! :)

6. Take your movie home and enjoy! Just be sure to return it before 9 p.m the next night to keep it FREE! Every day it is late it will just cost you a buck though! Want a second free movie? These codes are only good once on your card... but you can use a second card and use the code again. (They are good one time per card).

Looking for a Wii & want one shipped to you for FREE?

2008-12-08T12:39:00.000-08:00

I had a friend point out to me last month that Amazon.com has the Wii in stock and will ship it to you for FREE! We bought one as an early Christmas Present & the entire family has been having a lot of fun with it since it arrived. They also have all kinds of accessories and games that they will ship for free as well.

Enjoy!

Need Kids Clothes? Give Crazy 8 a try.

2008-12-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

Crazy 8 is one of my favorite stores to get my kids clothes at. It is a chain that is in the Gymboree Family that they created to compete with Old Navy and others at a lower price point. The quality is very good to me & their clothes are so cute! They have $5 shipping every day, yes, even to an APO address! Do you want to know what's better? They send a FREE return shipping label if you need to send anything back to return or exchange.

Oh, and they are also having a sale right now where you can save up to 60% off some of their clothes!

If you go to their website & sign up to get the e-mail updates they will send you a code to get $10 off of a $ 30 purchase. A great way to start with your first order. They do also put out 20% off coupons from time to time & will send coupons with the orders sometimes.

So, go check them out!

Sorry no Big Crumbs Here this time, just a site that I enjoy shopping at.

Enjoy!

1200 Free Photo Prints, Photo Book & More!

2008-12-05T03:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my friend Heather at Littlemissknowitall.net to sharing this deal.

Artscow is having a fantastic deal that when you sign up as a new customer you get 1200 free print credits, an 8X8 photo book, and several other free photo goodies. The only thing you have to pay is the shipping to get the items to you.

Click Here to check it out. Go to the part where it says get 1200 free prints, Sign up Now.

Once you sign up you can go to the credit & discounts area to see all of the freebies that you have coming to you.

If you enter the following codes into the bar you can get several more items added to your account:

FREE5XPBS for 5 free Photobooks

FREE4XPUZZLES for 4 free Photo Puzzles

FREE20ORNAMENTS for 20 free Porcelain Ornaments

Enjoy!

AAFES Europe Deals Dec. 5 - 11

2008-12-05T01:04:00.000-08:00

This week it looks like there are finally a few deals to be found!

They have 50% off on some Holiday Boxes, Candle Holders, lamps, and a few other home decour items. See p. 12 & 13 of your local flyer.

I also see Energizer Batteries are $1 off. Here is a printable to get you another $1.00 off, but you do need to register for their site. There are also multiple Smart Source coupons out for both $0.75 off and $1.00 off a pack.

Olay Regenerist products are 25% off. The Nov. P&G ad has a $3.00 off one coupon that should help with some extra savings.

Herbal Essences products are 20% off. The Nov. P&G ad has a $2.00 off 2 that includes the hair color, or a $1.00 off 1 styling product.

Tide is marked down 20% to $6.95. There are a number of $1.00 off one coupons out on these from the P&G inserts, but if you ask me the All deal last week was a better sale on cost per load. If your household can only use Tide, make sure to find the $1.00 off ANY One Tide.

Bounty Paper Towels are 2 for $3.00. Again, Check your Nov. P&G inserts for coupons here. Looks like $1.00 off one is the best deal out there. If you can find it, $0.50 isn't bad for a roll of paper towels!

Gillette Antipersprant Deoderant is on sale for $2.50. P&G ads have a $1.00 off 2, which would make it 2 for $4.00.

Ziploc Holiday Containers are 2 for $5.00. Here is a printable for $0.75 off 1. Print 2 and your containers are 2 for $3.50. There are also insert coupons out for these. The highest I can find is $1.00 off 1. These might be good to save for after the holidays when these get marked down and you can put them in storage until next year, or just use them everyday.

There is also a Dove gift set on sale, but I think the Commissary might have these priced less. Make sure to price compare before you buy!

That's all I'm seeing for this week. If I've missed anything feel free to post a comment!

Enjoy!

Toy Sale at Amazon up to 60% off!

2008-12-04T06:25:00.000-08:00

Amazon 20% 40% 60% off Select toys Yes, Amazon now has certain toys marked down as much as 60%. Of course, they also have Free shipping for most of their items. Making them a really good deal. I saw a Barbie, some Star Wars items, Baby Dolls, an Easel, and so much more when I was glancing through the pages. Click on the link above or Click Here to go directly to the 60% off toys. Click Here to go to the 40 % off toys. Click Here to go to the 25 % off toys.

Enjoy!

Restaurants.com Feed it Forward free $10 gift certificates

2008-11-30T00:37:00.000-08:00

Go to Restaurant.com to send your free $10 gift certificates to your family and friends from now until Christmas. It's 3/4 of the way down on their front page, under Feed it Forward.

This site has a lot of great money savings for different restaurants, so you may want to shop while you're there as well.

Enjoy!

Sorry for my delay in posting...

2008-11-29T12:36:00.001-08:00

It will probably be a few more days before I am back to posting deals regularly. I had a crown come out and made 3 visits to the dentist this week, then last night I wound up at the hospital with possible food poisoning, but they are still running some tests to be sure.

For those of you wanting to shop AAFES Europe, this is the week to pick up makeup. Cover Girl, Maybelline, and Revlon are all on sale. There are coupons out for all of these.

I also wanted to post a freebie sample of a Black Truffle Olive Oil Here .

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Limited Too B1G1 mix & match on their site. They also sell Webkins. $5 shipping

2008-11-26T02:45:00.000-08:00

The $5 shipping is on orders over $75. Use the code 571 to get an additional 30% off your purchases (I'm not sure how long the code is good for). Click Here to check out their site & sale.

Thanks to Diane for sharing this info. with me.

Enjoy!

Dana's latest list of DVD's for sale

2008-11-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

For those of you who missed my earlier posts on this, my friend Dana sells DVD's from time to time & has allowed me to pass along her current for sale lists to my blog readers. If you see anything you would like to purchase, please contact her direct at CHUBUBBER at aol.com. She takes paypal only and would need you to cover fees if you are using a credit card. She also is happy to ship to APO addresses, as well as those of you who are stateside. The cost of shipping is included in the price of the DVD.

The following is a list of previously viewed DVD's (with a few that haven't been watched), so

they are like new. 8.00 each shipped or 6.00 each when you buy more than 1.

The Happening

Love guru

Don't mess with the Zohan

Speed Racer

Sex and the City

Kill Switch

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Street Kings

What Happens in Vegas

Iron Man

Made of Honor

The Forbidden Kingdom

Charlie Wilson's War

Cloverfield

Meet the Robinsons

Snow angels

Premonition

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds

The Bank job

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

The Hulk

Star Wars the Clone Wars

Get Smart

Spongebob Home Sweet Pineapple

Spongebob Christmas

Indian in the Cupboard

Strawberry Shortcake Berry Merry Christmas

Power Rangers The Movie

Super Babies Baby Geniuses 2

Disney Princess A Christmas of Enchantment

Everyone's Hero

Disney The Pacifier

Casper's Scare School

Bratz Kidz Fairy Tales

Zathura

Tropic Thunder

Hell boy

A Good Year

Happy Feet

Disney Peter Pan

Disney Toy story

Disney Dumbo

Disney 101 Dalmations 2 Patch's London Adventure

Amazon Black Friday Deals Start TODAY!

2008-11-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

Looks like Amazon is running daily specials from midnight to 11 PM PSTHere

Check back daily to see what they have to offer. Looks like it includes everything from electronics to books and more!

Enjoy!

Freecycle

2008-11-22T03:23:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to post on this for a couple of weeks now and am just finding the time now.

The premise behind Freecycle is to reuse and keep good stuff out of the landfills. There are groups all over the world doing this, including where we are stationed. Go to their site Here and check to see if you have a local group to join.

We gave a bunch of stuff on our local freecycle before we moved, and we have also received all kids of things as well. Typically you post an offer and if someone wants what you are offering you go pick it up from that person at a time that is convenient for both of you.

Enjoy!

My blog has had a makeover!

2008-11-22T03:21:00.000-08:00

Let me know what you think of my new look!

I thought I would get it into the Holiday Season since I've been doing tons of shopping and wrapping here.

A few Freebies

2008-11-22T02:57:00.000-08:00

Here is one for new Mom's. A free subscription to Kiwi Magazine and a chance to win an Earth's Best Organics Gift Pack.

Here is another one for the dog in your life. A sample of Whites Premium Dog Food.

Here is where you can register to get a coupon for a Free 20 oz Dr. Pepper Nov. 23 only starting at 12:01 AM EST. They are only offering this coupon for 24 hours. Limit one coupon per person. Thanks to several posters at HCW for this one.

Love Pringles? Join their advisory board Here. Looks like you will get to participate and offer opinions when they are rolling out new products.

Enjoy!

Free toys at Amazon again - Run! Not sure how long it will last.

2008-11-21T11:36:00.000-08:00

Buy $50 of Select Hasbro Toys get an additional Toy FREE! Click Here for full details.

Purchase toys include Baby Alive, Littlest Pet Shop, and My Little Pony. A couple of the Free toys are worth as much as $24.99. A good deal if you were already looking for these.

Enjoy!

Please Vote For Andrea at Mommy Snacks

2008-11-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

I've already told all of you how much I enjoy her blog. Well, she's entered to win a Wii gaming system over at Classy Mommy and she needs our votes. Please read her post here and go vote. The contest is running until Nov. 30, but you can only vote once.

Thanks!

AAFES Europe Deals Nov. 21 - 27

2008-11-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

Thought I would try to get these posted a little earlier this week.

Duracell Batteries are $1.00 off AA or AAA 8 packs. There are numerous coupons out from the inserts that range from 0.75 to 1.50 off a pack, so you can increase your savings if you need these.

All Detergent is on sale 2 for $7.00. Here is a printable for $1.00 off one, print it twice and you can get 2 for $5.00. Also there are insert coupons that range from $1.00 to $1.50 off this product.

Angel Soft is 2 for $5.00 for a 12 pack. There are numerous coupons out for $0.50 or $1.00 off a pack that will increase your savings.

Clorox wipes are 2 for $6.00. There are too many coupons to list for this one. Here is a printable for teachers to buy 2 get 1 free.

Glade Holiday Candles are 2 for $4.00. There are several coupons out for $1.00 off 1. So use 2 and get 2 candles for $2.00.

**Edit - I just found a printable for $1.00 off one candle Here. Makes it easy to get a candle for a buck.

Nabisco Snack Crackers are on 2 for $4.00. Here is a printable for $1.00 off 2 (5 oz or larger) so you can get your boxes for 2 for $3.00. There are also other coupons out for these as well.

Well, that's what I see for this week. Let me know if anyone sees anything else!

Enjoy!

Toys R Us has a deal on Wii games this week.

2008-11-18T04:28:00.000-08:00

Toys R Us is running a deal where you can Buy 1 Get 1 $20 off all Wii Games Priced $29.99 or more. This deal does exclude pre orders. Toys R Us does ship to APO addresses as well.

Don't forget to sign in to your Big Crumbs account before shopping on toysrus.com so you can make sure to get some money back for your purchase. Don't have a Big Crumbs Account? You can sign up for one Here.

Enjoy!

Interactive Toy Shopping from Amazon

2008-11-18T04:19:00.000-08:00

This one may or may not save you money. Amazon has made toy shopping more interactive withAmazon Interacive Toyswhere you can see videos of toys you want to buy in action.

Pretty interesting feature that they've added to their site. Let me know what you think when you check it out!

Enjoy!

Dana has updated her movie list of DVD's available

2008-11-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

Please contact Dana directly at : CHUBUBBER at aol.com if you see any movies on this list that you would like to purchase. Remember she takes paypal only, and asks that you cover the fees if you are using a credit card. Shipping is included in the prices and she does ship to APO addresses.

Here is the updated New Movie list. 12.00 each shipped or 10.00 each if you buy more than 1.

Hannah Montana Best of Both worlds 3D

Camp rock

Street Kings

Nim's Island

Toy Story

Sex and the City

What Happens in Vegas

Sleeping Beauty 50th ann.edition

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal skull

Indiana Jones and the Temple of doom

Iron Man

American Gangster

Speed Racer

Barbie Christmas Carol

The Little Mermaid Ariel's Beginning

The Hulk

Michael clayton

National Treasure 2

Step up 2 The Streets

Lady in the Water

Chris Rock I think i love my wife

Mission Impossible 2

Mission Impossible 3

Veggie Tales Madame Blueberry

Jumper

These are used...some actually haven't been watched, so they are like new. 8.00 each shipped or 6.00 each when you buy more than 1.

Get smart

The Happening

The Bucket list

Love guru

Don't mess with the Zohan

Speed Racer

Sex and the City

Kill Switch

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Street Kings

Disneys Dumbo

Veggie Tales Sing alongs I can be your Friend

What Happens in Vegas

Iron Man

Made of Honor

The Forbidden Kingdom

Jumper

Alien vs. Predator

Charlie Wilson's War

Cloverfield

Meet the Robinsons

Snow angels

Premonition

Ratatouille

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds

The Bank job

Meet the Browns

Enjoy!

Several Friends and Family Sales going on this Week!

2008-11-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

Gap Inc. is having their sale Nov 13 - Nov 16. This one is for in stores only. Here is a printable for 30% off you can use more than once! Good at the Gap, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory Stores, and Old Navy. Wish this one was good online, too!

Bath and Body Works is having a Friends and Family Sale Online Only. Now through November 16 enter 20FRIENDS at checkout to get 20% off your order.

Janie & Jack are also having a Friends and Family Sale Nov 14 - 16. Get 25% off your order online by using the code JJFRIEND. I have an in store code for this one. First one to e-mail me gets it!

Anyone know of any others they want to share? Please leave a comment!

Enjoy!

Some more Freebies I've come across.

2008-11-13T04:45:00.001-08:00

I'm trying to post these as I find them. Hope they are helping everyone out a bit.

Click Here for a free potty training kit from Pampers. We got one of these a few weeks ago & our little Potty Trainer is enjoying earning Dora stickers!

Here are some samples from Nutra Sweet on their new choices they have out. Thanks to moneysavingmom.com for this one.

Here is yet another free Razor sample. This time Schick Quattro is offering them. Thanks to mommysnacks.net for this one.

Here is a sample of Degree for Men.

Here is a sample of Dove Cream Oil Intensive Body Lotion. These are great for winter!

Here is a link to some printables for some Glad Scented Oil Holders and Candle Holders.

Enjoy!

AAFES Deals Nov 14 - Nov 20

2008-11-12T04:30:00.000-08:00

Looks like there are a few good deals to be had at this week's sale.

The first thing I see is the Glade Aerosol marked down to $0.99. There is a $1.00 off 2 coupon that would make these half price.

The Glade Wisp is marked down to $7.00. There are $5.00 off 1 coupons out for these. There also was a BOGO printable, but looks like the offer expired. If you have a friend that printed one that hasn't used it yet, get them sent over!

**Everyone who posts a comment will be entered into a drawing for one of the Buy One Get One Free Coupons plus one $3.00 off one Wisp Coupon as well. I will hold the drawing on the evening of Nov. 13 and will get the coupons in the mail on Nov. 14, unless the winner prefers to pick up. Please leave a way to contact you via e-mail.

Purex detergent is on 2 for $6.00. Here is a printable for $0.50 off one bottle of Purex Natural Elements you should be able to print twice to make this deal 2 for $5.00. It also looks like there may be some $1.00 off one bottle from inserts available.

Kleenex Holiday Tissues are 2 for $5.00. The Smart Source on 10/5/08 had a $0.40 off one coupon to make these 2 for $4.20. Might be better to wait to buy these when they are marked down after Christmas.

Pine Sol is on 2 for $3.00. Here is a printable for $0.50 off one. There are also several coupons from the inserts for this product as well.

Aquaphor products are 10% off. I would look to see if this is worth it or not. Here is a $1.00 off one printable to help.

Sun Chips are 25% off. There is either a $0.55 off one or $1.00 off two coupons out for these.

Let me know if anyone sees anything that I've missed!

Enjoy!

Dana has more New DVD's for Sale

2008-11-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

Please e-mail Dana if you are interested in purchasing any of these: CHUBUBBER at aol.com

These are $12.00 each, or $10.00 each if you buy more than one. Shipping is included in the price.

Here is the new list that she just put out:

Nim's Island

Camp Rock

Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds 3D

Sleeping Beauty

Sex and the City

Iron Man

Street Kings

Toy Story

What Happens in Vegas

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Disney's Sword in the Stone

American Gangster

Disney's Jungle Book 2

Barbie Christmas Carol

Get Smart

Barbie Island Princess

Bratz Kidz Sleep Over Adventure

Hot Rod

Walt Disney Classic Carton Favorites Starring Chip & Dale

High School Musical 2 Deluxe Edition 2 Disks

TMNT Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Movie

The Incredibles

A Bugs Life

The Little Mermaid Ariel's Beginning

Veggie Tales Madame Blueberry

Marvel The Invincible Iron Man (cartoon)

Tinker Bell

Mission Impossible 2

Mission Impossible 3

The Kingdom

The Last King of Scotland

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chris Rock I think I Love My Wife

Step Up 2 The Streets

Miami Vice

Crash

Michael Clayton

Lady in the Water

National Treasure 2 Book of Secrets

Jumper

Enjoy!

To the lady who was wearing the peach shirt in my morning class...

2008-11-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let you know I have set aside the cat treat coupons for you. Please e-mail me: chefcatnky at gmail.com so we can make arrangements to get them to you. They expiration date is 9/3/08 so at least there isn't a huge rush to get them to you.

Thanks!

Another bunch of Freebies...

2008-11-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Looks like Wal Mart has put out several of new ones, as well as a few others I've come across in the last few days:

Here is one for Huggies Diapers.

Here is one for Orville Redenbacher's Natural Lime and Salt Popcorn Sample.

Here is one for Glad Food Bags.

Here is one for Meditasto Body Eclipse Aromatherapy Shampoo. Thanks to Cheryl for sharing this one.

Here is a sample of Teasta Tea. Put 2 of their sample size teas into your shopping cart. Type tryme in the box at checkout and they are on their way to you to try. Thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks for posting this one. (Have I mentioned how she writes one of my favorite blogs to read lately?)

Here is a printable for $5.00 of a bag of Science Diet Pet Food. You will probably come close to getting one of their smaller bags for free with this.

Enjoy!

AAFES Europe Deals for this week Nov. 7 - Nov. 13

2008-11-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

Well, they haven't posted the new ad for next week yet, but this week there are several items on sale that have some pretty good coupon match ups.

Gillette Fusion Razors are from $4.80 - $5.92 There is a $4.00 off any one Fusion Razor that expired 8/31/08. I have 4 of these. I will give 2 each to the first 2 people who comment that they want them and can pick them up from me this week. Look for the August P&G ad if you can still find them at your local commissary.

Wisk Laundry Detergent is 2 for $8. I have seen $1.50 off coupons for these from the 5/18/08 red plum insert, or the June 2008 All You Magazine. E-mail me if you're looking for this and I'll see if I have any. Use 2 coupons and you have 2 bottles of detergent for $5. Not great, but if you need it not bad either.

Schiff Move Free is $15.95. There are multiple $5.00 off 1 coupons out for this.

Energizer Batteries are $1.00 off. There are a bunch of $1.00 off coupons out for these as well. First person who leave comment wanting these and can pick up I will give you 3 of the $1.00 off coupons.

There are also multiple coupons out for the Trident extra care gum that is on sale this week.

I'm going to try to link up some printables if I can find them, but as of right now I'm not seeing any.

Oh, and please don't think the Barbies are a good deal. Go to my first post about the rockin barbie deal going on at Amazon with free shipping. You get so much more for your money that way.

If anyone else sees anything that they know is a great deal, especially if it gets better with a coupon, please share!

Enjoy!

Welcome to those who took my Classes Yesterday!

2008-11-07T00:24:00.000-08:00

We had some great discussions in both classes so I'm looking forward to many of you posting comments here as well. I am hoping to post the AAFES deals before the end of the day today.

Oh, and for those of you who asked yesterday, I did check and Big Crumbs does include Old Navy and Gap in their program. Just click on the widget on the left column to get to their site.

Enjoy!

The Best Price I've found for New DVD's

2008-11-07T00:09:00.000-08:00

My friend Dana sells some that she buys from one of her friends who owns a store. Ok, I know it sounds like I have a friend who's cousin's friend... :)

But, she sells them for such a great price I asked her if it was ok if I posted them on my blog and she said yes! So, now you all can get the savings as well.

If you see anything you want, please e-mail her direct at: CHUBUBBER AT aol dot com (put in the @ sign & the .) She takes funded paypal, but if you want to use a credit card with paypal you will need to cover the fees (e-mail her first to get a final total).

New Movies (still with the plastic wrapping): 12.00 each or 10.00 each if you buy more than one. Shipping included.

Nim's Island

Camp Rock

Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds 3D

Sleeping Beauty

Sex and the City

Iron Man

Street Kings

Toy Story

What Happens in Vegas

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Enchanted

Disneys The Sword in the Stone

American Gangster

Disney Jungle Book 2

Possibly Previously Viewed in the Cases (no plastic): 8.00 each or 6.00 each if you buy more than one. Shipping Included.

You Don't Mess with Zohan

The Love Guru

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Iron Man

Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds Concert

Speed Racer

What Happens in Vegas

Sex and the City

Meet the Robinsons

Forbidden Kingdom

Bank Job

Street Kings

She usually has more than one copy of the movies, so send her an e-mail if you see anything you want. She is super easy to work with and ships fast, oh and she will ship to APO boxes, I got some movies from her last week.

Enjoy!

A few more freebies

2008-11-05T06:17:00.000-08:00

Here's one from Sunsilk where you can not only choose your free sample, you can also get a $2 gift card.

Here's one for Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds. Yum! I can't wait for this one to arrive. You must be over 21 to enter their site.

Here's one for the pup in your life. A Breath-A-Licious dog bone.

Enjoy!

Coupon Class Tomorrow, Nov. 6

2008-11-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

To those of you who are able to attend, I'd love to see you tomorrow, November 6 at the AWAG Conference being held at the Reinlander in Baumholder 8 AM to 4 PM. I'm teaching at a morning session, and an afternoon session.

I'll be teaching a class on how to use coupons while you're here overseas, and also give a few tips for when you go back to the states.

Hope to see some of you there!

A couple of Printable Coupons: Aqua Fresh, Gerber Clothes.

2008-11-01T00:22:00.000-07:00

Here is a printable for $7 off Aquafresh White Trays Pro-Gently System.

For those of you with little ones Here is a link to print some coupons for $2 off two Gerber blanket sleepers $1 off Gerber sleep and play, and $1 off Gerber Onesies.

Enjoy!

Free Subscription to Family Fun Magazine

2008-10-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

Get a free 2 year subscription to Family Fun magazine by signing up Here.

I think I got the link fixed. Someone let me know if it's not working by posting a comment or e-mailing me.

Enjoy!

Several Freebies for today...

2008-10-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

Free sample of Cascade 8.45 ounce rinse agent Here. There are also a couple of internet printables for cascade here as well.

Rebate for Betty Crocker Supreme Brownies Here.

Free subscription to Rouge, a new magazine being offered by P&G Here.

Dunkin Donuts Dark Coffee Sample Here.

Enjoy!

Big Crumbs

2008-10-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to put out a quick post that I have a new item on my side bar for Big Crumbs. This is a great program for getting money back, and I use them mostly for ebay. I tend to buy extra coupons I need on ebay (my favorite seller for this is kkswigs).

First you have to sign up for Big Crumbs, I would appreciate the referral if you click through the link Here or on my side bar. Then, once you sign up you can add stores to your "my faves". Then you click through their store on big crumbs and do your shopping on ebay, etc. as normal.

Every month that you make purchases they put money into your pay pal account.

The hardest part is remembering to go to big crumbs and log in before going to ebay!

Enjoy!

I've been Tagged!

2008-10-25T01:45:00.000-07:00

Becky over at Nickls-N-Dimes tagged me.

So, 7 facts about me:

1. I'm a retired Research Chef
2. Nice to be retired when I'm not 40 yet
3. The favorite place I've traveled to so far is New Zealand
4. I am a fan of the Harry Potter books, but also read romance & thrillers
5. I have moved 9 times in the 12 years that I've been married.
6. I am still new to blogging, but am finding that I enjoy it
7. I had pen pals across the ocean before the internet existed

So, I really don't know very many other bloggers & between Becky & a couple of the other people she tagged I don't know of anyone else to tag. Guess it's time to go get a Snack & get off the computer.

Enjoy!

Endless.com, nice shopping for the holidays.

2008-10-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am focusing a lot on Internet shopping this year. With our being stationed overseas, it's not easy finding deals that I can just run out and grab.

So, if you're looking for shoes or purses now until Nov. 25 endless.com is offering some nice promotions:
* Save $20 on $80 orders of select slippers for the whole family including brands such as Acorn, Slippers International, and Dearfoams.
* Save $25 on $125 orders of select handbag including top brands such as Big Buddha, B. Makowsky, Latico, and others.
* Save 20% on select boots when you order two pairs including top brands such as Dolce Vita, Jessica Simpson, Timberland, Sorel, and dozens more fashion and outdoor brands.
* Save $20 on $100 orders of select handbag including top brands such as Big Buddha, B. Makowsky, Latico, and others.

Another site that offers free shipping! You know how much I love that! Click on the banner below if you'd like to check them out:

Enjoy!

Bath & Body Works free Scentport or Wallflower with any purchase!

2008-10-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

This one is for in stores only. Get a free Wallflower or Scentport up to $12.50 with any purchase! Limit one per customer, but it's so worth getting. I love my Scentport! Here's the link to print your coupon here.

Enjoy!

Another Freebie! A Mr. Clean Mini Ereaser.

2008-10-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

All you have to do is go here and share how you use your Mr. Clean magic eraser.

Pretty easy.

Enjoy!

Airborne Sample

2008-10-22T05:23:00.000-07:00

Click Here to get a sample of Airborne Original Zesty Orange.

Enjoy!

Leap Frog 20% off already reduced items! Only good til Oct 23.

2008-10-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

You do need a $50 purchase for this, but I see several items already marked down that you can add the extra 20% discount on to.

Click Start, My first computer, Tag Reading System, Leapster2 Learning Game System, Didj Custom Gaming System and Crammer Study System are not included for the discount.

Click Here to get to their site.

Enter Promo Code: HY8FAF to get the discount at checkout.

Enjoy!

Any Europe readers yet?

2008-10-21T09:12:00.001-07:00

I am wanting to start a weekly post matching up coupons to the upcoming AAFES sale for Europe, but just wanted to see if anyone here has found me yet.

Please send me an e-mail at: chefcatnky at gmail.com

Thanks!

**Update to the Barbie Deal run through Amazon.com

2008-10-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that there may be an extra bonus coming as a result of shopping the Barbie deal the other day. I've read on a couple of websites where if you spend $25 in the toy dept of Amazon you will receive an e-mail in 6 to 8 weeks for a free subscription to Cookie Magazine. Don't want the magazine? Looks like there will be a $15 refund if you don't want it.

Not sure if this one is going to happen or if it's something that has already expired, but just wanted to let those of you know who shopped to keep an eye on your e-mail boxes coming up.

**Update - I had an e-mail this morning from Amazon offering me this 2 year subscription to Cookie Magazine, so check your messages. You may also need to make sure you are set up to receive e-mails from Amazon. E-mail me at chefcatnky at gmail.com if you need help with this (change at to the @ sign).

For those of you who didn't shop on Friday, but still want to take advantage of the rebate for a $50 Visa Gift Card with a $100 Barbie purchase from the items listed, just go here to print it off.

Then click Here to shop at Amazon and get free shipping for the barbies.

The rebate doesn't expire until Dec. 31, 2008.

I'll post if I see any other good deals in the toy dept to add on to sweeten the deal.

Enjoy!

Bath & Body works Free item with $10 purchase

2008-10-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

If you need any products from Bath & Body Works or are still looking to get a head start on Christmas, Bath & Body Works is offering a Free True Blue Spa or Aromatherapy Item with any $10 purchase (up to a $15 value).

Just enter promo code: ATSPA upon checkout

Enjoy!

Barnes & Noble free Cappuccino Q - Good until Oct 31

2008-10-20T03:26:00.000-07:00

I know so many of you love books and coffee, so here is a link for a printable coupon for a free coffee and 15% off any one item at Barnes and Noble.

Enjoy!

Nov 4 Don't forget to Vote & then go to B&J for a Free Scoop!

2008-10-20T03:22:00.000-07:00

Click Here to see the rest of the details on Ben & Jerry's Wesite!

Enjoy!

Cesar Dog food Sample

2008-10-20T03:11:00.000-07:00

Thought I would pass this one along for those of you who have small dogs that might like a treat!

You do need to register with their site to get the sample, but it looks like a nice one.

Just click here for info.

Free Sample of Dove Hair Therapy Product

2008-10-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

Dove is offering a sample of either their Shine Therapy or Energize Systems. If you'd also like to try it click here.

Enjoy!

Get a $10 credit and 50 Free Prints from Shutterfly

2008-10-18T00:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Andrea over at Mommy Snacks posted about this & I wanted a chance to share this deal and her blog with you.

First the deal: If you are new to Shutterfly (a digital photo printing site) you can get a $10 credit and 50 free prints by signing up here. You have to redeem the credit before Nov. 12, 2008.

We're going to be taking advantage of this so I'll post when our pictures arrive.

Now, on to one of my favorite blogs of all time: Mommy Snacks. One of my friends back in Cincinnati writes it & she does such a great job with organizing everything.

Enjoy!

Barbie Deal and more today at Amazon.com!

2008-10-17T00:37:00.000-07:00

I had to post this today because it's the last day to get your free toys when you spend $50 or $75 at amazon.com.

First, go here and print out this rebate for a $50 Prepaid Visa Card when you buy $100 Barbie toys.

This has a listing of the Barbie toys included in the deal to get the gift card.

Now go to and Put $100 of the proper barbie toys into your shopping cart.

You should see a box to get a free toy when you spent $50 and when you spent $75. Click on those links to add the toy of your choice, or click here:

and here:

And the best part is you also get FREE Shipping if you use the Super Saver Shipping option.

This is a great way to stretch your money and get an early start for Christmas!

The free Amazon toys only last until October 17, so shop today!

Sorry this looks a bit choppy. I am still learning to blog.

Welcome to Cat's Muse

2008-10-17T00:35:00.000-07:00

I'm glad you found me as I'm getting ready to post a super deal today.

Hope you enjoy my deal posts and other ramblings!

Post a comment to let me know you've found me.