Menu Mondays Return - A Homemade Homestyle Meal

Here I am again, bringing Menu Mondays back with a bang!  First off, some great, unrelated news...I got a job!  I started today and I think this is going to be a great opportunity and I'm excited about all the adventures I have ahead of me.  But if there is one thing hubby and I have learned over the past few months, it is this...we will continue to save money because if we've survived this long on a limited budget, imagine the possibilities with two paychecks and saving some mula!  So have no fear....No Mountain Too High is here too stay!  Now on to dinner!

Since last night was my last night as a "homemaker" I went all out by picking out a recipe in our yet to be used "Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook."  An awesome gift from our dear friend Shelby for our wedding, the cookbook sits in our cookbook stand day in and day out but had yet to be opened...until now.  And boy was it worth the wait!

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you, the Personalized Chicken Potpies!  At first the recipe seemed daunting, but as I really got into it I realized the prep part was the worst part and really, it wasn't all that bad except for the tears I shed chopping the onion (not to self, invest in onion chopper).  First, the recipe and pictures, then I will let you know a couple of things we learned or would change.

All the yummy ingredients

Personalized Chicken Potpies
Ingredients:
1 Tblsp Olive Oil
1 Small Yellow Onion, Chopped
4 Medium Cloves Garlic, Chopped
2 Tsp Chopped Fresh Thyme, or 3/4 Tsp Dried Thyme
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine or Vermouth
1 Tblsp All-Purpose Flour
2/3 Cup Chicken Stock or Low-Sodium Canned Chicken Broth
1 Jar (16 ounces) Alfredo Sauce
3 Cups Shredded Purchased Roast Chicken
1 Package (10 ounces) Frozen Mixed Peas and Carrots, Thawed
2 Frozen Pastry Circles or Sheets for 9-inch Pie
1 Egg, Lightly Beaten

The finished product, large size.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and season lightly with kosher salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft, 5-7 minutes.  Add the wine and cook until lit has evaporated but the onion is still moist, about 2 minutes more.  Sprinkle the flour over the onion and cook for 1 minute.  Add the stock and stir until well incorporated and slightly thickened.  Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the Alfredo sauce, then the chicken and peas and carrots.  Adjust the seasonings with more kosher salt and pepper if necessary.  Divide the filling among four 1 1/2 cup ramekins.  Set aside.
Place frozen pastry circles or sheets on a work surface and let them thaw slightly, about 10 minutes.  Place a ramekin directly on the pastry.  Using a knife, cut out a circle 1 inch wider than the bottom of the ramekin. Drape the pastry over the ramekin and seal by pressing gently on the sides of the ramekin.  Repeat with the remaining ramekins.  Cut pastry scraps into your sweetheart's initials, into hearts, or other decorative shapes and place on top of the pastry.  Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.  Place the potpies on the prepared baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden, 35-45 minutes.  Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

 The smaller portion size the hubby and I preferred, notice the personalized pastry dough on tops including the dog bone for our puppy Cali and the Chevy symbol in honor of hubby's love of Camaros.

A couple of things we learned....1) these things are DEEElicious!  So yummy!  Only thing I would change is cutting back on the amount of wine we use.  I am not a big "wine in food" person so I thought it was a little heavy, hubby thought it was great so it's really all to your taste.  2) Portion size is key.  Hubby and I like to keep our portion sizes smaller so we don't eat too much and so we have lots of leftovers for later meals, ie, saving money!  So we actually only did one potpie in the ramekin size it calls for and did the rest in smaller, 3/4 cup ramekins.  Perfect size!  Basically, if you are a small portion eater like us, this makes enough to serve 8, otherwise, it will serve 4.  As for the already prepared chicken, we picked up a rotisserie chicken at our local grocer and 3 cups is about a full chicken, in case you need help eyeballing how many you would need.

So...are you headed for potpie heaven?  Let me know what you think and bring on the suggestions, let me know if there's a food you love that you just need a new recipe for.  Hubby and I would love to be your guinea pigs!

Dining Out on a Dime

Well here's another apology for such a lag in posts.  I don't know what happened and I apologize for not posting another recipe this week!  I will make up for it next week with a fantastic one!  Today I wanted to touch on that topic that is quite the opposite of a new recipe...eating out!

My hubby and I love to eat out, especially on the weekends, just to change things up a bit from our normal routine.  One of our favorite areas to go out to dinner is downtown, where there are tons of little shops and dessert places to walk around to after we eat.  It's an inexpensive place to spend some time instead of rushing home as soon as we are done with dinner.  But being on a budget, it can be hard to get to some restaurants that tend to be a bit more than we would normally spend, until now!

For Christmas, I bought Chris a Member's Dining Card.  The card only costs $40 and gives us BOGO up to $15 at 24 local restaurants, many of which are those "more than we would normally spend" restaurants.  All we have to do is order 2 entrees and 2 drinks and we get up to $15 knocked off our bill.  We have already used the card 4 or 5 times so we definitely have made our money back on it.  Plus, the money for the card goes to Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, so it's really a no lose situation. 

For those of you who don't live in the Springfield area, there's also plenty of options in your town.  Most big cities have Entertainment Books and lots of schools will sell discount cards as fundraisers.  Keeping an eye out for those things in your area can save you lots of money throughout the year on dining out.

Another great option are the new Groupon and LivingSocial emails.  Many local communities have their own sites as well that provide discount dining opportunities. Here in Springfield we have 417 Deal of the Day and Half Price Ozarks.  The hubby and I used a Groupon just a couple of weeks ago along with our Members Dining Card.  We used our Dining Card for dinner then headed over to our favorite piano bar and used a Groupon for our drinks.  All in all, a nice Italian dinner and some entertainment with a couple of drinks each (including cover charge) cost us $50.  Can't beat date night with the hubby for that much!

There's no need to spend a lot to enjoy a night out.  Find what's available in your community in terms of discounts and sign up for them!  We delete more than we buy, but when we have bought we've been able to enjoy something we may not have thought we could afford before.  So, what local deals are in your area?  Share your secrets with us so we can all start saving more!

Menu Mondays - A Double Dose...Dinner AND Dessert!

Happy Monday and President's Day to those of you who got the day off!  We have had some great weather here in the Ozarks this past week so my Menu Monday will of course be a bbq recipe!  We love to grill out, I grew up with a father who grilled out regardless of the weather, so when the weather started to turn on Saturday (our planned grilling day), my hubby was bound and determined to still do the grilling!  Lucky for us, as it got closer to grill time, the clouds started to clear a bit and we were even able to eat outside with the added warmth of our firepit to sit around as we had dessert.

On top of the grilling, I am including a bonus recipe...dessert!  My dessert recipe comes from one of my daily Hungry Girl recipes.  Hubby and I love our desserts so when I find a fun, delicious one that is also not going to take away from our gym time, I want to try it.  And we LOVED it and realized I had to add it to Menu Monday this week!  So without further ado...our recipes for the week!

Honey-Glazed Pork Chops
Ingredients:
4 lean pork loin chops
4 tbsp clear honey
1 tbsp dry sherry
4 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1-inch/2.5cm piece fresh ginger, grated
salt and pepper
corn oil, for oiling

The ingredients cost us very little since we already had almost everything we needed!

 

Directions:Preheat the barbecue.  Season the pork chops with salt and pepper to taste.  Reserve while you make the glaze.
To make the glaze, place the honey, sherry, orange juice, olive oil, and ginger in a small pan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until well blended.
Cook the pork chops on an oiled rack over hot coals for 5 minutes on each side.  Brush the chops with the glaze and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes on each side, basting frequently with the glaze.  Transfer the pork chops to warmed serving plates and serve hot.

 The finished product.  A bit blurry but looks great on our new patio dishes, a wedding gift from Denise & Seth Deitchman!

 Grilling our entire meal made clean up easy.  For this one we decided to use our charcoal grill instead of the gas grill simply for flavor.

A couple of things we learned...next time we will probably double the glaze and use half as a marinade and then use other half as an actual glaze.  It may not work, and even though the flavor was fantastic, we thought it would be fun to try.  And of course...we have leftovers.  We made ours with some grilled broccoli and grilled french bread which was perfect for us since it meant a lot less cleaning!  But what's dinner without dessert?

Sweet Nachos of Mine
Ingredients:2 medium-large high-fiber flour tortillas with about 110 calories each
3/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
2 dashes salt, divided
1 tsp. powdered sugar
One 60-calorie sugar-free or no-sugar-added vanilla pudding snack
1/4 cup sugar-free pancake syrup
1 cup shopping strawberries
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 tbsp. fat-free or light caramel dip
Optional toppings: Fat Free Reddi-wip, rainbow sprinkles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet or ovenproof platter with nonstick spray and set aside.
To make the chips, stack tortillas and cut into quarters.  Evenly cut each stack of quarters into 3 triangles, yielding 24 chip-shaped tortilla triangles.
Evenly lay tortilla triangles flat on the sheet or platter and cover with a generous mist of nonstick spray. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and a dash of salt.  Flip triangles, lightly spray with nonstick spray, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and remaining dash of salt.
Bake in the oven for 3 minutes.  Carefully flip triangles and bake until crispy, about 3 minutes longer, keeping a close eye on them to ensure they don't burn.
Remove baking sheet or platter from the oven, and turn oven to the broiler setting.  Carefully arrange chips so they overlap slightly, and then sprinkle with powdered sugar and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine pudding, syrup and remaining 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, and mix well.  Evenly distribute mixture over the chips as you would cheese sauce when making regular nachos.  Top evenly with strawberries, followed by marshmallows.
Broil until marshmallows being to puff up and turn golden brown, 2-3 minutes.  Remove sheet or platter from the oven and set aside.
Place caramel dip in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 20 seconds, until hot and drizzle-able.  Give it a stir and drizzle over marshmallows. 
If you like, top each serving with a bit of Reddi-wip and some rainbow sprinkles.

It tasted even better than it looks, if that's even possible!

 

A little more of what we learned...obviously you can tell from the picture that we didn't go with the Reddi-wip, that was just because I am not a fan.  But I am sure it would be a great addition to it.  Everything was fantastic.  The serving size is perfect and it is wonderful.  Just don't plan on saving the leftovers...I can't imagine they would be good the next day!

So, did you make the dinner or dessert?  Tell me how it was!

Menu Mondays - Salmon + Asian = Yum!

My husband didn't really eat fish until he met me, although if you ask him he'll say he did.  His definition of seafood was popcorn shrimp and fish and chips.  So I guess I've taken it upon myself to introduce him to as much seafood as possible, but that is easier said than done.  Hubby does love salmon so this next recipe was a no brainer to try!

Weight Watchers puts out a magazine every year that you can find at your local grocery store, called 5 Ingredients 15 Minute Recipes.  It's fantastic, because the recipes are easy, quick and lots of time you already have everything you need in your cabinets.  This recipe was actually from the 2007 magazine, but our side of green beans was from this year's.  All we had to buy was the salmon and hoison sauce for this recipe. We had ginger left over from the Apricot Pork Chop recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago and everything else in the recipe is pretty much a staple item.  When we went to the store, we went ahead and bought the frozen salmon rather than fresh because we weren't sure which day we were going to make it and we also saved about $12 by doing that!  As usual we wanted enough for leftovers and if we had bought the fresh fillets it would have been about $6 a fillet, so $24.  Instead, we spent about $11 on the frozen package which was exactly the size we needed.

Below is the recipe for both the salmon and green beans.  We LOVED both of them and they were so so easy it was crazy.  If you are a full time worker, this is the perfect recipe because the prep time for both is only about 10 minutes, cook time is short as well and you are ready to eat with in 30 minutes of walking in the door! 

All the ingredients for both the salmon and green bean recipes! I bet you already have most of these in  your house!

 

Hoisin and Ginger-Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger

2 Tbls hoisin sauce

1 Tbls honey

4 (6-oz) salmon fillets

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Cooking spray

 

Directions:

Preheat broiler.  Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl.  Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and pepper.  Place fish, skin side down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Brush with hoisin mixture.  Broil 8-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

*My parents made this dish this weekend and grilled their fish...they said it turned out great that way too if you would prefer to grill! 

 

 The finished product.  Pictures can't do it justice, it was so yummy!

Ginger-Roasted Green Beans

Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package pretrimmed green beans

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger

1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine green beans, olive oil, ginger, and salt on a rimmed baking sheet; toss well.  Spread beans in a single layer.  Bake at 450 for 10 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Told you they were both very easy!  So let me know how your salmon turns out...we will be having our leftovers for dinner this week I'm sure!

Valentine's on a Dime

So I am going to confess...I have never been a big "Valentine's" person, so it was pretty easy for me to do a small one this year.  I must also confess, my husband tends to go overboard on gift giving and although we have never had a large valentine's he decided to do a bit too much this year, so we won't be using his examples today (and since I don't know what they are yet that will be pretty easy)!  I gave my gift to the hubby a bit early this year because I wanted to be able to post.

I was originally told we each had a $10 limit but doubled it for my gift to Chris.  Still, at $25 I was able to give him something I knew he would both enjoy but would also last longer than a box of chocolates.  Let's face it, most inexpensive Valentine's Day gifts are geared towards women: chocolate, flowers, stuffed animals, etc.  I wanted to make it personal, but also "practical."  So I give you...the Valentine's Cake Pop.

Cake pops are huge right now, we even had a Cake Pop Co. open its doors here in Springfield after being an online order only company.  Check it out, you can still make online orders and she will ship them to you.  And I can tell you from experience, they are amazing!  After this week's endeavor into making my own, I now give her that much more credit and realize why the cost may seem a bit high (though its really not once you realize the time and effort it takes to make them perfect).

I used the infamous Bakerella recipe and set out to buy my supplies. First stop: Hobby Lobby.  I find that they are a bit cheaper than Michael's and they are also closer to my house.  I picked up some red melting candies, the popsicle sticks, styrofoam and a cute little red and white heart box to put them in.  I also found that I was in love with the Hobby Lobby baking craft isle so don't be surprised if I end up back there again (I can hear my husband's mouth salivating right now). Then it was off to Wal-Mart to find cake and icing.  I did a little paroozing down the Valentine's isle and picked up a bottle of heart shaped sprinkles to put on the pops, then headed to the baking isle.  I really wanted red velvet cake but couldn't find a box mix for it so settled on chocolate cake and icing.  The best part about this special treat is you can make it whatever cake and icing your loved one craves.  Hubby loves vanilla but has never complained about chocolate and I thought chocolate fit the holiday a bit more.  All in all, I spent just about $25 for his gift.

You can check out the recipe yourself on Bakerella, but I've also posted it below.  Let me tell you a little something first...I started at 10:30am by baking the cake.  I finally finished the last pop at about 3pm.  This is a time consuming project, especially since you have to wait for the cake to cook entirely and the melting of the candies takes a bit of time to do it right without burning them.  I can tell you, I could have used more candies.  I made 50 cake pops but still have a few left in the freezer that are in need of candy covering.  Maybe this time I'll let the hubby pick out whatever color he wants (anyone want to put money on if he chooses green to match his Camaro).  The finished product looked a little something like this...not bad for my first ever attempt!

Most importantly, I had a lot of fun making these!  A few suggestions for a Valentine's on a Dime:
- Be creative, whether with food or art.  My hubby loved that I made something and did something fun.
- Do something together.  No need to spend money if you live in a warmer climate, do something outside like hiking or biking or even camping!  If it's colder, stay in, make a dinner together and then make s'mores over the fire in your fireplace with music playing and a bottle of wine.
- Coupon books, though cheesy, can be fun.  For the week or days leading up to Valentine's, leave little notes in your loved ones books, briefcase, even on the bathroom mirror, little "IOUs" and then have them all fulfilled by or on Valentine's Day. 

So...what are your Valentine's day plans?  Are you going all out or keeping it low key? 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cake Pop Recipe:
1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can frosting (16 oz.)
Wax paper (I used foil and it worked fine)
Candy Melts (1lb pkg...I could have used a little extra)
Lollipop Sticks (50 to be safe)
Any other decorations you want!

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can frosting. (I use the back of a large spoon, but it may be easier to use fingers to mix together. But, be warned, it will get messy. Also, you may not need the entire can of frosting, so start out by using almost the entire can and add more if you need to.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50)
4. Melt chocolate in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.)
5. Dip the tip of your lollipop stick in a little of the melted candy coating and insert into the cake balls. (Insert a little less than halfway.)
6. Place them in the freezer for a little while to firm up.
7. Once firm, carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Don’t tap too hard or the cake ball will fall off, too.
8. Place in a styrofoam block to dry.

-

Meet Laurie!

As you may have seen, yesterday I guest blogged on my old friend Laurie Steiner's blog, so today is her turn!  Check out the words of wisdom this 20 something blogger has for all of us!

Meet Laurie!                                

Dreaming Big.

Hello friends! First and foremost, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Allyson for letting me stop by her beautiful blog today… thank you Allyson! Also, please let me introduce myself. I’m Laurie—a southern-bred 20-something gal who loves chips and salsa, social media, manicures and pedicures, miniature schnauzers, writing, sunshine, traveling, good wine, cold beer and singing in the shower.

I graduated from college four years ago this May, and I must say, it’s hard to believe how far I’ve come in the past few years. What originally began as a post-college public relations job has transformed into a full-blown magazine publishing career complete with social media responsibilities and an eagerness for technology, learning and the ever-changing world around me.

I can safely say that after just a short time of trying to figure it all out, I am pretty comfortable with where I am and who I’ve become. Needless to say, I still have lots of growing to do and can’t wait for what’s ahead. As a young professional like many of you out there, I have aspirations and goals that I wish to achieve.

That being said, I have some personal hopes too. I do the happy dance over the very thought of getting married and having babies. I dream of my own wedding (and live vicariously through beautiful wedding photos like Allyson and Chris have), swooning over the gorgeous brides, handsome grooms, sweet flower girls, pretty tablescapes and beautifully-arranged flowers.

I have a bucket list and hope to get most if not all of those items accomplished at some point throughout my lifetime. I hope I can share those experiences with someone special. I hope I can dream big, live happily, find joy in life’s most precious moments, be a good friend, discover new passions, remember the past, look toward the future and smile every step of the way.

And at the ripe old age of 20-something, I figure, why not take the leap of faith and live every day to the fullest? Here’s to dreaming big and loving every minute of it.

Again, thanks for letting me stop by to say hello. I hope you’ll take a moment to venture over to my little space on the blogosphere and leave a note. I’d love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful week!

Menu Monday - Caught in a Snowstorm!

Happy Monday all!  I first want to point out that my long time friend and wonderful blogger, Laurie Steiner, has allowed me to guest blog on her fantastic blog today.  Go and check it out while you're catching up on your blog reading!

Now on to today's menu, which is a bit different than normal.  Last week we had quite a blizzard here in Springfield, dropping almost a foot and a half of snow on our little midwest city.  As much as people may think we get a lot of snow every year, we usually only get about a foot for the whole year...total.  So you can imagine what 18 inches at once did...school closings, business closing and a seriously stuck newlywed couple.

 Our back deck.  The wall on the right comes up to my mid-thigh.  We got a few more inches after this picture.

Because of the snow I wasn't able to hit the stores in time to try out a new recipe, but wanted to give you all an idea of how we survived the snowstorm without going too crazy by eating the same thing over and over.  When we went to the store before the storm we knew we had to get food that would stretch.  Our last trip to Sam's prepared us without even realizing it because we had enough ground turkey, chicken and pork chops to definitely give us variety and last the week.  We were able to have everything from broiled pork chops to baked spaghetti, and even paninis and wraps because of the few things we picked up at the store.

The last day we were stuck all I was craving was a pizza but the delivery service wasn't coming out to our house still because of the roads. I was a little bitter at first but after going out on the roads the next day I completely understood. I had reached the point where I didn't want to eat anything else we had...I had a craving and that's all I wanted.  We've all been there!  We went into the kitchen to come up with a creative way to put something together and there it was...the Bisquick box.  Chris and I laugh often because we can make pretty much anything with Bisquick (we used it a few times last week for pancakes and waffles).  Right there on the Bisquick box was a recipe for pizza crust!  In the interest of full disclosure, it wasn't as fantastic as a nice crispy pizza crust, but it was great enough to soothe my cravings and give Chris and I a little pizza for dinner that night.

A few things we learned that we would like to pass on:
- Make sure to have 2 or more varieties of meats for dinner so you don't feel like you're eating chicken every night.
- Pasta goes a long way and there are a ton of ways to make it!  We bought two different kinds of pasta for variety.
- Buy things you might not normally buy but you tend to crave (for us it was BBQ and pizza).  Being stuck is tough enough, if you are getting sick of eating the same foods you "always eat" it makes it worse!
- Portion sizes!  We eat small portions to begin with, so we always made leftovers.  They made for great lunches later in the week and we still have some for lunches or dinners this week.

The one great thing about being stuck is realizing how much money we saved by not spending  money on eating out.  We were able to see how easy it is to throw meals together at home and had to eat what we had rather than going out and buying more food even if we didn't necessarily need it.  It's a tip I know we will continue to use as time goes on.  


Here's to hoping no one gets stuck in any more snow storms!  But just in case, what are your tips for stocking up for great variety during snow storms?  Any meals you HAVE to have while snowed in?

Introducing...Husband Hour!

Ok, the name is kind of cheesy, but the reasoning is good.  Part of surviving a small budget to live on is having someone who is in your corner.  If my husband didn't support the things I am trying to do to save money as well as my desire to not just find a new job but to find a job I can turn into a career, things would be much more stressful around the household.  Luckily, not only do I have this, but I have a husband who is rather handy!  He and I have been dreaming of ways to improve our little home ever since I moved in.  We have slowly begun making these changes even on our  budget!  Every once in awhile, the hubs will guest blog in order to give you all some ideas on how we improved our home, changed our decor, or even fixed our cars, living on a budget.  When you're married to a man who can build a car from scratch, it definitely helps to keep within the budget!  So without further ado...my amazing, adorable husband, Chris!

Hello to all. As Allyson said, we are doing projects around the house, which is not only economical, but fun! Our first project was the painting of the walls in our living room. We have a smaller home but it is still very open and feels larger than it is. With that, we wanted to choose a color that added to this feeling rather than take away from it. Surprisingly, we actually used a dark color. We picked the maroon color (real name: Bangkok Rust) in our couch pillows. After painting the first wall, we decided the other wall needed it as well. So, the end result was amazing. It actually makes the rooms look bigger. We came to the conclusion the dark color in contrast with the white ceiling showcases the 14 foot ceiling. The end result was we spent less than $50 on everything...paint, brushes, drop cloth, tape, etc. Compare this to the cost of hiring a professional painter to come in and do this job and we saved hundreds of dollars. Not to mention Allyson and I got to work together on a project, which gives us valuable time together. Our other minor projects, with the help of a good friend,  have included installation of new sinks and counter tops in our bathrooms, installation of new dishwasher (this involved firing up power tools!) and a new wall/door going into our master bath. All of these projects started with research and smart shopping, which resulted in tremendous savings. Stay tuned for future projects and savings, especially in the area of manly projects...insert grunting here!

Check out our new walls as well as our new guest bathroom sink and counter tops (the two bathrooms cost us less than $200 for a new door, two counter tops, a new sink and new hardware.  We suggest shopping at wholesale places for all of these pieces, we definitely saved hundreds of dollars doing it this way).

Our first wall.  Loved it so much, we went for a second!

A small section of the 2nd wall/entrance way into our kitchen/dining space.

Our  new counter top, sink and hardware in the guest bathroom. Still a bit of tile work to do around the top, but it looks fantastic already!

 Our new dishwasher on installation day.  We had a great friend install it (this spot used to be 2 cabinets and 2 drawers which he also demolished for us).  We saved SO much money having a friend install.  All that's left is the trim around the outside which we will also do ourselves.

Menu Monday - Paninis are better than Sandwiches!

First, let me apologize.  Last week was a bit crazy (including an interview for a great job!!) so I'm sorry for my lack of posts.  But I'm back today with a great new recipe the hubs and I tried out this weekend.

One of the worst times for us is weekends.  Out running errands most of the weekend, hubby and I tend to just grab something to eat at a "reasonable" restaurant and sometimes that means eating out two or three times a weekend!  This weekend we had plans for dinner Saturday night and decided to make something new and fun for lunch instead of eating out.  We got a panini maker for a shower gift and everyone knows, paninis are better than sandwiches!  We opened up our panini cookbook and found a fun new recipe we LOVED. We learned a few lessons with it, which I will explain after I show you the great recipe and photos!

Crab Melt

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbls finely chopped fennel bulb
3 Tbls thinly sliced green onion
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (or other Chesapeake Bay-seafood seasoning)
8 oz fresh lump crabmeat (we used imitation)
2 hot dog buns
1 Tbls unsalted butter
2 oz shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)

All of our ingredients and the great cookbook we got the recipe from!

Directions:
     In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, fennel, green onion, lemon juice and zest, and Old Bay seasoning until well blended.  Gently stir in the crabmeat, takingcare not to break it up too much.
     Preheat the sandwich grill.  Open the hot dog buns flat and brush on all sides with the melted butter.  Place in the grill, close the top plate and cook until lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes.  If using the cheese, leave the buns in the grill and heap the crab salad into them, dividing it evenly, then sprinkle with cheese.  Lower the top to within 1/2 inch of the cheese and hold until melted, 30-40 seconds.  If not using the cheese, simply transfer the toasted buns to warmed plates, heap the crab salad into them, and serve at once.

The sandwiches were delicious!  We made them with some of my mom's homemade potato fries that the hubs loves so much.  A couple of things we learned.  First, we already had fennel seed seasoning so instead of spending the money on a fennel bulb (which we couldn't find at our local grocery store) we substituted the fennel seed.  We only used half the amount of seed it called for because raw seasonings are always stronger than the fresh fennel bulb, but that was still a bit much.  I would suggest only using 1/2 Tbls of fennel seed, taste the mixture and see if it needs more.  Also, we substituted fake crab meat because its cheaper and easier to find and wouldn't have to worry about picking shells out of the meat anyhow! It made it much easier to fix.  We have enough left over in crab meat and other seasonings for 1 more sandwich, which may come in handy this week since we are expecting a blizzard here in Missouri!  Another reason having leftovers is always great, you never know when you're going to be trapped in the house for days at a time!

The finished product with our potato fries with cheese!  So yummy!

So let me know how your crab melt is!  And don't forget to send me any of your favorite low cost recipes for me to try and feature on Menu Mondays!

Introducing...Menu Mondays!

My good friend Amanda had a great idea so if you enjoy my new Menu Mondays, you can thank her!  Being on a budget means cooking a lot more and the worst thing that can happen is getting into a rut, which leads to boredom and, at least in our case, leads to going out to eat just to change things up.  My husband and I have decided to try a new recipe at least once a week, so now I will start sharing those recipes with you!  Here is what I promise...I promise the recipes will be budget friendly, things you may already have in your fridge or meals that will go a long way!

To start out, I have to thank The Nest magazine.  Those of you who signed up for The Knot when you got engaged probably receive this seasonal magazine as well, full of great ideas and tips on everything from the kitchen to decorating to baby making.  The latest issue had 5 Meals Under $5 so the hubby and I decided to give one a try and we have to say, it was fabulous!  Below is the recipe and a few pictures of what part of the final product looked like.  We ate it with a bottle of wine we had already opened and had a really nice homemade meal that cost us very little and we still have enough for leftovers AND enough ingredients to make it again!  So without further ado - here is the first Menu Monday Recipe!

Apricot Glazed Pork Chops with Lime Cilantro Couscous

Ingredients:
1 Tbl. Olive Oil
1/2 Tbl. peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 Cup apricot marmalade or jam
2 bone in pork loin chops (each 8-10 oz and 1/2 in thick), trim fat (We used no bone chops and it still was wonderful!)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1/2 Cup couscous
1 Tbl. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. grated lime zest
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to broil, with the rack set 4-6 inches from the heat.
2. In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add ginger and cook until golden brown.  Add marmalade or jam, and reduce heat to medium.
3. Place pork on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil; season generously with salt and pepper.  Brush both sides with the apricot glaze.
4. Broil until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork chop reads 155F.  (About 8-10 minutes. Ours took 10 minutes since we didn't have a thermometer)
5. While the pork chops are in the oven, begin the couscous by following the directions on the box.  After removing the couscous from heat, stir in cilantro, lime juice and zest.
6. Carefully remove pork chops from oven and brush again with marmalade.  Allow meat to rest 5 minutes before serving with the couscous.

 All the ingredients we had left over (plus some frozen pork).  Enough to definitely make it again without spending more than $2 at the store.

The meal was incredibly simple and was a lot of fun for the hubby and I to make together.  I am also pretty sure you could easily substitute chicken for the pork if you aren't a pork eater.  A couple of tips...we used the boneless pork chops which we bought at Sam's and got 9 pork chops!  They are extra thick so we cut them in half and were able to make twice as many pork chops, which led to yummy leftovers for lunch during the week.  Also, make sure the lime zest is chopped very small before you mix it in with the couscous.  We thought ours was chopped up enough but a couple of times we would get a heavy dose of lime zest in a bite!

So let me know how it is!   Have a recipe you use a lot that you think I should try and feature in Menu Mondays?  Let me know!  I'm always looking for inexpensive recipes that can be stretched.  Bon Appetite!

Sacrificing Doesn't Have to Feel Like Sacrificing...

I was having a conversation with my mom last night that inspired this topic. We were discussing living on a budget, and how everybody has to do it, some of us are just better at it than others. I think the hardest time to live on a budget, though, is right out of college.  For the first time you aren't surviving based on your parents' income, its based on your income. Some of your friends are making $50-$60K a year right out of school and some are still searching for a job living on a very limited "allowance."  When I first graduated I was at the bottom of the barrel when it came to my salary compared to my  friends and roommates, but I made it work, sometimes it was just more difficult than others.

I think the one thing I learned that was most important, was sacrifice.  I love to shop, I love to travel, I love to be pampered, and I love to go out to eat and to the bars with my friends, but I realized quickly that my spending money, after paying rent, bills and groceries, was not going to allow for all 3 of those things every month.  Some sacrifices were easier than others and trust me, I learned that the hard way.  Just ask my first roommates out of college, there were times I had to tell them I couldn't go to dinner or couldn't go to the bars because I couldn't afford it that month.  I had made a sacrifice, because maybe I had instead gone to visit a friend out of town or bought a new super cute outfit.  Either way, I couldn't have it all, and that's a lesson that is hard for all of us to learn.

I've had to make hard sacrifices too, some very hard.  I've missed some very good friends' weddings because I just couldn't afford a plane ticket and two nights in a hotel.  I'm lucky, because my friends have all understood.  I had some friends not make it to my wedding for the same reason and although I was sad, I was never upset, because not being able to do everything and be everywhere is just a part of life.

My husband and I have become very good at substituting our sacrifices so we don't feel like we are missing out on it all. We both love a good massage, but instead of going to the overly expensive spa in town, we go to the massage school.  It's at least half the price and you aren't allowed to tip!  They only have the most experienced students doing the massages and they still have all those great oils!  We can't go as much as we would like, but being able to afford it every once in awhile is worth it.  And shopping.  We LOVE to shop.  But we have yet to spend full price on pretty much anything we buy.  We give ourselves a budget, go to the stores we have coupons and deals for, and get more for our money.  And did I mention we budget?  We know we can't shop every weekend, but we also don't want to feel like we look frumpy, so we go just enough to keep our wardrobe looking nice, but not so much that we sacrifice anything big.  In the same area as massages, I really enjoy a nice manicure and pedicure every once in awhile...what girl doesn't?  But I've learned that $12-$50 a week isn't really doable at the moment.  Instead I treat myself to a new bottle of nail polish every few weeks.  Yes, I may get the $8 polish, but $8 once a month versus $45 is a big difference and I can still feel like my nails look great.  Can't paint your own nails?  Have some friends over and pamper each other.  The stores are full of fun things to help you do your nails, open a bottle of wine or 2 and have an inexpensive night in with the girls! Or maybe you can afford one or the other.  Rotate, one week get a manicure and the next a pedicure.  You still feel pampered, you just have to do half the work yourself :).

Travel is a big sacrifice.  That's one thing we have really had to cut.  Just this week I had to tell my best friend we wouldn't be seeing her in 2 weeks for a trip we've had planned for awhile.  She completely understood and reconfirmed why she is my best friend with that.  Because no matter what you think, your friends will understand.  They won't talk about you behind your back, they won't even snicker.  They get it, because like I said, they are budgeting too.  What we are doing is planning.  Our friends are getting married in San Jose in September, so we are planning that trip (which happens to coincide with our anniversary), we are making a list of places we want to go, people we want to see, so that we can start saving.  And when the time comes, we will be prepared.

Trust me, I'm no pro at this.  I was terrible at it until recently.  Maybe its maturity, the whole "I'm married now and my finances aren't my own anymore" mentality, but I like to think that my past mistakes are what make me better at it now.  Girls nights in with a bottle of wine instead of a crowded noisy bar, BYOB party at your place where everyone brings something to snack on and their favorite bottle of alcohol - you just provide the mixers and a couple snacks (see my  post on Costco and Sams!), Matinee movies and then dinner instead of dinner and then a late movie or eating in then going out to a movie, eating out at restaurants you have coupons for, pulling out a set amount of cash every month as your "fun money" and when that is gone, you're done, all of this is just a place to start.  Even asking for restaurant gift cards, or mall gift cards for birthdays or holiday gifts is a great way to go if that's what you enjoy.  Restaurant.com is a great place to look for gift certificates for yourself even!  They advertise spending $10 for a $25 gift card to spend at certain restaurants.  There, you just saved $15, now you can go to that movie or grab a drink after too :).  And trust me, even if you don't think your friends are budgeting, when you pull out that B1G1 coupon at your favorite restaurant, they will be just as excited as you, maybe they will even buy you an extra drink!

Road Trips - My Survival Guide

This past weekend, my husband, puppy and I loaded up the car and headed to Dallas for an incredible weekend of family.  My husband and I love road trips.  About a year ago, we decided we wanted to do one mini road trip a month to explore all there is to see in middle America.  We didn't do such a great job of turning that thought into a reality, but we still love the road trip!

Living life on a budget cuts back on our road trip possibilities (we just had to cancel a weekend trip with our best friends because of it) but being able to have a very low expense weekend in Dallas, we couldn't pass up the idea of it.  Luckily Dallas is a quick, 7 hour road trip.  We both ate lunch before we left the house and knew we would get to Dallas in time for dinner which saved us money right off the bat.  My mother-in-law also stocked us full of some car ride goodies in order to keep us from eating the crapola you find on the road as well as save us a few dollars from having to buy it in the first place.

The hubs and I are also pretty good at gauging our gas, no pun intended.  We knew that one tank of gas would take us almost all the way to Dallas (we would roll in on fumes, but we could have done it), so at about half a tank we started watching the gas stations.  We knew that gas was anywhere from $2.92 a gallon to $3.10 a gallon depending on where we stopped and we didn't want to get stuck at a $3.10 station.  Luckily, on this drive, you go through a bunch of towns in Oklahoma, which is a pain for speed limit purposes, but is great for gas hunting purposes.  As soon as we hit about 1/2 a tank we ran into a stop that was $2.94, a good deal if you ask me.  We know that we aren't going to get "cheap" gas anymore, so rather than taking our car as far as we can go and getting stuck getting whatever we get stuck with, we tend to play it safe and try to fill up at a half tank at a good price.  If you are going on a road trip, check out the AAA website...they are great at letting you know about how much the round trip will cost you, allowing you to budget better.  Just an FYI, I checked it on Friday before we left and it actually said it would cost us more in gas than it actually did!

While in Dallas my amazing husband understood the importance of girl time.  We know we are living on a budget, but like is the purpose of this blog, we like to continue to live.  My cousins and I were headed to H&M, a store found around most of the country except where we are in Springfield and were my cousins are in Houston.  Luckily, Dallas has one single store!  The hubby gave me a $30 budget, which I found completely fair considering our financial situation and the cost of clothes at H&M (easily could have bought me a sweater...bought my cousin 2 shirts)!  With a little extra boost from my mom (my parents like to make sure we can continue to live our lives as well) I headed to H&M with a $60 budget and walked out with 2 great new sweaters.

We headed back to Springfield on Monday with a car stocked with goodies.  My incredible uncle packed us sandwiches and my equally incredible aunt stocked us with snacks and goodies and insisted we take more bottles of water than we had planned on (there was no shortage of bottled water at this house)!  We were smart again on our gas on the way back, although when we went to fill up to head out we thought we had hit the motherload with $2.89 gas only to find out the station was actually out of fuel.  Explains the lower cost on their sign, they must have been out for at least 2 weeks.

Hubs and I definitely spent more this weekend than we would have if we had stayed home, but we wouldn't have traded the trip for anything.  We would not be able to live our life and be so safe living our lives as we have continued to do without the support of our families near and far.  But more importantly, we would not have been able to do the road trip had we not done it smart.  We stayed with family, we budgeted while we were there, but more importantly, we planned ahead.  Planning...it comes naturally for us, but it is what allows us to continue living our lives the way we want to live them!

The Gift of Girlfriends

I'm lucky.  Through all of the trials and tribulations we are facing right now, I have an amazing family, great in-laws and a beyond fantastic husband, all of which motivate me, challenge me, and inspire me every day.  But on top of that, I have the world's greatest friends.  I could go on and on about all of my friends, from high school, college, past jobs, the list goes on and on. But I have one group of girlfriends who are ALWAYS there no matter how much time passes between visits, phone calls and even emails. 

The other day I got an email from one of them, sent to our little group just updating us on her life and wanting to hear how we are all doing.  After almost all of us had responded, filling each other in on jobs, lack of jobs, baby talk, husband updates, family news, etc, she responded back letting us know about her off day at work that day, just needing to vent. She ended the email letting us know she wished we all lived in the same place (4 girls, 4 cities) so she could call us up to grab a beer on her and she could get a good laugh in.  It was then that I realized how great and necessary a good group of friends can be when things aren't going great.

Family is incredible, husbands are fantastic, but there's just something about your closest girlfriends that are irreplaceable.  When things aren't going great, whether in relationships, jobs, family, I truly believe every girl should have at least one girlfriend they can turn to.  I'm lucky.  I have a great group of girls to choose from.  And a group of best friends I know I will be escaping with 10 years from now, away from kids and husbands to just sit with a glass of wine for a weekend and do nothing but laugh and cry and feel how lucky we are to have each other.  The best part, it costs nothing extra to pick up the phone to chat or send an email just to catch up and get that smile.  Soon, when things are fiscally better, I plan to visit and vacation with these amazing girls more often!

Do you have a great girlfriend or girlfriends you can always turn to?  Don't forget to thank them for that, and realize they are just as glad to have you in their lives!  To my best friends, thank you.  Thank you for always knowing how to put a smile on my face and helping me to keep my life as normal as possible.  And on the same note, I'm pretty sure my husband thanks you too.  That's what makes him the best, his ability to know that sometimes a girl just needs her girlfriends!

Dancing with my amazing best friends/bridesmaids on the happiest day of my life!

Puppies are Like Children

The hubs and I found out what kind of parents we will be this weekend.  Our adorable, almost 10 month old puppy Cali was sick.  It started Saturday afternoon as a poopy problem which took our usually active, playful, fun loving puppy into a lathargic, quiet, lazy, sleepy puppy.  I was immediately worried, for multiple reasons.  One, of course, for Cali since we hadn't seen her sick yet.  And two, because the only vet open on the weekends was the emergency vet which charges $68 just to get in the door.

We went up to my in-laws for my FIL's birthday Saturday night and left Cali home to sleep, something we normally don't do since her Ganny loves when she comes to visit.  When we came home we walked her around outside and sat up with her until midnight trying to decide if a middle of the night vet visit was needed.  My husband once again talked me down from the ledge (I was ready to pack up the car and go) and we decided to hold off on the visit and instead check on her throughout the night.

Cali ended up being fine after a long Saturday night and her Ganny coming over to "babysit" while we did  a quick grocery shopping trip.  By Sunday afternoon she was back to her normal self, although we are monitoring her to see how she does and if we need to visit our normal vet just in case.  It's funny, we don't have kids but for the first time I felt like Cali really was one of our children.  There was lots of taking care of her over the weekend in ways that weren't always appealing, but I did learn that when we do have kids, the hubs will be talking me down from the Dr. ledge a lot I'm sure. We were lucky this time, because had he not been there, we would be looking at a vet bill easily over $100, and right now, that's not money we really need to be spending if we can help it!

Our adorable Cali!

Do you rush to the vet, or doctor, for you pets or kids at the first sign of sickness even if it means spending money you don't have to spend?  How long after you had pets or kids did it take for you to realize that you don't have to rush to the doctor at the first sign of sickness or is it something you never "outgrow?"

My name is Allyson and I am bad at eating leftovers...

I have to admit, and my parents will back me up, growing up I was TERRIBLE at eating leftovers.  Even when I first moved out on my own I would find months old leftovers in my refrigerator and freezer.  I had great intentions, I was definitely planning on eating them, but on my way home I'd get a sushi craving or decide I'd rather meet a friend out rather than eat leftovers from a couple days before.  I mean, doesn't that sound more exciting to you?  Now that we're living on a tight budget, I'm learning to eat leftovers and actually enjoying it.

The hubs and I have become good at not just eating leftovers but using leftovers to sometimes create another dish.  The day after Christmas we weren't super hungry for dinner so Chris cooked up some of the roasted turkey we had leftover from Christmas Eve.  But he used a marinade my parents had left us which they had used on a pork dish a couple of nights before.  Chris chopped up the turkey, heated it with the marinade and wrapped it in a tortilla.  That way we didn't feel like we were eating Christmas Eve dinner again, but spent no extra money on dinner.

We've also started making a menu every Sunday for the following week.  We do our grocery shopping on Sundays so when we go to the store we know exactly what we need.  Because of that we've only had to do "big" shopping trips every 2 weeks.  Whatever we buy for one week we normally have leftovers for at least a week after.  And we always cook more than we need so we  know we'll have leftovers for lunches or dinner throughout the next week.

But don't get me wrong...there are plenty of times we have enough of leftovers and cooking all together.  That's why we always schedule one night out on the weekends to eat out.  I'm all about keeping things normal of course, so we couldn't go without a date night every now and then.  I'm looking forward to our dinner tomorrow night at Fire & Ice, a local restaurant I haven't been to yet!

And just a shout out to my fantastic husband who gave me the best leftovers ever the other day.  He had a work lunch at a restaurant we both love, so he brought home half of his meal for me to have for lunch the next day. Those are leftovers even I could get used to!

I'm a Member! Are you?

So I knew I was getting older when I got excited about a dishwasher and vacuum cleaner as a Hanukah/Christmas gift.  But one of the best gifts we got this year was our Sam's Club membership.  My parents bought it for us after I lost my job knowing that we had talked about getting a membership for awhile.  Let me just tell you...we've been 3 times in the last month we've had the membership!

I just got back from a trip with my mother-in-law and I love the place more and more every time I go.  Places like Costco, Sam's, BJ's, any big box club store can be dangerous for those of us living on a budget because you don't realize that you're getting a lot but spending more than normal.  The first time I came home my husband almost choked when I gave him a list of 5 or 6 things I had bought but told him it had come to a total of $75.  It wasn't until after he came home and saw how we wouldn't have to buy paper towels for a few months did he realize its just a different way of budgeting.  We now have to realize that if a Sam's trip is coming up, our budget might be thrown off, but we will definitely make up for it.

Today I bought a 5lb bag of cheese (we like cheese around here) that doesn't expire until March.  I'm pretty sure we won't have to buy more cheese until then when we would normally be buying cheese twice a month for $3 a bag.  I also spent $14 on 500 feet of foil, another item we don't usually find coupons for.  At that price for that amount of foil, we wont have to worry about it for quite awhile.

I think I'm all out of reasons to go to Sam's right now, although while on the trip MIL and I found a few things we could buy together and split, another great way for the hubs and I to save some money.  I have a feeling that once the budget gets back in order, I will be frequenting Sam's a bit more and finding some more fun things to buy!  Plus, who doesn't love a store you can eat your way through?!

A New Beginning

I've had the idea to start a blog for awhile, but was never 100% sure what to blog about.  Then, early last month, I got laid off from my job and my new husband and I found ourselves in a tough situation.  Don't get me wrong, the hubs has a great job, but for 2 young, childless people, we enjoy going on trips, eating out, shopping, as much as the next person.  That all got put on hold and we now have a strict budget.  Then it hit me.  So many people are in a similar situation to us, why not start blogging about things I've found to help save money, continue "living" our life how we like, and surviving the tough time of unemployment.  Plus, it will give me a chance to vent, allow you all to vent, because, let's face it...no matter how great our jobs are, we are all nervous at some point that our position might be next one cut.  I thought I had the indispensable job, yet I ended up on the opposite side of our HR director right before the holidays.  So follow me on my journey to save money and make sure that our little family of 2 doesn't miss out on any of the excitement life has to offer, even on a budget.

To end this first post, I want to put up a quote my best friend sent me yesterday that was exactly what I needed to hear at the time..."When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.  So here's to star gazing and realizing that there is no mountain too high!