What's not to love?

I just got my Summer issue of Kraft's Food & Family magazine in the mail. Yay!

Even though the whole thing is essentially an advertisement for Kraft products, I don't care. I love it and I use it and I save every copy. A subscription used to be free, but now it is $11.98. However, you can view the current issue's Digital Edition (complete with videos) for free at www.kraftfoods.com. You can also look up any past issue in the Food & Family archives. Each issue is chock full of:

• Recipes
• Coupons
  
• Advice section with smart solutions, easy how-tos, and healthy living ideas.

I love the recipes. They are easy to follow, require few ingredients, and are generally delicious. For example, this is what I made last night:

Barbecued Chicken Packet
Prep: 5 min. Total: 20 min. Makes 1 serving.

1 small boneless skinless chicken breast half (1/4 lb.)
*I used chicken breast tenderloins
1 pineapple ring

1 green pepper ring
1 Tbsp. barbecue sauce

Heat grill to medium heat. Place chicken in center of large sheet of heavy-duty foil; top with remaining ingredients.

Bring up foil sides. Double-fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

Grill 15 min. or until chicken is done. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packet.

Instead of grilling, I put the packets (I made 4) on a baking sheet and baked in the oven at 425°F for about 20 minutes. Then I served them with brown rice and a simple green salad.

There were no left-overs. Even my non-chicken-eating-children couldn't get enough.

Later this week, I'm going to try this one:

Enchilada Casserole

Prep:5 min. Total: 30 min. Makes 4 serving.

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onions

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tsp. chili powder

4 corn tortillas

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup light sour cream

Cook meat and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat 3 to 5 min. or until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, water and chili powder; cook until heated through. Transfer to bowl.

Place 1 tortilla in the skillet you just used; top with layers of 1/4 each meat sauce and cheese. Repeat layers 3 times. Cover; heat 2 min. or until cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and tomatoes.

Yummy, healthy, cheap, and easy. What's not to love?

Memorial Day Madness

If the gas prices, traffic, and long lines at the grocery store this holiday weekend are making you grumpy, you're not alone. I can't stand the way people become a little bit insane simply because there's one extra day added to the weekend. One extra day, people! 

Anyway, here's my philosophy: don't get mad - get shopping. The silver lining in all this Memorial Day Madness is all the sales. Here's just a sampling:

Kohl's - Friday 3-11 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m.-1 p.m. - Night Owls and Early Birds specials = crazy mark-downs.

Old Navy - Saturday 9 a.m. - All solid color flip flops for adults and kids are $1 (limit 5 per customer) = wow, I'm so there.

Bath & Body Works - Friday-Monday - Anti-bacterial hand soaps are on sale for $3/each (regularly up to $5) = good time to stock up.

Anybody else know of any good sales going on this weekend?

Sweetness

So last night I discovered I could feed my family of four for under $10 at DQ. Formerly known as Dairy Queen, DQ has apparently (but not officially) shortened their name to just their initials. Why? I suppose because they don't want to be limited to dairy, just like KFC didn't want to be limited to fried chicken.

Anyway...

So DQ has just introduced "Sweet Deals." Maybe you've seen the commercial? If not, rejoice -- it's terrible. Floating lips just aren't cool. But at least the deal is good: buy any 2 items for $3, 3 items for $4, or 4 for $5. There are nine items to choose from, including a cheeseburger, a hot dog, a chicken wrap, regular French fries, onion rings, a side salad, a medium drink, a small sundae and a small soft cone.

Back to my story.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so I decided to take the kids to the park after Jeff left for work in the afternoon. We swang (swung?), played, ran, climbed, and generally worked up an appetite. The last thing I felt like doing was driving all the way home and making dinner. Plus, we still had to go visit Jeff at his store. So I deemed it not only a good idea, but NECESSARY, that we stop somewhere for dinner. And DQ happened to be right on the way from the park to Starbucks. Also, I've been wanting to check out our DQ since it got a total facelift. It is now called DQ Grill & Chill and it looks actually pretty nice (gone is the tired old red and blue color scheme). Ambience is oh so important.

So, choices choices. We ordered directly from the Sweet Deals menu: two cheeseburgers (for me and Hannah), a hot dog (for John Ryan), one order of onion rings (for to share), and two small dipped cones (I had a coupon for buy one get one free - thanks, Kelly!). Total: $7.57.

The service was friendly and quick, the portion sizes were plentiful, and the food was yummy!

Then I realized I should take something to Jeff, too, so I ordered him a chicken wrap and a side salad. Total: $3.23.

Okay, so if you add them both up it was actually over $10 ($10.80), but that included dessert! :) Sweet.

Now I know you all want to go to DQ. See the whole array of Sweet Deals at www.dairyqueen.com, where you can also sign up to receive a buy one, get one free Blizzard (by joining the Blizzard fan club). Enjoy the sweetness!

Dumpster turkey

Getting free stuff is all about being in the right place at the right time.

Last week, some friends of mine made a quick trip to the neighborhood grocery store to pick up a few small items. When they arrived, they were informed by the store employees that all the freezers had just broken, so all the frozen food had been thrown out. As my friends were leaving, a light bulb went off. "Let's check the dumpsters!" And sure enough, the dumpsters outside were filled to the brim with everything from the freezers inside - still frozen. They grabbed as much as they could carry, including several turkeys. The next day they feasted on what they dubbed "dumpster turkey" - as delicious as ever, especially since it was free!

You never know when you might stumble upon an incredible blessing like that. In the case of the dumpster turkey, it was simply about being in the right place at the right time - AND thinking creatively.

Another way to increase your odds of getting free stuff is helping your friends move, and/or being around when a neighbor is moving out. We recently helped two separate families move, and, just by being there, we turned into receptacles for a lot of useful stuff they couldn't fit or keep (shower curtain, shoe rack, baking sheets, diapers, wipes, dishwashing detergent, and more!).

When people are moving, they tend to reevaluate which of their belongings are really important enough to pack up and take with them. And a lot of their stuff ends up on the curb. I have given plenty of stuff a new home thanks to this "reevaluation": an artificial ficus tree, a leather chair, a bed headboard, a play kitchenette, and so much more that I'm forgetting right now. Once again, it's just all about being at the right place at the right time.

So, let's recap:

There's no magic formula, but these tips might help you end up stumbling upon a great deal:

• DO check the dumpsters at grocery stores, especially if there's been a recent power outage
• DO help your friends move, and
  
• DO pay attention to what might be on the curb!