Breast Cancer Awarness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month and already things are gearing up in stores and around the web for various charities to raise money for research, education and awareness causes. This is a subject that is so close to my heart it hurts just thinking about it.

I lost my beloved grandmother, my granny, to breast cancer when I was almost five years old.

That hurts to say. I still remember crying uncontrollably because I wouldn't get to see my grandmother again until I got to heaven. I loved my grandmother. I DIDN'T WANT TO WAIT THAT LONG.

So here's what you need to know:
1. I am participating in Saving 2nd Base which was started by Once A Month Mom and A Southern Fairytale. I'll be sharing my updated version of my grandmother's coconut cake. I say updated because my grandmother was an old school southern cook and she bought a coconut, cracked it open and used that. I'll be using coconut from a bag. I think you'll all thank me for that.

2. If you are uncomfortable with the words breast, boobs, tatas, boobies, etc then you are probably going to want to unfollow me for the month of October. It is ok, I understand.

3. I try very hard to control my language on the web and be sensitive to others sensitivities but breast cancer pisses me off. So I may say it sucks, I may call it a bitch. It's what I need to do to get through this month. This month is always HARD. Most days I don't think about all of the things that I missed because my grandmother died when I was so young, but this month it is in my face all the time everyday. That's ok because it is important to raise awareness, but it doesn't make it any less hard.

4. I will be talking about the uncomfortable things. I will be asking you when the last time you performed a self breast exam was. I'll encourage you to get your boobies squished. I'll suggest that you call every woman that you love and ask them the same questions.

BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT EARLY DETECTION. Early detection of breast cancer saves lives. Maybe if my grandmother had breast cancer today with all of the advancements that we have now... Maybe if she had known earlier...

My grandmother fought and won her battle with breast cancer the first time around. It came back. Breast cancer is a bitch. It robbed me of a childhood with a woman who was made to be a grandmother. It robbed me of experiences and memories, love and hugs and kisses. It robbed me of getting to bake with my grandmother, because my grandmother LOVED to bake. So this month I'll bake for her, in her memory and honor.

Proud of Myself Kaiser Sandwich Rolls for the Bread Machine

This weekend has brought a lot of time spent in my kitchen. I have made peach jam from peaches I peeled sliced and crushed myself, sweet and tender cream biscuits, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins and these kaiser rolls. In other words, I had a very successful and joyful weekend.

I love to spend time in my kitchen. It is how I relax. I love challenging myself to try new things and this weekend I tackled two new techniques: I made jam and kaiser rolls! This might sound bad to say but I am proud of what I have accomplished. I have not witnessed anyone make either of these types of things so I was flying completely alone. While I grew up watching my mother cook, she only made bread at holidays and I do not remember her ever making jam or preserves.

Enough of my pride, let's talk about these rolls! If you are looking for a sandwich bun you can stop looking right now. These are perfect and there is not one thing that could make them any better. They are light and fluffy but also sturdy, not to mention their wonderful taste. This is a recipe to make for company because they will smell up your whole house. I love it when my home smells like a bakery.

I adapted this recipe quite a bit but the original can be found here: Potato Buns
Here's what I did:

Proud of Myself Kaiser Sandwich Rolls for the Bread Machine

1 3/4 cups water
4 cups bread flour
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup potato flakes
2 Tablespoons dry milk powder
1 3/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast
2 eggs
1 teaspoon water
2 Tablespoons or to taste sesame seeds

Load ingredients into bread machine in order according to the instruction manual. Set to dough cycle.

At end of dough cycle remove from machine and punch down. Divide into 12 even portions. I find it helpful to use my kitchen scale for consistency.

Shape into Kaiser rolls. If you need help there is a very helpful video here: the right way to shape kaiser roll (This is a you tube video.)

Place onto parchment lined baking sheets. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 20 minutes. Make an egg wash by beating the eggs with the water to combine. Brush the tops and sides of risen rolls with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes (mine took 18), rotating sheet pans after 8 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Is there a recipe that you are proud of yourself for making? Please feel free to leave a link in the comments section!

(Picture to come)

Perfect potato salad

I have been searching for the perfect potato salad recipe for years. My husband doesn't eat potato salad so I make it for myself as a special treat when I make something that he likes that I do not. That means I get to make it exactly to my taste. Now that is my kind of recipe!

So after looking at dozens of recipes and trying out several here is what I came up with this afternoon. This is mostly a traditional southern recipe. It is practically perfect but I'll probably keep experimenting because that is just the way I am!

Ingredients:

3 pounds red skinned potatoes- skin left on
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 whole bread and butter pickle
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 small onion very finely minced (or you can do like Rachel Ray and grate it)


1. Place whole potatoes and cold water in a large pot and place on stove over high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium-high. Cook until tender. Drain. Allow to cool enough so that you can handle them. Cut potatoes into eighths.

2. Place eggs in same pot after you have run cold water over the pot to cool it. Fill pot with cold water at least one inch above the eggs. Add tablespoon of vinegar. Place on stove over high heat. Bring to rapid boil and remove from heat. Let sit for 15 minutes. Run under cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Remove peel. Dice the eggs into small even pieces.

3. Cut pickle into small half moons.

4. Combine mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.

5. Combine potatoes, eggs, pickles, mayo mixture and onion in a large bowl. Refrigerate for several hours and serve cold.

When did you learn to cook?

Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam posed that question today on her blog. Cooking is my passion so I was unable to formulate a quick response and did not want to take up tons of room in her comments so I am responding here in my own little corner of the internet. I hope that Jen will not mind. Please feel free to share your experiences and cooking history as well.

I hope I never stop learning to cook. It is one of my true joys in life. I love challenging myself to try a new technique or come up with a new recipe. I'm constantly "making things up in my head" as I call it and sometimes the results are disastrous but most of the time the result is nothing short of delicious.

I suppose the short answer would be that I inherited an ability to cook. Just as I inherited my curly hair from my grandfather or my fair skin from my father I believe that cooking is in my blood. Both of my grandmothers and my mother were/are wonderful cooks. I really believe that it is part of the southern small town culture that my parents grew up in. Things like that are so important to me. I am pretty passionate about southern culture and the things that make this corner of the world so different and divine. It's not just about flip flops and azaleas. (although L-O-V-E my azaleas)

My mother tells me that from the time I could talk I would inform her that I was going to have a TV show like Nathalie Dupree when I grew up. I was always in the kitchen with my mother keeping her company. She had a small TV in her kitchen that picked up ETV and we would watch cooking shows while she cooked each night's meals. I adored Julia Child and can still vividly remember watching her beat something with her rolling pin and thinking "wow that looks fun!"

In middle school I started begging my mother to let me help cook. I am sure before then I would help her stir something or put cake batter into the pan, peel potatoes or other such things but it was then that I started helping more with actual meal prep. I remember making pepper steak. I am not sure where I could possibly have had that since my mother didn't cook things like that. She cooked very "southern food." It was, of course, a recipe I made up in my head. It was very good, if a little spicy for some of the members of my family.

In high school I started grilling out for my family in the summer time. My dad did not so much appreciate this since he likes to grill but I am sure that my mother probably told him not to ruin a good thing as my helping out was highly encouraged by my mother. I will always be thankful to her for that.

I met my first high school boyfriend in home ec class. His mother made him take it because she wanted him to be prepared when it was time for him to be out on his own. I remember even at the time thinking that she was a mighty wise woman for that. He was a wonderful guy who treated me well and was very respectful and we took several more home ec and foods, as they were called, courses together even after we broke up because we maintained a great friendship for many years. I will always be thankful that my first boyfriend was such a great guy.

In high school I also tried 1.5 million chocolate chip cookie recipes one summer before deciding to ditch them all and come up with my own. Of course I didn't write it down but continued to make it during high school and beyond. I haven't made it in years and don't remember anything other than that it contained shortening, which is probably why I no longer make that recipe. Shortening= bad for you!

My early adult years were spent pretending that I didn't know how to cook so that my friends would cook for me. I loved trying all the different food that my new grown up friends made. Very few of them cooked traditional southern food so I enjoyed having my palate expanded to Indian food, Italian food and Asian food.

I remember cooking for my husband when we first met(I was 20 and that was nearly 8 years ago- side note where has all the time gone?!?) I already knew I wanted to marry him so I wanted to impress him with my cooking. I made potatoes from a box. I didn't know how easy it was to make homemade scalloped potatoes.

When I had decided that "THAT IS IT I AM READY TO BE ENGAGED DARN IT!" I made him "Engagement Chicken" by Glamor magazine. It worked, shortly thereafter we were engaged. It is the first recipe for roasted chicken I ever made and the one that still to this day that I base my own recipe on.

Once we were married I started cooking much more. I would say the turning points in my culinary "career" thus far were the trip that we took with his family to Italy when we were dating and our trip to Paris (again with his family) when we were newlyweds. I came back with a passion for those foods and a drive to learn to make them. Unfortunately I don't get to do so very often as my husband is a meat and potatoes kinda guy and then picky on top of that.

Poor guy was a transplant to this state and thought that he was marrying a woman that would cook him meat and potatoes southern food every night and he got a woman obsessed with different ethnic foods. Oh well. He's still well fed. :-)

Over the last few years I have made more and more yeast breads including my favorite recipe for bread, pizza dough, bagels, rolls, etc.

I'm still not very into making desserts. Maybe one day when I have more mouths to feed it will be more exciting but my husband's taste in desserts is as follows: fruit desserts and deserts containing peanut butter, butterscotch, or caramel. (ahem yuck) Mine are as follows: cheesecake, chocolate, pastries, frou frou french desserts such as creme brule. He finds those equally as yucky.

Right now I am focusing on meal planning, making sure that what we eat is balanced both at the meal, during the day and for the week and on making use of leftovers. I hate to waste!

I am also working on more slow cooker dinners because I reached a point where I needed to make things easier for myself.

I often remark to my husband that I really don't know what most couples our age eat since it seems that women don't cook anymore. Now that isn't meant to be sexist as my husband also loves to cook, but it is like a point was reached in the '80s when mamas started thinking their daughters wouldn't one day have families of their own!

I like to remind him how lucky he is to have a wife who knows how to cook. :-) I was just telling him that yesterday when I waved my magic spatula and turned yucky dried out leftover rotisserie chicken (that I did not make) into moist and delicious chicken croquettes.

I hope that cooking is never boring for me. I hope that I always enjoy learning new techniques and, God willing, I look forward to a day when I can pass on the family recipes and traditions to our next generation.

How to make Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup in 30 minutes

Today is the third part in my four part blog series entitled: One almost 5 pound chicken, three meals. We have already roasted a chicken and we have made chicken stock. Now we'll use the chicken stock and the leftover roasted dark meat from the chicken to make chicken noodle soup.

Not to toot my own horn but this is one recipe that I have truly mastered. It has become one of my signature dishes and I have made it for sick friends and family members. There is something about this soup that just seems to cure colds. I think it is all of the love I put in it! This is also one of my picky husband's favorite things. He definitely doesn't mind eating leftovers of this- as he is for lunch today.

This is a quick and easy recipe perfect for after a long work day when you want something warm and comforting with very minimal effort.

Here is what you need:

leftover chicken, torn into small pieces (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
2 quarts of chicken stock
1 cup sliced carrots
salt to taste (depends on how much is in your stock)
salt
pepper
Paprika
1 cup of pasta, any type

This recipe only had one step! Combine cold stock, chicken and carrots over high heat. Heat until boiling. Add salt, pepper and Paprika. Add pasta. Cook for approximately 12 minutes or until pasta and carrots are fully cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning. It is always better to put less salt and pepper than you think you will need because you can add more at this point. Serve.

Now, if I wasn't cooking for the world's pickiest eater I would add in celery and maybe some peas but it is already hard enough to pick out all the carrots for him. Add in any of your favorite vegetables and they will only make this better!

How to make chicken stock in your crock pot the lazy way

Here's the thing, I'm cheap, I'm busy, I'm picky and I'm tired. So I like to put in as little effort as possible to get really good results. I have applied this to my chicken stock recipe as well. I came up with this idea several years ago and then consulted Google, cookbooks and blogs and then decided just to wing it. I crafted a delicious and very easy recipe for chicken stock that I really enjoy. I have used it in all kinds of recipes, but my favorite way to use it is in chicken noodle soup.

I make this the lazy way. It cooks in my crock pot either while I am sleeping or while I am at work. It takes about 5 minutes to throw everything into my crock pot and I get about 3 quarts of chicken stock as a result.

Word of warning for the true tightwads: you can only use the bones once. We will be getting every last good thing from those bones so if you try to use them again the results won't be good. Trust me. I know from experience. ahem.

Here's what you will need:
Really big crock pot
chicken bones from roasted chicken
2 stalks of celery (not the bunch- the individual pieces pulled off of the bunch)
1 cup carrots (can use whole carrots or whole baby carrots)
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
7 whole peppercorns
1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
Water to fill to top of crock pot

Throw bones in bottom of crock pot. Wash celery stocks and place on top. No need to cut them and keep the leaves on. They taste good. Wash carrots really well. No need to peel or cut them if you are using whole carrots. Throw them in the crock pot. Cut onion in half. Leave skin on. This is the lazy way, remember? Throw in the crock pot. Throw in 4 cloves of garlic. Don't peel them just throw them in. Throw in paprika, peppercorns and salt. Then fill with water to the top. Cook on low until you have time to deal with it but at least 8 hours. I have cooked for 10 hours and then kept warm for several hours. You basically can not mess this up.

Remove the crock and let cool for about 30 minutes so that you can better handle everything. Use a straining spoon to remove everything that isn't liquid from the crockpot. Throw it away.

Put in a container (I use a pitcher and a mason jar) and put in the refrigerator overnight (or while you are at work if you cooked it overnight). The very little tiny bit of fat in this will rise to the top. Spoon it off and throw it away.

There you have it- wonderful, flavorful and easy chicken stock. If you keep things like carrots, celery, garlic and onions around the house this should probably cost you less than $1. You can store this in the refrigerator for 5 days or you can freeze it until kingdom come. I freeze it in plastic bags and then I lay them flat. That way I can just stack them up. I put 4 cups of stock in some bags and 2 cups of stock in other bags. Those are the amounts that most recipes call for.

Optional things that you can put into the stock at the beginning:
Parsley
Italian Seasoning

I hope that you enjoy this "recipe." This is part 2 of a 4 part blog series entitled: 1 almost 5 pound chicken, three meals I hope that you will check out the first posting below.

One almost 5 pound chicken, three delicious meals

Are you in on the secret? No, I'm not taking about that book that describes how to wish things into being. *eye roll* I am talking about cooking from your pantry and fridge/freezer. Everything I need to make for this series was found in my own house. Three complete meals (plus leftovers) from what I have already in my house. The chicken came from the full size freezer in my garage. I purchased it in November 2009 for $2.41. This week I will be sharing with you one way to cook once and eat three different meals from the leftovers.

When we first got married my husband informed me that he did not like leftovers. Well, I started brainstorming because, as a family of two, we have a lot of leftovers. Americans waste so much food by letting leftovers and other foods go bad and I didn't want us to contribute to that. (Here's an article by The Discovery Channel) So I decided that rather than serve my husband roasted chicken three nights in a row I would come up with a plan to "re-make" the leftovers into a completely new meal. Also, we are snobs and only really like eating white meat. We can save a ton of money by buying a whole chicken rather than just the breasts so I needed a way to "hide" the dark meat to make us want to eat it. Thus, the roasted chicken to chicken stock to chicken soup to chicken salad journey began.

Since I started cooking this way it has become one of my favorite time and money saving tricks. Last night I got home from work, prepped my chicken (I'll tell you more about that later) and then put it in the oven to roast for about 1 hour, 40 minutes. The first night that I make roasted chicken I make mashed potatoes and gravy to go with it.

How I roast chicken- a tutorial by a semi-OCD germ freak

You will need:
1 chicken- take out and throw away the nastiness that is stuffed in the cavity. Try not to look at it. Wash your hands 5 times and try to forget it ever existed.
Paper towels
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
Seasoning mix (example: garlic herb, lemon pepper, etc use your favorite)
kosher salt (only a little if the seasoning mix contains any)
freshly ground pepper (life is too short to use fake pepper from a can)
1 teaspoon paprika (I don't care what other kind of seasoning you use- you need paprika because it tastes good and it give the chicken a nice color)
1 lemon cut into 4 chunks
1 small onion cut into 4 chunks
2 cloves garlic- don't cut just smash it
1 basting brush
something to roast the chicken in- sometimes I use a large corning ware oval dish last night I used a 9X13 nonstick pan
oven mitts (duh)
cutting board
foil
really sharp knife
1 small saucepan
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
whisk
mashed potatoes-use your own recipe

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dry off the outside of the chicken really well using paper towels. This is what will allow you have a crispy golden skin. Throw away the paper towels and wash your hands 5 times.

Step 2:
Combine your seasoning blend, the salt, the pepper and the paprika in a small ramekin. Put the olive oil in another ramekin. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle the seasoning mix one with one hand and use the other to rub it in. Use the same hand to flip the chicken. Use the "clean hand" to brush olive oil on the other side and then sprinkle with the seasoning mix. Use your "dirty hand" to rub it in. Use your "dirty hand" to put the chicken in the roasting pan breast side up. Use your "dirty hand" to shove the lemon, onion and garlic into the chicken cavity.

Step 3:
Wash your hands 5 times and swear that you will never again roast a chicken because surely it cannot be worth all this (5 minutes of) effort. Place chicken into oven. Set timer for 1 hour, 40 minutes. Go sit on the couch and watch TV and try to forget that you just touched a raw chicken.

Step 4:
With 30 minutes to go on the oven start making your mashed potatoes and any other side dish that requires cooking. Tip: you don't have to cook salad- I'm just saying. You've done enough with touching the raw chicken.

Step 5:
Take chicken out of oven. Test for doneness. Remove from roasting pan to cutting board and tent with foil.

Step 6:
Finish mashed potatoes. Keep warm.

Step 7:
Pour juices and tasty bits into a small sauce pan. Combine butter and flour into a paste using a fork. Whisk into the chicken juices. If gravy is too thick add chicken stock (it usually is too thick).

Step 8:
Carve chicken (there are how to videos all over the Internet). Our family of two eats one and a half breasts. Serve roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. Moan because it is so good. Be forced to share with any furry children that live in your house, especially one large cat with a chicken addiction.

After dinner remove all of the leftover meat from the bones. Set aside leftover breast meat for chicken salad. Set aside all the dark meat for chicken noodle soup.

Save the bones! Throw them in a bag and store in the refrigerator. Tomorrow we'll make chicken stock in our crock pot while we work.

The Best Biscuits I have ever eaten

About a year ago I was perusing my Google Reader when I happened upon a recipe for soft, tender, fluffy biscuits made without shortening. I was so excited as cutting shortening into flour ranks as #2 on my list of things I hate to do in the kitchen. In case you are wondering, peeling things is #1.

These biscuits contain no fats or liquid other than heavy cream. Now, reader, in case you don't know butter is made by beating heavy cream until your arm falls off. Alternatively, you can put it in a mason jar and shake it until your arm falls off. So don't go thinking these are healthy for you or anything.

I have made these biscuits several times over the last year and they never disappoint. Be careful top work them only as much as you absolutely need to so that you don't overdevelop the gluten and make hockey pucks instead of biscuits. Gluten basically is the stuff in bread that makes yeast breads chewy. Great if you are making pizza dough... not so great if you are trying to make fluffy biscuits.

I found this recipe on the Delish blog but the original recipe is from Cooks Illustrated. I would have been happy to provide a link to Cooks Illustrated directly, however I'm not willing to subscribe to their website in order to do so. :-)

Cream Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk dry ingredients together in medium bowl. Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms, about 30 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead the dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch thick circle. Cut the biscuits into rounds using a 2 or 2-1/2″ biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

The baking sheet can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Yields: 1 dozen 2″ biscuits

Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Pecan Oatmeal

I am sorry for the lack of updates lately. My mother had surgery a couple of weeks ago and is still at a rehab facility getting better every day! I have been running around like a mad woman visiting her, washing her clothes, finding books for her and also taking care of my husband and household. I have been exhausted, to say the least, and haven't really been cooking. If I have cooked it has been the most basic and simple things known to man. Like grilled cheese sandwiches. If y'all need a recipe for grilled cheese sandwiches then you need more help than I can provide. :-)

One thing that I really like to do is to make hot breakfasts on the weekends, especially if my husband isn't working. During the week we grab muffins that I thaw from the freezer or granola bars so it is nice to have something warm once in a while. It is even better when I can make a healthy, filling breakfast that is cheap!

Penny for penny homemade oatmeal is one of the best things that your money can buy. First of all, it is cheap! I have gotten all kinds of deals this winter for old fashioned rolled oats, my oatmeal preference. Second of all, oatmeal is very, very healthy. I'm not a nutritionist so if you want more information I suggest you consult Dr. Google as I have heard it called (by OHmommy of www.classychaos.com she is hilarious!).

Here's my own recipe for oatmeal

1 apple (use your favorite)
1 3/4 cups milk
big pinch of kosher or sea salt
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
1 cup old fashioned quick cooking (not instant) oats
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pecans

1. Peel, core and finely dice apple. Set aside.

2. In a medium sauce pan heat milk to boiling. Add in the dried cranberries, the cinnamon and the apple while milk is heating up.

3. Once the milk is boiling add in the oats. Reduce heat and stir often until cooked, 3-5 minutes. If you notice the oats look very dry right away you may need to add a bit more milk, up to 1/4 cup more.

4. While the oats are cooking toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat, watching them very carefully. They will burn quickly so err on the side of under toasted if this is your first time toasting nuts on top of the stove.

5. When the oats are done, remove from heat and allow to sit for a couple of minutes. Dish up into bowls and top with toasted pecans.

It doesn't get much easier, cheaper, healthier or yummier than this!

What is your favorite breakfast food? Do you have any time saving tips for making a hot breakfast during the week? I would love to hear from you!

Sauteed Zucchini

I love zucchini and my favorite way to prepare it is by thinly slicing it into coins, battering it and deep frying it. That is not exactly health conscious though and it is MESSY. So I was thinking of what I really like about that recipe and decided to take those elements and make a sauteed version that would be lower in fat and just as yummy. This is what I came up with:

Sauteed Zucchini

3 small Zucchini
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

1. Cut off ends of zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. Then slice into 1/4 inch thick half moon slices.
2. Heat olive oil in small stainless steel fry pan over medium heat until very hot.
3. Add zucchini, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
4. Cook, stirring sparingly until zucchini is softened and lightly browned.
5. If desired, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

I served this the other night with my Ham and Cheese Quiche so I did not sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

I love to make quiche. It is my absolute favorite way to use up leftovers. Well, maybe pizza is. Ok if I never ate anything besides quiche and pizza (and ice cream) for the rest of my life I could be happy. But if I did, then I wouldn't have all these yummy leftovers to use up!

As I told you earlier this week I bought 20 packages of cheese over the weekend. I also had some leftover ham and I always have eggs so the first thing that came to mind was ham and cheese quiche.

I remember as recently as a year ago I would buy a frozen pie crust and think that I was getting a good deal because it was only $1.00. Ha! I don't love making my own and I certainly don't love washing my 25 year old non dishwasher safe food processor, or as I like to call it the tank, but I sure do love those savings!

I use the Better Homes and Gardens single pie crust recipe. Since I follow the directions exactly, I'll just link to that recipe.

Here is my own original "filling" recipe:

7 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

6 ounces cheddar cheese, 2 ounces reserved

1 cup diced ham

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp mustard powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp pepper (please do not use fake pepper in the can)

pinch garlic powder

1 prebaked pie crust

1. Prebake the pie crust according to the recipe.

2. Whip eggs & milk together until they are light and frothy.

3. Add all other ingredients except for the 2 ounces of reserved cheddar cheese, stir together until well combined.

4. Pour into prebaked pie crust.

5. Sprinkle remaining 2 ounces cheese over top of quiche.

6. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 1 hour.

7. Let cool 10 minutes before serving to allow the quiche to fully set.

I am going to start adding serving suggestions to my recipe posts because that is something that always interests me on the blogs that I read. I love reading what others serve with things. It just gives me so many ideas!

Serving suggestions:

Citrus Spinach Salad

basic chopped salad

sauteed zucchini

An example of why I use coupons & shop sales

Hubs and I eat a lot of cheese. I mean A LOT. We love quesidillas for quick dinners or lunches and grilled cheese sandwiches frequently make an appearance on our dinner table with tomato soup. That isn't even counting pizza night or one of our favorite meals... my homemade macaroni & cheese.

I logged onto Southern Savers yesterday and just about fell out of my chair when I realized that I could make money buying Kraft cheese, but only for that one day. I don't exactly like shopping on Sunday and I certainly don't like planning last minute trips but I felt the results would be worth it. Well I just finished doing all the math, and friends let me tell you it was SO worth it. I'll break down my transactions for you below.

I just want to give another shout out to Money Saving Mom and Life As Mom for hosting the eat from the pantry challenge. If I had not participated there is no way that I would have been able to purchase 20 bars/bags of Kraft cheese yesterday.

I made two trips to two different Krogers and did a total of four transactions. The first Kroger was in the afternoon and it was crowded and they were almost out of cheese. The second Kroger is where I go if I have trouble finding things. It is a little out of my way but if the deals are great I think it is worth it. I made that stop on my way home from my parents' house.

I bought 20 bars/bags of cheese but I only got 5 from the store that was running low. I got the other 15 at 10:30 the day the Catalina deal ended and that store still had plenty of cheese left. Sure I would have loved to do everything that afternoon, but I believe in being courteous to other shoppers.

1st transaction:
3 bars cheese
2 bags cheese
1 Tazo chai (not mega)
1 Pillsbury Toaster Struedel
1 Daisy sour cream
1 chex mix
1 snyders
1 punch (not mega)
1 Krusteaz muffins

Total spent: $9.41
Total saved: $25.57
Catalina: $5.00

#2:
5 bars cheese
1 goldfish
1 ICBINB
1 Nature valley nut clusters
1 Quaker chewy granola bar

Total: $.09
Saved: $32.45
Catalina: $5.00

#3:
1 Wheat Thins
1 Ritz
4 Rotel
5 bars cheese
Total: $3.15
Saved: $17.70
Catalina: $5.00

#4:
5 bars cheese
2 Halls
2 Rotel
1 goldfish
1 Green Giant Steamfresh
hmmm it appears that I messed up & shouldn't have gotten my $5 off but its there so are the halls part of the deal? Anyways, it was an error I wasn't trying to cheat.
Total: $1.57
Saved: 19.85
Kroger card: $5.00 (catalina wouldn't print I'm fine with them doing it this way)

Total spent (pre-tax to determine percentage saved) : $13.25
Total saved: $100.57 (includes $5.00 gift card)
Saved percentage: 88%

If you want information on how I got such great deals please go visit Jenny at Southern Savers. She has all the best match ups for the southern region each week. She puts a ton of time & effort into her website and gives us all the information we could ever need for FREE. I can't say enough great things about Jenny!

Please help Haiti

I just finished a large mug of hot cocoa while watching one of my favorite shows. I'm nice and toasty warm in my home cuddled up with my dogs. My husband is in the next chair over laughing along with me to the show. We're safe. We're provided for. But tonight in a tiny country far away there are many, many people in danger. Without food. Without comfort. Without a home. They need our help. They need our prayers. They need our support.

Tomorrow my husband and I will be making a donation to The Salvation Army to assist in their relief efforts. Won't you please consider making a donation too? There are many great relief agencies out there on the front lines right now doing everything they can to help. Right now, while I sit at home and sip my cocoa.

Tonight and every night for the foreseeable future I'll be keeping the people of Haiti in my prayers. Won't you consider praying with me?

There are many bloggers today who are making donations for every blog entry linked up on their sites. I am especially touched by Money Saving Mom's efforts in organizing these donations and in her & her husband's very generous donation of $10.00 per blog link today. She always tells us that they live like no one else so that they can give like no one else and I think we are seeing today exactly what she is talking about. I'll be linking this post up to:

Mommy Snacks

The Diaper Diaries

Lamp Unto My Feet

Scrapbook of Sorts

Mom's Toolbox

Cha-ching on a Shoestring

Thrifty Northwest Mom

Saving Money Plan

The Happy Housewife

4 Hats and Frugal

Cincinnati Coupons

Baby Goodbuys

Another Mom's View

The King's Court

The Frugal Girl

Mrs. Moneysaver

SwagGrabber

Puget Sound Prudence

Saving Money in Missouri

Heavenly Homemakers

Pennies and Blessings

Faithful Provisions

She Saved

Saving with Amy

The Prudent Patron

I Heart Publix (side note: this happens to be one of my favorite blogs)

Frugal Living and Having Fun

A High and Noble Calling

Sharpen Your Scissors

Cincinnati Cents

Coupon Lady Online

Common Sense With Money

The Homespun Heart

Ava's Mom

Bargain Blessings

Coupon Geek

The Gothros

Saving Bits and Pieces

The Suburban Tree Hugger

My Litter of Six

"Deal"ightful Savings

Sixth Cents Savings

Really Are You Serious?

Christian Frugal Mom

Sharpen Your Scissors

The Krazy Coupon Lady

The Stearns' Weekly News

Making Time For Mommy

The Simple Life of the Boreings

The Frugal Find

The Coupon Basics

My Fave Deals

Thrifty on the Dollar

My Blessed Life (Myra is my bloggy homegirl)

Kingdom First Mom

The Thrifty Couple

Frugal Living NW

My Pet Savings

Mama's Laundry Talk

Frugal Follies

The Haney Life

Covenant Homemaking

Coupon Teacher

Mommie Cheapest

Please note: I typed all of these in by hand. If I messed up your blog's name or link please let me know and I will be happy to fix it. Thank you all so much for your generous donations.

Guest post from Katie of Frugal Femina

Guest Post by Katie Hostetter at Frugal Femina

If you follow me on Twitter, you know exactly what the word "mamavation" means, because I have been eating, sleeping, and breathing it since I applied on January 1st. I am fortunate to have some followers left! :-) Basically, it's a 7-week boot camp to help 2 moms get fit in 2010, and it's supported by Smooth Fitness, Earth Footwear, EA SPORTS Active, Gaiam, Bookie Boo, and MomTV. The team gives you a ton of support with a nutritional plan, a fitness program, and much more! You can watch my application video and read all about my lil' journey over at Frugal Femina.

I am so blessed to have made it into the top 5 finalists. Now I need you to vote daily so I can make it into the final 2! I already shared my measurements with thousands of people, so you know I am committed! ;-) But seriously, this is all part of my quest to make 2010 one of the most positive years ever. I'm finishing up my last semester of nursing school, reading through the Bible in 90 days, taking care of Xon and Bradley {aka Hubs and Little Munchkin}, and trying to take care of myself, too! I'm not Superwoman, but I do want to focus on good things this year and surround myself with good friends and family.

So I'm hopin' you'll cheer me on and head on over to Mamavation and vote. You can vote once a day from each IP address through the 21st. And I won't mind a bit if you happen to spread the word amongst your friends. :-) Maybe I can encourage you all along the way! Mamavation is a great network of support, and you can be involved whether you have 200 pounds to lose or 0. We all need to stay healthy and fit!

Special thanks to Andrea at Mommy Snacks for being my Fit Friend and encouraging me throughout this campaign.

Eating from the Pantry check-in

Happy Monday! Here's my update:

Wednesday: Made pizza and citrus spinach salad for dinner.

Thursday: Packed breakfast and lunch for hubs & me. Made burritos, refried beans & corn for dinner.

Friday: Packed breakfast and lunch for hubs. I had nachos with leftover ingredients from the burritos for lunch when I got home from work (I leave work early on Fridays). For dinner we went out to eat as was planned. It is a very long and complicated story involving how a "restaurant" turned into a "bar" and thus no longer has a kitchen to make food in. So couldn't use a restaurant.com gift certificate. We went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday because I had a coupon for $5.00 off (it was one from the buy a gift card get a coupon promotion they were running at Christmas). Then in the paper yesterday there were buy one get one free coupons for Ruby Tuesday. Hubs and I both thought that was funny that such a good coupon would come out two days after we ate there. Anyways, moving on...

Saturday: Packed lunch & breakfast for hubs. I was home so ate breakfast and lunch there. For dinner made Mandarin Orange Chicken from Trader Joes and Steamfresh Rice both from our freezer. I told hubs that we're going to Trader Joe's next week and I'm buying case loads of that Mandarin Chicken. So good! Also, I was really impressed with the Steamfresh rice, especially since it was free thanks to the powers of couponing. Oh and we also had pineapple.

Sunday: BFF came over to hang out and brought lunch for us (hubs was at work). After hubs got home in the middle of the afternoon he was feeling snacky so I made homemade popcorn. Oh golly is that good! For dinner I made Falling Off The Bone Chicken Wings, Brown Rice Pilaf, steamed carrots and pineapple again. What can I say, I love pineapple!

I packed both of us breakfast and lunch today. Hubs is working late so not sure yet what I'll do about dinner but I might go ahead and make the hot dogs and chili anyways. Later in the week I have leftover nights scheduled. I don't have any leftovers so I might roast a chicken or make the balsamic chicken that I haven't made yet.

I know I'm not exactly following my meal plan but I like having flexibility when I need it. For example, hubs loves Hamburger Helper so I make it for him every once in a while and had that planned for dinner last night. When I knew that my BFF was coming over I changed the plans to wings (which really are awesome y'all) 'cause I ain't 'bout to be serving no company no Hamburger Helper. I'm jus' sayin'.

How have y'all been doing with your challenge?

My shopping trip this week

If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome! I am eating from the pantry along with Money Saving Mom and Life As Mom (and about 800 others!) so my shopping is limited this month. I just couldn't resist scooping up the deals you see below. I hope that you'll leave me a comment letting me know you stopped by and please come visit me again!

I made a run to Publix on Wednesday this week. I didn't really want to go on Wednesday but they changed the day of their penny item and I just can't resist free stuff. I mean if I am going to buy stuff anyways might as well get something for free to go with it, right?

Here's what I bought:
Publix Tortilla chips- penny item
Cascadian Farms French Fries- we had an avalance from our inside freezer this week and neither of us noticed a bag that fell behind our trashcan. It melted overnight and had to be tossed. There are several meals this week that call for french fries and I got these for $1.00.
Cascadian Farms Tater tots- also $1.00 probably going to make tater tot casserole with cream of mushroom soup and hamburger at some point over the next couple of months. Neither of us has ever had it but I have lots of cream of mushroom soup and hamburer to use.
Wonda gummies X2- free
DiGiorno Flatbread Pizzas X2- was confused about price. Thought they would be $.25/ea and for that price couldn't resist for lunch for hubs on a day when I really don't feel like packing one. Ended up being $1.25, still a good deal
Lenders bagels X2- I prefer making my own but I'm out and at $.50/ea the price was too good not to buy
Stoneyfield Farms yogurt X6- my favorite yogurt. I don't feel bad about buying it at all. At $.13/ea I'm pretty sure it was about the same cost as making my own (which I have done before!)
4 Bartlett pears- $.88/lb
1 Lysol Neutr Air- will be donating to work. I print coupons there and then donate some office things in return. It is a win-win situation!
I spent: $9.47, saved $22.75, of which $14.58 was coupons!

I also asked hubs to go by Aldi yesterday to buy a couple of things
He bought:
2 bags of oranges (I think they are 3 lb each)
1 package mushrooms
He spent around $5.00 (he's at work. I'll update later with exact amount)

So there is my spending for the week. To see how I got such great prices at Publix go to Southern Savers or I Heart Publix.

For Aldi deals go to Deal Seeking Mom.

Eat from the Pantry Challenge - Yummy Homemade Pizza & Citrus Spinach Salad

Disclaimer: My husband typed and partially wrote this post. If you note a presence of sarcasm that isn't usually here, that is why. Thanks for he help hubs!

Last night for dinner we had pepperoni and pineapple pizza and citrus spinach salad. I am really enjoying making some of our favorite meals straight from our pantry.

I tried a new recipe for the pizza dough with mixed results. I can't believe that only about a year ago I was scared of yeast and now I'm an old pro at making homemade pizza.



I used the recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook Celebrating the Promise edition (the pink ribbon one). The recipe calls for you to do things a little bit differently with adding the flour in the mixer, and while I appreciate the shorter rise time, I had a hard time getting everything to come together. I will probably make this again, but I will modify it to make it easier for me. I think that I will add more of the flour at the beginning.

I love throwing together salads with leftover ingredients, and since I had some spinach left over from our New Year's dinner, I knew it would be great to use for a throw-together spinach salad last night.


When Hubs and I were at Trader Joe's [HEART!] for our epic fail on Saturday, we bought the most wonderful orange I have ever eaten (organic, and only 59 cents!). Wish I had bought a caseload. I begged asked Hubs to save me a segment or two for my salad. He grudgingly agreed, but then fed a segment to the dogs! HMPH!

Citrus Spinach Salad
Serves 1

1 cup spinach, whole leaf, stems removed
2 segments navel orange, pith removed
1 T smoked almonds
1/2 tsp pear white balsamic vinegar

1. Place spinach in a small bowl.
2. Cut orange segment into bite sized pieces.
3. Top with smoke almonds and vinegar.

Pizza Dough
From Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook Celebrating the Promise Edition p. 150

2 1/2 - 3 c. all purpose flour
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water (120-130 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 T cooking oil or olive oil

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 c. of the flour, the yeast, and the salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total). Divide dough in half, cover; Let rest for 10 minutes.

This is supposed to make 2 pizzas, but because Hubs likes thick pan crusts, I only use it for 1. I have found the miracle trick for making your yeast rise in the winter: Stainless steel nesting bowls. Put the dough in the smaller nesting bowl and put HOT water in the larger bowl. Nest the smaller bowl in the larger bowl and cover with a towel. Make sure to check before the rise is supposed to be done 'cause those suckers get to workin' when they're nice and toasty warm!

Eat from the Pantry- How've I been doing?

Just a quick little update to let y'all know how I've been doing.

Monday: packed breakfast and lunch for hubs and me. For dinner we had a Hormel Turkey Dinner (http://www.hormel.com/products/refrigerated/HormelRefrigeratedEntrees.aspx) It was ok but we both agreed that mine is better but it sure doesn't take 4 minutes to heat up. :-)

Tuesday: packed breakfast and lunch for hubs and me. For dinner we were supposed to have meatloaf muffins but I was going to switch and have pizza instead since we had mashed potatoes with our turkey the night before. Instead, my in-laws took us out to dinner. Cracker Barrell is never a bad thing!

Wednesday: I skipped breakfast. Didn't pack lunch but hubs is home so he can eat some of the massive quantity of cereal residing in our pantry. I grabbed the January coupon from my Chick-fil-A calendar so I had chicken noodle soup. It was good. I am making that pizza tonight and Crystal's muffins.

I haven't shopped since my trip to Trader Joes. I do want some of those Aldi oranges and some Romaine lettuce though. The new ads in my area start today and I am dying a little on the inside to not be able to get some of these good deals I just keep repeating: "sales are cyclical, sales are cyclical. These deals will come again."

How are you all doing with the challenge?

Eat from the pantry update already thinking about next month and beyond

When I sat down last week to write out my month long plan I struggled to come up with the final 10 meals. But since then, I seem to have ideas all the time. So I'm going to write some of them down here because I can and should still draw from my freezer and pantry after this challenge is over so that I use up what I have instead of always using the new stuff and letting the things buried go to waste.

Here are some meal ideas. I'll update this post as I think of more:

Falling Off the Bone Chicken Wings- these are by far my favorite wings ever. I would rather make these at home than go out to eat for wings. When I think of wings these are the ones I want. Can you tell I really love them? I always serve them with pineapple because the flavors just seem to go together. I have several packs of wings in the depths of my freezer and the other ingredients (except ketchup... I'm almost out!) so this would have made a good recipe for this month too.
Here's the link to the recipe:
http://dinnerwithmikeandjen.blogspot.com/2008/07/falling-off-bone-chicken-wings-recipe.html

Bourbon Chicken- we love this and I have everything I need to make it (ya know except ketchup). I also serve this with pineapple. I guess I just really like pineapple
Here's the link:
http://dinnerwithmikeandjen.blogspot.com/2008/07/bourbon-chicken-recipe-from-krashed.html
By the way you should really check out the other recipes from Amber's Kitchen. That is one of my favorite food blogs!

Sweet & Sour Chicken- again I already have everything I need. I haven't posted this recipe. I'm not even sure where I got it from to give credit so not sure I'll post that.

Hibachi steak and fried rice- this is Michael's specialty. I like Michael specialties because then I get a night off from cooking!

Can you tell we like Asian food or what?!?

update 1/9/10 I thought of more:
Chicken Parmigiana
Sweet & Sour smoked sausage
chicken bacon ranch pizza
hash brown quiche
beef/chicken/pork fried rice
Sesame Ginger ribs (Asian style of course) & (crock pot)
One pan spaghetti
baked ziti
slow simmered garlic pork chops (crock pot)
Scalloped Potatoes w/ ham (would have to buy potatoes but will need a bag by then anyways)
Oven Fried Chicken (my mom's recipe-so good!)
Nana's Hamburger Gravy (not my nana someone else on Allrecipes or somewhere. Like sausage gravy but with hamburger... so yummy on biscuits!)
Italian Sausage and Potatoes
Chicken fingers with honey sauce
Meatloaf Patties
Pulled Pork (crock pot)
Beef Stew (I don't care what I have to buy to make it... I'm CRAVING it)
Chili (perfect for a cold winter night!)
Baked Potato Soup- Still working on finding that perfect soup that tastes rich and fattening for hubs but is light enough for me.

Now just need to think of a few ways to use sweet potatoes that hopefully hubs will eat. I would also like to think of a way to use some of these yummy Muir Glen tomatoes that I have sitting in my pantry. They are my absolute favorite canned tomato ever and since, thanks to the power of couponing, I get them free all the stinking time, I refuse to buy anything else.

Also, I have tons of instant oatmeal (the stuff in the packets) that I would like to find a way to use. Since we only really eat breakfast at home on the weekends and then I like to make something hot & homemade I have a ton that I've gotten for free or close to it and haven't been using. Unfortunately most of the boxes have been opened (since they're different flavors) with one or two packets removed so I can't donate any. I have made oatmeal muffins before so I was thinking of substituting a package of that for the uncooked rolled oats called for in that recipe. I'll do some experimenting and let you know.

Eat from the pantry challenge update- how I've been doing- Epic Fail

I have had some success and one gigantic failure so far in the eat from the pantry challenge.

Jan 1- packed hubs lunch & breakfast for work, I was off so I ate leftovers at home for lunch, made beans & greens for dinner (http://dinnerwithmikeandjen.blogspot.com/2010/01/beans-greens-for-new-year-southern.html)

Jan 2- had breakfast in the car on the way to NC. Made Jimmy Dean brown & serve sausages that I had in my freezer and chocolate croissants also from my freezer. Met friends in Charlotte, NC for lunch, ate out lunch, got coffee, drove through for dinner on the way home.

Now, my big failure comes in the form of a sweet surprise from my husband. I have always been mildly obsessed with Trader Joe's. To the point that I email them every 6 months or so and beg for them to build a store where I live. Afterall, there are stores in GA & stores in NC. It would seem that SC is the next logical step, no? So we were going to be there and hubs decided that we were going and I was going to get everything I ever wanted. My in-laws go up a couple of times a year and bring back wonderful things so I had an idea of what I wanted (more chocolate croissants, mini croissants, 2 buck chuck, etc). Spent: almost $76.00 Epic Fail

Jan 3- I packed hubs lunch & breakfast because he worked, I was at home and ate leftovers all day. Was going to make chicken for dinner but it's a really long story involving thinking that I would need to hold it back to make for next Sunday to make for best friend and her boyfriend to come to dinner but now don't need to because he's an ex-boyfriend. Plus, hubs was working WAY late and it's no fun to eat a dinner like that alone. Made hubs a grilled cheese sandwich when he got home. Don't feel bad for him. He loves grilled cheese.

Jan 4- packed lunch & breakfast for me & for hubs. Making a turkey Hormel dinner tonight because noticed that I need to go ahead and use it. Using leftover mashed potatoes from New Year's Eve dinner.

Schedule will resume tomorrow and I've gotta make some muffins tonight because I just can't live without Crystal's pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2009/06/baking-day-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins.html)

Beans & Greens for the New Year- a southern tradition

Please note: There isn't much of a recipe for the way I make my beans & greens so I've put the discription of what I do in purple down at the bottom.

If you've taken a look around this here blog of mine you may have noticed a distinct lack of posts related to the part of the country in which I live. There is a reason for that... I like to try new things! Sometimes though, it is good to give in to tradition and have those familiar foods from one's childhood. New Years Day is just one of those occasions. In my family we always had black eyed peas, collards & rutabaga for New Years Day dinner. Now I don't think the rutabaga was for any other reason than that my daddy just likes them. There are many reasons why you eat beans and greens on New Years Day and many stories for what they stand for. Here are the reasons that I was always told:

The beans represent your coin money and if you want to have some coins jingling around in your pocket for the new year you better eat yourself some beans on New Years Day.

The beans are always cooked with pork (duh what does a southerner not cook with pork?) and that represents several things. First, you want to live high on the hog and second, it is physically impossible, or so I have been told, for a pig to turn its head around and look behind it. Therefore, it is always looking forward just as we should not worry about the hard times of last year but look forward to the good times in the new year.

The greens represent your paper money and I think we all want to be having some of that in our wallet. It is said that the more you eat the more money you'll have.

For more info please see The Southern Plate: http://www.southernplate.com/2009/12/black-eyed-peas-for-new-years-day-and-why.html for your history lesson (I always learn something new there!) and her reasons for eating your beans on New Years Day.

Instead of black eyed peas I make pinto beans at the request of my husband. I would prefer the black eyed peas but since I want us both to have some change jingling in our pockets I make pinto beans so he'll eat them too.

I like the one hour soak method just because.

Put your beans in the bottom of a large pot, cover with water to one inch above the beans, bring to a boil uncovered, cover, remove from heat and let sit an hour. Drain the icky water off of them.

Now, the water that I actually cook the beans in I like to simmer all day with the ham hock in it. I don't cook my beans all day. Once they've been soaked they only need to cook for about an hour. If I just put the ham hock in with the beans for an hour the beans wouldn't pick up as much of the ham flavor. So I simmer the bone in the water that I'm going to cook the beans in all day, then I take it out, remove the ham and then put the ham and the water in with the beans to simmer about an hour. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cornbread for sopping up the juices.

Now to a southerner greens usually mean collards (although turnip greens also pass) but well, here's the thing, I don't like them! I do like Spinach though and last time I checked it was green. So I just take a handful, remove the steams and throw them in a little skillet with a drop of two of olive oil, a sprinkle of kosher salt and a grind of pepper. I just wilt them down a bit and they're done in a matter of moments.

So there you go, that's what we ate for the New Year!