"Cheaper, Better, Faster" by Mary Hunt

When I first received this book I wasn't sure what to expect.  I've thumbed through several "tips" books and have found them to be less than helpful.  I was thoroughly expecting to be frustrated by this book.  I didn't think that the book was going to be that useful.  I have always had a difficult time sifting through the tips offered in these kinds of books as either the organization of the material is not useful or the information itself is mundane.  Imagine my surprise when I found myself actually learning a few things while going through Mary Hunt's book.  I even found myself enjoying her book.  I am definitely glad that I own a copy of it.  This is a great book to keep for some light reading.  It is definitely not something that I would just sit down and read from cover to cover.  I would keep a copy in the bathroom and thumb through a few pages at a time.  I promise that you will learn some things that you didn't know.  Here are some of the helpful tips that I learned while perusing it's pages over the last month:

ROAST - faster with the bone
A roast with the bone in will cook faster than a boneless roast.  The bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast, so it cooks more quickly. 

MAKEUP - blush color
to find the right shade of blush, check the color of your skin after exercising and try to match that color.  Blush should add a healthy glow, not introduce a foreign color.

MEDICAL FACILITIES - avoid Fridays
Friday is the most expensive day to check into the hospital.  Hospital labs usually close for the weekend, and you may waste 2 1/2 days and a lot of money just waiting for the labs to open on Monday.  If you must be admitted for surgery, insist that you go in the day of the surgery.  An early admittance will run up your bill and is usually for the convenience of the staff, not the patient.

REMEDIES - bee sting pain
To soothe bee stings, immediately wet the spot and cover with salt.

HICCUPS - getting rid of them
Eating a teaspoon of sugar gets rid of hiccups in a flash.

SHOWER DOORS - soap scum
Apply a dab of ordinary cooking oil to a damp sponge and use it to remove soap scum from your shower doors.  Rinse the doors well. Cooking oil will also prevent soap scum buildup.

BUGS AND SUCH - fruit flies
Set out a small dish of vinegar that contains a few drops of detergent to repel fruit flies.

GARAGE SALE - coffee
People will stay longer and be in a better mood if you serve coffee, and -who knows- you might even sell the coffeepot.

The above is just a sampling of the tidbits that I found useful.  You will most likely find other tips useful.  I was really surprised by how helpful this book really was.  I will certainly keep it around as a reference as it was pretty easy to navigate.  The book is divided into chapters and within those chapters the book is divided alphabetically by topic.  An index would have been helpful, however, it might have taken up too much space because of the number of tips and the variety of topics.

So, my summation.  I think it is worth it to actually purchase this book.  I found the tips to be worth the price of the book.  I give the book a solid 3.5 stars out of 5.

Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

A Farmer's Daughter: Recipes from a Mennonite Kitchen

I really think that I would like Dawn Stoltzfus if I met her.  She is a down-to-earth person who seems to enjoy cooking and spending time with her family.  Her upbringing on a farm in Ohio with fresh ingredients makes me jealous.  I grew up in Los Angeles with 6 million people and lots of concrete.  I didn't see my first tomato plant until I was 29 years old.  I tended my first garden when I moved to TX that same year.  It was a joy to have fresh produce and see the fruit of my labor.  I imagine that is what Dawn's upbringing was like most of the time.  She must have really enjoyed the fresh milk and clean air of living on a farm.  Ahh....I can just imagine it. 

When I first received this cookbook I took the time to read through many of the recipes.  While doing this I came across all of Dawn's notes to the reader.  I really enjoyed reading her little vignettes about her family and about her faith.  Again, I think that I would really enjoy getting to know Dawn.  I actually think that I enjoyed reading her "food for thought" section more than I enjoyed reading the cookbook.

The cookbook is organized into sections like most cookbooks (Appetizers, Main entrees, breakfast and breads, etc).  It contains easy-to-read recipes.  Many of the recipes contain fresh ingredients and seem commonplace for life on a farm (Amish Fried Dressing, Brown Butter Green Beans, Farmer's BLT, Amish Peanut Butter, Honey Corn Bread).  There are several recipes, however, that seem out-of-place for a cookbook titled, "A Farmer's Daughter: Recipes from a Mennonite Kitchen."  There are several modern-day recipes that she must have picked up after leaving the farm.  These recipes seem oddly placed in this cookbook (i.e. Slow cooker Thai chicken, Moroccan Chicken Kebabs, Chicken Curry, Black beans and rice, Thai Turkey Roll-ups).  The author has traveled to France and she also includes some of these recipes in her book.  It feels as though about 1/3 of the book is made up of recipes from her life on the farm and the other recipes are things that she just enjoys cooking.  This would be ok except for the fact that the cookbook is touted as a Mennonite kitchen cookbook.

I cooked three of the recipes from the cookbook (Angel Biscuits, Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, Slow Cooker Thai Chicken). Here is my review of each of them:

ANGEL BISCUITS - definitely my favorite recipe out of the three that I cooked.  These were simple to make and tasted delicious.  A fast recipe that uses yeast but has no rising time.  I loved the use of yeast without the wait.  Very good. (I've included a picture of the biscuits in the photo section of this listing).

BUTTERMILK RANCH DRESSING - My least favorite recipe.  The recipe called for paprika which made for an odd taste in the dressing.  I have made many different versions of homemade ranch dressing and this one just didn't taste good to me.  The addition of garlic salt instead of fresh garlic seemed odd to me.  I think the author was trying to make things easy on the cook by allowing either dried or fresh herbs but dried herbs taste awful in dressings. 

SLOW COOKER THAI CHICKEN - I have made curried chicken many times and was excited to try a slow cooker version of a dish that I really love.  I was disappointed though in both the addition of peanut butter to this recipe (odd for a Thai curry dish) and the lack of "real flavor" to this dish.  It probably needed more salt and more fresh spices.  I also added more vegetables to the recipe since this recipe only called for red bell pepper, onions and frozen peas.  I added yellow bell pepper and broccoli to beef it up but it still fell flat.  I really wanted to love this recipe but it needs more depth.  It closely resembles a panang curry (minus the peanut butter which is more "African" when added to a dish like this) but doesn't have the intense flavors found in that dish.

The index at the back of the book does not break down the recipes by ingredient but instead just alphabetically lists the recipe name (which makes the index useless in my opinion since you can't just look up an ingredient that you have on hand and then find a recipe to make).

I give this cookbook a 2.5 out of 3.  The Mennonite Farm recipes look good, however, they do not make up the bulk of this cookbook.  This is definitely a compilation of recipes that the author enjoys with some Mennonite recipes dispersed throughout.  Still, I really like the author and loved her writing-style and her stories. 

Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

BOOK REVIEW: Life with Lily

I have enjoyed reading these little vignettes with my two daughters (aged 6 and 3).  I have found the stories to be simple and fun.  My girls think that Lily is a curious and sweet child.  I especially enjoy Lily's honesty as she faces each situation.  She responds as a child and that is part of the joy of this series.  I enjoy her reactions to the people that she encounters along the way.  I also appreciate the special relationship that she has with her mother and her family.  

I wish that there was a little more depth to the characters and that the style of writing was a bit deeper.  This is just a preference but I just thought that I would mention it in case anyone is hoping for deep character development in this series.  I'm not sure that you will find deep reflection or introspection in these characters.  I do think the series would have been more interesting if Lily was the narrator of the series.  This is simple and light reading but very fun for children.

Available October 2012  at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

REVIEW: Raising Financially Confident Kids

I appreciate Mary Hunt. She has a perspective on how to raise your children to be financially confident.

I didn't have parents that taught me to be financially confident so I was really at a loss for how to raise my children in this area without some ideas. Well, Mary has plenty of ideas. She has some very sound advice re: how to help your children to form a solid foundation in this area. Just keep in mind that this is just one person's advice. There are many ways to train your children to handle and view money wisely. Every family is different and their ideas for instilling wisdom in their children can be vastly different in this area. Still, I appreciate that Mary has taken the time to tell us her opinion.

My favorite part of the book was the chapter where she discusses having your children manage a portion of the family budget. Although this idea initially terrified me I soon came to realize that I was scared because of my own lack of personal training in this area. I am going to try and implement a few of her ideas with my children and then see how things go.

You should continue to read a wide variety of authors to decide how you want to raise your children to view and handle money. I always ask people for ideas re: how they teach their children in this area so that I can analyze their responses and adapt them to my family and our situation. Remember that one "size does not fit all" when it comes to financial advice.

One thing is for certain....if you don't train your children in this area then they will form their own opinions about money. Training in every area of their lives is important.

Available August 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

REVIEW: Don't Panic Quick, Easy, and Delicious Meals for Your Family

When the "Don't Panic" series of cookbooks came out I was a huge fan. I loved the idea of cooking all of my meals in 1 or 2 days and not having to cook the rest of the month. The cookbooks were easy to use, had great tips for freezing meals and had some great recipes for every day meals. They were thematic and organized by types of meat, soups, etc.

So, when I had the opportunity to review their latest cookbook I was really excited. I really wanted to like this cookbook. I mean, who doesn't love a "quick and easy" cookbook? I own many quick and easy cookbooks that I love that have great recipes that utilize fresh and flavorful ingredients. Unfortunately, I just couldn't see how this cookbook would be useful to me. The introduction to the book says it all, "we are finally able to share some of our longtime favorite recipes with you that we left out of our previous books because they are not suitable for the freezer." That statement is true. The cookbook reads more like a group of women getting together to share their favorite recipes (i.e. a "community cookbook" or a "church cookbook)." As I read through the cookbook I came across several recipes that were already familiar to me.

I mean everyone who has been cooking for any length of time has a Chinese Chicken salad recipe with green onions, almonds and sesame seeds right? If you've ever been on the South Beach Diet then the "Beef Kabobs with Peanut Lime Dipping Sauce" will be familiar. If you watch Rachel Ray then the "Thai Chicken Wraps" will ring a bell and if you watch "Everybody Loves Raymond" then the "Lemon Chicken" recipe will make you laugh (ok, I threw that last one in for humor but you get the picture).

I took the time to make a few of the recipes (Spicy Pecans and Homestyle Mac & Cheese). Both were delicious and tasty but, again, nothing that I didn't already have in my recipe box. In fact, I wonder if the author's can take credit for these recipes as many of them can be found on the internet. This begs the question, "At what point is a recipe considered plagiarized?" Can authors just change one or two small ingredients and then call the recipe their own? This doesn't seem ethical to me but I don't understand the publishing world so it may be perfectly acceptable. I can understand how dessert recipes might be similar because of the chemistry involved, however, many of the appetizer and main dish recipes can be found on the internet in almost the exact format as shown in this cookbook.

There were a couple of dishes that were new to me but they wouldn't justify the cost of the book for me. If this were given to me then I would probably copy down a few of the recipes and then give the book away. The book just doesn't seem cohesive to me. The recipes are mismatched and there is no real common theme to them. Quick and Easy is probably not the best title for this book as several of the recipes take longer than 30 minutes from start to clean-up. Additionally, you wouldn't take 30 minutes to make an appetizer, 30 minutes to make a main meal and 30 minutes to make a dessert. That's 1.5 hours. Most "Quick and Easy" cookbooks stick to main dishes for this reason.

Still, I really enjoyed the author's first two cookbooks and use them regularly to cook my freezer meals. Their formula for freezer meals is a good one. I would recommend checking out their other cookbooks.

- Available April 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Albertsons, LLC 11/16-11/23

I finally ventured out to do my very first shop here in my new city.  I haven't been accumulating any inserts the last 6 weeks so I used internet printables for my entire shop (except for the two peelies for the orange juice which I peeled almost 4 months ago).  It was fun to realize that I could save money even if I didn't purchase a single newspaper insert.

For all you newbies out there.....give this little shop a try.

I did have a little trouble at the register but the cashier was able to put all of my coupons through.  My Imperial sugar coupons wouldn't scan so I had to show him the sugars so that he could see that I purchased the correct sizes, etc.  A few of my other coupons wouldn't scan either but he just looked at the items and then pushed the coupons through.  The Idahoan potato coupon had to be adjusted because the potatoes are $.99 cents and the coupon is for $1.  Great shopping experience.  Thankfully I had some patient folks behind me.  I gave the lady behind me a few coupons for her transaction too; this is always a good idea if you have time!

We had a pretty busy week at the Webster household full of some patience-building moments.  Unfortunately, I failed to have patience for most of them.  Pray for me!  This was a pretty discouraging week as my little one is causing me to fully understand just how rebellious my own heart is.  I am becoming convinced that the Lord put her in my life to teach me about my own sin.  This week was filled with nosebleeds, half-eaten tubes of toothpaste, two full sippy cups of milk thrown on the carpet, ripped-up books, and many attempts at stealing cookies off the kitchen counter along with several attempts to make "pee-pee" in the potty which produced nothing.  I know that may not sound like much but this all happened in one day. 

Did I mention that I'm also having hot flashes from menopause through all of this?

Really, please pray for me.  I sometimes struggle to see the big picture when I'm dealing with my children.  I could really use some encouragement to love them right now. 

OK, here's the shop...

Click on picture to expand.  Please read all of the notes below for more information. My Albertsons policy is to triple coupons up to 35¢ and double coupons up 50¢. My Albertsons will double/triple up to 4 like coupons per transaction.

STOCKPILE

2 Idahoan Potatoes $.99 cents ea. (sale price)

- $1/1 Idahoan Potatoes printable (make a potato character and then enter contest; coupon will pop up)
= FREE

6 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls $.99 ea. (sale price)

- $1/2 Pillsbury Crescent printable

- $.50/2 Pillsbury Crescent printable, printable and printable

= $.50 cents ea.

4 Campbells Cooking Soups $.75 cents ea. (sale price)

- $1/4 Campbells coupon - must ask for at register

= $.50 cents ea. - must buy 4 to use register coupon

2 Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce $.99 cents ea. (sale price)

- $.50/2 Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce printable

= $.50 cents ea. - limit 4

2 Evaporated Milk $1.09 ea. (sale price)

- $.50/2 Evaporated Milk printable

= $.59 cents ea.

2 Chinet Guest Towels $1.59 ea.

- $1/1 any Chinet product printable (sign up for club and receive coupon in email)
= $.59 cents ea. - **see note below

9 Steamfresh vegetables $.99 ea. (sale price)

- $1/3 Steamfresh vegetables printable (click on red pair of scissors on the right)

= $.66 cents ea.

3 Imperial Sugar (powdered and brown sugar) $1.99 ea. (sale price)

- $.75/1 printable or printable 

= $1.25 ea.

3 Honey Nut Cheerios $2.33 ea. (sale price)

- $.50/1 Honey Nut Cheerios printable and printable and printable
= $1.33 ea. - must buy 3 to get this price

2 Tropicana 59oz. Orange Juice $2.50 ea. (sale price)

- $1/1 Tropicana 59oz. peelie

= $1.50 ea. - limit 2

2 Gold Medal 5lb. Flour $2.29 ea. (sale price)
- $.25/1 Gold Medal printable (click on blue banner on upper right)

= $1.54 ea.

1 Imperial 4lb. sugar $2.79 ea. (sale price)

- $.75/1 printable

= $1.79 ea.

4 Smucker's Uncrustables $2.89 ea. (sale price) and $2.99 ea. (regular price)

- $1/1 Smucker's Uncrustables printable and printable
= $1.89 ea. or $1.99 ea.

2 Nestle Tollhouse Chips $2.50 ea. (sale price)

- $.50/2 Nestle Chips printable or 11/6 RP
= $2.00 ea.

THINGS I NEEDED

4 Philadelphia Cream Cheese $1.25 ea. (sale price)

no coupons

= $1.25 ea. - must buy 4 to get this price

1 Cool Whip $.99 ea. (sale price)

no coupons

= $.99 cents ea.

1 Duncan Hines Cake Mix $.99 cents ea. (sale price)

no coupons

= $.99 cents ea.

TOTAL: $122.70
TOTAL AFTER COUPONS AND SALES: $49.17
SAVINGS: 60%

CHINET GUEST TOWELS: I will use the Chinet guest towels as napkins for Thanksgiving as they look exactly the same as the Chinet napkins!  These napkins rang up wrong at the register (store tag said that they were $1.59 so I got one for free)!

CHINET NAPKIN DEAL: Make sure you read the store tag when buying these items.  I was going to do a different Chinet deal that I saw advertised in the Albertsons online-ad and when I looked at the tag it said that I had to buy 3 of the items to get the sale price even though this was never mentioned in the ad!

ALBERTSONS AD: These deals are for the Albertsons LLC.  Apparently, there is a different store called Albertsons in other states.  Please check your local ad to make sure that you are in our region. For example, Los Angeles uses a different ad.

No Rite-Aid stores in my area....

We just moved and I was feeling fairly settled tonight so I thought that I would do a search in my area to find out where my local Rite-Aid is located.  Guess what?

There are NO Rite-Aid stores here.  I'm feeling a little bummed as I'm really going to miss shopping at Rite-Aid.  I'll start posting my Kroger grocery store shops here in about a month.  I also have a local Tom Thumb which is just like a Safeway store so I'll probably post my shops there too.

Just wanted to say hi to everyone.  Hope you're all doing well.  Sorry I won't be able to post anymore Rite-Aid shops here to help ya'll!