Recipes- Brunch with The Hungry Housewives at Dawn's

We had a nice working brunch the other day at Hungry Housewife Dawn's home.  Everything was SO good (in fact, I made the sandwiches again two more times for dinner the following week).


Italian Grilled Cheese
-bread of choice, I used sliced Italian
-fresh mozzerella, sliced
-sliced fresh tomato
-fresh basil
-dried oregano
-pepper, to taste
-extra virgin olive oil
Drizzle olive oil on outside of bread, place on grill/griddle. Layer with sliced mozzerella, fresh tomatoe, fresh basil, sprinkle with oregano and pepper, layer with another mozzerella and slice of bread. Put more olive oil on outside of second slice. Grill til golden and cheese is melted.

Salad
-mixed greens
-red onion, diced
-sliced almonds
-parm cheese
Toss together. Salt and Pepper to taste
Balsamic Vinaigrette
-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
-1 clove crushed garlic
-1 tsp ground mustard
-1 pinch salt
-Ground black pepper to taste
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, garlic, and mustard powder.  Season to tasted with salt and black pepper.  Stir in minced fresh herbs if desired.
Pacific Natural Foods Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Best chef secret- purchased at Costco!

Garnish with Parmesan cheese

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake from The Joy of Cooking

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Grease and flour one 9x15" (8-cup) loaf pan or line the bottom with wax or parchment paper.  Melt, then pour into a large mixing blow and let cool slightly

-5 TBS unsalted butter

Add and stir together until smooth:

-2/3 cup sugar

-1 tsp vanilla

-1/4 tsp salt

-1 cup sour cream

-1 lg egg

Add in inches to break up any lumps and whisk in:

-3/4 tsp baking soda

-3/4 tsp baking powder

Stir in just until combined:

-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Stir in:

-3/4 cup miniature or regular semisweet chocolate chips

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes.  Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.  Slide a thin knife around the cake to detach it from the pan.  Invert the cake and peel off the paper liner (if using).  let cool right side up on the rack.  Serve dusted with powdered sugar

 

Eatin' Out 'N' About at Mr. Jalapeños ~ Bonney Lake, WA

Mr. Jalapeno (not on FB)
21160 St Rt 410 E Bonney Lake, WA

My mother was in town from Idaho so we thought this would be a nice place for a dinner that wasn't too expensive, and since we have been without TV for a few months, it was great to watch the World Series on their big screen.

The owners of this restaurant used to have a place within walking distance of our home so after they sold it, we were happy when they opened a new restaurant.  All the people that work here are SUPER nice and accommodating- makes you feel at home!  It's a bummer that their web-page needs a little work (on the first page is two misspells and the photos are hazy).  You can view their history which is nice but the menus are not completed/detailed enough and it needs spell-check, too.  
Of course, like all Mexican restaurants, we're served chips and salsa but this is my FAV place because they serve the home-made chips with a yummy pico de gallo along with the salsa.  YUM- could eat with every meal (in fact, I top my leftovers with it).

My husband ordered the #5- an enchilada and tostada combo.  He really liked the rice especially.

My mom ordered the enchiladas.  Though it said a single, there were two (not sure if that's regular or a fluke) which was nice because we had enough extra for dinner tomorrow (I see she topped it with pico de gallo, too)

My 12 yr old got the quesidilla which he said "was VERY good", and we ordered an enchilada for the 5 yr old though he doesn't eat.  I was hoping he'd try it but if he didn't, somebody else could eat it.  Problem was, all the plates come VERY hot (which is so nice- I hate cold food) but the kid's enchilada was served on a cold plate making the food itself cold.  Which, I realize, is good for kids to not burn themselves but a room-temp plate would have been nicer.

I have this thing about ALWAYS ordering the same thing at Mexican restaurants- Arroz Con Pollo. Yum, yum, yum.  This comes with a stack of warm tortillas- I recommend it to everybody!!!
Thank you Mr. Jalapeño for another good dinner- we'll be seeing you soon :)

SPENDING FREEZE- Part Two: the end of week one (BILL paying-ugh!)

These are personal notes from my experience doing a Spending Freeze for the month of November.  These few days are VERY detailed (and will make you sick to your tummy) so welcome to our private business LOL.  For more info, see our first Blog about it at: SPENDING FREEZE- THE PLAN

Description:

RED is what we spent in excesses or was not "needed"

GREEN was money we brought in or "saved"

ORANGE was free stuff

PURPLE was spending that was necessary to living like bills or groceries

Day 4:

Easy, easy day because I had nothing planned but doing laundry! 

Spent today-

• $0

Day 5:

Well, proud of myself today!  Once a week I get allergy shots and my son and I have lunch at McDonald's before I take him to school but we made a choice to SKIP it this week.

Activity-

• Went to allergist but they close early on Fridays so missed my window and will have to go again on Monday (supposed to do once a week) so my son and I enjoyed a little drive through town then went to the library to kill time until school started.  We WOULD have been on time if I would have not made sure he ate before we left so we didn't have to go to McDonalds!  Ahhh...a double edged sword!
• Went for a jog/walk on the trail with hubby while the 5 yr old rode his scooter.  I totally advise goofing off on the playground for exercise....my arms are SO sore!

Spent today-

• Middle child went camping for the weekend so sent him what cash I had (with the stipulation I can write the other mom a check if they buy something else) but he didn't spend it so it's a wash.
• Skipped McDonalds on Allergist Day and ate at home so saved $11.00.  
• Husband and I scheduled our bills that we pay online for the month (there are a few others that are separate).  Oh, it's painful to write............$4012.77.  OUCH.  This included 2 Dr bills, house payment, credit cards (I know, I know), cell phone for 4 lines plus the home phone, car insurance for 4 vehicles (have new 16 yr old driver!), life insurance for 2 people, union dues, 1 car payment, line of credit (yes, I know), and utilities for gas, water, sewer, garbage & electric.  
• By the way, we recently cancelled our cable but watch all our TV shows on the internet so that's a $65 savings each month (had to throw that in there cause MOST of you have cable!).  REALLY have to say we're not missing it and we're not freaky weird-o's!
• Husband has decided this month to quite going to the gym through the winter (do NOT recommend this!) because he's supposed to be getting laid off (works in construction).  We'll now save $27.00 a month.  BTW- at this time last year, I was paying $150-200 a month for a special women's outdoor fitness group until I broke my foot.  Ouch on the pocketbook though my clothes fit better ;)

Day 6:

REALLY have to go to Costco if we plan on continuing to use toilet paper, but we slept in so maybe tomorrow.  I will have to say, staying home sure saves money LOL but I think I'll go crazy if we don't leave the house and mingle among people that I'm not related to.

Activity-

• Hiked Mt Peak with my husband, 16 yr old, and 5 yr old in the misty fall rain, and then headed home for home-brew instead of going out afterwards for coffee like we normally do after a hike.

Spent today-

• Mt Peak hike with the family FREE
• Skipping going to Starbucks afterwards so saved $18.00

Day 7:

Enjoyed a very nice evening with my hubby.  Nice to know we don't have to go "out" all of the time to strengthen our relationship!

Activity-

• Got gas, went to Costco, the mall and then Safeway

Spent today-

• Had to buy gas before heading out $42.00
• Though I don't need another coat, Old Navy is having a 50% off sale on outwear (sigh).  Son wanted to ride the kidee toys but when we tried to keep walking, he asked if he could just SIT on one (OK- that's too pathetic to to say we saved $1 LOLOL).  Also, skipped buying coffee at the mall- saved $10.00
• At Costco, returned a FAB dress that I guess I don't need (would *sigh* again but I already have the same dress in another color!), and a coat for the youngest (when we brought in the winter clothing, I found a NEW coat I bought for him last year).  Saved $43.00.
• Then bought chicken breasts, ground turkey, TP, edemame (YUM), grapefruit, dog food, eggs, Lysol cleaner, and kid vitamins.  So, so much we decided not to buy cause we really didn't need- kiwi, pomegranate, muffins, orange chicken (was ON SALE), sweet chili sauce they sampled (was so good).  Spent $153.00 (son also bought a $38 toy but used the last of his own BDay money). Made sure we used our coupons so saved $7.75.
• Usually we eat at the food court but instead of a full lunch, hubby and I share a hot dog and kid got a churro.  Spent almost $5.00 but saved $3.00 
• Popped into Safeway to get hubby's lunch, lb of coffee and some dinner ingredients so spent $46.  We were GOING to buy Millstone coffee cause it was on sale but the Safeway brand was even $2.00 cheaper so thought we'd give it a chance.  Also, hubby tried new lunch meals because they were a few cents cheaper than his normal meals (too low amount to count but STILL!)
• At Target, spent $16.00 for a birthday present (Corbin is invited to a party- our one big OK this month.).  At their food court, he likes to get an ICEE and Cheetos so I let him use the rest from my gift card I had so it was FREE & I saved $2.63.  I really, really, really wanted to buy Toy Story 3 but my friend Tawnya F talked me out of it (said it'll go on sale again) so saved about $20.00
• At the mall, my daughter went to a store to blow a little of her first pay check.  While there, she spent enough (with a little encouraging from the clerk) to "earn" an $85 bag for free.  BUT, they overcharged her by almost $30 PLUS she actually spent another $25 she wouldn't have to get the bag.  She was so crushed about not keeping the bag, that we decided that after correcting the over-charge, we were going to buy $30 in extra stuff so she could "keep" the bag (for Christmas- shhhhhh).  LUCKILY, when we made the return, they said it was their error and we got to keep the bag for FREE.  I could say we "saved" $30.00 here but I guess that would be overdoing it ;)  LESSON FOR THE DAY- pay attention to what stores are charging you and NOTHING is really "free".  
• Also, had to go to T-Mobile store because our bill didn't have a change we made on it last month.  Apparently, they made it for the FOLLOWING bill instead of the previous month.  They couldn't fix in store so will have try to change it next week with customer service.

Summary:

Necessities- $4,269.77

Excess- $5.00 (YEAH ME!)

"Saved"- $209.38.  WOW.

Weight fluctuation- Lost 1/2 lb.  Hmmmm.....skipped all that McD for NOTHING haha.  Am hoping such a little change cause the extra exercise is turning fat into muscle!  Maybe I should hurry up and eat the rest of the Halloween candy so it's not in the house????

Month To Date:

Necessities- $4733.31

Excess- $19.10

"Saved"- $262.83

Weight fluctuation-  Lost 1/2 lb