Wednesdays learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

bon vivant  \bahn-vee-VAHNT\  ~ noun
 

DEFINITION: a person having cultivated, refined, and sociable tastes especially in respect to food and drink.

EXAMPLES: Mr. Murray is a congenial bon vivant who seems to relish the fine art of conversation almost as much as he does the fine art of French cooking.

"Polemicist and journalist Christopher Hitchens, who died in December at 62 after a battle with esophageal cancer, was celebrated Friday as an incorrigible contrarian, dazzling public intellectual, obdurate justice seeker, and passionate bon vivant in a star-studded memorial service at New York's Cooper Union." -- From an article by Lloyd Grove on The Daily Beast, April 20, 2012

DID YOU KNOW? Fans of fine French wine and cuisine won't be surprised to hear that the French language gave us a number of words for those who enjoy good living and good eating. "Gourmet," "gourmand," and "gastronome" come from French, as does "bon vivant." In the late 17th century, English speakers borrowed this French phrase, which literally means "good liver." No, we don't mean "liver," as in that iron-rich food your mother made you eat. We mean "liver," as in "one who lives" — in this case, "one who lives well."

Find more great words at Merriam-Webster online.

~THE REBATE~

 

Back to school and Football season need great snacks so here is a fun one!  When you purchase specially marked packages of Pillsbury Cookies between 9/01/12 and 12/15/12 you can send in the UPCs and original store receipts showing the store name and date, together with the rebate form for a free 15 count of Totino's Pizza Rolls.  The request must be submitted by 12/31/12.

I hope you are all having a great week so far.

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

aureate \OR-ee-ut\ ~ adjective

DEFINITION(s):

1: of a golden color or brilliance

2: marked by grandiloquent and rhetorical style

EXAMPLES: Matthew tried to get into the novel that Stephanie had recommended, but he found reading the author's aureate prose too much of a slog.

"Still low over the flatland east, the sun threw long aureate light across the field." -- From Jeffrey Stepakoff's 2010 novel Fireworks Over Toccoa

DID YOU KNOW? "Aureate" is among several adjectives in English pertaining to gold that derive from the Latin name for the metal, "aurum." While its relatives "auriferous" and "auric" are more likely to appear in scientific contexts to describe substances containing or made from gold (or "Au," to use its chemical symbol), "aureate" has tended to have a more literary allure since it was first used in English in the early 15th century. Over time, the word's use was extended from "golden" to "resplendent," and it finally lost some of its luster as it came to mean "grandiloquent."

~THE REBATE~

What to do on a rainy Spring day, hummm.  How about catching a movie complements of Kellogg's?  To receive your movie ticket just send your completed Official Order Form and five Movie Pass Official Tokens from specially-marked packages (most of the cookies and crackers have the offer on them).  Allow 90 days for delivery.  There is a limit of 3 movie passes per household. Limit one Official Order Form per envelope. One Movie Ticket good for one admission at participating theaters.

Hope you are all having a nice Wednesday!

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

circuitous ~ \ser-KYOO-uh-tus\ adjective


DEFINITION(S):

1: having a circular or winding course

2: not being forthright or direct in language or action

EXAMPLES: Jenn came up with the same answer I did, but her method was more circuitous, so I showed her how she could do the problem a lot faster.

"The splashy DeSean Jackson and the serene Jeremy Maclin are the Eagles' starting wide receivers. They could be called the Sod Couple, because both young receivers make big plays. But that's where the similarities really end. Jackson flops and detours along the goal line on his circuitous route to the end zone. Maclin goes straight in for six points, face first and as fast as he can." -- From an article in the Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, New Jersey), December 24, 2010

DID YOU KNOW? If you guessed that "circuitous" is related to "circuit," you're right -- both words come from Latin "circuitus," the past participle of the verb "circumire," meaning "to go around." "Circumire" is derived in turn from Latin "circum," meaning "around," plus "ire," which means “to go.” Other "circum" descendants making the rounds in English include "circumference" ("the perimeter of a circle"), "circumvent" (one meaning of which is "to make a circuit around"), "circumlocution" (the act of "talking around" a subject), and "circumnavigate" ("to go around"). There's also the prefix "circum-," which means "around" or "about," and the familiar word "circumstance," which describes a condition or event that "stands around" another.


~THE REBATE~

March is finally here and in some areas that means spring has sprung and rain has started.  Here is a great way to get out and still have fun even if its raining.  Catch a move on Kellogg's, just send in the completed Official Order Form and five (5) Movie Pass Official Tokens from specially-marked packages.  Check the Kellogg's site for the full list of qualifying products, its quite long and includes Both Kellogg's and Keebler products.  Offer available while supplies last. Limit 3 movie passes per household. Limit one Official Order Form per envelope. One Movie Ticket good for one admission at participating theaters (up to $12.00).  Offer ends May 30, 2011.

I hope you are all having a great week!

C.Q.

Tastefully Tuesday...

Since Bernie has her blog up and running and looking beautiful, we decided that I would do something fun and different on Tuesdays.  I used to do a Monday meal deal, which was the hardest post to write, so I took a break, started doing the Meet me on Monday's with Java from Never Growing Old, and let Bernie fill in for me on Tuesdays.  Since I so enjoy the Monday blog hop I decided to keep that and move the foodie piece to today's spot.  Bernie will still be filling in for me when I am on vacations or sick or just plain lazy so have no fear and please be sure to check out her hysterical blog over at One Mixed Bag and follow her on Google Friend Connect, Twitter or via e-mail.

This weekend I had my friend Jen over to visit and scrapbook.  I kept promising her I would have Puppy Chow for the (no, not the actual dog food.....although in hind sight that would have been funny to watch).  Well, life being what it is, things kept getting in the way of our play date and twice it got postponed and of course twice her portion of the Puppy Chow got eaten by my husband and me.  This time I decided we better make it while she was actually standing in my kitchen to ensure she got her fair share and it didn't get attached to MY hips, its good to share ya know.  Well to make this magic happen I actually needed a couple of things from the store, more Chex cereal and some peanut butter, so I thought I would make Jen stop and get them.  I was super impressed she didn't whine, she really hates grocery shopping so I thought that may induce more trauma then when she had her kidney transplant a few years back, bit nope, she was just that happy to finally get some Puppy Chow at last.  So what is this infamous Puppy Chow?  Well you may know it better as Muddy Buddies because for some reason Chex didn't think it was appropriate to put the words Puppy Chow on their box, I'm not sure if its the implication that their food is somehow meant for dogs or the copyright infringement, maybe both, but here is the recipe for you folks to try:

Chex Puppy Chow snack mix

9 cups Chex
*you can use any kind of combination of Chex, Rice, Corn, Honey Nut, Chocolate, etc.
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.  In a microwave safe bowl put chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter.  Microwave on high for 1 minute then stir together, the chips will appear to not melt but they do.  If you need a little bit more time microwave for no more that 15 seconds.  After those are mixed together add n the vanilla.

Pour the chocolate mixture over the Chex cereal and stir together with a large wooden spoon to coat all the pieces.  Put the coated cereal into a large plastic bag with the powdered sugar and shake well to coat.

Place the mixture in air tight containers and allow it to cool.

Here are some coupons for this recipe:

$1.00 off when you buy any 2 boxes of General Mills cereals listed: Basic 4® • Cheerios® (any) • Chex® (any) • Cinnamon Toast Crunch
$1.00 off any 2 Nestle Toll House Morsels

Don't feel like cooking? No problem, Join iHop today, March 1st for National Pancake day: "Join IHOP on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 7 a.m. - 10 p.m., for National Pancake Day and receive one complimentary short stack!* In return for the free flapjacks, we ask you to consider leaving a little something behind for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other designated local charities. Thanks to our guests' generosity, IHOP raised more than $2.1 million last year. IHOP began its National Pancake Day in 2006, and since then, has raised $5.35 million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other local charities and given away more than 10.1 million buttermilk pancakes."

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

C.Q.

Friday's freebie...

Today its all about the snacks.  Yoplait is promoting you getting enough calcium in your diet so they are giving away one million cups of their yogurt free, just fill in the on line form. 

This next one is for folks that live or work near a Murphy USA Gas station.  They have e-offers you can sign up for on line , right now they have coupons for a free Package of M&M’s or a Red Strike Energy Drink.

I hope you are all having a great Friday.

C.Q.

Thursdays picture perfect deal...

The picture...

This little Chickadee was in our front yard waiting patiently for its turn at the feeder.  All the birds were busy that day to get as much seed as they could since it had just snowed along with some rain and there was more on the way that evening.

The deal...

Have some last minute gift to get?  Why not get the gift of snacks, better yet they can be delivered right to their door, saving you time as well as some cash.  Right now the Popcorn Factory is offering 10% off your order of $50.00 or more using coupon code CE10 or 20% off your order of $100.00 or more using coupon code CE20 through December 19th.  If the person on your list isn't a popcorn fan then check out the good stuff over at Fannie May.  They are celebrating their 90th year of Christmas with a sale you can tailor to what you want, get 50% off with coupon code 15650, or get 30% off and free shipping using coupon code 15630, the choice is yours through December 18th.  With these great saving you could send yourself a gift or two.

I hope you are all having a great week and staying warm wherever you are.

C.Q.

Snacking on cash...

I was in the grocery store the other day and about fell over when I saw the price potato chips have risen to and got to thinking about the 2 most popular snack foods, chips and popcorn. A box of Old Dutch potato chips was on SALE for a whopping $3.48 and Orville Rednbacher's microwave popcorn was also $3.48 on sale. In the Orville Rednbacher's package there are 3 bags of popcorn, that makes each one $1.16 when in comparison you could by a 30oz jar of the same popcorn for popping for about $5.00 with no coupon. Breaking down the cost for the jar with 7.5 servings the popcorn the cost is about .65 cents and there are no carcinogens in it. You can make the popcorn as per the instruction on the jar which takes really no more time than microwave popcorn, you can also microwave on the fly in a bowl with a plate over it and just put a thin layer of kernels in the bottom of the bowl and microwave away, or you can make your own microwave popcorn to bring to work and have the best and freshest popcorn in the office.

Fresh Microwave Popcorn:

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter
Popcorn salt or table salt, to taste
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese or other cheese sprinkle
(optional)

Pour the popcorn in the paper bag and fold the top of the bag over twice to close. (Each fold should be 1/2 inch deep; the kernels need room to pop.) Seal the bag with two small staples (no more, no less), making sure to place the staples at least 2 to 3 inches apart.

Put the bag in the microwave and cook on high power for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the pops are 5 seconds apart.

Remove the bag from the oven and open it carefully, avoiding the steam. Pour the popcorn into a bowl and drizzle it with butter, then toss with salt and cheese, if desired.

That brings me to the potato chips. A 5 pound bag of potatoes at my local market is $2.98, already less then the box of chips, but lets keep going... of that I only need about 5 potatoes or about 1/2 the bag, so my equivalent cost is $1.49 for a box of homemade wonderful tasting no preservative chips. You can also substitute sweet potatoes for an extra gourmet touch.


Classic Homemade Potato Chips Recipe:

4-6 white potatoes
water
vegetable oil (for deep frying)
salt

Wash and scrub the skins of your potatoes well. Remove potato skins. Using a paring knife or food processor, cut thin round or oval slices. Remove any bad spots. Fill a large bowl with cold tap water and soak your slices in the water for 30 minutes. Remove slices from water and pat them dry with paper towels. Turn your deep fryer on and set the temperature at 350 degrees. When the oil has reached the desired temperature, place a handful of slices into the frying basket and drop down into the oil. Deep fry your slices until they are crisp and lightly browned. This usually takes 2-4 minutes. Remove the basket from the oil and let drain over the deep fryer for 2-3 minutes. Line a large plate with 3-5 thick paper towels. Pour the chips onto the plate and use a separate paper towel to blot off excess oil. Season with salt if desired.

**If you like your potato chips seasoned with Old Bay or any other spices, place some the spice in an old salt shaker. Shake the desired amount on the chips. Wait 1 minute, flip the chips over and season the other side.

There are a ton of different recipes on line for a lot of the snacks we like to purchase in the grocery stores, its worth the time to find some that sound good and try, they are healthier and far less expensive, they can also provide something fun the whole family can help put together on the weekends to have on hand.

Hope this gets you all thinking.

C.Q.