Wednesday's lean and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

vanward \VAN-werd\ ~ adjective

DEFINITION: located in the vanguard : advanced

EXAMPLES: The company is looking to hire a marketing director who is savvy in social media and other vanward marketing tactics.

"The New Jersey Festival of Electronic Arts, held today from 1 to 8 p.m. … is described as 'an exploration of electronic, environmental and performance art … where AV geeks are vanward and hip.''' — From an events listing in The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey), March 10, 2012

DID YOU KNOW? The troops at the head of an army are called the "vanguard," and that word can also mean "the forefront of an action or movement." It was "vanguard," rather than "vanward," that led the way on the route into English. "Vanguard" was first documented in English in the 15th century. By the early 17th century, it was sometimes shortened to "van"—a reference might be made to an army's "van and rear." Some 200 years later "vanward" brought up the rear, making its English debut when writers appended "-ward," an adjective suffix meaning "is situated in the direction of," to the shortened "van," thereby creating a word meaning "in the forefront."

Find more great words at Merriam-Webster online.

~THE REBATE~

With the heavy cooking season approaching I thought this was a really nice deal!  From now until November 3, 2012 you can get a really nice free free 5-Quart Glass Bowl OR Food Grinder Attachment when you purchase a new KitchenAid 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer.  The attachment is usually either $49.99 for the grinder or $69.99 for the glass bowl.  This offer has a few store restriction: it is not valid at Bed Bath & Beyond, Macy’s, Whirlpool Corporation’s VIPlink program or employee purchase program or at online auction sites.  To get the free attachment you will need to fill in the rebate form and mail it in together with the UPC from the mixer box and a copy of your dated register receipt.  Allow up to 8 weeks for your item to arrive.

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

C.Q.

Wednesday's Learn and Earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

maffick \MAF-ik\  ~  verb

DEFINITION: to celebrate with boisterous rejoicing and hilarious behavior

EXAMPLES :Fans mafficked for hours outside the stadium, celebrating the team's dramatic victory in the division championship.

"In half an hour, after the mildest of mafficking, the last visitors of the exhibition's last day had gone out of the gates and the staff began their final acts of closing up shop." — From an article in The Guardian (London), October 1, 2011

DID YOU KNOW? "Maffick" is an alteration of Mafeking Night, the British celebration of the lifting of the siege of a British military outpost during the South African War at the town of Mafikeng (also spelled Mafeking) on May 17, 1900. The South African War was fought between the British and the Afrikaners, who were Dutch and Huguenot settlers originally called Boers, over the right to govern frontier territories. Though the war did not end until 1902, the lifting of the siege of Mafikeng was a significant victory for the British because they held out against a larger Afrikaner force for 217 days until reinforcements could arrive. The rejoicing in British cities on news of the rescue produced "maffick," a word that was popular for a while, especially in journalistic writing, but is now relatively uncommon.

Find more great words at Merriam-Webster.

~THE REBATE~

Tyson always seems to have some great rebates and this one is no exception.  From now until September 30, 2012 when you purchase Tyson Chicken Tenders and at least $5.00 of gas Tyson will send you $5.00 back.  Just fill out the rebate form and mail it in with your original cash register receipts from the grocers deli for the Chicken Tenders and from the gas station for the gasoline purchase; the receipts need to be dated between 5/28/12 and 9/30/12 with the purchases circled.  There is only one rebate allowed per household and the requests need to be postmarked by the 9/30/12 date.

I hope you are all having a great Wednesday!

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

Nothing says Valentines Day quite like chocolates so why not save some cash and make them yourself this year?  I found this great recipe at All Recipes and its super easy to make these little gems.

Luscious Chocolate Truffles

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract **

In large saucepan, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer the mixture into a medium bowl. Cover and chill 2 to 3 hours or until firm.      

Shape mixture into 1 inch balls; roll in desired covering and/or decorate them. Refrigerate in a tightly covered dish.

**For more variety divide the chocolate mix into four even parts and add 1 Tbsp of different flavoring (in place of the Vanilla) to each batch.  Chill each batch separately, they will cool faster that way too.

Makes about 70 candies, prep time is only 10 minutes, but the total time needed is about 3 hours.

Coupons:

$0.50 off one bag of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Morsels

$0.50 off any Simply Organic Extract or Flavor

Today's no cook options are from a couple of places.  First, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream is offering a free scoop if Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Ice Cream today only between 5:00 and 8:00 at participating locations.  The other coupon is from Boston Market; they are offering a free dessert when you buy an individual meal with a drink.  This offer is good for today only and you need to print the coupon to bring in with you and give to your server when you order.

A big thank you to everyone for stopping by yesterday for my first ever blog hop, I hope you will all come back next week and meet another great blogger.  Have a great Valentines day.

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

zeitgeist  \TSYTE-gyste\  ~ noun ~ often capitalized

DEFINITION: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

EXAMPLES: The movie does an excellent job of capturing the zeitgeist of the early Cold War era.

"If Broadway no longer seems behind the times or ahead of the times, it may be because there are no 'times' anymore, no prevailing Zeitgeist that sets the fashion, pace, and prevailing look." -- From an article by James Wolcott in Vanity Fair, July 2011

DID YOU KNOW? Scholars have long maintained that each era has a unique spirit, a nature or climate that sets it apart from all other epochs. In German, such a spirit is known as "Zeitgeist," from the German words "Zeit," meaning "time," and "Geist," meaning "spirit" or "ghost." Some writers and artists assert that the true zeitgeist of an era cannot be known until it is over, and several have declared that only artists or philosophers can adequately explain it. We don’t know if that’s true, but we do know that "zeitgeist" has been a useful addition to the English language since at least 1835.

~THE REBATE~

Planning on getting Tyson Any'tizers for the big game?  There is a great $10.00 gift certificate rebate for Tyson.  Purchase any 4 Any'tizer snacks between 1/2/12 - 2/17/12, print and fill out the rebate form, mail the form, the 4 UPC proofs of purchase and the original cash register receipt to Tyson.  Requests need to be received by 3/16/12, your $10.00 gift certificate should be in your mailbox in 4 - 6 weeks.

Have a great Wednesday.

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

Super Bowl Sunday is coming fast and so I thought I would post a couple great recipe ideas that are quick and easy and will ensure you don't miss a minute of the game.  First is a great 7 layer dip from McCormick, next are Slider Style Mini Burgers from All Recipes.

Seven Layer Fiesta Dip

1 can (16 ounces) refried beans
1 container (16 ounces) sour cream
1 package McCormick® Taco Seasoning Mix or McCormick® Taco Seasoning Mix Mild
1 package (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese (2 cups)
1 cup prepared guacamole
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup sliced black olives
Tortilla chips

1. Spread refried beans in shallow serving dish.
2. Mix sour cream and Seasoning Mix in small bowl until well blended. Spread over refried beans.
3. Top with layers of cheese, guacamole, tomatoes, onions and olives. Serve with tortilla chips.

Makes 8 cups or 64 (2-tablespoon) servings.  Prep Time: 15 minutes

Slider-Style Mini Burgers

2 pounds ground beef

1 (1.25 ounce) envelope onion soup mix

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

24 dinner rolls, split

1/2 cup sliced pickles (optional)

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  

Mix together the ground beef and onion soup mix in a large skillet; cook and stir over medium-high heat until the beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease. Remove from heat. Stir the mayonnaise and Cheddar cheese into the ground beef mixture.

Lay the bottoms of the dinner rolls on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the cheese and beef mixture on the bottom half of each roll. Replace the tops. Cover with another sheet of aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.               

Bake in the preheated oven until the burgers are heated through and cheese melts, about 30 minutes. Serve with sliced pickles.               

Prep time 10 minutes, cook time 40 minutes.  Makes 24 mini burgers.

Coupons:
Save $1.00 off 2 Hood Sour Cream
Save $1.00 off 8 McCormick seasonings (Meijer)
Save $1.00 off 2 Kraft Cheese Item (Target)
Save $1.50 off any Wholly Guacamole
Save $1.50 off any 2 Early California or Pearls Black Ripe Olives (coupon link is at bottom of the page)
Save $2.00 on any Ruffles Family Sized Potato Chips, Tostitos Tortilla Chips or Tostitos Salsa (Giant Eagle)
Save $2.00 off any Star Ranch Angus beef product
Save $1.00 off any 4 Lipton Soup Secret and Recipe Secret Dry Soup Mix (Meijer)
Save $1.00 off two select varieties of Mayonnaise at Target
Save $0.50 off two Pillsbury Refrigerated Pizza Crust, Breadsticks, Loaves or Dinner Rolls
Save $0.35 off any Gedney Pickle Product

Today's no cook option is from Onsale.com, get a $10.00 Domino's pizza card for only $5.99.  This offer expires 1/31/12 11:59 PM PST so you need to be quick to get your deal.

Hope you are all having a great week so far.

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

Over Christmas we took a vacation to Colonial Williamsburg.  We stopped our first night at the Kings Arms Tavern where I got to try Peanut Soup for the first time, it was an instant new favorite.  The taste is not what you would think, it is a very savory soup and easy to make.  It is especially good with poultry so I can't wait to make it with Cornish game hens.  This is the official historic recipe for the dish from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, they have other great historic recipes if you are looking for something that has truly passed the test of time.

Cream of Peanut Soup

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
8 cups Chicken Stock (or low-salt canned chicken stock)
2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 ¾ cups light cream or half-and-half
Finely chopped salted peanuts, for garnish

In a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened, three-five minutes.

Stir in flour and cook two minutes longer.

Pour in the chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Pour into a sieve set over a large bowl and strain, pushing hard on the solids to extract as much flavor as possible. Return the liquid to the sauce pan or pot.

Whisk the peanut butter and the cream into the liquid. Warm over low heat, whisking often, for about five minutes. Do not boil.

Serve warm, garnished with the chopped peanuts.

$1.00 off any two cartons of Swanson Stock or Broth
$1.50 off two Planters Peanut Butter of any size or variety
$0.50 off Stonyfield Organic Half and Half (need to sign up at their site)

Today's no cook idea is from Denny's, get 20% off your ENTIRE check, this is a great way to get the office together for lunch!  The coupon expires January 28th so you need to hurry for this great deal.  Just print the coupon and bring it in with you, as always please remember to tip your server based on the full amount of the bill, not the discounted amount.

Hope you are having a great week so far.

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

Got your baking done for the season?  Well if you are done congratulations!  If not here is the worlds easiest cookie recipe, every time I make these they are gone within two days.  I grew up with my mom making these and they were always the first to go then too, funny how some things never change.

Cornflake Crisps

5 Cups Cornflakes
12 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Put the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Remove the bowl and mix (the chips will look like they haven't melted because they will hold their form until stirred)  if you need to melt them a little more do it in 10 - 15 second bursts or you may over cook and break the chocolate making a gritty mess.  When they are done just mix in the cornflakes and coat them well.  Spoon the mixture out on wax paper or cookie sheets and let them cool.  If you live in a cold area you can always set them outside for a few minutes, that will do the trick.  If you want to present them as gifts you can spoon them out into little muffin cups.

Coupons:

$0.50 off Nestle Toll House Morsels
$1.00 off 3 Kellogg's Rice or Cocoa Krispies, Corn Flakes, or Crispix Cereal at Target

Today's no cook idea is from Restaurant.com, through 12/7 they are offering $25 gift certificates for as low as $2! Just enter the coupon code GIFT at check-out! These are great gifts for secret Santa's, stocking stuffer or a little something for yourself, also a great way to try a new place without spending a lot of cash.

Hope you are all having a great Tuesday!

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

Yesterday I noticed that I had a bunch of bananas that had turned brown almost overnight so I wanted to do something with them.  My Niece's boyfriend had just made us banana muffins so I went looking for something a little different at Cooks.com and found a great cream cheese banana bread recipe.  It is like a quick bread to make but turns out like a yeast type bread in the end, its really good! 

CREAM CHEESE BANANA BREAD

 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
1 c. mashed bananas
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese, sugar and butter mixing well. Blend in bananas and eggs. Add remaining ingredients; mix well until moistened. Pour in greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean.

Coupons:
$0.50 off 2 Philadelphia Cream Cheeses at Target
$0.50 off Imperial Granulated Sugar
$0.75 off  Land O Lakes Eggs
$0.25 off Gold Medal Flour
$0.30 off Argo Baking Powder
$0.50 off 2 Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

Today's no cook idea is from Orange Julius, I know its not really a meal but with holiday shopping whats more refreshing then a frothy orange beverage?  Truth be told I love these things.  When you sign up for their Quench Club you will get a buy one get one free coupon.

I hope you are all having a great Tuesday.

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

Last year I shared my pumpkin pie recipe for our family's traditional Thanksgiving, this year I thought I would share a very old recipe that my mom made since I was a little girl.  It came in a 1950s salad cook book that I still have, and let me tell you there are some very strange things in there, but this one is a gem.  Everyone seems love it, it was dads favorite, now my hubby and Niece ask for it each year. 

Rosy Fruit-cocktail salad ~

2 3oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup heavy cream - whipped
3.5 oz fruit cocktail well drained
1/4 cup maraschino cherries quartered
2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice for color and flavor

Soften the cream cheese and blend with mayonnaise. Fold in the remaining ingredients.

Pour the salad mixture into a shallow round container or onto a baking sheet with a lip and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. To serve let it stand for a few minutes, then remove from container, if you need to you can set the bottom of the container in warm water to loosen it up. If you use a baking sheet cut into triangles and use a spatula to lift out of the pan.

Coupons:
Save $0.50 off 2 Philadelphia Cream Cheeses at Target
Save $1.00 off any two Hood Cream Products

Today's no cook option comes from Boston Market, print off the $3.00 coupon and bring it in with you.  When you order $15.00 worth of food they will give you the $3.00 off until November 29th.  The fine print: "Good at participating Boston Market® restaurants only. Present coupon when ordering. Not valid with any other coupon or special or reduced price offer including the $7.99 1/2 Chicken Meal or $4.99 and $5.99 1/4 Dark Meal offers. Not redeemable for cash or gift card purchase. Not applicable for heat and serve banquets, catering orders, or grocery items. Applicable taxes paid by bearer."

Hope everyone is having a nice week so far.

C.Q.

Tastefully Tueday...

Well yesterday I went to link up with the Meet Me on Monday blog hop that Java does over at Never Growing Old and I somehow ended up using a google link that took me to a post from may of last year, so I dutifully went through and answered all the questions, got pictures to go with them and went to link up, imagine my surprise when I realized I had to start all over.  One of the things I had answered was "What is your favorite kind of muffin?" I had answered cream cheese kind, but since I have a pumpkin I need to use up I found a great recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffins over at Annie's Eats.  Since they sounded so wonderful I thought I would share them today.  Be sure to check out Annie's Eats blog for other mouthwatering ideas!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!) ~ makes 24 muffins.

Coupons:
Save $0.50 off  2 Philadelphia Cream Cheeses at Target
Save $0.50 off Arrowhead Mills Organic flour
Save $1.00 off any two glass bottles of Simply Organic spices
Save $0.50 off any one mini bottle of Simply Organic Spice
Save $1.00 off Davidson's Pasteurized Eggs
Save $0.45 on Dixie Crystals Sugar

Today's no cook option is from Hardees, get a free Cheddar Biscuit with the purchase of a breakfast combo, or cash off a number of other great menu items like the Steakhouse Thick burger or the Chicken Fillet.  Just pick the coupon(s) that work for you and print them out and bring them into the store with you.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

C.Q.

Friday's Freebie...

With the holidays coming up quick its time to start thinking about baking.  Several years back I requested the Jiffy mix cookbook and was really surprised at the amount of great ideas it had.  To get your free cookbook from them just fill in the online order form and watch your mail box.

Hope you are all enjoying your Friday.

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

doughty  \DOW-tee\ ~ adjective

DEFINITION: marked by fearless resolution : valiant

EXAMPLES: When little Liza saw the neighborhood bullies picking on one of the younger boys the doughty girl marched up to them and demanded that they stop at once.

"The white bass particularly proved to be doughty hard fighters, especially when we hooked doubles -- which happened time and time again." -- From an article by Dick Martin in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum (Ohio), August 8, 2011

DID YOU KNOW? "Doughty" is a persevering Old English word. Its earliest form was "dyhtig," but early on the vowel changed and the word became "dohtig." That was probably due to influence from a related Old English word, "dohte," meaning "had worth." By the 13th century, the spelling "doughty" had begun to appear. The expected pronunciation would be \DAW-tee\, paralleling other similarly spelled old words like "bought" and "sought." But over the centuries, the spelling was sometimes confused with that of the now obsolete word "doubty," meaning "full of doubt," and thus, so it is conjectured, we have the pronunciation we use today.

~THE REBATE~

Just in time for your holiday baking Reynolds is offering a free cookie and Baking kit.  To qualify you will need to by one each of the Reynolds®  Parchment Paper, Reynolds® Baking Cups and Reynolds Wrap® Foil, then mail in the original, store-identified, cash register receipt(s) dated between 10/01/11 and 12/31/11 with date(s) and price(s) of items circled together with the completed Offer form, the UPC Symbol from each product package and a check or money order for $7.95 to cover shipping and handling.  I usually don't include rebates you need to pay shipping for but this was a great deal.

Have a great Wednesday everyone.

C.Q.