Friday's Freebie...

Today is free day at Bruegger's Bagels!! Get 3 free bagles while supplies last, just go to their Facebook page and click the like button.  That will give you access to click the coupon, just print it out and bring it in with you before 2:00 p.m.

Hope you have a great Friday everyone.

C.Q.

Friday's Freebie...

Even the healthy eaters out there crave fries sometimes.  Today you can satisfy your craving at Burger King with a free small fry.  No other purchase is required, limited to one per person while supplies last.  Check out their Facebook page to find a BK near you, while you are there click their "like" button to have a chance at winning a $5.00 gift card.

I hope you are all having a great Friday!

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.

Tastefully Tuesday...

Photo from Taste of Home

Halloween is almost here and its time for fun themed food items, but what to make?  I have seen a lot of ideas for eyeball items, spiders and creepy cupcakes, but this recipe from Taste of Home was a new one to me an looks fun. 



Boneyard Cookies
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
16 to 18 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped

In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and cornstarch. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extract. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to sugar mixture and mix well.

Shape dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. bone-shaped cookie cutter. (The best place to find this may be a pet store) Place 1 in. apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

On the bottoms of half the cookies, spread 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon jam down the center; top with remaining cookies.

In a microwave, melt white chocolate at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Dip each cookie in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. Yield: 34 sandwich cookies.

$0.35 off one Argo or Kingsford's corn starch
$1.00 off one package of Davidson's Pasteurized Eggs
$0.50 off one Simply Organic extract
 

Today's no cook option is from Taco Bell.  Right now when you purchase a $20.00 gift card you get a free Chicken Flatbread Sandwich combo.  This is a nice perk and you can save the gift card to use later for yourself, as a holiday gift or give to your college kid for an meal different than Ramon Noodles.
 
Have a great Tuesday!
 
C.Q.

Frugal fast food fare...

OK, so things have slowed down a little since the holidays but there is still plenty to do and sometimes you just need to eat on the run. That doesn't have to break the bank or keep you on the dollar menu though, here are some great coupons that you can print and keep handy in your car so you have them when the need arises.

Taco Bell has a couple of offers, first is a free taco with the order of a drink, the second is a free fresco taco.

Not to be outdone by the competition, Taco Johns is offering a free Potato Ole when you join their Taco John Maniacs group.

Arby's is offering a free Roast Beef Sandwich with the purchase of a soft drink.

Subway has a LOT of printable coupons out right now and they are all specific to each city. You can check to see if there is one to print near you at RetailMeNot.com.

If you have a little time or are looking for something easy to bring home for dinner Pizza Hut is running their special of any size pizza with any toppings for $10.00.

Hope this gets you though your busy weekend. Sit down places will be first up next week. Have a great weekend everyone.

C.Q.