Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Strawberry Bruchetta

Geez, I hope I spelled that right.

So, with the impending move I've been doing less and less hounding lately. I have, however, recently uped my cooking game! In the past week I've made Strawberry Bruchetta, Creamed Spinach, and Chicken Scallopine, all with moderate to great success (yay!!!). Not to be outdone, DBF made me Bisquick pancakes this weekend... mmm. I found The Pioneer Woman's blog from my hound friend frugalsuz's links, and her cooking is fantastic, and she takes enough pictures to break it down into steps a newbie like me can manage.

As for the Strawberry appetizer, that one I stole from my roommate. And now I'm passing it onto you, because it is SUMMER, and sometimes you just need food that has fruit on top.

Ingredients: 1 loaf french bread or a baguette, extra virgin olive oil, goat cheese, strawberries.

Unfortunately I did not take any pictures, so regular instructions will have to do.

-Preheat your oven to 350 or 400, I don't think it really matters.
-Slice the bread into snackable sized thicknesses.
-Coat one side of each slice lightly (ish, you just don't want it soaked) with the EVOO.
-Spread some goat cheese onto the bread. You can spice it up or buy the pre-herbed cheese if your heart desires.
-Slice your strawberries and put a few slices on each bread slice.
-Bake 'um til the strawberries look dry on top. Since we're not in the broiler, it's very hard to overcook them, so these are very nice for when you'll be busy prepping something else, or just chatting up whomever is so lucky as to have you cooking for them.

Ta-Da! Summer appetizer. They're yummy- I promise!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Bye Bye Long Hair, Hello Beach!

I'm moving to the beach! I have one month left in my current place, and then I'll move into my new abode by the sea. My new rent is quite comparable to what I pay now, though I'll miss this place some, and my current roomies (and their furbabies!) more.

In other exciting news, I cut my hair yesterday! Now, I haven't posted any pictures of myself here, but I assure you it was L. O. N. G. It now comes to just below my chin, having chopped off about a foot of it. Yes, a foot.



See? I donated it to Locks of Love at my local Great Clips. If you want to donate, most salons will take care of the shipping and paperwork, so the biggest thing to know is that hair has to be clean, 10" or longer, and not bleached (dyed darker or permed is OK).

Great Clips used to do free haircuts when you donate your hair to LOL across the board, but now it is a franchise by franchise choice, so be sure to call first and check! The first one I called did not, but one 5 miles away from it did, so all my haircut cost me was the tip (please do bring cash for that, as you are still using the stylist's time).

Oh yeah; and have a FANTASTIC, safe holiday weekend!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Burnin' my RR

So two weeks ago, I kayaked to WAGS. And it was awesome. From that little adventure I had a $2.50 Bayer RR that was expiring today, and since I can't let them expire, I bought a book. Nothing stuck out at me in the ad, and while I love the idea of using the library, I simply don't read books fast enough so unless I'm on a kick I just purchase the occasional paperback. Plus, it was $2.50 off. And no worries on CVS; my EB's don't expire til the 23rd.

As for my prior post, I'm leaning towards the beach. After all, I have the rest of my life to live in suburban looking neighborhoods. One more place to see tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be able to make a decision.

MOVING

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile. Between finding out we'd be moving, CVS not having EB deals in Cali this month, and traveling for work, I've just not had much time or desire to go hounding.

So, I'm moving. And since my roommates that are staying in the area got a pay raise when she switched jobs this month, they've decided to get their own place. They've been married three years, so I totally get that, and we're hoping to find places kind of nearby and still hang out, do dinner, etc.

Anyways, I'm now looking for new roommates. I've lived alone before, and I don't like it. I don't like cooking for one, I don't like not speaking to anyone from the minute I leave work til the next morning if I don't go anywhere, and I don't like the idea that if I don't come home no one will ever know it. Plus, why waste money on getting a one bedroom if it isn't important to me?

The question really is SPACE or BEACH. I'd rather have both, but homes close to the beach are old, and inherently small. I'm torn... and taking your opinions!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Kayaking to Walgreens

Yes, that is correct. No typos were involved in the making of this title; I LITERALLY kayaked to my WAGS. We went because 1) it is Ally's B-day weekend 2) it is MAY in SoCal, so dag-nab it the sun should have been out, and 3) turns out WAGS is in the "Starbucks/Jamba Juice" stop on the common Kayak route. Also, when I say "we" I really mean other people went to Starbucks while I went to WAGS, and we we met after. I mean, c'mon, I had higher priority things to do than wait on a light frappochino sugar something with whip cream.

My WAGS had BAYER $1 Q's out for the quick release crystals- so I used my $2 RR that expired today to buy 1 of those at $2.49 and one campbell's tomato soup at $0.59. After $2 RR and $1 Bayer MC, my total was a mere $0.31, most of which was tax. I paid with my GC, got my $2.50 RR for profit thanks to good 'ol bayer, and left a happy camper with dirt on my wet, wet, wet bum.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Challenge Update

Last we chatted, I had $3.65 left to last me until today. I went to my Uncle's wedding reception, which caused me to fill up my gas tank at a cost of $23.70 (worth it), and did the Command hook deal at CVS (this week the metal hooks are $2.50, there is an IP for $2.50, and you get $5 EB back when you spend $15 on them), which cost me $1.31 in tax. Again this was worth it since they made me $3.69 profit and are something I can use.

So all in all, I spent $121.36 this pay period. It wasn't my Challenge goal, but I'll take it! As for this week, I have a $2 RR I need to spend today or tomorrow, and I plan on doing the Coke deal at CVS on Sunday. I should be headed out on a business trip Monday morning, and I'm flying home next Friday for a wedding and Mother's day- so if my plans don't change I won't be doing any "real" grocery shopping until the 11th.