stuffing mix

it's my secret ingredient. when i need perfectly seasoned bread crumbs for my turkey meatloaf, i take a big handful of stuffing mix and put it in a zip top bag and crush away. you crush it to the texture you want, some big pieces and some finely crushed and it's already seasoned with all the good stuff. so next time you need bread crumbs use some stuffing mix instead, plus it makes a pretty good side dish too.

membership has its benefits

Take advantage of store memberships. They always give you added benefits and most of them are free to join.

Take REI for instance, because they are a co-op you will receive benefit dividends during certain point in the year. As you shop at REI they track your purchases and reward you based on those purchases. This year I received a $38 dividend that I could spend on anything in the store. They also happened to issue a coupon for 20% off 1 full priced item. I used both my dividend and my coupon to get a $60 pair of Nike yoga pants for only $9!

Other great memberships are for stores like Borders, CVS/pharmacy and grocery store chains. Look for them and see how you can save even more with these programs. Most of them will supply special coupons for you for supplying your email address as well.

a french life

I love french bread, but always seem to have a lot left over since there is only 2 of us at home.

Last week I bought a loaf at the market and we sat down to a french dinner of bread and delicious cheese. After we were full, we still had a half a loaf left, so I put it back in the bakery bag and closed it up until the next nights diner. As I looked at the loaf, i thought, garlic bread to go along with chicken parmesan and some roasted asparagus. So, I softened some butter added some garlic and some chopped herbs and smashed the butter to combine. Smearing the butter onto the 2 halves, sprinkling with parmesan and baking until golden and crisp. What a great dinner, but yet a gain I still had left over bread, about a quarter of the loaf. So I cut it into chunks added the zest from the halved lemon I used for the asparagus and added it to the food processor. Wow lemon garlic bread crumbs with a lot of flavor. For the next nights dinner we made lemon pepper chicken meatballs with asparagus mock-risotto, a brightly flavored spring time dinner.

Who knew the life of a french bread could be a week.

Tip: Look for frozen chopped herbs in the freezer department. I found mine at Trader Joe's and love having chopped basil, garlic and cilantro on hand to add to dishes. No more wasted fresh herbs in the refrigerator.

homemade just tastes better

Well not only does homemade taste better, it's better for you and costs way less. I know cooking isn't for everyone and it always seems that we never have the time but homemade food can be made in minutes and takes few ingredients.

Take hot fresh pizza. You can make the dough up to 3 days in advance and takes basic ingredients, just flour, water, salt and a bit of yeast. Of course you can buy dough pre-made at the grocer for a few dollars but why when you can make it for pennies and the taste is by far better. so here's how you do it.

basic food processor pizza dough

makes enough for 3 - 10"pizzas

1 lb flour or 3.5 to 4 cups

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. yeast

1 cup + 3tbs. water

add dry ingredients to a food processor and and pulse a few times to just combine.

add all but 2 tbs water to running food processor until dough comes together, if dough looks dry add the rest of the water.

process for about 30-45 seconds total. dough should be somewhat smooth and form into a ball.

remove dough and place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

let sit on counter in a warm dry place for 2-3 hours and then put in refrigerator for 4hrs or up to 36hrs.

the longer you leave the dough in the refrigerator the more flavor your dough will have.

and the nice thing about this dough is it's versatility. you can make focaccia or calzones with it too. I like to entertain with this and make several batches and throw a party letting everyone make their own pizza's with all sorts of great toppings.

to bake off the pizza's, place a baking stone (or terra cotta tiles from the hardware store) on the very bottom rack. Turn the oven up to 450° and allow it to heat up for minimum 30 min. slide your pizza's in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.

try this once and i think you will see the reward of making pizza at home. fresh ingredients with fresh flavors and for just pennies.

enjoy!