Free Bread Class!

This weekend I got together with a good friend of mine who is here visiting her in-laws for December. She lives in Kansas, and has four girls, and her husband is a big, strong, athletic, computer geek! We couldn't have more in common ;)
Anyways... she is one of the most fantastic cooks I've ever known. More specifically... she can bake like no other! I love cooking... but my baking skills are lacking. She whips out the most delicious homemade food like I can whip out mac n' cheese from a box.
*True story* on Friday... I spent three hours making cinnamon rolls... let them rise too long... and swore I'd never make them again! My neighbor is too nice to be honest, but they sucked!

My friend has some 'tricks' to making bread super fast. LESS THAN 60 MINUTES! I don't know how many of you have used or heard of lecithin? she also has some special yeast? It's nothing pricey, just knowing what to use and how to use it. Amazing! Her methods started from her mother-in-law, where it was in a Bosch... with 10 cups of flour... making 4 loaves of bread. She's tailored her recipes and methods to
1. use her food storage
2. make an amount that fits in her mixer, or a bowl
3. and use recipes of things her kids love for dinner or lunch... like awesome pizza!

So we got talking, and I asked her if she would make bread with me while she's here. I also was mentioning our little 'gathering grub' site, and the posts about bread. I've complained a number of times about not having a bread maker... she doesn't use one! She makes bread faster with her Kitchenaid! and she says it's just as easy in a bowl... no mixer needed!

I told her that some of you may want to come over and join us... so... if you want to come over on learn some economical and easy tricks to making homemade bread in less than 60 minutes. I am welcoming all! She will be at my house Saturday, December 12th from 12-2pm.
So come... watch... and eat! I told her I'd like her to show me her homemade 'stuffed crust' pizza, a braid (with chicken filling), monkey bread, and her AWESOME cinnamon rolls! You can just come to eat lunch ;)

Sherian

Macey's- Turkey Vouchers

I did my last THANKSGIVING grocery trip today. I was running errands, so I stopped by Macey's. I've read about their vouchers on coupon sites (savvy shopper), and got them at checkout. I don't need a turkey this year... but if anyone wants my vouchers, I have $1.50. You can combine as many vouchers as you'd like to use at one time.
Current prices... Norbest fresh turkey $1.29 per lb.... Honeysuckle White Turkey breast (bone-in, frozen) $1.20 per lb.
The cashier suggested I buy small ones and keep them in the freezer for later. I just don't think I'll make it back to Macey's by Thanksgiving (that's when they expire... at 1pm)

I also stopped by the Bread Outlet (down by Target) their Grandma Sycamore bread is 4 for $7 (and they had lots of whole wheat)

Comment or call me if you're interested! ;)

Thrify Thursday... slacker!

I have been a real slacker when it comes to posting. I promise to try harder.
Today will be a random gathering of things...

1. Coupons at Walgreen's- (a season of sickness)
I have to admit that this week is the first time I have used the in-ad and newspaper coupons at my local Walgreen's. I was very impressed with the selection and availability of the items (except the Ziploc bags... but when your planning on buy 12 boxes, you can't complain!)
I got 'register rewards'? They are receipt coupons good for ANYTHING in the store. I got $4 to use on my next visit.
I just think that this time of year, getting cough/cold medicine and children pain relievers never hurts. Buying them when they are super cheap saves me a ton of money in the long run. Those type of things are budget busters for me... I'm never expecting them, and I hate buying things at full price!
*Ricola vitamin C drops are $1, and if you have your BOGO coupons from the newspaper... that's 4 bags of ricola for $2... LOVE IT! Reeeeeeee.Cooooooo.Laaaaaaahhhh!

2. Christmas Gifts-
I wanted to throw out a few ideas for small gifts. I know that things are tighter for just about everyone this year... but there are always the teacher/friend/home & visiting teacher gifts/etc. About a month ago I went up to Tai Pan. This is a dangerous store for me (I can't control myself) but I went to get an early start on Christmas. They have a rack of things that are under $5. I found cute Santa cookie jars and snowflake lanterns. Well...This past week Betty Crocker cookie mixes have been on sale at Smith's (and are cheap at Wal-Mart) with newspaper, loadable, and printable coupons... I got a bunch of Holiday sugar cookie bags for around $1 each.
Santa Cookie Jar ($3.50)... cookie mix ($1)... ribbon (already had)... $4.50
I filled the snowflake lanterns with Lindor chocolates (use coupon at Costco) and some other chocolate.
Lantern ($2.50)... chocolates ($1.00 per lantern)... ribbon (already had)...$3.50
I guess my point is that you can use your grocery coupons to get little gifts as well. Just a thought.

3. Holiday hosting-
I love to have family/friends over... I wish I did it more often. I will admit that one of my many weaknesses is the need to have things perfect when people come to my house. (I'm working on it) Which is why I don't have people over more often. I had Thanksgiving at my house a couple years ago and improvised for many things!
Here's some things I've done... (but don't tell anyone, hee hee)
Festive Tablecloths- buy a pack of sheets and sew them to size. Then the kiddie table cloth matches the big table.
Place mats- scrapbook paper cut with patterned scissors around the edges.
Napkin Rings- ribbon tied to fancy scrapbooking paperclips
Drapes- shower curtain with ribbon loops hot glued to the top and matching ribbon trim glued along the bottom.
Plates- mix and match DI stuff. They have great 70's stuff in mustard yellows, moss greens and browns. Don't be afraid to mix patterns, placing a smaller plate on top of a dinner plate. You're always welcome to borrow some of my DI plate collection! (DI also has great serving platters... many just need some silver polish!)
House scent- in a saucepan...3 cups water, 4 cinnamon sticks, five whole cloves, 2 tsp. nutmeg, and orange slices. Bring to boil then turn down to simmer. Just watch the water and add more every so often. (Looks pretty in the pan too!)

I love to get the shopping out of the way early. I will admit that after trying the Black Friday shopping... I'm not the biggest fan. Sorry. But I would love to get people's take on the deals this year.
Please share any other Holiday tips... have a happy Turkey Day!