Superbowl Sunday Snacks

I recently made these layer bars for a potluck and I really enjoyed them. I thought I'd share the recipe... They're from a compilation cookbook that my mom made for me for Christmas this year.

Delicious Layer Bars

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (that's 1/3 of a box, or 1 plastic sleeve)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

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1 8oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup flaked coconut

3/4 cup chopped nuts

1 cup chocolate chips

Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine; press onto bottom of a 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

Combine cream cheese, sugar and egg, mixing until well blended. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with combined coconut, nuts, and chocolate; press lightly into surface. Bake at 350, 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool; cut into bars.

*Tip: I lined the pan with foil before assembling these bars--it made cutting and clean-up much easier!

Riverwalk Cat

I never really wrote about our travels in Texas as I promised to, and since it has been practically two months since the trip, I really don't plan on it. Fact is, we were kind of bums while we were there--we spent a lot of time in our hotel room sleeping because it was the kind of vacation we needed at the time. Also, I only uploaded the pictures (we took only 10 or so! awful!) today--so I am definitely far behind.

Can you believe that there was not sweet tea at any of the restaurants we went to?! But, that's another topic entirely. Also, everytime I saw a homeless person in Austin, someone was giving them money. I hate to generalize, but you can ask James--we were impressed by the generosity of the city. We certainly weren't used to that in DC--no one handed money to the homeless there except for the tourists. Another topic, as well...

Back to the intended topic... When we were at the Riverwalk in San Antonio, this little cat came to be my friend. It was a photogenic cat, and for that reason, the whole point of this blog is to share this picture...

Simply Potatoes

One of my favorite convenience foods is the "Simply Potatoes" product line. Recently, my grocery store had a BOGO sale on the mashed potato varieties, and I had coupons, so of course I took advantage of the sale.

Last night, we had a delicious dinner of steak, steamed broccoli and sweet potato casserole. Here's my simplified version of sweet potato casserole!

Super-Simple Sweet Potatoes

1 Carton of Simply Potatoes Mashed Sweet Potatoes

5 Graham crackers, crushed (James enjoyed doing this!)

3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

4 Tablespoons Butter, melted

Spread potatoes in a buttered 8x8 (or some kind of small equivalent) pan. Mix remaining ingredients together and sprinkle over potatoes. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

Simple, right? Here's a picture of my super-simple sweet potatoes.

And here's the final meal. I know it looks like we must be piggies because the plates are so full, but the steaks were cut thinly, I promise!

Wisdom

"If you want something then you lose everything. If you don't want anything then you already have everything." -Seung Sahn

Not a pie person.

Last night, James and I watched a wonderful film called Waitress. It starred Keri Russell as a pregnant waitress, wanting to escape her life (typical story, right?). So, throughout the movie, she makes pies in a way that most people would journal--her pies express her emotions and document what is going on in her life. I hope I explained that well--it's really a great idea.

So, I was thinking about pies last night, and recalled one of my family's classic memories. It took place at the bar in the kitchen of my Poppy and Granny's home, where the majority of our meals there were eaten. Every night, there was some kind of dessert after dinner, the standard being a classic pound cake which was always kept underneath an aluminum cake dome with a plastic handle and the word "CAKE" written on the side. This particular night, however, the dessert of the night was some sort of pie--apple, I think. I didn't particularly want dessert, so I decided to forgo the pie I had been offered. No harm, no foul, right?

A few nights later, I was again offered pie by my Poppy. Before I could unnter a word, my Granny quickly replied, "Bennett, Tristin is not a pie person."

My refusal that fateful night forever secured my destiny of not being a "pie person".

Truth be told, I really don't prefer pies. I like berry pie and key-lime pie, and certain lemon pies... But, beyond that, I guess it's true that I am not a "pie person". Anyhow, anytime that my immediate family has pie, someone reminds the family "Oh, don't give any to Tristin--she's not a pie person. Then we all have a big laugh.

The humor lies in the fact that in the South, you cannot just turn-down a piece of pie. Why on earth would any self-respecting Southerner (which I am not--I am merely the descendant of Southerners with an inherited thirst for sweet tea) refuse a piece of pie?

Lesson learned: Don't refuse food from a Southerner. (Besides, even if you do refuse, you'll often still find a plate placed in front of you and a fork will miraculously find its way into your hand.)

My Little Geisha

As my previous post suggests, I have been thinking about geisha lately. (I learned from the book that plural geisha is still geisha, not geishas like my mind prefers.) As I walked alongside my little buddy Brian, I wondered (not aloud): Who are the modern geisha?

Well, that led my thoughts along several different paths. I guess you could consider "trophy wives" the modern geisha, however the parallels don't totally match. But, then I stumbled upon the exact parallel--the modern geisha...

Dogs.

Yep, dogs. Walking along with my little pal, having people gawk at his precious white face led me to the understanding that Brian is my geisha. You see, he is showered with love and affection simply because he is something nice to look at, and he makes me feel good about myself. Who waits at the door so that he can kiss me and wag his tail when I come in the door? Whom do I shower with gifts and affection? When he and I are out in public and he is by my side, who do people smile at and flirt with?

Why, Brian of course.

A man wrote that?!

Forget Robert Fulghum's "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten".

I'm rewriting his book and I will entitle it "All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Memoirs of a Geisha".

What a phenomenal read--I am still just so excited about this book. There were so many blatantly obvious truths within it, although to begin with I never knew I could identify with a geisha. It's not to say that I find myself similar to Sayuri, the main character--really, we're quite different. But, in her maturing she learned many of the truths that I have learned. I guess, she learns what we all learn by growing up.

I thought this book would be more about the intriguing world of the geisha in the early 20th century. What I didn't know was that I would be reading a coming-of-age novel, that would strike me as so honest and real.

I have read some good books lately, but I think this was the most memorable and touching. I hope I haven't spoken so well of it that it would disappoint other readers, but I think that it's the overwhelming messages that struck me to be so rich.

My Thursday Night Disappointment

I always look forward to Thursday nights at 9:00pm because that is when the greatest show on earth, The Office comes on. (And you thought I was talking about the circus! Hah!)

Well, not anymore. Just reruns sporadically. Big bummer. Dashed hopes. Shattered dreams.

And what is going on with Pam and Jim? I need an update!

Tomorrow, NBC is airing a repeat of one of my favorite episodes--the one where Michael and the rest of the crew make a commercial. It's pretty hilarious.

But, I can't be content with just reruns for much longer. Come back, please. Come back.

...and the search continues!

Today marks the end of week 3 of my job search. Really, the job search started sometime in October, but since I was also working and going to school, it was not a dedicated search—merely looking here and there, at this and that when the mood struck me. (Can I get any vaguer?)

I have now been on three interviews, one of them with a staffing agency. I actually went on one interview this week at a construction supply company where the gentleman interviewing began with an open door, but a few moments into the meeting he got up and gently shut the door. He proceeded to tell me “Look, being honest with you—you don’t want to work here. You’re nice and intelligent, and trust me, you wouldn’t want to be here.” (He didn’t know that compliments like that go straight to my head, in the same way that Krispy Kremes go straight to my hips.) We talked a few moments more, and while he remained pretty elusive about the specific reasons I wouldn’t want to work in his office, I got the hint. I appreciate the candor, I suppose.

The interviewer and I talked about the job market and how hard it is to get a job these days—it turns out he commutes from Orlando. To me, that’s absurd. Shouldn’t we be commuting to Orlando, not vice versa? He also said that it took his wife six months to find a job in Orlando. If Orlando’s job situation is a barometer as to Melbourne’s, well then, I feel very discouraged!

Either way, I am continuing to trudge along in my pursuit of fulfilling employment. I am being a good wife, listening to good music, and exercising. It really does feel nice to have time to myself, although I really think would find more bliss in employment.

I am currently working on filing an application and going through the arduous process of becoming a teacher. I think I’d like to teach home economics/family and consumer sciences in high school. At least the starting salary is $36K. It’s so funny that everyone complains about how poorly teachers are compensated, but their salary is looking awesome to me!

From here on out, I am done wallowing in self-pity.

Mushy Bananas

Bananas are pretty popular at the Wright house. Not only do James and I like them, but our dog Brian is CRAZY about bananas. One may even say he "goes bananas" for bananas. (Ahh, I love puns!) This little guy can be sleeping under the bed, but the moment you separate a banana from the bunch, he is at your feet. It's almost like he has a sixth sense when it comes to the delicious yellow fruit.

While bananas rarely make it to the spotty, brown, over-ripe stage in our house, I often buy extra so I can make these wonderful muffins. They're low fat/low cholesterol (only 3 tablespoons of oil and 2 egg whites--no yolks) but you'd never know it! Try this recipe when you have some mushy bananas on hand!

Banana-Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
2 egg whites
1 cup mashed bananas (that's 2 or 3 bananas--either way, they come out well)
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. lemon zest (but I like 2 tsp.--the lemon is so subtle but good!)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (or, 1/2 cup chocolate chips-- your choice!)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites slightly. Stir in bananas, sugar, oil, and lemon peel. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in pecans (or chocolate chips). Fill muffin tin cups 2/3 full.
4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until tops are slightly browned. Cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan. Makes 12 muffins, though I consistently make 11.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do--leave a comment if you make them and tell me what you think!

P.S. In my humble opinion, muffins always taste better when served from a basket lined with a pretty cloth napkin. Pretty food always tastes better.

P.P.S. I haven't ever tried to print these blog pages, but I am pretty sure they wouldn't print well. My advice? Copy and paste the recipe into a word document, and then print it. Don't waste your time writing it out--get in the kitchen!

Where Shopping is a Pleasure

This week, I once again spent about an hour clipping coupons and researching the Publix sales ad. I went grocery shopping and bought sixteen items that I needed. Now, some of these items were staple items that there are not coupons for, generally speaking. Milk and eggs, for instance, you rarely get a break on. Anyhow, This week I spent $16.44 on $38.67 worth of groceries!


That's a savings of $22.23 (thankfully, this is broken down on my receipt!) and I ended up saving more money than I actually spent. I actually got 2 huge boxes of delicious and healthy Total Raisin Bran for only $1.34 per box--the regular price of these is $4.79. It's kind of exciting to save so much money.

Over the past few years, I have really been impressed with myself. I have curbed my spending in so many ways. First of all, I rarely shop for clothes now, although there was a time in my life that I nearly bought a new outfit every week. I also haven't been getting my hair cut as often as I used to--I used to follow the "every six weeks" rule. About every other haircut, I would get highlights as well. That's also a luxury I have cut out. While James and I still go out to eat frequently, I have lowered my standards of restaurants so that I don't take a toll on our pocketbook. (Thank goodness, though, that I have a husband who knows what I like--he has treated me occasionally to wonderful special restaurants because he knows how much I enjoy it!) I am not paying for an expensive gym membership that I don't use. I am not purchasing things for the house that we really don't need. I have really kicked a lot of bad habits out of necessity, and I think that it will make good impact on how I continue to spend (or not spend) in the future!

I am trying to get over my materialistic "want, want, want" attitude, and finding myself more content with what we have. So what that we have an empty living room with no furniture--it makes a great place to play ball with our little dog. The blue tile on the floor still bothers me, but I know it's a priority for us both to fix it as soon as we have the means.

In the meantime, life is pretty good!

Double Feature

When James and I go to the movies, we typically catch a double feature. No, it's not a cinema promo or anything like that--but James figures that if he's already got me at the movie theatre, he may as well force me into another movie! (You see, it's really not my favorite thing to go to the movies. But anyhow, it's getting less and less painful.)

I have a suggestion for a double feature--two movies that we recently saw and loved. The first is the movie Juno. It's about a 16-year-old spunky, smart-mouthed girl who gets pregnant from having first-time experimental sex with her best friend, Bleeker whose only vice is orange tic-tacs. It was charming, and I really enjoyed the small hilarious moments in the film-which contrast the quiet depth of the movie. Also, James and I both loved the music from the movie. It's a little funky, but we downloaded the soundtrack and really enjoyed listening to it.

Another must-see is No Country for Old Men. We had not heard of the movie or seen any previews, but decided to go see it because no other movies really struck our fancy. We figured that it's hard to be let down if you have no expectations of a movie. So, we grabbed some Skittles, an Icee, and some good seats and braced ourselves for a mystery-box film. From the title, I thought it would be about the industrialization of rural areas, and subdivisions taking the place of family-owned farms. I was delightfully wrong. In actuality, it was an adaptation of a book by author Cormac McCarthy (you may recognize the name--his recent book "The Road" was an Oprah Book Club pick). I won't spoil it--but it has everything you can ask for in a movie--tons of heroin, drug money, theft, revenge, murder, self-surgery--what more can you ask for?!

Facing the facts: You can save money with coupons.

So, from a marketing standpoint, coupons are for suckers who will purchase a product they generally don't buy just for the sake of "saving money". It's also a company's way to con people into trying their new products.

I have learned, however, that coupons can save consumers (yes, even ones like me) money if used correctly. What is correctly? Before I share my advice on how to use coupons, I would first like to give credit to a few others who actually made me re-think the concept of "coupon-ing". My sis-in-law, Angie, first told me about how people save money with coupons. I wasn't interested at the time because I pretty much shopped exclusively at Whole Foods and was more concerned with organics than price. These days, I am really pinching pennies, so I have new motivation, I suppose. Also, the websites Grocery Game and Coupon Mom are helpful resources if you're trying to learn to use coupons. And yes, you do have to learn how to use coupons in order for them to actually save you money.

Ok, ok, so credit has been given where credit is due--now, on to my savings tips.

1. Buy the Sunday paper. Not only are there great comics (which I am a sucker for), crossword puzzles, and of course news--it is chock-full of coupons.

2. Only use coupons for items that you actually use, or products that you are not brand-picky about. (For instance, if there's a great deal on dishwasher detergent but it's not the one you typically use--it may be worth trying the brand that you can get a deal on. Why not?)

3. Study the ads for your local store. I am not all about going from store to store in search of a deal, honestly, so I stick to just my favorite store--Publix. I know that they announce the weeks specials on Thursdays. I pull the ads up online and use my coupons in conjunction with the weeks specials.

4. Use printable online coupons. I use Coupon Bug and non-store specific coupons found on the Albertson's website of all places.

   
   

5. Use coupons with your store's promotions. For instance, this week Publix is having a buy-one-get-one-free promo on Betty Crocker muffin mixes. Score, right? But even better--I have a coupon for $1 off when you buy two! I get the two muffin mixes for the price of one, less one dollar. Ultimately, I spend $1.50 total on two Betty Crocker muffin mixes--only $ .75 each!

6. Don't feel like you're being cheap! If you can save money, save it! Think of all the other wonderful things your money can do.

Being the skeptic that I am, it took me a long time to come around. However, the first time I made out a list and shopped according to the sales at Publix, I saved $29.07! The kicker? I only actually spent $26.51! For a bill that could have added up to $55.58, I paid less than half at the small amount of $26.51!

...And I only bought staple items that I actually use and need.

*The bummer is that there are not coupons for produce or meats, which I would estimate that I generally spend 70% of my grocery money on. However, you can still significantly save on produce and meats by shopping with the specials. If broccoli is on special, incorporate it into your meals for the week. If whole chickens are on sale, roast a chicken! Shop with the specials!
Also, frequent your local farmer's markets, if they're available. Produce is much cheaper through these venues because of low overhead and minimal mark-up. And as a bonus, you can feel good about supporting the "little man" and your local economy.