Jill, this is for you!

Finally the recipes I used to make the pumpkin pie!

1. Graham cracker crust: melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan on the stove or in the microwave. Place 24 graham crackers in a large ziplock-type freezer bag and crush - I did 6 at a time, put them in the bag, closed the bag, and then rolled it with a rolling pin, and crushed them more at the end with the end of the rolling pin. Measure 1 1/2 cups of graham crackers into a bowl and to this add the melted butter and 1/4 cup of sugar. Stir or blend this together with your hands, then pat firmly into a 9" pie plate. Pre-bake the crust 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree (pre-heated) oven.

2. Pie filling: I just followed the instructions on the pumpkin pie can; I think mine was Libby's brand, but you can use whatever the store has:)

3. Whipped cream to top with when it's time to eat it up!: pour half a pint of heavy cream into a bowl (metal bowl if you have it) and then add 1/3 cup sugar and a tsp of vanilla. If you want to make it a little thicker, add more sugar, but never more than 2/3. Using a whisk or beater, mix the ingredients together until peaks start to form. Once it's mixed as much as you would like (the more the better, just make sure it doesn't get so thick you can't mix it), put it in the fridge to chill until you are ready to use:)

Enjoy!!! The husband said it was the best pumpkin pie he's ever had...aww:)

Slacking today

For it's the husband's bday! Made him his requested sausage, pepperoni, and mozzarella pizza with mozzarella sticks and brownie sundaes. Now I relax, as I'm still fighting this throat thing/tired thing - I swear pumpkin recipe tomorrow!! For now, happy birthday to Ron!!!

Grocery shop like a pro!

I, for some reason, like grocery shopping. I like people watching, so maybe that is why, or maybe b/c I like to see what's new out there, who knows. But I do not like spending a ton of time (more than 45 mins) at the grocery store, or really any store for that matter. Here are some of my tips on how to be, or become, a great grocery shopper!

1. Eat before you go shopping, even if it's just snack - that way you don't buy every box of twinkies or bag of chips you see;)

2. Look at the weekly flyer for the particular store(s) you go to, see what's on sale, and plan EVERY meal that you are going to cook that week. This way, you do not forget anything, and you only buy what you need. To plan your menu's, use magazines like the Kraft Magazine, cookbooks, or websites, like mine and many other cooking blogs; also use a fave of mine, www.cooks.com!

3. Make a list so again you don't forget anything, but make the list by aisle! I learned this from my mom - going to the grocery store every week, we know where most things are located. Again, this way you are organized and not forgetting anything and having to run around the store crazily, nor go back during the week (what a pain!).

4. USE USE USE coupons - they are there to save you $! I like to use coupons from flyers in the mail, the regular store flyer, if they have coupons that week, couponsuzy.com and/or coupons.com (they are usually pretty similar).

5. Bag your own groceries;) Okay, so this won't make your experience "better" persay, but if you go to a line where there is no bagger, just go ahead and get in there - you know where things in your house go and can bag accordingly. I prefer to bag my own groceries, and not because I think the workers at the store do a poor job or because I worked at a grocery store during college, but because again I know which things go in the same cabinets in my house, etc - makes it easier on everyone:) Also, use the recyclable bags - I know my Stop and Shop takes 5 cents off my order for every recyclable bag I use:)

And always remember - the grocery store will always be a madhouse the night before a snowstorm or holiday - plan accordingly; also remember that if the power goes out because of that snowstorm, the Lean Cuisine's you bought are no good, so buy staples like bread and peanut butter instead;)

Tomorrow, finally, the pumpkin pie/crust/whipped cream recipe:)

I'm feeling "writy" today

First and foremost, Happy Veteran's Day, and thank you to all who do and have served the U.S.; today is really a great day to count our blessings.

I plan to post a few recipes today since I'm back on the couch, aka island, with a slight cold that I'm trying to get out of here so I can go to work tomorrow. I get sick of TV and sleep, so out comes the laptop:)

With my phlegmy throat thing, I have again forgotten to take pictures of my meals, bad Chey, bad. Still working on that!

Last night, Tuesday, was homemade steak, cheese, onion, and mushroom sub night. I must say they come out better than I thought they would! I bought a lb of stew meat, so it was already somewhat cut up, 1 medium sized white onion, a package of pre-sliced mushrooms, and a 1/2 lb of yummy deli American white cheese (I had provolone too, just in case we were feeling that). The only other ingredients you need are olive oil, pepper, salt, and Worcestershire sauce, and I had all of those in the house, luckily :)

Heat a fry pan over medium high heat; while this is happening, slice up the onions and mushrooms (and peppers if you would like to use peppers too) - not too small of slices, think about how you would get a sausage sub at Fenway size:). Pour into the heated fry pan about a tablespoon of oil, then add the veggies, sauteing them for about 7-8 minutes.

While those are sauteing, I cut up the meat into even smaller pieces than they were already in and seasoned them with salt and pepper (always wash your hands after any time you touch the meat and then need to touch something else, like the fry pan handle, fridge door, etc) and also preheated the oven to 300. I added the meat to the veggies in the fry pan along with 2 tsp's of Worcestershire sauce and let that all cook up for about another 8 minutes, until the meat was a color to our liking.

Remove the pan from the heat, take out your first sub roll, any kind is fine, slice it open, and place as much cheese as your would like on the bread. Scoop some of the veg/meat mixture on top of the cheese, spreading it out to cover the entire sub, and heat it in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted how you like it. YUM, it's done:) You can then add ketchup, mustard, tomatoes, or anything else you may like to the top and enjoy! I'd say you can even use any kind of bread you like - I bet pumpernickel or rye, or some kind of pita pocket would be really good too!

Thanks to sabatinobros.com for the pic - mine, minus the peppers, looked the same:)

Halloween, a little late;)

Hey everyone, it will be a quick post tonight as today was my first day back at work and I'm wiped (and also coming down with a cold/throat thing I think - lots of tea, and I slept 2 hours this afternoon). Anyways, on "real" Halloween, the husband had homecoming at his college and I spent the day with Melissa, Angela, Chandrea, and Jess having our own Halloween lunch (I made dirt and worms, otherwise known as trifle;)), so yesterday we found time to have our Halloween meal:) I spent alot of time on my island couch finding cute recipes that would be good, enjoyable, funny, and easy. I was in luck, as there were plenty! They took about an hour total, and are totally kid friendly help-wise. I hope you enjoy the descriptions and pics!!

Mummy Hotdogs:

Preheat oven to 375
I used 4 hotdogs, and boiled them until cooked
1 pkg of Pillsbury breadsticks - I took 4 of the breadstick dough things and wrapped them around the hotdogs, leaving room for eyeballs, to look like mummys:)
Baked in the oven about 12 minutes, or until breadsticks start to turn golden. When removed from the oven, use whatever you would like for eyeballs (I used just mustard drops). My husband then went onto bloody them up with more mustard and ketchup;) So yum with the breadsticks - much lighter than a hotdog roll!

Jack-o-lantern Pizza:

Preheat oven to 450
I bought dough in the deli section of the grocery store, so I made one dough package into a circle and placed it onto a greased (with Pam spray) pizza pan.
Place as much sauce and toppings as you'd like - I used sauce and then alot of pepperoni
Use any type of pizza cheese on top of that layer and make sure that sauce/pepperoni layer is completely covered - I used a mix of italian shredded cheese and sharp cheddar.
Cut a green pepper into thin slices to use to make the outline of the jack-o-lantern; cut one thicker for the stem you can put on after it comes out of the oven. Cut pepperoni or anything else into the shapes for eyes/nose/mouth as you prefer:)
Bake for about 13 minutes (that's when my crust was done to how we prefer) and enjoy!

Let me tell you, the husband loved both, and loved the look of the pizza, but I know my husband, and I know he likes pepperoni on his pizza. I knew he'd be "disappointed" looking at it and seeing only minimal pepperoni for the facial features. When he bit in and realized there was a whole layer of pepperoni underneath the cheese, he was in heaven:)

Just making some good ole healthy salmon tonight, so going to go start that now and have some more tea. Fingers crossed for me! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the pumpkin pie/crust/whipped cream recipe, that will come probably tomorrow:) Have a great and beautiful evening, everyone (the weather in MA is fab - very disappointed I couldn't get out and enjoy today b/c I was so tired:(

That's Amore, Chicken Cacciatore!

Thanks to Carol Sherwood in NY for this recipe from my calendar of crockpot recipes. I have made this recipe numerous times and it's a fave not only of myself and my husband, but now my family who greatly enjoyed it last night; some were even to full for brownies and vanilla ice cream afterwards! This recipe makes 6 servings and is a perfect family meal - enjoy!

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
28 oz jar of whatever spaghetti sauce you would like - most come in 24 or 26 ounces, so I just go with one of those, no problem
2 green peppers, chopped or sliced in as small/large of pieces as you would like
1 onion, again cut how you would like
2 tbsp minced garlic
***you can also add mushrooms and any other seasonings, like crushed red pepper, oregano leaves, etc***

Place half of the chicken in a layer on the bottom of the crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients, besides the chicken that is left, in a large bowl. Spoon half of this mixture over the first layer of chicken. Add remaining chicken and top with remaining sauce. Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours.

I like to serve this with angel hair or any type of pasta really, a nice garden or tomato/basil/mozz salad, and some garlic bread - yum!

Tomorrow, the pumpkin pie recipe and the Halloween meal we had tonight...oops;)