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Recipes

Cinco de Mayo Couponed Crockpot Chicken Mole!

 

 

Good afternoon, savvy savers! Today I wanted to share with you a very old recipe for Chicken Mole, that I have adopted from a family friend and my live-in caretaker for my early childhood years, Ms. Katie; this recipe was her Mother’s recipe for Chicken Mole, brought with her to the United States, after she naturalized as a citizen in the 1960’s. Though Ms. Katie passed away some time ago, I remember loving the smells coming from the kitchen when this amazing dish was cooking. In honor of Cinco de Mayo tomorrow, I could not think of a better time to share this dish with you! I have adapted the recipe to be more coupon, and freezer-cooking friendly, and I can make this dish for under $6.50, and it will serve 8. Keep in mind, the seasoning called for in this recipe I already keep on hand, and I also add carrots, as Ms. Katie did; please note that without the seasoning being in your pantry, this factor might offset your total cost.

Here’s how I make it:

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup carrots, sliced into discs
1 thinly diced chipotle chile; I use the canned chiles in adobo sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Instructions:

1) Place onion, raisins, garlic, chipotle pepper, peanut butter and crushed tomatoes in slow cooker.

2) In a bowl, add the sugar, cinnamon, chili powder, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, and cocoa powder, then mix the ingredients together, then add to the crockpot.

3) Mix all ingredients in the crockpot together, then carefully add your chicken and then fold the sauce over the chicken.

4) Cover the dish, and cook on Low for 6 hours.

5) Four hours into cooking, add your carrot discs, and fold into your sauce, and cook for an additional 2 hours.

6) 30 Minutes before serving, steam rice and corn.

7) 10 minutes before serving heat up your tortillas for dipping.

8) Serve mole atop a small 1 cup pile of steamed rice, pair with steam corn and tortillas.

9) Enjoy!

 

 

Derby Mint Julep!

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Calling all Kentucky Derby fans! As many will be watching all of the events at Churchill Downs this weekend, I thought I would share one of my family’s recipes for Mint Juleps! This recipe will serve 6.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar
2 cups filtered water
10 sprigs fresh mint
Crushed ice
12 oz. Kentucky bourbon

Instructions:

1) The night before serving, make a simple syrup by combining your water and sugar in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, stir constantly. Remove from heat and let steep for 3 minutes.

2) Cool simple syrup, and place in a covered container with 2 sprigs of fresh mint. Refrigerate overnight; 6-8 hours minimum.

3) Before serving,  fill 8 collins glasses with crushed ice.

4) In each glass, add 1 teaspoon of your mint-infused simple syrup, and 2 oz. Kentucky bourbon.

5) Stir with a spoon, and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

6) Enjoy!

Throwback Thursdays: Homemade French Dressing!

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Good afternoon, savvy savers! Its Throwback Thursday! So, today I want you all to remember the not so distant past, the days when the height of sophisticated family dining was going out to the Sizzler or Ponderosa! How I remember those days! So may eisles, so many choices, only one plate!

For me, my first stop was always the salad bar, and my topping of choice, the Orange Stuff! That’s right, the old school Orange French Dressing; the tangy sweetness of this topping always brought a smile to my face! But why let the fun end with adulthood? So, for this edition of Throwback Thursday, I’ll be posting my recipe for homemade Orange French Dressing!
Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup ketchup
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
Directions:

1) In a one quart jar, combine sugar, ketchup, oil, garlic, vinegar, hot sauce, celery seed, and liquid smoke.

2) Cover and shake well.

3) Refrigerate until serving.

4) This recipe makes 1 quart dressing; I save mine in a mason jar, secured, and stored in the refirdgerator up to three months!

5) Enjoy!

Cupboard Clearing Cake!

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Good afternoon, savvy savers! This afternoon I found my family a bit down in the dumps, this combined with my needs to prepare a menu and plan meals for the week, and as I had already completed my coupon shopping this morning, left me in need to find something to cheer my family up without leaving my home, or kitchen, for that matter! Voila! A one-bowl chocolate cake recipe! Most of you, like myself, will have most of these ingredients on hand, and the end result is amazing! I also am a fan of any cake preparations that requires one bowl, and I surely do not feel like emptying the dishwasher at present!

Why call it Cupboard Clearing Cake? Well, the toppings and icing can be tailored to whatever you have on hand, and in my case, cherry pie filling, oreos, and nutella! Also note, I will be serving this cake with leftover Halloween-themed napkins and utensils, again sans-dishwashing this afternoon!

This cake is sure to cheer up even the glumpiest gus!

Cupboard Clearing Cake:
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions For Cake:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2) Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
3) In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer.
4) Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
5) Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick.
6) Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients for Icing and Assembling Cake:
2 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup nutella
1 can cherry pie filling
Oreo cookies, or other cookies on hand.

Directions: for Assembling
1) In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
2) Next, in a large glass bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk.
3) Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy; adjust consistency with more milk or sugar if needed.
4) Fold in nutella, and let icing rest in bowl, at room temperature for five minutes.
5) Place 1 cake round on cake stand, adding half the contents of one can of cherry pie filling on top, then top with second cake round.
6) Ice cake, then place remaining cherry pie filling centered on top of cake, when finished crumble oreos around top, and reserve several to rim bottom of cake.

Enjoy!

Remember, you saw this recipe first at The Lady Prefers To Save!

Healthy Lifestyle Series: eMeals & Shrimp and Grits Recipe!

Hello again, savvy savers! Today I wanted to post again about on of the diet strategies I have implemented into my new diet and healthier lifestyle, eMeals! The folks at eMeals have graciously allowed me to partake in a free one-years subscription of their service, and I will be including these meal options into my current healthy lifestyle strategy, and I also wanted to bring you, my readers, information on their services as well!

Emeals

eMeals, was founded by Jane DeLaney & Jenny Cochran in 2003. Both Jane and Jenny are  typically very busy moms! Jane was frazzled over trying to pull off dinner for the family week after week. Her meal plans were scribbled on napkins and lost in her purse. So she went to work creating a better way to make meals happen. Jane recruited Jenny, a fabulous cook, and her sister to help her with the everyday operations of the company. Working with a talented team of meal planners, they developed eMeals to feed their families and preserve their sanity. Hundreds of thousands of partnerships, friendships, and business relationships later, Jane and Jenny built a way to make moms’ lives easier, by bringing manageability back to America’s dinner table.

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What is eMeals?

eMeals is an email based service, which offers over 50 weekly meal plans based on a user’s preferred food style, family size, and grocery store. Food styles, or prepared eating habits, include classic meals, clean eating, paleo, simple gourmet, low fat, low carb portion control, natural and organic, vegetarian, gluten-free, slow cooker, and our new 500 calorie plans. eMeals also  provide 7 simple to follow recipes with corresponding grocery lists each week. Meal plans are tied to the weekly sales and seasonal specials at selected grocery store chains. The result is our mass following of loyal customers who save time, money, and their sanity while providing delicious and healthy home cooked meals for their families.

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Can you really save money by using eMeals?

The average eMeals customer says they save around $1,000/year on groceries, and that doesn’t even include all the time they save. And we all know time is money! Over 50% eMeals subscribers have a targeted weekly budget for their grocery spending.  As well, keeping this in mind, eMeals structures meal plans around seasonal specials and in the case of specific stores such as ALDI, Kroger, Publix, Ralphs, Safeway, Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods!

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Does eMeals have any new promotions?

We just released our new 500 calorie plans, a new Publix Portion Control Meal Plan, as well as a new COSTCO Meal Plan. We are always looking to expand our meal plans to what our community tells us they need! We are happy to offer The Lady Prefers To Save readers 15% off with the coupon code DINNER15.

Are you involved in any charity work?

For five years, eMeals has been one of the largest funding sources for the Haiti Nutrition Project which is a program that curtails and reverses severe malnutrition within infants and children in Haiti. This program distributes Medika Mamba, which is a Haitian term for “peanut butter medicine,” a daily food supplement that provides complete nourishment needed for the growth and health of young Haitian children.

What should new customers know about your company?

We are a company based on the ideals of having dinner together as a family. That is such a valuable gift you can give to your children, your spouse, and anyone else that joins you at your table. We want to make it easier to facilitate dinner together as a family where connections and memories are made.

How can your customers get the most out of eMeals?

Sporadic grocery spending and multiple trips to the store is money down the drain. Having a plan, period, is what saves people the most money and controls spending. Having a consistent plan at your fingertips, ready to be shopped at a moments notice is GOLD. In comes eMeals. Forgetting to bring your list to the store is also money down the drain. Eliminating that problem is gold too. In comes the companion eMeals app. Your list is always on your phone – ready when you are.

Useful tips:

1) Determine how many meals you need for the week. There are seven meals on each week’s menu.

2) The app can skip any of the meals you choose to not cook and it will automatically delete those items from the grocery list.

3) Shop your stockpile first and delete items you may already have from the grocery list

4) Be sure to purchase the pantry staples that you may not have that are required for the meals you choose to cook.

5) Stick to the list!

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We also have not only dinner plans, but breakfast, lunch and dessert to help you get all your meals planned out with minimal effort. Use this tool to your advantage!

Is there anything else that you would like for The Lady Prefers To Save readers to know about eMeals?

eMeals is always adding more plans to meet the growing eating lifestyles that emerge. Paleo and Clean Eating are examples of that and happen to be two of our most popular plans! We would love to have The Lady Prefers To Save’s readers sign up for eMeals with the discount code DINNER15 for 15% off.

In addition, here is a sample eMeals recipe, for one of my favorite dishes, Shrimp and Grits:

1 cup quick-cooking grits
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 to 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
2/3 cup white wine (or substitute chicken broth)
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 green onions, chopped

1) Cook grits according to package directions. Stir in Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons butter and garlic salt.

2) Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon, and set aside.

3) Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers, garlic and Creole seasoning; cook 2 minutes. Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until wine almost evaporates.

4) Increase heat to medium-high. Add shrimp, and cook 3 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir in lemon juice; sprinkle with green onions.

5) Serve shrimp over grits; top each serving with crumbled bacon.

Here’s to the Journey!

In accordance with FTC Guidelines: I hereby disclose that I received complimentary products from the company being reviewed above, in exchange for my honest opinion and review of my experience.  I was not compensated for this review, but received a free membership. All opinions in the post are 100% my own. Individual results or experiences may vary. Please consult your physician, dietitian, or diabetes specialist before starting any diet. You can obtain more details information about the company, its products, and policies by visiting their respective websites, which will be linked above.

Peeps Fruit Kabobs!

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Good evening, savvy savers! I wanted to share another tip with you tonight, as part of my Easter Projects and recipes Series, this time my Peeps Fruit Kabobs! I just love this idea! I use lemonade and watermelon flavored peeps, along with cut kiwi, strawberries, tangelos, and wooden barbeque skewers to make a snack that’s as fun as can be! This has always been one of my go-to Easter treats, especially while dying eggs! This idea is customizable, and easy to make up to a day ahead! If you also want an extra treat, try drizzling chocolate sauce over the fruit as well!

Here’s to Easter!

Crockpot Lasagna!

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Good afternoon, savvy savers! Today I would like to share with you all my recipe for Crockpot Lasagna! This recipe is lower in fat, as I use ground turkey in liue of ground beef, which can be purchased for $1.00/lb. tubes at your local Save-A-Lot; the cheese can also be purchased for $1.00 there as well! All other ingredients can be purchased at your local Dollar Tree; recently my Dollar Tree started carrying ricotta cheese, which I stockpiled, and froze! I love that this recipe does not require boiling the lasagna pasta, which is a great time saver in the winter, and helps to eliminate heat in my kitchen, in the warm southern summers!

I can make this recipe for under $4.00, and it will 6.

Here’s how I make it:

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
4 tablespoons dried onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (12 ounce) package lasagna noodles
12 ounces cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions:

1) In a large skillet, over medium-low heat, brown your ground turkey.

2) While browning, add your dried onion, oregano, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and salt.

3) Stir well, and heat through for 5 minutes on low.

4) In a seperate large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and shredded mozzarella cheese.

5) Next, place a small layer of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the slow cooker.

6) Now, add a double layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles; break the noodles up to fit the shape of the crockpot.

7) Now, add a layer of the cheese mixture. Then continue to layer the meat, noodles, and cheese mixture until add layer are finished.

8) Cover, and cook on low setting for 6 hours.

9) Pair with a salad and garlic bread.

10) Enjoy!