This week - Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Ginger Green Tea Chai

Cost: $2.99 at Whole Foods

Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags

Caffeine: Yes

Type of tea: Green and Black Teas

Steeping time: 4 minutes

Double Dipper potential: Didn't even try

Mix ins: Honey, milk

Teabag fragrance: Smelled very ginger-y, not in a good gingerbread way, more of a grated ginger

Ingredients: Green tea, black tea, cinnamon, ginger, roasted chicory, natural vanilla and ginger flavors with other natural flavors (contains soy lecithin), nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and black pepper.

Taste: Ginger, then a vanilla kick....then the bad aftertaste

My opinion: I take back my earlier comment/post about being in love with all of the Celestial Seasonings' Chai Teas so far!

Rating: 1 teabag out of 5, only because I actually finished the mug.

Fresh Whole-Wheat Pitas - Cooking Light, March 2009

Fresh Whole Wheat Pitas - another winner from the March 2009 issue of Cooking Light, page 176

The verdict? No more store-bought pitas in this house again! These were so easy, and made even easier by using my bread machine to knead the dough and take it to the first rising. Couldn't find the 2% Greek style yogurt, so I used Stoneyfield Farms Oikos Greek Style Plain Fat Free instead. I did get a pretty good "pocket" but after reviewing the recipe description again, realized I didn't really treat them as gently as I should have in order to get a more airy result. Still, what I did get was good enough for us and the next time will only be better.

Garden Update - Torenias

The "Trailing Purple" Torenias weathered our hot, hot summer and fall rain - and are still growing and going crazy underneath our crape myrtles!

Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomato Sauce - Cooking Light, March 2009

From the March 2009 issue of Cooking Light, page 106 - Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomato Sauce



A very good result with a few changes -- I used a package of Costco's boneless chicken thighs and regular black olives. (Someone around here got into the kalamata ones. But the regular black olives were able to step up to the plate.) Since it was a smaller amount of chicken thighs, I only used one can (14 ounce) of diced tomatoes and also reduced the tomato paste to 2 tablespoons. Minced about 3 small/medium garlic cloves. I also substituted 1/4 cup of chicken broth for the white wine. Because these were boneless thighs, it was finished in a little under three hours. I had to turn it down from High to Low after about an hour and half. It all fit into the smaller, 3 quart crockpot.

Served over spaghetti, this is a nice variation to meatballs. The chicken thighs really picked up all the flavors. Easily served three people with leftovers. Definitely a keeper and will make again!

New Hello Kitty stuff at Target!

The Target Dollar Spot has new Hello Kitty additions. LOVE the ribbon spools - the four rolls each have one yard. This shipment's theme seems to be apples. There are two different versions of the playing cards, lots of stickers, pencils, pens...and these cool scented highlighters! Stock up now for stocking stuffers, Secret Santa treats, etc.

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

November 19/21 - Vogue Patterns $3.99

Merry Moolah Sale - November 21/25

$1.99 McCalls Patterns
$1.99 Simplicity Patterns
Rotary Blades, BIGIF
Gutermann 26 spool thread box - $19.99

Update 11-16-09 -- Hobby-Lobby has McCall's patterns for 99 cents this week

Thursday Tea Time

This week - Celestial Seasonings Decaf Sweet Coconut Thai Red Tea with Exotic Spices!

Cost: $2.09 at Super Target
Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags
Caffeine: No
Type of tea: African Rooibos Red and Black Teas
Steeping time: 4 minutes
Double Dipper potential: Yes, give it 6 minutes the second time
Mix ins: Sugar, milk
Teabag fragrance: Coconut, cloves and anise
Ingredients: Rooibos, decaffeinated black tea, cinnamon, roasted chicory, ginger, natural coconut flavor with other natural flavors, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, paprika, black pepper and Chinese star anise.

Taste: Not an expected tropical coconut flavor, but more of a creamy coconut blending with hints of clove, ginger and anise. A winning combination!

My opinion: Added to the top of the favorites list!

Would I go back and buy another box? Yes! I'm in love with all of the Celestial Seasonings' Chai Teas so far!

Rating: 5 teabags out of 5

Yummy! Chocolate Peppermint Cookies!

Couldn't resist these at Whole Foods this afternoon -- Immaculate Baking Co. Chocolate Peppermint cookies -- on sale $3.50 for a package of 24. Great idea to combine chocolate and peppermint bark!

Also available -- Gingerbread Spice. Both are limited editions. Look for them in the refrigerated section. Our Whole Foods had them in the special holiday cooler with the eggnogs, etc.

I like that you can just bake a few at a time, for it would be very easy and dangerous to make two dozen disappear - (snap fingers!) - like that!

The dough rounds bake into a 3" slightly crispy cookie - two will take care of you just fine. And they are trans fat free.

Holiday cookie baking can be a fun production, but sometimes you just want easy-peasy. Next shopportunity I'm going back for another package of these and a Gingerbread Spice to keep on hand for these upcoming crazy weeks ahead.

Cooking Light Magazine - $5 Subscription at Amazon!

Cooking Light is Amazon's Magazine Steal of the Week - $5 for a one year subscription, for both new and renewals! Order quickly, offer expires at Midnight this Saturday, November 14!

Hints for renewals:

If you are renewing, make sure your name in the Ship To box is the same shown on your subscription label. I don't know about you, but I have many different "aliases" (variations) of my name!

It is also even better if you are about three months or more away from your current ending subscription date. It takes them about 1-2 months for your label to reflect the extension.

(Thank you to Peggy L for the head's up!)

Netflix Stars - Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Barely a 3/5 - not awful, not great either. I think this is another where the previews look better than the movie. Jennifer Garner is funny, and the actress who played her younger version in 13 Going on 30, Christa B. Allen, also plays her as a teenager in this movie. Also interesting that Michael Douglas and Anne Archer are teamed up again. Matthew McConaughey is just a goof. A good-looking goof, but still a goof who's starting to get a little long in the tooth for this. Overall, there are some bright and funny spots, but you'll need to wade through a lot of dreck to get to them.

Thursday Tea Time

This week -- Celestial Seasonings Red Tea Madagascar Vanilla

Cost: $2.99 at Whole Foods

Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags

Caffeine: No

Type of tea: African Rooibos Red

Steeping time: 4 minutes

Double Dipper potential: Yes, give it 6 minutes the second time

Mix ins: Sugar, milk

Teabag fragrance: VANILLA!

Ingredients: Rooibos, Natural French Vanilla Flvor and Vanilla Bean

Taste: Vanilla, with a bit of astringency which you can temper with a little more sugar than usual

My opinion: Pretty orangy-red - when you add milk it looks peachy. I tried a cup after lunch when I really wanted those chocolate chip cookies, and this did the trick! Rooibos/red teas are very high on the good for you tea list. And you have to admit, a lion drinking a cup of this tea on the box is a strong endorsement.
Would I go back and buy another box? Yes!

Rating: 4.5 teabags out of 5

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

Veteran's Sale - November 8/14
BIGIF notions
Simplicity patterns $1

Sources for replacement sewing machine manuals

Or really any machine manual or instruction guide-- they have a huge database. I was able to find my Singer user manual here --

http://www.2instructions.com/

Another source I discovered afterwards -- when I printed my download, their page was the last one (oops to 2instructions.com!) --

http://www.mastersewusa.com/

I went to their website and downloads are only $5. You may want to check with them first.

Three New Sandra Betzina Patterns!

Perfect timing for holiday sewing! Making their debut in the new Vogue Winter/Holiday pattern catalog, which magically appeared on the pattern counter yesterday --

1139 skirt with obi belt

1140 corset blouse

1147 coat/jacket with cool trim variations

Boo! Next Jo-Ann's $3.99 pattern sale is October 29/31. Happy Halloween pattern shopping!

2009 Chantal Outlet Warehouse Sale!

The Chantal Outlet Warehouse Sale is coming next month -- the first three weekends in November!! GREAT opportunity to score some goodies for yourself...and others! They always have a different promotion deal each weekend, with unbelievable prices. Stock up for all your gift-giving needs for the holidays and throughout the year. I've got my wish list already started, but I'm flexible -- you never know what you are going to find and decide you need!

Thursday Tea Time

This week:
Celestial Seasonings Decaf Mint Green Tea

Cost: $3.49 on sale at Whole Foods, regular price is $3.99
Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags
Caffeine: No
Type of tea: White and green tea
Steeping time: 2 minutes
Double Dipper potential: Yes, give it 4-5 minutes the second time
Mix ins: Honey
Teabag fragrance: Smells like Wrigley's gum!
Ingredients: Decaffeinated green tea, decaffeinated white tea, spearmint, peppermint and natural peppermint essence (contains soy lecithin)
Taste: Mostly spearmint, not overpowered by peppermint. The white and green tea combination helps temper and balance the mint so it is not bitter.

My opinion: I'm not a big fan of peppermint tea, but I loved this! First time I've ever gone back and made a second cup immediately after the first. The box has pretty artwork, too.

Would I go back and buy another box? Yes!
Rating: 5 teabags out of 5

Bake Sale Cookie Time - Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

"There's a bake sale tomorrow - can you bring some cookies?" Betty Crocker to the rescue with my tried and true Chocolate Chip cookie recipe posted here earlier.

I doubled the recipe and instead of butter/margarine plus shortening, I used two sticks of Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend (trying to make them a little healthier for the cookie toll we take for the home team), and added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts and a container of Fall jimmies/sprinkles from the Target Dollar Spot.

Update: (my commenter doesn't seem to be working this morning_

I'm with you there, Lala! I'll do that and add a little whole wheat flour to the recipe - but for a bake sale, I didn't want anyone to have any surprise after effects ; )
Good news is they raised over $800 for the Adopt a Family program. Their goal was $300, so we are hoping they can adopt 3 families this year!
P.S. Was told these cookies were gone in less than 5 minutes. I don't know if that means sold...or..EATEN!

Grati-Tuesday!

1. The two houses we see on the way to school - decorating with larger than life, bigger than Texas-size spiders, goblins, pumpkins and more

2. The Fall versions of yogurts -- Target's Archer Farms' Apple Cider, Caramel Apple and Stonyfield's Organic Pumpkin Pie

Amazon's Deal of the Day - Lyle Lovett's new CD only $3.99

Actually debuts tomorrow, October 20 - but you can download the entire CD today for only $3.99! Go to Amazon.com and search Lyle Lovett "Natural Forces" Click to go to the MP 3 Downloads. Amazon's MP 3 downloader pops your purchased songs right into iTunes, easy as pie!

I love these Amazon Deals of the Day and Week!!!

When in doubt, shove it!

Which is what I did when I was trying to figure out how to wind the bobbin on the Singer 2010 Touch Tronic Memory Machine. In a fit of anger and/or brilliance, I shoved the bobbin holder spring clip thingy over all the way as far as it could go thinking it couldn't be right, but it was and it worked! Whew!

The few blurry PDF copies I was able to find and download are not only hard to read, but do not include the entire User Manual for this rather cool machine, which purrs and sews like a champ. It has all kinds of neat stitches and features; I'd like to get to know it better.

Does anyone know where you can get a copy of the instruction manual? I tried Googling, eBay and Amazon without any luck. Surely there has to be a resource out there, somewhere. I would even be willing to give back to the corpus of knowledge with a copy of my 1970 Sears Kenmore machine manual.

Upcoming Jo-Ann's Pattern Sales

Moonlight Madness Sale - October 18/24
McCall's patterns - 99 cents

October 29/31 -
Butterick - $1.99
Vogue - $3.99

Hobby-Lobby has Simplicity patterns on sale this week for $1.99

Thursday Tea Time

This week - Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Hazelnut DESSERT Tea

Cost: $3.49 on sale at Whole Foods, regular price is $3.99

Number of teabags: 20 - individually sealed in attached double paper bags

Caffeine: No

Type of tea: Herbal

Steeping time: 4 minutes

Double Dipper potential: Yes, give it 6 minutes the second time

Mix ins: Sugar, milk. I tried it one time with fat free Half and Half and vanilla sugar - uh-uh. Sounded like a good idea, didn't taste as good as regular milk and sugar.

Teabag fragrance: Vanilla

Ingredients: Roasted carob, roasted chicory, milk thistle, roasted barley, natural vanilla and hazelnut flavors (contains soy lecithin), cinnamon, licorice, anise seed and vanilla bean.

Taste: VERY smooth, slightly sweet and vanilla-y, with hazelnut undertones. Medium color.

My opinion: Make a cup of this and drink to drown out the siren call of cookies. The warmth and sweetness help divert your attention and appetite quite successfully.

Would I go back and buy another box? Yes.

Rating: 4 teabags out of 5. Very desirable if you are jonesing for a hazelnut undertone.

Everyday Food #65 - Three-Cheese Skillet Lasagna

Three Cheese Skillet Lasagna From Everyday Food issue #65, September 2009, page 97

Another instance "sort-of" following the directions. In the freezer I had 1/2 jar of leftover pasta sauce with mushrooms and an opened 1/2 mozzarella "ball" from a Costco two-pack. With a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes + the pasta sauce, it was the perfect consistency. I used my Cuisinart Little Chopper to chop up the mozzarella instead of trying to shred - it was too soft. I also used the entire 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese (low fat). As far as the skillet, which seemed like a good idea, I didn't have an all-metal one shown in the magazine photo and didn't trust my skillet's composite handle at 400, so I used my Chantal "Party Pan" - basically a round casserole. Worked just fine.

With the no-bake noodles, this was a pretty fast and easy lasagna in less than 1 hour. Not bad! I will add it to my recipe notebook.

Grati-Tuesday!

1. Talent -- from contractor, to tile installer, to sink maker...and sewing machine repairer!

2. Honesty -- fair prices for skilled work...

I am appreciative of all!

Money Monday - Call Me!

Here's a number worth putting in your cell phone or your home phone speed dial:

1-800-Goog-411. (1-800/466-4411)

This is a FREE nationwide service from Google -- great when you are on the road...or even at home. Save your money on information calls and save your time dialing the number.
When you dial 1-800-goog411, the prompts will ask for "City and State", then "Business, Name or Type of Service" and then say "Connecting", placing the call for you automatically.

It is nationwide and absolutely free! Click on the link below and watch the short clip for a quick demonstration. http://www.google.com/goog411

Everyday Food #65 - Maple-Pecan Bread Pudding

Maple-Pecan Bread Pudding

From Everyday Food issue #65 - September 2009, page 126

A perfect marriage of Vermont Maple Syrup and Texas Pecans!

The only change I made was to use Land O'Lakes Fat Free Half and Half and bumped up the pecans to almost 1 cup. Two of Target's Archer Farms French Demi Baguettes - 3 ounce size, had just the right amount of airy-ness/holes and volume to fill a 9 x 9" square baking dish.

If you plan to visit Vermont or have friends there and can get the "good stuff", this recipe will do it deserved justice!