Saturday = Baking Day!

I had high expectations today -- make cookies for the week, a pot of soup and zucchini cranberry bread. Checkout the Archway cookies...they were clearanced for $1 a package at the store...I had $.75 coupons and scooped up 8 packages for only $2.

Cookie baking done, LOL!

I am fighting a migraine so I wasn't up to the soup today - but that's another story.
I DID make the bread, as you can see. I can never seem to let it cool before smearing that butter on it, letting it melt into the nooks and crannies and muching on that warm, crusty, buttery goodness!

Here is my recipe- it makes 2 loaves and your house will smell AMAZING. It's guilt free in my world as it has veggies, fruit, protein and the yummy factor all inside.

Dannelle's Zucchini Cranberry Bread
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
Put those all in a large bowl and combine with a whisk.

In another, smaller bowl beat together:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (I used my frozen, grated last summer stuff)
1 cup veggie oil
1 TBSP vanilla

Fold the wet mix into the dry mix and still just until blended - you will have 'tunnels" in your bread if you overmix.

NOW, fold in:
1 Cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries (can use craisins)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

Pour into 2 greased 9x5 bread pans and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire rack...then rip into it like a monkey on a cupcake with a stick of butter in your hand!

Herreman's, a restauarant review.

Due to a series of unfortunate events, a Sun Prairie icon for over 40 years had closed...leaving yet another hole in the list of full service, supper club dining experiences. It was remembered for it's quality of food, excellent service and amazing salad bar!

We were SO HAPPY to learn that it was re-opening (under new ownership) this past fall and finally made it there this month to see how it stacked up.

On a scale of 1 to 10... we'd give it a 3.

We went with our three year old, who does VERY well when out and were instantly charmed by the host as he played up to her.

We sat at our table for 10 minutes before someone came over to take our order...and waited longer for our drinks to come back (how tough is it to pour a soda?)

The children's menu was sad -- nothing on it that wasn't fried...hasn't anyone heard of the childhood obesity epidemic?? SOOO, we decided to share our real food with her.

When looking at the adult menu, it was painfully obvious that someone needed to spellcheck it for them - even the printer should have caught how one word was mis-spelled 2 different ways.
Migon....Minon. I didn't think I wanted a fillet of that, not for over $20. Let's talk some more about that menu? What supper club doesn't have baked potatoes?? "Only on weekends" was the answer we got...leaving us with french fries, hashbrowns or mashed potatoes. No sight of the famous potato pancakes they used to offer.

So we order, and hit the salad bar. Keep in mind that this place was legendary for it's salad bar offerings -- variety and freshness. My hubby had the spinach salad with hot dressing. Here's a tip to whoever makes it...it should have some SUGAR in it. Hot bacon vinegar on spinach isn't quite right. He also got cruchy breadsticks to go with the pate he loves. Guess what? They weren't stale, they were RANCID. We guessed that they were leftover from the original owners (it's been closed over a year...)

Dinner came -- his Shrimp dinner looked fine, I had pork chops with apple cranberrry sauce. The sauce came on the side, and it was a good thing -- it was a bordelaise sauce (think au jus with onion and mushroom) with a tad of chopped up apple in it (maybe 4 small chunks). The mashed potatoes were slim in offerings and the hash browns were slightly burnt. Disappointing.

No refills on beverages, no offer of dessert...which led us to think that they were understaffed.
It still came to over $40 with our coupon. Save your money and try a chain like Texas Roadhouse instead -- it's a very short drive into Madison, and you can get a steak dinner for under $10. They have baked potatoes.

Storytime Drop In

The Preschool that Sarah goes to had a "drop-in" story time night where the kiddos were encouraged to wear their jammies and bring their favorite book!

It was very well done for their first time -- they had a few guest readers (like the head of the local public library) and treats like cookies and milk. Several of Sarah's classmates came too.

It is just one of the little reasons I love this school -- they are so family oriented and really put themselves out there for the children.

Super Busy Week Coming Up

January is usually a busy time in the world of Tupperware: HUGE Modular Mate Sale always happens! 40-55% off the perfect containers to organize your pantry, which also do double duty as they protect your edible investments. This week alone, I have 4 parties, which is in addition to having a booth at the Madison Home Expo this Friday-Saturday-Sunday! I KNOW I am in control of my own schedule, LOL- I just need to plan it better!

The picture you see is the classic Jumbo Bread Saver and "Velvetta" Keeper that they brought back JUST THIS MONTH for a special offer to those who spend $50+ at parties.

The last few days have been fun, family time -- in anticipation of a crazy weekend. Last night was "Mexican Night". We made beef enchiladas, guacamole and tacos -- pretty yummy! Avacados were on sale for $.50 each last week and were just perfectly ripe to play with yesterday. Here is the simple recipe we made -- everything was done in the Tupperware QuickChef

Dannelle's Guacamole
Chop a small red onion in your QuickChef, remove from bowl and set aside.
Peel and pit 4 ripe avacados (should be slightly soft to the squeeze) and place in your QuickChef. Spin until almost creamy. Stir in 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cumin and 1 small can of petite dicee tomatoes (drained). Give a few quick spins and then add in chopped onions. Spin a few times again. You COULD add 3-4 drops of Tabasco, we choose not to with a 3 year old.
When you remove it from the QuickChef to put into a serving bowl - don't forget to put an avacado pit in it -- that helps keep it a pretty green, like the lemon juice does.

I will warn you - it is addictive - and easily kills a bag of tortilla chips, LOL!

Until next time...stay warm!

What a slacker!

It's been WAAY too long since I posted -- the fall is my super busy season with Tupperware! 10 day mall carts, weekend vendor events, in-home parties and more added to the already busy life of a toddler's mom keeps a person hopping! (prechool, dance classes, gymnastics, swimming lessons, library story time, city rec programs, etc.)

My spare time has helped me master the art of couponing -- like getting everything pictured for just $.48 at Walgreens a few months ago. My favorite site is www.iheartwags.com where they upload the weekly ads a few weeks in advance! She helps figure it all out for newbies - how to use the sales, add the coupons and stack the register rewards to get things free or almost free. I also love double coupon days at our local Roundy's store. I have a great stockpile built and look forward to eatting off my stash for meals in January!

Speaking of January...do YOU make a New Year's resolution? Most people want one of four things: to be healthier, get organized, make or save more money, try to go "greener"...how funny that I get my fix for all four thru my Tupperware Business? I choose not to make resolutions -- but add small, desired changes to my routine. This year I am going back to the gym -- I have finally gotten the clearance from the doc to get back to working out! My great plan is to drop Sarah off at preschool Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then zip to the club for my weight resisitance training workout. Tuesday and Thursday will be my walking days -- at the mall or on my treadmill...5 days a week should get me where I want to be: 50 pounds lighter by the end of 2010! I will keep you updated as things progress over the year.

Until next time - be well!

Chin Dripping, Golden Buttery Goodness!

For those of us living in Sun Prairie, it's the annual tradition at the end of every summer to hit Corn Fest. It was started years ago to celebrate the successful harvest and productivity of our local canning company (which is now gone) and continues to this day thanks to the local chamber of commerce.

A craft show, petting zoo, live entertainment, carnival rides, games, pitches from the local non-profit agencies all add up to a colorful backdrop for the main event: steamed in the husk sweet corn!

You buy a tote for $6...enter the corn shed and then fill it with 8-10 ears of hot corn which you promptly take to a table and shuck. After that you visit the 'butter gals' who roll it in sweet Wisconsin butter and you step outside to the salt trees. NOW, you are ready to "hit the hill" where everyone sits to eat, as the live stage has constant entertainment to annoy you. ;)

Notice Sarah enjoying hers? It's the first time she ever had corn on the cob. Did she like it? Her answer was: "Sure".

My Walgreen's run this week -- I got everything for $4.12 cash out of pocket !!

See the price on the post-its? They are $5 and I got everything else for FREE!!

Start with their sales special where you spend $25 and get a $5 Register Reward...that total was BEFORE your coupons and RR from a previous week came off! I matched sales items (scissors B1G1, .49 for Mandarin Oranges, $1.99 for Spam, $.69 for Mac N Cheese, .49 for pencil sharpener, $1.99 for Motts Apple sauce) with coupons, ($1 off Velvetta Cups and in store coupons for $.25 off each, $.50 off Mac N Cheese, $1 off Mott's Applesauce 6 packs, $1 off SPAM, $1 off the Softsoap) and used my $17 Register Rewards from last week.

I ended up with $10 in Register Rewards when I was done...to use THIS week on the new flier - Woo-Hoo!

Don't forget to check out http://www.iheartwags.com/ to see the future sales fliers so you can stock up on your coupons!!

I know what you are thinking: "WHAT does this have to do with scrapboooking"??? Alot! The less money I spend on food - the more I can spend on scrappy supplies, LOL!