I got a bit of a bday present from a couple of my surveys, too. I had payouts from Toluna and MySurvey for a total of $30. Gotta love when survey cash arrives in the mail, even when it's just a little bit at a time.

Are you stuck for what to get your loved ones for Valentine's Day? Or maybe you're just stuck inside because of the weather - like me. Well, I have some Swagbucks traded in for Amazon gift cards and with my Prime Membership I can have something cute or fun or whatever here in a couple of days. So, now I'm off to shop with my free money because that is a tremendously Cool Idea!

Coupons are available on Cellfire for Kroger and Safeway starting
Tuesday 02/09/10 can be saved until Monday 02/22/10 and expire Monday
03/08/10. So, load 'em up from the right hand sidebar.

BC Cookie Mix Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy any flavor 17.5 OZ. OR LARGER Betty Crocker(r)
Cookie Mix.

BC Frosting Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE TUB any flavor/variety Betty Crocker(r)
Frosting.

BC Fruit Snacks Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy TWO BOXES Betty Crocker(r) Fruit by the Foot(r)
Fruit Gushers(r) Fruit Roll-Ups(r) OR Fruit Roll-Ups(r) Fruit
Stickerz(r) Fruit Flavored Snacks.

BC Muffin Mix Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy any flavor/variety Betty Crocker(r) Box Muffin
Mix or Fiber One Box Muffin Mix.

BC Supreme Brownie Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy TWO any flavor Betty Crocker(r) Box Supreme
Brownie Mixes.

BC Warm Delights Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy ONE any flavor Betty Crocker(r) Warm Delights(r)
Bowls OR Betty Crocker(r) Warm Delights(r) Minis Bowls.

Chex Mix(r) or Snacks Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy any flavor 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Chex Mix(r) OR
Chex(r) 100 Calorie Snack.

Fiber One Muffin Mix Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy any flavor/variety Fiber One Box Muffin Mix.

Fiber One(r) Chewy Bar Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor Fiber One(r) Chewy Bars or
Fiber One(r) 90 Calorie Chewy Bars.

Green Giant(r) vege's Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy TWO any variety Green Giant(r) Frozen Boxed
Vegetables.

Hamburger Helper(r) Save $.75
Save $0.75 when you buy THREE any flavor Hamburger Helper(r) Tuna
Helper(r) OR Chicken Helper(r) Home Cooked Skillet Meals.

Honey Nut Cheerios Save $.55
Save $0.55 when you buy ONE BOX Honey Nut Cheerios(r) cereal.

NV Granola Bars Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy ONE BOX any flavor/variety Nature Valley(r)
Granola Bars.

NV Granola Nut Clustrs Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley(r) Granola Nut
Clusters.

PB Italian Meal Bred Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury(r) Italian Meal Breads
(Includes any Loaves Breadsticks Dinner Rolls and Pizza Crust).

PB Sweet Rolls Save $.40
Save $0.40 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury(r) Sweet Rolls OR Grands!(r)
Sweet Rolls.

PB Toaster Strudel(r) Save $.55
Save $0.55 when you buy any TWO Pillsbury(r) Toaster Strudel(r)
Pastries.

Pillsbury(r) Savorings(r) Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy TWO any flavor/variety Pillsbury(r) Savorings(r)
products.

Reeses(r) Puffs(r) Save $.55
Save $0.55 when you buy ONE BOX Reeses(r) Puffs(r) cereal.

Yoplait Kids Zone Save $.80
Save $0.80 when you buy TWO any flavor Yoplait(r) products listed: -
Yoplait(r) Go-GURT(r) Yogurt - Yoplait(r) Trix(r) Multipack Yogurt.

Yoplait(r) Cups Save $.50
Save $0.50 when you buy SIX any variety Yoplait(r) Yogurt cups OR any
flavor Yoplait(r) Original OR Light Smoothies.

Yoplait(r) Delights(tm) Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Yoplait(r) Delights Yogurt Multipack.

Yoplait(r) Fiber One(r) Save $1
Save $1.00 when you buy any flavor Yoplait(r) Fiber One(r) Yogurt
Multipacks.

Any Biore Save $1
Save $1.00 when purchasing Biore products.

Select BAN Items Save $.75
Save $0.75 on Ban solids and roll-ons.

Toll House(r) Dough Save $.55
Save $0.55 when you purchase any (1) variety of Nestle(r) Toll House(r)
Refrigerated Cookie Dough.

Toll House(r) Morsels
Save $.50 Save $0.50 when you purchase any (1) variety of
Nestle(r) Toll House(r) Morsels


Scotch Fur Fighter Save $4
Save $4 on a Scotch(tm) Fur Fighter(tm) Hair Remover Starter Kit.

Fur Fighter Refills Save $1
Save $1 on a Scotch(tm) Fur Fighter(tm) Hair Remover Refill Sheets.

Box Tops for Education is giving away 1000 Bonus Box Tops each day during the month of February to a lucky school. You can enter every day to win a chance for your school. Think of all the Cool things this could buy for your school. Log in each day and enter.

I love gnocchi. I just love 'em. Those light and airy Italian potato dumplings. Well, not really a dumpling in the sense I think of them but that's the closest way I can think to describe them. I rarely get to eat them though because most Italian restaurants we go to, when we go out, rarely have gnocchi on the menu. Or they have it combined with some sauce I would never ever put in my mouth.

So, I began to think - how hard could this be to make? I found some recipes. Cooking Light has some great ones. Well, there are lots of great ones. Classic ones. And mostly they are all the same. And each time I tried to replicate this light and airy, mouth-watering deliciousness I ended up with wallpaper paste. YUCK!

Then a couple of years ago - maybe when I was first home with Comfort - I remember seeing an episode of Tyler's Ultimate on Food Network and he made gnocchi and he was very clear that the key was to bake the potato instead of boiling it. Well, heck - that's where I was going off the rails.

For those of you that have been reading this blog for a little while you may have guessed why I was boiling the potatoes. Yep, it's cheaper to use the cooktop than to turn on the oven. However, in this case you want the potatoes dry so it really does need an oven. So, use the oven. Or better yet do what I have done - I 'splurged' at Costco last month when they had an in-store coupon and bought a countertop toaster oven/ convection oven. I now use this for small cooking projects - like baking 1-2 lbs of potatoes.

Back to my story. One of the magazines I get for free - another reason I should keep up the weekly freebie post - is Bon Appetite. Mostly I flip through it and pass it along to my best friend because she's a much more adventurous cook and eater than am. But this time there was a recipe and 'help' section for gnocchi so I decided to try again.

Here's their recipe:
1 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes - scrub, dry, prick with a fork
1 C flour
1 egg yolk
1 tsp kosher salt
large pinch fresh nutmeg - I just grated it right into the bowl
olive oil
potato ricer or food mill
1. Bake potatoes for 1 hr at 400 degrees. Cool slightly and scoop out flesh and work through ricer. [I couldn't find my ricer for the life of me, so I used my pastry cuter to make sure there weren't any chunks.]
2. Spread out and let cool to room temp.
3. Line baking sheet with foil or parchment. Put potatoes in bowl. Add 1 C flour and toss to coat. Make a well in the middle and add egg yolk, salt, and nutmeg.
4. Stir with fork until it's all crumbly then turn it out on a floured surface. [I use this chopping board from IKEA as my baking board. I treat it like a cast iron skillet - I never use soap and water and only use it for floured items.] Knead the dough together adding additional flour as necessary.
5. Cut into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a 1 inch thick rope. The rope was as wide as my board - 18 inches. Cut into 3/4 inch pieces and place on lined baking sheet.
6. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and working in small batches cook gnocchi. It's done when it floats to the top. Skim from pot and transfer to bowl and drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.
[recipe from Bon Appetite, Feb 2010]

So, if you bought a 10 lb. bag of russet potatoes at Kroger last week like I did because they were such a great deal then thought - what on EARTH am I going to do with them - here's a great recipe. It's not time consuming but you do need to plan ahead. Plan ahead then leave it alone.

I've made this two days in a row because we didn't have any leftovers last night. Yep, it passed the Trial by Toddler. Comfort and Joy both cleaned their plates so today I'm making another batch to put in the freezer. Tomorrow I make some more since I hear that potatoes are still on sale this week and I think homemade gnocchi are now the Coolest Idea EVER!

We're between snow storms right now and most of this has melted but I hear we're getting more this weekend. Comfort will be super excited because it means...

MORE SNOW ANGELS!!

It's been really cold here in Virginia lately. In fact, cold enough that the snow hasn't really begun to melt very much, but that doesn't mean that we can't begin to think about food that evokes feelings of warmer times.

What am I talking about? Two words - pimento cheese. YUM!!

For those of you who don't live anywhere near the south and aren't familiar with the concept of pimento cheese let me try to explain it. Pimento cheese is made from grated sharp cheddar cheee, but still - somehow - ends up being creamy. It has smushed pimentos in it and it's a little salty and I remember it fondly from childhood because my mom made me pimento cheese sandwiches occasionally when I had field trips. The other times she made peanut butter and honey and those were super yummy, too!

But back to pimento cheese. Buying pimento cheese isn't hard. You can find tubs of various sizes and prices but they will also vary in taste, texture and quality. And, yes, the Ukrop's Kitchen does make the best pimento cheese but it's something like $5.99 for 4 oz. So, over the years it's gotten me to thinking - just how hard can it be to make this stuff?

Well, looking at recipes side by side I couldn't come up with the common denomintors before my head exploded. Lately, though, I've decided that I was just trying too hard so I just jumped right in and picked a recipe to start from. I chose Paula Deen's Pimento Cheese recipe because if you want southern food you gotta at least look at what Paula's making.

Here's Paula's Recipe:
Ingredients
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1 cup grated Monterey Jack
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
2 to 3 tablespoons pimentos, smashed
1 teaspoon grated onion
Cracked black pepper

Directions
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add all of the remaining ingredients and beat until well blended. It can be used as a dip for crudite or as a sandwich filling.
House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

I keep Paula's House Seasoning on hand for other stuff so I didn't have to make that up and I didn't have any Jack cheese so I just used all cheddar. No biggy. But when I pulled it all together it still felt too 'mayonnaisey'. Maybe not a surprise since this is a Paula Deen recipe:) It also didn't seem to have much seasoning coming through. Another problem I had - I now had 5 oz. of cream cheese left.

So, I kept working and this is what I came up with. I may try something a bit different next time but I'll start with my recipe and work from there.

My recipe:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
4 C grated sharp cheddar
1/2 C mayo - I use Duke's and if you can get your hands on some I highly recommend it!
2 tsp. Paula's House Seasoning
3 Tbsp smashed pimentos

1. Beat cream cheese and then stir in other ingredients.
2. Put in fridge to chill before serving - if you can resist!

I'm not exactly sure how much this made before we started eating it but after we noshed for a while I put away a pint sized container. We noshed before chilling and it was truer to store bought pimento cheese after it came out of the fridge. Still creamy but not as wimpy in texture as it was at first.

So, if you're trying to figure out what to do with all that great Kraft Cheese you got at Kroger during the Mega Deals or if you also have more mouths to feed in your house due to snow days then think about whipping up some pimento cheese. It's such a Cool Idea!

Yep, we have more snow here in Virginia. It's a Winter Wonderland and thank goodness for Nick Jr. because Comfort and Joy have been out of school all week.

Being home all week also means that we're going through a LOT of food. Sure, we usually eat at home but the only meal that all of us are usually home together is dinner. Now, we're a family of four eating 3 meals a day plus snacks. Needless to say I am SOOO glad that Kroger had that mega deal sale last week and that we got out to Costco last night.

So for the next couple of days I'm going to post some of the recipes that have been keeping us going.

Breakfast has been easy. The girls love scrambled eggs and meat circles [trans. - sausage] so we had a big breakfast before going out to play in the snow.

Today, I pulled Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cake out of the freezer. This is a great go-to breakfast for us and I love making some smaller loaves to have around, too. This is one of my favorite Once A Month Mom recipes.

Come back tomorrow and find out what we've been enjoying for lunch. It's a yummy Cool Idea!

P&G has established a community to get input from moms. If you are interested in finding out more about what they are doing and perhaps sharing ideas and saving money, hop on over and check it out. Another cool thing about the community is that members can receive rewards such as product samples, online gift cards and donations to your favorite charities as well as periodic discounts on life’s essentials! Definitely a Cool Idea!!

I hear there's a football game this week and if you're trying to get ready for a party this week and looking for some help at the grocery store then this giveaway is for you. Jenn at Frugal Upstate is doing a giveaway for a $50 WalMart gift card and detailing all the great game day food you can get for $50! Giveaway ends Feb. 2 so hop on over and enter right now because this is definitely a Cool Idea!