Sarah loves pop culture

This makes a huge batch, but is a nice change from Chex Mix.

Mix together in a garbage bag:

2 bags Bugles
15 oz. bag pretzels
1# Frito corn chips
1 bag oyster crackers
1 box Crispix cereal

Mix together in a bowl:
1 1/4 c. Crisco oil
1 package Hidden Valley dressing mix
1 1/4 T dill weed
1 1/4 T lemon pepper mix

Pour over dry ingredients. Mix and shake.

Keep in airtight containers.

Delicious and a great gift!

Now here is a book that I have needed for many years.
This book has a very short, one page list of foods–including meats & veggies–and you can make EVERY recipe in the book if you have all the groceries on the list.
As an added benefit, I estimate it would cost only about $120 to purchase everything on the list.


There is also an FREE iphone app that make a great planning/shopping list. I have used it for a week with no glitches on my 3GS phone.

The only negatives that I can see so far are that they use some cuts of meat–like flank steak–that I don’t bother with, and there is a great reliance on canned foods. Because of John’s dietary limitations, I actually like the canned foods part.

This is a cookbook for people that like to cook, but don’t want to shop all the time and don’t want to get part-way into the recipe and have to run to the store. I love it. I borrowed a copy from the library, but realized quickly–I need my own copy. I have already recommended this to 2 people.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you cook at home. The cost savings in a month could easily justify the $24.95 list price.



Before I ordered this book, I carefully read the online reviews. I was expecting a book like The Stocked Kitchen that would give me a list of pantry staples with recipes to make using the ingredients. WRONG! This is more like an urban hipster how-to but not complete enough in any areas. For example–there are pickle recipes, canning recipes–weird combinations that I would never make–and stock recipes.

Some people might find the information useful–for example there are a few money saving tips–but basically if you grew up in the Midwest and paid any attention to anyone–you don’t need this book.

NOT RECOMMENDED for anyone except people who have never left an urban area. I can’t even recommend checking out a copy from a library–that’s how much I HATE this book. The $19.95 price could be better spent on a canning or freezing cookbook.

In honor of my favorite Mexican getting a new professional job, I developed this casserole.
It’s easy, cheap, and fast = perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Grease 9×13 pan, oven 350.

Brown 1 pound hamburger.

After browning, add 1 can drained Rotelle tomatoes

Crush up some original Doritos chips and put them in the bottom of the pan. I used about 1/4 of a large bag, but you could use more.

Put the hamburger mix on top of this.

Put a layer of sour cream on top of hamburger. (Not as easy as it sounds!)

Spicy variation–then add a layer of hot picante sauce/salsa/etc. (I didn’t –I’m a white girl from Iowa, dontcha know?)

Add a layer of cheddar cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.
Serve immediately with taco fixings like lettuce or (my favorite) black olives and guacamole.

I miss Russell, but that is no reason not to cook! Bing cherries were on sale at Aldi for $1.99 a pound, so I purchased a lot. I pretty much love anything cherry, even fake-cherry flavored.

Pit and chop up 4 cups of cherries. (3 pounds = $6)
Add 4 cups of sugar ($1)

Let this sit for 10 minutes. While this is going on-
Put 3/4 c water and 1 packet sure-jell in a pan. ($2.34 for sure jell)
Stir constantly with a whisk and let it boil 1 minute.

Dump over the cherry mixture and stir until most of the sugar is dissolved.

Put this in washed jelly jars that you can freeze. I got almost eight 8oz. jelly jars. ($7.99 for 12).
Let the jars sit on the kitchen counter for 24 hours, then freeze. Save one to eat right away of course!

Cost for me was less than $2/jar. The price would have been significantly less if I had jars on hand before making the jam.