Creative meals when the cupboards are bare.

It is amazing how creative one can get when the cupboards are bare. It is time for me to go grocery shopping, but it was so cold and wet outside I didn't want to go to town. Let alone face the grocery store with three kids. So into the kitchen I went to see what kind or healthy and tasty meal I could come up with. The options were pretty slim but what I came up with must have been a hit because the plates are empty and little tummy's are full. I ended up making swiss card and venison pizza. I had some left over spaghetti sauce with venison. I sauted some swiss card in butter with garlic and a splash of wine. I made my own pizza dough (recipe follows) and topped it with the spaghetti sauce, added fresh garlic, added the swiss chard, and topped it off with an Italian cheese blend. Then added some more garlic, because roasted garlic makes everything better. I baked it at 375* for 20-25 minutes. I have a great pizza dough recipe I use. It is a soft chew dough. 2 cups warm water 2 1/4 tsp yeast 1 tsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp salt 3 TBS olive oil 4-6 cups flour Mix warm water sugar and yeast. Add oil, salt, and 4 cups of flour. Mix well and add about another cup of flour. Turn out on a floured surface and kneading for 5-7 minutes adding a little flour if needed. Form the dough into a ball and put into an oiled bowl. Then cover and let rest for ten minutes. Divide the dough and roll out to 13" pizza crust and place on pizza pans. Bake at 375* for about ten minutes. Then remove from the oven and use your favorite toppings. (Or in my case whatever you have on hand.) Then bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.

Get a Great Educational Resource, the iKnow Series Collection! Only $20!!

Inspire your children to learn! $20 Gets Your Animal-Loving Kids The Fun & Educational iKnow Series Collection – Worth $50  Saveology is offering this great collection that consists of 3 DVDs, 1 audio CD and a pack of Animal Alphabet Cards.  Pick up this great deal today from Saveology Daily Deals - 

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

I love the fall because I have an excuse to use pumpkin in as many recipes as I can.  I love pumpkin muffins, scones, lattes, and of course, cookies.  I just experimented with a sugar cookie recipe and adapted it make these delicious pumpkin spice sugar cookies.   I hope you get a chance to try this recipe out. 

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

¾ cup of butter

½ cup of pumpkin

2 cups of sugar

3 TBS milk

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs beaten

5 ½ cups of flour

½ tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

3 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Cream butter and add sugar and cream well.  Add pumpkin and continue to cream.  Then add milk and vanilla to eggs and mix well.  Sift the dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture alternating with the liquid ingredients.    Chill.*  Roll dough out onto a surface floured with powder sugar and cut out.   Heat oven to 375* and bake for 8-10 minutes.  Makes 10 dozen cookies.   These would be great with a cream cheese and pumpkin spice glaze drizzled over the top. 

*I divide the dough into five sections and put them in the freezer.  Then during the holidays I will pull a section of the cookie dough out and let it unthaw overnight in the fridge.    

5 DAYS FOR THE PRICE OF 1 AT LEGOLAND, SEA LIFE, AND WATERPARK COMBO TICKET!!

If you are planning a trip to Southern California you should definately take advantage of this great deal for 5 Days for the price of 1 at LegoLand California! - Expires 07/31/2011  We visited LegoLand on our last trip to California and had a blast.  This deal includes a hopper pass between LegoLand, Sea Life, and the WaterPark.  Just follow the link above to get more information.
Also if you are a FaceBook fan of Expedia you can get a $50 prepaid Visa when you book a two-night hotel stay through participating hotels.  Find hotel deals at Expedia!
I hope you all are enjoying your summer. 

Blue Dog Bakery Dog Treats For As Little As $2.03 Shipped!!

You can get a great deal on Blue Dog Bakery Natural Soft Dog Treats from Amazon this month.  You can save up to 35% off these All Natural dog treats during the month of June.  If you enter code BLUEDOG9 at check-out you will save 20%.  If you select the subscribe and save option you will save an additional 15%.  You can get the six packages of the  Blue Dog Bakery Natural Soft Dog Treats, Peanut Butter Flavor Softies for $12.17.  That is $2.03 each and includes shipping if you select the subscribe and save option.  Just follow this link to the  Blue Dog Bakery products on Amazon.  Also make sure to check out the other sales in the pet department.  Including Newman's Own Organic Pet Foods.   You can save 10% when you use code NOOPET25 at check-out and save an additional 15% when you choose the subscribe and save option. 

$10 for a $20 Gift Certificate from 4 Daughters Irish Pub!

Good morning everyone!  I hope your monday is off to a great start and here is something to make it even better.  If you hurry you can grab a $20 gift certificate for only $10 to 4 Daughters Irish Pub.  KOBI's E-Deal of the Day is for 4 Daughters and they have a limitted supply of gift certificates available.  Follow this link here to the e-deal.

Sign Up For GROUPON Today To Save On Your Summer Fun!

With summer finally here it is time to start thinking of things to do this summer.  Well one idea would be to sign up for Groupon and find fun and exciting things to do with savings well over 50%.  And if you like shopping and eating there are deals to be had there also.   My family has already planned part of our summer vacations through Groupon.  We received 50% off our tickets to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  Now I am waiting for a good Groupon Deal for a hotel.  My real goal would be to plan a vacation with Groupons.  If you haven't signed up for Groupon yet I would highly recommend that you do.  Just go here to sign up for Groupon and see what adventures are in store for you.  And if you have used Groupon before leave a comment about your favorite Groupon purchase.  I think my favorite purchase so far was for my families outing to Wildlife Safari in Winston.