The Nifty Foodie's Life

I am from a pretty small town near New Orleans. I remember the library near the house, and I used to borrow so many books. I was such a dork…from Beverly Cleary to Babysitter’s Club to Goosebumps, I read like crazy. I don’t do that so much anymore, unfortunately.

However, with my latest obsession of becoming a foodie, I have found use for the library yet again: Cookbooks!

Living in a more urban area means more book choices, especially more recent book choices! So, I placed a hold on Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and Hello Cupcake after reading so many great things about both.  Less than a week later, voila, the books were at my local library just waiting for me to pick them up!

I’m so excited about my new books and even more excited that I paid $0 for them!

Have you checked out your library lately for some fabulous freebies?

I can’t believe this week is here. It’s Thanksgiving week folks, and there is so much to be done. I’m so excited about seeing family and spending time with them for the first time in months!

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(Small shout-out to my husband…Happy 6 months of Married-ness!)

Image taken by Amanda Meyer

So, since I’m taking a break from the house cleaning and dusting, here’s what’s going on in the household of the newlyweds!

Today – finishing dusting/cleaning living room and kitchen/dining area

Tuesday

• bake cornbread for dressing
• bake cake for cutesy Turkey Cake Pops
• wash/iron cloth napkins and placemats

Wednesday

• make cake pops
• make cornbread dressing so flavors can meld overnight

Thursday (YAY TURKEY DAY!)

• make sweet potato casserole
• make roll dough and let proof throughout the morning
• reheat all sides/smoked turkey/bake rolls/make gravy
• just enjoy the day with family

Friday

• chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool (name the TV show theme song!)

This week is gonna be fabulous!

By the way, if you have a minute, could you vote for me in a foodie related photography contest? It’s just a clicky poll and shouldn’t take more than a few seconds. I know my photography skills aren’t amazing, but I’m learning and would appreciate the support! Thanks so much!

Last week in the Surviving the Holidays series, I posted about making a budget for gifts.

Well, buying gifts for others can add up quickly. You have family, sometimes including family outside of the immediate family, coworkers, friends, neighbors and more! It’s crazy how long the list gets! You find that decent gifts cost about $10-$20 each, so yeah…talk about tightening the wallet!

However, there is a great way to spread the holiday cheer without spending that much on the gifts: edible gifts! It may take some effort in the kitchen, but really, it isn’t too bad and the savings will be worth it!

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There are many ways to go about this.

Homemade Spice Mixes

You can buy some basic spices in bulk at Sam’s Club for cheap and make your own mixes, place them in cute jars or tins and give as gifts. A cheap idea for packaging? Wedding favor tins, like these. (Use 40% off coupons at places like Michael’s to get them even cheaper!) Just customize the labels with the spice mix name.

You can also make your own vanilla extract very easily, and that makes for a very impressive gift as well. I purchased bottles from this site when I made them for gifts last year, because the price was great and shipping wasn’t too crazy expensive, either.

Jam/Jelly gifts

If you have a canning kit, this is really simple. Just go to Sam’s for cheap produce in bulk or a local farmer’s market. There are some great recipes here. Just make sure that you follow a recipe that is meant for canning, because those recipes are specifically made for canning and those that aren’t could grow toxic bacteria, which, I’m sure no one wants to eat as a gift!

If you want to make something really interesting, be sure to make some jalapeno jelly. It really is tasty on crackers!

Baked Goods

This is the most common edible gift, but who doesn’t like homemade cookies and treats? I made these last year for coworkers, along with a mix of other goodies and they were well received. Some ideas?

Royal Icing Decorated Sugar Cookies
Fortune Cookies (dye them red or green and add in fun holiday messages!)
Cuccidati (Italian cookies that kick Fig Newton’s booty!)
Biscotti (cranberries/pistachio/white chocolate seem to be a fun/tasty Christmas colored ingredient combo in my family!)

Candy gifts

Candy gifts vary in how complicated they can be to make. Whenever I plan on doing candy, I typically buy some large chocolate bars at Sam’s Club, which are available around the holiday season. Some ideas?

Oreo Truffles
Cupcake Pops
Peppermint Bark
Chocolate Covered Pretzels with M&M’s
Vanilla Bean Caramels
Marshmallows

Baking Mixes

If you don’t have much time to bake, this is a great solution. Just buy some mason jars and make layered baked goods mixes so those you gift these to can bake at their convenience!

Cowboy Cookies (wouldn’t this be cute with Christmas M&M’s?)
More cookie ideas

So, as you can see, the possibilities are endless here. And of course, edible gifts won’t be considered junk, so they will most likely be appreciated and gobbled up!

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I am a huge fan of Cooking Light. I wasn’t a subscriber, though, because most of their recipes are online. Also, I don’t like paying more than $10.00 for a subscription. I’ll own up to my thrifty ways!

However, this morning a fellow foodie posted that you can get 1 year of Cooking Light for $5 on Amazon.com! That’s a great deal, since the subscription is usually $15 and in store, just ONE magazine will be $5.

So, if you are looking for a great gift idea for someone trying to lighten up their diet or if you want this for yourself, definitely take advantage of this deal!

If you would have seen me two years ago, you wouldn’t recognize me. I thought taking chicken from the freezer to the skillet was ok, and putting it on high heat? All the better. Hamburger Helper and Manwich were luxuries. Pillsbury rolled cookie dough was dessert.

Yes people, I was NOT a foodie. When I got engaged to the hubs in March of 2008, I began to think about how I won’t have Mom’s baked shells every week or the luxury of having someone figure out food for the family. It was going to be just me and the hubs.

So, I ventured onto a forum called What’s Cooking and lurked around.  These ladies were about my age, and cooking AMAZING meals for their families. I had to learn. I started watching Food Network, and completely got mesmerized by this man.

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Alton Brown is just awesome. I’m a huge science geek, and his show just reaches out to me, because he explains WHY? It’s so great and refreshing that Food Network has someone like him on the show. I have learned so much from him, cooking and baking wise.

Fast forward a couple of months, I started my food blog. I was proud of my cooking and baking, but I know it wasn’t exactly to par. I thought this picture looked great at the time. ::rolls eyes:: It looks like goop on top of a pathetic cupcake.

Then, something hit me. I suddenly wanted to take Wilton classes. Before that, my cakes were, well, Cake Wreck worthy, you could say.

Yeah baby. That’s high quality decorating with funfetti cake mix, canned frosting with liquid food coloring and an aerosol can of piping frosting. That’s how we do it at LSU.

Ok, maybe not. Is this better?

After taking all four classes, this was my final cake of the courses. I think there’s a slight improvement over the Cake Wreck above. Don’t mind the cracking fondant…I didn’t give it enough kneading love.

Nowadays, I find myself finding more challenging recipes to try. One of my new goals on the baking list is french macarons. I really love how pretty they are, although I’ve never tasted them. I’m sure someone would like them though if I didn’t!

I’m also improving little by little on my photography, which I’m so happy about. I use a Canon SD1100 IS. It’s a point and shoot, but it works for me!

 This picture actually got on FoodGawker! I was so happy when my blog got nearly 500 hits in 1 day!

I hope that my blog’s success keeps going up from here. I get a little giddy when I see how many people subscribe to see what’s going on in my kitchen, and even more happy when I get a comment! I love being a foodie!