Category: Food

Grocery Shopping…. At the 99cents Store?

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Sunday grocery shopping at the 99 cents store??

Usually I do my grocery shopping at the local Ralph’s or Vons or Trader Joe’s… you know, what we think of as the “normal” grocery stores, right?  I had no idea how great my neighborhood 99 cents store could be! I was out and about running errands early Sunday morning and decided to check out this 99 cents store and see if it really was more than cheap cleaning supplies and paper towels.

As you can see, I found a huge bottle of soy sauce for 99 cents– or you can get the name brand version in a smaller container. Same price 99 cents.

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Two heads of lettuce, you guessed it 99 cents. I was surprised to find the produce section was clean, well stocked and good quality stuff. And, can you ever really get tired of the easy pricing???

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And, my favorites– the cleaning supplies. Lots of them!

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Bread, bagels, hamburger buns– all 99 cents.  I checked all expiration dates and looking good. No outdated food here.

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I needed a few extra Halloween goodies for my niece. Guess what? I found some cute glow in the dark necklaces to wear trick-or-treating priced 2/99 cents. Awesome!

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Moral of the story…. you can score big for under $10 grocery shopping at the 99 cents store!  Cheers!

Fall Cake Pops! Yummy!

I can’t believe how fast this year has gone. Just wanted to share with you all these really cute cake pops that are perfect for the Fall season. I think they would be great for school parties for kids, right? Happy Monday and have fun baking!! Cheers!

Brandie Sellers

I meant to post this a few weeks ago – what I’m calling my “Fall Cake Pops”. I was so excited about Fall officially arriving, I wanted to celebrate with a fun festive baked good.

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I used Red Velvet cake mix, orange and yellow candy wafers, brown ribbon, and the best part – leaf sprinkles!

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Of course, you’ll bake the cake as usual, and after it bakes and cools, break the cake into a bowl into small pieces. Add half of your frosting and mix together. Use your ice cream scoop to create the perfect size cake ball (I still managed to add more cake mix creating them too big – lesson learned). Put them in the freezer for 45 minutes (UPDATE: I’ve since learned it’s better to put them in the freezer overnight). Heat up your candy wafers according to the directions on the package. Insert sticks, roll…

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Sunday Grocery Shopping. At the 99cents Store?

20121012-205116.jpg

Sunday grocery shopping at the 99 cents store??

Usually I do my grocery shopping at the local Ralph’s or Vons or Trader Joe’s… you know, what we think of as the “normal” grocery stores, right?  I had no idea how great my neighborhood 99 cents store could be! I was out and about running errands early Sunday morning and decided to check out this 99 cents store and see if it really was more than cheap cleaning supplies and paper towels.

As you can see, I found a huge bottle of soy sauce for 99 cents– or you can get the name brand version in a smaller container. Same price 99 cents.

20121012-205132.jpg

Two heads of lettuce, you guessed it 99 cents. I was surprised to find the produce section was clean, well stocked and good quality stuff. And, can you ever really get tired of the easy pricing???

20121012-205143.jpg

And, my favorites– the cleaning supplies. Lots of them!

20121012-205202.jpg

Bread, bagels, hamburger buns– all 99 cents.  I checked all expiration dates and looking good. No outdated food here.

20121012-205221.jpg

I needed a few extra Halloween goodies for my niece. Guess what? I found some cute glow in the dark necklaces to wear trick-or-treating priced 2/99 cents. Awesome!

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Moral of the story…. you can score big for under $10 grocery shopping at the 99 cents store!  Cheers!

Make Your Own Granola for $1.50

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Good morning everyone and Happy Saturday!  I love granola with my yogurt and decided it was time to make my own simple version at home. Here’s the recipe I used:

Peanut Butter Granola

  • 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup oats

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with olive oil. Combine peanut butter and honey in a bowl and microwave 20 seconds until peanut butter melts. Stir.  Mix cinnamon and vanilla into peanut butter and honey mixture.  Add oats and stir until coated. Spread on cookie sheet and bake 7 to 8 minutes.  Let cool until granola is crunchy.

I’m thinking this homemade granola could be sparked up a bit next time with some flax seeds, peanuts, raisins or other dried fruit.  (Whatever is on sale works for me!)

The good news- this was not a total failure.  My granola experiment turned out great! And it even tasted good– better than the store-bought version and in this case I know exactly what ingredients were used.  I’ve been making a big effort to watch my sodium and sugar intake– not to mention those other weird “ingredients” that are scary big words I can’t pronounce.

Speaking of ingredients…. I spent a whopping $0.28 on the oats and $3.99 buying a new jar of honey.  The rest of the stuff is basically pantry items normally on hand.  My estimation is that I spent approximately $1.50 on this batch of Peanut Butter Granola.  Paired with my store brand yogurt for $0.50  this makes for quite a thrifty breakfast.

Cheers!

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Thrift Shopping… at the farmers market

One of my favorite summer activities is browsing thru the local farmers market. What could be better than listening to some fun music and shopping at sunset? I live in San Diego’s UTC neighborhood and have recently “discovered” we have a farmers market on Thursday nights.

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Last week I met Sandi and Hugh at the Terra Verde Foods booth.  Terra Verde Foods is a small family owned and operated specialty foods business started in 1996 as an organic farm in Fredericksburg, Texas.  Their interest in food and cooking led to the development of Terra Verde Farms’ artisan foods. Terra Verde Foods specialty foods are hand-made in small batches from recipes that have been in the family for generations or new recipes developed from scratch.  Minimal sugar is added to the products… and no artificial flavorings, preservatives or colors. You’ll remember what fresh fruits and veggies taste like!

I sampled the Tomato Basil Garlic pasta sauce with a sprinkle of Lavender Pepper. What a wonderful combination.  Pictured below you can see my purchase of the evening– pasta sauce. It was $8.75 well spent. Since I’m a one-person household right now, I asked about the best way to save leftovers.  Guess what– I’m told freezing is the way to go.

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Like I said, this Lavender Pepper was a delight. Something about eating lavender flavor seemed odd– but after a taste– ooo la la.  I can easily see myself using this sprinkled on cheese as an appetizer or as a seasoning on steak or salmon. I do tend to like a more subtle flavor which explains why I liked this so much.  (I’m already pre-planning this will be my next purchase!)

Cheers- and happy food shopping at the local farmers market.

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Azucar – a Cuban Style Patisserie

Have you ever found yourself in need of a sugar fix?? This was me a few weekends ago as I was strolling along Newport Avenue in the Ocean Beach area of San Diego. It was not quite warm enough for the beach and just sunny enough where I felt a strange sense of guilt sitting indoors. Of course, it was early afternoon and a coffee and a few cookies seemed like a great idea.

  • Azucar
  • 4820 Newport Avenue
  • Ocean Beach, CA 92107
  • Phone: (619) 523-2020
  • Web: www.iloveazucar.com

I saw the inviting sign for “azucar” and stopped in. Wow… what a fabulous place! I was in the market for a coffee (of course!) and a few cookies. I chose what resembled a chocolate chip cookie but what I got was sooo much better! Part cookie and part chocolate perfection it was more than I ever thought a cookie could be! I’m hooked and will gladly be back for more. As far as the coffee is concerned– all I can say is that they had vanilla sugar for the coffee. What more can a girl ask for?! (Joy!)

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Beach Sweets – Candy, Chocolates & Gifts

Need a little sugar fix? Spent the day on the beach and maybe some jelly beans are sounding kinda tasty? I know how you feel! Over the weekend I was strolling thru Ocean Beach, doing a little people-watching and found myself in need of jelly beans. I guess I was craving Easter candy a little early.

Beach Sweets

5022 Newport Avenue

San Diego, CA 92107

Phone: (619) 222-3322

Web: www.OceanBeachsweets.com

Lucky for me I found Beach Sweets on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. Family owned and operated, this local shop offers yummy chocolates, candy and gifts. Other cool stuff I found here:

  • Chocolate Dipped Bacon
  • Separate Flavors of Jelly Bellies (you can hand-pick your flavor mix!)
  • Pop Rocks
  • S’More on a Stick (no grill required)
  • Salt Water Taffy
  • Chocolates topped w/ crushed red pepper & sea salt (I’m not so sure about this one…)

Great location, friendly staff and yummy treats. It’s not all for adults– kids will adore this place. The good news is- the shop is fairly small so your little ones will be an arms grab away if you need to scoop them away from dipping into too much sugar. Have fun and don’t tell the dentist you went to Beach Sweets!!

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Swirl Blondies

Hello Everyone and Happy Tuesday! It’s a cold & windy night here in San Diego. All I can think about is food– and not “good” food either. What I wouldn’t give for a yummy brownie or cookie! Must be the weather, right? I found this recipe last night and figured it would be something wonderful to share. The only thing stopping me from baking right now is my lack of a few key ingredients in my pantry– this weekend– I’ll be baking! Cheers and hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Every child’s favorite sandwich in blondie form-these Peanut Butter and Jelly Swirl Blondies are the perfect dessert for the kid in all of us! Are you a fan of peanut butter and jelly? I definitely am! Nothing is better than a big slice of bread smeared with creamy peanut butter and raspberry jam. I have eaten countless pb&j sandwiches over the years and they always bring back memories from school lunches, swimming pools, and picnics. If you have a peanut butter and jelly lover in your house, you really need to whip up a batch of these chewy blondies with swirls of creamy peanut butter and jam. Any jam will do: strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, grape. Whatever you happen to have in the fridge! Serve these up with a big glass of milk for a delicious afternoon snack that people of all ages will enjoy. 🙂

One Year Ago:New Orleans Pralines 

Peanut Butter…

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eCosway – Color Your World – Fine Products at Fair Prices

eCosway offers the worlds finest products at fair prices. While browsing in Hillcrest this weekend I found the local eCosway retail store. What a fabulous surprise! I knew nothing about this product line and was excited to hear about the yummy smelling laundry soap ringing up under $6 and the exceptional organic foods. eCosway (launched in 2002) is a rapidly growing international company with headquarters in the prestigious golden triangle of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and thousands of Sales Centers located throughout Asia, Australia, UK and US.

eCosway stores are easily accessible and usually placed in high-density residential areas, supermarkets and shopping malls with heavy foot traffic. eCosway sells a wide range of exclusive, quality products carefully sourced from established manufacturers and researchers from all over the world. They keep abreast of trends and come up with new and exciting products to give clients the best products.

eCosway

1295 University Ave.

San Diego, CA 92103

Phone: (619)295-3900

www.ecosway.com/ushome/US100055

Bottom line– this is a great place to stop- whether you are looking for a chocolate bar or a mini-microwave cooker or some laundry soap. Something for everyone! My fave– Laundry Soap. Cheers and happy shopping!

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Valentine’s Day Cake Pops

Cake Pops! I’ve been wanting attempt these. This looks fun– and they turned out really cute in this blog post I found tonite. Happy Valentine’s Day! cheers!

Brandie Sellers

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wondered how the heck you make those cute tiny cake pops. It was a mystery to me until I found the perfect and easy recipe. I decided my first attempt at this would be the night before Valentine’s Day for my coworkers and my husbands as well. I’m not sure this was the wisest decision considering I started at about 8pm (had errands to run before I could officially start) and wasn’t finished until about 12am. But it was worth it! Overall these were fun to make (would’ve been more fun if I wasn’t pressed for time) and super easy!

Here’s the “How To” so you can stun friends and family with your new found baking talent!

First you’ll need to choose your cake batter and your choice of icing. I went with Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting. I wanted to…

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