Steve and Barry’s

Over the past few months, we discovered that there was a Steve & Barry’s close to the beach. I had been wanting to go to one after reading some stuff online that it had decent clothes for a great price. We headed over and I ended up getting two dresses on my first visit. They were both $3 each. I tried to find pictures of them but cannot at this point. They are quite cute and one dress I have worn multiple times and gotten compliments from people I don’t even know.  

Recently we went back (to show my sister the store) and we ended up finding some fun stuff. I got three shirts. They are “earthy” shirts as I like to call them. Here they are…in no particular order.

Green IS the new Black.

Hug a Raindrop Today

Peace (And on the back it has the people and says Love)

Unfortunately for you, Steve & Barry’s has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and after liquidating its stores, the chain will cease to exist. Fortunately for you, Steve & Barry’s is liquidating its store and now their cheap prices are even cheaper. There are great deals to be had. So, if there is a Steve & Barry’s near you, you should check it out for some fun shirts and great deals. They also have clothes for men and kids too. (And not JUST shirts.)

A Clue, A Clue!

Recently, Amy and I have been going to a bible study on Tuesdays. It is at a church a ways from our house but Little Monkey has started to notice things along the way. Last week we took a different route and he kept asking where the fire truck in the tent the was. (Usually we see a few fire trucks on the way there and one is parked underneath a tent type temporary garage.)

The first week that we went to the bible study, Amy took Little Monkey to the park while I went to the lecture and beginner’s class. (I had to get assigned a group and Little Monkey had to get assigned to a class before we could both be attending.) While driving around the parking lot waiting to pick me up, Little Monkey saw a vehicle with the magnet you see here:

He yells out, “A Clue, A Clue!!!” Amy has a hard time figuring out what on earth he is talking about, but eventually she spots the pawprint too and puts it all together. Now everytime we go to bible study, Little Monkey is on the lookout for clues. He always asks where the clues are. I think it is funny how he remembers this from tv and is now finding it out and about. He also found “Blues Clues” in his computer game when you push the pause button. (And now that is his favorite thing to do while playing the game.)

An Adventure In Cooking

This year I decided that I would make a few special items for Thanksgiving to serve at our yearly family get-together. I wanted to make foods that Little Monkey would be able to have, as well as everyone else. I have not made very many “pku-friendly” foods yet because Little Monkey doesn’t eat much and I hate to waste the time and ingredients (some of which are not cheap). I should have taken pictures during the process but I was doing good to just keep up with all the things I was trying to do at once in the kitchen!

I made Butternut Squash with Caramelized Apples and Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I was hopeful that they turned out okay an everyone would like them. We put them on the buffet line up just as if they were regular foods (And well they are regular foods, just ones that Little Monkey can also have).

The Butternut Squash with Caramelized Apples went over pretty well, at least with the non-pku folks. Little Monkey wasn’t that thrilled with it but he did try some of it. The Pineapple Upside Down Cake went over MUCH better. Everyone liked it and Little Monkey LOVED it. Thank goodness it was low in phe! I’m thinking about making the Pineapple Upside Down Cake for Little Monkey’s birthday instead of regular cake!

And in case you want to give them a try yourself or for your PKU family member, here are the recipes!

Butternut Squash with Caramelized Apples

2 medium butternut squash (1100gm)
1 teaspoon salt
3 Granny Smith apples (460 gm), peeled and cored
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
9 tablespoons unsalted butter; plus extra for the pan, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream (90 gm)
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup orange juice

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake squash until soft, 40-45 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel and place flesh in a medium bowl; add salt and mash with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, slice apples into 1/8-inch-thick wedges and place in a medium bowl. Add lemon juice; mix.
3. In a medium skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook apple slices in three or four batches, until golden and caramelized, about one minute on each side. As they finish cooking, transfer to a plate and set aside.
4. In same skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons brown sugar and cook until sugar dissolves. Stir in 1/4 cup of cream and the brandy; cook until slightly thickened, about one minute. Remove from heat and add to squash, mixing well. Transfer squash mixture to a buttered 3-quart ovenproof casserole. Arrange apple slices over squash; set aside.
5. In same skillet, melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar and cook until dissolved. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in orange juice and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until thickened and dark brown. Pour over the apples and cover with aluminum foil.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately or let stand at room temperature for up to 30 minutes before serving.

Makes eight servings, approximately .47 mg phe/gm

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1 Full Can of Maddy’s Homestyle Yellow Cake Mix
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 Tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
6 pineapple rings, canned
5 maraschino cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease sides and bottom of 9×2 inch round cake pan.
3. Cut out a circle of parchment paper to fit pan and place in the bottom.
4. In a large bowl, blend Maddy’s cake mix with oil and water as directed on can; mix in cinnamon and nutmeg, and set aside.
5. In small saucepan, over medium heat, melt margarine, lower heat and simmer about five minutes.
6. Take margarine off heat and whisk in brown sugar.
7. Pour brown sugar mixture into bottom of greased pan. Using a rubber spatula spread mixture evenly around bottom of pan.
8. Arrange pineapple rings and cherries in bottom of pan.
9. Spoon cake batter evenly over top of brown sugar and pineapple/cherry mixture.
10. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-48 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cool at least 10 minutes to allow syrup to thicken.
11. To remove from pan, run knife or spatula around edge of cake. Place serving plate over top of baking pan and gently flip over. Gently lift pan off plate until cake has fully released. Peel parchment paper off top of cake. To serve, cut into 12 slices.

Makes 12 servings, 9mg of phe per serving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a great day with your family or friends today. We are heading over to the beach house to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family. My Grandparents, my mom and dad, my sister, my aunt and her significant other, Big Monkey, Little Monkey and Big Monkey’s Mom will all be there. We will be having lots of food to eat (including two types of food that Little Monkey can have). I am making Butternut Squash with carmelized onions and Pineapple Upside-down Cake. Both are PKU recipes but we will not tell the other guests (because it really is normal food, just Little Monkey will be able to have some too). I will let you know how that goes!

Enjoy your day. I’m sure we will be enjoying ours. We are still debating about whether or not we will go out for Black Friday shopping. This is quite rare for us because we ALWAYS go Black Friday shopping!

Yellow Green Beans?

Did you even know there was such a thing? (Ok, so there isn’t really Yellow Green Beans but there are yellow beans and green beans.)

See. Green beans and Yellow beans!

Last night I had a new food experience with yellow beans. I don’t recall ever having them before but I was told they taste just like green beans. I gave one of them a try and thought they were quite similar. In a blind taste test I could probably tell the difference but for the most part they were quite similar. Prior to dinner I don’t think I even know there were yellow beans! (Please try not to make fun of me!) I also asked how yellow beans are yellow but no one had a good answer. Even after a bit of Google-ing, I couldn’t come up with a good answer. (So if you have an answer, you should let me know.)

I do not generally try new foods, so this was a big step for me! Maybe at Thanksgiving dinner I will try something else new. Although I think that might be pushing my luck; I can only handle so many new things in one week!

Check Your Receipts

I’m sure you have heard this before, but it can be very important to check your receipts. Some companies will give you the product free if it rings up at a price different than the shelf price.

Yesterday I stopped in to CVS to get a few things that were a great deal this week. A few things they were out of but I did manage to get some other things that were on my list. One of the items I was after was the Right Guard Professional Strength Deodorant. They are on sale for $7.99 with $7 back in Extra Care Bucks. 99cents for deodorant, especially this type is a great deal. It is often hard to find great deals on men’s deodorant and since the limit was five I wanted to stock up. Unfortunately, they only had two so I got both of them. After I checked out, we started heading to the door but I checked my receipt to make sure I got all my Extra Care Bucks. I had bought four different items that had Extra Care Bucks but I did not get one for the deodorant.

I went back to the line, now four people back with one cashier. A phone call came in, it was for the manager. She comes up and answers it. Then asks for another cashier to come up because now there are eight people in line. She then goes to photo to find pictures for someone. Another cashier comes up. She rings out a guy. The first cashier is having issues with the lady she is ringing out and the lady has no time to wait for anything but they finally get her fixed up and on her merry way. In the mean time a lady that was three people behind me in line decided that instead of us just having one line and each going to whichever cashier opened first, she was going to start her own line and go after the guy that was in front of me. Somehow, I let her do this. Normally I would point out the fact that she just cut all of us out and each person is busy and has someplace else to be too. (One guy even went and put his stuff away and left the store because he couldn’t wait any longer.) The lady was wearing those pink outfits that old women who volunteer at the hospital wear and was buying three boxes of Christmas cards. I kinda felt bad to tell her she had to wait, especially since I knew my problem could take a few minutes. Thankfully Little Monkey was doing pretty well, not as well as he could have but not too bad either!

It was finally our turn and I explained to the cashier that I bought two of the deodorants which were to have $7 Extra Care Bucks back on each one but that I did not receive the Extra Care Bucks. She looks at my receipt and starts reading to me what I did get Extra Care Bucks for. Her: ‘Well, you got $2 for the paper towels and $3.49 for the toothpaste….’  Me: Yes I understand that. I bought multiple things that earned Extra Care Bucks, but I did not get the $14 for buying the two deodorants. Next we have to find it in the ad. I think this lady may have either been having a rough day or just really did not care about me getting my $14 back. We find the section in the ad with the photo and then I pull out the two I bought. In the mean time, the manager was still trying to help settle the lady with the other cashier who couldn’t figure out what to do to fix whatever was wrong. Finally she starts to leave and the cashier tells her our issue. The manager said, “Oh yes, we’ve been having issues with that today. They told me when I came in.” Thankfully all it took was a few keystrokes on the register, a scan of my receipt and out popped my $14! Thank goodness. I would have NEVER bought deodorant that cost $8 a piece!! I’m hoping to be able to find more of them before the promo is over too.

So, all of that to say, CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS! I would have been VERY sad if I had not caught that $14 error!

Free Movie Monday!

Once again it is free movie monday from Redbox. Head over to your local Redbox before midnight and use this code for one free movie. Code: 2MNC92

Little Monkey’s Thanksgiving Craft

In line with the “tradition” we have started a few months ago, we made a new trivet for Thanksgiving. Here is the one from Grandparents Day and the one from Halloween.

This week we worked on Thanksgiving trivets. Little Monkey did a great job and I think they turned out cute. They are all different but all cute in their own way. We plan to take them to the beach house for Thanksgiving to use during the big feast and then each family will get to take one home as a keepsake.

We started out by painting his hand and then practicing a few times on paper.

Then we moved on to making one hand print on the tile and then additional ones on the paper.

I even placed two hand print turkeys on the paper. We then finished up the detail work after the paint had dried. Amy even helped with the writing of the words (She has nicer handwriting than I do!).  Here is a picture of them before they were clear coated. We actually ran out of tiles, so we will be doing this activity again to make sure we have enough for everyone!

I Won!

You may recall the other day that I blogged about a shoe giveaway here. I have some amazing news…apparently I won! I can hardly believe it. There were over 200 entries in the giveaway!

I got to pick out a pair of shoes and a pair of socks to start us off! Now I know something else to put on Little Monkey’s birthday wish list! And I will be looking for fun socks for him to wear with his shoes! I picked out the shoes and socks you see here.

Thanks to Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls and Uneaks for having this giveaway. I can’t wait to get them!

Thank You Craigslist, Again.

Craigslist has been a friend of mine over the past few months. Over here I wrote about selling a few things we wanted to get rid of. Yesterday I sold Little Monkey’s playground. We actually bought it used on Craigslist (for $65!!!) I listed it a few months ago on Craigslist and had some interest but it never went anywhere. Then on Thursday night I got an email from a guy who lives more than an hour away who was very interested in it and asked if I could hold it for him. I said I would and we took it apart on Friday so that hopefully it would fit in the back of their minivan without the seats in it. Much to my surprise, it did fit in there! He and his wife were VERY happy about it. This playground is quite costly brand new and hard to get used (because they tend to go really quick!). They paid my asking price of $175! So, Little Monkey got to have the playground for a while, and we sold it for profit to put towards building him a new swingset. So, Pops and Grandpa–We are adding money to the playground fund!!! Hopefully the new owners will enjoy their new playground. Even at $175 it is a pretty good deal! I looked it up online and a new one (granted it wouldn’t be faded) would cost $400 + $41 shipping + $120 oversized shipping= $561 (+Tax!).