Take Advantage of Memberships!

So with a few extra bucks in my wallet I decided to go shopping, and wow I can't believe how much I saved with just their rewards card! My original total was well over $40, not bad, but we can do better, my final total was $32.11 after tax. Now well some might say it depends on what you buy, and your right. I found a cat litter that was buy one get one free, so exchanged my generic brand for that, spent more upfront, but saved a lot (almost $9!). Now my employee discount was fur sure a small help, saved me about $2, but my card saved me almost $14! Totaling my savings to just under $19 or 39%. Not to bad for a days work. Ha. So take advantage of those saving's cards and in store deals, and don't be afraid to switch brands, you never know, you might like it.

~Skadia, the money saving panther.

A bit of Personal News

I have been MIA again, I know while trying to figure out what to talk about I got distracted. I am now up to working 3 jobs! The newest one is at a grocery store. So now I will be reviewing more products and talking a bit about that as well as my normal food information.

I also will leave you with a quick money saving tip!

Always buy in bulk when  you can. Get it home and package it however you want, but buying in larger sizes will cost more up front, but price per ounce is always cheaper.

~Skadia, the super busy panther.

A job at a Bakery

Well this is more news than an actual post with tasty information. I recently applied for a job at a local baker, seeing as I love food, and am actually happier baking a cake from scratch than a box. Having done this kind of work prior I know what will be expected. It's not easy by far, but it's for sure a challenge I am all up for. I will continue to share my food love with you all seeing as this blog is really making me proud. I also would love to hear what you guys are thinking. What you would like more info on, what you want more of? Like recipes, reviews, money saving tips? Just let me know and I'm happy to gather some more info.

~Skadia, the baking panther

A treat!

Sorry for disappearing for such a long while. Life happened. For now, enjoy this tid-bit I came up with.

The day was good, a nice day off, I didn’t have to go into that stuffy office today. A cool breeze drifted through the window, a wonderful foreshadow of fall that would soon be with us. A cake would be perfect right now. I hoisted myself from the chair and scuffled over to the pantry. Next to the flour was a box of mix. My hand went for that and paused, I have all the time in the world. I then snagged the large bag of flour and placed it on the counter as I gathered everything else I would need for my mission. 

With everything before me I pulled the biggest bowl I had from the cabinet and pulled out a one cup measuring cup. I was not about to dirty more than I needed to. 

The back of a dull butter knife scrapped against the top of the measuring cup as every ingredient was leveled. Eggs were carefully cracked into the mix, and a lone egg shell had to be plucked out of the batter.  My arthritis cramped my hand as I mixed the cake batter by hand with a fork. One minute went by, then another, and after three pain full minutes my art had finally come to life. 

One pan should do just fine; a large square one will hold it all. Baggie over my hand, lard touched every inch of the pan. A dusting of flour would insure that it wouldn’t stick. All of the goo fit neatly into the pan, leaving plenty of room to rise up nice and fluffy.  The oven beeped, all pre-heated, as I dipped my pan into its fiery maw. Looking at the clock I made a mental note of when to check on it.

Twenty minutes wafted by and it was time to check in upon my hard work. It looked great, smelled amazing, but when I tapped it, not quite done just yet, a few more moments and it should be just perfect. 

My T.V. show was almost over anyway, by that time the cake should be ready. The final credits tracked up the screen and I rushed to my oven. Snagging a hot pad on my way, I excitedly flung the door open and pulled out the now finished cake. I turned it out to let it cool and my heart sank.

Two minutes too long and the bottom was burnt. Burt that couldn’t be covered with sickeningly sweet frosting. Burnt that meant all my hard work was for naught. With an angry shove the now burnt art, was being stuffed into the garbage can. Still warm, still burnt. The smell of cake still lingered and the taste was still being craved. I went back to the pantry, and grabbed the box of cake mix, only to start all over again.

Simple Homemade Jam

Now with 100% less cooking! Yes, you read that right, homemade jam, with no cooking. Sounds too good to be true, I know, but I found this recipe in my current issue of Woman's Day magazine and figured I would share it. Please note, I did not try this, I just wanted to share it with you all.

Basic quick no-cook jam:
Fresh Fruit        
2 Cups superfine sugar (I'm going to assume powdered would work)
2 teaspoons lemon zest        
 3 Tablespoons Ball RealFruit instant pectin


Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, toss together the fruit lemon zest, juice and any additional ingredients.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and pectin. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the fruit, then fold and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Using a potato masher, lightly crush the fruit mixture for 1 minute.
3. Transfer to 8-oz freezer-safe jars (about 3/4 cup per jar), leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top of each jar.
4. Refrigerate for at least 3 days before serving or freeze for up to 1 year. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Once open, consume within 1 week.

Variations:

Mixed berry jam:
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
12 oz fresh raspberries
12 oz fresh blackberries
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
     Prepare the jam according to the recipe instructions, decreasing the lemon juice to 1 Tablespoon.

Blueberry, orange and lime jam:
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 navel oranges, cut into segments; segments chopped
2 pounds fresh blueberries
2 teaspoons lime zest
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
     Omit the lemon zest and juice and decrease the total sugar to 1 cup. In a bowl, toss together the orange zest, oranges, blueberries, lime zest, and juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Using a potato masher, lightly crush the fruit mixture and let sit for 15 minutes. Prepare the jam according to the recipe instructions, mixing only 3/4 cup sugar with the pectin.

Vanilla, nectarine and raspberry jam:
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 pounds nectarines, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound raspberries
     Scrape out the vanilla seeds into a large bowl. Add the nectarines, and toss with the lemon zest and juice and 1/4 cup sugar; let sit for 15 minutes, then toss with the raspberries. Prepare the jam according to recipe instructions, mixing only 1 3/4 cups sugar with the pectin and stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Do not mash.

 Plum, ginger and lemon jam:
3 pounds red plums, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger finely grated (1 Tbs)
     Prepare the jam according to the recipe instructions.

Apple, strawberry and mint jam:
2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2 inch peices
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup fresh mint
     In a bowl, toss together the strawberries, lemon zest and juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Fold in the apples and mint and let sit for 15 minutes. Prepare the jam according to the recipe instructions, mixing only 1 3/4 cups sugar with the pectin.

~Skadia, the jam loving panther.