Now that I don’t have school assignments to worry about anymore I have some new goals for myself.  Of those goals is to catch up on my couponing!  I’m nothing like the extreme couponers on the TV show, but I am pretty pleased with what I’ve been able to do.  I don’t have a huge stockpile of items, but it works for me $$

The other day I got caught up on cutting out all my coupons, but they have yet to be sorted.  And don’t even get me started on cleaning out my coupon binder!  Despite my current state of disorganization I decided to rummage through the pile to catch a couple of deals for this week.  Last week I did some grocery shopping at Kroger and was able to cut my bill in half using coupons.  The highlight of that trip was my 99 cent bottle of Tide Laundry Detergent!

Want to see how my coupon adventure went today?

Today I set out to get a deal for 99 cent bags of dogfood at Target, and a couple of other things at CVS.  I had a rather tough start to my coupon adventure and ended up leave empty handed from Target since they were sold out.  Then CVS didn’t start any better when coupons I was expecting to print out from the “red machine” didn’t pop out.  Since I didn’t want the trip to be wasted I decided to just carry on.  Got to the aisle to pick up some tissue paper, and once again SOLD OUT!  I couldn’t believe it, and at this point I was getting quite frustrated.
Luckily I managed to do some quick calculations and was able to recover my shopping trip! While it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, it was still a pretty good haul.

Total Value: 79.56
Paid: 24.20
AND… got $10 gift card back!

]]> http://graciegrapes.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/new-year-full-of-coupons/feed/ 0 graciegrapes CVS trip 1-18-12 http://graciegrapes.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/dulce-de-leche-brownies/ http://graciegrapes.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/dulce-de-leche-brownies/#comments Fri, 06 May 2011 22:00:43 +0000 graciegrapes http://graciegrapes.wordpress.com/?p=457 ]]> For Cinco de mayo I put together this really simple desert… dulce de leche brownies!

Dulce de leche is a thick milk-based caramel like sauce

that can usually be found prepared in the Latin food section of the grocery store.  In high school my friend introduce me to it when she brought in cookies sandwiched with the stuff.  I have yet to recreate those cookies!

But for this recipe I decided to create my dulce de leche with a can of condensed milk.  There are a couple of methods to do this including boiling a can in hot water, cooking the can in a pressure cooker, microwaving, and baking in the oven.  Personally I attempted the oven baking method as I was concerned about exploding cans.

Dulce De Leche Brownie

To learn how to make your own dulce de leche and brownie…

Dulce de leche

• 1 can of condensed milk

To make my dulce de leche I used a method of baking using a water bath.  I preheated my oven to 400 degrees.
I got two glass baking dishes, one small than the other.  Poured the contents of the can into the smaller dish and sealed it well with foil.  Placed the smaller dish into the larger, and filled the larger with water so it can up to about half way up the smaller dish.  Be careful not to get any water into the smaller dish, and be sure the foil has a good seal.  I then baked it for 1 hour.   Allowing it to cool before using it.

Dulce de Leche Brownies

Ingredients:

• Dulce de leche
• Brownie mix

For the brownies I simple prepared a store bought brownie mix according to the directions.

First I poured about half of the mix into my baking dish and then topped it with a layer of the dulce de leche.  Then I layered it with the rest of the mix, and topped off with some more dulce de leche.  The cooking time was a little longer than the suggested cooking time… about 25 minutes.

I also suggest using a cake-like brownie mix if you aren’t a fan of gooey borderline raw brownies, as a fudgier batter does not completely set when combined with the dulce de leche.  Give these brownies time to cool before cutting.. .about 15 minutes!  I know, it’s hard to wait!

Brownie mix - to get the "swirl" design just run a toothpick through the batter once it's in the pan

I also took the opportunity to try out grilling fish. Let’s just say it was not a total fail, but not a total success either….

Grilled Tilapia for fish tacos

To find out how I put it all together…

Grilled Tilapia for Fish Tacos
Adapted from recipe featured on www.bittensweetblog.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 2 tblsp lemon or lime juice
• 2 tsp creole seasoning
• 1 tsp black pepper
• about 1 lb tilapia fillets

In a dish whisk together olive oil, juice, seasoning; then marinade fillets for about 20 minutes.  Then grill until cooked, about 3-5 minutes per side.
Break apart to fill tortilla shell and top as desired.  I topped mine with shredded lettuce, homemade pico de gallo, and chipotle cream.

Chipotle Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1-2 peppers from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

In a food processor combine until smooth

Recipe for Homemade Guacamole and Pico De Gallo can be found on my Cinco de Mayo post from last year.

Served with rice and fresh diced tomato

To find out how I made lemon tilapia without a lemon…

Fried Tilapia with Lemon
adapted from a recipe on “Great American Seafood” bag

Ingredient:

• Tilapia fillets, if frozen-thaw
• Flour
• Salt
• Lemon Pepper Seasoning Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil *I just eyeballed it, so this is an estimation*
• Lemon juice (I use bottled from concentrate)
• Italian seasoning, for garnish

Since my fillets were frozen I thawed them and rinsed them under running water.  After drying them off I lighted dusted both sides with flour, and seasoned was a dash of salt and lemon pepper seasoning.  In a large frying pan I heated up the olive oil and proceeded to fry my fillets.  I cooked them until both sides were golden brown, about 4 minutes a side.  Just before the fillets were fully cooked I added a couple splashes of lemon juice and swirled the pan to mix with the fish/olive oil.  Before removing from the pan I sprinkled the fillets with some Italian seasoning, just on the side facing up.

Enjoy!

I’m hoping that this will break our streak of eating out!

To learn how to make it…

Chicken Parmesan Bundles
from Kraftfood.com

Ingredients:

• 6 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves; pounded to 1/4″ thickness
  

  Release some stress and flatten chicken out with a rolling pin or frying pan

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese  (I didn’t have mozzarella, so I used mexican blend and it worked well)
• 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 egg
• 10 Ritz crackers, crushed
• Spaghetti sauce
• Crushed red pepper flakes, optional

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix cream cheese, shredded cheese, and half (3 tblsp) parmesan cheese, and spinach together.
In the original recipe is says to spread the mixture onto the chicken breast and roll. 

Rather than spreading the mixture onto the chicken breast I just plopped it in the middle of my chicken and folded over the sides, securing the ends in the middle with a toothpick.

In a small dish beat the egg, and in another dish combine the remaining parmesan cheese and crushed crackers.  Take you rolled up chicken and dip into the egg then roll in crumb mixture.  Place breaded rolls into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

I only had 5 rolls, since one of my breasts was too small to split into two

Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Remove toothpicks and top with sauce and either parmesan or mozzarella cheese.

For a bit of spice I added some crushed red pepper flakes to my sauce while I was heating it up.

I served mine over pasta shells

Anyways, I haven’t done my nails in a little bit since I’ve been in the hospital a lot for either clinicals or my externship.  Since I don’t having anything other than school work to do right now I decided to play around with another one of my crackle polishes from China Glaze.

China Glaze Crushed Candy over OPI Funky Dunkey

The other hand...

When I use my first crackle glaze I assume it was like OPI’s Black Shatter in that I would need a clear coat over the base coat before topping it off with the crackle. After reading other people’s reviews of the CG Crackle Glazes I decided to try forgoing the clear coat.  I discovered that you DON’T need a clear coat prior to applying the crackle glazes!!  Unlike OPI Black Shatter  this didn’t “eat through” the base coat at all.

Last week I pre-ordered China Glaze’s new collection “Crackle Glaze”.  This collection consists of 6 polishes that create a crackled or shattered effected when placed over a base color.  OPI recently release their Katy Perry collection featuring Black Shatter, which is the same thing.  China Glaze however took this trend a step further by offering colors other than black!

(left to right) Broken Hearted, Lightning Bolt, Black Mesh, Fault Line, Crushed Candy

I picked up all except for the gray color, since it just didn’t appeal to me.  And I got the black to give to my sister since OPI’s Black Shatter is sold out pretty much everywhere and I prefer not to share mine.

Directions included with the polishes state:

1. Apply a base nail lacquer color and let completely dry.
2. Apply a coat of Crackle Glaze. Let dry 3-5 minutes.
3. Seal the design with a top coat.

I applied a clear coat prior to applying the crackle glaze; due to my previous experience with OPI’s Black Shatter (click for my tips on use).

China Glaze "Broken Hearted" over OPI "The One That Got Away"

This polish was basically the same as Black Shatter but pink

Like with black shatter, the crackling effect is determined but how thickly it is applied.  Thin coat = smaller cracks; Thick coat = larger cracks.  I noticed that the skinnier brush of the China Glaze makes it more difficult to get a completely uniform coat, but that only if you want to get picky about it!

This polish also has a matte finish, so top coat is a must to really make it pop.

I think the main difference between OPI and China Glaze is that China Glaze took longer to crackle/dry.  You really need to give it the 3-5 minutes to get the full crackling effect of the polish.  However, while it take more time to get the full effect, you can’t dilly-dally around applying the crackle polish since still it starts to crackle rather quickly.

So far the pink polish is the only one I’ve tried, so I’m not sure if the results really differ between colors.  But from this first experience, I’d say that if you are having trouble finding the OPI Black Shatter then China Glaze’s Crackle Glazes are a perfect alternative!

Katy Perry Collection by OPI

A couple of weeks ago OPI released their Katy Perry Collection which included 5 “colors”; the most interesting of the set is Black Shatter! Black shatter is different in that it is more of a topcoat of sorts, the directions with the nail polish states:

“Apply one coat of Black Shatter over any completely dry Katy shade for an irresistable “shattered” look.”

As the polish dries it separates on the nail creating a broken look over your initial color.  What you get is a customized look without having to go pay for nail art/manicure.  Plus, due to the effect you don’t have to worry about being overly neat or perfect with your application.  However there are some tricks getting the ideal look.

#1: Think contrasting colors.
This one would seem to be a no brainer, but I figured it was worth mentioning.  Since the polish is black is won’t show up well over darker colors.  Bright colors result in the most noticeable effect.

#2: Use a clear polish before applying Black Shatter.
This one a figured out through trial and error.  With my left hand I applied the black shatter directly on top of my base color, and I noticed that the base color did not come through as vibrant.  The base color was dulled out and upon closer inspection appears to have been “eaten away”.  So with my right hand I decided to apply a top coat over my base coat, and the results were MUCH better.  Black shatter not only “shattered” cleaner, but the base color showed through much brighter.

Left Hand

Right Hand

I also noticed that on my left hand, without a clear coat between the base and black shatter, after applying a finishing top coat it still appears rather dull in comparison to my right hand.  And that brings me to my final tip.

#3:  Use a top coat to finish.
Black shatter by itself does not have a shiny finish, it’s pretty matte.  The matte finish is more evident with you don’t apply a clear coat over your base color.  In my opinion the overall look is better, and more “professional” looking with a top coat to finish.  I have also read that some people have experienced the black flaking off without a topcoat to seal it.

Finished product

Close Up

For those looking for something special to do with there nails without having to visit the nail salon I’d definitely suggest picking up a bottle of Black Shatter.  I got my bottle at Ulta, but I’m sure it can probably picked up anywhere that the OPI brand is sold.  Also, the polish is part of the main OPI brand; I can’t say that it’s available at sephora, since sephora sells a line by OPI which is specific to Sephora.

I know I haven’t been posting in a while…. nursing school definitely picked up the pace this fall semester, and I’m not sure if it’s going to be letting up any this coming one :-/   In addition to my normal classes I also got accepted for a perioperative nursing externship! While I am definitely looking forward to this semester it’s going to be a very busy one!

In between school I do still have to maintain a life, and part of my goals for this years will be to save up more money and start getting back in shape.  Part of saving money will mean getting back on track with cooking my own food; definitely the best way to save money!  So I will do my best to post up my adventures with cooking and baking   I am also going to try and calm down with buying make-up and beauty products, but I have managed to build up a nice collection that I need to rediscover; I also have a couple of product reviews that I need to catch up on.

Getting back in shape has been LONG overdo for myself! I tend to have cycles of working out and being lazy, but this past year or so has definitely been the longest lull that I’ve had.  I do have the P90x workout program, but I’m not sure if I’m going to start out with it since I don’t want to burn myself out.  Perhaps I will build up to them after some easy workouts at the gym

Well, hope everyone had  happy holidays and I am looking forward to the new year!

Gyro Sub

For directions on how to put this delicious sandwich together…

Quick and Easy Gyro Sub

Ingredients:

• Frozen sandwich steak – like Steak’ums
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Onion
• Tzatziki sauce
• Feta Cheese
• Hoagie roll – or pita if you to be authentic

These are really easy…  Basically cook your meat and assemble sandwich!

Granted, it’s not very authentic, but it satisfies that craving for gyros.