Perfect Baked Bacon Everytime

In my opinion, this is low fat bacon, or as low fat as bacon can get and still BE bacon. Oven cooked bacon doesn't curl, cooks evenly, and browns beautifully. Bacon cooked in this manner takes a little longer to prepare, but the end result is worth it. The bacon strips are crisp, but not crunchy. 
What You Need

• 12"x18"x1" baking pan 
• 10"x16" cooling rack
• 12 -16 ounces of raw bacon
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Place cooking rack into baking pan, then spray with a light coat of cooking spray.
3. Lay bacon strips across the cooling rack
4. Place pan of bacon into preheated oven and bake about 20 minutes or until it is cooked to the desired amount of doneness.

A note of caution: Do not get impatient and turn the oven temperature up past 375 degrees Fahrenheit. You could start an oven fire by doing this.

That Darn Groundhog was Wrong!

My dad posted a picture on my Facebook page that showed a dead groundhog supposedly holding a pistol in its paw with this caption,"Punxsutawney Phil, the King of the Groundhogs was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after predicting an early spring." Don't get mad at my dad! In the words of Larry the Cable Guy," Now that there's funny!"

Yesterday morning (Saturday) I started pruning, watering, and rearranging my houseplants around the house. A sure sign that I have spring fever. The groundhog didn't see his shadow, the first day of spring has come and gone, and daffodils are blooming. WHY am I seeing snow this morning? I know, writing this isn't going to change a thing BUT it always makes me feel better.

So here's my variation of "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

 If life gives you snow, make snow ice cream.

March 24, 2013
Really Phil? Really?

 

Sallee's Online Bargain Tips for Beginners

In my pre-computer days, bargain shopping consisted of scanning local sale bills, ordering from discount catalogs, and going to yard sales. Then I took an adult education class at the Belle High School for keyboarding and basic computer information. That class taught me enough about computers that I soon owned a computer and rapidly progressed into an online shopping gal. From that point on, my shopping pattern changed forever. Shopping online has changed how I shop in many ways. Today I scan sale bills online, order from online discount catalogs, and I haven't been to a yard sale in months.

What's On Sale?

My laptop is now my primary source of sales information. My favorite stores all have national websites. Each website has a link that displays the weekly sales flyer. I have the sites bookmarked or added to the Favorites Bar so that I don't even have to type in the addresses. The only part of my routine that remains the same is comparing the sales, making a shopping list and planning my trip. Online couponing is easier too because I can now print the coupons I want to use.

Comparison shopping is so easy with websites like Nextag.com and TheFind.com. I just type what I'm looking for into the onsite search and click the magnifying glass icon(Search button). A list appears with a range of prices and links to each store. These are my two favorite sites, but I'm sure there are many more that I don't know about.

Online Catalogs

• Where do I start? I have been using discount catalogs for years and I still look at paper copies. However, most companies have sales that are ONLY available online. Clearance sale items and Online sales are two ways to save a lot of money, even with shipping cost. Here is an example.

• In January I needed two new blouses for work. I had checked out the clothing stores when I made my monthly shopping trip, but couldn't find work appropriate blouses for less that $20-40 each. I went to the online catalog of a nationally known store. I purchased two beautiful blouses for $14 each and had them shipped to me. Total cost was $36.  This was a bargain for me because the closest store in the chain is 40 miles away and gas was at $3.89 a gallon.

• Many national clothing stores have clearance items that are selling for under $10 each. I was ignorant of this until about a year ago. A coworker told me she had spent $50 and gotten $200 worth of clothing! After some online exploring, I found that she was absolutely correct.

Auction Sites and Pages

Be careful when buying from some auction sites!

1.  Many auctions are priced higher than retail.
2. Check out the sellers feedback. If a seller has less than 99% positive feedback, don't  buy from them.

However, careful buyers can find some good sales. Just make sure that you do some comparison shopping before you click on the Buy It Now or Complete This Sale button.

Facebook is becoming a source of bargains because of online sales pages. Generally these are local pages and most are closed groups. You have to ask to participate, but this is the equivalent to an online yard sale.

If your looking for electronics, tablets, cameras, or phones you can find some very good sales at Amazon.com. Many items at Amazon qualify for Super Shipper Savings - Buy $25 or more and shipping is free. I  used my savings in shipping cost to purchase the birthday wrapping service. I still saved money! My grandbabies were thrilled to get packages from Grammy!

Tip: When using Amazon, make sure you indicate that you want your packages sent as a group. Also, this is not an option for last minute buying. If you want your packages to arrive on time, make your purchases three weeks ahead of time.

Books, CD's , and movies are availble at great prices from several websites. A couple of my favorites are Half.com and of course, Amazon.com.

 

 

Pantry Style Jumbo Cheese Shells - A Meatless Meal

A grocery store freezer case  reminds me of jewelry being displayed behind glass. The multi-hued bags and boxes of prepared, frozen meals keep me motionless as I scan the shelves looking for a new taste gem to purchase. Last month at Aldi's, a coral bag of jumbo, stuffed pasta shells caught my attention. I read the label,"...filled with a creamy blend of ricotta, Romano cheese, and Italian seasoning." Next I looked at the net weight - 20 ozs AND the price was less than $3. Honestly, I just couldn't pass up this bargain. The coral bag of pasta was in my cart and a new meatless meal was going to make an appearance on the Bonham menu!

Weekends are my time to cook from scratch and dazzle my husband with my kitchen skills. However, my desire to cook from scratch wanes a little around Wednesday evening, so my new menu item made its debut on our table midweek. After removing the frozen bag of shells from the freezer, I read the cooking instructions for conventional oven preparation.

The pasta directions were simple and straightforward.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Pour your favorite sauce into the bottom of an oven-safe pan.
3. Place frozen Stuffed Shells in pan and cover lightly with more sauce.
4. Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil and place in oven.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes until cheese is slightly firm and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Remove dish, let stand for 3 minutes and serve.

Now, do you remember that I said my desire to cook wanes a little midweek?  That is true, but I do prepare my "almost homemade" pasta sauce. This is my basic recipe.

Sallee's Pantry Style Pasta Sauce

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with 1/3 can of water added
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp minced, dried onions
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. freshly ground, rainbow peppercorns
1 tsp. firmly packed, brown sugar
1  4 oz. can mushroom stems and pieces (optional)
6-8 whole black olives, sliced (optional)
salt to taste

I put all the ingredients in the bottom of  a glass 8"x 11.5"x 2" baking dish and stirred until the dry seasonings were mixed well. Then I followed #1-4 of the above directions *I adjusted the cooking time to 40 minutes and let the dish stand for 10 minutes. The cheese was slightly firm when I cut my first shell open, so I'm assuming that it reached 165 degrees.

Yield: About 4 servings of two shells each

The shells are a nice change of pace and require a minimum of effort to prepare after a long day at work. Bill said he would like to eat them "once in awhile". Once in awhile translates as once a month. A lettuce salad and/or fruit salad go nicely with this meal. Happy cooking!

*The first time I cooked these shells, I followed the bag directions exactly. In my oven, the pasta ended up overcooked so I adjusted the recipe the second time. We are now very happy with the end product.

 

Search" Wig" for a New Haircut

Wow! Why didn't I come across this idea when I was looking for a new hairstyle? Okay let me share this with you. I followed a beauty link and landed on a website selling wigs. The first wig style was so similar to my own hairstyle that I had to look twice. Plus, there was a side and back view. My beautician would have been really happy to see those three pics. My own online search for a medium length cut was lengthy because most of the sites only showed a frontal view of each hairstyle. If your looking for a new hairstyle, type in "wig". Happy Web Surfing.