Mimi's Kitchen

Here are a couple of quick and easy recipes from my Christmas cookie recipe collection- one for the grown-ups at your house and one that your kids can help with. These recipes are simple but delicious, and are especially nice because they both only require 7 ingredients, and both take just a few minutes to put together.



Grown-up Christmas Cookies-These chocolate gems pack a yummy punch thanks to the bourbon


1 (9 oz.) package chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed (about 2
1/3 cups)
2 cups finely chopped almonds
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup bourbon (I recommend Kentucky bourbon)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
Powdered sugar

1.      In a large bowl, combine crushed cookies, almonds and 2 cups powdered sugar.
2.     Stir in bourbon and corn syrup.
3.     Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar.
4.     Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 5 days to blend flavors.




Chocolate-Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
Your kids will love helping make these easy treats


1 (6 oz.) package semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup peanuts

1.      Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper.
2.     In 3-quart saucepan, heat chocolate chips, corn syrup, peanut butter, milk and vanilla  
       over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is s
       smooth; remove from heat.
3.     Stir in oats and peanuts until well coated.
4.     Drop mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper.
5.     Refrigerate uncovered about 1 hour or until firm. Store covered in refrigerator.

I read this post the other day by Crescent Dragonwagon (yes...that's her name, trust me...just Google it) and just had to share it with all of you who may be struggling at "being" a writer. Let me state for the record, I do not know Crescent, have never had the pleasure of actually meeting her, although I wish that were not the case. However, I do admire her a great deal, own some of her cookbooks and have exchanged comments with her on Twitter and Facebook on occasion (does that count?)

Why is she important to me? Well, in spite of the fact that we have never met, I consider her a mentor of sorts. A few years ago, when I began writing seriously, I was struggling...doubting myself and wondering if I would ever really "be" a writer. I reached out to Crescent on Twitter...and she responded. The thing about this that's so incredible is that Crescent Dragonwagon is a well-known, very successful author (over 50 books) who took the time to actually answer me. Amazing! She gave me words of encouragement...and then she told me "always remember..every day that you write, you're a writer!" I held on to those words, kept writing, and am now under contract for my first cookbook (coming 3rd quarter 2012). I will always be grateful to Crescent for her generosity and for being so approachable and genuine....she helped me more than she can ever know.

So here's a link to her recent post...I hope you get as much out of it as I did. And remember, whether it's a blog, a book, web content, or something else...every day that you write, you're a writer.

http://crescentdragonwagon.typepad.com/nothing_is_wasted_crescen/2011/12/real-writer.html

Some of you may already know that I have a gourmet food business called The Carolina Gourmet in downtown Mebane, NC. Recently Destination Downtown Mebane held a Spring Shopper's stroll event and we were on-hand to do a tasting (as we try to do for all special events downtown). To help generate publicity for Mebane and share with more people how great our little town is, the DDM committee was able to get UNC TV (our public tv station) to come and do a feature story. They did a great job showcasing all the wonderful businesses in Mebane, including Melville Trading Company, where our Carolina Gourmet booth is located. Here's a video link to the story...the bit about The Carolina Gourmet is about halfway through the video.

Watch the

Most of what I found was overwhelming and a bit frustrating, because it didn't seem to apply to me and my lifestyle. My time is valuable (so is yours!) and I'm just too busy for some of the stuff I read about! A lot of these women are stay-at-home moms so I'm not sure how they have time for elaborate systems either! Obviously they must be more organized and better time managers than me. Then, just when I was getting ready to give up on finding anything useful, I came across a website that made me stop in my cyber tracks. It's called Southern Savers and it's written by a lady named Jenny who really knows her stuff. She explains in an easy-to-understand way how to effectively use coupons, and she doesn't advocate complicated systems or elaborate methods. On top of that, she has links to most of the major coupon sites like RedPlum and Coupons.com, as well as current weekly sales circulars for most major grocery chains. The best part of all, though, was that Jenny isn't trying to sell me anything...she's simply trying to share what she knows with the rest of us. Amazing! At last....here was what I was looking for...a site full of common sense and practical advice! I looked at the weekly sales circulars for the stores close to my house, checked off items I was interested in and printed my shopping lists with the convenient tool built right into the list. So easy! Jenny even tells you which items have manufacturers coupons, so I was able to grab those from my coupon file and match them with my shopping lists. It only took me a few minutes and I was ready to shop.

I approached this trip to the store very differently than normal. Instead of just making a list and then shopping like usual, I focused on items we use regularly that were on sale and for which I had coupons. For the first time ever, I would build my weekly menu around what I bought instead of creating a menu and then making a list of what I needed. This fits in perfectly with the $2 Dinners savings pyramid idea of having core budget-friendly recipes that make use of what items you have on-hand. Getting those items at a discount just maximizes the savings! My extreme couponing shopping trip took me to three grocery stores and one drugstore, all within 3 miles of my house (I wouldn't have gone to so many stores if they weren't so close). A few things I bought were necessities that weren't on sale, and for which I didn't have coupons, but most of what I bought was stuff we use on a regular basis, that was on sale, and for which I had a manufacturer's coupon, a store coupon, or both. Some of what I bought is planned for meals this week (I'll be posting recipes), and some things, like the canned tomatoes (5 cans for $1!) were purchased to stock up because I use them often. Here are the stats on my extreme couponing shopping trip:

• Time spent = 2 1/2 hours
• Grocery bags unloaded = 28
• Total money spent = $97.83
• Retail value of purchase = approx. $150.00
• Money saved = approx. $52.17

Here are pictures of the loot from my trip, so you can see for yourself what I was able to buy for less than $100.























I think once I get used to this new way of shopping, I can cut down the time it takes considerably. I have to admit it was fun...almost like a game to see how much I could save, and I was extremely pleased with the results. I learned that you don't have to go to extremes to save on your grocery bill, and you don't have to buy 150 years' worth of deodorant! So far this week we've had chicken and dumplings and pot roast, all made with items I purchased on sale.Thanks to Jenny at SouthernSavers.com for her great site, practical advice and awesome tools! If you're interested in learning more about couponing, I encourage you to check out southernsavers.com!