$1 Off Silk Coupon

Most often Silk Soy Milk and it's products are $2.99 at supermarkets.
Here is a $1 Off coupon for their new promotion The Least Challenging Challenge.
You'll have to have the coupon printer installed on your computer first.

$1 Off Silk Coupon

Coupon expires 31 days from date of print out.
You are allowed to print this coupon 2 times only.

Recipe: Red Velvet Cake BonBons

These came about after my attempt at making red velvet petite fours crumbled, literally. I think I was a bit too eager and didn't allow the cake to cool completely before I started handling it (I should have also cut the 9" x 13" cake in half first before to make it easier to work with) so since a part of the cake was crumbling, I remembered seeing something called cake pops and decided to do something like that instead.

As the old adage says, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!"

This technique can be done for any type of flavor cake mix you are using (That's right! This is a recipe that uses a cake mix!) and very often, the major manufactured boxed cake mixes like Duncan Hines or Pillsbury go on sale for 99¢ each with the can of icing for $1.50 or so. Candy melts I found at a craft store (Michaels) for $1.99.

I chose to make red velvet since it's very popular lately and Valentine's Day is a few days away...

Ingredients:

• 1- 10.25 oz box Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix
• 1- 16 oz can of Duncan Hines Cream Cheese frosting
• 2- 14 oz bags Wilton Candy Melts White
• eggs, water, and oil as per cake manufacturer's instructions

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Follow cake box instructions and make the cake batter for a 9" x 13" cake pan.
3. Bake for required minutes and then allow to cool completely.
4. Crumble the prepared cake by hand into a large bowl.
5. Add icing to the cake crumbs (you might want to start with 1/2 a can to see first how moist the mixture will be.
6. Roll quarter sized balls of the cake/icing mixture between your hands (you can use a cookie scoop to make these as well) and place on a sheet pan.
7. Place sheet pan of cake balls in the refrigerator for several hours to set up (or freezer for 1 hour).
8. Prepare the candy melts one bag at a time as per manufacturer's instructions.
9. Take the sheet pan of cake balls out and using two forks, roll the balls (one at a time) in the melted candy to fully cover.
10. Set the covered cake balls on a silpat lined (you can use wax paper or foil) sheet pan to set up.

International Delights 55¢ Off Coupon

International Delights just released 2 new flavors and is promoting them with this coupon for 55¢ off. You can print coupons out only twice so try both new flavors!

Pathmark is selling International Delights creamers for $1.79 this week so use these new coupons and get them for $1.24 each!


Click the hyperlink below to print your coupon. You might have to install the coupons.com coupon printer if you haven't done so already.

International Delights 55¢ Off coupon
Coupon expires 31 days from date of print out. After a month has past, you should be able to use this link again.

Recipe: Soy Sauce Chicken "See Yau Gai"

Soy sauce chicken is a dish that my Grandmother would make every weekend as it is rather simple and the braising liquid (Master Sauce) can be saved and reused over and over. There are some restaurants that have a Master Sauce brewing for many years!
This dish is also popular in Chinatown and you'll often see the glistening, succulent, reddish brown chicken hanging in a window.

Chinese New Year falls on January 23rd and the Chinese consider serving chicken is a sign of prosperity.
Many of the ingredients can be found in the Asian section of your supermarket or cheaper in Chinatown. If you can't find the ingredient, I've listed substitutions. Szechuan peppercorns impart a lemony numbing sensation but black peppercorns can be used if you can't find any.

Ingredients

• 3 to 3 1/2 pound chicken

Master Sauce:

• 1 cup light soy sauce (this is the regular soy sauce that you find everywhere)
  
• 1 cup dark soy sauce (this is basically for color but if you can't find it, just use regular)
  
• 1/2 cup Chinese shaoxing rice wine (you can substitute dry sherry)
• 1/3 cup Chinese rock sugar (or 1/2 cup brown sugar if you can't find rock sugar)
• 3 whole star anise (or use can use 1 tbsp of fennel seed)
  
• 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorn (pan roasted in a small dry skillet for 3-5 minutes)
  
• 1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 cinnamon stick (try to use cinnamon from a Chinese market)
• 4 cups water

Directions

1. Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Remove any fat deposits and discard.
2. In a pot large enough to hold the chicken, combine the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, star anise, roasted Szechuan peppercorn, ginger, cinnamon stick and the water. Bring to a boil.
   
3. Carefully add the chicken, breast side down. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook the chicken for 45 minutes, turning over once or twice and making sure it cooks for an even amount of time on both sides. Baste the chicken for a minute or more each time you turn it over.
4. After 45 minutes, turn off the heat and the let chicken sit, covered, until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the breast reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit (about 77 degrees Celsius).
5. Remove the chicken from the pot using 2 large spoons and cool. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Serves 6 – 8.
6. Reserve the Master Sauce to use again in the future by bringing it to a boil, cool, and store in a plastic container in the freezer.
   

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year filled with health, wealth, and happiness!

Recipe: Lemon Roast Chicken and Parsley

This is a recipe that I learned years ago when I first started living on my own and have been roasting chicken like this ever since. I saw Chef Jeff Smith make a roast chicken on TV when he used to have his show on PBS and I adapted his simple recipe to give it more flavor. Whole chicken is often on sale for 79¢ to 89¢ a pound.

Ingredients

• 1 three to four pound chicken
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil (I use extra virgin for more flavor)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 bunch fresh parsley

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Rinse the chicken inside and out with water and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Rub the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.
4. In a small bowl, make a dressing with the olive oil, lemon juice, and ground thyme.
5. Rub the chicken inside and out with the dressing.
6. Stuff the chicken loosely with the parsley and bake uncovered in a roasting pan for about 1 1/4 hours.

Note: Originally the recipe did not mention if the lemon juice was from a bottle or not but if you are using juice from a large fresh lemon, go ahead and stuff the chicken with the juiced lemon halves as well to give more flavor.

My tip: It's easier to make the dressing in a glass measuring cup so that you can see the measurements and have one less bowl to clean.

The resulting juices at the bottom of the pan make a delicious gravy.

Cooking hint: Pour the salt and pepper into a small bowl and mix together well and use it to season the chicken. This way you have less of a risk of getting chicken juices all over the place, cross contamination, and makes seasoning food fast and easy.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Bread

One of the Thanksgiving sides seems to traditionally be a sweet potato dish. This year we boiled and mashed sweet potatoes instead of baking them and were left with quite some leftovers.

Since I made the mashed potatoes into gnocchi, I figured I'd change the sweet potatoes into something as well. The same evening after I made the gnocchi, I made sweet potato bread for the next day's breakfast.


There was apple sauce in the refrigerator which is a perfect replacement for oil in these mix and pour recipes to make it low fat. Try to use unsweetened apple sauce when replacing the oil in recipes otherwise your end result will be too sweet.


Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F
   
2. Use a spray oil to grease a 9"x5"x3" loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
   
4. Stir in the sugar, pecans, and raisins.
5. In another bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, milk, and mashed sweet potatoes. Mix well.
6. Add the sweet potato mixture to the flour mixture and mix with a large spoon until combined.
7. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then remove from pan.