Dinner tonight

Was a very, very long day at work today... when I came home I felt like comfort food!!
So we had...

                                                    Sweet & Spicy Chicken Wings

With some sliced peppers & celery & carrots and some blue cheese dip... yep, exactly what the dr. ordered!!

What was your dinner tonight?  Did you feel like comfort, or something special??  Or did you do a family favorite?  Enquiring minds....

Dishin with Didi

Sunday purchases

Went out really quickly this a.m. to CVS to get just a few things...
Reason being I'm trying to get my stockpile back up regarding personal items and odds and ends. That provides me with extra "grocery money" to buy better quality meats, cheeses, fresh fruits & veggies, seafood etc.

I bought 3 cases of Pepsi products, 2 Pepsi Max, 1 Sierra mist 12 cans. 1 Irish Spring for dh. 3 Speed stick deodorant for dh, 3 Lady speed stick for us, and a Reeces PB egg.
I used coupons for all except the candy, and a $10cash card from CVS from a previous week.
My total was $5.78 for what you see shown. I saved $31.96!!
I also received; 1-$4ECB for the Pepsi, 1-$6ECB for the deodorants and body wash, 1-.87ECB for the pb egg chocolate & 1-$1ECB for using the green tag I bought 2 yrs ago...
Paying full price for these items would of cost me almost $40.00!!!
Now, I have $32.00 back into my grocery budget, plus another $11.87 to use towards another week in drugstore money!!

Did you do something to save your family money? I would love to hear all about it... drop me a line and let me know!!! I love to share, but I LOVE TO LEARN!!!!

Happy Sunday!! :-)

Dishin with Didi

Chicken Souvlaki Dip

If you love Greek Souvlaki, this dip is for you!! Ever wanted a nice bite of chicken Souvlaki with tzatziki sauce to go on forever?

Now you have it, in a dip!!  This is a very easy dip to prepare with the end results leaving you "cheering" that it is so good, and have other's CHEERING YOU!!!
Well in all honestly, they will keep eating the dip and just ignore you and your mournful eye looks of "how is it, is it good"?  Yes, they will ignore you my friends, and keep eating the dip.  By the end of the function you are serving it to, you will have an empty bowl! 
If that alone is not the best compliment ever!!!  By the way, does anyone have a solution to having male guests compliment and not just devour all brought out food, and also play monkey in the middle with the hostess? Now I'm totally serious. Anyone? 
Oh well, I guess I will be dealing with "tall guy #1 & tall guy#2" for years to come!!

Ready for the recipe?  Here we go;

Chicken Souvlaki
3 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 2 large) cubed
1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped fine
1-1/2 tbsp dried marjoram or oregano (or 1/4 cup fresh chopped herbs)
1 tsp dried thyme, or 2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice (I used bottle in this recipe)
2 tsp. Course sea or kosher salt
1/2 tsp. Black pepper
4 garlic cloves crushed


*In a ziplock bag add all your marinade ingredients, add your cubed chicken, using your fingers, manipulate marinade to make sure all chicken pieces are coated, seal and place in fridge for 2-4 hours.

At this point, you can grill or bake your chicken pieces and make the best Souvlaki on a skewer, or as seen below in a pita ever!!  You will be the talk of the town I say...

Tzatziki Sauce
2 cups sour cream (I used Fat Free for this part)
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
2-3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated - placed in a small sieve to drain
*use your silver bullet or mini chopper for this part, easier and works better*
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
salt & pepper to taste

*Optional additional ingredients*
2 green onions chopped fine
2-3 tbsp regular sour cream

Place all your ingredients in the ziplock bag and place in fridge

Make your tzatziki sauce (using a big bowl for later use, why dirty another bowl I say ;-) ) cover with plastic wrap, set in fridge to chill.

Using a small baking pan add your chicken cubes and all the marinade.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes.  Carefully remove pan from oven. Uncover, and pour all marinade juice into a microwave safe container. Place chicken back in oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Meanwhile, microwave marinade juice for 3 minutes to make sure the broth is fully cooked.  Set aside.

Remove chicken from oven.  In a food processor, add all the chicken cubes and a drizzle of the marinade broth.  Pulse on low till chicken starts to break down.  Add the rest of the marinade broth, pulsing till chicken is "pureed". 

Remove from processor and add pureed chicken to the tzatziki sauce, mix well.  You can now add the diced green onions, and additional sour cream if desired.

Our favorite is pita wedges and pumpernickel.

Love the crudites as well...

Enjoy!!
Dishin with Didi

Happy Saturday!! I'm being beyond productive

Today I got up early and went to the market for fresh veggies and fruit.  It's cold and dreary and snowing some sloppy stuff along with a few bouts of hail.  Dh made a fire, I have my Yankee Candles burning all over the house and my plant topiaries lit as well... it's so comfy and cozy... know what that makes me want to do right??
COOK!!!  LOL  You so knew I was gonna say that!!  I'm making a special dip which I will share with you later, the chicken is marinating and that is the most important part.  I will share along with recipe, I promise!!

Meanwhile, I wanted to show you the wonderful package I received yesteday from Nexxus.  All for volunteering to try out their products, HELLO???  NEXXUS!!! 

Their full size products, woooohooooooooo!!

Okay, off to work on figuring this blog stuff out, lol!!  Shout out to Precious and Birgit!!!  Thank you for you tech savy help!!

Dishin with Didi

Hello and WELCOME!!!

Hello and welcome to my culinary and frugal journey!!  This blog is/was designed to share with my family and friends the countless recipes I try on them, yet never have the "recipe" available when their leaving, lol... and to my friends from afar that encourage, motivate and support me thru one creation after another...

To my family and friends... WELCOME!!!!

Am still working on this blog, am so not "techno know how", so forgive me if pics are too large and everything is not in it's place.  My mentor and confidant is on vacation... (of course she is), so I have to plow thru by myself, lol!!

That being said, this weekend you guys will be in a for a real treat.  I've come up with a creation to "drool for"!!!!  It's a suprise and you will have to come back to see what it is...

Okay, off I go to try to make this dang picture smaller... "really"??  No Seriously???  Why???  OMG!!!!



Dishin with Didi