Sunday, September 15, 2019

Michael Symon's Fall Harvest Hungarian Goulash Recipe



So I LOVE this version of Hungarian Goulash from chef Michael Symon.  He did this Fall Harvest one on "The Chew" but since that show stopped being broadcast over a year ago, the links to it online have disappeared.  I am so glad I printed it out back in 2017!

This one is a lighter Goulash but still beef.  What brightens/lightens it is the addition of Fall veggies.
It calls for cooking in a dutch oven but it can be done in a crock pot as well with an adjustment on when you add the veggies in.

"Fall Harvest Hungarian Goulash" from Michael Symon

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 3/4 lb. beef chuck roast(cut into 1.5 inch pieces
* 2 portabella mushrooms
* 2 large Spanish onions
* 2 bell peppers(seeded, sliced)
* 3 garlic cloves
* 2 small sweet potatoes
* 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
* 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
* 2 cups chicken stock
* 1 cup water
* 1 28 oz.. can whole peeled tomatoes(crushed)
* 2 tablespoons parsley(finely chopped,, plus more to serve)
* quinoa rotini(to serve)
* Greek yogurt(to serve)
* dill(finely chopped, to serve)
* Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1- Heat a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and add the olive oil.  Season the meat with Kosher salt and ground black pepper, then add it to the pan.  Deeply brown the meat on all sides, about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and set aside.

2-To the same pot add the mushrooms, onions and peppers.  Cook while stirring occasionally until the vegetables begin to soften and brown, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic, sweet potatoes, caraway seeds and paprika and toast until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3-Add the stock, water and tomatoes and add the beef back in along with any juices that have accumulated and bring to a gentle boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until the beef is tender and the liquid is slightly reduced, about 2 hours.  Stir in some fresh parsley.

4-Cook the pasta according to package directions then serve the goulash over it, topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt.  Add some extra parsley and dill on top.

5-If your local market doesn't carry quinoa pastas, substitute with whole wheat pasta.


Now for my Tips-------

1.  If you want to do this in a crock pot, follow Steps 1 and 2 in a pot on the stove and then transfer ingredients at this point to the crock pot.  In Step 3 omit adding the water and cook on low for 3-5 hours depending on the heat variances of your crock pot and how soft/tender you want your beef and veggies.
2.  Using smoked paprika will result in a better flavor over plain paprika.
3. I put my caraway seeds in the blender to crush them as I don't own a mortar and pestle.
4. I serve over egg noodles or any pasta we like(gluten-free or zoodles too).
5. If you want a thicker sauce, add some corn starch to a ladle of the sauce, stir together then re-add to the pot about 20 minutes before serving.
6. I chunk my peppers not slice them and you can add or reduce the amount of the veggies depending on your taste.  We like this with more peppers and sweet potatoes.
7. You could also substitute other Fall squashes for the sweet potatoes....butternut, acorn, etc.  Use what you like and/or what you have.
8. Sour Cream or Greek yogurt works as a topping, or leave it off altogether if you aren't a fan of either.

I hope some one will give this recipe a try if you like beef.  It's a winner!


Sluggy

Saturday, September 14, 2019

The Rite-Aid Saga This Week


I had returned some items on Monday and got a combo of cash back and BC back....except the next day the BC wasn't back on my account.
So a chat session with CS and I was told it "sometimes" take 2 days to see your BC credited to your account.

Next day and still no BC on the account.
sigh.

So I waited another day(still no BC, surprise!)then I did another live chat online and I got the same CS rep as on Tuesday.  Went through the issue again, rep said the BC was still showing as pending so she manually put it back plus another $5 for my trouble.  Sweet.

I was so antsy because I wanted to spend that BC this week before the sale ended on a BOGOFree Nature's Truth supplement offer at R-A which I had Qs to pair with the deal.

Finally got to do the transaction on Friday and I had a "Spend $30/Get $6 Off Q" that R-A snail mailed to me as well to use.........


2 x Nature's Truth turmeric BOGOF=$15.49
2 x Nature's Truth turmeric BOGOF=$19.99
1 x Mitchum deo 20% Wellness disc.=$3.59
1 x Kokie nail polish 20% Wellness disc.=$3.99
SubTotal.....$43.06

Coupons Used
1 x $6/$30 R-AQ=$6.00
2 x $2/1 Nature's Truth IPQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Nature's Trush L2CQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Mitchum ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $/1 Mitchum R-AQ=$2.00
Coupon Total.........$15.00

$43.06-$15.00=$28.06 + .32¢ tax(on nail polish+deo)=$28.38 paid for with Bonus Cash.
I earned back $14 in new BC($10 wys $30 Naature's Truth, $4 Kokie).

Spent down $14.06 on the BC on this transaction but I've got $19.62 in BC left on this card now.
I wanted 4 of the less expensive bottles of turmeric but they only had two. Oh well.  I am still happy with this as these 4 bottles plus what I already have at home has me stocked up on turmeric until next Spring.  I take this daily for my HS for inflammation and it really helps.

The Kokie is free after Bonus Cash(limit 2)until the sale ends tonight except if there is sales tax charged in your state you will have to pay that, so not a freebie in those states but almost.

I've got a $4 wys $20 RAQ for my personal card so I might use that one next week because I have BC to roll on that card too.



Sluggy

Friday, September 13, 2019

Frugal Friday.....the September 13th Edition

Frugal Friday is also Friday the 13th this week.
Grab a drink and a chair because this week's FF is long....Oh boy!!!

Here's what frugalisciousness happened this past week..........

* Here's what I bought at Rite-Aid last Friday, "the week of free toothpaste/toothbrushes/mouth wash and marshmallow/chocolates".........



The Crest toothpaste and candy were all free after Qs and Bonus Cash.

I also cashed in a rain check from 2018 for Hello toothpaste.  With that rain check it was free(as it was from a Buy for $5/Get $5 BC back deal).  In addition, if you bought 2 this past week you got $5 BC back(a new Deal)so those two tubes cost me nothing and gave me $5 BC back.
Sweet. 8-)

*  I made a rare trip to Target and used some of that $300 Target gift card I bought last November...........

$3.15 for the chicken w/a $3 off sticker
$1.59 for a Stubb's bbq sauce(50% off cartwheel)
$2.16 for 2 jars of clearance peanut butter
$7.00 for 3 boxes of granola bars(I used a .50¢/2 ManuQ)
Came to 13.90 and I deducted the 10% discount I received when I purchased the gift card so $12.51 total to add to my grocery tally for September.

*  Those nature Valley granola bars are also part of the gift card deal at Target too.......



Buy 3 participating General Mills items and get a $5 Target gift card.
Go HERE for details.  This offer runs through 1/14/20.


*  I found money!


Last Friday at Weis this penny was found by one of the self-checkout registers.


These three pennies were found in three different parts of my Rite-Aid store--1 by register #1, 1 by register #2 and 1 in the foyer area as I was leaving the store.
They all found a good home here with me at Chez Sluggy.



This dime was found in my local Shursave Market past the registers by the exit door.  FDR left the building in my pocket......

Then I found this $2 in the dryer............


Any money found in the washer/dryer reverts to me per Sluggy House Rules. 8-))
$2.14 into my Found Money envie.  8-)))


*  Here are some good deals I found at Weis(PMITA)Markets last Friday........



Everything in the photo but the sugar was 50% off on clearance.
The sugar is a new hybrid(50% white sugar/50% brown sugar)they call "Golden Sugar".  After a .75¢/1 doubled to $1.50/1 Domino Q it cost me .50¢ OOP.

I got 2 more 4 packs of tuna($2.99)and 3 more large cans of chicken breast(.75¢ each)except the cashier who pulled my cart over to the self-checkout and was ringing everything up for me was going so fast one of the cans didn't register so I ended up only paying for 2 cans of this. ;-)
They also have tins of anchovies(pizza and Caesar salad here I come!)for $1 each so I got 4 and a Salted Caramel Brownie mix for $1.29 each.  Ex-College Boy will go wild for those!

Along with everything else I bought on that trip, my total came to $35.18 OOP.
But I used this..........


A $15 prepaid card earned back in March at Rite-Aid that expires the end of September to pay for some of this transaction so my OOP was $20.18 at Weis.  The regular retail on everything on that trip would have been $98.10 if I had paid shelf price there. 
Nice.


*  I got the Freebie last Friday at Weis......


Weis brand dipping sauce so I selected a bottle of  "Yum Yum" sauce.  Totally Free.

*  I received $7.44 in Ibotta rebates(.20¢, .25¢ and $6.99 for a 3/17/19 hotel stay-which I had to bitch about to finally get it to credit!)and $1 in a SavingStar rebate(Farm Rich frozen item).

*  I continue to pick tomatoes(cukes are done, and I'm getting teeny tiny broccoli heads still)in mass.


This isn't the current batch because I didn't take a photo before throwing them into the freezer but it's representative. lolz
I am up to 20.209 pounds of tomatoes harvested.  Besides canning them we've been eating them fresh in BLTs and salads or just sliced on a plate with a bit of salt sprinkled on them.
We grew Cherokee Purples among the varieties this year and they are so good eaten fresh!
Paying retail in the grocery store for 20 lbs. of tomatoes is OBSCENE for what they would charge for a tomato that tastes terrible.  I will miss "real" tomatoes when they are done for the year.  8-(((

*  On Labor Day I found a deal where 3 coupon codes stacked(2 Labor Day codes + a Spend $25/Get $10 off code).
Some housewares were on sale and there was no shipping if you picked up at the store.  Of course 4 of the items weren't in stock at my store so I had to have them shipped to the store so I couldn't pick it all up until THIS week and show it to y'all.


Sorry for the crap poor photo but I haven't had time to take it all out and arrange it nicely for a picture. lolz
It's 6 pillows, 8 bath sheets and 4 hand towels.
The 8 bath sheets were ordered in a separate transaction from the rest so I could use that $10 wyspend $25 coupon code twice.
8 bath sheets on sale for $3.99(reg. $9.99)
$31.92
I got $19.51 in discounts so with .74¢ sales tax all 8 cost me $13.15 OOP.

Then I ordered the 6 pillows and 4 hand towels separately.
Pillows were $3.99(reg. $9.99)and hand towels were $2.99(reg. $7.99), subtotal of $35.90.
I got $20.94 in discounts so with .90¢ sales tax all 10 items cost me $15.86 OOP.
Total OOP with tax was $29.01 for everything.
Reg. retail of $171.82 so I am good with spending under $30 for new pillows for all the beds and a complete set of towels in FABULOUS colors. lolz

And I got some change back(something like .22¢ lolz) from ordering through ShopAtHome website.
I guess when you don't spend much you don't get much in a rebate. ;-)

That's it from here this week.




What frugal wins did y'all have this week?
Tell us all about them!

Sluggy

Thursday, September 12, 2019

To-Do List....August Update

I know it's a bit late but here's our August To-Do List and how it all went down last month.....


* Pay Bills  DONE  First thing every month....pay ALL the bills in full.


* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE
In August I read this book...........



"The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy" by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko.

Actually we found in when Hubs cleared out his bookshelves so I read this years ago already but I am counting it again anyway.
The data is dated in this edition now and it's not a how-to become wealthy anyway.  It just proves that if someone appears to be a millionaire(ie, big house, expensive car, fashionable clothing, etc.)it doesn't necessarily mean they are.  Most millionaire(not billionaires)can be ordinary working stiffs who live below their means, invest their money and grow it and not show off by living a fancy lifestyle.
It's an interesting read and the stuff about second generation wealth, EOC(Economic Outpatient Care), UAW vs. PAW, are spot on.
And then I read this book.........



"The Real Custer: Fron Boy General to Tragic Hero" by James S. Robbins

So many myths surround Custer but this book gives the true facts of his life an even handed treatment.  I wasn't a fan of Custer going into this tome and I'll say my opinion of him didn't change much.  In my opinion, between taking risks with his battalion at the Little Big Horn, his life long treatment/opinion of the Natives, and his playing politics, he got what he deserved.  The only career he was suited for was as a soldier but he thought he knew better than his superiors and chafed at the glacier slowness of the military structure and it's dependence on government's machinations.  If he hadn't had a widow who spent the rest of her life tirelessly  promoting and shaping Custer's legacy, George Armstrong Custer would have been forgotten long ago.
An interesting read no matter what your opinion of the man is.


* Purge Inserts and Q Envie  DONE  I try to do this every month.  As I get less Sunday inserts than in years gone by it's not as bad a chore as it was.


* Hold Giveaway DONE





* Hold 2nd Giveaway  DONE  I gave away two sets of these items.




* Mail Giveaway & 2nd Giveaways DONE


* Get Carpet Done in Hubs' Room  DONE



Gratefully Hubs found a carpet in stock that he liked so it wasn't long before they had it pulled and ready to install.






* Go Through Xmas Stash  DONE



This is the photo of my whole Xmas stockpile for 2019.  I've got a list of everything in these tubs/boxes and to whom the gifts are for.  Mostly my shopping is done.  I have also decided after this Xmas we are cutting down severely on gifting.  Going forward, as a rule, cash will be given to the adult kids and I'll still send my brother and his wife presents but that's it.  It will be easier that way(and cheaper too)and I won't have to shop for Xmas year round.

* Cut Dog's Hair  DONE
Chester got a hair cut and shampoo last month before his flea treatment(cologne).


* House Train Puppy  IN PROGRESS
We are still working on the house training with Dixie.  They said a Cavalier could take 4 months to fully potty train.  She's getting it but it's taking time mainly because she is such a ditz. lolz


* Move More $ Into a CD  FAIL
Just didn't do anything with any of the extra monies in the checking account. blah  Maybe in September?


* Continue to Clean out Garage  DONE

The shot down one side with a clear pathway after Daughter moved out and all her stuff left the garage........




And the front of the garage before the stockpile sale happened.  Look at all that floor space!!!



* Organize my Stuff  IN PROGRESS
Getting the last of my sewing stuff out of the master bedroom and into my she shed room.  I'll do a reveal when it's finished in September.


* Start Processing Tomatoes  IN PROGRESS  

I started in with processing tomatoes in August and this will continue into September.


* Get Ready for a Stockpile Sale in Sept.  IN PROGRESS


Here are all the tubs and bags of stuff to sell that I gathered in August.  As of this writing the sale is over, yeah!!! Stay tuned for September's update)or the September giveaway winner announcement) for the final tally of what sold.

I am overall pleased with the progress we've made getting stuff done in August.
Here's hoping September is equally productive.  

Did you get stuff off your To-Do List in August?
Tell us all about it!


Sluggy

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

September Giveaway....Let's Do This!

Here goes Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway for September. This makes 16 giveaways I've held in 2019.  Boy, that is a LOT of stuff!! ;-)


Here's what you can win if you are selected this month.........




1 x Centrum Women's Vitamins
1 x Tresemme Hair Spray
1 x Suave Shampoo
1 x Skintimate shaving gel
1 x Lady Speed Stick deodorant
1 x Colgate toothpaste
1 x 2 pack of Lever bar soap
1 x Trident gum(watermelon)
1 x 12 pack Bic razors
1 x Lysol toilet bowl cleaner thingy
1 x Yes2 Charcoal Detox face mask



Close up shots of the goodies..........







There is a little more room in the box so once a winner is selected they can tell me what small cosmetic type items they also want put into the box.

It will all be around $60 worth of regular retail goodies(depending on where you shop for this sort of thing).

* This September Giveaway Box of goodies is open to any and all readers, non-winners yet and previous winners.

There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY for this Giveaway.  Come back every day and enter though!

In order to enter you must comment with how much you think I made at the Stockpile Sale.  Whomever comes closest to the actual amount wins....easy peasy!

Here's a photo of the cash monies I raised..........


Don't forget to count that baggie of quarters under the plate on the upper left in the photo. 8-)))

I'll leave this giveaway open until Friday, September 20th at 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time. On September 21st, Saturday, I'll go through the entries and announce who came closest to the actual amount I ended up with from the sale.  In case of a tie, I'll have Hubs draw a name out of a hat.

*Please note these rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winner on this blog on  and that person has 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

If I am not contacted via email, I'll attempt to contact the winner via the email they supplied with their entry(or gave me to add to the Giveaway Data Base)and if that email is not responded to within another 48 hours I'll pick another winner.

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten too high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies.  I pay for it all(the cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with your contact information on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one make sure your email info is linked to your profile.

If I can't contact you then you can't win.  I am still having to disqualify entries due to this issue and I sure don't like doing that.  Thanks!

So let's get the SEPTEMBER Giveaway started.  Good Luck to everyone!!!



Sluggy