Tyler had Martin Luther King day off of school. We got up on Tuesday and started getting his breakfast and lunch ready. He must have still been in vacation mode, not realizing he had school that day, because I came out of the kitchen to tell him his breakfast was ready and saw this:

Love this kid!

Tastemaker Challenge #3 Meals in a Time Crunch

For the third and final Tastemaker 2010 challenge, we were to prepare a meal in 30 minutes or less. I found a Loaded Baked Potato soup recipe to use up all the potatoes I had leftover from the last challenge.

If I make this again I'll only use 3 potatoes instead of 5 and increase the chicken stock to 3 1/2 - 4 cups. The soup went from liquid-y to almost mashed potato consistency after I turned it off as the potatoes soaked up all the moisture. 

Being part of the Tastemaker Challenge was fun. It was a little out of my comfort zone since I'm no chef but I liked looking for the recipes. 

I'm looking forward to our final challenge at Blissdom. If you'll be there please RSVP for the party and make sure you say hello!

Video #1- Potatoes Celebrate National Seafood Month here.

Video #2- Meals on a Budget here.

Video #3- Nutrition in a Time Crunch here.
 

The US Potato Board and Fleishman-Hillard are covering my costs to attend the Blissdom conference and provided money to buy and/or ingredients for the Tastemaker meals.

You Know You're Coupon Crazy When

...this happens and it almost makes you cry.

Tastemaker 2010 Challenge #2: Nutrition on a Budget

Something I've been wanting and needing to do is start menu planning. I'm the type who, come 4 o'clock, is usually still not sure what I'll be serving for dinner. I know that menu planning saves time and money. I know what I'm supposed to be doing, I just haven't had the motivation to do it.

Since my first real experience using coupons and grocery store circulars, I'm feeling more confident about how to shop and maximize savings so menu planning seems like the next logical step. In my second Tastemaker video, I talk a little bit about how I plan to get started as well as make a recipe using some featured sale items from this week's Vons circular.

The recipe is from Rachel Ray. I changed mine slightly, omitting the sour cream, heavy cream and carrots. 

A few other Tastemaker notes:

*If you are going to be at Blissdom, please RSVP for the Tastemaker Showdown Party and say hello. I need all the support I can get!

*View the new video and the first, Ideas for a Movie Night themed party on You Tube.  Don't forget to rank the videos with five stars please!

*Get to know the other Tastemaker Challengers, view recipes and learn about potato nutrition on the Mom's Dinner Helper site.

The US Potato Board provided a stipend for supplies to make my recipe and are covering my expenses for the Blissdom conference. Thank you Fleishman-Hillard for being so beyond patient!