Another Friday, Another Freebie

Avoid incurring unnecessary charges on your cell or home phone bill. Google offers a free service by dialing 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411). Add the number to your speed dial. Share this one with your parents. It comes in very handy. (Thanks Sarah and Lenny!)

Get a free sample of Betty Crocker's Warm Delights Minis.

Through March 15th, receive 30% off at Old Navy, Banana Republic, Banana Republic Factory Stores, Gap, and Gap Outlet with this coupon. They will donate 5% to a charity of your choosing.

Take a friend along with you to Borders, and enjoy a medium or large Seattle's Best mocha or latte through April 28, 2009, and get one free.

Join Chili's Email Club to receive free chips and queso, as well as future offers.

Yay for weekends and the beginning (or end) of spring break for some of you!


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Mom

Two Recipes to Enjoy: Irish Soda Bread and Hamentashen

I could not decide which recipe to share this week so I am including one for each holiday. Happy Purim and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Hamentashen (triangularly shaped cookies)

4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
4 eggs (blended)
2/3 c. oil
¼ c. orange juice
1 t. lemon extract
Fillings (Please note: While you can easily make fillings from scratch, to cut down on the prep time, you may choose to purchase cans of ready made poppy seed, apricot, cherry, prune, etc in the baking aisle.)

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and stir until smooth and fully incorporated.

Form four balls. Roll out one ball of dough at a time on a lightly floured board until about 1/8 inch thickness. If the dough becomes too soft, store remaining balls in the fridge to firm up. Cut into 3 inch circles using a cup or pastry cutter with a 3 inch diameter. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle. Pinch 3 edges of dough together resulting in the shape of a triangle. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.


With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, it’s time to share a recipe for Irish Soda Bread. Over the years I have amassed a number of recipes for this delicious cake-like treat. Each recipe is fairly similar, with subtle changes, like substituting buttermilk for milk, increasing or reducing the sugar or salt, incorporating eggs or not, and adding or omitting raisins and caraway seeds. In the end, they are each delicious. Personally, I love incorporating buttermilk (it adds to the richness of the dough) but, considering a college student's tight budget, if you prefer not to add buttermilk to your grocery list, milk works well. I also prefer including raisins, and omitting the caraway seeds but that's strictly a personal taste. (I recently learned that leftover Buttermilk can be frozen in ice cube trays or by the cup. While it separates slightly when frozen, it is fine when used for baking.)

Quick and Easy Irish Soda Bread

2 c. flour
2 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
6 T. butter or Smart Balance
2/3 c. raisins (dark or golden or a mix)
1 c. milk or buttermilk
2 t. caraway seeds (optional)

Combine dry ingredients and mix well. Use a pastry blender or your fingers to incorporate the butter until the mixture resembles the consistency of small peas. Stir in the raisins (and caraway, if desired). Add buttermilk slowly, just enough until the dough is moistened and holds together. It may not require the full cup of buttermilk. Mix thoroughly using your hands (dusted with flour).

Shape the dough into a round loaf on a prepared (greased) cookie sheet. Cut an "X" about 1/4 inch deep and 4 inches long into the batter from edge to edge. Bake at 375 degrees about 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and the center is firm.

If you do not have the time to bake, check with your local bakery for Irish Soda Bread and Hamentashen. Many bakeries sell them this time of year, and some even carry them year round.


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Mom

Print Your Resume for Free Thanks to FedEx

Okay all you college seniors and the rest of you who may be looking for a summer job, this is one deal you may want to take advantage of. This Tuesday, March 10, 2009, FedEx will print 25 copies of your resume in black and white, on good quality paper, for free. Check out this press release on Yahoo! Finance and call your local FedEx store for details.


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Mom

Those Freebies Never Stop

Lots of freebies to enjoy this week.......

If you have a Bank of America check, ATM or credit card you can gain free admission to many museums throughout the country during the first weekend of each month (that means this one, March 7 and 8!). Check the site for specific museum locations and additional information. You can even sign up on the site to receive a monthly reminder. That can mean a huge savings for the college student trying to stick to a budget!

Sign up, while supplies last, to receive a free Glade Plugins Scented Oil warmer and a Hawaiian Breeze refill.

Buy one Baskin and Robbins sundae and get one free through March 28, 2009. Sign up on the Baskin and Robbins site to join the Birthday Club and receive free ice cream on your birthday.

Check out the site Free Birthday Treats to receive free items ("bowling, dinners, golf, movies, skiing and spa treatments"....) on your birthday.
(Thanks Beth!)

Enjoy your weekend and remember to change your clocks!


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Mom

Spring is Almost Here: Change Your Clocks!

Just a reminder: It is time to change your clocks and spring forward an hour at 2:00 a.m. (to 3:00 a.m.) this Sunday March 8, 2009. Fortunately your cell phone and laptop will most likely change automatically. The time on your watch, clock radio, television, and other appliances will require a manual adjustment.

The good news is that you will enjoy more sunlight later in the day. The bad news: you lose an hour of sleep.

For the official United States time, check out time.gov.

So change your clocks before heading to bed on Sat. night, which for most college students will probably be after the 2:00 a.m. change on Sunday anyhow.


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Mom

An Easy Recipe Ideal for the Busy College Student

It is midweek and time for another exceedingly simple recipe.

This Butternut Squash Soufflé can easily stand alone as a main dish, but more often I serve it as a side dish. I have yet to meet a child or adult who does not enjoy this soufflé.

As always, I am including some healthier adaptations to this old family favorite.

The leftovers are perfect for a satisfying lunch. Freeze a slice or two for a future meal, if it lasts that long!

Butternut Squash Soufflé

1 20 oz. bag of frozen butternut squash
1 stick of melted butter (Reduce this by half and use only 1/4 cup of regular Smart Balance or similar brand)

3 eggs (I use 1 whole egg and 4 whites - - this makes it even lighter and fluffier)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar (I reduce this to 1/4 cup or less - butternut squash is naturally sweet)
3/4 cup flour

A dash of cinnamon

Cook squash just until soft (follow package directions). Drain and mash the butternut squash and add margarine. Mix well. Add beaten eggs, orange juice, sugar and flour. Pour into a prepared (sprayed with vegetable oil spray or buttered) 8 x 8 inch pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon, lightly covering the top. Bake about 40 minutes until golden brown and firm. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Butternut squash is clearly a nutritional powerhouse. (Sorry, I have to talk like a mom now and then- - it’s an occupational hazard!) Check out the benefits on Wholeliving.com.

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Protecting your iPod With a Little Ingenuity

Recently my daughter (Sarah) became the recipient of an iPod and requested that I knit her an iPod sock for some added protection. Considering its small size, this seemed like a fairly simple undertaking - - something I could create with some leftover yarn.

Since Sarah attends college in another state, the greater challenge was determining the appropriate measurements. So began my search. I was able to find a picture of an iPod Sock (sold by Apple) online, helping me to understand her specific request. From there I was amazed by the number of sites offering instructions for creating a handmade iPod sock. Well, sort of amazed. The truth is, nearly everything seems to be on the internet. Often it is more a matter of reminding ourselves to search.

Now the fun part. Here are a few of the terrific sites I located. There are plenty more, so you may want to perform your own online search.

Perhaps one of the most obvious sites to check would have been a yarn company. Lion Brand Yarn, of course, offers a pattern for knitting an iPod Sock. Check their site for the Free Knitting Pattern for an iPod Sock, for beginners. You may need to register.

Instructables.com offers many different sets of directions for making iPod cases. Check out this one, Yet Another iPod Case, and also consider some additional options in the right hand column. There are even instructions for the creation of a case for other electronics, such as your PDA and camera.

Lastly, blogger Suw Charman requested that her "mum" knit her an iPod sock. The knitting instructions are provided on her blog, Chocolate and Vodka::DIY iPod socks. Kudos to Suw for suggesting that her "mum" add a pocket for storing the earphones. How simple and clever!

In the end, I decided not to knit the sock. This winter I lost one of my favorite gloves. Sarah has always eyed that particular pair of gloves. Taking my inspiration from these other sites, instead I chose to make use of the one lonely glove and remove the fingers to remake the glove into an iPod Sock. I remodeled the remaining yarn from the fingers into the earphone case. I have to say, it's really pretty cute. It may need a little tweaking once Sarah is home for spring break with her iPod in tow, but that should be an easy fix.


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Mom

Hey All You iPod Users: Listen Up!

Chances are that if you are a college student, your iPod or MP3 player is practically conjoined to your ears. And while you may have already left or will soon be leaving your teen years behind, making this study of hearing loss in teens by researchers at Colorado University and Children’s Hospital in Boston, MA (see Time magazine, iPod Safety: Preventing Hearing Loss in Teens, by Alice Park) not technically apply to you, there's a good possibility that the volume at which you listen to your MP3 player is putting your hearing at risk.

It may be energizing to enjoy your music with the volume cranked up, but it is a habit you may one day regret. Despite the fact that MP3 players are a more recent invention, many of our parents or grandparents have experienced hearing loss for one reason or another, and are currently wearing hearing aids to enhance their quality of life. The MP3 generation is putting their hearing at greater risk when the volume remains high. So make a small change and lower the volume to decrease your risk of hearing loss. I don't mean to nag, but you may even thank your virtual mom one day.


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Mom