Gator Pam

We always get together with Paul's dad for Thanksgiving and Chr-stmas. So, it's only the four of us. But I love holiday leftovers, so I still cook at least a 15 lb. turkey (for Thankgivng) or a 7 lb. rib roast (for Chr-stmas, I'm even thinking of attempting a recipe I found this year for cooking it in the deep fryer), gravy, appetizer, soup, salad, side dishes, some type of roll or bread, and dessert.

I don't know if this will work for cats, but I have heard to prevent toddlers from getting into the tree that a good idea is to set it up inside an old fashioned wooden playpen. I know many people are against having cats declawed, but if she is an indoor cat and declawed, will she still be able to climb a tree? I haven't owned a cat in many years, and can't remember if they can do that once declawed.

:::bowing::: http://www.aimface.com/ikons/IKON9a929ebd806c8559d8efc5a4bd74e9a85758bbc9cf.gif Thank you. Thankyouverymuch...

Here's my post from last season on this very subject. Lots of overnight French toast recipes in that post. Re: Chr-stmas brunch recipes?

Most of the hints for finding Target deals are in the *~*~*Newbie Guide*~*~*, the very first post of this thread. But the most important thing to remember is that the lowest clearance of an item may not be what the item is marked, even if it has a red clearance sticker on it. Scan everything and anything you are interested in, marked clearance or not. If it comes up item not found, or 0.00, ask a team member to get a price for you. You may just find a steal! Target is the only major retail chain I know of here in the States where you can sometimes name your price. So if an item doesn't scan, and the cashier says how much is it, try to know what the 75% off price is and tell them that. Generally, only seasonal items on clearance will go to 90% off, so the cashiers will generally accept a 75% off price when offered.

Welcome to gottadeal, threedinvest. You'll not only find terrific deals talked about here, but also some of the friendliest people on the web. Have you read the first post in this thread? What I refer to as the Newbie Guide? I share some links to other web sites in that post that also list Target clearance deals. Once of them is the Target Finds with UPC list. Not all of the items have a UPC generated on that list, but some do. HTH!

You need to come go Perimeter Perusing at Target with us here for that BF buzz throughout the year.

Beorn's portable DVD player that we got for $79.99 on BF with a $25, IIRC, mail-in rebate is still working, so I'm pleased. But their rebates can be tricky. I asked the store manager when I bought the DVD player how I could return it if it didn't work if I had to send in the original cash register receipt per the rebate instructions. He printed out what he called a rebate recipt, and told me to send that in. Well, I was denied because I hadn't turned in my original receipt per the rebate instructions. But the store manager gave me the cash back when I went back and complained to him about it, so again, I am happy.

Excellent! I hope you find it helpful.

Is it possible you wrote down the url wrong? Use the link again to go to the page, and bookmark it on your browser so you don't have to type in the url each time.

I'm pretty sure redfiremansgirl (or some user name like that) had the One Spot schedule pretty down, and she said it turns over about every six weeks. Does anyone remember when this current set was put out? However, since we are now watching the See Spot Save department instead of The One Spot, it may be on a totally different schedule...

The tree is decorated the week before Chr-stmas, but we do not turn on the lights until Chr-stmas Eve. We also drive around and look at the neighborhood holiday decorations after Chr-stmas Eve dinner. I'm not Italian, heck, I'm not even Chr-stian, but I so want to start the tradition of doing La Vigilia - Feast of Seven Fishes here as well on Chr-stmas Eve.

I have a recipe for corn pudding I received from a poster on AOL that I think is absolutely wonderful. However, the cook she got it from made her promise to not ever have it published anywhere. She has given me permission to share it via email, so I would be happy to send it to anyone who requests it, under the same condition. A poster on AOL received it and did post it on to a board, but I feel that still doesn't release me from my promise. So, LMK if you would like it sent to you.

I love the Macey's Thanksgiving Day Parade! What's really kewl, is that Macey's took over our Burdines here this past May or so, and at the UF Homecoming Parade this past Friday they had a float! And a really nice float for this college town. They were the only retailer to have one; most other floats were from UF organizations, public schools, after school organizations for kids, and charity fund raising organizations. I hope this will spur other retailers to make an effort and submit some nice floats into the parade in future years. I do also love the Disney World Chr-stmas Day Parade with Regis and Kelly. FIL doesn't usually arrive for Chr-stmas Day until nearly noon, and we have trained Beorn from the start that we don't even look in our stockings until 'Poppie' arrives, so the parade helps pass the time Chr-stmas morning, other than us enjoying our overnight french toast casserole and Chr-stmas cocoa for breakfast while waiting.

May I suggest some low sodium recipes and recommendations that my family enjoys, even though we are not on a low sodium diet? First, if you do a turkey, combine salt freeSpike with granulated garlic for the seasoning. Fill the cavity with an orange or lemon sliced in half and some fresh rosemary, and roast. You can squeeze the juice of whichever you use on to the turkey before rubbing the seasoning in, then use the squeezed halves inside the cavity. Then, here are some other low-sodium dishes you can use to round out the meal. Curried Sweet Potato Chowder Start to finish: 30 minutes BH&G February 2002 (Dee/JustD2Me) 2 tsp butter or margarine 1/3 cup minced shallot (1 large) 1-1/3 cups 1/2-inch cubes sweet potatoes 1/2 tsp curry powder 1 TBS flour 1-1/2 cups fat-free milk 1/2 cup fat-free half & half 1 cup frozen baby peas 4 tsp curried pumpkin seeds or pumpkin seeds In a saucepan melt butter. Add shallot and sweet potato. Cook and stir over medium heat 2 minutes. Sprinkle in curry powder and stir 30 seconds. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in milk until smooth. Add half-and-half and peas; add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Spoon soup into four bowls. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon curried pumpkin seeds on each. Serve with crackers, if desired. Makes 4-side dish servings. Chanie's Sweet Salad Dressing (Chanie Goldman/UFRebetzin) For (3) 32-oz bags of mixed greens: 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup oil 1/4 cup white vinegar Combine earlier in the day and keep covered at room temperature to allow the sugar to disolve. Just before service, stir well and pour over mixed greens that are combined with grape tomatoes, craisins, nuts, diced mangoes, and sliced strawberries. Pam's notes: I have been told that this will work with Splenda, although the dressing does not become quite as syrupy. Carrot Soufflé Serves 10 (Marla/PrncessDie) 3-1/2 lbs peeled carrots 1-1/2 lbs sugar 1 TBS baking powder 1 TBS vanilla 1/4 cup flour 6 eggs 1/2 lb margarine powdered sugar Steam or boil carrots until extra soft. Drain well. While carrots are warm, add sugar, baking powder and vanilla. Whip with mixer until smooth. Add flour and mix well. Whip eggs and add to carrot mixture. Blend well. Add softened margarine to mixture and blend well. Pour mixture into baking dish about half full as the souffle will rise. Bake in 350ºF oven about 1 hour or until top is a light golden brown. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar over top before serving. If you want sweet potatoes, these are great using sweet butter instead of lightly salted butter: Vanilla-Glazed Sweet Potatoes Teri, WFD Board Gooseberry Patch, Farmhouse Christmas 3 lbs Sweet Potatoes, Peeled 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 1 tsp salt-free Spike 1 tsp orange zest, grated 3 TBS orange juice 1 TBS vanilla extract 1/2 cup pecans, chopped Boil sweet potatoes in water until tender; drain. Cool slightly, then cut into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange the slices in a greased, broiler proof 13x9-inch baking dish, overlapping slightly. In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, salt, orange zest, pepper, orange juice and vanilla; stirring until combined. Heat, but do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and brush sauce evenly over potato slices. Broil 6 inches from heat until golden, about 6 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle with pecans. Makes 6 servings. Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter Cooking light posted by Aimee Bell 40 asparagus spears, trimmed (I adjust for my size family) cooking spray 1/4 tsp salt-free Spike 2 Tbs. butter 2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar Preheat oven to 400º. Arrange asparagus in single layer on baking sheet, coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 12 min or until tender. Melt butter in small skillet over med heat (I do mine in the microwave) cook for 3 min until lightly browned. Remove from heat, stir in soy sauce and vinegar. Drizzle over asparagus, tossing well to coat. Serve immediately. 8 servings, 45 calories, 3 grams of fat For this next one, I'm unsure of the sodium counts in the sweetemed condensed milk or the pie crust. But everything else is salt-free. Carmen’s Key Lime Pie (Carmen/CarmenTurn) 4 egg yolks 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1/4 cup key lime juice -- (1/4-1/2 cup) to taste *see Notes 1 graham cracker pie crust, 9 inch -- *see Notes --Meringue-- 4 egg whites 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla Combine 4 egg yolks, 1 can sweetened condensed milk and key lime juice to taste (1/4 to 1/2 cup). Mix well. Pour into a 9-inch graham cracker crust. Place pie in 350ºF oven and bake 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, make a meringue by beating 4 egg whites on high, gradually adding 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Remove pie from oven and top with meringue, returning to 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 358 Calories; 13 g Fat (33.1% calories from fat); 7 g Protein; 53 g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 119 mg Cholesterol; 250 mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Fat; 3 1/2 Other Carbohydrates. NOTES : Here's my Key Lime Pie recipe. It's one that most Key Westers use, though the original recipe calls for a regular pastry pie crust. I like the sweetness and ease of the graham cracker crust, so I use it. This pie is also topped with meringue; real Key Lime Pie isn't served with whipped cream. It just doesn't compliment the tartness of the pie, and it usually melts all over the place. Also, don't use regular Persian (green) lime juice. The taste is completely different. You should be able to find key lime juice on the juice aisle at your grocery store if you don't have access to real key limes that you can squeeze. (Pam’s note: However, if you can find real key limes, grate one lime’s worth of zest and add it to the filling as well.) You can tell your family that this is the ORIGINAL Key Lime Pie recipe! Won't they be impressed! Enjoy! ;-) I do hope this gives you some ideas for adapting your holiday meals. IMO, any savory recipe that calls for a mixture of salt and black pepper can have salt-free Spike substituted in the amount of salt called for in the recipe.

Are you checking this forum out after BF? If Target has any of the air hockey tables they sell left after Chr-stmas, they usually put them on 75% off clearance mid-January or so. Keep checking the Perimeter Perusing at Target thread over in Offline Hot Deals and you may get one for around $35, if you can hide it until next year.

Welcome to GottaDeal, tgunn_ocs. Thanks for letting us know about the Sony Liv!

OK, here goes then. I like to have the sauce ready to go, and will pour it over the brie to serve as soon as the first guest arrives. We'll munch on this for several hours while guests arrive, the guys watch football or toss a ball around outside, and the women chat with me while I finish up in the kitchen. So fun! Brie with Hot Pecan Caramel Sauce 1 5 inch wheel brie cheese 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup water 1/2 cup pecan halves 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 Tbsp unsalted butter 1 baguette -- sliced thin Warm a sharp slicing knife in very hot tap water and carefully cut the top rind off the brie wheel. As a slicing guide, you can insert skewers into the cheese just below the rind. Let the knife blade rest on the skewers as you slice off the rind. In a sauce pot combine the sugar and water; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half and sauce is dark brown. Remove from heat and add the pecans and cream. Stir well. Return mixture to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about another 4-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter. Place the brie on a large plate. While it is still hot, pour the caramel and pecan mixture evenly over the brie, letting some of the caramel run over the sides of the cheese. Surround the finished brie with baguette slices and serve. NOTES : A brie wheel covered with a hot pecan caramel sauce looks lavish, tastes great and yet is simple to do. You can prepare the caramel several days in advance. On the day of your party, let the cheese warm to room temperature, reheat the sauce, and pour it on just as guests arrive. Baguette slices or whole-grain crackers make this appetizer complete.

Oh yeah! And, one thing in favor of both Hanukkah and Purim is that those are supposedly the only two festivals we'll still observe once Moshiach comes.

Ditto. That's what I do throughout the year with Target 75% and 90% off clearance. One of the reasons I started the Target thread in the Offline Deals area of the forum.

I've seen those. But aren't they different numbers? I know that a lot of times I get the 'item not found message' with the sticker bar code, but a price with the UPC on the box.

LOL! The first thing that should be explained is that Hanukkah is a minor festival, and doesn't really deserve all the attention it gets from non-Jews. It in no way has the importance to Jews that Chr-stmas has to Chr-stians. Or at least, it shouldn't. I strongly believe those Jews who do make a big deal out of Hanukkah, instead of the weekly Shabbes or even Passover, don't know what they're missing.

I specialized in Emeril's deep fried turkey for the past decade or so, but made AB's oven roasted turkey last year for a Village event. I'll be making it that way from now on for Thanksgiving! Mmm!

:::sigh::: I've heard about this can be done, but the scanners at my Target don't have buttons on them to input numbers. Is there another way of entering the numbers if the scanners don't have buttons?

Don't rely on an intem having the red sticker. You actually do better scanning an item and coming up with a happy surprise.