I am not a big fan of potatoes, but A. likes them a lot, so I try to serve them occasionally. When I do eat them, I am super picky about their consistency. I like my french fries EITHER squishy OR crunchy, but I will eschew the middle-ground ones all day long. I like mashed potatoes with the skins smushed in (I think "smashed" is the accepted term), and I only eat baked potatoes with ridiculous amounts of butter and sour cream. Plus, I effectively turn them into mashed potatoes with my fork.

So, anyway potato angst aside, I "pinned" this recipe on Pinterest awhile back thinking it looked like a delicious compromise to serve.

Credit: http://www.seasaltwithfood.com/2009/05/hasselback-potatoes.html

These are called "Hasselback potatoes," or Swedish potatoes. I don't know what's Swedish about them. I didn't know Swedish people ate a lot of potatoes, let alone were known for a certain style. But that's what they are.

Basically, you make slices in the potato without cutting all the way through, put some sliced garlic in each slit, salt it, and drizzle it with olive oil AND butter. Then you bake it and it supposedly gets crispy on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside.

Well, first of all, cutting those slits was MUCH harder than I expected it to be, even with my recently sharpened chef's knife. So mine looked much more irregular than the model photo. (And some of the cuts, in fact, went all the way through. Oops.)

And THEN, even though I baked them for as long as the recipe said, they weren't NEARLY soft enough for my discerning palate. So, I performed an act of gourmet chef heresy: I microwaved them. Which pretty much ruined any chances they had of being crispy. And even after that, they STILL didn't seem quite done. It was a great concept, but flawed in execution.

Here they are post-baking, pre-microwaving:

I would potentially give this recipe another shot and just know that I need to cook them for awhile longer.

Have you had any flawed cooking experiences lately? Do your recipes come out looking as good as the pictures?

I'm linked up on the Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods! Come by and visit!

Hold the phone! I've been given another blog award! I am way late on responding to this, but my new blog friend Laura at Casa del Hansen passed this on to me last week. It's too bad I can't give the award back to her, because I definitely would. We are clearly destined to be kindred spirits, so much so that we even share the same name! Laura is a librarian (which I still haven't ruled out as a potential career for myself somewhere down the road), loves to cook and craft, and is also married to a computer-y guy. 'Nuff said. :-)

So, the award! According to the definition that's floating around the internet, liebster means "favorite" in German. This award is designed to highlight blogs that have less than 200 followers. (Hey! That's me!) When I pass it on five of MY favorite blogs to read, I'll be sharing the love....er, the liebster.

However....I have to admit that I don't read too many blogs with less then 200 followers. I'm faithful to several of the "big names" in blogging, like Marriage Confessions and Young House Love. (Plus, Laura stole a couple of my would-be five.) So here's what I'm going to do: if you read this blog, I pretty much think you're awesome. If you want the award, leave me a comment telling me why your blog is awesome and take it! I'll reciprocate by reading your blog (which I most likely do anyway) and highlighting you in a later post. And if you don't want the award, leave me a comment anyway and tell me about some of your favorite blogs to read. I can always use new friends in my Google Reader feed!

And I really do feel like these blogs are my friends. (Well, I guess I technically mean the bloggers.) When I get home from work, I usually have a mental list of at least several things I could/should do, like exercise, cook dinner, clean the bathroom, etc. But instead I am usually drawn to my computer, to read my blogs. I MISS them when I can't check in all day! I love seeing what new projects people have done, swapping stories about frugal shopping trips, and reading about emotions that remind me I'm not alone in the life I'm trying to live. And writing my own blog has really begun to shape my life. Every project I do, every meal I cook, every deep thought I have becomes fodder for these posts. I think to myself, "I could do this the lazy way....or I could flesh it out and blog about it!" Having this outlet forces me (in a good way!) to step out of my comfort zone sometimes, and it gives me incentive for having done so.

So this award means a lot to me, to find out that someone I haven't even met, whose blog I love to read, loves reading mine as well. I would do it even if it were just for me, but it's nice to know I'm not blogging in vain. Thanks, Laura, for the affirmation. Now come grab your Liebster cred and pass it on!!

I had a couple of good shopping trips this week, taking advantage of sales and promotions with good coupon matchups.

Kroger was having one of their Mega Events, which means if you buy 10 participating items, you'll save $5.00, or $0.50 per item. Several included items also had high value coupons out, leading to a few of my favorite finds:

• Barbara's Cereal (which is healthy enough the Real Simple listed it as one of their "Healthy Snacks for Every Attack"): $2.49 after Mega Event savings; bought 2; used 2 $1.00 Barbara's product coupons; $1.49 each
• Yoplait Yogurt 32 oz containers: $1.49 after Mega Event savings; bought 2; used 1 $1.00/2 coupon; $0.99 each (worth even though it's not the "lite" yogurt we usually buy)

Other good Kroger finds this week:

• 1/4 smoked, sliced ham: $1.99/lb; paid $4.92; saved $4.94
• Campbell's Chunky Soup 4/$6.00 ($1.50 each): bought 6; used 1 $0.50/2 coupon and 1 $1.50/4; got 6 for $6.50 or $1.08 each
• Old El Paso tortillas: $1.99; used 1 $0.50/1 coupon, doubled to $1.00; paid $0.99 for 8 tortillas

But enough with Kroger. Here's the exciting Target shopping trip that literally got my adrenaline pumping with how much I saved.

 Total spent: $11.05

Target was running a special on Kashi products (buy 5, get one free), so my plethora of Kashi coupons from the first of the month paid off! The total value of these Kashi snacks at their sale price of $2.79-$2.99 was $17.34. After getting one box free and using manufacturer's coupons stacked with Target printable coupons, I paid just $7.55 for all 6 boxes, or $1.26 per box. The capris were on clearance for $5.48, and I used a $5/1 Merona bottom Target printable coupon to get them for just $0.48. The camisole was on sale for $6 and used a $5/1 Mossimo apparel item to get for $1.00. I wear white camisoles under just about everything, so this was a great find. And for the chocolate I used a $1/1 Lindt Excellence Bar that I found in a magazine. It wasn't a particularly great bargain, but it will be delicious.

I then hit up CVS, where I had more success than last week.

Total spent: $11.41

I paid $11.41 out of pocket  but saved a total of $11.57 over two transactions, PLUS came out with $3 Extra Care Bucks to use next time. They don't expire until October, so hopefully I'll be able to get some good freebies with their help. I'm excited that I found the specially marked Ziploc boxes that can earn me Recycle Bank points! If you count the coupons I can get from their, I saved even more than the $1 off coupon I used on these today.

I found out at lunch one day this week that one of my new co-workers also loves to coupon, and she sounds like a pro at CVS. I can't wait to swap tips and stories with her and maybe get even better at it myself!

What was your favorite frugal find of the week?

Last week I attempted to work on my birthday resolution to participate in a conversation in Spanish. It was a bust this time, mostly due to the location. But I was swayed by the coupon for a free pumpkin muffin with purchase of any coffee. So, there you have it. I’ll try somewhere else next time.

Does anyone remember my attempt at making a cute, crafty earring holder out of a picture frame? Let me refresh your memory: it was not very successful. One of the legs fell off almost immediately after I made it, and the other one fell off eventually too. I think it was when we moved that I decided just to chuck it. But I was still left with the quandary of what to do with all my earrings! One of my coworkers had mentioned using bead storage containers from Hobby Lobby for hers, so I decided to check out my options. (Unfortunately, the only Hobby Lobbies in the Atlanta area are out in the suburbs, so I’m forced to resort to Michael’s. Ah well. First world problem.) I counted my earrings beforehand so I would know roughly how much storage I needed.

On the craft storage aisle, I was confronted with NUMEROUS options, but I was able to pretty quickly narrow it down to these clear boxes with 14 compartments each: 2 large ones in the middle, with smaller ones on both sides.

Each compartment has a little lid that locks into place but flips up easily when you want to open it. I bought 2 of the containers and spent under $5, if I remember correctly. They are not the most beautiful things, but they are SO functional, and I think it makes them prettier being able to see the earrings through them.

I use the larger compartments to hold my necklaces.

Another benefit is that I’ve pretty much memorized which earrings go where, so I can take out or put away my earrings in the dark if A. is asleep. Also, if we ever move again, I can just pack them as they are, because my earrings are safe in their snapped shut compartments!

Though I can’t take full credit for the idea, I’m so glad I implemented it. I love having my earrings all neatly arranged and safe from dust and falling behind the dresser. Admittedly, I mostly have small earrings, so if you have a bunch of larger hoops or chandelier earrings this wouldn’t be the best option, but the compartments are bigger than they might appear. The longest pair of earrings I have in one is an inch and a half long, and I also have a pair of wooden hoops in there that are about an inch across. If you need somewhere to hang more substantial jewelry, maybe you could have better luck with the cute frame idea than I did.

What’s the best item that you’ve re-purposed to be useful for something other than its intended use? How do you store your jewelry?