I recently partnered with Tyson to bring you some great interviews and a giveaway!  Today is the first of many posts to come! All full of time saving, family friendly tips for in the kitchen.  We like Tyson Chicken because it is Dairy free.  It is one of the only brands I will buy.

Today, I was able to interview Holly Clegg.

Who is Holly Clegg??

She is the author of several cookbooks that include; trim&TERRIFIC™ cookbook series including, Diabetic Cooking, Home Entertaining the Easy Way, Freezer Friendly Meals, Gulf Coast Favorites, Kids Cooking for Mommies and Eating Well Through Cancer.

As a cookbook author and mom, Holly understands the demands of the busy person and with her user friendly, pantry friendly, and time friendly cookbooks, she has garnered a national reputation as the healthy “Queen of Quick!

The Interview

What is your favorite meal preparation tip?

• Everyone is busy so my favorite meal preparation tip is to embrace recipe-ready ingredients that will eliminate kitchen stress and prep-time.  Take advantage of convenience items such as canned tomatoes and broth, frozen and pre-chopped veggies and pre-cooked protein like Tyson® Grilled & Ready™ Whole Breast Fillets that are tender and juicy and ready in minutes straight from the microwave.  You can put a creative spin on these items by simply adding your favorite spices, sauce or cooking method to make a quick and delicious original meal!

How do you get the kids involved in Meal preparation?

• I love the idea of cooking with kids because cooking can be a learning experience from teaching kids to follow directions, learning math skills and most importantly,  it creates an ideal opportunity to talk about nutrition and how foods lead to living a healthy lifestyle. Have kids involved in the menu planning, and make them be a part of the cooking experience. Whether you let them mix, sprinkle, or add ingredients, they will take ownership in the meal, and the finished recipe will give them instant gratification.  Remember to start by setting out safe utensils and colorful plastic bowls and being mindful of age appropriate needs.

What is your number one kitchen time saver?

• My number one kitchen time saver is having a well-stocked pantry and freezer as I feel that is the secret to 30­- minute meals.  When dinner time comes around, instead of making another grocery list, you can pull from the pantry to create a delicious and nutritious dinner.  I can’t tell you how many times I go to my freezer for pre-cooked chicken such as Tyson® Grilled & Ready™ Whole Breast Fillets and frozen veggies.  My go-to recipe is my Lemon Dijon Chicken that I use pantry friendly ingredients to create a simple sauce, pour over the frozen chicken and pop in the microwave and in 5 minutes my meal is done to serve with a salad, veggies or pasta.  Also, a well-stocked pantry can be a money saver as you can purchase items when they are on sale, to have on hand when needed.

What is your favorite freezer meal, and why?

• My favorite freezer meal would be leftovers.  From soups, lasagnas, or chicken entrees, I freeze my leftovers in individual portions to be able to pull from the freezer on those nights I don’t want to cook. I also freeze marinara sauce and my kids enjoy broccoli or spinach topped with a pre-cooked chicken breast, covered with marinara sauce and topped with cheese.  All are easily prepared in the microwave as everything from the sauce to the chicken is already cooked, you’re just heating it (talk about family-friendly) and looking like you have spent hours in the kitchen. Don’t worry, you’re secret is safe with me.

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After a ton of work ~Wiping sweat from brow~ The recipes on A Few Short Cuts are organized!  Just go to the top of the page to the recipe tab.  Place you mouse over it and you will see the drop down menu of all the categories.  When you click you will get a list of all the recipe posts in that category!  It is a work in progress so if you find any errors please let me know!

You guys are awesome and now my recipes should be easier for you to find!

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I would like to introduce to you the A Few Short Cuts Forum.  I have categories set up for coupons, deals, chit chat, Homeschooling, and everything in between! It is a blank slate.  You all feel free to come in and join and create a wonderful community of shortcutters!  I know that there are a lot of you and if we all pool together our knowledge, there is no telling what we can do.

How do you find my Forum??

Just look up.  There is a handy dandy tab at the top of the page that will take you right there!

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Tiffany at Zeal for a Deal has a great list of things we can buy for $3 this week at Publix to donate to a local food pantry or shelter.  If you have $3 to spare this is a great way to help your community!

Thanks Tiffany!

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Perdue Farms has issued a voluntary recall for the Walmart Great Value Brand chicken nuggets. Select varieties are being recalled because there is a potential that a small number of nuggets may contain pieces of plastic.

Go Here to read more

I just make my own Chicken Nuggets! They taste just like Chick-Fil-A and are really easy!  Make a big batch and freeze!  Healthy, Yummy, and cost effective!

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Betty Crocker sent over this nifty blog badge!  I will be placing it in the side bar!  I am so excited!

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Good Morning everyone!  Hope you are having a great Monday so far!  I have been doing some work behind the scenes.  I reorganized the sidebar last night, and added a few things!

First thing is that great search box!  Not only will it search the site, but my twitter too! Hit the surprise me button and it will take you to a random post! What a great way to search the site!

I also moved the A Few Short Cuts Blog Forum up on the page.  I added a Coupon Trades discussion.  Feel free to join and trade coupons with each other. I love to hear from my readers, feel free just to log on and chat!

There is that great Back to School Button to help you keep track of all the Back to School Deals that are rolling out.

Don’t forget about the Frugal Summer Fun Button!  There are still some great ideas for the rest of the Summer there!

At the top of the page you will see that I added a stores tab to help you find this weeks sales easier.

I think that is it,  just some quick updates to make the site a little more functional to tide us over until the big site design!  I can’t wait!

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It is that time of year.  Stores are getting a jump on Back to School sales.  I thought School just let out, but apparently everyone is ready to go back!  Ok, maybe just the parents.

Walmart and Target have already put out there really great deals!

I got 24 ct boxes of Crayola Crayons fro $0.30 each at walmart! Elmers Glue was also $0.30!

Stores like this put these things on deep discount knowing that once you are there you will buy other items.  Well, I am just heading in for the crayons, paper, etc.  Since I homeschool, I stockpile these things for the school  year while they are at rock bottom prices!

I am adding a Back to School Button on the sidebar to help you find all of the Back to School Deals this season.  So, before you hit the stores check out A Few Short Cuts for all the coupons, best prices, and tax free days info.

I will start posting them today, until they are gone!

If you find any great Back to School Deals that I have missed, comment or shoot me an email! I would love to post about your finds!

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