More Bang for Your Buck at The Dollar Tree

Today I made my pre-Christmas grocery list and because I was dying to get in the holiday spirit even more, I added the items needed to make some of our favorite Christmas staples, plus some good food gifts.

I knew I wanted to make my boss his favorite linzer tart cookies, they were a big hit last year and his sweet tooth has only gotten more ferocious in 2014.

The old fashioned apple stack cake I made for Thanksgiving was requested again for our employee potluck on Wednesday.

There's no rain in sight, so the humidity is just right for J to make the old family recipe for delectable peanut butter fudge.

And it's just not Christmas until we break out two of my mom's classic recipes - peanut butter sandwich cookies (gluten-free and only 4 ingredients!) and spiced hard candy.

Mom's hard candy takes a certain touch - no candy thermometer used here, just the "feel" of the molten sugar - and is not for the faint of heart. We used to make batch after batch after batch when I was a kid and I'd pass it out to all my classmates and teachers. But as often happens, time got in the way of tradition and we haven't made any in years. So we had to initiate J into the cinnamon candy cult. 

At the "hard crack" stage

Cooling on a marble slab on our coffee bar (more on the "Dream Kitchen" later)

Our final product!

All of these projects made for quite the grocery list of ingredients, tools and containers. And I knew today's haul had the potential to be a bank-breaker; but we were able to save a ton at our local Dollar Tree.

I've been a devout customer since I started getting an allowance as a tween and realized I could buy 10x more tacky, glitter makeup there than at Wal Mart (the early '00s was an awkward time for girl fashion). But I was completely converted in college when DT started renovating their stores to carry a wider variety of higher quality goods - that were all still a dollar. I don't know if it was a stroke of genius or by necessity (what with the recession forcing more people to shop on a budget) but stores expanded to offer more food (even frozen items!), party supplies, bake wear and huge seasonal departments. Our town just renovated their location within the past two years and I couldn't be more grateful. 

DT offers great savings for so many aspects of my life: 

• As a DIY wreath maker, I'm able to get good quality silk flowers and wire ribbon for, you guessed it, a dollar. 
• I still write letters and the stationary at the Tree is wonderful and truly inexpensive; greeting cards are 2/$1! They even carry shipping supplies for when I send care packages to my adorable nieces.
• Their kitchen department carries a number of handy items, from decent dinnerware to utensils perfect for taking to the office to disposable aluminum pans in a variety of sizes (these are perfect for pot lucks!); and even legit cake pans. 
• I can't say enough good things about their food section. You can get name brand items for only four quarters! Most of the items are full-sized and obviously, a great deal - like cans of Hunts crushed tomatoes, bags of walnuts or packs of Hormel pepperoni. But, some of them are in smaller portions and are incredibly helpful for cooking-for-two or new recipes. For example, J's fudge recipe only needs 3 T of corn syrup, so there's no point in buying a giant bottle of Caro that will just make everything sticky; DT carries a little 8 oz. bottle. 
• And the seasonal section is filled with adorable containers. Tins, snack bags, pails and boxes - for all your Christmas goodies! Just look at what we bought for our hard candy. Plus, I bought a snowflake-themed cardboard box for cookies. 

Today, we were able to buy over a third of the items on our list (plus some extras) at the Dollar Tree for only $16!

If you're looking to save some money, or just looking for quality, adorable items for almost any occasion, pop in to your local Dollar Tree and explore! You'll be amazed at how much you can get for your money... but also how quickly you'll fill your cart!

Cheese Plate Date Night!

This weekend J & I had another fabulous date night - this time at home, with a cheese plate, wine and two great food films, "Chef" and "The Hundred Foot Journey" (more on the movies later).

A local grocery store chain, Ingles Markets, has a fascinating cheese section at their Waynesville location. It's a few steps away from their antipasti bar - filled with marinated olives; curves gently around the edge of the deli close to their fabulously stocked bakery (fresh bread and pastries, homemade fudge, cronuts! and ice cream cakes) and is a two tiered celebration of all things cheese. There are colorful "moldy" cheese - like brilliant Roquefort's, soft goat cheeses marbled with berries, a variety of hard cheese and all the accouterments you'd expect, too (think melba toasts). This display fascinates me every time we stop in, and we finally decided to do our own cheese sampling at home.

We're both adventurous and with J being a sandwich artist, we are very pro-cheese and have tried a lot of different types. But the cheeses are usually inside a dish or sammie and we never get to taste them on their own or pair them with other small bites, so I did some research and we put together a pretty impressive and inexpensive (less than $30) spread.

Cheese plates may seem daunting but creating ours was relatively easy, even without going to a specialty cheese shop or a deli-counter. This Buzzfeed article was very informative about national, commercial brands and I was not disappointed by the brand I chose from it.

From the articles I read and our experience, here's my best cheese wisdom:

1. Include a variety of cheese textures and flavors. I'd say at least 3 of the following categories: creamy cheese (like Brie), something fresh (like a chevre), something sharp (like an aged cheddar), something nutty (like gouda) and a wild card - something you've just been dying to try (buy a smaller portion of this, just in case)
2. Don't rule out things you've had on hand for recipes but have never savored on their own. We had the chevre and blue cheeses already! 
3. Intend to serve about 2-3 ounces of cheese per person
4. Serve with lots of "extras" to either pair directly with the cheese or to nibble between bites. I suggest at least 3 of the following categories: dried fruit (like cranberries), fresh fruit (like grapes), crackers, warm bread, a flavorful spread (like fig jam or hot pepper jelly), nuts (salted or raw). 
5. Bring cheeses to room temperature for one hour before serving - their flavors will be more vibrant
6. J and I were multitasking and so we pre-sliced the cheeses and arranged them as such. If you are having a cheese plate at a party or serving a larger group of people, leave the labeled cheeses whole on the board (even the crumbly ones) with appropriate tools for your guests to serve themselves. 
7. Set your tray up on a knife-friendly surface (wooden cutting boards are functional and pretty) and/or provide a cheese slicer. Also, place it in a prominent area at your party where folks can gather and munch - they'll keep coming back for more! 

Rule 6.1 - Cute cheese knives are a plus! 

We featured the following cheese on our plate: "Categories" (see above) listed in parenthesis.

• Layered herb brie (creamy) - Brie becomes the most beautiful, gooey cheese when heated, but even at room temperature is still incredibly creamy and soft. This layered brie was "double decker" with a thin, herb-covered rind between the two. Some brie can have a rather thick, firm rind that, while edible, can be off-putting for some (like J). But this brand, was softer and with the herbs, the rind was flavorful enough to eat. In its unheated state, it's not great for spreading on bread or crackers but is so mild it pairs beautifully with apples or dried fruit. 
• Asiago (nutty) - When I was younger, I loved shaking grated Parmesan on top of buttery popcorn and my dad said it smelled like feet. This cheese brought back all of those memories - but in a good way, I promise! It's a bold, assertive flavor like Parmesan, with a hard, grainy texture. It paired will with the fruits, salami and jelly whose flavored played off each other well. 
• Cabot Seriously Sharp cheddar (sharp) - This was recommended by the Buzzfeed article and the name could not be more spot-on. It's strong and tangy with the beautiful texture we all know from cheddars. To me, Cabot products are upstanding members of the supermarket cooler because their business is owned by the farmers producing the milk, and they take care to do things right, like naturally aging their cheese, which makes for a better flavor. And of course, cheddar pairs well with apples. 
• Chevre (fresh) - I did a copy cat of a snazzy dish called "The Frenchy" from a local restaurant. It really makes the goat cheese shine. I used about 2 oz. of chevre topped with 5-6 chopped kalamata olives and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. It's creamy, tangy, salty and floral - so many flavors that blend so well together! I like to spread this on warm baguette slices for a fancy, but quick, appetizer. 
• Havarti - If you like butter, creamy cheese, havarti is a great choice. Some can be slightly sharp, but most are pretty mild. I love the almost spongy texture; just a little too stiff to spread, but still tender. BTW this is a GREAT sandwich cheese; it pairs will with everything can be just the creamy touch to a meat-heavy sammie, plus is melts perfectly!
• Blue cheese crumbles - I've mentioned before that I have a weakness for blue cheese recipes and like to try to sneak it in everything. This was another cheese we had on hand but never eat on it's own. I would like to try "fancier" brands sometime, but we used our go-to generic brand and it didn't disappoint. 

We also had the following "extras" on the cheese board: 

• Craisins (dried cranberries)
• Pistachios
• Walnuts
• Honeycrisp apple slices
• Hard salami
• Homemade hot pepper jelly
• Monet crackers
• Sliced baguette

The additional items really helped the cheeses to shine. I highly doubt I could have (or would have even wanted to) eat as much cheese as I did were it not for experimenting with different flavor and texture combinations. I would break the cheese slices in half and try one half with a bite of apple, then the other half with a bite of salami, and so on. It really amazed me how well they worked together to bring out different notes in each other. And I must say, the pepper jelly was amazing on everything, but I never would've guessed!

One of the really beautiful things about a cheese plate is that you can customize the "sides" with whatever you've got on hand and some other inexpensive add-ons (I actually got several of ours at the Dollar Tree) and can focus your time and budget on the cheeses themselves. 

If you're looking for an impressive spread for a romantic night in or a fun way to try new things with friends or impress at a party, a cheese plate is the way to go. You'll find wonderful flavors and make a great impression without breaking the bank or your back! 

For other ideas for you and your boo or fun fete food, visit our Date Night or Party Food tabs.