Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce Recipe (with dried herbs and spices)

Here is the recipe for the sauce I used for my Chicken Parmesan recipe. Its a sweeter sauce because of the additional of sugar. I wanted to make something simple but flavorful that wouldn't be sitting on the stove for long. I also didn't have tomato paste on hand so I didn't bother with any! I was able to make the sauce at the same time as breading my cutlets and by the time the sauce and chicken were cooked, I was able to assemble my chicken parm and put it into the oven. Super quick, and no fresh ingredients needed!


Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce Recipe
Yields ~ 4 cups
Prep time: <1 minute
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes

28 oz. can of Crushed Tomatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil (or vegetable oil)
14 oz. (1/2 can) water
2 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch of red pepper flakes
up to 2 Tbsp white sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Set a med-large saucepan to med-high heat and add oil. Throw in the dried onion flakes, garlic powder and pinch of red pepper flakes. Add the basil, parsley and marjoram. Mix around until it gets aromatic. Stir in the crushed tomatoes. Use the tomato can to measure about 14 oz (half a can) of water. It also helps you get any tomato bits left in the can. Stir to incorporate the herbs, spices and tomatoes. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Add 1 Tbsp of sugar and let simmer a few minutes. Be careful and taste it. If you want it sweeter, add another 1 Tbsp. Serve with chicken or pasta and enjoy! It also makes a great pizza sauce!

Chicken Parmesan Recipe

Snapped just before going in the oven!

One of the staple meals in our house is chicken parmesan. It's also one of my husband's favorites so I made sure it was hot and ready for him when he came home from work today on Father's Day! This recipe has an extra step of making breaded chicken cutlets before putting everything into the oven but if you make the cutlets ahead of time, it'll help save you some time! What I love about this recipe is that it results in moist chicken every time!

Chicken Parmesan Recipe
Yields 4 portions
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

oil, for frying
Italian style bread crumbs
1 egg (optional)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
~10 oz of your favorite tomato sauce
See my quick and easy sauce recipe
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise into cutlets. Put plastic wrap on top of each cutlet and pound out to about 1/2 inch so that all of the chicken is uniform thickness. You can use a mallet if you have one or do as I do and use the side of a coffee mug! Bread cutlets as if making chicken cutlets. I skip the egg and go right from chicken breast to bread crumbs (less mess) which is why I put egg optional. Fry the cutlets until golden brown.

Ladle some sauce in a thin layer on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and place chicken cutlets on top. Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce on top of each cutlet and cover with appx. 1/4 c. of mozzarella cheese. Cover baking dish with foil and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove foil and continue baking for 5 minutes. Serve with pasta or salad and enjoy!

13 Tips for Buying Your First (or even second) Home!

Photo Credit: Woodsy

My husband and I bought our first house in 2010. A few years later, we are selling and about to move and to be honest, we're not entirely sure where yet! One thing we know is that we are not rushing it this time, which brings me to the topic of discussion, tips on buying a home whether you're a first timer, or not. Learn from my family's experience as buyers and sellers.

1. Order your credit report (you're entitled to one free credit report through all 3 major bureaus from Annualcreditreport.com). I recommend ordering your score as well. Check for any mistakes and dispute any discrepancies such as account information, addresses, payment amounts, etc. This will not only help you see where you stand with your credit but it will prevent any surprises later when the bank runs your credit.

2. Figure out all your expenses, see what you can pay down and what you can afford for a monthly payment. Use a mortgage calculator and do a slight over estimation on taxes and insurance. When you figure the approximate payment amount, calculate it against your monthly gross income. If it is under 45%, you're in good shape. If it's over, you might need to lower your price range to qualify for the loan and make sure you're not house poor. Don't forget to calculate utilities (gas/water/electric and HOA fees) into your calculations. 

3. Get preapproved for a mortgage. I'll say it again, get preAPPROVED. I don't mean go online to quicken loans or have a casual conversation with a lender based on arbitrary numbers. You'll really just be wasting your time if you do that. Actually get your documents together (1 month of pay stubs, last two years tax returns, w-2s), THEN go talk to a lender! There's nothing worse than getting "pre-qualified" and finding out you don't actually qualify for anything. Even worse when you've already fallen in love with a house or you've put in an offer/are in contract! Make sure they give you an estimate of closing costs as well and that you have enough money for a downpayment AND closing costs. Work with the lender to determine what kind of loan will best suit you. FHA, conventional, 203k, etc. See if your lender knows of any first-time home buyers programs in your area. 

4. If one lender says no, or if you think the rate offered is too high, shop around. Not all lenders are created equal. Just be mindful with how many times your credit is run because it will lower your score.

5. Don't open up any credit card accounts, finance purchases, take out a loan or buy/lease a vehicle during the process between preapproval and closing on a house. If you do, you run the risk of no longer qualifying for a mortgage because it will throw the ratios off. The only exception may be if you are turning in a car with a higher payment for a lower one but even so, talk to your lender first.

6. Figure out what is most important to you in a home. Are there any non-negotiables? Do you absolutely need that extra bedroom or bathroom? Things like wood floors and granite countertops shouldn't be a priority, unless you are absolutely against a future renovation. If a house doesn't have the exact finishes you want, it's not the end of the world. Things like paint, flooring, cabinets and countertops can be changed.

7. Figure out if the location is somewhere you can live forever, even if you don't plan on it. Sometimes homes sell themselves. Perhaps a house has great curb appeal or the perfect layout but just because we fall in love with the house itself doesn't mean the location is ideal. How long will your commute to work be? Can you do that same commute day in and day out for years to come? Would you live on a busy road? Maybe now you would since the price is so enticing but will you still love that house if say, you decide to have kids? These are all questions to ask yourself before you start looking.

8. Prepare yourself for the houses you are going to see when you start looking. If the house is an old colonial from the late 1800's early 1900's, it might need work. I can't tell you how many homes on Long Island were built in the early 1900s! Then there's a ton from the 1940s when there was a need for housing post WWII (hello, Levittown!) Those houses were made quickly, and many of them need work. Unless you are paying top dollar for a completely remodeled and renovated home, be prepared to see houses that will eventually need work to update them.

9. Start looking at houses! Working with a buyer's agent has its perks but I don't personally recommend signing an agreement with a buyer's agent until you're comfortable with him/her enough and know they have your best interests in mind. It is also important to know they work in a timely fashion and alert you of newly listed houses quickly. You should not be chasing your agent asking them about houses that come onto the market. They should be telling YOU! The best way to find a buyer's agent is through word of mouth and personal recommendation. If a realtor pushes for you to sign an agreement right away, move on to the next one.

10. Once you find a house you love, research where the market is headed in the area. Use sites like zillow.com to search for Recently Sold homes (goes back about 2 years) and see if homes show a trend of increasing in price or decreasing in price. Don't count homes currently for sale in your comparison, only those that sold (including short sales and foreclosures). Figure out the appropriate market value for the home you're interested in and put in an offer up to 8% less. It should leave room for negotiations without offending the seller.

11. Take the above information, and decide if the market is still declining, is your new home going to be somewhere you will live for the long term? As in 15+ years? I ask this because if you think you'll be in your "starter home" for only 5 years and the market is still declining, you might take a loss when you go to sell, especially if you put money into improvements. If the market where you're looking is on the rise (usually a seller's market), you will probably be in better shape if you don't plan on living there forever.

12. Don't skimp on a home inspector. You get what you pay for. Call around and get quotes from at least 5 inspectors. I wouldn't necessarily go with the lowest price. Like lenders, not all inspectors are created equal. You want someone who is going to be meticulous. Someone who's going to see past any cover ups and tell you every detail you need to know before proceeding with your purchase. He will see things you may have missed during showings. Just don't be surprised if you go with the cheap inspector and start finding things wrong with the house that never made it to your inspection report after you go to closing and move in. That's never fun and it can be very costly! 

13. Don't let your excitement cloud your judgement. Is the house priced out of your true comfortable price range? How is your timeline, are you in a rush to buy? Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and we make rush decisions. In a seller's market, realtors can't stress enough that you need to decide quickly, sometimes even within hours of seeing a house. But I can't tell you enough that you need to consider all the above things before you get into contract on a house! Do your due diligence and research everything you can so that there are no surprises. Familiarize yourself with terms such as short sale, REO/foreclosure, ARM, fixed rate mortgage, points, PITI, PMI, contingencies, appraisal, closing costs, earnest money, escrow, equity, LTV, etc. Knowledge is key in real estate transactions and will only help you in the long run!

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Best Kept Secret for Budget Friendly Vacations.. Rent Timeshares for a Fraction of Regular Price Accommodations!

Photo Credit: arinas74

Our family loves traveling, but it can get expensive FAST! We are always looking for coupon codes or hotel promotions because we never like to pay full price for anything, especially vacations! Between gas or airfare, hotel accommodations and always dining out, there's almost no money left for attractions! When I heard about timeshare rentals and how we could save some serious bucks, I was intrigued. I was glad to have the opportunity to review this service because this is exactly the kind of thing our family could benefit from!

We all know that timeshares exist but I think most of us have this negative idea about them. Having to sit through hours of seemingly endless, uncomfortable, high pressure sales pitches, paying big bucks for vacations at the same exact place every year without much variation, high fees, etc., just doesn't sound like a good deal. Timeshare rentals don't deal with any of that!

RedWeek offers budget friendly vacations at a fraction of regular price by allowing timeshare owners to rent out timeshares that they are unable to use! Imagine paying a bunch of money for a timeshare and for whatever reason, finding you can't go on vacation every year? Those timeshare owners turn to RedWeek for help. They get to recoup some of the costs of owning a timeshare and we get to save money on luxury vacations! Total win-win.

At first, I was a little skeptical about the concept. It seemed too good to be true, but then I did some serious research. I would find a timeshare rental and then go to the same resort's website and try to make a reservation for the same dates. I can't tell you how many places I've done this for! I typically found that timeshare rentals are half the price of making the same reservation on your own. Growing up in south Florida for 14 years, my husband knows of some really popular places to vacation. I looked into some of them near Disney in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and the savings weren't as substantial but they were still savings nonetheless. If the popularity of a place isn't what you're most interested in and the location is, then you can find extreme vacation savings! My husband has been wanting to go to Las Vegas and after calculating the costs for a week I said NO WAY! Then I found out we can stay for a week for under $400 on the strip and my mind is almost changed! Almost, because I've personally never been a fan of Vegas even though I've never been.

What really interests me about renting a timeshare is that they usually aren't regular hotel rooms. Many of them are suites with a separate bedroom(s), living area, dining area and full kitchen. If you don't mind cooking on vacation (which I don't!), you can save even MORE money by preparing meals and snacks at "home" and then going about your day!

Since timeshares are meant to be a "home away from home," they usually have tons of amenities. Pools with water park features, tennis courts, playgrounds, arcades, mini golf, volleyball and depending on location, direct access to theme parks, beaches, trails and skiing. Some timeshares have this all included in the fee and some require an extra small fee, but it all still costs less than a standard hotel room!

As for the website itself, it takes a little bit to familiarize yourself with. When you first go to the site, you'll see the "Top Timeshare Rental Destinations" front and center. You can search for specific resorts by name, or type in the location to get a list of all available timeshares. If you click on the Find a Timeshare tab on the left side of the navigation bar, you can search the entire globe. On the right side, you can sort by features and attractions like All-Inclusive or Pet-Friendly, or Casinos, Golf or Beaches.

One of the first things I noticed was that there is a $14.99/year membership fee, and yes, that's for those who want to rent a timeshare, not for those who wish to list their rental. The membership bridges the gap between timeshare owners and prospective renters. The good thing is that you can browse the site with a Guest Membership for free but if you wish to go ahead and personally contact a timeshare owner, you have to have a paid membership. While I first thought this was a bit of a turnoff, I realized it helps separate those who are just window shopping and wasting timeshare owners' time, from those who are serious with their inquiries.

There is no doubt in my mind that we will be using RedWeek's services in the future. Perhaps once we are done selling our house and have a clear picture of our available dates, a Las Vegas vacation might not be too far off!

For all my budget-friendly readers who are interested in saving money on family vacations, RedWeek has offered to give away a 2-year membership to one lucky reader!

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.