If you’re new to my site you won’t notice a change but for those of you who have been following me, you’ve probably noticed our site has a new look. And I love it!
I think it has a fresh and modern look and it’s really easy to navigate. And believe me, if I say it’s easy, it’s easy. I know there were “technical things” done too but don’t ask me to explain…ha! Next month we’ll begin a monthly “newsletter” that recaps some of my favorite recipes and tips from the month.
WE’VE ADDED A RECIPE INDEX –
We’ve also added a Recipe Index which has all our recipes, along with information as to if it is a $10 or less meal, gluten-free, vegan, or cooks in 30 minutes or less. Hopefully this will help you find recipes quicker. (I don’t know why I didn’t think of that in the beginning!) I didn’t realize how many recipes I’d made over the years until I started typing them all in. And I didn’t realize how much my hair has changed over the last four years until I began looking at all the cooking videos again. Pretty funny!
A lot of our recipes include a video and they always include the written version of the recipe. So if you don’t want to watch, you can just scroll on down. But they can be pretty entertaining, especially since alcohol is always involved. Most of the videos are filmed in my kitchen, with a large portion of them filmed with my friend Ashley. Besides cooking up delicious, inexpensive meals, we also wear clothes from Discover Goodwill or Ashley’s Attic because you don’t have to spend a ton to look and feel great.
https://www.facebook.com/ashleysatticcoloradosprings/?fref=ts
http://www.discovermygoodwill.org/
COOKING ON TV –
On KKTV 11 News…
I’ve included a separate section of videos that were filmed with some of our local news stations. One group, filmed by KKTV 11 News, was made in one of the kitchens at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak http://www.thecliffhouse.com/. There I got to cook with “real” chefs that weren’t necessarily on a budget and knew what they were doing. Surprisingly though, a lot of these weren’t expensive and some of them could be cooked for $10 or less. There are some great videos too on the basics…like how to cut up a whole chicken or make a basic chicken stock. I really learned a lot.
In most of the KKTV videos, which aired once a week in the morning, I wear an outfit I purchased at Discover Goodwill. Again, I just got a real kick out of showing how great your outfit can be, even while on a budget. Oh, and there were some days I would change things up and put on a wig…which I loved. We would typically tape 6 to 8 segments at a time, which meant having 6 to 8 different outfits (and accessories) planned and then toted to The Cliff House. It was a ton of fun seeing how “TV” is made! And since it wasn’t me prepping all the ingredients, it was easy.
FOX21 News…
The other group of videos were filmed by FOX21 News right in my own kitchen, which aired live during the 4-hour morning broadcasts. I loved making these because anchor Craig Coffey is so darn hysterical. It was so hard to keep a straight face at times. Craig and a camera-man would show up at my house about 4:45 in the morning and during each hour, for 3 hours, we’d whip something up and then close with a recap of everything.
Did I mention we drank mimosas while we cooked? Yes, those were some fun times…drinking mimosas at 5:00 a.m. on live TV! Cooking live is fun but does take a lot of prep. I would peel, chop, and measure everything ahead of time because we’re talking minutes to cook a dish on TV. And I always made 2 of everything so we’d have a finished product to show. It made for a long evening before filming, because besides all the food preparations, you have to make sure your kitchen looks clean, and there are important issues to work out like what to wear. But it was fun. And who cares if you have to get up at 2 a.m. because hello? There are mimosas waiting!
Each meal we made cost $10 or less to feed a family of 4. Those prices will change of course as grocery prices change but most ingredients I use are ones that often go on sale. Using seasonal produce also helps to keep costs down.
MAKING CHANGES…
719Woman is about 4 years old now and I think our “original” look was great and fit me perfectly, thanks to our friend Trig Bundgaard, who created it. Trig is also the man behind the camera filming my kitchen videos, which I thought were the best because he totally got my personality and would make me laugh while waiting for something to boil, bake or broil. With his editing skills he’d actually make me look like I knew what I was doing and tighten up a segment from me rambling to being more concise. Trig is also a fabulous photographer, who along with his wife, has one of the best photography studios in the area https://www.trystanphotography.com/
OUR NEW LOOK –
It was just time to freshen things up a bit though and I think we did that, thanks to John Bunka with Simplex Studios. I am not a web designer and even though I have a website, I’m barely computer literate and felt really “high-tech” when I learned how to copy and paste. (I just like to write and research.) John was very patient as he updated our look because I really didn’t have a clue as to specifics, just “I don’t know, make it look good.” And he did.
I have to say, John is extremely easy to work with and as he’d make updates and changes, he’d send a video tutorial so I could understand what was going on. Thank you John for making me look good!
http://simplexstudios.com/
ON A PERSONAL NOTE…
As I’ve mentioned in the past, my husband has been my biggest fan and supporter. He’s the one who takes all my words and photos and makes them look better. He samples all my recipes, encourages me when I have writer’s block, and doesn’t seem to mind when I see a thrift store, garage sale or sale sign and make him pull over. If not for him, I’d be writing all this on a piece of paper and mailing it out…ha!
And as always, if you have a story idea, budget tip, easy DIY project, or question, we’d love to hear from you.
Enjoy! (And now I suddenly want a mimosa!)
Tammy