Although I love to cook, I don’t have very many recipes with beans. One of my favorite recipes is this lentil salad. I also love this three-bean chili {without the beer, in my case}. But that’s about it for my bean-making repertoire. So I was excited to get my hands on a copy of The Everything Beans Book by Katie from Kitchen Stewardship. Not only are beans nutritious, but they are also a great way to reduce your grocery budget. Perfect for this frugal femina!

Katie’s site is one of my favorite resources for recipes and learning more about real food. Quite simply, I trust what she writes. I know she has solid values, she has done her research, and she can sum up complex info. in a way I can use. Her latest ebook, The Everything Beans Book, is no exception. It is packed full of helpful information about beans. It has 30 tasty recipes {including one for Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies!}, but it also has nutrition info. and lots of tips to make cooking with beans easier. She talks about the arguments against eating beans, how to sprout beans, and how to cook with those bags of dry beans from the grocery.

I tried the Hearty Lentil Stew, which was very filling–just what we wanted on a cold, rainy day. I appreciated that she includes the skill level for each recipe, the cost, and whether or not the kiddos will be interested in eating it. The book is well-organized and easy to read, and Katie adds in lots of tips for saving time, saving money, freezing beans, and making substitutions with other ingredients. It’s nice to have one resource I can refer back to for all the basics about cooking with beans.

Some of the recipes you can find exclusively in Katie’s book are:

• Cheesy White Chicken Chili
• 7-Layer Tex Mex Appetizer Dip
• Cuban Black Beans and Rice
• Pesto “Bean”-fredo
• Spaghetti and Pinto Bean Chili
• Black-Eyed Pea Casserole
• Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

You can buy a copy of Katie’ s book for $9.95 {use code FFEM20 to get 20% off}. Or enter to win a copy here at Frugal Femina. Just click on the graphic below for details!

This giveaway closes at 11 p.m. EST on Thursday, April 7, 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly, and the ebook will be sent via e-mail.

Full Disclosure: Katie gave me one copy of The Everything Beans Book to facilitate this review, plus one copy to give away to a Frugal Femina reader. See my Disclosure Policy.

Time to find out what giveaways are happening in blogland this week. Link to your giveaway, and enter to win!

Who won the $20 Chili’s gift card? Find out below. And thank you to everyone who entered!

Tina K. gets to enjoy some yummy comfort food, thanks to Chili’s. Check your e-mail to claim your prize, Tina. Congrats!

Have you won a giveaway at Frugal Femina? I would love to feature a picture of you with your prize. E-mail your pics to Katie at frugalfemina@gmail.com.

I have good memories of going to eat at Chili’s when Xon and I were dating in college. We live in the boonies now, so we don’t eat out as often. But when Bradley and I took a trip to the “big city” to run some errands, we stopped by Chili’s for lunch to try out the Wild or Mild menu. Chili’s took their regular menu items and either spiced them up or cooled them down.

The portion sizes are very generous, so we shared the Skillet Queso with tortilla chips and the Jalapeno Chicken Quesadillas. We even had some to take home for supper! They also have Kicked-Up Queso, Blazin’ Big Mouth Bites, Sweet Maple BBQ Chicken Crispers, and more.

The staff was very friendly. They welcomed us in the door and took us to a table immediately. They gave Bradley a Clifford book to read {he loves Clifford}, and a green balloon. Green is his favorite color right now. Do you have John Deere lovers in your house? c-: We had fun just hanging out together and doing something outside our regular routine.

Chili’s has a promotion going on right now called Shout Out to Eat Out – Wild or Mild. To enter, you upload a head shot of yourself and create a wild or mild avatar. They will pick one winner every day to receive a $20 Chili’s gift card.  Then, the avatar with the most votes will win the grand prize which will either be a “Wild” (Las Vegas) or “Mild” (Disney World) trip for four. The promotion ends April 30, 2011. You can also join the Chili’s E-mail Club and get a coupon for a free Chips & Queso.

Be sure to enter to win a $20 Chili’s gift card by clicking on the picture below. You can find a Chili’s location here. Good luck!

This giveaway closes at 11 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly and notified via e-mail. This giveaway is offered to US residents only.

Full Disclosure: The Chili’s marketing team gave me one $20 gift card to facilitate this review, plus one $20 gift card to give to a Frugal Femina reader. See my Disclosure Policy.

Time to find out what giveaways are happening in blogland this week. Link to your giveaway, and enter to win!

Who won the $25 gift card to Amy Cornwell Designs? Find out below. And thank you to everyone who entered! This was one of my very favorite giveaways.

Meli Y. gets to pamper herself with some beautiful stamped jewelry, thanks to Amy Cornwell Designs. Check your e-mail to claim your prize, Meli. Congrats!

Have you won a giveaway at Frugal Femina? I would love to feature a picture of you with your prize. E-mail your pics to Katie at frugalfemina@gmail.com.

Who won the 40-count box of Steviacane? Find out below. And thank you to everyone who entered!

Nina gets to try out some recipes with a new sweetener thanks to the folks at Steviacane. Check your e-mail to claim your prize, Nina. Congrats!

Time to find out what giveaways are happening in blogland this week. Link to your giveaway, and enter to win!

I have two giveaways that end MONDAY!

~ Enter to win a $25 gift card to Amy Cornwell Designs, and be sure to check out her True Love ring!

~ Enter to win a 40-count box of Steviacane.

You may have requested the free sample of Steviacane I mentioned back in January. Apparently, they had over 16,000 sample requests! Well, now they have given me a 40-count box of Steviacane to give away to a Frugal Femina reader.

I have not been able to try this yet, but I have been interested in alternative sweeteners lately. I recently bought some local honey from our apple orchard {comb included}, and Stevia has been on my list to try. Steviacane combines pure Stevia and pure cane sugar to make a product that has 1/3 the calories of sugar. You can use it for your coffee and for baking, etc.

If you would like to enter the giveaway, you need to share your favorite Valentine’s Day sweet treat or favorite Valentine’s Day surprise/date on the Steviacane Facebook page, and mention that @FrugalFemina sent you. Then come back here and leave a comment so I’ll know you did {and so I’ll have a way to contact you if you win!}. I’ll pick a winner randomly at 10 p.m. EST on Monday, February 14, 2011.

You can use this message and fill in the blank if you’d like:

My favorite Valentine treat is {fill in the blank}. http://frugalfemina.com/2011/02/giveaway-box-of-steviacane.html/

Hmmm… I don’t usually bake a lot for Valentine’s Day, but I would love to try this Sweetheart Cherry Cake I found over at Tidy Mom. Yum!

P.S. Don’t forget to fill out a short form and enter to win a $25 gift card to Amy Cornwell Designs, too!

I happened to be scanning through my Facebook stream when Amy Cornwell unveiled her new True Love ring. I am a minimalist when it comes to jewelry {I don’t even have pierced ears}, but something struck me about that ring. I think it is simple, classic, and absolutely stunning. And for some reason, it takes me back to the carefree days when Xon and I first started dating. Please tell me it does that for someone else out there. c-:

I sat there and admired it for several minutes, and then immediately wrote Amy and asked if I could give one away to a Frugal Femina reader. What a sweet way to celebrate your special someone! I may have resorted to begging if I had to, but Amy said yes right away. {Thanks, Amy!} c-;

The True Love ring is made of sterling silver. The band is twisted sterling wire, plus there’s a domed heart that you can leave blank or have stamped. It costs $20 unstamped or $25 stamped. Plus, if you have no idea what your ring size is after a kiddo or two, Amy recommends this handy-dandy ring sizer.

Amy is based out of Indiana, and she designs all kinds of stamped metal jewelry–including stamped bracelets, key chains, charms, some beautiful pieces made with fabric, and lots more.

You can find more here:

• Website – Amy Cornwell Designs
• Amy Cornwell Designs on Facebook
• Amy Cornwell Designs on Twitter
• Blog – Amy Cornwell Blog
• Etsy – Amy Cornwell on Etsy

You can also enter to win a True Love ring right here, because Amy is giving one Frugal Femina reader a $25 gift certificate good for any item at amycornwell.com! Click on the graphic below to enter.

This giveaway closes at 11 p.m. EST on Monday, February 14, 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly and notified via e-mail. This giveaway is offered to US residents only.

Full Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation whatsoever for this post. I just think Amy is very talented and wanted to highlight her work. And spoil my dear readers with another fun giveaway! See my Disclosure Policy.