THRIFTY THURSDAY

REMEMBRANCE DAY ..LEST WE FORGET
Since we are so close to Christmas I thought I would give you some Thrifty suggestions about wrapping. As most of my friends and family know I love to wrap my gifts in an unusal way. When you talk about frugal, for years my girls always gave their friends gifts wrapped in comics. They would sometimes say "Why do we always have to wrap in the Funny Papers from the newspaper". My response would be well we can buy commercial wrap and then that will be a couple of dollars less that we have to spend of presents. They changed their tune pretty quick....My favorite is that if there is tissue paper or wrap that I love I will not let people throw it out I will bring it home and iron it, yes iron it and recycle....

Wrapping Paper:
1. Use pretty magazine pages to wrap small gifts.
2. The comic section of your newspaper also makes nice wrapping paper.
3. Use your children’s artwork, or create your own on plain paper… the large reams of packing paper are great for this, contact anyone who’s in the process of moving!
4. Save used wrapping paper all through the year, just roll them back onto the paper tube and place a small piece of scotch tape on the edge to hold in place. These really work great for small gifts where the previously folded lines won’t even show. If the paper is the wrong theme, you could just turn it over and decorate the plain side yourself.
5. No need to buy expensive ribbons and bows to decorate your packages, if you hunt around you can find the cheap stuff that will be just as pretty!
6. Make your own gift tags by cutting a small piece of matching wrapping paper and folding it in half. Our family has been doing this for years. Write the “To and From” on the inside of the paper and tape it to the wrapped present. This is also great for scraps of paper that are too small to wrap a gift, but too large to toss away.
7. Cut up old Christmas cards make wonderful gift tags too!
8. If you sew, you could also use scrap material to wrap gifts.
9. Or inexpensive tissue paper that you’ve saved from other gifts throughout the year. Then decorate the wrapped gift with little smiley faces, Christmas trees, or even just the words “Merry Christmas!” You could even add some glitter if you have some on hand.
10. Cut narrow strips of the wrapping paper and then use your scissors to curl it just like you would do ribbon and it makes a great bow...


CHICKEN PARMASAN BUNDLES

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
6 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1 egg
10 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, heated

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

MIX cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella and 3 Tbsp. Parmesan until well blended; spread onto chicken breasts. Starting at one short end of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired.
BEAT egg in shallow dish. Mix remaining Parmesan and cracker crumbs in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg, then roll in crumb mixture to evenly coat. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve chicken topped with spaghetti sauce and remaining mozzarella.