Who Rocks the Coupons?: Lunch with my sister

Those of you who have a sister probably know that every once in a while, you just need to go sit at her table and drink coffee together. My sister and I both lead hectic lives but in different ways. I imagine that visiting my house does for her what visiting her house does for me: it's a safe little bubble where I can feel comfortable, speak my mind, and not be responsible for anything in the immediate environment for a little while. My sister dropped me a line earlier this week and said she needed some kitchen-table time, so we agreed on a lunch date.

I mentioned to my husband before I went to bed last night that she'd be here for lunch today. He asked, "What are you going to feed her?" and then caught himself. "I'm sure you'll figure out something -- you always do." After almost four years of my couponing, I think he's finally catching on that I stockpile staples so I can rely on having the ingredients for various recipes.

I got up this morning and got to work on this recipe for Guinness chocolate cupcakes, which pair very nicely with coffee.

While they were cooling, I threw together chicken salad (with celery) and tuna salad (without).

I'm not linking the recipes to these. If you don't know how to make chicken or tuna salad, go track down the nearest grandma you can find and she'll tell you. (Edit: If you can't find a grandma nearby, drop me a line and I'll give you the recipe.)

So, we had sandwiches on toasted bread (she opted for tuna; I chose the chicken) with fresh pineapple for lunch.

If you missed the post on easily prepping pineapple, check it out here.

We finished up with the cupcakes and coffee.

And, since I was bustling around in the kitchen, I also made a pitcher of tea and homemade chocolate syrup for the kids (no HFCS!). The halved recipe fits nicely in the Wilton squeeze bottle.