Author Christiane Jory has created a companion DVD to her cookbook the 99-cent Only Stores Cookbook just in time for the holidays. Fabulously Frugal Feasts will show you how to create a holiday buffet that will feed seasonal foods to a houseful of guests for the same cost of delivered pizza. Sounds good, doesn't it?

The DVD has lots of delicious new recipes and helpful hints, as well as Christiane's own brand of gentle humor. The recipes are easy enough for anyone to make and they're printable, so you won't have to keep plugging in the DVD every time you want to try something. My cooking never strays much from plain old meat and potatoes 'cause I need easy. Having watched a couple of the videos, I've gotta say that these recipes look easy enough for even the kitchen-phobic to create.

Even though last summer's Cash for Clunkers program was rated a success by some, a new report obtained by the Associated Press says the economy might not have fared as well as hoped under "Clunkers."

Wednesday, the AP dug up Federal numbers that showed many of the trades didn't increase fuel efficiency all that much. Many of those trading in gas-guzzlers opted for similar (but brand new) petroleum chuggers that got only a few more miles to the gallon than the clunker.

The Federal data showed the Clunker most often traded in was the Ford 150 pick-up truck. But more than 8,000 of those sent to the scrap pile were replaced with a brand new pick-up truck, netting the consumer the incentive of $3,500 to $4,500 to up their fuel efficiency by no more than three miles at best.

Toys R Us is popping up all over, with Holiday Express Shops now open in 2,500 Babies R Us stores. To celebrate, the retailer is already hosting holiday sales. There will be coupons, gifts with purchases and daily specials through Nov. 25, while supplies last.

Chocolate lovers have a reason to celebrate. David Edwards, a professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard University, has developed an alternative to the pesky wrappers keeping chocoholics from enjoying a delicious indulgence: "Le Whif."

Edwards' "Whif" is an inhaler that puffs micro-particles of calorie-free cocoa bliss into your mouth that's exceeded the inventor's wildest expectations. Le Whif isn't lasting long on stores shelves, with its initial production run of 25,000 selling out in a few weeks last May in Paris.

"We did not imagine the reaction that we got at the end of the spring," Edwards said in a Reuters story on CNBC. Women seem to be "Whif's" biggest fans, stashing the inhaler in their purses to satisfy anytime chocolate cravings.