Christmas Cookies

So I have been looking through tons of magazines and cookbooks trying to find the best cookies I can find. I think I have found a few I definitely want to try on top of our family favorites. I will be sure to post the recipes and try and remember to take some pictures if I can get them before the kids snatch the cookies. :-)

Lemonade Cookies

I got this recipe from a magazine (but I can't remember which one, sorry) and tried last night, and everyone really likes them! They taste like lemon bars...so good..We would definitely make again.


1 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. thawed frozen lemonade concentrate, divided

In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time till well mixed. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with 1/3 c. lemonade concentrate, beating well between each addition.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks. Brush with remaining lemonade and sprinkle with sugar.

It's Been A While....

I know it's been a while and I apologize, but I am going to work on the site over the next few weeks hopefully.

Here is a link for a couple recipes that some have asked for over the past few weeks.

Harvest Cinnamon Rolls (the ones I made for everyone last year at Christmas)
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/CinnamonRollsFantastic.htm

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (which makes great pizza dough)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/211brex.html

Sweet Potato and Apple Recipe (made this at Thanksgiving and will make again at Christmas, everyone loved it, even picky kids who don't like sweet potatoes that much)
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Baked-Sweet-Potatoes-and-Apples

Crock Pot Recipes Needed

Hi, all! I am "vacation mode" and trying to pin down all the details for our family vacation/dance nationals coming up in June. I plan on taking my crock pot with us so we can use it to cook and save some money while there. So if you have any recipes to share where you use your crock pot for a meal, please share. Either post a comment or e-mail me (tinahendricks@roadrunner.com) so I can try it before we leave. Our goal is to have atleast 8-10 meals in the crock pot.

We took a pot roast with us to a dance competition a couple months ago, and it worked great! Made the whole floor smell good too!

Thanks.

Sorry

Sorry, I haven't posted recently.  I will try and update some this weekend.  It has been a very busy couple weeks and still trying to "recover" from the long weekends....

Some Ideas...For Breakfast and Lunch

I thought I would share some ideas for breakfast and lunches that you might be able to use, or adapt for your own.   

Breakfast  - Make Your Own Instant Oatmeal, Egg Muffins, Sausage Egg Biscuits, Biscuits, Pancakes, Waffles, Breakfast Burritos, Cinammon Rolls, muffins, Coffee Cake (a.k.a. Cinnamon Flop), frozen fruit cups, Fruit Smoothies

Lunches - Sloppy Joes, Ham/Turkey Sandwhiches, Pizza Pockets, Pizza rolls, Beefy Cheese Pockets, Ham and Potato Pockets, Hot Pockets (filled with anything you like), Chimichangas, Pizza Burgers, PB and J (just make sure you put peanut butter on both sides, that way the jelly doesn't "leak" through the bread)

These are just a few of the things you could do for breakfasts and lunches or even have in the freezer for a quick after school snack, or "gotta eat quick" dinner.

Menu Plan Monday

I am bad...I didn't do a menu this week.  I was exhausted yesterday after the busy weekend, and we are going to just pull out of freezer this week, but not sure what yet..I decided each of us will pick what we want for one day. :-)

Monday - ate out

Tuesday - Ham and Scallop Potatoes

Wednesday - 

Thursday - 

Friday - dance competition
Saturday - dance competition

Sunday - dance competition

$5 Dinners

In the process of viewing blogsites on OAMC, I stumbled across a site that doesn't neccessarily do OAMC but felt it was worth posting about because the purpose of the website is to do a dinner each night for $5 or under.  It is just proof that you can do dinner cheaply and still have the quality and taste you want.  I am sure that many of the recipes after glancing at them, could be adapted to freeze.  The website is http://www.5dollardinners.com.

Be sure to check it out and try it for yourself and see what you can cook for $5.  Let me know how it turns out.

Menu Plan Monday

It's that time again.  I will say that it helped  knowing what we were having for the week.

Monday - Salsibury Patties

Tuesday - Swiss Steak (we didn't have it last week, as we were out and got busy and ended up having homemade pizzas again)

Wednesday - Ham and scalloped potatoes

Thursday - Macaroni Casserole

Friday - (on own)

How much does it cost to cook for a month

I have been telling everyone that I can shop for $150 per month.  Here's an article I came across today, where someone else talks about how much they spent.  Check out this article.

March Freezer Swap

We have decided on a menu for us for March. I will post the recipes as I get time.

Tami - Hoehn's Beans

     Wild Rice Soup

             Easy Macaroni Casserole

             Angel Hair Pasta           

Tina - Ham and Scallop Potatoes

            Chicken Piccatta

            Salsibury Patties

            Creamy Garlic Pasta

**My meals are the same as February, as we didn't end up cooking in February for a swap because Tami had to be off work for a surgery and so we made the decision not to swap.

Recipes are up!

I posted the recipes for the meals we have planned for the week.  So all you have to do is click on the link to see the recipes.

Menu Plan Mondays

I am joining over 400 women who blog and post their weekly menus online so we can share ideas, save money and know what we are having for dinner, without having to stress about what we are going to do for dinner. I will try and post the recipes I use for each dinner.  Here is my first attempt, if you click on the weekly menus online above it will take you to the list of the other 400+ menus.  All my recipes unless otherwise noted, will be from my freezer.  I am going to try and post how much each recipe costs in the future, I can tell you that most of my meals are under $6.50 per meal, as I normally spend around $150-175 per month.  The main site that does the MPM's (Menu Plan Monday's) is called $5 dinners.  All the meals are under $5 each meal.  So you can eat healthy, and have variety and still each cheap.

Monday - Homemade Pizza's (individually made using the 5 minute bread recipe)

Tuesday - Montreal Chicken, Sweet Potato Fries, and green beans

Wednesday - Lite Fettuccine Alfredo

Thursday - Tacos

Friday - Leftovers (no one is home together on Friday's)

Saturday - Beef Barley Soup

Sunday - Swiss Steak, mashed potatoes, corn

Great Website

I found a great website that has lots of recipes, and information on OAMC.  http://erratichomemaker.blogspot.com/  She has lots of good recipes, some I have tried, some I plan to try soon!  So check it out when you get time!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Everyone loves this!  It is great with celery, chips, corn chips, anything, you want to use to dip with it!  

3/4 cup Frank's hot sauce*
2 1/2 cups-3 cups of shredded or chopped chicken ( great recipe to make with leftovers)

16 oz. Cream Cheese (2 packages)
1 cup Ranch dressing
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese ( I used a cheddar, but you could use anything)

Gently heat hot sauce and chicken and then add cream cheese and ranch, stirring often till melted and creamy. Add cheese, continue stirring until smooth. Serve with taco chips, crackers or celery. Serve immediately or cool and freeze. Thaw before reheating.

You can serve by microwaving, and heating through, or put in crockpot on warm/low if wanting for a party or company.

*You can use any tobasco sauce/hot sauce.