Friday, February 18, 2011
Books in review
In the last two weeks I've read Reunion In Mossy Creek and start reading Summer in Mossy Creek. Both are from the Mossy Creek series. I read the first book in the series, Mossy Creek, the first of this year and loved it. I loved reading about the crazy little town in north Georgia. I mostly enjoyed following the story of coffee shop owner and the bake shop owner and how their relationship went from despising each other to finding out they both shared a similar pain and finding comfort and friendship through it. I was disappointed in Reunion At Mossy Creek. I just couldn't get into it as much as the first book. I also wasn't surprised by "who did it". I am now reading Summer in Mossy Creek and really enjoying it. I like following the love and heart ache story in it. I am almost half way though and don't want to put it down.
Two recipes for mixes in a jar
I love receiving mixes in a jar as gifts. They always look nice and you know the person took time out of their schedule to put them together for you. I haven't made one yet but after seeing this on in my email today I will definitely be trying it.
Homemade Cake Mix
This recipe is from I am Baker She also says that you can make it chocolate by adding cocoa powder.
This is another one I can't wait to try
Homemade Bisquick Substitute from Unsophistoicook.com
Homemade Bisquick Mix
Ingredients:
* 6 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
* 3 T. baking powder
* 1 T. salt
* 1/2 c. cold butter
Directions:
1. Measure the sifted flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Use a wire whisk to blend thoroughly.
2. Cut in cold butter using a pastry cutter until thoroughly incorporated.
Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 months.
She makes homemade biscuits with this mix.
15-Minute Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients:
* 2 1/4 c. homemade Bisquick mix
* 2/3 c. milk
Directions:
1. Mix together homemade Bisquick mix and milk to form a soft dough.
2. Roll the dough out to about 1/2" thickness on a flour-dusted surface. Cut out biscuits with a 2-1/2" cutter -- we use an empty Campbell's soup can with both ends cut out for this.
3. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe yields approximately 15 biscuits.
Thanks to Deal Seeking Mom for posting these!
Homemade Cake Mix
This recipe is from I am Baker She also says that you can make it chocolate by adding cocoa powder.
This is another one I can't wait to try
Homemade Bisquick Substitute from Unsophistoicook.com
Homemade Bisquick Mix
Ingredients:
* 6 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
* 3 T. baking powder
* 1 T. salt
* 1/2 c. cold butter
Directions:
1. Measure the sifted flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Use a wire whisk to blend thoroughly.
2. Cut in cold butter using a pastry cutter until thoroughly incorporated.
Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 months.
She makes homemade biscuits with this mix.
15-Minute Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients:
* 2 1/4 c. homemade Bisquick mix
* 2/3 c. milk
Directions:
1. Mix together homemade Bisquick mix and milk to form a soft dough.
2. Roll the dough out to about 1/2" thickness on a flour-dusted surface. Cut out biscuits with a 2-1/2" cutter -- we use an empty Campbell's soup can with both ends cut out for this.
3. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe yields approximately 15 biscuits.
Thanks to Deal Seeking Mom for posting these!
Cooked from what we had on hand this week
The sales weren't very good this week so we only purchased a few things. We took stock of what we had in the cabinets and freezer and made our menu with that. On Sunday T made us Italian Wedding Soup. It is my favorite soup of all time.
Italian Wedding Soup I
Ingredients
* 1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
* 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
* 5 3/4 cups chicken broth
* 2 cups thinly sliced escarole
* 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
* 1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
Directions
1. In medium bowl, combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil and onion powder; shape into 3/4 inch balls.
2. In large saucepan, heat broth to boiling; stir in escarole, orzo pasta, chopped carrot and meatballs. Return to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
Recipe from Allrecipes
The girls loved having Baked Oatmeal for breakfast so I made this Monday morning.
Baked Oatmeal
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. oil (you can use applesauce instead of oil)
2/3 c. sugar (white or brown) (I do 1/2 white 1/2 brown)
Mix above together. Then add:
3 c. oatmeal
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla (can use 1 packet vanilla sugar)
1 c. milk
Pour into buttered 8 x 8 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.
And you serve it with flavored yogurt on top or fresh fruit.
T made us calzones Monday night. Tuesday night we went to a friends house for dinner. Wednesday night I made pasta so I looked through the cabinets and this is what I came up with.
Alfredo with Italian sausage and tomatoes
1 box Penne pasta cooked
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes drained
1 Tablespoon oil
3/4 lb Italian sausage sliced
Brown sausage in oil and drain. Add sausage back to pan pour Alfredo sauce and drained diced tomatoes over it. Cook until heated through. Serve over pasta. Simple and yummy!
Thursday night I tried another new recipe from www.allrecipes.com.
Maple Sausage Skillet
Ingredients
* 1/2 pound fully cooked kielbasa or Polish sausage, sliced
* 1 teaspoon canola oil
* 1 medium green pepper, thinly sliced
* 1 small onion, halved and sliced
* 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
* 1 celery rib, sliced
* 2 tablespoons maple syrup
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* Hot cooked rice
Directions
1. In a large skillet, cook sausage in oil for 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add vegetables; stir-fry 3-4 minutes longer or until crisp-tender. Stir in the syrup and pepper; heat through. Serve with rice.
We didn't have mushrooms on hand so I omitted those. We all like this.
Italian Wedding Soup I
Ingredients
* 1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
* 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
* 5 3/4 cups chicken broth
* 2 cups thinly sliced escarole
* 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
* 1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
Directions
1. In medium bowl, combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, basil and onion powder; shape into 3/4 inch balls.
2. In large saucepan, heat broth to boiling; stir in escarole, orzo pasta, chopped carrot and meatballs. Return to boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
Recipe from Allrecipes
The girls loved having Baked Oatmeal for breakfast so I made this Monday morning.
Baked Oatmeal
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. oil (you can use applesauce instead of oil)
2/3 c. sugar (white or brown) (I do 1/2 white 1/2 brown)
Mix above together. Then add:
3 c. oatmeal
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla (can use 1 packet vanilla sugar)
1 c. milk
Pour into buttered 8 x 8 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.
And you serve it with flavored yogurt on top or fresh fruit.
T made us calzones Monday night. Tuesday night we went to a friends house for dinner. Wednesday night I made pasta so I looked through the cabinets and this is what I came up with.
Alfredo with Italian sausage and tomatoes
1 box Penne pasta cooked
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes drained
1 Tablespoon oil
3/4 lb Italian sausage sliced
Brown sausage in oil and drain. Add sausage back to pan pour Alfredo sauce and drained diced tomatoes over it. Cook until heated through. Serve over pasta. Simple and yummy!
Thursday night I tried another new recipe from www.allrecipes.com.
Maple Sausage Skillet
Ingredients
* 1/2 pound fully cooked kielbasa or Polish sausage, sliced
* 1 teaspoon canola oil
* 1 medium green pepper, thinly sliced
* 1 small onion, halved and sliced
* 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
* 1 celery rib, sliced
* 2 tablespoons maple syrup
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* Hot cooked rice
Directions
1. In a large skillet, cook sausage in oil for 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add vegetables; stir-fry 3-4 minutes longer or until crisp-tender. Stir in the syrup and pepper; heat through. Serve with rice.
We didn't have mushrooms on hand so I omitted those. We all like this.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Awesome Giveaway!
Frugal Living and Having Fun is giving away a $25 gift card to Carolina Pad. Carolina Pad has some cute office and school supplies. I love the Hot Chocolate collection. To enter her giveaway click HERE.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
I don't know how it happened but...
I don't know how it happened but my oldest "baby" is FIVE today! It seems like she was just born. Okay, some days it seems like she should be turning 12. She is so excited that it's her birthday that she is telling everyone. I wanted to tell her something this morning so I called her name and she responded with "you can just call me Birthday Girl today, okay Mom". HA! Happy 5th Birthday, M oops Birthday Girl. I love you!
Dinner review from last night. The Garlic Chicken was very good. T even said so so they are definitely on our make again list. The Crock-Pot Macaroni and Cheese was good however I have to say I prefer it baked in the oven. It comes out to mushy in the crock-pot for my liking. Oh, and the canned green beans were good too. =)
Dinner review from last night. The Garlic Chicken was very good. T even said so so they are definitely on our make again list. The Crock-Pot Macaroni and Cheese was good however I have to say I prefer it baked in the oven. It comes out to mushy in the crock-pot for my liking. Oh, and the canned green beans were good too. =)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Nutella coupon!
If you are like me and love Nutella then you will love this coupon for for $1 off. http://www.nutellausa.com/ The coupon is in the bottom right corner of the page. I love Nutella on toast, english muffins okay, I love it on anything!
Thanks Frugal Living and Having Fun for spreading the word.
Thanks Frugal Living and Having Fun for spreading the word.
Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband and M!
It is busy couple of days here. Today is T's 35th birthday and tomorrow is M's 5th birthday. Love you both bunches!
Menu for this week
Saturday: T made homemade sauce with meatballs and Italian sausage and we had made meatball subs with it for our game night with friends.
Sunday: Pasta with leftover sauce from Saturday
Monday: Pancakes, bacon and eggs for dinner
Tuesday: T's birthday dinner Garlic Chicken (for recipe click HERE, homemade macaroni and cheese (recipe in down a few posts) and vegetable
Wednesday: M's birthday dinner Hamburger Steak with Onions and Gravy (click HERE for recipe), potatoes and corn
Thursday: Steak strips with leftover macaroni and cheese and vegetable
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Meatloaf
Sunday: Pasta with leftover sauce from Saturday
Monday: Pancakes, bacon and eggs for dinner
Tuesday: T's birthday dinner Garlic Chicken (for recipe click HERE, homemade macaroni and cheese (recipe in down a few posts) and vegetable
Wednesday: M's birthday dinner Hamburger Steak with Onions and Gravy (click HERE for recipe), potatoes and corn
Thursday: Steak strips with leftover macaroni and cheese and vegetable
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Meatloaf
Catching up after a few days
We went grocery shopping as a family Saturday and thankfully didn't go over budget by much. Usually when T goes with me we spend to much money.
Shaws: I took advantage of the $1 vegetables. Philadelphia Cream Cheese for cooking is on sale for $2 and I used a $1.50 off coupon here making them $0.50 each. Regular Philadelphia Cream cheese blocks are also on sale (and there are printable coupons for them) so I picked up some.
Stop and Shop: We bought a roaster chicken (sale $0.99 lb), steak strips (on sale), ground beef (on sale for $2.99 lb), corn chips, ruffled potato chips and provolone cheese.
Big Y: This was our first time shopping at Big Y. We only shopped the sale there and had to so carefully because their prices seemed high. I did get Hood sour cream for $0.50 each, Hood Half & Half for $1.50 each, 6 boxes of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta (on sale and I had coupons), Polish sausage buy 1 (for $4.29) get 2 free, Kandoo wipes buy one for $3.33 and get two free, Ristorante frozen pizza for $2.99 each (with sale and coupon), 2 loves of sliced Italian bread that was buy one get one free and strawberry jelly. I'm sure we got a few other things but I can't think of them now.
Rite Aid: I bought 2 Jiff Peanut Butter and 1 Finish Quantumatic. My total after coupons was $2.27 and I got 2 $1 +Up Rewards!
Shaws: I took advantage of the $1 vegetables. Philadelphia Cream Cheese for cooking is on sale for $2 and I used a $1.50 off coupon here making them $0.50 each. Regular Philadelphia Cream cheese blocks are also on sale (and there are printable coupons for them) so I picked up some.
Stop and Shop: We bought a roaster chicken (sale $0.99 lb), steak strips (on sale), ground beef (on sale for $2.99 lb), corn chips, ruffled potato chips and provolone cheese.
Big Y: This was our first time shopping at Big Y. We only shopped the sale there and had to so carefully because their prices seemed high. I did get Hood sour cream for $0.50 each, Hood Half & Half for $1.50 each, 6 boxes of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta (on sale and I had coupons), Polish sausage buy 1 (for $4.29) get 2 free, Kandoo wipes buy one for $3.33 and get two free, Ristorante frozen pizza for $2.99 each (with sale and coupon), 2 loves of sliced Italian bread that was buy one get one free and strawberry jelly. I'm sure we got a few other things but I can't think of them now.
Rite Aid: I bought 2 Jiff Peanut Butter and 1 Finish Quantumatic. My total after coupons was $2.27 and I got 2 $1 +Up Rewards!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Do you want $35 in Proctor and Gamble coupons?
Then click here to fill out the form and order yours.
To all those who prayed for the snow to stop....
Thank you, we now have ice everywhere. The only way I like ice is in my drink. Not on my driveway, roof, car etc. With that said, it sure is pretty to look at.
Husband just text me and let me know that 1/2 the roads to get him home from work are closed due to flooding. It is 34 degrees out right now and melting some of the ice and snow.
Husband just text me and let me know that 1/2 the roads to get him home from work are closed due to flooding. It is 34 degrees out right now and melting some of the ice and snow.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
My Kindle review
T was nice enough to get me a Kindle for Christmas. I absolutely love it. I usually read one book a month if I'm lucky. Well, Kindle changed that for me. I read 4 books during the month of January! I haven't paid for any books yet thanks to Amazon's free ebooks. I've read:
1. Mossy Creek by Smith, Deborah, Chastain, Sandra, Dixon, Debra, Ellis, Virginia, Knight, Nancy, Ball, Donna. I loved this book! This book sucked me in and I didn't want to put it down. I did have to pay attention b/c every chapter would which person was telling the story. The ending didn't finish the "story" but left it open so you have to read the next book in the series. I was bummed to find out they (there are 7 total) weren't free too. Instead of paying for them I've requested the next two from the public library and will get them in a few days.
2. Stuck In The Middle (Sister-to-sister book 1) by Smith, Virginia. Also an easy read. This one was is a light Christian book and had some Bible verses throughout.
3. The Bride's Baby by Liz Fielding. This is book was good. I will add the following one to my list but won't read it until I have finished the series of others that I enjoyed more.
4. The Potluck Club (The Potluck Club, Book 1) by Shepherd, Linda Evans, Everson, Eva Marie. This one was good too. I like that it is set up in a small town where everyone knows everyone. A lot like the town I grew up in. This is about a group of women who started a prayer chain (and gossip group) that met once a month and named themselves "The Potluck Club". I would like to read more of this series too.
T says he read that Kindle is suppose to upgrade some time this year so that Kindle owners can download from public libraries. I sure hope so and can't wait!
1. Mossy Creek by Smith, Deborah, Chastain, Sandra, Dixon, Debra, Ellis, Virginia, Knight, Nancy, Ball, Donna. I loved this book! This book sucked me in and I didn't want to put it down. I did have to pay attention b/c every chapter would which person was telling the story. The ending didn't finish the "story" but left it open so you have to read the next book in the series. I was bummed to find out they (there are 7 total) weren't free too. Instead of paying for them I've requested the next two from the public library and will get them in a few days.
2. Stuck In The Middle (Sister-to-sister book 1) by Smith, Virginia. Also an easy read. This one was is a light Christian book and had some Bible verses throughout.
3. The Bride's Baby by Liz Fielding. This is book was good. I will add the following one to my list but won't read it until I have finished the series of others that I enjoyed more.
4. The Potluck Club (The Potluck Club, Book 1) by Shepherd, Linda Evans, Everson, Eva Marie. This one was good too. I like that it is set up in a small town where everyone knows everyone. A lot like the town I grew up in. This is about a group of women who started a prayer chain (and gossip group) that met once a month and named themselves "The Potluck Club". I would like to read more of this series too.
T says he read that Kindle is suppose to upgrade some time this year so that Kindle owners can download from public libraries. I sure hope so and can't wait!
Menu for this week
Sunday: Pasta with meatballs
Monday: Country Fried Steak and milk gravy, mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits
Tuesday: Cumin Chicken with apples, rice and green beans
Wednesday: Garlic-Herb Roast Pork, rice pilaf and peas
Thursday: Salad and Crock-pot Macaroni and Cheese (recipe in earlier post)
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Soup and Hot Sandwichs
Monday: Country Fried Steak and milk gravy, mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits
Tuesday: Cumin Chicken with apples, rice and green beans
Wednesday: Garlic-Herb Roast Pork, rice pilaf and peas
Thursday: Salad and Crock-pot Macaroni and Cheese (recipe in earlier post)
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Soup and Hot Sandwichs
More snow and a wintery mix today
I love snow! It is so pretty to look at and we love playing in as a family. It is one of the many things I love about living in New England.
What I don't like is the freezing rain we are getting today and icy mess that is to come tomorrow. It's dangerous to travel in so the girls and I stay home when it's like this. T still has to go to work so I wait nervously to hear he made it work safely and again for him to come home.
Does anyone want to swing?
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