check it out

*game board storage art
*beautiful kitchen
*grocery planner
*ruffled scarf
*dollar store version of ws glass hurricane
*quiet books
*recycle a skirt into an apron

check it out

*tips for the tidy home
*sheet music side table
*playing
*a well stocked pantry (also has great menus and recipes for food storage)
*made by girl craft room
*redo ironing board
*bible carrier for kiddos
*envelope wallet and tutorial
*diy pinecone seating card holders
*diy charging station

brownies to die for

i thought these brownies were amazing! if you like coconut and pecans you'll love these. i especially liked how moist they were. i will try and get a picture next time i make these because i will be making them again!

Brownies To Die For
recipe found at allrecipes

Ingredients
• 1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (16 ounce) container coconut pecan frosting
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Mix the brownie mix according to box directions, omitting 1/2 of the oil asked for. Stir in the sour cream and coconut pecan frosting. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven, or until done. Be careful not to overbake, or they will harden and be impossible to eat! About 5 minutes before brownies are done, remove from oven, and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top along with chopped pecans. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and use a spatula to spread the melted chocolate chips over the top to frost the brownies.

menu plan 1/21-1/27

Thursday: chicken cordon bleu with alfredo sauce
*pasta
*squash
*fruit salad

Friday: out to eat for date night
dessert: cheesecake topped brownies

Saturday: homemade pizza
*green salad

Sunday: hubby's in charge

Monday: best ever meatloaf
*potatoes
*carrots
*biscuits

treat: pistachio cake

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: asian chicken bbq
*broccoli
*fumi salad

check it out

*diy laundry system for small spaces
*photographing your hobbies
*diy fabric covered headboard
*organize your kids schoolwork
*keep organized with calendars
*organize your bills in a box
*make your own pom poms
*felt mr. potato head
*freezer cooking: what can you freeze?
*montly chore jars

check it out

*abc burlap magnets tutorial
*gathered pillow covers
*vanity tray earring display
*daily quick cleaning checklist
*entertainment center to child's kitchen
*how to slipcover a sofa
*diy burp cloth
*family memory game
*minimize freezer burn

menu plan 1/14- 1/20

Thursday: out to eat for date night

Friday: chicken and spinach alfredo lasagna
*green salad
*breadsticks
dessert: brownies to die for

Saturday: chicken chimichangas
*corn
*fresh fruit
*chips and salsa

Sunday: hubbys in charge

Monday: sweet chili
*cornbread
*salad or fruit
treat: pistachio cake

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: sweet and sour meatballs ( in the crockpot)
*rice
*veggie
*fruit

Copycat Winger's Sticky Fingers

my husband absolutely loved these! i really liked them too. i would like to try the sauce on a hamburger. i am also going to try the sauce with grilled chicken, and homemade chicken fingers. oh and my husband also suggested the sauce would go well as a chinese chicken dish served with rice. i think i'll try this sauce with this recipe and this recipe. if you keep a bag of breaded chicken tenders on hand in the freezer, its a great quick fix recipe!


photo source

Winger's Copy Cat Sauce for sticky fingers (or what ever you like it on)
recipe found at real mom kitchen

**Covers about 8 sticky fingers
3 Tbsp. Franks Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce... no other sauce will taste as good)
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water

Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a sauce pot until all the sugar dissolves ( I brought it to a boil and let it boil for a minute or two). That's it.
You can use it to coat wings, popcorn chicken, etc. I used Tyson breaded chicken strips. You can get a big box of them at Sam's Club or just get them at your local grocery store. Once you chicken is cooked pour sauce over or put chicken in a container with a lid, pour sauce over the chicken, cover with the lid and shake to coat chicken in the sauce.

Ranch Dipping Sauce

1 pk Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

Make according to package directions, except substitute buttermilk for the milk.

bowtie chicken pasta salad

photo source

Bowtie Chicken Salad (I made half of this recipe)
recipe found at real mom kitchen

16oz. Bowtie pasta, boiled until tender
6 large chicken breasts, boiled till cooked, cut into bite size pieces.
3 can mandarin oranges, drained (I would up this to 4 cans)
2 cups water chestnuts, drained (I left these out)
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped (left out)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3/4 cup honey roasted peanuts (I used a mixture of honey roasted cashews and peanuts)
6oz. cranberries (left out)
10oz. spinach (add spinach before serving, I would leave this out)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (I would skip these)

Dressing
1 cup oil (i will try using less next time)
1/2 tsp salt
6 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup white whine vinegar (I used red)
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Whisk all dressing ingredients together
Combine all ingredients except spinach (I’d reserve a little of the dressing to toss in before serving). Place overnight in refrigerator in zip-lock bag.
Before serving: Mix together zip-lock bag ingredients and spinach…serve (I would skip this of just serve the salad on the spinach to make it look pretty)

check it out

* speed up dinner with these easy tips
*meal ideas for pre cooked meats
*freezing food: a few tips
*four generations baby quilt
*make your own magnet board
*tackle clutter with a to do list
*felt vegetable tutorial
*superhero cape tutorial

menu plan 1/7-1/13

Thursday: ranch chicken wraps
*green salad
*pan fried potatoes

Friday: bowtie chicken pasta
*rolls
dessert: blueberry dump cake

Saturday: french onion soup
*green salad

Sunday: roast
*mashed potatoes with gravy
*carrots
*rolls
*jello

Monday: sticky fingers
*green salad or veggie
*fresh fruit
treat: chocolate peanut butter cup cookies

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: melt in your mouth porkchops ( in the crockpot)
*green salad or veggie (green beans)
*rice

beef taco bake

this recipe is certainly not the best recipe i've ever had but it was tasty and a great one for using up tomato soup. i would really like to try it substituting the ground beef for chili con carne. i would also like to try it using macaroni noodles in place of the tortillas to make it more food storage friendly.

photo source

Beef Taco Bake

recipe found at real mom kitchen

1 pound ground beef
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s Condensed Tomato Soup (regular or 25% Less Sodium)
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup milk
6 flour tortillas (8-inch) OR 8 corn tortilla (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces (I use my pizza cutter to do this)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it’s well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat.
Stir the soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and half the cheese in the skillet. Spoon the beef mixture into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish.
Bake at 400°F. for 30 minutes or until the beef mixture is hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. (I put it back in the oven for 5 min to get the cheese nice and melty)

*to make it a stovetop meal skip the baking part and serve warm and heated out of a skillet

Food Storage items used: tomato soup, salsa, could substitute beef for beans or chili con carne, could substitute milk for evaporated milk or powdered milk, could substitute tortillas for cooked macaroni noodles

mom's sloppy joes

real mom kitchen has done it again! seriously her recipes are fantastic, we must have the same taste ( i think we both like things a little on the sweet side). these sloppy joes were the best i've ever had, and i've tried about 2 or 3 recipes, but this one is my favorite! i did end up adding a tad bit more bbq sauce and i used sweet baby ray's honey bbq sauce because it is our favorite.


photo source

Mom’s Sloppy Joes

recipe found at real mom kitchen

1 pound hamburger
1/4-1/2 cup onion chopped (could use dried onion)
1 can condensed tomato soup
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp or more barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns
8 slices of american cheese, if desired

Brown together the hamburger and onion. Add the soup, sugar and barbecue sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. You can add more barbecue sauce to make it the consitency you like. Serve on buns

Food Storage items used: dried onion, tomato soup, sugar, bbq sauce

flourless peanut butter cookies

this is a really thick and rich peanut butter cookie. if you like peanut butter you'll love these cookies. i didn't take a picture of the ones i made because they were too thick to shape. i also really liked these cookies because they were still soft and chewy the next day! this would also be a great food storage recipe. if you substituted the egg for powdered egg then you would be able to use all food storage ingredients!

photo source
(mine looked nothing like this)



Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
recipe adapted from allrecipes


Ingredients
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup white sugar (used ¼ c. white sugar and ½ c. brown sugar instead)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool. Recipe doesn't make very many, so you could double recipe as you desire.

*could try adding ½ tsp. baking soda
*still really soft the next day!

food storage ingredients used: peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, (could use powdered egg)

eating from my pantry challenge: week 1 review

well week one was kind of an unusual week because of new years eve and new years day we had been fed by family. we also had a more than usual amount of leftovers in our fridge this week so i didn't get to as many recipes as i had planned but here is a review of what i did make:

thursday (new years eve): fed by family
*made flourless peanut butter cookies ( super thick but yummy, will add this recipe to my file)

friday (new years day): fed by family

saturday: leftovers

sunday: leftovers

monday: mom's sloppy joes (really good, will add to my recipe file)
*old fashioned potato salad ( just okay i've had better, will not add to recipe file)
*cruncy peanut butter swirl brownies (again just okay, will not add to recipe file)

tuesday: beef taco bake ( not the most wonderful recipe, but a good one for tomato soup and leftover salsa, will keep for future tomato soup)
*frozen corn

so there you have it. i have managed to clear out some more room in the fridge from using up some leftover ingredients.

this is what i have used up so far:

*celery
*pickle relish
*frozen corn ( i have a lot of frozen veggies right now that need to be used up)
*salsa
*bbq sauce
*tomato soup
*peanut butter
*brownie mix

this is what i still need to use up:

*horseradish sauce
*teriyaki sauce
*hot sauce
*grape jelly
*peanut butter ( i've knocked out two jars so far but i've got about 4 more to be used by march)
*jello
*cake and brownie mixes
*evarporated milk
*beef broth
*cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup
*tomato soup
*pork and beans
*canned peaches
*frozen veggies, fruit, rolls, and various meats

wow that list is super long. i'll be posting my menu plan for this week next.