Dinner tonight

I spent most of the day with my good friend, and grocery shopping.....since I'm trying to make dump crock pot recipes for weekends, I've got 3 lined up for this coming weekend. I forgot all about what to make for dinner tonight! So, since I was separating some ground beef for 2 other meals, I pulled aside 2 pounds of ground beef (I used 80/20 because it comes in a large 5lb package at our Aldi for under $13).
  I made my infamous Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf, its so simple, a tween could make it!

I know it doesn't look the greatest, but its good! I always put in 1 diced garlic glove, a couple shakes of each dried onion flakes, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin. Then, your typical egg as binder, & whatever you use to soak up the grease, crackers or dried bread crumbs. Bake at 375 for, I'm not sure, 35 minutes? You'll want to check it shortly after 20 minutes to see if its done. Since its so thin, it doesn't need long at all to bake. Wait till you take a bite of it.....you'll want to make it again! 

Birthday cake.....German Chocolate

My husband's birthday was at the end of July. He doesn't like to celebrate them, but I always make him a German Chocolate Cake. I've only missed 1 year, due to not having any chocolate!!
I got the recipe from here this time (as I lost my original one after this past move),  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/german-chocolate-cake--make-my-cake-recipe/index.html

4oz baker's chocolate (can also use German chocolate squares)
1/2C water
2C cake flower
1tsp baking soda
1/2tso salt
1/2lb butter, unsalted & room temp. (4 sticks)
1tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2C sugar
1/2C brown sugar
4 eggs, separated
1C buttermilk (or whole milk)
   In microwave safe bowl, add chocolate & water, cook until melted (less then 5 minutes, watch it or it'll burn). Stire until smooth, set aside. Sift together cake flour, baking soda & salt in a separate bowl; set aside.
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, cream butter, extract, & sugars until light & fluff. Add yolks, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Blend in chocolate. Add flour mixture & buttermilk until combined.
  Pour batter into 2, 9" cake pans. Bake about 30 minutes for cake, 15-20 for cupcakes.
Put layer of cake on serving plate, and spread filling on top; repeat.

What's for dinner, mom?

   I get the girls this coming weekend (I traded so they could finish school supply shopping),
All the sources for the recipes are below the recipe name, so you can check their sites out, as I'm going putting the ones we make....

  Friday, Aug. 16th, I'm making crock pot chicken & dumplings, Saturday the 17th is Shepard's Pie, and Sunday the 19th is Ranch Chicken. Today, I'll be putting together the chicken & dumplings and the Ranch chicken for the weekend, I already put together the Shepard's Pie (I don't have carrots in the fridge, so I'm putting in a can of carrots when its nearly finished).

Chicken & Dumplings
http://www.sidetrackedsarah.com/2011/10/chicken-dumplings-from-freezer-to-crockpot/

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken 
1 onion, chopped
16 ounces frozen vegetables
2 cans cream-of-chicken soup
1 can refrigerated biscuits, or one batch of drop biscuits 

Directions:
Mix chicken, onion and frozen vegetables and 2 cans of cream of chicken soup in a freezer bag.  Freeze in a freezer bag and label.
On Cooking day:
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5.  An hour before serving, shred chicken with two large forks, and drop in the biscuit dough.  Cover and cook on high for another hour. The biscuits are done when you can insert a knife and it comes out clean. They will be spongy and will brown a bit on the sides and top.
Serve in bowls, with a biscuit or two per person.
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Beef Shepherd’s Pie Recipe for your Slow Cooker
http://www.sidetrackedsarah.com/2013/01/crockpot-beef-shepherds-pie-recipe/

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef (browned)
1 medium onion (chopped
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 bag frozen peas
1 cup chopped carrots
2 t. oregano
1 t. salt
½ t. pepper
2 packages (24 oz each) mashed potatoes

Directions:  Mix all ingredients together except mashed potatoes.   Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.  Mix up mashed potatoes, the day you plan to serve the meal.  Put on top of the meat & veggie mixture and cook for 30 minutes, giving the mashed potatoes a chance to heat all the way through.   Steps to Prep this for the Freezer:    
Brown ground beef, chop onion, mince garlic.
Mix all ingredients together except mashed potatoes.  Place in freezer safe bag, label, lay flat and freeze.
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Ranch Chicken
http://onehorsethrift.blogspot.ca/

6 chicken breasts cut in half
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet ranch dressing seasoning
5 large potatoes diced

Place all ingredients in a gallon freezer bag.  Seal getting as much air out as possible.  Place in freezer and forget it!  On cooking day, place contents of bag in your crock pot.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is no longer pink and potatoes are tender.  

  As far as total amount spent on these dinners:
$5.99 for 20lbs Russet potatoes
$2.46 2pack dry Ranch dressing
$5.99 3lb bag chicken breasts (I typically try and get the bag with the most breasts, all apx same size)
$0.79 cream of mushroom soup
$0.59 frozen peas (used only half of the bag for Shepard's Pie)
$1.79 for 3lb bag of onions (I honestly forgot to add 1 in...)
For the mixed veggies in the chicken & dumpling, I'll add a couple cans of what we already have on hand close to the end....we don't care for the lima beans that are in the mixed bags.
$0.79 cream of chicken soup
$0.79 cream of chicken soup
Total: $20....tax not included since I'm using EBT

Pets too!

So, before I got internet access at home, I was wanting to make some homemade treats for our 4-legged kids. My mom found a recipe for dog cookies that has been a success with ours. He's a lab/beagle/chow mix, and knows his cookies are for little snacks throughout the day.

Dog Cookies
4Cups whole wheat flour   (too much white can gum up like glue & be very bad for doggies & kitties)
2Cups quick-cooking oatmeal
3/4Cups chunk or creamy peanut butter
2 1/2Cups hot water
And you can add 1/4Cups banana chips, or grated carrots if you like for more flavor

Mix all ingredients together (adding more hot water if needed). Knead well, roll out into 1/4" thickness. Cut into shapes. Place on greased baking sheet, bake at 350degrees for 30-40 minutes. Done....Dog Cookies :)

  Figured it does have to do with baking, but for critters! I'm planning on trying the cat treats as soon as I find where to buy wheat germ.....

Make-Your-Own Recipe links

I've been finding lots of websites that offer make-your-own recipes, like the Ranch Packets, Onion Soup Mix, ect. So I thought I'd make it easier on everyone, well, whoever sees my blog, and put them all onto one page. Some of these I've just browsed threw, others I haven't had time to look at yet, but if they're not what they say, they'll be removed.

**Mixes in a Jar, 250 recipes
http://www.mixesinajar.com/mixes/snacks/smoresquaresinajar.shtml

**Fake it Frugal   <----you'll have to look around at this site, there's myo recipes everywhere
http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/03/fake-jiffy-cornbread-mix.html

Once a Month Mom  <----I've made a few of their recipes, the myo are new to me though. There's a "new to me" post on their site for homemade pop tarts....well worth a browse!
http://onceamonthmom.com/homemade-onion-soup-mix/

One Good Thing
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/08/homemade-nesquik.html

The Galley Gourmet  <----she's got a handful or so of myo recipes, mostly breads, but still, myo
http://www.thegalleygourmet.net/2012/10/homemade-pumpkin-pie-spice.html

**My Baking Addiction <----my go-to site for baking recipes. She does ALOT from scratch, & does have a bunch of MYO recipes that are wonderful
http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/homemade-chili-and-taco-seasoning/

One Orange Giraffe     I only saw this one particular recipe for cream of something soup, but, I plan on looking for more on it when I have more time
http://1orangegiraffe.blogspot.com/2011/07/anything-you-wanna-call-it-casserole.html

Chef Tess, Bakerese, I plan on going threw these meals in a jar, it seems they're all dehydrated foods, and you add liquid ingredients when ready to cook. May do some once I get another dehydrator, but...we'll see!
http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/p/52-method-recipe.html

**Budget 101, I've used their site for many things in the past, very good place to go
http://www.budget101.com/frugal/mix-recipes-166/

Self Reliance sounds like a good site, haven't looked at it thoroughly yet, but plan to!
http://selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com/2011/08/tis-seasonings.html

Cheap, Healthy, Good   <-----Well! I'm not the only one with this idea! Only, she's posted all the links to recipes she's actually made! The sites I'm posting, yes, I've tried some, but not all...will update as I do try them though
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2008/02/save-money-on-seasonings-myom-make-your.html

Back to school recipes....

Because school is starting, & weekends with my daughters have shortened again, I'm going to try & get into crock pot dump cooking, & make-your-own type meals with the girls. I go grocery shopping this coming Sunday, so I'm gathering recipes this week that'll cover a full month so I don't have to worry about "what's for lunch, or dinner" when they're here. Finding meals for my husband & I is simple, so I'm just going to do my shopping how I always do, & just find recipes according to that. Like this one, I'm running low on oatmeal anyway, so its added to my list....I found this one on Pintrest this morning: I did tweak the directions a little so my daughters can just grab a bag, dump in a bowl, & heat. My 11y/o always is up before I am, so I try & have healthy things for her to eat that she can do on her own.
   As soon as I walk my happy butt over there, usually you can get free icing buckets from the Casey's General Store/Gas station. My mom got a good amount for her Girl Scouts troop last year, so I'm trying to get at least 10 of them so I have enough food storage containers w/o buying them! If you don't have a Casey's, check with your local stations that has a deli in there.

Oatmeal baggies
http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2013/04/homemade-instant-oatmeal-packets/

Ingredients

• 10 cups of quick oats
• 2 cups of brown sugar
• 1 cup of non dairy coffee creamer OR powdered milk (note: if using powdered milk, please consume the mix within one month since it is a dairy product, it has a tendency to mold)

Instructions

Place 7 cups of quick oats into a large bowl. Puree the remaining 3 cups in a blender or food processor. Stir the pureed oatmeal into non-pureed quick oats. Stir in the brown sugar & non dairy coffee creamer or powdered milk. Package in resealable plastic bags with 1/2 cup of instant oatmeal mix in each one -OR- store the entire mix in an airtight container, scooping out 1/2 cup of mix each time you would like to make a bowl of oatmeal.

To prepare oatmeal: Mix 1/2 cup of oatmeal mix with 3/4 cup of water. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on your microwave.

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  Here's a recipe from OMAC for homemade pop tarts. I plan on adding these in my weekend menu for the girls.
Homemade Pop Tarts

Author/Source:

Tricia @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

Pop Tarts:

• 1    box refrigerated pie crusts (2 per pkg)
• 1    cups Jam/Jelly (any flavor)

Glaze:

• 1.25    cup powdered sugar
• 4    Tablespoons milk
• optional sprinkles

Directions:

Using a pizza cutter trim the edges so that you have a square/rectangle to work with. Using the pizza cutter divide each rectangle into 4 squares. Place and spread 1-2 Tablespoons of jam/jelly on each square in the middle. Fold over the dough and seal edges with a fork. (With extra cut off dough, roll out and make 2 additional squares). Place on cookie sheet for baking. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes. After baking remove for cooling and prepare glaze by mixing in milk until desired consistency. Spread on top of pop tarts and allow to cool. 

Freezing Directions:

Once cool, flash freeze. When partially frozen place in gallon freezer bag for storage. To serve: Thaw or heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes or heat in oven. If adding glaze DO NOT put in toaster.

Servings: 10

  Don't forget! This is just the first of many! Now, please note, my girls are only here every other weekend, so if you need to double/triple, whatever, you see, go for it!

  

Life....and baking (& cooking).....

Well, I know I haven't posted much at all in the past, oooo, year? But, life got away from me, and I lost all internet access. Its kind of hard to upload pics at the library...in fact, impossible I think.
   But, now, we were given a desktop for our anniversary this year, & I  was able to get the internet hooked up. One problem, I won't be able to upload pics until next month, when I splurge on a digital camera! The following month I maybe getting a tablet, so I can take pics & upload instantly, instead of using the desktop.....we'll see.
  However, I'll be adding some recipes soon of things I HAVE made over the past year, as I find them. I'm now able to start saving my recipes online, so I don't have to loose papers, or have them ripped (which is why I want a tablet, so I can access them from the new site I found, Live Documents, just do a Google search, its similar to Microsoft Word, but browser based; I plan on transferring most, if not all recipes to it). so for those who used to follow me, if you still do, keep your eyes open for the recipes! I'm sorry pics aren't included yet, but hopefully they will be soon.
  Life is becoming more stressful as of late, so I'll probably be baking more and more......but, I do have another Salsa garden in (tomatoes & peppers), so I'll be adding a couple salsa recipes I've made. I won't be sharing my personal one, but I'll put up the Ball version. I follow that one, but tweak it to whatever heat degree I want.

So, I had my first attempt at water bath canning. I made Apple Jelly, from Tall Clover Farms. www.tallcloverfarms.com/117/apple-jelly-recipe

                3lbs of regular red Jonathon Apples, from Aldi.

                     Cook them down to a mush.

                          Strain very well, if you don't have a metal strainer, us a colander with a paper towel, it                 works nicely, but is a slow process.

                             The 2 pics above is what it looks like before bubble stage.

                              At this bubble stage, your nearly done! If your using a candy therm, it'll read about 220degrees, otherwise, do the cold plate test, works nicely (but I forgot to take pictures..)

                   My jelly still hasn't set, however, when I make more in a couple weeks, I'm going to be removing the syrup, and resealing these jars, as well as sealing the syrup with the other jelly I'm going to attempt. Hope these pictures help!

  

Baking......busy...not enough eggs...ACK! NO BAKING FOR OVER A WEEK?

Ok, I haven't baked since, a week ago? But, I do plan on baking again this week, it'll be white & wheat bread. I'll be posting pictures the following week as my girls will be with me & we'll be having my oldest's birthday party (its this Saturday but they'll be with their dad), so we're doing hers at our house on the 22nd instead. I was going to make S'Mores cupcakes, but forgot a few ingredients, so unless I can get those by them, I'll be making something else (and yes, pics will go up!)
  Have a great weekend!
   Update:
   Ok, so bad mom, I forgot to add those ingredients to my grocery list, so I'm not able to make the S'mores this time, but I will next time! This time I'm making chocolate cupcakes with bright pink & purple icing. I'm cheating though with the icing to save eggs, by using a tub of it. But I'll try to remember & take pictures before they get devoured by my girl's & their cousins.
  Update of an update:
 So I fibbed, I didn't get a picture of the finished product, but they were good. I got the recipe out of one of my personal cookbooks, which I'll have to post the name of it later on.......

Most recent baking treat

  Lesson learned: Don't make an Angelfood cake in a bundt pan....always, always, always use your spring-form pan!

So, I did this Pumpkin Angelfood Cake from Love From the Oven's site, it'll be posted on the 2nd page.
  It was so yummy! However, I couldn't find my springform pan, so I made it in a bundt pan, same results, just shorter & it stuck to the pan. So, next time, I'll be doing it in the springform. Also, hub made a wonderful Custard Sauce from Allrecipes.com only thing is, reducing it, you need more yolks then milk for a thicker sauce.
  Here are some pictures from it: