Homemade Granola Bars

I've been wanting to make a healthy snack for Zman's kindergarten for a long time now.  And ever since he told me he had fortune cookies and rice krispies bars for a snack at school, it made me want to give the kids a better, healthy snack.

So, Zman was the "big cheese" on Wednesday, and I got out my oatmeal and made these tasty treats!

Homemade Granola Bars

Mix Together in a Small Bowl: 
1/3 cup brown sugar 
2/3 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey 
2 tsp. vanilla 
2tbsp hot water 

Then Mix in a Large Bowl: 
2 1/2 cups oats 
1 cup whole wheat flour 
1/4 cup wheat germ or wheat flour 
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 tbsp. sesame seeds 
1 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit 
1/2 cup chocolate chips 
1/2 cup coconut 

Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients 

Lastly, press into a 9x13 pan 
Bake at 350 for 20 min or until light brown 
cut into bars while warm and allow to cool completely 

Finally ENJOY!

Christmas 2013

Each year around Christmas, my boss, Lisa, asks me to help think of a gift to get or make for all 70 employees on our floor at the hospital.  Each year, I try to be frugal and thrifty, while making the gift look classy and clever.  This year I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought to try it out.

Crock Pot Cinnamon Almonds

 1 1/2 C. Sugar 

3 Tbsp. Cinnamon 

1/8 tsp. Salt 

1 Egg White 

2 tsp. Vanilla

 3 Cups Almonds

What you need to do is whisk the egg white and vanilla in a large bowl.  Then add the almonds to that bowl.  In a separate bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon, and salt together.

Turn the crock pot on high.  Pour the sugar mix over the almonds, and then put in the crock pot.  Cook for about 2 hours, stirring ever 20-30 minutes, so the almonds don't burn.

Place them on wax paper to cool, then store in an air-tight container.

Then you are all set with lots of fun treats to share!

I added fun tags that said "We'd go NUTS without you on our team!"

 p.s. - If you're wondering where I got the bags from - I got them at Party City for $1.oo for 10 bags.

Crockpot: Pumpkin Spice Latte

This recipe was too good NOT to share with you all, especially since the weather is just right for a cup. I found this recipe through A Year Of Slow Cooking's blog.

You combine these ingredients in a slow cooker:

-2 c. milk

-2 Tbsp. canned pumpkin

-2 Tbsp. white sugar

-2 Tbsp. vanilla

-1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice

(or 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. cloves, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg and a pinch of ground ginger)

-3/4 c. strong brewed coffee

This just would be a great recipe if you're having friends over!

I loved Iced Coffee!

I love Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee (especially the carmel mocha one). So last night I decided that I would try to find a recipe on how to make it. A lot of the recipes online say to brew the coffee and then store it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Today, I check my home page (www.moneysavingmom.com) and there's a post on how to make your own Iced Coffee! How weird is that? Suzanne's blog, Pie Birds, Buttons, and Muddy Puddles, has a step by step guide to making DD's Iced Coffee. Check it out!

Homemade Pretzels

Photo taken by Amber

My sister has been so helpful, that she took on the task of making these pretzels. I was her coach along the way. We decided to not make the "bites" instead we just made our own creations. This recipe was taken from Two Peas and Their Pod's blog, and they sure did turn out tasty!

Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites

Adapted from Bobby Flay

Soft Pretzels: 1 1/2 cups warm water 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1 package active dry yeast 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour Vegetable oil 3 quarts water 3/4 cup baking soda 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water Coarse sea salt

For the Pretzels: Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape. Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make the pretzel bites. Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches. We did about 15 bites at a time. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. Serve with cheese sauce, recipe below.

Cheddar cheese sauce: ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter ½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour ½ cup milk 8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

For the cheese sauce:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar cheese until smooth and all of the cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

*If you want to make cinnamon and sugar pretzel bites-instead of adding salt, sprinkle the bites with cinnamon and sugar. For the frosting mix-soft cream cheese-about 3 T, powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a little bit of milk. Whisk together. Add more milk if it is too thick, if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. I don’t measure. I just guess until the consistency is right.*

Busy Baking Day

I was a busy girl today, let me tell ya! I can't remember the last time I baked/cooked pretty much all day long. It was very rewarding in the end, though, having my husband come home and say "This house smells fantastic!"

This morning, Pudge helped me get started by making some homemade granola, yum! We went out last week to pick up all the ingredients, we just needed more honey. I found a bunch of different kinds at the County Market on Duncan Rd. here in Champaign. My husband suggested we use local honey, because of the benefits it could have on allergies.

We made enough granola to fit into 2 (9x13) pans!

Then we found this huge Kellogg's container to fit it all into. I would have to say that that's equal to about 4 boxes of store-bought granola!

I've also been on a kick of making our own sandwich bread. Since we went to Sam's Club and got flour and yeast, why shouldn't I? The recipe I have makes about 2 1/2 loaves. I got the recipe from The Frugal Girl, and you can check it out here. She also wrote a great article on comparing the price of store-bought bread to homemade bread, I highly recommend reading it.

I also made some homemade pumpkin rolls, and those were equally as delicious. Those were made for a family who just had a baby and is a part of the Mothers and More group I'm involved in.

I also made that family a Beef and Barley Soup in the crock-pot. So our house was smelling great by the time the rolls were done!

So with all that being said, I feel like such a home-maker! It's a great feeling knowing where your food comes from. Have you made anything from scratch this week? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

Homemade Donuts

I wanted to share a recipe that has been passed down from my husband's side of the family. Homemade donuts!! It's super simple to make them, and fairly cheap.

All you need to make these tasty treats is a package of biscuits from the store, vegetable oil, and sugar.

All you need to do it use a bottle cap to make a hole in the middle of the biscuit, and you've got donut holes!

While you are preparing the biscuits for donuts, heat up the oil in a saucepan on the stove.

Then add the biscuits to the oil. When one side of the biscuit is cooked, then flip it over and let the other side cook.

When they are cooked, place them on a plate with sugar on it and roll them to coat them.

Then, eat up!

Recipe: Turkey Sliders with Homemade Buns!

I got adventurous the other day when Z-man asked me if we could have hamburgers for dinner. My son never requests anything for meals (except cereal) so when he mentioned this, I was all for it!

I looked in our freezer and saw that we had frozen ground turkey, so I quickly took that out to thaw and then promptly went to the internet for a recipe. Here's what I found:

Turkey Sliders

20 oz. ground turkey

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove of minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic from a jar)

1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Combine the ground turkey, the cheese and all seasonings. Mix together well. Shape mixture into 16 small patties. Place patties on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Side note: Our sliders came out of the oven with a lot of grease on the pan, so I just drained that and stuck them back in the oven for a few more minutes.

Homemade Slider Buns

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. As soon as milk simmers, remove from heat and stir in shortening until melted. Set aside to cool slightly (to about 105°F to 115°F).
2. Add warm milk mixture and remaining ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix on lowest speed until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium low and mix until dough is smooth and springy, about 4 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, add dough, and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down dough and turn onto a clean surface. Divide dough into 18 (1-1/2-ounce) pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth, round bun (keep the rest covered with the towel as you work). To do so, cup your hand around the dough, press down very lightly, and roll the dough against the surface to form a bun. Slightly flatten bun and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat to make 18 buns.
5. Set buns aside in a warm area until slightly risen and puffy (note that they will not double in size), about 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°F and arrange the rack in the middle.
6. When buns have risen, bake in the oven until they are golden brown, crusty, and have an internal temperature of 190°F, about 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a rack, and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Thank you to CHOW for the recipe for these Slider Buns! They turned out great!

Here are some fun after photos of our Sliders:

Did you try a recipe this week that was out of the blue? If so, I'd love to hear how it turned out!

Meal Planning

I have gone back and forth about posting what meals we make from my grocery trips, because our family is so inconsistent with meals. We are HUGE leftover fans, so whenever we make a meal, it takes us about 3 or 4 days to finish that meal off. I think it's because we have two toddlers who eat like birds, so that leaves the real eating to my husband and I.

I recently went to a meeting with the Mothers and More group that I'm involved in, and the topic was Meal Planning. It seemed like a great deal of the moms there did not have meals planned out beforehand. Which made me feel better, because I'm that way too. I'm trying to get better though. So here's what I've come up with for this week's menu:

Breakfast:

French Toast

Scrambled Eggs and Toast

Omelets

Cereal

Cereal

And More Cereal!

Lunch:

Usually leftovers from the night before dinner

Fish Sticks

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Canned Soup

Dinner:

Pizza Rounds

Chili

Tacos

Baked Potatoes

Chicken Salad

Spicy Cajun Chicken

We usually eat out once or twice a week, depending on if we're running errands or what-not.

I read once on someone's blog that they try to stick with a general theme each week, instead of beating yourself up about having to think of specific meals. Her idea was to simplify the meals to:

Soup and Salad

Pasta Meal

Chicken Meal

Beef Meal

Vegetarian Meal

Mexican Dish

Pizza

A couple of websites/blogs that I've found helpful or interesting when it comes to meal planning are:

OrganizedHome.com

MealsMatter.org

Meal Planning Strategies

Cupcakes From Scratch

I have never made cupcakes from scratch, until Pudge's birthday. They were so easy and simple to make, that I had to share the recipe on my blog. I got the recipe from a cookbook that I got when my husband and I got married. It's titled, Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Bridal Edition.

Marble Cupcakes

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter

1 1/4 c. milk

3 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

3 large eggs

3 Tbsp. baking cocoa

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cupcake pans, or use cupcake liners.

2.) Beat all ingredients, except cocoa and baking soda, with an electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high seed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

3.) Before pouring batter into pans, remove 1 3/4 cups of the batter; reserve. Pour remaining batter into pans. Stir 3 Tbsp. cocoa and 1/8 tsp. baking soda into reserved batter. Drop chocolate batter by tablespoonsfuls randomly onto yellow batter. Cut through batters with knife for marbled design. Bake and cool.

Of course, I had my two helpers in tow. Here they are mixing the vanilla and chocolate batter to make marble cupcakes.

Pudge loved the batter, as you can see. He wouldn't stop licking his fingers, so I gave him the spatula.

The final results were shown here at the party. My husband, my sister, and I did try them before we frosted them...just to make sure they were tasty, and they were! My husband, who doesn't eat cake, had 2 of them!!

Great way to save a little money instead of buying a store-bought cake!

Homemade Bread From Scratch

Have you ever tried making bread from scratch before? If you haven't, I've got a recipe that you should try out. This recipe does not require a Kitchen Aid or a Bread Machine, so if you've got two hands, it'll turn out fine.

White Sandwich Bread

5-6 c. all-purpose flour

1 pkg. (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast

2 1/4 c. milk (you can also use water)

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. butter or vegetable oil

2 tsp. salt

1.) In a large mixer bowl, combine 2 1/2 c. of flour and yeast.

2.) In a saucepan or in the microwave, heat milk sugar, butter, and salt to 115-120 degrees.

3.) Add hot liquids to flour and yeast. Beat at low speed until combined, then beat at high speed for 3 minutes.

4.) Add enough additional flour to make a soft, but kneadable dough, and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

5.) Put dough back into mixing bowl, cover with wet tea towel, and let rise 1 hour.

6.) Punch dough down, divide into two pieces, and roll into a rectangle, about 6"x18". Starting from the short end, roll up jelly-roll style and place into two greased 4x8 inch loaf pans. Cover with wet tea towel and let rise 30-40 minutes, or until doubled.

7.) Bake in a preheated 350 degree over for 25-30 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool before slicing.

Recipe taken from The Frugal Girl.

Amazon: $6.80 Deceptively Delicious Cookbook

If you've never tried a recipe from Jessica Seinfeld's, Deceptively Delicious Cookbook, you really ought to! I first saw her on Oprah one day, and since then have checked it out from our library, and have gotten the cookbook for Christmas. It's a great cookbook on how to sneak in healthy ingredients to have your kids and family eat healthier. Our favorite recipe in that cookbook is the french toast with sweet potatoes snuck in there!

Today on Amazon, Seinfeld's cookbook is half off! It costs only $6.80! I highly recommend checking this out, especially if you are fighting your kids to eat veggies.

Thanks, BeCentsable!

Sweet Potato Fries

I bought a bunch of sweet potatoes the week of Thanksgiving, because they were only $0.25/lb. I've been meaning to make a bunch of sweet potato chips, but instead, we used a couple to make sweet potato fries.

All you need to do is preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Peel the potatoes and cut them in half:

Then cut into 3/4 inch chunks and toss into a plastic bag to season:

Then add about 1/4 c. olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Zip bag shut, and toss around:

Then lay them on cookie sheet and make sure they aren't touching. If they do touch, it will make them mushy.

Then place them in the oven for 15 minutes, and when the timer beeps, turn them over. Place them in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Then within a half an hour, you have homemade sweet potato fries! Much healthier than normal fries.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Recipe for Chili

We made chili for our son's birthday party, and it was a hit! I added a couple of ingredients (that I've put in italics) that wasn't in the original recipe. I had a couple people ask for the recipe, so here it is.

Favorite Chili

2 16-oz. cans red kidney beans, drained

2 14 1/2-oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 can chopped tomatoes and green chilies

2 cans black beans

2 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

1 green pepper, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. pepper

2 1/2 tsp. salt

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker in order listed. Stir once.

2. Cover. Cook on Low 10-12 hours, or High 5-6 hours.

This recipe came from Berenice M. Wagner from Dodge City, KS.

Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook.

Carrot Cake for Z-man's Birthday

I decided instead of a super sugary cake bought from the store, that I'd make a carrot cake!! I got the recipe from Trisha Yearwood's cookbook. I don't know if it's illegal to post the recipe, but here it goes. So many of you have asked for the recipe, and it's SO good!

Cake

3 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. corn oil

4 large eggs

1 Tbsp. vanilla

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 1.2 c. walnuts, finely chopped

1 1/2 c. coconut

1 1/2 c. pureed carrots (about 6 medium, boiled)

3/4 c. crushed pineapple, drained

Preheat the oven to 350'F. Grease the bottom of 3 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, line with circles of parchment paper, and grease the paper with cooking spray.

With an electric mixer, cream the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture. Add the walnuts, coconut, carrot puree, and pineapple, and beat until smooth. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool the layers in the pans for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of each pan and turn the layers out onto wire racks that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cool the layers completely before frosting.*

*After the layers have cooled, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. They are easier to handle and cut in half the next day. Also, to handle as little as possible, put the first layer of cake on the plate you intend to store it on, slice it in half, ease a piece of parchment between the layers, and lift the top portion off. Frost the bottom slice, and then add the next layer. Continue until the entire cake is frosted.*

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature

6 c. confectioners' sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. walnuts, finely chopped

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and continue beating until fully combined. Add the vanilla.

Slice each layer horizontally in half using an electric knife. Frost each layer, the sides, and the top of the cake. Press the chopped walnuts into the sides of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yearwood's Carrot Cake Video

Beef Barley Soup/Stew

My mom gave me this recipe and we love it here, especially my two little boys. And it's chuck full of vegetables! I thought I'd share it here on my blog before I forget to. Try it, you'll be pleasantly surprised!

1 lb. beef stew meat

3 cans beef broth

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 carrots

4 peeled potatoes

2 stalks of celery

1 medium onion

1 box quick cooking barley

Put stew meat in slow cooker - you can also take the meat directly from the freezer to slow cooker. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Pour beef broth into slow cooker, cover and cook on high for about 5-6 hours (or until your house starts smelling yummy!). Take the lid off a couple times to break apart the meat and give it a good stir.

Next, cut up carrots, dice up the onion, celery and cut up potatoes. Heat water in large pot to boiling. Add vegetables and cook until almost tender, because you will need to cook the barley with the veggies, and then the veggies might get too soft.

I cover the pot and set the burner on low till veggies are almost tender. Now add about 1 to 1/4 cup quick-cooking barley to the pot of vegetables. Cover again and cook till barley puffs up and is tender.

Turn the slow cooker on "low" and taste the beef broth in the slow-cooker. If it has a bland taste, add some beef flavoring. I like to use beef soup base. Add about 1 Tbsp. at at time, till you get a good solid beef taste. Now drain your veggies and barley and add it to the stew meat and broth in the slow cooker. Stir gently and taste. Let simmer together in the slow cooker for maybe 15-20 minutes or so. Enjoy!