Freezer Treats!

Hello one & all...spent the afternoon at a friends house. Had a nice lunch and a chat while the children played. They were so quiet and content that I admit (shamefacedly!) that I was mildly surprised to see my 7 yo boy washing hands for lunch...seems I actually forgot he was there! (I know, I know...not something one generally admits but it is kind of funny and quite the compliment to his fine, fine behavior!) Came home and, after refereeing the two older ones (seemed they used up all their goodness at the friend's house), I made freezer treats. Use whatever you like...my littles seem to like yogurt combinations the best. Large tubs of yogurt from Aldi or Walmart (a couple generous spoonfuls), frozen fruit of your choice and enough juice to make the blender blades spin. Viola! Figured ours out to 16 cents each. Full serving of fruit, calcium and NO preservatives.

Make & enjoy! Blessings, Eve

Cheerios Breakfast Cookies

Hello one & all...made these last night after it cooled down a bit. the kiddos had them for breakfast and all gave them two thumbs up!

Cheerios Breakfast Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups oats (old-fashioned or quick)
3 cups cheerios cereal
1/4 - 1/3 cups add-ins...mini chips, diced dried fruit, etc.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat sugar, canola oil, peanut butter, water, vanilla and egg till well blended. (I used a whisk & it worked fine.) Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, oats and add-ins. Very gently fold in Cheerios. Drop the sticky dough onto ungreased cookie sheets by the rounded 1/4 cupful. Flatten and shape dough with fingers to roundish shape.

Bake cookies in preheated oven for 11-14 minutes or till slightly browned on the edges. Cool completely before serving or storing. Store in an airtight container or Ziploc. Can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Makes 20 breakfast sized cookies.

***Nest time I am going to try replacing 1/2 the oil and a bit of the sugar with applesauce. Would make for an even moister texture and less fat. Try a mix of dried fruits and raisins for an extra nutritional punch!

Make and enjoy! Blessings, Eve

Best Chicken EVER!!!

Hello one & all...made the best chicken EVER for supper tonight and wanted to share ASAP! (This recipe is adapted from the original on CannyWomen.com)

Crunchy Oven-Fried Chicken

3-4 pounds frying chicken...I used 1/4's and disjointed for drummies and thighs
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
2-3 cups crushed corn flakes
2 medium cooking onions, chopped
1/3 cup fresh, chopped parsley - or 2 TBSP dried
1 TBSP dried thyme
2 TBSP dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Melt butter in a 9x13 pan in oven. Meanwhile prepare chicken by dipping in the milk and rolling in the cornflakes. Place in pan skin side down. Combine chopped onions and herbs and top over the chicken with the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully flip chicken pieces and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes till tender and juices run clear. Topping will fall off but it's OK...you'll see. Serve chicken with rice or noodles and put some onion mixture on top...This is so, so, so very yummy and will be served again and again in our house! Warning: This is NOT low-fat chicken...tee-hee!

Make and enjoy! Blessings, Eve

Toddler Winter Boot Blowout!

Hello one & all...not my usual kind of post but Lands End.com is having a great sale on toddler boots. We bought these same boots for $19.99 (on sale even then!) and they are worth every penny. Easy on & off and super warm. They have toddler sized 12 and 13 for $3.50 and free shipping with code SCHOOLSOUT and PIN#1723. Look under shoes/sale/Snow Flurry. Then click on toddler sizes. (The kid/big kid are on sale as well but at $14.99.) Hope someone can use this info to get a good deal for the upcoming winter (or future winters!) Blessings, Eve

Give gardening a chance!

Hello one & all...been planning and dreaming big dreams for my garden this year. We already added strawberries and there are flowers aplenty (even on our newest plantings) so I am hopeful for a small, yet tasty, first harvest! I am taking a different approach this year and concentrating on a few new items...potatoes and onions will be new items for us. I will definitely go with eggplant as it was outrageous at the farmer's market last year. Tomatoes, peppers (hot and sweet), short row of beans, short row of edible pod peas and carrots. I have a fairly large garden and, once again, a decent segment will be devoted to salads and spinach.

I am most definitely fine-tuning my preservation thoughts and will only freeze and/or can what I am certain will be eaten. (I have a few items still clogging the shelves that simply were not favorites and did not get reached for quite often enough.) No more fancy soups, picklings or sauces here. I figure better to give excess harvest away than waste time, money and energy putting it by and then never eating it...better still for someone else to enjoy it.

Still uncertain whether gardening is worth the effort for you and your family? Check out this article from Mother Earth News. (My new, favorite magazine and e-newsletter!)

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/Square-Foot-Gardening-Food.aspx?utm_content=05.12.10+SLCS&utm_campaign=SLCS&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email

Read and enjoy! Blessings, Eve

Buffalo Wing Turkey Burgers

Hello one & all...have a new recipe for you. Different and kind of fun! We served these to new friends and they were a hit with children and adults. Don't let the ground turkey scare you off if you are new to this frugal, versatile, healthy alternative to ground red meat. Very flavorful, very moist recipe...buy better ground turkey. The stuff from the discount stores has a "different" texture and taste. Jenny-O is my preferred brand and costs, pound for pound, very close to decent ground beef.

Buffalo Wing Turkey Burgers

For each 4 burgers:

1 pound ground turkey
4 TBSP Parmesan cheese
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, shredded or finely chopped
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder (or 1/2 small onion, finely chopped)

Sauce:
1/2 stick butter
hot pepper sauce
ketchup

Put chopped veggies in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 2 minutes to slightly soften. Once cooled, mix all ingredients and form 4 patties. Grill 10-15 minutes (till 160 degrees) or till cooked through. Do not overcook.
Cover and set aside. Melt butter in a skillet, add hot sauce and ketchup to taste and desired thickness. Once mixed add burgers. Simmer and coat burgers till most/ all the sauce has been absorbed. (You are trying to infuse the flavor into the burgers.) The original recipe for these called for toasted English muffins, a thick slice of cheddar and some crumbly bleu cheese. I found that these were wonderful simply on the plate with onion, tomato, cheddar and creamy bleu. Delicious! Play around with this to suit your taste...the kids enjoyed them with BBQ sauce. How about sweet and sour to resemble a country sweet wing? LMK if you find any new combos that you liked!

Make and enjoy! Blessings, Eve

Super Couponing

Hello one & all...been doing a bit with super couponing. You know- use 4 coupons, get it for free? Well, it's not quite that simple but pretty near. This link will direct you to a wonderful woman that puts deals together for our area. Matches coupons to Internet printable coupons to sales flyer's. She saves ma a TON of money and thought some of you might enjoy dabbling in this money saving area. Enjoy! Blessings, Eve

http://triciasfrugalfinds.com/?p=4288