Black Halloween Punch

Black Halloween Punch

1 envelope (0.13 ounce) unsweetened grape Kool-Aid
1 envelope (0.13 ounce) unsweetened orange Kool-Aid
2 cups white sugar
3 quarts cold water
1 liter ginger ale
Molded ice hand, optional

Stir together Kool-Aid mixes, sugar and water until dissolved. Combine
with chilled ginger ale just before serving. If you'd like, float the
ice hand in the punch bowl for a ghastly effect. (To make, wash a
disposable glove, fill with water, seal with a rubber band and freeze.)

allrecipes com

Carnival Links

Carnival of the recipes - 2 I am going to be checking out "Vermont Cheddar Ale Soup" and "Steak Panini"

Festival of Frugality at Frugal Babe- This one covers tons of aspects from your car to your college students!

Make it from Scratch - Lots of yummy recipes & a few crafts

Carnival of Personal Finance - lots on retirement, saving money, investing money, frugality, family & more.







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Busy Week Menu

Aren't we always busy! Well I start my new part time out of the house job, so until I get settled in that I'm sure it will throw a mild curve ball into our routines! Mostly laundry. I'm not sure how, but it seems like I am doing laundry 24-7!

The first football game is Saturday, practice every night. Plus we have to set up our shelter tent for a birthday party on Saturday (friend's house). The Prince starts school on the 3rd, the Princess the 9th.

So my plan for this week is basic & mostly out of the pantry.

Mac & Cheese with tuna and peas

CrackerBarrel's Hashbrown Casserole with meatloaf and a veggie.

Crockpot lasagna I have half a box of oven ready noodles, that's more than enough.

Freakin Awesome Zucchini Pancakes for breakfast night.

Busy Day Csserole with veggies.

I don't have the neighbor's kids this week, but I'm still going to make something for snacks. And I'll have to check the lunch item inventory!!!


I have a pantry list I keep of things I always have on hand, so really the only time I need a plan is when I am trying a recipe & there are things I don't have on hand. That isn't much though!

I got a recipe from this weeks Carnival of the recipes.

Check out other menus at I'm an organizing Junkie.

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Hershey's Chocolate Syrup - MYO

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

1/2 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt

Combine cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Add water, and mix until
smooth. Bring this mixture to a boil. Allow it to boil for one minute,
being careful that it does not boil over. Remove from heat and let
cool. When cool, add vanilla extract.

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Easy Cake Mix Cookies

I don't usually use cake mix for something other than cake, but I happen to have A LOT of it on hand at the moment!


Devil’s Food Cookies

Yields about 5 dozen cookies.

1 (18.5-ounce) package devil’s food cake mix without pudding

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups chocolate chips (semi sweet)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop batter by teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely on wire racks.



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Summer Squash (yellow) recipes

Roasted Baby squash with Feta and Thyme

Fried Squash Puffs

Summer Squash Pancakes

Sauted Yellow Squash

What I am going to do with the 1 I have right now:

Thinly slice the squash on my mandolin
Steam it in the steamer
drizzle it with olive oil and toss with some minced garlic


Stumble It!

Mixed Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza

I may have to make this for myself sometime, doubt anyone else would try it!!!

Mixed Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ingredients
1 10"-ready-made pizza crust
1/2 cup softened goat cheese
1/3 pound pound shitakes, sliced thin
1/3 pound crimini, sliced thin
6 ounces baby spinach (one of those already cleaned kinds)
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat large pan, add oil and cook mushrooms until
softened. Add garlic and stir for a minute. Then
add spinach and stir in until the spinach wilts
all the way down—only a minute or so.

Spread goat cheese on crust and top with
mushroom-spinach mixture. Sprinkle a bit of shredded Parmesan on top.

Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Serves 4.

Sam Zien

Source: Discovery Health

Peanut Butter Bread

1 c sugar
1/2 c PB
1 T Butter
1 egg
1/2 t salt
2 c flour
1/2 T baking powder
1 c sour milk (1T vinegar to 1 c milk)
1/2 T Soda

Mix it all together, pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake @350 for 50 minutes - 1 loaf

Lisa K http://thefrugalmomma.blogspot.com

Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini Fritters
1 lb of zucchini (about 2 medium sized), coarsely grated
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1 large egg
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grape seed oil or olive oil
Sour cream or plain yogurt

1. Salt the zucchini with about 1 teaspoon of salt. Try to remove the excess moisture from the zucchini by either squeezing the liquid out with a potato ricer, or by squeezing with paper towels.

2. Whisk egg in a large bowl; add the zucchini,flour, scallions, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Mix to combine well.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook fritters in two batches. Drop six mounds of batter (2 Tbsp each) into the skillet. Flatten slightly. Cook, turning once, until browned, 4-6 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve immediately, with sour cream or plain yogurt on the side.

EASY CHEESY ZUCCHINI

In preparation for all the zucchini I am most likely going to have!

EASY CHEESY ZUCCHINI

Serving Size : 4

1 T olive oil
2 T chopped garlic
1 pound zucchini - cut in half length-wise and then in half-inch thick half moons
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
salt to taste
2 T freshly grated Parmesan
4 T grated mozzarella

In a large skillet with a cover, heat the oil til shimmery.

Add the garlic and stir to coat with oil, then cook for a minute or two, just until garlic begins to turn golden in color.

Add zucchini, stir several times to coat with oil and garlic. Cover and cook for four minutes, stirring once or twice.

Uncover and let continue to cook til done or slightly crisp. Stir in salt and parsley. TURN OFF THE HEAT.

Sprinkle cheese over top, cover and let rest for 1 - 2 minutes til cheese is slightly melted. Serve immediately.

86 Calories; 4 g Protein; 6 g; 6 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb 4; 2 g Sugar; 95 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 86 mg Sodium; 7 mg Cholesterol.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Pie

I first posted this here. I made it the other night. I reminded me a lot of a thin quiche. I think next time I might double the recipe just to see if I can get it a bit thicker.

I substituted colby jack for the meunster cheese & only used bacon. I think the next time I make it I'll use taco beef. I also added cooked onions, green peppers & mushrooms before I cooked it. I think broccoli might also be good.

I really do like discovering a recipe that is so versatile & frugal all at the same time!



Grilled Cheese Sandwich Pie

1 Egg
3/4 c Flour
1/2 ts Salt
1/8 ts Pepper
1 ts Oregano
1 c Milk
2 1/2 c Meunster cheese, shredded
2 c Ham, crumbled bacon, diced
Mushroom
Peppers

In a small mixing bowl, combine egg, flour, salt, pepper, and half of
milk. Using a rotary beater, beat until smooth. Add remaining milk and
beat until well blended. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and the ham or
bacon and pour into a well greased 8-inch pie pan or 2 quart baking
dish. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top
and bake just until cheese is melted (2 minutes)

Cappuccino Muffins

This Cappuccino Muffins recipe was submitted for the January 22 Make it From Scratch Carnival. Of course I had to make it my own but it just sounded so good I had to make them this morning!

I added
2 T Milled Flaxseed
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

I think next time I'll add a 1/4 cup more sugar, maybe some brown sugar to give it a deeper flavor. They were fantastic, I'll be making these again.

I also used 2 sleeves of single serve Nescafe Columbian coffee granules. From the free samples I was sent. We don't care for instant coffee as a beverage but I use it in my baking a lot. I add it to store bought brownie mix along with some chocolate syrup.

Cookie Dough is Made

I made the dough for my cut-outs & Chocolate Italian Cookies.
We also got the fridge cleaned out & the desk moved, the kitchen is mostly cleared out I only have one corner of piles to clear out then it will be done! Woohoo! I'll be folding laundry & going through a stack of papers while we watch tv tonight.

Things we didn't get done because we completely rearranged the living room AGAIN.

1. Sand the bathroom walls & repeat mud process, then sand again.

4. Laundry, laundry & more laundry. I took 2 days off from the load a day & now I am buried under Mt. Washmore.

5. Clear out kitchen of all non-essentials.

6. Take box to Salvation Army or other place.

7. Wrap more presents

8. Sew our Christmas head bands, cut fabric for more headbands.

9. Get Real Tree, set up inside

Tackle it Tuesday

So as usual I am a day late! In my defense I was too busy tackling to post about it! I spent most of yesterday making my Thanksgiving dishes.

I made 5 loaves of Pineapple Sweet Potato Bread.

And 2 Sweet Potato Pineapple Bake casseroles. No pics yet I only followed through the first bake, marshmallows will go on Thursday.

I also need to get outside & snap a pic of our Christmas decor, they have been up for 2 weeks now. We just haven't plugged them in, that we'll do Friday!

It hasn't hurt that we've had unseasonable weather here, gotta take advantage of the extra outside time!

Easy Chocolate Cake from scratch

I made this cake recipe earlier in the week. It made 2 cake pans (8" rounds) plus 8 cupcakes. I probably should have made 12 cupcakes & smaller layers the cake was really tall! I also cooked it a hair too long, but that said it didn't last long enough for me to snap a picture! The frosting is on the extremely sweet side so for double layers it was a little too much for me, but I am the ONLY one who noticed. I also added 2 T instant coffee powder to the cake mix.

5 Minute Chocolate Cake


Peanut Butter Frosting
1 c shortening
1/2 c Peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 3/4 to 5 c powdered sugar
3 to 4 Tbsp milk, divided

Beat shortening, peanut butter & vanilla at medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well. Add 2 Tbsp of milk. Gradually beat in the remaining powdered sugar and enough milk to make the frosting of spreading consistency.

Add more powdered sugar to stiffen frosting if it is to be used for decorative shapes (flowers, borders, etc.).

Pepperoni Bread & Pizza Subs

Pepperoni Bread

1 cups plus 2 tablespoons water (70° to 80°)
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 1/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2/3 cup sliced pepperoni

In bread machine pan, place the first eight ingredients in
order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose medium
crust color and loaf size if available. Bake according to bread machine
directions(check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; make necessary adjustments.

Just before final kneading add pepperoni.

I made this by hand since my BM is still out of commission. I dissolved the sugar & yeast in the water & mixed all the dry ingredients together first. I kneaded in the cheese & pepperoni at the end. Let rise once in oiled bowl in moist oven for almost 2 hours, divided into 2 loaves & let rise again. Then baked at 350 until they were golden (about 20 minutes).

Then we cut the loaf in half & sliced like a hot dog bun. Spread the open pieces with pizza sauce, pepperoni & mozzarella cheese. Put it under the broiler until lightly browned. Then we put it back together & we had pizza subs just like our deli makes them. YUM!

Wished I'd taken pictures. I sent the extra loaf to work with hubby, his coworkers LOVE me!

Yummy Smoothie & theological quiz

I have apparently decided to start my health kick! I made myself a smoothie for lunch. It isn't bad, I probably should have strained the "oat milk" it's a tad gritty.

Oat milk - 1 cup water, 1 cup oats (rolled) or oat bran blended in a blender. You can strain or not (more fiber). I used rolled oats because that is what I have

I finished my first glass, not bad, pretty filling so I'll share!

1 snack sized container of vanilla yogurt
1 frozen banana
4 large frozen strawberries
3/4 C oat milk
1/4 C water
1 T flax seed - milled
1 tsp ginger
1 T honey
dash of cinnamon
Blended smooth.

Next time I will probably blend the flax with the oats to make the milk & then strain it. Of course the point is to increase my fiber & healthy stuff. I added the water because it was too thick & the honey because my strawberries weren't the sweetest.

Otherwise, not bad, nothing the kids would enjoy though!

Found this quiz at Mama Says... Pretty much confirmed what I already know, I don't really fit into any existing Christian Religion! I was Lutheran for a while & that seemed to fit me much better than the Catholic I had to be until I was confirmed. Of course when I was younger we used to enjoy torturing our Religious Ed teachers. We questioned everything & we never had a teacher be prepared for it, so if you are teaching Sunday school classes, be prepared with answers. "Because the Pope says so" is not going to win over a room full of curious teens!

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan, You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 75% Emergent/Postmodern 71% Neo orthodox 64% Classical Liberal 61% Modern Liberal 50% Charismatic/Pentecostal 50% Roman Catholic 39% Reformed Evangelical 36% Fundamentalist 29% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Oatmeal Packets

Just got this one from our recipe world group at yahoo groups... Sounds perfect for the frugal MYO crowd!!!  My only issue is with the fruit & cream option - I don't think adding powdered milk will make it very creamy, I would probably add some non dairy creamer as well as the dry milk powder.

Oatmeal Packets

Source: Make Your Own Groceries by Daphne Metaxas Hartwig

Servings: 8
3 cups quick-cooking oats, divided
Salt
8 plastic sandwich bags

Put 1/2 cup oats in a blender and whirl at high speed until powdery;
reserve in a small bowl and repeat procedure with an additional 1/2
cups oats. If you're using a food processor, powder the 1 cup of oats
in one motion.

Into each sandwich bag put 1/4 cup unpowdered oats, 2 tablespoons
powdered oats, and a scant 1/4 teaspoon salt. Store in a box or
airtight container.

To serve: Empty packet into a bowl. Add 3/4 cup boiling water; stir
and let stand for 2 minutes. For thicker oatmeal, use less water; for
thinner, use more water.

Apple-Cinnamon:
To each packet add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2
tablespoons chopped dried apples.

Sweetened:
To each packet add 1 tablespoon sugar.

Cinnamon Spice:
To each packet add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and a
scant 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.

Raisins and Brown Sugar:
To each packet add 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar and 1 tablespoon
raisins.

Wheat Germ:
To each packet add 2 tablespoons any kind of wheat germ.

Fruit and Cream:
To each packet add 1 tablespoon dry milk and 2 tablespoons dried fruit.

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Homemade shake-n-bake

This is one I have been using a lot lately & I just threw it together, no real recipe. I tried the "shake-n-bake" recipe I posted before & I found that the only thing that would stick was the flour, so that was the first ingredient to go!

Bread crumbs (mine are currently unseasoned, and store bought, I'll make my own next time)
Milled Flax Seed (got it at our Walmart Super Center, it adds a nutty taste)
Lawry's Poultry Rub (We had a bottle left over from a fundraising BBQ)

In a container with low sides (I use my rectangular glass baking dish) I mix a couple handfulls of the brea crumbs with about 1/4 c of the flax seed & probably a tablspoon of the Lawry's. Then I just roll whatever I want breaded & bake as usual. We had this on Pork chops last night & Drumsticks a couple weeks ago.

Monday Morning Smile!

Ok, so in surfing the Carnival of the Recipes I found this little chuckle at KeeWee's Corner. Always good to start a Monday out with a smile :D.