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So for my birthday I had these!
They turned out pretty good, all things considered. At first I went into my birthday thinking I was going to make a chocolate peppermint filled cupcake. Sounded super yummy. But I made the pudding filling, it didn't taste right. I tried several things to try to improve it, but it didn't work. So I came up with this option from combining a little from several different recipes I had looked through.
First I just made a batch of chocolate cupcakes from a box, you could make them from scratch. Then I let them cool and then took the centers out so I could fill them. I used the idea from here to cut out the center.
For the filling I used a small box of sugar free instant banana cream pie pudding and made it according to the box. Then before I let it set up I added a small container of of cool whip. Then I stirred in about 1/4 c. of caramel topping. Then I put it in the fridge and let it set up. When it came close to time for cupcakes I cut up 2 bananas pretty small and stirred them in. Then I put the filling in a ziplock bag and filled the middle of the cupcakes and then put the tops back on.
For the frosting, I just put a big frosting tip on a ziplock bag and then filled it half with vanilla frosting and half with chocolate frosting. Once I piped the frosting on I drizzled some caramel on top and garnished with bananas.
There has been a lot going on lately, and to add to that, I've had tons of peaches to do something with. So since you have heard from me last, I've made 5 batches of jam (peach berry and spice peach) and canned 7 quarts of peaches. I'm done for a little bit until I get my apples (at this point I don't know how excited I am for them to come, but it's always nice to have it!). Friday for dinner we had breakfast, we had Oatmeal Pancakes. Saturday was a our date night and we went to subways and got some footlongs $10 Sunday I made this Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak, and we really enjoyed it. If it is something you want to try here's some advice...For my family of five (2 adults and 3 small kids) I cut the ingredients for the patties in half and that was plenty for us. When I made it I cut the whole recipe in half, but that didn't leave you with much sauce, so next time I'd keep the quantities the same for the sauce, also I substituted cream of mushroom soup for cream of chicken. To me cream of mushroom goes better with beef than cream of chicken. Tonight for dinner we are just having sandwiches. We have stuff in the fridge to make several different kinds and after spending all morning and most of the afternoon (not to mention most of the weekend) in the kitchen I'm done for today. I also bought some more bananas which would put my total amount of money left for the month to about $9
Today for dinner we had a very simple recipe, that I learned to make when I was a young teenager. Seasoned Pasta Bow Tie Pasta (several cups uncooked), cooked and drained 1/4 c. butter 2 cloves garlic 2-3 green onions finely chopped 1/3 c. chopped parsley 10 large basil leaves chopped 1/4 - 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese Melt butter in a deep pan on medium heat, then add garlic and let cook a minute or two. Then add green onions, parsley, and basil and let cook for a couple minutes. Add hot pasta to the pan and toss to coat. Add parmesan cheese, stir. Taste it and see if it needs salt and pepper. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top before serving.
For dinner tonight we had baked chicken, with some rice and veggies. I did take readers advice and bake it instead of broil it, I also cut back on the butter, which I'm not sure I would do again, since by the time it was done baking most of the liquid was gone and starting to burn a little on the bottom of the pan, so maybe instead of using 1/2 of the butter I'd try 3/4. Nothing too exciting. Things have been kind of hectic and busy around here so I don't have much to talk about sorry!
Today was quite the busy day! We got a swing set last Saturday! But it came with A LOT of pieces. It took the hubby and I (mostly the hubby) several hours to organize and label all the pieces to make the set up much easier. His younger brother came over several times throughout the week after the kids had gone to bed for an hour or two each time. And today was the get it all done day! Which meant a lot of work for the hubby and those who helped, his brothers and my brother (a BIG THANKS to them)! Work started bright and early, around 7:30 in the morning when my brother arrived. I usually don't make something for every meal, but today I did because I felt like that was the least we could do was to feed those who were here helping us. For breakfast I made german pancakes. Shortly after that I had a volleyball game. When I got home from that, I had to take my daughter to a birthday party, then come home and make lunch for the crew. I had a ham and cheese loaf. While that was cooking, I started making bread, since we were almost out. After lunch I decided to take the 15 minutes I had to go and get ready for the day. Then ran to pick up my daughter from her party. Finished making bread. About this time all the help had gone, so I became the helper, I'm not sure I was the best helper, but better than nothing I guess. Well we finally got it all up and done, with even enough time left in the day for the kids to try it out. For dinner we had chicken salad sandwiches which I had put together the chicken salad the night before, because I knew what kind of day we had. Here is the recipe for my mom's ham and cheese loaf Ham and Cheese Loaf Preheat oven to 400 1 Tbs. yeast 1 c. warm water 1 Tbs. softened butter 2 1/4 c. flour 1 Tbs. sugar 1 tsp. salt Mix all together and knead until you have a soft dough. Roll out to a 14x10 rectangle. Then down the center of the dough layer, leaving about an inch at the top and bottom. 1 lbs. of thinly sliced ham American cheese slices Swiss cheese slices Cut the sides of the dough starting at the edge and cutting until you have almost reached the ham, making one inch strips on both sides. Weave the cut ends over the top of the ham and cheese, to seal everything in. If this is too complicated, I would think you wouldn't have to worry about cutting the dough and just fold all the edges up and over to surround the meat and cheese. Beat egg whites and water and brush the top of the dough with that and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 minutes.
Tonight for dinner we are having Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff. I love searching around All Recipes looking for a new recipe. Ingredients - 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
- 1/8 cup margarine
- 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
- 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
Directions - Put chicken, margarine and dressing mix in slow cooker; mix together and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.
- Add cream cheese and soup, mix together and cook on high for another 1/2 hour or until heated through and warm.
Well today for dinner we are going to use what we have from our garden. We are making a zucchini casserole that is in our family cookbook, from my sister-in-law. Zucchini Casserole 1/4 c. onion, chopped 4 c. sliced zuchhini 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 package of stuffing 1 c. sour cream 1 1/2 c. shredded cheese Cook onion and zucchini in boiling water about 5 minutes, until tender, drain. In a bowl combine soup, sour cream, and cheese, stir in cooked zucchini and onion. In another bowl, make stuffing according to the directions. Spread half of the stuffing on the bottom of your dish. Pour zucchini mixture over top. Top with the rest of the stuffing. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes until bubbling. Top with more cheese.
We've been trying to get together with some friends for a little while, and last night we decided on today and doing dinner. So when I got home last night I went through my list of menu items to see what would work for 11 people and I didn't have to go shopping for. So we decided on on Hamburger Rolls. This is a recipe my husband grew up with. You make a bread dough, and let it rise for an hour. Then you roll it out into a rectangle. Then you sprinkle cooked hamburger (I cooked my with onions) on it, along with Italian herb seasoning and grated cheddar cheese, this time I also added parmesan cheese (the kind in the green jar). Then you roll it up and cut it like you would a cinnamon roll. Put them on a greased pan or cookie sheet and let rise for an hour. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes until it's golden brown. Serve with warm spaghetti sauce on top along with some more cheese if you would like and enjoy.
Sorry this is a day late, but our internet was down ALL day! So here it is a day late. Tonight for dinner we had Tostadas with homemade refried beans. I used this recipe for the base, but used dried beans I cooked myself, because it's cheaper and also I can control what is in it. Did you know you can cook your beans in your crockpot, so you don't have to watch them or worry about staying at home for a few hours? Also you can freeze them in ziplock bags after they are cooked, so all you have to do is cook a big batch and have some in the freezer to pull out later. I usually put 2 cups of cooked beans per bag, which gives you about the same as a can, a little more, but 2 c. is easier to measure than 1 2/3.
 So today for dinner we are having Pasta Ceasar Salad, I posted this recipe on another blog, so you can go check out the recipe there. This is a super yummy and easy recipe and everyone in the family will eat it, even my picky 3 year old that I have a hard time getting to eat his veggies will eat this salad. I did have to have the hubby pick up a head of lettuce for this salad on his way, but I'll add that to the price of things tomorrow, since I am shopping tomorrow (I have just enough milk to cover breakfast tomorrow morning).
Today we are doing a bbq. When we put this on a schedule, we really didn't have any plans, just sticking around here. But now we are getting together with friends. I have several packages of hot dogs in the freezer that I bought a little while ago, for under 50 cents, but I can't remember how much. I also happened to have some buns in the freezer. Since we are doing a bring your own meat bbq, that is what we are going to bring. Also the hubby is taking some fish we had in our freezer that a friend of ours gave us. But I don't care for fish and some of my kids haven't made of their minds about it, so hot dogs are a safe bet. We also made this Spicy Bean Salsa to make to share, except we adapted it a little because I didn't have any black eyed peas, so I just used white beans. And we used fresh tomatoes, and peppers from our garden.
 Today for dinner (I got the idea from a local blog) we are having pulled pork sandwiches. She used beef, but I had a pork roast in my freezer and already had a packet of Italian Dressing mix, so I thought we'd give it a try, since it wouldn't cost me nothing out of pocket. I made homemade rolls to serve them on. We are also having artichokes out of our garden along with another vegetable which I haven't yet decided on since I'm typing this up before we actually eat.
Pulled Pork/Beef Sandwiches
Roast 1/2 c. water 1 pkt of Italian Dressing mix
Combine in the a crockpot on low and let cook 8-10 hours.
 Our family along with two others do a babysitting co-op on Saturdays. We each take turns watching all the kids (10 of them to be exact, ranging from 1-8 years old) for a four hour chunk of time. Which means often times when it's your turn it's a crazy 4 hours, but that means you get 8 hours of free babysitting during the month. So definitely worth the craziness that might come for the freedom you get. Since there are so many kids and we have some picky eaters, it's usually something like pizza or mac and cheese for dinner when it's at our house. Today we had pizza for dinner and breadsticks. Earlier this week Papa Murphy's had a customer appreciation week, and had their large pepperoni pizzas for $3.99, and I heard they froze well. So we bought 3 pizzas and put them in the freezer. We used two of those tonight with plenty of leftovers. And since we bought them in August, I didn't have to take any money out for my September budget.
So for this month, I have spent $20.05
 Tonight for dinner we are doing breakfast. We do this every two weeks or so. During the week, mornings are kind of crazy, and Sunday mornings the hubby isn't around for breakfast, so the only day a homemade breakfast gets made is Saturdays sometimes, if we aren't out the door early to go the gym or something else. Also I have one that usually isn't patient enough for me to make something, sometimes he can't even wait the couple minutes it takes to make oatmeal. I enjoy breakfast food, so that is my way of getting it more. Today for dinner we are having Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (although some don't have chocolate chips in them, for some who don't like chocolate, or for me if I choose to save me some calories). Along with them we are having scrambled eggs and fruit. And since I'm typing this before we actually eat, I'm not sure what we are drinking. I always love a good glass milk, so that is what I will probably do, but the rest might have home made grape juice or apple juice that I canned last year.
 Today for dinner is Alfredo with whole wheat pasta. After making this, I think I would add another TBS of flour next time, since I used milk instead of half and half to make it thicker, the sauce was rather thin. It's a quick an easy recipe from my mom. For the garlic toast we used this that we put on buttered bread then put under the broiler. You should really try the recipe for the garlic bread seasoning, super yummy, another one of my wonderful sister-in-law's Cori introduced this to me through a link she shared. Alfredo Sauce 3 Tbs. butter 3 Tbs. flour 1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes 1/2 tsp. onion powder 3/4 tsp. salt 3/4 tsp. pepper 3 c. half and half (I'm using milk) 1/2 - 3/4 c. grated Parmesan Melt butter in a sauce pot. When butter is melted add flour and spices and stir to combine. Stir for a couple minutes. Whisk half and half in slowly to combine, and continue to stir until starts to simmer and thicken. Then stir in Parmesan and continue to stir until cheese is all melted. Serve over your choice of pasta. So today I made my first grocery trip because we were running low on fruit and there was a good deal on sour cream and eggs, that I know I'll need later. So to keep track of things, I'll be posting what I buy and what I spend and then have the total of what I have spent this month. Today at the store I bought: 2 bags of Potato Chips (to use occasionally for school lunch) 18 ct of large eggs Light sour cream Sandwich Bags (for school lunch) Lunch meat (I have one who will RARELY eat a PB&J) 2.37 lbs of Gala Apples 2.12 lbs of Bananas 1.15 lbs of Broccoli 2 lbs of mini Carrots Total Spent $20.05 Total for this month $20.05
The hubby has started doing 30 day projects. He chooses something to work on or do for 30 days. The first one was not watching any TV for 30 days. Now he is onto writing a game in 30 days. He told me I should do one. Well we had already discussed being super tight on our budget this month and he informed me that could be my 30 day project and I should blog about it, so here goes. My 30 day project is to spend no more than $100 in groceries this month! Although, realistically it's more than 30 days, because I'm starting the 1st and going until the first payday in October which is the 5th, so I guess it's 34 days. Crazy, huh? For those of you who might not know our family, we are a family of 5, and usually I try to keep my food spending to under $200. The best way for me to keep our food spending to under $200 is to only use cash when I'm at the grocery store, plan my meals out based on what's on sale, use coupons, and rarely, if ever eat out (we've started a new family tradition of going out to eat once a month to a sit down restaurant, and rotating who chooses, so we'll see if that fits into this months budget). So how in the world do I plan on doing this? I've taken an inventory of all the food I have at my house, and tried to plans meals around that. (I love that I can search for recipes on Allrecipes by ingredients I want to use) So we are going to be trying a few new recipes so hopefully it goes well, if not, there is always tomorrow. Luckily when it comes to breakfast we have a stock of cereal and cooked cereal. For lunches for the kids we usually just do sandwiches and I have plenty of jam to last a while, and I make my own bread and have enough supplies on hand to cover bread. So for the most part the money will go towards a few ingredients I need for each dinner and perishable things like fruit and veggies (that we don't have in our garden), milk, and eggs. Part of this will be hard on me, because I love stocking up when there is a good deal and but I'll try to resist my temptation I hope and pray there are no killer deals! So I have the menu planned for the month, and the things I need to buy for the meals. So here goes nothing. I hope that I can still be successful on my attempt to loose weight with the lack of money to spend. It's September 1st and what's on the menu tonight is chicken pot pies, which I have in the freezer. They are based on this fun idea . And have the filling from our family cookbook that was shared by my wonderful sister-in-law Amanda. We are having corn on the cob on the side, which we got from my cousin.  Pot pie filling 1 family size cream of chicken soup, or I used 2 small ones 1 pkg frozen veggies Cooked shredded chicken Combine filling together and fill pie or jars that have pie crust in them.  So out of pocket for this one for September is $0.00
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