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{recipe} make ahead and freeze mini meatloaf

January 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

This is a recipe that came to me via email from Kraft. I changed it a bit, added more ground beef so that the beef to filler ratio is a bit higher. I also wanted to test out the “direct from freezer to oven” claim in the recipe, and I tried it and it worked! So easy, can go right from freezer to oven, in case you don’t have a meal plan for an evening. This is a great make-ahead thing for busy moms!

mini meatloaf~make ahead and freeze
 

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Spend an hour preparing these, and you can have several of ready made meals in your freezer.
Author:
Recipe type: American, easy, busy mom
Serves: 10

Ingredients
  • 3 lbs of ground beef
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 box/bag of stuffing mix
  • 1 lb of bacon
  • 1 cup of shredded cheese (Swiss or cheddar)
  • ⅓ cup barbecue sauce
  • diced green onion (1 or 2) or omit if that is preference
  • plastic wrap and freezer storage bags or containers

Instructions
  1. Mix all of those ingredients together, except for the bacon.
  2. Divide up into patties, the size of a large hamburger and shape.
  3. Wrap each one with a slice of bacon.
  4. If unfrozen, bake in a preheated 375 oven for 35 minutes.
  5. Add 10 minutes if they are frozen. Yes, you can stick them in frozen!
  6. To freeze, I wrapped mine individually in plastic wrap first, then put them in by meal size in plastic freezer bags.

Notes
What’s awesome about these, you don’t have to defrost them. So if you get caught without a dinner plan at the last minute, toss these into the oven. Just add a side dish veggie and you’re done!

These are mine, ready for the freezer.

These are mine, ready for the freezer.

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{recipe} mint chocolate cookie bark~easy and frugal no-bake holiday treats

December 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I got it several years ago from my friend Amanda, and to this day, our circle of friends calls the recipe “Amanda Rocks.” I just didn’t put that in the title because you’d have no idea what it is, plus, not very SEO friendly, ha ha. I have made it every year since I got the recipe from her. I don’t have it written down anywhere, I keep it in my head.  I don’t know if I should call it mint chocolate cookie bark or candy or what.

This can be a very cheap recipe. I found Nestle morsels on sale for $1.99 and I had a bunch of $1 coupons. I found the Oreos on sale for $2.50 each when you bought 4 or more. I go through more than 4 packages each holiday season. So for about $4.50, I can make one nice sized batch of treats to take to a gathering. My family insists that I bring it every year, and for the first few years they didn’t believe that I had actually made it. The extract tends to be very expensive and I haven’t found a good way to keep it from evaporating year to year. Just buy what you need, because it does evaporate quickly.

Once you make it once or twice, you’ll see that it’s very easy to either double or triple, or cut in half. It’s also easy to add in your own variations and special touches. There are different versions of it online, this is how I make it.

 

All my ingredients ready to go. Sonoma Cutrer optional.

My cookies, all mashed up.

I did one batch with white chocolate.

mint chocolate cookie bark
 

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One of the easiest recipes you’ll ever find. Try it once and it will become a tradition in your household.
Author:
Recipe type: easy, dessert, candy, frugal
Cuisine: American, holiday, candy
Serves: 20

Ingredients
  • 1 regular sized packages of Oreos
  • 2 11 oz bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 T of peppermint extract

Instructions
  1. Put the Oreos in a big bowl and I mash them up with a hand masher.
  2. I suppose I could use my food processor, I’ve never tried. My boys like doing this part anyway.
  3. In separate dish, melt your chocolate chips. I usually use the microwave, but am going to start using the old-fashioned double boiler, because I always have my chocolate “seize” when I use the microwave and then have to fix it.
  4. When chocolate is smooth and can be stirred easily, stir in extract.
  5. Mix all together–crushed cookies and chocolate/extract mixture.
  6. Spread onto a baking sheet that has been covered in wax paper.
  7. Chill.
  8. Cut or break into bark/bite-sized pieces. I put sandwich bags on my hands for this to prevent getting fingerprints in the chocolate.

Notes
Be careful of packaging. Some companies have changed their packaging to only include 9 or 10 oz of chocolate chips, instead of 11 or 12. You will notice a difference–you’ll find that it doesn’t spread as easily with less chocolate. There are many ways to add in your own variations. I prefer peppermint extract and dark chocolate. But you can use milk chocolate, white chocolate, semi-sweet or dark. You could also choose spearmint or mint extract, or a different flavor. I also have topped mine with holiday sprinkles to make it look more festive. When I serve it on a holiday platter, I also toss a few mint Hershey’s Kiss Truffles, or Mint M&Ms or Peppermint Patties, to make it more colorful. You could also use wrapped Andes, wrapped Lindt mint truffles and so on.

 

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{recipe} easy, make-ahead French Toast bake using King’s Hawaiian rolls

December 18, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I first met the lovely folks from King’s Hawaiian at Bloggy Boot Camp back in May. If you follow my blog, you know that I’m hardly a gourmand or a foodie. Simple, frugal, hearty, yummy, budget friendly….those are my criteria. So keeping my core concepts in mind, I came up with this French Toast Bake.

I’ve tried several similar recipes that I found online, and was never able to find one that wasn’t soggy. I just really dislike soggy, mushy French Toast or French Toast Bake. You will find that this one is considerably drier than others you’ve had, but I prefer it that way for the toppings.

I am going to do this next week, because many of the steps can be done ahead of time so that all you have to do in the morning is assemble it and bake it. Perfect for the holidays or special occasions!

 

easy, make-ahead French Toast bake using King’s Hawaiian rolls
 

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Author:
Cuisine: breakfast, easy, frugal
Serves: 6

Ingredients
  • Package of 8 King’s Hawaiian sandwich rolls
  • 8 eggs-use more for soggier/moister bake
  • ½ cup of half & half (milk or cream will do)
  • 2 tsp of vanilla
  • sprinkled cinnamon/sugar mixture
  • Can/jar of prepared pie filling or canned fruit topping, I chose the jarred apples from Cracker Barrel.
  • Optional-3 T of butter

Instructions
  1. There are two ways to prepare this, with or without the butter.
  2. Preheat over to 350. Lightly spray a baking dish (8×8 or round) with non-stick something.
  3. For both options, you break apart the rolls into large bite-sized pieces. For option one, you then sauté those bites in a pan with butter, sprinkling with the cinnamon/sugar mixture until browned. Once that step is complete, toss into your baking dish.
  4. I tossed my pieces right into the baking dish and sprinkled, skipping the butter step.
  5. In a dish, mix the eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix it well, I prefer a hand mixer.
  6. Pour over the bread crumbs and bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve with the fruit topping that you chose.

Notes
Since the rolls are sweeter than a regular bread, I chose a tart cooked apple topping. I would recommend something that is on the tart or sour side, to contrast the sweet flavor of the bread. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. I also had this leftover, warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds and served with maple syrup and it was good that way too. This recipe doubles easily and you can do the bread the night before and keep it in a sealed plastic bag. I also have done my egg mixture the night before in a sealed container. Then, the next morning all I had to do was a quick stir and assemble it for baking to save time. Great for holiday breakfasts.

kings hawaiian, french toastfrench toast bake

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Kitchen Aid Artisan 5qt stand mixer, reg $500, get it for $268 shipped +free magazine subscription

December 5, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

ETA 12/5: I can’t believe it, but this has gone down even more! As you can see from the first snapshot of a receipt, it was $333.89, then the rebates. Now, take a look at this new one, when I shopped for it today:

Click to order, then get a $30 and a $20 rebate!

 

Decent deals on these Kitchen Aid mixers are really hard to find. It takes a lot of deal stacking and rebates and sales, and even then, it’s hard to get the good ones for under $300. It can be done, but chances are it won’t be the good 5 QT ones, just the 2-3 QT ones.

So, here’s a deal at Macy’s.kitchen aid mixer, green mixer First the details on this mixer:

Retro styled and easy to use, the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer is the perfect kitchen companion. Employing a unique tilting head to facilitate bowl and content removal, this mixer is undeniably handy. 1-year hassle-free replacement warranty. Model KSM150PS.
  • Request warranty information
  • Includes flat beater, wire whip, dough hook, pouring shield and polished bowl with handles
  • Mirror-polished stainless steel mixing bowl features an extra-large 5-qt. capacity and ergonomic handle
  • Average capacity: nine cups of flour
  • Prepare up to four loaves of bread, nine dozen cookies or seven pounds of mashed potatoes
  • Powerful 325-watt motor effectively mixes even the toughest dough and batter
  • Pouring shield reduces mess by channeling ingredients into bowl

 

Here’s what to do:
First, go to Macy’s and select your mixer: KitchenAid 5 qt mixer
icon

Add it to your cart, and when you are ready to check out, use the code PERFECT. That will take 10% off.

See? Here is my shopping total:

macy's receipt

That code not only gives you 10% off, but FREE shipping, which is a real score. These things are heavy! $333 is a great price (currently $345 on Amazon), but it gets better.

Download and print this rebate form, and you’ll get $30 back AND a free magazine subscription! Then, you’ll have plenty of new Kitchen Aid mixer recipes for your new mixer.

KitchenAid_5_Quart_Stand_Mixer_Double_Bonus_Offer_111712-121512

Plus, if you go thru ebates, you’ll get 6% back. That’s another $20 back!

I think this is one of the best deals and best price we are going to find on this item, this season. And, dozens of colors to choose from. Yes, $300 is still a bit spendy, but this is a real investment. I’ve had mine for about 10 years and use it all the time.

 

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