Tin Can Ice Cream

This is a really fun recipe to use in the summer, on a hot day, or just for fun. Kids love rolling it back and forth (and this is a great use for used 10# food storage cans).


1 c milk
1 c whipping cream
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix together and put in large mason jar (I also use cleaned jars from the yummy peaches, del monte I think)and put the lid on very tightly. Place inside 10# can. Put ice and rock salt around the jar and put lid on can. Roll back and forth between people for 10 minutes. Refill ice and rock salt and roll for 5-10 more minutes. Yummy and fun ice cream.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

We tried this recipe 2 weeks ago and it was delicious. I changed some of the ingriedent amounts below from the original recipe. We had this with homemade corn bread (I'll post that recipe soon) and it was yummy. We had leftovers for the next day and froze some for dinner or lunch another time.

* 8 ounces bacon, chopped
* 1/4 cup good olive oil
* 3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large onions)
* 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup flour
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 12 cups chicken stock
* 6 cups medium-diced potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
* 10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
* 2 cups half-and-half
* 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.
Cheddar Corn Chowder
Rated: 5 stars out of 5125 Reviews

**recipe altered from barefoot contessa, foodtv.com

Quick and Easy Chicken Satay

If you love chicken satay (chicken with the peanut sauce), you'll love this recipe! This is a yummy, inexpensive, healthy, and quick dinner to prepare for your family.

Rotisserie style chicken
1/2 c peanut butter
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 heaping Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp minced garlic or 1/2 tsp powdered
3 c cooked rice, which ever kind you like
1 bag mixed frozen vegetables

Mix peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, oil, and garlic together in medium bowl. Pull pieces of chicken off the bone and add to the sauce. Put into sauce pan and heat on low or low-medium until warmed through. Cook vegetables in the microwave and serve the chicken with peanut sauce over the rice with the vegetables on the side.

Baked French Toast Casserole

This recipe is delicious and less time consuming than standing over the stove making french toast, one batch at a time, while your family gobbles it up and asks for more, before you can even enjoy one slice (like regular french toast).

1 loaf french bread (13-16 oz)
8 eggs
2 c half and half
1 c milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash salt

praline topping, below
maple syrup

slice french bread into 20 slices. Arrange slices in two layers, overlapping slices in a 9 x 13 pan. In a large bowl, mix the rest of ingredients listed (through the salt) with a whisk, until bubbily. Pout mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

You can mix the praline topping the night before also (just leave on the counter or refrigerate and let soften before putting on top), but put on top just before baking.

Praline topping:
1 stick butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c chopped pecans
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

spread over the bread and bake for 40-50 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup.

The next day,preheat oven to 350.


**recipe adapted from food network

Peanut Butter Apple Muffins

This is my favorite snack! Good for breakfast or after dinner "treat".

whole wheat/whole grain english muffins
peanut butter
apple

Cut english muffin in half and toast. Remove from toaster and spread with a little bit of peanut butter on each side. Top with apple slices. I top it either with large section sliced from the apple or three small slices of the apple, fanned out.

Alice Springs Chicken (Outback Chicken)

Mix equal parts (usually 1/3 c., for 12 servings I'd do about 3/4-1 c. of each):
mayo
honey
spicy brown mustard

Other ingredients:
boneless skinless chicken breasts, 4-6
bacon, cooked until crisp
cheddar cheese, sliced

Pour some of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Put chicken on top and pour some more sauce on top, reserving a little bit of sauce to warm and serve later. Cook at 375 until chicken is done. While chicken is done, cook the bacon. Remove chicken from the oven and top each breast with cheese, cooked bacon, and another slice of cheese. Return to the oven until cheese melts. Serve with the extra sauce.

(you can add sauteed mushrooms to the top of the chicken along with the cheese and bacon)

Orange Chicken

3 lbs chicken
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tsp butter
3 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ginger
1/3 c orange marmalade
2/3 c orange juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1 orange, thinly sliced
2 c rice, cooked

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, brown in butter(don't over cook). While chicken is browning, mix together remaining ingredients, except orange slices and cooked rice. When chicken is done, pour remaining juices from pan. Add the mixture to the browned chicken, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Add orange slices and simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve with rice.

Meals for a Steal/Coupon Conference Recap

This is a recap of what we talked about at Wendy's house a few weeks ago. If you have yummy recipes that you've tried that you'd like to post, please email them to me and I will post them. I will be posting more menu ideas and recipes for meals and snacks later on today.

My Motto: “It doesn’t matter how much you make, but how much you spend.”

Tricks of the Trade
1. Be Prepared, Make a Plan, Organize!
2. Write down your expenses and decide on food budget
3. Save the weekly ads and coupons in a “coupon corner” (take the entire stack of paper and write the date on the front)
4. Look in your pantry and fridge and the ads (and your calendar)
5. Plan a menu
6. Write a list of items needed (best deals around perimeter of store)
7. Check on couponmom.com for the coupon dates for the items that you want for the store that you’re going to (for Winco, check the coupon database for items you are already planning on getting)
8. Take cash only to the grocery store
9. Buy items you regularly use when they are on sale (and buy extra to have for the future)
10. Sign up in the store for “club cards”, online for sales e-mails for stores that you regularly shop at (food, clothing, shoes) and join birthday clubs for family members (Toys R Us, yogurt and ice cream shops)

Websites
1. Mealsforasteal.blogspot.com (my new blog with tips to saving money and recipes for yummy meals and snacks)
**Feel free to email me at kristinakessler@hotmail.com with your taste-tested yummy, healthy, and inexpensive recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks
2. Couponmom.com (matches up sales for stores that double coupons and their weekly specials, also has a coupon database)
3. Moneysavingmom.com (inspiration for spending less money, menu ideas)
4. Babycheapskate.com (deals for diapers and formula for the week and other children’s things)
5. Hillbillyhousewife.com (low cost home cooking from scratch)
6. Caregiversmarketplace.com (rebates for huggies, cottonelle wipes, other items)

Deals on Clothes

Hope this helps someone...

I was at Children's Place (at Ontario Mills) on Friday and they are having a great sale! They had tons of clothes for $2.99 (and matched with a coupon in the mail for an additional 15% off, what great deals).

Justice (formerly Limited Too) (there's one at Victoria Gardens) is having a sale from March 12-17 for 30% off everything in the entire store. The same sale is online already.

Gymboree has a few things going...spring break deals ($10 and $15) and Gymbucks. Now until April 12 you can earn Gymbucks (for every $50 that you spend, you get $25 gymbucks, aka: $25 off your next $50 purchase from April 16-26).

Menu Ideas

I had some people asking what kinds of things we eat. This is our dinner menu for the next 2 weeks;

Potato Cream Soup, Lemon Blueberry Muffins, Sliced Oranges
Mini Sliders with Semi-Homemade Buns, Potato Wedges, Apple Slices
Scrambled Eggs, Whole Wheat Waffles with Berries, Powdered Sugar and Blueberry syrup, OJ
(New Trial Recipe)Pasta with Butternut Squash Parmesan Sauce with Grilled Shrimp, Salad
Sicilian Chicken, glazed carrots, rice
Homemade Pizza, salad
Fajita quesadillas, pintos, guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce
Egg McMuffins, OJ, sliced oranges
Russian Chicken, potato casserole
Roast, potatoes, carrots, homemade bread
BLT's, potato wedges, mandarin oranges
Meatballs with grape sauce, rice, fruit salad
Teriyaki Pineapple Shrimp, rice (leftover from yesterday,) mixed veggies
Tuna Melts, sliced fruit

Breakfasts include any item or combination of these: cereal, (not often)scrambled eggs, orange juice, apple slices, cinnamon toast, oatmeal, toast, milk

Lunches for kids: any 1: pbj sandwiches or pbj on ritz, chicken nuggets, tuna sandwiches or tuna with crackers, cheese and crackers, grilled ham/turkey with cheese panini's
and: sliced oranges, apples, any fruit in season, corn, applesauce

Lunches for adults: leftovers, panini sandwiches with fruit or veggie or both
or large salad

Diaper Deals

If you use diapers, the following deal is a great one:

copy and paste the link into your browser

http://abundantfoodsavings.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=520&Itemid=1

This deal would be great starting the week of march 8 when you get a $10 register reward with a $25 purchase of kimberly clark products. I printed coupons from the "here" link and from the little coupon box to the right of this post, so I got two of each coupon.

Thanks to Emily for a heads up on this deal:)

Maple Glazed Chicken

4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
4 teaspoons lemon juice (juice of half a lemon) + zest from the half
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Whisk together syrup, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, ginger and pepper. Add into a freezer bag with 2 lbs. chicken. Let marinade for atleast 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove chicken and put onto barbeque. While chicken is cooking on the first side, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until reduced by about half, about 4 minutes. Flip the chicken onto the second aide and liberally baste the chicken with the reduced sauce.

**This would also work as a freezer meal. Make the marinade, add into a freezer bag with the chicken and freeze. Take out of the freezer atleast 24 hours (2 days preferred) before planning to use the chicken, let defrost and cook on the barbeque.

Recipe altered from eatingwell.com

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Yummy and delicious muffin recipe that I have made several times.

* 2 C all purpose flour
* 3/4 C sugar
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp cinnamon
* 1 C skim milk (from powder is fine)
* 1/4 C canola oil
* 2 T lemon juice
* 1 egg white
* 1 tsp grated lemon rind
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 1/3 C frozen blueberries, unthawed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray muffin tin cups well with a non stick cooking spray.
In a small mixing bowl stir together the milk, canola oil, lemon juice, egg white, lemon rind and vanilla extract.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just moist.
Fold in the blueberries.
Pour batter into the muffin cups filling each 3/4 full.
Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Using extra large eggs can cause your muffins to be a little runny. If using extra large eggs increase the flour by adding 1 T to the batter. This will ensure the muffins turn out just right.

**recipe borrowed from www.hillbillyhousewife.com***

**I am always on the lookout for blueberries on sale since we love these muffins. The large pack of bluebrries at Costco was $5.99, which I figured out that it was about the same as getting a small container of blueberries for $1.50 ( a good deal). I divided them up into bags and put into the freezer for the next time that I made these muffins!

Whenever I make this recipe, I leave a few muffins out for a snack for that day and then put the rest in sandwich bags. Then I put all the sandwich bags with muffins into a freezer bag and save for another day for snacks.

Living on Less: Challenge #1

Challenge #1-Write down your monthly expenses
I like to type up my expenses in two columns, one for the 1st-15th and the second column for 16th-30th (because we get paid on the 1st and the 15th). I list each expense with a little line to the left of it, the amount, or the average for power, gas and other expenses that aren't an exact amount each month. Next to each expense I list the exact day that it is due so bills can be paid on time.
Most of my bills are paid online, since it is quick and easy and saves the cost of mailing in bills (.42 x 10 bills each month=$4.20 x 12 months= $50.40 per year, just on stamps for those 10 bills each month). (I also would like to think that by leaving money in my own account longer, I am earning interest, which can add up. It may only add up up to $3 a year, but it is $3 that you really didn't have to do a lot to earn, right?)

I check off each expense as it is paid that way I know which bills are still due and I can figure out how much money I need in my account to pay the bills that are still due.

Challenge #1,part2-Spend less on groceries
Take a look at your expenses and decide to spend less on your food budget by a certain amount each week. I feed a family of 6 for $60 each week. I can't tell you how much your budget should be. It depends on your family. You'll have to decide how much you want to lower your weekly budget by (spending $20 less each week might not be alot if your budget is $200/week but makes a big difference if your budget is only $60).

The link below shows the USDA for Food at Home. Wow! On the Thrifty plan (and if I only had to feed a family of 4 I would be spending $600)!

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/2008/CostofFoodDec08.pdf