Pancakes

Who doesn't LOVE pancakes?! 

We sure do! 

Here is the recipe I use for the perfect pancake mix. 

I make this recipe in bulk so I always have it on hand. 

* I make 1/2 of this mix * 

- 8 cups of flour 

- 2 cups of dry milk (found in the bulk store)

- 1/2 cup of sugar 

- 3 tablespoons of baking powder 

- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda 

- 2 teaspoons of salt

~ Combine Together and Store In Canister ~

 

To Prepare; 

Pancakes: 

- 2 cups of mix 

- 1 & 3/4 cup of water or milk 

- 1 egg

- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

 

 

Delicious! 

Hubby opts for chocolate chips and I go with plain! 

Febreeze

This recipe is simple and frugal.

It uses items that you probably already have in your house and it works wonderfully. 

Save some money and make your own febreeze! 

You will be amazed how great it works! 

{ All You Need }

1 Part Fabric Softener (I recommend using your favorite scent!)

5 Parts Water 

2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda 

Mix the above ingredients together and put in an empty spray bottle. 

Shake well before spraying! 

 This spray covers regular household odors and works great on children, pets, and cooking smells! 

Get spraying lovelies!

They may be small but they smell pretty bad sometimes!

Chocolate Ice Cream

Whisk Together: 

- 1/2 Cup of Cocoa 

- 2 Teaspoons of Vanilla 

- 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar 

- 3/4 Cup of Milk 

- 1 1/2 Cups of Cream 

- 1/4 - 1/2 Cup of Sugar (optional ~ see below)

* Fills my ice cream maker once *

Add mixture into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer instructions on preparing. 

Scoop and serve plain or with chopped up fruit. 

* Once ingredients (except white sugar) are whisked together, I recommend tasting it then adding sugar 1/8 cup at a time to the mixture until you find your desired sweetness. *

Make Your Own Croutons

Delicious, easy alternative to store bought. 

What You Need: 

- Stale Bread (I used homemade bread, but any will work)

- Olive Oil

- Cooking Spray 

- Ground Pepper

-Parsley

-Oregano

- Garlic Salt

Before Oven.

Cube your stale, leftover bread with a sharp knife. 

I ended up with almost 6 cups total. 

Place it all in a large bowl. 

Toss bread with 3 tablespoons parsley, 2 table spoons oregano, and 2 teaspoons black pepper. 

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. 

Spread out bread in a single layer. 

Drizzle olive oil on top of bread, about 2 tablespoons worth. 

Place in 300 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes. 

Shake pan and bake for another 15 minutes. 

Remove from oven and sprinkle garlic salt on hot croutons, about 2 teaspoons worth. 

Allow to cool and store in an airtight container. 

Toss with your favorite salad. 

Delish!

After Oven.

Upcoming In March 2013

Here are some dinner recipes I plan on sharing with all of you in the month of March! 
Stay Tuned! 

• garlic and olive oil pasta ~ Rachel Ray 
• Fajita Burgers 
• Honey Chicken With Snow Pea Rice 
• Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole 
• Enchiladas 
• Smothered Chicken 
• Vegetable Quesadillas     

 

   

 

Crock Pot Week (beef soft tacos, manicotti, pulled pork sandwiches, teriyaki chicken, minestrone soup, ravioli, triple berry cobbler)

 

March Meal Plan ~ Sneak Peek

Here's A Sneak Peek At Our Meal Plan For The Upcoming Month! 

Reminder ; Meals with the '*' Beside Them are Ones I Plan On Sharing With You! 

1. Grilled Cheese & Soup 
2. Shopping Trip Day ~ Pick Something Up For Dinner 
3. Garlic & Oil Pasta ~ Rachel Ray Cookbook *
4. Our Anniversary ~ Unsure of Plans 
5. Quarter Chicken Dinner
6. Breakfast for Dinner 
7. Pasta Bake 
8. Homemade Pizza and Garlic Sticks 
9. Chicken Parm 
10. Crock Pot Week -  Beef Soft Tacos *
11. Crock Pot Week - Manicotti *
12. Crock Pot Week -   'Pulled' Pork Sandwiches *
13. Crock Pot Week - Teriyaki Chicken Over Rice *
14. Crock Pot Week - Minestrone Soup *
15. Crock Pot Week - Ravioli *
16. Crock Pot Week - Triple Berry Cobbler *
17. Pork Chops, Potatoes, Vegetables 
18. Fajita Burgers *
19. Honey chicken with Snow Pea Rice 
20. Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo 
21. Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole 
22. Left Overs 
23. Enchiladas 
24. Wraps, Fries, Gravy 
25. Ham, Scallops, Corn 
26. Smothered Chicken 
27. Pork Chops, Potatoes, Vegetables 
28. Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables 
29. Vegetable Quesadillas * 
30. Soup & Sandwiches 
31. EASTER
32. 
    

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Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

The Ice Cream Maker

This is a great base recipe for your ice cream maker. 

You can easily build on this recipe and add things to make your ice cream even more delicious! 

Ingredients: 

- 1 Can of Carnation Milk

- 1 Cup of Cream 

- 3 Cups of Milk 

- 2 Tbl of Vanilla Extract 

- 4 Tbl of Sugar 

*note; this makes a double batch for the size of my ice cream maker*
~ 8 portions ~

Whisk together above ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour.

mixture.

Place the mixture in your ice cream maker and follow instructions according to your device.

inside the machine

 

Scoop out your ice cream and top it with whatever toppings you like! 

We went for strawberry jam and homemade granola!

Finished Ice Cream

Basic White Bread

This is my go-to recipe for white bread. 

It is easy and delicious. 

Put all these ingredients in the bread maker in the order shown:

• 3/4 Cup of Water 
• 3/4 Cup of Milk 
• 2 Tbl Butter 
• 1 Tbl Sugar 
• 1 1/2 Tsp Salt 
• 4 1/4 Cup of White Flour 
• 1 1/4 Tsp Yeast 

I bake mine on the basic bread setting and a regular crust. 

Total time in my machine; 3 hours 50 minutes.

Finished Bread

DIY ~ Powder Laundry Detergent

The cost of laundry detergent these days is getting ridiculous. 
You can cut costs by making your own. 
This makes a very large batch, so before starting make sure you have a container big enough to store in. 
I only make half a batch at a time because I don't have a container big enough. 

~ note; prices next to items are approximate and for my area (Canada) ~

What You Need; 

• 1 Box of Borax (4 lb) $6.00
• 1 Box Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (Make sure it is washing soda-not baking soda) (3 lb) $5.00
• 2 Boxes of Baking Soda (Small - regular size ones) $1.98
• 1 Container of Oxy Clean (3lb) (I used the store brand of this) $5.00
• 2 Bars of Laundry Soap (I used Linda brand) (Found in laundry aisle) $4.00
• Bottle of Purex Crystals (Optional but smells yummy!) $5.00

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
 

First, in a large bucket carefully stir together borax, washing soda, baking soda, and oxy clean. I recommend only doing parts of each product at a time to ensure everything is mixed together well. 

Then add grated laundry soap bars and purex crystals(if wanted). Mix extremely well. It's hard on the arms! 

 Store in large airtight container. 

I also store the laundry powder in the empty purex crystal container for easy use in the laundry room. 

Use 1 - 2 tablespoons per load. That's it. 

    You barely need any of this mixture to get you clothes clean. 

And believe me, it will get them clean! 

This stuff is like magic! 

I have notced since using it that my white are much whiter than with store bought liquid detergent and bleach. 

~ * remember this is a no suds detergent. So when you don't see any bubbles forming, don't worry. It is still doing its job! * ~

Cook Books

These are the cookbooks I own and are used in my meal planning efforts. 

When ever I post a recipe that is directly out of one of the books, I will let you know. 

These books are great for giving inspiration for new recipes. 

Majority of my cook books are purchased from a local used book store, and some I have received as gifts. 

I find buying cook books used is very smart because not many people have used these books. They are usually the type of books people receive as gifts, or buy with intentions of using, but they never do. 

The Cupcake Diaries 

~ Katherine Kallinis & Sofie Kallinis LaMontegne ~

This book is fantastic for your sweet tooth! 

These girls have a show on TLC named 'DC Cupcakes' and I just adore them! 

Their recipes are easy to follow and delicious! 

I highly recommend this book if you love baking! 

Received as a gift.

   

  Thirty Minute Cooking 

~ Jenni Fleetwood ~ 

This is book is set up so well! 

It starts with 10 minute recipes, 20 minutes recipes, and then 30 minute recipes. 

It is perfect for planning a quick meal, but not skimping on quality. 

This book is highly recommended for busy people!

Purchased at thrifty store for $6.00,

365: No Repeats 

~ Rachel Ray ~ 

I just love everything about Rachel Ray! 

Her recipes are easy to follow and very delicious. 

This book offers 365 different recipes.

What I like so much about it is that she will start with a base recipe then show you different ways to do that recipe. The different variations are great for people who like to change things up frequently. 

I highly recommend this book for people who like change in their cooking. 

Received as a gift.

Canadian Bread Machine Baking 

~ Roxanne McQuikin ~

This book is great for people who use their bread machine on a regular basis, like me! 

She offers so many different things you can do with a bread maker that even I didn't think you could do with it. 

All of her recipes are dump recipes (throw all the ingredients in the bread pan) which I love! 

It makes it much quicker to be able to dump everything in, press start, and come back to fresh baked breads.

I highly recommend this book for anyone with a bread machine! 

Purchased at thrift store for $6.00.

30 Minute Meals 

~ Rachel Ray ~ 

This is Rachel Ray's first published cook book. 

This book offers her original 30 minute meals, which I love! 

This are simple, easy, fast, and very delicious! 

There are so many recipes in this book I want to try that is is just insane! 

I highly recommend this book for everyone! 

Received as a gift.  

       Martha's Got Nothing On Me [The Pre-Fab Cookbook]

~ Dish & Flo ~ 

This book is HILARIOUS!!

It offers a collection of recipes that are super quick, super simple, and super tasty. 

The goal of this cookbook is to cut time in the kitchen, allowing the working guy or gal time to have a delicous homemade dinner when you're on the go. 

I highly recommend this book to the guys and gals out there who think they are too busy to cook. 

It's perfect for you! 

Purchased at thrift store for $8.00.

  Meal In Minutes 

~ Jamie Oliver ~ 

This book is amazing. 

Simply amazing. 

It offers so many different recipes that I could spend weeks just cooking out of this book. 

Tempting isn't it?

I recommend this book for everyone. 

I think everyone should have a little Jamie Oliver in their life! ;)

Received as a gift.

      The Big Book of Baking 

 This book definitely lives up to its title. 

It's huge. 

This book has so many different baking recipes for every different skill level.

There's photos of everything too. 

I highly recommend this book for anyone who bakes.

Purchased at thrift store for $10.00.