REPURPOSE CONTAINERS

I repurpose plastic (and glass) bottles. Powdered creamer containers are great to hold straws or bread crumbs. Bigger jugs are great for cleaning products I make. I got 2 key tips to make repurposing much nicer.


1. Take off all labels! 
Peel as much off as you can. Then take WD-40 (what can't this stuff do?) and cover the rest of the label and let sit. The WD-40 will remove the gooey stickiness and any remaining label. 

2. Remove any printing directly on package!
You know those black lettered stamps that are lot numbers and dates they put directly on the bottle. They come off! Just take a cotton ball and a little bit of nail polish remover. VIOLA! it rubs right off! Along with this you can write in permanent marker on plastic boxes (i label my kids boxes for things like pencils, markers, crayons, stickers, puzzles, card games, etc..). When you no longer need the label on it, just do the same thing: nail polish remover and a cotton ball and the writing comes right off! Box is like brand new!

So 2 household products cane make your repurposing so much easier! just think! Those big tubs of pretzels you get, you can remove all labels and markings, have a perfect clear & empty container, and reuse it to put cookies in to give as gifts! The possibilities are endless!

CHOCOLATE SYRUP

I hate to spend money on chocolate syrup. I don't like most cheaper brands and even with sales and coupons, it's an expense I hate to pay for. Plus, the ingredients aren't the best. 


Step into my life homemade chocolate syrup. BHG originally published this recipe some 40+ years ago. Well, wow! It's got 5 ingredients. You control the quality of them and it's super quick and easy!

CHOCOLATE SYRUP

2 cups sugar

1 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

1/8-1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, mix cocoa, sugar & salt. 
2. Add water.
3. Stir over medium heat just until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently (this only takes a few minutes and doesn't need to boil or get super hot as long as the sugar dissolves).
4. Remove from heat.
5. Add vanilla & stir.
6. Let cool slightly and store covered in the refrigerator.

I stored the syrup in a old creamer bottle. Made the label to make it look fancy. 

NON-MUDDY BUDDIES

Muddy Buddies.
Puppy Chow.
Whatever you call it, it's a glorious snack!


It's Chex, butter, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar. It got so popular to make at home, Chex actually sells it bagged! I've made it numerous times and it's just SO DARN GOOD! Only negative thing? Nut allergies! It's hard to bring to parties because of the use of nuts. Enter white chocolate and cake mix for the solution!
A few weeks back Lowe's Foods had a sale on cereal and if you bought 3 boxes, you saved 25 cents per gallon of gas (so if you bought 6 boxes you saved 50 cents...). I ended up with a big box of Kix & another of Honey Kix (in addition to all the other cereal). Kix is a corn puff and Chex is corn (one of the types at least) so I thought I'd use those to make a treat.


The results were glorious and I loved the way they looked so much, I thought I'd make more for an Easter treat for my kids to hand out in class. The labels I made were simple on the outside: "Happy Easter" on one side and ingredients list with allergy info on the back (Nut Free. Contains gluten & dairy) so a kid could eat it right away and know it was safe (or not)). The inside (tricky, tricky mommy) had a description and invitation to our church's Easter Block Party. We invited everyone as our guests and I hope maybe 1 person takes us up on the offer :)
Well, since my version has neither chocolate or peanut butter and is kinda the opposite of what was originally intended. I will refer to these as Non-Muddy buddies (since they are white) aka Cat Chow.

NON-MUDDY BUDDIES aka CAT CHOW

6-7 cups Kix

6 squares Almond Bark (half a package)

2-3 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 cups cake mix (I used a white vanilla)

1 cup powdered sugar

1. Melt almond bark according to directions (should be 90 seconds for 6 bars stir and 15 seconds more).
2. Stir in 2-3 teaspoons of veggie oil and mix well.
3. Pour over the cereal and stir to completely coat.
4. Whisk together powdered sugar & cake mix. (Note: you can also add colored sugar just to give some color - sprinkles & non-pariels don't seem to stick).
5. Add powdered mix quickly to coated cereal and stir to cover completely. I start with a spoon but finish with my hands.

WARNING: this is addictive!


After making this, I can't wait to get  my hands on Cocoa Puffs and doing it this way... and just making all kinds of wacky flavor combos!

SNICKERDOODLES

These are CT's favorite cookie - this particular recipe is, I should say. Everyone loves these. They are best the day of and next day but don't hold up as well in my opinion. They are still super easy and yummy though. Nothing like a fresh Snickerdoodle.


Funny name huh? Snickerdoodle! It's from German - schnecke meaning snail because it's based on schneckenudeln which looks like our cinnamon buns (or small shell). In America, land of cookies, they liked funky, whimsical names and they kinda compared the cake to t he cookie and there ya go... the Snickerdoodle was born. Make sense?


I know, you dont care. You just want the mouth-watering recipe!

SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES

about 3 dozen large cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1-1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

cinnamon-sugar mixture  to roll dough balls in

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. 
3. In separate bowl mix flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. 
4. Add to creamed mixture & blend.
5. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls. I use a tablespoon scooper.
6. Drop balls into cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll around to coat fully.
7. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
8. Bake 8-10 minutes until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SPREAD

Oh, yeah. I went there. 


Back in NYC, there is this cool, really popular place called Peanut Butter & Co. It's on Sullivan Street (if ya care). They are a sandwich shop that serves, yup! you guessed it!, peanut butter sandwiches. All different kinds! All homemade peanut butters. They got so popular they started selling their peanut butter jars nationwide. Go look in Walmart. Top shelf of the peanut butters you will find them! Anyway, they have this one kind that I kinda really dig - Dark Chocolate Dreams. Thing is I dont like 'dark" chocolate and well, it's pricey as you'd imagine it'd be.
Thanks to Pinterest, I've noticed ways to make things at home that'd I never try. Like taking the idea for Biscoff Butter (it's like peanut butter but made with Biscoff cookies!!!) and making an Oreo butter. Ideas are all over the place!


I totally adore fresh ground honey roasted peanut butter. So when I went to Whole Foods today (to get soap for my homemade laundry soap), I got some fresh ground, plain roasted peanuts. I got 3/4 container (probably about equal poundage).


I added that to my food processor and let it whirl. And whirl. And whirl some more. You let it go until it's very liquidy.. about 5 minutes. Then I added 1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder, 1 cup (about) of Domino's Powdered Sugar, about 1/4 teaspoon salt, and between 3-4 tablespoons of veggie oil drizzled in to make it the right consistency. 


It's that simple! OC tried it and loved it and i know when HT get's his mouth around that sandwich tomorrow, he'll be hooked! It's not super chocolaty b you can adjust the taste for you which is why this is such a great idea!

Recipe: Soft "Oaty" Oatmeal Cookies

I like oatmeal cookies. Raisins are okay in them, but if the cookie is good and "oaty" then it doesnt need anything else in it. I've had some good oatmeal cookies but haven't been able to get the super oaty taste I've been after at home until now. Only change I'd make to this recipe is to try half shortening instead to cut down on the buttery taste. While I love butter taste, I like the oats to shine. 


These are chewy on the outside and soft inside. They really are am amazing cookie. You can easily add in raisins, dried fruit, chips, whatever but I like them plain the best. 

Soft Oaty Oatmeal Cookie

yield: 3 dozen large cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups Old fashioned oats (slow cooking oatmeal) 

1. Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.
2. Beat in eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and mix.
5. Mix in oats. 
6. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (preferably about 6).
7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
8. Lightly spray cookie sheets with baking spray.
9. Scoop dough with a 1" scooper (tablespoonfuls) & place 2" apart.
10. Bake for 9-11 minutes in preheated oven.
11. Allow cookies to cool for 5+ minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to cooling rack.

Recipe: Hamburger Pie

My moms used to make hamburger pie often. It's easy and cheap and filling. Plus everyone loved it. It was from her BHG red gingham-checkered binder full of BHG recipes. Now all these years later, I'm making the same I always loved. Of course, me being me, I change up a few things and make it my style. Also great to make ahead and bake at dinnertime. Less mess, less stress. 

Hamburger Pie

1-1/2 pounds of lean ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 16-ounce bag of frozen cut green beans, thawed & drained

1 Homemade "Condensed Tomato Soup" or 1 can of condensed soup (10-3/4 oz)

4 servings mashed potatoes (I use instant following directions but adding 1 egg to the mix at the end)

enough cheese to cover top

1. In a skillet, brown meat & cook onion until brown & tender.
2. Drain off fat (if there is any).
3. Add salt (and pepper if you fancy that).
4. Stir in soup.
5. Pour into bottom of baking dish.
6. Add Green Beans on top.
7. Spoon mashed potatoes over the beans and spread to even over casserole dish.
8. Add cheese over top of potatoes.
9. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and cheese starts to brown.

Recipe: "Condensed tomato soup"

So I wanted to make a recipe and I thought it needed canned tomato sauce. 15 minutes before the kids got home, I realized I needed Condensed Tomato Soup. ARGH! What's a momma to do? This momma looked online and found out I can make such a thing. I changed the recipe up a bit but it tasted just like it. I've read you can even add liquid to it and use it as soup (I'm baking with mine).


"Condensed Tomato Soup"
1 15-ounce can Tomato Sauce
4 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
1 teaspoon salt


Just whisk altogether and viola! I am never buying cans of condensed again... here I cna be in charge of what goes into it and it's healthier and cheaper!

Recipe: Fruity Pancakes

As with many multi-kid families, our mornings are always busy! We got school on weekdays. We got Church on Sunday mornings. Saturday mornings for half the year is some sport. So when on earth is there time to make big fancy breakfasts? We simply can't find that kind of time so we do Breakfast for Dinner 2-3 times a month. This way we get a full "fancy" breakfast without being rushed AND it's a cheap dinner.


So this past week (including this week) we've had to tighten our spending until payday. I'm sure you all have had this happen. SO we have to use what we have in the house. Sunday evenings we also do church stuff (have I mentioned Richland Creek Community Church is the best place ever on Earth?) and I had to come up with something quick. We decided on pancakes. Plain pancakes get boring and we had no fresh fruit. So, I added some Post Fruity Pebbles and made a few silver dollar pancakes for each person to try and see if they wanted those or plain ones. 4 out of the 5 people, wanted the Fruity Pebbles kind. They are so easy, look super cute and dont taste as gross as they might sound.


The Fruity Pebbles adds a slight fruitiness and doesnt really make them much sweeter. It's kind of odd. All you have to do is add a scoop of fruity pebbles to your batter and that's it! It's that plain and simple to make your plain and simple pancakes less plain and simple. *smile*


I want to buy Cocoa Pebbles and try those. Slight chocolate flavor without being super chocolaty? That sounds right up my alley! Less messy than chocolate chips too! Now there are healthy/natural versions of Fruity Pebbles that I am sure would work as well. My 1 son (who was the one person who didnt like the pancakes) is very particular with cereal and wont eat natural or generic Pebbles :( I think any small cereal like Pebbles should work. 


Give them a try!

Kidaround Kidsale - Spring 2012

It should go without saying that each season, the sale grows. I'm not sure how much longer the Kidaround Kidsale can stay at the MVP Sports complex at The Factory in Wake Forest. This year they were busting out the seams in the best possible way! I got to shop early on Thursday night at 4:00 when it opened to the elite shoppers who donated lots of time to make the sale as wonderful as it is. I made some great scores and you can see them on a separate post that I made. I plan to go back to early shop the 50% off sale and hope to make a few more big scores. Take a look at the wonderful sale (and my pictures do not do it justice)!