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$1/2 Lean Pockets from Here

Thanks Printable Coupons and deals and Free Coupon Alerts

Tater Tot Casserole

Here's a great recipe that my friend shared with me

I had to modify the recipe a little because I was out of sour cream, my kids prefer no onions and corn sounded better then green beans tonight.

(1) Package of frozen tater tots
(1.5lb) Cooked Shredded chicken (Cubed would be good too)
(2) Can's Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup
(1) Package of frozen corn
(1) 8oz package of shredded cheese
(1/2) Can of water
Salt and pepper to taste
Pre heat oven to 400 degrees

Mix Chicken, Soup, Corn, Cheese and water in 13x9 cooking dish. Pour entire package of Tater tots into casserole pressing half the tots into the chicken mixture. Salt and pepper to taste and bake for 45 minutes.

This recipe was so quick and easy and the entire family enjoyed it.

You could also make this into more of a mexican theme by adding in salsa and green chiles. I think I'll try that next time.

Homemade Tortillas

I'm loving my new tortilla press from Amazon. They are so easy to make and taste so much better then store bought. Homemade tortillas make me feel like we are in Mexico all over again.  Here's a picture of a finished tortilla

I picked up the Maseca at Walmart for only $2.78 and  I found the Imusa Victoria Cast Iron Tortilla Press, 6-1/2-Inchon Amazon for only $18.99.  What a thrifty way to make yummy tortillas. 

Hamburger Cupcakes

Last year I made these for my daughters classroom.  Since I have all the ingredients I thought it would be fun to make them with my daughters  next week.

I actually found the idea on Bakerella.  She has some of the cutest cupcakes I have ever seen. 

What you will need:

(1) Box of White Cake mix
(2) Boxes of Brownie Mix
(1) Container of frosting
(1) Pkg of Sugar cookie dough (baked and cut into strips for fries)
Food color, yellow, red and green
(1) Pkg Sandwich wax paper
Found this at World Market on Clearance
(1) Pkg colored card stock (For the Fry boats)
Optional sesame seeds for burger bun

-Go Here for the template for the Fry boats
-Prepare all items as directed on packages
-Roll out Sugar cookie dough into one large cookie, Bake, cut into strips and roll in sugar
-Use small round cookie cutter to cut out brownie bites for hamburger patty
-Cut cupcakes in half and frost with colored frosting
-Sprinkle top of bun with water and dip into sesame seeds

Organization & Household notebook

(Photo credit Organizedhome.com)

Organization is a must in my home, I have found when I'm using my Household Notebook I'm happier and if I'm happy the whole family is happy. :-) The last couple of months I stopped using my Notebook and I definitely felt disorganized.  I was getting those dreaded phone calls at work you know the question "Mom, What's for dinner" Ugh I can't stand that question.  And let's face it the household chores were not getting done like they should have either. 

 The links below are free and are from Chorecharts.com and Organizedhome.com. If you have any Organizational ideas I would love to hear them.

Weekly Chore list

Emergency Contact

Daily To Do list

Master To Do list

Shopping list

Weekly Menu Plan

Weekly Menu Plan w/ list

Monthly Menu Planner

Price Book

Freezer Inventory

Pantry Inventory

Birthdays & Anniversaries 

Phone Directory

Kid's Chore Charts

Cookbook download

Go Here for your Free Best of Betty Crocker Cookbook Download.  I'm thinking the Champagne cupcakes look like fun.

General Tso's

I've gotten a little bored with cooking lately so I went looking for some new recipes and found this recipe for General Tso's chicken on Food(dot)com.

Ingredients
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 cups green onions, sliced
8 small dried chilies, seeds removed (bird pepper or thai chilies are good)

Cornstarch slurry
1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium preferred
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cornstarch

Sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sherry wine or 1/4 cup white wine
14 1/2 ounces chicken broth

Directions:
Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 40 mins

1. Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.

2. Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add chicken pieces to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to raise the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.

3. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.

4. In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. You can fry all the chicken, drain the oil to the desired amount and use the same pan if you like.

 5. Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.

 6. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add a little water. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.

 7. Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until all is hot and bubbly. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.

8. Serve over rice.

Loftthouse cookies

If you go Here and sign up with Lofthouse cookies they will send you a coupon for free cookies on your Birthday.  I love Lofthouse cookies and rarely buy them because I can't stay out of them. :-)

Pumpkin Bars

One of Ty's favorites is Pumpkin bars.  I got this recipe from an old friend (Thanks, Brenda) and I have never found one that I like better. It's quick and easy to make and it will help me use up some of the canned pumpkin I picked up at RiteAid during the holidays.


 Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
1 cup of oil
2 cups sugar
1 15oz. can of pumpkin

Mix wet ingredients together

2 cups of flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. each of ginger, cloves, nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl, add wet ingredients to flour mixture, mix well. Pour into greased and floured 12x17x1 cookie sheet. Make sure to use cookie sheet not cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 min.

Cream cheese frosting:
1 8oz. pkg. of cream cheese
3/4 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla till creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat till smooth

Playdough Recipes

I've been cleaning out the pantry today and one thing I noticed was an overabundance of flour that is near expiration. Instead of just throwing it out I decided to make playdough with the girls.  We decided to make the edible kind and the girls had a blast. The colors turn out a little dark since you are using peanutbutter in the recipe but it was quick and easy to make and pretty yummy too. :-)

Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1 Tbsp. of cooking oil
1 tsp. cream of tartar
2 cups of water
1 cup of salt
Food coloring of choice

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in large pan. Cook slowly on medium-high and stir it until the playdough thickens. Keeps best in the fridge in plastic containers.

Takes less than 10 minutes.

Or better yet here is a no bake edible recipe

1/2 Cup Light corn syrup
3/4 Cup Peanut butter
1/2 Cup Soft margarine
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Flour

Add food color if desired

Mix all the ingredients and knead into individual balls


KOOL-AID PLAY DOUGH

Mix together:
1 Cup flour
1/2 Cup salt
2 tsp tartar
1 pkg unsweetened kool-aid

Add:
1 C. boiling water
1 Tbs vegetable oil

Stir until soft dough forms, knead until smooth. Store in air tight container in fridge.