As soon as you pack up the Christmas decorations the candy canes become out of season treats. However, peppermint never goes out of season, so I crush my candy canes and use them to add peppermint flavor to candies and treats. Peppermint Divinity makes a delicious hostess gift if you attend any New Year's Eve parties. It is also a lovely Valentine's Day … [Read more...]
Dipped Pretzel Sticks and Gift Tags
We absolutely adore our children's teachers and the other wonderful personnel at their school so the kids helped me whip up these Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks for them, then I created these "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays" gift tags to decorate them with. Now the kids are super excited to hand deliver them at school tomorrow! Feel free to download the gift … [Read more...]
Hot Chocolate Mix Gifts Your Kids Can Make!
Just four ingredients. Plus one or more children equal a fun time making hot chocolate mix for gifts. At our house we abandoned store-bought individual hot chocolate packets long ago. Only because we needed more. When the temperature dipped outside, we went through about a box in a day. With this recipe and warehouse-sized containers, we make a frugal, homemade version in … [Read more...]
Homemade Pie Crust Recipe
I learned something about homemade pie crusts recently. Most people are scared of them. And completely overwhelmed with the thought of making a homemade pie crust. Huh. Really? I want to know...are you overwhelmed by the thought of making your own pie crust? Have you ever considered skipping past the pre-made rolled crusts from the store? Or you an old pre at homemade … [Read more...]
Homemade Frozen Pizzas
I have been buying a lot of single - size frozen pizzas lately. My teenagers love them. I finally decided to try making my own version. Using this recipe, you can make 8 small pizzas that are 7" in size. These can be frozen and quickly heated later on a busy night. Or you can have them available for the children at any time. I use an easy, no-yeast pizza dough recipe I made … [Read more...]
October Potatofest Recipes
Our feeding the larger family ways will help you feed a crowd and take a break during the holidays! October is potato month for me for several reasons. Not only are potatoes frugal and can be served in a variety of ways, but October is right up next to November and December. October is the month I pile the potatoes in the freezer – freeing me up at holiday time. … [Read more...]
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins and Breads
Katie from Kitchen Stewardship has a wonderful recipe for healthy pumpkin muffins and breads. I really like how she breaks down the recipe and shows you what substitutions to make to make the muffins healthier! Healthy Pumpkin Muffins and Breads Photo Credit … [Read more...]
Homemade Pumpkin in the Slow Cooker
Alright...for those of you were wondering about cooking your own pumpkins...here you go. Couple things you should know before you embark into the land of homemade pumpkin puree: You have to use a certain kind of pumpkin. The kind that you get for carving...yeah, those won't work. *bitter Look in your store for the "pie pumpkins"...they will be on sale and super cheap … [Read more...]
Pumpkin Chai Latte
As I killed sugar from my diet in August, and continue to keep it at a minimum, I found myself missing out on my occasional latte and Chai tea. These are splurges for me, but even still...I was missing them. Since getting them without sugar at Starbucks wouldn't be an option, I'd just have to make my own. Better and cheaper! I've shared my favorite version of the Pumpkin … [Read more...]
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
As promised, my homemade pumpkin pie spice mix recipe. You'll notice that it's very similar to the apple pie spice...just adds ginger and a bit more cinnamon. And just like I said the other day, "why buy a jar of spice that you only need 1-2 teaspoons of when you can mix up your own with what you've got already?!" Over time, you accumulate all the spices you need to … [Read more...]