Once a Month Cooking

I absolutely LOVE the idea of Once a Month cooking. Spending one day cooking meals for entire month might seem like a lot…but think of the time saved after you’re done! Less cleanup means more family time, no more “what’s for dinner” rush or “what’s for dinner, mom’s sick” confusion…plus, you can often save money if you buy in bulk and plan well in advance.

As appealing as the concept is,  I admit I don’t have the time to figure out all the details. When I discovered Once a Month Mom, I was so excited! Finally, all the work was done for me.  The menu, the shopping list, the Instructions…everything I need! The menus are put up a month in advance along with a podcast explaining it all. The great thing is, the menus are designed to use things that will be on sale during your “shopping” month.

I got right to work. I have the recipes, instructions and shopping list all printed and in a binder. I just take the binder with me to the store, so I can check the list to see if I can find some good deals on what I need. And my mom is planning on coming down for the day to help me. I may even find somewhere for my 5 year old to play for the day so there are no distractions.

Mark your calendars and plan on cooking with me! December 2nd…I’ll be starting around 8:30am. I plan on posting my progress throughout the day so tune in. If you want to join me, here are some links that might be helpful:

• Once a Month Mom this is where you find what I’m doing
• Money Saving Mom a great post on freezing meals

Easter Pictures

Happy Earth Day!

I don’t know what the weather is like where you are…but here it is a BEAUTIFUL Earth Day! Spring is definately in the air and as I marvel at all God has created this day (and every day!) I wanted to share some great ways to take care of the planet we all call home.

1. Recycle – that’s the obvious one! Some ways we recycle : Give away clothes we have outgrown, Pass along Magazine that we have read, Use empty cans and other containers for craft projects, buy eco-friendly refills for hand-soap (smaller packaging)…what are some ways you recycle?

• Good Rule to Remember: REUSE before you RECYCLE ; don’t just automatically take everything to the recycle bins…figure out what else you can do with recyclables first!

2. Reuseable Shopping Bags – I’ve taken to using these in the last several months and LOVE them! Not only do they help the environment; they also hold more and are more durable than plastic.

• Interesting Fact :   Worldwide, an estimated 4 billion plastic bags end up as litter each year. Tied end to end that’s enough to circle the earth 63 times.

3. Buy live Christmas Trees – something we started 2 years ago. We bought a little baby everygreen tree with the root ball still intact, decorated it, kept the roots wet and set it outside the week after Christmas. In another week or so , my husband will plant it in the backyard! The kids love this idea and it is helping us make a hedgerow of sorts along the back of our property.

4. Grow your own food – it’s Spring and Spring means gardens! If it grows in the ground or on a tree and you eat it…grow it yourself! When it’s time to harvest, get the family involved in “putting up” your fruits and veggies for the winter! How is this Earth Friendly? Most likely, you won’t use pesticides and you won’t have cans because you will be using glass jars for almost everything! Have you thought about what to plant this year?

How about some other websites celebrating today:

Tiny Prints – lots of “green” ideas for the day

Deal Seeking Mom – freebies & a giveaway

Coupon Cravings – HUGE giveaway

If I come across any more, I’ll add them to the list! Have a Happy Earth Day!

Gingerbread Cookies

These are great for Gingerbread People cutouts! The kids have a blast decorating these little people…

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/3 c. shortening
• 1 1/2 c. dark molasses
• 2/3 c. cold water
• 7 c. self-rising flour
• 2 t. ground ginger
• 1 t. ground allspice
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. ground cloves

Directions:

• Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses and water in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet with shortening.
• Roll dough 1/4 in. thick on floured surface. Cut out with floured cutter. Place 2 in. apart on cookie sheet
• Bake 10-12 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched. Remove from sheet, cool on wire rack.

Peppermint Meltaways

This a new recipe for me this year. They sound delicious! Just to give credit, where credit it due…I found the recipe in the Nov/Dec. Issue of Simple & Delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• FROSTING:
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 2 to 3 drops red food coloring, optional
• 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies

Directions:

In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Shape into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
In a small mixing bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, milk, extract and food coloring if desired; beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cookies; sprinkle with crushed candies. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3-1/2 dozen.

Mini Pecan Tarts

These little tarts are perfect to serve with coffee after dinner. Just enough sweetness to satisfy your dessert craving!

Mini Pecan Tarts

Ingredients for Cookie:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup flour

Ingredients for Filling:

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tables. butter, melted
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Beat butter & cream cheese until smooth. Mix in flour and shape into 1 in. balls ; press into mini muffin tin with a tart press (or your thumb)
2. Mix egg, butter, brown sugar and pecans together for filling
3. Fill each tart with 1 Tables. of filling ; bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until pastry is lightly golden and puffy. Cool in pan for a few minutes, the remove them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Soft Sugar Cookies

We like our Sugar Cookie Cutouts nice and soft…how about you? Here is my recipe that we use for all our Sugar Cookie needs. Enjoy!

Soft Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup butter, softened (real butter)
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teasp. vanilla extract
• 1 teasp. cream of tartar
• 1 teasp. almond extract
• 1 teasp. baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups sifted flour (measure after sifting)

Directions

1. Cream together sugar and butter. Add egg and extracts
2. Mix together flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Stir into creamed mixture. Chill 2-3 hours or overnight.
3. Roll out on a lightly powdered board until dough is 1/2 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with colored sugar or other decorations.
4. Bake 7-9 minutes at 350. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes ; move to wire rack to finish cooling.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies

How about a Cookie Countdown for Christmas? I’ll be posting a new recipe every day until 2 days before Christmas! Do you have a favorite recipe you would like to see posted? Send me an email with your recipe, a photo (if you have one) and why they’re your favorite.

To start off the countdown here is my favorite Christmas Cookie Recipe…I’ll be making them soon and I’ll post a picture!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
* 1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained, reserve juice
* 1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and soda, blending well; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter or margarine and sugar on low speed until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture; beat until smooth and well blended. With hands, shape dough into 1-inch balls; place on ungreased baking sheet. Press down center of dough with thumb. Drain Maraschino cherries well, reserving juice. Place a cherry in the center indention of each cookie.

In small saucepan combine chocolate pieces and sweetened condensed milk; heat over low heat until chocolate is melted. Stir in 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the reserved cherry juice. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the topping over each cherry, spreading to cover cherry. If frosting seems too thick, thin with a little more cherry juice. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes, or until done. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Cookie Swap

This week, I’ve been trying to plan out my Christmas baking. Not an easy task, when each of us has several different favorites that only get made at Christmas! I do get together with a friend every year and spend a day baking. We usually get 4 or 5 different kinds made. There are 11 hungry family members between our two families, so cookies don’t last long in either of our homes! I try to put back an assortment in the freezer for company, but somehow they disappear before I know it

Something we’re going to try this year is a Cookie Swap. We’re starting small, with only 6 ladies making 6 dozen of one kind of Christmas Cookie. We’ll get together to exchange them in the next week or two. That way, we’ll have a great assortment and we won’t have spent hours in the kitchen.

Have you ever done this or something similar? I would love any other ideas that would make Christmas Baking easier and more frugal

Head over to Tammy’s Recipes for more great tips!

Black Friday Recap

WOW! This was the first time I joined the “psyco ranks” for the Door Buster Sales. We got up at 2:45AM and left the house for the 45 minute drive to the mall. Why, you may ask? Well…the flyers we had said that JCPenny opened at 4am and Target opened at 5am. We were looking for a new wedding band for me at the former and a Super Mario Nintendo DS at the later. So, here was our morning:

• 3:45am – arrive at Target to drop off MIL to get in line
• 4:00am – arrive at JCPenny to get in line
• 4:01am – enter JCPenny without waiting, because they actually opened at 3:30am!
• 4:20am – MIL shows up at Pennys and tells us that Target actually doesn’t open until 6am!
• 4:30am – after waiting for our turn at the Jewelry counter we find out that the ring we wanted was out of stock already. The nice clerk ordered it at the door buster price for us online. So really, we could have come in at anytime before 1pm and had them order it!
• 4:45am- arrive at Target to get in line (for real this time)
• 5:55am – late arrivers start standing around near the front of the line expecting to sneak into the crowd when the doors open. No security had come out and it was starting to get interesting.
• 6am – doors open and there is literally a mad rush into the store. My husband was brave (or crazy) enough to hold back some of the line jumpers until we most of us that had waited more than an hour could get through the door. Nobody got seriously hurt, but one of the line jumpers got through and when some young teenage accidentally bumped into him with a cart, he turned around and slammed the cart back at the kid. I moved out of the way, but he pushed passed me as well. I rushed to the electronics, MIL went to where they were handing out the GPS (she had a ticket that was handed out earlier) and Ben caught up to us after holding back the crowd…thankfully with no black eye or broken bones!
• 6:10am – after searching for the DS, I finally got the attention of a clerk and was told they weren’t sent any of them! Apparently not all stores received all the advertised specials. I think I’ll be calling the corporate customer service to let them know how disappointed we were. MIL did get the GPS she wanted, so it wasn’t a totally wasted wait.
• 6:30am – check out of Target…we were very impressed with their system and the line went from the back of the store to the front in less than 10 minutes!
• 6:50am – quick stop at Toys R Us to look for the DS. Bumped into my neice who had been waiting in line for an hour after spending only 10 minutes getting what she wanted. I guess it was good that that store was out of the DS already!
• 7:15 arrive at Sam’s club – DS Found!!! They had about 10 of them and they were only about $10 more than the other stores. Picked up a few other things and checked out.
• 7:30 enjoyed a free breakfast buffet at Sam’s club and rested our weary feet for a few mintues.

That was then end of our craziness. After that, we went back to the mall to do some shopping and eat lunch. We made it to Wal-Mart around 1pm, did some shopping there and finally headed home at 3pm.

My daughter called at 2 and reminded me that we said we’d be home at noon and we were two hours late! We arrived back at my MILs at 4pm, ate supper, played Scrabble and took a nap. We headed back home around 7:15 and the kiddos were ready to go to bed when we got home at 8. Ben and I went to bed around 10 and we all slept in until around 8. I’m still dragging a bit this morning, but I guess it was worth it

What did we end up buying? Not much!

• Ordered new wedding band – mine lost 2 of 3 of the diamonds and my engagement ring needed some fixing as well. We had an estimate to get them both fixed and found it to be less expensive to just find one ring for now. After 12 years,  they finally started to show how rough I really am on them!
• Frog rubber boots & an outfit for Alex’s bday present in two weeks
• A shirt for Sammi for Christmas
• Best deal? 4 Glade Oil Candle burners for $4 (after coupons) , 2 Glade Candle wisp refills for $2 (after coupons), 2 Glade Fan plugins and 2 refills (fans were free with coupons). You really didn’t think I could go shopping without using coupons did you??

I guess I’ll go out again next year…but I’ll definitely go to bed before 11pm Thanksgiving Day!!!

Did you post about your day on your blog? Share with us on Mr.Linky!