Who loves pudding cups for lunch?? I do, sometimes, but my husband would eat three in a day. I typically don't buy these for us because...
1. Who KNOWS what's in them to last so long...especially the shelf stable ones!
2. They're stinking expensive! I just saw six cups on sale for $2.79!
So, great idea....make your own pudding cups!
I got two packages of pudding mix ($0.46 for a package at Aldi) and a gallon of milk ($2.69 at Aldi). Then, I used the little tupperware type snack cups that are about the same size as a pudding cup. (My mom found about 10 of them at a garage sale with lids for a dollar!)
Mix each flavor separately with just a little less than the two cups of milk the package specifies.
Layer the flavors in the cups, put on the lid, and refrigerate!
By my math I spent about $1.50 for nine pudding cups...which saved $2.64! And you can choose the flavors and combinations you want! Wheeee! :o)
What flavors are you going to try??
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Meat shopping at Home!
We have a deep freeze (aka, chest freezer) that I don't think I could live without. My husband hunts, so we need someplace to store all that meat. We also co-op with a couple other families on raising chickens and butchering them each summer...so a place to store 15-18 ten pound chickens all year is super important!
All that to say, I should rarely buy meat, but I still find myself checking out with a *great* deal on chicken or something. I'm challenging myself to use what we already have before I go purchasing more. Since venison is VERY plentiful at our house, here is creative use number one:
Venison Enchilada's (AKA Venchilada's):
1 lb ground venison (I had venison steaks that I put through our meat grinder)
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 can tomato sauce
1 can hot enchilada sauce
6 flour tortillas
8 ounces cheddar cheese - grated
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the ground venison on medium high heat. Before meat is completely cooked, add the packet of taco seasoning. Finish browning and then add the tomato sauce and 1/2 the grated cheese. Stir together until cheese is melted into the meat.
Spray a 9x13" pan. Spoon the meat into a tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in the pan. Use the rest of the meat to fill the other tortilla's. Pour the enchilada sauce over the rolled up Venchilada's (try to cover all of them) and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Enjoy!
Honest appraisal - These were delicious! You couldn't tell they were venison, which is a big thumbs up for me. My husband said these should definitely be added to the regular dinner rotation. Works for me if it helps us get the venison moving out of the freezer before next season!
Your turn - what do you need to use up in your freezer before spending more at the store?
All that to say, I should rarely buy meat, but I still find myself checking out with a *great* deal on chicken or something. I'm challenging myself to use what we already have before I go purchasing more. Since venison is VERY plentiful at our house, here is creative use number one:
Venison Enchilada's (AKA Venchilada's):
1 lb ground venison (I had venison steaks that I put through our meat grinder)
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 can tomato sauce
1 can hot enchilada sauce
6 flour tortillas
8 ounces cheddar cheese - grated
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the ground venison on medium high heat. Before meat is completely cooked, add the packet of taco seasoning. Finish browning and then add the tomato sauce and 1/2 the grated cheese. Stir together until cheese is melted into the meat.
Spray a 9x13" pan. Spoon the meat into a tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in the pan. Use the rest of the meat to fill the other tortilla's. Pour the enchilada sauce over the rolled up Venchilada's (try to cover all of them) and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Enjoy!
Honest appraisal - These were delicious! You couldn't tell they were venison, which is a big thumbs up for me. My husband said these should definitely be added to the regular dinner rotation. Works for me if it helps us get the venison moving out of the freezer before next season!
Your turn - what do you need to use up in your freezer before spending more at the store?
Money Saving - Idea #1
**Make your favorite snack at home**
For us, this is the quaker chewy granola bar...chocolate chip, please. I just saw a box of 12 on sale for $2.50 today. I made 18 (larger than quaker's) for an estimated $2.
Mock Quaker Choc Chip Granola Bars
3 C rolled oats
1.5 C crisped rice
1/2 C melted butter
1/3 C brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1 C honey
1 C flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix everything together in a bowl until thoroughly moistened and clumpy. Spray a 9x13" pan (I used glass, so that I could cut in the pan without worrying about scratches) and pour everything in the pan. Spray a spatula and press down into the pan. Bake at 325 for 18 - 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and press everything down again with the sprayed spatula. Let cool for 10-15 minutes and cut into granola sized bars (I made 18, I think I may make them smaller next time). Let cool another 30 minutes. Remove from pan with spatula and separate to completely cool on a wire rack. I then put each one in a plastic baggie, taped closed (didn't have the little snack bags or waxed paper that I wanted to use), and tossed them all into an empty quaker granola bar box. Tada!!
Honest appraisal - they taste a little bit different, but that's because we're using honey instead of corn syrup and invert sugar (because we don't even know what invert sugar is!). They taste more like cascadian farm granola bars - sweet but healthy. MMMMM.
Your turn, what snacks have you found are just as good or better to make at home?
For us, this is the quaker chewy granola bar...chocolate chip, please. I just saw a box of 12 on sale for $2.50 today. I made 18 (larger than quaker's) for an estimated $2.
Mock Quaker Choc Chip Granola Bars
3 C rolled oats
1.5 C crisped rice
1/2 C melted butter
1/3 C brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1 C honey
1 C flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix everything together in a bowl until thoroughly moistened and clumpy. Spray a 9x13" pan (I used glass, so that I could cut in the pan without worrying about scratches) and pour everything in the pan. Spray a spatula and press down into the pan. Bake at 325 for 18 - 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and press everything down again with the sprayed spatula. Let cool for 10-15 minutes and cut into granola sized bars (I made 18, I think I may make them smaller next time). Let cool another 30 minutes. Remove from pan with spatula and separate to completely cool on a wire rack. I then put each one in a plastic baggie, taped closed (didn't have the little snack bags or waxed paper that I wanted to use), and tossed them all into an empty quaker granola bar box. Tada!!
Honest appraisal - they taste a little bit different, but that's because we're using honey instead of corn syrup and invert sugar (because we don't even know what invert sugar is!). They taste more like cascadian farm granola bars - sweet but healthy. MMMMM.
Your turn, what snacks have you found are just as good or better to make at home?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
re-Kickin it off
Life update: I'm back at work (2 months now) - part-time (which is amazing) and I have a six month old (!). With four days at home, I've had the chance to read a bunch of blogs and be inspired by all of these other moms who have such neat stuff to share!
Topics I've been thinking about lately are creative ways to save money, freezer cooking meals, cloth diapering, and home decorating.... Actually, if I could find a way to make all of these be my job, I would be...oh LOVE. :o)
Topics I've been thinking about lately are creative ways to save money, freezer cooking meals, cloth diapering, and home decorating.... Actually, if I could find a way to make all of these be my job, I would be...oh LOVE. :o)
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