Hope you had a wonderful Easter! and some deals, recipes and more!

Did you have a good Easter? We sure did!

My plan was for the Easter Bunny to leave a note on the door saying he hopped on by while we were at church and left some clues to find the hidden Easter baskets BUT... Miss Allie Grace found the hidden Easter baskets about 10 minutes before we were to walk out the door! So, we took a mini break from our Sunday morning mad scramble routine to check out the baskets before I whisked them away so we could maybe make it to church before Sunday School was over! WoW! total run on sentence, sorry. Anyhow, I love days we get to spend together with family and friends, good food, and chocolate :) I hope your day was just as wonderful!

Now onto the deals:

I have a TON of pictures I need to get developed so I have been watching out for the photo deals. Here are two I saw this morning from Couponing to Disney.

Target has a printable coupon for $2 off the purchase of 20 prints. Prints are 10 cents each so 20 pics for FREE!

The next one is 365 prints from Snapfish for $15.00 SHIPPED! Use the code SPRING365 at check out to get this deal. If you are new to Snapfish you also get 50 FREE prints. That is just $.04 a picture! You only have until Tuesday night to do this deal though so hurry!

I found an email from Disney in my box this morning for their beach towels. They are on sale for $12 this week with FREE personalization. I'm thinking my babies might need these :)

You can get a FREE DVD today only from Blockbuster with the code MONDAYDVD.

Frugal Living NW shared a deal about 2 tickets for Big Surf at Clackamas Aquatic Park for just $5.

She also shared a post about a FREE 8x10 photo canvas from the Canvas People. You just have to pay shipping. This would be great for Mother's day!

And the last thing is a recipe I saw over at Our Best Bites for a Tortellini Spinach Bake. This looks good and with a couple changes my little ones just might eat it :)

Okay friends I have some pictures to download so have a great Monday!

Instant Oatmeal Packets

I found this recipe today for instant oatmeal packets. I spent a good 20 minutes checking out the healthier version of instant oatmeal at the store to make sure it didn't have any junk in it and wasn't too high in sugar. The recipe seems pretty easy so as long as my boys will still eat instant oatmeal I think I am going to give this one I try. I like the idea of experimenting with the different add ins to customize it too.

Thanks moneysavingmom!

Cute lunch ideas for your little ones

I saw these cute sandwiches over at Snackpicks this morning. These would be cute for your little one's lunch. I can't wait to make them for the boys, especially the Lion.

Lion sandwich
Bus sandwich

Albertson's Twice the Value coupons coming SUNDAY!

Rumor is Albertson's will have their Twice the Value coupons in this Sundays paper. These coupons are not part of the store ad. They are on a single glossy sheet, with highlights of this weeks sale items. You get 3 coupons per sheet, and can only use 3 per transaction. Occasionally the cashier will let you do more than 1 transaction at a time. If not go put your groceries in the car and go back in to do it again. Also these coupons MIGHT be available at the customer service counter. I say might because last time they had doubles the lady said they handed them all out in the grocery bags the Thursday before. Oh and these coupons are only good for 3 days. They expire Tuesday night!

Fistful of Coupons has done a great job rounding up all of the freebies, and really cheap items you can buy. She also has a money making deal when you buy Kikkoman that you really should check out.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

Prego Pasta Sauce .99 each (limit 2)
-use $1/2 printable coupon + doubler
= 2 for FREE!!

Avocados $1
-use $1/2 printable coupon (for California avocados) zipcode 99301
= FREE!

Snyders of Hanover Pretzels $2.00
-use $1/1 from 5/23 SS and 6/27 SS + doubler
= FREE!







I'm buying these pretzels because I want to make these Easy Pretzel Turtles. YUM!




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Yummy Recipes from around the blog

I was making my grocery list tonight and looking online for some new ideas for dinners. Here are a few that I found that looked tasty. Enjoy! and if you get a chance to try some let me know how they turned out.

BBQ Ranch Chicken and Cheddar Pizza Roll em’ Ups

1 Roll Pillsbury Pizza dough in can (or use other pizza dough of choice)
1/4 Cup prepared ranch dressing
2 Cups prepared shredded BBQ Chicken
1/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 1/2 Cups shredded smoked cheddar cheese
Ranch Dressing for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Open can of dough and press into rectangle. Spread or drizzle ranch dressing evenly over dough then top with evenly with chicken, cilantro and cheddar cheese. Starting at long end roll dough into a log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 inch pieces and place onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a side of ranch dressing for dipping.

From Picky Palate

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I found this over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks, she has a new cookbook out that I really, really, really want! She has a few blogs she does. One is on photography if you are a newbie looking for some tips. I love her ranch life pictures. Onto the recipe: (secret ingredient 7-up)

Perfect Pound Cake

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 12
Ingredients
3 sticks Butter
3 cups Sugar
5 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Butter Flavoring
2 teaspoons Lemon Flavoring
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 cup Sprite, 7-UP, Or Sierra Mist
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream butter. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each addition. Add butter and lemon extracts and mix well. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add soft drink, then mix together until combined. Scrape sides of bowl, then mix briefly.
Pour into a greased Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until the cake is no longer jiggly.
Remove cake from oven and invert pan until cake drops out. Slice and chow down!

Go check out her pictures for the recipe, makes cooking look oh so easy.
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I found this recipe at the same ladies site as above but not??? I don't know go see for yourself but let me tell you the recipes look crazy good and I think the site will be my new favorite.

So I LOVE rice pudding but don't care for the store stuff, or the rice pudding shop (think ice cream shop but NOT), and can never make it quite right. This recipe looks delicious! and so does every recipe after it, creme brule with strawberries in a White balsamic vinegar reduction!!! I MUST try that one! Oh back to the rice pudding sorry so much food so little time or room :)

Arroz Con Leche – Rice Pudding

Arroz con leche, creamy and wholesome! This rice pudding has flavors more typical to Spain, using fresh whole milk, cinnamon, and lemon peel.

Prep Time 15 Minutes

Cook Time 1 Hour10 Minutes

Ingredients
1 cup Brown Rice Like Jasmine Or Basmati, White Rice Is Fine
½ gallons Fresh Whole Milk
½ cups Raw Honey
2 sticks Cinnamon
½ cups Cream
3 whole Eggs
1 whole Rind Of Lemon, Grated
¼ teaspoons Celtic Sea Salt
1 dash(es) Ground Cinnamon Sprinkled On Top

Preparation Instructions

If using white rice, skip steps 1 and 2.

1. The night before, soak the cup of brown rice in 1 quart of water, adding 3-4 tablespoons of an acid medium such as whey, lemon juice, yogurt or kefir. I soaked the rice for 24 hours.
2. The next day, drain the rice and rinse in cold water.
3. In a large pot, add the rice, milk, raw honey, and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a simmer and cover for an hour, stirring every 5 – 8 minutes so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
4. Simmer until the rice is tender.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the cream, eggs, lemon peel, and salt. Add to the pot and stir for an additional 5 minutes or so.
6. Remove the cinnamon sticks and pour the contents of the pan into a dish to cool.
7. Once cooled, down place in the refrigerator overnight. The rice pudding should be super creamy and thick.
8. Top with ground cinnamon.

You can either eat the pudding warm as soon as it’s done or eat it cold the next day.
Buen Provecho!

The most yummiest time of the year!

Hello friends, I thought I would share a few of the treats I have made or will be making or want to make :) if time allows. I'm sure everyone has their menu all planned out but maybe next time you can use one of these.

First off, I made these delicious cream cheese sugar cookies, and modified it using the first comment "Reviewed on Dec. 4, 2006 by Cherish". I also baked them at 350* for 10 minutes.

Speaking of Bake at 350, she really is one of my favorite baking sites. She makes some of the most beautiful cookies. I was inspired to actually frost and flood my cookies, something I have never tried. It was actually pretty easy and I imagine would be real simple if your cookie collection didn't include Nemo and Dory, a non Christmasy tree, Christmas dinosaurs, moose, horses, hearts, and then all the usual. I used her recipe for Royal icing here.

I made cookies for our bake sale at church, that we have every year, to raise money for the bus ministry. I am not going to share any of those recipes with you because they were just okay, you know the ones that come on the back of the chip bag. I am going to share the one that I found to make those wonderfully delicious, melt in your mouth yumminess Red Velvet Cake balls. I found this recipe over at Bakerella. Now the ones I had were frosted in a royal icing, that was colored pink. So you could customize these for any holiday.

My Dad was done in California for Thanksgiving and Lynn brought Frog eye salad to Malissa's. Well everyone has raved about it since then, so it is being added to our Christmas dinner menu. Here's the recipe she used minus the coconut.

I'm also going to make my Grandma's butterscotch haystacks, and my Mom's shrimp ball for Christmas day, oh and hash brown casserole for an easy Christmas morning breakfast. It has become one of my favorites and it freezes really well. I use breakfast sausage in mine and Hash brown O'Briens that have the onions and peppers in them already to save me a step.

So there's my cooking plans for the next couple of days. I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful time of the year with those you love.

Happy Day after Turkey Day!

Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving?
Did you take a moment to remember to be truly grateful for all that you have been blessed with?
I did, and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family, friends, good food, and memories shared and made. Plus we had a surprise announcement that our extended family is growing! Malissa and Ken will have their latest addition join our world in July. I can't wait. Congratulations guys!

We, of course, made way too much food. We had 5 adults and 5 kids, with the oldest child being five and the youngest, my Allie, being five weeks, so they don't eat too much. We had 3 pies and pumpkin bars and that was just for dessert. Needless to say we will be eating left overs for a while.

I made a very yummy Mexican chicken corn chowder the day before Thanksgiving. Silly me! I wish I would have waited and I could have used some leftover turkey instead and changed things up a bit. So if any of you have way too much turkey leftover and you are not sure what to do with it, give this a try. I think the only modifications I made was I used some of my own chicken broth instead of bouillon, I added two cut up potatoes, and a can of regular corn . I omitted the tomatoes because my hubby doesn't like them and saved the hot sauce for the table so the kids could still eat it. This was delicious. I liked it both with and without the added hot sauce. Ryan liked it too so it is one I will add to my soup rotation.

I just found this recipe and if you ever looked at the blogs I follow you might have seen it already. It is for Caramel Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel. This looks incredible. I like pumpkin pie but it's not a favorite. I enjoy having a piece for traditions sake but would never just make one for the heck of it. My Mom did start changing it up though and instead of milk she uses egg nog and it is pretty tasty. I think I would like to try this recipe for Christmas though or maybe the bake sale at church. If any of you give it a spin let me know I would love to hear how it turned out for you.

Well, it is late, and I have rambled on enough. Thank you everyone for sharing this new journey with me I am so very lucky.