Halloween Cake Balls

I should have highlighted these earlier in the week... but, ah... my brain is often on "information overload" these days. Can you tell?

If ever I am motivated to make homemade treats to hand out on Halloween, these will be them.

Perhaps next year?

The Pioneer Woman's Cake Balls, Halloween-Style

Where Do You Christmas Shop?

...if you do in fact Christmas shop?

Here's my list for this year. It is not glamorous at all. I kind of wish it was more unique/local. Oh well.

Stores I regularly go to anyways:
Target
Costco
HyVee

From home:
Amazon.com
Kohls.com
NickisDiapers.com
HarryandDavid.com

Specialty stores:
Gary Gribble's
City Limits

Mostly for stocking stuffers and giftcards:
JoAnn
Wally world (ugh)
Dollar store
Walgreens

How is it going with the to-do list? OK. I bought cards and stamps. I have a plan written down for the next two weeks: what store to stop at on what day and what I am stopping to get. That should be helpful, right? Of the original 15 people I had to buy for (which got cut to 12 - we mutually decided not to exchange with some family members), I am down to 8 gifts left yet to buy. And I *know* what I am buying for 7 of them. After that, it is just stocking stuffers. I don't feel like it, but I guess I am making progress. I really want to beat my goal and be finished before Thanksgiving!!! I think it is possible with the exception of 2 gifts, one of which will be purchased online. Here's to avoiding the holiday shopping crowds!

When do you set up your Christmas tree? I am thinking of doing it earlier this year to allow us to enjoy it longer.

Taco Soup

This is on the tentative menu for next week, so I thought I'd post the recipe now. I got this recipe for taco soup from a coworker when I was teaching. It is easy to customize to your personal taste. You can also vary the amount of meat and beans to make it more frugal. Or use ground turkey. Maybe even try shredded chicken? I like to use homemade taco seasoning and also include some black beans.

We generally try to avoid a lot of canned foods for various reasons, but once in awhile an easy meal like this is a sanity saver.

Taco Soup

1 and 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 c. onion
1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 oz.) can kidney or red beans, undrained
1 (16 oz.) can corn, undrained
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz.) can mushroom pieces, undrained
1 (1 and 1/4 oz.) package taco seasoning

Brown beef and onion. Drain fat (rinse hamburger in hot water to lower fat content). Stir in other ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer. To raise the fat content, serve avocado, cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips on the side! Double the recipe and freeze half.

Thanks V.

Tiny Trike

I enjoyed perusing this list of quality retro toys. Believe me, I bookmarked it! (Guess what, I actually have a Jenny doll somewhere at my parents' house.)

Then I thought about this:

The Radio Flyer Classic Tiny Trike

We don't have a lot of cool toys yet. Our oldest is only 2. But this is one of my favorites that I really like, so I thought I'd share about it.

We purchased it new for our daughter's first birthday. At the time, she wasn't yet walking and didn't do much with it unless we sat her on it and pushed her around the house. Over the next year, she grew into it, and just this past summer, when she was turning 2, starting playing with it on a regular basis.

Why I love it:

• It is really quite small, small enough to be used indoors in our house. (She rides all through the kitchen, living room, dining room, bedrooms.) In fact, we've decided to keep it an "indoor toy" to keep the wheels and our floors from getting scratched up.


• Steerable. Maybe that's why is is easy to ride through the house?


• Quiet, except for the bell, of course.


• Fast. Easy for a child to make it go. = Fun.


• Looks classy.

We don't buy a lot of toys for our children. They have been blessed with many as gifts, and some as hand-me-downs. I don't think an excess of toys is necessary nor beneficial. But this is one toy on which I am glad we spent the money!

I welcome more recommendations for unique and worthwhile future purchases...

Toddler Tip

Maybe I'm the last one to figure this out.

If you have a toddler who is a messy eater and you

1. don't want them to ruin their clothes
2. don't have a long-sleeve, all-covering bib
3. don't want them 1/2 naked (for modestly or warmth reasons)

Just take off their shirt, turn in inside-out, and put it back on them while they eat. It greatly minimizes the risk of damaging stains on the right side of their clothing.

(Still use a bib over top if possible. See my tip for keeping a bib on if needed.)

Birthday Cupcakes

I wanted to make some birthday cupcakes for a friend last week. I was going to make a boxed mix, but didn't have one on the shelf and was too lazy to drag the kids to the store, to be honest. So, I searched for a fluffy white cupcake recipe and landed upon this one, which I used. Then I made some buttercream frosting. I tinted it pale pink and piped it on each cupcake in a swirl the using a star tip (leftover from when my girlfriends and I took a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby). Clear shimmery sprinkles were the final touch.

The cupcakes were a little denser than I had hoped, but still moist. The were more muffin like, I guess. I used regular milk rather than soymilk, and coconut oil rather than canola. I replaced the coconut extract with butter flavoring, and in the frosting replaced 1/2 t. vanilla extract with almond extract, mmm.... I love almond extract in frosting. Reminds me of my wedding cake. I also used salted butter and omitted the milk in the frosting. Anyways, the cake recipe, which did not require butter or eggs, reminded me of this chocolate cake recipe, only it was a white batter, obviously. I had hoped to get some cool closeups of the cupcakes, but needed to package them up and it was no longer daylight, so you'll just have to use your imagination :) (I took this pic the next day.)

The verdict:

There weren't many cupcakes to spare, so I only ate half of one (and lovingly shared the other half with my husband of course), so I'd like to try the recipe again sometime to see what I think another time around before I decide if it is a keeper. Interesting note: if you follow the cake recipe exactly, I think it is vegan, if that is important to you. The frosting recipe is definitely a keeper. I was very happy to make a good non-runny, cake decorator quality buttercream frosting without using shortening.

Menu Plan 10/26/09

Breakfasts:

Cheerios with Milk

Banana Bread

Orange Juice

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Apples

Dessert

Dinners:

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Dinner

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Costco Take and Bake Pizza, Fruit & Dip

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Cheesy Potato Soup

Sunday - Meatballs in Creamy Brown Gravy over Pasta

Desserts:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fall Thoughts

Hedgeapples
We haven't gone and picked any up off the ground under the treeline yet. I wonder if they are all rotten on the bottom by now from sitting on the wet ground. I saw my first big indoor spider of the season this afternoon, if in the basement counts. Ew. [shudder] Maybe I should go pick up some hedgeapples tomorrow. Do you think they really help in warding off spiders? It has just been too cold to go for a walk outdoors with the kiddos. But it has been much nicer these past few days. So really, I have no excuse.

Trees
I am loving the colors of the trees right now. If only they would stay on and not fall off and make everything look so barren. But then we wouldn't appreciate spring, I guess.

Flu
Wham! It has hit, hasn't it. Is the flu worse in colder climates? Or is it just this year with all the varieties? I just can't remember it being this bad growing up.

TV
I am not a T.V. junkie, but there are some fun shows going on this fall. I catch up online at night. It helps keep me awake during the late evening feeding.

Pumpkins
I have not found any tricks for preserving a regular pumpkin and preventing rot. But I did get a warning that if you put pumpkins on furniture, like I do, check the bottoms of them often to make sure that they are not rotting underneath and eating away at the finish on the furniture without you seeing it. If you like to carve a jack o'lantern several days ahead of Halloween, here are tips I found for making a carved pumpkin last longer.

Costume
What should my 2 year old daughter dress up as for trick-or-treating? My two choices as of now are Little Red Riding Hood (and our shaggy gray-haired dog can be the Big Bad "Woof", hee hee) or a Ladybug. Both costumes would be fairly easy to make, with minimal sewing, I think. I was set on Little Red Riding Hood but then thought that might not be as fun for her because she doesn't know the story. She loves ladybugs. Opinions?

Christmas
How am I doing on the to-do list? Satisfactorily, but there is more I'd like to get done before the end of October. I have purchased Christmas cards, stamps, and 2 and 1/2 out of 14 family gifts. So you can see, I should do more shopping!

Menu Plan 10/19/09

Breakfasts:

Kashi or Cheerios with Milk

Waffles with Syrup

Orange Juice

Lunches:

Sandwiches (ham & cheese or Barney Butter & jam)

Apples

Dessert

Dinners:

Monday - MNF with friends, taking salad

Tuesday - Lasagna, Salad

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Tuna Cheesies, Green Beans

Friday - Cheese/Onion/Pinto/Green Pepper Quesadillas (with Salsa & Sour Cream)

Saturday - Out with family

Sunday - Chicken Fried Rice

Dessert:

Jewish Coffee Cake

Find more menus shared at the Organizing Junkie!

Mac & Cheese

I said I would share the recipe I used for our Macaroni and Cheese dinner.

This is my regular, standby, easy recipe (at the bottom of that post).

This is a recipe that looks super yummy, but is too many steps and ingredients for me. I want homemade mac & cheese to be as easy as the boxed kind.

I like that this recipe has simple ingredients. But I don't want to stand over the stove stirring for 15 minutes straight.

What did I decide upon?

I stuck with my old standby recipe, with a few alterations.

I doubled it, like usual. After draining the pasta, I returned it to the pot with a couple tablespoons of butter. Then I added the milk and most of the shredded cheese and mixed it up until the cheese melted. Then I poured it into the greased pan and topped it with the rest of the cheese before baking. It was just about perfect for us. I think I'll do it this way again next time.

Super Target Highlights

I went to Super Target today and picked up some Archer Farms Organic Fuit Leather. It is on sale this week for $2.50, normally $2.99. They come 10 per package, so on sale, the price per unit is comparable to when our Costco carried the Stretch Island Fruit Leather. (That was a sad day when I learned Costco was not going to have that anymore!) These are not filling, but they are a fun treat and it is easy to keep a couple in the diaper bag! They'd also be a healthier alternative to Halloween candy... if you are looking for something like that.

Check out the ingredients:

I also printed some grocery coupons from the Target website at the registry kiosk at the front of the store and got $1 off each of these, so they were only $1.04 apiece:

Yes, they have sugar, but not the hydrogenated oil. My husband prefers this kind over the other natural peanut butters.

Another note: I am excited to see that our Whole Foods still has organic apples for $1/lb.! That is going on 6 weeks of this price! (The variety on sale varies every 2 weeks when the ad changes.) We have been eating a lot of apples because I love them and they are a filling fruit with lots of fiber. I've learned apples are one of the top ten items of produce that you should try to buy organic if possible. So since Whole Foods has them at such a decent price, I've been buying them!

Barney Butter

I've been on a cooking frenzy this afternoon, making some Liza's Chicken casserole and some Oatmeal Brownies for a friend who just had a baby. (I will pair them with some fresh salad greens with cheese and sliced tomatoes, too.) Now I have a sink and a half-countertop full of dishes.

But, really quickly, does anyone want to guess what I won a couple weeks ago? Hee hee.

I won some Barney Butter from Sandy, at Reluctant Entertainer!

Barney Butter is a special recipe of "no-stir" almond butter. I have never tried it before, and it is super yummy! I am a peanut butter lover, and aside from that, almonds are my favorite nut (to eat by themselves), so I was guessing I would like it. I sure do! Do I have to share it with the rest of my household? :) I just opened the jar of Barney Butter today and ate it on a sandwich with some homemade blueberry jam (compliments of Morgan's family).

Helpful facts: Barney Butter is gluten-free and is made in a peanut-free facility. You can read more about Barney Butter and it's creation here.

It is delicious! Thank you, Sandy and Jennifer!

Thanks

You know what I'm thankful for?

This may sound odd, but I am thankful for reaching the out of pocket maximum for our health insurance. For two reasons. Not that I like paying medical bills (which we are still doing), but anything is worth it when I look at our little guy who is starting to smile these days. So, reason #1, it reminds me how glad I am to have him - somethings are priceless. And #2, I like getting those EOB's that now read "Patient Responsibility: $00.00" since we've hit the maximum!

Maybe not what you expected to read. Just some thoughts that have gone through my head recently.

And yes, I am also thankful for our Aldi pumpkin, pictured above :)

I need to read up on how to make sure it lasts awhile without going bad.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

With some downright cold temperatures this past weekend, I was in the mood to bake, so I made some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. (I like to think this recipe is a bit healthier than the Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies that are so divine.)

I made this batch with mostly whole wheat flour and the organic sugar for the white sugar. With the spices and the raisins, they are still sweet and with lots of flavor! You can bake them on the shorter side, to be soft and chewy, and the longer side to be more crispy. They are great either way.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups oatmeal, quick-oats or old-fashioned, uncooked

1 cup raisins

Beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Adds eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and pour into creamy mixture. Mix well. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Menu Plan 10/12/09

Breakfasts:

Kashi or Cheerios with Milk

Muffins

Lunches:

Leftovers

Sandwiches

Carrot Sticks

Cottage Cheese

Fruit

Dinners:

Monday - Broccoli Salad (from Costco) with Chicken

Tuesday - To Die For Pot Roast Sandwiches, Salad

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Macaroni & Cheese (recipe TBD - will share!), Salad

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - ??

Sunday - Hot Ham and Swiss Sandwiches, Green Beans

Desserts:

Apple Desserts...

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.

The Week's End

Wow, this week has nearly escaped without me having a chance to write something (besides the menu, of course.)

I mentally noted several things to share. I was even the recipient of a giveaway.

Time just got away from me.

Oh well, there's next week!

Quick note: My score of the week was a huge pumpkin for $2.50 at Aldi. Sorry, the camera is in my husbands vehicle. (All the pumpkins are $2.50!) Last year we went to the pumpkin patch, but I think we may skip that this year and aim for going again next year...

Menu Plan 10/5/09

Breakfasts:

Waffles (frozen, then toasted) with Syrup

Whole-Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Biscuits and Eggs

French Toast

Bananas or Smoothies

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Macaroni & Cheese

Crackers & Cheese

Celery with Peanut Butter

Cottage Cheese

Apples

Dinners:

Monday - Grilled Chicken Wraps, Carrots & Dip

Tuesday - Hot Ham and Swiss Sandwiches, Green Beans

Wednesday - Plaza III Steak Soup, Salad, Bread

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - BBQ Meatballs, Baked Corn, Salad

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Chicken Fried Rice

Desserts:

Chunky Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Pudding

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday.