Saving - Homemade Jack-o-lantern Pizza!

Typically the week of Halloween, the Papa Murphy take and bake stores around here offer a jack-o-lantern pizza for under $10.

But if you have just a little time on your hands, you truly can make your own and save some 'dough'!  (Truly couldn't resist.)

Purchase a homemade pizza dough mix (typically just takes a little water and oil to mix in).  We like the Chef Boyardee pizza kit (grab it at Fareway, it is a little cheaper than HyVee)!  It includes dough mix, sauce and parmesan cheese.  Grab some pepperoni and shredded cheese and you are set. 

Make your homemade crust as directed.  Place on your trusty pizza pan and shape dough with a little "stem" on top.  Add your sauce.  Place on your toppings of choice, cover with cheese.  Use pepperoni (or olives...or both) to make your jackolantern face.   Bake as directed on dough package.

The kids will have so much fun helping you make this festive pizza!

Living - Crockpot Egg Bake!

This is my finished product!

I was completely excited when I crossed paths with a "pin" on Pinterest for a recipe for, get this, Crockpot Egg Bake!  Now seriously, why hadn't I thought of that?!  Put everything together before you go to bed, turn on the crockpot and have breakfast waiting for you when you get up!

The original recipe I found is here, however I made some changes to the recipe to use items we had on hand.

This recipe is great for using up leftover ham from your upcoming Easter dinner or if you have company coming and want a simple breakfast to serve them!

Here is the recipe I used:

1 1/2 cups ham, cubed
1 bag hashbrowns 12-16 oz
12 eggs
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder (can use chopped onions)
2 cups cheese
1/2 red pepper chopped

Spray inside of crock pot (I did not do this and there were spots that were stock on, but not bad).
Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and onion - set aside

Place hashbrowns in bottom of crock pot.

Sprinkle 1/2 ham over top of hashbrowns
Sprinkle 1/2 cheese over top
Sprinkle with red pepper
Sprinkle remaining ham and then cheese over top

I only used the peppers on 1/2 of the bake, as the kids do not care for them.

Pour egg mixture evenly over top
Cook on low for 7-8 hours
Enjoy!

Notes:
I did my first batch for supper so that I could guage the timing.  I let mine cook in the crockpot for 7 1/2 hours and I did not touch it once.  There was one corner of the egg bake that had a little burnt cheese on the edge that touched the crockpot, otherwise it turned out exceptionally well.  My favorite part, my kids devoured it!  No complaints, no disgusted looks just quiet, happy mouths! :-)

Living - Banana Crumb Muffins = Yummy, Yummy!

I had purchased some bananas awhile ago with full intensions of making banana bread and freezing some as well, but decided to step outside my comfort zone and try something new.  I am fully glad that I did because the Banana Crumb Muffins I ended up making were a huge hit with the family.  When I asked my 5 year old daughter if she liked them, all she could do was lick her lips over and over and smile at me.  Apparently they were so good they took her words away, which doesn't happen often! 

I made a double batch of the Banana Crumb Muffins and it made 12 regular size muffins and 54 mini muffins.  And I must state, 2 batches and none of them made it to the freezer!

I hope you enjoy this easy to make recipe as well.  Being able to make food items ahead of time and freeze them can help save time and money in the long run.  Have some favorite recipes you like to freeze, please leave a comment or send me an email.  If you like the recipe below, be sure to "pin it"! *smile*  Pinterest is my new addiction!

Banana Crumb Muffins:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with liners
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle topping over muffins.               

Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.               

Thank you, AllRecipes for the recipe.

Saving - In The Harty Kitchen: Super Easy Dipped Pretzel Sticks!

Through all the yummy goodies in my kitchen, my son's favorite are the dipped pretzel sticks.  I think this kid would eat 10 a day if I were not looking.  These little diddys make a quick and easy treat to share with guests or use as a sweet and salty gift for a special someone on your list.

What you will need:
1 bag pretzel sticks (be sure to check for bags with the least broken ones!)
1/2 block white or chocolate bark
festive sprinkles, M&Ms, colored sugars, etc

Lay out wax paper.  Melt bark according to instructions on package.  Simple dip sticks into bark, covering 1/3 to 1/2 of stick.  Sprinkle or decorate immediately.  Lay on wax paper to dry.  That's it! 

A few notes and thoughts:
*I find it easier just to use my spoon to "frost" the pretzel stick rather than dipping.  Maybe a personal preference, but it seems to go faster and wastes less bark.
*If you have broken pretzel sticks consider dipping each end (amount to cover will depend on the size of the broken piece).  I found this to really look cute, especially when decorated with sprinkles.  And it makes use of those frustrating broken pieces. ha!
*Simply take a few sticks, wrap in saran wrap and tie with a riboon.  Makes a cute gift for friends, coworkers and more!  In the pictures, I included one stick dipped in white and one dipped in brown chocolate. 

Living - In The Harty Kitchen: Jack-O-Lantern Pizza!

Papa Murphy's typically offers a Jack-O-Lantern Pizza this time of year as a limited time offer.  A couple years ago it gave me an idea (oh yes, the light bulb turned on).  Why can't we do that at home?!  Get the kids involved, have some fun with our food and be festive all at the same time.

So, as I have posted in the past, we put together our very own homemade Jack-O-Lantern pizza at a budget-friendly price.

And just in time for this great pizza, HyVee has some sale items and there is a great coupon to help out!

Here's What You Need:
*Pizza Crust - HyVee has Betty Crocker pizza crust on sale $.79
*Sauce - Grab the Hunts Spaghetti Sauce on sale this week for $1 and add a little Italian seasoning (freeze remaining sauce for the next use)
*Toppings - Get Hormel Canadian Bacon for around $.50 with the $1.50 coupon posted here - appears to not be available anymore...so go over here and grab a $1 coupon.
*Cheese - previously on sale $2
= Under $4.50 for homemade pizza!

Check out this post for more details!

Living - In The Harty Kitchen: Quickie Egg Muffins!

I wanted to quick share with you that through Tuesday, you can get a nice deal at Sunshine on Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits....that led me to this weekend's tide-us-over 'til supper brunch idea!

First, the Sunshine deal:
Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits, sale $1.11
Use $.30/2 8/7 or 9/11 GM (will double to $.60)
= $.81 each wyb 2
*If you still have the $1/2 coupon that was previously available, it will make for an even sweeter deal!
*And I must note that some Sunshine stores may not allow you to use double coupons on advertised items. 

Now on to the Quickie Egg Muffins!

What you need:
Grands! Biscuits 8 ct (or similar)
6 Eggs, cracked and whipped for scrambling
3/4 c cheddar cheese (I like sharp)
8 slices of ham (I used leftovers that we had thrown in the freezer, you could really use sandwich meat too if you don't have slices of ham on hand - or use your preferred meat.)

What to do:
Simply Make the Grands! Biscuits as directed
Scramble your eggs, then add cheese and mix around until melted.
While scrambling eggs, warm ham.

Putting your muffin together:
Slice or tear muffin in half.  Place slice of ham on biscuit, then top with cheesy scrambled eggs and top with top piece of muffin and enjoy!

I'm telling you, my kids LOVED these!  And it was sooooo simple!

It was another moment of, why didn't I think of that before?!  It has definitely made our make it again list!

Would love to hear your super yummy and easy recipes!!