Living - Rhubarb Sauce Is In The Crockpot!

I love crockpot recipes and by far one of my favorite Springtime crockpot recipes really has nothing to do with a meal, rather a snack.  Rhubarb sauce is something I concocted (probably not original) a couple years ago to introduce my kids to rhubarb and we have made it each Spring since.  Today marks our first batch of the year!

As I was cutting up the rhubarb and strawberries and mixing them together in the crock pot I was enjoying the beautiful colors together!

Check out my post here about this A-Maze-ing recipe!  Strawberries are on sale this week at HyVee 4 lbs for $4.77 and if you know some great friends like mine that will share some rhubarb (or you are lucky enough to have your own plant) it will certainly make for a budget friendly snack.

Living - Tastey Toasted Marshmallow Grilled Peaches!

Since we purchased a lug of peaches this year, I have been trying new recipes and putting our peaches to good use.  Did you snag a lug at Hy-Vee this week for $15?  I would love to hear your favorite peach recipes!

I was searching for a grilled peach recipe and didn't find one that I really wanted to try, although I did find one that used cream cheese with it (mmm...cream cheese), but I really wanted to try and stay on the somewhat healthy side.
:-)  Yes, a somewhat healthy dessert recipe, how can that be any good?  The peach is healthy, it should cancel out any of the calories you add to it, right?! :-)

A little disappointed in not finding a recipe that was screaming my name, I decided to just throw some peaches on the grill and give it a little spice and a little sweet and see what  happens. And let me tell you, something great happened.  All of us (including the picky 3 year old, our the-sweeter-it-is-the-better-it-is 6 year old and my hubby who really doesn't eat desserts often) really liked it!  Score one for Mom!

Here's what I came up with....

What you need:
Peach halves
5-6 Mini marshmallows per peach half
Cinnamon (optional)

What to do:
Wash peaches, half peach and remove pit.

Place pitted side of peach down on top rack of hot grill (My grill was about 350 degrees). Close the lid and let grill for about 6 minutes.

Peach will have nice grill marks and will be starting to soften.

Flip peach over to rounded side and place onto plate.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and top with mini marshmallows.  Place back on grill on top rack.  Close the lid of grill and let cook for approximately 6-8 minutes, until marshmallows are slightly toasted on top and rounded side of peach half has softened a bit.

Serve and enjoy!  (Note: will be very hot, so enjoy with caution.  Or do as my children did and go play outside for a half hour and come back to devour!)

The peach was just soft enough to keep it's form, yet remind you of a peach crisp/cobbler with all it's yummy juices flowing!  And let me tell you, the toasted marshmallows on top were delish!  Just enough sweetness to indulge a bit and remind you of a tastey summer treat!

If your child doesn't like the skin of the peach, it can easily be removed once it has been grilled.

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! :-)

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. 

Saving - *High Value* $1/1 Pillsbury Cookie Dough Coupon! Plus Recipes!

Guessing this won't last long.  Head over here and look for the banner at the top of the page for the coupon offer to get a coupon good for $1 off 1 package of Pillsbury Cookie Dough!  (May need to refresh page for banner to come up.)

I definitely like to have some of the peanut butter cookie dough on hand during the holidays for those last minute gatherings that come up or surprise visitors.  There are a couple great recipes to make some quick semi-"homemade" goodies.

Snicker Suprise Cookies - yummy with the Pillsbury cookie dough!
- see recipe I posted about here

Or you could go with the tastey Hershey's Kiss cookies!
- see recipe here

Feel free to share your favorite quick holiday cookie recipe in the comments!  I (and others I am sure) are always looking for new ideas!

Saving - Hidden Valley Ranch Dry Seasoning Coupon!

So love this coupon!  Around the holidays I like to make a little snack mix where you throw together your favorite crackers and things and then mix together the HV Ranch Dry Seasoning with a little oil...drizzle over and bake.  Such a yummy snack to have on hand next to the plates of sweets. :-)

Long story short, hurry over here to the HV Facebook page and grab a $.50/1 HV Ranch Dry Seasoning or Dips $.50/1 coupon!  Only 50,000 prints to give away, so hurry!

I'll find my recipe and get it up.

Saving - HyVee Top Picks & Ad Matchup 11/9! Plus 1-Day Sale! AND A Recipe!

Here are my top picks for the week at HyVee.  For a full ad matchup, head over here.

Kotex pad and liners 14 or 64 ct $2.79
Use $2/2 Pads 10/23 SS
or Use $1.50/2 Liners 10/23 SS
*There is also a catalina deal where you purchase 2 Kotex products, receive a $2 coupon good on your next order at HyVee!

Deal Scenario:
Purchase 2 Pads $2.79
Use $2/2 10/23 SS coupon
= $3.58
Receive catalina coupon for $2
= $1.58 or $.79 each

Hormel Entrees, sale $4.99
Use $1/1 10/23 SS or here
= $3.99
*I like the steak tips in gravy.  Heat these up and serve over whole wheat noodles for a quick meal for the family! 

Post Cereal, sale $1.99
Use $1/2 11/6 SS
= $1.49 each wyb 2
*There is also a catalina deal going on where you purchase 4 Post cereals or bars, receive $3 on your next shopping trip OR buy 5 Post cereals or bars, receive $4 on your next shopping trip.

Post Cereal bars, sale $1.99
Use $1/2 11/6 SS
= $1.49 each wyb 2
*There is also a catalina deal going on where you purchase 4 Post cereals or bars, receive $3 on your next shopping trip OR buy 5 Post cereals or bars, receive $4 on your next shopping trip.
Deal Scenario:
Purchase 4 post cereal/bars $1.99 each
Use 2 $1/2 11/6 SS
= $5.96
Receive $3 catalina coupon good on your next trip
= $2.96 or $.74 a box!

Whole HyVee Chicken, sale $.88/lb

Cheerios Original, sale $2.50
Use $1/1 here (no longer available)
= $1.50

Kikkoman dry seasoning packets $.99
Use $1/1 here
= Free
*Note that some HyVees may not accept a coupon that has a value greater than the product price

HyVee is having a 1-day sale this Saturday 11/12.  Here are a couple nice deals:

HyVee 1/2 gallon milk $1.28

Dole Bananas $.39/lb

Mars fun size candy bars $1.99
Use $1.50/1 here (no longer available)
= $.49
*Grab these now for holiday baking or stocking stuffing! :-)
Check out this tastey snicker stuffed cookie recipe!  I have made these in the past and they are so yummy (and EASY)!  Add these to your holiday baking this year.  If you buy the fun size candy bars in this deal, just cut them in half or thirds.

Saving - Lipton Recipe Secret Soup Mix Coupon!

Yeah!  This has been on my grocery list for a while, hoping for a sale or coupon to come along.  I certainly like to have the Onion Lipton Recipe Secret Soup Mix on hand.  It is great when making a roast or throwing together some quick and easy chicken fajitas (ooh..maybe I should share this recipe this week).  I am certain there have got to be a thousand ways you can use this.  How do you use it?!!  Please share.

And go over here (and login or register with Unilever) to grab a $1/1 coupon!

Thanks, Coupon Geek!

Saving - Hobby Lobby Coupon PLUS Clearance Alert!

Hobby Lobby has their 40% off 1 regular priced item coupon available over here.  It is valid through Saturday.

I also found some nice clearance deals tonight:

All 4th of July items were marked down to 66% off!
*This included cake, cookie and cupcake decorating items, banners, flags, decorations, treat bags, ETC!
- Deals Pictured above: 
Cake Decorating Icing (blue & red) $.68 each
Blue sugar $1.19 (restocked now for next 4th of July to make these cute Red,White & Blue strawberries!)
Set of 6 Dimensional Fabric Paints $1.02 (Hobby Lobby often has their plain t-shirts go on sale for 50% off and I think you can grab them or around $2, thought decorating a t-shirt might be a fun project for the kids!)

Spring fling items were also marked down to 66% off!
*This included several garden statues, pavers, picks, metal buckets, ETC!
- I purchased a few items in this category, but the only ones pictured above are the red flower picks.  They were marked down to $.68 each.

Saving - LOCALS: *Hot* Breadsmith Cards - Buy 1 Loaf Get 1 Loaf Free! & Recipes!

Through this Thursday, you can purchase a Breadsmith punch card that is good for 10 Free loaves of bread, you must purchase another loaf of bread and then you get one free!  These cards are just $10.  A nice value!

This is a great way to save money on bakery (yummy) fresh bread!

I love Breadsmith!  My top faves have to be the Jalapeno Cheddar bread and the Peppercorn Swiss bread!  I also really dig the Honey White!  This makes GREAT French Toast!

Prices on the bread range from around $3 up to around $6.  Check out their menu here and calendar breads here. 

My Shopping Trip Example:
Purchase 1 loaf Honey White $3.99
Purchase 1 Peppercorn Swiss $5.99
Get $3.99 bread Free with punch card
*Get a punch card and earn a punch towards earning a Free loaf
= $5.99 for 2 loaves of bakery bread or approx $3 each

Now this is a bargain to me, because both of these loaves now become a main ingredient in 2 different meals for my family!

The Honey White bread makes excellent French toast!  The first few times I made French toast with this bread my husband asked what bread I used and commented on how tastey it was!  Any extras from this meal are placed in the freezer to be used for breakfast or a quick lunch with the kids.

The Peppercorn Swiss bread is a great, thick, full-flavored, crusty bread perfect for a warm sandwich.  After making 4 sandwiches with the bread (which are quite large!) there is plenty of bread leftover to munch on, use as a side with an Italian meal, etc!

Here are my recipes for the meals mentioned above:

French Toast Recipe – Approx $1 a serving

¾ Loaf of Honey White

Approx 8 eggs

½ cup Milk

Cinnamon

Directions: Whisk last 3 ingredients together.  Dip slices of bread in until well coated on both sides (be sure not to over soak the bread).  Place on warm griddle pan and brown on both sides.  Serve with your favorite toppings and sides.  Seriously tastey!

Peppercorn Swiss Ham Sandwich – Approx $1.75 a serving

8 slices Peppercorn Swiss

½ lb. Deli Ham (warmed)

4 slices Provolone (or fave cheese)

Sweet Mustard Sauce (mix ¼ c mustard, ½ cup ranch and ¼ cup brown sugar together)

Directions: Butter one side of each slice of bread.  Place four slices butter down on warm griddle.  Spread spoonful of mustard sauce on bread.  Evenly divide ham among 4 sandwiches and place on top of mustard sauce.  Add slice of provolone and then top with bread slice, butter side up.  Brown on both sides, making sure cheese is melted.  Serve with remaining mustard sauce for dipping.  Yummo!  I could have this one every week!  This is a great summer dish for a warm meal without turning on the oven.

Now, how do you get this card?  If you are in Sioux Falls, you can email me here if you are interested in purchasing the 10-punch card for $10. 

The bonus: $5 of each card sold goes to support the Sioux Falls Catholic Schools!

Living - Whatchya Got Cookin'?! Article #6: Don't Be Afraid Of That Bird!

With this week's Target frozen food deal, I wanted to make a little room in the freezer for all those veggies I stocked up on so I pulled the turkey out of the freezer with plans to make it later this week.  Now I must make it known that this was my very FIRST turkey making experience!  And the end result was one juicy, tastey bird!

The best part of cooking the turkey is that we now have leftovers for sandwiches, possibly some turkey and rice soup??  We'll see what the creativity brings.  It should result in at least two more meals for my family.  Making meals that lead to a lot of leftovers is a great frugal way of cooking!  And it makes for more convenient meal planning later in the week or freeze the leftovers for a convenient meal weeks down the road! 

I want to share with you how EASY it was to ake the turkey and tell you not to be afraid of that bird!  It has taken me a long time to give this a try because I was shy of making it on my own.  So I hope this will help give you a little motivation to just try it out, if you too have been waiting.

This is my first ever turkey!  Isn't it beautiful! :-)

Here's what you need to do:

*Buy your turkey!  I have seen several great sales/deals on turkies over the past weeks, so you are sure to grab a deal.  There are some for $.99/lb this week at Sunshine.  

*Thaw your turkey by placing in the refrigerator and allow a day for every 4 pounds!  (Um, I wish I would have known this...but we made it through.)  Or you can place the turkey in a sink full of cold water and allow 30 minutes for every couple pounds.

*Remove packaging.  NOTE:  When the directions tell you that there are two bags shoved into the bird and to remove both of them, keep looking if you can only find one!  One will be in the top cavity and one in the bottom cavity (hope this helps).

*Place turkey breast side up on rack in bottom of roaster pan at least 2 inches deep.

*I lightly rubbed canola oil all over the bird, then sprinkled with Lawry's seasoning and black pepper.  This helped make for a very crispy skin and nice flavor.  I'm not a skin eater, but I tried it and it was pretty tastey!

*Place in center of preheated 325 degree oven.  A 13 pound turkey takes about 4 hours, I left mine in for 5.  The instruction booklet included with your turkey will give you a good guideline.

*Slice and enjoy!

Total cost:
Paid around $11.44 ($.88 a pound for 13 pounds) = 3 meals or $3.82 a meal!

For additional recipes, please go here!

Do you have a frugal recipe or tip that you would like to share?!  Please email me and yours might be the next to be showcased here on Living,Laughing,Saving!

Living - Whatchya Got Cookin'?! Article #5 - Homemade Potato Wedges!

**The point of 'Whatchya Got Cookin'?!' posts is to share budget friendly family recipes or tips to keep you living, laughing and saving in your kitchen!  We can all learn from each other when it comes to recipes and tips to help us keep our family on track in the kitchen.  If you have a family and budget friendly recipe or tip you would like to share, please leave a comment or email me here.  Your recipe or tip just might be the next to be featured!

This week's article - Homemade Potato Wedges!

Are potatoes a staple in your house?  Here is an easy way to save money when it comes to purchasing bagged potato wedges (or french fries).  It is super easy and tastey making your own potato wedges from a whole potato.

Here's what you do:

**Heat oven to 375 degrees
**Wash up 1 potato for each person you will be serving
**Peel or not peel?  This is up to your preference
**Quarter potatoes and cut into thin slices
**Spread out and lay on greased cookie sheet (I just spray with cooking spray) like in picture above
**Sprinkle potatoes with Lawrys seasoning or salt and pepper to taste.
**Bake for 10 minutes on both sides.
For a different version: Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese and place back in oven 'til melted.

Total cost:
Bag of french fries $2.50 vs. 5 lb bag of potatoes on sale for $.99-$1.49!

Above recipe will depend on how many potatoes you use, but super cheap!  And much more flavorful!

For more recipes/tips check out the previous posts here. 

Saving - Heart Shaped Pizza for Valentine's Day Fun!

Papa Murphy's is offering up a heart shaped pizza for $10 with this coupon.

Why not save a little more money and give it a shot on your own!  Remember the pumpkin pizza here?  Super easy!  And the kids loved it!

And most of the ingredients are on sale this week at HyVee!

Hormel Pepperoni $2.99
use $1/2 1/23 SS
= $2.49 each wyb 2

Bagged or Chunk Cheese $3/5
$1/2 Shredded Cheese 1/23 SS
= $1.17 each wyb 2

Betty Crocker Pizza Crust 2/$1

Not on sale, pizza sauce - approximately $1

Total for one pizza: $3.92!  (considering 1/2 pepperoni packet)

Or you could purchase the Chef Boyardee Pizza Maker kit on sale for $2.98, plus the cheese and pepperoni.  The kit is good for 2 pizzas.  So just $6.64 for two pizzas, or just $3.32 each!

Living - Whatchya Got Cookin'? Article #1: Easy Chicken Legs!

Quite honestly, up until the past 6 months or so I had NEVER purchased any piece of chicken from the grocery store besides the skinless, boneless chicken breasts (unless you count chicken nuggests)!  But recently it was time to start looking to save wherever we could and get crafty with our meals.  I started looking beyond the breasts and noticed that instead of paying $2.99-$3.99 a pound, I could pay $.79-$.99 a pound!  (Of course prices vary by store, season and so on.)

HyVee had their 10-packs of chicken legs on sale for $.79 a pound a while back and I thought to myself, for that price I have to be able to find something to do with them that my family will love. (Note:  These are on sale through today for $.99 a pound.)

And just as I thought, I did!  And the recipe I have thrown together over the past few months has become a favorite.  And it is one of the easiest recipes!  But bottom line, it is definitely a budget friendly recipe.

I'll call them, Easy Family Favorite Chicken Legs!

What you will need:
Crock Pot
Little water
Little Lawry's Season Salt
Little Black Pepper
1 10-pk Chicken Legs (or more depending on the size of your family and crock pot)
1 Cup Ranch (use the cheap ranch, when mixed in it doesn't matter)
1/3 Cup Mustard
1/3 Cup brown sugar

What you do:
Turn crock pot on:  If you have all day (putting them in before you head to work), set to low and they will be done and falling off the bone when you get home.  If you only have a few hours, set the crock pot to high and they will be done in about 3 hours.

Fill the bottom 1/4 inch of crock pot dish with water (don't put in too much or it will 'wash off' your sauce).  Place chicken legs in crock pot, sprinkle with lawry's and black pepper.  Cover until sauce is made.

Mix together ranch, mustard and brown sugar.  Drizzle chicken legs with half of ranch mixture while they are in the crock pot and recover until chicken is done.  Set remainder of ranch mixture in refrigerator.

When meat is cooked through, serve with remainder of ranch mixture for dipping.

Notes: If you prefer a crunchier skin on chicken, you can place legs in the oven for approximately 15 minutes at 375 degrees.  You could also substitute BBQ sauce or your favorite sauces in place of the ranch mixture.

Yummo!

I made these last night so that I could grab some pictures to show you and there were no leftovers.  My 4-year old daughter had 3 legs! 

Approximate overall cost (not considering coupons):
10-pk chicken legs $3
Ranch $1
Mustard $.50
Brown Sugar $.25
= $4.75!

These would make for EASY and YUMMY eats at your SuperBowl party!

Saving - Heinz Cocktail Sauce & Shrimp Dip Recipe!

Heinz is offering a $.50/1 Cocktail Sauce coupon when you go over here and sign up.  Although this coupon is a smaller value, it will make for a great coupon to use where they double up.  And of course, combined with a sale!

I am not a huge fan of shrimp, but I do have to say that the following recipe that my Mom makes from time to time for Shrimp Dip is pretty tastey and I can easily eat around the shrimp - ha!

Shrimp Dip
1 8 oz block cream cheese at room temp (get it free here, sale good this week too!)
1 bottle cocktail sauce
1 small can of shrimp, drained
favorite crackers (like all those $.50 boxes of Wheat Thins you've gotten at Target!)

Spread cream cheese on large platter
Spread cocktail sauce over cream cheese
Then sprinkle drained shrimp over top
Serve cold with crackers!

Living - Just For Fun: Jack-O-Lantern Pizza!

I think most of us have probably seen advertisements for Papa Murphy's seasonal Jack-o-lantern pizza.  Well, just for fun while I was making homemade pizza lastnight, I decided to add a special little twist for the kiddos and made it into the shape of a jack-o-lantern!  It was so easy and the kids really got a kick out of it!  As you can see it is not as cute as the Papa Murphy's version, but it was a whole lot cheaper...and well, homemade!  Thought sharing this with you might get some more creative ideas stirring!


Now what are you waiting for?  Go enjoy a dinner with your family!

Papa Murphy's Version