Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Slowly but surely I have been working on replacing some of our favorite processed foods with homemade versions.  With two young kids, macaroni and cheese was a must.  Now, I have to admit.......this is a kid's only recipe in our house.  My husband and I are not big fans - we just LOVE Kraft Mac & Cheese way too much.  But the girls.....love it and would eat it every day if we allowed it.   This recipe is adapted from Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.

Here's what you'll need.......

*Box of Pasta - I usually use Rotini or Penne
*Nonstick cooking spray.
*1 Tbsp olive oil.
*1 Tbsp Flour - White or Wheat, I've used both
*1/2 cup Milk.
*1/2 - 1 cup of pureed sweet potato or pureed butternut squash - When I started with the recipe, I used just 1/2 cup but now use 1 cup.  It will turn out just fine either way but I figure with 1 cup, I get even more veggies into the meal!
*1 - 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese - Since I have added more of the veggie puree, I usually do 1 1/2 cups but, again, it will be fine on the lower end as well.
*4oz of cream cheese.
*salt and pepper to taste

Directions......
*Cook the pasta according to the package.
*The sauce can be a bit demanding so I usually start after the pasta has been cooked.
*Coat a saucepan with cooking spray.
*Once the saucepan has heated up, add the olive oil. 
*Add the flour and stir constantly for about a minute or two.  This part can be a bit delicate because you want it to be like a thick paste but not too long that it starts to brown.
*Add the milk and stir constantly for about 2 to 3 minutes until it begins to thicken. 
*Add the veggie puree, cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.  Stir until all the cheese has melted.
*Pour the pasta into the sauce and stir together.

As you might imagine, this is not just lunch for the day.  I'm able to fill 3 or 4 small containers and throw them in the freezer for later!

We Made Freezer Corn.....Year Two!!

Over the weekend, I got together with my mom and grandma and made some freezer corn!
Last year we had a little help from Cailynn but this year...........

Papa was home and the girls wanted nothing to do with freezer corn!


So we went to work....just the three of us!  And we stepped it up a bit this year with 115 ears of corn (just 48 ears last year)!!  It took us all day but we ended up with around 40 bags of freezer corn!

Here's the recipe in case you are interested:
*8 cups raw corn
*1 cup water
*1 Tbsp salt
*1 Tbsp sugar
*1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine

Use large, heavy sauce pan and cook on high until it boils. Once it boils, cook for about 3 minutes. Make sure you are stirring the entire time. Cool quickly.

Can you believe that this is just one year apart!
We did make quite a bit more corn this year but I didn't want to drag it all out for the picture!

Mmm....Homemade Ice Cream Cake!!

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

It's that time of year again.....birthdays, birthdays, and more birthdays in our house!!  Last year I made this delicious ice cream cake for the girls' birthday party and it must have been a hit because Cailynn requested it again this year!!  Last year I called a few ice cream shops to find out how much it would cost to buy an ice cream cake.  I was shocked to hear numbers like $35 and $25.  Um, no!  So, I decided to get on the computer and see how difficult it would be to make my own.  Well, it turned out to be quite easy! 

Here's what you'll need:

1 package of Oreos ($1.99)

1/2 gallon of the ice cream of your choice ($2.50)

1/4 cup of melted butter

whipped topping ($1.69)

Total: $6.18

If I had planned ahead, I would have been able to get an even better deal on this cake.  Just last week, I could have gotten Oreos for $.50.  A great example of why it pays to plan ahead!!

You will also need a spring form pan.

Last year, I borrowed one from a friend = FREE!!
This year I picked one up from Hobby Lobby and used a 40% off coupon = $7.79

Now you're ready to make your cake!

1) Put the ice cream in the refridgerator to soften (about 30-45 minutes).

2) Set aside about 12 Oreos, put the rest in a gallon size ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin.

3) Pour the crumbs into a bowl and mix in the melted butter.  Stir and then spread it on the bottom of your pan to make the crust of the cake.  Place it in the freezer for 10 minutes to harden.

4) Once the ice cream has softened, scoop it into a bowl and mix.

5) Place the ice cream in the pan on top of the cookie crust.  Cover it with aluminum foil and place in freezer to harden for about 4 hours.

6) Once it has hardened, run a knife around the outside of the pan so that the ice cream doesn't stick when the sides are removed.  Unlatch the pan and pull off the sides.  Place the cake on a cutting board so it is easy to move.

7) "Frost" the cake with the whipped topping.  Add remaining cookies around the edge and on top as decoration along with the chocolate syrup.

8) Put the cake back in the freezer to harden for another 3-4 hours. 

9) Enjoy!

To see the recipe and a "how to" video, go here!

I had intended on taking more pictures at the end but I got a little worried that the ice cream would start melting so I completely forgot!!

This was extremely easy to make and tasted great! 

I Have a Turkey.......Now What?

For Thanksgiving we are not cooking the turkey.  So why did we buy a turkey?  I had the brilliant idea that we should cook it and make some meals to stick in the freezer.  Just too good of a deal to pass up! 

So now I need your help!  I'm looking for your fabulous turkey recipes!  Please share!  I'm thinking Turkey Chili, Turkey Enchiladas........what else do you have for me!

Homemade Bubble Fun!

Beautiful day.....perfect for bubbles!  The only problem.....we didn't have any.  I don't know about you but I'm not a big fan of loading the kids in and out of the car more than I have to so I got on Swagbucks and searched for a homemade recipe, hoping it would include ingredients that we had in our house!  I was in luck!  All I needed was dish soap, water and sugar!

And both girls had a blast!

Here's the recipe:

Add 1/2 cup dish soap into a bowl. 

Add 1.5 cups of water. 

Add 2 teaspoons of sugar.

Stir gently!

That's it and they were worked great!

We Made Freezer Corn!

Spectacular Savings was a little quiet yesterday because I spent the morning/afternoon with my grandma, mom, and girls making freezer corn!  Four generations! 

We had 48 ears of corn to shuck and Cailynn enjoyed helping.  Well, she enjoyed taking the "skin" off but didn't want to touch the "strings."

Once the corn was shucked, we cut the corn off of the cob and placed it into a large, heavy sauce pan.

We added water, salt, sugar, and butter and cooked it!

That's my grandma!

We used my grandma's food saver to seal them in bags!

And that's my mom!

And this is the result of our work in the kitchen yesterday!

Here's the recipe in case you are interested:

*8 cups raw corn

*1 cup water

*1 Tbsp salt

*1 Tbsp sugar

*1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine

Use large, heavy sauce pan and cook on high until it boils.  Once it boils, cook for about 3 minutes.  Make sure you are stirring the entire time.  Cool quickly.

It is SO tasty!  I couldn't stop snitching (although I wasn't the only one!).  We have a few bags of frozen (from the store) corn in our freezer and I told my grandma we would have to finish those before we start on the corn we made because it would probably go to waste - not nearly as good!  We got a lot made but we are hoping to make one more round before the summer is over!

My Mother in Law's Spaghetti Recipe - Yum!!

Can't believe I haven't shared this yummy recipe with you guys yet!  This is one of our go-to meals when we need something last minute.  This and tacos!

Ingredients:
*2 cans tomato soup
*1lb hamburger
*5 tsp sugar
*4 tsp apple vinegar

Directions:
Brown meat.  Add soup and just enough water to get all of the soup out of the can (about 1/2 can).  Add sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil.  Simmer while cooking spaghetti.

photo credit.

Beef and Cheese Burritos

Ingredients:
(8) 8-10 inch flour tortillas
1.5 cups shredded cooked beef, chicken or pork
1 cup bottled salsa
(1) can of refried beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
shredded lettuce (optional)
dairy sour cream (optional)
bottled salsa (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400.  Wrap tortillas in foil; heat in the preheated oven about 8 minutes or until heated through.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together shredded bef and the 1 cup salsa.

2)To assemble, spread 2 tablespoons refined beans on each tortilla.  Top bean dip with 1/4 cup beef mixture near one edge.  Top beef mixture with 1/4 cup cheese.  Fold in the sides of tortilla and roll up, starting from the edge with the filling.  Place filled tortillas, seam sides down, in a greased 3 quart rectangular baking dish.

3)Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven about 20 minutes or until heated through.  If desired, serve with lettuce, sour cream, and additional salsa.  Makes 8 servings.

Spinach-Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients:
*12 dried jumbo shell macaroni
*10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
*2 eggs, lightly beaten
*2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (I use mozzarella)
*1 cup ricotta cheese
*1 26-32 oz jar of pasta sauce

Directions:
*Cook jumbo shells according to package.  Rinse with cold water, drain again.  Set shells aside.  Meanwhile, drain thawed spinach well.
*Preheat oven to 350.  For filling, in a medium bowl stir together spinach, eggs, 1.5 cups of Italian cheese blend and ricotta cheese.  Spoon a generous 2 rounded tablespoons of the filling into each jumbo shell.  Arrange shells in a 2 quart square baking dish.  Pour pasta sauce over shells.
*Bake, covered, in the preheated over about 40 minutes or until heated through.  Sprinkle with the remaining .5 cup Italian cheese blend.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.  Makes 4 main dish servings.

*Make ahead directions: Prepare as above through Step 2.  Cover with plastic wrap, then foil.  Chill for up to 24 hours.  To bake, remove plastic wrap and replace the foil.  Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 50-55 minutes or until heated through.  Continue as directed.

Chicken and Corn Enchiladas

Ingredients:
*2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast - cooked and shredded
*1 package (16 oz) frozen corn
*2 cups shredded cheese
*1 cup sour cream
*1 teaspoon cumin
*1 teaspoon chili powder
*2 cups salsa
*3 cups enchilada sauce
*16 wheat tortillas

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350.  Coat two 9x13 baking dishes with cooking spray.
*In large bowl, mix together chicken, corn, half of cheese, sour cream, cumin, and chili powder. 
*In another large bowl, mix together the salsa and enchilada sauce.
*Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken filling into the center of tortilla.  Roll up and place seam side down in prepared dish.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.
*Spoon the salsa-enchilada sauce mixture over the filled enchiladas.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover with foil and bake 30-40 minutes.

Makes/Serves 16

Sicilian Casserole

Ingredients:
*1 lb ground beef, turkey or sausage
*1 onion, chopped
*1 red bell pepper, chopped
*1 green bell pepper, chopped
*1 6oz can of tomato paste
*1 8oz can of tomato sauce
*1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
*8oz pkg cream cheese, cubed
*1/3 cup sour cream
*3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
*2 cups penne pasta
*3/4 cups milk
*3/4 cups water

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350.
*Brown meat and onion.  Add peppers when meat is almost cooked.  Drain well when meat is cooked through.
*Return to pan and add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water and Italian seasoning.  Simmer 10 minutes.
*Cook pasta according to package.
*Combine cream cheese and milk in microwave safe bowl.  Cook in microwave 2-3 minutes, stirring once halfway through.  Remove and stir with wire whisk until sauce thickens and blends to form smooth sauce.
*Drain noodles and add cream cheese sauce, sour cream and 1/2 cup Parm cheese.  Place mixture in casserole dish. 
*Top with meat mixture. *Sprinkle remaining parm cheese on top.
*Bake 20-30 min until bubbly.

This makes about 6-8 servings.  I divided it in half between two casserole dishes to freeze for two separate meals.