I did some google-ing (what? It’s totally a verb) and found some great homemade alternatives to Rice a Roni and other store bought side dishes.

Homemade Rice a Roni, only 310 mg of sodium v. 1070 mg store bought

Homemade Pinto Beans, much better than canned refried beans.

Also, a confession. We eat Hamburger Helper here. We like it too. For reals. So I thought, why not try and find a homemade version for that too? I found one here. Once we’ve plowed through our 5 boxes in the cupboard (what!? Don’t judge) I’m going to try this version. I also managed to find a recipe for Shake and Bake. 

Have you made over any store bought sides? Great recipes or links you’d like to share? I’m all ears.

I read about monthly meal planning here. We had been doing the weekly meal plans but almost every week I would be an ingredient or two short for a recipe and would have to run out to the store. That meant more grocery trips and more money spent there. You know I didn’t just buy my one ingredient.

Anyway, I thought I would give this a shot and it’s been working pretty well for us. So, here’s how I tackled it.

- At the beginning of the month I gathered all of my recipe books, torn out recipe pages and bookmarked recipes. I simply made a list of 30 or so of tried and true recipes and a few new ones mixed in.

- I filled in my calendar of each day what we would be having. I added breakfasts meals for Sundays.

- I took inventory of my pantry staples (pasta/rice/etc) and then went through each recipe to make sure I had the ingredients.

- I started making my grocery list from there. I included any meat I would need to buy or any missing ingredients. I separated my list into two, Costco and groceries. I always buy chicken, cereal, fiber one bars, and a few other staples at Costco.

That’s it! It’s been working really well for us. I haven’t had to worry about what to defrost or if I need to run to the grocery store for ingredients once this month! I’m trying to limit my grocery store runs to every other week for fresh stuff- produce, milk, etc. I’m hoping that cuts down my grocery budget. Dave would be proud.

This sounds time consuming but it really isn’t. From planning to inventory and grocery list making it took me less than 2 hours. I think it will get quicker each month. I also left a “free night” open each week. We typically just have leftovers that night since it’s hard to make a meal that only serves 2. We also plan dinners out too (usually a Saturday).

So, do you meal plan? Weekly or monthly? Or are you a fly by the seat of your pants gal or guy? Any suggestions for me?

I just outlined the cookies with frosting.

Flooded in the colors I wanted to use.

Added some extra details. They may not be picture perfect but they were pretty delicious!

What do you take to welcome your new neighbors?

It made the perfect Happy Valentine’s Day cookies for Matt. Cute huh?

Your frosting should be able to run off a spoon. Move icing to a frosting bag with a number 2 tip. 

I use clear sugar crystals for my snowflakes. Matt usually assumes the duty of sugarer, it keeps the decorating moving if one person frosts and the other person dips the cookie in the sugar. The finished product!  Martha would be proud!

I pre-packaged my snowflakes for the cookie exchange. It will keep them fresh and they’re easy for the girls to take home.

Cranberry Nut Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 tablespoons shortening
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Stir in orange juice, orange peel, shortening and egg. Mix until well blended.

Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in loaf pan.

Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

We’ve got our books, and somehow we look jet lagged.  I can’t explain it. 

                   The line                                                                      Almost there!  We’re one person away!

Victorious!  We got our books signed and a t-shirt!

We decided to brave IKEA anyway.  We bought a bunch of random things.  My purchases included: an apple corer, 6 cinnamon rolls and a pillow cover.  I think we were just delirious and grabbing items.  It was a long day but we’ve decided we can officially check “take a spontaneous road trip” off of our bucket list.

Gather your supplies 

1 15oz can pumpkin

1 cup applesauce

¾ cup apple juice

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix together and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 ½ hours

Stir your little heart out!

The pumpkin crescent roll bites

Unroll the crescent rolls as normal

Add the pumpkin butter and roll them back up

Sprinkle with Cinnamon and Sugar

Bake as directed

***I added a powdered sugar glaze to mine-cause that’s just how I roll***

Enjoy!

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 package each of ranch-style dressing & taco seasoning mixes

1 C water

1-15oz can cream style corn

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

2 15 oz cans pinto beans , drained 1 15oz can black beans, drained

Tortillas strips for topping

Brown beef with onions in a med-size soup pot. Drain excess grease. Add remaining ingredients, simmer 20 minutes before serving

INGREDIENTS

• 6 apple – peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 4 Tablespoons of caramel sauce
• 3/4 cup of oatmeal

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. Arrange apples in an even layer in bottom of baking dish. Pour water & caramel over apples.
3. In a medium bowl mix together cake mix, brown sugar, oatmeal and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter or margarine until ingredients are thoroughly blended; mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over apples.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes.

The apples that were painstaking peeled by hand and mixed with caramel.  Yum!

Delicious, crumbly topping

Serve a la mode.  Of course.