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Sunday, May 30, 2010

5-30-10



With Summer vacation drawing near I am
trying to find recipes for the kids
to enjoy that will keep me from
having to run to the store or them wanting
to visit the nearest ice cream shop.
Plus I feel it's a learning experience for the
kids. To learn that every time you want
something you don't have to run to
the grocery store to pick up convenience
foods when it can be made at home for much
cheaper!
These ingredients are something we already have
at home in the pantry or fridge.


These are similar to making crepes.

Ice Cream Cones Recipe from Joy Of Cooking

2 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 - 3 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

Vegetable oil and pastry brush

Ice Cream Cones: In a medium sized bowl whisk together (or use a hand mixer) the eggs and sugar until frothy. Whisk in the melted butter, milk and vanilla extract. Add the flour and salt and whisk until the batter is smooth. The batter should be quite thin (like a crepe batter) so add more milk if the consistency is too thick.

Heat a 8-9 inch saute pan over medium heat until it is hot. Reduce the heat to medium low and brush the pan lightly with vegetable oil. Pour or ladle about 3-4 tablespoons of batter into the pan and immediately tilt or rotate the pan so the batter forms a thin 5-6 inch circle. Place pan back on the heat and cook until the batter is set and you can see the underside is golden brown (3-4 minutes). Slip a metal spatula under the crepe and gently flip it over. Cook until golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and slide the crepe from the pan onto your work surface. While the crepe is still hot, quickly start at one edge and roll the crepe into a cone shape. Squeeze the tip of the cone to seal it so the ice cream won't drip out. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Continue making the rest of the cones, lightly brushing the pan with vegetable oil each time. These cones are best if eaten the same day.

However, if you have leftovers store them in a covered container. To re-crisp the cones preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Working with one cone at a time, unroll the cone until it is a circle again, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 3-5 minutes or until the crepe is hot and soft. Remove from oven and place the hot crepe on your work surface. Quickly reroll into a cone shape, again squeezing the tip of the cone so the ice cream won't drip out. Place on a wire rack to cool. Continue with the rest of the cones.

Makes about 8 ice cream cones.

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It's that time of year when the weather starts
warming up and the air conditioners start coming
on. We all need a little relief from the heat
and air conditioning can be expensive. To help
keep our costs down we try to keep the air
conditioner set around 75.
When it's 95 degrees out a 20 degree temperature
difference can make a big difference.
We try not to turn it on and off a lot unless
there will be a period of cooler weather.
It takes a lot of energy to cool off a hot
house than it does just to keep the ac running.

Close off vents to unused rooms and rooms like
the bathroom and basement.
Keep your blinds or drapes closed to keep
out any extra heat from the sun.

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Sitting here checking out the leftovers in my fridge
deciding what to make with them.

I have:

1/2 can pineapple rings
2 oranges
large container of yogurt

Soooo, I'm thinking how about some
pineapple orange yogurt pops.

Found this recipe below and have added my tweaks to it.

Pineapple Orange Popsicles

* 8 oz. carton vanilla yogurt
* 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
(Will use the pineapple slices, they are drained.)
* 6 oz. can frozen pineapple orange juice concentrate, thawed
(Will juice the 2 oranges I have)
* 8 paper drink cups
* 8 wooden sticks
(If you don't have sticks I use plastic spoons)

Preparation:
In a blender container or food processor, combine yogurt, pineapple and juice concentrate and blend until smooth. Fill each drink cup with about 1/3 cup pineapple mixture and freeze until partially frozen, about 1 hour. Insert sticks and freeze until firm, 2 more hours. Peel off paper cups to serve. 8 pops.

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And because I have a 16 ounce container of
yogurt and the recipe above only calls for 8 ounces
of yogurt I wanted to try another recipe
with low fat and sugar.

Ingredients

1 pkg sugar free jello (any flavor)
(I'll probably do strawberry)
1/4 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt
1 c. boiling water

Directions
Boil 1 cup of water and mix with your favorite flavor of sugar-free jello.

Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Mix in 1/4 cup of non-fat vanilla yogurt and pour into popsicle maker or small paper cups (add a stick after it's partially set). Freeze.

Number of Servings: 4

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Mom wants a few extra wooden chairs for her
dining room table. I have decided to give her
the ones from our old table. They have been sitting
outside under the carport. I washed them down
with some murphy's oil soap. And because some
of the finish wore off the chairs from being
outside I needed a polish for them. I don't have
any furniture polish so whipped up a batch of
homemade. I took canola oil and some lemon
juice and mixed the two together in a bowl.
I wiped each chair with this mixture
then took a dry towel and wiped it off.




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I have one week before vacation time starts.
So starting today I will be getting out a notebook
and making lists of things we need to take. By doing
this early you're more than likely NOT to forget something.

I will also start planning a menu of foods to make
to take with us to keep from eating fast food
and spending more money.
Will have one cooler just for drinks
and another just for food.

We will be staying in the Baymont Hotel
and they have microwaves and fridges in each room
so that is good to know when planning my meal
list.

They have free continental breakfasts.
Would have to set the clock to get up for
that because I think last time we got up too
late to get any.

And they do offer smoking and non smoking rooms.

They have an indoor swimming pool and hot tub so that
would keep the kids and us entertained in the evenings
when we aren't out and about.

I've checked prices on Travelocity,
Priceline and so on and don't see
much savings if any. They all seem to
be around what the hotel normally is.

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Ok racking brain for a food list for trip.

MAIN

-Breakfast Tortilla Roll Ups

-make up a bunch of large dinner rolls
to use as mini buns.


-BBQ pulled pork in crockpot
(put boneless pork ribs in crock on high
with a bottle of brown sugar bbq sauce)

-Chicken salad sandwiches.
have a bunch of chicken breasts in crock now
with a little water and a packet of onion soup mix.

SIDES

-Macaroni & Cheese

-Potato salad

-Baked beans

-Corn on the cob


DRINKS

-Kool Aid & Country Time lemonade
made up in 2 liter pop bottles.

-12 packs of Big K canned pop

SNACKS

-Chips

-Cookies or Little Debbies




Been eating White Castles since last night.
I have figured out how to recycle the Crave Case
box. I'm going to use it to put all the
plastic ware, condiments, napkins and plates
in for vacation.

Save up all those condiment packages from
the fast food joints to use them on vacation,
lunch breaks or sporting events.
No need to let those go to waste so I'm taking
them along with us on vacation.

5:30PM

Got the chicken breast out of the crock.
Will use some of this to make chicken salad with.



7:30PM

Just got done making pineapple orange popsicles
and bread is rising in the bread machine
to make buns out of. The recipe says I
should get about 16 buns from this ball
of dough.




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About Me

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My name is Sherry, 39yrs old, from Columbus, Ohio. I am married, a SAHM, and have 3 children ages 9, 10 and 20. I have been frugal/thrifty all my life. I would like to share on this blog how we get by day to day on one income with a family of 5 with a dog and a cat. You will also hear about my everyday gripes about daily life and the cost of living. Hubby says my favorite saying is, "and that is another thing that pisses me off!"

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