having my cake and eating it too

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:46:00 +0000

Hi, hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. I know I did but I am ready for everything to get back to normal. This time of year is really hard because my husband is off for two weeks after Christmas and we are so broke by the time he goes back to work it is not funny. I have to tell you that yule log was so yummy! That mocha whipped cream filling was to die for! Thank goodness everyone ate it all up so I did not have any to take home with me because my diet would have went out the window. Yeah, yeah I know you can't really diet during the holidays and I didn't expect to lose any but I did not want to gain any either. I am very proud because I have lost almost 20 lbs. Still lots to go but I went down a size and I feel so much better. I was going to show you what I got for Christmas, I call these my hot momma shoes.

They make me feel so good and they really are comfortable. So what did you get? Since I am broke and all have had to do is be on the computer the last couple of weeks I have been stumbling through pinterest? I love to bake and here are a few things that I found this week you might be interested in! You can follow me here!

If you have never been to pinterest it is a pinboard where you can pin recipes and Ideas . All I can say is be prepared to spend a few hours looking and pinning.

snicker doodle cupcakes I plan on making these this week for my Wednesday night teen class at church.

Source: yourcupofcake.com via Beverly on Pinterest

cherry chocolate chunk whoopie pies

Source: confessionsofacookbookqueen.com via Beverly on Pinterest

If you are on pinterest leave me a link to yours so that I may follow!

Finished Yule log

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:50:00 +0000

Drum Roll Please.............

We actually put powdered sugar on it but I did not get a picture of it! It has a mocha whipped creme filling that that is all I want to eat! Diet is gone and went out the window. I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!

Early Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:55:00 +0000

Early Merry Christmas. Sorry it has been so long since I have posted but I have not been baking much because I have been trying to lose weight. I have lost about 10 lbs so far because I have started running/walking. Trying to make it through this holiday without without gaining any weight. We are having Christmas dinner tomorrow night with my mom so that on Christmas day we can go to church and then the kids can still have time to have fun. I plan on making a yule log tommorrow. I have never made a jelly roll so this should be interesting. My husband made my leaves by painting artifical leaves with melted chocolate. Don't they look awesome.

I will take pictures of the yule log later if it turns out. I also made some homemade peppermint bark.

Only had a little taste of this but it is yummy and super simple.

Homemade Peppermint Bark

1 Box of Candy Canes Crushed in a food processor or with a rolling pin in a plastic bag
1 bag of white chocolate melts or chips
Peppermint extract ( Optional, I used the white melts that were already mint flavored)

In a double boiler melt chocolate. Next add about half of the crushed peppermint and pour on a foil lined baking sheet. Make sure to spread evenly. Place the other half of peppermint mixture on top of the chocolate. Refrigerate until hard and break into pieces.

With the end of the holiday season most people are broke and trying to save money. I came across this Article stocking up on grocery clearances!

linking up with I'm Lovin it by tidy mom

http://tidymom.net/2011/russian-tea-cakes/

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:37:00 +0000

You know the internet is an amazing thing. There is so much out there, anything you want to know (also don't want to know) is out there. It is so easy to get wrapped up in so much information and games that you kind of lose track of reality. I love searching and finding new recipes and crafts and just to play games. My problem is I have let it interfere with things in my life such as house keeping and other things. So with this in mind I am going to slow down on blogging. I will still post, but it will not nearly as often. I often feel lately that my blogging post have not been about quality but about quantity and that is not right. I want to post really quality post. But the first things I have to do is take care of some things that seem to get neglected while I am on the computer. I hope you all understand.

Weekly Pinterest Round Up

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:18:00 +0000

Here are some of my favorite finds this week! Links are underneath photo's

Bread

Source: thepastryaffair.com via Beverly on Pinterest

pizza

Source: platedlife.squarespace.com via Beverly on Pinterest

pasta

Source: budgetbytes.blogspot.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Recent Events

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:55:00 +0000

I am sorry for such a long break. It has been crazy getting the kids all settled back in in school. Then I have been sorta having a little bit of a writers block. I have also been a little depressed because of a situation this week. Really trying to keep a budget I created and have messed that one up :( Then on top of all this all of the depressing news of the the military's loss and those images of those children in Africa. I am sorry to be such a downer, but it has just been a bad week. I know God has reason's for everything and I know he will take care of me because he promised me and he has never failed so far, but I am human and I worry too much.

I know I am late with this but here my menu for this week!

Wednesday: Grilled Tilapia Fillet's and green beans

Thursday: Honey Dijon Chicken Tenders

Friday: Grilled Steaks, and veggie

Saturday: Grilled Ribs, potato and veggie

Sunday: Roast , potatos and veggies

Monday: Left overs;

Tuesday not sure yet!

Menu Plan Monday

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:26:00 +0000

I am sorry for the lack of posting lately. School is starts here this week and we have been trying to get ready for that. Also my birthday was Friday and my husband gave me a day off and he made me chocolate strawberries and and homemade truffles along with some earrings. It was really nice just had family so it was a quiet family dinner. Once I get this week over, I will be posting more regularly again. When does school start in your area? It seems like they keep going back earlier and earlier each year.

Here is my menu plan for this week

Monday: Taco's and Spanish Rice (recipe below)
Tuesday: stuffed peppers using leftover spanish rice
Wednesday: grilled steak
Thursday: Grilled Ribs
Friday: hamburgers

Spanish Rice
3 garlic cloves minced
2 Tablespoons of oil
1 cup of rice
2 cups of broth or water
1 small can of tomato sauce (I love the one that is in with the mexican food isle, it is in a small yellow can)
1Tablespoon of Cumin
Salt and Pepper

in a saute pan warm the oil and add garlic, cook for just a couple of minutes. Next add rice and make sure all rice is covered in oil, cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Then add broth, and tomato sauce and season with cumin, salt and pepper. Stir all together, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes on lowest setting.

'

.

Homemade Copy Cat Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:20:00 +0000

One of the hardest parts to being frugal is not eating out. The wonderful thing about the internet now is that you can find a copycat recipe for just about anything you want to make. Most of them are pretty good and it cost a fraction of the price of going out to eat. My family loves olive garden. That is one place I can take both of my kids without complaints, but that is something we only do once or twice a year because I can not afford 70 dollars on one meal. That is where finding copy cat recipes come in handy. You can find just about any recipe online if you search.
How do you find recipes:

check out the restaurant websites, many of them offer recipes such as

Olive Garden
Chicken marsala ,
alfredo sauce
pesto

Red Lobster:
Broiled Dill Salmon

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Sauce
Lobster bisque

Panera Bread
Heary Cheese Soup
Bread Pudding with Apples, Pecans and Raisins

find copy cat recipe websites

         http://www.copycat-recipes.net/
        http://www.recipelink.com/copycat.html
        http://www.recipegoldmine.com/classyclones/classyclones.html
       http://www.secretrecipes.com/
       http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/home.php
also check you tube

www.wearethatfamily.com

Sweet Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 19:31:00 +0000

How is your weekend going? Mine is doing fine, getting some rain hear,but we really need it. So what sweets have you been cooking this weekend. Here is one I really want to try.

Source: chocolateandcarrots.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Homemade Bread

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:32:00 +0000

My son is a bread eater. I will have a whole loaf of bread in the morning and by the end of the day, he has eaten almost half. He eats just plain bread!
Bread is not cheap. Especially if you want whole wheat or sour dough or any kind of specialty loaf. It can run 2 or 3 dollars a loaf. This is where baking
bread from scratch can really save you some money. I love making bread, I am not an expert so I am going to link you up to some tutorials and
recipes that might help you on your way to creating your first loaf of bread. Once you learn the art of making bread, it opens up the world to making
other goodies like cinnamon rolls, pizza dough, pretzels.

Tutorials
Bread Making Tutorials (several lessons and recipes)

how to make home pizza dough
soft pretzels

Learn How to make cinnamon rolls from scratch. For more Dessert How-To Videos & Articles, visit WonderHowTo.

Recipes I have found to try

Source: lifesafeast.blogspot.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Source: lymericky.blogspot.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Books

Life As Mom — On the Road to Joyful Motherhood

Baking bread sounds complicated but I promise it is not. It does require some time but it is so worth it. I hope you find the information helpful.

Building A Basic Vinaigrette

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:25:00 +0000

yesterday, I said one of the most important things about trimming the budget is cooking from scratch. You can cook just about anything you want with a little time and patience. Homemade, salad dressing, barbeque sauces, bread, pasta, spice mixes, pies, cakes, cookies. Most of these things which cost an arm and a leg and have some strange things in them. While most basic things things are easy to learn, some may take an investiment of time and practice to get it right. Take pie crust., I could not get a pie crust right to save my life. It was absolutely driving me crazy. I finally found a recipe after practing that worked for me. It also taught me what I was doing wrong (not adding enough water). When you are done and you have mastered the task it makes you feel so wonderful. Wat may come easy for some people to learn may be harder for others or vice versa. Just because some people have a hard time with one skill turn you off because you might be the one that gets it the first time.
One thing about cooking from scratch is that you can customize it to your taste. If you are making spaghetti sauce and you don't like mushrooms, all you have to do is leave them out. This theory works more so for cooking than baking because baking is more of a chemistry and if you take something out it might affect the balance in the recipe and it will not work.
Today my focus will be making homemade vinaigrette. One thing about a vinaigrette it can be used for a salad dressing or double as a marinade.
I love to work with formula's it helps me know that I am on the right track but gives me room to play.
Here is the proportions for a basic vinaigrette.
3 parts oil
1 part vinegar
THe part can be tablespoons, cups etc just keep it the same with both. Here is where your creativity comes in.
Oils

vegetable
olive
canola
walnut
avocado
grapeseed

vinegar

white
apple cider
balsamic
rice vinegar
raspberry

Extras or Add Ins

sugar
honey
mustard
onions
garlic

Seasoning

salt
pepper
garlic

I know there are more options, but this is just a start. Say we are making a large amount of dressing I am going to use the 1/2 cup measurement as my part. Here is what one of my recipes would look like
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons of dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste.
That is just an example just fill in the oil and vinegar and play with the amounts of the add ins and seasonings. Start out with little and add more as needed because you can always add but you can't take it out once it is added. Until you feel comfortable, you might want to start with a recipe already posted on the net and adjust it to your taste.
here is a video describing the process!

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:00:00 +0000

I stated in my post yesterday that I really want to reduce my food budget. The number one way to reduce any food budget is to stop eating out and cook from scratch. There is not a restaurant meal you can not re create at home for much less and make much healthier. If you don't already, you need a instructional cookbook. My favorite is

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;It&lt;/p&gt;

Not only does it give you awesome recipes, but it gives you information on all your cooking ingredients. It is my go to guide when I am not sure how to cook something. It has basic cooking techniques to some that are very complicated all in one.

The wonderful thing about the internet is you can learn anything you want for free. You may not be experienced in the kitchen, but there are free videos all over the internet to help you learn just about anything. Cooking well is no exception. Here are a few Video's on

There are more video's on all recipes tv, you can find even more if you do a swagbucks or you tube search. To save money, you do not need to be a gourmet chef but having some basic cooking skills you can cut down all those pre-packaged items like Chicken Stock, or Cream of Mushroom Soup.
I would like to challenge you to find one new cooking technique and let us see your results.

Here is my menu plan for this week.

grilled bbq ribs
hamburgers
spicy fish taco
pepperoni fritatta new recipe,but I think the kids will love it.
apple pecan pork loin

Sweet Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 11:20:00 +0000

I am truly blessed. I have two healthy children, a wonderful husband that provides so I can be a stay at home mom, clothes on my back and a roof over my head. We are not rich by any means, but we are truly blessed and our needs are being met. My husband has a steady job and in today's economy that is a true blessing. The one thing that worries me is that we do have plenty of bills. It makes me nervous in today's economy to have as many bills as I have. My husband friend was just let go again for a second time in a couple of years. I know that no job is safe and I don't want to be left standing holding the bag. One of the way's I really want to cut back is on my grocery bill. So I am going to try to learn how to cut my budget down by eating at home more, learning new cooking methods, and more. I hope you follow along and maybe you will find some information that will be helpful.

Here is one of my favorite sweet finds this week

Source: createdby-diane.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Show me what sweet you have made or found this week.

Peach Pit and Peel Jelly

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:26:00 +0000

Has anyone made Peach Pit and Peel Jelly? I found a recipe online and you boil the peaches and peels, let it sit and strain the juice. I had all of it done and this morning I was straining and my husband called and said pits were poisonous. He had me so afraid, I dumped the juice and it was turning such a pretty pink color. There were tons of recipes online so I don't think it would be bad but I didn't want to make something no one would eat. I am just irked because I did all that work of peeling peaches and boiling it and straining it. Do you ever make it, what is your feeling with it. I did get 9 bags of frozen peaches out of my 25lbs.

Weekly Pinterest Round Up

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:03:00 +0000

I don't know how many of you know about Pinterest. It is a visual bookmark site and can be very addictive. You can get so many ideas from recipes to decorating. You make a different board for different subjects. It is by invite so if you haven't signed up for one you can send me your email, I will send you an invite. I have decided to start doing a weekly round up on my blog and this is what I have found this week.

Source: lymericky.blogspot.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Source: eatingwell.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Source: cookinglight.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Source: theidearoom.net via Beverly on Pinterest

Source: kitchen-confidante.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Do you have a pinterest board? I am always looking for more to follow, just leave a link to your board so I can follow you.

Peaches?

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 11:43:00 +0000

25 lbs of peaches, yes that is righ t25 lbs. A lady from our church drove to Georgia last night and picked up these peaches for us. We got 25 lbs of peaches for 10.00. That is about .40 cents a pound I couldn't get that price anywhere around here. Now decisions on what to do with them. I know I will be freezing some and making a cobbler with some.
Here are a couple of things I found on pineinterest that I might try.
peach popsickles
peach jam

Do you have any non common peach recipes? Just looking for something different.

Chicken Fajita Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:38:00 +0000

Sunday night, I was trying to decide what I wanted yesterday for dinner. I kept looking in my freezer and nothing just clicked. Have you ever done that? I went ahead and took out some chicken breast, I just figure I would think of something or else we would have grilled chicken breast. It was almost time for dinner last night and still nothing. I happened to look in my drawer and saw some fajita seasoning mix, only problem is I didn't have any tortilla's . I got to looking around my pantry and noticed a box of miniature box tie pasta and that is where this idea came from.

Chicken Fajita

2 chicken breast pounded slightly
1 pkt of fajita seasoning
1/2 pkg of mini bow tie pasta
2 bell peppers
2 onions
1 cup of cheese
salt and pepper to taste.
2 tbsp of butter
2 tbsp of oil
Cook pasta according to instructions on box reserve about 1/4 cup of pasta water. Grill chicken breast until completely cooked through. In a another sauce pan sautee onions and peppers in oil and butter. Cut chickens in cubes or strips add to pan of cooked onions and bell peppers. Add package of seasoning and the 1/4 cup of reserved water stir until seasoning is mixed in and there is a slight sauce. Add bell pepper onion and chicken mixture to pasta and add in 1 cup of cheese.

I also found out that I am getting 25 lbs of peaches, a lady at our church is going to Georgia and the price of peaches wer 10.00 for 25 lbs's. That is less than 50 cents a lb. Anyone have some to die for peach recipes?

Proud of Hubby and Sweet Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:09:00 +0000

First of all, have to say happy bday to my son. He turned 15 yesterday. They grow up so fast, it just seems like yesterday he was born. Here is a pic taken yesterday at my husbands graduation.

Sorry the pic is so bad, only had my kit lens with me and I don't have an external flash! Can't believe he is old enough to get a permit. I thought I had stress highlights before, my whole head is going to be one highlight when he gets his permit.
So proud of my husband, he finally had his graduation from his design engineering apprenticeship program. He worked so hard for this. He was so afraid when he first started but know he is an old pro! He actually finished the program last year but company changed hands so the graduation was not held until this year.

hubby is on the right! Here is another one

Hope everyone had a really good weekend.

I didn't have a chance to cook up something sweet for Sweet Sunday but here are a couple of things I want to try soon.

Source: gypsyheartandsoul.blogspot.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Source: flourmewithlove.blogspot.com via Beverly on Pinterest

Source: amy-showalter.blogspot.com via Beverly on Pinterest

What sweets have you made or found, please link up.

Favorite Find Friday

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:57:00 +0000

Tuesday, I wrote about using herbs and spices to flavor your dishes. I found an item that could be a big help to those not very knowledgeable in fresh herbs. It is an wheel that gives each fresh herb and what they can be used for and how to use them.

Source: chewonthis.org via Beverly on Pinterest

It also gives you helpful preservation and storage tips with some recipes to help you get started into using fresh herbs. This was not a paid advertisement, this was just something I came across on pineinterest. What is your favorite recipe using fresh herbs?

Adding Flavor to your food: Cooking With Herbs and Spices.

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:48:00 +0000

One thing I am trying to learn is how to cook with herbs and spices and spice blends. The spices that I mainly use is garlic, cumin, chipolte powder, chili powder, italian seasoning. I really want to learn to expand my horizon and to branch out. I also would love to learn more about flavors and which Herbs and Spices go with what meat. I have been doing some searches to find different sites and here are a couple that my be a help to you learn your herbs,spices and spice mixture. My problem is what flavors go well with what food, I know dill goes well with fish, and mint goes well with lamb but other than that it is just a guess. What is your favorite flavor combination, how did you learn about flavors or do you just guess?

quick reference quide to herbs and spices

whole spice.com (click on each individual spice and it gives a description and what it can be used for)

Teachers Guide to Cooking with Herbs and Spices

pairing spices with dishes

adding flavor boost to your food

Happy Fourth of July

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 15:30:00 +0000

Happy fourth of july! Hope everyone is having a busy and delightful day. The pic above is extra angel food cake and berries from a trifle, so I had a nice nutritious breakfast this morning :) Had hands full in angel food cake, cupcakes, and bake beans. Today it is a combination of 4th of July, Dad's bday and My son's bday, we do it that way because we have lots of family here so this way we can celebrate all of the together.

Menu Plan for this week

Monday: Chicken, burgers, potato salad, macaroni salad, Trifle. cupcakes....

Tuesday Left Overs

Wed: BBQ Ribs

Thursday: Garlic Chicken Farfalle

Friday: Grilled Pork Loin

Hope everyone has an awesome Fourth of July

Sweet Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:12:00 +0000

I haven't had to put up my Sweet Sunday meme in a while but I think this is a good weekend with all the dessert recipes out there. Please link up your favorite dessert. Make sure you link only to your post and if you would please link back to the blog or post. If you would like on the home page on the right side at the bottom there is an html code for a button. I am excited to see what is your favorite dessert or what dessert recipe or what recipe you are making for the 4th. Here is mine

here is a direct link to the recipe! What's your favorite sweet recipe this week? Add your link below.

National Blueberries in July Month

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:37:00 +0000

Last night was my last night of teaching bible school. All we have is the closing program tonight. I always complain about bible school every year, I guess because we drive the van and it is so late whe we get home and by the end of the week we are exhausted, but I always end up being blessed. I had the third and fourth grade class this year and they were really awesome. This was a nice age because they were bigger than the little kids, but they were not to big for their "britches" sorry for the southern slang . They actually listened and you could just see their excitement when they got involved.
Even though it is over, I am still not going to be able to take a breath because we have company coming. I am the one doing the 4th at my house also, so I need to get some cleaning done. I have always loved the 4th. My dad's family is really close knit and we always had cousins and uncles always pile in on us at that time. We always had homemade lemonade and watermelon, such fun memories.
This is National Blueberries in July Month so I decided that I would make a homemade blueberry pie. Pie's are something I have struggled with for a long time. I couldn't get the pie crust right, it kept breaking. I have found out I wasn't adding enough water. I have been told to not to add to much water so I was taking it in the other directions and not adding enough. I have learned to add the full amount of water the recipe calls for, but I do not go over.
Blueberry Pie

I used this exact crust and filling recipe. I did leave out the lemon because I did not have any on hand.

I probably won't have a post up until Tuesday because of all the activities. Hope everyone has a wonderful fourth of July!

Blueberry Crumb Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:55:00 +0000

I love to bake, but I don't want all the sweets left around for me to gain a hundred pounds so I send them with my hubby to work. They are getting spoiled rotten. They are so brazen they have put in a request for blueberry muffins so the nice person I am :) was glad to oblige. So here is the result.

I got this recipe from all recipes.com. I want to give credit where credit is due, this is not my recipe but This is the best muffin I have ever eaten. They are so moist, they are almost like cupcakes. I promise if you are a blueberry lover you will not be disappointed. The next time I think it would be good to add some pecans to the crumble topping. These will be awesome for the fourth .

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

See To Die For Blueberry Muffins on Key Ingredient.

KISS (Keep it simple silly) 4th of July on a really tight budget.

noreply@blogger.com (beverly lee) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:15:00 +0000

I love the 4th. There is not many people who do not. It is a time to remember what sacrifices the men and women of this country have made for us and also a time to be with family and friends. I also around this same time have had to deal with father's day, my dad's birthday is on the 7th and my son's birthday is on the 9th. I do not have a lot of money to spend but that does not mean that my get together will be less than those that can go all out.

I titled this post KISS (keep it simple silly) because you can have an absolutely fun fourth without all the expense and the stress. Honestly the more stuff you have, the more stress it is because it is just that much more cooking you must do. That leaves you less time to actually spend with your family and friends. So here are my tips to keeping it simple for the 4th plus a few ideas.

limit your menu- choose just one or two main dishes, and a couple of desserts.

to help keep cost down, you could ask your guest to bring a side dish or a dessert.

keep it inexpensive. I love to look at pineinterest there are some really neat recipes, but they do not have to be expensive here are a few inexpensivet ideas.

main dishes

a. chicken

b. hamburgers

c. hot dogs

desserts:

Patrotic Popcorn {Picnic Food} via TipJunkie.com

4th of July Creme Filled Strawberries | Bakers Royale

The Changeable Table: Patriotic Layered Jello - SALUTE your salad!

I hope these are some ideas to help make your fourth of july a successful and less stressful one without spending an arm and a leg.