Coming soon....

....I'll be counting down the last 12 days to Christmas with recipe each day for holiday enjoyment!

Each one will be a memory, old and new.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannukah (which by the way I hope you're enjoying!), or Kwanzaa....I hope you tune in for the treats!

Pumpkin Muffins

I absolutely love this time of year. The crunch of the leaves in fall, the colors, the anticipation of the coming season. I know for many, Christmas is their favorite holiday. I can honestly say that, for me, Thanksgiving is even greater.

We have a tradition where we travel to Michigan to visit my husband's stepmother. The past couple years, instead of cooking, we've gone to the Thomas Edison Inn for dinner. It's so nice, to have some one else cook, have some one else clean, and just to be able to focus on the ones you love. As much as I was just a little worried about it the first year, I'm so grateful that it's become our tradition. So relaxing and fun. I also love the 2nd day, Black Friday to most of you nuts. To us, it's Frankenmuth day. For those of you who are not from, near, or have never been to Michigan, Frankenmuth is Michigan's Little Bavaria. It is like stepping into a German town. All buildings have the Bavarian architecture, most of the waiters and waitresses in the restaurants wear laderhosen (sorry if I butchered that). And, well, it's just a wonderful day. Our stops include Bronner's, the worlds largest Christmas store (picture 3 Home Depots); The Cheese Haus; and The Bavarian Inn, where we gorge ourselves on the best chicken dinner available in the world! We also manage to take a horse drawn carriage ride around the city every year. And if we time it right, we drive through the town just after they've lit the lights for Christmas. And lets just say, they go ALL OUT. Sigh. We leave next week. And I'm so excited.

Another great thing about this time of year is that Aldi starts to stock their shelves to the gills with all the holiday necessities! Canned Pumpkin, Whole Cranberry Sauce, French Fried Onions, Turkeys, Hams and the like. All at wonderful prices. They also have special treats, giftables and toys at very reasonable prices. I try to stock up on things I know I'll use all year long.

Okay, back to the muffins. As I sit here typing, they are baking in the oven. My house smells like pumpkins. It smells like Thanksgiving. It takes me to the people I love, and the places I love to be. I hope it does the same for you, no matter where you are. I really wish you could smell my house right now.

To give credit where credit is due, this is NOT my personal recipe. It was given to me from a friend on a homeschooling forum named "Monkey Mama". It's actually a pumpkin bread recipe that I adapted to muffins so that it'd be easier to take on our road trip.


Pumpkin Muffins

5 Golden Hen Eggs (.89/dozen this week! so... .37)
1 1/4 Cups Carlini Canola Oil (.72)
1 15 oz Can of Baker's Corner Pumpkin (.79)
2 Cups Grandma's Best Flour (.50)
2 Cups Baker's Corner Sugar (.50)
1 tsp. Baker's Corner Baking Soda (.05)
2 tsp. Spice Club Cinnamon (.03)
1/2 Tsp Sebree Salt (.01)
2 3oz packages of Baker's Corner Vanilla Pudding (.75)

Preheat oven to 325.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add oil and pumpkin. Beat until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well. Gradually beat into the pumpkin mixture.

Pour into prepared muffin pans (you can either spray well or use muffin liners, I use the liners! Makes travel easier!).

Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

This makes approximately 30 muffins at .13 each! :) ENJOY. They're fairly sweet, but if you like a little frosting, you could melt about 2 tablespoons of the Baker's Corner Vanilla Frosting in the microwave and drizzle over top. :)

BTW...they freeze and travel very well! :)

Harvest Hayride Breakfast

a.k.a. Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup.

I have this really great friend who gave me a used waffle maker. I just got it about two months ago, and I've been experimenting with waffles, mixes, etc.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into Aldi the other day and saw Millville Pumpkin Pancake & Waffle Mix. And in the refrigerated section near the orange juice was Nature's Nectar Apple Cider. Of course, light bulbs start going off in my head, and my mouth starts watering, and I do believe I drooled - just a little bit (no one saw, at least I don't think they did). Oh well, even if they did...wasn't going to stop me from having my "Fall on a Plate".

So, this recipe is ONE PART review of a seasonal Aldi Product, and a recipe using another seasonal product. Stock up while you can! You won't regret it.

Pumpkin Waffles - follow package directions. $2.79 for a box which makes about 9-10 6" waffles.

The waffles were VERY easy to make, smelled delicious baking in the waffle maker, and turned out crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Very nice taste and texture.


Apple Cider Syrup

2 Cups Apple Cider ($2.39 for 56 oz)
3 Cups Brown Sugar
2 Tbs Butter
1 tsp cinnamon (or if you have on hand, float a cinnamon stick while cooking)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Bring all contents to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened. Allow to cool slightly before serving. This makes about 24 oz of syrup. So it makes A LOT. :) And it's only about 5¢ a serving!

Raspberry Breakfast Treats

So. I haven't been around much. For that, I'm TRULY sorry. But...life has gotten quite busy here. School has started, and being a homeschooler, it takes much of my time! And my daughter's gymnastics season has now started...and being the wonderful mother that I am, I took over the Concessions and food for home meets. Last week was my first ever meet. It was my daughter's first meet of the season. It was a great day all around. And it's been so fun planning, buying, making, getting ready, etc. A whole new adventure for me. I have an incredible team of ladies that I'm working with, who were incredible for this first meet!

My focus lately has been in trying to find inexpensive things to make that would be easy for the Judges or Coaches to eat at a meet. This evening, I tested something that I've been dreaming about for weeks. So...here goes.

Oh...btw...if you're dieting...DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT MAKE THESE!

Raspberry Breakfast Treats

1 Tube Bueller's Crescent Rolls (1.39)
8 tsp. Berry Hill Raspberry Spread (2.39/8 oz - .50)
2 Tbs Baker's Choice Vanilla Frosting (.99/12 oz - .10)

Preheat oven to 375.

Open and roll out tube of crescent rolls. Separate into 8 triangles. Spoon about a teaspoon of Raspberry Spread in the widest part of the triangle, spread down to about halfway down. Roll into crescents and bake according to package directions.

Allow to cool.

Heat frosting in microwave for 10-15 seconds and drizzle over crescents.

Sit down, enjoy with a cup of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, pretty much, anything!!! Only 25¢ each!!!

Zucchini Bread

For those of you with green thumbs, and over abundance in your garden, wanting something to do with all that zucchini that is growing like weeds...this recipe is for you.

I, however, have a black thumb and kill everything I try to grow save children and a larger waistline. I have to buy my zucchini from Aldi. Thankfully, it is so reasonable! A few weeks ago I got 3 good sized zucs for $1.39!!! WHAT? Okay, not as good as free - but easier than me trying to garden (and far less amusing to the outsider!) And they were fine specimens too, large and quite weighty! I still have one left after making this treat!

Also, there is no picture because it did not last long enough to be photographed. I briefly considered taking a picture of the mangled aluminum foil with crumbs abounding, but figured that would be cruel. :)

I hope that you enjoy.


Zucchini Bread

3 Golden Hen Eggs (.25)
1 Cup Vegetable Oil (.40)
2 Cups Baker's Corner Sugar (.20)
2 Cups Grated Zucchini, drained well (about 2 med-large) (.93)
1 Tsp Vanilla (.10)
1/2 Tsp Sebree Salt (.02)
3 Cups Grandma's Best Flour (.50)
1/2 Tsp Bakers Corner Baking Powder (.02)
1 Tsp. Baker's Corner Baking Soda (.01)
3/4 Teaspoon Spice Market Ground Nutmeg (.01)
1 Tbs. Spice Market Ground Cinnamon (.02)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix eggs, oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla together well in a very large bowl.

Sift together salt, flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir well, but do not overmix.

Pour into two 8 X 5 (or 9X5) loaf pans. Sprinkle the top with a light coating of sugar, if desired (this makes for a crispy top crust!) Bake for 45-55 minutes - or until top springs back. Let cool completely before removing and slicing (this will be tough I realize!)

The cost is $1.23/loaf - and that means about .12 a slice! Tasty, inexpensive treat! :)

Chinese Cabbage & Eggs

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TRY THIS!!!

For the last few years we've been blessed with the opportunity to host Chinese Cultural Immersion Students. It's always such an enriching experience for us as a family, and for me personally. The gist is, they come here for "American Camp" and visit a few typical American cities (she's been to Las Vegas, Los Angeles & Philadelphia, and after she leaves us will spend a few days in NYC), they also live with American families and immerse themselves in the language and the culture. She's been here almost 2 1/2 weeks already. They do typical "American" things, tour our schools, firehouses, farms, etc. And learn about American culture. As well as sharing their own with us. The students spend half the day in class learning about America, then they spend the other half of the day on a field trip. As a host family, we get to attend as many of the field trips as we like. We've done quite a few with this group this year! But, one of my favorite parts of this exchange is that usually they teach me how to make an authentic dish or two while they are here.

This year, our student Ya Xian (yah sheeahn), aka Angela is 14, and a true delight. Ya Xian has an English name, Angela, because we Americans are complete doofuses when we try to pronounce Chinese names. I'm not kidding, you haven't lived until you've had 20 Chinese teenagers laughing at you trying to pronounce their names!. Angela and her classmates are from a town about 45 mins south of Hong Kong. They are definitely more like American teenagers than we've experienced before. She came with a laptop, MP3 player and cell phone. She texts with one hand - now the keyboard on her phone is English alphabet, when she types on the screen, though, it's in Chinese characters! WHAT??

I might be a little biased, but, we've got the best student on the trip! What strikes me about her character is that she, unlike most female Chinese Immersion Students we've encountered, is not afraid of anything! She was the first (and only) of the girls to swim during our welcome party, she's tried fishing, she walked barefoot in the creek and threw rocks with us, she's tried on a fireman's suit, she's played American games even though she didn't know the language well, she's played in the rough waves of OCNJ. Not only that, but she lets me take her picture! I'm surprised she's not blind from all the pictures I've taken. All the other girls hide from me when I bring out my camera and say "no, no, I'm ugly!" Not Angela, she turns towards me and smiles broadly. She's just great! Her bravery, and courage when facing new things is truly inspiring. She seems to have a true sense of who she is, and how valuable she is to her family, and this world. I am slightly concerned, however, that my youngest is going to stow away in her luggage and run away to China with her. They've gotten quite close. Here is our Angela:



Anyway, I digress, not to be one to shy away from a challenge, Angela wanted to cook dinner for us. Her father gave her a recipe and told her - over Skype, of course - how to prepare it (I want you to keep in mind that she NEVER cooked this recipe before, nor is it something she has at home often....I told you, BRAVE!). Tonight was the night. She prepared one batch and we ate it so fast, she had to teach me how to cook the dish and we ate the 2nd batch down equally as fast. Inhaled would be a better word. As odd as the words cabbage and eggs might sound in the same recipe, but PLEASE try it, I know that you won't be disappointed.

Oh, and the bonus? Not only is it delicious, but it is CHEAP!


Chinese Cabbage and Eggs

1/2 head of cabbage, shredded (.85)
3 eggs (.30)
Salt & Pepper to taste (.01)
1-2 Tbs Oil (.10)

In a small bowl, mix eggs with pinch salt & pepper.

Heat oil in large skillet or Wok over medium heat. Add cabbage and saute until tender crisp. Add a pinch of salt.

Add egg mixture and cook until eggs are fluffy and cooked. Sprinkle top with pepper. Serve immediately.

Aside from chopping, cook time takes about 5-10 minutes all told. Seriously EASY supper for 32 cents a serving!

* If you need to make more, I suggest making it in two batches so that the cabbage sautes and doesn't steam.

Suicidal Blondies

Okay, so maybe they're not suicidal, but they are definitely depressed. They wish they were chocolate brownies, but what they don't understand is that they're awesome, just the way they are. I do know that a few delicious, inexpensive ingredients gave their lives for them to be so delicious. I think it's only fitting, and honoring, to eat them with gusto, and a glass of milk. And be thankful!!!

Feel free to eat these in excess (i.e. INXS).

Suicidal Blondies

1 Cup of Country Creamery butter, melted ($1.00)
2 Cup of tightly packed dark brown sugar (.45)
2 Golden Hen eggs, lightly beaten (.20)
1 teaspoon of vanilla (.10)
1 teaspoon Bakers Corner baking powder (.05)
1/2 teaspoon of Baker's Corner baking soda (.05)
1/4 teaspoon of Sebree salt (.01)
2 cup of Grandma's Best all-purpose flour (.50)
1 package of Baker's Corner Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (1.69)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly butter and flour an 13 X 9 pan.

Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and mix well again.

Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool. (if you can handle it!!!)

Cut into squares and serve.

Makes 18 blondies @ .23 each!