Oreo Balls

My final post for tonight is a recipe that anyone in their right mind should enjoy. :D

OREO BALLS!

Ingredients:
1 box Oreos, finely crushed
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1 package vanilla almond bark
Directions:
Mix Oreos and cream cheese together and roll into small balls. Sit in fridge overnight or in the freezer for a few hours. Dip in melted almond bark.

Seriously, it's that easy. I used a toothpick and a spoon to assist in the dipping. I am warning you though, people will fight over these. They are also really good not even dipped in the white chocolate. No fat and no calories too, of course. ;)

Pineapple Casserole

photo credit to those fancy people at food network

The next recipe for tonight's installment is for those brave enough to take my word on something. (Or those who aren't afraid of strange combinations.)

Pineapple Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cans pineapple chunks
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
6 Tbsp self rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Drain pineapple and save the juice. Mix the pineapple, cheese, flour, and sugar together. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and pour mixture into it. In a separate bowl, mix 6 Tbsp juice with the crushed Ritz crackers. Scoop that onto the top of the mixture. Bake for 25- 30 minutes or until the top starts getting "golden brown".

This recipe sounds really weird but I promise it's good! Family approved! But I will NOTE: it is best served hot! It doesn't taste that great when it is cold, so if you must travel far to your holiday festivities I wouldn't recommend this. 

Buffalo Chicken Ranch Dip

'Tis the season to be cooking!

I will be posting quite a few recipes tonight that I have been field testing so far during the holidays. Maybe you will find one to make instead of the normal break and bake Christmas cookies ;)
My first recipe is for the families who like to spice things up!

Buffalo Chicken Ranch Dip

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) package of cream cheese

2 cups of shredded cooked chicken (or 2 cans for the lazy ones like me)

1 (12 oz) bottle of Frank's Red Hot 

1/2 bottle of ranch

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese (or any other cheese.. I would like to try colby jack)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and soften cream cheese. 

Mix all ingredients together in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake for 20 minutes or until it is all heated through.

I'm telling you.. awesomeeeeeee. I actually used a large bottle of Frank's the first time I cooked it, but I just couldn't handle it. My husband on the other hand really liked it that hot. It is great served with chips or veggies!

Snack food: Pizza Biscuits

 
Let me set the scene for you. It's midnight. I have a house full of three teenage boys and a husband. They are playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Soon, I hear the words, "I'm hungry." What's a girl to do? I don't want them eating all of my snacks! So I reach back into the recesses of my mind to the first thing I think I learned how to cook - Pizza Biscuits. These things are perfect for any occasion, especially when feeding teenage boys apparently. They are quick, simple, and taste good hot, cold, or leftover. It just works! 

There are just four items that you will need:
Regular Sized Biscuits (the amount is up to you)
Ragu Pizza Sauce
Cheese... any and all kinds
Pepperoni

Basically, you flatten out the biscuits and top them with the other three items. I put my pepperoni on top, as you can see in the middle. Then, cook them as directed on the biscuits. (mine were a little burnt...)

These things go pretty fast.. I only had three left by the time I could take a picture!

Easy Dessert: Pineapple Upside-down Cake

I don't know about you, but I love pineapples. I have been craving a pineapple upside-down cake for weeks! I finally called my mom and asked her the secrets to her recipe. My mom has to be the BEST cake maker in the world. She always let me lick the bowl too (: Me on the other hand... I could never make cakes or even cupcakes without them being batter in the middle! But this time - I conquered it!!! 

Her secret? Cooking it in a iron skillet! Wow. I never knew what to cook in that thing. She didn't really have a recipe, it is kinda just one of those things that gets passed down. Anyway, Here is the *somewhat* recipe:

Ingredients
1 stick butter
brown sugar
1 can sliced pineapples
Yellow cake mix

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the stick of butter and pour it in the skillet. Now here is the improvised part. Pour out a lot of brown sugar into the skillet and mix it with the butter. You have to have enough brown sugar to make a good coating onto the outside of the cake. Then you mix the cake batter up as directed on the box. When you get the batter ready, pour it into the skillet so it is about halfway full. I had a bit of batter leftover (with which I made a second, little cake) Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. Make sure to test it with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, you're good!

Here is the finished product. It was surprisingly easy to flip onto that plate, too. Delicious!

How to save money on groceries

If you are like me, you like saving money. However, when it comes to grocery shopping it isn't that easy at first. So I've come up with a few tips that has helped me so far (and believe me, I've came pretty far in 9 months!) Here we go..

1. Find a grocery store that saves you money! That seems simple, right? Walmart. But no! That might not be the best place for you personally. It all depends on what you want and what stores are available to you. For us ALDI* is my favorite store to shop at. I'll rack up on a buggy full and have never spent over $90!  Some people might not like Aldi though. The setbacks are that there are rarely any name brands except for coca-cola, and they don't bag up your groceries. The benefits is that it is cheap and they have cantalopes and pineapples for a dollar! Another good store is Winn-Dixie but around here they are hard to come by. They have a ton of BOGO and 10 for $10. If you like seafood, that is the place to buy it. There are other stores out there, so just take a receipt and a calculator and find out which one does you better.


*ALDI Tips: Take a quarter for your buggy- you get it back, and take grocery bags or boxes unless you want to buy them there.


 2. Meal plan! It makes grocery shopping so much better. You get finished quickly, spend less money, and you will have everything you need that week. It may seem hard at first, but it is pretty easy. It's hard for me to meal plan more than one week at a time because of our work schedules, but here is a planner I like to use that has the monthly option. Planning your meals also cuts down on how many times you go to the store which also saves money on gas. :)

3. Don't be scared of generic brands! I admit that sometimes generic foods don't taste the same, but it can be very beneficial to your pocketbook if you like it. Especially things like frozen vegetables and shredded cheese. That being said...

4. Skip the conveniently chopped and prepared food. This is especially true when it comes to the fruit section. I hate cutting pineapple, but it is worth it to not pay for the cut and packaged kind. Also skip the lunchables! They are more expensive than making them yourself.

5. Look at the unit price of an item. I always use this when it comes to buying bottled water. Sometimes you may pass up an item because it has a high sticker price, but when it comes to the price per unit it could be a better deal!

EASY DESSERT! Bean Pot Apple Cobbler

This is my bean pot – Berry – I love it!

Okay, this is quite possibly the easiest dessert to ever make. Ever. Also, it is delicious! Add a little ice cream on top.. YUM. It is a great go to dessert when you have family get togethers, church functions, and just because you want something sweet. An added plus.. it's only FIVE INGREDIENTS! I've looked for this recipe all over the internet and could not find it! Maybe it is one of those little family jewels :) 

I will take a minute though, to tell you that bean pots are stinking awesome. They are kind of like crockpots for the oven. I tell you, there is a baked bean recipe that will blow your mind! Celebrating home actually has a lot of great stuff. (GREAT for wedding gifts - my opinion from personal experience :)) Their scent warmers... great. I know people do Scentsy and stuff but I'm a firm Celebrating Home fan! Check out their website.

Anyway, this dessert is so yummy. Let's get to it! 

What you need 

1 stick butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 can pie filling (I used apple, but you can use whatever)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter and pour into the bottom of bean pot. In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, and milk. Pour into bean pot –DO NOT MIX– Scoop pie filling on top of the other stuff. Again, DO NOT MIX. I’m not sure what would happen, but I was strictly warned when I got this recipe. Put in oven and bake for 50 min – 1 hour. 

That's all you do! Pretty simple huh?