"On The Money" Meals!

I recently read about this recipe for Kalua Pork in the crock pot on a website called familyfreshmeals.com . I wanted to try it and I am so glad I did. I used to make pork loin in the slow cooker a lot with just broth, salt and pepper. It was good, but this is WOW good.  I used a pork loin the first time and a pork butt the second time. The pork butt was better, and I got it for 1.29/lb at Kroger. After portioning it out for meals, I had enough meat for 9 meals. The whole pork butt cost about $10.00 so that is about $1.11/meal for meat for 4 people! Yay for good deals! So anyway, on to how to make it! This is so easy! All you need is a pork butt or shoulder (for best results), liquid smoke and ... ...Pink Himalayan Salt. I bought mine at Homegoods, but you can find it pretty much anywhere! I don't know what's so special about this, but just use it! It's good. Put the pork in the slow cooker and stab it with a fork a few times on both sides. Pour about...

We love this dessert because it so simple and so refreshing! Kroger had a coupon for a free Angel Food cake this week, so I got mine and knew right away this was what I wanted to serve it with. Pineapple Pudding 1 small box of instant vanilla pudding mix 1 large can of crushed pineapple in juice 1 container of Cool Whip, thawed Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. It may be a little grainy at first but keep stirring! Let sit for about 30 minutes. Serve with Sliced Angel Food Cake. I have even sliced the cake in half horizontally, filled with a layer of the pudding mixture, placed the top of the cake back on and then topped with the remaining pudding mixture and some crushed pineapple.  This is so pretty! I have served this for company and it makes a beautiful and effortless dessert.

This is a quick and easy meal that can be made in about 20 minutes. I almost always have the ingredients on hand and it's cheap to make!  I normally half this recipe, but you could make the whole recipe and freeze half for later if you can't eat it all at once. Cheesy Mexican Shells 1 lb. of medium or small shells 1/2 lb. ground beef 16 oz. mild or medium salsa 1 packet of Taco seasoning (or keep reading to learn how to make your own) 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese Cook pasta, drain. Brown meat, drain, add taco seasoning and salsa. Mix shells, meat mixture and 1/2 cup of cheese together and place into a baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake @ 350 for about 10-15 minutes. Optional: Top with crushed Doritos. I make my own taco seasoning and keep it on hand. It's so easy to make and tastes much better than store bought! Taco Seasoning 1 Tb. Chili Powder 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp crushed red pep...

Here is our menu for the next two weeks. I went grocery shopping tonight and found some really good deals at Kroger and Aldi. We did make a Sam's Club trip this week so we went over our budget, but not counting what we spent there we stayed right on budget at $160.40 for the two weeks worth of groceries, paper products, cleaning supplies and diapers. We don't go to Sam's Club very often which is why I'm not including that. Remember to go here  to print out your own free meal planner! Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Legs 1.) Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Legs 2.) Breakfast for supper (Eggs, Sausage and biscuits with fruit) 3.) Stromboli 4.) Cheesy Noodles 5.) Baked Tacos 6.) Cheesy Mexican Shells 7.) Loaded Potato and Chicken Casserole Loaded Baked Potato and Chicken Casserole 8.) Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Legs   (I plan this almost every Sunday, which is why it's listed twice!) 9.) Parmesan Chicken 10.) Marinated Baked Chicken 11.)...

I've been wanting to offer a free printable for you all. I make bi-weekly menus, well, every two weeks :) and so I made up a printable version of what I use for my menu planning. It's simple and easy to use. Just print it out and plan! I do not include a grocery list on my menu plan because my list is usually too long for what could fit on here. Click     HERE to get your free printable! (I changed the soup option box to lunch since I realized that most people don't eat soup for lunch every day like my husband does! That is the Lunch box now.) So this is what my menu looks like! This is Thursday, so I've already made some of the meals. I do not go in any order, I just cook what sounds good that night. I also do not list sides unless I'm planning something special, like my homemade salsa. I usually plan ahead for potatoes/rice and a vegetable so I don't write that down.  Hope the printable works for you! If not let me know! If you prin...

I was recently told about this website called hollar.com . I love this website! They have so many things all for $5.00 or less. They have party supplies, toys, back to school supplies, home decor, kitchen utensils, clothes, accessories-you name it, they probably have it! On my first order, I had $5.00 off a $15.00 purchase AND free shipping over $10.00. I used both of these codes and bought a purse, candle with decorative lamp shade, basting brush, scarf and accessory hangers, and spice jars. All the products I received were really good quality. I was initially thinking they would be dollar store quality, but they aren't! I wanted to share about my spice jars today. And I just wanted to add that I'm not getting paid to give this review! I just loved these spice jars and this website and wanted to share with you all! I got 3 spice jars. Each jar is glass, but the lids are plastic. The lids have a small slot where a matching spoon fits into for storage. They aren't...

Our oldest just turned 4.  It's so crazy to think how fast time flies! She told me she wanted a Cinderella party this year so I knew I wanted it to be kind of fancy and very princess-ish. It was a simple party with only cake, ice cream, chips and watermelon. Watermelon was her only request for her birthday so of course we had to have it! I'm going to show the pictures below and at the end I'll give you a breakdown of everything and how I ended up being able to have a party (hosted for 13) for only $20. So, how did I have a party for $20? We used a lot of things that we had on hand. The three tablecloths that we used was actually fabric that I had on hand. I purchased a plain white one for a runner. I also already had some ribbon and plastic utensils that I already had.  I printed out the banner, cupcake liners and invites for free from this website. I made the cake myself. I'm not the greatest, but I enjoy trying and i...

These are not the traditional Taquitos. I think they are better ;) So cheesy and full or flavor, and they are baked-not fried! Try them and let me know what you think! I did use this chicken this time. Only because they were at my local discount grocery store and I wanted to try them. I'm sure you can find these at most major grocery stores. I usually use plain cooked chicken though, so do whatever you want!   Baked Chicken Taquitos 1/2 pound cooked and shredded chicken 1 cup grated cheddar cheese approximately 2-3 Tbsp of salsa tortillas chicken broth non-stick cooking spray Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine chicken, salsa and cheese. Set aside. In a skillet, boil chicken broth and dip tortillas in one at a time for 1-2 seconds per side, repeat until all tortillas are moistened. Add chicken mixture evenly to each tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down on baking sheet. Lightly spray for cooking spray and bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once ha...

This is one of my go-to meals for Sunday mornings. I put it on in the morning before I go to church and it's done by lunch time! I will sometimes put potatoes and carrots in another slow cooker so that I have an entire meal waiting for me. It's even better if I use liners in my slow cooker and then I don't even have a mess! This is definitely a winner winner chicken dinner then! I will sometimes make a double or triple batch of the seasoning mix so that next time I make this meal, it's already prepared, and makes the dish that much easier! Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Legs 6 chicken legs or 3 leg-thigh quarters 2 tsp salt 1 tsp paprika 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (depends on how spicy you want it) 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp dried parsley 1 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp garlic powder Mix together spices. Liberally rub onto the chicken. Cook in slow cooker on low for 4 - 4 1/2 hours. OR Pat chicken dry before adding spices. Line baking sheet with cooling rac...

This is an easy recipe that I often make, split in half, and freeze one and bake the other. I just take it out of the freezer the night before I plan to make it and let it thaw in the fridge. Bake it according to the directions when it's time for supper! Chicken and Egg Noodle Casserole 12 oz uncooked egg noodles 2 cans cream of chicken 1 cup sour cream 3/4 cup milk 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 cup cubed cooked chicken 1 cup crushed butter crackers 4 Tbsp butter, melted 1-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles al dente, drain. Mix soup, sour cream, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in chicken and noodles. Place in casserole dish (9x13 for full recipe, 9" square or round for 1/2 recipe)  Bake for 25 minutes. Mix butter and crackers, top chicken mixture, bake for another 5 minutes, broiling for 1-2 minutes at end if needed to brown cracker topping. If freezing, I place the portion that I am freezing into a...