"On The Money" Meals!

I like to make dinner rolls and freeze them so that I can have fresh-baked bread with our meals.  I have tried many dinner roll recipes over the years but this Better Homes and Gardens recipe is the one that I keep coming back to. Here's the recipe and how I make them, and how I freeze them. Dinner Rolls 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 package active dry yeast 1 cup milk 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup butter, margarine, or shortening 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 beaten eggs In a large mixing bowl stir together 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt just until warm (120 degree F to 130 degree F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough out onto a lightly ...

I was recently thinking about how I needed to add more vegetables to our diet, an my mind went immediate to broccoli salad. I have made broccoli salad before but it has been a long time and I have no idea where the recipe was. Thankfully we have the internet and all you wonderful people our there who post all these delicious recipes! So Pinterest here I come! I found a delicious recipe and lightened it up. I used light Hellman's mayonnaise (Hellman's Mayonnaise is the best in my opinion)  2% cheddar cheese,  2 Tablespoons Splenda Brown Sugar instead of the white sugar, and I added the raisins as suggested in the recipe tip. In the comments below the original recipe ,  someone had suggested that Sunflower seeds were good. I added those and it just makes it a little healthier and crunchier. Lightened-Up Broccoli Salad Broccoli Salad Dressing 1 cup Reduced Fat Hellman's Mayonnaise (Do Not use miracle whip) 4 Tablespoons White Sugar 3 Tablespoons white vinegar Nex...

While I love to see what meals I can make on a budget, I also love to see how I can decorate my home on a budget, AND I also happen to LOVE fall. We live in a beautiful part of the country where the mountains turn glorious colors and the weather is perfect. I'm going to share a few ways I decorated this year. I did it on a major budget, spending about $15 on everything. I love to make things on my own, and that always saves money. I also frequent the dollar store. Sometimes you can find some really neat stuff that do not look like you paid only $1 for it. I used this  tutorial and pattern to make these pumpkins. I didn't follow it exactly, but they were so easy to make! I used things that I already had on hand to make this wreath.  The pumpkins were purchased in a pack of 6 at Walmart for $3.00. The flag I've had for several years and the large arrangement was actually given to me.  I made the wooden letter blocks myself. My husband cut them fr...

It has been crazy around here lately! We were gone on our anniversary trip and as soon as we got back we found out that my husband's grandmother had passed away. So two days after we got home, we packed up again and drove 8 hours away, stayed for 3 days and came back. Today I had to get groceries, so I planned out my menu and shopping list. But when I got to the grocery store, I realized I had forgotten my list! I got as many things as I could remember and even some I knew weren't on my list, and I think I did pretty good! After I got home, I re-wrote a list of things that I forgot, so I'll be going back out tonight and getting the few things I forgot. I'm going to try out our new Neighborhood Wal-mart grocery store. Do you have one of those near you? Our's has only been open about a month and I have not been in yet. I have heard great things about it though. Here is what I ended up getting at Aldi. They have really great meat and produce deals. And their milk i...

I am so ready for fall! I've already decorated for fall and I'm planning on sharing some of those decorations with you all soon! I did everything on a major budget this year and I think it's cuter than ever. But for now, let's see what we've got planned to eat for the next two weeks! If you missed me post on how I meal plan, you can read that here ! Also, check under the "Free Things" page to download your free bi-weekly menu plan! Our 7th wedding anniversary is this weekend and we are planning a short trip, So I planned on using up what I already had on hand for these weeks, so you will see a few repeats from last time! But I am also planning on making a meal or two while we are away, but more on that later. 1. Loaded Potato and Chicken Casserole (I never made this from last week!) 2. Chicken Quesadillas 3. Shredded Pork over mashed potatoes 4. BBQ Pork Sandwiches 5. White Beans with Ham and cornbread 6. Spicy Chicken Legs 7. Cheesy Noodl...

Have you ever been eating one thing and thought about how you can make it different? I have. We don't eat very much actual lasagna in our household, but I was thinking one day that I could easily make a "Mexican" version of lasagna. I tried it, and found out that this was a thing before I thought of it. Oh well. This is my version. Hope you enjoy it! Mexican Lasagna 1/2 pound ground beef 1 8 oz can tomato sauce 1/2 packet taco seasoning (or DIY your own using the recipe here ) 1 can red beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 cup chopped green pepper  1/2 cup salsa (plus a little extra for top tortilla) Flour Tortillas Shredded Mexican Blend or Cheddar Cheese Preheat oven to 375 degreees. Brown ground beef with pepper. Drain. Stir in tomato sauce, beans, 1/2 cup salsa and taco seasoning.   Let simmer for about 5 minutes until everything reduces down a little bit. I use a 8" cake pan because it fits the taco size tortilla...

In my last post , I showed you how to make "smoke" pork in the slow cooker. So now that you have all of this shredded pork, what do you do with it? I gave you some ideas in my previous post like serving with mashed potatoes and gravy (our favorite!) and mixing with BBQ sauce and serving on buns. Here is another way I use shredded pork. My husband takes soup to work and so I try to have a good variety of soups to make. I have made this one a lot without a recipe, but I did figure out a recipe this time to share with you all! Spicy Pork Soup 2 cups shredded and cooked pork 2 cups Recipe Ready Celery, Carrots and Onions 1/2 green pepper, chopped 1 TB Vegetable oil 8 oz uncooked pasta 1 cup water 2 cans chicken broth 2 small cans of tomato sauce 2 TB tomato paste 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp paprika 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste) 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (adjust to taste) 1/4 tsp black pepper Cook pasta in separate pot of salted ...