Budget Saver: Homemade Chocolate Syrup recipe

Image from www.stainsolver.com

In my house, chocolate milk is a staple. Ethan drinks this every day.

With the tightening of our budget, I have had to make some grocery shopping changes.
While in the past I have purchased the store brand of chocolate milk powder, like Nestle Quick. In attempts to save money, I have been experimenting with making chocolate syrups with which I can make chocolate milk.

I am pleased to say I have found a worthwhile recipe for chocolate syrup.
It's from Tasty Kitchen, a recipe site maintained by Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman.

Chocolate Syrup
2 c. sugar
1 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix first 4 ingredients. Simmer on low heat 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla; stir until combined.
Allow to cool to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.

For hot chocolate: Add 1 Tbs. syrup to 1 c. of hot milk. Stir until combined.
Chocolate milk: Add 1 Tbs. syrup to 1 c. milk. Stir until combined.

Ridiculously Easy Caramel Corn

This recipe is so easy it should be illegal! Growing up, making caramel corn was always a long, laborious process. One in which you would get burned and risk scorching the caramel.

This new recipe, is a cake walk- literally!

I've been meaning to post this recipe with a picture. But, whenever I make this popcorn, it disappears before I can get to it.

Here it is:
16 c. popped popcorn (I use my old air popper)
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. Karo syrup
1/2 c. butter
Cook sugar, syrup and butter in a glass bowl in microwave on high for one minute. Stir and repeat for a total of 5 minutes. It should be hot and bubbling.
Add:
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix until foamy. Put popped corn intro a brown paper grocery bag. Pour syrup into bag. Stir and shake to coat. Fold bag over. Place in microwave and heat for 1 minute. Remove bag and shake. Microwave 30 seconds more and shake. Pour popcorn onto a cooking sheet lined with wax paper.
Recipe adapted from Your Homebased Mom

I think I've gone bananas!

I tried this new recipe on this cool blog I recently found. It is called: Vintage Victuals. I like it because it focuses on down home foods using basic elements you find in your kitchen. The results were great.

Banana Pudding

1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup flour
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 a pinch of nutmeg
30-40 vanilla wafers
4 bananas, sliced
4 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar

To make the custard, mix together the 1/2 cup of sugar, the flour, and the salt. Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan and add the dry ingredients. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat. Beat the egg yolks lightly with a whisk. Pour a little bit of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking together. Then add the egg mixture to the saucepan. Bring the custard to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly, and cook until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and nutmeg. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Line the bottom and sides of an 8x8-inch baking dish with vanilla wafers. Next, line it with a layer of banana slices. Repeat, alternating layers of wafers and bananas until you have used them all.

Then pour over the custard so that it completely covers the bananas and the wafers.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Spread the meringue fully over the top of the pudding, so that it touches the edges of the baking dish.

Bake until lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes. You may serve the pudding warm or chilled. Serves 6-8.

Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake - THE BEST EVER!

Tonight I made this recipe for a Relief Society craft night (a church activity). Everyone loved it. Someone even said it was the best sheet cake they have had. Thanks Ree Drummond. I grabbed this recipe off her website The Pioneer Woman. It is wonderfully easy with wonderful results.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake
Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 tablespoons milk (I used half and half)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

Catch up on cooking

Summer has been very busy lately and I haven't kept up with my blog.

But, here is one of the recipes I have tackled recently. When we lived in Utah, we would purchase these gigantic, CD size sugar cookies. The brand name was Granny B's sugar cookies. They are very similar to the Lofthouse brand of sugar cookies. The cookies are amazingly soft and moist and the frosting is delicious.

Granny's Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. butter, softened (no substitutes!)

2 large eggs

2 Tbs. Vanilla extract

4 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add salt, baking soda and cream of tartar. Then gradually add the flour continuing to mix until well blended. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with various shaped cookie cutters, if you so desire, dipping them in flour first so the dough will release easily.

Transfer cookies to a cookie sheet lined parchment paper, they will transfer to a cooling rack so easily.Bake at 350 degree for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies when they barely are brown around the edges. Cool on a wire rack.

Just Like Lofthouse Easy Pink Sugar Cookie Frosting

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1/2 c. softened butter (no substitutions!)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

3 Tbs. half and half

5 drops of red food coloring

Using a mixer, beat all ingredients together until well mixed. Start slow or you will be covered with powdered sugar. The consistency should not be too firm, but also not runny. It should hesitatingly drip/plop from your spatula if you scoop up a dollop and hold it over the bowl. Use an extra Tbs. of cream or of powdered sugar to regulate the thickness. It is best to ice the cookies with the frosting right after you make it as it will be almost perfectly smooth when it sets.

Know that if you put it in the fridge, it will firm up to almost twice as hard as it is right after you mix it, just leave it out on the counter to thaw and then use a fork to fluff it up.

If you want to be exceedingly decadent, or stupid like I was, use 1 1/2 c. of butter instead of the 1/2 c. I misread the directions, and change the powdered sugar to 3+ cups. The mistake more closely resembled the Granny B frosting. But, it isn't very good on the waistline!

Tasty Tilapia

My husband hasn't been feeling well lately. So, in the spoiling mood, I went to Winco yesterday and bought him some tilapia. I purchased 2 lbs. of it and ended up with 6 fillets. This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks called The Food Nanny Saves Dinner by Liz Edmunds. In her recipe she calls for fresh halibut. But I have substituted frozen cod fillets and now frozen tilapia with numerous appreciative compliments from my husband and kids. I also adapted it by changing the wine called for in the recipe. The first time I made it I didn't have any white wine, so I used cream sherry instead. Yesterday when I served it I used white wine. Peter likes it much better with the sherry than the white wine - he says it has more zing to it. Whatever he likes - because I don't touch fish except for tuna sandwiches. I ate chicken potstickers, so there! The above picture isn't mine, but I grabbed it off the web because it suited my purposes. Here's the recipe:

Baked Fish

2 lbs. fish (cod, tilapia or halibut)

1/2 - 3/4 c. sherry

2 Tbs. olive oil

Santa Maria seasoning* (it's a blend of parsley, garlic, salt and pepper)

If your fish is frozen, thaw the fish by sealing it in a ziploc bag and running cool water over it until it is thawed. Preheat the oven to 375. Arrange the fish in a baking pan (I used a 9x13 pyrex pan). Drizzle the oil over the fillets. Then drizzle the sherry over them. Sprinkle seasonings over the fillets. Bake about 15 minutes or until the fish is flaky. Enjoy!

*I got the Santa Maria seasoning from my good friend Jeanne's son Eric a few years ago. I have never found it in stores here where we live. I was told that they sell it up in Santa Maria - duh on me! Thus, we have the name Santa Maria seasoning. I imagine you could make your own by using x amount of salt, 1/2 of x amount of pepper, 1/2 of x amount of garlic and 1/2 of x amount of parsley.

I served this with my wino rice. But what you serve it with is up to you.

Happy Birthday Peter and Happy Tax Day!!

Today is my husband's birthday. We are going to have a nice dinner for him. I'm making this recipe called Halibut Supreme I found in my cookbook called The Essential Mormon Cookbook. I thought I would give you the recipe in case you want to try it.

Halibut Supreme

2 lbs. fresh halibut pieces

1/2 butter

1/4 c. flour

2 c. milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbs. chopped onion

1 Tbs. butter

1 c. grated cheddar cheese

Buttered bread crumbs ( 1 c. crumbs plus 2 Tbs. melted butter)

Place halibut in salted boiling water. Simmer, covered, about 20 min. or until flaky. Drain well and set aside.

In a med. saucepan, make white sauce by melting the 1/4 c. butter, then stirring in flour until well combined. Add milk, salt, and Worcestershire, stirring constantly over med. heat until the mixture comes to a boil. continue cooking at a boil about 2 min. or until thickened. Remove from heat; set aside.

Saute onion in the 1 Tbs. of butter for aout 5 min. or until tender. Add to white sauce. Layer halibut, cheese,an sauce in greased 2 1/2 quart baking dish, ending with the sauce on top. Top with buttered bread crumbs. Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes. Makes 4-6 servings.

Along with the fish, I'm making wino rice and a vegetable and his favorite cherry cheesecake. I hope he will like it. He loves seafood, so I'm sure he'll enjoy it.

Wino rice is a little misleading. I just call it that because it has a small amount of sherry in it which makes it so flavorful. I've included that recipe, too, in case you want it. My good friend Jeanne Clark gave it to me. It came in this 1950's home-ec cookbook she has. My son Steven LOVES this rice, he'll eat 4 servings of it if I let him.

Rice Pilaf (AKA Wino Rice)

2 c. long grain rice

1/4 lb. butter (1 stick)

2 10.5 oz. cans chicken broth

1 can water

1/2 c. sherry

1 c. green onions, thinly sliced (optional)

Saute rice with butter until brown. Place in baking dish and add broth, water, sherry and green onions. Cover and bake 1 hr. at 300.

Now, off to make a delicious dinner for my hubster.

Oh, and by the way, my friend came over and sat with the kids today so I could go get my chest x-ray. I should hear back in a day or two about the results. I'm making headway one step at a time.

My 2 cents for Tuesday

Today was a busy affair. It started out getting the kids ready for the day. The painter came and finished up the patch job. It's nice to know that they are done. No more workers coming in and out of the house. It looks good.

Then I went over to my friend Cyndi's house and took a few more pictures of her puppies and a couple of her chicks. She is growing a great garden. I am trying to get a few seedlings started, but they keep getting disturbed my littlest helping hands. I also love the idea of Cyndi having egg laying chickens. I am seriously thinking about doing that myself. We would have organic eggs to feast on. We eat eggs a lot. Not only are they a good source of protein but they are a good source of Omega-3. We could keep them on the side of our house. I don't think right now is the best time for us to do it. Spring is generally the best time to start raising chickens.

I made dinner early on (Chicken Divan) and even got a batch of cookies made for a treat for the Cub Scouts. I added something special to the cookies today. I made my usual batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies and added some flaxseed to it. I'm adding flaxseed to some of our recipes just as an extra special additive. It contains Omega-3 oils and is supposed to help with brain functions. I even added it to the Buckwheat pancakes I made this morning. Here's what I found out recently when I was learning about flax seed. It promotes cardiovascular health, colon health, it can boost immunity, provides fats that are precursors for brain building (also recommended for kids with ADHD), promotes healthy skin especially those who struggle with eczema, it may lessen the severity of diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar levels, the fatty oils in flax seed can be slimming, and flax seed is a good source of protein.

At 4:30 we had Cub Scouts. We made a Pine Wood Derby car holder today with the Webelo's leader. I think there were 9 boys total and it seemed like we could have used more hands. They were their usual squirrely selves. But, my bribe of cookies did seem to help and they sure enjoyed making something.

This evening was another adventure in single-parenting. I felt like a referee most of the night moderating fights and various disagreements. Ethan had a couple temper tantrums but he eventually settled down. The highlight of the night was going over and picking lemons at my neighbor's house. He has a beautifully productive lemon tree with big lemons hanging in abundance from most every branch.

So, here's my 2 cents for the day.

1. I was inspired to pick lemons by this blog I've been reading. It's called Your HomeBased Mom. She is sharing all these spring recipes for lemons. I love the color of lemons. They are yellow and cheerful and felt they would be a welcome addition to our household. That's my little extra excitement for the day both for the benefit of beauty and our diet.

2. I am trying to be more health conscious, that's the reason I've added flax seed to our diet. I hope it is worth it.

Also, here's the recipe for the buckwheat waffles. I got it from this website called Dinner with Kirsten. I have altered it with a few differences mainly the addition to my precious flaxseed. No one seemed to notice the addition. It doesn't taste any different. But, I know those little seeds are in there making a magical difference. Plus, buckwheat flour is a good source of iron. And, adding iron to my diet is one of my top priorities right now.

Buckwheat Waffles (and Pancakes)

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. buckwheat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. flax seed

1 egg separated

1 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. water

2 Tbs. butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, mix well. In a smaller bowl mix up the egg yolk, buttermilk, water and butter. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients all at once and stir just to blend. Like usual, whip the egg white with a hand mixer or a whisk until soft peaks form, then fold the whites gently into the batter. Cook either as a waffle or a pancake. Enjoy!

Note: I generally double or triple the recipe. And, for variation I'll mash up a banana or 2.

Simple Sugar Cookies (No Roll!)

Yesterday before all the hullaballoo of Peter's kidney stone acting up was Cookie Friday.

My kids are big fans of cookies. At the store, they want me to buy this cookie or that cookie. But, being the super woman that I am, I can stop all their requests with this one sentence, "I'm making cookies today." They immediately shut their pie holes and wait in anticipation for the first batch to emerge from the oven.

I want to acknowledge Karen Blackmer for the idea of cookie Friday. I liked her idea and have adopted for our family use. What a great way to celebrate the end of another week of hard work. Thanks Karen!

Yesterday, I decided to make this recipe I got from a friend in our first married ward. It was the BYU 1st Ward and my friend who gave me this recipe is Tracy Dean. She is a great lady and a good example of motherhood and the Gospel. I hadn't made this recipe in YEARS. But, every time I do I ask myself, why I waited so long to make those cookies. They are simple and delicious. They disappear at record speeds! Here's the recipe:

No Roll Sugar Cookies

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. shortening

1 c. sugar

1 egg

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine shortening and butter, mix until well blended. Add sugar and the egg and beat until creamy. Add the remaining dry ingredients and vanilla. Form into balls and dip each ball into sugar. Press each ball with the bottom of a glass on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350. Makes 3 dozen cookies

Icing (optional, but TOTALLY recommended)

Confectioner's Glaze

combine 1 c. powdered sugar and add 1/4 tsp. vanilla and add enough milk about 1 Tbs. to make it spreadable.

Out to dinner, the nontraditional way!

A friend of ours just bought a home. Congrats Mary Anne! We sold her some of our furniture we hadn't gotten around to getting rid of. Saturday afternoon, she needed some assistance from Peter setting up the furniture and we brought her dinner kind of as a housewarming gift. Who wants to cook dinner after moving stuff all day. It was nice to get out of the house. It was also nice to eat dinner with someone else. She is a great friend to our family. Food + friends = Fun!

I had made a huge batch of beef stroganoff Wednesday, we brought those leftovers for the adults. (It's actually a pretty plain recipe. I think I'm going to look for a better, more flavorful recipe.) And, for the kids, I brought a Tater Tot Casserole. It isn't highbrow food. My friend Karen Blackmer, also a great cook, gave me the recipe. But it is a treasured recipe at our house. The kids see it and celebrate. They say, "Yes! It's tater tot casserole." It makes a huge 9X13 casserole dish; it's really heavy. And, generally doesn't last. The whole thing was pretty much gone in one sitting. Steven and Bekkah had big seconds. I liked it better than my beef stroganoff. I also brought jello salad. It's called Magic Jello Mousse. It's so easy and tasty. Ethan liked it so much when I made it Wednesday, he ate 3 servings of it, got all messy and wiped his face all over Bella's fur. She makes the best napkin! The jello is magic because it separates into 2 layers. It looks pretty cool, if you're a kid!

Our goal is not to eat out so much. We're ratcheting down the finances, cutting out the extras. I am going to get creative with our eating out. I really enjoyed going to someone else's house to eat. We might have to schedule another date with someone else. Let me know if you are interested! I'm more than happy to bring the food if you will host us.

I thought I would share the recipes with you. I'm sure many of you have a good recipe like that. But, until a few years ago, I had NEVER had tater tot casserole. I really like this one, though. Hope you enjoy!

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb. ground beef, browned

1 onion, finely diced

1 clove of garlic

2 cans cream of mushroom soup + 1 soup can of milk

2 cans of drained green beans

1 package potato rounds (they are like mini-sized tater tots shaped in the size of a quarter)

Brown ground beef, onions and garlic. Spray a 9X13 pan with non-stick spray. Cover the bottom of the pan with the potato rounds. Next layer the meat mixture. Then cover with the green beans. Next, combine the soup and milk and mix well. Add the soup mixture on top of the green beans. Then, layer the potato rounds on top. Bake uncovered at 400 for 45-60 min. or until the tater tots are golden brown. Eat with lots of ketchup!

Jello Magic Mouse

3 cups boiling water

1 pkg. (8 serving size) Jello, raspberry or strawberry is great

1 tub (16 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed

Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in a bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add whipped topping to hot jello mixture; stir with a wire whisk until whipped topping is completely melted and mixture is well blended. (Mixture will still be thin.) Pour into a mold sprayed with cooking spray. Refrigerate 5 hours or overnight until firm. Unmold onto serving plate just before serving. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator. Makes 10 servings, 1/2 c. each. This dessert looks totally fancy but requires little effort and tastes great, if you like jello.

Weekend excitement!!

Today we are going to Knott's Berry Farm! We have a sitter lined up to watch the wee ones - Ethan and Aeron. And we are going to ride all the scary roller coasters and have a good time with no worries. 

The best thing about today's activities is that they are FREE!!! My friend Robyn and her husband invited us to a Duck's game last year in November? I really don't remember dates very well. They had INCREDIBLE seats. We were row 11 (I think - I'm not one for details, I remind you, but wherever they were we were really close to the ice) and you could see all the action with out the aid of binoculars. It was so cool. I had a good time! Peter and the kids tota!ly did. 

To get to the point, they generously purchased these kids fan packs for the kids. They were totally cool. The kit had dog tags, a water bottle, am beanie, a calendar, a ticket for a free game, a tee shirt, a coupon for a free kids meal from Red Robin, and a little noisemaker - WOW. When you join the club they will send you updates. So the Ducks are having their end of the year celebration at Knotts and if you bring your dog tags you can get in free with a parent today! So we are going. If you are interested in joining this totally cool club check out this link:  Wild Wingers Kids Club.

One of the best things about going to Knotts is going to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. They have the best fried chicken dinner with delicious fresh buttermilk biscuits and yummy Knott's jam. That is the thing I'm also excited about. How silly am I? But, I'm a sucker for good food.

I'm feeling good today. It's a nice feeling. 

I got up this morning and made breakfast for the kids. We had scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese, orange juice and hootnany pancakes. They are simply delicious and easy! I'll include the recipe at the end for you foodies out there.

In addition, yesterday I spent a lot of money (relatively speaking) to pay a housecleaner to come and help me clean the house up. There has been no way humanly possible unless I was a crackhead that I could care for all the kids, provide the attention that Ethan needs ALL THE TIME, and keep my house clean. So, really it is worth any amount. I have to tell myself that to rationalize the expenditure. I still feel a tiny bit guilty about it. But then I look around at my sparkling clean house and breathe a sigh of relief and the guilt quickly passes. Then I just feel gratitude.

Somehow we'll adjust and find the resources to pay for it. We'll have to be creative (they government took an extra $1000 out of our paycheck this month - they reset the tax exemptions and Peter didn't get over in time to correct it.) I need the help though. 

Peter says he's a deadbeat. He says that because he can't help. He's too bogged down with school work. The other night he stayed up until 3:30 AM creating curriculum for his business ownership class. My friend's husband gave him his business class syllabus and tool and he has some stuff from the district but he really has to pull this all out of his head. He's trying to keep it current so it is relevant to the students' interests. This class is just a dumping ground really for kids who didn't get into other classes. So, in a way, he is a glorified babysitter. But, he sincerely is trying to teach them something! Whether they choose to learn or not, that's up to them. He also just finished trying to register for Crafton Hills Community College to take a class to finish up his Cisco certification so he can continue to teach it at school. Then he has the grading. So, long story short, he doesn't have the time to help at home. Someday, maybe. He tries, I give him credit for that, and what I am most grateful about is that he didn't even bat an eyelash or flinch when I told him the housecleaners had come! Thanks, I appreciate it.

What was humorous about yesterday's housecleaning episode is that Mirtha came with her friend. I can't remember what her friend's name is. But, she felt bad for me, they both did. My house has been in shambles, and, I am not EXAGERRATING!!! We all decry the state of our homes, but mine really was in need of a good cleaning and organizing. And boy did these women work their tails off. I was shocked when they didn't run screaming from my chaotic and disorganized home! But, they were brave, determined, and kind souls who spent all day whipping my house into shape!

Mirtha's friend even offered to come and do a daily maid service at my house - helping me with the dishes, laundry and general upkeep - yes that needs work, I will freely admit it. I won't tell you the amount she quoted me. I can't afford it. I am going to have Mirtha come once a week and that is just going to have to get me by. And maybe someday, when I am fabulously wealthy (yeah, right) I can hire a maid service (when pigs fly!!!). My children MUST learn to help out, and they are doing it. Either that or I will make their lives miserable and they will do nothing fun. It is starting to work so far.

I am happy though. It is refreshing to have the floors clean all at the same time! The kitchen is perfectly clean, not just a little so it's passable. The bathrooms are all clean, no urine on or around the toilets from my blind boys. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my back. It's that darn monkey I tell you! 

I'll update this blog with the pictures we take today. I need to finish the dishes and get ready for my day of play! Wahoo!

Hootnany Pancakes

6 eggs

1 c. flour

1 c. milk

1/2 c. butter

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven at 425. In a 9X13 dish put the stick of butter in the pan and put it in the preheating oven. It will perfectly melt it for you while you assemble the batter. Combine eggs, milk and salt in a blender until fluffy and well mixed (about 2 minutes). You don't want it to separate. Add flour a little at a time until well blended (about 2 more minutes or so- eyeball it!) When the butter is bubbly, pour the batter into the baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve warm with powdered sugar sprinkled on top and top that off with maple syrup. It's delicious this way!!

Super easy slow cooker dinner

Did you know that the main course of your dinner could be made out 3 ingredients? Well, I found this recipe on Dinner with Kristen and tried it because it sounded interesting. And it has been a fabulous hit. We've even been actively seeking out the leftovers for later snacks and it's just as good as it was the first time. YES!!!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 (2-3 pound) pork roast, I just bought a butt roast for $1.19 a lb. at Stater Bros. today, Wahoo!

1 can root beer

In the morning, put the roast in the crockpot and top with the root beer. Cover and set the temp. to low. Cook for 8-10 hours.

When it's ready, dump out the liquids. Shred the meat and add your favorite BBQ sauce and eat as a sandwich.

Kristen also had this really great recipe for coleslaw that we either ate with the sandwich or alongside it. It's really good on top of the pulled pork. It's an approximation of one of Tyler Florence's recipes. I like it because it has great flavor and tasted good with the meal.

Coleslaw

1 1/2 tsp. Dijon or whole grain mustard

2 TBS. mayo

1/4 c. sour cream

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Tbs. of red wine vinegar

1 Tbs. sugar

black pepper and salt to taste

1 bag of shredded cabbage

Mix ingredients well. Then add coleslaw. Serve alongside or on top of pulled pork sandwiches.

So, here are the recipes. I  hope you enjoy them as much as we have.