Tempt my Tummy Tuesday: Cheesy Crock-Pot Chicken

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken breasts (boneless; skinless or tenders)
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup
• Garlic powder to taste

Instructions:

1. Rinse chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
2. Mix undiluted soup and pour over chicken in a crock pot.
3. Cook on low all day.
4. Serve over rice or noodles.

Head on over to Tempt my Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace, to see all the wonderful recipes posted today!

Flourless and Sugar Free Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies

Makes 24 small cookies

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup Splenda granular sweetener
• 2 T Brown Sugar (or use 2 T Splenda Brown Sugar Blend or 1 T Splenda + 1 T brown sugar)
• 3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla (I used Mexican vanilla)
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 C natural peanut butter without added sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.
2. Cut parchment to fit baking sheet, or spray with non-stick spray.
3. In plastic bowl, add eggs, Splenda, Brown Sugar (or substitute described above), cocoa powder, baking powder, and vanilla. Use hand beater or stand mixer to beat together about 30 seconds.
4. Add almond meal and beat 15-20 seconds. Add peanut butter and beat until well mixed., about 20 more seconds. Dough will be stiff, so scrape it off the beaters if needed.
5. Use a small spoon to measure out about 2 tsp. of dough and roll each cookie into a ball, then arrange cookies in rows on baking sheet. Leave enough room to smash down cookies with a fork when the baking sheet is full.
6. Smash cookies to about 1/2 inch thick, then bake for 15-17 minutes, or until top feels firm and cookies look done.
7. Let cool a few minutes before eating.

I found this recipe over at Kayln's Kitchen.

I just LOVE Simple Mom!

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

I get excited about great, everyday use tips that I find on the WWW.

Simple Mom had a post today that I LOVE: 18 Everyday Hacks For Cooking From Scratch.


I am going to print this one out and tape it inside the kitchen cabinet!

Beware of the letter C!

As I was putting Reilly to bed the other night, he asked if I had ever heard of "The Letter C." I responded with "of course dear, the letter between b & d."

He proceeded to tell me that in Bible time last week, he learned about "The Letter C."

Apparently, when you contract "The Letter C," your nose falls off, your fingers fall off, and your toes, knees, ears, and legs also fall off.

If you haven't figured it out by now, he was referring to LEPROSY!

He continued that when Jesus healed people with leprosy, all the body parts that had previously fallen off would be replaced with new ones.

Excitedly, I said, "What is it called when Jesus heals someone Reilly. . .it starts with an 'M'." He thought for a second and said "MMMMMMMazing!"

That's my guy!

Free STATE Income tax filing online

Click here to read this article from Christian Personal Finance.

The Secrets of Cheap and Healthy Meals

Want to keep your food costs low even while, overall, costs are rising? Stick to these rules:
1) Set a budget and
2) never pay full price

Click here to read the rest of the article from Mary Hunt!

Do you have an Emergency Fund?

Head on over to Simply Saving to read this thought-provoking article about creating/building an Emergency Fund.

Building up an emergency fund, if you haven’t already, is one of the most important things you can do to help your finances.

But you knew that.

It’s common financial advice, actually, but what’s not so common is how to actually do it. Obviously those who haven’t saved up an emergency fund have a difficult time saving money, even if they know they should.

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 can chicken broth
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
2 large or 3 medium baking potatoes, baked or microwaved

Directions
Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender.
Stir in flour.
Gradually stir in broth and evaporated milk.
Scoop potato pulp from 1 potato (reserve potato skin); mash.
Add pulp to broth mixture.
Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until mixture comes just to a boil.
Dice remaining potato skin and potatoes; add to soup.
Heat through.

This is great topped with all those baked potato toppers you like.

Top 10 Ways to Start Living the Frugal Life

This list is from the About.com site. What do you think? What would you add?

The complete article can be found by clicking here.

1. Befriend the Library.

2. Clip Coupons.

3. Eat Out Less Often.
4. Switch to Online Bill Pay.
5. Group Errands
6. Make Your Own Cleaners.

Clean with Vinegar
Clean with Baking Soda
Foaming Hand Soap Recipe

7. Seek Freebies.

8. Wash in Cold.
9. Flip a Switch.
10. Change Your Own Oil

Reclaim the Romance! The (At-Home) Date Night

A Great article from FishMama at Life as Mom. In light of the fact that we are attempting frugality and romance, this is timely!

Date Night. Those words have quite a ring to them. But, for parents, sometimes a romantic evening out can seem more like a distant fairy tale. Maybe the budget doesn’t really allow room for a carriage ride and an elegant dinner out. Perhaps fairy godmothers, I mean, babysitters are hard to come by or too expensive. Or possibly Mom or Dad is just plain tuckered out by the end of the day, too tired to dance the night away.You can spend sweet time together, even if it means staying home. Reclaim the romance! An At-Home Date Night is just the ticket for reconnecting with the one you love. The following are suggestions for creating a delightful evening – for just the two of you – at home....To read the rest of my article, visit this month's Paducah Parenting.

Cookies for a Snowy Day: No Bake Cookies

Many thanks to Amy @ The Finer Things for this quick and easy treat!

No Bake Cookies

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. milk
2 c. sugar
3 c. oatmeal (I use old fashioned)
5 Tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. peanut butter (I like chunky)

1. Mix butter, sugar, cocoa, and milk in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil.
2. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Add cocoa, oatmeal, vanilla, and peanut butter.
5. Mix well.
6. Spoon onto wax paper.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

*I like to use my cookie scoop for a more uniform shape. I squash them a little after scooping.
*If you’re in a hurry, place the wax paper on a cookie sheet pan. After scooping, let the cookies set up in the fridge.

Menu Planning And Grocery Shopping

Check out this interesting post on Domestic Cents about Planning and Shopping:

Welcome to the next part of the Almost Lost Domestic Arts Series. In an earlier segment of this series I shared my experience learning to cook from scratch. Let’s just say it wasn’t an automatic thing for me. Learning to cook was great but planning to cook is another thing entirely.

Works for me Wednesday: Digsby

• digsby is a multiprotocol IM client that lets you chat with all your friends on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, and Jabber with one simple to manage buddy list.
• digsby is an email notification tool that alerts you of new email and lets you perform actions such as 'Delete' or 'Report Spam' with just one click.
• digsby is a social networking tool that alerts you of events like new messages and gives you a live Newsfeed of what your friends are up to.

Wordless Wednesday: The Joy of Snow

Wordless Wednesday

The true, unadulterated joy of snow. . .

See more Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom.