You guys have so many great ideas. Now, if you could just help me get my DH onboard. 
) Well, I'm almost ready. Our blender is very old & doesn't work very good for crushing ice. Does anyone have any suggestions for a cheap blender that works well for smoothies? TIA
and then 1 month later conceived and had DS .5 in November of last year, and I have been soooo overwhelmed. BUT...I am back and loving all the tips, advice and suggestions!! "God Bless Us Everyone"!
The recipe has been in my family for years and so the recipe is very general and no real details are given.loving this thread
I don't know probably 2 weeks but it would be a weird combination!!
This is a great recipe to make bread, cinnamon rolls, pizza, breadsticks or whatever else you can come up with.
1 pkg yeast
1 3/4 c lukewarm water
1/2 oil
1/2 c sugar
1 whole egg
3/4 t salt
5 1/2 c flour ( you may need to add more or less, depending on humidity) When I made this recently, I used 2 c white flour, 2 c whole wheat flour and 1 c wheat bran
Put lukewarn water in large mixing bowl and sprinkle yeast over the top and let dissolve. Stir in oil, egg and sugar with whisk. Add flour and salt. Place in a clean bowl and rub oil on the dough and cover with towel in a warm area(I turn on the oven while I'm making the dough to about 200 degrees, then turn it off for 10 minutes with the door open and then put my bowl inside) Let rise until double in size, 4-6 hours. Punch down and roll out. Brush tops with melted butter. Depending on size bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until slightly golden. Upon removing from oven brush the tops again with melted butter.(this step can be omitted to cut down on fat)
As far as the white pizza I just partially baked the crust then added Alfredo sauce(Ragu reduced fat parmesean cheese sauce) you can make your own healthier version. Then piled on toppings, cheese, baked chicken breast strips, parsley, more parmesean...ect. One thing we do is go to the salad bar at the store and get toppings, so I don't have to buy a whole bag of spinach or other veggies and they are already chopped up and cleaned! Then bake until edges are golden. 350 degrees
That's a great idea for a new thread!!!
I've basically done that for the past two years!!! NO JOKE!!! And I'm still living off some of it!!!
I was a crazy, obsessed couponer. I built up a HUGE stockpile of free items...so much that I was giving it away to family and friends, donating it, and even selling it on eBay.
I got out of the crazy couponing about 2 years ago and I'm still living off the stockpile. It's gotten to where I have to buy items like cereal, pasta, brownie mixes, and some canned goods again; however, I have at least another 2-3 years worth of condiments left (salad dressing, hot sauce, ketchup, etc.), as well as cleaners and personal items (detergent, fabric softener, mr. clean, lysol cleaners, deodorant, razors, shampoo, etc.). I also had to throw the contents of one pantry away because bugs got to it (mostly pie crusts and cake mixes)
That's soo cool. 
You could make gift baskets for Christmas, birthdays, ect...
All this talk of smoothies has inspired me to start making those. Since nzdisneymom was kind enough to share what goes in one, I'm ready to get started. (Thanks for that, BTW.
Tonight for dinner, we had 'smacs -- boiled and drained macaroni (49 cents) and 3/4 can Campbell's Low Sodium tomato juice ($1) that you pour over the drained macaroni and heat back up. Mmmm... we call it smacs because it's so good you "smack" your lips. It's actually a dinner my DH grew up on. I like it because it gets the tomato juice in the boys. They would rather have smacs than mac/cheese. But we've found that the regular tomato juice or the "off brands" don't taste as good to us (and believe me, I've tried to sneak them in and they can always tell). The thing is, tomato juice NEVER goes on sale around here. but at least I can give the label to the school
Thank you I know I did disappear, it was a rough year for our family, we lost a baby to miscarriage
I certainly didn't mean to open old wounds. Just wanted to let you know you're helpful ideas are appreciated.
I love the idea of getting my grocery bill down a bit and I can see how these plans work if you have small children. When my kids were pre-schoolers, our grocery bill was really no more than it was to feed just the two of us. But let me tell you, THEY GROW UP!
I now have a 16 year old son that can eat, all by himself, more than what some of you are feeding your entire family! And he only weighs 124 pounds, so you can't throw that whole "nationwide obesity problem" at me for this one.
The only way I could feed this family for less than $10 a day would be to cut out meat which, as unpopular as it seems to be, we happen to like. No, our daily food bill is more like $20.
I would like to hear from families with growing teens (especially boys) and what they do to save money while keeping their families full and healthy.
Anyone?
( I get the generic pack at the Dollar general for 1$).. Anyaway. I am always trying to encourage her to eat better and to choose healthy snacks. Like apples , cheese, maderine oranges or even a slice of toast.
. Also my dd14 WILL NOT drink milk, she hates it. I try to get her to snack on cheese or yogart
and the left over salid from the 
yay: . We will have salid for the week. Dh took it to work ( just to let you know my kids and I use a half of bottle of salid dressing each day) Thankfully we buy Aldi
I love the idea of getting my grocery bill down a bit and I can see how these plans work if you have small children. When my kids were pre-schoolers, our grocery bill was really no more than it was to feed just the two of us. But let me tell you, THEY GROW UP!
I would like to hear from families with growing teens (especially boys) and what they do to save money while keeping their families full and healthy.
Anyone?
). In between meals the rule in the house is if your hungry you can help yourself to fruit and veggies. I stock up on apples each week at the market (10 lbs for $6) and than I pick up whatever is on sale that week. My kids are not picky and will eat almost every fruit and veggie.
)
Bierocks
After allowing dough to rise roll out and cut into rectangle strips place filling and fold over sealing edges. Bake for about 10 minutes in 350 oven.
Filling
1 lb. browned ground beef season with onion powder, garlic ( I also use salt and pepper or Mrs. Dash)
add cabbage to beef cook until tender
place mixture on dough
sprinkle with cheddar cheese
Of course add whatever veggies to this you want!
Hot Pockets
You can add a variety of things...
Breakfast Pockets
scrambled eggs
cheese
ham/sausage
peppers/salsa
Italian Pockets
Meatballs
Mozerella Cheese
Spaghetti Sauce
Mushrooms
Ham and Cheese
Chicken Quesadillas
Baked and Diced Chicken
sourcream
Cream of Chicken Soup
Salsa
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Mix 1 container of sourcream with 1 Cup Salsa and 1 can cream of chicken soup. Add 4 cut up chicken breasts and place on dough, sprinkle with cheese.
How I make cinnamon rolls
roll out a large square of dough brush surface with butter, sprinkle cinnamon over entire surface roll up and slice into rolls and place on cookie sheet brush tops with butter let rise under towel 10 minutes, bake in 350 oven 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Brush tops with melted butter, let cool. Frost with icing.
Icing
1 T butter melted
1 t vanilla
2-3 C of powdered sugar
2-5 T milk
keep alternating powdered sugar and milk stirring until smooth until you get the right consistancy.
I use this recipe for everything from cinnamon rolls to sugar cookies(I never really measure anything
I'm sure you can all come up with lots of great ideas!!
to adjust seasoning (I just used salt and pepper). When everything is done, and broth has reduced somewhat, thicken using cornstarch or flour. Finally, make up a batch of dumpling, put them on top of the soup, and cover and cook till dumplings are done.
