• Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches Done Cheaper
    Cooking,  Savings

    Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches Done Cheaper

    My husband fell in love with these hot ham and cheese sandwiches at a friends party several years ago.  I looked the recipe up on line and we tried a few different versions until we found the one he liked best.  To view the recipe I use, click here.  I have made them several times since then but don’t make them often because they are so expensive.  They decided to have sandwiches and desserts at church after the singing on Sunday night.  I decided I wanted to do something besides buy bread and lunch meat.  I thought of these but really didn’t need to spend that much money this week. …

  • Little Hamburgers in Gravy
    Cooking

    Little Hamburgers in Gravy

    This is an easy 3 ingredient main dish.  We have been making them for years.  I don’t remember where we got the recipe, but it is a family favorite.  We make it every month or so.  I don’t know what the real name should be, but we call it little hamburgers in gravy because that is what they look like.  I assume one of the kids probably gave them the name and it stuck.  It can even be made ahead of time and just finished off quickly when you are ready by making the gravy and heating the little hamburgers before serving.  If making ahead of time, spread the patties…

  • Tween Birthday Party
    Holidays,  Life and Family

    How to Plan a Tween Birthday Party

    My daughter just turned 12 on Saturday.  It was hard for her to decide how she wanted to celebrate her birthday this year.  She is too old for the traditional kiddie birthday party, but still young enough to want to make it a big deal.  She thought about going to the trampoline park or skating rink, but she also wanted all the family to be there.   Since she is one of the youngest of her cousins most of them would not participate for jumping or skating.  She thought about having a family party at a restaurant, but couldn’t decide on a restaurant and wanted to be able to invite friends…

  • Easy Strawberry Cheesecake Pie
    Cooking

    Easy Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

    I have been making these cheesecake pies for a long time.  I don’t really remember where the recipe came from, but as you know by now, I don’t usually follow a recipe exactly.  The original recipe didn’t call for any extras and the regular is okay, but I like to add in extra textures and flavors to change it up. I have made several different versions over the years, Oreo with an Oreo crust is my son’s favorite, but the strawberry is mine and my daughter’s favorite.  A few other versions I have made include pineapple, lemon, Butterfinger in a chocolate crust, and chocolate chip in a chocolate crust. I…

  • Meal Planning My Way
    Cooking,  Savings

    Meal Planning – My Way

    I have said it before. I am not good about meal planning. Our life is crazy most of the time. I rarely know if we are going to be home for supper or at least how many are going to be home. I have tried to plan out meals, but it usually doesn’t work out. I like to have easy meals that I can throw together quickly, that is just what works for our family, but I still like to cook fairly wholesome meals out of real food when possible. I have a few tricks that help me with this. I buy ground meat in the larger amounts and prepare…

  • Beef and Bean Enchiladas
    Cooking

    Beef and Bean Enchiladas

    I saw post about chicken enchiladas last week, it looked good but I didn’t have any chicken.  I did have some taco meat frozen though, so I looked for a beef enchilada recipe.  I changed it of course to fit our preferences and it was divine.  I usually don’t really like enchiladas, but these were good, really good.  I used the homemade red enchilada sauce that one of the recipes used.  It was easy to make and I had everything in the house to make it.  I followed the directions pretty closely except I only used 3 tbls of the chili powder because my husband is a wimp with spicy…

  • Cooking

    Simple Tuna Salad

    We were trying to decide what to have for lunch on Saturday, my daughter was in the kitchen and came in the living room with the package of tuna.  She asked if we could make tuna fish sandwiches.  I looked at my husband and he agreed.  I know it is supposed to be called tuna salad, but growing up we called it tuna fish and that is what I still tend to say, so of course that is what my kids say as well.  LOL  It is hard to break old habits, but I will try to use the correct terminology here. I never liked the  cans of tuna and trying…

  • Cooking

    Quick and Easy Tamale Casserole

    I like quick and easy recipes because I am not good about meal planning and if I make a plan, we will end up having to go somewhere instead or I get caught up working and don’t have time to do what I had planned.  I came up with this recipe one night when I needed something to take to a church potluck that I forgot about.  I looked through my cabinets for ideas and decided to try making a tamale casserole.  I use canned tamales which of course aren’t as good as the real homemade ones, but work in a pinch.  My family love this and it is an…

  • Cooking

    Sweet Rice

    I don’t know if this is true or not, but I remember having sweet rice every Sunday morning growing up.  This is the only kind of rice my mom cooked.  It was good, but by the time I left home, I never wanted rice for breakfast.  We spent a lot of time with my parents when we were first married and the boys were young, so we still had rice quite often.  As the boys got older and more involved in sports and other things, we spent less whole weekends with them.  We still eat Sunday lunch there most weeks unless something else is going on or someone is sick. …

  • Cooking

    Pull-Apart Garlic Bread

      I didn’t lay out anything for supper tonight, so about 4:45 pm I went to see what I had in the freezer.  I had a small family size lasagna so I grabbed it and put it in the oven.  It had to cook for 60 minutes, so while it was cooking, I helped my daughter with her homework and then got everything ready for the rest of the meal.  I don’t like lasagna, so I cooked a package of spaghetti and made sauce for me and my daughter.  I didn’t have any lettuce for a salad, so I was trying to figure out what else to cook.  I decided…