12/21/09

Christmas Dinner Recipes

For our Christmas dinner, here are the recipes I'm using to go with the ham and turkey. We're making cornbread dressing, potato salad, green beans, corn, squash casserole and rolls. For dessert, lemon ice box pie and pecan pie.

Save $5 off of $20 at Save-A-Lot!


Southern Cornbread Stuffing Recipe : Paula Deen : Food Network

This is the dressing I'm making for Christmas Day dinner! :)

Ingredients

  • Cornbread, recipe follows
  • 7 slices oven-dried white bread
  • 1 sleeve saltine crackers
  • 8 tablespoons butter
  • 2 cups celery, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 7 cups chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sage (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (optional)
  • 5 eggs, beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine crumbled cornbread, dried white bread slices, and saltines; set aside.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and cook until transparent, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the vegetable mixture over cornbread mixture. Add the stock, mix well, taste, and add salt, pepper to taste, sage, and poultry seasoning. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Reserve 2 heaping tablespoons of this mixture for the giblet gravy. Pour mixture into a greased pan and bake until dressing is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Serve with turkey as a side dish.

Cornbread:

  • 1 cup self-rising cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup self-rising flour
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into a greased shallow baking dish. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
To serve, cut into desired squares and serve with butter.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
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Cooks.com - Recipe - Lemon Ice Box Pie

This is the pie I'm making for dessert on Christmas! We're not that fond of meringue so this is great. If memory serves me correctly it's how my mamaw Logan used to make it. :)

LEMON ICE BOX PIE 
1 sm. can frozen lemonade, thawed
1 c. sweetened condensed milk
Med. sized Cool Whip
Mix all ingredients together and place in graham cracker crumb crust. Refrigerate and serve.

Winn Dixie had their brand of "Cool Whip" right next to the name brand and usually the generic is cheaper but not in this case.  The brand name was 70 cents cheaper.  Tricky aren't they!?
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Ingredients

  • 12 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
  • 2 teaspoons sweet relish (I'm using dill relish!)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Paprika, for dusting

Directions

Place eggs in a large wide saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil for 12 minutes. Remove eggs and and cool in refrigerator. Remove shells from eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Separate egg yolks and place into a bowl. Place whites on a separate plate. Add mayo, mustard, relish and salt and pepper, to taste, to yolks and mash together with a fork until creamy and smooth. Using a large star tip and resealable plastic bag, pipe the yolk mixture back into each egg, enough to fill yolk holes completely. Dust tops with paprika. Refrigerate. Serve cold.
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Basic Southern Potato Salad

Recipe Ingredients:
1 – pound red potato
1 – hard boiled egg, finely chopped
1 – large celery rib, finely chopped (I substitute 2 Tbsp dill pickle relish.)
1/2 – cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/8 – teaspoon yellow mustard
Cookware and Utensils:
1 – Large Boiling Pot
1 - Small Boiling Pot
1 – Large Serving Bowl With Lid
1 - Stirring spoon
1 – Knife
Recipe Instructions:
As always, the key to great cooking is to be prepared and to use quality ingredients.
Start of by rinsing potatoes thoroughly under running water. While rinsing, gently scrub potatoes to remove dirt.
Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with at least two inches of cold water. Bring water to rolling boil and cook potatoes until tender. Don’t allow the water to boil out. Once potatoes are done remove from heat, pour out water and allow to cool before peeling. Go ahead and clean your large pot because you will use it later to mix up your potato salad.
Place eggs into a small pot, add cold water and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cook eggs until done. Remove eggs from heat, add cold water and allow to cool before chopping.
Now that the potatoes have cooled, peel them and mash them up one at a time into your large pot. Add celery, eggs, onion, mayonnaise and mustard. Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly. Start with the exact measurements and adjust to your desired taste, if necessary. If you must go ahead and add salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon the combined mixture into a suitable size bowl with lid. Cover and refrigerate. Serve potato salad cold. (although I like it warm as well!)
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A squash casserole with pecan or bread crumb topping, along with cheese and onions.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds yellow squash, cut in 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
  • water
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup saltine crackers, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped, or buttered bread crumbs

Preparation:

Place the squash, onion, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan. Add a small amount of water. Cover and cook the squash until tender, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary. Drain the squash and onions; return to the pan and stir in the butter. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper to your taste. Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish well. Stir the crumbled crackers into the squash mixture, and turn into the buttered casserole. Pour the milk over the squash and sprinkle with the cheese and chopped pecans or crumbs. Bake at 350°, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until the milk is absorbed and the squash casserole is bubbly. Serve hot. Serves 4 to 6.

10/11/08

Fast Easy Cash

Check out my 'fast easy cash' page!

Are you in search of ways to make an extra few bucks a month to stretch your budget? Do you need just a little cash to help buy the basic necessities and $4 a gallon gasoline to fill your gas guzzler?

Well, I have found a wonderful site that's been around for three years now that is EASY for you to earn ATLEAST $10 a month. It's very easy to earn way much more but you can earn $10 without breaking a sweat in just a few minutes. It's well worth your time to check it out. You could even pay your internet or satellite tv bill with your Cash Crate earnings! You can earn MORE by referring new active members.

My first check was $33 and my second was $11 but only because I got sidetracked and didn't mess with it much. I'm working on my third check and have almost $40 racked up but there's plenty more surveys to click on! I've read a few blogs online where some have earned hundreds, and some even thousands of dollars with this site by having people sign up under them. Christmas is coming up and this will be an easy way to earn some extra cash! Won't you take just one minute to check it out? You'll be happy that you did!

You will be paid by check if your earnings are under $20.

*Tips* - Use atleast five different email addresses and rotate them when doing offers. Use Ccleaner to clear your browser's cookies atleast every three to five offers.

Another site that has earned me a few quick bucks is dollarsurveys.net! They pay via PayPal and cookies should be cleared between each survey you take but you must use your PayPal email address for each survey taken so you will get paid!

6/10/08

From Slashing Grocery Bills to Bucket Gardening

Here's some goodies from my email that have racked up lately so I went through ALL my email (just my gmail lol) and deleted all the "junk" and saved the good stuff for a blog.

Simple Ways To Slash Your Grocery Bill
Seven Ways To Save On Fuel
Free Organic Soil Fertilizer
All About Growing Sweet Corn
A Better Way To Harvest Rainwater
Easy Natural Remedies For Summer
Why You Don't Need Anti-bacterial Soap
How To Make A Kite From Recycled Materials
How To Build A Gourd Birdhouse
How To "Garden in a Bucket" for Children

The "Hillbilly Housewife" site says using white vinegar as your fabric softener is not only cheaper but works better. I'll have to get a Downy ball for that because I never can remember to put it in the rinse cycle.

The "Cool Summer Treats" blog entry has some yummy recipes for smoothies and milk shakes. I've seen the Wendy's Frosty clone recipe before but haven't tried it yet so maybe we'll get the stuff tomorrow to make some.

And last of all... some easy and yummy summer sandwiches!

Turkey Cucumber Dill Sandwiches
Chicken Club Sandwiches
Chicken BLT Sandwiches
Ranch Tuna Melt Wedges

I'm itching to try that Ranch Tuna Melt Wedges recipe. Might substitute mayo for the ranch if it's too tangy.

6/9/08

Shopping Time - Store Circulars

Since I live in the South, these stores might primarily be only in my area so feel free to comment with a link to others in YOUR area!

For $30 each month you can get a whole lot of food to stretch your food budget at an Angelfood Ministry location near you. Very helpful!

5/8/08

Need extra cash for gas or food money?

Do you need a little extra cash to help pay for groceries or gas until your next paycheck? I've listed some ideas below to help with the rising gas and food prices since we are obviously in a recession whether our government wants to admit it or not and I hope they are helpful to many! If you have more to share, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll add them & give you credit.


1. Take your old scrap metal to the scrap yard. Strip old wire for copper & recycle at the scrap yard for money. Copper is going for about $2-$3 or so a pound right now. Any scrap metal will bring you some money. Take old appliances, cars, swingsets, etc. and turn them in for cash.
*Note* Please do not steal in order to do this.

2. Recycle aluminum drink cans. If you do not have any, there's plenty of litter on the sides of roads to find some. You'd make your surroundings look better and make some money in the process. Cans are going for about 75 cents/lb.
Throwing away a single aluminum can is like pouring out six ounces of gasoline.
Recycle the whole can, not just the can tabs. - recycle.net


3. Have a yard sale. Put up signs with clear, concise, bold wording. Group like items together in sections as they are in a department store. Put price stickers on EVERYTHING. People are more likely to buy something if they can see the price and not have to ask you how much something is. Sell books for Buy One Get One Free.

4. Sell stuff you no longer want or need on Ebay.

5. Put what interests you to work such as if you've got a green thumb then sell the vegetables you grow. If you're handy with tools, advertise that you're an 'on-call handyman'. Offer to cut your neighbor's grass for a fee. The possibilities are endless with this one. :)

6. Make some extra cash online. I started doing these sites for some extra cash. Hope these help someone!

I found a new site that actually pays you for taking surveys. This one is NOT a scam and is very much legit! If you're interested, please click here.



May's earnings - $33.83! Not bad for my first check!

I meant to scan the check to post on here but forgot to but will post the next one!

The "easy" way to make $ on this site is to sign up a bunch of people under you. Check out their forums for tips.
If you decide to sign up, use a few "junk" emails to use for the surveys,etc. Don't use your main email or it will get bogged down with spam. Use Gmail, Yahoo, etc. for extra emails. Do only the "free offers" and when you see mention of silver or gold offers, close the page and clear your cookies. As long as you see something like "registration complete" you're done.
Pinecone Research is another site I've been a member of for about ten years now that has sent product review surveys and compensated $5 for each. Only one member per mailing address.
The household questionaires aren't compensated for but do give you more chances of getting paid surveys. New members now only get $3. After your first survey, you can ask to be switched to payment via Paypal rather than receive a check. You have to "stumble upon" their banner while surfing the internet to sign up.

DollarSurveys.net has been somewhat reliable. This past week I got $4 sent to my PayPal account from taking four surveys - most of which were simply filling out a form try new products or to download and print a coupon. Very fast and easy buck to make!

If you have anymore to add, comment and leave me a message!

5/1/08

Homeschool

Here are some homeschooling links that I use the most and will be adding to as I come across them. If you have any you'd like to share, please leave a comment with the link(s). :)

4/28/08

Homemade dishwasher detergent

I found a recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent today which has already come in handy as I'm out of the stuff! You can either use this or mix it half & half with your store bought brand to stretch it. Every little bit helps!

Homemade dishwasher detergent
1C
Borax
1C Baking Soda
1/2 C salt

Mix it all together. Use 1 TB detergent, and use
Vinegar as your rinse aid.
Link





May's earnings - $33.83! Not bad for my first check!