HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The day has finally arrived....HALLOWEEN...yeah!  Obviously, I love this holiday...  ;)
If you want to make sure your kids get at least SOME healthy snacks today, here are some of my healthy snack ideas:  take a round platter (I have a pumpkin shaped one) and cut up orange cheese and black olives and arrange to make a jack-o-lantern face....also make school lunches more fun with my bat and black cat sandwich ideas:  take white bread and put in your favorite sandwich filling and top with another piece of white bread...take bat and ghost cookie cutters and cut out cute little halloween sandwiches...place whole cloves in cut outs to resemble eyes....These healthy snacks will make trick or treating tonight worthwhile....try them out, fun and easy!!

Pepper, my little fire chief dog

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

FAMILY FUN NIGHT

kids treats alongside mommy's treat :)

If you are looking for something fun and cheap to do with the kids this weekend, look no more.  Maybe you want to enjoy the fact that it's Halloween time and indulge in some scary good fun with the kids.  Well, how about a movie night "in" with the whole family!  Cuddle up, pop in a scary or cute Halloween themed movie...my favorites are of course, "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown", or "Monster House", and pop some popcorn for a family treat.  Don't leave it at just plain 'ol "popcorn" though, add a few surprises for a nice twist that the kids will LOVE!  Here is what I do:  I pop some popcorn, I get out individual bags or containers for popcorn and fill the bottoms with some popcorn....to the middle, I add their favorite treats......jelly beans, skittles, m&ms, goldfish crackers, mini marshmallows, etc....add more popcorn, add more treats, and top off with popcorn, I may even stick in a straw shaped cookie or something like that to top it off!  You will be a big hit and your kids won't expect it.  It has become a tradition in my house and my kids love to dig in and can't wait to find out what's hidden inside! 

ALTERNATIVE TO "SCARY" JACK-O-LANTERNS

My family loves Halloween but I, personally, prefer "harvest" and "cute"  to "scary" and "gory".
Pumpkin carving is definitely a Halloween tradition but in my opinion, it's messy and in all honesty, I am not very good at it.  Here is my alternative to carving scary jack-o-lanterns:  Pull out all of your Mr.Potato Head pieces and decorate your pumpkins as you would your potato heads and here you have your very own  "Mr. or Mrs. Pumpkin Heads...no carving required!  (You do have to poke a small hole where you want to fit your pieces but that's it....very simple!)

my kiddos with pumpkins they picked out

the finished product!

HAPPY NO CARVING!!  :)

BREAKFAST ON THE CHEAP

It may seem to be a challenge to get meals on the table that taste good, are healthy, and are affordable...you need to get creative, especially if you are a one income family like us!  Here is one of my favorite breakfast meal ideas:

TURKEY BACON/SAUSAGE BREAKFAST BURRITOS:

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

-package of turkey bacon-2.00 or package of brown and serve frozen turkey sausage-1.00

-1 package of flour or corn tortillas (your preference)-1.00 at Dollar Stores

-1 carton of eggs (on sale, you can get them for close to 1.00 per carton)

-1 package of lite shredded cheese of your choice-2.00 per bag

-salt and pepper to taste

Recipe directions:

-Cook 8 slices of bacon or sausage or both in skillet according to package directions, cool and crumble or cut into small pieces (1-2 pieces per burrito)

-scramble up 8 eggs, set aside into 8 portions

-take a tortilla and 1 egg portion inside, add 1 bacon/sausage (or both) portion, sprinkle with cheese and salt and pepper if desired

-roll up and enjoy

MAKES 8 SERVINGS FOR A TOTAL OF LESS THAN 7.00….LESS THAN 1.00 PER BURRITO!

SHOPPING TIP OF THE DAY

I have the best tip for snack shopping for your house!  Do you know where I buy a lot of my snacks for my household....Dollar Tree....believe it or not!  I find packages of pretzels, cereal boxes, cracker boxes, boxes of cookies....many times name brand products for obviously only 1.00 per item!  I also shop for side dishes as well such as rice a roni, mac and cheese, chili, pasta, soups, etc....most Dollar Trees also have a refrigerated and frozen food section as well.  It's now becoming a "mini" grocery store.....yeah Dollar Tree....check it out and compare to grocery stores and let me know what you save!

HALLOWEEN FUDGE RECIPE

Here is my halloween recipe of the week:
CANDY CORN FUDGE
Ingredients:
-1 tub of chocolate frosting (any variety)
-1 14 oz bag of chocolate chips (any variety...I usually use semi-sweet but can use milk or dark chocolate too)
-1/2 cup of candy corn (or more if you wish)
Directions:
-line an 8X8 square baking pan with foil sprayed with butter spray(makes for easier removal of fudge later) and set aside
-Melt chocolate frosting and chocolate chips on stove on medium low heat until melted together
-add candy corn to chocolate and mix thoroughly
-spread in foiled pan
-refrigerate for 2 hours
-cut into mini square pieces and eat up!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

TIP OF THE DAY

You can still get great savings at your local Raleys or Safeway, sometimes even better than your local walmart.  How, you ask.....CLEARANCE section, CLEARANCE section!  I am a big fan of clearance sections....they have great prices on perfectly good products but need to make room on the shelves for newer ones arriving.  Some stores have designated CLEARANCE sections, usually in the back of the store, while others are mixed in with regular priced merchandise.  Always check the bottom shelves for good prices too, everything at eye level is what we normally see so that's where regularly priced items are placed.  Not everyone looks on bottom shelves so that's where lower priced items are placed.  I always check the dates and make sure I will consume the product before it expires.  I have got brand name products for generic prices many times and all it took is just taking a little extra time to browse the CLEARANCE section! 
I will be enjoying a nice, long weekend, come back next week for more tips and another fun, Halloween recipe!  Happy Shopping everyone!

TIP OF THE DAY......NEVER PAY FULL PRICE

I never pay full price for anything!  Eventually, everything, especially in grocery stores, will go on sale, even your favorite brand name products....grocery stores and manufacturers rotate their product sales and in time, YOUR FAVORITE product will go on sale.  To get even more savings, use a coupon to go along with the sale!  Check your weekly grocery store circulars, see if your favorite products are on sale, pull out those Sunday Paper coupons, pair them up, go to the grocery store, stock up and save!  For example, I wait until my favorite snacks (let's say goldfish crackers ) goes on sale for 1.00 a bag (this happens at least a few times a year), if I have a coupon, let's say 50 cents off for 2, I end up paying only 50cents per bag, I stock up and get as much as I am allowed and enjoy the HUGE savings! 

HALLOWEEN RECIPE OF THE WEEK

It's October and Halloween is less than 2 weeks away...yeah!  My family and I love Halloween and the start of the Holiday season so here is a recipe that my kids love and another one you and your spouse will enjoy to get you into the Halloween Spirit!

MUMMY DOGS:
Ingredients:
-1 package lean beef or turkey hot dogs (your favorite brand)....I like Ball Park, National Hebrew, or Hoffy Lean
-1 package reduced fat crescent rolls
-2 whole cloves per dog
-mustard/ketchup dipping sauce (recipe to follow)
Directions:
-preheat oven to temperature on crescent roll package
-open crescent package and press seams together to make one big rectangle sheet
-cut sheet into 8 strips (one for each dog)
-prick each hot dog with a fork to prevent swelling of dog in oven
-wrap each hot dog into each crescent roll strip to resemble a mummy
-poke 2 cloves into each dog to resemble eyes
-bake in oven for 10-15 minutes or until crescent rolls are golden brown
-meanwhile, make dipping sauce (easiest dip ever)...mix ketchup with mustard (I like using a spicy or honey mustard) and dip away
FOR ADULTS:
Follow above recipe but substitute lean chicken sausage links(any flavor) and wrap with herb flavored pizza dough cut into strips...I find mine at Trader Joes for just about 1.00 per dough ball
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

TRANFORMATION RECIPE

It's Fall, my absolute favorite season of the year!  Time to bring out the crockpot (although, I do use it all year round, but slow cooked food sometimes tastes better in the fall) and get ready for some yummy slow cooked food!  One of my all time favorite meals to eat is pulled pork sandwiches but I hate all the fat.  I have a yummy and EASY recipe using lean pork that will taste just as yummy as full fat pork because it has been slow cooked all day.  Here you go, if you like this recipe, let me know what your favorite comfort food is and I will give you a recipe for a leaner version that still tasted delicious!

BBQ PULLED PORK SANDWICHES
Ingredients:
-lean pork loin or lean pork ribs with fat cut off (if fat still on when buying, take it home and slice it off) as much as you would need for your family, generally 1-2 lbs
-1 bottle of favorite BBQ sauce (I like honey or smoked)
-either 2 cinnamon sticks or 2 tsps ground cinnamon
-1 can of diet cola
-sliced raw red onion(omit if don't like onion)
-sliced tomatoes
-lettuce leaves
-sandwich thins with 100 calories or less such as oroweat or any brand (I do like to use small hawaiin roles at about 150 calories each, brings a sweetness to the dish that I love but note it will give you 50 extra calories)
-8-10 whole cloves studded into pork or 1 tsp of ground cloves
Directions:
-place pork loin or ribs with fat removed and studded with cloves if using into crockpot
-pour entire bottle of BBQ sauce and entire can of diet cola over pork
place cinnamon sticks or cinnamon and cloves over pork and mix all ingredients together
-cook on low for 4-6 hours
-if pork studded with cloves, remove, and while still in crockpot, take 2 forks and shred pork, mix thoroughly again and place shredded pork in buns and top with onion, tomatoes, and lettuce if desired
Serve with corn on the cob or any type of salad

RECIPE OF THE DAY

MAKE YOUR OWN SUGAR FREE SYRUPS
SUGAR FREE CINNAMON SYRUP
-In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups of water, 2 cups of splenda (or favorite alternative sweetener), 3 cinnamon sticks broken in half and simmer for 3 minutes.  Take off burner, cover, and let stand for about 3-4 hours, bottle and refrigerate for up to a month.
You can make other flavors also such as: BROWN SUGAR CINNAMON substituting splenda brown sugar instead of white sugar....great spicy flavor!,  CINNAMON AND CLOVES adding about 8 whole cloves to saucepan along with the sugar and cinnamon sticks, ALLSPICE AND NUTMEG adding one whole nutmeg and 8 allspice berries to saucepan with sugar omitting cinnamon sticks or leaving them in depending on your love of cinnamon (I love cinnamon so I leave them in), ANISE FLAVORED SYRUP adding about 4 anise berries to the sugar in saucepan and omitting cinnamon sticks, this syrup has a licorice flavor to it.
I add these syrups to coffee or hot chocolate or even as a substitute for water when baking for added flavor!
Try these recipes today and let me know what you think....this will save you at least 6.00 per bottle at the grocery store!

RECIPE OF THE DAY

LOW CAL PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE

-brew coffee in coffee maker
-pour 1 tbsp sugar free pumpkin spice syrup (such as torani) in mug
-pour 1 tbsp pumpkin or sugar free vanilla liquid coffee creamer in mug
-if you like it sweet, add 1-2 tsp of splenda, if not, omit this step
-sprinkle a dash of cinnamon in mug
-pour hot coffee in mug and stir up, enjoy!

I love the flavors of fall and my favorite coffee house drink is the pumpkin spice latte but I hate all the calories, try my version for less than 40 calories per mug and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to transform any coffee house version into your own for 1/2 the calories.
Tomorrow, I will post a recipe on how to make your own "sugar free" syrup and bottle and save for future uses.  This will save you a lot of money on buying sugar free syrups from the grocery store.