Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork
from sweetandsavoryfood.com

Pork Butt
Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1 Can Cola
1/2 Bottle BBQ Sauce (About 1 Cup)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Generously coat pork butt with seasoning salt.  Place the seasoned pork, cola, and BBQ sauce in a dutch oven and cook for 4-5 hours or until the temp reaches 145 degrees.  Shred the meat with two forks and serve on a bun with extra BBQ sauce if needed.

Simple. Fast.  Delicious.  Melt in  your mouth goodness.  Use whatever cola you have in your fridge, even diet.  You could also do this in a crock pot on low for 4-5 hours.  Serve with whipped potatoes and a side of delicious veggies.  Enjoy!

Jammin' Turkey Sandwich

Jammin' Turkey Sandwich

Butter
2 Slices of Bread
Sliced Deli Turkey
Cheese
Dijon Mustard
Apricot Preserves

Butter both slices of bread. Assemble the sandwich, keeping the butter on the outside, with the mustard on one piece of bread, then the turkey, cheese and the apricot preserves on the other slice of bread.  Throw the sandwich into a pan over medium low heat and cook for a few minutes on each side until the toast is golden brown and the cheese is melted.  Cut into triangles :)

I love a good grilled cheese, but sometimes you got to step it up a little.  This gives you a little protein and a lot of flavor. Great for a lunch or an afternoon snack.

Pancakes

Pancakes
from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook
makes about 8, 3-inch pancakes

1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg, Beaten
1 Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil (I used vegetable oil)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, set aside.  In a small bowl, combine the egg, milk, and oil.  Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture.  Stir until just moistened (batter should be lumpy).  Pour about 1/4 cup batter into a 3-inch circle onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet.  Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden brown, turning to second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Serve with maple syrup.

Pancakes are the ultimate comfort food.  When I need extra comfort, I sprinkle milk chocolate chips into the batter and serve with peanut butter, like in the picture.  These are so easy and fast to whip together, just like these waffles!  

Eating on a Budget

http://www.slymf.com/forum/how-much-money-do-you-spend-food-daily-45157.html

Eating on a Budget


Raise your hand if you don't like saving money.  Yeah, that's what I thought.  Although saving money on your grocery bill is sometimes easier said than done.  I've complied a few tips that I try to do to make that process a little easier.


7 Tips For Stretching Your Grocery Bill


1.  Eat less meat.  Instead try to:
2.  Eat more beans, legumes, and eggs.  These are all inexpensive ways to add protein to your meals.  I also like to add beans to recipes to stretch them out a little more.
3.  Buy in bulk.  If you have room for storage, buying in bulk can save you big.
4.  Take time to write a shopping list and search for coupons.  Impulse buys and going shopping hungry can defiantly hurt your grocery bill.  And it seems like those impulse buys are never a healthy choice anyways!  
5.  BYOB - bring your own reusable bags.  A lot of places are giving a small discount or incentives for bringing your own bags.  Plus, you help the environment.
6.  Make your own.  Cooking from scratch is a great way to save money.  Too busy on weeknights?  Spend a weekend afternoon prepping for the week by planning, chopping, and cooking so that you have less to do on the busy nights.
7.  Eat smaller portions.  One of the worst feelings for me is feeling stuffed.  I like to eat till I'm content instead of full.  Eating smaller portions not only makes your meals go farther, you'll feel better when you're done eating.  One trick I have is to eat on smaller plates because it makes your meal look bigger than it actually is.




For some more recipes and tips check out these sites.
Budget Bytes
Skinny Taste (see Under $10 tags on the right column)
Pinterest  (Ideas x one million)


What do you do to save on the grocery bill?

Mason Jar Salads

Mason Jar Salads

I'll admit it, I could defiantly use more veggies in my life.  But a good salad takes a lot of prep.  Enter mason jar salads!  Assemble a few salads and they keep in the fridge for up to four days.  Put the dressing in the bottom, add veggies, and greens on top.  As long as the greens don't touch the dressing, they will stay fresh.  This is a great way to use up leftovers!  Perfect to bring with you for lunch, and ready to go when you go to the fridge hungry and don't want to make anything.  Enjoy!

For these mason jar salads I used:  Italian dressing, mozerella cheese, shredded carrots, chopped green pepper, chickpeas, and spinach.

This one was: ranch dressing, chopped green pepper, green onions, diced ham, cheddar cheese, shredded carrots and spinach.  

*I've noticed that if I use strong flavored ingredients like onion or hard boiled egg, the flavor and smell seems to intensify in the jar.  Still tastes great but you may end up sitting alone at lunch!