Assembly is quick and easy. While your English Muffins are toasting, spray a small bowl with cooking spray/oil and crack an egg into it.

I break the egg up a little with a fork but my friend prefers to scramble hers. Microwave the egg (yes, you read that right!) for about 30 seconds. You will have to adjust the cooking time based on your microwave.

Add a little ham or sausage and cheese to your sandwich and you’ve recreated a healthy and quick version of a fast-food favorite!

If you like this idea, you might also like these Restaurant Copycat E-books. They are free to download.

Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3

Peanut Butter heart

We recently tried this Peanut Butter Play Dough recipe and I think we ended with only half as much as when we started. Apparently this is as tasty as dessert! Even if you have older children, don’t discount the idea of homemade playdough. My two children are older but still looked forward to this snow day activity.

Peanut Butter "Lego"

Peanut Butter Play Dough

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 cup powdered milk (plus enough to keep from sticking)

1 cup honey

1 cup oatmeal

Simply mix ingredients, adding a little more milk if needed to make dough firmer. It will appear a little stickier when mixing than it will when being used.

Have fun!

(If you enjoyed this idea, you might also like the post I wrote about our other snow day activities.)

I assembled this dish without a recipe so I cannot give you exact amounts. Just add a little of the spices at a time until it smells/ tastes right to you.

Sauteeing the veggies and meat

Ingredients:

1 lb or more elbow macaroni – I used almost 2 lbs

1 can undrained diced tomatoes – I used the “chili ready” variety.

1 small can tomato sauce

2 cans beans – I used one can kidney beans and one can chili beans

Left over meat – I used about 3 slices of pork tenderloin and some meatballs, chopped into smaller pieces.

green pepper, onion, celery  – 1 each, chopped or sliced

cumin

chili powder

2 Tablespoons butter

Directions:

Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions, but do not cook all the way through. Set aside.

Saute green pepper, onion, celery in a little bit of olive oil. When the vegetables start to become tender, add meat.

When meat is warm and vegetables are tender, add butter, cumin, parsley, chili powder, salt and pepper to meat. Stir until they are well-coated.  Add tomatoes, sauce and macaroni to the meat mixture.  Cook about 30 minutes.

Top with a little hot sauce and cheese.

Enjoy!

Dawn let me try her menu planning service and I am very impressed! She plans five days worth of dinners and puts them in a printable format for her readers. The dinners are  family and budget friendly. One of my favorite aspects of her weekly menus is how crisp and clean they look which makes them easy to read. I love using recipes with photos and her plan includes several each week.

Her recipes, which use  easy to find ingredients, have a helpful comment prior to each one. She always tops off the weekly recipe file with a  brunch and a dessert recipe – some of which are new to me and sound AMAZING- as well as a shopping list.

Once you are a member of  her site, you can access the online cookbook to find “that casserole I made a few weeks ago, but now can’t find the recipe” as well as previous week’s menus.

Dawn offers a free weekly trial at MenufortheWeek.com so you can see what I’m talking about and you can also request a sample menu. The six month membership is $25. Ladies, this might be something to put on your Christmas list for your guy, its a win/win. Your job is made easier and he will love the good food!  This service could also be a perfect gift for a new mom who wants to cook but feels a little overwhelmed, as a housewarming gift or for the hard to buy for person at Christmas.

Because of Dawn’s budget and family friendly ideas, recipes and menus, she is one of My Best Picks.

You can visit her at MenufortheWeek.com.

I also recently made Celery Broomsticks by slicing the ends of a celery stick and placing in ice water for several minutes.

I love finding new ways to make fruit and vegetables fun.  Do you have any special ways of preparing fun veggies?

I love finding bargains for my family, especially when the bargain includes well-priced meat. Meat is so expensive but my husband and son consider it a very important part of the meal, so I like to keep a good variety on hand. I usually shop the sale ads and buy the cuts that are about 99 cents per pound. I recently bought a tray of pork chops, large enough for 4 meals, for about $5.50.

However, the worst part of freezing meat is the messy nature of getting the flimsy pieces into the zippered bag, without making a mess of the zipper and my hands. I stumbled across a little trick that kept a least a little of the messiness at bay.

I divided the meat onto styrofoam plates and then slid the entire plate in the bag at once. No mess and it stacked inside the freezer better as well. Simple!

I love July because it means fresh cucumbers from our garden. I cannot grow anything and I’m so glad that my husband has a green thumb because I look forward to the homegrown veggies. If you are looking for an interesting way to use up some cucumbers, you might enjoy:

Thai Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

3 large cucumbers, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4- inch slices

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup rice wine or white wine vinegar

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (I used one, but will probably add the second one next time.)

1/4 chopped cilantro (I used a sprinkle of dried cilantro since it is what I had on hand.)

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Directions:

1. Combine the cucumbers with the salt in a colander and let drain for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, drain well and pat dry with paper towels. Cucumbers will be less crisp.

2. Using a whisk, combine sugar and vinegar in a large bowl until sugar has completely dissolved. Add the cucumbers, peppers, and cilantro. Toss to combine. Drain excess vinegar. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top before serving.

How do you use up extra cucumbers?

If you are a mother of young children and have even once tried to cook a meal, you know the two do not work well together. When my children were small enough for a high chair, but big enough to get into trouble when left on their own, I let them paint while I cooked.

Squirt a small amount of ketchup and mustard onto a plate on the highchair tray and let your children fingerpaint with the condiments. If they accidentally eat some, no biggie. If they are old enough, you can give them a popsicle stick to use as a paintbrush.

A few squirts of condiments will allow creativity for the children and homecooked meals for the family.

Have fun!

I’m a big believer in working ahead to save time later, especially if it means a smoother morning. As you might know, I love my morning coffee, but I do not love fixing it sleepy-eyed. I usually prepare the coffee the night before, set the timer, and do not think about it again until the aroma begins to fill the morning stillness.

In addition to prepping the night before, I streamline coffee prep by preassembling as much as possible. Fill several days worth of coffee filters with the proper amount of coffee, placing one filter on top of another. Store the pre-measured filters in a sealed container.

If you are a serious coffee connoisseur, this may not be preferable for you, but it works well for me and our sometimes crazy mornings.

We have used the sauce for grilling and marinades and I recently tried one of the recipes provided by the company. I fixed the Corn Pone Pie and while I’m still not sure what a Pone is, I know the casserole was a big hit with my family. In all honesty though, I think one could use a little less sauce in the casserole and it would still be good. I could not find the recipe on their website now, but the other beef entrees looked very husband friendly.

I want to support this company with a great review because they are a Christian company that is making a fantastic and affordable product. I recently saw it at Walmart for $2.12, though price will vary by region. This is one item that must stay stocked in my pantry; we’ve actually gone through more than a couple bottles. Country Bob’s is generously offering you you to try the All Purpose Sauce on them. They are offering a free bottle with sign up at their website.

Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce is husband approved and my latest addition to Just My Best Picks.

(Because this sauce worked for my family and was such a hit, this post is being linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.)