You can make your own, almost as good as hers, when you get this FREE cupcake recipes ebook from American Family!

Great banana recipe by Peace Love Snacks, how could you not love a name like that!

Our eyes start to go, somewhere after age forty.

For a few years you can get by with pulling the item a little further away from you to read it. Soon you’re removing your regular glasses and trying to read product labels with the naked eye.

That works for a little while too.

Then the day comes when you peruse those reading glasses at the dollar store. They’re cheap and you grab a pair. Now assuming that you remember to take them with you when you shop, you’ll be able to read those labels.

For a while.

Then the day finally comes when you decide that IF you want to see the expiration date on a bottle of mile, or vitamins, that you’ll have to have prescription reading glasses.

Yes, it happens to all of us.

So, do you lay out a couple hundred for a pair of reading glasses that you KNOW you’re going to leave somewhere?

Nope, you get your cheap eyeglasses the way so many other people are these days, online. You get modern up to date style, quality workmanship and best of all affordability.

Then you can have a pair in the kitchen, in the living room, in the office, in the car and anywhere else you tend to leave them! I once lost a pair for DAYS and they were laying on a patterned potholder on the kitchen counter…!!!

reading-glasses

This store has a display up front with all the different nearby metro schools and their supply list.

Except for HER school.

We had to call her mother and have her connect to the internet to tell us the list over the phone!

Given a little more time (we were bad, we waited until just a couple days before school started to do this) we would have entrusted Savings.com coupons to find us bargain prices and discount codes for the goods, saving us the trip, and the aggravation of ‘all those other shoppers’!!!

We also did a little back to school clothes shopping too, again last minute…. We ended up in a little boutique type store that has nice prices and probably because it was pouring down rain, we were the only shoppers in the store.

The young ‘manager’ had the music cranked SO loud that we could hardly hear each other (Miss J & her Mom). I asked the ‘manager’ to please turn down the music a smidgeon.

Does that mean Miss J’s Mom and I are getting old?

Avoid the aggravation if you can. Shop Online!!!

shopping

I had a jar of Bertoli alfredo sauce that I bought on sale, knowing that I might not get to use it. (Chili-man is NOT a fan of alfredo sauce.) It’s been sitting in the pantry for a while so I thought I’d try this recipe from Bertoli, only I changed it up some, you know how I am!!!

You see, Chili-man is one of those meat eaters. Has to have meat at every meal. So I added cooked chunked chicken to the layers in this recipe.

I didn’t use as much spinach as the recipe originally called for (again so he might eat it) and while the recipe turned out OK, he wouldn’t eat seconds, or leftovers…

But you might enjoy it!!!

CHICKEN ALFREDO FLORENTINE LASAGNA

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast cooked and chunked (or one large can chicken)
1 container (15 oz.) cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg (optional)
1 jar Bertolli® Alfredo Sauce
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine cottage cheese, egg, spinach, salt, pepper, chicken and nutmeg in medium bowl; set aside. Spread 1/4 cup Sauce in 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles, then top with 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, 1/4 cup sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese; repeat layers, ending with noodles. Top with remaining 1/4 cup Sauce.
3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 40 minutes. Remove foil, then top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and lasagna is lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

“““““““““““““““““““““““““
No pictures……. I fed it to the dogs….

* 3 tablespoons butter, softened
* 3/4 cup sugar, divided
* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons egg substitute, divided
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup buttermilk
* 1 cup fresh blackberries
* 2 ounces cream cheese
* 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar

Directions

* In a large bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Beat in 1/4 cup egg substitute, lemon peel and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk.
* Pour into a 9-in. springform pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with berries. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until fluffy. Beat in remaining egg substitute. Pour over berries.
* Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; remove sides of pan. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

blackberry coffee cake

Glazed Carrots

1/2 lb fresh carrots (or enough to half fill your vegetable saucepan)
1/2 stick butter (I halved this)
6 T brown sugar (I halved this)
1 t cinnamon (I halved this)
1 t ginger (I halved this too)

Boil the carrots until just tender. In a separate bowl or pan, melt the butter and add the other ingredients and stir. Pour into the carrots and cook, stirring until everything is glazed with the brown sugar/butter mixture.

That’s it!

THIS sauce is also VERY good poured over any veggie that you just can’t stand. I can handle a brussel sprout or artichoke with this sauce, and maybe I can get Chili-man to eat his peas and asparagus…

glazed carrots

Brussel Sprouts with Orange and Maple

brussel sprouts
1 1/2 T maple syrup
1 T butter
1/4 t orange zest
salt/pepper

Cook your brussel sprouts however you choose, I just boiled them in water til tender. Then I added in the maple syrup and orange zest (I used dehydrated) the salt and pepper and let it simmer for a few minutes.

That’s it!

The sweetness of the maple syrup helps cut the bitterness of the brussel sprouts.

brussel sprouts

Let me just say yes. I succumbed. I bought Hamburger Helper.

There are days ya know when you’re just too pooped to cook dinner from scratch, you don’t want to pay big bucks for take-out (that is IF you even live where you can get take-out) and you just don’t want leftovers (that is IF there are leftovers.) Those days, well it’s good to have a few quick, easy, throw together without thinking or defrosting meals!

So, I made Hamburger Helper Honey Mustard Chicken.

I started with one rather large FROZEN chicken breast. See, you still might have that same problem - nothing thawed out - but you could use canned chicken. I’m hoping to clear some space in the freezer so frozen chicken was the best option for me, even though it took longer. Cooked it in a large skillet until it was nearly thawed and then cut it up right there in the pan. Did I mention I was pooped? Tossed in the rest of the ingredients, following the directions, and got dinner together asap.

What’d Chili-man say?

“Is there sugar in this?”

Well, technically no, but it was honey mustard, so I assumed that the powdered glaze that went on top consisted of powdered honey but I was too pooped to look.

He ate it, duh but it wasn’t his favorite. It also didn’t thicken up very much, or we didn’t give it enough time.

Personally, I’m glad for an easy dinner. How about you?

Hamburger Helper Honey Mustard Chicken

Quick meal with Hamburger Helper Honey Mustard Chicken

Over the next couple days, I’ll share the side dishes I made!