It has been a while since I shared a recipe here so I thought I would share this Light Lemon Pound Cake recipe I made last night. First, I must tell you that it’s not light in a healthy kind of way. It’s a light taste of lemon in the cake. This recipe is far from healthy

I love pound cakes – but they have to be moist not dry. It also has to have a unique flavor and a good glaze. So after looking at a few recipes – this is what I have. It’s really good  - it’s a great cake to serve with coffee or tea.

Light Lemon Pound Cake

• 1 box French Vanilla cake mix
• 3.7  ounce instant  Lemon pudding mix
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 8 ounces sour cream (I think you could also use vanilla yogurt)

Instructions

1. Pre heat your oven to 350 and grease 2 large loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl mix all the ingredients until there are no lumps.
3. Pour the cake batter into the two pans. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. I had to bake the cake in the glass pan for about 5 minutes longer than the cake I made in my metal pan.

Glaze

• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Melt butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix together and if necessary slowly add more milk until you get it to a good consistency.
3. Pour it over the cake and enjoy! This cake actually tastes better when it cools.

If you want to make it a little more lemony you could add a few tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to the cake batter.

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Did you know that Cinco de Mayo is not Independence Day in Mexico! It’s hardly even celebrated in Mexico.  I wrote an article at SocialMoms.com about the history of Cinco de May and a few recipes to help you celebrate. Make sure you check it out and leave me a comment!

I use to only use my crock pot for a pot roast. I didn’t like the smell and taste of meats with cream soups. Recently I found a recipe that used a cream of mushroom soup with pork chops. Instead of using a can of soup, I made my own and it was really good. It has become one of my husbands favorite meal. It makes a really great gravy that we eat with mashed potatoes.

Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops
Printable Version

• 4 Tablespoons of butter
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken broth*
• 1 cup milk
• 1 (1oz) packet Ranch dressing powder
• 6 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick

Instructions

1. In a small pot melt butter. Whisk in flour.
2. Remove from heat and add chicken broth and milk.
3. Put back on the stove and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stirring until it becomes thick.
4. Add Ranch dressing packet and mix well.
5. Place pork chops in your slow cooker and pour the mixture over the pork chops. Mix until they are covered.
6. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours.

*I don’t usually have chicken broth in my pantry so I use 1 cup of water and 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon.

Other crock pot recipes:

• Chipotle Burritos with Cliantro Lime Rice
• Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken
• Broccoli Soup
• Baked Potatoes and carrots
• Mexican Creamy Chicken Casserole

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I love Butterfingers! So when I saw some recipes online, I knew I had to try it. The only problem is that the recipes said to use 16 oz of candy corn and 16oz of peanut butter.  I had a 24oz bag of candy corn and I usually like to “half” new recipes that I try. I hate using ingredients and wasting them it the recipe is a bust.

I used the following recipe and it was perfect. It made just enough for us to indulge but not get sick.  They texture was very similar to a Butterfinger. It was flaky but it didn’t get stuck in your teeth. It tasted really fresh!

Homemade Butterfingers

• 11oz candy corn (about 1 ⅓ cup)
• 1 cup peanut butter (I used Skippy)
• Chocolate coating  (6 squares of chocolate almond bark)

1. Melt candy corn for 1 minute at 50%. Remove and stir. Put back in the microwave in 15 second intervals at 50% power and stir until melted.
2.  Add peanut butter and stir. You may have to put it back in the microwave for another 15 seconds at 50% to mix completely.
3. Pour into a well greased 8X8 pan. I used a pizza cutter to cut out about 18 bars before it cooled.
4. When they are cooled, melt the chocolate according to the package instructions. I used 6 blocks of chocolate almond bark and heated it in 30 second intervals. Stir it and continue heating until it’s melted. You may have to put it back in the microwave after you have coated a few bars.
5. Coat the candy bars and let dry on wax paper.
6. I would also suggest you store them in the fridge.

Click here for the printable version.

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As you may remember last week my plan was to use up as much in my pantry and fridge so I could save as much money this month. Well I didn’t buy many groceries and I didn’t make all the meals I planned on making – so that should save me money this week. I didn’t plan on buying any meat last week but I bought a bag of frozen chicken breasts. When I got to the parking lot I realized I didn’t need them – but I figured I would still need them sometime this month. This week I only need to buy about a pound of ground beef.

So here’s my new meal plan. The meals with an (*) are meals from last week.

 Breakfast

• Waffles
• Pancakes
• bagels
• banana nut muffins (I have lots of rips bananas)
• bacon egg and cheese sandwiches
• cereal

Lunch

• leftovers
• pizza muffins
• sandwiches

Snacks

• muffins
• Pop-Tarts (we had a few boxes hidden in the pantry)
• Cookies (I have some packages in the back of the pantry)
• Fruit – banannas, apples, mangos (my kids love fruit)
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars*

Dinner

• Tacos Dorados (taquitos)
• Poppy Seed Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes, green beans*
• Honey Teriyaki Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn (make a double batch of potatoes)*
• Crock Pot Teriyaki Pork Chops with extra mashed potatoes and an undecided veggie*
• Chick Fil A Nuggets, mashed potatoes, and corn
• Spaghetti Ranch Pie
• Tortilla Soup
• Dinner out with friends

Tips:

Have a meat-less dinner and a crock pot dinner. I make the meat-less dinner when I forget to take something out for dinner. I use the crock-pot dinner when I know we have a busy day.

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My family has been sick this week so I decided to make these pizza muffins. I figured if I got sick too, they would have something to eat.  These are great because you can make a bunch and freeze them. All 3 of my kids love them and they are 7, 3 and 19 months. It’s always nice to have something easy and not too unhealthy for them.

Pizza Muffins

Put the following ingredients in your bread machine according to the bread machine instructions. ( I put liquids in first and yeast in last.)

After the dough cycle is done, put a small ball inside the greases muffin tin. Form the dough up the sides. The dough will rise a little, just flatten them again.

The Sauce
You will need about 1 cup of your favorite sauce. I just used a large can of tomato sauce I bought from Costco. Because I used plain sauce I also added some dried onion flakes and garlic powder to give it a little more flavor. Get creative and make them how you like them. These are very versatile!

Make sure there is a well in the dough so you can put a spoonful of sauce in each muffin tin. Bake at 350 for about 15-18 minutes.

We added the pepperoni and it was a big hit! I put the pepperoni on top of the dough then I did sauce then cheese. You could also put a little cooked ground beef or your favorite topping on the pizza.

Put them in a ziploc bag and freeze them. Mine never made it to the freezer but when we reheated them from the fridge we put 1 in the microwave 15 seconds.

With this dough I can make about 3 dozen pizza muffins. I make the muffin really small – just enough to cover the bottom because they get bigger.

Here’s some of my other recipes that I like to make in batches:
Twice Baked Potatoes
Granola bars
Croissant 
Pancakes
Whole wheat rolls 
Buttery Bread Machine Rolls

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I just took an inventory of my freezer and pantry. There was a lot more stuff in there then I thought. My plan is to use almost everything in my pantry so I can save money on groceries this month.  April is an expensive month. We have Easter, Spring Break, and my son’s birthday.

So after going through my recipes and my inventory, this is our meal plan so far. I tend to over buy when we go to the stores because I think I am planning ahead – but many times I forget what I have bought and it gets buried. This month I plan to only buy what’s on the list for the current week. We end up at the same store so there is no reason to buy ahead.

 Breakfast

• Waffles
• Pancakes
• bagels
• banana nut muffins (I have lots of rips bananas)
• bacon egg and cheese sandwiches
• cereal

Lunch

• leftovers
• pizza muffins
• sandwiches
• Fried Rice (with cooked brown rice)

Snacks

• muffins
• Pop-Tarts (we had a few boxes hidden in the pantry)
• Cookies (I have some packages in the back of the pantry)
• Fruit – banannas, apples, mangos (my kids love fruit)
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Dinner

• Chicken Tortilla Pie, Salad, corn
• Poppy Seed Chicken, Twice Baked Potatoes, green beans
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Honey Teriyaki Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn (make a double batch of potatoes)
• Beef & Broccoli with brown rice (I am making several portions in my crock pot.)
• Crock Pot Teriyaki Pork Chops with extra mashed potatoes and an undecided veggie
• Manacoti with salad and garlic bread – I am using my Veggie Stuffed Shell recipe but I already have Manacoti shells in my pantry.

There are a lot of recipes I need to add I was so surprised that I already had so many ingredients for so many meals. I am using all the meat I have in the freezer, so I hope to use many of the other ingredients like pumpkin puree and pasta when I plan my next set of meals.

I don’t like to assign the meals to a night. I just keep a list and pick out our meal in the morning based on our day. If I know it will be impossible for me to make dinner I make a crock pot dinner so we don’t have to eat out.

What about you – do you feel like cleaning out your pantry and fridge? Leave me a message and we can all encourage each other.

Our whole family loves Beef & Broccoli. My kids actually prefer to eat more broccoli. I thinks it’s a lot healthier and cheaper to make it at home. Check out my article I wrote at SocialMoms.com.

SocialMoms.com is a place for moms to learn about great things. You can also earn points when you comment on things and use their special links.

I love anything with Rice Krispies! I am actually not a fan of sweet cereals but I am a huge fan of cereal bars. Since I don’t often have marshmallows in the house I don’t get to enjoy Rice Krispy Treats as much as I would like. Here’s the recipe I use to make Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats with a nice chocolate butterscotch frosting!

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats
Printable Version

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 6 cups Rice Krispies
• 1/2 cup butter scotch chips
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Grease a 9X13 pan
2. In a large sauce pan over medium heat mix together corn syrup and sugar. Bring to a boil and remove it from the heat.
3. Add the peanut butter and mix until it is completely mixed together.
4. Add Rice Krispies.
5. Press into your 9X13 pan.
6. Heat the chips in the microwave in 30 second increments at 50% power stirring after each cycle.
7. Spread over the treats.
8. Cut them into bars before they cool, otherwise it is really hard to cut them!

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