March Menu

Happy Leap Day everybody! February seemed to fly by around here, and I’ve got lots of yummy meals planned for March. I’m also hoping to see some yummy veggies popping up at the grocery stores. Here is what I have planned for Dinner-time at out house:

3/1/08: Chicken Fajitas, Bean Dip, Cheese Dip, and Tortilla Chips

3/2/08: Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry with Jasmine Rice

3/3/08: Angus Burgers and Fries

3/4/08: Subway Night! Dinner out 🙂

3/5/08: Turkey, Stuffing, and Mashed Potatoes (Thanksgiving in March)

3/6/08: Grilled Sausage, Rice & Lentils, and Hominy

3/7/08: Turkey Leftovers and Green Beans

3/8/08: Turkey Noodles, and Mashed Potatoes

3/9/8: Grilled Chicken, Rice & Lentils, and Corn Bread

3/10/08: Angus Burgers and Fries

3/11/08: Subway Night! Dinner Out 🙂

3/12/08: Steak, Hominy, and Green Beans

3/13/08: Chicken Nuggets, Macaroni & Cheese, Tater Tots

3/14/08: Chicken Fajitas, Cheese Dip, Bean Dip, Spanish Rice and Tortilla Chips

3/15/08: Pizza Sandwiches and Black Olives

3/16/08: Chicken Chow-Mien and Rice Noodles

3/17/08: Salmon Cakes, Salad, and Jasmine Rice

3/18/08: Angus Burgers and Fries

3/19/08: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad, and Garlic Bread

3/20/08: Grilled Chicken, Salad, Biscuits, and Mashed Potatoes

3/21/08: Steak and Steak Fries

3/22/08: Pizza Night! Dylan’s Birthday Party (maybe)

3/23/08: Happy Easter! Pot Roast w/ Potatoes, and Coconut Cake

3/24/08: Chicken Noodles and Mashed Potatoes

3/25/08: BBQ Beef Sandwiches and Fries

3/26/08: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN! Chicken Nuggets, Macaroni & Cheese, and Corn

3/27/08: BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits, and Corn

3/28/08: Salmon Cakes, Corn, and Jasmine Rice

3/29/08: Grilled Sausage, Rice & Lentils, and Green Beans

3/30/08: Lasagna and Garlic Bread

3/31/08: Angus Burgers and Fries

In March I’m going to take a few nights off from the kitchen, and enjoy the break from all of the dirty dishes 😉

Better Weather, but I’m Under the Weather

Yesterday the sun was warm, and the outdoors are showing signs of Spring, and where am I?  Indoors feeling not so well. I’m so sick of being sick, and my stomach is unwell this morning, again…  I hope to shake this flu thing off by tomorrow, it is going to be in the 60’s. We’ll have to get all of the errands run on the weekend, by Monday the sleet and icy cold weather is making another return.

Thade has been begging to go outdoors and dig in the dirt, if I’m feeling better we’ll have to go out and play today. I hope that Spring gets here sooner than later 😉

Ice Cream Cupcakes by Rob & Nico

My super-rad brother Rob came up with this great idea. We were talking about Thade’s 4th birthday party and what to make, Rob said “they make Ice Cream Birthday Cake, but no Ice Cream Cupcakes”, I though that sounded perfect for the party. So thanks again to Rob for the awesome idea, which made for some delicious Ice Cream Cupcakes.

Here is what you need:

  • 12 Oreo Cookies
  • 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter or Margarine
  • 1 Quart of your Favorite Ice Cream (I used Vanilla)
  • 1 Tub of Cool Whip ( I used the Light version)
  • Sprinkles of your choice, the more the merrier (Pretty Sugars would work too)
  • PAM or any Vegetable Oil Spray will work
  • Aluminum Foil Cupcake Liners, Ice Cream Scoop, 2 Butter Knives, Plastic Wrap, Microwave safe bowl, Heavy Duty Quart sized Ziploc Bag, Cookie Sheet, and Ambitious Toddler (for the cookie smashing)

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Separate the Oreo cookies and scrape out all of the icing with your trusty Butter Knife, feel free to eat all of the icing, you wouldn’t want that going to waste 😉 Place the 24 cookie halves into a Heavy Duty Quart Sized Ziploc Bag, and pass the cookie smashing duties over to the toddler. While your kiddo is busy smashing away, melt 2 Tablespoons of Butter in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Once your kiddo has exhausted himself from all of the cookie smashing, add the Cookie Crumbs to the melted Butter, and stir until combined.

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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and get out your Aluminum Cupcake Liners. I used 12 liners, and mine were also paper lined, so I removed the paper liner, but saved the paper liner for later baking… Give the Aluminum Liner a little spray with the PAM, and place a spoonful of the Oreo cookie mixture in each liner. Smooth the mixture out, and bake for about 5-7 minutes, just until the cookie is set.

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After the Cookies have cooled, give the liners one more tiny spray of PAM, just to make sure that nothing is going to stick. Add a scoop of Ice Cream to each of the liners, and smooth out the scoops with your Butter Knife. Carefully wrap each of the Ice Cream Cupcakes with Plastic Wrap, and place them in the freezer until you are ready to Ice them.

 

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Let your Cool Whip soften just a bit, and unwrap your Ice Cream Cupcakes. Top the Ice Cream Cupcakes with the Cool Whip “icing”, and use your favorite sprinkles to decorate. If it isn’t party time just yet, place the Iced Cupcakes back in the freezer till its time for the Party 🙂

 

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The Ice Cream Cupcakes were a blast to make, and a little messy too. Thade had so much fun smashing the cookies, and choosing the Sprinkles. They did take a little bit of time to make, but it was all worth it. The trick too is to keep everything nice and cold, the Ice Cream gets melty fast, so feel free to use your freezer, often.

The Ice Cream Cupcakes were a big hit at the party too. The Cupcake size was the perfect amount of Ice Cream, right next to a Big Piece of Chocolate Cake.

 

If you try them out, let me know how they turn out… Happy Baking, and enjoy making the Ice Cream Cupcakes 😉

Birthday Cake :)

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For my birthday party I made a Three Layer Cake. I had planned on making a Four Layer Cake, but I got a little nervous cutting into the layers. The Three Layer Cake worked out just fine, and I had fun dying the middle layer the perfect shade of Pink. I used just 2 drops of Red Food coloring to half of a prepared White Cake mix, and let Thade stir away. He was surprised when the batter turned pink, Food Coloring is just too much fun.

I used Valentines Day Chocolates for the topper. Some were solid chocolate, and some were caramel, both were yummy. I picked up the Chocolates at Walgreens for 50% off. The candies made a tasty and inexpensive cake topper.

I’ve got another birthday party to plan for next month, but this time I think I’m going to stick to Cupcakes 😉

Midwest Dillons Deals

I have been waiting for this sale ( 2/27-3/4) my pantry is getting a little bare, and it is time to stock up. I spotted a few great deals, and if the weather stays nice I see a Dillons trip in my future. Here is what I’ll be shopping for:

  • Rice-a-Roni & Pasta Roni 10 for $10.00 (with Plus Card)
  • Dole Fruit assorted 15-20 oz 10 for $10.00 (with Plus Card)
  • Kroger Russet Potatoes 5 lbs 2 for $3.00 (with Plus Card)
  • Kroger Shredded Cheese 2 for $3.00 (with Plus Card)
  • Coca-Cola Products 12 packs 3 for $9.00 (with Plus Card)
  • Barilla Pasta 10 for $10.00 (with Plus Card)
  • Little Debbie Snack Cakes 10 for $10.00 (with Plus Card)
  • Peter Pan Peanut Butter 10 for $10.00 (with Plus Card)
  • Country Crock Butter 10 for $10.00 (with Plus Card)

Now I just need to make my lists and check through my coupons to see if I can save even more! Happy shopping 🙂