Economical Cocoa Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

Baking in hot weather isn't much fun, but I do love to make homemade cookies. I have a quick, budget-friendly cookie recipe that only requires stove top cooking. Another reason this is a great recipe is because you only need seven ingredients to make these fudgy, oatmealy gems.

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar          1 stick butter*                          1/2 cup milk                     1/2 tsp. salt                  

                  6 Tbsp. cocoa                 3 cups quick oatmeal             1 tsp. vanilla extract

 

 

* I always use butter for this recipe. If you use margarine, I can't guarantee what the end product will be like.

 

Directions

Place the sugar, butter, milk, and salt in a three or four quart sauce pan or stockpot over low heat. Stir until the butter and sugar are melted, then turn up the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Boil for three minutes. I set timer as soon as the sugar mixture comes to a full boil.

 

After the timer goes off, turn the stove burner off and add the cocoa, quick oatmeal, and vanilla to the sugar mixture. Stir until well mixed. Using a teaspoon, drop a rounded spoonful of the hot cookie mix onto a wax paper lined baking sheet, repeat until the mix is gone. Work quickly because the mix will get crumbly if it cools off too much. The cookies may appear to be loose or somewhat crumbly, but they will harden as they dry.

 

Let the cookies sit and dry for several hours before removing them from the baking sheet. I have actually made a batch of cookies late in the evening and let them sit on the waxed paper lined baking sheet overnight.

 

Yield: 3-3.5 dozen cookies

 

These are not pretty cookies, but they have a fudgy goodness that my husband loves. I am always surprised at how fast a plateful disappears!

 

Several ideas for recipe variations have been swirling around in my head, so check back for additions to this cookie recipe. Happy non baking!

 

 

 

 

Reviving Canned Corn

Budget canned corn can be made to taste like fresh corn. You do not think I am telling you the truth? Well, my husband does not call me a kitchen wizard for nothing. Sometimes the secret to preparing something tasty is to keep it simple and this bit of kitchen magic is simplicity itself.

The Secret Process 

1. Open a can of whole kernel corn and drain well.
2. Place two tablespoons of salted butter in an eight inch skillet and melt the butter over low heat.
3. Add the drained corn and sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over the corn.
4. Gently stir the corn once or twice. Bring to a simmer and gently stir the corn once or twice again.
5. Once the corn is nice and hot, it is ready to serve.

I allow two tablespoons of butter and one teaspoon of sugar for each 14-15 ounce can of corn when I am cooking for company.

Sounds too easy to be true doesn't it? Well the corn was originally crisp, but the canning liquid will make the kernels soggy if you just dump the can contents into a saucepan. Heating the corn in a skillet with butter (not margarine, butter) allows the corn to regain most of its original crispiness. The sugar helps it to taste like fresh sweet corn.

My inspiration for preparing corn like this is my mom. Mom always takes cleaned ears of field corn and then adds sugar to the cooking water. The field corn is much sweeter when it is cooked this way.

I know that margarine is cheaper than butter, but your end result will not taste the same. I experimented with margarine, light margarine, and butter. The best results are with butter.

Spring "Blooms" Candy Bar Bouquet

When I can construct a budget, friendly gift for someone to enjoy it is a win-win situation. I love to make economical gifts for my family and friends. Last time I made a candy bar bouquet, I finally remembered to take pictures as I worked.

Materials

Floral tape           12 inch or 10 inch bamboo skewers          green tissue paper          Invisible scotch tape      

3 packages of snack size candy bars (18 candy bars)         low-temp glue gun          glue sticks

Pinking shears or decorative scissors       4-inch ceramic pot           wired ribbon     

Filler for ceramic pot - I recycled pieces of styrofoam, but you can use floral foam, swim noodle pieces, etc. A batch of plastic wrapped rice crispy treats will even work!

 

 

Step 1 - Preparing Materials

·         Take 18 bamboo skewers and cut five to 6" length; five to 8" length; and eight to 10" length

·         Wrap skewers with floral tape. Start about 2" above the pointed end and wrap to blunt end.

·         Cut eighteen 1"x 1/2" rectangles from the green tissue paper. I didn't measure, I just estimated.

·         Cut eighteen 3"x3" squares from the green tissue paper. Again, I didn't measure, I just estimated.

Fill ceramic pot with filler. Stop about a 1/2 inch below the rim. (I like to place crumpled green tissue paper on top of the filler and poke the skewers through it.)

Step 2 - Assembling Your Candy Bar "Blooms"

• Place a line of hot glue down the skewer from the blunt end. It should be about half the length of your candy bar. WAIT a couple of seconds, then place the skewer against the back of a candy bar. If you don't wait a couple of seconds, you could shrivel the candy bar wrapper, or melt the chocolate. Impatient? Then use tape, but the result won't be as cute, in my opinion.
• Then, put a couple drops of glue on top of the skewer and place a green rectangle over it.
• Continue until all eighteen skewers are done.
• Poke a skewer through the center of a 3" tissue paper square. Then slide the square up to the candy bar. Gather the tissue paper gently around the skewer and tape it into place with invisible scotch tape.

Step 3 - Arranging Your Bouquet

• Start with the 10" or 12" skewers and stick them into the pot, starting with one in the middle and space the rest evenly around the pot. I like my bouquets to be balanced and pretty from all sides. Just place and replace skewers until you're happy.
•  After all the skewers are placed, arrange" leaves" and fill in any bare spots with more tissue paper.

• Cut a length of wire ribbon; fold each end in half and clip diagonally from the fold to the open edges. Look at the picture to see your result.

Tips

·         Make your bouquets smaller or larger by using less or more candy bars. Smaller bouquets would need 4" skewers, 6" skewers, and 7" skewers. This will create a nice shape for your bouquet. Larger bouquets would need more 6" and 8" skewers.

·         Use raffia instead of ribbon.

·         Use full size bars for 6" - 8" pots.

·         Use scratcher tickets in place of the candy bars.

Inscription for a Card

Thanks for the mounds of love and all the joy you have given me. Your worth $100,000!

 

Delicious Budget Lasagna

Ingredients

ü  1/2 pound ground chuck

ü  1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

ü  1/8 tsp. ground, rainbow blend peppercorns

ü  1 small onion, chopped  (about 1/4 cup)

ü  1/8 to 1/4 tsp. onion powder

ü  1/8 to 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

ü  1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

ü  1 level Tablespoon dried parsley

ü  1/2 tsp. sugar

ü  1/2 tsp. dried basil

ü  1/4 tsp. salt

ü  6 uncooked lasagna noodles

ü  2 cups small curd cottage cheese

ü  1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

ü  1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley

ü  1/2 tsp. salt

ü  1 tsp. dried oregano

ü  1 cup shredded cheddar Jack or Colby Jack cheese

ü  1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

ü  Pan spray or oil

Equipment

ü  8 inch skillet

ü  6 quart sauce pan or stock pot

ü  6 inch x 10 inch glass baking dish (1.5 quart)

ü  4 cup bowl

ü  colander

ü  Spatula

ü  Measuring spoon set, 1/8 tsp. to 1 Tbsp.

ü  Knife for slicing, chopping

ü   spoon for stirring

Directions

Follow package directions and start cooking the six lasagna noodles. Occasionally, stir gently to make sure the noodles do not stick to the bottom of the pan. While the noodles are cooking, start cooking your ground chuck.

Crumble ground chuck into skillet and sprinkle 1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning over it. Add chopped onion, 1/8 tsp. garlic powder, and grind about 1/8 tsp. of pepper over it. Cook over medium heat and stir with a spatula until the meat is no longer showing any pink; drain in colander.

Drain most of the hot water from the noodles into the sink. Gently pick up the noodles and place them on top of the meat in the colander. Do not pour hot water on top of your ground meat. When the noodles are cool, place them on a plate, or bowl until you need them.

Using the pan that the noodles were in, combine the crushed tomatoes, 1 Tbsp. parsley, sugar, basil, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. garlic powder, and 1/8 tsp. onion powder. If the mixture is too thick, add about 1/4 cup of water. Add ground chuck and stir until blended well. Set aside on back burner of stove.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the 4 cup bowl, mix the cottage cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded cheese, 1 Tablespoon dried parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the oregano.

Assembling Your Lasagna

Lightly oil or spray your baking dish with pan coat. Cover bottom of baking dish with two noodles. Trim to fit and place pieces in bottom of dish too. Spoon about 1/3 of your tomato meat sauce over the noodles. Using a Tablespoon, place six slightly rounded, spoonfuls of cheese mixture over sauce and gently spread it out. Repeat this procedure two more times, but make sure you have enough sauce to cover the top of your lasagna.

Cook uncovered in your preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Place lasagna on your stovetop and let it sit 15 minutes before you cut it.

This will yield 3-4 servings of lasagna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Multi Month Spring Bulletin Board



Multi Month Spring Bulletin Board
 

After searching for a spring bulletin board that would last from March to May, I decided to combine two different ideas, bees and a word garden, to create my own spring bulletin board. The monthly ideas for taking the bulletin board from March to May are listed below. Add your decorations to the open areas and you will have your own multi month bulletin board.

·         March - green shamrocks

·         April - Easter eggs and/or daffodils

·         May -  Larger word flowers with larger leaves

 

Materials for Basic Bulletin Board

•  brown and blue paper for the background - I used three extra large sheets of construction paper in each color.
• 3" AccuCut flower die
• Construction paper in desired colors for flowers.
• Fine point black marker
• 6 craft sticks
• bulletin board trim in desired pattern
• tape
• stapler
• scissors, adult size
• Precut black letters or use AccuCut dies and construction paper

Bulletin Board Title

Our Un"bee"lievable Word Garden was made using purchased, precut black letters and AccuCut yellow construction paper for the "bee" letters. I did not use a pattern for the wings or bees. I drew the wing shape onto black construction paper with a pencil and then cut them out with scissors. I made the bumble bees by folding a square of yellow paper in half and cutting out a small circle, then a larger oval. The bumble bee stripes, letter stripes, and bee faces were drawn with a fine point black marker.The antennae are drawn on after placing the bumble bees and letters on the bulletin board.

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 Word Garden Signs

The signs are constructed of orange squares and slightly smaller yellow squares that matched the border. I made tape rolls and taped the yellow squares to the orange squares. Then I lettered the signs, Creeping Phonograms, Blooming Affixes, and Math Patch. I used a stapler to staple the craft sticks onto the finished signs and then onto the bulletin board.

Flower Construction

I used an AccuCut die for most of the flowers.  I did not use a pattern for the leaves, instead I took a standard size sheet of colored copy paper and folded it in half twice. Using scissors, I cut out a leaf shape. The quarter folded sheet of paper yielded 4 leaves and I made three leaf shapes.

The Math Patch thin, yellow flower petals were cut out around the math words that I printed onto yellow paper first.

Various types of flowers with math vocabulary and the prefixes mono, bi, tri, and quad. 
 
 
The phonograms were chosen from The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists 
 

 

5 Easy to Grow Mosquito-Repelling Plants | Eartheasy Blog

5 Easy to Grow Mosquito-Repelling Plants | Eartheasy Blog

Spring is here and its time to think about outdoor entertainment. Wouldn't it be nice to have plants that look great and repel mosquitos at the same time?

Recycled Bake Sale Labels

Recycling Greeting Cards into Bake Sale Labels

This morning I was packaging cocoa crispy treats and oatmeal no bake cookies into sandwich bags for a fundraiser. After placing all the goodies were sealed into the bags, I wanted to make them more attractive. My hunt for labels, stickers, or colored paper was unsuccessful. Then I happened to see the box of leftover greeting cards laying the drawer of my desk. They looked to be about the same width as the sandwich bags so I took them with me back into the kitchen. Happily, the cards were exactly the same width as the sandwich bags. Listed below are the steps I took to change my greeting cards into bake sale labels.

1.       Take leftover greeting cards and cut them along the fold line.        

     2.       Fold the front cover in half, white side out.

     3.       Trim the bottom edge with craft scissors.

4.       Write the name of your goodies and the price on your label.

5.       Place the label over the top of your sealed, sandwich size goodie bag and staple the label into place.

You now have attractively packaged bake sale goodies and you have successfully recycled left over greeting cards.