Simply Delightful Ranch Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
Boiled Eggs
Ranch Dressing

Directions

Peel eggs.  Slice eggs in half length wise.  Scoop out yolks.  Mash yolks with a fork.  Add Ranch Dressing a teaspoon at a time.  Mix until smooth and creamy.  Spoon into egg white halves, or put in a cake decorating bag with a star tip and squeeze into the egg halves decoratively.  Chill. Serve and Enjoy!

Rice Chex Krispy Treats

Rice Chex and Rice Krispies taste the same, but the Rice Chex are more substantial and the Rice Krispies are lighter. We like to add a little more butter to the marshmallows.  Sometimes we add more cereal and pour the mixture in a buttered jelly roll pan. Though I have included the recipe and directions, it is really it's up to you, just do the amounts that you like best and enjoy!

Ingredients

6 T. Butter
14 oz Marshmallow Cream or 40-60 Lg. Marshmallows
8 C. Rice Chex or Rice Krispies Cereal
Directions
Butter a 9x13 pan and set aside.
Melt Butter in large pot on medium heat and immediately add marshmallows.
When marshmallows are melted and mixed thoroughly with butter; add rice cereal while stirring.
When thoroughly mixed, and rice cereal is coated, pour and spread in buttered 9x13 pan and let cool.
Optional
* Spread chocolate chips over hot crispy treats in pan and allow to melt and then spread more thoroughly.
* Sprinkle top of cooling treats with sprinkles (tiny colored sprinkles that are usually sprinkled on cup cakes and cookies.).

* When mixing the cereal and marshmallow mixture one can substitute chopped nuts for some of the cereal and after pressing into the cooling pan, the mixture can be sprinkled with mini M&Ms or Reese's Pieces. 

* Coconut can be added into the treats or one can top the warm treats with chocolate chips and sprinkle coconut over the top.

Note For a Smaller Batch

Ingredients
1/4 C. butter
10 oz of Marshmallow cream or 40 Lg. marshmallow
5 C. Rice Chex or Rice Krispies
Directions

Same as above.

Pomegranate Beef Fajitas or Chicken Fajitas

This recipe has a great zesty fruity flavor. Versatile marinade, fabulous for grilling, pan frying, or fajitas.

Frugalite Kitchen Tool

I bought a Food Saver wide-mouth mason jar attachment (10.99) today at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, luckily I had a 20% off coupon.  Then I went to the Bosch Kitchen Center and found both the wide mouth (.99) and regular (7.99) mouth jar attachment . 

Food Storage

Now I can use my 1/2 gallon mason jars for storing barley, brown rice, home dried fruit, home dehydrated veggies, homemade croutons & crackers, fresh dried herbs, etc. The vacuum seal will extend their shelf life. I can vacuum seal jar cakes, nuts, spices, etc. and keep in the freezer. I may also use freezer jars for home grown, blanched, and frozen veggies.

Donna's Red Velvet Jar Cakes

Make and freeze these little elegant delights ahead of time.  Weeks ahead of time, if need be.  But, don't tell your family!  If they find them you may not have any left! These little cakes are moister in a jar than made as a cake. These are great to have on hand to drop off with a friend as a sweet little birthday reminder or even for a kind uplift.

Ingredients
1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet Cake Mix

Directions
Prepare twenty four 1/2 pint wide mouth freezer jars (these are straight sided jars), following guidelines for preparing baking pans, as listed on the box. Mix according to box directions. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into each prepared jar. I use a Pampered Chef "Measure All." Bake at 350 degrees for 19-23 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Then cool completely. 

To Freeze
If cake is too high to frost, use a knife to loosen cake from sides and slide cake from jar. Use a bread knife and slice off top of cake. Cakes that are over the top of the jar can be sliced horizontally in half and placed in two jars! Frost and then place a clean lid and canning jar band on the bottle, tighten band and place in the freezer.

Serve frozen or thawed.

Dandelion Jelly

An online friend, Emily, said she was making dandelion jelly and that it was yummy. Curious, I asked for the recipe. She did.  I found this specific recipe in several places on the internet, so I thought it would be OK to share. I then set out on the adventure to make this jelly with my friend.

Ingredients
4 cups dandelion blossoms --from a chemical free lawn! 
Make sure not to use the stems as they tend to be bitter!
4 cups water
1 (1 1/2 ounce) package fruit pectin
1 teaspoon lemon extract
4 1/2 cups sugar

Directions
Pick blossoms without stems attached. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the blossoms, and cook for 3 minutes. Strain 3 cups of the liquid through a sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl. Discard the blossoms. Stir the fruit pectin, lemon extract, and sugar into the liquid. Return to the saucepan, bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Immediately pour into sterilized half-pint jars and attach the seals and lids.

Makes 6 half-pint jars.

Note: My Jelly turned out like syrup. I feel this recipe was designed for sea level. I live at over 4800 ft elevation. So, I searched the internet for someone who had success at high altitude and what they did differently. I shall use this same recipe ingredients list, but try making this again with the new high altitude process. When I get the process down I will replace this recipe with the recipe with the proper process and pictures!

Donna's Morning Sundae

This is Donna's healthy Morning Sundae! 


Ingredients:

1/2 cup regular oatmeal
1 cup water
dash of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
10 raw almonds (soaked overnight), chopped
1/2 cup applesauce
Directions:

Boil water and salt
Stir in Oats
Cook one minute
Cover, remove from heat, and let stand until desired consistency.

For creamier oatmeal, add oats and salt to cold water, bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat, and let stand until desired consistency.

Stir applesauce and cinnamon
Top with chopped almonds.  Sliced or slivered almonds can be substituted, with a sacrifice of nutrition.