Many families are still struggling with the high cost of food.  Thanksgiving is one holiday that we spend more money on food than usual.  Being frugal does not mean we have to give up all that food we enjoy eating, it means that we just need to plan for this extra expense in our budget.  Here are a few ideas to make your Thanksgiving a little more budget friendly.

Plan Ahead

Planning ahead is one of the best pieces of advice you can get for planning a frugal Thanksgiving.  If you plan several weeks ahead, you will find that there are plenty of coupons and specials to help you get the most for your money.  Plan to spend a little each week on the extra items you will need and then you will not feel like you are spending so much money. You can also plan ahead by getting most of the food items cooked ahead of time.  This will allow you to spend more time with your family on the big day.  Here are a few recipes for you to try that you can make ahead of time.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Make-Ahead Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce

Freezer Apple Pie

Shop for the Cheapest Turkey

During the holidays, many stores will mark down turkeys.  There are also great coupons on turkeys and other Thanksgiving foods during this time.  Right now you can get a coupon for $3 off a Butterball Turkey when you buy 4 other products like Stove Top Stuffing or Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.  This is a great deal because lots of these products are already marked down.  Many stores also offer deals like buying so much in groceries and then you get a free turkey or a greatly reduced one. This can be a good deal if you really need the other items you are buying to get the great turkey deal.  While turkeys are marked down so cheap, consider buying a second one to place in your freezer for a future dinner.  This will save you money later. 

Bake Your Own Pies

If you buy a pie from the store you can easily spend $10 for each pie.  Why not make your own pies for Thanksgiving.  You spend a lot less money and get more pies since most recipes will make more than one pie. Here is a basic pie crust recipe that includes a video.  With a little practice you can easily make your own pies and save money. 

Choose Potluck

One great way to save money and have more time with the family is to have your guest bring dishes for the dinner.  Most family members will be more than happy to help you out.  This will also give you a good selection of different foods.

Use Leftovers

When planning your Thanksgiving meal, plan for leftover meals.  I can easily get two or more meals with my leftovers.  One casserole I love to make is the Thanksgiving Memories Casserole.  My kids love it and you can basically use what you have leftover.  This will also help to stretch your food budget and not make you feel like you are spending so much money on one meal.

With the start of school I know we are all looking for a fun, easy after school treats for the kiddos and this one couldn’t be easier!  This recipe is rather near a dear to my heart because it is one of my families favorites after a fun trip to Paris a few years ago.

Walking down a picturesque street on a chilly December day in Paris with with a warm chocolate croissant in hand. That is one of those memories that is burned into ever sense of my body. I can feel the warmth in my hands, the sweet buttery taste in my mouth along with hearing the “oh my goodness” rolling out of our mouths.  One of those magical memories forever burned in my mind.

The good news… you don’t have to know how to make croissants!  All you need are five basic ingredients to recreate this fabulous treat.

• Nutella
• Marshmallow creme
• Frozen puff pastry
• One egg

First, you will need to thaw the puff pastry.  Once thawed, unfold and cut into four squares.

Put a spoonful of Nutella and marshmallow crème on the puff pastry.  Oh, it’s looking good already!!

Fold the square into a triangle and crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork.  Brush the pastry with an egg wash {one egg, beaten} and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned.  Take out of oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes and then ENJOY!!

A couple of years ago my husband and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Paris for a few days.  While we were there we fell in love with the street vendors who were selling all types of crepes to the tourists.  Totally cliche I know, but I’m telling you they are hard to resist.

One of our all time favorites was the banana Nutella crepe.  The other day I was taking a trip down memory lane and a thought hit me… why not create a cake in jar based off of our favorite treat from Paris!  Here is what you will need to do to create a little piece of Parisian heaven.

Nutella Banana Cream Cake in a Jar

1 box of vanilla cake mix

1/2 c Nutella

1-2 Bananas

8 oz. Cool Whip

0.9 oz. Instant banana cream pudding mix

1/2 c Milk

Banana Cream

Add milk to a mixing bowl.  Turn mixer on low and slowly add the dry pudding mix.  Once fully incorporated add the Cool Whip and mix well.  You will want to fully scrape down the bowl and then mix again to make sure the pudding mix is fully incorporated.  Place in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.

Cake

Prepare cake according to package directions and bake either in a small jar or as a cupcake. Make sure to not fill either jar or cupcake liner to full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-23 minutes.

Once cake has cooled core a small section in the middle of the cake…

This time I used an apple corer to do the job. Make sure you only go about half way down.  You will then pipe a small dab of Nutella into the hole in center of the cake.  A small amount will do, Nutella is rich and you don’t want to totally over power the cake.

Now at this point you can choose how you want to present the cake.  I sliced some banana and added it to the top of the cake before I topped it off with the cream…

Or you can leave the bananas off if you are doing the basic cupcake. Pipe on the banana cream and garnish with a dollop of Nutella or with mini chocolate chips.

Enjoy!

I would love to hear about your favorite food travel memories.  What’s that one dish that can really take you back to that memorable trip?

When it comes to cupcakes, I’m normally a straight chocolate fan. My oldest son is not a huge chocolate fan though (I know. I have no idea how he’s related to me) so for his 8th birthday he requested raspberry lemonade cake. It wasn’t until his party that we realized I’d made him a pink cake with pink icing but loved the way they tasted so much that he didn’t care what color they were.

This recipe uses a simple technique that involves poking the cake so you can add some extra flavor. The end result looks fantastic and the best part is it’s really simple to make.

Even though it wasn’t chocolate, this was still a pretty fantastic cupcake!

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 box raspberry jello (4 oz)
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 box white cake mix
• 1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (frozen limeade would be fantastic in this too)
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 egg whites

Icing:

• 1 package of cream cheese, 8 oz
• 1 stick salted butter
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Fresh raspberries

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Place cupcake wrappers into a cupcake pan and spray them with non-stick spray. I used paper wrappers but you may be better off using foil wrappers since the jello liquid seeps through a bit before it sets up.

To add some extra flavor (and color) this cake includes raspberry jello. Mix together the Jello mixture an hot water and stir until the powder has fully dissolved. Set that aside. You’ll need it in a minute

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, 1/4 cup of the jello mixture, 1/4 cup of lemonade concentrate, water, egg whites, and oil. Spoon the cake mixture into the cupcake wrappers so they are evenly filled and bake them for 18-20 minutes. You can check to make sure they are done by sticking a toothpick or fork in the top.

Now this is where it gets fun.

While the cupcakes are still warm, poke each cake with a fork several times.

How to Make the Frosting

With the popularity of red velvet cake continuing to grow, I was thinking the other day… what would red velvet cookies be like?  The idea was intriguing but I needed a new spin on the classic cake mix cookie.  That’s where the white chocolate chips came in.  Truly the combination is DIVINE! The cool creaminess of the white chocolate with the rich and decadent red velvet is a combination your friends and family won’t forget anytime soon. The bonus… they are SUPER EASY to make.

Ingredients

• 1 box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
• 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour
• 2 sticks of softened butter
• 1 egg
• 2 cups of White Chocolate Chunks

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, add butter and mix until soft and fluffy.  Slowly add cake mix and flour. Once combined, add egg and mix completely.  Add white chocolate chunks, and mix for a minute or so until well combined.  Form dough into one inch balls, and place into the oven for 8-10 minutes. {Yields about 24 small cookies.}

When we were in Arizona for Memorial Day, my brother’s friend/neighbor came by with some fantastic cookies. I couldn’t wait to try them, so here is my first rendition:

Ingredients

• 1 package red velvet cake mix
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 bag white chocolate chips
• powdered sugar
• parchment paper

Instructions

Beat eggs and oil. Add cake mix until mixed. Slowly add flour, then chocolate chips. Shape into balls and roll in powdered sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Don’t over bake, light cake mixes will not look done even though they are. Next up I am trying yellow cake mix with dark chocolate chips and then a chocolate cake with peanut butter chips. Enjoy! Mine were gone in less than 12 hours.

Vickie blogs at Vixen’s Den.

Blog Your Way to BlogHer

This post is an entry to the Blog Your Way to BlogHer Contest. Busy Mommy Media is giving away 1 ticket to BlogHer 2011 in San Diego! Visit the contest page for details on entering.

I called my aunt today to find out what she needed me to bring to her party .  She asked if I could bring dessert and I happily obliged.  I mean, dessert is kinda mythang, right?  Right.  I immediately decided I would take cupcakes since I had already spent all day yesterday making iced sugar cookies and I was kinda done with those.

My brain started rolling trying to think of something cute to do since it was a party after all, but unless I wanted to take a trip “down the hill” to Michaels for supplies, I didn’t have a lot to work with.  I always have stuff for cupcakes, I just didn’t have extra cutsie things to make them special.

Then, I remembered I had a great tub of  sprinkles so I just decided to pretty them up with frosting.  I mean, frosting is pretty on it’s own…but it’s even more fabulous when it’s all swirly!

Here is how I did it.

Doesn’t it just look like it’s waiting for you to dig in with a spoon?  Kinda like a pink milkshake.  Of frosting.

I decided on pink and green for my colors and whipped up my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe.  I split the frosting into two bowls and colored them each with wilton gel colors, carnation pink and leaf green.

I found it’s so easy to fill the pastry/icing/piping (what the hell are these called again?) bag when I fold it over a cup.  I can’t tell you how many times I tried filling directly into the bag only to get frostingeverywhere!  Folding half of the bag out over a cup really makes it a lot easier and less messy.

I filled one bag with green and one bag with pink.  These two bags I simply snipped the end off leaving the big star tip (1M) for the main outside bag.  Looking back, it would have been easier to squeeze had I used smaller inside bags instead of 3 like sized bags.  Regular baggies would have worked just fine for the inside bags, too.

I put both colored bags inside the outside, tipped bag and squeezed the frosting down into the tip.  Here is where it would have been better to have smaller bags on the inside.  It was a little bulky to hold and squeeze.

See how pretty the frosting comes out together??  I was just giddy with my results!

SO PRETTY!

You can thank Cheryl for this tutorial.  I mean, I took the pictures, I probably would have posted it…eventually…but she just had to know RIGHT.NOW. how I did it.  So now you know.  Go forth and impress your friends.

On OhRheally.com, Rhea Tabler shares stories of her three boys, her experiences as a (recently retired) surrogate, her son’s ADHD and of her crazy testosterone filled life.  She is passionate about helping others and has helped with fund raising efforts in many cancer organization fund raisers. She has been blogging since 2008 and thoroughly enjoy meeting new friends, facebooking, tweeting and using her social influences for good.

Blog Your Way to BlogHer

This post is an entry to the Blog Your Way to BlogHer Contest. Busy Mommy Media is giving away 1 ticket to BlogHer 2011 in San Diego! Visit the contest page for details on entering.

 

So you want to make cupcakes for an occasion, any occasion. Your kids sixth birthday, your sister’s baby shower, welcome to the neighborhood for someone next door. Well, you could go to the local super store and grab a plastic container with a dozen or so thrown together cheap cupcakes, but that’s just not for you. You want to do it yourself for that personal touch, right? Sure it’s a box mix, but you put the effort into choosing a matching liner, mixing the simple ingredients and baking those simple cakes that make everyone smile.

Now they are all baked. Two dozen beautiful little cakes sit on your cooling completely on the counter.  The house smells wonderful. You get out your selection of sprinkles, your pastry knife or bag. Then you reach for the canned frosting . . . Wait . . . something is wrong with this picture.

Why are you going to go through all the trouble to make the cupcakes yourself and then use a canned, impersonal, and artificial tasting frosting? If you want to turn your cupcake into a failcake I guess that’s the route to go. But people don’t usually get a lot of joy out of failcakes.

On my adventures of learning to bake, decorate and photograph cupcakes, I have learned one very important fact. Canned frosting is awful! When I began my adventure, purely out of fun and on a mission simply to photograph these little packages of joy, for about the first five minutes, I didn’t care how they tasted; I just wanted them to look pretty. I made exactly ONE batch of cupcakes with canned frosting. The next batch, a simple home-made buttercream, had me sold. I threw out every can of frosting I had and swore I would never use another can, and I haven’t.

Buttercream is the most common frosting I know of and very simple. You do have to plan slightly ahead because your butter must be room temperature. So if you have to bake later in the day, put your salted stick of butter on the counter first thing in the morning. By mid afternoon, it should be perfect. You don’t need a big stand mixer, though it’s nice, you can easily make buttercream with your hand mixer. I recommend a wisk attachment, but you can do it with a paddle or your regular beaters. So here is my simple, go to recipe for buttercream.

Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients:
1 stick Salted Butter at room temperature
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract*
3-4 cups Confectioners sugar (also called powdered sugar) sifted
3-4 tbsp heavy cream (you can use any milk for this really, but I prefer cream)
Food coloring (optional)

-With your mixer, whip your butter for a couple minutes 2-3 so it’s nice and creamy.

-Add the vanilla extract.

-On slow speed (you don’t want powder sugar flying in your face) mix in the sugar until it’s the consistency you like. For a stiffer, piping frosting, use more sugar, for a softer, spread it on frosting, use a little less.

-If your frosting is too thick, add the cream (or milk) 1 tbsp at a time until it’s the consistency you would like. You can use as little or as much as you would like.

-If desired, add food coloring.

-Frost and decorate your cupcakes as desired.

*Remember, that you can change the flavor of your buttercream simply by changing the flavor of the extract you are using. I prefer to use pure extracts whenever possible, but imitation works fine.

**Also, remember to use real butter, not margarine.  Margarine changes the taste and texture and can make your frosting more runny.

So just like that you can have perfectly personalized and beautiful cupcakes. There is no need to fear homemade frosting like I did for so many years. It’s simple and just adds that one extra touch that says “I cared enough to toss the can.”

About the Author: Brekke Felt is an award winning photographer from Pleasant Grove, Utah. Specializing in child portraiture with a side specialization in food photography and a new found addiction to cupcake baking. See her professional work at www.feltphotography.com, and follow her journey baking and photographing her favorite treat, cupcakes at www.brekkecakes.com.

There are few summer traditions that equal the pure pleasure of a casual backyard barbecue with plenty of tasty side dishes and followed by a chilly dessert.

We’re slowly settling in after our move from San Diego and as much as we’re dreading the cold winter weather, at the moment it’s kind of gorgeous outside so it’s made a nice transition.

We took a break from unpacking to take advantage of the nice weather and had a summer barbecue together as a family.

We’d just taken a trip to the library so my kids were loaded up with fresh reading material. A quick trip to Walmart on the way home to grab some barbecue essentials and we had a quick and easy dinner.

My husband likes to joke that when I bought him the barbecue grill for Father’s Day one year I really bought it for myself because I’ve loved it just as much as he has. Besides the fact that food just tastes better on the grill, it gets me out of cooking and I’ll never turn that down.

So what does the perfect summer barbecue look like?

Appetizer

Wheat thins dipped in cottage cheese (don’t mock it until you’ve tried it. It’s a great low-fat snack)

Drink

Watermelon Smoothie

Main Course

Mushroom/Swiss burger topped with sauteed mushrooms and guacamole. We mixed mushrooms and shredded swiss cheese into each hamburger patty and then topped each burger with extra mushrooms that had been sauteed in just a little bit of butter. If you are trying to cut calories, you can mix in some cooked wheat berries into your meat before forming a patty.

Side Dishes

Baked beans (the real kind made from mostly scratch with lots of crispy bacon and brown sugar)

tortilla chips and salsa

A fresh summer salad filled with brightly colored berries and topped with feta cheese. This is delicious topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

Dessert

Summertime is all about the ice-cream. Nestle Drumstick Lil’Drums for the kids (they are the perfect size!) and Dreyers Black Rasperry ice-cream for the grown-ups (f you haven’t tried this flavor yet you have absolutely got to).

We ended the night with the perfect sunset.

What does your perfect Summer Barbecue look like?

This shop/project has been compensated as part of a campaign for Nestlé. All opinions are my own.