Add a pinch or two of cinnamon to your baked beans.

Add a 1/2 cup of sour cream to banana pudding. I have found adding sour cream to a lot of recipes gives it a creamier texture and cuts the sweetness.

Add cinnamon and/or vanilla to your pancake batter.

To make French toast crisper add Tbsp. of flour to the eggs mixture.

Eggs on Toast Dessert

This is a fun snack or treat to have for an after school snack or for a special brunch.

1 can peach halves

1 pound cake

1 carton whipped topping

Cut pound cake in 1/2 in. slices. Spread with a large circle of whipped topping. Place a peach half on top of topping. It should look like a fried egg. : )

Jill

Rose was asking for the Cranberry Roast recipe. So many people liked this so I will post it again. If any of you have a question about a recipe someone mentions it is pretty easy to find. Just go to our web page and in the top left corner where it says search you type in the name of the recipe or any subject you want to find on our site or newsletter.

Jill

Cranberry Roast

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

1 (3lb) roast

1 can (16 oz) cranberry sauce

In a crockpot pour soup mix, add roast and top with cranberry sauce. Cover and cook for 8 hours. To thicken gravy mix 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and water and add to gravy. You can add carrots and potatoes 4 hours into cooking.

I have a problem. I have had this same problem for many years and can’t seem to get over it. I know many of you have the same problem. What is it? I love clipping recipes. I can’t stop myself. If I see a good recipe I have to write it down or tear it out because I am convinced I will try it some day. My problem is worse then most because I have the excuse my readers would love this so I will tear and write guilt free now.

Here are two of the latest I have added to my collection. I wanted to share them with you because if I don’t get to make them maybe some of you will. My timing is perfect because this week cream cheese is on sale and either of these would be nice for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

PS. If you use a lot of cream cheese you might want to stock up. It, like cheese, has a very long shelf life and will last you clear into next year.

This first recipe reminds me a little of those yummy pumpkin rolls but without as much work. I would add nuts to this recipe but you don’t have too.

Also you could add a little of cinnamon or nutmeg to some Cool Whip and top each cupcake with that when it is cool or just sprinkle with powdered sugar. Don’t forget too you can add cinnamon to your Cool Whip for your pumpkin or apple pies.

Creamy Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 pkg. spice cake mix

1pkg. (3.4oz) vanilla instant pudding

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

Mix cake mix as directed on package. Add dry pudding and pumpkin. Mix well. Pour into 24 paper lined muffin cups. Beat cream cheese, sugar and egg together and drop a spoonful into the center of each cupcake. Swirl gently with spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-21 mins.

Phily Apple Crumble

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 2/3 cup vanilla wafers, crushed

4 cups baking apples, chopped and peeled

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix cream cheese and vanilla wafers. Do Not over mix.

in a greased 1 1/2 qt. baking dish mix other ingredients. Sprinkle with cream cheese mix.

Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown and apples are tender. Serve warm. Store leftovers in fridge.

Do you know how yummy these would be with a cup of coffee or tea on a snowy afternoon with a friend or what they would smell like when the kids come in from school?

Do any of you have a recipe like this?  One you would love to share with a friend or to have with a cup of tea on a winter afternoon? If so pop in and share it with us.

Jill (gaining weight just thinking about these) : )

Just a little reminder for those of you who haven’t peeked at the newsletter yet we are having our big Christmas sell this week. We often get asked when is it going on sale again and the time has now arrived.

We often want our children to be given lots of opportunities, to be exposed to and to try so many things. We spend hours and lots of money taking them to music lessons, karate lessons, football practice, dance lessons so they will be well rounded when they grow up.

Sometimes though we get so busy doing all these things we can forget or don’t have the time to teach them basic life skills. Two of those are cooking and being a wise steward of their money. Dining on a Dime helps with both of those so this Christmas instead of giving your collage age child another CD, DVD or electronic toy why not give them a copy of Dining on a Dime to help and encourage them in both areas.

It would be an unexpected gift for that young man moving out on his own and of course don’t forget your mom, sister or best friend. It would even be fun to give a young girl along with a set of tea towels to add to her hope chest.

If you know someone who has lost their job or are struggling financially right now toss in a copy of Dining along with a bag of groceries to help them learn how to stretch those groceries.

Don’t forget to stock up too for the coming year for birthdays, showers, wedding gifts etc. and as a gift for our older cooks. I’m so surprised at how many seasoned (70, 80 years old) cooks we get who say they have learned so much from Dining.

Hope we can help you get a nice chunk of your holiday shopping done this week and to save while doing it.

Jill

One of the main ways I save on groceries is something every one has done since shopping was invented and that is making the most of things which are on sale. Now I know the first thing you all are thinking is “I know buying on sale saves me money so I don’t need to read this.” But stay with me for a moment.

What I want to do today is to help you get more ideas on how to get the most use of your sale items mainly in the area of groceries.

Last week they had half gallons of chocolate milk on sale for $1.00. That is a really good deal if you consider how much it would cost you to use regular milk and mix it with Nestle’s or Hershey’s syrup. Something like this would be good to stock up on especially since you can freeze it (shake it well when you thaw it). Now so far all I have said is pretty obvious but let me take you a little farther and help you think out of the box.

I don’t drink a lot of chocolate milk which might be the case for many of you so at first you think this really isn’t a good deal for you and your family but let’s look at it and see if you could still make it work for you.

1. If you like cocoa it would be great to use hot with marshmallows or served at a holiday get together.

2. Use for making chocolate pudding one night by replacing regular milk with the chocolate milk.

3. Turn your regular bread pudding recipe (or use the one in Dining on a Dime) and kick it up a notch by replacing the regular milk with the chocolate and adding some chocolate chips.

4. If you find it on sale in the summer make Pudding Pops (also found in Dining..). You just add 1 small pkg. of chocolate pudding to 3 cups of the milk and freeze for extra fudgy popsicles.

5. Replace the regular milk in any chocolate recipe you are making like chocolate cake, cookies, frosting with the chocolate milk.

6. If your love cereal like Cocoa Puffs use the chocolate milk when they eat those. The milk turns chocolaty anyway.

What it amounts to is you are replacing your more expensive regular milk when you can with the cheaper chocolate milk. Now don’t have a heart attack over serving your family chocolate milk. It really won’t hurt to do it for a week or so.

The main point I want to get you to see is to look at the regular things you see on sale all the time in a different light and think how can I use them in a different way or can they be preserved.

Jill

P.S. I just told my mom about my good buy and she said they like to pour a glass of chocolate milk and add a dollop of ice cream to it. She said it tastes just like a Wendy’s frosty. You might like to try it.

From: Brandy M
My daughter has long curly hair,we always use
detangler after her bath. I’ve found if you put
a teaspoon of cheap hair conditioner in a spray
bottle and fill with water and shake, it’s just
as good as expensive store bought detangler.

I have used a tiny amount of lotion in an emergency. We were on vacation and didn’t have any and her hair was a mess! It worked great and really didn’t make her hair oily.

Tawra

For more recipes like these be sure to check out our Pretty for Pennies chapter in Dining On A Dime

Hi Tawra,

I just wanted to add a less expensive, and just as delicious option to your “Hot Doggie Rollups” recipe.  Use buttered bread instead of the canned biscuits or crescent rolls.  Butter a slice of bread on one side, place a hot dog (I like to precook mine first) diagonally across the UNBUTTERED side, bring the two corners up over the hot dog and secure with a toothpick.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  My mother-in-law made these for her children years ago, but she called them “Weiny Winks”!

Thanks for a Great Newsletter,
Kathy C

If you want to sign up for our newsletter you can do it here! Tawra

From: Carol
This recipe was originally made with moose
shoulder, and produced tender slices of meat and
flavourful sauce to serve over rice, potatoes or
noodles. Like many recipes, it was the result of
hungry kids and a nearly-empty pantry.

GAME BAKE

2-3 pounds meat, cut into serving portions (can
use game, or tough pieces of beef or pork - even
a cut up stewing hen is good)

1 can (10 1/2 oz) tomato soup

1 cup salsa - heat level is up to you.

Combine soup and salsa, pour over meat in an oven-
proof casserole. Cover and bake at 325 for 2-3
hours until tender. To save energy, this can
also be cooked in a crock pot for 8 - 10 hours on
low. Serve with rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.
Low cost, lots of flavour.

Be well,

Carol

I just love your newsletters!  I’ve made some adjustments in my life as result of some of your ideas–thanks!

Here’s another suggestion about brownies…I take them out of the pan and freeze them before I frost them………they’re much easier to frost when they’re frozen.  Then I put back into freezer to freeze the frosting.

When all is completely frozen, I cut them apart into serving sizes…pack some up and put in freezer for later date and leave rest out.   They only take a minute to thaw out so it’s a quick snack or dessert at the last minute.

I buy the brownie mixes when they’re on sale and make a couple of pans at one time………I grow spinach in my garden (or I use what i buy in the store) I steam it to make sure it’s cooked and then puree it in the blender to add to the brownie mix instead of the water that the mix calls for.  I also use applesauce (or pear sauce) instead of the oil……..there is no difference in taste with the spinach or applesauce…it actually makes the brownies moist.

Thanks again for your newsletters.

jean

From: Peggy
I just saw the newsletter with the smoothie
recipe.  Just thought I would add this:

1. Sometimes I add granola to the blender with my
smoothies- the dairy and grain make a complete
protein.
2. Other times I add tofu- the kids have no idea
it is in there and it adds a healthy protein.
3. I have a hard time getting my kids to eat
vegetables- so I often add a little cucumber or
zucchini to the smoothie.  Not enough to change
the flavor though or they figure it out!

Our recipe for Smoothies is in Dining On A Dime. Tawra