Download the book Love of Cooking: Salads (Love of Cooking: Volume I) by Maggie Brooks FREE for your Kindle. Offers like this change quickly, so this price could change on this FREE Kindle book any time.

To save money and enjoy a night off cooking, I highly recommend having a salad night!

Right now, you can buy a Kindle on Amazon for as low as $79, plus FREE shipping. Or, read Kindle Books FREE with a FREE Kindle app available for the following devices:

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** Free Kindle Book | Love of Cooking: Salads Cookbook was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

I used to live in this little town (seriously, only three stoplights) in Ohio. And there was a wonderful little privately owned pizza place in town that made the BEST Taco Pizza EVER!!!! It was our family tradition to order pizza once a month and when it was my turn to pick what we ordered it was always Taco Pizza from Hungry Howies. The crust was crispy, the taco meat with beans was delish, and the towering toppings of lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, and sour cream was so heavenly that my mouth waters just writing about it.

But sadly, I moved away from that little town when I was 14 and haven’t tasted a bite of Taco Pizza since then (until I recreated it myself). Actually, everyone I have ever asked, had never even heard of Taco Pizza! So while this isn’t exactly the wackiest on my list of Wacky Wednesday ideas, since it seems no one outside of my sleepy little childhood town has even heard of Taco Pizza, I  just have to share my recreation of this delicious marriage of two of my favorite foods, Pizza and Tacos! Now, I know what you are probably thinking, and it is probably pretty close to my husbands reaction, “taco?…..pizza?…..That sounds really gross but if you must……” But I assure you, give it a shot and your family will have a taste-bud explosion and it will soon become a family favorite like it has in our house.

And it is so versatile, cut small squares and it can be an appetizer at a casual party or larger slices and it’s dinner, you choose!

What you need:

1 Pizza Crust (store bought or homemade, it doesn’t matter but crispy is the key!)
1 lb. Hamburger
1 Taco Seasoning Packet
1/2 can of re-fried beans
8 oz. Taco Blend shredded cheese
1/2 head of lettuce
2 small tomatoes
Black Olives
Taco sauce
(any other taco toppings that your family prefers)

How to make this simple taste-bud masterpiece:

Roll out your pizza crust to get it as thin as possible without tearing onto a greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until just browned, drain well and add taco seasoning mix and 1/3 c. of water until well mixed as if you are making traditional tacos.

Spread a thin layer of re-fried beans over your pizza crust (not to much, we don’t want to overpower the meat). Even if you don’t care for re-fried beans, this is a necessity, it isn’t true taco pizza without it! Top this with the prepared taco meat, and drizzle with desired amount of taco sauce. I used about 1 cup for my pizza. All that is left to do for this part is to top with cheese! Cover the pizza with the entire bag of cheese and pop it into the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or the cooking time recommended for the crust that you use. Since everything is already cooked except for the crust, the goal is to just get the crust cooked through and melt the cheese.

While your pizza is in the oven, shred your lettuce to bite size strips, dice the tomato, and open the olives so you are all ready to add your toppings and eat!

After your pizza comes out of the oven, immediately top with shredded lettuce (don’t be afraid to really pile it on!) The crunchy chill of the lettuce contrasts so nicely with the warm gooey-ness of the taco meat, cheese and beans. Now top with diced tomatoes and black olives and any remaining ingredients you would like to add! Cut into squares, not triangle slices, this pizza works better with squares. It could be because that was how Hungry Howies always cut their pizza but it could also be because the toppings are loose and will fall all over the place if it isn’t in small easy to manage pieces. The last step is to add a dollop of sour cream to each piece and enjoy!

As you can see this is just like any other pizza so you can add or subtract ingredients to suit your families tastes. My recommendation is to NOT take away are the refried beans, taco meat, and lettuce! Those make it the best EVER!

Let me know what you think, just scroll down a little and leave a comment in the box below and give it to me straight, is it just me or is this the best pizza ever!?!?!?

Love this article? Read more like this:

• Frugal Cooking & Recipes
• Browse the Recipe Index
• Frugal Events & Family Fun
• Frugal Living & Do-It-Yourself
• Sundays at Home
• Wacky Wednesday

If you would like to print this article, hit the print button, down below next to the Pin It button, and delete the unwanted photos, comments, etc.. to save paper and you have your own hard copy to recreate this amazing dinner!

** Wacky Wednesday | Taco Pizza was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

I find myself using Pinterest more and more to search for anything I need.  Here are my favorites from Pinterest this week.

This week’s top 10 things on Pinterest:

If you’ve been on Pinterest recently, you’ve probably run across the beautiful photos of ice pops that have been making the rounds recently.  With fresh fruit popping out of the sides, they look healthy and delicious, so I started clicking to get some recipes.  Every one mentioned getting your our Zoku.  Since I’m always up on the latest cool gadgets, I Googled “What is a Zoku?” and found out it’s an “instant” ice pop maker.

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m susceptible to advertising and beautiful pictures, so I immediately wanted one…. the I did the research.

Pictured - Left: Fruit Punch with bananas, grapes, and pear slices. Right: Strawberry Creamsicle with pear slices.

The single Zoku makes one ice pop in 8-10 minutes and cost about $26.  Now yes, that’s instantly frozen, so that’s quick, but I had visions of my 2 other kids screaming for the 8-10 minutes while I made theirs or me attempting to make a dozen to keep in the freezer.  It didn’t sound fun.  There’s also a Zoku duo ($36.99) and a Zoku ($49.95) that makes 3 ice pops at a time.  And then there is the tool kit ($19.99), extra sticks ($11.99), storage case ($19.99), and character kit ($14.99).  When all said and done, I figured the first three ice pops I made would be some pretty expensive ice pops and we all know I’m cheap frugal.  Now there is a less expensive version from Hamilton Beach for only $32, but it has horrible reviews across the internet.

I also found out that you can’t use the Zoku to make sugar-free ice pops.  And, even though it makes one ice pop in 8-10 minutes, you have to freeze the entire Zoku in your freezer for 24 hours before using it, plus refrozen between batches if you take too much time making them pretty.

I got it into my head that I could make those beautiful fruit ice pops without a Zoku.  The tricky part was getting the fruit to stick to the side of the ice pop mold and getting it to stay there while I poured in the juice, but I’m happy to say I succeeded!

My hodge podge of ingredients. I didn't use them all, but I wanted to see what I had to have some fun with, before I started.

What you’ll need:

• Popsicle Molds
• Cutting Board
• Lemon Juice
• Small Knifes and/or Cookie Cutters
• Ingredients (juices, liquids, yogurt, pudding, honey, fresh fruit, etc…)

How to get started:

If you plan to use fruit, which is completely optional, the first thing you’ll need to do is pour a little water into each slot of the ice pop molds and then pour it out.  Next, set them on their side in the freezer while you cut the fruit.  Put the side you plan to put the fruit on down.

The goal here isn’t to get them soaked, but to create a very thin layer of ice along one wall that will act as an adhesive to the fruit.  Even if you can’t see the water, there are droplets that will work perfectly.

Make sure your final pieces will fit into your molds!

While your thin layer of ice freezes, start getting creative with your fruit.  Cut the fruit into thin (very thin) layers.  Use a cookie cutter or small knife to cut them into shapes for the ice pops.  Make sure to place them on the cutting board, since you’ll have to press hard on cookie cutters to cut through thicker fruits like pears.  Of course, help small children.  My 5 year old *thinks* she’s old enough to use a knife herself, but gets a bit too wild creative if not guided.

While you get creative, place the cut pieces of fruit in a small bowl of lemon juice to soak, so the don’t turn brown.  Plus, the lemon juice ads a light layer of liquid to the fruit to help it stick to the thin layer of ice currently freezing in the molds.

It’s time to get creative once again.  Pull the mold out of the freezer and place it on it’s side the same way you had it in the freezer.  Slide your fruit in the molds.  Lay them flat against the side that’s down.  You can create designs, like my daughter did, or simply lay them in there, like I did.  Put them back in the freezer, fruit-side down, while you whip up your ice pop bases.

Mixing up Cookies & Cream Ice Pops (They were AMAZING!)

Since this entire thing is really about creativity, it’s time to get creative again.  The best part about whipping up ice pop bases is that you get to taste them.  In fact, I encourage it, because the way they taste now is exactly the way they’ll taste when they are frozen, just a bit colder.  So, you can decide now if they need more vanilla or orange juice.  Remember, less is more.  You can always add more ingredients, but it’s a bit harder to fix if you add too much of one.

Here’s a few recipes we loved from our batch:

I have a special place in my heart for my slow cooker!  I love throwing in stuff and coming back 5 hours later to find that dinner is cooked.  Right now, sign up for the American Family newsletter to download a FREE American Family Slower Cooker Recipes cookbook.

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** FREE American Family Slow Cooker Recipes Bookbook was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Okay, I am going to be honest, this is by far the most disgusting and yet fun thing I have done in a long time. We have done plenty of Jell-O Molds, Knox Blox and the like in our time, but Jell-O Worms? I wasn’t too sure, but I had two little boys in my house who were absolutely sure that this was THE thing to do for Wacky Wednesday.

So I embarked on a journey to create worms! Now you can too!

What you’ll need:

• 2 boxes (1.4 oz) Jell-O or Flavored Gelatin (raspberry or grape if you want brown worms)
• 4 envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 5 cups boiling water
• 1 1/2 cup Cool Whip
• green food coloring, (if you want brown worms)
• 100+ plastic straws with bendable necks

How to get started:

Find a tall thin container for making your worms. If you have a 1/2 gallon or carton of milk or orange juice, trim off the top and that will work perfectly. I used a thermos that we had laying around (fail!). Thermos’ are insulated to keep the cold stuff cold and the hot stuff hot. SO with now thinking ahead planning on my part, running the water over a thermos to loosen the Jell-O from the sides, doesn’t work very well. So learn from my mistake and just chop off the top of your orange juice container, rinse it out and consider yourself warned.

What ever you do decide to use, make sure it can hold about 6 cups of liquid and that it is straight up and down to hold your straws erect. Now fill it with straws, this was my son’s favorite part, because not only did he get to ‘grow’ the straws (extending out the bendy section), but he got to put them in and practice his counting skills. Place all your extended straws into your container with the bendy part facing down and make sure that the end of the straws are sitting flush to the bottom of your container. Pack the straws in tightly to get a nice snug fit, a rubber band around the top of the straws will help pull them together when you pour in the Jell-O mixture.

Now it is time to make the Jell-O mixture. In a medium bowl, stir together the plain and the unflavored gelatin, then add the boiling water over the gelatin powder. Stir until the powder is dissolved. If you would like to make multi-colored worms, you can! Just use 1 box of flavored gelatin and 2 packets of unflavored gelatin instead and dissolve it with 2 1/2 cups boiling water. At this point let your bowl (or bowls) of gelatin cool down for about 20 minutes, not set but slightly warm, then add in the Cool Whip. If you are making one color worms, put in the entire 1 1/2 cup, use 3/4 cup if you are planning on using two separate colors. My plan was to make orange and red, but I didn’t wait for the orange to set enough before adding my red so they came out one color. We didn’t opt for the brown worms, because my stomach couldn’t handle that, but this is the point where you would add the green food coloring to turn your worms a natural brown color.

Put your container of straws on a cookie sheet or inside a larger bowl, like I did because there will be spills!! Now that your mixture is ready to go, slowly pour the Jell-O over the straws. Some of the Jell-O mixture will seep up the sides, but no worries, your straws should be filling up. If you are using two different colors, pour in the first color and allow it set for about 30 minutes or more in the refrigerator. Then pour the other color on top. You can see that mine turned all red, because I didn’t allow my first color to set long enough, but it was still very disgustingly delish! I also used a clean lid for the extra Jell-O mix since I ran out of room in my thermos of straws.

Chill your Jell-O filled straws in the fridge overnight. After the Jell-O has set, it’s time for the messes of all messes! Run your container under warm water until you can pull the entire Jell-O/straw blob out easily. (This is also the part where you thank me for stopping you from using a thermos for your straws! This part was next to impossible and I wound up hacking away at the sides with a butter knife while my friend and the two excited boys tried to pull this mess out.) After about 15 minutes of hacking and pulling we finally managed to get the straws out. (this would have been much easier had I thought ahead and NOT used a thermos, even if it was pink!)

Now onto removing your worms, on all the websites I read, they said to “tightly squeeze and slide your thumb and finger down the length of the straw and the worm will be pushed out of the bottom”. I must not have very strong fingers because after about 5 very broken and quickly devoured worms were “squeezed” out I was just about done! The two little boys I spoke of earlier were about this close to missing out on Jell-O worms because I just couldn’t squeeze any more Jell-O from these straws.

So I ran some hot water back into the now empty thermos, gave each straw a quick dip in the hot water bath and they slid right out with ease. Make sure you don’t leave them in the hot water for too long, or you will experience the slimy mess falling out in the water, in the sink, on the counter and just about anywhere else, EXCEPT where you want them to go. Once they are all out of the straws, place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and put them back in the fridge until ready to serve, if they make it that long!

Even though ours turned out red, and not at all appearing like real earthworms, when you pop one in your mouth, it does FEEL like you would imagine a real worm does, so if you have a weak stomach leave these for the kiddos!

Love this article? Read more like this:

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• Wacky Wednesday

** Wacky Wednesday | Make Your Own Jell-O Gummy Worms was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Some of the top women bloggers on the web have gotten together to offer up to 60% off their best selling ebooks to help you simplify your life from cooking to blogging and everything in between.  Of, even better, get the entire package ($375 worth of books) for only $29!  That’s 90% off and, honestly, a can’t pass up deal.

I usually list deals, which of course are only deals I would recommend, but don’t tell you if I actually purchase them or not. (While I’d like to, I can’t snap up every deal out there!).  But, this one, I’ll tell you, I buying.

Get your Simply Your Family Life Package now!

There are over 30 books available, but here are a few of my favorites or on my “to-read” list:

• How to Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too by Mandi @ Life Your Way ($12.00)
• Tell Your Time by Amy @ Blogging with Amy ($4.99)
• Get Lean Recipe for Success by Nisha @ Healthy Mom’s Kitchen ($37.00)
• Plan It, Don’t Panic by Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home ($4.99)
• 2012 Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner by Susan @ The Confident Mom ($9.00)
• Not a DIY Diva by Melissa @ The Inspired Room ($3.99)
• One Bite at a Time by Tsh @ Simple Mom ($5.00)
• That Works for Me by Kristen @ We Are THAT Family ($8.00)
• Buck Naked Marriage by Corey @ Simple Marriage ($2.99)
• Simple Ways to Be More with Less by Courtney @ Be More with Less ($9.97)
• Truth in the Tinsel by Amanda @ Impress Your Kids ($6.99)

What are you waiting for? Get all 38 books ($375 value) for $29 now!

This deal ends April 20, 2012.

Love to shop?   You can get so much more when you shop smart, so be sure to check out all the HOT online deals!

** $29 for $375 Worth of Books by Top Bloggers! was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Ready for the easiest and best recipe you’ll ever have?  I have a young boy toddler who loves yogurt, but can’t eat it without getting it into his hair, clothes, the table, the chairs, and pretty much everything within a 1/2 mile radius of where he eats it.  I know yogurt is healthy for breakfast and since he loves it and it’s so affordable, I’d love to let him eat it for every breakfast.  However, when we’re on the go, I have to either plan for a long clean up afterwards or skip it.

This is the perfect solution!  Not only that, but it also got my daughters eating more yogurt.  Even the Greek yogurt they couldn’t stand taste delicious as Yogurt Bites!

What you’ll need:

1. (1) single-serving container of yogurt (any brand, flavor!)
2. (1) sandwich baggie
3. (1) cookie tray with Reynold’s wrap or wax paper covering it
4. (1) freezer
5. (1) container for storage

First, stir the yogurt up to blend it together and make it smooth.  Any yogurt will work, except whipped, so mix it up.  Try yogurt with fruit in it or the yogurt with the candy in it for a sweet treat.

Spoon the yogurt into the sandwich baggie and push the air out, then seal.  Cut one of the bottom corners off.  The closer to the tip you cut the sandwich baggie, the smaller the yogurt bites will be.  You can make them any size.  Just make sure they are bite-size or they’ll be messy to eat.

Squeeze all the yogurt to the end of the baggie towards the cut tip to make it look like you are piping icing.

Squeeze the bite-size drops onto the tray. Make sure they aren’t touching.  One container of yogurt makes about one tray of yogurt bites.  Next, place the entire tray uncovered into the freezer to freeze.

Since they are so small, they freeze quickly.   It may take up to 20 minutes or less.  Pull them out and you can easily lift the Reynold’s wrap or wax paper, then use your finger to pop off each one into a container for storage.

Enjoy them immediately, or place them into the freezer to enjoy later.  They store in the freezer for about 1-2 weeks.  Make sure your container is air tight to avoid freezer burn.  Give your young kids a few at a time, because unlike M&M’s these do melt in your mouth and your hands!  They are absolutely delicious!

Change it up!

Try dipping fruit in yogurt and freezing for a new and delicious taste!

Love this article? Read more like this:

• Frugal Cooking & Recipes
• Browse the Recipe Index
• Frugal Events & Family Fun
• Frugal Living & Do-It-Yourself
• Sundays at Home
• Wacky Wednesday

Recipe Credit: Yogurt Bites found on Pinterest and Fruit Covered Yogurt on We Love It.

** Sundays at Home | Homemade Yogurt Bites Recipe was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Sign up for The Prepared Pantry newsletter to get a FREE copy of the How to Bake: The Art and Science of Baking ebook.  You can download it immediately after submitting your email address.

Who said that nothing in life is FREE? Search the database of on-going Free Stuff and Samples, plus checkout the most recent FREE stuff & FREE samples to get more stuff for FREE!

** FREE How to Bake: The Art and Science of Baking Book was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Is this still good? This is one question that you should know how to answer, but don’t always know the answer to. At least, I don’t always know without hunting for expiration dates. And while I have a very modest stockpile I still like to make sure that I go through and donate things if they are close to expiration date.

One of my tricks has been to keep a Sharpie in the kitchen and write the expiration dates large on the box so I can see it easily. But what about those things that don’t have an expiration date on them? All You Magazine has made it easy with this nice chart. I am definitely printing this off and taping it inside my kitchen cabinets for an easy reference for the family. Now for some of those questionable items it will be as simple as jotting down the date they are put away instead of hunting for those impossible to find expiration dates!

[Source: Daily Savings from All You]
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** Should I Toss It Out? was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

My daughter asked me the other day if she could have some gum, but after a look, I realized we were all out.  Her response was, “Let’s make some then.”

Typically, when we are out of something, we can make it ourselves like bread, crackers, and even hot dog buns, but I had no clue if you could make gum.  We went to the internet and after a quick search, we found that we could.   We didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand, so going out to buy gum would have probably been more productive, but not as much fun.

I’ll warn you.  Making gum is messy!  But, we had an absolute blast, so it’s a great way to entertain creative kids.

Before you get started, set the mood with some music! We highly recommend Icky, Sticky Bubble Gum by David Landau or our favorite, The Sticky Bubblegum Song by Carole Peterson.

There's more! CLICK HERE to read all of Sundays at Home | Homemade Bubble Gum Recipe

** Sundays at Home | Homemade Bubble Gum Recipe was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

I hope your week was full of great finds!!  Here are a few of mine,

This week’s top 10 things on Pinterest:

10.  MMM!   Salad with a little crunch.

9.  Great idea for a party or family get together.  Could do mixed drinks or soft drinks.  This would even be a good idea for summer to keep in the fridge.

8.  Since I only have a balcony to decorate, I could do one of these lighting ideas pretty easily.

7.  Love these little bird feeders /bird baths.  I could poke one of these in a flower pot but not sure I want all those birds that close.  Maybe I could just put citronella candles in them instead.

6.  Well I promised myself I would never camp in a tent again, but I could use this list of items to take camping when I upgrade to a cabin.

5.  I crochet but never thought of unraveling all this old sweaters in my closet to make something new. RECYCLE!!

4.  These crochet trimmed pillowcases or so pretty and dainty.  Love them.  But look ahead and see would you could make out of them after they are trimmed.

3.  Yes  Pillow case dresses.  Wouldn’t they be so cute with the trim on them?

2.  I have seen so many button crafts.  These bracelets are cute and would be so so easy to make.

And my number one find on Pintrest this week…

1.  Blackberry cobbler has to be my favorite thing on earth.  a little whip tipping or ice cream on top would be prefect!!

Want more? Follow Susan and Beth on Pinterest for frugal recipes, FREE printables, ideas for  organizing your home, stuff that makes us laugh, and more!

** Best of Pinterest: Recipes, Free Yarn, Crafts & More was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Sign up with American Family Sweepstakes to get a FREE The Brownie Book cookbook filled with 10 delicious brownie recipes.  Signing up is FREE and you can download your cookbook straight to your computer once you’re finished.

Protect yourself! I highly recommend using a FREE Google talk voice-only phone number and alternate FREE e-mail address, like GMail or Yahoo, when signing up for FREE stuff online to avoid spam and unwanted calls.

Who said that nothing in life is FREE? Search the database of on-going Free Stuff and Samples, plus checkout the most recent FREE stuff & FREE samples to get more stuff for FREE!

** FREE Cookbook | The Brownie Book Cookbook was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

We’re mixing things up on In Good Cents and launching some new things, so keep watch.

One we’re most excited about is Wacky Wednesday where anything goes.  We may be sharing some crazy recipes, fun ideas, insane things we do to stay frugal, hysterical things we’ve seen (or done) while shopping, or whatever grabs our fancy that week.

So here goes it goes!

Getting my kids to eat is a never ending challenge some days, but getting fun with food helps!  I’ve learned that adding sprinkles to about anything makes it so much more appealing and cupcakes are always popular, even when they aren’t really cupcakes.

That’s where Hot Dog Cupcakes come into play.  They are especially great if you have left over hot dogs from a cookout or camping.  Though, if you’re like up, you never have left over hot dogs!  I know, it sounds gross, but these are so delicious.

 Hot Dog Cupcakes Recipe

You will need:

• 2 (8.5 oz.) packages of cornbread mix
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 2 standard-size eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 5-10 hot dogs (leftovers work great!)

How to make them:

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grab a muffin tin and grease the cups or line them with cupcake liners.

Cut into bite-size pieces.

Next, chop your left over hot dogs into bite-size pieces.  Circles work great, but if you have little ones, try triangles or half-moons to avoid a choking hazard.

Next, mix the cornbread mix and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk, then add to the cornbread mixture.  Stir until smooth.  I typically use my electric hand mixer to save time and get all the lumps out.

Toss in the cheese and hot dogs into the mixture and gently stir.

Spoon your mixture into the muffin tin, filling each cup about 2/3rds of the way full.  Make sure the hot dogs don’t settle to the bottom, or you’ll end up a bowl full of hot dogs at the end.  If that happens, no worries.  Just spoon a few hot dogs into each cup to spread them out evenly.

Place your cupcakes into the oven and bake for about 14-18 minutes until they are golden brown.   Keep watch.  You don’t want them to burn on the top!

Serve with your favorite side, like baked beans.  To make them look more like cupcakes, drizzle with ketchup, mustard, or your favorite dip.  Or, if you prefer, you can put the dip on the side to dunk, like we do!  But, they taste yummy even without dip.

Mix things up!  Try this recipe with sausages for breakfast or brats for dinner.

These are a great meal for Freezer Cooking, so just place them in a freezer bag and place in the freezer for storage.  You can pull them out and heat them individually in the microwave to put in lunchboxes or for a quick lunch or snack.

There's more! CLICK HERE to read all of Wacky Wednesday | Hot Dog Cupcakes Recipe

** Wacky Wednesday | Hot Dog Cupcakes Recipe was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Download the book Superfoods: Simple Breakfast Recipes by Julie Richards FREE for your Kindle. Offers like this change quickly, so this price could change on this FREE Kindle book any time.

Book Description:

Kick-start your day with energy packed Superfood! Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day, and without the proper nutrients your body will not work at optimum performance! Grab your Superfood jetpack and strap in because inside you will discover:

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** Free Kindle Book | Superfooods Simple Breakfast Recipes was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Struggling fore new meal ideas?  Use the coupon code MARFREE during the month of March to get FREE menu plans and meal planning services for life from Food on the Table.

Who said that nothing in life is FREE? Search the database of on-going Free Stuff and Samples, plus checkout the most recent FREE stuff & FREE samples to get more stuff for FREE!

** FREE Menu Plans & Meal Planning for Life was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Craving more? Browse the recipe index for more easy recipes.

** Dump Cake Recipe was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

This sponsored post was written by me on behalf of Lunchbox. Regardless of compensation, all opinions are 100% my own.

We are not morning people!  My entire family struggles in the morning to get ready for school, get a healthy breakfast, and get out the door without missing the bus.  Of course, I’m the ringleader, so a lot of it is on my shoulders.

Do not let that smile fool you! He was throwing a fit about the fact that I woke him up just before this was taken.

I’ve always been a huge fan of oatmeal.  My Grandma always made me plain oatmeal with a bit of milk and brown sugar.  For me, it was like a treat, but a healthy treat.  I even prefer oatmeal cookies over chocolate chip (I know, I’m a freak).  But, for my kids, my easy and quick oatmeal idea flopped.

Why I Love Oatmeal

• It’s (heart) healthy
• It’s quick & easy  (5 minutes to make)
• Great ingredient for recipes
• There’s nothing better than a breakfast on a cold day (seriously!)

Quaker offers many oatmeal choices!

When someone says oatmeal, Quaker is what pops into my mind.  Quaker is the brand I trust and the brand I reach for most often.

For kids who gag at the thought of plain oatmeal (like mine) Quaker offers so much more than just plain oatmeal, including their mix-up creations, flavored instant oatmeal, granola bars, and oat cereals, which did entice my kids’ picky palates.

Make Plain Oatmeal More Fun

Plain oatmeal is still my favorite.  For breakfast, our oatmeal often becomes a kitchen science project where we mix things into our oatmeal to make it more fun and get the kids to enjoy it too.

Here’s a list of things we love to add to oatmeal to mix it up and make it more flavorful.  Some are a bit sweeter and some are a bit healthier, so it depends on what you’re in the mood for at the time.  And, you can always go with the fat or sugar-free version.  Make sure to mix and match. The fun is getting creative!

• Fruit (fresh or dried)
• Applesauce or other Fruit Purees
• Flavored Soymilk or Other Milk
• Brown Sugar (or Sugar)
• Maple Syrup
• Nuts
• Honey, Molasses, or Agave Nectar
• Peanut Butter or Nutella
• Jam, Jelly, or Fruit Spreads
• Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Pumpkin Pie Spice, or other Spices
• Yogurt
• Vanilla Extract or other Extract
• Instant Hot Chocolate or Vanilla Mix
• Chocolate or Butterscotch Chips
• Canned Pumpkin (or fresh, see )
• Coffee Creamer or Coffee (this is more for moms, then the kids!)

Some Oatmeal Recipes

• Apple Cherry Oatmeal
• Apple, Pumpkin Oatmeal Baby Food
• Pumpkin Oatmeal Recipe
• Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal Cookies
• Oatmeal Crispies
• Honey-Vanilla Granola
• Lemon Coffee Cake
• 6 Quick Fruit Crisps

How do you enjoy your oatmeal?

Get Quick Tips to get on the road to better heart health at Walmart!

Sponsored by Lunchbox and conducted by In Good Cents. For more information, please read our terms & conditions and disclosure policy.

** Quick & Healthy Breakfast with Oatmeal was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Craving more? Browse the recipe index for more easy recipes.

** Ranch Mashed Potato Recipe was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

If you have attended one of my classes, you may have heard me refer to my bread recipe. This is my go-to recipe when store bought bread too expensive and while I am not a bread guru, who can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about baking a good loaf of bread, I can tell you this recipe has never let me down.

I was intimidated about the idea of baking my own bread, but decided to give it a try. After many trial and errors, I discovered this recipe, tweaked it a bit, and my loaves have come out wonderful. And you get THREE loaves of bread with just one package of yeast. That’s a bargain in itself.

I have to also add there is nothing like the smell of bread baking to lift the mood on cold winter days.

The complete recipe can be found below, but this bread is so easy to make that you probably have all the ingredients laying in your kitchen RIGHT NOW. So gather up your ingredients and get ready to bake some yummy and so delish bread that works great for sandwiches, toast and anything else you think of.

Eggs, oil, yeast, flour, salt, sugar, a mixing bowl, measuring spoon, stirring spoon, and a loaf pan is all you need. See easy-peesy.

Now that we have everything we need out and ready lets get started.

First thing first, this is really when you want to make sure your water is WARM, not hot, but not cold either. Put 2 cups warm water in your bowl and dissolve the 2/3 cup sugar in the bowl, then stir in the yeast. I read somewhere that you want to use plastic, wooden or glass spoons and bowls when working with yeast. (Like I said, I am not a bread guru, but I get good results following that advice). Once you get it all stirred in, it will become a tan color liquid (not all the yeast will dissolve, it will sit on top of the water, that is okay.). Then walk away from the bowl and leave it sit for about 10 minutes to let the yeast and sugar do their thing. Make sure that you sit it somewhere that it won’t be disturbed by big gusts of air or people bumping into it so that it can really get growing.

After you leave it sit for about 10 minutes it should look foamy on top and have a pretty strong yeast smell. It will look something like this:

Add in 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, and the two eggs, make sure you mix these in well, you don’t want chunks of egg in your bread. Now it’s time for the flour. I say 6-9 cups because you are making 3 loaves from this recipe. Add your flour in 1/2 cup at a time, and here is where it is entirely appropriate to make a mess of your counter while you are measuring out your flour because you are going to need some flour on the countertop anyway. I hand stir, I wish I had a fancy countertop mixer so make sure you bring your muscles if you don’t have one. Once you get a nice thick texture, it should start to form a ball while you are stirring, and some of it is sticking to the sides of the bowl, (see picture below) you are ready to move on.

Here is where it really get fun. Remove any jewelry that you have on your hands. I have to add this because I am the type who will typically forget and have to clean my wedding rings afterwards.

Plop all that dough on the floured counter and work it. This is also the part my kids love to come in and help. Coat your hands in flour and keep adding more flour onto your surface and into the dough until you get a nice, smooth elastic texture. It will take about 10 minutes to get there, set a timer, because while you are kneading dough, 10 minutes seems FOREVER. (It does help to think of someone you really don’t like, and imagine that your dough is them.) Kneading bread is one of the GREATEST ways to release your aggression in a safe way. Once you get there roll your dough into a nice ball.

Clean out the bowl that you used to mix up your dough, or grab a new bowl, and put a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of the bowl or spray it with Pam. Put your dough ball in there and flip it around a couple of times to coat your dough ball in a nice thin layer of oil.

Now most recipes say to let your dough rise in a warm safe place. The BEST place I have found is my microwave. Before I put the bowl in the microwave I heat up a mug of water for a few minutes to get the microwave warmed up inside, cover your bowl with some plastic wrap, a clean kitchen towel or just trust that no one is going to open or turn on your microwave and set your bowl of dough in there. Set a timer for about an hour and walk away from the kitchen, don’t even worry about cleaning up yet, because we are going to need that flour on the counter again. If you don’t want to put it in the microwave, or don’t have one, go ahead and sit it on top of your stove covered with some plastic wrap or a clean towel. But where ever you decide to put it, just leave it alone for an hour.

BEEP…. Timer went off and it should have at LEAST doubled in size.Mine almost fell out of the bowl, and that has happened a few times. Now that you have it all big and fluffy, give it a punch or two to deflate it. Remember that messy counter I told you to leave dirty? Make sure you have some flour still on there (not a lot just enough to not make it stick) and divide your dough into three equal sections. Then give each section a few more minutes (about 3- 5) of your pent up aggression. Shape your loaves. The easiest way I have found to do this is to pull my dough into a rectangular shape and starting from the long side, roll it up tight, and tuck the ends under, so the top looks nice and pretty. Do this with all three sections and place them each in a well oiled bread pan. I typically press a little on the top of my loaves to make it squish out even in the pan, just because I think it looks prettier that way.

Pop those loaves back in the microwave, or on top of the stove covered for another hour. If you only want to make 1 loaf right now, you can wrap the other two loaves in plastic wrap and toss it in the freezer at this point. (When you want to make those frozen ones, just pull them out of the freezer, unwrap, put in an oiled pan and let sit to thaw and rise for about 3 hours or so.) Let the dough rise in the pan for about an hour. It should rise again very nicely until it has risen over the top of the pan. At some during this last rising make sure you have preheated your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Aren’t they so pretty? All that is left is to pop them in the oven. Make sure your oven is preheated to 350 degrees, and place your loaves on the middle rack for about 30 minutes. DON’T OPEN THE OVEN until you are ready to check on it. I typically check at 25 minutes at the earliest to make sure I don’t overcook it. To check and see if a loaf of bread is done, give it a tap on the top of it, if it sounds hollow inside it is finished.

When you take them out of the oven, immediately flip them over onto a cooling rack. The longer they sit in the pan after baking them, the harder it is to get them out. Let them cool for a little bit, apparently it isn’t good to slice into bread straight from the oven…who knew? (shh, I won’t tell if you don’t though)

It smells so good it is hard not to cut into right away, I know.

This makes a pretty dense bread that is very versatile. Use it for toast, sandwiches, cut it a little thicker and make garlic toast, add some Italian seasoning and garlic to the dough and make Italian bread, the options with this dough are endless. I had a friend say she even used different flour and it turned out just as well for her.

I don’t use anything special other than a bread knife to slice my bread, and since it is dense it is easy to slice smaller slices. The key to slicing bread is to let the knife cut it, don’t press down on it. Use a sawing motion for the knife to glide right down the loaf, trying not to put much pressure on it.

But, here is my finished product:You can whip up some easy “gourmet” butters for this bread too as a snack. My favorite is onion herb butter. Toss some chopped green onion, oregano and Italian seasons in a bowl of butter, mix well, spread and enjoy. :-) P.S. I don’t care for onions either, but this butter is delish!

Craving more? Browse the recipe index for more easy recipes.

** Easy Homemade Bread (No Bread Machine Needed!) was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Craving more? Browse the recipe index for more easy recipes.

** Orange Salad Recipe was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

It doesn’t matter if you have a sweetheart or not, everyone deserves a little something for Valentine’s Day. So, here’s a list of deals and free stuff to help you celebrate love!

FREE Stuff

• FREE Mr. Foods Treats for your Sweetheart Cookbook (download)
• 21 Valentine’s Day Craft Ideas for Kids Book (download)
• Sweets for your Sweet: 22 Cute Desserts Cookbook (download)

Get more FREE stuff and samples in the Freebie Database.

Retail Therapy

• FREE Bath & Body Works travel-size item, exp. 2/14/12
• 15% off any Kohl’s purchase, exp. 2/14/12
• $10 off any Old Navy purchase of $50 or more, exp. 2/22/12
• 20% ff your total purchase at Carter’s Outlet Stores, exp. 2/14/12
• FREE  $15 gift card for 1-800-FLOWERS with any $55 purchase of Someday by Justin Bieber Fragrance Collection, exp. 2/14/12 (**while supplies last)

Find more printable retail coupons in the Retail Coupons database for this weekend!

Dining Out & Sweet Treats

• FREE Cookie at Quizno’s on Valentine’s Day (valid Feb. 14th only!)
• Sweetheart Meal for Two at Outback (valid Feb. 14th only!)
• FREE Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream Ice Cream at Ben & Jerry’s (valid Feb. 14th only!)
• Get (12) Krispy Kreme FREE Valentine’s Day cards worth (1) FREE donut wyb (1) dozen donuts, exp. 2/14/12
• $2 /1 Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream Heart-Shaped Cake, exp. 2/15/12
• FREE Panda Express Firecracker Chicken Breast or entree wyb any 2-entree plate, exp. 2/14/12
• Buy one, get one when you share a kiss at Qdoba (valid Feb. 14th only!)
• FREE dessert with purchase of a Boston Market meal (valid Feb. 14th only!)

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Printables

• FREE Zhu Zhu Pets Printable Exchange Cards
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• 75 FREE printables for parties, exchanges, and more

Entertainment

• FREE one-night Redbox rental (valid Feb. 14th only!)
• $5 Amazon.com Instant Video Credit

Events

• FREE Valentine’s Card Creator Build & Grow Lowe’s Clinic (valid Feb. 11th only!)
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Online Shopping

• 15% off 1-800-Flowers.com Valentine’s Day Flowers & Gifts, exp. 2/15/12
• 20% off ProFlowers Flowers & Gifts of $39 or more, exp. 2/14/12
• 10-25% off FTD Valentine’s Day Flower Arrangements, exp. 2/14/12
• FREE shipping at GiftBaskets.com, exp. 2/14/12
• Save $6 wyb any (2) Valentine’s Day Build-a-Bear Puppies (coupon 97352)
• 15% off all 1-800-Baskets.com Valentine’s Day Gifts, exp. 2/15/12
• 15% off all Wine.com Valentine’s Day Gift Baskets, exp. 2/15/12

Find more Valentine’s Day coupon codes for online shopping in the Online Shopping Coupon database.

** Valentine’s Day Deals & Coupons was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Craving more? Browse the recipe index for more easy recipes.

** Cracker Spread Recipe was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Sign up with All Free Copy Cat Recipes to get a FREE Girl Scout Cookies CopyCat Recipes Cookbook download.  It’s a PDF, so save it to your computer for whenever you need it!

Protect yourself! I highly recommend using a FREE Google talk voice-only phone number and alternate FREE e-mail address, like GMail or Yahoo, when signing up for FREE stuff online to avoid spam and unwanted calls.

Who said that nothing in life is FREE? Search the database of on-going Free Stuff and Samples, plus checkout the most recent FREE stuff & FREE samples to get more stuff for FREE!

** FREE Girl Scout Cookies CopyCat Recipes Cookbook was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.

Happy Friday Everyone!  Hope you have had as much fun on Pinterest this week as I have.  I even took time away from pinning to make a couple of things I pinned.

This week’s top 10 things on Pinterest:

10.  This would make a cute Valentines gift!

9.  What a cute idea.  You could add sparkles, sequins, small toys.  Whatever you want to match your decor.

8. Fun invite and a picture to keep too!!!

7. This reminds me of the salad I love from Panera Bread. Just a blueberries, pineapple, apple and change pecans to almonds.

6. This lady used her crockpot to cook everyday for a year.  The recipes are on her site.  Yes 365 of them. Love my crockpot.  It makes life so much easier.

5.  Cute and fun addition to hot cocoa and it would cool it down for the kids too!!

4. I am wishing it was yard sale season so I could go on a hunt for an old ladder.   I really want to do this in my hallway.

3.  I always have clothes hanging everywhere on laundry day.  The shower rod, over all the doors and backs of chairs. This could solve that problem.

2.  So easy to make and could be changed up to match different outfits. Looks like we will be making bracelets this weekend.

And my number one find on Pintrest this week…

1.  Dresses from pillow cases.  What a cute idea. There are so many beautifully trimmed pillow cases out there.

Want more? Follow Susan and Beth on Pinterest for frugal recipes, FREE printables, ideas for  organizing your home, stuff that makes us laugh, and more!

** Best of Pinterest: Little Girls Dresses, Recipes, Home Decorating Ideas & More was first published by In Good Cents. ©2012 In Good Cents, LLC. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you help support this site. For more information, please read the disclosure policy.