Mark Cuban's Advice for Mom-Preneurs

If you don't know who Mark Cuban is, he's a self-starter who owns an NBA team, guest stars on Entourage and an all around amazing businessman. Here's a recent article and some helpful links if you are a mom interested in getting started with your own business. Also, be sure to check out HDMoviesScene. They will be giving us two FREE movie tickets to give away soon.


There are many mommies out there that dream of creating their own business but haven't a clue where to start. What advice do you have for them?

Find something you love to do, can do on your own and doesn’t require
any more capital than you can afford to lose personally. The most
valuable asset you have is your time, talents and ability to
communicate. Focus on those strengths and what you can do rather than
what you can’t do.

There are many young moms who are just beginning their lives and can relate to
you when you said you were sharing a small apartment with 6 people and
sleeping on the floor.  How can someone keep their eye on the prize when they’re
living on Ramen noodles?

Who cares how you are living today? I loved every minute of living in
that dump. The low rent and utilities and eating Mac n’ Cheese
 all the time allowed me to afford the startup of my business. Instead of
paying myself much, I could put it in to my business.

One part in your book I loved and my heart sank at is when your fiance
lost your $7500 ring.  What's your advice for those moms out there who are distracted by a relationship? How do you balance a real life with your dreams?

I never was able to balance. Each person has to make their own
decisions. But remember, your competitors aren’t sitting by idly
waiting for you to have a nice dinner with your significant other.
They are trying to kick your butt. So choose wisely.

You encourage entrepreneurs not to hire a public relations firm, Mark. How did you get the word out about your eBook?

I tweeted, posted on Facebook, [used] Google Plus and responded to emails. Nothing more.

Where can we get a copy of your eBook, How to Win at the Sport of Business?

Anywhere eBooks are sold: Amazon, BN.com, and sites that support independent bookstores too.

Food Network's Frittata

My husband was watching the movie "Morning Glory" when he was inspired to make a Frittata. This recipe comes from the Food Network and you can use other ingredients instead of ham and asparagus. We used cooked potatoes and bacon.

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1-ounce Parmesan, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted asparagus
• 1/2 cup chopped country ham
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to broil setting.
2. In medium size bowl, using a fork, blend together eggs, Parmesan, pepper, and salt. 
3. Heat 12-inch non-stick, oven safe saute pan over medium high heat. (It's very important you use an oven safe pan. Ours wasn't and it came out of the oven making a snap, crackle pop sound like it was a bowl of Rice Krispies.)
4. Add butter to pan and melt. Add asparagus and ham to pan and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour egg mixture into pan and stir with rubber spatula. 
5. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the egg mixture has set on the bottom and begins to set up on top. Sprinkle with parsley.
6. Place pan into oven and broil for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned and fluffy. Remove from pan and cut into 6 servings. Serve immediately.

 

My secret sweet and spicy chili

I won't lie - I'm sick to death of cooking chili however, my sweet and spicy chili has gotten such great reviews that I decided I should share the recipe. It's similar to my other chili recipe but has a sweet taste to it that helps mellow out the spicy-ness. Just as a note, I had to go to two stores to get the Rotel tomatoes with Habeneros and found that only Target carries them in my town.

My brother-in-law (who's 29, very cute and single if any gals are interested) and I swap recipes. He made this with ground turkey and said it was good. I also fed it to my husband's best friend and son who apparently ate all the leftovers causing me to listen to a rant that I could have done without. :) No picture because if you've seen one chili - you've seen them all. :)

Ingredients:

• 2lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
• 1 cup sweet onions, chopped
• 1 chopped red pepper
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 – 10 oz can of diced tomatoes with Habeneros (Rotel makes it)
• 1 – 10 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 2 - 15 ounce cans of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 - 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preparations:

1. Pour meat into 6 quart crock pot.
2. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese. Mix well.

Cook on low for 4 hours. Add cheese right before serving

Easy No bake chocolate peanut butter pie

We all know I detest pie but that isn't stopping me from finding one that's easy to bake and tastes good. I think this recipe may be the ONE (this was much easier to find than the right guy :). This recipe comes from Food.com and the creator noted two things - 1) if you use pudding that isn't sugar-free then your pie will be grainy (it was still tasty!) and 2) you can rinse the plastic cover that comes with a pre-made pie crust, flip it over and use it to cover the pie while it refrigerates. What a freaking awesome idea!

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 ounce) can eagle brand sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 (1 ounce) package jell-o sugar-free instant chocolate fudge pudding mix (4 serving size)
• 1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip Topping, thawed
• 1 (9 inch) Oreo cookie pie crust (I used a graham cracker crust and it was still good)

Preparations:

1. Mix condensed milk, peanut butter and pudding together. 
2. Fold in cool whip and pour into pie shell. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Chicken or Turkey a la King in a Crock Pot

Got leftovers? Hopefully anyone who stumbles upon this blog has had a good holiday. If you have leftover turkey or want to make chicken a la king, this is an easy recipe that you can throw in the crock pot and forget about.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked Turkey or chicken, cut or torn into small pieces
• 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) cream of chicken soup 
• 3/ 4 cup water
• 2 medium sized carrot stalks, cleaned and chopped into small pieces
• 1 large celery stalk, split in half and cut into pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparations:

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a 4 quart crock pot (or bigger if you want). Cook on low for two hours. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

 

How to Baste a Turkey Video

For all the people out there who are cooking a turkey for the first, I have a little advice. 1) Try to remain calm at all times and 2) No one is expected to be Martha Freaking Stewart on the first try. (I seriously doubt even Martha was "Martha-ish" the first time she made a turkey.) And 3rd - my last piece of advice is to baste OFTEN. The key to moist turkey is basting and not letting it over cook. To help you out, here's a short video on the art of basting a turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Cock pot mashed potatoes

There are so many great things about about crock pots! You can leave them on and not worry about them boiling over on the stove, setting off the smoke detectors and waking the baby that refuses to sleep. (Not that I have issues or anything.:) If you are cooking an entire holiday dinner, your stove can easily be taken up with pots and pans so boiling potatoes in a crock pot also frees up stove space. (If you want more crock pot recipes, check out Stephanie's 365 days of crock pot cooking website.) Note: I used a 6 quart crock pot.

Ingredients: 

• 5 lbs of potatoes, washed, peeled and cuts into fourths
• 1 cup sour cream (use light if you're watching calories)
• 1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
• 1/4 cup of butter, softened
• Salt and pepper

Preparations:

1. Fill crock pot with water or chicken broth. (If you use chicken broth then expect the potatoes to have a bit of chicken-ish aftertaste.)
2. Place prepared potatoes in crock pot and cook on high for two hours or until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork or knife. 
3. Drain potatoes and either mash in crock pot with a potato masher or in a Kitchen Aid. 
4. Add 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/8 cup of butter. Mix well. 
5. Check the consistency of your potatoes, butter and add remaining milk and sour cream until potatoes are smooth and creamy. If you mash your potatoes in a Kitchen Aid, add a few potatoes to start with and slowly add the others. If you don't, expect to be wiping potatoes off the walls. :)
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Sausage Stuffing outside the bird

You don't have to bake stuffing inside the bird. If you have a huge group coming (10+) then you might need to make additional stuffing. This recipe is easy and can be placed inside a well cleaned bird or baked in 13x9 ungreased pan.  Rather than take the time to cut and toast bread, I bought a 14 ounce bag of pre-cut and toasted bread breadcrumbs at Target for $1.49. Compared to the cost of a loaf of a bread, it was money well spent.

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces of pre-cut/toasted bread crumbs or a large loaf of white bread, toasted and cut into pieces. 
• 1 lb of Jimmy Dean pork sausage
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, washed and chopped
• 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1 stick of butter, melted

Preparations:

1. Cook sausage until brown. Add celery and onion. Saute until onions are soft.
2. Combine melted butter and chicken broth.
3. In a very large bowl, mix bread crumbs with broth/butter. Add sausage/onion mixture and poultry seasoning. Mix very well. 
4. Either stuff in a bird or bake in an ungreased 13x9 pan at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until stuffing is slightly crunchy. DON'T LET STUFFING BURN. Be sure to check at 30 minutes. 

Easiest Pumpkin Pie

I have pie issues. I suspect they stem from not really liking pie. Alas, I still feel obligated to bake them. If you have NO baking experience, got roped into bringing a pie to Thanksgiving dinner or just want to prove that you can in fact bake without burning the house down - this is the easiest pumpkin pie recipe I could find.  Follow the directions carefully.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 9 inch prepared graham cracker crust
• 1 - 30 ounce can of pumpkin pie mix
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 5 ounces of evaporated milk

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn temperature down to 350 degrees after those first 15 minutes. 
2. Combine pumpkin, eggs and milk. Beat well. 
3. Pour pumpkin mixture into prepared pie crust. 
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until middle of pie is solid. (Test by gently putting a knife into it.) Place pie on cookie sheet in oven if you want to avoid spillage and setting off the smoke detector. :)

I think I could have cooked this for 60 minutes. This is what it looked like at 55 minutes.

Buying appliances

When I got married, I not only got a husband and three kids but I also got a 25-year-old house with crappy appliances. Within the first six months of marriage, our refrigerator completely died. Of course, it happened during the heat of summer while I had three kids who were constantly hungry.

About two months ago, my dishwasher died. At this rate, I figure it won't be long before my oven dies as well. When it does, I'll be much more prepared than I was previously. While I searched my options for a refrigerator and dishwasher, it was extremely difficult to find sites that compared the various choices for these appliances. So I ended up with two appliances that I'm not really satisfied with.  The next time around, I'll use a shopping site so I can compare various ovens. Hopefully, it works out better. :)

Thanksgiving Recipes, Menus, Videos and more...

There are so many different types of recipes and menus that you can use for a Thanksgiving meal, that I could never really cover them all. I wanted though to post resources now so that anyone who is getting geared up, could have plenty of choices.

Check out what Epicurious has to offer. They have it all in one place.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/holidays/thanksgiving/thanksgiving

Better Homes and Garden's Macaroni Salad

My husband reminded me at 8:30 p.m. last night that I had agreed to make two dishes for his potluck beekeeper meeting. With the food poisoning and all, it really slipped my mind.  Like completely and totally - it wasn't even a thought in my blonde head. So, instead of going to bed as I desperately wanted to,  I made this salad. No, he did not get a second dish. I was much too optimistic when I volunteered the second one.

Macaroni salads are good for two reasons. 1) They are easy to make and 2) Most of the ingredients on our hand if you do any sort of cooking or have kids. 'Tis the season to bring side dishes and what not to holiday gatherings. If you have a "moment" - try this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
• 3/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes (I don't like these so I left them out)
• 1/2 cup frozen peas (I used green peppers instead)
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet or dill pickles or sweet or dill relish (so many choices!)
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• black pepper
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• Cayenne pepper is you like spice. Add to taste.

Preparations:

1. Cook and drain pasta according to directions. Rinse with cold water and let completely cool.
2. While pasta is boiling, cook the eggs until they are hard boiled. They need to cool before you chop them into small pieces.
3. In a big bowl - mix cold pasta, cheese, celery, peas, radishes, and onion. 
4. In a small bowl - mix salad dressing or mayonnaise with milk, pickles (or relish), salt, pepper and cayenne if you opted for it. 
5. Pour dressing over pasta and added chopped eggs. Mix really well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours in advance. (The "in advance" is the only way to go if you are busy with work and blah, blah, blah.)

Easy Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

I'm back!!! Yay! In honor of the fast approaching holiday, try a new spin on your green bean casserole. I fed this to my friends and they liked it better than the casserole topped with fried onions.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (14 ounces) french style green beans, drained
• 1 can can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1 box of Stove top stuffing (chicken or turkey flavored)

Preparations:

1. Pour water into large sauce pan and turn to medium heat. When it starts to bubble add butter and remove from heat. Stir butter around as it dissolves. Add stuffing mix and stir until water and butter are completely absorbed. 
2. Separately, combine green beans and mushroom soup in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well. Pour into UN-greased casserole dish and top with cheese.
3. Pour stuffing onto green bean/cheese mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until stuffing is slightly crunchy.

Servings: 5

Food poisoning...

I came down with food poisoning on Sunday and haven't been able to cook or blog since. I'm happy to say it wasn't anything I cooked but rather some frozen pizza I didn't bake long enough?

Either way, I'd like to share a clip from a hilarious movie, Bridesmaids, in honor of my recent experience. :)

Betty Crocker's Ultimate Triple Chocolate Bars

This is a recipe that can be modified. I used dark chocolate chips instead of semisweet chips and milk chocolate instead of vanilla. The butter should NOT be room temperature. They say it should be softened but if it's at room temperature, your crust won't be more than a pile of brown crumbs that aren't cohesive at all. I didn't take a picture because my crust wasn't quite right and frankly, Betty's site makes this look for more appetizing.

The cream cheese gives this bar a nice tangy taste and my husband, who's on a low calorie diet, ate these until his guilt kicked in.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
• 2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup white vanilla baking chips
• 1 bag (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup) 

Ingredients:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In 2-quart saucepan, heat 2 cups chocolate chips, the cream cheese and milk over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Cool while making crust.
2. In medium bowl, mix Bisquick mix, sugar and cocoa. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture is crumbly. 
3. Press half of the crumbly mixture (2 cups) on bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Sprinkle with white vanilla baking chips. Spoon chocolate mixture over crumbly mixture and chips; spread evenly. 
4. Sprinkle with remaining crumbly mixture and 1 cup chocolate chips. Press lightly with fork. 

The recipe that almost was

So I had every intention of baking triple chocolate brownies last night only to discover that I was out of evaporated milk and my stove continues to burn (literally) the remnants of my pie disaster. I tried to get the leftover pie spillage out of the oven but it was just futile. That thing needs to be scrubbed.

In the meantime, I'm asking anyone who stops by this blog today to leave me a comment. Which holiday recipes are you making this year? Could you use a new side or pie recipe?

Happy Veterans day and thanks to all those who serve including my husband and brother-in-law. :)

Betty Crocker's Chocolate Brownie Pecan Pie Recipe

Something's rotten in the State of Utah...well, it's more like something is burned. Thanksgiving is two weeks away and if you're hosting and cooking dinner, now is the time to start preparing! (Or you can just buy everything pre-made and save yourself the hassle of airing out your kitchen when it's 30 degrees outside.)

I wanted to get a jump on the holiday by trying new pie recipes and something went wrong with this one. I thought as I overfilled the pie shell, that it was just too much filling but I poured it all in anyway. Within two minutes, the filling was burning on the bottom of my stove. I also had to pull this pie out ten minutes early and it wasn't quite done so if you make this - only pour enough of the filling so it's even with the inner pie crust. And put a cookie sheet on the rack below it just to be sure. :)

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs  
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 9-inch ready-to-bake pie crust

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 375º. Place chocolate and butter in microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every minute, until chocolate is melted; cool.
2. Mix sugar, flour and salt. Beat eggs slightly in large bowl with fork. Stir in sugar mixture and cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in pecans and vanilla. Pour into pie crust.
3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack, about 1 hour. Do not refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream.
   

Betty Crocker's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

With the holidays coming up, it's nice to be able to come up with a fast, easy recipe that you can make cheaply. Betty Crocker coupons are easy to come by. You can take a $1.00 off two cookie mixes and combine this with a $.40 coupon for each mix. As long your local grocery store cooperates, you can save $1.80 off two mixes. (Be sure to buy on sale too.) I wait to buy brownie mixes until they are a $1.00 or less.

Frost if you want. I think they are pretty sweet without it.

Ingredients:

• 1 box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix
• Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box
• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting, if desired 

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. Make brownie mix as directed on box. Spread in pan.
2. Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.
3. Bake 42 to 47 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Frost with frosting. For brownies, cut into 7 rows by 6 rows.

Gluten-free Cornbread

The concept of gluten-free was very foreign to me up until about two years ago when a childhood friend of mine was diagnosed with Celiac disease. My cousin's little girl was also diagnosed with it recently. So in honor of them, here is a gluten-free recipe.

To learn more about celiac disease, check out the Celiac Disease Foundation's website.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Spicy and Sweet Honey Chili from Food.com in a Crock pot

After last weeks hot chili, my husband became convinced that it was possible to make a chili that's both sweet and spicy. I think this recipe calls for at least two cans of diced tomatoes. (Add the 2nd if you agree. :)

Ingredients:

• 2lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
• 1 cup sweet onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 1/2 diced jalapeno peppers
• 2 - 15 ounce cans of kidney or chili beans
• 1 - 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup honey

Preparations:

1. Pour meat into 6 quart crock pot.
2. Add all remaining ingredients. Mix well. 
3. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Teaching your kids about spending

When I was fourteen, my grandfather took me to his bank and helped me open my first checking account. At the time, it was rare for a fourteen-year-old to have a checking account of their own but my "Pop" believed it would teach me fiscal responsibility. He wanted to impress upon me the importance of keeping track of what money I earned and how to use it responsibly.  My grandfather learned the hard way that you have to educate children regarding money. When my mother was a freshman in college, he received a very unpleasant phone call from a clothing store. They let him know that my mom had bounced enough checks to endanger an entire rain forest. After making an out-of-state trip to personally cover the expenses, Pop was determined to make sure that I would never be overdrawn.

Years later, I find myself in the position of needing to teach my own children the concept of "only spend what you can afford". Of course, now there are neat things like prepaid Green Dot debit cards that help you teach your kids to spend within their limits. How great is that? You can take their allowance and apply to a prepaid card that they can use for online shopping or just to buy an ice cream cone. The fees are affordable and you can replenish the balance as often or as little as you want.  (Prepaid cards make it so I don’t have to carry cash for on the spot allowance payment. My 9-year-old can get pretty testy when she’s amped up to buy beef jerky! )

Gone are the days when you have to wait for checks to clear before you can be absolutely certain of your balance as well. With a prepaid card like a Greed Dot debit card, I can rest assured that my fourteen-year-old won't be heading to the mall and spending more than I can afford on her latest "I must have this for my wardrobe or die!" moment.  (That leaves more energy for when she starts dating and the constant worrying that comes with that. :)

For more information about prepaid cards, check out Credit Card Guide.com. This site will offer information into fees and help you decide if prepaid cards will help you. Sometimes limits can be a great thing!

You don't have to be an extreme couponer

Technically, I don't think "couponer" is a legitimate word but as most of the U.S. knows, it's a term that's become very common in the last few years. Why "couponing" has become so popular is really simple. We all want to save money regardless of whether the recession has affected your household or not.

Honestly, I never thought that I'd be a full-time working mom. It wasn't part of my plan for raising children. But alas, our family's finances dictate that we be a two income household. I make a point of telling my stepdaughters, Kess and Kali, that I'm not leaving them with a sitter because I want to buy expensive clothes or drive a really nice car (to each their own!). They know that I do it because I want them to have great healthcare if they're sick and I want them to be able to go to college and not graduate with debt that will take them 20 years off. I want my kids to have the best possible life so I clip coupons, shop for deals on literally everything and I work. It's not ideal and doing both jobs is more than I can handle some days. Still, we do what we must right?

That brings me to my point. The next time you head to the grocery store without any coupons, ask yourself this - is it worth the time to go to http://www.coupons.com and print off some coupons for items on your list? Do you want save a few dollars by purchasing the generic over name brands? Could you use a few extra dollars?

It's food for thought my friends. :)

If you want to learn more about couponing basics, check out the Fabulous Gals at FabulesslyFrugal.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I really wanted to get rid of the Halloween candy this year so when adults showed up at my door and said "Trick or Treat", I gladly handed over the candy. (Alright, I was really tempted to say "Hey, lady aren't you a little old to ask for candy?" but I fought the urge. :) Unfortunately, The constant doorbell ringing woke my sleeping baby and I had to turn off my porch light before all the candy was gone.

If you have leftover Reese's Peanut Butter cups and don't want to spend the next week fighting the urge to eat them when no one is looking, here's a recipe for you! It comes from a neat site called "Apples and Twinkies". (Too cute!)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cup mixture of milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips
• 32 mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, each cut into 4 pieces or use full size Reese's peanut butter cups and cut them into 8 small chunks

Preparations:

1. Mix the ingredients down to the vanilla. Add soda, salt, and flour. Fold in chips.
2. Using and ice cream scoop, scoop dough (these are big cookies). Place 6 scoops of dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Use your hand and slightly flatten each scoop of dough. Cook for 12 minutes at 350.
3. Remove cookies from oven and lightly press 8 cut up pieces of the Reese’s peanut butter cups over the top of each cookie. 
4. Return to oven for 2 more minutes. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes before placing on cooling rack. 

Makes 20 cookies.

Crispy Oven-Fried Cod Fish from Food.com

Cod is like mushrooms - it's really nothing special unless you dress it up. This recipe is fairly easy but I have to warn you - don't make this while multi-tasking! I wasn't paying enough attention when it came time to fry it and I cooked it a little longer than I should have. Also, if you like tartar sauce then I recommend you serve that with this because while the cod is good, a sauce makes it better.

Note that I cooked it just a little too long...

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 2 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 6 (6 ounce) cod fish fillets (about 3/4-inch thick)
• 3 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 6 -7 tablespoons vegetable oil (more or less as needed)

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees (set oven rack to second-lowest position).
2. In a large heavy ziploc plasic bag combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, seasoning salt, lemon pepper, cayenne and garlic powder; shake the bag to mix (can use a shallow bowl).
3. In a shallow bowl slightly beat the eggs.
4. Adding one piece of fish at a time to the bag, coat well with the mixture, then remove and dip the fish in the eggs, then return to the bag to coat the fish again, repeat for all of the cod pieces; transfer to a plate.
5. Heat about 3 tablespoons oil in a large 12-inch ovenproof skillet (preferably cast-iron) over high heat until hot but not smoking.
6. Fry the fish until the undersides are golden brown (about 1 minute).
7. Turn over and add in another 3-4 tablespoons oil; cook another 1 minute more.
8. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 5-6 minutes or until JUST cooked through.