Lets make Ranch Mix for less than 25 cents a pack!!

Hello my friends! I hope you have enjoyed your Christmas break as much as we did here at our house! The time was spent being and doing everything family and it was truly a joy! 

AND 

one of  the highlights of the season is the exciting news that our 2nd daughter Lindsay has accepted the proposal of her one and only beloved, and will be getting married on April 25 2015!!

 YAY!! 

(be on the look out for wedding posts) 

BTW we LOVE her man something fierce!! He is a wonderful fit for our family and can't wait for their union so that Matt will be an official member of the family!! When you hear people say "you are not loosing a daughter you are gaining a son" cant be more true in this case! Jason and I are very lucky that both of our girls have chosen wonderful sons for us and pray that the 3 remaining children pick some equally great people to join our family!

  WOOT WOOT!! (I am just a smidge excited!!!)

And now.... back to the blog...HAHAHA!!

As I have been reflecting on things I would like to improve in my life and "setting" resolutions for myself one thing that rings true to me is that I'd like to be a better steward of our money. Now, don't get me wrong we have very little debt and we are doing "ok" in the money dept but I would really like to save more, and be able to help more whether its our kids, friends and family when they find themselves in those situations when money can solve the problem. I hate having to say I wish there was something I could do...I would really enjoy being able to actually help. SO....I will be looking for ways to cut the budget to allow us to pad the savings account. Here is my very first money saving discovery!

 DIY Ranch mix! 

(yes we eat far too much of the stuff)

This recipe is a fraction of the price, easy to put together and is sans the preservatives and additives. Silver linings folks!

DIY DRY RANCH MIX

This is enough to equal one packet. Needless to say you can double, triple, quadruple etc it as much as you like. I like just doing one batch at a time so the seasonings are evenly distributed)

3/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dry minced onion (or 1/2 tsp onion powder)

1 pinch thyme

1/4 tsp dill weed

Mix and use as you would a dry ranch mix packet. PS I put it in little containers to avoid wasting baggies. More tiny money savings and hey...it helps the earth a little too. :)

Easy Yummy Crock pot candy (pssst....this is an awesome Hack!!)

 This recipe is inspired by OMG Candy...So Delish! I love that it is made in my crock pot and that I was able to go about my other kitchen duties while it melted away for me.  It is very good!! It would make a wonderful addition to your treat trays for the holidays! Come check it out! Give it a try! Youll be glad you did!!

OMG inspired Crock Pot Candy

1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 bag of milk chocolate chips

1 bag of white chocolate chips

1 bag of heath chips

1 1/2 C of your favorite nut (we used cashews this time)

2 Cups of teddy grahams ( golden grahams cereal would work well too)

Place all of the ingredients in your crock pot. 

Mix together

Set your crock pot to warm and let it go for about 3 hours or until melted.  If you do not have a warm setting set to low and keep an eye on it, watching for it to melt. When it is melted stir and place spoon fulls on a lightly sprayed sheet of aluminum or parchment paper. Once the chocolate is set you can break into smaller pieces or not depending on how you enjoy your candy.  

LOVES!!

EMILY 

Kneaders inspired Pick your flavor Steamer recipe. YUM-O!! Where have you been all my life??!?

So recently we, as a family, discovered

 A Steamer...

SO GOOD! 

It was a must make at home deal. 

Seriously. 

I think I may just like them as much or more than Hot Cocoa. *gasp* IT is totally what the doctor ordered for these cold winter nights here in Utah.

So after some trial and error here is what we came up with for a recipe.

Pick your Flavor Steamers

1 Cup of milk

1/2 Cup of your favorite flavored Coffee Creamer (think Coffee-mate or International Delight etc this one is pumpkin spice flavored)

whipped cream (optional)

Mix together and microwave to heat. We did ours for about a minute and a half but you know your microwave best and what you need to get it toasty warm for ya. :)

*NOTE-This is a 2 to 1 ratio dealio so you can adjust it how ever you need to make more or less as you like. Also the creamer can be more or less depending on your taste.