pasta w/ cream, parsley & sun-dried tomatoes

In a large saucepan, place

2 Tbs English double devon cream

(or 1/4 cup heavy cream)

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

2 Tbs fresh chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic, crushed

bring to boil and turn off heat, stirring with a whisk

In a seperate small frying pan,

make a roux (2 Tbs butter & 2 Tbs flour)

add the roux, stirring w/ whisk to the sauce

turn heat on medium low, stirring just until the sauce thickens a little.

take off heat immediately

add julienne sun-dried tomatoes to sauce.

salt & pepper to taste

add over favorite pasta

(i used pumpkin pasta - Pasta by Deb)

top with freshly grated romano cheese

and grilled chicken

tuna cakes....winter squash...

Tuna cakes

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves crushed garlic

lots of fresh chopped parsley

3 cans of tuna ( or you could use fresh cooked)

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

2 eggs

2 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon

lots of fresh grated romano cheese

(about 1/4 -1/2 cup)

coarse salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 t. old bay seasoning

mix well & set aside.

cover the bottom of a large skillet with vegetable oil.

heat a hair above medium

taking care not to burn yourself (it splashed me a few times)

use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to scoop.

flatten w/ hand ( like making a hamburger)

place it on a fish spatula & slide into skillet.

let cook a few minutes on each side until golden brown

transfer onto paper towel or brown paper bag to drain oil.

winter squash

bake a winter squash whole on 350 degrees on a baking sheet

for a little over an hour, until very done.

cut in half using a bread knife

scoop out center (seeds)& discard.

scoop out the squash int bowl

add 2 Tbs butter

2 heaping packed Tbs of brown sugar

3 Tbs heavy cream

Beat with hand mixer until very smooth

pumpkin pancakes w/ cinnamon brown butter

This was adopted from the Taste of home magazine

I did, however, make a few alterations.

cinnamon brown butter

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until golden brown,

stirring occasionally.

add the maple syrup,cinnamon & nutmeg.

add the pecans & remove from heat.

pumpkin pancakes

1 -1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1-1/3 cup milk

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients.

In another larger bowl, combine wet ingredients.

gently stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until moistened.

Drop batter by 1/4 cup onto a greased (butter) griddle.

batter will be thicker so use the back of a spoon to quickly spread thinner.

turn, once bubbles form on top & flip.

serve with cinnamon brown butter.

enjoy!

if you prefer to just use maple syrup, i would suggest

adding the cinnamon to the pancake batter.

pomegranate salad

here is a very simple & delicious salad.

start with cleaned, green leaf lettuce (or whatever you prefer)

place in large bowl

add pomegranate pieces

chopped walnuts or almonds

(i used both)

drizzle on olive oil, balsamic vinegar & maple syrup

coarse salt & toss

place in bowl & add manderin oranges

enjoy!

crustless pumpkin pie with streusel topping

this is from my favorite website www.thefrugalgirl.com which i think she got the recipe from taste of home or somewhere like that & i have to say, it was very delicious!

i forgot to take a pic of mine so i swiped it from her webpage

1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I use 1 t. cinnamon and 1/8 t. each of allspice,

cloves, nutmeg, and ginger)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup quick cooking oats

2 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 350° F. In a bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, flour, spices,

baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth. Pour into greased 9-inch pie plate.

Combine brown sugar and oats, and cut in butter. Sprinkle over pie

filling.

Bake 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

under budget??? we'll see

i'm going to be trying my best to be under budget w/ the grocery bill this time around. we still budgeted the same amount,but, i'm going to try to use as little as possible though, so i have extra money for christmas. i'll also be using some things that i already have(which i need to do anyway)! since we are working on debt, we should have our car paid off next payroll. November 26th! black friday :) which means i wont have much money for black friday shopping. hence, trying to go under budget as much as possible because mortgage is also due that pay. we had ordered a dresser and a headboard/footboard for Nina that we are picking up this week. otherwise we would have had it paid off this week. (my fault :( ) i'm so annoyed because it was impulsive. the next week after i ordered it, we decided that we are going to buy another house so i wished that i hadn't :( URG! but, it is very nice & i'll be happy with it.

it's the time of year that we are all wishing tax return was sooner rather than later.

tips for saving

someone asked me for tips from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class, so i will be putting down a few very good tips & if anyone wants to say what works for them, that would be great!

1. first and foremost- you NEED an emergency fund (savings- atleast $1000) for emergencies like car repair or real emergencies.

2. do your budget every payroll! set a goal & stick with it. it will take time to tweak everything. so, be patient :) pay any extra money you have on debt...smallest to biggest. keep your goals in mind.

3. have an envelope system & pay cash for EVERYTHING!!!! NO MORE CREDIT CARDS!!!

cash is harder to part with since you see that it disappears quicker so sometimes you realize you might want to hold on to that money for something you want more. (most people who use even debit cards, spend 12-17% more.

4. be thankful!!! if you watch a lot of t.v., there is a lot of pressure to have the "nicest", which, i agree, who DOESN'T want the best, but, don't go into debt over it. being frugal isn't about being cheap & buying cheap, junky items. but saving where you can, so that you can splurge on something more important to you.

5. think about little purchases. starbucks (or "5bucks" and believe me, we love good coffee), pack your lunches......shop clearance/off season. buy coordinating wardrobes. (sometimes i find that i have random things for my kids that doesn't really match anything) so just because that shirt is cheap, if you have to buy shoes and pants b/c you have nothing to match it, it might not really be saving you.

6. do you have gym memberships you don't use? cable, that you don't need? we got rid of our blackberries (we didn't barely use all of the features b/c we didn't need it) & we save $850/yr (you can get something more important to you...like put it towards vacation). cut back & got basic cable (we save $780/yr) and still have cable modem. cutting back on things that aren't as important to you to save for things more important.

just a couple of thoughts :)

"very garlicky" mashed cauliflower

i swiped this picture from the internet since i forgot to take a picture of mine.

1 very large head of cauliflower (or you can use 2 bgs frozen)

1 bulb garlic sliced horizonally (in skin)

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs heavy whipping cream

coarse salt (quite a bit)

first, open sliced bulb of garlic up(leave in shell) & pour olive oil on top of garlic. wrap in foil.

bake at 400 for 30 min or until very soft.

next, boil cauliflower until it's overcooked. don't leave in water too long otherwise

it will end up runny (that's what happened to me this time)

drain very well.

put in mixer or mixing bowl if you have a hand mixer

when garlic is done, pinch out the garlic from the bulb & add to cauliflower

add butter & mix

add cream & salt & mix

add more salt as necessary.

fresh ground pepper if you like or fresh chopped chives

easy little hors d'oevres

okay, so i have been totally busy this week w/ school & Nina's parties that i haven't added any recipes, but i make these little

hors d'oevres and they are always a hit. super easy. i buy the little packs of Athens Fillo (Phyllo) shells & i fill them w/ a mixture of

1 softened cream cheese,

fresh squeezed lemon (less than half)

& sugar (??? maybe a 1/4 cup??? more? less?) to desired sweetness.

oops didn't think of measuring :(

mix with a hand mixer. pipe into shells & top w/ a fresh raspberry.

enjoy ♥

english muffins

1 cup warm water (105 F)

1 pkg. (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons butter

5-6 cups all purpose flour

corn meal for dusting

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a mixing bowl. Combine milk, sugar, salt, and butter, and heat to

110 F. Add to yeast mixture along with 3 cups flour. Beat for 3 minutes. Add enough remaining

flour to make a soft dough and turn out onto floured surface. Knead for 3-5 minutes, or until

smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl, cover with a wet tea towel, and let rise 1 hour.

Punch dough down, and divide in half. Let dough rest for 10 minutes. On a surface generously

sprinkled with cornmeal, pat or roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into circles with a floured 3-

inch biscuit cutter. Place circles onto ungreased baking sheet. Cover with a dry tea towel and let

rise 30 minutes.

Place risen muffins gently onto a medium-hot griddle or skillet and cook for 10 minutes on each

side. Cool on a wire rack. Split with a fork (not a knife or else you will not get the middle to look like an english muffin) and toast before serving.