Dog Biscuits

I made dog biscuits for our dogs and the neighbors dog for Christmas. They were very easy to make and the dogs love them! I thought next year I will make a couple of batches and give them out to all of our neighbors with dogs. This makes a cute gift!

1 cup water

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt
1 egg

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup peanut butter

3 cups whole wheat flour

Glaze:
1 egg
2 tbsp milk

1. Boil water and add rolled oats and butter, turn off burner

and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until it becomes stiff like dough.

3. Put on a floured surface and knead for 3 minutes adding flour if needed.

4. Roll out 1/2" thick and top with egg wash.

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
6. Cool completely.

Gingerbread boy and girl cookies

 I wanted to make gingerbread cookies today and decorate them. Here is the before and after pictures of them.

I thought I would have fun decorating the cookies a little differently.

I took marshmallows and cut them in half. Then I dipped the sticky side into sprinkles and glued them on using frosting. They were very time consuming to make, but cute.

Caramel and Almond Heavenly Cookies

Caramel and Almond Heavenly CookiesI had these cookies at a cookie exchange and they were soooo good. This recipe is super simple, fast and good.

First line your cookie sheet with foil. Line up 12 graham crackers and add 1 cup of marshmallows. In a saucepan, melt 3/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon and melt together. Once it is melted and sugar has dissolved, take off the heat and add 1 tsp. of vanilla. Pour mixture over the graham crackers and marshmallows.

Add 1 cup of sliced almonds, 1 cup of coconut and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Put them in a preheated oven set at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes.

Take them out and cool completely. Cut each square in half to form triangles.

I made these for hubby and he loved them (and so do I)!

Meal Plan Sunday

Meal planning has been hard lately since I go to school every other Tue. night and every Wed. and Thur. night. I have to make enough for leftovers or keep some frozen items on hand. I have about 5 more weeks like this, so I just try to make extra on the nights I cook so my family can eat off that when I am at school.

Sunday- Tri-tip strips, garlic mashed potatoes, beer cheese bread and green beans

Monday- Asian meatball subs and salad

Tuesday- Pork stir fry with oyster sauce and veggies

Wednesday- Leftovers

Thursday- Their choice: Pizza, chicken nuggets, fruits and veggies

Friday- Out to dinner

Saturday- Early Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's. Turkey with all the fixings...yum!

Enjoy the Perfect Thanksgiving

Enjoy The Perfect Thanksgiving.

You’ve come to the right place to make your holiday truly special. This is time to spend with family and friends over the biggest meal of the year. Not scrambling or stressing out to get dinner on the table. Which is why we created this comprehensive Thanksgiving resource for you. Here you’ll find answers and advice for everything you need to know to make this holiday smooth, enjoyable and, of course, delicious.
(From Thanksgivingtips.com)

Check out Thanksgiving Tips for Thanksgiving resources and the recipe for Crispy Onion Twice Baked Potatoes.

Spooky Lunch

This is what I packed in little man's lunch today. The cheese and meat were in shapes of little pumpkins and the flat bread in moon's and ghosts. He has a side of pumpkin seeds and a pumpkin cookie. For a mid-morning snack he has freeze dried apple slices.

Day Trip on a Budget

This past Saturday my family, 2 adults and 2 kids went to Gilroy Gardens for the day. Gilroy Gardens was decorated for halloween through October and we thought that would be a fun time to go. Admission for Gilroy Gardens is normally $44.95 for an adult and $34.95 for children. This is pricey since the park is only open from 11am-5pm. This is how our family of 4 got in for $30.00!

Plum District is a coupon site like Groupon for the San Jose area. Recently they ran a deal where you could buy 1 ticket for $15.00. I bought one ticket and my husband bought one ticket, total cost $30.00. 
My husband is a Coke drinker so he gets the codes off the packs of Coke and submits them to My Coke Rewards. He had enough points for 2 general admission tickets for FREE!

Even if you get in cheaply, food is still expensive. If you are a member you can save 20% off all food and merchandise, but we do not have a membership. The last couple of times we went we packed sandwiches and snacks. This past time the security guard checked our backpack and the bag I had our lunch in. He asked how many kids we had and looked at the food items again. We had 2 sandwiches, some hummus and flat bread, string cheese, a lunch size bag of chips and 2 juice boxes. He said that was fine since the food was for the kids (I think he was being nice). My husband and I ate whatever the kids did not eat knowing we were going to dinner at 5:30pm and we both had a big breakfast. We did buy 2 ICEE's for the kids and for ourselves 2 soda's totalling $16.00! And that is why we take the chance and bring food.

For dinner we stopped at the Chili's in Gilroy. I am a member of MyPoints (like a swagbucks type of program) and turn in my points for gift cards. We had a $10.00 G.C. and 2 coupons for free kids meals. Our dinner came to $11.00 that evening after coupons and G.C..

We were able to have a fun filled day for $57.00 and it only took a half of a tank of gas to get there and back to Fresno.