301 moved permanently

Monday, April 27, 2009

Derby Day Pie

I had to deviate from my "Cleaning Out" posts today to pay homage to a Kentucky favorite. (Check back tomorrow and I'll continue the "Cleaning Out" series.) As you may know, I am from Kentucky and this week our state is center stage. The Run for the Roses, a.k.a., The Kentucky Derby runs this Saturday. There are many festivities that lead up to this event and even some locally favorite foods gain extra attention this time of year. Have you ever heard of Burgoo or Mint Julep? One is delicious, the other, not so much.

One of the other Kentucky specialties is Derby Day Pie. (We actually refer to it as something else, but the name we use is trademarked and I want to play it safe.) This pie is delicious, addicting and easy to make.

Derby Day Pie

1 cup sugar
1 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 50 minutes at 350 or until set. This makes enough for two regular pie shells or one deep dish.

If you want to read more about the Derby from a local's point of view, Shannon at Up Too Early has written a post that will give you taste of the city during this exciting time.

This recipe has been linked to:
Mouthwatering Mondays by Southern Fairytale
Kitchen Tip Tuesdays by Tammy's Recipes
Tempt My Tummy by Blessed With Grace
Tasty Tuesday by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Talk about Tuesday by The Lazy Organizer

Labels: food, Kentucky, recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, April 27, 2009 10 Comments

Monday, April 20, 2009

Lemon Cheese Bars

Lemon Cheese Bars are a great spring dessert. They are a little lighter than the heavier desserts we usually associate with winter and these are not overly lemon flavored, which makes them perfect for those who do not typically like lemon desserts.

Lemon Cheese Bars

1 box yellow cake mix, the ones with pudding in the mix are preferable
1 8 ounce package softened cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 eggs, used separately
1/3 cup oil

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry cake mix with 1 egg and 1/3 cup oil until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup and pat remaining mixture lightly in an ungreased 13x9 pan. Bake 15 minutes. Beat cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and 1 egg until smooth. Spread over baked layer and sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over the top. Bake 15 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into bars.

You will find other recipes at the following sites:
Mouthwatering Mondays by Southern Fairytale
Kitchen Tip Tuesdays by Tammy's Recipes
Tempt My Tummy at Blessed With Grace
Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge

Labels: recipes, Spring

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, April 20, 2009 9 Comments

Monday, April 13, 2009

Virtual Great American Bake Sale

Have you seen the Great American Bake Sale that is taking place across America? Its a wonderful program that endeavours to put an end to child hunger. There is a virtual version of this program taking place across the blogosphere. Just a little info about the Virtual Great American Bake Sale:

100% of the proceeds from the sale of these ebooks will go toward Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale program. Funds raised through Great American Bake Sale are donated to after-school and summer feeding programs--food programs that many kids depend on when school is not in session. Great American Bake Sale is a program of Share Our Strength, a national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.The ebooks are a compilation of recipes from submitters across the blogosphere and beyond. The ebooks are available for purchase based on any donation amount of the buyer's choosing.

Here's the recipe I contributed:

White Chip Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups white chocolate chips

2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Once combined, stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven or until cookies are set. Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes and then move to wire rack to cool completely.

These were delicious, though very rich.

Please visit Cooking During Stolen Moments to find more recipe submissions. If you would like to donate the amount of your choosing and receive the compiled E-book, you may do so below.

The Complete 2009 VGABS Recipes Ebook

Features all 170 of the submitted recipes. Many of the recipes include pictures.

On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Shopping cart courtesy of E-Junkie.

Because we know file size may be an issue for some, the below ebooks have split the 170 recipes into 4 categorized ebooks so that you can choose just 1 or 2 of your favorites, if you'd prefer. Just like for the Complete ebook, many of these recipes include pictures. And again, they are available for purchase based on any donation amount of the buyer's choosing.

Muffins & Breads

Features 24 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Cookies, Candy, Cakes, Bars & Brownies

Features 50 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Desserts
Features 49 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Beyond Baked Goods (Appetizers, Breakfast, Main Dishes, etc.)

Features 47 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Labels: Charitable causes, recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, April 13, 2009 0 Comments

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Everything Egg - How to Boil the Perfect Egg

"Just doing our best" is great for most things in the home, but not for boiling eggs. In my opinion, this is one area where we need to get it right or the results will be unpleasant. There are lots of methods that work and sometimes, you just need to try a few to see which one works best for you. For quite a while, I was inept in the egg arena, but finally found a method that worked for me.

This is how I boil the perfect egg:

Place the eggs into a large pot and salt the water. (Salt will raise the boiling temperature of the water.)

Place on the stove and heat just until they start to boil.

When you see they are beginning to boil, cover and remove from heat.

Let them sit for 20 minutes.

At the end of 20 minutes, drain the water and refill the pot with cold water and ice to stop the cooking process.

I usually peel them immediately, but this is a personal preference.

Refrigerate after the eggs have cooled in the ice water.

Trouble peeling the eggs?

Fresh eggs are the hardest to peel. Use these for cooking and the oldest eggs for boiling.
Eggshells are porous, so you can add a drop or two of vegetable oil to the water as they cook. The oil will soak through the shell which will allow easier peeling. I tried this and it really works. I added too much oil though and it was a mess, so play around with the amount of oil you need as compared to the size pot you are using. I would not recommend this for the eggs you will be decorating since the decorations probably will not stick.

This is what works in my kitchen. Have you found any egg-related tips that work for you?

You will find this post and many other tips at:

Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family.

*****If you enjoy family game night, head to my main page and scroll down for information on how to you can win one of two games that will be given away this Friday. ****

Labels: Everything Egg, food, recipes, tips

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, April 07, 2009 16 Comments

Monday, April 6, 2009

Everything Egg - Use Them Up

With Easter quickly approaching, you probably have seen reduced egg prices and will likely be boiling some this weekend. Over the next few days, I will be giving you some egg info, food prep suggestions and decorating ideas, so check back often to see what's new.

If you plan on coloring eggs or even if you are just a frugal shopper, you will want to take advantage of the lower egg prices. Of course, it's not a bargain if you do not use them before they expire. Read on for some ideas on using them up and if you have other ideas, please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear your ideas too.

First and simplest, my kids love them as a filling, protein-laden snack. Just add a little salt and pepper and enjoy.

A classic stand-by, egg salad is quite filling for growing children. Smash the eggs with a fork and add the salt and pepper to taste before adding the other ingredients. Add a little mustard, mayo and pickle relish to taste.

Making meat loaf? Hollow out a cavity once the meat is in the pan, place 2 hard-boiled eggs in the cavity and place the remaining meat on top of the eggs so that they are covered. (Cheese is also great to hide inside the meat loaf.) Then, bake as normal.

**Update. I've received quite a bit of comments and questions about the eggs inside of meatloaf, so I found a recipe to show you what I'm talking about. It's not the same one I use, but the one at Eggland's Best will give you an idea of what it looks like.**

Eggs are perfect in almost any salad - potato salad, macaroni salad, tuna or on top of a tossed salad.

Of course, we can't omit the obligatory Deviled Eggs. I like to use a Crinkle Cutter to slice the eggs in half. (This is the same crinkle cutter that apparently makes carrot sticks taste better. You can read about it in this veggie post.) Prepare your favorite recipe and place into a pastry bag or a zippered plastic bag and snip off the corner. This makes refilling the eggs much neater and prettier than using a spoon. For extra flavor, sometimes I add ranch dressing and a little less mayo.

If you still need unique ideas for Devilled Eggs, check out DevilledEggs.org. I would have never guessed there are more than 50 ways to fix these eggs.

If you need some pointers on boiling the perfect egg or a way to save on them through the year, check back tomorrow.

This post is linked to:

Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy's Recipes

I Am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic

Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed With Grace

Labels: Everything Egg, food, holiday ideas, recipes, tips

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Monday, April 06, 2009 10 Comments

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Quick and Easy Vegetable Dip

This is easily one of the simplest Veggie Dip recipes I have ever seen. Though it is quick to assemble, you do need to allow a few hours for it to chill.

Quick and Easy Veggie Dip

You will need:

1 package Knorrs Vegetable recipe mix, found with dry soup mixes

16 oz. sour cream

Simply mix the two ingredients together and refrigerate for a few hours so the mix can rehydrate and flavors meld together.

This recipe is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday at Forever Wherever

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge

Labels: recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, March 31, 2009 4 Comments

Friday, March 27, 2009

Homemade Freezer-Ready Pizza Sauce

I originally found this recipe at Miserly Moms years ago, before frugal was the new black, and used it often. I recently rediscovered it and pulled it back out of the cookbook as another effort to reduce expenses at home.

If this sauce is made and ready, I will be more likely to make pizza at home rather than order out and I do not have to run to the grocery store when I choose to make one. In addition to convenience, this homemade sauce costs less than half of the jarred sauce.

Some of the ingredients lend well to changing so you can cater to your family's taste, just as I changed it a bit from the original.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

1 large can Tomato Puree (29 oz.)

1 small can Tomato Sauce (8 oz.)

approximately 1/4 cup olive oil (original recipe called for 1/2 cup salad oil but I thought that was too much)

2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon oregano

1 Tablespoon parsley flakes

Mix all of the ingredients together and divide into 4 freezer bags. There's no need to cook this and it freezes very well.

The total cost of 4 portions of pizza sauce is roughly $1.50 or .38 a pizza.

This post is linked to :

Finding Freedom Friday at Cents to Get Debt-Free

Friday Recipe Swap at Grocery Store Challenge

Mouth Watering Mondays at A Southern Fairytale

Labels: frugality, Make it Yourself, recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Friday, March 27, 2009 7 Comments

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Prize Winning Texas Chili

As promised in my Ultimate Blog Party post, today I am sharing my favorite, prize winning chili recipe. This recipe comes from my grandpa in Texas, who you may remember from a previous post if you are a regular reader here, is a great cook.

Last weekend, our church had a chili cook-off and of 20+ pots of other chili, his recipe won! I am so excited because I make this for my family several times a year, every year and we love it.

Texas Chili

2 cans jalapeno pinto beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
3 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup parsley
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1/3 cup chili powder
2 Tablespoons cumin
2 large onions
2 large bell peppers
2 Tablespoons shortening or oil
1 stick of butter

Saute diced onion and bell pepper in shortening until tender. Set aside. Brown meat in pan and pour off grease. Add butter and dry ingredients to meat; mix well. Add cooked onions, pepper, and parsley to the meat; mix well. Add beans, tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook slowly 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

As you can see from the pic, sometimes I use a little less meat, onions, and green pepper for weeknight meals, just to keep the cost down. For the cook-off though, the recipe was followed precisely. We like it served with Fritos under the chili. OK, my mouth is watering just typing this out.

Hope you like it!

You can find this recipe linked to:
Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy's Recipes
Tasty Tuesday at Forever Wherever
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace
Talk about Tuesday at The Lazy Organizer

Labels: recipes, Ultimate Blog Party

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, March 24, 2009 8 Comments

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Fast and Free Homemade Cleaner

I have white counter tops. I love the crisp and clean appearance, but they can be an absolute pain. I've had gorgeous shades of purple from grape juice and a beautiful pink from something I couldn't identify. Usually a quick spray of a commercial cleaner is enough, but when regular kitchen cleaners don't do the job, I have a quick and powerful cleaner that I can whip up from my pantry.

I do not have exact measurements, but it's easy to eyeball. Just put a little bit of baking soda into a small bowl. A couple of tablespoons will probably be more than enough. Then, add just enough lemon juice to make a paste. This paste is one powerful cleaner. Just rub it onto the stained item and if it's stubborn, let it sit for bit. If the stain still won't budge, cover the stain with the homemade paste and let it sit outside in the sunlight for a while.

Once when an item transferred rust to my white dishes in the dishwasher, I used this paste and it came right off.

Do you have any tips for great homemade cleaners?

For more tips, visit Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Labels: cleaning, frugality, recipes, tips, Works for Me Wednesday

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, March 10, 2009 9 Comments

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Easiest Ever Avocado Salad

Being from Kentucky, I am not well-versed in anything avocado. But, thanks to my family in Texas, I'm learning to love them and I even have a clue now how to prepare them.

I recently learned that Spring is avocado season, so you will soon start to see lower prices. When you find these green gems on sale, pick up a few extra. This week Blossoming Skillet had a great post that taught me that you can freeze avocados. Who knew? I didn't and I'm certainly going to try it.

This embarrassingly easy recipe came from my grandpa in Texas, whom I think is one of the best cooks ever.

Easiest Ever Avocado Salad

Coarsely dice 2 avocados and 3 small tomatoes and place in serving bowl. (I've used Roma and they work well because Roma's have less liquid than some of the other varieties.) Then, coat the diced duo with Italian dressing. You will have to eyeball the amount, but you will not want to use too much. Just enough to coat.

It's THAT easy. My kids like to eat avocado salad with tortilla chips, as they would guacamole, but it's also great served by itself. The salad is extremely versatile so you can vary the quantity of fruits used based on the size of your family and personal preferences.

If you want to check out more recipes, be sure to visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday hosted this week at The Finer Things and Share My Recipe Sunday at Organize with Sandy, and Favorite Ingredients Friday at Overwhelmed With Joy!

If you like what you have read, be sure to check out my main page.

Labels: plan ahead, recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Sunday, March 08, 2009 4 Comments

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Frugal and Time Saving Cornbread

By its nature, cornbread is one of the most frugal dishes you can make. The trick however, is finding a recipe that your family enjoys. While all families are different, my family thinks it is a treat when I make the following recipe. It is a lighter, cake-like cornbread.

Corn Bread

1 cup corn meal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

Mix together and pour into a greased pan. 8x8 or 9x9 usually works well, but a larger pan will suffice. If you use the larger pan, the cornbread will be much flatter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bread is done in the middle and golden on top.

Now for the time saver, when you are making your batch, dish out extra dry ingredients and put into zippered bags. By adding all the dry ingredients now, you will save time later by having it partially assembled. Next time you are wanting to serve cornbread, just pull out a bag, add the wet ingredients and bake. Be sure to jot down the quantities of the wet ingredients and baking instructions on the outside of the bag.

This cornbread would be delicious with Calico Beans.

For more kitchen tips, check out Tammy's Recipes.

Labels: food, frugality, plan ahead, recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, February 24, 2009 3 Comments

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Calico Beans - a hearty dish that stretches ground beef

1/2 pound ground beef
1 medium (1/2 cup) chopped onion
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons vinegar
1 can pork and beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can lima beans

Brown beef and saute onion until tender. Combine beef, onion, ketchup, salt, brown sugar, mustard and vinegar in a 3 quart baking dish. Partially drain beans and add to baking dish, stirring gently.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Great served with cornbread!

For more recipes, visit Organizing With Sandy.

Labels: recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Sunday, February 15, 2009 4 Comments

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Fun in the Snow

Our part of the country has been slammed by winter weather and we were getting rather excited about the 4-6 inches of predicted snow. See my sidebar for the reasons why we love winter.

So, I was all geared up for some fun in the snow with my kids. I have a new snow activity prepared (stayed tuned for that one) and we were going to make snowcream. Unfortunately, we got only a tad bit of snow, but we can now measure the accumulating ice. In fact, I just watched a tree branch fall under the weight. Freezing rain is expected to continue which does not bode well for our winter recipe, so I'm providing this for those of you lucky enough to get snow rather than ice.

Snow Cream

1 gallon snow

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups milk

Mix together and enjoy.

Enjoy some for us and come back tomorrow to see our other snow activity. The question now, will the freezing rain change to snow? Can we use our other activity or will we ice skate on the driveway?

Labels: fun with the kids, recipes

# posted by Heather@justdoingmybest @ Tuesday, January 27, 2009 0 Comments

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]

Just Doing My Best

http://www.justdoingmybest.com

Just Doing My Best

Monday, April 27, 2009

Derby Day Pie

Monday, April 20, 2009

Lemon Cheese Bars

Monday, April 13, 2009

Virtual Great American Bake Sale

Muffins & Breads

Cookies, Candy, Cakes, Bars & Brownies

Features 50 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Desserts
Features 49 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Beyond Baked Goods (Appetizers, Breakfast, Main Dishes, etc.)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Everything Egg - How to Boil the Perfect Egg

Monday, April 6, 2009

Everything Egg - Use Them Up

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Quick and Easy Vegetable Dip

Friday, March 27, 2009

Homemade Freezer-Ready Pizza Sauce

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Prize Winning Texas Chili

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Fast and Free Homemade Cleaner

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Easiest Ever Avocado Salad

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Frugal and Time Saving Cornbread

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Calico Beans - a hearty dish that stretches ground beef

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Fun in the Snow

Contributors

Links

Archives

Just Doing My Best

http://www.justdoingmybest.com

Just Doing My Best

Monday, April 27, 2009

Derby Day Pie

Monday, April 20, 2009

Lemon Cheese Bars

Monday, April 13, 2009

Virtual Great American Bake Sale

Muffins & Breads

Cookies, Candy, Cakes, Bars & BrowniesFeatures 50 recipes. On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

DessertsFeatures 49 recipes. On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Beyond Baked Goods (Appetizers, Breakfast, Main Dishes, etc.)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Everything Egg - How to Boil the Perfect Egg

Monday, April 6, 2009

Everything Egg - Use Them Up

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Quick and Easy Vegetable Dip

Friday, March 27, 2009

Homemade Freezer-Ready Pizza Sauce

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Prize Winning Texas Chili

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Fast and Free Homemade Cleaner

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Easiest Ever Avocado Salad

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Frugal and Time Saving Cornbread

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Calico Beans - a hearty dish that stretches ground beef

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Fun in the Snow

Contributors

Links

Archives

Cookies, Candy, Cakes, Bars & Brownies

Features 50 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Desserts
Features 49 recipes.
On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.