Taste of Home Cookbooks

Today I was making my grocery shopping list and organizing my stacks of coupons. I decided to have the girls help me pick out some new recipes. I handed each one of them a cookbook and asked them to find something they would like to eat. Of course they found all the pictures of desserts. smart girls. But this was a fun way to talk about new foods. We read over ingredients and talked about different fruits and vegetables. 

I found Bruschetta Chicken that I want to try. 

Taste of Home

I have never heard of Asparagus Corn Crepes before.

Taste of Home

My three year old pointed out the summer drinks. Sensational Slush

Taste of Home

I MUST try the Mozzarella Sticks. They look so easy and delicious.

Taste of Home

They giggled over these Cute Egg Chicks.

Taste of Home

so cute. Easter Sugar Cookies

Taste of Home

I love these cookbooks from Taste of Home. Each book is a collection of all the recipes that were printed in the Taste of Home magazines throughout that year. 

I found these cookbooks at a garage sale for 50 cents EACH. Over 300 pages in each book. 

Each book retails for $24.99. I picked up all 5 cookbooks for $2.50 total.

Recipes don't expire. :-)

You can find HUNDREDS of recipes for free at www.tasteofhome.com.

Before and After - Kids table

before

I purchased this table last summer. ADORABLE. for $30! The chair fabric was cute. My ADORABLE 3 year old used a marker on that cute fabric. I knew it could be easily changed. This week I went to JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon and purchased 1/2 yard. For $2 I recovered BOTH chairs. LOVE THIS FABRIC. I think I am going to use the scraps of fabric in the girls scrapbooks. LOVE THIS FABRIC! (it was $7.99/yard)

after

Today's baking challenge. Cake Mix Cookies.

We tried this cookie recipe using a cake mix. 

The picture looked so adorable I had to try it!  

The 3 frosting bowls came from a garage sale. $1 for all 3 bowls.

Recipe is from Parents Magazine, April 2011, page 190

1 box yellow cake mix

1 large egg

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup buttermilk

colored sprinkles

1 can vanilla frosting

yellow, red, blue food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside. 

2. Combine the cake mix, egg, oil and buttermilk in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Shape 1-inch mounds of batter into balls and flatten slightly. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. 

Top with sprinkles. 

3. Bake until cookies are golden and firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. 

4. Divide the frosting among three bowls. Use a few drops of food coloring to tint frosting. Sandwich the cookies together with frosting. Makes 30.

YUMMY!

Ok, so this makes 30 cookies, which makes 15 sandwiches. And when the 3 cooks must sample a few you only end up with about 10 sandwiches. :-)

Linking up to Creative Party at http://todayscreativeblog.net/

Thirsty Thursday!

Another trip to Salvation Army today! This week is 50% off yellow tags. So I scanned the shelves for the yellow stickers. I found this set of 6 glasses. They are sturdy and simple. The price was $8.99 for 6 (then 50% off) = $4.50. The sticker on all the glasses reads "Schott Zwiesel Made in Germany". Since this label is still intact on all 6 glasses I am guessing they haven't been used.

I researched Schott Zwiesel online and this style is called "Paris" and they are listed at $9 per glass!

$4.50 vs. $54.00 

There are some great deals out there! 

Cheers!

Happy Valentines Day

love love love

My recent Salvation Army treasure! This cake plate is 12 inches across and it was only $2.99!!

I added the ribbon. I could bake some sweet treats to put on here or I could even use it as a memo board!!! A dry erase marker to write a special message!

6 New Tables!

My kitchen table Craiglist find. I loved the size and the price.
It came with 4 matching chairs but we have moved out 2 of them and replaced them with 2 kid chairs. I would LOVE to paint everything glossy black! I may need some help with that.

My first garage sale purchase this year (in May). I saw this cute white table when I was driving by and I had to stop the car and take a look. Only $2. It needs a fresh coat of paint but it is a perfect craft table for the girls in "grandma's room".

Great deal! $15
I can't wait to sand this down and paint it white! I am even considering adding padding on the top and covering it with fabric for nice new seating in our family room. I would have to chop off a few inches of the legs so it wasn't too tall.

IKEA table and 2 chairs. This is a great little kids table. I paid $5 for this one. And this is our 2nd one. We actually bought this table and chairs set from IKEA brand new for $20 last year. It is so handy. When I found another for $5 I knew it would get used! This one is in my oldest daughters room. The other one is in the playroom being used as a "kitchen" table.

Simple little side table. $5

Cute. Adorable. Perfect.
$30
It fits PERFECT in our kitchen. ADORABLE for tea parties! CUTE fabric on the chairs but my youngest tried to add color to them with her black markers. I do want to replace the fabric. I am looking for the right cupcake fabric.

Our new ice cream bowls

I love the fun, bright colors of these bowls. Perfect for ice cream! Ben and Jerry's cheesecake brownie is my favorite!
$4 total for the bowls.

Giant pear

It may not look so big here but it is 11 inches tall. It would be giant if it was real. Small price tag though. Only $2. Love this decoration in my kitchen. Ballarddesigns.com sells them for $49 !

Blue mason jars

I love the look of these blue mason canning jars. Just a bit of color. They are great as vases or even drinking glasses. I found them at different sales and paid $1 or less per jar. I won't pay more than $1 each. And I would love to find more.

Hamburgers!

I really loved this old looking metal sign. Fun colors! I found this one for $5 and hung it up in my kitchen!

New bench for my kitchen

So nice. $30. Almost 5 feet long. Love it!