Jack-O-Lantern S'mores

I was given the chance (and some free cereal) to create a fun Halloween treat thanks to Betty Crocker. The following Jack-O-Lantern S'mores recipes is what I (actually my husband) came up with and it was featured at Betty Crocker.com last year.

Makes: 4 jack-o-lanterns

4 cups Golden Grahams, slightly crushed
2 T. butter
6 c. mini marshmallows
1/2 c. Cocoa Puffs
2 drops red food coloring
3 drops yellow food coloring

In a medium pot, melt butter. Add in marshmallows and stir until almost melted. Stir in food colorings and continue stirring until marshmallows are completely melted and orange coloring is uniform. Remove from heat; stir in crushed Golden Grahams until completely coated. Divide Golden Graham mixture into four equal parts. Place each part on a lightly greased or buttered plate and shape into a pumpkin. Use Cocoa Puffs to create a jack-o-lantern face, pushing them into the marshmallow mixture. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Click here to see if there are any coupons available to go with this recipe!

Tips: This is a fun recipe because kids can help to shape the pumpkin and create the jack-o-lantern face. I called it Jack-O-Lantern S'mores because it has the graham, marshmallow and chocolate flavors. A plastic plate scraper is helpful to shape the pumpkin since the marshmallows are still hot and sticky. If the Cocoa Puffs are pushed into the pumpkin, they should stick while the marshmallows are still warm. I also shared this recipe at Real Life's Your Life Your Blog, at Mom Trends' Friday Food and at Grocery Cart Challenge's Recipe Swap.

Recipe from Stacy (with credit given to my husband for the idea)

Disclosure: I was provided with seven boxes of General Mills cereal to use in creating my recipe. I was not compensated in any other way.

Spicy-Sweet Ribs and Beans

Serves: 8

2 (16 oz.) cans pinto beans, drained
3-4 lbs. country-style pork ribs, fat trimmed
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (10.5 oz.) jar red jalapeno jelly
1 (18 oz.) bottle hickory-flavored barbecue sauce

Place beans in the bottom of crock pot. Sprinkle ribs with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place ribs on broiler pan. Broil 5 1/2 inches from heat for 18-20 minutes or until browned, turning once. Add ribs to crock pot and sprinkle with onion. Combine jelly and barbecue sauce in a small saucepan; cook over low heat until jelly melts. Pour over ribs; stir gently. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 9-10 hours.

Check my coupon resources page to see if you can save money when you make this recipe!

Tips: These ribs had a great flavor and were not too spicy so don't let the jalapeno jelly scary you away. I found the jelly in the jams & jelly section at the grocery store on the very top shelf. The meat should fall off the bone when it's ready so a slotted spoon is probably the best to remove both the meat and beans. You can also use one large can of pinto beans in place of the two smaller cans.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living: Slow-Cooker Cookbook

Frugal Food

Welcome Frugal Foodies! Listed below are the links and resources I talked about in my Frugal Food presentation. Please feel free to e-mail me anytime with questions or comments. Good luck!

*My apologies to my regular readers and an explanation for what probably seems like a very confusing post. I have a talk entitled "Frugal Food" that I have given to local groups and the links and resources below are connected with the information I gave them. Many can be relevant for anyone and others are more specific to Southern Colorado.

Coupon Resources
Coupons.com
Cool Savings
Red Plum
Cellfire
Organic Coupons
Denver Post
All You Magazine

Colorado Grocery Match-Ups
King Soopers/City Market - Springs Bargains
Cents Saved
Albertsons - Springs Bargains
Cents Saved
National Stores - Be Centable

Grocery Store Websites
City Market
Albertsons
Nature's Oasis
Wal-Mart
Walgreens
Rite-Aid

Meal Planning Websites
The Dinner Solution (use code "RFMS15" for 15% discount)
Food on the Table
E-Mealz (use coupon code "savemoney")
Once A Month Mom

Favorite Easy Cookbooks
The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook
The Four Ingredient Cookbook
365 Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker Recipes & More
Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Taste of Home Cookbooks
- click on "Cookbooks", then"Quick & Easy"

Stacy's favorite website: Freebies4Mom

Upromise - Start Your Child's College Savings Today

Getting your finances in order: The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Thanks for being a part of my presentation! I'd love to hear what you thought of the information or any tips you would like to share with others.

Yoplait Splitz Prize Pack Giveaway

This giveaway has now ended. My daughter loves yogurt and especially "kid yogurts" as she fondly calls them. Kid yogurts are any variety yogurt that is geared toward kids, usually coming in a bright package and without bits. Because to a 4-year-old there is nothing worse than "bits" in your yogurt. That being said, new Yoplait Splitz is not just a kid yogurt but received two big thumbs up from my daughter.

We tried the Strawberry Sundae flavor and she had it finished before I even knew she had started. Yoplait Splitz are also available in Strawberry Banana Split and Rainbow Sherbet. With no artificial flavors or sweeteners and no high fructose corn syrup, this 90 calorie dessert is the treat your family craves. I am a little curious about the coloring in the yogurt but it's not a dye with a number. For an even "cooler" experience, just pop a YoplaitSplitz in the freezer and in a few hours you can enjoy a cool, creamy cup of authentic frozen yogurt.

Visit MyBlogSpark to print a 75¢ off coupon for Yoplait Splitz.

Yoplait has provided a Splitz price pack for one Recipes for Moms reader. The prize pack includes a free coupon for Yoplait Splitz yogurt, an insulated carry tote and a roll up fleece picnic blanket. We have used the blanket several time this summer and the insulated tote is so nice I think I will use it as a Christmas present. (The free coupon is not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota and Tennessee.)

Required Entry:

- Comment on which new flavor of Yoplait Splitz you would like to try. (This has to be done for any additional entries to be valid.)

Additional Entries:

- Find a recipe from Recipes for Moms you plan to try with your family and leave a comment telling me which recipe.

- Grab my button and add it to your site. Please let me know where I can find it. (If you already have it, that counts too.)

- Blog, post info, tweet or otherwise publicize this giveaway and link back to this post. Again, let me know where I can find it. (1 entry allowed for each form of publicity)

- "Like" Recipes for Moms on Facebook. (If you already do, that counts.)

- Subscribe to Recipes for Moms by E-mail. Please make sure you activate your subscription by clicking the activate link in the initial e-mail. If you already subscribe, just leave a comment saying so.

Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry and your e-mail address if it is not available on your profile. This giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and the contest will end on Tuesday, October 26th at midnight (Mountain Time). After I contact the winner, they will have 48 hours to get back to me or another winner will be chosen. Good luck! I reserve the right to delete entries that do not adhere to the entry rules.

*Disclosure: I was given a Yoplait Splitz prize pack for the purpose of conducting this review. The information, prize pack and giveaway have all been provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark. All opinions are my own.

Sausage Spaghetti Pie

Serves: 4

4 oz. spaghetti
2 eggs, divided, lightly beaten
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. cottage cheese
8 oz. ground sausage
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/3 c. green pepper, chopped
1 c. spaghetti sauce
1/2 c. (2 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

To make the spaghetti crust, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and rinse with hot water. Combine spaghetti, 1 egg and Parmesan cheese; stir well. Press pasta mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9" pie plate. In a small bowl, stir or smash the cottage cheese until smooth (see tips). Add 1 egg and mix well. Spread the cheese mixture on top of the spaghetti crust. In a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion and green pepper until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Spoon sausage mixture on top of cheese filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake about 5 minutes more.

Check my coupon resources page to see if you can save money when you make this recipe!

Tips: This dish was wonderful because it was such a change from the ordinary pie or pasta bake. We cut it with a pizza cutter then dished it out with a spatula. The original recipe called for the cottage cheese to be pressed through a sieve. All I have is a strainer so I don't think it worked quite the same but I think the outcome just needs to be a smoother spreadable cheese. To make this healthier, consider using turkey sausage and low-fat diary products.

Recipe adapted from Healthy Homestyle Cooking

Golden Honey Pan Rolls

Makes: 2-3 dozen

1 c. milk (70-80 degrees)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 c. oil
2 T. honey
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. bread flour
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
Glaze:
1/4 c. sugar
2 T. butter, melted
1 T. honey
1 egg white

In bread machine pan, place first 8 ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add1-2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed.) When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down; cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide into 24-30 pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 12 balls each into two greased rectangular baking dishes and 6 balls into a greased square baking dish. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. For glaze, combine sugar, butter, honey and egg white; drizzle over dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with additional honey if desired.

Check my coupons resources page to save some extra "dough"!

Tips: I know that the work involved in these rolls don't exactly qualify them in the easy category but the result is worth the extra effort. Since the bread machine does some of the work it helps to speed up the process. These are great for a holiday dinner or potluck because they make so many. I wrote up the recipe the way it worked for me but since I live at high altitude it might be different for you. I did have to add about 1 tablespoon of flour after the bread machine started. Also my dough balls did not rise much in the pans before I put them in the oven. Since I was running out of time, I baked them anyway and they came out great. I also shared this recipe at 8 Muddy Boots' From Scratch.

Recipe from Taste of Home's 2001 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes