Scalloped Potatoes

Tonight was my first attempt at making homemade scalloped potatoes. The recipe I found was on Food.com. It was really simple and very tasty. Enjoy!
 
Ingredients:
4 cups thinly sliced, peeled potatoes
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
1 & 1/2 cup milk
1 teasp. salt
1 dash cayenne pepper ( I used black pepper)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese ( I also threw in some grated parmesan cheese)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese for top

Directions: In a small sauce pan, melt butter and blend in flour.  Let sit for a minute. Stir in cold milk with a whisk. Cook on low until smooth and boiling while stirring occasionally with a whisk. Reduce heat and stir in 1 cup cheese. Place a half of the sliced potatoes in a lightly greased one quart casserole dish. Pour half of cheese sauce over potatoes. Repeat. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top(I added this closer to the end). Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350.

 

 

 

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Freezing Sandwiches

Did you know that you can freeze sandwiches? Well, you can! I started doing just that a few months ago for my husband's lunches. I love doing this for a couple reasons. One...it's so much easier making a week's worth of sandwiches all at once instead of one every day. Also, I love using up the lunch meat, cheese and bread before it goes bad. I'm assuming I'm not the only one who finds random packages of meat and cheese in the fridge, with just a couple pieces left in them. You're left wondering how long it's been open, or if it's still good. Then you just throw it in the trash to be safe. I hate having to do that...

 I've only tried this with meat and cheese sandwiches, but here are the directions:

Make up the sandwich with meat, cheese, and bread of your choice. Wrap it up in plastic wrap. Then wrap in foil. Put it in the freezer. You might want to label them also. You can either thaw them in the fridge the night before, or  they might thaw out in a lunch bag in time for lunch. My husband likes to heat them in a microwave at work sometimes also. If you want to add any condiments, lettuce, tomato, etc...do this before you eat it, NOT before you freeze it. Enjoy!


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My New Favorite Toy

I have been wanting an apple peeler, corer, slicer since forever! The only ones that I've ever seen, however, are the kind that hook on to the side of your kitchen counter. I've tried those, and they just do not work on my counter... at all! I was so happy to find one that actually suctions right on to the top of your counter. I got it in the mail today, and I tried it tonight. I love it! It works perfectly and now, dare I say it, I can almost feel fall in the air....You can check it out over on Amazon. Pin It

Protein Pancakes

I don't know why, but I have the hardest time getting the right amount of protein in my diet. I do drink protein shakes after my workout, but frankly I feel like I'm on an episode of Fear Factor every time I do. They're pretty gross....So while looking for some high protein recipes online, I found a recipe for protein pancakes on Food.com. They're actually really good! The flavor reminds me of french toast. Give 'em a try!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites

Directions:
Put all of the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour onto a hot griddle sprayed with non-stick spray. Cook like regular pancakes. Top with your favorite pancake toppings(I topped mine with butter spray and sugar-free maple syrup). Enjoy!




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An "Extreme Couponer" Sharing Our Recipes

Tammilee from Tammilee Tips has been featuring some of The Lonely Baker's recipes on her blog for her new "Make it Monday" posts. Tammilee posts a budget friendly recipe every Monday. She has been featured on the TLC show Extreme Couponing. Her episode was one of my favorites, because she shopped for "normal" everyday items. I had the opportunity to take one of her coupon classes. The class was awesome and it was filled with a lot of useful information.
I personally use coupons when I shop for my family and have found her site very helpful. You will find a lot of tips on her blog to help save you money! It is definitely possible to cook great meals for your family, on a budget. Go over and check it out! Pin It

Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade

It's summer!!!! And I'm loving every minute of it! I love fizzy drinks, so I'm really loving my new find for this strawberry lemonade. I saw a recipe for a low calorie strawberry lemonade over at The Hungry Girl. I changed it up a bit(not that it needed changing, but I was working with what I had) and it's amazing! My new favorite drink!  You can play around with the amounts listed.

1 cup diet ginger ale about 1/2 a can
about 1/2 cup of cold water
Half a packet of diet powdered little drink packet in lemonade or strawberry lemonade flavor, like Crystal Light. I like the strawberry lemonade flavor, Target brand
4 frozen unsweetened strawberries
1/3 cup crushed ice or 3 ice cubes

Put ice, strawberries and ginger ale in blender. Add drink mix and water. If using a magic bullet, just fill water to almost top. Blend until smooth. Warning!!! It's fizzy, so it will want to fizz over when you take the bottom off of the Magic bullet, so go slow. I'm not sure what happens in a regular blender.

Enjoy! Pin It

Good Old Fashioned Pancake Recipe

I love pancakes and I could eat them every day for breakfast! I rarely make them anymore though because I eat way too many of them! My daughter just had a sleep over so I decided to make everyone pancakes. I didn't have enough pancake mix on hand so I used this incredibly yummy recipe from All Recipes. If you love pancakes, you have to try these!

Ingredients:  

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted 

Directions:

	In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
	Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

 

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