Hard Boiled Eggs

I know it seems pointless to blog some hints about hard boiling an egg, after all, its not rocket science. How hard can it be??

Well, its not that hard but I find these tips helpful when boiling my eggs.

If you fill the pan with cold water then add the eggs and put on the stove, the eggs will be MUCH easier to peal once cooked.

And if you don't have a helpful egg timer of some sort and want to know if your egg is hard inside, remove and egg and lay it on its side like so


then spin it like a top. If it is hard inside, it will spin quickly, if it is still soft inside, it will wobble and not spin very well.

Happy Hard Boiling!

Munchkin Snack Catcher

Have any of you seen these? They are Munchkin Snack Catchers. They are have completely changed the way we do snacking, especially in the car and during sacrament meeting. Notice the lid. They are cut so that a little hand can go into the lid, pull out a little snack but keep the rest of the snack still in the cup. You can turn the whole cup full of treats/snacks up side down and nothing will spill out. We love them!
I have not found them at Walmart or Target, but have had better luck with grocery stores and online. At the store, they are about $6 for a two pack, but they are cheaper online (before shipping.) I suggest that if you have small kids, or know someone with small kids, you look into them. They are oh so convenient and helpful!

Cause You Know You'll be Baking a Pie This Fall

This is my new favorite tip ever! I can't believe I had never heard of it before this last week. It is for pie making, which I am all over. I love baking pie, eating pie, serving pie, I just love pie!
When baking a pie it will tell you to cover the edges with foil so they don't over brown during the baking process. I used to fold thin (4-5 in. wide) pieces of foil together to make a long strip and then fold them over the edge of the pie.
That will never happening again.


The new technique:
-pull out just more than enough foil to cover your pie plate
-tear off the square of foil and fold into quarters
-cut a sizable arch from the center corner of the foil (this will result in a big circle shaped whole)
-unfold and place over pie, gently tighten edges of foil around rim of pie, and bake!

Seriously, so much easier than what I used to do!

Rice-A-Roni

Because I am cheap, we have bought this stuff before. To make my cheapness extend as much as possible, I have discovered how to make a box of Rice-a-Roni extend into an entire meal.
For those of you who have had the privileged of feeding my husband and/or children, you know that they are eaters! Before I perfected my Rice-A- Roni meal, a box of this was near useless in feeding my family.

Here is what I do:
I add an extra 1/4-1/2 C plain rice, white or brown, to the rice mix from the box.
I follow the regular instructions, just using a larger pan. If it says fry rice, I fry all of the rice- my added rice included. Then when it comes time to add the water, I add twice as much water as I did my extra rice in addition to what it calls for on the box, (ie: 1/2 C extra rice, add 1 C extra water, if it was only 1/4 C extra rice I only add 1/2 C water.) Then I add chicken. If you want to add raw chicken, add it right after the water and seasoning, stir in, cover and cook for the required time. If you add canned chicken, you can add it when you have 7 minutes or so to go in your cook time. Then, I always add a vegetable to the top of the rice and chicken 5-7 minutes before the cooking time is complete.
For the chicken and broccoli Rice-a-Roni, I add broccoli. For the chicken fajita, I add 1 chopped green bell pepper, etc.

There you have it. A meal in a box. Better for you than hamburger helper and most of the time cheaper. When you can get Rice-A-Roni on sale for 69 cents a box and already have frozen veggies in your freezer and left over/canned chicken meat from a meal, that makes out to be a super cheap, easy meal for the whole family.

Easy Chocolate Mousse

Folks, chocolate mousse is delicious. And here's an easy way to make it.

What you'll need:
Chocolate pudding mix
Heavy whipping cream
Yes, that is it.

Make the pudding mix with whipping cream rather than the milk it asks for.
This will make super thick, rich chocolate mousse. If you want to get fancy garnish with shaved chocolate or drizzle with chocolate or caramel syrup. So yummy!

Like Tucanos?

Did you know that you can sign up to get a free meal from Tucanos the month of your birthday? Sign up with Club Tucanos. A postcard coupon will show up in the mail at the end of the month before your birthday month. Sign yourself and your spouse up! Happy Birthday eating!

What to do with dry beans?

I, like many of you, was at a loss when it comes to cooking dry beans. All of my previous attempts were for naught. This is, until a good friend (who is an expert at cooking beans) told me the best way to cook them.

In a crock pot place-
1 lb. bag of dry bean of choice
6 C water
Clove of garlic
1/2 onion (I prefer mine diced)

Cook on high for at least 3.5 hours or until bean is soft. Salt to taste.
You can use this recipe for any kind of bean, pinto, black, kidney, etc.
The onion and garlic help prevent gas.
You can even re-fry them in a little oil on the stove top if you like re-fried beans.

This bean recipe will change your life. It's changed mine. So easy. So cheap.
Enjoy!

First Birthday Cake

Did you know that Albertson's will give you a 1st birthday cake for free?! Just call the bakery a few days before you want the cake, give them your information, choose white or chocolate and the kind of frosting you want, and get a round one layer first birthday cake at no charge!