Homemade Ice Cream Cake

I forgot that I told everyone that I would post the recipe for the ice cream cake (can I blame it on being pregnant...or is that excuse getting old??)

Home Made Ice Cream Cake


In order, layer a large rectangular cake pan (or in our case a huge lasagna pan) with:
Ice Cream Sandwiches
Whipped Cream
Drizzled Butterscotch (or chocolate syrup)
Crushed Oreo Cookies

Repeat layers until your pan is full and then freeze until needed.  Take out to thaw for 15min before serving.  It's THAT easy!  It is also less than half the cost of ordering one from Dairy Queen and serves a huge crowd....and I personally like the taste better too.

Speaking of Recipes....Macaroni Madness!

I've never had a kid that didn't like pasta.....pasta with cheese especially.  But the best thing about pasta meals is its ability to stretch a dollar. Couple that with the fact that most kids will eat them, and we've got a super winner! I've always found that elbow macaroni is the most versitile, so here's a few of our frugal favorites from over the years: 

*you can throw in extra frozen veggies for more nutrition.
*amount of macaroni is whatever you want it to be  :0)
*yes, most of these feed a larger than average family...feel free to adjust accordingly

Taco Beef Macaroni
Cooked macaroni noodles
Browned Ground Beef
Taco Spice Package (or 3 tbs of homemade)
1/4cup Cheese Powder (or cheese whiz, or shredded cheddar, etc)
1/2 cup water
Mix beef with taco spice, cheese and water and simmer 3min.  Mix noodles into beef mixture.  Voila!


Cheater Mac & Cheese
Cooked macaroni noodles
2 cans tomato soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix tomato soup and cheese into macaroni noodles over low heat until melted through.  Voila!


Tomato Macaroni
Cooked Macaroni noodles
2cans evaporated milk
3cups shredded cheddar cheese
2tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
Bring to boil milk, cheese and spices.   Stir in tomatoes and cooked macaroni.  Voila!

Tuna Sauce Macaroni
Cooked Macaroni noodles
1 cup frozen peas-thawed
2 cans tuna
2 cans evaporated milk
1/4cup butter/margerine
1/4cup flour
1tsp onion powder
1tsp garlic powder
Melt butter in pan, wisk in flour and then milk stirring until thickened.  Stir in spices, peas and tuna. Simmer 2min.  Pour over cooked macaroni.  Voila!

Chicken Soup Macaroni
Cooked macaroni noodles
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mixed frozen vegetables-thawwed
Heat and mix soup, sour cream and veggies together.  Pour on cooked macaroni noodles.  Voila!

Hamburger Cupcakes

Here's the recipe of Noah's hamburger cupcakes, they are super fun and super easy to make!

Step One:  Bake 1 batch each of regular vanilla cupcakes and regular chocolate cupcakes.

Step Two: Cut all cupcakes in half.  Vanilla being the "bun" and chocolate being the "patty"

Step Three: Mix shredded cocount with a couple drops of green food coloring for the "lettuce"

Step Four: Mix up a bag of Yellow and a bag of Red icing sugar for the mustard and ketchup (We just bought the pre-made icing tubes....they're easier for little hands to use)

Step Five: Set a little bowl of sesame seeds to sprinkle on the "bun"

Place everything in the middle of the table and tape a picture of the finished "burger" on the wall for everyone to look at.  The older one's can just build according to the picture while mom helps the little one's.

Granola Bars...

Okay, so my love affair with granola continues. Yes, this would be somewhere between my 6th or 10th attempt to find the elusive "chewy" yet healthy granola bar recipe. Here's our latest adventure with oats:





Line a pan with wax paper sprayed with oil.

Lightly toast the following in the oven:
2 c  Oats
3/4 c Wheat Germ
3/4 c Sunflower seeds
1 c Almonds-sliced

Bring to boil on stove:
2/3 c Brown Sugar
1/2 c Honey
4 Tbs Oil
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp salt---don't leave this out!!
1 c dried fruit-chopped

Mix all together and press firmly into lined pan. Let sit for 3 hrs to set properly.  Cut and wrap individually.
We did find these a bit sweet, so I would personally lower the brown sugar to 1/3cup.
**These are dairy free!! Replace wheat germ with extra oats and it would be wheat free too!