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STL Mommy

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Facebook Blocking

So apparently it is a huge no-no on Facebook to add a large number of people to your facebook account all at once.

I signed on earlier tonight and was surprised to see that I had been “blocked” from adding people, etc. According to Facebook, they had sent me notifications about it, but trust me – they didn’t. Earlier, I added a whole email list of people that are on my twitter account. In between that, I also added the suggested friends and there didn’t seem to be any problems. So anyway, apparently I am on some sort of a block because now I can’t add anyone to my facebook page. SO if you would like to follow me, and get recipes that I don’t post on my blog – add me. The stuff is over on the left and you can click either of them. One is simply a page that you can “Like” in typical Facebook fashion, and the other is my actual Daily Dish recipes page on Facebook. You can add me as a friend.

I’m laughing because seriously, my friend list is only 384 people right now. Have they checked out others Facebook pages? Because many of my “friends” on Facebook have several thousand. Why aren’t they blocked from adding people?

I think I was reminded tonight why I love Twitter SO much more. The problem is, I love that on Facebook I can add a whole recipe that I don’t post on my blog – which is VERY hard to do on Twitter since I only get 140 characters. Ah, Facebook. I really wish you would get your act together. First all the layout changes, then the privacy issues, and now blocking issues. Seriously. Does it get any better?

Popularity: 52% [?]

Freezer Cooking: Made From Scratch Sauce Recipes

No matter how you do your Freezer Cooking session, you are bound to wind up with a few days where you aren’t sure what to make. Why not create some sauces to freeze, and you can then just add them to some noodles, or rice, or even over some meat, and you have a meal in minutes.
Here are a bunch of my favorite sauce recipes.

Lemon Garlic Sauce

1 tbsp margarine or butter

1/4 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp plain flour

1/2 cup milk

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp parsley or other herbs

salt + pepper to taste

Melt margarine with garlic, remove from heat. Add flour and combine. Slowly add the milk a little at a time, working out lumps as you go. Add lemon juice and bring to just under the boil, or until the sauce thickens. Add herbs and season to taste.

White Sauce

3/4 cup butter/ margarine or Canola oil

3/4 cup flour (up to 1/2 whole wheat is fine)

6 cups milk

2 tablespoons chicken or beef bouillon granules or 6 bouillon cubes

Use a large heavy bottomed saucepan or stock pot, melt the butter or margarine over low heat. Add the flour and stir until the mixture is smooth then cook until it begins to bubble. Do not let it brown! Gradually add the milk.

When the sauce is thickened (be patient a double batch will take 30 minutes) stir in the bouillon granules or cubes. Don’t make any more than 2 batches at once or the granules or cubes will not combine. Freezes well!

Spaghetti Sauce

makes 36 Cups

6 pounds ground beef — browned and drained

1 pound ground Italian Sausage — browned and drained

4 onions — chopped

6 cans mushrooms (or 2 pounds fresh, Saute) — drained

Italian seasoning

7 jars spaghetti sauce (Approx. 180 ounces)

3 cans tomato — diced

1 cup chopped peppers

1 can tomato paste — large can

Brown beef, onions, peppers, sausage and Italian seasoning (2 pounds at a time). Drain well. Put in stock pot, add mushrooms, sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, and remaining seasoning, simmer.

Meat Sauce

5 pounds lean ground beef

3/4 cup instant minced onion

1/2 cup sweet pepper flakes

1 1/2 quarts tomato paste

1 3/4 quarts water

1 1/2 teaspoons pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper — optional

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Line four 8×8×2-inch baking pans with heat-resistant freezer wrap. Allow enough extra wrap to fold over top. Use one pan for each six servings or one-fourth of the recipe. Baking pans are not needed for food to be served without freezing.

Crumble beef; cook until lightly browned. Stir in onion and pepper flakes. Drain off excess fat. Stir remaining ingredients into meat mixture. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally for 1 hour or until flavors are blended.

Pour each part to be frozen into a baking pan. Pack food tightly to avoid air pockets. Cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Complete wrapping by pulling paper up over top of food. Put edges of wrap together and fold several times so paper lies directly on top of food. Fold ends of freezer wrap over the top and seal with freezer tape. Label with name of food, date of freezing, and last date the food should be used for best eating quality (about 4 months). Freeze immediately for 10 to 12 hours before removing packages from the pans.

To heat frozen sauce, Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove freezer wrap. Place food in baking pan. Bake 1 1/4 hours or until mixture is bubbly at edges and center is hot.

Mushroom Sauce

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 cup canned mushrooms — sliced

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

Melt butter. Brown mushrooms lightly in melted butter. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk slowly. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Freezes great!

Vegetable Sauce

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

3/4 cup mixed vegetables — cooked

Melt butter. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk slowly. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in vegetables. Heat to serving temperature. Freezes well!

Popularity: 59% [?]

Easy Dill Dip Recipe

This recipe couldn’t be any easier, and it tastes great with chopped veggies, breads, crackers and chips!

Easy Dill Dip

2 cups of mayonnaise
2 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon of dill weed
salt, to taste
garlic powder, to taste

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise and sour cream together, until well blended. Add the dill, salt and garlic powder to taste. Blend well. Tastes great chilled.

Popularity: 44% [?]

Grab a Cheap Meal

With five kids in our home, you know the focus is on frugal – period. Yes, I do focus on healthy also, but for this one … the more frugal the better.

I bet you can imagine that the fact that there are five young mouths to feed at all meals, that the chances of a picky eater increases dramatically. Guess what? We have one! Actually occasionally we have two – and interestingly they are our two oldest.

Awhile back I figured out that I had to encourage one of the pickey’s to try some new and different things. If I didn’t, either I was going to gain 100lbs eating noodles every single night or I was going to be cooking different meals every night for everyone – so NOT happening. While I don’t mind the occasional Spaghetti, Mac ‘n Cheese or Ramen Noodle Soup meal, it is definitely not going to happen that often.

Enter – the Baked Potato. Yep, that’s right. That’s my cheap meal. Seems strange doesn’t it? Actually baked potatoes are an extremely frugal food. They can be topped with all sorts of things and if you substitute one meal with overflowing baked potatoes, you can save up to $25 per month.

Just an interesting spin on frugal foods, in my opinion.

What types of frugal foods do you eat?

Popularity: 27% [?]

S’More Sandwiches Recipe

When we went on our camping trip a few weeks ago, our friends showed us this awesome sandwich. We made it over the campfire, but I figured out how to make it in the oven at home. You could also do this over a firepit. Just be careful because it’s HOT! I’m always on the look-out . . . → Read More: S’More Sandwiches Recipe

Summertime Banana Cake with Orange Icing Recipe

While we tend to make these and eat them anytime of year, they are the perfect summertime treat or dessert. My children love these and after you have made them you can freeze them. An easy dessert to pull out in time for unexpected company or extra kids.

Banana Cake with Orange Icing
Serves: 25 approx

1 lb. approx . . . → Read More: Summertime Banana Cake with Orange Icing Recipe

Frozen Cherry Salad Recipe

Another delicious summertime recipe. This tastes great at a BBQ and is one of my most often requested dishes for such. The kids love it, adults love it and it goes fairly quickly. Make several batches at a time in a freezer cooking session and you’ll always have one on hand.

Frozen Cherry Salad

1 can pitted dark . . . → Read More: Frozen Cherry Salad Recipe

Bologna Cake Appetizer Recipe

Don’t worry, it sounded gross to me too, but as long as you like bologna, you will like it. It is a total kid-friendly recipe and my kids were the ones who made it. They were having some friends over and wanted to prepare a few snacks, this one was actually the first one that was . . . → Read More: Bologna Cake Appetizer Recipe

Use Your Slow Cooker More Often + 3 Crock Pot Recipes

With the warmer weather and high humidity (I’m in the midwest), using my stove top or oven is something I like to avoid at all costs. During this time of year we tend to grill a lot more, and also use the crock pot more often. A slow cooker needs less energy to run than an . . . → Read More: Use Your Slow Cooker More Often + 3 Crock Pot Recipes

Freezer Cooking Franchises

You have seen them cropping up all over, I’m sure. Those locations that boast meal planning at its best? So what exactly is the deal with these franchises that make freezer cooking or making meals easier?

The premise of the different franchises, is to get you into the store, help you prepare a set number of dinners . . . → Read More: Freezer Cooking Franchises