Caramel Frappuccino Bombe

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Ya'll know I'm a big fan of Ina Garten, but I have to reserve her recipes for a special occasion!  Since she always calls for "good" (ie the best money can buy) ingredients, I wanted to wait and use the really good stuff! I was able to catch Haagen Dazs on sale this week for $2.99 a pint. It was perfect timing to make Ina's bombe for a Valentine's Day dessert. I switched mine up from her fruit flavors to a "caramel frappuccino" flavor I knew my whole family would love. Here are Ina's instructions (wiith my flavors!)

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Ingredients

• 2 Pints Coffee Ice Cream, softened
• 1 1/2 Pints Dulce De Leche Ice Cream, softened
• 1 Pint Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, softened

Freeze an 8-inch bowl. When it's cold, place the coffee ice cream in the bowl and press it against the sides of the bowl. If you have a 6 1/2-inch bowl the same shape as the 8-inch bowl (such as from a set of nesting bowls), cover it with plastic wrap and press it into the ice cream to make the layer even. Freeze the ice cream for 30 minutes or until firm. Remove the 6 1/2-inch bowl.

Spread an even layer of softened dulce de leche on top of the coffee ice cream (a 4 1/2-inch nesting bowl wrapped in plastic wrap helps with this) and freeze for another 30 minutes or until firm. Remove the 4 1/2 inch bowl. Finally, spoon in enough softened vanilla bean ice cream to fill the empty space. Freeze until hard.

To unmold, dip the bowl up to the rim in warm water. Run a knife around the edge to loosen the bombe and unmold upside down onto a flat plate. You may need to run a flexible metal spatula along the edge of the bombe to release it. Freeze until ready to serve. Drizzle with caramel sauce. Serve in wedges with freshly whipped cream.

Yield: 1 1/2 quarts; 6 servings

Here is a picture of Ina's in case you were wondering what it looks like on the inside! Mine started melting too quickly for a good photo!



See other recipes at Inside BruCrew Life.  www.beautyandbedlam.com.

Valentine's Peanut Butter Blossoms

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I saw this on Pinterest awhile back, and I had to try it for my peanut butter lovin' middle daughter's Valentine's Day party tomorrow. I used Betty Crocker's PB cookie mix and subbed homemade cinnamon pumpkin applesauce for oil. I followed the directions on the mix for Peanut Butter Blossoms and swapped out a Dove heart for the usual Hershey's kiss. I'm very happy with how they turned out! So delicious, and no one would ever guess that they aren't from scratch. My daughter is going to have some very happy classmates!

See other recipes at www.beautyandbedlam.com.

1st Birthday and Valentine's Day Meal Plan

After returning from our trip to Denver, my last two days have been a major organizational failure. I got to the grocery store last night with two "events" to plan for and no list. Definitely a less than ideal situation! For this week, I allowed $50 from our normal grocery budget and $50 from our gift/holiday budget. So far, I've spent $75 exactly, but I forgot a few things. I'll probably pick up a few quick dinner items as well with the remainder of the budget!

I don't have much of a meal plan for the week. We'll be winging it aside from the special meals I have planned. Tomorrow night, we'll be having tortellini soup, salad and garlic bread at my son's first birthday party.. I'm making tortellini soup for 11 adults and 7 kids. Hopefully a triple batch will be enough! I'm also bringing baby mans birthday cake. I actually have a $5 off coupon for a store bought cake, so that is exciting! On Monday, we'll be celebrating Valentine's Day as a family. I'm trying a new recipe for a pork roast with dried fruit and fresh herbs and green rice casserole. I've never cooked pork loin before, so that will be a first! I'm also making Valentine's Day cookies and a Caramel Macchiato ice cream bombe. Stay tuned for those recipes (as long as everything turns out!)

We're also making Valentine's Day Peanut Butter Blossoms and Bananas 'n Cream bread for some sweet treats!

For more meal plans see www.orgjunkie.com.

When planning ahead kicks you in the rear....

You may remember that I mentioned we are going to Denver for my aunt's memorial service tomorrow. As a result, I spent our $50 on a few easy meals since I was really busy packing (and now unpacking and repacking,) preschool snacks (Newton Thins and apple juice) and road trip snacks. We were supposed to leave this morning, but we didn't feel the conditions were safe. Our road trip is now a flying trip, which renders most of our road trip snacks useless! Now I wish we had our grocery money and $60 in a full tank of gas in our car as travel money! For better or for worse, I think this is the first time planning ahead has really kicked me in the rear!

See ya'll next week!

Tortellini Soup

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I made this recipe for the first time a few weeks ago, and we absolutely loved it. It is an adaptation of this recipe from Family Fun. My recipe is as follows,

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 8 cups of chicken stock (I use bouillon and water. Use vegetable broth for vegetarian.)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (more if fresh)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic

• 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• salt to taste
• 8 to 9 ounces fresh or frozen tortellini (I use cheese, of course.)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Handful of baby spinach
• Black pepper, to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot or large saucepan. Add the onion, celery, and carrot. Saute over moderate heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent.
   
2. Add the stock, basil, bay leaf, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic and salt to the pot. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a low boil. Add the tortellini and bring the soup back to a low boil. Cook it for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 to 6 minutes longer. Gently stir in the parsley, spinach, and pepper during the last minute or so. Makes about 5 servings.

The return of the coupon...

We're preparing to go to Colorado in two weeks for my aunt's memorial service, and with that unexpected expense, we've REALLY got to be stretching every penny. I really have not had great success with coupons over the last several weeks, but this week was finally an exception. I only hit Hy Vee with my $45. I came out around $50 after tax, but I also got an almost $3 refund on an overage from last week. I saved about $12 with manufacturer coupons, and I also used a few store coupons for a total of another $10 or so. THAT is a success for me. Usually I stick much heavier to buying loss leaders, but I was very thankful to be able to do both this week. I also did a lot of filling in the gaps with simple items (black beans, cream cheese, bananas, tortillas) to make use of some of the things we already have in our pantry.

Here is our meal plan for the week,

Saturday - 100% whole wheat bagel thins / leftover pizza from last week / stuffed shells and salad

Sunday - graham crackers and fruit / easy enchiladas and our favorite bean dip / Pei Wei as a special surprise from Daddy

Monday - blueberries and yogurt / PBJ and apples / egg in the hole

Tuesday - Banana cheerios / brown bag lunches / slow cooker black beans and rice

Wednesday - bananas and yogurt / brown bag lunches / tortellini soup

Thursday - Peanut Butter cheerios / brown bag lunches / homemade hashbrowns and eggs

Friday - bagel thins / brown bag lunches / dinner out at my husband's work banquet

We will be snacking on trail mix, crackers and cream cheese, pumpkin cranberry muffins and various other snacks.

See more recipes at www.orgjunkie.com.

Groceries for a busy week...

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. To add insult to injury, I was super sick with strep throat last Monday and Tuesday. Nothing like getting sick at the beginning of the week to derail everything I had planned! Not to mention we had a birth in the family on Tuesday and a death in the family on Saturday. Sometimes life just gets crazy!

The above picture is from Hy-Vee where I did most of my shopping this week. I spent right around $40. I also spent around $10 at Hen House on blueberries, apples, graham crackers and a half gallon of ice cream to bribe my three year old that needed a splinter extraction.

The only major meal event I have planned for tonight is homemade chicken noodle soup. I'm making a double batch to send to my sister in law's new family of 6 for dinner tomorrow night. I'm also sending a can of biscuits and a bag of salad. So, a part of our budget went to feeding an additional family this week. I've said this before, but I'm always amazed we are able to do ANYTHING for anyone else on $50 a week. I call it the loaves and fishes principle.

Here is our meal plan for the week,

Saturday - yogurt / leftover chili / dinner at my mom's (I took Icebox Boston Cream.)

Sunday - graham crackers and fruit / surprise lunch out at Chipotle / corn dogs and salad

Monday - blueberries and yogurt / PBJ and apples / chicken noodle soup and salad

Tuesday - Banana cheerios / brown bag lunches / biscuit breakfast sandwiches

Wednesday - bananas and yogurt / brown bag lunches / baked potato soup

Thursday - Banana cheerios / brown bag lunches / egg in the hole and apples

Friday - blueberries and yogurt / brown bag lunches / Little Caesars at ballet

We will be snacking on trail mix, yogurt, crackers and cream cheese  and various fruits and veggies. Next week I'm hoping to have a chance to try out some new meals over the weekened!

See more recipes at www.orgjunkie.com.