`

MyLitter - One Deal At A Time

Extreme Couponing, Houston Frugal Living Blog

Home About Contact/PR Coupon Database


Zucchini Bread Recipe

By 9 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

This is the BEST zucchini bread recipe that I have had. A few years ago I had a beautiful garden, my kids were pulling zucchini off by the basket full. I was making zucchini bread everyday and experimenting with every recipe I could. This is my own that we made into our favorite!

Tiff’s Zucchini Bread or Muffins

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 6 cups grated zucchini
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 6 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts ( I don’t put any in)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour your pans.
  2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil, applesauce and sugars. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
  3. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done or 20 min on muffins.

Follow Me on Pinterest

Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe

By 18 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.


It wasn’t until I was in college that I tried freezer jam. Can you believe I had lived my entire life until then without any? Crazy. I would like to take a minute to thank my roommates, it was either Cami, or Chelsea who brought some from home and changed my bagel eating life. This was my staple meal while in school, a plain toasted bagel, with slightly melted plain cream cheese and piled with strawberry freezer jam.

When strawberries are in season you can pick some up for only $.99/lb. This is a great price to pick up extra and make a batch to stick in the freezer.

This is the easiest yummiest most satisfying thing that you can preserve. Take the tops off your strawberries. Toss them into your food processor or a large bowl. Pulse them slowly until they are in small chunks, or mash with a potato masher until smashed. {stick the kids at the table with something to do!}

Don’t over smash them in the food processor. Just small pieces will work!

For every 2 pounds of strawberries mashed, I used 1 1/2 cups sugar and one packet freezer jam fruit pectin.

I got all the supplies from Walmart. I love the nifty little freezer jars they had, they made it easy and the kids could grab then since they are not made of glass. If your Walmart doesn’t carry the Ball Plastic Freezer Jars you can find them on Amazon HERE.

This is super quick to make, abut 40 minutes and 9 pounds of strawberries later I had this stash to throw into the freezer. Enough to last us for the next few weeks…. just kidding the  next month or so :) It will last up to a year in the freezer or a month or so in the fridge.

If you have not had freezer jam on a bagel with cream cheese, do yourself a favor and make some this fall!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Ingredients

  • 4 cups crushed fresh strawberries
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin
  • 3/4 cup water

Directions

  1. Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.
  2. Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.

Follow Me on Pinterest

No-Bake Monster Eyeball Cookies! Great lunch box treat #BacktoSchool

By Leave a Comment By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

eyeball 5

I see you!  LOL 🙂

I love these cookies for a few different reasons.  Mainly because they are NO BAKE!  Also because they are yummy, and the kids love helping me make them.  They are made in no time flat, you refrigerate them and DONE.  You can pack them in their lunches as a nice treat or serve them after-school.  The great thing about this recipe is that you can substitute ingredients if you have gluten or nut allergies.

 

14010001_10153976590440674_1630878390_n

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups oats (use gluten free rolled oats if you’d like we used THESE Bob’s Red Mill)

1 cup peanut or almond butter 

1/2 cup  organic honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Optional:  Candy eyes!  We used Wilton Candy Eyes and I loved the eyelashes!

 

In a large bowl stir together the oats, peanut/almond butter, honey and vanilla until well combined.  It will be sticky!  Stir in the chocolate chips, using a spoon grab some dough and roll it into smooth balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  This will yield about 20 cookie balls.  If you are going to add the candy eyes, dab little bit of honey or peanut/almond butter to the back of each eye and place on the cookie ball.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes and transfer the cookie balls to an air tight container and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks (although they never last that long in this house!).

Total Preparation time is 5-10 minutes and that is about how long they last before everyone eats them up!

 

 

 

adapted from The BakerMama

Applesauce BBQ Spareribs Recipe

By Leave a Comment By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

applesauce ribsWhy stand around waiting on those spareribs to cook when you can throw them in the Crock Pot and cook them with this amazing Applesauce BBQ Sparerib Recipe and forget they were even cooking (minus that amazing smell). You only need 7 ingredients, all which are usually super cheap and you have enough supplies leftover for the next batch.

INGREDIENTS

5 lb Pork Spareribs (2 racks)
1 1/2 cup Applesauce
18 oz BBQ Sauce
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Onion, finely diced
1 Apple, cored and sliced


DIRECTIONS

spareribs

Cut ribs into portion sized sections (about 3 ribs each) place ribs around sides and bottom of crock, meaty side toward toward to crock,

Spread apple slices over ribs.

Combine onion, applesauce, brown sugar, vinegar and 1/2 of BBQ sauce in blender.

Pulse until blended. Pour sauce over ribs.

Cook on high 5 hours, or on low for 8 hours, until ribs are tender.IMG_6666

Remove from slow cooker and brush with remaining BBQ sauce.

To get more crispy ribs, transfer ribs to foil line baking sheet and broil for several minutes.

 

 

Applesauce BBQ Spareribs Recipe
Author: Tiffany
Ingredients
  • 5 lb Pork Spareribs (2 racks)
  • 1 1/2 cup Applesauce
  • 18 oz BBQ Sauce
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Onion, finely diced
  • 1 Apple, cored and sliced


Instructions
  1. Cut ribs into portion sized sections (about 3 ribs each) place ribs around sides and bottom of crock, meaty side toward toward to crock,
  2. Spread apple slices over ribs.
  3. Combine onion, applesauce, brown sugar, vinegar and 1/2 of BBQ sauce in blender.
  4. Pulse until blended. Pour sauce over ribs.
  5. Cook on high 5 hours, or on low for 8 hours, until ribs are tender.
  6. Remove from slow cooker and brush with remaining BBQ sauce.
  7. To get more crispy ribs, transfer ribes to foil line baking sheet and broil for several minutes.

 

 

Cheesy Baked Zucchini Patties Recipe

By Leave a Comment By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

cheesy baked Zucchini Patties

 

Summer gardens are usually bursting with extra zucchini (and if you have a gardening friend, you’ve likely been offered to take some home with you!)  If you’re wondering what recipes you can make with zucchini, there are lots more ways to prepare it than the “zoodles” that are so popular right now.

One delicious recipe to try is Cheesy Baked Zucchini Patties!

baked zucchini patties

These cheesy baked zucchini patties are easy to make and bake, plus they include CHEESE (which as we know makes everything better). 😉 If your kids like broccoli with cheese sauce, this might be the ticket to getting your kiddos to eat zucchini as well!

Cheesy Baked Zucchini Patties Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C. zucchini, shredded (I love this little gadget for shredding my veggies!)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 C. Ritz crackers, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • salt & pepper to taste

zucchini recipe

Directions:

1 . Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2 . Place the shredded zucchini on a large sheet of paper towel and press to get out the excess water. Repeat until the excess moisture has been removed.

zucchini patties mixing bowl

3 . In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the zucchini, egg, cheese, crushed crackers and seasoning.

 

zucchini paties baked

4 . Scoop a large tablespoon at a time onto your baking sheet and gently press down (see photo above).

5 . Bake 15-18 minutes.

Zucchini Patties on plate

 

Cheesy Baked Zucchini Patties Recipe
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
This cheesy baked zucchini patties recipe is a delicious (AND healthy) way to use up a bumper crop of this garden favorite!
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 C. zucchini, shredded (I love this little gadget for shredding my veggies!)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 C. Ritz crackers, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place the shredded zucchini on a large sheet of paper towel and press to get out the excess water. Repeat until the excess moisture has been removed.
  3. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the zucchini, egg, cheese, crushed crackers and seasoning.
  4. Scoop a large tablespoon at a time onto your baking sheet and gently press down (see photo above).
  5. Bake 15-18 minutes.

 

Easy Dessert Recipe for #NationalLasagnaDay Tomorrow! Chocolate Lasagna Recipe!

By 34 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Chocolate Lasagna Dessert recipe

This is a super easy dessert recipe called Chocolate Lasagna! It was sent to me by a reader of Paul’s, Brenda, and we tried it last night.

It is VERY similar to a recipe my Grandma has made for a long time, she called it 5 Layer Dessert and really the only difference was the crust. My Grandma’s recipe had almost a short bread cookie crust and it took a little longer to make. This one was super easy and ( don’t tell my Grandma) tasted better!

Chocolate lasagna recipe

Grab a kid and have them put 1 bag of Oreos in a bag or food processor. Then let them crush up the oreos. They might stick to the bag but that is ok, because then they can just lick it out when you are done 🙂

* The middle picture is what happens when a bigger sister gets to crush the Oreos with the rolling pin and you don’t.

chocolate lasagna recipe 2

Now add the melted butter to the Oreos and press into a 9×13 pan. Make the first layer, the one with cream cheese and spread over the Oreos.

chocolate lasagna recipe 3

Make the chocolate pudding, and cover the cream cheese layer. Add the cool whip and mini chips and put in the fridge!

This is a super easy and no bake dessert recipe that will make you a STAR! Give it a try!

chocolate lasagna 2

CHOCOLATE LASAGNA:

1 pkg oreo cookies (do not use the double stuffed)
6 Tblsp butter melted
1 8oz cream cheese
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tblsp cold milk
1 container cool whip
2 pkgs instant chocolate pudding ( the smaller pkgs)
3 1/4 c. cold milk
1 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

— crush pkg of oreos ( recommend using a blender, the cream filling stuck to my ziploc bag! lol)
Stir in 6 tblsp melted butter. Press into bottom of 13×9 pan. Put in the fridge.
–Mix cream cheese in mixer until fluffy. Add the 2 tblsp cold milk,sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 1/4 c. of the cool whip. Spread over crust.
— Combine both pkgs of  pudding and the 3 1/4 c. milk. whisk until thickened. spread over cream cheese layer. Allow to rest for 5 min. Spread remaining coolwhip over pudding layer, and sprinkle with 1 1/2 c mini chocolate chips. Place in fridge for at least 4 hrs to set. Enjoy!

Follow MyLitter

My favorite cooking items: 

Snickers Salad With Apples Recipe!

By 7 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Apple and Snickers Salad

Looking for a cool no-bake dessert for these *HOT* summer evenings?  Try this Snickers Salad with Apples recipe I posted a while back!

Continuing with our no-bake recipe theme, the girls and I made a Snickers Salad with Apples and Pudding this past weekend. I had made this recipe for the first time years ago when I was pregnant with my oldest and we were in college in Iowa.

It is so simple and easy, the girls did most of the work and it travels really well. There will also not be any left when you are done!

Apples and Snickers Salad

As always I grabbed a big kid and had them get going cutting up the snickers for me. I had my husband doing it first, but he ate an entire Snickers in the process so he was fired 🙂

Snickers Salad with Apples Recipe

  • 1 3oz. Package Pudding ( I used vanilla, you can also use French Vanilla, or Cheesecake)
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 1 8oz Carton Cool Whip
  • 2 Large Granny Apples
  • 2 Large Snickers Bars

Mix 1 cup milk with pudding until combined, fold in carton of cool whip. Chop apples and Snickers into bite size pieces and add to cool whip mixture and refrigerate. * Use more Snickers and apples with a larger carton of Cool Whip.

Snickers Salad with Apples Recipe

Make sure to serve in a pretty bowl, it just makes it that much more fun!

Check out the other no-bake desserts for the summer: 

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Recipe – Clone of a Cinnabon!

By 156 Comments By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

homemade cinnamon roll recipe

Last night I got the urge to make homemade cinnamon rolls because it was so rainy and ugly out, it seemed like the right thing to do! Plus, we had company coming in and I thought it would be a nice welcome from a long drive.

O.K. who am I lying to? I just wanted to eat some!

cinnamon roll recipeCinnamon Rolls are so easy to make, they just take a few steps, so give it a shot and don’t let them scare you!

Mix 1 quart Whole Milk, 1 cup butter, and 1 cup Sugar in a pan. Bring almost to a boil, just “scald” the milk. If you boil you went too far, it will curdle the milk.

Remove from the heat and let it cool until warm. Add 2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets and mix in.

making cinnamon rolls

Now transfer to a bowl all the liquid, then add 8 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda, and 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt.

Cover with a tea towel and let rise for about an hour. After it has risen, turn out to a floured surface ( like above) and add about 1 more cup flour while kneading it all in.

Now comes the fun:

assembling cinnamon rollsTake about 1/2 of the dough and roll it out into a rectangle. I would say 18 inches by about 9 inches or so. Cover with a thin layer of melted butter, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and then sprinkle with brown sugar.

Starting with the long side away from you, roll the dough up towards you. Fold the dough up and close the roll by pinching it together.

Now take the sharpest knife you have and cut the roll into 2 to 2 1/2 inch sections. Now place them in a greased pan almost touching each other. Let these rise about 20 minutes and put them into the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes.

cinnamon rolls from ovenPull them out when they start to get golden brown, let them cool for just a few minutes, and pour frosting over the cinnamon rolls!

For the frosting, you might have to add more milk or even more powdered sugar to get the right consistency.  You want it thick but pourable!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 

Ingredients

  • 1 quart Whole Milk
  • 1 cup Butter
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets
  • 8 cups All-purpose Flour + 1 Cup
  • 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
  • 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
  • Melted Butter
  • 2 cups Brown Sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • FROSTING:
  • 1 bag Powdered Sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Milk
  • 1/4 cup Melted Butter
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix 1 quart Whole Milk, 1 cup butter, and 1 cup Sugar in a pan. Bring almost to a boil, just “scald” the milk. If you boil you went too far, it will curdle the milk. Remove from the heat and let it cool until warm. Add 2 packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets and mix in.

Now transfer to a bowl all the liquid, then add 8 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda, and 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for about an hour. After it has risen, turn out to a floured surface ( like above) and add about 1 more cup flour while kneading it all in.

Take about 1/2 of the dough and roll it out into a rectangle. I would say 18 inches by about 9 inches or so. Cover with a thin layer of melted butter, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon and then sprinkle with brown sugar. Starting with the long side away from you, roll the dough up towards you. Fold the dough up and close the roll by pinching it together.

Now take the sharpest knife you have and cut the roll into 2 to 2 1/2 inch sections. Now place them in a greased pan almost touching each other. Let these rise about 20 minutes and put them into the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes. Remove and cover with frosting!

Follow Me on Pinterest

These are the products that I use when making this dish: 

Essential oils for beginners

Are you wondering what all that talk is about essential oils?! I can help explain it HERE.

Octopus Cupcakes

By Leave a Comment By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

octopus cupcakes ml

If you have been counting down the days for the release of Finding Dory, you are probably as excited as we are!  The kids love anything Nemo and we wanted to make a fun and easy treat in honor of Finding Dory.   These will be a sure hit not only to celebrate the movie but any kids party you find yourself throwing this summer.

Octopus Cupcakes 

What will you need?

  • Cupcakes (baked or store bought, for a party you can order in large quantaties from a warehouse store and just ask for blue frosting)
  • Pillsbury Aqua Blue Vanilla Icing with little Fish Candy pieces which is PERFECT for these cupcakes
  • Ring Pops
  • Trolli Crawlers (or any gummy worm)
  • Wilton Candy Eyes

How do you make them?

  1. Frost your cupcakes with  Pillsbury Aqua Blue Vanilla frosting, or not if you bought the cupcakes with blue frosting already
  2. Grab your gummy worms and place them around the cupcake to make the octopus arms leaving room in the center, the frosting makes them stay in place.
  3. Grab a ring pop and stick it in the middle of the cupcake, ring side down.  It will stick to the frosting and help secure the worms.
  4. Attach candy eyes with a little bit of frosting
  5. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

These look so fun and the kids will love them!  Remember before you go shopping to check the coupon database HERE for any coupons!

Chicken Mushroom Skillet Casserole

By 1 Comment By clicking on our links, we might make a SMALL commission - Thanks for the support! See our full DISCLOSURE here.

Chicken Mushroom Skillet Casserole recipe

Chicken Mushroom Skillet Casserole

THIS Chicken Mushroom Skillet Casserole is a delicious one pot meal for the whole family! It is stuffed to the gills with loads of delicious flavor. But the cool thing is, the whole chicken was cooked in an Instant Pot, and it only took 30 minutes?  (A boiled or rotisserie chicken would work too!).
For this recipe, I used lots of fresh vegetables, like zucchini, mushrooms and onions. And the casserole gets its creaminess from the cream of chicken and Alfredo sauce. Here’s how to make it for your family!
Check out the veggies in this Chicken Mushroom Skillet casserole
Ingredients:
  • 3 cups pasta
  • 2 cups chicken
  • 1 cup zucchini, cut into quarters
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup onions, chopped
  • 1 can Cream of Chicken
  • 1 jar Alfredo Sauce

cheesy chicken mushroom skillet casserole

Directions:
 
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a large stock pot filled with water bring water to a boil, add two tablespoons of salt and add pasta. Cook using the instructions on the pasta packaging. When the pasta is al dente pour it into a colander and drain. Return to pot and toss with EVOO and set aside.
  3. Saute veggies one vegetable at a time, individually adding 1/4 tablespoon of EVOO with each batch of veggies.
  4. In a bowl pour in Alfredo sauce and Cream of Chicken soup, mix very well.
  5. Pour Alfredo sauce mixture onto cooked pasta.
  6. Add vegetables and toss well.
  7. Transfer pasta mixture into a large casserole dish, and top with shredded cheese and Panko breadcrumbs.
  8. Cook for 25 minutes.
  9. Serve.

chickenskillet

Chicken Mushroom Skillet Casserole
Recipe Type: Main
This delicious one pot chicken mushroom skillet casserole mixes fresh summer veggies with a creamy cheese sauce for a dish that will please the whole family!
Ingredients
  • 3 cups pasta
  • 2 cups chicken
  • 1 cup zucchini, cut into quarters
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup onions, chopped
  • 1 can Cream of Chicken
  • 1 jar Alfredo Sauce
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a large stock pot filled with water bring water to a boil, add two tablespoons of salt and add pasta. Cook using the instructions on the pasta packaging. When the pasta is al dente pour it into a colander and drain. Return to pot and toss with EVOO and set aside.
  3. Saute veggies one vegetable at a time, individually adding 1/4 tablespoon of EVOO with each batch of veggies.
  4. In a bowl pour in Alfredo sauce and Cream of Chicken soup, mix very well.
  5. Pour Alfredo sauce mixture onto cooked pasta.
  6. Add vegetables and toss well.
  7. Transfer pasta mixture into a large casserole dish, and top with shredded cheese and Panko breadcrumbs.
  8. Cook for 25 minutes.
  9. Serve.

 

 

You might also want to try these yummy recipes!

 

Easy Cheesy Shells – Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Fiesta Chicken Crockpot Recipe

Easy Chicken Cheese Enchiladas Recipe

Classic Beef Stew Recipe

 

Amazon Deals

Click Here for More Amazon Posts

Drug Store Deals

Click Here for More Drug Store Deals

Kroger Deals

Click Here for More Kroger Deals

Latest Freebies

Click Here for More Freebies

Local Deals

Click Here for More Local Deals

Latest Recipes

Click Here for More Recipes