Egg Salad anyone?

I am on the search for a good recipe for egg salad sandwiches. My Mom didn't like eggs...so we never had them growing up. How do you do it? (It doesn't need to be fancy).

Do you have any Christmas Recipes?

Do you have any recipes that you like to make around this time of year?

3 dinners for under $10 total

Okay, so I didn't add up the amounts, but I think I made all three of these dinners for under $10 total. My family does not eat leftovers, so I do not save leftovers. They just go moldy, so I would rather throw them away when they smell good, than when they smell horrible. (I know, not very frugal of me---but that's the way it is.) But, if I can make it into something else, then it works. I haven't done the following plan before, but it worked out quite nicely.

10-12 medium potatoes

Toppings for baked potatoes

1 tube jimmy dean hot sausage

1 yellow onion

1/2 bottle BBQ sauce

9 eggs

S & P

Beef boullion cubes

Biscuits or biscuit ingredients

The first night we had baked potatoes. Mine were red potatoes, but it doesn't matter. Make extra for the following meals... (I think I made 10-12 medium sized potatoes for my family of 5 eaters).

Then a night or two later we had Rancho's Juevos. (My Dad always said it meant "Ranch Eggs" in spanish, but who knows?) Here is how to do it...

After the baked potatoes cool (you can just leave them in the foil and put them in the fridge) or let them cool on the counter for a few hours. Remove the foil and cube. Put them in the fridge in a ziploc until ready to use. In a large non-stick skillet put the potatoes in and brown edges and heat through. Salt and Pepper. In a separate pan cook 1 chopped yellow onion and 1 tube of jimmy dean hot sausage (by the ham and hot dogs at the grocery store). Add cooked sausage to potatoes. In a separate bowl beat some eggs. (I did 9, but it just depends on how many potatoes you have and how much egg you like). Add eggs to potatoes and cook through. Add half a bottle of any brand/flavor BBQ sauce and serve. You can also top with cheese if desired.

For the third meal I made a beef broth with water and beef boullion cubes. I did 5 bouillion cubes to half a big pan of water. (The normal recipe is 1 cube to 1 C. water...and I estimated that it was about 5 cups of water). Then I added the left over Rancho's Juevos to make a sausage and potato soup. The egg looked a little weird, but it didn't taste bad at all. In fact the soup was really really good. (I figured there is egg in egg drop soup). I also made biscuits to go with the soup. I am still looking for the perfect biscuit recipe so I will not post the recipe I used. (Anyone have any suggestions.)

And there you have it...3 cheap, easy, fast, yummy meals!

Favorite Cook Book?

Besides ward cookbooks...do you have a favorite cookbook?  What is it?

Strawberry Freezer Jam

So for the last few years I have wanted to make strawberry jam.  My two good friends Chris and Amy always make such yummy yummy strawberry jam that I wanted some for myself.  It seems like the strawberry season slips by me and I never do it.  This year I swore I was going to do it.  Then I could never really find a good price on strawberries so I kept putting it off and putting it off.  Then one day while I was at my Mom's her neighbor came by and asked if she wanted any of her strawberries off her plants.  So lo and behold I got strawberries.  That means I was really committed.  I was scared.  (of what I'm not sure---I guess failure).  Any way I did it today...my first attempt at strawberry freezer jam.

This is the pectin I used...thanks to my good friend Amy!  Thanks Amy!

It was an instant pectin (I didn't even know there was such a thing!!!).  You didn't have to cook the fruit at all.  Just mix a pkg of the pectin and 1 & 1/2 C. sugar and 4 C. of crushed strawberries.  Stir for 3 minutes.  Then place in clean containers.  Freeze for up to 1 year. (These are just the instructions from the pkg...I didn't do anything special).  It was really quite easy.  It did take a few hours.  I had two big popcorn bowls full and it made a little over 12 C. of crushed strawberries.  So I needed 3 pkgs of pectin and 4 & 1/2 C. sugar.  Then I got 9 containers worth.  The pkg says that each pkg makes 5 pints.

I'll have to let you know how it tastes!  I am way excited and really proud of myself!

Do any of you have any canning or jam experiences or advice for the rest of us?!?!?!  For example I am wondering if you can put the freezer jam in other containers?  Such as cottage cheese containers?

BBQ recipes!

Calling for all of your favorite BBQ recipes!!!  Summer is fantastic for grilling...what do you like to make?  Or what do you want to try?