Lemon Melt in Your Mouth Cookies

If you love a melt in your mouth cookie, these lemon cookies are for you!! This recipe is a mix between a Mexican Wedding Cookie, a lemon bar and a chocolate chip cookie. They are so delicious and perfect for spring. These cookies would be so cute at a baby shower, wedding shower, or a spring time luncheon. If you need a new and fun cookie recipe, this one is for you!!

Spicy Honey Mustard Dressing & Spinach Salad

The other day my sister had a few ladies over for lunch and served us a salad with the most amazing honey mustard salad dressing I have ever had. The dressing had, not only the sweetness of honey but, a depth of flavor that we were all in love with. I seriously wanted to lick my plate clean--if only that would be kosher amongst friends ;)  I had my sister help recreate her dressing recipe and I was so excited to make this salad for my family the next night for dinner. You can really serve this dressing over any type of spinach or lettuce salad. I had some spinach and several produce items to use up, so it made a great topping for a throw-it-together type of salad. If you want a new and flavorful side salad idea for your Easter celebrations, this is a keeper!! I could even see this dressing drizzled over a nice piece of ham--just n idea ;)

Breakfast Enchilada Omelets

With Easter coming up this weekend I am so excited to share with you some new 'spring' recipes that I know you will love!! We have tried these recipes these past couple weeks (many of them more than once) and have fallen in love with them. This recipe for Breakfast Enchilada Omelets is hands down one of my all-time favorite breakfast dishes. I loved everything about this!! The fresh vegetables, the pieces of ham, the cheesy egg, the crispy tortilla. All of it was perfectly delicious. The great thing about this recipe is you can adapt the ingredients to what your family likes. Use the vegetables and meat your family prefers and customize this dish to your liking. The other great thing about this dish is it can be made the night before and baked in the morning. We will be having this Easter weekend for sure! Hope you love it too ;)

Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Two loves. Cookie butter and a homemade chocolate chip cookie. Need I say more?!?!? Happy weekend to all of us!!

Banana Oat Muffins

The other day my kids came home to the most random after school snacks in the history of Mommy-after-school-snack-dum. I was trying to clean out my fridge and so I placed several options out on the counter--hard boiled eggs from a spinach salad the night before, sliced strawberries, leftover breakfast casserole from the morning, the remains of a Chex-Mix bag, grapefruit, and a half eaten yogurt someone didn't finish from lunch. The look on my kids' faces were hilarious. You would have thought they were at a funeral. They were all solumn and so dissapointed to come home to such a pathetic 'feast'. I gave them the 'kids in Africa would be grateful to come home to this much food' and they all rolled their eyes and went on with their day.

Today after school I insisted I must redeem myself from 'worst' Mom award ;) One of my favorite memories growing up was coming home to my Mom cooking up something in the kitchen. It definitely wasn't ever day, but the days we came home to something smelling yummy and warm out of the oven just seemed to make everything right in the world. I knew I needed my kids' help in the garden today so I decided to sweeten them up with a warm, Banana Oat Muffin straight from the oven. These muffins had the added bonus of chocolate chips which makes everything better!  These muffins were SO moist, soft, and had the added health benefit of flax seed and wheat flour--to keep us all nice and full 'til dinner. These were the perfect solution to a long day for all of us--I hope you love them to ;)

Melon Berry Fruit Salad

It's spring and that means everything berry and fruit is on sale. Strawberries, blackberries, melons and many of your favorite fruits always go on sale the week of Easter. This is the perfect week to make this healthy and delicious Melon & Berry Fruit salad. Berries and melons go great together and this salad is drizzled with a honey-lime dressing which ads a hint of sweet tangy-yumminess. Hope you love this addition to any weeknight meal ;)

Lemon Zucchini Chicken Alfredo

Now that the weather is getting nicer I have been taking full advantage of my ability to grill in our backyard without freezing to death--okay, me and my son have (he does most of the grilling for me). Bring on spring weather and the beginning of barbecue season--yay! The other night I was craving a traditional chicken alfredo. However, I felt a little guilty eating this cream and butter laden recipe. I decided to lighten up the recipe by using milk instead of cream, and added grilled zucchini to add a little texture and a healthier flair. The zucchini and lemon brightened up this dish perfectly and helped this recipe be worthy of spring. Hope you love this dish too!

What store has the cheapest groceries?

This was a great article on Yahoo news. Same or similar items were purchased at Walmart, Aldi and Kroger and then compared to see who was cheapest.  Since we use Walmart as our price comparison and post the deals for Aldi's in 32 states and Kroger in 29 states, we thought this was a fun read to see where price are typically cheapest nationally.

The bottom line from the article seems to be what we have found from our own experience:

• Kroger is the most expensive but if you use your rewards card and shop the deals it's not too far above the others
• Walmart has the best selection and the lowest overall prices on national brands and with the bonus of price matching making it a great go-to store.
• Aldi has some of the best prices and is definitely worth the drive if you have one close by but there selection is limited (and you can price match them at Walmart)

Leave a comment and let us know what your favorite grocery store is?

Ground Turkey Smothered Enchiladas

Has this week been crazy for anyone else, or is it just me? It seems like every night we have had multiple activities or places we needed to be. On crazy weeks like this one, I turn to some of my favorite simple recipes to get dinner on the table in a hurry. I love these Turkey Enchiladas, not only because I love ground turkey and the fact it's healthier than ground beef, but because this meal can come together in less than 30 minutes. Smith's has an awesome deal on ground turkey for only $1.99/lb. this week. I went and stocked up and came home and put this enchilada together before the kids came home from school. At dinner time I threw it in the oven and it was so nice to have a warm meal before we ran all different directions. The thing I love most about this dish is the amount of flavor and texture. I love the sweet corn on the inside along with the soft, pinto beans. Adding things like beans, rice or corn to your meat mixture is a great way to extend your meat. This recipe makes enough for one large 11x17 pan or one 9x13 and a small 8x8 square pan. It's a great dish if you need to make an extra pan for a neighbor in need. Hope you love these as much as we do!

Best Grocery Bargains at Costco--what to buy and what not to buy

After our last post about Costco I thought it was ironic that I had to do my monthly shopping trip to Costco the next day. As I was there, and was observing all of their prices, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite items at Costco. I really try to not go to Costco more than every couple of months. Reason being, I spend WAY too much money! This store drains my food budget quicker than any other. Yesterday I went to Costco and spent $150 for the above pile. When you compare that to a pile I get at Walmart for the same price, that is not too impressive. However, there are a few items that I like to always keep on hand (from Costco) that make my life easier and help me save money in the long run. Here is a brief overview of some of the items I buy each month at Costco. All other items I need for my meal planner I purchase from our weekly deals and plan my shopping trip around those items that are on sale for LESS than Walmart & Costco (the red deals on our website ;)