A couple people wanted the recipe for Crockpot Pizza. Here it is. Go to the website and you can see a picture of it.

http://tammysrecipes.com/crock_pot_pizza

Description:
A delicious layered crockpot casserole with egg noodles, cheese, pizza sauce, and pepperoni

Yield:
8 servings
Ingredients:
12 ounces egg noodles, cooked according to package instructions and drained
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 (14 ounce) jars pizza sauce or 1 large can spaghetti sauce*
3.5 ounces turkey or beef pepperoni**
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
1. In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion until done. Drain. Stir in the pizza sauce and pepperoni.

2. Grease crock pot. Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce in bottom. Cover with layer of noodles, then a layer of the cheeses. Repeat layers twice.

3. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or until heated through and cheeses are melted.

First off, let me say that our family used to NEVER even watch football, let alone the Super Bowl. Well, you have a son come along that loves to play football and things change We were invited to two different Super Bowls parties, but decided to decline the offers and stay at home instead. We're fixing some VERY unhealthy and unfrugal treats for tonight's game. I've been putting back cash from the "food" envelope for the past couple of weeks so we can all chow down on some of our favorites for the game.

Tonight's menu:
*Hot Buffalo Wings
*Lil' Smokies in BBQ sauce
*Potato skins(making these instead of buying)
*Pizza rolls(both cheese and pepperoni)
*Rotel cheese dip and chips
*White cake with pink frosting(also homemade...this was DD#2's request)
And of course, DH has the beer icing down!LOL

Menu for the week:
*Polish sausage, mac and cheese, cornbread, and salad(didn't make this last week like I had planned)
*Chicken legs and thighs cooked on the grill, baked taters, bicuits, green beans
*Potato soup and grilled cheese(the soup made with the insides of the potatoes I'm using for tonight's tater skins)
*Spaghetti w/meat sauce, garlic toast, salad
*Beef fajita's with onion, green peppers, cheese, sour cream, and salsa
We'll have leftovers and "every man for himself" on the other two nights.

GO COLTS!!!!!

Man, I am soooooo bored! We have bad winery weather here so there's no way I'm going to brave the roads! Church has been cancelled for tomorrow because of the weather. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself tomorrow!

Today, I cleaned the house and worked on the budget a bit. I wanted to bake some cookies but we really don't need the extra calories.

The good thing? No spend days!LOL No spending yesterday, today, tomorrow, and probably Monday(no work or school because of the Martin Luther King holiday).

Normally I don't get cabin fever like this. I don't know what's the matter with me????

Frugal things I've done today:
#1 Packed lunches for myself and the two girls today.
#2 Drank water all day after my morning coffee.
#3 I got home later than expected this evening. It would have been sooooo easy to stop somewhere and pick up dinner but I didn't! I pulled some already browned and seasoned ground beef out of the freezer, opened a can of refried beans, chopped some lettuce, and put together a quick meal of burritos(a family favorite).
#4 Packed lunches for the girls and myself to take to school tomorrow.
#5 Got oatmeal ready to go for tomorrow's breakfast. Killing two birds with one stone here. Oatmeal is very frugal AND a very healthy breakfast!
#6 Got tomorrow's laundry started and only used 1/2 the amount of detergent the manufactorer recommended.

Not so frugal things I've done today:
#1 Spent $31 on school supplies for DD and DS.
#2 Spent $27 on haircuts for myself, DS, and DD#1. However, I didn't pay for a trim for DD#2. She's only 8 so I can successfully trim her hair and she doesn't care yet. Also, didn't have to pay for a haircut for DH. I trim his hair too. I can make it look just as nice as a professional

LOL! My 15 year old football playing son is out scouring the countryside for aluminum cans! DH convinced him to pick some up the other day just to clear some trash off the highway near our house. They took them to the recyclers yesterday and he made $25. Now, he wants to walk every stretch of highway around!LOL He and DH are avid hunters and he's saving up to buy a gun. If he keeps up at this pace, he could have his new gun in two weeks!

Gosh! Everybody has been posting their 2007 goals so I thought I should post mine too. I'm happy to say that one of mine has already been accomplished! Yeah me!

#1 Make a 2007 budget down to the penny.
ACCOMPLISHED!! I made out my new budget this morning and I'm very happy with the results. It's completely "do-able"

#2 Mostly pay off two remaining credit cards. I won't be able to pay off both this year, but I can pay off the majority.

#3 Lose 1/2 pound a week. I've already started my new eating plan. I'm not really "dieting"...just reducing the amount of food that I eat and making better(healthier) food choices.

#4 Making and sticking to a menu every week. This helps reduce my grocery costs.

#5 Keeping my home cleanier and more organized. I've already got a good start over Christmas break. I just need to stick with it!

#6 Actually, this is the last on my list, but most important. Being a better and more understanding wife and mom. I get so tired and tied down with responsibility that I'm not always the most pleasant person for my family to be around. I need to delegate more chores to my family instead of trying to "do it all" then being a witch to be around!

There you have it! Every single goal listed is something I can accomplish if I put mind to it! Wish me luck.....

Today has mostly been a no spend day for me. I stared off the morning by doing just a little straightening up around the house. I tried to keep the clutter down yesterday, though, so clean up wasn't any big deal. For lunch we pulled out the leftovers from our Christmas dinners, and for supper we'll be doing the same. I'll have to make something different tomorrow, but nobody has complained about the leftovers so far.

The kids each got a small gift card to Wal-Mart as a gift yesterday and they already had it spent(in their minds), so we headed into town to Wal-Mart. I went into the Christmas section where they had all their stuff marked down 50%. I couldn't find anything that I needed or wanted, so I walked out without buying anything. DD#1 is an avid reader so we headed to the library next. This is where my small unexpected "spend" came into play. When we went to checkout, I found out I had a fine of $0.40. So, my big and only spend today equaled less than half a dollar. Hopefully tomorrow will be another no spender. Actually, tomorrow is payday

Nothing planned around here for the rest of the day except watching some TV and reading one of the books I picked up at the library. Gotta love Christmas break!

Hope everyone is having a great Christmas Eve so far!

I managed to do both things last night I baked two fruit cakes(they are wonderful, I swear!), 4 dozen snickerdoodles(dipped in red and green sugar...they look so good!), and pan of strawberry bars. I have everything place on my large Christmas patter waiting for my guests to sample tonight.

After I made all the goodies and cleaned my kitchen, I settled down and read one of the Christmas books I brought home. It was fairly small book, so it didn't take me long. While I read, I also watched my K.C. Chiefs(heart) beat the stuffing out of the the Raiders!WooHoo!
Anyway, I had a great and productive Christmas Eve Eve.

This morning I'm off to church. Unfortunetly, it will be a spend day I'll pay my tithing(budgeted so I don't actually consider it a "spend"), but my big expense will come when I pick up my large meat and cheese deli, bread, and chips this afternoon. Oh well, it's gotta be done! This is "my" holiday. In my family we all take turns hosting each holiday. That way the work and expense are spread out evenly. Christmas Eve is my holiday. Christmas day at my Mom's. Christmas evening at FIL's. Easter at my sister's. 4th of July at my aunt's. And, Thanksgiving is kinda always up in the air because my sister and I usually, but not always, spend Thanksgiving at our in-laws.
So, even though I have the mess and expense tonight. I don't have to mess with it again for another year!LOL

Well, I guess I ought go get dressed for church. Hope everyone has a great day!

I can't believe I'm starting a blog three days before Christmas! Oh well, I've never had great timing(rolling my eyes).

Anyway, I'm excited about starting my blog A little background about me. I'm a 36 year old wife and mom. I have three kiddo's, a 15yo DS, 13yo DD, and 8yo DD. As you can see, I have two teenagers and life sure if fun at our house!LOL Really, they can be great kids...when they want to be I had been a stay at home mom for the past 15 years, until August when I went back to work full time at my youngest daughter's elementary school. I work in the library as an assistant. I love my job! I love that I have the same hours that my kids have and I work with great people. The money isn't that great, though
DH has a metal fabrication business based out of our home. It's just a small business and money is really tight at our house. Money has always been tight since we chose for me to stay at home until the kids were in school. I don't feel bummed out by our small income. I feel challenged by it! I'm always looking for ways to keep our expenses down and live within our means. We have a small amount of cc debt(mostly from some costly dental bills...we don't have dental insurance). We owe very little on our home(only $850!), and about $3000 on our van. The house and van will be paid off this summer. Then, I will work towards paying off the cc and building up a larger saving account.

I guess I'd better get back to work in my kitchen. I have some goodies in the oven