How to Rock a Hurricane Like a Boss

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Hurricane season is here and many of our readers are in the path of the latest storm. While it is a major pain in the hiney to face a tropical storm or a hurricane, have no fear wonderful people. I am going to share a few of my tips to help you handle this hurricane and any others that come your way like a boss in reasonable style and comfort, given the situation.

Stock Up!
Ok, I know the experts are going to say buy things like bottled water and tuna fish, but come on people. Drastic weather calls for comfort. Instead of getting in a fist fight over the last cans of spam on the store shelves, let's get real. No one wants to eat spam in good weather, let alone terrible weather. Buy all of the pop tart's, granola bars, cold cereal and snack cakes you can get your hands on. Buy soda, booze and single serve fruit juice drinks. Buy candy, coffee singles that are like tea bags, and shelf stable milk. Buy the damn doritos and bean dips like there is no tomorrow.

Kiss Your Ice Goodbye
Accept that ice is going to be something you want, but don't have. Do not stand in line at the gas station for an hour for a bag of ice, just will yourself to go without it. I once paid $10 for a bag of ice and got a handful of laffy taffy as my change. Never again. Ice ain't worth $10, no matter how hot it might be outside.

Run, Don't Walk, to the Sporting Good Store
No, I am not crazy. But I am going to give you a tip to help you keep your cool. Buy as many cooling towels as you possibly can. There are these great ones out there by Mission that will make life feel a little cooler in the sweltering temps while you wait on your power and beloved air conditioning to return.

Dust Off the Board Games
In 2004 we lost power for a week during a hurricane, 2 weeks later we lost power for another week during a second hurricane. We played board games with reckless abandon. We battled it out over every game we could get our hands on and somehow we survived a week without electric, air conditioning, television and gasp even our phones as charging them was nearly impossible.

When In Doubt...
Fondue
Get your booty to the hardware store for denatured alcohol right now if you have a fondue set. If not, Get. One. Now. You can heat soup, make ramen noodles and even brew hot coffee if you have a handy dandy fondue set. You will be the envy of your friends and neighbors if they get a whiff of some hot soup, oatmeal or whatever cooking. If they smell your hot coffee, look out  cause you might just become block president or something if you are willing to share. I am not certain, but I would be willing to guess that in a pinch votive candles would heat a fondue pot nicely if you can't get the Denatured Alcohol easily.

What are your pro tips for riding out the storm? Do tell so that everyone can hunker down with minimal annoyances and maximum comfort!

Pie Crust Cookies

If you need a treat in a flash that is low in sugar but packed with buttery flavor, this pie crust cookie recipe is one that you will want to check out!

When I was a kid, sometimes my grandma would bake a pie. That was always nice, but the true treat was her pie crust. After she trimmed her crust to fit her pie plate, she would sprinkle to excess with cinnamon and sugar and bake it up. She called it cracklins and let me tell you, this is the flavor that I reminisce on as an adult.

The only bad part about cracklins was how few and far between they were! 

A few months ago, my kids were begging for treats, so I stood in my kitchen surveying the options. We were low on baking supplies, but my mind wandered back to this simple treat for childhood. I decided I would just make a pie crust and make something fantastic.

While at first, my family was skeptical that pie crust cookies could actually be good, now they beg me to make these at least once a month! The recipe is similar to a shortbread, it is so easy to make that anyone could make these!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 cup of chilled butter

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of ice water

1/4 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball.

Roll dough out until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick

Sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar and slice into chunks, strips, wedges, whatever!

 Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Hungry for more?
Check out this recipe for the kids:
Super soft play dough

Chicken and Mushroom Sandwich

A few weeks ago, I realized that my grocery budget needed a major overhaul. Summer is here and my expenses always double in the summer. From utilities to entertainment; gasoline and groceries. You name it, with my entire family home for 3 months, it is going to cost more!

Thanks to BFree for sending product to use in this recipe! Be Free offers wheat and gluten free options ranging from pita to bagels, breads and rolls.

This year, I want to enjoy having my son and husband home with Harper and I. Sometimes, money stress really hampers our summer fun. So, I began examining our expenses and finding ways to cut them where possible without sacrificing any standard of living... well lets be honest, standard of eating!

I made it my mission to uncover great meals for a family of 2 adults and 2 preschool-ish age kids that would cost us less than $7 total.

$7 seems like a cheap meal right? Originally I thought about doing $5 meals, but I doubted I could produce delicious and nutritious meals on such a tight budget. We are not big beans and rice eaters. The possibilities have been promising so far on this inexpensive gourmet mission. I incorporate sale items into my menu to maximize my savings and to get the best use of fresh ingredients.

Sandwiches are a great option for any meal. They are fun to eat and they tie so many good flavors together! There is no shortage of sandwiches you can make! If you can dream it, make it and eat it! This is another one of those incredibly yummy and easy recipes that you can create for under $7. I loved that it created minimal dirty dishes in the preparation process and that the sandwich was substantial enough to make a meal on its own.

Ingredients

1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast sliced thin or diced into small chunks.

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup of shredded cheese

8 slices of your choice sandwich bread, I used BFree Brown Seeded Sandwich Bread
Spicy Brown Mustard

Directions

 Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a frying pan. Cook thinly sliced chicken breast thoroughly.

As your chicken is browning, saute sliced mushrooms until they are a golden color.

When your chicken is ready add the cheese and allow to melt.

Add spicy brown mustard to the bread. Add cheesy chicken to the bread and top with mushrooms.
Serve while hot.

Do you ever serve hot sandwiches for dinner? What is your favorite kind to prepare?

You might also like my Elvis Sandwich Recipe or My Peanut Butter Chicken recipe. 

minions puppets

This super simple popsicle stick craft brings the fun of the minions to your craft time! These are great for book-markers or as the star of a dramatic play session!

There is nothing like a toy you make yourself! On a rainy day a little imagination can go a very long way. We made these DIY minions puppets on a whim and had so much fun playing with them! I know your kids will like them too! They came together in a few moments time and kept the kids entertained for at least an hour!  

To make this easy Minions Puppet Craft you will need:

craft sticks

Blue and Yellow Paint

Craft Eyes

Instructions:

Paint the bottom half of the craft sticks blue.

Paint the top half yellow.

Add an eye and here you have easy minions puppets!

If you have an idea for handmade puppets for toddlers and preschoolers I would love to hear about it in a comment. 

EASY Apple Pie Cheesecake Parfaits

When time is short, but the craving for a treat is strong, you can't go with this EASY Apple Pie Cheesecake Parfait recipe!

This is one of those shortcut creations that has saved the day and dessert a few times for my family. It takes 3 easy ingredients and requires only about that many minutes to create!

I used canned apple pie filling, graham cracker crumbs and Philadelphia Cheesecake Filling. This is pre made and sold in a big tub. I always like to keep this on hand for last minute entertaining or indulging!

All you have to do to create this yummy parfait is to layer those 3 ingredients {apple pie filling, graham cracker crumbs and Philadelphia Cheesecake Filling} in a pretty glass and serve chilled!

The luscious cheesecake filling pairs well with juicy apples. The graham crackers add a nice texture to this mix! Of course you could use cherry pie filling, or any flavor you prefer in this recipe.

You might also like this Coconut Rice Krispie Treat Recipe. It is dairy free and delicious!!