7 Homemade Stocking Stuffer-Treats

This year we had so much Halloween candy that the kids still haven't finished it.  But then again we still have some Easter candy....
A friend recently told just to let them pig out for a day or two and then they won't want anymore.  I sure don't know what to think about that philosophy! Anybody else tried it?
Now it's time to think about stockings and every year I buy special candy to go inside. And every year we still have Christmas candy come Spring.  Well not this year!
This year I am not buying ANY Christmas candy!!! I know what you're thinking; those poor mistreated kiddos. HA! Not a chance!
I am making all homemade treats and a few toys for their stockings this year.  And trust me these are simple to put together, because if they weren't, I wouldn't be doing it.

#1 - Turtles
These are the perfect combination of sweet & salty, chewy and crunchy!

Ingredients:
Small pretzels in shape of circle, square or regular
Rolos
Pecans

Place pretzels on cookie sheet- can be lined w/ parchment paper for quick cleanup.
Place a rolo on each pretzel.  Melt in over at 350* for about 3 minutes, don't go to long or you'll have a mess!
Remove from oven and quickly press 1 pecan into each slightly melted rolo.
Chill (or in my case, put it out in the garage where it's refrigerator temp already)
Enjoy!!
I will be putting these in some cute holiday bags I got from the dollar store.

These don't last long in my house; I make sure to hide a batch so that they last till Christmas!!

#2 - Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks
My kiddos LOVE marshmallows in their hot chocolate so this is bound to be a hit!

Ingredients:
Mashmallows
Chocolate chips
Candy canes or peppermints, crushed
Coffee straws or craft sticks

Here is a great tutorial on how to make these!

#3 - Popcorn Balls
These are a yearly tradition in my mom's house! She used to make these for all our friends and neighbors at Christmas time. I am hoping to carry on that tradition this year with my little ones!
Ingredients: 
Approx. 9 cups Air popped popcorn - this is my popper
1/2 cup Jello (small box) - my favorites are Lime and Cherry
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white Karo syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
In microwave safe bowl (a large one) boil to soft stage, about 7 min. Stir every couple minutes.  You may want a lid as this can sometimes bubble up over the edge.
Mix with popcorn.  Rub some butter on hands, work popcorn into balls. Be careful, mixture is hot!
Wrap in plastic or sandwich bags to store.
 
#4 - Chex Mix
I make just the regular ol Chex Mix! It is my family's all-time favorite.

Ingredients: 
3 cups each - rice, corn, wheat chex
1 cup nuts, whatever you like. I used dry roasted peanuts
1 cup bite-sized pretzels or sticks
6 T butter
2 T Worcestershire sauce 
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt (optional) I don't put this in anymore and it's still quite tasty
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

Heat oven to 250*; melt butter in large roasting pan.  Stir in seasonings and sauce.  Add chex, nuts and pretzels. Stir until coated.  Heat in oven 45 min- stirring every 15min. Cool on paper towels; store in airtight container.   

Variations to this recipe are endless! Put in whatever sounds good to you! There are also recipes for sweet mixes such as Muddy Buddies and Peppermint Puppy Chow.

#5 - Peppermint Pretzels
These could be made with white or dark chocolate - I plan on doing some of both!

Dark Chocolate recipe 

White Chocolate recipe 

And these will be wrapped up in those decorative treat bags from the dollar store too!


#6 - Candy Cane Reindeer
Just a candy cane and a few crafting supplies and you've got yourself a treat that doubles as a toy! And just think how adorable these little guys will look peeking out of the stockings!

This one is super simple!
Check it out here.

#7 - Clothes Pin Airplane or Butterfly

Now, obviously this one isn't a treat but rather a fun homemade toy that kids could help make or even use as an ornament on the tree.

These may seem a little more time consuming but the look on a kids face when they receive this gift is so worth it! And they really don't take that long to make!

Airplane Tutorial

Butterfly Tutorial

And here's another one - An Ant! So many possibilities! 

Another easy idea is to double (or triple!) each recipe of these treats and fix up a little plate for friends and family!  Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!
MadCounty Mama 

Menu Monday

I am slowly working my way back to a monthly menu- so starting in September I will be posting once (hopefully!) at the beginning of the month.  And I'll be sharing some tips on how you can plan for a month of meals too without going to the grocery store every week.
Tip #1 - Stock your pantry when items, you frequently use, are on sale!
Tip #2 - Take a monthly inventory of your pantry/freezer each month before you meal plan.
Stay tuned for more tips next time!

Weekly Menu:

Monday:
Breakfast - Oatmeal & Strawberries
Lunch - Grilled Cheese, Ants on a Log
Dinner - Spaghetti, Garlic bread, fresh greens

Tuesday:
Breakfast -Scrambled eggs w/ cheese & toast
Lunch- Lunchables
Dinner -Soup & Salad

Wednesday:
Breakfast -Smoothies & Zucchini bread
Lunch- PB&J, goldfish, carrots
Dinner -Ham&Kholrabi gratin, broccoli salad

Thursday:
Breakfast -Cold cereal, fruit & yogurt
Lunch- Leftovers
Dinner -Grilled Trout, 4-bean salad

Friday:
Breakfast -Whole wheat Waffles & bacon
Lunch- Chicken wraps, veggies & fruit
Dinner -  BBQ chicken pitas, green salad

Saturday:
Breakfast -Homemade Granola bar & fruit
Lunch- Cook's choice
Dinner - Pizza

Sunday:
Breakfast -Cold cereal w/ muffin
Lunch- Chef Salad
Dinner - BBQ w/ friends

Cheers!
MadCounty Mama

Free Groceries!

I recently started clipping coupons seriously.  And since we started getting the daily newspaper again - I get to check out sales ads right away.  Being a stay at home mom has some pretty great advantages.
1. Shopping on days when no one else is out.
2. Hitting the sales early!
and the list can go on and on.
Last week I scored a coupon for Campbell's cream of Mushroom soup $0.69/can.  Reg price $2.19
I went to use the coupon and couldn't find it. I had cut it out of the paper, brought the paper with me to the store and forgot the ad. Whoops!
Then I discovered it was not at home sitting neatly on the counter-top (where I am sure I left it), it was nowhere to be found.  After complaining to my mom on the phone; she suggested going thru my garbage...ew ew ew. But I was desperate for a great deal so I donned some plastic gloves and went searching.  Sure enough I found it! =)  I took off for the grocery store, cleaned out their shelf and went to buy my goods. The coupon wouldn't scan.  What??? I was at self checkout so one of the young men working came over to help me. He couldn't get it to scan either but told me he would adjust my total.  I ended up saving $15 on 10 cans of soup. I probably won't have to buy that soup again for a year now!
Back at home I happened to check the dates on the rest of the coupons and found out why mine wouldn't scan.  The coupon wasn't good until the next day.
So maybe I need a bit more practice on this couponing thing....
Today~ By shopping this weeks sales ad and scouting online for manufacturer's coupons check out
my awesome pile of FREE, yes I said FREE, groceries!

Want to know how I did it?
It takes a little time and effort but shopping sales and couponing can really pay off. Some of these items were outright free, while others were free by how much I saved off the regular price.

Here goes:

Buy 3 Kelloggs cereals Get 1 gallon of milk FREE
---cereal Reg 5.19-5.49 Sale 2.99
---Manufacturers coupon for $1 off 2 boxes - final price ea 2.65
---price of milk $4
Buy 1 Nature Made vitamin Get 1 FREE
Buy 5 Hillshire Farms products Get $5 off instantly
--- Turkey Polska Keilbasa Reg 5.79 Sale 3.99
--- bought 5 packages got $5 off - final price ea - 2.99
Pop-Tarts Reg 2.99 Sale 1.99
---Manufacturers coupon for $1 off 3 boxes - final price ea 1.65
Dole Pineapple Reg 2.19 Sale .77
---Bought 7 cans Saved $10 and got another coupon with purchase for $1 off 5 more cans
Golden Oreos Reg 4.19 Sale 2.99
---Manufacturers coupon for $1 off when you buy milk and cookies
---final price 1.99 but I count it free b/c of the $4 saved on milk
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
---Reg 3.59 Sale $2
---.41 shy of a BOGO free deal

A $1 off coupon may not seem like much but when you add it to a sales price, buy in bulk and/or use as many as possible in one trip; the savings really adds up! I ended up spending $10 less than my total savings (Ex. Spend 20 save 30). To me it was a great shopping trip. But I also want to lower that total spending even more.

Happy Couponing Friends!

MadCounty Mama

What does $19 buy you?

Well if you're thrifty and clever you can find all sorts of ways to score a deal! Here's my weekend garage sale-ing spoils!

Little People Castle

Comes with a Knight in shining armor - how nice is that??

My First Purse

New to us clothes for Princess - I paid .25 for each -the birthday shirt is $8 at Target.

Toddler bedding set matches great with a garden themed room.

And some random accessories to add some dazzle.

 

 

 

 

I think I have birthday/Christmas/next year's birthday and possibly a few other gift giving circumstances for the Princess covered now!  Did I mention a couple weeks ago I found a Little People dollhouse?
I have big plans for the accessories - the candlesticks will be painted either black or white; these will dress up either a side table or dresser in the guest room.  The suitcase/cosmetic case will be going into the guest room to hold a throw blanket.  The picture frame has a lot of interesting detailing on it and will be in the guest room as well. The wood basket in going into the guest bath to help organize in there.
The last thing that I found that is not pictured here is a school desk with attached chair for our homeschooling adventure.
What can you score with $19???

MadCounty Mama