Homemade Hamburger/Hot Dog Buns

You can substitute a cup or two of whole wheat flour for a wheat roll.

These buns are super easy to make!  I can usually whip up a batch in just under an hour and a half, which is amazing since I don't have a ton of spare time!  I have tried many recipes over the last few months and this one is by far the best.

I hope you enjoy! 

Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns (Makes 12)

1 cup of warm milk

1/2 cup of warm water

1/4 cup melted butter

1 egg

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

4+ cups of flour

2 tsp active dry yeast (or a packet)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, water, butter, sugar, yeast, and 1 1/2 cups of flour.  Stir well until combined, and then allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Add the egg and the salt, mixing well.  Add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough is formed.  Knead, adding extra flour as needed, until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic.  (approx. 5 minutes with stand mixer, 8 minutes by hand)  Form a round ball and then cut in 1/2.  Cut each 1/2 into 2 equal pieces, the cut those into 3 equal pieces each.  Roll into balls an place on a baking sheet lined with greased parchment paper.  Pat the dough down with your fingertips into 3/4 inch discs.  Place in a warm spot and allow to rise about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.  Whip up 1 egg with a tablespoon of water and gently brush on the top.  Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds (optional) and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven or until the tops are golden brown.  

For Hot Dog Rolls, simply form each 1/3 into a log and allow to rise.  They have the same rising and baking time.  

I use this recipe for pulled "meat" sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, and last night we ate them with yummy turkey salad!  

The Last Day of School

      Today is the last day of school for my kids.  What this means is that from now until September, I am going to have to entertain four children under the age of 9, everyday, on a very tight budget.  Because we are a one income family, I don't have much money to spend on extras, so I have to be creative in finding fun things for my children to do.  I thought I would share with you some of the activities that we do that are either free or at the very least, only a few dollars per child.  
     1.) Check out the local library- Our library has an awesome summer program.  The kids can attend a story and craft session that is totally free.  They also have live magic shows, animal shows, pajama parties, and movies on site; all of which are completely free.  I just look at the schedule and off we go.  The library is our favorite place in the summer.  They have a great children's library and toys, it is air conditioned, and they have computers there too!  Check out your local libraries website for more information on what they have available.  
     2.) Spray Grounds and Playgrounds- There are at least two spray grounds, and a dozen playgrounds that are close to our house and completely free.  Look online and check out what might be available in your area.  
     3.) Go to the Beach- Luckily, I live in an area where there is no shortage of beaches.  We live in the finger lakes, and along Lake Ontario, so usually within 20 miles we have a beach available.  Some of the parks have a fee to get in (usually less than $10/ car) which makes this a very inexpensive trip.  I always pack food and drinks and we stay all day.  We get the most for our money this way.  Check the weather and lake conditions online before you head out though, I have driven to Honeoye Lake several times in the last few years, only to find the beach closed.      4.) Have a summer party- This is always a fun choice for the kids.  I have a lot of friends with children around the ages of my own.  We simply get together for a play-date that we call a "party".  To make this an inexpensive day, we get out the sprinkler or hose, sidewalk chalk, and most recently a kick ball, and let the kids go.  Usually for food, each mom brings something along to share, like cheese crackers, hot dogs, pretzels, or whatever they have in the house.  The kids drink water, eat lunch, and the moms sit around and chat.  What could be better?
     5.)  Arts, Crafts, Coloring, and Writing time-  This is something that we do in the afternoon after lunch.  It allows the kids to wind down a bit and be creative without the distractions of the T.V. or video games.  We also play our board games during this time.  Quiet time is very important for both adults and children, it helps the kids to calm down and when they are calm and quiet, mom is calm too!  It is a win-win!

     These are just a few things that we over the summer to avoid summer boredom (it's bound to happen, even with a full day of activities planned).  Please take some time and share what you do with your kids over the summer.  I am always looking for new and exciting ways to help my kids enjoy their summer vacation, without breaking my bank!  

Playgrounds are a great place to meet up with friends!

BBQ Turkey Sandwiches

     Today I had a great friend and her two daughters over for lunch.  It was sort of spur of the moment, and since I wasn't planning on her coming when I made my grocery list for the week, I didn't have anything special planned for lunch today.  As I got out of bed this morning, I thought about everything that I had available in my house (that wasn't spoken for) that I could make for lunch today.  I came up with BBQ turkey sandwiches.  We had turkey at a friends house on Saturday and she graciously sent all of the leftovers home with us.  I used one turkey thigh, a leg, and the meat from both wings and threw it into my crockpot (without the bones).  I turned it on and let it simmer.  I made a batch of my homemade hamburger buns and a quick Mac salad, and poof, there was lunch!  It was perfect and the best use of the food that I had in the house.  We were also able to have leftover blueberry shortcake from our church picnic, so there was nothing to waste.  
     We could easily have hopped into the car and made our way over to a restaurant to eat, but with our vacation next week, I am not willing to spend a penny outside of the budget.  So here is the recipe I used today.  

I hope you Enjoy! 

BBQ Turkey Sandwiches (Serves 8)

3 cups of leftover turkey, chicken, pork, or beef

1 cup of water or chicken broth

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 1/4 cup prepared BBQ sauce

Place the meat, water and bouillon cube into the crockpot, turn on high for one hour, then turn to low.  Cook for 3-4 hours.  Shred the meat with a fork and add the BBQ sauce.  Cook for 15 minutes or until sauce is heated through.

Serve on warm rolls or floured tortillas

Fly Trap Update

     So last week I went on a fly killing spree!  They are really bad this year, but most of them are outside, thankfully!  I set the traps and I am not very happy to report that one of them is missing and the other one has no flies in it.  This is a very disappointing setback for sure, but I am undeterred!  I will kill those flies one way or another!  
     This morning, after doing some research, I have placed another trap.  This one uses an old soda bottle with some old, rotting fruit in the bottom.  I put it together and have placed it around the flies habitat (my garbage cans) to test it.    
     I will keep everyone posted on the progress!  In addition to setting the traps, I have also moved the garbage cans again( (further away toward the road), and after the garbage picks up tomorrow I will be attempting to clean them (GROSS! but necessary).   
     The goal is to get rid of these little buggers without spending any money as well as to keep pesticides out of the picture (to keep my family safe). 

If you have any other "green" ideas that have worked for you, please post a comment!  I could use all of the help that I can get!

Happy fly hunting!  

Banana Baked Oatmeal

Believe it or not, it is almost 11 o'clock at night and I have breakfast already set up to go into the oven in the morning!  We have a very busy day tomorrow, our church is having a picnic and I am in charge of it so that  means there won't be much time to get everyone ready in the morning.  On a busy morning like that, I like to have breakfast already planned so that I don't have to worry about figuring out what we are eating and then trying to make it in a time crunch.  Baked oatmeal is so easy and my entire family loves it!  This time I used up some old bananas that I had sitting around so that they wouldn't be wasted (there is nothing worse than throwing produce away!)  

It smells so good!  

Banana Baked Oatmeal (Serves 6)

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 medium bananas mashed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans/walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.  In a medium bowl, whip together all of the wet ingredients.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients and then pour into a greased 11 x 7 inch casserole dish.  Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until golden.  

Yummy breakfast just needs to be baked in the morning!