Tastefully Tuesday - Fake-Out Hamburger Helper Lasagna Bake

Growing up, we ate Hamburger Helper at least once per week. It was a natural transition to feed the meals to my own family. But as my boys grew older, their appetites grew bigger. One box, even when accompanied by a salad and garlic bread, didn't go very far in feeding a family of four.

Then one day while grocery shopping I complained to my husband, "I don't know why we're still buying this. It's just egg noodles and sauce, and your sauce tastes a lot better than what's in this box." Duh. It was like watching light bulbs alight over each other's heads. We put the boxed dinners back on the shelf and grabbed ingredients to make our own instead.

Making your own dinners takes the same amount of time as the boxed version. You get more food for less money and it not only tastes better, but it's also healthier. You can cater the ingredient list to respect family members with allergies. It took us a few tries to tailor the recipe to our family's taste, but now we're able to cook this without even looking at a recipe.

Ingredients

• 6 cups of uncooked egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 3 cups of spaghetti sauce
• 2 pounds of meat, ground or cut into chunks
• 3 cups of shredded "white" cheese of choice
• 1 small container of ricotta cheese

Directions:

1. Prepare pan of boiling water that is an appropriate size to cook the noodles.
2. Add butter and wait for it to melt, stirring slightly.
3. Once noodles are cooked, strain and reserve.
4. Cook your meat. It could be hamburger, steak, chicken, pork, sausage - you can even use leftovers from earlier meals that are taking up space in the fridge.
5. Assemble ingredients in layers in a rectangular baking dish (Ours is a 9" x 13" deep dish baking dish.) as follows:
   
   TOP OF DISH
   2 cups shredded cheese
   1/3 container ricotta
   1 cup of sauce
   1 pound of meat
   1/2 of the cooked noodles
   1 cup shredded cheese
   2/3 container ricotta
   2 cups sauce
   1 pound meat
   1/2 of the cooked noodles
   BOTTOM OF DISH
   
6. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese on top is melting and gooey.

And there you have it! Serve with garlic bread and a salad, and your favorite beverage. One thing I really like about the recipe is its versatility. You can use more or less sauce, depending on your family's tastes. You can leave out the meat and use egg-free noodles for a more veggie-friendly version. I'm not a fan of veggies but have been known to add zucchini, carrots, and some other fresh-from-the-garden ingredients to my own pan of the dish. I'd love to hear if you've tried making your own version of Hamburger Helper before, and what variations worked for you!

Something Else Saturday - A Crappy Question about Zombies

Yesterday the fireman and I sneaked away from the Things and went food shopping. Of course, nobody should go food shopping on an empty stomach, so we headed to lunch first. On the way the conversation turned to one of our favorite topics -- zombies! As we discussed our favorite highlights from Season 2 of AMC's the Walking Dead and pondered what Season 3 might have in store, we came up with some fairly valid questions. Here are our top 3.


QUESTION 01: Do zombies poop?


RESEARCH: Researching this question yielded conflicting answers. On one hand, zombies are able to walk around with their intestines hanging out. And the upper half of the woman crawling around in the first episode of Season 1 had no gastrointestinal track a tall. However, Daryl opened the stomach of the zombie to deduct that it wasn't eating flesh.


ANSWER: Undetermined.

QUESTION 02: Can zombies fall in love?


RESEARCH: In an early Walking Dead episode, Sheriff Rick briefly teams up with Morgan Jones, who evacuated with his wife, Jenny, and their son before the outbreak. When a zombie infected Jenny, Morgan and their son left her on her own with her new zombie brethren. Each night she came to the house where they were staying and scraped at the front door, trying to get to them despite the fact that scientific research suggests that zombies are incapable of feeling most types of emotion beyond hunger or rage.


ANSWER: Maybe!

QUESTION 03: What about vegan zombies?


RESEARCH: This question was brought up by the fireman, who said, "Well what about your friend Dawn? How would she survive being a zombie?" For those of you who haven't been to the Dragonflies@Dawn blog, she not only has to deal with food allergies, but she recently decided to go vegan to boot. However, research shows she's in luck! A Japanese noodle company adopted a new mascot recently -- an adorable zombie with noodles for brains.


ANSWER: Long live vegan zombies!


And there you have it! Be sure to come back on Tastefully Tuesday when I share a recipe that has plenty of noodles without involving brains or zombies. Here's a little video to amuse you until then. Have an awesome weekend.

Thrifty Thursday - Upcycled Hard Arnold Palmer Caddy

My Big Craft Challenge entry along with the drink that inspired it all.

Unless it involves knocking a ball through a windmill while avoiding having it sink into the depths of a miniature pond filled with exotic koi, I'm not really a fan of golf. But I am a fan of half-tea / half-lemonade drinks, like the Arnold Palmer. Because we live in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia we have the advantage of buying limoncello from a local distillery.

This place is the bombdiggity.

When going to see the multi-talented Jennifer Maghan play live music there a few months ago, the guy behind the bar suggested we mix the 'cello with their lemon ice with Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea flavored vodka for an Arnold Palmer that was out of this world. The recipe goes something like this:

Limoncello + Sweet Tea Vodka = Hard Arnold Palmer

This drink was pretty spectacular, enough that we decided to keep the ingredients stocked with the other kitchen essentials. However, our kitchen space is very limited so we had to find a way to store the ingredients so they'd be on hand without cluttering up the kitchen counter. Enter the Big Craft Challenge.

For my entry, I found a vintage metal shower rack. Throw on a couple of coats of hammered black spray paint, use a guitar string as wire to add some beads (some of them made from rolled-up strips of magazine pages), and tada! I now have an Arnold Palmer caddy! Here are the photos. What have you created lately? I'd love to see!

Detail of bead work.

With a bottle of Relax wine for good measure. The basket will hold lemons and limes, while the hooks below will hold corkscrews and other drinking-related accessories.

Tastefully Tuesday - Deep Fried Bacon Chili Cheese Dogs

BLOG AUTHOR'S WARNING: If you have cholesterol problems, please do not try this at home...or anywhere else.

Being a home school family, we watch a lot of PBS here. Gone are the days of Clifford and Oscar the Grouch, as the old standbys my boys grew up on have been replaced with shows with more substance, like the Antique's Roadshow and documentaries about favorite topics like the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Civil War, or our favorite -- food!

Some time back we caught a PBS special about the country's best hot dogs. The one that stood out to us the most was from a New Jersey diner, Rutt's Hutt. The hot dog is called a ripper and Roadfood.com describes it like this:

The magnificent hot dog served by Rutt's Hut is known as a ripper because its skin tears and crinkles when it is deep fried. The oil bath turns the pork-and-beef link rugged, dark, and chewy on the outside, while the interior remains soft and juicy. With mustard or spicy-sweet relish, this is one of America's great hot dogs.

Sadly, our schedule that weekend didn't allow us time to drive the 4+ hours to Rutt's Hutt, so we temporarily settled for a pan-fried version. When the fireman received a deep fryer as a gift last Christmas, we were thrilled with the idea of being able to finally try this culinary curiosity known as a ripper. However, life got in the way and we didn't get around to actually opening the deep fryer until last week.

Since then we've deep fried everything from fresh-cut fried potatoes, to chicken patties, to corn tortillas to make nachos. Last weekend when we realized we had an entire Sunday where I'd be working from home, we all readily agreed that rippers were a perfect option for dinner. Here's our recipe, with a few handy tips.

Ingredients:

• cooking oil
• hot dogs
• bacon
• hot dog buns (we prefer potato roll style)
• condiments and other hot dog toppings

Directions:

1. Heat oil to 375 degrees.
2. Wrap hot dog with one slice of bacon and secure each end of the bacon with a toothpick.
3. Deep fry until bacon appears done and crispy.
4. Place on roll and add favorite condiments or other toppings.

Mine is topped with American cheese, chili, ketchup, and shredded cheese. In all fairness there is a local restaurant that every Tuesday has $5 rippers, but the ones the fireman makes are without compare better and less expensive. While they may not be any healthier, they sure are tastier!

Something Else Saturday - The Most Amazing Woman I Know (On Television)

The devil made her do it.

Marlena Evans is the most amazing woman I know...on television.

Back when I was a kid we didn't have round-the-clock children's programming, so I enjoyed shows like Days of Our Lives, Merv Griffin,  and Saturday Night Live. Even the children's programming we had was spectacular compared to today's standards. You can't go wrong with shows like the Electric Company, where Morgan Freeman helped teach kids to read, or Bill Cosby's Picture Pages. (Remember those? The theme song is stuck in my head right now! I was always so upset that my parents wouldn't buy me the Picture Pages book. But, I digress....)

Marlena Evans had it all. She had an awesome career, a handsome husband, beautiful kids, a second handsome husband, wait what? Yeah. In her 30+ years of daytime afternoon programming she's rarely suffered through any dull moments. Some of her fascinating adventures include:

• demonic possession
• surviving a 30-store drop from a window
• being a host for genetically-engineered babies
• giving birth while in a coma
• victim of mind control used to make her believe she was a serial killer
• victim of hysterical amnesia caused by a miscarriage
• multiple kidnappings

My favorite by far was the demonic possession, pictured above. The show's producer later said he regretted doing the storyline and to be honest, it is rather corny. For those of you who didn't get the joy of seeing it the first time around, or who just want to chuckle through the corniness all over again, here's the YouTube video.

BLOGGER'S NOTE: Thanks to Rachel a.k.a. Plaid Archer for inspiring today's blog post!

Thrifty Thursday - 5 Workouts that Don't Require a Gym Membership

Belonging to a gym is great, but in today's economy - who has the money to spare? I'm personally not a fan of exercising on purpose but I do take extra effort when I can. For example, I love shopping. While I do prefer shopping online, once I'm out of the house, I could shop for hours! Walking through the store by itself is better than no exercise at all, but parking a few extra spots away from the store and briskly taking a stroll while maneuvering a heavy cart is an even bigger help.

Here are some other ways you can get a nice workout without making it seem like exercise:

• Walk the dog. Trust me, your dog is going to love you for this. If you live in a neighborhood, it's a great way to get out and meet people who you otherwise might not have an opportunity to know. If you enjoy the outdoors, it's a great way to explore local parks and hiking trails. And my single male friends tell me it's a great icebreaker for talking to potential dates.
• Take the stairs. One of the benefits of living near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is that there are plenty of opportunities to learn about history. Another is that there are countless areas perfect for walking. From the steps at St. Peter's Cathedral to walking trail at nearby Bolivar Heights, or even just walking across the train bridge to the C&O canal, if you live in the area and can't find somewhere to walk you're just too choosy! And if you don't live in the area, check out the state and national parks around your own home. They're like local treasure waiting for you to discover them.
• Watch some YouTube. I'm not talking about watching some adorable little kitten romping after its shadow in someone's backyard. Pull up some Zumba, Sweat to the Oldies, or even dabble in some TaeBo. Even if you only do 15 minutes worth of exercise, it's 15 more minutes than what you were getting before. Just remember to stretch before and after to avoid cramping the next day.
• Volunteer. Have you ever watched volunteers tackle their work? Most only volunteer a couple of times per week and really look forward to it, so they want to put in all the effort they can. I've been to two different Habitat for Humanity Restore locations and seen people of all ages putting more effort into volunteering than the effort some people put into their paid jobs.
• There's an App for that. Smartphones have apps for everything, even ones to get you up and moving. Couch to 5k is one such running plan app, designed to get people out from in front of the television and on their feet. They even have a jogging plan for beginners. However, I think I prefer the game called Zombies, Run! It's not a free app, but it looks like a lot of fun. Tie up your shoelaces, pop in your earbuds, start the app, and the complete immersion begins with the sound of zombies chasing you. You run different distances to get virtual items to help build the sustainable living environment displayed on your phone. The more you run to get items, the better chance the people inside your environment have against the zombies. I love it!

So there's your thrifty tip for the week. What are some other ways you work out without going to the gym? I'd love to hear all about it!

Tastefully Tuesday - Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Put me in front of the stovetop and something's going to catch fire 7 out of 10 times. However, give me the oven, waffle iron, crock pot, or grill (especially the grill, where there is supposed to be fire) and I am a whiz. Some of our creations even resemble something healthy. But just some of them - most are laden with carbs, calories, etc.

It doesn't really matter what time of year it is; I love pot roast. I love it fresh. I love it in a sourdough bread bowl. I love its leftovers the next day on a thick slice of freshly baked beer bread. There is very little NOT to love about pot roast! It's chock full of protein from the beef, vitamin A from the carrots and celery, and potassium as well as vitamins B and C from the potatoes. Pot roast is good stuff.

This version shows onions. Personally, I avoid them because raw onions set off my oral allergy syndrome. Sadly, I'm not joking; it's a very real allergy. Fortunately onion powder is a nice alternative and doesn't pose any kind of risk. Yay, onion powder!

Personally, I like to cook pot roast in the crock pot - especially if the day will be cold and/or dreary. The smell permeates the house and hits you when you open the front door. If the mouth-watering aroma of pot roast could talk it would say, "Hey, we're cooking enough food for a small army and why don't you join us?" Here's my recipe for pot roast. It's not only easy, but it's also delicious.


Ingredients

• beef roast (although I've also used deer and pork roasts)
• potatoes (you can leave the skins on)
• carrots
• celery
• spices
• water
• 1 can of cola
• 1 brown gravy packet

You'll notice that there are no measurements. For every cup of diced beef, have 1/2 cup each of potatoes and carrots, and 1/8 cup of celery.

Our spice list includes whatever we use whatever we feel like using each time. Some staples include white pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. We've also used things like basil, chili powder, and cumin. Mm, cumin.




Directions

1. Cut all ingredients (that is, except the spices, liquids, and gravy packet) into bite-sized chunks.
2. Put beef, vegetables, and spices in crock pot.
3. First pour cola over ingredients, and then continue filling with water.
4. Cook on high for an hour or so.
5. Transfer 2 cups of broth to an appropriate sized bowl.
6. Mix brown gravy pack with broth until there are no clumps. Return mixture to crock pot.
7. Cut heat back to medium or low, and let stew until potatoes and carrots are tender and meat is has reached desired state. Sometimes we let ours cook until the meat is falling apart, and sometimes it's still a little medium rare. Either way is fine.

Handy Tips

• Use baby carrots and little potatoes to save time cutting everything.
• If you're out of celery, you can use celery seed or celery salt instead.
• You can use diet soda, if you're trying to watch calories. Or like, if you just don't like all the gunk that they put in soda period.

And that's it. It's pretty delicious. I'm going to enjoy a bowl of our leftovers from the weekend for lunch today. Enjoy!

Something Else Saturday - Why You Can't Give Up Coffee

Recently my friend Dawn (of Dragonflies At Dawn blog fame) recently gave up coffee. ... I know, right? I don't like coffee - I LOVE coffee. Even though I own a Keurig, I have the accessory that lets me brew my choice of brand, which happens to be the fresh-roasted beans delivered to my doorstep by a local retailer.

When I told my family about her decision, my kids laughed and told me, "Yeah Mom, you could NEVER do that." And they're probably right. But it made me wonder if there was any benefit to drinking the stuff other than the fact that it helps keep my brain going to keep up with my busy-paced life. After some quick research, I found out that coffee does have benefits! Here are a few major ones:

1. Coffee relieves headache pain. It's true. Don't believe me? Check out the ingredients of a bottle of Excedrin Migraine. Caffeine energizes brain cells. When that happens, the blood vessels around them constrict. When the vessels constrict, it eases headache pain. Next time you have a headache, instead of grabbing a sugary soda or bottle of pain medicine, brew a pot of coffee instead.

2. Coffee has liver-friendly antioxidants. Limited research hints that people who drink coffee have a lower risk of getting liver disease. I'll leave it to you to find the statistics and figures but for me, any excuse to keep drinking coffee is enough of an excuse at all. You could tell me that drinking coffee would result in a pink pony with glitter hooves and a rainbow mane and tail would show up on my doorstep and I'd drink even more of it.

3. Coffee fights diabetes. When you drink coffee, your body's cells become more sensitive to insulin, which in turn regulates the amount of blood sugar in your body. However, a different study shows that caffeine is bad in this regard, so if this is your goal try the half-caff version of your favorite brew.

4. Coffee is heart-healthy. People who drink a few cups of coffee a day, or really even just one cup of coffee per day, are at a lower risk for having a stroke. Have you ever heard that blueberries are high in antioxidants, and thus good for your heart? Coffee has even more antioxidants than blueberries! Over a long period of time, coffee causes your blood vessels to widen a little more, which lowers your blood pressure.

If you're looking for great coffee with customer service that hearkens back to the days of Mom & Pop shops or main street soda fountains, then try Black Dog Coffee. He not only delivers locally for free, but he's also prepared to ship anywhere in the world.

Thrifty Thursday - Upcycle Old Picture Frames

I am a picture frame hoarder. The best ones I find are the ones that are just the frame - no back, no glass, etc. However, my hoarding tendencies are bugging the fireman and if we're eventually going to move, I need to find new purpose for my collection, and fast! Here are some snazzy ways to upcycle old picture frames that I found online. I really, really like this fist one. I think I may even love it, Alot.

This one is a plastic potholder loom and dental floss, but there's no reason you couldn't use finishing nails and string and make some cool string art that's also a memo center in a wooden picture frame.

A thin piece of wood and some chalkboard paint, and you've got the cutest memo board on the block. Better yet, paint chalkboard paint over metal cut to size and you get a chalkboard that also holds magnets.

I love this trendy frame key holder because I can never, ever find my keys. Right now I'm pretty sure they're in the pocket of the jeans I wore two days ago. Yikes!

Add some string or thin wire and a few cup hooks and you have this upcycled frame jewelry holder.

Make a picture frame wreath for your front door - or really, any door. My mind is racing with the possibility of doing one for Halloween or Christmas.

What are your favorite ways to recycle / upcycle old picture frames? Any fun crafts to share? I'd love to hear all about them!

Tastefully Tuesday - Easy Meatball Sliders

I saw this recipe for meatball sliders on Pinterest and it's been tugging the back of my mind ever since. So today when the fireman said that he and Thing 2 were going to the store for a gallon of milk, I gave them a list of things to buy. I have no idea what the original recipe called for, but just went with the creation of awesomeness that was in my brain.

INGREDIENTS:
1 package crescent rolls (makes 16 sliders)
16 meatballs (pre-cooked)
4 slices provolone cheese (You can also use cheddar, mozzarella, muenster, et cetera.)
BBQ sauce of choice (We use Sticky Fingers Carolina flavor. You can also use marinara.)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
   
2. Unroll crescents and cut them in half so you have 16 instead of 8.
   
3. Quarter the cheese slices.
   
4. Stretch out the crescent roll triangle halves. Cup your hand slightly and put the dough in your hand.
   
5. Put the quarter slice of cheese over the dough.
   
6. Put a TINY bit of BBQ sauce on the cheese. Trust me - a little goes a long way, and you can always add more later.
   
7. Pull the crescent dough up over the meatball.
   
8. Place on cookie sheet (You can fit 16 on a pizza pan.) and bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

And that's it. They definitely take longer to put together than they do to cook, or eat for that matter. But the effort was more than worth it. They're delicious!

Something Else Saturday - Cheap Canine Thrills

It's summer, which means everybody's a little more active including Ginger and Gideon, our family's golden retriever and chocolate lab, respectively. These "pets" are as much of our family as the humans in some ways. That's why when the temperatures reached record highs and sent the heat index soaring to 100+ we knew we had to find a way to keep them entertained without subjecting them to the possibility of heat exhaustion.

Entertaining big dogs in a small house can be catastrophic - not to the humans or dogs, but to the stuff in your house. My ottoman has no fabric covering. Stuffing is poking out the sides of our family's favorite overstuffed chair. There are gnaw marks on the leg of at least one piece of wooden furniture. And that's just from everyday use! Clearly entertaining the dogs with something new would have to not only be creative enough to hold their attention but also something that wouldn't cause them to be more active than usual.

After some careful internet research, and taking into account the activities our dogs currently enjoy, we came up with some creative solutions for both snack and playtime. Here are some things the dogs really enjoyed:

HOMEMADE TUG-O-JUG ROPE BOTTLE

These range anywhere from $8 - $14 in retail pet stores. We'd recently bought a case of water that came in 1 liter plastic bottles. Upon finishing one I noticed that the dogs, who'd untied all but one of their knotted fleece rope toys, seemed to enjoy the sound when the empty bottle fell onto the hardwood floor.

Before I go any further with this, I'd like to suggest a short note of caution. Don't leave dogs unattended with homemade toys, or really any toys. Dogs are not much different than young children and a lot of the same common sense rules apply. Besides, no toy is truly dog-proof and it's better to assume that all toys present a potential choking hazard than to take the risk.

Cutting a small hole in the bottom of the jar, we pulled the fleece through the opening and made a slightly bigger knot on either side near the end of the rope. The knots allowed the bottle to move slightly while creating a new sensory element during tug-of-war. Now if one dog dropped the toy on the floor, it made a hollow, clanking sound that they seemed to love. They've been playing with this thing nonstop for days and it didn't cost us anything!

HOMEMADE FROSTY CANINE SNACKS

Mmm, mmm! Who doesn't like a frozen treat on a hot day? Your dog even loves them, so much that Frosty Paws frozen canine treats have been available for at least 15 years, if not longer. We make our own and the dogs really enjoy it.

After a summer evening walk or just on days when it's miserably hot outside and the dogs are bored from sitting around in the house, our version of the frozen canine snacks are healthier and also safe for human consumption. (Although honesty, I prefer my Ben & Jerry's!) It also saves on our dog food / treat budget, which was getting more than a little out of hand.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Water
• Small, empty plastic container or an ice cube tray
• Dog-safe foods, like the ones listed here:- White rice, cooked- Broccoli (If you only like the florets, this is the perfect for using up the stems.)- Carrots- Chicken, cooked - NO BONES!- Bananas- Peanut butter- Salmon- Green beans- Apples- Oatmeal (Plain, unflavored)

Directions:

1. Fill 1/3 of the container with any combination of the above ingredients, or any others your vet has deemed safe for your dog's diet. Don't worry if the thought of oatmeal, broccoli, chicken, and bananas served together turns your stomach. Your dog will think it's delicious!
2. Cover the container with water and fill until container is 2/3 filled with the combination of water and ingredients. Don't fill it to full because ice expands as it freezes and would then overflow your container and make a huge mess. You can substitute plain water for a mixture of 1/2 broth and 1/2 water, but we usually just use plain water for Ginger and Gideon.
3. Put the container in the freezer and let it freeze for several hours. It's better if you make these up the day before and let them freeze overnight. Any plastic container will work. We like the cream cheese ones because they're a nice complement to the size of each dog's food and water dish.
4. Once they're frozen, give them to your dog!

Here's another tip. During the week we put extra foods that are dog-safe in a gallon-sized freezer bag. None of the food should have seasonings, so this shouldn't include table scraps. Getting into the habit makes it that much easier to make entire batches of treats up ahead of time. If you make treats regularly using an ice cube tray, you can keep the finished ones in a different freezer bag which means you'll always have extras on hand.

BLOW BUBBLES FOR YOUR DOG

My kids are teenagers and blowing bubbles has become a lost art for them. Fortunately the dogs appreciate my efforts, and when the teenagers see how amusing it is they're often lured back into the fun. Blowing bubbles is inexpensive. Use bubbles labeled non-toxic just in case your dog should lap up the lather of a spilled bottle. We do this quite frequently with our dogs, both outside when the weather cooperates, and in the living room on sweltering days.

If you're blowing bubbles inside your house, save your breath by employing use of a personal fan to keep a steady stream of suds floating through the air. The best part about blowing bubbles inside the home comes after we're finished. Taking a damp mop over the floor at the end of playtime not only wipes up the residual solution from the popped bubbles but also picks up other dirt and grime as well.

If you like this post and want to read more like it, become a follower! And if you have any comments or tips of your own to share I'd sure love to hear them. Thanks for stopping by, and check back in a few days for a Tastefully Tuesday recipe that's guaranteed not to require the use of a fire extinguisher.

Thrifty Thursday - Selecting a Hotel

Today's bit of thriftiness doesn't have anything to do with crafting (although I did manage to craft some allergy-free body scrub in the process that led to this post). Last weekend a severe storm wiped through the area leaving my family without power. My sons were camping and thankfully missed the brunt of the storms. By the time I picked them up on Sunday morning, I was ready for air conditioning and a hot shower. And having been away from civilization for a week, they were ready for the more important things afforded by modern life -- fast food and cable television.

My husband agreed that a night in a hotel sounded blissful so we visited Hotels-dot-com and perused the available choices. And boy were there a lot of choices! My favorite way to look is by price, lowest to highest. There were some seedy, one-star hotels listed for dirt cheap prices that made our budget look like something more closely associated with surnames like Vanderbilt or Rockefeller. And then there were some -- like a B&B located in horse country for nearly $400 a night -- that made us visibly cringe.


That's when we began looking at what the different establishments offered to get the best deal. Here are the top 3 amenities we considered before making a final selection.

• The Swimming Pool
  Cable television, even with movie channels, can only entertain teens for so long. Electronic gadgets are a great time waster but having something readily available that the boys can't get at home always helps. We've stayed in hotels that had things like free Foosball, complementary family events, and guest passes that offered heavy discounted or even free admission to local area attractions. In this case, we were only staying one night so the pool was enough of an attraction in itself.
• Free WiFi
  Believe it or not, some hotels still charge for the privilege of having this service in each room. Others only offer it in the business or other public access centers, like the lobby. Whereas some don't offer it at all! Fortunately ours did, and connecting was as quick as two clicks of the mouse. Thanks to the complementary WiFi, the boys could not only connect their gadgets to the Internet for amusement after the pool closed, but more importantly I could keep working which helped pay for the room.
  
  
• The Continental Breakfast
  This was the most important factor. I'm talking about traveling with teenage boys -- which means the food budget isn't cheap! We usually have pizza delivered for dinner, a novelty we don't get in the rural area where we live, and usually the welcome package in the hotel room has restaurant fliers offering coupons with special deals and discounts for hotel guests. Any time that we can get discounted food is a major plus, but free is even better, which is why we love continental breakfasts. However, if the hotel offers little more than this:
  
  
  
  
  then it's guaranteed that we'll be stopping to get a pre-lunch snack to tide the boys over. Donuts on their own aren't really that filling. Even bagels with cream cheese are better, but still don't really do the trick on their own. Our hotel offered something more like what you see in this photo.
  
  
  In addition to two kinds of juice, milk, and coffee to drink, the food menu included yogurt, fresh fruit, cereal, sausage, eggs, and make-your-own waffles. The boys spent about an hour alone eating breakfast, and I happily watched the savings pile up with every bite they took.

Our hotel also offered the uber-cozy memory foam mattress, which was not as nice as Hampton Inn's Cloud Nine Mattress but still nicer than what we have at home. The staff was first-rate, and the lady at the front desk went on and on about what handsome, polite young men my sons are. No matter what complementary perks the hotel offers, compliments still go a really long way especially when they're to a parent about their kids.

While we spent more than what we originally budgeted for a hotel room, what we saved in food and attractions more than made up the difference. The next time your family is facing a hotel stay, don't just settle on the one with the lowest price. Sometimes a room priced in the mid-range section, especially if it has a high rating from past guests.

What are your favorite hotel amenities? What do you look for when searching for a hotel room? How important is price versus reputation? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks for stopping by!

Tastefully Tuesday - Allergy-free Body Scrub

Everyone knows that if you shouldn't put something in your body, then you shouldn't put it on your body either. Allergies are becoming more common with each passing day, and in the summer of 2011 my body started reacting to two of my favorite food ingredients -- chocolate and cinnamon. The good news is, I can live without those in my diet. The bad news is, it really stinks.

With that in mind, today's recipe is totally edible, but also works as an exfoliating body scrub. Last weekend a severe thunderstorm knocked power out in most of the state where I live. By Sunday night I'd had enough and headed to a hotel. In my haste I grabbed my laptop, a fresh change of clothes, my swimsuit and beach towel (The hotel had a pool, and well, you never know!), some unpopped microwave popcorn and bottled water.

After checking in and bouncing around on the memory foam mattresses with my teenage sons, they headed to the pool while I grabbed a shower. Sadly, I forgot my body scrub and shampoo. Rinsing off with plain water was okay for that night, and I begrudgingly used the hotel shampoo. However, I wanted more before I ventured home -- especially because it could be another week or more crews from the power company restored service in my area.

The next morning I woke up earlier than my family and headed down to the lobby for coffee. In my bleary-eyed state it dawned on me that quite a few items offered in the hotel's continental breakfast were also ingredients in my gourmet body scrub. After preparing a tray, I went back to my room and quietly slipped into the bathroom as to not wake up anyone else. I used the ice bucket as a bowl and my hands to mix everything. Before I knew it, I had a healthy amount of makeshift body scrub that not only smelled great and exfoliated my skin, but was also edible and guaranteed not to cause a reaction!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup coffee grounds
• 1 banana
• 2 tablespoons of honey (or a couple of single-serving packets)
• coffee creamer packets (at least 3 - 4 single-serving size)
  OR 1/2 container of vanilla or plain yogurt

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix oatmeal and coffee grounds first.
2. Add in banana and mush well.
3. Add in honey and creamer or yogurt.

And that's it! Just apply to your skin just like you would any other body scrub. It saved me from making an unnecessary trip to Wal-Mart, not to mention saved me the money I would have spent to buy extra bath products. My skin was soft and clean, and I was ready to go home and face the aftermath of the storm again.

If you find yourself in a hotel without your favorite bath products, don't go without. Instead go to the continental breakfast area and fix up a nice exfoliating scrub! One of the primary benefits is that you know exactly what items are going into the scrub so you won't have to worry about your skin breaking out from using cheap products provided by the hotel.

Have you ever tried making your own body products? Did you have any success? If so what products did you try and what were the ingredients? I'd love to hear all about them!