Memorial Day was the unofficial start of summer. From here through September, you’ll probably be enjoying barbecues and other outdoor parties. You’ll probably be tempted to visit the local deli to pick up delicious side dishes, such as gourmet flavors of potato salad. Why waste your money on these expensive products? Many delis charge at least $6 per pound for these side dishes. This week, let’s discuss saving money in the kitchen by skipping the deli and preparing your own gourmet side dishes. I’ll even include a couple recipes.

There’s nothing wrong with going to the deli. In fact, it’s a great place to get ideas. Scanning the different side dishes available can give you wonderful meal ideas. If you like, you can even ask to try the products. This gives you an idea of what ingredients are used and which main courses the side dishes would best suit your needs and taste. One of my favorite kinds of potato salad is baked potato salad. After trying this delicious deli side dish, I decided to come up with my own recipe.

Baked Potato Salad
Serves 6-8

1 cup of mayonnaise
Sea Salt, to taste
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
8 baking potatoes, baked and chopped
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
½ pound of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 bunch of green onions, chopped

1. Combine the mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.
2. Stir in the potatoes, cheese, bacon, and green onions.
3. Chill for at least 2 hours.
4. Serve with steak or hamburgers.

If potato salad isn’t your thing, why not consider this pasta salad recipe?

Pepperoni and Mozzarella Pasta Salad
Serves 6-8

4 ounces of dry bow tie pasta, cooked
4 ounces of small mozzarella cheese balls
4 ounces of pepperoni, chopped into large chunks
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
1 ½ cups of Italian or ranch dressing

1. Combine all the ingredients and chill for at least 2 hours.
2. Serve with grilled chicken.

Why pay high prices for deli side dishes when you can create delicious recipes in your own kitchen? These salads are the perfect combination for all those delicious meals that will be coming off your grill this summer.

Have you ever wondered how fast food restaurants keep their prices so low? Take a close look at their menu and you’ll notice that many of the items contain the same ingredients. This is also a wonderful way to save money in the kitchen. Instead of buying bags and bags of ingredients, why not consider preparing a menu that revolves around only a few ingredients? Not only does this save money, but it ensures that everything you purchase actually gets used. This week, I’ll share tips on how to prepare a menu that saves money and time. I’ll even throw in a couple recipes.

I find that the easiest way to prepare this type of menu is to start with the sales papers. For example, if hamburger was on sale as well as onions and green peppers, I might prepare a meatloaf one night and spaghetti another night. Here are a couple recipes to get you started:

Oniony Mushroom Meatloaf
Serves 8

1.5 pounds of 85% lean ground beef
1 packet of dry onion soup mix
½ cup of sour cream
½ of a large green bell pepper, pureed
½ of a large onion, pureed
2 eggs
1-2 cups of dry bread crumbs
4 ounces of sliced mushrooms
Olive oil
1 (10 oz.) jar of beef gravy

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients.
2. Stir in one cup of the bread crumbs and add more if needed.
3. Put inside a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cooked through.
4. In the meantime, sauté the mushrooms in olive oil, drain off the excess oil and add the gravy. Continue to cook until heated through.
5. Slice up half the meatloaf and serve with gravy and mashed potatoes.

Quick Spaghetti and Meatballs
Serves 4

½ of a large green bell pepper, chopped
½ of a large onion, chopped
4 ounces of sliced mushrooms
Olive oil
1 (16 oz.) jar of spaghetti sauce
½ of leftover meatloaf, sliced into large cubes
1 pound of spaghetti, cooked

1. Saute the vegetables in olive oil.
2. Once the vegetables are cooked, drain off the olive oil and add the meatloaf and spaghetti sauce.
3. Heat through and serve over cooked pasta with a side salad and garlic bread.

There’s something nostalgic about going out for ice cream. This simple treat seems to bring families closer after the end of a long week. Unfortunately, it also seems to suck money from your wallet . The cost of a family of four having simple ice cream cones is around $16 and more expensive treats like brownie sundaes cost around $20. This week, we’ll discuss making ice cream cones and sundaes at home. Not only will you save money, but everyone can get exactly what they want.

Four ice cream cones can cost $16. That price doesn’t seem too expensive until you consider what you could buy at the grocery store for around the same price.

2 boxes of waffle cones $7
2 half gallon containers of high quality ice cream $11
Total $18

That’s enough for at least a week’s worth of ice cream cones! The savings get even bigger if you purchase store brand ice cream and cones. That’s not all though. Even brownie hot fudge sundaes are more affordable when served at home.

1 gallon of store brand vanilla ice cream $6
2 containers of hot fudge topping $6
1 box of brownie mix $3
Whipped topping $3
Nuts $3
Cherries $3
Total $24

Not only would you have enough ingredients to serve hot fudge sundaes to your entire family twice, but you would have vanilla ice cream leftover for milkshakes as well. What about the king of all ice cream treats though? Can you also save money on banana splits?

1 gallon of Neapolitan ice cream $6
8 large bananas $3
Strawberry sauce $3
Hot fudge topping $3
Pineapple topping $3
Whipped topping $3
Nuts $3
Cherries $3
Total $27

That’s enough ingredients to have banana splits two nights in row.

Without a doubt, ice cream night is much more affordable at home. Best of all, if you like having ice cream at home, you’ll save even more by investing in an ice cream maker and waffle cone maker. Not to mention that ice cream seems to taste even better when you’re kicked back in front of the TV.

Warmer weather brings to mind the visions of picnics. Who wouldn’t want to escape to a lakeside getaway for the afternoon? Unfortunately, even on the weekend, this isn’t always possible for busy families. After all, you have to get the food ready, make the trip, plan activities, etc. But, if you have a simple menu everything else seems to fall into place. This week we’ll discuss a picnic menu that takes minutes to prepare.

Tuna and White Bean Salad
Serves 4

2 cans of solid white albacore tuna, drained
1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 small red onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
½ cup of green olives, chopped
¼ pound fresh mozzarella, cubed
½ cup fat-free Italian dressing

1. Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl and chill until ready to pack your picnic basket.
2. Serve with crusty French bread.

Stone Fruit with Honey Mint Dressing
Serves 4

4 peaches, sliced
4 red plums, sliced
4 black plums, sliced
4 apricots, sliced
½ cup honey
¼ cup lemon juice
½ tablespoon of mint, chopped fine

1. Place the fruit in a sealable bowl and mix the last three ingredients to form a dressing.
2. Top the fruit with the dressing and chili until ready to pack.

Both of these recipes can be made the night before the picnic. All you have to do is freeze a few water bottles and store them in the picnic basket so that they keep your food cold. Don’t forget to also pack some juice boxes for the kids and maybe a bottle of sparkling wine for you and your spouse. To make things even easier, pack the salad and fruit in single serve containers. Also, you can hold off on adding the dressing to the fruit to see if your children like it or not.

A picnic doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out affair. You can quickly prepare delicious recipes that are healthy and make for wonderful picnic fare.

Spring is tentatively showing itself in many parts of the country. (Not where I live; we just got almost 12 inches of snow.) For many families, this means the end of indoor recreation activities and a chance to get back outside and enjoy nature. You can help your kids learn to enjoy the outdoors — and make great family memories — by keeping a nature journal.

Nature Journal as a Family
One of the fun things you can do together is head outside and keep a nature journal. The National Wildlife Federation offers some helpful hints for making a nature journal. Possible subjects are included, and this can help you get a good start on what to do for a successful nature journal. You can look for such items as plants, animals and rocks, as well as listen to the different sounds being made. The wind in the leaves or the sound of a stream can make great subjects for the nature journal. Older children can learn how to identify different plants, animals and rocks that are common to your local area.

A nature journal should include observations about the things heard, seen and even smelled. Have your children describe their experiences. Older children can write for themselves, and you can help the younger children. Encourage your children to draw pictures of what they have seen, using crayons or markers. You can even take pictures and add them to the nature journal. Have your children see how close they can get to drawing what is seen in the picture. You can add pages as needed, using a three-ring binder or keep the nature journal in a series of notebooks.

Remember, though, that spring can still be a little chilly. Make sure that you have jackets and hats, and are dressed appropriately for the weather. Good walking shoes are a good idea. Once you start your nature journal, you can make a new journal for every season.

Being the parent of multiples means that your parenting responsibilities are multiplied by the number of kids you have. When your multiples are babies you have two, three or four times the diapers, bottles and clothing changes as you would if you had only one baby, and as your multiples grow, your responsibilities only increase. One of the issues that you are bound to have to deal with is homework. Homework issues can range from just getting your multiples to do it to helping your multiples overcome learning disabilities.

Getting Homework Done
One problem that most parents have to deal with is getting their kids to complete their homework. Most kids are going to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to start their homework and complete assigned projects. While you can get by with this strategy, it puts a lot of stress on your kids and reduces the amount of knowledge that they are able to retain.

You can help your multiples be better students and more relaxed by setting up a homework schedule. It is best to get homework done as soon as your multiples get home from school. It is also better if they distribute large projects and studying over several study or work sessions. This makes larger projects more manageable and studying more effective for long term retention.

Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities come in several varieties. Some learning disabilities are mild and only require a few modifications to study habits, while other learning disabilities are severe and require lifestyle and environmental changes. If one or all of your multiples are having ongoing problems with their academic progress, it is a good idea to talk to your pediatrician or to your kids’ school about screening them for learning disabilities. Once the problem has been identified, a strategy can be developed to help your kids to regain control of their learning.

The most common learning disabilities are going to include cognitive delays and dyslexia. Both of these conditions can be overcome by supplementing classroom education with one-on-one tutoring and assistance, as well as by learning new ways to approach homework. Your school can be a great source of information on how to help your multiples overcome their learning disabilities, as can child development centers.

There are a number of delicious treats that you can make with your children for Holidays . And while you can’t take homemade treats to school anymore, it is possible for you to make treats for neighbors and friends. Baking is a great family recreation activity. It creates memories and encourages family bonding, teaches children a valuable skill and can be educational in terms of math and reading practice. Here is an easy, tasty recipe that you can easily do with your children:

Chocolate Caramel Bites
These treats are simple to make and good to eat. You need:
60 pretzels (square works very well)
Unwrapped Rolo candies
M&M candies (plain milk chocolate — in the respective Holiday colors)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Get out a baking sheet or baking dish and lay the pretzels inside, along the bottom. You can line the bottom with foil in order to minimize any possible mess. Put one Rolo candy on top of each pretzel. (Have the kids count them as you go.) Next, place the baking sheet in the oven and heat for three or four minutes, until the Rolos start to soften and spread their shapes. Bring out the baking sheet and carefully place one M&M in the center of the melted Rolo.

Let the candies set. This can take an hour at room temperature or 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Leave the candies on the banking sheet during this time. Remove the candies from the baking sheet when they are set and put them in a sealed container. You can also use festively colored cellophane bags tied with ribbon and pass them out to friends and family with cards made from construction paper. (The cards can be made while you are waiting for the candies to set.)

This treat can be made for Easter, the 4th of July, Valentine’s Day, Halloween or Christmas. Simply buy the M&M candies in their special holiday packages.

Is there anything better than a soup and sandwich on a cold evening? Chances are you probably serve this meal several times each winter. Truth be told though, tomato soup and grilled cheese, while classic, can get old after a while. Are there ways to update the grilled cheese and make it something different? Sure. In fact, here are a few recipes to get you started.

Mexican Grilled Chicken and Cheese
Serves 4

8 slices of white bread
4 tablespoons butter, softened
12 ounces of southwestern seasoned chicken strips
4 one-ounce slices of pepper jack cheese

1. Spread the slices of bread with butter.
2. Add a slice of cheese and three ounces of chicken to each sandwich.
3. Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides.
4. Serve with tortilla or taco soup.

Italian Grilled Cheese
Serves 4

8 slices of Italian bread
4 tablespoons of butter, softened
4 one-ounce slices of whole mozzarella
4 ounces of turkey pepperoni
½ cup marinara sauce

1. Spread the slices of bread with butter.
2. Add a slice of cheese, one ounce of pepperoni and two tablespoons of marinara sauce to each sandwich.
3. Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown on both sides.
4. Serve with Italian Wedding soup or minestrone.

Fruity Grilled Cheese
Serves 4

8 slices of French bread
4 tablespoons of butter, softened
8 ounces of low-fat strawberry cream cheese
4 ounces of strawberries sliced
4 tablespoons sugar-free chocolate sauce

1. Spread the slices of bread with butter.
2. Add two ounces of cream cheese, a quarter of the strawberries and one tablespoon of chocolate sauce.
3. Cook in a large skillet over medium heat until golden brown on both sides.

These recipes are not only a different approach to a classic food, but they’re something your kids will love. There are several ways to make your own signature grilled cheese. Best of all, you can easily incorporate your children’s favorite foods to make something they’ll truly love.