Copy Cat - Thin Mint Recipe

Copy Cat - Thin Mints

Do you love those iconic Thin Mint cookies? 

Look no further than this recipe to make your own at home.

Shared by JJensenSC

My Recipe Notes:

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour 

• 1 C. sugar

• 1/2 C. cocoa powder

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

• 3/4 C. butter or vegan margarine
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. pure peppermint extract
• Chocolate Coating
• 4 C. semisweet chocolate chips
• 
2 Tbsp. butter or vegan margarine 

• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Directions

Use a food processor to blend dry ingredients, by pulsing. Add margarine, milk, vanilla, and mint extract and pulse until well combined. Scrape out dough, knead until all the ingredients are well incorporated, and chill in refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, till mixture is firm.

Preheat the oven to 350° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. When dough is ready, roll balls about as big as a heaping teaspoon, and press them, one by one, onto the baking trays, leaving about 3 inches of space around each. Flatten each to about a quarter inch thick and bake for 12-15 minutes. Roll a heaping teaspoon of cookie dough into a ball and place onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches in between each ball. Cool on rack completely.

Couponing, Freebies and Rebates For Week Jan 27th.

Free sample of sun dried tomato hummus and  almond corn chips while shopping.
Made for a great FREE LUNCH BOX SNACK!

South Beach Diet Bars 

Sale price- $2.99

I had 4 coupons

$3/1 South Beach printable coupon
MC Taco Seasoning - 3/$1.00
I had 1 coupon.

- $0.50/2 McCormick Taco or Mexican Seasoning Mix, exp. 2/24/13 (RP 01/27/13 #2) coupon gets doubled at checkout

Kikkoman Steak Marinade $0.79
I had 4 coupons.
$1.00 off any Kikkoman pruduct printable
All Free after coupons

Birds Eye Steamfresh Vegetabes - $0.99 on sale.

I had 2 coupons 

$1/1 Birdseye Item printable
 FREE after coupon

Coffee mate Creamers 16 oz - $1.66

I had 10 coupons

$0.55/1 Nestle Coffee-Mate Liquid or Powder Creamer Product printable coupon gets doubled at checkout.
$0.56 each after coupon

Friendship Sour Cream, 16 oz - $1.34

I had 2 coupons

$0.55/1 Friendship Dairy Product printable
 $0.24  each after coupon

Heluva Good Dips,12 oz - $1.69

I had 4 coupons

$0.75/1 Heluva Good Sour Cream Dip, exp. 1/31/13 (SS 12/02/12 R)
 $0.19 after coupon

Hormel Party Tray, 28 oz - $9.99

$3/1 Hormel Party Tray Coupon
and use $3/1 Hormel Party Tray SR eCoupon
$3.99 each after coupon & eCoupon

I bought 4 my daughter took one for her lunch before I took the picture.
YoCrunch Yogurt - $0.60 on sale
$0.25/1 YoCrunch Cup printable. coupon gets doubled at checkout.
 $0.10  each after coupon

French's Spicy Brown Mustard - $1.39 and $1.59

I had 8 of these making it 59 cents each.

$0.50/1 French's Spicy Brown or Horseradish Mustard, exp. 3/31/13 (SS 01/20/13 R) coupons get doubled at checkout
I had 4 of these. making it 39 cents each
$0.50/1 French's Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce coupons get doubled at checkout.
 

Welch's Fruit Snacks - $2.00

$0.50/1 Welch's Fruit or Fruit & Yogurt Snacks printable coupons get doubled at checkout.
 $1.00 after coupon

Barilla Micro Pasta Meals - $1.99 on sale.

I had 8 coupons so I got 8 - 4 of each Flavor.

$1/1 Barilla Microwaveable Meals printable
 $0.99 after coupon

I got $3.50 in cantalinas towards my next shopping trip.
It's like having cash in my pocket!

A the last of 3 - $4 rebates came in the mail making my purchase of 2 x 1 Pack of  6- AAA Fuji batteries on sale for $2 a pack FREE!!!!!!!!

Warm Cozy Recy-Mittens

Warm Cozy Recy-Mittens

First go to the thrift store or search your closet for either wool or cashmere old sweaters that no longer fit or have a few holes or you just don't like anymore to wear.

Here I choose a pink cashmere cardigan that had a few holes in it and I washed it in hot water and dried it on hot in the drier to shrink it up and make the knit nice and tight to sew. This is called felting.

Step 2-
I made a temp-plate and traced out 2 for the back mitten shapes and 2 for the front mitten shapes. 

Step 3-

I cut out my mitten shape out of the sweater. I chose 2 from the back of the sweater and 2 from the front of the sweater using the pockets in my mitten design for a cute extra special unique boutique look.

Step 4-
Pin the back and the front together matching up edges and placing the outside on the inside. Sew together and turn inside out.

Step 5- 
Turn in side out and cut any threads. Here you see the back hand of my mittens with the pocket from the front of the sweater and the front (palm) of the mittens. 
Note the nice cuff from the edge of the sweater.

Step 6-
I decided I needed a little bling so I hand stitched a few beads using silver metallic thread on the edge of the pocket from my stash I already owned.

Now my mittens are all done and for free! 

Cute and warm and soft. 

I can't wait to enjoy them later today.

The New Year's Food Budget 2012...can it be achieved?!

3 days ago started the 2012 new years budget as I begin paying bills marked due by 2012 and purchased food for the up coming week. I gave myself the budget of $50 to feed my family of 5 for the week. So far for week number one I have managed to do this. I also gave myself a budget of $30 instead of about $100 for the family new years celebration and yes I managed to hold up to that too and did I cut corners?... why yes I did but honestly no one even noticed the menu was down sized to fewer choices but bigger proportions.

The menu for the celebration is.
English muffin pizzas
mini cupcake pan quiches (broc and cheddar and spinach and swiss.)
pig in a blanket
and over loaded potato skins.
For a fancy punch for the kids is fruit juice with ginger ale to make it bubble

Our weekly menu for meals is ...

Breakfast -
pancakes with fresh fruit,
oatmeal with fresh fruit,
eggs and toast
yogurt with granola and fruit
homemade bagels with homemade jam and peanut butter
milk or OJ

Lunches-
 left overs
 ham or bologna sandwiches with cheese.
soup and salad
 homemade cookies or rice krispie treats
 fresh fruit
carrot and celery sticks
drinks.

Dinner -
Monday- roasted chicken. mash potatoes and carrots
Tuesday - Chicken and Broc Alfredo.  (using some of the left over chicken) and a salad and bread
Wednesday - Meat loaf, peas, mash potatoes
Thursday - Over stuffed, double baked potatoes with broc. cauliflower, cheddar cheese, chicken from the roasted one and bacon. and salad
Friday - Scrap pizza with bread sticks.

Dessert

pudding and jello

I hope it all works out well this will free up on the avgerage of $100 a week to place towards othe debt.

Happy News Years Everyone and please Be Safe!

Thrifty Thursday

Thrifty Thursday... Furniture Find

After many years of one dog and 3 children it was time for a new couch, but a new couch was not in the budget. So we decorated a can with couch pictures cut from flyer's and started to save. A dollar here, five dollars there and even a few coins started to fill the couch can. My husband would say often to us " Why to you torture yourself like this? At that rate is it worth it? That will take you years to save for?" But I didn't mind and neither did the kids who helped me decorate the can.

Well while yard sailing, which is a staplein afrugal family way of life and one of our favorite weekend family events to do and  not with out our wish list that we make in hand so we stay on track with items we need and want, my daughter spots a very pretty Victorian style couch. We pull over and it was in perfect and like new condition. The owner claimed that it just sat in the formal living room. I tell my daughter she could ask how much it was being sold for but do not get her hopes up. It was way to nice to fit our budget and the little amount that was saved in our can. Well she came running back excited and told me the price. I could not believe it. I thought she was WRONG! I told she she was mistaken but to my surprise I WAS MISTAKEN! She was 100% correct.

Are you all ready for the price of this thrifty find! Drum roll please...........................

$25!

Yup that's it! SOLD! We brought it home and it fit perfectly in my living room and all 5 of us fit on it!

 God is good!

What did we do with our old couch and love seat. Well we donated it to a family that was happy to have it that had nothing.

Don't forget to write in your journals during your time with God and count your blessings. 

He provides all that you need and his timing is perfect and in his terms.

To Become More Magnetic to Money...Is That Possible?

Mending The Money Purse

As I read my daily lesson in Simple Abundance I stopped to ponder on a quote. " A lean purse is easier to cure than endure."  Hmmmmm So what does that mean and how can I apply that to my life. " My purse is already lean". We live paycheck to paycheck on a single salary with 3 kids. We live in a small house and cut every corner we can find and do without so much already. Lately hubby has taken many days off with no pay to care for our family the last few weeks as I battle an illness that has landed me many times in the hospital. How much leaner could my purse possibly get!

As I read on I read that Babylon was famous for it's fortune because it's people as well as their king were rich, enjoying a level of personal wealth beyond our contemporary comprehension. This was due to the knowledge of the laws of prosperity was available to everyone. And many almost all of these laws can be found right in the Bible too!

The man - made laws of  money created by the Babylonians were way simple and they still apply to us today even over 8,000 years later.
They are regular savings and sharing. controlling expenditures. living debt free, increasing prosperity through prudent investments, protecting the bulk of your wealth from loss, owning property, establishing a future income for old age and increasing the ability to earn money through preseverance.

Sounds easier said then done to me, right?

First step though was to " start thy pures to fattening'. They suggested taking no less than 10% of ones earning and claiming it as one's own. This money was to be kept in a purse that was worn at the waist. The purpose of this purse was to act as a magnet to money, endowing it's owner with a feeling of financial security as it grew fatter. As it grew to heavy to wear they would transfer the money into a larger savings chest and used it for lending, trading, acquiring property or making investments. But a portion of money was to always remain in the purse to attract more money.

While in this day of age I don't recommend caring large amounts of money on you like that but creating a money magnet is a great psychological way to jump start a sense of financial serenity if your worried about money even though God will provide. A money magnet is not a saving account. It is an addition to the money you put in to that account. It's some thing that you keep to remind you to save and not spend. It's something you can not spend or would not want to spend easily like a $100 bill. Your less likely to break that and spend it then a $5 or a $20. Then adding additional $100 bills to your collection or your purse.

It's a great tool to remind us that abundance must occur in our minds before it can manifest itself in our lives. So we can begin to share and do great things with it.

How will you apply this now to your life? What is your money magnet gonna be?

I am going to write down a goal I would like to achieve, my fat purse amount and write it out on a brightly colored index card in bold red ink and keep it with me! 

Write or comment on how you are going to apply this to our life and what your money magnet will be and share with us as we go along together and eliminate our debt.

I would love to hear from you all!

Don't forget to have your quiet time with the Lord and to write in your prayer journals!