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Guest post from Alison of Pint-sized Treasures In our family of eight, we typically do not buy packaged candy. Instead, we make our own for special occasions or for our traditional Family Night that we celebrate every single Friday. A couple of weeks ago we decided to try to create our own candy recipe that would be simple, frugal and of course — super yummy! We added this adventure to our “fun things to do on Friday night” list. We typically play games, watch a family movie, have a fun snack, and end it all with a slumber party in mom and dad’s room. It’s super fun — even for mom and dad! Now, back to the recipe! One of our favorite ingredients to use in a fun dessert, snack, or candy recipe is white, fluffy sugary things we call marshmallows. Whoever invented those wonderful bites of happiness needs a GIGANTIC hug! So many memories have been made by roasting marshmallows over an open fire. Just think what this world would be without those large, fluffy, wonderful yummies! Since our family stays busy with homeschooling, ministry, cooking, cleaning and many other things under the sun, we always try to find the quickest way to get desserts, snacks, and meals from the table and to our mouths. We also love it if we can make an expensive food product at home for a fraction of the price. That’s where this candy comes in. It only took me a few minutes to whip this up on the stove. The longest part of the candy-making process was just waiting for it to cool in the fridge before we could all dive in and enjoy a late night treat. When the cooling period was over, we all taste-tested our creation. The decision was unanimous. THIS recipe was a winner! Everyone started grinning at each other and nodding. That’s the signal for a recipe gone right. My three-year-old gave me a thumbs up sign. That’s his little way of saying, “Mom, this is goooooood!” The sweet and salty flavors came together like melody and harmony. Each flavor was playing its part beautifully in every single bite. It was hard to stop at only two pieces of candy, but we did and saved the rest for another day. That’s another great part of this recipe — it’s freezer-friendly! Cut the candy into squares and freeze between sheets of parchment paper inside a ziplock bag. It can be frozen for up to two months. Plus, it tastes great straight from the freezer! Are you ready to try a frugal homemade candy recipe that your family will love? Enjoy! Homemade Sweet and Salty Candy Yields approximately 24 pieces of candy. Ingredients: - 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup cooking oil
- 20 crushed saltine crackers
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
Directions: - In medium-sized saucepan, stir together chocolate chips and cooking oil and cook on medium-high heat.
- Stir constantly with wire whisk and cook only until chocolate is melted. If chocolate becomes too thick, add a little more oil.
- Once chocolate is melted, turn off the heat and stir in the marshmallows and crackers. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Next, pour onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until cooled and hardened, about 30 minutes.
- Cut it into small rectangles for serving or freeze for later.
This is definitely one of our family’s favorite snacks… and it’s great that I can make it on a budget! Alison is a mom of six kids and writes about parenting, frugal living, crafts and anything mom-inspired at Pint-sized Treasures.
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Wow! It’s been a L-O-N-G 24 hours. Long, exhausting, and beautiful all wrapped up into one big day. We started our trek to Tennessee at around 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon. We had planned to drive as long as we could stay alert… we both decided we’d stop and get a hotel whenever we were starting to feel really tired. By around midnight, we were still going strong. So we kept driving. And driving. And driving. 15 hours later, we pulled into Nashville. We were very tired, but very thankful to be at the end of our journey and ready to start a new journey! Today was a whirlwind of catching up on sleep and getting everything squared away for our rental house. We hadn’t seen the rental house in person, so we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. Well, it far exceeded our expectations! In fact, the house is everything we were hoping for — and more! Best of all, it was a few hundred dollars less per month than we had budgeted. 
My favorite part of all is the beautiful kitchen! Yes, I may be just a wee bit excited about all of the scrumptious food, freezer cooking, and laughter and love awaiting this beautiful space in the months to come!  We ended today with a pizza party with some dear friends here. It’s such a blessing to already have community here. Plus, my children were especially excited to meet some new friends and some of the neighbor children! Yay! {Thank you so much for your prayers for them — they are settling in well already and that warms this mama heart so very much!} By the way, I really appreciated all your encouraging comments on this post last night. Your kind words blessed me a great deal. And now, I’m off for some much-needed sleep before we start tackling all the unloading and as much of the unpacking as we possibly can tomorrow. Need printer ink? Visit CompAndSave.com for an exclusive $1 ink sale for Money Saving Mom® followers! 
Aldi 1 Cantaloupe – $1.29 1 Blackberries – $1.29 1 lb Butter – $2.49 1 Cream Cheese – $1.29 1 bag Gala Apples – $2.99 1 Baby Carrots – $0.99 1 Tortillas – $1.39 1 loaf Bread – $1.29 2 cans Green Beans – $0.49 each 1 bag Carrots - $0.99 3 packages Strawberries – $0.99 each 1 Roma Tomatoes – $0.99 1 gallon Milk – $2.69 3 Cucumbers – $0.49 each Total with tax ($1.65): $24.76 
Dillons
2.6 lbs Bananas @ $0.59/lb – $1.53 2 Herdez Salsa – $0.79 each, used 2 $0.50/1 printable - $0.29 each after coupons 0.63 lbs Broccoli @ $1.59/lb – $1 1 Breyers Ice Cream – $2.99 1 Lettuce – $0.99 1 Clif Bar – $1, used Free catalina coupon – Free after coupon 1 Kroger Brown Rice – $1 2 Dole Fruit Squishem’s – $2 each, used $1/1 coupon from the 4/27 SmartSource insert – $1 each after coupons 3 Navel Oranges – $0.75 each (I’ll get $0.25 back from Checkout 51.) 1 Kroger Applesauce – $2.29 1 Green Pepper – $0.99 2 Pineapple – $0.99 each Items a part of the Mega Sale (Buy 4, Get $4 off instantly): 4 Kraft Cheese – $1.99 each, used 2 $1/2 printable - $1.49 each after coupons Total before coupons and sales: $42.44 Total with tax $1.68) after coupons and sales: $25.24 Total for all grocery items: $50 Menu Plan for this Week Breakfasts Cereal, Egg Sandwiches, Homemade Granola, Oatmeal and Applesauce Lunches Macaroni and Cheese, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Cheese/Fruit/Veggies x 2, Scrambled Eggs Dinners BBQ Meatballs (using deer meat), Biscuits, Green Beans Spaghetti, Tossed Salad Beans and Rice, Fruit Salad Pancakes, Eggs, Hashbrowns Salad Bar, Homemade Bread Chicken Fajitas, Chips and Salsa, Fruit Salad Leftovers Need printer ink? Visit CompAndSave.com for an exclusive $1 ink sale for Money Saving Mom® followers!  
One of my goals for 2014 is to focus on my health. It’s easy to let our health take a back burner to everything else on our to-do list. But as I share in my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, I’ve experienced what happens when you put your health last… and it’s not pretty! With this in mind, I’m committed to making my health even more of a priority this year. And I’d love to have you join me for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge. We’re be focusing on one challenge area each month — all with the goal of being in a healthier place as a person by the end of next year. My hope is that as we work on instilling one new healthy habit each month, these won’t just be month-long challenges, but lifelong changes. 12 Months to a Healthier You Focus Areas for 2014 Here are the focus areas I’ve planned out for 2014: January: Exercise Regularly
February: Eat More Fresh Fruits & Veggies
March: Drink More Water
April: Cut Back on Sugar
May: Get More Rest
June: Create a Morning Routine
July: Read More
August: Go to Bed Earlier
September: Declutter Your Home
October: Cut Back on Caffeine
November: Keep a Gratitude Journal
December: Simplify & Say No How This Challenge Works: At the beginning of the month, I’ll introduce the focus area and encourage you to set a small goal for that specific area and I’ll share my goals. Then, every Friday, I’ll have a check-in post where I’ll encourage you to share your progress & struggles and I’ll share mine, as well. If you want to blog about your progress, I’ll include a link-up at the end of the post so you can share your blog posts on this challenge. Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou. My Get More Rest Goal for May My goal for May is to get at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night. I’m also hoping to keep up with January’s habit of exercising at least 4-5 times every week, February’s goal of eating a big salad at least six times a week, March’s goal of drinking 8 glasses of water every day, and April’s goal of eating dessert once a week. Will you be joining me for this May Challenge? If so, leave a comment letting us know you’re planning to join and what your get more rest goals are for May. Remember to keep them simple and doable! Need printer ink? Visit CompAndSave.com for an exclusive $1 ink sale for Money Saving Mom® followers! | 
