Teryaki Crock Pot Chicken

6-8 chicken thighs (I like to use boneless/skinless, but bone in works too)
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ginger powder (or 1 inch fresh grated ginger root)

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with rice and stir-fry veggies.

Oatmeal Waffles (gluten free)

1 egg, room temperature, separated
1 1/2 cup oats
3/4 cup milk
4 tbsp of butter or margarine, melted, cooled
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp brown sugar

Beat egg white in a small bowl until stiff and set
aside. Mix together the dry ingredients and sent
aside. Combine egg yolk, milk and melted butter. Add
to dry ingredients, mixing until just blended. Fold in
beaten egg white until just mixed. Do not over beat
battter. Cook waffles a little longer for extra
crispness.

Thanks, Jessica Bybee, for sharing this recipe.

Oatmeal Cowboy Cookies

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Angie, for sharing this yummy recipe!

OATMEAL COWBOY COOKIES

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs
3 cups chocolate chips (I only used one bag of milk)
3 cups oats
2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups chopped pecans (optional, I didn't use)

In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt;
set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth and creamy.
Gradually beat in sugars and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well. Add
flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add chocolate chips,
oats, coconut and pecans. Drop dough by 1/4 cup measurements onto
greased baking sheet, 3 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about
12 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen large cookies.
I just use my cookie scoop, it's not 1/4 cup.

Granola Bars

1/4 c butter/margarine(I use less some times of the
1/4 c veg. oil oil and butter.)
1-16 oz bag of marshmallows
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. peanut butter
5 c. oatmeal
4 1/2 c. crisp rice cereal (or left over bits and crumbles of any breakfast cereal)
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 c. crushed peanuts or other nuts
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Melt and heat butter and oil. Add marshmallows and
stir until melted. Turn off heat. Add honey and
peanut butter and stir until melted. Then add all other
ingredients and stir until coated. Spray a cookie
sheet and press granola in. Let cool, then cut into
serving sizes.

Thanks Jessica Bybee for sharing this recipe! They're delicious.

Hillbilly Housewife shakes

1-1/2 to 2 cups ice water
1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare
2 tablespoons corn oil plus a 5-second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification purposes
Place all of the ingredients into the blender, including the oil and the non-stick spray. Use less water for thicker milk shakes and more water for shakes that are easy on your blender motor. The blender should be about 3/4's full. Place the lid on. Process for a full 2 minutes. Pour into cups and serve. Makes 4 - 12oz servings. For preparation tips please see below.

I love this recipe because it makes very rich milk shakes without any ice cream. I don't always have ice cream in the house because the kids eat it so fast. With this recipe we can have delicious frosty milk shakes for a fraction of the cost of those using ice cream. And all the ingredients are on the pantry shelf.

*I got this from the Hillybilly Housewife blog. The authors have some amazing options for cutting food costs and still eating well. Check out the Hillbilly Housewife here. http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/