Recipes Archives - Sweet Frugal Life

Easy Broccoli Grape Salad Recipe

September 23, 2021 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

How to make a Broccoli and Grape Salad.

Have you ever eaten a broccoli and grape salad??? Because if you haven’t, you are for real missing out big time! It’s sweet, flavorful and delicious, basically all the best things! Every time I make this easy broccoli grape salad recipe I always get so many compliments and requests for the recipe. It’s a huge crowd hit!

Today I’m sharing this recipe with each of you! I know you are going to love this easy salad recipe and wow everyone you serve it to. I am so excited for you!

This recipe was passed down from my grandma, to my mom and to me. I love sharing it with others because I get to remember my dear mom and grandmother and the hands that have perfected the recipe. It’s been loved and shared by so many! Aren’t family recipes just the best kind of recipes??? I think so!

Broccoli Grape Salad Recipe

To make this salad you will need:

4 bunches of broccoli, florets cut
2 cups of grapes, sliced in half
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Putting It All Together

First, cut broccoli florets off of 4 bunches of broccoli and put them into a large bowl. Then slice 2 cups of grapes in half. Add them to the bowl.

Next, add the honey roasted peanuts and sunflower seeds. I love watching all of the colors come together in this salad!

In a separate bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar and apple cider vinegar.

Once mixed, pour dressing over the salad and stir well.

All done! It’s ready to serve! This salad tastes even better after it sits in the fridge for 12-24 hours. So, don’t be afraid to make it in advance!

Broccoli Grape Salad

This easy salad recipe is a crowd favorite!

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Prep Time 15 mins

Course Salad

Ingredients

4 bunches broccoli cut
2 cups grapes sliced in half
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Mix broccoli, grapes, sunflower seeds and honey roasted peanuts together in a large bowl.
In a small separate bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar and apple cider vinegar to make the dressing.
Pour dressing over broccoli and grapes mixture.
Stir well until mixed throughout.

Keyword easy recipes, salad

Try it! You’ll like it!

Let me know if you try this broccoli and grape salad! I would love to know what you think of the recipe! Just last week I took it to a BBQ with friends and everyone was complimenting me and going back for seconds and thirds. I love surprising crowds with this salad!

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Do you want even more easy recipes? Check out my cookbook, Mel’s Home Cooking, for more quick to fix recipes.

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Don’t Forget To Pin This Recipe To Make Later:

I can’t wait for you to try this easy broccoli grape salad recipe!

Rice Krispie Monsters

September 10, 2021 By: Sweet Frugal Life3 Comments

Check out these easy spooky rice krispie treats!

My kids school has a fun Halloween carnival each year. It’s a great fundraiser and always a lot of fun for the kids to participate in. As part of the carnival they have a Bake Sale. All of the baked goods are donated and sold off as a way to earn money for the school. I’ve started making these easy Rice Krispie Monsters every year for the bake sale and they are always one of the first items sold! These spooky rice krispie treats are truly so fun for everyone!

Disclosure: “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Rice Krispie Monsters Directions

One of my favorite parts of this easy Halloween treat is that it is so easy to make, but makes such a cute and fun statement.

1. Make Rice Krispies

The first step is to make rice krispie treats according to the package directions. If you have never made rice krispie treats before, don’t worry, they are a so so easy and only take a few minutes to whip up.

Pour your finished rice krispie treats into a 9×13 pan and let them cool and harden.

Once your spooky rice krispies are cool, cut them into rectangles. The size and dimension really doesn’t matter. It actually would be cute to have a few different sizes and maybe a little un-uniformed! They are rice krispie monsters after all!

2. Prepare Chocolate

Next, you will want to prepare your chocolate for dipping.

I bought these candy melts from Walmart. You can order them off of Amazon, but they were cheaper at Walmart. It’s fun to experiment with different colors. I have found turquoise, purple, and orange to be our favorite monster colors.

To melt your chocolate, pour the candy melts into a glass bowl and place in microwave. Heat on 50% heat for 1 minute. Stir well and then return to microwave for another 15 seconds. Keep stirring and heating in 15 second intervals until chocolate is smooth and melted.

Related: The Ultimate Fall Frugal Bucket List for Families

3. Dip Rice Krispies in Chocolate

Now it’s time to make your monsters! My kids love helping with this part!

Dip each rice krispie rectangle half way into the melted chocolate. Be quick with this step. As the chocolate cools it is harder to dip and use.

Lay each dipped rice krispie treat on a parchment paper and add eyes before chocolate hardens.

4. Add Candy Eyes

All that’s left is to add on the candy eyes. I also bought these at Walmart, but they are available on Amazon.

This part is so easy and fun! Use your creativity to make silly faces on each monster! My kids had some fun ideas for making the eyes unique.

Let your cute rice krispie monsters cool, and the chocolate harden.

And that is it! You are done! Now, feed your monster treats to your little monster darlings. 😉

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Enjoy these yummy Rice Krispie Monsters!

Easy After School Snack Ideas

September 5, 2021 By: Sweet Frugal Life4 Comments

Quick after school snacks for kids!

I am always looking for easy after school snack ideas. After school snack time is one of my favorite parts of the day because it is a time for my kids to sit down, refill their bellies, and talk to ME (if I’m lucky tbh)! 😉

I will admit, a big reason I make the after school snack a priority is for selfish reasons. My goal is that as they eat their snack they will tell me all the highs and lows of their day. It doesn’t always happen this way, but sometimes I see success. There have been amazing days when they have sat down and poured their hearts out to me over the snack. And those days make it all worthwhile!

I spent the past month taking a daily picture of our after school snacks. A “pinterest mom” I am not; my parenting thrives on simple and cheap. If you are looking for the healthiest, fanciest snacks…..this is NOT that type of blog.

However, if you are looking for a few easy snack ideas then keep reading, you just might find one here!

Easy After School Snack Ideas Week 1

Day 1: Peanut butter cookie, raisins

Day 2: Cinnamon sugar tortilla, grapes

Day 3: Whole wheat banana chocolate chip muffin, strawberries

Day 4: Bagel with cream cheese, strawberries

Day 5: Applesauce

Week 2

Day 1: Peanut butter cookie, dried apples

Day 2: Peanut butter crackers for running errands

Day 3: String cheese, orange

Day 4: Animal crackers, celery with peanut butter

Day 5: Fruit leather and dried apples

Week 3

Day 1: Animal crackers, grapes for running errands

Day 2: Homemade Graham Crackers, grapes

Day 3: Apple slices with peanut butter and chocolate chips (I use this mandoline slicer for the apples)

Day 4: Monster Rice Krispie Treats

Day 5: Frozen Blueberries

Week 4

Day 1: Oil popped popcorn

Day 2: Muffin Tin Snack of carrots, animal crackers, cheerios, raisins and string cheese

Day 3: Pumpkin muffin and raisins

Day 4: String cheese and carrots

Day 5: Cheerios and raisins

In Conclusion

It was actually so fun to look back and see all of the different snacks we had over the past month! I hope that you found them helpful! Feeding kids doesn’t need to take a lot of work or cost a lot of money!

Pin For Later:

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What are some of your favorite easy after school snacks ideas?

How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag

July 19, 2021 By: Sweet Frugal Life1 Comment

How do you make ice cream in a bag? I’ve got the answer for you!

One of our very favorite summer activities is making ice cream in a bag. It’s easy (the kids can do it all by themselves!), cheap and fun! I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand. And, who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot summers day???? I know we do! So, I knew I needed to blog about how to make ice cream in a bag so you can all enjoy it too!

I’ve always said that I was born in the wrong decade! I truly yearn for the simple life of the early 1900s, I think that’s partly why I love being frugal. There is just so much satisfaction from growing and making my own food; and living a simpler, less materialistic life.

When we make our own ice cream it reminds me of simpler times. It’s a way for the entire family to have fun together, no need to go to an ice cream parlor or the grocery store. We can do it on our own!

Making homemade ice cream in a bag is such a fun summer activity for kids! Try this recipe out with your kiddos, you will not regret it!

Sweet Frugal Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How To Make Ice Cream In A Bag

Making ice cream in a bag is so easy and fun for kids to help with!

Gather Supplies

The first thing you will need to do is gather your supplies. For this recipe you will need:

1 cup half and half
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup ice cream salt
Ice
Favorite mix ins: chocolate syrup, caramel, sprinkles, vanilla extract, fruit, chocolate chips, etc.
Gallon Ziplock Freezer Bag
Quart Ziplock Storage Bag

Ice Cream In A Bag Instructions

Now that you have gathered all of your supplies, it’s time to make the ice cream! AKA: The best part! 😉

The first step is to pour the half and half, sugar and one or more mix ins into the quart sized bag. (we chose to add cocoa for our mix ins because….I mean…it’s chocolate! ;))

Seal the bag shut tightly, taking care to get out all of the excess air. It’s very important that the bag is shut all of the way so that the salt doesn’t get into the ice cream (nobody likes salty ice cream!).

Next, take out your gallon size Ziploc freezer bag and dump in a lot of and about 1/2 cup ice cream salt (I never measure this, I just kind of guess). It doesn’t need to be exact.

Now, just place the quart size bag inside of the gallon size bag. Close the gallon size bag and seal it tight. It’s time to start shaking, this is the fun part!

You will need to shake the bags for a good 5-10 minutes. It takes a lot of hard shaking to get the ice cream to thicken and it’s important to be shaking constantly.

The kids usually get a little tired of shaking the bag so much, we like to turn it into a game. We turn on music and have a shaking dance party, throw them to each other and take turns shaking everyone’s, etc.

Keep shaking the bags until the milk mixture looks frozen, take the quart size bag out and rinse it under cold water. This helps to wash off any excess salt.

Pour your ice cream into a bowl, top with sprinkles if you’d like, and ENJOY!

I love the simplicity of this activity, and the excitement the kids get out of making their very own personal ice cream!