Gingerbread Pancakes

These pancakes taste like gingerbread cookies without the work of rolling out dough or using cookies cutters. They truly taste like Christmas.

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves

Combine above ingredients with 1 1/3 cups milk, 4 tsp water (less if you want thicker pancakes), 2 eggs and 2 Tbsp oil; set aside. Make a well in the center of the pancake mix. Stir until moistened. Cook on hot griddle. Makes 16 pancakes (4-inch size). You can serve with syrup, although they taste great plain too.

Rosemary Focaccia

Ricky mades this delicious bread for our family. It is perfect for soup or pasta.

3 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 (.25 oz) package instant active dried yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp dried rosemary leaves

1. Mix flour, salt, sugar, yeast, water and 2 Tbsp of oil. Mix dough until pliable. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth.
2. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover, let rise until doubled (45 minutes).
3. Coat baking sheet with oil and gently press dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Brush remaining oil over the top of the dough.
4. Make dimples on the dough. Sprinkle rosemary and cheese.
5. Let rise until doubled (20 minutes).
6. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

Marsh Chex Mix

Ricky's family makes this chex mix a lot, and he really likes it. We decided to make it this Saturday instead of our usual popcorn. The boys loved it!

16 oz. chex (we like corn chex the best but you can use any combination of chex flavors)
1 lb trail mix (we used a mixture of raisins, M&M's, and almonds - Ricky's family uses peanuts)
1 1/2 cups Karo syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

• Combine cereal and trail mix in a large, deep bowl.
• Combine the rest of the ingredients in a pan. Cook on medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes at a rolling boil.
• Pour sauce over cereal and mix well.

Snowy Day Hot Cocoa

This tastes delicious when you come in from playing in the snow. We like to throw candy-canes in our mugs and top the drink off with whip-cream and chocolate chips.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups milk
3/4 teaspoons vanilla

1. Mix sugar and cocoa in saucepan. Stir in the water.
2. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Boil and stir 2 minutes.
3. Stir in milk and heat to desired temperature. DO NOT BOIL.
4. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
5. Top with favorite hot chocolate toppings.

Cinnamon Batter-Dipped French Toast

This is our family's new go-to French Toast recipe.

2 cups Bisquick
1 1/4 cups milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
12 slices bread

1. Heat griddle or skillet. Spray with cooking spray.
2. Stir Bisquick, milk, cinnamon, vanilla and eggs until blended. Dip bread in batter (drain excess batter into the bowl). Place on hot griddle.
3. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
4. Serve with syrup.

Christmas for Toddlers: Mary

Today we focused on Mary. The main message we wanted to get across is that Mary is Jesus' mother. We talked about who their mother is, who mommy's mom is, who daddy's mom is, and who Jesus' mom is. We also talked about Mary's attributes (she is kind, faithful, etc).

Christmas for Toddlers: Family Ornaments

One fun activity you can do with toddlers at Christmas time is buy an ornament kit from Michael's. They sell sets of 4 wooden ornaments with 4 colored markers and 2 glitter glue pens for around $2. The whole family can have a fun evening decorating the ornaments, letting them dry and hanging them on the tree. Our boys love finding the ornaments they made hanging on the tree.

Christmas for Todders: Jesus was Born in Bethlehem

Teaching toddlers about Christmas and why Christ's birth is so important can be a difficult task. This year I will share some of the simple things we are doing to celebrate Christmas and teach our boys about Jesus during Decemeber. Each idea is really simple and can be used as a theme for the day. Today the theme is - Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It doesn't seem like much, but it is important. Over breakfast we talked about where we were all born. (For example, a cousin was just born in Viriginia. Grandpa was a baby in Idaho, etc.) Then we taught them that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We also went and looked at our beds. We talked about how nice our beds are, and then learned the song Away in a Manger. We told them Jesus didn't have a bed. He had to lay down in the hay.

Pumpkin Trifle

We made this for Thanksgiving dessert.

1 package (14.5-oz) gingerbread cake mix and ingredients to make cake (we like the whole wheat mixes)
4 cups cold fat-free milk
2 packages (3.4-oz each) instant butterscotch pudding mix
1 can (15-oz) pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 container frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Make the gingerbread cake according to directions on package.
2. After the gingerbread is cooked. Let it cool completely. When it is cool, crumble the cake. Save 1/4 cup of crumbs for garnish.
3. Whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand an additional 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and spices until well blended.
4. In a trifle bowl layer a fourth of the cake crumbs, half the pumpkin mixture, a fourth of the crumbs and half of the whipped cream. Repeat layers. Garnish the top with reserved crumbs.
5. Can be served immediately or refrigerated. We let it sit overnight.

Banana Bars

One of our new favorite ways of using up old bananas! It's also a great recipe to make with kids because the bars are mixed by hand.

Bars:
1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 medium)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 package (3oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.
2. Mix sugar, bananas, oil and eggs with a spoon. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Pour into pan.
3. Bake bars 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely (1 hour).
4. Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, butter and vanillas with an electric mixer until well blended. Gradually mix in powdered sugar until smooth and spreadable.
5. Frost cooled bars. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

These are Finlay's favorite treats.

Ingredients:
1 package cookie dough (take and bake style) or make your own small batch of chocolate chip cookie dough
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/3 cup melted butter
1 1/3 cup water
3 eggs

1. Separate the cookie dough into little balls and place in the freezer for at least 2-3 hours. Make sure the dough balls are completely frozen.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Prepare the cake mix using the above ingredients - not what it says on the box.
4. Line 24 muffin cups with liners (believe me, you want the liners and not cooking spray). Then add the cake mix evenly to each cup. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on top of each cup. Don't push down.
5. Place muffin tins in the oven and bake 15-16 minutes.
   
6. Allow to cool and frost with your favorite frosting. We used milk chocolate frosting and it was great!
   

Sloppy Joe's

2 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1 can tomato sauce (the kind that is around 10 oz)
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons honey mustard
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
hamburger buns, cheese, spinach leaves

1. Brown the meat. Drain far. Sprinkle with salt.
2. Add chopped onion and cook until tender.
3. Stir in ketchup, tomato sauce, vinegar, mustard, and brown sugar.
4. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
5. Spoon onto hamburger buns and top with cheese and spinach.

Creamed Carrots

14 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced (or lots of baby carrots cut in half)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups skim milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tablespoon dry mustard seed
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Cheddar cheese (2-3 cups depending on how much cheese you want on top)
1 cup bread crumbs
2 pieces toast, crumbled and/or chopped into small pieces

1. Cook the carrots and drain.
2. Saute the onions in the butter.
3. Add flour and cook for two minutes
4. Add milk and cook until thickened.
5. Mix in salt, mustard, celery salt and pepper.
6. Pour carrots in 9x13 baking dish and pour sauce over the top.
7. Sprinkle cheese over the top, then sprinkle with bread crumbs and pieces of toast.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Best Pizza Crust Ever (can also be made into bread/rolls)

I'm back! After three moves this summer I am finally settled and will once again be consistent with fun tips, trivia, ideas, recipes, and whatever else I feel like putting on here. Today I will post the best pizza dough recipe. It is amazing. Thanks to my mother-in-law for passing it on to me.

Combine the following ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes:
2 tablespoons yeast
2 1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup sugar

Mix together the following ingredients, and then pour the yeast mixture into it and mix again:
4 cups flour
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons powdered milk (the secret ingredient)

Add in an additional 2 cups of flour (or more) and knead/mix until the mixture is the right consistency.

Roll the dough and put into the pizza pan or pizza stone. Let rise for 15 minutes.
Add toppings and cook 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

To make bread, just put the dough in a bread pan and let rise 15 minutes. Then cook for 28 minutes at 350 degrees. You can make rolls by putting dough in muffin tin (you will want to adjust the cooking time depending on how big your rolls are. They will probably take about 15 mintues).

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are some of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. This will be my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipes. The cookie dough was especially delicious.

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (12 oz) chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Mix sugars, vanilla and egg. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt. The dough will be stiff. Form dough into little balls (tablespoonfuls) and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown.

About the author

This is Tisha. Wonderful cook, amazing wife, and a super-mom in every way. And, she's a babe. In fact, if she were a president, she'd be babe-raham Lincoln.

Thanks Tisha, for your delicious cooking and insightful tips. No wonder Emerson, Finlay and I are always so happy.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Sorry the picture isn't very good - I promise the pretzels are. I am posting this recipe here so that I know where to find it in the future. We made it twice this week and plan on making it many times in the future (even as we move to three different locations this summer). These take hardly any ingredients and taste great.

4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 1/4 cup warm water 110 degrees (I microwaved my water for 30 seconds)
5 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
salt, for topping

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Let stand 10 minutes (it should look kind of foamy after that time).
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add yeast mixture and oil. Mix and form into a dough. Add a few tablespoons of water if the dough won't stick together.
3. Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes or until smooth.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour (preferably in a warm place).
5. Preheat over to 450. Dissolve baking soda in hot water.
6. When risen, turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape (or any other shape you want - we had fun making letters). Once all the dough is shaped, dip each piece in the baking soda mixture and place on greased baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle with salt (or cinnamon and sugar).
7. Bake for 8 minutes, or until browned.
   

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread

This pumpkin bread is pretty light and airy (almost like pumpkin pound cake). It makes 2 loaves.

1/2 cup butter, soft
1 pkg (8-oz) cream cheese, soft
2 1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp allspice

• Preheat oven to 350. Spray two bread pans.
• Beat butter, cream cheese and sugar until well blended.
• Add eggs one at a time; mix well after each egg.
• Blend in pumpkin.
• Gradually add dry ingredients. Mix just until moist.
• Pour into greased pans. Cook 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

Pseudo Cinnamon Rolls

I really like cinnamon rolls, but always seem to mess them up when I make them. This recipe tastes exactly like cinnamon rolls, but doesn't require any rising or rolling or tricky stuff. So basically it is a lot less work, but tastes just as scrumptious. I will be making this a lot!

1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp active dry or rapid rise yeast
2/3 cup warm milk
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg

Filling:
3 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk (more if you like your icing more runny)

1. Grease an 8x8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Dissolve yeast in a liquid measuring cup filled with warm milk (I microwaved the milk before I added the yeast). Then stir milk mixture, vegetable oil, vanilla and egg into the flour mixture. Mix until very smooth.
3. Pour into prepared pan and let rest for 15 minutes.
4. While the dough rests, mix together the filling ingredients using a fork until all the butter has been incorporated into the sugar and mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly on top of rested dough and press the mixture down into the dough. You can swirl it through the batter if you like.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes or until bread is lightly browned at the edges and the center of the bread springs back when lightly pressed. Bake at 350 degrees. Do not preheat. Just put pan in cold oven and then bake at 350.
6. Cool for 20-25 minutes.
7. Whisk the powdered sugar and milk together to make icing. Drizzle icing over warm bread.
8. Serve warm.
   

Sugar Cookie Muffins

These muffins are incredibly soft and fluffy. They also happen to taste exactly like sugar cookies. So if you're in the mood for a sugar cookie, but don't want the hassle of rolling out dough - makes these easy muffins.

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a muffin tin.
2. Beat together sugar and eggs until light in color.
3. Add flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla. Mix.
4. Divide batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. When muffins come out of the oven, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl. Dip the top of each muffin in the melted butter and then dip in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.

Taco Seasoning from Scratch

We love Mexican food at our house. We usually have a huge container of taco seasoning around, however we do run out every once in awhile. Here is a recipe that works great when you don't have any taco seasoning.

1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together and use! It makes the same amount as one taco seasoning packet (1/4 ounce size).

Cheesy Mexican Chicken (Enchilada Style)

No picture of this one. It was gone too fast. I think this will become one of my new go-to meals. It tastes sooo good.

6 small boneless chicken breast halves (you can cook them like this or you can cut them into pieces and cook them)
1 can cream-of-chicken soup
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (or any kind of cheese you like)
1/2 cup milk
1 pkg Taco seasoning mix (I used 3 Tablespoons of taco seasoning)
2 cup corn chips (like Fritos)
cooked rice (enough to serve the chicken on top of)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Put chicken in 13x9-inch baking dish.
2. Mix soup, 1 cup cheese, milk and taco seasoning until well blended. Spoon over chicken. Sprinkle with corn chips. Cover with tin foil.
3. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over chips. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with rice.

Project: Homemade Playdough

What kid doesn't love playdough. This recipe is great. We have been playing with it for over a week and it still has the same elasticity as it did the day we made it. The boys love playing with it.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (if you don't have this it will still work - it just improves the elasticity)
food coloring (I used neon food colors and they look great)

1. Mix all of the ingredients together and stir over low heat. The dough will begin to thicken.
2. When the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and clumps in the center, remove the dough from the heat and allow to cool enough to handle (go to http://www.instructables.com/id/EV84F86KD1EUN32O5B/ if you want to see what the dough should look like).
3. If your playdough is sticky you just need to cook it longer. Keep stirring until the dough is dry and feels like playdough.
4. Turn the dough onto a clean counter and knead vigorously until it becomes silky-smooth. Divide the dough into balls for coloring.
5. Make a divot in the center of each ball and add food coloring. Fold the dough over and knead until the color mixes throughout. (You might want to use gloves - I totally stained my hands on this step)
6. Store in an air-tight container.

Project: Oodles of Noodles

If your kids are ever extremely bored and you happen to have a huge Sam's Club bag full of expired Penne noodles this is the activity for you. In actuality, any type of noodle will do. Penne noodles work well for this age child (2 years old) because the holes are big enough for them to deal with.

Supplies: Noodles, 1 plastic bucket/container per child, fun spoons and other small containers, yarn

Fill a plastic bucket with noodles for each child. Provide each child with various little containers for them to play with. My boys loved pretending they were cooking. They liked to stir the noodles, transfer them from one container to another, and count noodles. We also made necklaces out of noodles. We just took some old yarn and threaded it through the penne noodles. They still play with the necklaces. This is a fun indoor activity. Kids love to play with sand and mud. This lets them play the same kinds of thing inside and isn't too hard to clean up.

Project: Bean Shakers

It was suggested I post some of my project ideas online so that other people can use them if they wish. I will do so, but would like to mention that most of the projects we do aren't extremely excited or anything. My boys just love doing "projects" each afternoon, so I have to come up with something for them to do each day. As long as a I call it a project and they get to sit on the floor or at the table to it they are happy.

One day last week we made music shakers.

Materials needed: dry beans (any kind will do) and empty water bottles

What to do: Give each child one water bottle and a small bowl full of beans. Let the child put the beans into the water bottle. Someone this can entertain them for quite awhile. When they have the bottle at least 1/4 of the way full of beans you can put the lid on the bottle and let them shake it. You can save the shakers and use them as musical instruments later on or you can dump them out and do the project again another day. To mix it up a little, you can make homemade funnels out of paper and let the kids see how a funnel works.

Baby Rolls

Emerson and Finlay love making these "baby" rolls. They roll the dough into tiny balls. It is the perfect project for little hands. The bread is easy to make and tastes great. The rolls work well for dipping in fondue or soup.

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
1 package yeast (or 2 Tablespoons)
1/2 cup very warm water
1/2 cup very warm milk
1 egg
butter or margarine, melted (I usually don't put this)

1. Mix 2 cups of the flour, sugar, shortening, salt and yeast in medium bowl. Add warm water, milk and egg. Beat with electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Beat on medium speed 1 minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until double. Dough is ready in indentation remains when touched.
3. Grease bottoms and sides of 2 round 9x1 1/2 inches.
4. Punch down dough. Cut dough in half; cut each half into 24 peices. Shape into balls. Place close together in pans. Brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until double.
5. Heat over to 400.
6. Bake 12 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.
   

Southwest Chicken Pockets

One of my favorite all-time foods is chicken pillows/chicken crescents. This is a tasy variation of that meal. Ricky said we should make this again.

2 cups diced cooked chicken

8 oz 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 (4-0z) can diced green chilies

1 tablespoon chopped green onions

1/8 teaspoon chili powder

1/8 teaspoon cumin

2 (8-0z) can refrigerated reduced-fat crescent rolls

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup dry breadcrumbs

In a large bowl cream together cream cheese, 1/2 cup softened butter, green chilies, green onions, chili powder and cumin. Add chicken and combine; set aside. Separate crescent rolls to form 8 rectangles, pressing seams together. Place 1/2 cup of chicken mixture in the middle of each rectangle and roll up ends to cover filling. Seal edges securely. Dip each folded foll into melted butter and then carefully roll in breadcrumbs. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Top with Black Bean Salsa (last recipe I posted).

Black Bean Salsa

I've never made my own salsa, but I went out on a limb to try this one and it turned out great. Our whole family loved it!

1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained & rinsed
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped white or yellow onions
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

In large bowl, combine beans, corn, cilantro, green onions, yellow onions, lemon juice, oil and cumin. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or overnight. Just before serving stir in tomatoes.

Orange Frosting

I used this recipe on gingerbread cake yesterday and it hit the spot. It's not overly sweet, but adds a great citrus flavor to the dessert it frosts.

This recipe makes enough to cover an 8x13-inch sheet cake with a thin layer of frosting. If you like thick frosting double the recipe.

Orange Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/8 - 1/4 cup milk (start with the smaller amount and then add more if the frosting is too thick)
1 tsp freshly grated orange peel

Mix everything together until it is the consistency you want. Frost and enjoy! It looks really pretty if you take some extra grated orange and sprinkle it over the top.

Ways to Save on the Web

I recently read a magazine article that listed tons of great web sites that can save you money. I haven't had time to look at all of them yet, but I want to sometime. I decided to post them here in case anyone else could use the info (and then I can recycle the magazine but still have the web sites). I have italicized the sites I have tried and enjoyed:

• annualcreditreport.com (get a free credit report from each of the three main bureaus)
• upromise.com (earn rewards to pay for school)
• mint.com (track and manage your spending, saving, and budgeting for free)
• walletpop.com and getrichslowly.org (practical financial advice)
• lowcards.com, cardfusion.com, and cardratings.com (find low interest rate or better reward credit cards)
• comparisonshop.com (searches comparison shopping sites to help you find best price)
• Yokel.com and shoplocal.com (evaluate prices at brick-and-mortar stores in your area)
• couponcabin.com (coupons)
• retailmenot.com (promotional codes)
• priceprotectr.com (tell you how to get money back if price has fallen on item you recently bought)
• swapagift.com (buy, sell, or exchange gift cards)
• groceryguide.com (weekly specials and coupons for grocery stores near you)
• restaurant.com (discounts at local restaurants)
• kidsmealdeals.com (find local kids-eat-free deals)
• myrecipes.com and allrecipes.com (free recipes)
• theultimates.com (look up phone numbers)
• skype.com (web cam/ web phone)
• billshrink.com (analyze your cell phone usage and hunt for a cheaper plan)
• cellforcash.com (sell your old cell phones)
• techbargains.com and shopper.com (tech deals and coupon codes)
• openoffice.org and docs.google.com (free open source computer programs comprable to Microsoft Office)
• avg.com (free anti-virus software)
• safer-networking.org and lavasoft.com (free anti-spyware protection)
• zonealarm.com (free Internet firewall)
• modernfeed.com and hulu.com (free online TV shows - the same ones you watch on regular TV)
• pandora.com (free streaming music site)
• swaptree.com and swapthing.com (trade or barter for CDs/DVD and other items)
• cars.com, edmunds.com, and cartango.com (compare local prices, get info on rebates and incentives)
• pumpandsave.com (find best cash-back fuel cards)
• gasbuddy.com (find cheapest gas stations in your area)
• Erideshare.com, carpoolworld.com, and goloco.org (find a carpool)
• insurance.com (compare rates and quotes)
• happymedian.com (computes equidistant meeting spots between two locations)
• kayak.com and bookingbuddy.com (searches multiple sites to find best plane fare)
• airfarewatchdog.com (low-fare alerts)
• farecast.com (advice on when to buy tickets)
• hotels.com (htoel deals and bargains)
• Mousesavers.com (deep discounts on family vacations)