I do hope, despite the strings of a limited budget, that you'll take some time this summer for a bit of a vacation for your family. Camping is versatile, thrifty, and tons of fun!

The key to making sure you enjoy the vacation too is to ensure you have everything prepacked and organized so that you'll be ensured some down time too.  

I love hot pancakes in the morning when camping, but I have found they taste even better when the work is done for me.  Before I leave I whip up a recipe of my homemade buttermilk pancakes and put it in a gallon-size Ziploc bag to freeze overnight.  I like to freeze it flat so I can pack it easily in my cooler.  By the time you need it, the batter is thawed and ready to use.  Bunch the batter in the corner, cut the pointed end and you have a dispenser for perfectly formed pancakes, too!  Throw some syrup on those pancakes and the meal is done for you!

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or 1/4 cup yogurt mixed with 1 1/4 cups milk)
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 teaspoon sugar

Method:
Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder,and salt. 

Mix the egg with the buttermilk and add to the flour mixture, stirring only until well combined but still a bit lumpy.  Add the melted butter and sugar until combined.  If the batter is a little thick use the back of  a measuring cup to spread the batter out a little bit. I use 1/4 cup of batter per pancake, but if you want bigger ones just use a bit more. Heat your griddle to somewhere between 325 degrees and 350 degre

I am always on the lookout for healthy snack options that won't cost me a bang for my buck. It is especially difficult to keep yourself nutritiously fit as we age on a limited budget. 

Yet, there are so many options out there if you just invest a bit of time and effort.  Believe it or not, these took less than 10 minutes preparation time from slicing to the food dehydrator.  Then a flip of the switch and 8 -10 hours later I had a delicious treat.

I purchased my food dehydrator at a yard sale for $5 one year.  It has been a delightful addition to my appliance shelf.  Also, I received a food processor from an estate sale for $8. With both of these tools in hand, you'll make these in minutes!

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes cut thin through the food processor
2 - 3 tab. oil
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. salt

Instructions
Place sweet potatoes in a bowl.
Dab with a paper towel to remove moisture.
Drizzle oil on them. Stir and coat evenly.
Generously season your sweet potatoes with salt.
Place the sweet potatoes into a dehydrator and dehydrate for 8 - 10 hours.
Check your potatoes periodically to find your desired crispness.

The other day I received a whopping 2 lb. 10 oz. carton of rolled oats in my food bank bag.  Now there is only so much oatmeal one can eat especially since its during the summer when hot breakfast cereals seem to be on the decline for the season. 

You can make some oatmeal cookies, oatmeal bars, and oatmeal bread, but somewhere along the line you just get "oatmealed out".  

Then it hit me.  I always keep on hand some granola bars for quick pulled snacks for the kids when I'm rushing out somewhere.  As you know, these things can get a bit expensive as these bars don't give you much bite for the bark.  

So I scoured around coming up with a few recipes and came up with the one below.  I think you'll enjoy this!

1 cup raisins 
1/4 cup honey or pancake syrup
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds or peanuts (chopped)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats 
1/2 cup raisins or Craisins

Process raisins in a food processor until it forms a dough ball.

Optional step: Toast your oats in a 350 degree oven for 15-ish minutes or until slightly golden brown. Otherwise, leave them raw.


Warm honey/pancake syrup and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat or microwave. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the raisins to disperse throughout.

Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8x8 dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or wax paper so they lift out easily. 


Press down until uniformly flattened. Cover with plastic wrap and set in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden.

Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. I kept mine in the freezer to keep them extra fresh.

.

I've got a bowl of leftover rice in my fridge accompanied with couple of left over chicken breasts from a previous dinner.  Decisions, decisions!  Do I wrap it up, leave it, in hopes someone will pair the two for snack or lunch? More than likely that plain rice will account for nothing when it comes to one of my boys opening up the icebox in hopes of a quick easy fix.

Instead, I scoured through my recipe files and came up with the following.  I always have some bottles of Chinese accompaniments in my cupboard as they are cheap and a quick fix to leftovers.  Best place to buy such items is at an authentic Chinese market.  There you'll find tons of delightful bottles well below market value.

Marinade for Cooked Chicken
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ tablespoon rice wine

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and toss with above ingredients

Ingredients
2 cups leftover cooked rice
2 eggs lightly beaten with ¼ teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed and drained
1 cup cooked broccoli
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons oil


Heat up a wok or non-stick skillet. Add 1 tablespoon oil and eggs. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan and cook until no longer runny. Remove this "egg pancake" and cut into bite-size pieces. Alternatively, you can just scramble the eggs and separate into bite-size sections.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to hot wok. Add the ginger, garlic and onion and stir-fry for about 1-3 seconds to release the aromatics.

Add the chicken and stir-fry for about 1 minute.

Add the carrots, peas, broccoli, and rice and stir-fry for about 1 minute.

Add soy sauce, vinegar and egg.  Cook 1 minute longer.