Philadelphia Phillies Items at Dollar Tree

Popping in to let everyone know that my local Dollar Tree has Phillies items. Never saw MLB there before, it's pretty cool:@) Very similar to the NFL line-up they get every year... Several cups to choose from, plastic logo plates and popcorn/chip bowls:

Chip clips with a magnet:

And while not Phillies...

These Thunder Sticks would be great fun at the game:@)

Grab it when you see it and

Have a Happy Day:@)

Frank's RedHot Dipping Sauce 5 Ways -Dollar Tree Find

I always say going to Dollar Tree is kind of like going on a scavenger hunt, you never know what you might find. That was the case with this Frank's Golden Dip'n Sauce. They had just gotten a delivery and boxes were stacked on the floor and hadn't even been opened yet... As soon as I saw Frank's, I broke into the box:@) Then I began to wonder what I could do with it, besides dipping chicken nuggets... 

The first thing I made was this super easy Macaroni Chicken Salad. Add whatever you like, onion, peppers, maybe some dill pickle or pickled jalapeno... Then sub the mayo for the Frank's Dipping Sauce, wa-la, a very nice lunch indeed:@) And it doesn't have to be chicken, use pork, tuna, hard boiled eggs, any protein of choice.

It's been a while since we tried something new and Easter is coming... So I thought I'd whip up some Two Ingredient Deviled Eggs with Frank's Dipping Sauce. Yes folks, this adds a nice bar-b-que twist to deviled eggs! I loved the sweetness the sauce added. Simply mash the yolks and add enough sauce to make a smooth filling. I added the pickled jalapeno for garnish, but honestly, these are really best plain. I didn't even need to add S&P.

Other uses for the sauce? 

• A no-brainer is using it as a dip for potato chips. If your crew likes BBQ chips, they will love this.
• I heated up some meatballs and Jimmy Dean sausage links, added a toothpick and gave them a good dose of the sauce. An easy and very filling appy for game day.
• And of course, as indicated earlier, I'm sure it was created to be served with chicken nuggets and similar items. 

What I bought:

Is the sauce hot? The label calls it mild, I'd say there's a hint of heat, kind of what you'd expect from a product made by Frank's Hot Sauce. The back of the bottle says: A smoky and spicy twist on Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce. I say, well worth the $1.25...

Try something new and

Have a Happy Day:@)

Creamy BBQ Sauce -Dip or Sandwich Condiment

One of my mindless diversions is QVC, and as long as I don't buy anything... It's harmless:@) And sometimes I even learn things. I was watching a presentation for Corky's Chicken Bites and the presenter said his favorite condiment is this Creamy BBQ Dipping Sauce. *Please note, this isn't their name for it (I forgot what they call it). Then I started thinking, great with chicken yes, great on a hamburger yes, great with tator tots yes, but as lots of folks are partaking in Fish Fridays, how about fish? Well I'm here to say I give it a big ole yes! No doubt this would really make a great fish sandwich...

Also good with fish: Buff-A-Tar Sauce here.

And as a true dipping sauce with chicken:

Creamy BBQ Dipping Sauce

50/50 your favorite ranch dressing and BBQ Sauce.

~Mix, chill, and serve -yep, it's that easy.

Eat Well and Have a Happy Day:@)

Dollar Tree Sightings... Winter Treats & Early Easter Barbie

It's been a while since I've shared some of the fun things I see on my Saturday rounds, so here we go... They are putting Easter items out, and in with the basket filler toys are these Nerf Collectible Games surprise balls $1.25. Nothing about the packaging says Easter, so they can be put away for any occasion. Basketball, football, hockey, soccer, golf, bowling, cornhole, and even pickleball! But as luck would have it, I picked up the ball with the -only- game that isn't truly Barbie size...

Baseball...

But today is the first preseason Phillies game, so that's kind of fun. If I get another one I'll update this post to show what it is.

They also have 2" Barbie figurines. What I like best about these is, it's not blind packaging, you can pick the figure(s) you'd like to buy.

And finally, even though Christmas is behind us, there is still a lot of winter left... They just got some of these Chocolate Stuffed Marshmallows with Peppermint. Good for hot chocolate, great to dip in melted chocolate and then sprinkles as a snack or party appy, and they are just all around yummy:@)

Grab it when you see it and

Have a Happy Weekend:@)

8x8 Tuna Noodle Casserole -Retro, Budget Friendly

On today's episode of Frugal Living, pinch that penny til it squeals...

It's been about 100 years since I've made a Tuna Noodle Casserole. I thought I'd share it because, it's honestly not a very expensive meal to make, and feels like comfort food on these cold winter days. This recipe for an 8x8 baker will easily feed up to four people. Wiggle room? I used one can of tuna, add more if desired. Want to add carrots or another veggie? Change it up and toss them into the water while boiling the noodles. No noodles? Sub any pasta. Don't care for celery soup? Use Cream of Chicken or Mushroom. Bread crumb topping kinda boring? Change it to crushed potato chips, crushed pork rinds, French fried onions, croutons or panko. Yep, lots of options folks...

Only want two servings: 

Use a pouch of tuna, cut recipe in half, and use a loaf pan.

Walmart the day I shopped:

Can of tuna - 88¢

Can of celery soup - 69¢

Frozen peas - 99¢, use half or more

16 oz dry noodles - $1.45, use less than half

8X8 Tuna Noodle Casserole

5oz can tuna fish in water, drained

approx 5-6 oz wide noodles, cooked and drained

approx half bag of frozen peas (can add more), thawed

10 oz can Cream of Celery Soup

1 Tblsp milk

1/4 tsp seasoned salt, your favorite

1/4 tsp onion powder

Few hearty grinds black pepper

Bread crumbs for top

1. Boil water, cook noodles for 7 minutes, drain. (I like to add the frozen peas to the colander, then pour the boiling noodles into the colander).
2. Mix everything except breadcrumbs. 
3. Pour into 8x8 baking dish (or foil pan, even better:@)
4. Top with breadcrumbs.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Eat well and Have a Happy Day:@)

Quick German Chocolate Cake Topping -for brownies or cake

I wanted to add a little somethin-somethin to a store bought brownie mix, and this turned out to be dangerously good... I decided to frost them with a Quick German Chocolate Cake Topping. A few ingredients get cooked in a pan on top of the stove, and once the frosting cools a bit, it's a thick, ooey, gooey, sticky, decadent treat. This is one of those desserts where both boys were saying at the end of dinner, I'll be glad to take some of those brownies home:@) Don't hesitate to give this icing a try folks, the recipe below is for 8x8, double it for a 9x13 or layer cake.

German Chocolate Topping for an 8x8 pan:

1/4 C butter

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 C coconut

1/2 C chopped pecans

1/4 C Half and Half

1/4 tsp vanilla

1. In small sauce pan melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add everything else, bring to simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbling. About 3-5 minutes.
3. Let cool for a couple minutes, then top brownies or cake.

Enjoy a Snack and Have a Happy Day:@)

Barbie This and That... Halloween & Christmas

We're at that fun time of year when there's a ton of things going on... Halloween, football, Thanksgiving coming up, cooler weather, and the stores are putting Christmas out. This will be my third post of Dollar Tree Halloween ideas for Barbie. And even though it's been a few years, most of the items are still available. I picked up a pack of skeleton hands figuring I'd come up with ~something~ to make for Barbie... Even the dollhouse gets a few Halloween decorations:@)

My inspiration from Walmart,

Candle Holders:

What I started with:

And I have some leftover for future crafts...

These felt cut-outs make a quick Ghost Costume. I glued some ribbon at each shoulder, and some at each side will help tie the costume on. I was surprised to find out that the eyes and mouth were already cut and just needed to be popped out. There are 12 pieces in each pack, so that's enough for 6 dolls for a sleepover, or if your girl is having a Halloween party. Easy, fast, and cute:@) And of course, you could cut a ghost shape out of felt and draw the face on with a Sharpie too...

The cut-outs:

There are six more crafts here, and another five or so here.

I stopped at the thrift store and found this Santa pants ornament/gift bag and had a feeling it would fit Cousin Rube:@) I cut the bottom of each pant leg open, slid it on up over his belly, and wa-la... The big man is now ready for some Christmas fun:@) 

What I bought for 50¢:

🎃🎅Make something just for fun and

Have a Happy Day:@)

Barbie dia de los muertos Lollypop Holder -Halloween

I wanted to use a dollar store Plastic Skull as a Lollypop Holder and decided to mix a Barbie Halloween party idea with dia de los muertos... I allowed myself to spend $5, skull, two headbands and the groovy eyelashes:@) BTW, if you have the patience for false eyelashes or extenders, God bless... Goggly eyes and Sharpies were from my craft stash. The face art can be as elaborate as desired, stickers and rhinestones are a couple good ideas. Turns out these skulls may be a bit too ghoulish to properly get the Barbie vibe... But I do think it's a fun idea, especially for a Day of the Dead party.

I drilled holes into the plastic to hold the lollypops, a small Dremel size bit worked well. Then hot glued the skull to a plate so it would stand securely. 

Wrapped candies (preferably) scattered around the plate would complete the look, or maybe create a Halloween charcuterie tray with the skull as the centerpiece... (Best perhaps without the hair.)

🎃Make something just for fun and

Have a Happy Day:@)

Snapps Loaded Baked Potato (or any flavor) Stuffed Jalapenos

We can find Snapps appetizers in the frozen foods section of Dollar Tree and Walmart, and a new (to me) flavor caught my eye... I had these Snapps Loaded Baked Potato Stuffed Jalapenos for lunch over the weekend and it was a very nice lunch indeed. I let the potato sticks sit on the counter while I cleaned the jalapenos, then cut them in half and placed them on the peppers. You may want to add a little cheese to the pepper first to help the Snapps stick to the pepper. And a little extra cheese is never a bad thing:@) I put them in the air fryer at 375 for about 7 minutes. Every air fryer is different, you may need to check your timing or temperature. These were served with a drizzle of ranch dressing. Sour cream, or jalapeno ketchup would be nice too.

What I started with:

Enjoy a munchie and

Have a Happy Day:@)

Slow Cooker Polish Sausage, Sauerkraut & Potatoes

As life gets back to the normal routine of fall and back to school, sometimes it's nice to toss everything into a slow cooker before we go about our day... This Polish Sausage, Sauerkraut and Potatoes was a hearty easy meal, and the caraway seeds added a great layer of flavor. The recipe is easily scaled down and I used a standard 2 quart Crock Pot. It took about 3 hours on high, and the sausage turned out as shown. I would suggest cutting the sausage into 3/4-1" thicker slices, mine were a little thin. Using the low setting might work out best too. Overall, this is a good recipe to tuck away for when we need it, after a batch or two to figure out the best cooking time:@) Slow Cooker liners help make clean-up a breeze, and can even be found at Dollar Tree.

Use Polish sausage, kielbasa, or smoked sausage of choice.

Slow Cooker Polish Sausage, Sauerkraut & Potatoes -from Cooktop Cove

1 package sausage, cut into 1/2-1" rounds

16 oz sauerkraut, drained

6 small potatoes, quartered

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 bay leaf

1/2 C chicken broth or vegetable broth

S&P to taste

1. Add sauerkraut, potatoes and sausage to sprayed 4-6 quart vessel (or use a liner).
2. Top with everything else.
3. Cover, cook on low 6-8 hours, high 3-4 hours. Mine went about 3 hours on high in a standard Crock Pot.
4. Stir and serve.

Eat well and Have a Happy Day:@)

Fall Planter & Seasonal Dollar Tree Fall Finds

I've been pulling plants out of the raised beds, only the jalapeno, parsley and one large marigold remain at this time. But I have still been watering the large planter, and it has some great fall color:@) This pic doesn't show just how huge the purple plant got... All I did was pick up a broken piece of stem that had about 4 leaves on it at the garden center. The poor thing had been stepped on and run over with carts. I rooted it in water then planted it outside. I am still tickled by the dollar store metal sunflowers, they add a little height, and the pumpkin is cute. This works for early fall until I add the Halloween Jack-O-Lantern:@)

Limited edition Pillsbury Perfectly Pumpkin Cookie Mix. These are flying off the DT shelves folks, don't hesitate or you'll miss them...

Werther's caramels in fall flavors:

And I'll be honest, not really sure of the connection between Barbie and these socks,  but... They are at Dollar Tree. They also have a ton of other name brand characters too, Halloween theme'd and for every day.

🎃Grab it when you see it, and

Have a Great Weekend:@)

Dollar Store Salmon Chip Dip Recipe

You probably already know I'm not a big seafood person, but I do like tuna fish, and canned or pouched salmon is pretty darn close to tuna fish. And while I'm sure this dip would be ~amazing~ with some leftover grilled salmon from last night's dinner, in my world, I grabbed a pouch of Bumble Bee (or Chicken of the Sea, I forget which brand it was) at Dollar Tree to whip up this Salmon Chip Dip:@) It had lots of flavor and a little bite from onion, peppers and olives. And please be sure to serve this with the nice big potato chips that have the hearty ridges. Good stuff folks. If you mix it and decide you'd like it just a tad looser, add a few drops of lemon juice or maybe even hot sauce.

I'm calling this Dollar Store Salmon Chip Dip because I had the thought to make it when I saw the salmon at Dollar Tree. Of course these pouches can be found anywhere from Walmart to supermarkets.

Salmon Chip Dip

For each 2 1/2 to 3oz pouch of salmon squeezed dry (I just pull the top off, tap the fish back into the envelope, fold it in half lengthwise, squeeze the top tight and wring some of the liquid out):

1 1/2 Tblsp mayonnaise 

1 1/2 Tblsp sour cream

1 1/2 Tblsp finely diced onion of choice

1 1/2 Tblsp finely diced fresh peppers of choice, jalapeno is nice:@)

1 1/2 Tblsp finely diced olives

Few grates of fresh lemon zest if not using lemon pepper salmon

Couple shakes of your favorite seasoned salt

Couple shakes of garlic powder

Few hearty grinds of black pepper

pinch of diced fresh parsley if you have it

~Mix well, chill for at least 1/2 hour before serving with potato chips.

Enjoy a Snack and Have a Happy Day:@)

Football!!! Eagles Bracelets, Welcome Sign, Serving Platter & Nuts...

We're always excited about football season here at Pig In Mud and this year is no different:@) I started wearing my bracelets to work for what I've declared Fandom Fridays... So naturally, even though baseball season is still in swing, I had to make an Eagles bracelet too. Dollar Tree had the black, gray, and white beads, they work well with my team colors.

📌My Football Fun Pinterest Board here.

I'm looking for a fun Eagles logo to make something for the O in my welcome home sign. In the interim, I fished this old football out of my stash, added a magnet to the back and... Well, this will certainly do for now!

What goes with football? Snacks of course! Wanted to mention I've found several different flavors of Planter's Peanuts at Dollar Tree in the 6oz cans. Regular, Vinegar, Chipotle, and the latest, Salted Caramel. The nuts are perfect for everything from tailgating to couchgating to charcuterie boards. I like this size can too, it's not too big.

And finally, I stopped at Aldi and was pleased to find a couple of these football field platters still on the shelf. They are a nice medium size, about 16" long, not too big, not too small. Oh yes folks, we are ready for some football in Philly:@)

🏈Grab it when you see it, and

Have a Happy Day:@)

GO BIRDS!!!

Heinz 57 Kabobs, Darn Good Baked Beans, Meatball Appy & Labor Day Weekend...

I'm guessing there will be a few BBQ's this weekend and folks might be looking for a little inspiration... May I suggest these Heinz 57 Chicken Shish-Ka-Bobs:@) Easy and very tasty, and if you're not inclined to skewer the kabobs, simply grill up some chicken breast and slather it with the sauce. Good stuff folks:@)

And one of my favorite side dishes are these Darn Good Baked Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar. This is a very nice recipe that starts with three types of canned beans, and will appeal to most folks in the crowd.

Bringing the appetizer? These Three Ingredient Hawaiian Meatballs couldn't be easier. Heat in slow cooker, microwave, or in a disposable pan on the grill.

Whatever you are doing this Labor Day Weekend, whether firing up the grill (free apron pattern here), or going out to eat... 

We here at Pig In Mud hope you have a swimmingly good time:@)

Dollar Tree pool and outdoor table set.

🌞Have a great weekend:@)

Dollar Tree Crafting Vinyl Sale 2 for $1

Calling all Cricket crafters... A manager at Dollar Tree told me that Tuesday, September 3rd they will have a sale on rolls of vinyl. It will be 2 for $1.00. I asked if it was just her location or all of them, she believes it's all stores. I personally don't do this type of crafting, so I've never used the vinyl to speak about the quality.

Just wanted to share the info, but I can't confirm any of it, so please don't hold it against me if it turns out to only be the store on Route 1 in Fairless Hills, PA. But a trip to the dollar store is always a fun stop:@)

Have a Happy Day:@)

Volunteer Sunflower, Basil Salt, Eagles Platter and $1.25 K-Cups...

I didn't plant any sunflowers this year, but I was tickled to find one growing in the box I had zucchini:@) I'm guessing a critter dropped a seed, but as soon as I recognized the leaves I was curious to see what the flower looked like. The plant is about 24" tall, and a very pretty hint of early fall:@)

As the garden winds down for the season... How about preserving a little taste of summer by making some Basil Salt. Use it like any seasoned salt, and it's especially good with tomatoes.:@)

Here is this year's plastic serving plate Eagles design at Dollar Tree. Still has the fluted edge, it's thin plastic, but would certainly serve us well for a few football parties or tailgating trips.

$1.25 Eagles ceramic coasters:

Fan cave anyone???

They also have name brand hot cocoa k-cups... Great stocking stuffers or gifts to put on the desk of coworkers folks:@) They won't be around for long, I'm sure it was just a buyout. 

Grab it when you see it, and

Have a Great Weekend:@)