It seems that many of the wonderful things I discover on various websites is related to food. I have discovered countless new recipes, thanks to other blogs. Here is a bit of what I stumbled upon this week.

Kristen of the Frugal Girl shared a recipe for Pineapple Salsa. With pineapple, peppers, onions and cilantro, this looks like a good recipe to try this summer.

Katie of Modern Alternative Mama shared What You Need to Know about Preserving. This was a good – and very simple – introduction to canning. It has me excited to think about planting my garden so I can start preserving again. My Mom gave me her old food mill so that will be handy, too. Do you can?

Pennies and Pancakes shared a recipe for the World’s Recipe Easiest Homemade Crockpot Refried Beans. She says the cost averages out to $0.19 a cup, when made from dried beans. I’ve never made my own refried beans, but I’m going to give this recipe a try. Soon.

Tara of Unsophisticook shared another slow cooker recipe that I found enticing. This one was for slow cooker Beef Barbacoa. Once again, it requires simple ingredients and I do have a chuck roast in the freezer.

Food Your Way shared a wallet sized printable card of the Dirty Dozen / Clean Fifteen lists. Do you follow these lists? This would be a handy list to have in ones wallet.

I’ve seen a lot of people jump on the Paleo bandwagon. I found Liz, a college acquaintance, right on the money with this post on her Problem with Paleo for this Christian. Oh, and I’m baking my bread for similar reasons.

All these food links have me in the mood to bake. I’m bringing dessert for our upcoming volunteer dinner at school, so I think I’ll get started this weekend. Fudge Topped Shortbread or Chocolate Chip Tea Cakes, I think is where I’ll start. Yum!

I’m at Concordia, Seward today, celebrating my sister’s college graduation. It’s hard to believe that it has already been 9 years since I graduated. A lot has happened in those 9 years, and I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next 9! I’m also looking forward to seeing what will happen in Mikaela’s life over the next 9 years. I wish you could all be here celebrating with us. Since you’re not here, I’ll leave you with some links to read while we celebrate.

A Farmgirl’s Dabbles has a recipe for Gooey Chocolate Cake Cups in 2 Minutes. Not only does this look delicious, but I love that all the ingredients are ones that I have on hand. I need to remember this for the next time I need a quick chocolate treat.

Andrea Dekker shared a recipe for making Homemade Bubbles. We’re getting ready to get the bubbles out again in preschool, and since we go through them quickly, I am keeping this recipe in my file.

Ree Drummond is celebrating 7 years of blogging as the Pioneer Woman. She shared some of her favorites in a ‘Still Hungry After All These Years’ post. I’ve made the cinnamon rolls, olive cheesy bread and sour cream pancakes. They are all just as good as Ree promises! Onion straw are next on my list to bake.

Jan of Just Imagine Heaven shared a recipe for Pumpkin Muffin Donut Holes. Pumpkin flavored breads aren’t just for fall…in my humble opinion. I’ll make them year round – so need to try these soon.

Jen of Balancing Beauty and Bedlam shared how to make a One Skillet, No Flipping Potato Lover’s Pancake. It’s the no-flipping part that caught my eye. It looks easier than anything I have yet to try!

Money Saving Mom had a guest post of 20 Ways to be More Productive while On the Phone. I like to make the most of my time, so this was a helpful list of easy things to do. I’m going to try to clean more windows while I talk!

Finally, if you missed it, here’s my guest post for Living Well, Spending Less with An Honest Look at Frugality. It’s not always easy and I laid all my cards on the table. I hope my honesty is encouraging. That’s always my goal – to encourage.

I ended up participating in two link-ups this week. Considering this is something I only do when the topic fits what I am already writing about, this doesn’t happen a lot.

I shared my recipe for Homemade Buttermilk Syrup at Living Well, Spending Less’s Thrifty Thursday. Then, at the request Vicki, I added 10 Items to Stockpile to Everything Frugal: Mom Tested, Family Approved Link-up. There were so many great links, that I decided to share the highlights with you all!

The 21st Century Housewife shared tips for Surviving and Thriving in a Recession. I use my library a lot, and do garden, but it’s nice to read more ideas. The reminder not to worry was good, too!

My Sister’s Pantry shared a recipe for Dark Chocolate Slow Cooker Oatmeal. I’ve never bought steel cut oats, but this recipe has me wanting to try them.

Teachers of Good Things shared her Tips on Saving Big at Yard Sales. I have a garage sale list – and I’m looking forward to yard sales starting up again. One of the things on my list is “Little People” (just the people) for my preschoolers.

Sustainable Blessings has a recipe for Baked Macaroni and Cheese that looks tasty. I like macaroni and have yet to find my favorite homemade recipe. This looks like a good one to try.

This Camera Tells My Story shared an article about How to Maintain a Frugal Lifestyle. I really appreciated this article – especially the point that frugality has to be intentional.

6 Sisters compiled a list of 50 Cream Cheese Recipes. I am of the mindset that cream cheese makes anything better, so this is a list that I pursued quite carefully. Yum!

That’s a bit of what I read this week. Recipes and frugality…it’s what catches my eye as of late! What catches your eye?

Oh my. How can another month be almost gone? April was quite busy in the Whirrett household so I know that’s the reason the month is over when I hardly blinked. May will fly by just as quickly, I am sure, because the end of the year always comes upon us just like that.

I had a good accreditation visit to Indy earlier this week, in case you were curious, and enjoyed the connections and conversations that it brought about. Now, it’s back to my preschoolers and life in Fort Wayne. It was nice to celebrate Battle of Flowers with some of the teachers, too!

Speaking of, I served them this new Funfetti Cake Dip with animal crackers, and it was a hit! I will admit that I loosely followed Eat Yourself Skinny’s recipe. I used vanilla yogurt instead of plain. Then, I used less yogurt and more cool whip. It was still very good and several asked for the recipe – so here it is, ladies!

While you are at it, Brown Sugar Toast has a recipe for Split Second Cookies that look quick and delicious. This looks like the perfect treat for when we don’t want to make all those drop cookies but we still want to bake cookies.

I am starting to think ahead to summer plans and decorations. These homemade solar lights in mason jars from Keep Calm and Decorate certainly caught my eye. If I can find solar lights for $1, then I want to make these, too.

Money Saving Mom had a great post of how to get the most bang for your buck at garage sales. I’m starting to see garage sale signs pop up around town and that has me excited. I’m making my list of garage sale items that I’ll be watching for this summer.

Speaking of, that has me motivated to keep spring cleaning out closets and drawers. Last weekend, we talked our clothes in the closet. This weekend, I hope to brave the attic and see what else I can clean out and organize!