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Valentine’s Day Cast Iron Brownies

Valentine’s Day is approaching quickly and I have the perfect dessert to make. The Valentine’s Day Cast Iron Brownies are very simple to make and can be altered with your favorite toppings. My favorite part of cast iron brownies is that every slice has that nice chewy, crusty edge. Also if you aren’t a huge brownie fan you could also try this with your favorite roll of cookie dough. So many great options to make this quick dish for the one you love.

Valentine’s Day Cast Iron Brownies

Ingredients:

1 8×8 Pouch of Brownie Mix *I found this for $1.00 at Walmart*
Egg
Water
Oil
1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 a bag of Reese’s Mini’s
Valentine’s Sixlets *I found these at the Dollar Tree but I am sure you can find them at Walmart*

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the Brownie mix according to the package.
Pour directly into your seasoned cast iron skillet.
Bake for 20 minutes(it will continue to cook a little when you pull it).
Immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips and cover with a lid for about 5 minutes.
Slice the Reese’s Mini’s in half and sprinkle over the top of the brownies.
Sprinkle the Sixlets(of any other candies you purchased) over the top of the brownies.
Serve warm and enjoy!

*You could also add a scoop of ice cream on the side

I hope you enjoy these Valentine’s Day Cast Iron Brownies as much as we did. Don’t forget you can change it up for any holiday just by swapping the candy toppings. If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my other recipes HERE. I am always adding more of my favorites. If you try this recipe, leave me a comment below and let me know how you liked or if you have any questions. Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Budget Friendly Chili

by lifeondeerrun Leave a Comment

One of my favorite winter time meals is chili! Not only is it hearty and warm, but also can be very inexpensive. I love this budget-friendly chili for my family. It makes enough to feed the six of us and then the next day I like to add macaroni noodles to it for chili mac. I make mine on a stove but you could definitely throw this together in a crock pot if you like. The best part about chili is you can’t really go wrong and can add as many toppings as you like. My husband likes cheese and jalapenos in his and I like cream cheese and cheddar cheese in mine.

Budget-Friendly Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef
1 pkg chili seasoning *I use McCormick but you can use any brand and flavor*
Two 20oz cans petite diced tomatoes
Two 15.5oz can of chili beans *you can use hot if you like that more*
15.5oz can of light kidney beans
15.5oz can of dark kidney beans
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown ground beef and drain.
Mix ground beef and package of chili seasoning in a stock pot.
Open and dump in cans of tomatoes and beans.
Stir until mixed thoroughly.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve with your favorite toppings.

This Budget Friendly Chili only cost me less than $10.00!! How often can you feed a family of six for less than $10??? Yeah very rare, especially since I can stretch it into 2 dinners by adding noodles the next day! With this savings you should definitely check out my dessert recipes! Be sure to stop back by and tell me how you liked the recipe and what toppings you added to yours.

*I generally grocery shop at Ruler Foods(Kroger) or Walmart*

Start a Blog in Less Than 10 Steps

by lifeondeerrun Leave a Comment

I have been blogging off an on for about four years but mainly did it as a hobby before this year. Now I have decided I want more from blogging than just writing whatever is floating around in my head. In order to monetize it required me to do research and seek out help from my good friend Sadie. She was able to help guide me in the right direction and now I am posting how to start a blog in less than 10 steps just for you.

Before you move forward on these steps, you will want to brainstorm a bit. What do you want to blog about? What are you passionate about? If you are not writing about something that means something to you, it will not mean anything to your readers. Write for yourself…about what makes you happy..or sad. If you are writing about something you are passionate about than you will be more likely to have a following of loyal fans. This is important down the road if you wish to monetize.

Start A Blog in Less Than 10 Steps

Blog Name and Social Media:

Start thinking about the name of your blog..to me this was one of the hardest aspects next to picking my theme which we won’t talk about cause I am still undecided if I like it. Make sure you pick something you will love years from now, that way you don’t have to make the switch later.

Once you have a name decided, you will want to check if all the social media outlets are available for that name. Be sure to check Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and any of the others. Setup the accounts for all of them even if you do not plan to use them. That way no one can steal them out from under you later and try and pose as you.

Domain and Hosting:

Now that you have your blog name figured out I recommend purchasing your domain and hosting from A Small Orange. It is much easier to keep your domain and hosting together from the start but if you already have a domain with someone else, it is fine too. Plans start at as little as $2.92 a month. This is great because not many hosting options are monthly but instead yearly. Well if you aren’t 100% sure if blogging is for you, paying monthly is really great as you are not locked in and out a lot of money. **Tuesday 01/19/16 and Wednesday 01/20/16 is a HOSTING SPECIAL for 45% off making it $2.29 a month with FREE domain or $1.60 a month if you just need hosting**

WordPress:

Installing WordPress:

This can either be extremely easy or a little bit difficult depending on how computer savvy you are. However, DON’T PANIC. If you sign up for my hosting above, I will send you a link to our exclusive blogging group and we have helpful videos that make it super simple.

Most host companies have what’s known as your cPanel and some have a one click WordPress installer so be sure to look for that.

Themes and Posts:

Now it is time to play around and get familiar with WordPress. Pick your theme, play with the widgets, and make a post or two. You can find tons of tutorials on how to change things on Google or my friend that helped me has a ton of great content on her blog; Slap Dash Mom.

Facebook:

Facebook is a great place to not only gain followers but also meet amazing bloggers that are extremely helpful along the way. There are tons of great blogging groups(and some not so great ones so don’t be afraid to leave those) to join. And of course be sure to email me if you sign up at lifeondeerrun {at} gmail {dot} com when you sign up for hosting so I can add you to our group or if you have any other questions regarding blogging.

Pinterest:

TONS and TONS of great blogging resources on Pinterest. Once you get a good amount of content on your blog and are pretty familiarized with how Pinterest works, you’ll definitely want to take this Pinterest Course to help boost your Pinterest traffic and follows. It is a really great course!

Okay yeah that’s a lot to throw at you all at once but I promise it will all come together quickly. Again don’t hesitate to message me on Facebook or shoot me an email for help.

Praline Apple Pie Dumplings

by lifeondeerrun Leave a Comment

I’ll just admit that I have a small Pinterest addiction..okay I’ll be honest and say I have a HUGE Pinterest addiction. During my hours of scrolling, I found an amazing recipe for Apple Pie Dumplings by Spend with Pennies. It only had 2 ingredients so I figured I couldn’t screw it up, right? Great thing was, I already had the ingredients in my house! I made the recipe and though it was really good, I felt like it was missing something. I decided to make a new batch but just tweak it a bit. Again, with ingredients I already had in my house.

Praline Apple Pie Dumplings

Ingredients

1 can Apple Pie filling
1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (save yourself the trouble and don’t buy generic)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped Pecans *save about a tablespoon for garnish if you like*
1 jar Caramel topping
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Empty can of Apple Pie filling into a mixing bowl. Mix in cinnamon and pecans.
Open crescent rolls and remove each half.
Cut each half in half. You should have 4 long pieces. Cut each long piece into 3 pieces making 12 pieces. Roll all 12 pieces into balls.
Toss the 12 pieces into the apple pie filling.
Pour into a shallow baking dish, making sure the crescent balls are towards the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Let cool a couple minutes and then scoop into dish, garnish with pecans and drizzle with caramel.

*serve with vanilla ice cream if you like*

I absolutely love the texture of the pecans and the sweetness of the caramel drizzle. I will definitely be making this again. You can’t beat the ease of only 5 ingredients. If you have a chance to try this recipe, be sure to let me know what you think. If you want to save the Praline Apple Pie Dumplings recipe for later, be sure to pin it. Be sure to check out other upcoming or past recipes by following me on Pinterest.

Rustic DIY Star Ornament + Christmas Ornament Blog Hop

by lifeondeerrun 1 Comment

I love to make my own ornaments for my Christmas tree. Typically I will reuse old ornaments I have bought for cheap from yard sales or Goodwill. This year I have decided to do a rustic themed Christmas tree and wanted to make some ornaments from scratch. Today I am making a rustic star ornament out of items I had laying around my craft room.

Materials needed:

jute or twine *you could also use yarn*
popsicle craft sticks
wood glue
hot glue gun
scissors

Steps:

Cut your popsicle sticks in half.
Arrange the 10 pieces in the shape of a star.
Apply wood glue on the ends to attach all the sticks together in the star shape.
Let dry for approximately an hour. You want to make sure you can wrap the jute around it without it coming apart.
Take a piece of twine about 5 inches long and tie it around the peak of your star, this will be how you hang it from your tree when you are finished.
Take your hot glue gun and glue the end of your jute near the top of the star and start wrapping around and around each star tip, you can apply hot glue every so far to make sure it does not unravel.
Next, you will want to wrap the jute around the exposed sections over and over until they are completely covered.
When you get to the end just apply a dab of hot glue on the back side and attach the end of the jute.
Hang it on your tree and TA DA! Now repeat if you’d like multiple rustic stars on your tree.

Remember this can be altered in many ways. Instead of cutting the popsicle sticks, you could leave them whole. Or you could even use paint stir sticks in half to make a larger decoration for your wall. The possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoyed this simple tutorial.

Check out these other awesome bloggers who participated in the DIY Christmas Ornament Hop

Thursday, November 19th

Somewhat Quirky Design

It All Started with Paint

Friday, November 20th

My Creative Days

Patina Paradise

Leaves and Stitches

The Flamingo Chronicals

Around The Watts House

Three Little Pigs Board Game

by lifeondeerrun Leave a Comment

Three Little Pigs Board Game

With Christmas approaching fast, it is crunch time to get my Christmas shopping done for my 4 kiddos. My 2nd grader and Kindergartner love to play board games. Board games make perfect gifts for all ages. It makes for great family time and also helps them with problem solving, being good sports, and many other skills.

Help the three little pigs on their adventures as they build their houses and hope to avoid the huffing and puffing, Big Bad Wolf, just like in the well-known fairy tale. The 3 Little Pigs game combines skill and a dash of luck. Kids will love the soft and squeezable Big Bad Wolf that actually huffs and puffs the pig’s houses down!

Now Available at Amazon

And Walmart
https://www.walmart.com/ip/3-Little-Pigs/55079674