**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own.

     Do you have any of those types of cookbooks that were put together by organizations, like a church group or a club?  I have a few from different places. Some of my old favorite recipes come from these cookbooks.  I often look through them for inspiration, or just for fun! That is what I was doing the other day when I came across a Stuffed French Bread Sandwich contributed by my sister's friend, Cathy Campbell. It looked really tempting so I was excited to give it a try. 

With a few variations, here is the original recipe. 

Beef And Cheese Stuffed French Bread

My husband really liked this recipe.  I thought it needed a little more zip.  Not super spicy. just maybe some bell pepper or some sour cream to give it some tang.  Try it and see what you think.  But, my husband is a real meat and potatoes kind of guy, so he thought this was just great.

Well, I kept thinking about it and I thought about the fact that I usually eat French bread with Italian food and spread it with garlic butter.  That is when I came up with the idea to make a Stuffed French Bread Spaghetti Sandwich!  I did it, pasta and all!  Guess What!  It is super good.  It is similar to a meatball sandwich, but even better! Here is how I did it.

Finally, wrap the loaf in foil and bake it for 20 min. like you did the first loaf. 

Stuffed French Bread Spaghetti And Meatball Sandwich

These sandwiches are so good and easy to serve.  I am now imagining other versions that would be delicious! What combinations are you thinking about?  Let me know and we can try them together! 

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own.

     My husband and I are truly empty nesters now.  This past weekend Madalynn moved in with a friend to be her roommate.  It is a new chapter for her and it makes me a little sad, but I am glad that she still works nearby and is still in Phoenix, so I know I will still be seeing her quite a bit.  So, until our youngest gets home from his 2 year mission in Africa, we are empty nesters.  
      One thing about being empty nesters is that we use a lot less milk than we used to.  It is hard to use a gallon before it sours, so I am having to start buying half gallons.  But, when Alicia was here with her children, I bought milk for them and there was still almost a gallon left when they were gone. The expiration date was coming and I hated to see the milk go to waste, so I found some recipes that use large quantities of milk.  Do you remember the post about Lindsey coming into a huge amount of canned pumpkin?  This Pumpkin Brulee recipe made it possible for me to use both the milk and some of the pumpkin! 
     This brulee gives you the pumpkin pie taste without the crust. Because it is made with regular milk rather than evaporated milk, it is a soft, creamy custard, less firm than you get in pie. My favorite perk is that I got to use my brulee torch to make the crunchy topping!

Pumpkin Brulee

       I must add that this Pumpkin Brulee received Lindsey's seal of approval!
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**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. ​  But, all opinions expressed are my own.

       Now that my children are all graduated from high school, and this year, no one is even in college I feel a certain freedom as I watch everyone who still is in the midst of the back to school rush.  I am not even substitute teaching anymore, so I have no "getting ready for school to start" worries at all! I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said that I don't miss it a bit.  So, I am going to share some economical ways to finish getting your kids ready to go back to school by revamping a post that I did a couple of years ago.  Consider this my homework and my way to get the back to school bug out of my system.  I hope that it helps those of you still scrambling to get the last minute things that you need. 

     In AZ, school starts much earlier than in many other parts of the country.  It  seems strange because it is so much hotter here, you would think we could allow kids to enjoy their swimming pools just a little bit longer.  On the upside, we do get out at the end of May, which is always nice.  
      Even though school has already started for many of you Arizonans, I know usually  there are always a few little things that kids need that we forgot to pick up before school started. DollarTree was always my go to store for those last minute needs.  Here are a few of the top items I love for back to school:

     Now that DollarTree has their Jot brand of supplies, they are getting cuter and cuter! Like these composition books!  Yes, they still have the regular black and white ones, but these are so darn cute! I would have loved these as a student! 

 A 4 pack of pocket folders for $1.00! These come in handy for students and teachers throughout the year. Keep notes in them, turn in reports, use them as homework folders or unfinished work folders in desks. The list goes on and on!  If you want to make a donation to your child's classroom, these folders would really be appreciated.  Teachers need them for so many things!  When you order them online, they come 30 units in a pack. That is 120 folders for only $30.00!

     For younger grades, look at these adorable animal folders!  They come 2 in a pack! I love the owl and I know some kids who would love the unicorn! 

     Don't forget to have a study place for your children at home! Pencil holders can help keep things in order and help eliminate the search for pencils everyday at homework time! 

      For your little one's desk at home, you could try this idea:

   I found that ideahere and you can find dinosaurs at DollarTree here.  

      I always liked students to have a hand pencil sharpener at their desk for colored pencils and so that they aren't always up sharpening at the noisy sharpener.  These little owl sharpeners are my choice of course, but there are many other choices at DollarTree as well.  They come in a 2 pack.

     Flash Cards are a great thing to have at home to help your children hone their basic facts and skills.  There are multiple kinds available at DollarTree.  Make it a game to use them with your kids and learning becomes more fun and you will help them be more successful at school. 

     I could go on and on telling you about the myriad of useful things you can find at Dollar Tree.

•  There are storage containers 
•  soaps and hand sanitizer 
•  paper and notepads
•  lunch box fillers  
• Pencils and erasers
  

    The list goes on and on!  So, don't overlook DollarTree for a one stop shop for back to school!  If ordering in bulk online doesn't fit your needs, you can always just stop by their stores! But, don't forget that classroom donations are always appreciated.  So much comes out of a teachers own pocket, that a little help in the school supply department is always great!

      There, that is my back to school work done!  But, seriously, enjoy these days with your kids because they go by very quickly! Do all that you can to help them be successful and you will be so glad that you did when they are older, and so will they.