I absolutely adore cheeseburgers. The juicy beef, the gooey cheese and the soft bun…truly comfort food. Truly fattening. Truly expensive if you eat out daily.

Which my husband and I have been doing, and we wanted to cut back. However, we don’t want to cut back on our favorite things to eat. Especially after a long day at work: we want something good, quick and easy. Therefore, when I got the opportunity to try out the new Knorr Homestyle Stock and use it in a recipe, I looked for a good, quick and easy recipe. Luckily, Knorr has a recipe section that is easy to navigate because I don’t like being overwhelmed when searching for recipes.

As you can see, I narrowed it down to recipes using the Homestyle Stock over on the top right hand corner. About 6 pages worth of recipes popped up, and after browsing for a few minutes, I came across the French Dip Burgers recipe. And I was in love (plus they have calorie/nutrition info for their recipes!). The burger recipes has 5 ingredients, 2 of which I had already, so it made for an affordable meal that would be perfect after a long day at work. Yesterday, I got up at 7 to go to work, was at work from 8-5, drove home, got ready and went to Zumba from 6-7, then went shopping for the items at Wal-Mart (<--- click there to see my shopping trip on ThisMoment) to make the burgers. I got home about 8, and I had dinner on the table by 8:30, and am blogging about it at 9:30. Not bad.

Boy were these burgers yummy.

The recipe called for 1 container of beef Knorr Homestyle Stock. Each pack comes with 4 containers for about $3, so it is an affordable item. I got my 1-container ready to go.

I then put the ground beef in a bowl:

Then hubby got home and decided he wanted to help. It’s fun cooking with my husband. Let’s hope he does the dishes… The recipe states to put half of the concentrated stock into the beef. The other half will be used as the dip for our burgers.

Daniel then formed 4 patties. The recipe says to make 8 patties, but then states it only serves 4. So unless you want to make slider-sized burgers, make 4 patties with the 1-pound of ground beef.

We grilled them up on the stove for about 5-6 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, I boiled 1.5 cups of water and added the remaining stock in to make our yummy dip. I swirled the concentrated stock around until it was fully melted.

And though I love to follow recipes, I also love to add my own twist. So, to these burgers I added some avocado. I simply seasoned it with salt/pepper and mashed it up with a spoon. Easy peasy.

Then we got the buns ready to go with cheese on one side and avocado on the other.

And when the patties were done, we put it all together. Our house smelled fabulous. The burgers shrinked up a bit, but that just means I have more bread to dip in the juice.

The dip went beautifully with the juicy burger and swiss cheese. Oh my gosh. Drool.

My hubby was excited to dig in. He had just been helping his parents move heavy furniture, so he was HUNGRY.

Bite. Chew.

Dip. Bite. Chew.

And repeat until you’re left with a clean plate and satisfied tummy.

Sigh. It was so good. Thank goodness we have another 2 burgers left to eat for lunch tomorrow. The meals (because we can get 2 meals out of this recipe) cost us about as much as it would cost to eat out once. That’s substantial savings. Usually we say cooking takes too much time, but thanks to Knorr Homestyle Stock, that can’t really be an excuse. The chicken one is tasty as well. I got a sample of that one at BlogHer 11 and used it to make chicken enchilada soup. The stock comes 4 to a pack, is easy to incorporate into recipes and is so inexpensive. Again, they can be found at Wal-Mart, so pick some up on your next grocery trip.

Head over to Knorr’s recipe section and tell me what you’d like to whip up! I think I’d like to use their stock to make mashed potatoes during Thanksgiving or some chicken noodle soup.

Or maybe more of those burgers. For sure. Nom.

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias All photos, opinions and leftover burgers are solely my own.

Earlier this year I made a fall wreath that was simple and relatively tame/normal. Then, I got chosen to create something using Elmer’s Krazy Glue, and I knew I had to bump it up a notch. I needed to create something impressive, unique BUT still easy to make. And that won’t cost a fortune. No easy feat, lemme tell ya.

But I did it, and I absolutely love the way the wreath turned out. I hope it inspires you to craft up a little something of your own.

Supplies (I found all of mine at Wal-Mart, which you can read about here):

-Elmer’s Krazy Glue (Craft version)

-1 grapevine wreath

-2 pieces of black cardstock

-1 bag of sparkly confetti spiders

-1 yard of ribbon

-1 package of creepy fabric

-1 set of LED battery operated lights/3 AA batteries

-Scissors

-Bat template (found here)

-Wreath hanger

-Hole punch

Lay out all of your supplies and get organized.

Here’s the awesome Krazy Glue I used that has a brush applicator. I didn’t even know this existed until I found it at Wal-Mart, and now I am hooked to the craft line of products.

I printed the bat templates, and I cut them out. From there I was planning on tracing them onto the black cardstock (which I folded in half to avoid cutting 4 times), but instead I just cut around the template. I like to save time when I can because I still got to watch my TV shows and read blogs.

Originally when I was brainstorming ideas for the wreath, I had planned on using 4 bats, but after playing with the design a bit I settled on 3. I also snipped away at them a bit to make them all different sizes/shapes. Don’t worry/fuss about making perfect bats. Just wing it. Pun intended. After you have them all cut out, punch out 2 holes (for eyes) in each bat.

Next, wrap your LED lights around the wreath making sure there are at least 6 lights close together on either the right or left hand side of the wreath. The lights will go into the holes you punched to serve as light up eyes for the bats. Genius, I know. You’re making me blush, I know it’s brilliant. SERIOUSLY. The cuteness.

Once your lights are all secured and ready, grab your creepy fabric and wrap it around. The one I bought was long enough to go around twice.

You can secure the edges/ends of the creepy fabric together by brushing on some Krazy Glue and holding it there for about 10-15 seconds. I did this every 3-4 inches or so.

Grab your cute lil’ bats and figure out where you want to place them on the wreath.

Pull the lights through the holes. I then used the Krazy Glue to help keep the eyes in place by brushing it along the edge of the circle. Sort of like eyeliner, you know, if bats wore makeup.

You may notice the dark circles around the lights due to the Krazy Glue…once it’s dry, you won’t see that. No need to go batty over it. I’m cracking myself up over here.

While the bats dried, I applied some glittery spiders.

And I wanted a dash of color, so I also included the word BOO in sparkly orange.

Then I grabbed a yard of black & white striped ribbon, made a bow and adhered it to the wreath using a small safety pin. I put it on my door, and I am in love with my Halloween creation.

In the daytime, it looks like a simple wreath.

The textures of glitter, gauze-like fabric and the lights create an interesting décor piece for my home.

Then when it gets dark a bit, I can turn on my lights and my bats come alive! Bwahahaha.

He must have run into a wall or something, because his eyes are crooked. My story is that I made him that way on purpose, k?

The lights create a nice warm, orange glow around the wreath.

There ya have it! I would love to say that I had this planned out for weeks, but really the idea hit me at Wal-Mart. I absolutely wanted to have a light up wreath, and when I saw how small and perfectly circular the LED lights were, I had to do something cool with them. Overall, thanks to the Elmer’s Krazy Glue, this is a project that took me about an hour or so to accomplish. Any level of crafter can do it, and with such affordable craft products, there’s no reason now to create something fabulous for your holiday décor.

Will you try out the new Elmer’s Krazy Glue w/brush tip applicator on a project? I love how quickly it dries (I am IMPATIENT) and how affordable it is. Let me know your thoughts, comments, etc. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Elmer's #gluenglitter #collectivebias All opinions, photos, and fabulous craft ideas are all mine, as usual.

A cocktail party needs cocktails. Obviously. So, in preparing for my Harry Potter cocktail party on October 29th, I am going to be posting some ideas on my blog of cocktails that fit the theme, are tasty and don’t require $90 worth of liquor to make. Simple, snazzy. My motto.

Today, we’ll be making a Patronous Spell cocktail inspired by the folks over at True Lemon. One day I was on Twitter, and I asked for some ideas, and the lovely social media rep from their company suggested making something called a Patronous Spell, and it stuck with me. Mostly because Patron=tequila=love.

But, I had to make it sorta creative and very Halloween. And very Harry Potter. For this cocktail, I used a photo I saw on Pinterest that reminded me of Ron’s awful fear of spiders.

Off we go.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought a pack of ice trays and then I went to Dollar Tree to snag up a bag of spiders. Total cost thus far: $2.50

I snipped off the ring part of the spiders using scissors, and then I soaked all the spiders in some hot water. These will be in glasses that people will be drinking from, so I felt this was absolutely necessary. I rinsed them really well because I didn’t want soapy ice cubes.

Put a spider in each compartment:

I had to kinda put them sideways so they’d fit properly. I filled them with water, let them freeze a few hours, and got to brainstorming a creepy drink.

I wanted something my friends would enjoy drinking, and most of us love margaritas. We also love strong drinks, so I knew what cast of ingredients I needed.

The Patronous Spell Ingredients:

-Patron (or any cheap tequila): 1.5 oz per serving

-Pomegranate Margarita Mix: 4 oz per serving

-True Lime: a pinch/dash per serving

-Salt for garnishing, if desired

-Spider ice cubes: about 5-6 per glass

I took a glass, and filled it with ice cube spiders. Creepy, eh?

I like how some of the legs stick out of the ice cube. Honestly? Well, yeah, it’s kinda creepy.

Another spider trying to escape his frigid future.

Sprinkle a dash of the True Lime into the glass, pour all liquids in, swirl around with a straw, and you got yourself a fantastic, easy, impressive cocktail. This would be good for any Halloween party. You could even make a bunch of ice cubes in advance and keep them in a bowl so you don’t need to buy tons of ice trays. The pomegranate mix gives it a murky, weird color.

Doesn’t look really appetizing. So, you could always use food coloring to make it a rich, bright color OR, you could get creative with this $5 light bulb from Home Depot.

I have this bulb in a floor lamp, and let me show you what it can do to a drink display with just the click of a button (the lightbulb has a button where you can change the colors- neat!):

It can be red:

It can be green:

And it can be blue:

That light bulb is such an inexpensive way to add instant flare and ambiance to a party, food/drink display or an entrance. Neat, right? It’s just an entertaining tip I wanted to share with ya. The best part about this cocktail? Even when the glass is empty, it still makes for some spooky décor.

There ya have it. The Patronous Spell.

Are there any Halloween cocktail recipes you love? Are you bewitched by my yummy Patronous Spell?

I’ll be back tomorrow with a DIY Halloween wreath using some lovely craft products, and I’ll also have more news on my big news: I’m a Kmart Latina Smart Ambassador! Me? I know! Crazy. I am so psyched and honored to be part of these great opportunities.

Also, a quick and friendly reminder (or annoyance…) to PLEASE VOTE FOR ME/ my Tacky Gold Shelf Makeover in the Krylon Duel. I am up against a super popular blogger, and I could use all the votes I can get to win. I have been wanting, obsessing and dreaming of an iPad 2 for as long as I can remember, and it’d mean a lot to me to have your vote. You can vote daily through October 7th, and I would absolutely love if it you did. It takes 5 seconds, and you only have to enter your e-mail address if you want to enter to win spray paint. Please vote. Thanks!