Posts

Weekly Meal Plan (with little to no leftovers)

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   I'm attempting to post our  meal plans each week....mostly so I can refer back to them later! If you want to see all my   previous meal plans   (some are monthly, some are weekly), you can see them   here . Future ones will be tagged too if you want to bookmark that link. I typically make sure to include some meals designated for leftovers to hopefully reduce the chance of forgetting about food in the back of the fridge, but this week we'll be eating out more at the end of the week and over the weekend and I don't want food to go bad, so I only planned for one night of leftovers and picked meals that don't typically leave much left to keep. We'll be doing most of our cooking Sunday through Thursday. Breakfasts tend to switch between cereal & oatmeal or granola, with the occasional muffins or cinnamon rolls thrown in. As everyone is waking up, they can fix their breakfast with some coffee or hot cocoa, and pick out a book or quiet activity like coloring to do

Ready-by-Lunch Sandwich Bread

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Ask Adam how many loaves bricks of bread he has sampled over the last 15ish years that I've tried making. It's been....a lot haha! MamaRie always made bread making look so easy! She had at least one sourdough starter in the kitchen at all times and was making bread for every get together (or just because) and experimenting with different recipes. Cheese bread, Rosemary bread, and Pepperoni bread were pretty popular with me and my sisters. I have some sourdough starter trying to grow on my counter....but I have to say MamaRie was a lot better at it than me haha! I haven't given up on it, but it's not  my go-to for sandwich bread right now. Once I had two kids, Grandma gave me her bread machine because she said I was quickly going to run out of time to do all the kneading and rising necessary to keep bread cooked for two growing boys. I used that machine until it finally gave out on me! (Then I got a new one for my birthday from Bruce & Linda!) I think anyone that lo

Meal Plan for this Week

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 I'm going to try to start posting my meal plans each week....mostly so I can refer back to them later! If you want to see all my previous meal plans (some are monthly, some are weekly), you can see them here . Future ones will be tagged too if you want to bookmark that link. I always make sure to include some meals designated for leftovers to hopefully reduce the chance of forgetting about food in the back of the fridge. Breakfasts tend to switch between cereal & oatmeal or granola, with the occasional muffins or cinnamon rolls thrown in. As everyone is waking up, they can fix their breakfast with some coffee or hot cocoa, and pick out a book or quiet activity like coloring to do while eating while we wait for the day to get started.

Prime Day Deals 2023

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I'm keeping my eyes open for deals that are coming up on Prime Days. I'll be sharing them in my Facebook Group:  Wow Deals but also posting them here so they're all in one place and easy to find! I'll start by pinning these at the top, since I designed them! :) So far, the purple Ballet composition notebook has been marked down and I'll be sure to tell you if I notice more markdowns! School Supplies >>> 20% off when you spend $30+ on School Supplies and everyday essentials from Amazon's brands:  https://amzn.to/46Ftb1P <<<   This Coil Binder is marked down to $103.99, which is the lowest I've seen one lately. The price may not have updated in this link, so run over and check it out if you're interested! > Box Book Sets :  https://amzn.to/46WJjfN Skin Care > Sun Bum Skin, Sun and Beauty Essentials We've used this brand and have been really happy with it! I haven't tried their face stick, but we have used another brand

Homemade Play Dough

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 Before Christmas, I tried out a play dough recipe I found, tweaked it a little to make them seasonal, and my kids have played with that play dough almost every day since.  I keep it stored in the take out containers I bought on Amazon, and it hasn't dried out! (16 oz is the exact size for a full batch).  It has even been left out for a few hours and easily kneaded back to its regular consistency. My kids like to use plastic or laminated placemats to hold their play dough creations while working (and it makes for a little easier clean up! We've also used silicone baking sheet liners , but the laminated placemats store easily on the counter so they can get it out to play anytime. This is an EXCELLENT activity for them while I'm cooking dinner and need everyone away from the counters ha! We made Sugar Cookie Play Dough (with green & red glitter mixed in!), Hot Cocoa Play Dough, with gold glitter mixed in, and Candy Cane Play Dough with red and silver glitter. But since i

Chicken & Corn Dip

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Sometimes, I just want to eat "tailgate food" with dinner. That might be why my last post was about pigs in a blanket and this post is about Chicken & Corn Dip! This is a QUICK recipe, so if you need a last minute dish to take to a party, tailgate, get together (or just a late night snack), this is the one! *Also, this recipe is Beau Approved* You can bake all this in the oven, but it works just as well in the microwave! ( These are the chip & dip bowls we have. My Mother-in-Law gave them to me and they make a great snack bowl! Amazon has similar ones in both stoneware and plastic ). Here's my notes while looking at a few other recipes to make my own. I was going to use sour cream, which is usually a staple in my fridge...but I thought I was out, then when I saw it at the back of the fridge, I knew it needed to go. I don't think the chickens would even snack on it! That said, I went to look up replacement options for sour cream when used in dips and two that

Pigs in a Blanket from Scratch

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Like most of you, I've always made pigs in a blanket using canned crescent rolls and cocktail sausages. However, it takes 3-4 cans of crescent rolls make enough for this crew and the price has really gone up!  So....I started looking up some recipes that might make a good substitute (other than making actual crescent rolls...which are delicious!)  I wanted something buttery (of course), but didn't require any rise time either. I found a few options and came up with a recipe that was somewhat of a mix of the ones I read online. My helper followed the directions and made some delicious pigs in a blanket! We had exactly the same number of sausages as slots in my new pan , so we used that to make some bee and beehive pigs! The pan is perfect for pull apart breads, but was cute for this too! You can easily cook these on a lined baking sheet or in a round pan as well. One of the cutest cooking helpers I know! This dough makes enough to wrap 20-30 sausages, depending on how thin you r