A Messy Valentine's

I LOVE everything about Valentines….okay maybe not the stuffed animals...or the big boxes of cheap chocolate but I love everything else. So when I thought of something fun to get my kids in the holiday mood I decided to make them a sensory bin.

We used to have a sensory table when I worked at a preschool and the kids loved it. Some would play in it all day if we let them. So I thought I would make one at home.

All you need is a big plastic container to start with. I found all of my items that I put in the bin at the dollar store. Oh the dollar store oh how I love thee…. Here is what I purchased.

2 bags of colored paper confetti, one red and one white

1 bag of rose petals

1 bag of plastic heart containers

1 bag of pink heart gems

That’s it! Let them go have fun.

P.S.- It may get messy!

All you need is LOVE.....LOVE is all you need!

When it comes to holiday decor I would say I am rather traditional. Sometimes I steer away from the traditional color scheme but not all that often. 

So you can guess that all my Valentine decor is red, white and pink. It just suits me. I also happen to love phrases that sum up what the holiday is about or means.

So I went to Hobby Lobby...don’t tell anyone I may be addicted and found some chipboard letters on sale to spell out the word love. All I did was go home and paint them alternating red and white with craft paint. Then they found a place on my mantle. 

Sometimes simplicity makes a bigger statement than chaos.

I play Doctor...Do you?

Well as we all know the month of February is the month of Doctors and Germs. So I thought a little lesson on staying healthy was in order.I feel like I am constantly reasoning with my daughter that there is a reason you have to wash your hands 50 times a day. I came up with a few ways to make her feel more comfortable with going to the doctor. Sometimes she just doesn’t like to go! I gathered a few things from around the house that we could play with to help her feel more comfortable.

You could also use a scale, measuring tape, and a rubber mallet as well.

I then found a really fun doctor’s checklist at Nick Jr. to help us remember what happens when she goes to the doctor.

We had a blast! I have to admit I actually liked being a patient for once!

Chinese New Year

So I love to do fun little crafts with my daughter, and lets face it she does to so this year I thought I would try something that we haven’t done in years past…..celebrate Chinese New Year. Now I don’t me we will celebrate in the truest sense of the word but in a simplified Americanized way.

Some of the few things we have done have been looking up our Chinese Zodiac. Did you know that the Zodiac calendar has twelve animals and each is like a horoscope that describes the person born in that yea? Well, I found a little wheel that explains a little of how it works on one of my favorite blogs Blue Skies Ahead. She also has the link to the zodiac wheel.

I also found animal masks to print out and use. We sure have had fun with those as well.

Now for the Americanized part of Chinese culture….Fortune cookies!!!

I also found a link to The Jew and the Carrot where she tells you how to make your own cookies. How cool is that? So I thought I can do that….so we did. I made a few minor adjustments to the recipe like I don’t use almond extract so I substituted lemon extract and I was also really good. I also omitted cardamom since I didn’t have it and hate to say it have never even heard of it before. Here is my adapted version and for the original check out The Jew and the Carrot.

Fortune Cookies

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp lemon extract

12 strips of paper with fortunes

In most cases you are supposed to mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients seperate but I never do. I just mix the wet ingredients then add the dry and it seems to work out fine. Mix the batter until smooth.

Heavily grease a cookie sheet before putting the batter on in about three inch circles. I used this cookie cutter as a reference to see how big I wanted them to be. Which ended up being pretty big! Oh well, next time!

Bake at 375 for 5-7 minutes. Mine took at least 7 minutes but they were a little bit bigger.

Flip the cookies over with a spatula and put your fortune inside. Fold in half.

Fold in half again and set over the lip of a cup to help you mold the cookie into shape.

Set into muffin tin and allow to cool which doesn't take long. 

Eat and enjoy!

Apple Crisp

Over the past few years I have found that I really have a love of cooking. Maybe that is because I didn't grow up with anything fancy or maybe its my way of creating but I really do love it. Part of the reason I like to cook is to satisfy the tastes of my family. Now when I say I love to cook I mean cook, not bake. I will bake occasionally and when I do my husband usually loves it. This is his favorite fall desert. He would describe it as a oatmeal cookie with baked apples. It really is that good. 

Sorry about this first photo, my kitchen at night doesn't have the best lighting. 

This recipe was adapted from allrecipes.com 

Ingredients

2 c flour

2 c rolled oats

1 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1 1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 1/2 c butter

2 quarts peeled, cored and sliced apples

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Cut butter into the mixture until crumbly

Cut apples and put into bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish

Put the crumb mixture on top of the apples 

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until the apples are tender

Enjoy this yummy, extremely unhealthy treat! Hey sometimes you can enjoy life a little. 

It's time to bake

I am really not much of a baker! I would much rather make an awesome dinner than bake treats, which is probably better on my waistline but when I saw this apron I knew I needed to make one for me. Now since I have a cute apron I also jumped full force into the fall baking frenzy. I have been baking up a storm. So you might need to make one of these aprons too so you can bake so delicious treats.

The full tutorial can be found at Delia Creates...I love her! Enjoy!

Chicken Pasta Salad

I like to cook and try new things. It brings me joy but we all have our favorite dishes that we ate growing up that just make us feel like we are right at home. This is one of those for me. I absolutely love this salad recipe. It makes me think of summer and BBQ's. So here it is I hope you enjoy!

Chicken Pasta Salad

1 package bowtie pasta

1 package tricolor spiral pasta

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut

1 can kidney beans

2-6 strips of bacon , cooked and crumbles

2 bunches broccoli

1/2 red onion

1/2 bag frozen peas

Dressing

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 TBSP poppy seeds

1/2 c red wine vinegar

1/2 c sugar

1 c canola oil 

Put all the salad ingredients into a large bowl and pour desired amount of pre-stirred dressing on top .

Book Review

I read this book awhile back for a book club and really enjoyed it. The basis of this book comes from a true story where the two girls in the story were in a terrible car accident, one survived and the other didn't. The book takes you through the emotions of the family members involved and shows how they all made it through such a horrific ordeal. I recommend this book but this book is not lighthearted so just take that into consideration before starting.

Anniversary Chicken

I have a husband who loves to eat meat! I like it too but not nearly as much! He really likes it when I make his recipe so I am sharing it with you today with that I found on iheartnaptime and made my own adaptions.

Anniversary Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tablespons olive oil

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 c teriyaki basting sauce

1/2 c Ranch style salad dressing

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3 to 4 strips of bacon per chicken breast

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.

Place browned chicken breasts in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Brush with teriyaki sauce, then spoon on salad dressing. Sprinkle with cheese and slices of bacon. You may not end up using all the dressing. 

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear. 


To make the potatoes in this picture I just peeled and sliced the potatoes, put them into a  baking dish and added some onion and cheese. I cooked it for about an hour in the oven at 350 degrees and they were done.  

Valentine Shirt

I just hate it when you wear a cute shirt and get a stain on it that won't come out. So what do you do...you recreate. For this project I just cut a heart out of felt fabric and used some embroidery thread to add along the edges. Then I used liquid stitch and put it on the shirt. Simple, Easy, Cute!

Book Review

I remember reading this book when I was younger and was totally fascinated by it. I have read it a few more times since and get more out of this book each time I read it. I absolutely LOVE this book. It is definitely one of my favorites. If you haven't read this book for some reason or another you should. The premise of this book deals with an idealistic society that is far in the future but the characters in this book live their lives in more simplistic ways then we do now. The only problem with their way of living is that they don't know what they are missing out on. Or do they...

Stromboli

Well this is a very simplified version and it is a lot like a pizza. All I do is make a pizza crust and layer it with sauce, ham, pepperoni and cheese. Then I roll it up, turn it over and cut slits in it. I bake it at about 325 for 20 minutes. Then it's done!

Eddie Ross Ornament Wreath

I must tell you that this wreath is the entire reason why I decided to change my attitude about wreaths because well lets face it I used to hate them....but I hate them no more. I first saw this idea last year but didn't get around to actually putting it together until this year. It is a work in progress and I might change it later but here it is for now.

The ornaments I used for this project were purchased at the Dollar Store. They are cheap plastic and won't break! Hooray! I took a wire hanger apart and bent it into an circle shape. I then put on the ornaments in an alternating pattern. To end I tried using a pair of pliers and twisting it together and then ended up putting twisty ties on it. It looks okay put I still want to fix it. I saw on Pinterest that someone just bought a foam wreath and stuck the ornaments in. Maybe I will have to try that, but for now I like it!

Book Review

I have to admit I don't remember where I find the review for this book but it looked somewhat interesting and I was in a book slump so I checked it out at the library. This book is about a woman named Hannah who has a dying wish for her husband. She leaves him a letter and tells him that he needs to get married again and gives him a list of three acceptable women that she knows. Now it is up to him to see if he actually goes and meets these women. 

This book is not a typical read for me but I enjoyed it all the same. It was fun to see how the story ended. Hope you like it!

Minestrone Soup

Confession: I LOVE SOUP, but I am picky about my soup so when I find one I like I jump for joy. I have always liked minestrone but lets face it, everything tastes better fresh so I needed to find myself a recipe. Well I came across a website a while ago that has a lot of great healthy recipes. Trainner Momma has given me the courage to try things that I wouldn't normally try. Here is her version of minestrone soup. 

Minestrone Soup

2 cans of beans, drained (kidney, garbanzo, pinto, navy, whatever)

8 c chicken broth

1 16 oz can diced tomatoes

Baby carrots chopped in half length wise

2 stalks celery, chopped fine

2 medium or 1 large onion chopped fine

2 cloves of garlic

1 c whole wheat macaroni, uncooked

2 Tb parsley

2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried basil leaves

¼ tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

1 ½ c or 1 can of cut green beans, drained

2 zucchini, cut small

Grated parmesan cheese

Add all ingredients except green beans and zuchinni. Simmer until tender, then add remaining two vegetables and cook until tender. Remove bay leaf, then serve with cheese on top.

December Kisses

I had this Christmas Countdown given to me many years ago and I love to still use it. For this countdown calendar all you need to use are Hershey Kisses!!! My favorite Christmas Kisses are the Peppermint and Mint Truffle. All I do each year is take some saran wrap and wrap the kisses in it. I tied ribbon in between each kiss so they wouldn't fall out. Pretty simple and fun! 

Here is the poem to help you remember to eat a kiss each day!

Book Review

This book is a children's novel and it intrigued me since I love language! This particular book it not quite like any other book I have ever read. It is a very slow paced book that leaves you with a lot of questions in the beginning. It is one of those books that doesn't fully make sense until the very end. I enjoyed this book, but make sure you stick with it until the end. 

Penne Pasta Bake

Let's just say that if I had it my way we would eat, breathe and sleep pasta. But since I have people around here who like a little meat this definitely pleased everyone. I really liked this dish. It is just a little different than eating our normal spaghetti. I found this recipe at Chef-n-Training and she has some easy recipes but beware most of them are desserts. 

PENNE PASTA BAKE

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 medium yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

16 oz. penne pasta

2 (26 oz) marinara sauce jars

6 slices provolone cheese

6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

16 oz. sour cream

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add penne pasta and cook until done (about 12 minutes) then drain.

In a large skillet, brown diced onion, 3 cloves of minced garlic and ground beef over MEDIUM heat.  Add spaghetti sauce and warm through.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Lightly oil or spray a 9x13 baking dish.

Layer as follows; 1/2 pasta, 16 oz sour cream, 6 slices of provolone cheese, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining pasta, remaining sauce mixture, 6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake 35 minutes at 350 F or until cheese melts

Side Notes: I only use 1 jar of marinara because 2 is way too much for me and I didn't like having a 2nd layer of noodles because they went hard and crispy. 

Thankful Tree

Each year after all the Halloween decorations are put away and candy is consumed I like to think about the next upcoming holiday. Thanksgiving is a day that is forgotten quite often and let's face it not quite as fun as Christmas. I for one wanted to make it a point this year to be better at being thankful for all that I have and all that I have learned this past year. 

I have seen this concept for a thankful tree in many places but here is my version. I found some sticks from outside and stuck them in a vase with dried beans so they would stay in place. Then I pinned on felt leaves in different fall colors. One each leaf I then write what I am thankful for and can look at it everyday as a constant reminder of how truly blessed I am.