Airbourne Fruit and Veggie Shake

 

Last December my little family and I all took turns with a nasty stomach bug.  Some of us got it once, some of us got it twice, and my youngest, unfortunately, had it three different times (one of those times happened to be Christmas day)!  It was a rough month.  

So this year, I'm doing my best to keep my family as healthy as possible this holiday season.  

Three to four nights each week, for the past couple of weeks, I have been serving an airborne fruit and veggie shake with our dinner to pump up our immune systems. Here's how I make it:

In a blender add...

2 Cups cold water

2 Cups fresh spinach leaves

1-2 Airbourne tablets

Blend for 20-30 seconds.

Then add...

1 Cup frozen blueberries

4 Cups frozen strawberries

2 Tbs. orange juice concentrate

1 Tbs. sugar

Blend and serve.

This recipe serves my whole family (2 adults + 3 children).

It's delicious!!!

Of course, if you want to be extra healthy, you can eliminate the orange juice concentrate and the sugar and add something like honey instead.

Also, just fyi,  I did notice on the back of the Airbourne packaging that Airbourne is not always recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.   

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Wishing you and yours a healthy + happy holiday season this year!

My New Favorite Cooking From Scratch Recipes

I am an avid "pinner" like probably many of you out there are.  

I love, love, love Pinterest and all of the ideas I get from there.  

Lately I've been trying to learn to cook more things from scratch.  

I've found some great ideas on Pinterest 

So today I thought I'd share with you some of my most favorite "cooking from scratch" 

recipes that I've pinned and made lately.

Recipe #1:  Crockpot Applesauce.

(Picture and Recipe from mommymakesitbetter.blogspot.com)

Holy, moly this stuff is good!!!!  It tasted like apple pie filling.

Bonus:  it makes your whole house smell like fall and it's a great way to quickly use up all those apples that are in season right now.

Recipe #2:  Homemade Tortillas.

(Picture and Recipe from heart-hands-home.blogspot.com)

This tortilla mix is fabulous!  I love it because once the mix is made, it's so easy to use!

Whenever I need tortillas for a recipe or just for a quick quesadilla for lunch, all I have to do is add water to some of the mix and bake them in a frying pan on the stove.  Fresh hot tortillas are the best!  Even if just eaten all by themselves.

Recipe #3:  Homemade Maple Syrup

(Picture and Recipe from barefootinthekitchen.blogspot.com)

We've been trying to eat less cereal in the mornings, so eating homemade pancakes has become a more common breakfast food for us.  We love to add fruit and syrup on top of our pancakes and this syrup smells and tastes delish!  My three kiddos are big fans and are always very good at letting me know when we've run out.   ;)

Recipe #4:  Barley Soup

(Picture and Recipe from shape.com)

This recipe is actually for a mushroom and barley soup, but I don't care for mushrooms so I left those out.  I'd never made anything with barley before making this soup, but I loved it!  I put everything in the crock pot on low for 4-5 hours and it was so easy to make!  The whole family loved it!

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Some other recipes on my list to try are:

Homemade hot chocolate mix

Homemade Baked Chicken & Spinach Taquitos

Homemade Wheat Thins

and...

Homemade Zucchini Bites.

Also, last but not least, these turkey wraps (that are not completely from scratch) are delish too.  I think the laughing cow flavored cream cheese in these is what makes these wraps so wonderful.

I've been putting them in my husband's lunch for work and the first day that I made them for him I got a text that said, "These are really good!  I give them a 10 out of 10!"  

I texted him back one word. 

"Pinterest."

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(If you're interested in finding out how to make any of these yummy foods, just click on the link right under each picture.  For the recipes I included in this post without any pictures, click on the actual name of the recipe and the link will pop up for you.)

Snow Cream + A Fabric Bulletin Board

I have really enjoyed my short break from blogging.  It's taught me a lot of things:  like to slow down!!!  play more with my kiddos!!!  be my own kind of creative!!!  enjoy the current fleeting moments that will never last!!!  I feel like I'm finally ready to blog again, but I'm going to take it slow.  I'm only going to blog when I feel like it.  I'm not going to put myself on any silly schedule or put undue pressure on myself that is totally not necessary {I don't know why I'm constantly having to tell myself that.  Please tell me I'm not the only one!}  And in the mean time I'm going to live and soak up every moment I can being a young mom and wife.  Life is so great!  It's not perfect {at all!!!}.  But it's still so great!  Lots of things to learn and do everyday.  And speaking of doing things.  Here are a couple of things I've done during my blogging break. 

The first one is Snow Cream.

My mom emailed me this recipe last week.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect either.  We were finally getting snow around these parts, school was cancelled, and we needed some "I'm bored mom!" inspiration.  So you want the recipe too?  Okay, here goes:

1 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4-5 Cups of Fresh Snow

Directions:  Bring a bowl outside and scoop up 4-5 cups of fresh, clean snow. Bring it in the house and set it in the freezer until you need it. Mix together milk, vanilla, and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Slowly add the snow to your mixture, stirring constantly, until it is as thick as ice cream. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes and then take it out and enjoy!

We added  oreo's and chocolate syrup to ours. It was sooooo good, I'm not even kidding.
If you double the recipe you'll have enough not just for the kiddos to enjoy, but for the whole family.

The next project I wanted to share with you is this fabric covered bulletin board. 

I've had this bulletin board hanging on my fridge {by several magnets hot glued to the back} for about 6 years.  I put it together while we were still living in Utah.  So it's been a long time.  I really like having it.  It's a fun way to display pictures, cards, etc. from friends and it keeps everything on the fridge looking a little neater.  Plus it's cute!  Anyway, I was getting tired of the black and white fabric it was sporting.

So I decided to change it to this hip and fun gray and white chevron material.  This fat quarter cost me three dollars at a local craft store.  Totally worth the three dollars if you ask me.  And if you noticed, I also switched out the fake lemons in my apothecary jar for green limes.  I don't know, it's just something about the dreariness of winter that was making me miss the color green.  I needed some green in my kitchen to liven up my mood.  And it totally worked.  Those limes make me happy when I look at them.  Silly, I know, but it's true.

Alright, so I'll probably be back later this week with another simple project or two that I did during my blogging break.  {But no promises, because life happens.}

C-ya then friends!

Fall Treat: Saucy Bars

I love warm fall treats.  This one is called Saucy Bars.  It's my grandmother's recipe.  She passed away before I was born.   But my mother kept this recipe going. 

Last night I decided to make them for my family.

Smelling them while they baked in the oven brought back so many childhood memories!

They taste divine.

Want the recipe???

Here you go:

Saucy Bars

Mix:  1/2 Cup Shortening {or butter}

         1 Cup Sugar

         1 Cup Applesauce

         1 tsp. vanilla

Then add and mix:  2 Cups Flour

                              1 tsp. Baking Soda

                              1/2  tsp. Salt        

                              1 tsp. Cinnamon

                              1 tsp. Nutmeg

                              1/2 tsp. cloves        

{optional:  stir in 1 cup raisins or 1/2 cup walnuts}

Mix well.  Spread batter in greased 13x9" pan.  Bake 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Frost with thin coating of confectioners sugar icing while warm and then cut into bars.

Makes about 2 dozen bars.

{Icing:  1/4 Cup melted butter, 1 Cup powdered sugar, & 1 tsp. vanilla.}     

Lovely tidbit:  This is a baked good that does not require eggs.  So if you're in the mood to create a tasty treat and then realize you're out of eggs and don't want to have to run to the store, have no fear!  This recipe is the one for you!  :)     

Celebrate the First Month Back at School with Apple Stix

Today, two out of my three kiddos went back to school. 

New teachers, some new friends, new curriculum, and new classroom rules.

Talk about a fun, but exhausting day.

So I decided to make an extra special after school snack to celebrate all their new fun experiences today... Rice Krispy apples on a stick, a.k.a. apple stix.

I made these almost exactly the same way I made Trix on stix.

Only these are made with Rice Krispy cereal instead of Trix and I added some red dye into the mix to color them red...-ish.  

Green gummy fruit slices were cut in half and pushed down onto the top of the Rice Krispy treat to look like a leaf.  And then the stick that you eat this yummy treat on acts as the apples looooooong stem.  :)

These treats were a huge hit for the kiddos when they arrived home today.  

Apple stix would also be a fun treat to serve at a fall party.

If you added orange food coloring instead of red, they could even be pumpkins!

Oh just think of all the possibilities!!!

Are your kids back at school already?
I'm excited to get back into a routine with school back in session.
But I'll admit, it feels a little quiet here with two of my kiddos gone all day and I miss them.

linked here:  Just a Girl

Easy Cheesecake Recipe

 Next to anything chocolate, cheesecake is my second favorite dessert.  I usually just buy my cheesecake {Costco has a really great one!}, but when I tried this one at a friend's house a few months back, I was smitten.  Not only did it taste good but it was sooo easy to make!  

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Recipe for Cheesecake:

2 8oz. cream cheese

1 8oz. tub of whipped cream

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

warm cream cheese in the microwave for 1 minute :: then, in a bowl, cream together all of the above ingredients.  Set aside.

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Cheesecake Crust:

option 1:  6 Tbs butter {melted}

                9 whole graham crackers {crushed}

                1/4 cup sugar

               mix melted butter, crushed graham crackers, and sugar in a bowl :: then pour mixture in a pie plate                   and press down around the bottom and all the way around the sides.

option 2:   buy a ready-made graham cracker crust!

Add cheesecake mixture to graham cracker crust and refrigerate for three hours {...or less if you just can't wait to try it!}.

For extra flava I topped my cheesecake with some strawberries.  {the only kind I had were frozen, so I defrosted them a bit in the microwave...still tasted yummy.}  However, drizzled chocolate or any other kind of berry would be delicious too.

And that's that!  It's so simple, isn't it?  

I. Love. It!

4 Ingredient Granola

Homemade granola has become my kiddos favorite breakfast food.

{They take after their mama!}

When it's gone, they beg me to make more!

This granola recipe is one of the many amazing recipes my mother-in-law has shared with me.

I love it because it's super easy to follow and it only requires four basic ingredients:

4 cups dry OATMEAL

1 cup BROWN SUGAR (or honey if preferred)

1 cup melted BUTTER

2 Tbs CINNAMON

Directions:  Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix all four ingredients together in a large bowl

Poor onto a cookie sheet {preferably one with sides!}

Bake for 45 minutes.

Stir every 15 minutes for even baking.

After 45 minutes, let it cool and enjoy!

And if you have any self discipline, store in an air tight container or zip lock bag for later.

{This granola is like cookie dough in our house!  It gets eaten FAST!}

Optional:  Add raisins, cranberries, coconut, etc. during the last 15 minutes of baking.

My kids prefer more plain granola but it's also really good with any kind of dried fruit mixed in it.

Want another great granola recipe?

Click HERE.

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BTW, I got busy with life today. But I promise my girls' bedroom makeover reveal is coming very soon!  I just have a few finishing touches to get done before I show it to you.

Hope you're all having a great week!

Linked Here:  Sugar Bee Crafts, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Lentil Taco Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils

6 cups water

1 pkg taco seasoning

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 cup chopped onion {optional}

Add all of the above ingredients to a frying pan on the stove and heat until it starts to boil. 

Then lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

Scoop the lentil mixture onto a soft tortilla or crispy taco shell.

Top with: 

cheese

lettuce

tomatoes

salsa

 & sour cream.

I LOVE this recipe because it's simple, cheap doesn't cost much, and my kids will actually eat it.

It's a great alternative to ground beef or turkey and it tastes great!

Trust me.  You'll have to try it.

On a totally different note

...

I started taping off the walls in the play room for some fun stripes I've been wanting to do, like I mentioned {here}.

This is not a huge room but it's still taking me forever to get the tape up and straight.

I'm sure once that's all done, the painting of the stripes will go much quicker.

I'll keep you posted.

Menu Planning

I used to be the queen of couponing.

If a good deal was to be had, I'd get it.

In my pantry I had stacks and stacks of granola bars that I'd bought for 10 cents a box, cereal for 50 cents a box, and tuna helper for 30 cents a box.

Looking at my pantry, you'd think we were well stocked...but not really.

You can't make a very rounded menu for the week, let alone a few days out of granola bars, cereal and tuna helper.

So I quit couponing

...for the most part.

I still use a coupon here and there for shampoo or deoderant, cheese, or chicken.

But I was tired of spending so much time shopping and stalking up on good {but not always healthy} deals

and at the end of the day not being able to answer that aged old question,

"What's for dinner?"

Instead this is what I do:

I write down 14 dinner ideas

{Cause these are the tough ones.  Lunches and Breakfasts are pretty basic.}

I make a list of all the ingredients I'll need to make those 14 dinners.

I look at the inventory I already have in my pantry and my fridge.

Anything I don't already have in stock that I will need to make those 14 dinners, I write down on a list.

I take that list to the store.

And my cart gets really full.

But I only have to shop once every two weeks.

And that makes me happy.

{cause grocery shopping isn't as fun as other kinds of shopping}

THEN,

after all my groceries are put away, I write all my 14 dinner ideas on a chalk board I have hanging in my dinning room.

{it used to be a chore chart but we use word of mouth for chores now...more on that later}

I don't assign certain dinners to certain days of the week because I may not want lentil tacos on Monday or I may be too busy to make chili on Wednesday, etc., etc.

Instead, I pick something off the list and then cross it off after I've made it.

It's nice.

All the ingredients are already in the house.

When I'm asked, "What's for dinner???"

All I have to do is look at my list and choose. 

And I spend less when I only shop once every two weeks instead of once every three days.

And that

...is REALLY nice.

Linked to:

Hope Studios

Homemade Granola Bars...Yummmm!!!

My five year old is allergic to nuts...all nuts.

It's a bummer.

I feel sorry for the little guy...that he can't enjoy a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

But being the positive little boy that he is, he constantly reminds me that after he dies and is resurrected, he'll have a perfect body and be able to enjoy all the peanut butter he wants.  :-)

So because of his nut allergy {and some recent tests at the doctor's office letting us know of possibly even more food allergies}, I am trying to cook more and more things from scratch.

{A more whole foods diet.}

It's really better for us all to eat this way anyway, so why not.

Yesterday I tried this granola bar recipe.

I thought making my own granola bars was going to be a super complicated process, but it wasn't.

It was so easy I think I'm going to start making these every week!

I left the peanuts out of the recipe {of course} and just used sunflower seeds.

But next time I may leave those out too and try something else.

Just like the granola bars you buy in the store, the varieties are endless!

I can make some with just extra oats and dry fruit, tiny chocolate chips, whatever I want!

***Tip:  If you try this recipe, here's a simple tip...after the granola bars have cooled and you're ready to remove the top layer of waxed paper, wet a washcloth with warm water and lay it over the top layer of waxed paper for about 1 minute.  It makes the removal process so much easier and you won't get little pieces of waxed paper stuck to the granola bars.

Enjoy!!!

Homemade Fingerpaints for Kids

Now that Fall is here and Winter is on it's way, we've got a lot of rainy/snowy days ahead of us.

Making homemade fingerpaints for my kiddos is a fun way to combat the bordom my kids will inevitably face when it's too cold and wet to play outside.

Here's the recipe.

It's simple + non-toxic + washable!

4 Tbs. sugar

1/2 C. cornstarch

2 C. cold water

Heat all of the above ingredients in a pan on the stove on medium heat.

Stay with it and stir constantly.

{just like you would if you were making jam or melting chocolate}

When the mixture begins to thicken, you can remove the pan from the heat {it will continue to thicken as it cools}.

Separate the paint mixture into four or more separate containers and add food coloring as desired.

After the fingerpaint cools, lay out some paper and let your little artists get to work!

I spread out some drawing paper {$4.99 from Ikea}.

It covers most of the table and is worth every penny!

Finger Painting=Fun+Fun+More Fun!!!

Linked to:  Tatertots and Jello, The Shabby Nest, Under The Table and Dreaming, Skip to my Lou

Homemade Fat Free Re fried Beans

Today I have to confess that even though it's just three days before Halloween, I'm currently listening to Frank Sinatra sing "White Christmas" on pandora.

Although I'm crazy about Fall and all the fun holidays and memories that go with it, it ultimately all leads to Christmas!

{The best time of the whole year! ...in my opinion.}

Anyway, this post really isn't about Christmas at all.

It's really about making these deliciously inexpensive fat free re fried beans!

And technically there is no frying of beans at all in this recipe, but they resemble the same thing.

Here's my recipe:

16 oz. pkg of uncooked pinto beans

1 taco seasoning packet

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

6 cups water

Add all the above ingredients to a slow cooker/crock pot.

Let it simmer on high for 4-5 hours.

{If you don't have a crock pot, you could add all these ingredients to a big pot and let it simmer on the stove.}

When the beans are fully cooked and soft, drain the water off of them.

Set aside one cup of beans and put the rest in a blender to mash them up.

Then pour the mashed up beans in a bowl and add the one cup of unmashed beans and stir.

And there you go!

Completely fat free and totally inexpensive beans!

Last night I used these beans to make burritos.

I even made homemade tortillas using the recipe Stephanie Nielson provided on her cuisine nie blog.

{I used white flour instead of wheat.}

They're so good!

This is a great little meal on a cool Fall night.

Linked to:  Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Paisley Passions, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots and Jello

Easy Homemade Pizza Crust

Friday Night = Homemade Pizza

This tradition started for our family when my husband was in the Police Academy a few years ago.

For months he was gone all week training, but was able to come home to be with our family on the weekends.

We wanted to make Friday nights special when he got home.

Together, the kids and I cleaned the house from top to bottom and we also decided that pizza would be our "celebration of his return" food.

Since those days, we've made pizza every Friday night.

The recipe I use for the pizza crust comes from my very lovely & talented friend Haley.

It's the easiest and yummiest pizza crust recipe I have ever used!

Homemade Pizza Crust

2 3/4 cups Flour

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

2 1/4 tsp. Yeast

2 tsp. Sugar

1 cup Water

2 Tbs. Vegetable Oil

Combine water, yeast, & sugar.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Mix in flour, salt, & vegetable oil and knead for 2-3 minutes.  Let dough raise for 15 minutes.

Roll out dough onto greased pizza pan, top with desirable pizza toppings and bake at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes or until crust is lightly golden.

I love that on Friday nights no one in our houshold has to ask "what's for dinner?". They already know. I also love that it's the one night of the week I won't hear any complaining at the dinner table.  Everyone's happy.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Want something uplifting to read this weekend?

Click Here

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 "If life in it's rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most." - President Deiter F. Uchtdorf

Linked to:  Tatertots and Jello

Cheerio!

I'm sure many of you have tried this yummy sticky snack before.

It's an oldie but a goodie...one of my favorites as a kid.

It only requires 3 ingredients, which if you've read my blog for awhile now you know I'm a HUGE fan of.

Ingredients:

Cheerios

Peanut Butter

Honey

As many times as I've made this, I've never measured the ingredients.  I fill a large bowl with cheerios and in a separate bowl I microwave on high the peanut butter and honey {typically about twice as much peanut butter as honey} for one minute.

Pour the pb and honey over the cheerios, mix together, and enjoy!!!

And for those allergic to pb {like my five year old}, skip the pb and just add honey!

Fruit Dip

I love fruit.

I also love fruit + dip!

There are so many great fruit dip recipes out there.

My go-to recipe for fruit dip is super basic.

It only requires 3 ingredients...

three ingredients that I almost always have on hand anyway.

Fruit Dip

16 oz. tub light sour cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Stir. Dip. Enjoy.

Linked to these lovely blogs:  Blue Cricket Design, Trendy Treehouse, My Backyard Eden, The Thrifty Home

Back to School Preparation

I know a lot of schools are already in session, but my two school age children don't start until next week.

They are so excited and I'm excited for them.

After a long nine months of school I'm so ready for them to be home so we can relax and not be on any sort of strict schedule.

But after a nice three month long non-scheduled, lazy, fun-filled summer, I'm anxious to get back to a more scheduled life.

To help me stay organized and on top of everyone's schedules, I bought a binder at Walmart and designated it specifically for each child's school and other after school activities.

In my binder I have a separate folder for each child {where I can keep track of permission slips and other important papers}, a folder for the school calendar, and folders for after school activities like gymnastics.  I also left a lot of tabs blank as more activities and reminders for other topics might be needed.

With everything all in one place, it will be a lot easier to not misplace anything.

This would also be a great place to store emergency numbers if someone comes over to babysit my kids, etc.

Binders are great to buy now while they are still so CHEAP!

Another thing I did to prepare for back to school was to buy snack foods for my children's lunches.  Some are prepackaged and some are not.  The snacks that are not prepackaged, I package myself in individual ziplock bags.

I found a basket from another room that wasn't getting very much use, put all the packaged snacks in it, and stored it on a shelf in the pantry.

For me, this makes preparing cold lunches for my children or even for my husband so much easier.

Now all I have to do is grab a couple of these items along with a sandwich and a piece of fruit, toss them in their lunch bags and I'm set.

{confession: I really HATE making lunches.  I don't know why.  So the more preparation I can do ahead of time, the easier it is for me when it comes to actually making the lunches.}

While we're still on the subject of school lunches, HERE is a great site that has cute lunch box notes.

I can still remember way back when, when my mom would stick little notes in my lunch and it just made my day to know she was thinking of me.

I want my kids to know I'm thinking of them too while they're away at school.
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And last, but not least, if your kids are anything like mine, they come home "starving"!

I found some wonderful after school snack ideas on parenting.com:

{Click on the name of the snack and it will link you to each recipe.}

Tiny Tortilla Pizzas

Strawberry "Cheesecakes"

Cucumber Yogurt Boats

Chocolate-Banana Tortillas

Favorite Juice Jelly Cubes

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YUM!