Inspirational Sunday: Do You Have Room for the Savior?

When I saw these muffin tin advents here at Sumo's Sweet Stuff and here at Somewhat Simple I just HAD to make one of my own!

And it was actually quite a quick and easy project!

Because my kids get PLENTY of sweets and candy, I decided to do activities in each day written on paper (I hurry and trade them before the kids pick if it is something that just won't work for the day)...

Need some ideas for activites? You can see my list right here...

This was definitely a fun and easy project that added to my Christmas Decor and that the kids LOVE!

Great Gift Idea: Crayon Roll

What a fun gift idea for your little ones? My daughter LOVES her crayon roll and it isn't even hard to make! (If I can do it with my limited sewing skills, you can do it!)

I followed the tutorial on Skip to My Lou (but cut out the ric rac trim because of my limited sewing knowledge, although I LOVE the trim!)

I had intended this to be for my daughter to take to church, but she uses it constantly and my son even likes it! They love that they can see all the colors in front of them...

And I love that we can fold it up and put it all away!

Menu Plan Monday - 12/14/09

I didn't do so great this week sticking to my menu... It was a busy, busy week... although this week should be better since all the holiday parties are done with and I have most of my shopping done! I'm hoping for more time to BLOG!

The only thing we ended up cooking from the menu was the Clam Chowder and it was excellent!

I will try to add the recipes as I cook them this week - I didn't do very good at that last week because I didn't cook! lol

Monday: Sweet & Sour Meatballs/Rice

Tuesday: Chicken Enchilada Casserole/Salad

Wednesday: Chicken Teriyaki Burgers/French Fries

Thursday: Swiss Bliss Chicken/Rice-a-roni/Green Beans

Friday: Out of Town

Saturday: Homemade Pizza - and I might make Alfredo Sauce and do an alfredo chicken pizza - yum!

Sunday: Tacos/Mexi Rice - I use the fresh tortillas from Sam's Club - YUM!

Menu Planning Monday 12/7/09

I've been HORRIBLE at my meal planning lately, but we are going to try to do better starting this week!

Monday: Clam Chowder/Rolls

Tuesday: Homemade Pizzas

Wednesday: Dinner Out with hubby - Spaghetti for the kiddos

Thursday: Swiss Bliss Chicken*/Rice-a-roni/Green Beans

Friday: Girl's Night Out for me/ Leftovers for the family!

Saturday: Church Christmas Party Dinner!

Sunday: Chicken Enchilada Casserole/Salad

Treats: Zucchini Crisp (tastes JUST like Apple Crisp!), Cream-cheese Brownies (for the Church Dinner), and Chocolate Chip Cookies*!

Breakfasts: Breakfast Burritos, Waffles, German Pancakes, Blueberry Muffins

Inspirational Sunday: The Greatest Gift

Today in church we had a lesson on the Savior. I hope this time of year we can remember the "Reason for the Season" and help our children do the same.

Inspirational Sunday: What are you Thankful For?

Menu Plan Monday

I didn't do so good last week at staying to the menu, so we a lot of the meals are the same from last week...

Monday: Taco Salad

Tuesday: Honey Mustard Chicken/Rice-a-Roni/Mixed Veggies

Wednesday: Manicotti/Salad/Bread

Thursday: Taco Soup

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Shepherd's Pie/Rolls

Treats: Zucchini Crisp (tastes JUST like Apple Crisp!)

Works for Me Wednesday: Chocolate Covered Raspberries

My FAVORITE candy from the store is Chocolate-covered Raspberries! Delish!

But I have something even better! This is one of the finest things in life as far as I'm concerned...

Chocolate Covered Raspberries!

Hard and chocolate on the outside...
Sweet and juicy on the inside!

You want to make some?

First you will need to wash and dry your raspberries...

Then space them out on a pan so none of them are touching and throw into the freezer for 30 - 60 minutes.


Next, you'll melt your chocolate - I actually have a "Chocolate Warmer" because I LOVE to dip things in chocolate.


Once your raspberries are nice, cold, and firm you just need to cover them with chocolate and set them on foil or wax paper to set up...


Once the chocolate is set up you can throw them together in a bag or dish. You'll want to let the raspberries thaw so they are nice and juicy when you bite into it.



Seriously - such incredible yumminess for such an easy treat!

If you are going to keep them around for a few days, I would definitely store them in the fridge. (I've never kept them around that long - they are usually gone in the next few minutes because I JUST can't RESIST!)

Chocolate Covered Raspberries - it DEFINITELY works for me!!!

Notebook Experiment: Broom Treat Bags

I came across this Halloween Treat Bag Tutorial at Three Pumpkins Little and knew I needed to try it out!

I did mine real fast so I just used some scissors and folded the bags to cut them, although an exacto knife would probably been just as fast... I then found some halloween ribbon in my stash and wrapped it around... Easy and very festive!

Menu-Planning Monday

Monday: BBQ French Dip Sandwiches/Baked Potatoes/Jello

Tuesday: Honey Mustard Chicken/Rice-a-Roni/Mixed Veggies

Wednesday: Manicotti/Salad/Bread

Thursday: Shepherd's Pie/Rolls

Friday: Take-n-Bake Pumpkin Pizza

Saturday: Taco Soup

Sunday: Leftovers

Treats: Banana Bread (see recipe), Zucchini Crisp (tastes JUST like Apple Crisp!)

Banana Bread
Grease and flour bread pans.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mashed bananas
2 cups flour
1/2 cup nuts

Bake for 40 minutes.

Works for Me Wednesday: Controlling Toaster Crumbs

I believe it was my mother-in-law that taught me this trick, but I could be wrong...

I keep my toaster on a cookie sheet and it has made my life SO much easier! Before, I would get bread crumbs all over the cupboard and floor. Now they just pile up on the pan and I can just dump them in the garbage or sink!

Something so simple, but it works for us!

Crab Boil!

My parents are to Washington State this week so we went for a fun little visit this weekend. And on Friday night they spoiled us with a Crab Boil! Such yummy deliciousness!!!

Well, all these years I had never paid attention to how they cook it, so I figured I'd figure it out this time - and guess what!?! I'll even share the goodness with you!

Start by cutting up the red potatoes into nice chunks... we used about a potato per person...


and throw in the pot...


Then sprinkle LIBERALLY with Cavender's Seasoning...


Next throw in the corn-on-the-cob... (we used frozen cobs that were about the size of a third of a normal big ear of corn - and you could probably figure one or two per person)... You should put the corn on it's end the best you can for the first layer and then just throw the other ones on top (gotta pack it in so all this goodness fits!)


Then sprinkle LIBERALLY with Cavender's Seasoning...

Next you add the onions which you just cut into quarters...


Then sprinkle LIBERALLY with Cavender's Seasoning...

Then you add the sausage which is also cut into nice chunks...



And sprinkle LIBERALLY with Cavender's Seasoning...

Next is the Crab Legs! You'll need to lay them all in there and try to get them to fit. (My awesome mom bought too many and we had to cook some on the stove.)


Remember to sprinkle LIBERALLY with Cavender's Seasoning...

And finally the Shrimp!


And sprinkle LIBERALLY with Cavender's Seasoning once again, but make sure you kind of mix it in so it is sprinkled THROUGHOUT the shrimp layer...

Then you add some Worcestershire Sauce (we used 1/3 - 1/2 of the bottle) to the top.


Add about 1.5 cups of water to the bottom (we just poured it down the side)...


Cover and cook on high until the shrimp on top is pink and done! (DON'T over cook!)

Meanwhile spread out newspaper on the table or a plastic tablecloth if all the newspaper has been used for packing boxes...

When shrimp is done, lift basket out of pot to drain and dump on the table!


And DIG IN!

Personally, I like it with melted butter, but you can serve it with tarter sauce and cocktail sauce...

Once you are done eating just wrap it all up in the newspaper and toss!

Menu Planning Monday

Monday - Sweet & Sour Chicken Stirfry/Ham Fried Rice

Tuesday - Chili, Rolls, & Saltines

Wednesday - Fish/Veggies/Lemon Rice

Thursday - Cashew Chicken

Friday - Pizza Night

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Crockpot Chicken/Jello/Funeral Potatoes

For more menu ideas, visit http://orgjunkie.com/ every Monday! If you want any of the recipes that I don't have posted or linked... feel free to ask!

General Conference Kits

General Conference is coming up and I found this blog post over at Everyday Food Storage of conference kits and LOVED them! So I decided to do up some of my own for my visiting teaching ladies! SO much fun!

Inspirational Sunday: "He'll Carry You"

Today at church we had a fantastic lesson on Elder Holland's Conference Address, "None Were With Him". So I had planned on posting this YouTube video of his talk that is incredible, but then remembered that I had posted it on my personal blog on Easter... So I thought I'd share something else, but take the time to go watch the "None Were With Him" video. It's incredible...

In the lesson today, we spoke of how Christ was alone so that we don't have to EVER be alone. And when I watched this video of Hilary Weeks' Song, "He'll Carry You", I think it is saying the same thing...