Friday Fast Five- 5 things I have recently made in my Crockpot

So now the weather is finally cooling off here in the South. So I am using one of my favorite kitchen appliances again. My crock pot! I have made several yummy yet easy things in it lately. Here are 5 of them.

1. Ham & Beans. This "recipe" is a treasured one from my dear friend Amy. I love the simplicity of it. I stick it all in the crockpot and whip up some cornbread and "Wall-la" dinner:) Here is the "Recipe" : 3 cans of Pinto Beans, 1 can Rotel ( I run mine through my food processor first, cause I don't like chunks!), and a large ham steak cubed. I have substituted the ham steak for pork remnants which are easy to find and cheap here in the south, you could also use a Ham Bone if you ever happen to have that handy;)
2. Bear Creek Soups! You may remember these from last year's post. All these soups are SO tasty and easy to jazz up with a little meat. Stick in CrockPot and Done!
3. Baked Potatoes! These were SO easy. I washed my potatoes, wrapped individually in foil, and then put in Crockpot on low for about 6 hours. Perfect Baked Potatoes with NO effort required. We topped ours with chili & cheese and made a lunch out of them, but I am sure they will be reappearing as a side sometime in the near future.
4. Beef Stroganoff. I simply took my favorite Stroganoff recipe and put the stew meat & wet ingredients (minus sour cream!) in the crock pot on low. I then cooked the noodles and added the sour cream right before serving. My recipe came from Gooseberry patch and I was unable to locate it online, so if you are dying to have it please comment me and I will see what I can do.
5. Hawaiian BBQ Chicken. This is one that has been floating around on Pintrest. I served it over rice. Steve and I really enjoyed it, the kids not as much:/ It was actually surprisingly spicy! You can find the blog and recipe here.

Sorry there are not any pics this week. Forgot to photograph my dishes. Not that Stroganoff or Baked potatoes are that photogenic anyway;)

Muffin Tin Monday & a Menu

Here is last week's muffin tin. A little different than the norm, but still nothing extravagant.

Lunch consisted of: Taquitos, Juice Box, Devil's Food Cookies, Yogurt, Clementine, & Cheese. 

(The long orange thing in the middle is my kids citrus peeler. They are obsessed with these!)

I am linking up at: Muffin Tin Monday Mom

And just encase you are sick of my Muffin Tin post, I thought I would throw in this week's menu as a bonus;)

Monday Lunch: Leftovers (for me) Muffin tins for kids

Monday Dinner: Beef Stroganoff, Broccoli, & Rolls

Tuesday Lunch: Tuna, Pringles, & Grapes

Tuesday Dinner: Oven Dogs, Fries & Baked Beans

Wednesday Lunch: Take Bag Lunch (Homeschool Co-op)

Wednesday Dinner: Date Night/ Awanas (Eat Out!)

Thursday Lunch: Corn Dogs, Mac & Cheese, Oranges

Thursday Dinner: Chicken & Dumplings & Steamed Carrots

Friday Lunch: PB& J, Grapes & Chips

Friday Dinner: Chili, Cornbread & Veggies with Dip

Saturday Lunch: French Dip Sandwiches, Chips with Dip & Apples

Saturday Dinner: Pizza & a Movie:)

That is the proposed menu for this week, however the meals are subject to go on different days:/

Need a recipe for something I listed? Just shoot me a comment and I will try and either give you a link for the online recipe, or I will type up an email and send it your way.

Friday Fast Five-The Pumpkin Version

So since Muffin Tin Monday has been fairly easy for me to keep up with and post on, I thought I would try out a new topic for Fridays. So I give you the Friday Five, a list of 5 items. The themes will vary;)
This week is Pumpkins! So here is my 5 favorite pumpkin related items for the moment...

1. Pumpkin Spice Bread from Pepperidge Farm. This bread is so yummy toasted with a little butter. I have had it for Breakfast every morning this week! Hence the half empty bag in the photo...

2. This is our new Bathroom Soap: Cinnamon Pumpkin from Bath & Body. Gilly Bean LOVES it!

3. My ALL time fave! Ben & Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake IceCream! I was exuberant when they brought this back this fall:)

4. I made my two little "Punkins" pumpkin applique shirts for our trip to the pumpkin patch. Here is one of them:

5. And last I am sharing these fun Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows I found at good ole Wally World. I think these will be so fun in Hot Cocoa! However eating plain marshmallows...bluck:P

There it is: 5 of my favorite (or just fun) pumpkin things. What is one of yours?

P.S. I don't know how it didn't make the list!! But here it is as a bonus- PuMpKiN SpIcE Latte! My all time very fave fall drink:)

Muffin Tin Monday...again.

Life has a way of being hectic no matter how much I plan and organize! So our Muffin tin Monday was actually a Wednesday last week:/  Nothing to exciting about this one, but the I think it was one of the kids favorites so far!

Lunch that day consisted of: Hot Dog slices, a mini rice krispy treat, Juice Box, Cheese pieces, Apples & PB dip.

Hopefully I will be back soon with a none muffin tin related post, but these little post are just SO easy;)

Me, Muffin Tin Meals & The Magic School Bus

So Monday's at our house are not so fun for my kiddos. We always start our morning with chores, but Monday's are "Clean the House" day. Which means we dust, mop, clean glass, and basically put things to rights after the chaos of the weekend :/ On top of that "unfun" we always do extra subjects in school that day, due to our busy schedules on Tuesday & Wednesday. When we are out of the house for most of the day with Bible Study and Co-op. So to say the least my children aren't so fond of Mondays!

In an effort to make them dread Monday a little less, I had shared last week how I do "Muffin Tin Meals". I also have started letting them watch the Magic School Bus while they enjoy their tinned lunches. This is a fun little reward for helping around the house that morning, yet I don't feel to guilty because Magic School Bus is pretty educational! Here is what my guys enjoyed today:

Milk, Baby PBJ on mini flatbreads, cheese, grapes, chocolate chip cookies, and cheetos!

They watched the "Magic School Bus goes on Air" while noshing their lunch.

And because my Mom made a comment about my pic last week I am including a self photo, just for her:)

"HI Mom, I miss you!"

I am going to attempt to link this post to Muffin Tin Mondays. Wish me Luck!

Homeschooling Hints & Helps: School Lunches (The Homeschool Version!)

So I don't know about you guys, but at times I am a wee bit jealous that I don't get to pack a cute little lunch for my kiddos everyday in a matching lunchbox. I decided this year to rectify that by trying to be more creative in the lunches I serve at home. We do also take our lunch at least once a week to Co-op, so I get to "play" a little there;) So here are some of the things I have been doing to keep lunch interesting at our house lately:

1) Muffin Tin Meals. There is a whole blog dedicated to this idea! I actually had thought of it before I saw it, however the images gave me the incentive to do it:) The premise is easy. You simply serve your child lunch in a muffin pan. I love that I have to think of so many different things to fill all the little holes:) I have been trying to do this every Monday.

This Monday's meal consisted of (from left top): Juice Box, Mini Corn Dogs, Ketchup, Applesauce, Babybel Cheese, and a mini Brownie. As you can see with certain foods I use muffin liners and with prepackaged food I don't. But the liners work great for ketchup, and since I spray painted this tins to match my kids school stuff they aren't super "wash friendly" . I cut the brownies with a cookie cutter so they would fit!

 P.S. I got my tins at the dollar store, score!

2) Food Service Baskets. This little plastic baskets have been one of my favorite ways to serve food for years! You can usually find them in a dollar spot at Target or Micheals. However they are usually red or yellow. I happened to be a TJMaxx last year and found a set of bright colored ones! I snatched those babies up:) These baskets are best with simple foods: Hot Dogs, Burgers, Corn Dogs, Wraps. Cause you can't fit a lot in the little baskets!

This day's meal consisted of Baby Burgers (sliders), cucumbers, and chips of choice. Plus V8 fusions to drink. The kids really like this method! As shown in the following exhibits;)

Ok I admit, even I LOVE to eat out of a fun little basket:) P.S. Do you notice that I am NOT drinking a V8 Fusion!:P That is the look I give my children when they play with my camera!

3) Bagged/Box Lunches. If you are on the web or Pintrest, you have seen the new craze of Bento Boxing. I never want to be one to be left out so I found a similar container at Target and have been using it on Co-op days since we have to bring a lunch. I LOVE these! Now I am not so creative that I shape everything and coordinate it with a theme. But I do enjoy filling all the little "spots" in the container with something fun,yummy & nutritious (however you will have noted by this point in my blog that I am by NO means a health-food addict, I merely strive to present "well rounded" meals).

This is what we took to Co-op yesterday: Mini Turkey & Cheese sandwiches on mini bread rounds, Grapes, Carrots & Dip (that is the little round container by the sandwich), Chips, Homemade M&M cookies, and a Juice Box. I even ate the same exact thing myself except of course the juice box:P

A few notes about this particular lunches "supplies". The lunch boxes are Ziploc brand and come in a set of 2 from Target. The little dip containers are my new obsession! They are Diamond brand, they come in a set of 50 cups and lids that each fit 2 oz of liquid. They are slightly pricey but SO worth it. They are fairly leak proof too! The fun little bread rounds were something I just spotted last time I went grocery shopping, and I am sucker for anything mini! They are Arnold Sandwich Thin Minis and come in a pack of 16. This lil cuties are only 50 calories apiece, and perfect for my non-bread loving children!

4) Cafeteria Style Trays. My mom had some of these growing up, and I remember thinking how fun it was to get served lunch in little compartmental plates:) So when I found these at Target a few years back I gladly began the tradition in my home. 

My Son felt obligated to oversee that day's lunch since it is one of his faves;) The kids were served mini pizzas (courtesy of Schwans), mandarin oranges, pudding & an orange flavored Izze to drink. So definitely not the most nutritious lunch, but for sure school cafeteria fare;)

And that wraps up all the different ways we inhale lunch at our house:) Hope I have given you some fun ideas for your own home. Feel free to comment with any questions or suggestions!

P.S. Thinking of trying to make this a more than occasional blog topic. I would share my organizing, scheduling, and curriculum thoughts. If you would enjoy this please let  me know. Cause honestly this blog was kinda time consuming if no one really wants to read it!;)

A few of my faves...Movie Version

So in an effort to at least blog once a month I am presenting you with a short list of my ALL time favorite movies. I will put them in order of my favorite to my MOST favorite.

A Few Good Men. This has been one of my go to movies for years! Also one of the only movies I can stand with Tom Cruise in it:/       

     

 Sweet Home Alabama. This is such a sweet, feel good movie. I actually had to shop the pawn stores to find it on DVD after I realized I kept watching it every time it was on TV!

50 First Dates. This is one of the very few movies that isn't totally raunchy AND yet it still has Adam Sandler in it. I love that it is sweet but funny. One of the first movies Steve and I went to see once we got married.

The Three Musketeers. This has been one of my faves since I was a teenager. LOVE this movie!

The Princess Bride. This is my ALL time favorite. My feel good movie. I actually just sat down with Steve and the kids and introduced my kids to it:) SO many good lines in this movie!

Ok that is my short but sweet post. Feel free to leave a comment letting me know what your all time fave is:)

Makes my heart go Flip Flop!

So I am back from my many travels this summer and I already have a TON going on! However before I get into the Fall swing of things, I have a fun summer post. I put this wreath together and couldn't be more pleased with it. It is the perfect thing to hang on my front door between 4th of July & Fall. I will admit this isn't the cheapest wreath I have ever made, but I thought the result was well worth the cost:)

This really was super UNCOMPLICATED so I won't bore you with many details, I will just give you a brief overview.
1) I bought a flat wooden wreath form from Micheals. Used a 40% off coupon and I think I only paid like $6 or so. Then I spray painted it white. That is what went with my flops best but you could definetily mix things up here:)
2) I then spent WAY longer than I need to arranging the flops onto the wreath in the order I wanted. I used girls size 1 flops that I got for $1.26 a pair and ended up needing 6 pairs. If you use larger or smaller flop this number could be different. Then I hot glued all the flops onto the wreath form.
3) I bought a couple spools of coordinating ribbon at Hobby Lobby 1/2 off, and used them to make a big ole bulky bow. to fill in the spot were I couldn't fit another pair of flops and to add some dimension.


And that my friends is IT!! Honestly I think I did the whole wreath for around $20 and spent less than 1/2 hour making it (excluding spray painting & drying). Not bad for such a fun result:)