Ok, so it's official. I'm REALLY bad at this blog thing. My last post was nearly two months ago. Sadness. But, new year means new resolutions and all that. I'm not big on resolutions any more, as I've found that I don't keep them... But, I will try to post on my blog more often!
Things that have happened in the last two months - Christmas, New Year's Eve, my son's birthday, Girl Scout Cookie sales, work, and a whole lot of other stuff!
Christmas was good. We got an XBox360, the Halo Reach version, and lots of games and stuff for it. Again, another huge THANKS to my friends Jarrod N and Ryan C for all their help with that. Jarrod basically was Santa this year, in that he gave me a bunch of the games he had that he doesn't play anymore, and Ryan loaned us his Kinect for an extended amount of time while his xbox is being fixed. Both just made my kids' holiday break, I must say!
New Year's Eve was a fantastically fun time! We had a few people over, had some TASTY food (yes, a large amount of it was TS related! I'll get to that later.), and played on the Kinect. Yep, the grown-ups played on it. It was great fun, especially watching Amy & Rob box! I really need to find the pictures from that!
Also, NYE is my son's birthday, so that was nice to have a few people over that he knows. All the kids stayed up until midnight except the littlest one, which they love doing. We forgot to get confetti this year, though, so they missed doing that, but I certainly didn't miss the clean up!
We had a sleepover for my son's birthday about a week after NYE. He invited 4 boys from his class over for it. Man! Apparently, if 10 & 11 year-old boys are not sleeping, they are STARVING! I swear, every couple hours from 5 until about 3am, they kept coming into the kitchen, asking for snacks, drinks, food of any kind... Insanity!
While all those boys were playing video games, I took my daughters and one of their friends to see Tangled. That is a cute movie! We'll probably have to buy it when it comes out. A nice twist on the traditional Rapunzel story, but nothing unexpected. The girls all loved it!
And lastly, Girl Scout Cookies! Both my older daughters are in Scouts this year, one a Daisy, and one a Brownie, and they just finished up cookie sales. Both set goals of 50 boxes this year, since this is the first year we've done Scouts, and they are in the younger age range so GS discourages them from going door-to-door around the neighborhood since they are young. So, mostly asking friends and family and Mom & Dad's coworkers. But, on a completely awesome note, they both not only made their goals, but passed them by quite a bit! 77 & 78 boxes! Next year, we'll have to shoot for 100! But huge THANK YOUs to everyone that bought from us! If we missed you this year, you can expect to hear from us next year, I'm sure.
Ok, now back to the NYE food... There were a variety of usual snacks - chips, crackers, cookies, etc. Our main course was homemade chili with some TS Onion Onion and Garlic Garlic in it and TS Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup. We had a variety of "mix-ins" available for the soups, including ham chunks, bacon, cheese, crackers, and sour cream. I also made some pizza bites, I guess we'll call them. I took a can of croissants and separated them into rectangles, which I patted/rolled to make sure they were stuck together. I cut each rectangle in half lengthwise and in thirds the other direction to get 6 smaller squares. Pat those squares even flatter and larger, the place each into a greased cup on a mini muffin pan. Press one pepperoni (or small Canadian bacon round) into each, top witht a small spoonful of the TS Italian-like cheeseball of your choice (I had a Bruschetta one still on hand, but I think the Cheesy Chive Warm Dip would also be a tasty choice!), a little shredded cheese, and another pepperoni on top. Then pull the four corners up to meet on top, bake for about double the time on the croissant package, and serve warm. They were a big hit!
I also made a really tasty dessert for Christmas Eve that I will be making again with a different filling. Mix about 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 2 TBSP TS Warm Up! Mulling Spice into about 4 oz of softened cream cheese until well blended. Separate one can of croissants and place them wide ends overlapping around a pie plate. Do not roll them yet! You should now have a kind of star shape. Spread the cream cheese mixture around the wide ends of the croissants, but not into the center of the pie plate. Top with sliced strawberries and kiwi (I chose these for the red and green, since I made it as a Christmas dessert), then roll the end points under the wide edge. You should now have a wreath-looking shape, open in the middle. Sprinkle the top with about 1 TBSP each sugar and TS Warm Up! Mulling Spice and bake as directed on croissant package, although you will need to bake a bit longer to get the croissants nice and golden brown. Serve warm or cooled. Tasty & pretty!
Ok, I think this one is long enough. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, December 6, 2010
Recap of Thanksgiving and what's for supper at my house...
Thanksgiving was fun. We went to visit the extended family, saw my aunt's new house (very nice!), got to see lots of cousins I hadn't seen in a while, ate too much, watched football, did an early Christmas gift exchange, and hung out with my brother and his wife. Oh, and all that was in three days!
My two contributions to Thanksgiving this year: with the help of the kiddos and Grandma, we made the place markers for the table, and I created my own recipe for a Tastefully Simple dessert!
The place markers were absolutely adorable - Oreo Turkeys! In an after school craft class, one of my daughters made one, and we opted to make 30 for Thanksgiving. I've found a pattern/recipe online here http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamakimi/2056437398/ that also has a great picture. We added a toothpick with a paper name tag taped to it stuck in with the "feathers", and viola! Place cards!
My Tastefully Simple dessert turned out AMAZING! I'm calling it Nana's Apple Cake Extraordinare.
Ingredients: (I doubled this, as I made mine for a large family gathering)
TS Nana's Apple Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup halved fresh cranberries
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
1-2 Tbsp TS Warm Up Mulling Spice
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
Combine first 5 ingredients. Place in WELL greased 8x8 pan, sprinkle with Warm Up Mulling Spice. Bake as directed Cake Mix package.
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk to make icing. When cake is done and cooled some, drizzle icing over top. Serve warm or cold, as a dessert or a wonderful brunch coffee cake!
That brings us to supper at my house tonight. I think I'm going to make chicken with TS Asian Honey Mustard Dressing in my crock pot this afternoon, make some rice later, add a few frozen veggies, and have a tasty Asian inspired dish that the kids will (hopefully!) eat. I think it sounds great, but then, I am one of the adults in the house. :)
Another few more happenings in the last couple weeks. My baby turned 2 the day before Thanksgiving. She's getting so big! I've consulted for a few more Tastefully Simple parties (I'm up to 7 now, with 2 more in Jan!), so that is going well. Harry Potter 7 came out, so work at my real job has been crazy, and it's only going to get worse...
Did you know that Christmas Day is the busiest day of the year for movie theatres? It's true, and I'll be working that day! Maybe I'll see you there.
My two contributions to Thanksgiving this year: with the help of the kiddos and Grandma, we made the place markers for the table, and I created my own recipe for a Tastefully Simple dessert!
The place markers were absolutely adorable - Oreo Turkeys! In an after school craft class, one of my daughters made one, and we opted to make 30 for Thanksgiving. I've found a pattern/recipe online here http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamakimi/2056437398/ that also has a great picture. We added a toothpick with a paper name tag taped to it stuck in with the "feathers", and viola! Place cards!
My Tastefully Simple dessert turned out AMAZING! I'm calling it Nana's Apple Cake Extraordinare.
Ingredients: (I doubled this, as I made mine for a large family gathering)
TS Nana's Apple Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup halved fresh cranberries
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
1-2 Tbsp TS Warm Up Mulling Spice
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
Combine first 5 ingredients. Place in WELL greased 8x8 pan, sprinkle with Warm Up Mulling Spice. Bake as directed Cake Mix package.
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and milk to make icing. When cake is done and cooled some, drizzle icing over top. Serve warm or cold, as a dessert or a wonderful brunch coffee cake!
That brings us to supper at my house tonight. I think I'm going to make chicken with TS Asian Honey Mustard Dressing in my crock pot this afternoon, make some rice later, add a few frozen veggies, and have a tasty Asian inspired dish that the kids will (hopefully!) eat. I think it sounds great, but then, I am one of the adults in the house. :)
Another few more happenings in the last couple weeks. My baby turned 2 the day before Thanksgiving. She's getting so big! I've consulted for a few more Tastefully Simple parties (I'm up to 7 now, with 2 more in Jan!), so that is going well. Harry Potter 7 came out, so work at my real job has been crazy, and it's only going to get worse...
Did you know that Christmas Day is the busiest day of the year for movie theatres? It's true, and I'll be working that day! Maybe I'll see you there.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Working on supper already!
Happy Wednesday, all!
I'm feeling very accomplished at this point in the day. I have placed the orders for the Tastefully Simple party I consulted for on Monday. Hopefully, those orders will be shipped and delivered in time for Thanksgiving!
I just finished starting some pork chops for supper. Stuck them in the crock pot with a small amount of water, salt, pepper, and some Backyard Barbeque Dip Mix from (you guessed it!) Tastefully Simple. (My kids loved this dip mix at my last party as a hostess, so when I became a consultant and saw it on the clearance list, I stocked up!) I'm going to let them cook all afternoon, maybe add a dash of Smoky Bacon Grill sauce later, and serve them with french fries and a veggie yet to be determined.
Now, to figure out what to have for lunch...
As for other things in my life, the kids are doing well, staying busy. They start their next set of after school programs this week, so that will be fun for them. Plus, we've had one Brownie Scout meeting this week, have a Daisy Scout meeting yet to come. The Daisy Scout meeting is a field trip to my other place of employment, the movie theatre. I get to take them on a tour, serve them popcorn, all kinds of fun stuff... And, we'll get to laugh at all the people already in line for HP7 Part 1 - first screenings are a midnight.
Well, that's about it for now. I think it's time to make some growled cheese sandwiches.
I'm feeling very accomplished at this point in the day. I have placed the orders for the Tastefully Simple party I consulted for on Monday. Hopefully, those orders will be shipped and delivered in time for Thanksgiving!
I just finished starting some pork chops for supper. Stuck them in the crock pot with a small amount of water, salt, pepper, and some Backyard Barbeque Dip Mix from (you guessed it!) Tastefully Simple. (My kids loved this dip mix at my last party as a hostess, so when I became a consultant and saw it on the clearance list, I stocked up!) I'm going to let them cook all afternoon, maybe add a dash of Smoky Bacon Grill sauce later, and serve them with french fries and a veggie yet to be determined.
Now, to figure out what to have for lunch...
As for other things in my life, the kids are doing well, staying busy. They start their next set of after school programs this week, so that will be fun for them. Plus, we've had one Brownie Scout meeting this week, have a Daisy Scout meeting yet to come. The Daisy Scout meeting is a field trip to my other place of employment, the movie theatre. I get to take them on a tour, serve them popcorn, all kinds of fun stuff... And, we'll get to laugh at all the people already in line for HP7 Part 1 - first screenings are a midnight.
Well, that's about it for now. I think it's time to make some growled cheese sandwiches.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Absolutely Almond Joy Pound Cake
Happy November, everyone!
I've been a little busy with the kiddos, work, TS, and more work! Plus, I've completely a few projects recently. I've made a few Halloween costume hats, a few other hats, wrote my own pattern for some AWESOME fingerless gloves, and did some cooking. Oh, also in there, I had an Envy Purse Party (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lincoln-NE/ENVY-PURSE-PARTY/203797320615?ref=sgm) for which I made a few snacks and got a free purse just for hosting!
So, on the cooking front - tonight I made what I am going to call Absolutely Almond Joy Pound Cake. It starts with (yes, you guessed it) Tastefully Simple Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix. Prepare as directed. Pour into greased loaf pan. Then I topped it with a generous drizzle of chocolate syrup (I think next time I will swirl it into the batter and then add chocolate chips on top), covered that with sliced almonds, and covered those with coconut. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 55 minutes. Cool, cut, enjoy!
Yes, this is very similar to the cupcakes I made last month. However, I think this is easier to eat, and a MUCH faster prep time! Today's was made in honor of my husband's birthday, which was yesterday. We ran out of time to make a cake yesterday, what with life and all happening around us. So, tonight I baked him this cake, which we are enjoying at 11pm while the kids are asleep. They can have some tomorrow.
That's about it from here. I will post my crochet pattern and pictures in the near future. Some minor tweaking is still needed.
I've been a little busy with the kiddos, work, TS, and more work! Plus, I've completely a few projects recently. I've made a few Halloween costume hats, a few other hats, wrote my own pattern for some AWESOME fingerless gloves, and did some cooking. Oh, also in there, I had an Envy Purse Party (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lincoln-NE/ENVY-PURSE-PARTY/203797320615?ref=sgm) for which I made a few snacks and got a free purse just for hosting!
So, on the cooking front - tonight I made what I am going to call Absolutely Almond Joy Pound Cake. It starts with (yes, you guessed it) Tastefully Simple Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix. Prepare as directed. Pour into greased loaf pan. Then I topped it with a generous drizzle of chocolate syrup (I think next time I will swirl it into the batter and then add chocolate chips on top), covered that with sliced almonds, and covered those with coconut. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 55 minutes. Cool, cut, enjoy!
Yes, this is very similar to the cupcakes I made last month. However, I think this is easier to eat, and a MUCH faster prep time! Today's was made in honor of my husband's birthday, which was yesterday. We ran out of time to make a cake yesterday, what with life and all happening around us. So, tonight I baked him this cake, which we are enjoying at 11pm while the kids are asleep. They can have some tomorrow.
Friday, October 22, 2010
A great month so far!
Well, so far October has been a wonderful month for me! I had my first Tastefully Simple tasting party with a wonderful host, Shaina. It went really well, and Shaina earned $50 in free products as well as Fudgy Popcorn and White Fudgy Popcorn as part of the October Host Incentive! Yeah for Shaina, and yeah for me! Nothing like a great success to get you motivated to do more, right?
Also, we had pork chops on Wednesday night, baked with some Garlic Pepper and Smoky Bacon Grill Sauce on top. Kids ate them pretty well, and Husband and I really enjoyed them. That's the first time I've used the Smoky Bacon Grill Sauce, and it is tasty! If Mary happens to read this, it would be wonderful on meatballs! :)
In my other job, last night was insane. Today is the release of Paranormal Activity 2, and we had advance showings last night. One at 10pm, and THREE at midnight! All of them sold out, as well as having several other movies do really well. It was just insane and tiring for a Thursday night. Buzz on the movie is that it's better/scarier than the first, so it will probably have some legs, and do really well for a while. Especially this weekend and next. My recommendation - if you plan to see it, get tickets early, get to the theaters early, and plan to stand in lines!
In other news, the last day of this month will be my husband and my 12th anniversary and our 14th anniversary. Our 12th wedding anniversary, and the 14th anniversary of our first date... Isn't that fun? I think I'll take him out to a nice dinner, and maybe a movie. Then we'll probably take the kids trick-or-treating. Fun, fun!
Also, we had pork chops on Wednesday night, baked with some Garlic Pepper and Smoky Bacon Grill Sauce on top. Kids ate them pretty well, and Husband and I really enjoyed them. That's the first time I've used the Smoky Bacon Grill Sauce, and it is tasty! If Mary happens to read this, it would be wonderful on meatballs! :)
In my other job, last night was insane. Today is the release of Paranormal Activity 2, and we had advance showings last night. One at 10pm, and THREE at midnight! All of them sold out, as well as having several other movies do really well. It was just insane and tiring for a Thursday night. Buzz on the movie is that it's better/scarier than the first, so it will probably have some legs, and do really well for a while. Especially this weekend and next. My recommendation - if you plan to see it, get tickets early, get to the theaters early, and plan to stand in lines!
In other news, the last day of this month will be my husband and my 12th anniversary and our 14th anniversary. Our 12th wedding anniversary, and the 14th anniversary of our first date... Isn't that fun? I think I'll take him out to a nice dinner, and maybe a movie. Then we'll probably take the kids trick-or-treating. Fun, fun!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
It's been a while...
Sorry - it's been a while since my last post, but you know how life gets in the way of everything else!
We've been busy with Girls Scouts (Daisies and Brownies), trips to the Pumpkin Patches, work, more work, babysitting, and all the other stuff!
I made my super tasty chicken the other night - chicken breast topped with TS Backyard Barbeque Dip mixed with shredded Co-Jack cheese, and wrapped with ham. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. The kids actually gobbled it all up! You can do this with almost any of the TS dip mixes and get a tasty result! The ham is even optional - I was just going for a twist on Cordon Bleu. I've made it using Sundried Tomato Veggie Dip, and next on the list is Spinach & Herb Dip. Serve with rice or whatever your choice of side dish is... I'm thinking pasta alfredo.
My last TS Host Pack went out the door this morning - counting my husband's catalog party, that is 4 parties in October! Yay me! Off to a good start! Lori is very excited for me!
I think that's it for now from me. I have one home sick for a while this morning, so I'd better go deal with that.
We've been busy with Girls Scouts (Daisies and Brownies), trips to the Pumpkin Patches, work, more work, babysitting, and all the other stuff!
I made my super tasty chicken the other night - chicken breast topped with TS Backyard Barbeque Dip mixed with shredded Co-Jack cheese, and wrapped with ham. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. The kids actually gobbled it all up! You can do this with almost any of the TS dip mixes and get a tasty result! The ham is even optional - I was just going for a twist on Cordon Bleu. I've made it using Sundried Tomato Veggie Dip, and next on the list is Spinach & Herb Dip. Serve with rice or whatever your choice of side dish is... I'm thinking pasta alfredo.
My last TS Host Pack went out the door this morning - counting my husband's catalog party, that is 4 parties in October! Yay me! Off to a good start! Lori is very excited for me!
I think that's it for now from me. I have one home sick for a while this morning, so I'd better go deal with that.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
IDEA WORKS!
So, I actually baked my Absolutely Almond Pound Cake idea... Ready for this?
Mix up the cake mix according to the regular directions. Now, I tried this two different ways, and the second one stays together better...
Spoon batter into mini muffin pan (with papers). Top each mini with sliced or slivered almonds and coconut. Bake in 325 degree oven for 15 minutes. Once they come out, top with mini chocolate chips. Let cool and enjoy!
OR -
Mix about 1 cup almonds, 1 cup coconut, and 1 cup mini chocolate chips into batter, and spoon into lined mini muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes in 325 degree oven. Let cool.
Enjoy your Absolutely Almond Joy bites!
Spoon batter into mini muffin pan (with papers). Top each mini with sliced or slivered almonds and coconut. Bake in 325 degree oven for 15 minutes. Once they come out, top with mini chocolate chips. Let cool and enjoy!
OR -
Mix about 1 cup almonds, 1 cup coconut, and 1 cup mini chocolate chips into batter, and spoon into lined mini muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes in 325 degree oven. Let cool.
Enjoy your Absolutely Almond Joy bites!
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