Birthday Rolodex

I made this for my mom a year ago after seeing the idea online. Hope you enjoy...I used my Cricut to cut out the files and words for the title and months as well as tabs and accessories. I ended up designing my own Rolodex file on SCAL so I could cut colors and use Very Vanilla instead of the white that came with it.
I created little lists and printed them out on paper and cut them up for each tab... I liked it better than writing it out
Finished project. It was fun and the best part is my mom LOVED it!



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Homemade Popsicles... Two thumbs up!

So I ended up finding Kool-Aid in my cupboard! So Adalie and I ended up making Recipe 2 from my previous post. We didn't have matching flavors so we used Tropical Punch Kool-Aid and Strawberry Banana Jello! THEY ARE SO YUMMY!!
She was my little mixer, mixed all the ingredients while mommy helped her pour them in. She was so excited to help!
We let them freeze overnight, only because I didn't want to allow a popsicle before bed!
Showing off her monster pop :)
She loved every minute of eating her popsicle! Or as she calls it, Poksicle They were good... I may go back to winners and pick up the other sets they had of monster pops for birthdays and cousins visits! They are great, they have a bowl like bottom to catch all the juice!! Brilliant!

Also they made a ton of popsicles... Between my Tupperware Popsicle molds and the monster ones I got a total of 20 Pops :)Photobucket

Popsicles...

I remember as kids my mom owned two Tupperware Popsicle molds (they were a set of 8 each mold) and she would make us popsicles in the supper. They were always softer and tasty!
I purchased some used Tupperware molds from a lady last summer (like my mom's old ones) and also purchased the newer Tupperware molds at a party.
You can now purchase the Mickey Mouse Popsicle Mold from Tupperware. They are cute too!

So after a trip to Winners today I could not resist purchasing another set of Popsicle molds... They were just too cute, and cheap, to pass up! I thought my kids would love eating a Popsicle from them and to be honest, the handle for the base is a little more toddler friendly than the Tupperware ones.
See! Aren't they fun and cute!! The wide part of the base is not attached and works as a base for freezing the popsicles so they are sturdy. I love it!

So I started looking up some recipes. My mom used to use a Jello/Kool-aid recipe, but I don't actually have any Kool-Aid since I try to stick to natural juice, not sugar ones... lets face it, my kids do not need any help in the energy department. :)

For this treat I may let that slide... and do some experimenting.

Recipe 1:
Source: Company's Coming Kids Cooking

Strawberry or Raspberry Jello - 3oz pkg
1 cup Boiling Water
1 cup Strawberry or Raspberry Yogurt
1/2 cup Cold Water

Pour jello into a bowl, add boiling water. Stir until jello is dissolved. Add yogurt and stir well. Add cold water, stir. Pour into molds and freeze about 8 hours. Yeilds 2 2/3 cups about 10-11 Popsicles.

Recipe 2:
Source: Company's Coming Kids Cooking

Orange Jello 3oz pkg
Envelope Kool-Aid
1 cup Sugar
2 cups Boiling Water
2 1/2 cups Cold water

Combine Jello, Kool-Aid and sugar in a bowl. Pour in boiling water, stir until everything dissolves. Add cold water, stir. Use a pitcher and pour into popsicle molds. freeze 8 hours. Yeilds a generous 4 cups. about 16 popsicles.

Variations, switch up flavors, use Lime Jello with Lime Kool-Aid, Strawberry with Strawberry etc.

I also found a Sugar Free Variation, Use 1 pkg Sugar Free Jello, 1 pkg Sugar Free Kool-Aid mix, 2 Cups boiling water, and Cold Water. Mix Jello, Kool-Aid and Boiling water, Stir until everything is dissolved. Add enough Cold water to make 8 cups. liquid mixture. Pour into molds etc.

Recipe 3:
Source: Company's Coming Kids Cooking

Fudgesicles (my favorite type of popsicle)

Instant Chocolate Pudding (4 serving pkg)
2 1/2 cups Cold Milk
1/2 cup Sugar

Put all 3 ingredients in a bowl, beat on slow speed until creamy thick, pour into molds. Freeze 8 hours or overnight. Yeilds 3 cups or 12 molds.

That is only 3 I had from a recipe book, I have found SO many online... Here are some links!


Enjoy! Stay Cool!!Photobucket
Hello everyone! I am so relieved we are getting a nice refreshing cool windy day to break up all this hot humid weather we have been having! My kids and I tried to attempt the park yesterday but the slides were on fire and only the playground in the shade was manageable to play on :( And we even went in the early evening! Poor kids have been restricted to the house since I am too scared to take them out in this heat!

Well I have added another blog to my blogging life... Its my personal blog where I will probably post more and keep this one more tutorials, creations and crafting. If you read this blog I did mention a while back that I have been a little slack in the crafting world... and I have recently announced why on my personal blog. Check it out if you wish :)

Hope you are all having a WONDERFUL and BLESSED week!!

Read my personal blog HERE
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Bread Anyone??

Fresh buns and bread take me back to my childhood baking with my grandmas (both grandmas were excellent bakers, my mom's mom still bakes bread regularly!) We used to love to help punch down the dough and make our own mini loaves.
My sister and I baking at Grandma's
I have tried many bread recipes and have not had any that I hate but have finally found one that is quick and does the perfect amount of bread and buns for our family (and even enough to share with my brother-in-law if I decided to)

So where did I find this recipe? On a flour bag... I purchased a bag of flour, not my usual brand, from Costco and thought I would give it a shot! It is delicious, moist, YUMMY bread. I have figured out that it makes 2 perfect loaves and 15 dinner buns!! PERFECT!

I thought I would share it with you all! Because why not share something good with others ;)

Bread Recipe:
Bowl 1:
2 TBSP instant yeast
4 cups all purpose flour

Bowl 2:
1 tsp salt
3-4 cups all purpose flour (I do 3 and its perfect)

Bowl 3:
2 eggs
8 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp oil
3 cups luke warm water

Instructions:
Mix each bowl's ingredients together. For Bowl 3, beat egg, sugar and oil together then add water. Mix Bowl 3 into Bowl 1 and beat (or mix) well. Gradually pour Bowl 2 into Bowl 1. Knead 5 minutes. Cover and let rise 15 min. Punch down, cover and let rise 15 min more.
Make into buns, cinnamon buns, bread, rolls etc (I use 2 greased loaf pans and a glass 13x9 greased dish and place 15 Larger than egg size balls for buns, and split the remaining dough into two loaves.) Let rise 1 hour.
I usually let my bread rise in my oven with the light on (no heat) that protects it from my drafty house...
Bake at 350 for 15-20 min (until golden brown) Brush with butter if desired.

Last but not least... ENJOY!!!

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So I haven't been the craftiest lady lately... with our house still on the market I am scared to bring out my craft supplies only to get interrupted... So I have been more "domestic" not in the cleaning area, although I would admit I could take some time and do some of that.... I have been hooked on learning more about FREEZER cooking! I purchased a book about a year ago now called "The Big Cook" An amazing concept by some local ladies! The concept is amazing and works GREAT for busy mommys (and not mommys) out there who get home from running around, work, or just have a long exhausting day and then it all comes down to... what to make for supper... In my house I am guilty of choosing takeout, dining in, eating out, ordering in... whatever you may choose when we have the chance,... This book offers the concept of making 200 meals in one day!! HOW GREAT IS THAT!!??!!
I started doing more meal planning, like in my last post, but also found this concept very appealing... Not only can you make supper quickly since the work is pretty much done but you know ALL the ingredients in the meal, no junky stuff that is not good for you!! BONUS!!!

So my sister and I have decided to try it out finally... after this week got a little too busy we decided to do it later this month. I will definitely share when we do :)

So I am also a HUGE nerd... when I get into something I research it... the ins and outs, the ups and downs you name it. I want to know tips, tricks, more recipes etc... So I started looking up some recipes, and then found that this concept is very similar to another called "Once-A-Month Cooking" there are also groups that get together and do the same type of thing but make 10 of the same meal and then get together one night to hang out and swap meals! HOW FUN!!!

I did a ton of searching around and got even more nerdy! I found some great blogs (which I will post) and purchased a few ebooks on my nook! The best "real" type recipe book I found was "Girlfriends On The Go" These are real family recipes (so are the ones in "The Big Cook") I found so many recipes my picky kids would not even try... too gourmet for my liking... I would say if you are going to get into doing this for just your family or with a group of mommies or ladies this book is a great one too!!
I have had so much fun researching and getting inspired! I had a little "baking day" yesterday and had some fun with this concept in a much smaller scale. I went and purchased a new toy! not a crafting toy but I am still excited about it! I purchased the FoodSaver unit from Costco!
It is honestly amazing! I have been having so much fun... I purchased bulk chicken breasts, drumsticks and ground beef and separated it to our family portion sizes and froze them... THEN I got more ambitious and made pizza dough and froze that... AND also make enchilada beef and taco beef and froze that! Now I have a head start on some of the items we use often at our house!
Pizza dough on the top
family sized portions of meat in the middle
enchiladas (tin containers) Enchilada meat, and taco beef :)

I had so much fun doing it! I even tried a new recipe I found on youtube for tortillas to make smaller lunch size enchiladas for my husband for his lunches. I am really getting excited about having quick easy solutions that are healthy and homemade for my family when I get into that mood that I want to eat out!

So here are some great Freezer Meal Tips and Tricks (and recipes) links for you to browse if you are interested... And if you are interested... I will post the link to the Enchilada recipe and the tortilla recipe I made!!
These are my homemade tortillas!!! Here is the video I got the recipe from!
Enchilada Recipe: http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/better-than-ever-beef-enchiladas-90422.aspx This recipe is SUPER easy!! SUPER yummy and has been a huge hit every time I make it!! I made up 4 packages of 3 enchiladas for my hubby's lunches and then made 3 extra recipes (of the meat mixture) and "foodsaver" sealed them for the future!!

Links: (recipes, tricks, books...etc)

Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned for an update on our "Big Cook" adventure!!

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