Let them be little

So I am one of those moms that is guilty of wanting to make my childs "projects" perfect by doing it myself but I have learned they definitely enjoy it more if you will allow them to do  it themselves.  One thing I have learned is I like to do 2 at a time one for me and one for Zane to follow along and do all by himself.  It may not look perfect but the satisfaction he gets from knowing "me did it" is what its all about.  I usually post pics of the things that I have done for examples so today I thought I would share a "mine" & "his" letter F picture from last week.  He does pretty well if I do say so myself. What I like to do is step by step.  When we are doing our work I usually plan ahead and have everything already cut out.  I use it as a learning time.  I place his pieces on a plate in front of him and I sit acroos and place my on a similar plate.  If we are gluing then I give him a glue stick and let him mock each thing that I do.  It also helps him to learn parts and use his creative mind as well.  Just a little tip I thought I would share.  Remember to have fun with these projects or they WILL get bored and not want to participate:)

French Dip Sandwiches

So here is a recipe a friend shared with me a few years ago and it is my husbands favorite meal.  As always with lots of my meals it is so easy and perfect for that busy sports night.  This is one of those meals that is so feeling and you really dont need to have sides but AI do usually make some baked apples or some other warm fruit to serve with it:)

French Dip Sandwiches

1 Large Roast(you can use any cut you prefer. I generally use a sirloin or chuck roast)
2 Cans Campbells Beef Consomme
2 Cans Campbells French Onion Soup
1 pack of sliced Provolone Cheese
1 loaf of fresh Take & bake French bread from your bakery

Place Roast in crock pot with soups and cook on low 6-8 hours.  Bake bread on oven according to directions usually 10-15 minutes.  Rremove bread and add cheese and sliced beef.  Serve with Au Jus from roast for dipping.  Absolutely the most fabulous taste that others will think you have slaved over:)

Beef Stroganoff

So we have all had many recipes of Beef Stroganoff I am sure. I have made it from hamburger helper, made it with grilled onions & peppers, and even made it with beef tips but I thought I would post the one that I make that my boys love the most and quite frankly, it is my fav as well because it is the fastest & easiest. I thought I would share

Beef Stroganoff

1 lb ground beef
1 cup sour cream
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 box pasta(any noodles)

Brown your ground beef.  Drain then add Sour Cream, Soup, and salt and pepper.  Simmer for about 10 minutes then serve over noodles. (Even thought I prefer noodles you can use rice as well)Perfect with garlic toast for a side:)

To make this low fat, you can prepare this with ff sour cream, low fat soup, and extra lean beef or even use turkey or chicken.

Very simple and extremely tastey!

Chicken Brocoli Biscuit Puffs

So I came up with a new recipe last night that turned out really good and my boys all enjoyed it.  Of course as always it was extremely fats and easy as well:)  I served this dish with Cheesy Whole Wheat Rotini & glazed carrots and it was a Hit!!


Chicken Brocoli Biscuit Puffs

*2 cans of biscuits
4 Chicken breast (cooked and diced) or 2 cans of tysons White Chicken Breast
**1 Cream Cheese
1 Can Cream of Chicken soup
1 Can Brocoli Cheese Soup
**Shredded Cheddar Cheese for topping

Roll Biscuits individually on a floured surface then press into greased large muffin pan pressing dough up along the sides and bottom making a cup shape.  Mix Chicken with melted Cream Cheese & soups.  When coombined spoon gerenerously into each muffin cup then sprinkle cheese on top of each muffin.  Bake on 350 for approximately 15 minutes or until biscuits are browned.  Remove & cool for 5 minutes the I took a knife and loosened them out and placed on a plate to serve.

*Note this recipe actually will make 2 dozen muffins however, because I have a smaller family I only made 12 then went ahead and made a 8x8 casserole out of the extra mix to be used next week on day for dinner.  I just crumbled Ritz Crackers with melted butter and patted into bottom of pan then topped with mix.  Covered with aluminum foil and put in freezer:)  SO I really had 2 meals out of 1 batch Just took a couple of extra minutes.

**I also used Weight watchers Cream Cheese as well as Weight watcher Shredded cheese for a lower fat recipe which explains why the cheese looks alittle crusty on top versus really cheesey as if using regular cheese.  Either way it was very good! 

Enjoy

"E"arth Rice Crispie Treats

 I found this cute recipe online and so in keeping with our letter "E" study this week Zane and I tried it  out this morning.  They turned out really cute so I thought I would share.  Would make a perfect treat for and Earth Day event.

Earth Crispies

1/4 cup margarine ( I did use the fat free spray butter just measured out for a lower fat recipe)

1 bag miniature marshmallows

1/2 tsp. vanilla

6 cups rice krispies

green and blue food coloring

Melt margarine and marshmallows over medium heat in a large pot, stir in vanilla and Rice Krispies.  

 

Divide into two bowls

 

Add green food coloring to one bowl and blue food coloring to the second then stir completely until all coloring is mixed in.

 

If the child is a little older then allow them to take a scoop from the blue bowl and a scoop from the green bowl and mash them together in a ball (the earth).With Zane being so small I made them myself and saved a BIG mess lol.  Just a tip when rolling your treats up, butter your hands so they dont stick and are more shapeable. 

 

Set the balls aside until completely cool. (I put them in the fridge to set up)

Heidi's Macaroni Salad

Here is another good recipe to take for that next cook out:)

Macaroni Salad

1 box Elbow Macaroni
1 bottle 3 Cheese Ranch Dressing(or any flavor Ranch dressing)
1 package of Cubed Ham
1 Pack of Cubed Cheddar Cheese
1 can Leiseur Peas(drained)
Lawrys Seasoning (desired amount for seasoning)

Cook Macaroni as directed on box then combine all other ingredients and stir well.  Let chill and sprinkle a little Seasoning or paprika on top for decor:)

Crunchy Taco Pie

A little like the Taco ring with a twist. 

Crunchy Taco Pie

1 roll seamless Crescent Rolls
1 cup Frito Lay Corn Chips (or Doritos) crushed
1 lb Ground Beef
1 cup Salsa
Taco Seasoning Packet
1 cup con queso (this is optional but I like to add it to the meat.  I buy the El Paso Queso Cheese in a jar)
Sour Cream
Shredded Mexican Cheese

Preheat oven to 375.  Place your seamless crescent roll into a pie dish and press along the bottom and sides.(you can use the Crescent Rolls as well if using then place them triangle shapes with the large end to the side of the dish and the points to the middle).

(Note I used the reduced fat rolls and they pulled apart a little but I just pieced it together and since your covering it up its ok to not look so pretty underneath).

Next place crushed chips on dough.  Brown Ground Beef then add seasoning and simmer on stovetop as directed on package.  When mixed add salsa & cheese con queso to meat the layer on top of c6orn chips.  Spread Sour cream over meat layer then cover completely with shredded cheese.  Bake for 20-23 minutes until your rolls are browned.  Remove and serve.  I serve this dish with lettuce & tomatoes on the side as well as I saute onions to place on top (Most kids dont like all the garnishings so its easier to serve with them on the side.  Great dish and takes 30 minutes tops to put together & serve.  Enjoy!!

Egg Shell Art

So the letter "E" has been fairly boring.  Besides Elmo, Elephants, & eggs, their are not many things that start with the letter E that Zane recognizes.  We did, however, find a fun craft to do .  Although it took a little prep work it turned out great.  we started it yesterday(or should I say I started it yesterday).  I boiled 7 eggs then let them cool completely.  Once cooled I removed the shells from the eggs and placed them crumbled up in 2 cups.  I then added water & food coloring to dye the egg shells 2 different colors.

We kept it simple and just went with 2 colors, however you could do more or less or even NOT color them and use them plain white.  I then let them soak in the color for about an hour then removed them and place them on 2 plates so the could dry overnight.

Once they dry you can crumble them a little more.  I then drew a Large letter E on a piece of construction paper then I poured glue all on the inner lines of the E.  Zane then put all the egg shells in the letter and it turned out really nice.  He enjoyed it. By having the glue on the inner sides only it didnt matter where he put the shells becuase I just shook it off once dried and they stayed where the glue had been. (Just a side note.....instead of wasting your hard boiled eggs I chose to make some tuna salad with them as well as a few deviled eggs for our dinner:)  Defintily a fun craft to do.  Here is our finished product.

Fresh Broccoli Salad

With Summer just around the corner and "cook out" season gearing up I thought I would post a couple of great easy recipes.  To start is one of my favs......


Fresh Broccoli Salad

1 lb. Fresh Broccoli (chopped up bite sized)
1/2  Mild Cheddar Chees(cubed)
3 pieces bacon, fried, crisp, & crumbled(you can also use the fresh bacon bits)

Mix these 3 ingrdients together then combine dressing and mix together.

Dressing

1/2 c. Miracle Whip or Mayo(whichever you prefer)
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. Vinegar

Stir & Serve :)

"Nemo" the Deer!

Here is our fun D activity we did yesterday.  Trace your childs footprint then both hands.  Cut them out and glue to a piece of paper for a cute deer.  We added eyes and painted a nose and of course added out letter "D".  Zane named it "Nemo" (tried to get him to change it but no way:))

Taco Ring (Pampered Chef recipe)

Melissa this is just for you:)

Taco Ring

Ingredients:

*3/4 lb lean ground beef

1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 1 medium bell pepper
• 1 cup salsa
• 3 cups lettuce, shredded
• 1 medium tomato
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup pitted ripe black olives (optional)
• sour cream (optional) Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

1. 1 Cook ground beef in large skillet over medium heat 7-9 minutes or until beef is no longer pink; drain.
2. 2 Remove pan from heat.
3. 3 Stir in taco seasoning mix, cheese and water.
4. 4 Preheat oven to 375°F.
5. 5 Unroll crescent dough; separate into triangles.
6. 6 Arrange triangles in a circle on Classic Round Pizza Stone with wide ends overlapping in center and points toward outside. (There should be a 5 inch diameter opening in center.) I use my Pampered Chef pizza stone, but any flat round pan should work--perhaps even a pizza sheet, but I'd spray it with Pam before adding the crescent rolls.
7. 7 Scoop meat mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered).
8. 8 Bake at 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
9. 9 Shred lettuce and chop tomato, onion, olives, and bell pepper (if desired).
10. 10 If you want to do something fancy, scoop out a bell pepper and fill with salsa and put into center of ring.
11. 11 Add your toppings to top of ring and finish with more shredded cheese and sour cream.

12. 12 This is great with a salad.

Cheeseburger Pie

Cheeseburger Pie

2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 package Sharp Chedder Cheese
1/4 cup onion chopped
1/4 tsp. Italtian Seasoning
Salt & pepper (to taste)
8 oz. can Tomato Sauce
1 can Pillsbury seamless crescent rolls

Brown your Ground beef.  Drain then add all other ingredients using only 1/2 of your cheese.   Press crescents into the bottom of a pie dish pressing up along the sides as well.  Add the above mixture to crust and  top with Shredded Cheese. Bake on 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Peanut Butter Pie

This is for all you peanut butter lovers.  Its super rich but so good and as always EASY:)

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie
 1 Cup Peanut Butter
3/4 cup Sugar
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 3/4 cups cool whip
Chocolate Pie Shell

Mix together the 1st 4 ingredients then whip in Cool Whip.  Whip very good then pour in pie shell.  Freeze overnight.  Then top with Cool Whip & Drizzle with chocolate & chocolate chips & crumbled Reece's Cups..

Crock Pot Country Style Steak

Delicous Country Style Steak  in a crock pot.  My mother in law shared this recipe with me.  I changed it a little after cooking it several times. It is so easy and really out of this world.  Its great to serve if having several people over and the best part is its in a crock pot so prep time is virtually nothing:) 

Crock Pot Country Style Steak
4 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 packets driend Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 cups water
8 pieces of Cube or Minute Steak( I prefer minute steak)
1 small can of mushrooms(optional)

Mix Cream of Mushroom Soup with water & onion soup mix.  Brown steak on both sides(just until browned) then put in a crock pot.  Pour Soup mixture over steak and cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or until steak in tender. 

I serve with Mashed potatoes or rice.  This is a must try dish and you will love it.

Letter D

I have been a little behind on posting activities that Zane & I are doing so thought I would continue with our Letter D.  We worked on D last week a little but we had a very buisy week so we are sticking to the same letter this week in order to get it:)  This week I have several activities planned.  Today we made a Doggie Puppet out of a lunch bag.  Very simple and only required a brown sack, glue, and red & black construction paper.  I also cut out several D's and let Zane glue them on a paper.  Just a little visual reinforcement of the letter.  This week we are going to be painting and decorating donuts, playing with Dinosaurs out in the sand, and making some duck crafts.  Hopefully by the end of the week we will nail down the D.  Many people ask how am I teaching him these letters and its simple.  We do at least 1 craft a day with the letter.  We focus on eating snacks the whole week starting with the letter as well as reading books and pointing out the letter we are working on.  We only spend about an hour in the mornings working on these lettters however I make sure to point out letters throughout the day when we see them.  We are having lots of fun:)  One thing I have found is we are only working on upper case right now.  I have found its easier to grasp one at a time!

Messy Kitchen

Do you ever wish you would have never baked because of the mess you have made???  Well we have a tradition in our house that our boys get to make their own family cake on their actual birthday and get to decorate it themselves.  Well honestly usually I bake it and once cooled they decorate it.  Well my 11 year old just baked his 1st cake all by himself and the kitchen was spotless(well almost) when he finished.  I thought I would share a few of these keys with you.

1. Make sure you have a super clean surface to begin with.  (I mean who wants to eat dinner on a dirty plate?  Thats how I feel about a clean kitchen.  I dont want to eat from it unless its clean.)

2. Pull out all ingredients and measuring cups you will be using to make your dish prior to baking.

3. As you use each ingredient, put that item away.( a tip my mom always told me)

4. By your last ingredient, the only thing you should have out is your bowl or dish and utensils.(and of course your mixing bowls & measuring cups in the sink which are soaking in water and can be put in dishwasher in about 2 minutes.

These steps might take add an extra 5 minutes if that to your prep time but it sure as heck beats the nasty 30 minute clean up that usually comes along:)

Just a few tips from a busy mom!  Happy Cooking:)

Triple Chocolate Chip Cake Cookies

Looking for that fast easy cookie recipe?  Here is my favorite one of all and I must say everyone loves them.

Cookies
Cake Mix(I use the chocolate fudge mix)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
white chocolate chips


Mix together the 1st 3 ingredients until well blended then stir in desired amount of white chocolate chips.  Roll dough, flatten out,  and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.

*you can use any cake mix and any flavor of chips you would like.

Breakfast Crossiants

Have you ever gotten up in the mornings and had nothing for breakfast?  This is what happened at our house this morning after being gone the past week so I looked at what I had and came up with a pretty scrumptious crossiant so I thought I would share(especially since Cody ate 5 of them they must of been pretty tastey )
 
Half in cinnamon & sugar
Half in Chocolate Chips


Cinnamon Sugar
Roll crossiant up as normal then brush butter over entire crossiant then roll in cinnamon & sugar mix

Chocolate Chip
Roll several chips up in a crossiant then pinch the sides closed.  Brush with butter then sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Bake both together on a baking sheet until browned.  (I use a baking stone so it took almost 20 minutes to brown)  You can also brush egg white over them before baking for that fluffy pastry finish(i was just out of eggs so I used butter)

Remove and serve:)