Spring Break Blah Busters

Are you staying home this spring break? 

Do you need some kids activity ideas?

Head on over to Tip Junkie today for 38 awesome activities to do with your kiddos over the break....

including one of our ideas!

Thanks Tip Junkie for featuring our Marshmallow Play Dough!

Upside Down Spaghetti

1 lb. hamburger

1/4 c. diced onions

1/4 c. green peppers

1/4 c. chopped mushrooms

1 pkg. spaghetti noodles (we use Gluten Free)

1 8 oz. block cream cheese

1 c. sour cream

2 c. shredded cheese.

1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce...or your own homemade recipe.

Brown hamburger & veggies. Mix cream cheese and sour cream. Layer a 9x13 pan with the cream cheese mixture, noodles, hamburger mixture, 2 cups of shredded cheese (of your choosing. I have used both mozzerela & cheddar and they are both yummy!) And lastly add the spaghetti sauce.

Take a table knife and poke holes to help sauce drain down through noodles. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees.

After cooling, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

This recipe is delicious, a great take on the classic spaghetti.

As you can see,  lil miss thinks its tasty!

-Amanda

picture via :http://blisstree.com/eat/baked-spaghetti-with-mushrooms/

St. Patricks Day Menu

For years we have celebrated St. Patty's Day with green food at Breakfast and Dinner (the kids had lunch at school). I want to share my typical menu - although it changes with crazy whims on occasion - but this is pretty close to the typical. You don't have to be a master cook to cook a green meal. Green food coloring is your friend for this holiday!

Breakfast:
Green Scones with butter and honey
Green colored milk - when the kids were young, I blamed it on a leprechaun:)

After school snack:
Hostess Green Sno-balls OR
Lime Sherbet/vanilla yogurt smoothies

Dinner:
Green Chicken Pillows (also called bundles, bread filled with chicken and cream cheese mixture and then baked. Take a look at THIS recipe on Allrecipes.com. It is very similar - except mine are GREEN of course.

Green Chicken Cordon Bleu Sauce-to go over pillows.
Green peas
Lime jello and whipped cream parfaits.
Lime flavored Kool-aid (the only time we buy Kool-aid!)

Dessert:
Chocolate Mint Dessert OR
Grasshopper Pie (so pretty when made in a spring form pan. I like to put a layer of hot fudge on the crust then the ice cream and zig-zags of hot fudge over the top)

I make my favorite bread recipe and add green food coloring. The recipe I use I make the night before and it rises in the fridge overnight. It is used for the scones and also the chicken pillows.
~jan

Linked to...
some of THESE Wonderful Parties



photo: http://brooklynpix.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/leprechaun
http://www.stockfood.co.za/results.asp?txtkeys=Woodruff

Banana Nut Muffins

We love muffins at our house! I have even been called the Muffin Mom in years past. Here is the most popular recipe I use.

1 stick butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large bananas mashed
2 cups flour
1/2 teas. salt
1 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. baking soda
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teas. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins with either non-stick spray or paper liners.

Beat butter, sugar, eggs and mashed bananas together. Toss in flour, salt, baking powder and soda and the milk, mix until dry ingredients are moist - not a good idea to over mix. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Using an ice cream scooper that has the lever fill muffin tins 2/3 way full. I like to place a pecan half to the top before baking, but in the pictures you will see I didn't; I forgot and crushed them all.
Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from tins immediately. Serve with last weeks Amish Breakfast Casserole.


I made a batch of multi-sized muffins for the various sizes of appetites I feed regularly. They are so yummy warm with a little butter melted inside - or not.
I have linked to some of these fabulous parties.
~jan

Y.U.M.M.Y

So, I am currently doing The Master Cleanse. 

For personal reasons, It sounded like a good option for me. Its supposed to clean out toxins and some people have said it helped with their food intolerance's, which I have a few...Its too early to say if its working but, if anything, it will convince me that I do have some self control :)

When I get off this crazy ride I fully intend on having myself a "free day" once a week or so, to eat some delicious treats that life shouldn't go without!

I thought I would share these YUMMY goodies with y'all so you can taste for yourself the wonderful-ness of splurging, cheating or whatever it is you call taking a break from our endless detoxes and diets that we as women put ourselves through.

Treat #1:  Raspberry Freezer Dessert

This recipe totally tickles my taste buds and 

I am sooo happy that Judy from Cranberry Morning shared this with me. 

YUM!

Check out the link for the recipe...you'll be glad you did.

Treat #2:  Coconut Ice Cream with Caramelized Bananas

The taste combination{s} are AMAZING! 

I heart ice cream. Its not too heavy so I don't feel like a pig when I eat it,

[as long as I don't eat the whole container!] 

Again, check out the link for the recipe...Ashlie & Alfred rocked my world with this one;)

Treat #3: Easy No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

I seriously LOVE making no-bake cookies. 

These are easy and SUPER yummy....a nice break from the chocolate-y ones I usually make. 

You just gotta check this link out! 

This is just one of the crazy good recipes Liz has to offer!

A special thanks to these bloggers for sharing their divine recipes.

Keep doing what your doing...for the taste buds!

Lotsa Love,

Amanda