M & M Teacher Gift

Today big brother completed his third year of preschool. I think we are both sad to see the routine go, but equally excited to make special summer memories. At the end-of-year picnic, big brother presented each teacher with this special treat to let them know how much he enjoyed their class:

 I came across this adorable jar gift idea on Pinterest awhile back and knew it would be perfect for the end of school. To save time, I used a free printable and tied it on with baker's twine. I plan to re-create this sweet gift in years to come, and may make my own printable version of the poem in card format.

Thank You Teachers & Happy Summer Break!

Fast & Easy Delicious Soup

Welcome 2012! This time last year I was pregnant with baby number 2, who is now 7 month old baby sister. Wow. Time is going much too fast, but I'm doing my best to enjoy every minute of it. I look forward to future days that hold some extra time & energy so I can get back to sharing more crafts and projects. Until then, thanks to those who are still up for peeking at my little part of the mommie made blog world!

Recently I happened upon a delicious soup recipe that I have to share. It's a one pot wonder that is so tasty, so good & super easy to prepare. Here's my vegetarian version:

 Tomato Soup with White Beans & Pasta

via AllYou January 2011

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I squeeze 'em thru our press)

1/4 tsp dried oregano

2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes

28oz veggie broth

1/2 cup small pasta (I use elbows)

1 can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed

salt, pepper & any other seasoning you enjoy

 Start by warming the oil in your pot over medium-high heat. (I like using my dutch oven.) Add the garlic, stirring frequently and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in oregano, then tomatoes & broth. Bring the soup base to a boil. Next add the pasta, stir occasionally and cook about 8 minutes. Add the beans, stir and lower to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, and I like to add some of Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute too. Keep it warming on the stove top for a bit or go ahead & ladle into bowls alongside some warm crusty garlic bread. YUM!

Most recipes I find in magazines typically turn out bland, so I was shocked that this turned out so well! I found it in All You, which I began subscribing to a few months back for the coupons. (I'm not a candidate for Extreme Couponers, but do enjoy saving our household serious cash!) What a pleasant surprise and an excellent addition to our dinner rotation during cold winter nights. I hope you give it a try and like it as much as we do!

Pine Cone Bird Feeders

On an October afternoon walk around the neighborhood, big brother and I spotted some lovely pine cones. I instantly knew we should grab a few for a fun project - bird feeders! So into baby sister's stroller basket they went.

A few days later we just happened to be stuck indoors due to rain. I found some spare ribbon in my craft stash and tied loops to the tops of our pine cone treasures. Then I newspapered the dining room table and filled a shallow bowl with bird food. After grabbing the jar of peanut butter for the shot above, I decided to spoon out a glob of it into a separate dish to avoid double dipping the spatula back in the jar. (Good thinking mommie!) Once the sticky layer was complete, it was time for big brother to cover the cones in bird seed.

Once he got over the initial prickles of the pine cones, he had tons of fun smashing lots of seeds into the peanut butter. He was so tickled and excited to make these for the birds that frequent our yard.

Once our feeders were complete, I stored them in a resealable bag. A few days later once the sun returned, we headed out to hang our creations and spy on our birdie friends.

We watched our pine code feeders often, but I wasn't able to capture an action shot. Oh well, such is the life of this busy mommie bird! We have proof that our efforts were enjoyed tho - the backyard feeder was knocked down and devoured by pesky squirrels, and the front one is still hanging just as bare as the now leafless tree!

 Since this easy project was such a hit, I plan to do it again and again. If we don't have the good fortune of accessible pine cones, there are tons of ideas online (pinterest anyone?!), including stacked cheerios on pipe cleaner stems or this adorable inverted sugar cone - genius!

via www.BettyCrocker.com

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Last week was Spring Break around here, so making Easter cookies was high on my list of fun activities. Big brother loves cooking, so we whipped up a fantastic sugar cookie recipe. It's delicious, easy and instantly ready to roll out if you have an impatient baker as do I! It even held up nicely in the fridge between cutting sessions...someone lost his steam once we got to the cut outs and wasn't the most gentle. Even so, I think our final shapes turned out nicely!

I let the cookies cool and packed them in airtight containers overnight. Soon we were ready to decorate! 

After having such success with my cupcake frosting, I was excited to make my first batch of Royal Icing. Once again, I turned to Prudent Baby's wisdom to get started.  I made a large batch of white icing and then divided it into small bowls for coloring. Once the color was mixed, I spooned the frosting into my handy squirt bottles. I kept things basic by starting with outlines, and then filling them in for big brother to happily sprinkle.

I've got a long ways to go to match some of the gorgeous cookies I've seen in blogland, but our first go at it was fun! Figuring out the correct consistency of the icing is key, and having a little helper always produces homegrown results. And that's what makes them extra special!

As you can see, the cookies were well loved, shared excitedly and eaten quickly.

Here's to the next batch and I hope everyone's Easter was great!

Corn Chowder

I first made this chowder moons ago when my husband and I were simply boyfriend and girlfriend. He's asked me to make it again several times, but I somehow misplaced the recipe. Then we moved, got married, and started our family. Well, much to my nesting delight, I recently came across the missing recipe while going through a stack of books I'm purging. I immediately made a batch and the recipe is settled in our permanent binder of go-to meals. Here's a pic of the deliciousness in my cast iron pot. Find my take on the recipe below!

Vegetarian Corn Chowder

adapted from Rachel Ray's Clam Chowda

2 tablespoons butter

2 slices bacon, chopped (I like Morningstar Farms)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 ribs celery with greens, chopped

4 springs fresh thyme

salt & pepper

2 teaspoons (or more) hot sauce

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 pint half-and-half

2 cups stock (I use vegetable)

1 cup raw hash browns (usually found in the dairy case & I use much more)

2 cans kernel corn (I drain the water, but you can add what you like)

In a medium pot over medium high heat melt butter. Add bacon, onions, celery and thyme sprigs. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce and cook 5 minutes. Add flour and cook a minute more.
Add half-and-half and stock and bring to a bubble. Then stir in potatoes and corn. Bring soup back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, until potatoes are cooked and soup has thickened to coat the back of a spoon.

Even though we're enjoying some spring-like temperatures, I'm sure there are still more cold, gray days ahead. Give this a try on one of those nights and snuggle in before it's too hot for soup!

Welcome Fall

My posts have slowed down recently due to fall activities, but stay tuned for more mommie-made fun!  Recently I took my little one apple picking and we had a blast.  Here's a peek at some of our bountiful harvest:

This simple bowl of hand-picked fruit is the best souvenir!  But we'll see how long these last as fall decor.  There's nothing like apples fresh from the NC mountain trees!

 

Now I've got some girlie fun planned for this blank tee, plus a fun reveal.  Check back soon!

Favorite Foods: Macaroni & Cheese

I don't know of one male (or even female for that matter!) in my family that doesn't love this Macaroni & Cheese recipe.  This dish is a must share as it's requested often...birthdays, rainy days, chilly days, holidays...you get the picture!  I always try to serve a green veggie with the Mac, and my Mom started the tradition of serving it alongside blueberry muffins.  Sounds crazy, but the combo is soooo gooood!  I think it's something about the savory and sweet together.  Or maybe it's just the giant carb-fest we all crave from time-to-time.  Whatever the case may be, it's delicious and I hope you enjoy it as much as our family does!

Macaroni & Cheese

8 oz cooked macaroni noodles

2 cups + shredded cheese

2 eggs

2 cups milk

salt, pepper, seasoning to taste

 Whisk together eggs, milk and desired seasoning.  Butter a casserole dish and cover the bottom with a layer of shredded cheese.  Alternate layers of cooked noodles and cheese, ending with cheese on top.  Pour liquid over entire casserole.  Top it with a few small cubes of butter to assist in browning (and deliciousness).  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  YUM!

I like to use sharp cheddar cheese, but am also known to mix it up with colby or other specialty cheeses.  If you have a meat lover in your household, you could add ham or even sausage.  This recipe delivers a casserole consistency and is definitely a southern delicacy.  Don't forget to try it with blueberry muffins!

Fruit Pie

It's just not summer without a fresh-from-the-oven fruit pie! I happened upon a simple recipe* for this scrumptious concoction last week, and quickly baked up my very own peach & blueberry version. YUM!

Ingredients

1 frozen Wholly Wholesome pie crust
sliced fruit & berries of your choice
1 cup half-and-half
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions: 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place fruit in pie crust and spread evenly. 2. In a small bowl, combine half-and-half, egg, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt; whisk until well blended. Pour over fruit. 3. Place pie in oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 50 minutes or until center is set.

The liquid portion ended up being a bit too much for my fruit packed pie, so either put less fruit in or try less half-and-half. Thank goodness I had my pie on a baking sheet that caught some of the excess - whoopsie! Once it's cooled enough to dish, don't forget to plop a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top!

*original recipe found in Family Circle's August 2010 issue

More Lunch Fun

My son had a summer session of preschool last week, so I gave his new lunch set a try. Here's a peek at my favorite lunch:

top left - honey graham sticks & fruit leather butterfly cut-outs
top right - chickadee crackers
bottom - cream cheese & jelly on whole wheat duckie sandwich

I was excited by how cute it turned out! And from only the crumbs that returned, I could tell my son enjoyed how tasty it was too! I'm looking forward to creating more fun lunches this summer. Hopefully I'll be a pro by the time preschool resumes this fall...a mother can dream, right?!

Lunch Mania

I can't seem to shake my new-found creative lunch packing passion. And it seems I'm not the only one from the threads I've recently come across on the local mommie site. I guess summer break has us mommies re-examining the task of packing lunch. I personally never dread the duty, but do find myself packing the same ol' things feeling guilty about the food rut. But have no fear, this mommie is gearing up for fun lunches to pack for summer and beyond!
While checking out a few new sandwich cutters and some popsicle molds, I purchased the Sassy on-the-go lunch set to add to my son's collection today. (pictured above, but his set is all blue and was found locally at Buy Buy Baby) I'm excited because the size of the main container is perfect for a preschooler. Our Bento Box is great, but has always seemed too large quite yet for a 2 year old.

I have lovely memories of my own special lunches packed by Mom, so I guess I'm destined to pass the creative love on. Plus I'm always super excited to provide my son fun, healthy, waste-free and cost-effective food! Have you seen the fun over at Another Lunch?! Wowza.

And in other homemade topics, I promise to share a few new things I've recently stitched soon. We've got a new digital camera, so time to figure out the upload changes. Stay tuned!

Food for Thought

Mmnnn! Just made these delicious (and super easy!) granola bars today, and had to share the recipe. I DVR "The Martha Stewart Show" daily and was pleased to catch this particular treat. I used ingredients we already had on-hand, but certainly appreciate the ability to prepare this for others with food allergies. I also used raisins instead of chocolate chips as my little one somehow did not inherit his parent's love of cocoa concoctions. So proud he prefers fruit!

And speaking of preparing food for my sweet bambino, check out the lastest blog I'm obsessing over: Another Lunch. I immediately broke out my cookie cutters for his bento lunches this past week...why hadn't I thought of it before?! My fellow bento-using hometown bestie turned me on to this site and I can't thank her enough. The photos, ideas and products are too much crafty/nerdy fun not to share! Cute waste-free healthy lunches rock!