Making an orzo salad with spinach pesto instead of basil sounds like a great way to get a few more vegetables into our diet – I can’t wait to try this!
I hope you enjoyed this collection of gathered links to DIY crafts, food projects, and thrifty ways to spruce up your home. Nothing brings me more joy then to highlight other fabulous bloggers. Follow me on Pinterest for daily inspiration!
It’s that time of the year again – over the next month it will be Spring Break somewhere in the US and MomAdvice has you covered with Spring Break Boredom Busters for your kids. No need to worry about how to fill those days when you have fun and free Spring Break activities to do at home.
If you’re anything like me, you’re looking for some quick, clever, and kid-tested ways to fill some of those school-less hours. How about a list of twenty-two awesome Spring Break Boredom Buster Ideas I found – everything from classics like homemade playdough, fun foods, and games to a “how’d you make that?” activity such as glow-in-the-dark jello?
Are you looking for some simple, fun, and creative crafts, recipes, and decorations for St. Patrick’s Day? Me too! So I pulled a couple ideas from our archives and then found a few more to inspire us with their simple ingredients, kid-friendly steps, and fun presentations.
I hope you enjoyed this collection of gathered links to DIY crafts, food projects, and thrifty ways to spruce up your home. Nothing brings me more joy then to highlight other fabulous bloggers. Follow me on Pinterest for daily inspiration!
Did you know that today is National S’mores Day? Who knew? I thought it would be fun to share with you a fun activity we did this summer that my kids absolutely flipped for. Have you ever ate a car s’more? No? Well, in my opinion, you haven’t lived until you have tried this fun food activity together. I guarantee that your kids will flip for this and I am betting that years from now my kids will be talking about that one time when their crazy mom let them make s’mores in the car.
Today Emily is demonstrating for us one of two ways that you can make your car s’mores. We have tried two different versions and both of them turn out wonderfully. With this version, kids can help assemble foil packets to be placed on a cookie sheet. Simply assemble your s’more ingredients (whatever your favorite ingredients might be) on a small piece of foil. Once your s’more is full assembled, wrap it up in the foil tightly, and place it on a cookie sheet.
For a simpler version, you can simply line a cookie sheet with foil and plop your s’mores right on them (as demonstrated below).
A really hot summer day, like this one, is the perfect place to cook your s’mores. Slide your cookie sheet onto the dash of your car and shut your car. Set your kitchen timer for 15-20 minutes. I highly recommend sipping some lemonade and enjoying the AC while they are cooking.
Retrieve your cookie sheet and show your kids their perfectly cooked s’mores.
Marvel in the fact that you completely blew their minds with your awesomeness. Remember, these are the stories they will tell their kids someday.
Happy S’mores Day, friends!
I am a part of the Walmart Moms program, and Walmart has provided me with compensation for these posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions are always my own.
Looking for a fun Valentine’s Day treat to share with your children? How does an icy frozen hot chocolate drink sound for a fun after school treat with your favorite kids? My kids were so excited to try these frozen hot chocolates and we couldn’t wait to share the recipe with you.
I am also sharing a few easy strategies for creating a Valentine’s Day dinner at home with your spouse when you can’t score a babysitter. Snag my recipe for Penne with a Spicy Vodka Cream Sauce and an easy dessert that you will really wow your hubby! I also have some wonderful other date night ideas on our site. Be sure to check out my Linguine with White Clam Sauce or how to have a Steakhouse Experience on a Poorhouse Budget for a few other ideas for fun celebration dinners.
We hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day however you choose to celebrate it!
After our success with Italian Turkey Sliders in our house, I decided to give another slider recipe a try on our family. When I happened upon this delicious Chicken Parmesan Slider, I just knew that it would be a winner. A simple chicken patty coated in a panko coating , laced with sesame seeds and Parmesan cheese, smeared with ricotta, sauced with fresh tomatoes, and a little basil layer on the bottom…well, what is not to love? I guarantee this is a slider you will want to create in your home too.
I made fast work of these by creating a breading station and then threw them on our griddle that I oiled lightly with olive oil. I could fit eight of these easily on the griddle, making fast and easy work for a quick weeknight meal. These easy sliders can be served with lemon roasted green beans, homemade oven fries, or just a bag of store-bought french fries.
My children enjoyed these minus the ricotta and sauce on the side. These can easily be customized to your own taste and condiment choices. However you top them, these burgers are delicious and fun!
Recipe:
Chicken Parmesan Sliders
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus some for drizzling
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper
1/2 cup sweet basil
1 1/2 lbs ground chicken
2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme for chicken
Salt and pepper
1 cup panko
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, very finely chopped
Ricotta cheese (optional)
8 slider rolls, such as brioche dinner rollsor 8 ciabatta rolls, split
Directions:
In a small pot with tight fitting lid heat two tablespoons of olive oil, over medium heat. Add garlic and stir 2 minutes then add tomatoes and cover pot. Cook tomatoes, shaking the pot occasionally, until tomatoes burst, 8-10 minutes. Mash up sauce with wooden spoon and season tomatoes with salt and pepper. Thicken, uncovered for 2-3 minutes and turn off heat.
Meanwhile, season chicken with thyme, salt and pepper. In a separate dish, combine panko crumbs with sesame seeds, Parmesan cheese, parsley. Form 8 small patties 3 inches wide and coat in breadcrumbs, gently pressing patties into crumbs to make them stick. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, shallow non-stick skillet or on a non-stick griddle plan over medium to medium-high heat. Cook patties to golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes on each side.
Place a spoonful of ricotta on bun bottom. Drizzle cheese with a touch of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Top soft cheese with a basil leaf, then the patties, then some sauce and bun tops.
As we prepare to send the kids back to school, I am in preparation mode to breathe some new life into my menu plans and am on the hunt for quick and easy recipes to satisfy our family. These Italian Turkey Sliders not only are quick to prepare and easy to bake, but thanks to their tiny size, these pint-sized Italian Turkey Sliders are ready in only fifteen short minutes.
Sliders are not only highly fashionable for entertaining, but they also are super fun for little ones who will appreciate your small burger efforts as a way to make the dinner hour more fun. I declared it, “Diner Food Night,” and we dined on these sliders with a package of store-bought french fries that I baked in the oven with the burgers and a round of those DIY Wendy’s Frosty treats that my kids adore.
Set up a few of your favorite fresh vegetable toppings, make a fun fry sauce, or add your own spin on a delicious fun meal at home. These are just as easy to make and bake as a batch of homemade meatballs, and they can be served on slider buns or simply dinner rolls in your favorite flavor variety. If you purchase those rolls at the end of the day, you can take advantage of those bakery savings with the slashed prices and save even more.
This simple meal is a new family favorite and I am already dreaming of a few fun slider ideas we can try in the future for even more delicious fun this year!
Recipe:
Italian Turkey Sliders
Ingredients:
16 ounces lean ground turkey
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
1 clove garlic – minced
1/2 teaspoon basil, dried
1/2 teaspoon oregano, dried
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
9 dinner or slider rolls (we selected a wheat variety)
Combine ground turkey, cheese and all seasonings. Mix together well. Shape turkey into 9 small patties. Place patties on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until cooked through. Be careful not to cook too long or they will become dried out.Place on rolls and top with your favorite toppings.
I can hardly believe that our summer is coming to a close for our family. I have to say, so far…it really has been the best summer ever. It’s not because we have done tons of vacations or been running nonstop, but it has just been being together and finally have kids at the age where outings have become as much of a treat for me as it is for them. We have loved every moment of our summer and I am going to really miss the lazy days that we have been enjoying these last few months.
As another school year is fast approaching in our house it has been a flurry of activity- uniform shopping, clothes shopping, shoe shopping, backpack shopping, school supplies shopping, ice cream treating, lots of individual dates with each kid, and plenty of talking about the exciting year to come.
I just wanted to point out a few of my favorite resources for moms that might help you as you ease back into your busy school year! These are my favorite resources for organizing and feeding my family during this busy time!
Good luck to each of you that are on this journey again with your kids! I hope you all get off to a successful school year start. I am sending each of you a coffee cup this size (see above) to get through all of it!
I hope these links to these past entries will inspire you as you prepare for this next school year!
It is that time of year again where I begin to gather ideas for baked treats to stick in my kid’s lunchboxes and for after school snacks. I always wanted to be that mom that packed an amazing lunch filled with homemade goodness, handwritten notes, and power foods that would get my child’s day started right. Sometimes I am that mom. Sometimes I am not.
It isn’t because I want to be superior over other mothers, but simply because I just know how good I feel when I have the right snacks in my corner for the day.
I want that for them too.
They deserve a little of that.
With blueberries already popped in the freezer from our berry picking last month, I decided to put them to good use in our home and made these Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins for a fun midday snack and to add to my snack ideas list for their lunchboxes this year.
These have everything I want in a good muffin- whole wheat flour, wheat germ, blueberries, bananas, and a little bit of sweetness. The muffin is light with bursts of berries throughout. If blueberries aren’t your favorite things, you can halve the amount of blueberries, or even cut fresh blueberries in half like our Baked Blueberry Donuts with the Lemon Glaze. The toasty wheat germ on top adds a little bit of texture to the top that keeps to their healthy nature.
I have included a vlog from a long time ago that I made on creating a baking day in your house to save money and keep your grocery budget on track. It is hard to believe that this little girl in the video is now off to kindergarten this year. This vlog illustrates though one way that we save money in our family and incorporate healthy eating in our home by making a commitment to one day of baking each week.
Happy baking, everyone!
Recipe:
Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)
1/3 cup reduced-fat (2 percent) milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons wheat germ, for sprinkling on top
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries. Divide batter among muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with a little wheat germ for an added crunch. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serving Size: 12
Recipe Source: Adapted only slightly from the amazing Martha Stewart
What treats do you like to bake for your child’s lunchbox? Feel free to share links or ideas from your own recipe collection in the comments below!
