St. Patrick’s Day Decorations

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Cheri

I feel like I’ve been the Grinch of all holidays lately. I wish I did more to celebrate New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Groundhog Day…even my birthday. But I didn’t have the energy. However, when I saw this idea on Sugar Bee Crafts this week, I KNEW I could do it!

Last night, I cut strips and today, the girls and I assembled the shamrocks. I love how they give a pop of green and definitely feel festive!

They are SO easy! Go make some today!

(Sugar Bee Crafts has a full tutorial and other ideas how to make paper strip ornaments and hearts. Her pics are WAY better than mine. I am hoping to come up with paper strip EASTER EGGS! Stay tuned!)

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Posted in All Writers, Cheri, Crafts, Fun, Holidays, The Moms, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

π Day! What’s for Dinner?

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Sunny

Pie or Pi day is March 14 (3.14) celebrate by eating pie!

A friend reminded me that pie day (that’s π day, 3.14, March 14) is coming up soon! Somehow I remember this holiday too late every year to actually make a pie for it. Even though it’s written plainly on my calendar (yep, there it is just like last year– a “14” right smack in the middle of the month).

I am currently avoiding sugar like the plague (well, actually, I haven’t been around the plague so that one is much, much easier to avoid), so rather than a decandent pie for dessert, I’m going for Chicken Pot Pie for dinner. One thing I like about making Chicken Pot Pie from scratch is that it’s pretty easy, rather flexible, and I get to use one of my favorite ingredients: Better Than Cream of Soup. Gravy that’s sooo good for you! What a dream!

Chicken pot pie with teddy bear biscuit crust!

Here’s what I do for an easy, yet homemade chicken pie (this makes two pies, and if you only eat one, freeze the other and you’ve got dinner done for another day or for a friend also!)

Ingredients:

Vegetables, chopped and lightly steamed

these can be fresh, frozen, or canned–whatever you like or are used to. If I have time, I chop up a potato, a couple of carrots and celery stalks and steam them in the microwave for a few minutes. Then I add in some frozen peas, corn maybe, lima beans, whatever I feel like. If I’m in a hurry and I’ve got them, I just use a bag of mixed frozen vegetables.

vegetables for chicken pot pie

Chicken, cooked and chopped.

For my preferences, 1 large breast is enough. Or maybe a little more. I usually have some already in the freezer, which saves a little time on the prep.

2 or 3 cups of Better Than Cream of Soup, however much looks good to you!

Of course is you don’t have any on hand or time to make it, you can use any gravy or cream o’ soup you like. The cream o’ soup from a can would need to be thinned somewhat with milk or water. If you use soup from a can, cut back on your spices or leave them out all together.

Spices

Whatever you like on chicken–try Cheri’s Rotisserie Chicken Spice Mix or just add some salt, pepper, and thyme.

Chicken bullion

reconstituted in a little water, maybe 1/4 cup

Mix all your ingredients and put the mixture in your desired dish(es). You can use pie plates, casserole dishes, or a cake pan, whatever you like that fits the amount you have. Then use your favorite pie crust recipe to cover the top or if you prefer something easier, make the biscuit recipe below and either roll it out and put cookie cutter shapes on your pie (this is fun with little kids who appreciate fun food) or use the drop biscuit version and just get the dough on and cook the thing already. I suggest having the filling hot in order to have the biscuits cook through.

Biscuits (from my well used Better Homes and Gardens cookbook)

2 cups flour (I use white wheat, use what you like)
1 Tblspn baking powder
2 tsp sugar (optional really)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil or applesauce (it really calls for shortening, margerine, or butter)
2/3 cup milk (or a full cup if you want to drop the dough instead of roll it out)

Mix the dry, then oil, then milk.

This made enough dough to amply cover two pies.

bake at 450° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Make Chicken Pot Pie for dinner to celebrate pi day March 14

Your family will love it so much it will be all the way around the table in 3.14. Oh, I crack me up (insert knee slap). Though according to our dinner table conversation, my AP calculus son tells me that’s just half way around…

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Hawaiian Chili Water – YUM!

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Heidi

#2 Reason Why Hawaii is so Cool: They’ve Got Chili Water

chili water

When I was first introduced to it, I was hesitant. I thought it would be spicy. I mean, it’s called “Chili Water”, so wouldn’t you think the same? And water? What’s up with that?

And then I tried it. And I am now its #1 Fan. I sprinkle a bit on just about anything savory — potatoes, soup, pizza, meat or veggies. I even use it as a bread dip.

Chili Water is full of flavor and not spicy, however, I am sure you can turn up the heat by adding more peppers. It’s supposedly called Hawaiian Chili Water because it is enjoyed extensively around the islands, so why I just heard about it just last month?!?

The best part is that Hawaiian Chili Water is super easy to make and, due to its high level of salt and chili, it lasts a long time.

Here’s the recipe:

Hawaiian Chili Water

6 small dried hot red chili peppers, sliced

1/4 onion, sliced

1-2 garlic cloves, whole or cut into strips

1 tsp SEA salt (no Morton’s Salt here, folks!)

2 cups hot water, not boiling

(I have also heard of variations using 2 tsp rice vinegar, omitting the onions, and substituting 2 quarter sized slices of ginger. Whichever recipe is sure to be really tasty.)

Combine in a sterile bottle (mine is a reused soda bottle) and let it steep overnight. Refrigerate in the morning and serve whenever. Due to the sea salt and chili peppers, chili water has a long shelf life. In fact, after the bottle is used up, just add more water to the ingredients and keep on serving.

I have a cork on the top of mine with a hole through it and a small piece of a bamboo skewer used as a plug. (You can check it out in the photo). This way, only the water can drizzle out and all the goodness can stay in.

Enjoy! I want to hear about how you like it — let me know!!

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A Good Reminder

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Cheri

celebrate differences strengthen families

I passed by the local junior high school and saw their marquee emblazoned with the words

Celebrate Differences

Create Balance

Strengthen Community

When I read them, I immediately changed the words and thereby changed the meaning:

Celebrate Differences
Create Balance
Strengthen Family

Within our family, we have many different personalities. But would I trade one of them for another? Sure, some make life easier but others make life fun, beautiful, exciting, tender…the list goes on and on. I can’t trade one personality without losing something amazing in the process. So I agree: Celebrate Differences.

I also believe in finding a BALANCE in our families. It is easy to become busy with nothing, overwhelmed with the unimportant, focused either on ourselves or so outward that our family gets lost in the middle. We can be so busy, we don’t have time to eat together, to play together, to pray together. But I believe that we can choose our busyness and choose our priorities, and then work to balance them. I agree: Create Balance.

And finally, as we celebrate the differences within our own family, focusing on what each member has to offer, and work to create a balance where our family is first and everything else supports it, we WILL strengthen our families.

I appreciated the gentle reminder on my way home.

photo by Chicago’s North Shore Conventions & Visitors Bureau

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Homemade Laundry Soap–Updated Recipe

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Cheri

This week, I made a new batch of homemade laundry soap. Now, I know there are hundreds of recipes out there, and people have different opinions about ingredients and methods. I’ve tried a couple different recipes, but I’ve found that the clothes, though technically, don’t always come out looking, feeling, or smelling that clean. I wanted to do something about that this time.

I make my own laundry soap because my daughter is allergic to dyes and perfumes found in store bought laundry soap. Since making my own (for the past 4 years), her eczema is WAY better and she doesn’t sit around and itch all the time. When we borrow clothes from others or get hand-me-downs and I don’t wash them first, or when her clothes accidentally get washed by store bought soap, we see a huge flare-up in her eczema. So at least I know this soap helps her.

Still, now that I’m also washing cloth diapers, I haven’t been thrilled with how clean the diapers are getting. I’m having to wash them twice every time, and one of those loads I am using chlorine bleach, which I know isn’t best, but sure makes a difference for our youngest.

So when I ran out of our last batch (which lasted about a year), I decided to do a huge batch and change a few things. Here’s the final recipe. I’ve used it a few times already and find the clothes look, feel, and smell a lot cleaner. However, I haven’t used it enough on the cloth diapers to have a final opinion about its performance on cloth.

UPDATED HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP

  • 4 bars Fels Naptha soap, grated
  • 1 container OxyClean Pure (free of dyes and perfumes)
  • 1 box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (available in the laundry aisle, usually near the Borax)
  • 1 box Borax
  • 1 box powdered color-safe bleach

Combine a few cups of grated Fels Naptha and OxyClean in blender. Blend until soap is coarsely ground. Empty into large storage bucket. Repeat with more soap and powdered ingredient (it can be OxyClean, Washing Soda, or Borax. I wouldn’t blend the bleach…) until all the soap has been ground. (I like this step because it makes the soap more concentrated and easier to dissolve.) After all the soap has been ground, combine all the ingredients in the large bucket. Stir or shake to mix thoroughly.

TO USE: Add 1-2 Tbs detergent to a full load of laundry.

I have been asked if this recipe is safe for HE washers. I’m not an expert, so I don’t want to say yes or no, but I did notice that a few of the ingredients had on their boxes “HE safe”. Since that wasn’t important to me, I didn’t check on all the boxes. But I’d assume if all the ingredients alone are safe, then the final product will also be safe. You’ll just have to check the ingredients for yourself.

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Posted in All Writers, Budgeting, Cheri, Cleaning Tips, Family, For You, Laundry, Money Saving Tips, The House, The Moms | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Red Lentil Vegetable Soup

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Sunny

We finally had a snowfall here in Denver that was more than just a dusting. And after being spoiled with a mild January, the temperature has finally become almost cold enough for my middle school son to wear a jacket and long pants. That’s soup weather.red lentil vegetable soup on a cold day

Here is one of my recent favorites in the bone warming soup department. (And totally guilt free, for those of you prone to such things). Have it for dinner, and let it hang around for a mug as a snack. It tastes even better with a little time (or maybe it’s just that the work is a bygone).

This is from Vegetarianation, the recipe blog of a friend of mine. Of course I tweaked it for personal preferences (more lentils, less cabbage) and convenience (crock pot), but if you want the original recipe, here it is. Actually, now that I’ve made it a few times, I can’t decide if I like it more with more or less lentils and cabbage, but I do recommend not using the red cabbage just because the color isn’t as nice in the soup, and ditto if you are thinking of using regular green lentils–just doesn’t turn out as nice.

Red Lentil Vegetable Soup

red lentil soup ingredients

Ingredients

9 cups water
6 tsp. bouillon
1-2 cups red lentils
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
4-6 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 or more small head of cabbage, shredded
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon curry powder

During the morning, put everything in a slow cooker on low if it’s still early, on high if you didn’t get to it until after lunch. Eat at dinner time.

red lentil soup in pot

It leaves your afternoon so free that you may want to make some homemade bread (white or wheat) to go with it.

If I have time, I saute the vegetables in a little olive oil before adding them to the slow cooker. Should make it even tastier, right? Do you have any experience and an opinion on this?

At any rate, this soup makes you feel good when you eat it and later too. What a discovery. (Thanks, Meredith!)

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DIY Climbing Wall

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Heidi

I totally loved this idea at my friend’s house! They had built a wooden shed on the side of their house, and creatively crafted a climbing wall on the outside.

IMG 20130115 110014
Taking pieces of scrap wood, they cut them into any kind of shape, smoothed it out a bit and screwed them in. That’s it.<!–more–>
IMG 20130115 110023

Hey, it’s even good for a little adult fun and exercise!

IMG 20130115 110211

So easy, yet so much fun it’s worth making a shed just for the climbing wall!

IMG 20130115 105959

If you love it, pin it!

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Best Valentine’s Day Cookies Recipe

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Cheri

I’m sure Sunny has posted this somewhere else on FRM, but in case you haven’t tried her FANTASTIC cut-out cookie recipe, here it is. It makes perfect cookies (though I find I need to work in a bit of extra flour–still ends up soft and delicious) and they frost beautifully.

If not for this year, tuck this little gem away for any other time you need a perfect cut-out cookie recipe!

SUNNY’S CUT-OUT COOKIES

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs milk
½ Tbs vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix well. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, if possible. Roll out onto floured surface, kneading in extra flour as necessary. Either roll into balls and press with a glass or roll out and cut into shapes. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 300°F for 11-12 minutes.

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Meal List

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Cheri

I’ve been asked several times in the past couple weeks for our family’s meal list. See, I wrote a list of all the meals we actually eat. Not the ones in the cookbook, not the ones that we’ve tried, but the ones we really enjoy and eat more than once. I was tired of wondering what to eat and not being able to remember what we like. So I made a list.

Apparently, this is not a common thing for people to do because people are always asking to have a copy of our list to jog their own memory of what they eat. So, instead of wait to be asked by you, I’m just going to share it.

There are 130 recipes on this list. Three, I’ve never made. Two or three of the rest, we don’t actually eat anymore, but I haven’t taken them off the list. Why? I don’t know. Maybe to jog someone else’s memory.

Here is a jpeg of the list, but below is the list in it’s entirety that you can copy into Word or Excel to modify for your own family.

MEXICAN
Beef Tacos
Burritos
Chalupa
Chicken Fajitas
Chicken Tacos
Corn Tortilla Beef Tacos
Crock Pot Green Chile Pork
Crock Pot Sweet Pork
Frito Pie
Garlic Tomato Ravioli
Green Chile Beef and Potato Burritos
Green Chile Beef Burritos
Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Grilled Quesadillas
Salsa Beef Quesadillas
Kerri’s Amazing Quesadillas
Mexican Chicken Pizza
Mexican Enchiladas
Navajo Tacos
Salsa Chicken
Salsa Peach Pork
Steak Fajitas
Stuffed Sopapillas
Taco Bowls
Taco Casserole w/ cornbread
Tacos
Tostadas
Triple Layer Mexican Pizza

CASSEROLE
Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Chicken Pot Pie
Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Tuna Noodle Casserole

ASIAN
Asian Chicken and Noodles
Chicken Stirfry
Fried Rice
Hawaiian Haystacks
Kami’s Asian Pasta
Orange Chicken
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Yellow Curry

SALADS
Asian Chicken Salad
Chicken Cobb Salad
Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
Steak and Mango Salad

AMERICAN
Baked Potato Bar
Barbecue Pork Chops
BBQ Pork Chops & Mashed Potatoes
Beef and Gravy over Potatoes
Bourbon Street Wings
Chicago Chicken
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken Logs
Cinnamon Pork Chops
Country Style Steak
Cranberry Pork Loin
Cream Tuna
Crock Pot BBQ Chicken & Rice
Fondue
Fried Chicken
Garlic Chicken
Grilled Italian Chicken
Herbed Chicken Pastries
Marinated Steaks
Meatballs
Meatloaf
Plain Pork Chops
Roast Dinner
Rotisserie Chicken
Savory Herb Chicken Kabobs
Sour Cream Chicken
Steak Puffed Pastry
Swiss Steak
Veggie Topped Baked Potatoes

ITALIAN
3 Cheese Stuffed Manicotti
Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo
Baked Tortellini
Baked Ziti
Basil Pesto Ravioli
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Bowtie Festival
Chicken and Broccoli Fettucini Alfredo
Chicken Confetti
Chicken Parmesan
Chicken-Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls
Creamy Marinara Pasta
Grilled Pizza
Lasagna
Mostacccioli
Pasta Primavera
Pesto Lasagna Rolls
Pizza
Pizza Roll/Calzones
Spaghetti

SANDWICHES
Amazing Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Breaded Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches
BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Au Jus Sandwiches
BBQ Beef Sandwiches
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Grilled Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Hamburgers and Hotdogs
Hoagies
Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwiches
Pepper Steak Sandwiches
Sloppy Joes

SOUPS
Beef Stew
Chicken and Brown & Wild Rice Soup
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chili and Cornbread
Corn Chowder
Lasagna Soup
Potato Soup
Taco Soup
Tortilla Soup
White Chicken Chili

BREAKFAST
Breakfast Burritos
Crepes
Croissantwiches
Egg Sandwiches
Egg Skillet
Egg Toast
French Toast
Grandpa’s Pancakes
Muffins, Eggs, & Shake
Pancakes
Puffy Oven Pancakes
Quiche
Sausage Egg Casserole
Waffles

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Posted in All Writers, Cheri, Cooking Tips and Tricks, Family, Food, For You, Goals, Organization, Recipes, The House, The Moms | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Valentine Hair Clips–small DIY gift

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Sunny

diy valentine hair clip with feltI wanted to give several little girls a Valentine that didn’t involve sugar, but that they would like (which ruled out my sugarless prune brownies–I didn’t even like those. Don’t search for the post, you won’t find it).

diy valentine close up

I found lots of ideas on the web (for DIY Valentine crafts), but I preferred to keep it relatively simple and use what I had on hand. So this is what I made. They could be fancier, but I had to drawn the line somewhere if I was going to do it at all! I just hope those little girls do know I love them.

diy valentine felt stitched hearts

I cut hearts out of felt in three sizes, stacked them, and stitched them together with embroidery thread. Then I glued them onto hair clips (I actually went to the store for these, Hobby Lobby had several styles to choose from). I attached an extra piece of felt on the back for extra hold.

diy valentine hair clip backing

Then I made Valentine cards out of plain card stock, printed out and glued some colored paper on the front, and punched holes in the card to integrate the hair clip into the card.

diy valentines hair clips from felt

Happy Valentine’s Day! Spread the love.

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