Something New...

The hubby and I are trying to do the typical "eat at home more, eat healthier, lose weight, " routine.  Trying to ultimately lose some weight and save some money.  Sounds great, right?  Sure.  If you stick to it.  So far we have been doing pretty good.  We are not going overboard with it, but we are definitely doing better than we have in recent history.  We are both trying Body By Vi, which has been working well for us so far.  I love the fact that there are so many different recipes out there to use, so you don't feel like you are eating the same thing over & over.  I can't stand that.  My husband could eat a PB&J every day for the rest of his life, and never complain.  BOOORRRRIIING!!!  I demand more variety in my life.  But I digress...

The point of this post is really the fact that I have been trying some new things in the kitchen.  Trying to use my crock pot more often, which I love.  Trying some "freezer cooking", which I love.   Trying to combine the two and do some "crock pot freezer cooking" which I REALLY love!   Take an afternoon, spend it chopping up veggies, adding meats, seasonings, and what-have-you.  Ending up with several days, even weeks worth of meals all ready to throw in the freezer until you are ready to cook them.  I have found some recipes on the web that I have tried and have had pretty good results.  A few weeks ago I spent about 2 hours in the kitchen and had 7 meals in the freezer ready for the crock pot whenever I want.  Tonight's dinner was the best, though.   All 3 of my guys cleaned their plates, there was nothing left over.  Everybody raved about how wonderful it was, even the little grumpy guy!  I thought I should share.  I can't tell you that I found this awesome recipe you can make in advance and freeze, and it still tastes wonderful without giving you the recipe!  That would just be mean.  So, without further ado...

APPLE PIE PORK CHOPS

from onceamonthmom.com

‎8 cups apples, peeled & sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 pounds pork chops

  Place pork chops in bottom of slow cooker. In a large ziploc bag combine all other ingredients. squish around so apples are well coated. Dump apple mixture on top of chops. Cook on low 6-8 hours, or high 3-4 hours

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:
Same as above, except freeze apple mixture in ziploc bag until ready to use. On cooking day, let apple mixture thaw on counter top about 30 minutes before putting over chops in the crock pot.


ENJOY!!!

Scout, our Elf on the Shelf

Back in November, my Grandma got the boys an Elf on the Shelf.  She thought it would be so much fun, and that they would love looking for it every day.   I was a little hesitant at first, but after doing some looking around online at all the funny things other people's elves had done, I realized how much fun it could be!  Now that the holidays are over, all the decorations are packed up & put away, I wanted to share a few of the funny things our elf, Scout, did this year.  Sometimes he was a little bit mischievous...  :)

 

 

The boys were sad to see Scout go, and sad that they didn't get to tell him goodbye on Christmas Eve.  So Scout got special permission from Santa to come back on Christmas morning to tell them goodbye, and leave a letter for them.   

 

 We will be waiting for you next year, Scout!!

Peanut Butter Things

This is a recipe that has been in our family for a long time.  I remember making these as a kid, and now my kids love to make them too.   We are making them for Christmas again this year, but they are a good any-time-of-year candy!

Peanut Butter Things:


1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1tsp vanilla
4-5 cups cheerios


Combine sugar & syrup in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat, add peanut butter and cereal.  Stir until evenly coated.  Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Allow to cool completely. 

Memorable Christmas Presents

A couple of days ago, my sweet friend Relyn started blogging some of her Christmas memories.  Her blog, Come Sit By My Fire, is so inspiring to me in so many ways!  I loved her story about the Junior Mint Christmas, and it inspired me to write about one Christmas gift my dad gave my mom that really sticks out in my mind.  Where her story is very sweet, mine is sweet, but funny. 

Mom had asked for a turntable for Christmas.  She loved those wooden lazy suzan turntables that people put in the middle of their kitchen table with the salt, pepper, and napkins on them...  Dad was an amazing carpenter, so she figured it would be a piece of cake for him to make one.  About a week before Christmas this ENORMOUS package appeared beside the tree.  It would never fit under the tree, I remember thinking it was about half the size of our tree. It was the biggest Christmas present I had ever seen.  Mom asked who it was for, and Dad said "It's yours."   She was so confused... all she had asked for was a turntable for the kitchen table.  She could not imagine what he had bought her.  It was really heavy, so we knew he had not done the "wrap a box inside a box inside a box" trick.  When Christmas morning finally came around I remember wanting to know what mom's present was as much as my own.   When she finally started opening it, she was shocked.   It was a giant entertainment center - two tape decks, a 6-disc CD changer (CD's were new at the time), and record player... the whole enchilada!   Mom was certainly surprised, and I think it showed, because dad finally asked "Isn't that what you wanted?  They don't sell record players by themselves anymore." 
Apparently the word "TURNTABLE" has a different definition to a man than it does a woman....

Just as a side note, mom never got a lazy susan, and she still has the record player.  :)

Paper Peppermint Ornaments

 
The annual Christian Paper Artists Ornament Swap has transpired once again.  This year I made paper peppermint ornaments.  Simple and sweet, I thought they turned out really cute!  This project is also a great way to use up some scraps from your stash.  :)



 
 

1. Cut circles from white paper 
and patterned red paper.   
Snip the red patterned circles 
into triangles. (Imagine slicing a pizza.)  

Keep in mind you will need 2 
white circles for each ornament.

 2.   Arrange 
the red triangles 
on the white circles
as desired & glue.


 
 

3.  Decorate your peppermints 
as desired.  I used clear and red 
stickles (glitter glue) on mine.

  

4.  Cut small tissue paper strips and accordion fold.

 5.  Attach tissue and a loop of twine to the back side of one white circle.   I ran these through my Xyron so the back was completely covered in adhesive. 




 
6.  When you have the tissue arranged the way you like it, attach another peppermint on top.   Now they are ready to hang!

Ornaments Everywhere!!

WOW!  We have been so busy around here, we just got the Christmas tree up.  This is only about 3 weeks later than normal for us... we are traditionally Thanksgiving Weekend Tree-Decorators.  I decided I didn't want to deal with the headache of a full-blown decorating scheme this year, so we decided to go simple.  I have to say, I have NOT regretted it in the least!!  You know the stress of making the house & the tree & everything look "perfect" every year?  I decided to scrap "perfect" and go for "simple" and "fun".   Guess what??? IT IS PERFECT!!!!!!!!   I know, the irony kills me. 

Instead of dragging all the boxes of decorations & ornaments out of the attic this year, we got out the tree and a few of our favorite things, and called it good.   We made home made salt-dough ornaments for the tree instead of spending hours unboxing & unwrapping all the regular ornaments.  Here's the recipe we used:

Salt Dough Ornaments

4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 tsp. vegetable oil


Mix all ingredients.  Knead well.  Roll out & cut with cookie cutters.  Bake at 300° for 25-30 minutes.

I used a straw to poke holes in the ornaments before we baked them.  The kids had fun making & painting them. Even Gramma, Aunt Jenn & Uncle Eric came over to help. :)

Some of them we painted, some we used glitter glue to decorate, some we used both!   All told, we had close to 75 ornaments out of that one recipe.  

We ended up with two tree toppers on our tree, because each of the boys had made one at church last weekend. and of course you can't choose one and not the other... :)

Summer is over....

The big kiddo officially started school last Monday.  The little guy gets to meet his teacher tomorrow, and start school next Monday.  Summer is over!  What am I going to do with myself for the two hours of free time I will have 3 days a week while Hunt-man is at preschool?  I don't have enough time to drive back home & do some quilting or crafting before I have to go pick him up again.  We live too far away for that.  I have told myself I am going to try to get in some exercise.  He goes to preschool at church & there is a little work out room there with treadmills.  Currently, all 3 of the treadmills are out of order, so  we will see how that goes.  :)  What do I really look forward to doing??  READING.  

I love to read.  Since we have our house on the market, most of my scrapbooking & quilting stuff is in the attic in storage.   Seemed like the perfect excuse to take time to do some reading over the summer, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  What did I read this summer???


Liz Curtis Higgs:
 Here Burns My Candle
Mine is the Night


Mixed Signals

Francine Rivers:
Her Mother's Hope
Her Daughter's Dream

Donita K. Paul:
DragonSpell
DragonQuest
DragonKnight (currently in the middle of this one)


And on my "Still to be read" list...

DragonFire
DragonLight
The Apothecary's Daughter
The Silent Governness

Any other recommendations out there?  What are you reading right now??