Bountiful Baskets

This is what we got this last weekend for $15! We have been getting Bountiful Baskets for a couple of weeks now. It is produce coop. You get quality produce at the same price charged the large grocery stores. We have been enjoying lots of great fruit and vegi's. It is nice to try new things too. I like spinach but I don't usually buy it. This last week we got a couple of bunches in our basket of spinach. I searched for spinach recipes and found a couple of great ones from Realmomkitchen.com. We will try this one tonight...  

Strawberry, Kiwi, Spinach salad

You can get the recipe Here
Last night though we tried this one:

Summer Spinach Salad

You can get the recipe Here
We really enjoyed this salad. The onion in the dressing was too strong for us though. It was a very fresh onion. I just added the dressing on individual servings in case we didn't eat it all. I was glad I did it this was. This afternoon I made more dressing without any onion. Yep, much better. It was a great lunch for me. This would be a refreshing side to sandwiches in the summer too. Give it a try. Now I only have 1 bunch of spinach left but lots of lettuce. We are definantly eating more fresh vegis with this.
One last recipe to share was this Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake.....

Get the recipe HERE
It was YUUUMMMYYYY!!!! As quoted by Tyler. The boys would have devoured it if dad hadn't reigned them in a bit. Check out real mom kitchen. I like her style and love the recipes. It is a regularly visited site for me.....

Enjoy!

Project 12 of 52: Burlap CREATE

I don't remember where I saw this idea but I loved it. I used my cricuit to make the template for the letters. The 10" rings I found mostly at D.I. for $0.75 or less. Then I used a 40% coupon for my burlap at Joanns. I love how it turned out. It really added something to my corner of the world. I wonder if I would have been better to use smaller rings but hey.... I am hoping to get my cabinets painted this week. I have been working soooo very much but things should be returning to normal for a while. No more extra shifts til the end of the month anyway. I am excited to get a few projects done. My wish list is getting rather long. I also plan to post a few pictures I have scrapped. I usually do scrapbooking on Sundays when I can just sit with the family and relax. I don't get it done too fast but it is getting there. I have done several more Project 365 pages done as well as some baptism pictures of my niece.

We have started a family theme night. Each Saturday night we have homemade pizza followed by a movie. The idea is to try different varieties of pizza and enjoy having everyone help make it. Then we will watch a movie. The boys get to "buy concessions" with reward money. I got this idea from Brown Paper Packages They will get to earn points throughout the week for extra good behavior. Stuff beyond their usual chores. Then they trade their points for various concessions like pop, popcorn, candy, etc. Each item will have a point value and they can chose what snacks to enjoy during the movie. We did  it last Saturday and it was quite nice. The boys enjoyed staying up later and mom and dad enjoyed a relaxing evening. Not to mention Yummy pizza. We love Hawiian pizza but anything goes. I have found a great from scratch recipe, Robin says it is THE Best pizza dough we have ever. It is from My Kitchen Cafe and is simple simple simple.
We make the dough and the sauce. Because the pizza only takes about 8 minutes to cook on my stone we can have it all done in about 30 minutes. Great news when it comes to hungry boys!

Fast and Easy Pizza Dough
This recipe was given to me by my Aunt who got it from a woman named Linda who I have never met - but in the event she miraculously stumbles across this blog, I'll give a big thanks, Linda!

3 cups flour, more or less
1 tablespoon honey, heaping
1 tablespoon oil, heaping
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. (If using a pizza stone, let stone heat for at least 30 minutes in the oven before baking pizza.) Mix all pizza dough ingredients together, except the flour. Add flour and knead for a bit then put into pan (or use a pizza peel and pizza stone). If baking in a sheet pan, bake for about 12 minutes (checking often) until crust is browned and cheese is golden and bubbly. If baking on the preheated pizza stone, slide pizza onto stone and bake for about 8 minutes. Makes 1 large pizza.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

Oregano

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning

Crushed red pepper (optional)

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until desired consistency. I leave mine slightly chunky. On the seasonings, I just sprinkle them in to taste. If I use crushed red pepper, I only use a few flakes because my kids don't like spicy things, but it definitely adds a nice kick to the sauce to use it. I also substitute for whatever I don't have: basil leaves for oregano, garlic salt for garlic powder, etc. This recipe is open to interpretation. Use what you like and it will be delicious.

ENJOY!

March VT handout

I have my March VT handout done. What do you think?

 

Download: HERE

I thought a bookmark would be nice. Just add a ribbon at the top if you'd like and present to your ladies with a challenge to read and STUDY the scriptures more. I know the study part is lacking for me. We have started the 100 days closer to Christ challenge as a family. I am seeing a difference. The boys are getting old enough to participate even more. I am also trying to explain things more which tests my own knowledge, thus the reason for this months message I guess. This week has been CRAZY busy. I haven't had any time to craft because of working so much. I hope to remedy that tomarrow. Also with other activities we have been going seperate directions and so we missed a couple of nights and already I am feeling the difference. We found that reading immediatly after dinner was best for us. I have tried to bribe help the little boys with desert or something special. It is a challenge in more than one way but I have felt a difference in our home the past week or so. Give it a try. Read the words of God with your family every night and you will FEEL the difference too.
I also found a couple of nice sites that have handouts, some more eleborate than others. I thought they were all good. Check them out. Now you will have several to chose from. Pick your favorite.
Latter-day Chatter
LDS Handouts
SeeMeVT
The idea door also has some but they were having problems with their site- just google it and see if it is working. Several different styles and options hope you find what will help you.

Dating again

Blog surfing is soo much fun. It is amazing what is available and the great ideas ladies have. Tonight I found this blog: The Dating Divas. I am loving it. I can't wait to get home and make plans for a date with my sweetheart. We need more couples time but it would be nice to spice things up a bit, even if it is still going to Avitar (which Robin REALLY wants to do). I am definantly going to have to copy the movie ticket idea. Anybody have a babysitter available this weekend? :-) After almost 14 years (WOW!), college, 4 boys, school, work (in other words L.I.F.E.) it is easy to get into a rut. I plan on breaking free and now I have a source for inspiration. Check it out and continue to date your Sweetheart!

An Aversion to Cleaning

My darling husband has been in charge of the laundry the last several weeks as I worked extra shifts. Today, I sought a more normal routine. I kicked him out to go study and took a dive head first into the laundry room. Monday is the usual laundry day around our house so it was backed up as usual. I figured I would also do a little sorting while I was at it. 1st up, the oldest boys room. Oh boy! (before going further you have to know my biggest pet peive is open drawers and cupboards, items should be in the drawer and the drawer should be able to close completely) His pants drawers were a shambles. I knelt down and started sorting, too small, not long enough, too many holes, ?baby brothers shorts?, little brothers sweats? What the heck. Ok, pants and shorts folded and placed neatly in the drawer. Bottom drawer in the process of getting glued back together AGAIN. I then turned to hang some clothes in the closet when what to my wondering eyes did I spy? THIS.....

Yep- all those CLEAN clothes piled randomly in the bottom of his closet. Is there something wrong with the hangers? No wonder he is always wearing the same thing. He can't find the other buried in his toys.

Next up. Boy #2. His wasn't as bad but after going through his drawers I realized he didn't need the 2 new pants we just bought as much as he thought he did. And he is DEVINANTLY stocked for summer in the shorts department.

Now I have an idea of what to expect in the little boys' room. After all, I am in there several time every day and obviously have to help them get dressed more. Still, I found THIS....

Apparently big brothers' lessons are better learned than moms. No frets, I got most of it taken care of, re-ironed, and re-hung. Crazy boys. I know I will be right back at it in a week or two. At least now I know where we stand on each boy's clothing supply. Plus they should have the correct sizes in their closet, for now anyway.

What do you do to get your children to keep their clothes hung up? Our closets are within reach and each has an organizer to help. Or is this one of the mysteries of motherhood that would make me a millionaire if I could find the answer?