Category: Inspiration

  • Easy Cheesy Pepperoni Rolls

    Pepperoni rolls ingredientsHave I told you how much I love to read blogs of other Moms?  There is one that I have learned so much from and had lots of inspiration from… It’s called Sam’s Noggin.  She has homeschool tips, organization ideas and recipes, yum!

    Recently she had a post titled “Cheater Pepperoni Rolls” it intrigued me and when I saw the pictures, I had a mission.  She describes them as a delicious go-to snack out in her neck of the woods.  Dough, Pepperonis and Cheese?  Sounds good to me!

    Pepperoni rolls Rolled out the canned Croissants, added pepperoni’s and spicy Italian sausage

    Pepperoni rollsNext comes ooey, gooey mozzarella cheese

    pepperoni_rolls4Roll em up, seal the sides of the dough

    Pepperoni Sausage rollsAll done!  Hot, greasy and delicious pepperoni and sausage rolls!  These are the Combo Rolls.

    Pepperoni rollsPepperoni Rolls all ready to eat!

    Thank you Samantha!!  As always, you are an inspiration.  Keep up the excellent blogging!

  • Feeding Little Ones Healthy Meals with Rice

    It’s the age old battle.  Kids vs. Parents.  Junk vs. Real Food.  Food vs. Healthy Food.

    Growing up, my Mom always made sure we had a complete and healthy meal every single evening.  She worked full time and so I imagine this was a challenge for her but she always came through.  Now that I am a stay at home Mom I strive to have a healthy meal on the table every night.  That is not always the case though.  I started working evenings and this has proved to be a big challenge when it comes to feeding my family.

    For our family, it is quality over quantity.  We try not to buy a lot of junk food even though it is usually always cheaper than whole, fresh food.  I try not to use items that have additives and preservatives too.  Who needs the extra garbage in our bodies?

    Luckily my children LOVE fruit, love it.  We can’t keep it around long enough though because they gobble it up.  As far as veggies go, that’s a different story.  My kids don’t really love raw veggies, even though I would always try to force them to eat them, they refused.  I had to get creative.

    BINGO – my husbands all time favorite staple is rice, and I agree, it is so versatile, yummy and healthy!  I decided to try stir fry veggies with veggie seasoning and serve them over rice, my kids cannot resist.  Looks yummy and TASTES delicious!

    We went the vegetarian route for a couple of years, which was great!  Did you know rice and beans together make a complete protein? A very healthy meal and good  for you too.  There are so many veggies that go great with rice!

    Another way I have incorporated rice into their diet is by using rice/sushi molds.  They are so cute and come in a TON of different shapes.  My kids love them and they like dipping their Rice shaped bite into Soy Sauce.  My husband and I love them with Sriracha.

    I must say that our family’s absolute favorite rice dish of all time?  It is a tradition passed down through both sides of our families and it is = Rice Pudding!  Love it!  You prepare it as a dessert and it is heavenly.  Creamy, sweet, mellow, smooth, delicious!

    Speaking of rice, did you know that Uncle Ben’s is giving away $20,000?  You and your children can create a video demonstrating your favorite healthy rice recipe and you will have a chance to win $20,000!!  It is called Ben’s Beginners Cooking Contest and it open to submissions until Feb. 26th.  Start coming up with ideas now!   Did I mention the winner will get to be ON the Rachel Ray Show!?!?!

    Think of all the fun you will have with your kids creating a recipe, testing it, making a video and submitting it!  Talk about quality time!

     

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    “I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” (make sure you link to http://BensBeginners.socialmoms.com/about)

  • A True Inspiration, a Man After God’s Heart

    Video – Bailey Knaub inspires Tim Tebow. This aired right before the start of the Denver/New England playoff game Jan 14, 2012. Showcasing Tim Tebow meeting with ill kids and adults before and after games. Bailey Knaub from Loveland Colorado has had 73 surgeries and is the focus of this report. Bailey is a lovely young woman, I’m so glad she had the chance to get to know Tim. Bailey…wishing you the best!

  • Merry Christmas

    Here we are once again!  Waking up today to a white Christmas, all the kids are still cozy in bed and I am getting ready for a wonderfully joyous day.  After the boys open presents and see what is in their stockings we will have breakfast at my Mom’s.  A family tradition, where we will have cream of wheat, toast and bacon.  This has been my Christmas breakfast as long as I can remember, I love this warm breakfast.  It is nostalgic for me.

    After that we will head to my Sister in Laws house to share present and enjoy delicious food prepared by her Swedish Chef husband.  The boys get to run around and have fun with their cousins, while we can all hang out and visit.

    I love this time of year.  What do I love especially most?  It is when we celebrate God coming to earth to dwell among us, Emmanuel.  I love that Jesus came to earth in the most humble circumstances, the King of Kings, so that we may have a relationship with God and become children of God.  We celebrate the birth of our Savior.

    And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

    14 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[c]

    15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babylying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

    Merry Christmas from the Family O!

  • Cookie Exchange 2011

    Chocolate Kiss, M&M Pretzels

    Christmas goodies

    Tis the season for get togethers in all shapes and forms. Last weekend I had a relaxing, fun time with my Mom, Sister, Aunts and Cousins, Sister in Law and her Mom and Daughter too. What a nice time we had, it was our annual Christmas Cookie Exchange.

    We each made a 6 dozen cookies and other goodies to share, see my recent article at Social Moms on how to host a Cookie Exchange.

    My cousin made enchiladas while my Mom whipped up chips, delicious salsa, and the best guacamole.  We had conversation, yummy food and door prizes!  I won a really nice apron, I was so happy  – I never win anything!

    Enchiladas, Guacamole and Salsa

    Pizzelles
    Rocky Road Squares

    Homemade Fudge

    Chocolate Chip Bars

    Chocolate Christmas Cookies

    No Bakes and Matzo Toffee

    Peanut Butter Square with Chocolate Granache

    Extended list of goodies:

    Carmelitas

    Homemade Twinkies

    Buck Eye Balls

    Black and White Cookies

    Peanut Butter bars with Chocolate Granache

    White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies

    Chocolate Pretzels

    Pizzelles

    Blondies

    Chocolate Cookies

    Homemade Fudge

    Peanut Butter Blossoms

    Matzo Toffee

    No Bake Cookies

    Rocky Road Bars

    I highly recommended doing this with the ladies in your life!  It is the perfect break from all the hustle and bustle.

    Christmas Cookie Exchange

    All the beautiful women who participated, love you ladies!

  • Melted Snowman Cookies

    Melted Snowmen Cookies

    I must say that Pinterest has inspired me to do many things I could never think of.  For instance, this time around, I came across these adorable Christmas cookies – Melted Snowmen, so cute!  It was posted on the Crazy Domestic blog, hers turned out really good!  She credits another blogger for the inspiration: “To see the originalMelted Snowman Cookie, and meet the inventor herself, go check out Meaghan (great name) @ The Decorated Cookie!”  Thank you Ladies!

    I wanted to try making the melted snowman cookies for our 2nd grade class.

    Mine certainly did not come out as cute, but 2nd graders are forgiving! They gobbled em’ up and loved them.  I had made enough that we were able to share with the Kindergarten class that our middle son is in.  Smiles all around!

    Sugar CookiesThey turned out perfectly golden and crisp.

    homemade frostingFrosted, add partially melted marshmellows

    homemade frosting

    For the frosting I used this recipe from allrecipes.com.  It is not pure white like the pre-made stuff but it is good!

    Frosting

    Ingredients

    • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
    • 1/2 cup shortening (I used butter crisco)
    • 5 tablespoons milk
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • food coloring
    Directions
    1. In a large bowl, cream together the confectioners’ sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in the milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about 5 minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.
    melted snowmen cookies
    Couple of notes:  I mistakenly bought gel frosting, not a good idea!  Definitely need a thinner frosting tip too.
    These taste really, really good!  Crisp, not too sweet, great with milk!
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  • It’s Not Just About the Presents

    Recently, I heard a song that is a few years old but new to me.  It is one of my new favorite Christmas songs!

    It’s About the Cross, Go Fish Guys

    Opening lyrics:

    It’s not just about the manger
    Where the baby lay
    It’s not all about the angels
    Who sang for him that day

    It’s not just about the shepherds
    Or the bright and shining star
    It’s not all about the wisemen
    Who travelled from afar

    Chorus:
    It’s about the cross
    It’s about my sin
    It’s about how Jesus came to be born once
    So that we could be born again

    It's about the cross

  • First Time Family Pictures

    We finally did it! Thanks to Facebook, I recently saw some gorgeous photos of families I know. I just had to get ours done too. We have never had professional pictures done, now I couldn’t resist. I wanted some nice pics of the whole family. So we did it!

    I contacted the photographer who took the pictures of the other families, her name is Lisa with LiLo Photography.   She set us up to meet at a local Museum that has a working farm, great place to snap pics.

    Can I just tell you that I LOVE the pictures?  I was so nervous because honestly I didn’t know if my boys would cooperate.  My 2 little ones did not cooperate after about 15 minutes, lol.  I was unsure if they gave her any good shots.

    Well folks that is what Professionals are for!  Of course she captured perfect pics of them.  So thankful!!

    If you are in the Denver area, I highly recommend her.  She has an amazing portfolio that you can view online at Facebook (please “Like” her, you will love the pics she posts) or on her website.

    She made us feel comfortable right away.  She introduced herself to the boys and made them feel special, thank you for that Lisa!


     

  • Vanilla Snow Shakes

    Vanilla, Snow, Milk, Sugar

    Samuel eating snow

    This past Wednesday we had our first snowfall, this called for celebration! My boys love the snow and they were so excited to be getting a storm. They woke early Wednesday to peak outside…

    snow angel

    I have never seen them get dressed and ready so fast, they bundled up and headed out.

    snowstorm

    Talk of the coming storm was mentioned on many Facebook pages’. My friend Tom had a comment on his wall talking about Vanilla Creams made with snow. My boys love eating snow (against everything my husband stands for, lol) and I knew they would love to use it in a recipe. We strayed a little from the recipe and ended up with delicious Vanilla Snow Shakes.

    After coming in and putting warm jammies, we made these delicious concoctions.

     

     

    Vanilla, Snow, Milk, SugarPour Milk into Snow, add Vanilla and Sugar

    Vanilla, Snow, Milk, SugarWhisk together until creamy and smooth, pour into cups

    Vanilla Snow ShakeEnjoy!

  • And Now for Some Music

    K-LoveThis is my 200th post! Thought I would share some tunes with you! After all, who doesn’t love music?

    I love listening to music. I usually listen to my own playlist on YouTube or KLove, which has really good contemporary worship and praise music. Some of my current favorite songs:

    Fall Apart, Josh Wilson

    I’m With You, Amy Grant and Nichole Nordeman
    This is a beautiful song written from Ruth and Naomi’s point of view, love this…

    Jesus Saves, Jeremy Camp
    This video makes me cry every time! So thrilling to see all the testimonies to God’s unfailing love, grace and mercy!