What's Cooking
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Packing up a lunch for the kids
The girls get out of school on today for Christmas Break! It is hard to believe that today is their last day of school of 2012. They will start back up shortly after New Years Day 2013! This year has flown by so quickly. I have so much to be thankful for this year. It has been a year packed full of amazing memories, while there were some tough moments and days, the blessings far outweigh the inconviences.
Lunch Box Meal
- Hotdog in a Bun
- Fresh Kiwi (fresh our friends Kiwi tree!)
- Fresh Carrots
- Guacamole Chips
- Small Bag Flavored Marshmallows
- Homemade Christmas Candy Pieces (with Sprinkles of course)
- Wild Cherry Juice Bag
Hot Dog in a bun
Gift Giving: Christmas Cookies in Decorative Tins
Christmas Cookies in a tin with Candy Canes on top
Our family loves baking Christmas goodies! In the past we have made large batches of goodies and delivered the items to our neighbors, family, and friends. Other years we do one or two tins whenever we are baking to give away to friends, family, or to who ever we think it may be a blessing to that week.
It is a simple gift that has been a big hit (and fun for the kids to help with too). All we have to do is bake our favorite cookie(s), put them into a decorative tin, add two candy canes on top, and deliver them. The girls love putting two candy canes on top of the tin in the shape of a heart. Making these treats bins are really easy and they always great reaction from those we have delivered the goodies to in our area.
Christmas Tins
- 1 Tin Container
- A batch of your favorite cookie(s) or candies to fill the tin (or you can do a variety of recipes)
- 2 Candy Canes
- 2 pieces of Tape
You can get any tin or plastic container in any size, shape, and color at your local dollar store this time of year. I used double-sided tape but regular tape would work too. If you are wanting to make up several tins this is a great gift to do because you can make a large batch of cookies to fill them and do an assembly line with your kids.
When we deliver items and Christmas cards to our neighbors we bundle up in our coats, put all the goodies in a big basket and walk from door to door (great exercise and fresh air for the whole family). By the time we walk door to door and spend a few minutes catching up with each neighbor an hour or two or more has gone by but we have had a blast and hopefully were a blessing to those living on our street too.
Here are some cookie recipes we have used in the past:
Peanut Butter & Candy Cane Cookie Cups
What’s for Dinner: Our Weekly Menu Plan
I am thankful to have Jake back home again, last week he was traveling for work. The menu isn’t going to be too wild or crazy this week since we have a lot of extra activities on the schedule. The girls have school most of the week then they are out for the Christmas Holiday, YAY!!! Here is our menu plan for the upcoming week:
Our Weekly Menu Plan
- Monday (Beef or Seafood Entree): Chili, Cornbread
- Tuesday (Kid’s Night to Cook): PB&J (or Soy butter & Jelly for some), Fresh Fruit
- Wednesday (Chicken or Vegetarian Entree): Special Event
- Thursday (Pasta or Pork Entree): Pasta Bake, Steamed Vegetables
- Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: Leftovers, Family Preference, and Hosting
I have a general pattern I try to follow for my weekly Menu Plan (for example Monday we have a beef or seafood entree and so forth). It is my goal, at least in the beginning, to have at least the main dish and one side planned. I will put together the remaining side dishes (veggies / fruits) based on the food items that need to be used up first and compliment the main entree.
Setting a weekly menu plan helps me utilize my time better, thus freeing up extra time to spend with my family. On the days that I am working longer hours I can prep the meal in advance so it will be easier to pull together once I am home. As I go through the menu planning process I will try to share some of our favorite family recipes. If there is a specific recipe you would like please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate (some recipes are a toss together meal and I do not use any set measurements).
As a family of four our life can get busy. What’s for Dinner is our weekly menu planning series and one of the ways to help keep us organized, on schedule, and within budget. Our family typically eats 6 to 7 dinner meals at home a week. We do try to go out to eat at least once a month as a special treat. Breakfasts are eaten at home before work and school, lunches are eaten at work, school, or home, so dinner is our main meal together as a family. Dinner is our time to reconnect, share, and enjoy being together after a busy day. Our weekly menu plan covers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only because the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) is our time to spend with family and friends. The weekends tend to be more spontaneous and my husband (who is the better cook) likes pitching in therefore we keep the menu open for variety. We use up the leftovers throughout the week for our lunches and on the nights that we are busy or can’t cook.
Photo by Liz
Snowman Pizza
Snowman Pizza
Cool days, Christmas approaching quickly, and pizza just seem to go together really well. During the Holidays the girls always hope for snow. I can only remember one Christmas since my time in South Carolina where it actually snowed on Christmas day so that’s a rare treat!
The nice part about snowman pizza is you don’t actually need snow to make it! We made homemade pizza and decorated it. The girls chose black olives for his mouth, a cheese wedge for his nose, pepperoni (with black olives) for the eyes, and two slices of ham for the eyebrows.
You can use your favorite pizza recipe and make any snowman variation you want. If you are looking for a pizza recipe here is one of our favorites from Money Saving Mom. You can get really creative and make three separate pizzas and put them together to make a whole snowman (instead of just the head). 🙂
Freezer-Friendly Homemade Pizza Dough
- 2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
- 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 Tablespoons oil (vegetable, Canola, or olive oil)
- 5 cups flour (can use all whole-wheat, half white/half whole-wheat, or all white)
Pour the warm water into a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir to dissolve.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix.
Dump onto a floured surface and knead dough for two to five minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.
To freeze: Cut lump of dough in half and place each half in an airtight freezer bag. Freeze for up to 4-6 weeks.
To bake: Place frozen dough in a greased bowl and thaw at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours. Roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan.
Add pizza toppings of your choice. Bake at 500 degrees for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).
If you don’t want to mess with freezing the dough, take the kneaded dough and roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan. Add pizza toppings and bake as directed above.
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Packing the school lunches
How is possible we are almost halfway through December! Are you ready for Christmas? I find myself rushing to get the girls lunches packed and ready the night before with all the extra activities going on this Season. While it is really busy it is very important that the kids continue to eat healthy. There are days when I think it would be easier to have them eat at school, but since I have one with food allergies and I have no idea how much they are eating or exactly what they have ate it probably would be more complicated in the long run.
Lunch Box Meal
- Homemade Roast Beef Sandwich
- Fresh Red Plums
- Fresh Green Beans
- Fresh Broccoli Straws
- Fruity Raisins or Mott’s Pomegranate Applesauce
- Peach Yogurt
- Fit & Active Blueberry Fruit Strip
- Animal Crackers or Ritz Bitz Peanut Butter Crackers
- Vanilla & Chocolate Oreos
- Sweet Tart
- Strawberry Kiwi Juice Bag
Fresh red plums, fresh green beans, and roast beef sandwich
Snowmen Mini Donuts
The girls were so excited to make and eat these cute snowmen. After you finish making your snowmen, grab a cup of hot chocolate, your family, and curl up on the couch next to the Christmas tree or fireplace and enjoy.
Snowmen Mini Donuts
- 1 bag Mini Powdered Donuts
- Candy Corn
- 1 box Cake Mate Writing Icing
Our Blue Eyed and Green Mouth Snowman
The girls love these little powdered donut snowmen!
Our pretty girlie snowman
Easy Snowflake Marshmallows
The girls loved having these marshmallows in their hot chocolate!
Yes, I know you can make fabulous homemade marshmallows, but if you are limited on time and resources this is a quick, easy, and fun food craft you can do with your kids. You only need 2 items to do these cute snowflake marshmallows (and you probably have these items in your kitchen already). The kids will LOVE these marshmallows in their next cup of hot chocolate!
Easy Snowflake Marshmallows
- 1 bag Large White Marshmallows
- 1 pair clean Kitchen Scissors
- Optional – Small Cookie Cutters
Take one large marshmallow and flatten it with a rolling pin (it doesn’t need to be completely flat just enough so you can cut it easily). Use your scissors to cut snowflake or other shape for your marshmallow. If you have small cookie cutters you can use those to cut out the shapes. You can do as many or few marshmallows as you like. Place the marshmallows on a serving platter and enjoy with your next cup of hot chocolate.
I did a mix of scissor and cookie cutter snowflakes. You can do snowflakes, stars, trees, or whatever shapes you want. The girls wanted to help, they did more of the cookie cutter ones but enjoyed experimenting with cutting the snowflakes with scissors. These are cute for a fun evening with the family or a get together with a larger group.
One of the super easy cookie cutter marshmallow treats the girls made! They ended up eating some of the snowflake outlines and the rest they used in their hot chocolates.
Snowflake melting in a mug of hot chocolate
Another cool “experiment” the kids can do with their snowflakes…..have them check out how much the snowflakes grow (expand) while in the hot chocolate! Take a tooth pick and carefully pull the marshmallow out of the hot chocolate after it has been in only 30 seconds or so (depending on temperature of your hot chocolate) and see how plump your snowflake looks now. The kids will LOVE it! 🙂
Kids in the Kitchen: Colorful Gingerbread Cookies
Tray full of Gingerbread cookies to share!
The girls love helping out in the kitchen. At some point over the Christmas Holidays we try to make cookies. The girls really enjoy decorating the cookies. We have done a variety of different cookies from sugar to gingerbread and more.
We typically turn on some Christmas music, whip up a batch of cookies, and play a game or read a book while the first batch is cooking. Once the first batch has cooled enough and others are baking in the oven we start decorating. As you can see from the pictures we used a couple varieties of frosting and decorations. The girls decorate them however they want and as many as they want (they stick to the decorating until the very last cookie is done).
It has been really neat seeing their skills improve over the past few years. You can actually tell what the shapes of most cookies are after they are done decorating nowadays. Plus, they have learned not to “lick” the frosting or their fingers during the whole process, ha! 🙂
Starting to fill the tray with colorful Gingerbread cookies. I especially like the Betty Crocker writable frosting because their easy to use for kids, only a little bit comes out, and you can stack the cookies together once they have dried.
Just looking at these make me smile! Some as you can see from the tops of the Christmas trees broke in the decorating process. Love seeing the girls creative juices get flowing.
Another rack of delicious gingerbread cookies, decorated with love! 🙂 Thankful for those quiet afternoons that we can spend relaxing and decorating cookies together.
Next time I need to do better about taking pictures of the kids too. I only have a couple of pictures of the girls just starting to make the cookies that didn’t really turn out. Once we got into the cooking and decorating I got swept away with the fun that I didn’t pull the camera back out until all the cookies were done. Hopefully, next time I will have more kid pictures to share. Does your family like to decorate cookies, if so what kind is your favorite?
What’s for Dinner: Our Weekly Menu Plan
Last week our menu schedule was a little off at the beginning of the week with the family being sick. Really hoping all of us are done with being sick for a long time so we can stay on track. Thankful for a husband who pitches in to help when everyone is feeling under the weather. Since we have a lot of extra activities we are keeping the menu very simple this week. Here is our menu plan for the upcoming week:
Our Weekly Menu Plan
- Monday (Beef or Seafood Entree): Tuna Fish Sandwiches, Fresh Fruit
- Tuesday (Kid’s Night to Cook): Kids in the Kitchen – Leftover Buffet (leftover night is one of the girls favorite nights because they get to chose whatever they want to eat, like at a restaurant)
- Wednesday (Chicken or Vegetarian Entree): Grilled Cheese, Fresh Vegetables
- Thursday (Pasta or Pork Entree): Poor Man’s Pasta, Steamed Vegetables (was going to have this last week, but had to alter the menu)
- Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: Leftovers, Family Preference, and Hosting
I have a general pattern I try to follow for my weekly Menu Plan (for example Monday we have a beef or seafood entree and so forth). It is my goal, at least in the beginning, to have at least the main dish and one side planned. I will put together the remaining side dishes (veggies / fruits) based on the food items that need to be used up first and compliment the main entree.
Setting a weekly menu plan helps me utilize my time better, thus freeing up extra time to spend with my family. On the days that I am working longer hours I can prep the meal in advance so it will be easier to pull together once I am home. As I go through the menu planning process I will try to share some of our favorite family recipes. If there is a specific recipe you would like please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate (some recipes are a toss together meal and I do not use any set measurements).
As a family of four our life can get busy. What’s for Dinner is our weekly menu planning series and one of the ways to help keep us organized, on schedule, and within budget. Our family typically eats 6 to 7 dinner meals at home a week. We do try to go out to eat at least once a month as a special treat. Breakfasts are eaten at home before work and school, lunches are eaten at work, school, or home, so dinner is our main meal together as a family. Dinner is our time to reconnect, share, and enjoy being together after a busy day. Our weekly menu plan covers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only because the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) is our time to spend with family and friends. The weekends tend to be more spontaneous and my husband (who is the better cook) likes pitching in therefore we keep the menu open for variety. We use up the leftovers throughout the week for our lunches and on the nights that we are busy or can’t cook.
Photo by Liz
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Oh, I am so not a fan of being sick. The whole family went to the doctor last week because we were all not feeling well and had temps from 101 to 104. Somehow we had managed to get strep throat and a couple ear infections. Thankfully we all seem to be on the mend. I am hoping that this is our last round of sickness for a long time. Maybe this week I can get caught up on some items!
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Read to the girls and have them read to me daily – we didn’t read for a couple days when everyone was really sick
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforeDaily School Activities & Homework CompletedAttend After School ActivitiesPlan one special Activity with the FamilyFinish Decorating & Putting up Christmas BinsWork on Christmas List– working on it, still have more to do- Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings – we finished week 1 and it was a neat experience for everyone!
Date Night with my Man
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week – with being sick I didn’t get this done
Drink 8 glasses of water each day- Finish reading The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith – working on it
Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion– faithfully going through the days, love being able to listen it on my phoneMake my first fresh Wreath at a Wreath Party with Friends
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – it took me 2 days to get it done this week
Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week- Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects – was put on hold with being sick this week
Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attention
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch- Write and Send Out Community Group Email – missed Community Group so didn’t get the email out
Community Group Christmas Social at our House
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – between Jake and I going to pick up things I didn’t have all the receipts by the end of the week
- Payoff the Van – working on it
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses (we are trying to build this back up because we had to take some out for unexpected expenses recently.) – moving forward
- Stay within Christmas Budget – staying up-to-date
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Read to the girls and have them read to me daily
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Finish Decorating & Putting up Christmas Bins
- Work on Christmas List
- Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects
- Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Payoff the Van
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses (we are trying to build this back up because we had to take some out for unexpected expenses recently.)
- Stay within Christmas Budget
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
