Recipe
Do You See Apple Slices or A Candy Cane?
It is the super simple things that can add an extra festive touch to a family snack or get together. The girls wanted a snack so I sliced up some apples, but instead of putting them in a bowl or on a plate I left them on the cutting board in the shape of a candy cane. I love it when I am thinking clearly enough to actually do the “little stuff” because it is so worth seeing them get excited over apple slices in the shape of a candy cane or something similar.
Think of 3 simple ways you can add a festive touch to things you are already doing. Not to mention it may coax your kids to eat more apples or other healthy foods around the Holidays! 🙂 You don’t have to make elaborate dishes to spark a smile in your family members!
Love It – Cuisinart CPB-300 Compact Portable Blender & Chopper
My husband bought me a Cuisinart Blender a little over a year ago and I LOVE it! He got me a Cuisinart CPB-300 SmartPower 15-Piece Compact Portable Blending/Chopping System and it has been a huge hit with the whole family. The best part is it is compact and comes with four 16 ounce single smoothie cups as well as a bigger blender. I will often whip up a quick smoothie for myself for breakfast or a snack as I am walking out the door.
I have used this blender A LOT and it has held up very well (its still in great condition). Before this one I went through 2 KitchenAid Blenders which were much bigger and I didn’t use them nearly as often because it was harder to clean. I cannot say enough good things about this blender.
I have made a lot of different recipes with this Cuisinart. The fruit smoothies are my favorite! I have enjoyed experimenting with smoothies and have discovered how easy it is to make smoothies at home.
The girls will often request a smoothie for a special treat or snack too (so I am not the only one who loves the Cuisinart Blender). I have included some of our favorites smoothie recipes.
Smoothie Recipes
- Green Spinach Smoothie
- Hot Pink Smoothie
- Special Strawberry Smoothie
- Quick Orange Julius Smoothie
- Mixed Fruit Smoothie
- Sweetheart Strawberry Smoothie
- Quick Breakfast Smoothie
Product Specifics
• Sleek electronic touchpad with LED indicator lights
• Powerful 350-watt motor
• High, Low and Pulse controls
• Standby mode; safety interlock and auto stop features
• BS housing with stainless steel front pane
• BPA-free Tritan 32-oz. blender jar, 8-oz. chopping cup, and set of four 16-oz. travel cups
• Patented ultra-sharp stainless steel blades
• Two interchangeable blade assemblies: blending blade and chopping blade
• Recipe Book
• Dishwasher safe
• Limited 3-year warrantyAre you ready for a smoothie?
“Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love! There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun. I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list. It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!
Gift Giving: Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
Our family enjoys taking Christmas goodies to our neighbors every year around Christmas time. Since several of our neighbors are watching their sugar intake (due to diabetes) I wanted to find a gift that would be both practical and fun for them without all the sugar. Yes, the gift I eventually settled on last year did contain sugar but they didn’t eat it. The gift kits were a big hit and the best part….it’s super easy (you even may have all the ingredients in your kitchen). Several people have asked me for the recipe since last Christmas so I wanted to share it with you too in case you are looking for a homemade, inexpensive, and practical gift to share this year.
Putting together gifts for neighbors and friends
You could give away just the jars of Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub. I decided to do a Moisturizing Citrus Scrub Kits for our neighbors and friends. Each kit contained:
- Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
- Hand Soap
- Lotion
- Note from our family with instructions on how to use the items in the kit
Ingredients in the Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
The olive oil helps moisturize your hands while the lemons and oranges add a clean citrus scent. The sugar and salt help exfoliate any dry skin and freshens the appearance of your hands.
Moisturizing Citrus Hand Scrub
- 3 cups Sugar
- 2/3 cups Kosher Salt
- Zest from 1 large Lemon
- Zest from 1 large Orange
- 2 cups Olive Oil
- 1/4 teaspoon Pure Lemon Extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Pure Orange Extract
Gently wash and dry the fruit. To zest the orange and lemon use your cheese grater and turn it to the side with the small openings/blades. Grate the orange, turning it frequently. You just want to take off the colored part of the peel (so try not to get too much of the white portion).Now that you have your citrus zest put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Scoop into a mason jar. Put lid on and decorate as you wish. The recipe makes enough for 2 pints (fills two – 1 pint mason jars).Optional: If you would like a milder scent you can remove or reduce the amount of extract from the recipe. Also, if you would prefer only doing Lemon or Orange instead of both just double the amount it calls for in the recipe and eliminate the other citrus ingredients. You can add extra zest into your mix if you like too (see the first picture on this post, the one of the left has extra zest in it).
Moisturizing Citrus Scrub ready to be put into the jars
Filling up the mason jars
Our note included in the the gift to our neighbors and friends!
The red ones all ready to be delivered! You can see our “blue” note in the back of the kit. The note also contained directions on it. I taped on the note on the inside of the package.
The white ones are ready now too! All we have to do now is load them up and deliver them.
It was a lot of fun putting these together for friends and neighbors. Our family did a large batch and made 10 mason jars full. Several people have asked for the recipe so I decided to share it here for others as well. If you are looking for a practical and unique gift this is a great one that worked well for us.
Love It – BluApple
I am very excited to share with you a little item that has saved me a lot of time, energy, and money over the past year while helping our family eat healthier! I have been asked many times how I can purchase marked down fresh vegetables and fruits without them going bad within a day or two…..well, I am going to share my little “secret” with all of you. If you love to eat fresh fruit and vegetables, but wish they would stay fresh longer I have stumbled upon something that will really brighten your day! 🙂
When I got the BluApples I was a little skeptical, to say the least. How can these little blue apples really help extend the life of my fresh fruits and vegetables?! Do they really work? Is it worth the cost? And many more similar questions.
I waited for a few weeks and found an amazing deal on these little BluApples. I was able to get these free (only had to pay $3 shipping). Unfortunately, I haven’t seen that deal again otherwise I would stock up on some for my family and friends. Either way these little apples have more than paid for themselves MANY TIMES OVER!
Our family loves to garden, buy fresh fruits and vegetables, however, when our fridge is full of produce sometimes fruits and vegetables would go bad before we had a chance to eat everything. The BluApples extend the life of our fruits and vegetables (even ones that I buy which are already on the “edge”) for weeks! These BluApples really do preserve the produce and help the items last much longer!
I used to clean out my fruit and vegetable drawers out about once a week. Now I do it once a month and sometimes longer because the items in the drawer are staying fresh. Enough of my raving, here are some more facts about this neat apple:
- 2 Bluapples – Last for 3 Months Each – Additional Absorber Refills Available Separately (Our BluApples lasted longer than 3 months, typically lasted 5 to 7 months)
- Prolongs freshness and storage life of fruits & vegetables
- Made In USA
- Put in refrigerator crisper drawers
- Place in the fruit bowl on the counter or anywhere you keep fruit
- Pays for itself dozens of times over in the the first year alone
- Extend storage life of your produce (up to 3 times longer)
- Average household can save up to $600 per year
How Do The BluApples Work?
- Ethylene gas is given off naturally by fruits and vegetables as a signaling mechanism in order to coordinate uniform ripening. However, once concentrated in your refrigerator or other storage areas, the presence of ethylene gas continues to speed up ripening and hasten spoilage.
- The BluApple is designed to provide effective ethylene gas absorption for three months in a typical home refrigerator produce bin or storage container.
- The active ingredient does not “wear out”, but continues to absorb ethylene until it has reached its capacity.
This would be a wonderful gift for any cook in your family. It really does WORK (and BluApple is not paying me to say it either). Your Mom, wife, sister, friend will probably come back to you in a couple months thanking you again for this gift. Hey, they even make you a special meal out of some the fresh produce just to say thanks!
You can pick up the BluApple Ethlylene Gas Absorbers – Starter Pack of 2 – Refrigerator Fruit & Vegetable Preserver on Amazon for around $9.95 with two packs of or many major retailers. If you have a Swagbuck Amazon Gift Cards you can even get this it for free! You’ll love it!
“Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love! There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun. I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list. It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!
Ham & Potato Casserole (Regular or Dairy & Egg Free Recipes)
Our family had ham over the Thanksgiving Holiday so we had a little bit leftover to make some more delicious meals. I decided to make a ham casserole recipe and it was a hit with my family. Since I had some ham I was using up I made one casserole to eat right away and put together another one to freeze for a later meal. It was a big hit with the whole family (two thumbs up) from everyone. I made the dairy and egg free recipe, but I included both so you can choose what you want to do for your family. The directions for both are the same only the ingredients between the two recipes vary slightly.
Ham & Potato Casserole (Regular Ingredients Recipe)
- 4 cups frozen shredded Hashbrown Potatoes
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Onion (or 1/8 cup Dry Minced Onions)
- 8 ounces Ham, cubed
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese (or a cheddar blend)
- 1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Pepper
Ham & Potato Casserole (Dairy & Egg Free Ingredients Recipe)
- 4 cups frozen shredded Hashbrown Potatoes
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Onion (or 1/8 cup Dry Minced Onions)
- 8 ounces Ham, cubed
- 2 cups shredded Soy Cheddar Cheese
- 16 ounces Soy Milk (boiled down to 12 ounces)
- 1 Egg substitute
- 1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Pepper
Grease 8-inch-square baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
LAYER 1/2 potatoes, 1/2 onion, 1/2 ham and 1/2 cheese (or cheddar or soy cheese) in prepared baking dish and repeat layers. Combine evaporated milk, egg (or egg substitute), pepper, and seasoned salt in small bowl. Pour liquid mixture evenly over the casserole.
Cover and bake for 55 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Layered Ham & Potato Casserole ready to be put in the oven
Although, we ate this casserole for lunch it would be a great breakfast or brunch recipe to use for your family or when you have house guests. Since we have a little one that is not eating dairy or eggs I made the egg and dairy free version for our family, but I also included what you would use for a regular recipe
Funfetti Cake Batter Chex Mix
Brina helped me make three different types of chex mix for a party earlier this week and they were a huge hit! 🙂 The three recipes were Caramel Party Mix (Gluten Free Snack), Puppy Chow, and the new one Funfetti Cake Batter Chex Mix. I have been making the Puppy Chow since I was a kid and the Caramel one for a few years now (thanks to a sweet friend who shared it with me), but I adapted the Funfetti Cake Batter Chex Mix from Six Sisters Stuff which was a hit and great addition to our recipe collection.
Funfetti Cake Batter Chex Mix
- 6 cups Rice or Corn Chex Cereal (store brands work well too)
- 12 oz Vanilla Almond Bark
- 2 cups Funfetti Cake Mix
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vegetable Shortening
- 1/2 teaspoon Sprinkles
Pour cereal into a large bowl and set aside. Mix the funfetti cake mix and powdered sugar in a large ziplock bag and set aside.Melt Almond Bark according to package directions. Once melted add vegetable shortening to thin so it coats the chex better. Pour the melted almond bark over the chex cereal. Mix gently with a large spatula until the cereal is coated.Pour the coated chex cereal into the bag with the funfetti cake and powdered sugar mixture and gently shake to evenly coat the snack. Scoop into a bowl, put a few sprinkles over the top and serve.- 2 sticks of Butter
- 2 cups of Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup of Kairo Syrup
- 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 1 box of Corn (or Rice) Chex Cereal (you can use store brands too)
Put the whole box of cereal in a microwavable bowl. Bring the butter, brown sugar, and kairo syrup to a boil. Boil for one minute. Make sure to stir constantly when boiling so it doesn’t burn. After boiling for 1 minute add the baking soda. Pour the mixture over the box of Corn (or Rice) cereal. Microwave everything 1 1/2 minutes, take it out, stir, and microwave again. Do this step 3 times. It will evenly distribute the mixture and coat the cereal. Lay the mix out on wax paper or the counter and let set.
Optional: You can add pretzels, pecans, almonds, cranberries or whatever you want to the mix. (If you want it to remain gluten free do not add pretzel as pictured above, however, you can add nuts if they do not have any nut allergies)
Puppy Chow
- 9 cups of Rice or Corn Chex cereal (store brands work well too)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Pour 9 cups of rice (or corn) cereal into a bowl set aside. Put the powdered sugar into a Ziploc bag and set aside.Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter on medium heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, add vanilla and stir well.Pour over Rice Chex cereal and stir with a rubber spatula until Chex is evenly coated. Add chex mixture to bag and shake bag gently until the powdered sugar is evenly distributed over all the mix.Honey & Lemon Sore Throat Remedy
When you have a sore throat this is a great recipe to try. The girls love it and makes them feel better. A little bit of water, honey, and lemon helps coat the throat and soothes the pain.
Honey & Lemon Sore Throat Remedy:
- Hot Water
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice (or fresh squeezed lemons)
- 1 teaspoon Honey
Fill a mug 3/4 full of hot water. Add equal amounts of lemon and honey. Stir the lemon and honey until dissolved.
The warm water, honey, lemon are soothing for the throat. You can add a little more lemon and honey if you prefer.
Family Recipe: Bierocks
You can pack your bierocks with more meat less bread if you want! I usually do a mix of both (more bread and more meat) so people can choose what they want to eat. This one is a picture of a more bread.
My Grandma taught me how to make this delicious recipe that is basically a dinner roll stuffed with hamburger, sauerkraut, and cheese called Bierocks (although the first half of the word is pronounced like the word “beer” it does not contain any actual beer). Even though the combination sounds a little interesting it really tastes amazing! I am not sure where the recipe actually originated from but I do have family from Czechoslovakia so maybe that area. I remember as a kid helping my Grandma make this recipe and have great memories of spending time together talking while cooking for the harvest crew.
Fresh out of the oven and ready to be eaten!
Every once in awhile I like to make up a big batch of Bierocks so we can eat some right away and the rest I like to stick in the freezer to pull out on those busy days for a quick meal. I have used a number of different bread recipes to make Bierocks and they all have turned out well. Today I will share the latest bread version I made earlier this week using Money Saving Mom’s Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough. We have made this pizza dough so many times and love it, so we figured why not try using it to make Bierocks!
Dinners ready…….Bierocks…..come and get it!
Bierocks:
- 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. Put onto a floured surface and knead dough for two to five minutes until smooth and no longer sticky. Take the kneaded dough and roll out.
Note: I used this recipe but split the dough into thirds, two of the pieces I wrapped and put in the freezer for future pizzas or other recipes and used the remaining third to make the Bierocks. I love that I get the base to 3 meals out of 1 pizza dough mixture! 🙂
- FILLING:
- 2 pounds Ground Beef
- 1/3 Onion (diced)
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 cans Sauerkraut
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (or mixed cheese)
Brown beef with onion and seasoned with salt and pepper. Drain any excess oil off the meat. Mix the sauerkraut into the meat and cook on medium for 2 to 4 minutes until the sauerkraut is mixed well.
Cut the dough 3 to 6 inch circles (depending on the size you want it to be). Place 1 ice cream scoop (or 1/4 to 1/2 cup) of meat filling onto each circle. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of cheese over the top of the meat. Bring the four corners up over the filling and pinch together to seal on the bottom. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place seam down on greased baking sheets. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the bierocks.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until the dough starts turning a golden brown color. You can rub a little bit of butter over the tops of the bierocks immediately after taking them out of the oven for additional flavor and color if you want. Makes approximately 24 Bierocks
You can eat these plain or (my favorite) with a touch of ketchup. Any leftover Bierocks after eating them for dinner are wrapped individually and put in a freezer ziplock so we can easily pull one, two or more out at a time, stick them in the microwave (or toaster oven) and have a meal ready in minutes.
Ground hamburger and sauerkraut mixture
Bierocks stuffed and ready to be baked
Cheese sprinkled over the top of some of the Bierocks (we like the cheese inside and out but it is optional). I made some with cheese and some without since we have a family member who cannot have dairy.
Picture of the Bierocks without cheese!
Recipe: Apple Pie
One of the best parts of Fall is the delicious food, which includes APPLES! If you want to make a homemade apple pie or need to use up some of those apples here is a great recipe to use. You can get a pie crust from the grocery store or make my Great Aunt Noami’s Never Fail Flaky Pie Crust. The only thing I should have done with this pie is put some foil over it to keep it from browning so much, it still tasted amazing!
Apple Pie with Never Fail Flaky Pie Crust:
First is the pie crust (if you are using store bought or another recipe skip this step). This recipe makes crust for 2 pies (top & bottom).
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 cup Shortening
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Egg, well beaten
- 5 tablespoon Water
- 1 tablespoon Vinegar
Mix flour, shortening, salt with pastry blender. Combine egg, water, and vinegar then combine with flour mixture. Mold into 4 balls chill awhile then roll out for pie. Balls will keep up to 2 weeks in refrigerator for additional pies. Yields: 2 double pie crusts
If you want to just do enough for 1 complete pie crust (top and bottom) cut the recipe in half.
Apple Pie Filling
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 cups thinly sliced and cored apple
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease a pie dish. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Stir in apples and place into the pie crust. Dot with butter and cover with the top crust. Cut a slit in the top of the pie to let the steam escape. Seal the top crust to the bottom one by pinching the edges together. Cover the edge of the crust with a strip of aluminum foil. Bake pie for 50 minutes or until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the top.
Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
Green cat with a “K” on it….wonder who that one is for? We also found a purple cat with a “B” on it too! 🙂
While Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa were here visiting we made some delicious rice krispie treats. I made regular rice krispie treats and cut them out with Halloween (pumpkin, ghost, and cat) cookie cutters then the kids and Grandmas decorated them. It was a lot of fun making these tasty treats together.
Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treat
Someone ate a Black Cat…….Karlie!
Brina enjoying one of the rice krispie treats after she finished helping decorate!
Colorful pumpkin!
Spooky green rice krispie ghost!
Decorating rice krispie treats with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. The decorating team was MUCH faster than the cookie cutter, ha! 🙂
A plate full of decorated rice krispie treats!
Another tray full of pumpkins, ghosts, and cats…….
After the girls got a chance to taste test one cookie we sent some of the treats home with the Grandmas, 1 went into each of the girls lunches for the next day, and the rest we brought to Community Group to share with friends. This was a fun and easy Halloween activity for everyone to do.