Thursday, September 29, 2011

Tasty Thursday - Hot Pepper Jelly

I had this recipe years ago, and then my boss made it this year and reminded me how good it was!  I found the recipe on Kraft and once it's made and anned it will last for a long time!  I pulled it out and poured it over a block of cream cheese to serve with some wheat thins when the hubsters friends came over for football Sunday.  It looks a little icky but tastes great!

 

 what you need

1 green bell pepper, seeded, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1   red bell pepper, seeded, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
6 jalapeƱo peppers, seeded finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1-1/2 cups  cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. butter or margarine
6-1/2 cups  sugar, measured into separate bowl
1 pouch CERTO Fruit Pectin


Make It


BRING boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.
PLACE peppers in 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Add vinegar and butter. Stir in sugar. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly.
STIR in pectin. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

This was great to use as a quick dip to make and throw together for a simple gathering with the neighbors.  Do you have any good recipes for good and quick snacky type foods?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Whatever Wednesday

Life has gotten in the way of my posting this week.  I have a few minutes to chat right now so lets play catch up ok?

Must Make Monday Wednesday
Toilet Paper Tube Marble Run @ Two Chicks and A Hen - The kiddos love marble runs, and this one looks so simple to make and transport.  I will totally be making this and saving it for a rainy day!
Fall and Halloween Mantels Roundup @ Rusty Blue Bird - This mantel really caught my eye! I'm LOVING the witch feet hanging down!
Modge Podge and Fabric Phone Covers @ Decorganize Crafts - Beautiful and inexpensive! I am a little obsessed with phone covers, and now the possibilities are endless!
Jalapeno Popper Dip @ Big Red Kitchen - This looks amazing, and with football season here I'll be making lots of dips in my near future!
Nutella Cookies @ Tasty Kitchen - I made these for a church function Monday night.  Mine didn't look as pretty but they tasted good!
 
Jack-o-Lantern Jars @ Not So Idle Hands - So cute and I totally have all the stuff to do this on hand.

Feel free to pick up a button on my sidebar if you've been featured, or if you're just cool and want to! :)

Toddler Teaching Tuesday Wednesday -
C is for Colors
I kind of cheated this week, ok...I totally cheated this week.  I used the same foods and songs from last weeks B is for Brown Bear unit, we colored a lot of coloring pages and did lots of finger painting, and then I just made it a point to focus on the different colors as we came across them in life.  The bad news is I feel kind of guilty but the good news is colors can come up in lots of other units, and also that K is pretty young so colors aren't really something all that age appropriate anyway and he has a lot of time to learn them!  That might just be me justifying it but hey, remember that whole life thing from the beginning of this post, it also got in the way of my creativity and making anything new time. Oh, and K totally knows red now so at least he learned the most important color (go Wolfpack!).


There, all caught up. Tomorrow I have a totally yummy recipe for something that looks disgusting but is declicious!  See you then!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Halloween Printables


 I've messed around on Picnik, and used some images from Microsoft Word to create some Halloween printables.  You should be able to click on the pictures and it will take you to the file where you can print, but if it's not working let me know because I'm still trying to figure this out!  Thanks!


From September 25, 2011


From September 25, 2011




From September 25, 2011






Weekend Wrapup

 I had planned on doing some chair painting and flower bed sprucing up this weekend, but it rained off and on.  Also, my stomach hurt yesterday, so I ended up laying in bed with the hubster watching movies and reading books...pretty amazing day if you ask me!  To top it off the hubster even cleaned the house and cooked!  I sure am a lucky girl!

We watched Four Brothers and Bridesmaids.  Both were pretty good, but Four Brothers was a pretty violent.  Bridesmaids was HILARIOUS, and had a cute story too!


 


Today I'm feeling much better thankfully!  We went to church this morning, and now the hubster has some of the neighbors over for football.  His uncle works for KFC corporate, so we got free chicken and sides (hooray), I made a pepper jelly appetizer (recipe coming Thursday), bought some Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Cookies (they're really good), and called it a party - it's just for men..they don't care!  My plan today was to finally get out all of the Fall decor, but seeing as I'm in bed now while typing this, doesn't look like it's going to happen either. Hey, everyone deserves a relaxing weekend lounging around right?  Hope yours was good too! 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Tasty Thursday

Holding on to the last warm days, the hubster cooked out and made some Paula Deen Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese - amazing!

  • 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
  • 2 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1.Prepare macaroni noodles according to directions, then drain.
2. Mix butter and cheese in saucepan until melted.
3. In crock pot, combine all ingredients, adding the macaroni last.  Stir and cook for 3 hours on low, stirring a few times throughout.

*If you're a garlic addict like I am, I always put garlic salt on mine too, but the hubster doesn't like it so we don't add it in when cooking.

**I've also used this recipe but swapping out the Cheddar with Pepper Jack cheese...really yummy too!


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Linking to
Fireflies and Jelly Beans
Stuff and Non Sense
At The Picket Fence
The Idea Room
A Glimpse Inside
Remodelaholic
My Repurposed Life
My Simple Home Life
Bacon Time




Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Wordless Wednesday








Sorry I'm so late in posting, I was busy watching the DVD of Beastly.  Yes I'm 26 and openly admitting to renting and watching Beastly on my own free will...don't judge! :-)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Toddler Teaching Tuesdays - B is for Brown Bear Unit

This week we're focusing on the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See Book by Eric Carle, and the animals and colors talked about in the book.

Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? [Book]                                                                                                          
I chose this because K (the toddler) is showing some interest in looking through books, and this is a great book where you can focus on animals and colors.


I found some great printable pages at DLTK- Teach that you can print in color or in black and white.  I printed them out and had Kole color each one the same as in the story, 2 each day.  We've used the sheets to teach and review animal sounds.  At the end of the week we put them all together into a book, and K still loves "reading" it! We'll look through it and imitate the sounds, or even sing an unusual round of Old McDonald.

We read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See daily, but then on top of that we divided the week into colors and focusing on those. We took two colors a day, and ate snacks with those food colors and did crafts using the two colors of the day.

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Foods by Colors

Brown foods: chocolate pudding,
Red foods: strawberries, cherries
Yellow foods: bananas, cheese
Blue foods: blueberries, sorted out fruit gushers
Green foods: grapes, green beans
White foods: milk, bread, grits
Black foods: oreos (any ideas for others?)
Purple foods: grapes, fruit juice



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Crafts by Colors/Animals





Brown Bear - printable in color or black and white - works on coloring, gluing, and cutting if old enough
 









Red Bird - printable in black and white - give a craft feather and red paint and let them go to town painting











Yellow Duck - use paper plates, paint,and construction paper










Blue Horse -foot print horse craft - switch brown paper for a different shade of blue from the sky












 Green Frog - brown paper bag frog puppet









Purple Cat - finger puppet using pipe cleaners and pompom balls - change the color to go along with the book
 






White Dog - I cut out this dog and let K glue it down to paper - not particularly crafty or original, but really - how do you make a white dog!?



Black Sheep -lamb hand print craft - I left this activity how it is instead of making the sheep all black because it's just so cute, however to stick to the book you could color the cotton balls with paint or marker









Gold Goldfish - use this printable of a fish, and cover it with glue and gold glitter





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Songs About Colors
I've found all of these songs on Tammy's Teaching Tips
Blue...
( Are you Sleeping?)
B-L-U-E
B-L-U-E
That spells blue!
That Spells blue!
Buttons are blue
Eyes are too
Blue, blue, blue
Blue, Blue ,Blue

Red...
( Three Blind Mice)
R-E-D
R-E-D
Red is the word.
Red is the word.
Apples & Strawberries both are red.
Tomatoes & Cherries are also red.
R-E-D
R-E-D

Red...
(Three Blind Mice)
Red, red, red.
Red, red, red.
What is red?
What is red?
Apples, cherries, and-me, oh my-
Tomatoes to bake in a pizza pie.
Red is the color, and that is why
We sing of red.


Green...
( BINGO)
There is a color we all know
Can you guess what it is?
G-R-E-E-N
G-R-E-E-N
G-R-E-E-N
Green is what that spells.
The grass and leaves outside
are green as green as they can be.
G-R-E-E-N
G-R-E-E-N
G-R-E-E-N
Green is what that spells!

Pink ...
( Are you sleeping?)
P-I-N-K
P-I-N-K
That spells pink.
That spells pink.
Bubble gum is pink
Pigs and piggies pink
Pink, Pink, Pink
Pink, Pink, Pink

Black ...
( Put your little foot)
B-L-A-C-K
B-L-A-C-K
B-L-A-C-K
Spells Black
B-L-A-C-K
B-L-A-C-K
B-L-A-C-K
Spells Black
Hat are black
Some cats are black
Yes both of these are black
So if you really really like black
What you need to know is that
B-L-A-C-K
B-L-A-C-K
B-L-A-C-K
Spells Black
B-L-A-C-K
B-L-A-C-K
B-L-A-C-K
Spells Black!

Brown...
( The Farmer and the Dell)
B-R-O-W-N
B-R-O-W-N
B-R-O-W-N
That's how you spell brown
Big Trees are brown
Big trees are brown
B-R-O-W-N
Big trees are brown
And Acorns are brown
Yes acorns are brown
B-R-O-W-N
That's how you spell brown!

Orange...
( Ten Little Indians)
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
Orange like the fruit you like to eat.
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
Orange like Jack-O-lanterns bright
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE
O-R-A-N-G-E ORANGE

Purple...
( Turkey in the straw)
P-U-R-P-L-E
Can you guess what that spells?
P-U-R-P-L-E
Do you know what that spells?
Yes purples what that spells.
Like the grapes on the vine.
Yes purple's what it spells
Like the Kool-Aid in your glass.
P-U-R-P-L-E
Yes purple that does spell.
P-U-R-P-L-E
That is all I have to tell!

White...
(Happy Birthday)
W-H-I-T-E, W-H-I-T-E
Snowballs and popcorn
Are as white as can be!

Yellow...
(Baa, Baa Black Sheep)
Yellow Yellow is the sun
Shining down on everyone
Y-e-l-l-o-w, Y-e-l-l-o-w
Yellow, yellow is the sun
Shine on me so I can have fun.

The Rainbow Song...
(Jesus Loves Me)
Red, orange, green, and blue
Shiny yellow, purple, too.
All the colors that you know
Show up in the rainbow.


When I say RED put your hands on your head.
When I say BLUE put your hands on your shoe.
When I say BLACK put your hands on your back.
When I say BROWN move your hands all around.
When I say GREEN wipe your face real clean
When I say PINK just think, think, think. (tap temple with finger)
When I say PURPLE make two little circles
When I say WHITE squeeze your fingers real tight
When I say YELLOW wave to the fellow
When I say TAN throw up your hands
When I say GRAY say have a nice day
When ORANGE is found make it big and round 



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Hope your kiddo enjoys it as much as I did K did!



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Linking Up To
Todays Creative Blog 
Sugar Bee Crafts 
Raising 4 Princesses
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Home Stories A to Z
Not Just A Housewife
Confessions of A Stay At Home Mommy
Sun Scholars
1+1+1=1 Tot School


Monday, September 19, 2011

Must Make Mondays

I've found some awesome stuff on the blogs I read and on Pinterest.  Here are some of my favorite finds, and things I really want to make!


 Smile and Wave : DIY light message using glow sticks - this would be awesome for a night house party

 Pixie Crust : caramel frappuccino cupcakes - omg these look good and so stinkin' cute with the green straws
 Little Bit Funky: made this really cute and simple tshirt - this would be cool to give to the kiddos for a holiday/celebration
 The Idea Room : playdoh containers dressed up as halloween figures
 Plain Chicken : homemade butterfingers, made with candycorn - these look delicious and butterfingers are the hubsters fav...I'll have to try this one out - have any of you tried it already and are they as good as they look/sound/
 Joy Is At Home : tea towel cake - what a great gift this is for a bridal shower, or for a housewarming gift
Sew Many Ways : used drink mix canisters (I think Pringles cans would work too), decorated them for Christmas, and put cookies in them for friends and neighbors - could totally do this for Halloween and decorate it like the plahdoh containers, then fill with candy and goodies and go "boo" the neighbors!


Weekend Wrapup

This weekend I...
went to my parents home and spent the weekend with my family and my sweet new niece,


 made this birthday cake for my Pops (don't judge...I was working with limited supplies ok! : D ),

 
I painted my nails with some crackle nail polish.. First you put on a base color (I chose lime green), then paint the crackle color on top (I used black) and it crackles on its own and the base color shows through.  Love the concept...not so in love with my color choices (it kind of reminds me of Monster Energy Drinks haha)!

On the way home we saw this awesome car,

and the best part about it was the temperature was in the 60's the whole weekend!  I LOVE cooler weather...too bad it's already back up in the 80's today!   Just a glimpse of what's to come!

Hope you had a great weekend too!  I'll be back later today with some of my favorite finds for the week!





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Linking Up To


Friday, September 16, 2011

Fashion Friday - Missoni for Target

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably already know Missoni's line for Target launched Tuesday.  And if you've been living under a rock, you've probably missed your chance to own any of it as it's pretty much all sold out.  I tried getting on Target's website for about half an hour before I got on to see it.  I kept getting this cute dog,

 
so apparently I'm not the only one who was trying to get on.


There was lots of super cute stuff, and while it's more affordable then Missoni, it's still too rich for my cheap self, so I just had some fun (browser) window shopping.  Here are some of my favorites...maybe you'll get lucky and find some if it's your thing.



These boots are the one thing I would have bought for sure, but they were sold out already!  They're SO cute!









Were you lucky enough to score some cool stuff? Let me see pictures and live vicariously through you!