Christmas Photo Booth

I decided at last minute to make a photo booth for my Christmas party.  I'm so glad I did! I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out a few shapes; I also found a few hats around my house to use as props.  I put up some wrapping paper on the wall, set up the camera on a tripod and it was ready! The pics came out great and it was fun!

I used www.iPiccy.com to make the strips! 

Comic Dialogue

We spent a few weeks learning about dialogue in Language Arts.  Quotation marks and characters talking is very hard for my kids! They also like to use SAID a lot! We talked about the rules for quotations and other words we could use instead of said.  Then came the fun part! I let them pick a comic from the Sunday newspaper.  They then had to turn the comic into dialogue, using the rules we talked about.  They could not use the word said! They had fun reading the comics! I have it displayed in the hall and they enjoy reading their friends writings as well!

Spicy Ranch Pretzels

OMG, these are so good! They have a little kick to them, which you can adjust, but the hint of Cayenne makes it! They take a little time in the oven, but are easy to throw together. I think I might be making these this year for some of my co-workers!

Ingredients: 
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (more if you like spice!)
1 package Ranch Dressing mix (I buy this in bulk, 3T = one package)
1 bag of small pretzels

Directions: 

Mix oil, spices, and dressing mix together. 

Place pretzels in a large roasting pan and drizzle oil mixture over pretzels. 

Place in oven at 200* to roast. Stir every 30 minutes for 1 1/2 hours. 

Friday Funnies

With my birthday coming up, the kids are really fascinated with my age.  I usually give them the year and make them calculate it.  This year, they think I am already 29, because of the math. However, I still have 6 days left of being 28!

In 1st and 2nd grade, I got age ranges from 11-81.  This conversation is one of my favorites.

Kid - How old are you Miss Cremer?

Me- Guess

Kid- 40, 10, 20, 31, 23, 24, 25!! (higher lower game)

Me- Yes, 25!

Kid- You must weigh 25 pounds too, right?!?!

Italian Beef Sandwiches

Another Sunday Crockpot meal! Throw it in, its ready in time for dinner! Can't get easier!


Ingredients

• 1 Beef Chuck Roast Whole, 2.5-4 Pounds
• 1 can Beef Broth
• 3 T Italian Seasoning, I used Penzeys
• 1 t Salt
• 1/4 c Water
• 1 t Minced Garlic
• 8 oz Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice
• Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls
• Provolone Cheese

Directions
Combine first 7 ingredients in crock pot.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until tender with fork.

Butter the deli rolls and toast in the oven. Don't burn, like I did! 

Pile the meat and peppers on the rolls and put the cheese on top.  If needed, put back in the oven to melt the cheese.  Serve with liquids from the meat.

adapted from Pioneer Woman

Soup Swap

For my "Italy Friends" Christmas Party this year I decided we should do a "Soup Swap."  I did a little research, and sent out this invitation via e-mail:

 Soup Swap  

1. Make 6 quarts of your favorite soup.  Make the soup a few days ahead to allow time to freeze.  Email us with the type of soup you are making so we will have a good variety.
2. Label 6 freezer Ziplock bags with the name of soup, date, and any instructions needed to re-heat or garish the soup.
3. Put 1 quart of soup into each bag, Lay the bags flat in the freezer to make them easier to store.
4. Bring the recipe and the soups to our party.  One of the bags we will be eating/tasting at the party, so bring it ready to serve in a crockpot with any garnishes. 
5. Each of us will come home with 5 new soups! You may want to bring a cooler to transport them to and from.  

These are a few tips and tricks I figured out as I was cooking.

• Quadruple your recipe.  
• Use a 6 Quart pot
• Buy freezer quart bags
• 4 cups = 1 quart
• find a large measuring cup, or pitcher that can hold 4 cups. Ladle the soup into the measuring cup, and then pour it into the baggies. 
• Release the air and lay flat. 
• Lay it flat in a freezer basket or a box. 
• If everyone lays their soup flat, it will be really easy to store! 

On serving day, everyone brought their soup in a crockpot ready to serve. I found that the small crockpots hold 1.5 quarts which was perfect, but the big ones worked too. I also bought bowls and little ramekins so we could do a soup flight and taste all of them. 

Here are the soups that we had: 

• Goat Cheese Tomato Basil 
• Potato Bacon Soup 
• Chili for a Crowd- From Ashley
   

Indian Stew 

Cheesy Chicken Tortellini 

Italian Tortellini

**SORRY FOR THE FORMATTING! It did not like me today!**

Chili 

Ingredients:

4.5 pounds ground beef, browned and drained

2 large yellow (sweet) onions, chopped

     7 large green bell peppers, chopped

    4 celery stalks, chopped

    2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic (I use jarred)

    2 cans Ranch Style Beans, NOT drained (15 ounce cans) -I couldn't find Ranch Style so used Black

    2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained (15 ounce cans)

    2 cans Original Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chili (10 ounce cans)

    2 cans stewed tomatoes (15 ounce cans)

    4 cans plain tomato sauce (15 ounce cans)

    2 packages McCormick Mild Chili Seasoning (1.25 ounce packages)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot.*
2. Simmer for at least three hours (I let mine cook about 5 hours).
3. Enjoy!

Naughty Cornbread

Ingredients:

• ·      1 yellow cake mix
• ·      2 Jiffy cornbread mixes
• ·      Oil, milk, and eggs according to package directions

Directions:

Preheat oven according to directions on cake mix box. Combine cake mix and cornbread mixes in a large bowl. Add eggs, oil, and milk according to package directions (replace all water with milk). Mix together according to cake mix directions.

Veggie Chili

Ingredients:

• 
  
  
  2 garlic cloves, minced
  
  
  1 large green or red pepper, chopped
  
  
  ½ lb. mushrooms, slicked
  
  
  ½ cup chopped onion
  
  
  2T oil
  
  
  1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
  
  
  11 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  
  
  22 T chili powder
  
  
  1 tsp. ground cumin
  
  
  2 15 ounce cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed
  
  
  1 ½ diced zucchini
  
  
  10 oz. pkg corn, thawed
  
  
  1 ½ C shredded sharp cheddar, divided
  
  
  1 ½ c diced zucchini
  
  
  
  Directions:  

Cook and stir garlic, peppers, mushrooms and onions in oil 5 minutes or until tender.   Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder and cumin.   Heat to boil.   Reduce heat to low; add beans, zucchini and corn.   Simmer 15 minutes or until tender.   Add 1 cup cheese and stir until melted.   Spoon into serving bowls and top with remaining cheese.   Makes 8 servings.

*we also eat with rice, sour cream and Fritos!

Cheesy Chicken Tortellini Soup

 Ingredients:

• 4 Tbs. butter
•  1 diced onion
•  2 diced carrots
•  2 ribs celery, diced
•  6 cups water (or chicken broth)- I usually use mixture of both
•  12 oz. frozen cheese tortellini
•  4 cups milk
•  2 cups whipping cream
•  1 cup Cheez Whiz (8 oz)
•  4 cups diced, cooked chicken

Melt butter in lg pot. Add veggies and saute. Add water (or broth) and bring to boil. Add tortellini and cook until tender. Reduce heat- add milk, whipping cream, Cheez whiz, and chicken. Stir constantly over low heat until cheese is melted. Simmer on low until heated through.

I doubled the recipe for our soup swap.

POTATO BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lbs. (about 4 med.) potatoes
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 c. chopped onion
• 2 1/2 c. boiling chicken stock
• 1 1/2 c. broccoli florets, cooked tender-crisp or 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen broccoli cuts
• 1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp. sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Peel potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch cubes; set aside. In a 2 to 3 quart saucepan, melt butter. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken stock. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook just until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Pour contents of saucepan into the container of a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth; return to saucepan. Add broccoli. Over medium heat, gradually add cheese, stirring until heated through and cheese is completely melted. Stir in sour cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 4.

As a last step I added two packages of bacon that I had made into "bacon bits" to make it more of a loaded baked potato soup. I also would recommend using sharp cheddar. I accidentally grabbed mild and the soup felt like it needed something more.

Tortellini Soup with Chunky Tomatoes and Spinach
Yields 3 to 4 servings

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 to 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 can (14.5 ounces) low sodium diced tomatoes, including juices
9-10 ounces tortellini (fresh or frozen), any variety
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
10 ounces fresh or frozen spinach, chopped (if frozen, thaw and squeeze out excess moisture)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

1. In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Saute onion for 5-7 minutes, or until translucent.  Add garlic, and saute for 1 minute.
2. Add broth and tomatoes.  Turn heat to high, cover and bring to a boil.
3. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions. 
4. Within the last minute of cooking the tortellini, stir in Italian herb seasoning, crushed red pepper and spinach.  Taste, and add salt and pepper seasoning, as desired.  
5. Serve immediately, garnishing each bowl with Parmesan cheese.

From: Alida's Kitchen

Go Check out Kelly's Korner Soup Link Up!

Baby Burp Cloths

These are such a quick and easy gift to make for an expecting mom.  You can personalize them however you want, and there are so many cute fabrics out there to use too! They come in very handy! I have given a few as gifts, and they come back asking for more. So this time I set Erin up with 7! 

First of all you want the flat fold diapers, not the gauze pre-fold ones, I have made that mistake before! Be sure to wash them first, they will shrink a lot.  If you don't wash them, the fabric will not lie flat on the diaper.  Next, cut rectangles that fit a little longer than the diaper.  Iron an edge around the whole rectangle.  Sew onto diaper.  I use white bobbin, thread, so that it doesn't show up.  

I also sewed ribbon down the seams of the diaper for a few of them.  

In the past, I have left the edges fringed too! It makes for an even simpler project.  

The final step is to fold them and tie them up cute !