What's In Your Lunch Bag?

We are having leftovers for dinner tonight......I know BORING! but I did whip up this great little veggie sandwich for my lunch today.....best of all it is only like 3 WW points. And it was so full of flavor!

Select whatever veggies you have on hand....I had green and orange peppers, carrots, zucchini and snap peas. Saute them in (2 Tbsp) Fat Free Zesty Italian Dressing until desired tenderness.

Using 1 Everything Bagel Thin, place veggies on top and sprinkle with Weight Watchers Mexican Cheese...

Bake in oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts~

Yummy, Yummy!!

SNACKS....

I don't know about you but my kids are always looking for snacks! When I brought home these oyster crackers the other day, Riley commented how good they are with Ranch on them.....I am not sure where she ate them like that because I hadn't made them for her...but I decided she was right, so for an after school snack today, I am going to surprise her.

Here is what you will need:

Mixing the ingredients:

Spread crackers on baking sheet:

Boy are these good warm, right out of the oven.....

Ranch Crackers

1/2 C. Vegetable Oil

1 (1 ounce) dry ranch dressing mix

1 tsp. Dill weed

1/2 tsp. Garlic Pepper

1 (12 oz) pkg. Oyster Crackers

1. Preheat oven to 275. Pour crackers in large mixing bowl.

2. Whisk together oil, ranch mix, dill weed, garlic pepper.

3. Pour dressing mix over crackers and toss to coat.

4. Spread on baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

A New Day Dawns.....Are You Ready?

I was doing a devotion this morning that asked if I am "winterized"? There are so many things that can come against us that can cause us to have "cold" hearts or icy attitudes (for example: people who act cold to us, blizzards of bills, commitments, relationships that go sour. Winter is also a common time for depression to set in). The devotion gave some solutions that can help to carry us through the "winters" of our lives~both spiritual and day to day living! We stock up on foods that won't go bad-well, scripture doesn't go bad...it is a great place to turn for advice. We all like the warm cozy feeling of blankets - Fellowship with one another (yes, I know it is winter but have a sledding party, have the neighbors over and set up a hot cocoa or coffee bar, etc.) is another great way to battle the winter duldrums....those are just a few examples. We all face challenges and trials in our lives but we can choose how to handle them and alot of times how we handle them sets the pace for how others respond to us!

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10




These are just some random shots of how we spent our 2 hour delay.

Our sledding hill....much more fun in the winter....Spring/Summer/Fall=mowing!

JD practicing his snowboarding...

Riley sledding...


Have a snowy day!!

Snowy Night....

The snow began to fall and I thought....hmmm, soup sounds good for dinner!! (I told you I love soup). We made a Mini-Meatball Alphabet Vegetable Soup. It was yummy with the grilled cheese sandwiches!! Perfect for a cold, winter night!!

As you can tell by now, I am a semi-homemade kind of gal...


Mmmm....I finally used my soup terrine...

Of course we need cookies to go with our hot chocolate....the kids had fun helping me!

Mini Meatball Vegetable Soup

1 lb. ground beef

1 Egg

1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned breadcrumbs

1 Jar (29 oz) Spaghetti Sauce

6 C. beef broth (you can use canned, I prefer bouillon and hot water)

1 Bag frozen mixed veggies

6 oz. alphabet pasta shapes

1 1/2 tsp. basil

1. Mix ground beef, egg and breadcrumbs. Roll into small balls and place in a 9x13 baking

dish. Pour 1/2 cup broth in bottom of dish. Cover w/ foil and bake at 375 degrees for approx.

45 minutes.

2. In large saucepan, pour spaghetti sauce and beef broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes or until pasta is cooked.

3. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle w/ parmesan cheese!

NOTE: Because the pasta tends to thicken up the soup, I did add a little additional beef broth at the end of cooking time~but depending on your preference you may want to eat it thicker.

I found this recipe in an old cooking magazine!

Candy Bar Cookies

1 Cup Butter, softened

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Cups Flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 Cups Quick Cooking Oats

1 Cup Flaked Coconut

5 Milk Chocolate Bars

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Beat in oats and coconut. Roll into 1" balls and place 2" apart on baking sheet; flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 11 minutes. Break candy bar into 12 pieces and press chocolate piece onto center of each cookie. Remove to wire racks for cooling.

A Typical Gathering...

Kev, Nicole and their crew came over tonight for a little celebration of Riley's 7th. Following are some highlights of the evening and the energy that typically follows our crew...

Spice Cake Pops...


Spice Cake Balls (same as pops, just no sticks)...


The boys were being extremely patient as she opened her gifts...you could just feel the "boy" energy coming off of them though...

I couldn't get the video of the kids playing "Just Dance Kids" on the Wii to upload...actually, I didn't have the patience, after 10 minutes I gave up but the boys really had some moves to "Let's Go Surfin' Now....." but I am sure you can envision what our living room looked like w/ a 9 year old boy and two 8 year old boys "surfin'" and we even had a 2 year old pianist who thinks Jimmy is funny!

Thanks Hostetters! We love you and are so blessed by your friendship!!

:) Chrissy

Homemade Stromboli, Sort of....

This stromboli recipe used to be a staple at my house when I was growing up....I can remember Mom made it alot in the winter months and it is just one of those comfort foods that when I smell it baking....the comfort of home encircles me!
I put "sort of" in the title because I don't make my own bread. I buy frozen bread loaves at the supermarket and simply thaw them to look like this...


Next step is to add mustard and cheeses...

Add your meats next...

Fold up and place on baking sheet...sprinkle w/ Italian Seasoning

Enjoy!!

Stromboli - This recipe makes 2 strombolis - eat one now, freeze one for later!

2 Frozen Bread loaves, thawed (I typically put them on a baking sheet in the morning and let

rise all day. I cover them w/ a little vegetable oil and saran wrap)

1 lb. Mozzarella cheese, sliced

1 lb. American Cheese, sliced

1 lb. Ground beef, browned

1 lb. Ground Sausage, browned

1 lb. Chipped Ham

1 lb. COOKED salami (not hard salami)

Mustard

Italian Seasoning

1. Take thawed dough and roll out into a large rectangle shape.

2. Spread with mustard. (I use just about 1-2 tsp.)

3. Place cheese down the middle of the dough.

4. Top with meats.

5. Wrap up dough around ingredients.

6. Transfer to baking sheet and bake approx. 30-40 minutes at 375 or until dough is a nice

brown color and sounds hollow when tapping on it.

Enjoy!!

Weekend.....

Sorry everyone, we had an extremely lazy weekend so I didn't get much cooking done because JD was at a friends house on Saturday and Jimmy, Riley and I headed to Downingtown to mosey around! We ate lunch out and then Saturday evening consisted of snack food and the Kahlers coming over for some Wii fun! I wish I could have snapped some shots of the girls playing "Just Dance Kids" it was a hoot! And Mason joined the fun by dancing right along with the girls...this is a two year old who has better moves than I do!! Then of course Riley and Madelyn begged to have a sleepover (does anyone else remember doing that as a kid? I know that I used to beg my parents for sleepovers and the excitement of them saying yes was almost to much....). Well, the girls were definitely excited and by midnight I told Riley she HAD to go to sleep. Hmmm, makes for a tired kiddo the next day! Anyhow, Sunday was spent going to church, swapping kids and shopping w/ my bestest! Nicole and I were able to grab some lunch at Panera (see, I told you I was lazy with my cooking this weekend) and then spent the day just strolling through some stores....what a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon when all that ever seems to be on is football (sorry, football fans!!). However, I did not let my family starve, I made Crockpot Italian Beef sandwiches which are FANTASTIC in my opinion! Sorry no pictures, just the recipe!

Crockpot Italian Beef

4 lb. boneless beef roast (a rump roast or sirloin tip roast work best)
1 Envelope Dry Italian seasoning (like Good Seasons)
1 Envelope Onion Soup Mix
2 Cans Beef Broth
1 Cup of water

1. Place everything in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. Using 2 forks shred the beef . (You can also take the beef out of the pot, but sometimes it is
so tender that the meat falls apart on you).
3. Serve on crusty rolls, steak rolls, whatever roll you prefer. I like to have provolone or
mozzarella cheese slices.
(NOTE: This recipe creates a lot of "juice" or broth, you could cut the broth down to 1 can and
only use 1/2 C. water if you didn't want as much juice.)

Today we head into another busy week, but I will try and keep up with the posts....tonights dinner is Homemade Stromboli.....I also made up a spice cake and I am hoping to make some Cake Balls later today.....check back later for some pictures and a post!!

Have a great Monday!!