This is technically an appetizer, but I use it for supper all the time. It’s not actually a pizza either, since you don’t use sauce or cook it. But we call it veggie pizza anyway. Sure the kids pick off certain things, but for the most part they eat it. You’ll need to following: - Crescent Rolls (in the canister uncooked) - 1 package Cream Cheese (get the block, trust me) - 1 package Ranch Dressing mix - Your choice of veggies Take your crescent rolls and roll them all out into a cookie sheet. You might want to grease the cookie sheet first so they don’t stick. Roll them out so they look like a pizza crust. We use the crescent rolls because when rolled out, they fit the cookie sheet pretty well. Bake according to directions on the rolls. Let the crust cool completely (important step!). Since the cream cheese needs...
I realize not everyone can sew, but it happens to be something I enjoy doing. I love to be able to make something by hand, and take pride in it. Not everything I’ve attempted has come out as planned, but that’s alright. It’s how we learn. Because I like to try out all kinds of different projects, I have a lot of scraps. I use them for several different smaller projects, which I’ll list here. Doll Clothes Since some doll clothes have small pieces, a scrap will sometimes work. Scraps are easier to use when working with smaller doll clothes such as those for Barbie dolls. If nothing else, you could always make a scrap fabric dress out of all those little scraps you’ve got. Scrap Pillows This project I absolutely love, because there are really no rules. Just as long as you end up with a square or rectangle, it doesn’t...
I actually have a few different ways to make chicken fried rice, and last night was my “short cut” version. Usually I make fried rice when I have leftover meat (like chicken or pork chops), but I saw already cut pieces of chicken at the store the other day. MUCH easier. I’m not above doing things from scratch, but this looked way too easy. Below are two different chicken fried rice recipes. Either one can use chicken in pieces specifically for fried rice or stir fry like I used last night, or you can use leftover chicken. It really doesn’t matter. Shortcut Chicken Fried Rice Recipe - Half pound chicken, cut into strips - Box of Chicken Fried Rice (Rice-a-roni or other brands) Fry up your chicken and set aside. Cook rice according to box, adding the chicken just before you let it simmer. Enjoy! Homemade Chicken Fried...
When I was a kid, I loved to paint pine cones. Having a huge forest as my neighbor, there were no shortage of pine cones either. I loved to spend the day walking through the woods and finding them. I’d bring all my treasures home, and sit down to paint. The pine cones I chose always looked like mini-trees, so that’s what I would do with them. I’d paint them all green, then paint “decorations” on the tips. I never got too fancy, because it didn’t take too much to entertain me as a kid. Just a few different colored dots to look like Christmas decorations on a tree, and sometimes a bit of glitter. That’s it! Very easy, but kept me busy for at least a few hours. Now I know you may not be as lucky as me living so close to an endless supply of pine cones, but a trip to a local park might be just as good....
I know I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m making quite a few of my kids Christmas gifts. I do every year. It’s less expensive and means a whole lot more than some expensive toy that will break in a few months. Believe me, my kids have enough toys! So here’s the homemade side of my kids Christmas list. I hope you’ll find some ideas here of things you can make for your kids! Doll Clothes My little girl loves her baby dolls. She also loves clothes. So I have to make her at least one or two outfits for her babies. There’s two patterns I’ve made myself, and a few others I’ve bought. With all the different types of fabric we’ve got, it’s not hard to come up with all kinds of different clothes. If you need some help planning this out or need some patterns, be sure to check out our doll...
While a lot of the ideas on our homemade Christmas gift ideas page applies to adults, I thought I would mention a few ideas I’ve done for family in the past. It’s not about how much the gift costs, but rather how much the gift means to the person receiving it. Zipper Bags (sewing required) Last year I picked up fabric featuring my family’s favorite college basketball team. Even though I’m the odd one out (I really could care less what team is playing), my parents and grandparents hardly ever miss a game. So for Christmas I made a small pouch with a zipper for my mom, and a pillow for my dad out of the fabric. They were thrilled! Of course it didn’t cost all but a few dollars for both of them, but it was something very special. Homemade Bread My grandparents are THE hardest people to shop for, so we don’t...
This is one of those websites you can get lost on. Meaning once you get there, it’s hard to close the window. I could spend hours browsing eBay, and easily spend a small fortune. I mean there are some really good deals for awesome products on eBay! I’ve managed to do a nice chunk of my Christmas shopping on eBay, including my son’s largest gift. I always said I refused to buy a game console of any kind, but my oldest begged me and we made a deal related to homework. He’s coming through on his deal it, so I gave in. But still I wasn’t sure how I was going to afford a game system – even a GameCube that’s cheaper than some of the newer consoles out right now. So I turned to eBay. Granted it’s used, but I made sure I read the auctions carefully. I made sure the auctions stated they were in good...
Over the past several months my son has been battling fluid in his ears, ear infections, and hearing problems. All this being caused by major congestion due to allergies. We finally tracked the source of the allergy – mold. But the specialist only said “here’s your drugs” and sent us on our way. Why I thought he’d have some other answer I’ll never know. I do know that I’m DONE fighting this battle with both the allergies and the “specialists”. I’ve done a lot of reading over the past few weeks, and I’ve come to several conclusions. First off, drugs or no drugs, there is no quick fix. The problems won’t just “disappear” the next day. Even with a prescription he could still be dealing with this for another month. Which defeats the purpose of drugs, don’t...
Clothes can make perfect Christmas gifts for kids. Especially for girls. My daughter has been excited to get clothes since her first birthday! While there are lots of places locally you can get cheap clothes, there are also some really good places to go cheap clothes shopping online too. There are two recommended places I wanted to share. The first one is a store you may not have heard of. ClassicCloseouts.com has some amazing deals on clothing for the entire family. You can find clothes for women, men, and kids here. Worth checking out! The other place I recommend looking just about everyone knows. You just may not have thought about checking it out. That place is of course eBay! Not only can you find clothes here, but do half of your Christmas shopping here. In fact, I just picked up my son’s big gift for half as much as I would...
If you are in need of something different this Christmas, why not send an ecard? It will take a whole lot less time than writing all those cards out by hand, and a whole lot less in postage too. Just because you send them via email doesn’t mean they can’t be personalized. Most places that offer ecards allow you to enter personalization in the card. So you get the best of both worlds – personalization AND cost effective! A great place to grab unique interactive Christmas cards is Blue Mountain. You don’t have to worry about spyware or other computer problems. Plus they have an excellent selection of eCards for every occasion. Check them out at the link below! Read More →
