hello, monday.

hello, fall.

we are having a lovely, windows-open, candle burning kind of fall morning.
yesterday was the first day of fall and it actually feels like it.
high's in the upper 70's is pretty perfect in my book. :)

i do love how cozy a house feels in the fall.
i pulled down my few fall decorations yesterday afternoon.
i still need to get a mum and some pumpkins for the front porch.
does anyone know how i can not kill a mum?
seriously, i have a black thumb.
i need your tips.

these are phone pics so they're not profesh, but you get the idea.
it's fall up in here. :)

ruby actually sat still for a few minutes and cuddled with aj while he was watching football.
his dream come true. ;)

one of our favorite traditions is homemade pizza on sunday nights.
i use aj's mom's recipe...it's simple and yummy. {p.s. i like the packets of pizza crust yeast}

a pretty nice first day of fall, i say. :)
i'm ready now...ready for pumpkins and hay rides and yummy food.

want to get in the fall spirit with me?
lindsay at pen & paint has a cutie patootie free fall printable.
thanks lindsay! :)

happy fall, y'all!

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monday funday and lemon basil pesto

it's monday morning and the last week of summer break. 

i think it's gonna be a doozy. 

it's one of those weeks where we have so much on our calendar that it's gonna be tricky to coordinate all the details. 

but we'll make it....we always do. ;)

and hopefully we'll make some memories and have fun along the way. 

so....last week i tweeted/instagrammed a pic of my basil plant & asked for a pesto recipe. 

my friend amy who writes the awesome foodie blog, our everyday dinners, asked to have some of said basil since her plant had died. 

well, basil is the one plant that has flourished this hot summer so i was happy to share. 

amy made lemon basil pesto & shared the recipe on her blog. check it here. 

she was also so sweet to bring us some of the pesto, pasta & fresh parmesan for our dinner! 

yummy. 

i love love love some pesto. 

it's pretty fun that it came from our basil from our garden.

okay, so you should really start reading amy's blog...she posts recipes everyday with great photos. 

remember her blog is where i got the salted caramel pretzel bark that i am obsessed {obsessed} with. 

if i get my wits about me i'm going to make up a big batch of pesto and freeze it in an ice cube tray so we can have pesto all the year long. 

fingers crossed. 

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freezer jam

do you guys make this?
AJ loves his mom's jelly.
she serves it at every meal . . . with fresh homemade bread.
yes, she is amazing.
she makes all different flavors.
lots of strawberry but she does peach and apricot and whatever else she has on hand as well.

it's not hard to make....honestly i just forget.
it's not on my radar.
sorry, honey.
after spending the better part of a week at AJ's parents, {you know when he was in the hospital?} i was reminded how great her jelly is.
and she reminded me how easy it is.
like seriously.

you buy a box of sure jell and a quart of strawberries and follow the directions on the box.
it makes five jars.
it's a good value. :)

you basically just smash up the strawberries....

add a whole bunch of sugar . . . 

don't worry about it....it's going over five jars, remember?

cook the sure jell with water and then mix it up with the strawberries and sugar......

dig around your cabinets and find whatever jars you can find.
i had some leftover canning jars and a cleaned out pesto jar.
you don't have to know how to can or anything like that.
you just pour the jelly in the jar and twist the lid on.
the end and amen.

you can keep it in the fridge for three weeks or in the freezer for a year.
it won't last that long, i can promise you that.

it's so yum. way better than store bought.
:)


happy day, friends! have a happy fourth! 






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snickers salad: you're gonna want this recipe

snickers. salad.
hello.
if a fruit salad and dessert got married, this would be their baby.
we're using the term, "salad" loosely here folks.
go with it.
it's anchored by the always fabulous, COOL WHIP whipped topping. 


okay so here are the ingredients:

granny smith apples, a small packet of vanilla pudding, 12 oz. COOL WHIP, & snickers.
it has to be good, right?


COOL WHIP and i are b.f.f.'s.
we go way back.
growing up, we always had some on hand for easy desserts, a fruit dip, a topping for hot chocolate, etc. 
these days i love it in my coffee.
one of my favorite ways to make a quick dessert is to just layer cool whip and chocolate pudding in clear glasses. 
it's a fan favorite. :)


anyhow, back to the recipe.
this is super simple.
i love a dessert that i can throw together during nap time.

chop three-four snickers into small chunks. 
{i used six of the smaller ones that come in a two pack so i think it pretty much equaled out}.

cut your granny smiths into small chunks.

isn't it so pretty?
now for the best part . . . 


mix your packet of pudding into your 12oz. of COOL WHIP until all of the pudding powder is disolved.
then fold it into your apples and snickers.
and enlist a sweet helper to do the stirring. 

then get some volunteers to sample it. 
i promise you won't have to twist their arm.

there you go.
snickers salad. 
you're welcome. 

we had this for dessert after dinner last night.
it was a hit.
all of my boys love a dessert. 
i think desserts are their love language. ;)
and COOL WHIP just makes a good dessert better.
can i get amen?
and seriously, a dessert with four ingredients that doesn't require my oven being turned on is a winner.
plus, it has fruit in it, so i win again.




Do you have a special dessert you'd like to share? Enter COOL WHIP's Fan Dessert of the Month Contest for a chance to win $500! Simply make a COOL WHIP dessert, take a photo, and upload it here. 




Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that we are pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.



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Bacon Wrapped Crockpot Chicken

last week i decided to give one of my pinterest pinned recipes a try.
i looked around and chose one that i already had all of the ingredients for.

creamy. bacon wrapped. crockpot. chicken.
hello.

you can click on that link above for the original recipe.
or here's how i did it (i switched things up a bit) . .  .

1. fry 8 pieces of bacon and cook over medium-low heat until some of the fat is rendered. Be sure that the bacon is still pliable. drain on paper towels.  


2.   wrap 2 pieces of bacon around each boneless chicken breast and place in a 4-5 quart crockpot. i used four good sized chicken breasts.  you can see from the pic that i browned some of the bacon more than others and it was harder to wrap around. 
 in the end i don't think it mattered how long i cooked them...the goal was just to get some of the fat out.

somehow, chicken floating in a sea of bacon grease doesn't sound very appetizing. 

3.   in a separate bowl, combine a can of cream of mushroom,  8 oz. sour cream,  2 cloves of chopped garlic and 1/4 cup flour.

 mix it all together and pour it over the chicken. 

 4.  cook on low for 5-7 hours until chicken and bacon are thoroughly cooked. i did 5 hours and it probably didn't need that much. it was falling. apart. 

remove the chicken and beat the sauce with a wire whisk so it is very well blended and then pour over the chicken. 

5.  i served it over rice but it would also be super yummy over couscous. 

pairs nicely with a cold glass of sweet tea.  :)

all in all this is a pinterest recipe success story. 

the boys loved it and said i should make it again.

full disclosure: i had seconds of everything on that plate. the end.

p.s. find more recipes on my "recipes" tab above. ^









 

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mini chocolate chips = healthy

have you tried these???

they are so good.
and addictive.
i think they're called energy bites.

i can't stop eating them.
i'm convincing myself that they're healthy so that i can eat them as much as i want.
they've got a cup of oatmeal in them for pete's sake.

the boys love them as an afternoon snack.
i like to eat them with my coffee in the morning {and on and off throughout the day . . . shhhhh}

you probably have all of the ingredients except the ground flax seed & mini choc. chips so you could make them right away.
i read that you can substitute some of the ground flax seed for wheat germ.
i think i'll do half and half next time.

yummmmmm.............

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chicken tortellini soup

this soup is so yummy.
my friend liz brought it to us when we had ruby.  
it was so great, i had to have the recipe.


we had it for dinner last night...perfect winter night soup.


ya wanna make it?


here's what you need . . .

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (15 oz) can Rotel (diced tomatoes with chilies)

12 cups chicken broth

1 traditional rotisserie chicken, boned and cut into bite sized pieces

1/3 cup jarred pesto sauce

20 oz package fresh, refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 (10 oz) bags fresh spinach, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

{a cheaper option would be cooking your own chicken & making your own broth. obviously that's a bit more time consuming}

i don't love cutting chicken off the bone...who does? 

it's pretty grody.

but it is nice to have an excuse for some quiet time in the kitchen.  

do you have one of these things?

it is a must have for me.

for onions.

i used the heck of the one we got for our wedding and it finally gave out.

i bought a new one at walmart for like 10 bucks. 

i was crying just from cutting the onion into big chunks to put in the chopper.

i put a matchstick in my teeth and it helped immediately.

so crazy.

learned that from the help. 

·   Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and sauté for 10 minutes or until tender.

·      Add the garlic and Rotel and sauté for 10 minutes

·      Add the broth and bring to a boil. 

·      Add the chicken and reduce the heat to low.  Stir in the pesto and tortellini and simmer for 5 minutes. 

·      Add the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Season with salt and pepper and serve

it makes a ton.

that's an 8 qt. pot and it was nearly full. 

it was so yummy....we stuffed ourselves.

yes, our whole family eats this. 

we don't make separate meals for the kids...what we eat, they eat. 

i would definitely say that spinach is probably not their favorite. 

they didn't say so, but they did refill their water glasses about 4 times during dinner.

so i guess that's a clue. :)

but i'm proud of them....they're learning to eat whatever is served to them with a happy heart.

that's a big deal to us.

we want them to be able to eat at anyone's table with a grateful attitude. 

we also want them to appreciate all different kinds of foods.

we don't want them to miss out! :)

let me know if you try this. :)

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make this.

salted. caramel. pretzel. bark. 

if you like a salted caramel mocha {don't be scared, try it. you will never be the same} you will love this.

it takes 10 minutes to make, start to finish.
it is amazing. you will die.

click on the link above for the recipe.
try to not eat the entire batch yourself.

put it into cute little bags and everyone will love you forever and ever, amen.

my notes on this recipe:

*the first time i used hershey's special dark chips...oh mercy.
every other time {and there have been many} i have used semi-sweet chips and it's still amazing.

the tags are free printables from jones design company, tied with vintage lace.

*do not be afraid of the sea salt, it's what makes this stuff great.
*i love it best refrigerated.
*i bought the big bag of great value pretzels and it made 3 batches.


you are welcome.


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hot fudge sauce and a family gift idea

this is the time of year that my kitchen turns into santa's workshop.
i love making christmas treats to give out as gifts.

last year i made chocolate covered peanut butter crackers. yum.
the boys and i make these pretzel kisses every year.
i used to always make peppermint bark or big ol' pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate & sprinkles.

this year, it's hot fudge sauce.
i got the idea from my friend, erin, who always makes them for her kids' teachers.

i used my mother-in-law's recipe & packaged it into small glass jars.

she gave me the awesome tip of pouring it in the jar right when it's hot, then put the lid on tight and it will seal itself. 

it totally worked. 

i downloaded the free circus font for the tags and printed them on some scrapbook paper i had in my stash.

i got another brill idea off, you guessed it, pinterest.

Source: homemade.tipjunkie.com via Sara on Pinterest

here's my version....

ice cream cones or bowls, hot fudge sauce, and several different fun toppings, packaged into little bags.

for basket filler, i fed some craft paper through my paper shredder. 

and a boxed version....

 i think this is a great gift for a family...i know my boys would be pumped to receive something like this.
just a simple little gift to say merry christmas. :)



*pam's hot fudge*

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
12 oz. can evap milk.

heat to boiling & continue to stir until it's thick and smooth.

add a stick o' butter & 1 Tbs. vanilla.
stir still smooth.
pour into jars.

i did a double batch and it made 7, 8oz. jars.

pam's tip . . . for a single batch use a 3qt pot so it doesn't boil over your pan.
bigger batch...bigger pot. you get it.

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weekend recap

is your life insane right now?
or is it just me?

it actually could be crazier...last year certainly was......what with moving at this time and all.
so glad we're not doing that right now.
i think it just feels so crazy because there's a bunch of stuff on my calendar and i have bought like zero christmas presents.
and i am so unorganized....i need to make a list for goodness sake.

soooo we had a good weekend.
we really enjoyed it...but it was really full so it kinda flew by.

friday night i got to eat and craft with some of my favorite girls.

avery went to a birthday party....he spent about an hour working on the card.
so sweet.
he had to get the football just perfect.

saturday morning our little family went to ride on the santa train.
sawyer had never ridden the big train so we were really excited to see his reaction.
he did not disappoint....he loved it.

i actually love riding the train.
santa and mrs. claus come down the aisle and greet the kids and you get to sing christmas carols as you roll down the tracks.
very polar expressy.

the train whistle was a bit loud for ms. ruby.

she did great and she had everyone oohing and aahing over her. :)

we ate lunch on sam's club samples and then had a date night that night.

on sunday afternoon i made these reindeer cookies for my potter's house girls.

i got the idea off pinterest and changed it up just a bit.
i used a gingerbread cookie mix.
while they were still warm from the oven, i added chocolate covered pretzels, red m&m's and mini reeces pieces.
most of the girls weren't fans of the gingerbread, but our family loves them.

i am having to exercise some serious restraint to keep from eating the whole tub.
i also wrapped little smokies in crescent rolls for their snack.
those were gone in about 5 minutes.

so am i the only person in the free world not doing elf on the shelf?
i thought so.

okay....better go get something, anything accomplished.

stay warm friends....as my husband would say, it's colder than a witch's personality.... ;)



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