Make-It Monday: Pizza Night Kit

Welcome back to "Make-It" Monday - the place to get some ideas for homemade (or semi-homemade) gifts! If you have a great homemade gift idea, be sure to leave it in the comments section.

Now, if you've been following "Make-It Monday", you'll know that I am a big fan of "kits". I've talked about a Playdough Kit for kids, a Morning Out Kit for the ladies and a Romance Kit for their men. Today, I'm going to share an idea for a Family Pizza Night Kit.

In our house, Friday is usually Pizza night. We love pizza but eating out (or getting delivery) is just not budget-friendly. So, over the years, I've learned to make pizza. If you have a KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook, it's a cinch to make the dough. A tasty homemade sauce takes just 10 minutes to make. And as for the assembly, kids really enjoy helping out with that. It can be a fun family activity.

A basic Pizza Night Kit would include:

• A quart-sized jar filled with the ingredients for the dough (flour, packet of yeast, salt, and cornmeal).
• Ingredients to make the sauce (can of tomatoes & tomato paste, spices).
• Pizza Recipe - dough, sauce & baking instructions
• Pizza pan(s) - our local Ace Hardware had some great individual sized ones for just $3.99 for a set of two (GS EZ-Baker Heavyweight Steel Bakeware Pizza Pans).

Of course, you're gift recipient will need to provide some of the ingredients like oil, etc. Just be sure to specify in your recipe what they need to provide.

A more deluxe Pizza Night Kit might include:

• Pizza Cutter Wheel
• A Board Game (make it a Family Pizza & Game Night Kit) OR
• A DVD (make it a Dinner & A Movie Night Kit)

Not sure how to make pizza? I'm sure there are other recipes out there on the internet that you can use, but this is what I do:

Homemade Pizza

Homemade Pizza Dough

Homemade Pizza Sauce

1 (8 ounce) package fancy shredded mozzarella cheese

toppings of your choice (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, etc)

1 Tablespoon cornmeal

Divide pizza dough into four sections (if making individual-sized pizzas) or two sections (if making two 10-inch pizzas). On a lightly floured surface, turn each portion into a dough ball and then flatten out to make a round dough. Grease your pizza pan or baking sheet with oil and dust with cornmeal. Place your dough on the pizza pan and top with sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Homemade Pizza Dough

1 package (or 2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 1/4 cup warm water

dollop of honey (optional)

3 - 3 1/2 cups of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Place the dough hook attachment on your KitchenAid mixer. In a warmed mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water along with a dollop of honey (if using). Allow to proof. Stir in remaining water, 3 cups flour, salt and olive oil. Mix well for about 5 minutes. If dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour. Place in a greased bowl, turn to coat with oil and cover. Set in a warm, draft-free area and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. When dough has risen, punch down and let rest for 10 minutes more.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press

1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch pepper

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

In a saucepan, cook garlic in olive oil over medium heat, stirring for 1 - 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes (with juice) and spices. Reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently until juices evaporate, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.

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For other food gift ideas, be sure to check out Ultimate Recipe Swap on Thursday at Life as Mom.

Grandma Bonnie's Beets

This past weekend, we had a lovely dinner with my father and my in-laws -- Grilled Tri Tip, Mexican Rice, Green Beans, garden fresh zucchini, salad and Crumb Top Apple Pie for dessert. Oh, it was yummy! My mother-in-law Bonnie also brought a contribution to the meal -- BEETS! Now, I've seen my father enjoy them at a salad bar on many occasions, but I've never personally eaten a beet before. There was always something about the hot pink juice it left over everything that it touched that made me a bit wary.

But, my mother-in-law got some fresh homegrown beets earlier this week while she was walking through the Mission. She saw boxes and boxes of fresh produce and wanted to buy some. When she asked the woman how much it was, the woman said "Free!" Apparently, someone delivers fresh produce once or twice a month and just donates it to the Mission to distribute to whoever wants it. So, she ended up with some fresh, just-out-of-the-dirt, beets that she cooked up for us to try. My father enjoyed them, my husband thought that they tasted like dirt and was quite vocal about it and I thought they were okay. The hot pink juice is still a little weird to me. Ella wouldn't touch them...but Lucie? Oh, I think Lucie won Grandma's heart with her response. She ate...and ate...and ate them! She was quite disappointed when we cut her off from the beets. It was the first time that she had ever had them and I didn't want her to overdo it.

Overall, Lucie enjoyed her dinner -- she ate tons of everything. So afterward, I asked her "What was your favorite thing at dinner?"

Her response? "Um, candy."

Make-It Monday: Romance Kit

Welcome to Week #4 of "Make-It Monday" -- a place to get some ideas for homemade or semi-homemade gifts. Over the past few weeks, I've shared some ideas for gifts for the young children, family members and ladies in your life. Well, what about gifts for men?!

Yes, that was my very question last year! For the past few years, we have been gifting my husband's family members with homemade or semi-homemade gifts at Christmas. Usually, we come up with an idea and make different versions of the same gift for each person or couple. Well, last year I had plans to make "Morning Out Kits" for the ladies in my husband's family as well as for one of my sisters. Although their husbands might have enjoyed a coffee gift card, I didn't see them enjoying a fabric coffee sleeve or embellished journal. So, I had to get creative. I needed to create a gift that would be welcomed by a talented wildlife artist, a former youth pastor turned assistant director of a consulting company, computer systems administrator, and a general contractor. They've got various interests but one thing in common. They love their wives. So, I enlisted my husband's help and created a Romance Kit!

In our version of the kit, we included:

• A card explaining the gift (authored by my husband -- I didn't think it would come across as well if it came from me. You know, a woman telling another man that he should romance his wife? Yeah, that's a job better suited to my husband.)
• A mini bottle of champagne. You should be able to find mini bottles of nicer bottles of champagne in a liquor store or somewhere like World Market or BevMo. However, you should be able to find a 4-pack of Cook's champagne at your local grocery or drug store...at least in California you can.
• Some chocolate. My preference is Lindt Lindor Truffles or Ghiradelli Squares are nice too! You can buy one bag and split it among several gifts. Or, a mini box of chocolates would be great too. See's Candy sells a small Mini Holiday Fancy Box (through fundraisers) that would fit the bill nicely.
• A candle. I purchased a multi-pack of small tea light candles in glass holders and put one in each gift. Right now, candles are going on sale at drug stores. You should be able to get them very inexpensively - probably even 50% off for holiday scents. (I think Rite Aid has that sale going on this week.)
• Massage Oil. You can purchase a multi-pack of six small bottles (0.5 ounce) of KY Touch Massage Oil in various scents.

This makes a pretty frugal gift if you make several of them and spread the expense across them all. Plus, there isn't really much handmade about it at all -- just buy the various items, write a card and package it up.

It would also be a good gift for newlyweds or new parents who need time to reconnect. You could easily turn it into a Date Night gift by throwing in a gift card to a restaurant and an offer of babysitting. What parent wouldn't love that?

I'm not sure how many of my recipients actually used the gift (yeah, I didn't ask), but it was good for a laugh. Especially, when they read the card that was authored by my husband (here's what he wrote):

Okay, here's the deal.

Your wife has received a "Woman's Morning Out Kit".

She thinks this gift is for her, but in reality when she comes home she will be ready for an...

EVENING WITH HER MAN.

It is in fact, just part 1 of 2 gifts designed for you, her husband.

When she comes home, she'll be all fulfilled and warm inside from all of her introspection and self-reflection. Now is the time to turn on the charm and use your kit:

Have the champagne chilled, the candle lit, and the chocolates and massage oil out.

Oh, and make sure the kids are in bed or at their friend's house.

Good luck and have a Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving Craft: Turkey Placeholder

A few years ago, our church liaison for our local Mothers of Preschoolers group shared with us one of their Thanksgiving family traditions. Each year before the Thanksgiving dinner, everyone in their family makes a "turkey" using an apple, toothpicks, spice drops and construction paper. Later at the meal, these turkeys serve as placeholders.

I thought that it was a cute idea at the time but Ella was still rather young to do it. Then, two years ago, Ella was nearly three so I thought that we'd give it a try. I was heavily pregnant with Lucie so we decided to stay closer to home and celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. It was a more subdued holiday -- Mom was away supporting her sister through breast cancer treatment, Dad had decided to start some kitchen remodeling just days before Thanksgiving, and my sister Jessica was still living halfway across the country with her brood. So, it was just out little family along with my Dad, my two brothers and my sister Jamie. Despite the fact that Ella was the ONLY child at Thanksgiving, I still insisted that everyone make a turkey. At first I wasn't sure how my brothers or father would take to the idea, but actually everyone participated and we had a good time. Granted, my brothers were excited about the prospect of seeing how far their turkeys could fly across the wash behind my parents house, but they still made them! It made for a sweet memory. I'm hoping to try these again this year with my husband's family. I'm not sure that I could convince all 17 of them to make turkeys, but I think I'll try to get the kids to make them.

Turkey Placeholders

Supplies Needed:

Red Delicious Apples

Toothpicks

Spice Drop (or Gum Drop) Candies

Brown Construction Paper or Cardstock

Markers

1. Make a turkey neck/head out of brown paper or cardstock. Draw an eye on both sides and a red wattle. (You can also use red paper for the wattle if you wish.)
2. Lay the apple on its side and cut a slit on the stem end of the apple. Stick in the paper head.
3. At the other end of the apple, use two toothpicks for legs to stablize the turkey on the bottom.
4. On the top, make as many "feathers" as you like by skewering the spice drops on toothpicks and sticking them into the apple.
5. Use your finished turkeys as place holders at your Thankgsiving meal!

Make-Ahead Crumb Top Apple Pie

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is next week! We'll be hitting the road and heading up to Oregon to visit with my husband's family. It should be a fun (and LOUD) time with the whole gang together. I think that there will be 17 of us there. We're looking forward to the family time (but not the drive time).

Since it is a Thanksgiving themed Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom today, I thought that I'd share a super yummy Crumb Top Apple Pie recipe that is perfect for making ahead and freezing! I'm sure that everyone has their own version, but this is the one that I turn to. I got it a few years ago at a local Mothers of Preschoolers meeting right before Thanksgiving. As part of our "creative activities" portion of the morning, we made Apple Pies that we could bake that day or FREEZE for later use. What a brilliant idea! Make the pie ahead of time...and freeze it until you need it. If Apple Pie is on your menu this Thanksgiving, why not make it this weekend and freeze it to save a little hassle next week?!

Crumb Top Apple Pie

Pie Ingredients:
1 prepared pie shell (homemade or store-bought frozen shell)
2 pounds baking apples (Granny Smiths), about 5 cups peeled and sliced
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Crumb Topping Ingredients:
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed firm
1/4 cup butter

Directions: Mix sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour, and cinnamon. Peel, core, and slice apples, then layer into pie shell. Sprinkle with the sugar/flour/cinnamon mixture, alternating it with apple layers. Prepare the crumb topping by mixing the 2/3 cup flour and brown sugar, then mixing the butter into it with a pastry blender, until the butter is in pea-sized pieces or smaller. Sprinkle the topping onto the pie.

If you are going to bake your pie immediately, place it on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until juice is thick and bubbly.

If you want to freeze your pie to bake later, place it in a large ziploc bag, suck as much air as possible OUT of the bag and freeze. To bake a frozen pie, do not thaw before baking. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 400 until juice is thick and bubbly, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Cover edges with foil after 45 minutes baking to prevent burned edges.

Giggling Elmo's Hot Tomato Game

After Lucie was born, my sister Jamie and my parents took care of Ella as I recovered in the hospital. Generous soul that she is, Jamie came bearing gifts. One of the gifts she brought was Giggling Elmo's Hot Tomato Game. Ella was just barely three at the time and she didn't quite understand how to play "Hot Potato". Although she thought the Elmo ball was cute, she didn't play with it much as she was transitioning out of her Elmo phase and into the Princess one. And so, this sweet little Elmo sat waiting to be played with...until Lucie discovered him a couple of months ago.

Brett was out for the night working so we had a Girls' Night. Per tradition, we got some McDonald's and watched a movie...and as a surprise, I decided that we should try our hand at playing with Elmo. Basically all you have to do is press Elmo's orange nose and the Elmo ball starts giggling and shaking for an unknown amount of time. You can simply play "Hot Potato" with it or there are other cards for more advanced play. Ella was just able to catch it and throw it. Lucie, well, not so much. She thought it was hilarious and it brought her great joy. However, this is how she most liked playing with it....

Oh, I soooo want one!

I LOVE Cost Plus World Market but rarely get to go there. We have one about 40-minutes away that I could go to, but it's not very feasible with two kids in tow. It's downtown...you have to park in a structure and walk a bit to get there. If I actually bought anything, I'd have to schlep my purchases along with kids back to the car and up the multi-level structure. So, I almost never get there. But, I love to look at their ads and online.

On Sunday afternoon, I saw their ad and was this close to making an online purchase until life intervened and I got distracted. I wanted some of these babies -- the non-paper cup.

I have wanted a porcelain travel cup forever but I didn't think that they actually existed. (I don't like how the plastic and metal ones retain smells and flavors.) Well, they do now. These are porcelain cups (in solid red or green OR the patterns seen above) with a silicone sleeve and lid. Oh, I soooo want one. Today I went back online to try to order one and they've disappeared from the website. It's so strange because usually World Market keeps the listing up and writes "Out of Stock" if a product becomes unavailable. Now the listing is nowhere to be found. Perhaps they still have them in the store but there isn't much chance that I will make it there anytime soon. So, if any of my siblings are reading this, you know what you can get me for Christmas!

Make-It Monday: Morning Out Kit

Welcome back to "Make-It Monday" -- the place to find ideas for homemade or semi-homemade Christmas gifts. The past two weeks I've talked about a Homemade Playdough Kit for kids as well as Family Calendars. If you have a great homemade gift idea, be sure to share it or a link to your website in the comments section!

And on to today's subject -- A Morning Out Kit!

In general, I'm not a big purchaser of gift cards. Yes, I believe that the gift card is a great invention, and personally I enjoy receiving a gift card just as much as the next person. However, I have a hard time giving just a gift card. Even if I know that my sister-in-law Aimee would LOVE a gift card to Starbucks, part of me still feels as if I didn't put enough personal touch to the gift. If I have the time and inspiration, I will create a "kit" around the purchase of a gift card. Once I know what kind of gift card I want to buy, I think about how I can expand the gift card into an experience by creating a "kit".

Last Christmas, I did just that for some of the women in my life. I bought several $5 gift cards to Starbucks and created a "Woman's Morning Out" kit. The kit consisted of:

• Woman's Morning Out Explanation: When giving a kit, I always like to include a card that explains the purpose of the gift as well lists the items in the kit.
• $5 Gift Card to Starbucks
• A reusable fabric coffee sleeve
• A hand-embellished journal

Although I tailored mine to women, you could make a similar gift for men as well. Or, throw a paperback book into the mix for the Book Lover in your life. I made things easy for myself by purchasing some small, pre-decorated gift boxes and wrapping the kit inside with tissue paper. Just by looking at those boxes, I knew what was inside. You could make several and keep some on hand for hostess gifts or those last-minute gifts that we sometimes need.

Reusable Fabric Coffee Sleeve

thick, fleece fabric (for the inside of the sleeve)

patterned fabric (for the outside)

thread

scissors & sewing machine

1. Using a paper coffee sleeve from your coffeeshop of choice, trace it on paper. Draw another line 1/4 inch out from that line for your seam allowance. Cut it out and this is your pattern. Note: You may want to make sure that your sleeve fits the cups at the store where you intend to buy your gift cards. Cups at Starbucks are tall and thin, whereas the cups at Peet's are shorter and thicker. A sleeve designed for Starbucks may not work at Peet's.
2. Cut two pieces of fabric from your pattern -- one from your patterned fabric and one from fleece. Put the right sides together and sew along the top and the bottom -- leave the ends open so that you can turn it right side out.
3. Turn it right side out and iron flat.
4. Top stitch along the top and bottom edges.
5. Fold the sleeve tube in half with the patterned sides together. Line up the unsewn edges and stitch together to form your sleeve. Trim excess fabric if needed and turn right side out. Double-check to make sure that it fits the cup before you give it as a gift!

Here's a tutorial with pictures that has a slightly different design.

If sewing is not your thing but you want a fabric coffee sleeve, check out Etsy for something to your liking! You can find them for about $5 - 8. Certainly not as cheap as homemade, but they are cute and eco-friendly.

Paper-Embellished Journal

basic composition book

scrapbooking paper (12 x 12 paper works well)

modge-podge

ribbon or other embellishments

1. Trim paper to the right size to cover your composition book. A 12 x 12 piece of scrapbooking paper won't quite cover it completely. But, you use separate pieces and cover the overlap with embellishment. Or, use a piece of 8 x 11 for the front and back covers and leave the spine uncovered OR use a separate piece to cover the spine.
2. Adhere paper with modge podge.
3. Cut out embellishments and adhere them with modge podge.
4. If you wish to seal the journal, cover with a thin layer of modge podge and allow to dry completely.

I made the green journal pictured above with scrapbooking paper and modge podge for my sister Jessica last year. However, recently I tried my hand at creating a FABRIC cover for a basic composition journal. If you have excess fabric and can stitch a straight seam, you might want to try this version. Added bonus - you can make the journal match your coffee sleeve AND can reuse the cover on another journal when the first one is filled.

Fabric Journal Cover

composition book

fabric

thread

1) Measure the book that you want to cover.

• Height: Add 0.25 inches to the height to make sure that the opening is wide enough PLUS another 0.25 inch for the seam allowance on each side. For a journal that is 9.75 inches high, my measurement would be 10.5 inches.
• Width: Measure the journal from the edge of the front cover, over the spine, to the edge of the back cover. Add 3 inches (or more) for the wraparound on each side PLUS 0.5 inches to hem in the opening on each side. For a journal that is 15.25 inches wide, my measurement would be 22.25 inches.

2) Cut two rectangles with these measurements. (If you want to get fancy, stitch together different pieces of fabric to create your rectangles. For the one pictured above, I stitched a piece of floral fabric over my orange rectangle where the journal spine would go.)

3) Fold over the edge of the rectangles by 0.5 inches and hem.

4) Place the right sides of the rectangles together together and stitch along the top with 0.25 seam allowance.

5) Turn right side out and iron flat.

6) Wrap the cover around the book and insert the cover into the opening on the edges.

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For other money saving ideas, check out Frugal Friday at Life As Mom every Friday for one of Jessica's tips as well as links to other bloggers' ideas!

Special Diet Recipe: Roasted Green Beans

On Monday night, my husband's parents joined us for dinner. We had one of my favorite meals -- Southwestern Chicken, Caesar salad, baked potatoes and green beans. I decided on green beans because I know that my diabetic mother-in-law Bonnie loves them. I figured that non-starchy vegetables like green beans were good for diabetics. What I did not know until Bonnie told me on Monday night is that green beans are particularly good for diabetics because they help lower your blood glucose. Bonnie told us that before insulin, chicken and green beans were the core of a diabetic's diet. Personally, she has seen a drop in her blood glucose numbers after she eats green beans. Inspired by our discussion, I decided to check out the website for the American Diabetes Association. Although I didn't find an article about green beans specifically, I did find some links to other green bean recipes that sounded tasty:

• Green Beans and Mushrooms
• Green Beans with Roasted Peppers and Triple Herbs
• Green Beans with Almonds and Lemon
• Green Beans with Sunflower Seeds
• and perfect for Thanksgiving -- Green Bean Casserole

Personally, I've never prepared any of these recipes listed above, so I can't vouch for how they taste. And honestly, most often, I just cook a bag of frozen beans and call it a night. However, when I get fresh green beans, I do like to use an actually recipe. One that I have used and enjoyed in the past is "Roasted Green Beans" from Susan Branch's beautifully illustrated cookbook Vineyard Seasons. It's simple yet tasty and the beans can be eaten hot or cold.

Roasted Green Beans

Serves 4

1 pound fresh grean beans, trimmed

1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

fresh lemon juice

freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Spread the trimmed beans on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 6 to 8 minutes or until they are tender. Turn them occasionally. Place roasted beans in a serving dish and squeeze lemon juice over them and season with pepper. Enjoy!

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For other recipes suited for food alergies/special diets, stop by Life as Mom today for Ultimate Recipe Swap!

Halloween Recap

Yes, it is the 11th of November and I'm just now getting around to posting pictures of Halloween. This is just how things go sometimes. But despite the delay, I thought that it was important to post about it since this year we had three firsts -- my Dad was with us for Halloween, Ella carved a pumpkin for the first time AND Lucie dressed up and went trick-or-treating. Well, I guess last year Lucie technically dressed up, but I don't think it counts as "trick-or-treating" if your parents have to carry you and say "Trick or Treat" for you.

Ella went on a preschool field trip to the Pumpkin Patch and picked out her very own pumpkin. Then, on Halloween day, she carved it with her Daddy. She really didn't want to reach in and pull out the insides though. We finally convinced her to try using the scoop.

For trick-or-treating, Ella decided to be Cinderella and oh did she feel fancy in her long white gloves. I looked in every local store I could think of but to no avail. Then I happened to hear about CastlesNCrowns, an online store owned by my neighbor's parents. They had one pair left in stock! Ella was sooooo excited about that because she got to look like the "real" Cinderella.

Lucie was a princess as well. Since she has had an aversion to wearing dresses in the past, I wasn't sure if she would go for it. But, she did. She also wanted to wear a "crown" (aka the blue headband). Before we left for trick-or-treating, we gave her a little tutorial about what she's supposed to do. I think she thought it was pretty cool when we put a lollypop in her bag. However, later when we joined some friends for trick-or-treating, she got a bit freaked out by Darth Vader and wanted Daddy to hold her. It took a few houses, but she warmed up to the idea again. She did not let go of her candy bag the entire time...no matter how heavy it got. It was really quite sweet.

C & D: A Tradition Continues

We are so very blessed to have my in-laws visiting for extended periods of time. They sold their Southern California home earlier this year and moved to Oregon for retirement. Although they now live much farther away from us, retirement does offer them the flexibility to visit for longer periods of time. They'll be around until Thanksgiving and we're so happy to have them around.

Today my father-in-law Randy continued a family tradition with Ella -- C & D. In the past, it has stood for "Coffee and Doughnuts" but in our little town, it could also stand for "Coffee and Danishes". Over the years, Dad has enjoyed taking his children out on solo "dates" for coffee and doughnuts and to talk about life. Ella and Poppa Randy spent about two hours together walking around town, eating yummy treats and shopping at the bookstore.

At first, Ella decided that she was going to save some of her treat for Lucie. But, as the morning went on, she decided that she was hungry and finished it off. So, she asked Poppa Randy if he'd buy one to bring home for Lucie. Predictably, when they walked through the door, Ella said, "Mom, we got a treat for Lucie! But, it's kinda big so I suggest that I share it with her."

Make-It Monday: Family Calendars

Welcome back to Make-It Monday where I share with you some ideas for homemade (or semi-homemade gifts)! Last week, I talked about an easy Playdough Kit for kids. Today, I'm going to talk about a gift that I have enjoyed receiving AND giving to others -- Family Calendars!

Years ago when she was a new stay-at-home mom with a limited budget, my sister Jessica made calendars for everyone in our family. Using the scrapbooking supplies she had at home, various family photos (some old, some new) and computer software, she created personalized calendars. She even added all of our birthdays on it as well. I absolutely loved mine and still have it to this day, 10 years later. This page in particular got me -- me as a baby with my Grandpa John and sister Jamie. Old family photos are soooo wonderful to intersperse with more recent ones. They can just inspire an "ahhhh" and bring back special old memories.

When my husband and I were dating and he was a starving graduate student, he enlisted my help in creating calendars for his family. Together, side by side, we crafted similar calendars for his parents and siblings. On a funny sidenote, Brett strategically placed a photo of a particular family member and his then-girlfriend strategically early in the calendar betting that they wouldn't last through to the end of the year. (They didn't.) When he put OUR picture on the December page, I said "How do you know we'll still be together in December?" he just smiled and said "We will." Little did I know that he'd propose just a couple of days later!

Anyway, as expected, the calendars were a hit with Brett's family and they requested them again the next year. Since they weren't reuseable in the way that we originally designed them, we decided to change the format somewhat the following year. We designed the month name/photo page with photo corners so that the photo could be swapped out in future years. The actual monthly calendar was printed on a separate page, trimmed down and affixed to the bound calendar with photo corners as well. Then, in subsequent years, we could just gift them with additional calendar pages and indivdual photos rather than scrapbooking an entire calendar. It allowed us to continue the tradition without having to labor over the details.

For a basic calendar, you need:

• 13 pieces of thick cardstock
• computer software to design your calendar
• scrapbook paper for embellishments
• family photos
• glue or photo corners

1. Design the calendar on the computer and include important dates (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.).
2. Print the calendar on 12 sheets of cardstock (landscape orientation). Collate the pages and place another blank piece of cardstock on top. The blank piece will be your cover page.
3. Decorate the cover page and the individual month pages with photos, quotes or verses and the name of the month. (These will be the blank sides of the calendar pages.) It's always nice to coordinate your photos with events in the month.
4. Have the calendar bound at a store like The UPS Store, Staples, Copy Max or FedEx Kinkos.

If you don't have computer software to design your calendar easily OR if you're not all that great with preparing documents on the computer, check out my 2010 Printable Photo Calendar Kit in my Etsy shop. It's a printable PDF that includes the 12 monthly calendars plus different options for the cover and month title pages for just $4. Want to add your own personalized dates? A personalized version is also available for just $7. Plus, you can print as many copies as you like!


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For other money saving ideas, check out Frugal Friday at Life As Mom every Friday for one of Jessica's tips as well as links to other bloggers' ideas!

The Best Lasagna

Oh, am I a fan of make ahead meals! Nearly once a week, I dig into my freezer and pull out a mostly-made meal. I LOVE it. Rather than doing a marathon cooking day to stock the freezer, I usually try to make double portions of a meal at least once per week. Then, if I use a make-ahead meal once per week, I'm still restocking it as I use them. It's a great habit to be in.

Over the past year, Campfire Pasta has been on our menu nearly every week. It's super easy to make a large batch of it and freeze in quart-size freezer bags. Recently when boneless, skinless chicken went on sale for $0.99/pound, I ended up making a couple of batches of Southwestern Grilled Chicken. It makes a wonderful and quick meal that is excellent for entertaining.

Just the other night, we enjoyed some Lasagna that I made ahead a couple of weeks ago. Rather than make an entire 9 x 13 pan for our small family (2 adults, 2 kids), I made two 8 x 8 pans and froze one for later use. The half portion is just right for us to have dinner and leftovers for the adults the next day. And the lasagna is oh so good! When my sister told me it was called "The Best Lasagna" I was a bit skeptical. But, when I saw the recipe, I realized that it basically allows you to customize it to your tastes and make it "The Best" to you. Here is how I make it:

Lasagna

Makes two 8 x 8 pans OR one 9 x 13 pan

1 pound ground beef

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3 cups Homemade Pasta Sauce (or 26-28 ounces store-bought)

salt and pepper

1 cup chicken broth (I use Better than Bouillon with water)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 cups mozzarello

8 Barilla no-boil Lasagna noodles

2 cups cooked zucchini (about 2 or 3 small), halved, sliced and well-drained

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

1. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan or two 8 x 8 pans.
2. In a large skillet, thoroughly cook the ground beef and stir frequently to break up the meat. When cooked, drain off grease. Add the garlic and the herbs and cook a bit more. Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a simmer for about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and add the cream cheese. Whisk the mixture until smooth, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. If you are using two 8 x 8 pans, divide the ingredients equally between the two pans when you assemble the lasagna. To assemble in a 9 x 13 pan: spoon half of the meat sauce into the pan as evenly as possible. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella over the meat sauce. Place 4 lasagna noodles over sauce, slightly overlapping the noodles. Toss the cooked and drained zucchini over the noodles. Pour the cream cheese sauce evenly over the vegetables and top with another cup of mozzarella. Place the remaining 4 noodles over the mozzarella, overlapping the noodles slightly. Spoon the rest of the meat sauce over the noodles, top with 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup parmesan.
5. Bake at 400 degrees until brown and bubbling, about 35 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes (very important)!
6. If you make it ahead to cook the same day, refrigerate until use and increase the cook time about 10 minutes. If freezing, wrap tightly, label and freeze. Defrost prior to cooking.

New Look

After four years of sometimes sporadic blogging, I've decided to change my look! Although I can sometimes feel (and look) like Fancy Nancy's mom, I've decided that my blog doesn't have to. I'm trading plain for pink...and other colors. Somehow, I think that Ella would approve.

Get A Good Habit Challenge

Yesterday was "one of those days." It started out lovely but didn't quite end that way. My father, who had spent the weekend with us, got my children going in the morning. It was a nice bonus of his visit! They were already eating breakfast by the time that I rolled out of bed. We had a nice drop-off at preschool, and Papa Jack got to meet Ella's teacher and see her classroom. Then afterward, he treated me to breakfast out AND a Danish pastry. It was such a luxury for me!

However, around the time that he left, the tide began to turn. Grumpy toddler napped too early and therefore got up too early. Sassy preschooler threw two too many tantrums. Time-outs. A disaster of a house. Tried to plan and get organized only to be interrupted by the toddler who kept saying repeatedly that she was hungry. Said toddler proceeded to reject anything that she was offered to eat. Continual interruptions (and whining) as I tried to clean the house, do laundry and cook dinner. Needless to say, I was ready to pull out my hair and/or cry by dinnertime. I felt as if I had not succeeded in accomplishing anything worthwhile or in enjoying my kids during the day. That's just not how I want to live my life.

It got me thinking that I've got to do something differently. Then I happened to read my sister Jessica's "Get A Good Habit Going Challenge" post at LifeAsMom.

"Ever find yourself a day late and a dollar short? Ever wake up one morning to realize that bad habits have infiltrated the comfort of your home and life? Ever find that life is passing you by because you're not on top of things like you wish you were? Yeah, me too."

And "Me three!"

Jessica went on to challenge her readers to consider developing a new and good habit this month -- "just a little something that will improve your life and the lives of those you love." She suggested some lovely habits that I would like to pursue like establish a cleaning schedule, begin an exercise regime (um, I tried that briefly earlier this year), giving myself regular pedicures and manicures but I know that I can't do all those. I need to start with just ONE and be consistent. And right now, I think that I need a schedule.

Once upon a time, I lived a rather scheduled life and things seemed to go more smoothly. Granted, this was before children, but I've been thinking that perhaps I need to embrace a more scheduled life for me and my girls. Maybe a schedule could eliminate some of the chaos. Plus, many nights out of the week I'm "single mom-ing it" as my hubby has work and church-related commitments. Sticking to a schedule with them and my household just might help me keep my sanity and enjoy my life more. What will my schedule look like? I'm not quite sure but hopefully I'll figure it out soon.

Make It Monday: Homemade Playdough Kit

Welcome to Make-It Monday! For the weeks leading up to Christmas, I'll be posting some homeade, or semi-homemade, gift ideas. Today I'll give you some tips on how to make an inexpensive and very child-friendly gift -- a Playdough Kit.



A couple of years ago, we decided to gift some of Ella's little friends with homemade playdough. Although you can get Play-doh sets at Walmart or Target, it is fun to make your own, your kids can help AND you can personalize the kit for the recipient. Plus, most likely, you've already got the ingredients for playdough in your pantry so it can be very economical as well.


To make a basic kit, you need:

• Homemade Playdough, of course! It's also nice to include a recipe card so that the recipient can make more when needed. You can also personalize the kit by making playdough in the child's favorite color(s).
• Small airtight containers or ziploc baggies to hold the playdough
• A rolling pin. Look for a child-size version at a toy store OR just cut a thick dowel from the hardware store into child-size lengths.
• A vinyl placemat. I purchased some vinyl tablecloth off the roll at my local Ace Hardware and cut it into the sizes that I wanted.
• A container or bag to carry it all. You could buy a container at the dollar store or sew some cool fabric into a simple bag with a drawstring.
• Cookie cutters are also a nice addition. You could personalize the gift by choosing cutters that are related to the child's particular interests.

Playdough recipes abound on the internet. When I made it for gifts years ago, I used an uncooked Kool-Aid Playdough recipe. If you try that recipe, hands down, it will be the best smelling playdough you've ever come across. The result smelled wonderful but the consistency of the different colors/scents was, well, inconsistent. Some were downright sticky. Because of that experience, I think that cooked playdough produces a better result.

I recently came across this recipe that I love! It is the best homemade recipe I've found thus far. Although it doesn't smell as nice as the Kool-Aid playdough, the vanilla is a nice but more subtle scent. Also, by adding the food coloring with the water, the color gets evenly distributed without having to knead it forever. I used liquid food coloring (primary and neon) that I had in my pantry, but if you're looking for other colors like black or brown, try the paste food coloring that you can find in the cake decorating aisle at Walmart or your local craft store. This recipe makes the equivalent of two playdough canisters and you can halve it if you wish with the same results.

Also, because playdough does dry out, you shouldn't make the playdough too far in advance of giving your gift. Just go ahead and buy the other pieces of the kit early on and then make the playdough before gifting it. It takes only about 5 minutes to make a batch!

Homemade Playdough
(makes the equivalent of 2 Play-doh canisters)


1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil
food coloring
1 Tablespoon imitation vanilla extract


In a saucepan, whisk flour, salt and cream of tartar. Add the water, oil and as much food coloring as needed to reach your desired color and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until almost set (it will get difficult to stir). Add vanilla and stir until combined. It may look a little lumpy after being cooked but once you knead it by hand it will be smooth and pliable.


Kool-Aid Option: You can experiment with color and scent by adding 1 or 2 packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid to the recipe in place of the food coloring and vanilla. However, all flavors of Kool Aid might not work as well. I tested it out with two flavors that I had on hand, Lemonade and Grape, and the results were okay but not great. The lemonade hardly added any color at all and I ended up adding yellow food coloring. The grape smelled good but the color was rather muddy. I ended up adding some food coloring to boost the color a bit. From past experience, I bet the Tropical Punch would work well.


Share your ideas! Got a great homemade gift idea of your own? Share your idea or a link in the comments!


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For other money saving ideas, check out Frugal Friday at Life As Mom every Friday for one of Jessica's tips as well as links to other bloggers' ideas!