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Pumpkin Pie Bars

It's no secret , I love to bake. I could probably have a blog only about baking, but I love to try cooking new things too, and crafting new things, and learning new information etc., so a general blog it is. 

But, this post is about baking. 

You will need:

A large can of pumpkin pie filling or 2 small cans

1/2 cup of brown sugar

2 sleeves of graham crackers, crushed

4 tablespoons of cinnamon, divided into to 2 tbsp portions

2 eggs

1 can of evaporated milk

1 stick of butter/margarine, melted

Butter flavored cooking spray 

The eggs and evaporated milk were what my can of pumpkin pie filling called for, so you may want to see if yours says something different for preparing pumpkin pie. 

To make:

Preheat your oven to 350. 

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and 2 tbsp of cinnamon. 

Add the melted butter. 

Mix till mostly moist. A few dry crumbs or chunks won't matter too much!

Spray your pan (I prefer glass for almost everything) and pour your cracker mixture in. Press flat. 

Spray more of the butter flavored spray on top of the pressed crumbs. 

Bake for 10 minutes. 

While that is baking, mix your pumpkin pie filling, eggs and evaporated milk, and the remaining 2 tbsp of cinnamon. 

Pour it over the baked crumb crust. 

Bake for 35-45 minutes until the edges start to brown.

Let cool or serve warm. I found them to be yummy either way! 

A Little Mad Money

I've almost always had 2 jobs at a time. I like to have that financial security! I've held several different types of jobs, and have loved them all.

Then I went to just one job: Mother (and I love this one too!)

Once I took on one job, the job of being a mom, I found that I felt a little on the useless side. Now, realistically, I knew I wasn't useless, but I hated not helping financially. And even though The Hubs made enough for us to live on, I didn't feel like I should be spending anything on myself, or any extra treats. There was also no way for me to surprise The Hubs with any gifts or treats. He knew exactly how much was going into the bank account, since he was the one putting it there!

So, I started to do little things on the computer, to earn just a little extra 'mad money'. I've actually been able to bank a decent amount of cash in the short time I've been doing it. I also had a few total misses. So, take my advice (if you'd like) and save yourself the trouble of sorting the good from the annoying!

Treasure Troopers (for me) was a total bust. Way too many bells and whistles to keep track of! I don't even remember my account information for that one anymore!

Mypoints is working ok for me, but there is a pretty high cash out volume, and you can only get gift cards. I prefer cash! If you'd like an invite to Mypoints, please contact me!

Swagbucks is where I've landed and it's really working well for me. I've found several little tips and tricks to get the most bang for my (swag)buck! 

     ~ Get the Swagbucks App for your phone. You can't do everything from the app, but you can grab a few points a day while you're waiting in line or stuck under a baby at naptime!

     ~ Get the Swagbucks TV App... this is a big swagbuck earner for me for mobile! I turn it on and just let it play! You will earn 2 swagbucks for every 5 videos that play on your phone. (secret tip: you don't have to watch them, just let them keep playing!) I actually find some of the videos really interesting! You can only earn swagbucks for a video once a day, but there are a couple of hundred videos throughout several different categories, so it's not hard to get the variety you need. You can earn 70 Swagbucks a day, just by letting these play through on your phone. You can click individual videos on your computer on the Swagbucks site and earn even more! They don't count towards the same total!

     ~Shopping... yes, I know, this is the one that everyone hate to hear... "I have to spend money to get money?"... I get it, trust me, I do. I don't do a ton of online shopping (save for Etsy), but I've found a way to increase my online shopping, without spending a penny more than I normally would at the store! I buy my essentials from Walmart (have to click from the Swagbucks link to get your points) online. Diapers, Wipes, Toilet Paper, Napkins, Paper Plates, Food (dry goods or non-perishable food is all you can get online), Dishwasher Soap, etc. If you spend a certain dollar amount (right now it is $35, normally it is $50), shipping is free! So, not only do you save yourself a trip to the store and the gas to get there, but now you are also earning Swagbucks for your shopping! 2,500 Swagbucks=$25 in Paypal cash! There are plenty of gift cards available for smaller amounts of swagbucks, but the Paypal cash is the one I always want! I can use it to shop online, or put it into our bank account! 

Making Motherhood (just a touch) Easier

***Stamp found at Etsy Shop: Altered Attic

Most mothers, at some point, feel like they aren't doing a good job at being a mom. Oh sure, they're still alive, but you're pretty sure that you're doing something to screw them up in one way or another. 

As The Hubs jokingly asks  "which one do you think will need therapy?" 

When we were in the final months before G3 was born, I realized that I needed to teach my older two to be a little more independent. I was going to be nursing and knew that, for at least the first two months, I was going to be a little tied to the rocking chair! 

That's not to say they aren't independent at all. They both are quite headstrong most of the time! But, they often needed me to help them with little things, wipe their bottoms, reach the soap, turn on the water on to the correct temp for hand washing, fill their sippies etc.. 

Realistically, they knew how to do most of those things, but weren't great at it. Bathroom help especially with G2, who decided she was ready to potty train one month before G3 was born. And yes, I was thrilled! 

So, I've had to improvise with how they do some things, but by George, they do it themselves! 

A few of my tricks:

~ Diaper wipes in the bathroom for them to use on themselves. Let's face it, they aren't going to be great at getting totally clean, but wipes are probably better than toilet paper!

~ Have them learn to turn on the tub faucet, and not burn themselves! They wash their hands in the tub faucet, fill their own sippies, get their own washcloth wet to wipe up their spills etc.. While they could have gotten a chair to do it all at the sink, I wasn't sure I wanted a chair screeching across the kitchen floor while trying to keep a newborn asleep. 

~ I taught them the steps to do certain thing, and key phrases so that I could tell them what to be doing, and stay hands off. For example, when getting dressed. I taught them to lay their pants and/or panties on the floor, with the words/tag on the bottom, then sit down behind it and pull it on. This eliminated two legs going into one pant leg, them falling over and getting upset or hurt. 

~ When I go grocery shopping, or a shipment comes in with snacks, I immediately separate snacks out and put them into a basket in the pantry. I sort cookies, crackers, and pretzels into snack size ziplock bags. Granola bars and other individually wrapped things all come out of their boxes. The girls know that if I tell them to get a snack, they get to choose out of that baskets. If it's breakfast time or I want them to have something 'healthy', I'll tell them to get something specific, and they know were to find it. At some point I plan to get a few more baskets and color code them with ribbons:

Yellow=Breakfast items

Blue=Salty Snacks

Red=Sweet Snacks

Purple=Candy 

Etc. 

Is it bad parenting that I don't have the time to be at their side every minute to help them do everything? No, I don't think so. I choose to see it as helping them develop their independence. 

What are some tricks you've established to get through your busy day? Leave yours in the comments! 

Fry Bread for Breakfast

Last night, I posted about making some Fry Bread to have with our dinner. You can find our method to make it here:

Fry Bread

So, surprisingly, we had a few of them left over. I'd put them in a ziplock tub, but really wasn't sure how they would keep. I'd guessed they'd get soggy some how, but they were pretty much just as perfect as they were last night!

I needed something quick for breakfast since G3 would soon be awake and hungry herself! I grabbed a piece of fry bread and spread a good dose of cream cheese on it. Wow! It was delicious! 

Not super sweet, so in the future, either a flavored cream cheese or some jam on top of the cream cheese might be an option!

A1-OK Shredded Beef

We had a nice beef roast in the freezer. The Hubs decidde it was the perfect thing to have in the crockpot all day while we were snowed in.

He was right. 

It smelled delicious all day, and boy was it yummy that night for supper!

He made it using:

3-4lb Roast

3 Tbsp of A1 Steak Sauce

2 sticks of Butter (or margarine)

3 whole Banana Peppers

Toss them all in the crock pot and turn it on high. Let it sit all day, and enjoy!!

We served it on the side of some Fry Bread... Holy smokes... very yummy!

Oh... And good luck keeping from snacking on it during the day! 

Fry Bread

Tonight The Hubs asked if I thought frozen bread dough would make into a pita pocket if fried. Well, no, it won't. Pita pockets are dry and not something I particularly care for, and I didn't really think that they were something he'd love either.  Aside from that, pita pockets aren't fried.  

He wanted to make something to use as a 'bun' for a shredded roast beef sandwich. I suggested that I make hoagie buns out of frozen bread dough, but he really wanted to try frying. 

So, I decided to try to figure out what he was going for. 

Out came a loaf of my trusted frozen bread dough. 

I let a loaf of frozen bread dough rise in a bread pan till it was about half way up the pan. Then I cut it into 3 strips. 

I cut each of those strips into 3-4 pieces. 

I sort of squeezed them flat with my fingers, didn't need them to be perfectly rolled out. Let them sit and rise a bit longer, 30 minutes or so. This isn't mandatory, but your final product will not be as light of a bread if you skip the rising part!

The Hubs took over with the frying because I had to nurse G3. 

He pulled each chunk into a larger flatter piece of dough. He made each piece separately, frying them in a pan with a few inches of hot oil. He flipped them over to brown both sides. 

I was a little worried that they might end up either really dense or crispy like pita chips. But they weren't!

They were fluffy and soft and had big air pockets in them. Oh they were yummy!!! If I had to compare them to something, I'd say a soft funnel cake!

However... They were NOT ideal to hold the shredded roast! The Hubs put some meat on his piece of 'fry bread' and it instantly got soggy! 

I put my meat on the side, used a fork and put meat onto the bread as I went. I tore off a piece of bread, put the meat on top, and popped it in my mouth! 

I will definitely be finding more ways to use this Fry Bread!!

Pizza Wraps

I love easy meals... And cheap meals ;). I really love it if my little girls actually want to eat a meal. 

All three? I'm in cooking heaven!!

I'd posted before (Big Pigs in Bigger Blankets) about my growing love for frozen bread dough.  I told you that I'd be making more with it! And I have! 

Of course you can figure out all of the possibilities yourselves, but why not give you some ideas as a jumping off point?! 

This time we went for pizza wraps. 

Start with a loaf of frozen bread dough

Cut it into 8 pieces and roll each piece fairly thin. Make sure to flour your surface and rolling pin, and make the dough thin. (just a little thicker than the Big Pigs post linked above)

Have 1lb of ground beef browned. Mix it with just enough pizza sauce to coat it. You don't want it swimming in sauce or your bread will never cook through.  If you like lots if sauce, use it as dip for your wrap! 

Put a scoop (1/4 cup or so) on your rolled dough. Lay a few pepperoni slices on top, then sprinkle with cheese. Close it by folding the sides up and pinching it together on top. 

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle garlic salt on top. 

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes!

The girls loved them! They even asked for more and told me that they'd like me to make them again soon!

Winter Storm Cleon

I've found conflicting reports as to when the first 'officially named' storm was. Some sources state 1945, but another says 1876 is the first.  I believe that in some way, because of different countries and cultures, both numbers are correct, but the names may have come long after the actual storm. Not during, or even before, as hurricanes named now. 

I find it interesting that we have now started to name other types of storms. Now it's hurricanes and tropical storms, and as of the last few years, winter storms as well. 

That's where I find myself today. Smack dab in the middle of Winter Storm Cleon. 

It hit us yesterday late morning, when tiny ice pellets started to fall, making quite the racket I'll add! The ice pelted us for hours, filling in pockets on the ground, looking like we'd had a light snowfall instead of hours of ice. 

In the earlier parts of the evening, the plinking ice was mixed with rain, making a slick slushy mess. Where was I? Walmart. No, I was not panicking, stocking up on batteries, bread, and milk like so many were. We just needed to grab a few groceries. :) 

My husband ran in for us, and I entertained the girls out in the car. 

Check out how thick the ice got on the windshield! This was after just 30 minutes or so of sitting in the parking lot. 

Around 7-8 it finally turned to snow. 

Now here I sit. 12 hours later and the snow is still falling heavily. There is a good 6 or more inches of snow on top of the layer of ice. 

It even blew an inch or two onto our covered porch. 

And it is beautiful. 

It is expected to continue to fall for another 12 hours. 

Box of Fun!

Entertaining 2 little girls so close in age definitely has it's trying days. Even more so in the winter when it's cold and damp outside. Add a newborn to the mix and I'm really limited to activities!

I happened to get a two big boxes with deliveries in the past few days. I knew they'd be good for something, and they were! This morning I let them each crawl into their own box with 10 markers. They happily spent almost an hour in their little box worlds, coloring away! 

The only rule was that the markers stayed in the box! 

Of course, markers staying in the box didn't keep everything clean... Just the walls and floor! They still managed to get quite a few marks on themselves! I did my best to salvage their clothes though, they were only wearing some old shorts for this project!

It's nothing fancy, and it won't go on the walls, but they had fun! 

Holiday Cards for Heroes

So, today I decided to try a little project with G1 and G2, making Christmas cards for troops. They love to color, so I figured it would be something that would occupy them for 30 minutes minimum.

G1 backed out though.  She said she was tired and needed a nap, which she did not end up taking. Instead, she 'read' in her bed. 

Although I was an art major in college, I am not a great doodler. I can draw and shade a portrait, but to just doodle a quick image, nope. So, please forgive the not so great pictures that I drew! 

G2 colored a little angel and a Merry Christmas reindeer. 

Clearly, I have a little artist on my hands... ;) 

I wrote a little note inside each card "from"  G2. We thanked the soldier for their sacrifice and our safety. Then I had her sign it. Really, her signature is that a doctor would be jealous of ;). 

We put them in one envelope (per the website) and mailed them to:

Holiday Mail for Heroes

P.o. Box 5456

Capitol Heights, MD  20791-5456

All of the details can be found at this website: http://www.redcross.org/support/get-involved/holiday-mail-for-heroes

They need to be postmarked by the 6th to make sure it gets to a soldier in time, so just a few days left! 

Kindness Angels

I'd recently pinned an idea for 'Kindness Elves' here: http://theimaginationtree.com/2013/11/alternative-elf-on-shelf-tradition-kindness-elf.html

I have never done the 'Elf on the Shelf' and quite honestly, I didn't want to, even before reading that ^^ blog post, but for the same reasons as she posted about. Why would I want my kids to get so excited about a little friend who does such mischievous things? Things that they would most likely get in trouble for doing themselves! No thanks!

I love the idea of kindness elves, but would instead like to do 'Kindness Angels'. I've been searching Etsy for a few days, and think I've found the perfect little angels to use. 

Found here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/petalbelles

I haven't ordered them yet, but plan to soon. They are pretty adorable!! I probably won't have time to do much (if anything) with them this season, but should be in full swing next December! 

In my 'super mom' fantasies, I'd order one of these for each of the four seasons and have my little girls do a random kindness every day! Though realistically, I'm sure the novelty would wear off after a few months! But maybe I could make it work. 

I'll be sure to post our Kindness Angels once we get them!

Gotta Love Chevron

Ok, actually, you don't. But, after seeing these items you just might! I personally have never been a chevron lover. It just didn't appeal to me and I figured it never would. I was wrong.

Now, don't go thinking that I'm going to paint a room, or even one wall of a room, in this oh so popular pattern, but I'm open to a blanket or pillow! 

I went Etsy cruising and found this quilt:

at Bear Monkey Designs 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/161897632/chevron-yellow-and-grey-baby-quilt

Her whole shop is pretty great looking and there are several items I'd love to have, that blanket being one of them!

I also really love this one:

from Sweet Pea's Market. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/170952040/chevron-crochet-blanket

Soft and sweet in these colors, but I'll bet a sports lover would go nuts having one in their team's colors! 

Clearly, I like the chevron pattern best when there is an accent color thrown in! 

Big Pigs in Bigger Blankets

Plenty of people make pigs in blankets with 'Lil Smokies and crescent roll dough, but I consider those to be more of a snack or appetizer, not really a meal (unless you eat quite a few).

My girls love to eat hot dogs. G2 even asks for them for breakfast! I like them to get some bread with their dogs, but 2 and 3 year olds and flimsy hot dog buns don't exactly marry well! 

I decided to get a little creative with an item that is quickly becoming a staple in our home! Frozen Bread Dough. 

I've always used it for the "traditional" use... a loaf of bread, but have been trying other things lately with it (you're sure to see it in many of my future posts!) So, I decided to try it as the dough of Pigs in Blankets, and use full sized hot dogs. 

I thawed the dough and cut it (scissors works best) into 10 chunks. I've cut it into 8 chunks in the past, but according to The Hubs I should have done 10 or 12, but he's more about the meat than the bread. So 10 it was this time! 

Sprinkle flour on your counter and roll out each chunk to pretty thin. 

Then put a hot dog, uncooked, at one end of your flattened dough. 

Roll it all up. Yes, the dough will overlap at least once most likely, it's ok.

Dip your finger in water and rub your finger under the dough where the seam is. This will 'glue' your bread together. 

I baked mine on a baking stone, but it's not mandatory. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

Top with chilli and cheese (which is what we did in the past) or dip ketchup and mustard, or do whatever else you like on your hot dogs! 

Lactation Bars

As you all know, I'm on baby Girl #3. I've had some pretty tough times with breast feeding in the past, including several different issues, but a significant one was my milk supply. 

G1 was a totally unique situation, complete with the NICU and an oral feeding tube. Breast feeding was doomed from the start! We made it a whole 10 days, 8 of which were in the NICU with nurses and lactation consultants helping us. 

With G2, I made it a full 3 months before my supply really started suffering. I took fenugreek, drank gallons of water, dark beer, lots of protein, oatmeal and vitamins. It still was a struggle to nurse her and have a satisfied baby afterwards. We started supplementing with formula at about 3.5 months and she was exclusively formula fed starting at 6 months. 

I'm determined to go longer with G3. I've been much more proactive about maintaining a good supply, rather than boosting a falling supply. 

One of my methods to keep the supply I've got going now (which is pretty good if I may say so) is these lactation bars that I've made. I first made them when G3 was going through a growth spurt and I felt like I wasn't keeping up, and I wasn't. We did need to give 2 oz of formula every evening for 2 weeks because I just didn't have enough for her.  The first day I made these bars, I ate 6 of them (and it took zero effort as they are quite tasty!). That evening, no formula was needed. Now, I'm not a doctor or a lactation consultant or a nutritionist, so I can't promise that these will work as well for everyone, but they were a score for me!!

This is how I made mine. The 'goodies'  that I used were just what I had on hand. You can use whatever you choose! I've made this recipe before and used about 2.5 cups of dried fruit trail mix! 

Soak:

1/2 c steel cut oats

1  1/2 c milk

While that is soaking, mix:

3 c quick oats

1c sugar (white or brown)

2  1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 c brewers yeast

1 stick melted butter/margarine

3 eggs

The Goodies:

1/4 c peanut butter (crunchy or creamy works fine!) 

1 TBSP cinnamon

1 c chocolate chips

1 c white chocolate chips

1/2 cup m&ms 

Brewers yeast and flax seeds (which I didn't have on hand) and the oats (steel cut especially) are the lactation boosters. 

Let sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. This helps the liquids absorb into the oats a bit, though I don't think this is necessary. You'll just have to check your bars while they are baking. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes give or take. You may have to bake longer or shorter. A lot of this depends what kid of goodies you put in them! Some will absorb some of the moisture (like dried fruit or coconut), and others won't (sunflower seeds, other nuts, chocolate chips). The first time you make them, keep a close eye on them and take them out when they aren't runny in the middle. I usually just shake the pan... if the middle still jiggles, keep baking. 

The first batch I made, with dried fruit and shredded coconut, I baked for 25-30 minutes. They were good. The second batch (chocolate chips and m&ms with peanut butter), however, I couldn't tell you how long they baked. I put them in, and ten minutes later the tornado sirens went off. We turned off the oven, checked the radar to see how close the storm was, and drove a few blocks to my sisters house, because she has a totally concrete enclosed cellar. I don't remember how long we were there (probably 30-45 minutes), I only know that when we came home, the bars were still in the oven and they were perfect!

I use square bar pans for mine, but round muffin pans would work just as well I assume. 

Just a tip: I you don't want colorful streaks in your bars, add the m&ms right before you put them in the pans, or even just sprinkle them on.  I added mine before I let it sit for a while, and when I gave it a final stir, the candy coating streaked through the bars!

Please enjoy! Feel free to post your results in the comments!

Black Friday?

It's Black Friday! 

~ do you know why it's called Black Friday? This is the first day of the year that most companies' profit margines come out of the red and into the black. 

From what I've gathered listening to my friends and family, this date either rivals the opening ceremony if the Olympics, or is hated as much as a speeding ticket. Most go all or nothing!! There are some in-betweeners though... That's where I've tended to fall in the past. 

Were you up at the crack of dawn to go shopping? Did you go out at midnight? Were you already camped out yesterday evening? Then in my book, you're a shopping Olympian, competing in the dining set dash or the toy triathlon.

Maybe instead you view the stores as a speeding ticket... Something you plan to avoid. Maybe you are putting up your Christmas tree and setting up the rest of your holiday swag. Maybe you're at work, wishing this could just be a Thursday-Sunday weekend instead of having to work this one day. Maybe you are watching sports, cleaning, or still trying to come out of your turkey coma!

Or you could be like me. You could take this day or leave it. You might cruise the internet today and see if there are any steals. You may have gone shopping at a reasonable time, knowing you probably won't get the very best deals, but knowing that you'll still find some pretty good deals, without fighting others to get through the doors. 

Well, that's been me in the past at least. This year I'm cuddled in with my 2 month old while The Hubs is at work. My two older girls are recovering from a very exhausting day playing with their second cousins. 

I may do some online browsing, but I try to shop mostly from Etsy shops and other small businesses, including Thirty-One, Pampered Chef, BeautiControl etc.  I prefer to shop knowing that I'm helping a friend with their work from home business, or an Etsy owner who's income is from her craftiness. 

~ did you know that when you shop locally, 68% of what you spend with them goes back into your conmunity?

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! 

Cool Whip Cookies!

This morning my girls and I made cookies again. I'd gotten a recipe from my mother in law for Cool Whip Cookies. Very easy, very yummy, and lots of variety available!

All it takes is:

1 egg

1 8oz container of whipped cream (Cool Whip or any brand will do)

1 cake mix, any flavor (oh think of the possibilities!!!

Bowl of powdered sugar.

We used a yellow cake mix to make our this morning. I'd made these once before with a spice cake mix and discovered a little trick... 

Put the egg in your mixing bowl first, then the cool whip, then the cake mix. (Last time I started mixing the cool whip and cake mix before adding the egg. The texture ended up really weird.) 

I used my smallest scooper to drop a scoop into the powdered sugar, then just shook the bowl around to coat the dough ball. Worked well and much cleaner than my last batch when I rolled it around by hand! 

Put them in a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let them mostly cool on the tray. 

One batch made this way made close to 4 dozen yummy cookies!!! I plan to try these with some mini chocolate chips mixed in, soon! 

Rhonna Designs

#RhonnaDesigns

I LOVE this app!!! You can do some amazing things to your phone pics! I'm not affiliated with the creator of this app in any specific way, though she is a friend of a friend of my mom's (did you follow that? ;) 

This is the first (and only so far) app that I have ever paid for, and it's totally 100% worth it! She is constantly adding new art packs to the app, but even the basics are unlike any I've seen in any other app. 

Being a mama to 3 girls under 4 means that I don't have much time to tinker with it, so I'm sure I've not discovered the full potential of the app, though I will eventually! 

Check it out!!