Homemade Mac and Cheese

Forget the BOX.........lets make it homemade style !!

Here is the recipe:

Cook macaroni noodles according to box (this recipe is for a 16 oz box)

I prefer the multi grain noodles over the other kind. So much better for you.

While the noodles cook make your cheese sauce:

4 T butter or margarine

3 T flour

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt

2 tsp mustard

How ever much cheese you like...the more the better right! about 2 cups

**I also like to add a little bit of hot sauce...yum.

make a roue first: on medium heat melt butter, add flour, cook on until it's a little stiff, then add your milk and whisk until smooth. It will start to thicken, then you can add your cheese. remove from heat and pour over your noodles.

serve it up with a veggie and a fish stick and your kids will be in love!....

and your husband too!

Quiet Book Ideas

Before I begin let me just say that I LOVED putting this quiet book together for my kids and only MY KIDS!! (it was a lot of hard work, late nights and miles onto the sewing machine)

So with that being said, I want to share with you the things that I came up with to make this possible so you can make your kids a QB. Hope these ideas help:

I used these painters faithfully.....they worked great and they come in all sorts of different colors. Just follow the instructions on the package.

I am NO artist my any means...therefore I thank the coloring books I already had to inspire me!!









On some of the pages I traced them right onto the fabric....

And for others I just used the picture and TRIED to draw my own or it gave me a great idea for a certain page.

And for some pages I used cookie cutters to trace the outline of animals.

I added a few games and activities as well.

I made a simple cover...... and no I did not attach the pages to the cover. What happens when you have several kids who all want to look at the book at the same time??? This is what my mother did for us when I was growing up-we each could work on a page at the same time and it really helped keep us more QUIET.

Some other supplies that I used were:

muslin for the pages

pellon in between the pages for extra strength

bias tape for the edges of the pages

buttons, snaps, Velcro for the pieces

flannel and ribbon for the cover

knee patches used to add strength to the back of the pieces

felt....a lot of felt!!
** each page is double sided, I made some easier pages as well as some harder pages since the kids are different ages

I sure hope this helps give you a few ideas for your own QB,

and remember, after all the hours it takes to put it together..... the kids will have even more fun using it.

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Please look at my May 11, 2009 post for a picture of all the pages!

Salmon dinner...yum yum

Here is what you need:


Season one side of the salmon fillets with lemon pepper and garlic salt

Place the season side down in a HOT pan, season the other side.

Cover to steam cook as well as brown the salmon. Don't lift lid while cooking, it needs the moisture to steam and it will take longer to cook the more you lift the lid.

(little moisture....)

(A lot of moisture....)

Once the pink color has changed to a light tan color you can lift the lid and flip the salmon. cover again to continue cooking.

There you have it, YUM salmon dinner with brown rice and broccoli. Season with lemon juice and enjoy!

Diaper Boxes and storage

Where did all these clothes come from???? hahaha like I don't know....right ! When the kids out grow a certain size why not pack them away in the box that cost you the $35 worth of diapers in the first place!! And this way you are limited to only holding onto what fits in the box. It is a great way of using something you already have and keep the amount down before you are run out of your house by the enormous amount of kid clothing that you know can happen. All you need to remember is to save the box every time you buy diapers!

simple solutions are great!

Dinner Idea

I cook dinner every night OR every other night when there is leftovers. I remember asking my mom years ago after I first got married how she always knew what to make for dinner. She said you just need to have an idea. Well, let me help you by giving you some ideas.....sometimes that is the hardest part!

Here is what you need:

This is what you get !
Broccoli and Cheese over a mashed potato

And another...

...Board Book Album

This:

To This:Just by using scraps of paper and ribbon I already had!

Outgrown changing table

This a simple change for an out-grown changing table. Since I hope to have more kids later on and I have LOVED this changing table I was not about to get rid of it. The little one is officially to long for it therefore I wanted to keep it functional in the room so all I did was buy some containers that would fit on the bottom to hold toys and I moved the baskets up to the top. Change is always good right?

Remember: Keep it simple :)

Lasing toys for kids

Here is an inexpensive way to make lasing toys for the kids. I found these foam shapes a while back at a craft store on clearance for $0.10 a piece. I used my Crop-A-Dile tool to punch the holes in the foam, bought some string and they were ready to go in no time.

English muffin pizzas

This is a great lunch for the kiddos and something that is easy and fast. Here is what you need:

first, cut muffins in half and put a spoonful of sauce on each half.

I line my pan with tin foil for easy cleanup.

Top with cheese


Then add, whatever toppings your kids like. Mine are only cheese and pepperoni fans at the the moment but you could add others like these: ham, pineapple, olives, bacon, peppers, mushrooms.

I place the pepperoni on top so it gets crisp.

place them under the broiler for only a few minutes.....watch them they cook fast!

In less then 10 minutes you have an easy and yummy meal and a much healthier pizza.

A layered cake for any occasion

For my daughter's birthday this year we celebrated it on Easter so this birthday cake has a Easter theme, but here is a basic idea for any birthday cake.

I use box cake mixes, this was a spice cake mix. Make as directed and pour half of the mix in one 8" round pan and the other half into another 8" round pan. Spray the pan well before pouring the mix in, you want it to come out easily.

I put the pans on a jelly roll pan before putting them in the oven. Makes it easier.

While the cakes cook(according to box instructions) you'll want to get your decorations ready for the cake. I decided to use Easter candy to decorate it and around our house Sixlets are a favorite. You can use any favorite candy for this really.

I took some cream cheese frosting (again store bought but you could use homemade) and I used food coloring and died it pink to use it for decorating the cake.

You then put the frosting into a zip lock baggie (my version of the expensive ones the professionals ones use) and I set aside until ready to decorate.

Once the cakes are finished cooking, you want to leave them in the pan for about 20 minutes. After that you can get them out of the pan. If they are still to hot, wait a bit longer before taking them out of the pans. This is my technique(if you really can call it that) of getting the cakes out of the pans. I use a plate first, than I put them on a cooling rack to completely cool before decorating.

Once cooled and ready to decorate, I cut off any rough edges on the cakes and round it up a bit.

Put a layer of frosting on the top of one cake, and lay the other cake on top.

This will be a layered cake. Frost the rest of the cake, all of it. Decorate with the candies and cut a small tip on the edge of the zip lock bag and pipe your frosting however you'd like. (sorry I needed both hands for this part and couldn't take pictures but it really is simple)

And this is how mine turned out. Not bad at all

and I am happy to say that it tasted as good as it looked!

Happy Cake making!!

I have made this same cake for Valentines day using devil foods cake, chocolate frosting and raspberry preserves as the filling. YUM!

Easter dinner Ideas

I know Easter is over now but here is what I did for my dinner and maybe you can take an idea or two and use it for a different themed party or dinner.

These are just some of the things I used while preparing a cake and an Easter ham:

I made these for a few ladies at my church.

They are jars from Ikea that I filled with Easter candy and stamped

a note and adhered it to the lid of the jar.

Here are the birthday cakes I made for the party. I thought they turned out great.


According to my husband, Easter dinner is not Easter dinner if there is no Ham!


And here was some of the Easter feast. Thanks to family I didn't have to do all the cooking.
We had rolls, veggie platter, green salad, corn, our family jello, ham, sour cream potatoes, cake and ice cream and pineapple.....I hope I didn't forget to eat anything :)

I like simple and cheap (let me just call it how it was) -

dollar store table clothes, Easter grass, plastic eggs and mini paper muffin

tins filled with jelly beans,

It was a cute table decoration for cheap!!

I hope you all had a great Easter celebration.