First Day Back

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We had a good first day back to school.  It may take me a couple of days to get my day to day thing going, since I have the twins doing 7th grade, and Elijah is in 2nd.  I need to get the older two working so I can focus with Elijah.  Not to mention, he is just so excited with school, and not very patient when waiting for me.  I made the candy bars for them, and when I gave it to them, Elijah was too excited.  He was like thanks mom, these are the best ever.  Everything to him is the best ever!!  But he is such a grateful kid.  I don’t know how many times he thanked me today for school.  If that doesn’t want to make you keep going, I don’t know what does.  So the 3 “school kids” got the Back to the Books bars, and Benji of course got something special.  He received a Back To Benji Bar, since all he has to do is be Benji.  He was as thrilled as Elijah was to get his.  He is Elijah’s shadow, whatever Elijah says or does, Benji repeats him.  I also made the Oreo Surpise dessert for them, and as I mentioned yesterday, here is the recipe.  Most people probably know this as “Dirt”, but we of course add a little twist to it, and make it Oreo Surprise, (it’s a nicer name too).

1 pkg Double Stuff Oreo Cookies
1 pkg Regular Oreo Cookies
12 oz. tub of Cool Whip
5.1 oz. Jell-O Instant Vanilla Pudding
2 cups milk
Maraschino Cherries
Bananas
Pecans

First, put the Oreos in the freezer for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Then take them out, and crush them in a blender or food processor, until they are fine crumbs (that resemble dirt).  I usually use one whole package of Double Stuff, and about 1 1/2 rows of regular.  Set aside.  Mix the Cool Whip, vanilla pudding and milk with an electric mixer.  Let stand for about 5 minutes.  In an 8 1/2 X 11 cake pan, start off with a thin layer of Cool Whip mixture, then layer Oreo cookies, then you can do a thicker layer of Cool Whip Mixture. and Oreo cookies, keep doing that until you finish with a top layer of Oreos.  Put in the refrigerator uncovered.  It is ready to eat in about 30 minutes.  When serving, add maraschino cherries, sliced bananas, and pecans, or any combination of the three.  Store uncovered in refrigerator if you have any left.  This usually serves about 10 – 12.

When we have described this to people with the cherries, bananas and pecans, most people are a little skeptical about the combination.  But when they try it, they are like, you know you’re right this is good this way.  I personally don’t eat it with the pecans, but the people that do say the pecans just add a little something to it.  Hope you try this and enjoy it as much as we do.

End of Summer

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Well, it’s official.  This was the last day of summer for us.  Tomorrow we go back to school.  Today, we just relaxed, and I prepared my lesson plans for tomorrow.  Yesterday, we had a cook-out with our friends, and we had a really good time.  I Barbequed all afternoon, hamburgers, hot dogs, polish, and chicken.  I also made my signature cole slaw.  I had put all the food out, and forgot the cole slaw in the fridge.  But then our friends started looking for it, and asked my husband if I had made any.  I had gotten the recipe from www.topsecretrecipes.com, it tastes just like Kentucky Fried Chicken’s.  I have tweaked it a little bit, to make it my own.  Cole slaw does seem to be a summer treat, but if you want to impress anyone with a sweet tasting cole slaw, the recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 bag Dole cole slaw mix (or 8 cups finely chopped cabbage 1/4 cup shredded carrots)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced onion.

 

Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, milk, buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and beat until smooth.

Add the cole slaw mix (or cabbage and carrots) and onion, and mix well.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

I also made my famous Oreo Surpise Dessert.  I had planned on making some for the first day back to school, so tomorrow I will share that recipe with you, and let you know how our first day went.

Back to School Encouragement

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Now that school has started for most kids, why not encourage them with a “Back to the Books” bar!! This is something I like to do for my kids. This is a wrapper that you print, cut out, and wrap around a Hershey bar. I am including a downloadable Microsoft Word file that anyone can download, print and use for their kids. The front reads: Back to the Books – A Great Year Ahead.  On the back is a section with Nutrition Facts that reads:

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 1 Student
Percent Daily Values (DV) based on
Upcoming School Year
Health 100%
History 100%
Language 100%
Math 100%
Reading 100%
Science 100%
Spelling 100%

The Ingredients section is actually an encouraging message that reads:

May your upcoming year be filled with good grades, new experiences, old and new friends, and lots of fun. Always strive to do your best, do what’s right and be yourself. Best wishes for a great school year.

There is also a bar code that represents the date of 08/2008.

I am including one for boys with a blue background, and one for girls with a green background. I usually secure them on the back with some glue stick, or you can use tape as well. I print mine on glossy stock paper, which is a little thicker, and looks more like a candy wrapper, but you can use regular paper as well.

I enjoy making these up for various occasions. If anyone is interested in having me create something special for them, drop me an email with your idea, and I’ll get back to you. I have done “Thank You” bars for birthday parties, where the kids will write the thank you message themselves, and I then type it in the ingredient section. The Birthday Boy/Girl hands one out to each guest at the end of his or her party. As a surprise I present one to the Birthday Boy/Girl with a candy bar of their own, that has their name on it. These are a great personalized treat. What kid doesn’t like chocolate? You can contact me at: anniehow@ymail.com.

Just wanted to share this idea with you. I hope your kids are encouraged by this sweet treat.  Here are the downloadable files.

Back to the Books (boys)

Back to the Books (girl)

Lower Your Grocery Bill – Part II

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When I told you all about The Coupon Master, I also came across another great resource, but didn’t want to tell you about it until I went through the whole process. I found this information in the same Women’s Day article as the Grocery Game and The Coupon Master. This organization is called Angel Food Ministries http://angelfoodministries.org. It has been around for fifteen years. When I went to the site and looked at the history and what they were about, I was really impressed. What a fantastic idea and a wonderful example of God using people to help other people. This is what it’s all about.

First of all, it is for anyone who needs to save money on food. This is not like a food pantry, where sometimes you get food that has passed the expiration date on the box. This is more on the lines of Market Day. You can go to the website and see if there is a church or organization in your area that is a host of Angel Food Ministries. When you find one, you can contact them directly. You will get an order form that you fill out, and you can mail in checks, or take your payment in. They also accept food stamps. There is a due date for the orders. Then there is a pick-up date at the end of the month. I received my order form through email, after I contacted the church in my area, which was St. Paul Lutheran Church in Matteson, IL. You purchase “boxes” of food. You have to purchase a regular box in order to purchase a special box. The regular box is $30 and feeds a family of four for one week. This is what I received in my regular box for this month:

1.5 lb. Ribeye Steaks (4-6oz)

1 Whole Young Chicken (about 5 lbs.)

28 oz. Chicken Breast Nuggets

28 oz. Salisbury Steak Dinner Entree

28 oz. Breaded Chicken Breast Filets

12 oz. Smoked Polish Sausage Links

16 oz. California Blend Frozen Vegetables

1 lb. Rice

16 oz. Frozen Chopped Spinach

16 oz. Frozen Carrots

10 ct. Frozen Waffles

16 oz. Bean Soup Mix

32 oz. Borden 2% reduced fat Shelf Stable Milk

9 oz. Instant Potatoes

15 oz. Can Fruit Cocktail

1 Dozen eggs

1 Dessert Item (Apple filled Cookies)

All for $30. I did a rough estimate on what this might cost in the store, and it would probably be about $45. This is good quality food too. I put the steaks on the grill tonight, and they were so good, they about melted in my mouth. It had to be the grade of meat, because I tend to burn things up on the grill, and dry out most meat. Anniehow…They also have special boxes that you can purchase once you buy a regular box. I bought the 7 lb. Family Grill Box that included the following:

1.5 lb. Baseball Cut Steaks

2 lbs. Juicy Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

2 lbs. St. Louis Style ribs

1.5 lb. Hamburger patties

The special boxes are $18 – $20. Last month they had a 4.5 lb. Steak and Chicken Combo Box for $20, 4.5 lb. Stuffed Chicken Breast Box for $18, and a Fresh Fruit and Veggie Box for $18. You can buy as many of the regular boxes and the special boxes as you want. There is no limit to what you purchase. You can always go on the site to view the menu for the upcoming month. For September they have something new, which is the Senior Box. There are ten individual fully cooked meals labeled with heating instructions, all for $25. They also have a special “5 for 4” box, which is 5 dinner meals that will feed a family of four. I just think this is fantastic. It does save you money, and extra trips to the store. You can also find information on the website for being a host site. If you are a host site, you do receive something for being a host, which makes for a great outreach and fund-raiser for churches. Like I said, I went to the church in my area, and it was so smoothly run. You bring boxes, and they have carts that you can place your boxes on. You tell them who you are, and they hand you a slip of paper, and you go to the food area, and a person is there, and gives you one of each (or however many you ordered) of the regular box, and the special boxes are already boxed up, so they hand those to you. Take them out to your car and you are done. I was also able to order for next month as well.

This is a really great resource for people who live alone, or for senior citizens or for anyone who would like to save some money on groceries. It saves you money, and it also helps your local church. For more information visit their website at:

http://angelfoodministries.org

I’m Back

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This weekend was my “Me Time Extravaganza.”  Well…it wasn’t that grand, but I had a whole weekend to myself.  I was house-sitting and did absolutely nothing and it was wonderful!!  I didn’t have to cook, clean, answer any questions, or talk to anybody, I didn’t even talk to myself!!  I went to my favorite hot dog joint for dinner one night, went to my favorite bakery and bought sprinkle cookies, which I didn’t have to share, and a chocolate chip coffee cake that was delicious, which I ended up sharing, because I forgot to bring it home with me.  I know my house-sitting hosts are enjoying it.  I watched TV, mostly home design shows, I love Flip This House.  I watched one of my favorite movies, Head Over Heals with Freddie Prince, Jr., it’s one of those movies that it’s just silly and far fetched but funny.  I also actually worked on a cross-stitch project that I started over three years ago.  I love to cross-stitch, it’s very relaxing to me.  The reason I know I started it over three years ago, is because it’s a baby blanket for my baby who just turned 3!!  I did this for all my kids.  When I found out I was pregnant with each of them, I started a blanket.  Believe it or not, I actually finished the twins’ blanket before they were born.  But I did have help on the second one, which was a joint effort with my mom and niece.  I did finish one all by myself.  For Elijah’s, my middle guy, that one was done shortly after he was born.  So the big joke is that Benji will have his done in time for his Kindergarten graduation.  I hope not.  My daughter showed it to him one day, and he just hugged it and didn’t want to put it away.  So then he began to pressure me to get it done.  Anniehow… I did get some work done on it.  It was so nice not to have to do anything, and I didn’t worry or feel guilty that I wasn’t doing anything.  I realized I need to do this more often.  When I came home, the house was clean, and everyone was exited to have me back.  My husband looked even more attractive to me, I did miss them all.

Now I’m trying to get back to life.  We have a couple of weeks left before we start school, and we are trying to have as much fun as we can.  My sister-in-law and her husband were in town from California, so we visited with them.  Today, the twins have their friends over, so that makes a total of 7 kids.  You think it would be chaos around here, but it’s not, the girls are in their room and the boys are in the boys’ room.  These friends are their “homeschool friends” since they are homeschooled too.  We try to get together as much as we can with them, last year we did a couple of field trips.  When we all get together there is a total of 9 kids, so it’s like a little class.

It’s nice to have a couple more days left to plan some fun.  My husband and I would like to take the kids miniature golfing and also take a trip downtown to see the fountain.  Something to look forward to before we have to hit the books again.