Individual Veggie Cups

These are a must for your next party.  I made them to take to our harvest crew last week and will be making them again for a bridal shower in July.

It is super simple!  Start with a clear cup, add some ranch to the bottom and veggies on top.  No double dippers and good to walk around with at a party.

I got the idea at
http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2012/04/individual-veggie-cups-bridal-shower

Big Mac Salad

My friend shared this on Facebook and I had to share with my readers-

Shredded lettuce,browned ground beef, pickles, tomatoes, cheese and thousand island dressing!

Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe

I started with the Duggar Family laundry soap recipe and then tweaked it to work best for me.  You can fine the original recipe here.

What I do differently-

* I add 1 full cup of borax because we have very hard water.
* I add 1 bottle of Downy Unstoppables to the whole batch.  It makes it smell awesome!


We are on our 2nd 5 gallon bucket and we do not plan to buy laundry soap anytime soon.  We love this stuff!

Here is a how-to video-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIVeSl2_zWo

Crockpot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

I made this yesterday and the kids loved it!

Throw the following into the crock pot-

1 package chicken breast (raw and cubed or even leftover chicken)

1 chopped onion

3 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can rotel tomatoes

2 cans nacho cheese soup

1 carton chicken broth

2 cans of corn

Cook on low all day while you are at work. Serve with crushed corn chips, sour cream, salsa, or anything you like.

My first T-shirt Scarf

I found a website that has 10 T-Shirt Scarf Tutorials so I thought that I would make one with the kids.  Here is what we came up with-

You can find more at-

T-SHIRT RUFFLE SCARF TUTORIAL

DIY T-Shirt Scarf

braided scarf tutorial - this one requires a little sewing

Teacher Crayon Art

The kids made these for their teacher for Christmas.  

We used-
$4 frame from Dollar General (glass removed)
1 box of 64 crayons (made three frames with one box)
1 large print out of the teacher’s initial (set at 500 using arial)
Hot glue gun

The instructions that we used are HERE.

It took about 30 minutes to do each one and cost $5 to make each.

Pumpkin Fluff - 3 ways

I love this recipe because it can be made for different diet plans.  I use it when I am doing low cal and low carb. 

#1  Pumpkin Fluff

     1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
     1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

     1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

     1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a bowl blend dry pudding mix and pumpkin till light. Add spices,
mix to distribute. Fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate until serving.

 

#2  Pumpkin Fluff ( Low calorie style)
1 (16 ounce) container frozen lite whipped topping, thawed
1 (5 ounce) package instant  sugar free vanilla pudding mix

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a bowl blend dry pudding mix and pumpkin till light. Add spices,
mix to distribute. Fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate until serving.

 

#3  Pumpkin Fluff (low carb style)
1/2 heavy cream
1 (5 ounce) package instant sugar free vanilla pudding mix

1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a bowl blend dry pudding mix and pumpkin till light mix in heavy cream and water. Add spices,

7 Up Biscuit Recipe

I saw this recipe over at I Heart The Mart, one of my favorite couponing sites!

7 UP Biscuits  ( I used Sprite)
2 cups Bisquick (coupon HERE)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7-up or other lemon lime soda
1/4 cup melted butter
Cut sour cream into biscuit mix, add 7-Up. Makes a very soft dough.
Sprinkle additional biscuit mix on board or table and pat dough out. ( I made drop biscuits) Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch square pan. Place cut biscuits in pan and bake at 450 degrees until golden brown.






My review- They are awesome. They remind me of the cat head biscuits that my grandfather made when I was little. 

Weight Loss Update!

It has been a long time since I did a weight loss update.  Here is the last photo update.  I have lost another 20 pounds since then!

I am at 176 pounds right now and it feel great. 

2 Ways to Refill Lysol Soap Dispenser Quick and Easy.

I got several Lysol Soap Dispensers free with coupons a few weeks ago.  I was looking for a way to refill it to save money.  I have found two ways that work well.

This method requires a drill.

 This is my method of choice.  A quick fix with a butter knife!

If you happen to get some free or cheap bar soap you can make your own liquid soap to refill it!  Check out Savvy Housekeeping for a liquid hand soap recipe and how to! 

Dryer Vent Pumpkins



My Fall decor on top of the piano.



This week my girls and I spent an afternoon making Dryer Vent Pumpkins.  We looked at instructions on several sites including

Smilemonsters

DLTK

Shingleroof



We made the pumpkins and then hot glued them together.  Then I did a coat of gold spray paint.  From there the kids took over.  They used cut up pieces of an old wash cloth to rub their paint on. For the stems we used twisted brown paper sack.




How cute are these?!? 



When life gives you leftovers, what do you make?

We had a BBQ for Labor Day and had some ribs left.  I had promised my 7 yr old that we could have omellets today so it worked out great.  I chopped the meat off the ribs and sauteed that with some bell pepper and onion.  They came out great! 

What is your favorite ways to make over leftovers?