An Idea for all of those "extra" clothes

I am a bargain shopper!! I love to find that super sweet deal on something that I was really needing anyway. This weekend it was t-shirts for $2.99 in my daughter's favorite princesses. Just love that! The deals were so good that I stocked up on nightgowns, a birthday present, and a few Christmas items. Ok, so you get the point--bargain shopper all the way!!
I always donate to Goodwill and our local store. Some items I just hate to give away. I go through our clothes for the upcoming season and see which ones fit, which ones will be handed down and which ones are good enough to auction off. I have found that I usually end up with enough "auctionable" things that I make enough $$ to turn around and buy new or gently used things in the next size. I have been doing this for a couple of years and now look at it as recycling. Such a great thing to let someone else have great clothes at a fraction of what it would cost at the store. Such a great thing for me to use that money to buy the clothes we need for the upcoming season. I am already getting my fall stuff out and seeing what will be need for my kids.

Broccoli Salad

This is wonderful!!!!

2 0r 3 bunches of broccoli
1/2 purple onion, chopped
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c raisins
1 c chopped celery
1 c Mexican cheese
4 slices bacon, crumbled
cherry tomatoes, optional
2/3 c mayo
1/4 to 1/2 c sugar
4 T red wine vinegar

Chop broccoli tops, onion, celery and toss with sunflower seeds, cheese, and raisins. Mix mayo, sugar, and vinegar well. Pour over vegetables. Chill in refrigerator.

**Feel free to leave out any vegetable ingredient that you don't like. I leave out the raisins and cherry tomatoes. I have had it before where others add extra nuts like pecans. Enjoy!

Tomato Pie

1 pie crust
3-4 slices tomatoes
2 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup mayo


Brush pie crust with butter. Cook pie crust in 400F oven for five minutes.Remove and place sliced tomatoes and basil in bottom of crust. Mix cheese and mayo together and add on top of veggies. Cook at 400F for 15- 20 minutes.

Great as side dish with steak!

Summer Veggies!

Just thought I would post some recipes for all of those summer vegetables that are so yummy right now.

My Husband's Favorite

1-2 cucumbers peeled and sliced
Italian Dressing

Place the cucumbers in a bowl and cover with Italian Dressing. The longer this marinates in the refrigerator, the better he likes it. I usually try to let it sit overnight.
** You can also add onions and tomatoes to this **


My Grandma's Cucumbers

1-2 cucumbers peeled and sliced
1/3 jar water
2/3 jar white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 pint jar with lid

She places the cucumbers in the jar first. Adds vinegar, water, and sugar. Puts lid on jar and shakes. She serves this as a side with every meal.

Check tomorrow for a Tomato Basil Pie recipe!!!

My Favorite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a trip to Brazil, this is now a favorite of mine!!!!

1 diced tomato
1/2 diced bell pepper
1/2 diced onion
chopped cilantro

I keep this in a bowl in the fridge. Perfect with those fresh summer veggies. We eat it with Tacos, fajitas(any Mexican dish), hamburgers, any rice dish. I have even used it as a dip for chips. It just seems to add that spunk and crunch that I love with my foods. Very healthy too!!!!

Add black beans, italian dressing, and garlic. Chill in the fridge for an out of this world dip!!

Your Kids Will Eat Their Veggies!

A friend of mine has been sharing some ideas on how to "sneak" vegetables into her kids diets without them suspecting. Something I have decided that we need to do as well. My kids do the traditional yucky face when I mention vegetables so I thought I would share a few ideas.

Yesterday we made "Marci Bread." Our friend Mrs. Marci actually got Aaron(the pickiest eater) to eat zucchini bread by leaving out the word zucchini. So now anytime I bake banana bread etc., we call it "Marci Bread." So our Marci Bread yesterday was made with yellow summer squash. The kids loved it and called it cake. So here is the recipe:

Squash Bread


3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup white flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 cups shredded summer squash


Preheat oven to 325F. Grease 2 loaf pans. In large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in sugar, oil, and vanilla. Gradually add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, & nutmeg. Fold in squash. Transfer to baking dishes. Bake 45 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.

** You can see the squash in the bread so I shredded mine a little finer. I think the kids thought it was apples***


Antoher easy recipe:

Chocolate muffins

One chocolate cake mix
One can of pumpkin

Mix together and bake at 350F until inserted knife comes out clean.
Tons of vitamin A in this one.


Yes, these recipes do have sugar in them but we have decided to start our healthier eating habits slowly - not cold turkey. I want my kids to be excited about the new foods that we have around our house.

Christmas Ideas for Young Children

I just wanted to share a holiday tradition in our family. We always make a birthday cake for Jesus. We use a chocolate bundt cake. The dark color represents our sins. Then we frost it with vanilla icing. This represents how Jesus covers our sins. We use red icing to drizzle along the top to represent the blood that makes our sins white as snow (just like the vanilla icing). We then use yellow candles to represent the light that Jesus is and how we, as Christians are suppose to be lights. My kids like making the cake and we talk about the meaning of Christmas as we bake and decorate it. This is just one of the ways that we focus on the reason for the season. More ideas to come.......