Fall Fun

The kids and I took advantage of this nice fall weather and had some fun this week.

First we played in the leaves. We don't have many leaves in our yard, so we asked the neighbor if we could play in her leaves.

Then we went to a local lake, fed the ducks and had a picnic lunch.


Take advantage of this fall and play outside with your kids.

Fall Fun

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2009/11/fall-fun.html

Refrigerator Mashed Potatoes - Monday Munchies

Anyone thinking about the holidays yet?  This is a great recipe
for making mashed potatoes.  You can make them in advance and
not have to stress about making the potatoes the day of your dinner. 


Refrigerator Mashed Potatoes
5 lb Potatoes
8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
2 T. Butter
2 t. onion salt
1/2 t. pepper

Cook potatoes, drain and mash.  Add all ingredients
and beat until light and fluffy. Cool.  Cover and
place in refrigerator.  Keeps for up to two weeks.

When ready to cook, please desired amount in greased
casserole, dot with butter and add grated cheese to
cover top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This is a recipe I got from Natalie several years ago.  Enjoy!

Refrigerator Mashed Potatoes - Monday Munchies

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2009/11/refrigerator-mashed-potatoes-monday.html

$15 Kodak Gift Card

Kodak Gallery is having a "Million Thanks Giveaway". They are giving away $15 gift cards or 40% off during 3 different promotions. Here is a breakdown of the offers:


~1 FREE gift of $15 good towards the Kodak Gallery website (fulfilled as a digital code) per person limit.
~If/once the $15 gift codes are exhausted in each phase, 40% off gift codes will be given away.
~If you are the recipient of a 40% off gift code, you may come back to the promotion during the next phase to receive a $15 gift code.
~Visitors must register for the promotion and opt-in to receive future information from the Kodak Gallery in accordance with our privacy policy to be eligible for the FREE gift and/or discount code.
~300,000 $15 gift codes will be given away over the course of the promotion. Please see the breakdown to see how many $15 digital codes will be given away per promotion phase.
~Kodak Gallery is also giving away other gifts through other offers, totaling 1 million gifts.
PHASE DATES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Phase 1 (Oct 20 - Oct 28):Minimum 100,000 $15 Gift Codes will be given away
Phase 2 (Oct 29 - Nov 5):Minimum 100,000 $15 Gift Codes will be given away
Phase 3 (Nov 6 – Nov 13):Minimum 100,000 $15 Gift Codes will be given away
Must be eligible for the promotion according to eligibility within the Official Rules.

I have already used mine. You do have to pay for shipping.

$15 Kodak Gift Card

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2009/10/15-kodak-gift-card.html

Quick and Good - Monday Munchies

I've been posting some of my favorite recipes the last couple of weeks. However all of them require a little bit of work. I'm sure you have days that you just need something quick so that you family can eat a healthy meal and then run out the door. Today I am going to highlight 2 of my favorite easy meals.
1. Bertolli's Classic Meals and Mediterranean Style Meals:
These are found in the freezer section of your local grocery store. They usually cost around $6 a bag. This is seriously how easy they are to prepare them. Open the bag. Pour it into a large skillet. Put the lid on. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. THAT IS IT MY FRIENDS!!! The only down side is one bag only serves 2 (non-starving) adults. I suggest throwing some garlic bread in the oven as a filler. It is still cheaper and better than going to Wendy's. Here is an online coupon: $1 off

My Favorites: Chicken Parmigiana & Penne and Garlic Shrimp

Oh and my favorite garlic bread is New York Texas Toast. You pop these into a preheated oven for 6-7 minutes and it's done!
2. Macaroni Grill Restaurant Favorites
These are found in the aisle of your grocery store where you would find box macaroni and cheese. One box costs around $3. However, you do have to buy the chicken to go with it. These take about 20 minutes to make and have more prep work, but is a no brainer to make. The down side with these is it doesn't come with much pasta. I usually prepare extra pasta to go with it. Here are 2 online coupons: $1 off, $1.10 off

My favorites: Chicken Marsala and Chicken Piccata (I have never tried the other flavors, but I'm sure they are good too.)

Quick and Good - Monday Munchies

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2009/10/quick-and-good-monday-munchies.html

Amish Corn and Chicken Soup with Rivels - Monday Munchies

AMISH CORN AND CHICKEN SOUP WITH RIVELS

4-5 lb roaster chicken
1 medium onion
2 stalks celery, chopped small
4 qts (16 cups) water (strengthen with chicken stock if needed)
6 - 8 ears of fresh corn, cut from cob (6+ c frozen)
handful chopped parsley
salt & pepper to taste

Rivels: Wait until soup is done to prepare. Mix 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt and 2 beaten eggs, blending until the mixture is crumbly (not smooth).

In a large soup pot, combine onion, celery, chicken and cold water or stock. Bring to simmer over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to low and continue simmering until the chicken is done and ready to fall off the bones - 1 hour or more. Remove chicken and let cool. Cut meat into pieces and reserve, discarding the bones. Skim fat off of the stock.

When ready to finalize the soup, add the corn kernels, the chicken, parsley, and the salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let cook for 10 minutes.

Make up the rivel dough. Add to the soup by rubbing the mixture between your fingers over pot of soup, dropping in small amounts bit by bit. (Make the size of a pea or in strings)


Some people like this soup with the rivels, others do not. Rivels are not necessary for the soup to be good.

Amish Corn and Chicken Soup with Rivels - Monday Munchies

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2009/10/amish-corn-and-chicken-soup-with-rivels.html

No-Sew Fleece Pillow

Making this cuddly pillow is so quick and easy, it's like performing a magic trick. What's the secret? Knots. The pieces are tied together (fleece fabric needs no hemming), which makes this gift simple enough to complete in an afternoon, and cute enough to give to a best friend or cousin.

Materials:

• Fleece
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Chalk
• Fiberfill

1. Cut 2 identical heart shapes from the fleece, 1 red, 1 green. To allow for a 4-inch fringe, be sure to cut the hearts 8 inches larger than you want your finished pillow. We cut ours 26 inches across and 22 inches long for an 18- by 14-inch pillow.

2.On 1 fleece heart, use a ruler and chalk or a disappearing-ink pen to draw a heart 4 inches in from the edge of the fabric (see illustration). Measure and draw fringe that's about 1 inch wide and 4 inches long (up to the center heart, as shown).3. Stack the hearts with your chalk lines on top. Cut the fringe, through both layers of fleece, stopping at the center heart.

4. Begin at the bottom point of the heart and tie the top piece of fringe to the bottom piece by double-knotting them. Continue up the side of the pillow. At the dip at the top, knot together the top 4 fringes (2 pairs) into 1 double knot to cinch the opening more tightly. Then go back to knotting just 2 fringes until only 4 pairs are untied.

5. Stuff the heart with fiberfill. Tie the remaining fringes. Brush off any chalk that still shows. Ink lines should disappear according to the package directions.

6. For a twist on this gift: Try a different shape, such as this lion pillow. We knotted together squares of orange and yellow fleece and brought our king of the jungle to life with cord whiskers, and felt eyes and nose attached with tacky glue. For square pillows, cut off and discard the corner fringes before you begin knotting.
Taken from Family Fun website

No-Sew Fleece Pillow

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2009/10/no-sew-fleece-pillow.html

Free Pregnancy and Ovulation Tests

Are you trying to get pregnant? Well, if you are, you know how expensive pregnancy tests can be! I found out a great deal from Money Saving Mom! You can get any combination of free ovulation or pregnancy test for free (up to 10) from Sacred Heart Mission. Just go here and sign up for them!

Free Pregnancy and Ovulation Tests

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-pregnancy-and-ovulation-tests.html