Preschool Halloween paper plate craft and game

I was searching for very easy preschool Halloween crafts and came upon paper plate crafts.  I found the ghost craft you see below, but it was originally with white streamers.  Well, I didn't have any streamers, so I just cut strips of white paper.  Worked great.  The kids actually glued theirs on the front of their plates and that worked fine.  (I can't get the pic to move to center!) I pre cut the eyes, mouth and white paper strips since I have some very young kids in my little group.

 

 

I made up this paper plate web game.  I found some spiders on clip art and put them on a word document and made them smaller.  Then cut them out and colored them.  I put the plate on my door and the kids played  "pin the spider on the web".  All they had to do was get the spider on the web- plate, not right in the middle.  I let each child do it 2 times.  They were all so excited to take their little spider home. :)

 

Easy Crockpot Pork Roast and Easy Pork Gravy

I have never made roast in a crock pot until yesterday, and I was surprised how good it turned out.

Easy Crockpot Pork Roast

3 lb Pork Roast  - cut it in half  (I actually used a pound and a half of roast and didn't cut it in half - just depends on how many people you want to serve)
potatoes and carrot cut up (I used carrots and squash)
1 packet of onion soup mix
1 cup water

Spray your crockpot with Pam and then layer the veggies on the bottom.  Lay the roast on top of the veggies. Mix 1 cup of water with the onion soup mix and pour over the roast.  Cover and cook on high for 5 - 6 hours or low for 9 or 10 hours.

Variation: I did not have an onion soup mix, so I chopped up an onion and a put it in with the other veggies. I added one cup of water to the crock pot. Then I sprinkled season salt over the roast.  When it was done, the roast tasted great, but the veggies needed a little more salt to my liking.




Easy pork gravy

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 - 1 1/2 cups of broth from the crock pot that you just cooked your pork roast in. (you can use more broth for a thin gravy or a less broth for a thicker gravy)

mix together and heat a little on the stove, as needed.

Gem Pumpkin Cookies

My kids love this, and it will become our new fall dessert go-to.  We prefer them over pie- they are slightly addicting!

Gem Pumpkin Cookies

1 box Spice cake mix
1 11.5oz bag of chocolate chips (I use just 3/4 of a bag)
1  15oz can of pure pumpkin

Mix all together and drop tablespoon size on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 12 - 14 minutes. 

Father's Day golf gift

This is a simple, thoughtful and useful gift for a golfer dad or grandpa.  I bought new golf balls and had my kids write notes or draw on them with a permanent marker.   This way Grandpa will be able to find his ball easily, and will have a cute note to read, or a funny picture to laugh at.  My kids loved this project, and I'm sure Grandpa will love the thoughtful touch to his new golf balls.

Mini Muffins in a mason jar

I was trying to find a quick and simple little "Thinking about You" gift and came up with this.  I had made mini muffins already that day and wanted to use them somehow.  So, the trusty ol' mason jar came into play. 

 

I used a grocery paper sack and cut a circle to fit in the top of the lid - super easy way to make it look like I tried...   and to keep a simple look.

 

 

I tied some jute around the top and done.

 

St. Patricks Day

 

Our St. Patrick's Day was similar to most, I'm sure.  I used my trusty Pancake Squares and just colored them green - I made them the night before, so that I could just heat them up when the kids got up.  I added green dye to some eggs and milk, and voila - my kids thought I was amazing.

 

 

 

 For our St. Patrick's Day snack, we had kiwi, celery, milky ways and some cheez-its in a green package that I found at the dollar store (4 for a dollar, woo hoo!)  Nothing too fancy, except for the printable I downloaded from Pinterest to put on the candy.

Taco Chicken

This is a fast, yummy meal that is a good freezer meal, too.

1 jar salsa
1 packet taco seasoning
3-4 chicken breasts

Once again, I am not a crock pot person, but this is a good crock pot meal.  Put it in the crock pot for 4 hours on low.  If you are like me and don't crock pot, put it in a pot on the stove, bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes. 

Serve on tortillas with your favorite garnishes.  We love sour cream and shredded cheese - easy!
Feeds 6.

Mango Chicken

Another winner from my sis in law.  This is easy, but sure looks and tastes like you tried hard.

2 cups Mango Salsa (I get the peach mango salsa from Costco)
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 chicken breasts

This is a crock pot meal, but I do not do well with crock pots. I just don't think about cooking that many hours in advance.  So, if you are a crock-potter, you could put all of these ingredients in your crock pot for 4 hours on low.  If you are like me, then throw it all in a pot on the stove, bring it to a boil, then let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Longer if you like.  Serves 4 - 6.

Serve on tortillas with sour cream and shredded cheese.  This is an easy meal to freeze, too.

Cheesy Noodles

This is ultimately our family's favorite dinner. It's just an easier way of saying spaghetti with cheese on top. This is one from my mother in law - no wonder we like it so much! Once again, easy, not much to it. 

1 box of rigatoni (or 12 oz bag)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/3 - 1/2 pound ground beef
Shredded Cheddar chesse or shredded mozerella

Boil noodles while cooking meat.  Drain noodles, drain meat.  Put in a casserole dish and pour spaghetti sauce on top.  Mix together.  Sprinkle cheese on top (I am not going to specify how much - everyone has a different idea of what is good/healthy.)  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Feeds 6 +

Chili Mac

I am not going to say that all of my quick meals are healthy.  I figure my little family eats pretty healthy most of the time, and sometimes we just need an easy meal without the healthy fuss.  So, here is one of those meals.

Chili Mac

2 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
1 can (15 oz) favorite Chili (or homemade)

Cook the Macaroni as stated on the box.  Add the chili. Stir together and serve.  Yum!  Feeds at least 6.

Love Box

The girls and I made a "Love Box" for the Valentine season.  We are putting love notes in it to each other from now until February 14th.  On Valentine's Day we will open the box and read all the love!  I made the box by flipping a cracker box inside out and taping it with scotch tape.  We had just made the girls' Valentine boxes (just took ideas off pinterest for those) for school before doing this one, and so we used the silhouettes of the hearts we had cut out for their boxes and glued them on this one.  I was tired of making boxes by the time we made this one, so it is truly simple. 

We named it our "Love, Love, Love Box" after the amazing 6 year old got carried away with writing "love".  I got upset at first, but then shut my mouth when I realized that the more LOVE the better... :) 

German Rice

I am sure this meal has nothing to do with Germany, but this is the name that we know it by.  It was made by a family friend who was german, so, there you go.  This is ultimately the easiest meal I ever make, and all of my kids like it - a lot.

German Rice

Cooked Rice (I usually make 3 cups)
1/2 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can water
1/8 tsp season salt

Brown the meat, then drain it.  Put it back in the pan and add soup, water and season salt.  Heat soup thoroughly.  Serve over rice.  E A S Y.

Turkey Sausage Soup

This one is from my sis in law Julia.  I have learned some easy recipes from her that have become staples at our house.  This is definitely one of them.

Turkey Sausage Soup

1 link of Turkey Sausage (the Kelibasa type)
1 can bean with bacon soup
3 cups water
2-3 potatos, peeled and cubed
1 -2 carrots, sliced
1/2 cup of corn (either canned or frozen)
Any other veggies of your liking (I really like to add cabbage or zucchini)

Cut up your veggies and put them in a pot with the 3 cups water.  Boil for 10 minutes.  While the veggies are boiling, cut up your sausage.  I cut my pieces small.  The smaller, the farther it will go.  After the 10 minutes of boiling, add the bean with bacon soup and the sausage to the pot.  You may want to add another cup of water - just depends on how soupy you want it to be.  This is YUMMY.  So flavorful.  If my hubby is home to eat this, he prefers it over rice (that is a common theme at our house).  My little girls love it just as soup, with a piece of toast to dip in it.

Pasta Primavera

My family has made this for so many years.  It is one of my favorite meals of all time.  My hubby will eat it if I put chunked chicken breast in it.

Pasta Primavera

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can water or milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 pepper
1/2 cup broccoli, cut small
1/2 cup cawliflower, cut small
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 carrot, chopped

Mix the soup, water or milk and spices well in pan.  Add the veggies, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the veggies are just a little soft.  Not completely soft.  Serve over spaghetti noodles.  Add grilled chicken breast if you need a little protein.

Easy Beef Stew

Many of my favorite Easy Meals I have gotten from my mother in law.  She just knows how to cook well, and fast.  That's what happens when you have 5 boys!

Easy Beef Stew

1 lb beef stew meat
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2 cups water
3 potatos, cubed
2 - 3 carrots, sliced
3 bay leaves
optional: 1 packet of onion soup mix

Brown the stew meat in the onion soup mix, or I even just brown it in salt with chopped onions, or just plain old onion salt.  (that's the easy part - use whatever you have that day!) Pour in the spaghetti sauce and water, then simmer for 20 minutes.  Add your potatos, carrots and bay leaves and simmer another 20 minutes, or until the potatos are soft.  You can let this sit on low on your stove top all afternoon or evening.  We love to eat it over rice - Hawaiian style.  (more hawaiian style, put a little bit of hot sauce on top.)  p.s. make sure you don't eat the bay leaves.  Yuk.

Easy Breakfast - Pancake Squares

I just found this easy breakfast recipe. If you made if for guests, it would make you look good, but  you secretly know you are making your own life easier. Pancakes take so long to make and I never get one 'til everyone is finished eating!!! I don't think I'll ever make pancakes the traditional way, again! 


Pancake Squares
3/4 cup milk
2 T. melted butter
1 large egg
1 T. sugar
1 cup flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt


Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, beat together milk, butter and egg. Add sugar, then gradually beat the flour in. Carefully stir in the baking powder and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serves 4-6.

I will always double this recipe and put it in a 9x13 pan. I made it for my young family of six, and we definitely needed it doubled.  You can find the receipe at here bigredkitchen.com