I learned something new today!

You can make microwave popcorn using a brown paper sack! Oh, yes, you can! Talk about saving some money...and you know exactly what goes into it. No chemicals or preservatives or artificial flavors!

It's easy too...and the kids enjoyed helping. You just add 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels (which I got in a big bag for $1.48 at WM) into a brown paper sack ($1.00 for 50) with 1 tsp. oil and a little salt (or 2 tsp. sugar if you'd rather have kettle corn). I figure it's about $0.15 per bag, which is a savings of about 85% (if I have any clue how to do the math here). Plus, again, you've got the added benefit of no chemicals, flavorings, etc. It was really good too!

I'm really into this idea of making things at home now. Next up is those seasoning and dip mixes.

Good day

Today has been a good day. Not all of it. But most of it.

This morning we weren't able to sleep in thanks to DS waking us up at 7 demanding food. But we were lazy and fixed a big breakfast and enjoyed it. Then we all crawled back into bed :) It was fun to spend some lazy, silly time with the kids.

Then we finally got up and going and got some Christmas decorating done. Tree 1 is up and the living room is mostly decorated. We'll get to the rest later. It was really cute watching the kids help decorate the tree this year. This was really the first year they've been able to do this, so it was neat.

I got to catch up with one of my best friends on the phone and somehow managed to wrangle a visit from her and her family tomorrow! Can't wait to see them!

Then we went to River Bend's ElectriCritters with the kids and my parents. It was cold, but not miserable. We enjoyed seeing Santa, hearing a story, seeing all the lights, having some cider and hot chocolate on the trail, and then having popcorn and s'mores at the end. Then we drove to a house that designs a lights and music show before heading to the house for snacks, cider, hot chocolate and more s'mores (made with French vanilla snowman marshmallows and mini choclate chips because that's what we had).

It was a really enjoyable day. There were parts I'd rather not have had, but that's ok. That's the way it is sometimes.

Thinking about gifts

I've recently found some recipes for soup, dip, drink or seasoning mixes and I'm thinking about using them as gift ideas. I've found these in a couple of places. One is Julie Garro on Facebook. The other is the Tasty Kitchen website, a spinoff of The Pioneer Woman's.

I like them for myself as well. I like knowing what the ingredients are and having control over what goes into the mix. I also like the idea of having these things already premixed to use.

I think others would like them as well. I was thinking of doing little gift baskets/bags of the dip mixes for small gifts (coworkers, etc.) and doing some larger ones, maybe in jars, for couples I know.

Now it's a matter of deciding which recipes to use and what ingredients I'll need. I'm thinking Sam's is my best choice here so that I get larger quantities of the ingredients.

Let's see. I have recipes for the following things:
Dill Dip
Onion Dip
Ranch Dip
Hot chocolate
Homemade popcorn
BBQ seasoning
Taco seasoning
Seasoned Salt
Cream of Anything Mix

I was thinking the dip mixes or the hot chocolate and popcorn idea for small gifts and the ohter mixes for a gift basket for a bigger gift. Hmmm...lots of planning to do, but the work itself should be easy...measure, mix and package.

When the moon hits your eye....

Like a big pizza pie, that's when the kids go CRAZY! I don't care who says what about the moon and its cycles, but a full moon coupled with a weather change has turned all the kids into little monsters...my own two included! They have been completely off their rockers this week with a huge meltdown tonight. And my kids at school haven't been much better. It's been like I'm speaking Swahili or Martian or wah-wah-wah of Charlie Brown's teacher. They haven't heard a word I've spoken or read a word I've written on the board. I'm hoping it's better tomorrow, but I'm guessing with possible thunderstorms tomorrow, we'll be doing it all over again.

God is Good!

God has been so good to me this week...and not with the typical "things are going great" idea. This week has been trying. But God has been faithful. There were so many times I wanted to say something, held back, let go, and was rewarded, whether with a resolved situation, a phone call or message, or just plain peace. Wow. What a lesson to learn. And it's overflowed into all the areas of my life. Dealing with SB's meltdown this morning over a broken Silly Band was easier and calmer. I'm very happy right now. :)

That hit the spot!

The rice pudding was yummy! Here's what I did (after looking at tons of recipes):

I made brown rice last night.

Then, this morning, I peeled and chopped some apples and cooked them in a couple tablespoons of butter with a dash of cinnamon and a dash of pumpkin pie spice.

Once they were tender, I added 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 cups of milk, a large box of raisins (as opposed to the mini boxes) and 2 cups of the cooked brown rice. I brought this to a boil, reduced it to a simmer and let it cook for 15 minutes. I loved it! Ryan was sick this morning so he didn't even try it. Sarah Beth ate some of hers, but not as much as I'd hoped.

The only thing I'd do differently is add a little vanilla when I add the milk. I wish I'd thought of that sooner.

Estimated nutritional value- For 1/6 of the recipe: 190 calories, 5g of fat, 2g of fiber, 4g of protein.

Comfort food

I have never had rice pudding. However, a coworker had some this week at lunch, and it sounded good. So...I'm making it for breakfast in the morning. I've already made the rice, so I just have to add a few things after my run. I started looking for crockpot recipes, but got overwhelmed in the hunt. I figured an easy recipe was better for the first try. Of course, oatmeal...the real stuff...sounds good too. I wonder what that is saying about me. Rice, oatmeal...carbs in general. I've been snacking entirely too much here lately. I'm sure I need to ditch the sugar for a while. Anyway, we'll see how the rice pudding turns out in the morning...if I can wait that long :)