Marshmallow Roasters

I first of all apologize for the terrible picture. I couldn't get a good shot of these awesome tools. What are they you ask? They are homemade marshmallow roasters. Say goodbye to searching for sticks in the forest. I just used a welding rod, a dowel cut in fourths for handles. I drilled a hole in the top of the dowel and put the rod into the hole. No glue was needed. To make it look a little more rustic we stained the handles. We also made carrying cases for the roasters. Easy project and a great gift!

Pretzel Ghosts

This was so easy and so much fun. I've seen it on a few diffrent blogs, so who knows where it originated. But it's a pretty easy idea. We dipped them in white almond bark, and then we made the faces by melting some chocolate chips. You could use black frosting, and it would probably be a lot easier to do.

Have A WITCHIN Halloween

I saw this idea last Halloween, had it bookmarked, and now I can't remember who to give the credit to. I am so sorry, please let me know if it is you so I can give you the credit. This is what we "booed" our neighbors with lastnight. I thought they were pretty dang cute and I must say they were pretty tasty as well. It is pretty self explanatory but we took a fudge stripe cookie, frosting, and a hershey kiss and made tasty witches hat. Super easy and my daughter had a good time helping me make them. I think it is great for kids to help you give to others, it teaches them to be unselfish and giving of themselves.

Nativity Blocks

I am in charge of a Super Saturday next month and have had a good time finding crafts that everyone would enjoy doing. This is by far the most popular craft this year. It is a nativity that I found on Enrichment Crafts. They have a kit that they send you with the blocks precut and the stickers. All we have to do the day of Super Saturday is put stain on the blocks, put the stickers on the blocks, then do a light coating of modge podge over the top and wala- you have a Nativity that the kids can play with!

The Unhealthy Kind of Apple Chips

These are so yummy! And not very healthy when you consider that they are apple chips.
Peel and core your apples. Slice them into desired shaped. Dip the apple slice in flavored jello prior to placing them in your dehydrator. We used Berry Blue Jello and Raspberry Jello. YUMMY! Let dry for about 10 hours in your dehydrator, rotating trays every few hours.

My kids love these. My mom had made a bunch fruit leather and different things this year and this was one that she did. Soooo Good! They have kind of tie-dyed look to them. The juice kept dripping onto the lower trayers. Kinda funky & fun!

The Greatest Sweet and Sour Meatballs

2 lb. ground beef
1 C. rolled oats
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 c onion, or 1/4 dehydrated onion
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t. Worchestershire sauce
2/3 C milk
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C. vinegar
2 t prepared mustard
1/2 C bbq sauce
2 t Worcestershire sauce

Combine beef, oats, eggs, onion, salt, 1 1/2 t worcestershire, and milk. Form into balls about 1 1/2 in. in diameter. Place in 9 X13 dish in a single layer. In a bowl, combine brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, bbq sauce, and 2 t Worcestershire sauce; pour over meatballs. Bake at 350 for 30 min. Serve over rice. (I like to double the sauce amount so I can use it as sauce on the rice as well).

Boo

I stumbled across this today and had to share! We already have done a Boo this year, but no one is passing it around so we are going to go out and do it again tonight. So cute and free! Here is the link. Her blog is great, take some time to check it out!

Caramel Apples

I love Carmel Apples! No, I don't just love them, I ADORE them! You can add so much to them by using a variety of toppings. Please ignore our slightly blurry picture. We made these at young women's tonight and I ran off and forgot my camera. So this picture was taken with a phone. We started this at 7:15 and we were cleaned up and ready to go by 8:30 and that includes about 40 minutes in the fridge, while we worked on personal progress.

You will need a microwave safe bowl, cookie sheet and spoon.

Caramel
1 regular sized bag of Caramel's, unwrapped
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 stick of butter (no substitutions)

Combine ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, take out and stir. Continue to microwave for 2 minutes at a time, always stirring in between until you reach your desired consistency ~ Smooth!!

Dip your apples in the Caramel making sure to scrape off any excess caramel from the bottom. Place them on a greased cookie sheet. (I was melting chocolate while they dipped) Decorate as desired. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set and then enjoy!

The toppings that we had were white and semi-sweet chocolate, that we melted down and drizzled on top. Sprinkles, mixed nuts and almonds. You could also use crushed m&m's or oreo's. OH HEAVENLY DAY!

(Also, I found caramels that were unwrapped and were shaped like little, sixlet sized balls. So easy to melt!! It made the process go much faster.)

Another great idea, from my mom, who got this recipe and this particular idea from her Bishop, was to make the caramel as directed and then roll big marshmallows in the caramel. Then you can roll them in nuts, coconut or crushed candy! Oh, sugary high waiting to happen. How fun to do this for Christmas goodie plates. I may have to try it!

Happy Dipping!

Free Halloween Downloads by Talented People

A whole lot of fun, here!! An entire theme to run with. Go and visit Whisker Graphics to get these sweets! She also has a fun witch invitation, that you can get here.

Cute cupcake toppers from Accent the Party.

I love Living Locurto. It's a sight I frequently visit/stalk :)... Anywho, go here to find this darling template and fun idea for M&M cookies and much, much more! Were talking invites,

graphics, tags, and lot's of other printables. All for free!

Matthew Mead Style has tons of free Halloween downloads, like these fun candy bar wrappers!

He also has another whole page, here.

The Mother Huddle

Okay, so I stumbled across a great new website today called, The Mother Huddle. Freakin' cute website! I tried to share it with their little share button, but for some reason it won't upload to blogger :(. So I shared it on facebook and now I want to share it with you.

Go and check out their new sight. There are 13 giveaway's going on, over there. Fun stuff!!

Happiness in a Bowl

Oh my goodness, I had this for breakfast this morning. Only an hour ago and I'm already craving it for tomorrow! So good. Just a little experiment that turned out super yummy!

1/2 cup instant oatmeal ~ cook as directed

1 tsp. golden flaxseed

Add:

1 Tbsp. Xagave

1 Tbsp. sugar free French Vanilla Coffee Creamer

1/3 cup mixed of sliced almonds, cranberries & dried blueberries

Yummy goodness in a bowl. I keep sugar free & flavored coffee creamers on hand for so many reasons. I don't drink coffee, but it's so good in hot chocolate and as a flavor for hot cereal or green tea.

I am going to go and get a bag of Coach's oats & try this little combination out.

Halloween Themed Worksheets

This is a great sight! They have so much available for free! Crafts, coloring sheets, and worksheets just to name a few. I totally marked this one in my favorites. If your a teacher or you home school, this is a fun way to use Halloween in your lesson plans. Makes it fun for the kids, right? Click here to check it out!

We Were Pumpkined

Last night we found this cute painted pumpkin at our doorstep. Isn't she so darling? I am thinking that it was the youth from church that did it. My kids thought this was the coolest thing ever. I think this is a very good idea-better almost than leaving a plate of cookies. We will enjoy her all through the fall season, we are still trying to name her. Any ideas???

This sweet pumpkin also came with a message:

"A woman was asked by a coworker, "What is it like to be a Christian?" The coworker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin." God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

Halloween Cupcake Liners

I LOVE cupcakes! Aren't they just cute? You don't really have to gussy up a cupcake very much to make it cute. However, check out these darling liners for Halloween.
Look at this Jacok-o-Lanter. Cute little guy! How easy is this. Some orange frosting and sugar and your done! Stick your cupcake in that darling wrapper and your the hit of the preschool party! Seriously!

This is a little more my oldest boy's style. Pretty cool. Wouldn't it be cool to use some red food gel and make a brain on top?

Go check out these fun holders, here! They are a little more pricey, but so worth it if your looking to wow!!

Crock-Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

This was so good! My husband and my kids loved it. I got the recipe from a little mini cook-book my ward did about a year ago when we had a crock pot class. So thanks to Debbie for sharing it!

3 lbs. chicken breasts/ tenders - whatever you want to use!

1 (2/3 ounce) package Italian Salad Dressing Mix

4 Tbsp. melted butter, divided

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup chicken broth

Place chicken pieces in crock pot and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Drizzle 2 tbsp. of melted butter over the top. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Melt 2 tbsp. butter in sauce pan and saute onion and garlic. Add Cream of chicken soup, cream cheese, and chicken broth. Stir until smooth.

Add this mixture to the crock-pot and cook on low for an additional hour. Serve with rice or noodles.

My Latest Pantry MUST HAVE

A couple of weeks ago I was walking through COSTCO and came across a wonderful sample of the greatest cereal in the world! I didn't think I could ever leave the Quakers oatmeal for another one but indeed I have. Coach's Oats has a different flavor that sets it way apart from the others. It is a mixture of cracked oats and toasted oats and let me tell ya, it is delicious. I have had it for breakfast every morning since then.
On the back it gives great recipes for Oatmeal Cookies and Oatmeal Pancakes that I must try sometime. The kids aren't big fans of the Oatmeal unless I add generous amounts of sugar and brown sugar, but I think it is because they are use to the other brands. I think with some getting use to, they will also learn to love it.
I just had to share this great product that I came across. I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as I do.

Toy Story Double Feature

What a lot of fun. Mandee and I took our kids to see it on Saturday afternoon. It wasn't nearly as busy as I thought it would be. We went about 45 minutes early to get popcorn and to wait in line, but we were second in line.

Here is Mandee and I in our awesome glasses!

This is our kiddo's waiting in line. The kids loved it. It was great to re watch both movies on the big screen. They added some funny new little things in both movies. The effects were great, also. 3 hours is a long time for the kids, but they do a little 5 minute intermission, so you can do potty breaks and restock the popcorn tub.

It was fun. If your a big Toy Story fan, you'll want to go and watch it. You have one week to do it. They are only keeping it out for 2 weeks. They also have a little teaser to get you excited for Toy Story 3, which comes out next summer. We are super excited for that. What was great about having it on the big screen, was that my kids didn't get to see it the first time on the big screen and every kid loves a 3D movie.

Spinach Salad with the BEST Dressing Ever

Thank you to Stick a Fork In It for this wonderful recipe. Hop on over to her food blog, it is wonderful. She has a lot of fun food over there!!

Salad:
1 pkg. baby spinach
1 1/2 sliced green apples
bacon bits
slivered almonds
craisins
Parmesean cheese

Dressing:
3/4 C sugar
1 t dry mustard
1 t salt
1 T dry onion flakes
1/2 c cider vinegar
1 c oil
1 T poppy seeds

Haunted Mansions

These are soooo much fun to make! We did this last year and had so much fun, we are going to make it a tradition. The fun thing about making gingerbread houses for Halloween is that you don't want them to be perfect. We just used graham crackers and glued them together with this frosting:

1 lb. powder sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 egg whites

This makes a really stiff frosting that you can use to glue your house together. You don't want to eat it, although it probably won't hurt you. My little girl kept eating it. It works so well. We had a two level house for one of them. We didn't have one house break or fall apart while we were decorating them.

We made the houses on Saturday afternoon and then let them dry over night so they would be nice and sturdy. And then we decorated with regular frosting and lot's of Autumn candy. The best part was that I didn't spend much because I had the graham crackers, frosting, at home. I spent a few dollars on candy. The most expensive part was the m&m's, but those are the best part because you eat them while you work!

The pictures of the actual houses aren't the greatest, but you get the idea. Your kids will love it.

Temple Square in Salt Lake City

Go to this link, Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Click on any of the thumbnails. I really like the one above. This is very cool. I'm not sure how they did it, but it's neat to see.

Shared via AddThis

Cupcake Toppers Perfect for a Baby Shower

These were super easy to make. All I did was google, cute baby clipart, and you will get tons of images to choose from. I then just pasted them into word and formatted the picture so that we could write around it. We used the phrase, A Little Princess to Love and Baby Love. We used a 2 & 3/4 inch circle punch to cut them out. We also cut some cute polka dot print paper to go on the back. Attach it with glue dots around your sucker stick and your done!

I Love Fall

I love the fall. Chilly mornings and sweaters. I love the apple and pumpkin desserts. I love that it has cooled down enough for me to bake again and to make soup for dinner. I love the fall colors, not that we see much of them here Dixie, but I love them. My husband is heading to my hometown to hunt this weekend and I am going to have him bring me home lot's of fall leaves!

Know what else I am excited for? Halloween! I love it. I love the excitement that emanates from my children. I love cheesy costumes and scary ones! I love the children's parade at the school and I love Halloween parties.

I just love this time of year. I'd dare say, that it is my very favorite time of year.

Happy Fall everyone!