meal planning with kids

My friend Michelle gave me the best idea and I just had to pass it along! She recently told me that she's been having her kids help with meal planning. She lets them each pick out a meal every week. I loved it and decided to find a way to implement this in our family.

I printed pictures of my kids favorite meals {I found pictures online using google pics.} They get to choose one of each...

Main dish

Vegetable

Fruit

They absolutely love it!
They get so excited to pick out their meals.
They love helping make their meals.
The best part is that they love eating their meals!

I was nervous to give up control because I absolutely love picking out yummy meals to make during the week, but it seems to work out perfect. My boys get two nights a week and I get to choose the other three nights {we usually eat out one night and do family dinners on Sunday). It's a great balance and a good way to get the kids involved. Thanks Michelle!

spring fever

The sun came out this week.
The temperatures in the 50's.
I'm ready for spring.
The early morning sunshine.
It's so close.
I can feel it coming.
I can feel myself changing.
I'm ready to shed my winter cocoon and fly.
{okay, maybe a bit cheesy}
I'm sick of the winter blues.
I want the the spring sunshine.
This week has given me a taste of spring.
I can't wait!

Here's wait I've been doing to keep myself busy until the sunshine is here to stay:



Eating these heavenly french dip sandwiches from Favorite family recipes.

And these yummy fish tacos discovered at Deals to Meals.

I also just booked a trip for our family to go here...



and here...

making fire

We love summertime!  We have been having so much fun enjoying our summer vacation.  We having been going to the park and exercising in the mornings, going to the library, having read-a-thons at home, playing with our friends AND making fire...

PARKER

KYLE

PAYTON

CHASE

The boys had so much fun making these cute indoor campfires.  Check them out here.

my weekend recipe

cheesy chick flick + utah slaughtering byu + coldplay + yummy thanksgiving dinner + being with great friends and family = 

perfect weekend

Loved the movie, loved being with friends, loved the vampire!

The cutest little Ute fans!

Susie, Jamie and I went to dinner before the concert and enjoyed some of the opening band together.  Tim went to the Utah game so I met him at the concert.  

Luckily, Susie & Jamie let me tag along with them.  

Tim & I 

Ian (covering his face), Shane & Tim.  

For the record, Clint & Becca were at the concert with us, but they weren't sitting by us so I forgot to get a picture.

The main man himself...Mr. Chris Martin

They played a couple songs on this stage that was right in front of our seats.  

It was awesome!

This was an amazing concert!

The Bergstrom Clan.  We always celebrate Thanksgiving early so that we can enjoy Thanksgiving day with our other families.  

My Grandpa & Dad

Cute Cousins & Leenda

My beautiful sister & Cooper

Mom, Me, Clint, Payton & Tim

yummy...

Thanks to Camille's post about edible playdough (you can see her mess and get the recipe), we decided to try one of our old favorites that we haven't done in awhile. Camille's Mom first introduced us to this fun idea and my boys have loved it ever since. We had some friends over and, as you can see, they ALL loved it!

Easy Layered Tomato Dip

This is one of my weekend favorites! I love to make this for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon when you just want to snack. I have been making this on Sunday mornings so that when we get home from church we have something to snack on while we're waiting for dinner. Yummy! This is also another recipe from Kraft Foods.



Prep Time:
10 min
Total Time:
3 hr 10 min
Makes:
3 cups dip or 24 servings, 2 Tbsp. dip and 16 crackers each
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small tomatoes, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese
WHEAT THINS Reduced Fat Baked Snack Crackers
MIX Neufchatel cheese and garlic until well blended.
SPREAD onto bottom of shallow serving bowl or 9-inch pie plate or onto serving plate; top with tomatoes, onions and Cheddar cheese. Cover and refrigerate several hours or until chilled.
SERVE as a dip with the crackers.

Instead of using garlic, I have tried mixing the cream cheese with 1/4 package of Ranch Dressing Mix. Also, I have used Taco Seasoning instead of the garlic. I like the Taco Seasoning the best. It tastes similar to 7-Layer Bean Dip, without the 7-layers and the beans!

Ham & Cheddar Loaf

I am finally posting this recipe per many of your requests. I love this recipe because it's so easy and I always have these ingredients on hand. Plus, it's something that my kids will actually eat! I got this recipe from the Kraft Foods website (and from Lisa). They have so many wonderful and EASY recipes.



Prep Time:
15 min
Total Time:
1 hr 5 min
Makes:
6 servings, one slice each
1 lb. frozen bread dough or frozen pizza dough, thawed
1 pkg. (9 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Shaved Smoked Ham
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Place dough on lightly floured surface; flatten slightly with hands, then roll into 12x8-inch rectangle with rolling pin. (If dough is difficult to roll, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 30 min. before rolling out.)
TOP dough evenly with ham, overlapping slices slightly and leaving a 1/2-inch border around all sides.
MIX Cheddar cheese and dressing; spread evenly over ham.
MOISTEN edges of dough with water. Starting at one of the long sides of dough, fold one-third of the dough over filling, then repeat with other long side of dough. Firmly pinch ends of dough together to seal. Place, seam-side down, on lightly greased baking sheet.
CUT three diagonal slits in top of dough with kitchen shears. Brush evenly with egg; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
BAKE 35 to 40 min. or until golden brown. Cool 10 min. before slicing to serve.

Menu Planner

Because of the overwhelming response that I have received in the past about my organizing projects, I feel obligated to, first, organize and then to blog about it. So, I've been trying to think of some more things around the house that I could organize. I'm kidding! I'm kidding! There is always some organizing project that I would love to get around to doing. Probably only 2 people said that they wanted some more organizing ideas so I thought that I would share. This is so simple and it literally took me 5 minutes!

Before I go grocery shopping I get out my cookbooks and recipes and make a menu for 2 weeks. It usually takes me about an hour of perusing through recipes, but it's only 1 hour every 2 weeks. I save a ton of time in the long run. At this time, the recipes that are not in cookbooks I keep with my menu to make them easier to access over the next 2 weeks. For the recipes that are in cookbooks, I write down the cookbook and page number on my menu so that I can easily find the recipe when I'm ready to cook. In the past, I have just clipped all these together and hung them in my pantry, but it was starting to get too disorganized. So, I made a "Menu Planner" folder. I put my "Menu" on one side and the "Recipes" on the other. So silly and simple, but these are the things that make me happy so I thought I would share!

Caramel Brownies

This week I made my favorite caramel brownies with the boys. They love helping me with these brownies because they get to unwrap all of the caramels and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. This is a great recipe to do with kids, it's so easy and most important, they are delicious!! One of my cute friends gave me this recipe about 4 years ago and it is still one of my favorites. I always have the ingredients in my house and can easily make treats for someone or some event at a moments notice. However, I must say that these brownies are much better if you make them a day ahead. As you can see from the pictures below, this is what you look like when you try to eat them before they are completely cool.

Here is the recipe:

CARAMEL BROWNIES

Ingredients:
1 package German Chocolate Cake Mix
1 cube butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 package (14 oz) caramels
1 package chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the cake mix, butter and 1/3 cup of milk. Press half of mixture into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 8 mins. Melt caramels and 1/3 cup milk together over medium heat. Spread caramel mixture on top of cake. Sprinkle chocolate chips over caramel mixture. Drop remaining cake dough (spread out with fingers) and bake 18 mins. Let cool before cutting. Enjoy!!

Yummy!

I have a new favorite meal. I ate it for dinner last night, for lunch today and I would gladly eat it again for dinner tonight! I'm not sure why I love this so much, but it's been a long time since something that I made actually tasted this good! I thought that I would share this meal idea with you all since I'm always looking for new recipe ideas.

I just got a chicken breast and drizzled a little bit of olive oil on both sides. Then I combined a little Thyme, Pepper, Garlic Salt & a pinch of Cayenne and sprinkled it over both sides. You could let this marinate, but I didn't. Then, I pulled out my handy "George Foreman Grill" and grilled the chicken. While the chicken was grilling (it only takes about 9 minutes), I steamed some asparagus. I also made a glaze to go on the chicken. I combined some apricot preserves, honey & mustard. I warmed it in the microwave for about 20 seconds or until it was warm. I got the chicken off the grill and spooned some of the Apricot Honey Mustard over top. I paired the chicken with some asparagus, which I sprayed some "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" on and then threw on some salt & pepper. It is so yummy...and it's healthy!!

Candy Making

One of my favorite Christmas memories is my Grandma's homemade candy. Every year my Grandma starts early in December making Christmas candy. She loves it and is so talented! A few years ago, my sisters, Mom & I decided that we wanted to make candy with my Grandma. We wanted to learn her candy making secrets. This year, because our schedules are so crazy we didn't do it all together, but I took the boys over to my grandparent's house and spent the afternoon making candy with my Grandma. I am so grateful for this Christmas tradition that we have started...it is delicious!!

Payton laid on the couch and watched cartoons

My Grandpa took a nap in the chair

Parker played with all of my Grandma's Christmas trinkets

My Grandma & I made the magic happen...peanut brittle!!

Sprinkles Cream Cheese Frosting

Per request, here is the recipe for the Sprinkles Cream Cheese Frosting, which is definitely the best part of the cupcake.

8 oz. cold cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter, firm but not cold
1/8 tsp salt
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the cream cheese, butter and salt on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Do not overmix or the frosting will incorporate too much air; it should be creamy and dense, like ice cream. Add milk 1 tsp at a time, if frosting does not have a spreadable consistency.

Sprinkles claims this is to frost 12 cupcakes, but I frosted 12 oversized cupcakes with a generous portion on each cupcake and had frosting leftover. You could probably frost 24 regular size cupcakes with this recipe.

Enjoy!

Petite Pies

My Grandma made this cute petite pie. I thought it would be such a fun idea for a shower or party. She just bought tiny little pie pans at Orson Gygi (or any restaurant supply store). The portion size is perfect and it would be much easier than trying to cut up and serve pie to guests. She also made some in a pot pie size pan, but those were a little too big for one person to eat alone.

All Week Long Lettuce Salad

I've been making this salad on Monday's and using it all week long. It's the easiest way to incorporate vegetables into our diet. The fridge container is a must. It keeps the salad fresh all week long. Enjoy!



All Week Long Lettuce Salad

1 head iceberg lettuce (shredded)
1 head romaine lettuce (shredded)
Bag of shredded carrots
Frozen Peas (thawed)
3-5 Tomatoes (diced)

Combine ingredients in a large tupperware bowl that seals well so that it will last in your fridge all week long.

Ideas For Using Salad "All Week Long"

MONDAY
Grilled Steaks, Rolls & Lettuce Salad.
TUESDAY
Tacos or Quesadilla's
(Use shredded lettuce & tomatoes from salad)
WEDNESDAY
Pasta Salad, Fruit & Bread
(To make Pasta salad add pasta, ham & mozzarella cheese to your lettuce salad. Top with ranch dressing.)
THURSDAY
Lasagna, Lettuce Salad & French Bread
FRIDAY
Hamburger's, Lettuce Salad, Chips & Fruit
SATURDAY
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
(Grill Chicken, slice & toss on salad. Add croutons & parmesan cheese. Top with caesar dressing.)
SUNDAY
Pot Roast, Rolls & lettuce salad.