Star-Spangled Pie

Once again, pinterest has come to my rescue! I wanted to make something yummy, easy, and 4th of July-ish. I came across this recipe for Star-Spangled Pie.

It was probably one of the top-5 easiest recipes I've ever made. The chocolate chip cookies in the pie added the perfect touch. The only thing I will do differently next time is not chop the cookies up quite so much. I think it would've been slightly better if the cookies were in chunks.

Anyway, if you need something super quick and yummy, try this pie!

We are ready for the 4th! I hope you and your family have a great holiday!

Our Easter

Is this time of year not the most precious? There are so many things about this season and this time of year that put a smile on my face.

I want to share this sweet little video that a friend shared with me so I could share it with my girls. We do our best to explain to our daughters what Easter is about, but it is difficult trying to explain to a 2-year about sin and death and new life. This little video was not just great for my girls, but it was wonderful for me to watch as well. Hearing the Easter story from a child's perspective was exactly what I needed on this Good Friday. I hope it is equally as heart-warming to you and yours. May we never forget the significance of this event.

Easter involves traditions for us. I'm a gal that loves traditions. I love the Easter bunny. I love getting dressed up for church. I would even put on a hat and gloves and little shiny white shoes if I could get away with. But, my man is a hippie and we have church in the park. I do enjoy the sunrise service with our friends on Easter morning. There really is something special about a sunrise service. We follow that up by coming back to our house for a big breakfast with our church family. Then, we do get dressed up and go to church with my family, the traditional way.

And then there is the Easter bunny. The Mr. is not a fan of the Easter bunny. As stated above, I like him...a lot. I think all of that is nothing but fun for the littles and I want my girls to have those same memories as I did, at least until their daddy tells them otherwise. :) He has great motives, and I agree with him. I don't want my girls to be distracted away from the true meaning of Easter. So we comprise. Our Easter bunny comes on Saturday morning so that he can have more time at church on Sunday. :)

After we open our baskets in the morning, we will follow up with the cutest little "Bunny Rolls" that I found on pinterest.

I've also made a Easter treat tray that I will take to our family gatherings. This works a lot like my holiday cookie tray that I simply refill in between stops to arrive with a plate full of goodness. On this particular treat tray, I'm taking "bunny bark" (thank the good Lord above for pinterest!), oreo truffles (these are the same as the Christmas ones, just with Easter sprinkles and minus the peppermint), and little brownie bird nests. I got the idea from here, but tweaked it to use brownies instead of the cookie dough.

And I just have to share this photo of my girls who were so excited to "help mama in the kitchen". LR wanted to make sure I let her do the sprinkles! What a blessing they are!

Hopefully, I will be back in a few to post post-Easter pics. I'm not promising anything due to the fact that spring break will soon be over and I'll be back in survival mode.

Enjoy your Easter with your families! He is ALIVE!

Holiday Cookie Tray

Tomorrow is the day I start baking away! I love the day before Christmas Eve, or Christmas "Adam" as the Mr. calls it. Those last few days before the big celebration begins are so much fun to me. I normally stay in my PJ's and bake until my heart's content. But with two busy little "helpers" this year, I've decided to make cookies this year that are much easier to manage and a hit with kiddos!

I always include four different types of cookies on my tray. I make four full batches, but just put enough of each one to fill the tray. Then, as we travel from house to house, I can simply refill the tray in between house visits in order to arrive with a beautiful cookie tray. The four cookies I've chosen for this year are very "semi-homemade" but look and taste great! :)

#1 - Peppermint Oreo Truffles : My FAVORITE!

-1 package of peppermint oreos (The cool mint ones work too, but you'll need to add a few drops of peppermint extract)
-1 package of cream cheese, softened
-1 package of chocolate almond bark or dark chocolate candy wafers
-Crushed candy canes

*Crush your oreos into fine crumbs. Mix with the cream cheese. Add peppermint extract if desired and roll into balls. Please them on a cookie sheet and stick in the fridge or freezer until firm.
*Melt your candy wafers.
*Using a fork, roll the oreo balls into the melted chocolate. Tap the excess off and place back on the cookie sheet to dry.
*Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes and place in the fridge or freezer to set.

#2 - Candy Cane Mint Milanos - Semi-Homemade, but not semi-yum!


1 or 2 packages of mint milano cookies
1 package of red candy wafers
crushed candy canes

So easy: Melt the candy wafers. Dip the tip of each cookie into the melted chocolate and coat with crushed candy canes. Place it on wax paper until set. I first saw this idea on pinterest and I had to steal it! My dad came by as Lily Rain and I were making these and he thought they were terrific! Below is a pic of the finished project and the link to the original inspiration.

#3 - Dark Chocolate Peppermint Marshamallows - Kid Pleaser

I saw the recipe for these bad boys on the back of a jumbo bag of peppermint marshmallows. Not the minis, but the huge ones. These only need three ingredients as well:
-1 bag of peppermint marshmallows
-1 bag of dark chocolate candy wafers
-crushed candy canes

Directions: Melt your chocolate. Dip each marshmallow into the chocolate and tap off excess. I think using a fork works best. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes and let it set. Enjoy!


#4 - Candy Cane Sugar Blossoms - The "pretty" cookie


I saw the recipe for these cookies on pinterest as well and I thought they would be great to set out for Santa. I love the red and green combo and how easy they are to make.

-1 bag of sugar cookie mix and the ingredients listed
-red and green sugar
-Candy Cane Hershey Kisses

Prepare the sugar cookie dough as directed. Roll into one inch balls and then roll in the sugar color of your choice. Place the colored cookie dough on a cookie sheet as bake as directed. Once baked, immediatley place a candy cane kiss on the center of each cookie. Let the cookies cool completely and store in an air tight container.

I hope you are able to use some of these easy and yummy cookies this year. If not, store it until next Christmas.

I hope that you and your family have a wonderful and blessed Christmas. I pray that through the busyness of it all, we can each take time to remember what this amazing holiday is truly all about. I pray we are able to recognize the miracle of God coming to earth as a baby in order to establish a relationship with each one of us.

^" Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." Luke 2:11

Oh so thankful...

I am oh.so.thankful.

At this moment I am particularly thankful that I have ONE day of school left for the week. So even though it's Monday, it feels sort of like a Thursday. Plus tomorrow is payday. I'm smiling.

I need to apologize for being absent from blog world. As you all know, life is crazzzyy. I'm hoping to get a few good posts in during my Thanksgiving break. I have been doing a lot of cooking and baking, but it would take four or five posts to fill you all in, so I'll let those come as needed or when I'm simply out of blogging ideas.

Since Thanksgiving will officially be here in 3 days I'll share some of the cute school things we've done in my classroom.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at school this year by having a "snack" and not a actual feast. At first I was really saddened by this because so many children don't get to experience a real Thanksgiving meal, but I can say that my students had a blast today and I don't think anyone went home disappointed. We made quite a few snacks that they really enjoyed and of course finished it off with Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving.

#1 TeePees
These adorable snacks were pinterest-inspired and super easy for the kiddos to make.

#2 Pilgrim Hats
These also were incredibly easy. We do a "witches hat" version at Halloween using a Hershey's kiss instead of the Reese's cup. We just used yellow M&M's for the buckle on the hat.

#3 Crunchy Cornucopias
I've done this snack for the past 3 years and it always turns out so cute! I don't have a picture of these (sorry!) and I couldn't find one on pinterest...

You need:
Trix cereal
Ritz crackers
Cream cheese or peanut butter
Bugles

Spread your cream cheese or peanut butter on top of the cracker. Place the bugle on top with Trix pouring out.

Super easy and very cute!

For those of you that are already finished with your cute Thanksgiving treats, save these for your 2012 files. I'll be posting a great recipe for a yummy and easy sweet potato casserole later this week. Also, be on the lookout for a pumpkin cheesecake recipe. :)

Fall Favorites

Wow! It's been awhile. Things haven't calmed down for the Crawford's but that is okay, too. We've been busy going and doing. I've been in the kitchen, but just haven't had time to post much. We did have two of my fall favorites since the weather has cooled off a bit. I'll share them with you in hopes that they might become your fall faves as well. :)

Southwest Soup
I have to start off by saying this soup was an accident. I normally always make Southwest Chili during the fall, which is just as good, but we didn't have the ingredients, so we ended up having Southwest Soup and I can honestly say it ain't the last time.

Ingredients
-Ground turkey or beef (brown and drain)
-1 can Mexican Rotel
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 can dark red kidney beans
-1 can light red kidney beans
-1 can corn (drained)
-1 box beef broth
-1 jar of salsa

I put mine in the crockpot on low for 4 hours. It was wonderful and would be great with tortilla chips and melted cheese. Go for it. Hubs vetoed that decision for our house.

If you want to turn this into Southwest Chili, follow the same recipe but don't use the broth. Instead use a can of tomato sauce.


Taco Soup
Before you skip over this recipe because you think you already have a good recipe for Taco Soup, think again. This really is the BEST recipe for Taco soup I've ever had. Plus, it is a one - dish wonder and incredibly easy. I wish I could claim it, but I can't. I first had it in college from one of my best friends. It was her mom's "famous" recipe. Russ and I honestly make this probably once every other week during the fall and winter. He asks for it in the summer, but I refuse. That is hotdog weather...sorry.

Anyway, it really is AMAZING! Make it, you will love it!

Ingredients:
-Ground beef (brown and drain)
-1 jar picante sauce
-1 can stewed tomatoes
-1 can mexican rotel
-1 box beef broth
-1 box rotini (I use whole wheat)
-cumin (to taste)
-garlic (to taste)
-Salt & Pepper (to taste)
-shredded cheese
-tortilla chips

Mix everything together except chips and cheese until it comes to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Put chips in the bottom of your bowl. Pour the soup on top. Put some cheese on that goodness. Eat it up!


Pumpkin Muffins
I've written about this recipe before. Two ingredients: Spice cake and pumpkin. Mix, bake, enjoy. But, I have discovered a new amazing muffin mix that makes these easy muffins something I want to serve for every meal. If you have a box of Cinnamon Streusel Muffin Mix and a can of pumpkin, make these muffins. They truly are wonderful.

 Maybe because it is a muffin mix and not a cake mix, but these might be the moistest muffins I've ever had. Seriously, I can't say enough about how amazing they are. And easy. Bonus!!

Finally, Halloween has come and gone. My girls were adorable as a bumble bee and a ladybug.

These are the only pics because sweet little Lyla fell asleep about 10 minutes into the Trick-or-Treat extravaganza.

I will share these cute little treats I sent with LR to school. I made these before as easter pops, but just coated them with Halloween sprinkles instead. Two year olds love sprinkles and marshmallows, so it was a hit.

I hope you and your family are enjoying some fall favorites this year as well. :)

Cutest Idea Ever!

Okay friends, I came across this idea tonight while I was searching on Classroom Freebies. I stumbled upon one of my favorite blogs and I found this idea from The Inspired Apple. I honestly think it might be the cutest idea ever. Get ready....

The Candy Corn Bandit.  Read her blog for the details. I'm also becoming a little seasonally overboard in the classroom and I honestly can't wait to get this going in my classroom!!

So thankful for the land of blogging!!!

Teacher Post: Accelerated Reader

It's been a while since I've posted something from my life as a teacher, so I thought I'd let you guys know about something I've been doing in my classroom this week.

I'm not a big pusher for Accelerated Reader. It's fine, it doesn't hurt anyone to answer a few questions about a book they've read. But, I run into a number of problems with it.

One- I have children who don't read books carefully, or at all and march their happy tails to the computer to fail test, after test, after test. Boo...

Two- I have students become so competitive with the program that the point of the program gets lost in the desire to beat their friends/enemies...

Three- I have children who could care less if they have 100 points or 0.5...

Well, we started reading a new chapter book this week, The Candy Corn Contest, by Patricia Giff.

It is an adorable little book that my kiddos are loving. Anyway, in the story the classroom has an estimation jar full of candy corn and every time they read a page in their library book, they get to make a guess.

So, we now have a candy corn filled estimation jar. But to motivate AR, and to tie in with the theme of the book, my students can only make guesses when they PASS an AR test. This has helped with problems 1 and 3. I simply don't know what to do about number 2. Number 2 really doesn't bother me. I'm a competitive person by nature, too. :) But I guess I wouldn't be fulfilling my teacherly duty if I didn't say that the competitiveness did bother me. HA!

I gave each student in my room a little scorecard to keep up with. I wrote their names and their beginning point value. Each time they passed a test, they could write down their new point value and turn in an estimation.

Friends, these kids have been reading fools this week and I'm loving it!! They have stacks of books on the corners of their desks to read for early finisher tasks and it really has been so much fun for me and for them.

I just hope I can keep them this motivated to read after the book is finished. Please share your ideas for keeping up with Accelerated Reader and what motivates your students.

Three things...

1. I'm a little bit bummed. For those of you that read this little blog of mine, you know that I found a new love of Saturday mornings by spending the first part of it at Publix. Here is the story for those of you that don't know about this. Anyway, my Russ went kayaking this morning so I'm not at Publix.  Sigh. But I plan to be back next Saturday. It's a good, good thing for the hubs to get away. He is an outdoor man through and through. If it weren't for me and my love for my mama, we would be living in a treehouse in Colorado I'm sure. If he doesn't hit a trail or a river once a month he begins to do things that could be disatrous (ex- saw 6 inches off of our kitchen table, screw eye-bolts in our living room wall to hang a hammock, build a brick firepit on our front porch that catches our rug on fire). He comes back from these adventures a better husband and a better daddy. Although we miss him, I send him in order to keep our marriage alive and well (and our home). :)

2. Become a blogger. Everyone should do it - seriously!! Even if you don't want to write a blog, it is a great way to keep up with your favorites. For those of you that don't know about it (like me just a few weeks ago), blogger gives you this fancy dashboard that keeps you up-to-date with your favorite blogs. I had NO CLUE the wealth of information & cuteness that could be found out there. Here are my two new favorites:

Savvy little women - This sweet little mama blogs about her life with 6 kiddos!!!

Castles & Crayons - This is an adorable teaching blog!

Please, join me in the blogging world and let me know your favorites, too!
But beware, it's ADDICTING!!

3. More 4th of July Goodness!
I'm not a main dish kind of girl. Never have been, never will be. I always sign up for side dishes or desserts. That's how I roll. So, that's what I have for you today.

First up, a tried and true bean dip.

*1 can black beans, drained
*1 can whole kernel white corn, drained
*1 can mexican rotel
*1 small red onion, chopped
*2 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers
Light Zesty Italian, to taste. I normally put at least 1/2 cup of dressing.

Mix all of this together and let it refrigerate overnight. Don't skip this step. This is where the glory happens. It is best served with tortilla chips.

Here is another recipe for a bean dip that sounds to die for, but I haven't yet tried it. I made it yesterday and can't wait to sample it. If you want a healthier dip, use the above recipe. I first saw the recipe here, but I adapted it a little bit. Here is my version:

*1 can black beans, drained
*1 can pinto beans, drained
*1 can mexican rotel
*1 bell pepper chopped ( I used a prechopped mix of yellow, red, and green)
*1 small red onion, chopped
*1/2 cup grape tomatoes, chopped
*1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
*1/2-1 cup (your choice) light zesty italian dressing
Mix this together and let it refrigerate overnight. Once again, don't skip this step!
Right before serving, mix in chili cheese fritos!

4th of July Rainbow Cupcakes!
I first saw this recipe here and I adapted it for the 4th. For my cake, I just doctored up a white cake mix by adding in 4 egg whites, 1 cup of sour cream, and a pack of instant vanilla pudding. This is sooo easy and soooo cute!

Simply divide your batter into three bowls and add your colors of choice. I'm thinking these would be too cute during football season, too! Orange and blue anyone?

Add spoonfuls of your batter into the baking pan and bake those bad boys up. Frost and enjoy!

I also tried something I've been wanting to try forever - Ice cream cone cupcakes! Did you know that you can bake cupcakes or brownies right inside an ice cream cone?? Me either!!!!!!!! Well, you can and it works great. I had just enough left over batter to try this out with two cones. You only want to fill your cones halfway or it will spill out of the top. Place some aluminum foil around the base and stick them in your muffin tin. They didn't topple like I was afraid they would and when I frosted them, they were oh so cute. But, I'm not sure how to take them anywhere. If you have any ideas, please let me know! Here is a link to order pans specifically for ice cream cone cupcakes, but I don't want to spend the money and I'm sure there is a homemade solution out there.

Kupcake Konz

Last but not least....Chocolate Covered Oreo Pops!!!

These are grand I tell you, simply grand. First of all, have any of you ever tried to make cake pops? Well I have and both attempts have been a disappointment. The first attempt was the ultimate fail, the 2nd turned out okay but LOTS of time and patience, both of which I am lacking these days.

Yes, I had dreams of being a cake pop queen, but I must face the facts. I never will be.

But, I can make these oreo pops and personally, they taste so much better! I first saw these heavenly things here.

1. Seperate your oreos and dip your lollipop stick (found at Hobby Lobby) in melted candy wafers or almond bark. Press remaining oreo half on top. Once you've done all of them, stick them in the fridge to firm up.

2. Dip your oreo pops in melted candy wafers. Make sure to cover the part where the stick meets the oreo.
3. Tap, tap, tap. This will make your oreo smooth and remove excess chocolate.
4. Sprinkle!
5. Set on a pan to dry.

*You could wrap these up with a ribbon as adorable little favors or gifts!
As stated in an earlier post, I know my pictures are poo, but I do what I can.

I must run. I hear LR in the monitor having an all our conversation with her stuffed animals and I'm feeling a little guility :)

Yum.

I love food. If you haven't figured that out yet, well, I do. I really do try to eat very clean and healthy, but I'm not going to lie, I have a sweet tooth. It takes every ounce of will power I have not to bury my face in the bowl of M & M's we have for Lily Rain every time I walk by it. I'm always looking for "guilt-free desserts" that make me feel better about my indulgences. So, Russ and I have developed a plan - we eat our "sweet treat" on Sundays. This helps me look forward to it and work hard not to mess up during the week.

So, I have a wonderfully healthy & easy dinner recipe and a "healthy" dessert. :)

Tonight we had burritos, or 'ritos, as LR likes to say. They are VERY tasty and might be a little high on sodium, but very nutritious and low fat.

In a skillet, brown a pound of ground beef or turkey. We used 93% lean ground turkey. Drain it and add chopped up peppers to the mix. I buy the prechopped jazz because I can't stand cutting and chopping. Add 2/3 of one jar of salsa and a can of Mexican rotel tomatoes. Let that mix sizzle up.

Preheat your oven to 350 and put a little bit of your left over salsa in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Spread it around just to lightly coat the bottom. Take tortillas (we used whole wheat) and spoon 3 large tablespoons of the mix onto the tortilla and roll it into a burrito. Place it seam-side down onto your baking dish. Make the rest of our burritos. Top them with the remaining salsa and as much Mexican style cheese as you wish. You could even leave out the cheese for an healthier option, but let's not get out of control here :)

Bake your burritos for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy! This is really good with spanish rice and corn. We LOVE the streamfresh southwest style corn with this.

And isn't this the cutest little kitchen helper you've ever seen?

Now, for the best part....drum roll please....4th of July Strawberries!

See, I told you it was healthy!
I saw these on, you guessed it, a baking blog (grin and bake it), a while back and just knew I had to try them. Well, I needed a snack to take to the lake with my girlfriends tomorrow, so I thought this would be perfect. I feel a tad bit guilty because my good friend, Christine, is trying really hard to eat right and work out. She told me she was bringing watermelon and hummus. Boo. But like I said, it's strawberries, sooooo healthy!

I had quite a bit of candy wafers left over from my pretzel bites the other day, so all I needed for these glorious little berries was blue sugar! So, all four of us piled into the car to go to Hobby Lobby on the hunt for blue sugar! Too bad it was LR's bedtime and she was a little bit dramatic during the whole event, but we made it through it. And when you see how cute these are, you will agree that it was all worth it.

Melt your wafers in a bowl. Make sure your bowl isn't too shallow because it makes it hard to dip the berries. Wash and dry your strawberries. Make sure they are really dry or the chocolate won't stick to it. Put your blue sugar in a bowl. Have a place ready to set your strawberries.

I just put mine on a baking sheet. It's easy as 1-2-3. Dip your berries, then dip the trip into the sugar. Set aside to dry. Boo-ya! "Healthy", easy, wonderful, cute dessert! This little treat honestly took 10 minutes to make. I hope you try it and I hope Christine isn't too mad at me. :)

Hippies, Cute Kids, and 4th of July Fun...

I'm a hippie.

Well, not really. Yes, my girls' middle names are Spring and Rain, but I like to brush my hair and shave my legs entirely too much to be a real live hippie. But I pretend...on Sundays...from 9-12. :)

Yes, I go to "hippie church". My husband, Russ, runs Gospel Organic ministries. It is basically a non-profit organization geared to reach those who are sort of tired of the same 'ol, same 'ol, and want to do church differently. Another big part of this ministry is to challenge believers to use their noggin and really understand why we believe what we do and be ready to defend that.

Back to church, we meet in a park. No lights, bands, or even bathrooms. We don't want to have to worry about those things in hopes that we can really be a community that simply meets and talks about the Word and life. Normally, it gets pretty deep and I often have to zone out to keep my brain from exploding. But this past Sunday was really challenging in a number of ways.

We discussed the book, Radical, by David Platt. The author is the peacher of a megachurch in Birmingham, AL. In the book, he discusses his visits to underground churches in Asia and I was caught off guard when we were asked these questions:
Would you still do the church thing if ...
-you had to come dressed in all black with your head covered?
-Travel hours to meet with other believers?
-Risk losing your family?
-Risk being tortured?

The list could go on and on. But that is what believers who are part of underground churches in Asia and other countries go through just to hear a piece of the Word and meet with other believers.

A part of me if so thankful that by the grace of God I was born in a country where those situations are not reality for me. But another part is terrified because I'm not so sure I would have the strength to continue if my life was on the line. Let me share a part of the book with you and maybe you can chew on it for a while...

"We are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter, wants us to avoid danger al-together. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream. But do you and I realize what we are doing at this point? We are molding Jesus into our image..." (pg. 13)

Believe me, there is something that feels so good about putting my girls in smocked dresses and getting all dressed up to hear a 3-point sermon on Sunday mornings. But, I must ask myself, is that more for me? or for Him?

Let me know what you think...

And so your brain won't explode like mine, check out these cuties to lighten the mood...

I know this is the most random concoction of topics on this post, but I'm all about cute desserts and I found these little treats on a baking blog a while back, but I can't remember where. :( Anyway, if you need an easy treat to take to a get-together, these will do the trick:

All you need are candy wafers (I get mine at Hobby Lobby), pretzels, and M & M's.

So simple. Place your pretzels on a baking sheet and put one candy wafer on each one. Stick these treats in a 350 degree oven for 3 minutes. As soon as they come out, place an M&M on top. Let them cool completely and enjoy! You can put them in the fridge if your in a hurry and they will harden quickly. You could make these cute treats for any holiday or theme. And they really are yum!

Here are some additional links for more 4th of July fun!

Love From the Oven

Baker's Royale

Cookies & Cups