Meal Prepping

Meal prepping is all the rage today. More than ever before, it takes both parents working, full time, to survive. We parents are exhausted! We do not want to get up crazy early to make lunches for every person in our household! We also, after a long day of work, do not want to come home and spend hours in the kitchen cooking. This is why most parents grab fast food on their way to and from school and/or work.

I feel devoting a couple of hours on a Sunday evening to meal prepping has helped me TONS!

–> Please keep in mind: SOME MEALS YOU SIMPLY CAN NOT PREP!!!! Also, it is important to keep in mind what you are prepping. Some food items should not be kept longer than a few days after preparation.

SALADS

Salads are a crazy easy meal prep recommendation from myself. You literally throw in some lettuce and the toppings you love. I purchased reusable bowls with lids (set of 8) and disposable condiment cups (set of 50) for less than $10! I make five on Sunday evening, and am good all week long!

CASSEROLES

Casseroles are such an easy meal prep! BUT, you must keep in mind what you are prepping. I never keep chicken for more than two days once prepped. You could even leave the meat OUT and add the meat IN the day you are ready to cook it…?

HAVE A SET CALENDAR

Having a set schedule for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner saves you a massive headache! I only set my dinner schedule. My kids always want the same thing for breakfast and lunch….smh….

By having a set dinner schedule, I save on groceries, time, and energy. I know exactly what I need to buy at the grocery store, which saves me from buying unnecessary items.

Summer Fun Tips!

Keep those man-sized mosquitoes away by using PIPE STRAPS to hold your tiki torches in place!

Pipe straps come in all sizes and are crazy cheap! The pipe straps I bought only cost 40 CENTS each!!!!

Enjoy a SUPER-SIZED round of everyone’s favorite game using only a few items!

To make this SUPER SIZED “Twister” mat you will need:

• Four colors of spray paint (we used turquoise, red, yellow, and lime)
• Cardboard with a circle cut out of it
• Canvas drop cloth (painters use these)

Use the cardboard circle cut out as your template to spray paint circles on your mat. BE CREATIVE!!!! Spray paint your mat however you wish!

WHAT ABOUT THE SPINNER? We used our Twister spinner in our traditional game for our super-sized game mat.

Allergy Free No Bake Cookies

So as you have read in my previous blog posts, I have a niece with food allergies. This recipe is one of her favorites that Aunt Jenn (me) has come up with for her.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup soy milk

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 cup Blue Bonnet Light

1/2 cup wow butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups quick oats

DIRECTIONS

Place your butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring often until well combined. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and allow to boil for 60 seconds (no little, no more), stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, stir in Wow Butter and vanilla extract until fully combined. Stir in oats, stirring until well combined. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment paper. Cool for several hours.

TIP – If you need your no-bake cookies sooner rather than later, stick them in the freezer to harden super fast!

Allergy Free Cookie Dough Truffles

My niece is super stoked about the new recipe Aunt Jenn made for her! The sweet girl can’t even eat all of these amazing desserts on planet Earth because of her food allergies. Thank goodness for Enjoy Life brand! This amazing company has come up with TONS of allergy-free food items including baking chocolate morels! Thanks to these morsels, I was able to create my sweet Natalie cookie dough truffles, that are allergy-free!!!!!! No peanuts, No milk, No egg!!!!

Ingredients

5 tbsp softened butter

1 (10 oz) bag Enjoy Life Chocolate Morsel Chips

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3/4 cup flour

Directions

Start by mixing your butter, brown sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Stir in flour. You should have a “cookie dough” consistency. If you feel it is too runny add a little more flour. Mix in 1/2 cup morsels. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (wax paper) and drop balls of mix onto paper. Freeze 30 minutes or until hard. Melt remaining morsels in 30 second intervals until totally melted. DO NOT over heat! This type of chocolate will get hard if you over heat! It took exactly 2 minutes for mine to melt. Using a fork roll your frozen balls in chocolate until totally coated and place back on parchment paper. Freeze 1 hour or until hard. Enjoy!

PRINT THE RECIPE BY CLICKING THE IMAGE

Hidden Tiki Torch Stand

 Hidden Tiki Torch Stand

SO YOU KNOW HOW WHEN YOU BUY TIKI TORCHES YOU STICK THEM IN THE GROUND AND THEN AFTER A WHILE THEY ROT FROM THE RAIN AND WEATHER? I DID NOT WANT TO SPEND $20+ FOR ONE METAL TIKI TORCH BUT AT THE SAME TIME DID NOT WANT TO BUY A BAMBOO TIKI TORCH JUST TO HAVE TO PURCHASE MORE NEXT YEAR.

WE CAME UP WITH A VERY LOW COST SOLUTION!!!

SUPPLIES

• TIKI TORCH
• PVC PIPE (A LITTLE LARGER THAN THE BOTTOM OF YOUR TIKI TORCH)
• HAMMER

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1

CUT 7" PIECES OF PVC PIPE

STEP 2

​HAMMER PVC INTO THE GROUND

STEP 3

​INSERT TIKI TORCHES

STEP 4

​ENJOY!

YES, THAT IS IT! SUPER SIMPLE AND SUPER LOW COST! WE HAD EXTRA PVC PIPE IN OUR SHED SO THIS ONLY COST US THE PRICE OF THE TIKI TORCHES. I TOTALLY LUCKED UP AND GOT THE TIKI TORCHES 75% OFF AT TARGET. WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED WITH YOUR TIKI TORCHES FOR THE DAY, SIMPLY TAKE OUT OF YOUR NEW STAND AND STORE YOUR TIKI TORCHES AWAY. YOUR NEW HOLDER STAYS OUT OF SITE AND IN THE GROUND FOR YOUR NEXT TIKI TORCH USE.

 FREE Parts of Speech Worksheets

LEARNING IS MEANT TO BE FUN! LET YOUR STUDENTS COLOR, WHILE LEARNING. THESE WORKSHEETS ARE FREE FOR YOU TO USE!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE WORKSHEETS!

DISCLAIMER: YOU MAY NOT ALTER MY WORKSHEETS, CLAIM THESE WORKSHEETS AS YOUR OWN WORK, OR SELL MY WORKSHEETS. I CREATED THESE TO SUPPORT MY FELLOW TEACHERS AND HELP STUDENTS LEARN THEIR PARTS OF SPEECH. 

DIY Lamp Post

SUPPLIES

4X4X36 (WOOD)

1X6X6 (WOOD) X2

1X8X8 (WOOD) X2

HOOK (OPTIONAL)

SOLAR POWERED LIGHT

TOOLS NEEDED

DRILL & BITS

MEASURING TAPE

PENCIL

3″ WOOD SCREW X2

DIRECTIONS

** I SUGGEST PAINTING YOUR WOOD PIECES BEFORE BEGINNING YOUR PROJECT. THIS WILL SAVE YOU FROM A MAJOR HEADACHE LATER.

STEP 1: MARK THE CENTER OF EACH WOOD PIECE.

STEP 2: DRILL A HOLE IN EACH WOOD PIECE

STEP 3 – NOW LET’S PUT IT TOGETHER! TAKE A 1X8X8 AND A 1X6X6 AND SCREW TO THE BOTTOM OF YOUR POST USING A 3″ WOOD SCREW. THEN, TAKE THE OTHER 1X8X8 AND 1X6X6 AND SCREW TO THE TOP OF YOUR POST WITH A 3″ WOOD SCREW.

STEP 4 – NOW SIMPLY ATTACH YOUR SOLAR LIGHT AND HOOK AS INSTRUCTED BY DIRECTIONS ON THE HOOK AND SOLAR LIGHT YOU WENT WITH. AND DONE!

Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 BAG PERDUE SHORT CUTS CHICKEN

2 CANS MIXED VEGETABLES

1 CAN CREAM OF CHICKEN

1 CAN CREAM OF CELERY

TOPPING (WILL BE MADE LATER)

1 CUP FLOUR

1 CUP MILK

1 STICK BUTTER

DIRECTIONS

TURN SLOW COOKER ON LOW SETTING. PLACE CREAM OF CHICKEN, CREAM OF CELERY, 1 CAN DRAINED MIXED VEGETABLES, 1 CAN NOT DRAINED MIXED VEGETABLES IN SLOW COOKER AND STIR. ADD CHICKEN, MIX WELL. COOK ON LOW FOR 5 HOURS. ONCE YOUR 5 HOURS IS UP IN A BOWL MELT BUTTER THEN MIX IN FLOUR AND MILK. STIR REALLY WELL MAKING SURE ALL THE LUMPS ARE GONE. POUR OVER TOP OF MIXTURE IN SLOW COOKER AND COOK ON HIGH FOR 1 1/2 HOURS. YES, THE TOPPING WILL SINK A LITTLE TO THE BOTTOM. YES, THE MIXTURE BEFORE YOU ADD THE TOPPING WILL LOOK REALLY RUNNY…IT’S OK!!!!! ONCE YOUR HOUR AND A HALF IS UP ENJOY!

PRINT THE RECIPE BY CLICKING THE IMAGE