Cheesecake Dip - Pinterest Recipe

I found a super easy Pinterest recipe that is really very tasty!

1 boxes package of cheesecake mix
8 oz. whipped topping (you can use fat free!)
Mix it up and add a can of cherry pie filling on top. I served it with graham crackers.

Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day

Yes - we went. Twice!
Yes - we have LOVED Chick-fil-A for a long time.
Yes - we believe in marriage being between a man and a woman, the way God created.
Yes - we support business owners' right to free speech & will gladly give those we agree with our money.
Yes - I had a tears in my eyes while waiting in the long drive thru line, as my hope for America was restored.

No - this does not mean we hate or are trying to be judgmental.

#356 - Christmas Prep

Today has been all about the prep work for celebrating CHRISTmas this weekend!

Last year we started the tradition of making ornaments at my Dad's house with all of the grandkids instead of them drawing names and exchanging gifts. They loved it and so this year we decided to make it a little more simpler!

Well....I should say Anna is!

I saw this craft/ornament on Pinterest (love that site!) and thought it would be an easy and fun one to do. Anna was painting all of the Marys' and Josephs'!

Pretty cute!

For one of the other ones we decided to make little birdie ornaments that we're gonna stuff and then sew. Anna designed the bird and cut them all out also! I can't wait to see how they turn out. :)

I got this recipe for Sugar Cookie Truffles from guess where?!.....Pinterest! They are really good too! Here is the link:

Source: munchkinmunchies.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

And to make it a little easier I just did my normal pb and crackers dipped in the white chocolate. Yum!

And we can't leave out good ol' fashioned peanut butter fudge!

We'll have plenty to take to family get togethers this weekend and I'm gonna take some to the office tomorrow.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve!

I remembered doing that when I was little.......okay....

I said it today! :D

Matthew 3:3
"This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

#308 - Our Family's Biggest Loser

Two weeks ago yesterday I had to have a physical for our health insurance and my new doctor told me about a website that helps you track your daily calories and exercise. So Anna and I started doing it that very day I went to the Dr. and we've been doing a lot of exercising! But it also means that I've been getting up earlier and going to bed earlier, so my blogging time has been cut a little bit. :) We've also been busy and I'm going to try to get everything posted and caught up by the weekend.

Last Tuesday Brian thought of the idea of doing a biggest loser for our family. So we separated into teams with Anna and me on one team (since we had kind of already started) and Brian and Holly on the other. The goal is to see which team can lose the most percentage body fat by April 1st, 2012. The winners will receive some $$moolah$$ :) We had our first weigh in last night and Anna won for the week! We've just been eating healhier and trying to get back into the habit of eating better foods.

Here is my progress and widget from the site:


1 Corinthians 6:19
"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"

#272 - Apple Pizza

I've been in the mood to bake something with apples. So tonight I concocted a little recipe of my very own. It turned out pretty yummy. And, it's low(er) in fat than most other apple desserts I've tried in the past. In case you're wondering what's on it, here is rundown:

Baked some pizza dough and let it cool.

Mixed up about 1/2 cup of softened cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and about 2 tablespoons of milk and spread it on the dough.

Then I chopped up a granny smith apple and spread it over the pizza.

Poured caramel over this and then sprinkled some chopped up Rolo candies on top.

I chilled it in the fridge for a little while to firm up the caramel.

I got thumbs up from la familia!

Proverbs 25:11-12
"Like apples of gold in settings of silver
is a ruling rightly given.
Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear."

#237 - Some More Orange Leaf

We took the girls over to Orange Leaf tonight and surprised them! It's a good thing it isn't located in our town or we'd be in trouble!

My favorite is the coffee and caramel! Low-fat (minus the chocolate chips:) and extremely yummy!

Isaiah 26:3
"You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You."

#233 - Sunday Supper

This was Brian's weekend to work so after church today the girls and I ate a few beans :) that I had simmered in the crock pot all night and then watched a movie and took a little nap!

We had a great service tonight and then we came home and ate some more beans. Then did our family devotional and now to get ready for the week! We're gonna start school next week and I've got to finish up a few things beforehand! This week is going to be busy, but I'm looking forward to us getting back into a routine of sorts. Well, kind of looking forward to it. :)

Psalm 19:14
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer."

#231 - Some FroYo

We decided to try out the new OrangeLeaf and it was yummy!!! A little pricey, but oh so delicious!

Psalm 16:8
"I have set the LORD always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved."

#218 - Saturday Treat

Holly has been begging me to get the stuff to make Oreo Truffles and today I finally picked up the ingredients. So I put the girls to work rollin' them out!

Of course a few went missing......

They turned out pretty yummy!!!

They're super easy to make too! I posted the recipe HERE.

I wanted to post this pic of our hydrangea flowers! They are my favorite and they last such a long time after I cut them. So pretty!

Proverbs 16:24
"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones."

#182 - Honey Bun Cake SUYL

I decided for today's post I would share this recipe again! Kelly is hosting a breakfast recipe for SUYL so I thought I'd share this Honey Bun Recipe!

This is a dessert recipe, but it delicious for a breakfast item also!

THE HONEY BUN CAKE!!! (Pictures below)

*1 package yellow cake mix
*3/4 cup vegetable oil
*4 eggs
*1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
*1 cup brown sugar
*1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Frosting:

*2 cups confectioners powdered sugar
*4 tablespoons milk
*1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350’ degrees. (325' for glass pans)
In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream. Mix with a mixer or you can stir by hand approximately 50 strokes, or until most large lumps are gone. Pour half of the batter into an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the batter in the cake pan. Spoon the other half of the batter into the cake pan, covering the brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Poke holes in the cake and frost while it is still warm.

*To make the frosting: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth.

It truly is one of the easiest cakes I have ever made and it is so so so yummy :P

Pour half of the batter and spread it on the bottom.

Top that with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Then spread the rest of the batter on top of this and bake.

You can also take a butter knife and swirl the cake before you bake it to give it that "official" honey bun look :)

Whip up the icing while the cake is baking.

While the cake is still warm poke holes all over it and then pour the icing over the top.

I asked Brian to take a picture while I was pouring the icing and my camera was set on continuous shooting so it sounded like the paparazzi was taking my picture. I think he took about 20 pictures :o) I had to stop pouring a couple of times because I was laughing so hard :D


Here is the finale! Very tasty!

You can click this link for more breakfast recipes: Kelly's Korner ~ Show Us Your Life

Proverbs 16:24
"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones."

#177 - Grilling and Such

We've had a very low key, laid back Saturday. The girls and I cleaned this afternoon and then we grilled out some burgers and hot dogs tonight. It was our first time this year and it was yummy!

I even made some potato salad :)

We were stuffed, but we still found some room for some watermelon!

Looking forward to an even lower key Sunday!!!
A big praise - our youth from church got back safely from their mission trip to Mississippi!

Isaiah 18:4
"For so the LORD said to me,

“ I will take My rest,
And I will look from My dwelling place
Like clear heat in sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

#124 - Rasberry Beret

Everytime I tried to think of a title for this post - all I kept hearing was that Prince song - "She wore a rasberry beret....." Sorry, now you're singing it right?! Hehe!

Our neighbors gave us a jar of rasberry jelly this past weekend and it is yummy!

I wanted to snap a pic of it before it's gone :D Which by the looks of it, won't be too long!

Proverbs 11:30
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise."

#62 - 3-D Tilapia

I've had tilapia in my freezer for a while to fix.

Usually I grill it, but tonight I found THIS recipe and we really liked it.

A few months ago I was able to get a free subscription to Motor Trend magazine.

Well it came in the mail today and it also came with an added bonus :D

3-D glasses with a few really cool pages to look at. Hehe!

Easy to please :0)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

#55 - Spring Love

We've had a rainy day and I saw some buttercup sprouts peeking through the ground today!!! Spring is getting closer!

After school the girls and I met Nina and the kiddos up at the library and then I went to sign Holly up for softball again. It's hard to believe this will be her fifth year playing city league. Even harder to believe that she'll be 9 years old on Monday. Wow!

I have cooked many different things in our almost 15 years of marriage, but I had never tried beef stroganof. We had a sampling of my aunts last week and Brian and I both have had a hankerin' for it. So I printed off a Paula Deen recipe today and attempted it tonight. It was pretty tasty, although not included in our list of healthy meals:)

I saw a link on someone's blog last night for the 5 Languages of Love Quiz and thought I'd try it. It seemed to be right on with the way I am! My top one was Physical Touch! I'm definitely a hugger :o) Brian's was Acts of Service (hence the beef stroganof tonight :)

Here is the assessment - try it out!

#46 - That Time of Year

We are trying to get back on our healthy eating habits again. So here was our supper for tonight:

I grilled the chicken in a little bit of worcestershire sauce and it gave it the best taste! A little high in sodium, but I just reduced the salt I used in the veggies.

After we got finished with school today I finished up my tax prep work. I've got my spreadsheets all finished and ready to hand over to our C.P.A. The only thing I miss about being a Realtor is not being able to write off more items! :P

Our appointment is tomorrow. Fun fun!

I'm adding this story about Holly's valentine for our memory sake. On the top of the card she drew some clouds with hearts in them and the words "Heart Land" beside them. At our house we love to sing little jingles from time to time. Whether they're made up or an actual song, we're crazy like that and one can be heard at any given moment. One of these songs that I've often burst out singing to the girls came from George Strait's movie from years ago - "Pure Country"
You know the one....."Sing a song about the heartland......" Well to make a joke with her Daddy and me she added this to our valentine this year - in picture form!


Matthew 22:21
".......And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

#38 - It's Shake-n-Bake

We had a great day at homeschool co-op today! And Brian was able to recover my files from our thought to be dead computer! YAY!!!

For supper I retreated back to an old time favorite :P

Shake-n-bake chicken! It had been a long time since I fixed this and honestly it was pretty good :)
I also fixed some brussel sprouts that I had in the freezer. One of my rules when the girls were little was that they had to try at least one bite of a new food to see whether they liked it. We used that rule tonight on Holly :) Needless to say she didn't want a second bite. Hehe! I was too busy laughing to get her reaction in a photo. Trust me - it was funny!

Galatians 5:22-23

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

#30 - Warm Sunday

Today has been a nice and sunny day again! We had a wonderful worship service this morning and this evening at church. Looking forward to the Right to Life Rally in Frankfort on Thursday. We always love to go and take a stand for the unborn babies! Praying that one day abortion will become an obsolete word.

The girls got to pass ball for a few minutes this afternoon, then it was nap time! :)

Tonight after church we had a hodge podge meal!

We like to cut up zucchini and squash and dip in low-fat ranch!

It's semi-healthy right?! :P I'm so ready for some summer veggies!

Psalm 118:24

"This is the day the LORD has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it."