Sunday, January 31, 2016

Valentine m&m Tubes




I started making some Valentine m&m tubes for after the tennis match tomorrow. It is raining on and off today so I am unsure if we are going to play tomorrow. But if I am not prepared I will hate myself in the morning.


I used Valentine m&m's and I separated them so that I could layer them into narrow cellophane bags.


Then I simply layered the m&m's and added a Valentine sticker at the top!


This is an easy party favor and they look really cute standing in a small vase.


I hope we get to play tennis tomorrow morning.




Friday, January 29, 2016

Valentine Treat for Meals on Wheels



I found this fun idea on www.dandee-designs.com and Dandee gives the printable for free.


I bought the magnifying glasses at Party City.


I printed out the white pice of paper ( from Dandee) and used a glue stick to ahere it to different colors of card stock.


I used tape to adhere the magnifying glass to the Valentine!


I packeged these little Valentines in cellophane bags and they are ready to be delivered. They are perfect for Meals on Wheels because I am not susposed to give them food treats because so many of them are on special diets. I think a little magnifying glass is cute and could also be useful!

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

St. Timothy Cookies




This week when I substitute taught 1st grade religion class one of the lessons we were susposed to teach was about St. Timothy. The feast day of St. Timothy is January 26th. So I made the kids some St. Timothy cookies. St. Timothy is the name of our church. That is why the lessons plans for this week included learning about the life of St. Timothy. The children also got a St. Timothy prayer card.


I just made some sugar cookies and cut them out with a round cookie cutter. St. Timothy had a beard - so I piped on some hair and a beard. Onece that was dry I added the eyes, mouth and nose.


The kids loved them! And while they were eating the cookies they learned a little bit about St. Timothy.




Sunday, January 17, 2016

St. Tmothy Candy Bars



This week I am going to substitute teach 1st grade religion class at St. Timothy. Since the feast day of St. Timothy is on January 26th - we are susposed to teach a little lesson on St. Timothy. 

Since I am teaching 1st grade I decided to make the kids some St. Timothy candy bars - so that they can actually see what St. Timothy looks like and have a little treat to take home. 

These are so simple to make - they can be made for the feast day of a Patron Saint, a baptism or first communion.

Supplies:

Hershey bars

Wrapping paper in coordinating color

Scissors

Tape

Picture of Saint 

Heavy scrapbook paper in coordinating color

Scalloped punch

Directions:

Wrap the Hershey bars in wrapping paper that coordinates with your saint picture.



I used the standard sized Hershey bars - but in the past I have used the snack sized. I guess it depends on the size of the saint picture.


The first step is to wrap each of the candy bars. I like to wrap them with the ends showing. 


For this project I used silver wrapping paper. 



I cut out my St. Timothy pictures and using double stick tape adhered them to a silver piece of heavy scrapbook paper that was punched into a scallop shape.


Then using double stick tape simply adhere the scalloped shape to the middle of the candy bar.


I think the kids are going to like these little candy treats!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Broccoli Cheese Soup





I have a confession to make - I really don't like broccoli. They only way that I like broccoli is in soup.  Actually only in soup with cheese! And sprinkled with bacon.

This soup is so yummy even the broccoli haters in your family will love it!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour

3 cups vegetable stock

1 cup of milk (I used 2%)

1 cup half and half

4 cups of chopped broccoli

2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese, grated

garnish ideas:

croutons

shredded cheddar cheese

crumbled bacon

finely chopped broccoli


Directions:

In a large soup pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until they soften about 3 or 4 minutes. Add garlic and stir for a minute.

Add the flour a little at a time to the onion mixture. Continue stirring until the flour "lumps" are smooth.

Whisk in the vegetable stock. Next stir in the milk and half and half. Increase heat and bring the mixture to simmer.

Reduce the heat and add the broccoli. Let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.




While the soup is simmering I usually fry a few strips of bacon. And finely chop a few broccoli florets. Crumble the bacon and set aside. I like to make an extra piece of bacon for the chef (me).



Once the soup has simmered for 20 minutes and broccoli is tender remove the pot from the heat.

The soup can be put into a blender for a creamy texture. I was lazy and used an immersion blender and it worked perfectly. All of the broccoli was perfectly pureed and creamy.




Put the pot back onto the stove over a low heat and add the shredded cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Oh melted cheese I love you!


Ladle the soup into bowls and add garnishes. Yum! Perfect on a rainy day.



I didn't have croutons so I added some oyster crackers.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Resolutions 2016


A bad habit I'm going to break: slouching

A new skill I'd like to learn: knitting and golf

A person I hope to be more like: Audrey Hepburn

A good deed I'm going to do: I try to do good deeds everyday

A place I'd like to visit: Wimbledon

A book I'd like to read: The Bible

A letter I'm going to write: Thank you notes

A new food I'd like to try: brussel sprouts

I'm going to do better at: lowering my perfectionist tendencies