Just over 3 weeks until Christmas!

I know that the holiday season seems to come in like a Mack truck every year, but there's just something different about it this year.

Maybe it's because the kids are getting older, or because I'm getting older, but I truly feel like we just had Christmas.

Like, wasn't I taking the tree down just a few weeks ago?!

Crazy.

I've already gotten a lot of shopping done (thank you Cyber Monday!), but I still have a good amount left to do.

Plus, this year I'm trying incorporate handmade gifts into my regular store-bought items...and the Simply Earth December Recipe Box is making that effort so much easier.

This month's recipe box is all about gift-giving...wanna see just how perfect it is?



The colors and scents are just perfectly selected for the holiday...and the box even comes with gift tags & twine!

Here are the oils that are included:

Happy happy almost summer!

Here's a fun recipe I first posted 5 years ago!


And it's seriously the easiest thing in the whole entire world to make.

Here's all you need:

• pretzel twists
• white almond bark
• candy eyes

It's National Hot Dog Day!

And to celebrate I'm sharing the "recipe" for the best dog you'll ever eat...that's a promise...


The Chicago-style hot dog is piece of art...and is seriously delicious.

Here's how to put one together:

• Start with an all-beef hot dog & poppy seed bun
• add yellow mustard (NEVER NEVER EVER ketchup! NEVER!),
• bright green sweet pickle relish,
• a dill pickle spear,
• tomato wedges,
• pickled sport peppers,
• chopped white onions and
• a dash of celery salt.

...and then make another because one is never enough...

ENJOY!

These are perfect to bring for a cookie exchange or hostess gift...they are a little bit different and a lotta bit awesome...I guarantee you won't be able to eat just one!

These are truthfully some of the very best cookies I have ever made! Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and soooo full of delicious flavor. They come together incredibly quickly and this recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies! Woo hoo!!

ENJOY!

And Merry 3-weeks-from-Christmas!

Halloween is just around the corner! Woo hoo!

This year I haven't made tons of time for Halloween projects, so I wanted to share just a couple of my favorites from last year...

This is a snack I made for a kids' Halloween party - it went over like gangbusters! Not only are these little guys adorable, but they are also extremely economical & tasty!

Here are my little Mummy Pretzels...


Cute, huh?

If you saw these last year, and you made them, I'd love to know...

Here's all you need to make them...


I got the little eyes in the craft department at Wal-Mart...near all of the baking supplies...and you know what the almond bark is, right? I got mine at, again, Wal-Mart, by the cake mixes, etc...they have chocolate, too...it melts really quickly and is really easy to work with. I think they sell the candy eyes all over now, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding them.


How is your Halloween decorating going? Have you finished? Have you started? Are you already thinking about Thanksgiving & Christmas? (Please say "no" to that last question...;))

Yesterday I shared the little gift I'm giving to my sisters-in-law when they come to stay for the night tomorrow...today I'm sharing the recipe for the oatmeal cookies I made for them.

I love to bake. I'm not great at it, but I do love it.

I don't, however, love having all of the product that results from my baking attempts around my house...if it's here, I eat it.

So, I try to give away as much as the kids and my husband will let me...good thing the girls and their kids are coming this week.

Last weekend, I googled "easy oatmeal cookie recipe." I had a bunch of oatmeal that wouldn't fit into my pantry's big glass jar, so I wanted to use it up. The following recipe came from Cooks.com...I just modified it a little according to some reviews and suggestions.

Today I'm sharing a super-easy recipe for a delicious summer appetizer...


A year or so ago, my amazing friend Michelle brought this wonderful appetizer to my house...I may have mentioned Michelle once or twice...here she is...


Isn't she a doll-face? Love her...

This past Saturday I FINALLY had the chance to make it for my husband's company picnic. Here's all you need for your caprese salad on a stick...


*Grape tomatoes
*Fresh mozzarella
*Garlic (I used pre-minced garlic, but I recommend using fresh if you want a more flavorful dish)
*Fresh basil
*Salt & pepper (not shown)
*Olive oil (not shown)
*Skewers

Pour some olive oil into a small bowl and add some garlic and salt & pepper. Let this sit while you are preparing your skewers.


Now, just alternate your grape tomatoes & your mozzarella on your skewers...easy peasy. My 9-year-old is a master...


Arrange your skewers on a platter & drizzle olive oil and garlic over the top. I like to use A LOT of garlic and olive oil, but add as much as you like. Then season with salt & pepper to taste.

Chiffonade (is that a verb?) your fresh basil (lay a couple of leaves on top of each other, roll them up lengthwise and thinly slice) and sprinkle on your skewers. And you. are. done.

A delicious, beautiful, healthy & refreshing summertime appetizer in just under 20 minutes...


Nom. Nom. I think I'm going to make this for my lunch tomorrow...soooo good.

Thank you, once again, my dear Michelle, for being the best chef and food inspiration I know...

Woo hoo! I'm so excited that the Ready 4 Summer Blog party is finally here!



To download this recipe, simply click "download"...


Here are a couple tips I have learned from making this a number times...

*Make sure your cream cheese is really really really soft...like, really soft. If it's not completely softened there will be clumps of cream cheese in your dessert...
*Also be sure to completely freeze your dessert...it's much better that way.
*The finer you can chop your mint, the better...it will give you a much more even flavor.
*And...(here is where I've adapted the recipe)...I like A LOT more pretzals & lime in my dessert...so I've doubled these amounts. Again, the recipe is fantastic without doing this, but I like it just a little tangier and saltier...yum.


I hope you enjoy this yummy treat as much as we do!


For more summertime food & drinks, make sure to visit these amazing blogs today!

Need a last-minute dessert that requires no baking? Here you go...


These are what I am bringing to our friends' house for a Memorial Day bbq...aren't they adorable? And soooo easy to boot!

Just grab some strawberries, a tub of Philadelphia Cheesecake Filling (found near the cream cheese at your grocery store...I'm letting you know this only because I searched for 20 minutes before it finally dawned on me that it may be near the other cheese products) and some graham cracker crumbs.

I cut the bottoms of the strawberries off so that they would sit easily on a tray and I hulled the centers. Then I filled a plastic bag with the filling, cut off a bottom corner of the bag and used it to squeeze the filling into the strawberry. Finally, I sprinkled some of the graham cracker crumbs over the top. Um...yum.

The only thing I may change about what I did here is that next time I may dip the cut strawberry into the crumbs instead of sprinkling them on top. I sprinkled a little too much over some of the minis and the crumbs changed the color of the filling to this weird yellow. They tasted fantastic but they didn't look perfect...

Then I made this little banner to accompany these little desserts...

Cute little patriotic set-up, don't you think?


And yummy, too!

Click here to see what I'll be sharing these little goodies!

At the end of last year, I won a giveaway on The CSI Project...a giveaway for a 3-month subscription to eMeals™. I had no idea at the time that that giveaway would change my life.


eMeals™ is a monthly menu subscription that you can tailor to fit your family's needs...right down to which store you prefer to shop in! Isn't that awesome?

This is how the eMeals™ website describes their program:

"Manage your food budget and enjoy delicious dinner recipes at home.
Menu plans based on weekly grocery store sales, seasonal discounts
or diet preferences. Be meal-wise and money-wise with eMeals."

That pretty much sums up the program perfectly...and I don't know how I ever lived without it. Instead of struggling over what I'm going to prepare every night, I just print out my weekly menu and shop for the foods on my list. And now that I've been a subscriber for 5 months (yes, I renewed my subscription after my giveaway ran out...how could I not? I've grown to depend on eMeals™), I've acquired enough meals to easily plan menus that include some of our favorites each week.

For as little as $5.00 per month, you can receive the menu of your choice each week. Ummm...that's a little over $1 per week...the time that I no longer have to spend worrying over what to make each night is definitely worth more than that.



I used to receive the Aldi menu plans,  but I've recently changed to the Clean Eating menu plans...and, oh my gosh, this food is amazing. Some of the recipes we've tried have been among the best I've ever prepared. The Clean Eating menu is the newest of the eMeals™ menus and is based on creating meals using fresh rather than processed ingredients. I was a little nervous at first that the meals on this plan would be difficult to prepare...but I was wrong...with just a bit more chopping, my family is now eating more healthy...so awesome.

Here's one of our favorite Clean Eating dishes...the Penne with Bacon, Tomato & Asparagus...(a huge THANK YOU to eMeals™ for letting me share this with you!):


Now, you may be wondering what all of my gushing has to do with you, right? Well, eMeals™, is generously giving away a 3-month subscription to the menu plan of the winner's choice to one lucky M{s}G reader! That's right, 12 whole weeks of dinners...planned for you. How can you possibly go wrong? You can't.

And you have 4 chances to win! Just enter below using the Rafflecopter...



a Rafflecopter giveaway


And, in case you're still not sure if eMeals™ is right for you, they have sample menus on their site that you are free to download. So head on over there, browse around, and sign-up...you'll thank me.

My kids LOVE bananas.

You know, on second thought, strike that...I should say "My kids LOVE bananas for about a week and then they get sick of them for a few weeks and then they want them again..."

No complaints here...I love that they eat them. Inevitably, however, there are extra uneaten bananas left around to brown on my counter.

Overripe bananas, as I'm sure you know, are perfect for use in baking...they are soft & mushy and sweeter than they are when they're still a little green or yellow. But did you know they are also awesome in milk shakes?


And my family recipe (actually my Mom's recipe) is so easy, you are almost guaranteed to have the items in your refrigerator. So grab those brown bananas and let's make some shakes!

Here's what you'll need:
*1 banana (overripe works best, but any old banana will do)
*about a cup of milk
*1 packet of sweetener or about a tablespoon of sugar (optional)
*a dash of vanilla (optional)



Now throw everything into a blender and get to blendin'...

That's it! You're done. This shake is really yummy...and it's almost an entire breakfast in a glass...
add an english muffin and you're all set...

You can even add in some blueberries or strawberries for a change...I love to add in any fruit that's been around a day or two too long.


Enjoy!

This is where I'm sharing this recipe...

We have a very small family...it's just me & my husband & our kids...my brother, his wife & their kids and my parents. Everyone in my husband's family lives too far away for us all to be together for the holidays...so we usually spend Christmas Eve together at my parents' house...and then have a quiet Christmas with the just 5 of us at home. I love it that way...it's really comfy & lazy & wonderful.

Of course, this year we'll have church on Christmas Day, but that's really it...I can't wait. OH! And if there is snow on the ground we go sledding...(fingers crossed).

This year we're going to my parents' house for brunch...and my sister-in-law and I are each cooking a few dishes to pass. I had no idea what to bring...seriously, no idea. I wanted something breakfast-y, but filling...and it had to be yummy.

So, I headed to the grocery store to search through some magazines...and I found the perfect thing...in one of my favorite magazines...Midwest Living. To see our entire grocery store adventure, check out my album on Google+.




So here's what we decided on:



And, of course, I had to give it a trial-run...just to make sure it would go over OK next weekend...

Here's what you need:

*6 or 7 purchased croissants
*8 slices bacon
*1 cup chopped onion
*1 cup chopped red and/or green sweet pepper or sliced, halved zucchini
*1 cup sliced fresh cremini or button mushrooms (I left these out b/c my husband is NOT a fan...)
*1 1/2 tsp. dried basil, oregano or thyme, crushed (I used oregano)
*2 cups lightly packed, coarsely chopped fresh spinach
*8 oz. colby & Monterey Jack cheese or American cheese, shredded (2 cups) (I used Kraft colby-jack)
*6 eggs
*2 cups milk
*3 tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
*1/2 tsp. ground black pepper


And here's what you do:

1. Preheat the broiler. Slice the croissants in half horizontally. Arrange croissant halves, cut sides up, in a single layer on an extra-large baking sheet (I don't have an extra-large baking sheet, but a regular one worked just fine for me). Broil 4"-5" from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until light brown. Set aside.