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14 June 2012

4th of July Snacks

I was hoping I could find some prep ahead snacks for the 4th so I am not spending the entire day in the kitchen! But I am finding that pretty much everything red, white and blue or stars are a whole lot of sugar and not really what I was hoping for.

These are graham crackers and cheesecake bites and they look really good, but I think maybe I will swap them for some whole wheat crackers,  a little less of the creamy part and use cream cheese and salsa instead!

And I really liked this idea, where you can add anything to the inside of the bags 
because the outsides are the special part. Presentation sure makes a big difference to the little ones!

And these are a good JUST fruit option, no extra sugar!

I still hadn't found JUST the right thing for us though. Thinking about the usual snacks here, veggies, string cheese, dried fruits and sometimes quesadilla slices. I had to find a way to make them festive!

First I just cut up a wheat tortilla with a star shaped cookie cutter and made some open face quesadillas.. encouraging the kids to have at the salsa with them!




And the string cheese I just used the kitchen scissors and cut the end up a little bit, then wrapped it in some paper scraps. Cutting the paper with some fancy edged scissors would make it even better! If you have older kids that can be trusted with a toothpick, I would do toothpicks with dried fruit or small veggie pieces  on one end with the other into the string cheese for a super cute "firework". 


And please excuse the icky back splash..Hubby took the tile down last night, the granite measuring people are coming tomorrow! Excited and nervous :)

Hoping I can find some more snack ideas (not treats) but really the treats are my favorite part!


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13 June 2012

4th of July Treats!

The 4th falls on a Wednesday this year and we have a wedding to go to the weekend before and weekend trip the week after so we are planning on staying home and hanging with the neighbors and whoever else shows up to do fireworks.  Trying to get together some ideas now since it is only 3 weeks away, I need time to plan, grocery shop and prep!


Starting with some breakfast ideas

Super cute toast and super easy

Breakfast Sunday

Breakfast Shortcake

And this breakfast cake looks soo good, it's blueberry but I am sure you could add some red berries and it would be super festive.

For us I think I will try the breakfast cake and make some sausage patties in star shapes.
And maybe some Red White and Blue Oatmeal (blueberries, strawberry granola and whip cream)



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11 June 2012

Meal Plan Monday

After being gone again all weekend I have NO inspiration. Checking out what we have in our freezer instead for some ideas for easy dinner this week. It is the last week of school for the kids and I can't wait to get Summer started!

Here is what I have in the freezer
~a bag of shredded chicken
~pork roast x2
~pork tenderloin
~ground turkey
~marinara sauce

This Friday is grocery shopping day but after the last 2 weekends of being gone and 2 weeks of super busyness I might have to make a trip before then!

Monday~Chicken Tortilla Soup, in the crock pot
Tuesday~Crock Pot Lasagna
Wednesday~Pork Roast and Mashed potatoes
Thursday~something with ground turkey, tacos probably
Friday~Last day of school and FINALLY a Friday we aren't running out the door. Pizza!
Saturday~Pork Tenderloin, on the grill
Sunday will probably be leftovers

And I am hoping it isn't too hot to make a batch of some cowboy cookies. 
Isn't this the CUTEST cookie jar?

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06 June 2012

4th of July Decorations

We are going to be gone a lot over the net 4 weeks so I didn't put everything out, but I did some and it made me realize how little we have that I LOVE. I need to make some, 
chances are it won't happen beforehand but after for sure. 
At the Farm Chicks Show I saw all kinds of cuteness, gave me some good ideas for some things I can do easy enough, now just to find the time!

I still need to decorate the wreath once I find some stuff in my supplies.

 Found this sweet little plate/cup holder at Cost Plus and I love it, I don't have any mugs that are 4th specific but I love what I do have and it's easy to haul everything to the table with 1 hand.




The baseballs are for sure one of my favorites!


The apple pie candle is also a favorite!




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