For Orion’s 2nd Birthday we had a pinwheel party. It only made sense, he loved pinwheels more than anything. I ended up making the invitations. I printed plain invites on the computer and then made tiny pinwheels for the tops that I attached with small brads. I also made pinwheels for the party favor bags. The favor bags along with snacks and bubbles included a small rubber duck with a number two on it and a make your own pinwheel craft both bought from the Oriental Trading Company. I made pinwheel flower pot arrangements for center pieces. I also found pinwheel cupcake picks that really spin! I threw in some fun monkey plates and napkins because we call him monkey. He loved it and we got lots of compliments on the unique party theme.

Valentines Day is coming! We are just starting to decorate. Last night we made paper heart chains. Here is how you can make some too. Fold your paper like an accordion. Draw a heart on your paper. You need to leave a portion of your heart on each side open so that the hearts stay connected when you open it up. Cut out the heart. I make multiple chains from each piece of paper and tape them together.

My son Orion loves to paint and I love and treasure every one of his paintings. There just aren’t enough rooms or walls to display them all. I keep a bin with all of his artwork and use it for all kinds of craft projects and holiday decorations. For Valentines day I used his painting to make a heart paper chain. He loves seeing his artwork being put to use. I feel better knowing I didn’t just throw them all away.

I started making this meatloaf about six or seven years ago. I had ground turkey and i thought about making meatloaf but I was out of oatmeal and breadcrumbs so I was trying think of what else I could use I was actually going to the pantry to grab the rice when I saw a box of stuffing mix and thought yummm! This meatloaf incorporates all the flavors of turkey and stuffing just add your favorite side dish and enjoy thanksgiving dinner all year long. You will need

2lbs ground turkey
1 package stuffing mix (I used the grainless baker gluten free stuffing. This particular stuffing needs to be crushed up a little because the pieces are big. I also find the grainless baker stuffing to be a little under seasoned for my taste so I would add a tsp of celery salt and sage)
4 eggs
1 onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 cup craisins or chopped apples
4 tbsp flax meal (this is optional but I like to sneak flax in wherever I can)

This recipe makes 2 meatloafs I always make two one to eat now and one to freeze for later. The directions are simple just mix everything together add salt and pepper if you like and bake for 45 minutes to an hour on 350 degrees. I sometimes spread a thin layer of cranberry sauce over the top like you would ketchup.

I’ve also added sausage to this we usually add maple sausage to our stuffing. You can add anything you normally would put in your own stuffing.

I found this recipe on the internet and thought I could make these gluten free! A blog called Kevin & Amanda first published this recipe in May 2011 and called them the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar chip-cookie-n-oreo-fudge-brownie-bar.html.  They were crazy enough to turn these into a hot fudge brownie sundae, which I may just have to replicate sometime.  Trust me you’ll know when I do because I’ll be blogging about it.   I believe it was the Londoner that coined the name “Slutty Brownie” in her June 2011 blog post in which she explains that they are called slutty brownies “because they are more than a little filthy and oh so easy”. Mine are gluten free but yours don’t have to be.

What you need:

1 box brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker gluten free brownie mix)
1 box chocolate chip cookie dough mix (I used Betty Crocker gluten free chocolate chip cookie mix)
1 package Oreos (I used Glutino gluten free cookies)
Eggs (if you use the same mixes I did you’ll need 3)
Vanilla
Butter (if you use the same mixes I did you will need 1.5 sticks of butter)

Follow the directions on your mixes. I added just a touch of extra liquid to my brownie mix because the gluten free mix is a little stiff and I wanted to be able to spread it. The cookie dough goes down first, then the Oreos, then the brownie mix on top. I followed the baking time for the brownies, about 30 minutes. These slutty brownies are over the top and oh so good!

I love Quinoa for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason to love Quinoa is for its nutritional value. Quinoa is the only grain that all by itself is a complete protein. It’s also really easy to make. For this recipe you need

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Vanilla milk (I used Almond Vanilla milk, you could use regular milk and add a splash of vanilla)
1/2 cup of toasted walnuts
Blueberries

Pour milk and quinoa into a pot. Cook on high until it comes to a boil then turn down to simmer and cover for about ten minutes or until Quinoa is cooked. Spoon quinoa into bowls add toasted walnuts and blueberries and enjoy. If you wanted to sweeten it a little more you could add honey or maple syrup. Also if you like your porridge a little soupy you can add more milk or cream. This is so delicious and filling!

I love cranberries. I really love this orange cranberry sauce. All you need is

1 bag of cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
1 orange

Slice your orange very thin, with the skin on. Then chop the orange slices into small pieces. Place all your ingredients in a saucepan on the stove. Cook on high until it comes to a bowl then reduce your heat and cover. You can let your cranberries simmer on the stove for up to an hour. Let the cranberries cool before placing them in the fridge. Serve chilled. This we would be great as a side all by itself or served heated and served over warm Brie.

My kids love grilled cheese and so do I. Sometimes I want to make mine a little more grown up but I don’t want to do any extra work. Tonight I made tomato basil soup and grilled cheese with pesto. It was so delicious.

For the tomato basil soup all you need is two ingredients a jar of pasta sauce and one cup of milk. I used Newmans Own tomato basil pasta sauce. Heat your sauce and milk in a sauce pan and serve. I came across this recipe when I was looking for a way to use up the dozens of jars of sauce we have stacking up in the basement. My husband works for a company that makes all different store and name brand pasta sauces. I was a little skeptical at first but pasta sauce really does make excellent tomato soup.

For the pesto grilled cheese I use jarred pesto from Progresso. I love pesto but it doesn’t make sense to make it myself in the winter when there’s no basil growing in my garden and honestly the jarred stuff is pretty darn good. The only difference from making this and a regular grilled cheese is that you spread pesto on one half of your sandwich before you grill it. This is a great, quick and satisfying work night meal. The best part is that the kids can have their grilled cheese and I can have mine (on gluten free bread of course).

My kids love drinking yogurt. It makes a great on the go meal or snack for them. But drinking yogurt is expensive. Here’s what I do to save money and make it an even easier portable snack. I buy regular yogurt by the tub. I spoon the yogurt into sippy cups or water bottles. Then I shake it. That’s it. The more you shake it the thinner it gets. My kids love it and I know that they’re getting a healthy snack. I buy Stoneyfield farms whole milk yogurt for my one year old because kids under the age of two need more fat in their diet for healthy brain development. For My 3 year old I give him the Banilla (Banana and Vanilla), it’s his favorite.