fun food friday: happy new year!

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So this lunch isn't quite what I had envisioned in my head. It's supposed to be a party hat with confetti. Instead it kind of looks like a big mess. I didn't even realize until after I took the picture and gave my kids the lunch that I forgot to put anything inside the wrap! I quickly got some rotisserie chicken and cheddar cheese and put it on the plate for my starving kiddos. My bad. Here's how I made this mess lunch:

party hat - spinach wrap cut into party hat with regular tortilla wrap for top and bottom of hat. Don't forget the filling! I would have used rotisserie chicken and cheddar cheese if I had remembered! I used my food safe markers (LOVE!) to write 2011 on the hat.

confetti - sliced green grapes, blueberries, sliced carrots and pomegranate seeds

I want to wish each and every one of you a very happy new year! I am so blessed to have 'met' so many wonderful people this year through this blog. It truly is amazing. See you guys in 2011!


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top 10 of 2010: fun food fridays

Pin It I started fun food fridays half way through the year and it has been so much fun. My kids are eating things they wouldn't touch before and cleaning their plates. As their mom, I can't complain! Because I work full-time, I'm not home to make their lunches all the time. I do try to make them a special lunch on the weekend though, or even for dinner if James is working evenings. They get so excited when I make them something special and I'm being totally honest when I tell you they really only take minutes to make, with the exception of a few I took a little more time with. I honestly don't think that these meals take any longer than making your child any meal. I've seen more extravagant lunches out there, but my main goal is to not only be cute and fun, but to be quick and easy too. My sweet little Kirsten will be starting junior kindergarten next Fall and I'm already planning all the cute things I can pack in her lunchbox for school. I hope you enjoy my fun food fridays as much as I do and join me in the next year for all the fun ideas I have planned. Oh, and to answer a very common question - what do you do with the food scraps? The answer is simple, I eat them. As sad as it is, the kids scraps are usually my lunch. I try not to waste anything. So without further ado, here are 10 of my favourite fun food fridays from this year:

10. a beautiful fall day



9. a rainy day lunch



8. a bear with berries



7. a caterpillar with toadstool mushrooms



6. a fish in water



5. hickory dickory dock



4. L is for lion



3. owl and tree



2. gobble, gobble, it's a turkey



1. a stocking filled with goodies

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top 10 of 2010: pictures

Pin It Looking back through my pictures it wasn't easy to pick my favourites, but obviously the ones with my gorgeous children were up there. I think my photography has definitely improved since I started this blog, but there is so much more I want to learn. I'd also like to branch out a bit and take pictures of more things than just my children and the occasional flower. If only I had more time. Between working full-time, raising my wonderful children and trying to keep my home orderly, photography has taken a backseat. I hope I can find some more time to learn and practice this year because I really do love it. So here are 10 of my favourite pictures I took this year in no particular order.



















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top 10 of 2010: crafts

Pin It I had a really hard time with this. Of all the things I've done on this blog, I've done the most crafts. This made it difficult to narrow down. I also love almost all the crafts I've done because they hold special memories for me of my children. So here they are, 10 of my favourite crafts from 2010 in no particular order. Click on the title for the actual post with instructions.

10. Handprint owls



I think you all know that I love all crafts that involve a sweet little child's handprint. I probably could have filled this entire top 10 list with those kinds of crafts. But I didn't want to do that, so I tried to pick my most favourite handprint craft of this past year, and here it is. I adore these handprint owls.

9. Art gallery initials



This craft is a great way to re-purpose your child's artwork and it looks absolutely fabulous in their bedrooms. Plus, Kirsten just adores anything and everything with the letter K on it, so this craft was a real winner for her.

8. Ring pop rings



These rings are just the cutest things ever and Kirsten just adores them. She loves playing dress-up and these little rings are always a part of her outfits. Definitely a great craft and a great way to recycle those plastic ring pop rings.

7. Play make-up



And here's another wonderful craft for Kirsten's dress-up playtime. She absolutely ADORES this play make-up set. It's actually dried nail polish inside old make-up containers, so there's no mess. It's pure genius!

6. Thumbprint birdies on a branch



Out of all the crafts we've done, I have no idea why I picked this one except for it's extreme cuteness. Besides owls, I also love sweet little birdies and this craft is not only super easy, but it's also super adorable. Love it!

5. Cherry blossom branch



I picked this craft because it's absolutely GORGEOUS! I had this on display for months in my living room before changing it out to other fabulous art projects. You should definitely try this one.

4. Art gallery animals



And here is another awesome craft to re-purpose your children's artwork. Let's face it, we all have lots of it and don't know how to store it all. These would look great framed in your child's bedroom or in their playroom. They're really cute!

3. Play food dessert tray



I made this recently for Kirsten for Christmas and it has been a hit! She absolutely adores having tea parties and serving us play food and now she has gorgeous serving trays that only cost me a couple dollars to make.

2. Bubble bath paint



I picked these bubble bath paints because they only take minutes to make and they make bath time SO.MUCH.FUN. The kids have a blast when I pull these out, and they don't make a mess because everything washes clean. Love them.

1. Recycled crayons



I picked these because who doesn't have a million crayon bits around. Recycle them into cool shapes and your kids can keep colouring with them instead of tossing them out. These are really easy and the kids love using their shaped crayons. I especially like the star shaped ones because they still have a point (several points actually) so it's easier to colour with them.

So there you have it, 10 of my favourite crafts from 2010. I know I could have kept going and going because I really do love all the crafts we've done. If you have a chance, click on the crafts link in my labels and check out all the fun stuff we've done this year! Pin It

top 10 of 2010: recipes

Pin It I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. All this week leading up to new year's, I'm going to be doing special top 10 of 2010 posts. Today's post will feature 10 of my favourite recipes in no particular order. I had a hard time deciding, but here's what I chose (click on the title for a link to the recipe):

10. Pomegranate pork chops with garlicky green beans



I know I posted this one recently, but it is defintely one of the best meals I've made. I think I would eat it a couple times every week if I could. Delicious!

9. Personlized apple pies



These were really fun to make and tasted delicious. I think my favourite thing about these was seeing how excited Kirsten was to get her own dessert with her initial on it.

8. Raspberry marble cheesecakes



I had to include these little babies because of their insane deliciousness. They're a little time consuming, but well worth it.

7. Sweet and salty wrapper



This is one of those things that you can throw together in just minutes and it is so delicious. Sweet and salty is one of my favourite taste combinations and this is a great lunch.

6. Puffy fishies



These were really fun to make and the kids just loved them. Ok, I loved them too. They were surprisingly delicious for a "kids" recipe.

5. S'mores cookies



These are my famous cookies. Anyone who tries them always wants the recipe and whenever I make them they seem to disappear immediately. They really are the best cookie I've ever had.

4. Blueberry muffins



These blueberry muffins, in my opinion, are the best muffins I've had. I've tried several blueberry muffin recipes in the past, and this particular recipe was the clear winner. I make these quite often in the summer when fresh blueberries are in season.

3. Cajun shrimp pasta in cream sauce



Yum, this is sooo good. I make a lot of different seafood pastas because I love them, but this one is definitely my favourite. You can add as much or as little cajun seasoning as you like based on your taste preferences. I usually add a lot. You'll have to try this one.

2. Meatloaf cupcakes



Although this was originally just a gag meal for my kids for April fool's day, it's a winner for me because they're not only cute, but they're delicious too. I ate quite a few of these babies myself.

1. Taco burgers



Oh how I miss my BBQ now that it's covered in several feet of snow. These burgers are fantastic and a nice alternative to just regular burgers all the time. I can't wait to have them again this summer.

So there you have it, 10 of my favourite recipes from this year. I hope you'll try a few and enjoy them as much as I do. Pin It

fun food friday: rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

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Merry Christmas everyone! This week's lunch was a real treat. The kids ADORED this, I mean what's not to love? With all the treats on this plate it was sure to be a winner. I'll be taking a blogging break for a couple days to spend some time celebrating the holidays with my family. My kids are so excited for Santa to come and I can't wait! Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas filled with joy, family and friends, good food and wonderful times. Merry Christmas!

Reindeer: Half a toasted english muffin with peanut butter. Candy eyes and M+M nose. Pretzel antlers. I cut up a holiday rice krispie treat to add around the plate.

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gingerbread cookies for Santa

Pin It Today we made gingerbread men for Santa. The kids had so much fun and so did I. Kirsten helped me make the cookies and then both the kids had a blast decorating them. I'll also share the recipe I use for gingerbread cookies. It's fantastic - soft, chewy and delicious. Here's some pictures of our day today:

Kirsten "helping" me make cookies by using the cookie cutters as glasses:



The table all set up waiting for the kids to go decorating crazy:



There's some serious decorating going on here (and a lot of sampling too - especially by my little Cam!):













I decorated some cookies for the reindeer, because they get hungry too you know:



Santa is going to love his cookies tomorrow night!



Here's the recipe I use:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 egg
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg.
Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth.
Cover, and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Let cool for 10 minutes on pan. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
Frost or decorate when cool.

Recipe adapted from Sing for your Supper Pin It