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    Chicken Florentine

    November 19, 2013 By Brandy 2 Comments

    two chicken Florentine breasts on plate

    Chicken Florentine has been one of our favorite dinners for years. Even our children love it. Spinach and all. It is made with the simplest healthy ingredients, but is full of flavor. It is also wonderful the next day for lunch. I've made it with fresh spinach as well as frozen and didn't notice a difference in flavor so I usually stick with frozen. It's just easier. This recipe was recently featured in the June issue of All You Magazine as an easy under $10 family dinner! So glad they like it too.
    Chicken Florentine
    4 chicken breast halves
    1( 16 oz.) bag frozen spinach
    4 cloves of garlic, minced
    1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
    black pepper, to taste
    ¼ tsp. poultry seasoning
    3 T. olive oil, divided
    ¾ c. white cooking wine
    collage of spinach and chicken rolled up with toothpicks
    Heat 1 T. oil in a skillet on med-high heat. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add spinach, ½ tsp. kosher salt, and pepper. Cook until spinach has heated through. Strain spinach in a colander and press with paper towels to soak up the juices.
    Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally. If your pieces are nice and thin you don't need to pound them, but if they are hard to roll up, place in a ziploc bag and flatten with a rolling pin.
    Divide your spinach into 8 sections (a few tablespoons each) and spoon into the center of each chicken breast. Roll up and secure with toothpicks.
    chicken rolled up with spinach
    Heat the rest of the oil (2T) in pan on med-high heat. Add chicken. Sprinkle with remaining salt and poultry seasoning, and pepper to taste. Brown for 2-3 minutes, turn and cook other side for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
    chicken breasts seared in pan with spinach
    measuring cup adding chicken broth to pan
     Do you like my new measuring cups? They were a gift from Santa last year 🙂
    Add wine, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
    chicken Florentine cooking in pan
    Remove lid, turn the heat to HIGH and let simmer until most of the wine has cooked down.
    8 chicken breasts cooking in pan
    Place chicken on a platter and pour remaining juices over chicken.
    two chicken Florentine breasts on plate
    Remove toothpicks and serve.

    20+ Creative Homemade Advent Calendar Ideas

    November 18, 2013 By Brandy 4 Comments

    Christmas cookie downtown, advent
    collage of advent calendar ideas
    Over 20 creative homemade advent calendar ideas to help children count down the days until Christmas! From simple paper advents to candy tins, there's something for everyone. And if you are looking for advent ideas that you don't have to make, here are a dozen darling ones that you can order with free shipping!

    Homemade Advent Calendar Ideas

    Christmas cookie advent
    Gingerbread Cookie Countdown
    Count down the days to Christmas with a Christmas cookie advent! Cut one cookie off every day until Christmas Eve.
    tissue paper cup advent
    Tissue Paper Homemade Advent Calendar
    A simple DIY advent calendar made from paper cups and tissue paper. Fill with small erasers, candy or strips of paper with Christmas activity ideas inside. Kids can break open the tissue each day to find the surprise inside!
    paper Santa advent
    Cardstock Santa Advent
    This darling Santa Christmas Countdown is the perfect activity for kids! Trim Santa’s beard a little bit every day until Christmas Day!
    colorful bags with clothespins in basket
    Advent Treat Bags from Fox + Star
    Simple paper bags to open each day until Christmas. So sweet and easy!
    small brown bags with clothespins advent
    Shoe Organizer Homemade Advent Calendar from Eighteen25
    Hang a shoe organizer and fill each comparment with treats! Love this idea!
    paper cone shaped advent
    Homemade Advent Calendar Activity Cards from Picklebums
    So colorful and bright and packed with all sorts of fun activities to do leading up to Christmas.
    Santa paper plate craft with paper beard
    Santa's Beard Countdown from I Heart Crafy Things
    Another Santa advent! Pull a chain off of Santa's beard every day. So cute.
    advent printable tree
    Printable Christmas Countdown from Lil Luna
    Can't get any easier than a printable Christmas countdown!
    paper and clothespin Christmas countdown
    Printable Homemade Advent Calendar from Skip to My Lou
    Another printable advent idea! Love how they hung the cards on this rustic board.
    lego advent idea
    Homemade Lego Advent from Frugal Fun 4 Boys
    Lego Advent Calendars can be pricey! If you have a big stash at home...make one!
    small white boxes advent
    Christmas Village Advent Bags from The Paper Pony
    Put your Silhouette or Cricut to work and create your own tiny village using a bag template!
    two brown bags decorated like reindeer
    Reindeer Advent Bags
    Brown bags! So fun and you don't even need stamps. Just write the numbers on!
    tree with small stockings hanging on it
    Manzanita Homemade Advent Calendar Tree from Centsational Girl
    A fun and whimsical advent idea. Love the red and white!
    basket with white bags inside

    Lego Advent from Little Bins for Little Hands

    Another fun Lego advent idea. Wish I had thought of making our own in the past!

    paper candy advent

    Advent Wreath from Oh Happy Day

    Each "bon bon" is filled with treats! What a unique and pretty idea!

    brown paper cards on wall arranged to look like a tree

    Envelope Advent from Organized Living Solutions

    Envelopes strung up like a tree. What a clever idea.

    paper present advent calendar

    Paper Bag Advent from Tell Love and Party

    Can we all just swoon for a minute over the colors here? Paper bags!

    books wrapped in brown paper

    Book Advent from Living Loving Laughing Together

    I love Christmas books and definitely have enough to create an advent for my kids. Love it!

    velcro tree and ornaments advent calendar

    And you can find this darling one in my book! 60 sewing projects for kids, including an entire chapter for holidays!

    Easy Knit Receiving Blanket

    October 28, 2013 By Brandy 1 Comment

    green knit blanket

    Every baby deserves a soft, cuddly, handmade blanket just for them. I love making baby blankets, especially receiving blankets. Lately I have found my love for working with knit fabrics. I didn't think that would ever happen, but I have found that knit actually isn't that hard to work with. If you find the right weight. I like sticking with light-medium or medium weight knits. They don't curl as you sew and the medium ones feel like I'm sewing cotton.

     

    receiving blanket folded

    Dallin's teacher is pregnant with her first baby. She loves owls and has them all over their classroom. So that is where the scheme for this blanket came from. Owls are very easy to find these days! I received a knit "burrito" blanket with Dallin and loved it. All of my babies loved to be swaddled. The burrito blanket stretched and stayed put. A nice little baby burrito. Using the same technique as I did in the Flannel Baby Blanket tutorial, I got started on Mrs. Darnell's blanket.

    navy striped fabric and green knit fabric

    I found these 3 coordinating knit prints from Girl Charlee fabrics.

    {The fabrics I used were Linden Green Chevron, Linden Green Owls, and Royal Blue/White Stripe Ponte de Roma.}

    navy and white binding on blanket

    I used the striped knit for my bias tape, which actually isn't cut on the bias so it is just trim. Since knit is nice and stretchy, I just cut it in strips, pressed it and pinned it around the edges of the blanket.

    receiving blanket folded up

    In no time, this blanket was finished and we couldn't wait to give it to her.

    blanket wrapped in tissue paper

    Wrapped in tissue paper and some extra scraps of trim, we headed to school to drop it off before she went on maternity leave. She absolutely loved it. We can't wait to see pictures of her new bundle of joy!

    flannel baby blanket and pair of cloth shoes

    To make your own darling knit or flannel  receiving blanket you can follow my quick tutorial here!

    Easy Princess Cake

    October 17, 2013 By Brandy 2 Comments

    princess cake made out of cupcake

    Our baby turned two years old and is quite the little girlie girl. She needed a cake to match her cute feminine personality. Since she is an October baby and absolutely loves going to the pumpkin patch, we decided to have her party there with our family. Cinderella seemed like an obvious choice for a cake. I made her the tiniest Cinderella cake and served the guests chocolate cupcakes with the mellowcreme pumpkins on top.

    This little cake is made from 2 cupcakes. A jumbo cupcake with a regular sized cupcake (both upside down) and stacked on top of each other. Then I used a star tip and edible pearls to decorate the dress.

    My insert was made using my Cricut! I used the Paper Doll Cartridge for the cut out and glued a skewer in between the layers of card stock in the back.

    This was one of the easiest cakes I've ever made. It was perfectly tiny for my little 2 year old, but could easily be made larger using a bigger cricut cutout and using the Pampered Chef batter bowl (following the doll cake baking directions).

    Here is another cake I made with the help of my cricut!

    Cookies & Cream Popcorn

    October 8, 2013 By Brandy Leave a Comment

     

    Cookies and Cream Popcorn in orange popcorn bos

    I've said this before, but we are popcorn fanatics over here. As in, my husband and kids eat it every single night! Here is a SUPER easy and delicious way to mix things up. Cookies and cream popcorn! If you are a fan of Hershey's Cookies 'n' Cream candy bars you are in for a real treat. Pick up a couple XL ones the next time you are out. You won't be sorry!

    Hershey's cookies and cream candy bars

    You will need 1 (4 oz.) XL bar for every 2 quarts of popcorn you pop. I air pop 6 quarts when I make this and use 3 XL bars.

    broken cookies and cream candy bars

    Break up the candy bars and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Continue microwaving in 10 second intervals until the white chocolate is  smooth.  Put your popcorn into a huge bowl or divide into two bowls and pour your chocolate over the top. Stir with a rubber spatula  (or use your hands. That's what I do) until evenly coated. It won't look like there is a lot of chocloate on each piece, but you don't need a lot. Just a light even coat.

    little girls eating popcorn

    Line a flat large, flat, surface with wax paper and spread your popcorn across in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt, to taste. The sweet and salty combo is amazing! Let it sit until it is set, about 30 minutes. We don't wait that long before digging in, but it is messier if you don't wait for it to set up a bit!

    popcorn in orange popcorn boxes

    It was the perfect treat to have while watching Tom & Jerry after dinner!

    What is your favorite way to have popcorn? We'd love to try a new variation!

    2 Minute DIY Scarf

    October 3, 2013 By Brandy 15 Comments

    Can't sew? Not sure how to knit? No problem! This no-sew DIY scarf is made out of fleece and comes together in 2 minutes and only requires a few cuts with scissors! Make a bunch for yourself and friends!
    little girl wearing fleece scarf

    I love scarves! They are so much fun and add color and style to any outfit. My kids have always worn scarves. They are so easy to make and require hardly any fabric so it just made sense to make them vs. buy them. I can't for the life of me knit or crochet, nor do I have the desire, which is probably why I haven't learned how! I just don't have the patience for that, but I have friends who can do that and don't know how I have the patience for sewing. So it all works out!

    But I can cut...and that is all you need to be able to know how to do to make this fun little DIY scarf.

    little girl wearing fleece scarf

    2 Minute DIY Scarf

    I cut a strip of fleece 5"x48" and cut the bottoms up 4" to create fringe. That was it!
    A 2-minute scarf for about .25. Can't beat that! We made several more to go with her winter coats. These make great gifts, too!
    You might also like...
    collage of fleece pillowcase photos
    3 Step Fleece Pillowcase
    Cozy fleece pillowcases that come together in about 10 minutes. A great sewing project for beginners!
    fleece rice characters
    Rice Pack Buddies
    These darling rice packs keep kids warm and cozy on cold nights! Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds before bedtime! They also work as "boo boo" bags. You can freeze them so that they feel cool to the touch.
    Sesame Street bean bags
    Sesame Street Bean Bags
     A simple pattern for DIY Sesame Street character softies, rice packs, or bean bags! This easy to follow tutorial can even be enlarged and used to make a Sesame Street character pillow. Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, and Grover. Who is your favorite?

    Vintage Inspired Silver Pumpkins

    October 2, 2013 By Brandy 13 Comments

    black candlesticks and silver pumpkin

    Ruby and I made a quick stop at Michael's the other day while Derrick was in Home Depot. We had fun browsing the aisles of fall decor and couldn't pass up some fun brown craft pumpkins that were ready to be decorated.

    pumpkin painted silver

    I've seen a lot of silver pumpkins lately, my favorite being the ones at Pottery Barn in their window display right now. I love the look of the mercury glass, but sadly, cannot afford to spend that much on a glass pumpkin. I saw some spray paint recently that gives the look of a mirror. It's called "looking glass", but you have to use it on glass. Since these were paper I came up with another alternative.

    unpainted paper pumpkin

    Good old fashioned spray paint.

    black and silver spray paint cans

    I don't know if it matters which kind you use. These are just some I found in our garage. A black and a metallic silver.

    pumpkin sprayed with first coat of black

    I sprayed each pumpkin in a nice layer of black spray paint and let it dry completely.

    pumpkin painted with second coat of silver paint

    Then I sprayed a very LIGHT coat of silver on top so that the black still came through a bit (giving it the vintage look). It's hard to see the contrast in the photos since the metallic is so shiny, but I was pleasantly surprised with the results!

    black candlesticks and silver pumpkin

    My silver pumpkins rang up to $2.99 a piece. That I can afford.

    How to Can Homemade Salsa

    September 26, 2013 By Brandy 11 Comments

    pints of canned salsa

    Fresh salsa is amazing, but you simply can't store it. This canned salsa is absolutely delicious and has a fantastic shelf life. It definitely rivals any salsa you'd get in a restaurant! I'll show you how to can salsa like a pro with a few simple steps.

    This post contains affiliate links.

    collage of homemade salsa

    Canning salsa is easier than it sounds. Just chop and simmer. Not like making spaghetti sauce and having to peel tomatoes or canning peaches and having a sticky mess all over the kitchen. We won't talk about the spaghetti sauce I canned a few summers ago except to say that it was awful. There's nothing worse than spending an afternoon peeling tomatoes and sweating up a storm in the kitchen only to have the fruits of your labor not turn out at all!

    I love making fresh salsa (pico de gallo) and blender salsa because I like to avoid the canning process whenever possible, and they always turn out great, but this salsa was fairly quick to make and turned out absolutely delicious! It's a keeper, for sure, and if I could just get a handle on not bawling my eyes out while cutting onions it would be even better.

    Anyone have tips for an onion cry baby like me? It's awful!!

    I only purchased one tomato plant for our garden this year because I am the only ones who likes tomatoes in our family. Then I received two plants from a gal at church who had way too many starts. I figured I'd get a few tomatoes from each plant since that has been my experience in the past. Well, these 3 plants were good to me this year and grew like CRAZY. Between the 3 tomato plants, and the  pumpkin plant that spread across the back of the house creating a huge pumpkin patch, our "little" garden has taken over. I couldn't keep up with just adding them to sandwiches and salads and wanted to preserve them somehow. Luckily Derrick likes salsa too, so now we have a nice supply to share.

    chopped veggies in bowl

    You can use any combination of tomatoes, veggies, and spices. The canning process is the same. Use this recipe as a base to come up with a family recipe that you'll want to make over and over! Give this one a chance to simmer down, then add more sugar or salt if you'd like. You can also add a bit of cumin, pepper, or any other spices. I like mine with just a bit of salt and sugar to allow most of the flavor to come from the veggies and tomatoes.

    How to Can Salsa

    I filled a large stockpot with all of my veggies. Tomatoes (red and yellow), bell peppers, jalapenos, onions, garlic, and apple cider vinegar. I let it simmer until it started to break down into a desired thickness.

    Water Bath Canning Salsa

    New to canning? Here is a great resource to get you started in the processs of water bath canning.

    After the salsa had a chance to simmer and be tasted I ladled it into hot canning jars (that had just been washed) and added the lids and rings. I ran them through a quick 35 minute process in my water bath canner. If you haven't canned before, a water bath canner is the way to go. You can can most fruits and jams/jellies this way. It is just a huge stock pot; large enough for quart sized jars to fit inside.

    Once the timer went off, I pulled the jars out and carefully moved them to the counter on top of a dish towel to cool. You'll know they are sealed when the lids make a popping sound and there isn't any give when pushing the lid down in the center.

    jars of canned salsa

    pints of canned salsa
    Print Pin
    5 from 1 vote

    How To Can Salsa

    Fresh salsa is amazing, but you simply can’t store it. This canned salsa is absolutely delicious and has a fantastic shelf life. It definitely rivals any salsa you’d get in a restaurant! I’ll show you how to can salsa like a pro with a few simple steps.
    Course Appetizer
    Cuisine Mexican
    Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes minutes
    water bath canning 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
    Servings 6 pints
    Calories 36kcal
    Author Brandy Nelson

    Equipment

    • 5-6 pint sized jars
    • water bath canner
    • jar tongs

    Ingredients

    • 5 pounds of tomatoes diced
    • 2 cup bell peppers diced
    • 2-3 jalapeño peppers seeded, diced
    • 2 cup onion diced
    • 3 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
    • 2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 Tbsp. sugar

    Instructions

    • Prepare canning lids by sterilizing them in boiling water.
    • Clean jars.
    • Place all ingredients in a large stock pot.
      chopped veggies for salsa
    • Simmer 20 minutes. (Remember, it will continue to cook in the water bath canner)
    • Give your salsa a quick taste and extra sugar or salt, if necessary.
    • Ladle salsa into canning jars, leaving about ½" space at the top.
    • Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp towel to clean, if necessary. Screw on lids, being careful to not screw them on too tight.
    • Process salsa in a water bath canner for 35 minutes.
    • Remove jars and place on a towel on the counter.
    • Listen for the jar lids to "pop". This means that they have sealed. Any jars that don't seal can be reprocessed for another 15 minutes or placed in the refrigerator to be eaten.
      pints of canned salsa

    Notes

    Salsa that has been processed with a good seal has a shelf life of 18 months.
    You can use a food processor to making chopping and dicing easier.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 100g | Calories: 36kcal

    Salsa that has been processed with a good seal has a shelf life of 18 months.

    You can use a food processor to making chopping and dicing easier.

    Have you canned any of your summer bounty this year?

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    Strawberry Freezer Jam with Instant Pectin

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    Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

    Beach Themed Birthday Party

    September 23, 2013 By Brandy 5 Comments

    beach cake

    Last year it was 90 degrees on Kaylee's birthday. I remember thinking how fun it would be to do an outdoor water party for her sometime. We bought the kids a big blow up water slide this summer and it has been a hit. I figured I would get it out, invite 15 of her closest friends and grill hot dogs. EASY party. Minimal set up. With the weather being in the high 90s lately, I thought that surely we would be fine with planning the easiest birthday party ever! Fast forward to the night before the party. The forecast went from sunny and in the 70s earlier in the week to 63 and cloudy, and finally settled at 60 and thunderstorms. I was in a panic. Almost everyone had RSVP'd that they were coming. 15 kids inside our house on a rainy day. We were scrambling with coming up with activities! We came up with "Hot Octopus" (passing around the octopus puppet to the music instead of hot potato), animal charades, freeze dancing and making oceans in a bottle (photo at the bottom of the post). We served lunch. We opened presents. We ate cake. Everyone went home. It was a whirlwind!

    If you are interested in the details of the treats, keep reading!

    cupcake boxes

    This cake was so much fun to make. I stacked two square cakes and iced it using a fun scallop technique. Then I used a tiny round cake that had been cut on an angle for the island. The island is covered with white frosting and graham cracker crumbs. The little creatures are made from chocolate molds and colored melting chocolate. I love it when I don't have to use fondant to get the look I am going for. I much prefer using butter cream.

    ocean themed cupcakes

    Instead of passing out treat bags, we sent each child home with a cupcake.

    turtle cupcake in box

    I picked up these darling cupcake boxes, along with the cupcake liners and masking tape, from Wholeport. Their masking stickers are one of my favorite products. I use them for so many things.

    sensory bottles

    My husband came up with the "Ocean in a Bottle" activity and helped the kids make them. He ran out of mineral oil and had to use vegetable oil for some (hence the yellow). They filled them with food coloring, glitter, jewels, ocean foamies, water and oil. They are fun to shake and fun to look at. He sealed each cap with hot glue and electrical tape.

    The party was a success. The kids had fun and even though it rained we were still able to have a beach party. After it was over...I took a nap.

    This post contains sponsored product (cupcake boxes).

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    Welcome!

    I'm Brandy! I love to create and share my ideas through easy-to-follow recipes and tutorials.

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