Happy New Year With Your Children!

Here are some fun ideas to do with your children tonight!

Hope you have Happy New Year tonight!

Play New Year's Bingo

See who can get bingo before the final countdown begins.

Make a Time Capsule

Capture your memories and bottle them up tonight in a time capsule. At the end of every year insert a family photo in a jar, and fill it with your favorite things of the year.

Blowing Bubbles

Save yourself from cleaning up a confetti mess and make these mini bubbles bottles to have all the kids blow when the clock stricks midnight!

Mirror Ball

Bring a little Times Square into your home by crafting a mirror ball and building your own ball drop. Just cover a large Styrofoam ball with small craft mirrors and jewels, and hang from your ceiling. 

Paper Party Hats

Make your own party hats this year by wrap some gold paper into a cone shape, and add some bling. Leave a small hole in the top of your cone, and let black and white paper strips pop out of the spout. Finally, attach a ribbon to fit around your kid's chin, and add a "Happy New Year" sign on the front.

Countdown Treats

Crack open a special message or treat every hour of your countdown. 

Make Drinks.

(1) APPLE PIE PUNCH
Mix together 4 ounces apple juice, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon Grenadine syrup. Top with crushed ice and garnish with an apple slice.

(2) CRANBERRY SPARKLER 
In a shaker, mix together 4 ounces cranberry juice, 1 ounce orange juice, and one teaspoon honey. Pour over ice and top with chilled club soda.

Some ideas prom parents.com

Banana Muffins

Have any old bananas around?

I love having bananas around that are too soft and over-ripe to eat plain.

They work great for smashing and making lots of treats and goodies.

These banana muffins taste great and don't take much time in making any time for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

ingredients:
1 3/4 cups Flour
1/3 cup of Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1 beaten Egg
1/2 cup Milk
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup mashed Bananas
1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (optional)
1 recipe Streusel Topping (optional)

directions:
1. These makes 12 to 14 2 1/2- inch muffins. Grease your muffin tin or line it 
    with paper baking cups and set aside.
2. In a bowl combine your flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and 
    cinnamon. Stir in your mashed bananas and nuts into your flour mixture. 
    Make a well in the center and set this aside.
3. In another bowl combine your egg, milk, and oil. Add this egg mixture all at 
    once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened.
4. Spoon your batter into the muffin cups. Fill each 2/3 full. If you want, 
    sprinkle your streusel topping over the muffin batter cups now. 
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes depending how hot your oven 
    bakes. Remove them when they are lightly golden brown or when a 
    toothpick is placed inside and it comes out clean. 
6. Cool in the muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

Streusel-Nut Topping
In a small bowl combine 1/4 packed brown sugar and 3 Tbsp. of Flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 Tbsp. of Butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts. 

*Note: These are great! Just remember not to over mix your batter. If you over mix muffin batter your muffins may be tough, bake unevenly, have tunnels inside or come out with peaked tops. 

Under-mixing your batter can also affect your muffins. You have to develop some gluten when mixing, otherwise there's nothing to trap the gas bubbles and the muffins will just deflate before they get nay rise and be flat. You need to get all the dry ingredients wet. 

I have learned that a rubber spatula works best for me. You just make sure everything is folded in and mixed together and the rubber spatula helps in not over mixing; making your final muffins come out nice and round. 

Recipe Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Here are some cookies to make today for a treat!

ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) of Margarine or Butter, softened
1 cup of Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 cups of All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick of just old fashioned)

directions:
1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat together you margarine and sugars (brown and white) until they are 
    creamy.
3. Add your eggs and vanilla and beat well.
4. Combine your flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in one bowl, mix well 
    and then combine it with the bowl you already have mixed. Mix this well.
5. Stir in your oats and raisins.
6. Drop by tablespoons onto and ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes or until they are golden brown.
8. Cool on your cookie sheet for a minute and then remove and place on your 
    wire rack.

This makes about 4 dozen cookies.

 Recipe Adapted From Quaker Oatmeal

Chicken Cordon Bleu and Sauce

Homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner tonight - 

tastes great and isn't as hard to make as I always thought. 

This tastes great with a side of rice and salad or even potatoes!

ingredients:
6 Boneless Chicken Breasts
6 Thin Slices of Ham
6 Slices of Swiss Cheese (size of the Ham)
1/4 cup Melted Butter
1/2 cup Cornflakes
Salt and Pepper

directions:
Place your chicken pieces between sheets of plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet or rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thick. Place a piece of cheese on each slice of ham. Roll the ham and cheese and place them in the center of the chicken breast. Tuck in the ends and wrap the chicken around the ham. Fasten the edges with toothpicks. Dip the chicken in the melted butter and then roll them in the Cornflake crumbs.

Place your chicken in a greased baking dish. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until the chicken is browned. Serve with the Cordon Bleu Sauce.

*Note: You can do as many chicken breasts as you need or as little as you need, just remember to have all the ingredients for as much as you are making. If you don't have Cornflakes; bread crumbs work too. Also, a rolling pin works fine to smash your meat, but a meat mallet is the way to go to get your meat that thin. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Sauce

ingredients:
3 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp.. Flour
1 cup Evaporated Milk (Regular Milk works great too)
1 cup Hot Water
2 tsp. Chicken Bouillon (2 cubes)
Salt and Pepper

directions:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat then stir in the flour with a wire whisk. Gradually pour in the milk stirring constantly until it is smooth. Add bouillon to the water and stir until it is dissolved. Stir into milk mixture and bring to a boil. Add the salt and pepper to taste. 

Adapted from: What's For Dinner

Ham and Potato Soup

Do you have any ham left over from Christmas Day?

Here is a great recipe for soup that will make your winter day warmer!

This soup is so creamy and delicious!

ingredients:
6 Potatoes
6 Tbsp. Butter
1/2 cup of Chopped Onions
1/2 cup of Flour
4 cups of Milk
1 1/2 cups Cubed Ham
1 cup Shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Paprika
1/8 tsp. Pepper

directions:
Wash, peel and cube your potatoes. Boil your potatoes on high in a large pot filled with water. Reduce the heat to low and cook the potatoes until they are tender (This takes about 20 minutes). Melt your butter in a saucepan and then add your onions. Cook until tender. Stir in the flour and gradually add in your milk, stirring consistently until thickened. 

Drain your potatoes so there is only about 1 cup of water left in them. Pour in your onion and milk mixture to your potatoes. Add the ham, spices and cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. If it hasn't thickened up yet; cover with a lid for a few minutes and it will then thicken. Top with cheese if you would like and enjoy your soup!

Makes 5-6 bowls.

*Note: If you would like to save you can make 4 cups of milk with powdered milk and that works too.

Recipe Adapted from: Whats For Dinner

Zucchini Bread

Here is some great bread to make on these cold days and 

eat with some soup!

This Zucchini Bread is amazing.

I have people eat it that have never liked zucchini - ever!

It tastes so good. You will love it!

How to Make:

Mix together in one bowl:

3 Eggs

2 cups of Sugar

1 cup of Vegetable Oil

2 cups of Shredded Zucchini

1 tsp. Vanilla

Sift together in another bowl:

3 cups of Flour

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

2 tsp. Cinnamon

¼ tsp. Nutmeg

½ tsp. Baking Powder

Mix these two separate bowls together and then pour into bread pans that are sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Makes 2 large loaves and 4-5 little loaves. 

DIY: Dishtowel Bibs

These are amazing!

All you have to do is wipe everything up after you feed your child and you are done! These cover your baby so no food gets on their clothes at all.

You just toss it in the washer afterward and clean it.

Especially great for baby showers!

Materials Needed (For 3 Bibs):

3 Dishtowels

1/4 yard of stretch ribbing

pins

thread to match the ribbing

Instructions:
1. Begin by cutting a hole 4 inch in diameter about 1/4 of the way down your dishtowel.

2. Cut a piece of ribbing 15" X 3" so it stretches parallel with the long side. (This may sound small but it stretches on the bias so it fits!)

3. Fold the ribbing down 3/8" on each of the long sides. Then fold the ribbing short sides together  
   and sew using a 3/8" seam. 

4. Fold the ribbing "ring" in half and iron.

5. Pin the ribbing around the hole sandwiching the dishtowel between the ribbing. Make sure to 
    stretch the ribbing evenly around the hole. 

6. Once pinned, sew along the edge of the ribbing. Make sure that you catch the dishtowel and the other side of the ribbing.

*Note: The measurements for the hole can be adjusted smaller or larger for different children, just make sure the ribbing is shorter or longer for the circumference of the hole. This size has worked great for a 3-9 month old.

Fast and Easy Biscuits and Gravy

Hope you have a Very Merry Christmas with Friends and Family!

Today is our find of the week! Because tomorrow we are taking the day off.
So, here is a recipe for biscuits and gravy that I love to make.
This could be a great breakfast for Christmas morning!

Biscuits and gravy are always so good and these taste great!

This is a recipe that is 25 minutes or less so you can spend more time spending Christmas with your loved ones tomorrow.

To make these in the most timely matter follow these steps.

1. Turn on the oven. 2. Start browning the sausage. 

3. Make your biscuit dough and place them on the cookies sheets. 

4. Place the biscuits in the oven. 5. Make the Gravy mix and then finish with adding the sausage. 6. Meanwhile, remove your biscuits and you are ready to eat!

Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup of Original Bisquick Mix
2/3 cup Milk

Directions:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Stir the ingredients until a soft dough forms. Do not knead the dough. Just drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and place on a wire rack to cool.

Gravy

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Ground Sausage
This pack of gravy mix. (can be found at most groceries stores) I know it is at Smiths and Macy's. There is also peppered kind that is really good and others too.

Directions: 
In a skillet, brown your sausage and drain the grease. In a small saucepan make your gravy. The directions are on the package. It is really easy and you just add water. 

When your gravy is finished, add your sausage to it. Warm for a few minutes on the stove and enjoy!
Makes 4 Servings

Christmas Potpourri

This makes your home smell wonderful for Christmas!

ingredients:

Orange Slices
Cloves
Cranberries
Cinnamon Sticks

directions:
You can use as many of these as you would like. I like to use 2 oranges (sliced). If you don't have the actual cloves or cinnamon sticks you can definitely use what you have in your spice cabinet. Cranberries are optional depending if you have them or not. Add water and simmer on low on your stove top. Make sure you don't simmer dry. If you have to keep adding water. 

Great Car Games

How many of you look forward to family vacations? Me!

How many of you look forward to the car ride ahead of you? 

With your children.....Not many. 

Right now I only have one child so vacations are pretty easy. 

But I think about those 6 hour car rides to visit family that are ahead of me, and it sounds difficult with many children. 

So, for those of you that have trouble in the car here are some 

great ideas to help you have fun on the way! And hopefully your kids will end up at your destination happy! 

p.s. I know DVD's are a great alternative, but these games are great to grow your family relationships and make them stronger!

I Spy: Start with: "I spy with my little eye and the color is...." Then others take turns trying to guess the object.

The Alphabet Game: Everyone takes turns looking for letters on road signs and billboards, starting with the letter A and making their way through the alphabet. You can do this as a competition or as a group activity.

The Picnic Game: The first person says, "I'm going on a picnic and bringing an apple" (or anything starting with A). The next person continues with B but must also remember what A was and so on until someone brings a zebra (or something starting with a Z). Note: You almost never get to Z!

The License-Plate Game: Players try to spot license plates from as many states as they can. Whoever spots the most states wins.

20 Questions: One person thinks of a person or a thing, and the others take turns asking questions to guess who or what it is. Questions must be answered only by "yes" or "no." For little kids, use family members and friends or familiar objects.

Name That Tune: Hum nursery rhymes for the smaller kids or pop songs for older ones. Or try turning the radio or CD player on for a few seconds and see who can guess the song or the singer the fastest. I grew up doing this one with my siblings and I still do it with my husband.

The Question Game: Ask open-ended questions such as "If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?" "If you could pick only one food to eat forever, what would it be?"

The Animal Game: One person thinks of an animal, and others take turns asking questions to guess what animal it could be.

The Car Game: Each of you pick a color of car, decide on how much time you will do it for, example: "We will play until 2:25" this would be 15 minutes and see how many cars each person can find of their color. Whoever has the most at 2:25 wins. You can start over and switch colors. On this game you might have to choose the colors that people can't choose (usually white)

Adapted from www.parents.com

Beef Vegetable Soup

Who doesn't love a meal where they can just throw everything into their crock-pot in the morning and have a great dinner at night!

Here is a delicious soup recipe to make in your slow-cooker.

Great for a cold winter day like the ones that we have been having!

Slow Cooker Recipe (Soup)

ingredients:
7 large carrots
2 stalks of Celery, finely diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Butter
1 Clove of Garlic, peeled and minced
4 cups of beef broth
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. Dried Parsley
1/4 tsp. Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp. Dried Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 (3lb.) chuck roast
1 (10 oz.) pkge. frozen green beans, thawed
1 (10 oz.) pkge. frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1 (10 oz.) pkge. frozen baby peas

directions:
1. Peel the carrots. Dice 6 of them and grate 1. Add the grated carrot, celery, onion, oil, and butter to the slow cooker. Stir to coat the vegetable in the oil and butter. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
2. Stir in the garlic and add the broth, diced carrots, potatoes  dried parsley, oregano, rosemary, bay leaf salt and pepper. Trim the roast of any fat and cut into bite-size pieces. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until the beef is tender and the potatoes cook through. 

3. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the green beans, corn, and peas, cover and cook on low for 1 hour or until the vegetables are heated through. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt, pepper, and herbs if needed. 

*Note: If you don't want as many vegetables you can decide not do the frozen vegetables. Also, if you want to make a tomato-based dish by substituting 2 (15 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes for the beef broth. 

Recipe Adapted from "The Everything Slow Cooker Cookbook"

Breakfast Burrito's

It is Friday and it is burrito day here on Great Tastes Tuesdays!

I have posted a breakfast burrito and a beef/turkey burrito!

Enjoy!

ingredients:
2 Flour Tortilla's
Cheese
Butter
4 Eggs
4 Tbsp. of Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Ground Sausage (size of your fist)
Salsa

directions:
Place a slice of butter on your skillet. Turn your stove to medium low. Place one of your tortilla's on the skillet with cheese on top. Cook until your cheese is melted and the tortilla is light brown and crispy on the outside. Do this to all of your tortilla's and place them on a plate.

Crack all of your eggs and place them in a small bowl. Add your milk and whisk for twenty seconds. Scramble these in your skillet on low. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide these and place in your tortilla's.

Brown your sausage, add salt and pepper to taste and add to your burrito's. Serve with salsa and you are done! Enjoy your breakfast!

*Note for your knowledge: You can do as many of these as you would like. Just remember these few things when you double and triple egg recipes. When you scramble eggs add 1 Tbsp. of milk for every egg. This makes them fluffier and delicious, but if you add any more your eggs are watery. The proteins in the egg can't hold all your milk and you get milky scrambled eggs. (1 Tbsp. of Milk per egg) 

Also, don't cook your eggs too high. On my stove it has numbers 1-9 and I always do my eggs on 3. Eggs cook fast and if you cook them too high they get brown quick and smell like sulfur. 

picture by Great Tastes Tuesdays

Beef and Turkey Burrito's!

ingredients:
1 lb. Canned Pinto Beans (drained and smashed in blender)
1 lb. Hamburger
1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 pkg. Taco Seasoning
1 Large Onion, chopped
1/2 large bottle of your favorite salsa
1 lb. Monterrey Jack Cheese
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese
2 cans diced chilies
Flour Tortillas (about 20)

directions:
Brown your meats with the onion and taco seasonings. Drain. Add your chilies and salsa. Stir in the beans and then your cheese. Mix these all well. Spoon onto tortillas and then fold them up. 

Bake immediately in a glass casserole dish that is sprayed. Wrap and put these in the freezer immediately or bake fresh at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and serve (microwave for 45 seconds). 

These will stay good for months when you freeze them! You can pull them out any time and have a burrito on the spot. When frozen bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or microwave for 2-3 minutes on high. This doesn't take to long to prepare and stick in the oven for 20 minutes!

*Note: These are great to have for dinner! I didn't  have any ground turkey so I just used all hamburger and they still tasted really good!. I'm sure with both meats it would bring two different tastes out. You can have this recipe or do less if you don't want to freeze any. Just mix everything together and bake!

picture by Great Tastes Tuesdays

Christmas Tree Pizza

I saw this recipe on KSL the other day and thought it was the cutest idea!

What a fun dinner night to do before Christmas.

We made it for Christmas Eve and it was so much fun and tasted so good!
Try this for your Christmas holiday!

Rhodes: Christmas Tree Pizza!

Ingredients:

• 16 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature
• 1/2 c. Alfredo sauce
• 1 1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
• pepperoni (2 sizes)
• red, green and yellow peppers
• red pepper flakes
• You can also use sausage too or whatever other creative decorations you can think of for your tree.

Directions:

Place 16 rolls on a sprayed baking sheet in a pyramid shape starting with one at the top, two under it, then 3, then 4 and the last row 5 rolls. Leave some space between the rolls. Flatten and press rolls together to form a tree shape. Press middle of the rolls in, leaving the outside edge slightly rounded so the sauce and toppings do not run off. The trunk of the tree is one roll placed under the last row of 5. Tuck it under and flatten. 

Poke your rolls several times with a fork to prevent bubbles from forming and pre-bake at 350°F 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Spread Alfredo sauce over the crust, then sprinkle with cheese. Decorate as desired with pepperoni, peppers cut into different shapes and red pepper flakes. Bake an additional 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. 

Recipe from: http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=3

Santa's Whiskers

Here are some fun cookies that are called Santa's Whiskers!

With the coconut on the outer edge these are fun to make for Christmas!

Also, here is a great link to take you to an article about parenting. 

Follow her tips on her blog also. 

Parenting Kids Who Get The Gimmies 

http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=121&sid=23434296

www.familyvolley.blogspot.com

Cookies!

ingredients:
3/4 cup Butter, softened
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Tbsp. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 cups of Flour
3/4 cups finely chopped Candied Red or Green candies
1/3 cup finely Chopped Pecans
3/4 cup shredded Coconut

directions:
1. First you will beat the butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add your sugar and beat these until they are combined. Beat in your milk and vanilla then beat in as much flour as you can. Stir in the remaining flour. After, stir your candies and pecans in.

2.  Divide your dough in half and shape each into an 8-inch long roll; roll this in the coconut. (Roll them to be from 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches - they are not suppose to be very big cookies) Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper. Chill for 2 to 24 hours or just long enough that it is firm enough to slice.

3. cut rolls into 1/4-inch slices. Place these 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until they are golden brown. Transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool. 

Makes around 50 smaller sized cookies. 

Recipe Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Felt Numbers

Fun. Fast. Easy.

Make these for your toddlers and preschoolers to help 

them learn their numbers!

Use them at home, in a preschool, babysitting, at school with 

your students or to teach about in a child development class.

Leave them how they are or put magnets on the back 

to have them on the fridge

All you need:
Felt 
Scissors
Pen
Hot Glue
Magnets (optional)

To Make:
1. Trace your numbers onto the felt.
2. Cut your numbers out and place them on top of another piece of felt.
3. Cut around your first numbers about 1/4 - 1/2 inch.
4. Hot glue your two numbers together.
5. Optional: place magnets on the back

This is a super cheap activity and you can make as many as you want. Place them in a big box for them to explore their numbers or on the fridge. Mix and match colors and you can make it a way to help them learn their colors also!

Fun Felt Numbers!

Chicken and Poppy Seeds

It is Tuesday! This is the find of the week - tasty and great for chicken!
Here is our chicken dish that is fun, easy, and delicious!

I think chicken is one of those food items that you need to juice up a bit to really taste great!

This recipe is great for a weekday night dish that you will love!

Chicken Casserole with Poppy Seeds

ingredients: 
3 lb. of Chicken Breasts (cooked and cut up)
1 pt. Sour Cream
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 tsp. of Poppy Seeds

directions:
Chop up your chicken and mix with all of the upper ingredients. Place it in a sprayed 9x13 pan.

ingredients:
1 cube of Butter
1 pkg. Ritz Crackers (sleeve of them)
2 Tbsp. Poppy Seeds

directions:
Melt your butter, crush your crackers and mix these together. Cover your chicken mixture with these and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Serve over cooked rice.

*Note: You can use whatever crackers you would like. I didn't have Ritz crackers so I use Town House and it tasted just as great. Also you can double the recipe or cut it in half - however many people you need to feed!

(before the casserole has been baked) Photo by Great Tastes Tuesdays

DIY: Nativity Set to Make Before Christmas!

Here is a fun craft to make this week!

What a fun idea right before Christmas to do with your friends and family!

You don't have to get many materials.

Go to a craft store and find some wooden balls for the heads and some small clay pots for both body's and the manger.

Use scrap material and some kind of jute string that you have at home also. 

Use some hot glue and make faces with a Sharpie marker.

If you would like to paint the pots you can but that isn't necessary either. 

So Cute! And you could even go all out and make a whole nativity set!

Lasagna

Here is a great dinner idea for the night!

This lasagna tastes so good.

Before I tried this recipe for some reason I did not cottage cheese. 

I thought it didn't taste good so wouldn't eat it.

I would make lasagna without it and of course it just tasted 

like some kind of spaghetti. 

Putting cottage cheese in your lasagna is what makes your lasagna.

Try this! It is a great recipe!

ingredients
6 wide Lasagna Noodles
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 cans of Tomato Sauce
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
2 cups of Cottage Cheese
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Parmesan Cheese

directions
Fill a large pot half full of water. Bring to a boil on high heat. Add your noodles and bring it back to a boil. Lower the heat just enough to keep it boiling. Cook for 10 minutes. Drain your noodles and set them aside in cold water. 

Brown your ground beef and onion in a large sauce pan and drain off your excess fat. Mix the tomatoes sauce in with the ground beef. Add your spices and then bring it to a boil, stirring it frequently. Simmer on low for 2-3 hours.

Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish that is sprayed with cooking spray. Arrange a layer of noodles over the meat sauce. Spoon 1 cup of cottage cheese over your noodles, then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Repeat this ending with another layer of meat sauce. Put mozzarella cheese over the top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Adapted from What's For Dinner? 30 Weeks of Menus

Ribbon Salad for Christmas

Here is a great jello salad to make for any Christmas occasion!

It is fun and looks like a Christmas ribbon when you are through. 

Use other kinds of jellos (colors) for other times of the year.

Ribbon Salad

ingredients
1 6 oz. Box of Lime Jello
1 6 oz. Box of Cherry Jello
1 6 oz. Box of Lemon Jello
3 ox. of Cream Cheese
1/4 cup of Mayonnaise
1/2 bag of Small Marshmallows
1 cup of Cool Whip
1 Cup of Crushed Pineapples

Directions
Prepare the Cherry Jello as it tells you on the box. Spray your 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour your jello in and let it set up in the refrigerator.  

After it is set up drain your pineapples and use the juice from the pineapples. Add enough water to the pineapple juice to make 2 cups. Boil these 2 cups. When it has came to a boil add your box of lemon jello and marshmallows. Mix thoroughly so that it melts all of your marshmallows.

Place in a clean bowl and put it in the refrigerator until it has partially set up. In another bowl, mix together your cream cheese, mayonnaise  and pineapple. Fold this in with the lemon mixture and then add your cool whip. 

Spread this evenly over your cherry jello and then let it set up for a little bit. Make your lime jello as it directs you to on the box. Pour this on top and then let it set up. 

When you are all done you have jello salad that looks like a Christmas Ribbon!

*Note: you can do any kind of Jello you want. Using red and green just makes it great for Christmas. 

Picture by Great Tastes Tuesdays

Recipe adapted from the Kitchen of Nanette