pinTerEST Kitchen. . .Kid approved

You may or may not have picky eaters. My pickiest eater is my biggest kid of all, my husband. But, I have learned several very important things over the years: NEVER use onions, leave out the "details" of the recipe, and don't take it personally when he doesn't approve. I struggle as a mom and wife of a very picky eater to make sure that I don't blame my husband for the way he eats and that I continue to offer new recipes to my children and encourage good eating habits. I adore Pinterest for this reason. Thousands of recipes at my finger tips, I never get bored or run out of new ideas.

Tuna casserole has NEVER been made in my house before! NO, I know, right? But, I just searched on Pinterest and found this recipe from Allrecipes.com that was a major winner.

Tuna Noodle Casserole adapted from allrecipes.com
1 bag of egg noodles (16 oz)
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (10.75 oz)
1 cup of frozen peas
2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 cup of crushed Cooler Ranch Doritos
2 cans (5oz) tuna in water, drained

Bring water to a boil and boil noodles for 8-10 minutes. Drain, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix together the cream of mushroom soup, peas, 1 cup of cheese and both cans of tuna. Stir in noodles.
Spray a 9x13 pan, pour tuna/noodle mixture in and even out. Top with remaining cup of cheese and then crushed Doritos.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

After eating a dinner soooo yummy, you just HAVE to have desert!
Pinterest did not disappoint. I was out of regular granulated sugar but had a chocolate cake mix in my cupboard as well as all the makings for s'mores, left over from last week's camping trip. And who other than Picky Palate (my all-time favorite dessert blogger) had just the perfect recipe via Steamy Kitchen! I made the cookies twice as big and boy were they a hit!

Chocolate S'mores Cookies adapted from Picky Palate
1 box Chocolate cake mix
1 stick butter melted (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 graham crackers crushed
6 jumbo marshmallows cut into 3 sections cross-wise
2 Hershey chocolate bars broke into individual squares

Mix together the melted butter, cake mix, eggs and brown sugar. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make 1 1/2 inch balls out of dough and place on greased cookie sheets. Press out flat into 3-4 inch in diameter circles. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top, place 1 piece of chocolate bar next and top with marshmallow. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
Enjoy!

yields 18 cookies

Dinner plans are made.
 

Preschool Play: Hot Rocks and Crayons

 

When you have that moment that you realize that your children are growing up right before your eyes and all you can see is the fact that you have five hundred tasks to finish for the day and not enough hours in the day to complete them. - the definition of raising children while running a home business.

Originally I saw the opportunity to start a new photography business as a way to spend fewer hours away from my home and more time with my sweet little boys. Fast forward 6 months and I see the harsh reality that keeping up with a full-time photography job means working on editing hours at a time and being available EVERY single Saturday, indefinitely. Looking for a balance between doing what I love and being with who I love has become my new challenge.

I used to look to this blog for an opportunity to share my photography and journey through motherhood hand in hand. Now I am realizing that being so busy with the photography I have abandoned what I love and what got me to the spot I am at right this moment.

The first step in re-setting my life was to scale back on Facebook. Guess what, I don't even miss it! The second step is creating special day's that are ONLY for my family. And finally, just taking time to do fun things with my little guys before they are grown up and I'm full of regret.

This morning I jumped on my Kids cooking and crafts board on Pinterest and found this fun project to try from The Artful Parent (a GREAT blog). Anything that involves rocks always gets the attention of my boys. A couple years ago I did a post on painting rocks that I loved. This is a whole new and a little more grown-up project.

Pick out rocks. Smooth works best.

 

Wash and dry the rocks then place on a cookie sheet lined with foil.
Bake the rocks at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Remove the rocks and let them cool until they are hot to touch but not too hot to handle.

Use crayons to draw on them.

 

Be careful not to let the hot wax or rocks touch skin. The children must be supervised and have to be old enough to follow directions for safety. Explain that they could get burnt if they touch the rocks or wax. Let them dry and they look beautiful!
Only time will tell if they hold up outside. I have them indoors for now because we are enjoying them.

To see my inspiration for this sweet little dandelion bouquet read here. By the way, my boys had the idea to pick the flowers but the way I chose to showcase them was from the blog post I read earlier this week.

Happy Spring
 

Rock Painting

**old post that I transferred to this blog originally written on July 11, 2011**

Today was one of those days. It was too rainy last night and into the morning to go to the beach as planned. The kids had WAY too much energy and were getting on my last nerve. That's when I knew it was time to come up with a new busy activity to carry us through the remainder of the morning.

I bought a patio table and chair for only $75 on craigslist early this spring and they stare at me as if to say "we need to be used!" I've also been feeling extremely motivated to get creative lately with my new found website www.pinterest.com . Putting the two together I had an "ah-ha" moment. Finger painting outside! So I grabbed the sunscreen and lathered the little guys up.

Then I round up:

• paints for the big kids and colors for the younger ones.
• water in plastic cups
• paintbrushes
• paper towel
• paper

Baby busy with crayons.

Once outside we realized that the wind kept catching the paper making it hard to get our masterpieces done. "Ah-ha" moment number two, rocks from our flower bed to hold the paper down. While busily painting Alex asked me if he could paint the rocks. I hesitated at first and then went with it, after all, they are just rocks and it is water based paint.

After finishing up he asked to put his rocks back in the flower bed, surprising to me considering he usually wants to bring the whole outdoors in.

And "Ah-ha" moment number three, painted rocks in the flower bed are absolutely adorable! Splashes of color in my flower bed, should have thought of this months ago! And best of all, painting outdoors made the entire project stress free.

• Water spilled all over the table and down on the ground, no big deal.
• Paint on every possible surface, no problem, the hose rinsed everything clean.
• Sunscreen on little arms with a layer of paint over it, makes it super-duper easy to wipe off with a single wet-wipe. 

A bean with arms as Alex told me.

Ta-dah! A brand new craft project idea without even trying too hard. Have fun!

Happy Easter {Photography Fun}

Where to start. First of all equipment is everything. I cherish the items I have listed at the end of this post. Next you need some cute little models and finally you need the props. Head over to Old Navy and pick up a darling neon polo. Then head over to Target and get some bunny ears and a bow tie. And you are ALL set. :) I just had to make a little "Easter" set up and take some fun pictures! I'm LOVING my new Cannon EF 85mm 1.8 lens. The blurred background is my dream. The fabric is two curtain panels I found at Target on clearance. The bunting is made from scrapbook paper sewn onto twine. And the faux wood floor is AWESOME! I found it on Amazon. The white background is just the collapsible reflector held behind him. And the basket is from Target. I have links to all my MUST haves from Amazon. Feel free to ask me questions about any of the products!

 

Have a happy Easter!  

 

Here is the links to my FAVORITE photography MUST HAVES:

 

Oh where have I been?

Starting my own photography business! I have been so blessed with the opportunity to start my very own Photography Business called Ruby Ellen. Although I have had plenty of time to take lot's of great photos, I haven't been spending time on my blog. Here is the nitty gritty of my new business and the blog associated with it. A couple of my favorites. . .



Do you remember my "Photography from the Heart" well, that has now been named Ruby Ellen after my dear late Grandmother Ruby Ellen. She has meant so much to me in my life that I am excited to have a business named after her! Please stop by and visit my website and new blog and subscribe to those posts to stay up to date with my life. I also have a Facebook page to check out. Much love and thanks for stopping by!

pinTerEST Kitchen: Buffalo Cauliflower

When I found this pin on Pinterest for Buffalo Cauliflower by BevCooks it was in my mind for days. I just had to give it a try because I LOVE buffalo wings. I love them and they aren't horrible for you but they aren't the type of thing you should eat tons of, right? Well, it will be much less guilt laden now that I have found this recipe. Sooooo delicious.

 Buffalo Chicken

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk together flour, milk, ranch dressing, salt, garlic powder.

Toss with cauliflower florets. Place in a greased pan and bake at 450 for 15 minutes.

Pull out of oven and pour the buffalo sauce and butter mixture over the baked cauliflower.

Toss to coat then place back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Mix together the Greek yogurt and feta cheese for the dip.

Serve with fresh veggies!

 

Hungry yet???

 



 





Now that's a Gift!

As Christmas time approaches the rush for the perfect gift or the perfect list forces you to stop and think: What would I like to get as a gift? I've had an extremely blessed month on top of an already blessed life. A brand new vehicle, a new photography business, financial peace and a loving home.Coming back home from our trip to the in-laws feeling almost undeserving of how many fun new things I have and all the fun I had.

Then the Lord reminded me:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV
 

Wow, you mean that God wants whats good for me? Yes, I am his child:

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made know. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3
 

Even better, Jesus doesn't have a "naughty list" he offers this gift to anyone who believes in him:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Feeling blessed by being a child of God is the best gift I can think of. Eternal life? Now that's bigger than winning the $580 million Powerball. And then all those silly kitchen gadgets you ask for on your lists seem pretty small and unassuming. Some people may turn their noses up at me because they will say "Yes, you are blessed but what about me?". And the answer to that is that I know where you are coming from. A year ago I would have told you that I needed so much more than what I had. Now I realize that the Lord has offered me a gift I will never be able to receive at any other level so the things around me are blessings, nothing more, nothing less.

 

When you have this "blessed" mentality you will begin to read the scriptures in a different light too. Today's verse of the day from www.eBible.com was Psalms 103:1-3 that inspired me to create a Christmas Tree full of blessings.

 

Have a blessed holiday season and remember that no matter what gift you give or get the Lord has already given the ultimate gift: eternal life.