Bergen's 6th Birthday Tea Party!

The birthday girl!









Shelley did a beautiful job of decorating.















Everyone had a wonderful time celebrating Bergen's birthday. And of course no tea party is complete without the proper hat!

Lasagna in a Bun Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

Lasagna in a Bun Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

Ben's BBQ Apron!

My youngest son, Ben is the BBQer in his family. When he does BBQs, he grabs the nearest apron and cooks away. His lovely and talented wife made him this apron for Christmas this year using an old pair of his jeans! I think it is FANTASTIC and wanted to share it with you! Ben was very proud of Mary's handiwork! and I know it will get used often, especially for the yummy Salmon that Ben is pretty famous for catching!

Hawaiian pizza pasta - TOH

photo by TOH

* 12 Servings
* Prep: 30 min. Bake: 30 min.

Ingredients

* 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 medium green pepper, chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 tablespoons canola oil
* 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* 3-1/2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
* 6 cups (24 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
* 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
* 1 cup cubed fully cooked ham

Directions

* In a large saucepan, saute the mushrooms, onion, pepper and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the tomato sauce, bay leaves, oregano, basil and sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently.
* Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Discard bay leaves from sauce. Add the pasta, 5 cups of mozzarella cheese, pineapple and ham.
* Transfer to a greased shallow 3-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 12 servings.

Pizza Tot Casserole

photo by TOH

* 6-8 Servings
* Prep: 10 min. Bake: 30 min.

Ingredients

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 medium green pepper, chopped
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
* 1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
* 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
* 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
* 1 package (32 ounces) frozen Tater Tots

Directions

* In a large skillet, cook the beef, pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the soup, mushrooms and Italian seasoning.
* Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Top with cheese and potatoes. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Italian Cabbage Casserole - TOH

picture by TOH


* 6 Servings
* Prep: 35 min. Bake: 15 min.

Ingredients

* 1 medium head cabbage, coarsely shredded
* 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
* 1 large green pepper, chopped
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
* 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
* 3 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

* Place cabbage in a steamer basket; place in a large saucepan over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
* In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the beef, green pepper and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
* Place half of the cabbage in an 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with half of beef mixture. Repeat layers (dish will be full). Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1-1/3 cups equals 223 calories, 7 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 42 mg cholesterol, 438 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 21 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 lean meat, 1 starch.

Beefy Noodle Bake TOH

Beefy Noodle Bake Recipe
Photo by: Taste of Home




Cream-style corn adds a touch of sweetness to the overall spicy flavor of this filling and flavorful ground beef casserole. "Use whatever amount of chili powder suits your family's tastes," suggests Edith Betz of Ethel, Louisiana.




* 6-8 Servings
* Prep: 20 min. Bake: 40 min.

Ingredients

* 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/4 cup chopped green onions
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 6 cups cooked wide egg noodles
* 1-1/2 cups frozen peas
* 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
* 1 can (14-3/4 ounces) cream-style corn
* 3 teaspoons chili powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

* In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, onions and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish.
* Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Colt McCoy

What a fine testimony from this young man. Can only hope and pray that my granddaugthers find someone this commited to the Lord and that my grandsons will be this committed to the Savior!

Day 117: Darth Vader

This is something my grandson will enjoy!



Day 117: Darth Vader

Breakfast at Chestnut Cottage

Isn't he just the sweetest? Sunday, the 27th we got up before Church and met Ben and Mary at the Chestnut Cottage for breakfast. It was nummy and the fellowship was great. I am just sooooo blessed with my family! I told Doug, 2 days later that my heart is still so full and warm from the Christmas we had this year!
Isaac always has a ready grin! What a little man and how handsome in his tie and vest!
Mary and Isaac coloring away. Note to self, Mary likes Coconut lattes. :)
Carson with his "serious" look! :)
Papa Doug with Matthew.
Ben and Casandra coloring away!
Casandra looked so gorgeous in her Christmas dress and the hair band that was a joint effort of Mary and Auntie Tracy. The crochet flowers on it that Tracy made were big and bold and just beautiful!

I do enjoy the Cottage when we go back to P.A. It is such a beautiful place to dine and the food is very good. I ordered the Country Lodge breakfast with pumpkin coffee cake. It was so nummy. The coffee cake, Doug and I took home and ate later, there was no room. I love spending time with my family. I wish we lived closer!!!!! It is all about the memories that we create!

The Snuggies!!!!!!!!!

I made snuggies for all the grandkids this year. I was hoping that they would like them. I was wrong - they LOVED them. What a HIT they were! This grammie was so happy to find something that went over so well. I tried hard to find the colors/themes that would work best for them and I think I got it right. This is Delanie above. She loves purple and lime green. Not an easy combination to find. But this fleece has those colors and she loved her jammies so I figured that she would love this! :) And as you can see even though the babies didn't get them, they were shared with them thru out the day and night! :)
Everywhere we looked you could see snuggies! Here they are getting ready to snuggie up and watch a video.



Snuggie Party! Actually one of the kids mentioned they should have a snuggie party. I know just the mom who will make sure that will happen. Auntie Shelley is all about making memories and traditions!

This one was seen all night everywhere with her snuggie! :)


It isn't always easy to find the right gift for a teenager! :) This one seemed happy!
Keizer is beginning to get into sports and this football snuggie was made with so much love and care for him!

Carson is a Huskie fan thru and thru! It was only natural that a Huskie snuggie would fit the bill for him. He hadn't realized that I had made the blankets so he was very impressed later when he heard me talking about making them especially for each one.


Maddie LOVES pink and black. Her face lit up like the 4th of July when she saw this in her Christmas bag! And Maddie has "attitude". This snuggie reflects attitude. A perfect match for my lovely young granddaughter! I was thrilled to please her!



My monkey! Isaac is 5 and everyone knows that 5 year olds love police and fireman and lots of colors. This was a hit with him also! And he is such a smiley lovable grandson!
Bergen is not always easy to please.... lol She had fun all night with her snuggie and loved putting her head thru the arm. Hey, it worked! Keeps the neck warm! These are big for the little ones and will be used for a long time. Perhaps when they wear out, Grammie will have to make new ones.

One of my many clowns in the family! She loved wrapping up in her warm snuggie! I heard that the 3 in this family slept with theirs! Casandra curled up on the floor with her snuggie in her brothers' room and slept all night!



These pictures of Vienna opening up her snuggie are last to first, but you can see the fun and examination she gave her gift. And as I said, she was seen EVERYWHERE and in every position with this snuggie all night long!


Sweetness for sweetness!!!
Ryker after he saw his cousin, Carson, open up his Huskie jammies at his birthday party last month, said to grammie, "I like the Huskies too!" (I had given him camouflage jammies for his birthday which he loves). I had originally planned to make his Christmas present the football snuggie since he loves quaterbacking for his community team, but I knew that I had extra Huskie fabric and decided then and there that he and Carson would get the same ones. He was soooo delighted!!!!!! :) :) :)

Andrea and Kayden had fun playing peek a boo! Andrea was very disappointed when she left to go to her dad's that she couldn't take the snuggie with her. (she tends to leave things behind) but at least she still had it when she got home and they all planned a snuggie and video night! I think her mommie wants one too! Hmm, she might get one, who knows!

Chloe is my blue and green girl. I was hopeing to find something a little more fun but this still turned out great and she loves it!My oldest teenager. She is a green lover. She saw my fabric and commented on a couple (not knowing what I was going to use it for) so this was a good match for her! And she does love it! I made hers first and did put the pocket on it. I didn't on the rest. For an adult I would keep the pocket. A great place for a book, reading glasses and pen. :)
Camryn's look says it all! She is going to have fun, fun, fun in hers!

Again, it was so much fun to make somthing for the kids that you could just see was being enjoyed and loved by all of them! From the youngest to the oldest! Which in this case of snuggies was 4 years old to almost 15 years old!!!! I used McCalls 5970 for all of these. I learned a lot about fleece. 1. Make sure you keep your machine cleaned out of lint because obviously fleece makes a lot!!! 2. Fleece dulls the needles. 3. Not all fleece is the same even though it is in the same section and is the same price. Some of the fleece is much plusher than others. This pattern was easy to sew. I used an overcast stitch for seams on the sleeves and for the hems I used the V overcast hem which I loved. The 3stitch zig zag stitch also works very well for the hems. I just like the finished look of the v hem. One of the granddaughters said, I wish it had a button in back.... and after some thought, I decided that some velcro would be nice. We may be able to do that and would be simple!

My heart was just filled with warmth and love this Christmas. It was so much fun doing something so very special for the kids and them just loving it, too. Making the snuggies is so worth the time and effort put in to match it to each one personally! I would do this again in a heartbeat! This wasn't just a hit; it was a HOMERUN!!!

Added note: I have talked with the kids since and the grandkids are still loving them. I was told that on the way home that night, one mom said, Buckle Up. The reply. I can't. It won't go around my snuggie. Well, take the snuggie off and put it back on when you are buckled. But I don't WANT to take it off!!!! hahaha... kids!