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Archive for October, 2009

You’ve Got Supper

posted by cindylouh on October 12th, 2009 | recipes |

Each week I get a set of yummy menus with a shopping list sent by e-mail.  The meals are really enjoyed by my family. The added bonus is that someone is doing all this work for me for free.   All I did was sign up at You've Got Supper.  Today, the girls from You've Got Supper are here to share 5 Family Faves. I tried the first two recipes and both were hits with my family and  super simple to make.  If you want to make it even easier you can go to the website and type in the recipes and print out a shopping list. I love having the shopping list made for me!

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YGS Supper Girls Cook Up…

Five Family Faves

1.  Easy Enchiladas

Saute a swirl of olive oil and ½ cup chopped yellow onion in skillet.  Add 1 lb cooked and chopped chicken, ½ tsp cumin, 3 T cream cheese, and 2 cups of salsa and cook until smooth.  Place mixture down the center of 6 flour tortillas.  Roll and place in greased baking pan.  Top with green taco sauce and shredded Mexican cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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2.  Pizza Roll Ups

Roll out Pillsbury pizza dough to a rectangle.  Top with favorite toppings (mozzarella, pepperoni, spinach).  Tightly roll like a long cylinder, keeping the filling inside.  Tuck in ends.  Coat with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Place cylinder, seam side down, on baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 12 – 14 minutes.  Let rest.  Slice on the diagonal and serve with pizza sauce on side.

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3.  Meatloaf Muffins

Mash 3 slices of torn bread, 2 eggs, ¾ cup milk.  Add 2 lb ground meat, 2 T Worcestershire, 1 T minced garlic and ¼ cup chopped yellow onion.  Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake for 25 – 30 min. at 400 degrees.  Mix together equal parts brown sugar, yellow mustard, and ketchup,  Top each muffin with tsp of sauce.

4.  Easy Meatballs

Sprinkle 1 lb ground meat with Italian seasoning and add 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs, 1 egg.  Mix and form into golf ball sized meatballs.  Place in sauce pan with 1 jar of sauce.  Let bubble and simmer for 1 – 1 ½ hours.  Serve over pasta (or on sub rolls with provolone the next night).

5.  Ritzy Cracker Chicken

Pound chicken and marinate in Italian dressing for at least a few hours.  Combine equal parts crushed Ritz crackers with Parmesan cheese.  Remove chicken from dressing and dredge in cracker mixture.  Bake chicken on lightly greased cookie sheet for 20 – 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Richmond moms, Michelle Jenkins and Susan Aprahamian, founded YouveGotSupper.com to provide an online recipe resource for busy moms and others stuck in a recipe rut. For more recipes and a dynamic, categorized grocery list, please go to www.youvegotsuppper.com.

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Visit our peeps!

posted by cindylouh on October 10th, 2009 | Uncategorized |

fallchick_sm-topEach month, we at Chic Chick draw a winner out of all new members for a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com.  We had over 30 new members in September!  Thank you.  Shannon with Crossin’ My Heart Creations is our September winner!il_430xN.90685010 Shannon makes the most adorable children’s halloween costumes…….for only $32!  il_430xN.92256745Beats spending $40 at Target for a cheaply made costume. il_430xN.92255865

If you’re looking for inexpensive ways to build traffic and exposure to your blog or etsy, our Chic Chick Widget does just that……at a price you can afford.

$5.95/Month lands your listing on 100’s of blogs.  Shannon our winner has received almost 200 hits since she joined in September.  WOW!  A Few Of My Favorite Things received over 300!  What are you waiting for?  Let us help you put your blog out there.  Sign up here. We love promoting women and bringing you the attention you deserve.  If you’re in the market for a larger ad, we also do those…….obviously.  Aprons by Julie has received over 2000 hits!  We’ve brought Mini Me Baby Gear 1200 hits so far.  Proof is in the pudding.  You get noticed when you’re one of our Peeps.

Hanging Lantern Ghosts

posted by cindylouh on October 8th, 2009 | Halloween |

Here is a fun and spooky craft! You can find another simple ghosty craft at AlphaMom today!

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With just a few simple items you can get your home decorated for Halloween. You will need white muslin (this ghost took 1 yard cut in half lengthwise, so 1 yard will make two ghosts), an electric cord with a light bulb socket on one end (You can purchase these where paper lanterns are sold.  Many lanterns use a chandelier bulb in the light socket -- look for one of those so you can use a very low wattage light bulb), some recycled goods to build an armature, black paint or black paper, and liquid starch.

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First build and armature for the ghost. This can be anything you want--glass jars, aluminum foil, etc. We used a 2 liter bottle with the top cut off and a piece of coat hanger sent through the middle to make the arms. Hot glue will hold the coat hanger in place if needed. If using a 2 liter bottle it is best to remove the label. We noticed some of the red from the label bled onto our ghost.

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Dip the white muslin fabric into liquid fabric starch.

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Drape the fabric over the armature.

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The fabric must be really wet. It is best to use a trash bag or piece of plastic to allow the ghost to dry on. The starched fabric sticks to newspaper and is difficult to remove.

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Allow ghost to dry. It might take a couple of days depending on the humidity. Once ghost is dry remove the plastic bottle.  Paint or glue on bits of black paper for the eyes. The facial features need to be opaque. Cut a slit in the top of the ghost just large enough for the electric plug to fit through. Pull the cord through until the ghost is hanging on the light socket and insert a very low wattage light bulb.

Plug in the ghost and your home now has a spooky festive feel! Remember to never leave your ghost unattended, make sure you are at home while your ghost is illuminated!

It is  important that the fabric does not touch the light bulb. You can tape or hot glue the fabric to the socket adjusting to keep the fabric away from the bulb, if needed. A simple wire cage could also be made and slipped over the bulb.

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If you can't find a lantern cord or don't have a place to hang your spooky ghost -- no worries! These ghosts make great table decorations -- simply set ghost over a battery operated tea light.

Don't forget to visit AlphaMom today where you can learn how to make a simple ghost garland!

Free Halloween Party Printables

posted by cindylouh on October 7th, 2009 | Halloween, party decorations, party favors, party ideas, printables |

Whitney at Whisker Graphics has been busy! She has made us the best ever party printables. Now we have everything we need to get our party started! Thank you Whitney!

First, she made these cute customizable Halloween Invitations. All you do is download the invitation, open with Adobe Acrobat and you will see instructions on how to edit the invitation. No handwriting involved and you have professional  custom invites for your party. They would also make great menu cards.

Free Halloween Printable Party Invite Download

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Next we have cupcake toppers.

Owl Cupcake Toppers Download

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Download, print on cardstock and cut out with a 2" circle hole punch. Glue two together back to back with a wooden pick in the middle.

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You can also print the owl circles on sticker paper and use them for envelope seals ...... so many great uses for these cool owls.

We aren't done!  You still need envelope mailing labels, treat bag labels, food labels and place cards.  Skip on over to Whisker Graphics to finish downloading your party printables!

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Enjoy!

Looking for more Halloween ideas? Try here.

Homemade Canned Apple Pie Filling

posted by cindylouh on October 5th, 2009 | edible gifts, recipes |

Our bounty from a long walk and a generous neighbor...

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We peeled and peeled. I love this Apple Peeler (borrowed from a generous friend).  I have the Apple Peeler Corer Slicer from Pampered Chef.  I love it too, but this one is better for making pie filling since you need much thicker slices and this one only peels the apples.

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Core and then slice the apples about 3/8 inch thick. Place apples in a large bowl of water. Crush about 5 - 500mg vitamin C tablets in the water to keep the apples from browning.

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Prepare 7, 1 quart jars. You can download a wonderful canning resource from Kansas State University . It will give you many ideas for preserving apples and complete instructions for safe canning.

Preserving Apples from Kansas State University Download

Apple Pie Filling

6 quarts sliced fresh apples (firm crisp apples are best)(about 30 apples)

5 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups Clear Jel

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups water

5 cups apple juice

3/4 cup bottled lemon juice

Combine sugar, Clear Jel, cinnamon, water and apple juice in a large pot. Stir and cook on medium high heat until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble.  Add lemon juice and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add drained apple slices to sauce.

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Fill jars with mixture, leaving 1 -inch head space. I packed the jars with the apples and then divided sauce among the jars.

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Wipe jar rims clean, tighten lids and process immediately. Place jars in pot of water with water 1 inch above top of jar lids and boil for 25 minutes (For 0-1,000 ft altitude. See download for other times). Remove from water and let jars cool 12 to 24 hours. Lids should be indented if properly sealed.  Now they are ready to be saved for later or wrapped for gifts.

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I felt the apples were a little soft for pie, but they made the most delicious Apple Crisp.

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Apple Crisp

Mix together:

3/4 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup butter (use a 1/2 cup to make it over the top)

Pour pie filling into a 9 X 13 pan (or smaller for thicker crisp). Spread topping on top of apples. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes until bubbly.

Serve warm with ice cream. Yum!

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Note: Clear Jel is safest for canning. While it looks like cornstarch it is different. It worked beautifully in this recipe. I found mine at our local Cake and Candy Supply Store. You might also find it at bulk food dealers in your area.  Online you can find it here.

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