Holy Cow

Holy Cow is my favorite cleaning product. http://www.holycowproducts.com/
It is safe to use around kids and pets and can be used on anything. I have used it to get blood out of carpet and to clean my granite counters. In fact, I use it everywhere. Not that my house is super clean but at least I have a great cleaning product!
You can purchase Holy Cow at Walgreens, Walmart, Sam's Club, Albertson's, Fry's and Basha's

(Thanks for introducing it to me Tonya.)

Colorful Cakes

I made a big batch of pancakes and added foodcoloring to make them more fun. When my kids had their fill of pink and blue pancakes I froze the rest. Now we can have a fast, fun breakfast just by popping the colored pancakes in the toaster!

(Thanks for the idea Ashley.)

Making Flours

I needed an activity for my kids to do while I made dinner. They went to town, had a learning opportunity, and had a great bath after!

Materials:
cookie sheets
flour
water
corn meal
food coloring
any other ingrediet you like

What I did:
I put flour on the cookie sheets and let them play.
When they started to get a little bored or distracted I added a new ingredient (water, corn meal)
As they played I cooked dinner and talked to them about textures, colors, and anything else.

It made a mess but it was easy to clean while they were in the tub.

A time and a season

I went to a friend's house today and was thinking how beautiful and CLEAN her house was. I was starting to feel bad about myself, considering I hadn't done dishes in four days. Then I realized that her kids are grown and out of the house while I have a 3 year old, a 2 year old and I'm pregnant. We are all in different times and seasons of our lives and the season I'm in is clearly not to keep my house clean. So I am trying to not get frustrated over the clutter, the dirt and the messes I haven't been able to get to in months and remember that some day I'll be in the season of my life to get to it all.

Simple Cinnamon Rolls

Here is an easy cinnamon roll recipe... and what I do to make them super yummy!

* I only make half the recipe because it will still give me 2 dozen rolls. But here is the full recipe if you want extra or want to just make bread.

4 tblsp instant yeast
*(I soften my yeast first to help it rise faster. To do this put a pinch of sugar
in 1/4 cup warm water if halfing the recipe or 1/2 cup if using the
full recipe. Add yeast without stirring. The yeast will begin to
grown and then you can add it to the recipe.)
5 cups water
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup powdered dry milk
2 tblsp salt
14 cups flour (approximately)

Mix 5 cups flour, salt, sugar, milk, yeast. Add water, oil, and eggs. Mix thoroughly and add flour, just until it pulls away from sides of bowl. Let rise until doubled, punch down.

(If you want to make bread form into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Let rise until it's the size of a nice big loaf of bread. Bake at 350 about 30 minutes.)

For Cinnamon Rolls
After rising, roll into a big rectangle, spread with 1/2 cup melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon, then sugar (approx. 2 tsp cinnamon to 1 cup sugar.) Roll up and slice 1 inch thick. Place into 9x13 greased pans or cookie sheets with sides. Bake at 350 for 20 min.
* (I use about 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar, I also roll my dough pretty thin. I don't like my rolls to be doughy and I like them pretty moist and sweet. )

Frosting
1 cube butter
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
8 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
milk (1 tblsp at a time)

Soften butter and cream cheese. Whip and gradually add sugar and milk intermittently until desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt. Whip until fluffy, spread on rolls.

Enjoy!

A new blog!!

I have been wanting to start this blog for a long time. I've finally done it and am really excited about it. I will blog on things that make me happy and make my life easier, like easy meals, things to keep kids busy, and home decorating. So here it goes...