Teach Them to Pray

Last week I talked about our early steps at teaching our children to love God and passing on our faith. This continues to be a topic about which I am quite passionate.

As I recall, the next significant step came after they learned to talk. I think my son was about 3 years old when we began teaching him to pray a very simple prayer before bedtime. Of course, he already knew that we prayed before meals. But, this was the first step for him developing independent prayer life.

We taught him to pray, "Dear God, Make me a Godly boy, a boy who loves Jesus more and more every day."

I can remember that the prayer morphed a bit over the first several months to a year. We were trying to figure out this prayer thing and what we wanted to teach him. I think at one time the prayer was, "Make me a Godly boy, a boy who knows more and more about Jesus every day." But we realized that knowledge of Jesus wasn't what we really wanted. It was relationship with Jesus that we wanted for our son. So we changed the words to "a boy who loves Jesus".

As he grew and matured we've added different elements to the prayer. There was one really funny period of time when we had to teach our daughter to say, "Make me a Godly girl" instead of "boy".

Since then, we've taught them to thank God for various things in their life. We try to steer them away from just thanking God for toys but, instead, thanking God for significant people in their lives - first grandparents, then they voluntarily added aunts, uncles & cousins. We added the various staff memebers of our church. They added friends and classmates. Occasionally they have to be reminded to thank God for their teachers, though usually they remember on their own.

More recently, we've begun teaching our son to ask God for help. When he went through a phase of being terrified of thunderstorms and loud rain storms, we taught him to ask God to give him courage and to help him sleep. Now, when he has difficulty with a friend we teach him to ask God to help him be kind. This new aspect of his prayers changes almost daily. And it is very personal and circumstance specific.

I am thoroughly enjoying watching their growth in this area. Their bedtime prayers have become unique to each one. We go through phases of "Mommy you pray, I'm too tired." And occasionally we give in, but generally they do it themselves.

This gradual method of teaching our children to pray has worked for us (so far). But, our children are still young and we realize there is much still to learn. We are not finished by any means - it is an ongoing process.

Recently I've been listening to some other parents going through this struggle of teaching Godly habits like prayer. So, now I'm curious... How do you teach your children to pray? How did you begin? Where are they now? How did it change over time?

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Announcement: Next week's Works For Me Wednesday is themed - "Mom I'm Bored". If you've got a good summer fun idea or a good way to keep the kids busy, be sure to link up or leave a comment.

Baking Muffins

I haven't had a real kitchen tip (not a recipe) for Kitchen Tip Tuesday over at Tammy's Recipes in quite a while. But, this week when I was making Carrot Raisin Muffins I realized, "Wait! I do have a kitchen tip I've never posted. And it's one I use frequently."

So here it is:

When baking muffins, preheat your oven to 375°, then when you put the muffins in the oven, raise the temperature to 400° for the baking time.

Here's the reason for this: when you preheat your oven, it will get a little bit hotter than the temperature you set it for, but then it will drop down below that temperature before the oven kicks in again. When you bake muffins you want the heat to really kick in with the baking powder quickly so the muffins will rise properly. By resetting the oven to 400° when you put them into the oven you get more rise.

I must give credit where credit is due, so, many thanks to Alton Brown's muffin episode for this tip. I bake a batch of muffins about once every two weeks, so I use this tip often. (I confess, watching Food Network is one of the things I miss not having cable. I learned a lot from Alton.)

For more great tips to make life in the kitchen easier be sure to visit Tammy's Recipes today.

Coping with Picky Eaters - Ten ways

My kids and I are picky eaters - especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. In some ways my kids are very picky eaters. Growing up, I was a very, very picky eater.

Me:
I don't usually like cheese (except mozzarella) and only when it's melted.
I don't like mayonnaise.
I'm not big on leafy green veggies. Though I do like this spinach recipe.
I'm not very fond of salads, though occasionally they're okay.
I'm not fond of (hot) spicy foods (this combined with the cheese thing eliminates most Southwestern dishes).
I don't like mushy vegetables (this generally eliminates soups & stews).
I don't like beans - this is a part of the mushy thing; green beans are okay, but they're mostly pod, not bean!

Kids:
They don't like many fruits except bananas & applesauce - usually.
They don't like potatoes - except french fries.
They don't like crispy vegetables (this pretty much eliminates salads for them as well as conflicting with Mommy's veggie preference).
They're not particularly fond of spicy foods, though one is more adventurous than the other.
The only beans they've eaten are green beans because I can't get over my bean aversion and cook them!
They don't generally like to try new foods, though one is making more progress than the other.

So, how do I cope with all this pickiness?

One: The rules apply to everyone. No exceptions just because I am the cook or the parent.

Two: I do not make 4 different meals for 4 different people. I make what I make and the rule is everyone must try a bite of everything (including Mommy & Daddy!) Most of the time we make them eat 2-3 bites, but sometimes if it's something very new to them, we only expect them to eat one bite.

Three: I try to have at least one thing that each person likes. Hubby is easy. The rest of us are a bit more difficult, fortunately there's a fair bit of overlap these days between what we do like.

Four: Be strategic. Don't introduce weird new food when you're the only adult home to enforce the rules. When Daddy's not home for dinner I fix foods I know they'll like. I don't have the energy for supper battles. When Daddy is home - there's strength in numbers!

Five: I tend to use the same seasonings & flavorings on many different foods. This makes the unfamiliar more familiar. Our current favorites include: garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon pepper (not used all at the same time!).

Six: Compromise. Cut vegetables in varying sizes to accommodate everyone's preferences.

Seven: Complaining is not allowed. Complaining will result in the loss of all dinner.

Eight: Dessert is served only occasionally, and when it is - it is only served after you've eaten your vegetables and/or fruit.

Nine. Be persistent. Many vegetables and fruits are seasonable. My kids tend to forget they like watermelon from season to season. But by late-June I'm pretty sure they'll be back on the watermelon train.

Ten: Introduce new foods gradually and repeatedly. (This is part of being persistent.) Two years ago my children did not like asparagus. Now, they do. Why? Because I have gradually introduced it - about once/two weeks each spring. I've also been persistent in trying several different recipes, until I found one most of us liked.

This approach to our respective pickiness has worked well for us and is beginning to pay dividends. My older child is now more willing to try new foods than he was two years ago. The younger one is coming along a little at a time.


For more fun top ten lists, visit ohamanda.

Regal Free Family Film Festival

Wow! I just found out about Free Movies through Regal Cinemas.

The Regal Website says:

Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.

Most of the participating theatres in Maryland are running from mid-June to Mid August. You can find out if there's a theatre near you participating and more details here.

Thanks to Sara for her post about this program.

For more ideas on frugal living, visit LifeAsMom.

Free Chocolate Fridays

Just in case you missed it ...

Tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM EDT you can get a coupon for a free candy bar from Mars. Go here to sign up.

I entered last week and promptly got a confirming email. This promo is happening every Friday through September 25. Coupons are limited to 250,000 each Friday morning. Other limits include: one coupon per email address each week and only 4 coupons per household during the entire offer period.

Be sure to go get your free chocolate tomorrow morning. If you're not successful on your first try, go back in a few minutes and try again.

Shoppers Grand Slam Weekend Coupons

I opened my paper and what to my wondering eyes should appear?
But, three fantastic coupons to save money and cheer!

Today's Carroll County Times (page C2) has a Shoppers add with three $/off coupons. The three coupons are $5/$25, $10/$50, and $15/75. You can also combine two or all three three to save up to $30 on $150 purchase. There is a limit of one set of coupons per family per order.

The add says you must clip the coupons - none are available in store. They are good for Today (Thursday 5/21) - Monday (5/25).

There's also a coupon for 24 Pack Pepsi Cubes for $3.99. You must buy 2 to get that price. It expires 5/27.

There was a similar coupon out several weeks ago that appeared in the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post. I'm guessing these same coupons will be in all those newspapers.

Giveaway - $100 Gift Card & Wishbone Dressing

Do you enter giveaways?

I gotta say, um, I rarely enter giveaways. It just doesn't seem to be worth the time to fill out the forms for giveaways. I have entered a few when there's something I really like. I've never had a problem with my spam or junk mail from entering an online giveaway. But, eh, it's just not usually my thing.

However, The Frugal Girl is having an interesting giveaway. I became a fan of The Frugal Girl a few months ago. I read her blog frequently because she lives fairly close to me, is like-minded and a wonderful bread maker - which I am sooo not!

Thanks to the folks at Wishbone she's giving away a $100 grocery gift card and a Wishbone Prize pack of dressings. That giftcard got my attention.

I like saving money on groceries. And $100 could go a really long way if I'm careful.

You too can enter this giveaway. Just hop over here and fill in a comment. She's got all the ins and outs, rules and whatnot posted.

Good Luck.

Mushy VS Crispy

I confess. I am a picky eater.

I am an adult. But I am still a picky eater.

Especially when it comes to veggies.

I do not like mushy vegetables. My mom was a good cook. But, she grew up and learned to cook an era where all vegetables were canned vegetables from the garden. Canned vegetables are always mushy, never crispy. I honestly don't think my mom knew how to cook a hot crisp vegetable. I did not like them.

Then in my 20s I met a wonderful lady who is a great cook. She cooked crispy vegetables! Wow! I liked those. She taught me how to stir fry veggies and from there I learned how to roast and par-boil veggies so that they were hot, but still crispy.

Then, 10 or so years later, along came my kids. As soon as I gave my kids table food they stopped eating vegetables. They had loved the baby food veggies. They refused to eat my crispy veggies. Ugh. This was a problem. They needed veggies in their diet. What to do? What to do?

I finally came up with this plan -- When I chop/dice/slice veggies, I do not chop in uniform sizes. I make some big, and some small. This goes against everything that a professional cook will tell you.

"Vegetables should be chopped all the same size so that they cook in the same length of time," they will tell you. That may work great in a fancy restaurant. But it doesn't work in my house. I don't want them to all cook in the same length of time. I want some to be crispy and some to be softer.

So, I cut them up into varying sizes and cook them all the same length of time. When I pull them out of the water or oven - some are crispy and some are softer. I am happy. My kids are happy. Our dinner time conversation is much more peaceful. This makes Daddy (and Mommy) very happy.

Variable sized vegetables.

This kitchen tip definitely works for me.

Are you a Cripsy Vegetable fan? or a Softer Vegetable fan? Vote for your favorite in the poll on the left.

For more great kitchen tips visit Tammy's Recipes.
For other great ideas that work visit WeAreTHATFamily.

How Do You Train Up a Child?

Today, A High and Noble Calling is asking the question, "What Kind of Home do You Have?" Is it child centered or is it God Centered?

Her post got me to thinking... thinking about something I am quite passionate about.

How do you train up a child in the way he should go?

Proverbs 22:6 tells us as parents "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

For me the most important part of training my children is to teach them a personal faith in and relationship with God.

But how do you do that? It's easy to say it. It's not so easy to live it on a day-to-day basis.

Ever since I can remember I have loved working and teaching children. I started teaching younger children when I was in Junior High School (yes, I'm that old - it wasn't "Middle School" then). That continued in various forms until in adulthood God called me to quit a full-time job and go back to college for an Elementary Education degree. I taught public school for several years until God hit me upside the head with the realization that taking care of my family and home were far more important. I needed to focus my time and energy at home.

Through the years God developed in me a deep passion for teaching children -- especially my own -- about God and discipling them toward a personal faith in and relationship with God.

So, how do you do that? Day-to-day parenting looks a bit different for every family. Every parent has different strengths and every child has different needs. So our methods must sometimes be different as well. However, there are still some basic principles and even routines which can work for everyone.

When my first child was not yet a year old, a friend asked me "Do you always sing to him before he goes to sleep?" We were in the church nursery - she was feeding her infant, I was putting mine down for a nap.

I told her, yes. I do. I explained that eventually I would want to pray and read with my son before bedtime. I knew that teaching those higher skills was extremely important. But I needed to begin by laying a foundation. Establishing that quiet time before bed - at just a few months old - was the beginning of that foundation.

So yes, from the time my children were a few months old and their sleep patterns began to stabilize, we rocked them and sang to them before we laid them down for a nap or to sleep at night. I didn't rock them all the way to sleep, but I did rock and sing for 5-10 minutes. I wanted them to know that it was time to settle down. It wasn't play time anymore.

We chose the songs we sang carefully. There were the standard lullabies like Rock-a-bye Baby and Hush Little Baby. But there were also songs of faith. Jesus Loves Me, Amazing Grace and In the Garden quickly became family standards. And now, 7 years later, my children still request these songs before bed each night.

It brings them security and comfort to know that whatever else may be going on in their world, we still love them and more importantly, God still loves them.

Singing lullabies of faith was one of our first ways of teaching our children our faith.

What were your first practices in teaching your children to have faith in God?

Free Lunch - while it lasts

You can get a free lunch from DiGiorno. Go here to get a coupon for a free DiGiorno's Flatbread Melts. The coupon will come in about 6-8 weeks and is limited to one per household. There are only 100,000 coupons available.

Get 'em quick before they're gone.


Thanks to Gina from Moneywise Moms for this deal.

Shoppers Trip - Saved $78.09

I just got back from my trip to Shoppers and I'm thrilled. I saved over $78.00! The total before coupons was $151.71. Since Shoppers is tripling coupons up to $0.99, my out of pocket = $73.62!

The best coupon matchups for me were:
$0.75/1 Breyer's ice cream (I used 9), making the ice cream $1.25/each; a great price for our family's favorite ice cream!
$0.75/1 McCormick spices - several were free after sale & coupon
$0.50/1 Betty Crocker Frosting. The frostings were on sake for $1.50 - free after sale & coupon!

** Updated Saturday 5/16
Okay, Here's the update on what I bought at Shoppers yesterday with as many coupon matchups as I can remember.

1 Betty Crocker Warm Delights $1.50; Used 1 $0.50/1 = free after tripled coupon
5 Betty Crocker Frostings @ $1.50; Used 5 $0.50/1 = free after tripled coupon
1 French's Honey Mustard @ $2.00; Used $0.75/1 = free after tripled coupon
1 French's Mustard @ $0.99; Used $0.75/1 = free after tripled coupon
2 Marcal Paper Towels @ $2.00; Used 2 Free/1 coupons
1 Marcal Napkin 25o count @2.00; Used 1 Free/1 coupon

9 Breyer's Ice Cream @ $3.50; Used 9 $0.75/1 (I bought extras from Dede's) = $1.25/each

1 McCormick Parsley Flakes @ $1.89; Used 1 $0.75/1 = free after tripled coupon (no overage)
1 McCormick Garlic Blend @$2.25; Used 1 $0.75/1 = free after tripled coupon
2 McComick Basil Leaves @ $2.25; Used 2 $0.75/1 = free after tripled coupon
1 McCormick Oregano Leaves @ $2.39; Used 1 $0.75/1 = $0.14
1 McComick Vanilla @ $5.59; Used 1 $0.75/1 = $3.34
1 Land O' Lakes Tub Butter @ $1.69; Used 1 $0.50/1 = $0.19/each
2 Land O' Lakes Unsalted Butter Quarters @$3.29; Used 2 $0.50/1 = $1.79/each
6 Dole Mandarin oranges @ $0.98; Used 3 $0.55/2 = $0.31/each
2 Clorox Bleach @ $1.79; Used 2 $1.00/1 = $0.79each
2 Kotex Tampons @$3.19; Used 2 $1.00/2 = $2.69/each
2 Kotex pantiliners @$1.50; Used 2 $1.00/2 = $1.00/each
2 5 lb Domino Sugar @ $2.89; Used $0.35/1 = $1.84/5 lbs
4 1 lb Domino Confectioner's Sugar @ $1.00; Used 2 $0.50/2 = $0.25/each
2 2 lb Domino Brown Sugar @ $1.78; Used 2 $0.35/1 = $0.73/each
6 Campbell's Soup @ $1.33; Used $0.25/3 =$0.58/each
2 Egg Land's Best Eggs @$2.49; Used $0.35/1 = $1.44/dozen (this was a mistake - mislabeled at the store)

I'm pretty sure these were the matchups. By the time I got home and got everything sorted out, kids fed, etc. etc. etc. - the daily stuff of life, I forgot which coupons I used for what. But as best I can determine, this is what I found.

When you go - watch your prices carefully. I've noticed that the prices at my Shoppers are not always the same as the prices for other Shoppers stores.

For more great Shoppers deals be sure to visit Redemption Unlimited.

Shoppers - Triple Coupons

Woo Hoo!! I'm super excited. Beginning tomorrow, May 14-17 Shoppers is tripling coupons up to $0.99! You can use an umlimited number of coupons too! Wow, I knew I was saving that $0.75 Breyer's ice cream coupon I stocked up on for a reason. Not sure yet exactly which stores are doing this, but you can find out if your store is included here.

Updated: According to Redemption Unlimited - this sale applies to all Shoppers stores. They also have an ongoing list of sale-coupon matchups here.

Yard Sale

I won't be around for the next few days. We have a big yard sale planned for tomorrow (assuming it doesn't rain!). We have a bunch of stuff to sell, including this matching cabinet and server:


I expect to be back on Monday at which time I'll let you know know how the yard sale went.

While I'm gone, go browising.

Visit Frugal Friday at LifeAsMom. There are tons of great frugal tips to be learned.

RocksInMyDryer always has some interesting and funny links up on Saturday.

And MoneySavingMom always puts up a Super Savings Saturday post. I've learned a lot about saving money on groceries by reading those posts.

Enjoy the weekend!

"Go To" Chicken Casserole

This has become my "go to" recipe for chicken casserole. I can make this recipe without really thinking at all. Personally, I think every mom needs a recipe like this in their repertoire. It morphs and changes every time I make it -- very flexible. It has all the basic food groups in one dish. It's wonderful for using up leftovers, goes together easily and doesn't take a lot of time either. Best of all, as long as my kids like most of the veggies I put in, it's a family favorite.

Chicken Casserole
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:
The basic ingredients are: pasta, chicken, veggies and cheese. The amounts can vary depending on what you have on hand.

• 1 box of your favorite pasta - penne, rigatoni, mixture of leftovers, whatever floats your boat
• ~2 cups of veggies*: carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, peas - again, whatever's on hand and makes your family happy
• ~ 1 cup leftover chicken, shredded or diced
• 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup (I use this recipe.)
• ~1 cup shredded cheese (mozzerella, cheddar - again whatever floats your boat.)

Directions:

1. Boil pasta according to package directions.
2. Cut up veggies to bite size; par-boil or saute according to preference; drain.
3. Preheat oven to 350°.
4. Shred or dice chicken.
5. Combine pasta, veggies, chicken, soup and cheese in very large bowl until evenly mixed.
6. Dump the whole mixture into 9x13 pan.
7. Bake 30 minutes.

Notes:
* If your family prefers soft veggies, then par-boil or saute them for ~4-5 minutes before mixing with the other ingredients. If they prefer crisper veggies, leave them raw.

You're a Mom

We'll call this frugal entertainment. If you're a mom of young kids (or if you're a mom at all) and you haven't heard/seen this song by "Go Fish" you need to watch this video. We first heard it months ago and my hubby & kids still sing it to me about once a week.

My favorite line ... "If you're tired of doing dishes and you know who Elmo's fish is... You're a mom.




Enjoy! This definitely works for me. For more ideas go to WeAreThatFamily.

Asian Spinach

Since many gardens will be producing spinach soon I thought I'd post this recipe I found several years ago. It is incredibly quick and easy to put together. I think it was on the back of a bag of baby spinach.

Asian Spinach
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag prewashed spinach (about 4 cups)
• 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 finely chopped scallion
• sesame seeds (optional)
  

Directions:

1. Place prewashed spinach in microwaveable dish. Microwave on high 2-3 minutes. Let cool 1 minute.
2. Combine soy sauce, sesame oil scallion, sesame seeds if preferred.
3. Add sauce to spinach and serve.

Notes:
If you like Asian style flavors or soy sauce you'll like this recipe. My children (ages 5 & 7) actually like spinach when served this way!
This does not keep as leftovers very well, so only make as much as your family will eat.

For more great recipes, visit Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty & Bedlam and
Tempt My Tummy @ Blessed With Grace.

Goals 5/4 -5/9

I'm trying something a bit new this week. I'm writing my To Do List on Sunday evening while hubby's away. It won't post till Monday morning, but I'm hoping having it done before Monday morning will help me get a jump start on the list instead of not even starting until mid-morning on Monday.

I'm also flipping things around and listing the to-dos for this week first:

Read Colossians 2x before Weds.; Complete list of 25 observations
Laundry: 5 loads washed, dried, folded, put away
Deposit paychecks
Update checkbook/pay bills
File paperwork
Clip Coupons
Sort/File Coupons
Clean off back table
Swish/Swipe Bathroom 3x
Mop Kitchen floor 2x
Ship package to Oklahoma
Read with kiddos: 5x each child
Clean at Dad's 1 day
Meet with Small Group Wed am
Spend <1 style="font-style: italic;">before Saturday
Go through summer clothes with 2 kids; pull outgrown clothes, make list of needed clothes
Prepare for Yard Sale this Saturday
Blog: new recipe, Martin's Deal? celebrating 1/2 birthdays

Here's how last week went:
Read Colossians 4x (read it 3 times)
Clean off back table (it's better, not done, but better)
Clip Coupons (nope)
Sort/file Coupons (nope again)
Make Disinfecting Wipes
Swish/Swipe Bathroom 3x (done 1x)
File paperwork (nope)
Mop Kitchen floor 2x (nope, but it did get swept 3x)
Ship package to Oklahoma (nope)
Read with kiddos: 5x each child (I think I managed to do this 4x each - not too bad)
Make Ahead: yogurt, spaghetti sauce, 10 oatmeal packs, 1 batch muffins, cookies
Blog: 1 new recipe, update on grocery goal, Safeway deal ?? (this got canned because of internet problems)
Clean at Dad's 1 day
Meet with Small Group Wed am
Make 1/2 cake for Joseph's 1/2 birthday
Contact company Re: cracked crock in crockpot
Go through summer clothes with 2 kids; pull outgrown clothes, make list of needed clothes

Well, there's a look at my list. It's always overly ambitious, but I'm hopeful that I'll get more accomplished this week.

What's on your "To Do List" for the week?

Menu Plan 5/2/09

I don't menu plan in advance; at least not usually. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is that my husband's schedule tends to change rather quickly. I do try to plan at least one day in advance, this is always based on what we already have on hand. I have a pretty good stockpile worked up so planning this way works pretty well for me.

At any rate, this was our menu last week.

Monday: Beef Stroganoff, Asian spinach, glazed carrots

Tuesday: Chicken stir-fry

Wednesday: (Baseball game at 5:15) Adults -- stir-fry leftovers; Kids -- fishsticks

Thursday: Homemade Pizza (my son's request for his ½ birthday), cantaloupe

Friday: Stroganoff leftovers, corn on the cob, leftover carrots

Saturday: Breakfast for dinner (oven baked bacon, whole wheat pancakes, fried apples)

Sunday: Spaghetti.

More menu plans can be found at OrganizingJunkie.

Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This recipe goes together very easily. The original recipe came from Daria @ allrecipes.com, but I've modified it a bit to better fit our tastes.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

(sorry no pictures this time)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs round steak - cubed or strips
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 8 oz fresh or canned mushrooms (we prefer fresh)
• 1 Tbsp dried chives or green onion
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cube beef bouillon
• ¼ C red cooking wine (or water if preferred)
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 8 oz sour cream
• 4 oz cream cheese
• ½ C chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:

1. Place beef in bottom of slow cooker (frozen is okay). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add onion, mushroom soup, mushrooms.
3. In small bowl mix together: chives, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, beef bouillon cube, cooking wine and cornstarch.
4. Pour mixture over beef.
5. Cover. Cook ~6 hours. (stir occasionally)
6. Stir in sour cream, cream cheese, parsley for last ½-1 hour of cooking.

Notes:
The original recipe says it serves 6, I usually find that it will feed our family of 4 twice.
This recipe gets 3 ½ out of 4 stars from my family. Three of us really love it. My daughter has decided she doesn't like it as much simply because her older brother does!

Looking for more Crockpot recipes? Visit Smockity Frocks.

Up and Running

Well, hubby had to completely redo our main computer - as in format c: !! Ugh. What a pain in the neck. We've gotten better at this process over the years. We've learned a few tricks about where certain important files are hidden away.

Anyway, our internet and main computer are up and running again and I expect to be back to my semi-regular posting again very soon.

Many thanks to my loyal readers. I've been amazed at how many of you have visited even though I haven't posted anything in about a week. I hope I haven't completely lost you!