Journal Jars

I want my girls to be better Journal writers than I've been, and I needed a little inspiration to write as well. So we made Journal Jars! We typed up a bunch of questions and printed a copy for each of us. Then we cut them into strips and rolled them up. We also decorated canning jars to hold the papers. When it's time to write in our journals, we pull out a paper, glue it to the top of our blank page and answer the question. You may also want to make cute journals out of a notebook and scrapbook supplies!
Some sample questions:
Who is your favorite aunt or uncle and why?
What is your favorite vacation you've taken as a family?
What are your favorite foods? Your least favorite foods?
What do you do when it snows?
For adults... What did you do on a snowy day as a child?
Tell a story about your Grandmother.
What are some of your strengths?
adults... Tell about your first car, how you got it, how much it cost, what it was like?

Fun side dish or after school snack

I got this from kraftfoods.com!
Bears on Cloud-Nine
2 cups boiling water
2 pkg. (3 oz each) flavored gelatin (I used strawberry!)
4 C. ice cubes
1/3 C. gummy bears

Add boiling water to gelatin mixes in medium bowl; stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add ice; stir 2-3 minutes or until gelatin is slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice.
pour all but 3/4 C. of gelatin into 12 (5 oz) plastic cups. Beat remaining gelatin with mixer on high speed 30 second or until fluffy and doubled in volume. Spoon over gelatin in cups.
Refrigerate 30 min. or until firm. Top with a few gummy bears.

Great Easy slow cooker recipe!

Hamburger Pie
2 lb. ground beef, browned
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced
6 carrots, sliced or a handful of baby carrots
1 onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 can tomato soup
2 C. frozen peas

Brown and drain ground beef. Pour 1/2 C. water in bottom of slow-cooker. Layer the potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery, seasoning with salt and pepper as desired. Spread cooked ground beef and soup over the top. Cover and cook on high 2-3 hours or low 5-6 hours. Add peas during the last hour of cook time.

*Variation* Tin foil dinners
Use above ingredients, except tomato soup. Divide ingredients, including peas and place on 6 individual pieces of foil. Fold foil to seal and place in slow cooker. Cover and cook on High 1 1/2 hours. Rotate dinners. Cook on High an additional 1 1/2 hours.

Great for St. Patty's day... or anytime, really!!

Grasshopper Fudge Cake
I got this one off of Bettycrocker.com SO Yummy!!

1 box Betty crocker supermoist white cake mix
1 1/4 C. water
1/3 C. vegetable oil
2 tsps. mint extract, divided
3 egg whites
12 drops green food color, divided
*2 jars (16 oz each) hot fudge topping
1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
5 drops yellow food color
Thin rectangular mints(like andes) cut into pieces, if desired

Heat oven to 350 for shiny metal or glass pan or 325 for dark or nonstick pan. Spray bottom only of 9x13 pan with baking spray with flour.
Make cake mix as directed on the box, adding 1 1/2 tsps. of the mint extract. Reserve 1 cup of batter. Pour remaining batter into pan. Stir 3 drops of green food color into the reserved batter and mix well.
Drop green batter by tablespoons randomly in 12-14 mounds onto batter in pan. Cut through batters with a metal spatula or knife in s-shaped motions.
Bake 28-33 minutes until cake is done. Run a knife around the side of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Carefully spread fudge topping evenly over cake.
In a medium bowl, stir whipped topping, remaining extract, remaining 9 drops of green, and the yellow food color until blended. Spread evenly over fudge. Garnish with candy pieces. Store covered in refrigerator.



*(I only used 1 and it was enough!!)