Homemade Chocolate Pudding

A few weeks ago, as I was attempting to not spend a small fortune on groceries, I saw milk on sale at Target for an unbelievable low {aka less than $3 a gallon} price. So crazy, thrifty me decides to lug home 6 gallons of milk...because the price was just too good to pass up. Well, a week later when the milk was about to expire and I still had a whole gallon unopened I figured I better find a great "use up a lot of milk before it goes bad" recipe!

And what recipe uses up large amounts of milk better than chocolate pudding?!? No other...at least none that I could find! Hasty Chocolate Pudding from allrecipes.com is what I settled on after checking out a few recipes and scoping out my pantry to see what I had on hand.

In addition to the 2 cups{ when I made it, I doubled the recipe} of milk, you also need

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons cornstarch

&

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Add all of the dry ingredients into a microwave safe bowl..

..and wisk them together getting out any big lumps.

Then slowly add in the milk.

Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir and then microwave in 1 minute intervals until the pudding is thick.

Stir in the vanilla and then scoop into individual bowls...

...or refrigerate {covering top of the pudding with a layer of plastic wrap} the whole batch until cold. 

Chocolate pudding that is both yummy and practical...at least it's practical if you have a bunch of milk to use:)

Shirt of Plenty

I have seen a ton of cute turkey shirts for Thanksgiving floating around the internet lately. I had intentions of making my boys a cute turkey shirt, but was really wishing I could make something a little different and a little more fun instead.

The Shirt of Plenty is what I ended up with after a TON of inspiration {and a template} from Family Fun magazine.

This is the original craft shared in the November issue of Family Fun...SUPER cute Thanksgiving themed felt food. I simply decided to turn my felt food into a shirt instead of making a toy:)

The first step in making this SUPER cute shirt is to print the templates and cut them out. Sometimes the template calls for two of each shape, but you usually only need one.

Use spray adhesive and stick the cut out shapes to different colors of felt. You can mix and match however you want, or follow the suggestions on the templates.

Then add iron-on adhesive to the backside of the felt following the directions on the package.

Cut out the shapes following the template, then remove the paper and the iron-on adhesive backing.

Lay out your design on the shirt and decide where you want each piece to be. Iron the pieces onto the shirt following the directions on your package of iron on adhesive.

The finally step to making The Shirt of Plenty is the most tedious and time consuming....but it also makes a big difference in the appearance of the shirt. Using coordinating colors of embroidery thread, go around the edges of each piece of felt with a running stitch. Make sure to tie off each end of the embroidery thread well, so that the felt pieces stay securely attached.

And that is how you make a SUPER cute Thanksgiving shirt!

Now if I can only find the time {and energy} to make two more:)

Del Monte Fresh Produce Giveaway!

This giveaway is closed. Congrats to Tamara!

DEL MONTE FRESH SUPPORTS TEACHERS
WITH CASH & FRESH FRUIT IN

"TEACHER MONDAY: CASH FOR CLASSROOMS"

Del Monte Fresh Produce is running a new program this fall to help support Kindergarten through 12th grade public school teachers. Their new program will provide cash to teachers to help them purchase school supplies and fresh fruit. The program is called “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms”. One hundred prizes totaling $1,000 each will be awarded to teachers who get the most votes in the online contest at http://www.fruits.com/.

You can read all about Del Monte's Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms program on their website. You can also get more information on their facebook page or on twitter @DelMonteFresh}! While you are checking out the contest, don't forget to explore fruits.com. The website has all kinds of great things to offer like recipes, nutrition information, and even free BlackBerry and iPhone apps!

And thanks to Del Monte, I have a great giveaway for you today...a $25 Gift Certificate good for any fresh Del Monte fruits or vegetables!

Here's how to enter:

1. Head over to fruits.com. Come back here and tell me what one thing you learned! {This is a Mandatory entry and must be done first!}

After the mandatory entry, you can do any or all of the following for one extra entry each. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.

follow my blog

follow me on twitter {@SUPERMOM_Kelli}

Follow Del Monte on twitter {@DelMonteFresh}

Subcribe to my blog via Feedburner

tweet about this giveaway with a link back to me

blog about this giveaway or post it in your sidebar

This giveaway will end at 7:00 am CST on Monday, November 15th. Be sure to leave an email address with your comment if your email isn't visible in your profile! Giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only. I will use random.org to pick a winner. Thanks so much to Del Monte Fresh Produce for providing the gift certificate! Good luck!

A Bag for a Baby Boy Named Bryson

I love giving homemade gifts for birthday, showers, and almost any other kind of special occasion you can think of. Not only do homemade gifts usually end up being cheaper, but they also show the person that you really cared about the gift you gave them.

I went to a baby shower this past weekend and this is the gift I took:

Hobby Lobby is an awesome place to find supplies for homemade gifts. I picked up this plain white tote for $2.47! I made a simple ruffle {my first ever} with my sewing machine, added some Fray Check to the edges of the fabric, and then sewed the ruffle onto the top of bag. The letter is cut from felt. I love felt....no fraying or pulling or peeling...plus it can be hot glued on {which is exactly what I did}!

Inside the bag are some fun baby goodies {aka a personalized bib, a monogrammed burp cloth, a teddy bear, and a paci keeper}.

It only takes a little money and a little time to make a really great homemade gift!

Do you ever give {or receive} homemade gifts?

Wordless Wednesday: An A-MAZE-ing Field Trip

Busy Days and a Couple of Winners

Just went I thought a few lazy days were headed my way, I am just as swamped as ever!

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Yesterday I went with Henry's class on a field trip to a corn maze/farm.

Today I am headed to the ENT with Eli for a check up.

Tomorrow I am taking my mom to the dentist.

Thursday the boys are out of school for Veteran's Day.

Friday I am volunteering at the boys' school...cutting out Thanksgiving vests:)

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I spent Sunday and Monday baking cookies for Staff Appreciation week at church. I made two batches of chocolate chip and one batch of peanut butter....probably close to 10 dozen cookies! Now I just have to cutesy up the cookie jars I got at Hobby Lobby for 50% off {a good sized jar was only $2.50}!

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I finally chose the winner for the CSN Stores giveaway! The winner was...

AMANDA!

She really earned it too! I went back and counted her comments....54! I'm SUPER impressed, and SUPER excited that random.org was kind to her:) Amanda I'll email you the information for you Gift Certificate soon!

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Also, Sunday I posted a little blurb about a Del Monte giveaway...I was going to use that post as extra entries for the actual giveaway, but since only one person left a comment I decided to give her one of the two $25 gift certificates! Congrats to Dani! Email me your address and I will get your gift certificate to you! Look for the other giveaway to post on Friday!

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Now, I have to get my inbox cleaned out and start working on some crafty projects so I have something to post about:) I hope you are all having a great week! I'm enjoying the little bit of cool weather we are having right now...I just hope it will stick around this time!

Teacher Monday sponsored by Del Monte

DEL MONTE FRESH SUPPORTS TEACHERS
WITH CASH & FRESH FRUIT IN

"TEACHER MONDAY: CASH FOR CLASSROOMS"

Del Monte Fresh Produce is running a new program this fall to help support Kindergarten through 12th grade public school teachers. Their new program will provide cash to teachers to help them purchase school supplies and fresh fruit. The program is called “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms”. One hundred prizes totaling $1,000 each will be awarded to teachers who get the most votes in the online contest at http://www.fruits.com/.

You can read all about Del Monte's Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms program on their website. You can also get more information on their facebook page or on twitter mailto:%7B@DelMonteFresh}! While you are checking out the contest, don't forget to explore fruits.com. The website has all kinds of great things to offer like recipes, nutrition information, and even free BlackBerry and iPhone apps!

And thanks to Del Monte, I will have a great giveaway coming up later in the week!

You're a STAR!

Henry was chosen as STAR Student in his class this week!

To him it means being the line leader and wearing a special ribbon.

To me it means sending a fun star themed lunch to surprise him:)
I used my trusty cookie cutters and secretly got to work making his lunch shine!

*lunch meat and flour tortilla stars*

*brownie stars*

*and apple stars*

Do you ever make your kiddos special snacks to celebrate special occasions?!?

I Love a Rainy Day...

if we don't have plans for the day...

 if the lightening is not too bad...

 if the wind doesn't blow away my garden flag...

 if there are a few breaks in the rain...

 if we can still go on the porch...

 if I can take a few pictures {without my camera getting wet}...

 if the power stays on...

 I love a rainy day. Do you?

Wordless Wednesday: 3 Knights in Homemade Armor...

 ...and the fall of the littlest knight:)