December 17, 2012 National Maple Syrup Day!

Hubs and I enjoyed dinner by ourselves at IHOP last night and of course I had to get the pancakes just to celebrate National Maple Syrup Day! They were amazing!

National Cupcake Day!

My daughter's birthday was this past Thursday and we still have cupcakes to enjoy National Cupcake Day!

National Cocoa Day!

Enjoying National Cocoa Day with a cup of hot chocolate!

National Chocolate Brownie Day!

Enjoyed dinner at Freebirds tonight and got some dessert to enjoy at home. Their Make Me Happy Pot Brownies! :) Love the pun on words they use for these! Hopefully you enjoyed some Make Me Happy Brownies too for National Chocolate Brownie Day!

National Cookie Day!

I am so glad that National Cookie Day landed in December! The girlies and I made some Christmas sugar cookies and then decorated them. My little one Samantha was a HUGE help and helped start to finish. She loved cutting the cookies out and laying them down on the pan and then seeing them pop out of the oven all nice and pretty. They only decorated a few tonight since it is a school night, and plus who really wants to decorate 2 dozen cookies anyway? So we can decorate a couple a day and be done in a few days instead of doing them all at once and not enjoying it at the end. I hope you had some helpers help you with National Cookie Day! Here are some pictures of my girlies decorating and what their creations turned out like!

National Eat a Red Apple Day!

You don't have to tell me twice to eat a red apple! But here's my apple I enjoyed for National Eat a Red Apple Day!! So yummy!

December National Food Holidays

December National Food Holidays:

*National Fruit Cake Month
*National Egg Nog Month

December 1~ National Pie Day
                     Eat a Red Apple Day
December 2~ National Fritters Day
December 3~ National Apple Pie Day
December 4~ National Cookie Day
December 5~ National Sacher Torte Day
December 6~ Microwave Oven Day
December 7~ National Cotton Candy Day
December 8~ National Chocolate Brownie Day
December 9~ National Pastry Day
December 10~ National Lager Day
December 11~ National Noodle Ring Day
*December 12~ National Cocoa Day
*December 13~ Ice Cream & Violins Day
*December 14~ National Bouillabaisse Day
*December 15~ National Cupcake Day
*December 16~ National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day
*December 17~ National Maple Syrup Day
*December 18~ National Roast Suckling Pig Day
*December 19~ National Hard Candy Day
*December 20~ National Fried Shrimp Day
                          National Sangria Day
*December 21~ National Hamburger Day
*December 22~ National Date Nut Bread Day
*December 23~ National Pfeffernuesse Day
*December 24~ National Egg Nog Day
*December 25~ National Pumpkin Day
*December 26~ National Candy Cane Day
*December 27~ National Fruit Cake Day
*December 28~ National Chocolate Candy Day
*December 29~ Pepper Pot Day
*December 30~ National Baking Soda Day
*December 31~ National Champagne Day

National Pizza With Everything Day!

My little brother is staying with me and helped me whip up some pizza for National Pizza With Everything Day!

National Candy Day!

Since Jaden has her braces, I'm celebrating National Candy Day with all the candy she can't eat! Taking one for the team is hard sometimes. ;)

National Candy Corn Day!

Here's a favorite snack enjoyed by my family- Candy Corn and Peanuts! We start making this snack at the first sign of fall. It's so easy, just buy candy corn and peanuts, open items, and dump into a fancy bowl or container and you have a snack that anyone will like! So of course I bought the candy corn and peanuts to celebrate National Candy Corn Day!

National Pumpkin Day!

Happy National Pumpkin Day! This little guy is from my own mini pumpkin plant that my Dad planted and gave to me. We had a hot and dry summer of course so some of my other pumpkins didn't make it. I have this one and 2 more that pulled through and are a little behind schedule but that's okay! Hope you went out and got some pumpkins, craved some, or made something with pumpkin in it to celebrate National Pumpkin Day!!

National Bologna Day!

Made all the girls bologna sandwiches today just for National Bologna day! But of course they love bologna and have bololgna sandwiches all the time. But today they were extra special because it's National Bologna Day!

National Chocolate Cupcake Day

Today is one of the best days, National Chocolate Cupcake Day! Who doesn't love cupcakes? They are amazing, come in so many flavors, and are....portioned controlled!! I can eat one cupcake just fine, but if I make a cake, I am in big big trouble! And 12 cupcakes can't last as long as a cake can. So for today, I made some chocolate cupcakes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Eat More of What You Love, by Marlene Koch. She has some amazing recipes and tips for low fat foods and sugar free foods! The recipe I made is 90 Calorie Chocolate Cupcakes! Intrigued aren't ya! They are only 2 PPV and are amazing! I didn't have frosting in my house and really didn't feel like making any. So I just put marshmallow creme on them and some sprinkles! :) Fancy! Here's the recipe:

90 Calorie Chocolate Cupcakes

1/4 cup & 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup hot water
3/4 cup Splenda
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup skim milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 lrg egg
1/2 light mayonnaise
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 12 cup muffin cups with liners and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Place cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add hot water and whisk until smooth.

3. Whisk in sweetener until smooth, then add brown sugar, milk, vanilla extract, egg, and mayonnaise and continue to whisk until smooth.

4. Gradually sift in flour, baking soda, and baking powder and stir until well mixed.

5. Scoop 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 13 minutes or until the center springs back when touched or a toothpick comes out clean.

October 17~ National Pasta Day!

Now the whole month of October is National Pasta Month, but of course we had to have one full day for pasta!! So I had some leftover pasta from Monday's Chicken Cacciatore that I made. So then all I had to do was heat up the noodles, and I added my kid's favorite ingredients to it. They love pasta with a little bit of olive oil, butter, Parmesan cheese and some basil. It's as simple as that and they gobble it up. I never make enough of it for them.

National Chicken Cacciatore Day!!

I looked up online how to make chicken cacciatore in the slow cooker because I had an Avon meeting tonight and wouldn't be home until later. So I threw in some chopped up onion, two cans of tomato sauce (8oz), a small can of mushrooms, and some seasoning. Then got home, made the pasta, and ta-da! Dinner!
I love my slow cooker!

National Sausage Pizza Day!!

It's one of my favorite days!! Happy National Sausage Pizza Day!!

National Fluffernutter Day!

My dad was actually the one to introduce my children and I to Fluffernutters. I thought he was crazy, but turns out he wasn't! A Fluffernutter is just a marshmallow creme and peanut butter sandwich. The kiddos love them and are enjoying them for lunch today! Hope you enjoy one too!

National Frappe Day!

All the thanks to my BFF, Rachel, for sending me her photo of her Frappe for National Frappe Day!

National Noodle Day!

When I would stay with my Grandma as a child, she always made ordinary food special. It's a magical ingredient that Mothers/Grandmothers or anyone add to the food they are preparing, love. It's always in stock and never needs skill or measuring. So for National Noodle Day I made some homemade mac and cheese for my girlies that my Grandma used to make for my brothers and I years ago. The receipe is so simple and easy but takes me back to Grandma's kitchen.

October 1st~ National Vegetarian Day!

The hubby made dinner this night and made white rice and stir fry mix. He did a wonderful job and it was super yummy!

National Food Holidays for October

National Food Holidays for October~

*National Caramel Month                                   
*National Popcorn Poppin Month
*National Chili Month                                        
*National Pork Month
*National Cookie Month                                     
*National Pretzel Month
*National Dessert Month                                    
*National Seafood Month
*National Apple Month                                       
*Vegetarian Awareness Month
*National Pasta Month


*October 1: World Vegetarian Day
                   Homemade Cookie Day
*October 2: National Fried Scallops Day
*October 3: National Caramel Custard Day
*October 4: National Taco Day
                   National Vodka Day
*October 5: National Apple Betty Day
*October 6: National Noodle Day
*October 7: National Frappe Day
*October 8: National Fluffernutter Day
*October 9: Moldy Cheese Day
*October 10: National Angel Food Cake Day
*October 11: National Dessert Day
                      National Sausage Pizza Day
*October 12: World Egg Day
                     National Gumbo Day
*October 13: National Yorkshire Pudding Day
*October 14: National Chocolate Covered Insects Day
*October 15: National Chicken Cacciatore Day
                     National Roast Pheasant Day
*October 16: World Food Day
                       National Liqueur Day
*October 17: National Pasta Day
*October 18: National Chocolate Cupcake Day
*October 19: National Seafood Bisque Day
*October 20: National Brandied Fruit Day
*October 21: National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day
*October 22: National Nut Day
*October 23: National Boston Creme Pie Day
                     National Canning Day
*October 24: National Bologna Day
                     Good & Plenty Day
*October 25: National Greasy Foods Day
*October 26: Pumpkin Day
                      Pretzel Day
                      Mince Meat Pie Day
*October 27: National Potato Day
                      American Beer Day
*October 28: National Chocolate Day
*October 29: National Oatmeal Day
*October 30: National Candy Corn Day
                      Buy a Doughnut Day
*October 31: National Candy Apple Day
                     

National Ice Cream Cone Day

Here's the girlies enjoying their ice cream cones. Happy National Ice Cream Cone Day!!

Your new AVON Rep: ME!

As most stay at home moms know, you live on a budget with just one income. My husband and I have only been doing this since middle of May, but before then I only worked part time. The kids weren't in daycare and my husband and I worked opposite shifts so one of us was always at home with the kiddos. But then when summer time came around, we knew we couldn't handle the stress of not seeing each other anymore. So we made the choice for me to stay at home. Well now that school is back in full swing, I have been looking to make some extra money before I can go back to work full time next school year. So the answer: AVON. I have always loved AVON products and had a mother of a friend sell AVON in high school. AVON has only gotten better since using all those years ago. The products are award winning, and have a 100% money back guarantee. Now I know what you are thinking, why would I want to buy makeup products online or out of a brochure? Let me ask you this, when you buy makeup products at a makeup counter or at a drugstore, do the women or men who are helping really know about those products? Do they really care if you buy them or not? Will they be there for you when they don't work out, or need a different shade to go with your summer tan? The answer is no. Those women or men will get paid whether or not if they help you find that perfect lipstick. They won't turn out to become your best friend. And I'm so sorry but they won't be able to help you when you might need to earn a little extra money from your home. There's a reason why AVON is the #1 direct selling company. So please contact me for a brochure and I can help you find that perfect shade of lipstick, or the perfect eye shadow to go with that little black dress. I have so much to share with AVON and I can't wait to start sharing it!

Contact me for a brochure at:

lindsay.a.wiegand@gmail.com

Or shop my online beauty store 24 hrs a day!

www.youravon.com/linsay-wiegand

I can't wait to become your new AVON rep!

National Cheeseburger Day!

So I texted all of my lovely family this morning to tell them it was National Cheeseburger Day. Well my momma called me at lunchtime to tell me that thanks to my text, she's been craving a cheeseburger all morning! She finally got one for dinner! I made the girlies and I some cheeseburgers for dinner and they were amazing!! The girls even wanted another cheeseburger! So in other words, National Cheeseburger Day was a success!!

National Peanut Day!

National Chocolate Milkshake Day

So I didn't make a real milkshake, but let's face it, those real milkshakes are just tempting cups of calories and fat. So instead I made the next best thing. A Weight Watchers Smoothie! So whether you make a real milkshake or a Weight Watchers Smoothie that your hips will thank you for later, I hope you still enjoyed National Chocolate Milkshake Day! 

National Hot Cross Buns Day!

Made my very first batch of hot cross buns for National Hot Cross Buns Day! I didn't have any yeast so had to hunt down a recipe online without it. But luckily I found one and they turned out pretty darn good for my first attempt! Hubs had 2! That's how I knew I had done a fair enough job! 

Sept 10~ TV Dinner Day!

Yesterday was TV Dinner Day and we did celebrate but I ran out of time to post it. It was a very easy fix for us, throw a container of food in the microwave and wait 3 to 5 minutes! :) I enjoyed a Weight Watcher SmartOne and then had a side of cheesy veggies! Yum yum! Hope you celebrated TV Dinner Day too!

National Cheese Pizza Day

I couldn't of asked for a better National Food Holiday today! We got back late last night from our holiday weekend with family. The girls were back to school today and came home with a stack of homework after missing a day and to top it all off cheerleading kicked off tonight. This cheese pizza came to the rescue. Took me minutes to whip up and only cooked in the oven for 16 minutes. Hopefully your National Cheese Pizza Day wasn't as crazy busy as ours!

National Trail Mix Day

This isn't your regular trail mix but its just as good! The new M&M's snack mixes are great! Pretzels, almonds, shortbread cookies and of course peanut m&m's. What's not to love!

September National Food Holidays!

September National Food Holidays

*National Biscuit Month
*National Breakfast Month
*California Wine Month
*National Honey Month
*National Mushroom Month
*National Potato Month
*National Rice Month
*Whole Grains Month
*National Chicken Month

*Saturday before Labor day: International Bacon Day
*Second week of the month: Waffle Week, Biscuits and Gravy Week, & Vegetarian Awareness Week.
*Fourth week of the month: National Wild Rice Week

*September 1: National Cherry Popover Day
*September 2: National Blueberry Popsicle Day
*September 3: National Welsch Rarebit Day
*September 4: National Macadamia Nut Day
*September 5: National Cheese Pizza Day
*September 6: National Coffee Ice Cream Day
*September 7: Salami Day
*September 8: National Date Nut Bread Day
*September 9: Wienerschnitzel Day
*September 10: TV Dinner Day
*September 11: National Hot Cross Buns Day
*September 12: National Chocolate Milkshake Day
*September 13: National Peanut Day
*September 14: National Cream Filled Donut Day
*September 15: National Linguine Day
*September 16: National Guacamole Day
*September 17: National Apple Dumpling Day
*September 18: National Cheeseburger Day
*September 19: National Butterscotch Pudding Day
*September 20: National Rum Punch Day
*September 21: National Pecan Cookie Day
*September 22: National Ice Cream Cone Day
*September 23: National White Chocolate Day
*September 24: National Cherries Jubilee Day
*September 25: Crab Meat Newburg Day
*September 26: National Pancake Day
*September 27: National Corned Beef Hash Day
*September 28: National Strawberry Cream Pie Day
                          Drink Beer Day
*September 29: National Coffee Day
*September 30: National Hot Mulled Cider Day

National Toasted Marshmallow Day!

 School is back in full swing and the dog days of summer feel like a dream. But before we totally say good-bye to summer activities, we still have a few more summer celebrations to take care of. And of course one of them is National Toasted Marshmallow Day! Darrell and I got the girls together, grabbed a bag of marshmallows and headed outside for a marshmallow roast! Here are our family photos of the roast, and for once I got to be in them! It's usually me taking the photos but Darrell wanted to make sure to get me in on this one! Whether you like them golden or burnt to a crisp, an added bonus is that two marshmallows are only 1 PPV! I hope you grabbed your family and friends and enjoyed National Toasted Marshmallow Day like we did!

Banana Lover's Day

Happy Banana Lover's Day!

National Cherry Popsicle Day!

The girls are fresh and clean from their baths. Now it's time to enjoy their Cherry Popsicles on National Cherry Popsicle Day while Mom reads them their good night books!

August 25th~National Banana Split Day & Whiskey Sour Day!

Happy National Banana Split Day! See, even the banana split is happy to be celebrating! (Little did he know, that when asked over for dessert, he would be dessert.)

National Waffle Day!!

It’s National Waffle Day! On this day in 1869, a man named Cornelius Swartwout received the first U.S. patent for a waffle iron! Thank you Cornelius! So pull out your waffle iron, dust it off, and whip up some waffles!! Don't forget the syrup!  

National Sponge Cake Day!

So after making several trips to Walmart today, I broke down and picked up some little sponge cakes. I had made that huge Rainbow Cake earlier this week and didn't want anything else to do with cakes. But I couldn't ignore my desire to celebrate National Sponge Cake Day, even though I had already told my husband earlier, that we would NOT be celebrating Sponge Cake Day. I did however only get the 6 pack of mini sponge cakes in the bakery section of Walmart. I already had some strawberries and some fat free Cool Whip in the freezer. (I ALWAYS have Fat Free Cool Whip in the freezer, usually multiply containers.) So after dinner, I laid out the mini sponge cakes on our plates, put a few strawberries on with a spoonful of Cool Whip and I don't like cherries, so a blueberry topped it off. Voila! Extra Bonus- only 2 PPV for my little creation!

RAINBOW CAKE

So I've seen this cake all over blogs, Pinterest, and Facebook and I just had to try it! I was going to wait until Samantha's birthday which is next month, but my dear hubby knew how much I wanted to make it and he said I could do it for his birthday. What a sweetheart!

All it is, is two boxes of white cake mix, follow the directions on the box, and then divide up the cake mix into five separate bowls. It turned out to be about 3 1/4 cups of batter for the five layers. I got icing color from Walmart to make the colors so vibrant and wonderful. Now I am not a big frosting person, so the cake will need about 3 tubs of frosting. I only used 2 and didn't go all around the cake, just in between each layer and the top. Now my mom told me that if you beat the tub of frosting you will get double from it. But I had already frosted the cake and couldn't try that out.

So all in all, the cake turned out AWESOME!!!!! The only downside is, it's MONSTROUS, we couldn't finish our pieces and have no idea how we are going to finish this cake. I think next time, I will try the Walmart style rainbow cake in one pan and no layers.

Potato Day! And also Hot & Spicy Day!!!

So today is not only Potato Day, Hot & Spicy Day, but also my hubby's birthday!! Happy Birthday Honey!! And since he gave me free reign over his birthday dinner, I made a delicious strawberry spinach salad with buttermilk poppy seed dressing. Sounds very fancy but very easy. And I couldn't ignore the potatoes. So I just boiled them for 8 minutes, and then threw them back into the pot with some seasoning, olive oil, and a little bit of garlic and herd sandwich dressing. The kids loved them, so they turned out amazing! They also loved the strawberry spinach salad which I was very worried they would just look at me and say "Really?" But they dug right in and loved it! Now tomorrow is my husband's real celebration because he had to work today. Poor baby. :( So tomorrow is the rainbow cake attempt! (Details will follow tomorrow!) But tonight I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip bar cookies so we could sing him happy birthday and he could blow out the candles.

Now the spinach and strawberry salad and the chocolate chip bar cookies both came out of one of my favorite recipe books.  Eat What You Love by Marlene Koch. The potatoes were my own creation so I don't have a recipe for them. I threw in whatever sounded good, but potatoes are easy like that.

So here are the recipes. Please try the strawberry spinach salad. It's AMAZING!!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Buttermilk Poppy Seed Dressing

Makes 4 Servings.

1 1/2 cup serving= 2 PPV

Dressing:

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1/4 cup low fat buttermilk

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 Tsp lemon juice

3/4 Tsp poppy seeds

dash salt

pepper to taste

Salad:

6 cups spinach leaves

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries.

1. Whisk all dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Place salad ingredients in large bowl and pour dressing over. Mix well. Serve immediately.

Soft-Batch Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies

Makes 24 cookies

Serving 1 Cookie= 3 PPV

6 Tbsp butter, softened

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup Splenda granulated sweetener

2 oz jar baby food- prunes

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Oven- 350 degrees. Spray 13x9 in baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Large bowl with electric mixer- butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, sweetener, prune and vanilla and beat till smooth.

3. Medium bowl- whisk flour and baking soda. Add to wet ingredients and stir by hand until combined. Add chocolate chips.

4. Spread mixture into baking pan. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until light brown.

Now don't be scared of these bar cookies just because they have prunes in them. You CANNOT taste them. My husband was shocked when I told him what was in them. But they turn out so light and fluffy compared to the original chocolate chip bar cookies.

August 18

Happy National Soft Ice Cream Day!!

The girlies and I walked over to McDonald's from our house this evening, just to get a ice cream cone. It was the perfect little treat to the end of our fabulous day. We attended a birthday party to celebrate our little friend, Landon's 5th birthday. I remembered to grab the camera just to get their pictures enjoying their ice cream. We hope you celebrated too!

Enjoy!!