I am so excited to share the recipe for these Cocoa Coconut Macaroons because they are seriously one of my favorite things to come out of my kitchen, ever.
http://ift.tt/2BJaOgLTuesday, December 19, 2017
Family Traditions, Start a Tradition of Giving this Year - Frugal Family Home
Family Traditions, Start a Tradition of Giving this Year - Frugal Family Home
Traditions, family traditions are something all families have. Something you know you can look forward to each year that is just for your family.
These traditions are little things that you look back at later in life and remember fondly, a little thing that brings joy to your heart.
Thinking back to our Christmas traditions I have so many great memories.
My mom always used to make candy and cookies for all of the people in our lives, the neighbors, the people at the regular gas station we went to, all of our friends and our doctor too.
We would start at the beginning of December spending a week or so making all the great candies and then baking the cookies. Once they were all done we would make the plates of these delicious goodies and deliver them.
I remember loving the giving part so much.
It was fun to make the items but so much more fun to see the smiles on all of their faces when we would deliver them. So I think that is why I continue this tradition with my kids to this day.
One of my neighbors told me they look forward to getting the goodies each year. It warms my heart to know this simple tradition is blessing others.
You don’t have to go all out and it doesn’t have to be expensive to share with others around the holiday season. A batch of cookies or an easy candy recipe made to share can really brighten Christmas for those around you.
Christmas can be filled with getting things for kids, toys, games, and candy, that the giving part can be lost.
Teaching your kids about giving through a Christmas tradition can be a wonderful thing. They can get excited each year about doing for others instead of just receiving themselves.
It’s great to teach the kids about giving, but doing something will really stick with them. Make sure to pick something they can really participate with.
Some Ideas for GivingEven if your budget is tight your kids can give to others with a few of these ideas,
Bake cookies, make and deliver a dozen of them to each of the neighbors.
Gather up the kids outgrown clothes and toys and take them to a women’s shelter. The kids can make some cards and place a candy cane in each one for the kids.
Make a bunch of cards and deliver them to a local nursing home
Deliver meals for Meals on Wheels with your kids
Bake a loaf of bread to give to the neighbors (homemade bread is always a great gift)
Trim an evergreen tree in your yard and make the trimmings into wreaths or boughs to give to the neighbors to decorate their homes
What activity could you do with your kids to help others out during this Christmas season?
Please share your ideas in the comments below. I’m sure you all have lots of great ideas to share.
Other Christmas Ideas…
That Nagging Feeling You Didn’t Do Enough
10 Easy Homemade Christmas Tree Ornaments to Make
Monday, December 18, 2017
Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Red Peppers
Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Red Peppers 
This chickpea curry is so flavorful, yet so simple to prepare. Just a few minutes of prep and a press of a button on the slow cooker, and the next thing you know, the smell of curry is wafting through the kitchen.
This dish is vegan, gluten-free, and immensely delicious. To build flavor without piling up dishes, everything is cooked right in the slow cooker – no stove-top browning or pre-cooking required!
http://ift.tt/2BuBek5Easy Peppermint Bath Salts Recipe with Free Printable Gift Tags
Easy Peppermint Bath Salts Recipe with Free Printable Gift Tags
Post Preview: You’ll find a fabulous peppermint bath salts recipe that’s perfect for Christmas. These homemade bath salts are a great gift kids (or adults) can make. In this post, you’ll also find free printable homemade peppermint bath salts gift tags (called “candy cane bath salts” on the tag).
Homemade gifts are so much fun to make with kids. I always love how much pride they have in the finished product. Of course, sometimes those kinds of projects can cause a lot of stress for the adults helping. But, I think it’s worth it anyway.
One of the first gifts that I ever had the kids work on when they were small were these homemade peppermint bath salts. They were in preschool at the time, and they were so excited to help to make gifts for their preschool teachers and the aides in the room.
Although that was many years ago, especially considering those boys are now a junior and a senior in high school, I decided to share this easy peppermint bath salt recipe this year. To help you prepare your gift jars, I also made a set of free candy cane bath salts gift tags.
These peppermint bath salts would be perfect for making and keeping for yourself or for a gift to give in a jar or in a decorative baggie. As I already mentioned, I think this is a great homemade gift that kids can make. Young children may need some assistance though, of course. (Here are more ideas for easy homemade gifts kids can make.)
Toward the end of the post, I have a set of free printable tags that you can include with your jars or packets. If you are using small jars or packets, you may want to print the tags at 75% of their normal size. That’s what I did with mine in the picture.
Note: This amount makes around 2 1/2 cups of your candy cane bath salts mix. Make sure to increase amounts based on how much you need, especially if you will be making a large number of gifts.
- 2 cups Epsom salts
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon of glycerin (optional)
- 3 – 5 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 2 – 4 drops of red food coloring
Note about the glycerin: This is great for skin softening, but you can skip this part of the recipe if you really want to. If you want to add it, you can often ask for it in the pharmacy or you might be able to find it in the baking area, as Wilton has glycerin in a bottle.
1. Add all ingredients (except food coloring) to a large bowl and mix until well combined.
2. Divide mix into two separate bowls.
3. Add food coloring to just one bowl and mix well to distribute the color throughout until you have one bowl with a pink mix.
4. Add salts to clean jars, alternating colors to make a candy cane effect. Add a tag (free printable farther down) to your jar.
If you decide to make baggies of peppermint bath salts: You won’t be able to have layers of different colors, obviously, but it will still be a fun effect to combine both colors in the baggie. Or, you can skip the food coloring and just have all of your peppermint bath salts be white.
Add a little something special to your homemade peppermint bath salts gift by adding one of these free printable tags!
These tags are in color, but if you do not have a color printer, they will print black and white just fine. I would recommend printing on white cardstock.
Each page has eight tags. If the tag size is too large for your project, you should be able to scale them down while you are printing them.
This download is free for personal use.
This set cannot be sold, published, or hosted on other websites. (Example: an individual or another blogger may not upload the file onto their website for others to download there.) If you want to pass along the printable though, please feel free to share a link to this post with others.
Using the printable means you agree to the terms. Thanks!
Download the Candy Cane Bath Salts Free Printable Tags (as a large PDF file)
Download the Candy Cane Bath Salts Free Printable Tags (as a smaller file size JPG file)
Other Great Homemade Gift Ideas:
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. They don’t change the price you pay. However, when you shop through them, we may receive a small compensation. Thanks!
Family Favorites Meal Plan - Frugal Family Home
Family Favorites Meal Plan - Frugal Family Home
Are your meals planned for this week?
I know during this busy time of year I do so much better if I plan our meals. It can be hard when you’ve been busy all day to come up with an idea for dinner.
But when you have a meal plan you don’t have to worry about what’s for dinner, since it’s already planned.
This week we will be enjoying a few comfort food meals that are my family’s favorite.
Homemade egg noodles with chicken are requested at our house often during the cold winter months. There is something about a yummy bowl of noodles with chunks of chicken and broth that warms you from the inside out.
We’ll also be having pan-fried pork chops with mashed potatoes. I think a good meat and potatoes meal during the cold dark months of the winter really helps to lift the spirits and make you feel warm inside.
Other meals this week will be hamburgers and pizza because my kids love to have them.
We will also be trying a new recipe for chili chicken. It’s one that can be grilled in the summer and baked in the winter. It should be a yummy addition to our meals this week.
And finally, we’ll be enjoying easy parmesan chicken. It’s a dinner I make off and on but it’s alway a hit when I make it. Even my picky eater will eat it. As long as I separate the chicken and the pasta.
What’s cooking at your house this week?
Here are our Meals for this Week,Dinners
Pan Fried Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Salad
Parmesan Chicken, Salad, and French Bread
Chicken Egg Noodles, Salad, and Fruit
Eggs, Sausage, Hash Browns and Toast
Sweet Chili Chicken, Rice, and Stir Fry Vegetables
Pizza Pockets, and Salad
Hamburgers and Baked Fries
Lunches
Leftovers most days
Homemade Pigs in a Blanket, Vegetable Sticks and Fruit
Hamburger Soup, Biscuits, and Fruit
Breakfast
Toast with Eggs
Caramel Sticky Buns, Eggs, and Sausage
Pancakes, Eggs, and Sausage
Do you need help planning your menu? Find my menu planning tips here with a free printable menu planner page and here for my frugal menu planning tips.
Find more menu plan ideas at Org Junkie too.
This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
http://ift.tt/2jaJpJOSunday, December 17, 2017
Hot Chocolate in a Jar Mix Recipe and Free Printable Tags
Hot Chocolate in a Jar Mix Recipe and Free Printable Tags
Post Preview: You’ll find a great hot chocolate in a jar recipe that’s perfect for Christmas, New Years, Valentine’s Day, or any winter gift-giving reasons. This is an excellent gift kids (or adults) can make. In this post, you’ll also find free printable homemade hot cocoa tags.
Hot chocolate and warm buttered toast.
That combination was a wonderful treat that my mom used to make for us during cold Wisconsin winters. So simple, but to me – it was loving care.
There is just something special about hot chocolate during the winter. That makes it a perfect gift for the holidays! Because of that, I have a hot chocolate in a jar mix recipe plus a set of free printable tags for it.
This homemade hot chocolate mix would be perfect for making and keeping for yourself or for a gift to give of hot chocolate in a jar (or a decorative baggie). I also love that this is a great homemade gift that kids can make. Young children may need some assistance. (Here are more ideas for easy homemade gifts kids can make.)
Farther down in the post, I have a set of free printable tags that you can include with these hot chocolate jars or packets.
Ingredients for Hot Chocolate in a Jar MixNote: This amount makes approximately four cups of hot chocolate mix. Make sure to increase amounts based on how much you need, if you will be making a large number of gifts.
- 2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup powdered nondairy creamer
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt
- Mini marshmallow bits (optional – add in amount desired)
Add all ingredients into a large bowl and mix with a whisk until well combined. The ingredients should be evenly distributed throughout the hot chocolate mix.
Divide mix between clean jars or small plastic bags. Add a tag (free printable farther down) and maybe a candy cane for decoration.
Add a little something special to your hot cocoa gift by adding one of these free printable tags!
You can choose to download the tags in black and white or in color. Each page has six tags. If the tag size is too large for your project, you should be able to scale them down while you are printing them.
This download is free for personal use.
This set cannot be sold, published, or hosted on other websites. (Example: an individual or another blogger may not upload the file onto their website for others to download there.) If you want to pass along the printable though, please feel free to share a link to this post with others.
Using the printable means you agree to the terms. Thanks!
Download the Hot Chocolate Mix Free Printable Tags (Black and White)
Download the Hot Chocolate Mix Free Printable Tags (Color)
Other Hot Chocolate Recipes and Fun Ideas
Nutella Hot Chocolate
Cinnamon Caramel Hot Chocolate
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. They don’t change the price you pay. However, when you shop through them, we may receive a small compensation. Thanks!
The post Hot Chocolate in a Jar Mix Recipe and Free Printable Tags appeared first on Real Life at Home.
http://ift.tt/2BCj16wSaturday, December 16, 2017
Chocolate Pavlova with Whipped Cream and Raspberries
Chocolate Pavlova with Whipped Cream and Raspberries 
Do you love show-stopping desserts? What about show-stopping desserts that are easy to make? Oh, I thought so.
http://ift.tt/2opzB4f
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