Just Under 6 Weeks to Christmas!

For as long as 2020 has felt, it is so crazy to think that Christmas is less than 6 weeks away. I think I am ready to start getting out Christmas decorations and adding a little extra cheer. There are already a handful of houses where I have seen Christmas lights and other decorations and it makes me smile.

I expect the holidays will feel different this year. We don't often travel for Thanksgiving, so it will probably be similar for us, with the exception of no plans for Black Friday shopping. Sales have started early this year, which I guess has been nice. When my mixer that had served me well for 25 years stopped working a few weeks ago, I was able to take advantage of a Black Friday deal at Target to pick one up without even going in the store. In fact, I imagine a lot more of my shopping will be online this year. I have been doing a majority of my shopping online with shipping or curbside services since March. I have always been a look and see shopper, so this was quite an adjustment for me. I have returned to buying produce in person because the items I was getting through pick up services were not to my liking.

The gatherings that normally fill my schedule for Christmas will look a lot different this year. The normal outings with girlfriends and friends, I assume will fall to the wayside this year, especially if our governor decides to close restaurants for 4-6 weeks as is currently being speculated. There won't be carry ins or outings for work. I assume that the extended family, for the first time in my life, will not be planning a family get together with family, food, and gifts. It is always a great time, a chance to see cousins that I don't get to see through out the year. With over 100 people though, it just isn't likely. Assuming that it makes sense, we do hope to see my family over the holidays for a family dinner after the holidays.

I think that gifts might be a little different this year. In part, the difference will be driven by shopping online. Plus, as the kids get older, their lists of wants and needs seems to be getting smaller. I have turned back on my Gift Guide link on the side bar. It will lead you to not only new posts from this year but ideas that I have shared over the years. I continue to stand by my approach of Foster Imagination, Stimulate Creativity, Challenge Their Problem Solving and Stretch Their Minds. I am a big fan of experiences, over things but that might be harder this year with concerts, plays, musicals, escape rooms, laser tag, and other like things being postponed/closed.

How do you shop? How will your plans change this year?

Memorial Day Weekend

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

Memorial Day weekend was always a weekend of parades, picnics, the top 500 on the radio (in honor of the Indy 500) and the indicator that school would soon be out. I can remember sitting at my stereo with my fingers ready on my tape deck in hopes of catching my favorite song and recording it - of course, there was always that risk that the dj would talk over part of the song...but at least I had the song captured. It really is funny to think about now. I can remember fast forwarding and rewinding through those random radio tapes to find the right song. Then, I got a new stereo that had two tape decks and then (wow!) I could make a mix tape of the best of what I captured from the radio. That way, I could take my walkman and listen to my tape while I was out and about. Ah, but I digress...

Memorial Day has changed for me over the years. Now I can choose to buy a song or an album online and not worry about 'catching' my favorite one on the radio, besides which the radio stations I listen to featured a flashback to the 80s weekend this year. We only go to the parade if the kids are marching in it with one of their teams or scouts. We always loved to host a picnic, but with a busy baseball tournament weekend, we can't 'commit' to a time for a picnic because the schedule comes out a few days ahead for pool play and the playoff brackets aren't determined until the night before play and you play until you lose (not necessarily consecutive games, but close enough that coming home isn't always an option). And, when we are invited to a picnic, there isn't as much time to plan.

As much as I have always been a fan of homemade, there are times like this where convenience rules.

Want to bring a quick and easy main dish? Simply prep a couple packs of hot dogs in water in a standard crock pot. Prepare a can of Hormel Chili No Beans in a small crock pot (I have one of those dip warmers that works perfect). Grab a couple bags of buns and some shredded cheese. Voila! You have tasty and easy, Coney Dogs. (you can find a 'recipe' for chili dogs and more on their webpage.)

For a quick bleacher snack, grab a Hormel Gatherings Party Tray. We always bring a cooler with us to the game and the snack pack size gives us an option for a snack that is more than just chips or candy (which seems to be what my kids want to buy at the concession stand) and one that is easy to share with fellow fans. When ready to enjoy and share, open the crackers, cheese and pepperoni and place into the tray and serve. You can even keep the lid in place to help prevent the baseball field from becoming part of your snack - have you seen the amount of dust that the kids kick up when they slide into the plate? Of course, the Hormel Gatherings Party Tray is also great for an impromptu post game gathering to celebrate too. When the kids are done playing, they are usually hungry and a quick picnic or evening gathering is a high potential.

Of course, if you have time for a traditional picnic, that doesn't mean that you want to spend your time in the kitchen prepping, so I still recommend a coney dogs and cheese trays.

We had fun at our tournament this year. We went 1-1-1 in the tournament; even though we should have done better, the boys still enjoyed it. My daughter had a soccer game and the team won. We even found time to picnic at a friend's house on Monday.

How did you spend your Memorial Day?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day has always been a 'fun' holiday. How can it not be? There are parades, rivers are turned green, there is food, there is beverage, there are Irish jigs.

When I was a child, I went to St. Patrick's Elementary School - I had a connection from a young age. I remember wearing green and people having buttons and shirts that said "Kiss Me I'm Irish".

There are some traditions that many consider to be part of St. Patrick's Day.

• You always wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

• You always have green beer on St. Patrick's Day.

• There's always a parade on St. Patrick's Day.

• You always have corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day.

I never was a fan of beer, let alone green beer, so that is one tradition that hasn't stayed with me (although I gave it the old college try, back in my college days).

I have limited green clothes in my closet, but I make an effort to wear green.

I don't live in a community with a parade and aside from getting stuck in some parade traffic in a nearby community last year, usually don't head out to see one.

I do usually make an effort to get some Corned Beef on St. Patrick's Day. I really enjoy Corned Beef Hash and Reubens or straight-up Corned Beef sandwiches. I prefer my Corned Beef Hashed crispy, like my bacon. I think it really pulls out the flavor.

Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my family that really enjoys Corned Beef, so I am generally on my own. I've never made homemade Corned Beef Hash, but have found that the HORMEL® MARY KITCHEN® Corned Beef Hash is a great way to enjoy it at home. You can enjoy it prepared as is, by simply frying it up in a skillet, or check out one of the recipes featured on their website - Sunshine Hash or Cheesy Corned Beef both sound good to me.

Do you have St. Patrick's Day traditions? Is there a family favorite Irish dish you enjoy on St. Patrick's Day?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

The Day After Christmas

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays with their family. For us, we got to celebrate with my extended family over the weekend and have been able to enjoy some quiet time at home this week. It used to be that I had to work the entire holiday period with just Christmas and New Year's Day off, so I am definitely thankful to be at a point where I get to spend an extended period of time at home just hanging out with my kids. It is very relaxing and we have watched movies, played games and simply hung out together.

We enjoyed our big meal for Christmas at lunch time. Since it was just the four of us celebrating, I once again went with a turkey breast. At Thanksgiving, we had a Jennie-O Oven Ready Bone-In Turkey Breast and it was so easy that I decided to do the same for Christmas. When I got to the store, they only had the Oven Ready Boneless, Skinless Turkey Breast, so that is what we went with. Just like the bone-in product, it was very easy to prepare - going right from my freezer to my oven. I definitely appreciate not having to thaw it for a few days in advance, like when I make a traditional whole turkey. I also really like that the turkey breast gives us just enough meat for the main meal and one or two leftover meals.

When it comes to leftovers, the family doesn't seem to enjoy having the same meal again, so we always mix it up. My husband enjoyed an open face turkey sandwich - white bread, piled high with turkey and mashed potatoes and covered with gravy. My kids wanted paninis, which we make on our waffle maker most of the time, and a side of sweet potatoes.

I had some bacon in the fridge that I needed to use up, so I fried up the Hormel Black Label Thick Cut Brown Sugar bacon. I prefer to buy traditional bacon and fry up the whole package, putting the balance of what was not needed in the freezer for future sandwich making. I know that I could always use a ready-bacon, but I like having some bacon fat on hand for making eggs and my kids can use it straight from the freezer for their sandwiches. The brown sugar on this bacon provided a wonderful aroma while frying and a great touch of sweet to the bacon.

Today, we used the turkey and the bacon to create Turkey Bacon Ranch Paninis (or Wafflewiches perhaps is a better name).

Simply place your slice of bread on the waffle maker, add turkey, bacon, ranch and a bit of cheese, top with another slice of bread and close the cover. Once the bread is toasted and the cheese melted, the sandwich is ready to go.

How do you use up leftovers?

No compensation was received for this post. Product samples and thought starters are provided by Hormel through the Hormel Extended Family Blogger program, in which I participate. All opinions are my own or that of my family.

The Day After Thanksgiving

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful (and quiet) holiday. It was just the four of us at home celebrating and one of my friends, whose husband and kids had traveled to his hometown for the week, joined us for the meal. Everything was so flavorful and it was nice just to relax at home and spend time together.

With a mid-day meal, we didn't do anything formal for dinner. I pulled out some finger foods and dessert (pumpkin cheesecake) for the group to munch on. Times like this my family enjoys snacking on cheese and crackers. A perfect time to enjoy a Hormel Gatherings Party or Snack Tray (we love the Snack Tray size - they are great for snacking with just the family!)

In fact, we kept and cleaned the tray from the HORMEL GATHERINGS™ Supreme Party Trayand actually as pictured here refilled it with the contents of the smaller HORMEL® Snack Tray Pepperoni Bites (the pepperoni, cheese and pretzels)

and served it with some crackers and dip to make it a one stop snack station.

I hadn't planned to go out shopping at all yesterday, but the family joined my friend for one quick stop so she could have others check out the furniture she was going to get - since her family wasn't there to help her. Then, after the kids went to bed, I ventured out to Target to pick up a few of the less popular Black Friday deals. It was strange, there was almost no lines and there were even some of the displays that were not on the beaten path that were still fully intact (I had to remove the little plastic disc from the end of the hanging posts that holds the items in place during transit in order to purchase the item - all but one post had the disc still there). I was able to get everything that was on my list and more - 40% off all clothes was a great deal, I might have gotten more if I didn't want to get home at a decent time. I was glad I didn't linger, as the parking lot and minor road ways were icy and it only got colder as the night went on.

This morning, again, no early alarm setting for me. When I did get moving, I made three quick stops - Target (10% off Target Gift Cards), Kohl's (assorted doorbuster deals through 1 pm) and Giant Eagle (Amazon gift cards, 20% Fuel Perks). I had planned to get to CVS, but was beat and decided I could go later or tomorrow.

We enjoyed leftovers for lunch and now, we are just relaxing and the kids are watching movies. I love long holiday weekends with nothing specific scheduled to be done. I think it is a wonderful contrast to our normally (over) programmed lives of sports, activities, school and work.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information and images for this post.

Holiday Gift Guide kick-off

It still seems a little strange to me that we are less than a month from Christmas and the other winter holidays that are celebrated.

With the weather we have been having in northeast Ohio, I must say that I am definitely in the mood. We had our first notable snow fall over a week ago - certainly nothing like Buffalo saw, but snow and cold.

Then, of course, with a white Thanksgiving and Black Friday now underway, it continues to put me into the holiday mode.

I don't have a set list of specific items, but more so some thoughts on types of gifts that have served us well over the years. Gifts that the kids come back to over and over again and those that we get the most feedback on. Hopefully, if you are stuck with what to get someone on your list, some of the ideas that I share will help you come up with some ideas. The link will take you back to posts that I have done over the years at the holidays...and yes, it is likely that many of them will overlap - perhaps that is just further evidence that they have stood the test of time that I still consider them a good idea.

I don't have many, but there are a giveaway or two that will be coming up during the series too.

Planning for Thanksgiving

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

Are you the host for Thanksgiving? When I am planning for an event, I love to be able to get as much done ahead of time as possible.

For the past 8 years, I have done a traditional turkey dinner for my daughter's birthday and the realization quickly set in that with only one oven, the only way to pull it off is to work ahead. For me, this starts with roasting my turkey the night before the event. Once roasted, I can let it cool before carving. This is great because it reabsorbs much of the cooking broth in the process, resulting in moist turkey. Plus, I can get the turkey cleaned and the carcass thrown out and get the kitchen cleaned up. I place the turkey into a 9x13 (or a little larger) glass pan, add a small amount of broth, cover tightly with aluminum in set in my refrigerator. The next day, I put it in the oven with my other dishes and cook it for about 30 - 45 minutes to cook it through. I also gather the remaining broth and set in the refrigerator to use to make gravy the next day.

I also like to prep my side dishes. The first I always do is next day mashed potatoes. I boil the potatoes and mash them with some added ingredients, like cream cheese, and put in another glass pan. The potatoes take about 45 - 60 minutes to cook the next day. I also do my sweet potatoes, because I do a mashed sweet potato casserole. They take about 45 minutes to cook the next day. I also prepare my stuffing, although I suppose since it never sees the turkey it is technically dressing. I usually use a few pieces of the carved turkey and a little of the cooking broth in the preparation of my stuffing...which I can only do if I prepare the turkey the day ahead.

I also do all of my cutting and chopping for my fruit salad and vegetable tray. Then, the day of, I can quickly set out the vegetables and have plenty at the ready for refilling the tray. I assemble the fruit salad day of, in order to keep things fresh.

I typically prepare my vegetable dishes the day of the event and put them in the oven along side the other dishes that are cooking. I like to do a broccoli and cauliflower dish, but this year I think I am going to try the Bacon and Green Bean Casserole Deluxe featured on the Hormel site.

It is much like the traditional one, with a kick of bacon bits - after all, everything is better with bacon. We don't do mushroom soup, so I will swap in cream of celery or onion to give it a good creamy texture. Best thing is, you can make this one the day ahead and then simply warm and serve.

This year our celebration will just be the immediate family, so we are trying out the Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey Breast. I must say, I am intrigued by this one, it "goes straight from your freezer to your oven". I am so used to thawing. It comes in an oven ready back and you simply pull out of your freezer, remove from the outer bag and put it in your oven in a roasting pan. I will have to let you know how it goes. I also will not be prepping the sides, because I will not need a full casserole of mashed potatoes and can just make up a small pan day of.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information and images for this post.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.

May your heart find joy in the company of others.

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Have a happy and safe new year! May 2014 be full of blessings for you and your family.

May 2014 be a great year for everyone.

Post Holiday Leftovers

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. As a Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger, I received information from Hormel for this post, as well as product samples.
I'm not sure how it works at your house, but at my house, we can usually get one or two leftover meals in enjoying the food as originally prepared before it gets to be ho hum or plain old undesirable. As such, over the years, I have come up with several ways to enjoy our leftovers as new meals and the family is less likely to get tired of them. Plus, if I have a good amount, I will sometimes freeze them for those other meals.

Here are some of our family favorites:
For turkey, we use it like we would chicken:
Buffalo Turkey Cheesesteak
Pulled Barbecue Turkey Sandwiches - make your own sauce or use a bottle of barbecue sauce. Let it all sit in the crock pot for a few hours and it will be tender and yummy.
Turkey Enchiladas
Loaded Turkey Nachos - Layer tortilla chips with shredded turkey, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes and all of your favorite toppings. Put in the oven for about 15 minutes, so that everything warms through and the cheese melts. Serve with sour cream, salsa and/or guacamole.
Turkey Pot Pie
Turkey Shepard's Pie - substitute cubed or shredded turkey for the ground meat and use up your turkey gravy, vegetables and mashed potato leftovers too.
Turkey Noodle Soup - if we have gravy, we thin that for the base, or just use chicken or vegetable broth

For ham, we use it to make some family favorites:
Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwiches
Quiche - I add it to my broccoli cheese quiche
Omelets
Scrambled Eggs and Ham
Green Eggs and Ham - the kids find the color to be fun

For Mashed Potatoes, we have a new favorite recipe (if we don't use them up in a Shepard's Pie:
Fried Mashed Potato Balls

Hormel has also shared with me some Holiday Leftover Ideas:

Leave it to leftovers to keep you in the holiday spirit even after your big meals are over and done with. To help expand your post-feast repertoire, Hormel Foods has compiled a list of new ways to enjoy leftovers this holiday season. Impress your family and friends with these creative and tasty options:
* Looking for a new approach for all that leftover Thanksgiving turkey? Create Greek Turkey Kabobs by cutting Jennie-O® Turkey Store® oven roasted turkey breast into cubes and alternately threading them onto skewers with cucumbers, tomatoes and Peloponnese® kalamata pitted olives. This Mediterranean twist might just convert reluctant turkey eaters!

* Use extra holiday ham and pie crusts to bake a delicious quiche! Mix in your favorite vegetables and seasonings with Hormel® Cure 81® sliced ham to create a wonderful meal that can feed the whole family.

* If you’re craving the standard leftover turkey sandwich, take it up a notch with corn tortillas! They make a great stand-in for bread and give your sandwich an extra special crunch.

* Make a lunchtime salad by tossing pasta with leftover turkey or ham, vegetables, and your favorite dressing.

How do you use up your leftovers?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. As a Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger, I received information from Hormel for this post, as well as product samples.

Merry Christmas!

May you and your family have a wonderful, Merry Christmas.

Holiday Preparations #BJsHoliday2013

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. I was offered the opportunity to take a tour of the club and received a gift card from BJs.
It is so hard to believe that we are just days away from Christmas and that New Year's Eve is next week. Are you ready?

Whether you are planning and hosting a gathering for family and/or friends, or looking for that last minute gift or a hostess gift to take with you, you can find several options to fit your needs at BJs. From Buffet Servers, to cocktail mixers, to Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate or Peppermint Truffles, to Gift Sets, they have a variety of options that can help make your holiday prep less stressful. Looking for more holiday decor? They have that to - from LED Christmas Tree to a Wreath and Garland Set to a 12 Ft. Snowman Lightshow. They also carry wrapping paper and gift tags.

We have been members at BJs since the kids were born. It was hard to dismiss their value advantage, not only can you buy in bulk typically for a better value than you can find at the grocery as with most club/warehouse stores, but you can also use manufacturer's coupons to help further reduce those prices. This was a huge opportunity when the kids were in diapers. At the time (can't speak to current packages) there were three inner packs in the diaper boxes, which meant that we could use three manufacturer's coupons on each that we purchased - allowing us to typically save an additional $3 per box. The same held true for baby food and other things that we were buying. To us, it made the switch an easy one.

BJs carries more than just bulk pack items and the things that we purchase at BJs has evolved, now that we don't need to pick up diapers anymore. They have a wide assortment of books, DVDs, CDs and toys for the kids. They offer sheets, towels and clothing, as well. In fact, the trench coat that I wear to work in the spring and fall, is one that I picked up at BJs a few years back. When my daughter was younger, we also were able to find a lot of dolly and me type pajama sets for her at BJs. They carry electronics - from telephones to TVs. They have kitchen accessories and party needs, paper goods and plastic ware. They have a nice selection of branded offerings, but also offer some products under their own label - in fact, we almost always purchase their brand of paper towels - we find it performs similar to the branded, but is a better value.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club
BJ’s Wholesale Club is a one-stop shopping destination for name brand, high-quality food and merchandise at
prices that are significantly lower than supermarkets, supercenters, department stores, drug stores and
specialty retail stores.
Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's is a leading operator of warehouse clubs in the eastern
U.S., currently with 200 clubs and 113 gas stations in 15 states. Learn more and shop online at BJs.com, and
for exclusive content visit Facebook or Twitter.
BJ’s is one of the lowest cost operators in the retail industry. BJ’s values are compelling, especially when
people are looking to save money. BJ’s is able to pass the savings onto its members in the form of lower prices
for the following reasons:
* BJ’s is extremely efficient in shipping and handling goods
* BJ’s does not have expensive displays, fancy buildings, or high advertising costs
* BJ’s annual membership fee also helps eliminate factoring operating costs into pricing
* With such a large committed base of loyal Members, BJ’s merchandising team is able to negotiate with
vendors to bring Members the consistent value

BJ's carries the most product variety of any other wholesale club with more than 7,000 items, including
supermarket-sized staples.

BJ's is the only wholesale club to accept all manufacturers' coupons in addition to in-club coupons and for
greater convenience, offers the most payment options including EBT.

If you’re not a club member, you can still shop and save. The wholesale club is offering a Free 60-Day Trial Membership, which can be activated until December 31. The risk-free, trial membership consists of full-member benefits and no surcharge.

So, as you prepare for your holidays, consider a stop to BJs to help you wrap things up.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. I was offered the opportunity to take a tour of the club and received a gift card from BJs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Minted - #giveaway *

No compensation was received for this post. Minted provided a credit to me for this post, as well as one for the giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.

According to the statement on their site, at Minted:

"Our purpose in life is to uncover exceptional design from all over the world and bring this to savvy consumers who won't accept anything else."

Whether you are looking for birth announcements, holiday cards, journals invitations or art prints, you can find them at Minted. They offer a variety of designs on paper for every occasion. Have an idea? Right now (through August 5th) you can enter their design challenge - create fresh stationery designs that will be great gifts for all personalities.

Minted makes it easy to find the design that is right for you. On each category page, there are several filter options to help you narrow down to just what you are looking for. I also really like their 'find it fast' feature, where you can upload your picture and view it on hundreds of cards...that way, you can choose the right combination to start and don't have to worry about whether or how your picture will fit the cards you like.

I really like their journals. They come with 40 pages of your choice of lined, unlined or graph paper - so you can use it like a sketch pad or a notebook, whatever suits your style. I think that I might have to pick one up with a picture of each kid or a picture of one of their art creations on the front and use them for the next Mommy & Me journal - where we write back and forth, like pen pals. How fun would it be to have a favorite picture on the front of a journal.

They also offer free recipient addressing on qualified purchases. You order your item, import your addresses or add them one at a time, you can even request them by e-mail if you don't know someone's address, and they ship them to you addressed and ready for you to add postage and mail. Talk about a time saver.

Looking for inspiration or want to inspire others? Check out their inspiration boards or create one of your own.

Giveaway!
Courtesy of Minted, I have the opportunity to have one A Busy Mom of Two reader win a $50 Credit to Minted.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through August 29th. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winners will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. Minted provided a credit to me for this post, as well as one for the giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.

Easter Traditions

It is so hard for me to believe that Easter is just around the corner. Maybe the challenge is the snow day that the kids had on Monday. I have always associated Easter with the start of spring. The start of new life (and renewed life).

Holidays seem to be a time of tradition for me. When I was a kid, I can remember my grandparents taking us to an Easter egg hunt. Of course, coloring Easter eggs is a fun activity that is typically reserved to Easter. I can remember getting a new spring dress and shoes for Easter, and even on a few occasions a new hat too. Easter menus include ham and scalloped potatoes (although, I don't eat those, so I'm not sure whey I would associate that) and of course, colored eggs. Easter morning always included the hunt for the Easter basket and the yummy chocolates and chocolate eggs.

Most years, we have taken the kids to an Easter egg hunt, although some years cold weather and schedules seem to make this hard to do. I've chosen a new dress and sandals for my daughter to wear for Easter, my son isn't into the clothes, so he'll make do with something he has. We colored our Easter eggs last week. The kids always want to color a lot of eggs, but I am the only one that eats the hard boiled eggs, so we have to balance their desire to color with how many eggs I can eat! We enjoy using a white crayon to write a message that magically appears when the egg is colored.

The menu for Easter has evolved over the years. We generally go to one of my aunt's houses for the holiday and everyone brings a dish to share so the selection will vary, but the constant of course is the ham.

Brian Hendrickson, Curemaster for Hormel Cure 81 ham brand, has a few tips for you when it comes to ham:

Know your Numbers: When purchasing ham for a large crowd, such as Easter dinner, count the number of guests scheduled to attend. It's a good idea to get about a pound of ham for every 3-4 people. Don't forget to estimate a little extra for unexpected guests, and everyone's favorite - leftovers!"
As Simple as Heat & Serve: Hams are typically sold as a fully cooked product, so when preparing, all you need to do is heat it until the ham is hot throughout. A good gauge is when the ham reaches about 140-145 degrees. It's a simple protein solution when you are pressed for time.
A Ham for Every Occasion: In recent years, various cuts and flavors of ham have been introduced, making it a great option for entertaining or a weeknight family dinner. Hormel Cure 81 ham items are available pre-diced or pre-cubed for an easy addition to your morning omelet, or in ham steaks that are great to throw on the grill.

My husband doesn't like ham though, so I also will sometimes bring an alternate entree with us to the meal - usually a pasta dish (he is Italian, afterall!)

How do you celebrate Easter? Are there recipes that you make every spring? Does your family participate in any charitable programs?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day has always been a 'fun' holiday. How can it not be? There are parades, rivers are turned green, there is food, there is beverage, there are Irish jigs.

When I was a child, I went to St. Patrick's Elementary School - I had a connection from a young age. I remember wearing green and people having buttons and shirts that said "Kiss Me I'm Irish". When I headed off to college, St. Patrick's Day was a day marked by Green Beer and lots of community parties.

I really don't recall St. Patrick's Day being associated with a particular type of food until my fourth year of college. I was dating a man that lived in another state and I had headed over to visit for Spring Break - the aforementioned college traditions led to us having a spring break after my sophomore year that was conveniently scheduled over St. Patrick's Day each year. We went to one of his friend's houses for dinner and she made a great dish of corned beef and cabbage. It was delicious. I had enjoyed both corned beef (with noodles) and cabbage (in cabbage rolls) as a child, so they weren't new to me, but having them together for St. Patrick's Day was new.

Now, as an adult, I can't really say that I have any St. Patrick's Day traditions of my own, unless you count wearing green and up until last year bringing something to daycare for the green buffet - frequently, cut out Shamrock Cookies or Finger Jello. I am however, a big fan of corned beef, so this year, I am going to make up some corned beef hash and fried eggs for breakfast or lunch. (I'm thinking lunch, only because I don't normally eat that much food at breakfast - plus Sunday is the only day that I have a bowl of cereal and I enjoy it while reading the paper.) I will likely be enjoying it alone - although, I might convince my son to give it a try, he is more adventurous and likes easy over eggs.

Do you have St. Patrick's Day traditions? Do you eat any St. Patrick's Day themed foods?

If you are in need of some ideas, Hormel Foods has put together a full menu of St. Patrick's Day themed dishes for every meal of day.

Breakfast:
Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast Sandwiches - they make theirs green with spinach, not like the green eggs that my kids and I enjoyed a few years back. I think that sounds more appealing to me.
Cheesy Hash - add bacon and cheese to Hormel Mary Kitchen corned beef hash for a restaurant-like breakfast dish.

Lunch:
Sausage and Pepper Pasta - this delicious sounding dish uses Hormel Natural Choice spinach asiago chicken sausage (I have to look for that, it sounds delicious and would be great on the grill).
California Confetti Pizza - this vegetable pizza adds green with the addition of Wholly Guacamole.

Dinner:
Ultimate Roast Beef Sandwich - this recipe takes a bowl of stew and turns it into a sandwich.
Harvest Pork Roast - a classic meat and potato dish.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

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Holiday Cards from Shutterfly - a Giveaway!

I know that it is only October and that Christmas seems to be a long ways off, but I can tell you that when I headed to the store a few weeks ago (in September, no less) they had already started to set up Christmas displays. I will give you that it was small, but it was still a display. Couple that with requests for Christmas lists and I am already starting to think ahead to the holidays. Last week, I even bought chocolate chips in anticipation of holiday baking.

Every year, I like to send picture Holiday Cards to our friends and family. Typically, we use a special pose for the picture. Last year, the kids put on Santa hats and we took a picture. My husband edited to make the picture black and white and the hat he left in color. I loved the way it turned out. We used to print out a newsletter too, but a couple years back, we took the newsletter electronic. If my husband had his way, he wouldn't bother with physical cards and would send them all by e-mail. Me, I love to receive cards and imagine that others do to, so I plan to continue to send cards.

For several years, I looked for a way to display all of our Christmas Cards during the season. I finally found a memory board that I hang in my hallway. I am able to display the pictures and cards that we get and others can enjoy them when they visit. I saw a great idea online the other day, it suggested that you use your cameras phone to take a picture of the cards and use those as the image for your contacts. What a great way to enjoy that picture all year.

After the holidays, I used to just tuck the cards all away together. Then, I decided that I should do more with the pictures, so I started a photo card scrapbook. I love to receive picture cards, especially from people that I don't get to see very often. It is great to see the highlights from their year or that special pose that they captured just for the card. The scrapbook includes Christmas cards and birth announcements (the only other picture card we receive regularly).

What do you do with the Photo Christmas Cards that you receive from friends and family? Do you send photo cards?

I always have a hard time picking out my cards. Sometimes, the one that I like won't work with the picture that I like. We typically try to stick with a Happy Holidays card, as we have several friends that are Jewish. Here are some that I am considering for this year:

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thThis is a sponsored post. I will receive credit at Shutterfly in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family..

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!