Broccoli Soup in a Bread Bowl and the best, darn Peanut-Butter cookies you've ever had!

Ever since Mommie Cooks was featured on SITS I can not help returning to this site multiple times!!!  She makes fabulous family-friendly recipes that are just to-die for (next up on my to-make-list is that yummy looking salmon burger)!

She posted this Irish Soda bread recipe for St. Patrick's day but I have made it multiple times as a side dish for dinner since then.  

I like to use whole wheat flour and some green vegetable puree (ie cooked kale) as a substitute for the butter.

The bread is really dense but it is great for making bread bowls:

I doubled the recipe in order to make two bread bowls.  One for my husband and one for me.

I cut a small circle around the "x" in the top of the bread loaf and scooped out the middle for the bread bowl.

I served the kids soup and "bread-chunks" (the soft bread that I scooped out of middle of the loafs).

I like to use a weight-watcher's recipe for my broccoli soup. 

Basically I cook some broccoli (sometimes carrots/cauliflower/potatoes/onions as well)

in chicken broth with a few other choice spices.

When the broccoli is soft and cooked through, I add a big chunk of velveeta cheese to melt and make the soup creamy.

{Email me if you want the exact measurements for the soup (madebybedtimetales@gmail.com)}

And here's the final product!:

Mmmmmmmm!

My husband was away for another Navy training.  Part way through the training we got to send the guys a treat via a jeep out into the desert.

I chose to make THESE fabulous Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

These things received 698 five stars on allrecipes.comand I'll tell you why:

They ARE GOOD!

As one comment on the recipe suggests, it is important not to over-cook the dough.

I set the timer for 10 minutes and took them out of the oven RIGHT at the beep.  

This is an important tip if you want your cookies to be soft and chewey.

Another tip I'd like to suggest is to dip these babies in chocolate!

Jen at Rook no.17 is always talking about wilton chocolate melts so I picked some up at Michaels last time I was running errands.  

It was my first time using them, but they were very easy to use!  I just popped them in the microwave and stirred 'em up.

The cookies turned out great!

Super soft and creamy and peanut buttery ;)

And here is my 3 year-old son's rendition of the words "Brown Sugar" 

Can you see the words?  

I love it when he helps me in the kitchen 

(most of the time...) ;)

-CK

A Jungle Safari

I've always wanted to paint a jungle scene on the wall...

But we live in a rented home and the owners requested that we keep all our walls the 

same

plain

cream

color

everywhere.

So I've brainstormed a few ways to keep my walls clean,

yet colorful ;)

With help from the kids...

I present our newest mural!

(Our last mural can be found here ;)

This is an elephant (see his trunk?)

and a turtle,

and a giraffe.

We have some really great 

Wildlife Fact-File Books that helped us get some proportions correct (sort of ;).
{Found those at a garage sale- score!}

Since my husband is away with the military {again}, I took the opportunity to spend a few nights painting after the kids were in bed.

During the day, the kids did a great job painting the grass and flowers.

And I learned a lot about painting murals

like how to pace myself...

{so I didn't get sick of it before it was finished}

Or how to thin the paint for a certain desired effect.

And now I feel more prepared for the day when I can paint on the walls of our own house.

And finally...

Ta-da!

(Can you find my son's elephant or turtle?)

This was all I had left of my brown crayon after finishing all those spots on the giraffe:

Makes for a great reading corner, I think.

Here's my son's baby gorilla.  It's kind of hard to spot since it isn't any larger than my finger:

And here's the beginnings of our jungle-explorer-kits we plan to use for our next adventure ;)

Overall, I am really happy with the mural, but I am sure I'll get sick of it after a couple months and wanna switch it up again ;)

Do YOU guys have any murals or paintings on your walls????

Wanna share?

Happy exploring,

-CK

This post has been linked up!  Check Jenn out!  She hosts a GREAT link-up party!

FREE Mother's Day Pendants Available

We have two giveaways going on this week, each giving you the opportunity to win your own free Mother's Day Pendant.

We also have FREE shipping at the shop all week long, in preparation for Mother's Day.

Just use the coupon code: MOTHER

 at check out before April 29th when you purchase a gift at Nonsense and Whimsy.

Here are the giveaways:

One is happening at Mom to Bed by 8

And we are also participating as a sponsor at Budget Savvy Diva's Big Giveaway Bash this week on facebook, here.

Happy Giveaway week, people!

-CK

Happy Easter... or, as they say in Romania, Paste Fericit!!!!

It was egg dying time at our house this week.

We had some great friends come over and help us color eggs.

 When I lived in Romania, I learned this nifty little game,

where your family/friends each choose a hard-boiled egg and then bonk them up against another's.

You say, "Christ is risen!" or "Hristos a inviat!" as you tap your eggs, attempting to crack the shell of your contender.

 

The winner of the mini duel is the one holding the one unscathed egg.

{my egg lost here}  

My son always seems to have the strongest egg!  He won every duel last year too!

Wikipedia has this to say about the tradition:  "In Romania, visitors strike red eggs against one held by the head of the household and exchange the greetings "Christ is risen!" and "He is risen indeed!" The person who keeps an unbroken egg is said to enjoy the longest life.^[3]"

I love the tradition and I think it is a good way to make breakfast fun before we eat our eggs Easter morning.

I have really enjoyed learning about Easter and teaching my children about the symbolism of eggs, new life and re-birth this season.

I wish you all a Happy Easter!  This video gives us such a wonderful opportunity to teach our children about Christ!

I love this message and I know that He Lives! 

His Resurrection makes it possible for all of us to have life eternal,

and to be reunited with family and friends beyond death.

Wishing you all a peaceful Sunday!

-CK

Feature Friday: A Mother's Shoulder Bag and Activity Banner

I received TWO high quality products last week, via giveaway prizes.

Neither of the etsy shop owners who sent me these items asked me to showcase these items on my blog- but I am going to do it anyway because I was SO impressed by the quality of each item!

First up is this gorgeous brown and green paisley tote from Sonia y Monica

The bag itself, and the accompanying nursing cover is hemmed with fine, even stitching, throughout.

The nursing cover comes with a high quality strap and buckle to give you easy access around your neck as you nurse.

Here, my friend models the bag for me at the park.  The bag was definitely a highly coveted item among the Moms at our play date ;)

 Here is the bag in all her glory, note the hand crafted button and flower pin.

It has 4 pockets, two on the outside and 2 on the inside; perfect for a cell phone, bottle, keys or wallet

 

The bag is rather deep and it fit everything I needed for the day including, bottle, blanket, nursing cover, diapers, wallet, keys, phone, snacks and sippy cup.

I received the nursing bag and cover via Crafty Mommy Diva.  Thank you so much gals!

 Our second showcase item comes from Reusable Activity Banners; Celebrate the seasons of Life.

The first thing I noted as I pulled this banner out of the cardboard tube was the thick, high quality vinyl from which the banner is made of.  

I am sure that this banner will be a great Easter treasure for years to come.  

I also immediately noted the sweet dowel and ribbon it hung from.

This product definitely got my kids excited about reading scripture before bedtime.

Each night since we opened the treasure, we cut out a new adhesive vinyl Easter egg, peeled off the back paper and stuck it to the banner.  Then we read the Bible scripture that is written on the egg, learning more about the last days of Christ's life.

I think the product has definitely been a useful tool in helping me explain the connection of Christ's death and resurrection to the symbolism we have in spring with new birth, bunnies, eggs and Easter.

The eggs are a great way to engage the children in reading the scriptures.

Though Easter is almost over, I definitely recommend considering one of the other great posters at Activity Banners!

How about the "Balloon Mom" poster, the Missionary Welcome Home Banner or this fabulous Teacher Appreciation Banner

I received this product as a giveaway prize via beinglds.org during Jocelyn's We Talk of Christ celebration this Easter.

Thanks again for the fabulous products, ladies!!!

-CK

Digital Scrapbooking; Mothers Day

These images all come from a book I designed for mother's day last year.

For another inspirational digital scrapbook, check out this gift for a friend here.

This book turned out really great.

Each 8'x8' page can be printed from your own ink-jet or at your local Walmart.

And, each page fits neatly into an 8'x8' scrapbook.

I just downloaded the embellishments from here and assembled the pages in Pages for Mac.

This book might inspire you to make something simple for your own Mother's day gift?

All of these digital scrapbooking embellishments and papers come from

http://www.shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp

FOR FREE!

And, did you see this fabulous Mother's Day gift option?

{shameless plug}

What gifts have you given to your Mom in the past?

What special gifts/memories do you share with your Mom?

-CK