July Sharing Time Week 1

Like I mentioned before, I serve in the children's primary organization at church. I'm teaching every Sunday in July. Since this Sunday will be the 4th of July, I decided to throw in a little something fun.

The sharing time outline mentions 5 scriptures to go along with 5 word strips, I decided to use firecrackers. I will hide them around the room, and as they are found we will read the scripture and talk about how Jesus did the work of Heavenly Father.

Moses 4:2

Luke 22:42

3 Nephi 27:13

John 6:38

John 4:34

Fireworks are much cooler if there are TONS of them, so I'm going to have the children each make their own firecracker. On the firecracker the children will write something they can do to follow Jesus Christ's example of obeying Heavenly Father's commandments. They will share their answers and put them on board together for our grand firework display. (but take them home after!)

Here are the firecrackers in black and white. I might just print them on colored paper to save ink:) These jpegs don't print well for some of you, so if you have any troubles just email me and I can send over the pdfs.

Also, we have a boy in our junior primary who is extra boisterous and disruptive. I am going to ask him to make a big firework "boom" every time we find one of the firecrackers. I'm hoping this will channel his loudness into the lesson and make it a little more fun. I'll tell him he has to be quiet and watch closely for as soon as they find the firecracker so he can be a really good firework:)

July Menu

Here we are, another month. To read my push for monthly menu planning click here. It just makes things easier! We spend the majority of weekends in July at either barbecues or family reunions. I'm only going to plan 20 meals for this month, but I'm going to find 6 delicious appetizers or salads to bring to all these events. July is just party time! For new recipes, I'm browsing online, I've provide the links to each new recipe.
Here are main dishes for July:

Pizza Braid (freezer)

Grilled Pizza

Navajo Tacos

Taco Salad

Chicken Kabobs

Chicken Tomato Wraps

Country Fried Steak Strips from Heavenly Homemakers

BLT sandwiches

Linguine with Sundried Tomato and Avacado from Sister's Cafe

Sloppy Joes

Italian Chicken Pitas

Sweet and Sour Meatballs from Melanie

Won Ton Cups from Melanie

BBQ Cups

Citrus Glazed Salmon from Britt Bakes

Bacon Chicken Skewers

Crispy Pork Milanese from get off your butt and bake

Grilled Tostadas

Red Bean Tacos from get off your butt and bake

Foil Campfire Dinners from get off your butt and bake

Appetizers/Salads:

Mucho Cucumber Pasta Salad

White Chili Mini Tacos from Betty Crocker

Guacamole Squares from Taste of Home

Tomato Corn Salad from Taste of Home

German Potato Salad from Taste of Home

Deviled Eggs

Michigan

Last week I shipped off my first apron to Michigan!

I made a custom apron for Tammy in MI and I absolutely adore it! So here's a little sneak peak for Tammy, who will be checking her mailbox every day this week:

I spent all my babysitting money for this month at the fabric store and I'm stitching up some adorably chic aprons. I'll be taking orders on my blog soon - so be watching!!

Cheesy Texas Bake

Sometimes I wish my camera was better at portraying the deliciousness of some food. This was hard to get a good picture of, but let me just say it is so gooey, cheesy, yummy, plate-lickin' good. This recipe makes either one 9x13 pan or two 8x8 pans. I always make one for dinner tonight, and one in the freezer for dinner later. You could get fancy schmancy and garnish this with green onions or cilantro and sour cream, but it's quite amazing all on it's own, I'm just sayin'.

Husband Rating: 4 1/2 stars

12 oz. ground beef
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 10 oz can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies (do not drain)
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. cheese
2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix (plus eggs and milk as called for on the box)

In a large skillet cook ground beef until no longer pink, drain any grease. Add onion and garlic. Stir in Rotel tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, corn and taco seasoning. Cook and stir for 5 minutes over medium heat.

Divide mixture equally between to 8x8 baking dishes. Sprinkle 4 oz. cheese over each dish. In a separate bowl make cornbread mixes according to package directions. Divide and pour over each pan, spreading to the edges. (Sometimes I make each package separately so I don't have to eyeball half, whatever works!)

Bake at 375, uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until cornbread is brown and filling is bubbly.


For your freezer pan, let it cool for a few minutes and cover with foil. Label and date, you'll need to use within 3 months.


Note: You don't bake the freezer version until you want to eat it!

To prepare freezer version: Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before cooking time. Let sit on the counter for 30 minutes, uncovered. Put foil back on and bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.


It's so good, trust me. We ate 3/4 of the pan that night, and then I sent the rest with my husband for lunch the next day. Whoohoo for double duty foods!

Linking up with Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays!
and Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff

It's Friday again, that means it's time to give out my weekly assignment, your homework for this weekend.

I doubt I'm the only one, but sometimes it's easy to get caught up in what I wish I had instead of enjoy what I have. Father's Day got me thinking about my husband. He's a cabinet maker and he works really hard for us. I know I'm lucky to be a stay-at-home mom. If I had a salary this year he wouldn't have to work so hard, and yet he does. But, sometimes I think wouldn't it be nice if my husband had a master's degree and an amazing job, wouldn't it be nice if we could afford one of those beautiful homes in the foothills, wouldn't it be nice it we had 2 nice cars with leather seats, wouldn't it be nice if we could go on a vacation at some island resort. . . . and so on . . .

Even though someday I would like all those things, I really appreciate where we are now. I have a hard working husband, a cute little boy and we are renting a great townhouse with lawn care included. Why am I wishing for more? Do you guys do this too?



Your assignment is to love where you are, enjoy what you have and make sure your husband knows he meets all of your expectations and you appreciate him. I never want my honey to think he's not doing enough and that his sacrifice goes un-noticed.

Easy enough?

Get it done this weekend, and leave a comment or email me with your thoughts/feelings/experiences.

Banana Muffins

I found the perfect recipe for when you have bananas browning on your counter. My husband eats at least 1 banana a day, but sometimes they go bad way too fast! After this delicious recipe though, I think he might "accidentally" forget about them and let them go brown on purpose. These are some easy muffins that I whipped together in a few minutes. Be creative too, you could toss in walnuts or chocolate chips.

Husband Rating: 4 1/2 stars (he says it's still not as good as banana bread, but banana bread takes forever to bake, hehe, so I like these!)

From Taste of Home Annual Recipes 1999

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 large ripe bananas (I used 3 medium)

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Stir in egg, oil and vanilla, mixing well. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes.

Yield: 18 muffins

Winger's Sticky Fingers

There's a restaurant around here called Winger's. They serve this amazing sauce on their wings and chicken, it's so spicy and sweet and delicious! My aunt in Portland can't visit Idaho or Utah without hitting Winger's. A student of mine gave me this recipe for one of his demos during class, I finally tried it out this week. Amazing!!! Husband couldn't believe how much it tasted like the original Winger's sauce, but it didn't cost $12 for an entree! I want to have a party now and serve these . . .

Husband Rating: 5 stars

Note: You have to use Frank's hot sauce, no other brand. Target often has internet coupons you can print for 50 cents off a bottle. Every grocery store has them, has to be Frank's!

2 Tbsp. Frank's hot sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. water

In a saucepan over medium heat stir together Frank's, brown sugar and water. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, then cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken as it cools. In a tupperware container add sauce and chicken, seal and shake to coat.

We used Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips from the freezer section. You could make your own or toss it with wings or chicken breasts instead. The sauce makes enough to cover about 10 chicken strips, so double or triple as needed.

Here is the gooey plate in all its deliciousness. I can't wait to make it again, it was finger-licking amazing!

Garlic Chicken Pizza

Pizza is so delicious, and since there are a million ways to serve it, I don't mind making it 3 or 4 times a month. Last night we enjoyed this Garlic Chicken Pizza, with tomatoes, spinach and red onions. It was amazing, truly amazing. I sent the leftovers with my husband to work and the other guys wanted to know where he bought it. He said he was proud to admit that his wife made it:) Love that! Sorry the pictures are kind of bright, but you get the idea.

Husband Rating: 5 stars

Note: I used my Best Ever Bread Dough for the crust. It made enough dough for one large cookie sheet of pizza and there was enough leftover for 10 breadsticks. You could make 2 medium pizzas, or one large and some breadsticks. Don't forget, you can also make a dessert pizza or cinnamon sticks with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar.

1 recipe of Best Ever Bread Dough or your favorite pizza crust

1 cup cooked, diced chicken

1 Tbsp. butter, melted

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

1/4 red onion slices

3/4 cup fresh spinach, chopped

1/4 cup Caesar salad dressing

1 1/2 cups cheese, grated

1 tsp. Italian seasoning or Mrs. Dash garlic seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out your dough in pizza pan, poke 10-15 holes with a fork, this helps your crust cook evenly. Bake the pizza dough for 10 minutes. In the meantime, stir together melted butter, cooked chicken, parmesan cheese and seasoning. After dough has baked for 10 minutes, assemble the pizza. Spread a thin layer of the Caesar dressing over the dough. Sprinkle the cheese. Spread around diced chicken, spinach, red onion and tomatoes. Bake for another 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Baking the crust first is a little trick that makes your pizza perfect every time. If you baked the chicken in the oven for the whole 15 minutes it would dry out and get a little crusty, while 5 minutes is just enough to make your cheese melty and finish off making the crust golden. Yum!

Francy X, my adorable friend who abandoned us for Utah (lol) makes some amazing jewelry. Check out her giveaway for Fancy, Funky or Chunky!!

Francy X Designs

Fancy

Funky

Chunky

Before and After

I'm so excited to show off my thrifty find makeovers! I do not have a knack for decorating, in fact I'm down-right jealous of some of your beautiful homes that just "flow". I'm too cheap to shop at Pier 1 and Pottery Barn, so here are my beginner attempts at making my home look better.

I found this awesome key at the junk store for $1. Add some glossy black spray paint and some a board with little hooks, TA DA!




Looks so sharp against our white walls.



The perfect spot to hang our keys, plus I just love how classy the key looks. There were 2 at the store, I only bought one, so some other lucky person can snatch it up, lol.


Remember this disaster of a board? I needed a menu board, and the decorative edge on this just screamed "give me a makeover!" So I did.



I covered the nasty cork board with cute fabric and added a few ribbons. I used chalkboard paint to touch up the other side. Simple spray paint (color pistachio at Lowes) took care of the frame.
And I cut off that nasty blue yarn they were using to hang it, and had Hubby screw it into the wall.



I just plain adore it. It is exactly what my kitchen needed:)

So who got an A+ this week hmmm?

Pantrymama?
Kristen?
Leah?



We went to the park and I didn't blab to a single friend on the phone, I played with my kiddo. We went really high on the swings, climbed through the tunnel, went down the slide, laughed on the teeter totter and even ate a little bark (him, not me). It was a truly lovely weekend:)

Weekend Homework

Weekend homework, that's right, I'm introducing a new feature here at Camille's Casa. I'm going to give you an assignment on Friday that you need to have completed by Monday. But don't worry, I won't be asking you to solve equations, write essays or identify parts of a volcano; I will only assign items that will make you a better mom, wife and woman and citizen. Sound good?

Leave a comment, email me, or link up your own blog post after completing your homework and you can be featured for receiving an A+.



This weekend I want you to take your kids to the park. But it doesn't stop there, I want you to play with your kids. Run around, catch them, tickle and tease, laugh, roll around and cheer them on at the playground. The park is full of moms sitting on blankets texting away, but this weekend I want you to be a cool mom and play with your kids. You'll probably burn 200 calories and your kids will adore you.

Any questions?

Well, I hear my little man waking up from a nap, time to head to the park for some hard-core playing!!