Sew God's Grace

I discovered this recipe  for No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Balls several years ago.  The kids really loved them, but I struggled to make them because they were so hard to mix by hand.  Then I discovered that I could mix them using my 8 quart Kitchenaid mixer.  This recipe is the absolute maximum that my 8 quart bowl can handle, so if you have a smaller mixer, you will need to at least halve the recipe.  I also added protein powder for a little protein boost and adjusted the liquid added accordingly. I make these once a week.  They are the perfect lunch staple, afternoon snack, or anytime pick me up.  Hope you enjoy! Peanut Butter Energy Balls 8 cups quick oats 4 1/2 cups peanut butter 1 1/4 cups honey 1 cup vanilla protein powder (I use this one)  1 1/4 cups mini chocolate chips Place all ingredients except chocolate chips in mixer and mix on low until combined.  Add chocolate chips and mix until incorporated.  Shape into 1 inch balls....

  I'll be honest, some of my kids will only eat boxed macaroni and cheese.  However, one day we were out  and decided to make homemade in the instant pot.  I adapted my recipe slightly from this one  so that it would make a bigger batch! Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese (adapted from this recipe ) 1 sixteen ounce box rotini pasta Approximately 6 cups water 4 1/2 tablespoons butter 1 twelve ounce can evaporated milk 3 cups shredded Colby and Monterrey Jack cheese (or your favorite shredded cheese) salt, to taste Place pasta in instant pot crock (I used my eight quart one) and cover with water.  Secure lid on instant pot and pressure cook for 3 minutes.  Release pressure and drain pasta.  Set instant pot to saute, add butter to the crock, and stir until it is melted.  I then press the cancel button and put the instant pot on the "Keep Warm" setting.  Then add milk and shredded cheese and stir.  Taste and add salt if needed.  If th...

My friend Michelle gave me this recipe several years ago.  I forgot about it until I found it in a bin in my kitchen recently.  I decided I needed to get it on my blog so that I wouldn't lose it again.  My second daughter, Anna, is a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, so we made them today.  Here's the recipe. Oatmeal Raisin Spice Cookies 4 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups old fashioned oats 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon salt (I omit) 1 cup butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar 4 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup raisins Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients--flour through salt.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs and mix until incorporated.  Gradually mix in flour.  Then stir in the raisins. Bake on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet for ...

Sometimes the best recipes happen a little by accident.  In my family, my grandma was legendary for having to make substitutions in recipes because she was out of something.  Once when making jam, she didn't have enough wild grape juice or sand hill plum juice left to make a batch of jelly.  She and my brother decided to combine the remaining juices together to make one last batch.  They called it "grum," and it was a family favorite. Another time, when making a chocolate pie, she had to improvise.  She always said that it was the best pie she ever made.  The problem was, she couldn't remember what she had done differently, so she was never able to recreate it. Fast forward several years to my kitchen. . . My husband was getting ready to take my older kids in to the high school basketball games one night.  My oldest son, ever the sweets connoisseur, happened to mention, "They have the best scotcheroos there.  And they're really big!" My...

I have made this recipe so many times that I have it memorized!  The kids love these granola bars, and they are relatively easy.  I have adapted the recipe to make a large batch so that it lasts at least a week in my house.  You can halve it for a 9 by 13 sized pan or quarter it for an 8 by 8. Our Favorite Granola Bars (adapted from this recipe ) 2 cups honey 3 cups creamy peanut butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 8 cups quick oats 6 cups rice crispies or Cheerios or a combination of both 1/2 to 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, place in freezer preferably the night before (use Enjoy Life brand to keep dairy free) Combine honey, peanut butter, and brown sugar in a large microwave--safe bowl or pitcher.  Microwave for two minutes, stir, then microwave 2 minutes again and stir to combine.  (My microwave is 900 watts, so you may need to adjust your microwave times.  You want a nice, consistent mixture with the sugar dissolved.).  Stir ...

I have made a lot of different chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years, but these are by far my family's favorite!  I have made them so many times that I have the recipe memorized.  Recently, we were in Colorado at my husband's parents' vacation home, and of course we had the need for some homemade cookies.  They looked so pretty on the counter that I thought I'd better get a picture so that I could share the recipe here. Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, slightly softened  (see note) 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1 small box instant vanilla pudding (3.4 ounce size) 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 1/4 cups flour (see note) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt, optional 2 cups chocolate chips Cream butter, sugars, and pudding mix for 2-3 minutes in electric mixer.  Meanwhile, mix flour, baking soda, and salt if using.  Crack eggs into a separate container and add vanilla.  Add to butter mixt...

My kids love to have breakfast for supper.  I usually make breakfast for supper on a Thursday or Friday, and I make a big bunch of pancakes or waffles and some scrambled eggs.  Then I save the leftovers for Sunday breakfast.  This really cuts down on my crazy as we are trying to get ready for church and out the door!  The picture above is a double batch of pancakes.  These freeze great in a ziploc bag.  To serve, thaw overnight in the fridge and then toast. My kids have not loved pancakes until I got this recipe from my good friend Amber.  She brought some over for me when we welcomed little Jack into our family.  Of course, I requested the recipe straightaway!  My kids enjoy these with either peanut butter or chocolate spread in between two pancakes--then they eat them like a sandwich with no syrup.  It's a lot less messy for my three year old! If you like gadgets, you might want to check out this batter dispenser from Amazon. ...

So . . it's been a while since my last post.  After having baby number six, blogging has definitely been on the back burner.  However, when I made Orange Julius for the kids to enjoy during our family "Movie Night" last Sunday, I decided to snap a quick pic so I could add the recipe.  Hope you enjoy! Homemade Orange Julius 6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate 1 cup milk 1 cup water 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (I always use 1/2 cup) 1 - 2 teaspoons vanilla (I always go with 2) About 4 cups ice or to taste Place all ingredients except ice in blender and blend until smooth.  Add ice slowly and blend on high until it is the consistency that you would like.  Note:  when I make this, I almost overflow the blender.  You may need to hold the lid on!  Also, it's easy to get an ice cream headache with this if you drink it too fast, so beware!

I was planning to make some cookies for a fall-themed baby shower this weekend, so when I saw some Candy Apple Flavored M&M's, I knew I wanted to try them out in a cookie. Here's the recipe (adapted from this recipe ): Candy Apple M&M Cookies (Yield:  approximately 20-24 cookies) 1 16.5 ounce box yellow cake mix 2 eggs 5 tablespoons butter, melted 1 cup butterscotch chips 1 bag Candy Apple M&M's Beat cake mix, eggs, and butter until blended.  Add butterscotch chips and M&M's.  Refrigerate overnight.  Meanwhile, place remaining M&M's in freezer if you are going to do the optional step below.  Drop by two tablespoon-sized balls on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes.  Let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Optional:  After the cookies have been baking for 8 minutes, remove from oven and press 2-3 M&M's on top.  This is st...

Wow!  It has been a while since I last posted anything.  I have lots of pictures taken, but I haven't taken the time to sit down and get anything written out.  Update:  I said that I was going to try a mixed berry filling also.  I made it the other day, and the kids gave it rave reviews also.  Check out the recipe for that as well! My kids love Apple Cinnamon Nutrigrain Bars.  Recently, I have been searching for a homemade substitute to those bars that isn't super labor-intensive and that doesn't involve a ton of butter.  Also, I wanted one that wasn't too crumbly.  By combining two recipes, I think I have come up with just the ticket!  When my kids each had one for snack, they scarfed them down and requested seconds! Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars Filling:  (From Loving life, one meal at a time ) 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced 1 tablespoon of butter 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon of cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon...

So, do you  ever feel like you are losing your mind?  I do.  More often than I would like to admit, in fact.  I was certain that I had posted a recipe for Stormboli on my blog sometime last year.  I remember taking the pictures and everything.  However, when I looked for the recipe, it was nowhere to be found!  I even did a search and turned up nothing. Consequently, when I made Stromboli the other day, I decided to take new pictures and waste no time getting them posted.  I make this at least once for supper during the harvest season because it is so good and easy to eat while driving machinery.  Stromboli is a great, easy meal that you can customize to your family's tastes.  I put pepperoni on one half for my spice-loving little guy, and ham on the other half for my girls.  Feel free to experiment with your favorite pizza toppings on this one! Here's the recipe: Stromboli 1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed ...

I think that I admitted in a recent blog post that I am not that great at pictures.  However, I am not going to let that stop me from posting this fun and easy recipe. To celebrate Anna's fifth birthday, she requested a tea party with several of her friends.  We have done tea parties in the past, and no matter how much I doctor up the tea with honey, the girls don't drink it.  So, I had the idea to put punch in their tea cups. It was a big success!  I think Anna had at least four cups.  And, despite the picture not showing it very well, it was a beautiful shade of pink. Perfect Party Punch: Raspberry Sherbet Sprite or another lemon-lime soda Pink Lemonade (I used the frozen concentrate and mixed it per the package directions) Pour equal parts of Sprite and Pink Lemonade into punch bowl.  Add small scoops of raspberry sherbet.  Let sit for at least ten minutes so that the sherbet can melt into the liquid a bit and get foamy.  Serve! ...

I had the idea for this recipe a long time ago. When we had some leftover pizza ingredients, I thought it was a great way to use them up. Also, you can coordinate your toppings to each child. Keep this in mind when you need a quick and easy lunch! Pizza-Dillas Tortillas Pizza Sauce Mozzarella Cheese Assorted toppings Place one tortilla on a paper plate. Spread half of it with a few tablespoons of pizza sauce. Add desired toppings and cheese. Microwave about 40 - 50 seconds or until cheese is melted. Fold over and cut into wedges to serve. My son Evan loves pepperoni, while his sisters do not. It's easy to customize each Pizza-Dilla so that everyone is happy! If you need to put together a quick pizza sauce, try using 8 ounces of tomato sauce with about 1/2 teaspoon each basil and oregano. Enjoy! Looking for more great pizza recipes? Homemade Pizza Stuffed Crust Pizza Exquisite Pizza Sauce

This post is not going to provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to make donuts.  Rather, it's a celebration that the kids and I made them, and it was a big success.  I'll try to provide a few helpful hints, though. I had told the kids that if they did really well during school, we would take a Friday morning and make donuts together.  The kids were fascinated at the idea.  Well, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that we were going to do it. I found the recipe here on Pinterest,  During the week, I read through the recipe several times.  I was a little nervous because I had never made donuts before,  I wanted it to be a fun project with the kids instead of getting too long and tedious.  Also, I don't own a deep fat fryer. I was able to get up early to mix the dough.  I added about a cup extra of flour because the dough seemed so sticky.  We were able to get breakfast eaten while the dough rose the first time.  ...

We typically do our school work on Monday through Thursday.  Often, my Friday is spent trying to catch up on the mess from the week instead of spending time with my kids.  Also, we took a couple of weeks off at the beginning of September for a much-needed vacation to Lake City, CO.  As a result, we have been doing some school on Friday to make of for lost time.  Talk about "all work and no play"!  I decided that I wanted to some enjoyable things with my kids instead of always slogging away on schoolwork or telling them to go play while I got something done.  Thus, "Fun-Day Fridays" were born.  We take some time on the occasional Friday to do neat activities together.  On our first Fun Day Friday, we made these tasty treats. I found the recipe from Something Swanky  on Pinterest.  I thought that the kids would really like them.  We made them in the microwave instead of the oven. Sim...

With the many pumpkin recipes being featured on Pinterest lately, I have been in quite the mood for all things pumpkin.  So, when my friend Lisa posted on Facebook that her family was having pumpkin waffles, I had to have the recipe!  I modified it slightly to make it somewhat healthier--I substituted some whole wheat flour for some of the white, and I cut the amount of brown sugar called for in half. I thought it would be fun to cut them into pumpkin shapes to have on Halloween morning.  Here is the recipe: Pumpkin Waffles 4 eggs 3 1/2 cups milk 1 15 ounce can pumpkin (1 3/4 cups) 3/4 cup oil 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 2 cups whole wheat flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt mini chocolate chips, optional  Mix wet ingredients.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Cook on your waffle iron.  If desired, cut int...

I love it when something that looks easy and fun on Pinterest turns out just as I expected!  I found this idea here on Pinterest.  What did I ever do before Pinterest?  I never would have thought to make these on my own!   I bought some canned cinnamon rolls on sale at the local grocery store and determined to surprise the kids with this one morning. Just bake your rolls on your waffle iron. Mine were done when the light went off. The recipe that I referenced has tips for thinning the icing to make a syrup--I just used the frosting it as it was. The kids were so excited.  I was happy that it worked--the cinnamon rolls did not stick as I feared they might.  As I have mentioned before, I'm not that much of a morning person, so I love quick ideas for breakfast.  We just had to wait for the waffle iron to heat up.  (My son, Evan, was sad not to be mixing up waffles, though.  He loves to run the hand mixer!) ...

Today, my kids (and several cousins) were invited over to Aunt Rita's to paint pumpkins.  I'll admit, there are not many days when we get paint out at our house, so my kids were giddy with delight just thinking about it.  I was excited that someone else wanted to take the responsibility for providing paint, pumpkins, etc.  So, I volunteered to make snacks (definitely more up my alley)! I wanted something fun, easy, and kid-yummy.  I have been seeing lots of s'mores recipes on pinterest, so I decided to pull out one of my favorite s'mores variations.  We made these for a camp-themed Vacation Bible School one year, and the recipe has been happily ensconsed in my recipe box since then.  Luckily my kids love to run my mini food processor, so coming up with the graham cracker crumbs is easy for me! S'mores Bars 3 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted 4 cups mini marshmallows 2 cups chocolate chips Preheat oven to...

We have our fair share of sandwiches for lunch.  And, while my kids are big fans of PB & J, I like to change it up sometimes with something a little different.  This recipe definitely fits the bill.  It's also quick and easy to prepare, which makes me happy, too! Ham & Cheese Pockets 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls 4 slices American cheese (or any cheese you would like to use.  I have used provolone sometimes and also shredded) Sliced deli ham Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease an 8 by 8 inch pan with cooking spray. Press half of the crescent roll dough into the bottom of the pan, pinching seams to seal.  Place ham on top of the rolls--I like to rip mine up a bit with my fingers so the kids have an easier time biting into the pockets.  Top with cheese slices and remaining dough.  Bake for 17 - 19 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool slightly before serving.  For extra cheesy pockets, place a layer of cheese over th...

Since the weather has turned cooler, I decided it was time to get out my plates with the snowflakes on them!  I just love the colors.  I also felt like being a little creative at today's snack time.  I don't know about you, but there's something about bananas and peanut butter.  Mmm. . . makes me feel happy just thinking about it.  I thought, "What about adding a little crunch to it?"  Here's what I made: Banana Snacks Sliced Bananas Peanut Butter or other nut butter if you prefer Cheerios, Rice Krispies, or other crunchy cereal Place about a half cup of each cereal you are going to use in a small bowl.  Spread a small amount of peanut butter on a banana slice and dip into the cereal. Judging by the fact that my kiddos were gobbling these up as fast as I can assemble them, I think we will have these again soon!  Next time, we might try with Cocoa Krispies. . .