Archive for Family Stuff

Novica Black Giraffe Wood Ornaments


Need a last minute Christmas idea?  But, it has to be unique!  Head over to Novica.com. Novica is associated with National Geographic and has beautiful items for any occasion. Need help with a special gift? No problem! Novica has a “Gift Finder” section!

When I received my Novica package, I opened the shipping box and this is the box inside! Wrapped with beautiful paper adorned with a crafted bow.

In my package I received 4 individually wrapped Giraffe Wood Ornaments.

These giraffes are hand crafted and hand painted by Made Sarna. Each giraffe is unique in it’s own way. They have a small hanger on the back and ready for the Christmas Tree.

Head to Novia.com for your last minute gifts!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review/feature. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

 


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Reverse Charades Holiday Edition Review


Reverse Charades Holiday Edition Review

So, I think I still have pains in my side from laughing so much!  My husband, myself, and 2 other friends played this one evening when the kids went to bed. I’ve never had so much fun with a game and it got very competitive! I’m laughing as I write this remembering my husband trying to act out “Cindy Lou Who”. Start laughing now…  imaging trying to act out “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Nutcracker”, or “Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen”. Bring some tissues because your going to laugh until you cry! Reverse Charades Holiday Edition is a must have for a Christmas Party!  Great stocking stuffer also it a small box (it’s about the size of an iPhone).

Reverse Charades also come in Girls Night In Edition and Sports Edition. To purchase Reverse Charades online click here, Amazon.com, or 2000 other store locations.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Mailpix Review Update AND Twitter Party


A few weeks ago I posted a review of a new online photo company called Mailpix. I wrote about the ease of ordering and the wonderful system they have to upload and order photos and photo memory gifts. Well, I am back to share with you the items I actually ordered and received.

We ordered a number of items from Mailpix. And although I do not have a photo of everything I will share what I have.

I must say that the orders came faster than I expected. I did expect them to come slowly because of the Christmas holiday but they were right on track with what they noted as their standard shipping times. I was very pleased! The packaging for the photo gifts was very nice as well. They came packaged in Styrofoam containers to ensure safety of the porcelain items. The only item packaging I had an issue with was the 8×10’s … they came in your standard cardboard mailer… and we received them on a rainy day so the edges o the photos were a “Tiny” bit warped because of moisture…but we just put the photos under a big book and they flattened out and were just fine! I cannot blame Mailpix for the weather… but I do wish they were double wrapped or something to hinder the weather issue.

The Above picture is how the mug and ornaments came packaged.

The first thing we ordered was our annual Christmas Card. Yes I did say Christmas card, not Holiday card… my husband was very adamant in finding a layout that said Christmas instead of Holiday…and Mailpix had a great assortment of both layout…of course we opted for the Merry Christmas layout. The cards turned out AWESOME. Although I forgot to remove the red eye on my son in the picture, I must say that the quality was as good as any photo card I have ever gotten. Had I remembered to remove the red eye and press the “enhance” button they would have been the best cards ever… but that is user error!

 

The second thing we ordered were a few 8×10’s of some pictures we took of sprint cars we took over the summer. My husband usually gets his 8×10’s printed at Walgreens and let me tell you … these were BETTER! With the cropping and enhancing I was able to do with the picture they look like professional photos! We are very pleased!

The third thing we ordered was the photo mug. This turned out very nice as well. Not as awesome as the printed photos but VERY nice. The quality of the picture seemed a bit off. Now, I am not sure if this is because the item is on a porcelain mug and I should not be expecting the same quality as a printed photos…or if because these were scanned photos as opposed to digital images. I really do not know. But overall I am pleased with the outcome.

 

The fourth item ordered was out yearly photo calendars. These turned out PERFECT! The quality was s much nicer than the company we have used before. The pictures are crisp and clear and our layout looks great! Sorry I do not have a picture…I forgot and wrapped them :(

Lastly, we ordered a few of their snowflake ornaments. Overall the ornaments were fine. The one I have pictures below was the best of the bunch. It is not very “photoastic” because the white does not photograph well but it turned out okay! However, with that said we did order two more and one I had a problem with the photo being off centered on the snowflake. I would have liked a perfectly centered picture but it looks okay. The picture itself is centered in the circle but the “stamp” of the picture on the porcelain is off centered. There was one ornament we ordered as a gift for my mother-in law that will not be sent… because the picture is NOT centered in the frame of the ornament… it is not that it is not stamped correctly it is that the photo is actually skewed to the side of the photo layout. I KNOW it was not like this when I designed the ornament so I ma not sure what happened between my ordering the ornament and the processing and shipping …but the end product did not look as I expected from my layout in the Mailpix software. This was disappointing. The good thing is that Mailpix offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so I have emailed the company about the issue. The bad? I will probably NOT get a replacement in time to give as a Christmas gift :( ***Update talked to customer service this AM and they are sending me one Next Day so hopefully I will get it in time to mail it out to my mother-in-law…keep your fingers crossed! ***

Overall we were VERY pleased with the company and have since placed another order for some more items! So even though one of the items we were not pleased with the overall quality of the other items as a whole have made us loyal customers.

DO NOT FORGET:

We are co-hosting a twitter party TODAY with Sasha from Mailpix…the information is below:

When: Wednesday, December 19

Time: Noon-1pm CST, 1pm-2pm EST, 10am-11pm Pacific
Where: Your Twitter account, TweetGrid, Hootsuite
Topic: Photo Memories
Prizes: 5 photo memory related prizes from Mailpix!
Hashtag: #photomemories

RSVP here.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Reverse Charades Expansion Pack Review

Reverse Charades Expansion Pack

Reverse Charades and Reverse Charades Junior are a twist on an old favorite. In this game the whole team has 60 seconds to act out as many words as possible with one person guessing. Newly available are three different expansion packs, Girls’ Night In Edition, Sports Edition, and Holiday Edition, to keep the fun going. Each fits inside Reverse Charades Original or Junior Edition, or can be played by itself.

Basic rules (from the publisher):

1. Split into teams of three or more. Decide on a number of rounds or a point target to win.

2. 1 word guessed correctly = 1 point. Each team has one minute to guess as many words as possible.

3. Each team selects a guesser (everyone gets a turn) and the rest of the team acts out the words.

4. Shhh! Not a peep among the team members.

5. Ready, set, go! The first team to your target wins.

Each edition comes with 220 words, for 6 or more people aged 6 and over.

Girls’ Night In Edition

I was able to review two of the Reverse Charades Expansion Packs. I brought the Girls’ Night In to my Wives Club Christmas party, and we had an absolute blast! I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard. I loved how easy it was to teach everyone how to play and set up took under a minute. The small and compact box fit easily into my purse and clean up was a breeze. One of the teams acted out the word, “pregnancy test,” and everyone was laughing so hard! I would recommend this to any and all women groups. It would be fun at a bachelorette party or any party as an icebreaker.

Sports Edition

I brought the Sports Edition Expansion Pack to our last Monday Night Football party. There were 5 couples and we decided to do husbands vs. wives. I don’t know who laughed more, the husbands or the wives. We played until 20 points, and played three rounds. The husbands won the championship round, but the wives gave them a run for their money. This would be a great edition to any board game night, family party, couple’s night, or sporting event party. It was extremely easy to learn the game and even easier to set up.

Overall, Reverse Charades Girls’ Night In Edition and Sports Edition are hilarious and fun filled games to play. Since they come in a small box, they are great for travel and easy to set up. They would make a great gift for anyone on your list!

Retail price of expansion packs $9.99. Check out their website for more information:

ReverseCharades.com

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Daisy Red Ryder Plus a Giveaway #bb4me #cbias

For the past few years our oldest son has been asking for a BB Gun, remember Ralphie asking for “the holy grail of Christmas gifts….Official Daisy Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!” in the movie, A Christmas Story? That may even have been what started our son’s desire for all we know! But we were very hesitant to buy one for him because of fear. Fear that he wouldn’t be responsible with it, fear he’d get hurt, or fear he’d shoot some other person’s eye out. Like the adults in the video clip below:

I had to share that clip! ;)

We ended up using our son’s desire for a BB gun to motivate him with his school work. He got the BB gun for part of his 10th birthday gift at the beginning of this year and for accomplishing a milestone in school. Then we made him work for his BBs in the form of reading books! He also had to show us that he understood gun safety and could be responsible the BB gun.

However, that BB gun didn’t even last through the summer. We were very disappointed in the quality. Our son was disappointed not to have a BB gun anymore. We’ve wanted to replace it and finally did; just in time for holiday gifting. One of our family traditions is to get each of our children one larger gift, plus a few smaller ones, so we bought our son a Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun at Walmart for his larger gift. Silly me had to ask where I’d find BB Guns – Sporting Goods for those of you who draw a blank like I did – we found them just fine. The Daisy Red Ryder was actually on sale too – bonus!

The new gun is bigger than our son’s first BB gun, which I think he’ll like. But Daisy Outdoor Products seem better made. This gun is made of wood and metal not plastic. If Daisy Red Ryder has been around for nearly 30 years, surely it will be durable enough to last a young boy’s love of shooting it. He’ll be so surprised as he’s not expecting it! I can’t wait to see his face.

Gun Safety

Gun Safety is very important and since it has been several months since our son has used a BB Gun, we will be going over safety issues again. We even bought him safety glasses. Here are a couple important ones to remember:

  • Guns not in use should always be unloaded.
  • Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
  • Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

Learn more about gun safety.

The new BB gun will create lots of outdoor family activities as we watch our son improve his markmanship ability. Fun for our whole family. Now your family can enter to win a Daisy Red Ryder!

Daisy Ryder Giveaway

To enter to win a Daisy Prize Pack that includes either a Daisy Red Ryder or a Pink Carbine Model 1998 (your choice), BBs, and safety glasses, fill in the Rafflecopter below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Daisy. #CBias #SocialFabric


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Christmas Entertaining Ideas

With the Christmas season upon us so is Christmas entertaining. In the past few years we haven’t done as much entertaining, mostly because I cannot seem to keep my house as clean as I once did before I worked from home – I’m home working, but not always cleaning – and let’s just say we have a long way to go in that department.

We try to eat healthy and serve healthy food during the holidays, but we don’t try to force our eating habits on others. We like kefir and yogurt, but not everyone does. However, for those of you who do have family and friends who are adventurous and will try anything you serve on the nutritional spectrum, we have some Christmas entertaining ideas and recipes just for you, compliments of Redwood Hill Farm and Green Valley Organics.

Christmas Entertaining Ideas

We love mixing fresh (or frozen) fruit with our yogurt/kefir products. The following recipes do just that and we appreciate all the nutritional value and information Redwood Hill Farm has shared right along with them.

Brainy Blueberry Smoothie
Makes one Smoothie (approx. 10 oz.)

Need a little brain boost Don’t get blue; enjoy a healthy helping of blueberries, known for their phytochemical prowess and antioxidants, both thought to improve cognitive function. Combine with walnuts for their essential fatty acids and our easy-to-digest Redwood Hill Farm Plain Goat Milk Kefir or lactose free Green Valley Organics Plain Kefir for a thoughtful drink that will have you pondering (and answering) the meaning of life in no time.

1/2 cup Redwood Hill Farm Plain Kefir or Green Valley Organics Plain Kefir
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup unsweetened blueberry, pomegranate, or orange juice
1/2 medium fresh or frozen banana
2 TBPS. walnuts (about 6 halves)
1/2 cup ice cubes, adjust to reach desired consistency

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Bigger Boost: Add a teaspoon of lecithin per serving, a natural source of choline required by the body to support nervous system health, brain function, and heart and liver health.

Per serving: 256 cal; 8g protein; 10g total fat (1g sat. fat); 39g carb; 5mg chol; 47mg sod.; 5g fiber; 26g sugar*

Go-Go Greens Smoothie
Makes one Smoothie (approx. 10 oz.)

Has your get up and go, got up and gone? Juice up your day with nourishing greens, bursting with energy to spare. We added a kiss of apple and a handful of strawberries for sweetness and recommend including a frozen banana for an extra creamy texture. Our Redwood Farm Plain Kefir or Green Valley Organics Plain Kefir pack a punch of protein and are the only kefirs available with Flourish R – a proprietary blend of 10 live active probiotic cultures. Make enough to share as a family and friends will be green with envy of your renewed vim and vigor.

1 cup (about 1 handful) leafy greens (chard, spinach or kale with ribs removed)
1/2 cup Redwood Hill Farm Plain Kefir or Green Valley Organics Plain Kefir
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries (about 5 whole berries)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice or cider
1/2 medium frozen banana
1/2 cup ice cubes (adjust to reach desired consistency)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Bigger Boost:
Add a tablespoon of chia seeds for a boost of fiber, omega 3s, and calcium. Add a scoop of lactose-free whey protein isolate powder for added protein.

Per Serving: 182 cal; 6g protein; 2g total fat (1g sat fat); 36g carb; 5mg chol; 64mg sod; 4g fiber; 1g sugars*

Pumpkin Pie in the Sky Smoothie

Makes one smoothie (approx. 10 oz.)

Our favorite smoothie tastes like pumpkin pie in a glass – without the guilt of buttery pastry and whipped cream. Its cinnamon goodness is just that: a boost that’s anti-inflammatory and getting kudos for lessening the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Our Redwood Hill Farm Plain Kefir or Green Valley Organics Plain Kefir adds just the right amount of creamy indulgence with the benefit of belly-friendly bacteria for easy digestibility.

1/2 cup Redwood Hill Farm Plain Kefir or Green Valley Organics Plain Kefir
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice or cider
1/4 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 medium fresh or frozen banana or 2 pitted dates
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 TBSP. sweetener of choice (we like maple syrup)
1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. cinnamon (to taste)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (optional)
1/2 cup ice cubes (adjust to reach desired consistency)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Top it Off:
Add a couple of tablespoons of cinnamon granola (and a bit of candied ginger) to the top, grab a spoon, close your eyes and you’ll swear you’re enjoying Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

Per Serving: 295g cal; 8g protein; 5g total fat (2g sat. fat); 54g carb; 5mg chol; 124mg sod.; 5g fiber; 32g sugars*

*Nutritionals calculated using Green Valley Organics Plain Kefir

Enjoy and let me know if you try these recipes! For more recipes from Redwood Hill Farm visit http://redwoodhill.com/recipes

Faith and Family Reviews received product coupons in exchange for this feature.


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MAILPIX.com Review

 

With the holidays upon us… Mailpix.com offers a wonderful outlet to create wonderful holiday gifts, holiday cards, prints, and more. Mailpix.com is an online photo-processing center. They offer great prices on all your photo needs.

This holiday season they are running some wonderful promotions…just enter the promo codes at the link below. Additionally, you can enter many promo codes, at least one for each product ordered.

Here is the link to Mailpix.com’s holiday deals (scroll down for deals): http://www.mailpix.com/

 

They have so many photo products and gifts to choose from …including but not limited to:

Mugs

Fleece Blankets

Ornaments

Calendars

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!

Of course they also have all of the traditional items for photo lovers…prints, canvas prints, photo books, etc.

For the Holiday season Mailpix.com is also offering a Free deal for potential customers who want to try out the site. This is a great way to try out the product without monetary investment. Please see the deal at this link: http://www.mailpix.com/deals/giveaway

Our Review:

I enjoyed using Mailpix.com…it was a fast easy way to get my photos ordered for Christmas. I liked the ease of uploading my pictures to their site. The pictures are stored in your account by folder you name and can be used from project to project…all you need to do is drag and drop the photo into the selecte4d project you design.

We choose a few products for this review. The first one we choose was a photo Christmas card. The hardest part of the process of the Christmas card creator was to choose from the many designs and templates available…there were SO many. I was also very surprised that their text covered a variety of language for variant tastes… from Happy Holidays to Christmas Blessings. Concurrently, for those who celebrate holidays other than Christmas they do have “winter” cards and also a nice selection of Hanukah cards.

The second selection we chose was their calendar option. I found that this was a very reasonable price on their website…only 9.00 (with promo code) for a 8.5 x 11 calendar. We were very impressed with the selection for the calendars. The graphic and layout choices were wonderful. We of course manipulated our layouts to fit our tastes. This was very easy to do on the website… just delete unwanted boxes and replace with new ones! One other thing we REALLY liked that they had an instant picture editor that would crop and fix your pictures then replace them right away… I know I used to have to edit the picture in different software and then resave the picture and upload again…this process was much easier.

The Cons:

There were not many cons to this website. However, the site did make you download Microsoft Silverlight in order to use their site (which was not a big deal for me, but could be an issue if you are low on memory).

The only other con is that you have to wait to get your pictures. I am used to using Walgreens photo department where I create pictures and gifts online and then pick up the next day from their photo department. But this is not really a “con” but an impatience issue on my part J

 

Overall, we really liked the ease and variety of Mailpix.com. I cannot wait to get my pictures…, which will be here soon, and I am sure I will be happy with the results. I will let you know in about 6-9 days.

 

Visit these links to learn more about Mailpix and follow them via social media:

https://www.facebook.com/MailPix
http://twitter.com/mailpix1
http://www.mailpixblog.com/
http://pinterest.com/mailpix/

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Healthy Holiday Tips #MeijerHoliday

Christmas is less than two weeks away and I don’t know about you but I still have some food shopping to do. In past years when shopping, planning for Christmas dinner I’ve had to consider healthy alternative recipes because we usually have two diabetics at Christmas dinner. So I thought as part of this post I would include some healthy holiday tips for including diabetics at your meal table.

We usually make turkey for our Christmas dinner, have veggies, cranberry sauce, stuffing, dinner rolls and gravy. Most of which usually do not pose a problem for diabetics, as our guests try to watch their carb intake and portions, often “treating” themselves to a little more of something just because it is the holidays. For dessert we have a sugar free dessert available just for them and let them take the leftovers home.

Healthy Holiday Tips for Your Diabetic Guests

1. Use sugar free recipes. Sometimes you can use reduced sugar recipes or there are healthy sugar substitutes that may be used too.
2. Prepare low carb dishes or at least have a couple available for your diabetic guests.
3. Low fat recipes are better than ones high in fat.
4. Diabetics on medicine/insulin usually take their medication at a certain time each day, be sure and ask them in advance and prepare the meal time accordingly, just as a courtesy.
5. When food shopping, read the labels and keep your diabetic guest in mind.

Holiday Recipes

This year we decided to try a new veggie recipe for our Christmas meal in advance just to see how it was, as well as plan for a new stuffing and pumpkin pie recipe. I am sharing these recipes below. I actually went to Meijer to purchase the ingredients we needed, as well as some ingredients we’ll need closer to Christmas.


Diabetes Friendly Holiday Recipes

Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole

Serves 12

Reduce the calories in your Green Bean Casserole by using Soymilk instead of cream of mushroom soup.

Ingredients:

1 ½ tbsp. Meijer Extra Virgin Olive oil, divided

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 ½ tsp. salt, divided

1 lb. fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced

4 tbsp. flour

3 cups Meijer Organics Original Soymilk (we used regular Meijer whole milk)

2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce or Bragg’s Amino Acids

Salt and pepper to taste

2 (10 oz.) bags frozen cut green beans, thawed or 1 ½ lbs. fresh green beans, cooked until tender

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.

2. Heat ½ tbsp. of the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, season with ½ tsp. salt and cook until slightly browned and soft, 10-12 minutes. Remove the onions and set aside.

3. Heat the remaining tbsp. of olive oil in the same saucepan and add the mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to brown and most of the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Add the dry sherry and cook for about 1 minute more. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and cook while stirring over medium heat until the flour browns slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool briefly.

4. Warm the soymilk in a saucepan or microwave. Slowly whisk the warm soymilk into the mushrooms, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Return the saucepan to the heat and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly.

5. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 8-10 minutes until the sauce reaches the consistency of a thick cream soup. Stir in the soy sauce and salt and black pepper to taste.

6. Mix in the green beans and ½ cup of the onions. Place in the prepared casserole dish, top with the remaining onions and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes.

Recipe from www.silksoymilk.com

Nutrition Information (per serving): 100 calories, 3g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 621mg sodium, 12g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 4g protein

The following two recipes are ones we are looking forward to trying, so no photos yet, but as soon as we make them I’ll add the photos.

Basic Stuffing Recipe

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients

1 loaf sliced whole wheat bread, approx. 1 lb.

2/3 cup Meijer canola oil

1 onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 tsp. poultry seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup Meijer chicken broth

Directions:

1. Let bread slices air dry for 1 to 2 hours, then cut into cubes.

2. In a Dutch oven heat canola oil over medium heat. Cook onion and celery until soft. 3. Season with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir in bread cubes until evenly coated. Moisten with chicken broth; mix well.

3. Chill, and use as a stuffing for turkey, or bake in a greased casserole dish at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.

Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 250, Fat 15 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 1 mg, Sodium 455 mg, Carbohydrates 23 g, Fiber 4 g, Protein 5 g

*Take the basic stuffing recipe and spice it up 3 different ways!

1. Oyster Stuffing:

· Follow the basic stuffing directions. Once stuffing is mixed together after step 2; blend in one (8 oz.) cup Hilton Fresh Oysters to stuffing mixture and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.

2. Apple/Raisin Stuffing:

· Follow the basic stuffing recipe. Once stuffing is mixed together after step 2; add 1 cup chopped apples and ¼ cup Meijer raisins to stuffing mixture and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.

3. Cranberry/Walnut Stuffing:

· Follow the basic stuffing recipe. Once stuffing is mixed together after step 2; add ½ cup dried cranberries and ½ cup walnuts to stuffing mixture and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes.


No Sugar Pumpkin Pie

Serves 16 (makes 2 pies)

Ingredients:

1 (29 oz.) can Meijer 100% pure pumpkin (we still have pumpkin from our garden!)

2 (12 oz.) cans Meijer fat free evaporated milk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/4 cups Meijer Zero Calories sweetener with sucralose (bulk in bag) (We use less regular organic can sugar)

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 Tbsp. McCormick Pumpkin Pie spice

1 tsp. Meijer ground cinnamon

2 (9-inch, deep dish) Meijer frozen pie shells, unbaked (we actually make homemade pie crust)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Set pie shells aside and thoroughly blend all other ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

3. Pour pie mixture evenly into each pie shell.

4. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center cove our clean.

5. Cool completely on baking rack.

6. Enjoy with Meijer Zip whipped topping if desired.

Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 124, Fat 6g, Cholesterol 21mg, Sodium 248mg, Carbohydrate 15g, Sugar 4.5g, Fiber 1.5g, Protein 3.5g.

This modified version of pumpkin pie has 84 fewer calories and 18grams less sugar than traditional pumpkin pie.

Happy planning, cooking and entertaining!



This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Meijer.


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Christmas Tree Hunting – Wordless Wednesday

We went Christmas tree hunting at a friend’s farm. They had a beautiful white birch grove as well as a grove of silver trees that this photo does not do justice. It was beautiful.

In our search we had to be careful for holes left from where trees were dug up. Blondie is standing in on in this photo. Our friends’ farm use to be a tree nursery.

We eventually found a tree very similar to this one. It was huge and a monstrosity to get into the van!

We each took turns cutting down the Christmas tree. We actually had to go back out and buy a new saw because ours was too dull to do anything significant in the way of cutting. Makes for an interesting story to pass down through the years. ;)

When we finally got the Christmas tree shoved into the van it was a tight squeeze for everyone to get back into their seats.

This is what the tree looked like for a few days. It took a few extra cuts to get it just right and I haven’t yet taken an updated photo of it cut down to size or completely decorated.

When do you put up your tree?


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TVGuardian

I don’t know about you but if I had the opportunity to have a filter for foul language and sexual content I’d probably watch more TV with my family. The American Family Association just sent out an email featuring TVGuardian, a filter doing exactly what I want it to do. However, it is not available for online streaming (Netflix, Hulu etc.). We don’t have cable or satellite, or even a TV for that matter, as we do most of our movie/TV watching online from our computer. So in an appeal to garner more interest in sites offering online streaming I am blogging about TVGuardian to recruit any of you using online streaming to contact the sites you use to ask them if they would consider getting TVGuardian. I have tried contacting ClearPlay to see if this is something they would be able to do but have never, ever even received a response. :(

So if you are a person who utilizes online streaming sites, please appeal to those sites to offer TVGuardian as a choice because until there’s a need these sites are not going to do anything. IMHO. (in my humble opinion.)

Nope this is not a review or paid ad. I wrote about this out of my own interest. I have no idea how well it works but if it filters out any foul language I’m in, as film producers are slipping more and more into movies these days. It isn’t cheap but I think the cost is worth it in the long run.

Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.


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