Zucchini Breakfast Bars with Alfalfa Sprouts

I've been having fun growing sprouts in the dead of winter. I was looking for recipes that I could add them to and decided to try making a zucchini muffin bar. Alfalfa sprouts hide very well in these since you expect some green flecks from the zucchini anyway. The sprouts add a ton of vitamins but don't change the flavor at all. Hooray! My kids have devoured these and don't even care that I hid sprouts in them!

Home Canned Sweet and Sour Sauce

This is one of our family's favortie ways to use up garden produce. We've outgrown the pint-size jars and so this year I chose to can this sauce in 3 cup jars. I didn't even know they existed until I started searching for them, knowing a quart of sauce would be too much. They are as tall as quart jars, but skinnier. I hope they will be the perfect size for our needs.

Pizza Pot Pie

Sometimes we are in the mood for the flavor of pizza, but not the work. This recipe is a perfect solution for those nights. I always keep precooked sausage and hamburger in the freezer so this meal can be thrown together in a quick hurry. It is also one we love to do when we are camping. My husband is a scout master so coming up with recipes that can be done in a Dutch oven that 16 hungry boys will love is a challenge. This is one they all enjoy!

Whole-grain Oatmeal Carmelitas

Here's another family favorite made over to be a little more healthy and big enough to take to a pot luck or youth acitivity. These freeze well so when I make them just for us, I always package some up in snack baggies and keep them in the freezer to use for school lunch treats. I hope you enjoy them too.

Zucchini Applesauce Breakfast Bars

We're still working through the zucchini that we shredded last fall and put in the freezer for later. This is one of the ways we love to use it! These are a muffin like bar that are low in sugar and high in fiber. They freeze very well. I just place a piece of waxed paper between the layers in a freezer safe container.

Pumpkin Black-Bean Turkey Chili

I like to spend my spare moments looking over cookbooks. I know that may sound odd to some of you, but I've found I enjoy it much more than reading a magazine. Sometimes I visit thrift stores just to pick up some new ones.

Banana Bars

These bars are a great way to trade up what you have available for a quick breafast on the run or an after school snack. I often double the recipe and cook up two jelly roll pans at once. These bars freeze well.

Freezer to Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

I am continually looking for recipes that I can make ahead and allow to cook while I am shuttling kids to and from activities. This one is a keeper!

Carrot Cake Muffins

The holidays come and go too quickly! My husband was able to take a few days off and we enjoyed some slower mornings as a family. One morning he surprised us with these delicious muffins. When I got out to the kitchen and could smell them cooking, he said,"Don't worry, I put in whole wheat flour for half of the flour and applesauce for half of the oil." Then he smiled and added,"I am learning."

Freezer to Crockpot Creamy Chicken and Noodles

It's basketball season at our house which means weeknights are a little more hectic as we try to get our boys to and from all their practices. Weekends are also crazy as we watch 3-4 ball games every Saturday. I am relying on my crockpot a lot to have a meal ready when we make it home, hungry and tired after it all. This freezer to crockpot creamy chicken and noodles is a new favorite.

Kids Craft: Handmade Cards

Every year at the holiday time, we like to do some sort of service project as a family. This year we are making fleece blankets for Project Linus and also making cards to be delivered by our local Meals on Wheels organization. I turned to Pinterest for some inspiration. We took some art project ideas and did them in miniature.

Mexican Garden Goulash in the Slow Cooker

We had just a few garden items left including tomatoes, onions, and green peppers. I created this dish to help use them up before they spoiled. It makes a large batch which is perfect to make dinner prep non-existant another night. Just freeze any leftovers in meal size portions and reheat another night.

Zucchini Brownies

As my five kids grow, I am increasingly responsible for providing treats for large groups. This is a great homemade brownie recipe that is a mix between fudgy and cake-like. I have been on the hunt for the best homemade brownies. I've tried 6 recipes in the last couple of months and this is by far our favorite!

Kids Craft: Fall Leaf Watercolor

Emma and I spent a fun afternoon using watercolors. We each painted one of these. The cool and warm colors are a good contrast and they just look stunning on the wall.

Hearty Sausage and Red Lentil Soup

With the temperatures beginning to cool off, the warmth of a good hearty soup fills the need for dinner. Serve with some hot biscuits or homemade bread along with a green salad and you've got a full meal.

Pumpkin Cream Pie

You know that if this pie showed up at the next potluck dinner, you would want to serve you up a piece before anything else just to make sure you got one. As you can see, it was devoured at our house almost before I was able to capture a picture of the final piece!

Honey Mustard Ham Roll-ups

Sometimes we are ready around here for a different kind of sandwich. Tortilla roll-ups are a great way to trade things up. There are lots of filling options for tortillas. Here is one of our favorties that mixes together quickly.

Zucchini Beef Stuffed French Bread

We continue to have zucchini growing in our garden. We love the fresh produce, but by this time in the season I have to get creative in how I use it. Here is a new recipe I came up with that we all just love! 

Salsa Making Day

We've been chopping and freezing peppers, onions, and tomatoes all summer getting ready for Salsa Day. This allows me to wait until I have the time to put it all together and also keeps any produce from going to waste since the garden produce is never ready all at the same time.

Garden Green Beans

We are harvesting the last few weeks of garden produce. We always miss the fresh grown-in-the-backyard flavor during the winter months. I thought I'd share one of our favorite ways to prepare garden green beans.