Cranberry Salad

I would like to introduce you to your new favorite side dish for Thanksgiving. Cranberry salad!

Ok, so I didn't want to take a big ol' scoop out of it before I took it to the inlaws' house tomorrow, so you get a picture of the whole pan instead of a nice plate or something more fancy.

This really is my favorite part of Thanksgiving! Forget the turkey and potatoes, I'll just take a big ol' helping of cranberry salad! It's a lot sweeter than regular cranberry sauce, so it goes down much easier. Here is how you make it.

First, put a 12-16oz bag of cranberries in your food processor and pulverize them. I usually freeze my cranberries because the grocery stores don't always carry them all year-round. Then I take them out and let them thaw for about 15 min. That way, when I pulverize them, they chop easily but don't squish.

These are the perfect size chunks.

Then, take 4-5 medium apples (I like Gala or Fuji). Get out your handy slicer and core & slice them.

Put them in your food processor and pulverize them.

Pour the cranberries and apples into a 9x13 pan. Add a drained can of pineapple in. Mix everything up. (The picture above was before I mixed them up). Add 3/4 cup sugar and stir in well.

Take a large (6 oz) package of raspberry jello and a small (3 oz) package of lemon jello. Mix together. Add 3 cups boiling water and dissolve. Then add 1 1/2 cups of cold water and mix.

Pour the jello over the fruit in the pan. Mix slightly to combine.

Let set in fridge about 4 hours and then try not to eat it all in 1 sitting!

Cranberry Salad

1- 6 oz. pkg raspberry jello

1- 3 oz. pkg lemon jello

3 cups boiling water

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 lb. cranberries

4-5 medium apples

1- 20 oz. can pineapple (partially drained)

3/4 cups sugar

1. Mix together jello and boiling water until dissolved.

2. Add cold water. Set aside.

3. Chop cranberries and apples in food processor.

4. Mix in pineapple and sugar.

5. Pour jello and fruit mix into 9x13 baking pan.

6. Let set in refrigerator for 4 hours.

Total Time: 4 1/2 hours

Yields: 12 servings

Housewarming Gift

I made this cute chalkboard for my friend who just bought a new home.

I wanted to do a cute chalkboard for her entryway, but I wanted something creative. So, I went digging at the thrift store and found this adorable plate. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the plate before I taped it. I put painter's tape all over it.

Then I put a plate down and used a pocket knife to cut out the circle.

Then I removed the tape and had a nice circle.

I forgot to take pictures of all the next steps. So, here's what I did.

• Spray paint with chalkboard paint. When dry, remove tape.
• I painted the letter and frames.
• Then I mod podged scrapbook paper onto them.
• To get the shapes. I traced them on the back of the paper and cut them out. Then I brushed Mod Podge onto the letters, put the paper on, and then brushed more Mod Podge on top.
• I then super glued the letter onto the plate. After it dried, I super glued the ribbon on the back.
• I was going to attach the picture frames to the plate, but I decided they would look better hanging on the wall.

She loved it!!!

DIY Magnetic Chalkboard

So, I've decided that we need to do some "preschool" activities now that the little guy is almost 2. So, I laminated a ton of colors, numbers, shapes, letters, etc. I glued magnets to the back. Now all I needed was a place to put all the magnets.

I got the idea from here. (Gotta love pinterest!)

This is simply an oil drip pan, sprayed with chalkboard paint. The oil drip pan can be found in the automotive section of a certain big box retailer for $9.95

I couldn't find the chalkboard spray paint at another big box retailer, they only had the brush on stuff. So, I went to a smaller, hometown hardware store and found it for about $8. I used half the can on other projects and the rest on this project.

So, for under $15, I have a magnetic chalkboard.

Are Mormons Polygamist?

A great talk about what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ("The Mormons") is really about. The name of the church says it all! There are plenty of people who call themselves "Mormon Fundamentalists." They are NOT "Mormons".

Cleaning Schedule

Well, anyone who knows me, knows my house is not clean. It's not so bad it needs to be on a TV show or anything, but it's not great. So, I made a cleaning schedule that is divided into daily tasks, weekly tasks, monthly tasks, and quarterly tasks. I need a list of every task to be accomplished because if it just says "Clean Bathroom" I forget things or don't know where to start. Now, I don't forget things like washing the walls. Also, this way if I only have 10 minutes to clean, I can pick one task and mark it off so I remember I already did it. You can take the Excel spreadsheet and fill in your own duties.

Excel Spreadsheet

(the formatting looks a little funny on the web, but once you download it, it looks nice)

Homemade Edible Finger Paint

I had been wanting to fingerpaint for a long time, but with a child under 2, it just wasn't safe for him. I knew he would eat it. So, we made homemade finger paint instead. We made vanilla pudding and added food coloring to it. It was so much fun, and when he got some in his mouth, I didn't worry at all!

I used a family size box of pudding, but had WAY too much left over. What you see in the bowls is only half of the pudding that box made. So, if you only have a few kids doing this, make a small box. Use as much food coloring as you like. I didn't color the yellow because I thought the pudding was yellow enough, but it didn't really show up on the paper, so I would still put in yellow.