Tasty Tuesday - Fried Zucchini with Kraft Fresh Take

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Today I have a fun recipe using Kraft Fresh Take.

Kraft Fresh Take Meal Kits are the perfect blend of cheese and breadcrumbs that make for a fast, flavorful, crispy, cheesy meal that takes no time at all.

Using a Kraft Fresh Take Meal Kit I made up some fried zucchini.

I may have snuck in a fried pickle or two. What pregnant women wouldn't?!?! :)

I headed out to Walmart to buy all the ingredients I would need to make this yummy appetizer.  You can see my shopping trip and all the fun little miss and I had HERE.  

If you've never seen the meal kits in your store, you can find them in the shredded cheese section.  Hanging neatly beside all those bags of cheese.

For this recipe you will need:

Your favorite Kraft Fresh Take Meal Kit

2 medium zucchini

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

oil

and a way to fry your zucchini (deep fryer or pan with sides)

Step 1: Heat oil.  You want your oil to be 350 - 360 degrees

Step 2: mix up your Kraft Fresh Take

Look how easy it is to mix up!

It comes in a bag with 2 different sections.  One for the breadcrumbs and one for the cheese.  You open the bag to break the seal between the two sections, close the top and shake it up to combine the two sides.  Then you are ready for the next step.

Step 3: You will need 3 shallow containers.  Add flour to the first one, milk to the second and the meal kit to the third.

Step 4: Clean and slice your zucchini into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch slices.

Step 5: Working in small batches, add zucchini slices to flour and cover both sides.  Then dip them into the milk making sure to cover all the flour with milk.  Then dip them in the Fresh Take mix and press the coating onto the zucchini.

Step 6: Add your dipped zucchini to your hot oil.  Let them cook for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil.

Step 7: Let them cool a little and ENJOY!!

Dipped in a little ranch dressing, these fried zucchini are a perfect appetizer for your summer party!

To keep up with Kraft and get more recipes and tips:

Follow Kraft on Facebook

Watch for the Kraft Fresh Possibilities Tour truck which will be making stops across the country through the end of July. To see if they are making a stop in your town you can check this website: Fresh Possibilities Tour: http://www.tryfreshtake.com/tour.html

Would you like to save some $$$? There will be an IRC (immediately redeemable coupon) stuck on packages of chicken in the meat department at Walmart. The coupon takes $1.00 off the price of one (1) chicken item with the purchase of Fresh Take. The coupons will run 5/1-7/31.

You can also check out this digital magazine for more great summer ideas.

Happy Cooking!

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New Baby Hospital Packing List

Well baby #3 is going to be joining us shortly (2-4 weeks to go), and I am trying to get everything in order.

This is going to be our second daughter and since our last child was a girl, there really wasn't much to get done as far as the nursery.

I was feeling bad that baby #3 was going to be getting anything new and exciting.  All I had to do was pull out the newborn clothes box that I just felt got put into storage.

I did have to buy a few new things like a new home from the hospital outfit, new blankets and some new headbands, bows and flowers.

I've also been slowly putting together my bags for the hospital.

Baby #1 was an emergency c-section at 36.5 weeks.  I went in for my regular check up, was sent to the hospital and had a baby that night.  I was totally unprepared.  I had nothing packed and my husband had to go back and forth between the hospital and house getting stuff for me.

Baby #2 was born at 37 weeks after I was put on bed rest for a couple days.  I was more prepared this time.  In fact, I was too prepared.  We took way too much stuff to the hospital.  Stuff that didn't get used and I wish I hadn't packed.

So hopefully the third time is the charm and we will have just what we need.

Here is a list of what I will be bringing to the hospital.

I'm only planning on bringing one bag for me and one bag for the baby.

Last time I brought my nursing pillow and my breast pump and didn't use either one.  The hospital has breast pumps to rent and have lots of pillows to prop up baby to help with feeding.

Last time I didn't bring any snacks, especially for my hubby (when you have a c-section you have to check in 2 hours before and wait, he was starving) so this time I will be more prepared in that area.

The hospital that I deliver at provides a lot of things and the nurses are so helpful.  If it's your first time delivering, you could always check with the hospital and see what things they provide and what they suggest you bring.

I'm hoping for a smooth delivery, but with another c-section, I'm planning on a long recovery!

Wish me luck!

Tasty Tuesday - Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Today I've got a fun fresh recipe for you.

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffed Zucchini Boats.

Now that it is warming up, zucchini is a great summer vegetable to use for dinner.

I wanted to try something fun and make zucchini boats and stuff them with all sorts of deliciousness.

I started with 2 medium zucchini, cut them in half and scooped out the insides.

Then I chopped up a lot of extra goodness to go inside the zucchini boats.

Not only is there sausage and mushrooms, but I used an egg, some herbs, some bread crumbs and parmesan cheese to hold everything together.

Bake them up and you've got a great side dish or even a main dish for you family.

You can download the full recipe using the link below.

I really loved this dish but it wasn't a huge hit with my kids.

But then, they don't really love zucchini!

Happy Cooking!

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Mother's Day Gift - Grandma's Paper Bouquet

I finally finished up our Mother's Day gifts for my mom and for my mother in law.

So if you are reading this moms, click away now!! :)

This year I thought it would be fun to incorporate pictures of their grandkids and make something they could display on their desks and look at every day.  And who doesn't love to get "flowers"?!?!

So here is how I made

Grandma's Paper Bouquet.

First I had to make the paper flowers.  I've made these before but thought I would share how to make these again.  I cut my strips of paper (and punched cute edges, if you want), then accordian folded my strips of paper with about 1/2 inch folds.  Then using a glue stick, I glued all my strips together.

For my 4 inch flower I cut 2 inch wide strips and it was 18 - 24 inches long.

For my 5 inch flower I cut 2.5 inch wide strips and it was 24 inches long.

For 6 inch flowers I cut 3 inch wide strips and it was 24 inches long.

Make sure you glue all the ends together so you end up with a circle.  Gather the middle together and push down so it will fan out your flower.  Then you glue it.  Hot glue I have found works the best to hold it together.  I add hot glue to the middle and then attach the center of my flower.  I do it to both the front and back of my flower.  You will have to hold it for a couple seconds until it holds.

I made up all the flowers I would need for my bouquet.

I hot glued the flowers onto skewers and sucker sticks and then stuck them into my styrofoam.

To see how I made my box with the styrofoam and moss see here.

I gathered my pictures and cut out the faces.  I attached a pop dot to the backs of my pictures so they would "pop" off the flowers and add some dimension.

Then I added the pics to the flowers.

I decided my plain white box needed a little something and had my friend cut me out some vinyl to make it more personal.

I think it turned out cuter than I had imagined and sure hope the Grandma's think the same.

This worked out great for our Grandma's since they only have a few Grandkids, if you have a lot of Grandkids in your family, you will need a bigger planter!!  :)

I think this gift would go perfect with a handprint bouquet card like we made last year!

I hope all you moms are able to enjoy a wonderful relaxing day this weekend and all those dads have something special planned!

Happy Mother's Day!

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Thanks for a "Sweet" Year - Teacher Gift

When it comes to Teacher Appreciation or End of the School year gifts,

I always find myself scrambling!

This year was no different.

I knew I didn't want to spend a ton of money and started thinking about what I had on hand.

This is what I came up with!

Every year I try to make homemade jam.

I usually have some in my pantry or in my freezer depending on what kind I made.

I found a couple different kinds and in some fun jars too!

I thought they would be a great gift for a teacher.

I mean, who doesn't love homemade jam?!?!

So I whipped up a couple of cute tags to attach to the different flavors of jam that I had.

I put the jars in some clear bags and tied them with some bakers twine and attached the cute tags.

So simple and so cute!

You can download these Free tags by clicking on the names below pictures.

Remember: All Lizzie Jane Baby Printables are

for PERSONAL USE ONLY

not to be sold or claimed as own work

Peach

Raspberry

Strawberry

This is what I gave to Mr. C's teacher last year.

Ex "straw" Special Teacher Gift

I can't believe it's almost summertime!!

I better start planning some activities to keep my kids busy.

Happy Gifting!

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Tasty Tuesday - Spinach Artichoke Dip

Devourable!!

not sure it's a real word

However, that is how I'm going to describe this weeks recipe.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Now my husband doesn't like spinach or artichokes, but he can devour this dip pretty quick.

Especially if it's in a bread bowl!  :)

It is so easy to whip up and looks scrumptious straight out of the oven.

But if you're going to a party, it's fun to serve it up in a special way.

It tastes great with sour dough bread, chips or even veggies.

If you'd like this recipe, just use the download below to get a printed copy.

I made this with miracle whip because that what I have and what I like best.  But you can always use mayo instead.

Spinach is healthy and good for you right?

So it will be ok to take an extra helping or two. ;)

Happy Cooking!

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Personalized Stationary Notepad

It seems like over the last year our family has had (and is going to have) a lot of missionaries going out into the world.

My mom wanted to give them something more personalized as they left on their mission.  She wanted me to create a special stationary just for them for writing letters home.

That is how this project came together.

Of course this would be a great gift for anyone that loves to write letters or is going away to college.

I used my photoshop elements to create a header that I liked.  Of course I didn't want anything to fancy, but wanted to include their name and where they were serving.  Then I made it so I could print 2 on an 8.5 x 11 paper.  (so my finished stationary would be 8.5 x 5.5)

I printed them out on some fancy paper that I found at Walmart and cut them in half.

I lined them all up and put a sturdy card on each side (so the papers would stay stiff as I used the glue) and secured it all together with 2 clips.

I used an adhesive that I had on hand but you could use white school glue or even rubber cement for this part.  I put a thin line of glue on the "spine" and used my finger to smooth it out.  I let it dry and then did another coat.  You can repeat that process until you get a thickness you are comfortable with.  After it was dry, I removed the clips and the cards on the outside.

I tied it up with a box of envelopes and you could even do some pens to deliver the gift.

It's something a little different that they might not think about but will probably be thankful for once they are serving.

I know I would love it if it was for me!!

It's a simple, personal gift.

Happy Gifting!

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