Guacamole

This recipe is awesome, however, I use the vidalia chop wizard (the smallest size) to chop the tomatoes and onions to get them to be teeny tiny perfect little cubes. I like them cut smaller rather than in big chunks; but you can cut however you prefer.

• 5 avocados
• 1-1/2 lime, juiced (or 3 Tab. lime juice)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 pinches ground cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. pepper

dash of onion and garlic powder

Peel, pit and mash avocados. Then mix in all other ingredients.

Pumpkin Roll Dessert

Got this recipe from Penzey's Spices. This is amazing and is easy. Don't let the 'roll' part scare you, it isn't bad at all. Here is the recipe:

3 large eggs

7 1/2 oz canned pumpkin (half of a 15 oz. can)

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

*I add about 1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice to mine, and about 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon)

Filling:

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 Tab. softened butter

Preheat oven to 375. Line a jelly roll pan with wax paper and spray with non-stick spray. In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and pumpkin. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter in the pan and spread evenly using a flexible spatula. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Gently turn the cake over and ease out onto a clean dish towel (not a terry one, a plain cloth), or cheesecloth, discard the wax paper and carefully roll the cake from the short end. (I put another cloth on top of the cake and rolled it up with the cake sandwiched between the two clothes). Let cool for 15 -20 minutes. Don't leave too long rolled up or it is hard to unroll without cracking. While the cake is rolled between the towels, beat together all the filling ingredients. Unroll cake and spread the filling all the way to the edges. Re-roll and place on a serving platter. I put the filling on the cake while the cake was still warm and had no problems with the filling melting as long as I put it in the fridge right away. Sift powdered sugar on top right before serving.

Candy Cane Cookies

I love candy cane cookies. However, these are a little different. I used the Betty Crocker sugar cookie powdered mix and they were so good and stayed soft. I did NOT used the peppermint extract because I thought the crushed candy canes on top were good enough, but you could use it; just be careful how much.

• 1 package powdered sugar cookie mix
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1-3 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2-1 tsp. peppermint extract (optional)
• 4-5 drops red food coloring
• 4-5 crushed candy canes
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dump cookie mix into a large mixing bowl. Add softened butter, egg and one tablespoon of flour. Using an electric mixer or your hands, mix until it forms a soft dough. Divide dough in half. Add peppermint extract to one half (if you want it). Knead it into the dough until well-incorporated. Add a tablespoon of flour if dough is too sticky. Add red food coloring to the other half. Start with a few drops of food coloring, and add more until you get a deep pink color (or a red color, if you prefer). Add a tablespoon or two of additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Pinch off one teaspoon of pink dough. Roll between your palms to form a rope, about 3 to 4 inches long. Repeat with one teaspoon of the white dough. Place the ropes side-by-side and twist into a candy cane shape, pinching at the ends to seal. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 7 minutes until cookies are lightly browned around the edges. When they are in the oven, they don't look quite done, but be careful to not overbake. 7 minutes was just right for me. Immediately after taking out of oven, sprinkle with crushed candy cane and let cool.

Peppermint Bark

This is so easy and quick to make. I saw some peppermint bark at Godiva, and it looked delicious, but was far too expensive so I decided to make my own. I am sure white chocolate chips would work just fine, the Baker's chocolate was the only thing left in the store, so that is what I used, and it is very good. One thing I noticed too was that white chocolate is a lot better tasting than almond bark in my opinion (just FYI).

ingredients:

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 box of Baker's Premium white chocolate

4-5 candy canes

Melt chocolate chip in microwave and spread onto a cookie sheet (not too thin, at least 1/8 inch thick). Put into freezer while you melt the white chocolate in microwave. (Be careful melting chocolate as it can burn). Then spread white chocolate on top of your semi-sweet chocolate layer and top with crushed candy canes. I freeze for 10 minutes or so, then break up. They don't have to be in perfect squares, so really this is pretty easy.

Oven Herbed Potatoes

These are SO good. It's my mom's recipe and I don't know where she got it from, I just always remember eating these yummy potatoes. They are so easy because you don't have to peel them and even my kids (some of the pickiest in the world) love them!

In a bowl combine 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1 envelope onion soup mix, 1 Tab. thyme, and 1 Tab. marjoram. Quarter about 3 lbs. of red potatoes with skins on. Place on large cookie sheet and drizzle mixture on top. Bake uncovered at 450 for about 30-40 minutes (or until tender). Stir before serving. (If you find there is not quite enough oil mixture, then double it. We like our potatoes so I usually do 4 lbs. of potatoes and double the oil mixture).

No Sew Tulle Tutu

(use red tulle and glue on white felt polka dots to create a minnie mouse skirt)

(Or use green to create Tinker Bell; or use whatever color(s) you want to create your own look!)

So when I made the tutus for my daughter I cheated a little. I know it says 'no sew' but I didn't really like the idea of staples, so i hand stitched the elastic waistband together, which was really very easy and very quick. However, staples do work. Also, they say it takes about 30 minutes to make, but it took me closer to an hour to get the tulle all cut into strips and tied on (just FYI)

What you need:

6 yards of tulle (this may seem like a ton, but for my daughter who has a small waist, this was barely enough)

Elastic for waistband (1/2 inch - 1 inch thick)

staples (or needle and thread to hand stitch)

scissors

ruler

Next, here is the website I used that has step by step directions and pictures. Good luck!

Chore Charts

I have found these chore charts to be very effective with my kids. We use small stickers that you can get in a HUGE book from the dollar store, but I think little stamps or check marks or anything would also work fine. Each week you print out a new chart, you customize it to whatever you want and there are several different character themes for the chart. Good luck and hopefully you can use this:

chore charts

*the website also has a bunch of other amazing things like crafts for the holidays, educational crafts and worksheets (ex. letter tracing called preschool printing practice), coloring pages, award and certificate templates and much more!

Halloween Mummy Pizzas

These are so cute and fun for Halloween.

ingredients:

english muffins

pizza sauce

mozzarella cheese (shredded or in cheese sticks)

sliced olives

directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Cut english muffins in half. Spread pizza sauce on top, then top with strips of mozzarella cheese. Make a slit for the mummy's mouth and eye space. Then put two sliced olives in place for eyes. Bake for 10 minutes.

*can slice scallions and put inside of sliced olives for pupils

(recipe and top picture from Family Fun Magazine)

Halloween Popcorn Balls

20 cups popped popcorn 1 1/2 cups light-colored corn syrup 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups reese's pieces

Instructions: 1. Remove all unpopped kernels from popped popcorn. Place popcorn in a buttered 17x12x2-inch baking pan or roasting pan. Keep popcorn warm in a 300 degree F (150 C) oven while preparing marshmallow mixture. 2. In a large saucepan bring corn syrup and sugar to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallow creme, butter, and vanilla until combined. 3. Pour marshmallow mixture over hot popcorn; stir gently to coat. Cool until popcorn mixture can be handled easily. Stir in candies. With damp hands, quickly shape mixture into 3-inch-diameter balls. Store at room temperature up to 1 week. Makes 24 popcorn balls.

Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

This is a very good recipe that is very fallish. I got it from

Rookie-Cookie.. Very cool blog, anyway, here it is:

Chocolate Swirl Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

6 oz. (1/2 bag) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup boiling water

Whipped cream, for serving

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside. Melt chocolate chips in microwave.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix until incorporated. Stir in molasses and pumpkin. Finally, stir in the boiling water.

Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Blob half the chocolate in a swirl pattern. Pour on the remaining batter and then top with the remaining chocolate. Run a butter knife through the batter to better swirl the chocolate, but not until fully incorporated.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups white rice
2 cups chicken broth
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. salt

Add the oil to a sauce pan and heat on low. Add the garlic and rice to the oil and saute for 2 minutes on medium heat stirring frequently.

Add the chicken broth, salt, lime juice and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes or according to rice package directions.

When the rice is done, add chopped cilantro and stir to mix in. Serve immediately.

*UPDATE: I made this in the microwave with the minute rice. I put all ingredients (except the cilantro) in a microwave safe glass bowl, covered it with lid, and microwaved for about 12 minutes.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have really been craving pumpkin this fall season. I got the cupcake recipe from My Baking Addiction, and the frosting recipe was just one I had. These are so good!

Recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

For the frosting:

12 oz. (1 1/2 (8 oz.) cream cheese) SOFTENED

2-3 cups of powdered sugar

2 tablespoons of softened butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Beat the cream cheese till smooth. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Then add butter and vanilla. Can add more or less powdered sugar depended on your taste.

Chicken Salad Pitas

One of my favorite types of 'sandwhiches'. It calls for canned chicken. Normally I am not a fan of canned meat, but there are TWO recipes I have that call for canned chicken, and I think they are quite good. I only; however, buy a certain kind of canned chicken. Here is the recipe:

3 cans of VALLEY FRESH white chicken (make sure you get the only white, I don't like the white and dark chicken)
Mayo
Miracle Whip
Grapes
Slivered Almonds
Seasoned Salt
Pepper

So first you open the canned chicken, drain it, and dump it into a bowl. Take a fork and shred it up (don't leave any chunks - we don't like chunks.) Then take maybe 1-2 cups of mayo and 1-2 cups of miracle whip (depending on how wet you like it) and add to chicken. I know there is the whole mayo vs. miracle whip controversy. My husband is a mayo fan and the miracle whip gives it a little zing. He still does not know I put miracle whip in the chicken salad. Next, add about 1/4 cup of slivered almonds and 20 or so cut up grapes. Stir, add the seasonings. Now, this recipe is totally changeable. I love sliced celery in my chicken salad. You can also add sliced apples, pineapple, really whatever you want. You can also serve it on croissants, rolls, bread, or if you are like my husband, just eat it straight out of the bowl. Enjoy!

Concept Boards

I made these when I was in high school for a preschool thing we did. They called them concept boards. I pulled them out the other day and my kids loved them. My 3 and 2 year old could do some of them; and some of them are for a little bit older kids. Anyway, they are pretty easy to make, a nice quiet activity, and a break from the tv and computer games my kids play all the time now.

Animal Actions (classification: animals of the land and sea)

Flutterby (visual matching)

Melon Matchers (Number 1-10)

The Alpha "bat" (upper and lower case letters)

Fat Cats (colors and color words/numbers and words)

See how much fun they are!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Got my idea from recipezaar.com, but I changed it a little. These cookies are super easy and super yummy. Only three ingredients. Here is the recipe:

1 box of spice cake mix

1 can pumpkin puree

1 bag semi-chocolate chips

Mix the cake mix and pumpkin together, stir in chocolate chips. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

There, see, super easy.

*The original recipe calls for walnuts also

Kid Stuff

Here is a list of all the kid crafts, recipes, and such.

Lady Bug Cookies

Pudding Dirt Cups

Kid's Apron

Kid's Stained Glass

Countdowns

Little Leprechauns

Edible Pot of Gold

Dr. Suess Hat

President's Day

Handprint Bouquet

Chore Charts

Concept Boards

Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag

Or scroll down and find the 'LABELS' on the right hand side and you can click on 'kids'

DIY Crafts and Home Decor

Just incase you didn't know, DIY stands for 'Do It Yourself'. All the stuff on my blog is stuff that anyone can do. If I can do it, you can. So give it a try, here is my archive:

If you happen to be looking for things in a certain category, like 'sewing' or 'burlap', scroll down and look on the right side at the 'LABELS'

Taggies Burp Cloth

Fabric Baby Blocks

Diaper Cake Tutorial

Crib Spring Picture Holder

Burlap Purse

Shadow Boxes

Going on a Trip Presents

Felt/Sweater Flowers

Easy Kid's Apron

Birthday Board

Glass Gem Vase

Homemade Fairy Wings

Yo-Yo Hair Barrettes

Silhouette Portraits

Tissue Paper Flowers

Fabric Carrots

Homemade Fanny Pack

Sock Bunny Family

Little Leprechauns

Scrapbook Paper Frames

Family Name Plaque

Valentines Day Yo-Yo headband

No Sew Tulle Tutu

Easter Hair Accessories

St. Patrick's Day Hair Accessories

Necklace Holder

Easy Spring/Summer Wreath

p.s. please note that if you use directions, pictures, or anything from this blog, please give proper credit by linking back to Mommie Guide. Thanks.

South Denver Metro Parks

Right now it's just a list of parks and the city they are in, but eventually you will be able to click on the park to see the location, pictures, and a list of amenities.

Aurora

Expo Park

Great Plains

Hoops

Olympic Park

Sports Park

Utah Park

Wheel Park

or click HERE for the Aurora's site

Castle Pines

The Retreat Park

Coyote Ridge Park

Daniel's Gate Park

or click HERE for the Castle Pines North site

Castle Rock

Bison Park

Castle Highlands Park

Castle North Park

Centennial Park

Disc Golf at Matney park

Festival Park

Founders Park

Gemstone Park

Glovers Tot Lot

Matney Park

Metzler Ranch Park

Mitchell Gulch Park

Paintbrush Park

Plum Creek Park

Rhyolite Bike Park

Rhyolite Regional Park

Rosecrown Park

Skate Park at Metzler Ranch Park

or click HERE for Castle Rock's site

Centennial

Abbott Park

Arapahoe Park

Cherry Knolls Park

Cherry Park

Clarkson Park

deKoevend Park

deKoevend Tot Lot

Foxhill Park

Foxridge Park/Greenbelt

Hunters Hill Park

Linksview Park

Little Dry Creek Park

Medema Park

Milliken Park

Puma Park

Sunset Park

or click HERE to see Centennial's site

Denver

Alamo Placita

Argo Park

Ashbury and Tejon Park

Ash Grove Park

Clifford Aspgen Park

Aztlan park

Barnum Park

Bates and Hobart Park

Bayaud park

Bear Creek Park

Bear Valley

Berkeley Lake Park

Ben Bezoff Park

Bible Park

Byers and Pecos Park

Chaffee Park

Chavez Park

Cheesman Park

City of Axum Park

City of Nairobi Park

City of Potenza

City of Ulaanbaatar

City Park

Columbus Park

Congress Park

Cook Park

Crescent Park

Crestmoor Park

Dailey Park

Denison Park

Douglass Park

Downtown Children's Playground

Dunham Park

Eastmoor Park

Eisenhower Park

Elmendorf Park

Elyria Park

Falcon Park

Ferguson Park

Flores Park

Franco Park

Fuller Park

Garland Park

Garland and Saratoga Park

Garrison and Union Park

Golden Keys Park

Govenors Park

Green Valley Ranch East Park

Green Valley Ranch West Park

Greenway Park

Hallack Park

Hampden Heights Park

Harvard Gulch Park

Harvard Gulch Mini Park

Harvard Gulch West Park

Harvey Park

Highland Park

Highland Gateway Park

Hirshorn Park

Huston Lake Park

Hutchinson Park

Jefferson Park

Jefferson and Kendall Park

Jefferson Square Park

Kentucky and Knox Park

Kittredge Park

Lakewood/Dry Gulch Park

Lawson Park

Lincoln Park

Lindsley Park

Loretto Heights Park

Magna Carta Park

Martin Luther King Jr. Park

Martinez Park

Mayfair Park

McNichols Park

McWilliams Park

Mestizo-Curtis Park

Montbello Central Park

Montclair Park

Observatory Park

Pasquinel's Landing Park

Pferdesteller Park

Pinecrest Village Park

Pinehurst Park

Platt Park

Pulaski Park

Robinson Park

Rosamond Park

Ruby Hill Park

Russell Square Park

Sanchez Park

Sanderson Gulch Park

Schafer Park

Sheridan Community Park

Silverman Park

Skyland Park

Sloan's Lake Park

Southmoor Park

Southwest Auto Park

St. Charles Park

St. Patrick's Park

Stanford and Balsam Park

Stapleton Central Park

Stout St. Children's Park

Sunken Garden's Park

Swansea Park

Swansea Neighborhood Park

Thomas Park

Town Center Park

Verbena Park

Village Place Park

Village West (Wagon Trail) Park

Walker Park

Wallace Park

Washington Park

Weir Gulch Marina Park

West-Bar-Val-Wood Park

Westwood Park

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Park

41St Av & Ensensada St

42Nd Av & Lisbon St

51St Av & Broadway

51St Av & Zuni St

or click HERE to go to Denver's site

Englewood

Baker Park

Bates/Logan Park

Barde Park

Belleview Park/Farm

Centennial Park

Cornerstone Park

Cushing Park

Duncan Park

Jason Park

Romans Park

Rotolo park

or click HERE to go to Englewood's site

Greenwood Village

Francis H. Williams Park

Green Oaks Playground

Hoffman Park

Orchard Hills Park

Silo Park

Sundance Park

Tommy Davis Park

Village Greens Park

Westlands Park

William McKinley Carson Park/Skate Park

or click HERE to see Greenwood Village's site

Highlands Ranch

Altair Park

Big Dry Creek Park

Civic Green Park

Cline Homestead Park

Cougar Run Park

Dad Clark Park

Falcon Park

Foothills Park

Kistler Park

Lonesome Pines Park

Marcy Park

Northridge Park

Plum Valley Park

Pronghorn Park

Red-tail Park

Redstone Park

Sand Creek Park

Spring Gulch Park

Sweetwater Park

Tanks Park

Timberline Park

Toepfer Park

or click HERE to see Highlands Ranch 's site

Ken Caryl

Bradford Recreation Center

Brannon Gearhart Park

Community Park

Equestrian Center/Dakota Lodge Park

Heirloom Park

Ranch House Park

Saddlewood park

Settlement Pond park

Territory Park

or click HERE to see Ken Caryl's site

Littleton

Ashbaugh Park

Berry Park

Charley Emley Park

Columbine Manor Park

Elati Park

Gallup Park

Hamlet Park

Harlow Park

Hogback Hill Park

Ida Park

Little's Creek Park

Powers Park

Promise Park

Southbridge Park

Sterne Park

Writer's Vista Park

or click HERE to see Littleton's site

Lone Tree

Carriage Club Estate Park

Centennial Ridge Park

Fairways at Lone Tree Park

LaQuinta Park

Prairie Sky Park

or click HERE to see Lone Tree's site

Parker

Auburn Hills Community Park

Bayou Gulch Regional Park

Challenger Regional Park

O'Brien Park

Rainbender Skate and Tennis park

Stroh Ranch Soccer Fields/Park

Tallman Meadow Park

or click HERE to see Parker's site

Sheridan

Alice Terry Park

Barnes Park

Bobcat Park

Chase Park

Harmony Park

Heritage Village Park

Nesbitt Park

Palos Verdes Park

or click HERE to see Sheridan's site