Dish and serve tiered food "cakes" and Tostada recipe

Let's face it, not everyone loves to cook, if they did there wouldn't be restaurants EVERYWHERE. Morena from Morena's corner happens to be one of those people. She also happens to be super sweet, I can imagine her being very optimistic the kind that it rubs off on all those she is around. Though she did not put together a typical Dish & Serve post it does give those who don't fancy themselves "cookers" as my 6 year old would say a great idea on how to use food to show love to others. I got this post in my e-mail the same day I got an e-mail my daughters teacher asking that those of us who are in a position to donate food for Thanksgiving baskets should. It will go to students and their families at the school who are in need of them. Immediately I thought that using Morena's way of jazzing up food to be donated would be a fun way to present the Thanksgiving food, baskets or not. If they are doing something like this at your child's school volunteer with your kids to put them together and jazz the food to be given out. Or organize something like this at your kids school or church or wherever. Here is what she did...



"I was thrilled when DeAnn invited me to participate in her dish and serve series!  I'm a crafter, not a baker, though, so I put my own little spin on things. My family made tiered food "cakes" to donate to our local food bank.  I hope you like this idea!

My goal with this project was to encourage my children to think about the people receiving our donation and the impact it would have on them. We talked about how it must feel to have to go to a food bank to ask for assistance.  It's scary to not know where your next meal will come from. It's stressful to worry about food and bills.  Some people might even feel a little embarrassed to have to ask for help.  What could we do to help them?

We decided that it would be fun to make our food donation look like tiered cakes.  Hopefully making the recipient smile and feel happy for a bit!   Each child made their own "cake".  We started with a silver platter from Dollar Tree.  Arrange the first layer of cans or cereal boxes, and secure with decorative tape.  Arrange the second layer and secure with tape.  Add a third layer if desired.  Wrap the cake with various ribbons and tie into bows.  Attach hand written notes.

 My children wanted these to look like gifts, so after I took these pictures, we wrapped each tower in paper and tied the top with a bow.  We will deliver them to the food bank this weekend.

My kids are happy to be helping someone in our community, and I'm glad that this activity encouraged them to stop and think about how others are feeling.  I hope it was a great learning experience for them!

Thanks for letting me share with you!

 

Food banks are in desperate need of donations. The demand is going up while donations are shrinking and altogether drying up, a nasty catch 22. Can't donate?  Then donate your time.

I saw that Morena's daughter was making a tired canned bean "cake" and it made me think of one of my favorite bean recipes that is super fast and healthy.

 

I got this recipe out of Cooking Light magazine, I think. I can't remember what they called it so I think I will re-name it Tostada New Mexicana Stick To Your Ribs Deliciousness, Haha.

If I eat two of these bad girls fully loaded I am FULL! So one per kid and 1-2 for adults.

Pre-heat oven to 400. Take 6-9 corn tortillas and spray with cooking spray on each side or olive oil or butter. Place on cookie sheet if you use 9 corn tortillas you will have to overlap them a bit. Place them in the oven for 3-5 mins. When done take them out of the oven and flip the tortillas.Then place your beans and cheese on the tortillas and place them back in the oven for another 5-8 mins or until the cheese is melted. While they are cooking in the oven cook your eggs (two per tortilla was my preference). When done cooking in the oven plate your food and then place the eggs and avocado over the melted cheese. Of course you can add green chile or red chile or both as is my preference :)


Thanks for stopping by and be sure and check out Morena's blog.

Much love :)

SIP Summer Camp Super Bubble Kit

Hello, Blogland and SIP fans! I'm DeAnn's sister, Amy, and I volunteered to take over this week for the SIP Summer Camp while she prepares for a wedding shoot. I have a little blog (ABC Delites) that chronicles life with three boys and a big boy (the hubster) along with some party planning ideas thrown in. WARNING: I have follow through problems this week. I had a fantastic idea in mind, one I saw on Pinterest and thought was particularly fitting for where we live. However, with the 4th of July and my hubs birthday, the week got away from me. I purchased everything I needed, but finding the time to put it together has been a challenge for me. So, I'm going to tell you our plan and I'll update later with pictures.

So this was my grand plan: Super Bubble Kits to beat some of the summer boredom that plagues our apartment building. We've been in our apartment for three months and the fire alarm has been pulled 14 times and counting. When we take walks or head down to the playground, I see kids that are clearly bored. This is a decent area, but it's a lot of working parents and older siblings taking care of the younger ones during the day. So, at least for the younger kids who my kids can identify with, we are going to make super bubble kits and hand them out. I don't care who you are, big bubbles are awesome. Shoot, little bubbles are fun, so SUPER bubbles are SUPER fun! I saw the idea on this blog via the beloved Pinterest. I bought enough materials for five kits.

Per kit you need:
2 dowels three feet in length (paint a fun color or keep au naturale)
Bowl (I bought a frisbee to double as a bowl)
2 eye screws
1 washer
12 feet cotton cording cut into two pieces 8 feet and 4 feet
Bottle for Super Bubble Solution
Sack to put it all in

You screw in the eye screws into the ends of two dowels. Thread one end of each length of cotton cording through the eye screw and tie a knot through one dowel. Slip the washer on the 8 foot length of cording then tie both lengths through the other dowel.

Super Bubble Solution:
12 cups water
1 cup dish soap
1 cup cornstarch
2 Tbsp baking powder (not soda)

Stir gently, do not create bubbles. Let sit for an hour, or even better, overnight before use. For longer lasting bubbles, and I couldn't make this up if I tried, there is a secret ingredient. I didn't notice on the original blog post until much later that a secret ingredient could be added. Now this is a family oriented blog, and I will keep it as such, but this ingredient is pretty grown up! I have never looked for this particular item at the Dollar Store, but alas, I found it and purchased it awkwardly at the insistence of the original post. Enough suspense: secret ingredient = personal lubricant. I never have bought anything as an adult that made me blush, but knowing it's purpose was not the intended use made me feel like a stupid teenager buying Midol, not wanting anyone to know I might have cramps, LOL! Dissolve the secret ingredient in warm water then add to bubble solution. It will be cloudy, just stir occasionally until all the cornstarch dissolves. Also included on the blog post are darling printables to make this a super duper cute gift.

I have talked to my boys (Cash, 6, Dodge, 3 and Easton, 1 who doesn't count just yet ) for a few weeks about what we are going to do to spread some summer fun around where we live. When we pass through the courtyard and see kids with Sharpees at the picnic tables writing on them or breaking glass bottles because they are there, I don't think it's because they are the bad seeds of the bunch, it's the old adage of idle hands do the devils work. My boys know that what those kids are doing is wrong, but what I want my boys to do is not judge them. I want them to learn that they don't need to join in on the juvenile delinquency, but they can invite the ne'er do wells to do something else; an alternative to destructive behavior. I want my boys to influence good without discounting the worth of others that maybe make different choices. They are excited to make new friends by sharing a gift that they helped make. I have invited some cousins to come along and help us find some candidates for our super bubble kits and I believe it will be a fantastic experience for them all. 

Sidenote: DeAnn's craft project post last week is something I also have in the works. It's a board with a pocket that holds cards with words of encouragement and love in them. We met a lady just down the hall from us that is obviously sick. Every time we see her she has bandages on her arms like blood was drawn. She walks very slowly and just doesn't seem like a whole, healthy person. However, she always smiles and makes small talk when she sees us. I just love the idea of giving someone the opportunity to have a little encouragement whenever they need it, right on demand. Who doesn't like a little instant gratification once in a while! I promise I will update all my little endeavors with pictures as soon as we are done :)

Young family photo's and service project

This is why I started The SIP project, for putting together posts like this. Which hopefully encourages everyone who reads this to realize we all have time for doing a little good. It's easy to set the bar too high when it comes to doing good, so high we can't reach it and get discouraged and never do much of anything. Small acts of kindness is where is starts. "The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness." The SIP project is a way for people who participate in it to be pushed a little out of their comfort zones in finding meaningful ways to serve. I am pretty sure I can say with real certainty that all who have participated come away feeling empowered knowing they can make a difference. Alright I will step off my soap box...

Let me introduce the super awesome Young family. We were in a bit of a rush to get their family pictures taken before their oldest son Josh left to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Canada. It wasn't an ideal spot but for being last minute I am really happy with how they turned out. It was really cold too, they were troopers though. There little guy like most two year olds  hardly sat still...no really. As you can see this first picture really captures that. 

And he's off....

 

Here is what the Young family did in their own words. "On December 23rd our family headed out right after a huge snow storm with another family (The Colsons) we had invited and made our way to the Beehive Home in Edgewood New Mexico.  The Beehive Home is a retirement center for the elderly in our town.  Between the two families we had enough children to play the parts of Mary, Joseph, an angel, three wise men, and two shepherds.  Larry Colson (father) would have played the piano but one of the residents of the home really wanted to be involved, so she played while Larry directed.  Shawn Young (father of the Youngs) was the narrator and read the account of Jesus' birth from Luke in the King James version of the Bible.  The two mothers and the children sang the Christmas songs that went along with each part of the story.  Our goal was to share our love of the Savior and our joy of the Christmas season with the residents.  Afterward, we were able to pass out gifts from another group that were not able to make it to the home earlier in the week because of a huge blizzard.  Women from the Edgewood Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had made beautiful lap quilts for each of wonderful people living there.  They had also made and filled stockings with things like lotion and socks. Passing these out to the residents gave all of us an opportunity (especially the children) to be able to talk to the men and the women and wish them a Merry Christmas.  This was a wonderful time to get to know them give them the opportunity to share little pieces of their history with us. 

Our family chose to serve at the Beehive Home for different reasons. First, because it is pretty close to our home and we wanted to do something that could be on going. We plan to visit the home once a month.  Also, we have never lived close to grandparents and this gives our children an opportunity to be around elderly people and have "adopted" grandparents.  Sometimes older people can be intimidating to children and we would like ours to be comfortable around those who they may not think they have anything in common with.  

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve. We are so happy that this project pushed us out of our seats and made us think about ways that our family can contribute.  Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives, we forget that we have things that we can give and in return we are blessed."  


                                                     Photos from their service project.

Here is what the Young family did in their own words. "On December 23rd our family headed out right after a huge snow storm with another family (The Colsons) we had invited and made our way to the Beehive Home in Edgewood New Mexico.  The Beehive Home is a retirement center for the elderly in our town.  Between the two families we had enough children to play the parts of Mary, Joseph, an angel, three wise men, and two shepherds.  Larry Colson (father) would have played the piano but one of the residents of the home really wanted to be involved, so she played while Larry directed.  Shawn Young (father of the Youngs) was the narrator and read the account of Jesus' birth from Luke in the King James version of the Bible.  The two mothers and the children sang the Christmas songs that went along with each part of the story.  Our goal was to share our love of the Savior and our joy of the Christmas season with the residents.  Afterward, we were able to pass out gifts from another group that were not able to make it to the home earlier in the week because of a huge blizzard.  Women from the Edgewood Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had made beautiful lap quilts for each of wonderful people living there.  They had also made and filled stockings with things like lotion and socks. Passing these out to the residents gave all of us an opportunity (especially the children) to be able to talk to the men and the women and wish them a Merry Christmas.  This was a wonderful time to get to know them give them the opportunity to share little pieces of their history with us.

Our family chose to serve at the Beehive Home for different reasons. First, because it is pretty close to our home and we wanted to do something that could be on going. We plan to visit the home once a month.  Also, we have never lived close to grandparents and this gives our children an opportunity to be around elderly people and have "adopted" grandparents.  Sometimes older people can be intimidating to children and we would like ours to be comfortable around those who they may not think they have anything in common with. 

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve. We are so happy that this project pushed us out of our seats and made us think about ways that our family can contribute.  Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives, we forget that we have things that we can give and in return we are blessed."   

If you wonder why there are only pictures of two of their kids it's because it got too cold to do the rest. I will being taking the rest of their kids pictures soon.

Thanks for stopping by! I am flying by the seat of my pants you are welcome to join the ride! If you would like to participate in The SIP project or have any ideas for me I hope you feel comfortable leaving your thoughts via commenting or e-mail. I love hearing from you :) Every comment makes my day.

Mullen family photos and service projects

My brain is tired, I had a cute little man crawl in bed with us this morning at 5am. He then proceeded to tell me all about the two books he had brought with him, Cars and Thomas the Train. So if you find any little hiccups in the post you know why ;) 

Karisa and Pat are both very intelligent motivated people and I am excited about their service projects. I LOVE music too and admire anyone who can sing or play an instrument (Karisa has a beautiful voice by the way). Pat is a science guy and I love that he found a service project that makes use of his skills. 

Karisa in her own words telling about her service project...

"Sometimes it gets depressing when you are so busy raising a family and fulfilling your many responsibilities and you start to not even know who you are anymore. I wanted my kids to see me having a hobby that I love, and friends. I hoped this would make me come home a better mother and be a good example for them in their own lives. I thought, what are my hobbies? Interests? Well music, of course! I have always loved music, and wished I could sing like I used to with my friends.  Our community could really use a music group.  We could perform all sorts of music! I've just got to find people who are interested in joining... (harder than it sounds).

A day or two after that, I heard from DeAnn about her exchange of service (pictures) for service, and although I didn't start this specifically for her, I thought it fit perfectly, and she kindly let me use it for credit for pictures. So I got started contacting families in my home-school group, church people in several congregations in the community, and I found a great accordion player from an accordion club in Albuquerque! It has turned out to take 10 times the effort to gather everyone, and time than I thought it would, so I can't say that it fell together, but I actually got people to come, so that was a start. Right away they told me I needed to be a stronger leader, and I forced myself to do the best I could at that. I have NEVER lead a choir (besides primary), nor have I ever been in a school music group of any kind, so I was intimidated a bit by others in the group who are obviously more experienced than I, but hey, I started this thing, and they had a point... I needed to lead it!

We decided to choose some Christmas music (enough for a two hour program), and get our feet wet by caroling during December. We sincerely hope to bring joy to people and lift their spirits with this gift of music. We have met 5 times to practice our songs in October and November, and I scheduled three performances in December. Our first performance went great, thanks to the talented singers and instrument people in the group. It was a police charity event at the community center where many struggling families were given a fun night, a tree, gifts, and food from the police. We provided the awesome music! Everyone was really thankful that we came and I'm sure the other performances will go great.

As to whether or not I'd do this again... it is so much time and money, copying music for everyone, sending our emails, calling everyone weekly, arranging performances, etc, it's too much for one person, but I hope it doesn't die. Hopefully others in the group would help now that they've got the idea. Everyone in the group has been very supportive and it's been fun.  I've gotten to know people in the community who I would not have known otherwise, and I hope we continue to play together, and that we can draw in more people from different faiths and backgrounds, and that the group can just keep growing and improving. I figure this year is just the stress of starting something new. It takes a while to get it rolling. In 2012, I hope to do the Edgewood parade in August, and then Christmas stuff again, and then just add more as we're able in the following years. I personally have always wanted to be in a Mariachi/Latin band, or a kids music band like the Wiggles, or Rock, Country, Celtic, Polka... it never ends!  I love it all!"

Photos from her service project...

                                           At the Edgewood police station...

                                    At one of the Hospitals in Albuquerque...

Caroling at Wal-Mart...                

Pat in his own words talking about his service project...

For my service I worked with the students at Amy Biel High School in Albuquerque to refine their science/engineering projects.  They had already sat down with their teachers and gotten a general idea of what they were doing, my job was to sit with them and plan specifics for hypothesis, how they would measure their results and to read through the scientific literature with them and help them choose five papers they could use in their write up when they were done.  I chose this project because I love science but I don't spend much time around teenage kids. I thought it would be a good chance to interact on a positive level with high schoolers while hopefully conveying the excitement that science can have.

I went to the school twice for three hours each.  In those three hours I would assist in two separate classes, and in each class I would be assigned to help a group of 4-5 students.  The projects ranged from shooting potato guns to find the best angle for distance to watching the behavior of fish in different lighting conditions.  The student that I felt benefited the most from my help was one girl that wanted go and build bridges in undeveloped countries for the safety and convenience of people nearby.  I helped her settle on a nice engineering project where she could research the type of terrain in a likely country, choose a bridge type, calculate the weight it would need to support and then to build different models out of balsa wood and show that they could hold the required weight.   It worked out well, and I was glad to be able to help.

**He didn't have any pictures from his because it would take forever to get the releases from the parents to have their picture taken**

I am excited to introduce the Mullen family to you all this fine morning and show you a few of their photos. They are adorable! Really the cutest little boys imaginable. I had fun as I walked behind the family as we moved from spot to spot trying to catch some candid shots (not an easy feat in Old Town Albuquerque with sooo much packed in such a small place.) They weren't hyper like my brothers were, but they are still very much on the move and sweeties ta boot! I can't forget sweet little daddy's girl Leia, lucky girl will have three older brothers. (I always wanted older brothers...I think.) Mom and Dad are awesome as well, karisa whom I don't know super well but have enjoyed talking with when we get a chance to. Determined and sweet is how I would describe her. Pat was pretty chill, he was hungary the whole shoot and I didn't hear one complaint, which is better then I would have done. Happy go lucky Pat. 

Hope you enjoyed the post! My intent is always to inspire us all to get out there, and use our talents to make some positive changes in the World we all call home.

              Happy New Year!!! Muah!!!

Here's hoping we all make this a great year, one filled with positive changes and even some that scare us a little at first...like getting out into our communities and getting involved.

 

Cookie party and a little service too

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           Cami's service project and portraits

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