A Few of My Favorite Free Fonts...

I can hardly believe that Christmas is only 7 weeks away...not that I am rushing this along.  However, I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite free fonts for the holidays or truly any other time of the year.

Letters to Santa - Janda Elegant Handwriting

Snowflakes Falling - Daisy Charming

Happy Holidays - Tamoro Script Personal

The North Pole - Fine Blackboard

St. Nicholas - St. Nicholas

Ice Skates & Snowflakes - Pink Ladies & Peanut Butte

Sleigh Rides - KBBright&Merry

warm & cozy - Mf Kind & Witty

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!  Thanks for visiting! - Robyn

Thankful for Thanksgiving Family Activity

Just finished the final touches on my Thanksgiving decor around the house.  This is my absolute favorite holiday all year...family, friends and wonderful food minus the pressures of holiday gift giving.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving we thought we should remind our children all they have to be thankful for.  To instill this sense of thankfulness everyday we created a family thankful jar.  Our jar sits on our dining room table where everyone is sure to see it and take a moment to fill out a slip...so far the plan is working.  We decided we would read them all on Thanksgiving.  I just used a couple of items from around the house to create our thankful jar.  I canning jar, some burlap scrap, twine and a foam leaf.  A little hot glue later and our jar was complete.  I just printed out some "I am thankful for" slips and we were all set.  How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving?  I would love to hear other ideas on how to remind ourselves how much we have to be thankful for.

As always thank you for stopping by. -Robyn

Simple Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

To follow with the theme of quick and easy weeknight meals, I thought I would share a favorite chicken pot pie recipe we make.  I originally found the recipe in a Pillsbury cookbook titled Casseroles and Slow Cookers from September of 2007.  You can find the original recipe here on their website.  I have made a few changes to accommodate our family's tastes hopefully you will enjoy them as well.

Simple Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 1/2 cup cooked chicken, cubed (about 2 breasts)
• 4-6 mini red potatoes diced and oven roasted*
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• Homemade Cream of Chicken soup, prepared
• 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated Crescent rolls
• 1 egg
• 1/8 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

I cook off my chicken breasts in boiling water for about 20 minutes.  Cook the homemade cream of chicken soup mix (equivalent of 1 can) from the link above.  Add vegetables, chicken, potatoes, milk, 1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs.  Heat this mixture until boiling over medium heat, stirring.  Divide this mixture evenly between 5 ungreased ramekin dishes.  I place mine on a lined cookie sheet just in case they bubble over during baking.

Unroll the crescent dough and place 1 triangle over each dish.

In a small bowl, beat egg.  Brush egg over the crescent dough and sprinkle with Italian herbs.  Bake 13 minutes or until crusts are golden brown.

Enjoy!

*Oven Roasted Mini Red Potatoes

• 4-6 mini red potatoes (enough for 1 1/2 - 2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Dice potatoes into 1" cubes.  Toss with olive oil and seasonings.  Place on a lined cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Hope your family enjoys this easy dinner as much as we do,  Thanks for stopping by!

Best Ever Bread Maker Herb Pizza Dough

Wow...where had the time gone?  It seems as if summer was just here and the kids were just getting ready to go back to school.  Halloween has come and gone and now we are getting ready for Thanksgiving.  With the holidays quickly approaching I am always looking for fast and easy recipes that everyone in our house will enjoy.  If asked what my favorite kitchen items are I would first say my crock pot....there truly is not a better time saver.  Second, I would say my bread maker.  Yes, you read that right....I absolutely love my bread maker.  I cannot tell you how easy it is to make homemade pizza dough in the bread maker.  It works much like the crock pot...you place your ingredients in and push a button and and 90 minutes later you have homemade pizza dough.  Cannot get any easier than that.  I have an Oster bread maker and use the 2 pound recipes listed in the recipe book that came with bread maker.  I have made a few changes to the recipe and what I have come up with is a family favorite that I hope your family will enjoy as well.

Bread Maker Pizza Dough

(All ingredients must be at room temperature)

• 1 1/4 cup warm water (I use warm tap water)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (can substitute canola oil)
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Italian herbs dried 
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Combine all ingredients in the bread maker pan.  Wet ingredients must go in first to avoid yeast touching any liquid, this is very important.
Select the Dough Setting on your bread maker and press the Start button.  This setting is an hour and a half for my bread maker.  Once the dough is done you take it out and roll it out on a floured surface to your desired size pan.

We use a 15"x12" jelly roll pan, which I line with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray and sprinkle with some corn meal.

Once you have your pizza dough in the pan, top with pizza sauce and your family's favorite pizza toppings.  Top with 2-3 cups of mozzarella cheese and some dried Italian herbs.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.  Enjoy!

We have made many variations of this pizza recipe...

• Sausage and Cheese
• Pepperoni & Cheese
• Taco Pizza 
• Spinach & Mushroom & Sausage Pizza
• BBQ Chicken Pizza

Hope your family enjoys this as much as ours!  Thanks so much for stopping by!