A survival guide to everyday motherhood



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I am a photography fanatic. I love taking pictures, tweaking pictures, and finding the beauty in every day items

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Molly McButter's Powder Butter

WFMW

I think of myself as a pretty healthy eater. Don't get me wrong, I love my pizza and could probably down a good chunk of it if needed (I probably shouldn't be proud of that). But I do try to use turkey instead of beef, throw in fiber where I can, and use fat free everything. So you can imagine why I would be over come with joy when I discovered MOLLY MCBUTTER!

This in only the best cooking trick I have discovered yet. It is a powder butter... yes.... I said it.... powder butter. Well, better yet... Fat-Free powder butter with only 5 calories per serving. I know... amazing isn't it? We have just fallen in love with it. You can use it to replace the calorie packed, fat filled, food that is butter. We use it a lot with corn, vegetables, baked potatoes, and even as a replacement for butter with mac n' cheese. We especially love it for home made pop corn. Simply pop some kernels in a little bit of olive oil and then sprinkle with Molly McButter and salt; then you will have some of the most delicious pop corn you have ever tasty and a lot healthier too as you are using olive oil.

So feel free run out and buy some guilty free pleasure or to help make those sin foods a little nicer. Sprinkle some butter on and cut back on fat. What is a health food trick you use for cooking?

Monday, January 19, 2009

Hula Hop Game

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY
Having game night with the family is always fun, but having a family game night that will help tire the kids out before they go to bed.... priceless!!!

To have your family play Hula Hop all you will need is a hula hoop or something to make a circle. Get two players into the circle and standing on one leg. Players will then grab hands and start to hop. The goal is to get one player off balance or out of the circle by bumping with shoulders and such.
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Please remember to add your link only if you are participating in Family Moment Monday. Family Moment Monday consists of people who are sharing crafts, activities, lessons, ideas, service projects or anything else that you can learn/do/enjoy as a family in your post. Please remember to link back to Motherhood For Dummies, so others can learn about F.M.M. and participate too.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Stuffed Shell Pasta

Is anyone else out there willing to admit that they are a pasta slut? Cause I am and I know it. Whether it is fettuccine, linguine, zitti, or penne I can safely guarantee that I will love it and later on crave it. Unfortunately my husband is the same way, so I have no one to help safe guard me against the sinister temptations of the carbo packed goodness that IS pasta! Curse those Italian devils!

So.... basically.... if I am going down, I am taking you all with me!!!!! And to prove it, here is a fantastic and easy recipe for Stuffed Shell pasta.

1 Package of jumbo pasta shells (16 oz)
4 Cups cottage cheese
12 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Dash of garlic powder (to your liking... I used a several dashes)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1 (26 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce
1/4 Cup of Parmesan cheese (again)

1. Cook shells according to package directions. Place in cold water to cool down and drain.
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2. While shells are cooking mix together the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, eggs, and garlic powder. Rub the dried herbs (oregano & parsley) in the palm of your hand to pulverize them and then stir into the cheese mixture.

3. Spread 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 15 x 10 pan. Start stuffing the shells with the cheese mixture and place them in the pan. Spread remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of shells and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake at 350* degrees for 25-35 mins or until bubbly. Let shells stand for 10 mins to let the melted cheese settle a little, if not it will be super runny, but still good.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Carcassonne

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY
Us Rappleyes are board game people... we love em! Curtis and I spent many of our nights, while dating, playing card games and Life (we were so cool :) ). Once we got married we started throwing in Sorry, Monopoly, and Scene It. And now... well... we are game snobs that party with the elite like Settlers of Catan, Bohnanza, and Spy Alley. We love finding games people haven't heard of, learning new ones, and introducing them to people.

Our latest fetish right now is Carcassonne and don't let it fool you that it is made by the Germans... cause I don't know about you, but when I think of Germans I don't usually think of a fun jovial bunch.... but apparently they sure do know their way around board games.

Carcassonne is a fairly simple game about farmers, monks, knights, and robbers. Players will take turns grabbing tiles of land and laying them down to build a valley. As you lay your tile down you also place people to do actions. There are farmers who feed the cities you build, monks that watch over the monasteries, knights that guard a city, and thieves that plunder the roads. Players will try to give their lands as many tiles and points as they can while also trying to block off and upset the other players fields as much as possible. This game definitely keeps you on your toes cause the board and situations change with ever turn.

This game is truly addictive and fun to play. We especially like it because it is just as fun two player as it is with a whole group. The game says it is best for children 7 and up and can be played two to five players. You can find Carcassone on Amazon.com for about $22 right now and it seems to usually go for about $30 most places.

What are some favorite family games that you play?

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Family Moment Monday Reminder

This Monday will be the beginning of me posting again and we will be starting with a Family Moment Monday. I just wanted to let all you regulars know that we WILL be having F.M.M. for this coming Monday and for all you newbies out there, feel free to join and post on F.M.M.; feel free to write a post about family activities, games, movies, crafts, lessons, thoughts, or even parenting tips. Post ideas can be for all ages or even for certain age groups; activities for a whole family or something just for the kids.

So... over review! :)
What: Family Moment Monday
Who: Anyone who wants to post is invited and welcomed
When: Mr. Linky will be up to accept your links on Sunday evening at 6:00 PM Alaska time (that's 7 for Pacific, 8 Mountain, and... well you get idea)
Where: F.M.M is hosted here at Motherhood For Dummies
Why: Because there is never too many things we can do with our families