October Cooking Diaries: week 2

This is the second part of my two week cooking challenge. Miss E was home for two weeks this month and I was determined to make something different for our meals each day. To make it even more interesting was the fact that we had plans to visit one of our boys who is in college and  take him some meals on the same day as Miss E intended to head back home. That meant that I either had to make two different meals most days or double the recipes. The care package meal plan had already been in the works before her visit so to make things simple I stuck with the meal preparation schedule the second week and made enough for the care package and our meals. Most of the recipes I did just double to be sure there was plenty but the final decision was ultimately determined by the ingredients we had on hand.

The meals from week 2 begin with breakfast on Saturday morning. 

Martinelli's in champagne flutes makes anytime a special time! We had some sparkling cider leftover from the Backyard Bridal Shower so we had fun sipping some by the fire. We also kept our crock pot full of hot spiced cider for the colder days. 

A big batch of spaghetti sauce made enough for two extra to freeze and put in the care package.

We had fun making Halloween Sugar Cookies. It was a big batch so there were plenty for all of us. 

One for dinner and one for the care package.

Two pans of coffee cake.

The cinnamon rolls were made on Friday morning so that they would be out of the oven by the time we were ready to leave. We packed up a cooler with the frozen meals and a box held all the other food including 2 jars of homemade pickles. The cooking challenge was a success and we had a wonderful visit. 

Happy Saturday!

Care Package #2

A couple weeks ago while I was working on a Chemo Care Package for our friends daughter it occurred to me that her brother, who is younger, might enjoy receiving a little something as well. 

So, while I was at it, I made him a couple “seat belt pillows”. That is what I am calling them anyway, and he can use them in the car if he wants to, just like his older sister does to protect her chemo port, or he can use them for whatever his heart desires. They are made just like the Chemo Port Pillows but this time I used several sports themed fabrics instead. To make his Care Package a bit more fun I tucked in a small football that he could throw around with his friends. Mr. Wonderful suggested I make a batch of chocolate chip cookies so that we could tuck a few of those in for him as well. Once they were cool we packaged them up and the Sibling Care Package was ready to go.

On our way out the door I grabbed a big bag of homemade Caramel Corn for the family and then we headed over to make our deliveries. 

Have a great day!

Chemo Care Package

Last week I made up a little care package for a special teenage friend of ours who recently started chemo. My first thought was to make a Chemo Port Pillow so I began looking through my fabric. While I was trying to decide on colors and patterns it occurred to me that a DIY zipper pouch would make a fun gift bag for the port pillow and could later be repurposed so I switched gears and started with that. 

Once it was finished it was on to the Chemo Port Pillow. Since I had plenty of fabric leftover from the zipper pouch I used some to make the little matching pillow.

I also had some pink Minky in my stash and thought it would work well for another port pillow. Even though it would not quite match the color scheme that was evolving it would still be nice and soft and might even be convenient to have an extra one on hand. 

Once both were finished I made little tags with instructions on the back and attached them to the Velcro straps. 

There was still some room in the Zipper Pouch for something else so I decided to make a little matching travel size Tissue Pocket because tissue always comes in handy. 

The gift also needed a card so I made a small gift card but instead of a traditional paper envelope I made a matching Little Wallet to serve as the envelope.

The Little Wallet would not only be the envelope for the card but then could also be used to hold a variety of things such as I.D., gift cards, appointment cards, money, etc.

The itty bitty card was cut out of card stock and about the size of a business card. The top edge was cut with a scalloped border paper punch and then I used a rubber stamp to decorate the bottom of the front side. 

To tie it in with the little wallet I cut small pieces of coordinating fabric with my pinking shears which I ironed onto the card and then glued a heart shaped button in the center just for fun.

It all came together in the end and worked out great. A couple pairs of fuzzy socks and some Burt’s Bees Chapstick completed the Chemo Care Package and it was ready to deliver.

Be Well!

Get Well Soon ~ care package

It is probably safe to say that when you are under the weather the last thing you want to do is plan and cook a meal. 

That was the case a few weeks ago so I made up a simple little 

Get Well Soon care package for two. 

If I had to do it over again I would have added a little more color to my packaging since the food was not as colorful as I would have liked but all in all it was fun to put together. I used a cardboard drink holder that I had saved to hold the canning jars full of soup, the bread and sugar cookies. It was just the right size and worked out perfectly for packing it all together.  

I made most of the food the morning of delivery so it would be nice and fresh. 

While the bread was baking I personalized the package with a simple tag that I made with my rubber stamps and a little freehand and also tied on some wooden spoons with handwritten messages on the handles.

Since I knew we were staying for a short visit I also made a batch of Raspberry Almond Breakfast Bars to go with our coffee. We had a nice visit and I am happy to report that they received another amazing meal the same day!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

BOO Basket {college care package}

Last weekend was the beginning of mid~terms so I put together this Halloween themed care package for our college freshman. 

The cute spider web basket is lined with spider web tissue paper and contains:

• 1 package of spider webbing with plastic spiders {for decorating the dorm room}
• glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets
• several packages of hand warmers
• instant Hot Apple Cider
• Apple Spice Tea
• two packages of Wrigley's 5 Rain & Cobalt gum
• 2 bags of homemade caramel corn
• pumpkin napkins

The OWL treat box {shown above} actually  became a separate little gift since the spider web basket wasn't quite big enough to hold everything.

Happy Thursday!

Christmas Care Package

This week I mailed a surprise to one of our boys.

A Christmas Care Package sent with love from Santa! 

Of course a plain brown box would not do so I spruced up the inside to make it more festive. Once the inside was finished it was time to fill it with lots of fun gifts and treats. Then, off to the post office to mail. Surprises are so much fun!

Have a very merry day!

Banana Bread/mini loaves {college care package}

I made some mini loaves of Banana Bread to include in the college care packages that I was sending last weekend. Since I baked the banana bread earlier in the week I put it in the freezer to keep it fresh, however, I assembled the care packages on Halloween night while baking cupcakes and handing out candy to trick or treaters and completely forgot about the bread. No worries, I gave it to one of our older boys instead!

Happy Monday!

OWL sugar cookies {college care package}

These are sugar cookies with buttercream frosting that I made Friday night for my niece who is a freshman in college. I sent them with our daughter who joined my sister and our parents on a trip down to visit her yesterday.

To package the cookies I decided to make a pretty

Baker's Box with a covered viewing window.

Squirrels 'n Pearls {ginger snap cookies}

I made these ginger snap Squirrels 'n Pearls for a sorority themed care package for our daughter who is a freshman in college. I only used half of the cookie dough to make Squirrels though so that I could use the other half to make traditional ginger snap cookies to take to our youngest son who is a senior at the same university. 

Quick and fun 

college care packages 

for our kids!