Getting ready to make truffles with historically accurate chocolate!

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Today is an amazing combo in that it’s summer, which is the perfect time for a trip, and that it is Chocolate Day. So I’m going to tell you how to enjoy a trip, get some amazing chocolate, and even turn it into a fun and easy history learning experience! (Interestingly enough there are actually 4 Chocolate Days a year, but that’s just an ADHD inspired tidbit.) We actually do a lot of tours and trips, mostly because we live close to so many, but also because my approach to history is that it is better to see and do than to read and quote. It’s oneRead More →

A family favorite, an easy way to feed the family on busy days, or when it is just to hot to cook!

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It can be so hard to feed the family in the hot summer months. Sometimes it’s just too hot to cook, sometimes one person goes off with a friend and you have no idea if they will be home for dinner or not, sometimes an extra friend is at the table, and sometimes it’s just to fun outside to come in and cook! There are so many situations that occur in the summer that can make it tricky to eat, especially together. We are adamant family dinner people. We eat dinner together about 355 days a year, those 10 that we don’t usually are in theRead More →

From a water bottle to a recipe a list of six things that I am just loving this week!

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I wanted to share a little sneak peek into my life with a feature about 6 things I’m loving this week. In no particular order here are six things I am just loving right now and why. There are three things I want you to take away from this list. 1. I just love these things. 2. The simple things in life can be amazing, and by appreciating them you will probably be a happier person. 3. The fact that two of these items, and my phone case (not shown) all match was completely coincidental. [ReviewDisclaimer] Julie Nutting Stamps- I have  BIG crafty reveal comingRead More →

Simple Ingredients and it makes it's own crust!-- My Workbasket

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Have you ever had a recipe that you KNEW would leave zero leftovers? That you could possibly eat in one sitting? This recipe is like that for me. My husband has actually taken the pie server out of my hand before because I had already eaten almost a whole pie! I came across this awhile ago, I don’t even remember where, and it claimed to be from an old recipe book. I made one, and it was good. I’ve now made this probably a dozen times or more, and have figured out the perfect pie. I’ve made several changes from the original and made itRead More →

A great recipe from a 1931 magazine for Gingerbread Muffins

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My magazine collection is growing, a lot really I may be addicted, and recently I ordered a stack of issues from 1931. One the back of one cover was a Pillsbury ad about how their balanced flour makes large batches easy and talks about making 250 muffins. I was a little afraid of quantity when I saw the included recipe, but the amounts looked reasonable so I went for it. I didn’t use Pillsbury flour, I used a gluten free 1/1 blend. The recipe made exactly 12 reasonable sized muffins. Mine did not take 27 minutes, I believe they took closer to 20. So I’dRead More →

How to make a large container of yummy hot cocoa mix for less than $6 and using 15 minutes or less of your time! Only three ingredients needed! Easy DIY from My Workbasket

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Do you like hot cocoa? I do. While some people only drink cocoa, or tea, or coffee, or hot cider, I drink them all! I love to get cozy with a hot cup of something. So does my son. My son also loves snow days. He will often be out ALL day on any snow day.  I’m sure you can imagine we use a lot of cocoa. So for a few years now, I’ve been making my own hot cocoa mix. It’s handy to have, cheap to make, and tastes great! It’s a blend of various recipes I’ve found in old books and magazines overRead More →

Have fun and make this adorable chocolate house!

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I’m going to go on the record and say that I pretty much eat my weight in gingerbread every December. It’s true. I have a family recipe that makes about 500 cookies (seriously, it uses almost 5 pounds of flour) and my family eats it day in and day out, constantly. Three cookies will constitute a breakfast or lunch. That said, I was over at The Chocolate Belles – cake decorating and candy making supplies website the other day, and saw a chocolate house mold and HAD to have it. I wrote them a quick note and they sent it right over. This chocolate cottage isRead More →

Only 10 minutes and five ingredients make this amazing dip! Tastes great with chips or fruit and veggies!

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I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned before that my family (especially my son and I) eat a LOT of dips. We frequently will have some variety of dip for lunch with chips and veggies or fruit. I always just pull something together and have a pretty good system for always making something pretty good. Recently we had dip again, of course, and my son says “How about something with pineapple?” I said, “Well, Pineapple needs bacon!” And the following dip was the result. It is SO good. It tastes great with tortilla chips but just as good with something like apple slices or celery sticks.   Read More →

Yummy cheese filled and veggie loaded meatballs! -- My Workbasket

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When I made these meatballs recently I just knew I HAD to share the recipe with you. They are SO good, and the recipe makes enough to either serve 8 people, OR make some and freeze some! When my husband took some for work people were immediately asking him for where I got the recipe. They are SO good, and are just loaded with veggies. They really eat like a meal all by themselves, but you could easily top them with a favorite sauce. Print Veggie Loaded Cheese Stuffed Meatballs These meatballs are just loaded with veggies and then stuffed with cream cheese. You canRead More →

The pond from Willow Oak Herb Farm! A simply magical place in Maryland that is well worth the trip. -- My Workbasket

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I am much recovered from my mild freak out that I talked about last week, but I have decided on a few things for my life moving forward. Nothing that effects the website here, but just in general about how I’ll be approaching things. I just need to repeat the mantra often that “I can’t do it all” but I am trying to leverage my time to do the things I care about most. I probably will not be talking about next week often in my weekly workbaskets anymore. I am trying to do things more as they come and less planning it all out.Read More →

Some pages from my sketchbook for the week. Trying to be creative every day! -- My Workbasket

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It’s that time again! Let’s talk about life! Parenting- I don’t usually say to much about parenting, because honestly this blog is to give me something else to think about, talk about, and focus on, BUT this week. I swear my child has not shut up for at least 7 days straight. I locked myself in the bathroom and he just stood on the other side of the door talking to me the entire time I was in there. He has some various special needs that cause this sort of thing. Just, oh man, there is not enough coffee for this. It’s affected my productivityRead More →

Tasty Banana Cheesecakes- My Workbasket

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I’m trying to get better about eating breakfast and decided to best place to start is by pre-making some things that are easy to grab. I mentioned in my Weekly Workbasket recently that I wanted to work on some freezer meals. One recipe I found on Pinterest really peeked my interest. It has everything we love and is gluten free! Banana Breakfast Cheesecakes! I do LOVE a cheesecake. They are SO Good! I admit they don’t look like much, but they taste amazing! They were also really easy to make. I followed the recipe that was posted over on Amy’s Healthy Baking. I did makeRead More →

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That time already? WOW! These weekly workbasket posts really make me see how much time gets away from me, or just how fast it passes in general. It seems like I just typed my first one but here it is several posts later. Last Week: So last week I started a new organization/cleaning method. It’s based on The Slob Sisters, and their Side-Tracked Home Executive system. I haven’t read the official book, but learned some about the system online and just jumped in to creating a basic set up. My son and I both are very ADHD and are not good at cleaning. We getRead More →

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It’s that time again! When I typed my weekly workbasket last week I was 469.2 miles from where I am right now. For once I actually remembered to both set the trip odometer AND read it before driving anywhere else or around town. It has been quite a week. Last Week: Monday we had some great family time at my brother’s pool, and took the cat to the vet. Cat is pretty healthy! We got lucky with our discovery. He was put on some medication for his cold/sinus/upper respiratory issue. Tuesday we went to all the thrift stores one last time, packed up and loadedRead More →