Home Maid Simple

Tag: New year

  • Fancy Pudding Cups for New Years Eve

    Fancy Pudding Cups for New Years Eve

    Pudding cups make for a fancy but simple treat for any party. Use whatever you have on hand to make a flavorful treat your family will love. 
     
    Fancy Pudding Cups
     
    While I was menu planning last week (oh yeah! I actually planned a menu!), I came across a recipe for these Strawberry-Orange phyllo cups. They were filled with oranges and strawberries, and a yogurt dressing. Although it sounded and looked nice, I went with what I already had on hand – pudding and frozen berries!
     
    Since New Years Eve is upon us, I thought it would be fun to dress them up a bit with some piped almond bark. The kids and I loved them, and there was a little something for each of them – almond bark for one, pudding for another, and berries for the third. I of course enjoyed the whole thing. 
     
    Fancy Pudding Cups make a New Years Eve party treat east and delicious  
    Fancy Pudding Cups
    phyllo dough cooked in muffin tins make for the perfect pudding cup.
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    Ingredients
    1. Phyllo Dough
    2. cooking spray
    3. pudding
    4. Pomegranate arils
    5. blueberries
    6. almond bark
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 350 F
    2. Thaw phyllo dough according to directions on package. Place 2 phyllo dough sheets on top of each other. cut in half lengthwise and width wise, creating 4 rectangles. Coat the top with cooking spray.
    3. Gently press one stack of phyllo dough into pan. I used a mini cheesecake pan, but a muffin tin, or custard cups would also work. Gently press a 2nd stack of the dough across the first stack. Repeat steps 1-3 for each cup you want to make.
    4. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Very gently remove the phyllo cups from pan.
    5. Spoon pudding into the cups, top with berries and almond bark designs.
    For the Almond Bark decor
    1. Melt your almond bark for 30seconds in the microwave. Stir and repeat, until bark is melted and smooth.
    2. Pour into a piping bag, fitted with smallest tip you have – I used a Wilton 4 tip. Be careful because the bark is hot, and will also easily pour out the tip.
    3. Carefully pipe designs onto a sheet of wax paper. As I found out, most will end up cracking if you don’t use the wax paper, and it’s just easier to get them off wax.
    Adapted from Taste of Home
    Adapted from Taste of Home
    Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
    Fancy Pudding Cups
     

    Happy New Year!

    May you all have a blessed new year. Enjoy family, friends, and good food this year. 


  • Make 2014 your Stress Free Cleaning Year #NewYearsClean

    Make 2014 your Stress Free Cleaning Year #NewYearsClean

    *This is a sponsored post. Compensation has been given. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own*


    The Mr. Clean has started our year off with a bang! Following the biggest party of the year – New Years Eve in Times Square – The Mr Clean Team joined with the New York City Department of Sanitation, the Times Square Alliance and Julie Edelman the “Accidental Housewife” to clean up the party. 
    I have to tell you, being a homemaker, and cleaning house after my 4 kids, I’m not sure I’d like to be in charge of cleaning up a party from thousands of crazy happy people.  The Mr Clean team sure made it look fun though – fun enough I wish I had been able to fly out there and help clean. Just check out…and please take note of all that confetti being thrown.

    Julie has quite a bit of energy for a midnight cleaning, but I think I would too after such a fun party.  Mr Clean only added to the excitement by introducing their brand new product Mr Clean Liquid Muscle to help clean up last night.  It is now available in mass merchandise stores nationwide!!
    I am a huge fan of Mr Clean Magic Erasers. They are my life savers when it comes to cleaning walls in our apartment. I haven’t really seen what else Mr Clean has to offer though, but I’m excited to try out the Liquid Muscle this year. A few awesome facts about Mr Clean Liquid Muscle – 
    • Multi-purpose, multi-surface cleaner with 2.5x more power than the regular Mr Clean formula.
    • Liquid Concentrate for the extra power of cleaning
    • Can be diluted for more general cleaning, without the need to rinse off. Use on floors, counters, sinks, oven, and tabletops. 
    Julie Edelman has shared with us these 10 tips to save you time, money and sanity in 2014. Click this link to get the full tips and thoughts from Julie.  After reading Julie’s tips, feel free to print out this summed up version to hang in your cleaning cupboard as a reminder!
    Download and Print
    Come on, this just looks like they had so much fun!  Let’s work with Mr Clean Liquid Muscle to have an awesome year of clean homes, and stress free living!
    Have a Happy 2014 everyone
    Check out the fun B-Roll Footage from last nights Cleaning footage. 
  • Make Resolutions that aren’t Overwhelming

    Make Resolutions that aren’t Overwhelming

    It’s December 31st.

    Many of you are getting ready to party with friends and family as we welcome in 2014.

    Some of you are probably looking forward to a decent bedtime with kids so you can get some extra sleep in as well.

    A fair portion of you I would guess are also thinking about making some New Years Resolutions. But perhaps some of you are overwhelmed at the thought of resolutions. You think you won’t keep them past the first few days, so why bother?

    I’ve gone back and forth myself on the purpose of making Resolutions at the beginning of a New Year. There was a time I told myself the New Year wasn’t really anything special. It’s just a new day with a different year attached. I knew I probably wouldn’t keep my resolutions, so it was pointless.

    That’s a pretty negative point of view to have don’t you think?  Admittedly, we can always be making some resolutions to do better, and I’m sure most of us do, we just don’t think of them as a resolution usually – just a goal.

    Here are my steps to making New Years Resolutions you can actually keep that aren’t overwhelming.

    1. Begin by reflecting on the past year. Don’t just look at the bad, or un-kept resolutions. Remember the good times you had as well. Did you receive a promotion at work? Did you spend too much time playing Candy Crush and not enough with your kids? Were you generally happy or sad the whole year?
    2. Now pinpoint areas in your past year that you’d like to see changed in the New Year. Focus on a few different areas. They may include

    • Health
    • Spiritual
    • Family relations
    • Work
    • Education

    4. Write down different ways you can improve yourself in these areas. Don’t stick to just one at this point. Make a nice list.
    5. Now narrow it down to just one goal you can work on for each area of your life. It doesn’t have to be specific either. It could be as simple as “Spend more time with my kids” or “eat healthier”.  Generalize it.
    6. Now that you have a general idea of different ways to improve your life in the New Year, make a plan. A goal does no good if you don’t have a plan to accomplish it. What steps are you going to take?
    7. Decide how often you will work on each goal. It could be once a week, once a month, or even daily – it completely depends on what your goal is.
    8. Now write them down, type them up, and put your resolutions/goals with their plan in a place you can see them.
    9. At the beginning of each month for the next year, reevaluate. Are you still working towards your goals? Have you accomplished any? Do you need to change your plan? Making a resolution or goal should not be a one time a year event. Come back to them frequently to make changes and improvements as needed.

    Making resolutions for a New Year don’t have to be overwhelming. They shouldn’t be a one time thing either. We are not perfect, but we should strive to be the best possible person we can.

    My 2014 New Years Resolution

    To give you an idea here is one of my New Years Resolutions – Reconnect with all my siblings, and grow our relationship.
    My plan? Write a letter monthly to each of them. Call them on their birthdays. To do that I need to get their phone numbers into my phone. If financially possible, visit each of them at least once during the year. This will prove fairly easy for most of my siblings since they live close, but I have a brother living on the east coast, who is planning to move his family to Belgium sometime next summer.  I will need to diligently save money so we can afford a visit to them. 
    Now I obviously have more than this one resolution, but I hope it gives you an idea on how easy a resolution can be to make and keep.

    Have a Happy and Successful 2014 everyone!
    Don’t party too hard tonight. 



  • Foodie Friday 2013 in Review

    Foodie Friday 2013 in Review

    Welcome back to another Foodie Friday
    I would love it if you took a moment to visit my co-host Diane at Simple Living and Eating. 
    If you’re new to Foodie Friday, here’s the run down
    1. Link up your recipe or any food related post below
    2. Browse the linky, visit some new blogs, and share if you feel so inclined. 
    3. Please only link up 3 posts. This lets us visit as many of you as possible.
    4. By linking up you give me permission to feature your photos on Home Maid Simple (always linking back to you of course!)
    Since it’s the Friday after Christmas, and that usually means a slowing of blogging for everyone, I decided instead of featuring one of you on a slow day, I would take a little time to share some of my favorite recipes this year.  If you’ve been around for awhile, you know I use to share a recipe every Foodie Friday. It got to be just a little too much for me though, and I didn’t feel like I got to connect with any of you. So I started sharing recipes whenever I made them, and focusing more on you each week. I have really had fun reading through the different profiles each week, and talking to you through emails, facebook, and twitter. We’ll get back to your features in January 2014. 
    This past year has been an immense time of growing for myself and Home Maid Simple. My recipes went from ok – usually something I changed up just a tiny bit from someone else’s recipe, to creating recipes entirely on my own. My photography skills have also taken a huge leap in improvement as I’ve learned to use natural lighting, and actually set up the backgrounds a bit better. 
    I hope you enjoy these recipes from Home Maid Simple. Click through the links to get the recipes, and check out past Foodie Friday link parties. You never know what you may find!
    To get you started, enjoy some Creamy Potato Cauliflower Soup.  I’ve been craving some more of this ever since the weather turned super chilly here. 
    Speaking of chilly – these Thin Mint Chocolate Fudgesicles were Ah-Maze-Ing!  Almost worth having on a cold winter day ever. 
    In an effort to get our Prince L extra protein we bought some Sunflower Butter. While looking at the jar one day, I thought it was about time I make some Peanut Free no-bakes. My nephew is allergic to nuts, so even though we don’t live close to them, I often think of ways to make yummy goodies for anyone that might have a nut allergy. Try these. Love them. Enjoy them.
    For Mothers Day this year I bought myself flowers, and made a pretty breakfast in bed. The chocolate butterflies were my favorite new technique learned this past year. I also just found you can do them in different colors, just by buying the colored chocolates! 
    We had a couple Kids in the Kitchen recipes this year as well – starting with Venice’s Chicken, and a safety lesson with Apple Pie French Toast. 
    Finally I shared my Cherry Almond Cheesecake. The pure awesome-sauce that this became with my family has inspired me to continue playing with cheesecake and decided to write a recipe book that will hopefully be available by next Christmas. I promise my readers, I’ll have a deal equally awesome-sauce for you once it’s available for purchase. 

  • How we’ve Grown in 2013

    Merry Christmas week everyone!  I will not be posting regularly until the new year as I spend time with all our family in town. Since I’m assuming most of you will also be doing the same, I wanted to take just a little time to reflect back on this past year.

    Home Maid Simple has grown so amazingly this year, thanks to some wonderful bloggers who have encouraged and supported me, and because of you my readers for continuing to come by and interact with me here and on the different social media outlets.  If you’re not following on any social media yet, I would love to have you check us out on facebook, pinterest, twitter, and Google Plus. Just pick your favorite way over there to the right —->
    As an fyi, I do most of my random talking and interacting on Facebook.

    2013 began with switching out of a blogspot url to my own .com (which I should check and update with GoDaddy <–affiliate before I disappear).  It caused a sudden drop from a Google Page Rank of 3 down to N/A, but through tirelessly updating old posts, I’m happy to say we’re back up to a PR 2. This just means it’s easier to find me in google searches, and fingers crossed I’m following all of the FTC and Google rules so this will just go up from here.


    Check PageRank     

    When changing to a .com I decided I needed to branch out of my posts that were mostly just for me, and really make this more a business that is beneficial to you. I was already a part of some Facebook blogger groups, so I tried to become more active with them in learning about blogging as a business. I need to give a huge shout out to some of these special women who encouraged me to grow – I hope you’ll all go say hi.

    Mallery from Horrible Housewife
    We are so very different from each other, but I find you so amazing and witty. Thanks for helping me grow this year. 
    Jillian from Mommy Testers
    You and Kayla are so adorable. Thanks goes to you as well for encouraging me to be better and value myself and my time more. 
    Your honest feedback, and constructive criticism has made Home Maid Simple look better. I value all the advice you’ve given me this year. 
    Thank you for being my friend both in the blog world and online. Crossing my fingers we get to meet up this year! Your enthusiasm and craftiness is inspiring. 
    Thanks to these girls I applied, and was accepted to be a part of the Social Fabric (aka SoFab, aka Collective Bias) community this year. This meant more quality opportunities to bring you posts like Herb Dinner Rolls, Easy Meals for busy nights, Kid Friendly BBQ, and Giving Back to Schools.  

    I’ve also partnered with some amazing people to promote some pretty awesome products.  Landing a promotion with McCormick was one of my favorite promo’s this year – check out the Gingerbread Cookies and Mulling Spice Sachets – but working with Eric to promote their Kickstarter Campaign for the EcoQube has got to be my favorite non-review post of the year. I can’t wait for these desktop ecosystems to hit production in 2014!!

    Pinterest has become the number one site referrer for most blogs out there. This is how you all have helped me grow the most. When you share my content it is then shared by your friends and their friends, and out of those I get new readers. Although there is no good way to gauge which post is the most popular on pinterest with you all, I did my best to find some of the most pinned posts. We have a good variety between food, crafts and home organizing being pinned. 
    Impossible Cheeseburger Pie (submitted by Guest Blogger Tammy) has 243 pins. 
    My Milk Jug Planter for the kids has 187 pins. 
    First Aid Kit for the home has 156 pins
    The Peanut Free No-Bake Cookies have 62 pins
    What can you expect to see next year?  Well let me tell you my biggest goal for the new year is to write and publish a recipe book. It’s a big undertaking, but I’m so pumped about it. It will be a Cheesecake book, with different crusts, fillings, and toppings. I’ll keep you updated on the progress, along with sneak peeks of some of the recipes. 
    I also hope to bring you more tips for living a simple life – from crafting on a budget, cooking meals from food storage, home cleaning advice, and decorating. I also hope to bring you some fashion posts as well, since my closet needs a complete makeover this year. 
    What has been your favorite thing to see on Home Maid Simple?
    What would you like to see in 2014?
  • Hawaiian Haystacks {Foodie Friday}

    Hawaiian Haystacks {Foodie Friday}

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    Hosted at
    Home Maid Simple
    and
    Simple Living and Eating

    Normally for New Years Eve I prepare Chicken Cordon Bleu. Due to the moving, and then sick kids, we ended up with a quick, but tasty Hawaiian Haystack.

    Hawaiian Haystacks

    Ingredients
    2 cups 1-minute Rice
    1 can pineapple chunks
    1 can peas
    2 Roma tomatoes
    Leftover Ham or 8oz Ham chunks
    Rice Noodles
    Directions
    Cook Rice according to package. Place in serving bowls
    Place remaining ingredients in serving bowls.  
    Serve buffet style, and let everyone choose their own toppings. Rice on the bottom, the rest piled as desired. 
    I know most Hawaiian haystacks have some kind of sauce, but we enjoy ours without the sauce. Some of the kids eat everything separated, while Mark and I enjoy them stacked.  
    ~FEATURES~
    Roasted Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Rosemary
    I’ve been eyeing Brussels Sprouts lately, and this looks like a perfect warm way to serve them

    Quick Ham and Cheese Biscuits
    I have a huge amount of leftover ham that I need to use, and my kids love anything bread. These will be great on the side of some soup.

    white chocolate blueberry cheesecake
    White Chocolate Blueberry Cheesecake
    Cheesecake is my dessert of choice. Normally I prefer it with cherries, but the combination of blueberry and white chocolate sounds wonderful!


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  • 2012 A Year IN Review

    2012 A Year IN Review

    2012 was quite the year around here. Looking back I wonder how we made it through intact, but here we are. It’s 2013. As part of our New Years Eve Celebration, I asked the family what some of their favorite moments were from the year. 

    From Princess V “Watching TV”. This amazing event is probably due to the fact we didn’t have television service for 1/2 the year. I somewhat miss those days.
    From Princess C “I love everyone”.  Well gosh Princess C we love you too. 
    Princess R and Prince L didn’t have much to say on the topic.  
    For me the highlights of the year were
    Selling our home and Buying a new one
    Yes, we finally closed on this house, and have moved in. It’s been crazy, but worth the wait. I also see another kitchen remodel in our future….
  • New Years Resolution Blog Carnival

    New Years Resolution Blog Carnival

    Hauling & Trucking, Medical Transcription Source and Makobi Scribe Present New Year’s Resolution Blog Carnival.
    My New Year’s Resolution is to continue making our house a home while balancing family life and all the duties that come along with that.
    To help you achieve similar goals in your home life I’ve got 3 wonderful books to Giveaway!
    First up is

    Happy On Purpose by Diana Fletcher
    I had the opportunity to review this book earlier in the year and I love it. Her tips on how to choose to be happy are so straight forward and true.  As I’ve put some to practice in my life, I have found myself in general a happier person. As one who’s dealt with depression and seen family members deal with depression, I would consider it a must read for anyone looking for ways to find more happiness in their lives.

    Next up is

    31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way by Sarah Mae
    (available in Kindle, Nook or PDF format)
    This is not a book I have personally read…yet! It is on my wishlist, and once I get Mark’s ok, I’ll be purchasing the PDF format. The story of Mary and Martha has always been one I understood from the Bible.  Martha wants a clean house, and can’t relax and enjoy company, even that of Christ, without having a clean house first. Mary is the opposite. I find that both sides have so much good, and finding the balance between good and better, is hard for many.  I’ve read some rave reviews of this book, so I know it’s going to be good!

    Last but certainly not least is
    Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It!
    Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become and Organization Junkie and Love it! by Laura Wittmann
    Once again, I have yet to read this book, but I oh so desperately want to! Laura blogs over at I’m an Organizing Junkie, where she offers tips and tricks to help organize your home. My favorite is her Menu Plan Monday’s. Before finding Laura’s blog I oftened found myself stressed and paniced over what we were going to eat for dinner each week. I tried menu planning, but it always fell through. With her weekly link ups (sometimes with giveaways!) I have been able to keep up with menu planning and saved my grocery budget from getting too high.  I can only imagine what the rest of her book could teach me.

    There will be 3 winners, open to US and Canada. One winner per book. If you don’t win, make sure you check out all these books on Amazon!  Good luck and Happy New Years!

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  • A look back through 2011

    This last year has been amazing. I knew I had made some resolutions at the beginning of 2011, but I couldn’t remember them exactly.  So here’s a look back to that post, and what I accomplished.

    Goal 1: Home Organization.  How did I do? I personally feel very accomplished with this goal. My organizing skills far exceed what they use to, and I have more ideas every day of ways I could be more organized. I had 12 posts this last year that dealt with some kind of organization. Here’s a sampling

    Goal 2: Lose 10 pounds.  I did indeed! It was about all I lost, I was right about to my personal ideal size, when baby #4 hopped on board. I ended 2011 about the same size I began it. However, I don’t mind, because I love having babies!
    Goal 3: Exercise more and make better food choices. The first half of the year was great! I did a no sigar diet, and worked hard to get back in shape. The second half of the year wasn’t as great. Being pregnant I lost the energy to exercise, besides chasing around the 3 Princesses. I feel my food choices are still good, and better than what they use to be. I eat more veggies and fruits, and do better at offering those choices to my family more as well.
    Goal 4: Run at least 2 races. I ran 1, but it was a good one!  I spent my birthday running a 5k with my 2 sisters. It was one of their first races ever, and I was so happy she chose to run with me!
    Goal 5: Buy our first home! Accomplished! We love owning our own home, despite the trials it has put us through in a short 9 months.
    I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!  Here are my simple goals for this New Year
    Continue Organizing and get the rest of the family on board
    Create routines that we can all stick to
    Improve my domestic skills in the kitchen and with sewing.
    Run 1 race this year
    I hope you all look forward to this New Year. In lines with what a friend posted on facebook, I’d like to encourage you all to not Hope for a better year, but Make it a better year. You choose to make your year good or bad. Take the clutter, the floods, and the termites in your life in stride. Find the silver lining, and use it step up. 
    May you all  have a blessed and happy new year!
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    Medical Transcription Source
    I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be participating in Hauling and Trucking, Medical Transcription Source, and Makobi Scribe’s
    Lots of blogs have already joined this hop, and each one will be giving something away from Jan 3-10.  If you’re a blogger, you still have time to sign up! Sign ups for this hop will close Dec 20th.  The awesome thing is, there will be a prize for one of the bloggers, KINDLE, at the end of the hop as well!! 
    I’m looking for sponsors!!  If you would like to sponsor a giveaway here on Home Maid Simple, I’d love to feature you!!! I’m looking for anything to help families and homes kick off the New Year.  Please contact me, Adelina, at  familyroom2@gmail.com