February 1, 2016 by Krista

Cranberry Chocolate Muffins

Breakfast has long been touted as “the most important meal of the day” and I’m pretty sure it’s the one my boys love the most. We love to enjoy a good family breakfast on Saturday mornings, but during the week our morning are much more frenzied in the morning rush to get out the door. Since high school, I have often reached for Carnation Breakfasts to start my morning off right. So, that’s what I turned back to when I knew I needed something to help me get my fuel in the mornings. And I figured how can you go wrong with cranberry chocolate muffins?

CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

Name: Turkey Noodle Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups Turkey Meat, pre-cooked and cubed; 30 oz Chicken Broth; 1 lb Rotini Pasta; 12 oz package of Frozen Mixed Vegetables

CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS THAT FUEL MY MORNINGS

The biggest problem I have is finding time to eat my own breakfast. This is where Carnation Breakfast powder saves me! I can join my little ones at the table as they finish up their breakfasts and not have to rush to eat my food while it’s hot or hurry before they loose patience and throw a tantrum. And I still start my day satisfied, not hungry. So how is Carnation Breakfast powder a good solution for your family? These grab-and-go Cranberry Chocolate Muffins, made with the Carnation Breakfast Rich Chocolate powder, will fill you up and leave you ready to face the day on those busy mornings. And you can start your day off on a nutritious note; each muffin is only 176 calories and 15.4 grams of sugar!

Print This Recipe

Cranberry Chocolate Muffins

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 1 dozen muffins

Serving size: 1 muffin

Calories: 176

Fat: 4g

A grab-and-go muffin that will fill you up and leave you ready to face the day on those busy mornings. Each muffin is only 176 calories and 15.4 grams of sugar!

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 packet Rich Milk Chocolate Carnation Breakfast Essentials® Powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp coconut oil
2 eggs
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup 1% milk
1 cup dried cranberries
¼ cup Mini Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels

Instructions

Preheat the over to 350ºF.
I mixed my muffins up in my stand mixer so I just combined everything all at once and let it mix for three minutes.
If you don't have a stand mixer, start by mixing together the flour, oats, soda, Carnation Breakfast Essentials® powder, and the cocoa powder in a large bowl.
Add in the coconut oil, eggs, applesauce and milk.
Add the cranberries and mix until well combined.
Line a muffin tin with paper liners and lightly spray the liners. Fill the liners ¾ of the way full.
Top each muffin with about a tablespoon of Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cupcakes.
When cupcakes are done, remove from oven, cool 5 minutes and remove from the muffin pan.
Cool on wire rack.

Notes

In place of cocoa powder, you can add another packet of Carnation Breakfast Essentials® Rich Chocolate Powder. It's still only 185 calories and 17g of sugar!

You can soak the rolled oats in the milk for 5-10 minutes to make them softer and not as dry. The oats will also soften if you store the muffins in a sealed container for at least 12 hours before you eat them.

CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS BRIGHTEN MY BREAKFASTS

These muffins are such a great grab-and-go option when I’m rushing out the door too! Are your breakfasts less than awesome? This is something my family – and more specifically, me – has plenty of room to improve upon.

Carnation Breakfast powder has been there for me for the past 15 years and I’m not about to change that. The vanilla was my go-to breakfast every morning. I struggle with eating when I first wake up and a Carnation drink was enough nutrition to start my day out right without filling my stomach. Over the years, I’ve come to love the other Carnation Breakfast flavors and products too. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right?! Carnation Breakfast powder works for me and my family.

These Blueberry Pecan Granola Bites are the perfect pair to power start your mornings! Click to get the recipe!

January 31, 2016 by Krista

Happiness is Homemade Link Party – 01/31

Welcome to another week of Happiness is Homemade! I’m so glad you’re here (and so are my co-hosts!) to share the latest and greatest things you’ve been working on. Last week turned into a bit of a crazy week when I thought it was going to be more laid back, so that was a surprise! But I survived and I can’t wait to check out all the great links this week. Sadly, we will be saying good-bye to one of our hosts – keep reading to find out who – and she will be missed in the blogging world! I wish her the best with all her future efforts! Let’s make this the best party ever!

________________________________________________

Welcome to our party! This week we have some news to share with you before get to the features and the party. We are sad to say goodbye (for now) to our wonderful friend and most fabulous hosts, Cathy from over at A Peek Into My Paradise. She has made many of us in the blogging world a better blogger with her wisdom but most of all her sweet friendship is a blessing.

Cathy is stepping down not just from a host of this party, but from the blogging world for a bit. Life happens to all of us and for Cathy, it means focusing on family and new chapters in her life. As of Sunday, January 31 she will blog her last post and shortly after that her blog will shut down. She tells me that she’ll definitely miss blogging and all of us but will remain active on her social media venues. So, if you have not yet connected with her, this is the time! I’ve listed her links below. This wasn’t an easy decision for her but it’s one that needed to be made. I consider her the “mama” of the many link parties I have co-hosted or participated in as she is always “there” as a host in some fashion.

Now, that I’ve grabbed my tissue, wiped my eyes, and blew my nose; let’s get going with this week’s features and party! Let’s make this the BEST one yet! Also, I invite you to leave her some love on her site, or on any of her social media links (even in the comments below, she’ll see them!)

This Week’s Features

How to Make a Supreme Snack Stadium from

Savvy in the Kitchen

Great Food for the Big Game from

Love My Messy Messy Mess

Raspberry Cupcakes with Italian Meringue Buttercream from

Alwayz Bakin’

Valentine’s Day Oreo Cookie Bark Recipe from

The Rebel Chick

MEET YOUR HOSTS

Cathy’s Social Media Links:

Twitter Facebook Instagram Pinterest Google+

The rules are really simple! Make sure you visit a few other blogs and make some new friends along the way. Feel free to link up your favorite recipes, crafts or your latest DIY project. We want you you share it all! As always, please make sure to follow your hosts and co-hosts!! Link up your posts, make some friends, and earn the chance to be featured at Happiness Is Homemade Link Party! We will feature the favorite posts each week! Disclaimer: Adding your link to this link party gives permission to all 12 Hosts, along with any co-hosts, guest hosts, and participants of Happiness Is Homemade, to share your posts and pictures via social media and as features, roundups, etc. with an explicit link back to your original source. Therefore, linking up you agree to allow us to use your images on each of our blogs in features relating to Happiness is Homemade Link Party.

An InLinkz Link-up

January 29, 2016 by Krista

February Journal Calendar Printables

It’s that time of the month… no, not that time of the month! It’s time for a new Journal Calendar and the February Journal Calendar is here! February will be here before I turn around – which I do a lot around here with three busy boys – so now is the time to print out the February calendar! How did you do with your January calendar? I’ll admit there was a week I had to go back and fill the whole week in one Saturday night… but that’s what I love about this system. As long as you don’t get too far behind, you can play catch up pretty easily. I got so wordy a few times I didn’t have space to draw a little picture, which made my inner amateur artist a little sad. Maybe I talk too much? Hmm… So, let’s cut the yammering and just get to it.

FEBRUARY JOURNAL CALENDAR

You can download the PDF file of both pages (only one is pictured above) for the February 2016 Journal Calendar. The two pages are combined into one file, so you only have to download once. Missed out on last month’s calendar. That’s okay! It’s never too late to start! And if you want to print last month’s journal calendar and try to go back and fill some of it in, you can do that too!

Why is the Journal Calendar so amazing? Because it’s the easiest way I have found to keep a daily journal and it takes less than five minutes a day. I’m a busy momma and as much as I like to write, I don’t often have the time to sit and write a journal entry each day. With the Journal Calendar, I can capture the highlights and get a pretty complete picture of what my day, week, month and year has been like… It’s usually full of laundry… without feeling like I’m leaving other things unfinished because I was trying to write in my journal. Here is what my January Calendar looks like so far… pretty cool, right?

DOWNLOAD THE FEBRUARY 2016 JOURNAL CALENDAR!

January 27, 2016 by Krista

Turkey Noodle Soup in Under 30 Minutes

Oh soup, what’s for dinner?! If you’re looking for a quick and healthy dinner recipe, this is it! It won’t mess up your newly set resolutions and it will use up any leftover turkey from Christmas dinner. And it’s delicious. It’s Turkey Noodle Soup in UNDER 30 minutes!

Yep, you read that right. Dinner in under 30 minutes – and we’re including cook time there. This recipe is a perfect go-to for busy families and leftover nights! Ready to get your soup on? Let’s do this!

TURKEY NOODLE SOUP in under 30 minutes

Yield: Serves 4-6

Turkey Noodle Soup

A quick, delicious and healthy soup the whole family will enjoy.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Turkey Meat, pre-cooked and cubed
30 oz Chicken Broth
1 lb Rotini Pasta
12 oz package of Frozen Mixed Vegetables

Instructions

Add the broth to a large pot on medium-high on the stove. Add any additional seasonings you might want. I added a tsp of garlic because we love us some garlic.

When the broth warms and starts to simmer add your noodles, mixed vegetables and the turkey meat.

Cover and simmer for 7-9 minutes or cook for the duration directed on the pasta packaging. Your soup is ready when the noodles are tender.

Allow to cool slightly and serve.

Notes

You could substitute the turkey with chicken dices or pre-cooked hamburger meat. Or omit it entirely.

If you use raw meat dices instead of pre-cooked, add them when you put in the pasta. Ensure they cook thoroughly.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 484Total Fat: 5.4gSodium: 158mgCarbohydrates: 74.1gFiber: 3.7gSugar: 2.7gProtein: 32.4g

The hardest part of this meal is cutting up the turkey. Really. Everything else is just throw in a pot and turn on the stove. Stir it every once in a while and you’ll have a delicious dinner ready in less than 30 minutes.

My kids loved it. And it was even finger-food-friendly for the baby – I just drained the juice off and he went to town.

I love that our Turkey Noodle Soup was delicious, super fast, healthy (under 500 calories) and that my whole family enjoyed it!

January 26, 2016 by Krista

Valentine Prescription for Love Printable Labels

Valentine’s Day is coming up quick! Have you started thinking about it yet? Mr. Napping and I will be celebrating 8 years of wedded bliss a week before V-Day. I wanted something simple and fun that could kick off our anniversary week. So, I came up with these fun prescription for love printable labels. It’s a simple little project and a cute little gift, but only takes a few minutes to put together. So, warm up your printer and get ready for Dr. Love to spice up your love life!

PRESCRIPTION FOR LOVE
PRINTABLE LABELS

Materials:
– Printable Prescription for Love Bottle Labels (or you can use the extra spicy versions)
– Clean Medicine Bottles
– Glue Stick
– Scissors
– Washi Tape
– Candy that will fit through the neck of your bottle

Directions:
– Print out the Prescription for Love labels and cut them apart.

– Clean off your medicine bottles, if you’re reusing them. I used an empty infant pain reliever bottle, an empty allergy medication bottle and an old prescription bottle. I had to soak the labels off in hot water and scrub the sticky off. This is the hardest part.
– When the prescription bottles are clean and dry, glue the label to the bottle. Put the glue on the back of the label, on the end that doesn’t have any text on it. Stick the label on the bottle and wrap the label around the bottle. It will overlap a bit, but that’s okay!

– Glue the end of the label down with the glue stick.

– If your lid has a label on it, you can use washi tape to cover it up. I just put a couple strips on the top and bottom of the lid and then one down the middle to cover the edges of the tape.
– Fill up the bottle with your candy. You’ll want something small enough to get in… and back out… of the bottle without too much trouble. Round candies or long and skinny candies seemed to work best.

There are two sets of Prescription for Love labels for your printing pleasure. One is more lovey dovey and one is a little more spicy. There are also two sizes of labels. One that is two inches tall and one that is three inches tall. Those seemed to be the most common sizes of bottles when I was looking though my medicine bottles.

Please note: These labels are not intended to be used with children – I don’t encourage anything that associates medication and candy for children. So, please don’t use them with children! Share all the love-inducing candy you can with your sweet special someone though. Valentine’s Day is all about sweet right?!

CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS THAT FUEL MY MORNINGS

CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE MUFFINS BRIGHTEN MY BREAKFASTS

This Week’s Features

MEET YOUR HOSTS

Cathy’s Social Media Links:

Twitter Facebook Instagram Pinterest Google+

FEBRUARY JOURNAL CALENDAR

DOWNLOAD THE FEBRUARY 2016 JOURNAL CALENDAR!

TURKEY NOODLE SOUP in under 30 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

PRESCRIPTION FOR LOVE PRINTABLE LABELS

Privacy Policy

PRESCRIPTION FOR LOVE
PRINTABLE LABELS