Here are a few quick tips to make their visit is fun and stress free!
Put out Slippers or Ask Your Guests To Remove Their Shoes Upon Entry:
You may want to keep your floors clean and ask your guests to take off their shoes OR put out slippers, which you can buy for cheap at Walmart or Target. This will not only demonstrate your welcoming consideration, but it’ll add an air of coziness to your home.
Convert Your Rooms:
You’ll need extra sleeping accommodations, so you might want to start converting any spare rooms into guests’ quarters. Look for some old couches or purchase a blow-up mattress or two. You may also want to go shopping for a futon so your guests can sit up and talk and have a place to sleep. For added convenience, put a mini fridge in your guest room that’s stocked with beverages.
Plan Fun Activities:
Keep your family members on their toes with activities. Look online for places to hang out, like a nearby bowling alley or shopping areas. If the weather permits, set up a volleyball net in the backyard or take the fun indoors with group games like Taboo and Pictionary. At night, play holiday movies, such as A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Christmas Story.
Soak your beans overnight covered in water. Drain the next day and set aside.
In a large stockpot, add the bacon to the pan and cook until bacon pieces are brown and
crispy. Remove and let drain on a paper towel.
If there’s a lot of bacon grease in the pan, dump out all but 3 tbsp. of it.
Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in the bacon grease until vegetables start to get tender,
about 5 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and cook for an addition 1 minute.
Gently pour in the chicken stock and add the drained beans. Whisk the tomato paste in until
all has dispersed and incorporated into the soup.
Bring mixture up to a boil then cover and let simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring
occasionally.
When the soup is ready, carefully use your immersion blender and gently pulse the bean
mixture until a desired creamy texture is achieved. You see whole beans in my picture
that’s because I gently pulsed and left some beans whole because I wanted texture in my
soup. You’re more than welcome to blend the entire mixture to be more of a puree
consistency. If you’re worried about blending too much, you can always ladle out a few
scoopfuls of beans, blend the soup, then add the beans back in.
Serve hot with bacon pieces on top.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes:
You can use canned cannellini beans if you want.
1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil (or canola, or melted coconut oil)
1/3 cup (80ml) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
CHEESECAKE FILLING
6 ounces (168g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons (36g) granulated sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line two muffin sheets with 14 liners or spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Make the crumb-topping first: Add the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix until combined. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbs form. Set aside.
Make the pumpkin muffins: In a large bowl, toss the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar and eggs together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, milk, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do NOT overmix the batter.
Make the cheesecake filling: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric handheld (or stand) mixer on medium-high speed until creamy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and sugar. Beat until combined.
Spoon 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin muffin batter into the muffin cups. Layer with about 1 spoonful (not quite a full Tablespoon) of cheesecake filling, then another Tablespoon of muffin batter (or however much batter is needed to fill the cups all the way to the top). Yes, you will fill the muffin cups to the very top. Some cheesecake filling may poke out of the top or on the sides. Sprinkle each muffin evenly with crumb topping and press the topping down into the muffin so it sticks.
Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425F degrees. Keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature down to 350F and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Try not to overbake. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to eat.
Muffins taste best on the same day, though they may be stored covered tightly at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. Muffins freeze well, up to 2 months.
*Instead of the pumpkin pie spice, you may use 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
As we get ready to say goodbye to the lazy days of summer, it’s time to turn our attention to the new school year.
Whether you’re a student yourself or a parent responsible for one, make the often harsh transition a lot easier with these tips for starting the school year off on the right foot.
Create Calendar Central
Each school year floats on a sea of schedules. School functions. Lunch menus. Scout meetings and music lessons. What do you do when you’re drowning in paper?
Nothing calms school year chaos like Calendar Central: a centralized site for all family calendars and schedules. You’ll need a family event calendar to track after-school activities, school programs and volunteer work. Add specialized calendars and schedules, and you have it: a one-stop shop for family time management.
Form is less important than function. A paper calendar with large squares lets you enter information easily. Pre-printed white board calendars are easy to revise when necessary. Color-coding entries by family member helps keep busy lives straight.
Paper planner fans dedicate a planner section to serve as Calendar Central, while tech-savvy cybergrrrlz store the info in a smart phone or tablet and sync with multiple computers. Choose a calendar format that works for your family.
Post the family event calendar in a public place near the telephone. Use magnets to attach the calendar to the refrigerator, or tack it to a bulletin board.
Add other calendars to Calendar Central: school lunch menus, class assignment sheets, sports practice schedules. When the room mother calls for field trip volunteers, you’ll know at a glance whether you’re free to join the group on the bus that day.
Plan before you shop
August is the second-biggest sales month for clothing retailers. Back to school clothing sales begin as early as July! Are you prepared to run the school clothes gauntlet?
An informed shopper is a savvy shopper, so prepare before you shop.
Take an afternoon and assess each child’s clothing needs.
Empty drawers and closets of outgrown or worn-out clothing, and either store or donate the discards.
Working with your child, clean and organize clothing storage before new garments are added–and cut down on school morning calls of “Mom! I don’t have any clean . . . . “
Develop a wardrobe needs list for each child. Check for possible hand-me-downs from older siblings as you make your list. If you discuss the needs list and the family budget with your children before you shop, you’ll avoid in-the-store tantrums.
Similarly, ask the school for classroom supply lists before shopping for school supplies. Forewarned is forearmed … and helps protect the family budget.
Do shop early! With back-to-school sales beginning in mid-July, tardy shoppers have a tough time locating needed supplies among September’s Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations.
Gather your papers
School entry may require documentation from immunization records to report cards from the previous school year. Athletes need proof of medical examination. A little preparation can prevent frantic last-minute searches for a birth certificate or registration confirmation.
Call your child’s school or check the school district Web site beforehand to find out what paperwork will be required–then find it! You won’t be sorry come registration day.
CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE TO VIEW AND PRINT CHECKLIST
How to help your child battle with back to school worries:
October Recipe of the Month!
