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Girly Skirt Instructions

May 7, 2009 By Michelle Barneck 3 Comments

Remember these cute skirts from my sister Jen’s Feature Friday post?

It only took me a month or so, but I got the instructions for these cute little girl skirts. There is no pattern, but here is an explanation of what she did.

“This is what I did…

Her waist is 22 inches. The top piece of fabric was 22″ (her waist) plus 6″, so 28″ long and 6″ wide.

The second layer is 28″ plus half of that, so 28″ + 14″=42″ long and 6″ wide.

The third is 42″ plus half of that, so 42″+21″=63″ long and 6″ wide.

You can make the top layer a little wider to account for the elastic if you want to.

You just sew the layers together, gathering the lower layer as you go along and then add the waistband. “

I hope that is helpful and sorry it took so long for me to post a little more detail!

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Cleaning Tennis Shoes (and bonus bathtub cleaning tip)

May 6, 2009 By Michelle Barneck 6 Comments

You know how your kids tennis shoes are nice and white and then all of the sudden they are all gray and look like they have been wearing them for years when really it has been three days. Well let me let you in on a little secret. Ok, so it’s not that secret, but I just recently discovered the trick to getting those shoes white again in a snap. Literally, like a minute.

See, left shoe clean. Right shoe not so clean.

The secret? MaGic EraSeRs. They work wonders on yours walls (crayon, shoe scuffs, you name it) and shoes! I actually cleaned these with some fakers I picked up at the Dollar store to try. Just get the erasers wet and wipe off all that dirty crud. I think the dollar store erasers wear away a bit faster than the real Magic Erasers, but with the price difference it is still a good deal.

My mom also said the Magic Erasers work wonders on the bathtub! She used another brand of the dollar store version. I have not tried this one yet, but plan to soon!

What do you use your Magic Erasers for?

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Stuffed Shells Freezer Meal Recipe

May 5, 2009 By Michelle Barneck 4 Comments

If Cheese is not your thing, turn back now!! This dish is ooey gooey goodness and freezes like a charm if you want to prepare it ahead of time! We stole this recipe from my Sis (Angela aka Nanny) and used it for our freezer meal group a while ago (ok, a couple of years ago now, sad) and everyone LOVED it! Our little group has since disintegrated and so my Sis Jen and I get together every few months to make a big batch of these lovelies. I really need to start a group again!

Stuffed Shells

40 jumbo pasta shells

32 oz. cottage cheese

16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3 eggs

3/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

28 oz. jarred spaghetti sauce, keep on hand for when its heated

Cook jumbo shells for half the time recommended on the package, until just limp. Drain and cool in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

Combine cheeses, eggs, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl and then scoop into a freezer bag.

Snip one of the bottom corners off the bag and use like and icing bag to fill each shell with about 2 Tablespoons of filling. We had two people so I held the shells open while my sis filled, but it can be done with one as shown here.

Flash freeze by putting a single layer of filled shells uncovered into the freezer until they look like this (about 15 min).This will prevent them from sticking together once you bag them.

Place desired amount of shells in each freezer bag according to your family size and label with cooking instructions. (Or if you are lazy like me just put them all in one bag and pull out the amount you want each time. Be sure to keep 3 jars of spaghetti sauce if you break into 3 portions or 2 if you do 2 etc.

Cooking Instructions:

Thaw shells. Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Arrange shells over sauce and pour remaining sauce over shells. Can sprinkle with a little Parmesan if desired. Bake at 350° for 30 min.

YUMMY! Goes great with green salad and garlic french bread! This is the meatless dish that your hubbies will not complain about!!

I really want to start doing more freezer meals so I have my freezer stocked with things I can pull out on those long errand days. I even went to a class, which turned out to be completely useless. They talked more about what freezer meals and OAMC (once a month cooking) are and how to make a spreadsheet to rotate them, than how to do it in the REAL world. We did not even come home with any recipes. 🙁 Boo hoo. So, I turn to you oh wise and chef like readers.

Anyone have a good recipe that freezes well? Please share! Muhanahuli (at) Yahoo (dot) com. or feel free to leave it in the comments if it will fit.

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Gift Idea for Volunteer Temple Babysitting

May 4, 2009 By Michelle Barneck 1 Comment

I am over the Beehives in my LDS ward and for a Personal Progress experience they can babysit for people attending the temple for free. I have a sweet girl from my class, Sarah, who has done babysat for free at least four times (which I know is more than she needs to complete the project). We try to call her for paid jobs too, but it only seems to work out when we are going to the temple.

Jordan River LDS Temple

We offer to pay her every time, but she will never take it. I am so thankful for her service and wanted her to know that I appreciated it without taking away from her service experience. I figured a small gift with a good message would be a good way to show my appreciation.

I went to Deseret Book because I knew they had these cute chapsticks for under $2. They have them with all different messages. This one is the mutual theme for this year 1 Timothy 4:12.

I thought this silver YW necklace was cute and it was only $5.95!

I wrapped them up in a bag with a thank you card telling her how she was an example of the believers in charity (like in the theme). I had every thing for the bag on hand: a clear treat bag, ribbon and leftover easter ribbon filler.