Three on Thursday: Hostess Gifts!

Happy Thursday! Some thoughtful traditions and gestures seem to slip through the cracks as time goes on, so lets talk hostess gifts today! Up until a couple of years ago, I have to admit, I was NOT always the best at remembering to bring a little something to a holiday get-together. Here are some of my favorite simple (read: cheap) things to give and receive as the holiday party season comes into full swing!

Family Gathering!

My mother in law bought me two sets of these gorgeous Queen's China Thanksgiving mugs last year and I couldn't have loved them more! As a matter of fact, I'm drinking some chamomile tea out of one right now! Everybody drinks SOMETHING, so you can never go wrong with a mug! I usually tuck in a single serve pouch of cocoa, or a small bag of coffee, also. The best part of a mug gift is that, when you really know someone like you know your own family, it's not difficult to find the PERFECT mug for their personality!

Girls Night In This is my #1 go to gift for girls nights, birthdays, etc, and I think it would be the PERFECT hostess gift for your holiday events! Xo, G wine is a tube of four individual glasses of wine. It's packaged to gift on it's own, and...bonus - it's inexpensive, and available at Walmart! 

Neighborhood Gatherings Neighbors are like extended family around here, and I LOVE them all. The problem? There are a lot of them, and we all like to get together now and again, which means that hostess gifts could add up FAST. You just can't go wrong with some baked goods! I love this recipe, because cranberries are appropriate for the entire Thanksgiving and Christmas season, AND this recipe can be baked in small loaf pans, popped in the freezer, and gift-giving ready as the need arises! There just isn't anything better than a made-from-scratch gift, is there? 

What is your go-to hostess gift? See you on Monday!

Apple Cider Floats

There's nothing like some apple cider in the fall! Unfortunately, Florida weather calls for a little twist! Here's a little pinterest find that's the perfect mix of north and south!

Ingredients;

• Apple Cider
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Caramel Sauce
• Cinnamon
• Whipped Cream

Directions:

1. Scoop some ice cream in a cup and drizzle caramel sauce on top
2. Pour chilled apple cider over ice cream, leaving room for whipped cream
3. Sprinkle a little ground cinnamon over cider, and top with some whipped cream

That's it! Super simple, and super yummy!

Dinner Tonight: Kid's Cheesy Squash Casserole

This one is a HIT around here. It's like macaroni and cheese but with squash. And the pretzel goldfish topping is there for extra incentive. It is also hitting the Thanksgiving menu this year.

Ingredients:

• 5 lb mixed chopped zucchini and yellow squash
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 T salt
• 1/2 cup mayonaisse or cream cheese**
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 block sharp cheddar, shredded
• 3 cups of goldfish crackers and crushed pretzels, mixed
• 1/2 stick butter

**When following a "real food" diet, greek yogurt is generally the suggested alternative for mayo, but in this recipe, room temp organic cream cheese has more flavor!

Directions:

1. Place squash and onion in pot and cover with salted water by about 3 inches
2. Boil for ten minutes
3. Drain and let cool
4. Stir together mayo or cream cheese, sour cream, egg, and cheddar
5. Fold into cooled squash
6. Spoon into greased 9x13 inch dish
7. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes
8. Meanwhile, mix goldfish/crushed pretzels with melted butter
9. Spoon over casserole for last 5 minutes of baking
10. Allow 10 minutes to cool before serving

Adapted from Southern Living

Portfolio Friday #8 - and some APPLE BUTTER :)

We started a new curriculum this week - Five in a Row. I L O V E it!!! We do more of a "three in a row" setup, only schooling MWF, and then making our own "unit" the following week similar to the story we read. I skip language arts and math or art (depending on the week), and add those subjects in at a pre-k level to our daily morning work.

This week I chose "How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World" as our book, specifically for "fall" . . . and because I love to bake :) It's the story of a little girl who travels the world to get the ingredients for an apple pie (Italy for wheat, Sri Lanka for cinnamon, etc.)

First thing I did after I did a quick read of the book was create a "Quiet Tray" themed to the book. I set the timer for 20 minutes and let her little mind explore.

Geography

This week I used some printables from homeschoolshare.com for geography. We are making an "Apple Pie" lapbook, so they fit right in. I will share the complete book next week after our "world travel" unit. We identified the countries mentioned in the book, and briefly talked about different languages and cultures. I believe it is more appropriate for her age to only introduce these ideas, and explore them as she shows more understanding.

Smelling cinnamon from Sri Lanka

Math
The math lesson mentioned in the curriculum had to do with measurement or subtraction (you choose from a variety of activities for each subject). I thought they were both slightly over her head, so instead, we made apple butter and did our own math! We weighed the apples at the store, counted how many we put in, did a brief lesson on "time" with the crock pot, and saw how one cup of apple butter looked like "more" or "less" in different sized containers. Then we took a bunch to the ladies in my women's ministry at church, because we ended up with about three times the amount photographed!

Science
The book we read has a page explaining how this little girl turned all of the fresh product into ingredients (grinding the wheat into flour, evaporating the saltwater to salt, churning the milk into butter, etc.). We attempted the "saltwater evaporation" project that FIAR suggested. However, Hurricane Sandy turned our project into a saltwater flood, so I winged it and we made butter. Not sure how much "science" was involved, but hey, it's good butter :)

 Removing the whey

We also did a few non FIAR activities this week. Here, you see our playdate with a new homeschool friend (That second picture is hide and seek. She was really good.) and Baby J playing with our new bible character puppets.

Now for the apple butter recipe:
6 lbs peeled cored cut up apples
3 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix ingredients together and place in crock pot. Cook on high for 1 hour, low for 7-8 hours, and then low for 1 hour with lid off, stirring frequently throughout the process. Use food processor to obtain desired consistency.