Showing posts sorted by date for query homemade pie crust. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query homemade pie crust. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Monday, October 6, 2025

School Lunch Ideas

 I'm still packing lunches every day for myself and all three kids.  Their likes have changed a bit over the years and they have new favorites.  I thought I'd round up some lunches from this year to give you ideas of things your kids might enjoy in their school lunches.

We are still loving our Yumboxes.  Olive changed up her lunch box to something better suited for older kids.  And the boys still enjoy using Yumboxes.

It still brings me great joy to pack "hugs from home" lunches for the kids to enjoy in the middle of their school days.  I know that they feel extra love and care in the middle of their days so it makes the grocery shopping and lunch packing all worth it.

I'll highlight the favorite foods in each photo.

Mini Reeses

Nut Butter Bars

Babybel cheese

Pasta salad

Sharp cheddar cheese cubes

Turkey pepperoni & turkey sausage sticks


Homemade treats- Pumpkin bread
Dried mango
Reese's Pieces
Apple sauce pouches

Nectarines
Gummies
Kiwi
Blackberries
Sweet peppers

S'mores snack mix
gummy worms
cold pasta
Takis
mini muffins
crust free PBJ

Apple cider donuts
Peanut butter crackers
Sunchips


Crunchy veggies
Bobo's strawberry stuffed oat bites - we love the apple pie flavor and the strawberry!


And a stuent gave me these super cute lunch note pads.  The kids have loved them!

What do your kids love to have in their lunches?

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Monday, June 14, 2021

Homemade Fresh Strawberry Butter

I took the kids strawberry picking last week.  It was so fun and so hot.  Typical Summer activity - right?!?  We arrived at the patch before 10am with sunscreen on and confident in our berry picking skills.  Leo was the wildcard (as usual) and he did great.

We went to our favorite spot - Ditzler Orchard.  Their berries were amazing this year.  They have had record breaking crowds and an extra long picking season.  I'm so happy for their farm after what covid + a late frost did to their strawberry crop last year.

The big kids picked almost 10lbs of strawberries and Leo did his best to eat 10lbs of berries.  It cost us $13 total.  Not too shabby for a morning of fun and lots of berries to take home.

We made a fresh strawberry pie, ate tons of berries and I made some strawberry butter.  It turned out great and I was shocked at how easy it was to make.

 


Homemade Fresh Strawberry Butter

It really couldn't have been easier.  You only need 3 ingredients.

1 stick room temp butter

1/2 c strawberries - washed, hulled and top trimmed off

1/8 c powdered sugar

Directions:

Blend the berries first in your Ninja food mixer or any food processor.  Add in the softened butter and sugar.  Blend until smooth.  Scoop it into a jar and refrigerate.  Serve at room temp.  We loved it on crusty bread.  It's the prettiest butter for Summer.

The 2021 Berry Picking Team.

The big kids filled their basket and Leo filled his belly.  I picked a couple berries for him and he caught on very quickly to be able to pick his own berries.

We got to take a golf cart out to the fields and a tractor back.  Leo gave both of the farmers this scowl despite them both being very nice.  We were thankful for the rides around the farm.

Can you tell that Leo is saying YUMMMM???  People picking nearby kept smiling at the sight of Leo really enjoying his time at the strawberry patch.

We picked and sampled and the whole outing took about an hour.  I helped both kids fill their baskets, but they were pretty great pickers on their own.  They've been many times before.  Leo really did just plop down in our row and chow down.

In case you thought I was kidding.  Look at this.  He was COVERED in strawberries when we left from head to toe.  It was hilarious and made everyone we talked to smile.  He gives the 2021 Indiana strawberry crop a big thumb's up.


We came home and made strawberry pie together for the first time.  Leo was napping so Olive and Fletcher helped me cut the stems off the berries, measure ingredients, roll out the pie crust and stir the filling.  They were proud of their pie, but decided that the pie was probably more of a grown up treat after trying it.

I love a good throwback.  Fletcher strawberry picking in 2017 and Leo in 2021.  Same outfit. Same love for the strawberries.  Fletcher hated berry picking that year.  Leo loved it.


Who could you make strawberry butter for this Summer??

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Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Mixed Berry Personal Pies

Happy Valentine's Day!!  I hope you have plans to spend the day with the people you love.   If not, be sure to call, text or reach out to your favorite people to let them know you love them.

We're having a low key V-Day this year.  Olive has a party at school, swim lessons, delivering cookies to neighbors, and then we're just going to spend the evening together at home.  Maybe pizza and a fun dessert??  Kevin requested his valentine come in the form of cinnamon rolls.


I made these Mixed Berry Pies from Skinny Taste a couple days ago and they turned out so good. 

They were adorable and delicious.  Plus, I almost always have these ingredients at my house.  I made a few changes to the recipe.  I'll give you my version below.  These personal pies would be perfect for your valentine, yourself, an olympic treat or as an easy dessert for your family.  Wouldn't these be cute with a start cut out for the Fourth of July or a Christmas tree cut out for Christmas??

Ingredients:
Filling:
4 T granulated sugar
1 1/2 T corn starch
pinch of salt
2 c chopped, washed fresh strawberries
1 c mixed berries (I used frozen and microwaved them to thaw)
1 t lemon juice

Crust:
1 egg beaten
1 pie crust (I made a homemade crust, but a premade crust would work fine, too)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Cut pie crust into fourths.  Roll out and form into circles.  Cut heart out of the center.

Divide the berry mixture evenly into 4 greased baking containers.  I used mini pie plates.  Top the berries with pie crusts.  Brush on egg wash.  Place the pie plates on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.






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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Crowd Pleasing Recipes for a Cookout

We are trying to pack all of the fun things into our last month of summer.  We're inviting friends over for dinner, saying yes to cookout invitations, going to the park, the pool and enjoying the last hurrah of Summer.

I wanted to round up my 5 favorite recipes to bring to a cookout for you today.

These are tried and true, delicious recipes that are always crowd pleasers.

I hope you find at least one new one to try for your family and friends.

STRAWBERRY PIE
My MIL taught Kevin and I how to make Strawberry pie together for one of our date nights in high school.  I remember it like yesterday and loved learning something new together.  Kevin always said his mom made the best pies and I was eager to learn.  She made homemade crusts and I always attribute my crust making skills to her.  This pie is always a hit and it really just seems like the perfect summer pie.

Pie filling:
1 c sugar
1 c water
3 T corn starch
1 small box of strawberry jello
1 large container of strawberries washed and cut

Combine first three ingredients in a pot on the stove.  Stir until well combine and the mixture is THICK.  Stir continuously until the mixture is pretty clear.  Add jello.  Let it cool and then stir in the strawberries until they are all coated.  Pour into a baked pie crust.

9 in crust:
1 1/4 c flour
1/4 c wheat flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 c shortening
3-5 T ice cold water

Combine all the dry ingredients (except the wheat flour) with a pastry cutter.  Add in the water a tablespoon at a time.  Refrigerate until you're ready to roll out the dough or just long enough to chill it.  Roll out with the wheat flour and put into a greased pie pan.  Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes.  Let it cool and then dump in the strawberry pie filling.

Top with whipped cream!


POTATO SALAD

 I'm not usually a huge potato salad fan, but my husband loves the stuff.  So I spent a couple of years figuring out my own recipe.  It's really good and has been our favorite for years.  People often ask me for the recipe and it goes perfectly with anything on the grill.

6-8 potatoes washed and cut up into bite sized pieces (Russet, Yukon Gold, etc)
6 eggs
salt

Boil the potatoes and eggs together until the potatoes are soft in salted water.

1 sweet pepper finely diced
3 green onions chopped
1/4 c real bacon bits
1 c Mayo
1/4 c Mustard
1 T sugar
1 T Montreal Steak Seasoning

Peel and chop the hard boiled eggs once they've cooled.  Combine the mayo, mustard until you get the color you like.  We prefer a yellow/mustardy potato salad.  Add in the sugar and Montreal Steak Seasoning last.  Pour mixture over the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined.  Refrigerate.  Serves 8-10 people.

HOMEMADE BURGER PATTIES

My favorite way to make burgers is to make homemade patties.  I season them with the following things:
seasoned salt
Montreal steak seasoning or Freddy's Steakburger Seasoning
Worcestershire sauce

Grill & top with Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

 FRESH AVOCADO SALSA
This salsa is so easy to whip up and it's so flavorful!  Everyone always enjoys it.  Isn't it a pretty side dish!?!?  You can find the recipe HERE



PIZZA POPPERS
We love to take these to gatherings!  They are bite sized, easy to make and so good.  I've also made these as an appetizer for game days.  You can find the recipe HERE



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Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Best Strawberry Recipes

I've got strawberries on the brain this time of year!  They're just so delicious and we are going through a lot of them.  Every person in our family loves them so I try to stock up and make as many recipes that include those delicious red berries.  I thought I would round up some of our favorite strawberry recipes for you today:

STRAWBERRY PIE
I've tried a few different recipes, but my favorites always have strawberry jello in them.  I'm hoping to make another one this month, tweek my recipe just a bit and then share it with you.  I always use my trusty homemade pie crust recipe so stay tuned for the filling recipe soon!




CHICKEN SUMMER SALAD
You can find the recipe here and easily add in a few other berries to the mandarin orange + strawberry fruit base.  It's such a delicious, refreshing salad.  And it's a salad that my husband requests for dinner during the summer.  It's SO GOOD!




WATERMELON SALSA
You can find the recipe here.  Trust me on this one... this salsa is amazing in the summer time! It's packed with strawberries and watermelon and it's SO GOOD.  I didn't think I'd love a fruity salsa, but I had no trouble polishing off a bowl of this stuff.



FRUIT NUT CHEESE SALADS
These are my favorite kind of salads.  We usually have mixed greens, red berries, pecans, Parmesan cheese and some type of vinaigrette on top.  Super easy side dish for summer.


CHOCOLATE DIPPED STRAWBERRIES:
These would be perfect for any summer gathering :)

And since we're talking about strawberries... here's Olive as a 1 year old strawberry for Halloween.


What are your favorite strawberry recipes this time of year??

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Friday, February 3, 2017

The Best Parts

Happy Friday!!  I hope you had a great week.  The days flew by for us.  We were excited that the ground hog saw his shadow so we could have 6 more weeks of winter.  I want more snow before winter is over in the Midwest!!  We packed in tons of fun into our week and are looking forward to a great Superbowl weekend.  We don't have any big plans, but are hoping to try some new recipes and enjoy watching the game together.  Do you have any fun plans for the weekend??

The best parts of our week were:

// 1 //
NYX $5 LIP GLOSS
I picked up this NYX Butter Gloss lip gloss at Meijer this week and I'm loving it!  It was $5 and there were so many pretty color options.  I got this shade of pink called Peaches and Cream.  I'm going to get a few more colors the next time I notice it on sale.
It goes on really smooth, the shine dies down pretty quickly and the color hangs around for a while.  I first heard about this on instagram when my favorite girl from Southern Charm - Cam (@camwimberly1) HIGHLY recommended it.  She claims it's just as good as high end products from Ulta for far cheaper.  She knows what she's talking about!!
// 2 //
MOMMY & ME DUPLOS
We went to our monthly Duplo class this week and it was heart themed.  It was the perfect way to kick off February.  We always make fun things there and then Olive tries to replicate them at home.  We go with our best friends and have a blast.


 // 3 //
GALLERY WALL
I'm working on putting together a gallery wall in our kitchen.  I found these beautiful pinboards from Minted and got one for each kid.  I'm going to display current art work, pictures and crafts on each of them and rotate the items out regularly.  They're so pretty and I can't wait to get the gallery wall finished up so I can show you the whole thing.

 // 4 //
APPLE PIE KIT
My husband LOVES apple pie.  I LOVE making pie, but apple pie is my least favorite pie to make because it's so much work.  I usually end up making pecan, Derby or strawberry pie and only occasionally tackle an apple pie.  A sweet friend gave me an apple pie kit for Christmas this year.  It was super thoughtful and one of the most delicious DIY gifts I've ever received.  It was SO GOOD!  The apple crisp mix made for the perfect streusel topping and I added cinnamon to my homemade pie crust for a little extra flavor.  It was so good and I've requested she give me this same gift every year.

// 5 //
FAVORITE KID PICS
Fletcher just turned 10 months old and he's doing so well.  He's such a big boy quickly outgrowing all of his 18 month things.  He's walking around furniture, walking with push toys and reaching for everything.  He clears bookshelves with a giant smile, has almost 4 teeth and has been sleeping better than ever.  I adores Old Navy boy's clothes for him and thinks he looks so handsome.  How did he get so big :)
Olive is always saying the funniest things.  After I took Fletcher's monthly picture she jumped up in the chair and said it was her turn.  So we snapped some pictures by the number sticker.  It was a good reminder to me that each of the kids love their one on one attention :)


Polka-Dotty Place Week in Review:


What was your FAVORITE part of the week??


I hope you have a really great weekend!!

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