Creating Simple Holiday Traditions and GIVEAWAY

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All opinions are mine alone. #northpolefun

Hi friends!

I'm talking about Christmas today.

I KNOW!

It's coming whether you're ready or not, so we might as well pretend like we're ready, right? Right.

I love holiday traditions. There is something comforting about knowing that in all the chaos that can come with the holidays, there are some things that are the same every year. We didn't get to do a lot of our holiday traditions last year because we were still trying to find normal. I want to get back to them this year! Every year for all of my life we have had advent calendars. You know those German cardboard ones with the perforated doors and the molded chocolates? Yep, those. LOVE them. Every so often my mom would step up her game and we would do something fancy, but those cardboard ones were there every year without fail.

Those simple traditions are the ones that stick.

Berry Cultured Butter with Lifeway Kefir

This shop has been compensated by #collectivebias, Inc. and its advertiser. 
All opinions are mine alone.

Hi friends!

I am usually all about simple recipes. I love quality food that doesn't take a long time. However, some things are worth waiting for.

Cultured butter is one of those things.

The creaminess of butter with the tanginess of yogurt. Yes, please! It gets even better when you use something delicious like the flavors that Lifeway Kefir offers. Throw in some fresh berries and now you really have something amazing!

DIY Juicy Lucy Bar

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Hi friends!

It's Memorial Day today here in the States. A chance to remember lost service members, and spend time with family. Parades, spending the day outside, and barbecues are standard fare.

This is what you want to do at your barbecue. I promise.

For those of you who may not know, a Juicy Lucy (or Jucy Lucy, depending on your history) is a midwest thing. More specifically, a Minneapolis thing. Basically it is a cheese-stuffed burger, with cheese on top. Yes, please!

Now I don't know about you, but Kraft is the first name I think of for cheese, and you want good cheese for this. Walmart has all sorts of choices, but I went with Sharp Cheddar, Italian 5 Cheese and Mexican 4 Cheese. I grabbed some barbecue sauce and mayo while I was there, too.

Confession: I typically fall on the Miracle Whip side of the aisle, but for this mayo was perfect. I don't like mayo on its own, but I love it mixed with other things! Tonight it was sriracha and pesto. Yum!

OK, now lets get down to business!

Ready, Set, #SayCheeseburger!

Here is what you need:

• Ground meat (1/3 lb per person)
• Cheeses
• Toppings: bacon, lettuce, tomato, etc...
• Sauces: Mayo, BBQ sauce, ketchup, relish, mustard, whatever else you like
• Buns

Start by portioning out your meat of choice. We used beef, but you could easily do this with turkey, too! I season my burgers with a generous helping of my favorite garlic/sea salt grinder. Easy peasy. We went with 1/3 lb burgers, with a smaller one for my daughter.

Now get that cheese ready!

Remember making pinch pots in Kindergarten art class? Do that with your burger. Then fill your pot up with your cheese of choice!

Pinch it up, squish it into a patty, and toss that baby on the grill.

Try not to drool too much as the cheese inside gets all melty and gooey.

Once your burgers are cooked, it's time for the fun part. Toppings!

Cheesy bacony goodness? Yes.

BLT with pesto mayo and cheddar? Yes and yes.

Marinara, pesto mayo, and oozy, melty mozzarella? Yes, yes, and YES!

Bananas? Also good.

We kept our toppings pretty basic this time, but you could go as exotic as you want to. Have a crowd that likes spicy food? Layer on those peppers! Mexican night? Guacamole burgers! The possibilities are endless! This is also great when you are cooking for a crowd because everyone ends up happy, even the kids.

Thanks, #collectivebias!

Want even more burger ideas? Check out the ideas that Walmart has!

How would you top your burgers?
Are you a wild topper or a classic burger builder?

Be blessed!
Heather

Family Movie Night with The Little Mermaid

Hi there friends!

What do you do to make family dinners special? Obviously dinner can't be an event every night, but sometimes it's nice to do something a little special. With a new baby coming soon, I really want to find great ways to spend time as a family before the newborn chaos kicks in!

We decided that family movie night was just what we needed!

First, Abbey and I went shopping for some Disney Princess goodies. We ended up with a new Ariel costume, since what little redhead doesn't want to dress up like Ariel?

At our house we do something we call "Snicky Snack Dinner". It's basically things like cheese, crackers, fruit...whatever we have on hand. This seemed like the perfect dinner for a movie night, but it needed a little bit of oomph. Bring on the Under The Sea themed Snicky Snacks!

Starfish quesadillas, goldfish crackers...

And, of course, fishy Jello! 

We pulled out the couch and spread out some beach towels. Of course there was an Ariel in the mix.

And of course, that new costume just had to make an appearance!

Dinner is served!

We had a lot of fun snuggling up on the couch and watching The Little Mermaid. It's been one of my favorites since I was little, and I love that Abbey loves it too! I hope that we're creating memories in the process!

We certainly created a lot of smiles!

Don't own The Little Mermaid yet? The Collector's Edition BluRay/DVD is coming out on October 1st! Yippee!!

Thanks Disney!!

Want to keep up with the Disney Princess fun? You can follow them here:
Twitter: @Disney
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyPrincess

Looking for more Under The Sea fun? Check out this Pinterest Board for all sorts of goodness!

Be blessed!

Heather