Magical Moms July Menu

I don't know about you, but I have been having a harder time planning my meals, I don't know if it is because it has been so HOT here or what!  I tried to place lots of easy things that can be done on the grill or slow cooker to keep the oven OFF!  Today it is going to be 100 degrees!  Maybe I will just cook on the side walk!  I know I want to spend as much time as I can at the pool or being adventurous with the kids.  Hopefully this menu will have it all planned out for you so you can spend some more quality time with your family!

*Recipe Coming Soon

                                               JULY

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1 Cajun Shrimp Pasta	2 *Bang Bang Chicken, Sweet Pepper Pilaf	3 Kielbasa, Disney's Maui Scalloped Potatoes	4 Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Thighs, Garlic Parmesan Green Beans, Honey Roasted Redskin Potatoes
5 Cheesey Chicken Quesadilla, Easiest Corn Salsa	6 Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps	7 Crazy Good Crab Cakes	8 *Apple Pork Tenderloin, Sweet Creamed Corn	9 Grilled Steak and Spinach Tacos	10 Movie Night Connie's Caramel Corn, Chocolate Covered Strawberry Milkshakes	11 *Sweet and Sour Chicken
12 Deep Dish Portabello {Pizza}	13 *Chili Cheese Coneys	14 Slow Cooker Ranch Pesto Chicken Pasta	15 Steak Oscar with Steamed Asparagus, *Loaded Baked Potato Casserole	16 Slow Cooker 8 Spice Lemon Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, Parmesan Pilaf	17 Red Pepper Turkey Burger Sliders,  Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Cinnamon Honey Mustard dipping sauce	18 Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken, Almost Cut Potatoes, Loaded Potato Topping, Grilled Green Beans
19 Sausage and Pepper Pasta, Cucumber Salad	20 *Lemon Bruchetta Chicken	21 *Grilled Shrimp and veggies	22 Creamy Garlic Ranch Pork Chops with Garlic Mashed Potatoes	23 *Steak and Rice Roll Ups, *BLT Wedge Salad	24 HOT and Spicy Chicken Fajita Piles	25 Mouth Watering Pot Roast
26 Grilled Bourbon Pork Medallions, Rosemary Chive Grilled Potatoes, Green Waldorf Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing	27 Creamy Mushroom Angel Pasta	28 *Pan Seared Scallops with Bacon Butter Sauce, Spinach, Garlic Quinoa and Brown Rice	29 Creamy Mushroom Angel Pasta, Spinach Salad	30 Mushroom Swiss Burgers, garlic french fries	31 Game Night, BBQ Chicken Potato Skins, Coco Loco Chicken Tenders

Top 5 Tips to Keep Your Disney Vacation Magical

If you have friends or family that have gone to Disney World before, I'm sure you have at least a few of them that had not so magical reviews. But others that absolutely loved it... so what was the difference?

The biggest difference was they allowed themselves to get CRANKY. And cranky guests cannot keep it magical. What you need to think about, is what makes you cranky, and then avoid it. Easier said than done:)

Well let's think about the most common reasons full grown adults and children get cranky- tired, crowds, hungry, long lines. Those at least are my biggest reason for getiing cranky. If you are over-tired, forced to walk in huge crowds with people constatnly knocking into you and your kids, have to wait forever to get food, or have to wait in long lines, all of us will get cranky. So here are my top tips and secrets to avoid getting cranking and keep it magical:

1. Don't overestimate the amount of time you can physically spend in a park and still enjoy yourself. Many people literally think they can stay in the same park all day- for like 10-12 hours. Even if your kids are teenagers, it is just not possible to spend that long in one park without getting a bit cranky. So don't plan on it. If you have small children, plan on 4-5 hours MAX. If your kids are older or it is just adults, plan on 5-7 hours MAX.

2. How do you get everything in if you are only there for 4 hours? BE THERE BEFORE THE PARK OPENS. Please trust me on this. If you get to the park around lunchtime, you will have to wait 2 or 3 times longer for almost every ride (at least the popular ones) and you will be waiting in long lines and will not get to do everything you want. You will be much more rested if you get to the park 20-30 minutes before the "rope drop" and then you can speed through the lines for Space Mountain, Dumbo, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan's Flight, Soarin, Rock-n-roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania, Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris. These are all attractions that are virtually impossible to get on later in the day without a wait. And I consider anything over 15 minutes a wait. So get to the park before it opens, get to your priority attractions and get fastpasses and be done before or after lunch.

3. Take a break every afternoon even if you don't have small kids. Then hang out at the pool or just relax. You can get back into the parks in the evening. Take this time to relax and recharge so you do not get cranky.

4. Use the evenings to see the shows, plan character dinners or dinner shows, and just focus on keeping it magical. I don't recommend trying to get in rides during the evening. As I stated in #2, the lines are atrocious for most attractions from lunchtime to closing. If you are going to a park, it needs to be to see a show like Fantasmic or to see a parade and fireworks. And you need to go knowing that IT WILL BE CROWDED. Believe it or not, just knowing this makes you a lot more relaxed. And no matter what, be at the park entrance at least 1 1/2 hours before the show/parade/fireworks you are planning to see. If possible, find your viewing location and stake out your territory. Have a group go get food/snacks and bring back so that you have something to do while waiting on the main event. You can take the kids to rides with minimal lines as long as you stress they need to be back 20 minutes before the show. Another word of advice, pay attention to parade and fireworks times if you are planning dinner reservations. For example, if Wishes fireworks are at 8:00, you will have a hard time getting to Cinderella's Royal Table anywhere between 7:30 and 8:45. But don't plan on doing these EVERY evening, take a few off.

5. Avoid Extra Magic Hours. I know it sounds contradictory, but trust me. Extra Magic Hours are like a BIG ARROW pointing all Disney resort guests to the same park on the same day. Even if the EMH are from 8-11 pm, that park will be the busiest of all parks that day even at 12:00 in the afternoon. The only exception is if you are going in the evening for a show/parade/fireworks. Remember, you have already prepared yourself that it is going to be crowded and you are not planning on hitting any big rides where you will have to wait in those long lines, right? Also, be sure to read my advice on how to decide which park which day. I go into more detail there.

And that is it, 5 rules to keep it magical. Don't break them and you will have a magical trip. However, please visit my other pages to learn more tips and secrets- the more you know, the more magic you'll create!  Let the Memories Begin!

Blueberry Muffin Tops

Nathan's playgroup is coming over today. The kids are always hoping there will be something yummy to snack on.  These Muffin Tops are the perfect muffin/cookie combination for everyone to enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup salted butter (softened)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• Crystal Sugar Sprinkles
• 1 cup Sugar

Makes about 30 Muffin Tops

 First combine baking powder, salt, and flour in a bowl and set aside.  Next cream together butter and sugar then add in egg.  After that is mixed well add lemon zest, milk, and almond extract.

After that is mixed well slowly add in dry ingredients.  Gently stir in blueberries by hand.

Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375, then form dough into balls and sprinkle tops with Crystal Sugar Sprinkles and bake 11-13 minutes.

Now you will be able to enjoy the best part of the muffin!

Here are some other blueberry recipes that my family loves!

Frozen Blueberry Cheesecake Bites


Blueberry Muffin Mousse

Perfect Picnic Chicken Salad

I decided to take the night off from cooking on Friday. I still needed to run to the grocery store for a few items so I picked up a rotisserie chicken from Wegmans prepared foods section. We ate half of it for dinner and I used the other half to make chicken salad for lunch on Saturday.
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sweet relish
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 hard boiled egg diced (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken cubed

 ***makes enough for 4 sandwiches**
Mix all ingredients, except egg, together in a bowl. After they are all mixed together add in the diced hard boiled egg. I do this last because I don't want it to get smashed.

Serve chicken salad on croissant or toasted whole wheat bread. This is perfect for lunch or GREAT on a hot summer night when you don't want to eat hot food. BTW I think that the chicken salad is SO much better when it sits for a few hours in the fridge. The flavors mix together nicely!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Check out our 8 Pocket Utility Aprons for Teachers and Hairdressers (and others)

Both magical moms have been busy with our newest Etsy item, these adorable half aprons! We started making them specifically for teachers, but they are great for hairdressers and vendors. I even made one for my aunt to wear at school and they are a hit with all the teachers.

We have several different patterns to suit your style needs! There are two basic styles, a canvas one with straight corners, and a fully lined cotton version with rounded corners.

They are very high quality and super cute! They would make a great gift for teacher appreciation day or just something to give at the beginning of the school year. And trust me on this one, teachers have enough Bath &Body Works, hand soap, coffee mugs, decorative teacher desk items and apples!

Cha Cha Chicken with Mango Tango Salsa-Nacho Average Chicken Taco! (And gluten free)

This is one of my favorite twists on taco night at our house. It's so full of flavor and super easy to make.

Chicken Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1-2 cans Mexican diced or stewed tomatoes
1 can favorite beans (I used pinto this time but use black a lot of the time as well)
1 packet taco seasonings
Corn tortillas ( you can use flour tortillas but then it's not gluten free)
Your favorite toppings- sour cream, cheese, lettuce, avocados

This is pretty simple, you just put it all in crockpot and cook on low 5-6 hours until chicken is easily shred able with fork. The sauce will be pretty runny so I usually take the lid of and turn to warm and let it sit for 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken up. This chicken really has the best flavor!

Salsa Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced mango (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup diced pineapple (fresh or frozen , I bet you could even use canned as long as it didn't have added sugar and you rinsed and drained very well)
1/4 cup diced red onions
2 jalapeños, seeded and diced (leave in some seeds if you want it spicier)
About a handful of chopped cilantro
Squeeze of lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes to let flavors combine. You can add many ingredients to this salsa such as chili peppers, oranges, etc but this was just what I had on hand. If you've never had mango salsa on tacos, this might sound a bit odd, but I promise you these flavors are so incredible together! My husband was so skeptical at first ("I do not want fruit on my tacos!") but this is now his favorite way to eat tacos. Think of how good kettle corn popcorn or salted caramel is... The sweet and salty go so well together. It gives boring old tacos the twist it needs (especially if you eat them often like we do).

I hope you'll take my word and try this wonderful recipe out. Enjoy!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness, Appetizing April Menu and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu.  Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on the menus!

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This is something that can be thrown together very quickly with ingredients that you probably have on hand. The blend of the sweet and spicy gives perfect flavor. This recipe is extremely easy to adjust based on the number of people that you need to serve. I can make a small amount for just our immediate family or for a large group. Either way, everyone LOVES it!

Ingredients:

• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Chicken Breasts
• Bacon
• Brown Sugar

First, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Then sprinkle each side with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

After that, spiral wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and roll in brown sugar. Place chicken in baking dish and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with your fave side dish. I am sure that there won't be ANY left over!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

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Simply Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This is one of the easiest and tastiest recipes I make. I love slow cooker recipes because I just put the ingredients in and several hours later, we're ready for dinner!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. or so cubed beef
• 1 can golden mushroom soup (it really needs to be the golden to taste so good)
• 3/4 can beef broth (you really want the same amount as the mushroom soup so I pour into empty soup can to measure)
• 1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
• 1 block cream cheese (less fat is ok but do not use fat free- it doesn't melt and incorporate into sauce)
• I also added a couple handfuls of sliced mushrooms because I had them on hand.

Directions:

Place all ingredients EXCEPT cream cheese in slow cooker and cook on low 6-7 hours. Bring cream cheese to room temperature and put in slow cooker the last hour of cooking. Stir to incorporate the cream cheese into the sauce. Serve over cooked egg noodles or rice. Yum!

This recipe was featured on our Appetizing April Menu. Check out the entire April menu for a variety of dinner ideas!

Tic-Tac-Hearts

I feel like I just got all of my Christmas decorations put away and now its time to put out Valentine's decorations. I am glad, because my front door was looking a little bare. The conversation heart wall hanging (see earlier post) was my first creation for this year. When I told my 3-year old that we were going to put up our Valentine's decorations he immediately started singing "Jingle Bells." He makes me laugh!

My guys love to play Tic-Tac-Toe so I decided to make a heart inspired version. I used a white picture frame, white thread, and one piece each of white, pink, red and black felt.

First I cut the black felt to fit inside the 8x10 frame. Next I cut 1/2 inch strips of white and machine sewed them onto the black forming the tic-tac-toe board. Next I traced a heart shaped cookie cutter to make the heart game pieces. Then I put the black piece into the frame and we were ready to play! I oldest son informed me that we can't call it tic-tac-toe, we have to call it "tic-tac-hearts."

Adorable Baby Wall Art with Chevron and Chalkboard

My project for today was making some cute wall art for a friend of mine, and after I completed hers, I went ahead and made some additional ones and put them up for sale on etsy. These are three different prints, one is a monogram, the other is a birth announcement plaque, and last is a prayer. Here is the one I call "The Mallory" and it is in girl colors:

The others I created were in more of a boy pallette and I call them "The Ivan."

Please check out the listings on our Etsy Shop and email us if you want something custom. Enjoy!
Mary Bobbin's Boutique Etsy Shop

Better than Rice-a-Roni (and healthier) Rice Pilaf

I try to incorporate whole grains as much as possible in our house, and that means whole wheat pasta and brown rice. But I love the boxed rice flavors. So I experimented and came up with a great alternative to the preservative loaded box stuff. It's only half whole grain because I couldn't find whole wheat orzo, but it is made with brown rice instead of white, so it's a healthier alternative.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pan and add rice, orzo and onion.
2. Cook on medium heat until mixture is golden brown.
3. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until tender.

Easy peaty and much better for you (especially if you have a  corn or yeast allergy- you can't use the boxed stuff).

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu. Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on these menus!

Flattened Redskin Potatoes

These potatoes are the perfect side dish to accompany just about any main dish. I usually make them when I already have something in the oven, because they easily adjust to any oven temperature.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 Redskin Potatoes (I usually make 1-2 potatoes per person depending on size of the potato)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Put potatoes in water, bring to boil.

Once boiling cook 7-9 minutes or until they are tender enough to stick knife in with ease. Remove from water.

Preheat oven to 400. Place potatoes on foil lined baking sheet. Lightly press with bottom of drinking glass. (Be sure to do this slowly so potato does not go everywhere).

Melt butter and garlic in bowl in microwave.

Brush over potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes until skins are slightly crisp. These potatoes are good on their own, but even better when served with Loaded Potato Dip (see other recipe)

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Maple Dijon Chicken

Maple Dijon Chicken Last night’s dinner must have been good because there were no leftovers today for my lunch! I tried something new- Maple Dijon Chicken. I made a few variations to the original recipe and I think it turned out great! My Father-in-law (who likes to give his “feedback” about everyone’s cooking) said that he LOVED it!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Chicken Thighs ( I used Boneless/Skinless)
• ½ cup Dijon Mustard
• ¼ cup Maple Syrup (I used Breakfast Syrup)
• 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar or Rice Wine Vinegar
• Fresh Rosemary (I didn't have any on hand so I used dried)

Preheat oven to 450. Combine Dijon Mustard, Maple Syrup, and Rice Vinegar together in a bowl. Arrange chicken in 8X8 baking dish.

Salt and pepper the chicken to your taste and then poor the mixture on top.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes. Baste the chicken with the liquid in the baking dish after 20 minutes. To make sure that chicken is cooked all the way through, you can use a meat thermometer. Chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees.
I am sorry that I don't have a picture of the finished dish, but it smelled so good that we gobbled it up as soon as it came out of the oven! Oh and I forgot to sprinkle the rosemary on it. Ooops!
I served this chicken with Flattened Redskin Potatoes, Loaded Potato Dip, and Steamed Broccoli.

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu. Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on the menus!

"You're going to Disney World again?"

The two magical moms are deep into planning our next Walt Disney World vacation. We just took one 4 months ago and are planning on going back this June (so yes, if you do the math that's not even a year between the two trips). Most of our friends and family think we're a little obsessed with Disney World, and even though I don't believe we owe an explanation for our love of all things Disney, I'm going to take a minute to tell you a few of the reason why we enjoy it so much.

1. Escape- Walt Disney World is truly an escape from the real world, and since we know that all of us parents are stretched too thin and have more on our plates than ever before, this escape is what keeps grown adults (even some without children) frequenting Walt Disney World on a regular basis. Disney has gone to great lengths to keep the outside world out- you will not find any McDonald's or other chain restaurants here. Aside from the scarce Hess gas stations and the soon to open Starbucks, none of the outside world creeps into your magical vacation when you're at Disney World. You can truly escape it all and just enjoy the magic.

2. Service- You really will not find many places with the level of service Disney World provides. They even have a division called The Disney Institute that trains other organizations to adapt a similar customer service culture. And they take it that extra mile- I vividly remember my daughter wearing her "Happy Birthday" button while watching the afternoon parade at Animal Kingdom. The button also had her name on it and at least 10 times during the parade the cast members shouted "Happy Birthday Mallory!" Her smile stretched from ear to ear, with just a hint of embarrassment.

3. Traditions- Traditions create memories that last a lifetime. We do this all the time during holidays. Children know exactly how Christmas morning goes because they experience it every year. Well our yearly trips to Disney World create those same traditions with our children. My daughter races to Dumbo as soon as we get to Magic Kingdom and she always has to ride it with her daddy because that's just their tradition. All of the traditions we have at Disney World are creating lasting memories of magical family vacations for our children.

So yes, we are going to Walt Disney World again. And we will go again next year, maybe even twice, maybe with a Disney Cruise thrown in. And we will find a way to incorporate our upcoming trip into just about any conversation :) Actually, please know that we try extremely hard to NOT incorporate our upcoming trip into every conversation because we get it, you are sick of hearing about it. That's why we post recipes and crafts on this blog too!

Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

This is hands down the best way I've learned to make roasted potatoes. As with most of my recipes, you can change around the ingredients, but the prep stage is what makes these potatoes.

Ingredients:

• - 3 large potatoes (you can easily double this recipe to feed more)
• - 4 Tbsp. Crisco shortening
• - Parmesan Cheese
• - Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place your baking sheet in the oven to heat it up.
2. Cut potatoes into half then quarter the halves.
3. Place potatoes in pan with cold water and salt. Bring water to boil and immediately drain the potatoes. The trick is not to cook the potatoes just get them warm.
4. Return potatoes to the pan and cook over medium heat just to get them dry.
5. Add crisco and heat and stir until the potatoes are evenly covered in the oil.
6. Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheet and top with Parmesan and salt to desired amount.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, turning potatoes halfway.