Cream cheese heaven!

I love cream cheese.  I use it in dips, cheesecake, smeared on bagels, mixed with ranch dressing on veggie pizzas.  I use it in hundreds of recipes.  So much so that I normally spend about $5 a week just on cream cheese! However, I will never buy storebought cream cheese again.  Now that I've learned a new trick.

I've been making lots of smoothies - partly because I'm trying very hard to lose weight, partly because I like them, and partly because I broke a molar and for several days that was about all I could handle.  One of my favorites smoothies is a handful of frozen strawberries, a banana, a large spoonful of greek yogurt, a scoop of protein powder, and some milk.  Since I generally make 2 or more a day (Mariah likes them too) I buy the yogurt in the large containers.  I was at Kroger the other day and they had Mountain High plain yogurt for 99 cents for the large container.  Since they only had 3 left I bought them all thinking I could freeze them until I used them.  Then I was cruising on Pinterest.  Addictive, fun, interesting Pinterest.  I find all kinds of useful things on there.  This particular day, I found a pin on making your own yogurt cheese.  Now, I buy yogurt cheese in the grocery store.  It's a semi-firm cheese, almost like a fresh mozzarella and very expensive.  Normally I pay about $5 for a small ball of it.  So, I checked out the recipe.  It sounded very easy.  I decided to try it.  My result was not what I would normally buy in the store, but it was much better in my opinion - cream cheese!

To make this yummy dish, you take a colander or strainer and place it over a bowl.  Line it with cheese cloth or coffee filters.  Scoop 1 container of greek yogurt into the cheese cloth or filter. 

If you use cheese cloth, gather it up and twist the top so that it forms a ball of yogurt. Place the entire thing (strainer & bowl) into the refrigerator and let it sit for at least 8 hours so that all the liquid drains out.  I fixed mine up in the afternoonand let it sit until the next morning. 

When I checked on it the next day, I had a creamy, thick substance that tasted exactly like cream cheese! 

Next I took a small portion of it and mixed in a couple of spoonfuls of strawberry preserves.  Yum!!  This went on to the top of a bagel and was eaten for breakfast!!  I now have a healthier, cheaper version of my favorite spread. 

And what have YOU made lately?

New stuff!

This has been a long week and filled week!  First, I broke one of my molars.  This one is really painful and I can't get in to have it pulled until Wednesday afternoon.  So, I'm taking vicodin, tylenol, and drinking lots of smoothies since it hurts to chew anything!

Wednesday my friend, Lynn, came over and brought a new-to-me sewing machine.  She gave me a sewing lesson on it.  We made a pillowcase dress for Mariah.  It's justthismuch short of being long enough to wear as a dress for her so she's going to wear it with a pair of leggings. 

 

 

Thursday I spent the evening at Barnes & Noble with a stitching group that I found.  I had a great time and worked on the model I'm stitching for Flowers2Flowers.  The rest of the group was either crocheting or knitting so next time I'll take one of my crochet projects with me.

 

Last night my nephew, Luke, spent the night.  The kids had fun playing school and watching movies.  They slept on the couch since it is a double recliner & as Luke says 'goes into a bed'!

 

Today I'm just chilling & watching'24' while kind of dozing on the couch.  The vicodin & tylenol make it difficult for me to stitch. 

 

My favorite lapbook website is having two giveaways this week.  The first is a lapbook onAncient Egypt.  Ancient Egypt giveaway

The second is a lapbook on reptiles.  Reptile giveaway

Go now & enter and while you're there check out all their new $1 Express lapbooks!

Big sale!

Good morning!  Those of you who know me, know that I'm a big fan of lapbooks.  They are compact, all encompassing study guides on just about any subject you can imagine.  They are good for any age from preschool to high school.  Even many public schools are starting to use them in the classrooms.  They're not just for homeschoolers anymore!  Whether you have used them in the past, or are new to them, they are worth investigating for your kids.  They even make great activities for rainy days or non-school days!  Those of you who scrapbook will love them!!

Of all the lapbooks out there, my favorites are made by a company called


The ladies there do an outstanding job designing & writing lapbooks that teach and keep a student's interest.  Right now, they're having a big sale to celebrate having 10,000 fans.  10,000!!!  Wow, that's a LOT of fans!  So, to celebrate they have giving you 50% off of any downloadable lapbook!  Half price!!  That means that you could get the downloadable Spring lapbook (now on sale for $5) for only $2.50!! 


Earth Day is coming up & they have a great lapbook on Earth Day.  Right now it would cost you $6.50 for the downloadable version.  Instant to your computer!



Just use code WOOHOO when you are done shopping.  Check it out here
A Journey Through Learning 10,000 likes sale!


Go ahead, look around.  You know you want to!