A Family Favourite: An Oatmeal Breakfast Bar

I thought I would share one of our favourite breakfasts on cold winter mornings~

An oatmeal breakfast bar.

I started doing this a few years ago for my kids to 'up' the fun factor for breakfast.

The kids and I really like oatmeal....it's just fun to have different topping to change it up a bit.

It's a super easy project that takes little time.

You just  need a few jars, a pen and some labels.

Label the jars of oatmeal toppings.

Below are some of our favourite oatmeal toppings.

I try to keep it healthy~craisins, dried fruit, nuts & seeds & brown sugar.

But you could have any toppings you like!

Serve on a tray at the breakfast table.

You just need to add a pot of hot oatmeal and a small creamer of milk.

The kids love that they can add toppings to their oatmeal.

I love that they are eating something warm & healthy for their tummies.

We think it's a wonderful way to start the day.

 

If you liked this post, you might also like:

Healthy Snacks & Drinks for Kids

Family  Size Mushroom & Leek Quiche

School Lunches Made Easy

Feeding Kids After School

Organizing A Kitchen Into Zones

 

And don't forget to take at peek at these Pinterest Boards:

Winter Dinners & Casseroles

School Lunches

Muffin Tin Meals

Organized Homes

Freezer Meal Ideas To Love

 

 

Thank you so much for visiting!

 

 

A Little Pink in My Life: The 'Mom Cave'.

This is my little 'Mom Cave'.

It's not a room....but just a small nook at the top of the stairs on our second story.

I have claimed it as my very own home office and creative nook.
The goal of this space is to be both functional and pretty.

I have included touches of my favourite colour~ soft pink.

{This is the only place you will find pink in the entire house.}

It's a  place where I write blog posts, pay bills, watch a little tv, & read blogs.

Do a little scrapbooking or cardmaking.

You can find me here in the evenings...relaxing and sipping tea while I oversee bedtime for the juniors in the house.

Pictures of loved ones grace the shelves.

 {This one is of my parents on their 40th Anniversary.}

Treasured antiques live here~

like this doll from the 1920's that belonged to my Grandmother's sister who died at 14 in 1931.

Precious gifts made by my children rest here too~like this shadow box made by daughter when she was 11.

Words of inspiration have a place of their own as well.

It includes a place to receive sunshine and a bench for sitting & reflecting~

And a place for visitors to perch.

{And yes...you see snow outside already...today is October 25th}

This is where I sit to read many of your blogs~

So many talented women...so much inspiration to enjoy!

Thank you so much for letting me share my little 'Mom Cave' with you.

{To read more about how my little nook came to be and how it is organized, click here.}

Happy Monday!

xo

This post was written for the 'Mom Cave' party being held at Centsational Girl today.

Mudroom Remix.....

My project for this week was mixing things up in the mudroom.

My goal was to give it a little more character....to make it feel more like a room.

I wrote this post a while ago about the secrets of a great mudroom.

I wanted to give my mudroom a personality of it's own by adding a shelf and moving things around.

This was what was on the wall when I started.

Just a simple collage...of photos and Amy Butler paper in frames.

My 'project' manager this week was my Dad.

After I picked up a shelf and brackets at Ikea...he was my main man.

It was great fun working on a little project with my Dad.

He was the 'big cheese'....I played the hand-over-the-tool girl.

Now that we live 3000 km apart...we don't get a ton of 'hang out' time.

So it was nice to do this together....I miss my Dad! I used to see him almost every day.

So here is the 'BEFORE':

In less than an hour, we had the shelf hung.

I love theses new brackets from Ikea with the circle graphic.

It adds a touch of modern fun and interest.

Then I did the fun part~ accessorizing!

I used things I already had~ cost: $0.00

I re-used the frames I already had with the Amy Butler paper.

I re-used the clock.

I added some old family books.

The blue glass bottle was a cast-off given to my by a friend.

Here is the 'AFTER':

After the shelf was hung and accessorized, I moved these frames to another corner of the mudroom.

And here is the third wall of the mudroom.

It holds three bulletins board to help keep us organized.

You can read more about this project by clicking here.

Here is the 'BEFORE' for that wall:

Here's the 'AFTER':

Now my mudroom has a bit more style.

I am really happy with this little vignette...and I can change it out whenever I feel the need to refresh.

 It's a nice little welcome to our house.

***Edited to Add: I was super excited to wake up the day after this post to find it was featured on the blog Tatertots and Jello roundup of 'Great Ideas'. You can read the post here.

This post has been linked up to these great parties:

I'm being featured at "Polly Want A Crafter" today...

Today one of my favourite scrapbook projects is being featured at "Polly Want A Crafter"!

Thanks so much to Cassity for loving this project.

Click here to go over and visit  and say hello!

Menu Plan Monday and a recipe for Italian Wedding Soup...

I am not sure about everybody else, but I am still full from Thanksgiving Dinner over a week ago!

We had a fun week of leftover turkey and desserts.

We managed to squirrel away two lots of turkey soup for the freezer~it will make a great future supper on a cold night with homemade bread.

On this week's menu for our family:

Monday~ Leftover buffet {we have roast beef, ribs and chicken leftover from the weekend}

Dinnertime: 4 pm due to skating and hockey practice.

Tuesday~Homemade mini-pizzas with salad.

Dinnertime: 5 pm.

Wednesday~ Homemade skillet lasagna with Caesar salad.

Dinnertime: 3:30 pm due to hockey practice.

Thursday~ Chicken, rice and Greek salad.

Dinnertime: 5 pm.

Friday~Italian Wedding Soup with homemade bread.

Dinnertime: 4:00 pm due to hockey practice.

And here's a recipe for a family favourite that I would like to share:

Italian Wedding Soup

This a great soup for a chilly night with tiny meatballs, vegetables and chicken broth.

It can be made in under an hour, and is great the next day after the flavours have mellowed.

Mini-Meatballs for the Soup

1 pkg. of ground turkey

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1 tbsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. finely chopped garlic

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Pinch nutmeg

Mix meatball ingredients together in bowl.

Soup

2 L {or more} chicken broth

1 L water

4 garlic cloves roughly smashed

1 onion, peeled and rough chopped

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup orzo pasta {or other small pasta}

1 large handful spinach, chopped

To make:

1.In large pot, heat a little olive oil and then add carrot, onion, celery and soup spices except bay leaf. The mixture will smell very fragrant as it cooks. When vegetables are soft, add chicken broth, water and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer.

2. Make tiny, spoon-sized meatballs and drop into simmering soup. Meatballs will rise to top of soup broth when they are cooked. When all the meatballs are dropped into the soup, add 1 cup of orzo pasta and let soup simmer until orzo is cooked~ approximately 15- 20 minutes. Add in handful of chopped spinach.

3. Serve with grated Parmesan or Oregano cheese, and top with a spoonful of basil pesto. [optional].

Serve with a green salad and fresh rolls, biscuits or bread.

This is one of my family's very favourite meals.

Enjoy!
Make sure you visit Menu Plan Monday at
I'm an Organizing Junkie
for more great inspiration!

This post is linked to these great parties:

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