Muddy "Bunny" Mix

Easter is so early this year! I feel like it usually happens much later in April.  So late sometimes that we are enjoying our Spring break week down the Cape and celebrate Easter down there! But this year... so early.  I'm actually really excited about it not being during vacation week because that means my family will partake in the holiday tradition we have and head to my grandmother's house with so many of my family members.  Because we have such a large family, we set it up like a big pot luck every holiday.  Each person volunteers two or three items, things get put out on the table, and then everyone gets to enjoy without any one person doing too much work.

Every holiday, we end up bringing a dessert to these gatherings. My kids love spending time cooking and baking and sweet treats are their favorites. We decided to whip up a super simple Easter recipe this year and we call it Muddy BUNNY Mix!

We started with a basic Muddy Buddies recipe straight from the Chex box.  Tyler wanted to add in some miniature marshmallows and Easter M&Ms so it became Muddy BUNNY mix!

Tyler was obsessed, eating it by the handful.  It's such a simple dessert-- I'm excited to keep tweaking it for new holidays!

What's your go to dessert recipe for Easter?

xo, Heather

Meal Prepped Meat, Egg, and Cheese Breakfasts

So fun fact-- I've lost close to 20 pounds in the last few months.  It's a combination of medicating my thyroid, watching what I eat, and cutting back on carbs and sweets. It's been a conscious choice but I'm also not starving myself or denying myself things I love.  Prepping ahead of time has been so helpful.  I used to meal prep on Sunday nights but found I got bored with the food.  So now I prep a few things but also throw things together last minute for some variety.

In an average day I eat eggs or have a shake for breakfast; and deli meat, cheese and hard boiled eggs or a protein and steamed or sauteed veggies for lunch or dinner.  Honestly, just cutting out the carbs has been the biggest thing for me.

Mornings are quick for me. Often the kids wake up while I'm getting ready and want snuggles and who am I to say no to snuggle requests? I always end up leaving 10 minutes later than I planned because I just want to stay with the kids as long as I can. AS much as I love my shakes, I can't have them every day or I get bored so I started prepping breakfast egg muffins. Sometimes I use the cupcake tins and sometimes I use a cake pan and just cut servings.

It's super simple and if I cook them Sunday night I can eat them for a few days.  They make great breakfasts, they pack super well for lunches, and even work as a protein packed piece of dinner.

10 breakfast sausages, cooked and cut, or 5-8 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup diced peppers and onions
6 eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350* and spray down cupcake pan or cake pan with non stick sp
Saute peppers and onions in a frying pan over medium heat.
Divide into cupcake tin cavities or spread over the cake pan.
Repeat with the cooked and crumbled breakfast meat.
Sprinkle shredded cheese in the same fashion.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Add some milk or cream if you'd like.
If using cupcake tins, divide the mixture among the tins. If using a cake pan, pour over the pan, being sure to cover all the peppers, onions, meat, and cheese.
Place into oven.  Takes from 8-15 minutes depending on whether you are using cupcake tins or a cake pan and your individual oven temps. Be sure to check every few minutes and remove when the eggs are fully cooked through.

I love grabbing a quick slice in the morning, making mornings so much easier!

xo, Heather

Saving Money for A Trip to Build A Bear

When you are little, numbers don't hold the same value. To many little kids $100 is enough to feed the world so when my 6 year old daughter said she wanted to save up her money to go to Build A Bear, I wasn't expecting much from her.  I told her if she raised $20 I would bring her.  And she worked her butt off. Asking to do extra chores (which she never got paid for previously), and negotiating via "If I do.... will you give me $1?" was both entertaining and productive.  She would tell others she was saving up to go and would smile from ear to ear as they handed her a dollar to add to her savings.

I watched with pride as she counted the money she earned. The day she hit the $20 was amazing. She was beaming with pride so we made plans to go a few days later. We've been before but this trip was special.  She saved for it.  She was looking at prices and deciding what to get. I told her that she could pick her bear with her money and I would buy her two outfits.  When the doll she wanted was more than $20, she negotiated again, asking for me to pay for the extra part of the bear and buy her one outfit.  Deal.

Build A Bear has always held a little magic for me.  Both David and I worked there, at separate times, and it was him wearing his Build A Bear shirt at a bar that made me first notice him, so a trip to Build a Bear always makes me smile. 

In the grand scheme of things, it's just a stuffed bear. I easily could have purchased it for her without any issues but there was so much value and magic in her working so hard for it. Did I mention that now that she's saved up for Build A Bear, she wants to save for another Disney vacation?

xo, Heather