Clean Eating Chicken Fried Rice

This is a great recipe to throw together if you pre-cook a bunch of chicken and rice to use for the week. You can also try making this Pinto de Gallo recipe to use pre-cooked chicken and rice in as well.

Clean Eating Chicken Fried Rice
2 C cooked rice or combination of rice (I used half brown rice & half quinoa)
3 C cooked mixed veggies
2 C cooked chicken, cubed
2 eggs, scrambled
2 scallions, chopped
1 T sesame oil
3 T soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T rice wine vinegar

Directions:

• Add sesame oil to a wok or frying pan with high sides and heat over medium-high heat. 
• Mix together soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar in a small dish and set aside.
• Once oil is hot, add rice, veggies, chicken and scallions and heat until warmed up, tossing everything a few time.
• Add soy sauce mixture over the top and toss a few more times.
• Stir in scrambled eggs and toss a few more time.
• Enjoy!

Pottery Leaf and Fish Candle Chargers / Platters

Today I want to share with you a couple of candle chargers or platters that I made. I used the same mold for both of these, which is also the same one as the Pottery Candle Charger I made as a gift as well. 

I made the fish one for my husband and it is at our cabin. The leaf one I made for myself (I do occasionally make something for myself) to have at our house. The fish pieces are from clay cutters I bought and the leaf prints are from a push in clay mold I purchased. These were a fun experiment to see how I could use these fun new tools

FREE Monster Jam Truck @ Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic

Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics are holding 2 clinics, 2 weeks apart to build the above Monster Jam Trucks. There is still one more to sign up for!

The first one was for the Max-D truck (the black one) on February 28th, so you have already missed that one. :(

The second one is for the Toro Loco truck and registration opened for that one on March 2nd.This Build and Grow will be on March 16th.

We have been to Monster Jam TWICE! It's a fun experience. We even have a picture of the Toro Loco Truck, as well as the kids in front of a bunch of other trucks. Here is even more pictures from our Second Monster Jam excursion.

SIGN UP FOR THE LOWE'S BUILD AND GROW CLINIC!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Kids Fishing Tournament on French Lake

We took the kids the kids to a FREE Ice Fishing Tournament on French Lake. It was sponsored by the Elks Club. As you will notice, we have no pictures of fish, because is how many we caught. All kids did get a free fishing prize, regardless if you caught any or not.

#ad How to Make Custom Marbled Gift Boxes PLUS GIVEAWAY for 10 Gift Boxes

Directions:

Supplies needed:

• Acrylic paint
• Shaving cream
• Knife or stick
• White Gift Boxes
• Squigee
• Large container or box

To make these custom marble gift boxes, it doesn't take much time and they dry fairly quickly, but I would allow 24 hours before packaging them up to give away just to be sure everything has cured.

1. Just spray shaving cream in the bottom of a large container or box. 
2. Drizzle a variety of acrylic paint colors over the shaving cream. 
3. Cut in the paint to the shaving cream to create swirls (don't overs to this or the colors will become muddled). 
4. Dip your box or paper on the top layer of painted shaving cream.
5. Using a squigee, scrape off the shaving cream. Don't worry, the paint will stay on.
6. Allow to dry for 24 hours before handling

I did mine in the bathroom so that I could easily wash off my squigee from excess shaving cream.

My Thoughts

I was excited to try out this pack of 10 gift boxes from MyPresentforyou because I knew it was going to be fun to decorate up a blank canvas. The boxes are all white and come in a set of 10 of them. The size of mine are 9x4.5x4.5 which is a decent size for a lot of things including some of my handmade pottery items and bakery goods.

The boxes do come with little bows that you can use. There are no instructions on how to use the bows, but you just pull the little bow strands in the center between the bigger ribbon strands and pull until you have made the bow and then tie it so that it stays in place. I used the bow on my first time using one of these gift boxes because I had done the marble technique and didn't want to take away from having the recipient see that. But other times I think I will leave the box a plain white and really do up the bows and ribbons with other ones I use. The possibilities are endless on how to decorate up these boxes whether you are changing up the ribbon or decorating the box. I even thinking that the next present my kids have to give someone I will let them color on the box and put stickers to make it more fun for them.

Buy these gift boxes on Amazon!

Product Description from Giving gifts is great by itself, but the very best part is opening them! That's why having a great gift box for your gift makes a big difference. This complete set contains all you need to wrap up your presents, cupcakes, cookies & bakery Items or baby clothes. The set includes 10 white gift boxes (9x4.5 x4.5") plus 10 shiny butterfly pull bows and complimentary tissue paper.
The high quality boxes are made of one piece with a deluxe white high gloss finish on the outside and a fine-looking matte white on the within. Boxes have a tuck top and a lock tab bottom and are shipped flat. The boxes are perfect to wrap gifts for your loved ones and friends!

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17 St. Patrick's Day Accelerated Reader Books for 3rd and 4th Graders

This time I thought I would read my daughter's class a book that is between 3.5-4.5, but I did include a couple of bonus ideas of a 4.6 level books. Just a little something for me to remember to request when she is in 4th grade and if I am reading to her class then. I thought this might be a good list to work from next year as well. If you noticed in my Valentine book list, I try to stay away from books that are about the history and customs of a holiday. While these are good learning books, it is usually a lot of information to have to retain and I would rather set the kids up to succeed to be able to take their tests and get good scores.

3.5
Dear Mr. Leprechaun: Letters from my First Friendship by Martin Burton
The Leprechaun in the Basement by Kathy Tucker
The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow by Sean Callahan
Shannon and the World's Tallest Leprechaun by Sean Callahan
St. Patrick's Day from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

3.7
Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story by Linda Shute

3.8
Luckiest Leprechaun by Justine Korman
The Story of the Leprechaun by Katherine Tegen

3.9
The Leprechaun's Gold by Pamela Edwards
The Luck of the Irish by Brendan Paulsen

4.0 
Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie De Paola

4.1
Mary McLean and the St. Patrick's Day Parade by Steven Kroll
The Leprechaun Under the Bed by Teresa Bateman

4.2
Leprechauns Never Lie by Lorna Bailan

4.4
A Fin St. Patrick's Day by Susan Wojciechowski

4.5 
Fiona's Luck by Teresa Bateman
Leprechaun Gold by Teresa Bateman

BONUS IDEAS!
4.6
Traveling Tom and the Leprechaun by Teresa Bateman
The Ring of Truth by Teresa Bateman

Easy Roasted Garlic Broccoli

You can change up the taste of this broccoli to suit any kind of meal. Use sesame oil and sprinkle red pepper flakes and a little soy sauce on it to give it an Asian flare, or perhaps use olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese to give it an Italian edge.

Easy Roasted Garlic Broccoli
1 Large Head of Broccoli (about 3 Cups)
3 T oil (olive, grape seed, avocado, sesame)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp lemon juice
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Cut broccoli into florets and place in a large bowl
• Mix together oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl
• Sprinkle oil mixture over broccoli and toss together to evenly coat
• Spread over a single layer on a baking sheet
• Bake until florets are tender when pierced with a fork, tossing after 10 minutes of baking
• Bake for 15-20 minutes total
• Top with red pepper flakes or grated Parmesan cheese, if desired
• Enjoy!