What's Cookin' -- Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

Sorry for no posts so far this week.  I have a post for a toddler game, but my camera's battery died.  So, I'll get it up by the end of the week.  Here's my recipe for the week. Yummy!

Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
6 medium potatoes, peeled
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
chives

1. Boil potatoes for 30 minutes.
2.  Add sour cream and cream cheese.
3. Mash.
4. Add salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with chives.

**Adjust for more or less potatoes.  Just use equal parts of cream cheese and sour cream, but if you use less of one or the other it will still taste really good).

Check out more recipes at the Grocery Cart Challenge!

M & M Cookies

I made M & M cookies for Valentine's Day for my husband (and me).  Best cookie.  Here's a link to the recipe.  Don't change a thing!

Deal of the Day

It's was actually "deals."  I've been meaning to hit the BOGO sale at Payless for a while now.  But snow and sickness have limited out trips out.  Today I went to Shopko, which has a Payless store.  I went there because I also got a $10 off $40 coupon.  My daughter seems to typically have one pair and wears them to the end.  So, I figured I'd buy two pair for now and two to grow into making the best of the BOGO sale and the $10 off.  After it was all said and done I spent less than $9 per pair of shoes.  Not a bad deal.

I had to walk through the toys because they had a buy 2, get 1 sale.  So tempting.  As we searched the deals, I saw they had Barbie dolls on sale.  My daughter just loves the Barbies at the daycare she attends. I picked up some High School Musical dolls after Christmas at Target for dirt cheap.  I'm not sure I'm ready for the Barbie invasion, so I'm holding off until she's officially 3 years old.   But I found a Christmas Carol Barbie today for $2.99 (no that's not a typo -- originally $15).  It's so pretty and fun and absolutely perfect for a little girl who loves Barbies.  The corresponding Christmas Carol Kelly (oh, she's so cute, says my daughter) was also only $2.99.  I put both both in the cart without her knowing.  There was also a 3 Musketeer Barbie that was only $5.99, so I snuck that one in too.  Since they were clearance, I didn't get the buy 2, get 1 deal.  Instead I got three Barbie dolls for $12.  They will be so much fun to give to her at her birthday and Christmas.  Then the invasion begins...

Surprise Box -- Penguins

Here's a simple surprise box.


Books

• March of the Penguins, Luc Jacquet
• Penguins 123, Kevin Schafer
• Penguin Pete and Little Tim, Marcus Pfister 

Activity

I took foam penguins and put numbers on each one.  Then I made a corresponding "snowball" to make this a matching game. We focused mainly on number recognition 1 to 20.

Micheals

Have you been in Michaels lately?  I was in there last weekend buying craft sticks so I could make these.  As I was walking around I noticed that in several sections of the store there were bins filled with $1 items.  Items such as crayons, craft projects, pads of paper, games, pencils, etc.  It seems they have a lot more than they used to. I noticed they have seasonal bins with items for $1, too.  After Christmas, I picked up several things from the dollar bins for 50 percent off or more.  Just another place to get some inexpensive gifts.

What's Cookin' -- Dairy-Free Candy

I am now a contributing author to Must Follow Recipes.  I posted a really yummy dairy-free recipe for valentine's day chocolate.  Check it out here!

Potty Training Activity

I read this somewhere online, but I don't remember where any longer.  This was a fun activity to do with our daughter who is just starting to potty train.

Materials

• White underwear
• fabric paint
• stencil (if desired)
• paint brush

1. Stencil paint on underwear.  Or just let your little one paint at will.
2.  Follow fabric paint drying directions.
**I did one side and let it dry and then did the other side later in the day.  I also placed a piece of cardboard between so the paint didn't leak through to the other side. **