As I have been trying to find time to update this blog with more events for families it occurred to me that maybe I could add some time saving recipes. Well all know how hard it is to keep up with busy families and still get dinner on the table. So here are a couple of my favorite quick and easy recipes:
Taco Soup:
1 can Refried Beans, rinsed
1 can Black Beans, rinsed
2-3 cans Diced Tomatoes
1 can Green Bean, drained
1 can Corn, drained
1 package of Taco Seasoning (or Chicken Taco Seasoning)
1 can tomato past + 1/2 cup water // OR about 8oz of tomato juice
You can either put this in the crock pot on low all day or just whip it together and heat and serve. The great thing about Taco Soup is you can add pretty much whatever you want in whatever amount. For the meat, I usually just use what ever is leftover in the fridge. I have used chicken for a wedding reception, pork from pulled pork sandwiches, and sausage. Sometimes I leave it out all together! It takes about 5 min to put everything in the pot and 'viola!' a hearty meal that is easy to increase if you have more mouths to feed. For topping you can add sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips. Yum!
Pulled Pork Sandwiches:
1 Pork Roast
1 bottle Chili Sauce
1 Package Onion Soup Mix
1 can Coca Cola (can be diet or regular)
Rolls, Cheese, bbq sauce
Place all items in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours. Shred and serve on rolls with cheddar cheese and bbq sauce. This is so good, I am totally craving it as I am writing this.
Optional items to put in crock pot: onions, Worcestershire sauce, bbq sauce.... etc
Cheesy Chicken:
4-6 raw Chicken Breasts
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Cream of Cheddar
Shredded cheese or Sour cream (put in at the end)
Optional: onions.
Put in crock pot on low for 8 hours. Right before serving stir in a bunch of shredded cheese until it melts or mix in sour cream. Or do both. Serve on rice or noodles or quinoa. So Yum! So versatile!
BBQ Chicken:
4-6 Chicken Breasts
1 bottle BBQ sauce
Put in crock pot on low for 8 hours. Does it get any easier than that?!?! You can add onions or spices or whatever you want. This is just a good base. You can serve it with corn or quinoa or both!
Ok, that is a start. Frankly, if it takes more than 20 minutes to prepare I'm probably not going to do it. That is the story of my life right now. :)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
More Free Saturday Activities!
Lakeshore Learning has two fun events going on this weekend.
1. 'Make Your Own Storybook!'
This weeks craft is 'make your own storybook'. You can make an accordion style book with all sorts of fun colorful materials and put your own story inside.
2. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR. SEUSS!!
To celebrate the upcoming birthday of Dr. Seuss, Lakeshore Learning is putting on quite an event. It includes games, free crafts, and stories being read every hour. I also have it on good authority that The Cat in the Hat himself, along with Thing One and Thing Two will be there as well.
Both events take place February 26th from 11:00-3:00pm.
Location: 5480 S 900 E, Salt Lake City
Phone number: 801-268-2224
**There is also a printable coupon on their website for buy one get one 50% off. Offer valid 2/26 - 2/27/2011.
1. 'Make Your Own Storybook!'
This weeks craft is 'make your own storybook'. You can make an accordion style book with all sorts of fun colorful materials and put your own story inside.
2. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR. SEUSS!!
To celebrate the upcoming birthday of Dr. Seuss, Lakeshore Learning is putting on quite an event. It includes games, free crafts, and stories being read every hour. I also have it on good authority that The Cat in the Hat himself, along with Thing One and Thing Two will be there as well.
Both events take place February 26th from 11:00-3:00pm.
Location: 5480 S 900 E, Salt Lake City
Phone number: 801-268-2224
**There is also a printable coupon on their website for buy one get one 50% off. Offer valid 2/26 - 2/27/2011.
Free Event with Tracy Aviary!!
Tracy Aviary is sponsoring a free event titled "A Trip to the Tropics!"
Date: February 26th, 2011
Time: 1:00 - 3:00pm
Location: Le Jardin at The Rose Shop
10600 South 1910 East Sandy
If you have never been to Le Jardin I must tell you it is BEAUTIFUL! It is like a giant greenhouse full of the most beautiful trees and flowers you have ever seen. There are all sorts of rock pathways leading around the greenhouse with areas to sit and relax. (The paths aren't huge so I doubt double strollers would get around easily).
Tracy Aviary will be bringing all sorts of amazing tropical birds and owls for your viewing pleasure inside the greenhouse! Activities for the family include: "face painting, bird crafts, and LIVE BIRDS."
This looks like a really neat event. At the very least a nice warm place to play!
Date: February 26th, 2011
Time: 1:00 - 3:00pm
Location: Le Jardin at The Rose Shop
10600 South 1910 East Sandy
If you have never been to Le Jardin I must tell you it is BEAUTIFUL! It is like a giant greenhouse full of the most beautiful trees and flowers you have ever seen. There are all sorts of rock pathways leading around the greenhouse with areas to sit and relax. (The paths aren't huge so I doubt double strollers would get around easily).
Tracy Aviary will be bringing all sorts of amazing tropical birds and owls for your viewing pleasure inside the greenhouse! Activities for the family include: "face painting, bird crafts, and LIVE BIRDS."
This looks like a really neat event. At the very least a nice warm place to play!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Want to learn how to ski or snowboard on a budget??
Then StartNow Park City is the way to go. For $25 a session (up to 5 sessions) you will receive rentals, lift pass, and lessons. I don't know about you but I have never heard a deal this good, particularly in Park City. Frankly, I'm considering lying and saying I've never snowboarded before. Of course if you had ever seen me snowboard you would already assume that...
Anyway, check out their website at: http://startnow.parkcitymountain.com/site/program-details
and take advantage of this awesome deal!
There are some restrictions and blackout dates so be sure to read over the rules and restrictions before heading up there. This deal is for ages 6 and up.
Anyway, check out their website at: http://startnow.parkcitymountain.com/site/program-details
and take advantage of this awesome deal!
There are some restrictions and blackout dates so be sure to read over the rules and restrictions before heading up there. This deal is for ages 6 and up.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Lakeshore Learning
If you've never heard of Lakeshore Learning, I recommend giving it a look. It is located at the Oakwood Village Shopping Center at:
5480 South 900 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84117
801-268-2224
Their website is www.lakeshorelearning.com and is FULL of great resources. Under their 'FREE resources' tab you can download writing exercises, create your own word searches (think extra exercises for words your kids may be struggling with), flash cards (could be math or language), crafts, activities, etc. There is too much stuff to mention! Because it is a resource for teachers, you get all of the best age appropriate items around.
They sell everything from furniture to bikes and puzzles to language tools. I easily get swallowed up in everything this website offers. One of my favorite things to get the boys is books on CD. We listen to them as we run errands. This helps cut down in the restlessness that always occurs when we are in the car. I was excited to see the variety offered here. (They can be surprisingly hard to find)
Another perk? Every Saturday from 11:00 - 3:00pm they offer FREE crafts for kids. They list on the website which craft they are doing so you can pick the ones you want. (Thanks, Jess for the tip!)
If you sign up for the mailing list they will send out notices on sales and coupons.
Check it out!!
5480 South 900 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84117
801-268-2224
Their website is www.lakeshorelearning.com and is FULL of great resources. Under their 'FREE resources' tab you can download writing exercises, create your own word searches (think extra exercises for words your kids may be struggling with), flash cards (could be math or language), crafts, activities, etc. There is too much stuff to mention! Because it is a resource for teachers, you get all of the best age appropriate items around.
They sell everything from furniture to bikes and puzzles to language tools. I easily get swallowed up in everything this website offers. One of my favorite things to get the boys is books on CD. We listen to them as we run errands. This helps cut down in the restlessness that always occurs when we are in the car. I was excited to see the variety offered here. (They can be surprisingly hard to find)
Another perk? Every Saturday from 11:00 - 3:00pm they offer FREE crafts for kids. They list on the website which craft they are doing so you can pick the ones you want. (Thanks, Jess for the tip!)
If you sign up for the mailing list they will send out notices on sales and coupons.
Check it out!!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Activity Bags
If you haven't done activity bags now is the time to do it!
Activity bags are "self-guided activities that a preschooler can do by himself with little to no help." Each activity is kept in its own 1 gallon size zipper bag with an average cost of $1 to create. These activities are a simple and fun way to kept your kids entertained. I have used these when I needed to make dinner, work on the computer, or keep the variety up when the kids are going crazy from being inside all day.
Activity bags books can be found at www.activitybags.com. You can either download the books for $15.00 or purchase and have them mailed from $21.00 - and up. There are Preschool Activities, Science Experiments, Reading Games, Travel Activities (who has never needed those?!?), Math Games, Daily Activity Journal, and a Coordinator Handbook.
If you don't want to take on the cost yourself, the website recommends setting up a swap. Basically a bunch of people split up the activities. For example, you get a group of 10 moms ready to go. Each mom takes 1 to 2 activities and creates 10 bags of each of those activities. Then you get together and swap, so each mom goes home with a bag for each activity that was created.
I can't even begin to tell you how much I love these things. I downloaded the book and emailed it to Kinko's. They printed all the pages they could by copyright law (which was pretty much all of it minus a couple pages I wouldn't have printed anyway) and put them in a binder for me. I then headed to Micheal's with my weekly Sunday coupons and stocked up on supplies. They are perfect for my 3 yr old and I can usually tweak them a bit so my 1 yr old can participate as well.
So, check them out. Tell me what you think. Enjoy!
Activity bags are "self-guided activities that a preschooler can do by himself with little to no help." Each activity is kept in its own 1 gallon size zipper bag with an average cost of $1 to create. These activities are a simple and fun way to kept your kids entertained. I have used these when I needed to make dinner, work on the computer, or keep the variety up when the kids are going crazy from being inside all day.
Activity bags books can be found at www.activitybags.com. You can either download the books for $15.00 or purchase and have them mailed from $21.00 - and up. There are Preschool Activities, Science Experiments, Reading Games, Travel Activities (who has never needed those?!?), Math Games, Daily Activity Journal, and a Coordinator Handbook.
If you don't want to take on the cost yourself, the website recommends setting up a swap. Basically a bunch of people split up the activities. For example, you get a group of 10 moms ready to go. Each mom takes 1 to 2 activities and creates 10 bags of each of those activities. Then you get together and swap, so each mom goes home with a bag for each activity that was created.
I can't even begin to tell you how much I love these things. I downloaded the book and emailed it to Kinko's. They printed all the pages they could by copyright law (which was pretty much all of it minus a couple pages I wouldn't have printed anyway) and put them in a binder for me. I then headed to Micheal's with my weekly Sunday coupons and stocked up on supplies. They are perfect for my 3 yr old and I can usually tweak them a bit so my 1 yr old can participate as well.
So, check them out. Tell me what you think. Enjoy!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Libraries
These are the libraries in Salt Lake County:
The hours at these locations are all the same:
Monday-Thursday ------- 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday ------- 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
The hours at these locations are all the same:
Monday-Thursday ------- 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday ------- 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
| ALTA READING ROOM | Alta Community Center, Alta, UT 84092 | |
| BINGHAM CREEK LIBRARY | 4834 West 9000 South, West Jordan, UT 84081 | |
| COLUMBUS LIBRARY | 2530 South 500 East, South Salt Lake City, UT 84106 | |
| DRAPER LIBRARY | 1136 East Pioneer Rd (12400 S), Draper, UT 84020 | |
| EAST MILLCREEK LIBRARY | Under Construction | |
| HERRIMAN LIBRARY | 5380 West Herriman Main Street, Herriman, Utah 84096 | |
| HOLLADAY LIBRARY | 2150 East Murray-Holladay Rd. (4730 South), Holladay, UT 84117 | |
| HUNTER LIBRARY | 4740 West 4100 South, West Valley City, UT 84120 | |
| KEARNS LIBRARY | 5350 South 4220 West, Kearns, UT 84118 | |
| MAGNA LIBRARY | 8339 West 3500 South, Magna, UT 84044 | |
| RIVERTON LIBRARY | 12877 South 1830 West, Riverton, UT 84065 | |
| SANDY LIBRARY | 10100 South Petunia Way (1405 East), Sandy, UT 84092 | |
| (CALVIN S.) SMITH LIBRARY | 810 East 3300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84106 | |
| SOUTH JORDAN LIBRARY | 10673 South Redwood Road, South Jordan UT 84095 | |
| TAYLORSVILLE LIBRARY | 4870 South 2700 West, Taylorsville, UT 84118 | |
| (RUTH VINE) TYLER LIBRARY | 8041 S. Wood Street(55 W), Midvale, UT 84047 | |
| WEST JORDAN LIBRARY | 1970 West 7800 South, West Jordan, UT 84084 | |
| WEST VALLEY LIBRARY | 2880 West 3650 South, West Valley City, UT 84119 | |
| WHITMORE LIBRARY | 2197 East Fort Union Boulevard, Salt Lake City, UT 84121 |
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Welcome to Mama's Picks!
Welcome to my blog. The purpose of this blog is to be a resource to moms for finding kid friendly activities, good schools, fun entertainment, etc in your area. I will be starting with the areas I know best and then branching out from there. I hope to cover the entire state of Utah as quickly as possible. I will add my own rating to each location and, if I can figure it out, a place where you can rate your experience as well. As this site grows, I would also like to add an area for pediatrician, dentist, and other medical recomendations. I don't know about all of you, but I have always put a huge stock in personal recommendations and have yet to be disappointed. So, if you have any recommendations I'd love to hear them! Let's get started!!
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