The Sewing Mom

I have to be honest, this is a total plug for my sister’s Etsy shop Kreated by Karen!

She didn’t ask me to do this, but she is my sister and has worked very hard to create some beautiful purses and tote bags. She has also been kind enough to place a couple of my own bags in her shop, including this one which is a craft tote bag, long enough to carry a full set of knitting needles, or anything else you could think of!

Be sure to visit her shop for great bags!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

Can you believe it? Christmas is this Friday! Hard to believe, but I think I’m ready! All the gifts are wrapped, temporarily hidden and will be placed under the tree late Christmas Eve. Tomorrow I will be heading to the grocery to purchase our food for Christmas day dinner plus all the makings for our homemade cookies. Christmas Eve is set aside for all our cookie making activity and we hope to go out to a nice dinner that evening. Christmas day is set aside for enjoying each others company from the moment we get up to open gifts until we go to bed in the evening. The only “work” I will do that day is cook dinner.

I know that many people head back out to the stores the day after Christmas, but I really don’t care for the crowds. I’m thinking it would be fabulous to take advantage of one of the great offers at Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing in Branson, Missouri following our Christmas celebration. It would be an excellent way to continue to celebrate being together as a family. We could take advantage of the “It’s a Wonderful Life” package being offered through the end of December. It includes a full breakfast for 2 and a spa treatment for 2! I’d let me husband and daughter do breakfast, and my daughter and I could take advantage of the spa treatment! We’d all be happy!

If I didn’t have to work New Year’s Day, I’d seriously consider the New Years With Style package at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. It includes a deluxe room, a five course meal including a champagne toast, party favors and, my favorite part, a Bloody Mary brunch on New Years day!

I’ve never been to Missouri in the winter, but with all the snow around the country lately, if Branson got any of the white stuff, I’m sure it would be so beautiful. Both of these Hilton hotels are so conveniently located to all the shopping and restaurants at The Landing, that even if there’s snow on the ground, there’s plenty to do! My daughter’s out of school, my husband has a number of days off and so do I, so I’m thinking this would be the perfect place to spend some quality time together!

What are doing doing the week following Christmas?

As promised, I am announcing 2 winners of the eBooks from www.youcanmakethis.com.

I used random.org to get the winners and used comments I received on the original Holiday Gift Giving Giveaway post as well as comments from the reminder post, Giveaway Reminder- Win an eBook for a total of 6 qualifying comments.

The winners are (drum roll please)……

Stacie at Super Mommy to the Rescue

and

Grace, while not a blogger, she is definitely a fellow sewer and quilter who I know will enjoy her new eBook!

Ladies, I will be forwarding your emails and names to YouCanMakeThis.com so they can award you your prizes!

Just a reminder to enter my giveaway! There will be 2 lucky winners announced on Saturday so don’t hesitate to to leave a comment here telling me your favorite handmade gift that you’ve ever received or given.

The prize is a free eBook download filled with wonderful tips, ideas and instructions from www.youcanmakethis.com

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of HealthyTuna.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

My cupboards are just about empty and I haven’t had the energy to go grocery shopping. So, I’m making use of what I have by looking for ingredients in my pantry. I found a couple of cans of tuna fish and some pasta, so, tonight we’re having tuna casserole for dinner!

I tried a number of tuna casserole recipes before coming across this one in a cookbook my sister had given me years ago. The reason I tried so many was that I couldn’t seem to find a recipe that included tuna that my daughter would eat. They were either too dry or too mushy, too spicy or too bland. This one is so simple and yet, so tasty. I always seem to have the ingredients I need on hand and it doesn’t take long to make, even more reason to like it!

Now, if you’re pregnant, you may be concerned about eating tuna, but, according to ongoing research and studies, eating an average of just 2 ounces of fish per day while pregnant, can actually increase developmental scores in infants and young children. Of course, pregnant women should stay away from those fish known to have high mercury levels such as shark, mackerel, swordfish and tilefish. The FDA has actually recommended that women of childbearing age and pregnant women can safely eat up to 12 ounces of healthy tuna and other low level mercury fish like salmon and shrimp per week. Good news for all us moms who enjoy a good tuna casserole, pregnant or not!

So, here is my tuna casserole recipe, hope you enjoy it!

4 oz. uncooked macaroni noodles
3 oz. cream cheese (I use light cream cheese for fewer calories)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tuna (I use tuna in water)
1 tsp. finely chopped onion
1 tsp. yellow mustard
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
2 T melted butter

Use a mixer to blend cream cheese and soup together. Combine with remaining ingredients in a small casserole dish except for bread crumbs and butter. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle on top. Bake for 50 minutes at 375 F.