12 Apple Inspired Dinners

It is time to head to the orchard and harvest plenty of
beautiful apples! I will,of course, make apple crisps, pies, and even applesauce, but this year, my mind is going to dinner inspiration instead of just desserts!

I found 12 awesome apple inspired dinners that I will certainly be making after my trips to the orchard! From slaws to salads and so many other dishes that there has to be something on this list for everyone!

Why not add an apple to dinner? You know what they say about keeping the doctor away and all!



Which of these recipes will you try first? The apple chicken salad sounds perfect for a picnic dinner amidst the crunchy leaves. If you have a recipe that puts apples in your dinner I would love to hear about it!

Grilled Chicken: 10 Delicious Ways

Fall might be here, but in my mind, that makes it the ideal time of year to fire up the grill! There is something special about gathering outdoors on a crisp evening and chowing down on some grilled chicken that I can't resist!

If you feel the same way about fall grilling you won't want to miss these 10 recipes! Of course, you could always bookmark or pin this recipe for future reference when the weather better suits you for grilling!





Which of these grilled chicken recipes do you think you will make first? I think the Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken sounds pretty fantastic! If you have a grilled chicken recipe that you often go to when you need an awesome dinner, I would love to hear about it!

Jalapeno Popper Spread

Creamy and spreadable, this Jalapeno Popper Spread recipe comes together easily, adds the perfect touch of heat to the cool creaminess of the cheese and best of all... it has bacon in it!



You guys, there are some things in this life that are made for one reason only, to enjoy. On my list of things one is meant to enjoy, no arguments you will find cream cheese, jalapeno peppers, and bacon, as well as the good stuff like puppy breath, the softness of tissues and a luxury pillows.




If there are things meant to enjoy in life, is it wrong to want to enjoy them at the same time? Is it crazy to snuggle a puppy chilling on a luxury pillow with a soft tissue at your disposal? Nah... not crazy, unless you mean crazy awesome. So, why not take a few favorite foods and combine them into one awesome spread to serve at your next party?


This is so easy and yummy that you might want to make a double batch if you are tailgating. It will go fast!
You can serve it with a nice bread, any kind of crackers, or if you thin it down a little, you could use this as a dip!

Ingredients
2 Jalapeno Peppers
6 ounces of softened cream cheese
4 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
4 ounces of real bacon bits

Remove the seeds from your peppers and chop them.



Add to the cream cheese.
Add shredded cheese.



Add bacon.
Mix well, with a fork until well blended.



Serve with crackers or on bread. This also makes a delicious addition to just about any sandwich you might make!


Shiny Happy Pumpkin Craft

I know it is early into the month of September. I get it, it is still summer technically, but you guys... I can't resist making some awesome pumpkin crafts with my kids!

Today, we were ready to jump into the fall theme of things, so we surveyed our craft supplies and made these Shiny Happy Pumpkins! My almost 3 year old loved these large sequins and thought they were beautiful! I have to admit, this is the shiniest fall craft we have ever made, they do look happy too!!



To make a shiny happy pumpkin you will need:
A Paper Plate
White School Glue
Black Construction Paper
Scissors
Large Sequins in Brown, Burgundy and Orange



Apply glue to the paper plate, be generous!


Start filling in the plate with the large sequins. This is a great fine motor activity for kids of all ages! The sequins stick together and working them apart is great for little fingers!



As you fill in your plate, cut eyes and a mouth for your shiny happy pumpkin. With glue apply the facial features to the sequined plate.



And there you have a Shiny Happy Pumpkin!


Easy Angry Bird's Pig Paper Craft

My little boy is in school all day now. This has been an odd adjustment, let me tell you. Considering we spent basically every moment together until school started this year has been nothing short of horrible for me. I sobbed like someone told me we would never see each other again, he belongs to school now....

On the first full day of school, I was feeling pretty terrible. I missed Rolf. I felt like I let his childhood slip past me and I wasted so much time being irritated or upset, or distracted by irrelevant things and those days were gone. Melodramatic? Yes. But, that is how I felt!

So, as I was consumed with missing Rolf that day, Harper and I decided to make something for Rolf to make him smile and pass the time while she waited on her playmate and I waited on my cutie pie.

Rolf is really into Angry Birds, so I knew that this was going to make him smile and Harper had fun playing with her Piggy too!



To make a Paper Pig from Angry Birds you will need:

Scissors
Glue
Green Construction Paper
White Construction Paper
Back Construction Paper






Instructions:
Cut one large circle, One smaller oval, 2 Triangles, One tail from the green construction paper.

Cut 2 small circles, 3 larger circles from the black construction paper.

Cut 2 circles from the white construction paper.

Glue the 2 white circles onto the largest green circle in the place of eyes.

Glue the green oval to the middle of the green circle for the snout.

Glue the 2 larger circles of black onto the snout for nostrils.

Glue the last black circle on for a mouth.

Glue the 2 smallest black circles onto the eyes for pupils.

Add the 2 green triangles for ears.

Add the squiggly tail at the bottom!





And there you have an easy peasy Angry Bird's Pig Paper Craft!