Easy Homemade Pasta Sauce for the Freezer

Hi Everyone! My mom is guest posting today with some tips I gave her on making homemade pasta sauce. Enjoy!

A few years ago my daughter taught me how to make homemade pasta sauce from my extra tomatoes from harvest. Since then, each fall I make a batch and now I am pleased to say, we never waste those precious ripe tomatoes!

First, wash and stem tomatoes. Then, cut in large pieces and place in a large pot. Cook on the stove top with salt until they are soft and falling apart, (approx 2 hours). I add salt, but you could also add Italian seasoning. Cool and freeze. My daughter stores her sauce in quart size zip lock bags so they lay flat in her freezer.

When thawed, squish them in the bag with your hands, then pour in a pot and add seasonings, meat, veggies, and more for a great pasta sauce. You can use it on something yummy like this One Pot Spaghetti.

White Christmas Popcorn Snack Mix

I'm dreaming of some yummy Christmas goodies!! I've been working on freeing up my schedule these next couple weeks because I really don't want this Christmas season to go by too quickly!

About 10 years ago, Jamie's cousin Amy made this delicious popcorn mix and I was hooked right away! I've not made it in all that time so I put some together a couple weeks ago for the kids. It was a hit! I hope you'll try it out too and let me know what you think!

White Christmas Popcorn Snack Mix (or, in our house, Amy's Popcorn)
8 c. popped popcorn
2 c. mini pretzels
1 c. peanuts
1/2 c. dried cranberries
12 oz. white chocolate chips
1 tsp. oil

Mix popcorn, pretzels, peanuts, and cranberries in a large bowl. Melt chocolate chips and oil and stir until smooth. Stir into dry ingredients. Continue stirring every 15-20 for a couple hours until chocolate has completely hardened. This will keep it all broken up for a nice munching mix!

Pink Christmas Favorites

Welcome to Vintage Show & Tell!  Hope you're feeling peaceful and blessed as you prepare to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year!

I've just about got all my Christmas decorations up and am getting ready to work on a couple crafty projects---including a little house scene with a Frozen Charlotte doll in front. I've been having fun with my Pink Christmas things and thought I'd feature some here today.   

I started out, a few years ago, just decorating this one hutch with pink things. Now I've got about half the living room decked out in pink! 

I love this pretty vintage angel tray I found in a shop north of Seattle a few years ago.  I'd love to find some more like it but all the ones I've found so far have been black and gold.

I found this cute little winter girl at a yard sale a few summers ago.  I'm also collecting these vintage tree toppers.  This blue one looks pretty with my tray.

Do you have a unique Christmas style or do you prefer the traditional red and green? I can't wait to see what you've got to share today at Vintage Show & Tell! Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with: These great parties

Celebrate the Season with an Easy Dinner Idea from the Sam's Club Cafe #FamilyPizzaCombo #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FamilyPizzaCombo #CollectiveBias

One of our favorite family Christmas traditions is to go out one night and look at everyone's Christmas lights. There are some gorgeous displays here---some have even been set to music. My favorites, however, are the simple ones put up by a loving husband to brighten up his family home. With our big family, any outing is a big deal that requires some extra planning. I love being able to stop off at the cafe at Sam's Club and grab a couple of Family Pizza Combos. It makes nights like these simpler on me so I don't stress about dinner after our fun night out.

The lights on the Bentonville Square are one of our favorite attractions during this season. A couple weeks ago, we attended the lighting of the square and downtown Christmas tree. Then we watched an ice skating show featuring local talents. It's so great to spend time with our community---the spirit of family, friendship, and love is definitely in the air surrounding the Bentonville Square!

Last Friday night, the teens had a homeschool Christmas party so we stopped off to get photos at the Square and check out the lights display again. It never gets old!

Our family loves this Family Pizza Combo on a busy night. For $13.98, we can pick up a 16 inch pizza, a tray of cheesy breadsticks with marinara, six chocolate chip cookies, and a 2 liter of Coca-Cola. Two combos is enough for all of us and they bake them to order so they're hot and fresh in about 15 minutes.

You can find the Family Pizza Combo at the Sam's Club cafe. This simple, affordable and convenient dinner plan will satisfy your whole family, leaving you lots of time to enjoy celebrating the Christmas season! 

I look forward to the fall and winter holidays every year and it's hard to watch them fly by. The older the kids get, the busier we get and I feel like I'm always rearranging our schedule to try and fit everything in peacefully. One thing that really helps me is to have a few cheats---like my table setting basket.

Throughout the year, I save the extra paper plates, cups, and tablecloths from the kids' birthday parties and pull them out during the holidays to use on busy evenings. I buy a pretty Christmasy set of plates and napkins to keep in the front of the basket and put the non-Christmasy stuff in the back. I start out with everything that is close to looking holiday-themed, but after awhile we find ourselves pulling out the camo plates and polka dot napkins. The Christmasy things stay in front until Christmas day and then we use them for our dessert.

I've always got an extra plastic tablecloth or two so I make sure to include one in the basket. It's amazing how a tablecloth can bring some specialness to a family meal. Assorted plastic tableware is stored inside whatever throwaway cups I have on hand to keep my basket tidy.

I hope this simple idea helps you make some fun family memories with less stress. The holidays are all about celebrating family and friends so let's make it a goal to do it peacefully! It's ok to have a few cheats if the end result is a special time to remember.

Make sure to check out the Family Pizza Combo at Sam's Club and let me know what holiday hacks you use to give your family a less stressed holiday season.

Holiday Decorating Tea Party with Milo's Tea #HolidaysWithMilos #DrinkMilos #Pmedia #ad

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Milo’s Tea, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #HolidaysWithMilos  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Have you finished your Christmas decorating? I found a few bags of bottle brush trees a couple days ago so I've got to arrange those and then I'm done! I love getting my house all fixed up beautiful to enjoy a peaceful holiday season with my family. We've got a lot of decorations so it usually takes a couple days to get it all done. No problem when I've got my favorite Milo's Tea and Grammy's Nut Cookies for fuel. I just pour a glass and have a little holiday tea party while I'm setting things out!

Milo’s Tea Company uses only fresh and natural ingredients, making this tea different from others.  There are no preservatives or additives and it's an excellent beverage to serve at holiday gatherings. Milo’s is available in Sweetened with Pure Cane Sugar, No Calorie and Unsweet varieties.  

You can find Milo's Sweet Tea in the refrigerated drinks section of Walmart near the coffee creamer and juice. You can buy two gallons of Milo's Tea on Rollback for $5, while supplies last. I first tried Milo's almost two years ago in the perfect Southern sweet tea experience. My friend Lana invited me over to hang out on her porch and poured me some delicious Milo's in a canning jar. She served homemade muffins and we sat on the porch and chatted while the kids played in the grass. It was a great introduction to Southern living for this Oregon girl and it's been my favorite bottled sweet tea ever since!

I've really been enjoying getting out all our sweet ornaments and decorations this year. We've been collecting nutcrackers for Lynzie since she was just a baby. She gets a new one every year. This year I gave her the one with the black hair. It reminded me of a guard at Buckingham Palace and since we went to England this past fall I thought it was appropriate. I'm going to have to get Jamie to start buying me some of my own though because my mantel will be empty once she leaves the house with all of these!

I've been adding to my collection of early to mid-century kitschy ornaments for a few years now. This sweet angel is one of my favorites. You can see some of my Tavern and Gurley tree candles in the background. Remember, I talked about them a couple weeks ago when I was showing off my Thanksgiving pairs.

Christmas decorating is always more fun when you've got a sweet treat to munch on. Jamie bought me a cute drink dispenser and a set of canning jar glasses for my birthday so I can recreate my sunny front porch experience even during the cold, cloudy days of winter. Milo's Tea is excellent for  holiday get-togethers too. I can't wait to show off my new dispenser full of Milo's when my guests come over!

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Milo’s Tea, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #HolidaysWithMilos  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Pampered Chef Deals!

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! Wow! I got so busy last night with the awesome Pampered Chef party I held that I forgot to put up my Homemaking Party! So sorry! Hope you're all having a beautiful week so far. If you've not visited my Pampered Chef website in awhile, take a minute to check it out! They've extended the Cyber Monday deal through midnight on Dec. 3rd. You get FREE SHIPPING on $75 orders plus a 2-Cup Prep Bowl set free!

Thanks for linking up to the {Not Just} Homemaking Party!

GIVEAWAY HOP!!! Welcome to the This or That Giveaway Hop! #GivingTuesday #Giving

Holiday prep is in full swing and methinks it's time for a giveaway! This isn't just any ol' giveaway, though. I'm teaming up with over 60 bloggers for the This or That giveaway hop! Special thanks to our hostesses: The Mommy Island, The Kids Did It, and The Review Wire. I love to support fellow entrepreneurs so I'm giving away a $25 gift certificate to Etsy.com. You'll be able to use it at any shop on Etsy for anything your heart desires! Enter to win on the Rafflecopter widget below (may take a moment to load) and then scroll down to visit all the other giveaways! You've got two weeks to make it through the list!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Antique Louisa May Alcott Books & Planning My Winter Reading

Thanks so much for stopping by Vintage Show & Tell! I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays! We had a lovely Thanksgiving and have been enjoying a four day weekend with Daddy home. I love it when my husband gets time off work and we can have fun family time!

Today I'm featuring two of my special treasures: my Louisa May Alcott books that my husband bought for me a few Christmas's ago. The holiday season inspires me to read great Christmas classics and while only a portion of Little Women takes place during Christmas, it's still one of my favorites that I read every other year.

My mother first introduced me to Little Women when I was a little girl and she's been a favorite author since. Imagine my surprise and complete delight when my husband surprised me with these two antique editions of Under the Lilacs and Jo's Boys.

This version of Under the Lilacs was published in 1898 and the edition of Jo's Boys was put out a year later in 1899. I love the pretty flowery designs along the cover and spine. Inside each book, opposite the title page, is an illustration.

Jo's Boys features a sculpted profile of Alcott with her signature and Under the Lilacs has a picture of characters Ben and Sancho from the story.

I love to collect old books and imagine where they may have come from. Inside the cover of Under the Lilacs is a stamp which reads: "Chester Thorn, Agt., The Saturday Evening Post, 24 East Taylor Street, Kokomo Ind." Inside Jo's Boys the following is written in beautiful calligraphic handwriting: "Thula May Faulkners Book, 1901".

Rereading old favorites is a comforting way to spend a winter---I'm really looking forward to revisiting Little Women, Wuthering Heights, A Christmas Carol, Nathaniel Hawthorne's stories, and more. What do you have on your winter reading list? Linking with: These great parties...

Grammy's Snowball Nut Cookies #BakeMagicMoments #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeMagicMoments #CollectiveBias

Our family had such a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend---I hope you did, as well! I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, doing lots of cooking and baking and trying out some really old recipes from my great-grandma's recipe box. I've mentioned before that I was gifted with a large amount of her recipes and cookbooks when she passed away and I've really enjoyed going through them and experimenting with some of her favorites. Grammy's Snowball Nut Cookies are a favorite I make every Christmas season. This year, I used Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets and both the baking and the cleanup were a breeze!

Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets can be found in the grocery paper products section of Walmart. They come in a box of 22 pre-cut parchment paper sheets and are great for simple baking with easy clean up. They're non-stick so cookies are easily removed from the pan without crumbling or breaking. Oven safe up to 420º, they're perfect for all your favorite cookie recipes.

My favorite memories of my Grammy Annabelle involve food. She was the grandma that would fill you to overflowing with junk food---right before your parents put you in the car for the several hours long drive home on winding roads. She loved her sweets and her big meals and I'll always remember her home as being elegant and full of beautiful "don't touch thats". I keep these two photos of her on the mirror of my antique dresser. I sure miss her!

These Snowball Nut Cookies are great melt-in-your-mouth treats that you'll be excited to share with friends. Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets are great for getting those perfect-looking cookies that you want to gift. Cookies bake evenly so they look pretty and they're tasty, too! The thing I really love about this recipe is it contains ingredients that I always have in my cupboards. In fact, many of the recipes I was given are like that. With so many little ones at home, I can't always be running out to the store for specific ingredients so I love having simple ideas for making special treats with the things I already have in my kitchen.

After mixing up the basic ingredients, I roll the dough into balls and bake on a low setting for about 20 minutes. You don't want these to turn brown---just to bake through.

After they're baked and mostly cooled, roll the cookies in powdered sugar. They'll immediately become the lightest, creamiest cookies ever! I line a festive container with a parchment sheet and place them right in. Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets are perfect for lining containers and you can even use your scissors to create a pretty scalloped edge as you're cutting down the paper to fit your container.

Make sure to let me know if you give this recipe a try! I know you'll love it---and your friends will too!

Grammy's Snowball Nut Cookies

1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. chopped nuts
1 c. powdered sugar

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour and salt and blend well. Mix in nuts. Shape into balls and bake 20 minutes at 325º. When cookies are cool, roll in powdered sugar.

How will you use Reynolds Cookie Baking Sheets to make your holiday baking a breeze? Let me know in the comments below!

Spiced Fruit Compote

This delectable compote not only tastes divine---it's gorgeous too! Serve with a simple sweet bread at breakfast or as an after dinner dessert with tea.

About ten years ago, we lived in a very tiny town in Eastern Oregon called Weston. There were a couple of plum trees, as well as an apple tree in our yard, and all the blackberries you could pick just down the street. At the end of the summer, someone gave me a huge bag of walnuts so I began looking for ways I could use them and came across a recipe for fruit compote. I made a TON of jars and gave them as Christmas gifts, as well as stored many in the cold storage room off the side of the house. In all that time, I've never made it again---until this morning.

I'm not sure what possessed me to revive this delectable mixture of sweet fruits and nuts, but I'm sure glad I did! I made some this morning to go on Lynzie's family-famous sweet bread recipe and it was just wonderful! 

 Since I had a lot to do today, I did a quickie method and baked it in the oven instead of cooking it on the stovetop like I used to. Since there wasn't time for the fruit to cook down, I added some apricot jam to give it a better spreading consistency. Wonderful idea---it was great!

Give it a try and let me know what you think! It's great for the holidays---and all year round!

Oven Baked Fruit Compote (serves about 8)

6 apples, cored and diced

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup raisins

1½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water 

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 tsp. each cloves, nutmeg, ginger

1 c. apricot or peach jam

Preheat oven to 450º. Mix all ingredients, except jam, and spread into a greased 13x9 dish. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. Mix in jam and serve over bread, or alone!

Thanks for stopping by The {Not Just} Homemaking Party! Happy Thanksgiving to all my USA friends!

Linking with:
Homemaking Party @ Hope In Every Season

Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 

Wake Up Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers

Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 

Wow Us Wednesdays

Mom's Library (more than books)

IDO3D Art for a Snowy Day Kids' Activity

My kids were pretty excited to see this IDO3D art set show up on the porch today. While it's a new-to-me product, the kids knew what it was and thought they'd accidentally stumbled on a Christmas present! IDO3D is a pen and ink set that allows the user to draw a picture and then cure it to form a 3D object. If your child enjoys creative projects, this might be a good set to try out. 

Begin by drawing or tracing the parts to your object. We started with a simple flower. We drew the main part of the flower, a separate stem, and separate flower pot parts.

We used the IDO3D spotlight to harden the ink. 

Once all the pieces were drawn and hardened, we used spots of ink to stick the pieces together and hardened them to make a 3D shape.

Here's our flower pot. Pretty cute!

IDO3D has been ranked among the top 10 toys. Check it out on Amazon for a unique holiday gift idea or rainy day activity for kids.

Vintage Show & Tell #3: Gurley Thanksgiving Candles

Thanks so much for visiting Vintage Show & Tell! I've moved the party to Mondays because it conflicted with my Homemaking Party and my readers were getting confused about where to link up. I hope this is convenient for you all.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week! This year has been flying by, and I'm determined to slow it down a bit. I'm cancelling school for the rest of the year and pulling out the crafts, sewing, and baking supplies. The Coller family is going to make the most of these last six weeks of 2015!

Earlier this afternoon, I was cleaning out some boxes and came across this set of Gurley pilgrim candles! I found them at a local thrift store this summer and put them aside to sell in my Etsy shop. I forgot all about them---but they were there waiting for me and just in time, too!

I have several vintage Gurley and Tavern candles. I'll show off my Christmas collection of vintage molded candles here in a couple weeks. 

The Gurley Novelty Co. started out in 1939 as part of Franklin Gurley's W&F Manufacturing Co. The Gurley line was first commissioned by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (now ExxonMobil) as a way to reuse the excess paraffin produced as a by-product of the process of refining oil. They were first marketed under the name, Tavern. In 1949, Franklin bought all rights to the Tavern name and changed it to Gurley Novelty Co. The candles sold for .10 to .99 and sold well into the 1970s. Recently, The Vermont Country Store (love them!) bought the molds and are reproducing the candles for sale again. Awesome!

Make sure to grab a NEW BUTTON with the new day on it to spread the word about the link up. I'm excited to see what you've got to share!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.hopeineveryseason.com" rel="nofollow" title="Hope In Every Season"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWMWphOFInEG41fBMoWuQYa84fjkjY9UPIzU1R__Da7UStZLcOVaSq3gHenDd7kZde1_SxA68npGY9eYfDrpoGeAj38m7nIttlQz0aPoGknZXIz7zk-XH_Wn5C6HApFQskB7cbL8aNSk/s320/Vintage+Show+and+Tell+Logo.jpg" alt="Hope In Every Season" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Linking with:
The Art of Homemaking

No Place Like Home

Inspiration Monday @ Your Homebased Mom

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Motivate Me Monday 

Modest Monday @ The Modest Mom 

Living Proverbs 31

Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy 

A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success 

Making Your Home Sing Monday
Make It Pretty Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life

A Return to Loveliness @ A Delightsome Life 
Let's Talk Vintage
Show & Tell
Tuesday Afternoon

Women Helping Women @ Teaching What Is Good 

(Titus 2)s Days @ Time Warp Wife

The Scoop @Stone Gable

Roses of Inspiration @ The Enchanting Rose

Homemaking Party @ Hope In Every Season

Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 

Wake Up Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers

Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 

Wow Us Wednesdays

Mom's Library (more than books)