Ingredients:

• Graham Crackers
• Melted butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Chocolate Candy Bar
• Marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Crush graham crackers into crumbs and add to a mixing bowl.
3. Mix graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and melted butter.
4. Divide the crumb mixture into greased muffin pan cups.
5. Press to form the cups.
6. Bake the cracker mixture for 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and place chocolate candy into each cup.
8. Place halved marshmallow on top of the chocolate candy in each cup.
9. Bake for 4 minutes or until marshmallows are softened. For a toasty marshmallow, set the oven to broil for 2 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and cool before removing from the muffin pan.

Did you know that August 10th is National S’mores Day? What other creative variations of S’mores can you come up with? 

Be sure to follow along to see what the next recipe will be.

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Things to Do Before a Road Trip with Your Pet: 

• Plan your stops: If possible, map out your route to include pet friendly stops for potty breaks. Planning ahead for overnight stays is recommended as well since all hotels don’t accept pets. Keep in mind hotels may charge an additional fee for pets so you may need to budget a little extra money.
• Pack a pet travel bag: Pack a bag that includes all the essentials (leash, feeding/water bowls, toys, treats and poop bags). 
• Immunizations: Make sure your pet is up to date on all shots prior to leaving your duty station. If the need arises to board your pet, you may be required to show proof of vaccination.
• Prepare your vehicle: If you don’t already have one, it’s highly recommended to purchase a seat cover or large blanket to protect your car seats. Be sure to lock your windows and doors to avoid any issues while driving.
• Pet Identification: Ensure your pets contact information is up to date on their collar/tag just in case they get loose or wander off. 

Road trips can be so much fun. Plan a few stops to take in the sights and create memories along the way. This also gives everyone a chance to stretch their legs and get some fresh air. Did you know that some pets can experience motion sickness? 

Follow these tips for a stress free and exciting adventure. Can you think of any other ideas?

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Mini Pies

Ingredients

• Pillsbury Funfetti® Frosting 
• Keebler Ready Crust Mini Graham Cracker Crusts
• Cool Whip

Directions

1. Combine the frosting and cool whip in a mixing bowl.
2. Fold in the cool whip and mix until frosting is light and airy.
3. Spoon frosting into graham cracker crusts and top with sprinkles.

Enjoy the warm weather this season. Get outside and hike, bike or maybe even start a garden. While you are indoors, hop into the kitchen and make this delicious treat that the whole family will just love.

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If you’re planning a February escape, these three destinations deliver romance, culture, and unforgettable memories, many of them completely free.

Puerto Rico: Tropical, Adventurous, and Passport-Free

Puerto Rico is an ideal February destination for military couples who want warmth and adventure without the stress of international travel. While there, my husband and I explored El Yunque National Forest, ATV’d through the rainforest, and swam in the cool natural waters. It was one of those experiences that pulls you fully into the moment and reminds you how good it feels to step outside of routine. In Old San Juan, we shopped, walked cobblestone streets, and studied the historic culture and architecture that tell stories of resilience and history. February weather is sunny and comfortable, flights are often affordable, and no passport is required, making this destination especially military friendly.

New York City: Cold Weather, Cozy Love, and Free Experiences

We traveled to New York in February, and it quickly became one of our favorite trips. Winter slows the city down and makes it feel intimate. We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, grabbed classic hot dogs, and walked through Central Park bundled up together. We rode bicycles over the Brooklyn Bridge, explored DUMBO for dope photos, and admired the stunning architecture inside Grand Central Terminal. So many of the best moments were completely free. February hotel rates and flights are often lower, making this a surprisingly affordable anniversary or Valentine’s trip.

New Orleans: Romance, Culture, and Mardi Gras Magic

February in New Orleans is electric. Mardi Gras season brings music, color, and celebration, and you don’t have to spend much to enjoy it. Couples can walk the French Quarter, listen to live street jazz, explore historic neighborhoods, and admire the architecture around Jackson Square. Parades, people-watching, and spontaneous moments fill the days, while boutique hotels and local food spots help keep costs reasonable. New Orleans proves that romance doesn’t have to be quiet. It can be joyful, cultural, and full of soul.

These destinations make sense for military life because they offer:

• Easy Logistics – Straightforward travel and minimal planning stress when leave days are limited.
• Flexible Budgets – Options for modest hotels, short stays, and flights that don’t require premium pricing to feel special.
• Plenty of Free or Low-Cost Experiences – Museums, architecture, parks, parades, culture, and nature are where the best moments don’t come with a price tag.
• Memories That Feel Intentional, Not Rushed – Space to slow down, reconnect, and be present together instead of chasing expensive activities.

Military couples understand that love is built in the moments in between. Leave days, quiet walks, and shared adventures. Sometimes love looks like rainforest trails and natural waters, sometimes it’s snowy city streets and warm food, and sometimes it’s music in the air and beads flying past. Wherever February takes you, choose the place that lets you pause, reconnect, and celebrate choosing each other again.

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As the temperatures start to drop and it starts to actually feel like fall, what better way to ring in the “ber” months than some delicious hot chocolate. I always like to add some flair to the basics so when I stumbled on the idea of doing a green hot chocolate, I knew that I could use this for all the upcoming holidays! If you’re like me and like to add a little fun to your get togethers this hot chocolate is for you as well!

Supplies:

• Crock-pot

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2 cups of Whole Milk
• 12 oz of White Chocolate Chips
• 14 oz of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 Splash of Vanilla
• Green and Yellow Food Coloring

Directions:

1. Add milk, whipping cream, chocolate chips, and vanilla to crockpot.
2. Stir.
3. Set the crockpot for 2-3 hours on low setting.
4. Stir every 30 minutes until the chocolate chips are melted.
5. Add green and yellow food coloring a little at a time until desired effect is reached!
6. Add toppings.
7. Keep on warm setting, serve, and enjoy!

Notes:

• There are so many fun variations for this recipe. I made it for Halloween, Christmas, and even St. Patricks day.
• There’s a lot of ways to customize this with fun toppings, candy, and sprinkle options!
• The options are endless with this one.
• You could also change the coloring to match whatever “theme” you’re going with!
• The flavor is really good, but very rich. I would definitely stick with whole milk or 2% milk, because it helps bring out the full flavor. You can also double the recipe if serving a lot of people.
• I’m also a big fan of adding in homemade whipped cream as a topping for this one.

So stop by your local Commissary and grab the ingredients for your next holiday party!

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As we all gear up to send our kiddos back to school, what better way to celebrate than a twist on a beloved classic! I always love looking for fun breakfast ideas for my kids and this one for sure hit the mark! So, grab your favorite pie crust and come along while we make our own version of the beloved toaster pastry!

Supplies:

• Parchment Paper
• Baking Sheet
• Sprinkles
• Rolling Pin/Glass

Ingredients:

• 2 Pie Crusts
• Strawberry Preserves
• 1 Egg
• Sprinkles of your choice
• 2 cups of Zero Calorie Powdered Sugar Substitute
• 3 Tbsp Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Natural Food Coloring (Optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grab your parchment paper and roll out both of the pie crusts and cut into a rectangle. Place the bottom crust on your baking sheet.
3. Whisk an egg with 2 TBS of water. Brush on the outside edges of the pie crust.
4. Spread strawberry preserves on the bottom of the crust. Ensure you leave about an inch on all sides.
5. Cover the first pie crust with the second pie crust. Push down the edges with a fork. Also, poke the top of the pastry to allow air to escape while baking.
6. Brush with remaining egg white mixture.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.
8. Cool and make icing.
9. Combine 2 cups of powdered sugar substitute with 3 TBS of milk.
10. Add vanilla extract and Food Coloring (optional). Mix until smooth and well combined.
11. Pour over cooled pastry.
12. Add sprinkles!
13. Cut and enjoy!

Notes:

• You can use any kind of filling that you please! This would be fun to customize with different flavors of jams or preserves. You can also use Nutella or nut butters!
• I am currently in my PCS era so I used a glass/heavy metal tumbler to roll out the pie crust.
• My kids requested pink icing so I chose to use dye free food coloring to jazz the pastry up!
• You can also use regular powdered sugar if you don’t prefer the taste of the sugar free substitutes!

My kids had a blast with this recipe and I can’t wait to try it again with different flavors! This is a great way to close out summer with a back to school celebration or would make an amazing birthday breakfast for your breakfast pastry lover! Add some candles for extra fun! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did and have a lot of fun finding the perfect flavor combination!

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Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a small baking tray with parchment paper.
3. Thaw frozen meatballs.
4. Slice the rolls horizontally and separating the buns from each other, but them close together.
5. Put the bottom buns on the prepared baking sheet
6. Spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce on top.
7. Place the meatballs on top of the sauce, so that each roll will have its own meatball or two (depending on size).
8. Pour the remaining sauce over the meatballs.
9. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the meatballs.
10. Place the top rolls on top the cheese.
11. Bake for approximately 15 mins. until the cheese melts and the topping turns golden brown.
12. Carefully remove individual sliders to plate.
13. Serve.

Notes:

• While the original recipe is great, we like to flavor it up a bit!
  • Combine melted butter and garlic salt.
  • Brush over the sliders.
  • Sprinkle additional cheese on top before baking.

These sliders are super simple, but so yummy! Our family loves this delicious recipe and hopefully yours will too!

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I used ramekins to hold the bubble solution. Mix a squirt of paint in each one and stir it up. You can always add more solution if you find it’s not “bubbly” enough.

Supplies:

• Tempera Paint
• Bubbles

Directions:

• Mix some paint with bubble solution in a small container.
• Carefully dip the bubble blower into the solution.
• Get close to the paper and blow until the bubble pops on the paper.
• Have fun & get creative with your masterpiece!

Notes:

• We practiced a little bit on the paper to get a feel for them. The bubbles are messy and drippy, but I think it adds to the painting. Why I let my kids talk me into using black, I’ll never know. You’ll see why in the photos.

• Since the paint weighs down the bubble solution, you can’t just blow bubbles and let them float down and pop on the canvas. We had to get pretty close to the surface and gently blow our bubbles.

• The boys really got into it. They made such funky designs!

• Our almost splatter-proof surface. It all comes out in the wash though and the memories are worth it!

• I turned my back on the 5 year old for a minute and he went crazy with the black bubble paint! He LOVES bubbles and the fact that he could paint with them made him really happy. That made me happy! Of course his painting took FOREVER to dry, since there was so much solution on it. He loves it though!

• As you can see, the bubbles pop everywhere! A couple wet wipes later and we were good to go.

Such a fun summer craft! I hope you try it out with your kiddos!

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Before the unexpected road closure, they had planned on taking an RV up the California coastline in this area and camp out at various State Parks. It was too late to make new plans and reservations, but not wanting to disappoint his kids, the dad decided they would simply take the family vacation at home instead.

Turns out it wasn’t so bad after all! They all camped out in the backyard and still had a wonderful time. They never set foot in their house for the entire week and still enjoyed most of the activities that they had originally planned, sleeping under the stars, building a roaring campfire at night, roasting weenies, making s’mores and cooking outdoors. He even brought in some sand and seashells to simulate the beach environment!

One of the reasons that his plan worked was because they all pretended they were not actually at home, and since they lived on rural property, they parked their trailer far from the house.

For your “staycation” to really seem like time off, be sure to:

• Turn off the devices…NO smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and computers
• Put away chores like laundry and housekeeping for the time being
• Cook outdoors and prepare meals in advance
• Do things you would normally do on a vacation like reading and playing board games

Add to the Atmosphere:

• If you’re staying indoors, make things a little more interesting by building a blanket fort, sleeping on the living room floor or using the fireplace for some extra ambiance.
• If you’ll be camping out in the backyard and you don’t have much in the way of equipment, see if you can borrow some from a friend or family member or check with your local MWR for rental supplies.
• Be sure to have some comfortable leisure items like an oversized umbrella, perhaps a hammock, some lawn chairs and patio furniture.

Look for Special Discounts:

• If you will be shelling out some dough on summer toys or other outdoor equipment, look for discounts wherever you can find them.
• Home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes can often be a source for significant savings on seasonal and outdoor decor.
• Think outside the box!
• Remember, if you’re in the military or a veteran, there are lots of stores that offer extra savings and coupons for those who serve our country.

Plan Activities:

• Anyone who has kids knows these two familiar words all too well …“I’m bored!”
• Be sure to plan plenty of activities for your downtime, things like:
  • Hide-and-go-seek
  • Flashlight tag
  • Board games and playing cards
  • Coloring books, puzzles, crossword puzzles, sudoku, and word searches
  • A scavenger hunt
  • Cloud watching
  • Stargazing to identify constellations
  • Rounds of singing and stories told around the campfire

Even though we’re putting our technology down for the time being, you could still have a fun-filled movie night. Watch old favorites or view a new release that everyone’s been dying to see. For a travel feel, think about titles like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, where the main character is thrust into an around the world journey. Be sure everyone in the family has an opportunity to pick out their own movie selection and take time for reviews and comments afterwards. Don’t forget the popcorn and snacks!

Thank you to our guest blogger Hilary Smith for this awesome blog!

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Ingredients:

• Chicken
• Baby Potatoes
• Spice Mix
  • Smoked Paprika
  • Garlic
  • Onion Powder
  • Salt
  • Pepper
• Olive Oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Make a spice mix from the smoked paprika, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Rub the chicken with olive oil and the spice mix.
• Put the potatoes on a pan and drizzle with olive oil.
• Place the chicken on the pan.
• Bake for an hour or until the internal temp of the thickest part of the breasts are at least 165 degrees.
• Remove from oven and let items rest for 10 minutes.
• Serve & Enjoy!

Notes:

• I love a good one pan meal and this is no exception.
• You can use whatever spices you want to create your spice mix.

Now that we have everything plated up, I let the boys in on a little secret…we are going to eat with our hands! They totally flipped and I may have just become the coolest mom ever!! As a reminder…make sure you have LOTS of napkins ready to go! You are going to need them!

Next up, I made a delicious spiced wine for the adults. This is super easy to make and a tasty adult beverage to SPICE the fun fare up a bit!

Ingredients:

• Red Wine
• 2 Cups Pomegranate Juice
• Orange Zest
• Sliced Oranges
• Knob of Ginger
• Cinnamon Stick
• 1/4 – 1/2 Cup Sugar (optional to taste)

Directions:

• In a large stockpot, combine all ingredients.
• Simmer the spiced wine for 30+ mins.
• Pour into your favorite wine glass.
• Enjoy!

Notes:

• You can let this simmer all day as it smells amazing!!!
• I LOVE my Rachel Ray stockpot and I know you will too!

We had a blast eating dinner with our hands and laughing our heads off while going through a TON of napkins. Maybe next time we’ll add some good old fashioned jousting after dinner. So, to all me Lords and me Ladies, we hope you will all enjoy this savory fare with your family and friends!

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