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Tuesday

Cranberry-Orange Orzo Salad Recipe

Dinner time! Check out this very colorful & healthy side dish just in time for fall. The sweet and tangy cranberry dressing complements the orange in the recipe. This can be a side dish or an alternative meal option for vegetarians!


Cranberry-Orange Orzo Salad Recipe 

Ingredients

4 oz. orzo
1 navel orange (about 7 oz.)
2 tbsp. cranberry sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Pinch chili flakes
4 cups/4 oz. baby arugula
1/4 cup/1 oz. chopped toasted walnuts
1/4 cup/1 oz. dried cranberries
Directions
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, trim top and bottom ends of orange. Stand fruit on one of the cut ends; remove outer peel, following natural curve of fruit to remove bitter white pith. Working over a bowl to catch juices, cut between membranes to release segments; set aside.
  3. Whisk together cranberry sauce, oil, 2 tbsp orange juice (from segments), vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and chili flakes; toss with pasta.
  4. Stir in arugula, orange segments, walnuts and dried cranberries.
Tips:
  • If you don’t have a navel orange, use 2 clementine or mandarin oranges.
  • Substitute pecans, pumpkin seeds or almonds for walnuts.
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 277 calories, 12 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 166 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 13 g sugars, 5 g protein
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Monday

Brussels Sprouts, Dried Cranberries, Caramelized Onion & Sage Penne Pasta Recipe

Fall screams comfort food! So many of us have been waiting for cooler weather to make a batch of our favorite comfort food. Pasta dishes are included in this list. One way to make pasta dishes more for fall is to add in ingredients that go with the season, like cranberries! Embrace the flavors of fall and the up and coming Thanksgiving with our festive penne recipe. It makes a great side dish for Thanksgiving or as the star of the show in a fall weekday dinner or lunch.

Brussels Sprouts, Dried Cranberries, Caramelized Onion & Sage Penne Pasta

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
4 cups/1 lb. sliced onion
2 Tbsp. sliced sage leaves
¼ cup/½ oz. dried cranberries (preferably no sugar added)
4 oz. penne
2 cups/9 oz. Brussels sprouts, halved

Directions:

  1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 TBSP of the oil and all of the onions. Sprinkle with salt.
  2. Slowly cook, stirring from time to time until golden (about 30 minutes). Stir in the sage leaves and cranberries.
  3. While the onions are caramelizing, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the penne according to package directions. Drain and reserve.
  4. Also while the onions are cooking, bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the Brussels sprouts until just softened (about 5 minutes). Drain.
  5. Remove the onion mixture from the pan to a bowl. Heat the same pan over medium high heat. Add the remaining 1 TBSP oil and sauté the Brussels sprouts until browned (about 3 minutes). Stir in the penne and the onion mixture.
  6. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
An exclusive PastaFits.org recipe.

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Wednesday

Get Back To School Ready Tips and To Go Lunch Box Meals!

Back to school time is cray-cray! No matter how much you prepare, things will be crazy in the morning or lunch prep or after school snacking and even at dinner time! Besides food time crazy you are also trying to balance supplies, money, time, schedules and more! Feeling stressed, yet?

Thanks to years of experience and now no longer having little ones to get ready, I can look back and be grateful that we survived all of it! There are so many resources to help you get lunchbox meals planned, meal plans for dinner and even containers to choose from to help you easily do meal prep.

Here are a few recipes from Pasta Fits. You will find a lot of yummy and easy lunch recipes your family will LOVE! I'm also sharing some of my favorite links where I go to for easy meals and meal plans! You can do this!


ABC (Apple, Broccoli, Cheddar) Alphabet Pasta Salad

With all the flavors that kids love, this simple salad is definitely a lunch and
dinner lifesaver.

Makes: 6 servings
Categories: Kid Friendly, Vegetarian
Type of Dish: Lunch, Dinner
Total Time (Prep + Cook): 20 minutes
Season: Any Season

Ingredients:
4 oz alphabet pasta
4 cups small broccoli florets
1/4 cup light ranch dressing
1 apple, cored and diced
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat mild Cheddar cheese
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

Directions:
1. In large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package
directions, adding broccoli in the last 3 minutes of cooking. Rinse with
cold water; drain.
2. Toss together pasta, broccoli and dressing. Stir in apple, Cheddar and
chives.
Tip: Add chopped almonds and raisins for added texture.

Nutrition Facts
Per 1/6 recipe
Calories 150
Fat 4g
Saturated Fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 10mg
Sodium 210mg
Carbohydrate 23g
Fiber 3g
Sugars 5g
Protein 6g
Meets Pasta Fits nutrition guidelines.


Power Crunch Pasta Salad

Makes: 6 servings
Categories: Kid Friendly, Vegetarian
Type of Dish: Lunch, Dinner
Total Time (Prep + Cook): 20 minutes
Season: Any Season

Ingredients:
8 oz whole wheat penne
2 cups/1 1/4 oz. shredded kale, ribs removed
2 cups/4 oz. thinly sliced red cabbage
1 red apple, cored and finely sliced
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup/1 oz. dried cranberries
1/4 cup/1 oz. natural sliced almonds
2 tbsp. pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp. chia seeds

Creamy Yogurt-Herb Dressing:
1/2 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Cook penne according to package directions. Rinse in cold water
and drain.
2. Toss together pasta, kale, cabbage, apple, carrot and
cranberries.
3. Creamy Yogurt-Herb Dressing: Whisk together yogurt, olive oil,
parsley, chives, vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper.
4. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well to coat. Sprinkle
almonds, pumpkin seeds and chia seeds over salad before
serving.
Tips:
Add crumbled goat cheese if desired.
For added protein, add tofu, cooked shredded chicken or tuna.

Nutrition Facts
Per 1/8 recipe
Calories 250
Fat 9g
Saturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 115mg
Carbohydrate 34g
Fiber 5g
Sugars 8g
Protein 7g

With a mix of healthy carbs and protein, these unique egg muffins are the ideal solution to busy mornings, afternoon snack cravings, or for spicing up a boring lunch. Make them ahead of time and then grab a few when you’re on the go!
Makes: 6 servings
Categories: Kid Friendly, Vegetarian
Type of Dish: Lunch, Dinner
Total Time (Prep + Cook): 20 minutes
Season: Any Season

Ingredients:

3 oz. tubetti*
1 ½ cups/6 oz. zucchini, small dice
1 ½ cups/6 oz. red pepper, small dice
12 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup/¾ oz. shredded basil
1 ½ cups/6 oz. shredded cheddar
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bring a medium pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the tubetti according to package directions. Drain and reserve.
  2. Distribute the zucchini, red pepper and tubetti evenly between the cups of a non-stick muffin pan.
  3. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Pour the eggs over the vegetables then sprinkle with basil and cheddar.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Cool then wrap for lunch!
*This recipe can be made gluten-free simply by substituting gluten-free tubetti.
Makes 12 muffins. 
Per muffin: 161 calories, 10 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 7 g carbohydrate, 11 g protein, 1 g dietary fiber, 1 gm sugar, 160 mg sodium, 201 mg cholesterol.

MORE Back To School Resources!
Recipes



Back To School Tips


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Tuesday

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been making these chocolate chip cookies for 25 years. During our engagement, I opened up a classic church cookbook to find a chocolate chip cookie recipe. While eating the cookies, my soon-to-be husband made comments like, "these need nuts" or "I love a soft cookie" etc. Then when the kiddos came along they made their own comments. The main comment was that the cookies needed more chocolate chips. As time marched on this recipe evolved into one that became a perfect fit for our family. I no longer have a copy of the original recipe but below you will find our family favorite variation!


This recipe easily makes over 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies. You can get a lot less but not too much more that 10 dozen. The amount you get depends on the size of your cookies. I use a small cookie dough scoop which doesn't seem like a lot on the baking sheet but makes a perfect 2-3 bite cookie. Whenever I bake these cookies, I plan on giving them away! The dough can easily be frozen, too. 


Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups Butter Crisco (or 1 cup of soft butter and 1 cup of Butter Crisco...either works depending on what I have on hand)
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
5 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
24-30 oz. of mixed chocolate chips (any combo chocolate, semi sweet, dark chocolate, etc)
2 cups of nuts (any variety)

Directions

1-Get a large bowl and a heavy wooden spoon. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2-Add in butter/Crisco and sugars. Cream together.
3-Add in eggs and vanilla. Stir together.
4-Add in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined.
5-Mix in chips.
6-Use a small cookie scoop and scoop cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet. For larger cookies use other size scoops. 
7-Bake for 10-12 minutes for soft cookies. Bake up to 12-14 minutes if you want a crunchier cookie. 


Make the recipe and turn it into your own family favorite recipe. Simple changes keeping the basic measurements will be the best way to make changes. 


Did you make them? Do you have any questions? 
Follow me and let me know at 



Other Cookie Recipes



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Wednesday

Getting Back Into Work After a Career Break

Our modern society has far higher levels of equality between men and women than it has ever had before, which is a good thing. However, when it comes to child rearing, it’s still predominantly women who take the primary role. It’s often a straightforward economic necessity – if the man earns more, it makes financial sense for him to keep working and his wife to care for the children. It is said, with great wisdom, that raising children is the most important job you’ll ever do, and indeed nurturing the next generation is a crucial role to undertake. Regardless of where you stand personally on women being the primary carers for young families, the fact is that many women do find they have been away from the world of employment for years at a time, and it can be a daunting prospect to get back onto the career ladder.
Revisiting your resume
The first task when starting to look at getting back to a job outside the home, is to review your resume, update it as appropriate, and add any new skills or experience that could be relevant for prospective employers. New skills needn’t have been formally accredited to be worth adding to your resume; it can be anything you’ve mastered since you were last employed, as long as it demonstrates an attribute that will add value. Check on the latest recommendations for resume design and content, as these principles are not set in stone and may have changed over the last few years.
Building up a new career
If you’re fortunate, and can find an employer who is happy to take you on despite your lack of recent experience, you could step back into a similar role to the one you left. However, it’s more likely that you will have to start at a lower level than you were on previously. One smart strategy is to apply to businesses that have good career prospects. For example, if you check out the Dollargeneral com careers pages, you’ll see they have a range of jobs from entry level, through to junior, middle and senior management. You could start at the level you were best suited to, and work your way up in a relatively short time.
Resuming your previous career
If you were in a professional role when you went on your career break, it’s likely to be a subject you have a personal interest in. Therefore, you may well have kept up to date with industry news and developments as part of your continuing professional development. If you’ve kept abreast of what’s been happening, you will find it much easier to resume your career at, or very close to, the level you used to be. For some roles you might need to take various courses to refresh your skills, or to revalidate your qualifications. You can check what you need to do to prepare for work via your professional body, who will be only too happy to help you.
Even if your break has been longer than a few years, if you had the knowledge and skills before you will soon pick them up again, so don’t be afraid of this new chapter in your working life.
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Tuesday

The Enduring Word Journaling Bible ESV Giveaway and Review

Who wants to WIN a brand new ESV translation Journaling Bible??? You can win one from Concordia Publishing House by entering on GoodReads! Here is my review of the bible and then go to The Enduring Word Bible Giveaway and enter to win your very own copy! 


  The Enduring Word BibleThe Enduring Word Bible by Concordia Publishing House
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm super excited to have a copy of the new "The Enduring Word Bible" from CPH. From what Ive read it's the first journaling bible in the ESV translation. ESV is a common translation and does a good job at staying close to the original scripture text and easy for us to read.
I love the easy to read font, soft yet durable cover, edging on the bible pages, the weight of the bible pages and most of all, since it is a journaling bible I LOVE all of the scripture drawings in the bible. There are over 300 of them in there for us to color. The drawings go perfectly with the scripture versus and they have inspired me to add in my own drawings as I read the bible.

This journaling bible is great for beginners or for those who have been bible journaling for ages!

View all my reviews

I love how the bible stays flat when open. This is great for bible journaling.


Beautiful artwork and easy to read font!


Full page illustrations to color. 


Do you need Bible Journaling tips & resources?

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Wednesday

Bible Journaling, Praying in Color, Adult Coloring pages and MORE!



Thanks to all of my followers who have been patient with me while I took some time off of blogging. I still blog for others as a business but haven't kept up with my own blog in about 2 years. 

To kick off my hiatus, here is a list of bible journaling, coloring pages and Praying in Color resources. Feel free to pin and reshare! I plan on sharing more recipes, crafty things, bible journaling and more! 

Sign up for my newsletter for more info, freebies and more! 


Bible Journaling & Praying in Color Resources 

Contact
Susan Buetow 
cafescrapper @ gmail. com (join all the spaces together)


Bible Journaling Pinterest Board - Susan Buetow 

 Visual Faith Coach (Mid West) - Susan Buetow 
Find me here to learn more about Visual Faith Ministry and have me come speak at your next event 

 Visual Faith Pinterest Board (new so follow and watch it grow)



Free or on the cheap sites to visit for printables, ideas, examples, tips and more!

Amanda Arneill - lettering 

 The Bright Bible Facebook page

Dawn Nicole Designs - hand lettering & font ideas 

Flanders Family - free printables

JoDitt - free coloring pages 


 Journaling the Bible 


KarenScraps - bible journaling and craft fun 

Little House Studio - Free printables 

LWML coloring sheets

Mary Dean Draws - scripture coloring pages

Paper Praises - bible journaling 

Praying In Color by Sybil Macbeth


Rachel Wojo - Bible Journaling 

Sally Sulcove - bible journaling 

Sue Carroll - Fun printables 

The Holy Mess - free bible journaling kit 

The Thinking Closet - bible journaling 

Unconventionally Steadfast - Visual Faith resources

Visual Faith Ministries  - free resources

Vintage Grace - Visual Faith 

1 Art House - doodle 101 


ETSY




Kids in Church


Lessons for Lambs - One Year Lectionary kid bulletins 
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