Easy Dinners! Make Ahead And Freeze Some

Courtesy of YouTube and Betty Crocker and Bisquick

So you have a tough time cooking every night but want to stock your freezer so weeknights you can just heat and eat? Try these Bisquick Impossibly Easy Mini Pies.

The recipe from the geniuses at Betty Crocker and Bisquick have figured out how you can make 12 mini pies ahead of time and then just toss them in the freezer until you are ready to eat them.  This isn't the only recipe, in fact these mini pies are only limited by your imagination. I added the video so you could 'see' how to make them, not just read about them.  So head to the kitchen, if you don't have the ingredients now, head to the store.

Readers have recommended using no stick muffin tins available from Walmart at approximately $4.99 each to avoid any sticking problems. If you like these as much as my kids did you'll be getting a lot of use out of that new muffin tin!

Just add a side salad or veggies and you are good to go! Make kid friendly pies or try more exotic pies for the adventurous eaters in your family. Let me know how you liked them! And keep your eyes peeled for coupons for the Bisquick, the Worcestershire Sauce and the grated cheese.

Social Recreation and Leisure Resource Fair

The Office of Intellectual Disabilities and the Delaware County Intermediate Unit present their Social Recreation and Leisure Resource Fair.  The fair will be held at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, Education Service Center, 200 Yale Avenue, Morton PA 19070, in rooms 171 & 172.  The fair will be held from 4pm to 7pm so you have plenty of time to get off from work and come on over.

Consumers, families, providers and educators are all invited to attend.  Come and discover the community resources available throughout Delaware County.  Join a day of fun and find lots of ways to expand your leisure activities. Bring your friends and find out which activities you'd like to do together. Meet the people providing the services and find out more about them. This day is all about FUN! Your fun. So come out and join in! Find out about camps, trips, or other activities you are interested in taking part in. There's something for everyone!

For additional information, contact Kim Rosati, DCIU OPTIONS Secretary mrosati@dciu.org. 

Cheat Sheet On Veggie Cooking-Post on Refrigerator

Source: kidspot.com.au via Gerda on Pinterest

Always have to look up how long to cook your favorite vegetables? Here's a simple 'cheat sheet' to post on your frig. Makes cooking veggies easy for everyone (able or less able!)

Impossible?

Source: becauseofthiswoman.tumblr.com via Amanda on Pinterest

If you ever thought you couldn't,
or thought that something was IMPOSSIBLE, post this on your bulletin board to remind yourself that you're wrong. (All of us are wrong once in awhile!)

We all fight self doubt at times and this is a good way to remind ourselves that YES WE CAN!

Theater Performances Designed To Include Autistic Children

Theater for Children Performed by The Pushcart Players at The Papermill Playhouse With Theater Environment Designed to be comfortable and judgement free for all families including those with Autism & Developmental Disabilities.

Red Riding Hood & Other Stories, A Theater For Everyone Performance

Saturday, April 21, 2012. Pushcart Players
Ages 5 & up
Here is an enchanting collection of classic tales - Little Red Riding Hood, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea and Hans Christian Anderson's All's Well That Ends Well.
A Paper Mill Playhouse "Theatre for Everyone" Presentation
This unique presentation is designed in cooperation with AUTISM NEW JERSEY, THE DOUGLASS DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES CENTER AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY and PUSHCART PLAYERS. At this special performance, the theater environment will be altered to offer a comfortable, judgment-free space that is welcoming for all families:
• Lights up inside the theater
• Lower volume & consistent sound level
• Kids free to talk & leave their seat (supervised)
• Show runs about one-hour with an intermission
• Chill-out space provided
• Family bathrooms
• BYO snacks & drinks
• Online resource materials: "THIS IS MY THEATRE" Sequence Book may be downloaded at the bottom of this page. One version has no words so parents may tailor the book for their own child by handwriting their own descriptions.
• New to the theater experience? “MEET YOUR SEAT!” before the show! Join us for our FREE Open House on Friday, April 20, 2012 from 3:00pm - 6:00pm, expressly for children to visit the theater space before the show. (no reservation required)

Theater for Everyone performances are supported by a grant from The Merck Company Foundation

Spring Forward Into Helping Others

An important element of any individual who is living on their own is having extra-curricular activities.  Fun with friends is important but so is giving back to the community. One of my daughter's great joys is raising money for charity or her church. On any given Sunday you can find Kate helping to plan fundraisers with her Church or on Saturdays taking part in charitable walks.  This year she's walking in The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia. She has done the A.I.D.S. walk multiple times, walks for a variety of schools or charities that provide services for the disabled, The March of Dimes, and more. 

I look at her and think, 'do I do enough for others?' Maybe this weekend is a good time to evaluate ourselves and see what we do for other people. Is it enough? Could we do more? I admit, my daughter has me beat. I guess it's time for me to take a long hard look and see what else I could do for someone else.

How about you? Since the clocks are changing this is a good time for us to re-evaluate our lives and move forward, just like the clocks, to a more giving lifestyle.

If you'd like to help Kate and the Preeclampsia Foundations Promise Walk in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area, sign up to walk, support them as a corporate sponsor, or form your own team.  Everyone can get involved. There is a block on the sidebar that will take let you support Kate walking in The Promise Walk this May 2012, or sign up yourself.

Take time. Give a little. It's time to spring forward into a better year of giving to others.

Promise Walk Info:

8:30 Registration opens- Bounce House, Face Painting, Balloon Twisting

9:10 Opening Ceremonies with Trish Adkins of our Mission Family and Mayor Kahn
9:30 Walk kicks off
10:30 Raffle and Silent Auctions close

2 mile stroller friendly walk
Challenge Grove Park in Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Starting and Ending at Jake's Place Playground (see photo above)

Autism Workshop At Bancroft

The Haddonfield Patch announced that Bancroft will hold a free workshop called "Planning For The Needs Of Adults With Autism."  For those who may not be from the Southern New Jersey area or other areas Bancroft serves, Bancroft is a non-profit organization that provides services for people with acquired brain injuries and developmental disabilities.  

This workshop is a free educational program designed to assist parents and professionals working with the adults with autism. Sessions will be held at Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Farrington building on Bancroft’s Haddonfield Campus at 425 Kings Highway East in Haddonfield. 

"The February workshop will focus on the social, emotional, clinical, medical, vocational and financial needs of the rapidly expanding population of adults with autism spectrum disorders. Discussion will include the needs for ongoing supports in community and residential settings, adult day services, supported employment and the right of decision-making for families and individuals."

"Geared toward family members, educators and other professionals in disabilities-related fields, the session will be presented by Karen Parenti, MS, PsyD, and Victoria Sweeney. Parenti is senior clinical director of Bancroft’s New Jersey Adult Developmental Disabilities Services. Sweeney is senior program director of Bancroft Community Vocational Services for Adults."

Bancroft, Based in Haddonfield, serves 1,300 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities annually, including autism and acquired brain injuries through a wide range of programs. Bancroft was founded in 1883, the nonprofit organization has sites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Their include "early childhood, education, vocational, supported employment, structured day programs, rehabilitation, community living, behavioral treatment, and in-home and outpatient services."