Crockpot Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
4 carrots, peeled and chopped (I used baby carrots - chopped)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 teaspoons turmeric
4 quarts chicken stock
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
3 cups egg noodles (I used "homemade")
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Melt butter in a large crockpot.  Add vegetables and cook until they start to soften. Add the turmeric, chicken, broth, salt and pepper. Simmer the soup until the vegetables are tender and flavors are combined. Stir in the egg noodles and cook until the noodles are tender, about 30-40 more minutes (less if you are using thin egg noodles - I used thick homemade noodles that take longer to cook). Salt to taste.

*I didn't have time to soften the vegetables before adding the remaining ingredients.   So, I put everything in the crockpot all at the same time (except the noodles) and let it cook on high for about 6 hours.  Then I added the noodles about 30-40 before dinner.  It was perfectly delicious!!!

Lego Birthday Party: Let the Planning Begin (FREE printables)

I was very hesitant to open a Pinterest account.  I knew that, if I had exposed myself to it, I would spend countless hours exploring all the ideas that have been shared around the world!  Well, a year or so ago I gave in...  I found myself really happy to have easy access to so much information!  Not only that but I could organize it to access later without needing to save the link or print it!!  Oh - so many hours have been spent on Pinterest!!

Back on topic!  My son is turning 7 this summer and he has requested a Lego party.  I have known this for a couple of years so I have been setting aside ideas for a while.  Well, the party is getting closer so I have been spending more time on it.  My son, unlike my daughter, likes to be very involved in his party planning.  I get a chuckle at all of his ideas and demands.  He is a boy with a plan and he want to see it through ;-) This post is to share some of the items we have been getting ready for the party.  All but one thing was completely FREE for me to download - I just had to pay for the paper and ink!

The Invitations:

  For a few years now I have preferred personalized and printable invitations.  Usually I pick one that includes a picture of the birthday child but my son decided on this invitation that does not have his picture.  I normally pay anywhere from $10-$15 to get a personalized JPEG file of the invitation.  I got a great deal on this one for just under $6!!!  Next, I sent the file off to Costco to have them printed.

I decided to not order an invitation that said "Lego Movie".
However, I did like this one and my son (the birthday boy) gave it his approval ;-)
I ordered it from here.

Decorations:

To use for a banner.  Create your own here or Basic Banner Here or Here.

I need to insert his name but these will be great - I found them here.

More to decorate with from here.

Here

Food and Beverages:

Here

Juice box wrappers from here.

Water bottle wrappers (I'm using small bottles) here, here, and here.

This site gives access to some pretty cool printable too!

I can't wait for my little man to get busy building me some of these!

I will for sure be adding these to the our treat list!

And I will be making chocolate "Legos"!

I wish I had the time to make these!  Definitely worth sharing the idea!

Games:

Printable Here

If you have 10 or less players - this mini figure bingo game is awesome!  Found here or this one here.

Lego Bingo for larger groups!  I will add the link soon (they are having technical difficulty at this time).

Lego heads - many uses for this!
But we will also be doing "pin the head on the Lego man".
I opted for the head that doesn't have a face on it.
I'm going to have the kiddos color in their own face.
The printable is here.

The body for the "pin the head on the Lego man" game - found here.

Hide and seek Lego man found here.

Guest Gifts:

Coloring books to go in their guest bags.
Here or you can offer full sheet coloring pages from here.

Thank You tags (found here) to go with the guest bags.

The party is in June so there will be plenty of pictures coming shortly after!