Tiny Tidbits

Stockings

2012-01-31T09:16:00.000-06:00

I absolutely love the challenge of a new project. Two sweet friends had me make their families' stockings for this past Christmas. Both projects were very different from one another, and it was a really fun to dream and create.

Pinterest Deal or Dud?

2012-01-30T10:54:00.004-06:00

I absolutely love Pinterest. But one thing I get frustrated with is that most people I've found just repin without changing the caption. So I have 10 people I'm following all posting a recipe that says that they've made it 10 times in the last month and everyone has kept requesting it. So I never know who actually made it 10 times and whether or not their recipes are tried and true. I have tried at least half of the things I've pinned, but I don't actually have a way of reviewing them on Pinterest, so I thought I'd do that here.

via

So the first pin I absolutely love is this. Did you know that, once you chop the green stems off green onions, you can simply put the whites/roots into a glass of water, and the greens will grow back?! I've done this since Thanksgiving, and it's worked every time perfectly. I even had 2 onions that I kept, used, and grew and re-grew for over 2 months. They don't have to be in the light, the temperature can vary greatly, it doesn't matter if they're in a draft. The original pin said they'll grow about an inch per day, but mine grow at least 2 inches per day. It's amazing and so convenient. Try it!

It's a Circus!

2011-10-25T10:20:00.000-05:00

I just finished and shipped my latest order, and I love the way everything turned out. Thought I'd share in case you're looking for party ideas. This party package is for a precious girl's circus-themed first birthday party. I thought the mom had a great idea. She wanted a birthday banner that she can use each year for each child. So I did the name separate from the "Happy Birthday" and focused on gender-neutral colors including the pinks and purples only in the name banner. I love, love, love all the bright colors!

1 Onesie - Front

And who can resist a rainbow ruffled hiney? =)

Circus Bunting (x2 - each was 13-feet long)

Birthday Bib

And the birthday banner

These projects could not be more fun to create!

Simmer Pot

2011-10-24T14:05:00.004-05:00

Ahhh, I love Fall. And, judging by my candle cabinet, I'm a tad obsessed with Fall scents. I just always wish my house could smell more authentic than some chemically-crafted candle. As I was baking some pumpkin bread the other day, I thought I'd throw some of the spices into some water and boil it to emit the scent. It was heavenly. Every day since I've loaded up my mini crockpot with fruit, spices, and water to give my house the perfectly real scents of the season. Since I peel an apple at least once a day for the kids, I've been saving the skins and core to throw into the pot. My favorite combination so far is apple skin, orange peel, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla. But the combinations are endless. An added bonus - when I pour the contents down the drain each evening, it cleans and freshens the garbage disposal nicely.

Here's the how-to:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil (on the stovetop or in the microwave). Pour into a crockpot (although you can always just leave it on the stove), add your favorite combination of scents (apple peels, apple juice, oranges, lemons, cloves, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, lavender, etc.), and let simmer all day. Make sure to check it frequently and add water as needed. Yum!

Church bags

2011-10-21T12:52:00.000-05:00

My 3-year-old is at the age now when she has things for Sunday school that need to be carried back and forth each week between church and home. She has a backpack that we use often, but we always switch it out with her Leapster and accessories, her Tag reader and books, and her Sunday school things. When we showed up to church with her Tag reader and books sans Bible and Sunday school supplies one Sunday, I knew it was time to get a bag that's solely for Sunday school. Of course her brother had to have one too. I picked up some plain canvas craft bags at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 (and half off!). Then I grabbed a handful of fabric scraps, backed them with Heat-n-Bond, cut out some letters and shapes (I used this tutorial for the flowers on Hannah's bag), and decorated a bag for each of them. Hannah's carries her Bible, her memory verses, and a snack or two. And Parker's holds a couple of diapers, wipes, snacks, and a toy. I already love that they are always packed and ready to grab. And the fact that the whole project was less than $8 for BOTH bags is a win for sure!

Color Finder

2011-10-19T13:49:00.004-05:00

There are so very many ideas floating around the blog world for using paint chips from your local paint store. I came across one I had to try, and it's been a huge hit. I just grabbed a rainbow assortment of paint chips, hole-punched one corner for a ring binder clip, and hole-punched the opposite corner of each to use as a see-through hole for color matching. I tossed it into our library book bucket, and the kids have used it to match colors in their library books, magazines and catalogs, and even their toys. It's provided hours of fun and learning in one simple, free project. I'd highly recommend this for your little ones.

A Christmas Tradition to Get Started on Now

2011-09-24T08:21:00.010-05:00

via

I started a tradition right after I first got married (over 9 years ago!) that has been so much fun. Each year I put up a small, tabletop Christmas tree on a sofa table right in our foyer. I make handmade ornaments (but you could just as easily and with just as much meaning purchase a variety of store-bought ones) to fill the tree. Then, each and every guest that passes through our doors during the Christmas season picks an ornament off the tree to take home. Even the Verizon installers chose one a couple of years back. The two grown men acted like kidsina candy store over homemade ornaments. It just makes people happy! And it, in turn, will bless your heart too.

Need some handmade ornament ideas? Here are some of my favorites:

Paint Stick Ornaments with Free Printables

Altered Canvas Ornaments

Felt Flower Ornament

Rag Fabric Flower Ornament

And many more...

A Solid Foundation of Faith

2011-09-06T07:10:00.001-05:00

My kids are now 3 years, 5 months and 17 months old. Neither are in preschool, so the three of us hang out all day every day together. After carefully considering whether or not to send our 3-year-old to preschool this year, we've decided to keep her home instead. I used to teach at a preschool, and my plan was to start to implement that curriculum at home with both kids. But my 3-year-old already knows all of her shapes, colors, numbers, letters, letter sounds, and most letter blends. She's starting to read and write 3-letter words. We have zero structured learning time as-is; she is just a sponge and loves to learn. I do not feel like she needs any supplementing in that area. She's already where she needs to be for Kindergarten, and I have no interest in rushing any more schooling in unless she's ready and seeking.

So my heart really turned more toward a year-long vacation Bible school set-up. I have such a desire to build the foundation of faith here, in my home, prior to sending my kids off to Kindergarten. My problem is not at all a lack of ideas, resources, or time. It's 100% a lack of planning. We are always dreaming up projects. But, after finally gathering everything to complete them, my 3-year-old has typically lost interest. Often our last-minute ideas require trips to the craft store to complete. I really wanted a way to have a loose plan for each week that includes gathering supplies for different projects to have at-the-ready for times when boredom strikes.

I've been working hard for the past week on a new blog chronicling my plans. A Solid Foundation of Faith is my new baby. Each week I'll add a theme based on a Bible story or concept. I'll list activities, recipes, adventures, service ideas, books, songs, and fingerplays that go along with the theme. From then on it's up to each person how to use it. You can go all-out and schedule your week around the activities. Or, like me, you can pick and choose the projects that would work for your family, gather all of the supplies each weekend, and pull them out when you have the opportunity.

I'll use it much like Tiny Tidbits to feature ideas here and there that I've seen online too. And I'll share with you some things that I learned as a chapel leader of kids 18 months old to 2nd grade over the years. But, unlike this site, the activities will all be geared toward the under Kindergarten crowd, specifically shaping their hearts for Christ.

If this is of any interest to you, I hope you'll come visit!

Women's Fitness - A Great Resource

2011-09-05T08:58:00.000-05:00

Another fellow mom of an April 2008 child shared her website with me, and I wanted to add it to my sidebar, but not before pointing you all in that direction. Rachel, a practicing physical therapist, mom to two boys, and a woman committed to healthy living and physical fitness, started a website as a way to compile reliable advice for women regarding living a healthy lifestyle. I hope you'll take a minute to browse her site, and I hope you find as much helpful information as I have.

Here's the link: FitMommy

Kids' Table

2011-09-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

We always pull our card table out for the kids when we have people over for dinner. I have an inexpensive (and pretty ugly) tablecloth that I usually throw on top, but last time we had dinner guests I grabbed my daughter's roll of butcher paper to cover the surface. I had fun doodling pictures for the kids to color, and it was a hit. We ended up keeping it up overnight, and my daughter did some more coloring the next morning. Simple, inexpensive, and interactive - win-win-win.

A Sweet Tradition

2011-09-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

When I had my first baby, my sister-in-law brought a couple dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies along with a little card to set out in my post-partum room. The card thanked the doctors and nurses for taking such good care of me. It got a huge positive response, and several of the nurses would just drop in to grab a cookie. It was also nice to have something sweet to offer all of our visitors.

It's become somewhat of a tradition in my circle of friends and family, and I loved sharing it with a friend who just had her second baby recently. Since she loves, loves, loves all things s'mores, I went with that theme. I made Golden Graham s'mores bars inspired by this recipe, cut them into 2" squares, stuck them in a plastic bag, and tied it with an "It's a Girl!" ribbon. I printed the sign above, and stuck everything in a cute gift bag for her to carry to the hospital. This might be one of my very favorite baby-related traditions now!

Garlic and Herb Pull-Apart Bread

2011-09-01T08:41:00.000-05:00

I saw a delicious-looking recipe for pull-apart bread that I was dying to try. The problem is that it used homemade bread dough that incorporated most of the flavorings. Sure, it's ideal. But I don't often have time for all that. So, after consulting my sister, I came up with a shortcut recipe that was a huge hit.

Garlic and Herb Pull-Apart Bread

2 tubes of refrigerated flaky biscuits

1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried basil

2 tsp dried oregano

seasoned salt

black pepper

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Heavily grease a bundt pan, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, open your biscuit tubes, separate them, and cut them into quarters.

Combine the melted butter and seasonings in a bowl. Dunk each piece of biscuit in the butter mixture, and toss it into your greased bundt pan. Repeat with half of the biscuit pieces. Then sprinkle one half cup of the cheese over this layer making sure it falls between each nook and cranny.
Top with the rest of the biscuit pieces dunked in butter, and finish with the rest of the Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Turn onto a plate, and serve warm.

Rainbow Ice

2011-08-29T15:31:00.000-05:00

We've been HOT in Texas this summer and have had to keep most of our activities indoors. One afternoon my 3-year-old and I made a tray of rainbow ice cubes, and they were a huge hit! I just filled up a small plastic tea pot with water for her to fill each cube, then we squeezed one small drop of food coloring into each one. We stuck to mainly primary colors. She used a toothpick to stir each cube.

Once these were frozen, the possibilities are absolutely endless. My daughter had so much fun mixing a couple of cubes into a Sprite to see what color it would turn. I always cool her oatmeal with 2 ice cubes after it's cooked, so I used a blue and a red one. As she stirred and her oatmeal turned purple, she was thrilled. You can also stick a toothpick in these as they're freezing to use as a handle. Then, when they're frozen, the kids can use the toothpick to hold it to paint on paper outside. They could also use the colored cubes as a sensory activity floating in water in the sink.

Hope you have as much fun with these as we did!

Long-distance Baby Shower

2011-08-29T13:28:00.005-05:00

Some of our great friends from our neighborhood had their second child, a baby girl, Saturday. They are a part of our neighborhood group of 4 couples who meet every other weekend for Bible study and dinner, and we are so incredibly blessed by them. They moved here a year ago from the west coast, so most of their close friends and family are way too far away to have made it in for a baby shower. The rest of us girls from the group wanted to throw an unforgettable shower that somehow included the long-distance friends and family. We had so much fun, and it turned out to be a hit.

We decided to send invitations to everyone with information on the when's and where's of the shower in case they wanted to send a gift. We also included a little note asking everyone to email a family photo along with a message or favorite quote that we could turn into a photobook for the nursery. The invitations were simple - plain cardstock cards (sold in bulk at Hobby Lobby) with a 2D cupcake sticker. I just ran them through my printer before attaching the stickers.

Since the guests were our four couples, we wanted to do something a little different than traditional shower foods. Instead we made up a menu of the mom-to-be's pregnancy cravings. Chili-cheese dogs, french fries, strawberry limeades, and some crunchy snack-food appetizers rounded out the menu. She also loves all-things-s'mores, so dessert were these delicious s'mores cupcakes (recipe here).

We really wanted to keep the decor simple too and focus our budget more on our gifts. We made tissue paper pom poms in the nursery colors to hang from the chandelier.
We also used my Onesie Kit (more in the shop asap!) to make a clothesline filled with precious girly gifts.

It was so fun to have a table filled with gifts from friends and family from so far away.

We wanted to be sure to include something special from our kids. So we gathered them all up (including the baby's big brother secretly), and used their fingerprints as "sprinkles" on this cupcake decoration for the nursery.
We played two fun shower games - Math the Mom-to-Be, and Celebrity Baby Names.
And then we opened gifts. The finished photobook was priceless. I used Mixbook for the first time, and it was quick, easy, and precious!
What a neat memory of such a special evening.
We had such a great night celebrating!

Freezer Paper Stenciling

2011-08-28T10:21:00.000-05:00

Have you ever tried freezer paper stenciling? I tried my hand at it a few weeks ago for the first time, and I am hooked! I offered to make a t-shirt for a friend's little boy's first birthday. It was an Uno themed party, and she couldn't find the shirt she had in mind. She described it to me, and I got to work. I wanted a very clean, almost screen-printed look - not a handmade, artsy look. I bought a handful of shirts thinking this probably wouldn't work, and I had a Plan B and Plan C. I was shocked when it turned out almost flawless after my first attempt! The design itself was the most complicated part as I had to create it from scratch. But I used my SCAL software, Inkscape, and my Cricut to cut the stencil. But it was a lot easier than I imagined despite the many steps. Then I just ironed the freezer paper onto the shirt, and painted 3 thin coats of white fabric paint. I held my breath as I peeled the freezer paper off, and I was so pleased with how crisp the lines were. If you haven't tried this, you should!

Here's a great tutorial if you're interested. Happy stenciling!

Infant Carrier Tent

2011-08-27T15:19:00.003-05:00

I'm so sorry for my blog hiatus. Life just sneaks up on me sometimes, and I can't find a spare moment. I'm hoping to be a bit more disciplined now that Fall is almost here and things have started back into a much more normal routine.

For now, I wanted to share my latest project. We had some friends in town last weekend, and they brought their precious twins over one night for dinner. A friend had made them infant carrier tents that I thought were so clever! I had never seen one before, and I instantly knew I had to make one for one of my good friends who actually delivered baby #2 this morning. The twins' mommy went over the features she loved and the features she thought could be improved upon. And I set to work...

I love the finished product (so much so that my baby fever hit an all-time high after completing this! I better get out to meet that new baby asap to cure the fever!).

I copied the binding on the twins' tents, and I think it is precious. Basically I just sewed the top and bottom pieces together wrong-sides facing. Then I cut the edge into fringe. It should fray a bit when washed. So cute and unique.

I also gave the straps a little ruffle decor which I think adds so much to what could be a very plain piece.

Since my friend plans to nurse, I made this strap that matched which can be thrown in the diaper bag to turn any blanket into a nursing cover.

I love whipping up quick, easy, and precious baby goodies!

Almond Flour Pancakes

2011-07-23T16:21:00.003-05:00

We eat a LOT of pancakes around here. It's one of the handful of things that I can count on actually getting into my kids on a regular basis, and it's so nice to have them already cooked and ready-to-go in the mornings. Both of my kids eat them plain and even cold, so I can grab the straight from the fridge as I'm making my cup of coffee and toss them at the hungry babes. =)

I'm always trying new things to increase their nutritional punch, and I recently stumbled upon recipes using almond flour. At my last visit to Sprouts the raw almonds were only $3.99/lb, so I grabbed a bunch. Using my coffee grinder, I ground all of them into flour, dumped it into a Mason jar, and stored it in the freezer. It can be used just like regular flour to boost the protein in things like pancakes, muffins, etc. A word of caution - it is incredibly bland. I'm looking to test out roasting the flour a little before baking with it. I wonder how that would affect the flavor.

So, here's my newest pancake recipe using almond flour. It's an evolving recipe for certain, and I'll be sure to post updates.

Almond-Flour Pancakes

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup fruit/veggie puree (these were banana and sweet potato)

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl with a wire whisk. Add the wet ingredients, and stir just to combine. Let this sit for 10 minutes, then cook on a hot griddle. I set my griddle to 375 and cook them for approximately 3 minutes per side. But I've found that this varies tremendously depending on the cooking method, so make sure to test it out.

Serve with butter and syrup. Or, for the kids, serve cut into strips to dip into applesauce, yogurt, syrup, or fruit puree. Yum!

Storage containers I couldn't live without

2011-07-11T19:19:00.000-05:00

I am a very organization-minded person. When I'm considering anything, my first question is "Where am I going to put it?" We have a very small house with only one living area, so it's very easy to feel overrun by stuff. I love to streamline, purge things, and keep everything organized, and I thought it might be helpful to share with you my favorite storage containers.

Small Toy Storage:

For most of our toys with lots of pieces (Mr. Potato Head sets, building blocks, Little People, all letter toys - magnetic, foam, and letter blocks, etc.) I use the Expedit storage system from Ikea. I absolutely love these pieces because they're very sturdy, very inexpensive, and look higher-end than the equivalent at Target or Walmart. The good: price, quality, style. The bad: the storage shelves are not the standard 12x12. The fact that they are bigger (15x16, I think) is good for more storage room, but it limits the options for baskets. After 5 months of using what we already had basket-wise, I saved up for all of the baskets that actually fit the system. I twas well worth the cost. Now the toys are completely hidden, it's stylish, and the baskets are HUGE!

Here my son demonstrates their use while wearing his favorite storage container. ;) Goofball.

Expedit Storage Shelf

Nasum storage basket

Large Toy Storage:

Big toys (Fisher Price racetrack, farm and animals, basically anything awkwardly shaped and that does not fold) are so very hard to store. If I have them out on a shelf, my house looks like a toy store. They don't fit underneath couches or beds, and most cabinets are too shallow to fit them. We got a wardrobe, also from Ikea, several years back - way before kids. It has changed rooms and purposes more than any other piece of furniture in our house, and we LOVE it. It was only $199, and it has held up very well. It now resides in our family room and holds (and fits!) all of our bulky toys, all of our kids' art supplies, my sewing machine and a box of current projects, diapering supplies for the main living area, books (which I rotate out often), puzzles, games, and stationary/office supplies.

Hemnes Wardrobe

Books, Art Supplies, Puzzles, Computer Supplies:

I absolutely love these locking-lid storage boxes. We have them all over the house for various things. I love that they have a handle on top for easy transporting. These hold art supplies that we can easily grab and carry to the table, books that can be carried outside to read on a blanket, and even our bubbles that we keep in the pantry but carry outside to play. They're inexpensive and sturdy and incredibly handy.

Sterlite Show-off with Locking Lid

Sand, Rice, Other Small Manipulatives:

As you all know by now, we measure, pour, stir, rake, and funnel sand, rice, beans, etc. on a daily basis. My kids love to play with these types of small manipulatives, so we needed a quick, easy, and secure way to store them. In our wardrobe, I have one of these 9x13's of rice, beans, and sand. I also have a separate container with spoons, funnels, measuring cups, etc. They stack easily, are shallow enough that the kids can play with the contents right in this container, and they're sturdy. These are also the perfect size for cookies and casserole leftovers. I think I probably have 15 of these, and I use them ALL the time.

Rubbermaid TakeAlong Container

Shoes, Bed Linens, Unseasonal Clothes

As for just about everything else that doesn't have a home, we keep them in under-the-bed containers. We do not have a linen closet in our house - not even closets in our bathrooms. We have one small coat closet (where I have to store things like the high chair, gift wrapping supplies, pool floaties, life jackets, rain gear, etc.), and that's it save for the closets in the bedrooms. So we store all of our bed linens in under-the-bed containers under the bed for which they're intended. We also use under-the-bed containers for shoes and all of the opposite-season clothing. These are so convenient because they can be easily moved for cleaning. I typically use my Roomba for under-the-bed vacuuming. So, I just lift the dust ruffles, pile the under-the-bed boxes on top of the beds, and let the Roomba run. This way there are no loose things to pick up to clean. Nice and simple.

Sterlite Underbed Storage Box (with wheels - a must!)

Hope these solutions are helpful for you! What are your favorite storage solutions?

Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-07-02T12:52:00.003-05:00

One of the many benefits of having a 3-year-old daughter is that there is always a reason to make pink cupcakes. =) I was browsing blogs Thursday afternoon, my daughter just happened to glance at the computer when I was on this site, and we were making cupcakes by the next morning. They sounded perfect as-is, but I couldn't resist making a coconut cream cheese frosting instead. They turned out to be delicious, and we can't stop eating them! Delicious.

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

(Followed exactly from this recipe)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup fresh chopped strawberries

4 tablespoons milk

Using my stand mixer, I beat the butter and sugar for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add eggs to the creamed sugar and butter one-at-a-time, and mix until combined. Add vanilla. Increase the speed to high, and add the strawberries mixing thoroughly to break down (this took 2-3 minutes for me). Turn down the speed, and add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, and mix until well-combined.

Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full, and bake for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let cool completely, and then frost.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

1 block of cream cheese, softened

1 stick of butter, softened

1-2 cups of powdered sugar (I used 1 because I don't like it super-sweet)

1 tsp coconut extract

1 1/2 cups sweetened and shredded coconut flakes

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a sand mixer until well-combined. Add the sugar and coconut extract, and beat until smooth. If the frosting is too thick, you can add milk 1 tablespoon at a time to thin. Using one cup of powdered sugar made mine the perfect consistency. Stir in the coconut by hand, and use to frost your favorite fruity cupcake.

Baked Ziti

2011-06-27T18:37:00.005-05:00

The past week or so I've been doubling my dinner recipes so I can have meals to freeze. After making a recipe that turned out way too big for our family and splitting it into 2 8x8s instead of 1 9x13, I realized how easy it would be to just make 2 of some things. During these summer months it seems like we're much busier during the day. It makes it hard some days to plan dinners, and we've gotten into a bad habit of eating out way more than we should. This baked ziti is one of those recipes that is simple to make and easily doubles. I'm actually going to post the doubled version since I never ever make the regular recipe.

Baked Ziti

2 boxes of ziti, cooked according to the directions

1 large jar of Prego (or I usually do 3 of the heart healthy smaller jars)

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork sausage

16 ounces of sour cream

8 ounces of ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded mozarella cheese

8 slices of provolone cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, saute the onion for 5 minutes. Add the ground pork sausage and ground beef and brown. When it is all cooked, pour the meats and the pasta sauces into the cooked ziti, and stir.

In a seperate bowl, stir together the sour cream, ricotta cheese, and mozarella. I usually add a sprinkle of dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, and fresh black pepper.

Grease 2 9x13 baking dishes. Spread a layer of the pasta with sauces (1/4 of the total in each dish so you'll use half of the pasta in this layer) in the bottom of each dish. Top with a spreading of the sour cream/ricotta/mozarella mixture, then 4 slices of provolone cheese per dish. Repeat the pasta and sauce layer then the sour cream/ricotta/mozarella layer, then top with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

If you're going to freeze them, wrap them tight with plastic wrap and freeze them now.

To finish (a fully-thawed dish), bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheeses are melted.

Swiss Chicken

2011-06-25T12:50:00.003-05:00

I logged on to post an update to my Swiss Chicken recipe only to find that I had never posted the original recipe in the first place! I can't believe this staple hasn't made the blog yet. It's my favorite go-to for nights when I just need comfort food. It works perfectly in the crock pot, freezes easily, and uses mainly pantry ingredients I always have on-hand. I've taken this to church potlucks, dinner clubs, and to friends who have just had babies. Hope you love it as much as we do. (And sorry I don't have a picture. I'll try to remember to snap one the next time I make this.)

Swiss Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts (frozen are perfectly fine)

4-6 slices ofSwiss cheese (1 per chicken breast)

1 can reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup

1 cup of milk

1 box of stuffing mix, any flavor

1 stick of butter, melted

Grease the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish, and preheat the oven to 350. Lay as many chicken breasts as will fit in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then cover each breast with a slice of Swiss cheese. Stir together the soup and the milk, and pour over the top. Sprinkle the entire box of stuffing mix (still dry) over the top, then drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 55-60 minutes.

Crockpot version: Just layer the ingredients in the same way, and set the crockpot for 8 hours on low. It will most likely be done before then, but I've never had the problem of overcooking or burning with this recipe.

Notes: I had a craving for Thanksgiving dinner the other day, so I made this recipe. I had some leftover whole cranberry sauce from my pork tenderloin recipe, so I topped the chicken with a spoonful of that once I served it, and it was delicious. It definitely hit the spot. It made me realize that this dish would taste delicious using turkey instead of chicken too.

Father's Day Casserole

2011-06-22T08:31:00.001-05:00

We had a Bible study dinner for my husband's birthday the evening before Father's Day. I made the pork recipe I recently posted in addition to a cheesecake. I had planned on also throwing together a casserole that I could put in the oven the next morning for a Father's Day breakfast in bed, but I completely forgot. We woke up Sunday morning with no plan and very few ingredients. While scouring the refrigerator, I came up with the idea to make a manly casserole with some of the leftovers and ingredients. It was a hit, so I thought I'd share.

Father's Day Casserole

6 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt & pepper

4-6 slices of bread

1 cup of leftover shredded pork and about 2 tablespoons of juices

4 ounces of cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup your favorite shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)

Tear bread into pieces, and toss in the bottom of a well-greased 9x9 baking dish. Lay the pork over the top, and sprinkle the juices all over the bread.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and cream cheese. Pour over the top of the bread and pork, and press down with the back of a spoon ensuring that the bread soaks up all of the liquid. Sprinkle the top with the shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the egg is set and the top is browned slightly.

Buried Treasure

2011-06-21T12:46:00.000-05:00

I've shared that we have a sand table and a big tub of uncooked rice that we play in often. Well, the other day my daughter was doing one of those packaged art projects from Hobby Lobby, and she had a handful of sequins left over. I tossed them into the rice tub and let her dig for her buried treasure. She had a blast, and my mind started spinning with all of the things you could bury. You could definitely suit this to skill level burying larger items for smaller kids and smaller items for larger kids. If you're looking for a good 30-minutes of sensory fun, throw a handful of something into a tub of rice. Cheap and easy!

[Ideas: rhinestones, Matchbox cars, marker caps, bouncy balls, marbles, sequins, rocks, paper clips...]

PW's Spicy Pulled Pork, Crockpot-Style

2011-06-20T09:51:00.005-05:00

A year or so a great friend of mine had us over for dinner and made PW's Spicy Pulled Pork. It was absolutely delicious, and I've made it a handful of times since. But, the whole having two little kids thing makes it difficult to tend to a hunk of meat once an hour for 6-7 hours. I had to come up with an easier version. Once again, I turned to my trusted crockpot, and it was a success. I'm not sure I'll make this in the oven again. [Note: The oven variety calls for cranking the heat at the end of the cooking time to make a really crispy crust on the meat. I'm not a crispy meat fan. If you are, you can just transfer this to a roasting pan just before serving to crisp it up.]

The Pioneer Woman's Spicy Pulled Pork, Crockpot-Style

(almost fully copied from The Pioneer Woman's recipe found here)

7-lb pork shoulder (I usually use a bone-in pork butt shoulder because they tend to be less expensive)

1 whole onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tablespoons salt

sprinkle of black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (PW calls for white wine vinegar, but I never seem to have any)

1/4 cup brown sugar

Place the pork shoulder in the crockpot. Throw the rest of the ingredients into a blender, and pulse until smooth and well-combined. Pour over the pork shoulder. Then, using your hands, rub the mixture into all of the nooks and crannies of the pork turning to coat. Add about 1/2 cup of water, and set to cook on low for 10 hours.

Just before serving, remove the pork to a large platter or 9x13 baking dish, and shred with two forks. Pour the juices over the top. Serve on your favorite tortillas with plenty of fresh limes, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, fresh cilantro, beans and rice. Yum!

Apple Pancakes

2011-06-13T07:27:00.007-05:00

Growing up in South Bend, Indiana, we frequented Bibler's Pancake House. Owned by the family of our neighbors and a classmate of mine, and part of the Original Pancake House chain, Bibler's served up amazing breakfasts. My grandparents loved taking us there any weekend we could go. The line that always ran right out the door and out onto the sidewalk - even despite the often brutally-cold weather - was a definite indication of the meal to come. The atmosphere was old-fashioned, the coffee was hot, and the food outstanding. No longer owned by the Biblers, the Original Pancake House still stands, and it still boasts the same menu. My favorite? The Apple Pancake. It is absolutely amazing - a food you will dream about months (even years!) after tasting. The pancake takes over an hour to prepare, so the wait can be long...but well worth it.

I have been trying for years to re-create this gem to no avail. Most of the recipes I've found are way too cake-y. Bibler's is egg-y, dense, and rich-as-can-be. Most of the recipes are made in a pie pan. Bibler's was made in an iron skillet on the stovetop and finished up in the oven. Most of the recipes take 15-20 minutes. Bibler's, start-to-finish, takes an hour and a half. I'd long-abandoned my search and had settled on a visit to Bibler's every time we make the trek back to South Bend...until yesterday. My daily recipe from Allrecipes.com was one for a German pancake - another dish Bibler's does well. It set my apple-pancake-craving wheels in motion once again, and I found a recipe that looked promising. I was feeling pretty terrible with a head cold, I had cranky kids, and we were in the middle of a minor home-improvement project. But, as I sat thinking about this pancake, I knew it couldn't wait. So, in the hustle-and-bustle, I made my way into the kitchen and got to work making only a few minor changes out of convenience. This recipe is almost exactly the same as the apple pancake I know and love! I know all of the ingredients are staples in my house. If you have any doubt whatsoever about whether you should jump off the couch and go make this right this very minute, doubt no more. You will not be sorry!

Bibler's Apple Pancakes

(adapted from a recipe found here)

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 medium gala apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Melt the butter in an oven-safe skillet* over medium heat. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Dump in the apples, and saute stirring frequently for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the apple mixture sit for 1 hour to cool. (At this point I set a timer for 40 minutes so I could come back, make the batter, and preheat the oven by the time the 1 hour was up.)

Batter:

3 eggs

2/3 cup half-and-half (I used fat free, and it was perfectly fine)

1 Tablespoon of vanilla

2 Tablespoons of sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup of flour, sifted

Beat the eggs with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the half-and-half, vanilla, sugar, and salt, and mix until well-combined and until the sugar has dissolved. Add the flour, and stir slowly until it is completely mixed in. Let this sit for 10 minutes while preheating the oven to 475 degrees.

When the apple mixture is completely cooled and has been sitting for 1 hour, slowly pour the batter over the apple mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the top begins to brown. (The recipe I followed says to bake for 16-18 minutes, but mine was well done at 15. This largely depends on your oven, I imagine.)

Your finished pancake will look like this:

Let sit for 1 or 2 minutes, then loosen the edges with a rubber spatula. Place a large plate or platter upside-down on top of the skillet, and flip it over. Your pancake should drop easily onto your plate.

I love this pancake as-is, but Bibler's served it with powdered sugar to sprinkle on top. This just may become a new Christmas morning tradition around here. Delicious! If you make this, please make sure to stop back by and let me know how you like it.

*My skillets are oven-safe to 450 degrees. But I learned a trick years ago that I've used up to 500 degrees, and it has worked just fine. There is a small rubber grip on the underside of the handle on my pans, and that is the only part that is not oven-safe. I just wrap the handle with aluminum foil loosely before placing in the oven, and my handles have never been affected.

Kid lunches: A muffin tin alternative

2011-06-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

I started doing muffin tin lunches for my 3-year-old daughter (and now my 14-month-old son) for almost 1 1/2 years now. I love the fact that it challenges me to think outside the box with variety, but I've found a flaw. In order to save leftovers, I have to move them to a different container. The 6-cup muffin tins from Dollar Tree don't even fit into gallon-sized Ziplocs, so saving them in the tin isn't an option. Bummer.

Awhile back I was browsing Inchbug ordering some cup labels for the kids, and I saw these containers. There are a ton of different food storage options on that site, but these fit the bill for us perfectly. They have a snap-on lid for the dip portion and the whole thing making it perfect for lunches on-the-go and for storing leftovers. We use the middle portion for yogurt, peanut butter, hummus, ranch dressing, etc. Then I just fill the outside with a handful of other things - celery sticks, baby carrots, PB and honey sandwiches (cut into stars above), apple slices, cheese sticks, and the list goes on and on. My 3-year-old loves the containers (something about giving lunch to her in a compartmentalized tray appeals to her), and I love the convenience of not having to dirty yet another container for leftovers. These are also much easier to clean than the muffin tins which do not hold up well in the dishwasher.

Hope you find these as helpful as I have!

Crockpot Cranberry Pork Tenderloin

2011-06-10T13:26:00.002-05:00

I love trying new recipes and combinations that I wouldn't have ever thought to put together. And I even love long, complicated dishes. So when I tried The Pioneer Woman's Pork Loin with Cranberry Sauce, I fell in love. It is a perfect dinner for entertaining. But it is not at all a weeknight dinner possibility for me. This will not be news to mothers of small children, but the dinner-cooking-hour around here often resembles a WW3 battlefield. Neither of my kids enjoy that time of day on a regular basis, nor are they willing to suck it up and sit quietly while I lovingly slave over a dish like this. Instead they stand at the doorway of the kitchen whining and carrying on. (I have a "no whining in the kitchen" rule so at least they're not at my feet.) Anyway, I saw a similar recipe on a message board, and it inspired me to try to recreate PW's loin in a much more weeknight-friendly package. This was a HUGE hit. It is so quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive. I used a tenderloin that I had gotten on clearance at Target for $4. So our entire meal including sides was less than $10 and tasted like a million bucks. Yum!

Crockpot Cranberry Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin (fresh or frozen - doesn't matter!)

1 onion, sliced

1 packet of dry onion soup mix (like Lipton or, as I used, generic)

1 can of whole cranberry sauce (or 2 cups of homemade)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

black pepper to taste

Dump the onion into the bottom of the crockpot to act as a liner. Lay the pork tenderloin on top (you do not have to thaw the loin - just add cooking time), and sprinkle the dry soup mix evenly.

Spoon the cranberry sauce as evenly as possible over the loin and onions. You want the flavor to soak into every nook and cranny as it cooks, but it's not easily spreadable.

Put the lid on, and cook on high for 4 hours. Mine was done at 3, although I can't imagine that this would dry out too badly as it is very liquid-y after an hour or so of cooking. I also can't imagine that this would be bad if you cook it on low for 8 hours while you're out.

When the loin is done, remove it from the crockpot, and set aside to rest on a cutting board.

Strain the juices that are leftover in the crockpot, and set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the tablespoon of flour, and stir with a whisk to create a roux allowing it to get slightly brown. Slowly pour in the reserved and strained liquid whisking until well-combined. Allow to heat through and thicken to your desired consistency (a gravy consistency), sprinkle with pepper, and remove from the heat.

Slice the tenderloin, and top with the gravy. Yum!

New spin on an old classic

2011-05-27T16:57:00.004-05:00

I absolutely love the green rice recipe I've been making for quite some time now. But tonight I made these enchiladas (HIGHLY recommend them...and everything else I've tried from this site!), and I didn't have any green enchilada sauce. I made a few changes, and I think I may even prefer this way now. I made the rice in the exact same way. I also made the same sauce base just without the enchilada sauce. Instead I put the cilantro, spinach, and some lime juice in the food processor with 1/4 chopped onion, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, and 1 garlic clove. I pulsed it until it all came together, then dumped it into the rice after it was done cooking. We haven't sat down to dinner yet, but I can't keep myself from grabbing a spoonful from the bowl every time I walk past the kitchen. Yum!

Cut Spaghetti

2011-05-22T14:28:00.004-05:00

via

Both of my kids love pasta. I'm always looking for new and interesting shapes and styles. Tom Thumb has a line of organic whole wheat pasta in TONS of fun shapes that they'll gobble up. And there are a lot of really small options - ones that require no cutting for my 1-year-old. The last time I was searching Tom Thumb's pasta aisle, I saw that Barilla makes cut spaghetti. Spaghetti is a staple in our house - it's my go-to recipe when I have nothing else planned. And I always scoop a portion out to chop up for the kids. But Barilla sells it already cut.

Not one to pay for someone else to do work that I am perfectly capable of, I decided to just use the idea and to break regular spaghetti myself. Then, on the way home, I had an even better idea. I'd have my 3-year-old do the grunt work for me. And she LOVED it! So we now have a canister of broken spaghetti courtesy of my 3-year-old daughter. When I'm making pasta dishes using spaghetti noodles, I just boil a small pot of water for the kids and throw in a handful of the broken noodles. Then there's no cutting at all. I just mix it with the sauce, and it's ready to serve.
If you're looking for a way to keep your child busy for awhile, sit them at a table with a handful of uncooked spaghetti noodles and an empty canister for storage.

Fun for a rainy day

2011-05-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

We have this set of mini Caterpillar construction equipment that both of my kids adore. We put it to good use a few days ago when it was raining outside. I filled a cookie sheet with 1-inch sides with dry rice, added the front loaders, steamrollers, dump trucks, etc. and my 3-year-old daughter went crazy. She played for over an hour dumping and digging. In fact, we left it on the table, and she's played with it every day since. Quick, easy, inexpensive, and hours of entertainment? Yes, please!

*By the way, I've gotten lots of comments recently about the amount of mess that things like this create. Yes, they absolutely can be a disaster. And I think some kids handle these types of things way more calmly than others. But we include clean-up as part of our process (my 3-year-old has a set of brooms, dust pans, etc.), and we go over the rules beforehand. We don't ever intentionally spill the rice/sand/beans, etc., and we always clean up our messes. If anything is ever thrown, dumped intentionally, or mistreated in any way, it is put away immediately, no questions asked. And, if there is resistance during clean-up, it goes in time-out, and we don't get it back out that day at all. But, just a little note, I make sure it's put in an area out of reach but not out of sight. I want the action to pack a punch. So, definitely use your judgment with your little ones. You may need to wait until they're older to tackle this. But I definitely wanted to dispell any assumption that I don't have a giant mess to clean up after these types of things. I've just accepted that as part of the fun. Proceed at your own risk! =)

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-10T13:50:00.005-05:00

I hosted my 5th annual Mother's Day at our house on Sunday. This is something I look forward to all year, and I'm always dog-earing recipes to try. I normally do a brunch, but it just didn't work out schedule-wise, so we decided on an after-dinner dessert bar instead. Yum! My stipulations for this sort of thing are to not have to do anything on the day of (since it is Mother's Day, after all - who wants to be cooking and cleaning on Mother's Day?). I did almost everything Saturday including setting out all of the dishes, so just before our family came, I had very little prep to finish. Here are the specifics:

On the Menu:

Fruit Pizzas

Nutella and Sea Salt fudge

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Pies

Decaf Coffee

Fruit Pizzas
Cookie:
2 sticks of softened butter
1 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Then add the baking powder and one cup of flour at a time mixing well between each addition. The dough will be very, very dry and stiff. If it doesn't come together in the bowl, knead it with your hands until it does. Split it into 2 balls, and do not chill. Roll the dough out to approx. 1/8 inch, and use cookie cutters in your desired shape. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 5-10 minutes until the edges begin to brown lightly.

Frosting: I used the cream cheese frosting from this recipe. Refrigerate if you're not going to use it right away.

You can make everything a day ahead of time, but you should wait until just before serving to assemble the pizzas. Make sure to set the frosting out for 10-20 minutes or so to soften to make it spreadable. Frost the cookies, then arrange your favorite fruit on top.

Simple Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
This is a great way to put to use all of your empty babyfood jars!
I used a store-bought strawberry angel food cake. I sliced it with a bread knife, then cut circles out with a small biscuit cutter. You'll need 2 circles per jar. Slice a pint or so of strawberries, and sprinkle them with sugar. I did this the day before and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. They become juicy and more like a sauce than sliced fruit. Just before everyone arrived, I layered the angel food cake and strawberries and topped with whipped cream. You could also tie ribbon or tulle around each jar to match a party theme.

Mom's Fudge (with a Nutella and Sea Salt spin)
2 sticks of butter
4 1/2 cups of sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 bag of mini marshmallows
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 9.5 oz milk chocolate bar, chopped
2 squares of unsweetened baking chocolates, grated
1/4 cup of Nutella
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups chopped nuts
coarse sea salt

In a large pot, melt the butter. Add sugar and evaporated milk, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil, and boil continuously for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, and add the marshmallows stirring until they all melt. Add the chocolate chips, chocolate bar, baking chocolage, Nutella, and vanilla, and stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Stir in the chopped nuts. Pour into a well-buttered 9x13 pan, and sprinkle with sea salt. Let it sit at room temperature until it is set, and store in the refrigerator.

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Pies
I followed this recipe with only a few changes. Roll out the refrigerated pie crust, and cut into circles that fit your muffin tin. I have a set of biscuit cutters, and I used the biggest one (3 inches) for this recipe. Press each circle into a well-greased muffin tin, and fill with 2 tablespoons of the pie filling mix. Bake for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean.

Kale Chips

2011-05-10T13:31:00.004-05:00

We LOVE leafy greens around here and have no problem getting them into our diet. So when I saw kale chips on a show a month or two ago, I knew we had to try them. They were a huge hit. But, even if you're not a fan of greens, these are VERY tasty. My 3-year-old and I finished the entire batch in two sittings. In fact, she ate 3/4 of the batch herself and was sorely disappointed when they were gone. I'm thinking we're going to be making these often.

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale, rinsed and dried

1 tsp or less of canola or olive oil

seasoned salt

Tear the kale off the hard stems, and roughly chop them into small, bite-sized pieces. Toss them in a big bowl with the oil. At the suggestion of my sister, I put the oil in the bottom of the bowl, then added the kale to toss. It would work perfectly if you had one of those oil spritzers since the kale should be coated, but VERY lightly with oil. Sprinkle the kale with seasoned salt, and spread on a baking sheet coated with Pam. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. You want the edges to be barely browning, and the chips to be crispy. The timing really is the hardest part of this recipe. You'll want to check them often starting at 10 minutes, and they may be done then. I had a handful of chips ready at 10 minutes, but I had to bake the rest for at least 5 minutes more. They are delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

2011-04-30T08:09:00.005-05:00

(Image courtesy of Nestle's Very Best Baking Site)

We had my mother-in-law over for dinner and dessert to celebrate her birthday last week, and I was looking for something a little different than a cake. I stumbled upon this recipe, and I knew it was a winner. This is absolutely the easiest pie I have ever made - it's even easier than making chocolate chip cookies. It took me less than two minutes from the time I started my mixer until the pie was in the oven. If you are looking for a SIMPLE, very quick, and delicious recipe, this is a great go-to. It's one of those recipes that you can remember and not have to even consult the recipe in the process. We served it warm with homemade vanilla ice cream.

Here is the link to the recipe.

I did make a couple of changes. I omitted the nuts since I didn't have any on hand, and I added a teaspoon of vanilla. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. In the future, I would use mini chocolate chips since mine all sank to the bottom. It didn't change the flavor at all, but it looked a little off when we cut into it. That didn't change the fact that we gobbled it up so quickly I was unable to get a picture, though!

Sidenote: My favorite restaurant dessert (at least my favorite every-day restaurant dessert) is the Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie from Chili's. It is the only one I crave. Of course, it was deemed one of the 20 worst-for-you desserts in America. =P This pie could be almost exactly the same by adding walnuts and coconut to the filling and hot fudge and caramel sauce to the top of the ice cream. Delicious!

Texas Caviar

2011-04-29T13:30:00.003-05:00

I wish I knew who to give the credit to for the basis of this recipe. My mom has been making a version of this ever since we moved to Texas in the mid-90's. It's a part of most of our summer gatherings. I made up my version this afternoon for our dinner group tomorrow night, and I can't stop dipping into it. Yum!

Alicia's Texas Caviar

2 bell peppers (I do one yellow and one red), finely diced

2 stalks of celery, finely diced

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced

1 can black-eyed peas, drained

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

salt & pepper

approx. 1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing

Mix everything together in a large bowl, cover, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve with tortilla chips (my favorite for this is the Tostitos with a hint of lime), Fritos, or even with shredded chicken as a salad. Make sure to taste some of the caviar on a chip and add salt, pepper, or dressing as needed.

Everyone has their own version of Texas Caviar, and here are a few other things you can add: black olives, tomatoes (even a can of Rotel), avocado, green onions, jalapenos, or chickpeas.

Enjoy!

Easter Scavenger Hunt

2011-04-22T12:03:00.000-05:00

This little guy (who my daughter insists is a girl) showed up in our yard this Spring and has made himself...I mean 'herself' at home. Just in time for Easter.

Growing up my parents always did the neatest thing for Easter, and this year will be the first year we have a child old enough to understand and participate. Instead of just having our Easter baskets laying out for when we woke up on Easter morning, they would send us on a scavenger hunt. We'd find the first clue in a basket of candy on the kitchen table. It would lead us around the house finding little treasures at the end of each clue. It was always so fun and exciting and something we really looked forward to. The last clue led us to our Easter baskets.

We decided to do the same thing at our house, but with a little twist. We're going to have the kids' empty Easter baskets on the table with their first clue. Then they can carry their baskets around on the scavenger hunt to collect their goodies. I made a little rhyme for each clue, and they are super simple. As they get older, we can make it more challenging.

As I mentioned in my last post, we're all super sick around here, so we aren't going to be able to get out to get all of the goodies in time for Easter. But, since my kids are 3 and 1, they have no clue Easter is April 24th. So we're just going to move the festivities to the following Sunday, and they'll be none-the-wiser. Also, this way I can bank on the after-Easter sales! Win-win. =)

If you're interested in this idea too, I found a really cute printable that you can use here. Happy hunting!

Relief

2011-04-21T11:57:00.005-05:00

We've been down for the count around here with viruses, ear infections, sinus infections, and even pneumonia. =( But it reminded me about a simple remedy I tried and fell in love with last year. My ears are completely blocked, and I've found no relief. This idea makes sense since steam loosens mucous. To steam the junk out of your ears, just bunch up a paper towel or a handful of cotton balls in the bottom of a cup. Pour steaming hot water (not boiling!) over just to dampen them, then cover your ear with the cup. The steam feels incredible on an aching, sore ear. It hasn't failed me yet. I wouldn't do this for either of my kids just yet, though. There's a really fine line between steaming the water enough to be effective and burning yourself. So proceed with caution!

Corncake Leftover Idea

2011-04-19T09:35:00.000-05:00

The corncakes I made the other day were a hit, but it makes quite a bit. With regular fruit and veggie pancakes, I am creative with how to use them up. We use them as the bread in peanut butter and honey sandwiches, toast them in the toaster and top with butter and cinnamon/sugar, etc. But with these savory corncakes, I had to pull out all of my creative energy. The result was a hit with the family. I made chicken pesto mini pizza, but any pizza toppings would be delicious. Here's what I did: Preheat your broiler in your oven making sure you have a rack 6 inches from the top. Spray a baking sheet with Pam, and arrange your corn cakes on top. Spread about a teaspoon of store-bought or homemade basil pesto on each cake. In a separate bowl, shred some chicken, and stir in some Caesar dressing just to coat. Layer this chicken mixture on top of each pesto-topped cake. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted and browning slightly. Be careful, though, as the line between "slightly browned" and "burnt-to-a-crisp" in the broiler can be a matter of seconds. Enjoy!

Cheesy Corncakes

2011-04-18T09:22:00.000-05:00

Have you checked out Weelicious yet? The link is also in my sidebar, and I have loved all of her ideas and recipes. I've been convicted lately about the amount of junk my 3-year-old is eating, so I plan to come up with a lunchtime meal plan based on her recipes. We started the other day with big plans. I saw her recipe for Italian Parmesan Corncakes and knew they'd be a hit with my kids. I grilled some chicken breasts with Italian seasonings and got to work gathering the ingredients...until I realized I didn't have them. Bummer. I was able to scrounge up some stand-ins, and my version was, in our humble opinions, delicious! Our lunch of grilled chicken, cheesy corncakes, and a side of marinara sauce was incredible. Hope you'll try it!

Alicia's Cheesy Corncakes

(based on Weelicious' recipe)

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

sprinkle of Italian seasoning

sprinkle of garlic powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1 cup of finely chopped spinach

1 tablespoon canola oil and more for cooking

Mix the corn muffin mix, cheese, seasonings, and baking powder in a bowl. Create a well in the center. Add egg and milk, and stir to combine. Stir in spinach, and allow to sit for 10 minutes (this step is always important for any type of pancake to make them light and fluffy) while your skillet preheats to 375 degrees. Use the canola oil to grease the skillet, and fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side until they're golden brown. Serve warm with marinara sauce for dipping.

As with any pancake recipe, you can be very creative in your veggie additions. These would be great with some chopped chickpeas, peas, or even broccoli.

A Little Trick

2011-04-17T09:16:00.002-05:00

Holy cow can 3-year-olds be fickle. One day mine LOVES yogurt, the next she says it's the "most worst thing in the whole wide world in my life." Drama. This goes for every single food in the history of the world (wherever does she get this drama?!). She actually eats a wide variety of foods, it's just a gamble as to what will please this princess from day-to-day. But I've found a trick that has yet to fail me. She will eat anything with sprinkles on it! Her problem is not that she doesn't actually like things, it's that she won't try them. But as soon as she gets a little taste, she always goes for it - almost no matter what. So if I can just get her to try something, we're golden. Another trick for the sprinkles: peruse the seasonal aisles of your grocery store after the holiday, and stock up on half-price sprinkles. I'm pretty sure they last forever without going bad, and this way you can have a fun stash at half the cost. I have a big container of Valentine's Day sprinkles with hearts and pink and red and yellow sprinkles - perfect for any day for a little girl. I also found a "Summer Fun" container last Fall that was filled with dinosaurs, sunshines, dolphins, etc. Hope this works for you!

Quinoa and Steel Cut Oats

2011-04-15T17:17:00.002-05:00

My poor kids are sick with a virus, and neither of them are interested in eating much. These are the times I try to make every calorie count because I truly believe that empty bellies (or bellies filled with empty calories) slow healing. When my kids lose their appetites, they tend toward high carb, low nutritional things like Goldfish crackers, Cheerios, etc. This afternoon I wanted to make something that would pack a punch (since neither of them went for the from-scratch, filled-with-veggies-and-whole-wheat-pasta chicken noodle soup I made). I had some quinoa in the fridge, so I combined that with some steel cut oats for a protein and nutrient-filled snack. And it was delicious! Here it is so I don't forget my combination.

Quinoa and Steel Cut Oatmeal

1/2 cup quinoa

1/2 cup steel cut oats

1 tsp cinnamon

2 small apples, cored, peeled, and chopped

a handful of dried cranberries

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 cup juice

1 tsp vanilla

brown sugar or a drizzle of honey to taste

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan. Add the milk and water, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir often, and add the juice as needed as the quinoa and oats absorb the water and milk. I ended up needing the entire extra cup of liquid. You basically don't want it to dry out before the quinoa and oats are finished cooking. After it is done, remove it from the heat, and stir in the vanilla. Give it a taste at this point. Since I used all-natural, no-sugar-added juice, it needed a little sweetening still. I chose brown sugar, but honey or agave nectar would be just as good.

*This recipe would also work in a slow cooker. Just mix the dry ingredients, then add 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of water. Place in a bowl that fits inside the bowl of the slow cooker, then pour water in between the bowls so it steams in a water bath. Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.

Ginormous Birthday Party Post

2011-04-12T15:39:00.007-05:00

All of my energy lately has gone into planning a super-fun and super-sized birthday party for both of my kids. Their birthdays are a day apart (one turning 3 and one turning one), so we combined them for a huge backyard bash. We did a gender-neutral carnival theme, and everything was big and bright.

Invitations

I love planning out fun invitations to kind-of set the stage for the party. I found a post online awhile back with links to really cute circus fonts. Using Circus, Big Top, and Cast Iron, I created several inserts for the party. One held all of the specifics, one asked guests to consider donating to one of our favorite charities in lieu of gifts, one was an admission ticket, and one was a bag topper. I also included a film strip with pictures of the birthday kids and a red balloon. I packaged them in cellophane bags, stapled the bag topper on, and sent them in red envelopes.

The Attire

Using my Cricut, I made t-shirts for the kids to wear with their age on the front. This was a simple, inexpensive, and precious project. My daughter is already talking about her number 4 shirt she wants me to make for next year. =)

The Party

Activities:

My favorite part was the photo booth. I set up a colorful sheet on a section of our fence and filled a bucket with accessories for people to choose from for a super-silly photo op. We're using these pictures in our thank-you's.

We also rented a bounce house and set up a handful of very simple carnival games. When I throw a party, a big part of my plans include trying to make everything self-serve so no one has to man anything the entire time. I want everyone (myself included!) to be able to relax and enjoy the party and not have to work.

Games:

Ping Pong Ball Toss:

I filled an old metal wagon with empty babyfood jars filled with water. Guests had to toss ping pong balls into the wagon trying to land them in the jars. The water helped people to grab the ball out of the top without having to pull each jar out every time.

Lid Launcher:

I used a snack jar on a table as a target, and guests threw babyfood jar lids adorned with scrapbook paper circles frisbee-style at the jar.

Penny Pitcher:

I covered an old coffee table with butcher paper and circle cut-outs of pictures of the kids. Guests tossed pennies onto the table trying to land them on the birthday girl's picture for 3 points (since she was turning 3) or the birthday boy's picture for 1 point.

Bean Bag Toss I made a handful of colorful, polka-dotted bean bags and set them up with a bucket at which to aim.

Guess the Gumballs

I filled a Mason jar with colorful gumballs and set them on a table with a basket filled with tickets and pens for guests to make their guess. The closest to the correct amount (267) got the jar.

We also set out bubbles and our sand table and labelled them with signs for fun. The Prizes:

And, of course, no carnival is complete without prizes. I made some tickets for each of the games, and our guests could trade them in for loot (Fun Dip, circus peanuts, Ring Pops, silly straws, stickers, and tons of other little trinkets).

The Decor

For decorations I used colorful scrapbook paper to create accordion-folded circles. These were used for the centerpieces (holding pictures in bright, plastic pots) and for the Happy Birthday banner above the food table. For all of the game signs, I created them in Word using some fun circus fonts I downloaded.

Colorful tablecloths and balloons rounded out the decor.

The Food

The menu was simple: hot dogs with all the fixin's, peanuts in the shell, animal crackers, chips, and sodas. Cupcakes and popsicles were dessert. I just made boxed cake mix with store-bought frosting to save time. I topped them three ways - with sprinkles and a gumball, with sprinkles and a tuft of cotton candy, and with marshmallows I made to look like popcorn (cut an x into the top of a mini marshmallow, then brush on a mix of about 1 tablespoon of water plus 1 drop of yellow food coloring).

My goal was to make this an economical but over-the-top party that my kids would enjoy. I wanted to do as much work ahead of time as possible to my husband and I could be a part of the joy the kids experienced, and I think it was a huge success. I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Simple and Quick Dinner Idea

2011-04-03T08:35:00.003-05:00

I've been hard at work planning and preparing for the kids' birthday party next weekend, so my dinners have been very last-minute lately. This is one of our favorites, and I definitely want to share. I crave this pasta at least once a month, but I could eat it daily. And I always have the ingredients on-hand, so it requires no planning ahead.

Easy Tomato Pasta Carbonara

1 lb spaghetti (but any long pasta will do)

1/2 red onion, chopped

4 strips of bacon, chopped

1 large can of diced tomatoes

2 eggs

parmesan cheese to taste

salt + pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. In a separate skillet, saute red onion and bacon until bacon is just under crispy. Add the tomatoes and their juices, and cook until warmed through. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, and add a handful of parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Toss in the hot, cooked pasta, and stir. Pour the bacon tomato mixture over top, and toss until well combined. Serve hot with some crispy bread.

A Little Help for Our Feathered Friends

2011-03-21T10:47:00.001-05:00

We've really been enjoying watching the birds gather nest-building supplies in our yard this season. We decided to lend a helping hand and add a little of our own flair. We gathered any dead grasses, small branches, etc. from the yard that looked like good, helpful nest-building items, and we threw in some leftover yarn from the stash. With all of the colors, it will be fun walking around the neighborhood admiring the nests. This was a fun, easy, and time-consuming educational project for my almost 3-year-old.

Babyfood Tip

2011-03-19T10:43:00.003-05:00

So many easy finger foods are too slippery for tiny fingers to maneuver. So, when you're wanting to feed things like diced avocado, banana, peaches, pears, etc., I found a really easy solution. Just take a handful of Cheerios or a graham cracker or two, and crush them in a Ziploc bag. Throw in your slippery diced foods, and shake them until they're coated. The Cheerio/graham cracker dust makes them much easier to handle. And these graham cracker-coated bananas tasted just like banana pudding. Yum!

Pretzel Sticks and Marshmallows

2011-02-17T08:53:00.000-06:00

A bowl of assorted marshmallows (gingerbread men, french vanilla snowmen, mini marshmallows, and jumbo marshmallows - all leftover from Christmas baking) and pretzel sticks turned into an entire day's worth of activity.
We used these to build all sorts of things from animal corrals, fences, houses, a mailbox, etc. The activity ended only when Miss Priss asked this mama to make a kangaroo...out of pretzels and marshmallows. Oh boy. I failed miserably, and we took a break.
Thankfully Daddy is extremely creative and resourceful, and he pulled through for her that evening.
Ta-da! A kangaroo made of pretzel sticks and marshmallows. Unreal!Clearly she was thrilled.

If you're looking to escape the doldrums of winter indoors, this was a cheap, easy way to entertain for the day!

Rainy/Snowy Day Fun

2011-02-16T06:47:00.003-06:00

The Texas weather has been CRAZY this winter leaving us guessing at times as to when we can leave the house again. We've had to pull out all the stops to keep these kids busy, and when something occupies this almost three-year-old's time for more than a few minutes, I like to share. One morning I grabbed some foam paintbrushes, a bottle of shaving cream, and filled up the bathtub. This little lady painted to her heart's content. You can mix a drop of food coloring into the shaving cream for another sensory element, but make sure to do so in a bowl and not in the tub. When the food coloring is completely mixed into the shaving cream, it should not stain your tub or grout.

Killer Cookies

2011-02-10T10:52:00.001-06:00

On the afternoon of Superbowl Sunday, I got the urge to bake some cookies to take alongside our other goodies to the Superbowl party. I wanted to change up the traditional chocolate-chip variety. I remembered a recipe I had seen online called Killer Cookies. The original recipe stated that these cookies alone had made over $1,000 at a bake sale. Trying it was a must. My alterations were only due to my limited pantry contents. But, they were so good I'm not sure I'd change it in any way. Here's my spin on things:

Killer Cookies

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Mix these dry ingredients in a bowl, and set aside

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

Cream these with a mixer. Then add, one at a time,

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon pure Mexican vanilla

Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Then, stir in

2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

2 cups old-fashioned oats

2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

The mixture is really crumbly and difficult to mix, but it will all come together. I found that it was easiest to scoop the cookies with an ice cream scoop (the squeezable kind). Any other method just made everything fall apart.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes on greased cookie sheets. Then, allow the cookies to cool about 10 minute on the sheet. Try to avoid the temptation to dive right in as they will be WAY too messy to handle while hot.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Idea

2011-02-09T11:09:00.003-06:00

I saw this amazing website on TV this morning, and I can't stop thinking about the possibilities! Check them out if you have a minute.

Snow Days are for Baking

2011-02-09T10:39:00.004-06:00

Knowing it was going to be a crazy, icy, snowy day here in Texas, we loaded up with baking supplies. This coconut lime banana bread got the winning vote, and we spent the morning covered in flour and mashed bananas. If you're looking for a great recipe, this was a hit! I made it according to the recipe save for two things. I had already used all of our yogurt to make smoothies, so I just used a quarter cup of a smoothie in its place. Also, mine cooked for significantly longer than an hour - probably closer to 1 1/2 hours, actually. I've never had a problem with my oven timing following other recipes, so it may be that this recipe was written for a convection oven. Enjoy!

est1930

2011-02-07T20:57:00.004-06:00

My sister and I have always talked about opening an etsy shop together. A few months back it became a reality with est1930. Our Grandma Trudy was our crafting legacy. She taught us to knit, sew, cross-stitch, cook, bake, etc. When we were at her house, we were always creating. Born in 1930, she is the inspiration for our store's name. We just wish she were still with us to receive the honor.We are slowly but surely (I have 2 kids 2 and under, and my sister teaches language arts at a performing arts middle school) stocking the store with goodies. Please visit, look around, and let us know if you have any special requests!

Hot Dog Octopus

2011-02-07T08:14:00.002-06:00

Have you ever seen this idea? Our Little Miss, while an adventurous eater, eats very little by way of protein. I try to get pretty creative, and this idea was a hit. I just took one turkey dog, and cut it in half. Then I cut octopus legs by slicing the dog into 6 sections being careful to stop cutting about an inch from the gathered end. Then, just drop them in boiling water for a few minutes, and they curl right up. You could get really creative and draw faces with ketchup and mustard, or just serve them up to your hungry kid!

Handmade Christmas 2010

2011-01-31T14:38:00.005-06:00

Continuing the annual tradition, I made most of our Christmas gifts again this year and wanted to showcase them here.
First up, my baby boy. I decided to make a quilt for each of our kids for their first Christmas. I tried quilting my son's but it didn't turn out the way I would have liked, so I'm ripping out the quilting and starting over. Here is the top, though.
Our 2 1/2-year-old daughter is very into mommy-ing. We saw the doll bed that I posted about here, and had to make it for her. My husband and I made the bed, and I made a bedding to complete it for her.
For my nieces, one in college and one in high school, I made ruched scarves.

For my sister-in-law and her family, a "Table Talk" jar filled with dinner time conversation starters. For my 4 1/2-year-old nephew, a drawstring bag with a tic-tac-toe quilt and bean bags to use in place of the x's and o's.For my almost 2-year-old nephew, a bucket filled with magnetic fish and a fishing pole.For my oldest nephew (9-years-old), I made a magnetic bag and pencil/pen holder with a composition notebook and a fun daily writing prompt book inside.

For my 7-year-old nephew, we made a spy kit with all of the necessities for spying.There is a caution tape and twine dispenser:

A notebook for collecting clues and a secret envelope with papers to create secret spy codes:
A couple of bags with fingerprinting tools and evidence collecting necessities (tweezers, tape measure, etc.):

As always, it was a ton of fun to put everything together and to gather ideas for all of the kids. Each year I start earlier and earlier, and I'm already putting together some ideas for next Christmas. =)

S'Mores Brownies

2011-01-22T14:30:00.003-06:00

I brought these brownies to our Bible study Friday night, and they were a hit. I just baked a pan of brownies according to the directions. After they were finished, I topped them with mini marshmallows, broken up Hershey milk chocolate bars, and broken graham crackers. Then I stuck it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes (until the marshmallow melted and browned slightly). We served it with vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert.

White Elephant Gift Idea

2010-12-11T12:30:00.003-06:00

(Photo courtesy of Caffeine, Kids, and Knitting)

One couple at our Bible study's Christmas party last night brought the cutest white elephant gift idea, and I thought I'd share. It was a gift box with a silk mistletoe, a pack of breath mints, and Chapstick. So fun and creative. Why not knit your own mistletoe to include with it?

One of the cutest things I've ever seen...

2010-12-07T10:57:00.003-06:00

I can hardly wait to make this Santa Party Mix this week! Absolutely precious.

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

2010-11-19T20:05:00.005-06:00

Our family has started a tradition in the past few years of taking a family picture just before Thanksgiving to use in a photo card for Christmas. It has been such a fun tradition, and we look forward to looking back on each year's photo to see how we've changed and grown. To go from two dogs in 2007 to two kids in 2010 is crazy fun. =)

The only difficulty each year is actually choosing a card. Generic cards are easy to find. Cards that share our faith - that we're wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas" and not "Seasons' Greetings" - are much more sparse. Typically the choices are few, and most are boring. So, when I clicked on a sidebar ad the other day to peruse Shutterfly's selection, I was shocked to find so many choices bearing the details we desire in a card. Look at how cute some of these are!

I love these!

Plus, they have a ton of other options that I was unaware of like personalized gift tags,
Christmas party invitations,

Photo calendars,

Photo mugs,
and even Address labels that coordinate with the Christmas cards.

Then, several days later, I saw a blog post of a friend talking about earning 50 free cards by blogging about her favorite Shutterfly products. Perfect! And, if you're interested, make sure you visit their site to find out how you can earn 50 free cards too!

Here's the thing - good luck sticking to just the 50 cards! Once you start looking around the site, you may stumble upon many more things to fill your cart.

I'm seeing a version of this under our tree for sure!

2010-11-19T09:04:00.002-06:00

I can't wait to get started on this! What a precious gift for a little girl. Do you know anyone who would love this as much as my sweet daughter?

Chocolate-covered Marshmallows

2010-11-08T12:47:00.003-06:00

We made some gift buckets for our neighbors for Halloween, and I had to share the only handmade element - chocolate-covered marshmallows. I've seen this idea floating around the Internet, and it was the easiest and probably most versatile thing I've ever made. You just put a jumbo marshmallow on the end of a lollipop stick, dip the top in melted chocolate, then decorate with sprinkles. This could be so fun with white chocolate and crushed candy canes, dark chocolate and crumbled graham crackers, or milk chocolate and mini M&Ms. The possibilities are endless, and it's the perfect quick and easy favor!

My new favorite soup

2010-10-18T14:24:00.002-05:00

This soup is easy and out of this world delicious! I highly recommend it.

Spicy Butternut Squash and Chicken Soup

1 small diced onion

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 cups of cubed butternut squash

2 cups chicken stock/broth

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup chopped cooked chicken

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp black pepper

fresh lime juice

bunch of cilantro

Cook onion and celery in a saucepan over medium heat in a drizzle of olive oil for 5 minutes while stirring. Stir in squash, broth, tomatoes, chicken, ginger, salt, cumin, and pepper, and mix well.

Cover, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until squash is tender. Stir in the juice of one lime, and serve with fresh cilantro sprinkled on top.

Yum!

Patchwork Colored Pencil Roll

2010-10-18T14:22:00.001-05:00

I love this project! Crayon/colored pencil/marker rolls are all over etsy right now, and I thought I'd try my hand at a pieced version for my nephew's birthday. I love the way it turned out, and it was super easy if you're looking for a quick project.

Heart-Healthy Barbecue Sauce

2010-10-03T13:11:00.002-05:00

My family and I are spending some time with my parents trying to help them out following my dad's quadruple bypass surgery. I've been busy dreaming up heart-healthy (low fat, low/no sodium, and no sugar) recipes. One of our favorites is homemade barbecue chicken pizza (which we make with whole wheat flour), so I tried to find some good heart-healthy barbecue sauce at the grocery store to no avail. I searched for some recipes and based this recipe off of several of those. It is delicious, and I can't wait to have this on our pizza for dinner!

Heart-Healthy Barbecue Sauce

1/4 white onion, finely chopped

1 small can tomato paste

Diet Coke (I filled the tomato paste can twice to measure)

2 Tablespoons heart-healthy ketchup

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon mustard

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp worchestershire sauce

a shake or two of your favorite Mrs. Dash

In a skillet over medium heat, saute the onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir to combine. Simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes until the flavors combine and the sauce thickens slightly. Add more of your ingredients to taste.

Rainbow Cake on a Stick

2010-09-27T10:20:00.003-05:00

One of our favorite boys turns two today. Since he got a baby brother as an early birthday gift, we offered to make a cake to deliver to free up her hands a little more. I've been wanting a reason to try out this Rainbow Cake, so we dove in. It was such a fun lesson for my daughter in color-mixing and measuring. We had a blast. I made the cake in loaf pans to cut down into a square, so I had lots of scraps. While my 2-year-old napped, I dreamt up a fun creation for her that was a HUGE hit. I just cut hearts out of each color of cake, put a dot of frosting as glue between each heart, then put it on a stick. To say she was thrilled would be a gross understatement.

No more brown apple slices

2010-09-25T13:22:00.002-05:00

(Please forgive my absence lately. Our Internet has been spotty but is finally fixed. Hope to be back up and running regularly now!)

This is a great idea for packing apple slices for on-the-go snacking in a way that keeps them from turning brown. I love this!

Party Favor - Gummy Skewers

2010-09-04T12:21:00.001-05:00

What a cute idea! Find the how-to here.

Blackberry Muffins

2010-08-29T22:26:00.003-05:00

My mom went blackberry picking a couple of months ago, and she gave me a TON. We've been eating blackberry pancakes, blackberry smoothies, blackberry cobbler, and blackberry syrup on ice cream. Yum, yum, yum. I wanted to find a good blackberry muffin recipe, but I just couldn't find one anywhere. I did some combining and review-reading to come up with this recipe, and it is a hit. I think it could use some tweaking, but as-is they're amazing, and I guarantee there will be none left.

Blackberry Muffins

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups blackberries (rinsed, and dried, and dusted with flour)

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup milk

Streusel Topping:

4 Tablespoons white sugar

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

1 tsp cinnamon

2 Tablespoons cold butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir with a whisk.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the 1/2 cup of butter with the white and brown sugar until fluffy and light. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

Gently stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk until well-combined.

Add the blackberries, and fold lightly.

In a separate bowl, use a pastry blender (or two knives or even a fork) to mix the streusel topping ingredients.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop, fill a greased (or paper-lined) muffin tin. Sprinkle approx. 1/2 Tablespoon of streusel mixture on top of each muffin, and bake for 25 minutes.

Personalized Tag Blanket

2010-08-23T12:21:00.000-05:00

I LOVE this idea! I can't wait to make one for one of the many, many babies in my life.

Had to share

2010-08-22T20:39:00.002-05:00

I've made this cake a few times now, and it is always a HUGE hit. It is so easy and delicious that it's just too good not to share. It is made from a box cake mix, whipped cream (in a tub), Butterfinger bars, and caramel sauce (in a jar). Couldn't be simpler. If you're looking for an easy cake to take to a party or potluck (or if you're just craving sweets!), go make this cake.

Kelly's Butterfinger Cake

Baby Shower Activity Idea

2010-08-17T12:48:00.004-05:00

Me, Leslie, Casey, Kim

A couple of weekends ago I helped to host another baby shower for one of my very best friends. She is expecting her second boy next month, and we wanted to bless her socks off. I am a big fan of doing something at a shower to create a lasting memory for the guest of honor. In this case, we made personalized onesies using fabric backed with heat and bond. It was such a hit, and everyone was so super creative. But the best part about this idea is that you can be as simple or as filled-with-creativity as you are comfortable with being. It really works for anyone.

The set-up

I made a sample to get the ball rolling

Instructions and supplies

We hung the onesies as decoration. Guests could go pick one and take it into the dining room to embellish.

The process: tracing, cutting, iron, embellishing

Some of the finished products - SO cute!

More party details: Cupcake toppers courtesy of the Cricut

Favors: Candy bar in the shower colors

This was probably one of the most fun I've ever had at a shower. If you're interested in the idea but don't feel up to re-creating it, look for the kit in my etsy shop this fall!

Cookies and Milk

2010-08-09T09:41:00.004-05:00

I threw a mid-morning cookies and milk baby shower for a great friend (at another great friend's house) a couple of weekends ago. It was a fun, simple morning, and I thought I'd share the details in case anyone needs any ideas.
The color scheme was chocolate brown, cream, and turquoise blue. The budget was very limited, so it was a fun challenge coming up with cute details at very little cost.

For these centerpieces, I just rolled diapers, tied them with raffia, and filled some blue glass vases we usually have in our master bedroom. Then, using double-sided tape, I wrapped them in ribbon to finish the look. Simple, practical, and precious!

Here's the cookie bar. I chose cookies that froze well. So I spent one week making one dough a day and freezing it. Then I just pulled them out the day before the shower and just baked and baked. The containers were all clear glass tied with raffia and a label in the color scheme.Lots of the details were made using the Cricut, a tool I'd highly recommend!
We played 2 games that turned out to be a lot of fun. The first was a game where I listed 20 crazy celebrity kids' names, and everyone had to guess whose child it was. The second was a match-the-mom-to-be game. I provided a word that's typically associated with a phrase or saying. Then people filled in the blank afterwards with the first thing that came to mind. For example, one was Little Boy _________. Another was Mom __________. We all had to fill in what we thought the mom-to-be would say. The prizes were the cookie-in-a-jars pictured in the center of the table below. Both game ideas were my talented, creative sister's.

The favors were cellophane bags to fill with cookies. Then I cut strips of tulle to use to tie them and strung all of the recipes on the tulle.

Fun weekend. Fun celebration!

One of my favorite projects ever!

2010-08-07T23:12:00.003-05:00

One of my very best friends is preparing for the arrival of her second sweet son. I saw a similar quilt somewhere (can't find it now to give credit where credit is due!), and I knew it would be perfect for her. I immediately got to work, finished this quilt weeks ago, and couldn't wait to give it to her this morning at her shower. I love, love, love how this turned out! It was so much fun to make too!

Recent Projects

2010-08-05T23:34:00.003-05:00

I have been sewing and crafting up a storm lately with little time to blog about it. Here are the contents of one of my latest boxes I shipped the other day. A great college friend of ours has a very sick baby girl. She's been in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately they were out of town when she got sick, so their two boys are at their grandparents' house. They haven't been home in weeks. This is probably my favorite tag blanket ever. It's a prayer quilt/taggie to comfort their sweet baby girl. I also made a set of alphabet bean bags (each bean bag has a button that the letters can be attached to) with a drawstring peek-a-boo bag to hold them. I loved both of these projects and had such a great time making them. I hope the recipients are blessed by them!

Quick and Easy Teriyaki Marinade

2010-07-28T15:17:00.003-05:00

I'm making a chicken teriyaki stir fry for dinner tonight out of things I keep in the freezer. But when I went to grab the marinade, I realized I must have run out. Parker's napping (which is rare), so I didn't want to wake him to go to the store for one measly thing. So I decided to throw some things together to see if I could come up with a good recipe. I love the way it turned out, and I wanted to make sure to save it here for future reference. Hope you find it useful!

Alicia's Last-Minute Teriyaki Marinade

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)

black pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

about 1 inch of fresh ginger, minced

Throw it all together, and refrigerate until needed!

I'm planning on roasting some chicken breasts, dicing them, and throwing them over a bag of stir fry vegetables steamed with a bag of green beans with this marinade drizzled on top. Yum!

Holiday Craft-along

2010-07-25T07:45:00.004-05:00

Can you believe it's time to get started on Christmas crafting? Hobby Lobby certainly can as their aisles are already loaded with green and red, sprigs of evergreen laced with shiny ribbons, and thousands of glittery ornaments.

I just ran across this Handmade Holiday Craftalong link that already has some amazing ideas. I plan to follow along and sew up a storm in the next few months, and I thought it may be helpful for some of you! Here's the link.

Uses for pool noodles

2010-07-21T08:46:00.005-05:00

Last week we had a major black mold disaster during our master bathroom DIY remodel which ended with our family in a hotel. I was so thankful for this helpful hint from a friend as it made our night MUCH easier. Our 2-year-old sleeps in a twin-sized bed with bed rails. She's too tall to sleep in a pack-n-play comfortably, and bed rails are way too cumbersome to be portable. So we stopped at the Dollar Tree to buy some pool noodles which we used along the edge of the bed between the fitted sheet and mattress. It worked perfectly, and she slept soundly.
I've been meaning to post this idea for awhile now. Then this morning when I was catching up on Craft Gossip, I saw another fun pool noodle use which caused me to do a little Google search. Turns out there are tons of ideas out there for this inexpensive piece of foam. Here are just a few I stumbled upon.
Out of the Crayon Box's idea for using a pool noodle to make a wreath form. She went from this:
to this:Obsessively Stitching's Flower Party Decor:

My Little Gems' Lacing with Water Noodles:

My Little Gems' Water Noodle Race Tracks:

Craftzine's Flower Garland:

Thumbprint Tree

2010-07-16T20:33:00.003-05:00

My husband officiated a wedding over the 4th of July weekend, and I was lucky enough to get to attend. There were so many amazing details, and this was one of my favorites. Instead of a guest book, they had a print of a tree minus the leaves. On the table was a green ink pad that each guest used to make a thumbprint leaf on the tree. Then everyone signed their name by the leaf. I found a store on etsy that sells these precious prints, and they're a great deal in my humble opinion. If you're interested, click here.

Dolly Donations

2010-07-08T20:53:00.002-05:00

This is what Hannah and I have been up to this evening...sewing dolls for this amazing organization to donate to a Haitian orphanage. I would highly encourage you to go check out this website for simple patterns that use your scrap fabric to make the day (year?) of a child.

Itty Bitty Crafting

2010-06-26T08:26:00.003-05:00

I just saw this craft idea on Craft Gossip, and I can't wait to try it. My experience as far as crafting with kids goes is mainly with kindergarten-aged kids and up. I love crafting with my 2-year-old, but I feel like I rarely have good ideas that stimulate her. Also, I find that I spend 30 minutes putting together a project for her that she ends up spending 30 seconds completing. I think a more detailed version of this box would be so much fun for her. I'm thinking I'll decorate it like a flower box and let her create flowers on pipe cleaners to "plant" inside. She is going to love this! Hope it inspires you too.

Dying Pasta

2010-06-24T08:08:00.000-05:00

It is HOT here in Texas, so I'm always looking for fun, creative, open-ended activities to while away our time in the air conditioning. Gluing seems to be a huge hit around here. I've been cutting paper scraps for her to glue. I also have used dried beans, lentils, and pasta. I ran across this idea for coloring pasta and thought I'd share.

What you'll need: pasta, food coloring, rubbing alcohol, and Ziploc bags.
Fill a Ziploc bag with pasta. Then add 1 tsp of rubbing alcohol and a half dozen (or so) drops of food coloring. Close the bag, and shake it until the color is well-distributed. This is a great step to have the kids help with.Let the pasta sit in the bags for 15-30 minutes for the pasta to absorb the color. Then spread the pasta onto a cookie sheet to dry overnight.
I was skeptical because it seemed like the color would rub off onto our hands, but it hasn't at all. The rubbing alcohol wets the pasta just enough for it to absorb the food coloring, then it evaporates leaving the pasta completely dried and colored. This is an easy, cheap, and fun activity! We've used these for sorting, gluing, and as a sensory activity in a tub with scoops and measuring cups.

Sorting

2010-06-23T07:59:00.002-05:00

Here's a fun cheap/free activity for your little busybody to use up some of the hot afternoon indoor time this summer. Grab a handful of different-colored objects and a muffin tin, and let them sort by color. I used my button stash, and my 26-month-old sat for a solid HOUR sorting buttons! She's begged daily for a week to play with them again. With a newborn, I'm always looking for ways to keep her busy having fun while I'm tending to him. This was a HUGE hit. Other ideas for sorting: coins by type, spools of thread, crayons, milk jug caps, or even colored scrapbook paper cut into squares or punched with a hole punch. Happy sorting!

The Plan

2010-06-06T20:32:00.002-05:00

Well, after posing a question on Facebook regarding meal planning and talking to some people who have planned meals for awhile, the plan is underway. My goal was to get started by the time my son was 2 months old. Today's his 2-month birthday, and tomorrow the plan begins!

I'm so thankful that my sister wanted to join me in this endeavor. Because we're both going in together, we're only having to plan half of the weeks. We're doing one seafood day, one vegetarian day, and homemade pizzas every Friday (thanks Tara!). We started a blog, Feeding our Families, to keep everything straight, so you're welcome to check it out, follow along, and/or contribute recipes. The way we're using it is to make sure the week is up well in advance. That way we can print the recipes, make our grocery list, and shop for up to 2 weeks at a time if we want. We can also spend time preparing food the weekend prior if need be.

Another aspect of the blog is going to be to compile recipes for freezer-friendly meals and desserts. This way it can serve as a resource if we have some free time that we'd like to spend making meals to freeze or if we want to have dessert one evening. Please feel free to comment with ideas for those as well.

As this is a work-in-progress, we'd love any input you have that might make things function more smoothly. But, for now, we've got a dozen or so weeks planned out with zero meals repeated so far! And we're really excited to be trying out so many new, delicious things. Here's to planning ahead and not playing the grocery game each and every evening!

Alphabet Pillow

2010-06-05T20:56:00.002-05:00

(Photo courtesy of MarthaStewart.com)

I just ran across this idea on Craft Gossip and think it is so cute! It's an easy sewing project that packs a learning punch. I can't wait to make this in colors that compliment my daughter's room. As a lover of letters, she would love this!

Spicy Italian Meat Sauce

2010-05-30T14:18:00.002-05:00

This is a spaghetti sauce recipe from a long-time family friend. I first made this when I was in high school, and I have been craving it for years now. Thankfully she remembered the recipe and sent it to me a few months ago, made it for us just after we brought our son home from the hospital, and made an extra batch for us to freeze. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we do!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup celery

1/2 cup green peppers

2 tablespoons snipped parsley

2 cloves minced garlic

8 ounces ground turkey sausage

8 ounces ground turkey breast

1 (28-oz) can tomatoes with juices, chopped

1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

1 (8-oz) can tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1 bay leaf

Spray a Dutch oven or saucepan with non-stick spray (or coat with olive oil), and add mushrooms, onions, celery, green peppers, parsley, and garlic. Cook while stirring 5 minutes over medium heat or until vegetables are tender.

Add the turkey sausage and breast, and cook about 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Stir in the tomatoes, sauce, paste, basil, salt, oregano, paprika, red pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours. Serve over spaghetti or spaghetti squash.

Green Rice

2010-05-26T08:18:00.004-05:00

We love the cilantro lime rice at Chipotle. We've tried to research recipes to recreate it as closely as possible, but so far everything's fallen short. I like the imitations, but they're nothing like the original to me. Anyway, last night we had enchiladas, and I really wanted a new rice recipe to go with it. I remember seeing Bobby Flay (maybe on a Throwdown episode, but I can't remember) making a green sauce with sauteed spinach for rice one time, so I incorporated that idea but with my own spin. We were very pleased with the result, so here it is.

Alicia's Green Rice

(serves 4)

1 cup basmati rice

2 Tbsp butter

juice of 1 lime

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

For Sauce:

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/8 cup green chile enchilada sauce (or enough to make your desired consistency)

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add rice and the juice of half a lime, and stir over the heat for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken stock, and bring to a boil stirring often. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes (or until the rice has absorbed all of the chicken stock). Add the rest of the lime juice and the chopped cilantro, then stir in the green sauce (directions below).

Green sauce: Process spinach, cilantro, and enchilada sauce in a food processor until smooth. (Note: I always use Pict Sweet frozen chopped spinach. It's very handy because you can keep it in the freezer and measure out as much as you need to thaw since it's not in a big block like boxed sauteed spinach.)

Enjoy!

Meal Planning

2010-05-22T09:59:00.003-05:00

Does anyone out there meal plan? We're about to start, and I'm really looking forward to it. I have found myself in a rut where I don't start thinking about dinner until either I get hungry for it or until it's too late to do a grocery run (with two kids) and prepare.
So, do you have any good advice? I will definitely value it. I'm planning on sharing helpful hints and what has worked for us once it's all said and done. And here are my stipulations:
I'd like the meals to be healthy.
I want to use pantry things wisely so nothing goes to waste. (For example, if I have to buy a special type of oil for a recipe, I don't want to only use one tablespoon then store it in the pantry until it spoils since there was no other use for it.)
We're doing one vegetarian dinner and one fish dinner each week.
So there you have it. Please chime in (if you haven't already on Facebook!) with your ideas, inspiration, experience of what works and what doesn't, etc. And I'll keep you posted from this end.

Muffin Tin Meals

2010-05-19T21:40:00.002-05:00

Anyone else have a finicky 2-year-old who LOVES cheese today but will despise it tomorrow? Me too. For some reason serving food in creative ways makes ALL the difference in my house. My daughter will try almost anything as long as it is artfully arranged. Lately I've been trying to hold myself accountable to offering a variety of foods at each meal (something I used to be good at doing but have fallen off the make with lately). Serving meals in muffin tins helps so much because there are six or twelve cups that need to be filled. Here are a few of the meals I've served lately.
This would be fun with themes too. For example, you could serve food of all one color or shape. My daughter loves fun-shaped foods. One of the things she requests the most often are "cumber fwies" (cucumber fries). I just cut veggies into matchsticks and call them fries, and it works! She's also pretty fond of moons (half circles), circles, squares, and calling things fun names. She calls broccoli "baby trees" and eats a ton.

Think outside of the box, too. You could fill one cup with peanut butter, hummus, nuts, raisins, yogurt, etc.

Hope this idea helps you get some food with nutritious value into your picky preschoolers!

Great idea!

2010-05-18T16:05:00.003-05:00

I love this idea. How fun, easy, and sentimental. I think it would make a great gift from kids. Check out her entire blog, too. LOTS of great "unplugged" ideas.

What I'm up to

2010-05-14T08:46:00.000-05:00

Loving this quilt for one of my favorite boys!

Shaving Cream

2010-05-12T08:40:00.000-05:00

When I used to teach, shaving cream was a go-to activity for a rainy day. This will be a huge hit with your preschool/pre-K aged children. And it's cheap, easy, and quick to pull together. I always buy sensitive skin shaving cream (pictured above). Just squirt a dab onto your counter, give your child plastic silverware, scrub brushes, paint brushes, etc., and let them go to town. The best parts: the shaving cream will eventually dissolve, so you'll only need a damp cloth to clean up, shaving cream will clean anything off your counter - including permanent marker - so do this where you need some clean-up, shaving cream doesn't stain clothes! If you want to add another dimension, stir in some food coloring before you give it to your child. You can do the primary colors and let them mix for a color-mixing lesson, let them use it as finger paint, or coordinate it for birthday parties or holidays.

Have fun! We sure did!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-11T08:19:00.003-05:00

A few years ago I started hosting a Mother's Day lunch to honor all of the special moms in my life - whoever's in town, really. I was really hoping I'd be up for doing it again this year. But the week before I got a sinus infection (oh, and I have a newborn and a 2-year-old!), so it was a bit last-minute. I was able to host, but everything was scaled back. I can't wait to gather ideas and recipes for a big celebration next year!

Since I'm always concocting new recipes, I like to sit down as soon as possible to write them out so I don't forget. And I think the new ones this year were a hit, so here you go!

Asparagus Quiche

1 pie crust (any recipe or store-bought crust will work)

5-6 slices of Swiss cheese (you could also use gruyere)

1/2 cup steamed asparagus tips

1/8 cup Black Forest ham, cut in cubes

2 Tbs chives (fresh or dried)

4 eggs

3/4 cup milk

salt and pepper

Line the bottom and sides of a tart pan with the pie crust. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom to prevent the crust from rising. Cover with aluminum foil, fill with dried beans or pie weights, and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. The crust will not be done, but you want to get it started so the filling does not make it soggy.

Line the bottom of the tart with one layer of cheese. Sprinkle with asparagus, ham, and chives. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper, and pour into the crust to within 1/8 inch of the top of the pan.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until set, and serve immediately.

Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake with Blueberry Sauce

1 loaf French bread cut into 1-inch cubes

1 8-oz package of cream cheese

1 1/2 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen will work just fine)

12 eggs, beaten

1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 cups milk

1 Tbs vanilla

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups blueberries (again, fresh or frozen)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

2 Tbs cornstarch

2 Tbs butter

1 tsp vanilla

The night before, line a greased 9x13 deep baking dish with half of the bread cubes. Cube the cream cheese, and sprinkle evenly over the bread. Spread the blueberries, then top with the remaining bread cubes. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes, and press the cubes down to soak up the custard. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake another 25-30 minutes until top is slightly browned and the center is set.

For the sauce, combine sugar, water, and cornstarch in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil for 3 minutes, then add 1 1/2 cups blueberries. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 more minutes stirring occasionally. When all of the blueberries have burst, remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.

Serve the sauce over the casserole. Yum!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Cleaning Pennies

2010-05-03T13:09:00.004-05:00

The new big sister in this house is really having to get used to staying home a lot more than she's used to. I thought it might be fun to come up with at least one activity that she and I can do together each day to keep her busy, give us a chance to have some one-on-one time, and learn a little along the way. We've been cooking together, crafting, and reading lots of books. One particular project she loved. She's asked to do it again and again ever since.

Cleaning Pennies, Preschool-Style

Gather some white vinegar, salt, cotton swabs, paper towel, water, and a bunch of dirty pennies.
Have your child shake some salt into a bowl, and add vinegar. There are no exact measurements.
Drop all of the dirty pennies into the vinegar/salt mixture.Using the cotton swabs, scrub both sides of each penny, then drop them into the water to rinse.Dry the pennies on some paper towels.Then drop them back into your piggy bank!
Fun times!

Painting Tip

2010-04-24T12:48:00.000-05:00

When I paint with latex paint, the brush always wicks up so much paint into the bristles and the handle that it takes forever to wash out and wastes a ton of paint. In order to avoid this, wet the brush, and shake it out before painting so it is damp. Great tip and makes a HUGE difference!

Mother's Day

2010-04-22T12:46:00.002-05:00

I found a great post linking to TONS of Mother's Day crafting ideas. It's not too late to get started making something for mom. I'm dogearing this for future birthdays as well. Enjoy!

Embellishing Hand Sanitizer

2010-04-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

I came across this cute idea while perusing the Internet recently. What a great idea! You could go with any theme, and think creatively. Maybe make one that matches a new baby's nursery. You could make one for a relative in a nursing home, as a teacher gift, and for your family doctor or pediatrician's office. Vets, dentists, church nurseries...the possibilities are endless. What a cute idea!

Plantable Paper

2010-04-16T14:13:00.004-05:00

(Photo courtesy of Alpha Mom)

Alpha Mom has a really great tutorial for plantable paper. This would be a great idea to use as gift tags or name cards for table settings. But I think I'm going to make some to use as thank-you cards. What a fun project! My 2-year-old would love helping me with this one.

Two more cute ideas

2010-04-09T13:50:00.003-05:00

Serving Pink Lemonade has a precious tutorial on a felt toolbox that I'd love to make.

And The Magic Bean has a great idea to make fabric photo baby blocks.

Can't wait to be back in the crafting business and get to work!

I see this in my baby boy's future...

2010-04-07T11:16:00.002-05:00

(Photo courtest of The Creative Maven)

What a cute project! You can find the tutorial for this toolbelt using a placemat here.

Bubble Snakes

2010-04-06T08:04:00.001-05:00

Here's another cute idea I saw on CraftGossip.com. If you're not already following that site, I highly recommend you do. They have so many great ideas.

Crinkle Bots

2010-04-03T08:23:00.005-05:00

(Photo courtesy of PrudentBaby.com)

I think I need to make one of these this afternoon. LOVE them for a little boy. You can find the tutorial here.

Wish I would have found this sooner!

2010-04-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

Since I'm literally days away from delivering our sweet baby boy, these links aren't very useful. But I wanted to dogear this for any of you expectant moms out there or for my (potential) future pregnancies. Very cool.

Peepshi

2010-04-01T12:05:00.003-05:00

(Photo courtesy of seriouseats.com)
This is awesome. Peeps are so cheap, and this is such a great idea!