{Makes} Spring Egg Nests

These were so cute, I couldn't share!

But also so easy, that I felt silly to write a full pic-by-pic tutorial.

To make Spring Egg Nests:

Mini Twist Pretzels

Melting Chocolate of your Choice

Spring Colored M&M's

The biggest task for me was finding Peanut Free Melting Chocolate!

I used to love making candy, with CandyMelts but they are processed with Peanuts, so they are a no go in out house. So, I went with good old fashioned Chocolate Chips, and a small amount of shortening. 

You can use a double boiler, crockpot, etc to melt your chocolate. I went with a small pot on the stove, on low. Just keep an eye on it or it will get crunchy. Once melted I dropped a handful of pretzels in the pot and flipped them over with a fork, then pulled them out.

Here's where you will learn from my mistake! See the pic? I put the chocolate covered pretzels on my cooling rack, while it wasn't a complete disaster, it was not as easy as I thought it would be to get the pretzels back off once cooled! Next time I will do wax paper instead. 

Before your chocolate cools all the way, place an M&M in each hole of the pretzel, leaving them towards the middle make them look more like eggs, rather than standing straight up and down or laying down. 

Because your chocolate isn't boiling hot, I think kids could help with the M&M part!

That's it! A quick, easy, cute spring treat! I think these would be cute for any spring event, baby showers, birthdays, bridal showers! Or Easter (like I did!)

{Cooks} Bacon Mac & Cheese

Ah! Things are still super crazy here, so I've been pulling out all my easy recipes!

When my husband and I first bought our home in 2007, 

I perfected my Mac and Cheese making skills.

Little did I know, he wasn't as head over heels for Mac and Cheese as I was!

Oops!

So last week, when I decided to whip up a batch on a busy night, I decided to add something my husband loves. Bacon!

I've seen a ton of recipes online, but I just went the easy route. 

Make my Mac and Cheese, add crispy bacon crumbles!

To make My Mac and Cheese:

Elbow Macaroni, 1/2 box

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

2 cups milk

2 cups cheese (your choice!)

Bacon

I cook my pasta according to its direction, drain and set aside. 

Then using the same pasta pot (less dishes!), I melt the butter and stir in the flour.

You want it to form a paste, so to speak. This is called a roux.

Using a whisk, I add the milk. I like to work over a medium heat, so I don't scorch the milk.

Once all the roux is incorporated, you start adding your cheese. 

We had some cheddar (not sharp) straight from Wisconsin! It was amazing!

 (long story on how we got cheddar straight from Wisconsin!)

Now, in a frying pan, while I cooked the pasta an cheese sauce I cooked my bacon.

Once it was all cooked, I crumbled it over top the the Mac and Cheese.

Oh my. Why have I never done this before?!?!

There wasn't any left!

What are your go to easy and quick meals?

Don't forget you can always make Mac & Cheese in the crockpot too!

Bazinga!

If your a Sheldon, or The Big Bang Theory fan, you've heard of Bazinga!

Soon after I had Wyatt I got hooked into the show, and so did Carter!

So for Christmas ( I can't believe I am just posting this!) I made several Bazinga shirts, the first ones for Wyatt, Carter and the Hubs!

Want to make your own? It was pretty easy!

 To make my Bazinga Tshirts, I just used iron on transfers. 

I created the "pow" in photoshop and download a comic book looking font, Bangers. It's a free font!  

Added the word BAZINGA! over the "pow"

Reversed it so that it printed out backwards ( the most important step!)

Ironed and I was done!

Have you ever made any fun tshirts? 

I've been thinking about stitching over the letters so that the letter's don't fade! What do you think?

Black Bean "Salsa"

Wow, it's been a while since I have shared anything yummy with you all!

Not only was this super yummy, but easy and cheap too!

Here's what I did to make:

1 can corn

1 can black beans ( rinsed)

1 red onion chopped

2-3 plum tomatoes chopped

Salt and Pepper

(If I had some lemons or limes I would have juiced one and added to!)

Now, I am calling this a salsa, but we used it as the filling for soft tacos and quesadillas!

I've also been known to eat it over lettuce as a salad. Yum!

Toffee Popcorn

After making my White Chocolate Popcorn,
I got thinking about my mother's neighbor's Toffee Popcorn. 

After a search I found this recipe and got to work.

I didn't change much from the recipe, except for the baking. 

(Oh, and peanuts! I left them out since we are unsure of Carter being allergic)

I struggled with stirring it in the oven, so I gave up, but it came out just as good as I expected. Plus I have a teeny tiny wall oven from ancient times so it's hard to find pans that fit too. 

I'm jealous of anyone with a normal sized oven!

As for the pans I used, I found that a metal cake pan that was lined with foil and sprayed with Pam worked best. My cookie sheet ( with sides) just greased didn't work so great, it actually started to burn the excess toffee.  Which tasted like roasted marshmellows ( I kept it for myself!) Lastly, my glass pyrex with Pam made for very sticky popcorn on the bottom layer, it didn't harden right. So, I am guessing that the tin foil helped harden all the popcorn ( At least I think so!)

Either way, it was delish and I will be making again!

Baby Flannel Blankies!

Last year a friend asked if I could make her some blankets to send in her Operation Christmas Child boxes, this year she asked again!

But this year we decided to go with a flannel fabric, 

because the fleece that I used last year was too bulky and took up a lot of room in the shoe box. 

Last year I did fleece no sew (fleece will not fray) with a crochet edge.

This year I used a serger to finish the edge ( the flannel will fray).

We also changed the size up, and went with a 25" x 30" size, as these are for small children, toddler or babies.  

After packing them up to send away, we decided that next year we will do the flannel again but we could either do it with a front and back (like a quilt) or go bigger. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I find that since having my little man on February 11th, Valentine's day gets over looked.  I tried my hardest this year, with my conversation hearts, my yarn heart, and my attempt at a quick wreath ( looking back I wish my heart was larger, oh well. maybe next year).  

I know it may be too late to have you whip some of these up for Valentines but these are great for all occasions.  I actually made hundreds of these as Thank You's for my high school graduation party.  They look great in a vase, and attached with a little card they make great favors too.

All you need is...

I used long toothpicks, but normally I use bamboo skewers.

Hershey Kisses ( or Hugs)

Something to wrap with ( fabric, tissue paper, crepe paper)

Floral tape ( I used green crepe paper,  I was out of floral tape!)

Starting with a kiss and a skewer, push through the tip and out the bottom.

Then add another kiss so the bottoms are together.

Wrap your kisses. Wrap your skewer with floral tape. and your done!  This is a great sit in front of the tv activity!

DIY Photo Christmas Cards

I love sending my little man's picture out each year for our Christmas card.  Two years in a row, I made our cards from simple 4x6 prints and they came out great!

Supplies:
12x12 scrapbook paper (For each piece of paper you will get 3 cards)
4x6 pictures
Scissors or Rotary Cutter
Ruler
Glue


These are super quick and easy! First step, cut your paper into three strips 4 inches wide by 12 tall.  Take into consideration is you have any design elements on your paper.  Like my snowflake band and snowman.

Cut each strip down to 9 inches tall.  Your card is now 4" x 9" and will fit in a legal size envelope.

Glue on your picture, then sign, seal and deliver!  

This year I got my pictures back a little later than planned, and just handwrote my Happy Holidays greeting.  Last year I stamped and embellished because I had more time.  

Either way though, they came out cute and everyone loves them.

My favorite part, if the people you send them too just want the picture all year round, they can cut the bottom off and still have a picture!

The best part about this is, is that you can do them for anything! Thanks you's, Valentines, Halloween or whatever you can think of!

Shaped Rice Krispies

Need a quick treat to take to an upcoming party?   Or something extra to hand out for the holidays?

How about some festive Rice Krispie Treats? Like These?

Who ever thought cookies cutters could cut more than cookies?

Here's a quick how to for the trees!

Make your krispies as per your recipe. Pour onto wax paper.

Smoosh flat. * Yes, Smoosh is the technical term!* 

Make sure you grease your hands a little for smooshing.

Grease cookie cutter.

 Cut away!  You will need to re-smoosh every now and again to use all your Krispies.

Then decide whether you want to just put on a plate or put in cute bags with bows!

Oh the possibilities!

Last month, I helped my sister make these for a baby shower. They were a big hit!  She has since done them for another shower, and I did the trees for a Christmas party! I never knew Rice Krispies and cookie cutters were so versatile!

Orange Cream Cloud Trifle

This recipe is originally called Lemon Clouds, but with a few small ( and I mean really small) tweaks, you get this delicious Orange version.

I used one Angel Food Cake Mix, and baked per box directions.  Once cool enough to handle I cut it into pieces ( after a while I realized tearing worked just as well).  Then threw the pieces and one box of orange jello in a zip-top bag, then Shake Shake Shake!  Layer with cool whip or fresh whipped cream. And you have a easy, delicious trifle!

Perfect Little Girls Gift!

After thinking of different things to give the little girls in my life, and looking through blog post after blog post.  I found several blogs making these "Black Apple Dolls". Perfect and cute to boot!

The lovely Martha, has the link for the templates and how to on her page, found here.  Also visit the artist who visited with Martha and created the pattern, here.

After a quick cut, and sew I had this little beauty.  I forgot to stuff the arms and legs but thats okay! She is still cute. There's always next time!

( On a semi-unrelated note: With the flat arms and legs, she reminds me of Flat Stanley! I may have to make my little man a boy version as our flat Stanley!! Just put less stuffing in the body and head, and he/she would fit in an envelope!)

Lasagna Stoup Recipe

Are you a Rachael Ray fan?  Do you watch? Get emails? Or browse her site?  I signed up for a giveaway and now get the recipe emails, and sometimes those emails, I never seem to regret signing up for!

This recipe arrived in my e-mailbox and I had all the ingredients on hand, so what was there to lose?  In the end nothing! This was a super simple, fulfilling meal and took less than a half hour to make! Perfect for those busy, cold days!

Now with most of my recipes, I substitute ingredients or add things that I know we like, and that was another reason I loved this recipe!

Here's where I differentiated from the recipe:

• I used dried basil instead of fresh ( No big deal)
• I left out the carrots ( didn't have any on hand)
• I blended some cottage cheese until smooth for Ricotta ( look it up, it really is a substitute! I didn't believe at first!)
• I added hard boiled eggs! ( My grandmother used to add hardboiled eggs to her lasagna to make it a more filling meal, without adding more meat, try it you might just start doing it too!)

Holiday Wreath

Remember, my fall wreath? And how I just change the "stuff" on it?  What a time saver when it comes time to change it! Just a couple switches and your done!

First, pull and put away fall flowers.  

Gather all your Holiday stuff.

 Start adding your greenery, I use the "bands" that are part of the wreath to hold my greenery down.

Add a couple glittery picks and your done! 

Pampered Chef "Ring"

Have you ever tried any of the Pampered Chef Ring recipes?  Yum.  I've tried them before, but had
never made them until now. These will definitely be showing up in my meal planning in the future!

I've tried the Reuben Ring, and the Chicken and Broccoli Ring.  But ours was a knock-off of the Chicken and Broccoli.  We did Chicken and Peas ( we had peas available, see how my cooking evolves? Make do with what you have?)

Super easy too!  Take Crescent rolls and make a circle, and add filling.

Fold points toward center and pinch shut.

And bake!

Carter was a huge fan!  So if you have picky eaters this may be an easy route to getting them to eat their veggies!  

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!  Over the past week, I began to pull out my Christmas decorations ( because we weren't hosting Thanksgiving) and started to put some up.  When doing so, I made the executive decision of making us some new stockings. Nothing fancy, just ones for all of us that matched my not so traditional Christmas decorations.

To make my stockings, I purchased Felt by the yard at my local Joann's store in Turquoise for the boys, and Fuchsia for me.   I also picked up some white by the yard too for the cuffs.

I simply traced a stocking that I had already, but if you want a template, I found lots online.

Using my Pinking shears I just cut out my stocking and sewed them together so the zig zag edge was on the outside.  Then, I cut a rectangle out of white for my cuffs.  Sewed the front and back of the stocking together, and then sewed my short sides of my rectangle, and stitched them to my stocking!

Ah. Much better. The random stockings that were hanging on my stairs were bothering me. Not so much anymore!