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Archive | March, 2012

Easter Sun Catchers

24 Mar

All three boys and I whipped these up this morning to start decorating for Easter.  We also made some EGG shaped sun catchers and if you’re handy with the scissors you could even make BUNNIES…  For us, this was a great opportunity to talk about the meaning of Easter and the symbolism of the cross, eggs, bunnies, etc..

Here’s The Scoop:

You’ll need just a few things:  Clear contact paper, tissue paper cut into squares, scissors, a hole punch, and ribbon…

Directions:

1.  Cut two identical sized rectangles out of contact paper.  I cut a large one and let my kids all use it as one canvas, but you could also cut separate ones for each child.  You will need TWO identical size pieces per project.

2.  Lay one of the pieces of contact paper in front of your child sticky side up and let them stick tissue paper all over it.  If they are young you may need to fill in the empty spots when they are finished.

3.  Once the contact paper is covered with tissue take the identical sized piece of contact paper and lay it on the top of the tissue sticky side down.  You now have made a tissue sandwich!

4.  At this point you can cut out any shape you want.  Like I said we made two large crosses, two mini crosses and 4 eggs.

5.  Punch a hole in the top of each shape, tie it with a ribbon and hang it on your nearest window.

**  I think these are cute gifts for a Sunday School Teacher, neighbor, daycare provider etc…  Have fun!

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One Proud Mama…

19 Mar

My Kindergartener drew this picture today… It’s a picture of our family traveling in our pajamas back to Minnesota.  I LOVE IT…. I LOVE IT SO MUCH… SO SO SO SO MUCH…  I love the little details like the lights on the runway, the headphones on the boys, and the polkadots on our matching PJ’s.  I love that when I asked him where the baby was he said in the stroller!  I love that even Wrigley is traveling by plane :) .  Did you notice that our polkadot PJ’s are sporting the Minnesota Twins logo?  I am so proud of our little artist, I really think he has a special gift!  Thank you Sutton for this adorable gift, I can’t wait to frame it!  It’s awesome, signed one proud Mama!

Easy Nest Cookies…

18 Mar

When I was a little girl I remember eating these birds nests every year around this time.  I am almost positive we made “butterscotch” nests or maybe they were a peanut butter/butterscotch combination.  My grandmother used to make them with me and she is no longer available to ask so I had to rely on the internet to find a recipe that suited me!  When I looked for the recipe I found all sorts of variations.  Butterscotch, Peanut Butter, Chocolate and combinations of all three…  Because my boys are really into “marshmallows” right now I made the standard “rice crispy treat” version… Here is the recipe I used:

3 c. mini marshmallows
3 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 c. dry chow mein noodles
small candies, jelly beans, m & m’s, etc.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Over low heat, melt the marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan.

Once melted, stir in the vanilla, then the chow mein noodles.

Coat your hands liberally with shortening.  Grab a clump of noodles smaller than a tennis ball and larger than a golf ball. Form into a ball while pressing your thumbs into the middle, forming a nest.  Allow the nests to cool, then fill with with the candy of your choice….

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MMMM-Mint Cake!!!!

14 Mar

This is my all time favorite dessert…  Growing up we spent a lot of time with friends because all of my relatives lived on the East coast.  My Mom’s best friend, Barb, is an amazing cook. She used to make me this dessert every year for my birthday.  I have had part of the recipe for years, but never actually tried to make it until yesterday… I’m really not sure why either, because it’s awesome and really not that hard.  The part of the recipe that I didn’t get from Barb was the fudge layer, I just always forgot to ask her for that… I just used a fudge frosting recipe I had on file, so I’m sure if you have a favorite one you could use it, as well.  I chose to make this yesterday because I thought it would be fun for St. Patty’s Day… I mean it’s fun any time, but because of the green I thought maybe it would attract those crazy leprechauns.  This recipe calls for Creme De Menthe, but if you prefer mint extract you can probably use that, as well…  Here is the scoop:

Barb’s Famous (at least to me :) ) Creme De Menthe Cake

Prepare a white cake mix as directed on package EXCEPT replace 1/4 cup of the water with 1/4 cup of Creme De Menthe.  My Creme De Menthe was not green so I also added a couple of drops of green food coloring to the batter.  If your Creme De Menthe is green then you would not need the food coloring.  If you don’t want to use Creme De Menthe, I would just make the cake as directed on the package and in addition add a teaspoon of mint extract to the batter.  The alcohol does bake off so it’s safe for little people :) .

Fudge Layer

I obviously made a round cake with a fudge layer both in the middle and on the top.  You can also make a rectangle cake and just do a fudge layer on the top, what ever you are comfortable with…

For the frosting:

  • 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it’s thickened.  Spread the frosting evenly between the layers of the cake as well as on the top of the cake.  Let it set.

Whip Cream Frosting

The frosting on this cake is just a simple whipped cream…

  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Creme De Menthe (optional) OR 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (optional)
  • a couple drops of green food coloring (optional)

Mix the heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar, creme de menthe (if using) and food coloring.  Continue whipping the cream until it is thick.  Spread evenly on top of the entire cake.

**  I added chocolate curls just for fun…  To make them I melted three squares of semi sweet chocolate with one tablespoon of shortening.  I spread the melted chocolate on a cookie sheet in a very thin (very very thin) layer on a cookie sheet.  I popped it in the freezer for a couple minutes and then used a spatula to make the curls.  If the chocolate is too cold it will not curl so just give it a couple seconds…  Literally a couple seconds :)  ENJOY!

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St. Patrick’s Day Craft- Leprechaun Craft

13 Mar

I think maybe I’ve created  monsters AKA the “S Brothers” around my house… It seems that any holiday that is approaching brings a new sense of excitement, wonder and maybe even a little “obsession”…  This month of course it is St. Patrick’s Day, but my boys call it Leprechaun’s Day. They are BEYOND excited to trap a Leprechaun and are pretty convinced they can do it!  I am hoping so because that means we’ll be inheriting some gold!  They have been asking to make Leprechauns since last St. Patrick’s Day so I figured I better give in…  I think they turned out rather cute!  Pretty easy to make, we use construction paper, glue and scissors…  Let me know if you capture a Leprechaun- these cuties might help you…

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Happy Birthday Wrigley!

11 Mar

Today our special girl turns 8!  Happy Birthday Wrigs!

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Fruit Loop Rainbow

7 Mar

Well with St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner the boys have been busy learning about rainbows, shamrocks, and good luck!  Here is a super easy project we completed this week!  All you need is some construction paper, glue, and Fruit Loops Cereal!

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Happy 100th Birthday Oreo Cookie…

6 Mar

Are you celebrating this great day?  I’ll be honest that I did not know it was such a special day until I read it this morning, I’m so out of the loop sometimes…  BUT it is, so I searched the web for some fun recipes you might want to try in honor of the GREAT OREO…  We once had a dog named Oreo, he was brown with a big white stripe on his belly…  I mean you know you are famous when someone names their dog after you, right???  I wonder how many countries have Oreo cookies?  OK here is what I found!  Just click on the hyperlink to find the recipe!

Kraft had this recipe for an oreo cake… Looks yummy!

Paula Deen has this recipe for easy Oreo ice cream…. MMMMMMMMMM…

Oopsey Daisy says this might be one of her favorite desserts!

and Bakerella has Oreo Truffles that look amazing!

I’m not sure which one to make, but hopefully I can whip one up for tonight!  Happy Birthday Oreo!

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Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake (that is a little lemony too)

5 Mar

I know I know, this seems like a totally summer sort of a dessert, and it might be, but right now Costco has some amazing strawberries on sale so it’s a right now dessert too!  I must admit, I love Pinterest and this recipe is a pinner for sure! I adapted this recipe from a site called, a spicy perspective and it was the first one I’ve made by her, but it was worth it!  It’s awesome!  I think it would be a marvelous coffee cake for a brunch or even tasty with ice cream or whip cream for dessert.  We ate it plain, as a dessert, with friends, and it was scrumptious just like that too.  It really was yummy!  Make it today and then make it again when you go strawberry picking this spring.  It’s amazing!  Really yummy!  Enjoy!

 Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided (I live in a higher altitude now so I used high altitude flour which was my only adjustment for height)
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 8 oz. plain or vanilla yogurt (I used vanilla Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt)
  • 12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325*. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
  2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
  3. Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.
  4. Pour the batter (My batter was really really thick) into the well greased Bundt pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  5. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

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A Few Dr. Seuss Snacks…

2 Mar

Here are just a few quick treats we whipped up this morning for Dr. Seuss’ Birthday…  I’m hoping to make some Lorax treats later today, but I’ve got a sick middle son and I’m not sure I’ll get to it!

Dr. Seuss Layered Jello

Make a batch of your favorite red jello and leave it at room temp (do not put it in the icebox just yet)… I’ll post a homemade jello recipe next week, but using a boxed jello is great also!  Did you notice I used the word “icebox” I’ve just always wanted to call it that…  OK after you’ve made the jello, pour your first little bit into your serving glasses.  Go ahead and chill this first “line” of jello, but leave the remaining jello out of the fridge.  While this is chilling,  in a medium bowl add 1/4 cup of cold water. Sprinkle 1 package of Knox Gelatine over the cold water and let it sit for at least 1 minute. While the gelatin is sitting, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Whisk the hot water into the cold water and gelatin in the bowl. Add half a can of sweetened condensed milk. Whisk until the gelatin is dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 to 20 minutes. If you pour the steaming liquid on top of your set layer, it will start to dissolve the set layer.  So once that 20 minutes is up, your fridge layer should be set enough to pour and your white layer should be cool enough.  Go ahead and pour a little on the top of the set layer.  If it starts to mix, you’ll know it’s too early and STOP and wait another 5 minutes.  Repeat this process until you have a few layers!  The trick is that you don’t want to wait all night because your jello will form into “jello” even at room temperature…

The other recipes are super quick and easy.  I made the pretzel eggs and bacon in about 5 minutes.  Place a white melting disc (I used Wilton) on top of two pretzel sticks.  Pop them in a 350 degree oven for about 3 minutes.  Pull them out and place an M&M in the center.  One of my children DOES NOT LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM so we had to make some yellow eggs too…

Last but not least is the life saver hats.  I used the left over melting chocolate from the eggs and spread a little on the top half of an oreo cookie.  I then placed a red lifesaver (gummy or regular) on top of the melted chocolate and repeated the process…  This really only took me a couple of minutes!

Happy Birthday Mr. Seuss!

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