Thursday, April 28, 2011

Mommy's Stuffie Birthday!

A little belated, but Happy Birthday to my one and only girl! Amanda had her birthday last Saturday. I had the pleasure of babysitting the grandbaby while Amanda and her sweetheart went to dinner - 175 miles away. So we used this book of sewing ideas to come up with a home sewn gift for mom.



Miss H is just barely 3 and LOVES coloring...moreso drawing! A few fabric markers and taped down cloth were the perfect way to begin a project with this little artist!

She drew a picture if Dad, Mom and herself ( I love the giant head and simple limb stage of development when drawing people )Miss H was very aware that each person is different and different colors were a MUST! Trust me on that, really!

We "cured" the marker color in the dryer and then cut out, stitched and stuffed our very first "stuffie". We popped it into a beautiful pink gift box and presented it to mom! Good news...she loved it!

(Good thing...cuz Miss H couldn't stop at drawing just one and Mother's Day is right around the corner,shh ;D)
Happy Stuffing!
~jan


I have linked to some of the parties we have listed. Thanks ladies for hosting such fun parties.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Tickled Tastebuds Tuesday

Hope your Easter was family filled and fabulous!
Around this time of year I find myself with a plethora of colored hard boiled eggs.
 Generally, they get turned into egg salad or the tradition deviled egg but, this year I am making this recipe:

Deviled Eggs with an Italian Twist



Ingredients :

12-hard-cooked eggs

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened

3 Tbsp. KRAFT Light Mayo Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

2 tsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard

2 tsp. white vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. fresh basil; chopped well.

1 Tbsp. finely chopped sun dried tomatoes {packed in oil}

1 Tbsp. prosciutto; diced

1/8 tsp. paprika


Cut eggs lengthwise in half.
 Remove yolks; place in mixing bowl.
Add all remaining ingredients except paprika; mix well.
Spoon into resealable plastic bag. Cut small corner from bottom of bag; use to pipe filling into egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika.

Easy as pie! Enjoy your twisted eggs!
-Amanda



Image borrowed from:

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wordless Wednesday


~jan

Linked at...
http://www.5minutesformom.com/ and

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Tickled Tastebuds Tuesday

Im going through some serious cravings right now. No, Im not pregnant, just cant get enough of Winger's Grill & Bar.



Their Original Amazing Sauce is my favorite. I could slather it on old sneakers, and eat it! {Although, I do suggest eating it slathered on chicken strips}

Since I have already eaten there this week...and still want more...I am making me some:

Copycat Wingers Sticky Fingers!

the recipe is as follows:

2 1/2 C.  brown sugar
3TBS. light corn syrup
1/2 C. hot water
1/3 C. Frank's Red Hot pepper sauce
1 TBS. apple cider vinegar
1 LB. bag of chicken strips {grilled chicken is my preference, the tempura strips are the hubbys}

Directions: In a heavy saucepan, mix brown sugar and corn syrup for 3 minutes; stir continually. Add the other ingredients and boil on low for 15 minutes. Continue stirring during this time, careful so it doesnt burn!
The sauce will thicken as it cools.
While cooling cook {or grill} chicken as directed on package. When finished, remove from oven and while still warm [use tongs] dip chicken strips into the sauce, generously.
Place onto cooking sheet or stone and broil for 5 minutes [just over 2 minutes on each side.]

Serve up with celery sticks and ranch/blue cheese dressing! YUM.

I also love to make a salad using romaine, the chicken pieces, jack cheese, craisins, and tomatoes.
I mix some of the amazing sauce with ranch to give it a lil kick and pour over the top. Mmm its my favorite!

Enjoy!
-Amanda



Thursday, April 14, 2011

Edible Easter Basket


My mom once told me how in her first year of marriage to my father she made him an edible easter basket out of Rice Krispies. My dad, having an insatiable sweet tooth was sure to love it. She then filled it with all the easter goodies giving him 3x the sweetness of the average easter tradition.

I decided to try it for myself....
so technically this isnt my idea but rather,borrowed from my mamacita but,
 Im sure she would love me sharing her genius:)

Instead of making a giant easter basket {using a large mixing bowl as the mold} I made a "my size" individual basket out of a large-ish cereal bowl.
(I say "my size" because my dad would disagree and say the mixing bowl is an individual size treat!)
Feel free to make a large basket, just double the recipe:)

I used the recipe for Rice Krispie treats off the box and added a little extra cereal so it wasn't too sticky to mold in the bowl. I also added some sprinkles for an extra burst of springtime color!


I then sprayed {rather generously} my cereal bowl with cooking spray...as well as my hands!

Taking a handful of the rice krispie mixture, I pressed it into the bowl until I achieved my desired thickness. Repeat this process until the entire bowl is lined.
When finished it looks something like this:


Making the handle was a little tricky. Had I planned on doing this earlier, I would have made sure I had a 'bendy' straw to mold the krispies around. But, I had nothing to use as support for the basket handle so I got inventive.

*side-note: This is where high school pottery class would have come in handy. Too bad I flirted my time away in there! Sorry Mr. Teacher {I cant remember your name.}
If your teen ever complains saying they will never use what they are learning as an adult, this is a prime example of how wrong they are. Haha!


Anywho, pretending your a child using play dough, 'roll' the krispies into a thick snake. If you get it too thin you will notice it starting to fall apart when bending. In that situation ADD MORE KRISPIE!!!
I used the side of that same cereal bowl to form a "C" shape with my rice krispie snake so it would look like a handle and then threw the "C" into the freezer to harden it up a bit.
After a few minutes take the treat out of the freezer and attach it to your basket, pressing the sides of the handle into the bowl.
I put a small childrens cup inside my basket for additional support. (Never having done this before, I was concerned the handle would cave in. It didn't. So this step is optional!)
This is what my "cup-tastrophe" looked like.


Ok, So it wasnt a catastrophe but, getting that cup out wasn't as easy as I thought it would be! That's why I am totally saying OPTIONAL!
After covering it with a dish towel {I didnt want to krispies to be too hard} and letting it sit over-night. I woke up, pulled out the cup and Wal-lah!!!

We have an edible easter basket baby!!!!
Fill her up with cotton candy as grass and some yummy easter candy.


For more edible easter ideas visit this link.
Hope you enjoy your easter!
-Amanda