4th of July Cupcake Flag

I was inspired to make this after seeing something similar in a Food Network magazine.

In their version, they did little pastry shells and filled them with vanilla custard, and used blueberries and strawberries to decorate the colors of the flag.

I decided to do vanilla mini-cupcakes and just use colored icing.

I did blue with white stars, and then rows of red and white for the stripes. 

I would have done more stripes to make it a little more accurate, but I ran out of red icing, so this is what I could do.

I think it turned out really cute!

And what I like best is that it's a dessert that people can just grab one of, making it less messy and easy to just set out and have people take as they want.

Cupcake Fun

I love to save myself time and work by using store-bought box mixes for things. 

You can make them "semi-homeade" by adding flavored extract to the mix and by topping them with creative little touches!

I made these strawberry cupcakes with white icing and different colored sprinkles. 

I think it's more fun to eat treats that are pretty!

Pesto Pasta

I really love pesto, and there are so many different ways you make it. 

This one is angel hair pasta with a basil and cilantro pesto sauce:

-a handful of basil leaves (about 10 leaves)

-one small bunch of cilantro, discard stems

-about 1/4-1/2 cup of olive oil

-one clove of garlic (or two small cloves)

-about 1/4-1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1.  Put all ingredients, except the oil, in a food processor.

2.  Turn on processor, and slowly add in the oil until it is the consistency that you want.

That's it!  You can make pesto with any kinds of herbs you want.  I have done a mint pesto before, and it is really good- a little spicy!  Traditionally, you add pine nuts as well, but I left them out. 

Chicken Pasta Salad

I love a good pasta salad!  I especially love that you can make them so many different ways.  This is one of my go-to recipes:

-1 lb. bowtie pasta

-about 1 cup of roughly diced/shredded rotisserie chicken breast

-1/2 red onion, thinly sliced and cut in half

-1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced and cut in half

-1 bundle of small asparagus (just cut the top pieces)

-about 1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated or diced into small pieces)

-a few basil leaves, chopped

-balsamic vinegar, enough to coat (about 1/2 cup?)

-good olive oil, enough to coat (about 1/2 cup?)

-salt and pepper, to taste

1.  Cook pasta al dente.  Drain and coat with a little bit of oil so it doesn't stick together.  Put pasta in a large bowl.

2.  Wash and cut all the vegetables.  Add to the pasta. 

3.  Prepare the chicken- you can cut it with a knife or pull it apart with your fingers. Add to the pasta.

4.  Chop basil and add to pasta.

5.  Toss pasta with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Sometimes I just use an Italian dressing or a roasted red pepper Italian dressing too.

6.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Chicken Chili

Everybody makes their chili differently.  This is my favorite way:

-diced chicken breast (I like to use rotisserie chicken)

-1 yellow onion, diced

-1 red bell pepper, diced

-2 cloves of garlic, diced

-1 can petite diced tomatoes

-1 can chili beans

-1 can white corn, drained

-about 1-2 cup(s) of spaghetti sauce (I like Hunt's Four Cheese)

-about 1 cup of chicken broth (give or take)

-about 1-2 tsps of cumin

-about 1-2 tblsps of chili powder

(or you just use a packet of chili powder mix, like McCormick's)

-a few splashes of hot sauce

-red pepper flakes (to taste)

You can make this in a crock pot or a dutch oven/large pot on the stove:

1.  Coat the bottom of the pot with 2 tblsp of olive oil.

2.  Sautee the onions, red pepper and garlic for about five minutes.

3.  Add the chicken, tomatoes, corn, beans, tomato sauce, broth and stir

4.  Add the spices, hot sauce and chili flakes and stir.

5.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low for at least an hour (in crockpot, set on high for a few hours)

6.  Serve topped with cheese and with chips

I make this chili a lot!  I love to eat it as leftovers because it's always better the next day.  By the third day, if there is any leftover, I try to get creative with it and put it over fries or spaghetti.  I love to eat this, though, because it's actually really healthy for you and because you can change it anyway you want to.  Sometimes I substitute black beans or add yellow/orange peppers.  Sometimes I make it with ground beef or turkey, but chicken is my favorite.

Santa's Sleigh

I found a great idea about making Santa's sleigh from a Sandra Lee show.  It's so easy!

-graham crackers

-red and white icing

-candy canes

-coconut

-little santa candy

1.  Frost one graham cracker with white icing, and another with red.

2.  On the white cracker, place two candy canes on the top at the sides. 

3.  Put a little extra icing on top of the candy canes and put the red cracker on top.

4.  Decorate with coconut to look like snow and put Santa on his sleigh!

*Sandra also did a seat made out of licorice to put Santa on, and did a sack made out of a fruit roll-up, with starburst presents inside and on the sleigh for decoration.

Barrette Organizer

This was made for Kate by her former childcare provider.  It's pretty cute and really easy, and so useful!  You can buy the wooden shapes at any craft store and and paint it.  Then just attach a ribbon from the bottom and you can clip all of your barrettes onto it.  Makes life a lot easier for us with Kate!

I also like doing these coat hangers.

Angel Food Cake with Berries and Cream

Take an angel food cake and cut of the top with a serrated knife. 

Then dig a tunnel in the bottom of the cake (hollow it out).

Then fill the space with whipped cream (I actually prefer cool whip), some fresh berries (your choice, but I definitely recommend strawberries and some fresh mint), the pieces of the cake that you took out and a little bit of flavored extract (your choice).

Then put the top back on and frost with the rest of the whipped cream/cool whip.

Decorate with the rest of the berries and refrigerate until serving.

Picture Frame

I did it!  I bought this "Wish" decoration at Ross, then I took some string and tied it to a picture frame to hang in my kitchen.  It's really cute!  I plan to get better, more decorative, string and replace the white one I used. I also want to switch out the frame to a different one, but I just wanted to try it to see how it would look.  I think it's really cute. :)

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I made this yesterday.  I love to make white chocolate cheesecake.  Usually I would put some raspberry sauce over the top too, (and I really like chocolate crust with it), but I used the ingredients that I had.

Make Your Own Tutu!

You can easily make your own tutu for your little girl!  I didn't make this one, but a friend did, and it was pretty easy. 

1. 
   
   Just go get a piece of elastic band (you'll have measure your daughter's waist for this part).
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Buy some tulle- in the colors that you want the tutu.  It could be all one color, or a bunch of different colors (like the one above).
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Cut the tulle fabric into strips.  They should be a little bit longer than you want the length of the skirt.
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Tie the fabric strips all around the waist band.  So simple!
   
   
   

OK, I haven't actually done one yet!  But it seems pretty simple!  I'll let you know...

Maybe Dawn can show me how to do some fancy bows one day.... :)

Customized Picture Frames

I saw this picture frame at Walgreens yesterday and thought it was really cute.  I think it would be really easy to make some, with anything you want on top (a word, a cut-out shape, another frame, etc.). 

1. Just take whatever word you want (you can find words like "love", "peace", "family", etc. at any craft store or even Target, Ross, Wal-Mart, etc.). 
2. Then find small frames you want to use to hang (as many as you want, or as many as will fit).
3. Then glue (make sure it's a good wood/craft glue) one end of a piece of ribbon to the little frame you want to hang, and glue the other end to the thing you are hanging it from.  You could make cute little bows in the ribbon.
4. Then attach some picture hangers to the back of it and hang.

I might try to do this soon.  I love the idea- I think it's really cute!

Easy Flatbread

I love making this flatbread to go along with any dish.  I just take a can of pizza dough and roll it out onto a cookie sheet.  Then I top it with olive oil, garlic, whatever herb I feel like (rosemary, Italian seasoning, etc.) and parmesan cheese.  You could even work ingredients directly into the dough if you want, like red onion and herbs.  Then I bake it according to the directions.  It's great!

Spaghetti Sauce

I love to make "semi-homeade" pasta sauces.  I take a jar of basic red tomato sauce (Hunts Four Cheese) and add my own stuff to it.  You can add chicken broth or wine for depth of flavor.  You can add crushed red pepper for heat.  I like to add veggies too- garlic, onions and red peppers are good.  If you add fresh herbs, it tastes really fresh- basil and parsley are great!  You can even puree vegetables- carrots, red peppers, carrots, squash, or anything- and add that in for extra flavor (and to sneak in some extra veggies for the kids!).

Orange Sauce

This is a sauce I heard about on The Barefoot Contessa yesterday. She did it for ham, as a glaze, but I thought I could tweak it a little bit and use it to make orange chicken with rice. BJ loved it, but I thought it was a little too sweet, so when I make it again, I will use less marmalade. You could really use it for anything- stir fry, vegetables, green bean sauce, noodles, etc.

Ingredients:

• 
  
  1 jar (or less) of orange marmalade
  
  
  
• 
  
  1/2 cup brown sugar
  
  
  
• 
  
  6 cloves garlic
  
  
  
• 
  
  1/4 cup orange juice
  
  
  
• 
  
  a squeeze of lemon juice, along with a little lemon zest
  
  
  
• 
  
  crushed red pepper, depending on how hot you like it
  
  
  
• 
  
  dash of salt and pepper
  
  Directions:
  
  
  
  
  

• 
  
  Mix all the ingredients in a food processor.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Pour sauce into saucepan/pot and bring to a boil, then simmer.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Enjoy!
  
  
  

(You could also just pour the sauce directly over the meat once mixed and use as a glaze or marinade.)

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Cups

This recipe is from a Nestle Tollhouse dessert cookbook I have (it has such yummy stuff in it!). I love it cuz it's "no-bake" and pretty simple. I used a mini-cheesecake springfoam pan to do these last night, but you can do them in a square/rectangle pan and just cut bars.

Ingredients:

• 
  
  2 cups peanut butter, divided
  
  
  
• 
  
  3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
  
  
  
• 
  
  2 cups powdered sugar, divided
  
  
  
• 
  
  3 cups graham cracker crumbs
  
  
  
• 
  
  2 cups (1 package) Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet choc. chips
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  Directions:
  
  
  
• 
  
  GREASE 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
  
  
  
• 
  
  BEAT 1 1/4 cups peanut butter and butter in large mixer bowl until creamy.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar.
  
  
  
• 
  
  With hands or wooden spoon, work in remaining 1 cup powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 cup morsels.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Press evenly into prepared baking pan.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Smooth top with spatula.
  
  
  
• 
  
  MELT remaining 3/4 cup peanut butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups morsels in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over lowest possible heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Spread over graham cracker crust in pan.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until chocolate is firm.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Cut into bars.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Store in covered container in refrigerator.
  
  
  

Smoothie Pops

I love to make smoothies and smoothie pops for my kids because it's such a great way to get them to eat fruit and yogurt. They are full of all kinds of great stuff and the kids love them! I can give them a smoothie pop instead of a popsicle and not feel guilty! There are so many different ways to make them- just throw whatever you like in the blender and there you are! This is how I like to do it:

-1 can of peach yogurt

1 can of strawberry yogurt

(sometimes I will sub. blueberry for one of the other flavors)

-1 banana (this is important to make it creamy and smooth)

-a big andful of frozen fruit- I use strawberries, blueberries and peaches (fresh fruit is great too!)

-orange juice

-apple juice

Just put all the fruit and yogurt in the blender, then fill to the top with juice. Blend away. I pour each of the kids a cup to drink right away, then I freeze the rest in popsicle containers for smoothie pops that the kids love! They make a great snack or dessert, and they taste so much better than regular popsicles. :)

*Halloween Cake*

This is the cake I made for Halloween. Kate helped me decorate it with the sugar candies. What would be more appropriate for Halloween than a delicious Devil's Food Cake?!?! I added orange extract to the mix to give it a little special flavor. Then I used orange food coloring to make the frosting, and used the Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing to trim it.

*Tips and Tricks*

*If you don't have a pastry bag, you can do a quick and easy make-shift one by using a ziplock bag and snipping a hole in the top. You can use scrapbooking scissors with the designed blades to snip a design too. Just fold the edges of the opening down (to avoid a mess!), fill the bag with the frosting, and then snip the top and ice away!

*Also, I just found a new product (well, new to me) at the grocery store last week and I LOVE it!!! It is Betty Crocker's Cupcake Icing and it is so great! Makes decorating cakes, cookies and all sorts of treats so easy and fun!

*Lemon Coconut Cake*

I made this cake last night. It is so yummy! You can do it as homeade, or semi-homeade, as you like! I didn't have coconut (which I realized after I had started!), so I just decorated the top with sprinkles.

What you need:

-1 box lemon cake mix (or you can use yellow or white, and add lemon curd, lemon extract and other stuff to make it lemony) (or you could do it all from scratch!)

-3 eggs

-1/3 cup veg. oil

-1 and 1/4 cup water

-about 1 tsp. coconut extract

-the zest of 1 lemon

-lemon curd (optional)

-lemon extract (optional)

-frosting of your choice (I used plain white)

-coconut shreds for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix cake mix, eggs, oil, water, coconut extract, and lemon zest (you could add lemon curd/lemon zest if you like, for extra flavor)

3. Pour into cake pan (I used a bundt cake pan) and bake according to directions
4. Let cool completely

5. You can make any kind of frosting/icing you want. To make it extra special, you can add either lemon or coconut extract to it for flavor. Frost cake.

6. Decorate with coconut shreds (or any other topping)

Enjoy!