Creative Copycat

Project 31 - Pumpkin Coffee Cake

2012-10-01T16:14:00.002-07:00

I highly recommend you make this coffee cake this fall! It is by far my favorite fall recipe! I have made it twice (once for a MOPS meeting and once for home) both times it has been eaten up quickly!

For the flavor this cake has, it is really easy to make. The recipe can be found on the blog, Pretty. Good. Food. For my gluten-free friends, if you go down through the comments on the recipe, it has ideas for making it gluten-free!

A couple notes:
*I used store brand cake mix, but there is a catch. I find that it tends to have some lumps in it, so I pour the mix into the bowl and break op the lumps with my pastry mixer, but a whisk or even fork will do the trick as well. That way you don't have lumps of dry batter in your cake.
*I prefer to make this cake the day before to make sure that the glaze has a night to really soak into the cake.

I only took a picture of my cake before the glaze:

I promise though when I poured the glaze on it actually looked close to the picture on the pin! :)

Happy eating!!

Project 30 - Nutella croissants - YUM!!

2012-10-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

I found inspiration for this one based off some of the Nutella recipes I have seen on pinterest as well as the cinnamon butter croissants. I thought why not combine parts of the two ideas, and I came up with a very yummy breakfast/snack.

Let me just preface this with I use a lot of store brand products, especially when I am doing a recipe that combines ingredients to work together, instead of something having to stand on it's own. I figure that I will not be able to tell a difference when it is mixed with something else. It saves money too! :) So for the croissants, I took just store brand crescent rolls and rolled them out into the small triangles. I spread some store brand nutella on top of those, and some I rolled up and others I added some pecan pieces before rolling. I brushed some egg white on top of all the rolls and baked them according to the package directions. Results - a delicious breakfast treat that was heartily enjoyed by my children and myself. :)

I was able to keep the extras in the fridge and reheated in the microwave the next day, and they were just as good! :) Quick and easy for a fun breakfast!

Project 29: Travel toy storage

2012-10-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

I found this just in time for our trip down to Frederickburg to see family this summer. It's about a 5 and a half hour drive, so having things for the kids to do is a must, along with snacks. The kids are both in boosters now, so they have a little more freedom to move around and get things on their own. I decided to make some fun hanging fabric pockets for the kids to be able to store their toys and snacks in without having to grab it from a bag on the floor (not good for kiddos who are prone to car sickness) or me having to turn around and hand them stuff from the front (also not good for a mama who can also be prone to car sickness). I found these super cute fabric car organizers on blog, Just Sew Sassy.

(image from pin on pinterest)

I had just enough fabric left over from my son's pillow mattress to make him one, and enough in my fabric stash for a girly one for my daughter too. :) Gotta love projects that you have to buy nothing for!!

I followed the directions pretty much as written, but instead of using fusing or interface, I just stuffed a piece of cardboard that I cut from some extra boxes in the garage to give the back some strength (hindsight, probably wouldn't do it again b/c now I can't wash them).

This project was one of my more challenging ones as I have said before, I am definitely not a seamstress, and I have never had any kind of formal (or informal) training on how to sew with a sewing machine. It took a little more time, and I had to really pay attention to be sure i wasn't sewing any of my pockets closed! :) Here are some pics from my assembly process:

Got all my squares cut out!

Ironing the small square in half then ironing a seam.

Sewed in the seams then pinned the pockets together.

Sewed all the pockets together and added the ribbon strap and edge to the top.

All finished! The kids loved using them, and I love that when the trip is done I can hang them on the back of the playroom closet, so it's easy storage.

Project 27 & 28: Bubble painting and elephant toothpaste

2012-09-08T09:14:00.002-07:00

I caught a lucky break on my next two projects b/c they were a part of a summer cooking camp that I volunteered to help with at my church. :) We had a science portion of the camp in which the kids were able to experiment with food related items. It was a blast!! Luckily I was in the same traveling group as my son, so I was able to get some pics of him doing the painting. Instead of blowing the bubbles outside of the bowl like one of my original pins suggested, my son chose to blow the bubbles inside the bowl, then lay the paper on top.

The kids did this with a couple different colors resulting in some really cool paintings!!

Next was the elephant toothpaste. It was a huge hit! It even caught me off guard how quickly it would explode. The directions for this experiment can be found at Preschool Powol Packets.

Both easy, but slightly messy, fun activities to do with the kiddos!!

Project 26 - I really wanted to like this one. :(

2012-07-17T20:37:00.002-07:00

I had some early mornings this summer with camps and other activities, so I have tried to find some healthy breakfast choices that are easy to make. I saw this pin for the overnight slow cooker oatmeal, and I thought I would give it a try. The recipe can be found at the blog, The Yummy Life.

I love oatmeal. In the winter, I will make the rolled oats with some butter, brown sugar and walnuts. One of my favorite things to enjoy with a cup of coffee when it's chilly outside. :) I thought this recipe would be perfect! I had a garage sale to get up early for the next morning, so I got everything set up and ready to go.

I woke up in the morning to a wonderful aroma of cinnamon and apples. Smelled sooo good! My mouth was almost watering as I scooped out some of the oatmeal into my bowl.

Looks good, huh? I guess I should preface this with the fact that I have never had steel cut oats before. Not that I am a texture aversive type of person. I love the chewy texture of the regular rolled oats, so I am not sure if that was what did me in. Anyways, I took a bite of my oatmeal, and for some reason, my body just rejected it. Something about the taste and the texture at the same time caused a gag reflex that caused me to spit it out immediately! I thought I would try again thinking that maybe since I was prepared for the flavor, and maybe I just didn't get a sweeter part of the oatmeal it didn't mesh the flavors right. I stirred it up, took another bite, and same reaction. I thought better to not try again if I wanted to be able to eat anything else that morning.

Bummer!!! Like I said, I really wanted to like this one. It looked good, it smelled good, and it was super healthy! Not meant to be I guess. Guess it's back to my rolled oats.

Project 25 - Ice Cream in a Baggie

2012-07-17T20:21:00.002-07:00

Who doesn't like ice cream?!? I am especially fond of this summer treat. So fond in fact that is contributed in me gaining over 50 lbs. when I was pregnant with my son. Gotta love those summer pregnancies! :) I have such great memories of making ice cream in a baggie in the many years that I worked summer camp at the YMCA as a young adult, so it was great to relive that with my own kiddos!

I found the recipe on the pin that led me to the blog, 2 Little Hooligans. Super cute blog with lots of other fun stuff to check out. :) We followed the very simple directions to make our ice cream. The kids had a blast measuring, pouring, and shaking up our ice cream. We added a little bit of strawberry syrup to make it flavored. It took awhile to shake, but the end result was very worth it! Homemade strawberry ice cream that the kids were very proud of and equally excited to eat.

We added some fresh strawberries and whipped cream to complete our yummy treat!

Project 24 - Sandpaper Crayon shirts

2012-07-17T11:17:00.001-07:00

Hello! It's been awhile since I have been able to post, but I have kept to my resolution of continuing to try new projects! I have also decided that instead of titling my posts by project # instead of by the week. I was getting a little confused at the week #, and as long as I hit 52 projects I have met my goal! :)

I was inspired to do this project with my kiddos that I found on, of course, Pinterest!

The pin lead me to the blog, AlphaMom. The directions were very easy to understand and follow. I had the kids color the scene that they wanted on the sandpaper. I did remind them to push hard with the crayons, and that the image they were drawing would be reversed in case they wanted to write something on it.

They set to work very excited about the scenes they were going to draw for their shirts. Aiden of course was drawing a scene from outer space, since he wants to be a scientist astronaut (his words) when he grows up. Baylie, not to be outdone, also did an outer space scene, but in true Baylie-style, she was a princess astronaut.

When they finished I ironed on the decorations per the websites directions. They came out great!

They were very proud to wear the shirts that they had designed! I have washed them a couple times (cold water, inside out), and they still look great.

This project is mom and kid approved! Works with little or big ones, as long as they can mark a color or a page. :)

Week 23 - Water bottle bubbles and multi-color volcanoes

2012-06-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

In honor of school ending, I decided to have some fun things for the kids to do the last day of school for my son. He is crazy about science, so I started with the multi-color volcanoes. What kid doesn't like to watch something "explode" and bubble over? Found this pin which led me to the blog Preschool Powol Packets. We omitted the "sparkle" because I didn't plan ahead and get glitter. :) We took the small vase, cookie sheet, and ingredients outside to test it out.

We started with one color at a time. The kids really enjoyed seeing the foam bubble up as the color they chose.

After a couple times of that, they decided to mix colors to see what came out. We had some interesting shades of brown and green. The laughed each time at how the color mixed together, and even worked together on how to use the primary colors of food coloring that I had to make different colors. Nice teamwork! :)

After that we moved onto the water bottle bubbles. The pin was from the blog, Projects for Preschoolers. I have to admit that I didn't check the blog out before making this project. I just saw the picture on the pin and went from there. I also just used bubble solution that I had at the house. I had them each drink the small bottle of water first. ( I have never seen my kids so motivated to drink plain old water!). Once finished, I used one of our little razor knives from the tool box to cut out the circle in the bottom them gave them to the kids to have fun with. I even made one for myself. I discovered as my kids did, that it is a little more difficult that blow bubbles through a wand, but once you figure it out, it's not bad. The kids loved how they were able to make big bubbles!

The kids enjoyed these fun little things that helped the afternoon pass by quickly!

Week 22 - Chocolate Surprise Cookies

2012-06-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

This one is one that I thought was a little ambitious for me, but it ended up being way easier than I thought. Or maybe I am actually getting better at this cooking thing? ;) All week long I have been on pretty boring food diet due to having my wisdom teeth out last week, so I decided to further torture myself and make cookies that I should not eat. It was really as part of my son's gift to his teacher for the end of the year. So I even got a helper on this one!

The recipe I found on pinterest is actually from Martha Stuart's webpage.

I had Aiden help to measure, pour, and mix all the dry ingredients.

We followed the recipe, used the mixer (I even let him do a little mixing on his own. We almost had a little wall decorating incident, but I stepped in just in time to bring the mixer back to into the bowl before turning it off.), and scooped it onto the cookie sheets. I always use my little scoop that I have had for years from Pampered Chef to do this because it makes the perfect size (~1 tbsp) and pushes the dough out with a little squeeze of the handle. This recipe made a little more than 24 cookies for me, but having too many cookies is never a problem around this house! I put the two trays into the oven and even switched them halfway through like the recipe said. Never knew that before! I cut up the marshmallows and set them on after the first round of cooking then let them go for a little longer. They were nice and tan on top when I got them out. It was hard to resist taking a little taste (I LOVE roasted marshmallows!), but I did and let them cool. We ended up having to go to church for dinner, so this gave the cookies plenty of time to cool.

We came back, and I made the icing. It was pretty easy assembly, I was just a little worried b/c it still seemed a little lumpy, so I added a little bit more milk (less than 1/4 cup) and it was somewhat better. I used a spoon to put the icing on the cookies then let them set for about 15-20 minutes for the icing to set.

The kids quickly approved of the cookies when they got their sample. I tried one despite me knowing better. While it tasted fantastic, the overload of sugar in my mouth made my gums start to hurt again. I think it was worth it though! I tasted one a couple days later, and it was still delicious! The marshmallow somehow stays soft and gooey, and the cookie balances the sweet icing with a less intense and cakier chocolate flavor. My son's teacher also made sure to tell me that she really enjoyed the cookies in her gift. :)

After tasting the icing and seeing how well it set, I thought I could use it on the donuts that I make with biscuit dough! Will have to try and see. :)

Week 21 - Printable Candy Wrappers

2012-06-01T15:30:00.002-07:00

This week I am brainstorming teacher gifts. Everyone always thinks about their child's main teacher at holidays and the end of the year, but I also wanted to do something for the teachers that do Specials (PE, art, music, computer, and library) at my son's school b/c they work just as hard as everyone else, and probably get less attention as they are not as prominent in parent's minds. I couldn't go crazy since there are 7 teachers and my budget is not enormous, but I wanted to give them a little something as a thanks for everything this year! I googled teacher gifts and found these FREE candy bar wrappers (along with a lot of other cute stuff) at Parties and Patterns. I simply purchased them (price was free) and downloaded them to print. My Kroger (I practically live there, can't you tell?!) had the big candy bars (who doesn't love chocolate?) on deal, so I picked them up while doing some grocery shopping. I then just cut out the printed wrappers, had my son address and sign them, then wrapped them around the bars, taped them (inside and out to avoid the bars slipping out), and they were good to go. My son enjoyed handing them out the teachers the next day!

Week 20 - Skinny Greek Chicken Tenders

2012-06-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

I have recently discovered Greek yogurt. I had stayed away from it for awhile not wanting to try anything new when I liked my yogurt just fine. Finally after discovering how much protein it had in it with no fat, I decided to give it a whirl. I was happily surprised. With some granola and honey added, it was just as good as my other yogurt, and much more nutritious! After a couple weeks of looking at the recipe for the Greek yogurt chicken, I tried it out. The pin on pinterest led me to the blog, Life of Meg.

This was so easy to make, and the family loved it! I used chicken tenders instead of breasts, so make it more finger food friendly for the kiddos. I also just used the Kroger brand plain Greek yogurt (has more protein per serving than the other Greek yogurts I found).
Everyone ate it up, and my husband even went back for more! This will definitely go into our regular monthly menu. It had such a good flavor, and the chicken was very moist too. I also loved that I had most the ingredients already in my pantry/fridge so all I really had to buy was the chicken. Highly recommend you try this one!

Bonus Post! Upgraded Dollar Store Flip Flops

2012-05-15T15:15:00.001-07:00

So I was out shopping today with a friend, and we were admiring all the fun little shoes, clothes, etc. at the boutique shops. The only thing we couldn't admire was the prices! I love the look of the items, but I just can't bring myself to pay the prices when I know that my kiddos are going to grow out of them or wear them out in about 3 months. So today I was inspired to make my daughter a cute ribbon wrapped pair of flip flops for much cheaper than I saw at the store. The ones I saw had ribbon wrapped around the straps then a bow made out of matching ribbon at the toe. I knew I wouldn't be able to replicate it exactly (bows are so not my forte), but I though I could make something similar that was fun and my daughter would like. It only ended up taking some ribbon, flip flops, 3 different colored pieces of tulle, and a glue gun.

After picking her up from her MDO, we went off to the dollar store where we found some flip flops in her size with multi-colored peace signs on them. My daughter is a little obsessed with peace signs because her Grammy, my mom, is also a little obsessed with peace signs (teenager of the 70s) and passed that on to my daughter. So when I saw the peace sign flip-flops, I knew they would be the ones.

I then let her choose from a couple different ribbons of matching colors to wrap the straps in. She chose pink (of course), so I set to work. I recommend starting by hot gluing the ribbon to strap then wrapping it around and regluing it to the ribbon to make sure it stays. The hot glue comes off the rubber strap pretty easily. I then wrapped it around, gluing it to the previous ribbon each time.

I made sure to put half the glue on the ribbon and half on the strap. I also applied the glue to the backside of the strap so any extra glue could not be seen from the outside. I kept warping until I reached the end of the other side, finishing by gluing ribbon to ribbon.

To finish it off, I grabbed a couple colors of coordinating tulle to tie around the tie instead of a bow. Again, I am definitely not a bow maker. :) I tied on piece to one side of the toe and another to the other side.

I then took a piece of black tulle and tied it around both the other pieces of tulle. I took some scissors and cut it down, so it would be just little puffs of tulle at the toe.

End result, while not as nice as the ones in the store, I ended up with a pair of flip flops that my daughter was able to pick out and help make herself. She loves them, and even if they fall apart in a week (hopefully not) I only paid a $1 for it b/c I already had the ribbon and tulle. :) Fun project to do with your kiddos (minus the glue gun) that they can proudly wear later.

Week 19 - My war against the fruit flies

2012-05-14T19:43:00.001-07:00

My house unfortunately has been invaded with fruit flies over the past couple weeks. With the warm winter, I think we are seeing more insects this year, and fruit flies are definitely one. I happened upon a fruit fly trap on Pinterest, and I thought what the heck? I don't know any other way to get rid of them, so I gave it a try. The first, notice I said first, trap I found threw me for a loop b/c when I clicked on it, I fell victim to one of the new traps people are setting on Pinterest, and it took me to some bogus website that I am sure put cookies, worms, or some sort of other weird name for computer uh-oh on my computer. After searching, I was finally about to find the pin that lead me to the correct website.
The pin featured this picture:

The directions are listed on the site, Passionate Homemaking. I went to work making my trap. I had to use a plastic cup, since I didn't have a mason jar handy. For the record, I never have a mason jar handy. I made the cone of paper and let it sit. I got so excited to see the little fruit flies going into the cup. I felt so smart and victorious. Then I came back later to see more little fruit flies in the cup. Yay! I was feeling so good about my win over the fruit flies that I decided to brag to my husband about it when he came home. But as the night went on, we started to notice that there were less fruit flies. Even though the blog said they wouldn't be able to figure out how to get back up, somehow mine were. I don't know if we happen to have some sort of Houdini fruit flies that can get out of any trap or what, but it became very apparent that my trap was not working. It could draw them in, but not keep them. I think I actually heard their tiny laughter as I gave up and threw the trap out.

A few days later I found another fruit fly trap. These one seemed so very basic and not at all trap-like, but I went ahead and tried it determined to be the laughing stock of the fruit flies in my own house! I wish I could find this pin again, but I don't seem to have repinned it! I can tell you what I did though. It recommended taking a small container (I used another plastic cup) and filling it half-full with apple cider vinegar and added a few drops of Dawn dish soap. I set this on the counter, not really expecting results. By that night, I had at least 10 fruit flies floating in it! I think I have actually found the fruit fly kryptonite!! The next morning I had even more! Ladies and gentlemen do not ever discount simplicity. :) Here is a picture of my fruit fly graveyard.

Notice all the little dark specks at the bottom, those would be dead fruit flies. I have never been so proud of anything so gross! It even caught a real fly too!

So I feel like I got the last laugh...for now. I lost the first battle, but I won the war. :)

Week 18 - One of my new favorite meals!

2012-05-14T18:52:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I am typically not a lemon/lime person with my food unless it's being squeezed over a sizzling plate of fajitas or sitting atop of my margarita glass, but when I saw this recipe for Lemon Garlic Chicken with green beans and potatoes, something about it drew me in.

This picture alone can make your mouth water!Plus I liked the idea of having the whole meal in one baking dish without it having to be some rich (and over processed) casserole. When I clicked it, I was taken to the recipe on the Real Simple. Click the link to see the full recipe.
I did make a few small changes. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts. My daughter can't stand skin on her chicken, and if there is skin, instead of peeling the whole thing off ahead of time, she will take bites, then proceed to spit the skin out. So appetizing! I also only used about 6 red potatoes instead of 8. Not sure if my potatoes were bigger, but I could only fit 6 without over packing the dish.
This meal was a hit! The lemon and garlic together were so good! It really added a nice flavor to the chicken, green beans, and potatoes. The kids even ate it all up, which is huge when there is meat on the plate. It was also husband approved. He said it was definitely one to make again. This meal was pretty low fuss, just mix up a couple things, chop some potatoes and throw it all in the pan. Easy week night meal that tastes like it was a lot harder to make!

Week 17 - You mean I need to clean my washing machine?

2012-05-14T18:36:00.003-07:00

I ran across this post on Pinterest about cleaning your washing machine. I have never really thought about this, since it is a machine that cleans things itself. Why (beyond just wiping down the inside and outside of the lid) would it need to be cleaned? I learned why when I really started looking at it. Built up fabric softener that turned into a film in the dispenser and along the top of the washer basket. So I put this pin to use!

It led me to the blog, Somewhat Simple. I set out that day convinced that by the end of the day my washing machine would be spotless and bright white clean. I set my timers and followed all the directions. By the end of the cleaning process, I can say that the washer looked a little better than when I started, but it wasn't really the results that I had expected. My laundry room definitely had a strong smell of vinegar to it though! I made sure to run a few more cycles to dilute it out a little more before washing any clothes. It did help get most of the film out of the fabric softener dispenser. Maybe I need to try it again since this was the first time I have taken the time to clean my washing machine. Or maybe I just need a new washer to start over fresh with. Haha, I can see my husband just shaking his head "no." I guess I will just try again and make due until that one fine day I get my new cherry red front loading washer and dryer. A girl can dream right? Maybe by then they will have self cleaning washers! ;)

Week 16 - Puffins (Pancake muffins)

2012-05-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

For this week, I tried out the Puffin aka the pancake muffin or the Busy Mom's pancake. Found this pin on Pinterest, but there was no link, so I am not quite sure who to give the credit to. Here is the pic I found.

These are SUPER easy and really yummy. The directions are simple. Preheat oven to 350. Mix 1 cup pancake mix, 2/3 cup water, and 1/2 cup syrup together. Pour in greased muffin pan, and top with banana, blueberries, chocolate chips, pecans, sausage, bacon, etc. Bake 12-14 minutes then serve.

I made these the first time the night before a fishing weekend for my husband, dad, and brother. I knew it was going to be an early morning, so I wanted something that would be ready to eat. I made them the night before then put them into plastic containers until the next day. The first time I made these, I used pure maple syrup instead of the regular syrup that we use on a daily basis (which I am kinda grossed out by, now that I have read the ingredients). I think I liked the first batch the best b/c of this. I have used many different toppings, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate chips, mini M&Ms, vanilla granola, and pumpkin granola with flax. I bought some sausage to try out this weekend. :) I have even left some plain, and they are yummy on their own as well. I used a mini muffin tin, and it makes the perfect size for the kids to have at breakfast. They can grab two or three to eat quickly.

The ones with fruit, do get a little soggy on the bottom, but I had no complaints from my bunch. I just made sure to store them in air-tight plastic containers in the fridge to keep them fresh.
I even made these this morning to take for Teacher Appreciation. Today was bring something sweet to eat, so I thought these would be perfect. I was able to make these while my son got ready for school, and they were cooled, packed, and ready to go when he was. :)

Definitely recommend these for quick breakfast or even a brunch.

Week 15 - Bike basket

2012-05-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been going back and forth on getting a basket for her bike. I have even resorted to taking a paper gift bag and looping the straps around the handlebars to help carry her dolls, toys, etc. Very classy! :) We went shopping for a basket, but we couldn't find one that she liked. I saw this pin on pinterest and decided to try it out!

The full tutorial can be found on the blog, Noodlehead. I cut out my fabric and started making the inside and outside of the basket and putting it together with the heat fusing material. I tried to pick out fabrics that would match her bike, and I found some peace sign fabric that I already had. My mom loves peace signs, and therefore, so does my daughter. I figured I could get away with it not being pink since it had peace signs. I used Heavy Duty Wonder Under, but I don't think it was quite heavy enough. It works fine, but it is not as stiff as the basket in the picture.

I ironed it using the method she showed on the website, but then changed to putting the basket on the end of the ironing board because I was seeing wrinkles on the outside of the basket. I switched so if there were anymore wrinkles, they would be on the inside.

You can see some of the wrinkles here.

Then I was able to sew together the handlebar attachment and put it on.

I took a break at this point to have some dinner, and Baylie found a new use for the basket.

After dinner (and convincing her that it was not a new hat), I was able to add the top border and put it on the bike. Just when I thought I had gotten away with no pink, my daughter said, "I want it to be pink too!" I searched my fabrics to see what I had that might coordinate that had some pink in it. The polka dots came the closest, and she was happy with that. Not what I would have picked, but she loves it, and it's her basket!

She has used it several times to take her dolls along on bike rides, as well as her bug catcher, to rescue wandering doodle bugs on the sidewalk to return them to their home in the grass.

This project took a little longer, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Much cheaper than buying a plastic woven basket that would have fallen apart in a couple months (considering I already had everything I needed to make it).

New post - This one's an original by me! Crockpot Chicken soft tacos

2012-04-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

I figured I would share one of my originals since I have found some many great things by "copying" others on pinterest! :) This meal is a family favorite in our house. I came upon it just trying out new ideas for getting more veggies in my family's diet. I use a core list of basic ingredients each time but change up some of the extras each time, including the color of bell peppers that I use each time. I love this crockpot meal because prep is fast and easy, and I love coming home in the afternoon to the smell of a yummy already cooked meal! This feeds our family of four, each of us having about 2-3 tacos, and I usually have meat and sauce left over to have chicken nachos the next day.

Prep time takes about 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
~1 lb chicken breast
3 bell peppers ( I usually use a mix of colors)
2 vine ripened tomatoes
small amount of water or chicken broth
avocados
soft tortillas (I like the fresh tortillas from our local Kroger)
sour cream
shredded cheese (the queso cheese mix is really good with this)
lime wedges
Add ins:
onion
minced garlic
fresh cilantro
~ 1tsp cumin

I first chop the peppers, tomatoes, and any other fresh ingredients that I may be using(onion, garlic, cilantro, etc.) and put them into a blender with a little bit of water/chicken broth. I add more liquid if the veggies don't blend down well. I blend until it reaches a thick sauce consistency. I pour half the mixture into the crock pot then put the chicken in and pour the remaining half on top.

Here comes the best part. I put the lid on, set the heat (low for ~8 hours and high ~6), and WALK AWAY! Love it! I did come back at about 5 hours to break up the chicken with some tongs to let the juice sink into more of the meat. It should fall apart when you poke at it. I also added a little more water to mix to keep the sauce from getting too thick.

Once done, just load up your tortilla with some meat and scoop some of the sauce on top (for your veggies serving!), then top with avocado, cheese, sour cream, etc. One of the best additions that has become a staple for us is squeezing a lime wedge over the taco one done. Yum!!

I am not a great photographer, and the pictures really don't do it much justice, but it is really good!! Hope you all enjoy this one as much as we do!

Week 14 - Pillow Mat

2012-04-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

This may have been one of my (and my kids') favorite projects so far. I saw a pin that showed a blog with instructions to make a pillow mat. It looked so cute that I couldn't resist trying it out! The pillow mat instructions came from the blog Southern Disposition. The instructions were super easy to follow, and this project took me about an hour the first time, but only 45 minutes the next.

I started with a shopping trip to IKEA to get the duvet cover and the pillows. The duvee cost me about $16.99, and, after some searching, I was able to find the $.99 pillows. I got to work with the duvet when I got home cutting it into half and stitching it per the directions.

I measured the same way she did by laying out the pillows, then I marked the spots to stitch with pins. It was overall pretty easy, although I did mess up some of the measurements creating some pillow pockets are little bit bigger. The mat worked out well though, I am just going to add some velcro to avoid the pockets opening and allowing the pillows to come out. She loved it!

We found that you can even fold one pillow on top of the other to create an elevated pillow for extra cushion under her head. :) My son wanted one once he saw hers, but I couldn't find a duvet that looked boyish enough for a 7 year old, so we went off to Target to look for a flat sheet. We found an entire sheet set for the same price that I got the duvet at Ikea in a space print, so we got that. I figure that I can use the sheets one his bed with a different flat sheet. It was not hard to convert the instructions to a sheet. I first cut the sheet to the length of the four pillows since I knew it would be longer than the duvet. I sewed the raw edge to clean it up. I folded the sheet in half and pulled out the bottom half of the sheet until the tops half matched the width of the pillows. I then cut the bottom half about 5 inches longer in width to create the pocket. I sewed the bottom and top together then sewed up the raw edge and completed it the same as the duvet. I think that this actually did better b/c the length was created exactly for the pillows making the pillow pockets just right. The sheet was also a little thicker fabric, not stretching as easily either.

End result, they both love them!!

They use them for mattresses when they do "slumber parties" in the playroom, and they have actually started using them on top of their real mattresses in their bed b/c they are so comfy!

Week 13 - Not so triumphant

2012-04-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Along with my successes this week, I also had a couple not so successful moments. We can start with the Chicken Parmesan Bake from the blog Food Wishes. This pin looked so good that I actually repinned in 3 times without realizing it! :) This picture looks great doesn't it?

The blog features the list of ingredients then a video to go over the recipe. I prefer to follow a written recipe as opposed to a video, but it was pretty easy, so I didn't mind. I bought chicken breast cutlets from sprouts, so they would be thinner to start with and take less time to bake. The recipe calls for 35 minutes to bake, but mine took closer to an hour to make even when the thinner cuts. The only problem with baking it longer is the cheese on top gets a little burnt. I scooped some out for my kiddos and some for me. I ate a little, and unfortunately wasn't too impressed. The croutons got pretty soggy and mushy and didn't get that crispiness that he described in the recipe. Both kids ate about two bites and were done. My husband, the chicken parm fanatic, didn't even try the leftovers I put for him in the fridge. Oh well, don't think I will trying this again. Too bad, it looked really good!

Our other attempt was started off really cool, so it wasn't a total fail! We attempted to make the puffy paint for the bathtub.

We tried the Ivory soap in the microwave from the blog Toys in the Dryer. This part was a success. The kids and I both marveled at how the soap puffed up like a cloud in a matter of seconds. You quarter a bar of soap then stick it in the microwave. I put a paper towel on a plate then put the soap on top of the paper towel. It says to set the microwave for 3 minutes, but it took less than a minute to get all the puff we needed from the soap. It was pretty cool, and it made the kitchen smell nice and soapy clean! Bonus!! :)

Soap before

Soap after

For the next part I referred to the blog, Housing a Forest. I followed the directions, and blended the puffed soap with water until it reached the yogurt consistency. I poured it into cups and mixed in the food coloring.

I knew something probably wasn't right when I saw the liquid at the bottom separating, but I tried to just remix it and keep going. When I poured it into the baggies, I tried to pour out some of the liquid that had separated again before putting it in the baggies. The continued to separate in the baggies, so I just squished them around to remix. By the time we got around to trying them that evening at bath time they had gelled up pretty good.

What was supposed to be puff paint more turned into congealed, dyed soap. The kids enjoyed smooshing on the bath walls (they had looked so looked forward to using it all day, that I couldn't tell them no), but it was not so fun to clean up out of the bottom of the tub.

Not sure what I did to mess this up, but if anyone has suggestions, let me know!

Week 13 - Triumphs

2012-04-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well this week I tried a couple different things from pinterest. Some things turned out great, and others I will not try again. Live and learn! This post with contain the success stories, and I will put the learning experiences in the next post. This will be a longer post, so hopefully you don't get bored! :)

Starting off with one of the successes! I was invited to a shower last weekend that was put together by my church's associate pastor and his wife for a pregnant woman in their apartment complex whose husband is serving overseas and family lives out of state. When they heard that she was about to deliver and had not yet had a shower, they threw together a fantastic shower for her and invited everyone in our church to come by to congratulate the mom to be and "shower" her with gifts. :) I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try out the diaper trike that I had seen on pinterest! The pin lead me to the link, Maiden D'Shade. It gave very easy instructions to follow. The whole thing took about maybe 30 minutes start to finish. Very easy!

I started with the wheels. I didn't have rubber bands as the original blog called for, but I had some stretchy ribbon that I used instead and just pinned it.

I then connected the wheels with the first rolled receiving blanket. Instead of using yarn to connect the blanket, I just pinned it together. I looped the second rolled receiving blanket through the front wheel and tied it together with some coordinating tulle. I stuck a pacifier in to serve as the head light. :)

To finish off the trike, I folded up the last receiving blanket into a small rectangle and pinned it to the top of the "tires" to serve as the seat.

SUPER EASY!! I would definitely do this again! I would try and get the rubber bands for the tires next time to hold them a little tighter and just go over them with ribbon. That is really the only change I would make. Totally recommend this for a quick and cute shower gift. :)

Next success:

Chalkboard paint! This was awesome and will be a regular part of our summer entertainment. I am guilty of not going to the blog on this one b/c the pin had the directions listed, but I wanted to list the blog anyways to give credit where credit is due. Plus, I like to go back and visit the blogs later as they usually have lots of other great ideas! Domestic Charm served as the inspiration for this pin!

You simply mix 1 cup of cornstarch with 1 cup of water. I did this in a Pyrex measuring cup. I then poured it into a large 6 opening muffin tin. One mixture of the solution filled 3 openings in the tin, so I made two batches. Once in the muffin tin, I added the food coloring. We took it outside, and the kids went to town. They loved how it went on wet, but dried to look like chalk only seconds later, especially my science-nut son! They stayed busy for about 45 minutes painting the driveway. I even joined in on the fun!

I had been worried about it possibly staining their clothes, but instead of absorbing into their fabric it seemed to bead up instead (not sure if b/c of the corn starch). It also did not stain their skin either! Great paint!! It washed off the driveway easily with the hose a couple days later when I was watering the plants.

Week 12 - Thin Mint Truffles!! :)

2012-03-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

This was one of the easiest and yummiest party treats I have ever made! I was having a Scentsy party on St. Patrick's day, so I wanted to coordinate all my food to have a green theme, so I made cream cheese with green pepper jelly, cucumber sandwiches, green sprinkle dipped marshmallows, and thin mint truffles. This pin on pinterest led me to the blog Cookin' Cowgirl.

The directions are pretty easy, and I was also able to try out my new Cuisinart! I put the entire box of Thin Mints into the bowl and ran the blade until they were crumbs. I then switched the blade to the dough blade (leaving the crumbs in) added the cream cheese and ran it again. I had to stop and start it to push the crumbs back to the middle with the spatula as it would gather up on the sides to where the blade couldn't reach it, but after a few times it all came together into one well blended glob of cream cheese-thin mint yumminess.

I took out the lump of thin mint and put in on a plate and began breaking off small sections and rolling them into balls and put them on a parchment covered cookie sheet to go into the freezer.

I let them go a little longer than the 30 minutes b/c I was prepping other things. I pulled them out and melted some white chocolate into a microwave safe bowl then put green food coloring in for the color. I didn't get a chance to go to World Market for the mint chips and they did not have them at Walmart, Target, or Kroger (bummer!). I had to figure out the perfect way to coat them. When I tried with just my hands, I always had on spot that did cover. I figured out a method using a fork and a spoon (turning it in the chocolate with both then using the spoon to scoop it out and the fork to steady it).

I then put them back into the fridge until party time since they cannot be left out due to containing cream cheese.

They were quite a hit at the party, and there was not one left over!

I would definitely make these again! I don't even have to wait until next girl scout season b/c the author of the blog said you can also make them with Keebler's grasshopper cookies. :) I would try to do the mint chips next time b/c I would bet that adds even more flavor. The white chocolate was still pretty good though! I would also take a tip that I read on making cake balls the other night, taking only a few truffles out of the freezer at a time to dip, so you can keep the rest cold and easy to dip as well.

These would be perfect for any spring party, Easter celebration, or just because! :)

Week 11 - Bonus Post!! :)

2012-03-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I tried a couple new recipes that I had to share with everyone, so there is a bonus post this week! The first is one that I posted a picture about this morning that got a little buzz on my facebook page. I decided to make a special breakfast, since my husband took off today to have a family day while our son is on spring break. I looked up the recipe for the cinnamon sugar pull apart muffins on Pinterest, since we are all fans of cinnamon rolls. I got up a little earlier this morning to put it together, and it was well worth it! While it took a little longer than I thought to put together, I am betting the next time will go a little quicker having one try under my belt. I had to make some adjustments to the recipe found on Wendy See Wendy Do. When I went to make the muffins this morning, I found that I was out of nutmeg, so that was eliminated, but I figured that it wouldn't be a big deal. I also had to use a mini muffin pan as I do not have a regular muffin pan. Despite the adjustments I had to make, they were still delicious! Instead of layering them in stacks of 5-6, I layered them in stacks of 4 to fit in the smaller muffin pan. I think I liked having the smaller pan thought b/c it made more in quantity and the smaller size was perfect for my kiddos! The smaller size would also make it a perfect finger food for parties or brunches. :) The only change I would make for next time is doubling the recipe. They disappeared quickly!!!

The other recipe I tried out this week was a ground chicken gumbo. I stumbled upon this on the All Recipes site while looking for something to do with the ground chicken I bought from Sprouts a couple weeks ago. I will definitely do this one again! I left out the celery this time as my crew, including me, doesn't really like celery. I think I will try it next time though. Instead of dicing the green pepper and onion, I blended it down to more of a smooth, almost puree-like texture. I do this with most recipes when dealing with these ingredients b/c if I don't they will end up on the side of my hubby's, son's, and daughter's plates. I through everything else together according to the directions, but I did add a little more chopped okra that what was called for (~1 and 3/4 cup) b/c I love okra and so do my kids! I heated up the leftovers tonight, and it was as good, if not better than the first night! It has been a yummy week here!

Week 11 - Peach Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake

2012-03-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to get some non-chocolate sweets recently, as my 7 year old gave up chocolate for Lent. That's a pretty big commitment for a kid! He is doing really well with it and remembering when his Dad and I forget. I wanted to support him by offering sweet options that don't include chocolate. I found this Peach Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake on pinterest that looked delicious! The pin led me to the blog Week of Menus. You can find the complete recipe by clicking on the link.
I was tempted to buy canned peaches to dice and peach baby food for the strained peaches, but I opted to go with fresh. It's not quite peach season, so it was slim pickings at the grocery store. I found 5, what I thought were, decent peaches. Once I got home I got started. I love making bundt cakes. I am not sure exactly why, but I think that part of it is how nice they look coming out of the pan, needing little to no decoration. It's that simple elegance without the hard work! :)
The batter was pretty standard and straight forward. I have to say that I used vanilla extract instead of the vanilla bean. The only vanilla bean I could find at my grocery store was going to cost $7, so I opted out of that. I used 2 tsp of vanilla for the flavor. I got it all mixed up and poured into my greased and floured baking pan. I love the Pam spray for baking. It shoots out the oil and flour in one making it so easy! It also smells really yummy, like you are already baking the cake! I poured in the first layer of cake.

I then added my layer of peaches. The recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 cups, but when I poured my peaches in, it didn't seems like enough, so I diced up another 1/2 cup of peaches to go in, then I poured on the top layer.

I did leave the skin on. I figured it wouldn't hurt, and I had already diced up some of the peaches by the time I realized it. I don't feel like it changed the cake, and it saved some time! :)
I put it in the oven and set the timer for 50 minutes at first. The tester didn't come out quite clean, so I left it in to closer to 60 minutes. Then let it cool in the pan for a little while. I took it out of the pan to cool, and it was a little brown on top with some bubbles, but otherwise looked pretty good.

I was going to make the syrup to drizzle on top of the cake, but when I cut into the last peach to make the strained peach, it was no good. Bummer!
I cut into the cake to get a slice for the kids and myself to taste test. The cake looked great with the layer of peaches!

Since we didn't have the syrup on top, I decided to heat the pieces in the microwave for about 10 seconds (didn't need long as it was still a little warm from baking) and put a scoop of vanilla ice on top. YUMMY!!

The kids and I both ate it up pretty quickly. I would like to try the syrup next time, but this cake doesn't have to have it to be delicious! Definitely recommend this one. Perfect for a spring brunch or just because. I think I will have to make this one for a dessert auction we will be having at church.

Week 10 - Easter Egg Tree

2012-03-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

This project was another learning experience for me, but in the end it turned out really cute! I chose to try out the Easter Egg tree that I saw on pinterest that linked me to the blog, Sweet Floweret. This seemed easy enough, so I went to Walmart to get the floral foam cone, eggs, and Easter grass. I decided I would try to use some craft glue that I had at home since I did not have a hot glue gun. I thought it would be fine, so I started to glue small spots onto the eggs then attach it to the cone.

The glue was not drying quickly, and the eggs were sliding around a little bit, so I had to prop them as I kept gluing. I made it around the first layer and... they all fell.

I thought about some sticky dots that I had tat have worked well with other crafts including fabric. I tried sticking some on the same spot as I had applied the glue.

It did not work with just the dot, so I put some glue around it. I got the rest of the way around the tree and decided to wait until the morning to put the grass in, so the glue would have a chance to completely dry.

I went off to watch a show with my husband, and half-way through I heard a plastic "clink" on the table. I told my husband I didn't even want to look since I knew what was happening. We started to laugh after a couple more "clinks." I still didn't check. I thought I would just fix whatever fell in the morning. This is what I walked into the next morning.

That was a lot of fixing. Instead of repeating the same mistake, I decided to go a buy a glue gun. I have learned to use the proper materials and not try and substitute other things. I also learned that craft glue will not glue plastic to foam. :)
After purchasing a glue gun I tried again. It's amazing how much easier and faster it is when you have the right materials!

Woo-hoo! No plastic "clinks" after the fact too. After making sure the eggs were secure, I stuck the grass in between. I would pull the grass apart (it was clumped up in the bag) then I would bunch it and stick it in between the eggs. I would try and stretch it out so that it would be secure. It was pretty easy to do.

Ta-dah! The finished product!!

Overall this was a pretty easy project, especially once I got the glue gun! It took about 45 min start to finish.