Suzie Homemaker

2 ingredient fudge recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:26:00 +0000

This fudge recipe takes two super simple ingredients but you can add in extras to make many different types of fudge. This would be a great recipe for a college student to make as Christmas gifts.

1 bag chocolate chips or other type of chips
1 can of frosting

Spread the chips in the bottom of a microwaveable dish and cook for 90 seconds. Pour the whole can of frosting on top of the chips in the dish and microwave that for 90 seconds.
Stir very well to mix and pour into an 8x8" pan that has been buttered. I put foil in the pan and buttered that to make it easier to take out after it set. Allow to set ans cut into pieces.

Try these combos-
Butterscotch Vanilla Pecan ( Butterscotch chips, vanilla icing, and pecans)

Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cheese ( Choc chips, cream cheese icing, and stir in macadamia nuts)

German Chocolate ( choc chips and german chocolate icing)

Chocolate Peanut Butter ( Peanut butter chips and milk chocolate icing)

Chocolate Mint ( Mint chocolate chips and chocolate icing)

Chocolate Covered Cherry (Cherry chips and chocolate icing)

Lemon Cranberry (White choc chips, lemon icing, and dried cranberries)

Christmas ( White chocolate chips, vanilla icing, dash of peppermint extract, and crushed candy canes)

Cookies and Cream (White chocolate chips, vanilla icing, and crushed oreos)

Peanut Butter (Peanut Butter chips and vanilla icing)

Holiday Decor Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:56:00 +0000

I wanted to share a few holiday photos that I have taken this week. This is my favorite time of the year!

My front porch

A couple of my snowman things made by my friend Lisa from http://pomhwoodcrafts.com/home I got both of these for $30! Her prices are great.

Our upstairs tree during the day. the train around it was made by my brother.

Our upstairs tree at night.

Our dinning table

Our downstairs tree.

This was the result of me trying to get a photo for our Christmas cards.......

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:14:00 +0000

I used to be one those that opened a can of cranberry sauce for holiday meals. Those days are long gone. I have found a super simple recipe that will be come a holiday tradition in my household.

1 package fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1 tsp orange zest

Combine cranberries,sugar, orange juice, and zest in a medium saucepan, and cook over medium heat until cranberries pop.

Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes.

Leave cranberries whole or put through a blender once cool (which I did).

Pumpkin Fluff

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:50:00 +0000

I got this recipe from a friend about two weeks ago. Since then I have made it twice. It could be made as a pumpkin dip and served with graham crackers, as a pumpkin pudding, or pie style in a crust. I like mine straight out of the bowl with a large spoon!

1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a large bowl, mix together instant vanilla pudding mix, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the thawed frozen whipped topping. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:54:00 +0000

This is an awesome recipe to celebrate fall. You could make a batch for all the kids to play with on Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:
5 1/2 cups flour
2 cups salt
8 teaspoons cream of tartar
3/4 cup oil
1 container (1 1/12 ounces) pumpkin pie spice
orange food coloring (2 parts yellow, 1 part red)
4 cups water
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Cook and stir constantly over medium heat until lumps disappear. Knead the dough on floured surface until smooth.
Store the dough in a plastic zip-top bag or other air-tight container. Keep the dough separate from any other food items and it should last over a month.

Shopping and Holiday Decor!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:47:00 +0000

It's that time of the year. There is a craft fair every weekend within a hour or so drive. I spent Saturday morning at our local Christmas Fair.

Here are a few of the things I purchased....

These super cute snowman ornaments are made out of recycled jar lids. How cute are they?!? These are made by a friend of mine who makes tons of things out of old stuff. I have blogged about here stuff a few times before like here and here.

I also grabbed these cute painted pine cones. Which my hubby could not believe that I paid money for considering I could make them.

I am signed up to be part of a Holiday Home Tour so I am doing things a little early this year. We put one of the trees up tonight and plan to do the other one next weekend! I still need a new topper for this one. I am looking for a snowman one. If I can not find one this week I will make one next week.

The winner is.....

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:48:00 +0000

We have a winner for the Gift Package worth over $50 in celebration of our 50 followers!

It will contain items from
http://www.beautyfromtheearth.com/
and
http://www.littledivatutus.com/

is........

Shelly - Ravish30

Meatloaf Graves with Mashed Potato Ghost

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:14:00 +0000

This weekend we had 8 kids for pumpkin carving. I thought it would be awesome to make a special treat for supper. I made them meatloaf graves with green grass mashed potatoes, and mashed potato ghost.

I simply shaped the meatloaf into serving size ovals and baked them on a cookie sheet. Then I made mashed potatoes and made some of them green with food color. I put the green potatoes on a tray and put the meatloaves on top. I then put a little potatoes in a plastic bag, cut off the tip, and made little ghost using that.

They were a huge hit!

What is in your purse? A Purse Review-

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:19:00 +0000

This is the photo from Avon's site. They explain it as --------An Avon exclusive! Go from messy…to neat! Everything has a place…and stays in place! No more digging to find your cell phone. No more searching for your lipstick. No more emptying your bag to find your keys. Organizer tote with five compartments for everything from your wallet to cosmetics. Vinyl. Fully lined, with zip pocket. Recessed zipper closure.

So I purchased one. It was $20 with a $15 purchase. I think that was a special for last month and I am not sure it is still active. You would have to check with your local Avon rep. So, on to my review.....

So here you have it...... this is what is currently in my purse. Can you tell I have kids? LOL

Look like a huge mess? I can tell you that it was in my old purse.

You have to see this to believe it.

* This purse has cool little divides in the bottom that hold your stuff. No more digging all over the place to find what you are looking for. This is the best part.

* The size is great. Not too large or small.

* On the downside it only comes in black. I wish they had more colors. I would own one of each.

Overall I would suggest this for anyone but especially anyone who carries a ton of stuff.

Oatmeal Cookies and Bath Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:46:00 +0000

I have a good friend who has been living in an apartment without a bath tub. Can you imagine?!? I spend a good 30 minutes every night soaking in a hot tub and relaxing! It's my ME time. Well, she got good news that she is getting to upgrade apartments and the new one has a tub. She is super excited to be able to kick back in it and relax nightly.

I thought it would be nice to make her apartment warming gift and what would be better than something for a bath! I came across a recipe for Oatmeal Cookie Bath Soak and it was super simple to make. I think I will even make some to give out as Christmas Gifts.

You will need

1 c oatmeal

1/2 c baking soda

1-2 tsp cinnamon

Dump it all in a food processor and blend together.

That's it! How easy is that?

I put hers in a jelly jar with a piece of scrapbook paper cut to fit under the ring, tied on a ribbon, and card. I put the instructions ( Pour 1/2 cup or so into a running bath then slip in and relax, repeat daily).

I made a little extra and I am going to try some as soon as I get kids off to bed.

I have 50 Followers! Time for a Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:37:00 +0000

We are giving away a Gift Package worth over $50 in celebration of our 50 followers! It will contain items from

http://www.beautyfromtheearth.com/ and http://www.littledivatutus.com/ as well as other things!

How to Enter

1. Become follower of MrsSuzieHomemaker Blog and post a comment.

2. Become a follower of LittleDivaTutus on Twitter and leave a comment here on the blog.

3. Blog about this contest and post a comment.

* Contest will be open until Midnight MT on November 3rd.

* Winner must have a US or Canadian mailing address!

* The winner will be randomly selected (from random.org) and announced on November 4th. You MUST check back to see if you won, or leave your email address with comment. The winner will need to contact suziehomemakerblog@yahoo.com to provide name and shipping address.

The kids love these!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:42:00 +0000

On a recent trip to Wally World (WalMart) I saw this cute sandwich cutter. I grabbed it for about $2. My kids are loving their heart shaped grilled cheeses. On my next trip I am going to buy the one that makes dinosaurs.

Triple Chocolate Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:08:00 +0000

When my kids requested a chocolate cake I went straight to allrecipes.com. I love to be able to reads ratings on a recipe before I make a new recipe. Today we tried Too Much Chocolate Cake . It came out wonderful! The kids insisted that we give each piece a dollop of whipped cream and some orange sprinkles since it's almost Halloween.

If you like a rich chocolate cake this is the cake for you!

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

I used a 9 by 13 and I put on store bought chocolate icing. :)

Hygiene Drive with Giveaway- Repost this on your blog. :)

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:40:00 +0000

There are many people here in the USA that do not have the resources or money to purchase necessities such as hygiene products.

This Christmas Beauty From the Earth will be sending Hygiene Kits out to the needy. These kits will be handed out to many men, women, and children who are not as fortunate as many of us.

Last year we were only going to send them to homeless but we found that there are many people out there that can not afford the items that are not homeless. These may include mentally handicap persons or the victims of domestic violence.

Our goal is to send at lease 200 kits out.

We are still in need of many more items.

We would like to invite you to participate in this event.We need the following items-
Shampoo
Conditioner
Hand lotion
Bars of soap
Dental floss
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Tampons
Sanitary napkins
Diapers
In addition of these items we will also we collecting color books and crayons for children.

If you would like to donate please mail your items to -
Beauty From The Earth
PO Box 315
Syracuse, Kansas 67878

Every person who sends items for the cause will get 20% off their next order at http://www.beautyfromtheearth.com/
and will be entered to win a 100.00 gift certificate also from Beauty From The Earth.

Let's keep this going! Post this on your blog. I bet we can send out many more than 200 kits!

You can see the orginal post at-
http://beautyfromtheearth.blogspot.com/2009/10/there-are-many-people-here-in-usa-that.html

Apple Cream Cheese Dessert

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:03:00 +0000

I was looking for something to make with a roll of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls last night and made up a recipe. It came out awesome.

1 roll of Pillsbury crescent rolls

1 8oz block of cream cheese softened

1/2 c white sugar

3 apples, chopped

1 t lemon juice

1/2 c brown sugar

1 t cinnamon

Heat oven to 375. Separate the dough into 2 long rectangles. Place the dough in an ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan; press in bottom to form crust. Seal perforations by pressing them together.
Bake the crust at 375 for about 7 minutes.

In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar & vanilla until smooth. Spread mixture over partially baked crust.

Toss chopped apples in lemon juice then toss with 1/2 cup of brown sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle apples over the top of the crust and "sauce"

Bake at 375 for an extra 25-3o minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm

Store in the fridge.

The best caramel corn recipe ever!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:06:00 +0000

Happiness in my oven!

This amazing buttery caramel coated popcorn melts in your mouth and is super addictive. It takes a while to make but it is well worth the wait! For a little something extra add in peanuts or drizzle with chocolate.

This is the original recipe but I have changed to make it even better.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup real butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 bags buttery microwave popcorn popped and kernels picked out( you can use regular popcorn but it is not as good)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a very large bowl.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and pour on to wax paper. Let cool completely before breaking into pieces. DO NOT LET COOL IN PAN! It will stick.

Pumpkin People. :)

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Last weekend the girls and I spent Sunday making pumpkin heads for scarecrows. We have not had a chance to go to Goodwill to buy them clothes. As soon we do we plan to make each a full size body. For now I wanted to share a couple of photos of our family pumpkin style!

Makeup Storage for small counter tops

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:01:00 +0000

If you have a small bathroom these storage drawers come in very handy. I use two stacked together. They do not hold my whole collection of makeup but they hold what I like to have handy for daily use. I picked them up for $7 each. It is the perfect solution for me!

For more tips check out this video by Petrilude

Fun Kid Food- Hot Dogs on a String?

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:52:00 +0000

Hot Dogs inserted onto noddles are the talk of my house today!

I saw this done by a blogger but I can't recall who. If my kids knew who the original person to do this was they would give them an award!

It is super simple ad kids love it!

*** Cut up your hot dogs into rounds

*** Have the kids insert them onto noddles.

*** Put in boiling water and cook until noddles are done

*** Drain and top with what ever you like. ( We like butter and Italian seasoning)

How to roast a pumpkin

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:56:00 +0000

I have to do something with all these pumpkin I grew this year. I have about 15 in my basement waiting on Halloween!

1. Pick a firm pumpkin that is 3-5 pounds.

2. Wash it in warm water.

3. Cut it in half .

4. Scoop out the seeds and strings using a metal spoon or scoop.

5. Place halves, hollow side down, in a baking dish with 1/4 inch of water in the bottom.

6. Bake uncovered at 375 for about an 30 minutes to 1 hour. It is done when a knife will slide into it like butter.

7. Cool

8 Scape the pumpkin from the shell and discard shell.

It is ready to use in your recipes calling for pumpkin.

Notes-

Place in freezer bags or containers and freeze for up to 1 year.

When you want to use the pumpkin, defrost it in the fridge for 24 hour before use.

It will keep in the fridge in a zipper bag for up to 5 days.

My ride!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:08:00 +0000

My hubby and FIL are just the best! They built me this cart for running around town. Isn't it cute!?!

How I make Bacon Bits!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Cut the bacon in as small pieces using a pair of scissors.

In a skillet ( I ONLY use iron skillets) cook the bacon on medium heat, stirring frequently.

Bacon cut up small can burn very quickly, so don’t walk away from the pan.

Cook until the bacon is nice and evenly colored

Remove bacon from skillet and let drain in a bowl lined with paper towels.

Low Carb Peanut Butter Cheescake Bites

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:43:00 +0000

These are so good and perfect for sweet craving when you are on a low carb diet.

1 8 oz block Cream Cheese (softened)

1 c chunky sugar free peanut butter

1/4 cup splenda

A Coating- unsweet cocoa powder, unsweet coconut, crushed almonds.......

Mix all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer.

Scrap down sides of bowl as needed.

Chill the mixture in the fridge for approx. 30 minutes.

Then roll the mixture into 3/4-inch balls. Then, roll the balls in (coating of choice) to coat them and then chill them for an additional 15 minutes or so before serving.

My lovely 2 yr old really likes.... Well hear it for your self!

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Review The Flameless Luminary by Febreeze

noreply@blogger.com (Crystal Lampe) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:34:00 +0000

I purchased a Flameless Luminary by Febreeze Start Up Kit about 1 week ago.

It included

A black wood base on which sits a light that "flickers."

2 AA batteries.

Two scented shades

The starter kit of Febreze Home Collection Flameless Luminary that I purchased cost me $15.99.

According to the site -

Inspirational design and unique scent make the perfect combination for a refreshing atmosphere. The new Febreze Flameless Luminary accents your home with scent and style. It comes with decorative, scented shades you can change to let a flickering light shine through. Replace your scented shades with the latest scent and design every season of the year. When you’re ready for a new look with a new scent, simply replace your current scented shade with a Flameless Luminary Refill in a scent and design combination you like. To replace it, just remove and discard the old shade and place your new scented shade on the base. Look for seasonal Flameless Luminary Refills in limited edition seasonal scents and styles. It’s more than decor, it’s a breath of fresh air.

On to my review of the product-

Pros-

The product is very safe

It is easy to use

Very attractive

Cons-

The scent was very very light! I actually even tried putting a little scent oil on the shade to see if that would help.

Based on the scent throw I do not recommend the product!

I have read other reviews that said their scent was way too strong. Maybe I got a bad one? I will buy a package of refill shades and give it one more try before I call it a total waste of money.