BIRTHDAY YUMMINESS...

My little Porkchop turned 4 back in May.  For his Birthday this year, he got to enjoy two different yummy things.  

First, were these Adorable Lego Brownies.  Inspiration found here.  I made these for him to take to school for his classmates.

Then for our little family celebration, I made a Frozen Ice Cream Cake.  You want to know the really sad thing... it's now the end of November - I made this back in the middle of May, and I have no recollection of how I did it.  So, base on the next picture, I'm going to wing the instructions...  Honestly, I don't really think it can be messed up.  To start, here are the ingredients - simple enough.

In the bottom of a casserole dish, add a layer of ice cream sandwiches - then cover with Magic Shell.  Then add a layer of Cool Whip and a layer of crushed Oreos.  Then repeat - ice cream sandwiches, Magic Shell - but then switch and do the Oreo layer with the last layer being the Cool Whip.  

Then Freeze and Enjoy!!

My little guy did...

HOMEMADE GUMMY SNACKS...

I found this recipe a LOOOOONGGG time ago over at Six Sisters Stuff, and knew that someday I would try to make these for my boys, who LOOOOOOVE Gummy Snacks.

After getting lucky, a few months ago, at my son's pre-school's yard sale, and finding a Mold tray for just One Penny, I knew I was one step closer to getting these made.  Then this morning, during a routine trip to Walmart, I finally got the supplies - today would be the day!!

The supplies you need are some flavored gelatin and some unflavored gelatin.  

At Walmart, the Knox was $1.48 for (4)/.25oz packets, and the Jell-O was $.74 for a 3oz. box.  So all told, because I got two flavors - I spent just under $3.00.

Following the recipe from the above stated blog, this is how easy it is...

(1) 3oz. box of Flavored Gelatin

(2) .25oz packets of Unflavored Gelatin

1/3 C water.

Sprinkle all the gelatin over the water in a small saucepan.

Heat over medium heat and stir until all powder is completely dissolved.

Pour into molds

Let sit for at least 20 minutes. 

     When I checked them at twenty minutes, they were solid enough, but had a weird 

     texture when I tasted them.  I think I ended up letting them sit for a little over an 

     hour - by that time, they were the Perfect Gummy texture.

This is the Mold tray that I scored at the yard sale.  From the original blog, she said that they can be found at Walmart and craft stores.  I don't know if they're Jell-O brand, but anything with a small shaped mold would work.

For $3, I got (70), slightly larger than a jelly bean, Gummy snacks.  Not sure if that's
a savings or not, but they sure were easy to make.

 I'm sure we will be making a lot of these, in all different flavors, this summer.

TEDDY BEAR RACE CARS

The Thursday before Easter was the last day of school before Spring Break, so I thought I would send Luke to school with a little treat for his classmates. I saw these on Pinterest, and knew they would be perfect.... Teddy Bear Race Cars

So simple... fun size Milky Ways, Teddy Grahams and M&Ms

I melted a few chocolate chips to use as glue for attaching the M&M wheels to the Milky Way car. I made sure each car had all the same color wheels, and I made sure all the Teddy Grahams were the same shape. To put the Teddy Grahams into the Milky Way, I first cut a little slit before pushing them in. Reason being, the first one that I did (without the slit) caused the candy bar to get slightly crushed from the pushing.

I was able to save money by getting my candy at the Dollar General. They have little $1 packs that each have either (6) fun size Milky Way or (6) fun size M&M packs. I bought (2) Milky Way ones and (2) M&M ones (I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get all 10 cars with matching wheels if I only bought (1) of the M&M's - but I ended up only needing one). So for $4, I got all the candy I needed for the price of one big bag of Milky Way.

According to Luke's teacher, they were a HUGE hit!! And, since they are so simple, and I know I can get the candy pretty inexpensively, and I usually have chocolate chips and Teddy Grahams on hand, I can make these cute little treats for my boys whenever I want. AND... it's probably something, they can even make themselves.

PINTEREST... OH HOW I LOVE THEE

Last night, I was awakened at 3:00am by my oldest, who wanted something to drink. After helping him quench his thirst, I couldn't go back to sleep, soooo...

I got up and decided to do a little crafting. There were two projects that I had recently "Pinned" on Pinterest that I thought I would like to try to make. And since I already had all the supplies, they would be perfect for a little early morning creativity.

First was a Bird's Nest necklace.

The tutorial for this cute and super easy necklace is here.

Then I made a Poinsettia brooch.

The tutorial for this beautiful festive pin is found here. I did modify the design slightly. When she attached the petals to the backing she just laid them flat. I wanted there to be a little more dimension, so I pinched the one end of the petal before attaching.

After getting my creative juices flowing so nicely this morning, I thought I would also share some other things that I have made after being inspired by the Ever So Wonderful World of Pinterest.

Rosette & Ribbon Bracelet...

The tutorial for this fun, chunky piece of jewelry is here.

Here's a self-portrait of myself wearing one of these bracelets.

Pom-Pom Pendant... I made two of these as Christmas Gifts for my son's teachers.

The simple tutorial for this Way Cute necklace is here. I did do mine a little different than she did. I didn't use a charm. My pendant is actually a full sphere. I did two halves, each attached to a circle of felt, and then glued them together.

Trinket Holders... These are going to be found in my boy's stockings come this Sunday morning.

The tutorial for these adorable little trinket holders is here. I Love the carabiner's that I found with the little compass. They were less than $3 at Walmart. I found them in the Camping department.

Initial Gift Tags...

The inspiration for these simplistic tags came from here.

Pretzel Kisses... I made these this afternoon for my son's little Holiday party at school tomorrow.

The instructions for these little bites of yumminess is here.

and finally...

Coffee Filter Wreath...

I posted about this earlier, but to see how I used plumbing pipe insulation for the wreath form, go here. To keep my form from "kinking", I put a wire hanger inside the insulation.

Be sure to check out my Pinterest Boards and follow me if they interest you. I'm always pinning TONS of DIY projects... many many things to get YOUR Creative Juices flowing.

SINFULLY DELICIOUS

If you want to be TOTALLY BAD and Indulge in a completely Decadent Treat, then you have to bake up some of these...

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!!

Go visit Becky Bakes for the recipe. It is VERY easy, and to be honest, even if it was Hard, they would be Totally worth it!!!

SOMETHING TASTY

A year and a half ago, after seeing the movie, "Julie & Julia", I was inspired to really start making the effort to cook. Up until then, my husband (who is an AMAZING cook), usually did all the cooking. Even though I was home all day with our two children, he would come home after a long day at work and get dinner on the table. It really was sad how I took such advantage of him. I mean really? I was home all day... couldn't I whip something up?

Anyway... this dish was one of the first things I prepared. I also fixed it the other night, so I thought I would share the yumminess with you. The recipe originally came from "Family Fun" magazine.

Cauliflower Au Gratin

INGREDIENTS

(for cauliflower and sauce)

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 small head cauliflower( about 1.25 lbs.), cut into florets

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I usually use salted)

2 tablespoons flour

1.5 cups whole milk

1.5 teaspoons horseradish

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I have yet to use this ingredient being that it is not a staple in my pantry)

3 oz. (3/4 cup) grated Gruyere cheese (or Swiss)

(for topping)

8 Ritz crackers, crushed (the recipe actually calls for reduced fat - yeah right!)

1/2 cup of Panko

1 tablespoon butter

1 oz. (1/4 cup) grated Gruyere cheese

1). Heat oven to 450. In medium saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the Kosher salt and the cauliflower. Partly cover the saucepan and let the cauliflower simmer until just tender - about 6 minutes. Drain the cauliflower and rinse it under cold water. Drain it well again.

2). Melt the butter over moderate heat in a large heavy saucepan. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking often, for about 1 minute, then simmer for 1 minute more, still whisking, to thicken it.

3). Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the horseradish and mustard, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, and the nutmeg. Stir in the cheese, then the cauliflower. Pour the mixture into a 2.5 qt. casserole dish.

4). To make the topping, combine the crushed crackers and panko in a small bowl. Melt the butter and stir it into the mixture.

5). Sprinkle the once of cheese over the cauliflower, then top with the crumb mixture. Bake the gratin on the bottom oven rack until it's bubbling and golden, about 15 minutes. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

NOTE** When I made it the other night, I used the unsalted butter for the first time. I don't know if this was the reason, but the horseradish flavor was definitely more prominent. So if you're not a fan of horseradish, I suggest using salted butter.