We've moved!

I've been with blogger for a year now and I told my husband if I could stick with a blog for a year I'd switch over to wordpress. We made the switch and I hope you can join me! I can't wait for all the fun new recipes and new projects to share with everyone.

Sring Decoration

I don't have a whole lot in the way of Spring decorations. I found this cute block idea and knew I had to make it.

I think they turned out pretty cute and it was easy to make. It does make it easier that my parents have all the tools I'd ever need and they live right next to me. The paper I already had, the modge podge I already had, the buttons were from my huge pile of them, and the ribbon is from my bow making. The only thing I had to go out and buy special was the 2x6 for the bigger letters.

So here are the dimensions of my blocks.
S: 7x5 1/2
P: 4x3 1/2
R: 5x5 1/2
I: 3 1/2x 4
N: 3 1/2x3 1/2
G: 6x3 1/2

For the paper I just made it the same size as the blocks and then torn them to make them look a little more rustic. I like the look better but if you want crisp lines just cut your paper 1/2 inch smaller than your blocks. I put ink around the edges of the paper to make it look a little more distressed. You can use any kind of embellishment on your blocks to make them stand out. For the flower on the S I made it by cutting out circles, making each circle smaller than the next and then crumpling and inking them. I put a small button in the middle.

The letters I used my cricut machine using the Opposites Attract cartridge. Here's the sizes:
S: 4 1/2
P: 2 1/2
R: 4
I: 3 1/3
N: 2 1/2
G: 4

Hope this helps your celebrate the season a little more. I know I love my blocks and the nice fresh colors it brings.

Pina Colada Smoothie

Sorry about the lame picture but I didn't really have any fancy glasses to dress up the smoothie. These were really good. My 2 year old kept asking for more and since they were healthy I couldn't say no.

Ingredients:
(Slightly adapted from Paula Deen)

1 1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1 cup unsweetened light coconut milk
1 banana, optional (I left it out since I'm not a fan)
1/4 cup ice cubes
2 teaspoons honey, optional


In blender combine all ingredients and puree until smooth. Then enjoy.

Beef Chimichangas

I love Mexican food. Growing up with a mother who can't handle any kind of spiciness I didn't get a whole lot. She did take us to Mexican restaurants but that was to get nachos. She was eating a chicken nugget the other day and told me it was too spicy. Just to give you an idea of how spicy our food was as kids.

Did I mention I married a man who doesn't like Mexican food? Every once in a while he suffers through a Mexican restaurant for me. Really, he's the best. I love these beef chimichangas they are so yummy!

I made the filling, sorry I didn't take pictures. I was running late for dinner and had to just throw it all in. Screaming kids at my feet made me hurry.

I put the filling in the middle of a whole wheat tortilla and added some cheese. You could leave the cheese off if your on a tight diet.

Wrapping them can be pretty easy. Fold the short sides together and then roll. Like a burrito or an egg roll. Yeah, hope that made sense.

I pulled out my griddle poured some oil on and fried the chimichangas.

Here's all my chimichanga's in a row.

In all it's cheesy and sour cream glory. It's a pretty easy recipe and quick to make. I usually have some left over which I freeze and give to my husband for lunches.

Ingredients:
1 pound beef
1 small onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced or 1 Tablespoon garlic (I buy the garlic in a jar)
1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning
1/4 cup sour cream
1 can green chilies
2 Tablespoons chili powder
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cup beef broth

Brown beef and drain. (I use elk meat so I don't have to drain mine.) Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until thick.

6 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Oil for frying.

Once filling is done put filling in the middle of the flour tortilla topping with cheddar cheese. Pour a little oil on skillet or griddle. Roll tortillas and put on a griddle or skillet, cook until tortillas are golden brown. Top with cheese and sour cream and guacamole if you have some.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day was almost as cool as Christmas at our house. My daughter was so excited that the leprechaun came! The night before my husband asked what I was going to do (he said this with a tone in his voice that conveyed he didn't want to go crazy). The next morning when our daughter woke us up early (on his day to sleep in) and told us all about what the leprechaun did. I looked over at him in bed and saw him smiling. Later that day I asked if all the work was worth it, he had to admit it was.

We started off the day before St. Patrick's day making tiny doughnuts for the leprechaun. We took cheerios and melted white chocolate then pipped the white chocolate onto the cheerios. My daughters job, the sprinkles. I think she ended up eating more sprinkles than she got onto the cheerios.

We put them in a bowl for the leprechaun.

Before we went to bed we set a trap for the leprechaun. I know our trap is lame but I didn't know what else to do and my daughter was convinced he would get caught. She told us all the ways he was going to get trapped, it was very cute.

The next morning she woke up to the leprechaun escaping our awesome trap and eating all the doughnuts. But he did leave us gold coins, I say that's way better than doughnuts.

I cut a sponge into little feet and had the leprechaun pee in the toilet. Later that morning when I went in to go to the bathroom both girls screamed "NO" at me. But I'm 8 months pregnant, when I need to go, I NEED to go. It was a very traumatic bathroom trip.

The leprechaun also left us rainbow pancakes. I made these the night before which made the morning go a little smoother. I wasn't rushing around mixing all seven colors and trying to cook them with two kids at my feet screaming they were hungry. Instead I made some syrup and we all sat down to a relaxing breakfast with the conversation hovering around how silly the leprechaun is.

The gold coins and pancakes.

The leprechaun also did a lot of crazy things around the house. He tipped over chairs, walked around leaving his little green foot prints everywhere (amazingly my daughter wanted to help clean them up, I'm not one to say no so she scrubbed the toilet seat and mopped the floor, made the day that much better) He also put their toys in all sorts of weird places. They loved the chaos of it!

I hope this gives you some ideas on what to do next year for St. Patrick's Day.

Breakfast Hot Pockets

I don't like hot pockets, let's just get that out there. Let's also get it out there that this picture is not great.

I have mentioned this before but my husband is usually in a rush most mornings. He doesn't have time to sit down and have breakfast so lately I've been making shakes for him. Sometimes those don't work out because I'm too late waking up and getting them made, or I admit it I'm just to lazy to turn the blender on so I have been making muffins and freezing them and throwing those at him as he walks out the door. I've been making so many muffins lately that I thought it might be time for a change.

I came across these breakfast pockets and knew I had to make them. Not sure why I chose a Monday (my busiest day of the week) to make them. Sometimes I think I'm crazy for doing the things I do but when I realize it was crazy for me to start the project I'm usually half way through it and way to committed to stop.

I first made a basic bread recipe.

Then while it was working it's magic in the bread machine I moved on to the filling. Which I way underestimated. I put some extra olive oil in my pan and added some chopped onions.

Then since my husband avoids vegetables whenever he can I threw in just a little spinach. Enough that hopefully he'll get a little benefit but not so much he tastes it.

I put a few eggs in, turned out I needed a whole lot more.

Some milk.

Mix them together and throw them into the pan.

I let them cook.

Then I added some bacon. Here's my tip on bacon. I cook a whole package at a time in the oven on the roaster pan. Then we eat some for that meal and the rest I freeze. I pull out some whenever and heat it in the microwave. We can then have bacon in a few seconds. Plus I'm not stinking up the house every time I want bacon.

I added some mozzarella cheese but you're welcome to use whatever.

Instead of putting flour down and using the flour to keep the bread from sticking I use oil. That way your bread doesn't get overly floured.

I split them into different sized balls and rolled them out.

Put some filling in.

Roll them up. I rolled them like a tortilla. So pretend you're rolling a burrito and you're good.

Ingredients:
Bread:
1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
4 cups flour

Combine all ingredients, I use my bread maker.

Filling:
15 eggs (wow, I know)
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 pound of bacon or sausage
1 small onion chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package frozen spinach (optional)
1 cup cheese (whatever kind you prefer)

Pour olive oil in pan and add onion and spinach. Cook until onion is soft. Mix the eggs and milk together and add to the onion and spinach. Add bacon or sausage. Cook until eggs and meat are done. Add cheese to the mixture.

Preheat oven to 325.

Roll out your bread into the size of pockets you want. Put the filling on the bread and fold like a burrito. Place seam down on a sprayed cookie sheet. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until bread is golden brown.

You can freeze these for 3-6 months.

Pina Colada Upside Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake is one of my favorite kinds of cake. Unfortunately I don't make it very often because my husband doesn't think fruit should be mixed into cake. He did eat this cake but he took off the pineapple first, which turned out great for me because I got double pineapple! This is a different version of the basic pineapple upside down cake. This one goes tropical!

First take a can of sliced pineapple and put it in a 9x13 pan. I had to cut two of the slices in half so the whole bottom would be covered. Don't throw away the juice (or drink it in my case)!

Take some brown sugar, butter and vanilla and melt them together. You could do this on the stove or the microwave. I chose microwave because I'm lazy and it's faster.

Once they're melted together. Pour it over the pineapple.

Take a yellow cake mix (the one I used had the pudding with it). If you want to go all out and crazy use a cake mix without the pudding and put in a box of banana pudding.

Add some plain yogurt.

Take the remaining juice if you haven't drank it and put it into the cake.

You'll need eggs of course.

This is where I went tropical for this dish. I added some coconut and some coconut flavoring.

Mix the cake ingredients together and put on top of the pineapple.

Bake until it looks like this and then figure out a way to flip it. I couldn't get it. I sat there attempting to turn it when my husband looks over from the couch and says you know it would be a lot easier if you put the bottom plate over the cake and then just flipped it.

Good thing I married a smart man.

It was a lot easier to do it his way.

Here's how it looks done. If you want you can add maraschino cherries, I didn't have any. Here's where I'm too sad for words. 

In all it's glory. This was the first time my daughter has seen this cake before and she thought it was so cool that it was upside down.

Oh the little things that make motherhood worth it.

Here's a close up shot. Makes me want to march into the kitchen and eat yet another piece.

I baked this before dinner which was a bad idea since I ate a piece before dinner and ruined my appetite.

Oh the little things that make adulthood worth it!

Ingredients:
1 20 oz can sliced pineapple
5 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Layer pineapple on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Mix together butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Heat until boiling. Pour over pineapple.

1 yellow cake mix (with pudding or use a pudding of your own, you could do vanilla or go extra tropical and add banana)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup reserved pineapple juice
3 eggs
1/2 cup coconut
1 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix ingredients together and pour over pineapples. Bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden and toothpick comes out clean.

Flip cake so the pineapple is showing. Serve with whip cream or ice cream.