Fun Cakes

So I needed to make a cake for a Christmas party so I had some fun.

I made a regular Devils Food cake but used loaf pans. Divide batter into 2 pans and bake as directed.

Let cool

Cut tops to make level and frost the top of one and then place the other one on top.


Frost as usual...try something different

Have fun and enjoy all the fun things you can do!

Front

Top

Back Side

I made all the decorations with colorflow and and just had fun!

Carmel Corn

Carmel Corn

3 quarts (or 12 cups) of popped popcorn (1/2 cup un popped)
1 C sugar
1/2 C butter (one stick)
1/4 light corn syrup
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t vanilla
food coloring optional
Combine sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, let it boil for 2 minutes until golden in color. Stir in baking soda and vanilla (and food coloring if desired). Pour over popcorn and mix. Lay out on a baking sheet to let cool. Break apart into pieces.

Sugared Almonds

2 cups Nuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water place all ingredients in a cast iron skillet turn on high until it begins to boil. Stirring constantly

Lower temp to med/high cooking until thick and sugary.

Take off heat and stir until nuts become real sugary put back on heat and glaze nut

Place nuts on pan separate with a fork.

I am Thankful for Craft

Create a Thankful, Thanksgiving Turkey. Cut and glue on colored paper or card stock.

The Begining of Fall

If you live in Arizona only the nights are feeling the slightest like Fall weather, and maybe if you get up early enough you can open your windows for and hour and get some fresh air. It is the week of null for me. All the Halloween is packed up and put away, I am trying to get rid of the last candy (so I don't eat it) and there is no rush to get ready for Thanksgiving yet. We have been taking advantage of our local parks enjoying some outdoor fun. It was also time for us to renew our Phoenix Zoo Membership.

Why do I love my Zoo membership

1. No guilt if I don't see everything (I always feel like I have to "get my monies worth"

2. Great safe outdoor place to burn off energy and a little exercise for me

3. Petting the goats ( I really do love goats Jet Stream is our favorite)

4. Merry-Go-Round (buy the 10 ride pack it is the cheapest)

5. Two playgrounds the giant tree and in the summer the splash park

6. Pack your own lunch (another money saver)

7. We love animals, and the baby Zebras are so cute

8. Discounts on Zoo lights

9. The Rhino's (my then 20 month old informed all at the exhibit that they "have a naked butt"

10. An all ready paid for last minute activity that works 7 days a week 363 days a year that is always fun.

Pumpkin Spice Play Doh

Pumpkin Play Doh

Smells so good you may want to eat it, but don't

5 1/2 cups flour

2 cups salt

8 tsp cream of tarter

3/4 cups vegetable oil

1 container pumpkin pie spice

orange food coloring (2 part yellow, 1 part red)

4 cups of water

Cook over medium heat untill all lumps are gone

add the liquid first then the dry.

kneed on a flour surface, if mixture is too wet add in flour and kneed until you get "play-doh" consistency

** it takes alot of food coloring and I did kneed in flour at the end.

Easy Fall Fun

Our 2 2/1 year old loves to decorate for Halloween, above are some fun easy crafts she has done. Flying Hand Bats, Paper Plate Spider Web, Triangle Witch, and some coloring fun, we find it to be a scary delight!
I Cheat YUMMY Peach Pecan Pancakes

Pancake Mix
Canned Peaches or Frozen
1/2 tsp Cinnamon or Cinnamon Plus Spice Blend
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/4 cup crushed pecans

Mix all together and cook as directed on pankcake mix.

Yummy Fall treat that is easy to make and great to eat.

Pumpkin Spice Kisses

ReDo on the cookies using less Pumpkin and rolling them in Raw Sugar.

This recipe came from a great sight called Picky Palate

I tried the cookies and they taste great but mine did not turn out as beautiful as shown on the site.

Pumpkin Spice Blossoms

1 Spice Cake Mix 18.25 oz
14 oz can Libby’s Pumpkin
½ Cup sanding sugar (I used Raw sugar on some of my cookies)
1 bag Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Kisses (could not find so I used the Hersey with Peanut Butter, and Hershey's with Carmel)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer beat the cake mix and pumpkin until well combined, about 45 seconds. With a cookie scoop, scoop dough and roll top half in sanding sugar (dough is sticky) then place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until cooked through. Quickly transfer to a cooling rack and immediately press kisses into the center of each cookie. I immediately place cooling rack into the fridge for 15 minutes so the kisses don’t melt. About 36 cookies.

***Julie's notes****

I found the cookies to be too wet to roll in the sugar so I sprinkled it on some of mine. When I make them again, I don't the recipe needs the whole can of Libby's. I will add a little at a to the cake mix until it resemble a cookie dough, then roll in sugar. They are so EASY, and taste really yummy perfect for fall, easy to do with kids.

***Gigi's notes****

age 2 1/2

helped un wrap Kisses (ate a few)

dumped in cake mix and helped stir

"smashed" in some of the kisses

Sprinkled Raw sugar (alot on the floor)

lots of fun and they tasted good too!

Halloween Fun

Here is some Halloween fun that even the littlest crafter can do. This is listed on the Martha Stewart Web site at this link.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/glow-stick-spider?autonomy_kw=glow%20in%20the%20dark%20spiders&rsc=image_6

I can't wait to try this one with Masen. I think he will really have fun with this one!!! Here is what you will need.

Tools and Materials

6-inch glow stick

Eye hook

6-inch Styrofoam ball

Hot-glue gun

3-inch Styrofoam ball

2 mini glow sticks

8 glow necklaces

Clear elastic

Glow-Stick Spider How-To

1. Make the body: Snap the 6-inch glow stick, and shake. Screw an eye hook into the 6-inch Styrofoam ball, center it, and secure it with low-temperature hot glue. Insert the glow stick through the side of the ball, leaving about 1 1/2 inches exposed. (To insert the glow stick, use the end of the glow stick to scoop out a bit of the Styrofoam, then exert a lot of pressure to push the stick into the ball.)
2. Make the head: Insert the exposed portion of the glow stick into the 3-inch Styrofoam ball. Take two mini glow sticks and snap them. Insert them into the head for eyes.
3. Make the legs: First, activate the glow necklaces by bending and then shaking them. Insert the glow necklaces into the 6-inch Styrofoam ball -- four on each side, about 1 inch apart.
4. Tie a length of clear elastic to the eye hook, then hang the spider from a tree branch or a hook.

Sorry I can't Wait

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Fall and Halloween, I am dreaming of the cooler weather, nightly walks and did I already mention HALLOWEEN!!! I am just crazy for it, bring on the Pumpkin everything! I will be having Candy Corn for breakfast. Even before we had children we have always dressed up and carved a pumpkin, made our house scary and gone crazy with candy! So While it is still to hot to think of going outside, welcome to my dream of Fall of and HALLOWEEN!

Crafty and Good to Eat

Can you see the possibilities, glueing letters, making Name Necklaces, I Spy letter "X" Alphabet soup, Letter pasta and meat balls! A yummy pasta salad, What fun. All of this for 1.49 at your local Trader Joe's

Grandma's Granola

10 cups - oats
1 cup rolled wheat germ
1/2 lb coconut
2 cups sunflower seeds
3 cups nuts
1 cup sesame seeds
2 t cinnamon
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup oil (I used 1 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup coconut oil)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/2 t salt
1 T vanilla

Mix everything and pour out on to cookie sheet cook for 20-30 min at 350

Loved making this with my 2 1/2 year old, there are so many things she could dump and poor.

**What I would change for next time
only 1/2 cup of oil (still use coconut)
only 1/4 cup of molasses
and if it is still a little moist and more oats and cook longer

We have eaten it as cereal, in yogurt, on top of cinnamon and sugar apple baked until apples soft. on top of ice cream of just by the hand full!

Philly Mini-Chessecake

I found this recipe in my Women's Day magazine it is yummy!!!

2 8oz packages of Cream Cheese (softened)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Mix above ingredients until smooth.

Next in muffin pan add liners & then add Nilla wafer as shown.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan.

Bake @ 350 for 20 min for until centers are almost set.


Cool, refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Top as your heart desired!!

Campfire You can Eat (Summer Kits)

This has been one of my favorite projects in the SUMMER KITS trade I did, so I thought I would share, My daughter is 2 1/2 and with a little help she love it, we did have to explain that we "build" first and then get to eat! I would do this on a camping trip, or an evening of fun and follow up with roasting marshmallows.

** it also teaches some fire safety ie. fire safe line ,having water on stand by and dirt to "put out" the fire.

This project gets 4 Stars, easy prep, a little help for younger children, teaches safety and the best for the kids, satisfaction that they made something that taste sooo yummy!


RECIPE INGREDIENTS: (per child)
12-inch flour tortilla 1 (we just used a plate)
Red licorice rope 2
Peanuts approx 25
Peanut butter 1-2 Tablespoones
Fried Chinese noodles small handful
Tootsie Rolls 10
Mini pretzel sticks 10
White grape juice powder or fozen juice
Hot cocoa powder 1 Tablespoon
Candy corn 7

1. To make an edible campfire, first clear a space on the table to build a safe fire. Lay down a tortilla fire base and wrap a licorice rope safety circle around the tortilla about an inch in from the edge. Build a peanut rock ring halfway between the safety circle and the center of the fire base. Spread a circle of peanut butter in the center of the fire base, then lay a small handful of fried Chinese noodles on top for kindling.



2. Lay Tootsie Roll logs around the peanut butter circle. Use mini pretzel sticks as fuel wood to build a tepee inside the ring of logs and over the kindling, sticking the pretzels into the peanut butter at a 45-degree angle.





3. Add another layer of logs, setting them across the corners of the first layer to form a box around the tepee. Lay a few more pieces of fuel wood across the logs.

4. Make sure buckets of water (glasses of grape juice) and dirt (hot cocoa powder) are nearby to put out the fire if necessary, then light the fire by adding candy corn flames.

5. After the camp director approves the fire, throw dirt on the fire to put it out. Now, the moment the fire builders have been waiting for: Eat your fires!


Familyfun.com

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

I made this recipe today and EVERYONE said it was good! Soooooo I'd like to share.

4-5 Boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 8oz. pkg. Cream cheese

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning

1 C. Salsa

1/4 C. water (use less, or none if your chicken is still frozen)

Cook 4-5 hrs. on high or 8-10 hrs. on low. Near the end of cooking shred meat while still in the crock pot. Serve on tortillas with lettuce,cheese,tomatoes etc.

*I did not add any water because my chicken was frozen and it turned out perfect*

*I cooked mine for 6 hours on low and it was done*

Pillow Case Dress

How cute is this little summer Dress, I am not the most talented with sewing but I think I could do this! Time to start hunting for a cute pillow case

How to Make this Dress

Bite-Size Life Lessons

This is a great little book for both young readers and old. It was a gift to my daughter from her Aunt. Even thought my little one is only 2 1/2 years old she can relate to a story about cookies, she identifies with the page on being PATIENT it means "...waiting and waiting for the cookies to be done..." if I ask her to be patient she reminds me "like the cookies" I am identifying with the meaning of Pessimistic VS Optimistic. Pessimistic means "How awful, how absolutely dreadful-I have only half my cookie left." VS Optimistic means "This is great- I still have half my cookie left."

So how is your Cookie today?

Sweet Summer Lemon Cookie

YUMMY

Lemon Cookies

21/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cube butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 TBS lemon zest (4-5 lemons for juice and zest)

15 oz Ricotta cheese (reg)

CREAM: butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, ricotta, then add to flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well, scoop out and place on to lined baking sheet (parchment paper

Bake 375 13 min

Lemon Glaze

2 1/4 cups Powder sugar

lemon zest

4 1/2 TBS lemon Juice

blend, spoon over warm cookies that are placed on a wire rack.

* place wax paper under wire rack to catch glaze that drips off

Enjoy within two days or freeze and enjoy another Day!!

I love these cookies, so easy, the recipe makes a ton! so I would freeze some.

They are DEVI NE