Brown Bag Apple Gift Sacks

 Last night I was browsing some blogs looking for something to add to our teacher's appreciation gifts. Maybe a unique way to wrap them or a little treat to make with them. I saw these on Skip to My Lou and immediately left the computer, grabbed 4 lunch bags, a can of red spray paint and headed outside. 10 minutes later I had 4  sacks, ready to turn into little apples...for FREE. I love them!!

 I made some cardstock tags and a little leaf and added our memo cubes, along with a candy bar for each bag.

Now I think we are set. Dallin's school has themed days next week. Some are fun days like PJ day, Hat day, Sports Day, and the other two are "bring a flower for your teacher" and "make a homemade card for your teacher" days. It will be fun contributing to those days, but it's nice to have something homemade and creative for the boys to give their teachers and bus driver besides what is "required" to bring :)

Teacher Appreciation Memo Cubes

 Last year for "Teacher's Appreciation Week", we made chocolate covered strawberries. We'll probably still do strawberries for the teachers this year, but also made these little custom memo cubes. I saw the idea here and ran with it! I went to Office Max with a pack of 500 sheets of copy paper and they made 6 memo pads for me with the sides glued (1 side on each).

 Here are the ones that Aaron made for his preschool teacher. Everything looks cuter when a preschooler does it. We sure love our teachers and have been blessed with absolutely wonderful ones this year!

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MINIONS!

 Aren't these little guys great?!?! When I showed Aaron the link for these cupcakes he didn't skip a beat and asked if we could make some. We had no occasion to make them for, but who needs an occasion for cupcakes? Then we decided that these would be a fun Family Home Evening treat. So he made some yesterday!

FYI: Finding white smarties takes A LOT of little packages of smarties. Most of them are pink and purple, but that was even better for the kids because they liked snacking on the extras.

 Frosting the cupcakes in blue to match the minion's over-alls.

 Each minion is made from a half of a twinkie, two smarties, and colored icing for the eyes and glasses. Aaron couldn't wait to finish frosting the cupcakes so that he could lick the knife. You can see the evidence on his face :)

 After adding the smarties he decided that he was done with frosting and putting the minions together. So I took over with the eye details.

And here they are! Be sure to check out the link for more Despicable Me party ideas! She did a fantastic job!

Clothespin Caterpillars

 Aaron made the most darling little caterpillar at preschool the other day. I loved it so much that I asked him to show us how to make some when he got home. We had all of the supplies, so he got to work and made one for each member of the family. They are clipped onto random objects around the house and are so bright and cheerful! I think they are pretty self explanatory and he made all of them by himself so they are perfect for little fingers.

His class had been reading about caterpillars in preparation for their field trip yesterday to the Franklin Park Conservatory. They were able to observe butterflies and see the newly transformed ones as well. We went to the conservatory over the summer with my in laws and were able to see many beautiful butterflies. Yesterday was a cloudy day, so they were a bit shy.

 We stopped by the gift shop and picked a couple of "Painted Ladies" to bring home with us. In two weeks these little guys will transform into beautiful butterflies that we can set free in our flower beds. I like pets like this. They are fun to watch and transform, and are gone within two weeks! Why don't more animals come this way? The excitement of a new pet usually wears off in that time frame anyways, right? ;)

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Chicken Enchilada Soup

 This soup quickly became a favorite of ours over here after trying the Enchilada Soup at Chili's. I searched for a recipe similar, but nothing ever turned out just right. This recipe isn't exactly like Chili's, but we LOVED it just as much!  Enchilada soup is not the same thing as your basic Taco Soup. It is rich and creamy. Definitely a comfort food.

The recipe for this comes from a cookbook that my mom gave me a year ago called, "Worldwide Ward Cookbook", and the lady who submitted the recipe happens to be from Galloway, Ohio....just 45 minutes from me. So it had to be good! ;) This recipe calls for Masa (Mexican corn flour). I already had some from a tamale casserole that I made awhile ago. Be sure to use Masa and not cornmeal, they are very different. The Masa adds great flavor and a creamy texture to this soup.

I just love my little helper! She always insists on wearing her "woof woof"...(apron with puppies on it). This time she stuffed her little front pocket with peanut butter m&ms to snack on during the process. Smart girl.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 T. olive oil

1-3 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

4 c. chicken broth

1 c. masa harina

3 c. water

1 15 oz. can red enchilada sauce

1 15 oz. can green enchilada sauce

16 oz. processed American cheese loaf (Velveeta)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

Toppings for garnishing: tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, green onions

In a large stockpot, saute chicken in olive oil and seasoned salt on medium or med-high heat until cooked thoroughly and lightly browned on both sides.  Remove chicken from pot, but do not drain the pot; shred chicken and set aside. 

Add onions and garlic to remaining drippings in pot.  Saute for about 2 minutes on med-low to medium heat, taking care to not burn the garlic or onions.  Add chicken broth to pot. 

In a separate small bowl, whisk masa harina with 2 c. cold water until mixture is smooth.  Add flour mixture to pot; stir.  Add remaining 1 c. water, enchilada sauces, cheese, salt, chili powder, and cumin.  Stir mixture constantly with wire whisk until cheese is melted and mixture comes to a boil.  Add chicken to pot, reduce heat, and simmer 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Serve soup warm garnished with toppings.  Makes 8 servings.



Don't Knock It...

til you've tried it!!

Before you hit the back button, hear me out! Yes, I am blogging about Brussels sprouts folks. They are one of my favorite vegetables. Right up there with artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus. However, they are abused so often that people think that they are nasty little balls of slime.

When making these veggies (or most veggies, for that matter), do not boil them. Steaming them is ok, but roasting them is the best! I found a recipe on allrecipes.com last year and haven't made them any other way since. So if you haven't been a fan before, maybe you'll try these and give them another chance.You can also cut up cauliflower and roast it right along with the spouts. Other veggies like asparagus and broccoli are wonderful roasted, but cook too fast to be in the same pan with the sprouts, but cauliflower cooks in the same time.

My notes: I never cook them the full 30-45 minutes. Poke them for tenderness around 20-25 minutes. That's when I usually pull them out.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and yellow leaves removed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Place trimmed Brussels sprouts, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal tightly, and shake to coat. Pour onto a baking sheet, and place on center oven rack.
3. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, shaking pan every 5 to 7 minutes for even browning. Reduce heat when necessary to prevent burning. Brussels sprouts should be darkest brown, almost black, when done. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt, if necessary. Serve immediately.

Easy Easter Bags

  Easy Cardstock Easter Treat Bags

I came up with these little bags for my piano students this year. Each took about 2 minutes to make and used only few supplies. I think they turned out cute. If you'd like to make some, just scroll down for instructions!

 Roll up a piece of 10x10 cardstock and secure the sides with some scotch tape or double sided tape.

 You can leave it in a cone shape, but I wanted a flat bottom so I cut the bottom 3" off and secured it with a piece of tape.

 Cut the top of the bag so that it is flush. Punch holes in the side and string with ribbon!

 I filled these little bags with gumball eggs and chocolate bunnies. The tags were made using the "Create a Critter" Cricut cartridge. Two of my students received theirs today and were pretty excited to get them :)

Two Springtime Craft Ideas for Kids!

Here are two of the fun springtime crafts that we made last year! We still have our litle spring topiary and are using it for our decor this year. Scroll down to see our bunny houses!

Simple Springtime Topiary
 

The boys and I had a great time making this little spring topiary. This was a 15 minute project (once I rounded up all the supplies that I needed). PERFECT for the kids to help with. Between the garage, Easter decorations box, and craft closet---I was able to scrounge up everything I needed for this project. My inspiration came from my incredibly talented friend, Brooke.

Here is the topiary that she made. I saw it and thought it was so cute and simple. We did a springtime twist on ours and if you'd like to make one too, here is how we did it!
 

Supplies: Styrofoam ball, dowel (you can see it has been used for something else before...same with the ball), Easter grass (we used the stuff made from paper), paint, pot, floral foam, accessories.

First, Aaron painted the dowel brown.

Dallin cut the floral foam down to size, with a little help. We hot glued it into the pot.

They alternated on who glued and who placed the Easter grass on the ball.

Once the stick was dry, Dallin poked it into the foam and added the covered ball.

A little trimming...

...and a little more grass to cover the floral foam.

Final touches: tiny plastic Easter eggs and a ribbon.

They are so proud of their little tree--and I am too :)

Bunny Houses

Or bunny cubes or bunny huts, because that's what they look like! These were fun to make with the kids. I just made a bunch of square sugar cookies and used royal icing to glue them together. Then the kids decorated them with necco wafers, jelly beans, mini marshmallows, etc. I love how they all turned out so unique.

Cinnamon Bunny Rolls

 Have you tried our 90 Minute Cinnamon rolls with Caramel Icing? The dough is just perfect. I used that recipe to create some fun little bunny rolls for the kids to snack on during General Conference. I saw an idea in the Friend Magazine, but wanted to use my favorite dough recipe which is a lot quicker to make than the one in the magazine.

Ninety Minute Bunny Rolls

adapted from 90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls @ allrecipes.com

3/4 cup milk

1/4 c. margarine, softened

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 (.25 0z) package instant yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water

1 egg

***

cinnamon/sugar

melted butter

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 2" balls. Roll out each ball into a rope/snake shape. Bring the ends together and twist to form the ears. Place on a greased baking sheet. Break another ball in thirds and use a small piece of that dough to fill the hole that will be under the twist that you made for the ears. You won't even notice that there was a hole after the dough rises and bakes. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake in the preheated oven 15-18 minutes, or until browned. Brush hot rolls with melted butter and sprinkle (liberally) with cinnamon/sugar.

Drizzle with icing (I used store bought vanilla frosting for the bunny rolls)

Serve warm.

I made some with faces, but I had so much cinnamon/sugar on my rolls (no complaints there!) and the icing didn't want to stick that well. I ended up drizzling most of the icing instead. It was just easier and the kids still noticed that they were bunny shapes!

You could easily make regular roll shapes and use the same method with the butter/cinnamon/ sugar.

They were a hit!