Delicious Summer Baking...

The girls enjoyed these this week for a fun summer treat...

Made by a friend & I thought they were soooo cute.

The base of the sandal is a Nutter Butter Cookie.

Spread a small amount of frosting over the top of the cookie to help secure a fruit roll-up piece to add some color for the base of the shoe.

Then topped off with some more frosting to hold the Sour Straws into place as the strap of the flip-flop.

If the flip-flop's don't look like something you'd like, you could give these a try...

Don't they look so cute?! You can find the recipe HERE on Shutterfly's blog.

They look easy enough & don't require any odd ingredients. (Always a plus!)

What a great idea to add green "glaze" for the rind.

I can not wait to give them a try with M & M. It would be a perfect project for a rainy day like today if I didn't have so much laundry to catch up on! Maybe later this week...

Too cute & yet so easy to create... I'm sure they'd be a hit with any little one!

Enjoy! s.b.

April Fools Food Pranks... A few of my favorites!

April Fools Day can be so fun for little ones... I never had anything like this when I was little. Fun treats to make the holiday even more enjoyable with out ending up wet or angry that someone tricked you! Look @ this... sushi that I can actually eat while prego!!! Love it!

These Faked Potatoes aren't an edible treat but fun to play with any pretend kitchen...

The next best thing to Mc Donald's hamburgers (in my children's eyes!)...

Fakin' & Eggs...

Family Fun has a HUGE list of Food Pranks (both edible & non) for little ones including the ones pictured above. I didn't have the best luck finding clear pictures, but you get the idea. I wish I could make them all. Added bonus is most of them are sweet treats, my favorite right now! The Rice Cereal Meat Loaf looks hilarious & so real. Be sure to check it out. A good treat to "fool" the dads!

Also, this Appealing Prank looks like a great one to start the day...our girls love a banana with breakfast...

What do you have planned for April Fools Day tomorrow?

Enjoy! s.b.

Fat Tuesday Baking/Treat Idea...

It's Fat Tuesday & why not make something to celebrate. Doesn't this look delicious?

I found the recipe for this traditional Mardi Gras Kings Cake here @ Allrecipes.com 

I remember making one in school when I was young, complete with the plastic baby inside & all!

Give it a try...

It looks absolutely delicious & the girls would love it.

BUT, it does seem like a lot of work... the girls would only eat a small piece & I'd probably end up eating the entire thing myself! Not what I need being 7 months pregnant!!!

So a much easier Kings Cake alternative (the one that I'll definitely sign up for this afternoon after nap time) would be to make a quick stop at the grocery store & pick up a plain glazed donut for each child...

Once at home I'll whip up some easy powdered sugar frosting (a mixture of powdered sugar & water), separate the frosting into three dishes & color it green, yellow & purple. Then M1 & M2 can spread the green, purple & yellow icing onto their donuts themselves.(Alternating colors) I picture it to look somewhat like this...

Much easier & hands on for the girls as well!

I decided to post the idea using existing pictures from the web so you could give it a try as well. If I wait until I photograph M1 & M2 making them this afternoon it would be a bit late & Fat Tues. would be long over...

         I'm looking forward to surprising the girls with this Kings Cake treat later, I think they'll really enjoy      

it & I know it will taste great!

I also hope it turns out as planned in my head :)

Enjoy! s.b.

Alphabet Pretzels!

Some of you may remember our Valentine Pretzels from last year.(Find the original post HERE) This week we decided to make them again but this time we skipped the hearts & made the pretzels into letters! It was so fun for the girls & educational at the same time. Both M1 & M2 enjoyed rolling out the dough into long "hot dogs...."

But then the real fun came when we began making them into the actual letters. M1 did a great job making an "M" and a "B" (Which is the first letter of our last name.) She had a few other favorites as well...S, O, L, I, etc. And even though M2 is a bit small to be creating actual letters, she was a pro with creating letter o's!

Delicious as usual. You can visit the original post for the recipe or find it here @ Food Network. We especially like to dip these in our family's favorite Chive Dip. It's so easy to make & one of the best recipes my Grandma has ever given me.

Chive Dip

1 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 c. dried chives (in the summer we use fresh chives....much better)

2-4 Tbsp Milk, added one at a time (enough to make it a creamy dip)

Mix all ingredients with a mixer until combined & smooth.

It's a staple at any family gathering & usually served on crackers, but it sure tastes good with these soft pretzels as well. We froze the leftovers in a large ziploc freezer bag. They are easy to just pop in the microwave for a few seconds & have for a quick snack.

Enjoy! s.b.

Peanut Butter Football Cookies

As many of you know, we've got the Green Bay Packers & the Super Bowl on our minds. Only a few more days until the big game!

Last night @ my mom's house we made some yummy peanut butter cookies in the shape of footballs...

We used this recipe from Allrecipes.com Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

(Added bonus, no dairy in the cookies so M1 can enjoy an unfrosted one as well!)

We shaped the balls into small ovals & then pinched the edges before putting them in the oven & they definitely took the shape of footballs while baking.

Next, we frosted them with store bought chocolate frosting...

Mixed up some white piping made with a mixture of powdered sugar & water.

Mixed well until the consistency of toothpaste & piped on some "strings."

(*I bought the "ketchup-like" bottle @ Michael's for super cheap... it works so well for frosting cakes & cookies.)

They turned out super cute. We can't wait to eat & share with friends on Sunday evening.

 

Will you be watching the Super Bowl come Sunday? Cheering for the Packers as well??!!! 

Enjoy! s.b.

Pumpkin Bread in a Can!

This is what is left of the pumpkin bread loaf that M1 made at school this morning....

If I wouldn't have stopped them, the girls would have eaten the entire loaf! It really was that good :) What's even more fun is that they baked the bread in a 15oz. vegetable can, which I loved because it's something different.

Here is the recipe....
3 1/3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
3 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 c. water
2 c. pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients & then combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Once mixed add the dry ingredients as well. Bake in a 15 oz. vegetable can for 45 min. to 1 hour. (I'm assuming they sprayed the can because M1's loaf popped right out of the can.) AND... I'm not sure how many cans this recipe makes, you may want to cut the recipe in half!

And this is the adorable tissue paper turkey that she made today @ school as well. I thought I'd share in case you're looking for another quick turkey day craft this week.

I love that even with out mom's prompting, she said she's thankful for M2..... awww!
Enjoy your week & Happy Thanksgiving!!! s.b.

Treats for Daddy

We are trying to decide on a treat to make for Daddy & Grandpa on Father's Day. I did some searching & found these two fun cupcake ideas.

It would be fun to do these....

Since my husband's only request for Father's Day is that he gets to go golfing. (And spend time with us of course!) The complete directions can be found HERE. They look fairly simple... we could have a golf themed Father's Day!

OR we could make these....

I LOVE them! Although I think sometimes I get excited about how cute things are & my husband thinks I'm crazy! This may be one of those things...but I found the idea here @ Kiss My Spatula. It's a really cute site with lots of fun cooking/baking ideas.

So now we just have to decide... which one should we make???

Any thoughts?

M1's 3rd Birthday... a few days early.

Treat Bags...

 

"3" cookies...yummy!

 

Putting the finishing touch on the ice cream cone cupcakes...

Even more yummy!!!

A few photos from M1's crazy birthday party today. (Her actual birthday is this weekend.) I say crazy because my house is 3/4 empty & we are moving in 4 days! Birthday aside, it was a great time for M1 to get together with her little friends one last time before we make the big move this weekend. It's going to be difficult leaving everyone & we will miss our time with them. And, although the house was not decorated & it was scorching HOT outside we did have some very yummy treats and a lot of fun. Overall a very enjoyable morning for M1. She's absolutely delighted that she got a Toy Story Woody Doll & has been telling me all day about what a great day it's been. I love that & it makes all my work and the craziness of the party COMPLETELY worth it. Even if it's days before moving.....
Enjoy! s.b.

Chocolate Birds' Nests

We have so many left over jelly beans in our house, it's crazy. I have to find things to do with them so I STOP eating them. They were the perfect Easter treat for M1 since they do not contain dairy like the majority of the Easter candy does. (She is allergic to all dairy.) I'm working to find a way to get rid of them & this was our first project, Chocolate Birds' Nests. Unfortunately, it involves eating them which is what I'm trying NOT to do!! They were so easy for M1 & M2 to make & fun since we've finally been seeing and talking about all the birds outside again now that Spring has arrived.  Give them a try but don't throw away your other left-over beans just yet... I've got other activites coming up the week of April 22nd. Check back & see!

Supplies: *Jelly Beans, *Chow Mein Noodles, *Chocolate Chips, *Wax Paper, *Spoon, *Microwaveable Bowl

1. Melt 1/2 bag of chocolate chips in a glass or microwaveable bowl in 30 second increments until melted, about a minute & a half. The bowl does get a bit warm so hold off on letting the little ones help with this step.

2. Now the little ones can join in. Have your child add a heaping amount of the Chow Mein noodles & stir until they are completely coated with chocolate.

 

3. Tear a large piece of wax paper & set it on the counter where you'll be working.

4. Using a large spoon, help your child scoop out a fairly large amount of the noodle mixture & place the clump onto the wax paper.

5. Again using the spoon, make a small divot in the top of the "nest" where the eggs will soon be placed.

6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 until the chocolate/noodle mixture is gone.

7. Once all the nests are created & on the wax paper, allow your child to begin placing 3-4 jelly bean "eggs" on top of each nest.
8. Refridgerate for an hour to allow time for the chocolate to set.

Don't forget to check back in a little over a week for some other fun ways to utilize all the extra jelly beans!

Enjoy! s.b. 

Sweet Shamrock Tortilla Chips

I found this little recipe on the Family Fun website. The recipe can be found HERE. We changed it a bit by using a shamrock cutter vs. the animal cutters. Way more festive! We also added cinnamon sugar to the chips instead of salt. These could be made year round using all kinds of cookie cutters!

The finished snack turned out great & it was such an easy, quick baking experience for M1. Very little mess, minus dumping cinnamon sugar everywhere! Both girls gobbled these up. They would be great dipped in vanilla yogurt. I wish I had thought of that earlier. We'll have to give it another try in a day or two with the remaining tortillas. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Pretzels

 

 

Ok, here we go! My first official blog post as s.b.creatively! We'll see how this progresses as the time passes. For those of you who frequent my personal blog, this post will be a repeat. (Sorry for that.) In honor of Valentines Day, yesterday we decided to make heart shaped pretzels. I found the recipe here @ Food Network. They turned out so well & it was definitely a fun project for M&M. It was especially fun for M1, she loved being able to assist with all the different steps, such as painting the olive oil onto the parchment paper & rolling out the dough. Watching the pretzels in the boiling H2O also created a whole lot of excitement. We'll definitely make these again very soon. Maybe shamrocks next month for St. Patty's day??!! Let me know if you decide to give it a try... comments ENCOURAGED!!! s.b.