ReMarkable Home

HARRY POTTER BASH {Party}

2012-02-28T10:26:00.001-08:00

I have a dear friend that I have known since we were both pregnant about 10 years or so ago. We both had boys within a few weeks of each other. Her first, my second. Her name is Christene, and she is a total sweetheart. She always has a smile on her face and a warm hug when you see her. I just love her. She is also very talented. A few months ago she threw an amazing Harry Potter party for her son. I asked her to share her party here on ReMarkable Home and she graciously accepted. Enjoy!

Hey there! This is Christene from WhipperBerry. I’m so excited to have the chance to visit here at ReMarkable Home! I love the work that Emily does and have admired her party throwing and home décor skills since the moment I stepped into her beautiful home. Not only is Emily a gifted girl in home design, she is also a great friend. Thanks again for having me, Emily!

Late in August, my son turned 9 years old. He made it his goal to finish reading the Harry Potter series before the final movie premiered. By the beginning of summer he had accomplished it with flying colors. Deep in my heart I am a true HP nerd. I love the series, the characters, the whole magical world. It didn’t take much arm twisting for us to decide on an HP theme for his ninth birthday.

It all began a couple weeks before the party. We made delightful little invitations to resemble the letter Harry got telling him he was going to Hogwarts. We wanted the kids to feel like they were making the trip to the castle themselves.

We printed the letter on parchment looking paper, signed Professional McGonagall’s signature in green ink, addressed and sealed them with a wax seal. That was super fun! I now want to seal all my letters this way!

Next I made our Sorting Hat. If you remember, the Sorting Hat was old and patched. I used an old cowboy hat for the base and taped and stapled ripped pieces of a paper bag until it looked pretty good.

Wands were the following project and one I could have done for days! I read an idea on Pinterest about creating wands with hot glue. We painted our wooden dowel base (you can get these for about a $1 for 6 at a craft store) and then began making dots and squiggles with my hot glue gun on one of the dowels. Within moments, they looked something like this

After painting they looked stunning! I couldn’t believe what a little hot glue could do! Here’s our lot:

Let me tell ya, everyone needs to make a wand once! My next goal was to create a Potions Cabinet that would be Snape-worthy and just a little creepy. Using a handful of Glitter Bugs from the Dollar Store, I made a specimen board,

pickled and labeled other bugs and things to make the whole thing look just a little spooky. Here’s how it turned out:

I tucked a few photos in the entry to welcome our visitors

And we were ready for action!

The day of the party, our ceiling was glittering with over 100 little battery operated votives we’d strung up with fishing line and wire hooks. It looked AWESOME!

The kids each came in, were given a handful of gold galleons (butterscotch candies) from the cauldron

and sent to buy their wands, robes and class schedules from Ollivanders.

They were sorted into houses and given badges to attach to their robes. When everyone was in their new house,we went to class.

First was transfiguration, turning a clay cup into an animal. Then on to Divination where they each made a Fortune Teller and told one another fortunes. They did a great job and got a kick out of telling one another’s future. I remember there was a lot of impending doom foretold.

Potions was next. Our potion ingredients were all simple and edible from Kool-Aid to pudding powder. I wanted to be sure we worked with safe ingredients. The directions for each of their potions were written in their class schedule

and they had to make three different potions and taste them. Their cauldrons were large purple cups for easy disposal. Some Wizards in Training were more careful than others, but all enjoyed the process of mixing, adding ingredients and trying the final concoctions. I think adding Pop Rock crystals to one of their final potions was a true hit. The bubbling and fizzing really made their day! This was their favorite class!

Their final class was Ancient Runes where they had to translate the ancient text to find clues to their next activity. That activity was the feast!

We sang Happy Birthday, had butterbeer, licorice wands, Bertie Botts Beans, chocolate frogs, and ate the Firebolt cake!

I think the beans were the most fun. Everyone took chances, getting good and not so good flavors. It is the height of entertainment to listen to 9 year olds talking about their bean selection. Ha ha!

Our final activity was Muggle Quidditch. Oh it would have been great fun if we could find a way to play the real way, but we had to settle for a variation on soccer with golden chocolate snitches being thrown in at random for the Seekers to find and catch. Everyone got a chance to be a Seeker and catch their own little snitch. We have some magnificent Seekers!

We wound down by opening presents and practicing spells with one another.

I have to admit, I probably had even more fun than the kids creating the class schedules, the wands and the décor. I hope this gives you some great ideas to take off from if you’re planning some Harry Potter fun. Several adults asked me if they could come, so I think that even adults would love this theme if done well (me being one of them!).

Thanks again to Emily for having me. I’m knee deep in publishing my first book “Nowhere Else to Run” so you’ll be hearing lots more from me soon! You can check in on my progress and read my latest work at Christenehouston.com. Until then, Happy Party-making!

Thank you Christene! Now I want to throw a Harry Potter party for ME!

Let’s all show Christene some love by leaving her some comments!

Pie Making 101

2012-02-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

In searching for some of my pie recipes on my computer, I came across this little outline of instructions for basic pie making. I couple years ago I had the idea to teach a homemaking class to young girls. It was called “Domestic Divas”. It was fun! I had about 8 girls between the ages of 9 and 14. I would spend about 2 hours every other week teaching them a homemaking skill. One of the classes we did was on pie making. You should have seen my kitchen after we were done! But I have since heard of some of those girls making pies for their families for Thanksgiving! That makes me so happy!

I thought I would just copy and paste what I gave out to the girls. Hope it is helpful to some of you who don’t really know how to make pie.

Pie Making 101

Supplies:
Rolling pin
Measuring cups (liquid and solid)
Measuring spoons
Mixing bowls

Pastry cutter or 2 knives

Fork
Pie plates
Pastry brush
Pastry wheel for pretty lattice or pizza cutter or sharp knife

Types of Pies:

Fruit pie (apple, peach, berry, pear, rhubarb, etc.)
Custard pies (pumpkin, pecan, cream, lemon meringue)
Pudding pies (made with pudding and not baked)
Savory pies (chicken pot pie)

Types of Crusts:

Pie pastry (roll out)
Cookie crusts (press in)
Crumb crusts (on top)
Lattice pastry

Pie Pastry:

Ingredients:

Flour, salt, sugar (optional), fat (shortening or butter or both), ice water, sometimes egg or vinegar

When making pie pastry it is essential to use cold ingredients. The flakiness comes from the layers of fat and flour. If your fat gets too warm it will all blend together with the flour and you won’t have little pieces that get smashed down with flour in between. Without these layers your crust will be more tough and less flaky. Shortening is the fat that works best for flakiness, while butter gives the crust a yummier flavor. I like to use butter flavor Crisco. You can also use half butter, half Crisco, but in my experience this makes the crust very fragile and difficult to roll out. It tastes yummy though!

When working with pie pastry you want to handle the dough as little as possible. This keeps the cold ingredients cold and prevents over mixing of the flour and fat. You want to work as quickly as you can. Once you get the dough made, flatten it somewhat, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. If you let it chill too long it will get too hard to roll out and you will need to let it warm up a bit before rolling it out. When rolling it out, be sure you don’t let it stick to the board. You will need to use flour to keep it from sticking to the board and your rolling pin. You want to roll the crust out so it is 4” wider than the pie pan. Once you get it big enough you can fold it in fourths to put it into the dish, or you can roll it up on your rolling pin and transfer it to the pan.

Fill the shell with the filling. Then place your top crust on. Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut both crusts about ¾” longer than the pan and roll them under, pressing together to seal the pie edge. Then make the edge look pretty.

Brush the crust with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar if you want. Be sure to cut some slits to vent the pie so the steam can escape. You can also use little cookie cutters to cut out shapes before you put the crust on. You can use a fork to make holes in a decorative way. Or you can just make slits with a sharp knife. Cover the edges with foil to prevent over browning. Remove half way through baking.

Fruit pies need to bubble in the middle to be done. Fruit should be tender. Look at the crust underneath to make sure it looks like it is cooked, and no longer doughy. Cool your pie on a wire rack to help keep the crust from being soggy.

Custard pies do not usually have a top crust. Place bottom curst in pan and trim about 3/4” longer than pan. Roll extra underneath and flute the edge. Cover the edge with foil to avoid over browning. Pour in filling and bake. If you want, you can place the crust on the oven rack and then pour your filling in to avoid spilling during transport. Custard pies are done when only a small part in the center still moves when you shake it and a knife inserted a couple inches from the center comes out clean.

Pudding pies are very easy to make. Just make sure you give yourself enough time because they need to chill. You can find many recipes for them at www.kraftfoods.com. They are usually made with a cookie crust. You can make your own or buy one at the store.

National Banana Bread Day

2012-02-23T14:51:00.001-08:00

We interrupt our currently scheduled pie recipe programming to bring you this very special message…

Apparently it is National Banana Bread Day! I LOVE banana bread! Wish I had a loaf right now!

Thought I would remind you about these little blueberry banana breads in a jar. They were so stinkin’ good! Hurry, go make some for dessert tonight!

Blueberry Banana Bread in a Jar with Streusel Topping

(click picture for recipe)

Pumpkin Pie

2012-02-22T19:26:00.001-08:00

My family is always searching for the best pumpkin pie recipe. It seems like every year someone tries out something different, in search of the perfect pumpkin pie. For me, I hate cloves in my pumpkin pie, I like it cold, and I want whipped cream on top.

I wish I could figure out how to get that really creamy, chewy texture. I think maybe adding extra eggs is the way to get that, but I’m not sure.

Well, this year I tried out two new recipes. I usually just make the recipe on the Libby’s pumpkin can, the one that calls for evaporated milk. This year I came across a recipe in a little Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk recipe booklet. I changed up the spices to suit my taste.

I don’t have a picture of this pie, but it was GOOD! I will definitely be making these now, rather than evaporated milk pies.

Here’s the recipe for that one:

Recipe: Eagle Brand Pumpkin Pie

Yield: 1 pie

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust
15oz. can pumpkin (2 cups)
14oz. can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Whisk pumpkin, Eagle Brand, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.

2. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and continue baking 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean or nearly clean. Allow to cool. Serve with freshly whipped cream.

The other recipe I found was from Taste of Home Magazine. It was for a pumpkin pie made with eggnog! If you love eggnog you will love this pie. I liked it quite well, but what I loved most was the crumb topping. I will be adding that to the Eagle Brand Pie from now on. SOOOO GOOD!

Recipe: Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

Yield: 1 pie

Ingredients:

· 1 unbaked pie crust

FILLING:

2 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup eggnog
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

TOPPING:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Place crust into a 9” pie plate.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, eggnog, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cloves until blended. Pour into crust.
In a small bowl, beat brown sugar and butter until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Stir in pecans; sprinkle over filling.
Bake at 375° for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cover edges of crust with foil half-way through to prevent over browning. Cool on a wire rack. Serve with whipped cream.

Question of the day: Does anyone know an easy way to post a printable version of the recipes I share?

Pie

2012-02-21T14:22:00.001-08:00

I am the middle child of a family of seven girls, no boys. As you can imagine (or some of you may know) raising seven kids is a lot of work! My mom was lucky because her mom lived about 20 minutes from us when we were growing up. My grandma, Bernadine, or Bernie for short, was a school teacher. But when she retired, she dedicated her time to helping my mom to raise us girls. She did not live with us, but she came to our house early each morning and stayed there till after dinner most days. She cooked, cleaned, chauffeured, gardened, taught little ones to read and write, helped with homework, did laundry, etc. She was an awesome and fun loving grandma and I miss her deeply.

One of my fondest memories of her was the way she taught me to bake pies each Thanksgiving morning. She was so patient with me. She showed me how to work the pie dough gently, touching it as little as possible to create a flaky crust. I remember being in awe of how she could peel and apple with only one peel. We loved eating those long curly-Q peels. She would let us take the extra dough and roll it out to make little cinnamon rolls. Those were one of my favorite things at Thanksgiving. We would spread butter of the dough and lots of cinnamon sugar, then roll it up and slice it and bake the little rolls in a pie tin. Thanksgiving morning was always a happy time in my home of cooking together and eating yummy appetizers, and just enjoying each other’s company. I miss cooking with my grandma so much. I just miss her. A lot. I wish so much she was around to see my kids and love them like she did me. And out of all my parents’ son-in-laws I know she would have loved my husband the most. In fact, I met him shortly after she passed away and I think she had something to do with bringing us together.

Well, I still love to make pies and every time I do I think of “Grammy” making pies right alongside me.

I made several pies for this past Thanksgiving. I tried some new recipes and I loved them all. I am going to share them with you. I hope you know how to make crust by hand because it is just so much yummier and so much more fun. I will give you my recipe for crust but if you don’t know how to do it I would suggest finding a tutorial online. It is easy, but you may have to practice a few times to get the right amount of water added…that’s the only hard part.

Today I am going to share the recipe for this little beauty:

This was probably my favorite pie this year. It has a consistency very similar to very moist cheesecake. It was tart and sweet and just super yummy.

I found the recipe in Better Homes and Gardens. You can find it HERE. It called for lemon but I went with lime because I love key lime pies so much. It was delicious!

Lime Velvet Cream Pie

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust, pre baked half way using pie weights
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
2 Tbsps. Cold water
6 egg yolks
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
¼ c. whipping cream
¼ tsp. salt
zest of two limes (or lemons)
¾ c. lime juice (or lemon), fresh is best
whipped cream for topping

Directions: In a small bowl, soften gelatin in water for 5 minutes. Microwave for 10 seconds. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. With an electric mixer beat on high speed for a couple minutes until well combined. Beat in gelatin, whipping cream and salt on law speed. Add lime juice and zest and mix to combine. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake 22-25 minutes or until center of pie looks set when gently shaken. Cool on wire rack. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Top with sweetened whipped cream before serving.

Basic Pie Crust

Yield: 2 crusts

Ingredients:

3 c. flour
1 c. butter flavored shortening (Crisco) OR 1/2 c. butter flavored Crisco and 1/2 c. butter
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
9-11 tsps. ice water, drizzled one tsp. at a time

Directions: Chill all ingredients well. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl. Cut in shortening to make a coarse meal. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the water over the flour mixture. Stir with a fork. Keep adding a tablespoon at a time and stirring in between. Add just enough of the water to form a soft dough. Handle it as little as possible. Divide the dough into 2 balls. Flatten slightly and wrap in plastic. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out the crusts on a lightly floured surface to about ¼” thickness and a diameter 2 “ larger than pie plate on each side.

I would love to know a fast and easy way I could add a printable version of my recipes to my posts. I use Windows Live Writer. If anyone knows how, please let me know. In the meantime, you can print by highlighting the recipe and then printing your selection.

Matchbox Valentines

2012-02-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

I made these adorable matchbox valentines for my family last year.

My kids ones were small matchboxes and my husband’s was a large matchbox. I got them at the dollar store. They were very fun to make. I just covered the outside with wrapping paper. I simply wrapped the box like a gift and trimmed the open edge flush. I lined the “drawer” with paper as well as the front edge. I used paper embellishments and the “drawer pull” is simply a brad that I painted with nail polish. You could find some cute heart brads in the scrapbook section at the craft store.

Each box had an accordion folded love note inside. I just love how they turned out!

My Mom’s Dresser

2012-02-11T09:15:00.001-08:00

I have been wanting to do some blog posts but it just hasn’t been happening lately. I feel like I am treading water these days and am constantly behind and trying to catch up. My health isn’t great and I’ve been dragging lately energy-wise. It stinks, but that is life for me, I guess.

Anyway, it is Saturday morning and I am in bed with my laptop and a headache. So I thought maybe I could get a quick post up about my mom’s Christmas present.

You may remember THIS post where I asked for advice on what to do with this piece of antique furniture someone had put out for the trash.

Well, a few people threw some ideas out but I still didn’t really have a clue how to fix this thing. I finally decided what I needed to do. I wanted to leave some of that beautiful wood grain showing on the front but that door was sooooo thrashed and the top was bad too. So, here is what I came up with:

The blue color does not read well in the photos but it was a really pretty greyish blue. I created vinyl sticker stencils with my Silhouette for the door and the top. I put them on and then painted over them and then removed them. My parent’s last name starts with “E”, thus the monogram.

It took a lot of work to fix this thing. I used regular wood filler to fill the corners on the top and all the places on the door. On the door, the place where the hinges were attached were so worn down hinges couldn’t work there. I tried filling those up with wood filler but when I went to sand it it all crumbled out. SO I had to chip that out and then used an epoxy wood filler to fill those in. After that I had to use a file to get them down to the right height for the hinges to fit in correctly. Same with the little door pull hole.

I sanded down the drawer fronts and top and then stained them. After that I used a spray shellac to seal them and the inside of the dresser and drawers. Remember, this had a very bad smell to it. You can still smell it if you put your nose inside the drawers but the smell does not permeate the house, which is good.

I went for a chippy paint finish, done by chipping off paint with a putty knife. Very easy was to distress. I finished the piece with an antiquing glaze and a clear wax.

Honestly, it think it looks AMAZING! I wanted to keep it for me. But my parents really like it, I think. It looks great in their house.

Here are some more pictures for you.

Had to cut a new shelf for this cubby.

Lined the drawers with scrapbook paper.

What do you think? I am amazed that something destined for the dump could look this good!

If you want to “pin” this I won’t be upset at all!

Homemaker Extraordinaire

2012-01-18T20:26:00.001-08:00

Well, I have sure dropped the ball on this blog. I am not sure what’s happened. I guess the holidays were pretty overwhelming for me. When you have five kids and a HUGE extended family, Christmas is A LOT of work! But we had a great Christmas and a fun New Year.

Lately, I have been working hard on being a better homemaker/housekeeper. I kind of had an epiphany of sorts one day a couple months ago. I decided that taking care of this house is my JOB and that I needed to devote more time and energy and effort to doing a better job so that my poor husband didn’t have to pick up the slack anymore.

I am not a fan of housework. It is not something I really enjoy. I know most people don’t either but I think there are a few people in the world that actually like doing it. Not me!

So I came up with a cleaning schedule for myself that has really been helping me stay on top of things. I decided that I need to complete at least two loads of laundry a day. Then each day, I have different chores that I do. I have found that if I do them every week they do not take long at all!

Monday: Mop the downstairs floor and wipe down some part of the kitchen. I rotate between chairs, cabinets, appliances, blinds, etc..

Tuesday: This is my day for doing projects, particularly for re-finishing furniture. So, no housecleaning other than laundry.

Wednesday: Bathrooms. I only have 2.5 baths, luckily! I have been amazed at how quickly I can get them done now that I am doing them every week. I usually end up with a lot of extra time for picking up and putting things away.

Thursday: Vacuum, and organize something. I kept this day light because I have playgroup in the mornings.

Friday: Dust, change sheets, clean mirrors/glass. I rotate doing half the beds one week and half the next. And I don’t dust the whole house each week, just part. Same with the glass and mirrors.

Saturday: Wash sheets and towels. Yard work. Or any other project that needs doing.

I try to get the laundry started before I go downstairs (I have an upstairs laundry). Then I told myself I will work for about 2 or 2.5 hours each morning after I take the kids to school. When 11:30 rolls around I am done and whatever I didn’t get done can wait until next time.

For picking up I have noticed when I am doing my chores regularly the kids seem to do a better job of putting things away. But I will often get the boys to “Sparkle the House” before bedtime so we can start the day fresh. My husband is also a sweetheart and picks up behind the kids too. He has also been doing the dishes for me almost every night. I don’t really do dishes during the day. We mostly use paper products and everything else goes into the sink and my sweet husband does them all after dinner. It is a HUGE help to me, especially because by the end of the day the last thing I want to do is wash dishes. My husband is AMAZINGLY helpful around the house! Thanks honey!

Anyway, that’s what’s been going on around here. Right now I am sick and have fallen behind. But, that has given me a chance to do a bit of blogging! But I feel a lot better about myself when I am accomplishing these things. If keeping this house in good order is what I am supposed to be doing then I want to do a good job at it! Unfortunately, I haven’t quite figured out how to mix in the things I WANT to do, like blogging. But I am working on it. Its all about finding the right balance, I believe. I’m getting there.

Oh, and I just have to say I am a HUGE Norwex fan! Cleaning is soooo much faster and easier with their cloths and mop! I love them!! I don’t ever want to use cleaners again!

What tips and tricks do you have for keeping up with your household chores??

Little Man Shower/Party Items

2012-01-18T19:02:00.001-08:00

I have had many requests for different decorations to go with my Little Man Baby Shower. So I am listing here the different items I can make and their prices.

To order any of these, please email me at remarkablehome@gmail.com . Thank you!

A. Little Man Printable Files for cupcake toppers, favor tags, and Keep Calm sign –$6

B. Vinyl Mustache Stickers for cups, sheet of 60- $10 (I ONLY sell this in sets of 60)

C. Cupcake Topper Backgrounds, set of 12 all one color- $5 (I can do all scalloped squares or all pinked circles or half and half but it is $5 per sheet of cardstock so if you want more than one color you will need to order at least 2 sheets.) (I could also do scalloped circles or plain circles if you want)

D. The letters and mustaches on the “Oh BOY” banner (NOT the banner itself). –$15. (These can be done as shown or in all black and white with no blue)

E. The iron-on vinyl for you to make the onesies on the “Oh BOY” banner –$20 (black only)

F. A sheet of 8 bowties (two styles) cut from black cardstock –$5

G. A sheet of 11 mustaches (three styles) cut from black cardstock –$5

H. Damask chalkboard labels –$3 each up to 4.5”, $4 each over 4.5” up to 8”

I. Recoloring of printables –$3 per item, so $9 for the cupcake toppers, favor tags, and keep calm sign.

J. Wording changes of printables –$3 per item

**Shipping charges will be almost exact shipping charges. Please specify if you would like Priority mail (about $5) or First Class mail (usually around $1)

Also, here is a place you can buy the mustache molds:

http://www.sears.com/life-of-the-party-mustache-lolly-dads-and-moms-chocolate-candy-mold/p-SPM3177207902

And I made my bowtie cookie cutter but I did find this one you could purchase:

http://www.amazon.com/CopperGifts-com-Workshop-Bow-Cookie-Cutter/dp/B00454VPB0

Here is a mustache on as well:

http://www.coppergifts.com/cookie-cutters/pc/Mustache-Cookie-Cutter-Handlebar-p5317.htm

Hope this helps! I would LOVE to see pictures of what you all are doing with these items!

File Folder Organizer

2011-11-30T13:59:00.001-08:00

I had an order awhile back from a teacher who wanted a file folder organizer for her classroom. Just thought you might like to see how cute it turned out!

You can find the directions for how to make one HERE.

Hands of Heaven

2011-11-30T10:42:00.001-08:00

***A BIG thank you to all who commented on my last post. You made me feel happy!***

Well, I’ve got sick kids and I am sick, too, so I figured this would be a good time to get some blogging done.

I’ve got half my Christmas shopping done and I’ve got all my decorating done AND my house isn’t even a total wreck so I am feeling pretty on top of things right now. I am really unhappy that I am sick. I HATE being sick! But, such is life, I guess.

In my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) we have a women’s organization called the Relief Society. Once a month we have an activity on a week night, and currently I am in charge of organizing these activities. A couple months ago I put on my first activity. I wanted to make it really nice and special. It was a night about bringing us all together as sisters even more than we already are.

The jumping off point for the evening was a video I had seen a couple years back called Hands of Heaven. Here is a clip from it. It is incredibly touching and I LOVE the message. I highly recommend it. You can order it online from one of our church bookstores called Deseret Book.

Anyway, here is what we did. As the sisters entered, we tied together their hands in pairs. We told them they had to stay tied together until we told them they could untie. We thought this would be a fun way to help people who didn’t know each other well or weren’t currently close friends get to know each other better. We gave them a list of prompting questions to help them find things to talk about. I was worried about this activity but it really turned out great.

We then had an opening prayer and song. We sang “Lord, I Would Follow Thee” but we changed the word “brother’s” to “sister’s”. We then invited the sisters to serve themselves dinner from our buffet. But we told them they had to stay tied together until they were seated and ready to eat. This was fun to watch. It took some creative serving and teamwork.

The sisters then ate their dinner. We served Fruited Pasta Chicken Salad, Antipasto sticks and crackers, rolls, cucumber water, and strawberry water. They all had a cupcake at their seat for dessert. They were White Chocolate Orange cupcakes and they were divine! I will post the recipe in another post.

After dinner we showed the video. There were few dry eyes in the room. I then gave a short talk about how we all have trials and we all need friends and support. I then shared a personal experience about when my Relief Society sisters had pulled me in and helped me through a difficult time in my life. We then had two other sisters share experiences of a similar type. We ended with a special musical number and a prayer.

It was an amazing night and I think the sisters all felt love and friendship.

The decorations were AMAZING! My pictures do not do it justice. It looked like a wedding reception. The decorations were super simple but packed a lot of punch. Under each plate is a piece of scrapbook paper. Then we had all the mercury glass candlesticks with the tissue pom poms. One of the ladies on my committee had those little silver balls which we scattered all over the tables. It just looked elegant.

I Need Advice

2011-11-21T16:58:00.001-08:00

MOM!!! DO NOT READ THIS POST!!! Its about something I am doing for you and I want it to be a surprise. So, STOP READING AND DELETE THIS EMAIL!!!

Everyone else, please scroll down. Thank you!

Ok, Hi everyone! Long time, no blog! I have been a blogging slacker lately. I’ve just been busy with real life lately! Sometimes I really wonder if anyone even reads my blog. I get very few comments, so it is hard to know. So, if you are reading this and feel like giving me a little encouragement, I could sure use a comment.

Now, I need some advice. Mostly I need advice from people who know a lot about furniture painting/refinishing. I am going to ask some of the great furniture bloggers I know of to come and take a look at this and give me their advice.

I picked up this little dresser someone had put out for the trash. It is obviously old as you can tell from the hardware and the solid wood…I think it is oak??

I want to refinish/paint this for my mother for Christmas. Now, my mom LOVES antiques, but she is less enthused about painted antiques. BUT, she needs to broaden her horizons a little and this dresser is too messed up to NOT be painted.

BUT, my mom adores burl wood. And the drawer fronts of this are burl wood. So, what I am thinking of doing is trying to leave some of this piece wood, while painting the rest of it. I was considering doing some sort of reverse stencil on the drawers. I am still not sure what I can get away with doing. The finish is pretty messed up.

SO, I need help knowing how to go about this.

Here are my questions:

1. What is the best way to restore the natural wood finish to parts that aren’t damaged that I may want to leave wood, rather than painted?

(this is the top)

2. What’s the best way to repair the parts that are totally damaged?

3. Is there any resource I can use to try to replace this handle that is lost? Because I love these antique handles and I know my mom does too.

4. If this were your piece, what would you do with it?

(here is the side)

(some close ups of the drawer faces)

5. What am I going to do about this door???? It is thrashed. I am not sure how to fix it. They had it hot glued in!!

6. I am thinking of ASCP for this in a blue color. What do you think of that? What blue do you love?? I want it to look old.

7. I almost forgot! THIS THING STINKS!!! What can I do about the smell? I know there are primers to block it, but if I want to leave some of it wood is there some type of clear coat that will block the smell?

THANK YOU sooooo much for taking the time to give me your ideas and help me get going on this. I know my mom will love it.

SUPER YUMMY MAC & CHEESE

2011-11-07T18:41:00.001-08:00

I have no picture of this to show you. I made this for dinner tonight and it was super yummy. I thought I would share the recipe. We all know what Mac and Cheese looks like.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Super Yummy Mac and Cheese

From the Kitchen of: Emily Nelson

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound shell pasta (or I used a 14.5 oz. box of rotini pasta)
4 Tbsp. butter
3 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
2 tsps buffalo sauce
1 tsp. kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper (about ½ tsp)
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
10 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
10 oz mozzarella, shredded

Directions: In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return it to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat. While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the eggs, milk, buffalo sauce, salt, pepper and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the mozzarella and 2/3 of the cheddar cheese. Over low heat, stir until creamy and cheese is melted. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with Pam. Top with remaining cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and has browned spots.

SO GOOD!

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER! {Recipe}

2011-10-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

OK, one more Halloween recipe for you. I have this chocolate chip cookie recipe. I don’t know where I got it but I think it might have come from a Mrs. Field’s cookbook.

They are actually called Chocolate Chip Treasure cookies. The recipe does not call for sugar or eggs! Isn’t that so weird?? You will see why though! These cookies have a great chewy texture that I just love.

For Halloween, I use half chocolate chips, half Reese’s Pieces. I LOVE them! And they are a super cute treat to take to friends in October!

Chocolate Chip Treasure Cookies

1 1/2 c. crushed graham cracker crumbs (Crush your own with a food processor or rolling pin or use the re-crushed ones. I recently bought an enormous bag of them at Smart and Final)
1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. softened butter
1 1/3 c. shredded coconut
2 c. chocolate chips
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional but soooo delicious!)
1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 375. Beat sweetened condensed milk and butter until smooth. Add vanilla. Mix in graham crumbs, flour, and baking powder. Add coconut, choc chips (or Reese’s Pieces) and nuts. Drop onto lightly greased baking sheet, or use parchment paper. Bake 9-10 minutes and cool on pan for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Did you know that ovens take MUCH longer to preheat than they say? Mine beeps to say it is preheated after about 10 minutes and it is no where close to the right temperature. Pick yourself up an oven thermometer and use it to make sure you are at the right temperature when baking and you will have much greater success!

TABLECLOTH DRAPES {Decorating}

2011-10-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

I have toile drapes on my sliding glass door. I made them from tablecloths! I did this years ago. My mom helped me put some little pinch pleats in them, and they hang from drapery pins on metal drapery rings. I have loved them! I think I had to hem them, but then I washed them and they shrunk so I took out the hems and they are just perfect.

Anyway, tablecloths are such an easy way to make drapes. You don’t even need to put pinch pleats in. You can simply hang them with clip on drapery rings. You can buy tablecloths for all seasons and holidays and change out your drapes.

A couple years ago I found some Halloween tablecloths that I loved at HomeGoods. I picked up some really cool clip rings at Hobby Lobby with a coupon, and suddenly I had new drapes for October!

The rings weren’t super strong and the drapes would come out a lot, so I tied some string around them to hold them closed and attached these spiders to the string. I got that cute orange ribbon and tied a bow on each ring.

I love how they look. They make me happy! When the holiday is over, I just take them off the rod, rings still attached and put them in a box to wait for next year. While they are up I get my other drapes washed.

I am hoping to come across some Christmas ones sometime soon!

PUFFY SUGAR COOKIES {Recipe}

2011-10-26T11:15:00.001-07:00

I came across a sugar cookie recipe the other day over at Somewhat Simple. I decided I had to try it out. Luckily, I needed to make some cookies for a Breast Cancer Awareness night I was helping to organize for the ladies at our church.

The recipe said to chill, and then roll out and cut into shapes. But I wanted round cookies. So, I did not chill them, but simply used my cookie scoop to scoop balls and then rolled them smooth.

They were really yummy. VERY similar to the Lofthouse sugar cookies you can buy at the grocery store that are like $5 for 8 or 10 cookies. But these were yummier and moister.

Here is the recipe which you can also find HERE at Somewhat Simple.

OLD-FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES

1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
4 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter with sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add sifted dry ingredients alternating with sour cream, mixing after each addition, until smooth. Blend in vanilla. Chill until firm enough to roll. Cut with cookie cutter – place on ungreased sheet. Sprinkle with sugar (if not frosting them). Bake @ 375° for 10-12 min.

This recipe made 3 1/2 dozen cookies that were as big around as a cupcake.

I did make a few changes:

I used Daisy Light sour cream. It is the only light sour cream I will buy. It’s the only regular sour cream I will buy. There are only like 3 ingredients and they are all natural. Other sour creams are full of a bunch of weird stuff! yuck!
I added an extra 1/2 tsp. vanilla.
And I would reduce the salt by half next time.
I also did not add the nutmeg but I think that would be a yummy flavor. It would not, however, taste like a Lofthouse sugar cookie.
I baked mine on a parchment lined baking sheet. I experimented and found out you can use the parchment for one batch, then flip it over and use the other side for another batch!
Mine took about 10 minutes exactly to bake. You do not want them browned.

I frosted them with a cream cheese butter cream which I tinted pink.

I guess I should give you a basic cream cheese buttercream recipe, huh?

Cream Cheese Buttercream

2 cubes butter
1 block (8oz.) cream cheese
2-3 pounds powdered sugar
1 Tbsp of liquid (milk, cream, OJ concentrate, lemon juice)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions: Cream together your room temp butter and cream cheese. Add your liquid and vanilla. Start adding powdered sugar a cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

For spreadable frosting, it can be very loose and soft. But if you want to pipe things it needs to be stiffer. If you use a knife to pull some frosting up to a point about an inch high and it holds its shape after a few minutes, then it is thick enough to pipe and hold its shape.

Frosting is SO easy to make, yet can be messy. Keep the mixer on low when combining powdered sugar or you and your kitchen will be wearing it! Turn it off completely when you put it in, then just turn it on low.

Things frosted with this can sit out for several hours, but I like to refrigerate over night.

I frosted these like roses, which is SUPER easy to do! Get a pastry bag and a Wilton 1M star tip. Hold the bag basically straight up and down and start in the center. Just start piping a swirl from the center out. So easy!

SPIRITOMETER {Printable}

2011-10-24T13:27:00.001-07:00

We have a problem in our home which is that most some of us have trouble speaking kindly. There is far too much yelling, name calling, fighting, and just general nastiness. One of my sons is particularly challenged in this area.

I am a Mormon. I’m not sure I’ve ever really said that on this blog. It isn’t that I wanted to hide it. I just don’t want to be preaching religion on here all the time. But, yes, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

In our religion, we talk a lot about the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, as we believe he is a member of the Godhead, which is comprised of God, the father, His son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. We believe the Holy Ghost is the one who helps us to communicate with God, our father. Sometimes, you can feel his presence so strongly. And we talk a lot about having the Holy Ghost near and even present in our home. When there is peace and love in our home, we believe he is present. But when there is bickering and contention, we believe he cannot abide that type of environment and therefore leaves our presence until we are behaving better.

Anyway, one Sunday a couple weeks ago I had absolutely had it with the nastiness in our home. I sat my family down and told them things had to change so that we could feel the Spirit more abundantly in our home. That day, I required everyone in my family to speak only in a whisper. Amazingly, it made a huge difference. There was much more peace and kindness in our home that afternoon. The following day, my birthday, I required everyone to whisper as well. It was a very nice day for me!

That day I came up with a brilliant idea to make a “Spiritometer”. I talked to my family about how we have different gauges to measure different things, like a speedometer on a car. I told them I was going to make a “spiritometer” and explained to them that when the Spirit was strong in our home we could speak in normal voices. But when there was fighting or complaining or disobedience and the Spirit was not so strong, we would need to lower our voices and try to say nice things to encourage the Spirit to return to our home. I told them that unfortunately I would not be able to make a Spiritometer that automatically measured the level of the Spirit, but that I would have to move it manually depending on how I felt things were going in our house.

While I didn’t get around to making the Spiritometer for two weeks, I did verbally tell them where I thought it was and at what level they should be talking. My 4 year old was so super cute. Whenever I told them the Spirit was leaving, he would immediately start telling everyone he loved them and how awesome they are to try to bring it back up! So cute!

Anyway, I really think this idea was an answer to my prayers in asking God how I could change the culture and tone of my home. It really is helping us, me included.

I want to give this printable to you for FREE if you want it to try in your own home. I created it in the program that goes with my Silhouette, and the only was I can figure out to be able to give it to you is that I made it into an .xps file. Hopefully that will work for people!

To make it, I simply printed the image on cardstock and used ModPodge to adhere it to some cardboard. After it dried, I ModPodged over it. Once that was dry I gave it a coat of clear spray paint. For the pointer, I used my Cropodile to punch a hole in a popsicle stick. I printed out the orange polka dot design and ModPodged it to the popsicle stick. I used a sanding block to sand the excess paper off. You can make a pointer how ever you want. A laminated cardstock arrow would work well. I attached the pointer with a brad, but I put a small washer between the pointer and the board to keep it from scraping against it as it is moved. Then I just stuck it in this frame and put the glass behind the board. It would look better in a black frame but I didn’t have one on hand.

The little ghosts are for my little ones that can’t read so they can see a visual of how strong the Spirit is.

Please email me if you would like the files. remarkablehome@gmail.com

SOFA TABLE RE-DO {Furniture}

2011-10-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I think it is time to show you all a furniture transformation I did recently. I went up to Utah to visit my sister that moved there. I helped her do some decorating and re-arranging of furniture in her new home. It was a lot of work but fun and I was glad I could help her get a little more settled in her new space.

Her family room is a great space, but when I got there everything was brown or tan. Brown couches, brown woodwork, brown buffet, brown ottoman, and tan walls and carpet. So, needless to say it needed some COLOR! I decided we needed to bring in some turquoise. So, out we went to shop for turquoise accessories. We found a few things. Then we happened upon an upholstered chair that I just loved. I talked her into getting it (luckily the store said we could bring it back if it didn’t work) and we took it home. It totally brightened up the space! The next day we found some pillows for the couch that had brown and turquoise, as well as yellow, green, and orange.

Well, the chair looked great, but it was this huge pop of color in the corner of the room and it needed to be balanced out a bit. She had an old sofa table that she has never liked sitting in her garage. I decided it needed a face lift. After a trip to Home Depot for some sandpaper, spray paint, paint and glaze, and a drop cloth, I was ready to give it new life! It is on the opposite side of the room and balances the color out nicely. I was THRILLED with how well it turned out! I think my sister likes it too. I hope so anyway.

I wish I had taken some pics of the whole room, but you can kinda see the chair over in the corner.

Here is the before (almost). I removed the knobs already and started sanding. But you get the idea.

So, here is what I did. I sanded the whole piece just enough to rough it up and help the paint stick.

I did not use primer. I just sprayed Rustoleum Lagoon in Satin on it. It took 3 cans to cover this baby and honestly I should have used a fourth but since I was going to distress and glaze it I figured it was ok that there were some parts that were a little less covered than I would have liked. If I had had more time I would have gotten more paint but we were in a major rush!

After the paint dried a used a course grit sanding block to distress the edges. I have never used a block before and was surprised how easy it was.

Then I mixed a clear glaze with some dark brown paint (I bought one of those sample pots). It was about 3 parts glaze to one part paint. Working on one section at a time, I used one of those cheap dollar brushes to paint the glaze on, getting in the nooks and crannies. Then I quickly wiped it off with a damp rag. I used cut up t-shirts for rags.

After letting the glaze dry I used Minwax Finishing Paste to give it a protective coating. I really liked it! I used cheese cloth to apply it like it says on the can. It was easy to apply and buff to a dull shine.

We then added the new knobs and cleaned the glass for the top and moved it into the room. I just love how it looks! Here are some more pictures.

This is how it looked after painting but before distressing and glazing.

Flickr Tags: furniture,refinish,distressing,antiquing,table,paint,spray paint,turquoise

GHOSTS in the GRAVEYARD {Recipe}

2011-10-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

Flickr Tags: dessert,pudding,Halloween,Ghosts in the Graveyard,Pepperidge Farm Milano

This is one of my favorite desserts. It reminds me of my grandma. I am not sure what it is she used to make, but when I tasted this with vanilla pudding mixed with Cool Whip, it reminded me of something she used to make. We call this “Out of This World Pudding Delight” but I have come across similar recipes called Éclair Cake. To me, it tastes nothing like éclairs though.

To decorate this I added graham cracker crumbs to the top for dirt, leaving some of the chocolate glaze underneath uncovered for the path through the graveyard. I used some of the filling for the ghosts with mini m&m’s for eyes. The headstones are Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies, written on with icing. And there are some Oreo crumbs lining the path. You can decorate this any way you want, adding candy corn pumpkins or anything else you want.

Out of This World Pudding Delight

Ingredients:

2 large boxes instant vanilla pudding (I only use Jell-O brand)
4 cups cold milk
12 oz. cool whip
enough graham crackers for two layers of the pan

glaze:

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa ( I like the Hershey’s Special Dark or Dutch Processed cocoa)
¼ c. evaporated milk
¼ c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Lay graham crackers in bottom of pan. Cut some so that it covers the bottom. Mix up the pudding mix and milk, then add the cool whip. Pour over the graham crackers and spread evenly. Place another layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding.

Make the glaze: in a small saucepan, mix the first 3 ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Don’t scrape the sides of the pan, but do stir continually. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Pour glaze over the top and spread evenly. Chill for half a day.

P.S. Putting the headstones on is a little tricky. Its easier if the graham crackers have had some time to soften up a bit. You could also leave some little holes where you don’t put a graham cracker for the Milano's. I used a dollop of pudding mixture to help them stand up.

BUGS & CHEESE {Recipe}

2011-10-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more and better pictures of this dish. Most of the kids wouldn’t eat it because it looked like bugs. It is just a baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe.

You can use your favorite mac and cheese recipe. I topped this one with buttered bread crumbs for dirt, but I think my kids disliked that especially. I thought it was delicious!

For the pasta, I used several different shapes. I just tried to get ones that I thought would resemble bugs. I used some penne, some small shells, some really tiny pasta that looked like fat, flat grains of rice, some pieces of fettuccine broken into shorter pieces, and I think some corkscrews. I boiled each type separately and added food coloring to the cooking water to change the color of the pasta. Once I had all the pasta cooked in different colored water, I proceeded to make my mac and cheese.

Here is the recipe I used:

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 pound pasta (I like medium shells)
3 c. whole milk
1 c. cream
½ c. butter
½ c. flour
3 cups shredded Swiss cheese (preferably Gruyere or Jarlsberg) (about 10 ozs)
3 cups shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese (about 10 ozs)
1 cup shredded cheddar for topping
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
¼ tsp dry mustard
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. course Kosher salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 375.

Put a pot of water on to boil. While you are waiting make a roux by melting the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, then add the flour. Stir well and cook on medium for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cream. Continue to cook and stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Cook pasta in salted water according to box directions. While it is cooking, grate your cheese and add it to the white sauce (butter, flour, milk). Stir till cheese is melted. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and mustard. Drain pasta and return it to the pot. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir well to combine. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. (Add buttered bread crumbs if desired) Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned. If it is taking too long to brown the cheese put it under the broiler for a few minutes, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Flickr Tags: macaroni and cheese,pasta,Halloween

TROLL EYEBALLS {Recipe}

2011-10-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

These tasty little morsels add a nice amount of gruesome to your Halloween meal. They are simply Oreo truffles, dipped in melted almond bark. I “forked” mine to make them even spookier. Metal forks would look even better.

After dipping them I used some red food coloring on a paint brush to make the veins. I will say it didn’t stick well or dry so next time I would make a little powdered sugar glaze with red food coloring and use that instead. Or, you could use one of those food writer pens.

The iris is a smashed skittle, stuck on with some melted white chocolate (or use some vanilla frosting in a pastry bag) and then there is dark chocolate frosting piped into the center For the pupil.

Easy, huh???

Oreo Truffles

(yield: about 50 balls)

Ingredients:

16 oz. package of Oreos, finely crushed (use food processor if you have one)
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temp
16 oz. almond bark or white chocolate, melted

Directions:

Mix cream cheese with finely crushed Oreos. Roll into eyeball sized balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and stick a fork in each ball. Immediately dip in melted white chocolate, shaking off excess. Place back on baking sheet and allow to harden, which should be almost instant due to cold temp of balls.

Once cooled and hardened, decorate to look like eyeballs.

I used a bucket of wheat to stand mine up in. Rice would work as well.

ENJOY!

SPIDER CHEESE BALL {Recipe}

2011-10-13T03:06:00.000-07:00

This is a super yummy cheese ball recipe. I make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as any other time I need a yummy appetizer.

For the web, I simply spread some cream cheese on a plate and then used pieces of red pepper to make a web. The eyes were made with slices of cucumber and then slices of carrot, glued on with cream cheese. The mouth is another piece of red pepper. For the legs I took a stalk of celery and split it lengthwise. Then I cut it about half way through in the middle and then carefully bent it, being careful not to let the stringy fibers break.

Ranch Cheese Ball

Ingredients:

`1/2 c. prepared double strength milk recipe ranch (This means mix together 1/4 c. milk, 1/4 c. mayo, and 1 1/2 Tbsps ranch dressing powdered mix)
`8 oz. finely shredded cheddar cheese (room temp) Be sure to shred your own as it has much more flavor. I use sharp cheese or extra sharp cheese.
`8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
`3-5 oz. toasted sliced almonds, or any other nut you like, toasted and chopped.

Directions: Mix salad dressing and cream cheese with mixer. Add cheddar and mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl so mixture is all together in bottom. Cover and freeze 30 minutes. Shape into ball and roll in almonds. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. Serve with your favorite crackers. Note: 8 times this recipe will make 10 good-sized cheese balls for Christmas gifts. You could also shape into a log shape.

Serve with crackers. I added in some veggies for our Halloween dinner to try to get some vegetables in.

CHOCOLATE COVERED WHAT???

2011-10-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I would start with the easiest and ickiest recipe of my Halloween foods….Chocolate Covered Cockroaches!

Here in Vegas we get a lot of roaches. I have a great phobia of them. They really freak me out. But I decided if they were covered in chocolate they may not be all that bad!

So, here they are. They are SUPER yummy

Ingredients:

whole pitted dates
dipping chocolate (or milk chocolate chips)

Directions: Melt the dipping chocolate according to package directions. Dip the dates in leaving a little of the “roach” showing. Looks best if you leave the end that the pit came out of because it more closely resembles a cockroach. Place on parchment paper and refrigerate until firm. Be sure to label them before serving! Enjoy freaking out your guests!

HALLOWEEN DINNER {Party}

2011-10-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I started a tradition of making a Halloween dinner for my family. I guess it got started because I came across some placemats and napkins that I thought were so cute I couldn’t pass up. Then, of course, I had to use them.

Since I have five sons, I have always tried to mix some trick in with the treat. I like to make food that looks like something….themed food, I guess you would say.

Today I am going to post pictures from the dinners that I have pictures of and then I will post some of the recipes in future posts. I hope it gives you some ideas and inspires you to make a spooky Halloween meal for your own family this year!

P.S. We don’t necessarily do this on Halloween. Actually, we don’t ever do this on Halloween. Usually a couple days before Halloween.

Here you can see my placemats and the napkins are being used as placemats too. We invited guests last year and I only have 8 placemats. I love those goblets I have and I always put a fake bug in them for a little surprise! This time I scattered candy corns around the table like confetti.

Here we have our spider web for our spider cheese ball to sit on:

A nice pan of ghost in the graveyard:

Some delicious troll eyeballs. My 8 year old made the signs for all the food!

And here is our friendly cheese ball spider with veggies and crackers for dipping:

Caramel apples:

Chocolate covered cockroaches…..mmmmm, my favorite!:

Snake bread (pictured before baking because I forgot to take one after!):

The buffet table with bubbling witches brew:

Bugs and cheese under dirt (mac and cheese):

The table set on a year we didn’t have guests. I just added some of my Halloween décor to the center:

Well, those are all the digital pictures I have. The possibilities for food are endless. You can find recipes and ideas all over the web. One I like to do is make meatloaf but shape it like the cut off foot of a monster, using nuts for toenails and putting ketchup on the stump to look like blood! I would love to hear about other things you have made as I am always looking for new ideas!

CARAMEL APPLES {Recipe}

2011-10-07T14:50:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I’ve been a really bad blogger. I am sorry. I guess its just not at the top of my priority list lately. I have been super busy with just life and kids and friends and family and church and housework. I’ve been doing a lot of things, but it takes so much more time to photograph the things that I do that I just haven’t wanted to do it. Plus, I am not a very good photographer and I don’t have a lot of good light in my house. I have a hard time getting any decent pictures unless it’s the perfect time of day. It is frustrating. But I don’t want to just let this blog go. So, I am going to try to get 2 to 3 posts up each week.

I love Halloween. I love the colors and the foods and PUMPKINS! I ADORE the fall. It is my favorite season. I love when the weather starts to cool and we finally get some relief from the inferno that is Las Vegas summer. I love the crisp air in the mornings. I just live for fall! And Halloween is a big part of that.

So, I am going to be posting some Halloween things over the next couple weeks. I hope you like them!

Today I am going to tell you how to make the most delicious caramel apples. I make the every year and they are always a big hit. They really are not too difficult. And they are so much yummier than making them from premade caramel candies. (cheaper, too).

You MUST, and I repeat MUST, have a candy thermometer. I have bought the glass ones at the grocery store many times and they always break. So, if you can afford it, invest in a better thermometer. If not, pick up one at Wal-Mart or the grocery store.

Once you have you thermometer you have to test it to ensure its accuracy. To do this, simply put a pot of water on to boil. When is at a full rolling boil it should be at 212 degrees, unless you are at a high altitude like Denver. In that case, you will have to find out what temp water boils at where you are. If your thermometer does not read 212, you need to account for the difference when making your caramel. So, if it reads 200, you want to add 12 to the reading for it when making caramel. Or if it reads 220, you want to subtract 8. Get it? You need to test your thermometer every time you are going to use it to make candy. When making candy its very important to have the correct temperature reading because the consistency of the candy depends upon how hot you heat it. Hard candy is heated to a much higher temperature than a chewy caramel candy. Basically, the hotter it gets the harder it gets. SO, if you don’t want your caramel to crack your teeth when you try to bite into it, you have to make sure you don’t get it hotter than you should. And if its not hot enough it will slide right off the apples.

I like to dip mine in caramel and then in something else, like chopped nuts, cookie crumbs, candies, mini chocolate chips, chopped candy bars, or sprinkles. Then I like to drizzle them with melted chocolate or white chocolate or both. Granny Smith apples are the traditional choice, but you can use any firm non-overripe apple you like.

You can use traditional popsicle sticks, or something more creative like these wooden dowels you can buy at the craft store. You could also use some kind of natural twig if you had that growing in your yard. Not sure what type of wood would be ok but I’ve seen it done.

Here is the recipe (it’s my sister’s recipe):

INGREDIENTS:

14 small tart apples (or less bigger ones. I like to use small ones.)
1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
2 cups packed brown sugar (dark or light)
1 cup light corn syrup
1 14-oz. can sweetened, condensed milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
14 wooden or lollipop sticks

DIRECTIONS: Wash and dry the apples and then refrigerate at least overnight. The apples should be cold when you dip them. Insert a wooden craft stick or a large lollipop stick into the core of each apple.
Combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and condensed milk in a large glass bowl. Microwave (remove every 2 minutes to stir and check the temperature) until the mixture reaches and internal temperature of 245 degrees. Use an instant read thermometer to check the temp. (My sister does it this way but I never have. I do it on the stove)

Alternate method: Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until 245 degrees. Use a calibrated candy thermometer.

Remove mixture from heat and add the vanilla. Dip each apple in the caramel, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. You may have to use a spoon to get the tops or tilt your pan with one hand and dip with the other, depending on how wide of a pot you used. (I use the back of my wooden spoon to kinda wipe the bottoms a little so there isn’t a big pool of caramel under each apple. Place on a well greased sheet of aluminum foil to cool. If dipping or rolling in other ingredients, do so immediately. Once the caramel is cooled you can drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. Do do that, melt chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl stirring every 15 seconds. The chips will start to melt and you will see they will melt more as you stir. Do not overheat. Place the melted chocolate in a gallon or quart sized zipper bag and snip a bit off the corner to make a hole. Drizzle the chocolate over the apples.

These make a great gift wrapped in cellophane and tied with a cute ribbon. Who doesn’t like a caramel apple? Enjoy everybody!

OREO CUPCAKES {Recipe}

2011-09-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

My oldest son turned 17 last week. Seventeen!!! I am feeling old! I cannot believe it. I was 17 when I had him! He is a senior in high school and is actually going to a special school this year where he takes college classes and gets dual credit for HS and college! So, he is seeming very grown up and I am having a mid-life crisis, lol!

Anyway, my brilliant mother had the idea to throw him a surprise party for his b-day. So, we did! It was great! He had no idea! We had a BBQ and pool party. I didn’t really know how many kids to expect. We just put the word out there and invited a bunch of his FB friends and told them to invite his other friends.

So, I decided I better make a bunch of cupcakes for dessert! I made 6 dozen Oreo Cupcakes the morning of the party. Amazingly, it only took me about 3 hours, including cleaning up!

Now that’s a lot of cupcakes!

They were very yummy. Here is what I did:

Cupcakes:

Mix up a white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines) according to package directions, except add 1/2 c. Daisy sour cream (Daisy is the best because it doesn’t have any funky ingredients).

Once it is mixed, add 2 cups Oreo cookie pieces. I bought mine at Smart and Final. They come already broken up. Or you can just break up some Oreos in a zipper bag with a rolling pin. Stir to combine.

Use a paring knife to separate the two sides of an Oreo, leaving the crème on one side. Place the Oreo side with the crème with the crème side up in a cupcake liner in your cupcake pan. Add your batter on top of the Oreo to 2/3 full. Bake according to cake mix directions. The key to good cakes and cupcakes is to not over bake so that they aren’t dry. Cakes are done when they barely spring back when touched lightly with your finger. It doesn’t have to spring back completely, just half way.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Here is the frosting recipe I made. It is HUGE, for about 80 cupcakes, so divide it if you aren’t making cupcakes for an army.

1 pound butter, room temp soft
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp soft
2 regular jars marshmallow crème (You could make it without this. I’m not sure it really added anything but it sounded like a good idea)
2 tsps. vanilla
2 Tbsps. cream
4 pounds powdered sugar
2 cups superfine Oreo crumbs without the crème. They need to be small enough to go through a sieve if you are going to pipe your frosting with a star tip. They can be a little bigger if you are using a round tip and as big as you want if you are putting the frosting on with a knife. You can use a food processor to make them small, or just a rolling pin and zipper bag. Just put them through the sieve to make sure they are small enough.

With the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and marshmallow crème. Add the powdered sugar. Add the cream a little at a time to get to the desired consistency. If you add too much it will be too thin to pipe and have it hold its shape. You can test in in the bowl. Just pull some up into a peak with a knife or the back of a spoon and if it holds its shape pretty well it is thick enough. Add in the Oreo crumbs and mix to combine.

To pipe these ones, I just used my coupler in a pastry bag. You could also use a large round tip, like 1/2” diameter. Just hold the bag vertical in the center of the cupcake and start to squeeze. Move it in small circles to spread it out a bit as you pipe. You will see. It is easy.

Garnish with an Oreo, half an Oreo, or mini Oreo.

FRAME WREATH {Before and After}

2011-09-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

I picked up an old frame at a garage sale a few months ago. I knew it had great potential, even though it had ugly Plexiglas in it and a picture of two old people, lol. I knew just what I wanted to do with it. And I finally got it done! I turned it into this beautiful frame wreath for the front door!

Do you LOVE it as much as I do???

Here it is before:

I guess I could have dusted it off! oops. It has a couple small cracks and chips on one of the raised parts. But I love how that adds to the character and makes it seem really old!

I had to remove the glass and picture which had been glued in with some kind of weird rubbery glue. It was hard to get the glue off, but once I did that the rest was textbook. I gave it a light sanding to rough it up a bit. Then I spray painted it with Rustoleum Lagoon in satin.

After it had dried for a couple days, I used sandpaper to distress it. Then I glazed it with a brown glaze I have. I finished it off with a protective clear coat. I ADORE the way it turned out! I want to keep it sooooo bad, but I told myself I would sell it so that is what I am doing.

Price: $38 plus shipping. Please email me at remarkablehome@gmail.com if you want it. This is a one and only, so first person takes it!

CHANDELIER MAKEOVER {Paint}

2011-09-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

I have a candle chandelier in my kitchen. I love it. I think it brings a lot of character to the space. We recently took it down to put up streamers for a party we were having. Having it down for awhile made me realize how much it closes in the room. I feel like my downstairs is so dark. I am always trying to lighten it up. I used to feel like it was light enough, but then I think our trees got big and now we get too much shade. I am a person who needs sunlight…I think I am addicted to it actually. So, I really dislike when any part of my house feels dark.

Anyway, I love my chandelier but I didn’t want to put it back up and make the room feel darker again. I left it down for a long time. But I finally decided to paint it and see how it would feel.

Here it is before. I LOVED the rusty finish on it. But it just wasn’t working in my house anymore. (The ribbon was part of a party decoration for my son’s milk and cookies party)

So, I hung it up from the swing set out back and started spray painting away. I used a white color. I finished it, brought it in and hung it up and didn’t love it. It was just sooooo WHITE!

So, I took it down and glazed it. It looks a little better now and I am getting used to it. I may have to take it out back and spray it with some off-white paint. We shall see.

Here it is now.

Don’t mind my messy table. Ignore that I STILL haven’t painted those mirrors and hung them up.

Here you can see the glaze a bit.

What do you think?

GLASS SIPPY CUPS {Project}

2011-09-06T17:56:00.001-07:00

I posted a little while ago about using jars for cups in my home. I am loving it! I found an easy way to turn a jar into a sippy cup for my littlest one. It is SUPER easy to do!

One of my readers recently suggested I buy a Cropodile tool to use to punch the holes when making my file folder organizers. I thought that was a brilliant idea, so I used a 40% off coupon and picked one up at Michael’s last week. Well, I was thrilled to read it would punch through thin metal!

I used the Cropodile 3/16” punch to punch holes in jar seals. It happens to be the PERFECT size for regular drinking straws to fit in super snuggly so that the liquid doesn’t leak out if tipped for a bit! Aren’t those the cutest seals, too?

Some people might be thinking, “What? A GLASS cup for a kid??” My son is 2 and is past the stage of throwing his cups on the floor purposely. He uses these up at the table. If they do happen to drop, the glass is very sturdy and on my laminate floors they rarely break. I love the idea of reducing plastics that come in contact with my kids food. I also learned from my son’s old speech therapist that drinking through a straw helps little ones develop the mouth muscles necessary for speech.

So, needless to say, I am very happy about my new sippies. Wish I could get rid of the plastic ones altogether, but we still need them for bedtime (water) and in the car.

CUPCAKES for DINNER {Recipe}

2011-09-01T19:13:00.001-07:00

We had cupcakes for dinner tonight. Yes, you read that right. We had cupcakes for dinner and boy were they good! Aren’t they delicious looking??

My kids were pretty excited when they asked what was for dinner and I told them “Cupcakes.” They didn’t ask me what flavor of cupcakes, and I will admit some of them were a little disappointed to find out I had made them

Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Cupcakes!

My husband, on the other hand, could not have been happier!

I tried out a new meatloaf recipe for these. You can find it over at Peppermint Plum. I didn’t have french fried onions so I thought I would use some onion soup mix instead. When I went to make the meatloaf I discovered I was also out of onion soup mix. So, I used some french onion dip mix. They were good. Meatloaf is not my favorite, but my husband really liked them. I think I will like them better tomorrow as a sandwich!

So, here is how I made the cupcakes. I made the meatloaf by combining the ingredients in my Kitchen Aid. Then I used my trusty ice cream scoop to portion the meat into foil cupcake liners. I pressed them down flat and topped each with some ketchup.

While they baked I made my garlic mashed potatoes, which I dyed pink with food coloring. Just make your favorite mashed potatoes. You could leave them white…I was just really trying to trick my kids!

I used a large star pastry tip to pipe the “frosting” onto the meatloaves once they were cooked. Now, hopefully you are more skilled than I at making creamy, smooth mashed potatoes because mine had a few lumps that kinda got stuck in the tip and made it difficult to pipe.

After I got the potatoes on I put them back in the oven under the broiler to try to brown the edges a bit and warm the potatoes a bit more as they had cooled down a bit. I think the browning would have looked a lot better on un-colored potatoes.

This was a fun dinner to have. I hope you will try it sometime!

BUTTERBEER CUPCAKES {Recipe}

2011-08-30T09:20:00.001-07:00

I am really having a hard time getting motivated to get back into blogging. Not sure why. I guess I just have so much on my plate and I am not sure what I am really getting out of blogging. But I don’t want to just quit. So, I figured maybe if I start doing it I will feel more like doing it!

My second son turned 9 at the beginning of August. I decided to try to talk him out of a big party by offering to take him and 3 or 4 of his friends to a movie and dinner. He liked the idea. We ended up just having pizza at home and then going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2, which was AMAZING! I LOVE Harry Potter.

To make everything a little more special, I made some Harry Potter themed treats and Butterbeer Cupcakes for dessert.

These were super yummy. The cake part was not too sweet, so it was a great balance for the super sweet frosting. I found the recipe and directions on Amy Bites. The only change I made was making my frosting with half butter, half cream cheese. They were very tasty and the cupcakes baked up perfectly. Thank you Amy!

Here are the other treats I put together for the movie. Note to self: Never take loudly wrapped candy and plastic water bottles into a movie and give them to 8 and 9 year olds! I could NOT believe how loud these kids were with these!

I just bought some jelly beans and put them in bags with these labels I found and printed onto cardstock. Super easy. Not the cutest ever but they kids had no idea!

So the colors didn’t work all that well on these. It says “Eat Slugs”. I came across these gummies that were on clearance so I made this little label really quick and bagged these up.

These are licorice wands. I dipped licorice in white chocolate and silver sprinkles and put them in cello bags with a few M&M’s. The kids loved them!

So, that was an easy way to celebrate a birthday! The kids really had a fun time and felt very mature

GUEST POSTING TODAY

2011-08-16T11:33:00.001-07:00

I have the honor of guest posting over at Kiki Creates for her Oh Baby Week!

You can read my post on announcing a pregnancy HERE.

I would love for you to leave a comment over there and tell Kiki I sent you!

For those visiting FROM Kiki Creates, please pardon my lack of recent posts. I have been spending the majority of my time entertaining my kids and trying to keep my home from falling apart. I am excited for school to start again so I can get back to creating and blogging about it!

COMMENTS

2011-08-15T20:31:00.001-07:00

Due to a lot of spam comments I am making it so that I approve the comments before they are posted. Sorry. I know its kind of annoying. Stupid spammers! lol

Also, I love to reply to your comments through email but if your email is not linked to your account then I can’t, and that makes me sad! So, get that email linked up already, would you?

Thank You All

2011-08-14T20:21:00.001-07:00

Thank you so much to all those who commented on my last post. Your comments really did help me, as did putting my feelings “out there”. I am feeling ok about things and I know both my sister and I will be ok.

Today, my dad’s best friend passed away unexpectedly. They have been friends since childhood and they are now in the late 60’s. They have lived in the same town together for most of their lives and less than 5 minutes away. They spend tons of time together and take great joy in their friendship. My heart is now aching for my dad, as well as this man’s family and my own family. We loved this great man very, very much.

Today I am thankful my best friend is only 6 hours away, and not in heaven yet. I have much to be grateful for so I will focus on those things and be happy!

Needing Encouragement {Personal}

2011-08-12T13:45:00.001-07:00

I know it’s been forever since I’ve blogged and this post isn’t going to be terribly exciting but I need a little encouragement. I just need to vent a little and get some things off my chest.

My sister has lived in the neighborhood across from mine for the last 8 years or so. It has been wonderful. Three of our children are within 3 months of each other in age. We have spent a lot of time together and were always there for each other when help or emotional support was needed. We became best friends, even though we are 5 years apart in age. It has been a wonderful 8 years.

Yesterday she moved to Utah. Six hours away! My heart is broken and I find myself unable to function. I am so sad. See, the thing is, I have other friends. But not a best friend. Not a sister-friend. There is nothing like it. She was my person. She was the person who “sees” me, if that makes any sense. She was the one who noticed when I wasn’t fine even when I said I was. She was the one who brought me a treat just because she loves me. She was the one I could call at the last minute to watch my kids. She was the one who had my kids over all day so I could rest when I was sick. She was the one who included me. She was the one who sat with me at church. She understands me like no one else does. She knows my heart. And now she is gone. And as soon as she left I felt lonelier already knowing she wasn’t in the next neighborhood.

My heart is broken. I know life will go on and it will all be ok but right now I feel like I can’t go on. And I feel overwhelmed by everything else in my life. I have a lot to do in the next week before we leave on vacation. When we get back, school will be starting and I am not ready. I feel like I have a lot on my plate right now and no fork to start eating with. Or maybe I just can’t figure out what to eat first. Or maybe I just don’t have enough energy to get the food from the plate to my mouth. I am tired. I am worn out. I am sad.

Thanks for letting me vent about this. I just needed to lay it out there. I can’t talk about it to anyone in person because even just typing it tears were streaming down my face. I would not be able to get the words out. So, thanks for letting me share.

CREATIVE SANDWICHES {Back to School}

2011-07-29T09:21:00.001-07:00

Are you a bad mom if you make your elementary kids make their own lunches?? Please say “No”. Because I kinda feel like the answer is “Yes”, and I make my kids make their own lunches most of the time. Well, I am vowing to be a better mom this school year and make my kids healthy and fun lunches. I have been seeing some super cute sandwich ideas on Pinterest. I thought you might like to see some of them. Hopefully this will inspire you!

There are only about a million more cute ideas on Pinterest for making your kids lunches fun.

For those who are not using Pinterest yet, I don’t recommend it. It is highly addicting, you will find more ideas of things you want to do than you ever thought possible, and you will get fat because you will make too many amazingly delicious recipes. But, if you are the type that just HAS to learn the hard way, you can find my Pinterest button on my side bar

CARNIVAL PARTY {Party}

2011-07-28T09:29:00.001-07:00

I have a friend named Tricia who throws the most amazing parties for her kids. She recently threw a Carnival themed party for two of her boys and I thought it would be fun to feature her amazing party today! Tricia has a blog called Young Moments. She is also a talented photographer and has beautiful pictures of her boys. Like me, she is an all-boy mom! She is a really fun, sweet, talented lady!

Here are a few pictures of her COME ONE, COME ALL party!

To see more details, you can visit her blog HERE.

Congratulations on a job well done, Tricia!!

CABIN {Interior Design}

2011-07-27T12:12:00.001-07:00

I have been feeling super UNmotivated to create anything to blog about. Not sure why. I think because it is summer and my kids are taking all my energy.

But this past week I took my kids up to my sister’s cabin on Cedar Mountain in Utah. They built this cabin, if you can even call it that, about 7 years ago, I think. It is two cabins down from my family’s cabin that my grandfather built over 50 years ago. So it is a great place for our family to gather. My husband met us up there on the weekend and we had a really great time up there.

When they built the cabin, my sister hired me to do some decorating in their great room. To say the room is “Great” is an understatement. It is monstrous. They were having a hard time figuring out how to place the furniture because they had an AMAZING 3 story tall fireplace as a focal point, but also a beautiful view out to the creek behind the cabin. So, I came up with a furniture plan for them. Funny thing was they also interviewed a professional designer, who, if I remember correctly, came up with a furniture arrangement very similar to mine. That gave me some confidence!

I decided that the room was so large it needed to be split into two seating areas. I used two sofas back to back with a large sofa table in between them. One area is focused on the fireplace, and one on the view to the outdoors. It has worked very well. Most of the furniture it easily repositioned into one arrangement for when we all want to have a family gathering in one group. It has served us well, I think.

All of the pieces in this room were purchased from regular stores or from Ebay, nothing “designer” here. It was so fun finding all the different side tables we used: a steamer trunk, barrel table, old wood box turned upside down, cast iron cookware box, etc. All of the upholstered chairs were from Calico Corners and we selected the fabrics for them. They are all very comfortable.

Here are some pictures of the space. Now, remember this was done 7 years ago. Some of the furniture has a little wear and tear, some of the accessories have been changed, the lamp shades lost their finials so they don’t sit straight (KIDS!), etc. But I think it is still a beautiful and comfortable room. Enjoy!

This is looking in from the front door:

The window below is where the best view is.

This is from the kitchen, which is only separated from the great room by the enormous double sided fireplace:

That mantle is about 7’ from the floor! It is huge so we had to have some large scale accessories.

This apothecary buffet I drew up and had built. It is a great addition to the room and my favorite piece! It is sort of under the stairs, or just to the left of where the staircase begins.

We need one more checkerboard to balance this arrangement but I guess we never found one!

A GOOD CHUCKLE

2011-07-24T10:19:00.001-07:00

I was reading one of the blogs I follow called A Turtle’s Life For Me today and her post gave me a really good chuckle. I had to have my sister read it, who also laughed. We then spent a few minutes laughing about how funny men are. If you have a husband, you need to read this little post. Let me know if it gives you a good chuckle too!

I’m Still Alive

2011-07-20T11:24:00.001-07:00

I am just on vacation. Things are going to be a little slow on this blog till my kids are back in school. I just don’t seem to have time to do a lot of the things I would like to be able to do! That’s ok though because I am having fun with my kids and we are getting to do a lot of fun things!

Just don’t write me off yet I will be back!!!

My Button

2011-07-17T14:52:00.001-07:00

I accidentally deleted the image for my grab button. I have a new one up now. I am not sure if that affected the buttons others have taken for their blogs. If you have taken my button, could you please let me know if it is still visible?

THANK YOU!!

THE WEIRDEST THING!

2011-07-15T13:51:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I put the Samoa bars in the oven at 400 for 25 minutes hoping I could harden up the caramel so I could break it up to put on ice cream. The edges started to burn so I took it out. It is all cooled now and for some VERY strange reason, the caramel is softer than it was before!

Unfortunately the cookie part still isn’t yummy and it’s not so soft that I want to give it away to people. So now it will be here to tempt me to eat it. I am vowing not to eat anymore of it. I will let my boys eat some of it though. They can afford the calories!

FRIED EGGS the YUMMY WAY

2011-07-15T09:13:00.001-07:00

Well, it seems all I have time for amidst entertaining four kids (my teenager is living with his dad right now) and trying to clean up after the messes they make while they are all home is cooking. I just can’t seem to get to any crafts. But, we all have to eat so cooking seems to be happening regularly!

This morning my son asked for fried eggs so I thought I would photograph how I make them. I know people can be very opinionated about the correct way to cook eggs. I only like eggs that I cook or my husband cooks for me. I do not eat eggs at restaurants. “Why?” you ask. Because I don’t like slimy eggs!!!

I had to chuckle when I saw a recipe for “Frizzled Eggs” in some magazine awhile back. They acted like it was some new method of cooking eggs, and yet I have been cooking them this way since childhood! For those who don’t like eggs, give these a try. They are seriously so yummy!

STEP 1- Put your stove on HIGH! That’s right people. I know chefs say you should cook eggs over a gentle heat. But doing that gives you slimy super soft eggs. So crank up the heat girls!

STEP 2- Don’t be afraid of butter. Butter is your friend. Butter gives your eggs delicious flavor. Put a good teaspoon in the pan for two eggs. Let it got nice and hot and bubbly.

STEP 3- Crack your eggs into the pan. I like to use this little frying pan for making one or two eggs. Make sure you use a non-stick pan. Use the corner of your spatula to break up the thick part of the white around the yolk and spread it out a bit. The thinner the white is, the better.

STEP 4- Season your eggs with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Lots of pepper cause it is yummy! AACHOO!

STEP 5- Cook your eggs till the white is no longer clear and you have some nice browning around the edges.

STEP 6- CAREFULLY turn your eggs over using a large spatula. Cook them on the other side for just 5-10 seconds if you like a soft yolk, or longer if you like your yolk more well done. See that brown stuff? It is yummy! Don’t listen to chefs who say eggs should never have brown on them. I wholeheartedly disagree!

STEP 7- Remove the eggs from the pan onto a plate. Serve with toast if desired.

STEP 8- ENJOY!

I’M SO MAD!!!

2011-07-14T17:25:00.001-07:00

Today my kids and I made homemade Samoas cookies, that are supposed to be like Girl Scout cookies. I wanted to be able to take some to my sister who just had the baby, as well as to a few friends. So, I doubled the cookie recipe and make a big half sheet pan of bar cookies. You start by making a shortbread cookie dough. I changed up the recipe a little to make it easier and topped the cookie with chocolate instead of dipping the bottom of each cookie in chocolate at the end. Then, I didn’t want to buy homemade caramels because I don’t like them all that much compared to homemade caramel. So, I toasted an entire bag of coconut. Then I made the homemade caramel. What I didn’t know is that my stupid candy thermometer is a piece of absolute junk and it wouldn’t go over 202 degrees. So, the caramel got too hot and now instead of a delicious pan of homemade Samoas I have a pan of cookies I can’t even bite into!!!

What a waste of time and ingredients!!!

On the plus side, I found I don’t care for the shortbread part either. It came from the homemade Samoa recipes you can find all over the web. I am going to change it up and try it again another day using a shortbread recipe that I do like. Actually, I think I will go with a butter cookie recipe. Shortbread is really too crumbly.

Anyone have any ideas what I could do with this now? I thought of breaking it up for ice cream topping but the caramel is not as hard as toffee. Its still a little chewy. Could I harden it by baking it in the oven??

What recipe failures have you had lately? Come on girls, make me feel better!

SUMMER FUN???

2011-07-13T14:58:00.001-07:00

Taking care of barfing kids was NOT on my summer to-do list!!!

BROWNIES with MARSHMALLOW FUDGE FROSTING {Recipe}

2011-07-11T16:17:00.001-07:00

Here is a seriously decadent dessert. You simply make two boxes of your favorite brownie mix in a sheet pan (like you would use for cookies that has sides).

As soon as they come out of the oven, you top them with this frosting. So yummy and a nice way to dress up plain old brownies.

Marshmallow Fudge Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter
6 Tbsps. milk
1/4 c cocoa powder
1 pound powdered sugar (1 box)
1/2 tsp vanilla
10 oz bag big marshmallows
1 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter, milk, and cocoa powder together and bring to a boil. Once it boils, remove from heat and beat in the box of powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the marshmallows and stir over medium low heat until the marshmallows are about half way melted. Add the optional nuts. Spread over brownies. The unmelted parts of the marshmallow will melt a bit and spread out as you spread it, giving it that swirly effect. Allow to cool before cutting.

TRAMPOLINE FORT {Sewing}

2011-07-08T12:35:00.001-07:00

A couple years ago I got a crazy idea to make a skirt for out trampoline that would transform the trampoline into a fort for my boys. It is quite a simple thing to do and took me only one afternoon to complete.

I simply measured the circumference of the trampoline to figure out how many yards of fabric I would need. I added a few inches so that it would overlap at the door. I then measured the distance from the ground to just under the bar to know how tall the skirt should be. I think I had to trim the fabric down as it was too wide. I hemmed the top and left the selvedge edge on the bottom. I got this denim fabric at Walmart for pretty cheap. It is perfect for being outdoors.

I used cotton twill tape for the ties. I just folded a piece in half and used my sewing machine to sew it to the skirt. I put a tie about every 2 to 3 feet. I sewed in a square with an x in it pattern to make sure the ties would not come loose. {see pictures} I used extra pieces of fabric to sew on some big pockets inside so the kids could put their gear in them, i.e. snacks, papers, flashlights, whatever they take into the tent.

I made a pleat in this pocket so it would hold extra big things, if needed.

We will often squirt the tent with water to help it be a little cooler inside. I also let the kids use sidewalk chalk to write on the inside or outside of the fort. The white stitching you see is from one of the pockets. I wasn’t too concerned about the appearance, but you could use matching thread if you didn’t want the stitching to show.

I would like to make a cover to go over the top so that it will feel even more enclosed. It is so simple yet so fun! If you live where you need to sprinkler your grass daily, make sure to lift the skirt up onto the trampoline at night so your grass will get watered.

If you don’t have a trampoline you could make a similar cover for an outdoor (or indoor) table. Instead of ties just make a top panel that the sides are sewn to, like a fitted tablecloth.

FRUITED CHICKEN PASTA SALAD {Recipe}

2011-07-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

I hate cooking hot food in the summer, don’t you? Unless it is grilling out back. But I really prefer cold food in the summer. Especially here in Vegas where it is soooo hot!

Salads are so yummy. I have so many good salad recipes. I thought you might like one of them today. Let me know how you like it!

Recipe: Fruited Chicken Pasta Salad

Yield: one large bowl

Ingredients:

1 box cooked medium shell pasta, rinsed with cold water till cooled
3 or 4 chopped cooked chicken breasts-cooled ( you can boil your chicken, but I like to bake it in the oven at 375 for about 20-30 minutes. I season it with Lawry’s and pepper before baking)
2 or 3 cans drained mandarin oranges (I left them out this time as I don’t care for them. I do like to add a fresh orange cut up, but didn’t have one on hand this time)
1 large bunch red grapes, cut in half
1 cans drained sliced water chestnuts, julienned
1 ½ c. sliced celery
2 green onions, sliced
2 packets buttermilk ranch dressing mix
1 c. mayo (or Miracle Whip, if you prefer)
1/2 c. milk
pepper to taste

Directions: Mix the mayo, milk, and ranch mix together. Mix up the other ingredients in a large bowl and add the dressing, stirring to combine. Add the mandarin oranges only after everything else is well mixed so that they don’t fall apart. This is a great salad for a shower or just to have in the fridge for lunch. Serve with rolls or croissants.

NATURAL CHILDBIRTH {Personal}

2011-07-01T21:15:00.001-07:00

Today was a special day for me. I got to support my youngest sister while she delivered her second son. And when I say support, I mean literally. I got to hold one of her legs, which I must say wasn’t that easy. You really have to use some force to get those legs back!

My sister had her second natural childbirth today! Her first was kind of a major nightmare. Her doctor was an absolute jerk and obviously didn’t approve of her choice to have a natural birth. She had a LONG labor, including about 4 hours of “breathing through” contractions when she wanted to push because her doctor was a jerk and didn’t want to move the little bit of cervix she had left out of the way so the baby could come out. It was ridiculous and finally the nurse just did it so the baby could come out and she could get out of that horrendous pain!

Today was different. She labored through the night at her home, sleeping most of the time I think. This morning I talked to her, and while she wasn’t quite sure what was going on and was having a hard time timing her contractions, I could tell that it was time for her to get to the hospital. She finally decided that was a good idea and was a 6 when she got there!!! We all rushed over to be with her (my parents, and my two other sisters that were in town). We thought it might go VERY quickly and were afraid we could even miss it.

But, her water did not break and she asked to not have her water broken but to let it break naturally. Thankfully, both her doctor and nurse were very on board with her plans for a natural birth. She use aroma therapy to relax herself, which to my surprise was very successful. We used the big ball for her to sit on a bit. We also had her walk around alot , holding onto her husband or one of us for support during her contractions while she swayed her hips from side to side. She did so amazing! She stayed really relaxed up until the very end when her water finally broke and she was really wanting to push. She was getting very tired and the nurse could tell that the baby was sunny side up. She didn’t tell my sister that because she didn’t want to worry her or stress her. But she had my sister get on her hands and knees on the bed. After about 5 minutes of that, the baby flipped around and started to crown! The nurse was holding him in while the doctor rushed through the hospital to get there.

My sister had asked the doctor in advance to use almond oil in her nether regions to help her avoid tearing. Things were pretty bad with her first birth since her doctor obviously didn’t give a crap about her. Anyway with the almond oil and her doctors skillful hands, she was able to deliver her son without needing a single stitch! I was right there and could completely see the baby slip out. It was amazing. I have seen quite a few of my nieces and nephews be born, but have never had the privilege of holding a leg before. I am usually trying to duck around the doctors and nurses to take pictures and have often not gotten a clear view of the action. But today I got to see it all and it was AMAZING!

Once the baby came out she was allowed to hold him for like 10 minutes while they waited for the cord to stop pulsing. The doctor just sat there patiently waiting. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never seen a doctor spend so much time. The nurse massaged the baby while my sister held him. It was exactly what my sister wanted!

Women are amazing! Birth is an absolute miracle. My sister was so amazing. I don’t think I could ever have a natural birth. I would never really be able to even if I thought I could. I have really big babies and had one whose shoulders got stuck so I am not really allowed to go to my due date. And my babies don’t want to come out early by any means. SO, I have to be induced and there is no way I could forgo an epidural with Pitocin running through my veins. But, even if that weren’t the case I just don’t think I could endure that kind of pain. I don’t really think I am wimpy, but I don’t like pain

Anyway, it was a great day. We have a healthy baby boy and a healthy mommy. That is my parents’ 26th grandchild. All have been healthy and whole. We are so very, very blessed.

I am so thankful to have sisters. I have 6 of them. I love it. I love that I can be there for them when they are going through the pains of childbirth. And I love that they can be there for me. There is nothing like a sister. Nothing.

Here are a few pictures. Isn’t she gorgeous??? Its not fair to look this beautiful after a natural childbirth!

I {heart} JARS

2011-06-30T14:19:00.001-07:00

My best friend growing up lived across the street. We spent countless hours at each others homes over the years. We would go keep each other company when one of us had to clean our room. Both of us often wish we could have company while cleaning to this day. Too bad she lives across town from me now!

For some reason, her family didn’t have a lot of cups. They used jars to drink out of. It seemed really weird to me at the time. But now, I understand why. I had a few jars in the cupboard from homemade jams and other things….they just collected. I started drinking out of them because they just seemed easier and less breakable than a glass. I have decided I love jars and I love drinking out of them! They are cute and nostalgic and cheap and useful and I just like them. So, I asked my husband what he thought about me getting rid of our glasses and using jars for glasses instead. He gave me his usual “Great!” response. So, I decided to go for it!

SO, here is my cup cupboard BEFORE:

And here it is AFTER:

I still haven’t had the guts to take out those glasses even though we NEVER use them except maybe if we have company over. I would like to get rid of the plastic cups too, but we use them in the car and stuff. I am going to drill holes in some jar seals to use for “sippy cup” lids with straws.

Jars are just really fun to use as cups, not to mention baking in!

FLOUR FROSTING {Recipe Review}

2011-06-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

Well, today I decided to spend some time with my 4 year old making some cupcakes in a jar. We made these from a white cake mix. We simply made the mix according to package directions, divided the batter into 3 equal parts, tinted one red and one blue, and layered the colors into jars sprayed with cooking spray. I used a cookie scoop to put the batter into the jars, but had to use a baby spoon to spread out the white and red batter. It would probably work better to put the batter in pastry bags or Ziploc bags with the corner cut off and pipe it into the jars in even layers. We baked them on a cookie sheet for 25 minutes or until they sprung back a little when gently pushed in the center.

NOTE: I used 1 cup wide mouth jars. I think I am in love with these jars and will be making more things in them. They are just soooo cute!

Here they are before they were baked:

Here they are after:

I left them on the counter to cool and this is what happened, compliments of my two year old:

Here is how he got up there:

He is a stinker. Good thing he is super cute:

Well, I went looking for a recipe for some new kind of frosting so I could try out something new. I came across a recipe that uses flour several times and everyone was raving about it. I read many different versions, but decided to use the one I found HERE on The Girl Who Ate Everything. I think she got it from The Pioneer Woman.

I had my doubts that it could REALLY be as good as everyone claimed. But I decided to put the recipe to the test.

Here are my notes on making it:

1. Add the flour to COLD milk in a COLD pan and make sure it is fully whisked together before turning on the heat-this helps avoid clumps.

2. When you cook the milk and flour together it will get REALLY thick…like the skin on a pudding thick. That is ok. Just don’t burn it.

3. Beat the butter and sugar together for a LONG time, like 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the bowl several times. If you don’t mix it long enough, you will have grainy sugar in your frosting.

4. It doesn’t take as long to cool the flour mixture down as you think. Stick it in the freezer while you beat the butter and sugar and it will be done when you are ready for it.

5. Beat the flour mixture with the butter mixture for another 5 minutes. It won’t ruin it. You can’t overbeat it, I don’t think. It just makes it silkier.

Well, I have to admit this is a really good buttercream. I am not a fan of most buttercream frostings….too sweet for me. But this one is not as sweet as most. It has a very smooth and silky texture and is a little lighter in feel than a traditional buttercream. I think it would lend itself well to some fruity flavors, like lemon or a raspberry puree. I read that a lot of people have problems getting it to turn out. I had no problems. It was pretty easy. I think the key is just to beat everything really well. I will say it has quite a buttery flavor. I think it might be better if it had 1/2 c. more sugar. But then maybe all the sugar would not dissolve. But it was ALMOST too buttery I wonder how it would taste on chocolate cake. Probably pretty good.

I prefer cream cheese frosting, but you can’t ALWAYS use it so this is a good substitute. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

CAUTION: This frosting MIGHT make your kid look like this:

Flickr Tags: cupcake,frosting,flour,dessert,baking,4th of July,mason jar,jar

TIN STAR RE-DO {Craft}

2011-06-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

Are you sick of my recipe posts yet? I am! It was time for me to get a craft done. Here is a super easy, super fast re-do of an orange tin star I had laying around.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I simply spray painted the star white and added blue vinyl stars and red vinyl stripes. I cut the stars with my Silhouette, but you could just use some cute stickers if you don’t have one. I hand cut the stripes from a piece of red vinyl, but you could also just use some red tape which would be easier.

Here is that hutch I was telling you about that my neighbor gave me. Isn’t it cute? I don’t have a lot of 4th of July decorations, but I am trying to get some things together to make it look cuter. But this is how it is for now:

I want to paint this thing white and give it an old chippy finish. Hopefully soon!!

BLUEBERRY BANANA BREAD with STREUSEL TOPPING {Recipe}

2011-06-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve been seeing all these cute Pie in a Jar and Cupcake in a Jar ideas and thought it would be fun to make one of my favorite recipes in a jar. My banana bread recipe is to die for. It is super moist and sweet and really is more like a dense cake than a bread. It won my husband’s heart when we were dating! At least he likes to say that to get me to make it. It is my favorite way to use up the oodles of bananas that go brown before we get around to eating them.

BTW, here is a tip for you. Putting bananas in the fridge will turn the skins brown, but it will keep the actual banana from ripening as quickly as it does on the counter.

I decided to make banana bread in a jar, and while I as making them I decided to add some fresh blueberries and a streusel topping. Let me tell you, these are dangerous! I think I could have eaten half of them or more!

Here they are fresh out of the oven. Aren’t they adorable? Mason jars are made to be heated to high temps, so they are perfect for cooking in. I had to search high and low for these 1 cup wide mouth jars and finally found them at Ace Hardware for $10 for 12 of them.

To package them I used my Silhouette to cut a scalloped circle with black vinyl. I then wrote the name of them on the label with some chalk. I have found that black vinyl works well for chalkboard. If I had a chalk pencil (like you use for sewing) it would have made the writing much easier!

Here is my recipe. Let me know how you like it!

Recipe: Banana Bread

Yield: 2 Loaves (or 12 8 oz. jars)

Ingredients:

2 ¾ c. flour
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
½ c. white sugar
2 large eggs
3 c. ripe mashed bananas (about 7-8 medium)
2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional) {I did not use these with the blueberries}
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries {will need to cook longer if using frozen}

Streusel topping:

1/2 c. rolled oats (quick or regular)
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. cold butter cut into cubes
1/2 c. chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions: In a medium bowl combine first three ingredients with a wire whisk. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs and beat for a couple minutes till it looks fluffy. Add bananas and vanilla and mix well. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Add the flour mixture and walnuts, then blend on low until just combined. Don’t over mix. Pour into bread pans or jars sprayed with cooking spray.

Make the streusel topping: Mix the first 4 ingredients together. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or even your fingers. Add the chopped nuts.

Top the banana bread with a layer of streusel topping. If making bread in jars, you will have some topping left over.

Bake on center rack of a 325° oven for 60-70 minutes for loaves, or at 325° for 40-50 minutes. Jars should be placed on a baking sheet to keep them from tipping. A toothpick inserted in center should come out clean (unless it hits a chunk of banana). Bread should pull away from sides slightly and it should be a medium golden brown. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn bread pans on their sides to allow them to cool completely. Leave in jars until completely cooled before securing lids.

EUROPEAN SANDWICHES

2011-06-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

I spent a month in Europe {France & Spain} on a study abroad trip when I was in college. I didn’t love a lot of the food I had in restaurants, but the bakeries were amazing. Several times for lunch we got sandwiches from the bakery which were just a freshly baked French baguette, buttered with fresh butter and piled with ham and some delicious cheese.

I decided to make these for my kids the other day because they aren’t fans of lettuce and all the good things adults like on sandwiches. They really don’t even care much for mayo. The LOVED these and asked for them again the next day.

I have to say I love them too. Just use some good ham and any kind of cheese you like. I used sharp cheddar, which is my favorite. A good Swiss or provolone would be nice too. Enjoy!

FRIED CHICKEN FINGERS

2011-06-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

I guess I’ve been doing a lot of cooking lately and not a lot of crafting. So, sorry if you don’t like recipes, but you are getting another one today!

I am a big fan of cold fried chicken with no skin. I just really like the way it tastes. Kids love chicken fingers and we sometimes get them from Cane’s when we go on a picnic. We will get the tailgate which I s like 25 fingers for $22 or something like that. Not a bad price for take out but a lot more expensive than making them at home. I made some chicken fingers the other night for dinner and they were REALLY good….better than Cane’s. Here they are:

Don’t they look scrumptious?? I know frying is supposed to be really unhealthy, but I actually think when you use healthier oils and fry at the right temperature with fresh oil it is not too bad. The amount of oil left after I fried these was almost the same as I started with. Anyway, here is my recipe:

Recipe: Fried Chicken

Yield: about 35 strips

Ingredients:

6 or 7 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into 1/2” wide strips
salt and pepper and garlic powder
vegetable oil (I use Canola) for frying chicken
3 eggs
2 c. flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp sage

Directions: Season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Beat eggs in a bowl. Throw in the chicken and toss to coat. Place oil in large pot, filling about 1/3 to 1/2 full. Heat to just smoking, about 375. Mix flour, baking powder, and seasonings. Dredge chicken in flour (I put mine in a paper lunch sack inside another lunch sack, add chicken, and shake to coat) and place in hot frying oil. You can fry 6 or 7 at a time. Don’t overcrowd the pan too much. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. I pull out the fattest one and cut into it to be sure it is white. Drain on a plate layered with paper towels.

I make homemade ranch dressing to dip them in. That night I made a big salad and we ate our chicken with it. It was very yummy!

TRES LECHES {Recipe}

2011-06-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I had the opportunity to accompany my sweet husband on a business trip to Austin, TX. I had a relaxing couple of days away from my kids while he worked. I got to hang out in the hotel room and read and SLEEP! The highlight of our quick trip was getting to see a dear friend who lives there. We met her and her husband for dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Chuy’s. Even though we were stuffed at the end of the meal we decided to follow their lead and order a piece of Tres Leches. We had never had this dessert before and we were thrilled by the deliciousness of it. It is a sponge cake soaked in three types of milk, chilled, and served with whipped cream and strawberries. It was so stinking good that we had to go to another Chuy’s the next day just to get this dessert to share. We have been talking about it ever since.

So, I decided that since we don’t live near Chuy’s I would have to figure out how to make Tres Leches myself. I decided Father’s Day was the perfect occasion. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com but I didn’t like the method used. I read how to make sponge cake in my Williams Sonoma baking cookbook. I used their method to make the cake and I also tweaked some of the ingredients in the recipe. All the changes made me a bit nervous that it wouldn’t turn out right, but it actually turned out perfectly. It was super delicious and my husband was raving about it! My kids all LOVED it and they usually don’t eat too much of the desserts I make.

Here is my recipe:

Recipe: Tres Leches

Yield: 9x13 pan

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, minus 1 Tbsp
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar, divided
5 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Syrup:

1 ½ cups whole milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

Topping:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ c. powdered sugar
Freshly sliced strawberries

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl with a wire whisk and set aside. Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a mixer bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.

Beat the egg whites until they are frothy and starting to thicken slightly. Very slowly add ½ c. white sugar. Beat until they are stiff and glossy but not dry. You should be able to turn the bowl over without having them come out. Remove them from the mixer bowl and set aside. In the mixer bowl, beat the softened butter and the remaining ½ c. sugar till butter is light yellow. Add the vanilla. One at a time, add the egg yolks, mixing well to incorporate each one before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to mix in 1/3 of the flour mixer into the butter mixture. Then, fold in 1/3 of the egg whites, being careful not to deflate them as much as possible. Add another third of the flour, and then another third of the egg whites. Repeat with remaining flour and egg whites.

Pour batter into 9x13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until center springs back gently when poked, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, combine the whole milk, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in a small saucepan. Heat just enough to combine them…not very hot at all. Once the cake comes out of the oven allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Use a fork to poke holes all over it every ½ inch or so. Then, pour the milk mixture evenly over the top of the cake. Allow to cool to room temperature and then cover and place in the refrigerator overnight or at least until it is cold.

When ready to serve, whip the cream and add the powdered sugar to sweeten it slightly. The cake is VERY sweet so you don’t need the cream to be super sweet. Top the cake with the whipped cream. Place a piece on a plate and top with sliced strawberries. Enjoy!

SEND ME PICTURES!

2011-06-22T15:57:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to say….

If I have shared my printables with you and you have put them to use I would LOVE to see pictures of what you have done!

Email them to me at remarkablehome@gmail.com

THANK YOU!

PS. If you asked for printables and never got them please ask again. I have a hard time keeping track of the 5,000,000 emails I get a day!

The MAN CAKE {Recipe}

2011-06-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Well, its time for me to tell you about the Man Cake I made for Father’s Day breakfast. I got the idea from a blog called Creative Tryals. You can see her post about her Man Cake HERE. I loved the idea and knew this would be something my husband would adore. So, I made this for him for breakfast. Here is how it turned out:

It was DELICIOUS and super fun! Here is how I made it:

I gathered all the ingredients. I knew there had to be a method to my madness to have it all be done at the right time and warm when we ate it.

My kids PIGGED OUT on this. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them eat so much breakfast. My husband and I also had generous portions and there was still a couple pieces left over. You could make a smaller one if you had less people. For this one, I used 8 eggs, 1 pound of bacon, 1 cup cream, 1 pint strawberries, and about 3/4 of that bag of hash browns. I made a big bowl of pancake batter so I wouldn’t run out in the middle. There was extra so we made it into more pancakes after breakfast to save for later. So, here is how I handled it all:

1. Get bacon and hash browns cooking on the stove (I use butter to cook my hash browns). To cook my bacon to the prefect doneness I cut the whole package in half so the pieces aren’t so long. Then I put my cast iron skillet over high heat and put all the bacon slices into the pan one by one. They will be on top of each other but that is ok. After it gets going I turn it down to medium to medium high and stir it often. Just before it looks perfectly done, I take it out and let it drain on paper towels. It seems to cook a bit more once its out of the pan.

2. While the bacon and hash browns were cooking, I prepared the pancake batter and washed and sliced (large slices, about 3 per strawberry) the strawberries. I whipped the cream and added some powdered sugar to it to sweeten it. I had my son scramble the eggs in a bowl.

3. Once the hash browns and bacon were done I put them in a 275 degree oven to stay warm. I also placed a cookie tray with a baking cooling rack on it to place the pancakes on as I got them done. (Please ignore my dirty pizza stone).

4. Then I started on the pancakes. I used a large skillet. I sprayed the pan lightly with Pam and poured in some pancake batter, swirling the pan to spread it out to the very edges. I also preheated a griddle pan on another burner and sprayed it lightly with Pam. Pancakes should be cooked over a fairly low heat, no higher than medium. Make sure your pan is preheated before you start though. Once the pancakes was done on the one side, I flipped it over onto the griddle pan (my husbands idea!). This worked well and I’m sure better than trying to flip it into the same pan. Once the pancake was onto the griddle pan I started again with the next pancake in the skillet. Once a pancake was done I placed it into the oven on my tray to keep it warm. I made 5 pancakes but only ended up using 4 because I was afraid the whole thing would topple. I think it worked well with only 4 because it kept the strawberries from getting really hot.

5. Once the last pancake was in the large skillet I used another burner to preheat my egg pan. Once I got the skillet free and out of the way I moved the egg pan to that burner and started scrambling the eggs.

6. Once the eggs were done it was time to assemble the cake. I removed everything from the oven and used a large cake platter for the Man Cake. I layered a pancake (buttered), hash browns, pancake (buttered), eggs, pancake (buttered), bacon, pancakes (buttered), strawberries, whipped cream, and a couple strawberries on top.

7. We served the cake at the table, cutting it like a cake and topping each piece with maple syrup. It was superb! Here are my boys about to enjoy it!

I’m pretty sure the MAN CAKE will become a Father’s Day tradition. It really made things special!

APRICOT CRISP {Recipe}

2011-06-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

Are you sick of apricot recipes yet?? I guess they aren’t too helpful if you don’t have an apricot tree, but most apricot recipes can be made with peaches as a substitute.

So, here is one more recipe for you. You can use peaches, plums or apples instead of apricots. With those fruits you want to slice the fruit, whereas with apricots you can just halve them.

Fruit crisps are super easy to make, super fast, and super yummy, especially if you serve them with vanilla ice cream. I like them warm with ice cream, or cold with whipped cream.

I made apricot crisp for dessert the other night and didn’t remember to take a picture of it until the next morning. So, here it is with whipped cream. Yes, I ate it for breakfast.

To show you I am still keeping it real around here I will tell you that after I took this picture I noticed that round brown thing right in front and pulled it out and it was a pit! I couldn’t believe it but it got in there somehow. And then, when I was eating it, there was ANOTHER pit in it! I almost thought someone put them in after the fact but I really don’t think so. I have no idea how it happened!

To make this, I got a 9x13 pan and layered the bottom with apricot halves. I have no idea how I got pits in there when I was laying each half down one at a time as I pitted it. Then you just top with the crumb topping and bake until the topping is dark golden brown. Here is the recipe:

Apricot Crisp:

Layer enough fruit into a 9x13 pan to cover the bottom. If you like a lot of fruit make 2 layers. Sprinkle with sugar to your desired sweetness. Top with crumb topping and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes until it is bubbling around the edges and the topping is deep golden brown. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Crumb topping:

1 c. rolled oats (quick or regular)
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. cold butter cut into cubes
1/2 c. chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts (optional)

Directions: Mix the first 4 ingredients together. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or even your fingers. Add the chopped nuts. This can be used on fruit crisps or pies or even muffins or quick breads.

Here is a picture WITHOUT a pit showing!

APRICOT HAND PIES-FAIL!

2011-06-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

So, I came across this recipe for apricot hand pies. I love hand pies and wanted to try these because ~~I needed to use up 20 pounds of fruit~~ they look amazing. So, I prepared the filling like so:

Wash the fruit and remove the pits:

Cut each half into quarters and place in bowl:

Add lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon. Then stir it up and place in refrigerator:

That part all went fine. Then I made the pastry which is a very delicate pastry made with butter. Here is what I did:

Place dry ingredients in food processor.

Cut cold butter into cubes and add it to flour mixture, processing about 10 second until it resembles coarse meal.

With processor running add ice water until dough comes together:

I thought my pastry looked great but when I went to roll it out and make the pies it did not work so well. I discovered the recipe I used had several flaws (no cooking temp, double the yield the dough actually produced, no amount of flour to be added to fruit, too thick of specification for rolling the dough). I followed the recipe and made up my own parts for the things that were missing or obviously wrong. I was pretty bummed when my hand pies looked like this because the dough was far too crumbly and delicate:

I tried doing some non-folded over double pies but they still didn’t look too great:

I brushed them with cream and sprinkled them with raw sugar. I baked them at 375 till they were golden brown. They actually tasted pretty good. My husband suggested putting some of the extra filling into some crescent rolls. So, I tried that but my rolls were old and falling apart and this is how crappy THEY looked:

No one liked the crescent roll ones. The crust on the pastry ones was very buttery…tasted like a not sweet shortbread cookie. Which made me think that a shortbread cookie hand pie would be SUPER yummy because there is quite a bit of tartness to the fruit filling when you are suing fresh fruit.

Here are the baked pies:

SO, it majorly bums me out when recipes don’t turn out right. I will never use a delicate crust like this for hand pies again. I think I might have to try a sweetened pie crust or a cookie type crust next time…if I ever get up the courage to try again, that is!

APRICOT PIE FILLING {Recipe}

2011-06-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

We live in Las Vegas AND we grow fruit!! Yes, its true. A lot of people think you can’t grow anything in Las Vegas. But, you can! You can grow a ton of different vegetables and fruits. We have an apricot tree and this was the week of harvest for it. Well, I guess we started last week and finished this week. We didn’t get to it quite soon enough and therefore lost a lot of the fruit to pesky birds. But we did get about 5 cookie sheets of apricots. So, I have frantically been trying to figure out how to use them all up because we just can’t seem to eat them fast enough. Apricots get overripe very quickly. But there is just nothing quite so yummy as a perfectly ripe homegrown apricot. Store bought apricots are never very good. So, even though dealing with the fruit can be a headache, I do love the tree and I’m glad we have it!

Here is one of the trays:

I decided to use some of them to make some apricot pie filling to freeze for the holidays. I made an apricot pie last Thanksgiving but I believe I made it out of apricots that I had frozen, not filling I had frozen. It was tasty but if I remember correctly it was a bit watery. I am hoping making the filling now and freezing it will help the texture to be a bit firmer.

Here is how I did it:

Wash all the fruit well and remove the pits.

Cut each half in half again lengthwise and place in a bowl.

Add lemon juice, sugar and quick cooking tapioca.

Stir well.

Place in pie plates, cover with foil, and freeze. Once frozen, remove from plates and vacuum seal into bags. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, wrap them well in foil and then place in freezer zipper bags. Use a straw to suck out as much air as possible before closing the bag completely.

Here is what it will look like when I go to bake it:

And hopefully it will turn out looking something like this come Thanksgiving:

You can find the recipe I used for the filling HERE on Taste of Home. I will probably top mine with a lattice crust although the crumb crust is yummy too!

BELGIAN BUTTERMILK WAFFLES with BUTTER SYRUP {Recipe}

2011-06-17T12:31:00.001-07:00

Forgive the little hiatus I’ve been taking lately. To be honest, I haven’t felt much like blogging and I’ve had a heck of a time getting any of my projects done with 4 boys constantly underfoot (my teenager isn’t around much). I have several things that are started but not completed. I am also waiting on a vinyl order to get a couple of them finished up.

But last week we had a little shower for my youngest sister who is having her second son. She just wanted it to be a get-together with her best girls. So we met at one of my other sister’s homes for breakfast and then we went to get pedicures together. It was really fun. We are going to have another get together after the baby comes when some of my other sisters will be in town. For those who don’t know, I have 6 sisters (no brothers). Five of us live here, one in Cedar City, UT and one near Dallas, TX. We all have children (soon to be 26 total) except my one sweet sister Amanda who is dealing with infertility and hoping to adopt. You can read her story by clicking on the button at the top of my sidebar.

Anyway, for breakfast we had a little bit of heaven:

I didn’t have my camera with me (I know, such an amateur) but luckily my sister was prepared with hers. I also forgot to take a picture of the actual waffle I was going to eat so I had to assemble this one for the shot. Everyone was full though so I went easy on the berries so we wouldn’t waste them and I didn’t pour syrup all over it either.

But these buttermilk Belgian waffles are sooooo good. And my sister made us something called Butter Syrup which you pour on in addition to your regular maple syrup. SERIOUSLY yummy stuff! We used fresh whipped cream, which we make by whipping cream and adding powdered sugar to sweeten. I do not add vanilla to my whipped cream because I like to taste the cream and not vanilla. I LOVE the taste of cream, like the Sweet Cream ice cream from Cold Stone…my favorite!

Here is the recipe for the waffles and syrup. Might be a good thing to serve on Father’s day!

Recipe: Buttermilk Belgian Waffles

Yield: 4 big waffles??

Ingredients:

1 ¾ c. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
½ c. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Combine dry ingredients in large bowl with a wire whisk. In bowl of electric mixer combine wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients all at once and stir to combine. Batter will be lumpy. Cook in preheated waffle iron according to iron’s directions. Top with butter syrup, maple syrup, fresh berries and whipped cream.

NOTE: My sister said that she often makes these and reduces the amount of butter to ¼ cup.

Recipe: Butter Syrup

Yield: 3 cups

Ingredients:

1 c. buttermilk
1 c butter
2 c. sugar
2 tsps. Vanilla
2 tsps. baking soda

Directions: In a large pot combine the buttermilk, butter, and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring often or continuously. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and baking soda. It will bubble up a lot so make sure you use a big pot. Serve warm over waffles, pancakes, or French toast.

MY LUCKY DAY!!

2011-06-16T07:35:00.001-07:00

My two year old woke me up before 6:00 am AGAIN! I was not too pleased. But I got out of bed to bring him out of our room and try to let my husband sleep a bit longer. I opened my computer to check my morning emails and was more than thrilled to find out I have been featured on the AMAZING

TODAY’S CREATIVE BLOG!

I have been reading Kim’s fabulous blog for a long time and it is one of the blogs that inspired me to start my own blog. The sweet and talented Kim features a new amazing blog every day and I honestly never thought she would feature mine! But today she did and I am ecstatic! Head on over and check it out and tell her hello from me!!

WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING

2011-06-14T06:50:00.001-07:00

Its been a few days since I have posted. I’ve been busy entertaining kids. Our summer schedule and summer to do list is working well. So far we have gone to the park, gone to the rec center pool, and given haircuts. I gave FIVE haircuts in an hour yesterday and two of them were done completely with scissors. I have no training in hair cutting, but with 5 sons I had to learn because I can’t stomach paying for that many haircuts every month or so. I have taken my boys to hair dressers a few times, but was always unhappy with the results and wished I had saved the money and did it myself. I am NOT a fan of cutting hair! But I think I have gotten pretty good at cutting my boys’ and husband’s hair. I cut it on the carpet in front of the TV in my bedroom. That way it is easy to vacuum up the hair!

I wanted to tell you my mailboxes still haven’t come but the chore system is working really, really well. My house is super tidy and I am loving it! The boys are working hard every morning before we play, and then at night before bed we all “sparkle the house” together, which means we whip through and put everything away. Takes us about 10 minutes.

Anyway, tomorrow is my 10 year wedding anniversary. My husband is taking me on a date tonight and my mom is keeping the kids overnight. I am excited for a night away and some time to spend with my sweetheart. I feel like I should be getting him a gift, but I have no idea what to get him. I don’t want it to be just any old thing….I want it to be something meaningful or at least something he would want to keep for a long time. I would REALLY appreciate any and all ideas you have. Mark, don’t read the comments!!

Hopefully I will be back with some more projects soon. I do have a couple in the works

FRIED RAVIOLI {Recipe}

2011-06-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot that I wanted to share this recipe with you all. I made this a few weeks ago and photographed some of the steps. This is something I make for special occasions or when I just feel like making my kids REALLY happy. They LOVE these things, and to be honest, so do I! They are super yummy!

Here are the ingredients: Ravioli (cheese), marinara (for dipping), bread crumbs (I like Italian ones), parmesan cheese, flour, and eggs. Oh and you need oil to fry them in. I use Canola Oil.

Place your ravioli in a zip top bag and dump some flour on them. Seal the bag and shake it up to coat them. Some might be stuck together but that’s ok. When you go to get them our just separate them and dip them in the flour at the bottom of the bag.

Crack a few eggs in a pie pan and place your bread crumbs and parmesan cheese an another. Use a fork to beat up your eggs. Hope they don’t sue you.

Dip your ravioli in the eggs, then throw them in the bread crumbs. I like to do four at a time.

Place coated ravioli on a baking sheet to await frying.

When you fry them make sure to use a DEEP pot and only fill it 1/3 of the way full. The oil will bubble up when you add ravioli, especially on the last few batches when it has lots of bread crumbs in it. I fry 5 or 6 at a time depending on which pot I am using. Fry them to a dark golden brown. You know they are done when one of them opens and cheese starts to ooze out. Drain them on a paper towel and then serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Recipe: Toasted Ravioli

From the Kitchen of: Emily Nelson

Yield: 16 oz.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz. pkg. cheese ravioli, fresh or thawed
2 eggs beaten
1 c. flour
1 tsp. garlic salt (optional) I didn’t use it above but it does make it yummy…I guess I forgot!
1 c. plain breadcrumbs
1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or just use Italian Breadcrumbs instead)
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
vegetable oil for frying

Directions: Mix water with eggs and beat well; set aside. Mix Italian seasoning with the breadcrumbs. Add parmesan and garlic salt. Measure flour in a bowl. Heat oil in a deep fryer or medium saucepan to 350° for deep frying. Dip ravioli in flour (or use zip top bag to coat), then egg, then bread crumbs. And carefully place in oil. Fry until golden, remove from oil and set on a paper towel to drain. You can fry a few at a time, using a slotted spoon to remove them quickly when done. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce. This is a great appetizer.