Butter Spread

I am not a big fan of Margarine- I have never used it. I like real butter, but it does have a lot of calories.  A few months ago I found an article on making this butter spread- I can't find where I found it, so if it is yours- please let me know- I want to give credit to the right person.  I believe the recipe came from a Dr. as a substitute for margarine. 

Here's how to make it. Whip 1 C. of butter until smooth & creamy Then slowly add 1/2 C. of a healthy oil- like olive or grapeseed oil a little bit at a time & continue to mix with hand mixer.
Then slowly add 1/2 C. water a little at a time as you continue to mix-- whip it until it becomes very smooth. 

Then put it in a container with a lid and keep in the refridgerator.  Use it as you would butter- and here's a tip, if you use a dry erase marker you can write on the container, so you know what's inside.  It wipes right off!  This is the first time I have made this, so I'll let you know in a couple of weeks what I think.  I can tell you right now it DOESN'T taste like butter!!  LOL I will try to get used to it-- Why is it that healthy usually doesn't taste as good?  :)

Homemade Pizza Dough

Pizza Dough... made with 2 ingredients.  Yes really it is that easy.

Click the magic button for the recipe!!



Lego Party

It was Beckhams Birthday this last week, and he wanted a lego party!!   So here 's what we threw together .....

We made the utinsel holder and the cake plate out of legos!

We made chocolate lego blocks & lego guys for the cupcakes!!

and of course chocolate dipped lego heads.

I just wrapped mini chocolate candy bars with paper & made them look like lego blocks by dipping a pencil eraser into paint to make the dots!!  Very simple and fun!  And we had his favorite dinner.... sloppy joes.  He was happy and that's all that mattered!

This is the mold that we used..

Tomatoes, Basil & Mozzarella Pearls

I know it's Tip Tuesday and we usually have a tip for you.  But I really wanted to share this little bit of HEAVEN we have been eating at our house.  So how about I give you a great tip on how to use all those tomatoes in your garden---  



A few years ago my friend LuAnn (who is a GREAT cook) brought this to my house for a party we were having-- and I have been hooked on it ever since.  In a bowl mix together cherry tomatoes- cut in half, mozzarella pearls I also cut these in half- and a few basil leaves chopped up. Add a bit of fresh ground pepper and drizzle a little bit of newmans balsamic vinaigrette, stir together and combine all those yummy flavors. 

Then you can serve it several different ways, but my favorite is to put it on this artistian bread. I have found it at Harmons-- this one is called Crostini's it is a hard bread & has a bit of garlic in it.

when you put them together-- it is a bit on HEAVEN in your mouth!!  We had it for dinner tonight-- I could eat it every day-- really it is that good.  Ahh look how lovely that looks!  If you try it let me know what you think.  Enjoy

Dresser Redo

I have been wanting to get a new dresser for my little boys room. My mother has been getting furniture at the local thrift store and re-painting it and it looks AMAZING!!! We go to the thrift store once a week to see if they have any decent furniture. Well one visit I found this great dresser.  On the top of the dresser it had some swear words carved on the top and I was a little worried. My mother told me that we could fill them in and you would be able to tell. It was also missing some of the knobs on the dresser plus the ones that were on their weren't so cute. So I decided to get it. I was so excited because it was going to turn out so cute.

First we sanded it down, and then primed it. You don't have to do a thick coat of primer. After the primer dried I painted it with my favorite paint by General Finishes Milk Paint. The color that I choose is called Brick Red.  This paint is AMAZING!!! You need a good paint when painting your furniture. It really makes a big difference.

I put two coats of the brick red on the dresser. After the paint dried, I applied General Finishes Polyacrylic Water Based Top Coat that is a Semi Gloss. I did two coats all over the dresser and an extra (which would be third coat) on the top of the dresser. People put things on top of dressers so buy protecting it with a extra coat on top, you don't have to worry as much.

After everything was dry I added my cute knobs and it looks AMAZING!!! I did have some before pictures and pictures of the process of painting on my moms camera, but she accidentally erased them. So all I have is the after pictures.

If you have any questions leave a comment below.

French Fries

Lately I have been trying to come up with some really easy dinners that I can freeze. I wanted to make some before we get busy with school starting. My kids love homemade french fries and I found out how you can freeze them.

Items that you will need
5-8 pounds of potatoes (you can do more if you like)
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Oil (vegetable, canola, oil, etc)
French Fry Crinkle Cutter (optional)

First off,  I preheated my oven to 475 degrees. I washed and scrubbed the potatoes, then I peeled them.

Cut the fries in 1/2 inch to 1 inch fries. After all potatoes are cut, place them in a bowl and add salt, pepper, any type of oil, and a tiny bit of sugar. By tossing the potatoes in this mixture, it will give your fries a great crispy to them.

Place the fries on baking sheets and cook them for 25 minutes on 475 degrees. When your fries are done, let them cool on a paper towel.

Once, the fries are cooled place on a baking sheet or something that will fit in your freezer and let them freeze for about an hour until hard. Place them in a gallon zip lock bag, label them to cook for 20-40 minutes on 450 degrees. The amount of time depends on how thick your fries are. My family loves these fries and I hope you enjoy them too!!!

Hot Fudge Sauce

Ohhhh how can you resist Hot Fudge?  I can't, and this one is so easy to make... it might be a problem, because you can whip it up in minutes... and eat it everyday!

Click the magic button for the recipe

It's as easy as one.....

Two........

Three!!!

then drizzle on ice-cream...  or just eat it by the spoonfulls!!  ENJOY!

Freezer Corn

I love HARVEST time... after planting the garden, watering, weeding, & weeding.... comes the harvest!!  But along with the YUMMY produce to eat- comes the WORK!   Freezing corn can be quite the process. 

When I was first married I did it like my Mother had taught me..... husking, washing, blanching in a pot of boiling water, putting it into a sink of ice water, cutting it off of the HOT ears, bagging & freezing!  Whew..

Then I started doing it a much easier way.... and I have been doing it like this for 30 years.

First you need fresh corn!!

then cut each ear of corn at both ends like this... it makes it easier to peel the husks off.  This is a great job for the kids to do.

Now this is the TIP of the day.... cut the kernals of corn off  BEFORE blanching it. I know this picture looks a little dangerous, but when you are taking a picture of yourself cutting corn off you have to stage it. I held the cob upright, stuck the knife in the cob & took the picture with the other hand.  Making it look like I was about to cut my thumb off. LOL  I just wanted you to be able to see I cut it with a knife

because the corn isn't cooked it can be a little messy when you cut it off, so if you cut the bottom inch off on a cutting board first

then put the cob inside the bowl you are using it falls into the bowl = less mess to clean up.  I use the large tupperware bowl and it's perfect.  After you have cut the corn off of the cobs- measure the corn into your bowl (I use the tupperware bowl again)  Usually 1 dozen ears will give you about 11 cups of corn.  Pour 1/2 cup water into the bowl of corn & put it in the microwave.  Cook it 1 minute per cup/  So if you have 11 cups cook 11 minutes.

then bag up the blanched corn into bags and freeze.  I have a food saver, so I put 2 cups per bag and seal them.  But before I had a foodsaver I just put the corn into Ziplock freezer bags and flattened them so they stacked into the freezer better.   If you have never froze corn before.... you have NO idea how much easier this is!!  I will never go back to the old way of doing it.  So there is your Tip for Tuesday!!

Back to School Playday!!

We had our Back To School Party yesterday.... oh what fun it was.

Some of the tags I used are from http://amandaparkerandfamily.blogspot.com/

and some are clip art I bought at the store... they have all kinds of things out there all ready printed for you.



We had lunch



and treat boxes- I took take-out boxes and added some embellishments, wrote their names on them & stuffed them with treats and school supplies. Tag from paperglitter.com





cheese & crackers snacks--

more treats... fruit snacks.  We don't get these alot, so they are really a treat!! 

Apple sandwiches... just spread peanut butter in between 2 apple slices

Always a FAVORITE!!!

and of course... milk jugs of MILK with striped straws & topped with chocolate striped cookies.

I hadn't had alphabet soup forever...... the  boys had fun finding letters

Enjoying the FOOD & FUN!!!!



This little guy was so excited to show us where he put his worm..... hahaha he liked the  pin the worm on the apple game!!


And lots of "kisses" to take home..... made with the printables from www.laurenmckinsey.com  Fun day with those little boys.... I can't believe summer is almost over.



The Best Sugar Scrub

I went to a Favorites party last night with some of my FAVORITE people, and I am wishing I had taken pictures to share with you of all their favorite things!! Next time I will.  I took some of this Gardners Hand Scrub that I found at onegoodthingbyjillee.com 

 it's so simple, 2 ingredients but oh my I LOVE it.
All you need is sugar and Dawn dishsoap- the new hand renewal ones that have olay in them.  There are 3 or 4 different ones.  Just fill a jar with sugar I filled them 2/3 full and then squeeze in some dawn- stir & add a little bit more sugar until it looks good... not too runny. That's it

I poured it into some FAVORITE jars I had made, tied a spoon & cute bow on it and it was done!  I attached a recipe card onto the bottle of Dawn Soap too so they can make more.   If you would like a copie of the recipe leave me a comment & your email and I will send it your way!  Just rub a little bit of the scrub onto dry hands & feet- scrub it into your skin & wash it off--- your hands will be so clean you'll LOVE it too!  Thanks Jillee!! :)

How to Crack an Egg...

I have been baking some breads for an event I'm helping with-- and it reminded me of a little secret I've learned about cracking eggs.  How many times have you cracked an egg to put into a recipe & the shell goes in too?  Well this little trick works every time-- no more fishing shells out of the bowl. 

If you crack your egg on a flat surface like your counter top, instead of on the edge of a bowl- you will create a clean break.  No shells- because they stick to the membrane instead of falling into the bowl.  I know it sounds complicated, but it really works.  So the next time you crack an egg try it you will be amazed.