The Paper Mama Photo Challegne

     This week's The Paper Mama photo challenge is "Happiness," so here's my picture!

Counting down....

Sweet Saturdays

TasteBook

INGREDIENTS

• INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Honey; optional

DIRECTIONS

• 1
  INSTRUCTIONS:
• 2
  Preheat oven to 375°F
• 3
  Generously grease 12 muffin cups, including the edges and around the top; set aside.
• 4
  In a medium saucepan melt butter; add milk. Bring to boiling.
• 5
  Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously.
• 6
  Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball that does not separate.
• 7
  Remove from heat; cool for 5 minutes.
• 8
  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon after each addition or until smooth.
• 9
  Divide dough evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling cups about 2/3 full; sprinkle with sugar.
• 10
  Bake about 30 minutes or until golden and puffy. remove from pan.
• 11
  Serve immediately.
• 12
  If desired, serve with honey.

  
  

  

  
  

Toy Story Birthday Party

    Last year after the release of Toy Story 3, Liam was all about Toy Story! So for his 3rd birthday we threw him a Toy Story themed party.  We invited all his friends and I went all out on the decorations and food.  I searched online for anything and everything Toy Story.  From recipes, to decoration ideas, to games, to party favors...it all had to be about Woody, Jesse, and Buzz.
     On the day of his party, he was so excited to play with his friends, to have cupcakes, and open all his presents.  I dressed him in his Toy Story shirt and some jeans, he was ready for his BIG day!  The hubby on the other hand, was a little overwhelmed with all the kiddos that arrived.  But hey, the more the merrier, right?

Here's some of he decorations before all the kiddos arrived...

   

I ordered some Toy Story balloons online that I got blown up at Albertsons, hung colored streamers everywhere, and found some Toy Story table cloths and the banner at Walmart. 

One of my friend's drew a few Toy Story pictures for me that I hung up.  The picture frames I made out of wood frames I bought at Michaels.  I used Buzz Lightyear, Jesse, and Woody as the inspiration for each frame.  Then put a picture of Liam in each and placed them on the mantel with Liam's Sparks, RC, and some toy soldiers. 

This one I painted neon green, stenciled on some yellow stars, wrote Buzz in glitter glue, 

and then at the bottom tried to copy Buzz's uniform.

The top of this one is Jesse's shirt, a simple yellow with a red curly swirl.  The bottom half is her cow hide chaps, just some white with some black brushed on and her name written in glitter glue.

Woody's frame is just red paint with yellow glitter glue stars, blue swirls, 

and his name written in glitter glue.

Look at all that food!  I made a veggie tray with Ranch dip, a fruit tray, 

PB & J cowboy boot and hat sandwiches, Slinky Dog skewers (hot dogs & biscuits), chips, 

Pizza Planet bites, chocolate cupcakes, and Alien Cupcakes.

As the kids arrived, I had Toy Story coloring pages that I turned into a coloring

 book and some crayons set to on the table to keep them occupied till everyone got there. 

Of course, being the Virgo that I am, I had planned when to eat lunch, play the games, do presents, have cupcakes.....but it all got tossed out the window!  Liam had other plans on what order he wanted his party to go, so I just went with the flow and let him choose what he wanted to do.  It was his party after all!  After greeting all his guests, we all settled in for some lunch. 

Liam was a little upset he had to wait for everyone to finish eating 

lunch before opening up his presents.

Then it was present time!  There were so many he didn't know where to start!  

After presents we all sang "Happy Birthday" to my little man and everyone enjoyed cupcakes!

This boy LOVES chocolate cupcakes!!

With all the new toys, we didn't even get to playing any of the games I had planned.  Oh well.  Instead, all the kids just played and had a great time.  When it was time for our guests to leave, I gave them a little Toy Story bag filled with some candy, stickers, toy glider, and bubbles.  

Everyone had a great time, especially Liam! 

Pots so Pretty

     Another MOPs craft meeting is upon me, so I was scouting around for some new craft ideas when my friend Kristi told me about Christine Chitnis' blog.  She made these Terracotta pots into "Pretty Pots" with fabric and little bit of Mod Podge.  So simple, I just had to try it!

Here's what you need:

Terracotta pot

Mod Podge

Fabric

Brush

Scissors

How to make them:

Cut the length of fabric that will wrap once around your pot.  

Cut slits around the top and bottom edges of the fabric, this is to avoid puckering.  Coat a small section of the pot with Mod Podge.  Stick one end of the fabric onto the Mod Podge, continue all the way around the pot, don't worry about the top and bottoms. When the pot is completely covered with fabric, brush on more Mod Podge onto the fabric to coat completely.

To do the top, stand up pot, brush some Mod Podge just inside the pot so the slits in the fabric can be folded inside like pleats.  Once all folded, brush on more Mod Podge on the folded fabric to seal.  

Do the same with the bottom of the pot.

Then time to let it dry...

Once dry, you can plant some great indoor herbs, flowers, or plants in them. Or add some packaged seeds, gloves, gardening tools, and wrap it up for a great gift!

** Avoid using these outside, so the outside elements don't ruin your masterpiece. **

These were one of the easiest crafts I've made and they turned out so cute! 

 I can't wait to show the ladies at MOPs how to make them.

Tasty Tuesdays

The Pampered Chef

Ingredients:

8 slices thick-cut bacon

6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon  brown sugar, divided

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper   

2 packages (6 ounces each) fresh baby spinach   

1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces  (Use Apple Wedger)

1/2  cup thinly sliced red onion wedges  (Try Ultimate Mandoline or Veggie Wedger)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar   

4 teaspoons  Dijon mustard 

Salt and coarsely ground black pepper   

4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut into wedges  (Try Veggie Wedger)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line Large Bar Pan with sheet of Parchment Paper. Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on bar pan. Top bacon slices evenly with 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar; sprinkle with black pepper. Bake 22-25 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon from bar pan to paper towel-lined plate and cool completely. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings from bar pan. Cut bacon into 1/2-inch pieces using Chef's Knife.
2. In Stainless (6-qt.) Mixing Bowl, combine spinach, apple and onion. Whisk remaining 4 tablespoons brown sugar, reserved bacon drippings, vinegar and mustard in Small Micro-Cooker® until well blended. Cover; microwave on HIGH 2 minutes or until bubbly. Pour over spinach mixture; toss to coat using Bamboo Spatulas. Season with salt and black pepper. Top with egg wedges and bacon pieces; serve immediately.

Mothers Of PreSchoolers Tea & Testimony

     If you haven't heard of Mothers Of PreSchoolers (MOPs), you should really check it out.  It is an amazing organization that allows mothers with young children to gather together for fellowship, discussions, guest speakers, and crafts all while their children are well looked after.  I have personally been involved with MOPs since 2009 and have loved every minute.  The first year I was in I volunteered to help out a friend with the MOPPETs program, which is the organizing of crafts, snacks, and care for the children while the mothers attend the meetings.  It was definitely a big job, but the following year I was offered the Craft Coordinator job and I totally took it!  I have so much fun coming up with new crafts for the ladies to do once a month.  That same year, I was handed the Hospitality coordinating job as well, just for a semester, while my friend left with her hubby for a TDY.  Hospitality is responsible for organizing all the chapel sponsored meals for the meetings, making sure there are enough supplies and utensils, coming up with games, and filling the hospitality basket for special events.  The very last meeting of the spring semester is known as Tea & Testimony.  It usually consists of a few speakers and sometimes one or two of the mothers who want to speak about their experiences and a chapel sponsored meal.  Well, this Tea & Testimony, since I was the acting Hospitality Coordinator, I was put in charge of all the food, drinks, decorations, favors, etc.  I was so excited about being able to "host" our last meeting.
   
     Since it was suppose to be a "Tea" and Testimony, I totally ran with the idea of it being a tea party.   Here's some of the pictures.

     For the tables....I lined up two tables length wise to make one large table and topped it with a pink table cloth.  Each setting was fit with a place mat, plate, napkin, saucer, tea cup, and spoon.  Simple, yet elegant.  Also, on each chair there was a goodie bag filled with a ceramic coffee mug, book of inspirations, tea bags, and tea cookies that everyone got to take home.

   For the table decorations, I used some colored doilies, and placed a teapot full of fresh flowers on top, on others, it was a teacup full of flowers.  I also made some pink tissue paper pom poms which I hung from the ceiling.

     As for the food, I enlisted the help of my fellow Steering Team leaders in making some of the food.  I found some amazing tea sandwich recipes online which I just had to use for this event.  I went shopping for all the ingredients and divided out the recipes with their ingredients to everyone.  On the day of the event, everyone brought their tasty sandwiches to share.

Blue Cheese & Pear Sandwiches on Sourdough Bread

Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Wheat Bread

Roast Beef & Horseradish Sandwiches on Rye Bread

Mixed Fruit Kabob and Watercress & Goat Cheese Sandwiches on Cinnamon Bread

      We also had veggie trays, fruit kabobs, pastry platters, and cookie plates.  As for the drinks, I bought an assortment of different flavored teas, lemonade, and water of course.

Chocolate Eclairs, Cream Puffs, French Macaroons, Cucumber & Proscuitto Sandwiches on White Bread

Assorted cookies

     Our last meeting turned out fabulous, everyone had a great time listening and learning from the speakers, enjoyed the food, loved the goodie bags, and most of all had a great time.  I am very thankful I got to be apart of this event.  It was a great ending to another great MOPs year.  Since, I am not running hospitality anymore, I look forward to what the new coordinator will present at our next Tea & Testimony meeting in May.  But for now, I will enjoy the last craft meeting for April I have to plan...it will be a good one!

     Here are the recipes for the tea sandwiches:

• Blue Cheese & Pear Sandwiches
• Chicken Salad Sandwiches
• Roast Beef & Horseradish Sandwiches
• Watercress & Goat Cheese Sandwiches
• Cucumber & Proscuitto Sandwiches

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge

     I'm so excited I found a new photo challenge, this one is on The Paper Mama.  Looks like a lot of fun, this week's photo challenge is "Multicolored."  So here's my picture:

Liam & his buddies

Sweet Saturdays

Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• For The Cheesecake

  • 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled, finely grated
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • Petite Marzipan Carrots

• For The Crust

  • 2 ounces (1/2 cup) toasted pecans
  • 8 graham crackers, finely ground (1 cup)
  • 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse pecans in a food processor until finely ground. Place in a medium bowl with graham crackers, and stir in butter, sugar, and salt.
2. Wrap outside and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan in 2 layers of foil. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden brown around edges and firm, about 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
3. Make the cheesecake: Melt butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add carrots and 1/2 cup sugar, and cook, stirring often, until carrots are soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer with pan juices to a bowl, and let cool.
4. Beat cream cheese and remaining cup sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add carrots and pan juices, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Pour into crust.
5. Set springform pan in a large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of springform pan. Bake cheesecake until set but slightly wobbly in center, 80 to 90 minutes.
6. Transfer springform pan to a rack, and remove foil. Let cool. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 6 hours (or overnight; cheesecake will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days). Run a hot knife around edges of cheesecake to loosen, then remove sides of pan. Decorate with marzipan carrots just before serving.