Little Snowie

We got this little snowie - he's AWESOME,
the kid's just LOVE him.
We got him out after FHE and
made us up a little summer treat!

Make Your Cupcakes PoP!

Cupcake Pops and Cupcake Bites (Video Instructions from the Martha Stewart Show)

1 13X9 baked cake (from a box cake mix or from scratch … any flavor)

1 can cream cheese frosting (or about 2 cups equivalent from scratch)

1 flower shaped cookie cutter (1.25" wide X .75" tall)

1 package chocolate bark

1 package pink candy melts or white chocolate bark

bowls for dipping

wax paper

aluminum foil

lollipop sticks

sprinkles, m&ms or something similar for top of cupcake

small plastic treat bags and ribbon to package the Cupcake Pops

candy cups and truffle boxes to individually package the Cupcake Bites

styrofoam block

1. Bake a cake from a mix or from scratch and cool completely.

2. Crumble cake into a fine consistency into a large bowl.
TIP: If the texture is too coarse, you can run it through a food processor.

3. Add can of cream cheese frosting or homemade frosting and blend together using the back of a large spoon. Blend thoroughly.

4. Roll mixture into 1.25" - 1.5" size balls and lay on wax paper covered cookie sheet. You may want to periodically rinse and dry your hands off in between.

5. Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for several hours.
TIP: You can speed this up by placing in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

6. Remove from cooler. Begin to shape into cupcakes using a small flower-shaped cookie cutter. Take the chilled ball and roll it into more of an oval and then slide into cookie cutter. Push it into cutter until about half fills the cutter and the rest sticks out of the top in the shape of a mound. Then push the shaped cupcake carefully out of the cookie cutter from the bottom. Set right side up on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Continue with remaining balls.

7. Once shaped, cover and return to freezer. (5-10 minutes)
TIP: You can leave them covered in the refrigerator overnight if you want to do the dipping on the following day.

8. While cupcake shapes are chilling, begin to heat up your chocolate bark.
Brown chocolate bark for the bottoms. Pink or white chocolate for the tops.
Follow the instructions on the package for melting. Most recommend heating for 30 second intervals at a time and stirring in between. You can also do the double boiler method.

9. When you are ready to dip, remove from freezer and set up another wax paper covered cookie sheet. Take the cupcake shaped mixture and dip bottoms into the melted chocolate - just to the point where the mounded shape starts. Remove from chocolate, turn upside down and wiggle so that the excess starts to slide down slightly. Then lay on the wax paper upside down.

10. If you want them to be lollipops, then go ahead and insert the lollipop sticks while the chocolate is still wet. Continue with rest of the cupcakes. You can also leave some without the sticks. They’re just as cute as Cupcake Bites.
TIP: Dip end of your lollipop stick in the melted chocolate before inserting into chocolate bottoms. Not sure if this helps a lot, but it couldn't hurt.
DON'T - get water in the chocolate. Make sure your hands are completely dry. Water will cause the chocolate to separate and mess up all your hard work.

11. Dry completely. (15-20 minutes) Once dry, dip the tops of the cupcakes in the pink or white chocolate. You may need to move it around a little to cover all the exposed areas.

TIP: Let the pink chocolate sit for a few minutes after heating to thicken. This will help it from dripping down the sides of the cupcake.

12. Remove from the pink/white chocolate and turn right side up. You may need to hold and rotate it if there is any excess so that it doesn’t drip down too far.
TIP: You can use a toothpick to help cover any areas the melted chocolate didn't cover.

13. For the Cupcake Bites - just turn right side up and rest on the wax paper. Then go ahead and put a m&m on the top and add sprinkles while wet.

14. For the lollipops, Continue holding and place an m&m on the top and add sprinkles. Let them dry in a styrofoam block that you have already poked holes into.

15. When completely dry, cover the lollipops with small plastic treat bags and tie with a ribbon. For the Cupcake Bites, place in a candy cup and package in small candy truffle boxes to present individually.

Makes about 50.
You can store these in an airtight container and they will last for several days. You can also store in the refrigerator if you would like them cold.
Via Bakarella

Fun Foodie Finds

Aren't these just the coolest little plates! Pop art Comic Appetizer Plates from cb2
only $2.95 each!

Frushi is what happens when you replace the “fish, seaweed and wasabi” with “fruit, sugar and yogurt”. Cantaloupe looks like pickled ginger when sliced paper thin and Blackberries look like fish roe when cored and quartered. You can filet a strawberry to look like fish (kinda). A 2-to-1 ratio of a flavored honey and apple cider vinegar makes a nice "glaze" that you can put on stuff to sweeten it up with a little something extra. Ginger Ale works to keep rice from sticking to your hands and knife. I CAN'T WAIT TO MAKE THIS FOR ROWAN'S BIRTHDAY PARTY NEXT MONTH!

This recipe will get you started:

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups water

1 cup uncooked sushi rice or other short-grain rice

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup light coconut milk

Dash of salt

Cooking spray

orange sections

fresh raspberries

1 (6-ounce) carton vanilla fat-free yogurt

Preparation
Bring water and rice to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until water is almost absorbed. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 15 minutes.Place rice in a large bowl. Add sugar, coconut milk, and salt, stirring gently until well combined. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.

Lightly coat hands with cooking spray. Divide rice mixture into 20 equal portions, shaping each into a ball (about 1 rounded tablespoon each). Lightly press each rice ball into an oval between palms; place ovals on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Top each of 10 ovals with 1 orange section, and press gently to adhere. Top each of the remaining 10 ovals with 2 raspberries. Cover and chill frushi until ready to serve. Serve with yogurt for dipping.

Makes 5 servings (serving size: 4 frushi pieces and about 2 1/2 tablespoons yogurt)
Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light.

Tuesday Tell All: Summer is Sweet

What are your favorite summertime treats?

We love watermelon

and Strawberries

and of course Popsicles
are a staple during the hot, hot Texas months
But my favorite summer treat isn't a
'treat' that you eat
It's our summer memories.

4th of July, vacation, time home with the kids, no school or homework, staying up late Late LATE, sleeping in (well, some of us), lots of swimming and playing in the sprinklers.
This year will consist of trips to Six Flags, The Circus, Movies, NRH2O, Rowan's 1st Birthday Bash and lots more. No fancy trips this year 'cause dad's in school. But lots of great activities to keep little ones busy. I remember the summer months best from when I was a kid. We'd play outside for HOURS on HOURS only coming home to refuel with drinks from the water hose. Having come from a big family (7 siblings) we didn't take fancy vacations but we would travel to Utah from Texas to visit our Grandparents most summers. I forged memories that will be with me forever from those wonderful trips. We'd play in the alfalfa fields and orchards, swing on the old tire swing across the ditch, eat root beer flavored popsicles and loads of fresh fruit. We'd stop to get cool water from the spring that trickled up from the old tree stump and celebrate July 4th & Pioneer Days with parades, rodeos, and sparklers. We'd eat picnic lunches from the tailgate of our old station wagon and play in the barn. (I always tried to stay far away from that mean black dog they had tied up there.) I could go on and on....

I can't wait for my kids to get old enough for camping trips and sleepovers and of course the illustrious trip to Disney World. Lots of memories in the making.

Does your family have a favorite summer treat....I'd love to hear about it.

Embellished Magnets

I found this great craft idea at The Little Window Shop though it's straight from Martha Stewart.

What you need to get started:
Decorative papers, such as wallpaper or wrapping paper

Paper punch (1 1/2 and 3/4 inches)

Flattened glass marbles

Sobo glue

Super glue

Magnets

Scissors

Pencil

Decorative Magnets How-To

1. Using a paper punch, cut out decorative paper rounds. Since the marbles are irregularly shaped, you may have to trim the rounds to match. You can also trace the glass marble onto the paper using a pencil and cut out the shape.
2. Using Sobo glue, affix the printed side of the paper to a glass marble. Let the glue dry, and press out any bubbles.
3. Using super glue, affix a magnet to the back of the paper. Let dry a few hours before using. Packaged in small boxes or tins, the magnets make wonderful gifts.

Super easy huh? Now go make ya some!

What I'm Wanting Wednesday

Aren't these just the coolest wall decals ever?

I found them here at an Etsy shop called Badass Custom Decals. I'm thinking the chandelier will look so good in my girl's bedroom! But, I can't decide between the other two for mine. I'm invisioning the tree with little mini framed pictures of the family hanging around it like a "family tree" ...whaddaya think?

It's My Little Sis's Birthday!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I just threw this together...hope you have a great Birthday! We'll celebrate tomorrow at our 4th of July Par-Tay!