Forget Me Not Cupcake Bouquet

For Mother's Day gifts, a friend and I made Forget Me Not cupcake bouquets to go with Dieter F. Uchtdorf's Forget Me Not book.We made them today, so they were early, but our moms loved them!  The cupcakes are frosted with green buttercream, and the flowers were made with a Wilton 103 petal tip. We put half of a 6 inch round styrofoam ball in the top of a 6 inch terra cotta pot and stuck the cupcakes in with toothpicks (two per cupcake).  The holes were filled in with tissue paper. I made a little card to stick in the top and tied a bow around the pot to finish.

No Mayo Avocado Chicken Salad

YUM! I saw this on Pinterest but the link turned out to be spam, so here's my take on it.

Ingredients:

1 Can chicken breast meat

1 ripe avocado

2 tsp guacamole mix packet

cilantro

lime juice

Directions: Mix all ingredients together add cilantro and lime juice to taste. Enjoy with tortilla chips or however you like to eat chicken salad!

So easy and SO GOOD! Try mixing in any other favorite guacamole ingredients. (garlic, tomatoes, black beans, onion, corn, etc)

Flow Icing Cookies

I made these cookies for a bridal shower.  This is my first attempt at the flow icing technique.  Basically, you make royal icing in two consistencies, using the thicker icing (it acts like a dam) to outline the cookies, then filling in the center with the thinner icing.  I also used the thicker icing to write on the cookies once the thinner icing had dried. I like how it dries hard so you can stack the cookies, and it looks nicer than regular frosting.  You can do all sorts of designs while the thin frosting is still wet.  I want to experiment more with this because it was pretty fun, and the possibilities are endless.  I got the icing recipe from this website: http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/04/royal-icing-101-or-all-roads-lead-to-rome/
She has some really cute cookies!

Easter Flashback!

 

Doesn't my mom look elegant with long locks? I'm so crafty! Here's the how to for a quick, beautiful makeover:

J/K! That wasn't my crafty Easter flashback. When we were little, my mom always made us pretty, matching Easter dresses. This year I took it upon myself to make one, using this pattern!

 

I have really come to love sewing, but I'm not comfortable inventing patterns. So, as for a step by step how-to, there won't be one (that's called plagiarism). I recommend waiting until patterns are $1 at JoAnn, following all the directions, and you'll get something like this:

I also recommend ironing it  before wearing it (unlike I did in above picture). Also, gathers/ruching are tricky, especially with layered fabrics (I did a lace on a peach skin fabric) so don't be afraid of or too lazy for pinning.

 (practically-professional-looking photographs and poses compliments of husband James)

It's really so much easier than it seems to use a pattern. Don't be intimidated! To finish this little Easter piece, I crafted a necklace from some left over furniture trim, a jewelry clasp, hot glue, and some buttons and a flower.

Still not as cute as when my mom made the dresses, and none of my sisters matched me, but hopes are high for next year!

2 tasty recipes

My friend gave me this recipe for "healthy" cookies. I guess really healthy people reserve these for their treat, but I justify eating them all day long because they have so many healthy ingredients.

Mix together:
3 mashed bananas
2 cups of oats
1/2 c dried cranberries (or any dried fruit you like)
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c almond milk
1 tsp. cinnimon
bake at 350 for about 15 min.
Less healthy version ( I recommend)
add:
dark chocolate chips
a drizzle of honey in the batter
pinch of salt


I made these mini-quiches (hate that word- and you know why, so they will henceforth be called cheese-baskets)for a brunch yesterday and they were a big hit, and totes easy.

basil & goat cheese baskets


3 tablespoons of fresh basil (or pesto)
1 package of puff pastry dough
4 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
3 eggs
1/2 c. half and half (2% milk works fine)
1 T. flour
3/4 C. tomato, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Blend together eggs, cream, flour, and salt and pepper. Set aside.

cut pastry dough into squares and place them into a greased muffin tin. Bake for 5 min at the recommended temp. on the package. Take the tin out of the oven and sprinkle basil, tomato, and goat cheese into each cup.

Pour the egg mixture into each cup, filling about 3/4 of each cup. Bake for about 15 min @ 400 (keep an eye on it though, because I can't really remember how long I kept them in for).



Consider these variations:
-sun dried tomatoes instead of fresh
- zuchinni & rosemary
-cheddar & parm if you don't like the tang of goat cheese

Post your favorite quiche filling combos in the comments so I can try them!!

PS these photos were ripped off google images. They are not mine, but they look a lot like the recipes

Easy Fish Tacos

I love these tacos! The ingredients I use make them pretty healthy, and they even rival Rubios in taste! The biggest bonus is that they are SO EASY to make.
Ingredients:

Frozen Fish Fillets (I use multigrain breaded tilapia)

Shredded Cabbage

Flour Tortillas (These are the BEST whole wheat, low carb tortillas ever! They taste just like white flour tortillas. I get them at Walmart.)

Aioli (I couldn't find it in any stores out here so I used THIS recipe and like it better!)

Limes

Hot Sauce (Valentina is my favorite with these tacos)

Directions:

Bake your fish according to directions on box then split each fillet down the center.

After warming tortillas, layer on the aioli, fish, cabbage, and hot sauce. Add a squeeze of lime and any other toppings you desire! Enjoy!!!

Backyard Ambitions: Stone Bench

Our quaint little backyard is nothing but dirt and dog poop. So this Spring Break we are trying to transform it into a lovely oasis for us and our two labs. We are extending the porch using pave stones, but we were feeling ambitious and decided to first put in 2 stone benches. I'm not sure this is technically "crafty," but it was a fun DIY project so I thought I would share a quick how to:

1. Hose down the dirt in the shape and size of the desired bench making surface level.

2. Using 2x4s make a frame with an opening the size of your desired bench. Ours was 18" deep by 6' long. Then fill in frame with gravel.

3. Then pour sand ontop.

*Even though the wise man built his house upon a rock, this gravel/sand step is necessary since we are laying pave-stone in front of the benches. We want everything to be level and laying about 2 inches of gravel and sand allows some "give" room when laying the stones.

 4. Hose down and smooth out sand.

 5. For back row, lay cinder blocks 2-high (or desired height) and 4-long (or desired length.) Be Sure to level!!!

6. Hammer 2-foot rebar down center of each opening for reinforcement.

  7. Choose front/facing stones. We used relatively cheap retention wall stones from Home Depot so as to get more depth without buying twice as many cinder blocks.

 8. Stack in front of cinder blocks, 1-high and level. Then hammer more rebar between each front block for additional reinforcement.

 9. Between each row (we made ours 4-high) apply a layer of mortar about 1/4" thick covering top of facing block.

 9.b. (optional) Apply mortar between each block in each row. We ended up not liking this more finished look as much as leaving the natural cracks between each block. It's just a preference thing.

10. Fill in cinder blocks and triangular spaces between facing with cement.

11. Smooth cement.

 12. Apply 1/4" layer of mortar and position chosen capstones atop.

13. After a couple days remove wood frame and Whala! Finished!