Happy Pi Day!

Did you know there was a celebration of Pi??

For those who don't know Pi is is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 3.14159265.

So, March 14th (314) is the official Pi Day holiday.

And, of course, as with any holiday, it deserves celebration...don't you think??

Oh, by the way, hubby is a huge computer/math/science geek, and is slowly turning the five year old into another science geek (on the list for birthday #6; a mad scientist party). So, celebrating Pi Day makes sense for us. ;o)

Plus, it's a nice excuse to make (and therefor consume) fun, yummy stuff.

Like these Pie Pops.

I've seen these floating around the internet for years, and have been wanting to make them for sometime. I always thought I'd make them for Thanksgiving, but then they always get moved to the bottom of the list, after all the regular foods getting planned out.

These are really easy to make, super-duper cute and yummmmy!

The world's cutest two year old showing off how good these are to eat!



Ingredients:

Pastry dough (I just use the refrigerated stuff)
Pie Filling
Melted butter
Sanding sugar
6” Lollipop sticks
Cookie cutter
Water

Apple Pie Filling: (combine all ingredients below):
1 medium tart green apple, peeled and grated
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cold butter, grated


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat if desired.


Directions:

Cut out your shapes of choice (try to keep it 2” or under; too big and they'll slide off your stick, too small and you won't be able to put much filling in)-I used circles so they looked like little pies.

Spoon about 1-2 tsp filling to middle of shape (leave about 1/4” around edge to prevent seepage)

Add lollipop stick to middle of shape, place near top of 'pie.'

Dip your finger in water and run around edge of shape. Do the same for another shape, then place on top. Gently press around edges to seal.

Using a fork, crimp around edges, making sure to seal around lollipop stick.

Brush with butter and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Bake pies for 15-20 minutes until barely golden brown. Cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

We sprayed on some whipped cream too, and these were soo yummy!

We also had pizza pie-BBQ chicken.

Here is a super-yummy and easy recipe for BBQ chicken using your slow cooker!

Ingredients:
6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
¾ to 1 full (12 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ red onion, sliced
¼ C cilantro, torn into pieces

Directions:
Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.
Add sliced onions and cilantro to top.
Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 7 hours on Low.
Pull out chicken breasts, shred and return to slow cooker.
Continue cooking for another hour.

After it's cooked, you have so many options!

We like to make BBQ Chicken sandwiches with some ciabiatta bread and a smokey cheddar.

Or, we make BBQ Chicken quesadillas with lots of colby jack cheese.

But for Pi Day, we had to make a BBQ Chicken pizza pie.

So, this is my 'recipe' for the pizza. Ready? It's really hard. Here we go...

Ingredients:
Pizza dough (our local grocery store sells pizza dough for cheap-o, but you can make your own, of course)
BBQ Sauce (if you only used ¾ bottle of sauce for your chicken, the rest will be the perfect amount)
BBQ Chicken
Colby Jack cheese
Cilantro (optional)
Spread a think layer of sauce to crust than layer the rest of your ingredients.

Cook.
Eat.
Yum!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

“Today you are you! That is truer than true!
There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”


We love, love, love reading around here and Dr. Seuss is a favorite of all.

In fact, I read to both my kids in the womb often, and the first book I read both of them was 'Dr. Seuss' ABC.'

Both my kids have tons of Dr. Seuss books and I would say that between both kids, we read at least one Dr. Seuss book a day.

Last year, I kind of threw a quick celebration together, since finding out it was Dr. Seuss' birthday just a day earlier.
This year, I was pretty excited to be hosting a Dr Seuss playdate for my mom's group! Since, I knew I'd be planning some stuff anyway, it made it just a little less crazy that I was doing it in the name of a playdate this time. Haha!

So, I obsessed a little about activities for the kids and, of course, a fun Seuss-worthy food I could share.

I decided on having the kids make their own Cat In the Hat 'hats.'
I cut pieces of white construction paper, about two inches wide. Then I used a piece of red construction paper, and taped (double-sticky tape is THE best when doing kids crafts...no glue to deal with!) five strips per hat. The sixth strip was used as a headband, secured around the kids' heads with staples.
They turned out pretty cute, and were easy enough for the kids to make.








I also had some blank bookmarks, stickers and crayons so the kids could make their own bookmarks.
I bought a package of 12 bookmarks at Michaels for $.99, but you could easily make some yourself by cutting up some strips of cardstock. I also grabbed some adorable Dr. Seuss stickers at Michaels and put those with the stickers my mom got at Target (in the clearanced dollar section for only $.25!).





And, for the youngest of our guests, I just printed out some coloring sheets from Seussville.
I had these on a couple tables along with some crayons, so they could color away. :)

For my food contribution, I came up with the idea of 'Red Fish, Blue Fish' Jello jigglers. I was happy to find the perfect fish cookie cutter among my 'collection' (I have somewhere in the range of about 250 cookie cutters).
To make the jigglers, you have to use four boxes of each Jello (found this out the hard way when I only bought one each, and had to send my hubby back to the store...oops!) and only hot water.
Then after it sets (about four hours) you can cut it into fun shapes.
They turned out really cute, and all the kids seemed to love eating them!



We also had some other fun contributions to the snacks...

How cute are these??


And, I forgot to get a picture, but one of the moms made some yummy fruit salad with the most adorable hand-drawn picture of Truffula trees and a quote from 'Th Lorax.' So clever!


We also had lots and lots of Seuss books to read the kids. Of course, with everything else, we only got through a couple of them.



But it turned out to be a fun day, and I think we had some happy (and tired!) kiddos when it was all over!

“Today is gone, today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

Valentine's Day Fun!

Yea, I know, it's like two weeks past Valentine's Day, but my computer decided to quit on me, and all my photos were on it... Anyway, it's back, so I decided to finally get on my Valentine's post! Haha!

So, for breakfast on Valentine's Day, I presented the kiddos with their homemade pop-tarts (on new Valentine's themed plates bought especially for the day!)! They were a little confused at first (well, really just Z, since A has never had a pop-tart)...”huh, this doesn't look like a pop-tart...” But, after they tasted them, they were pretty happy (it also helped that we watched the Valentine's episode of Backyardigans while eating breakfast! I know...fancy, right??)!

After breakfast, the kids got to open their mailboxes and found a couple goodies (heart shaped Pez dispensers and heart shaped Etch A Sketches) plus Valentine's from Mom. :o)

At lunch, we cut out heart shapes from pizza dough and made our own heart shaped pizzas. I was so proud when the kids both asked if they could have 'leaves' on their pizzas (from the basil we have planted in a pot on the windowsill) too!

And, we had a surprise visit from not one, but both grandmas during lunch! The kiddos were so excited to have them here, and to give them the Valentine's they made them.

Dinner was a real treat for everyone, because I decided on brinner (breakfast for dinner), which is a favorite around here!

We had purchased a fun heart shaped pancake mold at Crate & Barrel a few days earlier, so put that to use (ooh, here's a tip on keeping your pancakes warm, if you're making a bunch; put your Crockpot on 'warm' and put your finished pancakes in there. They'll stay nice and toasty and be ready to melt your butter for as long as you need!) to make a big pile of pancakes for all.



I also made up some heart shaped individual hashbrowns (I just used a cookie cutter to kind of mold them, then slid them into my skillet from a cutting board) for everyone.




And, to drink, the kids got strawberry flavored milk!
To top it all off, we lit the "fancy" candle (as Z refers to it) to make it feel even more special.


And, of course, after dinner, the kids and I presented Colin with the homemade marshmallows. I'm not sure who was more excited about them; the kids or Dad! Haha!



So, all-in-all, it was a fun day full of lots of love (and super-duper cuteness)!

Valentine's Day Countdown: Homemade marshmallows

Even though hubby and I don't usually do much for each other on Valentine's Day, I just knew I had to make these marshmallows. Okay, well actually, the truth is that I had planned on making them for him for Christmas a year ago (so two Christmases ago) then again last Christmas, but it just didn't happen.

But, it seemed like it would make a good Valentine's gift...

Now, my hubby is a marshmallow fiend. I don't think anyone in the world loves marshmallows as much as him. And, I didn't even really think people even liked marshmallows before I met him. I mean, you use them for s'mores, maybe hot chocolate and that's it, right? But, nope, he can polish off an entire bag of Jetpuffs in one sitting.

So, I enlisted the help of my trusty assistants and got to work...

Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients:
3 packets unflavored gelatin
1 C ice water, divided
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 C corn starch
1/4 C powdered sugar

Optional:
-- Add all flavorings and colorings in the last few minutes of beating.
For Cocoa Marshmallows: add in 3-4 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. If you make cocoa marshmallows, add a spoonful or two of cocoa powder to your cornstarch mixture as well.
For Peppermint Marshmallows: add in 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
For Colored Marshmallows: add food coloring in the last few minutes of beating (think colored fruit flavored marshmallows!)

9 x 13" pan
non stick spray


Directions:
Place the contents of the gelatin packets into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add 1/2 C of the ice water.



Stir gently to combine and then set that bowl aside.

In a small saucepan combine: remaining 1/2 C water, corn syrup, granulated sugar, and salt. Stir mixture to combine and bring it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and then clip a candy thermometer onto the pan.
The sugar mixture needs to remain on a simmer and come to a temperature of 245 degrees F.
This was taking a long time for me, so I increased the temperature to more of a slow boil, which got it there much faster. Just keep a close eye on it and the temp and stir occasionally.



While you're waiting for your mixture to reach the correct temp, you'll have some time to, say, put on a fun photo shoot with your pint-sized sous chef.






After the mixture reaches 245 degrees, remove from heat.
While your mixer runs on low speed, you need to slowly pour the sugar mixture into the bowl with the gelatin.
You may want to put the mixture into something with a pour spout, to make it easier to get in your mixer.



After you add the entire sugar mixture to the gelatin turn the beater speed up to med-high. Continue to whip for 12-15 minutes, adding the vanilla in the last few minutes of beating.
*If you plan to add flavoring/color, remember to do it in the last few minutes of beating.



Take this time to prepare your pan.

Combine the cornstarch and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Spray a 9 x 13" pan with non stick spray and coat the bottom and sides with the cornstarch mixture. Tap excess out and save it.

When your marshmallows are done beating the mixture should be thick and white, kind of like jarred marshmallow cream.

Using a spatula, coated in non-stick spray, scrape bowl into your prepared pan. You may have to spread it around a little, which is why you want your spatula sprayed, to make it even.




Let the pan sit at room temp for about an hour (to form a dry layer on the top) and sprinkle a couple spoonfuls of the corn starch mixture over the top. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and let it sit overnight.

When they're ready to cut, just pull the marshmallow sheet out of the pan.

Now, it's time to cut (this is a great project for the kiddos!)!
You can use cookie cutters to make fun shapes (we did hearts!) or just use your pizza cutter to cut into bite size squares. Make sure to coat your cutting implement frequently with the cornstarch mixture, because this stuff gets pretty sticky!







And, now for the fun part! You can, of course just start digging in or even prepare a nice mug of hot chocolate to plop them in. If you're giving them for gift you can prepare your packaging. We simply put ours in a cellophane bag tied with a handmade note for the hubby. You could really have fun with it, even coating them in chocolate...or how about putting them with a graham cracker and dipping the whole thing in chocolate! Yumm!

We presented them to my hubby tonight and he loved them! I had saved a few out, and we used those to put in hot chocolate (we added peppermint to ours, so they added a nice extra touch to the hot chocolate) and they were delicious!



So, I know Valentine's Day is officially over, but that shouldn't stop you from making this for the next holiday, birthday or just random Thursday (trust me, that are that good!)

And, if you do make some, link back to me, so we can see what you came up with! :)

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Valentine's Day Countdown: Yarn Hearts

Since Z isn't in school yet, we don't have to give out many Valentines. It's pretty much just grandparents and aunts and uncles at this point.

For the last couple years, we have been trying to come up with some unique and creative Valentine's ideas. :)

Last year, you may remember, we made pinwheels. Z and I had SO much fun making these and they seemed to be quite popular among our recipients, as well.

This year, we decided to make something I saw in the Family Fun magazine; Yarn hearts.


Supplies:
¼ C corn starch
¼ C water
*Yarn, cut into foot long pieces (you can use varied colors or just one color)
Heart shaped cookie cutter(s) (I used a couple different sizes)
*I don't have a specific measurement of yarn, because it's really up to you how much yarn you use for each heart, how big you want your hearts or if you use more than one color. I just cut up a bunch, and stored the leftover yarn pieces for the next project. :)

Of course, you must have a super-cute and highly enthusiastic assistant. Sorry, but this one's taken! :)




Directions:
Combine cornstarch and water in a small saucepan and stir until smooth
Heat mixture over medium heat, until it's thick and translucent
Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to the touch

Place cookie cutter on parchment paper (I used my trusty Silpat).
Push piece of yarn into the glue to coat it, then run between your finger and thumb to remove excess glue (this job is great for the kids!)




Lay yarn inside the cookie cutter




Repeat process until the cookie cutter is filled (thin layer)
With clean hands, press the yarn flat (make sure to hold your cookie cutter in place while you're doing this; again great job for the kiddos!)
Remove cookie cutter and allow yarn to dry, at least a day. Or, if you're impatient like me; put them into the oven on 'warm' or lowest temperature and 'bake' for an hour or two.

Like I said, we're going to be using these for Valentine's (we haven't finished the rest of our project yet, so stay tuned!), but there are a lot of other ways you can use them...

This is about as simple as it gets...just set next to a picture frame!


Put them all in a fun bowl or container for display!


Glue a magnet to the back, and put it on the fridge!


Or, my favorite; put it on display in it's own picture frame! Cute, right? :)


And, that's it! This is a pretty simple little project and perfect for kids. I know my little guy gets so much satisfaction out of creating things, especially if he gets to then give them as gifts!

Valentine's Day Countdown: Tulle Wreath

So, I know these have been all over webland recently, but maybe, just maybe, there's one person out there who hasn't seen these yet.

I decided to make a Valentines wreath, because tulle (which I loo-huuv, by the way!) just seems so pretty, and romantic and perfect for Valentine's day!

Most of these wreaths I had seen just used the one color of tulle, but then I saw this one at one of my favorite blogs, Flamingo Toes, and (even though it was a Halloween wreath) just knew I had to make a pretty multi-colored one for V Day.

You will need:
Wreath form-I bought mine at Dollar Tree (was hoping for the foam kind, but they only had these tacky wicker ones...thank goodness I was covering it!)
Tulle-About five yards each color for a regular sized wreath (Luckily for me, my Wal-Mart is eliminating their fabric department, so I scored the tulle for 50% off...wa-hoo! )
Ribbon for hanging wreath

Optional:
Heart shape to hang inside or glue to outside of wreath (I kind of threw mine together and just grabbed some leftover scrapbook paper, glued it onto the back of a piece of cardboard and added some chipboard letters)
Letters for message inside heart (Cricut, chipboard, foam, etc)

Directions:
Cut your tulle into 10” pieces
*And, here is my disclaimer: cut all your tulle at once. I happen to have little patience and was getting bored cutting tulle, so ditched it and went to work tying it on. Then I had to go back and cut more tulle. It was annoying and extra time-consuming, so try to put aside your ADD and just do it all at once. ;o)
Tie end of tulle onto wreath form, using a square double knot.
Make sure to periodically squish the ends together, so you won't see the wreath showing through.
Tie ribbon to top of wreath for hanging and attach your heart to inside of wreath.
*I realize didn't take pictures of the process, because I made this very spur-of-the-moment while the hubby and I were watching our nightly (the kids have finally gone to sleep!) TV. But, trust me; it really is simple, simple to put together!

That's it! It's super-duper easy and makes a really pretty decoration for your front door, entry way, fridge, etc. Of course, you can make this to suit any holiday/season or you could just make a new one for every occasion! ;o)

Valentine's Day Countdown: Homemade Pop-Tarts

While I'm not too big on Valentine's Day, my kids love it. To be honest, they love any semblance of a holiday, because around here that usually means crafts, cookies, decorations, etc to go along with said holiday. And, of course, Valentine's Day is no different. So, I've given in, jumped on the bandwagon and, well, here I am...

I thought I'd share some of the Valentine's fun we've been working on, and will post a Valentine's related craft, recipe every day until the big day. :o) So, here's my first one...

I first saw a recipe for homemade Pop Tarts a few months ago. Homemade Pop Tarts?? Umm...yes, please! Like everyone else on the planet, I love Pop Tarts (c'mon, admit it...you know you do too)! In fact, during my days in the college dorms, I lived on Pop Tarts, Ramen noodles and Dr Pepper and when Colin and I were poor college students living on our own, Pop Tarts were a staple in our apartment. There was a short period of time we had them in the house for Colin (who still loves them and gets away with eating them since he cycles 10 miles to and from work each day), but once Z started asking for them, I had to ban them from the house.

Once I saw I could make my own, much healthier versions, I jumped on the chance!

And, I thought what a perfect Valentine's breakfast they would make, cut out into heart shapes.

Homemade Pop-Tarts
Source: Macaroni and Cheesecake, King Arthur Flour
Yield: 9 pop-tarts or about 6 heart-shaped pop-tarts (I used a medium sized cookie cutter)

For the pastry crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
*I cheated and bought the Pillsbury pie dough from he grocery store. It seems like this might yield a smaller batch of pop-tarts than the homemade pastry dough, so just keep that in mind.

Filling Options:
Strawberry jam
Chocolate Chips
Nutella
Cinnamon/brown sugar

For the Strawberry jam filling:
¾ cup strawberry jam
*Here's where you can make it much healthier! Use your favorite sugar-free jam or your own homemade (sugar-free) jam like I did!
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water




For the Cinnamon Filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling

Optional Glaze
½ Cup powdered sugar
1Tbl butter
1-2 tsp milk (less if using cream)
*You can add 1tsp unsweetened cocoa powder to glaze the chocolate pop-tarts or 1tsp cinnamon for cinnamon/sugar pop-tarts.


For Assembly:
1 egg, lightly beaten (to brush on pastry)
powdered sugar or flour for rolling out dough

Directions:

Strawberry Filling:
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch & water. In a small saucepan, add strawberry jam & the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil & then simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & allow to cool.

Cinnamon Filling:
Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

Glaze:
Heat in small saucepan and whisk until smooth (or heat for about 1 min in microwave).

For the Crust:
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt & sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dough until the mixture resembles coarse meal & the butter is the size of peas. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg & milk. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture & mix together with a fork until dough is evenly moistened. Knead briefly until dough comes together.

To Assemble:
Cut the dough in half. (To make the dough ahead, you can wrap each section of dough & refrigerate for up to 2 days, allowing dough to come to room temp. before rolling). Sprinkle powdered sugar on your rolling surface & then roll out one piece of dough to 1/8 inch thick, into roughly a 9 1/2 x 12 1/2 rectangle (my dough rolled out to a little less than this and it yielded the same amount of tarts). Trim the edges to get straight lines all around. Cut the dough into either 9 evenly sized rectangles or into shapes with cookie cutters. Using a straight spatula, transfer dough rectangles to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush the beaten egg lightly onto each of the pop-tarts.
Spoon a small amount of strawberry or brown sugar/cinnamon filling onto each (1 tsp to 1 tbsp. depending on your size). If adding chocolate chips, use about 1 tsp added to middle of pastry.
*Be sure to leave a 1/2 inch of space around the edges and do NOT overfill these as they will be messy!



Roll out the remaining piece of dough as you did the first, cutting into the same amount of pieces. Top each prepared piece of dough with another. If you are cutting out shapes, you will have leftover dough. Just keep rolling these out, so you can cut out more shapes (I ended up with a couple smaller hearts, just so that the dough wasn't wasted).
Press the seams of the dough with your fingers to seal. Press a fork around the edges of each rectangle, then prick the tops so that air can escape. Very lightly brush the tops with beaten egg.




Place the pan of tarts in the refrigerator uncovered for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Cool slightly.
Brush or drizzle glaze on and add sprinkles, colored sugar, etc.
These are best served warm, so if you make them ahead of time reheat them in a 200 degree oven for approximately 5 minutes until warm. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.







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