Friday Friendzy: Cream Beef on Toast

First off, wasn’t the Royal Wedding absolutely amazing? Catherine looked beautiful in her gown. And I love how Prince William told her she looked beautiful when she reached him and he saw her for the first time. It all felt so much like a movie. What a great piece of history!

Now for today’s recipe. You know that dish your mom made about every other week if not every week all the while you were growing up? Cream Beef on Toast was my mom’s dish, and oh did we love it. My siblings and those friends and family who ever stayed the night at my house when we were kids are saying to themselves right now, “Indeed. Good times at the O’Connor’s.” This dish was quick and easy to put together and worked out great when we had people over. And all the kids loved it as much as we did. I started making this for my husband soon after we got married and he loves it too. I bounce right back to childhood memories whenever we have Cream Beef on Toast for dinner. I’m taken back to the good old days on Michelle St. where I grew up, where life seemed so much simpler. Dad is buttering toast and Mom’s making the gravy. It makes me smile just thinking about it! Ah, the memories.

So my dear mom is the featured friend for this week’s Friday Friendzy. And she’s pretty much the best! Now it’s time to pass on the goodness of this recipe. My guess is that there are those of you out there who have had something similar in your day and totally understand what I mean. Then there are others who are thinking, “Wow, that looks gross.” No doubt, it looks a little strange. But believe me when I say it’s worth a try! We love it. And if it doesn’t turn into a family favorite, you know that we’re emotionally attached to it over here. Ok, maybe not emotionally. But pretty darn close!

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 slices of bread per person (depending on how many pieces everyone wants)
• butter for the toast
• ground beef (1/2 lb. to 1 lb. or more depending on how many you are feeding)
• flour
• milk

Directions

Get the beef browning in a sauté pan. When the meat is cooked, drain the grease.

After the meat is cooked, set it aside and start toasting the bread. Get it all nice and buttered after it’s toasted.

Next tear up one or two pieces of toast into little pieces onto a dinner plate.

Now it’s time to get back to the beef. Add the flour by the spoonful and sprinkle it over the meat. Sprinkle as much flour needed to cover up most of the meat.

Now it’s time to add milk. Pour the milk in till it fills about a 1/2 inch from the bottom. Stir everything together and let it boil. Then turn off the heat to allow it to thicken.

If you feel like the gravy is too thick you can add a little more milk. You will want it a bit liquidy but not so much that it still looks like milk. After you find the desired consistency of the gravy pour about 3/4 c. over the toast, or the amount that looks good to you. Enjoy!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe has been floating around the recipe blogosphere for eons. I was first introduced to this delicious feast by my sister-in-law, who also happened to post the recipe on her blog awhile back. I ended up forgetting to try it and finally came across it again on Sister’s Café. I wouldn’t have thought to try it if my SIL hadn’t tried it first and recommended it, so thanks, Brit! These are really easy to make and super good. Definitely worth it!

Ingredients (makes 8 to 10 enchiladas)

• 1/3 c. honey
• 1/4 c. lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded (I bought a rotisserie chicken again and used that. Easy and delicious!)
• 8 to 10 medium flour tortillas
• 1 lb. Monterey jack cheese, shredded (I couldn’t find any pre-shredded Monterey jack so I used Colby jack in the bags at Walmart.)
• 2 (10 oz.) cans green enchilada sauce
• 1/2 c. heavy cream (I used milk instead and it worked great. I used about 1/3 c. instead of 1/2 so it wasn’t so liquidy.)

Directions

1. Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder, and garlic together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes. I tossed everything together in a Ziploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for about six hours. As long as you give it time to marry together it will be great. (Want to know a tip? Before measuring the honey, spray the measuring cup with cooking spray. It will come out MUCH easier.)

2. Spray a 9x13 baking dish and a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of each dish to create a thin layer on the bottom. Fill the flour tortillas with the chicken mixture and some of the cheese, saving about 1 cup of the cheese to sprinkle on top of the enchiladas.

3. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with cream or milk and with the leftover marinade. Pour the sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.

4. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown and crispy on top. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and/or rice and beans.

Peach-Strawberry-Banana Smoothies

I hope everybody had a wonderful Easter weekend! We were so lucky to have had such nice weather. Both Saturday and Sunday here were sunny and perfect. We took our little guy, Brycen, to an Easter egg hunt at a local park on Saturday (his first egg hunt-so exciting!) and yesterday we had an egg hunt at my husband’s parents’ house. It was so fun! We woke up this morning to a rainy, dreary morning so we barely missed it. I consider that a blessing. We mowed our lawn on Saturday and did other yard work so this rain has greened our lawn right up. I feel like a normal spring is finally here!

Waking up to the rain was kind of nice. I love the rain in April. But to add to the dreariness of the rain my two boys and I woke up with stuffy noses and the sniffles. Another thing I’m grateful that we barely missed this weekend! It seems like a great day for a smoothie for breakfast. We have smoothies at our house for breakfast just about every other day, thanks to my March issue of Food Network Magazine. Inside each issue was a little book of 50 different smoothies. We’ve tried probably six of them so far, and this one is our favorite. We use frozen strawberries and peaches, and I end up just freezing our bananas that we didn’t get eaten fast enough. But now that summer is approaching, we will be able to start making smoothies with fresher fruit. That thought excites me!

Ingredients (makes 2 servings)

• 1 c. fresh or frozen peaches
• 1 c. fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 c. plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 c. ice
• 1/2 banana
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. sugar to taste
• a splash of orange juice (We added this. Optional but delicious!)

Directions

Throw everything in the blender and blend it all together! I recommend putting the ice in first, then the yogurt, then all the fruit. Taste what you have then decide how much sugar you want to add, if any at all.

PS - I forgot to mention on Friday that we found out last week we’re getting a nephew! My brother and his wife are having a boy-their first baby and my parents’ second grandchild and second grandson. We are all really excited!

Easter Carrot Napkin Bundles

Now that you’ve figured out what you’re making for Easter dinner and dessert, you’re just missing carrot napkins. These are classic and another fun thing for the kids to help make. I haven’t made these yet so the girls at Our Best Bites have done all the work for me. And now I’m sharing!

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter full of family and fun. And I hope you were able to find an idea or two this week for your Easter meal! See you on Monday!

Here’s All You Need:

• orange napkins (the large ones)
• green plastic cutlery (Party supply stores have cutlery in all sorts of colors.)
• ties (You can use ribbon, twine, pipe cleaner, twist ties, etc.)

Directions

I’m going to tell you the steps, but if you want to see images along with the steps to make sure you’re doing it right click here.

1. Open your napkin and lay it flat on the table with the fold open at the top.
2. Take the bottom right hand corner and fold it up to the middle of the napkin.
3. Place your cutlery on the opposite side.
4. Start rolling from the left hand side and roll the cutlery right up to the middle.
5. Then grab the other side of the triangle and roll in the rest of the way around so you have a nice little carrot shaped bundle.
6. Tie it near the top of the napkin with choice of tie. You can lay them together in a basket and it will add to all the fun Easter décor! You can also tie name cards on the ties.

Ice Cream Cone Easter Baskets

Easter is fast approaching! These Ice Cream Cone Easter Baskets are sure to be a hit with the little ones, and a bright and colorful touch to your table décor. Let’s face it. These would be fun for the adults to make, too! These little treats come from Good Housekeeping.
What You’ll Need:

• standard ice cream cones
• different colors of jelly beans, m&m’s, or other Easter candies (If it were me making these, I’d mix a whole bunch of different candies together!)
• licorice sticks (The ones above are apple flavored but you can use whatever you’d like.)

To Make Them:

1. Fill ice cream cones with jelly beans.
2. With a  small knife, cut two holes into the sides of each cone. Tuck either end of a licorice stick into the holes to look like the handle. Easy breezy and the kids will love them!

{Copycat Recipe} Applebee’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Around this area there is a side dish that deems pretty popular for Easter dinner. They’re called Funeral Potatoes. They’re pretty popular at LDS dinners in general and not necessarily used primarily for funerals. They originated in Utah and they really are delish. You can find a good recipe here, but I’m willing to bet that most of you already have a recipe! 

While I love funeral potatoes and they really do work well with Easter dinner, wouldn’t it be yummy to try something new and different? I love the Garlic Mashed Potatoes served at Applebee’s. I am so grateful for the person who came up with these heavenly potatoes I regularly order at my neighborhood Applebee’s. And even more grateful for the person who came up with a copycat recipe so I can make them at home! That’s all I need to say about these wonderful and oh so tasty spuds. They could be a nice change on dinner tables everywhere this Easter.

This recipe comes to us from food.com.

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 2 lb. red potatoes (Idaho potatoes, of course)
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 c. garlic (whole cloves)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place a single layer of garlic cloves (as they are) on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap tightly.
2. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until soft. (I would trust the 45 minute time. Who wants to be reaching into a 400 degree oven to try and see if the garlic is soft?)
3. Unwrap the garlic and let it cool till you can touch it without hurting yourself. Peel the cloves and set aside.
4. Wash and rinse the potatoes under cold water. You can peel them if you want to but it’s not necessary. In a large pot bring the potatoes to a boil and allow them to cook for 20 minutes. (You can do this while the garlic is roasting or cooling to save time.)
5. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the water and potatoes into a colander to drain the water.
6. In a pan or bowl combine potatoes, peeled and roasted garlic cloves, and all other ingredients and mash with a potato masher. Keep warm to serve.

Want to do something different with all those Easter leftovers this year? Click here for a whole bunch of great ideas for soups, casseroles, kabobs, and more to liven up those leftovers. Yes, I said kabobs. The possibilities are endless!

Crispy Easter Nests

This week it’s going to get all sorts of crazy up in here. By that I mean that there will be recipes coming out the walls. The reason is that it’s the week of Easter and I’ve hardly posted recipes for Easter treats and dinner ideas. I promised myself I wouldn’t slack so bad after I failed miserably with the Super Bowl and the men’s college basketball tournament. I even had some good ideas for both of those. So here come a boat load of Easter ideas!
First off, these delicious, crunchy, and oh so adorable little nests. These little guys pretty much have it all: fun for the kids to help make, a great dessert idea, a great treat idea, fun to eat, delicious…They’ve got it goin’ on. These little nests are sure to get some oohs and ahs from the crowd.
This recipe comes from myrecipes.com.
What You’ll Need (for 8 nests)

• 1 (14 oz.) bag sweetened coconut
• green food dye
• 1 (7.5 oz.) jar Marshmallow Fluff
• 3 c. Rice Krispies cereal
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips
• 24 Jordan almonds, almond M&M’s, peanut M&M’s, Robin Eggs, jelly beans, etc.
• 8 standard cupcake liners

Directions

1. Pour all the coconut in a bowl. Use a toothpick to apply and stir in a few drops of green food dye. Let it dry.
2. Melt the Marshmallow Fluff in a sauce pan over medium-low heat, stirring, until soft and pliable. Stir in the Rice Krispies then add the chocolate chips. Stir together and remove from heat.
3. Arrange the cupcake liners on the counter. Gather a small amount of cereal mixture in your hands and shape to fit into a cupcake liner, filling it up about 2/3 full. Wetting your hands will make this much easier. Add more cereal to make a rim around the top. Repeat the process for the other seven nests.
4. Allow them to cool completely before continuing. Then fill each nest with a bit of coconut and three pieces of Jordan almonds, peanut M&M’s, or whatever candy you choose.

{Lighten Up!} Spinach Lasagna Rolls

I love it when I can find a low calorie dish that isn’t normally listed in the “healthy” category. And even better when the meal tastes SO good! This recipe for Spinach Lasagna Rolls comes from Gina at Skinny Taste. Her recipe blog is perfect if you’re looking for healthy meals for your family. This recipe is a great way to get the kiddos to eat spinach, too.

Each roll has 224 calories and 6 Weight Watchers points. I got lazy and used a cup of shredded rotisserie chicken instead of a diced chicken breast so the calorie count is a bit higher.

Ingredients (makes 9 rolls)

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
• 1 (15 oz) container fat free ricotta cheese
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasonings
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
• 32 oz. spaghetti sauce
• 9 Tbsp. part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, Italian seasonings, chicken, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Make sure the spinach is completely drained. Pour about 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out the lasagna noodles. Make sure they are dry by patting them with a paper towel. Take 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly over a noodle.

Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 Tbsp. of mozzarella cheese. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the cheese melts. To serve, ladle sauce onto a plate and top with a lasagna roll.

{Friday Friendzy} Banana Bars

When it comes to new recipes, I love it when I’m pleasantly surprised. Two weeks ago I was introduced to Mini Cadbury Egg Cookies by Chelsea from  Cedar City, Utah (thanks again, Chesea!), and last week Jeanelle from Boise, Idaho, gave me an awesome tip for Banana Bars. In both of these cases I had never heard of these yummy treats. And boy am I glad to have been introduced to both! Jeanelle’s recipe for Banana Bars is this week’s Friday Friendzy. And what a good friend she is for sharing! My husband and I are huge fans of these already and just barely tried them for the first time this week. I can’t believe how moist and delicious they are. And the frosting…well, how about I share the recipe, you make them, and I’ll let you be the judge!

Ingredients – Bars

• 1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

Ingredients – Frosting

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 to 4 c. powdered sugar

Directions

1. First, make the bars: In a mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir in the bananas.
3. Spread into a greased jelly roll pan (15-in.x10-in.x1-in.) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting them.
4. For the frosting: In a mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together. Gradually beat in enough powdered sugar till the desired consistency and taste is reached. Frost the bars and store in the fridge.

{First Birthday} Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Party

For my son Brycen’s first birthday we decided to go with the theme of one of his favorite shows: “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” on Disney Junior. I wanted to have a theme, but seeing that he was only turning one I didn’t want to go  too overboard. So here’s what we did:

 I made this invitation in Photoshop. The pants and buttons are drawn on. We had the party at “Brycen’s Clubhouse” (Brycen’s house) and invited our immediate family. We fed all the party guests “hot diggity dogs” (hotdogs) and had a few people bring a few different salads. For dessert we enjoyed homemade Mickey Mouse cupcakes. It worked really well!

{The dining room}

A Quick Tip:

• A quick and easy way to get more of your theme in the room without going crazy is balloons. I bought one large Mickey balloon and some colors in the show to make that bouquet seen above. I did more balloons on the other side of the room. Balloons on the floor are another good way to decorate, especially when little kids are invited to the party. They’re a big hit!

{Close-up of the party table}

• Bright table cloths add color and a lot of good contrast for an easy and fun look to your décor.
• We already had a stuffed Mickey Mouse so he was an easy decoration!
• I put a picture of the birthday boy on this table. His bright smiling face lit up this table even more.
• Those little boxes are the “Mouseke-Tool” boxes for the kids coming to the party.
• The dessert tower is holding two dozen homemade Mickey Mouse cupcakes. It’s amazing what a little crushed up Oreo and a couple of vanilla wafers can do!
• Below the dessert stand sits a pile of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” coloring pages and Crayola crayons.
• And can’t forget a “Happy Birthday” sign and Mickey Mouse ears for the birthday boy!

The Breakdown:

{image via bestof.longislandpress.com}

Sam’s Club (and probably Costco) sells the yummiest hotdogs in the cafeteria area. They’re Nathan’s hotdogs, the really long and delicious hotdogs that are sold at baseball games. And did you know you can buy boxes of them from Sam’s Club? So that’s exactly what my mom did. She contributed hotdogs to our party and they were a big hit. The little kids ate Oscar Mayer franks.

You can find the long buns to fit Nathan’s hotdogs at your grocery store. We bought the long Hostess restaurant style buns.

Mickey Mouse Cupcakes

{What You’ll Need for Two Dozen Cupcakes}

• one chocolate cake mix
• eggs, according to box directions
• vegetable oil, according to box directions
• 1 c. buttermilk (Use buttermilk instead of water when building on top of a cupcake. They will hold together better. Buttermilk can be found by the milk in a small container)
• 1 box vanilla wafers
• 1 package Oreos
• 1 can chocolate frosting
• 24 red cupcake liners (I purchased mine at Zurchers Discount Party Supplies. If you don’t have a Zurchers near you or can’t find any at another store, you can buy them from Zurchers online. You can find them other places online as well.)
• 48 white buttons (I found mine at Walmart.)
• hot glue gun and glue

Bake the cupcakes the night before you need them to ensure they are cool. There’s nothing sadder when baking than frosting a cake or cupcake when it’s not cool. You end up with a melted mess. Remember to fill them 2/3 full and no more or they will look like funny mushrooms.
Time to get decorating! I did a horrible job with taking pictures of the process. If truth were told, I got to into making them and forgot to take pictures. BUT I do have a picture of the crushed Oreos! My mom and twin sister helped me put the cupcakes together and we started with the Oreos.
We first scraped all the cream off the cookies to make sure the crumbs were completely dark. We put the cookies in my little chopper and pulsed them to crumbs. **We crushed up an entire package of cookies and didn’t use all of it. I’ll be using that for a dessert in the near future. If you don’t want to have leftover cookie crumbs, I would start with half the package or go row by row so you don’t end up with a ton leftover.

This is where I started slacking on the photo taking. Here’s the step-by-step process:

• We began by frosting a cupcake and dipping it in the cookie crumbs. We moved the cupcake around in the bowl till all the frosting was covered on the top.
• Next we took two vanilla wafers for the ears on the cupcake and frosted one side of them with chocolate frosting. Then we dipped the frosting side down into the cookie crumbs to coat the ears.
• For a cupcake with tall ears: After dipping the ears in crumbs we pressed them into the cupcake a little and right next to each other. If we pushed too far down the cupcake started to break, so we put them in the fridge to help hold together.
• For ears lying down: After dipping the ears in crumbs we put a little frosting on the back of each ear and laid them flat on the top of the cupcake above the middle and placed them in the fridge to set.
• When the ears were all on I got my glue gun out and glued on white buttons to the front of the cupcakes to make them look like Mickey’s pants.

I found this subway art over at eighteen25. All their subway art is free to download. The files are for 16x20 prints, but I printed mine at 8x10. As you can see it printed up just fine! It adds a great touch to any party. They have a boy print and a girl print.

I found these coloring pages over at Disney Junior. The kids loved coloring after eating their hot diggity dogs!

I really wanted to put something together for the kids to take home some mouseke-tools. A couple months before Brycen’s birthday I received a magazine in the mail from Birthday Express with a whole bunch of ideas for a first birthday theme. I hopped on their website, looked up the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse section, and found a whole bunch of fun things that we could use for his party. I ended up buying two packages of four party favor boxes (shown above). I bought the empty ones so I could fill them with what I wanted, but they also sold them with favors included. Click here to check out the boxes with included favors.
As far as the child’s name on the side with the Toodles (he’s a character on the show and the mouse-shaped thing on the side of the box), I uploaded a picture of Toodles in Photoshop and just added the kids’ names. I made five separate .jpg files.

After looking through the Birthday Express website I drove back over to Zurchers and hit their Mickey Mouse Clubhouse section to find my mouseke-tools. They had a whole bunch of options, it was great! The mouseke-tool boxes included:

• bubbles
• kaleidoscope
• paddle ball
• jump rope
• candy necklace kit (actually found at Walmart)
• tattoos (for the older kids)
• bouncy ball (for the younger kids)
• candy

The boxes were a big hit and really fun to put together! Like I said before, you can find all of these fun things and more at Zurchers website or at Birthday Express! Even Walmart has a few fun things to help with the party.

I bought this stuffed Mickey Mouse at Walgreens for a Valentine’s gift for Brycen. It was a pretty random find, thanks to a tip from a friend! (You know who you are, friend!) He seemed to work perfectly to just set out as part of the décor. If you have stuffed animals and toys already at home that work with the party theme, they work great for decorating!

And it’s not a Mickey Mouse party without some ears! I found these at Birthday Express as well. They fit perfectly for his first birthday, but I don’t recommend getting this specific pair for anybody older than probably two or they’ll most likely be too small. They did, however, have an option of Mickey ears for an older child.

{Easter Dinner} Deviled Eggs

Yesterday I asked my husband what he thought would be a good idea for a recipe for today. Little did I know he would be able to have a great Easter dinner side item idea and there would be a story of a fun family tradition included.

Here’s what they did when he was a kid: My husband’s family always had deviled eggs with Easter dinner, but his parents made the process of making them into a fun-filled activity.

• First, his dad would get out about a dozen eggs and he boiled them.
• Next, his parents gave the eggs to the kids to dye in fun Easter colors (with parent supervision, of course.)

{image via My Little Cottage in the Making}

• After dying the eggs his parents went outside in the backyard and they hid the eggs. When the eggs were all safely hidden, the kids came outside and went on an egg hunt to gather up all the eggs.
• Then they brought the eggs back inside, took the shells off, and his dad made deviled eggs with them.

{image via Simply Recipes}

I thought that was such a cute and fun family tradition! And now this can be something that your family can do on Easter, as well as enjoy a yummy recipe for deviled eggs. This recipe comes from Simply Recipes. I have to confess that the first time I ever tried a deviled egg was in March of this year at a girls weekend up in Ashton. I’ve been missing out all these years!

Have another yummy recipe for deviled eggs? Feel free to leave your ideas in a comment! The more ideas the better!

Ingredients (makes 2 dozen deviled eggs)

• 1 dozen eggs
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/3 c. mayo
• 1 Tbsp. minced onion or shallot
• 1/4 tsp. Tabasco
• salt and pepper
• paprika

Directions

1. First, hard boil the eggs. You probably have a great technique for boiling eggs. But just in case, here are some directions: Fill up a large saucepan halfway with water and add the eggs. The eggs need to be covered with at least an inch of water. Add a pinch of salt to the water and bring it to a boil. Cover and remove from heat. Let it sit covered for 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the hot water from the pan and run cold water over the eggs. Let them sit in the water a few minutes, changing the water if necessary to keep them cool. Tip: If you crack the egg shells while the eggs are still cooling it will make it easier to peel the shells off.
2. Next get the eggs all peeled. With a sharp knife, slice each egg in half length wise (see picture above). Gently remove the yolks and place in a small mixing bowl. Arrange the egg white halves on a serving platter.
3. Mash up the yolks with a fork and add mustard, mayo, onion, Tabasco, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Spoon the egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika and serve!

Friday Friendzy: Applesauce Bread

Ok. So my friend for this week’s “Friday Friendzy” didn’t exactly tell me to share this recipe. Megan from Utah shared this recipe on her personal blog and it quickly turned into a favorite at my house. And I HAD to share it with you all! She posts a bunch of yummy recipes that are super creative and just as delicious. And there’s always a bit of humor in there so it’s a pretty entertaining read! Thanks for keeping me smiling! :) (image via tasteofhome.com)

Ingredients

• 2 c. cinnamon applesauce (In her words: “You can use regular-but why?”)
• 1/2 c. butter, softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground allspice

Directions

1. Mix the first four ingredients together till well blended. Then stir in the rest of the ingredients. (Again, in her words: “Of course the actual recipe called for sifting, and beating things in different bowls, but I prefer to simplify and think it tastes just the same. Just be sure to beat well so it's mixed well.”
2. Pour into greased loaf pans. This recipe makes 1 large loaf or 4 mini loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

A tip from Megan: “Mine started to cook on the top too much after about 25 minutes, so I had to cover with foil so it didn't burn the top.”

Celebration Balloon Wreath

We had a big day yesterday because this little man turned one!

We’ve started letting the neighbors know we’re celebrating something at our house by putting up our celebration wreath. Whether it be a birthday, anniversary, or a new job, this wreath is going right up on the front door to shout out that we’re celebrating.

Isn’t that so cute? A wreath full of balloons-how much more fun can you get! It is so fun to put this wreath out on our front door. I wish I could take the credit for it. This idea comes from the blog How Does She? And seriously, I ask myself “How does she?” pretty much every time I get on that blog. She is so creative!

Here’s all you need to make this wreath:

• 12 or 14 inch straw wreath (or whatever size you’d like to make). I made a 12-inch wreath and I love how it looks. Oh, and keep that plastic on the wreath!

• Balloons – a lot of balloons! You will need 150 balloons to 300 balloons, depending on how full you want your wreath. How Does She? used almost 150 balloons and I used 300. Go to Walmart or the dollar store, find the colors you like, and buy packages with a lot of balloons in them. What size, you ask? I used the balloons that blow up to about 7 inches.

• Floral pins (found at craft stores but you can also find them at Walmart) - Get a floral pin for each balloon. They normally come in packs of 100 so I used three packs.

• Ribbon to tie your wreath up – whatever color you’d like!

Here’s what to do:

Take a floral pin and place a balloon right in the middle of the opening.

Push the pin right down into the wreath. Keeping the plastic on will make this much easier. Grab another pin and balloon and repeat the process.

As you go along you’ll gain a feel for how far apart you want to put the balloons. You can place them an inch apart if you want because the balloons are floppy and cover up the space. I put mine pretty close together.

At this point you’re probably wondering how long this is going to take. To give you an idea, my little boy watched TV while I worked on this. During this process we saw two episodes of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”, one “Jungle Junction”, one “Special Agent Oso”, and two episodes of “Timmy Time”. For those who have no idea what I just said, it took me about 2 1/2 hours.

When I got near the end and there was space enough for the width of the ribbon, I wrapped the ribbon on and placed balloons over it to secure it in place.

And that’s it! Pick a spot to hang it and you’re ready to celebrate!

Isn’t that so fun?

Macaroni Grill Focaccia Bread (Copycat Recipe)

I am a sucker for homemade bread. There is something about taking a loaf of fresh bread out of the oven and digging right into it. And yes, inhaling the entire thing in a day. I’m not saying that’s ever happened at my house. Ok, maybe a few times, but we can’t help ourselves! Then I go to a restaurant that serves bread before the meal and can’t get enough of that stuff either. The only problem is that I can’t just go home and make that one myself. Until now. Macaroni Grill fans, this copycat recipe is for you! After baking this bread, go get a bottle of balsamic vinegar and some extra virgin olive oil and you’ve got yourself a tasty little starter. This recipe comes from a friend named Jill. Thanks, Jill! And the picture comes from ifood.tv.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 c. warm water
• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp rosemary
• 1 Tbsp butter

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast, sugar, and water in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add butter, salt, and 2 c. flour. Mix together.
2. Add rosemary and rest of the flour. Mix for 5 minutes. Then cover up the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
3. Split the dough in half and put on a cookie sheet. Let it rise for another 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Brush with some melted butter and enjoy!

FYI Jill says she likes to double the recipe and make two massive loaves on the cookie sheet. The loaves are definitely really big! You can also double it and make four smaller loaves that are still pretty good size.

Friday Friendzy: Mini Cadbury Egg Cookies

Is it really April??? How did this happen! These months are flying by way too fast. Easter is only a few weeks away and my baby is turning one in four days. But that's another sob story. In all seriousness, I'm actually excited for my little guy's birthday. It's bitter-sweet.

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Now that it's officially April it's time to get movin' on Easter treats, goodies, and meals. And there are SO many good ideas out there. I have a friend-her name is Chelsea. I met her while she was attending Utah State and was roommates with my best friend. My twin sister and I would go to visit Ashlee and we'd hang out with her and Chelsea. A couple of my favorite things were introduced to me by Chelsea: The first, putting sweet 'n sour sauce on the spicy chicken sandwich at Wendy's. A-ma-zing. The second, mini cadbury egg cookies. I had never heard of these till she sent me a message on Facebook telling me about these delicious little wonders. So here we are! The recipe and image both come from the girls at Our Best Bites and I'm so excited to spread the word about these today! They posted them last year so I guess I'm really out of the loop. Wow, sorry for rambling. Let's get on with the recipe!

• 1/2 c. Crisco (regular or butter flavored)


• 1/2 c. butter


• 1 c. sugar


• 1 c. brown sugar


• 2 eggs


• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 2 1/2 c. flour


• 6 Tbsp cocoa powder


• 1 (10 oz) bag Cadbury Mini Eggs

What to Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pour the mini cadbury eggs in a ziplock bag and bang them to pieces with a rolling pin or something that will do the job. They don't need to be smashed into crumbs, just smaller chunks. (If you'd like the cookies to look like the picture above, set aside a few whole mini eggs and don't smash them. You will use them for later.)


2. In your stand mixer, cream together butter, crisco, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time. Then the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix together. Then add the crushed up mini eggs and combine.


3. Drop onto a cookie sheet and place a whole mini egg on the top of however many you want to give that extra pop of color. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. They're so soft, fudgy, and yummy! A perfect little Easter treat.