Angry Bird Pizza

I decided to be a crafty mom for my kids tonight and made a " themed" dinner.  On tonight's menu, ANGRY BIRD PIZZA eaten picnic style while enjoying the ongoing 2012 Olympics.  

If a character face is required to get the kids excited bout dinner, then a character we will build.  My boy is in LOVE with angry birds so this was made with him in mind.  I had to use whatever ingredients I had on hand so that it could be a quick easy meal.  I am not an artist so don't judge the look....just enjoy the creativity.  It was as simple as a pizza crust with sauce and cheese.  Topped off with Canadian bacon (my kids despise pepperoni) a little extra dough for the eyes and olives for the pupils and eyebrows.  Shredded mozzarella would have made a better lower half of this bird's face, but all I had were slices, so they had to do.  Add a little Colby jack for the beak and VOILA!!!  Your very own angry bird pizza. 

Tonight, I was the best mom EVER!!

Ice Cream and Cupcakes

Since summer is quickly approaching, I decided it was time to break out the recipes for delicious summer treats.  I found this one involving my most favorite ice cream -MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP- and chocolate cupcakes.  A delicious combination!!  

I cannot take credit for this photo. I did use this recipe, but my cupcakes were
not this pretty.  Thanks to whoever on the www posted this picture.

It was super easy to make.  I started out with

1. Chocolate cake mix, and I realized I was out of eggs as soon as I got home from the grocery store, so I had to make the cake the "healthier" way.  It is as easy as mixing the cake mix with 1 can of Diet Pepsi, or Diet Coke works too.  I know, can you believe that the delicious beverage Diet Pepsi, that I cannot ever get enough of, can now be used to make cake!

2.  I then filled cupcake wrappers about 1/4 full of cake batter and cooked at 

350 degrees for about 5-7 min.

3.  Once the cupcakes were cooled, I added softened Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream to the top of the cupcakes and topped them all off with a vanilla frosting and whipped cream topping. 

(I just made the topping to taste.  Add the whipped cream to the vanilla frosting and whip it until it's fluffy)

Garnish with chocolate chips or chocolate syrup and freeze until it's nice a frozen.  Serve and ENJOY!!

Lettuce wraps

Are you ready for more delicious food? Because it's been a while since I have posted any menu items.  I have been working like crazy for the last few months and have needed to find recipes that are quick and yummy and ones that everyone will eat.  I found a recipe that is a copycat recipe of PF Changs lettuce wraps.  Oh.....my stomach is growling just thinking of them. 

Ingredients:

1lb diced chicken breast

1/2 medium onion, minced

salt & pepper, a dash of each

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 Tablespoon water

1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter

1/2 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or more if you like it hotter)

3 green onions, chopped

1/2-8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped

1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

10-12 large outer lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry

Directions:

1. Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add chicken, onion, salt & pepper, and cook until chicken is nearly done, stirring often to break up the meat. Add in minced garlic and ginger, and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink.

2. Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add into the skillet and stir to combine.

3 Add green onion and water chestnuts into the skillet then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.

4. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts, and serve with cold lettuce leaves.  Sometimes I like to add white rice as a side dish just to make the filling go a bit farther.  Your choice....

ENJOY this little bit of heaven on a plate!

Edible Glitter!

I just hate it when the Internet goes down and I realize how much my life really does revolve around it.  I have been doing all sorts of projects and snapping tons of cute springtime photos of my kids, and without the Internet....well, let's just say I'm a bit behind.  But, here's to a new beginning.

I wanted to share with you this fun thing I learned how to make that is sure to add "sparkle" to any occasion.  You should know by now how much I love glitter and anything that sparkles.  It's true!  I laugh because I love it almost as much as most people hate it.  I have heard glitter referred to as the "herpes" of the art world.  It doesn't matter to me.....I LOVE IT!!! and now I have learned how to make it edible.

Check it out. 

It's nothing more than taking some sugar and adding food coloring to it.

I used a fork to mix it all up so that I could even out the lumps sometimes found in the sugar.  Now, to set the color so it doesn't come off on your hands or anything else, throw it on a cookie sheet or glass pan and stick it in the oven for maybe 5-10 minutes on 200 degrees. Then remove it and shake out the lumps again and there you have it.......EDIBLE GLITTER to use on whatever your heart desires.

(PS....one of my summer goals is to learn how to take better pictures.  Until then, you will just have to use your imagination.)

Homemade Cinnamon Butter

Who doesn't love a hot roll with delicious cinnamon butter on top? I know it's most people's sole reason for visiting the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant. And now, you can have it right in your own kitchen. It is a simple recipe really. 

1 stick of Butter

4 tbsp. Brown Sugar

1/4 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

Dash of Vanilla

Mash it and mix it all together really well.  Scoop it into a fun dish for serving.....

And add to warm rolls.

Not much tastes better than that.

A Hot fire and a Banana

I LOVE TO EAT!!  I don't enjoy cooking much, but oh, how I love to eat!  Especially gooey bits of sweet heaven cooked over an open fire. 

We love to break out our fire pit in the fall months.  The cool air and the warm fire......fluffy marshmallows and chocolate on a stick.  Sounds perfect.  Well if you like a good treat as much as I do, then I suggest you try these scrumptious banana boats cooked in your very own fire too. 

Simply take a banana and cut it open.  DO NOT TAKE IT OUT OF THE PEEL! And fill with whatever bits of goodness you want.  Perhaps Chocolate chips, butterscotch, peanut butter chips, mini marshmallows, sweetened coconut (Or whatever other toppings you fancy.) Stuff them inside the banana and wrap in foil.  Stick them in a fire....or on a grill if that's all you have, and let them melt all together. 

They take about 5-10 minutes.  Let them cool down and

DIG IN!!!

A new twist to cinnamon rolls

To me, there is nothing quite like a warm cinnamon roll covered in delicious warm frosting.  But, while making these fun treats, why not try one new thing with them to see if you can love them any more than you already do.  Instead of the same old cinnamon "ROLL" try a cinnamon "HEART."

Strangely enough, they taste EVEN BETTER!

Best Halloween Party Ideas

I have collected some ideas from Halloween's past that may be kind of fun for your holidays this year too.  Some of these I have done myself, and some of these are the creative genius' on the World Wide Web.  No matter where they are from, they are fun to make.........

A pumpkin cut in half, cleaned out and used as an ice bucket. Pretty crafty, eh?

White powdered doughnuts with red food coloring for the veins and a chocolate chip for the pupil.  The drink is just punch.  It's the outside that makes it awesome.  Use a little food coloring to dye Karo syrup and dip the glass in the syrup and let it run down the side.  Use a gummy worm to add extra EEEWWWW to the beverage.

This looks totally gross, but I am loving it.  Here's the recipe.  I am for sure going to try this at my party.

Halloween Meathead Recipe (Easy) Ingredients: 1 full-sized plastic human skull, 1.5 lbs. thin sliced deli meat, your choice, Cream cheese, BBQ sauce, or cranberry sauce, 2 hard boiled egg yolks, round mini-mozzarella, pieces, or cocktail onions, 2 slices of pimento-stuffed green olive. Instructions: 1. Buy a plastic skull. Wash the skull with soap and water and allow to dry. 2. Spread a "base" over the skull. BBQ sauce and jellied cranberry sauce give the skull a bloody, gory look as your guests lift away the lunch meat. Cream cheese is not as fun, but probably tastes better with most meats. This is entirely your choice. 3. Evenly distribute your lunch meat over the prepared skull, leaving openings at the eyes and mouth. Smallish pieces of meat work better than larger ones, as they're easier to manipulate and form. You may need to use toothpicks to get some of the meat to stay in place. 4. For eyes, place one hard boiled egg yolk or small mozzarella cheese ball in each eye socket. Top with a slice of pimento-stuffed green olive. 6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to eat.

What fun to carve a pumpkin like this.  The teeth are actually marshmallows stuck in with toothpicks.  Here's a tip for your pumpkin carving.  When you are all done, spray the inside and raw edges of the pumpkin with WD40.  It will preserve them and make them last longer without such a dramatic withering. 

Fun cookies.  Striped fudge cookies with a little orange frosting holding a kiss on top.  This is always a big hit with the kids.

I just got me a set of these at Pottery Barn.  I am shaking in anticipation to serve up a dish with these.

Hot dog mummy's  anyone?

Just a few ideas to help you get your party on!!

Cupcakes anyone?

Who could resist a cute cupcake with a skeletal frame comprised of a marshmallow skull and yogurt minis pretzel ribs supported by a lollipop stick? Whip up a batch of these bony characters with your favorite cake mix and canned frosting.

Use your favorite cake mix to create your cupcake.  Just follow the directions on the box. Cool and then frost

• For the Decoration, here's what you will need:
• 18 marshmallows
• 4-in. lollipop sticks
• Black food color
• Decorating pen
• Black writing gel
• 72 yogurt-covered mini-pretzels

1. To decorate: Slightly flatten marshmallows with palm of your hand. Insert a lollipop stick into each marshmallow. With the black decorating pen, draw the skeleton mouth along the bottom of each marshmallow. Draw 2 nostrils above the middle of the mouth, as shown. Make the eyes with dabs of the black writing gel.
2. For each skeleton, carefully thread the stick end of the marshmallow head through the small hole of a pretzel, slowly twisting the pretzel from side to side as you push it up toward the head, stopping about 1⁄2 in. below the head. Secure the pretzel in position with a dab of frosting. Add 2 more pretzels, lining them up, to resemble the rib cage, securing with dabs of frosting. Stick the skeleton into the top of a cupcake. To make the arms, carefully cut a pretzel in half with a serrated knife and attach to the top pretzel using a dab of frosting to secure it on.  

And there you have it.  Isn't is "spook"tacular!

Fast Easy Bread

Let me just preface this posting with a very truthful statement.  My idea of making bread is visiting the local grocery store and buying it already made.  I have attempted on numerous occasions to make homemade bread.  Even used a bread maker, and have FAILED MISERABLY every time.  I can't even get Rhodes roll dough to rise and cook properly.  So you can imagine my dismay when I was introduced to this product from  the good people at www.fasteasybread.com/

Here they say that you can "make homemade bread or pizza from start to eating in 60 minutes or less."

Of course, I laughed...........but then something beautiful happened.  I tried it and it was a HUGE SUCCESS! 

I actually made bread. 

Bread that people loved.  My husband, who likes to rate my cooking on a scale of 1-10, rated my stuffed crust pizza at a 10!

Just look how fantastic and delicious this pizza looks.

And this taco braid is simply magnificent

I even made cinnamon rolls

       

monkey bread



and soup bowls

all with the same easy recipe. 

You have to try it.  You will be the talk of the dinner table.

The secret is that the yeast is a commercial grade and in combination with a soy lecithin product, you can make this no fail bread in less time than most other bread recipes.  There is no waiting for it to rise and punching it down repeatedly.  It literally takes no time.  You can buy the yeast and lecithin at http://www.fasteasybread.com/ for $20. 

LISTEN, IF I CAN MAKE BREAD..........ANYONE CAN MAKE BREAD!

Check them out and when you order, make sure to mention you heard about them on isntshecrafty.blogspot.com

Watermelon Granita!

Who doesn't love a delicious frozen treat on a hot summer day?  And let's face it, sometimes ice cream is too much.  People just want ice melting down the back of their throats.  So, here is a fantastic party dessert that is sure to knock the socks off your guests.  They'll think you are a regular Martha Stewart with delicious treats like this.  Just don't tell them how simple it really is.

So there is no real exact recipe for this. It is definitely one that is made simply by taste. 

 Puree the watermelon, pour into a large flat baking pan, zest and juice a couple of limes into it, and add some sugar. Let it freeze for 3-4 hours, stirring and breaking up the chunks every hour or so. You're going for a slushee-type consistency.

Put it in the hollowed out watermelon and there you have it!

A perfect treat to share on a perfectly hot summer day!

The best ever cupcakes

These s'mores cupcakes are next to heaven.  They start out with a graham cracker crust and chopped chocolate in the bottom of the cupcake liner, then a chocolate cake batter, topped with a marshmallow frosting and toasted using a kitchen torch! Nothing can satisy the palate more! Yum......

S’mores Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the graham cracker crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
For the cake:
2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
For the frosting:
8 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
½ tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork.  Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. (Note: I found the bottom of my squeeze bottle to be the perfect size to do this job neatly and quickly.) Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.

To make the cake batter, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed just to combine.  In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add the boiling water and stir just to combine (batter will be thin).

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ of the way full.  Return the pans to the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler. (Note: I just set my clean, dry mixer bowl over simmering water, to avoid dirtying two bowls.) Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Mix in the vanilla until combined.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.  Brown with a kitchen torch and garnish with chocolate and graham cracker segments (optional).

Although it sounds complicated...which is not.......it is worth every minute!!!

ENJOY!

A dinner to rival a professional

One of my favorite easy weeknight dinners is chicken Marsala. Made with sauteed mushrooms in a Marsala wine sauce, this dinner has become a regular in our household for years. Typically I buy two chicken breasts and split them to make four pieces. This is a great method to stretch a few pieces of chicken out to feed more people. By pounding the chicken out, it also shortens the cooking time making this dinner a doable meal under 30 minutes from start to finish. If you love mushrooms and chicken and have never tried chicken Marsala, you’re in for a real treat. Enjoy!

Chicken Marsala Recipe
Ingredients
2  skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan Cheese (enough to coat chicken breasts)
1 tsp. Oregano
Fresh mushrooms sliced and cleaned
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
Garnish with chopped parsley or oregano
Fresh garlic to taste ( we love fresh garlic so I say the more the better)

Directions:
Split each chicken breast through the middle to make 2 pieces.  Place plastic wrap over them and pound each one flat using a meat tenderizer/mallet until they are about a quarter inch thick.  Season a good amount of salt and pepper on both sides of each piece.  Place Parmesan cheese and tsp. oregano on a plate and and dredge each piece of chicken in it.

Heat oil and fresh garlic over medium-high heat and when the oil is hot fry each piece of chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown (this may require you to do this in 2 batches). 

Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.  Reduce the heat to medium and add butter and mushrooms.  Saute mushrooms for 4-5 minutes making sure to season them with salt and pepper lightly.  Add Marsala wine and simmer on low allowing the liquid to reduce slightly – approx. 3 minutes. 

pour mushrooms and sauce over the chicken and smother with mozzarella cheese.  ( I like to throw it in the oven covered in foil for about 12 minutes to melt the cheese).  Dish it up over egg noodles or mashed garlic potato's and enjoy.

Bon Appetite!

kentucky Derby anyone?

I asked a couple of my friends if they would come to a party to celebrate the Kentucky Derby held at the end of April, or beginning of May.  I can't tell you how snubbed I felt.  But I will tell you now, that I LOVE to throw a party no matter what the reason.  So, perhaps no one will be invited, but I have some delicious treats that I will be enjoying myself in my fancy "derby" hat.  I know you will all regret snubbing my idea for the party.

The Kentucky Derby is more than just a race -- it's an annual society event. Since the first Derby in 1875, the race has become steeped in traditions ranging from specific food and drink to proper Derby attire. Though the traditions are many, there are a few basic rules that every Derby reveler should be familiar with.

The Traditional MiNt JUleP

This is a great alternative for guests who don't drink alcohol, but would like to enjoy a classic Mint Julep cocktail.

Directions

• Muddle mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
• Add simple syrup to desired sweetness and lemon juice.
• Pour mint mixture into a highball filled with crushed ice and top with the ginger ale. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

This is a great alternative for guests who don't drink alcohol, but would like to enjoy a classic Mint Julep cocktail.

Directions

• Muddle mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
• Add simple syrup to desired sweetness and lemon juice.
• Pour mint mixture into a highball filled with crushed ice and top with the ginger ale. Garnish with a sprig of mint.




And a Delicious DErBy CaKe




You can make a chocolate cupcake from scratch if you want, but I say, when there is a pre-made mix, there is a reason.  However, the frosting will need to be made from scratch, but it's easy so don't worry. 


Mint Julep Frosting:8 oz whipped cream cheese
4 oz butter
12 oz powdered sugar
1 teaspoon Crme de Menthe

Instructions For Cupcake Frosting:

1. Mix all frosting ingredients together in a large bowl until completely incorporated.
2. Refrigerate for twenty to forty minutes, then pipe onto cupcakes once the base is completely cooled and garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.  




I hAvE a FEw Hat CHoIceS.... here they are and perhaps you can tell me which one to wear.  (whichever one I do not debut, perhaps I can wear to the reception I think I should hold in honor of the royal wedding.)