Felt Quiet Books...

This is my first attempt at making a felt Quiet Book.
I started simple with a 4 page Seasons book.

I had extra felt and decided to make an Animal book as well.
(The pig still needs a curly tail...)

I still need to make cover pages for them,
punch the Grommet holes in them and bind them with binder rings (found at an office supply store)... then they will be finished.
The hinged rings are so more than one child can look at the book at a time.
I printed off clip art pictures and used those as my patterns.
These are VERY basic pages... like I said, first attempt. :)

Now that I know a little more about quiet books,
I will attempt to make a Primary Songs Quiet Book... wish me luck.

Chocolate Banana Cake

½ c butter
1 ¼ c brown sugar
¼ c sugar
2 eggs
1 T water
½ c cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
1 t baking powder
1 ½ c mashed, ripe bananas
½ t vanilla

Cream butter, sugars and water together. Add eggs one at a time. Beat thoroughly after each. Stir in all dry ingredients and add to the batter alternately with the mashed bananas; stir in vanilla. Pour into greased and floured 9 inch cake pans. Bake in preheated 350º oven for 30-35 minutes, until cake test is done. Frost with your favorite frosting

* I used this cake recipe for the Sunflower Peeps cake- I tasted a little of it while I was leveling the cakes off- yummy.

Peeps Sunflower Cake

I found this in my magazine that I recently subscribed to, Taste of Home. This recipe was in the back and I knew I had to make it! Now I am not a peeps fan but they work out great in this recipe. Tonight is our Relief Society Birthday event and I signed up to bring a cake for August, so I figured this sunflower would be perfect...and easy!

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
2 cans (16 ounces each) chocolate frosting
19 yellow chick Peeps candies
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using two greased and waxed paper-lined 9-in. round baking pans. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely; carefully remove waxed paper.

Level tops of cakes. Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake.

Without separating Peeps and curving slightly to fit, arrange chicks around edge of cake for sunflower petals. For sunflower seeds, arrange chocolate chips in center of cake.

Yield: 12 servings.

* I use one can of frosting and it worked out perfect, if you want alot of frosting then get 2

Easy Baked Italian Chicken

1/3 c Ranch dressing
¼ c Shredded parmesan cheese
4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T Italian bread crumbs

In a small bowl, combine the ranch and Parmesan cheese. Place the chicken in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Spread with the ranch mixture over chicken. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until juices run clear. (4 servings.)

*This dish is really easy and has lots of flavor, although this last time I made it the bottom ended up really soggy, so I suggest adding some more bread crumbs to the bottom of the dish

Homemade oreos!

These are probably the yummiest naughty treat ever and they're much easier than I thought, so here's the recipe:

2 pkgs. Devils Food Cake Mix (I used 1 Devils and 1 regular chocolate and they were perfect!)
1 c. crisco shortening (the sticks are easiest!)
4 eggs

Mix 1 box with shortening and eggs in large bowl, then add the second box. You may have to use a hand held blender to get it mixed well.
Roll dough into balls (I used the med. size cookie scooper and split that in 1/2 and rolled them to make the not as ginormous).

Bake @ 350 for 9-11 minutes. Let cool, and use canned Cream Cheese frosting and sandwich them together and enjoy!

American Idol Ice Cream

I saw Alisa's post and had to post my favorite new ice cream too! Since Jason works in the frozen department he is always telling me new flavors of ice cream that the Dreyer's vendor brings in- when he told me this I knew I had to have it. COOKIES 'N DREAMS does not dissapoint!!

(the Dreyer's site says it's only available until May, so hurry and try it)

Countdown Chicken Fussili

Okay so I don't really have an actual recipe for this but it is inspired by a recipe from Pizza Port at Disneyland. Jason and I would always get this and share it and it is really yummy! This is what I did this time (I think every time I make it, it varies)

Here's the ingredients you will need:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Broccoli
Cheesy alfredo sauce (your favorite will do)
Shredded parmesan cheese
Minced garlic
Cavatappi noodles
sun dried tomatoes (optional)

Cut chicken into thin strips or chunks, add to a saute pan and season with salt and pepper. Add minced garlic and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Heat alfredo sauce

Cook pasta according to directions on box, last few minutes of cooking add your broccoli to the boiling water.

Combine pasta, sauce, and broccoli in a bowl and stir together. Finish off with Parmesan cheese on top!



** If you'll notice I didn't add any amounts to how much you'll need of each item, like I said I make it different every time. Cook lots of chicken if you have a big fam and maybe you'll need 2 boxes of pasta if your feeding a crowd. One box is plenty for Jason and I with tons of leftovers!
The cavatappi noodles and shredded Parmesan (don't use the grated kind) cheese are keys to this dish. And of course I couldn't find those exact noodles today after going to 2 stores so I settled for campanelle noodles- they look like little horns that curl at the ends. The Disneyland recipe does have sun dried tomatoes but I didn't want to run to the store just to buy those so we did with out.
*The title of this post is the actual name of the dish at Disneyland- since I didn't have my own name for it I used that one.

Peanut Butter Cake

One of my friend's had a birthday and he LOVES Peanut Butter, so I thought it would be fun to make a Peanut Butter cake for him. I found this recipe online at allrecipes.com

It was super easy and it's way YUMMY!!!

INGREDIENTS

• Cake
  
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package butter cake mix
• 2/3 cup water
• Frosting
  
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Topping
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• Chocolate Sauce
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. (I cooked it at 350 degrees because 325 just takes too long.)
2. Combine 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup butter or margarine. Cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each one. Add cake mix alternately with the water. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes or until cake tests done. (I did 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.) Allow cakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Assemble and frost with Peanut Butter Frosting once cool. I also put cut up Reese's in the middle layer just to add a little something.
   
4. To Make Peanut Butter Frosting: Combine 1 cup peanut butter, and 1/2 cup butter or margarine cream together until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar. Mix in enough cream to make the frosting of a spreading consistency. Apply to cool cake.
5. Then I cut up Reese's Peanut Butter cups and put them on top and then drizzled chocolate sauce on top of them. You can use any chocolate sauce you want. I took about a cup of the Wal-Mart brand Milk Chocolate chips (they melted creamy enough that I didn't need to add milk or anything to them) and melted them in a double broiler. (I heard for melting chocolate chips in a double broiler you should use a glass bowl, they say it's better that way. Who knows if it is true, but I am just passing along the information.) I had the temperature on low and melted the chips and then put the sauce in a sandwich baggy, cut a little whole in the corner and drizzled. But it's up to you on how you want your cake to look, just have fun with it.

The final product....

Tomato & Spinach Pasta

This recipe is from the Kraft Foods Magazine.

Tomato & Spinach Pasta

2 cups rotini or penne pasta, uncooked

1/2 lb. hot or mild Italian sausage, casing removed

1 pkg. (6 oz.) baby spinach leaves (7 cups)

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

2 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

COOK pasta as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, crumble meat into large deep skillet. Cook on medium-high heat 10 to 12 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally; drain. Add spinach and tomatoes; cook 2 min. or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
DRAIN pasta. Add to skillet along with the cheeses; toss lightly.

Girls Scout Ice Cream

I know I mentioned this on my blog, but I just thought I should make it official by documenting it on this blog as well! If you haven't tried it, I'm highly recommending it!

kisses!

This is a silly recipe because it's so easy, and it's one of those I can make really quickly (because I totally cheat!) and they're super yummy! I've been asked several times for my peanut butter cookie recipe... love that! All I do is roll the dough into balls, roll them is sugar and bake them for 7 1/2 minutes (I like anemic cookies- ask my mom), and then my girls love to help unwrap the hershey kisses (with clean hands mind you) and we squish them in the middle together!
Ta-da!

Wanna know what my "secret" is???

Good ol' Betty C. saves the day!

Baby burp cloths

When I was getting all my baby needs ready before Claire was born, I knew I didn't like the look of the plain white burp cloths... so for my birthday my mom made up some of these for me (not these actual ones but some like it) I Loved them! So now we have made more for baby gifts. They are so easy to make all you need is cloth diapers, cute ribbon, and a sewing machine!

Chocolate Chip pancakes

I was watching the news this morning and saw that it was National Pancake Day- and I thought that sounded like a good thing to make for dinner. I had to go to Macey's to pick up a few things and I passed by this pancake mix (on sale this week too by the way)-since it's also Heart Healthy month I thought I would make this. Sorry it's not a homemade recipe but it was easy and who doesn't love those nights where you have breakfast for dinner! I did add a ½ cup of mini chocolate chips to spice up the mix,
they tasted great!

Our old friend Mickey Mouse appeared in my pan :)

Scottish Short Bread

Scottish Short Bread

4¼ c Flour
1 c sugar
1 c powder sugar
1 lb butter
1 t vanilla
½ t salt

food coloring (optional)

Mix sugars with butter... add flour, salt, & vanilla gradually. Pat into a jelly roll pan & bake at 350º for 20 minutes. While still warm, cut with metal cookie cutter into cute shapes, or cut with a knife into bars. These are really tasty!! (food coloring may be added for a cuter look or to fit an upcoming holiday)

**Entered on behalf of Diane Crook

Cheesecake

This is my Mom's recipe for yummy Cheesecake. I used Vanilla Wafers in cupcake tins instead of baking the crust in a 9x13 dish. (a trick I learned from my Mother!) And I used cherry pie filling for the topping. Super easy!

Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups flour
1 cup melted butter
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix together and pat into 9x13 or 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Filing:
1- 8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 small container of Cool Whip

Mix cream cheese & sugar. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour over crust.

Topping:
2 pkgs Danish Dessert (for a 9x13 pan) or
1 pkg Danish Dessert (for 8x8 pan)

Prepare as directed on package. Can add fruit (strawberries or cherries). Pour over filling. Chill for 12 hours.

Primary Teaching Helps

My husband and I teach the CTR 5 class. I am going to use this during my lessons as a way to keep the attention of my little 5 year olds.

(I realize that it looks like a messy block of tape right now... when I find a way to make it look cute... I'll post a picture of it)

I took one of my sons blocks and covered it with colored paper. (I wanted it to be a fairly small block, so it can stay in my primary bag all the time) Then I printed up things that the kids will get to do during class. Ex. Sing your favorite song, color a picture of ______, play CTR matching game, etc.

I hope to start my lesson and then once I 'loose' the kids (due to those long attention spans) - I will ask someone to roll our block and we'll do that quick activity before we begin our lesson again.

Here is the CTR Matching Game mentioned above. I found it on Mormon Share - I just made 2 copies of the pictures and pasted them on red paper. (so you can't see through the papers) They are all pictures of people making right choices. There are only 9 matches - so it should be a fairly short game.

Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Another yummy recipe found on the Picky Palate. I did a little adapting of my own- I added a little vanilla, and I only had crunchy peanut butter which worked out just fine. I also made it into a bundt pan and one small loaf pan instead of the 3 loaves. This turned out so delicious!! I will definaltly be making this one again. (Even my mom who is not a peanut butter and chocolate fan liked this recipe) We took this to the baby shower today also and everyone loved it.

Reese's Peanut Butter Banana Bread

3 Sticks softened butter
2 Cups sugar
5 eggs
¼ Cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 small box vanilla pudding mix (4 serving size)
2 Cups flour
5-6 ripe bananas

20-30 reese's peanut butter cup minis

½ Cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon peanut butter
2-3 Tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs until smooth. Add peanut butter, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, pudding mix and flour until combined. Stir in bananas and Reese's.

2. Pour batter into 3 greased bread pans. Bake 45-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from center of each loaf. Let cool.

4. Place powdered sugar, milk and peanut butter in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and drizzling consistency.

5. Drizzle over each loaf.

Adorable baby shower idea

Debra was looking for a little favor to make for a friends baby shower, and ended up finding the cute Mary Jane shoe on splitcoaststampers website. They were time consuming but well worth it in the end as they turned out so cute. You can find the template here. We filled them with candy and they were a huge hit!

Love day treats!

Last night for Young Womens, we had to come up with a last minute activity and we decided to just do some molding chocolates and do some valentines day fun stuff. It was a lot of fun and the girls all got to take some home and they were in heaven! I had at least 1 or 2 girls ask me for the recipe and I had to laugh because, um- there isn't such thing!
The pink in these pictures is a mixture of red, pink and white... Abby & Brenna had that idea!
We have LOTS of these, so in case you were desiring to eat one of these decadent treats- they'll be here on Sunday for the birthday party! I know you can't wait!

Hair bows

Since Claire doesn't like to wear her cute headbands anymore I had to find something else to put on her head. We made these at our Super Saturday activity and they were so simple. You just use those 2 prong clips (AKA Aligator clips) you can find them at any beauty store then hot glue your choice of ribbon and your done... you can add a bow or other decoration. Best of all Claire doesn't pull these out. (I did find that the grosgrain ribbon works the best!)

Here's some of the finished products

upclose look at the bows

This is what the bottom of the clip looks like when you are finished