I Heart Hot Chocolate

We are a Hot Chocolate type of family. When it's frosty and chilly and snowy and we've been outside nothing is yummier to warm up with.

OR

When it's frosty and chilly and snowy and we've been inside *looking* outside!

I'll repeat. Nothing is yummier!

We decided to show our Love of the Treat and Celebrate the Month of Love all at once.

Why yes. That is a giant Heart floating in some Hot Chocolate. I'm sure you've seen shots of this on Pinterest and around. I'm not the inventor of the idea. And I'm not sure how everyone else does this...but I'll tell you how we did it!

I thawed a tub of Cool Whip. Then I flopped it on a sheet of wax paper and tried to spread it out evenly. I say "tried" because my children seem to think that as soon as the Cool Whip is out of the Tub it is perfectly acceptable to dip their fingers into it and chow down. (I wonder where they get their table manners from?) So...anyway...I was rushed.

Put your Sheet 'O Whip in the freezer. This is the hardest part. You have to wait for it to freeze.

And. It. Took. Forever.

So. We pulled it out when it was solid, but only just.

Use a cookie cutter in the shape you desire, and cookie cut away!

I think if we would have waited for it to become more firm it would have been not so messy pulling up the hearts. But it wasn't too bad! Maybe a few fingerprints...

Then heat up some Hot Chocolate and garnish it with your Cool Whip Heart.

Waste not Want not...Mom's mug got all the little non-heart bits left over from cutting!

This was really a fun way to serve up Hot Chocolate! My kids were in on it, but it would make a sweet surprise for Valentine's Day, a Birthday, when they come in from the cold, or just because!

The Cool Whip melted much faster than marshmallows do. Also, because it was frozen, the Hot Chocolate cooled nicely as the hearts melted.

Thanksgiving Sharing

I hope you all had a Wonderfully Warm & Blessing Filled Thanksgiving!

We sure did!

We spent the day with my parents and grandmother. My mom made the traditional turkey, stuffing, potatoes...and I was in charge of cranberry salad and pies!

Why can't we all just get along?!?! lol

I whipped up a cute little hair clippie for Kat. You can find the instructions with great photos HERE at Happy Hour Projects!

The little Gobbler was eyeing my Pecan Pie!

LOVE how the ribbon looks like a crown from the front! Kat was our Turkey Fairy Princess!

This was such a cute and easy project!

Then it was time to eat! John & Louie entertained us with a song John learned at pre-school. 

(sung to the tune of Are You Sleeping)

Mr. Turkey (Mr. Turkey)

Big and Fat (Big and Fat)

I am going to eat you (I am going to eat you)

Just like THAT! (Just like THAT!)

After we were all properly stuffed, James helped my dad set up their ginormous Christmas tree. Then we headed home.

Now. We live in Nebraska. And it was November 24th. In NEBRASKA. And our thermometer on our van was reading 70 degrees! In November. In Nebraska! That only means one thing...

LET'S GO OUTSIDE!!!

Louie was invited to spend the night with my parents and Kat zonked out on the ride home, but John whipped out the sidewalk chalk while we put up the outdoor lights. Here is his portrait of moi!

Kid made me look 50 pounds lighter!!!

These lines are his rendition of my plaid shoes! John is all about the details!

He's also all about Self Expression!

I'm in full Christmas Mode now! How about you?

I still have a few Fall-ish things to share that I'm going to try and squeeze on here.

But, Advent starts this Sunday and this year we're doing a Jesse Tree! I'm excited to share it with the kids and with you. I'm also in the process of putting together our Countdown to Christmas Activity Advent Calendar. Not to mention the presents I need to make. Hmmm...I'm getting tired...time for a nap!!!

And! Be watching...I'll be doing an Ornament a Day like last year!

Crock Pot Applesauce!

Since I've been professing my undying love of Pumpkin...I feel the urge to say, 

"My name is Amy. And I think applesauce is yucky."

Phew! That's a load off my mind!

But. Seriously. It's kind of slimy and bland. Ugh.

My hubs & kiddos LOVE applesauce, though. And, being the terrific wife/mom I am...I've always bought it for them. I don't like buying the small plastic cups with the fear of chemical leaching hanging over my head. So I buy the jars. And my family binges on it. And then the jar gets shoved into the dark pit of the fridge. And then I find it...a dried mountain of apple stuff with an apple-ish lake in the center. ICK!

So. The last time my kids started whining asking politely for me to buy some applesauce I looked at our kitchen counter and saw a mountain of apples. CLICK when the light bulb in my head! We'll just make some. 

(Reading multiple blogs and Stalking Pinterest has given me Creative Superpowers...in my head)

I read a handful of recipes for crock potting applesauce and came up with my own version:

Peel and quarter 6 apples & put them in your crock pot.

Pour 1/2 a cup of water on top

Sprinkle on a Tablespoon of cinnamon

Sprinkle on 1/4 cup of sugar

Add a dash of vanilla (I didn't measure. Blame my Grandma. She didn't measure, either.)

Then I got my big wooden spoon and stirred it all up a bit.

See:

Cover it all up and cook it on low for 4 hours. Smells DELISH!

When times up, take your potato masher and mash them apples! It makes a beautiful squelchy noise while those yummy apple cinnamon smells hit your nose.

I plopped some into bowls while it was still warm...

...and fed it to the Masses!

Total Hit!

Thumbs Up!

And. Guess What??? I liked it, too! The flavor was awesome, and I liked how chunky and non-slimy it was!

Pass the Pumpkin!

Here we are. In the middle of November!

It's pretty hard to believe in my little corner of the World, because our weather has been so mild!

Then our Middle One snapped me back to reality after preK this morning when he started quizzing me on Thanksgiving facts. "Well. Mom. You know it is a week from today."

Humph. I KNEW it was...I just kept not thinking about it!

That same Thanksgiving Encyclopedia I call John continued talking and talking and...talking...and said, "And. Mom. Thanksgiving means Pumpkin Pie. I'm gonna eat some. Without that white stuff. And I'm gonna make a pie sandwich. That's two pieces together. Only with out meat." And then he talked some more.

That being said, we are pretty big Pumpkin Fans. Yummmm-Me! (pronounced like yummy, just very enthusiastically)

So I about had a Pumpkin Fit when I saw this big of Sweetness over at The House of Hepworths a week ago.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

Did I salivate? Did Pavlov ring a bell?

DING DONG!

Allison posted a fantastic tutorial / recipe for these babies!

 Check out how mine turned out:

They are so insanely moist and delightful.

And that cream cheese is literally the icing...on the cookie!

We ate these for breakfast (don't judge), snacks and dessert for two days straight. Then I forced my hubby to take the remainder to work so I don't grow as round as a pumpkin! So, be prepared, the recipe makes a LOTTA cookies!

HERE is the link again. Click it and grab your ingredients. You won't regret it.

But you just might lick your computer screen!

Dulce De YUMMY!

For reals, though, this crack in a can yummy sauce is called Dulce De Leche. I found the recipe here about a year or more ago and finally got around to making it!

You may already know what I'm talking about...Caramel Like Goodness slow-cooked right in the can. So it isn't even really a recipe. Did I mention it's GOOD? I'm drooling as I type and glancing at my fridge. And it's EASY. I could make some more. Right now. While I snack on the jar I already made. Hmmmm...spaghetti for dinner or Dulce De Leche? I'll get back to you on that...

ANYWAY!!!

The theory is: take a couple of cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk and take the labels off. Place them in your crock pot and add enough water to submerge the cans. Cover that baby up and cook it on low for 8 hours. Then wait for the water to cool in the crock before removing the cans.

That's it!

DISCLAIMER!!!

The sweetened condensed milk people (and probably the crock pot people and maybe the fire department) don't recommend you slow cook sealed cans. I think it's an explosive hazard. Pressure and stuff like that...not sure...didn't take physics. I took chemistry, but we didn't cover this, we just made peanut brittle.

HOWEVER!!!

Mine didn't explode. 

I'm not telling you to make it. But if you DO try it...it's not my fault if your kitchen explodes. That's concludes  my Public Service Announcement on Blowing Up Things in Your Kitchen.

My only remaining instructions (if you decided to ignore my PSA and make this amazing golden deliciousness) are to open the can. Insert a spoon. Immediately eat a quarter of the can with your back turned to your family. Then cut up some apples and share!

Snackin' It Old School

Halloweenie Treats don't get any more basic than this!

Nutter Butters + Melted White Chocolate + Mini Choco Chips

Enlist your 4 & 8 year old to dip the cookies and your  2year old to add the eyes.

Booooooo-tifully Delicious!

Me Likey Monday!!!

This week I rounded up some great CupCake recipes.

We're big fans of cup cupcakes around here. Especially for birthday parties. They're cute and fun and so easy to serve up to a crowd! So here we go!

These Pink Champagne Cupcakes are from Betty Crocker's Website. I was at a wedding shower awhile ago and the cake was Pink Champagne...and it was YUMMY!

TidyMom made these AWESOME looking Apple Carmel Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting...and added a in-a-jar option!

I couldn't resist these Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes from Amanda's Cookin'!

Rita Jean over at Country Maverickess made these yummy Lemon-Poppyseed cupcakes. And be sure to check out her entire Cup Cake Series!

Check out these Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes at Homemade By Holman...they look like Summer wrapped up in a dessert!

My Hubs LOVES Andes Mints (& so do I!) and these cupcakes would make a perfect treat for him! You can find them at Your Cup of Cake.

Mountain Dew Cupcakes??? Nuff Said!!! Nothing But Country has the secret!

Don't these Cookies And Cream Cupcakes make you want to lick your computer screen??? I found them at These Are Days to Remember.

These Shirley Temple Cupcakes are SO pretty and they're also gluten-free! I found the recipe HERE!

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan...and these Butterbeer Cupcakes from amyBites are a MUST to help celebrate the final movie coming out this Friday!

Fourth of July Goodies!

Did you all have a Festive & Safe Fourth of July???

I hope so! We sure did! We had some family and great friends over for a cook-out, snappers, play-time, fireworks and then we wrapped it all up with our town's Firework Show!

Here's my Firecracker Trio!

Anyway, I wanted to share two YUMMY goodies I made for the day.

Red, White & Blue Dipped Strawberries!

These were SO easy and SO yummy! I've been seeing shots of these everywhere...so I just ad-libbed.

I washed off a container of strawberries and patted them dry. I went ahead and cut off the stems. You don't need to, but I knew my kids would be leaving green strawberry leaves everywhere if I didn't! Then I melted a bag of white chocolate chips. I did it in a saucepan...people swear by the microwave, but I can never get the chocolate to melt properly that way. I dipped the strawberries into the chocolate and made sure a nice line of red was still showing. Then I immediately dipped the chocolate tip into blue sprinkles.

I set them down on waxed paper and then I popped them into the fridge to set. YUM!

Red, White & Blue Jell-O!

I found the idea and recipe for this HERE at Brown Eyed Baker. She cut them into adorable star shapes...go check them out!!!

This really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Plus, the looks on the kids faces when they saw the different colors was priceless. Plus...it was YUMMY!!!

Me Likey Monday!!!

Popsicle Edition!

It's Hot here. Hot & Humid. Ick.

I'm more of a "Winter Girl", so this sweaty mess can make me cranky. Here is a list that makes me feel refreshed...yummy icy popsicles!

The only thing that sounds better than a root beer float...is Smile Monsters' Root Beer Float on a Stick!

The Idea Room captures the idea of summer with their Fresh Fruit Popsicles!

I found these cool Watermelon Pops over at I Heart Naptime!

My family are big fans of the Push Pops and Big Red Kitchen has this awesome DIY version I can't wait to try!

I found these cuties at a blog called Sandy Toes and Popsicles! How perfectly popsicle-ish!

You can never go wrong with Old School Jello Pops and Eat At Home has a great recipe!

Pass the Sushi has got my mouth actually watering for these Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles!

Let's Get Cooking has a two-fer with these yummy Pudding Pops AND a Banana Cream version!

I can imagine what a wonderful texture these Chocolate Kiwi Pops must have! From Oh! Desserts

These Watermelon Popsicles from Flipflops and Applesauce combine two of my favorite Summer treats: Watermelon and Popsicles!

Now. I can guarantee you're craving a popsicle right now! Do you have any favorites you'd like to share?

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Seriously. Don't we?

I do. I luv me some ice cream. It's my favorite dessert!

And it goes hand in hand with birthday cake. And we just happened to have a birthday around here recently (maybe I've mentioned it?)! And I'm starting a lot of sentences with "and"...

Back when we were prepping for our first child's first birthday my Grandma Rita said, "You know my ice cream trick, don't you?"

I didn't. But I learned. Quick. With LOTS of family and LOTS of cake to serve up, no one wants to fart around scooping up ice cream. Sticky, runny, messy-ness!

Here's our solution!

We spend a few minutes the night before scooping the ice cream up into cupcake liners. Then we pop them into the freezer until the candles are blown out. Then PRESTO! Instant ice cream servings that are easy to grab and put on a plate next to some cake.

Now...If you'll excuse me. I'm off to eat some left-overs!

I'm Joining These Lovely Linky Parties!

Fireflies and Jellybeans

Somewhat Simple

Singing Three Little Birds

Marvelously Messy

The Southern Institute

Someday Crafts

Inspiring Creations

Running With Glitter

Sun Scholars

I (Heart) Naptime

Paisley Passions

DIY by Design

Skip to My Lou

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Giggles, Glitz & Glam

Craft Goodies

Funky Polkadot Giraffe

Something Swanky

Smilemonsters