Ringing in 2013

Although the littles stayed up with us to usher in the new year, it was a relatively quite night over all.  And this first day of January in the South brought dreary skies and the tenth anniversary of our traditional New Year’s Day eats.
    
I adore the juxtaposition of a little grit and a lot of glam, so silver, crystal and candlelight glittered over a simple length of burlap on the table.  I pulled last year’s Bonne Annee kraft paper pennant out for another go round.


Sister and her Mister made the delish pork roast and Honey and I made the rest of our standard fare – hoppin john for luck, bourbon bacon greens (I substitute turnips) for wealth, honey cornbread muffins, the Pirate's House pecan pie (recipe here), sweet tea and champagne.
 
Hoppin John

1 c celery chopped
2 sweet onions chopped
1 green pepper chopped
6 slices bacon, ham pieces or ham bone - cooked
Salt and pepper to taste (about 1 tsp and 1/2 tsp respectively)
1 c uncooked rice

can of chicken broth plus enough water to have all the rice almost covered
container fresh black eyed peas (or two if you like a lot of peas like we do!)

Combine everything in a large pot.  Bring to boil and then lower to simmer for about 40 mins or until rice is cooked and veggies are tender.  You may need to add water if it cooks out before rice is done.  
I liberally salt and pepper it and ward adds hot sauce.

After stuffing our gullets we splayed out all over the den for a lazy day of watching football.  I’m already mourning the end of the holidays, as Honey heads back to work tomorrow.
 
Happy New Year, y’all!
xoxo

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The Oreo Cake

I’ve had a few emails about the oreo cake from the baby’s birthday party and thought I’d take a few minutes to share the details as this was SO easy and would be perfect for a new year’s soiree!


Helpful hints:

• To fit on my standard 11” cake pedestal, I used three packages of Oreos for the two tiered “cake”. 
• I stacked six layers per tier.  You will want to stack cookies in the center too so it’s an entire “cake” of oreos. 
• Be warned that this would be tremendously hard to move so I would make the cake where you want it to end up. 
• In the future, I would use a dot of icing to “glue” the layers together.  This would definitely make it more stable.
• I carefully stuck the sparklers almost all the way through the top center cookie before placing it on the cake.
• I used the red filled holiday cookies, but this would be darling in white too! 

Now, go forth and make the easiest cake you’ll ever do!
xoxo

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Birthday Cake Popcorn

Right up until the eleventh hour, the PCP had requested rice krispie treats for his birthday snack at school.  And then, at the very last minute, he decided that he “actually” doesn’t like rice krispie treats (huh?  I’m questioning his parentage right about now seeing as Honey and I can tear through a pan in about twenty minutes flat.)  Instead, he wanted to take popcorn in for his class.  (This is the same child that took yogurt in one year.)  As soon as he said it, I remembered a birthday cake popcorn I read about a while back and I couldn’t wait to re-create it!  I'm also thinking this could be a great alternative for kids with allergies!




Birthday Cake Popcorn (24 servings)
5 - 3oz. bags of microwave popcorn, popped.  I went all out here and bought the kind with so much faux butter that it pops yellow.
white chocolate candy melts – I used an entire 12oz. bag plus about half of another bag that I already had open
a little canola oil (or whatever you have…except probably olive as that just sounds wrong)
yellow cake mix
mini m&m’s
sprinkles

1. Melt your chocolate in the microwave according to the package directions.
2. Stir in a tablespoon or two of oil to thin it out some.  Then stir in 8 tablespoons-ish of the cake mix.  Try to get most of the lumps out.
3. In a large bowl, dump in your popcorn, a bunch of m&m’s and the chocolate mixture.  Stir well.  I had to do mine in two batches.
4. Spread the popcorn out in one layer over waxed paper.  Add sprinkles.  Let cool and then crumble into pieces.




I had just enough blue paper cups left over from some party or another so I printed out large circle labels to decorate them and then loaded them up with the popcorn.

Easy peasy, pretty darn tasty and SO very cute!!  Oh, and rave reviews from the seven year old set… not that they’re really all that hard to impress.
xoxo

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Cold Weather Favorites + Bird

First things first, thank you to all who thought about and prayed for Bird yesterday.  He has a way to go on his recovery but is relaxing at home on his sofa with Sister, her Mister, Mother and Daddy-O tending to his every need.  As much as Cookie and I wanted to go visit, we think he needs a few more days to rest up for their usual playtime shenanigans.  Keep praying for clean biopsy results over the next couple of days.

Now, while cold, windy weather is not my favorite time of the year (as I type my porch curtains are blowing like crazy and my garage door is creaking something awful), I DO enjoy snuggling up in front of a cozy fire with a hot beverage and my cherry pit pac.  These are a few of my favorites…

I am admittedly far from a coffee connoisseur, but Keurig Pumpkin Spice with a generous glug of Bailey’s Creme Brulee creamer is a pretty decadent start to my fall mornings.  Thanks bestie C for introducing me to this last fall!

On the other hand, I do drink a lot of tea and have tried many, many varieties.  Harney & Sons Paris Tea is hands down my number one choice.  Mother, Sister and I drink countless pots of Paris Tea whenever we are together.  Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon and Wedding teas are also outstanding choices.  Some Fresh Markets carry these but Mother heard they are going to discontinue.  We often order online since we drink so much of it :-)

I just set up our hot chocolate station this week and the littles are in heaven!  We stock it with puffed peppermints, dark chocolate chips and mini marshmallows for a delish treat.  The jars are from World Market and come with the darling chalkboard labels!  The tea pot was from Home Goods last year, but I saw a similar version in there last week.

With that, it’s just about time for a cup of tea and a hearty does of Thomas the Train track building…
xoxo

Find me at: Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Shabby Creek Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, Bacon Time, It's Overflowing, At the Picket Fence,Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, Homemaker on a Dime, Stuff and Nonsense, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff

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Trick and Treat Pizza

We kicked off October and our month full of Tricks and Treats with pizza night!

We make pizza at home a LOT and I always use Publix’s whole wheat bakery pizza dough and whatever sauce I have on hand.  To make the ghosts, slice fresh mozzarella cheese, cut with a cookie cutter and add olive chunk eyes.  Bake according to the directions on your dough.  Note that I blanked on the whole fresh mozzarella thing this year and used pre-sliced regular mozzarella…the ghosts were barely discernable once it baked so definitely go with the fresh and start with nice thick slices before you cut with the cookie cutter.


The littles helped bake up a super spooky dessert pizza earlier in the afternoon.  We pressed sugar cookie dough into the bottom of our pan, added food coloring to cake icing to turn it a gross greenish brown, topped with crushed oreo “dirt” and then decorated with sour gummy worms.  We each had a small slice and then I promptly plated the rest to give to some unsuspecting neighbors :-) 
 

And as for the rest of the week, we played a zillion rounds of spooky bingo (Target dollar bin) and walked to school!

  

The countdown is ON!
xoxo

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Light Nutella Banana Bread

After having Mother here for a week tending to all of our meals, I had to reorient myself with the kitchen to turn out breakfast this morning.  I fell immediately in lust with Cooking Light’s Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread when flipping through the October issue and shockingly had every ingredient on hand!

Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread (slightly edited from the original to exclude the nuts)

• 5 tablespoons Nutella
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 medium ripe bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup whole buttermilk
• Baking spray with flour (such as Baker's Joy)
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine chocolate-hazelnut spread and 1 teaspoon oil in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds or until melted. Stir. Combine 3 tablespoons oil, butter, brown sugar, and banana in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until combined. Scrape half of batter into a 9 x 5-inch metal loaf pan coated with baking spray, and top with chocolate-hazelnut spread mixture. Spread remaining batter over chocolate mixture. Using a wooden pick, swirl batter.
4. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread; cool on wire rack.
5. Place bittersweet chocolate in a microwave-safe dish; microwave at high for 30 seconds. Drizzle bread with chocolate; let stand until set.

Y’all this stuff is sinful. SINFUL, I tell you!  And the fact that it came out of a “light” magazine and has fruit in it pretty much makes it healthy, right?  :-)  I could seriously lounge out here on the porch all fat and happy for the rest of the day, alas we have a Tech game, a baseball game, and a concert to attend.  Fall is flat out our craziest time of the year.
xoxo

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Spelling is Fun

The PCP had his very first test last Friday– in spelling!  We practiced all week using flash cards, with me calling out words, and by playing games and taking practice tests on Spelling City.  So, the night before the big test we had a little “Spelling is Fun” themed supper.  This all came to fruition as I was making my weekly Publix / Trader Joe’s run and spied Spaghetti O’s from A to Z.  Let’s just go ahead and say that, while it was cute, this meal was far from gourmet…

A black and white gingham fabric remnant made for a cute table runner and I pulled out my Dollar Tree letter magnets to decorate the table.

The aforementioned Spaghetti O’s from A-Z made for a kid-tested mother-approved quick fix entree.  Toasted whole wheat bread was cut into each person’s first initial.  Trader Joe’s alphabet cookies made for sweet place cards!
 
We had so much fun trying to make words out of the letters in each spoonful!

Trader Joe’s alphabet cookies and milk served up in vintage Savannah jars made for a cute centerpiece.  The Dollar Tree school bus has seen a lot of mileage in these little school themed snacks and suppers.

The guest of honor in all of his shirtless glory.  (This is the same strange child that sleeps in a polo.)  Let’s just say that we have a newly implemented rule around these parts – no shirt, no supper!

And for posterity’s sake, a pic of the baby who bumped his sweet head on the corner of the island as he was rushing to the table.  Doesn’t that sad face like to break your heart?

The best news of all?  The PCP aced the test, getting 10 out of 10 correct.  YAY!

Fingers crossed he does it again today!!
xoxo

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Alabama Cupcakes {Free Printable}

The PCP’s teacher professed to be a huge Alabama fan and to love baking so, with football kicking off, I put together a cute little themed treat for her.

I put Honey’s extensive sports knowledge to the test by quizzing him on Alabama’s colors, mascot and logo and then pulled together everything Mrs. B will need to bake cupcakes for her team this football season. I lucked out with some serious sales and the grand total for the gift rang up to under eight dollars. The sprinkles and cupcake liners are from Michael’s and the basket is from Dollar Tree.

I created labels for the Crimson Cake, Fan Frosting and Spirit Sprinkles and made a set of four different cupcake flags.  (Thanks Mother for cutting them all out!)

   

And because I did all this work and don’t know a single other Alabama fan, I thought I’d share it out here in the event that any of y’all roll with tide (or whatever it is Alabama fans say.)  :-)
Alabama Cupcakes

Right before we handed it over I thought to myself “She did say Alabama and not Auburn, right?!?!  And that A does stand for the right team, right?!?!?”.  That’s what I get for sticking my nose into something I know nothing about (sports.)  Relief flooded over me when she seemed to be genuinely thrilled. Now, I need to get myself in gear and make one of these for Georgia Tech!
xoxo

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Oreo Apples

Sister and I have used these Oreo molds a few times and, in spite of my best intentions, I’ve yet to share the details.  I managed to take pictures of the steps most of the way through making the Oreo Apples for our First Place First Grader party and first day of first grade lunch.


First, you’ll need to get your Oreo molds.  I searched high and low at places like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby to no avail, and ended up buying them online from Spinning Leaf.  A six cavity mold is $6 and I bought two.

In addition to the mold, you’ll need chocolate candy melts (red and green if you are making apples), Oreos and a disposable pastry bag (mine are plastic by Wilton and were purchased at Michael’s.)  [The fact that Honey bought reduced fat Oreo's makes me laugh a little.  And the fact that he went to the grocery store at all makes me laugh a lot...I envision him strolling the aisles (for probably the third time in his life) trying to figure out where on earth they hide the Oreo's.  He's a good man, that Honey.]



1. Put your pastry bag in a microwaveable cup and add about half the bag of chocolate.  Melt according to the package directions.


2. Once melted, snip the tip off the pastry bag with scissors.  Put a generous amount of chocolate in each cavity of the mold.  You want to have enough chocolate in them so that when you press your Oreo down it will come up the sides of the mold a good ways.


3.  Gently press an Oreo in each cavity.


4.  Pipe more chocolate on top of the Oreo’s.


5.  Tap the mold down on the counter to encourage the chocolate to fill down the sides of the mold and completely cover the cookies.  You might need to add more chocolate on top as you work it down the sides.


6.  Level out the tops with a knife and use a damp paper towel to clean up the top of the mold.  Put the mold in the fridge to set.

[Here’s where real life set in and I just had to get it done rather than stop to take pics every two mintues.]

7. Unmold the Oreo’s by gently pressing on the tops and sides to release.  This should be fairly easy.

8. To make the stems, melt your green chocolate in a new pastry bag using the same method you used for the red.  Lay a piece of waxed paper on a plate and pipe out a stem/leaf shape for each apple.  Put the plate in the fridge to set.  It should only take a minute or two.  Once set, use a blob of green chocolate on the cookie to adhere the stem/leaf.  I had to prop it up on the side of my cutting board until it set.

So that’s it.  Sorry I flaked half way through. I realize I’m not great at explaining things… probably because I’m generally making them up as I go.

Happy back to school, y’all!
xoxo

Flattered for the feature at Frugal Girls!

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Shark Week Spaghetti

As all moms of boys (and I’m talking about all of ‘em – age 6 to 96) are likely aware, it’s the most fascinatingly gory time of the year on the Discovery Channel – the 25th anniversary of SHARK WEEK.  My littles have been tuned in night after night, bite after bite and are soaking it all up like little sponges.  I’ve been completely inundated with so many “Did you knows…” and “Can you believes…” that I honestly know more about the alpha male of the ocean than I ever, in all my days, could have EVER wanted to be privy to.

Sooooo…this brings me to the fun little shark inspired spaghetti we dined on earlier in the week.  This literally took no more than a few minutes to throw together and was a meglaodon of a success!  
Shark Spaghetti
1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Honey did the grocery shopping this week so we were using white spaghetti rather than whole wheat – which honestly probably worked better anyway.
2. Drain pasta and return to pot.  Add a little olive oil and blue food coloring.  Stir well.  Add more food coloring as needed.
3. Cut loaf of french bread to look like shark teeth.  I used a food safe marker to draw the teeth and then a very sharp knife to cut them out.  I stuck an edible eyeball on (by Wilton) with a dollop of cream cheese.

4. Drizzle spaghetti sauce over blue noodle water to look like blood.  Ew, gross, I know.

Shark Swarm Cupcakes
I made a box of cupcakes for our first day of school party and froze the extras before icing.  I just popped two out of the freezer for a few hours, iced and decorated with sprinkles.  Stick in a few shark gummies with toothpicks and call it a swarm!

Fins up, y’all!
xoxo

PS. Shark Week definitely gets a bit gory at times.  We watch more of the informational/documentary type shows with the PCP and help explain the things he sees.  We also have an agreement that Mommy can change the channel at any time if it gets to be too much for her :-)

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