Drying Herbs

Well, it's about time to clean out the garden and put everything away - boo. I love this time of year but always hate pulling out what is left in the garden. Last year I still had lots of herbs and couldn't bear pitching them - so I tried drying them instead... and it turned out so good I thought I'd share what I did:

bundle together a handful of herbs still on their stalks, tie at the top with twine 

lower into small paper bags

clip the bags together and hang from the twine in a cook dark place

dried sage

once dried remove from the bags, take the leaves off of the stems

not sure why I laid them out this way - on the left is thyme stems, middle is the dried bundle, right  is thyme leaves

once removed from the stems put in individual baggies 

Lucy tasting the dried herbs :)

Cool Clipboards! by Brooke

Hello, everyone! happy Friday! so back to school is here and I always want a clipboard. but they are mostly all brown and boring. So what I did this year was take some duct tape and put stripes on my clipboards! they are super cool! and no one else will have them! it is very easy! hope you like your new clipboards!

Baking Center

Dave was looking for candles to put on the L.A.U.G.H hawaiian cake (click here for that post) and I'm embarrassed to say I couldn't find them in the baking cabinet! Ugh, things were so messed up and jammed in that I finally had to pull everything out and organize it. Yes it seems like I do this all the time doesn't it?! Well this time I think I've hit on what is really going to work, and continue working!

I had one of these plastic drawer things and after seeing how well it fit in the cupboard I went to the store and got a couple more. Everything got separated, cleaned out, and sorted - then back in labeled drawers. Now I can open the cupboard and see where everything is. Dave came home and I told him to go see if he can find cake candles and he goes "hmmmm - I see sprinkles, picks, food coloring, and oh look here are candles" hahaha.

 I used to have all the sugar, etc. in the cupboard but moved it to a pull out shelf below - same thing I did in the condo kitchen and I know it works!

one year ago today: pumpkin nutella bars

two years ago today: make a pumpkin tower

Hawaiian Cake

Dave's ukulele group (L.A.U.G.H.) recently celebrated their 9th anniversary so I made this cake for him to take and share with the group. This is quick and easy, turned out SO good. All light and fluffy (the opposite of the last cake I shared with you haha, click here for Funfetti Cake Dough Brownie Layer Cake), it's a doctored cake mix topped with pineapple pudding and cool whip. Yum.

Here is the recipe I found on Pinterest, I'll write it exactly as written and share my changes at the end. There are always changes ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 (15.25 oz.) package yellow cake mix + oil & eggs to prepare cake
• 1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, well-drained & juice reserved
• 1/3 c. coconut
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 c. cold REAL milk
• 1 (3 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding
• 2 c. whipping or heavy cream
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 c. coconut
• 1/4 c. chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Drain pineapple and reserve the juice. Place pineapple in the refrigerator to be used later.
2. Prepare cake as directed on the package, using reserved pineapple juice for the liquid instead of water. Fold 1/3 cup coconut into batter. Bake in a 13x9" pan according to package directions. Once baked, cool cake completely.
3. Beat softened cream cheese with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds; add milk and beat for another 30 seconds. Add dry pudding mix and beat until well combined and smooth. Fold in drained pineapple.
4. Spread pineapple pudding mixture evenly on top of the cake.
5. With clean beaters and bowl, beat whipping cream and vanilla at medium speed until frothy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Spread in an even layer on top of pineapple pudding mixture.
6. Sprinkle top of cake with 2/3 cup coconut and then chopped nuts. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Cake can be served right away, but is even better after being refrigerated overnight to allow the flavors to meld.

Ok, my notes: I didn't whip the cream because I was worried about the cake having to sit out for 3 hours before it was going to be eaten. I substituted Cool Whip and it held up great. I didn't use the pecans because of Dave's allergies. And I used unsweetened coconut to help cut down on the sweet factor, but then I sprinkled on coarse sugar for some sparkle and crunch - turned out perfect. And judging by the empty cake pan he brought home it was a success, they ate every bite! 

spread the pineapple pudding on top of the cooled cake.
it looks like scrambled eggs in this pic!

Paper Sunflower in a Wine Cork

The cute artificial flower in a wine cork (click here for that post) I made recently to hang in our RV inspired me to make this little decoration for Ronda's display table. Using her Stampin' Up daisy punch I punched flowers out of orange and yellow cardstock, stack three on top of each other to look like a sunflower and glue together. Hole punch a few circles out of brown cardstock and glue to the center of the flower. Tape a short piece of green wire to the back and stick down into the hole made in the top of the cork from the wine opener. Glue to a piece of chip board or cardboard, something strong enough to keep the flowers from falling over.

Wine and Design - Fall Tabletop Arrangement

I love "Wine and Design" night at our local nursery, what a fun idea. Candy and I have done a few of these before (click here to see how we made corn husk wreaths last fall, I still have them so they hold up well!) and even though I always put too much pressure on myself to make it look perfect and Candy cracks up at me, we have a great time!

This time it was making these fall arrangements from found objects around the yard and neighborhood (you could buy these things if you don't have this kind of material easily available after a windstorm haha, it's laying all over at our house!). You can literally use anything you find - sticks, little twigs, small branches, clippings of different evergreens, moss, berries, flowers, pinecones, stones, pebbles, acorns...

We started with 2 or 3 big sticks in the center of our containers. This one is a square whitewashed wood box that I absolutely love, it's lined so it's watertight and filled with floral foam soaked in water.  Push the sticks into the center of the box, if the sticks have bends in them they look even cooler. Then continue to build out from there filling up most of the center. We put two large rocks in the front, filled in the edges with pieces of moss, red rocks, and small stones. To finish there are a few acorns scattered about. This would also look super cute if you had a little artificial bird or decoration to wire onto one of the tall sticks.

Water as needed; if anything dies or you just want to remove it, it's easy to pull out individual pieces and replace them with fresh material. Seriously, I've had this on my counter for a month now and it's still going strong - I haven't had to replace anything yet!

one year ago today: veggie and white bean bake

two years ago today: soccer keychains

Cheese Ball(s)

Remember when I posted that Cassandra asked me for a cheeseball and I made the "everything cheeseball" but we ate it instead of giving it to her? (click here for that post). I forgot to post that I actually did make her one of her own! This is very simple to do and so yummy - when I gave it to her she was working and walked over to the drug store and bought some crackers...by the time I got home she texted me that they had eaten the whole box of crackers and 1/2 the cheeseball already! hahaha I laughed!

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
cooked chopped bacon - don't know how much I used, at least 4 slices (or just use already cooked "real bacon" in a little bag, I totally cheated and did this!)
shredded cheddar for the outside of ball

Mix the cream cheese, 1 cup cheddar, garlic and onion powder, band bacon together until smooth. Turn the mixture out onto a large piece of saran wrap, wrap around the mixture and shape it into a ball. Refrigerate for at least an hour. It will be soft when you first roll it up and you're gonna question how it's going to become a ball, but it will! Remove from fridge and roll in additional shredded cheese, place on a serving tray and serve with crackers, pita, celery sticks, whatever. Traditional cheeseball is usually rolled in chopped nuts but I like shredded cheese better.

This is how I transported it to Cassandra (she doesn't
have a fridge at work). I put it in a small plastic container, then
set it inside a bigger plastic bowl filled with ice and covered it. 

My sister makes a delish hot buffalo dip so I took that idea and made the above cheeseball into a "buffalo cheese ball" by adding buffalo sauce, diced celery, and blue cheese crumbles. I didn't measure, just kept adding until it looked right and since I don't like spicy food I just added buffalo sauce (like Frank's) until it bordered on too spicy for me. She (and everyone at the party) loved it!

Winner Winner!

I put all the names in a bowl, shook 'em up... and the winner of the anniversary drawing is...




...congrats Mickey Putnam!
I'll be sending you a $25 gift card to Michaels - watch your mailbox :)




Thanks for playing, and helping me celebrate 2 years of blogging! Woohoo!!

Chocolate Covered Bananas Slices! by Brooke

hello, everyone! so I love chocolate covered bananas, but I can never finish a whole one, so I made chocolate covered banana slices! They are so easy to make, and they are delicious! so the first thing I did was cut up a banana into slices and put them on a paper plate. then I took a bowl and put chocolate chips in it and melted it in the microwave. (30 second intervals so the chocolate doesn't burn) then once the chocolate was melted I took a banana slice and dropped it in the bowl then took a fork and covered it in chocolate, then took the fork and scooped it out and put it on a paper plate.then put them in the freezer for 30 minutes then ate them! they were too good! and super easy to make!



one year ago today: corn husk wreaths
two years ago today: decorate your outlet covers

Box Tops

Ok, this isn't actually a thing I "made" but it is what I did today so I'm sharing. Think of it as a little PSA haha. I volunteer in my niece's middle school library and one of my duties is to trim and sort box tops - this is quite time consuming actually since every one of them has to be trimmed as perfectly as possible - I have no idea why (and it's sometimes kind of gross when there is food still on them hahaha!! And once I found a ring in the bag of box tops that must have slipped off someones finger when they were bagging the box tops up to send to school!).  I did not know until I started doing this that each box top the kids bring in equals .10 for the school. Seriously that adds up! I never really paid attention to boxes, containers, packages that have box tops on them before, now when I see them I cut them out and bring in to school. Every dime helps!


one year ago today: Sprinkles No-Bake Cheesecake
two years ago today: filled German Chocolate Cupcakes

Funfetti Cake Dough Brownie Layer Cake

Once again it was my sister's turn at work to bring birthday dessert ...and we know what happens when it's my sister's turn - she either buys something or asks her baking sister if she'd like to volunteer :). Last year it was Sprinkles No-Bake Cheesecake (click here for that recipe), here's what "we" (meaning me) came up with this time - 3 brownie layers sandwiched with a funfetti cake dough (unbaked! you don't use eggs in the dough so it's safe to eat raw), drizzled with chocolate ganache, topped with tons of sprinkles and a bit of buttercream decorations. Whew - it's super rich and decadent, very impressive looking, and according to my sister everyone loved it. Yay!

I followed the recipe as printed (I know, I rarely do that!), even making the brownies from scratch based on the recipe author's promise that they are delish - and they are - if you want to make brownies from a box you'll need 2 boxes. Oh wait, I did make one change and that is I used 9" pans instead of 8" and baked them for a few minutes less. I think this would also work in a 13x9 pan and just do a bottom brownie, top with funfetti dough, then another brownie layer - I might try that in the future. Here's the recipe (with any notes I made in parentheses):

Brownies:

• 1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dark cocoa
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (note: I used coarse salt)

1. Line the bottoms of three 8" cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides. (note: I used 2 9"inch pans, baked 2 of them reserving 1/3 of the batter and then baked the remaining 1 after removing the brownies from one of the pans...this is because I only have 2 pans!)
2. Mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add eggs and mix until well combined.
3. In another bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture until well combined. 
5. Pour the batter evenly into the three pans and spread evenly. (note: this made 5 cups of batter, I took out 1/2 cup and baked it in a small ramekin (so I'd be able to sample!), each 9" pan got about 1 1/2 cup of batter).
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. (note: bake less if you use a larger pan).
7. Remove brownies from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to cool on a wire rack. 
8. While brownies are cooling make the funfetti cake dough.

Cake Dough:

• 1 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• two boxes funfetti dry cake mix
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 3-4 Tablespoons milk
• 4-5 teaspoon sprinkles
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Mix in vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add one entire box of dry cake mix, plus 1 1/2 cups from the second box of cake mix; mix until combined.
4. Add 1 cup four, mix until combined.
5. Add milk and up to an additional 1/3 cup of flour to preferred thickness (note: not knowing what it was supposed to be like I didn't know the "preferred thickness! It needs to hold it's shape when sandwiched in between the brownies so it needs to be really thick). 
6. Stir in sprinkles and chocolate chips. Set aside.

To assemble the cake:

Once the brownies are cool you can put the layers together. Either pile the funfetti dough onto the brownies and stack, or use this method to have clean edges and sides of the cake.

1. Place 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl. 
2. Microwave 1/2 cup heavy cream until it starts to boil. Remove from microwave and pour over chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with saran wrap for 5-7 minutes. 
3. Whisk chocolate and cream until smooth.
4. Using one of the same cake pans that you baked the brownies in, put saran wrap in the bottom and up the sides of the pan - you'll use it to lift the layers out of the pan.
5. Place the first brownie into the bottom of the pan. Add about 3 Tablespoons of chocolate ganache (that's the chocolate and cream mixture you just made) on top of the brownie and spread into a thin layer. This will help the dough stick to the brownie. (note: I didn't use that much after I did it the first time - the ganache ran out the sides and made it messy. Just use enough to thinly coat the brownie).
6. Put half of the dough into the pan and spread evenly on top of the brownie.
7. Remove the first two layers from the cake pan and place on it's serving dish. 
8. Repeat steps 5-7 with the second brownie and remaining cookie dough, remove from pan.
9. Put more chocolate ganache on top of the dough layer from the first section of cake, spread thinly. Place the second section of cake onto the first.
10. Put more chocolate ganache on top of the top cookie dough layer and spread thinly. Top with remaining brownie.
11. Press more sprinkles into sides of cookie dough, if desired. 

To finish:

1. Place 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl.
2. Microwave 1/2 cup heavy cream until it starts to boil. Remove from microwave and pour over chocolate chips.
3. Cover bowl with saran wrap for 5-7 minutes.
4. Whisk chocolate and cream until it's smooth. 
5. Allow to sit for a few minutes until it just starts to thicken, then pour over the top of cake letting it run down the sides. Top with sprinkles.
6. Place cake in the fridge and make the chocolate icing.

Chocolate Icing:

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa
• 1 Tablespoon milk

1. Beat the shortening and butter together until smooth.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar and cocoa, mix until smooth.
3. Add milk and mix until smooth.

Pipe icing onto the top edge of the cake, finish with more sprinkles if desired!

*With the little ramekin brownie,  I made Dave a mini baby cake with a bit of the cake dough and ganache so he could try it...the man didn't stop raving the entire time he ate it! I quote "that's as good as it gets", and "that was over the top", and "that was unbelievable" hahahaha. Definitely a hit!

found the recipe here on Pinterest.

Paper Mugs

Oh my gosh these paper mugs turned out so cute! And they are quite easy to make, which is a bonus...I'm thinking of so many uses for them - they'll make adorable table decorations and gift holders for sure.

I made 2 of them for Ronda's seasonal display table out of coordinating Stampin' Up papers and attached them to Stampin' Up paper doilies - LOVE - but they were just as cute on their own without the doily if you prefer.

They aren't difficult but my describing it might be - I took lots of pictures though and there's youtube videos you can google if you want to watch how its done. For demonstration purposes I made one out of plain paper so you can see the scoring and cuts easier, the finished ones out of decorative papers  are way cuter :)

All you need is a sheet of cardstock or scrapbook paper, scissors, adhesive (I used glue stick), and a scoring board helps but you could do it with a ruler and something pointy but not sharp (I used a crochet hook until I got this scoring board from Ronda).

1. Cut the paper into a 8.5" x 4.5" rectangle for the mug, and another piece 4.5" x 3/4" for the handle. Note for the plain example mug I made the handle 1" wide but later decided 3/4" looked better. Up to you!

2. Score 1.5" from one edge vertically (the long way) as shown below.

3. Turn the paper and score every inch 8 times (so make a score line at 1", 2", 3", 4", 5", 6", 7", and 8"). There will be a little 1/2" inch end flap left over that you'll use to glue the mug together. Fold along all of the lines so you can see them better.

4. Remove the bottom corner of the 1/2" strip just up to the 1.5" vertical score you made in step 1. Then make cuts on each of the other 7 score lines you made in step 3, stopping at the 1.5" initial vertical score line. See the picture below.

5. Fold up the paper making a circle/mug shape with the cut pieces at the top as shown. Glue the 1/2" end flap to the beginning of the rectangle so it keeps its shape.

6. Fold each cut piece out so it's easier to work with the little tabs.

7. Fold in the tabs that are directly across from each other and glue to connect. Be careful to not pull or force the tabs and get the mug all out of shape and wonky. Continue folding in and gluing the tabs across from each other all around the circle for a total of 4 connections.

8. Once all the folds are connected this is what it looks like (below) and forms the bottom of the mug.

9. Turn the cup right side up and glue the 4.5" x 3/4" strip to the edge of one of the panels as shown. Note for this example mug I used 1" for the handle but decided it looks better 3/4" for the others I made. Do whatever looks good to you!

10. Bend the strip down so it curls into a handle shape and attach at the bottom.

The finished project made out of pretty papers and attached to a paper doily - cute, right?

one year ago today: beaded bracelets with words
two years ago today: make a dog crate cover

Last Chance for Drawing!

A quick reminder that you still have a short window to leave me a comment (or go to Facebook) to be entered to win the blogs 2nd anniversary drawing! Hurry!

We are on our way home from a quick trip to the U.P., I'll be back to making stuff tomorrow!

Apricot, Pine nut, and Honey Goat Cheese Spread

Made this very easy appetizer for a friend's dinner party and it was a big hit - it might seem a little "foo-foo" but let me tell you how good it is. It's good. Really good. You should totally make this and impress the crap out of people ;)

Note: the original recipe called for almonds but I substituted pine nuts instead so Dave could eat some!

8 oz. goat cheese log, room temperature
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
8 dried apricots, chopped
3 teaspoons fresh parsley or basil, chopped
1/2 cup apricot preserves
coarse pepper
honey

1. spread preserves on a serving tray or platter
2. roughly chop the pine nuts, combine with chopped apricots and chopped herb - put them on a plate or in a pie pan (something big enough to fit the log)
3. roll the goat cheese log in the mixture and place it on top of the preserves you spread on a platter
4. sprinkle with some pepper if you want, then drizzle honey over the entire thing.
5. serve with and assortment of crackers

Original recipe found here.

2 years ago today: organized my craft room. of course I've changed it since then tho...!
1 year ago today:  killer german chocolate cake