Kid Craft: Paper Butterflies

I started writing the title of this cutie kid craft 'toilet roll butterflies' but I don't like the words 'toilet' and 'butterflies' in the same headline hahahhaha - so they are paper butterflies! The empty toilet paper roll is the body, glued to paper wings. Super easy. Brooke made the fire breathing dragons last week for a kid craft day we had for a couple little friends, and I whipped out these butterflies to go with the dragons. After they made those 2,  we got silly and creative and made aliens and dinosaurs - and I forgot to take pictures of them! Boo me. Just for your info they used different size googly eyes, pipe cleaners, stickers, colored papers, etc. and empty paper towel rolls and used their very active imaginations to make whatever they wanted. We all had so much fun!

For the butterflies: cut a piece of paper to cover the empty toilet paper roll, tape or glue in place. Stick or glue on a couple googly eyes, and 2 short lengths of pipecleaners for the antenna. Fold a piece of cardstock in half, and draw the shape of one wing, leave about an inch space on the fold and cut the wing out - since you folded the paper in half you'll get 2 connected wings the same exact shape. Decorate the wings however you like, glue the roll in the middle, and you're done. 

4.15.20: tuna salad stuffed avocado

4.15.19: eggshell candles

4.15.18: LeDonna's Broccoli Cottage bake

4.15.17: cork gardening

4.15.16: t-shirt hack (literally a hack - I cut holes out of the back haha)

French Breakfast Puffs

French Breakfast Puffs, how I love you. You remind me of what would happen if a cinnamon sugar donut and a snickerdoodle got together - pure heaven :) 

I've been making these since I was a kid; it's a muffin rolled in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar - I mean, c'mon, what's not to love? I'm not even bothering to give these to my sister, they are in no way, under any circumstances, 'healthy'. Or even 'healthy-ish'. Even calling them a 'muffin' is a little misleading, doesn't 'muffin' make you think it's healthier than a cupcake? Let's call these cupcakes without frosting, but with all the sugar LOL. 

I have no idea why they're named french breakfast puffs - they aren't breakfasty or puffy. I made them for the first time in mini-muffin pans and only dipped the tops, they are still yummy but I think I prefer the full sized version - or maybe it's just that I'd rather have a big one totally coated in butter and sugar? 

I'll give you the recipe I've made for forever, and also a different version I found in a BHG magazine back in '97 - the only difference is they use butter in the batter instead of shortening, and bake them at a different temp. I've made them both ways and think the original is better, but both ways are great. 

My recipe:

• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup milk

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (just mix however much cinnamon you want into white sugar)

Mix shortening, sugar, and egg with a mixer until creamed together. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the shortening mixture, along with the milk. Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray, fill muffin cups 2/3rds full, bake at 300' for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan and cool enough to handle them. Roll the entire muffin in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. Makes 12 regular size muffins or 36 miniature. 

BHG version:

same as above except substitute melted butter for the shortening; bake at 350' until done; only dip the tops in the butter and sugar. 

the batter is quite thick, I use a small cookie scopp
to equally portion the muffins

dip the top (or the entire thing) in melted butter...

then dip (or roll) in cinnamon sugar

hold on to your hat, I'm about to tell you a sinful secret -
I actually double dip them which is not part of the recipe
but gives them a thicker crunchier sugarier coating!
in the picture above  the left one is double dipped

4.14.20: fabric masks 

4.14.19: 🔥 recap (with a beautiful bunny cake!)

4.14.18: strawberry cream cheese frosting

4.14.17: Brooke's DIY speaker

4.14.16: how to repair an ironing board

Tip-sy Tuesday: Cleaning with Foil

 Cleaning my glass baking dish the other night after roasting carrots and I remembered a little tip I saw somewhere about scrubbing with aluminum foil - well what did I have to lose by trying it hahahah...

and it works! I'm not sure it's better than a plain old scotch brite or sponge with elbow grease, but using a small piece of foil wadded up into a ball to get the brown baked on spots off worked. It didn't scratch the glass dish, I thought maybe it would, but nope. So here's another useful tip in my arsenal of 'how to clean things whether I want to or not'. 

4.13.20: Miss Lori's latch hook hanging

4.13.19: herb crusted lamb roast

4.13.18: Florian's sauerkraut

4.13.17: roasted carrots

4.13.16: lemon cream pie with gingersnap crust

Lemon-Paprika Chicken with Chickpeas and Couscous

I made this for dinner and I think it's really good. I don't mean I think it's good but no one else does, I mean I think it's good - hard to know for sure because instead of fresh thyme I used dried and used waaaaaaay to much. Like the dish was so heavily thyme-seasoned it was hard to taste the other ingredients! But from what I can tell, minus too much thyme, I think the dish is really good! 

Other than overdoing the thyme, my changes are that I didn't have fresh lemon so I used bottled juice and didn't serve with wedges; I added garlic powder instead of cloves; I omitted the red pepper; and I made a box of pine nut couscous that I had on hand. 

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 T. tomato paste
• 3 T. olive oil
• 2 t. paprika
• 2 t. chopped fresh thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (6-8 oz. each)
• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas (don't drain)
• 1 red bell pepper, chpped
• 3/4 cup couscous
• 2 T. chopped fresh parsley
• lemon wedges for serving

1. Preheat oven to 375'. Whisk the lemon juice, tomato paste, 2 T. olive oil, paprika, thyme, garlic and 1/2 t. each salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Rub the chicken with 3 T. of the lemon-paprika mixture to evenly coat.
2. Heat the remaining 1 T. olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned on one side, about 5 minute. Meanwhile, remove 3 T. liquid from the can of chickpeas and transfer to a medium bowl. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add to the bowl with the chickpea liquid and add the remaining lemon-paprika mixture and the bell pepper; toss. Flip the chicken and scatter the chickpea mixture around the chicken, scraping any liquid into the pan. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, cook the couscous as the label directs. Fluff the couscous with a fork.
4. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the couscous to the chickpea mixture and stir together to absorb the pan sauce; season with salt and pepper. Slice the chicken and divide amount plates along with the couscous-chickpea mixture. Top with the parsley and serve with lemon wedges. 

4 servings. Per serving: calories 580; fat 18g; carb 47g; pro 55g; sugar 6g; fiber 8g.

from 3/21 Food Network Magazine

 4.12.20: 🔥week 15

4.12.19: dog in the blog - food bowl tip

4.12.18: one year old's birthday cake

4.12.17: granola cookies

4.12.16: tidying up

🔥Around the Campfire (week 15)

Dear Campers ~

Here's the weekly recap in case you might have missed anything last week at camp:

Posts ~

4/4: 🔥week 14 

4/5: ham and lentil soup

4/6: tip-sy tuesday: homemade chili sauce

4/7: banana oatmeal cookies #2

4/8: kid craft: fire breathing dragon

4/9: garlic parmesan wings 

4/10: crockpot country ribs

What's Cooking ~

• Easter ham dinner (cheesey potatoes, roasted carrots, roasted asparagus, pineapple stuffing, deviled eggs)
• grilled chicken sausages, beans baked with marinara sauce and feta, caesar salad
• steak, stuffed mushrooms, caesar salad
• west coast chili
• grilled chicken, breaded cauliflower, roasted asparagus
• red and green enchiladas (chicken and refried beans this time), side salad

Miscellaneous stuff keeping me busy ~

• it's been so long since I've had my 'real' camera out - I've got the batteries all charged up now and watching for good photo ops. We have so many Canadian geese this spring - they're obnoxiously loud and poop everywhere, but they are fun to watch and we'll be seeing cutie baby geese soon.
• read a couple John Sandford Lucas Davenport series books but neither were great so I'm not going to bore you with reviews. I still love him but these were a little slow. 
• tap recital is at the end of the month so I'm practice, practice, practicing like crazy. I hate the last minute feeling that I'm not prepared and can't remember the routine hahaha. Our costume is '80's' and we can put together whatever we want. So far I have cropped tights, a tutu, prince t-shirt, black cropped jacket, giant star earrings, lace gloves, and a massive wig. I'll show you a picture once I've finalized the costume. 

That's all for now - hope everyone had a great week. Stop back often for more crafts, projects, ideas, recipes - whatever else I can think of to make at camp! Bye!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

4.11.20: hot cross buns

4.11.19: Al and Cathy's DIY fire pit

4.11.18: disposable cake pans

4.11.17: freezing avocados

4.11.16: easy chair back covers

Crock Pot Country Ribs

This is just about the easiest recipe ever - and it's delicious. What's not to love about that hahaha?!

Put a package of boneless, pork country ribs in a large crockpot (I spray the crockpot with no-stick cooking spray first). Add 1 large can of cream of mushroom soup and 1 or 2 cans of mushrooms, including the juice. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-9 hours. If you don't want as much sauce just use a small can of soup, but I like to have extra to put over noodles or mashed potatoes as sort of a gravy. Yum. 

Note: country ribs aren't actually ribs, not sure why they're called that! Maybe because of the way they're cut? I've only ever made them in the crockpot - they are very moist, meaty, and flavorful. 

4.10.20: banana muffins

4.10.19: chocolate bunny cake

4.10.18: prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella sticks
4.10.17: how to make paper umbrellas

4.10.16: oven steamed salmon

Garlic Parmesan Wings

For the record, I'm not a fan of wings or little drumettes - can't give you a reason other than I just never eat them. So when Al made these for an appetizer I have no idea why I tried one - maybe because they smelled divine? And I was probably super hungry? I don't know but I'm very happy to report that I did, and I loved it, and of course asked for the recipe to share. These are truly delicious - finger lickin' good! Not sure I'm going to start eating wings now but if Al is making these again I'm in (that's a little hint if he's reading this hahaha!). 

He sent me a copy of the recipe, can't tell where he found it - I'll type it out for you in case it's too hard to read:

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. chicken wings (note he did some drumettes in addition to the wings)
• 1 1/2 T. baking powder
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup salted butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 t. dried parsley
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 ounce grated parmesan (about 1/2 cup)
• fresh chopped rosemary or parsley

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 250' and place a baking rack over a baking sheet lined with foil. brush rack with oil to prevent sticking.
2. Pat wings dry very well (as dry as possible) and place in a plastic bag. Sprinkle with baking powder, salt, and pepper and sea the bag. Shake to coat. Lay wings in a single layer on prepared baking rack and bake in lower third of oven for 30 minutes. 
3. Increase oven temperature to 425' and move baking sheet to upper third of oven. Continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until crispy. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Melt the butter in a microwaveable safe bowl or in a saucepan. Add the garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chicken wings and sprinkle with the parmesan. Toss well to coat. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce. 

4.9.20: 3D flower card

4.9.19: tipsy tuesday: make a grease container
4.9.18: don't throw away old or broken candles...make new ones
4.9.17: JAR pot roast (short ribs and vegetables)
4.9.16: refrigerator jam and easy ice cream cake

Kid Craft: Fire Breathing Dragon by Brooke

hey guys! i made this super cute dragon out of a toilet paper roll! all you need is a toilet paper roll, green construction paper, red yellow and orange tissue paper, scissors, tape, a dark green marker and some google eyes! (i also used a hole punch and string so i could wear it around my neck but you don’t have to). 

first i took my green construction paper and measured how long the toilet paper roll was. then i cut it and wrapped it around and taped the paper so it couldn’t move. then i cut strips of tissue paper. i cut them all different lengths and sizes so the flames would all look different. i also cut triangle shapes on the end of each one too! then i took one and taped it on the inside of the toilet paper roll. i did this all around so the flames would look like it was coming out of the dragons mouth! once i taped them all around and it looked like enough flames i took a green marker and drew two nostrils. then i used the google eyes and put them on his face! (they had stickies on the back but you can use glue or just draw them lol! then you’re dragon is complete! i added string tho.. so if you want to do that all you need to do is hole punch 2 holes-one on each side and then tie a string! then you have a dragon! if you blow through the toilet paper roll the tissue paper moves and makes it look like he’s blowing flames! 

4.8.20: wacky nail polish

4.8.19: mug rug
4.8.18: ham pasta salad
4.8.17: coleslaw dressing
4.8.16: Brooke has a tip

Banana Oatmeal Cookies #2

I posted on 6/3/20 that I made banana oatmeal cookies but I couldn't find the recipe to share, so I remade them using a different recipe - the repeat cookies weren't exactly the same but still great and I moved on. So the other day I'm cleaning off open safari tabs on my phone and a recipe for banana oatmeal cookies is one of them (I didn't realize I have open tabs going back over a year!) - I'm thinking this must be the original recipe so I made them again to make sure they're good...and yep, they're great! Similar to the 6/20 recipe, they are soft and cakey with tons of flavor. I figured you might as well get the second version of these cookies - tell me if you've make both of the recipes and which you like better!

The recipe calls for semi-sweet chips and nuts, I did 1/2 semi-sweet and 1/2 butterscotch chips and omitted the nuts. 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t. ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 larg egg, room temperature
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2)
• 1 3/4 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375'. In a bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients; beat in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg, bananas, and oats; mix well. Stir in chips and nuts.
2. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 13-15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

makes 4 dozen. 1 cookie = 97 calories, 5g fat, 13g carb (7g sugar, 1g fiber)

click here for recipe found at tasteofhome.com

4.7.20: Natalie makes crepes

4.7.19: around the campfire 🔥
4.7.18: swedish fish cocktail
4.7.17: DIY phone case by Brooke (I still use this btw, I just switched it to another clear case)
4.7.16: how to repair a wall clock

Tip-sy Tuesday: chili sauce

I wanted to make meatloaf for the April Fool's 'cake' last week but didn't have any chili sauce - so I made my own, didn't realize how simple it is!

• 1 cup tomato sauce or ketchup 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 t. allspice
• 1 t. red pepper flakes

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until all the sugar is melted and incorporated. 

4.6.20: at home spa day

4.6.19: vodka bolognese 
4.6.18: diy heating pad
4.6.17: emergency kit ...although good luck finding everything right now :(
4.6.16: stuffed mini sweet peppers