Ganache Truffles

I had leftover ganache from making LeDonna a german chocolate cake for her birthday - I got it out of the fridge last night thinking I'd just pitch it but then remembered that I could roll it into balls and make super easy truffles. After rolling the ganache into balls I put them in the fridge to firm up (the ganache melted pretty quickly in my hands), and then rolled them in powdered sugar. Store in the fridge.

From the blog post for German chocolate cake:

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz. (1 1/3 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate, stir until the chocolate has melted. Let it rest on the counter for about an hour uncovered and it will thicken up a bit. Then you have options - you can serve warm as a glaze or ice cream topping; chill it in the fridge for a filling or scoop out with a melon baller into truffles and roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder;  or whip on high speed with an electric mixer for a whipped ganache frosting. This is SO GOOD - any way you use it!

Note: I whipped the ganache into frosting for the cake so that is what the truffles are made out of, I haven't made them with unwhipped ganache yet. 

9.20.23: chocolate chip cookie pie

9.20.22: thru the years

9.20.21: 30 minute tomato sauce 

9.20.19: hairy pretzels

9.20.17: funfetti cake dough brownie layer cake

9.20.16: finish what you start

Harry Potter Visor

I made this visor for Natalie's birthday - she is a huge Harry Potter fan so we looked at bunches of ideas before deciding on this simple 9 3/4 (if you know you know!). I played with different sizes on the Cricut Design Space; once I got it where I liked it I cut it out using iron-on vinyl. It's a 2-layer design, so I tacked the white background circle in place for a couple seconds with the iron, and then topped with the black circle outline and numbers and ironed for the recommended time. 

I forgot to take a finished photo but it turned out great and was easy to make! 

the 2 layers before I ironed them on

9.19.23: TT front loading washer

9.19.22: thru the years

9.19.21: 🔥 week 38

9.19.20: meaty minestrone

9.19.19: card stock gift box

9.19.18: strawberry swirl cheesecake

9.19.17: paper mugs

9.19.16: Steve's mac and cheese

9.19.15: dog crate cover

And the Winner is...

Thanks to everyone who entered to win the 9 year blogiversary drawing! I put all the names on pieces of paper, threw them down on my desk, closed my eyes and picked one - congrats goes to...

Drumroll please.........

Miss Jen!!! 

!!! Woohoo for you!!! I'll contact you about the GC so think about where you'd like to shop with it hahha!! 

9.18.23: and the winner is...

9.18.22: 🔥 week 38

9.18.21: Crocheted Afghan for Brook

9.18.20: kid craft: painted mason jars

9.18.19: German chocolate poke cake

9.18.18: plant hanger

9.18.16: Steve’s Mac and cheese

9.18.15: laundry room tip

 

Tip-sy Tuesday: How to Remove Oil Stain from Clothes

I will draw for the blogiversary prize this morning and let you know the winner tomorrow! In the meantime, here's a little tip for the day:

I wore new jeans to the movies and even though I thought I was being super careful, my buttery popcorn soaked thru the container and left a stain on my jeans. Ugh. 

I googled how to remove the stain and tried one idea of topping the stain with dawn dish soap, scrub with a brush, and rinse out with hot water. It took a couple tries but sure enough - no more butter spot!! I mentioned it to Tesha and she told me that the Dawn Powerwash spray also works really good. So happy my guilty popcorn treat didn't ruin my new jeans, whew. 

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEDONNA AND ALLYSON!

9.17.23: 🔥 week 38

9.17.22: and the winner is...

9.17.21: winner winner...

9.17.20: MSIH - Mexican jalapeno poppers

9.17.19: TT - apple chart

9.17.18: make a giant candy card

9.17.17: apricot, pine nut, goat cheese spread

9.17.16: german chocolate cake

9.17.15: organizing craft room

Blogiversary 9/16/24

Annnnd now it's 9 years!!! 3,274 posts all together - crazy. Crazy but also very fun, and I have no intention of stopping yet so hopefully you'll keep coming to day camp with me :)

Well this year has flown by and the blog anniversary snuck up on me! I told myself a month ago to start working on a post and then I just remembered yesterday that it's here already hahahah. So in order to get this posted on time this morning I'm just copying what I've written in the past haha, no reason to reinvent the wheel.

I'm so thankful that you are here at camp with me - whether it's looking for craft ideas or recipes, getting some tips, reading my silly stories and book reviews, seeing what my friends and family contribute on guest posts, being inspired to be creative...whatever the reason, I'm happy you're here whether it's been for all 9 years (in which case, thank you!) or if you've just found this blog (and if so, welcome!).

To thank everyone for joining me on my blog journey, and to celebrate 9 years, I'm giving away a $35 gift card (your choice of store as long as I have access to it, but I'm partial to the crafty ones like Michaels, Joanns, and Hobby Lobby). 

There are a couple ways to enter to win:

• leave your name or a comment here on the blog, please include your name because most of the time it just says 'anonymous' for some reason
• like today's post or leave a comment on the blog facebook page
• text or email me 

You have until 10:00 a.m. EST tomorrow morning (9/17) to enter, I will randomly draw a name and let you know. On your mark, get set, GO!!! Good luck 🙂

PS: I've been getting lots of views from out of the country, probably automated phishing attempts, but just in case there are actual eyes on the blog haha I am limiting entry to the U.S. 

9.16.23: 8 years 

9.16.22: 7 years

9.16.21: blogiversary

9.16.20: 5 Year Anniversary

9.16.19: enter to win

9.16.18: 🔥 week 37

9.16.17: MMDC Turns 2

9.16.16: Celebrate!

9.16.15: first ever post: Sprinkles

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 37)

Dear Campers ~ 

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

9/8: 🔥 week 36 

9/9: individual vegetable cups

9/10: TT practicing with piping tips

9/11: mini wedding cake

9/12: antipasto skewers 

9/13: creamy baked pasta

9/14: words (bit stressed)

What's Cooking ~

• halibut stacks 
• burger salad
• grilled chicken, spinach ravioli with roasted tomatoes, steamed broccoli
• steak, steak fries, sautéed mushrooms, caesar salad
• baked salmon, coconut rice, creamed spinach

That's it for this week! Make sure you stop back tomorrow for a surprise - well not exactly a 'surprise', it's the same thing I post every year on 9/16 haha but hope you'll check in!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTY!!! 

9.15.23: words

9.15.22: 7 years later...

9.15.21: year 6!

9.15.20: strawberry cheesecake poke cake

9.15.19: 🔥week 37

9.15.18: when your sister blogs for you...

9.15.17: wall decoration by Brooke

9.15.16: first year blog anniversary 

9/14 ~ Words

 

I'm not particularly stressed but this made me laugh :) Happy Saturday!

9.14.23: MSTI: tortilla pizza

9.14.22: camping rag wreath

9.14.21: TT - truck bed organizer (short person solution!)

9.14.20: cake topper

9.14.19: 4th Anniversary

9.14.18: how to use a Big Shot 

9.14.17: road trip - S. Dakota

9.14.16: pina colada cupcakes

Creamy Baked Pasta

Quick idea from LeDonna that I've never heard of  - she adds cream of mushroom soup to her spaghetti sauce, tosses it all together and tops with cheese, bakes until heated thru. 

She brought some for lunch the other day and I loved it! This time she added chopped zucchini and fresh basil, yum. Not a great picture but you get the idea:

9.13.23: sweet potato breakfast hash

9.13.22: TT table covering

9.13.21: chocolate cola cupcakes

9.13.20: 🔥 week 37

9.13.19: MSIH - zucchini breads

9.13.18: card with gift holder 

9.13.17: road trip - Mt. Rushmore

9.13.16: wine cork keychain

Antipasto Skewers

Here's the second app we made for the anniversary party last weekend (click here to see how to make individual veggie cups) - and these antipasto skewers were a big hit. Thanks to lots of helping hands we had an assembly line going for threading the skewers so putting together a large quantity wasn't too time consuming.

Our 6" skewers held an assortment of ingredients:

• salami
• cheddar cheese cubes
• mini mozarella balls
• marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
• small pickles
• green and black olives
• cherry tomatoes 
• banana peppers

9.12.23: TT microwaving corn on the cob tip

9.12.22: dust if you must

9.12.21: 🔥 week 37

9.12.20: sausage and potato soup

9.12.19: lemon zucchini bread

9.12.18:  how to make 'perfect' cheesecake

9.12.17: road trip - eclipse hunting

9.12.16: wood canister holder (junkin' with Candy)

Miniature Wedding Cake

I made this mini cake for Ray and Tesha's 50th wedding anniversary, I have a set of pans to make this size tiered cake but you could also cut rounds out of a baked 8 or 9" cake (crumb coat and freeze before frosting will help make it easier to frost with all the cut edges if you go that route). 

To make this cake - my pans are 2", 4", and 6" or cut out whatever size circles you want. I doctored a white cake mix with an extra egg, replace the oil with melted butter, replace the water with whole milk, add a teaspoon of vanilla, and a handful of chopped white chocolate chips. Make according to package directions. 

I frosted the entire cake with white buttercream and piped dots around the bottoms of each tier; then piped rosettes with swirled two-tone pale yellow and pale orange frosting, and added stars and little fluffy flowers with solid pale yellow and pale orange frosting. To finish I sprayed it with edible gold glitter (I found a small bottle at Walmart). 

9.11.23: hem guide

9.11.22: 🔥 week 37

9.11.21: 9/11 20 years

9.11.20: dill pickle dip

9.11.19: zucchini bread

9.11.18: blueberry sauce

9.11.17: "sweet" candy gift

9.11.16: 'where were you' lyrics