Valentine Kiss Mice

I've had this idea in my file for years and don't know why I've never made any of these super cute Kiss Mice - since I didn't make them again this year I'm sharing it with you and maybe you'll make them and share a picture for me! They look really easy - I don't have the templates for the ears and feet but the ears is just a paper heart sandwiched between 2 Kisses, and the feet you'll need to wing but it'd be easy to come up with a little paper shaped-something. 

For each mouse you'll need:

• 2 Hershey's Kisses
• card stock (red or pink for the feet and ears, yellow for the base)
• yarn for the tail
• 2 googly eyes
• glue, scissors, marker 

Another idea to write on the 'cheese' card is "You're so mice". Cute, right? 

2.10.24: words

2.10.23: perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs

2.10.22: taco stuffed shells

2.10.21: dessert (football) cheeseball (shoutout to Meghan and Mickey!)

2.10.20: fabric flower pins

2.10.19: 🔥week 6 (and there's a cute Valentine bookmark idea)

2.10.18: organizing food containers

2.10.17: two toned swirly frosting

2.10.16: layered jello parfait perfect for Valentine's day

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 6)

Dear Campers ~ 

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

Posts ~

 2/2: 🔥 week 5

2/3: pimento cheese

2/4: blue cheese stuffed olives 

2/5: crostini appetizers

2/6: stadium snack tray 

2/7: stadium brownies

2/8: words (football)

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

2.9.24: crockpot white chicken chili v. 3

2.9.23: cinnamon sugar pretzels

2.9.22: valentine felt gnome

2.9.21: tip-sy tuesday: baking center organizing (see my sprinkle storage update here!)

2.9.20: 🔥week 6

2.9.19: monthly maintenance projects

2.9.18: colored pencil tattoos

2.9.17: sweet potato toast

2.9.16: 'bee mine' honey bear  

2/8 ~ Words

2.8.24: pink ombre cake

2.8.23: citrus marinated chicken

2.8.22: heart treat holder or bookmark

2.8.21: Valentine caterpillar by Brooke

2.8.20: double chocolate kisses cookies

2.8.19: diy: air freshener

2.8.18: make a heart-felt Valentine card

2.8.17: mini bundt brownies

2.8.16: Valentine slider box (to hold chocolates)

Football Stadium Brownies re-run

For the final re-run of past food ideas for the Super Bowl I thought I'd share a sweet today - these stadium brownies turned out so cute!!! 

From 2/20:

Did you see the football brownies that I made for Super Bowl yesterday? They look really cute but more importantly they tasted really good!  (hmmm, is that true? Is it more important they taste good, or look cute?). Baking brownies is always a crap shoot for me, I don't want them over-baked so I usually pull them out too early and the middle sinks. For whatever reason this time they were perfect! I used a box of dark chocolate brownie mix for a 13x9 pan and doctored it with a few add-ins -
I used 2 eggs, replaced the water with cooled coffee, added a pinch of coarse salt, a teaspoon of vanilla, and 1/2 bag of mini chocolate chips. Baked exactly 20 minutes, removed from oven and immediately covered with foil; let cool. They turned out moist and chocolatey, perfectly level with no sinking in the center, and the edges were not dry.

I frosted them with my standard buttercream, added a few white lines and a "50" at the center line; decorated with sprinkles in the end zone sort-of giving the look of people in stands, gummy bears for the players (how much time it took me to figure out positioning was ridiculous!), striped Hershey hugs for the refs.

Tip for making straight frosting lines - I laid a skewer down on the green frosting to make a slightly indented line, then traced over it with my white frosting in a decorator squeeze thing with a small round tip.

 To keep the sprinkles from going everywhere I put them in a funnel - put my finger over the bottom opening and then slowly lifted my finger and directed the sprinkles into the end areas I wanted them. Worked like a charm.

2.7.24: honey garlic chicken 

2.7.23: TT dust mop hack

2.7.22: Miss Lori's painted wood hearts 

2.7.21: 🔥 week 6

2.7.20: candy slider box

2.7.19: hide a key container

2.7.18: oatmeal chocolate cranberry cookies

2.7.17: sliding side lunge

2.7.16: "Palentine"/Valentine dinner menu

Football Stadium Snack Tray

I posted this idea for dips and crunchers arranged to look like a football stadium in a post titled "Super Bowl Party Planner" but it should have its own post - it's too cute to be combined with other recipe ideas! 

To make this stadium you'll need 2 rectangular dishes - a smaller one to hold the dip and a larger one to set the dip dish in and have room to surround with the dippers.

Spoon 3 different dips next to each other (this is cheese dip, guacamole, and spinach dip) in the smaller dish, top with shredded cheese to divide the "field" and black olives (lined up to represent the players), pipe sour cream for the lines. Put it into the larger dish and fill around it with assorted crackers, chips, veggies, pretzels, etc. 

2.6.24: tt heart charcuterie board 

2.6.23: crochet afghan/fleece blanket mash-up

2.6.22: 🔥 week 6 

2.6.21: bumblebee valentine and pickup truck by Brooke

2.6.20: alligator pear salad

2.6.19: sheet pan curried shrimp biryani

2.6.18: making a master grocery list

2.6.17: making heart artwork from dots 

2.6.16: Nana's pralines

Crostini Appetizers re-run

Here's another idea for a great appetizer just in time for Super Bowl Sunday - I posted this in '19 and while I list a few different toppings (which are all delish) the tomato-mozzarella combo is my favorite. Here's the original post:

Have you ever made crostini? It's so easy and everyone always loves it - it's basically toasted bread with toppings...what's not to like? If you need an appetizer idea I highly recommend a platter of these gorgeous crostini :)

Deciding which toppings I want is the only hard part - so many options! These come together quickly once you have the ingredients. For the base, slice baguettes (sourdough, Italian, multigrain, dark pumpernickel - so many choices) about 1/4" thick, brush with olive oil, bake 5 minutes, turn over and bake another few minutes until toasted. Then top with whatever you've decided on.

The most common crostini I make is to chop tomatoes and smoked mozzarella into small (I'd say about 1/2") pieces and toss with a little olive oil, balsamic, and coarse salt before layering on top of the toasted bread slices - the oil and vinegar soaks into the bread and is SO good! It's a little messy but worth it, just be careful to not be holding this over your nice shirt when eating it hahah.

Here's a couple more examples for different toppings that I've made, but really just use your imagination - it's hard to go wrong...

layer sliced mozzarella and halved cherry tomatoes on sliced, toasted, sourdough baguette; drizzle with balsamic glaze, sprinkle with Italian seasoning:

spread soft boursin cheese on sliced, toasted, multigrain baguette; top with thinly sliced roast beef and a baby arugula leaf:

spread creamy goat cheese on sliced, toasted, pumpernickel bread; top with prosciutto and a blackberry:

2.5.24: flamingo valentine 

2.5.23: 🔥week 6

2.5.22: wine and design (on a dollar store budget)

2.5.21: valentines wreath by Brooke

2.5.20: baked pork chops

2.5.19: heart shaped cork trivet

2.5.18: paracord camera wrist strap

2.5.17: crock pot mac and cheese

2.5.16: valentine poppers

Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives re-run

It’s Super Bowl Appetizer Week (only on the blog, that isn’t a real thing 😂), todays rerun is from 7/18:

LeDonna gave me this idea that she got from some friends of hers - as soon as she told me I immediately made them and pretty much ate the whole bowl before anyone else could have any. I'm a slow learner when it comes to blue cheese - I've always avoided it because it's so strong and I just didn't think I like it - but for whatever reason it's becoming one of those things I really really like. And I love green olives. Like, love love. So you could probably stuff all kinds of things in there that I don't really like and I might decide they're delicious hahaha.

These are simple - remove the pimento from big pitted queen olives and stuff in a piece of creamy blue cheese. Done. Eat them as fast as you make them; set out a bowl with an appetizer platter of crackers, meat and cheeses; or put them in a martini - just make them and tell me if I'm wrong about how yummy and addictive these are!

For the ones that I broke open while over-stuffing I just put them on a plate and topped with a small piece of pimento and voila - a new appetizer idea.

2.4.24: 🔥 week 5

2.4.23: pumpkin snickerdoodle muffins

2.4.22: sprinkle racks

2.4.20: tip-sy tuesday: messy lily pollen

2.4.19: man-day monday

2.4.18: last minute super bowl ideas

2.4.17: super bowl party games

2.4.16: super bowl party planner

Pimento Cheese re-run

It's the week leading up to the Super Bowl - thought we'd do some appetizer reruns this week to get you ready, even if you don't need an appetizer idea or aren't planning to watch it's still fun to have appetizers! 

Original post from 12/16:

Thinking about what to make for our New Years party - right now I'm thinking tenderloin sliders (made with Boursin cheese spread on King's Hawaiian rolls, topped with a slice or two of tenderloin and a big arugula leaf...yum), not sure what anyone else is bringing yet. For sure I'll make my yummy pimento cheese...ok, it's not actually "mine" - this is a Paula and Bobby Dean recipe but I've been making it for so long I think of it as mine now haha. When my nieces were younger they called it "yummy cheese", as in "can we have yummy cheese tonight?" - if adults and kids both give it a thumbs up you know it has to be good! I usually double the recipe and use it multiple ways (my mom just gave me the tip to make grilled ham and cheese with it, that'd be so good!), if there's much leftover it freezes well too.

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 Cup grated monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 to 3 Tablespoons pimentos
1 teaspoon grated onion (optional)
1/2 teaspoon House Seasoning*
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended. Serve with crackers, pita chips, thin breadsticks, etc.

note: *House Seasoning is a mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It calls for so little in this recipe that I just mix a bit of each in the palm of my hand and add it to the cheese mixture.

Makes 2 1/2 to 3 cups

2.3.24: words

2.3.23: heart mosaic

2.3.22: slow cooker crack chicken

2.3.21: valentine layered cookies

2.3.20: football stadium brownies

2.3.19: 🔥week 5

2.3.18: football toss game

2.3.17: root beer bbq pulled pork

2.3.16: cookie bites

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 5)

Dear Campers ~ 

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

Posts ~

1/26: 🔥 week 4

1/27: corn chowder 

1/28: Tip-sy Tuesday: Valentine's day cake idea 

1/29: office update with removable wall paper 

1/30: bourbon glazed salmon 

1/31: February challenge (one thing a day)

2/1: words  (brain at 3am)

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

2.2.24: heart-shaped paper box 

2.2.23: salad bundles

2.2.22: dry ranch seasoning mix

2/2/21: tip-sy tuesday room temp butter tip 

2.2.20: 🔥week 5

2.2.19: groundhog day card or decoration

2.2.18: super bowl games

2.2.17: preserved lemons

2.2.16: organizing wrapping and tissue paper

   

2/1 ~ Words

 

2.1.24: touchdown brownies

2.1.23: stuffed shells

2.1.22: TT heart shaped cake

2.1.21: pleated paper heart

2.1.20: Miss Lori's winter wreath

2.1.19: Jen's baby poop party dip

2.1.18: squat challenge

2.1.17: triple berry muffins

2.1.16: repurposed frame