Ice Cream Scoop on a Stick

If you are ice cream lovers like us, you will love this idea that I found on Martha's Stewart's site! It is a perfect treat for your 4th July get together! Make multiples of these scoops-on-a-stick and you won't have to spoon ice cream, one serving at a time, in the middle of  your party! Just make small  ice cream balls using a small ice cream scoop, place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Insert a craft spoon into each, and place in the freezer. I embellished my spoon using the  Hershey Kiss circles (to be used with a 3/4" circle craft punch) from Amanda's Parties to Go FREE 4th of July printable. Chill until hardened. Roll scoops in sprinkles or candies, and store them in the freezer on a freshly lined baking sheet. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!

Nightstand Redo

Yesterday I happened to pass a garage sale on my way to the store. I kind of like that people are having Friday yard sales too now, more opportunities to stumble upon goodies in need of love. I've been working on changing our school room into Emma's room for the past month. I'm not done and ready to show it all yet, not by a long shot, but we're getting there! I moved our school room out to what used to be the play room. 

 She was in need of a nightstand next to her bed, and this piece was only $8 at the yard sale. It was laminate, but I decided to research how to paint laminate and give it a shot. It was only 8 bucks, after all.

 After some searching on Pinterest last night, I decided to try this tutorial from DIY Kinda Girl. I bought a quart of Zinsser Cover Stain Primer. I chose this one because she said it was designed to stick to any surface without sanding. You can click over and read her instructions, but basically I just did two coats of primer, followed by two coats of white paint that I already had on hand.

 I spray painted the knobs because I didn't want to buy new ones.

 This is another thing I added to her room-in-progress, a cupboard door hanger. Check out what it used to look like here. I peeled off the old vinyl lettering and added the peace sign, hearts, and pennants to match her room.

 She rushed to put a few items on her nightstand herself, so much for mom decorating. Ha ha.

I think this turned out to be another great yard sale find. I should be ready to share her room in another couple of weeks. I still need to buy or build a headboard.

Cost breakdown:

night stand $8

primer $8

paint (already owned)

spray paint (already owned)

Living Room Wall Update {Indoor Shutters and New Frames}

Yesterday I decided to do something about my hodge podge living room wall. If you look at the picture below, you'll see what it used to be. Forgive the poor picture quality, because of all of the high windows in my house, it's hard to get a good picture during the day. 

First, I realized that I had wooden shutters that I could put up next to the window. These used to be the headboard in Cami's room. I have been working on moving the school room, and giving Emma her own room. Long story short, Emma got the queen bed, but didn't want the shutters as her headboard. I'll post about the new rooms when I get them done. 

I added these two pieces because it felt like it should be symmetrical after I put up the shutters.

 Last week I picked up these two large frames for less than $3 each. Rescued Treasures was having a 50% sale on their frames.

 I didn't know what I wanted to put in the center, but I decided on these wooden detail pieces from Lowe's that were about $5 each.

 The inside of these frames are 11x14. They didn't come with a backing, so I had to make one.

 I cut a thin piece of plywood to fit, and stained one side.I secured them with a staple gun. Since I used this cheap plywood, when I stained it, it resembled old wood paneling (think 70's). I didn't like it, so in the pictures you see, I went back and added burlap, so that you can just see a border of the dark wood.

It has made my living room not look so hodge podge. That wall had looked unplanned, and now it looks like someone actually thought about it.

Time to Go For the Gold! Paint Projects Linky!

Ok contenders! It's time to link up your best paint projects and go for the gold!

Just in case you missed our projects, here they are again!

I jazzed up this boring old chest using multi-tone stain, spray paint, and chalkboard paint!

Cassie transformed this old bed from boring to brilliant using homemade chalk paint and stencils!

Gwen fixed up this boring, plastic mirror using paint and Martha Stewart glaze!

Now it's your turn to link up your projects!  You can submit any project that was inspired by one of ours, or just has to do with paint of any kind!

We'll be featuring some of our favorites next week!

Don't forget to hop over to Gwen's and enter to win these paints!

Good luck!

Cheers!!

Bakerella's Yellow Cake

Yesterday my wonderful hubby turned 33! A few months ago, I made Bakerella's yellow cake and fell in love. My husband is crazy isn't big on chocolate, so I made the next best thing! This cake with a classic buttercream frosting SCREAMS wedding cake to me. 

Now, I must admit, there has been one time when I made this cake, and it didn't turn out great. For my 30th birthday I think I over-baked it and dried it out. It was also the hottest April day we'd ever had and it spent the whole day in the fridge and it was super dry and crumbly by party time. Trust me when I say, if you make this cake right, it will be like the old fashioned cake your grandma used to make. It's super easy and only has a few ingredients, just don't over-bake! So yummy!

WOW your cooking with Garden Breadsticks!

 I recently went to a class where I learned how to better follow what us Mormons call the Word of Wisdom.  If you are unfamiliar with it you can read the scripture here.  
It's where we get the commandments not to drink or smoke.  For me that's the easy part.  Really no temptation there.  For most of us we just aren't that good at eating fruits and vegetables in season and lots of whole grains with only a little meat.

The lady who taught the class had a serious disease which led her to learn more of how to eat better and more closely follow the commandment.  Her solution was to create a veggie blend and then add that to whatever she was cooking.  I am seriously trying to incorporate more veggies into our diet and this is a relatively simple way to do it.  Usually it gets added to pasta sauce.  If your family is squeamish about new veggies, that is a great place to start.  Plus the breadstick recipe I'm going to share has 2 full cups of veggies!  I will be sharing more veggie blend recipes as the weeks go by.  I've definitely found some yummy ones.  But before we get to all that, here's what goes into the blend.

Buy one, or a small bunch of each of the following:
Asparagus
Beet (try to get a white beet, otherwise it will turn your meal a pinkish color)
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Butternut Squash
Celery
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Carrot
Eggplant
Green Beans
Kale
Mushroom
Parsnip
Radish
Rutabaga
Rhubarb
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Turnip
Yellow Squash
Zucchini

A ton right?  I was amazed at how many of those I'd never bought before and now I eat them on a regular basis. Plus think of all the veggies you aren't adding.  She doesn't add onions, or peppers because they have a strong and overwhelming flavor.  I usually add the others in depending on the meal.
Like:
Corn
Peas
Potatoes
Onions
Bell Peppers

 Wash and cut off any stems or peels.  Next chop them fairly fine.  If you have a food processor, use that, a few veggies at a time.(this is important so you don't overwhelm your machine)  Don't worry about which ones because you will be mixing it all together.  I have a Vita-Mix so I put some water in the blender and a few veggies then chopped the veggies until I got the size I wanted, small but not pureed.  Drain and put them in a large bowl.

 It will look like something like this.  Since one batch will make a ton, put some in freezer bags to save for later.  One batch lasted me about 1 month using the blend 2-3 times a week.  It freezes well, just thaw and drain the veggies and they are ready to use.  Next time I will put the blend in my muffin tin to freeze 1 cup portions for easier use.

 Now that's done, lets get to the Garden Breadsticks.  I was so excited when I got my King Arthur Flour Baking Sheet in the mail with this recipe!  It's super yummy and has a ton of veggies in it!

Garden Breadsticks

You have some options with the veggies.  You will need a total of 2 cups of shredded vegetables.

The recipe says:
1/4 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup shredded yellow squash
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup chopped scallions

I used 1 zucchini and 2 carrots shredded finely to make 1 cup shredded veggies.

 Add the shredded veggies and 1 cup of the veggie blend to a sauce pot and cook slightly to soften.  About 5 minutes on Medium high stirring regularly to prevent over browning.

Grind some grains to get 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour.  I usually do a blend of wheat, quinoa, and kamut.

When the veggies are done, measure 1 cup and add them to your mixing bowl.

Then add: 
1 large egg
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Pizza seasoning or chopped fresh herbs of your choice.  I added some Herbs de Provence.
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp instant yeast. 

The warm veggies take the place of the water in this recipe.

Mix for about 2-3 minutes until the dough comes together then add:
1 more cup of the warm veggies.

Knead for another 4-5 minutes.  The dough should relax more and become tender.  Add a little flour as needed to clean the sides of the bowl.

 Cover and let rise until double in bulk.

 Get out a sheet of parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil.  Put olive oil on your hands and rolling pin.  This makes the rolling easier and the dough doesn't stick.

Roll dough out to a large rectangle filling the parchment.

 Using a pizza cutter, cut up the dough into breadsticks.

 Brush tops with olive oil or egg wash and sprinkle with 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or other grated cheese.  Let rest for another 20-25 minutes while the oven heats to 375 degrees.

Bake on pizza stone for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm.

Yummy and healthy! 

 It's a win-win!

Unparalleled Mac & Cheese

It has been almost a month since the kids have been out of school for the summer and it has been that long since I have even looked at this blog, my favorite blogs, pinterest, and anything else online.  Can you believe it?!?!

We have been so busy running around and mostly enjoying each other that I just haven't had a lot of extra time.  I really think it's the longest I have ever gone without being "hooked".  I do miss connecting and getting inspiration, and sharing it with you.  So, here I am...I'm back!

Are you and your family lovers of pasta, particularly the childhood favorite, Macaroni and Cheese?  I am, it's comfort food to me, and of course, my kiddos love it too.  However, they have complained in past if it doesn't come out of a box.  Imagine!  It's goodbye to those days and hello to this unparalleled mac & cheese recipe.  It's the best I have ever made, according to all that have tried it, including my kiddos!  Seriously good, super easy, and quick! It doesn't get much better than that.

 

UNPARALLELED Mac & Cheese

Adapted from Macaroni and Cheesecake

Ingredients:
2 cups dried organic pasta
2 ¼-2 ½ cups milk (I used organic raw whole milk)
6 oz. organic cream cheese                        

4-6 oz. organic cheese of your choice, shredded by hand (I usually use white cheddar, but change it up based on your family’s liking)
1 tsp salt
1-1 ¼ tsp organic Dijon mustard

Directions:

In a small saucepan, add pasta and milk. Bring to simmer, and then reduce heat to low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until pasta is al dente or soft, stirring frequently and ensuring milk does not boil.

Turn heat off; add cheeses, salt and mustard, and stir to combine. If not creamy enough, add milk a little at a time, and stir.

As a side dish this makes enough for 4-6 people with no leftovers.

NOTE:

Our family prefers to use elbows for this; we have used other shapes of pasta such as shells, and we thought the consistency of the elbows was much better.

We try to use mostly organic foods at our home, feel free to use what you’ve got around the house!

I hope you try it out for yourself!  It's a super versatile recipe that can be changed to your liking.  The idea of cooking pasta in milk had never before occurred to me and it has fantastic results even when making a non-cheese dish with a creamy sauce.  It just seems to richen the dish a bit.

Don't forget to head over to Macaroni and Cheesecake and check out this adorable blog food blog!  She has a ton of wonderful and mouth watering recipes and of course, she was the one that brought me to this fabulous UNPARALLELED Mac and Cheese!

Happy Monday!  Have a great week!

Bloggy Olympics - Paint Event!!

It's here!!!!

Finally - Team Paint is ready to represent!

Just in case you forgot who my awesome teammates are:

Cassie from Primitive & Proper

Gwen from The Bold Abode



Don't forget to stop by Let Birds Fly, Shaken Together, and Adventures in Dinner later this week to check out all the Kitchen Event medal winners!

Now for TEAM PAINT!

Today I promised you all a project full of stain, spray paint, and chalkboard paint goodness!

I started with this little gem I found off of craigslist.  Just a cute little chest with a bad stain job.

Insert five million hours of sanding and I now had this little gem:

Naked and ready for some loving!  Ummmm...

Yeah, so I started with the same stain I used for my office desk.  I wanted to stain the top, bottom, and middle in dark walnut so I taped those areas off and stained.

Once everything was dry I used a some spray paint and a stencil to create a real vintage, hand styled type name on the top of the chest.

Originally I wanted the name to be crisp and perfect, but this is how it turned out so I went with it.  I think it just looks more vintage and aged.  I kinda like the imperfection!

Oh, what's that you said?  You thought I mentioned chalkboard paint?

BAM!

The inside of the lid opens up and acts like a little chalkboard!

One of my friends asked me to make this toy chest for her friend that is having a baby - she totally came up with the design and the chalkboard lid idea! I loved it!

I added the little hinge thing so the top wouldn't fall on little fingers.

So there you have it!  A little bit of stain, paint, and loving turned a boring old chest into an adorable custom toy chest!

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!

You guys have all week to go wild and make your own paint-inspired projects to enter into the bloggy olympics!

Gwen, Cassie and I will all be back this Thursday, June 28th @ 7pm hosting a linky party for you to link up all your awesome projects! You can create something similar to our projects or go crazy and just create anything with paint!

Speaking of paint, want to win these paints?

Head on over to The Bold Abode to check out the deets!

Cheers!