A tired Dirty Boy...

... doesn't his mother ever bathe him? (this is what I get for giving baths before he plays in the garage with his dad)

Disclaimer: I was sewing downstairs and he came down for a drink. I assumed he went back to bed but I guess I should have payed better attention. I found him this way an hour and a half later when I went up for bed. The really sad part is that this is pretty much in direct sight from were I sew. Just another one my "Mom of the Month" moments. lol.

I've been busy.

I haven't really had time to post any recipes or crafts I've done. I've had little time to even post my regular blog. I've been working overtime (on any spare time I've had) on making my little shoes... ok and other projects. I'm in the process of listing them (I haven't made them all yet) on a blog. Here's the link if you are interested.
http://bouncingbabybooties.blogspot.com/

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

We made this a few nights back and it was really tasty! I recommend trying it. Robbie isn't a fan or orange chicken (I am though!) and he really liked it. It takes a little bit of prep (don't all the really good dishes?) but I think it was worth it. I made it a bit spicy I think... but mixed with rice it must not have been to bad for the kids because they ate it! I'm posting this for Malitha and Breezi... but I recomend anyone else trying it too ;)

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
dash of white pepper (or black if you don't have it)
1 Tbs oil
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
oil (for frying)

Orange Sauce for Stir Fry
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
5 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons rice or white vinegar
1 orange, zest of

Remaining Ingredients for Stir Fry
1 tablespoon ginger root, minced (I will use less next time I think...)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red chili pepper
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon rice wine (sherry/dry white wine/or even apple or grape juice would be ok)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (opt.)

Directions

Stir egg, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon oil in a large bowl and mix well. Stir chicken pieces into mixture.
Stir cornstarch and flour together in bowl. Add flour mixture slowly to chicken pieces, stirring to coat.
Heat oil for deep-frying in wok or deep-fryer to 375 degrees (or, like me, a really deep pot if you have neither of these...) . Add chicken, small batches at a time, and fry 3 to 4 minutes or until golden crisp (Try not to over cook the chicken). Remove chicken from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside.
Mix soy sauce, orange juice, sugar, vinegar and orange zest in a bowl; set aside.
If you used your wok to fry the chicken, clean it and then heat 15 seconds over high heat. Do the same with a deep skillet if you don't have a wok. Add 1 tablespoon oil.
This part goes pretty fast. Stir Constantly so that nothing burns.
Add ginger and garlic. Stir-fry until fragrant; about 10 seconds. Add crushed chilies and green onions; stir-fry. Next add rice wine (or whatever you have decided to use) and stir several seconds. Finally add Orange Sauce and bring to boil.
Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed.
Stir water into remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth and add to chicken.
Heat until sauce is thickened.
Stir in sesame oil and extra orange zest if desired.

Made my own "Hooter Hider" cover up.

So I've been meaning to make one of these things for like... oh wow... a year. But I was just to lazy to research it. A few weeks ago I was at a baby shower. A friend of mine whipped out her "Hooter Hider" and I was very jealous :). Then she informed me that she had just made one for the mother to be. They were just so cute I couldn't resist. I have my friend to thank for the motivation to finally go do it.

I may only nurse for a few more months but better late then never, right? Besides now one of my lucky friends gets this guy in about 3 months! Any takers?

I chose the colors because I thought they would be good for a boy or girl. And it looked light and summery.

Because I didn't have one to base mine on... I reseached a few places to get some measurments and stuff. But other then that this might have been on of the easiest things I've ever made!

The original Hooter Hider has a little pocket made of terri cloth to store stuff like pads and it's great for clean up. I made a smaller pocket because I have nothing to store.

Claire and I already broke it in. She approves.

Burgers for Dessert?

Cookies, Brownies, Cupcakes, and Frosting.
I saw these on Bakerella the other day and I just knew we had to make these. Here are her instructions. I even used her templates for the baskets and fries ( I just changed the color and used a different font). These are easier then you can imagine! Awesome for family cook outs or get togethers. I'm pretty sure we'll do these for the 4th of July too!
We dressed ours up with ketchup and lettuce (Syd says this could be pickles and tomato's too) on the top and some mayo and mustard at the bottom.
We made Extra red frosting to dip our fries into. Oh and if you want your ketchup to be nice and red you might want to look into some professional use food die or just be prepared to use a bunch of that red dye in you cupboard.
Don't the look good!

The BEST homemade Cinnamon Rolls...Ever!

If you love cinnamon rolls you will die for these! And if you don't... you'll still love them. Six months ago (just about) I found these on Allrecipes.com and immediately began making them. I haven't even changed the recipe much...which is pretty shocking for me. Hey you don't mess with success!
This recipe is exactly how I make them with my very very small changes and with a few alternatives and tips were you find an (*).
Using a bread machine makes these so super easy. But I realize not everyone has one... so I added a recomendation on making it without!
I don't care if you already have a favorite recipe... you really need to try these anyway. You will be converted ;)

Pictures from other are so much better then I could take with my crappy camera. (Photo Courtesy of Allrecipes)

Cinnamon Rolls (Original Recipes from Allrecipes.com)

Dough:
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
6 Tbs margarine, slightly melted

Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1.Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start. * directions without bread machine below.
2.After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. (Don't punched it down.)
3.In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and lightly melted margarine. **extra tip
4.Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with sugar/cinnamon/margarine mixture. If your mixture is to running wait until it cools or all of your filling with run out.
5.Roll up dough starting at a short end. Cut into 12 rolls. ***extra tip
6.Place rolls, with room between to rise, in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan (I prefer a glass pan for this). If any pieces are smaller (sometimes my ends are bit smaller) place them in the center.
7.Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. ***** directions for over night refrigeration and baking
8.While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.


Extras
* YOU DON'T NEED A BREAD MACHINE to make these. Here is a recommendation from someone on allrecipes. If you make these this way let me know exactly what you did and how it turned out!
Use an 8 gram pack of dry active yeast instead of the bread machine yeast(Fast Acting Dry Yeast could work too) and knead the dough in your mixer or with your hands and a rolling pin (You can dissolve yeast in warm milk and/or sugar first- if this is how you are used to making your dough). Then heat the oven to 200 degrees and then TURN IT OFF. COVER the dough with a moist paper towel or light cloth , and put in the oven for around 1 hour (the dough will almost double in size). Continue with step 2.
**Feel free to make more filling if you like but I think it's fine the way it is.
****Sometimes I roll my dough up 1/3 of the way, place plastic wrap down, then unroll the dough back out. Then I roll it back up using the other end. This way I get some the yummy filling on the outside of my rolls too.
*****Make ahead directions (I do this all the time)
After step 6 (let rise for 15 first minutes if desired then...) cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge.
The next morning.
1st way- Place dish out. Cover with light cloth and let cool to room temp also allowing to rise. This may take more then 30 minutes. Bake as directed above.
2nd way- Place cold dish in preheating oven. Watch closely. Once dish has warmed slightly (don't let the rolls begin baking) remove dish, cover and continue letting the rolls warm to room temp. Bake as directed above. I make the frosting in the morning but you could make it at night and put that in the fridge too.

Some blog backgrounds I've done.

I'm always excited to make a new blog layout... but then I miss the old ones. So I thought I would post them here so they are not completly forgoten!
I will put links to were I got the elements soon. And I'll have to fix the banners too. They are all screwy.

A few new outfits.

I love the shoes on this last one. To clarify the number five on the shirt... this was for baby #5 in the family.

I made another one that week too. It was for a girl and the onsie was a cute little butterfly, but I was in such a hurry I didn't take a picture :(

Another Baby Gift.

I made another pair of shoes and a matching onesie. This time I put some cute fuzzy terry cloth fabric on the soles and then used the same fabric for the eyes of the spider. I was hesitant on using buttons on the shirt but decided it would be to cute to pass up. And the baby will be small still while wearing this.



Oh and here's the card I made to go with. The colors weren't exactly right but I thought it went well.

Breakfast Pizza

So this is pretty simple. A spin on some common breakfast foods. Not that blog worthy but Malitha asked for the recipe ;)

Breakfast Pizza



What you need:

Pizza crust (This is the recipe I use)

4-6 eggs scrambled

Sausage/White Gravy (use a jar, a package, or make your own!)

Cooked Meat toppings (options: sausage, bacon, or ham)

Cheese (I prefer a good Cheddar but anything will do)

Layer gravy, eggs, meat and cheese. Bake at 400 for approx. 10-15 min or until cheese is melted and crust is brown. Always follow your pizza crust directions before mine though! Some times we add some onions or mushrooms. Adding some fresh chopped garlic is a yummy treat too.
I use home made pizza dough so we make the crust the night before and put it in the fridge. I take it out and let it sit at room temperature while I cook the meat and gravy before rolling the dough out.
This is a simple fun breakfast. This kids love to help put all of the toppings on. And they eat it like... well like it's pizza.

P.S. We love making pizza's with a twist. Maybe I will make a post with our favorite pizza's someday.

Gifts for our teachers.

This year for the teachers we decided to make candy bar bouquets! The kids thoughts they were awesome (I hope the teachers liked them too). Lily really wanted to keep some of those candy bars for herself though.

From My Favorite Random Things

From My Favorite Random Things

Last year we made some of Bakerella's cupcake pop's. I'm not sure why I always seem to send food. Maybe because... I love food!

From Just the six of Us

Cajun Grilled Chicken Alfredo

This is a pretty common recipe for us. Our whole family loves it. Unfortunately it is NOT very fat free. So we try not to make it too much! What I love about this recipe is that other then picking up some cream I have everything at home and you don't have to use as much meat (I guess you could use more) so it is a little better on your wallet. This feeds our whole family, sometimes with left overs. If I had to guess I would say it is about 6 servings.

Cajun Grilled Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients

3-4 chicken breasts
Cajun/Creole Seasoning (if you don't have this, black pepper, red pepper, garlic salt should do the trick too)

1 12oz box of Fettuccine or Linguine

1/2 c. (1 stick) margarine
2-4 cloves garlic, minced (I like a lot of garlic!)
2 cups heavy cream
1/8 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (The grated works much better then shredded)

Season chicken breasts. Grill until cooked all the way through. Once grilling is complete slice chicken into thin strips (or smaller pieces for the kids).

Cook pasta according to the package.

While chicken and pasta cooks.
In a medium size saucepan melt butter of med heat.
Add garlic to butter and saute for about 2 minutes.
Add Cream, pepper and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer. You may need to turn your heat up or down a bit. Don't let it reach a rapid boil or it will probably boil over (this is from experience).
Once it is simmering add the cheese. Continue simmering, stirring frequently (I use a whisk), for 10 minutes or until thick. It will not be thick as an Alfredo Sauce you bought in a can.

Serve on top of Pasta and Chicken. Oh and a little sauce goes a long way!
Feel free to completely let go of your diet and dip a few pieces of bread into it. Don't even bother with a bowl just dip right into the pan ;) Trust me...


For the cream I recommend you run over to a Wal-Mart and get their store brand. It is maybe half the price.
I also highly recomend making this with seafood. Some garlic buttered shrimp or some crab (I actaully like it better this way... but we don't have these on hand usually).
We also make home made French bread too. It is really easy. We make the bread any time we are having Italian food. We even make it into sub size for yummy meatball sandwiches. Anyway here is the link to the bread. I'm pretty sure the recipe uses a bread machine to mix and rise... but people always leave comments on how to do without one... so I'm sure it is on there.
And if it doesn't I would Totally recommend buying a bread machine. Just a cheap one even. I picked mine up on Craigslist for 15 bucks. It is used on a average about 4-5 times a week. They make making and mixing bread sooo easy to do and clean up after! We make Honey Wheat Bread for every day use, pizza crust, french bread and all sorts of other yummy treats.

Another set of Shoes.

Lily's speech teacher is having a baby. We made these little shoes for him.

Yummy Breakfast.

Thees Recipes were on my old blog witch isn't equipped with labels for and easy find (for myself of coarse). I missed placed my egg recipe and I've come back to my blog twice now to look it up.

This dish is awesome and easy for a big family or if you have guests to feed. The original recipe was from a Pillsbury book. My version in the photo is made with just strawberries (it is what I had). But I love making my topping with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries... yum. Some of my kiddo's like it with just syrup.


Cream Cheese French Toast Bake
with Fruit Topping
1 container (8oz) pineapple cream cheese spread, or strawberry cream cheese spread
1 loaf (1lb) French bread (cut into 3/4-inch-thick slices)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
14 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs butter or margarine, melted (put on in morning before baking)
Topping
3-4 cups fresh strawberries and/or blueberries (OR)
1 bag frozen fruit (mixed or one fruit)
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1. Spray 13 x 9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. It my loaf is a little thicker I might use another small 8x8 dish also. Spread about 1 tablespoon cream cheese on half of the slices. Place other slices on top making a sandwich. Place sandwiches in dish(es) covering the bottom of the pan.
2. In med. bowl, beat eggs. Add the milk, 1/4c sugar, salt and cinnamon; beat well. Pour over sandwiches in baking dish. Make sure to coat completely while still letting even amounts drip into the pan. Let them soak at room temperature for 5 min. Turn sandwiches over. Soak remaining mixture into sandwiches so they are completely covered. Cover; refrigerate about 8 hours or overnight.
3. For fresh fruit- Chop strawberries and stir together with sugar; refrigerate over night. You can add other berries with the sugar mixture or add them fresh in the morning. (I add them all at once so they make a nice syrup, my kids like it that way). For Frozen fruit- Rinse fruit making sure it is broken up. Mix with sugar and refrigerate. Your fruit should thaw over night (mine always does).
4. In the morning- Heat oven to 400. Uncover sandwiches and drizzle with melted butter. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove fruit. Stir in up. Then serve over French toast. (You serve the fruit mixture cold; however, I served it hot once and it was really good too!)
Serves about 6
..........................................................................................

OK now I really needed to add my favorite dish to serve with this. I only make these eggs when I have company to feed (although my whole family can gobble just this up themselves). It is just scrambled eggs... but they are so delicious. The recipe is actually from my childhood church. They make crock pots full of these eggs every Easter! A brief explanation before I start. They are meant to be lightly cooked and then placed in a crock pot, but over night is to long to leave them and unless you are getting up and making them at 5 (like to go to sunrise service) and you need them to stay warm and cooking until breakfast after the service, the crock pot method that it originally asks for isn't that convenient. So I have changed the preparations a bit.


Easter Breakfast Buffet Eggs
a.k.a. (My Favorite Scrambled Eggs Ever!)
2 Tbs butter or margarine
2 Tbs flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1/3 cup milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1. Make white sauce from butter, flour, 1 c milk and cheese. Stir over med to med-high heat until thick and flour is cooked. Adding cheese after the mixture begins to heat. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Mix eggs, 1/3 c. milk, and salt. Scramble in melted butter. Fold white sauce into eggs.
3.If you would like to use the crock pot method make sure to lightly scramble your eggs then fold in the white sauce (they will continue cooking in the crock pot, you don't want dried up eggs). Put everything directly into crock pot after folding white sauce into eggs. Put paper towels between the lid and crock pot base to absorb steam. Keep on low and then serve later when needed.

Cookies and Icing

Malitha, I decided to just post these recipes on here. You are the only one who follows it.. tee hee.
These cookies probably don't look that great but they were really good and the girls did the icing all by them selves (I helped Aidan a little).

I like this recipe. Its pretty simple to make and I always have the ingredients on hand. They aren't to sweet and they are easy to roll out. The original recipe (found on all recipes) calls for whipping cream but I have always used milk (when there's whipping cream in this house I always use it up to make Alfredo... yum). I'm actually looking forward to someday tasting these cookies with cream!

SUGAR COOKIES

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream/or milk (I have yet to have cream on hand while making these)
colored sugar for decoration (optional)

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder, stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the heavy cream. Cover dough, and chill for 2 to 3 hours, until firm. I have pulled them out after and hour and a half. They were a bit sticky but not to bad. I usually just make them the night before.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottoms and edges of cookies are light brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.



I really liked this icing. It is a tad bit sweet...it is icing though, but it complemented the cookies very well. Again, I had everything in my pantry already (This is an important factor for me- I'm not to keen on packing up 3 or 4 kids just to get one ingredient at the store).

SUGAR COOKIE ICING

INGREDIENTS
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla/or almond extract
+additional milk 1/2 tsp. at a time may also be needed
assorted food coloring

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, add milk first and slowly mix in sugar until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. Add additional milk 1/2 tsp. at a time until icing is at a spreadable consistency.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush. Allow them to dry, then store them in a sealed container.

I made two separate batches one right after another (I did not double it and do it at all at once). I knew that more icing would end up in mouths and on the table then on the cookies.

More shoes.

I was so excited about those last baby shoes, that I just had to make a pattern for little slipper shoes. After a couple of quick test shoes (not using any interfacing), I finally came up with these little shoes to match that last outfit I made Claire.

Shoes

I made these cute booties. I've been dieing too! I have plans on making all sorts of other fun baby stuff. Most of the stuff (shoes included) can be found at this site. I'm not sure why I have this sewing bug, but I just can't help getting it out! In the last few months I've sewn a full Apron (I can't find the picture I took), a mom and child matching half aprons, valentines dresses, those matching dress, skirt and capris/top outfits, and now these. I always sew off and on... but I haven't sewn this much sense Sydney was a baby. I just sort of stopped after Lily came around.

I can't wait to make more!!

Colorful Snack

I posted this on my family blog, but they were just to cute. We made these for my 3 year old's preschool class. Instead of bringing cupcakes for her birthday treat we made these yummy candied pretzel sticks with personalized wrappers. The were really easy and fun to make. Lily dipped almost all of the pink ones and many of the other colors.

I also constructed a little box for each of the kids to take home. The finished product had their names on them.

We will definitely make these again. Probably for another special snack day for the kids!