Fakin' and Eggs

Well tomorrow is April Fool's day (consider that your heads-up, people!). And although I'm not as much of the prankster like I once was, I still wanted to participate in the the fun. So I decided to go with food! Because as we all know, I love cute food. As you can tell from my recent dry spell on the blog things have been very busy for me! So unfortunately I knew whatever I decided to make for April Fool's had to be cute, quick, and of course, tasty. What could possibly be better than Bacon and Eggs? Hmmm, or in honor of the April 1st we'll call them... Fakin' and Eggs! (Sorry, I couldn't resist) Ingredients:

• 


• Pretzel sticks


• Yellow m&ms


• White chocolate chips (or Almond Bark)


• OPTIONAL - Apricots (I tried these, they weren't that cool)

Directions:

• Place two pretzel sticks down parallel to each other on wax paper.


• Melt chocolate chips in the microwave. Remember, chocolate burns easily to microwave in small increments, stirring frequently.


• Now take a spoon and make a nice egg-sized blob (I'm so technical, I know) on the pretzel sticks. The melted chocolate will cause the sticks to move away from each other a bit, so do a few test runs to get the hang of it.


• While the chocolate is still melted, place the yolk (yellow m&m) on top!


• Like I said, I had some dried apricots at home so I tried one of those too, but that was WAY too big.


• 


• See? Apricot = no good. M&Ms = perfection!

Make sure you allow them to cool completely before moving off the wax paper. Then you're ready to enjoy some Fakin' and Eggs!

This would be a great project to do with kids too (just be careful with the hot melted chocolate).

How cute would it be to serve up your 'breakfast' in a skillet? Happy April Fool's Day everyone!

Source: Gourmet Mom

My first ice cream!

The title of this post might be a little deceiving... truth be told, there is no real recipe to be found here. But it is my first ice cream! Well, in cross stitch that is. (Hey, it's food related! So on the blog it goes...)

You see, it's been a pretty mellow week considering just seven days ago I had my appendix removed. I've been out of work and I'm on light duty at home for everything including being able to lift Lucas (which has been the hardest part). Luckily I have amazing parents who came to stay with us and help out. They cooked, they cleaned, they helped with our son. It's been incredible!

While my mom was here, we picked up a few of those little all-in-one cross stich kits. Remember those things you used to do in the 80's? Yep, those. So I figured it was only fitting I dove into the ice cream cone. It took a little while to get the hang of it but I really enjoyed myself! I see a new, relaxing hobby in my future :)

Want to see the step-by-step of how it came to be? Check it out:




It doesn't look like much here, but trust me... it's coming along!



One scoop, done! Now onto the cone... I found this really therapeutic. You do have to love the process though, because it takes quite some time. And it involved keeping track of your lines, counting, etc. Very enjoyable for me.



Oooh NOW I can see the ice cream cone! Time to add some 'sprinkles' and a nice melting effect.




Now just a few extra details on the cone and we're all set!




Okay so it's not perfect, but I think it turned out adorable. And with few ingredients ;)

Thanks to my little 'helper' I was able to tackle this in an afternoon. Here's a question... what the heck am I going to do with it? I thought it would be cute on top of a little mason jar as a gift, but maybe not specifically this ice cream one. My mom suggested adding it to a homemade card. Any other thoughts?



Now I just decide which 'treat' I want to whip up next!

Gummy Cinnamon Hearts

I'm not sure if it's a regional thing, but some people have cinnamon hearts while others have cinnamon bears. Around here, cinnamon bears are basically a giant cinnamon flavored gummy bear (I say 'giant' because it's about three times larger than a normal gummy bear, but it's not outrageous). A cinnamon heart, on the other hand, is normally a cinnamon flavored gummy with sugar on it. Like a cinnamon sour patch kid if you will.

So consider this a cinnamon candy hybrid of sorts :)

Anyway, my first attempt at homemade gummy bears was pretty awesome, so I decided to try my hand at another version. I did modify it a bit from my original attempt.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of cherry jello (the three ounce size)..
• 4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (these come in small envelopes, usually 4 per package. The brand I bought was Gelatine and it comes in an orange package. Look for it in the jello aisle)
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 TBSP Cinnamon Extract** (I'm going to need your help at the end of this recipe, people!)

Directions:

• Mix everything together in a sauce pan.
• Heat over low heat until it's more liquid and melted. This doesn't take long, and don't overheat!
• Now carefully pour into your mold. I just use a spoon to ladle it into the molds.
• 
• Don't worry if you spill a bit, just dab it up with a paper towel before they set.
• Put the mold tray into the freezer for about five minutes to firm up.
• Now remove and gobble up those gummy treats!

Aren't those fun?! Be warned, they did have a subtle hint of the cherry gummy in them still. I might try them again will all gelatin and no Jello base to see what that does. I love an experiment!

BUT, like I said above (remember the ** in the ingredients??) I am asking for some help. These had a hint of cinnamon, but certainly not that fiercly spicy taste like I wanted. Was it the extract I used? Perhaps the store version just isn't potent enough? What about a cinnamon oil?

So I still highly recommend giving these a try, because they're tasty and fun regardless... but how would you have made the cinnamon have more BITE?

Taco Chicken Roll-up

It's never a dull moment in my world :) It always seems like just when things are slowly down to a manageable level, something wild is sneaking up around the corner. Well, it just so happens that the next 'thing' happened this weekend... I had an emergency appendectomy! What a trip!

It started off like any other Sunday Funday with my family. Drew, Lucas, and I went out for a super yummy brunch on Sunday followed by a few errands and a trip to Lowe's. While at Lowe's I knew I wasn't feel quite right but shook it off. After getting home, we put Lucas down for a nap. I figured that was a good excuse for me to lay down also. After about 20 minutes I still just didn't feel well, and it was getting more intense. I told Drew to just hang at home with the babe while I buzzed over to the walk-in clinic just a few minutes from our home. I figured they would tell me I ate too much and give me some Pepto, haha! Well, after a quick blood draw and a poke around on my stomach I was sent to the ER. Time to get that angry appendix out ASAP! The most bizarre thing? I never felt that bad. Well, I do now... but that's to be expected after having a small organ removed ;)

So anyway, that gives me time to catch up on a few blog posts this week (silver lining I guess?).

This is a super easy chicken recipe that can be made with just five ingredients in under 45 minutes! And the best part? Most of these items you probably have in your pantry. Perfect for weeknight cooking!

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts
• Two ounces (half a 4 oz can) of diced green chilies
• 3 cups finely crushed Reduced fat Cheez-It crackers
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• Monterey Jack shredded cheese

Directions:

• Let's start with the fun part. Mash your Cheez-It crackers down until they're super fine, like breadcrumbs. I put mine in a big ziplock bag and took a heavy rolling pin to them. Like this:
• 
• Now place in a shallow bowl, mix in taco seasoning, and set aside.
• Next, flatten you chicken breasts between two sheets of waxed paper. Just gently pound them out until they're even thickness.
• Place some cheese and some chilies on each piece of chicken
• 
• Tuck in the end of the chicken and roll up, securing with a toothpick.
• 
• Easy! Now just gently cover your chicken roll-up in the Cheez-it/taco seasoning mix.
• Then place in a greased baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked).

What a simple, easy new take on baked, stuffed chicken. The cheese and chilies offered a delicious suprise after biting through the crunchy, spicy coating. A nice southwestern take on a classic. This is definitely a keeper recipe. Something to make when you're tired of the same ol' thing but also don't have a lot of time (or ingredients!) on hand.

Enjoy! Oh and P.S. remove the toothpicks before you bite into dinner ;)

Source: Taste of Home