Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Hay Bales & Tractor Tires

 We signed up to bring a snack for the field trip that Ethan attended at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.  This is what we decided to make.
 Hay Bales-rice crispy treats covered with a little bit of toasted coconut and then wrapped and tied with pull apart licorices. Tractor Tires-Oreo cookies.
My friend Michele made the cute tags for me.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Chocolate Scriptures

 I made these chocolate scriptures to go with a lesson at church. It was on "Why we need the Book of Mormon." Click here for the lesson.  These are truly inspired lessons.
I copied the idea online. I used Hershey's nuggets for the gold "pages". I first cut a small rectangle out of black construction paper that was just bigger than the 2 nuggets, then I hot glued the nuggets to that leaving a little space in between. I printed out the scripture on white paper and glued the ribbon to the back of that before gluing the paper to the nuggets. Simple but a little time consuming.

Friday, April 18, 2014

I don't know what I've been told...


 ...Ethan's turning 10 years old. Sound off: 1-2...
 We decided to do an army theme this year which turned out to be super fun for 10 year old boys.
 These treats were for the take home bags.  Most of these ideas we found online.
 Battle bites-sour worms, Rescue rope-pull apart licorice, Bombs-green M&M's and Sixlets.
 Bazookas-bazooka bubble gum (I found it at Dollar Tree), Gun Powder-Pixy sticks.
 We had fun decorating.  Ethan and Jared have gotten into paintball this year so we used a lot of their gear to decorate with.  We also borrowed some stuff from my friends husband whose in the Border Patrol.
 Ethan wanted a cookie cake this year.  It was easier than I thought to make. I used my normal recipe:
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour maybe less
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ cups chocolate chips (I like ½ white and rest milk)
Directions
1. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.
2. Gradually add flour, salt, and baking soda, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
***I separated the dough into 3 different bowls.  I added green food dye into one bowl and cocoa powder into another and mixed each one.  I then took small pieces and pressed it onto a 16" pan in a camo design. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool cookie in pan on a cooling rack. 
 We made cupcakes using the same technique.  I separated the batter into 3 bowls using green dye and cocoa powder.  I put the batters in ziplock baggies and piped it in the liners.
 For the frosting I used 3 colors and added them into one large piping bag trying not to mix them too much.
 We found these army men at Dollar Tree.
 Here's my silly boy who couldn't make a normal face in front of his friends.  They had a little too much fun with the neon worms that he has dangling from his mouth. =)
 We had a water balloon fight with these grenades.
 They played nerf wars at the park.  We also had some targets that Ethan made so they could practice.
They made their own tie-dye camo t-shirts.
 Happy Birthday Ethan! I love you my little comrade!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Dirt cups

Ethan wanted to share these with his friends for his birthday treat. Yes, please!
 He wanted to use neon worms.
 We added grass for fun.
First layer-cream cheese, cool whip and cocoa powder. Second-crushed Oreos, third-chocolate pudding, topped with more Oreos.  I am liking these simple treats more and more!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Easter cookies

 I made these Easter cookies for some friends at church.
Chicks-nutter butters dipped in yellow chocolate.  I dipped one flat end, let it dry and then dipped the other. I used regular M&M's or Reese's Pieces for the wings and mini Reeses Pieces for feet.  I used black pearl sprinkles (from Halloween) for eyes and an orange egg sprinkle for the beak.
Bunnies-Oreo cookies dipped in white chocolate using the same technique as above. I cut a big marshmallow in 3rd's and dipped the sticky end in pink sugar sprinkles for the ears. I used a pink M&M from Valentines for the nose, black pearl sprinkles for the eyes and black frosting for the whiskers and mouth.
This is how I presented them.
Happy Easter!