A Googly Eye Pumpkin & Brain Cupcakes

So if you know me at all you realize that we don't truly celebrate Halloween. Instead my family may or may not participate in a "Fall Festival" with or without costumes, and then the actual night of Halloween we lay low in our home with pizza, goodies, and a family movie. However this year we were put into the position of not being able to gracefully opt out of Halloween activities without it reflecting poorly on my husbands position. So I tried to get in the spirit of things without being to creepy. What I came up with was a variation I saw on a painted pumpkin and then some super basic cupcakes decorated like brains.

So the first thing I tackled was the painted pumpkin. This was a decoration for my Husband's car, which is the vehicle we will be using at "Trunk or Treat". His car happens to be a metallic blue, so since I am a matching freak, I used blue and black as the theme for all his trunk decorations.
If you want to try your hand at one of these, the project is cheap and doesn't require much. Here's what you will need:

• Pie Pumpkin
• Googly Eyes
• Acrylic Paint
• Sponge Brush
• Hot Glue Gun & Sticks

I had seen these in a magazine where they had spray painted pumpkins black or white and then glued googly eyes to them. However I have not had the best experience lately with spray paint, plus I wanted it to be sparkly blue which I couldn't find. So instead I bought a 67cent bottle of sparkly blue acrylic paint at Hobby lobby and used a sponge brush to apply it generously.

I then allowed it dry some, and then applied another coat. I even placed it upside down on a glass and painted the bottom.

After allowing the entire pumpkin to dry completely for a couple hours, I used a hot glue gun and applied googly eyes in random spots.

I thought this little guy turned out fairly cute and he cost me less than $4 total!

I then attempted to make Brain Cupcakes for the Bake Sale that we are having in conjunction with the Trunk or Treat. This cupcakes simply consisted of Red Velvet cake mix cupcakes, and grossly dyed cream cheese frosting. (Please ignore my washing machine in the background! It is simply the only spot in my whole house at night that I can get a decent picture:P)

I had seen the concept online in a couple places, and basically all you do is take your cupcake and then a icing bag with a large round tip and place two lines down the center of the cupcake, with squiggly lines on either side to fill the reminder of the cake. Mine weren't quite as nice as many I had seen online, however the cream cheese icing I used was very soft. So the icing wasn't holding it shape well. However my taste testers (Gilly & Gidey) said they were perfect;)

So while I hope we go back to our quiet home celebration next year, I did enjoy trying my hand a few things I wouldn't have otherwise had an opportunity to do. Happy Fall Festivities!

Feeling Like Fall Finally, so I made Apple Dumplings!

Yesterday was the first day here in Carolina that even pretended to feel like fall. So I broke in my new crockpot with a yummy soup and then made this fun looking recipe I found on a couple different blogs for easy Apple Dumplings. The recipe seems to have originated from Pioneer Woman but I found it on Our Best Bites. I also halved the recipe, the original made 16 dumplings but our family would never eat that many. So I am posting my modified/halved version.

Easy Apple Dumplings

Ingredients:

• 1 Medium to Large Tart Apple
• 1 Can refrigerated Crescent Rolls
• 1 Stick Butter
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla
• Cinnamon to Taste
• 4 oz Mountain Dew or Sprite

Spray a 8x8 pan with Pam. Peel and cut your Apple into 8 wedges  (I used my apple wedger and it made 10 pieces, so mine were a little small). Separate the can of crescents into 8 triangles. Then wrap each apple wedge, covering it completely with the crescent triangle. I placed my apple at the wide end of the crescent and then rolled it up and tucked the edges over the ends of the apple. Place each crescent covered apple in the 8x8 dish. Now take your butter and melt it in a saucepan. Add to the melted butter the vanilla and sugar. Stir just to combine, then pour over the pan of apples. Then take your soda and pour it around the edges of the dish. Most recipes I saw said to use 6 oz of soda, but I barely used 4 and thought it was plenty! Sprinkle entire pan with cinnamon to taste. Place in oven that has been preheated to *350 and bake for 40 minutes. Once done allow to cool some and then serve with ice cream. The dish make a gorgeous carmelly syrup that I drizzled over the dumplings and the ice cream:)  Yummy and Easy, my kinda recipe!

I'm BAAACK! with a Candy Corn Wreath in Hand;)

I know everyone missed me more than words can say!;) To be honest the time away was REALLY good for me, and got some of my creative juices flowing. So hopefully the posts will be a little more consistent, but no promises!

Onto my real purpose of this post...My Candy Corn Wreath!

Now while I HATE eating those vile little sugary candies, I also smile when I see them because they remind me of my favorite Aunt who adores them. So when I saw this wreath on the cover of a magazine I knew I had to make it in her honor. This little guy turned out to be fairly simple and not very spendy, which are both things I look for in any craft.

Whatcha need is pretty basic: 

• Any size Styrofoam wreath ( I used 6 inch because I am cheap & lazy)
• Black duck tape
• Candy Corns ( I recommend Brachs because they are sturdy and some of the prettiest)
• Ribbon
• Hot Glue Gun & several Glue Sticks
• Paper Plates for Glue Gun drippings & Candy Corn picking

 1) Wrap your wreath in the duck tape. This didn't not look that pretty to me at first, and honestly was rather lumpy. But it didn't end up mattering at all.

2) Heat Glue Gun, and grab a paper plate to pour your Candy Corns onto. All the instructions I read said at this point to lay the candy corns out on your wreath to get a good idea how to fit them on. Again, because I am lazy I just decided on a starting point and figured anything that didn't come out right I could hide with ribbon;) I did however follow the instructions to place the rows opposing each other and that worked out great!

3) Continue to glue candy corns on wreath till it is a full as you want. As you can see from my pic above I originally intended to glue only 4 rows, but since I bought the huge bag of candy corns and it was coming together faster than I thought, I went on to do 6 rows which made it very full:) I only ended up having one row not come out "even", and I bet from the pic you can barely spot it, so I didn't worry.

4) After you have glued all the candies in place, grab your ribbon and make a hanger with a bow. My recommendation here would be to go for wide/thick ribbon. I was again being cheap and bought some pretty decorator ribbon(that is actually black & orange, NOT black & pink like it looks in the pic) that was a buck and the wreath is to heavy for it:( However it LOOKS cute!

So there ya have it. A project that took less than 1/2 an hour, and only cost about $10. Granted I did have some Michael's coupons I used on the wreath and tape, however I easily think you could skip the foam wreath and the duck tape by using a cheaper straw wreath with cute fall looking results. Let me know if you try this and how it turns out. Be back soon with pictures of my Gilly Bean's 8th Birthday!

Short & Sweet

I am just logging a short post to let everyone know that I am removing my self from the internet world (sort of).
I won't be posting blogs anymore at least not for a while till I work through this funk. I have also deactivated my facebook account. I feel it takes up to much of my time and isn't something that I usually find uplifting. Actually lately it has been the opposite, it only serves to depress or bring me down.  I am sure none of these actions are very permanent, I just need to know that I can live without FB. And so far my blog as just been making me feel like a failure, which was not the original intent.So what I am getting at is if ya need to catch up with me call, text or even send an email. I am not dead nor am I dying, I just really need some down time...

Tasty Tuesday-Chicken Salad

So strangely enough one of my kids favorite lunches is chicken salad. I love this because chicken salad is pretty easy and says summer/light food to me! I had to play around with a few different recipes to get the flavor and consistency that my family likes, and to be honest I don't follow this recipe exactly. It is more of a guide line so I don't forget any key ingredients. Here is the Goodman family's favorite chicken salad:

Chicken Salad
2 cups cooked Chicken ( I have used it all! Canned, Leftover, Roasted Chicken from the Store, it all works great!)
1/3 cup Sour cream
1/3 cup Mayo
Squeeze of lemon juice
1/4 cup diced celery
1 heaping tablespoon Pecan pieces ( I cut them very fine or the kids don't like it)
Diced onion to taste ( I have used white and green onions, I prefer white but the green looks pretty)
1 tbs dill pickle relish
Dash of salt, celery salt, and about 1 tsp pepper.

Mix Chicken with Sour Cream, Mayo and Lemon Juice. Add in next 4 ingredients and then season to taste with Spices.

I know this is almost to easy to post, but after serving this so many times this summer I felt it deserved a post. You may notice that my recipe is on the dry side, this is how my family prefers it. However this is easily changed to a creamier version by simply adding more sour cream and/or mayo. We have served this on Croissants, French Bread, Wheat Rolls, and even in a ball with crackers on the side! My kids don't seem to care how I serve it as long as I don't put in to many nuts or to much pickle;)  So there is a tasty simple recipe for you, go whip it up and take your kiddos on a picnic!

Tasty Tuesday- Menu Plan/Back in the Groove

So we are almost settled in here in NC, and after eating out for basically three straight weeks we are ready for some home cooking! So I thought I would get back in the swing of a schedule with a menu plan. Payday is actually this week, and we are going out of town this weekend. So my menu is actually only 5 days this time since I will plan my bi-weekly shopping and menu once I am back in town. However before we head on our road trip I am going to attempt to turn out the following meals:

Lunches:
1)Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Chips & Gauc, Cherries
2) Pasta Salad & Grapes
3)Quesadillas, Salsa & Chips, Oranges
4)BLTS, Pretzels, Veggies & Dip
5) PBJ, Cheetos, Blueberries

Dinners:
1)Spaghetti with Sausage, Salad, & Garlic Toast
2)Grilled Teriyaki Burgers, Linda"s Crunchy Asian Salad,Grilled Pineapple
3)Chicken "Brats", Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob
4)Calzones, Dipping Sauce, Fruit
5)Cobb Salads, Watermelon, Crescent Rolls

So as you can see I'm not getting real adventurous in the cooking department this week! Not even really any "recipes" to most of this stuff, however if you see something you want the run down on let me know:)

Promise to get back in the routine with the blog thing, but moving was more work than I expected! Hope to post pics of the new house some time soon. Wanted to wait till the kids rooms were done being redecorated, and maybe even the living room overhaul, but the funding has run out before my good intentions! So I won't leave you hanging that long;)

Manic Monday- VBS 2010

So this morning was a little bitter sweet. I dressed my guys in their brand spankin new VBS shirts. Did their hair, so it would at least look cute during Worship Rally. Then took the mandatory VBS pic. So far all that has been the sweet part. The bitter part was knowing I wasn't going to be there. That I wouldn't be working in a fun ranch theme decorated room, or eating Cowpoke snacks, or making western themed crafts. For the first time in LOTS of years, I wasn't even going to merely be an onlooker, I just wouldn't be there:(

This is due to many reasons that I won't even go into on this blog, suffice it to say there is a season for everything. And obviously this was my season to sit on the sidelines. I am thrilled for my little people that they get to participate in all the fun, yet sad in my heart that I am not helping make the fun. Oh well at least I will get to live vicariously through my kids.

Here was their rundown on this morning:

Gilly: "Mom first we did worship rally in the big church and sang and did offering, and guess what?! The girls won offering and I need to bring money tomorrow. Next we went to Snack" Gideyon butts in at this part.

Gideyon: " Yeah at snack we made"mix trail". It had a lot of stuff in it"

Gilly: Do you think we can make trail mix sometime Mom?, Cept without the round cereal in it cause I don't like that kind"

Gideyon: " Yeah maybe we could put Lucky Charms in it instead!"

Gilly: "NO cause it already has marshmallows in it!"

Me: We'll see, maybe you can each pick something to put in it. What else did you do at VBS?"

Gilly:" We went to art and got to make big people!"

Gidey: " And I found a wallet and the lady said that was tomorrows craft, so then I will have something to put my money in:)"

Gilly: "After that we went back to our room and had games, and then we went to big church for worship rally again, and I answered one the pastors questions!"

Gidey: " I tried to answer but I didn't get picked"

Me: " Well maybe you will get picked another day, the pastor can't pick everyone. So does this mean you had a good time and want to go back?"

Gilly: "Yes!!"

Gidey: " Yeah I guess so"

So as you can tell VBS was an overall hit, and I am glad for the sake of my kids that even though our church wasn't involved they still got to go to a fun program. And I am sure we will be singing the songs for weeks to come:)

Tasty Tuesday- Rice Krispy Treats

Since I just finished a quick trip to visit my favoritest sister Clare , I thought it was only fitting that this Tasty Tuesday recipe be something she is "famous" for. Now if you are dismissing this recipe on the fact that you already know how to make Rice Krispy Treats, may I beg you to TRY this one! See I wasn't impressed either, till my Nina made these tasty morsels and I tasted the difference. Her recipe is a careful ratio of marshmallows to krispies, with a touch of vanilla, that when placed in the correct size pan produce the chewiest marshmallow treats I have yet to eat! 

Clare's Famous Rice Krispy Treats:

5 Cups Rice Krispies Cereal

1/4 Cup Butter (NO substitutions!)

1 teaspoon Vanilla

10 oz bag of Mini Marshmallows

Grease a 8x8 pan with butter or spray, set aside. In large pot melt your butter with the vanilla and marshmallows. Once completely melted add in your cereal, coating well. Immediately turn mixture into prepared pan. Using buttered hands push cereal mixture firmly down into pan. If you can manage to wait long enough, allow to cool before cutting to produce more attractive squares:) This recipe doubled makes a nice 9x13 pan of treats that are quite thick!

Hope you enjoy these quick and tasty treats! Be sure and drop Lara a comment if you try these and tell her how much she rocks:)