Keeping It Simple

It was my adorable nephew's 2nd birthday (that's him with the chocolate face ;))... we wanted a fun activity for the kids at his party, so my husband headed up to the store to purchase a sprinkler for them to run through.  Birthday boy with big sister.  I can't share pictures of that sprinkler because, in a fit of complete frustration, my husband threw it in the trash! (While it was a brand name, it was a less than quality product.)   At that point Frank said that he could make a better sprinkler and was talking about pulling out some PVC pipe. That's when I pulled up my handy-dandy Pinterest app and searched PVC pipe sprinklers.   Careful what ideas you give a building contractor!!  He was all set to go totally overboard, but this party was for a two year old and his guests, so he scaled it down bit...  And this is what he (and my boys) put together. The water coming out of the top shoots upward, so you can't see i...

Just have to share this yummylicious (this is actually a word in our home) recipe find! My husband looked at me with great suspicion when I suggested making them for all of our children plus a dear friend who joined us for lunch today. Much to his amazement, he liked them as did everyone else. AND, if you read my blog, you know that it has to be super simple or it is not going to happen around here. These are called Funeral Sandwiches. I assume because it is easy to make a bunch of them. Sadly I did not take any pictures- seems impossible, right? But I did not. You can hop over to Sunday Baker to get a look and get the exact recipe. * This is the deal- you take Hawaii rolls. * Slice them in half and put the bottom half of each in a casserole dish. * Cut some deli ham and swiss cheese to size and layer on roll. * Place the tops on the rolls. * Make a glaze using butter, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and onion powder. * Pou...

Making yummy treats!! One of our favorite things! This morning, as we left mass, my boys were begging for a treat. Typically, on a feast day (today is the Feast of the Assumption in the Catholic church), I let them pick out a doughnut at the grocery store. On occasion, we even go out to breakfast. My wallet was on empty, so we had no such luxuries. Trying to come up with something special we could do, I remembered  this recipe I pinned a while ago that had the claim "using ingredients you already have in your pantry". Happily, that claim turned out to be true!   Mark (top) and James (below) both wanted to help.  Just like the recipe title implies- super simple!  And, honestly, delicious.  A little pat of butter tucked in the middle, a cup of green tea (me- the boys had milk), and we were all very satisfied with our last minute treat.  My critique of the recipe- We cooked ours in a 9" pan (8 or 9 is reco...

I have wanted to join Making it Count ( formerly Pinning it Down ) again to share some of my favorite internet finds, but life has been crazy lately. This soup has made an appearance in a weekly wrap-up, but I am featuring this most recent batch just so I can  participate !  All said and done, this recipe makes enough for my family to have dinner, to give a meal to each of the my three daughters' families (their kiddos are pretty little still), and to have  leftovers once or twice- depending on how many are at home eating.  I asked my son-in-law if he was interested in a batch again this time- without hesitation he replied, via text message, "yes, please!".                                            Pretty much this is just chicken, carrots, celery, onion, parsley, and celery salt. In addition to the original recipe, we added som...

I am not a very good food photographer. Hopefully, your getting the "comfort food" vibe here. I found the recipe for  Crescent Chicken  via Pinterest. But I will link you straight to  Comfy in the Kitchen  where the recipe was first posted. As suggested, we served it with mashed potatoes (piping hot from the  crockpot !). Perfect for a cool winter's evening!  On to this recipe that I have been waiting forever to try: These are Patty's famous Scotch-A-Roos . I have been looking for the perfect opportunity to try these. As it happens, my daughter asked me if there was any special dessert that I wanted for my birthday. As she has quite a repertoire of her own dessert recipes, I would usually choose one of my many favorites from there, but I really wanted to try these! Shauna readily agreed. Even pointed out that these are simple to make- am I sure that is what I want? The answer was yes. Sadly, our Sunday dinner out for my b...

This week I am "Pinning it Down" some cooking, some planning, and a little decluttering!  I love breakfast casseroles. My boys only love them if they don't have too many ingredients (they don't like bell peppers and such in their breakfast food!). When I saw this one, I knew that it would be a keeper. I pinned it here on my breakfast food board . And you can go straight to the yummy recipe here . Our thoughts on the recipe:  The recipe tester (who shared the recipe) felt that the cooking time was off as his casserole was a bit under cooked. We used a 9x9 pan instead of an 8x8 and the cooking time was perfect. My boys (all- dad included) felt that we should have used all the bacon we cooked. We cooked 16 ounces but used the 8 that the recipe called for. I agree that more would be nice, but maybe not that much more. I have never made a breakfast casserole that called for evaporated milk and 1 egg rather than several eggs and a little milk. While I...

This was one of my very first Pinterest pins. I saw it pictured a year ago and knew that I wanted to make these with some of my favorite crafters.  The last two pictures show the youngest crafters (5 and 6 yo), who did an excellent job! I found that no matter how fastidious (or not) we were when making our yarn hearts that they always turned out super cute! First seen @ Ten Kids and a Dog  And I pinned the directions from Family Chic Joining in at:                                           

This has turned out to be our favorite breakfast food . I love it because everyone's eggs are done at the same time! Egg Mc*Muffin has got nothing on this! I think I have shown these before, but they really are that easy and delicious! http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/03/breakfast-sandwiches/ And, these yummy chicken quesadillas . I don't remember if I have mentioned them before- I love the colors! These quesadillas make me seriously happy! http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/chicken-quesadillas/detail.aspx Join in at "Pinning It Down"!

Two more things made via Pinterest! I am not planning on joining in "Pinning it Down" every week, but I am enjoying the inspiration- inspiration to get making stuff and inspiration seeing what others have done using Pinterest. I decided to make  these simple cookies  this weekend- before I knew it, James (8yo) had my old apron on and was asking "what are we making?". Well, the recipe did say that any 4 year old could make it. After telling him he had to find the camera first (if we cook together, I take pictures.;)), we got cookin'. Checking out the recipe . Fortunately, the not entirely kid appropriate title is written all as one very big word, so he did not even try to read it.  Pouring in the Karo and sugar.  and thinking it does not smell super delicious.  Then adding peanut butter...  and starting to think that these might not be too bad after all.  Mixing in the Corn Flakes. Drop by tablespoons and drizzle chocola...

Oh, yes, I did! I was browsing some pins on my iPod app right before going to bed when this super simple wrap that my sister had recently pinned showed itself. My version- I kind of clumped the cream cheese. Still delicious! (oh, and I sprinkled in just a tablespoon of diced salami)  Then...just moments later,  this brownie concoction  showed on the pin boards! We were pretty much so full after eating this that we barely ate dinner. :-P Honestly, I have never, ever done this (I don't even grocery shop- hubby does). I was up the next morning and at the grocery store, list in hand, to purchase the ingredients for both of these treats. Lunch - check. Yummy treat for a cold, rainy afternoon - check. Link to turkey wrap @ Every Day with Rachel Ray . The brownie was found over @ The Londoner Joining in at Pinning it Down.

I know everyone does not love Pinterest. I actually was put off by it for  a while (I found it overwhelming!). I do love it now.  It has a few benefits to me: The first is that I can see my bookmarks/pins. While I had labeled folders on my computer with the "finds" I came across on the internet, when I tried to find a saved link, I would have to search through several to find the right one (if I found it at all).  The second is that I get to see all of the things that others think are pin worthy. I don't often venture into "explore all"- I follow those pinners that I think will have pins that I find useful and glean from their findings.  The only downfall that I can see- too much time could easily be spent playing on Pinterest! I really do try and use it like the useful tool that it is. Just occasionally I will sit down with a cup of tea and browse around for fun.  Here are some...