Chocolate Covered Pretzels

My sisters and I are throwing a baby shower for the upcoming birth of our new nephew. The theme is Diapers and Desserts! What to make for my dessert...chocolate covered pretzels! It was so simple and I love the sweet and salty combination. This is what you need...

semisweet chocolate chips

white chocolate chips

pretzel rods

sprinkles

plastic baggie

scissors

aluminum foil

microwave safe bowl

food coloring

Before you get started cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil. 

Pour your chips in a microwave safe bowl. I split my chips in half...half white and half will be blue.

Add a little crisco, about a table spoon for 12 oz of chips. If you split it in half like I did you will just use a half of a tablespoon.

Put it in the microwave for about a minute, then stir. If need be, put it in the microwave for another minute.

 I added food coloring...

 Then the other half for the pretzels. I transferred the chocolate in a tall glass to help with the dipping process. After you dip place them on the covered cookie sheet.

If you are going to put sprinkles on them do it right after you dip them. I waited a little too long and they didn't stick as well as I would have liked.

Next, place them in the refrigerator. After the chocolate hardens you are ready to drizzle the colored chocolate.

 I placed my blue chocolate in a baggie and snipped the tiniest hole in the bottom corner.

 Then I drizzled...

Place them back into the refrigerator until you are ready to serve! 

I displayed them in some lowball cocktail glasses. To spruce up the glasses I wrapped them with some blue polka dot ribbon.

 ENJOY!

Sunday S'mores.

It was a beautiful Sunday night here in Florida!

We decided to go outside and end our weekend with an all time favorite dessert...S'mores! Carson had never had them before. She had "big eyes" as she placed the marshmallows onto the stick and then held it over the fire (the side burner on the grill). I know she loved making them...

But I think she had an even better time eating them!

She had to choose her own. She must have thought that one was the biggest!

Her smile says it all! I am sure we will be having these again!

What's your all time favorite dessert?

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Making Cakes

I have been obsessed with reading posts from this site...Ashley always has fabulous ideas and tutorials and for the last few weeks she has asked Brittany to be a guest blogger. Brittany is doing a make-a-cake series where she shares her tips on baking and decorating cakes. Her cakes are amazing...

and the tutorials are so easy to follow anyone can do it...even me...

I have always been intrigued by cake decorating and have often thought to myself, "How in the world do people get cakes to look fanciful and life-like much like pieces of artwork?"And wouldn't it be fabulous to be able to make a cake that looked professional without spending an arm and a leg? Not that my cake looks anywhere near what a professional cake looks like, but you have to start somewhere and I had a lot of fun doing it!

My real motivation for taking the plunge in baking and cake decorating is Carson's birthday. It is coming up next week and I want to make a cake similar to this...

but on a smaller scale. Maybe I am a bit ahead of myself in thinking I can pull it off, but I sure am going to try!

This is my practice cake. I wanted to make sure that I could bake the cake, make buttercream icing, fondant, color the fondant and cut/apply decorations. I am glad I did! Now I have a better idea of how long it takes and will do a little each day. I also found that my "Golden Sunshine" Wilton icing coloring was more orange than yellow. Good to know...I need yellow!

I also want it to taste good, not just look cute. So...I cut a slice...

and let my little taste tester be the judge.

And I think it passed the test!

If you have any interest at all in making cakes you should head over to the make a cake series. It will give you the confidence to give it a try. And you will be glad you did!

Pink, Yellow and Orange Lemonade

I saw these in Target. My mouth began to water as I had a flashback of childhood summer days. Many a summers we would go up to Ohio to visit our relatives. My Aunt Shirley K would make this drink I like to call pink, yellow and orange lemonade. We would sit on the dock, sip our PYO lemonade, and dangle our feet in the water.

I snapped back from my flashback and bought the outfits...why not!? You really can't beat cute summer duds for $6...right?:) Plus they brought back fond memories.

We went home and I made the PYO lemonade with my girls.

Enjoy!

Enjoy (well maybe not just yet, but we can pretend)!

Go on..."Try it, you'll like it!"

Friday Night App.

We are going to a recession wine party tonight. It's a wine party for the hard times...apps and cheap wine...wine under $10. I wanted to share the appetizer we are going to bring with us. It's the easiest appetizer EVER and always seems to be a huge hit!

Yup, that's all you need...frozen meatballs and Duck Sauce=Yummy! Oh, and a crock pot. Just pour the two ingredients into the crock pot and...

Stir every once in a while.

until they are warm through the center. Serve with toothpicks!

That's it! Enjoy!

Happy Friday!

Sarah

Podee to the Rescue

A friend of mine told me about the this the other day...the Podee feeding kit!

I picked one up at my local Babies R Us and it was a life saver the other night. I had two hungry kids, but only two hands to cook dinner. So...I hooked Clara up with the Podee, which allows for hands-free feeding...

(We are a little out of season with the Thanksgiving bib):)

while I made Carson this very yummy dinner of Sponge Bob mac & cheese and broccoli.

Side note: I did NOT use the nipple that came with the kit. It was too stiff and she didn't care for it. Instead I just used one of the nipples from our bottles.

Baby Food: You can make it too!

Two years ago when Carson was about to begin eating "solid" foods I went to the book store to look for a book on making my own baby food. Mind you I am not a cook, whatsoever! I have a fabulous husband (dad of 2 Giggle Boxes) who plans our meals out each week and does the grocery shopping. He is a saint, I know. We would be eating frozen dinners every night if it was up to me. Anyway, I thought I would take on this task. I came upon the section in the store with books about making baby food, but WOW was I overwhelmed by the number of books! There was another mother there who recommended "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. It is 560 pages of oodles of information. It has everything from choosing foods, preparing foods, making and storing foods, recipes, to health/safety tips and even fun activities you can do with your kids. So I bought it and gave it a whirl! It was super easy to follow. The book is broken down by feeding your baby at 6,7,8, etc. months, what foods are good for each month, how to choose, clean, make and store each type of food.

Now two years later I am at it again with Clara. Many people would ask me if it is a pain in the rear end and assume that it takes hours of labor in the kitchen, but it doesn't! What I do is buy several different kinds of fruits and veggies and make an afternoon of it. Many of them last up to several months in the freezer. When your baby is hungry you pop a cube or two into the microwave and serve!

I of course consulted our pediatrician before I began making any baby food!

What you need: fruits, veggies, ice cube trays, food processor, oven/microwave/steamer

The process in a nutshell:

-Clean and Prepare

-Steam, microwave or bake fruits/veggies

-Put in a food processor

-Put in ice cube trays, cover and place in freezer

-After they are frozen pop them into a freezer bag

-Mark the freezer bag with the date made and the expiration date (most last 2-3 months in the freezer and a few days in the refrigerator).

-Pop in microwave and serve!

If you have a little one you should try it! I think it's a great way to introduce a baby's first foods and offers much more of a variety than store bought baby food.

Here are some pictures of more food and Clara enjoying it!

Sweet Potatoes

Bananas...so easy! Just peel and puree!

MMMM...Bananas!

Mix it with a little yogurt...

And enjoy!