Oatmeal Cream Pies

Oatmeal Cream Pies
Cookies
1 c. butter
3/4 c. dk. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. quick oats

Cream butter, sugars, molasses, vanilla, and eggs. Combine flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Mix in oats and drop by tsp. on cooking sheets. Bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes. Don't overbake.

While the cookies are cooling, make frosting.

Filling
2 tsp. hot water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (7 oz. ) marshmallow creme
1/2 c. shortening
2/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Dissolve salt in hot water and let cool. Combine marshmallow creme, shortening, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Add salt water and mix well.

Spread filling on cookie and top with another cookie.
Try not to eat all of them:-)

Apple Brickle Dip

Source: lil luna

Apple Brickle Dip
1 (8oz.) package cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1package (7 1/2 oz.) brickle chips or english toffee bits

Mix all together & keep refrigerated until ready.
It's that easy!

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU BREAD BOWL

Source: Mindika Moments

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU BREAD BOWL
(Recipe adapted from Cuisine at Home)
For the Chicken:

4 T. butter

16 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast cubed (about 3 chicken breasts)

1/2 C. minced shallots (or onion)

2 T. flour

1 C. apple juice

1 1/4 C. chicken broth

1/2 C. heavy cream

1/4 C. grated Parmesan

2 T. mustard

1 t. thyme

2 C. broccoli florets, blanched

salt and cayenne pepper to taste

For the Casserole:

4 round sourdough loaves (or medium bread bowls)

4-8 thin slices smoked ham

4 large slices Swiss cheese

4 t. grated Parmesan, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a small baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a saute pan. Add the chicken and saute until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the shallots and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle mixture with flour, stir to incorporate.

4. Combine the apple juice and broth; slowly add, stirring constantly to avoid clumping.

5. Stir in cream, Parmesan, mustard and thyme; simmer after each addition until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli; season with salt and cayenne. Reduce heat to low.

6. Hollow out the loaves by cutting off the tops and tearing out the insides. (Remove as much bread as possible.) Compress any remaining bread inside the loaves to make room for the filling. Toast loaves directly on oven rack, about 5 minutes; remove to prepared baking sheet.

7. Arrange the ham slices in the bottom of each loaf. Using a slotted spoon, divide chicken mixture evenly between loaves, reserving sauce in the pan.

8. Top the chicken in each loaf with a slice of Swiss and sprinkle with 1 t. Parmesan.

9. Bake the bread bowls until the cheese melts, about 10-15 minutes. Serve each bread bowl with reserved cream sauce.

10. Makes 4 bowls.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES AND PEANUT BUTTER ICING

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES AND PEANUT BUTTER ICING

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature

• 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

• 2 tablespoons brewed coffee

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup good cocoa powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows

• Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Source: polkadots and pizza

2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home, All Rights Reserved

Apple Nachos

These are a perfect snack for Fall!

Apple Nachos

• Sliced apples
• Caramel topping, warmed slightly to make it thinner
• mini chocolate chips
• marshmallows, nuts, raisins, etc (optional)

Place apples on a plate or platter, top with chocolate chips, and any other toppings you choose. Drizzle caramel topping all over.
Enjoy!

Source: lynns kitchen adventures

Upcycled Boy Hats

i am momma hear me roar



The link above has the step by step directions to make these adorable hats!

I love them and cant wait to make some!

Candy Corn Mini Trifles

Source: Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

INGREDIENTS

Box of yellow cake mix, plus oil, eggs and water needed to prepare
Yellow food coloring
2 (4 serving size) boxes instant vanilla pudding, plus milk needed to prepare
Orange food coloring
8 oz tub Cool Whip, thawed
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Candy Corn

Prepare cake batter according to instructions, adding yellow food coloring during mixing. Pour batter into a 9x13 inch pan and bake and cool according to box directions.

Prepare instant pudding according to directions on box, adding enough orange color to make it a bright orange. Place pudding in the refrigerator while you prepare the topping.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Mix in the Cool Whip until well blended.

Crumble the yellow cake into an even layer in the bottom of each mini trifle bowl. Remove the pudding from the refrigerator and spoon on top of cake layer. Smooth out with the back of your spoon. Pipe whipped topping/cream cheese layer on top with a large star tip. Or, just spoon it on. No one will care.

Top with a candy corn.

White Chocolate Cinnamon Caramel Apples

If any of you have been to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company, you know how exciting it is to find a recipe for these. They are just as amazing as they look!

I found this recipe at Pretty Lil' Posies

-Apples, you can use any kind, but I think green Granny Smith apples would be perfect!

-12-15 caramels per apple.  The kind that is individually wrapped. Kraft sells them, or you can usually buy them by the pound this time of year.  You can also be an over achiever and make your own caramel :0)

-White chocolate (I used a bag of white chocolate chips which covered 5 apples)

-Cinnamon and Sugar, just enough to sprinkle over top

-1-2 Tbsp. water

-craft sticks (popsicle sticks)

1-Wash apples, remove core and stick in craft sticks.  Place apples aside in refrigerator.

2-Remove wrappers off the caramels and place them in a saucepan along with your water.  Melt caramels over medium low heat stirring constantly.  Melt caramels until they all come together but make sure it's not so hot that it's super runny (you want it to be slightly viscous still).

3-You can either dip your apples directly in the saucepan or you can transfer the caramel to a bowl that is tall and narrow so that you can cover the apples in one good dunk!  Dip your apple in the caramel, tip and swirl the apple until you get the desired coverage.  Lift the apple out of the caramel and let drip to remove any excess caramel to avoid a big pool at the bottom of your apple. If you want your apples to look "pretty" I would suggest melting more caramel and chocolate than you need so that you don't have to spoon the caramel on to have the last few apples covered. Place apples onto a lightly greased piece of wax paper on top of a plate and stick the apples in the refrigerator until cool and the caramel is set back up.

4-Melt the white chocolate.  I put the chocolate into a microwave safe bowl.  Set your microwave to half power and microwave for 2 minutes.  Take it out stir until smooth and then if needed microwave the chocolate for additional 30 second intervals until you get it to the right consistency.

5-Dip your apples into the chocolate using the same process as in step 3.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and place apples back into the refrigerator until cold.

Olive Garden Salad

Olive Garden Salad

Olive Garden Salad Dressing:

½ c. mayonnaise

1/3 c. white vinegar

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 Tb. corn syrup

2 Tb. Parmesan cheese

2 Tb. Romano cheese

¼ tsp garlic salt – or one clove garlic, minced

½ tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp parsley flakes

1 Tb. lemon juice

Salad:

1 large head romaine lettuce

slices red onion

black olives

2-4 banana peppers

2 small tomatoes, quartered

½ c. croutons

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your own personal tastes, add a little extra sugar.(It turns out a bit runny.)

Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Put lettuce in bowl. Place on top of lettuce red onions, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top.

No big dill

This cute skirt and matching headband, at No Big Dill, made me wish for a day of having a daughter to make this for and have her look this cute. Check it out, you will absolutely love it too!



The headband may be a little dramatic, but I think its super cute!
And I LOVE the skirt, I'm thinking of making one for myself... Who says little girls get to have all the fun.

SLIME

In a larger bowl, mix 1/4 c white glue (like Elmers) and 1/4 c water. Add a squirt of tempera paint for color. You can even add glow in the dark paint for a weird twist.
Mix 1/2 teas Borax in 1/2 c water. Stir well until dissolved.
Slowly pour the Borax mixture into the glue mixture. You’ll see it clump up immediately. Stir. Pour off the excess liquid, and you’re left with the slime!
Smush it. Squeeze it. It gets even better the more you play with it. It stretches and breaks. It slowly flattens. You can punch holes in it. You can cut it out with cookie cutters. And I found it less messy than play-dough. It’s not for eating, so do exercise supervision.**

This fun recipe was found at dabbled.org

Toddler pants from old T-shirts

How can something so cute, really be as simple as they make it sound in this tutorial.



This old T-shirt was magically transformed into this...

Baby Shower Gift Idea

Oh so cute baby shower gift or I was thinking even a young woman's activity.
I found this at Made with Love and Glue, and had to share it!

Time to start thinking about Thanksgiving!

200 Thanksgiving Ideas

Time to get ready for Thanksgiving! This site, tip junkie, has so many ideas... from decor and place settings to kid activities and recipes!

Sewers... Check this out!

If you are a sewer or have thought about picking up the habit. I found this awesome website that has thousands of free patterns and tutorials.

everything your mama made



Loopy Paper Wreath

I found this cute idea over at These Creative Juices it looks pretty easy but quite time consuming. But a very cute idea! You could do it for any season.


This is where she got her original idea, they are both very cute. Just a little twist to a simple design and you get a completely different look.

Halloween Printables

These are just a few examples of the fun free printables over at tip junkie! Check them out and have lots of fun with them...

More Halloween Goodies!

I saw these adorable cupcakes in my Taste of HomeMagazine, I love MONSTER stuff lately and cant wait to make them.

taste of home



I also found this site that has multiple halloween cupcake sites. They are all so cute, you might have to make them all.
Skip to my Lou

Trick or Treat Topiaries

I. Love. These.
They are perfect for Halloween, but I also think they would be cute for other holidays, or fancied-up with fabrics or flowers or anything!

Find the tutorial here, plus tons of other darling ideas!!

Pumkins Pumkins Pumpkins...

Pom Pom Pumkins

Martha Stewart Pom Pom Tuitorial



Paper Mache Pumpkins





2x4 Pumpkins





Dryer Duct Pumpkin





Fabric Pumpkins





Crochet Pumpkin





Toilet Paper Roll Pumpkin




Paper Pumpkins




Coffee Filter Pumpkins




Ribbon Pumpkins




Vintage Pumpkins



Also Check out Studio 5, they have lots of really fun and creative pumpkins and 'how to'!

2 x 4 Halloween Decor

How cute is this... and easy!

Go HERE to see how to make it.

Homemade Snickers Bars

Homemade Snickers Bars from Mrs. Bettie Rocker

Ingredients:

1 bag milk chocolate chips

1 bag butterscotch chips

1 14oz bag caramels

1 cup sugar

1 7oz jar marshmallow cream

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 cup peanut butter, divided

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups salted peanuts

Directions:

1st LAYER

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup butterscotch chips

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Melt together the first layer ingredients in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Spread in lightly greased 9 by 13 inch glass pan. Put in fridge to cool.

FILLING

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 & 1/2 cups marshmallow cream

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 & 1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped (I omitted this)

Melt butter in sauce pan on medium high heat, add sugar and milk and bring to a boil. Stir for 5 minutes. Mixture will start to follow your spoon before you add the other ingredients. If it is grainy looking (mine was not) you can use your beater to blend it and smooth it out. Remove from stove and stir in marshmallow cream, peanut butter and vanilla and peanuts. Mix until smooth. Spread over the first layer.

CARAMEL LAYER

1 14oz. bag of Kraft caramels

1/4 cup whipping cream (you can use 1/8 -1/4 cup milk, but it won't be as thick)

Unwrap and melt the caramels w/ the cream in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Pour over filling layer.

ICING/TOP LAYER

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup butterscotch chips

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Melt together in microwave stirring every 30 seconds. Spread evenly on top.

Store in the fridge until cooled. Cut into bars.

Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe!

Today I came across this cute free download. Its for Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe and it is so cute!
Check it out and have some fun with your little ones!
my computer is my canvas

*There are many other free printables and cute downloadable fonts on her site, make sure to check them out too!

I'm going there someday!

When I saw these for the first time, I fell in LOVE! I was thinking that they would be perfect for a Young Women's activity or something similar to that...

They are on Lil' Luna, which I think is one of the cutest and one of my most favorite sites to look at. If you haven't yet, you need to check it out and do it often! LOVE IT!


She wanted to allow people to make these, so on her site she has a lot of the different Temples that people sent to her, so hopefully whichever Temple it is that you and your girls are hoping to go to she will probably have. Its the best idea and inexpensive too!

SUPPLIES:-Wood - 4.75 x 7 inches (1.5 in. thick)
-Paint
-Sand Paper
-Temple Pic
-Mod Podge
-Rubbon & Tulle

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut wood piece to 4.75 in. x 7 in. and paint.

2. When dry sand edges to distress.

3. Print out pic to 4x6 size on computer or take to Kinkos and have it laser printed for a better quality pic.

4. Mod Podge pic onto block centering a little more to the left.

5. Tie ribbon tulle on the right side.

Sinfully Delicious Oreo Truffles!

Makes approx 48 Oreo Truffles

Ingredients
(1) whole pkg of Oreos (yeah, I said 1 whole package!), finely crushed, divided
(1) 8oz block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
(2) 8oz boxes of Bakers Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Optional Ingredients for topping:
1/2 pkg of Nestle Toll House Premier White Morsels
2 Tbsp Crisco Vegetable Shortening

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, smoosh the Oreo's until they are finely crushed.  At first I washed my hand and was crushing them a few at a time, but that was getting tiring, so I put them into a ziplock and went to town!  It worked wonders! 
2. Leave 3 cups of the cookie crumbs in the mixing bowl and set the remaining aside (approx 1-1/4 cup) to use later.
3. Mix in the softened cream cheese with the 3 cups cookie crumbs, until well blended.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls, and set on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (i used foil and it worked just fine).
5. Melt the Bakers Semi-Sweet Chocolate, both boxes (directions on the box).
6. Dip the Oreo balls into the Chocolate until they are completely covered, and set back on cookie sheet.  I used forks to dip them and take them out, so much easier than your hands!
7. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs that you set aside, OR..............

8. If you want to make them even more prettier, melt down about 1/2 the pkg of white morsels with 2 Tbsp of Crisco Shortening in the Microwave, until it's runny. (directions are on the back of the pkg!)
9. Take a spoon and drizzle it over the truffles, sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs
10. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm and serve.
11. Got any leftover?  Put them into a air tight container, or ziplock and put back into the fridge!!
Source: kayla small town life

Activity Books

I have found a lot of really fun activity books/quiet books! They all look so cute and I cant wait for Bladen to be big enough to enjoy them!

Dry Erase Activity Book
Somewhat Simple


These are just a FEW of the examples, there are tons of pages and pictures to print off from the link. All it takes to make this is buying a photo book and printing these awesome pages off. Pretty simple!

Quiet Book
Homemade by Jill

This one is more like the ones I remember playing with when I was a little girl. The ones made of felt, where each little piece is cut out and you arrange them on the page where they belong. This one is a little more time consuming, but so much fun.




This site that I found after I started all of this... Does basically what my plan was, to show bits and pieces of various books so you can find what ideas you like best and mix and match to make your perfect book.
Sassy Sites
It has a lot of the ones I already have, but many more. Your kids will be so entertained with all of these ideas that they should never make another peep again....

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This is one of my favorite things to make and every time I do, everyone loves it! It's super easy and a quick throw together at the last minute potluck item.

 (this picture doesn't do it justice)

• 1 cup chunky blue cheese salad dressing
• 2-3 Tbs buffalo wind sauce
• 2 cans (10 oz each) chunk chicken, drained and chopped
• 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
• OPTIONAL: 2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients, except celery,  in microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave on High for 2-3 minutes or until hot. Stir in celery.

Serve with tortilla chips or Gardetto's rye chips.

I HATE celery, so I have never put that in. Its amazing without it, and I'm sure its just as good with it, if you like it. It would also be good to just dip with the celery instead of chips.

Hope you all enjoy!

I originally got this recipe from a Pillsbury classic cookbook many years ago.

Halloween Cards

1. This cute card is a creation by Katie's Nesting Spot

To Make:

• Make card out of purple cardstock.
• Adhere Halloween Word Paper to card front.
• Using an oval cutter, cut an oval from front panel of card.
• Adhere Halloween Stripe Paper to inside as shown.
• Punch a bat shape out of glittery cardstock.
• Fold bat, as shown in top photo, for dimension. Use Glue Dots to adhere down wings.
• Stamp sentiment with black ink and emboss with clear powder.

2.

I found this card at frame fanatic but the tutorial actually came from here.