Erin's 4th Birthday

Erin celebrated her 4th birthday recently. She helped me make these invitations from scrap paper to go with our recycled flags. A few balloons and a gazillion mini cupcakes later and we had ourselves a party. This year we decided to go easy. Instead of a weekend party we invited both 3 year old classes (plus a few other kids from Erin's school) to the park after school. They played on the playground, had snacks and ate cupcakes. I also passed out these fun Zoopal animal masks as party favors. I think I made about 40 of them which was more than enough. It took a little time but you can't beat the price. I decided to go with mini cupcakes because the party was from 4-5:30. They were a hit. I also found out the leftovers (without frosting) make awesome Saturday morning doughnuts.

$20 and Goodwill

I took some items to Goodwill last week and thought I'd take a look around. Here is what I came home with. Not bad for just over twenty bucks.

$13 = Bread machine. It works great. I'd have pictures to show you but we ate the loaf before I could get the camera out.

$2 = a great book. I've read it already but for two dollars I'll read it again or pass it along to a friend.

$5 = My new favorite jacket. It reminds me why I love the color olive.

$1 = potato masher. I needed one to try out a refried bean recipe. Yep, it has been one week without meat and so far no thoughts of turning back.

I also want to add that it seems I've been uploading pictures like a madwoman. This has resulted in a super slow computer lately. I need to look into a zip drive or something. Any suggestions?

Happy Easter

The New Vegetarian

I realize it is extremely ironic to declare myself a new vegetarian after just posting about Bacon Cheddar Popovers, however chapter 6 of Skinny Bitch may have changed my life in a drastic way. I picked up the book looking for a funny read and hoping to be inspired to put more vegetables into my diet but I was not prepared for the mental images that I have yet to get out of my head. I know the effect may wear off by the next time I'm around a big juicy steak but I have not had meat since started reading it. Skinny Bitch also bashed sugar and dairy but I'm afraid I would starve if I went that drastic. In the mean time I'm looking at this as an opportunity to expand my diet in a healthy way. We'll see how long it lasts.

Bacon Cheddar Popovers

I've been in the mood to use things up lately. I had some leftover bacon strips so I thought I'd share what I did with them. Bacon Cheddar Popovers. I found this recipe in a magazine several years ago and it is a family hit. These are so easy and yummy I don't know why I don't make them more often. Try them.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 scallions, trimmed and chopped

1. Preheat oven to 450. Spray 8-9 standard muffin cup with nonstick cooking spray. Fill an empty muffin cup with 1/2 inch of water.

2. In a bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together eggs and mild. Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Fold in cheese, bacon and scallions.

3. Fill prepared cups 2/3 full. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for 10-15 minutes more keeping oven closed. Remove from pan and serve warm.

Birthday Banner - Tutorial

With birthdays around the corner I wanted create something bright and fun to celebrate. These flags are made from newspaper, old craft paint and tape. What could be easier? Here is what to do.

You will need:

newspaper

paint (I used old craft paint)

paintbrush

masking tape (2 inches wide)

scissors

rocks

a sunny afternoon (2-3 hours with play time in between)

First we spread out newspaper and placed one full sheet on top. We used old acrylic paint bottles that were almost empty. If the paint is thick add a little water to the bottle and shake. Now paint, put the sheet out to dry and grab another. We painted 7 sheets, front and back, using a variety of colors.

When the paint has dried cut each sheet in half down the fold. Fold these rectangles into squares and again into long rectangles. Now you are ready to cut your flags.

Be sure to cut from the edge where the top and bottom ends of the newspaper meet. Cut a diagonal line from that corner across the rectangle up to the opposite corner. You will end up with 3 flags and two left over scraps. Our 7 sheets of newspaper gave us 42 flags that are 10.5 inches across and 11.5 inches tall.

Now arrange the flags in the color order you want. Take 2-3 feet of tape at a time and place the flags on the bottom half overlapping them slightly. Fold the tape over to cover top edge of flags. Continue for the length that you need. I made 2 strings of 15 flags and one of 12. I didn't do the math but it I think ours cover about 35 feet. They are ready to hang.

Enjoy the party!