Foodie Friday: Royal Wedding Coffee Cake

Peachy and I hosted playgroup today complete with a royal invitation from the Queen Mum. (That is if you count me Photoshopping her onto the emails that I sent out.) While the Royal Wedding was long over by the time our gusts arrived, we still celebrated the lovely couple.

The divine Ms. L and Miss A posing for their photo.

Miss S couldn't resist the picture taking fun. She found her own hat to wear in the chair.

The Peach and I take a turn in the chair.

And what wedding celebration would be complete without cake? Since we were celebrating a bit early in the day, coffee cake was on the menu. I had fun adding this cake toppers by TomKat. While this recipe may seem a bit complicated, it is totally worth every step.

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
Part 1:
-1 c butter
-1 c sugar
-2 eggs
-2 c flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 t salt
Part 2:
-1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
-1 c sugar
-1 egg
-1 t vanilla
Part 3:
-1/4 c brown sugar
-1/4 c butter
-1/2 c flour
-1/2 t cinnamon
Part 4:
-1 1/2 T melted butter
-1/2 t almond extract
-1 1/2 c powdered sugar
-enough milk to drizzle

Directions:
Part 1: Mix all well. Pat 1/2 of mixture into a 9x13-inch pan.
Part 2: Beat and spread over crust. Flatten "wads" of Part 1 and place on top.
Part 3: Cut together and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
Part 4: Mix and drizzle over cooled cake.

Mini Art Caddy

Once you venture into the world of art caddies, it is hard to find a way out. I started making a few larger caddies for gifts and that brought requests for more. Then I made some for a craft sale and completely sold out.

Now it seems as if any notepad or writing utensil finds me planning a new caddy. I decided it was high time that I made one for Peachy.

 I used a smaller drawing pad and included a pocket for stickers. She found it in her Easter basket and really likes it. (Too bad the drawing pad I bought has already started to fall apart!)

It is perfect for those times you need your toddler to sit for some quiet time and the small size makes it perfect for on the go.

I am linking to:




Sassy Sites\
Just A Girl


Making the World Cuter
Sew Can Do




Today's Creative Blog

Easter Blessings 2011

This year we were able to celebrate our Risen Savior as we do most years, in the midst of our families.
We were wonderfully blessed yet again to be reminded of the love our Lord lavished on us that we will one day be celebrating at his side in heaven.

blessed in our growing family.

blessed to share this Easter with those we love.

blessed in sharing the heavenly and earthly joy of this holiday with this little one.

I hope your Easter was equally BLESSED!

Tutorial Tuesday: Egg Dough

Peachy and  I were busy last week making a fun Easter gift for her playgroup friends. I had the idea to make play dough and give it to the kids in plastic Easter eggs. One night while winding down for sleep I had the idea to use Kool-Aid to not only color the dough, but also give it fun scents. After a quick Google search the next day, I found that I was not the only one to have this idea. I mainly based my recipe on this one from food.com. The results were great. An easy to use play dough with fun fruity scents. The only issue we had was finding green Kool-Aid. We ended up using a yellow and adding green coloring in. I wanted small batches, so I really cut the recipe down, that is why there are some unusual measurements.

Kool-Aid Play Dough
Ingredients:
-10 T (5/8 c) flour (plus more if needed)
-2 T (1/8 c) salt
-1 small package Kool-Aid
-2 t cream of tarter
-1/2 c boiling water
-3/4 T oil

Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients.
2. Carefully add the boiling water.
3. Stir together and let sit to cool.
4. Once cool enough to handle knead the dough. (This is the only step that I had any color come off the dough, so be careful of staining at this point.)
5. Allow to cool completely and store in air-tight container.

I am linking to the following parties:


Today's Creative Blog



Someday Craft

Foodie Friday: Baked Caprese Macaroni and Cheese

I got this recipe via Kim @ Newlywoodwards who found it here. And let me just say, this is not your child's mac and cheese. All three of us enjoyed this dish the night we had it for supper and all of the leftovers as well. Enjoy!

Baked Caprese Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:1 pint grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, divided
1 pound pasta shells, medium size
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) Wisconsin Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1 8-ounce ball Wisconsin Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, sliced


Directions:Preheat oven to 350°F. In a baking dish, combine grape tomatoes, olive oil, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat and bake 10 minutes. Remove and let stand. 
In a medium saucepan, bring water to boil over high heat; add pasta and cook 12 minutes or until tender. Drain and let stand in a separate bowl.
In the same sauce pan, combine milk, butter, shredded Mozzarella Cheese, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring continually, over low heat until the cheese melts into a thick sauce, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the drained pasta back into the sauce pan and toss to coat.
Pour the pasta and cheese mixture into an 10×14-inch oven-safe dish and top with baked grape tomatoes.
Coat the Fresh Mozzarella slices in the baked tomato sauce remaining in the tomato baking dish. Place the seasoned Fresh Mozzarella on top of the pasta and tomatoes.
Broil for 5 minutes or until the Fresh Mozzarella gets gooey, bubbly, and browned. Serve warm.