Archive for She’s Crafty

Feb
7

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I Heart Minnie Valentine Goodies!

by Brandy

The little ones love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! I was anxious to get this up so that you could take advantage of the Sharing Cards, Mailbag Craft and Cookie Recipe! Wooohooo for Valentine’s Day!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: I Minnie has been packaged to include five, fun-filled episodes – each underlining the themes of friendship, teamwork, sharing and problem solving – and an all new bonus feature “You’re Invited to Minnie’s Birthday Party,” as well as two complimentary Best Friend necklaces to keep as mementos and/or to share with a very special someone this Valentine’s Day.

The five classic episodes include:

Minnie & Daisy’s Flower Shower (All-New, Never-Before-Seen) – The botanical highlight of the year is in trouble, unless Minnie and Daisy can get their flowers to bloom! Together, they board the glove balloon to help coax the clouds to sprinkle much needed rain.
Daisy’s Dance -Clap your hands and tap your feet! Join Daisy, as she gets ready for one of the most important events of her life––performing in the big talent show!
Daisy’s Pet Project – The Pet Parade is almost here and Daisy needs to find the perfect animal for which she can love and care. But it’s not as easy as she thinks and soon she has three new friends: an elephant named Bubbles, a giraffe called Longfellow and a bunny called Captain Jumps-a-lot!
Minnie’s Rainbow – After a brightly colored rainbow appears over the clubhouse, Minnie searches for the pot of gold that’s supposed to be at its end. Along the way, she meets a leprechaun and discovers that not all treasure turns out to be as she expected!
Minnie’s Birthday – Today is Minnie’s birthday, but the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse friends need to set up her birthday party.

0 Categories : Did You Know?, She's Crafty

Feb
6

Recipe for Easy Stuffed Crescents with Petit Jean Ham #TXBacon #Cbias

by Brandy

As I am sure you know already, yesterday was Superbowl Sunday. I’m not really a fan of football, but I am a fan of any excuse to have friends over and eat yummy foods. These are the days that I do not cook dinner, I create lots of finger foods for everyone to enjoy.

Since the Dallas Cowboys were not playing, we really didn’t root for anyone. Jeremy enjoys the occasional football game and as games go, I think this was considered a good one. Seriously, I am not going to pretend to know anything about football. I just know about feeding the masses super yummy goodness.

We headed to Walmart to get all of the ingredients for our goodies. You can see what we bought by viewing my Google+ album.

The first thing I made was my awesome recipe of Heaven on a Jalapeno! People normally make these with the bacon wrapped around them. I don’t like it that way, my way is easier and tastier with tons of bacon!

My family has become big fans of Petit Jean Meats. I can not wait until they carry the bacon at Walmart! Right now they only carry the ham, but my family loves this ham more than any other!

So using the Petit Jean Ham (Official Ham of the Dallas Cowboys) I created the perfect Superbowl munchie recipe! I like easy things and this my friends is EASY! During the holidays I always make ham rolls with sliced ham spread with cream cheese with a green onion rolled up in the middle. I wanted to put that flavor into something fun and filling. The recipe below is what we came up with. The masses loved it! I hope you do too!

The Ingredients!

Recipe for Easy Stuffed Crescents with Petit Jean Ham #TXBacon #Cbias

Recipe type: Appetizer

Author: Brandy ~ Not So Average Mama

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 8

Easy stuffed Crescents with Ham, Cream Cheese and Green Onions.

Ingredients

1 Package Petit Jean Sliced Ham
2 Packages of Cream Cheeses
1 Bunch of Green Onions
2 Packages of Crescent Rolls

Instructions

Preheat the oven according to the directions on the Crescent Rolls.
Dice the Ham
Slice the Green Onions
Mix the Green Onions and Ham into the Cream Cheese
Lay out your Crescent dough
Add the Cream Cheese filling and roll the Crescents, being sure to pinch the ends closed
Bake according to directions on the Crescent Rolls.

Notes

See the images below for step by step!

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

If you make these please let me know! I would love to hear what your family and friends thought!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias

1 Categories : Recipes, Uncategorized

Jan
31

21 Valentine’s Craft Ideas For Kids

by Brandy

Free Craft eBook: 21 Valentine Craft Ideas for Kids featuring 21 projects to make with your kids, from homemade Valentines and decorations to gifts and school party crafts.

1 Categories : She's Crafty

Jan
24

Easy Pepper Steak Recipe

by Brandy

I love Asian foods! I love to cook Asian foods…well easy ones I mean. My mom taught me how to make Pepper Steak. It’s a very easy recipe that she learned years ago from Mr. Food when he used to cook on the news show she watched. Atleast I think…I don’t have a fantastic memory for most things. But this is what I am going with!

The Ingredients:

2-3 lbs Sliced Steak (I have the butcher do this for me, my hands are to weak to be able to slice raw meat)
1 lg Onion, sliced
3 Green Peppers cut into strips
8 oz. Picante Sauce, I use Pace
1 cup Water
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Corn Starch
Garlic, Salt & Pepper to taste

The Instructions:

Stir fry steak and onions until done. Then added the green peppers. Mix the picante, soy sauce, water and cornstarch together to create the sauce and pour over the steak, onions and green pepper mixture. Heat until sauce thickens. Serve over rice.

EASY! Yum!

5 Categories : Recipes

Jan
10

Cheesy Ham Rotini Recipe #CBias

by Brandy

Ok, so I’ll be honest and tell you up front that I am not a fan of ham. I like bacon. Wait. I LOVE Bacon. Ham…eh…

But! My family loves ham. They love ham like I love bacon. So I won’t prevent them from eating it…ha. You can check out our shopping trip and see what else we purchased in my Google+ album.

This recipe is for Cheesy Ham Rotini.

The Ingredients

1 16 ounce box of rotini
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound ham we used Petit Jean Hickory Smoked Ham
1 cup chopped celery
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk, we used 2%
6 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (or about 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese)
Leftover crumbled bacon (about 3-4 strips…more if you have it!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° and butter a 2-quart casserole. Cook the Rotini according to the instructions. While the Rotini is cooking prepare the other ingredients.

In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP of butter over medium heat. Add the celery and cook while stirring occasionally. You only need to cook this for about 5 minutes.

Add the ham and cook just until the ham is lightly browned and celery is tender.

Add the garlic and green onions and cook for about 1 minute longer.

Remove this from heat and set aside. Check your pasta! There is nothing I hate more than slimy over cooked pasta! Check it…I’ll wait….

If it’s done be sure to drain and rinse.

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the remaining butter. Add the flour and stir until blended. Add the milk being sure to stir! Do this until it has thickened up.

Now you want to stir in the shredded Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the cheese has melted.

Now add the rotini as well as the ham mixture to the cheese sauce. Stir it all up so that the cheese sauce has coated everything with its cheesy goodness. Now go ahead and stire in half of the Parmesan cheese.

Now spread that in the buttered casserole dish.

Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top.

Now make it even better with bacon! Crumble up some bacon and sprinkle it all over the top. We had some left over from breakfast.

Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Now dish it out and feed the masses…

I ate this and even had seconds! That says a lot!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias

Recipe was adapted from About.com.

6 Categories : Recipes

Dec
19

How To Make a Decorative Wood Tile Board, #ElmersHoliday #GlueNGlitter

by Brandy

The girls are loving all the homemade gifts we are making! We still have more to do, but wanted to share this frugal project with you just in case you are still looking for ideas! You can make this project for less than $10 (assuming you have the majority of the supplies on hand).

The first thing you need to do is gather your supplies. We chose to shop at Walmart. They have a great craft section, great prices and it is super convenient for me.

You will notice in my first set of photos below that there are some items not listed. I am not using those for this particular project, which is the Wood Tile Board. As you can see I picked up some other unfinished wood items as well and the other supplies such as the X-ACTO products are for another crafty gift. You can view our shopping trip on Google+.

The supplies needed for this project are:

Elmer’s Glue All
Elmer’s CraftBond All Purpose Glue (I couldn’t find this on the website)
Elmer’s CraftBond Foam Mounting Tape
Elmer’s CraftBond Double-sided Tape
Elmer’s Carpenter Wood Glue
Scrapbooking Papers and Embellishments such as Stickers and Cutouts
Unfinished Wood Tile Board
Buttons
Recycled Cardboard
Chalkboard Paint

The first step is picking out the scrapbooking papers and embellishments that you want to use to decorate your wooden tiles, I did 5 of them this way. Once you have that decided you will want to cut the Scrapbooking paper to fit your tiles as shown in the photos below.

Next you will want to take a mixture of Elmer’s Glue All and water until you have a spreadable consistency. Once that is done, apply your paper to the wooden tile. Let it set-up for several minutes and then apply a coat over the top as well sealing the entire surface and edges. Set these aside, once dry apply another 2 coats, allowing each coat to dry first. Don’t worry! That glue will dry completely clear!

Next I took the remaining 4 tiles and had the girls painting them with Chalkboard paint. Once that was dried we did two more coats, allowing it to dry completely between coats. It says on the bottle that it should cure for 48 hours and then to prime it by applying chalk to the surface and wiping clean…I didn’t do that. I also had the girls pick out the stickers they wanted to apply. They added another layer of the glue mixture over top. Then they chose some buttons to add and applied those with the Elmer’s CraftBond All Purpose Glue.

While all that is drying we ripped pieces of Scrapbooking paper to add around the frame. This was also applied with the glue mixture and then sealed with 3 coats over the top. It dries really fast!

Now we want to decorate the Chalkboard tiles. We used some recycled cardboard by tearing it into pieces and pealing parts of the top layer away as seen below. Next I added some cardboard Scrapbooking embellishments to the cardboard with Elmer’s CraftBond Double-sided Tape. I love this stuff! Then I used the Elmer’s CraftBond Foam Mounting Tape to adhere the cardboard pieces to the Chalkboard wooden tiles. This gave the project a lot more demension and texture. We even glued on some more buttons!

Ok, now it’s time to put the whole thing together…actually make it look like something pretty! Apply wood glue…you have to work fast! Be sure that you check the order of the tiles and also that the hanger on the back is at the top. I failed to check and now Jeremy will have to move it for me. Once the wood glue is on you need to work fast. This stuff bonds! Apply pressure to the whole thing while the glue sets.

Once it’s all dry, admire finished project and listen to everyone tell you how awesome you are…

Check out the Win the Wall contest, where one person can win the ENTIRE Elmer’s Memory Keeping Wall from Walmart (that’s a $250 value!)

Visit these sites to learn more about the items used in my projects:

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #ElmersHoliday #gluenglitter #collectivebias #CBias

5 Categories : She's Crafty

Dec
14

Free Downloadable Holiday Cards

by Brandy

The holidays are here and Company Kids is getting in the spirit with their free, Downloadable Holiday Cards.

All you have to do is download, print and let your kids color in these festive designs. Once they’re done decorating, kids can add a fun message for their friends or teacher.

0 Categories : She's Crafty

Dec
13

23 Gingerbread House Designs and Recipes!

by Brandy

Free Craft eBook: 23 Gingerbread House Designs and Recipes featuring 23 gingerbread house designs and gingerbread-themed craft projects to make, from Christmas decor, gifts, kids’ crafts and more.

0 Categories : She's Crafty

Dec
12

For the Crafter…

by Brandy

I think everyone has a bit of craftiness in them. You just have to find which crafts you relate to. You need to be inspired. I have found that the best place to find inspiration is to browse craft supplies. Have you ever checked out Factory Direct Crafts? Just watching the changing images on the home page inspires me!

Factory Direct Crafts can be pretty much a one stop shop. Go get inspired, then order the supplies directly from them to have delivered to your door step! From Holiday decor, presents and much more, they’ve got it!

They have Acrylic Fillable Ornaments that would be great for a Christmas project with the kiddos! They even have a Lady Gaga Bubble Dress ornament kit…I’m not kidding, look…

I love the selection of candle making supplies that they have. This is something I want to start doing with the girls. It would be a new skill for all of us and even a great business venture for them!

Maybe you are more into soap making? Painting? Kids crafts? They have it! Shop from the comfort of your own home! That is what I like the best! Some of the brick and mortar craft stores overwhelm me. Running here and there and everywhere to find everything…ugh. I’ll shop online thank you very much…

6 Categories : She's Crafty, Uncategorized

Nov
17

Free Downloadable Thanksgiving Cards for Kids

by Brandy

Company Kids has added some free downloadable Thanksgiving cards for you to download, print and then let your kids color. Would be nice for them to take something to your Thanksgiving host, or if you are hosting they can use them for your guests!

0 Categories : She's Crafty

Nov
11

How to Make a Painted Candle Centerpiece for Thanksgiving! #GlueNGlitter

by Brandy

I love Thanksgiving! The best foods of the year are served at Thanksgiving! Candied Yams are my favorite! Homemade stuffing coming in a close second…

We got a head start on dinner table decor today by making a centerpiece with painted candles! It was a really fun project and I was able to get the kids involved. It turned out pretty fantastic! Looks like something you would spend a pretty penny on, but didn’t cost much at all to make.

We were able to get everything we needed at Walmart. You can see our shopping trip on my Google+. Feel free to add me while you are there.

You will need:

Candles of your choice. We used Better Homes and Gardens.
Something to put the candles on. I used a discounted Better Homes and Gardens decorative Charger that was in with the Thanksgiving decor at Walmart. It was only like $2.00.
Decorative fall items. Mine were in the Holiday decor. Dried Fruit & Pinecones from Better Homes and Gardens There was so much crammed in the box that I was able to decorate our mantle with the left over items.
Flake Sand
Elmer’s Paint Markers
Glitter Pens

The kids were super excited to get started. Lauren was waiting very patiently, what a great kid!

First step is to prepare your candles by unwrapping them and making sure they are nice and smooth as Emma is doing.

Next get your Elmer’s Painters ready…

I started out by painting a simple tree on the largest candle.

On the two smaller candles I painted a branch with fall colored leaves. I did this by painting a small dot of green, then on one side I added orange and then yellow on the other. I did all this quickly while the paint was still wet so that they would blend well.

On the larger candle I painted some falling leaves and a small pile of leaves near the tree at the bottom. Be sure to watch where you hold the candle so that you don’t smear your paint, it may still be a little wet.

Next Lauren used gold and orange glitter paint pens to put dots of glitter on the candles. This turned out so pretty and was easy for her to do! We also added a little glitter paint to the top rim of the candles as well. You will be able to see that in the assembled photos.

While that was drying we prepared the rest of our center piece.

Emma spread the gold flake sand over the surface of the charger, this looks so pretty and I hope you can tell from the photos how great this will look with candle light.

Now put it all together! Prepare for photo overload…

So? What do you think?

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Elmer’s #gluenglitter #collectivebias #CBias . All photos, ideas and opinions are my own.

16 Categories : She's Crafty

Oct
28

Beef & Bacon Sausage Linguine with Hillshire Farm #GourmetCreations

by Brandy

We celebrate everyday here at our house! Life is too short to not celebrate! So why not make a weekly gourmet style dinner? We deserve it right? Let’s celebrate because life is a special occasion!

Morgan and I headed out to Walmart for some fun one on one time and to pick up the ingredients for our special dish. You can view our trip by clicking over to the shopping story I posted on Google+. The first sight that greeted us as we walked through the door was a Christmas Tree! Eeek! Already? I still need to get the Halloween Candy! Then Thanksgiving and my birthday! (November 28th, if you were wondering…I love Amazon Gift Cards!)

For this recipe I am using a Sausage from Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations! It has Bacon in it! Who could say no to that?

So on with the recipe! The delicious sight you see below is what we are making!

The ingredients:

Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Beef & Bacon Sausage
Bunch of Green Onions
Small Onion
Clove of Garlic
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Linguine
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

The instructions:

Put a pot of water on to boil for cooking the Linguine! While you wait prepare all ingredients as instructed below.

Slice the green onions, the small onion and chop the garlic. Set aside.

Slice the sausage into bite size pieces. See those white chunks and the creaminess on the edges? That is Monterey Jack Cheese! It is all through the sausage!

Your water should be boiling by now, so go ahead and add your linguine. I add a splash of olive oil to my water. Cook linguine as directed on the box.

Prepare a skillet by heating up 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the sliced sausage to the hot oil and lightly brown. Once it begins to brown add 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil and the remaining ingredients.

Simmer until the onions have softened. This allows the flavors to infuse in the olive oil! You can add a bit of italian seasoning if you like at this point…I did! I also add sea salt at this point.

Mmmmm…..now stir this mixture into your cooked linguine and mix well, being sure that the oil coats the pasta evenly.

Serve topped with shredded Parmesan cheese and garlic bread.

Now this is the part where you eat entirely too much food.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #cBias . All opinions are my own as well as the recipe and image.

7 Categories : Around Our House, Recipes

Oct
20

Insane Amounts of Yum! Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake Recipe!

by Brandy

I’ve told you what an amazing baker Morgan is. She is only 13 and can bake the most tasty and pretty things! She makes an amazing Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread that knocks Starbucks into the ground. She rocks the kitchen!

Most recently she wanted to bake a cake for her best friends birthday. Hanna loves her some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. So what better cake to make than one filled and covered with Peanut Butter Cups?

I can not even begin to describe how awesome this cake was! If you are allergic to Peanuts, I am so very very sorry! This is just so amazing.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp. Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste from Nielsen Massey
1 cup buttermilk

For decorating:

Peanut Butter Frosting

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 cups creamy peanut butter
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste from Nielsen Massey
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 Package of miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
16 Regular size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Cake Directions:

Make sure to center your rack in the oven and then preheat to 350°. Butter two 9″×2″ round cake pans, then dust the insides with flour.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Soften the butter in the microwave, then beat until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until thoroughly blended into the butter. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time. Next, beat in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk. Mix each addition only until it is blended into the batter.

Divide the batter between the 2 prepared cake pans.

Bake for 26-30 minutes or until the cakes feel springy to the touch and start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, and transfer to cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting Directions:

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and mix until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat until the mixture is light and smooth.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cardboard cake circle. Spread peanut butter frosting on top of the cake. Then sprinkle with chopped Reese’s cups. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost the top and outside of the cake with remaining peanut butter frosting. Decorate with Miniature as well as halved and chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.

Pin It

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats Reese’s Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake.

Enjoy!

14 Categories : Around Our House, Recipes

Oct
14

5 Great Gifts in a Jar for Christmas!

by Brandy

This has been one of our worst years financially. Therefore, we are aiming for a lot of homemade gifts for friends and family. Something we try to do every year, but kind of sort of fail miserably! This year we are starting earlier and are more dedicated to the idea!

I’ve been making a mental list of things that the girls and I can easily do together. My youngest girl is a lot more capable this year, so I see our gift making time being a lot of fun for all!

Here are just a few ideas that we may make for our friends and family. Now off to beg for jars!

Friendship Soup Mix in a Jar from AllRecipes.com

Peppermint Stick Cocoa in a Jar from MyRecipes.com

Quick Bread in a Bottle or Jar from TheKitchn.com

Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub in a Jar from bystephanielynn.com

Bath salts in a Jar from petitchef.com

What gifts will you be making this year?

5 Categories : Around Our House, She's Crafty

Oct
11

Nutritional Pumpkin Recipes for the Fall Season

by Brandy

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Servings: 2

2 cups milk or non-dairy alternative, such as soy milk
2 tablespoons canned or fresh pureed pumpkin (unsweetened)
2 tablespoons Truvia or sweetener of choice
1 scoop (about 2.5 Tbs) Vanilla Nutrimeal
1 tsp Fibergy Plus
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 shots of espresso (about 1/4 cup) or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee

Directions: ?In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sweetener and stir on medium heat until steaming (you can also microwave on high for 2 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in Nutrimeal, Fibergy, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice, then transfer to a blender and whirl for 15 seconds until foamy, then stir in espresso. If you don’t have a blender, whisk thoroughly with a wire whisk.

Optional: Top with light whipped cream if you’re feeling decadent and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice over the top.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Servings: 2

1-1/4 cup cold water
3 Scoops Vanilla Nutrimeal
2 tsp Fibergy Plus
1/2 cup canned or fresh pureed pumpkin (unsweetened)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup ice

Directions: Combine ingredients in a blender and whirl until smooth. Serve and enjoy immediately.

Optional: 2 tsp of Truvia or sweetener of choice

1 Categories : Recipes

Archive for She’s Crafty

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I Heart Minnie Valentine Goodies!

Recipe for Easy Stuffed Crescents with Petit Jean Ham #TXBacon #Cbias

21 Valentine’s Craft Ideas For Kids

Easy Pepper Steak Recipe

Cheesy Ham Rotini Recipe #CBias

How To Make a Decorative Wood Tile Board, #ElmersHoliday #GlueNGlitter

Free Downloadable Holiday Cards

23 Gingerbread House Designs and Recipes!

For the Crafter…

Free Downloadable Thanksgiving Cards for Kids

How to Make a Painted Candle Centerpiece for Thanksgiving! #GlueNGlitter

Beef & Bacon Sausage Linguine with Hillshire Farm #GourmetCreations

The ingredients:

The instructions:

Insane Amounts of Yum! Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake Recipe!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

For decorating:

Cake Directions:

Frosting Directions:

Enjoy!

5 Great Gifts in a Jar for Christmas!

Nutritional Pumpkin Recipes for the Fall Season

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