Love Bugs 100$ Doc McStuffins Birthday Party

My biggest girl, my love bug is 5. My oh my does the time fly by. It seems like just yesterday she decided to come in one of the scariest, fastest and most painful moment of my life. 

I had no idea what to expect with labor but let me tell you books LIE, it was NOTHING like anyone described to me. It was fast and dirty. I didn't even have time to realize my body was in labor before she was coming. Crazy moments.

Look at that beautiful Love Bug of mine!

Worth every moment of pain, strife and sleepless nights I will have and had.

I have been working all week on making her 5th birthday a show stopper.
 She asked for a Doc McStuffins party and a Doc McStuffins party she shall get. 

I personally hate how expensive kids party supplies are for characters. I went in and spent 50$ and barely got enough to cover the table.

I sat over night thinking about the costs of it all and promptly returned most of it. I kept a few things for Doc's face. Then I proceeded to write down anything and everything Doc McStuffins I could think of. With a goal of spending just 100$ on the 40 people expected to come. I reached that goal with about 2 dollars to spare. I shopped sales, the dollar tree and used a few things I already had on hand in my pantry like peanut butter and jelly. I also saved 5 dollars in coupons.
*Disclaimer, the toys on top of her cake was 15$ at target and her b-day present which I didn't count in the cost***

This is what I came up with.

The signs for the food are not all that pretty but they do the job, all the food is Doc related.

*my pretty scissor cutter busted after just one use*

Hallies Hot Dogs - Little smokies in bbq sauce, Stuffies Sammis - Hawaiian ham sandwiches and PB&J, Chilly's Lemonade Chillers - homemade lemonade,  Awesome Guys Awesome veggies and dip, An apple a day - apple slices, Lambies lamb kabobs - Fruit salad (couldn't find skewers), Squeakers Crackly Crackers - Gold fishes, Lenny's Fire Truck Hose Water - water and Chillies Snow Squares (A bag of peppermint chex mix I got for .50 cents.)

I also made her cake from scratch and the fondant. This was my first time working with fondant so I am just going to post pictures of the cake itself and one of these days I am going to post a how to work with and make fondant. Only after I've worked with it enough to feel like I can give advice.

So Proud of this cake. Pretty good for my first time, if I do say so myself!

When I originally bought all of the decorations, before I returned them, I looked at the cost of making goodie bags. They are expensive if your having more than 4 kids coming and you want them to take home something decent!

So then I decided to have a Make your Own Prescription table.

Bandaids- wafers at the dollar tree, Heart stickers in the dollar bin at Target. 2$

(I was going to buy wafers and frost hearts on them but this was easier and quicker)

Thermometers- Pretzel sticks, White Chocolate Chips and purple frosting. 4$

(Not the prettiest but hey it works)

Boppy Pops- Suckers, Dollar tree 1$

Sore throat Soothers- Marshmallows 1$

Treat bags- 1$ for each set of colors, 10 a piece, Party City.

So for the Decorations. 

Pic One - I can't get the picture to be upright, its a pin the bandaid on the boo boo. The Hub drew Stuffy and then we had the kids color and Decorate their own Bandaids.

Pic Two - I went to the craft store and bought make your own puppet animals for 2$ it was on sale for 50% off and then military discount and a coupon.  There is also glitter for the card stock rectangles to make bandaids and glue and pins.

Pic Three - Streamers, I wish I had taken more pictures of the streamers the Hub put up. They were EVERYWHERE. Any ledge, all over the ceiling, door ways, rails, windows. 

Pic Four - I didn't take good enough pics but I bought purple and teal table cloths. Cut them in half and then put them over the windows in the party room. Then cut the slices into them to look like streamers.

The moral of this whole post is whether or not this is Doc Mc Stuffins, you can create a Character Party for your kids, for cheap. You don't need all the fancy paper plates, expensive goodie bags or any thing else. You just need a little time and some crafty skills *not much* and patience.

 Now on to the Hawaiian Ham Sammi's. So easy. So delish.

Preheat oven to 350.

Cut these bad boys in half.

Slather on that mayo on both sides.

Slather on honey mustard on the top, over the mayo.

 Take ham slices and fold them into Triangles. Half them then half them again.
*I was testing out which way works best left or right... Right was the easiest to deal with.

Lay 6 slices of provolone down per each bag of 12 hawaiian rolls.

 Stick in the oven and toast until brown up top and melted.
About 10 minutes.
I totally forgot to take an after picture so this will have to do.

Hawaiian Roll Ham Sammi's

1 Package 12 count Hawaiian Rolls

12 slices honey ham

6 slices Provolone

Mayo

Honey Mustard

Preheat oven to 350

Cut rolls in half.

Slather on the mayo on both sides.

Add honey mustard to top over mayo.

Add ham to bottom roll in triangles. Halved and halved.

Add cheese on top.

Bake 10-15 minute until brown.

The Year of Months

So, this beautiful year of 2014. The first year where we are a family of 6 for the entire year. 

 NO I am not having another baby.
That was not an announcement. 

I was counting our fur baby Cooper.
Our sweet young boy and our beautiful Etty Bitty Eden both made their appearance in our family on September 1st and then the 2nd.

So we've decided the Hubs and I that we are going to eat clean/live simply in 2014. So this year we are doing a theme each month with our food. In order to lower our food costs, expand our recipe book, go a little more clean and not give up on our food quality.
I've tried going clean eating full force before and found myself craving 'bad' foods, getting overwhelmed with the expectations I gave myself and giving up. Some of the new habits would stay but go away eventually.
I read something somewhere that it takes 21 days/tries for a habit to form to a point where its not forced. Which is where the Theme of the Month comes in. I figure if I give myself 30 days to fully engulf myself in that theme I can't get as overwhelmed as a full radical make over.

January is going to be the month of Beans and Legumes.

Because they are cheap, full nutrients and DELICIOUS.

Beans, beans, the magical fruit. The more you eat them, the more they....

give a hilarious past time between my little garden.

Ok... anyways. 

I personally don't cook with a large variety of beans. Pintos, black beans, split peas and kidney beans are my usual staples. 

I buy them dried and rehydrate them to freeze. Which I will post about another day.

While I don't cook with many often, I am my grandmothers granddaughter.

That woman could make the most delicious and frugal meals.

Today I am cooking with lentils. For the first time. Its ok, I've got this.

I have seen my grandma do it many times.

So what do you do when your cooking beans? Pull out your crock pot. Especially on a lovely cold day like today. Even more so when you have a fun filled day planned with your family that doesn't include you standing over a stove top.

This soup is delicious, earthy and full of warm spices. Mix that in with the bright chicken thigh, with that nice crunch from the skin. Oh it made my day. My kids ate it too!

***Note to self... Peel butternut squash on cutting board. Otherwise it will slip out of your hands end in trash and require you to find a left over tub of pureed pumpkin to throw in meal. ***

Moroccan Lentil Soup with Roasted Chicken Thighs

2 carrots - diced

4 cloves garlic - minced

1/2 cup pumpkin puree * or more its all I had**

2 onions - diced

1 tomato - diced

4 cups stock

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp coriander

1/4 ginger

1/4 cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

shake of red pepper flakes

1 cup water

tsp tomato puree

sprigs thyme

Add all to a crock pot on low heat for 6-8 hours.

Roasted Chicken Thighs

4 chicken thighs

1 lemon

thyme sprigs

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450

Take a oven proof pan and heat oil on stove at about med- high heat.

Sprinkle chicken on both sides with S&P.

Sear unfatty side in pan. Once nice and brown throw in thyme and lemon. 

Cook until skin is nice and crispy and brown. YUM.

Then take your lovely, delicious stew/soup and place it in a bowl. Add chicken. 

Eat and enjoy!

New Years Split Pea Soup

There is nothing like a good ole fashioned NYE hang over to make you wonder WHY did I drink last night. 

In my case it was, WHY did I decide last night was a good night to really drink since NYE last year!?!?! Albeit I've had a few glasses of wine here and there since my Eden made her entrance but last night a had a *few* more. 

So I woke up and immediately made biscuits and gravy. Yummy delicious greasy goodness to soak up any excess alcohol that decided to linger. 

But now its dinner time. I needed soup. Soup and bread.

Split pea & ham soup and some of The Pioneer Woman's the bread, to be precise. 

And maybe a little salad because lets face it whats better than soup salad and some delicious crusty bread? 

NOTHING.

• 1 bag dried split peas
• 12 cups water
• 4 chicken bullion cubes
• 1 cup ham - diced
• 2 decent sized onions
• 2 diced carrots
• 3 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper
• a dash of red pepper flakes
• 2 bay leaves

Throw all of those delicious ingredients into a big pot and boil until the peas are tender.

You can keep it as is or blend it/mash the peas up. 

I like to add some cream to the end of it :D

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

So I am on a cinnamon sugar kinda food craze. I think its because it reminds me of my childhood. 

I've been missing home lately. I haven't been back there since Sept '11. Thats a long time

One of my favorite things as a kid was anything mixed with cinnamon sugar and butter.

Yum.

So I found this little recipe and bam so delicous. Its got a few steps but so worth it.

Cinnamon and Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Dough

2 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)

1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup water

2 eggs (at room temperature)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Filling

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

4 Tbsp. butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and milk. Once the butter is completely melted take off the burner and add the water and vanilla. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.

Pour the milk mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Whisk together the eggs and add to the batter. Keep mixing. Add 3/4 cup of flour and mix well. The mixture will be very sticky which means it's perfect. Place the dough in a medium greased bowl. Cover with wrap and let it sit in a warm place to rise for about 30-45 minutes. Once the dough has doubled its size, knead in 2 tablespoons of flour. Cover the dough again for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, start on the filling. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside.

Once the dough is ready, roll it out on a floured surface. Brush the melted butter on the dough and add the sugar mixture. Make sure everything is covered. Using a shape knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into equal sized strips (about 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide). Then cut the strips into equal sized squares. Stack the squares on top of each other to make 3 to 4 piles and place them in a bread pan. Take any sugar that fell off squares and sprinkle over the top and around the sides of dough. Cover the dough for another 10-15 minutes to rise.

While dough is rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place a cookie sheet under bread pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until outside of bread is golden brown.

Halloween Candy Caramel Corn

Happy  Few Days after Halloween everyone!

I had a dilemma after trick or treating. After my girls came home with a brown grocery bag full of candy.

What can we do with all of this.

They certainly didn't need to eat all of it right away like they wanted. So I started to think of creative ways to use the candy's for treats over this holiday season.

Today was a pinterest kinda idea, I saw some delicious snickers popcorn. I did roughly the same thing just added whatever candy I wanted rather than just snickers.

We decided to have a family movie night with this special popcorn.

2 cups popcorn kernels

1/2 cup peanuts

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp baking soda

about 30 halloween chocolate bars

sprinkle of chocolate chips

1. Pop your popcorn with an air popper & preheat oven to 200

2. mix butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and pinch of salt in a large saucepan. Cook on Medium heat until boiling. Boil for 5 minutes.

3. Pour over popcorn, peanuts and mix well.

4. Pour caramel corn mixture onto wax paper and cooking pans. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Stirring every 15 minutes.

5. Take out of oven add chopped candy and chocolate chips. Mix well and bake for 3 more minutes.

6. Completely cool (hard I know)

Enjoy!

Elephant Ears

Imagine.

Crisp, salt air. 

Sandy beaches, sand dollars galore. 

A board walk.

Your favorite hoodie and comfy jeans.

A swimsuit, underneath of course, just hoping PRAYING that the Oregon coastline will love you enough to be above 70 degrees.

Just hot enough to go swimming.

Its not. EVER.

So you hear him. The candy man, in a red and white striped suit. Taffy bin in hand. Singing the candy man and passing out salt water taffy to the passerby's.

Standing right there on that beautiful corner. 

You grab a candy.

Then you notice that smell. That gorgeous smell of fried dough and cinnamon. 

Then look up and a sign with a giant elephant.

You are at the on and only Elephant Ear shack in Seaside, Oregon.

A must have stop in this wonderful little beach town.

This is where my sister grew up so I visited often and always begged to stop and get an elephant ear, sea foam (a delicious chocolate covered sugary treat) and salt water taffy.

She always obliged.

You can get elephant ears at fair grounds too. Being a military wife and traveling where ever we get stationed, the first time we went to a fair I assumed I could get one. I assumed wrong. Apparently no-one knows what these delicious ears are! 

It hurts my heart.

I hadn't had an elephant ear in YEARS, that is until I found this delightful little recipe on pinterest.

I immediately got up after nursing Eden and made them. 

Soft pillowy dough, an occasional crunchy crust, buttery, cinnamon sugary goodness.

 Oh my.

I think I've gained 40 lbs this week from the mass quantities I've been making.

Here is the recipe.

Elephant Ears

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 4 cups all purpose flour

Oil and shortening for frying

• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• melted butter

Take a big bowl and add water and yeast. Mix. Let sit 10-12 minutes.

Combine warm milk, salt, sugar and shortening. Mix well. 

*****shortening will be lumpy, just break it up a bit*****

Add flour and mix until it is well combined. It will be super sticky. Then you throw it down on a WELL floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Put in bowl. Cover with towel and let it rise for 1 hour.

Pat out dough and cut out 12-15 balls of dough. Try and make them even in size.

Add shortening and oil to the pot and heat it up. 

Stretch them little suckers out, I like to have the centers be really thin because thats how they do it at the shack. Fry on both sides 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Set on a plate slather in butter. Then put it into a bowl and douse in the sugar mixture.

Note. This is the ONLY picture I remembered to take after the first dough had been fried.

Eat and enjoy!