Manic Monday er um I mean Tuesday.....

I apologize for the lack of posts last week.  Due to technical difficulties I lost the pictures for the craft and recipe I was going to share.

I am back this week though :)  With a picture of our kitties being all cute.

Manic Monday

Congratulations to my kindergarten graduate!!!

Foodie Friday-Brownie Sundae's

I think I have discovered why I am having such a hard time losing weight.  It's because I like to eat things like this:

 

And this is a picture before I added toppings.....

Brownies, ice cream, marshmallow frosting, and Mini M&M's, OH YEAH.....

I suppose this could be made a bit healthier with a few small changes and would probably be just as good.  You will need:

1 Box of Brownie mix ( I followed the directions on the box except I used applesauce instead of oil)

Vanilla Ice Cream (you could also use a low-fat something or other)

Mini M&M's (okay these aren't necessary but they are fun!)

Marshmallow Frosting (again not necessary but oh so good)

1/2 cup butter or margerine

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 jar marshmallow cream

1 tsp Vanilla

Beat together until blended

Bake the brownies as directed on the box using a 9X13 pan

Cool completely

Cut in half

Layer 1/2 of brownies, Marshmallow Frosting, Vanilla Ice Cream, and top with other half of brownies.

Smoosh some mini M&M's around the sides.

Freeze until 15 minutes before you are ready to serve.

Once you are ready to serve cut into slices and top as you please.  I like mine with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and more mini's

Mmmmmm how can you resist???

BAZINGA! Nerd

Stenciled shirts seem to be my fall back craft for every swap!  Seems that everyone wants a shirt of some sort and I just happen to know how to stencil shirts. 

This one was made for the March Birthday swap and the person is a fan of Big Bang Theory. I am not familiar with the show myself but kinda like this phrase all the same. 

I was not happy with how this shirt came out.  First off I wanted to use a red shirt but couldn't find one.  Second the Yudu ink I used just looks funny.  It was supposed to be  yellow, not gold with yellow streaks.

 So since I was unhappy with that shirt I made a second attempt.  I used a different colored tee that I just happened to have and a different font for the shirt.  It's hard to screw up black ink and so I like this attempt much better.

This next shirt was made in the Ongoing Wish Swap.  Not a whole heck of a lot too it but it's super cute!

There was supposed to be a second shirt to go along with this NERD one but my attempt at bleach stenciling didn't work so well.  I am going to have to try it again one of these days....

Sweet M&M's

I participated in the Mini M&M tube swap.  We had to decorate a tube and fill it up for our partners.  Since I couldn't get my hands on a mega tube I made three small ones.

A sweet gnome and mushroom made out of felt with a mini M&M tube as a base!

Each tube was then filled with all kinds of tiny goodies and papers.

 Then to play on my partners love of girly stuff...

A sparkly pink and silver sequined tube.

I haven't received my tubes yet but I am excited to see what I get!

Foodie Friday-Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Fridays are usually Friday Fix days but recently they seem to have been the day that showcase new recipes so I am starting Foodie Fridays!  I guess Fridays will be a surprise from now on, you won't know if you are getting a Foodie Friday or a Friday fix! 

So for today's Foodie Friday we will be making Root Beer Cupcakes. You really only need 4 ingredients if you cheat and use a can of frosting. 

You will need:

1 box White Cake mix

1 can of Root Beer (diet works too or so I am told)

1Tbsp Root Beer Extract (I found mine at Wal-Mart)

1 can Vanilla Frosting

 Combine the cake mix, root beer, and extract

 Pour into muffin cups and bake according to package directions

Cool Completely

Now you can either just frost em and serve em or you try to get fancy like I did and...

Use a melon baller to scoop a bit outta the middle so they are filled cupcakes!

I just used the round tip to put in the filling then continued to frost em.

 I added a red Peanut M&M and a straw to really fancify them. 

My family had their own version of "Cupcake Wars" on Easter and I think I just may have to enter these the next time....

The cupcake recipe was adapted from one found at Gourmet Mom on-the-go

Manic Monday

Foodie Friday Chicken Tacos

These are THE BEST chicken taco's I have EVER had.  They are better than any that I have ever had while eating out.  They are super easy, super tasty, and super inexpensive!  We plan on making these quite often and the recipe made enough for two dinners, I just bagged and froze the leftovers.  We even plan on making these the next time we have friends over rather than BBQing.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

2 lbs Bonless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Small Can Diced Chiles

1 12 oz Jar of Salsa (you can use whatever kind you hot or mild)

1/2 Diced Onion

1 1/2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

Throw everything in the crock pot stir it up and set it on low for 7 hours

(or if you are like me and get impatient, I set it on low for about 5 hours then turned it to high for an hour)

Take the chicken out and use two forks to shred it.

Put it back in the crock pot with the juices

I left in there are warm while I fried up the corn tortillas to make taco shells.  You can see how I do that here

Then make up your tacos with whatever fixings you like.  Sorry there is no picture of the actual tacos since they got scarfed so fast!  We used cheese and sour cream in ours (well just cheese in mine, sour cream?  bleh).  That's really all they needed!

You gotta try this one!

Adapted from from the recipe found on Disney Family.com

Being Shared at:

Under The Sea Hoopla

This Under the Sea hoop was made for Dawl in the Ongoing Wish Swap.  Instead of embroidering the bubbles and tail fins I added sequins!  I am so happy with how it turned out!  The sequins really add a new dimension and anything that sparkles is a good thing! 

The hardest part to do is the face.  I tried to use the techniques described on Sublime Stitching but I haven't quite mastered it yet.....Will have to keep practicing.

Manic Monday

Wearing their Easter Shirts