Creatin' & Craftin' Day at Nana's

{I have put off typing up this post because I like simple and quick...this was going to demand some time, but I'm so tickled to finally share this fun time I spent with 2 of my granddaughters just before Easter.}

I have the cutest grandkids on the earth - every single one of them! 

Now I know...some of you are probably ready to fight me over that thought, but aren't we just gifted with special special gifts when God puts GRANDchildren in our lives??

They most certainly do make life GRAND!

Our son, Dave, spent 9 yrs in the navy.  All 3 of his children were born long-distance from home (where we live) so since he

became a civilian, about 6 yrs ago and they only live a few minutes from us now, it's just the best fun to get to bring the granddaughters here to spend a day creating.

Charlie & Chloe both have creative genes and they often teach ME while I'm trying to teach them.

I just loooove these pictures of them wearing the 3 new t-shirt scarves them made for themselves. 

Charlie, 13, is on the left...Chloe, 11, is on the right

I've been having a BLAST making t-shirt scarves. Tonya Ferguson introduced me to them in one of her post...

4 little Fergusons make t-shirt scarves - please take a peek as they are just so cute and simple...even her 8-year old made one.

C'mon now Gals - of course...YOU CAN DO IT TOO!

I also looked a this tutorial at My Blessed Life to get some cool ideas too.

(I ended up doing much of the cutting, just because it was easier for them)

The girls also worked long and hard to make Duct Tape Flowers

for their flip flops! They did most of that all on their own!

Have you seen the adorable patterns they're making on duct tape these days???   We also covered some baskets for their bathroom with some of this 'fun' stuff. 

The girls got creative and made some multi-colored flowers for their flip flops!!  Soo cute aren't they?

This was the photo that 'sucked me in' when I first saw them posted at Skip to my Lou

The girls had a great time in the kitchen making Butterfinger Bites

simply by spreading peanut butter between Cheez-It crackers and dipping them in chocolate.  (Who knew??)

And we made some yummy treats by spreading peanut butter AND nutella between Ritz crackers, then dipping them in white or dark chocolate....inspired by this post at Plain Chicken . Charlie got creative and began making swirls over the top and they looked sooo pretty.  Tasted great too!

The girls also made these simple Springy Marshmallow Flower Pops

from Madtown Macs. It's a simple process and the girls were excited to take this 'bouquet' home with them. (along with 90% of the goodies we made). After you push a stick into a large marshmallow, you coat it with white chocolate (ours had little blue specks in it) then push through a muffin paper!

Before they headed home, we quickly made some Peanut Butter Hard Shell Ice Cream Topping that I found at Chocolate Covered Katie....to 'top off' their day.

(Katie has a Healthy Dessert Blog that I follow!!!)

All you do is stir together peanut butter, melted coconut oil, and sweetener of choice (we used liquid stevia) to make this delicious treat.

We were all pretty impressed at how simple - AND DELICIOUS! -it was.  (see the link above for the measurements)

WHEW!!  We were all very tired at the end of the day and agreed we shouldn't try to do so much the next time!

First Flashback Friday (Taco Pie) & Weekend Potluck #15

Welcome to Weekend Potluck #15!

After I was 'inducted' (NO - not indicted!=) as a co-host at Weekend Potluck last week {happy dance!}, I decided I would like to share a 'review' recipe on Fridays, and couldn't figure out just how to go about it, so....my sweet friend and WP co-host, Tonya, offered to let me use her Flashback Friday button. I will be sharing recipes from my 'archives' in the weeks ahead!  And have MY OWN "Flashback Friday"! 

WOOOOHOOOOO!!!

But first....I want to share a simply delicious "Flashback Friday" recipe that Tonya, has posted at her blog - 4 little Fergusons.

This is a wonderful! dish....MMMM!

Easy As Pie, Taco Pie!

Taco Pie
(click title for easy printing)

◦1 can Crescent Rolls (8 Ounce Can)

◦1 pound Ground Beef

◦1 package Taco Seasoning, 1 Ounce Packet

◦3 cups Doritos, Crushed, Or More To Taste, Divided Use

◦1 cup Sour Cream

◦1-½ cup Shredded Mexican Cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.

Set out crescent rolls.

Brown hamburger on the stove with taco seasoning. Cook over medium high heat until the meat is browned. Then drain any grease.

Spread crescent rolls in a pie plate (or Deep Dish Baker from Pampered Chef) to form a crust, covering the bottom of the dish and going up the sides with the dough. Put a layer of crushed Doritos as the bottom layer, adding them until the crescent dough is nicely covered (make sure to reserve some for the top layer). Add all of the meat, then layer on your sour cream and Mexican cheese. Top with more crushed Doritos. Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is melted. Let set for 5 minutes before cutting.

Serves 8.

*Reheats best in the oven on a stone or in the pie plate – it will get soggy if you reheat it in the microwave.



Now onto...

Today, we need to discuss a little bite... ummm... bit of business with our sweet friends who link up their recipes here each week. If you are just swinging by to check out the recipes, then cruise on down for the goodies.

We adore our blogging friends. Truly. We love our linky party too. It is awesome having all these recipes show up on our blogs each week. We appreciate it so much that we have made a commitment to promote those recipes as much as possible with only two rules:

1) Link back. You can use the button or a direct link within your post.

2) Follow us. You can choose to follow anyway you like but you need to follow ALL co-hosts (The Country Cook, 4 Little Fergusons, The Better Baker, Sunflower Supper Club AND Meet Penny) by either RSS feed, Daily Email Digest, Facebook OR Twitter.

If you do not follow these two rules, we will not delete your link, but we will not feature or do any special promotion of your recipe.

Unfortunately, some of our favorite recipes (including the recipe with the most clicks), did not link back from their posts. We love, love our blogger friends, and hope that they appreciate us enough to remember to do these two tiny things in exchange for the work we put into bringing traffic to their websites.

Now, on to a more delicious subject ~

Last week's party had so many amazing recipes... a RECORD number of LINKS... and we decided to feature these delightful recipes ~

Chili Verde by The Domestically Impaired Guide to the Retro Kitchen Arts

Reeses Peanut Butter Cookie Brownies by Hun... What's for Dinner?

Fruit Pizza by Stella B's Kitchen

                            And a personal favorite ~     Cheesecake Nutella Twists from Inside BruCrew Life   If you were featured today, please feel free to grab the red “featured” button below.

  Your hosts ~

• Sunflower Supper Club~ Kim & Julie
• 4 Little Fergusons~ Tonya
• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• Meet Penny ~ Tabitha
• The Better Baker~ Marsha

Remember that when you link up, it shows on all FIVE blogs. Plus…

We TWEET. We PIN. We LIKE.

We want you to get as much exposure as possible so that your time here is well invested.

Linky Guidelines: If you wish for us to promote your recipe or want to be a featured recipe, you must follow these instructions. Please link up to your exact post and not the main page to your blog. Also, LINK BACK HERE from your post so that others can find the fun. (Need help linking back? Read this.) You can use the button or a direct link within your post. If you have a recipe to share, please be sure that you are following ALL co-hosts (The Country Cook, 4 Little Fergusons, The Better Baker, Sunflower Supper Club, AND Meet Penny) by either RSS feed, Daily Email Digest, Facebook or Twitter. Thanks so much for participating!

Rhubarb & Minute Tapioca

RAH! RAH! RAH! FOR RHUBARB!

I grew up on this yummy dish!

Rhubarb tends to be one of those ingredients that if you didn't grow up eating it, you may have a hard time liking it.

I LOVE IT!

It seems my mom had a dish of this (freshly made..often) in our fridge all summer long.  It was definitely the favorite rhubarb recipe in our family growing up.Still is mine!

Once you have your rhubarb washed & chopped, this doesn't take long to make, from beginning to end. 

You have the option to (easily) make it sugar-free if you wish too.

You can add a can of crushed pineapple to the finished recipe, or do as I do sometimes...when I have leftover pineapple juice in the fridge, I use it for part of the water in the recipe.

RHUBARB & MINUTE TAPIOCA

2-1/2 c. diced rhubarb

2-1/2 c. water

1-1/2 c. white sugar

(I used xylitol)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 c. minute tapioca

(the original recipe called for 1/4 c., but I like ours thicker)

few drops of red food coloring, optional

Cook all ingredients together in large saucepan over medium heat;stir occasionally.  Rhubarb breaks down while it cooks. (I often bang it again the side of the pan to help it along...it's just what I do when I make this).  Stir to blend in food coloring; cool; refrigerate.

This keeps well for atleast 2 weeks in the fridge.

Try it over ice cream. We love just a dish of it plain.

Linked to Gooseberry Patch Roundup
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Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party

Thursday's Treasures
Gooseberry Patch Roundup - Picnics & Potlucks
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Meal Plan Monday

Carrot Cake Oatmeal {Healthy Option}

If you don't know this by now...I am a LOVER of oatmeal!

I love being able to 'dress it up' in some luscious ways.

It's been a few weeks since I posted an oatmeal recipe, so I figure I'm overdue...*-*

I made this nutritious breakfast while I was recently suffering with an infected tooth.  It hurt to open my mouth very far, so I was sticking with soft foods...that meant, lots of oatmeal!

(No doubt, my cholesterol is thankful=)

So when I saw this was a featured recipe at Foodbuzz, but actually posted at this blog - Katherine Martinelli  - I immediately ran to the kitchen to try it.

It didn't disappoint at all.

Think of sneaking veggies into your kids breakfast!

(I won't tell if you won't=)

I later thought about adding a dallop of cream cheese too, but alas...that was after I'd already scarfed it down.

The cinnamon/nutmeg in this make it so tasty.  I topped it with flax seed and agave nectar and a few chopped pecans. 

MMMMMM! at its finest!

Hope you'll give it a try.  You could always grate your carrots the night before so things could be prepared faster in the morning.

The original recipe calls for steel cut oats, but since I didn't have any, I used old fashioned, and cooked it in the microwave instead of on top of the stove....cause I couldn't wait!! 

CARROT CAKE OATMEAL

1/3 c. old fashioned oats

(If you want to use steel cut oats, soak them overnight in 1.5 cups boiling water)

1 c. milk (I used 1%)

2 carrots, finely shredded

pinch of salt

1/2 Tb. ground cinnamon

(I used a little less)

couple dashes of nutmeg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

brown sugar/agave nectar/maple syrup to sweeten

chopped walnuts/pecans for crunch and chia seeds for garnish

In large microwave bowl, mix oats and milk. Cover; cook on high for 2 minutes, then stir. Then cook 1-1/2 minutes longer; stir, then 1 minute longer, or until it reaches desired thickness.

Sprinkle with salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Mix well to blend.

Serve hot topped with agave, maple syrup, nuts and/or chia seeds.

Yield: 1 serving

(If cooking on top of stove, it should take about 10 minutes)

(You could double or triple the recipe and reduce the amount of carrots)

Linked to Gooseberry Patch Roundup
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Scrumptious Sunday
Breakfast Ideas Monday
Mix it up Monday
Thursday's Treasures
Fit & Fabulous Friday
Melt in your Mouth Monday

Banana Cupcakes with White Ganache

I love banana bread and banana cake, and when I saw this recipe at

The Big Green Bowl I knew I couldn't pass it up. 

It proved to be a very tasty snack - very moist and yummy-licious! 

The original recipe is for banana cake, but I was in a time crunch when I decided to make them, so I choose to bake cupcakes to save on time.

I always have bananas in the freezer...I just toss them in, peel and all, when they are brown.  Before baking with them, I thaw them on the counter, or overnight in the fridge, and squeeze them out of the peel into the batter.  They blend in easily and I believe it adds more moisture.

Banana Cake (or Cupcakes)

1/4 cup shortening

1-1/2 cups sugar
(I cut back some and used half Splenda)

2 eggs

2-1/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup buttermilk*

1 cup mashed bananas (2 or 3 ripe bananas)

Preheat oven to 350-F. Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans (or use PAM cooking spray for baking). You can also make cupcakes with this batter.

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar til well combined. Add eggs and beat some more. Dissolve baking soda in the buttermilk. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add buttermilk and flour mixture alternately a little a a time. Beat in bananas.

Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake for 25 min. or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I didn't record how long I baked the cupcakes, but probably about 15 minutes.
Begin checking them after 12 to be sure you don't overbake.

Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 min. Invert onto cooling racks. When completely cool, frost the cake with butter cream frosting or the cupcakes with white chocolate ganache.

White Chocolate Ganache:

1 c. white chocolate chips

1/2 c. heavy cream

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chips and cream. Microwave on high in 20 second intervals, stirring after each 20 seconds. Do this until chocolate is soft enough to melt and become creamy with stirring.

After muffins are cooled, dip each top in the ganache, or pour/spread a little over each and set them back on wire rack to dry.

*TIP: If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own "sour milk" by measuring 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup, and adding enough milk to make a total of 1 cup. Let it stand 5 minutes before using. For this recipe, cut that in 1/2.

Makes 2 - 8" layers or about 30 cupcakes.

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