BBQ Cups

This recipe was one of Michael's favorites when he was a kid.  For Michael's birthday last year his mom made him a cookbook with all of his favorite recipes from when he was a kid this one is a hit in our house!

Start by browning 1 pound of hamburger meat.

To the meat add 1 cup of BBQ sauce

 next spread store bought bisquits (I like the buttermilk kind) into a muffin tin. 

Then fill the "well" with the BBQ meat mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes (until the edges start to brown)

I didn't have any shredded chesse the night I made these so I chopped up some cheese slices, either would work just find.  Once the edges of the bisquits have started to brown take them out and top with the cheese of your choice.

Then put them back into the oven until the cheese is melted.

 Another way I like to make this is instead of using BBQ sauce I make sloppy joe mix and use that, it's super yummy too!  Enjoy!







My Grandma Sjoholm's Peanut Butter Stuff

This recipe is one of my favorite recipes that my grandma Sjoholm used to make.  My grandma used to substitute teach at my dad's school when he was a kid and this "Peanut Butter Stuff" was one of the desserts the cafeteria ladies would make.  My dad and aunts loved it so much my grandma got the recipe from the cafeteria ladies and started making it herself.  She would make it every time we visited her and every time I make it I think about my grandma!

Grandma Sjoholm's Peanut Butter Stuff:

Start by bringing 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of karo syrup and 1 stick of butter to a "soft" boil (235 degrees).

Then mix in 1 cup of peanut butter.

Pour the mixture over 2 cups of Rice Krispie Treats and 2 cups of Cheerios, mix well.

Spread mixture into a buttered dish & let cool.  I always double the recipe because I use a large Pyrex dish and I like the bars extra thick. 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday Jillian's daycare is celebrating Read Across America and each day they having special snacks, dressing up silly, making crafts and doing other neat things.  Me being the crafty mom I am wanted to make a special treat to bring to class.  This is my take on a treat for "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."

First I used a red paint pen to write "One Fish, Two Fish" and "Red Fish, Blue Fish" on 15 clear plastic cups. I bought the cups at the Dollar Tree, 10 for $1.00.   

Then I mixed up two boxes of Berry Blue Jello according to the directions.  I poured the jello evenly into the 15 plastic glasses. 

I let the jello set up for about an hour in the refrigerator and then placed 2 red fish into each cup.  I also got the red fish at the Dollar Tree.

After putting the fish in I then mixed up 2 more boxes of Berry Blue Jello and poured it over the fish.  Once the jello sets up you'll have a yummy Blue Berry "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" snack! 



More Carnival Ideas

I spent some time yesterday searching online for other cute carnival ideas and here are some of things I've come up with.

Family Fun has this cute idea for a photo board, now I just need someone that can paint to make me one.... any volunteers????

Aren't these invitation "tickets" adorable?



Look at this carnival party that was shared at Celebrations At Home (check out this page, there are TONS more AWESOME photos)!

I found this PRECIOUS tutorial on how to make this Big Top Pinata at Cute As A Fox.

Promise you won't laugh?!?!?

If I tell you something you promise you won't laugh at me?!?!? 

Promise?!?!?!?

Are you sure?!?!?!?

Okay, I guess I'll tell you.....

I'm already planning Jillian's birthday party and it's 10 months away!

Are you laughing?!?!?!?

Every time Jillian hears about a birthday party she asks me if there are going to be party games.  This year we went the "easy" route with the party and just rented a bounce place at the mall.  Jillian had a BLAST but sadly, there were no party games. 

I've decided that this year we are going to have a 4th Birthday Carnival! 

I want to make most of the stuff so I have to start planning now since her birthday is right after Christmas. If I wait until the last minute for everything I will be stressed with all the holiday stuff going on. 

I plan on renting a room at our local Community Center and have the party there since there is a lot of room.

So far I know I want to have the following activities for the kids:

*all of the photos are from Carnival Savers

Bean Bag Toss 

Fishing Game

Duck Game

Face Painting

I also know I want to have some yummy carnival snacks.

Do you have any good ideas for me? Any tips?

Barbie Girl Emma

One of my best friends daughter, Emma, just turned 4 and I was so excited to be able to make her birthday party outfit. Like most 4 year-olds Emma is a total Barbie Girl and had to have a Barbie party!  We knew we wanted a 4 on the shirt and Emma's name somewhere on it so this is what I came up with. I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture but the fabric in the 4 has little black Barbie shoes all over it!

Of course this Barbie Girl couldn't just wear regular jeans with her party shirt, I decided to add a ruffle of matching fabric to the bottom of the jeans. 

3 year old pics - a little late but better than never!

This weekend we were finally able to take Jillian's 3 year pictures, of course they are only about 2 months late but I guess it's better than never!  She did so good it was hard to choose a few of my favorites!

Spring Fling - 14 Days of Fabulous Giveaways!

I just signed up to take part in Wildflowers & Whimsy's Spring Fling Giveaway!  Spring Fling is going to be 14 days of different blog giveaways with two different giveaways each day!  There are still a few more spots available if you are interested in joining in! 

I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to be giving away yet but it will probably be a custom shirt!  I can't wait for the first giveaway on March 20!

Alyse Taylor's Chicken Pot Pie

One night this summer Jillian and I had dinner at the Taylor's house and Alyse made a WONDERFUL Chicken Pot Pie.  She shared the recipe with me and I wanted to share it with you!

Start by boiling your chicken (I used 2 LARGE chicken breasts) then either shred the chicken or cube it.

Then in a large bowl mix the following ingredients:

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 Cans mixed vegetables

1 cup of sour cream (I used light)

1 cup of chicken stock/broth

Salt and Pepper to taste (I only added pepper)

Add cooked Chicken to the mixture and spread evenly in a 9x13 baking dish.

The topping:

In a bowl mix 1 cup of flour, 1 stick of butter (melted) and 1 cup of milk.

Spread mixture evenly over the top of the pot pie.

Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes (until brown)

Serve up and enjoy!

Adding a Ruffle to Jeans

I decided that Jillian's new dress would be really cute with some jeans with a ruffle of matching fabric added.  This is a perfect way to find a use for jeans that have become too short.  I have a tall skinny mini so her jeans are always too short but fit good in the waist.  A few weeks ago I was in walmart and they had some jeans on clearance for a dollar but all was left was 18M.  I knew these would fit her in the waist so I bought a few pairs! 

Start by cutting off the bottom of the jeans to get rid of the "bulk" hem.

Next decide how high you want your ruffle to be.  My floral print is 4 inches high and the blue is 2 inches.  I doubled each so that I could just fold in half and get 4 inches (floral) or 2 inches (blue) to avoid having to hem.  I made the length of each piece of fabric 4 times the width of the bottom of  the jeans.  My width was 6 inches so the width of the fabric was 24 inches. 

Fold each in half and iron it.  Stack one blue strip on top of the floral strip. 

Next you will sew the two strips together at the top and side.

Next start pinning the ruffle to the jeans.  The jeans and the ruffle will be right sides facing each other. 

A good way to start is pinning the sides and the center of each side.  Then gather the fabric and pin the rest together. 

The last step is you sew the ruffle to the jeans!  When you are done sewing flip the ruffle down, press and you are finished!