ABC Teacher Appreciation Gift

Mrs. B. received this gift from one of her students during Teacher Appreciation Week. I think it's too cute not to share. J

Lingerie Gift Bag

Katelyn and I went to a bridal shower this weekend and wrapped our gift using an idea I had saved on my Clever Gifting Pinterest Board. 

Cute, huh?!

Source of Inspiration- A Girl and a Glue Gun

Coca-Cola Cake

Being a Coca-Cola collector, I have several cookbooks with yummy recipes using Coke as an ingredient. This particular one is in several of them. It is also similar to the Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake on the dessert menu at Cracker Barrel. 

Serve it up with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of Cool Whip and you can't go wrong. 

Cake Ingredients-

2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 teaspoon baking soda
 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients-

1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
 6 tablespoons Coca-Cola
16 ounces powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift sugar and flour into a mixing bowl. Add marshmallows. In saucepan, mix butter,oil, cocoa and Coca-Cola. Bring to boil and pour over dry ingredients; blend well. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. 

Pour into a well-greased 13 x 9 inch pan and bake approximately 40 minutes. (Cake is done when it begins to pull away from sides of pan and the center springs back when lightly pushed with finger.) Remove from oven and frost immediately. (Do not cool cake before frosting!)

Parenting the Blind- Fail

Cody and I had just sat down to dinner, a meal consisting of pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed baby carrots, when Cody said to me, “Let us” to which I questioned, “Let us what?” My brain was thinking, “Let us pray? Holy shit. We forgot to say a prayer on the food? ” (I realize that blessing and cursing don’t usually go hand-in-hand.  I’m just being straightforward. I THOUGHT it. I didn’t voice it! J ) Cody simply replied, “Let us in my potatoes.”  That’s when it dawned on me that Cody was not suggesting we DO something, he was talking about the edible green leafy vegetable---lettuce!

I looked at the piles of potatoes on our plates and realized I hadn’t told Cody that I prepared them using soft skinned Butter Golds and did not peel the potatoes before boiling like I generally do. Apparently, the texture of the skins inside the mashed potatoes reminded Cody of lettuce.

Without delay, I explained the aforementioned to Cody, assuring him that there was not lettuce anywhere on his plate.  

“Weird” was all he had to say as he continued to enjoy his dinner.

It’s moments like this when I recognize how trusting Cody is and that I could do SO much better at describing things for him. 

Taco Pizza

Taco Pizza is simple to make. When using a Boboli pizza crust, you can easily prepare, bake and serve the pizza within 30 minutes. If you want to switch things up a bit, try Pillsbury Pizza Dough and follow the baking directions on the can. Are you good at making homemade pizza dough? If so, and you have a little more time to prepare, go for it! 

Ingredients:

1 Boboli Pizza Crust
1 1/2 cups canned refried beans (click here for delicious slow cooker refried bean recipe)
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese (Monterey Jack would be yummy as well)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small can sliced black olives
2-3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
lettuce, shredded
tortilla chips, crushed (optional)
Salsa, for garnishing

Directions:

Cook ground beef and taco seasoning according to directions on seasoning package. Drain.

Layer ingredients on pizza crust in this order: refried beans, 1 cup sour cream, taco meat, green onions, cheese, olives and tomatoes.

Bake in 425 degree oven for 10 minutes, or according to your pizza crust package directions.

Garnish with shredded lettuce, crushed chips, salsa and remaining sour cream.

Easter Breakfast

Katelyn and Matt's (Pinterest inspired) Easter Breakfast.