{Customer Party} Easter/Birthday Celebration

After seeing the free Easter party Printables on Catch My Party blog, a sweet lady from Brazil contacted me and asked me to customize the prints for her son, Luca's first birthday. I think she did an amazing job with the party and it was a pleasure working with her (and learning a bit of Portuguese on the side).

The ginormous treat table. Brazilians know how to party, right?

Egg Party Favors

Chocolate Candy Party Favors

Sweets

Whirly Pop Sucker Party Favors

More Brazilian Sweets

Water

and darling centerpeices. Looks like Luca had a fun gathering. Thank you Carol for letting us be apart of your son's very special first birthday.

{free printables} Masculine Party

As promised the masculine version of the previous let's party printables. You could use these for a boy baby shower, a birthday party or anything for that matter, because even girls like the color green, right? I hope you enjoy them. Happy downloading!

You may download them at Catch My Party or HERE

{Recipe} Italian Beef Dip

I am a lover of Au Jus sandwiches, but this one takes it to the next level. My girlfriend had us over for dinner and made us these sandwiches. We literally dreamt about them for weeks until I asked her for the recipe. The Italian seasonings and pepperoncinis give it just a kick of spice. My stomach is growling as I type this. Trust me-- it is that good.

The Cast of Characters

Pepperoncinis (with the juice), Italian Seasoning, Beef Consomme, Salt, Beef Broth, and a Chuck Roast. Other items needed are deli rolls and provolone cheese (but the cheese is optional).

So Easy. You just add all of the ingredients into the pot like so...

...first the beef consomme...

...next the pepperoncinis and juice...

...then the Italian seasoning...

side note: I love the taste of Italian seasonings so I put heaping amounts in it, but if you're not too sure just stick to the measuring spoon amount. I could have a love affair with it so I do heaps.

...salt...

...and lastly, the chuck roast. Put into the oven and bake at 275 degrees for 4.5-5 hours until fork tender. After it's done, you remove and shred the meat, strain the juices and place the meat back into the strained juices. Serve the shredded meat on top of the buttered, toasted bread. At this point you could add the cheese and return it to the broiler to melt, but we don't do the cheese in our house. I don't think it needs it. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE cheese around these parts, but in this recipe I just love the meat flavor so much I don't want anything interrupting it.

As much as I love the taste of this beef dip sandwich, the thing I love most is that is takes all of 5 minutes to prepare and it gives me more time to spend with these two rugrats.

My mouth is watering... good thing I have left overs.

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

Cross My Heart...

The hubs and I have been in the middle of moving into a new house so posting has been at a stand still lately. However, I'm going to "cross my heart" and promise to be better in the coming week. To help keep me to my promise I'm putting a list of TO DO's out there. Here it is (in no particular order):

1. Closet/Clothing Organizing Printables
2. Customer Party-- with my Easter Printables
3. Italian Beef Dip Recipe-- every household must try this!
4. Easter Basket Scavenger Hunt Printables
5. Mother's Day Printables
6. Earth Day Print
7. Masculine Version of the Generic Party Printables
8. Pico de Gallo & Guacamole Recipe (just in time for Cinco de Mayo)
9. Battered French Fries Recipe-- to die for and not the least bit unhealthy :)
10. Nursery Rhyme Printables
11. Menu Planner/Grocery Shopping Printable

Phew... I think that should keep me busy for a while! As a mother of two young boys I reserve the right to space these out according to their play schedule, temperament and my own sleep schedule(or lack thereof). I also may add a few little surprises in along the way. So check back soon as I kick this list off.

{free printables} Feminine Party

Throwing a baby shower, GNO, bridal shower, book club party or anything else for the ladies? If so, these printables are perfect and will get the job done for any of those?

In collaboration with Jillian from Catch My Party I created these generic sophisticated party printables. When Jillian first asked me if I could create some generic party printables, I thought about using balloons or cake, but I just love how the paper fans turned out! So unique!

Banner-- "Let's Party"

Party Circles/Cupcake Toppers

Favor Tags

Flat Card Labels

Drink Flags

Folded Tent Cards/Food Labels

Water Bottle Labels

Cupcake Wrappers

You can download them at Catch My Party or here.

Stay tuned for a more masculine feeling party printable.

{Recipe} Seriously Delicious Cinnamon Rolls

As a family, we make cinnamon rolls biannually in October and April while our church's general conference is on T.V. It has become a much anticipated family tradition throughout the years, and a yummy one at that.

I'm a little hesitant to share this recipe because, quite frankly, I'm selfish with my yummy food! It's seriously the best cinnamon roll recipe I've ever tasted. Do I dare say it rivals Cinnabon? I do, and so does my hubby! To say my hubby loves Cinnabon is an understatement. Every time we fly somewhere he HAS to hunt down the nearest airport Cinnabon to get his fix. Lucky for him, he can also get his fix twice a year right in the comfort of our home.

BEST CINNAMON ROLLS RECIPE

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 package instant yeast
• 2/3 cup Sugar (plus 1 tablespoon)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup Shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 small package of Idahoan Original instant mashed potatoes
• 7-7 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Sugary-Cinnamon Innards

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting--beat together the following ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons of milk (depending on your like for thin or thick frosting)

Equipment

• Stand mixer
• 2-3 small/medium cake pans

Directions

Dough

• In tbe mixer bowl add the package of yeast and a tablespoon of sugar to 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Let the yeast rise and bubble
• Add the rest of the sugar, salt, shortening, eggs and mix at medium speed until mixed well. The shortening will be in larger chunks, but no worries-- it will blend in, I promise.
• Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the package directions.
• Measure out 1 cup of the prepared potatoes, add them to the mixer, and mix at medium speed until incorporated. I know this step sounds bizarre, but I promise it adds the perfect level of fluffiness to the rolls.
• With the mixer at low speed, add the flour one cup at a time until the dough forms a ball.
• Remove the dough and knead it on a floured surface until it forms a ball.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size.
• While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon-sugar mixture and frosting.
• After the dough has risen, I usually cut the dough in half because it's easier to work with when it's this size. Roll the dough out into a rectangle shape and spread generously with the melted butter. Then dump (yep-- I said "dump", not "sprinkle") the cinnamon mixture onto your dough.
• Roll up the sugar covered dough longwise as tight as you can. Cut the rolled dough into 1.5-2 inch thick discs and place in a greased pan. Set aside and let the rolls rise until almost double in size. The pan should be small enough so that the rolls touch each other and the pan's sides after they rise again.
• Depending on your location in the country your cooking time will vary. Just check back often to makes sure your rolls are not browning too much. If the insides aren't cooked yet, but the tops are starting to brown cover it with tin foil. I baked mine at 400 degrees for 14 minutes, but I suggest checking in around 10-12 minutes. Because the rolls are crammed close together that also causes them to take longer in baking.
• Let the cooked rolls cool a bit before slathering them with the frosting, but not too much, they taste so much better warm!

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture

• Mix both kinds of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• In a mixer, mix all ingredients together at medium speed until smooth.

There's something heavenly about fluffy clouds of sugary goodness drizzled in a rich creamy cheese frosting. Just typing this makes my mouth water. Who says I have to wait until October to make these again?

If you have a favorite family desert recipe or tradition let me know!

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE RECIPE HERE!

{free printables} Recipe Cards

Sometimes cooking can be mundane to me. Please say I'm not the only one that finds cooking EVERYDAY boring? So why not try and liven it up with some cute recipe cards?! This download has 6 pages of 12 different cards. Each page prints two 4x6 inch card.

If interested you may

{download them here}

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