{food share} Flower Bundt Cinnamon Rolls

I can't take credit for this fun food presentation idea-- it was solely MY HUSBAND'S idea!  Believe it or not, my husband LOVES to help me come up with fun and unique ways to serve food.  It was sweet, really.  He came to me after I had made the cinnamon roll dough and with excitement in his voice he exclaimed, "you should let some cinnamon rolls rise in the mini-bundt pan and then when they cook they'll take on the flower shape.  It'll be soooo cute!"

Such a cute idea-- thanks honey!  The only thing I dislike about this is that the frosting covers it all up!
Looking for a delicious cinnamon roll recipe to go along with this?  Take a look at this recipe from one of my previous posts HERE.

{free printable} Room Service for Mom

Being a mom is seriously the hardest job I've ever had, so when Mother's day comes around I use that day to rejuvenate.  Today you'll find my "Room Service for Mom" Mother's Day printables at Whatever Dee Dee Wants.  Head on over for the full post.

Included in this printable set:

• Room Service for Mom Door Knob Hanger (to be filled out by mom and left on the door)
• "I love my mom because..." Questionnaire (to be filled out/colored in by the kids)
• 5x7 inch mother's day note card

 To all those mom's out there... hope you have a relaxing Mother's day-- as you deserve it!

{recipe} Creamy Pesto Pasta w/ Toasted Breadcrumbs

There are a few things we miss about Utah since moving to New Mexico.  One of those things is the Corner Bakery and their creamy pesto cavatappi dish.  Every time we return to Utah we make multiple trips to get our fix, but this recipe suffices our cravings while we're away and it's super quick to make.  Every so often I'll serve this dish with parmesan crusted chicken or a crusty piece of bread to soak up the delicious sauce, but without all of that, when we're in a hurry, this dish comes together in 10 minutes.

Of course you could make your own pesto and alfredo sauce, which I've done, but what makes this dish speedy are the pre-made store bought sauces.  And, I feel the flavor is just as good.

 The toasted breadcrumbs make the dish, in my opinion.  I love the mixed texture of the creamy sauce and crunchy crumbs.  Hope you enjoy my take on the Corner Bakery dish-- we sure do.

Creamy Pesto Sauce Directions (serves 4-6): While the noodles are boiling, place one container of Buitoni alfredo sauce with 4-5 tablespoons of pesto in a sauce pan over low to medium heat, stir often to make sure it doesn't scorch on the bottom.  After the noodles are cooked and drained add the sauce and mix until pasta is evenly coated.  Next, top with toasted breadcrumbs and serve immediately.  Oh and don't forget to salt to taste.  Every pesto sauce has a different level of sodium so I usually wait until the end to salt.

Toasted Breadcrumbs Directions: Melt two tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a small saute' pan.  Add 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese, and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasonings.  Stir to incorporate and continue stirring until the crumbs brown up.  Once they brown, take them off the heat and serve on top of the pasta immediately.  mmmm... delish!

{craft share & recipe} Easter Cookies

I must admit-- icing cookies intimidates me!  I always look at those edible creation cookies and 'ooh' and 'ahh' over them and wish I could create something remotely similar.  Not to say mine even compare to the professionals cookies, but they really weren't too terribly difficult.

I wasn't feeling overly confident about icing a face on the bunnies so I decided to play it safe with some fluffy bunny tails made out of mini-marshmallows.

I'd say it's not bad for my first attempt at icing cookies this way!

Royal Icing (Piping Border Frosting)

2 Egg Whites, beaten

1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

3 Cups Confectioner Sugar

Directions:  Sift together the sugar and cream of tartar.  Next add the egg whites and beat with electric mixer until it stiffens up and holds it shape.  Then, I divide the frosting into different bowls and add the coloring needed for each cookie.  Keep in mind that piping the borders on the cookies don't take a whole lot of frosting.  

Royal Icing (Flooding Inside Frosting)

Using the left over piping border frosting I then added just enough lemon juice to make the frosting a bit more runny.  I believe I added somewhere around 1-2 Tablespoons.  Then, you just plop a good amount in the center of the border frosting and slowly spread it to the edges.  It will dry smooth and flat, but it does take around 20-30 minutes so resist the urge to touch.

{free printable & tutorial} Parchment Paper Candy Egg Bundles

These pseudo transparent parchment bundles are just what I would have loved as a kid.  I absolutely adore that you can see the candy through the parchment paper and you know what you're about to devour.  Plus, they were such a cinch to make.

First-- download, print, and cut the Easter egg template. (see link to download below).  Another fun thing about parchment paper-- you could cut it to printer paper size and print the actual template onto it if you like, but then you won't be able to see through the paper. That would still be super cute, though!  I also thought about letting the kidlets color the cut out parchment paper eggs before sewing with crayons or markers, but then I realized it was bedtime and I was out of mommy/kid crafting time.

 Next, trace the egg template onto the parchment paper and cut the stencils out, making sure to cut out two eggs per candy  bundle.

Now, pin the parchment eggs together and sew around the edges, leaving a spot in the top to insert the candy.

Drop the candy in and sew the egg up.   I tried a few different eggs and while the one compartment egg was certainly the easiest I really like the look of separating the candies by sewing in between each layer.

Tip-- don't overfill the eggs with candy.  Leave a bit of room for the sewing machine foot.  If the candy is butted right up to the edge the sewing machine foot ripped my paper because it was too tight of a fit.  OR lift your sewing machine foot altogether and eliminate it from even touching the parchment paper.

Now, all that is needed is to hide these fun candy bundles on Easter morning and watch the kids tear into them with wide eyes to see their yummy surprises.

 If you want to use the Easter Egg template click the button below to download.

{free printable} Easter Brunch Printables

With Easter being just around the corner I've created this simplistic brunch printable set.  I love the light pale colors and hopefully you'll like them too!  Included in this set: banner (print the banner pages twice or even three times to achieve a longer banner), cupcake toppers/party circles, invitations, and food labels.  The food labels are not pictured, but follow the download link to sneak a peak.

 
Also, I found these adorable "carrot candy" cupcakes on pinterest and followed the link to Squidoo.  I love the simple design, using orange and green colored candies.  The original poster used M&M's, but I decided to use Starburst Jelly Beans-- keeping with the Easter theme a bit more.  I just LOVE Easter.  Do you have any fun Easter traditions you do with your families?

St. Patty's Day Straw Flags Done 3 Ways!

Holidays (small or large) get more exciting each year as the kids get older.  I'm excited to pull out all of the leprechaun pranks and green foods.  I know I've already shown you these St. Patty's Day printables, but I thought it might be helpful if I show them in use multiple ways.

The straw flags/tags could be used as just that, straw flags...

...or as a shirt tag exclaiming "kiss me"...

...or as a little banner hung next to the leprechaun's treats left in the kiddo's shoes.  Can't wait to stuff their shoes with fun green treats (ideas-- mike & ikes, sprite, limeade drink, green spearmint gum, green canister of pringles...etc. you get the jist of it).

This was a quick shamrock banner made by those sparkly foam cut outs that can be found at any craft store.  I got mine at Michaels 50% off and three packages cost me all of $3.  Love deals like that!

 As I was hanging banners and taking pictures, this little fella snuggled in on the couch to watch me.  Too bad his name isn't "Lucky", that would be so fitting for this post.  Thus, his name is "Gus" and we love him whether he's an Irish dog or not.