Oreo Pops

I told y'all I'd share a how-to on the Oreo pops I made for D's MJ birthday party... a few months later, I finally got around to it.

So I found this via Pinterest.

{this picture via}

Oreo Pops! Genius.

I didn't click on it. I just thought, "duh! I can do that!"

Nope.

I figured out real quick that they're not as easy as they look at first glance. I went back and found the pin, but the link didn't have a step by step. I decided to take matters into my own hands. If there is another tut out there, I'm not sure. I just decided to figure it out.

Here's the quick how to: {emma style}

make room for the stick. Just scoop out some of the cream filling and... set it aside.. or eat it. Go ahead. Eat it. You know you want to. Don't waste it.

Melt a few candy melts at a time in a small bowl. I forgot to take a picture of the candy melts that I used. But you can find them here or pick them up at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or even Walmart. Melt them {*HINT: if you over do it in the microwave and the melted candy becomes thick and just isn't working, add a little bit of coconut oil or shortening to smooth it back out.*}

Grab a stick that hasn't been licked clean {I got mine at the cake/wedding section at Walmart} and dip the lollipop stick in the melted candy.

Spread it around a bit. This will act as a glue to keep you Oreo on the stick. 

Place the other cookie part on top.

If you don't know your own strength like me I guess, they may crack.

No biggie. They'll be covered soon. Place them on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper

Now that all of those are on sticks you can melt the rest of the candy melts, or just a few more. Whatever you feel. Go with your gut. Follow your heart... Do whatever is easiest.

I used a spoon to cover the cookies with melted candy melts. AGAIN, don't try and make them so absolutely perfect. It's impossible. And they'll be eaten in an instant, no one will be inspecting them...  At least I wouldn't think so.

If you want them just white {or whatever color candy melt you got} and don't mind a flat side you can just put them right back on the wax paper, Or use one of these inexpensive cake pop stand things I also found at Walmart. {what can I say? Walmart is a necessary evil.}

If you want to add sprinkles you'll have to do it right after you cover the Oreo with the melted candy melts over a bowl before it dries. ONE AT A TIME. Just pour them on. Half dipped in sprinkles would look fab too!

And that's it. A little more time consuming than I assumed at first, but not to bad. You can also make them a couple of days ahead of time, just keep them covered.

Enjoy! And let me know if you make them or you come up with any new variations to try. I would also LOVE to see pictures. {email me here.}

Homemade Ice Cream

So, you know I love pinterest. I'm sure you do too. I found a recipe for ice cream in a bag on there. I gave it a go and it worked fabulously! I wish I could give you the link to the pin and give the poster credit for it, but when I went to it again an error message popped up saying that someone had reported it as spam and the link has been removed. BUMMER!

Lucky for you, I wrote down the recipe! + even did a little experimenting. Which means that now I get to share it with you! And pinterest again.. 

You don't need an ice cream machine/maker thing... you just need 2 different sized zipper storage bags.

I use the Walmart brand freezer kind because they have the double zipper. If you're doing this with kids, you may want to label the smaller bags... "which one's mine?... are you sure?.. I don't think that one is mine! His looks better.." Annoying huh?

[Yes! Douglas likes to go by Michael Jackson.]

As part of trying to be healthier around here I think if we're going to have ice cream, even if it does have some sugar in it,the 3 ingredient kind is better for you than some of the ones you can buy in the store. You know, with all those chemicals that you can't even pronounce in them. This recipe yields about 1/2 a cup of ice cream. Perfect for a toddler or young child. Not perfect for a mom or dad who loves ice cream, so you may want to double it if you're making some for yourself. [I regretted not having made some for myself the first time. Don't repeat my mistake...] I also think that making it together is a special treat that we can have once in a while.. maybe once a week?!

Here is what you'll need:

[I'm not trying to promote Walmart here, I'm just cheap and buy their brand on things that don't really make a difference.]

1/2 cup of half + half

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The salt is for later... But you'll need about an 1/8 of a cup of it.

If you want to be a little wild and REALLY pack in some delicious nastiness like my kids did, then you can add about a teaspoon of flavored syrup. Chocolate to make chocolate ice cream OR strawberry syrup to make strawberry ice cream. I'm sure throwing in some mini chocolate chips or some small cut up pieces of strawberries would be delicious. Just don't go crazy on that though, a little goes a long way. We did NOT omit the vanilla when we did this, so I'm not sure how it would go without it.

When working with littles, I use a cup for the bag with the ingredients..

[like this!]

Because they want to do everything themselves and this keeps it confined and easier for them to work with.

Put the half + half, vanilla, and sugar in the small bag. Seal it up, and mix it up.

I didn't take my chances, I folded down the bag + taped it.

Set that aside for a bit and fill your big bag about half way with ice [you want to leave room for the ice cream bag]. Pour the salt in there and shake it up a bit.

[*The salt causes the ice to melt faster but also causes a lower freezing point... giving your ice cream a nice consistency, not just like frozen milk.]

Place the small bag with the ice cream mixture in the bigger bag with the ice in it.

I would recommend wrapping it with a dish towel so that your fingers don't freeze off AND so that the sweat from the ice melting doesn't fly everywhere... or get on the children's shirts and make Isabella freak out screaming that she needs her shirt off. Diva.

Set a timer for 5 minutes and let the kids shake it up.

Be warned: they will get tired after about 1 minute.

Hope you've been doing your kettle bell exercises. 

Ha! an easy way to do this without your arms getting tired is to place it on the counter or a table and shake it.

It should be done by the time your timer goes off and look something like this.

Cut the corner off of the bag and squeeze it into a bowl.

Or do like I do and eat it straight out of the bag.

The original post for this said that regular milk works also, but I have not tried that. I don't see why whole milk wouldn't work. Let me know if you try it with milk instead of half + half and how it goes... and if you come up with any recipes I MUST try!

The Plaid Giraffe

so this guy started preschool last week.

The back pack was a toss up between Sonic, superheros, and Mario.

Mario Kart is his fave thing right now. maybe the fact that him playing video games is so limited helps make it special. [y'all know how much I love video games.]

He went to bed early, laid out his clothes, set out his back pack, asked for cupcakes for breakfast.

We were all very excited.

He didn't care that I dropped him off. He didn't even think about telling me goodbye.

I'm not gonna lie, I did mind him blowing me off a little. But mostly I was happy for him.

When he ventures out, confident, happy + ready to take on the world on his own, I feel like I've done my job so far. Not a perfect job mind you. But I do feel validated.

I took the time he was in school to myself and went to target, dropped off donations at Goodwill, enjoyed some Starbucks, + got the grocery shopping done. The most exciting part of the morning was picking him up from school. I couldn't wait to hear all about it.

To my disappointment all I got out of him was that he loved school. LOVED it. And he got to use scissors, play outside, + eat a snack. He's the kind of kid that tells me nothing, then one days teaches me something new and I'm all, "where did you learn that?!" To which he responds with, "school!" "sunday school." or "Curious George."

We tried to keep the special day going. Mathew had lunch waiting for us when we got home. Fried rice + fish sticks! Then He played Mario Kart while I put groceries away and Isabella napped.

over all I'd say he'll have a good memory of that whole day.

I shopped for like 4 hours. I was tired. So... dinner needed to be easy. I made french bread pizzas. super easy and quick. Great for busy days. [detailed steps below]

1. purchase bread, cheese, toppings. You can also buy some pizza sauce or check out my recipe for a super easy one here. [sauce hint* no need to simmer if you don't feel like it. just mix ingredients well and it's ready to go!]
2. slice bread in half, spread pizza sauce on.
3. add your toppings.
4. bake at 375 for 15 minutes
5. cut into slices. I like to use a big chopping knife and just rock it across so that I don't burn my fingers. [does that make sense?]
6. [not pictured] eat your heart out.

you can make a side salad or whatever you'd like. It's quite popular around here.

You're welcome!

After dinner we flew kites.

Douglas has gotten the hang of it and can even keep up with his daddy.

They BOTH also would like y'all to know that they flew the kites to the end of their string. [pictured below... they're pros.

good day indeed.

the perfect apple pie

I like making apple pies. I think other people like me making them too.

Enter the greatest invention in the world (besides vaccines, cell phones, an epidural, computers, disposable diapers,  etc...)

The Pampered Chef's Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer with stand

PERFECTION!!

he're my first tutorial! The Perfect Apple Pie! trust me, it's amazing!

(if you're making the pie the same day you slice your apples you might want to scroll down and make the crust first)

FOR THE FILLING:

peel and thinly slice about 5-6 large Granny Smith apples. 

place the apples in a large bowl (large so it's easy to mix without getting apples everywhere) and add the following ingredients:

1tbs cornstarch

1/4tsp nutmeg

1/2tsp cinnamon

3/4cups sugar

1tbs lemon juice

set aside. and this is what they'll look like.

or you can put them in an "air tight" container & refrigerate for I'd say up to 3 days. and then this is what they'll look like. if you make the pie the same day you mix the filling then your pie will be a little tarty and your apples a little firm. if you wait a day or 3 then they will be sweeter. My husband likes them to sit for a bit but will take this pie either way. Both ways are good, it's just a matter of preference.

FOR THE CRUST:

in a bowl. (I use my beautiful Empire Red Kitchen Aid Mixer with the Dough Hook on stir setting)

sift together:

1tsp salt

2&1/4cups of flour

add:

1cup vegetable shortening

(one time I used vegetable spread because I ran out of shortening and that worked out good too. just don't use as much, you'd have to eyeball it)

5-7 tbs ice cold water 

until a good doughy consistency. it should form into a ball. 

divide dough in half and form two rounds. they should be about 5 inches wide and about 2 inches thick. wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

place one round in between two pieces of saran wrap. and roll out about 2 inches bigger than your pie plate. this saves your counter from having a floury mess and your rolling pin never even touches your dough.

remove top piece of saran wrap, place pie plate on dough and invert. gently press dough into plate & trim any dough hanging over edge of pie plate.

I use my hands and place the apples in the crust, then pour the juices left in the bowl on top. I feel like I can fit more apples into each pie this way. or you can just pour them our of the bowl into the crust. 

 Roll out remaining dough. place over filling. trim top crust about 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. flute the edge or use a fork to decorate the edge. cut several slits to allow steam to escape.

for a shinny top pie brush a top with a lightly beaten egg

or for a "sparkly" top brush with lightly beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar

bake at 400°F for 45-50 minutes

if you'd like to do a little extra you can take the excess trimmings of dough and use cookie cutters to make it fit a theme or say a special message. 

(see more pics on my flickr photostream)

either way, this is what it will look like after your husband, brother, son & father in-law have a piece (oh & you as well of course)

ENJOY!!