Fort Day!

One day last week we our girls wanted to make a "hut." That's Utah for FORT!!!!! So, I pulled out all the blankets we would need and we got to work. Of course, the girls wanted to use the blankets I had made for them, so we have the purple for Carys and the pink for Saryn. 

To give it a little effect, I used my Fourth of July blanket I made last year and put the stars face down so they could have a "view." They wanted LOTS of room so they could bring every last toy they own into their new fort. I tried to tell them that there wasn't enough room for everything, but a 4 year old and a 2 year old out number the 27 year old... I still don't know how that happens so often..

Saryn had the little bed on the couch and Carys got the big bed on the floor. (You can see part of her toys hanging out in the laundry basket.)

For a while, they both just laid there and enjoyed their fort.

Saryn especially. . . 

Carys asked if they could sleep in there that night. I tried to explain that I don't think she would like it but she argued with me and said they wouldn't cry or anything! So after a few hours of them playing, I just took it down and told them we would make another one next week. 

At least my girls for happy for a while!

Oh yeah.. Carys IS wearing her make up from her dance pictures earlier that day.. NO I did not wipe it off. She liked it :)

The Perfect Grilled Cheese

I saw this idea on Pinterest and it works amazingly! Today after church we made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.  Standing over a pan cooking each grilled cheese individually takes way too long, and it prevents from everyone eating together as a family.  Cooking multiple sandwiches on a griddle is better.. but then you still have to stand there and flip and flip and flip.  But someone was clever (or lazy) enough to come up with this brilliant idea! Butter up all your breads, put your sandwiches together, lay on a cookie sheet, cover with foil and another cookie sheet, place in oven, and walk away. Fantastic. 

I decided I didn't want a traditional grilled cheese sandwich, so I changed it up a bit. Muenster cheese; mesquite turkey; fresh vine ripe tomatoes; gorgeous avocado. Seriously, the best sandwich I have eaten in a LONG time! This new method melted the cheese perfectly, warmed up the turkey just right, made the avocado soften up just a bit, the tomato was fantastically perfect, and the bread was perfectly toasted to the point that there was a little crunch, but still soft and warm. DELICIOUS.

Baby Donuts :)

For Christmas, Carys got me a BabyCakes Donut Maker. If you haven't heard of them, you need to look into it! I LOVE THEM! If you want to, click here.

I hadn't used it until just recently. The first BabyCakes machine I got was the mini-cupcake maker. It's fantastic! I can make mini-cupcakes, tartlets, mini pies, quiche; SO MUCH! We had used the cupcake maker a few times, but I think its time to do more..

So, three weeks ago or so, it was my turn to do Activity Days. I decided on the spur of the moment we were going to make baby donuts. I hurry and grabbed the recipe book it comes with, and found the only one that listed all the ingredients I currently had in my pantry. Chocolate it was. For frosting, I didn't really want to make homemade, so I used pre-made frosting in a container you find on the baking isle. The only two flavors I had were caramel and butter pecan. I didn't really think the kids would enjoy butter pecan, so caramel it was!

They turned out fantastic! This first picture is the first batch I made. It is a chocolate donut with caramel frosting and powdered sugar on top. I just threw the frosting in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften it up, dumped it in a bowl, and then dipped the cooled down donuts into them. They were so delicious!

So now the challenge was on. The next shopping trip for bi-monthly groceries, I had one thing on my mind. Buttermilk.  Buttermilk spice donuts looked the most appealing.  I found all the ingredients necessary and was so excited to get started! I went with a vanilla frosting this time, and it was just right.  My new favorite hobby was just discovered..

My next challenge - create baby donuts for a bridal shower, but make them match the theme. The brides theme for her wedding is peacocks. My objective was simply to find food coloring that was bright enough to accomplish this, without altering the flavor of the frosting. I have learned from trial and error - you can't add too much food coloring (esp red) because then it tastes waxy and awful. I was thrilled to visit my local Michael's and throw down some cash on stupidly expensive food coloring gel in the Wilton isle. It was totally work it because these little babies were fantastic!

My most recent batch was just this past weekend, for my friend Bobbi.  Her son was blessed this morning and for the lunch in afterwards, she asked if I would make some baby donuts for her. Since I absolutely love making them, I said YES!!! So, the buttermilk spice donuts with vanilla frosting and blue sugar sprinkles were created, and rumor has it, they were a hit.

I did try one other flavor of donut - Sour Cream Donuts. Good. But not my favorite. I was told that there is a strawberry lemonade recipe, so my next challenge is to try that out! Also, I recently bought the frosting where you add in the flavoring from a tiny packet. Cherry frosting.. Mmmmmmm! More to come on these for sure!