in the kitchen: cookies 'n cream pudding pops

Here's something for all you Oreo fans out there.

I'm sure I'm not the first one to come up with this, but I think it's pretty tasty nonetheless.   A couple of weeks ago I made these mint-chocolate-oreo pudding pops from Our Best Bites, and they were SO good.  {Incidentally, the strawberries and cream pudding pops on that same site are unreal.  Give those a try too.  Trust me.}  My husband and I are both fans of cookies 'n cream ice cream, so I adapted the recipe to try to get that classic taste in a pudding pop.  And the finished product did not disappoint!

The Ingredients.

1 small (1.7 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 and 3/4 cups of half-and-half
10 crushed Oreo cookies

The Method.

Pour the half-and-half in a blender, and then add the vanilla pudding mix.  Blend until combined, and then stir in the crushed Oreos.  Immediately pour into popsicle molds and freeze until set.  This recipe made 6 popsicles for me; it just depends on the size of your molds.

Helpful hints:  I found it definitely works better to put the half-and-half in the blender and THEN the pudding mix on top of that; if you put the pudding in first, some of it gets stuck in the bottom of the blender and doesn't get incorporated as well.  And, since we're working with instant pudding, the faster you get the mixture in the molds, the better, since after it actually becomes more "pudding-like" (is that a word?) it's harder to pour in there.  Also, you can also use milk instead of the half-and-half, but it won't make as creamy of a pudding pop.  I actually used fat-free half-and-half for these since that's what I had on hand, and it worked great, but the regular stuff might be even better.

Enjoy!  :o)

Linking up to Creations by Kara!

think pink!

The other night I finished up an order for a former co-worker of mine.  She has a friend who is expecting a baby girl, so she asked me to make an initialed onesie and a set of three burpcloths.  She really picked out some cute fabrics, don't you think?

I love how everything ended up coordinating together just perfectly.  And it was fun sewing something for a girl for a change!  I actually had to go find pink thread!  :o)

Hope she likes them!

in the kitchen: barbecue chicken calzones

Mmmmm.  Isn't pretty much anything better when totally encased in pizza dough? 

Well, I'm sure there's exceptions to what I just said, but these beauties are still pretty awesome.  And they're a great way to use up leftover chicken.

This recipe makes two huge calzones, so if you wanted to make four smaller ones that would probably work too (just adjust the baking time as needed).  Or else just make the two huge calzones, and cut them down the middle after they're finished baking to make four servings.  Either way works.  Ready to give them a go?

The Ingredients.

1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
2-4 slices of bacon
2/3 cup barbecue sauce
10-oz. can of pizza dough
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

The Method.

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (trust me, you'll thank me later).  Cook the bacon until crisp, either on the stovetop or the microwave if you're pressed for time, and then crumble it.  
• Put the chicken pieces and the barbecue sauce in a small bowl and mix until everything is combined, and then add the crumbled bacon to it.  
• Unroll the pizza dough onto the parchment paper until you have a big rectangle, and then gently press with your fingers to make it about a quarter inch thick.  Use a knife to gently cut a vertical line down the center of the dough to make two smaller rectangles (and if you're making four calzones, go ahead and cut a horizontal line too so you end up with four rectangles of dough).  
• Divide the chicken and bacon mixture among the rectangles, being careful to only put it on one half of each rectangle and to maintain at least a half-inch border from the edge of the dough.  Top each one with cheese.
• Fold the uncovered half of each rectangle over the filling and use your fingers to pinch the dough together.  It also helps to fold the excess dough over and press with your fingers that way.
• Cut a small slit in the top of each calzone, and if desired, brush olive oil or butter on the top to help make a nice golden crust (you can also just spray the tops with nonstick spray!).
• Bake the calzones for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.  When they look like this, they're ready:

{And yes, those are two ginormous calzones.  My hubby and I were hungry, and I shared some of mine with my kid, so don't judge...haha.}  And it's best if you let them cool for about five minutes before you attempt to eat them (unless you like the feeling of burnt tastebuds.  No?  Okay, then let them cool).

You can also play around with this recipe.  Might be yummy to saute some onions to mix in with the chicken, or maybe use some parmesan cheese in addition to the mozzerella.  Definitely a great alternative to the traditional calzone.  And didn't we all learn from The Calzone episode of Seinfeld that "there's nothing more satisfying than looking down after lunch and seeing nothing but a table"?

And yes, I looked up that quote to make sure I got it right.  There's a site with Seinfeld scripts on it, who knew?  :o)

a tale of two shirts

A couple of months ago, I found this cute polo shirt at Goodwill that looked like it had barely been worn.

It was too big for my son at the time, but I knew it would fit him by the spring or the summer at the latest.  But it was much too boring.  So the other night I found this fabric remnant in my stash:

And turned "boring" into some preppy awesomeness:

Is there any kid out there who does not rock in argyle?  I doubt it.

I was on a roll with this applique thing, so I pulled a plain white t-shirt out of my kid's dresser.  The tag says it's 18 months, but the shirt looks a tad on the small side, so I figured the sooner he wore it the better.  I dug into my fabric scraps and also unearthed some cute stencils I forgot I had.  And soon the plain white tee became this:

{Hopefully those tires look like O's, or else my whole vision is just ruined!  Haha!}

And I apologize about the quality of these pictures.  It was late at night when they were finished, and my dark house just doesn't allow for stellar photography.

But now my kid has two new shirts to wear.  For dirt cheap.  LOVE IT.

Linking up to Creations by Kara!

quick fix: splat mat

Have a messy kid?  I sure do.  I guess it could be a lot worse, but I feel like I'm constantly scrubbing that section of floor underneath his high chair.  Even if my kid loves the food I give him, some of it still finds its way onto the floor.  And you know what happens if I don't wipe it up right away; it becomes that much harder to scrape off later.

Around the first of the year, I found a huge rectangular plastic-coated tablecloth on clearance at Ross for $3.  I cut it in half and put one section of it underneath the highchair; the plastic coating made the food a lot easier to clean up, even if it had been given time to become fossilized.  :o)

Here's the problem, though.  My kid learned to walk.  That tablecloth became a hazard for him (and, let's face it, for Mommy too) since the other side of it was slick.  Plus it was kind of flimsy so it was difficult to pick up and move around anyway.  I ended up trashing it last week because it was pretty much beyond help.

Today during naptime I fixed the problem using the other half of the tablecloth.  Caleb's "splat mat" is now thicker, more durable, and (most importantly) completely slip-proof.  Wanna know how I did it?  Sure you do.  :o)

First I took the remains of the tablecloth and laid it out to see what I had to work with.

Then I folded it in half, right sides together, to make a long rectangle.  My kid's messes tend to fall on either side of his chair, so I wanted more coverage on the sides for sure.  I pinned everything and then sewed along three of the four sides.

Then I turned the whole thing right-side-out through the side I had left open, and then smoothed everything out the best that I could.  I also pinned that open side shut so I could sew it closed when I went back to top-stitch everything.  But before the top-stitching, I wanted to add another feature:

Grippy shelf liner!  This stuff is great for more than just lining shelves; in fact, we use this to keep our son's diaper changing pad on the changing table.  It provides just enough friction to keep stuff in its place, and with a very cheap pricetag at that.  The dollar store sells five-foot rolls of this stuff, so I got two rolls and got to it.

I unrolled both rolls of shelf liner and cut them in half lengthwise.  Then I just started pinning the shelf liner along all four sides sides of the mat, trimming and overlapping as needed.  I sewed the liner down, about 1/4 inch from the edge.  Then I went back and sewed all along the inside edges of the liner to completely secure it to the bottom of the mat.  I was a little concerned about how the shelf liner would fare under the sewing machine needle, but it worked great; the only thing that slowed me down was getting the pins out as I sewed, since some of them really needed a strong tug to get loose from the shelf liner.  So when I was done, the mat had a border of shelf liner all along the outside edges.

Then I flipped it over and tested it.  I walked all over it and it didn't move at all!  No more slipping or sliding around!  Plus by sewing the tablecloth in half first, I made a double-layer mat so it's much sturdier and easier to pick up for cleaning if needed.  Ha, "if needed."  That's a laugh.  I'm sure my son will be glad to christen this latest creation at his very next meal.  :o)  Linking up at Creations by Kara and A Little Tipsy!

the tohoku tote

 

Back in March, I came across a wonderful idea on the blog I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar.  The author of the blog had just completed a tutorial for a cute tote bag when tragedy struck Japan.  Instead of selling the tutorial, she decided to just give the tutorial to anyone who wanted to donate to any organization that would help the people affected by the earthquakes.  My husband and I sponsor two children through the organization World Vision, and I had already decided to dig a little deeper that month to help Japan as well, so I decided to definitely try this bag soon.

I was able to use fabric I already had, so all I had to buy was the interfacing and the magnetic snap.  I was surprised at how quickly this project went, and I love how sturdy the bag is as well (gotta love thick interfacing!).  The tutorial had two different options for the bow, and let me just say, I'm glad I recently acquired a walking foot for my sewing machine, because there was no way the regular foot could go through all those layers of heavy fabric!  I added a double pocket on the inside of mine:

And also successfully installed a magnetic snap for the first time!

I realized this tote bag is the perfect size for a 3-ring binder, which is what I currently use for holding coupons.  I recently switched to this system, and I was getting a little annoyed juggling the binder, my purse, and my toddler when trying to get all situated in a store (yep...three things to carry with two hands...the math just doesn't work out, does it?).  This way I can just make this my shopping bag; when I'm ready to go out the door, I can just throw my wallet, keys, and shopping list in that inside pocket, and I'm good to go.

A great bag for a great cause.  Love it.  :o)

nursing cover

One of my friends was nice enough to suggest a use for that brown embroidered fabric I found while going through all my supplies a few weeks back.  She has a four-month-old, and the nursing cover she's been using has some...ahem....coverage issues at times.  Face it...babies grow up, and they get really active and like to pull things.  Your hair, your necklace....and perhaps a nursing cover.  :o)  So she asked if maybe I could make one for her using this fabric.  I found this free tutorial and decided to give it a go!

I liked this tutorial because it was easy, came with LOTS of pictures (great for a visual learner like myself), and allowed for some little touches, like a band of coordinating fabric along the bottom:

I also used boning and D-rings for the first time...easy peasy.  The boning went in the neckline to give Mommy a peephole to see Baby, without giving everyone else a peep show.  It might also give Baby easier access to Mommy's hair or necklace, in case Baby is one of those babies who simply CANNOT nurse if they don't have stuff like that to twirl or play with.  The D-rings and straps allow for easy adjustment for the amount of coverage needed.
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And as you can see, there's plenty of fabric on both sides, so hopefully this cover will counteract any wiggling or yanking my friend's baby decides to do.  One can only hope.

Hope she likes it!  :o)