K's Cooking Party

My oldest daughter just turned 7! WHAT?! Where on Earth has the time gone?!

Since she has already decided what she's going to be when she grows up (a chef), I decided having a cooking party would be very fitting for her. She was thrilled with the idea. There are a few things I probably would have done differently, only because there was some downtime while things were cooking, but otherwise everything went smoothly and we had a great time!

Whenever I do a party, I like to try and do things on a low cost budget, and since I'm very artsy and crafty I tend to make a lot of things. Like these signs...

I got the poster board and letters (wall clings) from the $1.00 store. and I got the window clings (the cupcakes and the word "sweet") from Target's $1.00 bin.

The table set up was all thanks to the cupcake theme at Target. I thought it was the cutest thing and was able to find a lot of cute cupcake things to go along with it.

When they came in, this is what they saw...

Next up the party favors. This was pretty easy to come up with. They each got an apron to wear while we cooked, a name plate, a cookie cutter, a bag of cookies, recipe cards containing the recipes we made, a jar w/ some of the left over cupcakes and a magnet w/ a picture of the three of them that I took before we started everything.

I got the aprons at ac moore and decorated them w/ a cupcake and their names in 3d fabric paint. I also got the cookie cutters (1.00) and the mason jars(1.50) from ac moore. The name plates were part of her cupcake themed tableware that I got from target(they were around $4.00 for 4) as well as the magnet(found in the $1.00 bins!). The recipe cards and the label on top of the jar I made myself. The bags I also found in Targets $1.00 bins. (You really cant go wrong with those!)

We cooked mini pizzas and cupcakes(from a box). I got plain white cake so that they could color them whatever color they wanted. Here's what my thinking was..they would each pick a different color..here's what really happened: they all picked the same color! I also had them color their own icing. and add sprinkles.

Needless to say they had a great time, and it made for a pretty easy birthday party!

Homemade puff paint

Again, this is something that I found on Pinterest. I personally love crafts, and the girls do too, so anything different is always something i itch to try.

DIY Puffy Paint:

From: One Crafty Mumma!

Ingredient:

1 Tbls of self rising flour

a few drops of food coloring

1 Tbls of salt

Then add some water to make a nice smooth paste.

Paint on thick card stock paper or poster board. Place in microwave for 10-30 sec. until paint puffs and is nice and dry.

I added a little too much water to ours, but it still did a pretty good job at puffing up. Next time I will be sure to add less water. The girls really enjoyed this, and so did I!

Pinterest anyone?

So, recently I, along w/ millions of other people have had a slight obsession with something called Pinterest. Although it took me a little bit to figure out what the point of it was, I have caught on to the craze pretty quickly.

If you follow my boards on pinterest then you know that I have a board called "whats for dinner sometime this week". This board consist of meals I have found either through Pinterest or on the web. I was trying to come up with a way to share with anyone out there who really cares what I made, my opinion of it and if I'd make it again. And then "Duh" I thought, "I do have a blog, why don't I just post it up on there?"

So, Here is my first entry on my "what's for Dinner" series. Hope you enjoy!

*Note: This is the original recipe. Below it I have listed some changed I plan to make next time*

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Recipe from: Team T Adventures

Ingredients:

• boneless chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks (I used the ones that are already thinly sliced)
• 1/3 cup flour
• olive oil
• 1/2 Tbl. salt
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tbl. ketchup
• 6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate (thaw or throw it in the microwave for 45 seconds)
• 4 Tbl. brown sugar

In a bowl Mix together the salt, balsamic vinegar, ketchup, orange juice concentrate

and brown sugar. Put aside.

Cover the chicken chunks in flour then place in a skillet with a small amount of olive oil. Let brown on both sides. No need to cook chicken all the way through since it will be cooked in the crock pot.

After chicken is browned, pour them into your crock pot and then top with the orange sauce.

Cook in crock pot on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 5-6 hours. pour over top rice or even add vegetables!

Sorry, I don't have a "finished product" picture because I made this mainly for my husband to have something to eat since I was babysitting that night.

*changes I will make next time:

I plan to only use 3 oz of the o.j. concentrate or use orange marmalade instead. My husband mentioned that it was too "sour" and it did taste very "orangy".

Where have I been?

Goodness where have I been? Things have been super crazy because of the holidays and such. My thought was that I would actually be able to keep up with a blog this time around, but something called LIFE got in the way! Oh well, Here are some Christmas pictures that I took of the girls!

"The Chew"

As a stay at home mom I have to opportunity to watch all my favorite shows, including a new one this season called "the chew". For the holiday season they have done a "cookie swap". You can submit a favorite cookie recipe and possibly get the chance to go on the show and even win some money. Who doesn't want that? So, I of course immediately started thinking of what I could make. I came up with nothing. So I turned to my sister in law and asked her what she thought since she is a pastry chef. She gave me an idea and I went with it. I think its a winner! 6 Layer Red Velvet Cookies. Want the recipe? Go here to get it (pg.14) and many others!

Welcome

So, I'm starting this blog for the purposes of blogging about my life as a stay at home mom, my girls and hopefully for reviewing products. Hope you enjoy!