Bird's nests for Easter

I made these bird's nests for my hubby's co-workers. They were very easy to make and they taste really good!

Bird Nests

Butterscotch chips
Coconut
Chow Mein Noodles
Jelly Beans
Peeps

In a large bowl, melt a bag of butterscotch chips, add some coconut and about 3 cups of Chow Mein Noodles. Mix it all together and form into nests (I used gloves). Add jelly beans before the nests harden so they stick. I like how the Chow Mein noodles look like sticks....and the coconut looks like grass.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Hamburger cookies

I made these hamburger cookies for April Fool's Day. They were so easy and so fun to make....and they're vegetarian!

Hamburger Cookies

• Nilla wafers


• Mint cookies (I used Keebler)


• Coconut


• Red and yellow frosting


• Green food coloring


• Water


• Corn syrup


• Sesame seeds

Place Nilla wafer flat side up on cookie sheet. Add mint cookie and put in oven for a minute just to soften the chocolate and adhere it to the Nilla wafer. Tint coconut green with food coloring and a few drops of water. Sprinkle on chocolate cookie while still warm to make 'lettuce'. Add red and yellow frosting for 'ketchup and mustard'. Brush top of Nilla wafer with corn syrup and sprinkle on sesame seeds for the top bun. Press onto frosting.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Preston got all dressed up in green for St. Patrick's Day. I bought this outfit way before he was even born - we're not Irish, but we like to celebrate the holiday.

Talking of Irish...

I made homemade Irish Cream Brownies with Irish Cream Frosting (http://www.littleshamrocks.com/Irish-Cookie-Recipes.html#IrishCreamBrownies) and delivered them to my hubby's work today. They were yummy! I'm making an Irish dinner for tonight. Shepherd's Pie (never had it or made it), steamed cabbage, Irish Soda Bread and some of the brownies I kept for us.

Homemade Carrot Cake

I made this cake for my mama's birthday yesterday. She's been talking about carrot cake for awhile so I decided to attempt to make one from scratch. I'm not a big fan of this kind of cake, but it turned out really well (it's not my favorite, but I'll still eat it!). I made it into 2 rounds and frosted it with a maple cream cheese frosting. I tinted part of it orange and green and decorated the top. Please excuse the soggy carrots - the frosting was really soft even after adding a ton of extra powdered sugar. I liked the frosting :)

These are the 2 recipes I used:

Sam's Famous Carrot Cake

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Superbowl snacks

This is the only way I get involved in anything football - fun shaped food.

I made these goodies for my hubby to take to his army unit during Superbowl weekend. I found football shaped pretzels and knew I wanted put them in Chex Mix (I love that stuff!!). I also made boiled cookies and shaped and decorated them like footballs. They are made from dark chocolate, oatmeal and peanut butter so they are practically health food :)

Boiled Cookies

4 Tbsp. butter

2 cups sugar

3 Tbsp. cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

1/2 cup milk

Heat in large pot over medium heat until boiling. Boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and add:

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups quick oats

Stir until combined and drop Tablespoon sized cookies onto foil. Cool until firm.

*These are a favorite cookie from my childhood. I turn 8 years old everytime I taste one :)

Pumpkin Chili and Pumpkin Cornbread

I LOVE pumpkin. Like, really, really LOVE it! I've been hoarding the cans that I got late last year because all the stores around here are out! I got these recipes from my friend Kim (thanks Kim!!) and I'm so glad she shared them with me!! The pumpkin in the chili just made it rich and gave a depth of flavor - it didn't taste or look pumpkin-y. I left out the ground beef and added a can of drained and rinsed dark red kidney beans and black beans to give it some protein. I also used the full can of pumpkin (small can) and added more water. We always eat our chili over rice. Something I had never done until a chili cook-off at work. I added sour cream, shredded cheese, green onion and black olives on top.

The chili was good, but the Pumpkin Cornbread was AWESOME!!! It was more like pumpkin cake with cornmeal :) It was moist and sweet and slightly crunchy. I ate some of the pieces straight from the oven while still warm and some I spread on raw honey. Both were wonderful.

Pumpkin Chili

Pumpkin Cornbread

Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

I love anything pumpkin. Not just during Fall, but all year long. I make a lot of pumpkin foods, but they are usually sweet - cookies, cake, breads. I've always been scared of pumpkin soup though - it always tastes like baby food to me. I decided to try this one since it had curry in it and I love curry. It was a winner!!!

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com (LOVE that site!!)

Coconut-Curry Pumpkin Soup

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (15 ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup light coconut milk

Directions
Heat the coconut oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in the vegetable broth, curry powder, salt, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until the mixture comes to a gentle boil, about 10 minutes. Cover, and boil 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the pumpkin and coconut milk, and cook another 5 minutes.
Pour the soup into a blender, filling only half way and working in batches if necessary; process until smooth. Return to a pot, and reheat briefly over medium heat before serving.

*I tweaked this recipe a bit. I used olive oil since I don't have coconut oil and I only used about a tablespoon. I added another 1/2 tsp. of curry powder and omitted the salt. As written, this is a vegan soup. We topped the soup with pine nuts and crumbled blue cheese which really made this outstanding!! Served with whole wheat rosemary rolls, it was a yummy, Fall dinner :)