Lorax Birthday Party: Part One

We've always loved the story of the Lorax. After seeing the movie in the theater, all these ideas came crashing to me for a Lorax Themed Birthday party. I mean, the possibilities!!! My first bout of inspiration came from the Truffula Trees. I knew I wanted to make Truffula Tree Cake Pops. A quick search led me to Bakerella (of course) and here's how I did:


I had some on display and others were used on the cake (which I bought! Gasp!!)

I had no problems with the cake pops whatsoever! Some people complain of the the coating cracking...or the pops get too heavy and slide down the stick...so, here's what I did that may have aided my success:

• After the cake was baked and crumbled, I only added about 3/4 of a can of frosting.
• I only refrigerated the pops for about 15 minutes prior to dipping the the candy coating.
• I dipped the stick in a little of the coating before sticking it into the cake ball. Some will squeeze out the bottom, but once it hardens, it forms kind of a little stopper so the cake ball won't fall down the stick. I used the colorful candy wafers found at most craft stores and just warmed them in coffee cups in the microwave until it was good for dipping.
  
• I did not refrigerate at all after dipping the pops and forming them into Truffula Trees. I just stuck them into some styrofoam and they were happy over night and did not crack, did not slide, and did not get wet or sticky.

Next up...Truffula Tree Decor:

I got this idea from here. The idea is to form truffula trees by putting some feather boas onto a cardboard circle. What really helped with this is the use of my scrapbooking stapler because it has a really long neck to reach into the center of the cardboard. These boas I got from Hobby Lobby and they are just perfect colors!!

Bruce made some stands for them by cutting up some scrap lumber he had.

Stay tuned for how I made Thneeds for Thneed races, how we put together a Whisper-ma-Phone, and a cute little party favor......

Meatless Monday! Sweet Potato Hash

THIS.IS.DIVINE. Make it! Devour it! DIVINE!

From Better Homes and Gardens.

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered (about 1 lb.)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 11-oz. can Southwestern-style corn with black beans and peppers, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
2 Tbsp. chipotle salsa
3 medium avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
Fresh cilantro leaves and chili powder (optional)

Directions

1. Place sweet potatoes in a microwave safe dish; cover and cook on 100 percent power (high) for 5 to 8 minutes or just until tender enough to chop. Cool slightly; cut into chunks. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
2. In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add potatoes; cook until browned and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add drained corn to skillet. Cook 3 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Meanwhile, stir together sour cream and chipotle salsa.
4. To serve, divide sweet potato mixture among 4 plates. Top with avocado and serve with chipotle sour cream sauce. Add cilantro and sprinkle chili powder. Makes 4 servings.


Want more meatless recipes? Visit Meatless Monday for ideas and inspiration.

Fibers on Friday: Turtle

Happy Friday, Folks! I'm going to show you a quick picture of what I just started making and leave the rest up to you! I just started crocheting this turtle picture prop for a friend who is expecting a baby boy in July

Source: etsy.com via Beth on Pinterest

All the little hexagonal shell pieces are made separately and then pieced together. I've gotten 3 hexagons done so far.

You Can Cut Fabric With Your Cricut

My kids wanted to have a lemonade stand during our community-wide yard sale. They're always asking to have a lemonade stand, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do it up good. I asked Bruce to make a real stand. I wanted to make a lemonade bunting.

I've made a couple buntings in the past and I must say it's pretty time consuming cutting out letters from fabric. I wondered if I could cut out the letters on my Cricut. I did some internet searching and found I could. Here is how I did it after compiling some tips and tricks.

Get your fabric and Heat 'N Bond.

Apply it to the back of the fabric as directed.

Put the fabric, sticky side down, right side up onto your mat. I did not have a new mat. In fact, it's dying to be replaced.

Apparently there's some kind of rolling tool to really adhere the item to the mat. I don't have one, so I just grabbed something that would work....a large wooden stamp. This is very important because the needle will just rip and drag the fabric around if it's not really stuck to the mat.

Set your Cricut to LOW speed...HIGH pressure....the size of your choice.

Set the dial on the blade to 4 or higher. I had to go to 5.


Here's how nicely it cut once I got all the settings perfected.

I then ironed the letters to the pennants.

And sewed it all together onto a ribbon for a nice lemonade stand display!


And then I flipped it around and used it at their birthday party the next day!

Meatless Monday! Erik Estrada......huh?

***A re-post! Let's keep asparagus going strong for a few more weeks :-)***

We had Erik Estrada for dinner? Ponch? Huh?

Yes.....I was making this strata and my husband came into the kitchen and asked what we were having. "Asparagus Strata", I tell him.

"Erik Estrada?" He asks, confused. "the short one from CHIPS?"!!! Hahah!

"Yes, dear"

It was good for a laugh and this meal will always be called, "Erik Estrada" in our house. And I assure you, this will be a staple in our house. LOVED it! Love you, too, Ponch.

This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens. I omitted the ham. No one missed it. My husband was in charge of cooking this after it was assembled and adding the eggs at the appropriate time, so props to him for making this look so lovely.

Erik Estrada

Ingredients

• 8 oz. asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 5 cups French bread cubes
• 2 cups shredded Gruyére or white cheddar cheese, (8 oz.) (I used Asiago and yellow cheddar)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or green onions
• 8 oz. cooked ham, diced (Omit for MM)
  
• 10 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups milk

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling. Add asparagus; cook 5 minutes or until bright green.

2. In a greased 3-quart baking dish spread half the bread cubes. Top with cheese, onion, chives and half the ham and asparagus. Top with remaining bread.

3. In a bowl whisk together four of the eggs and the milk. Evenly pour over layers in dish. Press down bread pieces into the egg milk mixture with the back of a spoon. Top with remaining ham and asparagus. Cover; refrigerate until ready to bake.

4. Bake, uncovered, in a 325 degrees F oven 30 minutes. With the back of a wooden spoon, press 6 indentations in top of strata. Pour a whole egg into each indentation. Bake 20 to 25 minutes more or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of strata registers 170 degrees F and eggs are set. Let stand 15 minutes.

5. Cut into squares to serve. If desired, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Fibers on Friday: Potholderpalooza

Happy Friday!! Last week was just the start of my week long potholder-palooza!! I felt like I was knocking one potholder out per day! These are so gratifying!

Here's the Chrysanthemum that needed to be finished from last week:

and I went ahead and made a purple one:

and then I did this circle in a square one:

and rounded it off with this little beauty, the Ocean Grove Round Dishcloth:

It was a fun and easy week of crocheting! And these were the perfect little projects to work on while we had visitors for the week. Easy to pick up and do a little while still visiting and chatting and having fun!

Meatless Monday: Avocado and Asparagus Egg Sandwiches

Finally a new Meatless Monday! I really enjoyed this one the other night. A nice, light, spring time meal! Nothing screams spring like asparagus!

This is from Better Homes and Gardens March 2012.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound green, white, and/or purple asparagus, trimmed
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, and chopped
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 eggs
• 8 slice white, wheat, or brioche bread
• 8 slice crisp-cooked bacon (just be wakin' with the fakin' bacon to keep this meatless)
  
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place asparagus in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Cover with about 2 cups of boiling water. Let stand for 10 to 12 minutes, until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain. Finely chop three of the asparagus spears; set aside. (I wasn't thrilled with this method. It was still a tad too crisp for me. Next time I'll just steam it as usual)

2. In a small bowl mash avocado with lime juice. Stir in chopped asparagus; set aside.

3. In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Break eggs into skillet. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook eggs for 6 minutes, until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken. If desired, turn eggs, to fully cook the yolks.

4. Meanwhile, toast the bread. Spread avocado-asparagus on four slices. Lightly sprinkle with salt. Layer bacon, egg, asparagus, and remaining bread.