Olympic Rice Crispy Treats

I made these cute little Olympic treats today. A 12 year old boy (my son Christian) was my taste tester!

We love watching the Olympics!

Using a homemade or store bought Rice Crispy treat (I used store bought - our secret okay?) just press m&m's into the sticky treat. Press the m&m with the printed side face down.

This m&m idea would also look cute on top of cupcakes! What is your favorite Olympic sport to watch?

Shark Week Cookies

This year is the 25th Anniversary of Shark Week! So I had to make some Shark Week cookies! My husband loves Shark Week - he watches it every year! And now  after 25 years he knows a lot about sharks - because apparently he is now a shark expert. Plus he went down in cage with Sharks in Hawaii.

I made some shark sugar cookies. I didn't have time to decorate them yesterday - so I put them in a Tupperware type container and decorated them today! I bought the shark cookie cutter at Sur la Table for one dollar.

If you click under the cookie link under labels - you will find several cookie and icing recipes.

I frosted them with some royal blue frosting and sprinkled them with matching sanding sugar.

Before the icing was dry - I added a little red sprinkle for the eye. Quick tip: I decorated these inside of a super large jelly roll pan. Therefore, the sanding sugar did not get all over the place!

Once the icing is dry - gently place your menacing shark cookies on a serving platter. These would also be cute on top of a cupcake.

I hope this inspires you to celebrate Shark Week! Who Ha Ha!

P.S. The Who Ha Ha is from the movie "Little Nemo."

Sparkle Gift Wrap

I wrapped this gift in green flowered paper. Everywhere that there was a big flower - I placed  a rhinestone.  The rhinestones were adhesive - I bought them at Michael's. They come in all different colors.

I tied the gift with two types of ribbon. A polka dot ribbon and a thin green ribbon. I tied on a large emerald ring and even placed some rhinestones on the ribbon.

The emerald ring is actually a Christmas ornament that I bought during the after holiday super sales.

I hope this inspires your gift wrapping creativity.

Homemade Blueberry Syrup

Blueberry Syrup is so easy to make! It is wonderful over vanilla ice cream or on top of pancakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:

Combine all of the above ingredients in a medium size saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. If you want a thicker sauce you could add another tablespoon of cornstarch. For a thinner sauce add another tablespoon of water.

Once the mixture has cooled place it in a sterilized glass jar or Tupperware type container. Place the Blueberry Syrup in the refrigerator and serve with your morning pancakes or waffles. The rest can be used over vanilla ice cream.

Save a few fresh blueberries to place on top of the blueberry sundae.

Right now blueberries are plentiful and inexpensive, so it the perfect time to make some blueberry syrup!

Flower Wrapped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Noelle and I made these for a friends birthday party. I love Reese's peanut butter cups - I used to steal them from my kids Halloween candy. Shhh! Don't tell!

The square size of the snack sized Reese's Peanut Butter cups is perfect to wrap and decorate!

I happened to have some yellow wrapping paper and felt adhesive flowers - but I think these would also look really cute wrapped in floral wrapping paper and tied with a ribbon. Like a little gift!

We also wrapped some snack sized Hershey bars and decorated them with a sticky backed rhinestone flower.

Quick Tip: Make a pattern of the candy bar you are going to wrap. Then using a pencil and ruler draw your cutting lines on the back of the wrapping paper. I think it looks cute to have the ends of the candy bar show.

I am getting really low on wrapping paper!

Basketball Rocks!

This Sunday my son's basketball team has a double header. So I decided I had to bring some treats. My son is going into 7th grade - but his teammates are going into 8th and 9th grade. So I asked my husband (he was no help) and my son and daughter what I should bring!

So it was eventually decided that I would bring Pop Rocks and Rolo cigars.

I make these Pop Rock treats for baseball, Bible study and various parties. Kids and adults love Pop Rocks!

I always tape a little tag onto the Pop Rocks!

I also made my Rolo cigars - that I always make for sports and birthday parties. I put them in a Kate Spade box that I got when I bought a wallet! Using brown wrapping and craft paper wrap the Rolo's so that the gold ends are showing and add a sticker that corresponds to your event! So easy and fun!

I hope the boys like them! And if you need to order pop rocks click on the picture below!

Treats for A Game Truck Party

One of my son's friends was having a little summertime Game Truck party. It wasn't a birthday party. So I offered to bring some little treats for the boys. I made these small candy bars in about a forty-five minutes.

I used snack sized Hershey and Kit Kat bars. Yum! I love Hershey and Kit Kat bars! Who doesn't?

You can buy the snack sized candy bars at any grocery store, Target or drug store. They come in packages of 8.

I simply wrapped the snack sized candy bars in silver wrapping paper. Then I found a picture of a game controller and sized it to fit the candy bar.

I used a piece of double stick tape to attach the game controller to the candy bar.

It is hard to think of treats for 12 year old boys! Hope this helps!

Fresh Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Pizza

In the summer we never have any food! I go to the grocery store and the next day I need to go to the store again! We have guests and everyone is home. I just want to shout - "You need to eat? Again?"

This is a super easy recipe that you can make for lunch or dinner. Make a double batch and hopefully you will have some leftovers!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 fresh package of  pizza dough (I got mine at Trader Joe's)
16 oz. of fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
3 cups of red and yellow grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sniped fresh basil
freshly ground pepper

I bought these fantastic heirloom tomatoes at Trader Joe's.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush the baking sheet with one tablespoon of olive oil.

Place the pizza dough on the prepared baking sheet. Stretch the pizza dough into a rectangle and fold over the edges a little. This doesn't need to be perfect. We are going for a rustic look. Brush the dough with the remaining olive oil. Prick the dough a with a fork every two inches. Bake the dough for about 10 minutes until it is just very lightly browned.

Take the pan out of the oven and add the cheese, tomatoes, garlic and parmesan cheese. Put the pizza back in the oven for about 7 - 8 minutes. The cheese should be nicely melted. Sprinkle with the basil and a little freshly ground pepper. Cut into squares and serve!

This is a perfect light lunch or can be served with a salad for dinner.

Neapolitan Rice Crispy Treats

I saw these Neapolitan Rice Crispy Treats on Pinterest. When I clicked on the Pinterest link it took me to the Erin Cooks website and she got the recipe also via Pinterest from The Partiogist. They are both great blogs! I knew that I had to make them! And they were really easy to make!

This recipe made a ton - these would be perfect to bring to for a BBQ or picnic.

Ingredients:

Vanilla Layer


3 tablespoons butter
1 10 oz. package of mini marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Chocolate Layer


3 tablespoons butter
1 10 oz. package of mini marshmallows
6 cups of Cocoa Krispies cereal

Strawberry Layer


3 tablespoons of butter
1 10 oz. package of strawberry marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Directions:

Line a 9 x 13 metal pan with high sides - with foil. Then spray the foil liberally with cooking spray.

To make the vanilla layer -  melt the butter in a large pan and add the marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are melted. Quickly stir in the cereal. Stir until the Rice Krispies are completely coated. Spray a spatula with cooking spray and firmly press the mixture into the prepared pan. Put the pan in the refrigerator. Wash the pan and spatula.

To make the chocolate layer - melt the butter in the same large pan and add the marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are melted. Quickly stir in the Cocoa Krispies cereal. Stir until the cereal is completely coasted and press the chocolate mixture firmly on top of the vanilla layer using a spatula coated with cooking spray. Put the pan back into the refrigerator. Wash the pan and spatula.

To make the strawberry layer - melt the butter in the same large pan and add the strawberry marshmallows. I also added a few drops of pink food coloring. Then add the cereal and stir until everything is completely coated. Press the strawberry mixture firmly on top of the chocolate layer. Put the pan back into the refrigerator.

After a few hours - I turned the Rice Krispy treats on to a cutting board.

Cut them in to rectangles and then into squares.

I love the layered look of these treats!

I hope you decide to make these easy and fun treats!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Did you know that July is National Blueberry month? I know - you learn something new from this blog each and every day!

I make Blueberry Muffins all summer long! I put blueberries in my fruit salads and I make an awesome blueberry syrup that can be used on ice cream or pancakes! So keep checking back and I will be posting some great blueberry recipes.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender.

In a medium bowl combine the buttermilk, egg and lemon zest. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Scoop the batter into a muffin pan prepared with cupcake liners. Bake for 16 - 20 minutes.

Once the muffins have cooled put the muffins on a wire rack and place foil or wax paper underneath the rack. Combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar and whisk until a glaze forms. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins with a spoon.

Once the glaze has set - I put the muffins in a cake plate on my kitchen island. These can be used for breakfast or an afternoon snack!

These will be gone in a few days! Blueberry muffins are also a wonderful addition to a summer brunch.

My kitchen island - with blueberry muffins and huge container of homemade granola! Do you keep your counters clear or full of goodies?

Easy July 4th Ideas

I made some super easy last minute July 4th ideas - with store bought treats!

This is a super fast and festive idea. Make brownies (from scratch or a box) and cut out the bownies with a star cookie cutter.

Using store bought (or homemade) Rice Crispy treats - drizzle them with a little melted chocolate tinted blue and add a few star sprinkles here and there! So easy!

On store bought HoHo's I piped USA in store bought blur icing. You could also pipe stars on your HoHo's. Twinkies are also fun to pipe

Blogoversary Winner

The winner of the blogoversary contest is MaryAnne. She is the winner of Sweet Designs! Thank you so much everyone for entering. Especially the sweet girls Celeste and Alexis!  Who I have known since the first day of Christian's kindergarten. And the people that I have never meet Kathy T. (although we talk on my roommom27 facebook!) And Katy (perhaps we met once at the sorority function?

Thank you guys for reading my blog and taking the time to comment! I hope you all enter next year!