How to Boil the perfect Hard Boiled Egg

I thought I would share a few tips on boiling a great hard boiled egg. Especially since Easter is a comin and egg dying is in full swing!! We absolutely love this tradition at our home, but nothing is more of a bummer than having cracks in your eggs.

So to make them just right.. cooked through and less crackin going on.... 

First. Take a clean needle and poke a tiny little hole in the top of the eggs. This allows the air to escape from the inside of the egg and the egg to expand with out cracking the egg. 

Second. Lay your eggs in a pot and fill just above the eggs with water. 

Third. Bring water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, turn off heat and cover with lid. 

Fourth. Allow to stand covered for 14 minutes. Drain water and you have some nicely cooked hard boiled eggs! Cool before trying to peel. 

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Neon Green Punch for St. Patricks Day {low cal}

St. Patricks Day is such a fun holiday.  Who doesn't like dressing in green?  Well I have a NEON green punch to share for this St. Patricks Day.  Not only is this punch delicious, but it is sugar free!  Zero calories, zero guilt!

Several months ago I was introduced the the appletini flavor of Crystal Light and I was hooked!!!  So yummy!  Then I had a thought - it would be even better if it had bubbles!  Since Crystal Light is a low cal drink I opted to keep my bubbles low cal too.  Garnish with a slice of green apple - or kiwi!

Uh-Oh - here comes my helper...

to steal my garnish...

Happy St. Patricks Day!  Don't get pinched!

Neon Green Punch for St. Patricks Day (Low Cal)

Ingredients

1 packet Crystal Light Appletini drink mix

1 2 liter bottle diet ginger ale (Diet Sprite or 7 Up will work too)

green apple slices for garnish

Directions

Combine drink mix and soda in a large pitcher. Pour into glasses and garnish with green apple slices.

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"Eat Green" Shamrock Printable

With St. Patty's day around the corner and having just attended the Natural Foods Expo #expowest (you will hear about that more later this week)- I have been inspired to be more green! Including eating more green food, recycling/reusing, and buying more organic and natural products. I made this design for my kitchen as daily stimulation to be GREEN. 

I'm in love with the two-toned clover :)

Click Here to Print

This is an 8X10 jpeg printable.
Hope you love it!

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Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream Sandwiches and 'Stache Promo Code

Last year, my baby turned one. Contrary to my husband's belief, this is a BIG. DEAL. Like we were gonna party and people were gonna come and dote on my beautiful, big boy 1-year-old (I may or may not have gotten choked up during the "Happy Birthday" song). I decided on the mustache theme, and immediately went to Etsy to begin ordering supplies. I needed a bunch of die cut mustaches to glue onto straws and wooden dowels for photobooth props. I found Lynda over at TwentySix33 Creations and ordered a set of 25. They came in the mail and I loved them, they were perfect! I simply used glue dots to stick them on straws, and BAM! Instant party hit. You could hear kids (and, er, adults...) giggling as they sipped their sodas with said 'staches. We even blew up a picture of him, blindfolded the older kids, and played 'Pin the Mustache on Parker' with one of these babies.

Because Lynda is so awesome at what she does and cares about our fans, she has offered to give away a set of mustaches to one of them, Laura Van Noy (yay!), and is offering a 10% discount on all orders placed between now and February 28 with coupon code LOVEDAY10. 

So head on over to TwentySix33 Creations to check out her darling paper hearts, gift tags, and more. And remember your coupon code!

                               

I remember growing up eating those long, rectangular ice cream sandwiches with chocolate wafers and vanilla ice cream. Even better were the cookies and cream ones, man were we lucky if we got those! I'd save my quarters and bring them to school with me to buy from the volunteer mom for the day during lunch. It was either those, fudgesicles, or those chocolate shell ice cream cones with nuts.

Here on the blog I've already posted a Salted Vanilla Bean Coconut Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich (divine), and we also have a the most perfectly soft sugar cookie, so I dreamt up this concoction.

I present to you the Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich.

Cherries are the perfect Valentine's Day accessory. They're red, the flavor amazing, are packed with antioxidants, and if you and your Valentine want, you can even play a romantic game that involves the stems...wink wink.......

Cherry Almond Ice Cream

Ingredients

3 c heavy cream

3/4 c sugar

2 c fresh, pitted cherries, divided

2 t almond extract

Directions

1. Blend cream, sugar, and 1 1/2 c of the cherries in blender until cherries blended well.

2. Simmer remaining 1/2 c cherries in saucepan with 1/8 c water until cherries are steaming and have softened. Simmer on low until almost all of the water is evaporated. Drain cherries, return to the pan

3. Add cream mixture to pan with steamed, drained cherries. Heat on low, continuously stirring until sugar is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

4. Add almond extract, mix well.

5. Use ice cream maker at this point, or if you don't have one, cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer. After several hours, use spoon to stir ice cream, re-cover, and place back in freezer. Repeat until ice cream is desired consistency, or in this case, pipeable and will hold its shape.

While your ice cream is icing, make your chocolate sugar cookies. I made a few slight adjustments to the sugar cookies to make them chocolate and they were wonderful! Not too sweet, because I knew the ice cream would be pretty sweet. If you're going to frost them instead of turn them into an ice cream sandwich, they're also perfect because frosting is usually a sugar party in your mouth on its own. You can't have two parties going on at the same time!
I also made this wreath and am obsessed. I have a strip of velcro on the back of those rosettes, and I change out the rosettes for each season. I made a set of red and green for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, red and blue for Independence Day, etc. The rest of the year, I have slate grey and mustard yellow. So easy

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

2 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cocoa

Directions

1. Cream shortening, butter, and sugar.

2. Mix in egg, vanilla, and sour cream.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa, then slowly add to creamed mixture.

4. Chill dough for a couple hours.

5. Roll out dough, cut until shapes, and bake at 350 degrees 8 minutes, or until edges barely set.

I tried to assemble these with the ice cream not completely set (it was set, and I got it out of the freezer, but then a friend stopped by and it melted a bit) and the cookies room temperature, and it was just one hot mess. With trial and error, I froze the cookies, and hardened the ice cream a bit until it was a consistency that I could pipe onto the cookies. I use the plastic disposable piping bags and just cut a large hole (to allow room for the cherries) and it worked perfectly! When you pipe the ice cream, you need to make sure the ice cream actually comes out to the edges, as it needs to pick up your sprinkles.

Top ice cream with second cookie, roll edges in sprinkles (on plate), and place back into freezer until you're ready to eat.

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I "Mustache" You - Will You Be My Valentine? {FREE Printables!}

Valentine's Day was always a favorite of mine when I was a kid.  I LOVED decorating a mailbox for school and then addressing the box of Valentine cards my mom would pick up at the store.  I would sort out the conversation hearts to make sure that none of the "kiss me" or "I love you" hearts were delivered to the wrong people.

I loved Des's idea for our Kid's Valentines' Day party.  So cute, and so clever.  To add to the ambiance I created a few printables, that I am sharing with you!  For FREE!

First, let's start off with an 8x10.  You can print this off on an 8.5x11 and then place it in an 8x10 frame.  It is a perfect addition to a treat table or as a decoration in your home.

Download your free 8x10 HERE

Next, lets talk about goodie bags.  The possibilities are endless.  Fill cellophane bags with candies, cookies, or a fun non-food item like I did.  I filled mine with Hotwheels cars for the boys and Barbie nail polish for the girls.  Crayons, bouncy balls, lip balm, and Lego's would be fun too!   

These toppers are so so easy and turn out so so cute.  Just print them out, cut them out, fold them in half, and staple them on top of your cellophane treat bag.  Perfect for your kids friends, or their teacher!

Download your Treat bag Toppers HERE

Lastly - a simple printable valentine for the good old fashioned flat card in an envelope with a few conversation hearts.  So nostalgic and classic!  Print them out, trim them, address, and put them in your own envelopes.

Download your printable valentines HERE

Now that you have all your printables, get ready for a the rest of our kid-friendly cute-as-can-be valentine ideas.  Here is a little sneak-peak with my favorite little guy:

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I Mustache You.... {A Valentines Series}

Valentines wasn't a major holiday in my house growing up. My mom would get us a little box of chocolates and maybe something else. She'd do sweet things for us and it was a nice day. But the best part was all the valentines from our school mates! aw yeah. that's what I remember most.

Fast fwd 10 years or so, I'm married with maybe one or two kids and watching Jon and Kate plus 8...it was a re-run but still during their "happier" times. I watched as Kate went ALL out for those babies. I'm pretty sure they were still too small to ever be remembering anything. I couldn't believe everything she did! I mean, its just Valentines Day not Christmas...right? wrong! the more I watched the more she convinced me that I wanted to do more on this special love holiday. I love an excuse to make a day special, but this is an EXTRA special day. It's not just about the love I have for my hottie sitting next to me on this here couch, its totally about the love I have for those 3 babies tucked neatly in their bed right now. I LOVE my family, love them to the moon and waaaaaay back, and I love having a day to go all out and make it known.

Whether you go all out or just do a some simple things for your lovelies on Valentines we found and invented a few things to help you along the way. We will have food, decor and of course- Free Printables for a sweet valentines day this coming week. . .

SO.
I can't help it...but...

I Mustache You....Will You Be My Valentine?

.....Stay tuned!!

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Superbowl Countdown!

Game Time is right around the corner! I kinda like having things like a big game or tv show to hold a party for. Not because I am all worried about the game, but because I love an excuse for a party. But that's just me. The game or show might be fun enough but I really just want to be with lovely friends and family eating tasty foods. Makes me happy.  

You know what else makes me happy?! 50 dollas to Amazon. Seriously! I am so jealous of the winner right now!

And..Its time to announce the giveaway! Sooo.. this was a great giveaway. We had a great response and we have some of the most loyal and awesome followers! Everytime someone comments we get an email notification. And I can't tell you how fun it is to open up those emails. Just love it. Thank you so much for your support! You are all awesome and that is why we do giveaways!

Here is the video! We decided to film it so you'd know I don't just choose who I want. Anyway I look ridiculously tired because I was and my husband is a total nut! (That's why I love him) Unscripted.. here's the drawing!

Yay!! So happy for you! A little gift is comin your way!

And here are some fun bloopers for you.. agh I look ridiculous..

last one..

Now for the foodie part.. Here is our Supabowl Week in review along with quick links to references all the party food you could every need for a great game day...

Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwich

 Beef N' Veggie Sliders

Finger Foods

Sweet & Sassy Chicken Wings

 Jalapeno Cream Cheese Poppers

Dips and Drinks

Thanks for a fun week everyone! Come back for some more fun soon with Valentines! 

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