Campfire Cones

Looking for an easy, delicious summer treat?  Well I certainly was when we decided to hunker down and watch some third of July fireworks  (yeah, I don't know why they do it on the third...) from our new master balcony last night. 

Enter these super-easy, crazy-delicious "campfire cones."  

Now is probably the time where I should say that mama don't camp.  You can tell me how great it is to sleep under the stars until the cows come home.  (And by then, I will have checked into the nearest Hilton.)   

But campfire cones?  Now those I can solidly get behind.  

I found the inspiration on Pinterest.  (Shocking, I know.)  The original source can be found here.  You should go and check out her link as mine is more of the Reader's Digest version.  She definitely used more ingredients than we did.  

So here's what you do...

Grab an ice cream cone.  I probably should have gotten ones that are even all the way around the rim but, oh well, live and learn.  (Plus these came wrapped in those cute paper cones and you can be darn sure I'm hoarding um, I mean, saving those bad boys for some future project.)

Then you start filling the cone with ingredients.  In this one we started with chocolate chips...

Then we added mini-marshmallows...

Followed by a dollop of peanut butter.  (We actually tried a couple of different methods and as it turned out, it's better to put the marshmallows on top.  They form an insulation of sorts that helps hold in the melted peanut butter.)

Wrap up your cone in foil...

...and pop on the grill.  (We were up on the balcony so we used this tiny tabletop grill that I bought last year at Cost Plus World Market.)  You don't need to keep them on very long, just a few minutes, and I recommend giving them a little turn with a pair of tongs so you don't end up with a burnt cone.  

Here is my daughter's finished cone in all of its ooey-gooey deliciousness.  As you can see, hers had the marshmallows on top.  The one with the peanut butter on top was far less photogenic.  

The great thing about these is that you can customize them.  We did ours on the fly but next time I'm definitely going to have some alternate fillings, including fruit (like peaches and bananas).  

But even on the fly these bad boys were delicious!  

Happy Fourth!

Baked Oatmeal

Back when I lived in the suburbs of Milwaukee, I used to frequent a little restaurant called Heinemann's.  One of the dishes that the (now defunct) restaurant was known for was its baked oatmeal.

At the time it was almost impossible to find the recipe but my sister-in-law worked hard to find a suitable alternative.  When she did, she carefully wrote the recipe out for me on a note card.

And then I not-so-carefully lost it.
(Oops.)

Not wanting to admit that to her, I Googled some baked oatmeal recipes and came up with one that I liked.  I thought it came from Quaker.com, but it turns out my version is slightly different from Quaker's (so I'm not exactly sure where it came from).

Regardless of its origins, it is a delicious breakfast treat and when my cousin came for a visit last week, her daughter requested that I make it.  (Far be it for me to deny the request of a child ;)

And here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. 2 3/4 cup Old Fashioned oats
2. 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3. 3/4 cup raisins or Craisins--my kids don't like them so I leave them out :(
4. 1 tsp ground cinnamon
5. 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
6. 3 1/3 cup skim milk
7. 4 egg whites (lightly beaten)
8. 1 T vegetable oil
9. 1 T vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray glass baking dish with Pam.

In large bowl, combine first five ingredients.  Mix well.

In a medium bowl, combine last four ingredients.  Mix well.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix until blended.  Pour into baking dish.  

(I often do all of these steps the night before, refrigerate it, and then bake it in the morning.)

Bake 55-60 minutes or until center is set and firm to the touch.

My kids like it with syrup.  I enjoy it with fresh berries on top.  (Let's face it, any way you eat this stuff, it's gonna be great.)

Bonus!

In doing my "research" for this post, I discovered a  Heinemann's copycat recipe (which may actually be the one my sister-in-law so lovingly wrote out for me...)  You can find it here.  

(Just try not to lose it.)

Food Porn

Yesterday I hosted a little pool party for some friends.

It was a great day full of swimming kids and chatting adults .

What stood out most, however, was the food.

I made a few items and my guests brought the rest.

(They are welcome back anytime.)


I decided to make fresh lemonade for the occasion.  (Any excuse to use my new drink dispenser.)  I wanted to add a label (for no other reason than because I like to label things) so I took this little chalkboard (from Michael's, maybe?) and attached it to the cork lid with a thumbtack.

Then I whipped up these little Pinterest inspired hummus and veggie cups.  They weren't too popular, though, probably because people went straight for the desserts...

...like these chocolate chip-stuffed raspberries that my kids made.

Which went nicely with the chocolate-stuffed strawberries that I made.  (Also Pinterest-inspired.)

Scoop out the center of the strawberry, fill with melted chocolate (I used a Hershey's Symphony Bar) and refrigerate.  

And if you're going to have strawberries filled with chocolate, you should also have chocolate filled with strawberries.  Thanks to my friend Joanne for keeping things balanced ;)

In case we were feeling chocolate-deprived, Joanne also threw in some brownies for good measure.  (I'd like to note that there were *none* of these left over after the party.  And that made me a little sad.)

Gina brought along an award-winning cherry cheesecake.  Seriously, it's won awards.  Just ask her Aunt Butchie.  And my seven-year-old daughter.  (Who might have eaten it for breakfast this morning.) 

And my friend Sabine (aka The Tech Foodie) whipped this up.  (And by "whipped" I mean anything but.  It took her four hours to make.)  It's a rice pudding, and while it might not be the most photogenic dessert (although I actually find it quite beautiful), it is insanely delicious.  She's not currently giving out the recipe (but maybe if I start an internet campaign she'll change her mind).  

My only regret is that I didn't capture Adrianna's beautiful Rainbow Pasta Salad or my Watermelon Feta Salad.  (Which met with mixed reviews.  Apparently some people don't want Feta in their watermelon.  Go figure.  ;)

One of the perks of being the hostess is that I will be living off of these leftovers for the rest of the weekend.  

Which means I might need to host another pool party come Monday ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://silohillfarm.blogspot.com/2012/06/manic-monday-link-party.html

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/06/strut-your-stuff-saturday-link-party_22.html

http://everything-underthemoon.blogspot.com/

http://www.pinterestchallenge.com/

http://juliejewels1.blogspot.com/

http://www.foxhollowcottage.com/2012/07/pin-tail-on-bloggy-pinterest-pinning.html

Travel Tips

Several years ago our family went on a cruise.

And as it turns out, we're not big cruisers.  (Nothing against them, it's just not our thing.)

While we didn't come away from the experience with a love of cruising, we did acquire one thing that would forever change the way we travel:  the over-the-door shoe holder .

Prior to the cruise I consulted with an experienced cruiser who recommended this as a way to keep the cabin organized.  As it turns out, there aren't many suitable surfaces for storing things on a cruise ship.  This is especially true in the bathroom.  She suggested that we use the over-the-door shoe holder as a way to keep track of toiletries, room keys, cell phones (& chargers), and pretty much anything else you can think of.

The next year, as we packed for a trip to Hawaii, it occurred to me that the over-the-door shoe holder needn't be reserved for cruises alone, so I threw it in our bag.  (It folds up flat and packs like a dream.)  It has come with us on every trip since.

Here it is on a recent trip to a Mexican resort.  The bathroom there had plenty of uncluttered surface space and this little beauty guaranteed that stayed that way.

When my sister-in-law saw our hotel set-up on a recent family trip, she wanted to know why I hadn't shared it with her sooner.  It was at that point that I decided to share it with all of you.    

And as long as I'm sharing, here's a happy little accident that I'm so glad I made: While perusing the travel toiletries at Target (how's that for alliteration?) I picked up a package of these:

To be honest, I thought I was buying wipes.  (The type you'd use if you spilled something on your clothes.)  Imagine my surprise when I reached for one and discovered that what I had actually purchased was a three-pack of "sink packets".  These are individual portions of detergent that one can use to wash clothes in a hotel sink.  If I hadn't brought them along I'm pretty sure I would have spent a small fortune sending clothes out to be laundered.  These will definitely join the shoe holder on my list of traveling must-haves.

So what about you?  Do you have any travel tips that you'd like to share?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pizza Pie

If you happen to be one of my followers on Pinterest you might have noticed a theme within my Food & Recipes board.  The theme?  Chocolate and peanut butter.  And as much as I enjoy that combo, those pins really aren't for me.  Nope, those pins are for my husband, a certified peanut-butter-and-chocolate-fiend.  In fact, I'm seriously considering creating a spin-off board just for those creations.

So when my daughters wanted to make something special for daddy for Father's Day (something of the peanut butter and chocolate variety), we moseyed on over to Pinterest to get some chocolate & peanut butter-covered inspiration.

Since it was Father's Day (and my husband is their father and not mine) I left them to pick the recipe.  I couldn't wait to see what they chose.  Would it be this? Or this? Or this? Or this? Or this? Or this?

Nope.  

It wouldn't be any of them.  

(Because seven and eleven-year-olds have minds of their own.)

They decided that they wanted to make a "Peanut Butter Chocolate Pizza Pie".  

But we didn't have a pin for that.  

(Because they made it up.)  

So, it was time to get creative.


First we searched Pinterest for a peanut butter cookie recipe.  This one was repinned about 900 times so I decided it would probably be good.  You can find the recipe here.

Then we searched for a peanut butter frosting recipe and found this.  Over a thousand repins?  Yup. You'll do.  (Original recipe here.)

So we whipped up the cookies and baked them in a big pan.  We did NOT bake them long enough.  If I were to do this again I would have left them in much longer than the recipe said (b/c the recipe was for individual cookies, not one big pan).  Fortunately my husband does not mind gooey cookies.  (Really gooey cookies.)

The we made the peanut butter frosting.  (And let me just say, it deserved over a thousand repins.  Yumm-o!)

Every good pizza needs toppings, right?

After frosting the mammoth cookie, we sprinkled on the chips and, voila!, a Peanut Butter Chocolate Pizza Pie is born!

And yes.  It does taste as good as it looks.  Even undercooked.  ;)

Linking:

http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2013/01/iron-chef-mom-party-peanut-butter.html

Punch Box Revisited

One of my most popular posts to date (okay, it was actually THE most popular post I've ever written) was called "A Party Favor."  In it, I explained how I found this blog via Pinterest and how it inspired me to make a Punch Box for my neighbor's fourth birthday.  

When I wrote it I had no idea what an amazing response it would garner.  Seriously, people went nuts for this thing.  And the absolute best part about it?  Well, that's been the people who have written me to say that they wanted to make one (or that they already had).  

One of those people was Diane, the director of my daughter's preschool.  My daughter is long out of preschool but Diane and I remain friends on Facebook.  (Thank you, Facebook.)

Upon seeing the punch box she sent me an email asking if I'd help her make one for her granddaughter Chloee.  She wanted to use it in lieu of an Easter basket as a fun way for Chloee to collect some Easter loot.  It was a great excuse for us to get together and chit-chat while getting our craft on.  

Below is the finished product.  We used a Uhaul box and she decorated it with paper flowers.  (And get a load of her craft room in the background.  I seriously want to live in there...) 

But Diane wasn't the only one who was inspired.  About a week ago I received the following email from reader Sabrina Fitzgerald-Ruiz:

Thank you for the creative tutorial in the "Punch Box". I'm always looking for new ideas to spice up my daughter's birthday parties. This year she's turning the big "1-0" and I wanted to do something unique. My daughter just loved the idea when I showed it to her on Pinterest.

I wish I would have had the circle scoring tool, as I'm sure it would've been a lot faster. I ended up using a coaster to outline circles and used an Exacto-knife to cut out circles. I wanted to step it up a little bit, so I used zebra wrapping paper. I also found letters that were much like post notes that were a fun.


I was quite surprised at how much candy and toy prizes we were able to get in the lunch bags. My daughter and I enjoyed doing this together. I really hope the girls at her slumber party love it.

A Punch Box makes a great alternative to a Pinata!

Check out those pictures!  Didn't she do a great job?!  (Sabrina, I'd love to hear about the girls' reaction.)

(And for the record, you can order one of the "circle scoring tools" by following this link or clicking on the Products tab above.)

Finally, another punch box spin-off comes from the lovely and talented Amy from the blog, While Wearing Heels.   While on vacation last week I was delighted to open my ipad and find this post on her blog.  (Yes, I keep up with my favorite blogs on vacation, even if I'm not updating my own ;)

Please click on the link above to read her post.  And not just because it says all kinds of nice things about me.  (Unless that motivates you.  Come to think of it, that might be why I read it three times... ;)  Seriously, though, go for the punch box and stay for everything else.  You can also follow her through Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin'.  She's a frequent poster and her blog is full of the MOST adorable crafts.  (I guarantee you'll recognize many of them from Pinterest.)

I'd like to finish up by inviting you to send in pictures of your punch box.  If you do I'll be happy to feature them on `a casarella's Facebook page.  

Happy Punching!

A Pinterest Kind of Day

Today was the last day of school for my daughters.

My little one has a summer birthday.  Her teacher, recognizing that summer birthday kids miss out on certain rituals, invited the summer birthday kids to bring in birthday treats during the last month of school.

My daughter asked to go on the last day.

Due to new(ish) food safety rules, all treats must be store-bought.  My daughter chose to bring in doughnuts.  The pinner in me dies a little whenever I have to bring store-bought treats to school.  (So many cute cupcakes pinned and no reason to make them...)

To ease my pain I decided to hop on the Washi tape bandwagon and whip up some Pinterest-inspired Washi tape flags so I could decorate the doughnuts.

Pin found here.  Original source here.

And that made me feel all better!  :)  

(Plus, my daughter really liked them.) 

(Because apparently things aren't always about me...)

But the day wasn't over yet!

There's also another daughter and that one is now a fifth grade graduate.  To celebrate, one of her friends had a small pool party after school and everyone brought something.

Our choice?  These Pinterest-inspired chocolate graduation caps:

Pin here.  Source here.  Her source here.

 Three simple ingredients:

I simply attached a square of chocolate on to a peanut butter cup using a dollop of frosting as glue.

Then I attempted to create tassles with the same frosting.  (I never really mastered the tassles, but since people could tell what they were, I considered it a win.)

So there you have it:  a Pinterest-inspired day!

What Pinterest-inspired projects have you made lately?