Homemade Bagel Bites Recipe

This was the biggest 'duh' moment in money saving, recipe making I've had in a long time. If you are like me you will do anything to save a buck. And that means making as many meals homemade instead of buying the expensive store brand. Case in point bagel bites. Yum, I remember these scrumptious little bites of cheese/pepperoni/bagel heaven from my teen years. Only recently I started to crave them again and was appalled at how expensive they were. So instead I went the homemade route. And boy did the yummy memories come back! These things are so good, easy to make and super cheap! DUH! Why didn't I think to just make them myself sooner!

It's pretty easy to figure out how to make these. But here is a step by step guide anyway! 

You'll need:

Bagels (I used the mini ones for this).
Pizza sauce, feel free to make your own but I used pre-made.

Mozzarella cheese, but get creative! Try out some different recipes!
Toppings, I used pepperoni.

I started out by preheating the oven to 400. Then I lined a baking sheet with some foil and sprayed a little nonstick cooking spray. 

Lay out the bagels and spread a little pizza sauce on each one. Then sprinkle your cheese on top.

Then place your toppings on the bagels.

Then pop them in the oven. It only took about 10 minutes until the cheese was nice and bubbly, but ovens differ so keep a close eye on yours!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Pizza on a bagel. And kid approved, my recently turned 4 year old LOVES these! This would also be awesome for little ones to make themselves (up until the oven portion of course). Let them spread the sauce, sprinkle the cheese and put on the toppings. Kids love being able to cook for themselves! 

Happy Cookin' y'all! ~ Miranda 

Ridiculously easy Halloween Garland for kids

This little Halloween garland is so ridiculously easy. I just gave my 4 year old all the supplies and let him have at it. Here is what you need for this simple decoration:

- Construction paper *we went with orange, black and green*
- Markers or crayon
- Scissors
- Glue or tape
- String

So first let you kiddos cut out some pumpkin shapes. 

Then draw some pumpkin faces on them. This was the only part I really helped with. 

Hey look, a Miley pumpkin! (hehe)

Then have the kiddos use the green paper to cut out some stems for the pumpkins. Have them glue on each side of the top of the pumpkin so there is an opening left on the stem to fish the string through. 

And voila. That's it. Just fish the string through the stems and hang it where you please. Easy peasy! 

Happy Haunting! ~ Miranda

Easy DIY Lava Lamp

Ah, Lava Lamps. I remember when I was about 12 years old I had a few friends who had these and begged for one of my own. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be!
Until now!

Special thanks to this site for the idea, check it out for other great experiments to do with your kids!

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/easylavalamp.html

This was so easy to make... here is how you and your kids can make one of your own...

You'll need:

*Clear plastic bottle

*Water

*Vegetable oil

*Food coloring

*Alka-seltzer tablet

Start by filling up your water bottle about a quarter full of water, then the rest with vegetable oil. After a minute drop in your food coloring. 

Then break up your tablet of alka-seltzer and drop in a piece. Watch your kids faces light up as they see this start to happen... 

Check it out in action!

Have fun!~ Miranda

Paper towel water transfer science experiment for kids

We have been having so much science fun lately in our house. From balloon powered rockets to experimenting with food coloring, my little guy is having a blast learning!

I got this idea off Pinterest from:
http://wemadethat.blogspot.com/2013/03/water-transfer-experiment.html
Special thanks to this site for helping me explain this water transfer experiement to my son: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/escapingwater.html

First, I started out with only 4 glasses and added another after the process began (I found some green food coloring that had fallen out of the box!).

So set up your station with atleast 2 or more glasses. Your middle glasses should be empty... like this:

Drop some food coloring into the water, you could skip this step... but I like how the color helps you to see the process better!

Then take some paper towels and drape them from glass to glass. It should look like this:

Then you wait.

And wait... until-

YAY!

Enjoy!~ Miranda

Bunny Butt Cupcakes... so easy to make!

I have been a baking fool lately, and I have to admit... it's been fun! These little cuties were so easy to make and it cracks me up to hear my little guy ask for a bunny butt cupcake! 

Here is how to make these fun treats... 

After your cupcakes have cooled completely frost them white. After doing so cut up some marshmallows into a tail and 2 feet for each cupcake and place accordingly. The should stick with the frosting. 

Now with your pink frosting (I just put a dollop in a bowl with a drop or 2 of red food coloring for this part) use a toothpick to draw the details on the feet.

And that's it. Wasn't that easy? And cute as a bunny button too I might add! 

Enjoy~ Miranda

Door step Bunny drop, last minute Easter fun!

"Some Bunny" loves you! Who doesn't like to feel the love every now and then from friends? What what better way than with a door step bunny drop? I found these cute little felt bunny baskets for $1.00 at Target today. Aren't they cute? I also picked up 2 small containers of Hello Kitty bubbles for $1.00 total. Threw in some Easter basket grass, along with plastic eggs filled with goodies like candy and peeps. Then put a note inside saying "Some Bunny Loves You" and dropped it at some neighbor's door steps. 

What a cute, easy quick way to let someone know you are thinking about them this Easter, and really fun for the kids too!

~ Miranda

Easter Basket Ideas for kids ages 1 to teens. *NO CANDY*

No candy Easter basket ideas for kids from ages 1 to teens. We even some ideas on fun themed baskets!

AGES 1-2

Pull and go soft race cars
B. Wheeee-Is! Soft Cars 4-pack

Safe car keys set
B. FunKeys

Favorite movies or CD of favorite songs

Clifford's Happy Easter, Norman Bridwell

Easter book
Clifford's Happy Easter, by Norman Bridwell

Easter life the flap book
Where are baby's Easter eggs? By Karen Katz

God Gave Us Easter, by Lisa Tawn Bergren, Laura J Bryant





Blocks
Mega Bloks Farm Blocks

Sidewalk Chalk
*Couldn't find a link, but the dollar section of Target has some with a holder so it doesn't get messy on little one's hands*

Kids this age love to open up plastic eggs, put fun things inside them in their Easter Basket
*socks
*squirt toys
*Little People Princess pack or Super Hero pack
*stickers
*Coins for piggy bank (it goes without saying, under adult supervision)

Sunglasses

Baby safe crayons and Easter coloring book
My First Crayons, Crayola Washable 2 pack

Stuffed bunny or chick

Snack Mix (like Goldfish or Cheerio's)

Spring Time PJ's

Instead of a basket, put gifts inside a bucket or bin that can be used for storage.


AGES 2-3

Step 2 Waterwheel play table

Maybe the Easter Bunny left a big present outside, like a water table?
Step 2 Waterwheel play table

Bubbles

Sidewalk Chalk

Snack mix - Like Annie's Pretzel & Cheddar Bunnies

DVDs or CDs

Books
Llama Llama Red Pajama, By Anna Dewdney


Again with the plastic eggs, here are some ideas for this age group
*temporary tattoos
*money
*stickers
*mini bottles of bubbles
*mini coloring books or note pads
*mini nail polish
*matchbox cars

Water color paint set

Spring Time PJ's Carter's Boys or Carter's Girls

Flip Flops

Hair Bows

Hat

T-ball and bat

Again, a bucket or bin that could be used to store toys later would be a good idea, instead of the traditional basket.

Themed Baskets for kiddos!

"Summer Fun Basket/vacation to the beach planned"

Sunglasses

Flip flops or crocs

Swim suit

Sand toys, like hand shovels, molds etc. Sizzlin' Cool 11 Piece Beach & Garden Set

Beach ball

Floaties

Beach towel

Activity book for summer trip car rides

Items could go inside a beach bag instead of basket


"Super Hero Basket"

Spiderman Flipout car

Action figures  Marvel Spider-Man Adventure Playskook Heroes

Peel and stick wall decals Roommates Batman Wall Decals

Bandaids with their favorite super hero

Superhero mask and accessories Spider-Man Marvel Mask

Superhero PJ's


Books about their favorite Superhero Marvel - The Incredible Hulk

A Cape

Superhero shirt

Big boy Superhero undies


"Girly-Girl Basket"

Tiara

Dress up jewelry

Dress up clothes

Wand

Beauty Shop Play Play Circle Beauty Shop Hairdressing Set

Play makeup

Hair bows

Pinkalicious Tickled Pink, by Victoria Kann

Princess Barbie doll

Pinkalicious book Pinkalicious Tickled Pink Paperback, by Victoria Kann

DVD Barbie : The Princess & The Popstar

Princess puzzle, or memory card game

Princess PJ's

Big girl princess undies


"Construction/Working Man Basket"

Instead of a basket, use a large construction truck and put goodies in the bed of the truck...

CD of songs John Deere: Crazy About Tractors

Mini trucks Caterpillar Mini Machines 5 Pack

Building blocks

Hard hat

Tool belt Tomy Talking Tool Belt

Ruler

Play-doh

Colored pencils (for drawing blue prints!)

Ideas for tweens & teens

For a girl, maybe a new purse instead of a basket and inside...

New phone cover

Amazon gift card- for music, books or anything

Make up

Sunglasses

Season pass to local water park or amusement park

Gift card to their favorite store

For a boy, how about a new pair of tennis shoes and inside...

New phone cover

Amazon gift card- for music, books or anything

Season pass to local water park or amusement park

New wallet

Gift card to their favorite store

Simple, Adorable Cotton Candy Easter Cake *frugal alert!*

I had to redeem myself after my pastel colored deviled eggs incident. I thought the best way to do that was with a cake, a treat for everyone! This one was super easy, and super frugal! May I present... cotton candy Easter cake-

I am no baker. Store bought cake mix is usually my go to and was in this case. Here is what I used to make this little cutie...

I got all ingredients at Walmart. Gotta admit, I haven't seem little icing decorations for cakes like this in years so I picked up a pack. 

So I got to mixing, all the while my 3 year old is at my feet asking if the birthday cake was for him. "Where are my balloons?", "I want Spiderman party!". My explanation of this being an Easter cake for everyone went unheard. 

I decided to make the batter purple, mixing blue and red food coloring, this part is up to you. I just like purple, it's such a spring-y color!

So just follow the instructions on your cake mix, and let it cool after it's finished baking. In the mean time I mixed up my cotton candy frosting creation! *Note- I had never used this before. It's a good idea to not have your face anywhere near the container of frosting when you begin to mix, the power from the flavor mix pack just exploded everywhere and covered me!*

So after the cake cooled I got to frosting. I am not a good at this step.. don't expect a cake from me to look professional in anyway! :)

The I put the little bunnies around the cake, my little guy was yelling with glee "The bunnies are dancing around the cake!". 

Finished product...

Little Man was trying to sneak some frosting... and then tried to bribe me with kisses for a piece of cake.

So of course I caved in a gave him a piece. 

Happy First Day of Spring! ~ Miranda

Easter Fortune Eggs

Wow, can you believe it's almost Easter?! When time flies by this fast, It can be so easy to lose touch with those who are truly important in our lives. That's why I like to try to make every holiday a family event and that usually means a meal.

This Easter we are having a Pre-Egg Hunt brunch, in order to fill those bellies before the big chase. I wanted everyone to participate in the egg cracking so I decided to have an Easter fortune egg waiting on every plate.

It's can be as simple or elaborate a project as you like!

First start out with the fortunes. I used a heavier paper like construction or scrapbook paper because I wanted it to withstand any torture I might be putting it through in order to suit my needs ;)

There are many different ways you can cut or edge the strips of paper. I decided to forgo the scissors and use the 'fold, lick, rip' tactic in order to get an antique edge. You can also use the kid shape scissors that will give it a ziz zag or scallop edge.


















You can also antique the paper with tea staining, just be sure to let the paper dry completely before writing anything on it. This would be really cute if you decide to put a bible verse instead of a fortune for a post-Church brunch!

Now, for the paper to fit nicely into the egg, just roll it up! It turns out well if you wrap it around something like a pencil or pen.

I bought a few eggstra (haha) packages of plastic Easter eggs this year just knowing that I'd use them for some project or another for the holiday and here it is!

Have fun with this! Break out your stamps or paper punches! It's easy and cute and can fit any theme.

Happy Crafting!
-Kelsey

Valentine Cupcakes with a surprise middle!

I absolutely love Valentine's Day. My thought has always been that on Valentine's Day, the homemade gifts and treats are much more meaningful. These little cupcakes are filled with a surprise middle and a marshmallow heart on top. Here is how I made these...

What you'll need:
2 boxes of cake mix and ingredients to make (two colors, or both white)
Food coloring
Marshmallow hearts (or other topper of your choice)
Cupcake liners
Toothpick
Frosting
Very small heart shaped cookie cutter

So I started out by cooking a box of strawberry cake mix in a regular square cake pan. Allowed it to cool and then using a small cookie cutter, cut out some hearts.

Now depending on how much your cake rose, you may need to cut these little hearts in half and make 2 out of one cut.

Next I prepared a batch of vanilla cake mix. I put some cupcake liners in my cupcake pan and dolloped a little bit of the vanilla cake mix in the middle of each liner. Then I took one of my strawberry hearts and placed it in the batter. Then I carefully spooned more of the vanilla batter over the top and around the sides. You want to be sure that the batter doesn't knock your heart over or out of place.

**IMPORTANT**

As you are placing in the hearts make sure they are all turned in the same direction. You will need to mark the batter in some way in the direction the heart is, so when people bite in the heart is facing them. I used a little red food coloring and dipped a toothpick in and put a dot facing the direction of the hearts.

I thought I would add that this was supposed to be a trail run and I was going to make a better version of this to post this week. But my son has come down with the horrible sickies and I don't think I'll be doing anymore baking this week. I should have pushed the hearts down more into the batter and covered them better. You'll see why in a moment. 

Now bake according to the box directions.

In the mean time get your frosting prepared. I used cream cheese  and tinted it with red food coloring. I don't have any of those fancy pastry bags, ziplock has been my friend when decorating cakes, cookies and cupcakes. One of the best tricks I've learned when putting frosting into a ziplock bag is to but the bag into a small cup then put the batter in. So much easier! Then just cut a little corner off the bottom for your frosting to come out of.

When your cupcakes are done cooking let them cool completely. Now before frosting, make sure you place the cupcake in front of you with the little red dot facing you.

Now frost away, and please be more creative than I was! I topped with a heart marshmallow facing in the direction the red dot was so people knew to bite into the cupcake that way. 

Here is the finished product.

Another with a pink marshmallow on top...

Now cut open to find the heart inside. And getting back to my note on needing to push the heart down better before baking, as you can see the very top of my heart was not showing well on this one. It came out good in some of the cupcakes, but I didn't want to cut open them all open at the same time.

This is great way to get different shapes inside a cupcake. If there is a cookie cutter small enough, it should work! Also a good idea for all those gender reveal cupcakes going around lately! 

Happy Valentine's Day- Miranda