Cookie Monster

In November of last year, I got a new co-worker. She filled my old position after I got promoted. It was pretty much friendship at first sight. We hit it off from the get go and quickly realized we are alike in a lot of ways... right down to our unruly natural curly hair.

We both enjoy baking and baking for other people. This is one of the many things we have in common. However, she actually has talent and creativity. It's impressive really.

She brought in cupcakes first. And then she made cookies a couple of times. Her skills we so impressive that the Director asked her to make cookies to celebrate one of our partnerships and she would give the cookies to them. You kind of have to know our Director to understand what a big deal that is and what a compliment that is.

Here is what she made (I made the tags, thank you very much!):

She personalized each cookie.

Then today, she came in with these adorable cookies:

Happy Easter!

She made those for our co-workers kids. He didn't show up to work today and he's off tomorrow, so guess who these cookies are going home with tonight? ;o)

I am already recruiting her (aka - begging and bugging till she agrees) to make some cookies for Relay for Life. I foresee some boob cookies and/or cupcakes in our future!

Scrabble Tile Pendants

My sister found these Scrabble Tile Pendants that I thought were so cute! Since I had a ton of left over Scrabble pieces from the ornaments I made at Christmas and I already had everything except the bails, I thought I would give it a try.

The first one I made before we moved in January. I used this glass stuff I had in my scrapbooking stuff and it turned out really cute. Unfortunately, after the move, I cant find the tile, or the glass stuff I used. :o\

The original blog suggests making a template sort of thing that acts as a viewing window. I highly recommend doing the same because it not only allows you to see how the paper would look, it helps in positioning the tile and knowing where to cut. She also says you can carry it with you so when you're out and about and you see a paper you might want to use, you can pull out your template and see if it would work. I haven't taken it to that level yet, but it's a good idea.



Ok, so here's what I did:

1. Find the paper/pattern/print I wanted to use.
2. Used the view finder to line up how I want it to be on the tile.
3. Place the tile inside the view finder and holding the tile in place, carefully pull the view finder away.
4. Use an exacto knife to cut the paper to fit the the tile. 
5. Use Mod Podge to glue the paper to the tile. (It doesn't really matter what side of the tile you glue it to. If you're making the pendant for someone, I think it is cute to use the tile with their first initial on it so I glue the paper on the blank side, leaving the letter to show on the back.)
6. Once the first Mod Podge coat dried, I did 1-2 more coats. Allow to dry completely.
7. Apply the glass glaze so it covers the paper. Be careful to avoid bubbles, if you can. I get the glaze started on scrap paper in order to squeeze out any bubbles. Allow 24 hours for the glaze to dry. 
8. Once the glaze is dry, use sand paper or a metal file to clean up the edges. 
9. Use super glue to attach the bail. (The bails, by the way, were tough to find. I ended up ordering them on Amazon.)

They turn out really cute! I used the Mod Podge Magic Dimensions on these. As I mentioned in my previous post, I pretty much hate this stuff. Not only is it really thin and runny, but as you can kind of see in the picture above, when it dried it left a little divot, for lack of a better word, in the center of the pendant. You can see it a little more in this picture:

The only one it didn't happen to was the bird one. I have heard there are better products out there. The girl that originally made these used Diamond Glaze. The girl that helped me at Michaels recommended using resin. I might play around with it some more and see if I can perfect it, but then again... I might not. I just might be over these cute little pendants.

If you give these a try, let me know your results. If you've successfully made them before, let me know what medium you used to make the glaze part.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Oh. Em. Gee. Were these delicious!!!!!!!!!

Of course I found this recipe on Pinterest which took me to Recipe Girl's blog.You may want to check out her blog before you do this because she provides great tutorial pics and tips.

I'll post the original recipe here and then add in my variations.

CINNAMON FILLING:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, just melted (not boiling)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a quart-sized heavy zip baggie and set it aside (see *Tips below).

Prepare the glaze: In a small pan, heat the butter over low heat until melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until it is almost smooth. Sift the powdered sugar into the pan, stir and add in vanilla extract. Set the pan aside while you make the pancakes.

Prepare the pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk, egg and oil, just until the batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).

Cook the pancakes: Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray. Use an ice cream scoop (or 1/3 cup measuring cup) to add the batter to the pan. Use the bottom of the scoop or cup to spread the batter into a circle (about 4-inches in diameter). Reduce the heat to medium low. Snip the corner of your baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. When your pancake begins to form bubbles, add the filling. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl (just as you see in a regular cinnamon roll). Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it's golden brown on the bottom. Slide a thin, wide metal spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. Re-warm the glaze briefly, if needed. Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze.

As you can see, I didn't make the Cream Cheese Glaze... mainly because I decided to make these on a whim and I didn't want to wait for the butter to get room temp. Both K and her sister said if you make it with the glaze, you could actually serve it as a dessert. I completely agree, but they were still divine without it.

I also just made Krusteaz pancakes according to the directions on the box. I did not make them from scratch like she suggests.

Mine didn't turn out nearly as pretty as hers did (below), but I am pretty sure they tasted just as good. I am also pretty sure that her first attempt at them didn't turn out this perfect, but I could be wrong. :o)

Magnets

It's not very often that K calls me and says, "Can you stop at Michaels on your way home from work?" So, of course I had to jump at the opportunity.

I guess I had left my Pinterest open on the computer so she started browsing and found this blog about making some fun and simple magnets, so I headed to Michaels and grabbed some supplies.

We never got around to making them that weekend and the following weekend was when I had my Big Plans weekend. I took it upon myself to give her craft a try. (I sound all big and bad, but in reality, I politely asked her if she would mind if I did it without her. LOL Of course she told me to go for it, but to be sure I left her a few to do.)

So here's what I came up with:

They were pretty basic. The bird one is scrapbook paper. (And just for my sister: Check out this clip.) The round daisy one I cut out of a magazine. The other two were photos I had.

All I did was:

• Trace shape of wood piece on the paper/picture and cut it out. 
• Used Mod Podge to "glue" it to the wood piece. Allow to dry.
• Trim excess paper with an exacto knife.
• Add another layer of Mod Podge to kind of seal the paper to the wood piece. 
• (Optional) I then put a layer of the Mod Podge Dimensional Magic to give it a more glassy/shiny finish.*
• If you do the above step, allow at least 24 hours to dry.
• Sand/file edges to give it a cleaner look.
• Apply magnet to back of wood piece.
• Hang on Fridge. 

* I am pretty sure I despise working with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic. It is thin and runny so if you touch, tap, or move the wood piece before it has a chance to dry, the Dimensional Magic will start running all over the place and there's no recovering it.

These were super simple. Would make a great gift for just about anyone and the picture/graphic possibilities are endless!

Butter Garlic Sauce

I kind of have a challenge going with myself right now. I want to see how long I can go without going to the grocery store so I am on the look-out for recipes with ingredients I have around the house.

K can't really have red sauces/things with a tomato base so I am always looking for pasta dishes that are of the white sauce origin, besides... what doesn't sound divine about butter and garlic?!

Ironically, the recipe I chose, although called "Butter Garlic Sauce" didn't have any butter anywhere in the recipe. Fear not! I added my own! (But only because someone that commented on the original recipe said they did the same thing - otherwise I would have followed the recipe to a T - sans the butter. LOL)

I found the recipe on All Recipes, but here it is for your convenience:

Ingredients

• 1/2 (8 ounce) package spaghetti
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp butter (Optional)

Directions

1. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
2. In a small skillet over medium heat saute the garlic in olive oil.
3. Toss pasta with olive oil and garlic mixture. Add the parsley, salt, and ground black pepper to taste. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. 

I did things a little different. I accidentally put in 1/3 cup of olive oil and I added the parsley and a couple teaspoons of Parmesan to the sauce as I was cooking it. I also cooked a couple pieces of chicken, diced it, and mixed it in with the pasta. I steamed some broccoli (and by steamed I mean took some frozen Trader Joe's broccoli and threw it in the microwave according to the directions on the package. LOL), put the broccoli on top, sprinkled a little more Parmesan on top and we had a pretty good meal! I mean, it was no gourmet dish, but it was good enough for something fast and easy on a work/week/school night. Plenty of leftovers for tonight's dinner too! :o)