Santa's Belly

I know, I know! It's toooooo early for Christmas! Can we please get through Halloween and Thanksgiving before we start on Christmas?! Trust me, those that know me know that I despise how the retail industry shoves Christmas down our throats so it's the last thing I want to do to you... But look how cute this guy is!!

When I bought the glass ornament balls for my niece's Invitation Keepsake Ornament, I of course couldn't buy just one, I had to buy four. So when I saw this little guy on A Crafty B's blog, I couldn't resist making one.

• Paint black strip around the ornament (I used regular acrylic paint - I think Crafty B used puffy paint)
• While that dries, cut red card stock into strips. I did various widths and lengths. I also lucked out because I had a ton of strips already left over from a different project I had done so I didn't have to cut that many! :o)
• Touch up the black paint strip/Santa's belt. Allow it to dry. 
• I used some silver glitter glue stuff that I had in my scrapbooking supplies. (Crafty B used white puffy paint.)
• I was impatient and didn't want to wait for all that to dry before I started putting the paper in so I used a roll of masking tape as a holder so the ball would stand straight and there would be no damage to the drying paint. 
• Roll the paper strips tightly around a pen or a paint brush or your finger or whatever you see fit. Slide the paper off the contraption you use and then drop it into the top of the ornament. Don't worry - it will unravel a little. You can also roll them a little less tight to give it varying degrees of tightness. I also rolled some of mine in a spiral around said apparatus just to give it a different texture in the ball.

I think this little guy is just precious, so simple, and inexpensive! I would be surprised if everyone in our family doesn't get one for their tree this year! 

Crescent Pizza Rolls

These guys were ... interesting. At the same time, they had potential.

K first saw this recipe on Facebook. When I went to make them, of course I couldn't find the recipe of Facebook again and I knew Pinterest would have it. They did. I didn't find one that linked back to a particular blog so I don't really know who the proper credit should go to.

The recipe on Facebook was for a large family. There are only two of us, so I scaled it down quite a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1 can Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits
• Pepperoni Slices
• Jack cheese
• Cheddar cheese
• 1 beaten egg
• Parmesan, Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder
• Pizza Sauce

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425*F
• Cut 10 smallish pieces of each cheese
• Flatten biscuit
• Put a couple pepperoni, the cheese, and a couple more pepperoni
• Fold biscuit around pepperoni and cheese
• Place face down in a 9x9 pyrex dish (I'm sure a pan would work, but I would spray it first)
• Repeat 9 more times
• Once they're all in the baking dish, lightly brush them with the egg
• Sprinkle with Parmesan, Italian Seasoning, and Garlic Powder
• Bake for 18-20 minutes
• Use pizza sauce for dipping

Sooo, these were Oh-Kay. I'm not sure I was a huge fan of the Italian Seasoning. If I were to do these again, I wouldn't use it. I also would have used mozzarella cheese. (I used what I had on hand.) I also think we had the buttery buttermilk biscuits which I think gave it a weird sweet kind of flavoring.

At the same time, I think these had potential. With the small changes I mentioned above and maybe using other ingredients like olives, or Hawaiian style ingredients, they could be better. I might make them again if my nieces or nephews were in town, but I doubt I will make the for K and me again.

Loaded Potato Slices

I never met a potato I didn't like and these were no exception.

Ingredients:

• Potato 
• Shredded cheese
• Bacon
• Green Onions
• Butter
• Olive oil

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375
• Rub the outside of the potato with a little olive oil
• Slice potatoes (try and get them all the same thickness - about 1/4 inch thick.)
• Brush both sides with melted butter
• Bake in for 30-40 minutes - flipping once (I did 40 minutes, 20 on each side.)
• Take potatoes out of the oven and add the toppings.
• Throw back in the oven for another 3 minutes or until cheese is melted

This recipe was modified from keyingredient.

I like options, so I served them with both sour cream and ranch dressing. The ranch dressing was definitely my preference. I threw in a little broccoli for a side so it felt more healthy than it really was.

The only thing I'd do different next time is spray the cookie sheet w/cooking spray because when I went to go flip the taters, they kind of stuck.

I LOVED these. I asked K what she thought and her response was, "They're ok... they're... different." Different?! They were delicious. I'm not sure where here taste buds grew up, but this is coming from a person that doesn't really like bacon. Who doesn't like bacon!!! LOL

S'Mores Krispies

I made these a while ago and the were life changing! I didn't take pics the first time because I was in my blogging slump, so now that I am trying to get back into the groove, of course I had to make them again just so I could blog about them!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (10 oz) Mini Marshmallows
• 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips + 1 for topping
• 1 box (12 0z) Golden Grahams Cereal
• 6 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Directions:

In a 9x9 inch baking pan, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large non-stick pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add in marshmallows and stir together with butter until marshmallows have melted and become creamy. Stir in vanilla extract.

Fold in grahams cereal until all marshmallows and grahams are evenly mixed together. Mix in 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Spread treats into sprayed baking pan. Press into pan and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on top of the treats, lightly press into top of treats to make sure they stick.

Place into fridge for 10 minutes to cool.

Slice into bars and serve. Devour.

Seriously, you guys... I don't really care for real s'mores over the campfire, but I freaking loved these!!

Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I heart salty sweet combos. The other day, I grabbed a bag of chocolate chips at the store with the intention of making just chocolate chip cookies. Then I thought, I have pinned numerous versions of chocolate chip cookie recipes... Maybe I will try one of those instead. I came across this pretzel one and just so happened to have bought pretzels that day so thought I would give them a try. 

I got the original recipe from "Sugar Cooking". I modified my recipe a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. of salt
• 1/4 tsp. of baking soda
• 1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 cup milk chocolate chips (or an entire bag)
• 1/2 cup pretzel pieces (I used butter pretzels and forgot to measure)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips and pretzels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough - leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

I'm still not really sure how I feel about these cookies. They aren't amazing. I guess they're OK if you're looking to change up the standard chocolate chip cookie. And it's definitely better than putting nuts in your cookies. With that said, I'm not likely to make these again, but don't feel like I wasted my time giving them a try.