Dinner Braids

I was bouncing along Pinterest one day recently when I came across this idea to stuff dinner inside a bread braid. I thought about how lazy I am when it comes to baking breads. And how generally lazy I am in making dinner when I have no other adults to feed any give night. So, I immediately wrote off the bread braid idea.

One night while staring at my fridge - praying a fully prepared dinner would randomly show up on a shelf - I noticed a tube of Pillsbury crescent dough. You know, the kind that rolls out in one whole sheet. And that's when I realized I, too, could be fancy!

Bread Braid:

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Unroll crescent dough. Roll out or press out slightly with fingers.

3. Fill center third with whatever filling you want (see below for ideas)

4. Make cuts about an inch apart along the remaining two-thirds of the dough.

5. Braid pieces over each other.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Simple, right?

Isn't it pretty?

Filling Ideas:

- Ham and cheese

- Pesto, mozzerella & sliced tomato

- Peanut butter, banana, and jelly

- Small meatballs, marinara, mozzerella

- Pizza fillings

- Grilled veggies and cheese

- Taco fillings

Go Try it. See how awesome it is. Everyone will think you're fancy, too!

If you try any other fillings, let me know! I love new ideas!

DIY Feather Flats

All over Pinterest I've seen people pinning heels with trendy feathers attached in different ways. And I've loved them all. But I don't wear heels - for a multitude of reasons. So, my brain started churning and this is what I came up with: Feather Flats.

Materials:

Two feather fascinators (easily found in the jewelry/headband making section of your favorite craft store)

A pair of color-coordinating cloth flats (see Moose Tracks for thoughts on leather flats)

Sewing thread in a coordinating color

Heavy-duty needle

The feathers I found are the type used to make your own headband. The are glued to a backing and have loops the headband slides through.

Step 1: Remove any sort of decoration on the show in the area where you want to apply the feather. Use a seam ripper or small scissors.

Step 2: Using the needle and thread, sew the feathers to the shoes.

Step 3: Show those babies off!

Moose Tracks:

I needed a thimble to help push the needle through the shoes and the feather. It wasn't difficult, but it's painful to push a sewing needle with bare hands.

If I can find some skinnier feathers (in a color/pattern I like, of course), I'd like to try wrapping/sewing the feathers around the heel of the flat.

I'm not a seamstress. I'm a lazy crafter. Because I used the right color blue thread, you couldn't tell how well I did or didn't sew. I made sure to get the edges of the feather fascinators and didn't worry about the center.

I did learn that any sort of large space between stitches results in a weird sensation on the foot.

If I'd had leather flats I'd probably have tried attaching the feather fascinators with some sort of adhesive cement that works on fabric and leather. Maybe I'll try that next time.

My total investment for these hip, trendy shoes was $9 for the flats and $4 for the feathers. So, pretty cool shoes for $13, right?

Silly Elfkins (Part 2)

The continuing saga of Elfkins, our Elf on the Shelf.

Again, some ideas are found from the pictures on Pinterest. Some are my own.

Elfkins didn't quite make it back inside before Toddler Moose woke up. Good thing he flies with his ear muffs and scarf on! Silly Elfkins.

Elfkins brought a new puzzle to play with. He even almost finished it by the morning. Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins hid out on a wall sculpture. This particular one is about 9 feet off the ground. Silly Elfkins.

Elfkins dusted our fan, but got caught up there when Toddler Moose woke up the next morning. Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins hid Toddler Moose's stocking and replaced it with one he made at preschool. Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins started building a snowman army out of Marshmallows, toothpicks and Sharpie Markers. Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins doesn't know the password to the iPad, so he had to go with the physical Angry Birds game. Silly Elfkins!

Toddler Moose woke one morning to find Elfkins in the midst of partying hard. He was caught with pretzels everywhere and even a few Hershey's Kisses. Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins used some glitter to make a snow angel. Silly Elfkins!

The night of my birthday, Elfkins found himself helping to hang my birthday sign. Silly Elfkins!

Not shown (the only picture I didn't get): Elfkins brought us a gingerbread train kit, and he even took the time to frosting-glue the pieces together. He must have known how impatient we are with that step in the process. Silly Elfkins!

I have it on good authority that Elfkins will likely stop in a few times throughout the year to check on the boys.

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

So, my bestie has often mentioned this meal in text messages. And with only four ingredients, I thought I'd give it a try. It was easy and made plenty to eat. She has a twist on the meal. I'll happily explain that later.

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

1 jar Hawaiian barbecue sauce (I used Target brand/Archer Farms)

1 can crushed pineapple

2-4 frozen chicken breasts

Rice

Place chicken breasts in crockpot (spray with oil if not using a liner)

Mix pineapple and barbecue sauce.

Pour over chicken.

Let cook on high 4-6 hours, or low 6-8 hours, or until chicken falls apart easily with tongs.

Serve over rice.

Mel's variation:

Serve on bun with coleslaw.

Enjoy!

Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins is a lovely little creature that's joined our family this Christmas season. And like all little Elf on the Shelf recruits, he gets into a bit of mischief while we sleep.

Every morning Toddler Moose goes on the hunt for Elfkins. And I always know the second he's spotted because I hear "Silly Elfkins!"

Below you'll find the many different ways we've found him when we wake up in the morning.

Elfkins stole the star on the top of our tree. I'm guessing he was jealous of the position, so he took it over. Silly Elfkins!

All the little boys in my house have colds. Looks like Elfkins might be coming down with one too. And we all know lots of rest is exactly what you need when you're sick. Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins took s a bubble bath in our sink. And washed his back with a new toothbrush for Toddler Moose. Silly Elfkins.

Elfkins found our orphaned sock stash and decided to play in it. He also wore a new pair of Christmas socks (Dollar Spot at Target), and brought a new pair for me and Toddler Moose, as well. Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins must love hot chocolate as much as I do. He snuck into the stash and decided to have a cup. Silly Elfkins!

We've been in a bit of a cold spell in Mooseville, so I imagine Elfkins jumped into the fridge to warm up. His pipe cleaner and pom pom ear muffs and felt scarf are sure to speed up the process. Silly Elfkins!

Elfkins started his career in our main living areas. His first foray outside of the norm was into the playroom. Here he was found spying over all the toys from a wall hanging. Silly Elfkins!

Looks like Elfkins got into the pantry and the playroom again. The goldfish from the pantry and the fishing pole from the fishing game. Silly Elfkins!

One night I wrapped all the presents to go under our tree. But I'm lazy, and didn't bother with bows or ribbons. Elfkins was just trying to help me out. Silly Elfkins!

High atop our cabinets Elfkins got high centered while flying around in the barn from our Uno Moo game. Silly Elfkins!

Toddler Moose had been behaving so well - even being kind to his little brother - so Daddy moose and I wanted to treat him to a movie. Elfkins must have overheard our plans because the morning o the movie we found him sipping on soda from a movie theater cup, eating popcorn, and hanging out with a gift card to the movies. Silly Elfkins!

Every year we get an ornament for our kids. The ornament always symbolizes something that happened during the year. 2011 marked many things, among them the first plane ride for both. Elfkins made the job easy on us and found airplane ornaments for the boys. Silly (and thoughtful!) Elfkins.

On Elfkins' second night with us, he spent a long time decorating the dining room with garland and snowflakes. He must have needed to rest after all that hard work. Silly Elfkins!

On his very first night with us, Elfkins made it quite easy on Toddler Moose. He hid in a stocking while munching on a candy cane from our tree. Silly Elfkins!

Moose Tracks:

Many of the ideas are inspired by pins I saw on Pinterest. Many are original, at least to me.

I'll post again with all the fun Elfkins gets into in a few days. weeks.

Bacon... Fudge?

You heard me. Bacon Fudge. Bacon Maple Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge, to be exact. The original recipe was found via NPR.

Ingredients:

1/4 C butter

1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 C Peanut Butter Chips

1 1/2 C Chocolate Chips

1/2 tsp maple extract

1 lb maple-flavored bacon

Step 1: Cook bacon until crisp. Crumble.

Step 2: Combine all ingredients, except bacon, in a large saucepan.

Step 3: Stir mixture over medium heat until chips and butter are melted and smooth.

Step 4: Remove from heat. Stir in bacon, reserving about a 1/2 C of bacon pieces for topping.

Step 5: Pour mixture into foil-lined and greased square pan. Sprinkle remaining bits over the top, pressing in lightly.

Step 6: Cover. Let set in fridge at least four hours, preferably overnight.

Step 7: Cut into squares (about 7x7, or 49 total.) Served best at room temperature.

Moose Tracks:

I'm lazy. I also don't like too much maple in my life. So I did precooked/precrumbled bacon bits - regular flavor. One bag of that did this recipe justice.

This recipe is crazy simple. There's no need to boil anything, no need to worry about temperatures or candy thermometers.

I've adapted this recipe in other ways. By changing up the extract or leaving out the bacon, you can create so many different fudge types.

Earlier today I made peanut butter fudge, chocolate fudge, mint chocolate fudge, and raspberry chocolate fudge - all using this recipe as the base. It's kind of perfect.

Turkey Ts

My boys are young enough they still allow me to dress them. And with Thanksgiving coming up, I needed something to dress them in. So, I went to Pinterest. And found this. But, I couldn't find the right fabrics to pull it off. Instead, I found a bunch of fat quarters in coordinating Fall-like colors. So I got a bit creative and came up with a tshirt idea similar. And, because I'm lazy, I went the no-sew route.

Need:

Plain tshirt

5 small pieces of cloth for feathers (I used fat quraters for everything)

1 orange-flavored fabric

1 brown-flavored fabric

2 googly eyes

Wonder Under or Heat N Bond (craft section of Walmart carries this stuff)

Cardboard or cardstock

Fabric Glue

Step 1: Wash and dry shirt - do NOT use fabric softener or any kind.

Step 2: Using cardbaord/cardstock, draw out templates: Large raindrop for the feathers, Snowman-like stacked circles for the body, triangle for the beak. Cut out templates.

Step 3: Trace 1 body, 1 beak and 5 feathers onto paper side of Heat N Bond/Wonder Under. Cut out shapes, leaving a border all the way around the traced lines.

Step 4: Iron shapes to the wrong side (back side) or fabric - Brown for the body, orange for the beak, and one feather for each of the ramining fabric pieces. Follow directions on back of package for Heat N Bond / Wonder Under.

Step 5: Cut out body and beak. Cut out feathers (I used pinking shears for that extra feathery look. Not necessary.)

Step 6: Remove paper backing from each piece. Align Body and beak in the center of the front of the shirt. Iron on. Let cool.

Step 7: Arrange feathers on the back of the shirt. Iron on. Let cool.

Step 8: Glue googly eyes on using fabric glue. Let dry.

Ta-Da

This Little Guy Needs a Name

I made this nameless guy after spying something similar here. The beauty of this little guy is that you don't have to be a seamstress to do this. It's just a few straight lines.

Materials:

1/4 Yard+ Soft material (I used a blue gray flannel)

Two buttons, preferably not exactly alike

Coordinating fabric scrap

Black yarn

Embroidery thread

Polyester fill

Sewing Needle

thread or sewing machine

Step 1: Double over the fabric and cut out a rough monster shape.

Step 2: Using black yarn, sew on a mouth on the right side of one piece of fabric.

Step 3: Cut out a circle larger than the button. Sew button and circle onto monster. Sew on other eye. Use yarn for both.

Step 3: Turn fabric so right sides are facing each other (you want the "good" sides facing each other. (Optional - pin fabric together around edges. I did not.)

Step 4: Using either a sewing machine or do so by hand, sew around the outside of the monster, making sure to leave a space large enough for you hand to fit through. I left the space at the top.

Step 5: Trim corners, making sure not to clip sewn thread. The clipped corners will allow you to turn the corners rightside out easier.

Step 6: Turn your monster right side out. Use a capped pen or corner turner to help push the corners out,.

Step 7: Stuff him, making sure to use small amounts of fill to stuff the arms and the legs.

Step 8: Using embroidery thread, stitch the hole up. I chose to stitch all teh way across the top (making sure to not make it too good looking). This made the hand-stitched area look kind of like hair. I also didn't have to worry about making the seam perfect.

Step 9: Using a needle and embroidery thread, thread 3"ish long pieces of thread through the top of the monster (half of the thread on each side). Double knot the thread. Continue at random intervals across the top of the monster. Now you have hair!

Step 10: Name him (I still have to complete this step)

Moose Tracks:

I'll be making another one of these very shortly. I intend to make it a girl by adding a bow and using a heart shape for the backing of the eye. As long as the fabric is soft, it'll be perfect. Don't worry.

Oh - sorry about the sideways pictures. I'm pretty sure blogger hates me.