Tuesday, April 26, 2011

You win some, you lose some

I had grand plans for posting about a fabulous Easter Sunday, complete with beaming family picture and delicious food buffet. Unfortunately this is the only picture I got of our Easter dinner. Sad, I know.

(My carrot-esque utensil/napkin bundles for Easter dinner. That didn't even get used...)

Now, I did take my camera with me and I had planned to get some great food buffet photos. But as I walked into my parents' house for Easter dinner, low and behold my family had started eating without us. According to my watch, and my husband's watch, we were not late. But they just "couldn't wait." Because heaven forbid they wait a few extra minutes for the rest of the family to arrive, on a holiday no less, with two of the side dishes, the utensils, and dessert. I was very upset about the whole situation. So my beautiful carrot cake, deviled eggs, jello salad, and the rest of the Easter buffet went un-photographed. I guess holidays with the family can't always be picture perfect.

So instead you get my win/lose food review for two new recipes I tried this past week. Because I think it is important to share the disasters as well as the triumphs.

Round #1 - 2 ingredient Lemon Bars = LOSS

I was intrigued by this idea of a 2 ingredient lemon bar recipe that was recommended HERE. It is always nice to have a few easy, delicious recipes you can fall back on when you are in a pinch. I was not at all pleased with the end result! The bars ended up having a really rubbery consistency, kind of like chewing on a sponge, and I couldn't imagine serving them to anyone. In fact, I threw the whole thing away after sampling them.

Round #2 - Chocolate Drizzled Strawberries and Cream Pie = WIN!

This recipe from my favorite food website, Our Best Bites, was a complete WIN. I absolutely loved it! It was wonderful. I found myself sneaking the last piece for a late night snack - and I don't usually eat late at night! Better yet, it required no oven usage which is great for those hot summer days when you don't feel like heating up your kitchen. You can find the recipe for this delightful dessert HERE.

The moral of this story: You win some, you lose some. And that's ok. How can you grow your collection of well loved recipes if you never take a risk and try something new?

Friday, April 22, 2011

Food for our Easter Egg Coloring Party

For those of you who follow my personal blog, here are the details of the food I made for our Easter egg coloring party. I love an excuse to make good food!

Some of my family and friends got together around 10:00am Thursday morning to let our kids color Easter eggs together. Amazingly, there was not a single spill - I was shocked! But beyond that, brunch food was on my mind. Here is what I served: (Please excuse the horrible lighting! The under cabinet lighting over the bar creates really bad picture lighting.)

Fruit and Veggie Tray with dip, bunny shaped marshmallows, cheese cubes on pretzel sticks.
I have decided that with kids, you cannot go wrong with cheese cubes.
They are a universal kid favorite.

Banana Muffins with streusel topping

In the back there, next to the pitcher of orange juice: Cinnamon Breakfast Casserole
(this doesn't look all that pretty, but tastes AMAZING!)

Pizza Frittatas (on the bottom) with pizza sauce for dipping -
a new recipe I tried and it was a big hit!
I will definitely be making these again.

Stay tuned - I plan on sharing the recipes for the Pizza Frittatas and the Cinnamon Breakfast Casserole with you soon!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Spreading some Easter cheer

Check out these adorable Easter S'mores Jars I made to give friends and family! I have decided that you just can't go wrong with Peeps...they always seem to bring a smile to people's faces. Easter is this weekend but you might have time to whip up a few of these cute jars for loved ones.

You can check out the two different links I used for my inspiration HERE and HERE.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

AMAZING Applesauce Pancakes

(Even if my picture isn't so amazing! Sorry, my food photography skills need some work!)

These pancakes have become a Davis family favorite. We love pancakes for breakfast and try new recipes often. From pumpkin pancakes to oatmeal pancakes to banana chocolate-chip pancakes, we have tried many. These applesauce pancakes are light, fluffy and oh so yummy. The syrup is really delicious and tops off these pancakes perfectly. This recipe is a must try - you won't be disappointed!

Applesauce Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup


Pancakes:

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 cup milk

1 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 tsp salt

Beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth. Cook pancakes, on a preheated and greased griddle, until bubbly on top and dry around the edges. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown.

Cinnamon Syrup:

1 cup sugar

slightly less than 3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup light corn syrup


1/4 cup water

1/2 cup evaporated milk


In a saucepan, combine sugar and cinnamon. Pour in corn syrup and water and stir to dissolve. Boil, stirring constantly 2-3 minutes. Cool. Stir in evaporated milk and serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

A touch of Easter decorating

Just a little peek at our Easter decor this year. I think I am finally starting to appreciate decorating for Easter after years of snubbing it :). I am also linking to Centsational Girl's Easter Inspiration party.
My favorite moss Easter basket on a Target Dollar Spot tray, kept company by two simple bunnies tied up with bows.

My Dollar Tree hurricane makes an appearance filled with eggs and moss.

Also, my 25 cent green garage sale vase, painted white, gets dressed up for Easter with a moss bunny topiary. Add a small, white, garage sale, ceramic bunny and a few other pretties and you are set!


A little nook in the kitchen that has been touched with some Easter/Spring decor.


And of course my lovely Peeps wreath I showed you HERE.


Ahh, Easter - I am glad I have started to embrace your decorating possibilities!

Happy Easter!