What to do with an old window frame

My neighbor gave me this old window frame a few years ago. I wasn't sure what to do with it. Most the glass was missing and the glass that was there was cracked. So I punched out all the glass, and sanded the the whole thing down. Then I painted it black and distressed it by doing some more sanding.

I wanted to hang it up in the house somewhere, but couldn't make up my mind as to where.

I finally just thought I would see how it would look outside, somewhere.

I put it in my front flower bed.

I'm not sure if I want to maybe plant something that would crawl up it, or just leave it the way it is.
But I do like it in the flower bed!

This post has been linked to the following~

Be Different, Act Normal
I {heart} Naptime
Tatertots and Jello

S'more Cups

I was on the Pampered Chef website the other day,

and came across a recipe for these little guys~

S'more cups!
Isn't it a cute little thing?

 And soooooo gooooood!
I took some to a family bar-b-que and everyone loved them! Kids, adults, everyone!

Here's the recipe from from their website.

I only did 2 things different.

Instead of using large marshmallows, I used the little star shaped ones you can buy during the summer time.

I also just spooned the melted chocolate on top instead of dipping the cups in the chocolate.

 

S'more Cups ~http://www.pamperedchef.com/

The campfire is optional--these little treats can be enjoyed anywhere.

Ingredients:

7	whole graham crackers (1 cup/250 mL finely crushed)
1/4	cup (50 mL) powdered sugar
6	tbsp (90 mL) butter, melted
4	bars (1.55 oz or 43 g each) milk chocolate candy, divided
12	large marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place graham crackers into a large resealable plastic bag. Finely crush into crumbs using Baker's Roller®;. Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and butter in Small Batter Bowl. Using Small Scoop, place scant scoop of crumb mixture in each cup of Deluxe Mini-Muffin Pan. Press crumbs to form shallow cups with Mini-Tart Shaper. Bake 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbling. Meanwhile, break two of the candy bars into rectangles. Remove pan from oven; place one rectangle into each cup.
   
   
2. Cut marshmallows in half crosswise using Professional Shears dipped in cold water. Place one marshmallow half, cut-side down, into each cup. Return to oven 1-2 minutes or until marshmallows are just slightly softened. Remove from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack; cool 15 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan. Cool completely.
   
   
3. Break remaining candy bars and place in (1-cup/250 mL) Prep Bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute-1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the top of each marshmallow in melted chocolate. Turn top-side up and let stand 40 minutes-1 hour or until set.
   
   

Yield: 24 cups
Nutrients per serving: (1 cup) Calories 100, Total Fat 6 g, Saturated Fat 3.5 g, Cholesterol 10 mg, Carbohydrate 11 g, Protein 1 g, Sodium 60 mg, Fiber 0 g
Cook's Tips: Dipping the Professional Shears in cold water before cutting the marshmallows helps minimize sticking.

The time it takes the chocolate to set varies depending on weather conditions and room temperature. You can refrigerate the cups briefly until the chocolate is set; store them at room temperature.

Store the cups in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Freezing is not recommended.

For a richer chocolate flavor, substitute dark chocolate candy bars for the milk chocolate.

4th of July Painted Window

I saw this tutorial a couple of years ago and have wanted to give it a try.

But I was too chicken.

Don't ask me why, but some crafts just really intimidate me!

Anyway, the other night I was up watching Masterpiece Mystery { which is one of my fav shows to watch!}

and I decided to pull an old window I had out of my garage and finally get this window painting done!

Here's the end result~

What do you think? I'm pretty proud of myself for doing this. And if I can do this, anyone can! So go here to see how to do this yourself!
Happy Independence weekend everyone!

Zuchinni Soup

I'm sharing this absolutely delicious recipe with you that I got from my sister-in-law. We still have zuke coming out of our garden, and the weather has been cooler. So I've been in the mood to make soup!
This recipe is great if you have picky eaters because it is all puree'd up. No chunks of anything in it! Your kids{and hubbie} won't even know there is Zucchini in it! You've got to try it out!

Zucchini Soup

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, unpeeled and sliced thin{or shredded} chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 cup Butter
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/8 tsp. Pepper*
1/2 tsp. Salt*
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Chicken Broth
1/2 cup Light Cream or Evaporated Milk

Saute onion and zucchini in butter until limp. Add chicken broth and simmer covered, for 15 minutes. Puree in blender and add cream of chicken soup, nutmeg,salt, pepper and cream. Blend. Heat and serve!
*I add more because I like more seasoning. Just add what tastes good to you!

More Family reunion fundraiser items!

Alright, here are some more photos of some items I've made and am donating to our family reunion fundraiser~
Lead me, Guide me stackers~

A set of photo blocks with pictures of my grandma and grandpa. Some when they were young, some when they were older~

Holiday countdown blocks~

I added some vinyl lettering to the bucket so it says ' Bucket of Spuds'. We are coming from Idaho, so I thought it would be fun. These Spud candy bars are the best, if you haven't had one, you need to find one!~

Some 12 in. tiles~
{ I got the idea for the one with names on it from here. She sells the kits for these, only I think they are for a different size block of wood, not a 12 in. tile. I just changed it up to fit what I had.}

One of my Grandma's favorite quotes form her favorite author~
{only looking at it now, I realize I added a 't' on nearest that shouldn't be there. Looks like I need to fix that before we leave!}

Be blocks~ I got the idea for these from here. She sells the kits for these,{at least I think she still does}~


This next block has my Grandpa's motto on it. It reads " Anything worth doing, is worth Overdoing."

I thought this would be great for our family~

Family reunion fundraiser items

I've been busy making a few items to donate to our Family reunion fundraiser. This is the first year we are doing a fundraiser, we'll see how it turns out! I think we will be raffling off items, with a few larger items being in a silent auction. All the proceeds will go to help fund future reunions!
So here's a few pictures of just a few items I've made and will donate for the fundraiser!
I'm putting together two packages that contain crochet headbands and hats for little girls/babies, that I bought at The Ribbon Retreat ,{SOOO afordable!} And I made the flower hair clips myself!~

Some Holiday Stackers. { I still need to make a summer one}~

A couple of small Pampered Chef gift sets I put together. { Did you know that Pampered Chef has an outlet store online? LOVE IT!!}~

Primary children's blocks~

I'll post some more pictures of more items later....

Stuffed Peppers

Okay, I realized that I hadn't shared any recipes for awhile. And one of my New Year's resolutions was to try out more new recipes. So, I've got a couple to share with you! This recipe I made last week. My sister-in-law made these last fall during one of her visits to good ole' Idaho. When I asked for the recipe, she couldn't find it. But she found one similar. So I used that as a basis and changed a few things. So, I don't have a very exact recipe for you to follow. I just kinda did things, but it turned out so good I wanted to share with you anyway! So just use this as a guideline and be creative when you make your own!

Stuffed Peppers

4 Red Bell Peppers,{ you can use green, but the red ones are a little sweeter}
1/2 lb. cooked ground beef
1 cup chopped onions
3 cups cooked rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
mushrooms
an 8 oz. bag of Montery Jack cheese

Cook peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes.
Oh, before you do this, wash and slice the top of your peppers. Scoop out the seeds. You can either leave as a whole pepper, or slice in half length wise, which is what I did. You can get more filling piled on them this way!
When peppers are done cooking, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

If using fresh mushrooms, cook in a pan in a leetle amount of oil. I have no idea how many mushrooms I used. I just used what I had left in my fridge.
Combine ground beef, rice, mushrooms, onions, salt and about 4-5 oz.of the cheese. Just however much you want!
Spoon into peppers and place peppers in a greased baking dish. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for about 30 min. Top with some more cheese and put back in oven until cheese melts. Enjoy! If you have picky eaters who don't want to try the peppers, the rice mixture is very good by itself!

Zuchinni Chocolate Cake/Bread

I made cupcakes with this recipe the other day and They. Were. Delicious! All three of us couldn't stop eating them! You can't even taste the zucchini! I got the recipe out of 'The Essential Mormon Cookbook', which I originally bought from http://www.deseretbook.com/, But I couldn't find it there anymore...

Anyway, my friend Jamie asked for the recipe and when I gave it to her she said she uses the exact same recipe to make bread. The only thing different was the chocolate that you use. So I tried the bread, and it was just as yummy!

Here's the original recipe~

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup milk

*3 {1-ounce} squares unsweetened baking chocolate

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups grated Zucchini

In a large bowl combine oil, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl sift dry ingredients; add to first mixture. Add milk and mix well. Melt baking chocolate in the microwave for 20-second intervals, until just melted. Blend chocolate and vanilla into batter. Stir in Zucchini. Bake in a greased 9x13 baking dish at 350 for about 25 minutes. Cool and frost with either a homemade or store bought chocolate frosting.

* If making bread, use 1/2 cup cocoa instead. Add chocolate chips if you like! This makes two loafs. It took a little longer to bake all the way thru, just bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Zuchinni Bread

Well, Steve has been camping with his brothers and I'm bored so I thought I would share a recipe I have for zuchinni bread. It is REALLY good!
We got our garden in a little late this year but hopefully this next month we should have some zuchinni ready to eat!
I got this recipe from my mom, who got it from her friend Vicky. I'm not sure if it was her own or one she got from somewhere.

Zuchinni Bread
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
Beat the above ingredients together.
Add the following-
2 cups zuchinni* 2 tsp.vanilla
3 cups flour 1/4 tsp.baking powder
1 tsp.baking soda 2 tsp. cinnamon

Makes one loaf. Bake @ 350 for 1 hour.
I actually make two loaves out of this recipe, and I cut the baking time down to 45-50 mins.

* I chop mine up and put it in a blender or food processor until it is a puree. The bread holds together better this way then if you just grate/shred the zuchinni.