Even if it means waking up at 5:00 AM every day. (;

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mommas! Of course, a special shout-out to my mom and mom-in-law. Love you ladies!

My good friend found just found out she’s having a baby boy, and well, I wanted to celebrate the good news with her. I love babies.

I saw these really cute cookies on Pinterest, made by Sugarbelle, and I wanted to make them. I knew they wouldn’t be perfect, especially since it was my first attempt with royal icing, but I was determined to make them.

First, I started with my very favorite sugar cookie recipe.

They were certainly time consuming to make–It took me over an hour to frost 12 cookies. But, it was a great learning experience. I was going to take pictures and give you a step-by-step, but, Sugarbelle did that already.

They certainly aren’t perfect, but I think they turned out pretty cute. And everyone was impressed, so that’s really all that matters.

Now, I wonder what else I can frost with royal icing?

For our May flowers, I started with my favorite sugar cookie dough.

Before frosting the sugar cookies, you must let them cool. Completely. My mom said so.

But, while they’re cooling, feel free to stir up some icing. My newest favorite is royal icing.

First, Maya and I picked our favorite three colors. Then I divided the frosting up into separate bowls. Next, I used the snack-sized ziplock bags and scooped a spoonful of each color into each bag. Be sure to keep extra of each color, you’ll be using it as the flood icing. Snip the very small corner of the bag and outline the edges of your cookies.

After every cookie has been outlined, thin out the remainder of the icing (the stuff I told you to keep in your bowls) with water. You’ll want this pretty thin, but not too thin. I spooned a bit onto the center of each cookie and then evenly spread it to the edges.

Sugarbelle has a great tutorial on outlining and flooding cookies. She also talks about the consistency of the flood icing, it’s very helpful for a first timer. (;

Maya and I gave a plate of these to our neighbors, 15 minutes later he offered to edge our yard.

Just sayin’

My mom is pretty much awesome at everything. And, although I haven’t quite figured out how to do half of the stuff she can do, I can make some pretty rockin’ sugar cookies. With her recipe, of course.

And, my mom isn’t one of those people who keeps her awesomeness to herself either. Just ask, she’ll share. I think that’s why I’m so good at sharing. (;

One day, I remember talking to my mom about secret recipes, she said, “No recipe of mine will ever be a secret.”

“Really? Why?”

“If it’s a secret then I’ll always get stuck making it.”

See. I told you she was awesome.

And, because I don’t wanna get stuck making these yummy sugar cookies all the time, I’m gonna share the recipe.

The hardest part is letting it chill. I always stir up my dough at night and stick it in the fridge, it doesn’t seem to take as long when you’re sleeping. (;

The best part is sneaking bites of the chilled dough. It reminds me of my childhood.

Click Sugar_Cookies to download a printable recipe card.

This is completely edible. Amazing, right?

I definitely didn’t make it, but I know the guy who did. I work with him. And, I don’t work at Charm City Cakes (Ace of Cakes) either.

I can’t get over the detail.

The cake is built to scale; an exact replica of the owner’s iPhone. I’m still in awe.
Phone: 4.5in x 2.31in with a 3.5in screen. Cake: 12in x 6in with an 8in screen and 1in apps

And, the next part that makes this more awesome… It’s his birthday today. So, he and his sister spent three days making this to super-sweet cake so he could bring it into work! How awesome are they?

All I brought in was a bag of buffalo wing pretzel bites (not even homemade, straight from the grocery store. I’m ashamed).

B-sure to go check out Brian’s site, even though it’s not about cakes or babies, this guy knows what he’s doing.

I definitely fell off of the blogging-wagon this month. 22 days have passed in April and I’ve only posted five times.

I really have no good excuses, I just didn’t feel like it.

The kids and I went to Menards this weekend. As they were riding in/driving the little car cart, I made the mistake of walking right by the toy aisle.

Maya saw a hula hoop and asked, “can we please, please, PLLLLEASE get it?”

It was only $3.

“Sure, why not, but you have to share it with your brother.”

She did. After he cried.

He only carried it around for a few minutes, then got bored with it (of course).

Then she got frustrated with it, because it wouldn’t twirl around and around, like she wanted it to (of course).

I told her, “no more yelling or stomping your feet, you’ll get it, if you just keep trying.”

She got it. Well, she got one good twirl. I was impressed.

Now, it’s my turn to keep trying. With the writing, that is.

I can already hula hoop.

Maybe I just need to get organized with my meals. However, had I pre-planned on Sunday, I wouldn’t have gotten this yummy taco casserole recipe from my work friend Kerrie.

It’s a good one. I modified her recipe just a bit because I didn’t have refried beans. I always have refried beans. Oh well.

So, here it is.

It’s really is quick, easy and delicious.

Brown 1 lb of ground beef and half of a chopped onion. Add 1 packet of taco seasoning and water. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add 1 can of kidney beans and 1/6 brick of velvetta cheese. Stir until melted, then follow steps below (photos above)

Step 1: Spray baking dish and layer with crushed chips
Step 2: Pour on half of beef mixture
Step 3: Layer with more crushed chips
Step 4: Pour on remainder of beef mixture
Step 5: Layer with a few more crushed chips
Step 6: Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Garnish with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and sour cream!

Click: Taco_Casserole to download a recipe card.

My sister and her little boy came over to play today. I was excited to get to make pizza. Preston, for some crazy reason, doesn’t really like pizza. He says it’s because I worked at a pizza place and he ate pizza every night. So not true. But, even if it were true, sounds like heaven to me. I could indeed eat pizza every night of the week.

Tonight’s pizza: three-fourths italian chicken, one-fourth cheese (for the kids).

First, I started off with a refrigerated, canned pizza dough. Next, I greased my 12×18 cookie sheet and flattened the dough to the edges and placed it into a preheated 425 degree oven for 3-4 minutes. You want the crust to bake for just a bit. Then, I pulled it out and brushed on some olive oil (I used extra virgin) and then sprinkled on italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Next came the thawed, pre-packaged frozen grilled chicken strips (I used Tyson). I diced the chicken up, along with some tomatoes and jalapenos and layered it on the crust. I sprinkled the whole pizza with mozzarella cheese and baked for 8 minutes.

It was a perfectly golden, chewy, crispy crust.

And, you know what? Preston actually complimented me on the great pizza.

Win!

For a downloadable recipe card, click: Italian_Chicken_Pizza

Wanna know what it is?

Quaker Oatmeal Squares! I was totally excited to be getting a free product, but I was a bit confused as to why Quaker was calling this a “New” product. I’ve had it before.

But then I heard something on the radio about the Quaker guy getting an updated look, losing some weight, getting a haircut… Hmmm. Interesting. Since I am a graphic designer, I decided to do a little research. Boom. The Wall Street Journal writes, “Larry, Quaker of Oatmeal Fame, Gets a Makeover”

Nice job. I love it.

And, now onto what my kids thought about it the taste.

They were shoveling it in their mouths so fast I couldn’t even get a smile. They loved it.

And, I loved it because it contained 46 grams of whole grains, 5 grams of dietary fiber and 6 grams of protein. The perfect healthy snack for my kids to munch on.

Now, go get your own free box by liking Quaker Oatmeal Squares on Facebook (click on the “FREE Sample Box!” under their timeline cover photo).

Who doesn’t love a free box of cereal?