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Fruit & Cream Waffle Bar

March 25, 2015 By Brandy 1 Comment

Waffles are one of my absolute favorite foods. Completely perfect for a lazy weekend morning and they are fun to customize. This is why waffle bars are always a hit! Who doesn't like to have a delicious array of toppings to create the perfect waffle? Whether it is a brunch with friends, a baby shower, or a birthday party, a simple yet elegant waffle bar is always a great idea.

I have a fantastic homemade waffle recipe, but it isn't easy to make them fast enough or keep them hot when feeding more than just my family. I've tried and decided that I need at least two waffle irons to keep up! For this reason frozen Eggo waffles are a great option for a waffle bar. Prepare your toppings and right before you are ready to serve, pop those waffles into the oven for 5 minutes and they are hot and ready. You can fill several baking sheets at a time this way too.

My favorite way to enjoy a waffle is with a big helping of fruit and whipping cream. Especially strawberries and raspberries. Since these fruits aren't always in season or as affordable as I would like I often use a combination of fresh and frozen fruit for my toppings and homemade sauces. Already washed, and sometimes sliced, they add to the ease of preparation for the waffle bar.

A delicious warm blueberry sauce is both sweet and tangy.

A peaches and cream waffle? Sounds divine!

2 types of fruit syrups pair perfectly with the fresh fruit and sauces that I am serving, and of course the obligatory maple syrup for those wanting more of a classic waffle.

Light and sweet, this whipping cream adds a nice elegance without overwhelming the fruit.

And chocolate chips? Why not! How about a warm waffle with raspberry sauce, mini chocolate chips and a small dollop of cream?

Now it's time to grab a waffle and start creating the perfect fruit and cream combination!

{Warm Blueberry Sauce Recipe here.}

What toppings would you choose for your waffle bar?

#EggoWaffleBar #CollectiveBias

Doc McStuffins Easter Basket Ideas for Girls

March 13, 2015 By Brandy 5 Comments

So many cute Doc McStuffins Easter basket ideas for girls! Mini nail polish, stuffed lamb, coordinating fillers and more!

What Easter traditions do you have in your family? When my husband was a child he said he remembers the excitement of receiving a chocolate bunny in his Easter basket only to take a bite and realize it was hollow. Haha! So he insists that each of the kids receive a chocolate bunny, a SOLID chocolate bunny, in their basket. His family also decorate at least 5 dozen eggs. So we do that too. My family didn't have many traditions growing up except to keep Easter baskets small and simple. We've blended our two childhoods to create lasting memories with our own children.

A tradition that we started was an annual Easter Egg Hunt Lunch. The first year we did this was when Aaron, our now 9-year-old, was in kindergarten. When his afternoon school bus arrived at our house he was greeted with a yard full of Easter eggs to collect.

He and Kaylee had a great time finding the eggs and what surprised him the most was that his LUNCH was inside the eggs! Bite-sized pieces of peanut butter sandwich, apples, grapes, crackers, and fruit snacks.

They had a great time eating their lunch together on the front porch and we have done an Easter Egg Lunch Hunt every year since! I even pack Easter Eggs full of lunch items in their school lunch boxes the day before Spring Break.

I've put together a collection of darling Easter basket ideas for girls. My girls love Disney Junior and Doc McStuffins and I couldn't pass up these goodies this year!

We generally use the same set of Easter baskets for the whole family, but this year Kaylee picked out a new one.

She spied this darling Doc McStuffins Easter Basket at Walmart and pointed out that it was not ONLY an Easter basket but a doctor's bag too. She's a smart cookie! It was a great price so I let her bring it home and I had fun finding all sorts of items to fill it up.

Doc McStuffins Easter Basket Ideas for Girls

Idea #1: Mini Nail Polish in Treat Containers

My girls are totally into nail polish so these Doc McStuffins treat boxes were perfect to package them in. I found these in the Easter egg section. They would be fun to fill for an Easter egg hunt too.

Idea #2: Stuffed Animal

Every doctor needs a first aid kit, band-aids especially. These will work great for any stuffed animal that needs some special care. Just remember to take those band-aids off before throwing the stuffed animal in the washer and dryer. We've learned this the hard way....the band-aids won't come off. Ever.

Idea #3: Storybook

A new bedtime book about a Knight in Sticky Armor was too cute to pass up!

Idea #4: Journal

Did you know that Doc McStuffins has a "Big Book of Booboos?" Well, she does. And it's purple. Now Kaylee has one too so that she can make notes about her patients.

Idea #4: Candy Fillers

A Doc McStuffins bubble wand, some pastel chocolates, and of course the obligatory SOLID chocolate bunny, and the basket is complete.

This little bag is so adorable and will work great for holding Kaylee's pretend doctor's kit after Easter. I hope she has fun letting that little imagination soar!

If you liked this Doc McStuffins Easter basket you might also like...

87 Thrifty and Fun Easter Basket Filler Ideas from Happy Money Saver

Easter Bunny Luncheon

How to Make a Tea Party Hat

Easter Bunny Candy Treat Bags: An Easy Sewing Tutorial

DIY Grapevine Wreath

March 11, 2015 By Brandy 3 Comments

We have 4 grape vines in our backyard. They provide such beautiful, green, foliage during the summer and they grow so quickly! It doesn't seem to matter how many shoots we trim off, those vines spread quickly. This is the first year that we really had to trim back after the season was over. I decided to do something with some of the trimmings instead of putting them all in the green waste.

Do you have grapes in your yard? Have you ever made anything with the vines? Today I am going to show you how I made a wreath using mine and it was so easy to do. Grapevine wreath bases only come a few dollars, but it was so rewarding to make one using supplies from my own yard!

DIY Grapevine Wreath

Soak your vines in the bathtub over night to soften them. Make sure to use vines that are still alive and not dead. When you cut them, if they are green inside, they are good. If they are brown/black and brittle, they are dead and won't work for the wreath base.

Wrap your first vine around the base of a bucket to gauge the size. Remove from bucket and continue wrapping vines around your first vine. Weaving in and out and tucking in the ends until you reach desired thickness.

Place wreath back on the bucket to keep its shape and let dry over night.

I think it looks beautiful as is, but I still wanted to add a little something before hanging it up. I looked around my yard and decided to steal a few sprigs from my small boxwood hedges.

I stuck them in the bottom section of the wreath, filling in evenly.

A completely natural wreath that came from my own yard!

Rich & Creamy Frozen Custard Cups

March 9, 2015 By Brandy 1 Comment

These mini frozen custard cups look fancy, but they are so easy to make! How many of you have tried making your own chocolate cups before? Did anyone try the balloon method? I did. Years ago. And let me tell ya, DON'T. I should have sent my photos into a pinterest fail website. I've also tried making them in cupcake liners only to have 1 out of 12 turn out. So how did I make these? Scroll down...

Store bought cups. I told you these were easy to make! I found a dozen chocolate cups in the baking aisle at Walmart and they literally jumped into my shopping cart. I knew my kids would love them too since they are tiny and bite sized. Easy for them to eat before they start to melt all over the place. I thought about several things to fill them with and settled on two flavors of DREYER'S Frozen Custard. Old Fashioned Vanilla and Peanut Butter Pie. If you haven't tried frozen custard before it is pretty much ice cream's creamier cousin, and it is simply delicious.

As I was putting these in the freezer I heard a little voice behind me say, "This is SO good!". I turned around to find Ruby, my 3 year old, treating herself to scoops of custard straight out of the carton. She knows a good thing when she sees it.

Working quickly, I scooped custard into each chocolate cup and placed my tray in the freezer for about 10 minutes to keep the firm.

While they were setting up prepared my toppings for the vanilla custard.

Frozen custard is delicious as is, but some simple chocolate shavings or fresh strawberries really make them look pretty. I made these by shaving a chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler. Ridiculously quick...and fun!

After I added my toppings I placed them back into the freezer until it was time to serve.

That strawberry is really dwarfing my cute little custard cup. Wouldn't these bite sized treats be perfect for a baby shower? You could fill them with any one of the DREYER'S Frozen Custard flavors.

Besides the two that I used (my favorite being Peanut Butter Pie with the chocolate cookie pieces and peanut butter swirls) you can find: Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Malt, and Mint Cookies N' Cream. My local Walmart also carried the Snickerdoodle and Salted Caramel Pretzel flavors.

Canned Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup Recipe

March 4, 2015 By Brandy 11 Comments

This delicious canned corned beef and cabbage soup recipe comes together in about an hour and is filling and full of flavor. A quick and easy recipe for busy weeknights.

This corned beef and cabbage soup recipe comes from my husband's side of the family. His mom used to make it and he made it for us when we were first married. When he pulled out the canned corned beef I was a major skeptic. Canned meat? One bite and I was a believer! Such simple ingredients come together to create one of the most flavorful and hearty soups.

This delicious corned beef and cabbage soup recipe comes together in about about an hour, and is filling and full of flavor. A quick and easy recipe for busy weeknights.

Corned beef, cabbage, red potatoes, onion, garlic, and beef broth.

You can use any kind of beef broth, but I really like the concentrated paste because it has the strongest flavor and you can adjust it to your liking.

Ready in less than an hour, it really is a shortcut version of corned beef and cabbage. Our kids like it too. A quick and easy St. Patrick's Day dinner and the leftovers are fantastic!

Print Pin

4.68 from 25 votes

Canned Corned Beef & Cabbage Soup

This delicious canned corned beef and cabbage soup recipe comes together in about an hour and is filling and full of flavor. A quick and easy recipe for busy weeknights.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 234kcal

Author Brandy Nelson

Ingredients

½ cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
8 cup beef broth
6 medium red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
½ head cabbage shredded/chopped
1 can corned beef

Instructions

Heat oil in a large stock pot and add onions and garlic. Cook until fragrant and onions are clear. Add chopped potatoes and beef broth.
Cover pot and bring to a boil on medium heat. Cook 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are nice and soft, almost mushy.
Add cabbage and cook another 5-7 minutes until cabbage is tender. Break up canned corned beef into crumbles and add to soup. It will break up even more once it is in the broth and distribute through the soup.
Heat through then serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 234kcal

Pretzel Crusted Tilapia with Seafood Sauce & Baked Fries

February 23, 2015 By Brandy 2 Comments

I really love the mild flavor of white fish like halibut and tilapia. When we lived in Alaska I cooked with it regularly and would use fish instead of chicken in many of my recipes. Fish tacos, pesto halibut, etc. Tilapia is less expensive and oftentimes easier to find now that we are living back in the lower 48. We enjoy grilling it and serving it in a variety of baked dishes too.

This pretzel crusted tilapia from Sam's Club goes great with homemade fries and steamed asparagus. The best part? I can bake it all at the same time for a quick 30 minute dinner!

Pretzel Crusted Tilapia with Seafood Sauce & Baked Fries

My kids love these fries. A good rule of thumb is to use one potato per person. Slice them nice and thin and arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, dill weed, and garlic powder.

On another baking sheet arrange your Gorton's Pretzel Crusted Tilapia Fillets. Bake fries on the top rack and tilapia on the center rack at 425 degrees. If you have room to roast your vegetables at the same time, go ahead and do that, but I steamed my asparagus while everything else was cooking. Bake tilapia and fries uncovered for 21-23 minutes. At 15 minutes, turn tilapia and fries over and finish baking. Remove tilapia from the oven. Turn on the broiler and bake fries an extra 1-2 minutes until crispy.

While the fries and tilapia are baking you can make a delicious 2 ingredient dipping sauce! This is so easy to make. I remember my grandpa using Mrs. Dash on everything. Chicken, potatoes, corn on the cob, EVERYTHING. Every time I use it I think of him.

Mrs. Dash Dipping Sauce

¼ c. KRAFT Mayonnaise

2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning

Mix together.

This sauce is fantastic for the tilapia, fries, AND asparagus. It would also be great for fish sticks! You might want to double the recipe.

My favorite thing about the tilapia is that it typically doesn't taste "fishy," and the fillets are individually frozen, ready to bake.

A delicious weeknight meal in about 30 minutes with just a few ingredients!

Cauliflower Crust Pepperoni Pizza

February 16, 2015 By Brandy Leave a Comment

I am going to preface this by saying that I LOVE BREAD and WHEAT and SUGAR and have not jumped on board with the trend of cutting it out of everything, but I am watching and cutting my caloric intake. I've actually lost 5 lbs in the last 3 weeks by doing so and making more conscious choices in the foods that I eat. My cousin recently pinned a recipe for cauliflower crust pizza and I was really curious to see what she thought of it. After hearing her review I decided to try it out! I absolutely love roasted cauliflower and thought this pizza was delicious! If you go into it expecting it to taste like bread, it won't. It has a faint taste of roasted cauliflower but it is really good mixed with the parmesan cheese and pizza toppings.

It was simple to make and a slice (with pepperoni, cheese, and sauce) came to 116 calories. That's doable!

The crust consists of cauliflower (the texture of rice after being pulsed in the food processor), roasted, and then mixed with parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and egg, and Italian seasonings.

I will definitely be making this again. I've also seen recipes for cauliflower "bread" sticks and may have to try those too.

I followed this recipe for my crust from iFoodreal. I'm glad she took the guess work right out of trying to figure this out on my own because that never would have happened!

As a reference I used:

1 recipe of crust (enough for 8 slices)

½ c. pizza sauce

1 c. shredded cheese (pizza shredded cheese mixed with skim-mozzarella)

21 slices pepperoni

I also used non stick cooking spray instead of parchment paper.

Easy Hexagon Quilt: Straight line sewing!

February 12, 2015 By Brandy 18 Comments

Make an easy hexagon quilt the easy way! No "y" seams, just straight line sewing. Makes a darling throw, baby quilt, or bed quilt depending on how many half-hexagons you stitch together.

I finished another quilt! An easy hexagon quilt for my Ruby girl. I've challenged myself to do a different pattern with each quilt. I did basic squares, strips, triangles, diamonds, and now a hexagon quilt. Since I am still a newbie I am avoiding anything too complicated.

Easy Hexagon Quilt: A simple shortcut!

This hexagon quilt was really fun to put together! I printed off a basic hexagon shape and cut it in half. I used those half pieces as my pattern pieces. I sewed strips of the half hexagons together and made sure to line up coordinating fabrics within the strips. A bright white border, pretty pink binding, diagonal quilting and it was done! (Inspiration and tutorial here)

When the strips were sewn together, the hexagons formed! Easy! Basic seams, but it looks like I did y-seams.

I used Dear Stella's "Flirt"fabric line and a pink bed sheet to create this quilt. I love using bed sheets for the quilt backs. $4 for a flat sheet and it provides plenty of coverage! It is way too big for her toddler bed, which is what I wanted. I made it a throw size so that she can use it for a very long time. Perfect for sick days or chilly mornings. I told her she could use it for whatever she wanted and she said, "I want it to sleep with." so I tucked it around her mattress. What a bright and inviting little bed!

DIY Fabric Basket a Great Scrap Fabric Project

February 9, 2015 By Brandy 20 Comments

This DIY fabric basket is a great scrap fabric project, perfect for beginners! Sew a fabric storage basket in under an hour, 2 sizes to choose from! It even has handles! An enjoyable project that makes a great gift. This post contains affiliate links.

Looking for a sturdy fabric basket? You might also like my DIY fabric box made out of diaper boxes!

I was recently invited to a diaper shower. I absolutely loved receiving diapers when I had newborns. They really are THE most practical gift and are appreciated by all new moms, BUT....they can be a little on the boring side to give! Especially at a diaper shower when EVERYONE came with a package of diapers.

Since I really enjoy making homemade gifts I decided to add a homemade touch to this gift: a quick and easy fabric basket. Second to diapers, a cute basket or storage bins make great gifts for new moms.

I had so much fun making this DIY fabric basket and it is a great scrap fabric and fat quarter project. I can't wait to make more. This is a great project for using up scrap fabric. As you can see, I pieced several different types of cotton fabric together from my scrap bag. I used a solid cream for the lining fabric on the inside of the basket.

The size I made holds 25 size-one diapers and some extra diaper-changing supplies like a travel package of wipes, baby powder, and diaper cream. When the diapers are gone, the new mommy can use this basket to store other baby needs.

You can also give a fabric basket along with a larger package of diapers to use as a refill.

I added some quilted detailing…because I like quilting everything, but it isn’t necessary. You can simply sew the fabric pieces together from a fat quarter of fabric, fabric scraps, or use a solid fabric for the entire basket.

DIY Fabric Basket Tutorial

The fabric basket pattern comes in two sizes. I made the larger version. A big thank you to the Pink Penguin for the great instructions and step-by-step tutorial!

Wouldn't a fabric basket be perfect for storing toys, hair accessories, socks, or burp cloths? I can think of probably a dozen uses in the nursery alone. Or in my kitchen or office or craft room. It's the perfect size for storing sewing supplies, fabric scraps, or even candy. How cute would this be as an Easter basket? I love baskets and have them all over my house---just ask my husband. Be sure to also check out this small Fabric Basket with an Easy Close Drawstring Tutorial another great baby shower gift!

Fabric: Into the Woods by Vanessa Goertzen for Moda.