I heard a study recently that said women spend less than $25 on their guys for St. Valentine’s Day but expect their guys to at least spend $250 on them. Seems a little unfair right? I’m sure that counts dinner, but still. Jack and I keep this holiday fairly cheap and we never go out on that night. He usually buys me flowers or a pair of repli-Kate earrings (one’s I don’t make, of course) and I usually get him chocolate or make him some homemade ones. I wanted to do something a little different this year and I decided to make him a candy vase. The ones in the stores are so expensive and not even his favorite candies. I bought a few packages of his favorites, as well as, a few mini bottles of his favorite alcohol. I placed the bottles in a tall vase I already had. Then put some of the fun-sized candy around the bottles to hide them. Next I taped some of the candies to small dowels that were cut at different lengths. I placed those in between the mini bottles. To complete the candy vase, I added black and red tissue paper to make it look more like a flower arrangement. It was a fun gift to make and Jack LOVED it!

As I have done the last few holidays, I decorated every room in our house. However, I didn’t go overboard like those. I just put a few small decorations and some new pillows in all the rooms.
 
I started by making a simple red velvet pillow for the chair in the living room, using my go-to quick fold and sew method. For a few pillows, I cut out letters or hearts and used iron-on applique and sewed in place before doing the folded method.
 
I even purchased a few of the pillows at Target for $5 which I loved that price and how cute they were. One of the pillows said “Love you” then on the other side said, “love you more”. This is something Jack and I say all the time so I had to get it, but I wanted to be able to see both phrases. I cut the two panels apart and added light pink fabric to make the fold. The last pillow I did for Andrew’s room I used St. Valentine’s Day ribbon and tied a felt hear on it.
 
They came out so cute and I keep adding to my holiday pillow collection! I love it!

It’s Andrew's first St. Valentine’s Day and I wanted to send out Valentine’s Day cards of him. I didn’t want to have to pay for the expense of hiring a professional photographer so I looked up some ideas on Pinterest and got to work. The best part was it turned out I already had everything I would need. I used some old felt hearts and sticker letters to make a Be Mine banner and added a few more hearts on the closet doors I was using as the backdrop.

Lastly, I dressed Andrew in a little outfit and the homemade bow-tie and started taking pictures. He “posed” great for me and the pictures couldn’t have come out any cuter.

​I can’t wait to hear what his Valentines have to say when they get their cards!

Today our church hosted its annual Mardi Gras fundraiser and the RCIA class and team hosted a cake walk booth. I wasn't able to volunteer to work the booth, but I knew I could make a few cakes for it! I decide on two cakes and kept them simple, both were six inches around. One I covered in fondant and hand painted a Mardi Gras mask along with some ribbon and confetti. I finished the cake with some yellow, green and purple sprinkles in spots around the sides then along the bottom of the cake. 
​
The second cake I piped little rosettes in the traditional colors of Mardi Gras:  purple, yellow, and green. I finished the cake with eh same green rosettes on the top of the cake. 

I'm really proud of how pretty these turned out and it was fun seeing the RCIA team arguing of who was taking which one. I love being able to use my talents to help out our church! 

​To go along with the Saint Patrick’s Day Trifle, I made these amazing Mint Brownies. The sweetness was a nice balance to the Corned Beef and Cabbage we served for dinner. I used my go to pre-made brownie mix and added a mint cheesecake layer and they came out so soft and chewy!
 
Ingredients:
     1 Pre-made Brownie Mix
Mint Cream Cheese
     8 oz Soften Cream Cheese
     1/4 Cup Sugar
     1 Egg
     1/4 tsp Peppermint Extract
     Green Food Coloring
     1/2 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips, divided
 
Directions:
 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix brownies as instructed. Pour 3/4 of the brownie batter in 9 X 13 prepped pan.
2. To make the mint cream cheese, mix the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, peppermint extract, and a few drops of the green food coloring until smooth. Slowly stir in half of the mini chocolate chips.
3. Spoon out the mint cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter, and then cover the cream cheese mixture with the rest of brownie batter. Using a butter knife create swirls in the batter allowing some of the mint cream cheese to show. Sprinkle the remaining mini chocolate chips on top.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes and cool before cutting.

​Every Fourth of July I make a trifle so I knew it would be fun to make a Saint Patrick’s Day version. Instead of using pound cake I used brownies, vanilla pudding and Mint Oreo’s. It turned out so pretty and was a big hit at our party!
 
Ingredients:
     1 pre-made brownie mix
     1 3.4 oz box instant vanilla pudding
     8 oz whipped cream
     Green food coloring
     10 Mint Oreo’s, crushed
 
Directions:
1. Bake brownies as instructed. Once cool cut brownies into small rectangles
2. Make pudding as instructed and color with green food coloring.
3. Crush Oreo’s by using a food processor with a few pulses or a rolling pin and a gallon zip bag.
4. Place a layer of brownies on the bottom of a trifle bowl, layer 1/3 of the green pudding on top of the brownies, sprinkle on a few of the crushed Oreo’s and cover with 1/3 of the whipped cream. Repeat two more times and sprinkle the rest of the Oreo’s on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

These homemade chocolate truffles are not only super easy to make, but better than anything you can find at the store! To make the homemade ganache you only need 8 oz. of cream, 8 oz. of chocolate chips, and a tsp of vanilla. Slowly bring the cream to a boil in a small sauce pan, do not walk away because the moment you do it will boil over. Place the chocolate chips in a heat resistant boil and slowly pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and add the tsp of vanilla. Let the cream start to melt the chocolate chips before stirring. Once room temperature, cover and refrigerate a minimum of 24 hours. The longer the time the firmer the ganache gets.

​Once the ganache is fully firm, use a melon baller and create round balls of chocolatey goodness. If your hands get to warm cool using ice, if your chocolate get too warm place a bowl of ice under the bowl or pop in the fridge for 20 minutes. 

After all of the balls have been rolled place in the fridge for 20 minutes to rechill. ​

Mardi Gras is a few weeks away and I am already gearing up for a bowl of homemade Jambalaya! Yesterday was my Parish's annual Mardi Gras fundraiser and my Godmother was in charge if running the RICA Cake Walk so I was happy to help by donating a few cakes! I wanted the cakes to be fun and stand out among the other cakes. I decided to make two cakes with the traditional Mardi Gras colors: Purple, Green and Gold.

 I used food color to dye the vanilla cake batter and created a marble batter in the pans.

It’s the week of Thanksgiving and it’s time pull out those favorite recipes. Last year I made Yam Soufflé, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin roll recipe, but this year instead of the roll I decided to make my first pumpkin pie. This is a super easy and tasty recipe and goes perfect with my homemade whipped cream!

Ingredients:
1 Pre-made Graham Cracker Crust
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
¼ tsp all spice
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup evaporated milk
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whip egg whites until frothy. 

I'm not afraid to admit my mom loves her dogs more than me, after all they mind better and they don't back talk! The perfect gifts for my mom always involve her dogs. Since we are still currently paying off all of our debt we have been keeping our gift cost low and reasonable. I found this cute idea on Pinterest where it was a frame that held four pictures with kids spelling out the word LOVE. Well since my mom has four dogs I thought it would be the perfect gift for her. Once day while she was at I would I went to her house with four half sized poster boards spelling out LOVE. I posed each dog and added one of the letter poster boards. After taking as many pictures as I could with each dog, I headed back home to start editing. I knew I wanted the photos to be in black and white, but since they are black dogs it took a while to get the shading and contrast to be just right. Once completed I sent them off to be printed. She was totally surprised and loved the framed pictures. Mothers are special and the original idea behind Mother's day was to acknowledge how special they are, try not to get to consumed in the commercialism of the holiday and take time to do something special and unique for your mother.
Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mothers out there!!!

​These are a quick and easy dessert that is perfect for an Easter Luncheon. Bake your favorite cupcakes and color your buttercream a nice grass green. Once cooled used a grass tip and starting from the center and moving your way out squeeze the piping bag full of frosting and pull up to create the grass look. Place candy eggs in the center. For the perfect display, place in an Easter basket. Hopefully the Easter Bunny doesn't hide these 

Tomorrow night is our Saint Patrick’s Day dinner party and what goes better with green than these super cute wine glass charms! These took only minutes to make and under $10. The rings are round hoop earrings found in the jewelry section of the craft store. I bought some white, shades of green and gold jewelry beads. The last thing I purchased was the little Saint Patrick's Day charms. To make I flattened out one side of the earring hoop (some come pre-crimped) and then added half of the beads. I added the charm and the remaining beads making sure to make each one different enough for someone to recognize their charm. After the last bead was on the hoop, I re-crimp the end to prevent the beads from falling off but still able to hook the two ends together easily. I'm already for the party...just need a glass of green wine!

At the fabric store, I found the cutest shamrock fabric on sale and picked it up not even knowing what I was going to do with it. I didn't need another St. Patrick's Day apron or tablecloth so I decided to stick with decorating my living room and make pillows! Well actually pillow slipcovers. I decided on two different styles, two fabrics for each. I purchased 1/2 a yard of green shamrock cotton fabric and another 1/2 a yard of cream and gold cotton fabric. Lastly I purchased 1/2 a yard of fun shamrock burlap and another 1/2 a yard of plain burlap. I always keep in stock double sided iron on transfer.

The other day I showed you how to make your own Saint Patrick Day's wreath and today I am going to show you how to make a few more decoration for under $10 and under 20 minutes. I picked up two packages of foam shamrocks and the dollar store, the canvas I got half off at the local craft store, and the string of gold sequence I already had, but can also be purchased at a craft store. 

​Because I can't pass up a good dinner party, I am having all my friends and family all over for a bowl of Corned Beef Cabbage and a glass of green wine! In order to prepare I felt my house needed a little Irish flare and I wasn't having much luck finding decorations that fit my style so I decide to make my own. Shocker, right? I found a green foam wreath at the local craft store and also picked up some floral, small decorations, ribbon and moss. 

​Once a year I try to get all of the important women in my life together for a brunch. This year I wanted to do a Mardi Gras theme so lots of purple, green, and gold decorations, beads, and masks! I even made one of Jack's favorite slower cooker meals: Jambalaya! Now I know this might not be real jambalaya, but it's what we call jambalaya. The recipe is super easy and super yummy. It also makes a great frozen meal! It's even better with a slice of King's Cake!!!

Today is Mardi Gras and over the last several years I have enjoyed making a traditional King's Cake. If you have never had one before it kind of reminds of of a tougher cinnamon roll. The cake is time consuming, but I only make them once a year!
​
Ingredients

• PASTRY:
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• FILLING:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• FROSTING:
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

            
Directions

1. Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
5. To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
6. Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the frosting.

​One of the big things that I have done over the past few years is make and sell chocolate covered strawberries. The profits in the past would help go towards my spring tuition fees, but now that school is completed the money will be going to pay off our debt! I'm really excited about the idea of being debt free by the end of the year and each time a make a cake or sell a box of chocolate covered strawberries it takes us a little closer to achieving that goal! The key to making perfect chocolate covered strawberries is the strawberries and timing. First when shopping for strawberries try to buy as close as possible to when you need them and buy local! Local is always picked fresher and they last longer than the store bought ones. Wash and completely dry each strawberry. Chocolate will not stick to wet strawberries and if they are too wet could possibly ruin the chocolate. Never get chocolate wet! I like to use a double boil when melting chocolate; it makes it easier for me to manage the temperature of the chocolate. If your chocolate is too thick add a little vegetable shorting and stir in. Dip each strawberry into the chocolate by holding onto the leaves and lay flat on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. If you would like sprinkle with crushed nuts, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or drizzle a different color of chocolate. Once all of the strawberries are dried it should be easy to remove from the wax paper. Place a small piece of wax paper in a dessert box and cover with a dollies; the wax paper will prevent leaks from ruining the box, the dollies dresses up the box. I hope you take the time to make these sweet treats for your Valentine Sweetie!

Today is Epiphany. This is my first Epiphany since being baptized in the Catholic Church and I wanted to do something special to celebrate it. My husband was raised Catholic in France so to celebrate they would eat Galette des Rois or an Epiphany Cake. After researching recipes I came across one that I was easily manageable. I tweaked a few things after getting input from Jack. The result was a very tasty dessert we enjoyed after dinner. Follow the instructions below for your own Galette des Rois.

Ingredients  
      1 package thawed puff pastry sheets
      1 egg
      ¼ cup almond paste
      ¼ cup sugar
      3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
      2 Tbsp flour
      2 tsp powdered sugar
      ¼ tsp vanilla
      ¼ tsp almond extract
      1 egg beaten
      1 dried bean
      Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. Puree the almond paste, sugar, butter and salt in a food processor. Add 1 egg, vanilla and almond extract, then purée until smooth.
2. Add the flour and pulse to mix. Roll out one sheet of the puff pastry into an 12 inch square on a lightly floured surface. Place an 11 inch pie plate upside down onto the square and cut out a round shape using the pie plate as a template.
3. Brush the flour from both sides of the round cut out and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator. Repeat with the second square of puff pastry, but leave it on the floured work surface.
4. Brush the part of the beaten egg on top of the second round cut out. Decoratively score on the top using the tip of a paring knife and make several small slits all the way through the pastry to create steam vents.
5. Remove the first round cut out from the refrigerator and brush some of the egg in a 1 inch border around the edge. Spread the almond cream in the center evenly. Hide the bean in the almond cream. Place the scored round on top and press the edges together.

To Bake

1. Bake the galette des rois  in the lower rack of the oven for 13 to 15 minutes, until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and dust with the powdered sugar.
2. ​Place back in the oven on the upper rack and bake for an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until the edge is a deep golden brown. Serve warm.