Welcome to a totally tubular Friday! It's here! Summer! So in honor of being here I am giving y'all a nice recipe sure to cool up you day a little. Enjoy!

Best of Summer Avocado Veggie Sandwich

Ingredients

• 1/2 avocado, very ripe, peeled
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 slices Roman Meal bread
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 4 slices tomato
• 8 slices cucumber
• 12 slices sweet bell pepper

Preparation

1. Combine avocado, lemon juice and salt in small bowl. Spread mixture evenly over 2 slices of bread.
2. Place tomatoes, cucumber and peppers on covered surface. Drizzle with vinegar.
3. Layer lettuce, tomato, cucumbers and peppers evenly between slices of bread, creating 2 sandwiches.

Serves
Servings: 2

Calories:	210g		Total Fat:	9g
Cholesterol:	0mg		Protein:	7g
Carbohydrates:	30g		Sodium:	360mg

Preparation Time:
10 Minutes

Ready in Time:
10 Minutes

SOURCE: 
Roman Meal

Don't forget the desert!

how to make pudding pops

ingredients
2 – large boxes (5.1 oz) instant pudding mix (light colored)
milk
food coloring
Dixie Cups (5 oz.)
popsicle sticks

directions
• prepare pudding according to the directions. (you may need to add a little more milk to make the pudding pourable.)
• let pudding stand until it has thickened a bit.
• divide into 5 parts and color each part with food coloring.
• layer each color of pudding into small dixie cups.
• cover with tin foil. insert popsicle sticks.
• chill in refrigerator 2 hours, then place in freezer to completely freeze.
• to eat, peal off dixie cup paper and enjoy your pudding pop!
• makes 10 – 12 popsicles

Hey everyone sorry I haven't written for like... 2 months but never fear I am back! So here is a recipe for y'all. Have fun!

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 24 minutes

Yield: 24 mini brownies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• about 1/2 cup Nutella

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease 24 mini-muffin cups.

Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat to melt. Add chopped chocolate.

Stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Add sugar and cocoa powder to butter/chocolate mixture. Stir until combined. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt, mixing until combined. Stir in flour, mixing just until combined and smooth.

Transfer batter to prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Smooth the top of the batter with a small spatula or spoon.

Place Nutella in a zip-top bag and press into a corner. Cut the corner off the bag. Place the cut opening of the bag just slightly into the top center of brownie batter. Squeeze bag gently to add about a teaspoonful of Nutella into each brownie.

Bake 20-24 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the brownie comes out with moist crumbs.

Cool on wire rack about 10 minutes. Using a small knife or spatula, gently loosen brownies from pan. Remove brownies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Here is a recipe that is sure to brighten you mood as we go in to October. Pumpkin Pie Cookies.

To make mini-pie slices use a knife to cut simple circles into wedges.  The size of the cookies will depend on what size cutter you use.

When it comes to circle cutters I love graduated sets because I always have the size I need.  If you have a mini-candy corn cutter, that would work too.

I used a four inch round cutter so the baked cookies were about two inches in length.

To make these cookies you will need:

• Pumpkin orange 20-second icing
• Stiff-ish crust colored piping icing {I mixed ivory with a little warm brown}
• Stiff white piping icing

Begin by flooding the wedges with orange 20-second icing and let dry.

To make the crust, position a #101 tip near the left corner of the cookie, thin side up.  Slowly move up and down in a loose “M” shape until you reach the opposite side.

Use a boo-boo stick or toothpick to clean up any sharp points if necessary.  If you’re new to petal tips, don’t let them intimidate you.  Practice on a paper towel until you feel confident.

Finish up by using a star tip to add a dollop of whipped cream.  I used a #16, but an #18 would work well too.

Including the crust my mini pie cookies were just a little over two inches long.

Use these cuties to fill Mason jars for an adorable gift.

Happy Cooking!

Hi everyone I am going to be doing something a little different today. I will be doing a post about me! So this is a little about me.. 

1. I love to read.
2. I play the violin.
3. I like taking horseback riding lessons.
4. I love to play softball.
5. I really like to write and blog.
6. I get distracted easily.
7. I play howrse.
8. I love hockey.
9. I have a web show.
10. And last... I love crafts and recipes and sharing them.  

So alas I could not make a blog post about me without posting one of my favorite recipes. So here tis one of my favorite recipes ever!

classic lemon cheesecake

• 1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• ¼ cup (55g) caster (superfine) sugar
• 100g unsalted butter, chopped

filling

• 330g cream cheese, softened
• 500g ricotta
• 4 eggs
• 1⅓ cups (295g) caster (superfine) sugar
• ¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1½ tablespoons water
• 1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Place the flour, sugar and butter in a bowl and rub with your fingertips to form a rough dough. Using the back of a spoon, press the mixture into the base of a lightly greased 20cm round springform tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Bake the base for 30 minutes or until golden and just cooked. Set aside. To make the filling, place the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, sugar, lemon juice and rind, and vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth. Place the cornflour and water in bowl and mix until smooth. Add the cornflour mixture to the cheese mixture and mix to combine. Pour over the cooked base and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until light golden and just set. Turn the oven off and allow to cool in the oven with the door closed. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until cold. Top with the cream to serve. Serves 8–10.

Hope you enjoy this cake just as much as I do and see you next time when we will be looking at a fall craft. (I was supposed to do that this post, see how distracted I get)

BYE!

Hello people and welcome back how are you??? Well I'm good. It is that time of year when things get a little cooler so you just want to be warm. I am here to give you some recipes and other little things that will make fall fun. This week I will post a recipe a craft and maybe another surprise. This is Fall week.

Here we go with some pumpkin cheesecake muffins. 

Pumpkin Muffin

1- 15 oz can pumpkin

1/4 cup canola oil

2 jumbo eggs

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Filling

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature

1 jumbo egg yolk

5 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix pumpkin, oil and sugar together on low.  Add in eggs and vanilla and mix in.  Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.  Combine thoroughly and scrape the sides of the bowl until well combined.

Make the filling:

Mix together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until combined.

Assemble:

Line your muffin tins with paper cups (or grease your muffin tins if you don't want to use paper cups).  Drop in spoonfuls of pumpkin mixture to fill about 1/2 way.  Add smaller spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture to top to fill the cup to about 3/4 full.  Use a skewer or spoon handle to swirl.

Bake:

Mini muffins:  20-25 minutes

Standard muffins:  25-30 minutes

Jumbo muffins:  30-40 minutes

Hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time with another post.

Hey sorry I haven't written in a while but I have been SUPER busy so here is a new craft that I hope you will enjoy!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Measure the height and circumference of your jar, and cut strips of fabric to roughly fit (approx. 1cm wide – doesn’t have to be perfect).
2. In your small cup, pour in some glue and dilute it with a bit of water (about 1:2), mix well. It should be the consistency of slightly thicker water.. yes, I know I’m being vague but it shouldn’t make much difference to the end result.

3. Submerge your first strip of fabric in the glue. Once soaked, lightly run your thumb and forefinger down the strip to get rid of any excess glue.
4. Place the strip into your jar (pattern side facing the jar) and position it. Use your paintbrush to push any air bubbles out from between the fabric and the jar.
5. Repeat with the rest of your fabric. Allow to dry overnight before using.

Note:
- It would be best to use battery operated tea lights instead of real candles
- I find that it’s ok to have fabric going above the top of your jar because it can be easily cut off after it’s dried.
- I don’t mind the look of the overlapping lines of fabric once the candle is lit, but if you do try not to overlap the strips in the gluing process.

** I’m just going to add this little disclaimer… please use only battery operated tea-lights(not real candles). If you do decide to go with real candles, you do so at your own risk. Make sure your jar is big enough that the candle has plenty of room around it (the bigger the better), with no chance of the flame touching the fabric. Make sure the glue is dried overnight before using the votives, and keep an eye on them – if you see any signs of them starting to burn, stop using them immediately! **

Hey everyone how are you doing. So today I am going to do something different. It is a recipe but it is not edible. It is.... Dog Shampoo! Here it is.

  
 What you need for DIY Natural Dog Shampoo: 

• 1 cup of natural liquid dish-washing soap (I used Method)
• 1 cup of organic apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of warm water
• 2 ounces of glycerine
• Empty container for shampoo (I used a large mason jar)

What you’ll do to make your homemade dog shampoo: 

• Starting with the dish soap pour the ingredients into your jar
• Shake the jar to mix the ingredients together.
  • FILM
  • LIFE
  • 
  • OVEN
  • READS

  DIY Natural Dog Shampoo

  April 2, 2013

  

  This post for DIY Natural Dog Shampoo contains affiliate links.

  How was everyone’s Easter? We had such a great day spending time at one of our favorite churches, eating and hanging out with our family and loving the BEAUTIFUL weather! It could not have been a prettier day! Everyone seemed to be having such a great time. Except our dog Veda… she still may have been holding a grudge against me.

  Our dog hates having baths. It is one of her least favorite past times. Knowing that she would be spending time with family over Easter I knew she needed a bath. We ran out of shampoo after her last bath so I decided just to make my own DIY natural dog shampoo! I have seen many different recipes floating around the interweb, but I ran across this one and thought I’d give it a try!  

  

  What you need for DIY Natural Dog Shampoo: 

  • 1 cup of natural liquid dish-washing soap (I used Method)
  • 1 cup of organic apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup of warm water
  • 2 ounces of glycerine
  • Empty container for shampoo (I used a large mason jar)

  

  What you’ll do to make your homemade dog shampoo: 

  • Starting with the dish soap pour the ingredients into your jar

  

  • Shake the jar to mix the ingredients together.

  

  • Thoroughly wet your dog down with water and pour the shampoo onto your pet.
  • Lather the shampoo into your pet’s fur.
  • Rinse!

  
  

  

  

  Thanks for reading. I'll see you later. Bye!