Ten Minute Temporary Tie-Dye Tee

Say that 10 times fast!  The other day was Hippie Day at school and we had no tie-dyed shirt, so we made our own!  The total amount of hands-on work time was less than ten minutes.

Start by gathering your supplies.  You will need:
An old t-shirt
Several Stamp Pads
Rubber Bands
Foil or some other thing to protect your work surface
Spray bottle with water.

Place a few rubber bands around the t-shirt.  I decided to do it at regular intervals length-wise rather than all over the place.

Rub different colors of ink onto each section, all the way around.  Now that I think about it, you could use Stampin' UP re-inkers, too.  Those probably would have worked better, actually.

Spritz each section with water generously.  We want to wet it so the ink spreads.

From here you can do one of two things.  You can leave it as is, sitting on the counter overnight to dry. It will probably be a little wet where the rubber bands were.  Or you can do like I did since I needed it for the next morning and wanted it to be 100% dry and ready to go.  And I wasn't about to put that thing in my dryer!    I wrapped it in foil and baked it in the toaster oven for a half hour or so at 300 degrees.  Make sure the shirt is totally encased in the foil.  You don't want to start a fire!

It didn't get totally dry, but it was dry enough that it didn't drip everywhere when I hung it up.  In the morning, it was ready to go.  I just left it wrinkly.  I think it added to the hippie charm.

Now, I'm not 100% sure, but because I used Stampin' UP Classic Ink pads, I believe this will be able to be washed out!  Hence the word 'temporary' in the title.  I haven't tried to wash it yet as I'm waiting to wash it by itself.  I don't want to get it mixed up with our regular clothes by accident.  

Three Musketeers Bars

That's right!  Three Musketeer bars, at home!  First, let me tell you that I did NOT use the correct ingredients for this recipe at all, but they still came out fine.  They were not light and fluffy like Three Musketeers, which I personally enjoyed, and they tasted really good!  See, I was going off of memory when I was at the store...ha ha ha.  I should know better.

The original recipe calls for Cool Whip, but my brain was thinking Marshmallow Fluff!  Since that's what I mistakenly used, that's what I use for describing this recipe.  I also changed it half way through by adding in some marshmallows (because I used the small jar of fluff) and Malt Powder, which really tasted good.  If you want the original recipe that is probably much easier and doesn't involve my screw ups, you can click here. All of these changes are really starting to make me wonder why I'm even posting this, lol!

Here's what you'll need for my version:

2C Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
2C Milk Chocolate Chips
Marshmallow Fluff (Mine was 7oz, but should have gotten a bigger one)
2T Malted Milk Powder
Couple handfuls of mini marshmallows (not shown)

Start by melting your semi sweet chocolate chips in the microwave. Stir every 30 seconds.

Stir in the entire jar of marshmallow fluff.

Hmmmm, not bad.  It was still pretty dense though.  Kind of stringy in a creepy way.

So, that's when I decided to add a couple of handfuls of mini marshmallows.

Using the mixer, I didn't even have to heat things up to get them to mix in.

I tasted it at this point and decided it just needed....something.  That something was malt powder!  I threw in a couple of tablespoons full.

Then I mixed that baby up and spread it in a parchment-lined 8 x 8 pan.

Now, here's where I totally screwed up.  I threw the whole thing in the freezer thinking they'd firm up well and cut into perfect little squares.  What really happened was that it came out something akin to petrified wood and I had to place a huge knife on the top, then whack it with a meat mallet just to get through the stuff!  Note: cool in fridge....do not freeze.

Heat up your milk chocolate in the microwave until melted.  Dip in your squares one by one.

Set on parchment until set.  You can also throw them in the fridge for a bit.

Once set, you can store then in a container with a lid.  I kept mine in the fridge because it was hot out when I made these.  Yes, it's been a while since I've posted anything.

In the fridge, they are still quite chewy, but very tasty.  They do soften up quite a bit when left at room temp though.  I'd liken the texture to a Tootsie Roll.  Not quite fluffy like the real deal, but in all honesty, that's what I've never liked about the real ones...the fluffy-ness.  Me no likey.

Of course, my taste-tester thought they were 'totally awesome'!  This is the face he made when I asked him 'to make a CUTE, smiling face while taking a bite'.  In retrospect, that might have been too many instructions at one time for a seven year old boy.

So, I tried one more time, this time instructing him to act like he was at least enjoying it.  Apparently, there is a fine line between enjoying it and about to get run over by a Mack truck.  I give up, LOL!  Little poop!

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

Here's another little recipe I found on Pinterest.  You can find the (hopefully) original author here although I changed it a little.  These were quick and easy and pretty tasty.  Here's what you'll need:

1/2-2/3 Bag Pretzels (yes, mine is opened on the wrong end, lol)
1 Stick Butter
1/2C Sugar
2t Cinnamon

Start by throwing the butter, sugar and cinnamon into a bowl.  Microwave until butter melts.

Throw in pretzels and stir to coat.  I found that a little more than 1/2 bag was enough.  I tend to like lots of coating though.  You may find you like less.

Pour onto a foil-covered baking sheet and bake at 300 for 30 minutes.  Stir every 10 min.

Let cool completely and store in a baggie or other container at room temperature.

Notes:
These were quick and easy and tasted pretty decent.  These would be an inexpensive little filler for a Christmas tray.  Since I'm a big lover of all things caramelized, I'm thinking these would be even tastier if you cooked the liquid until hard crack stage, then coated the pretzels and baked.  Anything that resembles caramel corn appeals to my fat side.  If I make these again, I'll try that and let you know how it turned out.

Fried Cheese Sticks

I keep forgetting to take pix of my ingredients. Sorry about that!  Well, these are so simple, you can remember the list.  All that is needed is:

Egg Roll Wrappers
Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Oil for frying
Marinara, if desired

Start by wrapping a cheese stick up in an egg roll wrapper.  Start at the bottom corner and roll half way up.  Fold in the sides, then continue wrapping the rest of the way. Wet the edges to seal.

Heat your oil up in a pan. I just kept it shallow, but really should have gone a little deeper with it.  As you can see in the next pic, the cheese didn't quite get melty enough.

Turn every minute or so until they are browned on all sides.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve up with some marinara.

I decided to make a little treat with some of the leftover wrappers by cutting them up and frying them.  I sprinkled some with powdered sugar and some with cinnamon/sugar.

Notes:

1) Use at least 1" grease or your cheese won't melt properly.

2) If I made these again, I'd use Lumpia wrappers.  They are thinner and crispier.  These didn't get cooked all the way through and were kind of gummy/chewy/flour-y.  My hubby and my son loved them anyway.  

Homemade (FREE) Slushie Magic

I suppose this post is a little late since it's no longer summer, but I think my kid would drink a slushie any time of year.  I'm going to show you how to make your own slushie at home without having to haul out the blender, which I personally think is a pain because I hate taking it apart and cleaning it.

Every time the "Slushie Magic" commercial comes on tv, my son BEGS me for one, telling me he's DYING for one.  Yes, dying, I'm sure.  There was no way on God's green earth I was going to spend $20 plus shipping and handling for that silly thing, especially on our budget.  Knowing the cubes were the key to the slushie making process, I set out to find out just what was in them.  Anything I can make at home, I will.  Some may call me cheap, some may call me genius.  I always say there's a fine line between genius and moron, LOL!

The only thing I could find was that they seem to be made out of salt water.  I suppose you could liken it to when you make homemade ice cream the old fashioned way.  Remember how you had ice in the big tub, then added a bunch of rock salt to bring the temperature even lower?  Kinda like that.  Not knowing just how much salt/water to use was my dilemma.  That, and what kind of container to use.  Here's what I came up with.  It did work, but I think my salt to water ratio might need some tweaking.

You will need the following: (sorry, forgot to take a pic)
Small water bottle
Salt
Mason Jar with lid
Drink of your choice

Start by soaking your water bottle in soapy water, removing the label.  (I did that after the fact) Then fill bottle 3/4 full with water.  We need to leave some room for expansion. Add in 2T-3T salt.*  At least this is what I used.  It was a complete guess, really.  I used some cheap sea salt.
 Don't waste your money using the expensive stuff.  The rock salt mentioned above for ice cream making would probably not be recommended.  Some of the salt leaches into the drink and I'm not sure if rock salt is safe for consumption.  Best to play it safe.

Put the lid on tightly and throw it in the deep freeze.  It waited about two days (simply because I forgot about it) and mine still wasn't totally frozen.  I'm not sure if it will freeze entirely.  The part that WAS frozen was totally white, which I assumed was a good thing, like a little iceberg.  Place your bottle down into a quart mason jar.

Pour your drink in.  I used Fool Aid.  I only filled it half way full to allow room for agitating.

Place the lid on tightly and shake shake shake.  Be careful, it can get slippery when it gets cold.  I had Mr. Happy Face do it.  It only took about a minute and a half at most.

Remove your lid and pour into a cup.  See, it's slushie, it's magic.  It's Slushie Magic!!!

I took a tiny little sip and it tasted a bit salty to me.  I'm no scientist, but it seems the salt leaches out somehow, even though it's sealed in the plastic.  Some kind of crazy osmosis, I guess.  Tommy thought it tasted great!  I think he just liked the idea of the Slushie Magic in general.  It's exciting to see it happen before your eyes.

*(As a disclaimer and a warning:  NOT that your child would ever consume the salt water inside the container, but you need to know that if you ingest 3T of salt, it will kill you!!!  So keep that little salt bottle away from the kiddos when finished)