Texas Cavier

My friend Shani made Texas Cavier tonight at scrapbooking....mmmm! It was really good. The only problem is that she said she just made it "to taste" so she really didnt have a recipe for it. So, now I am on a hunt for a good recipe until I get the point when I have made it enough that I can make it "to taste." From what I can remember, hers had avacados, cilantro, black eyed peas, beans, onion and bottled italian dressing. (I liked that hers sounded pretty easy...right of the can for most of the ingredients!)

So far, I can find the perfect recipe. I might have to try this one and just add a couple of avacados to it:
2 cans black eyed peas, drained
shopping list
2 cans shoe peg corn, drained shopping list
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained shopping list
2 lg bell peppers, chopped shopping list
1 can black beans, drained shopping list
12 sm. green onions, chopped shopping list
3 ripe tomatoes, chopped shopping list
1 tsp garlic powder shopping list
1 tsp garlic salt shopping list
1 tsp parsley flakes shopping list
16 oz bottle Zesty Italian dressing

Mix peas, beans, corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes with garlic salt, garlic powder, parsley flakes and Italian dressing.
Refrigerate at least 12 hours before serving. Serve with Frito or Tostitos Scoops.

Or maybe this one:
1/2 onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped, drained
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 green onions, chopped
2 cans (14 oz. each) black eyed peas, drained
1 can (14 oz.) hominy, drained
1 bottle (8 oz.) Zesty Italian dressing
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, chopped
4 bags blue corn chips

Directions: Combine first 10 ingredients and chill. Serve with spoon and corn chips on side

Or maybe combine these two from food.com:
1 (15 ounce) can drained black beans
1 (15 ounce) can drained corn
1 chopped red onion
6 chopped roma tomatoes
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
1 dash garlic powder
0.5 (8 ounce) bottle Italian dressing
AND
15 ounces black beans
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced (red or green)
1 avocado, sliced
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2/3-3/4 cup zesty Italian dressing
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions: Toss veggies and salt together. Mix in dressing. Don't stir too vigorously or the avocado will get smashed. Chill in the fridge for at least half an hour. Serve as a dip with tortilla chips or on top of tacos or nachos.

CUTE, CHEAP, and EASY

No, that is not a description of myself in High School (I would never call myself cute!)

It's these super cute oreo cookie suckers. These will be perfect for the upcoming school bake sale...I LOVE things that are easy to make but look really special!!!
OREO COOKIE SUCKERS

Speaking of easy things that end up looking cute HERE is the easiest, cutest heart shaped brownies w/sprinkles ever (why do sprinkles make everything better???) I made these last year for a Valentine's party at church and they were a total hit.

So Many Cute Cake Ideas....so little time

I love all the ideas for these fun cakes. My favorites were probably this purse cake (which if you do an image search for purse cakes you will find TONS of cute cakes btw) and the wii cake and the tuxedo cake. Too bad I dont have any reasons to make cakes any time soon!

42 Stunning Cakes in 10 Ingredients and Less - Parenting.com

5 min jello recipe

I came across this recicpe on a blog recently(http://visitingteachingblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/jello-surprise.html) and I immediately liked it because it is so quick! :) I put my own twist to it and here is it is:

5 minute jello salad

1 lg package jello
1 1/3 c boiling water
16-18 ice cubes
4 c whipped topping (divided)
Fresh fruit (optional)

Put jello and water into a blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes. Add ice cubes to blender one at a time while continuing to blend till completely mixed. Mix in 2 cups whipped topping. Immediately pour into serving bowl and cool in refrigerator for 5 minutes. Add fresh fruit, and another dollop of cream on top, if desired.

Optional: This can be made into a layer salad by dividing mixture into half after blending. Add whipped topping to only one half. Layer the half with the whipped topping on top of the half without. Fresh fruit can be added to either layer or on top, if desired. Top with remaining whipped topping.

Marshmallo Fondant Barney the Dinosaur Cake

This is my first attempt at fondant and I think it went pretty well. Since my daughter ONLY wanted a Barney cake I had to try to figure out a way to make one all on my own (I tried to get her to go for Elmo or Dora or ANYTHING else that has been popular in this Millennium so I would be able to buy something to use for the cake, but it HAD to be Barney). I used this recipe of off all recipes.com and also got tips off of the cake stylist and whats cooking America. After I made it and kneaded it, I put it in a plastic bag and put in the fridge until I was ready to use it later that day. I started with a cooled 13x9 cake that I leveled and then frosted with white frosting (from a can) and then put in the freezer to help it set and prevent crumbs (it was a chocolate cake...that is what she wanted). After freezing, I frosted it again to make smooth (I dipped the knife in a cup of milk while frosting which helped smooth it out). Then I tinted the fondant (which ended up with a entire bottle of red food coloring on the carpet, but that is a whole 'nother story) and then rolled it out. I used a picture of Barney that I printed off of a coloring page website and enlarged it and cut it out and used it as guide to cut out the fondant (be careful to not let the paper stick to the fondant). It was a little bit difficult to get it to transfer onto the cake (I finally just rolled out the fondant onto tip foil sprayed with Pam and then turned it upside and tried to get it off onto the cake...I am not sure if this is a very "proper" fondant technique but it worked!) Then I just cut another piece of green fondant for his stomach and rolled small yellow fondant balls for his toenails. I did decorate the other parts of barney with regular black icing from a can. I also cut out circles from the leftover fondant to decorate it and my older two children rolled out some small fondant balls to put around the bottom. In the end, it was a hit!

Resurrection Easter Rolls

I found this recipe online so I decided to try it this year for Easter morning. It was just me and the kids I home since Daddy had to work, so, I figured this would be a good way to try to bring in the true meaning of Easter (and have a fun time with my kids at the same time.) Overall, it went well, there was some extra marshmallow goo on the pan (thank goodness for pampered chef stoneware and it's non-stick surface) so next time I may cut the marshmallow in half first.


Resurrection Easter Rolls:
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Read Matthew 27:57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.) This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
5. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb - pretend like it was three days!)
6. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

Now read Matthew 28:5-8

Easy Carmel Popcorn

I got this recipe from my friend Natalie. I made a few small changes but over-all it's her recipe. It is SO easy but tastes as good as carmel popcorn that takes a long time (and a candy thermometer) to make! I have even done it in the microwave before. We love making this for holiday neighbor gifts by adding in holiday candies (Candy corn, Christmas m&m's, etc)

Ingredients
1 stick butter or margarine
1 C packed brown sugar (optional)
25 marshmallows (the S'mores size, not miniature)
Two bags microwave popcorn, popped

Directions:
Melt butter, sugar and marshmallows on stove top, stirring constantly, til all the marshmallows are dissolved and it becomes creamy( It gets stringy if you cook it too long) Poor over bags of popped microwave popcorn and stir till coated. Tip: use your hands to scoop the popcorn into the bowl- leaving the unpopped kernels in the bottom of the bag and out of the caramel.

Chicken Taco Soup

This is one of my favorite recipes because it is SO quick and easy. I make it when I need something fast for a potluck or when I need to take dinner to someone. Whenever I make it, people often ask for the recipe so I thought I would share it here.....The only problem is that it is SO easy that I almost don't want people to know how easy it is!

It's a basic taco soup recipe (that I got from my sister, Jamie) but I switched it up just a little by using chicken instead of hamburger ( I LOVE it with chicken). I usually poach chicken breasts in a little bit of water and then cut them into bite sized pieces.

Taco Soup:
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 can corn, undrained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 lb cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces or 1 lb hambuger, browned and drained

Combine and cook till heated through. Serve and top with grated cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips and/or salsa.