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Recipe of the Week: Sweet Jack-o’-laterns

October 16, 2008 1 Comment

I got this really cute treat in my email last week, and I thought it would be a great recipe to feature as the recipe of the week. The idea comes from Taste of home and they call them Sweet Jack-o’-lanterns. These would be such a great treat to take to a school Halloween party or serve at home.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that I love sweet treats, especially if they are easy to make and decorate (since I’m not much of an artist), and this definitely fits that mold. It’s something you can make even if you’re short on time, and it’s easy enough that you could even get the kids in on the action. And you can make something that’s very fun and professional looking without spending a lot of money and without having to be a culinary artist. Excellent!

Ingredients:
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix or cake mix of your choice
3-3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 to 3/4 cup milk
1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons orange paste food coloring
12 gumdrops
12 black jujubes
Directions: Prepare and bake cake according to package directions for cupcakes. Fill 24 greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. For frosting, in a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, butter and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Stir in food coloring. Cut a thin slice off the top of each cupcake. Spread frosting on 12 cupcakes. Invert remaining cupcakes and place on top; frost top and sides. For stems, place one gumdrop on each pumpkin. Cut jujubes into thin slices; use a bottom slice for each mouth. From remaining slices, cut one large triangle and two smaller ones. Position two small triangles and a large triangle on each cupcake for eyes and nose. Yield: 1 dozen.


Filed Under: cupcakes, fall, Halloween, Recipe of the Week

Easy & Inexpensive Halloween Costume Ideas

October 16, 2008 Leave a Comment

When I first started the blog last year, I began writing down a ton of post ideas, and of course once you start writing them all down, you never can get to them all. Anyway, I came across a list of “easy” Halloween costumes last year, and it prompted me to make my own list.

Most of these ideas, you can actually buy a costume for at Wal-mart or a costume store, but they can also be made using items you have around the house, or at least partially in addition to buying one or two accent pieces or props. Either way, these costumes are easy and inexpensive, and a few of the them would be quite interesting to see!

Witch/Wizard – wear all black, plus at a hat & broom.
Angel – wear all white, plus wings and a halo, which can be purchased at a costume store, or make your using wire (such as from a coat hanger) and cover it with material (for the wings) and glitter (for the halo.
Doctor – wear a labcoat and carry a toy/home stethoscope
Jailbird – wear black/white stripes
Cat – wear all black, and purchase ears/tail from costume shop, or make your own
Leopard/Tiger – same as cat, except wear the color of print for the animal you desire
Devil – dress in red, wear a cape/horns/tail. and carry a pitchfork
Cow – a friend of mine had a very cute homemade cow costumes. the pants were made from cowprint fabric, and then she wore a white sweatshirt and hotglued black spots made from felt onto it. (this could be done to make the pants if you can’ts sew)
Vampire – dress in black, and wear a cape & vampire teeth
Ghost – wear a white sheet. And for fun, if you have an old sheet that you never use anymore, you can cut a bunch of holes in it, and be Charlie Brown dressed as a ghost.
Cop – black pants & button up shirt, plus carry a badge & gun
Mail carrier – Wear Navy shorts & blue shirt (or wear brown and go as a UPS man)
Farmer – wear overalls or jeans with a plaid shirt, and perhaps a hat
Baby/kid – wear pajamas and put your hair in pigtails, carry a stuffed animal
Caesar -use a sheet or white material to make a toga, and wear a wreath on your head and sandals on your feet.
Athlete or Fan – wear a jersey of your favorite time. To dress as a fan, paint your face and carry a sign.
French Maid – Black dress/apron
Waitress – same as french maid, only with different colors
Tv Character – maybe someone from the Brady Bunch or Saved by the Bell, or perhaps The Fonz – just wear clothes from that time period

And now for a few unique concepts:
Store Shelf – save food boxes or other items and attach them to a piece of poster board, and attach the poster board to yourself (use pins or tie around you with string)
Bouquet of Flowers – buy several bunches of fake flowers & attach them to an old sweatshirt
Stop sign – make a big stop sign out of red poster board and attach it to your clothes
Playing Card -same concept as stop sign, only make a playing card design
Leftover – wrap yourself in tin foil
Block of Cream Cheese – wrap a box in tin foil, then cut holes in the box for your head/arms.
Mr. Clean – Jeans, white t-shirt, earring, and perhaps carry a mop or shirt. (I always joke with my dad, who’s hairless, that he should dress as Mr. Clean) I also think it would be cute to make a costume for other advertising icons like Mrs. Butterworth, the Pillsbury Doughboy, or perhaps a character from some Cereal commercial.
Blogger – This one would be funny & cute, if you have the stuff to do it with. Either use a kid’s toy laptop, or make something that looks like a laptop (maybe get a pizza box or cereal box and paint it). And then just find a way to attach it to your hip!


Filed Under: crafts, fall, Halloween

Candy Apples: Photos & Links

October 15, 2008 1 Comment

Fall is the time for Halloween and the country fair, and no county fair or Halloween party is complete without candy apples. I looked around the internet and found several sites that might be of interest to you. They include instructions/recipes to make candy apples, and they feature a variety of different kinds that you can make. (funny, growing up I’d only ever heard of 3 kinds: the caramel ones, the red ones, and the ones with nuts.)

Each link is described below, and as a bonus I posted a few delicous looking photos for you viewing pleasure.

Ehow – For directions on how to make candy apples
Maholo.com – another site that offers instructions on making candy apples
maholo.com (again) – facts & lots of links about candy apples
Cooking Light – learn how to make cinnamon candied apples
About.com – Video shows you how to make caramel apples
Wikipedia – the history of candy apples (for nerds like me)
Family Fun shows how to make mini candie apples (pictured below). Very cute!


myrecipes – This site has a gallery of 14 different kinds of candy apples. Below I’ve posted some a few of their photos. Visit their site to learn more about the photos and find out all the different kinds of candy apples you can make.




Personally I like the Granny Smith Apples with caramel, but that’s just me. Though I wouldn’t mind a taste of the chocolate or chocolate-peanut butter, and maybe the toffee flavored!

Filed Under: desserts, fall, Halloween, recipes

Menu Plan Monday for October 13

October 12, 2008 1 Comment


This week is going to be a little different for me. My husband is starting a new job, where he’ll be working nights, which means a lot of change and adjustments in our schedule & life, mostly for him, but also for me, since I’ve grown quite accustomed to having him home with me every night, but also because it’s going to change the menu planning a little. I know it’ll take me a week or two to get used to the schedule and figure out exactly how I’ll do things, and hopefully when I start a new job it’ll all come together nicely.

To help myself get a little better organized, I’m going to try and start planning out my breakfasts & lunches too. Before, it was hard to do that because my husband had classes at different times of the day, and his work schedule varied from week to week. It’s rather difficult to plan what you’re having for lunch when you don’t even know if you have anyone to make lunch for, but now that he’s working regular hours, I should be able to do more planning & scheduling for all of our meals.

Breakfasts – Bacon & eggs, grits, Cereals, Banana Nut Muffins

Lunches – Chicken Salad sandwiches, Egg Sandwiches, leftovers from dinner

Dinners
Monday – Burgers & Fries
Tuesday – Pinto beans, Au Gratin Potatoes, corn, & rolls
Wednesday – Three Cheese Chicken & Pasta (Betty Crocker Complete Meal) & leftovers
Thursday- Fajitas
Friday – Beef Stew & Cornbread
Saturday – Leftover stew/cornbread
Sunday – Sandwiches

To view other delicious menus, please visit I’m An Organizing Junkie.


Filed Under: menu plan Monday

The One Year Anniversary of Simply Sweet Home & The Recipe of the Week: Coca Cola Cake

October 11, 2008 2 Comments

Greetings everyone! It was a very busy week for me. No time for posting, as I was out job searching. I had some meetings with a couple of agencies this week and have sent some applications to a few places as well. Aside from that, I’ve been getting some stuff out of storage at my dad’s house this week and am still trying to find places for some odds and ends stuff at our house. And then of course there’s the usual errands to run as well. There just aren’t enough hours in the day!

But no matter what, I had to find time to post today, because it is the one year anniversary of the blog. Yea! It almost doesn’t seem like it’s been a year, but internet time stamps never lie (not to mention all the Halloween posts I did last year).

So in celebration of the blog’s one year anniversary/birthday, I made a yellow cake with chocolate icing. (Mine and my husband’s favorite) My grandmother used to make a Coca-Cola cake, which was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I’ve made the cake myself and it’s delicious, but as my husband prefers the yellow cake by far, I usually just make the coca-cola icing and put it on a yellow cake.

For this special post, I’m featuring the pictures of the cake that I made last night for the occasion, and in case anyone wants to try it, I’ve included the classic recipe straight from my grandmother’s old cookbook for Coca Cola Cake. Enjoy!

And finally I want to say thank you to everyone who reads/subscribes/comments at Simply Sweet Home. I really enjoy writing and sharing my ideas and having this creative outlet, and it thrills my soul to know that there are people out there who are reading it and who enjoy my posts. Thanks again!

Coca-Cola Cake:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup Coca-Cola
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows (optional)

Sift sugar and flour together. Boil butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola. Pour over flour and sugar. Dissolve soda in buttermilk and pour in with the above ingredients. Then add eggs, vanilla, and marshmallows. Pour into greased 13X9 inch pan and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chocolate Icing:
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons Coca-cola
1 box confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon broken pecans (optional)

Bring to boil the butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola. Add the sugar, vanilla and pecans. Pour over cake in the pan while icing is hot.




Filed Under: announcements, desserts, Recipe of the Week

Recipe of the Week: Apple Crisp

October 3, 2008 6 Comments

This week’s recipe is from Taste of Home. It is a recipe for Apple Crisp. I don’t get a chance to eat this stuff as much as other cakes/pies/etc, but when I do eat it, it is absolutely delicious.

This is a really great recipe to eat on a cool fall or winter day. It’s perfect for harvest time and family get togethers, and it’ll warm your heart and soul. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5 medium tart apples, peeled and sliced
1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
1-3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup water

Directions: In a large bowl, combine the apples, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples, pressing down to smooth top. Slowly pour water over the top; sprinkle with remaining cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 40-45 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.

Filed Under: desserts, fall, Recipe of the Week

Links to Fall Wedding Ideas & Items

October 2, 2008 1 Comment

During the summer I kept meaning to do some posts on wedding ideas, but I never got around to it. Then yesterday I found out that my best friend from elementary/high school is getting married next summer. This inspired me to do a post on stuff for fall/autumn weddings. Some of the most beautiful weddings I’ve been too were fall weddings. Fall colors are so pretty, and they create such a soft, romantic, and elegant atmosphere.

For today’s post I’ve compiled a list of links to fall wedding ideas. Some of these are retail sites which sale wedding favors and other items, while others provide information and/or photos about wedding flowers, decor, etc. Even if you, yourself, are not getting married, you may still want to consider these sites if you’re planning a wedding shower for a friend, or if you’re looking for some ideas for home decor or party ideas for the fall. Happy looking!

Simply Elegant Favors – sells a variety of favors for fall weddings and other occasions
Favor Ideas – more favors for weddings/showers
Fall & Autumn Wedding Accessories – candles, serving sets, guest books, favors, and other accessories
Wedding Flowers and Reception Ideas – ideas for boquets, flower arrangments, centerpieces, and cakes in beautiful fall colors
About.com: Fall Wedding Ideas & Themes – ideas for fall wedding locations, decor, dress, etc.
BHG – candle centerpieces
Martha Stewart Weddings – fall bridal boquets and a ton of other wedding planning tips and ideas
BHG – Centerpieces – BHG has a ton of ideas for fall centerpieces, many of which would be beautiful for wedding reception or shower


Filed Under: decorating, fall, party ideas

Cute Invitations for Halloween

September 30, 2008 1 Comment

I’m finally starting to get my house in order….sort of. And I’m going to try and get back to my postings…though they may be a little disjointed for a while. For something quick and easy I was looking on BHG and found these really cute Halloween party invitations. Handmade invitations are so cute, and the scrapbooking industry has made it so easy to make unique, professional looking invitations.

Lovely Leaves – I love the embelishments on the outside of this invite. This would be a good project not just for Halloween but for any Fall or Thanksgiving activity. I think it would also make a lovely pattern for a fall wedding or shower invitation.

Come Hang Out With Us – I like this invitation because it’s a very simple pattern, but it’s still cute and fun. This one’s my favorite overall.

Shabby Spider Web – I think the shabby/tattered look goes great with the spider webs. It makes me think of a haunted house.

Dancing Skeleton – I really like the embellishments on this invite. It’s very bright, colorful, and professional looking, yet it can be made with just a few simple pieces of scrapbook materials.


Filed Under: crafts, fall, Halloween

Requesting Help From All You Bloggers Out There

September 26, 2008 2 Comments

Hello bloggers! Unfortunately I’ve been in the middle of moving in to my house and hunting a job at the same, which has kept me from doing any posting. But hopefully I’ll get back into it soon.

Now, I have a request for all you bloggers out there. A couple of days ago my computer crashed, and we had to totally reload Windows. Unfortunately when we reloaded the operating system, I lost all of my blog feeds. So I would like to ask for everyone to send me the URL to their blog so that I can get some of the feeds back.

Several of you who visit my blog, know that I also visit yours (as I leave comments with you often)….if you know that I’ve visited your blog before, please leave a comment on this post so that I can subscribe to your blog again.

Also, as I don’t remember all the blogs I had subscribed to, I’m open to finding new blogs to read as well. If you have a blog or would like to recommend someone else’s blog to me, that would be great. I mostly subscribe to blogs about Organizing, Food/Recipes, Homemaking, and Thrifty/Money Saving. So if you’d like to help me out, please leave a comment on this post, or send an email jhrivers@gmail.com

Thanks,
Jerri

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Menu Plan Monday for September 22

September 21, 2008 3 Comments

This week Laura at I’m An Organizing Junkie is hosting a Family Favorites Edition of Menu Plan Monday. Everyone has to post at least one recipe or link of a “family favorite.” It’s sure to be the week of all weeks to go by and browse the menus. I can’t wait to check it out.

At first I was just going to post a link to the chicken & rice recipe I always use, but when I mentioned to my husband that it was family favorites week, he said, “Let’s have chicken cordon blue.” And I just happenened to take a couple of pictures the last time I made it, so all in all, it seemed like the perfect week to post it.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Monday – still moving in, eat out
Tuesday – One Dish Chicken & Rice Bake
Wednesday – Chicken Cordon Bleu (recipe below)
Thursday – leftovers
Friday – club sandwiches
Saturday – Chili
Sunday – leftovers

Recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Ingredients:
2-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
thin sliced ham (2-5 pieces per chicken breast)
swiss cheese (sometimes I use American too) (1-2 slices per chicken breast)
pepper/seasonings

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet or casserole dish with cooking spray. Place meat and cheese on top of chicken. Fold chicken breast over and stick 3-5 toothpicks in the chicken to secure it shut. Top each chicken breast with your choice of season. I use a little pepper and/or Morton’s Nature’s Season, and sometimes I sprinkle a little Shake n’ Bake seasoning on top as well. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until done.
Optional: 5 minutes before chicken is done, take out, and place half a piece of cheese on each chicken breast, or sprinkle some shredded cheese on top. Replace in oven and finish baking.

Filed Under: casseroles and quick meals, menu plan Monday
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