Easy Veggie Pizza

I am not a great cook by any stretch of the imagination.  I do enjoy cooking and the more I cook, the more comfortable I feel experimenting.  This is one of those recipe's that doesn't really need to be measured because it can be adjusted according to taste.  I originally got the idea from one of my sweet sisters in the law, but we've adjusted it based on what we enjoy eating.  We like to put a little bacon and cheese on it {since a meatless meal just about kills Superman} but if meat's not your thing, take out the bacon {although I might call you crazy because bacon is delish}.  And you can stick your favorite veggies on.  We usually do carrots, broccoli, and tomatoes, but peppers, mushrooms, or whatever veggies float your boat work as well.  Enough explanation?  Ok.  On with the show.

Veggie Pizza

• One pizza crust {I usually make my own half whole wheat one, in an effort to be relatively healthy, but use whatever you're comfortable with.}
• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese {I use the lower fat one, what's its name?  Just a minute, let me check my fridge.  Ok. Nuefchatel Cheese. Isn't that a fancy dance way of saying 1/3 less fat than normal cream cheese?}
• 1/2 packet of ranch mix {you can use the whole thing, I just think it's a little strong when you do}
• Vegetables {Any kind you want, just chopped in pieces.  For this one I used one medium tomato, one head of brocolli, and two carrots.}
• 1/2 cup Bacon
• 1/2 cup grated cheese{Any kind you want.  I usually use cheddar or parmesan}

Instructions:
Cook pizza crust according to instructions. Let cool. Add ranch mix to cream cheese in a medium bowl.  Mix until combined.  Spread mixture over pizza crust.  Add vegetables one layer at a time, then add bacon, then cheese.  Cut into pieces and enjoy.

Mustache Monday: Free cupcake topper printable

I mentioned before that I threw a 'stache bash for Supermans b.day a while back, so I thought I'd share one {of many} free mustache printables to come.

This one was a cupcake topper.

I just cut out the circles, glued them together with a tooth pick in between.  Rocket science.  

*Please note the fact that I can't frost a cupcake. That's because.... I have cupcake frosting issues.  Seriously, I have tried to be patient enough to learn, but I can't seem to master it yet.  So I just sort of slapped it on there.  I know it would look better if I had frosted it correctly, but frosting's frosting, right?  Don't snub me.

Anyway, here's the printable.

Have a happy Monday!

Spots and Stripes {Kids Clothes Week Challenge}

A while back, Kristin from Skirt as Top left a comment on my blog about Elsie Marie's Kids Clothes Week.  So first, I almost fainted because Kristen from Skirt as Top actually left a comment on my blog.  Then I recovered, felt like a doofus, and did a little Kids Clothes Week research.  I'd heard of it before, but as usual, I was too terrified to participate.  But it looked fun and it just so happened that Superman was on a business trip for most of this week {what, you think now that he's married, he doesn't still have to save the world?  You silly billy.} So I KCWC it up over here.  Well, sort of.  I got a few things done and I enjoyed myself for the most part.  Most of the projects flopped, but that's because I was impatient.  This one turned out ok, so I thought I'd share it since I'm not completely ashamed.  :)

I'm into animal prints right now.  I think they're fun for kids.  And these socks were like 90 cents at Target.  I used this method to turn them into leggings.

 I need to work on the shirt a bit.  It makes her look like she has wings.  :)

 But I feel like chubby babies are cute in anything, so it's all good, right?

 This photo session moved outside  and ended quickly because this little doll was getting too wiggly.

 She's bustin' out the seams with her diaper....how embarrassing.  But she wore them all day and they held up, so that's a plus.

That's my KCW contribution for now.  I might show the other things I made at some point, but for now, I'm happy with this. 

Thanks for lookin'!

Socks to Leggings

Do you ever think that you've got a completely original idea and then you wake up and see that idea on someone else's blog.  And you're like, "Say what? How did you get my idea and read my mind?" Then you start looking around and you see that idea has often already been around since the 50's and you only thought it was your original idea.

I have "original ideas" like that all the time.

But I think it's fair to say that if I thought it was my idea originally, then I'm ok to share my take on it.

And now that I'm reading this over, I'm wondering if I even needed to explain all this.  I just wanted to clarify.

SO.  I thought one day, I think these knee high socks are cute, but what can I do with them to make them useful?  I'd already made these leg/arm warmers and I was up for a little change.  And I cut and arranged and cute and arranged some more until I figured out how to make them into leggings for a small sized human.

Consequently, I had some chevron knee highs that worked out perfect for this project that I did a few weeks ago.  

Materials needed

• A pair of socks {knee highs for a toddler, smaller socks for a baby}
• Scissors
• 1/2 inch elastic

Take your socks and lop off the toes with your scissors {I was excited to use the word "lop" in a post.}

Then cut down the inside of the sock to about the middle of the heel.

Turn one sock inside out.

Place said sock inside the other sock so they line up.

Like so.

Pin in place.

Sew around {I used a straight stitch, then reinforced it with a zig zag}

Then add the elastic using this method from Made by Rae.

And viola', there you have it.  New leggings for your baby/toddler.

They work like tights, so if they seems small, they usually stretch quite a bit.  They fit my 3T/4T daughter.

{PS The clouds were doing crazy things while I took these pictures.  Hence the bright, dark, bright, dark sequence we had goin' on.}

Linked to:

Mustache Monday: Mustache Molds

Happy Mustache Monday. Today I give you a simple stachy thought:

Don't grow a real mustache.  Buy a mustache mold instead.

We got these on Amazon for our mustache bash last year and it has served us well. My kids get a kick out of them.

No need to grow a real mustache when you can have one in chocolate form, right?

Covering up onsie words

Do you ever see a onsie that has potential {as in it costs one dollar on the walmart rack} but it has words on it? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind words on shirts, it's just that usually, I'm looking for a plain colored onsie and sometimes they're blasted hard to come by in certain colors.  Like I don't find black onsies very often.  And since I am unskilled in the art of dying clothing {I want to give that a try though} I thought I could find a quick sewing remedy.

Using ruffles.  It's not perfect, but I'd like to keep experimenting.

What you'll need:

• Onsie
• Coordinating fabric{preferably in knit so it won't fray}

Basically, all you're going to do is make ruffles, as long or short as you want, then pin, and sew.  {For a how to on ruffles go here.  Just remember highest tension, longest length.} You'll just want to make sure to put each ruffle under the ruffle above it enough so that when you wash the onsie, you don't see the words.  Did that make any sense?  Sorry. 

Anyway, there you go!  Easy cheesy.

Homemade Popcorn

We have a a weekly tradition around these parts called family movie night.  We usually do it on Fridays. We eat pizza and well, watch a movie.  I'm not really into a whole bunch of mainstream movies and since our kids are little, we usually let them pick a "kid" show to watch.  They love it and it gives them something to look forward to.  I like to savor the fact that they enjoy spending time with us because I figure someday, they'll be wanting to hang out with friends and family movie night will be a thing of the past.

We're popcorn lovers in this house.  Once, when we were at my in-laws house watching a movie, they popped a bag of popcorn and gave it to Superman and me to then be passed on to the rest of the fam.  Only, it didn't make it to anyone else.  We consumed it in about two handfuls.  That popcorn didn't stand a chance.

We take our popcorn loving very seriously.  Someday, I'd like to get something like this for Superman when we finish our basement, but for now we use an air popper like this.  It's been working for five years and it's still goin' strong.

So I thought I'd share my popcorn recipe.  Now I know microwave popcorn is much easier, but I grew up with popcorn from a popper and I think it tastes fantastic-o.  I'm also guessing that it's a little bit healthier than microwave popcorn?  {That's what I like to let myself think anyway.} 

Homemade Popcorn

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

*Note:  These measurements are totally our family preference.  Obviously, adjust as you see fit.

Instructions:
Follow the instructions provided by your popcorn popper.  I just put the kernels in, plug in the machine and wait for it to pop {my kids love watching it pop.}

Now, pour a little butter on the top layer {you'll want to make sure not to use all of the butter, or you'll have a super soggy top layer and a sad dry bottom layer.}  Then sprinkle a little salt over the butter layer.  Next, spread the popcorn around {I just use *clean* hands, but you could use utensils}.  Then repeat the previous three steps until all the popcorn is coated evenly.  

Enjoy!

Mustache Monday: Mustache Candy Dish

We get a kick out of mustaches in our house.  Not real mustaches.  Fake ones.  I know this trend has been going on for a while and if you just "don't get it" that's cool.  {Because, believe me, my Mom doesn't get it.} But we think it's fun {mostly because our kids think it's fun} and we're happy to keep trending the mustache until it dies.

We had a mustache bash a couple years ago for Supermans b.day and I went a little crazy with it.  {Meaning I purchased way too much mustache memorabilia.} So I have a lot of mustache things to share.  I plan to share mustachey things on Mondays just to get it off my chest.....or my upper lip, I should say. ;)

We'll see how long it lasts.  

So today?  A mustache candy dish {or mug}.

Materials:

• One ceramic dish or mug
• Pencil
• Sharpie
• A mustache {Preferably not a real one}

And here's how it worked.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

 I'd wash your mug/dish/whatever first. {Just sayin'}

  {Note: You'll want to make sure it's %100 ceramic or porcelain}

Stachify. I traced a mustache of my own making on with a pencil.

 Then with a sharpie. {I've heard that colored Sharpies change color once they're cooked, so I just stuck with black}

 Then I filled it in.

 Wrote some words. {Then cursed myself for not having better hand-writing.  I even practiced with a pencil first!  Humbug.}

 Then I cooked the little beast for 30 minutes.

 Let it cool.

And stuck in some stachy M&Ms for Superman to take to work.  {No it's not old Valentines Candy!  I did this for V.day I promise.}

Happy Monday!