Last Minute Bunny Ears for Barbie

Sometimes the easiest things bring the biggest smiles... These Last Minute Super Simple Bunny Ears for Barbie would be so cute tucked inside a plastic egg, or they're a great project to have the girls make for themselves. It's a fast craft that only requires the plastic ring from a water bottle for the headband and pipe cleaners for the ears. Of course you could make them fancier and maybe glue a little pink to the center of each ear (you know I'm thinking glitter:@) but I wanted to keep it as quick and easy as possible, especially if you have several Barbies to help get ready for Easter...

Philly Barbie says "yo, s'up Doc?".

Last Minute Bunny Ears for Barbie
Material:
~Plastic ring from a water bottle (the part that stays on the bottle when you screw the cap off).
~Half of a pipe cleaner in whatever spring-y colors you have.
~Plastic egg to put it in-optional. I also think it would be a fun surprise if the girl just finds her Barbie wearing bunny ears.

• Cut ring off of bottle. Bring the two sides of the pipe cleaner up around the ring (making a V), wrap each side tightly around the ring once. Fold each side down in half to make ears and shape them how you'd like. Reshape ring into a circle if necessary. Glue something pink or white to the middle if desired.

My Barbie Pinterest Board is here.

Have a hoppy day:@)

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Grandma Inez's Pineapple Meringue Pie

This is my second attempt at making Grandma Inez's Pineapple Meringue Pie. Take it from me, it works much better when you follow the directions:@) The first time I couldn't understand why my filling wasn't thickening up and turned around to find the cornstarch still in the measuring cup!!! The pie tastes amazing with a beautiful nicely set yellow fruit custard. I haven't met Grandma Inez but I highly recommend this pie and would like to thank her for the recipe!

I started with a thinner layer of meringue and spread that to the edges of the pie, then had some fun with a Wilton 1M tip to swirl the meringue. I think it split because I slid the wobbly foil pie plate off of the pan I baked it on while hot. I'd just let it cool on that pan the next time. Or make my own crust in a glass pie plate, even a better idea...

You might notice I don't have a pic of a cut piece... um, that's because we were all too busy eating:@) 

You'll love this one folks!

Grandma Inez's Pineapple Meringue Pie-from Tasty Kitchen
Pie:
3/4 C sugar-I cut back a bit
2 Tblsp butter
2 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
1/3 C cornstarch
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C, plus 2 Tblsp water
8 oz can crushed pineapple
9" pre-baked pie crust-I used a purchased graham cracker crust

Meringue:
2 egg whites-I'd use 3 the next time
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
6 Tblsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Pie: Mix sugar, butter and egg yolks in a sauce pan with either a hand held mixer, whisk or spoon.
2. Add cornstarch, vanilla, water and pineapple (juice and all), mix well making sure the yolks are well incorporated. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick, approx 15 minutes. Pour into pie shell.
3. Meringue: Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Add everything else and whip until stiff peaks form and it's smooth and glossy. 
4. Spread meringue over pie and bake at 400 degrees for 8-12 minutes, or until the meringue has browned a bit.
5. Can be served warm or cold but I think it's best eaten the day it's made.

Here are two more fun pineapple ideas for you: Pineapple Pie and Pineapple Cream Cheese Roll.

Have a sticky sweet happy day:@)

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Ferrero Rocher Easter Bunnies

These little Ferrero Rocher Easter Bunnies are popping their heads up out of their holes just in time for Easter! They make cute place settings, are nice little party favors and would even be fun glued onto napkin rings. I also love that this is a candy adults enjoy as well as kids. They're super simple so why not make like bunnies and whip up a bunch of these to share with everyone:@)

I wanted to suggest the option of gently peeling the candy from the brown cup

 and gluing some Easter grass in the cup. 

This does require a little... patience... 

You'll notice only one of mine has grass:@)

I added the ornament label because I think they'd be adorable hanging on my Easter tree.

Material:

Ferrero Rocher candy

pipe cleaners cut in half, any color

1/2" pink pom-poms for nose

googly eyes, in desired size

string for whiskers

glue-I used hot glue

spring colored small cupcake/candy cups to replace the brown paper if desired

Directions: 

1. Remove little label sticker from top of candy (you can place it somewhere else).
2. Bend pipe cleaner in half, then each side in half again for ears.

3. Glue on whiskers then nose. Then glue eyes and ears.

4. Sit back and say "awwwwww".

Have a happy day:@) 

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Onion and Herb Soft Fluffy Dinner Rolls

Has it actually been almost a month since I last mentioned how much we love this roll recipe??? Time flies:@) This will be my 5th variation as it's always fun to change up a favorite just a bit and make it into something new. If you're looking for a soft, fluffy roll with big flavor for those lighter soups of spring or Easter dinner, these Herb and Onion Dinner Rolls were a big hit! Oh and, they're on the table in 90 minutes. I thought you might like that too...

Note: To ensure it had time to soften, I measured the minced onion then crushed it a bit with a mortar and pestle. 

Onion and Herb Classic Dinner Rolls Using Rapid Rise Yeast-adapted from breadworld.com
2 to 2 1/4 C A/P flour
2 Tblsp sugar
1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C milk
1/4 C water
2 Tblsp butter

1 Tblsp plus  tsp dried minced onion

3/4 tsp Italian Seasoning/herbs 

Melted butter or olive oil mixed with a pinch of dried parsley for brushing on top

1. Combine 3/4 C flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in large bowl.
2. Heat milk, water and butter until warm (120 degrees), add to flour mixture and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.
3. Add 1/4 C flour, onion and herbs, beat 2 minutes at high speed.
4. Stir in enough remaining flour 1/4 C at a time to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
5. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces, shape into balls and place in greased 8" round pan (we prefer a 9" pan). Cover and let rise until double, about 30 minutes.
6. Brush with butter/olive oil/parsley and bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and brush with additional butter if desired.

Eat well and have a happy day:@)

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Pig Alert! Hallmark Easter Ornaments

While nosing around Ebay one day I saw a couple Hallmark Piggy Easter Ornaments, how could I pass them up??? Ham-N-Eggs 1995 and Pork-N-Beans 1996. I love the little basket of jelly beans and overalls... Since they're only about 1 1/2" tall they'll work on either the big tree or my feather tree.

 I thought they were cute and different.

I don't know about you, but now I'm hungry!

Have a happy day:@)

Carrot Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

Spring=Bunnies, Bunnies=Carrots, Carrots=Cake... See how my mind works?:@) I've wanted to make a Carrot Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling for a while now and my attempt last year was a serious kitchen failure. So bad I would have even felt guilty tossing it out to the birds... So this year I tried a different recipe, and had much better results! This is such a pretty cake roll with the bits of orange, I think it would be perfect for Easter dessert.

The recipe as written is a heavily spiced cake (I wanted it lighter for spring and reduced the spices by half) and I added raisins because we love them. My raisins were very small, if yours are a good size you may want to cut them in half so they don't inhibit rolling the cake. I also feel there's plenty of room to cut back a bit on the filling... if you're so inclined:@) Or whip up some Pineapple Cream Cheese Filling HERE and use that for something different.

This received a big thumbs-up (because mouths were full) at dinner on Sunday!

Carrot Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling-from Crazy for Crust
3 eggs
2/3 C sugar
2 Tblsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt-I just added a sprinkle
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger-I used 1/2 tsp
1/4 tsp nutmeg-I just grated some into the bowl
2 tsp cinnamon-I used 1 tsp
3/4 C flour
2 C shredded carrots
handful of raisins-optional

Filling:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz butter, softened
2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar for dusting top-optional

1. Beat eggs well, mix in sugar, oil and vanilla.
2. Add dry to wet, mix until blended and stir in the carrots and raisins if using.
3. Spread batter on to a wax paper lined jelly roll pan (10x15"), or use Dorothy's or your favorite way to bake a jelly roll type cake.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for approx 10 minutes.
5. When the cake is no longer wet on top, remove from oven and roll it up. (I just roll it in the wax paper-tutorial HERE, you can click over to Crazy For Crust to see how Dorothy does it).  
6. While the cake is cooling, mix all of the filling ingredients well.
7. Once cool, unroll cake and smear with filling. Roll back up and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Have a happy day:@)

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Veggie Medley Deviled Eggs and Decorated Deviled Egg Ideas for Easter

I was tickled to see the 50 Deviled Eggs booklet in this month's Food Network Magazine. These Veggie Medley Deviled Eggs jumped right out at me and I love the addition of cream cheese! They are very flavorful with just the slightest bit of crunch. On the odd chance you have any of these leftover they'd be a great addition to macaroni salad or even diced for an egg salad sandwich.  

As a wink and nod to my life-long battle with the rabbits... Alternate title: Bunnies in the Garden-again:@)

Here are a few more fun ideas, you don't need to embellish every egg, just a few on the platter can make a big impact! Click the title for the link:

Carrot Crosses

Edible Flower Embellishments
There's a link to edible flowers on the post.

Dyed Deviled Eggs
I like to dye the whole egg before cutting it in half, leaving the tops white for Easter.

Amish Pickled Red Beet Eggs or Amish Mustard Pickled Eggs

Colored naturally and great on their own or as deviled eggs!

Veggie Medley Deviled Eggs-from Food Network Magazine, April 2014

1. One dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced in half.
2. Mash yolks and mix with 1/4 C softened cream cheese, 1/4 C mayonnaise and 1 tsp dijon mustard. 
3. Stir in 2 Tblsp each, finely diced: red bell pepper, broccoli, celery, carrot, scallion and parsley. 
4. Season with S&P, mix well and spoon into eggs.
5. Top with diced cucumber-I didn't add this.

Happy Easter planning everyone:@)

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Vegan Boston Baked Beans, Plus a Pressure Cooker Option

If you've been around Pig in Mud for a while you know I love beans. I actually eat more beans than meat so I was thrilled to receive a new cookbook for review, Vegan Beans from Around the World. The recipes offer great variety with everything from the exotic (African Peanut Soup) to down home comfort foods like these Boston Baked Beans. Since I had all the ingredients on-hand and kinda needed something for lunch... I headed to the kitchen:@) The author says "after trying these you can't go back to canned"... I have to agree!

As with all cookbooks, I used this one as a starting point with my biggest change being the cooking method. The recipe calls for the beans to be first cooked on the stove top then finished in the oven, total cooking time was approximately five hours. While the house would have smelled great, I had to go to work... This is where my ♥4 Quart Electronic Pressure Cooker♥ really shines, my beans were done in one hour! I'll provide directions for both methods and this recipe is easily cut in half.

In my search for great homemade baked beans, these are very high on the list folks!

Vegan Boston Baked Beans-from Vegan Beans from Around the World
2 C dry navy beans, sorted, rinsed and soaked overnight-I didn't soak mine for the PC
3 Tblsp molasses
2 tsp salt-I used 1 1/4 tsp
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 C ketchup
1/4 C brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 onion, finely chopped-I used 3 Tblsp dried onion

Oven Version:

1. Cover beans with water by 1" and cook on medium high until boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Drain the beans.
2. In small pot mix the molasses, salt, pepper, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and liquid smoke and bring to a boil.
3. Place beans in an oven safe dish, pour sauce over beans, add fresh water to barely cover the beans.
4. Bake in 325 degree preheated oven, covered, until the beans are soft and flavorful. Check throughout cooking to see of they need water, you want a thick sauce surrounding the beans. If they're too dry add a splash of water.

Pressure Cooker Version:

1. Place beans and 6 C water in PC, cook on high 16 minutes. Automatically reduce pressure.
2. Drain beans reserving 2 1/4 C liquid-add water if necessary to make 2 1/4 C.
3. Add beans and liquid to PC.
4. Mix everything else well and pour over the beans, do not stir.
5. Cook on high for 10 minutes. Automatically reduce pressure. If the beans aren't quite tender enough, cook for an additional minute or two. The beans will thicken upon standing, you could mash some if you need them to thicken quicker.

Eat well and have a happy day:@)
While I was graciously provided with a copy of the book, my opinions (and love of beans) are my own.

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Earl's Easter Egg

A little birdie told me that Earl's been feeling a little... neglected... here on the blog. Since there's nothing worse than a ~pouty pig~ I thought we'd share Earls's Easter Egg today. I've seen a few different variations of this pig around the net, and while I love it in the soft pink of a dyed hard boiled egg, we made Earl's using a plastic egg so I could turn it into an ornament for the Easter tree.

 There are some pretty clear/easy directions to make the pig sitting on a pipe cleaner egg holder HERE.

You could also use different colors and create different animals with bead feet.

 (The picture below and instructions can be found HERE.)

Make something silly and have a happy day:@)