12th Man Rice Krispy Treats

Since we live in Washington this Superbowl is a special one. My oldest son's teacher is a HUGE fan.  She took a picture of her class all dressed up and was on Website of the local News Station. So I wanted to do something fun for her class room, I was going to make this for my youngest son's class too but he was sick so I only had to make enough for one class room. I wanted a deep blue but Micheal's was out so I had to tint a light blue, it made the chocolate a little hard to manage. I found this idea for 12th Man on Party Pincing.

**Updated with better pictures from my 2nd time making them **

What you need:

Candy Melts - Dark Blue

Candy Melts - Green

Candy Melts - White

Vanilla Wafers - I used Minis

Food Writer Black

Rice Krispy Treats

I used the mini wafers since I was going to have to make 60 of these for the two classes and wanted to stretch my rice krispy treats I made. I cut them into rectangles to be the bodies. I melted my Candy Melts and dipped the treats, just about 2/3 of the treat.  I took a food writer and made the face. I melted some white candy melts and made the 12 on the blue and green to be the shirts. I then put a dollop on the un-dipped part of the treat to attach the face.  I found when I did the green I used my fondant spreader knife and they turned out a little cleaner. Lesson learned for next time!

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

I have been Featured on Jenny Marie Happy Monday

I was featured this week for my Frozen Nail kit!  This was such an easy project to put together but I thought it was so cute for the theme I was doing.  Thank you to Jenny Marie for the feature!

Have a GREAT Weekend!

Taco Tuesday ... Spicy Beef Taquitos

I thought I'd try out this Taco Tuesday thing for dinner, I usually don't do taco's since they are higher in calories and I'm trying hard to watch those.  I found a yummy recipe on my favorite weight watcher recipe site Emily Bites for Spicy Beef Taquitos.  It was actually pretty darn easy, it was a bit too spicy for me next time I think I'll tweak the recipe and use a regular taco seasoning.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lb 95% lean ground beef
• ½ cup salsa (I used pico de gallo)
• 3 oz 50% reduced fat Pepper Jack cheese, shredded (I used Mexican Blend)
• 16 6” corn tortillas (I used Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and then lightly mist it with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper in a dish and stir together to make your own taco seasoning. Set aside.
3. Bring a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef. Cook while breaking up with a wooden spoon until beef is completely browned and broken into small pieces. Drain any grease from the pan. Add the taco seasoning from step 2 and the salsa and stir together until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and add the shredded cheese. Stir to combine.
4. Place about half the tortillas between two paper towels and microwave them for 30-60 seconds until they are warm and pliable. Place a tortilla on a clean, dry work surface and then scoop two rounded tablespoons of beef filling onto the bottom third of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla up from the bottom to surround the filling and once it’s rolled into a tube, place it on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat steps with the remaining ingredients (including microwaving the other half of the tortillas when you get to them). When all the taquitos are rolled and on the baking sheet, mist the tops of the taquitos with cooking spray.
5. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until tortillas start to get golden and crispy.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS:2 PP per taquito, two taquitos are 5 PP (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER TAQUITO:
98 calories, 9 g carbs, 3 g fat, 9 g protein, 2 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

1st Birthday Cake - M&M Cake

It's been a while since I made a cake for Birthday Dreams (bringing birthday's to homeless kids), they hadn't had a party in my area so I jumped at the chance when I saw one added. The theme was first birthday, so I thought it would be fun to make a cake shaped as a 1 and then I remembered seeing the M&M cakes. I found an idea on how to make the 1 on Monkey Birthday Cakes and for the M&M design I found an idea on One Little Project.

What you Need:

2 square cakes (I used Simple White Cake a doubled recipe)

Buttercream Frosting (I used my Sturdy Buttercream frosting)

M&M's

Knife

Shape your cake into a 1, I played around to make it look just right.  I then frosted the cake in my sturdy buttercream.  

Then make a diagonal row of the M&M's once you have one row keep adding.  Now this is time consuming, but it turned out so cool!  Now I was running low on yellows and had to keep opening bags until I had enough .. lol. Next time if I plan ahead I'll buy the big bag instead of the small bags I was using.

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Road Trip Gift Basket

Most of you know I take class at the Y religiously during the week, you would think I would be a stick figure after all these class but that is a story for another day ... lol. One of my favorite instructors is moving, her husband is the military and they have been stationed in another state.  They will driving since they have 3 dogs and a daughter so I wanted to make them a road trip basket. Since they are healthier I tried to do healthy snacks, but hey they are allowed to splurge every once in a while too.

What you Need:

Basket

Crossword Puzzles (for the one not driving)

Pens

Toothbrushes

Tooth Paste

Deodorant

Hand Lotion

Drink

Gum

Snacks

Put it all in the basket and you can put a little note in also.  I was late of course that night so no note from me.

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Onto a New Me

As we start the new year and everyone is onto making them-self a better version.  Most of you know I hit the gym a lot I just haven't gotten my groove back with the weight loss. So I'm making it a point to really stick through it. This week and last has been crazy with work.  I made it a point to get myself to the gym 5 days last week.  This week I've made it to the gym 3 days so far and have workout in the AM 3 days also!  Here's to see a difference in my pants .. lol.

Hope you all are on the path that makes you happy.  I'm not going to let the nah sayer in my say that I don't need to go or I'm too tired or over worked. This past two weeks have been a test with the overload at work but I will make it to my work outs!  I may NOT make it to anything else ... ugh working on that. LOL

Here's a KILLER workout I would say I'm loving!

IGNITE by SPRI 900 Calorie Burn

Healthier Treat ... Black Bean Brownies (Flour-less)

Next on my list to make this past weekend was a yummy treat for the kids that came over. I found these brownies to be yummy but they are very rich so the kids weren't so impressed. I of course loved them, but glad it was so rich I only ate only one.  Now when I saw the ingredients I was like I'm not so sure about this ... Black Beans and Balsamic Vinegar? But then I saw Coffee and Chocolate ... how bad could that be right?  I found this recipe for Amazing Flour-less Brownies on my favorite weight watcher recipe website Skinny Taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 (14 oz) canned low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon oil
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or dairy, skim)
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground coffee or instant coffee
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided (Hershey's)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Grease a nonstick 9 x 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

Blend the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, oil, almond milk, balsamic, baking soda, baking powder and coffee in the blender until smooth and pour into a bowl. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips until combined.  Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownies. 

Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes.  Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares.

Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 16 • Size: 1 brownie • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 144 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 26 g • Fiber: 3 g • Protein: 4 g • Sugar: 17.5 g
Sodium: 150 mg • Cholesterol: 23 g

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Bite Size Meals ... Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hash Brown Cups

Saturday morning after I finished up work I had to make something for my boys and our guest.  I went on a Google search for something lighter and found these Sausage, Egg & Cheese Hash Brown Cups on Emily Bites.  The boys loved these and they were so light and fluffy!

Simple easy and won't way you down for the day!

INGREDIENTS:

• 20 oz shredded hash brown potatoes
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ t salt (plus a little more to taste for the eggs)
• Black pepper, to taste
• 4 chicken breakfast sausage links (I used Turkey Sausage and removed from casings)
• 6 large eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 6 T shredded 2% cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray
2. In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Scoop the hash browns evenly into each of the muffin tins and then press the hash browns down into the cups and up the sides to form a well. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until edges are browned.
3. Cut the sausages up into small bite sized pieces. Mist a skillet with cooking spray and brown the sausage pieces over medium-high heat.
4. In another large bowl, combine the eggs and egg whites and whisk together until thoroughly beaten. Add a bit of salt & pepper to taste.
5. Evenly sprinkle the shredded cheese and browned sausage pieces into each hash brown cup and then spoon the egg mixture into each hash brown cup as well. Place the cups back into the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until the eggs are set. To remove from tins, run a large spoon or butter knife along the edges of each muffins cup.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS:3 per cup(P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
123 calories, 10 g carbs, 3 g fat, 7 g protein, 1 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Bite Size Meals ... Pizza Log

We had a houseful of Cole's friends this weekend! Friday during the day his buddie's house was broke into :( so we offered for him to stay the night so the parents could deal with police and clean up.  Sunday I picked up a girl from his class and her brother to go to breakfast, then church and even grocery shopping!

By the time I got home I needed to make a quick lunch before I lost it or they did not sure who was closer ... lol.  I found a FB post with these yummy Skinny Pizza Log's on Emily Bites. As many of you know I was on a HUGE kick of wonton wrappers last year, I think my new obsession may be egg roll wrappers. This was actually very easy to make, mine may not have been super pretty by my technique got better by the end!

  

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 egg roll wrappers (larger than wonton wrappers)
• 8 teaspoons store-bought pizza sauce
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 24 turkey pepperoni slice (I used Turkey pepperoni)
• 4 light Mozzarella string cheese sticks, each cut in half horizontally to make two shorter sticks

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly mist a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Pour some water into a small dish and set aside. On a flat surface, place an egg roll wrapper, corner facing toward you (like a diamond) and spread a teaspoon of pizza sauce horizontally across the center of the wrapper, leaving ½ inch or so of space on each side. Sprinkle a pinch of Italian seasoning across the sauce and add a row of 3 pepperoni slices over the sauce. Place half a cheese stick on top of the pepperoni. Fold the bottom corner closest to you up over the ingredients and give it a 90 degree roll. Fold the side corners in and tuck them as you give the filled section another 90 degree roll. Dip your finger in the dish or reserved water and lightly wet the edges of the remaining top corner of the wrapper. Finish rolling the filled pizza log over the wet corner so that it adheres. Place wrapped pizza log onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. When all of the pizza logs are wrapped and on the baking sheets, mist the tops with cooking spray. Bake for 10-14 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the wrappers are golden brown.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS:2 per pizza log (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
97 calories, 13 g carbs, 2 g fat, 7 g protein, 1 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Crazy Busy I may run away myself ....

So sorry I have not been around this week, we have been slammed at work and I've been working day and night. I may just pack myself up to run away .. lol.  

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!

Frozen Themed Party ... Frozen Nail Kit

And last on our frozen themed gift was for pretty nails! I saw an idea on Pinterest and thought I can make this work with my theme of Frozen.  What little girl does not like to do her nails?  Well I don't have girls but I once was one ... lol.

What you need:

Nail Polish Remover

Blue Nail Polish (With sparkles if you can find)

Cotton Balls

Blue Gum (Wintermint or something like that)

Dum Dum Lollipops

Blue Kisses

Large Clear Bag

Ribbon

Take a large clear bag and add in your items.  Start with the nail polish remover add some cotton balls.  I found some blue polish with silver glitter in it and it reminds me of snowflakes on your nails. I add handful of kisses and a few dum dum's. I tied a white ribbon on it! Tada done!  This of course doesn't have to be frozen themed.  It can be used for a spa party gift or a teen gift.

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Frozen Party ... Build Olaf the Snowman

Next on my list to do the frozen gift I was making was a fun and easy item. I found several ideas on pinterest for this but then I came across Build a Snowman on Pretty Providence they have great free printable you can use.  Make sure you say thank you, it's so awesome when people make these and share for free.

What you need:

Clear Small Treat Bag (Dollar Tree 50pk $1)

Large Marshmallow's

Stick Pretzels

Mini Chocolate Chips

Stapler

Card Stock Paper / Printer

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Frozen Themed Party ... DYI Olaf Bag

I don't often get to make girl themed gifts, but I went to a friends little granddaughter's party who loved Frozen the movie. I went on the search for fun DYI gift ideas. I found several idea's on Pinterest and ran with.

What You Need:

White Bag (Dollar Tree $1)

Orange Card Stock

Black Sharpie (Dollar Tree $1)

Large Google Eyes (Dollar Tree - Bag $1)

Craft Glue

I had the glue and card stock at home so I ran to the Dollar Tree to grab the other items. I free styled the bag you could find a template but I figured I could do this by hand. 

I outline the eyebrows, one got a little crazy ... lol.  Glue on your eyes.  Take your orange card stock and cut out the nose.  You can find a template and print on your card stock and then cut it out or just freestyle it. Attach the nose with the glue. For the mouth I drew a mouth with a spot for his one front tooth.  I then colored in the mouth around the tooth. I found some sparkle snowflake tissue paper to keep with the theme.

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Friday Pinterest Funny

After completing some Pinterest items that have taken me forever to do I so want a boom sound! LOL, hope this makes you giggle like it did for me.

Have a great weekend!

Yet Again ... Gym Time

We are hitting a new year and the gym parking lot is full and I can barely get a space in my class.  Now I love everyone to get on the gym bandwagon, I was once there.  I just wish it wasn't in January where it's so cold and I now have to park in Eygpt ... lol.  

Lot's of changes with the new year.  2 of my instructors have left giving me 3 new instructors for my classes, sadly none like the previous ones and class just is not as fun.  I take RIPPED and Insanity and let me tell you, something has to push you to keep going since they really do suck and are hard work.  So when you have a teacher that is not full of energy or makes you want to go yup it can suck.

THEN the YMCA has changed their policy.  They allow so many reduced people go that us that have already been there are prices go up.  We pay threw our insurance to get the health credit but the kids have to be paid separate, so the YMCA has always let us pay the kid rate alone instead of paying full price for them. They have now changed their policy and my $36 for kids has gone up to $74!!! I almost FREAKED when I saw the bill. UGH wish me luck, I would hate to leave the Y and all the classes.

And a Funny for you!

Have a GREAT week!

Healthy Cabbage Roll Soup

And when you need something warm for dinner this will fill you up and warm you up!  I found this Cabbage Roll Soup on Hey That Taste Good. It's not often I get the boys to eat cabbage and this was a great recipe that they really enjoyed.  My rice took up more of the broth so mine wasn't really soup but it was super yummy!

Cabbage roll soup

3/4 pound ground beef

salt and pepper

1 T paprika

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, cut into half moons

2 stalks of celery, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes (or of tomato sauce, I didn't have any but that's what I wanted to use)

1 quart chicken or beef broth

1/2 head of cabbage, core removed and the rest sliced into thin strips

1/2 c rice

Salt and pepper the beef, add the paprika, and mush in. Brown the beef in a small amount of olive oil, then remove to a bowl. Cook the onion, carrots, celery and garlic until starting to soften, then add the tomatoes, broth, and cabbage. Add the beef back in, and enough water to cover. Cook 15 minutes, then add the rice. Cook another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is done and the cabbage is cooked to your liking. Add salt and pepper if necessary. Serves 4.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used ground turkey and brown rice.

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Creamy Pasta with Sausage (WW 8 Pts)

With the new year in full swing and we're all trying to be more healthier, I share with you a yummy recipe I made a while back.  I love Emily Bites and she posted this Creamy Pasta with Sausage & Mustard Seeds.  I tweaked this a bite for the boys and didn't use the mustard seeds, well that and I didn't want to go searching for them ... lol. This was a big hit with everyone, anytime they can eat pasta they are happy.  I'm also happy when it's lower calorie recipe!  Enjoy and check out her other amazing recipes, she is one of the best for weight watcher recipes!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb (16 oz) uncooked wheat or otherwise high fiber pasta shells
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ lbs hot Italian turkey or chicken sausage, casings removed
• 3 oz fresh baby spinach, chopped (about a half a standard salad bag – feel free to add more if desired)
• ¾ cup dry white wine
• ¾ cup fat free half and half
• 3 tablespoons super grainy mustard (I used Wegmans Dijon Whole Grain Mustard which is basically all seeds, consistency-wise)
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup thinly sliced or chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. While the water is boiling for step one, place the oil in a large skillet or saute pan and bring over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook for about five minutes or until meat is cooked through, breaking it up into small pieces with a spoon as it cooks. Add the fresh spinach and stir in. Cook for another minute until spinach wilts.
3. Add the wine to the sausage and reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir together, releasing any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and cook for another 5 minutes until the wine is reduced by half. Add the half and half, mustard and crushed red pepper. Stir together and simmer for another 2 minutes.
4. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the reserved pasta and basil until well combined. Serve.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS:8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
277 calories, 38 g carbs, 6 g fat, 17 g protein, 5 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Birthday Dreams .. Elmo Cupcakes

I start the new year with a new cupcake made for my favorite charity Birthday Dreams, I signed up for a Elmo cake for a 1 year old.  I had plans to make a smash cake also but I didn't get that far.  But these cupcakes did come out pretty darn cute if I say so!  I found an idea for Elmo Cupcakes on Afternoons in the Kitchen. 

What you need:

Blue Modeling Chocolate 

Red  Modeling Chocolate 

Orange Modeling Chocolate

Black Modeling Chocolate 

Candy Eye

Large, Medium and Small Circle Cutter

For those who have not seen my previous post on how to make modeling chocolate (aka candy clay) all pictured but the orange.

Modeling Chocolate

12oz Candy Melts

1/4 Cup light corn Syrup

Melt your Candy Melts in microwave (mine takes about 2 minutes). Stir them to become smooth and add the corn syrup.  It will become thick and form a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit out and dry.  Takes a few hours or over night is best. (Alexis note: I found to roll this out use a little powder sugar (like you would do with flour), also you have to kneed it a little like you would dough to make it easy to roll out).

To make elmo I rolled out the blue (with a little powder sugar so it won't stick) then I used a large round cutter to make the blue circle.  For Elmo's head I rolled out red and used a medium circle cutter.  I then rolled out the black and used my small circle cutter and then cut it in half to make the mouth.  For the nose I took a small ball of orange and made a nose shape.  I was going to do modeling chocolate for the eyes but I ran out of time so I used the candy eyeballs I had on hand.  I used a little water to make the modeling chocolate stick to each other.  

Chocolate Cupcakes were requested and I topped with my favorite sturdy buttercream frosting. I boxed them up in the clear cupcake boxes I bought off Amazon and delivered them to the homeless shelter for a very special 1 year old.

Here they are ready to be delivered!


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Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.