Banana Boats

This treat was a new one to me at Camp Wooten just recently. It was so yummy, I had to share!

I know you can make these over the campfire or even on the grill, but we baked these in an oven set at 350 degrees F.

These are so simple to make! The kids will enjoy helping out too.

The ingredients we used at camp were:

bananas

mini marshmallows

mini chocolate chips

Reese's Peanut Butter sauce

BUT, I have no idea where to get that heavenly peanut butter sauce. Like, it was a big ol' tub of magic awesomeness. So, I opted for the Reese's peanut butter chips instead. 

First, slice the top & bottom off of your bananas.

Then, slice it lengthwise, through most of the banana, but not slicing through the peel on the other side.

At camp we placed our bananas inside paper food trays, but at home I just crumpled up some foil to hold the banana in place.

Line your banana boats on a cookie sheet.

Next, cram them full of mini marshmallows & mini chocolate chips. (And the peanut butter chips.) We even purposefully let some fall all around the sides too.

Lastly, drizzle with peanut butter. (If you have it. If not, no biggie.)

Bake until the toppings get all ooey gooey & the skin of the banana is black. It took about 15 minutes. But just keep peeking at it until you notice it's done.

The banana gets all soft & delicious. Just use a spoon to scoop-&-eat!

There are tons of toppings you could add or substitute: drizzle with caramel, sprinkle with butterscotch or white chocolate chips, toss on some nuts. You get the idea.

♥

DIY: Deep Fried Oreos

Have you ever eaten a deep fried Oreo?

I had never even heard of such a thing until I moved to Nebraska. The first time I tasted one was last fall. They are so yummy. And so unhealthy. But it's fun to have a decadent treat every once in a while.

And here's how to make your own! They are so easy to make too. Which could be bad.

First, heat up a pot of oil. (I filled a small cooking pot with about 4 inches of oil.) I didn't have a thermometer, but I set the pot on the burner between medium to medium high heat. I've looked online & seen recipes call for the oil to be anywhere between 335 - 375 degrees F. You can test things out to see if the oil is hot enough by dropping in a blob of batter. If the batter bubbles & starts cooking things up, then it's ready. If it's too hot, it will cook the batter so fast & burn it.

Ok, now for the batter. I used 'The Ultimate Pancake' recipe on the back of my Bisquick box.

2 CUPS Bisquick mix

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 TABLESPOONS vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 TABLESPOONS sugar

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Mix that all together in a bowl. 

Dip the Oreos in the batter, one at a time, coating every bit of the cookie. Then carefully & quickly drop the cookies in the hot oil. When the cookies have turned dark golden brown on one side, carefully flip them over with a slotted spoon until the other sides gets equally fried. It should take about 30 seconds to cook on each side. That's just an approximate time. It shouldn't take 2 minutes per side, that's all I'm sayin'. Then pick up the cookies, with the spoon, & let them drain on a plate covered in paper towels. 

Dust with powdered sugar & watch them disappear!

This is, SERIOUSLY, a difficult activity to photograph. Everything gets eaten up so quickly.

(This photo was taken as we celebrated a friend's birthday. I made a tower of Deep Fried Oreos.) 

BUT, I do happen to have two Vines to show you. The first is a quick 6-second tutorial. The second is Pazely & I eating the dangerously delicious treats.

Enjoy!

♥

Happy Sticks

I have my first "ladies" event at church tomorrow since I've arrived in Bridgeport. The women are getting together for a Christmas party. We'll be having a candle exchange AND a chocolate exchange. (Instead of a cookie exchange. Doesn't that sound pleasantly nifty?!?!)

I needed a quick & fast idea, so my pal Tia came through with her pretzel rods. I call 'em Happy Sticks. They were just what I needed: they are very easy to make! (And sorry for the awesome kitchen lighting in the photos. I made the rods mostly at night.)

I bought a bag of that Almond Bark stuff (mine wasn't called Almond Bark though) & it comes in those rectangle blocks. I melted all 12 blocks, purchased 3 bags of pretzel rods (not all were used & they can be found in the chip aisle) & squeezed out 86 chocolate covered pretzels.

Just melt your chocolate, dip your pretzel in the choclate (spoon it on, leaving anywhere from 1-2" at the end uncovered) & lay it on wax paper to dry. When it's dry, melt white chocolate & drizzle it on. My drizzle technique needs some work.

I stuck 3 each in cheapo bags I got from Walmart & then tied it off with torn strips of fabric. Nothin' fancy pants about it!

There are many variations you could experiment with as far as chocolate used, coloring & flavor. (Add some green food coloring & mint flavoring to the white chocolate!)

Cheers to happy & easy homemade sweets! (This one is good ANY time of year too!)

♥ ♥ ♥

Cream Puff Tower

I came up with this last-minute dessert idea for an impromptu birthday celebration my family had for my visiting 17-year-old nephew. I melted chocolate chips in the microwave & dipped the very bottoms of cream puffs into the gooey chocolatey goodness & arranged them in a towering shape on a large platter. (The chocolate is like a "glue", keeping the cream puffs from falling all over the place.) Once they were stacked, I drizzled some more chocolate all over.

It was SUPER easy & SUPER fun to make!! You could even use white chocolate chips colored with food coloring. Or add chopped/diced pecans or other nuts to the melted chocolate before drizzling all over.

The cream puffs were found in the freezer section of my grocery store. This dessert would make a cool treat for any hot summer day!

Holiday Sneak Peek!!

Only for you, my blog friends!! Here's the 2008 WhiMSy love holiday card! The nifty & super adorable desserts on this card are waiting to give sweet greetings! The ensemble includes: a bundt cake, a frosted & sprinkled sugar cookie, a fruit cake, 2 candy canes, a slice of pumpkin pie, a peppermint candy & a pink frosted Christmas cupcake (a reference to last year's card).

The card can be left blank or I can type this greeting inside. I've got 5"x 7" cards & will soon have notecard sets available for sale later in the week.

And here is this year's ornament. Made from felt, ribbon, vintage fabrics & vintage buttons, these owlies are stuffed with a wee bit of puff to give them a plushie feel. I made two different styles. They're about 3 inches tall. And, they're awful nice & would love to be a part of your holiday decor!

The card & ornaments can be purchased in the shop tomorrow! Thanks for peeking & have a super duper weekend!

Apricot Scone Mix

Enjoy this foodie craft tutorial!


I've received these jar mixes as gifts on a few occasions & I think they are super cool. I've never made one--until now! I'll be making this craft with my MOPS group (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) in the coming months. But, Fall is approaching & I thought that it would be a great way to welcome that lovely season that I call "favorite". And this morning when I woke up to a breezy & grey outdoors, I thought it was the perfect time to grab my jar of scone mix & bake up some warm breakfast treats for the girls & I.

INGREDIENTS:

-2 CUPS all-purpose unbleached flour

-1/2 CUP vanilla sugar** (I just used regular sugar.)

-1/4 CUP nonfat dry milk powder

-2 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp dried lemon peel

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/3 CUP shortening

-1 CUP dried apricots (or blueberries, cranberries, etc.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Stir together flour, sugar, milk, baking powder, lemon peel & salt. Cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Layer the dried ingredients & the apricots (or other dried fruit) into one-quart canning jar, tapping gently on counter between layers to settle before adding the next. (I just plopped my dry ingredients on the bottom & the fruit on top.) Stores at room temperature for up to six weeks, or freeze for up to six months.

**To make vanilla sugar, fill one-quart jar with sugar. Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise & add both halves to sugar. Flavor gets better after a couple of weeks, & it will keep as long as regular sugar.

I attached a circle piece of vintage fabric to the top of my jar with a rubber band. Then, to hide the band, I looped a piece of twine a few times around the top.

Print out the instructions for baking onto a gift tag. Attach it to the jar & you're done! It's ready for keeping OR gifting!

Now, to MAKE these goodies, simply dump the whole jar of stuff into a bowl...

..& add 1/4 CUP of water & 1 beaten egg.

Stir until just moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface... ...& quickly knead for 12-15 strokes or until nearly smooth.
Pat to 1/2" thickness.

Cut into desired shape & place 1" apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Brush with milk. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Transfer to a rack to cool slightly & serve warm.

I brushed my slice with butter & quickly consumed.

I got the idea from the June 2008 issue of Crafts 'n things. Recipe courtesy of Recipe Goldmine.

For other jar mixes, visit:

-The Recipe Link

-Heart4home.net

-All Free Crafts

Mini Artwork

I haven't done anything creative with my colored pencil drawings such as making notecards, prints, etc....until now! I've made them into scrumptious mini desserts. These shrinky dink magnets come in a set at WhiMSy love. Get 'em now to celebrate the sweet days of summer!

Pistachio Torte Recipe

I meant to share the recipe for the Pistachio Torte with you, but I forgot! My mom got this recipe about 17 years ago from some family friends. I stole it from her. This is how much we have used it over the years. I think it's about time I get this recipe on a card.

First of all, I don't like pistachio's. When my mom first made this I was like, "Yuck. I'm not even gonna eat that. Grody to the max." So, if you think it doesn't sound good, just make it. PLEASE. It is awesome!!! AND, the cool thing I just found out is that you can substitute ANY flavor of instant pudding in this recipe! Here goes....

ONE.

1 1/2 Cups flour

1 1/2 Sticks butter

2/3 Cup chopped walnuts

Mix & press into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Do not brown.

TWO.

Beat these until smooth:

1- 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 Cup powdered sugar

1/2 carton cool whip, 9 or 12 oz size. (12 oz. size makes it creamier)

Spread over cooled crust.

THREE.

Beat these until smooth:

3 Cups milk

2- 3 oz. packages of instant pistachio pudding (just the powder in the box)

Pour over cream cheese mixture & refrigerate.

Before serving, spread the rest of the cool whip on top.

And this, as I'm sure you're aware, is the last day of April. My goal for this month has not been met. My goal, in case you forgot, was to learn how to use my video camera. My sister has had it for the past 25 days & I couldn't cram that fast. So, I'm giving myself an extension. I've got a super easy & fun tutorial planned to record & I can't wait!!