Birthday Cake Pancakes

So, I found this idea on Pinterest {of course} a while back and thought it was a super cute idea. Birthday cake pancakes for the birthday boy or girl.

I loved the idea and thought I’d start it here at our house as a birthday tradition. I made them first for my son’s birthday and they were a hit, so I made them for my daughter’s birthday this week.

If you’re looking for something fun and festive to do on your child’s birthday morning, you have to try these.

Here’s what you need:

Pancake mix

water

vanilla

sprinkles

powdered sugar

milk

In a mixing bowl, mix 2 cups pancake mix and 1 1/2 cups water.

Stir in 1 tsp. vanilla and 2-3 Tbsp. sprinkles.

Pour out your mix into small pancakes on a heated griddle pan.

Flip after they become bubbly on top and cook on the other side.

I like to keep mine warm in a warm oven while I make the whole batch.

Plate them on a fun plate. In a small bowl mix about 1/3 cup powdered sugar and a little bit of milk. Drizzle over the pancakes and there you have it…birthday cake pancakes.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope these make your little {or big} one’s birthday extra special!

S~

7 Years Ago…

Dear Dallas,

Today you turn 7, and I can’t seem to wrap my brain around the fact that you’ve been with us for 7 years. It seems like just yesterday we were on our way to the hospital to meet our first born child. We did not know if you were a boy or a girl, but somewhere deep down inside me I think I knew you were a girl…call it crazy mama intuition, but I knew God was going to give me a girl, and I am so happy that he gave me YOU!

When you were born you were perfect in every way {and my goodness at the hair}. I remember the look on your daddy’s face when he told me you were a girl…half shocked and half ecstatic. It only took him a second to look at you before he was completely and utterly enamored by you.

Since you were born, I’ve always called you my “angel”. You have brought so much joy and happiness into our lives I can’t even begin to explain it. You make us laugh and smile every single day. Yes, we may have our frustrating moments, but that’s part of raising a child…and sometimes a child raising his/her parents. None-the-less, you make us so happy and we are so proud to be your mama and daddy.

Somehow seven years have flown by and here we are on your 7th birthday. You are so grown up in so many ways.

You are in first grade and have lots of friends.

You love school. You’re becoming a great reader and you love math.

You absolutely LOVE to dance. You take tap and jazz this year and are loving it.

Last week you got your ears pierced. It took a lot of debating you your side, and I think you had to talk yourself into it, but you did it. I have to say, it was one of my proudest moments being your mommy. You faced your fear {of it hurting} and you did it anyway.

As of today, you’ve lost 7 teeth. You haven’t always been the best of sports with them coming out and sometimes brought a lot of drama, but you sure do like when the Tooth-fairy brings you your money.

Always remember that Mama and Daddy will love and support you! We are your family and we will always be proud of you. You are a sweet and nurturing child, and I know you will grow up to be that kind of an adult. You care about others and that makes you a wonderful person. You are beautiful inside and out and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Always stand up for what you believe in and love with your whole heart.

Happy birthday, my sweet angel!!! I look forward to celebrating so many more with you!

I love you to the moon and back!

Love always,

Mama

This & That

Hey y’all! Happy Friday!

I’ve been meaning to write for the past week, but things are just crazy around here. And then there’s the fact that I get so overwhelmed with topics to write about I just give up on all of it and think it will go away…yeah, nope…we’re still here.

So, instead of hiding under my pillow for a minute longer, I’ll just catch up on a few things that’s been going around these parts.

Last Friday we woke up to snow! It was just a dusting and pretty icy to play in, but none-the-less there was white stuff on the ground and the kids were ecstatic.

On Thursday before the “storm” hit I realized that the kids had NO snow gear…no pants, no boots, hardly any sweat shirts. So, in perfect southern fashion I rushed to Target. I hit the sales rack and racked up on gear for them. Sometimes it works in our favor when we wait to the last minute and then find regularly priced snow pants at $24.99 marked down to $5.98…SCORE!!!

I also got their boots on clearance. And I must say I was a pretty smart mama and bought their things a bit too big so they can wear them for a couple of years.

Well, the snow came but not like predicted…we only got a dusting.

The kids don’t know any better…snow is snow to them. Schools were delayed 2 hours so Dallas got to play before heading off for some learning.

We bundled up in our gear and headed outside.

Their favorite thing is to eat the snow…in this case, the chunks of ice.

Then we started playing, trying to make snow angels…

It was a no-go…too icy!!!

But, we did have some fun laying in the icy grass…

It was a super fun morning!

This week Dallas tracked out so we had some “quality” time together while Hunter was in school in the mornings.

We went to the mall on Monday to get her a new birthday girl shirt {seeing that her birthday is Monday} and we walked out getting her ears pierced!!!

She’s been talking about doing it for about 6 months now. We told her our rule was that she had to be old enough to take care of them herself {same rule my mama and daddy told me}. She had decided she wanted to do it for her 7th birthday. Until….a couple of weeks ago I asked her and she said she wanted to wait until she was 8. That’s my girl!

Well, we were at the mall and found ourselves in front of Claire’s. I proposed she do it while we were there…

Ha! Silly me! The next hour included us walking up and down the mall with her asking over and over if it was going to hurt, crying, and just plain nervous.

I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted she wanted to do it…and then cried some more.

Out of the blue {like heaven-sent} a mom walked in and wanted to get HER ears pierced. So, Dallas got to watch her.

And then she decided to do it!!!

I am SO proud of her!!! This time last year there would be no way she would’ve have gone through with this. She has grown so much in the last few months. She’s more confident and will take more chances even if she’s a little nervous…and I couldn’t be more proud of her.

Since this time last week we’ve had snow, ear piercings, and some super cold weather. I have supreme cabin fever right now and can’t wait to get away for a few days…

but we woke up today and guess what???

…more snow!

It started around 11:00 am today and snowed for about an hour. Then it stopped and next thing that came was what us southerners hate…ICE!!!

So, yet again we’re hunkered inside with soup in the crockpot and waiting for the hubs to get home…this mama is d.o.n.e!!!

Thanks for catching up with me! I hope y’all have a wonderful weekend. We’re excited to celebrate our little angel’s birthday all weekend before her special day on Monday!

Stay warm out there, and y’all come back now!!!

S~

Jalapeno Salmon with Lime Butter

This recipe is so yummy and the only kind of salmon my husband likes…so I thought I’d share.

My kids really like it too, and don’t worry, it’s not spicy.

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup orange juice

3 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. grated lime zest

1 Tbsp. minced jalapeno pepper {I used the jar kind, but always take out the center so it’s not so spicy.}

1 tsp. minced garlic

4 {5 oz. salmon steaks}

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. lime juice

2 tsp. minced jalapeno pepper

2 tsp. grated lime zest

In a bowl, stir together first 6 ingredients. Reserve a small amount to use as a basting sauce, and pour the remainder into a shallow baking dish.

Place salmon in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate 2-4 hours, turning occasionally.

In a small bowl, mix together butter and next 4 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cover the bottom of a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with Pam.

Place the salmon on the foil and discard marinade. Use the extra sauce to baste the fish.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fish is cooked and flakes easily with a fork.

Transfer to serving dish and top with the jalapeno-lime butter and serve.

 

Need a good side dish to go with the salmon??? Try my rice pilaf. It’s light, easy, and delicious. Recipe is found HERE.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find this recipe just as yummy as my family.

S~

Rice Pilaf

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE rice pilaf. Of course I grew up on the boxed stuff made by Rice-a-Roni…you know “the San Francisco Treat”…haha, just had to throw that in there.

Anyway, after looking at all the additives and hidden ingredients in the boxed stuff, I knew there had to be a better and healthier way to make rice pilaf. So, I started doing some searching and came across this recipe. We love it!!! It’s so easy and good and tastes even better than that San Francisco treat!

Next time you’re looking for a good side dish, try this.

Rice Pilaf

2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

1/2 cup orzo pasta

1/2 cup diced onion

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup uncooked white rice

2 cups chicken broth

In a large skillet melt butter {or heat olive oil} over medium-low heat. Cook orzo pasta stirring frequently until it is golden brown.

Stir in onion and cook until onion becomes translucent.

Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Mix in the rice and chicken broth.

Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed…20-25 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes. Fluff with fork and enjoy!!!

Pinterest Party {Christmas Inspired}

Hey there! I know December is over and we’ve started a new year, but I am so excited to share this fun party with you.

A friend of mine mentioned she wanted to host a “Pinterest Party” and asked if I would be interested in helping her host it…

Uh, yeah! I love parties…and Pinterest…and crafting…and food!

We got to work and started planning. Here’s how we did it.

We picked 3 easy, cheap, and cute crafts {all Christmas inspired}. We bought all the materials, mostly from the dollar store and a little from Michael’s {using coupons of course}. We asked that our friends bring a Pinterest inspired dish to share…could be a dip, a side dish, or a dessert.

The crafts we picked turned out super cute and very simple.

The first was the Christmas wreath.

This was a must. We bought the wreaths from the Dollar Tree. We bought some of that deco-mesh that’s oh so popular these days and lots of ribbon.

The second craft was the Dry Erase Frame, or what we called the teacher frame because it made a great teacher gift.

This one was super simple…the frames and dry erase pens came from the Dollar Tree. Cristine is a scrapbooker and had a ton of paper, but she also bought some at Michael’s using coupons and hitting their sales.

The last craft was the Christmas Frames.

The frames are the wooden frames came from Michael’s and cost $1.00 each. We used scrapbook paper, paint, and embellishments we picked up around the Dollar Tree.

Before the party Cristine and I got together and made a couple of examples of each craft so everyone would know what to do.

Then it came time to my favorite part…decorating.

We had craft tables set up in one of her spare rooms. In the center of each table we put Modge Podge, foam brushes, and templates for the wooden frames.

Instead of having extension cords strung all over the floor, we had a small table off to the side that housed the hot glue guns.

And when it was time to leave they could put their crafts in a cute little bag to keep it all together.

I made the sign and the tags with my Silhouette.

Isn’t it cute?!

The food table was super cute. I used a red and white polka dot cloth I had. We also hung red, lime green, and white lanterns above her bar.

We had the plastic ware in little buckets with labels.

We also had a drink area. This was really cute. I printed out water bottle labels {of course}, and little tags for the champagne glasses.

Cristine took cute, festive picks stuck on some cranberries and rolled them in sugar.

I found the labels HERE.

The food was great! By the time I got around to taking pictures of the food table, most of it was gone. Ha!

I tell ya, it was so much fun. We all laughed and talked, and loved hanging out while crafting. We decided to do it again…maybe in the spring.

Thank you Cristine for asking me to help. I LOVED it!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Maybe this has inspired you to host a Pinterest party…it’s SO much fun!!!

See you soon!

S`

Shepherd’s Pie

Hey there! Happy Monday! I have to tell you, it feels SO good to be back to feeling like myself and off the couch!

Well, I wanted to share an easy, healthy, and super yummy comfort food with you. The temperatures are getting colder, and this is one of our favorites on those cold days.

Here’s what you need:

1 Lb. ground beef

1 small onion, diced

4 potatoes, peeled and diced

4 oz. cream cheese {1/3 less fat works well here}

1 cup Shredded Colby Jack or Cheddar Cheese

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 cup shredded carrots

1 can Fiesta Corn, drained

1 jar Savory Beef Gravy

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, cook meat with onion until almost brown.

2. When meat is half way browned…add carrots.

3. Finish cooking until carrots are tender and meat is browned. Add in drained corn, gravy, salt/pepper to taste, and 1 tsp. garlic.

4. Mix well. Turn heat to low and heat through.

5. While you’re working on the meat mixture, cook potatoes. Put potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Boil on Medium-high heat for about 10 minutes until done.

6. Drain water. Mash potatoes with a potato masher.

7. Add cream cheese, 1 tsp. garlic, and salt/pepper to taste. Mix well until cream cheese is melted.

8. Spray casserole dish with Pam. Add beef mixture to bottom.

9. Top with potatoes.

10. Top with cheese. Pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy with a side salad or veggie of your choice.

 

I also like to make sour cream biscuits to go on the side…these are super simple.

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup sour cream

Beat with a mixer until well blended. Put in greased muffin tins. Bake alongside dinner for about 20-25 minutes.

{They make about 6 muffins}

Thanks for stopping by! Hope y’all find this recipe to keep you warm and comfy on those cold nights.

See you soon!

S~