An Evening with Ella Enchanted

We started reading Ella Enchanted as a family last fall on a car trip up north (I think that was when it was....)  And we finally finished it last Saturday! It was fun sharing a story together, especially this story. I love this book!

For the most part, everyone enjoyed it (even my rough & tough handsome cowboy) although Zoe didn't pay too much attention....she did the best she could for being 4. And Molly....well, she was merely a distraction when we tried to read it!

To mark the occasion, we had an Ella Enchanted Dinner Party Saturday night.

I put up a royal invitation (on the fridge) to let the Shakespear kingdom know of the upcoming festivities. This was met with much anticipation throughout the land. Each of the invitees were encouraged to arrive in fancy party attire.

And they did not disappoint.

Ryan arrived in a lovely suit coat two sizes too small and a ruffly pink boutonniere. And you have to give him props. The poor man had the flu, but he still wouldn't miss the royal party!

 Zoe was a beautiful fairy.

 Emmett was an elf in a blue hat (can you tell that was a last minute costume?)

Sam and Weston wore their Dad's clothes and said they were sleepy giants!

On the menu we had....

Torlin Kerru (Garlic & Butter sauteed mushrooms)
Areida's Rolls
Giant Potatoes from Uaaxee's farm (with chili, cheese, ranch and ham )
Quail Eggs (Deviled eggs)
Tonic (The BEST Party Punch)
Roly Poly Pudding (Oreo Pudding Poke Cake)

Before we sat down to dine on our luxurious feast, we had a rousing game of Ella Says (instead of Simon Says). Since Ella is cursed to do as she's told I thought it was a fitting game.  The kids loved it. And I kept getting out! Ack! Need to pay attention better....

At dinner I asked some Ella Enchanted trivia questions....they got almost all of them right!

We had the kids try No Thank You bites of the Torlin Kerru. They gagged on it. But at least they tried the mushrooms! Needless to say, we didn't get any mushroom converts.

And then we got into our jammies, grabbed some blankets and pillows and snuggled up to watch the movie Ella Enchanted.

And I know, I know, people. The movie is NOTHING like the book.  Just about the only thing they have in common is that they're both about a girl named Ella who is cursed with obedience. It's crazy how much the stories differ.

But it was still fun to watch. And the kids hadn't seen it before. I wonder why the producers, writers, the powers that be, decided to change the story so much. If you haven't read the book and you've only seen the movie, you're doing yourself a serious disservice. Read the book! It's grand.

Now we're reading Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George. It stars a castle that grows new rooms when it gets bored....so fun, right? I read the first chapter to the family tonight. Weston said, "Can you please read one more chapter?" Don't you just love that question?

Alright, now what are you reading?

Chocolate Trifle & Fluffy Raspberry Dream Cake {Yum!}

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

Last week I went to a great Christmas party....girlfriends, yummy dinner and loads of desserts. It is such a crazy busy time of year, but there's nothing like taking a breather and getting together with friends and having chocolate. Right? So, what did I bring to the party? My favorite dessert of all time, of course....

Beautiful Heavenly Chocolate Trifle

1 Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake (yep. Duncan Hines all the way. Moist Chocolaty Perfection)
1 big box of Jello chocolate pudding
A carton of cool-whip
6 Heath Bars, crushed (or since Wal-mart doesn't carry individual Heath bars and I don't want to make one more stop to some place that does...I just buy the fun-size bag of Heath bars. It costs less, too. It is a pain to smoosh the candy bars and unwrap them though...)

Make the yummy cake according to the box directions. Make the jello. You crushed the candy bars, right? (This is a great job for kids....lay out the bars, hand them the meat tenderizer...on the smooth size...and let them go to town.)

Now just layer it. Half of the cake first (I grab handfuls and drop them into the trifle dish), half of the pudding, half of the cool-whip and then half of the crushed Heath bars. (see? isn't this easy?) Then repeat. Cake, pudding, cool-whip and Heath bars. I like to reserve a handful of cake crumbs to put on the top of the trifle with the Heath bars.

Now, I know this Chocolate Trifle dessert is everywhere. But still, it surprises me how many people don't know how to make it. Chickadees! It's so easy!

And, wow. It's like a Looney Tunes cartoon when I walk in with one of these things. Everyone's eyes grow as round as dinner plates. I could probably lure people out of town with one of these babies. Like the Chocolate Pied Piper. It is definitely my favorite dessert to take anywhere. It's easy, tastes divine and looks super impressive.

So many friends came up to tell me how much they loved it! One even said if she'd known it was there she wouldn't have gotten anything else. She'd just have covered her plate with trifle, but she noticed it too late!

Okay, so what is better than one great dessert? Well, duh. Two, of course!

We tried a new cake recipe today. I got the idea from The Frugal Girls (although I've changed the recipe title a bit...yep I added the word Dream in there. When you see how easy this is you'll understand.)

Look at that rosy color! Wouldn't this be perfect for a holiday get-together?

Ok. So, this is crazy, but all you need is 2 ingredients. I know you're thinking, what? No. Way. (or maybe not. Maybe you're thinking about tacos or pickles or wondering why we don't have hover cars yet. I know, right? It's almost 2012. I totally thought we'd have those by now.)

Fluffy Raspberry Dream Cake

1 Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake mix
1 can Wilderness Raspberry pie filling

Mix ingredients together. Yep. That's it. Step away from the oil, water and eggs. It's just the powder and fruit. This is such a great dessert for kids to make all by themselves!

Zoe had a great time stirring it up. It turned the cake mix into a lovely shade of pink. And don't you love how her baby sis is watching so intently? I wonder what she's thinking? (Hmmmmm, how long would it take me to smear this all over myself, the walls, the kitchen and the couch?)

Pour into a 9x13 baking dish.

Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. Now because this dessert was so easy, you probably have some time on your hands... go wrap some presents or dance around to Christmas carols or spend some time licking the spoon....

No eggs which means you can lick that spoon until your heart's content. 

We enjoyed this cake with a dollop of cool-whip on top. Most of the family enjoyed it. My picky dessert eater didn't like the spongy texture. He is really a soggy moist cake kind of boy, instead.

Now I've mentioned two easy dessert ideas. But what if you have only mere minutes to throw something together before your friends come over for some holiday fun? Or what if you have to run into the house, whip something up and then head back out the door?  Then you have to try this....

Duncan Hines' Apple Caramel Cake. Am I the only one who heard the choir of angels singing? Decadent, indeed. This stuff is so amazing. Everything, but the oil, eggs and water, is right there in the box. And it makes a 9x13 cake! Not a measly 'ole 9 inch square cake like a lot of these kind of mixes. Yep, you can throw this dessert together and get back to your holiday fun in a flash.

Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

Easy Breakfast to Make after Late Nights of Writing...

See how I tied this post into writing? Heh heh. I'm so clever.

Wow. Cereal has gotten expensive, right? I guess I wasn't paying attention or something. Because it feels like it jumped in price while my back was turned.

So, I think we need to eat more oatmeal.

This morning we tried this....



As American as Apple Pie Oatmeal from the Mr. Breakfast site. It was fast and easy and most of my kids liked it. And since I was up late trying to figure out some things on for my first chapter, it was a great easy recipe to whip up for my troupe in the morning.

Maybe you're wondering why I'm working on the first chapter instead of simply Finishing. The. Book. I won a critique from a giveaway the Swagger Writers  were doing. Yay! It's with author Kristin Nitz. I need some new eyes to check it out, so this is great.

Alright, it's time to start running around.

Homemade Fruit Roll-ups!

Did you know you can make fruit leather in your oven?? I. Did. Not.

The other day Sundi told me of this Grand Idea and how she'd been making some. She even brought me a yummy roll of it! Aren't awesome friends the best?

And so yesterday I whipped up two pans of the stuff. It was so easy. And the kids love it! You can find the instructions for these strips of fruity heaven over at Our Best Bites.

Evil Dangerous Honeybun Cake

I have a son who doesn't like cake.

Emmett! How can you not like cake??!!

Wow, right? Yeah, I just don't know what to do with him.....although I should clarify. There are some cakes he likes. His main requirement seems to be the amount of moisture in the cake. None of that standard iced birthday cake for him.

And what's his favorite? That would have to be Honeybun Cake. This stuff rocks.....

picture kifed from bettycrocker.com
Yeah. You can tell that's not my picture.
Fruit? Next to the cake? What's the point of that?

I whipped some up Monday night. And we devoured pieces while playing a rousing game of Rat-A-Tat-Cat.  That cake was all gone in (much!) less than 24 hours. I didn't even get a chance to snap a picture.

Honeybun Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans (I don’t use)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: 

Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan or bundt pan....or maybe muffins? That could be fun.

Stir cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream until well combined. Spread half of the batter in the pan.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts and sprinkle over the top of the cake (you can leave it as a middle layer or swirl it through the cake with a knife). And top with the rest of the better.

Bake for 45 minutes or until done.   For the icing, combine the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. I usually have to add a little more milk. Spread over still-warm cake and then...

Try to resist eating half the cake.

Don't say I didn't warn you. 

Recipes {Sidewalk Chalk & Caramel Biscuit Ring}

I love General Conference weekend. We have a lot of fun sitting around in our comfy clothes, listening to the brilliant speakers and laughing and spending time together between sessions.

Saturday evening, while Ryan was at the Priesthood session with our oldest son (it was Weston's first time going....pretty cool) the rest of the kids and I whipped up some Sidewalk Paint and colored our driveway. If you ever want to see what if feels like to have about ten children, do this activity! It draws the neighbor kids in like nothing else! 

Sidewalk Paint

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

6-8 drops of food coloring (or more....just be careful! Once I made a pink and added a lot of drops and we had a hard time getting the color off our cement!!) 

Mix up and start painting. I always have to tell my kids, "Not in the garage. Only on the sidewalk and driveway. And not on the house!" You'd think the fact that we made SIDEWALK paint would be enough of a clue. But, of course, it isn't.  

I stripped Molly down to her saggy diaper so she could get in on the fun. And, boy, did she have a good time!

Don't you love the paint-splattered legs and toes? By the end she had it literally from her head
to her toes! 

Emmett and Sam were having a fabulous time splattering the paint all over the place in dribbles and dots. 

I told them about the painter, Jackson Pollock and how he'd stand on a ladder while doing similar paintings. Well, this sounded like a marvelous idea, apparently, and they had to get as high as possible to try it out. 

Unfortunately this was only about a foot off the ground. 

As you can see, Molly was completely disobeying the "Only on the Sidewalk" rule. In fact, she took to applying a bit of "Sidewalk Paint Make-up" to anyone she could get to sit still long enough. 

This wasn't very long. 

During some of conference we played Bingo with these printables and M&Ms. 

The kids love that. And....mmmmm, I don't mind it myself. 

For breakfast on Sunday morning we had Caramel Biscuit Ring, which is one of our conference traditions. The kids love this and often request it for birthdays, too. And it's super easy. 

Caramel Biscuit Ring

2 cans pillsbury refridgerated biscuits

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 Tablespoons water

Cut biscuits in half and roll into balls (this is a great thing for kids to do...I let them use my kitchen scissors and they love it) Melt butter in a small saucepan on the stove, add brown sugar and water. Let it come to a boil and then remove from heat. Drip some of the caramel sauce into the bottom of a round bundt pan. Layer half of biscuit balls and then half of caramel sauce. Repeat. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until nice and golden brown. Invert onto a serving plate and let your family devour them!

Last night we all sat around and each shared something we enjoyed from the talks. I'm surprised by how much the children absorb. They truly are little sponges. 

Wonderful, messy, lovable sponges.

Some of my very favorite talks were (it's hard to choose though)...

Elaine S. Dalton's talk about the importance of fathers in their daughters lives. "The most important thing a father can do for his daughter is love her mother."  Love it. 

Elder Tad R. Callister's bold discussion of the Book of Mormon. Love his frank talk. Really great.

And, of course, I loved all of President Monson's talks. I loved hearing that Star Valley is going to have a temple. I have a lot of family up there. And I can't imagine how happy they were at that news. And I loved his talk about the power of prayer, especially the story about the the lost $5. What a wonderful and amazing man.

What a great weekend. 

Now back to the regularly scheduled program!

Sure you could eat the paint...

Yes. My kids like knowing they have the option of eating the paint should the desire to do so arise.

A week or so ago...you can figure it out. I hadn't figured out how to turn the date off on my son's camera, yet (my camera is being a beast.)....anyways, I made some Salt Paint for the kids while searching for something fun to do with the kids left at home.  My husband made a trip with our oldest son over to Tropic to help his father haul and bail (bale?) hay on the farm.  So, we needed to do something fun. 

Salt paint....yay!

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup warm water
3 or 4 drops food coloring

Mix up with paint brushes in small containers or paper cups. I posted about this on the Cheap Cheap Chickadee blog, but I thought I'd share here, too.

This wee girl was not happy one bit until she was part of the action. 

And, yep, she did indeed try eating the paint. 

Mmmmm, salty.  I don't think she cared for it much.  But, of course, this did not stop her from trying to eat more of it.  Maybe I should make a yummy paint sometime, eh?  Like, pudding paint? Mmmmm, that could be good.

Well, the fun did not stop with the painting.  Oh, no.  We also made homemade pop-tarts. 

And a pop-tart is not a pop-tart unless there are copious amounts of sprinkles, right?

You can find multiple recipes for these on-line.  We used this one.  It was pretty good.  I like the idea of mixing the cornstarch into the jam to make it less runny.  That worked really well.

And there you have it. A sweet & salty day with us.

Mmmmmm, New Recipes....

Oy, I get so tired of the same 'ole recipes. Probably my family would be happy to go without all the kitchen trial and errors, but I get bored.  I will spare you the ones that I will not be making again (I tried making spinach crepes once.  Nope. They're not good.) and share the ones we've loved....

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

One of my boys couldn't say enough how much he loved these.  "Oh! These are the best pancakes ever," he said repeatedly. Another one mentioned, "These are the opposite of a healthy breakfast." 

Yep. It's like having cinnamon rolls for breakfast. But they were very very tasty.  I think I'll be requesting these for my birthday. 

Soft Sandwich/Hamburger Buns

I've tried different recipes for sandwich rolls in the past, but these win. They are soft and yummy.  Perfect. 

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

I have an awesome friend who I adore.  I wanted to make some sort of delicious treat for her.  I asked her daughter what I should whip up and she suggested this.  I hadn't tried making this kind of bread before but I'm so glad I did! It was excellent!  I also made a powdered sugar icing to put on the slices.  The loaf was gone very very quickly!

Ok.  Obviously the recipes I've been trying would not be found anywhere near the "Let's Eat Healthier" section.  I should work on that.... 

Navajo Fry Bread Pizza

Yep. That's right. Fried bread topped with pizza fixin's.  Mmmmmmm.  I made the fry bread and then spread on sauce, cheese and pepperoni and baked in the oven until the cheese melted.  Yum.  It was a huge hit with the family.

And last, I'm sharing a recipe that is already huge favorite in our house.  If everyone is home, I have to make two pans just so everyone can get as much as they want.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Ooops. I didn't get a shot of this one.  But it was very very tasty and, once again, popular with the natives!  Yay! I love finding things my kids will eat without drama!

Pepperoni Hopple Popple

I have no idea why this is so popular with my kids.  Sure, it's tasty, but I'm surprised by just how much they love it.  It is requested VERY often (and it's just fun to say).

Have I made your mouth water? If you try any of these out, let me know!  

How to {Tuesday} Make Easy Homemade Granola

Mmmmmm, homemade granola....yum, right? I love granola. And I've made it in the past, but I can't remember what recipe I used. So, when I wanted to whip some up the other day I googled "fast granola recipe" and found a for this Quick 'n' Crunchy Granola.

When I make it I also add a whole bunch of raisins and some cinnamon to the mix. 

It is super good! My kids love it (except for Emmett...one of 'em always has to be contrary, right?)

We like it with milk like cereal, snacking on it plain or sprinkled on top of yogurt. 

Delish!

The Friday Five: Chocolate Broccoli...bad idea?

#1: I bought a new cardigan yesterday for $4.38. Huzzah!

Not the most flattering shot.  And, oy! I need to clean that mirror!

#2: My kids love these things...

They're called Energy Balls.  Although we've started simply calling them Peanut Butter Balls.

Basically they are a cup of peanut butter, 1/2-1 cup of powdered dry milk (you mix in enough to make it a dough-like consistency) and 1/4-1/2 cup honey.  Mix up, roll into balls and refridgerate until they get firm.  You can roll them in cocout, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, etc. (before you refridgerate them) Or just leave them plain. And you can add dry fruit to them, too.  Yum!

#3:  I came up with a new craft idea this week.  Yay! I need to get it written up and sent off.  I really really like it.  A lot. If I run into you, I'll probably make you look at one of them.  Consider yourself warned.

#4: I have been staying up very late to work on Sam's Super Secret Birthday Project. Ack! I was trying to keep it simple. And it is...Not. At. All. Simple.  I don't think I'm going to get it done in time.  blech. I should have started sooner.

#5: I have to get my bum moving and get excercising again.  I just don't know when to fit it in! But I've got to find the time. I wish I had my own raquetball court out back.  I love raquetball.  I especially love playing with my husband and trying to beat him! I haven't done it very much.  When we were first learning how to play I managed to whoop him, but now he usually wins.  bah.   And I should probably stop eating so many peanut butter balls....*sigh* why can't carrots taste like peanut butter?  And broccoli like chocolate?

The Friday Five: Random Fun

#1: I made this peanut butter chocolate cake a week or so ago. 

Yep. It was pretty darn good.  But I NEED to stop baking! Ack!

Oddly enough the recipe includes directions for a fluffy chocolate frosting but doesn't mention how much of the ingredients you need. So, I just used a chocolate frosting recipe from one of my cookbooks. 

#2: We had our Cub Scout Pack Meeting last week and had an international theme.  The assistant Cubmaster found this fun craft for the kids to do, African Drums from styrofoam cups...

The kids loved making them.

#3: Erin, the assistant Cubmaster (yep. Both the Cubmaster and the assistant are named Erin...kind of funny)also made a really yummy Italian Lemon Ice.  It was deliciously tart.  I think we've found a new family favorite. 

#4: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we had mexican food for dinner last night and even added a colorful centerpiece to our table.  I found the instructions for these fun tissue paper flowers Here.  The kids had a great time trying out different color combinations.  And even my 3 yo could make these.

Luckily I had some bright vases to put them in. 

 #5: Also...we made our own pinata!  It was so much fun. I used THESE directions. 

When it was all nice and dry, we painted glue on it and then stuck tissue paper scraps left over from the flowers. 

We love how it turned out!

We hadn't popped the balloon yet in that picture.  And I'll tell you what, that was probably the best part! The kids loved watching the balloon "disappear" when I poked it with a push pin. 

But sadly, we didn't smack the pinata yet.  My handsome cowboy had to work late. He was busy lighting fires (he works for the BLM and they were doing a controlled burn). And I didn't want him to miss the crazy good time with a blindfold, a bat and our homemade fun. http://erinshakespear.blogspot.com/2011/04/thrifty-thursday-funky-spray-painted.html