Tag Archives: Valentine’s Day

Yummy Valentine’s Lunch

13 Feb
Image from Nuovo Pasta

Image from Nuovo Pasta

Picture 12

Image from Nuovo

You probably know Nuovo Pasta from the cute Mac and Cheezy Fish Ravioli they sell at Whole Foods.  Any time my kids pass the adorable shaped ravioli they want it.  The all-natural pasta also comes in a variety of shapes and delicious flavors. When I was at the Manhattan Costco the other day I came across Nuovo  Ricotta, Mozzarella and Asiago Heart-Shaped Pasta.  Delicious for grown-ups and lots of fun for your little Valentine’s.  For the kids I served it with a little olive oil, salt and garlic.  My husband and I enjoyed it with vodka sauce on top (my girls didn’t want to “mess up” their hearts with sauce).  Choose a vegetable and cut heart-shaped strawberries on the side for a yummy lunch or dinner on Valentine’s day!  For a little extra fun let the little Valentine’s dress up and set the table with flowers and have a “fancy restaurant“.

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Valentine’s From The Heart!

6 Feb

My oldest daughter received a Melissa and Doug Mailbox for Christmas. It is one of her favorite toys because she enjoys writing letters.  I love to encourage her to write to people especially in a time that letters are rarely received and communication is done by text or e-mail.
20130206-185916.jpgLately, she has talked nonstop about Valentine’s day. She has picked out gifts for my husband and her sister. When I asked her about cards for family, friends, and classmates she said she wanted to create her own to make them “special”. I thought that was very impressive since store shelves are packed with Valentines of her favorite princess and tv show characters.  Naturally, my youngest said she wanted to do the same thing as her big sister.  When I was at Target the other week, I found blank pink cards and a lot of Valentine stickers in the $1.00 section when you first walk in. My girls have used various supplies and are working hard to get cards ready for next week.  Once they are finished they will add her favorite Yummy Earth Lollipops and stuff them in her mailbox to “send” out.

Making your own Valentine’s is a great way to keep busy when you are stuck inside and adds a little extra love to each one.  If you don’t have time to shop, I found these pre-packaged kits you can order online:

Sending lot’s of LOVE this Valentine’s Day!

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A “House of Love”

13 Feb

A month ago I was at our local Barnes and Noble and came across the Dancing Deer Gingerbread Cookie House Kit on sale.  We never got around to making a house over the holidays so decided to get it to decorate a “House of Love” for Valentine’s Day.  We finally got around to making it over the weekend while we were visiting my parents. We followed the directions from the kit, which the mold of the house is the box, which we frosted with the icing mix which came with the kit.  I prepared the icing before and had to ice the house one side at a time to keep it from hardening.  The icing dried faster than I expected, luckily my mom was there to add water for me. We opted not to use the cookies for the roof and used candy hearts instead.  To decorate the rest of the house we used valentine’s m&m’s, candy corn, heart gummies and twizzlers. Maddie had a great time decorating and Pela had a great time sneaking candy. The house is a great table top decoration for a Valentine’s dinner or party.  If you have a gingerbread house* mold or graham crackers* for a smaller one, it would be a great Valentine’s day activity.  You will also need Royal Icing* and your favorite Valentine’s candy.  * I have not tried these recipes.

Using leftover Valentine Funfetti frosting to make ginger girls!

Caught sneaking candy!

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Made with Love: Allergy-Friendly Raspberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes

2 Feb

{Warning: Spoiler for Daddy}

I keep skipping over the super bowl and keep thinking about cooking activities the girls and I can do for Valentine’s Day.  In the past I have never been a huge fan of Valentine’s Day but since having kids I find myself enjoying it more and more.

We were running late to take Maddie to school.  I had to get Pela dressed quickly and didn’t have a chance to feed her breakfast.  I bought Cherrybrook Kitchen Pancake mix a while ago and wanted to make them for the girls.  Since Pela and I had some time while Maddie was at school, I thought it would be fun to cook breakfast together as a trial for our Valentine’s Day breakfast for Daddy.  Although Pela is still a little young, she had a great time preparing.  She needed a lot of assistance and direction, often sneaking bites of the ingredients.  Regardless of the mess and some missing ingredients, which I easily replaced, she made a great pancake mix and will be a perfect activity for the girls to do together on Valentine’s Day morning for Daddy.

Cherrybrook Kitchen has a variety of  allergy friendly mixes, cookies, and icing.  Their products are peanut, egg, tree nut, and dairy* free.  They also have wheat and gluten-free mixes.  Maddie has a lot of friends with various allergies.  I plan on using Cherrybrook Kitchen to make raspberry and chocolate chip cupcakes for her Valentine’s Day party. You can find their products in the baking section at Whole Foods or check their website for a store near you.  Try Cherrybrook Kitchen, the pancakes were delicious.  We can’t wait to try their other products.

Allergy-Friendly Raspberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes Recipe

What you need:

  • Mixing bowl
  • whisk
  • 1 cup Cherrybrook Kitchen Pancake Mix (followed directions on box to make 7 pancakes)
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tsp Milk, rice milk, or another dairy alternative depending on your needs (we used low-fat milk)
  • 2 1/2 TBS Enjoy Life Semi- Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1/4 cup raspberries
  • 4 Strawberries cut into a heart shape
  • non-stick pan
  • cooking spray, vegetable oil or butter (we used Pam Original Cooking Spray.

Made with Love

Directions:

  • Prior to doing with your child, especially with a younger child, have everything measured out so all the child needs to do is pour it out.
  • Cut strawberries into heart shapes, I found the link after I had already made them. Put them to the side until ready to cook pancakes.
  • Make Pancake batter with your child by stirring together  Pancake
  • Next, add chocolate chips and mix into batter.
  • Add raspberries, as stirring mash a little.
  • For cooking instructions, see back of box. Directions can be found at their site too.
  • I added a strawberry heart to center of pancake as they cooked.  They didn’t turn out as pretty as I had hoped so I left some of the hearts and placed them on top after the pancake was cooked.
  • After they cooled I used pink Wilton Sparkle Gel to decorate.  Your child could decorate too.

If the heart in the center doesn't turn out as planned use a cookie cutter for a heart pancake.

Ready to eat! On pancake #2

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Out Creating Designs: Sugar Scrub and More

31 Jan

My super creative and talented cousin recently started blogging.  Her blog, Out Creating Designs, focuses on ideas for design from refinishing furniture she finds at local antique stores to creating signs for the home all while being a mom to five kids. She recently moved to Raleigh, N.C. and has a space at Suzanna’s Antiques to sell her pieces.  She has made so many wonderful things for my girls and is always giving new ideas to include on my blog.

An adorable sign she made for my baby shower and Maddie's room.

The other day she told me about edible hand and foot sugar scrubs she has made with her kids.   She has made scrubs in Vanilla, Lemon and is working on a Brown Sugar Chocolate scrub. They would make a perfect gift for a Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.  I am going to make some with the girls to give with the ring holders for wedding gifts for my friends.  Keep checking her blog for the perfect sugar scrub recipe.   I can’t wait to make them.

Sneak peak from Out Creating Designs, check out her site for more amazing pieces for the home:

Her talent goes beyond the home and furnishings, check out the amazing Tutu’s and shirts she has made for the girls:

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Ring Holder For The Rings You Hold Close To Your Heart

27 Jan

When two of my closest friends got engaged I wanted to give them a little something special from the girls.  While, Pela was napping the other day, Maddie asked to do arts and crafts.  She wanted to play with her Crayola Model Magic, or the “polar bear arts and crafts” as she called it, so I started thinking of what she could make for gifts.  A ring holder came to mind because if they take their rings off as much as I do for cooking, cleaning, showering, and sleeping then they can always use more than one.  The ring holder was very easy to make and a perfect activity for a rainy day like today.  They tuned out great and would make a wonderful Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day gift.

What you need:

  • Crayola Model Magic (white)
  • Cookie Cutter (we did a heart but your child’s favorite shape will work)
  • Craft paint (Your child’s favorite colors, we used left over paint from a Melissa and Doug project)
  • Glitter Glue Pens
  • Crazy glue
  • Stickers, rhinestones, or anything else your child might like to use
  • SuPper Suit Bib (check out the giveaway) or any art smock. *We didn’t use it until it was too late, so make sure to put it on before you start.

How to make it:

  1. Flatten Crayola Model Magic, and work clay so there is a cylinder type pole in the center, this was hard so I had to do the molding. flatten area around the pole.  This was challenging for Maddie, so I did the molding.  Make sure it is not too thick so that rings for small fingers can fit.
  2. Once the area around the pole for the rings is flat and even, place cookie cutter centered over the pole and cut out the shape. Maddie did this but needed help getting the cookie cutter off from the clay.
  3. Let air dry, no baking required, and paint.  Maddie wanted to paint and add decorations immediately.  If your little one can’t wait it was ok that we did it all at once.
  4. We used a sharpie marker to write a special little note on the bottom for our friends to always remember who the special little gift was from.

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