DIY Easter Egg Wreath

Derek and I are hosting our first Easter in our home since we got married. I wanted a wreath to hang on the front door to welcome our guests but I couldn't find one I liked without a heavy price tag. With a Hobby Lobby gift card in hand a turned to Pinterest. This cute, easy to make, Easter wreath caught my eye. Bonus: Easter items are 40% off at Hobby Lobby right now.

You Will Need: 

2 bags of small Easter eggs ($.99 each) 

3 bags of regular size Easter eggs. ($1.99 each) Only 2 bags pictured. 

Hot Glue Gun with glue

Green Foam Ring ($4.99)

Roll of Ribbon ($5.99) 

I started by laying the eggs out around the foam ring to come up with a simple pattern. Once I had a pattern in mind I glued the eggs down one row at a time. If you make a mistake don't panic! The eggs are pretty easy to pull off. Just be sure to peal off the old glue before adding more to replace the egg. 

I used the small eggs to fill in the "holes" in between the bigger eggs until the whole wreath was full with eggs. I then rapped a ribbon around the wreath and glued the ends to the back. I created a bow with the left over ribbon and glued it to the top. You could always buy a ribbon premade, Hobby Lobby has a good section of them.

I hope you enjoy making this wreath as much as I did! 

Keep Pinning! 

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

A few days ago I noticed some over ripe bananas at my office. Knowing no one was going to eat them I put them in a bag and took them home to make banana bread. I didn't want to make normal, same-old-same-old, banana bread so I searched for some different styles on Pinterest. I came across a cinnamon swirl recipe and adjusted it a little bit. I made the bread that night and brought it to work the next day for breakfast. My coworkers loved it!

Ingredients: 
3 over-ripe bananas, smashed up
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups flour

For the swirl:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon


Step 1) Preheat oven to 350
Step 2) Spray 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick spray
Step 3) Mash bananas with electric mixer or by hand
Step 4) Mix bananas, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt together
Step 5) Stir in flour, be careful not to over mix
Step 6) Add half of the banana batter to the prepped loaf pan
Step 7) In a separate small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon
Step 8) Sprinkle a little more than half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on the batter in the loaf pan
Step 9) Add the rest of the batter on top
Step 10) Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar over the batter
Step 11) Bake for 50-60 minutes  

Enjoy!

Thai Topaz: Date Night Destination

Disclosure: I recently dined at Thai Topaz as their guest, along with other San Antonio Bloggers, to sample their dishes and learn about the restaurant. However, all opinions are my own. 

$20 Gift Certificate Give-A-Way Below! 

To be honest, Ive never been to a Thai restaurant before so I really didn't know what to expect when I walked into Thai Topaz for the first time. I was delighted by the fun atmosphere, friendly wait staff and the wide variety of dishes available.

Photo Credit: Thai Topaz Facebook Page

Although, the restaurant is very kid friendly, Thai Topaz offers a place for couples to escape the norm and try something a little bit out if their comfort zone. The owners, David and Somjira, have created a space that is calm, relaxing and modern.

Blogger Menu with Spring Rolls

Sipping on some Lychee Flavored Sake, I enjoyed summer rolls, miang kai (thai lettuce wraps), red curry mussels and tom kha soup as appetizers. Each dish was better than the next. I was very impressed by the presentation of the tom kha soup bowl, pictured below.

Tom Kha Soup

Red Curry Mussels 

We then moved on to our dinner entrees. The pineapple fried rice actually comes in a pineapple! Perfect for serving two, the dish is almost too beautiful to eat, almost.

Pineapple Fried Rice

As we moved to dessert, David told us that all of the dishes on the Thai Topaz menu were developed by Somjira's mother, who owns the Medical Center Thai Topaz location. Did you know avocado ice cream is a thing? A delicious thing! All of their ice cream flavors are homemade.

Homemade Ice Cream: Coconut, Avocado, Mango and Pineapple

Next time you are looking to mix up date night go try Thai Topaz in Castle Hills. You won't be disappointed. Cant find a babysitter? No worries, kids eat FREE on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Enter to win a $20 Gift Certificate to Thai Topaz below. Give-a-way ends on February 25th 2015 at 12am.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good Luck!

Valentine's Day Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Homemade Chocolate Covered Strawberries are a Valentine's Day tradition at our house.

Here is the recipe for you to enjoy:   

Step 1) Wash strawberries. They must be completely dry before they can be dipped

Step 2) In a microwave safe bowl add 1 cup of while chocolate chips

Step 3) Pour 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over the chips

Step 4) Microwave in 20 or 30 second intervals, stirring each time

Step 5) Stop heating when most, but not all, of the chips are melted. Stir until chocolate is smooth and chips are completely melted. BE CAREFUL not to overcook.

Step 6) Hold a strawberry by the green stem and dip in chocolate, let extra chocolate run off

Step 7) Hold the strawberry until no chocolate runs off

Step 8) Place on parchment paper or a waxed paper lined pan

Step 9) Once the strawberries have dried I melt white chocolate chips using the same technique then pour them into a sqeeze bottle. Squeeze the chocolate over the strawberries. This is optional but I think it makes the strawberries taste and look even more delicious.

Step 10) Cool in the fridge then enjoy!

 

 

Waffle Maker Cinnamon Rolls

We got a waffle maker for Christmas and it opened up a lot of new food possibilities. I read an article about 23 Things You Cook In a Waffle Maker that aren't waffles and cinnamon rolls was one of them.

You will need:

1 can Cinnamon Rolls with Icing, I used Pillsbury.  

1 can of Pam or Nonstick Spray 

1 Waffle Maker

Step 1) Spray waffle maker with nonstick spray on both sides.

Step 2) Open cinnamon roll can and remove icing.

Step 3) Place 4 cinnamon rolls on one side and close the waffle maker.

Step 4) After a minute of cooking flip waffle maker over. If your waffle maker doesn't flip don't worry about it. Yours will still cook just fine. 

Step 5) Open waffle maker and remove cinnamon rolls after a total cooking time of 2-3 minutes. Rolls should be hot, brown and crispy. 

Step 6) Once all cinnamon rolls are cooked remove lid from the icing container and pop the container in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. 

Step 7) Pour warm icing over hot cinnamon rolls.

Step 8) Enjoy!

Keep Pinning! 

Caramel Filled Snickerdoodles

These 4 ingredient goodies are amazing! Yes, you read that right, only 4. I don't have kiddos but these are also kid friendly for a fun, yummy afternoon. Ignore my crappy iPhone photography.

You will need:
2 Cans of Crescent Rolls
1 Bag of Caramels
1 Cup Cinnamon
1 Cup Sugar

Step 1) Heat oven to 350.
Step 2) Mix your cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.
Step 3) Open your crescent roll cans and lay the dough flat. 
Step 4) Cut the end (tail) off of the triangle of dough. Save this for later. See photo below.

Step 5) Place caramel on larger piece of dough. 

Step 6) Once you have 4 of the triangle tails cut off you can smash them together to form a large triangle and place a caramel on top. The triangle in the top left corner was done this way.

Step 7) Roll dough around caramel.
Step 8) Once the dough completely covers the caramel, roll it in cinnamon and sugar mix.

Step 8) Place on baking sheet about one inch apart.

Step 9) Bake for 10-12 minutes until caramel is melted and dough is brown.

Step 10) Enjoy!

PS: If you don't eat them all right away pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds to melt the caramel again before serving.


Keep Pinning!

Spicy Garlic Edamame

Now you don't have to go to a sushi restaurant to get great edamame. I whipped up these spicy delicious pods yesterday afternoon to snack on while watching bad Sunday afternoon TV. Don't judge my by my awful iPhone photos. 

You will need: 

Edamame (Either frozen or fresh) 

1/3 Cup Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of Minced Garlic 

Pinch of Salt

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning 

Directions:

Step 1) Start by adding olive oil and garlic to a skillet and add medium heat

Step 2) When oil is sizzling add in your edamame

Step 3) Stir to coat all edamame with garlic and oil 

Step 4) Cook until edamame starts to brown but not burn

Step 5) Sprinkle on and stir in Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning to taste

Step 6) Take edamame out of pan and sprinkle salt on top

Step 7) Enjoy!

Keep pinning!