Cinnamon Sticks & Some Winners

We seem to be on a cinnamon roll.  Ha!  Get it... cinnamon roll.  Cinnamon roll?  Oh man.  It's early.  I haven't had enough sleep and I'm getting rummy.  But what do I do when I'm super tired and my kids won't let me sleep?  I bake.  Yep.  I know, it's crazy.  But I do.  Have you noticed that most of the pictures of my kids helping me in the kitchen they are in their pajamas?  That's because it's most likely before 8am.

I knew my kids would love these cinnamon sticks.  They're everything we love: cinnamon, frosting, dough.  Oh man!  And they were so easy to make.  I love things like that.  I have a feeling these will be a favorite for my kids when we have people over. 

Thank you Jam Hands for this awesome recipe!

Ingredients:

* refrigerated pizza dough

* melted buter

* cinnamon and sugar

Frosting:

* powdered sugar

* milk

* butter or butter flavoring

Unroll the pizza dough and roll either out into a circle or a rectangle.

Cut with a pizza cutter into strips but don't separate them.

Brush with melted butter.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Make sure you don't over cook the dough.

While it's cooking, make the frosting.  Its the simple powdered sugar and milk frosting.  You could use cream cheese frosting (yum) or maple frosting too.  That would be tasty!

Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Drizzle with frosting and serve warm.

Yep, my kids LOVED them!!!

And now for the winners of my giveaway for a years subscription to Disney's Family Fun Magazine.....

Pretend Chef

and

Mamie!

Congratulations!  Email me with your address and I'll get that in the mail!

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Sending Some Love From the Oregon Coast

 If you know me at all you know that I love the beach.  I'm not sure what it is about the beach - the calming noise of the ocean, the smell of the beach and clean air, the feel of the warm sand on my feet.  Maybe it's a combination of all of that.  I've been going to the Oregon Coast my whole life.  When I think of the beach, that's what I think of.  It's beautiful!

 This summer we had some friends come and visit us for awhile from South Dakota.  It was the first time some of them had ever seen the ocean.  It was so much fun watching their faces as they saw the waves crashing on the sand.  Instantly they turned into 6 year olds and ran around and splashed and played.  It was a blast!  It reminded me how fortunate I am to live so close to such an amazing place.

So when they left I wanted to send them a little reminder of their visit.

What do you think?

When I put the bottles on the counter at the post office, the women looked and me and started laughing.  Everyone behind me started asking questions and they all agreed that it would be so much fun to get something like this in the mail!

Super easy.  I cut a clear pop bottle.  I used a 2 liter bottle for the taffy but just a large water bottle for the sand and treasures.  (The sand was pretty heavy so I didn't want to have to mail 3 pounds of it.)

We filled it with our treasures and then taped it back up.

 Then we put an address label on it.

We filled one up with salt water taffy (delicious!)

And one up with beach treasures we found.

Wouldn't this be fun to find in your mailbox?

I'm linking up to the linky parties on my sidebar!

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

It's no secret that my kids and I have a thing for cinnamon rolls. We made homemade cinnamon rolls, cinnamon roll bites with maple frosting and cinnamon roll pancakes (all super yum!) So when I saw these cinnamon roll cookies over on Everyday Sisters I was so excited. They looked delicious and super easy to make. I like that combination! =o)

Ingredients:

* 2 refrigerated, roll out pie crusts (you can make your own pie crust if you would like.  But I don't make pie crust, so I bought some)

* 1 cup brown sugar

* 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon (depending on your taste)

Simple right?!?!

Roll out one pie crust.  Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture and roll up.

 
Cut into 1/2 inch slices and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 - 12 minutes (until lightly browned and delicious looking!)

Repeat with the other pie crust.

Cool on cooling racks and try not to eat all of them while they are still warm.  Seriously.  This will be difficult!  They are awesome!!!

If you want to frost them (but you don't have to.  They are delicious without it.)  But even better with it =o)

* 1 cup powdered sugar

* milk

Add milk to powdered sugar, a little at a time.  Make sure you don't add too much all at once or it will be lumpy and too thin.

Frost and enjoy!!!

Here... let's take another, closer look at these...

If you haven't entered my giveaway for a years subscription to Disney Family Fun Magazine, go here to do so!

And have you been doing your Swagbucks?  What?  You don't know what Swagbucks is?  Then you need to click here and sign up.  

All you do is search through their search engine and then you earn points!  I already have 2 gift certificates purchased that I'm going to use for Christmas.  How cool is that???  Check out my post that explains more.

I'm linking to the linky parties on my sidebar.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Have you entered my Disney Family Fun magazine giveaway?  If not, you can enter here!

 
I don't even know what to say about this recipe except... IT'S UNBELIEVABLE!!!  I am totally serious.  It's one of the best desserts I've had in quite awhile.  (I use dessert kind of loosely... I had it for breakfast a couple of times.)  =o)

I first saw this over on Mickey's blog, Monster Mama.  It was love at first site.  Doesn't it look wonderful?!?!  And it's so easy!

Ingredients:
* 2 cans of Cresent Roll dough
* 2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
* 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup butter, melted
* Cinnamon and sugar

Roll out on of the can of cresent dough in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.  You'll have to squish it out to cover the bottom of the pan and seal the holes.

Combine cream cheese, vanilla and 1 cup sugar.

Spread over cresent dough.

Top with the other can of cresent dough. 

Drizzle with melted butter and then sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar over the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.  When it's lightly golden brown and bubbly it's done.  (Or when you can't take it anymore because it smells so good!)


What do you think?  Heaven, right? I had to cut into it when it was still warm.  I about passed out.  It was so good!

Oh yeah, and don't forget to refrigerate it =o)








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{Secret Recipe Club} Marble Cake with White Chocolate Glaze

It's month two for me and the Secret Recipe Club. Last month was so much fun. I loved seeing what everyone made and finding so many new great recipes and blogs!

What is the Secret Recipe Club? If you missed my Mt. Bachelor Bars from last month you're missing out! then I'd better tell you about it.  Amanda from Amanda's Cookin (awesome blog!) started this great club.  We are assigned a blog each month (a different one each month) and have to make something from that blog and write a post about it.  Fun, right?  Well the response has been crazy so Amanda got some help from Tina from Mom's Crazy Cooking (another one of my favorite blogs!)  So now Tina is our host.  Thanks Tina!  =o)

My original blog I was assigned backed out of the club at the last minute so I was reassigned to a new blog.  Can I just say how happy I am that my new assigned blog is Sheryl's blog, Lady Behind the Curtain.  I love her blog!!!  This wasn't a new discovery for me.  I've been a follower of her blog for sometime so finding a recipe I wanted to make?  Piece of cake (no pun intended.)  =o)  I was waffling between her amazing Caramel Banana Cake Roll, her Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Squares (um, yes please!) and this delicious Marble Cake with White Chocolate Glaze.  I knew my kids would LOVE this cake and gobble it up so I decided on this recipe to make.

Oh my gosh!  Delicious!!!

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup unsalted butter

* 1 3/4 cup cake flour (not self rising)

* 2 tsp. baking powder

* 1/2 tsp. salt

* 1 cup sugar

* 3 large eggs, room temperature

* 1 tsp. vanilla

* 2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature

* 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder

* 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes.)  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.  Add vanilla.  Add the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with the flour.

Set aside about 1/3 of the batter.

In a bowl, mix the cocoa powder and boiling water until smooth.  Add the cocoa to the reserved cake batter and stir until combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, alternating colors.  Make it look kind of like this.

To marble, run a knife through the batter in a swirling motion.  Don't swirl too much or else you'll just mix it all together.

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Turn cake out of the pan and cool on a cooling rack until cool.

Glaze!

White Chocolate Glaze Frosting:

* 3/4 cup powdered sugar

* 2 Tbsp. milk

* 2 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled.

In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar and milk.  Add the melted chocolate and mix until smooth.  If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar, too thick, add more milk.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.  Yeah right.  Like it lasted 3 days in my house.  Not even close.  My kids loved it!!!  

Amazing, right?

Here are the other fantastic bloggers in today's reveal. I can't wait to check them all out!

I'm also linking to the parties on my sidebar.

I Think It's Time For A Giveaway!

It's been way too long since I've had a giveaway! And I love giveaways! So I thought I'd better get on it and have one.  But what to give away?  What to give away???  As I was flipping through my most favorite magazine ever it dawned on me!  Give away a subscription to this awesome magazine!    How fun is that?!?!  But what magazine is my favorite?  

Yep, Disney's Family Fun Magazine.  Best magazine EVER!!!

But it gets even better.  Not one but TWO followers will win a year subscription.  Yep, two winners! 

Ways to win:

* Be a follower (since I love my followers!)

* Leave a comment on this post.  Easy peasy, right?

But wait, there's even another way to enter.  (Man, it just gets better and better!)

Like Making Memories With Your Kids on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you did (or are already a liker.)

Good luck!

Giveaway ends September 26th.

{More} Lunch Box Notes and Free Printables

If you read my other post on lunch box notes you know that my daughter loves to have little notes in her lunch box. And if I re-use one she comes home and says "you already put that in my lunch, Mom." And sometimes she even gives me a "duh, did you forget?" What the? I didn't forget, I just can't find 190 different lunch box notes! So I've been "collecting" them all summer. Here they are.

Enjoy!

From iMom

From The Gaines Gang

From Moms By Heart

From Rook No. 17

From Happy Home Fairy

From Makoodle

From Darling Doodle

From Vale Design

From All For The Boys

From It's Written On The Walls

Another great one from It's Written On the Walls

From Cap Creations

From Tip Junkie

From Kind Over Matter

From Connie Lou Fabrics

I know, right?!  They are all so awesome.  My daughter is going to be so excited when she opens her lunch box every day.

Thanks to all the people out there who make these great printables for the rest of us who are not creative (or computer savvy enough) to make them!

I'm linking to the linky parties on my sidebar!