We Just Want To Espresso Our Thanks

Here's another great Teacher Appreciation gift idea. We can't just do one thing. It's Teacher Appreciation Week for heaven's sake =o) And I thought this one was perfect! (Did you check out our candy gram idea too?) We also did this one for the secretaries at my kid's school for Secretaries Day (yesterday). We can't forget about the great office staff who work so hard!

I stole this idea from here. (Go check out this blog because it has a TON of great and absolutely adorable ideas!)

You can do this as expensive or inexpensive as you want depending on the amount on the gift card and the types of chocolate/candy/stuffing you chose.

I chose Dutch Bros. because they are everywhere around here and I love their hot chocolate. Get a gift card and ask for a cup and lid. They will give you the cups and lids for free! We used the small cups because I didn't want to get crazy with the filling =o) (I'm on a budget.)

Fill the cups with whatever you want. We chose chocolate because who doesn't love chocolate, right?!?!

Add the gift card.


Put on the lid and wrap in a cute cellophane bags. Doesn't everything look fancier wrapped in a cellophane bag?!

We made a simple tag using this cute coffee saying (clever, right?) and tied a ribbon on it.


And that's it - simple! and super cute.

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A Sweet Teacher Gift

I laugh when I hear myself say "back when I (fill in the blank)" because it makes me feel so old. But seriously, a lot has changed in my short 44 years on this planet. But really... back when I started working in the school system, things were different. The parents were different and the students were definitely different. My job as a middle school counselor has changed and not necessarily for the better. Some days it sucks every ounce of energy out of me. I can't imagine being in a classroom with 30+ students all day. So when I hear it's Teacher Appreciation I get all jazzed up to do something special for my kid's teachers.

I'm a big believer in saying thank you to those around you. And working in the public school system, I know how hard teachers and school employees work each day. So I love Teacher Appreciation Week. Let me clarify - I love doing things for my kid's teachers. I work in a school where nothing is really done for the staff. I believe the thought is "that's what you get a paycheck for." Is that terrible or what?!?! Who doesn't want a little "thanks for all you do"???

I know it would be easier and less time consuming to just go buy a gift card and stick it in a card. But I like to show that we put some time into it and some thought. Or is something simple enough/better? What do you think?

I remember as a kid making a "candy gram" for a family friend. It was fun coming up with what to say and how to fit candy bars into the sentences. I thought maybe my kids would get a kick out of it too. So we sat down with a pencil and piece of paper and started writing what we wanted to say.

Then came the fun part - the gluing.


What do you think? My kids are having a hard time waiting until next week.



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Mashed Potato Pie - Oh My!

Some days I just want something delicious and "comforting" that's not sweet. I know! Who is this talking? But believe it or not, I would take a big bowl of mashed potatoes or mac and cheese over most desserts. So I stood in the kitchen and was looking through my cupboards and then the freezer and nothing came to mind. Then I saw the package of maple bacon and it hit me... loaded mashed potatoes. Yum! But then I saw the pie crust on the top shelf of the freezer and I'm pretty sure I heard harp music playing. Grand idea! Mashed Potato Pie! It can be done. I can do it!

I don't really have a recipe to share. I'll just fill you in on what I did. Change it. Spice it up some. Do whatever you like. Just know.... mashed potatoes plus pie shell equals heaven!

I didn't make my own pie crust (because I don't know how to do that.) I buy the Marie Callender Pie Shells. They are awesome =o)

I cooked the pie shell according to the instructions.


Then I made mashed potatoes. Make them however you normally do. I don't use milk when I make my mashed potatoes. Instead I use ranch dressing. We are ranch dressing nuts in my house. We, I mean my kids, eat it on everything. So I whipped potatoes with butter and ranch dressing.

Cook your bacon. Make sure it's crispy and drain all the fat. Doesn't that look tasty?

Add shredded cheese and stir it all up. Put it in the pie shell.

Top with more shredded cheese. (Because seriously, can you ever have too much cheese???)

And bake in a 350 degree oven until it's heated through.

Looks tasty doesn't it?


Yes, that's more ranch dressing on the side. Because, like I said, we love ranch.

Enjoy!!!!

This is a great dish to make ahead of time. You can put it all together and refrigerate it, then add cheese on top right before baking. And it's great the next day too!

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Look What's Going In The Mail

I love snail mail. I love getting it! I love sending it! I love everything about mail (except all the bills that I get. There's nothing I like about that!) With all the changing technology it's so easy to just send a text or an email. I'm guilty of that. But I've always been a letter or card sender. I'm not sure where I got it from. No one in my family really sends letters or cards anymore. But my kids and I do. We send holiday cards and we still send traditional thank you cards out. So when I saw this idea I about dropped out of my chair. Brilliant! I shouted! Then I quickly shut up because I didn't want my kids to see what I was looking at.

How cool would it be to get a filled Easter Egg in the mail? Totally cool, right?!?! And not if you are just a kid. I sent these off to my niece and nephew (who are both in their twenties) and some friends (who are in their forties) and to my kids. Heck, I couldn't leave them out.

They were easy to do and hardly cost anything. I figure the reaction that will come from opening up the mailbox and finding an egg in there is worth a couple of dollars.

What you will need:
* plastic eggs. Big ones, not the traditional egg sized ones. I bought these at the Dollar Store and they were filled with Pop Rocks. I dumped the Pop Rocks out (and will use those at our Easter Egg Hunt.


* Easter grass. Or you can just shred colored paper.

* Candy. You could go cheap and buy Dollar Store candy but I don't like the no named chocolate. So I bought Twix, Snickers, Tootsie Rolls, etc. You don't need very much candy in each egg.

* A little note saying who it's from.


That's it!

Fill the eggs. Add an address label and tape shut. Then take them to the Post Office and watch their faces when you drop these on the counter and say "I'd like to mail these please."


I think each egg was about $3 (with postage).


A huge thank you to Adventures in Creating who made these great Easter treats. And to Givers Log for coming up with this great idea! Brilliant!!!

Of course I had to mail some to my kids! That wouldn't be right if they missed out on the fun.

They were so cute when they opened up the mailbox. Totally worth the $3, don't you think???

Now I'm wondering what I can mail next......

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Homemade Peppermint Patties

Well, crud. I lied. I thought we were done doing our Easter baking but when I saw the recipe for Creamy No Bake Mints over on For Such A Time As This we just had to make them. I love chocolate and mint together. And they are kind of Eater-y, right? I mean, I dyed the mint pink. That kind of counts. Right?

They were so easy to make and so, so delicious! My kids gobbled them up quickly!

Ingredients:
* 3 ounces cream cheese
* 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract (or mint)
* red food coloring
* 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Please the cream cheese, mint extract and food color in a mixer bowl and beat until smooth.

Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until mixture becomes very stiff.

(Make sure you have someone to help.) =o)

Shape into 3/4 inch balls and flatten to form patties.


We coated ours in melted chocolate =o)


Store tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!!!!

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Carrot Patch Cookies

This might be the last of our Easter treats for this year. But seriously, don't hold me to that. Sometimes we just bake on a whim so there might be more =o)

So guess where I saw this cute idea. Give up? It's another Family Fun magazine idea. I am totally in love with that magazine. Best $15 a year I spend!

My daughter was so excited to make these. She's kind of my candy eater in the house. So cookies, frosting AND candy together? She's all about it. So, of course, she was my helper (once again.)

But before I get started I have to give a big birthday shout out to my nephew. He's turning 23 today. I know! How can someone as young looking as me have a nephew who's 23, right? (Go with it folks!) He lives in Chicago and I miss the heck out of him (and my niece and sister!) So... Happy Birthday, Matt!!!

(Look how handsome he and my son are at his graduation from Boot Camp!)

So, on to the cookies. Thanks for humoring me with that one.

Ingredients:
* Orange Mike and Ike candy
* Green gummy candy (we used Sour Punch)
*Sugar Wafer cookies
*Chocolate frosting
*Oreos (crushed)

How can you go wrong with all of this, right?


To make the carrot, cut a slit in one end of the Mike and Ike candy. Cut a small rectangle (or triangle) out of the green gummy candy, then fringe the base to form the leaves. Tuck the end into the Mike and Ike and squeeze together to pinch it closed.

(sorry for the lamo, fuzzy picture.)


For each carrot planter, place a wafer cookie base on a flat surface. Form the longer walls from two cookies and cut a third one to fit the ends. Attach with frosting.


To fill the planters, combine some of the chocolate frosting with the crushed Oreos. Make sure you have a little helper crush the Oreos. This part is fun.

(Did you notice her blue mustache? She had a ring pop before helping me. Who knew they totally stained your mouth!)

Fill each box with frosting and cookie mixture, then press three carrots into the frosting. If needed, add more frosting to hold the carrots in place. Sprinkle with more crushed Oreos and there you have it.


I think they are pretty cute. The pictures in the magazine are way cuter than mine, but oddly enough, my daughter didn't care. She loved them!

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BYU Brownies - Easter'd Up

We've started making Easter goodies at our house (can you tell???). Any excuse for us to bake and I'm in! But it was Spring Break two weeks ago so my daughter wanted to help me do some baking. My son wanted to help "kind of" he said. But not if it interfered with his Wii playing =o)

Our Second Easter yummy we made was BYU Brownies but we "Easter'd" them up a little. I first found the recipe for BYU Brownies over on The Country Girl Chronicles. I love a good brownie and add mint and frosting? I'm all over it!

Recipe

Brownies
* 1 c. butter, melted
* 2/3 c. cocoa powder
* 2 c. sugar
* 1 1/2 c. flour
* 4 eggs

Mix butter, cocoa and sugar. Add eggs, beating well after each one. Stir in flour. Spread in greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.


Mint Layer
* 1/2 c. butter, softened
* 2 c. powdered sugar
* 1-3 Tbsp. milk
* 1/2 tsp. mint extract (I used peppermint)
* 4 drops food coloring (I used red)

Mix butter and powdered sugar. Add extract and food coloring. Use milk to smooth out frosting until you reach desired consistency. You want the frosting to be pretty thick!

Spread over cool brownies and refrigerate until firm.

Chocolate Topping
* 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (I used a combo of semi sweet and milk chocolate)
* 1/2 c. butter

Combine butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan and melt over low heat. Have a little helper help you =o)

Pour over mint layer and refrigerate until firm.

When the chocolate was still warm we topped our with these babies.

I saw them at Target and, of course, I had to buy them. So festive I thought. (Plus they taste yummy!)

Here's a close up just in case you didn't get a good look at these.

I immediately put half of them in the freezer after I took the first bite. I knew I would eat them all if I didn't. And good thing, I've eaten way too many of them but they are so darn good. I can't stop!

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