Recipe Wednesday: Slow Cooker Cinnamon Roll French Toast

Every week, I get a bunch of recipe emails from various companies (Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, etc.) and once or twice a month, I go through and choose a few new ones to try. The last time that I went through, about two weeks ago, I saw a slow cooker recipe for cinnamon roll French toast and it just sounded like a great idea for dinner one night! Of course, I forgot to plan for a protein outside of the egg in the French toast, so it had the potential to be a too light dinner, but nobody complained about being hungry before bed a few hours later, so my accidental omission didn't do too much meal damage.

I modified the ingredients and directions to show how we made it.

SLOW COOKER CINNAMON ROLL FRENCH TOAST

Ingredients

¹/₄ cup butter, melted

1 can (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

3 eggs

¹/₄ cup whipping cream

¹/₂ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¹/₂ teaspoon vanilla

Real maple syrup - I did not measure the syrup, I just eyeballed it

Directions

1. Using coconut oil, grease the insides of crock. Pour melted butter into slow cooker.

2. Separate can of dough into 8 rolls; set icing aside. Cut each roll into 8 pieces; place pieces over butter in slow cooker.

3. In medium bowl, beat eggs. Add whipping cream, cinnamon and vanilla; beat until well blended. Gently pour mixture over roll pieces. Drizzle with the syrup.

4. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 2 hours 30 minutes (or until set and temperature in center is 160°F).

5. Drizzle with reserved icing and a little more syrup.

PGS unwrapping the butter to melt it

Cutting into 8 pieces and placing in crock
(I did the cutting; PGS did the placing)

Mixing the eggs, cream, cinnamon, vanilla and syrup

Cook on LOW for 2.5 hours

Ready to serve!

While this was really tasty, it is pretty sugary and not that healthy, so it's not something that I'll make often, but as the occasional treat, I think it's wonderful!

I plated it with an apple cinnamon muffin because I was worried about it not being enough food. lol

#100itemcraftstashchallenge: Projects 39 and 40

You know how I've made two tie tees and a stuffed dino for PGS already? Well, I made up a quick tie onesie for the little one I'm currently pregnant with and finished the second dino that I had cut out. Baby S. #2 has a few Mommy made items now! 

Just a fun little fact: Did you know that the term Onesie™ is owned by Gerber? It's technically a brand name for infant bodysuits and it's just become so common that people now think of it as the generic name for that clothing garment.

When I was sewing up the dino, its tail just did not want to cooperate, so I ended up cutting the tail off and using a ribbon loop as a tail. Which by the way, PGS threw a tanrtum over - he was not happy at all that I changed the look of the finished dino! lol

I used one of the few plain bodysuits that I had saved from when PGS was that little and used the same tie pattern that I'd used for the the other ties. Only I used the 3-12 months size this time. I used up some scrap fabric that I had from another project forever ago to cut out a single layer tie. I used Heat n Bond Ultra to attach the tie to the bodysuit and then stitched around the edge with a coordinating thread color.

When I showed the finished onesie to Hubby, he seriously said that he wanted a tie like that. He didn't believe me when I said that I could make him one. So later this summer, I may be buying some more fabric and the right kind of interfacing, and then making a full size men's tie for Hubby. I can't promise that will make it to the blog though.

April Round-Up

The crafty focus of this month was mostly on making things for my little boy (and baby due in August). I also worked on a few things for the shop. We also tried out a new recipe (yum!!).

Oh my goodness! Have you seen the snickerdoodle recipe shared this month?! It's to die for (as long as you like cinnamon sugar cookies anyway). We also shared an easy Easter dish (and a great idea for the leftovers) and had a guest post for 7 layer bars.

This month, I was able to work on #100itemcraftstashchallenge projects 35-38. Not as exciting as last month's eight projects, but still impressive. Especially if it counts that 39, 40 and 41 are ready for photos and blog posts to be written up.

#100itemcraftstashchallenge: Projects 35 and 36

#100itemcraftstashchallenge: Project 37

#100itemcraftstashchallenge: Project 38

We had three successful Feature Friday posts with some very talented small business owners. Two included sales and one included a giveaway. The winner of the giveaway was just announced on Tuesday of this week!

Over on facebook, we reached the milestone of 200 Likes this month. And over on Instagram, we reached the milestone of 100 followers! It was an exciting month for our little shop. Now, we just need to reach 100 followers on Twitter! To celebrate the 200 on facebook, we have a sale on SE using promo code FB200.

Recipe Wednesday: Ham and Cheese Crescent

Last week for Recipe Wednesday, I shared an easy peasy slow cooker ham recipe and this week, I'm sharing with all of you a great way to use up the leftovers and get two meals from one meat purchase.

Yum!

HAM AND CHEDDAR CRESCENT

Ingredients

Leftover slow cooker ham

Honey

Yellow Mustard

Refrigerated crescent dough (2)

Shredded cheddar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix the honey and mustard in a small bowl and combine to your own taste (or use ready-made honey mustard).

2. Unroll one of the crescent dough and press onto the ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Dice the ham into small cubes and scatter on the dough. Drizzle the honey mustard over the ham and then spread the cheese over the ham. Unroll the second crescent dough and press the edges to the edges of the first dough to seal.

4. Bake for 13-17 minutes, or until golden brown. If you have very wet ingredients (e.g., lots of condiments or the ham is very juicy), it will take longer to bake or the bottom will have uncooked dough near the center of the cookie sheet.

If you prepare a side with this, then you will have more servings with it. I tend to forget about making a side as well, so we eat about ¹/₃ of the sandwich and then my husband takes the rest for lunch the next day. He's recently started a daily gym routine before work in the mornings, so he needs a big lunch now. Between him and the two year old who occasionally eats like a teenager, I feel like I'm buying way more food than needed for a small family of three!

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#100itemcraftstashchallenge: Project 38

Remember the tie tee I made for PGS for Project 33? Well, it's one of his favorite pieces of clothing and he wants to put it on as soon as it's clean again. So I bought another white tee for him, this time I bought a 3T short sleeve Garanimals tee from Walmart for $3.88. I also made a minor variation to the tee: interchangeable ties! Since it's one tee and two ties, I counted it as one project this time.

The pirate tie attached

I used some scrap white suedecloth fabric to reinforce the snaps and placed two snaps on the tee and two on each tie. One tie was made from scrap fabric of the pirate diaper I made for PGS (that will be in next week's post!) and the other was from some scrap robot fabric and some scrap white fabric. The robots are the side of the tie visible to the world and the white is the side with the snaps.

The robot tie attached

The ties are two pieces of fabric cut in the tie shape. Put the snaps on the back piece and then pin the tie pieces right sides together. Make sure to leave an open space to turn the ties right side out. Press the fabric and topstitch the tie. Voila! A snap on tie for interchangeable tie fun!

Close up of the snaps, the back of a tie and the front of a tie

Feature Friday: Gmajanisew

Example of a leather bound book purse

This week, we're bringing to you the small business: Gmajanisew. The name implies that a grandma is the owner behind this funky small business, but nope, it's a young woman named Maranda! Her name came from "the ridicule I received in school for wearing hippie style clothing, from the kids calling me 'Grandma' and my love for the music of Janis Joplin."

One of the things that stands out about her shop to me is the hardcover books turned into purses. As a book lover, I cringe (don't worry, she's also a book lover, so she's not doing this to spite all of us book nerds ). As a fellow crafter, I think her creativity is genius and the work looks amazing! A lot of the products are everyday items that have be repurposed into fun, upcycled items. In addition to the book purses, there are book hooks, tie skirts and Scrabble tile jewelry. The creativity in this shop is endless!

Maranda was kind enough to offer up $10 in store credit to one lucky reader this weekend. The store credit is good for anything in her shop and expires on May 22, 2014 (this is 30 days after a winner was chosen).

Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/gmajanisew1

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Gmajanisew1

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recipe Wednesday: Slow Cooker Ham

This week is an easy Slow Cooker meal: brown sugar and maple ham, sweet potato fries and a side of corn. (Feel free to substitute whichever sides you would prefer, those are just my favorites with ham.) A few months ago, one of my friends had posted on facebook that she made ham in the slow cooker for dinner and since I had yet to find a recipe that I liked, I asked how she did it. She gave me the following recipe:

SLOW COOKER HAM

Ingredients - no measurements, just eyeball it

Ham slices - the fully cooked variety

Real maple syrup  (none of that imitation stuff, it's basically HFCS and not as flavorful )

Brown sugar (I used light brown sugar because it's what I have in my cupboard)

Pineapple chunks or rings, optional

Water

Directions

1. Pour enough water into the crock to have about 1" water in the crock.

2. Layer ham slice, maple syrup and brown sugar and repeat until all ham slices are in the crock.

3. Cook on low for a few hours. Check after about 90 minutes to make sure you haven't over cooked since the goal is to simply heat the ham through. It's already fully cooked.

Ham, real maple syrup, brown sugar

Layered ingredients in the crock

Cook on Low

Ham and fries (I snapped the picture and forgot to put the corn there first)

I followed the directions on the bag for the sweet potato fries (sorry, I did not make them from scratch; not this time). For the corn, I dump some frozen corn into the smallest saucepan I have, add a little water, a tablespoon of butter and sprinkle some freshly ground pepper on it. I then cover it with the lid, turn the burner to low and let it cook until everything else is done or it starts to boil, whichever comes first. lol

This is the perfect, easy peasy dinner for Easter if you like to serve ham on Easter. More people you need to serve? Use a larger slow cooker! We used a 3qt slow cooker because there is only myself, hubby and PGS to feed at dinner time, but if I was feeding more people, I would use our 6qt slow cooker and buy more ham slices and use two cans of pineapple.

Tell me, what is you family doing for Easter this coming Sunday? Do you celebrate Easter? We don't usually do anything special, but this year, we are doing an egg hunt and an Easter basket for PGS. This is the first year that we're doing those things. The eggs are filled with chalk from Chalk It Up Kids and his basket has a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book (he picked it out) and Godiva chocolate (his daddy insisted we continue his family traditions of gifting Godiva for big days).

#100itemcraftstashchallenge: Project 37

In use!

We recently found a Step 2 play kitchen for my little guy and it came with a boatload of accessories!

We went to Once Upon a Child to look for a raincoat for him and left with a play kitchen and accessories. It's in pretty good condition and we only paid $25 for it. But anyway, I'm getting off topic. I don't like the play food all over my living room, so I took a box from fruit snacks we bought at Costco and covered it in fabric that matches his kitchen. (I did unfold the box and turn it inside out, but that was because I was originally thinking that I'd let him color on the box.)

It's not perfect, but it gets the job done and as usual PGS was thrilled with something Mommy made for him.

Straight on view

View from above

Feature Friday: Nourishingly Natural

This week, I'm bringing Nourishingly Natural to you. One of my favorite parts about their website is the rewards system that you can sign up for! For every dollar you spend on products, you get a reward point (e.g., spend $30, get 30 pts) and when you have enough points, you can use those points to buy more products. So far, I have a whole whopping 3 pts - I am slacking on my natural body products stash, but I will fix that eventually. 

"My name is Mandi, and I created the Nourishingly Natural line of all natural, handcrafted bath and body products. I am a wife, and a stay at home mom of three.

Back in 2004, I began to develop sensitivities to several ingredients in “store bought” bath and body products. After several visits to the dermatologist, and a lot of personal research, I finally had an answer. I have an auto-immune disease that is exacerbated by artificial fragrances. I never had any idea that the "smelly" bath products I loved could hurt me! Did you know that artificial/synthetic fragrances are among the top 5 skin allergens? These dangerous chemicals affect more than just our skin, and are attributed to conditions such as asthma, and problems with the immune, reproductive, and central nervous systems!

Now, I prefer to make my own bath and body products, using all natural ingredients. All of my products contain skin nourishing ingredients, such as natural and organic oils, organically grown herbs, pure beeswax, natural spices, and pure essential oils. You won’t find any artificial colors or fragrances, parabens, or phthalates in any of my handcrafted products." - copied from Nourishingly Natural - About Us!

I bought a Honey Coconut Lip Balm because I thought it was something that PGS could use. That kid is obsessed with putting on lip balm and I'd rather he used this kind than slathering on my Chapstick brand lip balm multiple times each day. I don't want him eating it. I'm really happy with the lip balm and when it's close to time to replace it, I definitely will be purchasing a second Nourishingly Natural lip balm!

All new fan's of Nourishingly Natural can use the coupon code: newfanlove10. It's good for 10% off for every new fan's order!

Website - http://www.nourishinglynatural.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NourishinglyNatural

Recipe Wednesday: Snickerdoodle Cookies

I think my absolute favorite variety of cookie is the snickerdoodle. But the break and bake refrigerated variety just doesn't cut it. So this past weekend, when I was doing my normal, bi-weekly grocery shopping trip, I specifically bought some cream of tartar solely for making some snickerdoodles. I took to my friend, Chef Google  and searched for a snickerdoodle recipe. I found this one here and decided it was worth a try. Oh em gee! I am in love with these cookies!! 

SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES
Ingredients

¹/₂ cup butter (1 stick), softened

¹/₂ cup sugar

¹/₃ cup brown sugar

1 egg

¹/₂ tsp vanilla

1 ¹/₂ cups flour

¹/₄ tsp salt

¹/₂ tsp baking soda

¹/₄ tsp cream of tartar

3 tbs sugar

1 ¹/₂ tbs cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream the sugars and butter; add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well.

4. Refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes. While the dough is chilling, mix together the cinnamon and remaining sugar in a small bowl for rolling.

5. Preheat to 300° F.

6. Roll the dough into approximately 14-18 dough balls. Then roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press to flatten slightly.

7. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes and no longer. Cookies will be soft and chewy in the middle when they've cooled.

Butter and sugars

Combining all ingredients

Chilling the dough

Preheating the oven and the cinnamon sugar

Cookies in progress!

Cookie countdown!

Snickerdoodles! 

I am very happy with the way that this recipe turned out. My two year old was pretty happy, too. I made them Monday night and unfortunately, my 15 cookies did not make it to this morning. That is how much I liked them and so did PGS. (He really did keep asking for cookies, so it wasn't just my pregnant butt eating all of the cookies!)

Leave a comment and share your favorite cookie variety! I'd love to learn more about our readers. 

Feature Friday: Lisie's Pieces

The first Feature Friday post of April is Lisie's Pieces. At Lisie's Pieces, you'll find custom, personalized family-inspired artwork (and some jewelry, also). Personally, I like the owl family trees the best - and you can even include the "Adding to Your Nest Guarantee" option to your tree! For a personalized tree, your name is woven into the roots of the tree and that is a signature design feature to the trees offered by Lisa.

"Lisie’s Pieces is one mom’s mission to design during nap time.

Example of a DIY Family Tree kit
Original Photo found here.

I suppose my destiny to be an artist was revealed around the age of 3, when my mom caught me coloring on my bedroom walls. I’ve been drawing, making my own cards and creating things as long as I can remember. I knew that graphic design would allow me to be an artist (minus the “starving” part….most of the time) but when my career started in the manufacturing industry I didn’t realize how much my creativity would be limited.

Twelve years later, I found myself in a position to finally do something about it and Lisie’s Pieces was born. The positive response I received from sharing my early ideas with just a handful of folks is really what has sparked my motivation to finally “go for it”.

And, now, for the first time in my life I can honestly say that I LOVE my job!

Example of a Bird Nest necklace
Original photo found here

When I’m not pushing pixels, I’m “Mommy” to two of the most beautiful and funny boys I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Coincidentally, they ALSO color on walls. My husband is a total rock star and there’s no one I’d rather be on this roller coaster ride with. Our family enjoys being outdoors, being silly and just being us.

I hope you’ll enjoy Lisie’s Pieces as much as I do! I look forward to creating something beautiful for your family.

All the best,

Lisa Contessa" - copied from Lisie's Pieces - About

Use the offer code stitches10 to take 10% off any purchase through the end of April. So it is a great time to get a unique Mother's Day gift. Hint-hint! 

Website - http://lisiespieces.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LisiesPieces

Recipe Wednesday: 7 Layer Bars [Guest Post from Cherished]

I am not feeling very well this week, so there is a guest post from Alecia over at Cherished Giftables. I know it's not Feature Friday, but I still recommend checking out her shop if you get a chance! I love her galaxy pendants and magnets - and I will get one before the summer is over!

(The recipe is the copy that she sent to me, with minimal editing.)

SEVEN LAYER BARS

Ingredient list:

3/4 cup butter(a stick and a half)

A sleeve and a half graham crackers

2 cup any kind of baking chips (I used 2/3 cup each semi-sweet, white and butterscotch)

1 cup walnuts

2/3 cup coconut flakes

14oz can of condensed milk

13x9 in pan

Well last night I made 7 layer bars for the second time...well to be honest I actually made 8 layer bars this time :) Thought I'd share, the great thing about this recipe is you can change tweak it however you want....you can change the kind of chips to your hearts content :)

I start by preheating the oven to 350

And putting 3/4 c (a stick and a half) of butter in a 13x9 pan and putting the pan in the oven till the butter melts

While the butter is melting I crush a sleeve and a half of graham crackers in a zip bag with my rolling pin

Once the butter is melted add the crushed graham crackers and pat down till its all even

Next I open up my can of condensed milk and drizzle about 1/4 of the can on top of the graham cracker

For the chips I used 3 different kinds, semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips

I used about 2/3c of each and just evenly sprinkled each into the pan

Then I used about a cup of walnuts and sprinkled them evenly onto of the chips

Next an almost last:) I sprinkled on maybe 2/3c of coconut flakes onto the chips

Then I drizzled on the rest of the condensed milk

And lastly if you want I sprinkled a small handful of all the chips and a little coconut (I would have sprinkled walnuts too if I had held some put:))

Now you just bake for 30 mins

Let cool for 10-20 mins and cut into 24

I let it cool for a bit more then recut just to make sure it didn't run back into itself

Now this is very important and hard to do!!! Cover it and let it cool all night don't eat it yet it won't taste right until it has sat for awhile. When you're ready to eat it the next day you'll just have to break them apart I usually poke a butter knife in the cuts

Here is a link to the original post Alecia posted on her blog:
http://cherishedgiftables.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/7-layer-bars/

If you have the chance to do so, I recommend checking out her Storenvy and her facebook page.

Thank you to Alecia for sharing this recipe with us!