Sweet treats for our GRADUATE :-)

Welcome to Lovebug Scrapbooking's "INSPIRE US!" blog hop!! Our blog hops
take place on the last Saturday of every month. Thanks so much for joining
us!

If you just happened by this blog and didn't realize a blog hop was taking
place, please go back to Lovebug Scrapbooking and start the Hop. You won't
want to miss all the inspiration from our members....... or the prizes :-)

Our theme for May is "Graduation".

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I am planning a graduation ceremony for my son Luke for sometime in June. Actually, in our local homeschool group there are 2 graduates this year, so we may combine the event with another family.

I was doing a bit of research online for some sweet treats to make for the graduation. I decided to try these two neat ideas for making the mortarboard -- aka. the cap. Not sure yet which cupcake topper we'll use, but probably the chocolate one -- it tastes better :-)

For the chocolate cap, you'll need:

~square chocolate pieces (I found this yummy Lindt bar and they were the perfect size)

~small Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

~Sour string (not sure the name for it, but you'll need a strip of it)

~lollipop sticks

~either a handful of chocolate chips (to act as a glue) or you can melt a block of the bar

Cut a strip from the sour candy ribbon. I used the yellow strip. You'll need about 2-3 inches.

I snipped one end to make it look like a tassle.


I used a small, sharp knife to "pre-drill" a hole in the center of the Reese's cup. Put the lollipo stick in. and add a bit of melted chocolate to glue in place. You can set in fridge to set if wanted.

Spread a small amount of chocolate on the top and add the chocolate square.

Spread a line of melted chocolate and glue down the tassle. I bent it before sticking it down. Set in fridge for 15-20 minutes to set.

There you have it!

For this next one, I used some fondant, and some black and yellow food paste.

This is messy, but add some paste to fondant and mix well.

Roll some black fondant into a cylinder shape. Add lollipop stick.

For the top, I rolled some fondant out and cut a square shape. If you have a square cookie cutter, use that. Attack to the cyliner shape with a small drop of water.

NOTE: It might be a good idea to made a bunch of the squares and let them dry overnight. That way, they will be stiff and won't bend down on the corners.


Roll a thin piece of yellow fondant. Fringe the end.


Adhere to top of cap with small dab of water.

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This blog hop will run from today, May 29th until June 1st. Lovebug will be drawing for winners on June 2nd .

Follow along in our blog hop! Your next stop is Teresa!

I love dipping :-)

Bruchetta Dip

1 250ml container of sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped peppers (red/orange/green)
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder (or more, as desired)

Boil one bunch of broccoli and chop. Add to above mixture. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve on toasted French Bread.

Salad Season

With summer coming, we tend to have more BBQ and that means more salads. I will be sharing some salad recipes over the next few days.

PASTA SALAD

2 cups spiral pasta (cook and let drain)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
3/4 cup chopped green onion
1 cup grated carrots

Mix together above ingredients.

Dressing:
1/3 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup French dressing
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 Tbsp sugar

Add to pasta and vegetables. ENJOY!

Chicken Fettuccine

We had this for supper. Everyone loves it, and it tastes even better as leftovers -- IF there are any!

CHICKEN FETTUCCINE

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup
2 cans milk
1/2 red pepper, diced
5-6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
handful of real bacon bits
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
linguine noodles (though we almost always use spaghetti noodles)

Dice chicken and fry in a bit of olive oil. Add chopped pepper, mushrooms and bacon bits.

In saucepan, heat two cans of soup with two cans of milk. Be careful that it doesn't scald and stick to the bottom of the pan! When heated, throw in mozzarella cheese and stir until cheese melts. Add chicken mixture to soup mixture.

In another saucepan, cook the noodles. Top with the creamed mixture and serve with garlic bread or tossed salad.

Just for Dad! - Lovebug Blog Hop

Welcome to Lovebug Scrapbooking's "INSPIRE US!" blog hop!! Our blog hops take place on the last Saturday of every month. Thanks so much for joining us!

If you just happened by this blog and didn't realize a blog hop was taking place, please go back to Lovebug Scrapbooking and start the Hop. You won't want to miss all the inspiration from our members....... or the prizes :-)

Our theme for April is "Mother's Day/Father's Day".

What Dad doesn't like CHOCOLATE!??! Here's a nice treat that a child can make for his/her Dad on his special day :-)

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TRIPLE TREAT CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKE


1 cup cold chocolate milk
1 large scoop chocolate ice-cream
1 Tbsp chocolate syrup


Combine ingredients in blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Sprinkle with grated chocolate if desired. Makes about 2 cups.

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This blog hop will run from today, April 24th until April 27th. Lovebug will be drawing for winners on April 28th

Follow along in our blog hop! Your next stop is the lovely Margo!

Cakes for April

April started out slowly for cake orders, but these past two weeks I have been so BUSY with cakes!

I had so much fun with this one!

This one was made using fondant. It's so easy to use, but now I just need to find a good recipe to make my own. It's expensive to buy.



I made a big #1 along with this order. These were 2 little "smash" cakes.

For the girly-girl :-)

In addition to these shown, I did:

~ a round chocolate cake with chocolate icing

~ another firetruck cake

~ another "welcome, baby" cake

So, a total of 10 cakes for April.

WINNER of ........

Lovebug's March bloghop prize is LIZZY! Congrats, girl! You've won a "Taste of Home -Casseroles" magazine.

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DD and I are trying out some fondant recipes. We also made some modeling chocolate, which turned out ok. I think it needed to be a bit firmer, so we'll be experimenting with that a bit. I'll have a project to show you later this weekend using the modeling chocolate.

If you have a favorite fondant recipe, I'd love to see it!