Cookie-Cutter-Free Lunch

Making fun lunches for my little one(s) is indeed fun, and it is rewarding to see how excited she gets when I present them to her but sometimes, I'm just tired. This week has been super busy around here and lunch time sneaks up right behind me and before I know it, my three-year-old, who gets overly rambunctious and extremely selective hearing if she's at all hungry, is getting that wild-eye-look. I know it's coming so I need to feed her quickly, healthily, and I hate to let her down when she asks for a "surprise lunch," so instead of whipping out all my cookie cutters and sprinkles and shapes, I opted for a throw-together kind of lunch - with all the fun - and none of the special tools. Easy(er)...(except it's spelled "easier" with an 'i').

Really the only cutting I did was for the butterfly's body and the sun. The bowl the flower/mud/grass was my "stencil" for the cheese I used for the sun. I just laid the bowl on top of the cheese and cut around it with a knife. The butterfly's body I cut free-hand in an oval-ish shape. The butterfly is diced chicken breast that I shaped free-hand into something that looks a little like a set of wings. Its eyes (or antennae, I wasn't sure which but he looked naked without them) are blueberries.

The rays of the sun are banana pieces as are the petals of the flower in the bowl.  The bowl is filled with chocolate pudding "mud" and some green coconut "grass" (see how to make green coconut "grass" here). The center of the flower and the flowers in the grass on the plate are raspberries and blueberries.

There you have it, a special little lunch for your special little preschooler with no special  tools or food items needed.

When I gave it to her, Alexis said "Oh, a beeeautiful day!"

Yes it was!

Emily

Easter Shakers

My wittle baby Vivian wanted something of her own to celebrate spring. I saw these on another blog that was shared by Deborah at Teach Preschool. I thought they were really cute, so I modified them a little and made some of our own, for Vivian, but they've since been high-jacked by Alexis.

I've been picking up plastic Easter eggs since probably just after Valentine's Day (I get excited, what can I say?) knowing that I'd find something to do with them. I found these for just a couple dollars and knew they'd be perfect for this particular project.

I filled them with different types of small, "shakable" materials that I already had laying around.

In the first two, the bunnies, I put some pastel beads and a few pom-poms to make them more visually appealing and give baby something to "search" for as she shakes them (similar to a peek-a-boo bottle). In the carrot I put some plain white rice and a few beads again, to add variety. In the chick I put a bunch of pom-poms and only a few beads. In the frog, I dyed some rice green similar to how I did the coconut in the Easter Basket Puffs (add a drop or two of green food coloring then stir. Then I zapped the rice in the microwave for about five seconds to help it dry). I also added a few colorful sprinkles in with the green rice.

I didn't want to use tape to seal these as tape would be too easy for my dexterous baby to pick off and eat :/ and I didn't want to use super glue - too toxic :-X - so I opted for non-toxic hot glue. Put the hot glue around the rim of one side of the egg so when you close it, it glues itself together. I made sure to use just enough to seal the egg very well but not ooze out too much, as I'm sure the baby, or Alexis, would be picking at that as well. You can always wipe off the extra glue that seeps out.

These are great sensory toys for babies or just musical instruments for old kids.

Both visually appealing and noisy, these have provided my girls with plenty of entertainment.

Bang Bang Bang!

She loved putting them in the bucket then pulling them back out again. And again. And again.

They're portable too - for little ones on the move!

I think these are pretty well "baby-proofed" for choking hazards and such. The hot glue really holds them together tight, I tested. But still, as with anything that can pose choking hazards, make sure your little ones are supervised when playing with these :)

Happy Noise-Making!

Emily

Brownie-Stuffed Cupcakes

Decadence, I tell you, Dec-a-dence!

I was in the mood to bake something fabulous but wasn't quite sure what exactly that would be.  I generally keep a supply of basic baking and decorating supplies on hand so I was perusing the options. There I was, standing in front of the pantry like a teenager in front of the refrigerator: aimlessly, hoping something I hadn't yet seen would appear before my very eyes. Obviously, nothing appeared but as I looked at the two boxes of mix, I had an "Aha!" moment and the idea for my newest obsession (besides crescent rolls, of course) was born:

Too good to be true???

NOPE. There it is! Brownie-stuffed cupcakes.

Those who know me best or have known me through either of my two pregnancies especially, know that brownies are probably my biggest weakness. I also love cupcakes.

1 treat(Brownie + Cupcake) = Perfect

These really do taste as amazing as they look. Actually, probably more amazing than they look. They have been a big hit around our house since they came out of the oven, even before they received their frosting. And yep, you guessed it, they were easy to make!

You'll need:

1 box yellow cake mix (+ ingredients on box)

1 SMALL (snack size) box of brownie mix (+ ingredients on box)

Chocolate frosting

*Note: It's best to use a cake mix and brownie mix that bake at approximately the same temperatures for similar times. The brownie box can suggest a few more minutes than the cake box because you'll be baking far less brownie batter than a traditional 8x8 pan a snack-size box recommends.

2 batters.

Make them each as per box recipe.

Line your muffin/cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Drop a scoop of cake mix into each cupcake liner (about 1/3 full).

Right on top of that, drop a slightly smaller scoop of brownie batter (yep, right on top).

Top those two layers with another, even smaller layer of cake batter.

That's it. Really.

Bake.

Mine baked at 350* for right around 20 minutes (brownie box said 23 minutes, but they did not need that long) and came out beautiful.

Allow to cool completely.

They look a little like blueberry muffins...but with chocolate :)

A few things to remember:

Brownie batter is heavier than cake batter, so your blop of brownie will sink towards the bottom as it bakes.

It helps to make the bottom deeper with cake batter when preparing your cupcakes to go in the oven.

Also remember, the cake will spread and rise, so the top layer of cake batter does not need to be huge. In fact, it doesn't even have to COMPLETELY cover the brownie batter, as it rises while baking, it will.

Once cool, top with chocolate frosting.

Done. YUM!

Tasty.

Delicious.

Enjoy!

Emily

Life is a Walk in the Park

Spring is in full swing and around here, last week brought in some warmer temperatures :) - and lots of pollen :( -  but despite the pollen, we decided to take full advantage of the sunny skies and spend an afternoon at the park. I'm not by any means a professional photographer, and though I try to take nice pictures, it doesn't always happen. Regardless, I refuse to let my lack of photography skills force me to miss capturing these beautiful moments in my family's life.

Here are some snaps of our outing:

 Alexis working on her balance...

...and helping Daddy with his balance.

 Vivi along for the ride in the warm sun.

Digging.

I love the irony of this photo! Daddy enjoying the swing while Alexis watches mindfully in the background :) Usually it's the other way around but today, Alexis did not want to swing.

She much preferred to check out the bugs & the birds who make home in the trees. 

Exploring a little "off the beaten path." 

 I felt a little like I was photographing Sasquatch through the trees. I try to capture completely candid shots, but here Alexis spotted me & the camera spying.

 Looking for a walking stick to use.

Found a good walking stick. Always remember, no matter where you go, your Dad is never far behind watching ;)

Inspecting some "dinosaur eggs" in the path.

Got all three of them in one shot :) We had to stop and lay out the blanket so Vivi could get out of her seat and stretch her legs on such a beautiful day.

Playing on a warm spring day.

And then it got a liiittle warm, so I wiped her down with a baby wipe to help her keep cool. This is the wild hairstyle that resulted :)

Hope you enjoyed these few snap shots, go out and play today! :)

but don't forget to stop and smell the flowers...

Emily

Exciting News!

At least for me anyway! :)

www.my2littlebirds.blogspot.com

- is now -

(its very own)

...

www.mytwolittlebirds.com

YAY!

Save/Bookmark/Memorize this new address. My blog has found it's very own sweet, frilly, delicious corner of the internet and I'm pretty excited about it.

Don't worry, if you have trouble remembering the new address of it you've already bookmarked the old one, you will be redirected to the new page when you visit the old one. This also means my contact email will change. If you email to my2littlebirds(at)gmail(dot)com, I will still be receiving those emails for a while but my new contact will be emily(at)mytwolittlebirds(dot)com, so save the new email too ;)

So glad you've found yourself here and I hope you stay a while and continue to visit often. I write this blog for my readers, without you all, I'd be talking (writing) to only a computer screen. Thanks so so much for your support!

More fun posts coming soon :)

Emily

Turtle Shell Banana Muffins

On mmmmm?? Tuesday, when I posted the Turtle Lunch made with the cute little "Turtle Shell Banana Muffins" that I adapted from a muffin mix, I wrote that I'd post the recipe for the muffins "tomorrow." Then, on Wednesday I made these cute little Easter Basket Puffs and these Cheesecake Raspberries and got really excited to share both of those things, so instead of posting the muffin recipe, I jumped over that and shared the other two on Wednesday and Thursday.

Here it is Friday, actually...Saturday morning, and I feel I need to make good on my word and share how to make said "Turtle Shell Banana Muffins" so you can enjoy them and/or make your little ones the Turtle Lunch. It's so easy, I almost feel guilty calling it a "recipe" rather than a "method" since I used a bagged muffin mix and didn't tweak it too much to get my own result.

Sooo...I made nine muffins using a six-muffin mix (I didn't need 100 "turtle shells" so I just used a mini bag of mix).  Just about any light-colored flavor of muffin mix that couples well with banana will work for this recipe. Coconut sounds good. So does vanilla...or lemon. I used a basic Cinnamon & Sugar mix which helped my edges to brown some, giving it the perfect "turtle shell" look. So you'll need your muffin mix and ingredients according to the package, a ripe banana, and green food coloring. That's it. Really. I told you, I feel a little guilty calling it a "recipe" but I think we've established by now, that with the exception of cake pops, I prefer "quick and easy" with maximized presentation and deliciousness.

Whip up your muffin mix.

Add green food coloring and stir until it's all green but don't over-mix; Muffin mix should be slightly lumpy for best muffin consistency. You could add your food coloring before you mix it at all to make sure you don't stir too much.

Grease a regular-sized muffin tin very well (we're not using liners here and you want your muffins to pop out easily once baked). Fill each cup only 1/4 way full then add a few thin slices of ripe or over-ripe bananas. I used two in each muffin but I'd put up to four or five if you really like banana. Top your banana slices with another tablespoon or so of batter. Don't worry about completely burying your banana, it will get covered when the batter spreads while baking. Normally, you'd fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. In this case, we wan't to fill them only about 1/2 full so they don't rise over the top of the cups. A flatter muffin with the edges turned up slightly (usually happens while baking) will make for a more turtle-shell-like shape.

Bake. The time and temperature given on the muffin mix package worked  perfectly for these without variation.

When done (tops will look slightly browned, dry but still shiny), remove from oven, allow to cool, and eat! Or make this cute little lunch with them. They aren't much to look at - all decked out like a turtle shell - but they sure do taste delicious and fit the part of Mr. Turtle's backside :)

Green food is good food (unless it's moldy :) )!

Emily

Cheesecake Raspberries

Mmmm...

{Delicious}

Eat a bunch. They're relatively low-cal for tasting so good ;)

Notice: now one is missing.

Can't imagine what happened to it??

Took me 2 minutes to throw this plate together.

...and about 15 seconds between Alexis & I to clean it off.

No. This photo was not posed. Totally candid :) She climbed up to the table while I was taking pictures and snatched some. Also take note, she is first picking the ones with the most filling.

So I had leftover filling from making the Easter Basket Puffs and I also had some raspberries, which you can see made cameo appearances in all the lunches I made this week. Then it hit me!

I was pretty proud of these and I carried the plate to the living room to show Jimmy, meanwhile, Alexis had climbed up to the counter and called to me from the kitchen (pointing at the counter) "Mommy, bring those back over here so I can eat them all."

So...you probably have some left over cream cheese filling if you happened to make the Easter Basket Puffs I posted yesterday, but if not, you can find the recipe here. If your filling is already in a freezer bag or decorator's bag, just stick the snipped off end into the raspberry and fill. You could hull strawberries and fill them too.

These were Heaven, at least for me & Alexis.

A perfect little, fresh treat.

Happy Snacking!!

Emily

Easter Basket Puffs

(*Before I share with you what we made today, I have to give this liiiittle disclaimer. I do not get my ideas from Pinterest, and IF I do, I will always give the credit for that. Now, that's not to say you couldn't dig around Pinterest or Google and find similar things, but I promise you, almost all my ideas come to me either a) walking through the grocery store, or b) by something my daughter says or does, or c) standing in my kitchen, getting ready to make something else, when all of a sudden, I totally shift gears...which is exactly what happened this morning :) Please enjoy!*)

Anyhoo...We were gathering our ingredients this morning, preparing to make something totally different from what we ended up making, when I spotted my lonely mini-muffin pan, sad looking and begging me to use it, sitting atop my preheating oven. Thus, these were born...

I KNOW! I was excited too...actually...I was super pleased with how these came out since when I started making them, I really had no idea what exactly I was going for.

They are kind of like little puff-pastry cheesecakes with coconut on top, but the best thing I learned while making them is they really don't need to be baked. You could pre-bake your pastry cups or buy pre-made ones, fill them, then put them in the refrigerator to set...but I like my coconut toasted and the filling set better by baking them, so here's how I did it:

You'll Need:

1 can (8 count, regular) Crescent Rolls (yes, that is pizza crust in the picture. I told you, I originally set out to make something different so pretend that it's the crescent rolls)

Whipped Vanilla Icing (no exact measurement but roughly 2 big scoops with a spoon)

1 big scoop regular cream cheese

Small bag shredded, sweetened coconut

Green food coloring

Candy Easter eggs (I used Reese's. Something else I must disclose, I love Spring, I love Easter, I HATE jelly beans, but you can use them if you like :) )

Preheat your oven as per crescent rolls can.

I have never dyed coconut before and really, don't know how. So instead of looking it up, I tried what I thought might work...and it did. Yay! I'm not sure if this is the "real" way (maybe?), but it was super easy and I love "super easy."

I put my coconut in a mixing bowl, added about 10 drops of green food coloring and stir, stir, stirred until it was all green.

Grease your muffin tin. I used an 8 count crescent roll pack and it made 12 of these little Easter Baskets.

About 2/3 of a crescent roll will do for each of these. Break your dough off, shape and smoosh it until it makes a little cup in each of your mini-muffin tin. There's really no method to this except you want it thick enough so the cream cheese mixture doesn't leak through and you want it to come just about to the top of the pan BUT remember, these will rise a little with baking.

To make your filling, blop a scoop of cream cheese and two scoops of your whipped vanilla icing into a large freezer bag (or decorator's bag; I used a freezer bag because I could zip it closed and my 3-year-old actually mixed this for me). I used a big soup spoon as my "measure." Again, there is no exact method, you just need roughly a 2:1 ratio of icing to cream cheese. Zip your bag closed and mush it all together until it's completely mixed (Great for helping kids to do!).

With scissors, snip a small corner off of your bag of cream cheese filling so you can squeeze the bag to easily fill your cups. Fill each cup about 2/3 full with the cream cheese filling (this stuff will rise a little tiny bit too, and you need room for the topping so you don't want to fill the cups to the very top). Sprinkle your green coconut shreds on top to make your "Easter grass."

Bake :)

Mine baked for about 13 minutes at 375 degrees. They came out perfect. The filling actually overflowed a bit but when you take them out of the muffin tin, that quickly fixes itself.

Allow to cool a little, then pop them out of the muffin tin with a fork. When they've cooled almost completely, you can put your candy eggs on top to complete the "Easter basket" look.

Definitely will be serving these on Easter!

These were not at all what I had originally planned to make but like I said, my mini-muffin tin had other plans for me, and I'm glad it did because I love how these turned out.

Happy Spring Everyone!!!!

Emily