Tuesday, February 14, 2012

No Waste Cut-Out Sandwiches

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

For my kids’ lunches today I really wanted to make heart cut-out sandwiches.  I’ve never made cut-out sammies before because of the waste factor.  I didn’t want to just toss the extra bread and didn’t know what to do with it. But this morning I got a rocket scientist idea! I used the left overs to make Eggs in a Basket!

Well, ok, it may not be rocket science after all, but I was so thrilled I thought of a way to use the whole piece of bread on the same day, for two meals, and get double bang for my buck. Here’s what I did…

Cut out the bread with a cookie cutter:

IMG_2881

Of course you can use any shape you like depending on the occasion.

Now what you have is cute little pieces of bread for a sandwich:

IMG_2884

But you also have all this left-over:

IMG_2882

So I made the sandwiches first.  I put whipped cream cheese on one side (it spreads easier on fresh bread than regular) and strawberry jam on the other:

IMG_2887

And easy as that I had my Valentine’s Day Sandwiches:

IMG_2888

Next I used the left-overs to make breakfast: “Eggs in a Basket'”!

IMG_2899

Have you ever made these?  So simple! Just put some butter in a pan, lay down your bread with a hole cut in it, crack and egg inside and flip. Voila!

IMG_2902

Cute, huh?!

Then I made a few scrambled eggs for my scrambled lovers with this cool new little gadget (thanks Aunt Jayne):

IMG_2903

And Valentine’s Day Breakfast is served! (Keep in mind you can use any shape cookie cutter and make these any day of the year!)

IMG_2907

Holiday themed breakfast and lunch in under 15 minutes! Smile!

Hugs, Celeste

Friday, February 3, 2012

Melted Crayon Valentine Hearts

Hi Friends!

It’s hard to believe we are already into February. All of my kids are talking about Valentine’s Day at school so I surprised them the other day with a fun Valentine’s Day craft at home…a sneaky way for me to get more fun Valentine’s décor up in my house! This idea is far from new or original…in fact I got it from none other than Martha Stewart herself. None-the-less it’s a fun one!

Melted Crayon Valentine Hearts

IMG_2845

They are super easy, not too messy, and come out looking so cool! Even my doubtful 7 year old son asked to make another and another, surprising even himself!

We started with a box of older crayons

IMG_2806

Peeled back the paper

IMG_2807 IMG_2809

And started shredding over a piece of wax paper

IMG_2825 IMG_2811

We used several tools to shred the crayons: a pencil sharpener, the blade from the pencil sharpener when it broke off, cheese graters, and a butter knife.  The pencil sharpener worked the best while it lasted…but it broke so early I didn’t even snap a picture of it. It was a 50 cent plastic one, so no wonder!

At any rate, after a bit we had collected quite a lot of crayon shreds on the wax paper

IMG_2813 IMG_2816

Then fold the wax paper over to lay across the top of the crayon shreds

IMG_2815

Place on top of a folded towel (or ironing board) and then a brown grocery bag

IMG_2827

Also place the brown grocery bag on top and then iron

IMG_2828

The first time I ironed I set the iron to 6 (out of 7) out of habit. It didn’t take long to realize that’s waaaay too high! You only need to have it set on low to melt the crayons, and it doesn’t take more than a couple of seconds.

IMG_2820

We used cookie cutters to trace the shapes and cut them out.

IMG_2822

Attached them to fishing line and hung!

IMG_2847

IMG_2852

The pictures don’t really capture all their beauty when the sun shines in, but every time I stand at my kitchen sink, I can’t help but smile. I know who made each and every heart and my heart is warmed remembering how much fun we had creating these.

IMG_2863

So now with my impromptu Valentine’s Day Mantel

IMG_2777

My Valentine’s Day Banner up

valentine banner

and of course, my favorite wreath

valentine wreath

We are ready for Valentine’s Day!  Smile!!

Hugs, Celeste