Fun Idea...

Start a new tradition....

Here's a fun idea that you can create year after year and this makes a great keepsake too!

Print out a large number 1 (or whatever your childs age will be). Cut and paste pictures that you have taken from throughout that year onto the number.
Place in a frame and remove the glass front during the party and have all the bday party guests sign and leave a special message:)
You can do this year after year:)

Whoa...Let you little girl talk to a disney princess!

I had to post this as soon as I found it...

go to target.com and click on the spotlight section and you can sign up to get a phone call from your choice of a Disney princess! You can choose between 2 different types of messages...great job and thank you. This is so awesome and can make for a magical moment for your little girl without having to spend all that money to go to Disney  world!

Yummy Cheese Danish

This great, fast and easy recipe for a cheese danish is so tasty you may never buy pre-made ones again! The filling can be made the night before and placed in the refrigerator until morning...which makes for a delicious breakfast!

1 package cream cheese soften
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 boxes puff pastry defrosted in frig overnight


Cream sugar and cream cheese with electric mixer until combined. Add remaining ingredients (except puff pastry) and beat until combined (about 2 min).

Unroll 1 sheet of puff pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll sheet to expand the size of it about 2 inches all around to make 1 large square. Cut sheet into 6 equal pieces.

Line baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400.

Place each square of pastry on sheet and lightly prick with a fork all over.  Place 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of cheese mixture in center.

Place back in frig for 20 min just to firm dough back up. Brush edges with egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon water beaten together) Place in preheated oven for 15 min or until golden brown. Cool 3 min and remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm:)


Wonder why we did some steps in this recipe? I'll tell you...

we prick the dough with a fork to encourage even rising and also so the dough with not rise too much(this trick only works with puff pastry dough)

why did we use an egg wash? an egg wash helps the dough brown more evenly and creates a nice shine on the dough for a more beautiful finished product

Profiteroles...a great freezer friendly recipe

This is a very classic recipe for cream puffs or profiteroles (pronounced pro-fit-er-rolls). This recipe is easy to make takes a very short amount of time and best of all can go into the freezer and you can bake them of when ever you need them!

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup water
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Place the water and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the flour mixture and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for several seconds, until the dough is smooth, pulls away from the sides of the pan, and begins to form a ball. Remove the pan from the heat. Cool the dough for a couple of minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, until smooth and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Grease 2 small or 1 large baking sheets and preheat oven to 400. Place dough in pastry bag or zip top bag and pipe onto baking sheets in a small circular pattern. Place in oven and bake until golden brown about 10-12 min.
*****at this point in the process instead of baking you can place in freezer on the baking sheet and freeze until hard and repackage in zip top bag and keep in freezer until ready to use. You can keep them in the freezer for about 3 months. They can go straight from freezer to oven*****

To serve....

1. cut in half and fill with whipped cream and drizzle with melted chocolate (when melting chocolate add 1 tablespoon of Crisco vegetable shorting per 1 cup of chocolate. Doing this makes for a shinier topping and softer when cool.)

2. cut in half and fill with ice cream and top with whipped cream.

Wanna make fresh whipped cream?

take one carton of heavy whipping cream and beat with electric mixer until it starts to thicken a little (about 2 min). Slowly add 3-4 tablespoons (depending on how sweet you like it) of powdered sugar. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and whipped until stiff peaks are formed. About the consistency of whipped topping you find in your grocers freezer. Be careful not to over beat!